CHNG2801/CHNG9201 FLUID MECHANICS

LABORATORY EXPERIMENT
Air Flow
Preparation and Prework
Running the Equipment

TAGL: March 2019, March 2018, TAGL 27.01.2005, modified from NJJ 2003.

Safety: You must wear safety glasses or spectacles, laboratory coat, pants or jeans and
closed, covered footwear while in the outdoor laboratory area at all times. Failure to follow
this requirement will result in your ejection from the laboratory for the rest of the laboratory
session. You will not be given the opportunity to repeat the experiment on another day. This
practice is intended to encourage the development of good safety discipline in industry as well
as for your direct protection.

Overall Learning Objectives

Students should be able to:
1. Identify pipework and equipment used to make fluids move (pumps). What do
these pieces of equipment look like, and how do they work? (part 1)
2. Communicate through a common engineering language of standardised symbols
and drawing layouts, specifically Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams. (part 1)
3. Calculate flow rate using the Pitot Tube, the Venturi Meter, and the Orifice Meter to
measure the flowrate in a duct. (part 2)
4. Operate chemical engineering equipment safely and extract relevant
measurements and data. (part 2)
5. Synthesise findings with relevant fluid mechanics theory and report results
concisely. (part 2)

1. INTRODUCTION

You are a technical consultant working in a large engineering firm. Your manager has
assigned you to the University of Sydney to review one of their ventilation fans. Your
brief is as follows:
1. Justify your competency as a professional engineer by completing the sample
calculations and being adequately prepared for the equipment testing.
2. Review the performance of the fan by measuring the air flowrate as per the
directions.
3. Prepare a concise technical report to your manager.

2. OVERALL DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL EQUIPMENT

A fan supplies air to a duct consisting of a rectangular section followed by a circular

section. Provision is made in the rectangular section for a Pitot Tube traverse to be
carried out; a Venturi Meter and an Orifice Meter are installed in the circular section.
A digital pressure meter is used to measure pressure differences.

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3. OBJECTIVES

Part 1
In this prework session (before the actual laboratory) you will:
Describe the rig and explain its operation. Do the prework and assess how it is
applicable to the actual experiment.

Part 2
In the actual laboratory session you will:
Operate the rig and measure and explain its operating characteristics. Write a
laboratory report.

4. PART 1: PRE-WORK, DRAWINGS AND DESCRIPTIONS (TO BE DONE

FOR THE REPORT STARTING NEXT WEEK)

4.1.1. Flowsheet
Study the rig, trace out the connections of each pipe, find and identify all valves,
instruments and pieces of equipment. Draw a “flowsheet” of the rig in the form of a
Piping and Instrument Diagram (P&ID) which shows schematically all the pieces of
equipment, pipes, valves, and instruments.

Centrifugal pump & fan:

Flow enters in the middle and leaves at the edge

Pitot tube:

Or

DP

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Venturi meter

Or

DP

Orifice plate meter

Or

DP

4.1.2. Description
Write a short explanation, about half to three-quarters of a page, of what happens in
the rig, and how it does it. DO NOT just give a verbal version of your flowsheet, or
repeat these notes. Marks are given for knowledge and understanding of the subject.

4.1.3. Prework Calculations

These calculations must be shown to the supervising engineer (i.e. laboratory
demonstrator) on the day of the experiment and must be completed correctly before
commencing.
(a) The following pressure differences (between the impact and static tappings) were
recorded at equally-spaced points in a 114mm x 127mm rectangular duct through
which air (density, 1.2 kgm-3; viscosity, 1.8 x 10-5 kgm-1 s-1) is flowing. Calculate
the volumetric flow rate through the duct. The pressure differences (in mm water)
are as shown in the following Table 1.

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Table 1: Pressure differences recorded by the digital pressure meter (in Pa) in each
section of the Pitot tube traverse for the air flow experiment.

3 4 5 4

4 5 6 5

3 6 7 4

2 3 5 3

Each rectangle in the grid above represents an equal area.

The density of water (the manometer fluid) is 1000 kgm-3 (C & R p232~; note C &
R = “Coulson and Richardson”).

(b) This rectangular duct is followed by a circular duct of 140mm diameter in which
there are both orifice and venturi meters. The orifice plate hole diameter is 108mm
and the pressure drop between the upstream tapping and the throat (the hole) is 22
mm water. The venturi throat diameter is 89mm and the upstream-throat pressure
drop is 18 mm water. Given discharge coefficients of 0.61 for the orifice plate and
0.98 for the venturi meter, calculate the flowrate as measured by each of these
meters (C & R p243 ~).

