MEM311 Manual 09192014

MEM311
THERMAL & FLUID SCIENCE LABORATORY

MANUAL
Edited by Brandon Terranova, Eric Wargo, Ertan Agar, Chris

Dennison, Reyhan Taspinar and E. Caglan Kumbur
Adopted from MEM 311 Thermal & Fluid Science Laboratory

by Baktier Farouk and David Stacck
LIST OF EXPERIMENTS:
EXPERIMENT 1: FLOW MEASURING DEVICES
PAGE 3
EXPERIMENT 2: CONTROL VOLUME ENERGY AND ENTROPY

ANALYSIS OF A VORTEX TUBE
PAGE 11
EXPERIMENT 3: HEAT TRANSFER FROM A CIRCULAR CYLINDER
PAGE 20
EXPERIMENT 4: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A STEAM TURBINE

POWER PLANT
PAGE 35
EXPERIMENT 5: LIFT CHARACTERISTICS OF AN AIRFOIL SECTION
PAGE 46
LIST OF APPENDICES:
APPENDIX A: MANOMETER PREPARATION AND OPERATION
APPENDIX B: FLOW MEASURING USING A ROTAMETER
APPENDIX C: ANALYSIS OF BIAS ERRORS AND EXPERIMENTAL
UNCERTAINTY
APPENDIX D: FITTING CURVES TO EXPERIMENTAL DATA
Page 57
Page 60
Page 62
Page 68
MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory
Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

and Entropy Analysis of a Vortex tube
EXPERIMENT 1:
FLOW MEASURING DEVICES
by Brandon Terranova 2012, adapted from Bakhtier Farouk and David Staack
A. OBJECTIVES
The objective of this experiment is to determine the discharge coefficient for an
orifice flow meter as a function of the Reynolds number.
B. THEORY
Review of Friction Factors in Pipe Flow
As a fluid flows through a pipe (or any other device, for that matter), area changes, friction and heat
transfer affect the properties in a flow system. By evaluating the forces acting on a control volume
in a pipe flow, the pressure drop for fully developed laminar pipe flow, p, is related to the wall
shear stress, , by the equation
(1)
Where is the length of the pipe and
is the equivalent hydraulic diameter defined as
=
4(Cross-sectional area of flow) / (Perimeter wetted by fluid). Since the wall shear stress is a
complex function of the flow velocity, viscosity, density, wall surface roughness, etc., the pressure
drop, p, is expressed as a product of a non-dimensional friction factor, , and the dynamic
pressure ( ). Which includes the velocity and density of the fluid, V and
pressure drop for a horizontal pipe is given as:
respectively. So the
(2)
Equating Eq. (1) and (2), we obtain

(3)
Therefore, the friction factor, , is a measure of the shear stress at the wall.
The friction factor, or more generally, the effects of viscosity on fluid flow, can be correlated using
the flow Reynolds number (ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces) given as
(4)
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where and are the density and absolute viscosity of the fluid, respectively, and V is the
mean flow velocity.
Review of Bernoullis Equation
As explained above, friction forces induce an irreversible decrease in pressure. The pressure can
also change in a reversible way as described by Bernoullis equation. Because the crux of Bernoullis
principle is that along a streamline of flow, the increase in velocity corresponds to drop in the static
pressure of the fluid. While Bernoullis equation assumes a lot of simplifications to your system
(constant density (incompressible), steady flow, no friction), it produces very accurate results
compared to empirical evidence at low Mach numbers.
Using Bernoullis equation, the conservation of mass and the fact that mass flow rate,
, is
constant through the duct, we can write the pressure drop along the duct as a function of only the
upstream velocity and the change in area:
) )
(5)
Pipe Flowrate Meters

Equation 2 shows that the pressure drop through a pipe is a function of the velocity of the flow
through the system along with the friction factor. In fact, one method to determine the flow rate of
fluid through a piping system is to measure the pressure drop through a device for which the
friction factor and other losses are precisely known. These are called obstruction flow meters.
There are three basic designs used in obstruction flow meters as shown in Fig. 1. A venturi flow
meter offers the highest accuracy and the lowest overall pressure drop but is more expensive to
manufacture and accurately calibrate. Both the flow nozzle and the orifice configurations have
larger permanent pressure drops but are relatively simple to manufacture.
When an orifice flow meter is placed in a pipe, the hole in the orifice essentially forms a jet which
expands to fill the whole pipe at some distance downstream of the plate. Of course, frictional forces
affect the pressure as the air is forced through the hole. In the absence of viscous effects and under
the assumption of a horizontal pipe, application of the Bernoulli equation between points (1) and
(2) in figure 1 gives the volumetric flow rate through the orifice:
(
(
)
)
(6)
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Figure 1. Schematic of three typical obstruction meters
Where V2 is the velocity of the flow immediately after the obstruction meter (in the center of the
vena contracta) and = d/D1 as labeled in figure 2.
Figure 2. Orifice meter detail
The Orifice Flow Meter

In this lab we will be examining an orifice flow meter. A typical orifice meter is constructed by
inserting between two flanges of a pipe a flat plate with a hole, as shown in figure 2. The pressure at
point (2) within the vena contracta is less than that at point (1).1 Since the vena contracta area A2, is
less than the area of the hole, Ao, and the turbulent motion near the orifice plate introduces losses
5|Page

that cannot be calculated theoretically. To take these effects into account, the orifice discharge
coefficient is used. The discharge coefficient is the ratio of the mass flow rate at the discharge end
of the orifice to that of an ideal orifice which expands an identical working fluid from the same
initial conditions to the same exit pressure and can be determined experimentally, as the pressure
difference can be measured using a manometer, a differential pressure gauge or pressure
transducers. For more information on the principles of manometer function, refer to appendix A.
The following equation yields the volumetric flow rate for the orifice by comparing the pressures
on either side of the plate:
)
(
(7)
The Inlet Nozzle

The flow pattern for the inlet nozzle used in this experiment is closer to ideal than the orifice meter
flow. There is only a slight vena contracta and the secondary flow separation is less sever, but there
are still viscous effects. These are accounted for by the use of the nozzle discharge coefficient, Cn,
where
with
)
(
, d being the inner diameter of the nozzle and
(8)
= d/D where D is the outer diameter
of the nozzle. Practically identical to equation 7, note that the pressure drop here is measured
across the nozzle, not the orifice.
Be careful not to confuse the areas, the diameters used, the coefficients
and location of pressures used to determine the respective coefficients.
C. EQUIPMENT
An image of the Armfield F6 Air Flow facility is shown in Fig. 3. The equipment consists of a long
smooth walled pipe (diameter D = 80mm) with an orifice plate of diameter d = 50mm. One end of
the pipe is connected to a centrifugal fan via a conical inlet duct while the other end (inlet nozzle) is
open to the atmosphere. The inlet nozzle has an outer diameter of 120mm and the inner diameter is
equal to the pipe diameter. The inlet nozzle discharge coefficient was determined previously to be
. Pressure taps are located along the complete length of the pipe to allow measurement of
the wall pressure as a function of length. The centrifugal fan is mounted on a floor-standing metal
frame and is driven by a constant-speed meter. The fan discharge duct terminates is a flow control
damper and jet dispersion orifice gate, which is easily adjustable. This flow control damper will be
used to vary the airflow rate through the tube. Velocities between 0 and 35 m/s can be obtained
with this apparatus by adjusting the position of the flow damper (labeled in figure 3).
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Table 1: Pressure tap distances
Pressure tap
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Distance (cm)
0
7.5
31.5
79.5
137
148.5
159.5
183.5
208
232
Figure 1. Armfield F6 flow facility with transducer array
A fourteen-tube manometer will be used to measure the pressures along the pipe. The manometer
is filled with red oil for easier reading. The specific gravity of this oil is 0.86. A flow splitter (antivortex vanes) is fitted to the inlet of the pipe to prevent swirling of the flow.
This experiment requires that the airflow rate through the pipe be determined independently of the
orifice plate. To accomplish this, a pre-calibrated inlet flow nozzle is used. The pressure drop
across the nozzle is calculated using equation 8.
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In addition to the manometers, the pressure taps along the tube are also connected in parallel to a
transducer array. The pressure transducers convert the pressure force to an electrical voltage
which is then read by a signal conditioner and then displayed as inches of water. There is one
pressure transducer for every pressure tap along the tube. The first display (labeled 1 in figure 3) is
not used in this experiment. The second display (labeled 2 in figure 3) reads the pressures of the
pressure taps as selected by the rotary switch (all read non-zero baseline values, do not attempt to
zero!) which can be used to choose between pressure taps 1-10. The last display (labeled 3 in
figure 3) reads the pressure difference across the orifice plate, and is not necessary for this lab. It
can be read by toggling the switch to read(pt 6 pt 5). You must have the switch toggled to the (#5,
#6) position to be able to read the individual pressures on display 2 using the rotary switch.
The pressure transducers have a built-in uncertainty of 1%.
D. PROCEDURE
Throughout this lab, the manometer and transducer measurements will be used to infer pressure
differences along the pipe. A description of manometer operation is given in appendix A.
1. Using the rotary switch, record the pressure reading for each transduce under ambient
pressure conditions (with the fan off). You will need these values to correctly offset, or
zero, your measurements during the data analysis portion of the lab report. Do not attempt
to tare any of the transducer readings.
2. Turn on the fan and set a low airflow by closing the flow control damper almost all the way
(do not ever fully close the damper!). Record the level of manometer tubes and the
transducer measurements for pressure taps 1 - 10 on your data sheet. Be sure to also record
the approximation error in your measurements.
3. Repeat the previous step for the remaining 9 damper settings.
E. PRE-LAB
1. A 2-in. diameter orifice plate is inserted in a 3-in. diameter pipe. If the water flowrate
through the pipe is 0.90 cfs, determine the pressure difference indicated by a manometer
attached to the flow meter using the figure below with the calculated Reynolds number.
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2. Water flows through the orifice meter shown in the figure below at a rate of 0.10 cfs. If d =
0.1 ft, determine the value of h.
F. DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

