F4: Flow meter Demonstration Apparatus

1. Objective(s)
 To demonstrate the application of flow meters in the measurement of flow rate
and velocity in a pipe.
 To find the values of discharge coefficient Cd of venturi-meter and orifice meter
experimentally
 To study the effect of reynould number on discharge coefficients of Venturimeter
and Orifce meter..

2. Theory:

2.1 Orifice Plate: An orifice meter is a conduit and a restriction to create a pressure drop.
A nozzle, venturi or thin sharp edged orifice can be used as the flow restriction. Due to the
ease of duplicating and the simple construction, the thin sharp edged orifice has been
adopted as a standard and extensive calibration work has been done so that it is widely
accepted as a standard means of measuring fluids. An orifice in a pipeline is shown in
figure 1 with a manometer for measuring the drop in pressure (differential) as the fluid
passes thru the orifice. The minimum cross sectional area of the jet is known as the “vena
contracta.”
As the fluid approaches the orifice the pressure increases slightly and then drops
suddenly as the orifice is passed. It continues to drop until the “vena contracta” is reached
and then gradually increases until at approximately 5 to 8 diameters downstream a
maximum pressure point is reached that will be lower than the pressure upstream of the
orifice. The decrease in pressure as the fluid passes thru the orifice is a result of the
increased velocity of the fluid passing through the reduced area of the orifice. So by
measuring the pressure drop using Bernoulli equation the discharge may be calculated.
When the velocity decreases as the fluid leaves the orifice the pressure increases
and tends to return to its original level. All of the pressure loss is not recovered because of
friction and turbulence losses in the stream. The pressure drop across the orifice
(Differential Pressure in Fig. 1) increases when the rate of flow increases. When there is
no flow there is no differential. The differential pressure is proportional to the square of

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the velocity, it therefore follows that if all other factors remain constant, then the
differential is proportional to the square of the rate of flow.

Figure1: Orifice meter

2.2 Venturi meter:
The Venturi meter is a device which has been used over many years for measuring the
discharge or flow along a pipe. The fluid flowing in the pipe is led through a contraction
section to a throat, which has a smaller cross-sectional area than the pipe, so that the
velocity of the fluid through the throat is higher than that in the pipe. This increase of
velocity is accompanied by a fall in pressure, the magnitude of which depends on the rate
of flow, so that by measuring the pressure drop, the discharge may be calculated. Beyond
the throat the fluid is decelerated in a pipe of slowly diverging section (sometimes referred
to as a diffuser) in order to recover as much of the kinetic energy as possible.

1

m
Figure 2. Venturimeter

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2.3 Derivation of Equation to be used for calculation of flow rate:

By assuming steady-state, incompressible (constant fluid density), inviscid, laminar

flow in a horizontal pipe (no change in elevation) with negligible frictional losses,
Bernoulli's equation reduces to an equation relating the conservation of energy at two
points in the fluid flow as

1 1
P1  V1 2  P2  V2 2 (1)
2 2

And from mass balance

Q  A1V1  A2V2 (2)

Combining (1) and (2), we get

2 2
1 Q  1 Q 
P1  P2        (3)
2  A2  2  A1 

Solving for Q:

2( P1  P2 ) / 
Q  A2 (4)
1  ( A2 / A1 ) 2

2( P1  P2 ) / 
Q  A2 (5)
1  ( d 2 / d1 ) 4

And introducing the beta factor β = d2 / d1 as well as the coefficient of discharge Cd: The
above equation true is for an ideal flow (Frictionless flow). In actual there will be more
pressure drop because of presence of permanent pressure loss due to friction. For venturi
tube and the orifice, the equation must be multiplied with the coefficient of discharge, C d:

Q actual  C d Q ideal

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 2( P1  P2 ) / 
Q  C d A2 (6)
1  ( ) 4

Pressure drop can be calculated using the readings of manometer by

(7)
Where,
 m : Density of manometric fluid
1 : Density of fluid flowing in the flow meter

3. Equipment and Materials:

The equipment is fully self-contained having its own water storage slump and
requires only connection to a single electrical supply. Water from the slump is delivered to
the service pipe-work and test flow meter by self primary, centrifugal pump. Flow meters
are fitted into pipe system.
The pressure loss across each of the flow meters in turn can only be measured using the
differential manometers provided. The discharge from these flow meters is collected in a
volumetric tank fitted with a remote sight tube and measuring scale. A dump valve in the
base of the tank returns the water to the slump tank for re-cycling.

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 Figure 3. Flow meter Apparatus

Figure 4. Explanatory diagram of flow meter Apparatus

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Useful Data for set-up
Pipe diameter of venturimeter= 26 mm
Throat diameter of venturi=16 mm
Diameter of orifice= 20 mm
Diameter of orifice pipe= 51.9 mm

4. Experiment Procedure:
1. Open the apparatus valve until the rotameter shows a reading of approximately 10
mm. When a steady flow is maintained measure the reading of rotameter and record
the readings of the manometers in observation table
2. Repeat this procedure for a number of equidistant values of rotameter readings up
to the point in which the maximump ressures values can be recorded from the
manometer.

5. Report requirements
1. In theory mention the difference between venturi and orifice meter in terms of
performance and applications.
2. Calculate Cd for each trial using equation (6). [Hint: Use Q value the one you got
by rotameter reading. Plot Cd Vs Re for venturi-meter and orifice meter.Do
extensive literature search about variation of Cd with Re for venuri-meter and
orifice meter. Compare your trend with the one you found in literature.discuss the
trend in detail.[ Hint: Read technical articles to find how they have explained the
trend].
3. Calculate % pressure recovery (p3/p1*100) for both flow meters. Comment on the
values with reasons.
4. Calculate pressure drops for both flow meter at all flow rate using equation (3) and
equation (7). Which one is more and why. Explain clearly. Substract the pressure
drop calculated by equation (3) from pressure drop calculated by equation (7). What
is the physical significance of this term. Plot this term against flow rate for both
flow meters in the same figure and reflect on the trend.

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6. References
1. J.O Wilkes, Fluid Mechanics for Chemical Engineers, Prentice Hall, Boston, 2005.
2. http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/Webcourse-contents/IIT-
%20Guwahati/fluid_mechanics/index.htm

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Experimental Data Log Sheet for Experiment (F4)

Date: ………

Group Number: ………

Team Members Name: Student I.D. #:

…………………………… ………………….

…………………………… ………………….

…………………………… ………………….

=============================================================
Venturi-meter (d1 = 16 mmm, d2=26 mm)

S.No Flow rate h1 h2 h3

LPM mm mm mm

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Orifice-meter (d1 = 20 mmm, d2=51.9 mm)

S.No Flow rate h1 h2 h3

LPM mm mm mm

Instructor signature: Date:

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