In this work, the annular (tangential) flow of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids in tube bundles has been studied experimentally. Extensive pressure drop data has been obtained embracing wide ranges of the Reynolds number (13-6600) and for two test modules of different geometrical arrangements, but of similar overall void fraction. Preliminary experiments suggest that the pressure drop is mainly determined by the overall void fraction of the bundle and is relatively insensitive to the detailed geometrical configuration of the bundle. A simple predictive correlation has been developed which reconciles the present results for Newtonian and power law fluids with acceptable levels of reliability.