At the Mack Iron Works Company, we are dedicated to meeting our customers' needs not only by supplying a superior quality product, but also through a thorough knowledge of our products. We conduct R & D projects, often partnering with our customers, to continually strengthen our knowledge of actual strainer performance and to verify theoretical calculation techniques and methodologies. Our in-house fluid mechanics test lab and our more recent testing work with 3rd party accredited test laboratories have resulted in thousands of test runs giving Mack Iron engineers data with Which to better understand and ultimately predict a strainer's actual operating pressure drop performance and clogging characteristics. Destructive testing, although costly, provides extremely valuable insight into strainer performance limits allowing Mack Iron engineers a sound basis for making strainer structural design decisions.