1. Calculate the actual orifice volumetric flow rates (m3/s) for each of the 10 conditions from
the manometer and transducer measurements (assume Q before the orifice is just Q after
the nozzle).
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2. Calculate the orifice discharge coefficient, Co, defined by equation 7, and the Reynolds
number, defined by equation 4, for each condition as measured by the manometer and
transducers. Use the mean flow velocity,
, to calculate the Reynolds number.
3. Write a formula for the orifice discharge coefficient Co in terms of only constants and the
parameters which were directly measured. Make sure to include the measurement
uncertainty from the experiment. For the transducers, there is a 1% transducer uncertainty.
Considering the information in Appendix C, how would you calculate the overall uncertainty
in both the manometer and transducer measurements?
4. On the same graph, plot the orifice discharge coefficient for both manometer and transducer
readings, as a function of the Reynolds number. Be sure to include the uncertainty error
bars in your plots.
5. Plot the manometer/transducer height as a function of distance along the duct for your 10
values of Q. You should have 10 plots for both manometer and transducer measurements
(on separate graphs). In the plots, identify the curves and the location of the orifice flow
meter. What does this plot tell you about the effect of an orifice flow meter on the air flow
through a pipe? Why might this be an important consideration when designing a piping
system? What are some explanations for the discrepancy between the manometer and
transducer measurements?
G. REFERENCES
1. Munson et. al (2009). Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics, 6th Ed., Wiley.
2. R. L. Daugherty and J. B. Franzini (1965), Fluid Mechanics, 6th Ed., McGraw-Hill.
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EXPERIMENT 2:
CONTROL VOLUME ENERGY AND ENTROPY
ANALYSIS OF A VORTEX TUBE
by Ertan Agar and Brandon Terranova 2010-2012, adapted from Bakhtier Farouk and David Staack
A. INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

The vortex tube also known as the Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube is a unique device which converts a
flow of compressed gas into two streams one hotter and the other colder than the gas supply
temperature. It contains no moving parts and the mechanism of its operation is still a subject of
debate, yet the usually agreed upon explanation will be given herein. This vortex effect was
discovered by G. Ranque in 1928. The United States became focused upon the vortex tube in 1947
when R. Hilsch published a technical paper reporting research on the device1. Since that time, many
technical applications of vortex tubes for cooling, air conditioning, and drying have been
developed2.
The vortex tube is a simple mechanical device that diverts a flow of compressed gas into two
separate streams, one hot and one cold relative to the gas supply temperature. They are commonly
used to prevent thermal damage by providing spot cooling to complex mechanical or electrical
systems. Other technical applications of this technology include air conditioning, drying, and
recovering waste pressure energy from both high and low pressure sources. The general flow
distribution inside a vortex tube is depicted below in Figure 1.
Figure 1: General Flow Pattern inside a Vortex Tube
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Figure 1-a shows high pressure compressed air entering the vortex tube. The compressed air
accelerates to a high rate of rotation due to its tangential injection point, resulting in a strong vortex
flow is produced inside the tube1. Figure 1-b shows hot air exiting the control volume on the right
side of the device. The remainder of the compressed gas is forced to travel back across the high
speed air stream and exit as extremely cold air as shown in Figure 1-c. Through an energy and
entropy analysis of this flow pattern, the first and second laws of thermodynamics can be validated
by experimentally determining the total rate of entropy creation per mass of air flowing through
the vortex tube.
The objective of this experiment is to apply a control volume energy and entropy analysis to a
practical engineering device, a vortex tube. The energy separation phenomenon induced by the
vortex fluid motion will be investigated and explained using basic thermodynamic principles.
B. THEORY
Principles of Operation
On the basis of flow visualization studies, Hartnett and Eckert3 found that the axial velocity
component (velocity component along the length of the tube) was relatively small over most of the
radius of the tube. Therefore, the flow can be analyzed by evaluating one plane through the vortex
tube perpendicular to the tube axis as shown in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: Streamlines in a cross-section of a vortex Tube
Hartnett and Eckert also observed that the flow consisted of a colder region in the center of the
tube that rotated as a solid body having a tangential velocity
, where is the constant
angular velocity of the fluid. In fluids, this type of rotation is called a forced vortex because it is
vortical flow, which is induced by an external force, in this case, the outer stream. In the outer
stream, the tangential velocity is linearly proportional to 1/r and can therefore be given by v2 = K/r
where K is a constant. This type of vortex is called a free vortex, a common example of which is the
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vortical motion of water as it goes down the drain in a bath tub. In a true free vortex, the tangential
velocity goes to zero as r goes to infinity. Therefore, the outside stream only approximates a free
vortex because r must be less than or equal to R, the radius of the tube. A flow with a forced vortex
inside and a free vortex outside is called a combined vortex and has a tangential velocity profile
given by the following equations
Inner vortex:
(1)
Outer vortex:
(2)
where ro is distance to the boundary of the opposing vortical flows. Given this velocity profile, we
can determine why the temperature separation occurs and why the hotter outer stream surrounds
the cooler inner core.
We will begin this analysis by evaluating the pressure distribution from the centerline of the tube to
the outer wall. Since the streamlines for the flow in the vortex tube form closed concentric circles,
we can consider simple circular motion along the streamline. To determine the pressure at any
point within the vortex tube, we start by evaluating F = ma on a differential element of fluid normal
to a streamline as seen in figure 3,
dA
dr
dr
Figure 3: Differential volume element within

a vortex tube cross-section of thickness dr
where F is the centripetal force on the element, and a is the centripetal acceleration, directed
toward the center.
(3)
where V = velocity along the streamline, r = the radius to the differential element, and for our
differential element, = mass density, dp = pressure, dA = area and dV = volume. Noticing that
, we can then write
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(4)
Substituting equations 1 and 2, respectively, into equation 4 we obtain
(5)
And
(6)
Equations 5 and 6 show that in both the free and forced vortex regions, the pressure
increases as r increases (Evaluate the second derivative to prove it to yourself!).
Integrating these equations with respect to r, starting with a known pressure p = p1, we find
the pressure distribution in the vortex tube to be given by
(7)
(
(8)
where po is the pressure at r = ro. The value of po is found by evaluating equation 7 at r = ro,
and the pressure at the wall, pw is found by evaluating equation 8 at r = R.
(a)
(b)
Figure 4: (a) Radial velocity and (b) pressure
profiles in vortex tube
The pressure and velocity profiles are plotted as a function of r in figure 4. From these plots we see
that the pressure is lowest at the center of the tube and increases to a maximum at the wall. Herein
lies the reason for the temperature difference between the inner and outer streams. Recall the
piston-cylinder devices that were studied extensively in basic thermodynamics. The first law
energy balance indicates that if a gas is adiabatically (no heat transfer) compressed in a pistoncylinder, the internal energy and hence, the temperature, must increase. As the gas enters the
vortex tube, the viscosity of the fluid induces a vortical motion which creates a forced vortex at the
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center of the tube. This flow produces the pressure distribution given by equations 6 and 7. The
gas on the outside of the tube is adiabatically compressed resulting in an increase in temperature.
This gas is also at a higher pressure so it can be drawn off at the control valve. The work to
compress the outer gas came from the gas near the centerline which is adiabatically expanded and
cooled. The cooler gas is confined to the inner core of the tube so it can be withdrawn from the
opposite end of the tube through an orifice plate. Note that even though the pressure is lowest at
the center of the tube, it is still greater than atmospheric pressure and will flow out of the orifice.
Therefore, the separation of the gas into two streams having different temperature is caused by
viscous forces in the gas which induces a pressure distribution in the tube. The gas in the high
pressure region is compressed and heated while that in the low pressure region is expanded and
cooled.
This description of the operation of a vortex tube resulted only after many experimental
observations and a detailed analysis. The first and second laws of thermodynamics, however,
present us with a simple way to evaluate any thermodynamic system to determine whether it is
thermodynamically valid. If we ever determine that a proposed process violates either the first or
second law, we know that the process is impossible. In this experiment, you will perform a first and
second law analysis of a vortex tube to examine its performance.
First and Second Law of Thermodynamics for a Control Volume
All thermodynamic analyses begin by defining the system to be evaluated. A vortex tube is an
example of a steady-state, steady-flow device and is most easily represented by a control volume.
Reference 6, Section 5-4 (Reference 5, Section 4.5) gives the general first law energy balance for
such a control volume as
(9)
where is the heat, the work,

the mass flow rate in and out respectively, , the
specific enthalpy of mass in and out, , the velocity of mass in and out,
the elevation of
mass in and out, and lastly, is gravitational acceleration. (The form of the first law of
thermodynamics given in Ref. 5 is slightly different than that given in Eq. 9. Primarily, Ref. 5 defines
the work done by a system as positive (ASME sign convention) whereas this work is negative in Ref.
6 (scientific sign convention). The equations are equivalent and you must be able to use both of
them. The second law of thermodynamics is given by the entropy generation principle for a steadystate, steady-flow control volume (see Ref. 5, Section 6.2 or Ref. 6, Section 7-2) as
( )
where
( )
is the total rate of entropy change for the control volume, and
(10)
is the rate of
internal generation of entropy within the system (intrinsic entropy associated with matter,
for irreversible systems,

