Compressed-air calculator

Pressure loss in compressed-air piping

Every metre of pipe, every elbow and every reducer consumes pressure. Excessive pressure loss is paid for in energy: the compressor must run higher to deliver the same pressure at the point of use.

This calculator evaluates the pressure loss of a pipe run from flow, working pressure, internal diameter and equivalent length (Darcy–Weisbach method, Swamee–Jain friction factor).

Pressure loss

Pipe pressure drop (Darcy–Weisbach, Swamee–Jain friction).

Material & standard PN = nominal pressure (bar). PN16 (16 bar / 232 psi) = standard factory compressed-air class · PN70 (70 bar / 1015 psi) = high pressure. Schedule = steel wall-thickness series (ASME B36.10).
Pipe diameter
Pipe length
Working pressure

Pressure loss

psipsi
bar
bar
kPa
kPa

Calculation details

Friction factor
Velocity
ft/s
Inner diameter
mm · in
Length
m · ft

Standardized inner diameters: steel ASME B36.10 (Schedule 10 / 40 / 80), aluminum per EQOfluids chart (PN16 = 232 psi · PN70 = 1015 psi). Darcy–Weisbach, air properties @ 20 °C / 1 bar abs (ISO 1217).

Indicative estimates — validate all results before any technical decision.