Note: Useful information is included at the end of these briefing notes.

EXPECTATIONS IN THE LABORATORY

With a Pitot tube, in general, and here in this laboratory, the simple application of the
Pitot tube equation is helpful:
(1)
2 ∆𝑃
𝑢=𝐶
𝜌
Given that Cpt ≈ 1 and ρ ≈ 1 kg m-3, the pressure difference across a manometerfor a
velocity of 5 ms-1 through a test section is about (5 ms-1)2/2 = 12 Pa, and at 10 ms-1,
the pressure difference is (10 ms-1)2/2 = 50 Pa.

What should we expect in the venturi and orifice plate meters? Should the pressure
differences be the same as from the Pitot tube?

Yes and no.

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Yes, the general form of the equation is similar for all three devices, and all equations
for these meters come from Bernoulli’s equation. For the Pitot tube, see equation (1)
above. For the venturi and orifice plate meters, equations (2) and (3) apply:
2 ∆𝑃 (2)
𝑄=𝐶 𝐴
𝐴
𝜌 1− 𝐴

𝑄 (3)
𝑢 =
𝐴
Where CD is a discharge coefficient (about 0.98 for the venturi meter and 0.61 for the
orifice plate meter), uav is the average pipe velocity, At is the throat cross-sectional
area, and Ap is the pipe cross-sectional area.

And no:
These flowmeters are located in a 140 mm diameter pipe, so Ap = π/4 (0.14 m)2 =
0.0154 m2.

For the venturi meter, At = π/4 (0.089 m)2 = 0.00622 m2.

For the orifice plate meter, At = π/4 (0.108 m)2 = 0.00817 m2.

Rearranging equation (2), for both flowmeters, gives

𝑄 𝜌 𝐴 (4)
∆𝑃 = 1−
𝐶 𝐴 2 𝐴
𝑢 𝐴 𝜌 𝐴 (5)
∆𝑃 = 1−
𝐶 𝐴 2 𝐴

Hence, for an average air velocity of 5 ms-1, the following estimates apply.
For the venturi meter, the pressure difference is:
× . .
∆𝑃 = . × .
1− .
= 67 Pa
For the Orifice Plate meter, the pressure difference is:
× . .
∆𝑃 = . × .
1− .
= 86 Pa
For the Pitot tube, the pressure difference at a velocity of 5 ms-1 is 12 Pa.

For an average air velocity of 10 ms-1, the following estimates apply.

For the Venturi meter, the pressure difference is:
× . .
∆𝑃 = . × .
1− .
= 267 Pa
For the Orifice Plate meter, the pressure difference is:
× . .
∆𝑃 = . × .
1− .
= 343 Pa
For the Pitot tube, the pressure difference at a velocity of 10 ms-1 is 50 Pa.

For the Venturi and Orifice Plate meters, the relationship between the velocity and the
pressure difference is affected by the pipe and throat cross-sectional areas and the
discharge coefficients.

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5. PART 2: TESTING PROCEDURE

5.1. Set the flow to a high value by opening up the plate at the exit of the duct. Carry out
a Pitot Tube traverse of the rectangular duct using a grid pattern. Without altering the
flow, measure the pressure drops between the upstream tapping and the throat, and
between the upstream and downstream tappings, for both the Venturi Meter and the
Orifice Meter.

5.2. Repeat the experiment using three lower flow rates (e.g. 75%, 50%, and 25% open)
by partially closing up the end-plate so that you carry out measurements for four flow
rates. Note that the end plate is manually moved by screwing it in or out. For the blue
airflow rig, approximately 31 turns are required to screw the plate from 100% open to
100% closed position while approximately 34 turns are required for the silver rig. This
information can be used to estimate how open or closed the end plate (e.g. ¾, ½, and ¼).

5.3. For each flow rate you should measure the static pressure after the fan and therefore
the pressure or head developed by the fan. Be prepared to explain to the demonstrator
how you are going to do this. Which pressure tapping will you use for one end of the
pressure meter reading, and

5.4. The static pressure developed by the fan for no flow can be measured by closing up
the end plate completely.

5.5. This series of measurements should take no longer than 30 minutes. Reproducibility
is an important feature of any experimental work, so all the measurements should be
repeated if time allows. Discuss the amount of variability between sets of measurements
in your discussion.

5.6. Calculate flow rates etc on the spot. If your results are unexpected, measure them
again, checking that your instrumentation is set up correctly.

6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

6.1. You must prepare a concise report to your manager summarising the key
findings. Your support calculations and raw data should be included in the attached
Appendices.