for reversible systems, and system is impossible if
). In this experiment, pressurized air is used to drive the vortex tube. The ideal gas
equations can therefore be used to evaluate equations 9 and 10. See reference 5, section 2.8 and
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section 5.9 (or reference 6, chapter 3 and section 7-4) to review the application of these equations
to ideal gases. Pay particular attention to the evaluation of the change in entropy for an ideal gas.
C. EQUIPMENT
Figure 5: Experimental Setup
Figure 5 shows the experimental setup and all the components and measuring devices. Compressed
air enters the system at the top left of the picture and goes through a de-humidifier, then a pressure
control and a pressure gage. Then it passes through a mass flow meter. See Figure 6 for a close-up
of the inlet setup.
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Figure 6: Inlet setup
After the flow enters the system and has the properties desired, it then goes to the vortex tube and
separated into a hot and cold stream. Below Figure 7 is a close-up picture of the vortex tube itself
and the direction of the hot and cold streams.
Figure 7: Vortex Tube
After leaving the vortex tube both streams pass through a series of measurement devices similar to
the ones monitoring the inlet flow. For the cool stream there is a mass flow meter, a temperature
indicator connected to a thermocouple and a pressure gage, see Figure 8. A throttle valve is used to
control the cold air pressure.
Figure 8: Cold stream measuring device
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The cold stream uses a pressure gauge and a temperature indicator in conjunction with a digital
mass flow meter. For the hot stream, pressure and temperature are similarly measured, but a
rotameter is used to measure mass flow rate. A rotameter has a ball in between two tapered tracks
and the air pressure flowing through the meter pushes the ball up to a certain height and the height
markings on the vertical meter correlate to a flow rate (See Appendix B for rotameter function). A
throttle valve and a muffler are also used on both outlet air streams. See Figure 9 for the layout of
the hot stream measuring devices.
Figure 9: Hot stream measuring devices
D. PROCEDURE
1. Familiarize yourself with the general performance of the vortex tube by manipulating the
pressure regulating valve and the discharge throttling valves found on the hot and cold
ends.
2. Set the inlet pressure of the main flow to 60 psi. Open the hot stream flow, establishing a
constant mass flow rate (20 SCFH). Starting at 50 SLPM, take 5 readings with decreasing
increments of 8 SLPM for the cold stream flow.
3. Record all temperatures, pressures, and flow rates at steady state (typically takes 3-4
minutes) for 5 evenly spaced cold mass flow rate values.
4. Open the cold stream flow, establishing a constant mass flow rate (10 SLPM). Starting at
100 SCFH, take 5 readings with decreasing increments of 10 SCFH for the hot stream flow.
5. Repeat all experiments at 80 psi.
E. PRE-LAB
1. Covert 60 SLPM into kg/s at T=25 C and P=250kPa for air.
a. First SLPM to LPM
b. Then LPM to kg/s
2. A vortex tube has an inlet air flow at 300 K and 5 bar. A vortex tube with 1 mole of input air,
outputs 0.8 moles, 1 bar at 160 K on the cold side, and 0.2 moles, 1 bar at 310 K on the hot
side. Assuming steady state conditions, calculate the total change in entropy of the gas due
to the vortex tube. Assume ideal gases with a constant heat capacity of cp = 29.3 J/mol K. Are
the output pressures and temperatures are consistent with the second law?
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1. Calculate the volumetric and mass flow rates from the rotameter and mass flow-meters
data. All volumetric flow rates (both cold plus main inlet flows) must be corrected to the
actual pressure and temperature of the flowing gas to obtain an accurate volumetric flow
rate. Hint: ideal gas state equation may be used.
2. Perform a mass balance for each set of operating conditions with using mass flow meters
data to determine the flow rate of rotameter. Then compare the calculated value with the
measured flow rate of rotameter obtained in the experiment. Use graph to show the relative
error.
3. Perform an energy balance (Eq. (9)) to solve for the rate of heat transfer for each set of
operating conditions from the control volume of the vortex tube. Discuss your result with
drawing heat transfer rate graph for different conditions.
4. Evaluate the total rate of entropy generation (Eq. (10)) flowing through the control volume
using your measurements and heat transfer rate calculated in 3 above. The property data
required can be found in Ref. 5 and should be included in the sample calculations. Discuss
your result with drawing rate of entropy generation graph for different conditions.
5. Do your results satisfy the Second Law of Thermodynamics (Increase-in-Entropy
Principle)? What does this imply about the process that occurs in a vortex tube?
G. REFERENCES
1. Hilsch, R., The Use of the Expansion of Gases in a Centrifugal Field as a Cooling Process, Review
of Scientific Instruments 18, 1947.
2. Hartnett, J.P. and Eckert, E.R.G., Experimental Study of the Velocity and Temperature
Distribution in a High-Velocity Vortex-Type Flow, Transactions of the ASME 79, 1957, pp. 751758.
3. Eckert, E.R.G. and Drake, R.M., Jr., Analysis of Heat and Mass Transfer, McGraw-Hill, New York,
1972, pp. 427-430.
4. Munson, B.R., Young, D.F., and Okiishi, T.H., Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics, John Wiley and
Sons, 1990.
5. Black, W.Z. and Hartley, J.G., Thermodynamics (2nd edition), Harper Collins Publishers, New
York, 1991.
6. Wark, Kenneth, Jr., Thermodynamics (5th edition), McGraw-Hill, New York, 1988.
7. Holman, J.P., Experimental Methods for Engineers. 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, 1978.
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Experiment 3: Heat Transfer from a Circular Cylinder
EXPERIMENT 3: HEAT TRANSFER FROM A

CIRCULAR CYLINDER
by Eric Wargo 2010, adapted from Bakhtier Farouk and David Staack
A. OBJECTIVES
The objective of this experiment is to determine the natural convection, forced convection and
radiation heat transfer (qnatural convection + qforced convection + qradiation) from an electrically heated
horizontal cylinder. These values will be compared to existing heat transfer correlations provided
herein.
In this experiment, you will demonstrate how heat transfer from a heated surface to a quiescent
environment is a combination of several mechanism of heat loss. The relative magnitudes of the
natural convection, forced convection, and radiation heat transfer coefficients depend on the
surface temperature and flow velocity. Radiation becomes more important as the surface
temperature increases. Forced convection becomes more important as the flow velocity increase.
The problem will be analyzed using a control volume under equilibrium conditions. For
equilibrium, heat input to a surface must equal the heat transferred from the surface to the
surroundings.
B. THEORY
Natural and Forced Convection
Free convection heat transfer occurs whenever a body is placed in a fluid at a higher or lower
temperature. As a result of the temperature difference, heat is transferred between the fluid and the
body and causes a change in the density of the fluid layers in the vicinity of the surface. This
difference in density leads to an upward flow of the lighter fluid (figure 1). If the motion of the fluid
is caused solely by differences in density resulting from temperature gradients, the associated heat
transfer mechanism is called free or natural convection. If the fluid motion is enhanced using a fan
or otherwise forced by some device, the heat transfer mechanism is called forced convection (figure
2). Because the fluid velocity is usually less in free convection than in forced convection, the rate of
heat transfer from a surface is also generally less. In this experiment, you will measure and
compare the magnitudes of the heat transfer rates for forced convection and free convection
configurations.
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Figure 1. Cross sectional view of a heated cylinder under natural convection.
Figure 2. Cross sectional view of a heated cylinder under forced convection.
The rate of heat transfer by convection (both forced and free) between a surface and a fluid may be
computed using the relation
(1)
where is the average convective heat transfer coefficient, A is the area available for heat transfer,
Ts is the surface temperature, and T is the ambient temperature. The relation expressed by
equation 1 was originally proposed by the British scientist, Sir Isaac Newton in 1701. Therefore, it
is sometimes referred to as Newtons law of cooling. Even though this equation has been used for
many years to evaluate convective heat transfer, it is actually more a definition of than a law of
convection. If the value of is known for a certain flow configuration, the evaluation of equation 1
to determine the rate of heat transfer is straightforward. However, determining the appropriate
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convective heat transfer coefficient is difficult because convection is a very complex phenomenon.
The value of depends not only on the geometry of the surface of the object (both macroscopic
and microscopic surface characteristics) but on the velocity and physical properties of the fluid, all
of which affect the conditions on the boundary layer. Since these quantities are not necessarily
constant over a surface, the heat transfer coefficient may vary from point to point. For this reason,
we must distinguish between a local and average convective heat transfer coefficient. The local
coefficient, hc, is defined by
(
(2)
while the average coefficient, , can be defined in terms of the local value by
(3)
The primary problem in either forced or free convection is to determine the appropriate local or
average heat transfer coefficient. Many experiments have been performed to measure these
coefficients for a wide variety of geometries and flow configurations. Numerical calculations have
only recently become sufficiently exact to calculate the heat transfer coefficients directly. However,
heat transfer coefficients can be accurately calculated for relatively simple flow configurations.
Complex configurations must still be determined experimentally. In this experiment, you will
determine the heat transfer coefficient of free convection and forced convection from a cylinder
placed within a range of flow conditions. Your results will be compared with existing heat transfer
correlations.
Radiation Heat Transfer

Thermal radiation is heat transfer by the emission of electromagnetic waves which carry energy
away from the emitting object. For ordinary temperatures (i.e. less than red hot), the radiation is
in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The relationship governing radiation from
hot objects is called the Stefan-Boltzmann law. The heat transferred into or out of an object by
thermal radiation is a function of several components. These include its surface emissivity, surface
area, temperature, and geometric orientation with respect to other thermally participating objects.
The heat loss rate caused by radiation from a heated surface to the surroundings can be calculated
by
(4)
where is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (= 5.67x10-8 W/ m2K4), is the emissivity of the surface,
and Fsa is the view factor of the surface. The surface temperature is given by Ts, and the
temperature of the body receiving the radiation (the ambient environment) is given by T. An
object's surface emissivity is a function of its surface microstructure. The view factor takes into
account the geometric orientation of the surface to the external environment. If all of the radiation
emitted by the surface has a direct line of sight to the external environment, the view factor is equal
to 1. Equation 4 can also be cast in the form of Newtons law of cooling (equation 1) as
22 | P a g e
(5)
Comparing equation 4 with equation 5 we can define a radiative heat transfer coefficient as
(
(
)
)
(6)
Natural Convection, Forced Convection, and Radiation Heat Transfer

If a surface is at a temperature above that of its surroundings and is located in stationary or moving
air, heat will be transferred from the surface to the surroundings. This transfer of energy will be a
combination of natural convection, forced convection (if there is a driven air flow) and radiation to
the surroundings. As described above in natural convection, the motion of the fluid is caused solely
by differences in density resulting from the temperature gradients. If the fluid motion is enhanced
using a fan or otherwise forced by some device, the heat transfer mechanism is called forced
convection. Radiation heat transfer generally becomes significant at surface temperatures well
above room temperature. However, it does play a role at lower temperatures and should be
accounted for, especially when comparing measurements with existing correlations for natural and
forced convection. Heat loss by conduction would normally be included in the analysis of a real
application. In this experiment, it is minimized by the design of the equipment and experimental
procedures.
The total heat lost by a surface can thus be presented as a linear superposition of the
aforementioned heat losses:
When there is no forced flow, the
(7)
term can be neglected. When there is an air flow typically
the heat lost due to the forced convection is significantly greater than that by natural convection;
thus, the
term can be neglected. Equation 7 can be written in terms of the various heat
transfer coefficients:
) (
(8)
Experimental Determination of the Heat Transfer Coefficients

