Adjusted Average Correction Factors for Sprinkler Laterals

This paper is the fourth in a series on friction factors for sprinkler laterals. The widely used friction correction factor F was developed by Christiansen for the hydraulic analysis of sprinkler laterals. A significant modification to this factor was the adjusted friction correction factor Fa. The adjusted friction correction factor can be used when the first sprinkler is a fraction of a full spacing from the lateral inlet. To design laterals with outlets and outflow at the downstream end, friction correction factor G was developed with the corresponding adjusted friction correction factor Ga. To calculate the average pressure head along a lateral, the average correction factors FAVG and GAVG were developed. These average correction factors can be used where friction correction factors F and G are used to analyze a lateral. This paper introduces two final adjusted average correction factors FaAVG and GaAVG, which can be used to determine the average pressure head in laterals analyzed using Fa or Ga. Use of these factors is demonstrated in an example.