This paper deals with the inaccuracy assessment of the friction pressure loss estimation based on
Darcy formula combined with an equivalent hydraulic diameter and a friction factor valid for circular
pipes when applied to a square rod bundle. The assessment has been done by comparing the analytical
and semi-empirical predictions with two different CFD codes results: CFX and NEPTUNE_CFD.
Two different analytical approaches have been considered: the whole-bundle and sub-channel approaches,
both for laminar and turbulent flow conditions. Looking at results, it is reasonable to
assume that an error in the range of 11% - 23% is likely when using equivalent diameter in the
laminar regime. In the case of turbulent regime, the equivalent diameter works better and the error
is in the range between a few percent and ~12%