Solving Equation 8 for the heat transfer coefficient, we obtain
(9)
The heat transfer coefficient can be determined by measuring all the quantities on the right hand
side of equation 9 for a specific flow configuration and solving for
. The temperatures Ts and
T are easily measured using thermocouples. The area, A, is simply the surface area available for
convective heat transfer (sometimes called the wetted area). This can be evaluated once the
experimental configuration is defined. Therefore, the problem is reduced to determining the rate of
23 | P a g e
heat transfer,
. Recall that the first law of thermodynamics for a control mass can be written in
infinitesimal form as
(10)
Recall from thermodynamics that passing an electrical current, I, through an object is a form of
work given as
(11)
where V is the applied voltage, and R is the resistance. The relations in equation 11 are based on
Ohms laws, V = IR and P = VI, where P is the power. Substituting equation 11 into equation 10,
dividing by a small increment of time t, and taking the limit as t goes to 0, we obtain
(12)
Where is the rate of heat transfer and (V2/R) is the rate at which work is done. Since the heated
cylinder can be considered to be an incompressible substance, the change in its internal energy is
given as
(13)
where m is the mass of the cylinder, and c is the specific heat. Recall that for an incompressible
substance, cp = cv = c (see section 2.8 of reference [1], or sections 4-7 of reference [3] for a review of
these thermodynamic relationships). Since m and c are constant, the rate of change of internal
energy is
(14)
If the electrical current to the cylinder is controlled so that the temperature remains constant,
and therefore,
, is identically equal to zero. Such a situation happens in steady state operation.
For this condition, Equation 12 reduces to the following form:
(15)
The negative sign in equation 15 indicates that the heat transfer is out of the cylinder. Substituting
equation 15 into equation 9 yields
(16)
The surface temperature, TS, and the temperature of the cylinder, T, are interchangeable, because it
is assumed that there are no temperature gradients inside the cylinder. This is true only if the
cylinder is made of a material that conducts heat rapidly. The Biot number, defined as
24 | P a g e
(17)
provides a measure of the accuracy of this assumption. In equation 17, L* is the characteristic
dimension (cylinder diameter, around which the fluid is flowing) and ks is the thermal conductivity
of the material. Physically, the Biot number is the ratio of the external convective heat transfer rate
to the internal conductive heat transfer rate. If Bi 1, heat is conducted within the material much
faster than it is convected away from the cylinder. The assumption of uniform temperature is then
valid and equation 16 can be used to evaluate the overall rate of heat transfer. If Bi is greater than
approximately 0.1, the non-uniformities within the material must be accounted for when
determining the heat transfer coefficient.
Equation 16 shows that the heat transfer coefficient can be calculated by measuring the electrical
voltage and current supplied to the cylinder such that the cylinder temperature of the cylinder is
constant. Comparing equation 16 and 8 we can simply write this as
(18)
which simply states that in steady state the heat flow out of the cylinder is equal to the energy flow
into the cylinder.
Heat Transfer Correlations
As shown by the equations above, the heat transfer coefficient is a dimensional number that
depends on the area (size) of the object being evaluated and the temperature/properties of the
fluid in which the object is immersed. When developing experimental correlations, it is convenient
to non-dimensionalize so that the results are applicable to other configurations. The Nusselt
number is a dimensionless heat transfer parameter defined as
(19)
where L* is the characteristic dimension of the geometry being evaluated (cylinder or sphere
diameter, around which the fluid is flowing), and kf is the thermal conductivity of the fluid (air) in
which the object is immersed. The Nusselt number is defined as the ratio of convective to conductive
heat transfer across a boundary (the objects surface); thus, radiation effects should not be included
in its calculation. The overbar on the Nusselt number indicates that it is formed from the average
heat transfer coefficient and, therefore, is a measure of the average heat transfer from the object.
Other dimensionless parameters are used that represent the air flow conditions. For forced
convection flows, the Reynolds number is used to correlate heat transfer data. The Reynolds
number is defined as
(20)
25 | P a g e
where is the density, V is the velocity, L* is the characteristic length (cylinder diameter, around
which the fluid is flowing), is the absolute viscosity of the fluid (air), and is the kinematic
viscosity of the fluid (air) and is equal to /.
In the case of natural convection, Nu depends on the Rayleigh number, Ra. The Rayleigh number, in
turn, is frequently written in terms of two other non-dimensional numbers, namely the Grashof and
the Prandtl numbers, Gr and Pr respectively. These are given by the equations:
(
(21)
(22)
(23)
The new symbols in equations 21 23 are explained in table 1. Note: D is the characteristic
dimension (cylinder diameter, around which the fluid is flowing).
Table 1. Symbol definitions for Equations 21 23.
Symbol
Definition
Value and/or Units
gravitational acceleration
9.81 m/s2
volume expansion coefficient, 1/Tfilm
K-1
kinematic viscosity, /
m2/s
cp
specific heat
J/kgK
density
kg/m3
thermal diffusivity
m2/s
thermal conductivity
W/mK
All of the thermophysical properties given in equations 1923 are functions of the temperature of
the fluid (air). Since the temperature varies from the surface to the ambient, by convention these
properties are evaluated at the film temperature
(24)
Values of the thermophysical properties listed in table 1 can be found in appendix A of reference [2]
or any other heat transfer textbook. At the very least, a reputable source should be utilized and
properly referenced in the lab report; online calculators are convenient, but their range of accuracy
may be questionable.
26 | P a g e
These equations form the basis for the experimental method to experimentally evaluate the heat
transfer coefficient. A more detailed discussion of forced and free convective heat transfer can be
found in reference [2], chapters 7 and 9, respectively. Specifics regarding the heat transfer from a
circular cylinder in cross flow may be found in reference [2], section 7.4 (forced convection) and
section 9.6.3 (free convection).
Reference [2] gives the following empirical correlation for the Nusselt number, Nu, for forced
convection as a function of the Reynolds number:
(
(25)
where c and n are obtained from table 2.

Table 2. Reynolds number-Nusselt number empirical relation parameters.
Re
c
n
1 40
0.75
0.4
40 1000
0.51
0.5
103 2x105
0.26
0.6
2x105 106
0.076
0.7
Reference [3] gives the following empirical correlation for the Nusselt number, Nu, for natural
convection as a function of the Rayleigh number:
(
(26)
where c and n are obtained from table 3.

Table 3. Raleigh number-Nusselt number empirical relation parameters.
Ra
c
n
10-10 to 10-2
0.675
0.058
10-2 to 102
1.02
0.148
102 to 104
0.850
0.188
104 to 107
0.480
0.250
107 to 1012
0.125
0.333
For a given Ra, the Nu value can be computed from equation 15 and the corresponding value from
equation 9.
27 | P a g e
There are other equations that are sometimes used to calculate the natural convection heat transfer
coefficient. One simplified, analytical relation that may be used to calculate the average heat
transfer coefficient from a horizontal cylinder is given by
)
]
(27)
where D is the cylinder diameter. Equation 27 yields

in W/m2K if the temperatures are in
Kelvin and D is in meters. In the experiment, you will compare your experimental results with the
predictions of equations 25, 26, and 27. Note: care must be take to distinguish Ra and Re.
C. EQUIPMENT
1. Armfield HT14 Combined Convection and Radiation Accessory (see figure 3)
2. Armfield HT10X Heat Transfer Service Unit (see figure 3)
3. Computer on site or laptop for manual data entry (optional but highly recommended, since
you will be recording the surface temperature in 30 second time intervals for durations
sometimes totaling over 10 minutes). A stopwatch/timer is also helpful.
The HT14 accessory consists of a centrifugal fan with vertical outlet duct at the top of which is
mounted a heated cylinder. The heated cylinder has an outside diameter of 10mm, a heated length
of 70mm and is internally heated throughout its length by an electric heating element. The heating
element is rated to produce 100 Watts nominally at 24V DC into the cylinder. The power supplied
to the heated cylinder can be varied and measured on the HT10X unit. The mounting arrangement
for the cylinder in the duct is designed to minimize loss of heat by conduction to the wall of the
duct. The surface of the cylinder is coated with heat resistant paint which provides a consistent
emissivity close to unity. A K-type thermocouple is attached to the wall of the cylinder (T10), at mid
position, allowing the surface temperature to be measured under the various operating conditions.
A variable throttle plate at the inlet to the fan allows the velocity of the air through the outlet duct
to be varied, and a vane type anemometer within the fan outlet duct allows the air velocity in the
duct to be measured over the range 0-7 meters/sec. The inside diameter of the outlet duct is 70mm
(matching the length of the heated cylinder). A K-type thermocouple is also located in the air duct
(T9), allowing the ambient air temperature to be measured upstream of the heated cylinder.
The HT10X unit is used to control the heating of the cylinder. The voltage is controlled by a rotary
knob, and the top digital display can be used to alternatively view the voltage, current, and air
velocity by using the selector knob. The temperature at the thermocouples is shown on the bottom
digital display, and the thermocouple selector knob determines which temperature is displayed.
Connections for additional accessories and computer data acquisition and control are available on
the service unit but are not used in this experiment.
28 | P a g e
Figure 3. Experimental set-up and schematic view of the duct.
Figure 4. Armfield HT10X Unit.
29 | P a g e
D. PROCEDURE
***Before operating the equipment, please understand that the heated cylinder will
reach temperatures above 500C. Serious skin burns will result if the equipment is
mishandled. Please ask an instructor if you have any questions or concerns.
Equipment Set-up
Before proceeding with the exercise, ensure that the equipment has been prepared as
follows:
1. Locate HT14 Combined Convection and Radiation accessory alongside the HT10X Heat
Transfer Service Unit on a suitable bench.
2. Ensure that the horizontal cylinder is located at the top of the vertical metal duct with the
T10 thermocouple attached.
3. Connect the thermocouple attached to the horizontal cylinder to socket T10 on the front of
the service unit.
4. Connect the thermocouple located in the vertical duct to socket T9 on the service unit.
5. Set the voltage control potentiometer to minimum (counterclockwise) and the selector
switch to MANUAL.
6. Connect the power lead from the heated cylinder on the HT14 to the socket marked O/P3 at
the rear of the service unit.
7. Ensure that the service unit is connected to an electrical supply.
Experimental Procedures
You will perform 2 sets of experiments: one for natural convection, and another for forced
convection. For the natural convection conditions, you will measure the steady state temperature
achieved on the cylinder for 4 different heating voltages (7, 10, 13, and 16 volts). For the forced
convection cases, you will measure the steady state temperature achieved on the cylinder for 5
different flow velocities (approximately equally spaced between 0 m/s and the maximum attainable
by the device), all at a heating voltage of 10 volts.
Perform the forced convection experiments first, as they achieve steady state more quickly. Record
the temperatures at time intervals of 30 seconds to be able to identify when steady state has been
achieved (steady state can be considered achieved when the surface temperature (T10) remains
constant for 2 minutes or four, 30 second readings).
1. Prepare a data sheet on which to record the raw data. It is highly recommended that you record
your data directly into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, since you will be recording the surface
temperature in 30 second time intervals for durations sometimes totaling over 10 minutes. The
spreadsheet should have the following headings:
30 | P a g e
Table 4. Variables to record in datasheet.
Variable
Time
Heater voltage
Heater current
Upstream air temperature, T9
Cylinder surface temperature, T10
Upstream air velocity
Symbol
t
V
I
T
Ts
Ua
Units
min:sec
volts
amps
C or K
C or K
m/s
2. Turn on the front main switch (figure 3) (if the panel meters do not illuminate, check the circuit
breakers at the rear of the service unit). All switches at the rear should be up.
3. Turn on the fan switch and open the throttle plate until the knob stops turning, ensuring the
maximum air velocity is attained.
4. Set the heater voltage to 10 volts.
5. Record the experimental conditions as a function of time (30 second intervals) until a steady
state is achieved. Steady state can be considered achieved when the surface temperature (T10)
remains constant on the display for 2 minutes (four, 30 second readings).
6. When the temperature is stable, record V, I, T9, T10, and Ua. Note: the digital display outputs
temperature readings in degrees Celsius.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for an additional four flow velocities: 75%, 50%, 25%, and 0% of the
maximum velocity (letting the heater remain at 10 volts). A flow velocity of 0% is best attained
by shutting the fan off. The throttle plate should be opened completely to allow for air to flow
naturally through the duct during free convection.
8. The last condition for forced convection above represents the first free convection condition.
Repeat steps 5 and 6 for heater voltages of 7, 13, and 16 volts. In all you should measure 8
conditions, and if you deem appropriate you may change the order.
Suggestion: This lab can be completed the fastest if (after obtaining data for forced convection at
100% 25% flow velocity) the heated cylinder is allowed to cool back down by turning the voltage
off and throttling the flow velocity back to 100% for a few minutes. Then, repeat steps 5 and 6 for
heater voltages of 7, 10, 13, and 16 volts with the fan off and throttle plate open completely. This
ensures that the cylinder is only ever heating up to steady state for all conditions, rather than
cooling down naturally (which takes far more time).
The order will be as follows:
Voltage
10
10
10
10
Flow rate
100%
75%
50%
25%
10
13
16
0%
0%
0%
0%
9. Return the voltage to 0 volts, and turn off the unit.

