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3.4.

1 Using an Electronic Square Rooting Circuit Throughout the experimental programme a fast response pressure transducer in conjunction with a square rooting circuit (see Fig. 30) was used for tests on the orifices and venturi nozzles. The results of those tests in which the temporal inertia effects were negligible are shown in Figs. 63 - 65 Residual error is plotted against total error. Fig. 63 shows results for orifices of area ratio, m=0.335, 0.393 and 0.612 when Hfd/ud < 0.045 Fig. 64 shows results for the smallest orifice, m=0.103 when Hfd/uud < 0.025 Fig. 65 shows results for the venturi nozzle m=0.0625 when Hfd/ud < 0.013 In all cases the equivalent steady flow expansibility factor, es, was greater than 0.99. The reduction in error is remarkably good for the orifices. The residual error is well within 1% except for two results with the smallest orifice, for total pulsation errors up to 15%. Even when the total error is 25% the residual error is not more than 2%. The residual errors for the venturi nozzle are a bit larger being up to 2% for total errors up to 15%. It would appear to be a feasible proposition to use a square rooting device with orifice meters provided the Effective Strouhal Number is' sufficiently low. The recommended maximum permissible values of (Hfd%ud) are shown plotted against total error in Fig. 66. The values are smaller than those permitted in plotting rigs. 60 - 65 to give an additional margin of safety. Until further work is done (Hfd/d) should be less than 0.01 for venturi nozzles. 2.2.1 101 The Air Flow Rig Air was chosen as the working fluid so that it would be possible, when required, to study the effects of compressibility. Provided that differential pressures across the flow meter are sufficiently low, however, the fluid can be regarded as incompressible and thus the less complicated type of flow can be studied in the first instance. It was decided to supply the rig with air through a critical nozzle-and to control the flow rate by regulating the pressure upstream of the nozzle. The layout of the rig is shown in Fig. 25(page 131) The pressure regulator is of the type in which the delivery pressure is controlled by a pressure applied externally to a diaphragm. This applied pressure is set manually with a control valve and by continuously

adjusting it the pressure upstream of the critical nozzle as indicated on a precision two-revolution bourdon-tube gauge, can be maintained to within 1/10% during both steady and pulsating flows. The fact that the pulsator is downstream of the critical nozzle ensures that the control of the flow is independent of whether the pulsator is on or off. A further safeguard against severe pulsations affecting the critical nozzle when operated near the critical pressure ratio is provided by a settling chamber of volume 10 ft3 and a flow resistance within the pulsator of the order of 2 lbf/m2. This damping system also ensures that the noise from the critical nozzle does not travel downstream to the test section. The test section consists of a straight length of 3.2 inch internal-diameter cold drawn steel pipe. There is a length of 56 pipe diameters upstream of the test flow meter and a similar length downstream (see Plate 1, page 126). As the. pipc discharges into the laboratory the pressure in the test section is approximately atmospheric.

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