6.2. Calculate and compare the flows given by the three methods of measurement. Note
that the Pitot measurements are used to calculate flows through each grid element and
these must be summed to obtain the total flow. Compare the pressure recoveries (the
difference between the upstream and downstream pressures relative to the pressure
difference between the upstream location and the throat, as defined mathematically in the
Appendix) for the orifice and venturi meters with the literature values (eg in C & R,
pp243 – 257).

6.3. Calculate the Reynolds Number for each flow and comment on the likely state of
flow (laminar or turbulent). Note the head-capacity characteristic of the fan, which is the
pressure increase across the fan as a function of flow rate through the fan and duct.

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Estimate the “fan efficiency”, defined as follows: divide the product of volumetric flow
rate and pressure increase (which is the power delivered to the fluid) by the power rating
of the electric motor (given on the base plate of the motor). Do not plot Reynolds
number against flow rate because they are directly proportional by definition!

6.4. Discuss the uncertainties in the measurements and how these uncertainties
propagate through to affect the results. The appendix has notes on how to do this.
What effects do the uncertainties in all the input numbers (diameters, pressure
differences, densities) for the calculations have on the final results (e.g. flow rates)?

REFERENCES
Coulson, J M, Richardson, J F, Backhurst, J R, Harker, J H, (1999) Chemical
Engineering. Volume 1: Fluid Flow, Heat Transfer and Mass Transfer, 6th Edition,
Pergamon, Oxford.

There are many other books on fluid mechanics, fluids engineering in the library.

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Appendix – Useful information
The following information may be helpful (all variables are in SI units):

For pitot tube:

∆
Local velocity, 𝑉 = (∆𝑝 is found from the given pressure measuring device).

∑
Average velocity, 𝑉 =

Total flow rate, Q = A*V

pi = local pressure difference

Vi = local velocity
Ai = local area
V = average velocity
A = total cross section area
Q = total flow rate

For the Orifice Plate and Venturi Meters:

2 ∆𝑃
𝑄=𝐶 𝐴
𝐴
𝜌 1− 𝐴

Q = volumetric flowrate
CD = discharge coefficient (also called the orifice coefficient or the venturi
coefficient)
Ap = pipe cross-sectional area
At = throat (or hole) cross-sectional area
P = pressure difference between upstream tapping and throat.

Use CD = 0.61 for orifice meter and 0.98 for venturi meter. CD values can also be
obtained from Figure 6.16 of the reference text book i.e. Coulson and Richardson
(Page ~ 251) as a function of Reynolds number.

For pressure recovery calculation:

∆
Pressure recovery (%), Precovery = 1 − ∆
∗ 100%

For fan efficiency calculation:

Rated motor power = 1 hp = 746W

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 ∆𝑷∗𝑸
Fan efficiency =
𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓

Data from equipment

Rectangular Duct : 114 mm x 127 mm

Circular Duct diameter : 140 mm
Venturi Throat diameter : 89 mm
Orifice Plate Hole Diameter : 108 mm

Error Analysis

A general formula for error propagation is:

For r = function of (x, y)
Sr = random error or uncertainty in result
Sx = random error or uncertainty in x
Sy = random error or uncertainty in y

2 2
 r   r   r  r 
Sr    S2x    S2y  2  S2xy (A1)
 x   y   x  y 

The last part is normally ignored as the covariance Sxy2 is usually assumed to be zero.

For r = x + y

Sr  12 S2  12 S2y

x

And for r = x.y

Sr  y 2 S2  x 2 S2y
x

and

x 2 y 2 S2 x 2 y 2 S2y
Sr  
x

x 2 y2
or

S2x S2y
Sr  r 
x 2 y 2
A natural extension of the pattern for these formulae, in the case of:

r=x^2

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is just to change the y subscript into an x and hence:

S2x
Sr  r 2  (A2)
x 2
However, this equation (A2) is incorrect. Using the general formula:

dr/dx = 2x and hence

Sr  2x 2 S2 x

Sr  4x 2S2x

4x 4S2x
Sr 
x2

4S2x
Sr  r (A3)
x2
This equation (A3) is correct.

The difference between equations (A2) and (A3) is that, in the formula for x.y, we
assume there is no covariance between x and y. In x^2, x is (by definition) perfectly
co-varying with x.

e.g. If r = x.y with x = 50.5 and y = 40.2, then r = 5x4 = 20

Sx = 0.5 and Sy = 0.2

S 2x S 2y 2 2
 0.5   0.2 
Sr  r   20      20 0.1  0.05  20 0.0125  20 x0.11  2.2
2 2

x  2  y  2  5   4 

Hence the uncertainty in the answer is 2.2, and we would write r = 202.

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