Note: Do not set the heater voltage in excess of 16 volts when operating the cylinder in the natural
convection mode (no forced airflow). The life of the heating element will be considerably reduced if
operated at excessive temperature. If temperatures approach 550C check with an instructor, and if
the temperatures exceed 600C shut off the unit.
31 | P a g e
Use the following data for your calculations:

Parameter
Diameter of horizontal cylinder
Heated length of cylinder
Emissivity of surface of the
cylinder
Stefan-Boltzmann constant
View Factor
Symbol/value
D = 0.01 m
L = 0.07 m
= 0.75
= 5.67x10-8 W/m2K4
Fs a = 1
E. PRE-LAB
Assume an experimental setup similar to the Armfield facility and an ambient air temperature of
25C.
1. What is the proper temperature unit (C or K) to be used in equation 4? Why?
2. For a cylinder surface temperature of 500C, use equation 4 to calculate the power lost by
radiative heat transfer.
3. For a cylinder surface temperature of 500C, calculate a Raleigh number using Equation 23 and
appropriate properties based on the film temperature. Use this Raleigh number to calculate a
Nusselt number by equation 26 and table 3. Use equation 19 and the Nusselt number to
calculate a corresponding free convection heat transfer coefficient for the cylinder. Now use
equation 1 to calculate the heating power which is dissipated by natural convection at this
surface temperature.
4. For a cylinder surface temperature of 500C and a flow velocity of 5 m/s, calculate a Reynolds
number using equation 20 and appropriate properties based on the film temperature. Use this
Reynolds number to calculate a Nusselt number by equation 25 and table 2. Use equation 19
and the Nusselt number to calculate a corresponding forced convection heat transfer coefficient
for the cylinder. Now use equation 1 to calculate the heating power which is dissipated by
forced convection at this surface temperature.
5. Sum the powers lost by radiation, forced convection and free convection to get the total heating
power required to maintain this temperature. What percentage are the various mechanisms of
the total power? If there were no forced convection, how do radiation and free convection
compare? Briefly discuss these results.
6. After reviewing the lab procedures, prepare a data sheet to record your experimental
measurements. It is highly recommended that you create a data sheet in Microsoft Excel and
bring it to lab along with a laptop, so you can quickly key in temperature readings during the
lab. You will have access to a computer in the lab.
32 | P a g e
F. DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORT REQUIREMENTS

1. For all 8 test conditions, plot the measured temperature as a function of time. How long
does steady state take to attain? What conditions determine steady state? What methods
could be employed to attain steady state faster?
2. For each of the four test conditions corresponding to natural convection at steady state
a) Calculate and tabulate the following parameters using the raw data and provided
theory.
Parameter
Symbol
Cylinder temperature
Film temperature
Tfilm
Rayleigh number
Ra
Heat flow (power input)
Heat transferred by radiation
Heat transfer coefficient (radiation)
Heat transferred by natural convection

(Use equation 18 and assume that forced convection is negligible)
Heat transfer coefficient (natural convection)
Nusselt Number (natural convection)
Nu
Units
K
K
N/A
W
W
W/m2K
W
W/ m2K
N/A
b. Compute the heat transfer coefficient (natural convection) and Nusselt number from
the analytical relation, dquation 27. Also, compute a Nusselt number and heat transfer
coefficient from the calculated Raleigh number and empirical correlation, dquation 26.
Use dquation 19 to switch between h and Nu.
c. Compare the analytical and empirical calculations of and
obtainable from
Question 2.b with the values for

and
calculated only from the experimental
measurements (Question 2.a) and discuss any differences in them. Plot the experimental
and calculated values of versus the surface temperature on a single graph. [hint:
there should be 3 series on the plot]
d. On a single graph plot , , and
as a function of the average surface
temperature . Comment on the relationship between
and . Comment on the
relative importance of natural convection and radiation heat transfer. At what
temperature (if any) is = ?
3. For each of the test conditions corresponding to forced convection at steady state:
a) Calculate and tabulate the following parameters using the raw data and equations given
above.
Parameter
Cylinder temperature
Film temperature
Rayleigh number
Heat flow (power input)
Heat transferred by radiation
Heat transfer coefficient (radiation)
33 | P a g e
Symbol
Tfilm
Ra
Units
K
K
N/A
W
W
W/m2K
Heat transferred by forced convection

(Use equation 18 and assume that natural convection is negligible)
Heat transfer coefficient (forced convection)

Nusselt Number (forced convection)
Nu
W
W/ m2K
N/A
b) Compute a Nusselt number and heat transfer coefficient from the calculated Reynolds
number and empirical correlation, dquation 25. Use dquation 19 to switch between h
and Nu.
c) Compare the correlation calculated values of and
obtainable from Question
3.b with the values for and
calculated only from the experimental
measurements (Question 3.a) and discuss any differences in them. Plot the experimental
and empirically calculated values of versus the surface temperature
on a single
graph.
d) Plot as a function of the flow velocity. Comment on the relationship.
e) Plot Nu vs. Re from dquation 25 for Re from 100 to 5000. On the same graph plot Nu vs.
Re attained from the experiment (Question 3.a). How close are the experimental data
points to the correlation line? Comment on the non-dimensional comparison.
4. For this lab, the surface temperature of the heated cylinder was only measured at a single
point. If several temperature readings were obtained from locations around the cylinder
diameter, what would you expect the circumferential distribution to look like? Comment on
the effects of using an average temperature versus a single point temperature measurement
on the calculations made above.
G. REFERENCES
1. Holman, J. P. Experimental Methods for Engineers. 7th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001. Print.
2. Incropera, F. P., and D. P. DeWitt. Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer. 5th ed. New
York: Wiley, 2002. Print.
3. Munson, B. R., D. F. Young, and T. H. Okiishi. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. 4th ed. New
York: Wiley, 2002. Print.
34 | P a g e
MEM311: Thermal & Fluid Science Laboratory
Experiment 4: Performance Analysis

of a Steam Turbine Power Plant
EXPERIMENT 4:
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A STEAM
TURBINE POWER PLANT
by Chris Dennison, Reyhan Taspinar, and Brandon Terranova, 2014, adapted from Bakhtier
Farouk and David Staack
A. OBJECTIVES
The objective of this laboratory is to offer students hands-on experience with the operation of a
functional steam turbine power plant. A comparison of real world operating characteristics to
that of the ideal Rankine power cycle will be made.
The laboratory is conducted using a miniaturized steam turbine power plant. The apparatus is
scaled for educational use and utilizes components and systems similar to full-scale industrial
facilities. Students will be able to operate and analyze this system in detail, allowing them to
determine the efficiency of the facility and suggest possible modifications for further
improvement.
Figure 1. Miniature steam turbine power plant
35 | P a g e

B. THEORY
One of the most important ways to convert energy from fossil fuels, nuclear, and solar radiation
is through processes known as vapor power cycles. One example of the use of vapor power
cycles is electrical power plants. As engineers it is important to become familiar with these
types of systems. The first step in becoming familiar with these cycles is by studying the
idealized cycles.
The ideal cycle for vapor power cycles can be modeled using the Rankine Cycle. This cycle is
composed of four components: a heater (boiler), a turbine, a condenser, and a pump. To
complete the system there must be some type of fluid flowing through the components, which is
called the working fluid. Most often the working fluid is water. As the working fluid passes
through each of the components it undergoes a process and ends up at a new state. Keeping in
mind that the ideal Rankine cycle is physically impossible, we define each process to involve no
internal irreversibilities. For the following it is necessary to number each of the states. State 1
is the state at the boiler exit. State 2 is the turbine exit. State 3 is the condenser exit and state 4
is the pump exit.
Figure 2. Schematic of simple ideal Rankine cycle.
Now the processes that the working fluid undergoes as it completes the cycle will be defined.
First is the heater, which in most cases is a boiler. As the fluid ends the cycle, at state 4, it is
pumped into the boiler. In the boiler, the working fluid is heated from sub-cooled liquid to
saturated vapor. This occurs at a constant pressure and is described in the following equation:
36 | P a g e

(1)
where
is the rate of heat addition relative to the mass flow rate of the working fluid
) is the difference in outlet and inlet enthalpies of
passing through the boiler. The value (
the working fluid.
Second is the turbine. Through the turbine the vapor leaving the boiler expands to the
condenser pressure. This is said to be isentropic expansion so that no heat transfer to the
surroundings is present. The equation that is used to describe this process is as follows:
(2)
where
is the rate of work being done relative to the mass flow rate through the
turbine. Again the difference in inlet and exit enthalpies of the working fluid is required.
Next the working fluid enters the condenser. At this stage heat is rejected from the vapor at a
constant pressure. Ideally, this continues until all of the vapor condenses to leave nothing but
saturated liquid. The equation for this is:
(3)
where
is the rate at which heat is transferred from the working fluid relative to the
mass flow rate. The value (
) is the difference between inlet and outlet enthalpies of the
condenser.
Finally, the working fluid enters the pump. The fluid goes through an isentropic compression
process to reach the boiler pressure. The equation describing this is as follows:
(4)
where
is the rate of work being done relative to the mass flow rate through the pump.
Finally the difference in pump outlet enthalpy and inlet enthalpy is needed.
The efficiency of a given Rankine cycle may be computed as:
37 | P a g e
(5)

Figure 3. P-v and T-s diagrams for the Rankine cycle.
In reality, no Rankine cycle is completely ideal. In particular, the compression of the working
fluid through the pump, and the expansion of the working fluid through the turbine are not
actually isentropic processes. Irreversibilities in these processes lead to increased power input
to the pump, and decreased power output from the turbine, both of which effectively lower the
overall efficiency of the system.
C. EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS
The experimental hardware (RankineCycler) consists of multiple components that make up
the necessary components for electrical power generation (utilizing water as the working
fluid):
Figure 4. The RankineCycler apparatus, including the data acquisition system. [3]
38 | P a g e

BOILER
A stainless steel constructed, dual pass, flame-through tube type boiler, with super heat dome,
that includes front and rear doors. Both doors are insulated and open easily to reveal the gas
fired burner, flame tubes, hot surface igniter and general boiler construction. The boiler walls
are insulated to minimize heat loss. A side mounted sight glass indicates water level.
Figure 5. Boiler with superheat dome [1]
TURBINE
The axial flow steam turbine is mounted on a precision-machined stainless steel shaft, which is
supported by custom manufactured bronze bearings. Two oiler ports supply lubrication to the
bearings. The turbine includes a taper lock for precise mounting and is driven by steam that is
directed by an axial flow, bladed nozzle ring. The turbine output shaft is coupled to an AC/DC
generator.
Figure 6. Axial flow steam turbine wheel [1]
ELECTRIC GENERATOR
The electric generator, driven by the axial flow steam turbine, is of the brushless type. It is a
custom wound, 4-pole type and exhibits a safe/low voltage and amperage output. Both AC and
DC output poles are readily available for analysis (rpm output, waveform study, relationship
between amperage, voltage and power). A variable resistor load is operator adjustable and
allows for power output adjustments.
39 | P a g e

CONDENSER TOWER
The seamless, metal-spun condenser tower features 4 stainless steel baffles and facilitates the
collection of water vapor. The condensed steam (water) is collected in the bottom of the tower
and can be easily drained for measurement/flow rate calculations.
DATA ACQUISITION
The experimental apparatus is also equipped with an integral computer data acquisition
station, which utilizes National Instruments data acquisition software.
The fully integrated data acquisition system includes 10 sensors:
1. Boiler pressure
2. Boiler temperature
3. Turbine inlet pressure
4. Turbine inlet temperature
5. Turbine exit pressure
6. Turbine exit temperature
7. Fuel flow
8. Generator voltage output
9. Generator amperage output
10. Generator RPM
The sensor outputs are conditioned and displayed in real time on screen. Data can be stored
and replayed. Run data can be copied off to a USB flash drive for individual student analysis.
Data can be viewed in Notepad, Excel and MSWord (all included). A schematic of the complete
system is shown in Figure below.
Turbine inlet temperature
and pressure
Boiler
temperature
Generator
Turbine
Turbine exit temperature
and pressure
Current and
voltage
Boiler
Boiler
pressure
Variable
Load
Condenser
Burner
Fuel flow
LP Natural
Gas Tank
Condensate
Collection Tank
Figure 7. RankineCycler schematic [1]
40 | P a g e

*Note: When compared to figure 2 (simple ideal Rankine cycle), the steam ejected from the
RankineCycler turbine condenses into liquid via the condenser tower and then exits the
condenser into a collecting volume at the condensers base, rather than being pumped back to
the boiler. This represents the main difference between the simple Rankine cycle described in
figure 2, since the liquid exiting the condenser is dispensed, rather than pumped back to the
boiler.
General Safety
The RankineCycler operates at very high pressures and temperatures. It is essential for the
safety of everyone on the lab that certain safety precautions are adhered to at all times. If these
guidelines are not strictly followed, SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH MAY RESULT.
-Do not touch any of the functional components during operation. These components will be
hot.
-Do not open the boiler during or immediately following operation. If the pressure gauge
indicates positive pressure, the boiler must remain closed.
-Do not exceed 120 psig boiler pressure.
-Be very careful working near the condensing tower. The steam exiting the tower is still
extremely hot. Condensation drained from the bottom of the tower is also very hot.
-If the scent of gas is detected at any time during operation, shut the equipment down
immediately.
-If any questions or concerns arise during equipment operation, notify the TA immediately.
D. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Do not begin operation without proper supervision. Prior to beginning any operation, ensure
that a trained lab technician, TA, or faculty member is present.
Prior to operation, familiarize yourself the following operator controls:
GAS VALVE
The gas valve is a simple two-position valve (On or Off). It is located on the far right side of the
slanted operator control panel. It will prevent gas flow to the burner when in the off positionregardless of any other control positions/settings.
KEYED MASTER SWITCH

The systems electronic master switch is key operated and is located on the left side of the
operator control panel. This key switch supplies power to all electronic and electrically
operated components. A green indicator light, located directly above the keyed master switch,
41 | P a g e

will light when the master switch is selected to the on position and power is available to the
switch
BURNER SWITCH
The burner switch is labeled as such and is located next to the keyed master switch. The burner
switch powers the automatic gas valve and ignition controls. A red indicator light, located
directly above the burner switch, will light when the burner switch is selected to the on position
and power is available to the switch.
LOW WATER INDICATOR

The low water indicator is a red light that blinks to indicate low water in the boiler. The system
must be shut down if the indicator is active.
LOAD SWITCH
The load switch functions as a generator load disconnect switch.
LOAD RHEOSTAT CONTROL KNOB

The load rheostat control knob is connected in series with the load toggle switch and generator
DC output terminals. It provides a source of variable generator load.
AMP METER
The amp meter indicates generator load conditions.
VOLTMETER
The voltmeter indicates the generator voltage output.
STEAM ADMISSION VALVE

The steam admission valve controls the steam flow rate to the steam turbine.
PRE-START
The TA will complete a pre-start procedure prior to the lab period. The pre-start procedure
includes safety and operability checks to ensure that the equipment is functioning properly.
BOILER FILL
Fill the boiler according to the following procedure:

1. Verify that the boiler is empty.
2. Fill the graduated cylinder with 5500mL of distilled water.
3. Connect the fitting on the end of the plastic tube attached to the graduated cylinder to
the port on the lower, middle, back side of the boiler (Figure 8). The fitting must snap
into place.
42 | P a g e

Figure 8. Boiler fill connection.
4. Set the graduated cylinder on top of the condenser tower (Figure 9).
Figure 9. Boiler fill setup, with graduated

cylinder atop the condenser tower.
5. Drain 500mL of distilled water into the boiler by operating the valve at the base of the
graduated cylinder.
43 | P a g e

6. Record the water level indicated on the sight-glass attached to the boiler in Table 1.
Note: The water level may not be visible for the first 500 to 1000 ml of water added to
the boiler.
Table 1. Raw data correlating water volume to observed
water level. To be completed by students.
Total Water Volume

Added [ml]
Observed Water Level

[cm]
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
5500
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all 5500mL of water have been drained into the boiler.
Record the total volume of water within the boiler, and the corresponding water level
each time.
The data recorded during this step will be used to develop a correlation relating boiler water
level to the remaining volume of water within the system. This correlation may be found by
entering the data into Excel, and obtain a curve fit of the data. The resulting function can be
used to calculate the total volume of water consumed during a steady-state run.
If the duration of the run is known, the mass flow rate can be computed.
Where
] and
duration of run
START
1. Open liquid propane (LP) bottle gas valve all the way
44 | P a g e

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Turn gas valve knob CCW to "on" position

Turn master switch on (observe green indicator light on)
Turn the load switch to the "on" position.
Set the load rheostat to ~1/2 maximum load.
Turn burner switch on (observe red indicator light on)
NOTE: Combustion blower starts automatically. Wait for 30 seconds. This will allow the lines
to purge. Then turn the burner switch to the "off" position and immediately back on (this step
can be eliminated from the start procedure if the system has previously been operated using the
currently attached LP source). This resets the starting cycle and assures that the lines are
purged. After approximately 20 seconds, the automatic gas valve will open and the burner will
light.
7. Ensure that the steam admission valve is fully closed to allow steam pressure to
accumulate in the boiler.
8. Boiler pressure indication should be observed within 3 minutes of ignition.
9. Allow the boiler pressure to increase to approximately 110 psig.
NOTE: SHUT OFF BURNER SWITCH IF THE BOILER PRESSURE EXCEEDS 120 PSIG.
10. Observe the voltmeter and gently open the steam admission valve. Regulate turbine
speed to indicate 7-10 volts. This will pre-heat the turbine components and the pipes.
Close valve after 30 seconds and wait for boiler pressure to return to 110 psig. Very
small leaks may be visible due to condensation and cold turbine bearing clearances.
This is normal and will stop after normal operating temperatures are attained.
11. Repeat step 10 two more times (three times total) to completely pre-heat the
system.
DATA COLLECTION
The TA will create a folder for you on the data acquisition computer prior to the start of the
experiment.
1. Open the RankineCycler data acquisition program on the laptop attached to the device.
Set the pressure units to PSIG, as shown in Figure 10 . Also, open a plot of Boiler
Pressure vs. Time by clicking on the Plot Data button (Figs 11 and 12).
45 | P a g e

Figure 10: Change the pressure units to PSIG.
Figure 11: Click the Plot Data button.
46 | P a g e

Figure 12: Set the plot output to Boiler Pressure.
2. Ensure that the load switch is on, and the load rheostat is set to ~ load.
3. Allow the boiler pressure to return to 110 psig.
4. Gently open the steam admission valve, and make fine adjustments to achieve a steadystate condition at 100 psig. Each group must determine their own steady-state
tolerance. It is helpful to use the real-time boiler pressure display on the
RankineCycler data acquisition program.
5. Once a steady-state has been reached, simultaneously:
a) Begin data acquisition by clicking the Log Data to File button in the RankineCycler
program (Figure 13). A dialog box will open asking you to specify a file name and
location for the data file. Data acquisition will begin after designating the file name.
b) Record the starting water level in Table 2.
c) Begin timing for 3 minutes.
47 | P a g e

Figure 13: Click the Log Data to File button to begin data acquistition. A dialog box will open, asking you
to specify a file name.
During data acquisition, you may continue to make fine adjustments to the steam admission
valve to maintain your desired steady state.
6. After 3 minutes have passed, stop the data acquisition by clicking the End Data Log
button (Figure 14) and record the final water level in Table 2.
7. Open the Excel data file to ensure that data was recorded successfully.
8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 with the rheostat set to load. Be sure to designate a new file
name for the second run, otherwise all data from the first run will be overwritten.
Table 2. Water level and time data. To be completed by students.
Load Setting
Initial Water Level

[cm]
Final Water Level

[cm]
Total Run Time

[mm:ss]
50%
75%
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Figure 14: Click the End Data Log button to end data acquisition.
SHUT DOWN
1. Leave the steam admission valve open after the final data collection run.
2. Move the burner switch to the "off" position.
3. Turn gas valve off.
4. Turn LP gas bottle valve off.
5. Slowly open the steam admission valve to release the remaining pressure. Do not allow
the generator voltage to exceed 12V.
6. Turn the master switch to the off position.
EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN
1. Turn the master switch to the OFF position.
2. Unplug RankineCycler power cord.
3. Move to a safe distance.
4. If safety is not compromised: Turn load rheostat to maximum, open steam admission
valve to obtain maximum voltage.
49 | P a g e

E. PRE-LAB
Complete the following thermodynamic problem. This is intended to provide a review of the
Rankine cycle.
1. Read the entire lab procedure. You will be responsible for conducting the lab as a
group, and are expected to know the procedure completely ahead of time.
2. Consider a steam power plant that operates on a simple ideal Rankine cycle and has a
net power output of 30 MW. Steam enters the turbine at 7 MPa at 500C and is cooled in
the condenser at a pressure of 10 kPa by running cooling water from a lake through the
tubes of the condenser at a rate of 2000 kg/s. Show the cycle on a p-v, and a T-s diagram
with respect to saturation lines, and the determine (a) the thermal efficiency of the
cycle, (b) the mass flow rate of the system and (c) the change in temperature of the
cooling water.
3. Compute the Carnot efficiency of the cycle described in part 1. Discuss the reasons for
any difference between the Rankine and Carnot efficiencies. How would you increase
the efficiency of the Rankine cycle?
4. The boiler used in this lab burns Liquid Propane (LP) as a fuel. What is the energy
content per unit volume of gaseous LP?
5. If 6 litres/min of LP is supplied to the boiler, what is the steady-state energy
consumption per hour?
6. Assuming the entire system is 35% efficient, how much electrical power (in watts) will
be generated?
7. The boiler used in this lab is a shell and tube style construction. Calculate the available
volume for water in the boiler given the following basic construction dimensions:
Main Shell External Length = 29.65 cm
Main Shell Wall Thickness = 0.64 cm
End Plate Outside Diameter = 20.70 cm
End Plate Wall Thickness = 0.64 cm
Main Flame Tube Outside Diameter = 5.08 cm
17 Return Pass Flame Tubes Outside Diameter = 1.90 cm
If 5500 ml of water is added to the boiler, how much volume will be left unoccupied in
the boiler? If one or more flame tubes pass through this unoccupied space, how will this
affect the system (thermodynamically)?

1. Using the boiler water level data you collected in Table 1, develop a linear correlation
relating the observed water level to the volume of water in the boiler.
2. From the time-averaged data collected by the computer, calculate the values of enthalpy
and entropy for the state points 4, 1 and 2. Why do we exclude state point 3? For state 4,
50 | P a g e
3.
4.
4.
5.
6.

assume saturated liquid at the measured boiler pressure. Why is this assumption
necessary (e.g. why not use the measured temperature for state 4)?
Plot the state points 4, 1 and 2 (as shown in Figure 3).
Compute the turbine work (Watts). The water level/volume correlation, obtained in
Step 1, can be used to determine the mass flow rate.
Compute the generator work from the measured voltage and current measurements.
Compute the (rate of heat addition) to the boiler from the fuel flow rate and the
heating value of the fuel (propane).
Compute the cycle efficiency. Identify and discuss sources of inefficiency in the system.
You must go beyond the obvious sources of inefficiency for this step. Pay careful
attention to the raw data you obtained, and consider how it compares to an ideal
Rankine cycle. Suggest modifications which would improve cycle efficiency.
Complete these steps at both operating conditions ( and load).
G. REFERENCES
1. RankineCycler Operations Manual, Turbine Technologies, Ltd., Chetek, WI.
2. Cengel, Y. A. and Boles , M. A., Thermodynamics, An Engineering Approach (4th Edition),
McGraw-Hill, 2002
3. "Rankine
Cycle."
Wikipedia,
the
Free
Encyclopedia.
Web.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankine_cycle>.
51 | P a g e
Experiment 5: Lift Characteristics of an Airfoil Section
EXPERIMENT 5:
LIFT CHARACTERISTICS OF AN AIRFOIL SECTION
A. OBJECTIVES
Determine lift force and coefficient for an airfoil section at different angles of attack for several
tunnel velocities.
B. THEORY
Airfoil geometry
The wing of an airplane is its primary lifting device. Lift is the force that counteracts the aircraft
weight and causes flight. The simplified cross-section of an infinite wing, an airfoil, is often tested
in wind tunnels to accurately and optimally design the wing of an aircraft. The study of actual wing
geometries (finite wings) is built on the understanding of the idealized airfoil aerodynamics. A
schematic of the airfoil geometry with associated terminology is shown in figure 1 below.
Leading edge
Upper surface
Mean camber line
Lower surface
Figure 1: Airfoil geometry
Chord line
Trailing edge
This experiment uses the NACA-2415 airfoil, which is one of the NACA 4-digit series standard
airfoils. The National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) studied the characteristics of
airfoils to develop a database for aeronautic engineering design.
Notice that this particular airfoil is not symmetric about the chord line. This type of airfoil is
generally referred to as a cambered airfoil. The 4-digit series shape is mathematically identical
to symmetrical airfoils with the exception that the mean camber line is bent. The first digit indicates
the maximum camber height (distance from the chord to the maximum height of the mean camber
line) m in hundredths of the chord (for NACA-2415 m = 0.02c or 2% of the chord). The second
digit indicates the location of the maximum camber (as measured from the leading edge) p in
52 | P a g e
tenths of the chord (in this case p = 0.4c or 40% of the chord). The third and fourth digits signify the
maximum thickness t in percentage of the chord (in this case t = .15c or 15% of the chord). For a
4-digit cambered NACA airfoil, the following formulas are used to calculate the mean camber line:
(
(
(
(1)
)
(
)
(2)
Where c is the chord length and x is the position along the chord from 0 to c. The expression for the
entire camber line would then be a piecewise function. The upper and lower airfoil surfaces is given
by
(3)
(4)
where
(
(5)
and
[
( )
( )
( )
( ) ]
(6)
which is the equation corresponding to the shape of a symmetrical 4-digit NACA airfoil.1
In addition to the standardization of certain airfoils, we are able to describe the arbitrary shape of
any cambered airfoil mathematically. Since the shape of the camber is an arbitrary curve, we must
use Fourier analysis to accurately define a function which reproduces the curve. The idea behind
Fourier analysis is that any function can be created as a sum of sine and cosine curves.
From airfoil theory, we note that the camber line, regardless of shape, will be a streamline of the
flow around the corresponding airfoil. From this concept, an equation can be derived that is a
general form for any camber line:
( )
(7)
Where is the wind velocity at infinity (refers to the unperturbed conditions very far ahead of an
aerodynamic body), and is a coordinate transformed from
(
53 | P a g e
(8)
The Fourier coefficients are found using
(9)
(10)
with representing the angle of attack, which is the angle formed between the incoming wind and
the chord line of the airfoil.
Sources of Lift, Drag and Moments
No matter how complex the airfoil geometry, or any shape for that matter, the aerodynamic forces
and moments on the body are due entirely to the pressure and shear stress distributions over
the body surface. As you know from fluid mechanics, the pressure difference between the upper
and lower wing surfaces arises from the velocity difference between the flows. This can be
visualized by noticing the spacing between the streamlines in figure 2.
Figure 2: Streamlines over an airfoil.
The more condensed streamlines are an indication of the greater fluid velocity above the wing, and
this corresponds to a decrease in pressure. The equation for dynamic pressure illuminates this,
showing how pressure can change due to the velocity of the fluid alone.
(11)
But wait! This equation says that pressure should INCREASE when velocity is increased. Whats
going on here? Since Bernoullis equation involves more than just the dynamic pressure, we need
some more information to understand how lift occurs. Where is the density of air, and the
dynamic pressure is denoted with a q to distinguish it from the other terms in Bernoullis equation
for incompressible flow:
Static pressure (due to the

thermodynamic
properties of the fluid)
(12)
Gravity pressure (due to the weight of
the water on itselfneeded if at reference
height, h0)
54 | P a g e
Where we use to represent the total pressure, which must be constant between one region of a
streamline of the fluid and another. This is the essence of Bernoullis equation: the fact that for a
steady flow, the total pressure must be the same between one region of a fluid and another.
Bernoullis equation as shown applies to the flow along a streamline when 1) the fluid has constant
density, 2) the flow is steady, and 3) there is no friction.
So back to the velocity versus pressure issue. Since increasing the velocity obviously increases the
dynamic pressure, where does the drop in pressure come from? Since the pressure must be
constant between one region of the streamline and another, this increase in velocity must be
accompanied by a decrease in pressure somewhere! The decrease happens in the static pressure.
When the velocity of a fluid increases, the thermodynamic properties of a fluid changes (density
changes), thus the decrease in the static pressure is what balances the equation. But you still might
be wondering: Ok, so the pressures balance outhow do we end up with a lower pressure on the
wing if they are balanced?? The answer is that the static pressure is what is felt by the skin of the
wing, thus this decrease of static pressure is what is primarily responsible for lift!
(A)
(B)
Figure 3: (a) Pressure distribution. (b) Shear stress distribution.
In addition to the pressure acting on the airfoil, friction occurs as the fluid moves over the airfoil,
resulting in a pulling on the airfoil which gives rise to the shear stress distribution as seen in Figure
b. This shear stress distribution generates a moment ( ) around the body. At the same time, the
pressure distribution which is induced by the difference in dynamic pressure, couples with the
moment created by the shear stress, and the cumulative effect of these forces is described by a
resultant vector located at a point known as the center of pressure as shown in Figure . This
resultant vector can be broken into its component vectors, which we refer to as drag ( ) and lift
( ).
Figure 4: Lift and drag as resulting from pressure and shear stress.
55 | P a g e
Pressure and Lift Coefficients

The pressure coefficient is a very useful parameter for characterizing the flow of incompressible
fluids, while the lift coefficient is directly related to wing aerodynamics (notice the inclusion of the
wing area term in equation 14). The lift coefficient is related to the lift force, which as you know
arises from complicated physical interactions between the moving fluid and the wing surface. In
general, it is very difficult to analytically determine the value of this coefficient (as well as
coefficients for drag, axial, normal force and moment coefficients) for arbitrary wing geometries,
therefore it is usually determined empirically. There exist other coefficients that serve other
purposes, but for this lab we can confine our interests to these four. The lift, drag and moment
coefficients for an aerodynamic body can be obtained by integrated the pressure and skin friction
(related to the shear stress) coefficients over the body surface from the leading to the trailing edge. 2
Notice that again, all parameters are derived from only considering the pressure and shear stresses
on the wing.
(13) (14)
cp = pressure coefficient
cl = lift coefficient
p = pressure at infinity
A = area of the airfoil, A = cS

c = chord length of the airfoil
S = span of the airfoil
For wind tunnel measurements, the conditions at infinity correspond to the unperturbed conditions
at the beginning of the test section.
Lift Calculation
As mentioned earlier, to calculate lift, we are primarily interested in the static pressure on the
various sections of the wing. In our laboratory experiment, the static pressure ps will be measured at
several locations along the lower and upper surfaces of the airfoil section.
The lift force on the airfoil can be approximately calculated from the measured pressure distribution
along the airfoil (lower and upper) surfaces. The pressure along the upper and lower surfaces of the
airfoil is measured at several tap locations as shown in table 1. Each pressure tap is assumed to act
over a small sectional area as shown in figure 5. The force on each sectional area is given by the
product of the static pressure on that section and the sectional area. The force on the upper and
lower surfaces can be obtained by summing the components of the individual forces on each section.
The net lift is obtained by adding the net forces on the upper and lower surfaces. When summing the
forces it should be noted that the pressure acting on the upper surface pushes downward, and the
pressure acting on the lower surface pushes upward.
56 | P a g e
Table 3: Pressure tap locations along the NACA 2415 airfoil section.
Upper Surface
Lower Surface
Tap ID
X-location (in)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 (under 1)
10 (under 2)
11 (under 3)
12 (under 4)
13 (under 5)
14 (under 6)
15 (under 7)
16 (under 8)
0.18
0.5
1.07
1.7
2.55
3.45
4.3
5.25
0.16
0.5
0.95
1.4
2.2
3.1
3.94
4.96
Tap location (X/c)

c=6
0.029
0.08
0.172
0.273
0.409
0.554
0.69
0.843
0.026
0.08
0.152
0.225
0.353
0.498
0.632
0.796
X1
X2
X3
Figure 5: Schematic for determining sectional areas associated
The area associated with each pressure tap will be taken as the average distance between taps
multiplied by the span of the airfoil as shown in figure 5. Starting at the leading edge and the upper
surface, pressure tap #1 will be assumed to act over the sectional length
(15)
Thus the area associated with tap #1 is
(
The sectional lift force associated with section #1 would then be

57 | P a g e
(16)
(17)
For tap #2, the sectional force would be

(
(18)
and similarly for the rest of the pressure taps. Be careful when computing the lift associated with
taps close to the leading and trailing edges, as they contain terms dissimilar from the rest of the
equations.
Wind Tunnel Design Theory
A wind tunnel is just a large Venturi tube. Wind tunnels are used in aerodynamic research to study
the effects of air moving past aerodynamic bodies. The objective of the design of a wind tunnel is to
create laminar (turbulence-free) air flow in the test section. The typical open-circuit wind tunnel
consists of three main parts which are labeled in figure 6. Air is drawn through the device by a fan
attached to the diffuser section. The compressor section is typically open to the atmosphere with the
exception of closely-spaced vertical and horizontal air vanes used to smooth out the turbulent
airflow before reaching the testing subject. The test section is where the laminar flow is
concentrated, and subsequent measurements are taken on the test subject.
The main operating principle of the wind tunnel geometry is that we can adjust the areas of the
compressor and diffuser sections to control the velocity in the test section. Flow rate can be
measured using the pressure difference between sections, as is done in a conventional venture tube
using Bernoullis equation and the continuity equation.
Figure 6: Open-circuit wind tunnel design
58 | P a g e
C. EQUIPMENT
Wind Tunnel
The model 1440 Flotek wind tunnel, as shown in figure 7, provides a full 12 x 12 (305mm square)
cross-section in the working area over 36 (914 mm) in length. Air is drawn through the compressor
intake cone into the test section by a variable speed fan. A plastic honeycomb flow straightener
attached to the mouth of the compressor assures a laminar air flow through the test section. The
entrance cone has a contraction ratio of 12:1 down to the test section. The air velocity through the
test section is variable up to 90 mph.
Figure 7: The Flotek 1440 wind tunnel with detailed view of the NACA-2415 airfoil.
Airfoil
This lab uses a NACA-2415 airfoil. This airfoil has a chord length c = 6 in and a span of 11 11/16 in.
The airfoil has 16 pressure tappings, 8 on the upper surface, and 8 below.
Instrumentation
The system is connected to a computer, and includes an interface card and Labview software. Data
acquisition and computer control of the wind tunnel is accomplished by using a 16 channel analog-to
digital (A/D) and 2 channel digital-to-analog (D/A) converter board. The pressure taps are
connected a water-filled manometer array as well as to a set of 16 pressure transducers which
converts the pressure into an analog voltage. The data acquisition system works by converting this
analog voltage signal to a digital signal which is read by the computer. Similarly, converting a digital
signal from the computer to an analog voltage provides control for the motor which sets the angle of
attack. The converter board is located in a PCI slot inside the control computer, and a cable connects
it to the wind tunnels transducer box located directly behind the test section, underneath the
exhaust section.
59 | P a g e
Software based on LabVIEWs visual programming language is used for system control and data
acquisition. A screenshot of the softwares instrument panel is shown in figure 8. Slider bars
(circled in red) are used to adjust the motor speed and angle of attack. The software also has the
capability of setting a particular speed in the test section by toggling the velocity control (circled in
blue) switch, entering the desired velocity into the setpoint field, and adjusting the gain (this
dictates how quickly the system arrives to the set velocity).
The airfoil pressure measurements are taken from the 8 pressure taps along the upper surface of the
airfoil and 7 along the lower surface. The remaining pressure tap (which only has a manometer
display) measures the static pressure in the wind tunnel test section.
The static pressure in the wind tunnel test section is used to calculate the tunnel velocity using
Bernoullis equation. This calculation is hard-coded into the LabVIEW algorithm. The total pressure
which is required for that measurement is measured when the LabVIEW program is first turned on
(thus to operate properly the wind tunnel fan motor should be off when starting the program). The
relative pressures measured along the airfoil are shown in two plots, one for the upper and one for
the lower surface. Similar to how the static pressure is calculated in the test section, the flow
velocities are calculated from the pressure information at each tap on the airfoil as well. The
transducer offset values which in effect determine the total pressures are measured when the
program is started and are shown in the diagnostics tab (circled in green). When the record
button (circled in black) is pressed, the pressure data, velocity data, motor rpm, and angle of attack
are stored in a data file. This file can be opened with Excel.
Subsequent use of the record button appends a line of new data to the
file. Test this feature until you are comfortable taking data.
60 | P a g e
Figure 8: Wind tunnel instrumentation panel
D. PROCEDURE
1. Begin by starting the software located on the desktop. The fan motor should be off when the
Labview program is started.
2. Once the program is running set the angle of attack to 0 , turn the key and press the green
button on the Flotek fan power control (shown in Figure ).
3. Once you are familiar with the system operation, press the record data button (circled in black
in Figure ) and record data for a few moments - you should check the data output with some test
velocities.
4. For steady state tunnel velocities of 60 ft/s and 75 ft/s and 90 ft/s measure the pressure
distributions at -4 , 0 , 4 , 8 , 12 , and 16 so that you make 18 measurements in total.
5. Note: Since only 15 of the 16 pressure taps on the airfoil are digitally acquired, for each
condition you will need to manually write down the pressure on the 8th tap of the lower surface
from the manometer board. In order to correlate the manual data with the computer acquired
data you will also need to note the test section pressure (manometer tube on far left) and
atmospheric pressure from the manometer board (manometer tube which is open to the
environment). Be sure that your calculations match reasonably well to the transducer
measurements before you are confident of the 8th pressure tap reading.
61 | P a g e
E. PRELAB
1. Consider an airfoil section with only 3 pressure taps on the upper and lower surfaces. The
pressure readings (gauge) for the taps are given below:
Upper surface
Lower surface
Pressure at tap#1
-17.5 lbf/ft2
Pressure at tap #1
8.5 lbf/ft2
2
Pressure at tap#2
-12.6 lbf/ft
Pressure at tap #2
0.6 lbf/ft2
2
Pressure at tap#3
-7.1 lbf/ft
Pressure at tap #3
0.2 lbf/ft2
a. Assume the airfoil chord is 3 inches and the span is 6 inches. The sectional length assigned to
each tap is 1 inch. Calculate the total lift on the airfoil where
(hint:
when working in U.S. customary units remember the conversion 1 lbf = 32.2 lbm ft/s2)
2. Using equations 1-6 and a chord length of 6 in, find an expression for the camber line, upper
surface and lower surface of the NACA-2415 airfoil. Plot all three equations on the same graph
using some computer algebra program. (Maple or Mathematica would be best). (Note that the
mean camber line equation is a piecewise function. Also, if you get a couple discontinuities in the
plots for the upper and lower surface, dont worry about it. Your plot should look like the airfoil.)

1. Calculate and plot on the same graph the pressure profile (measured static pressures) on the
upper and lower surfaces as a function of the chord position for the -4 and the 8 angle of attack
for each of the three tunnel velocities (6 plots total on one graph). Discuss how the pressure
profiles change with angle of attack and velocity.
2. Calculate and plot on the same graph the pressure coefficient on the upper and lower surfaces as
a function of the chord position for -4 , 0 and 8 angle of attack for 60 ft/s and 75 ft/s velocity
(6 plots total on one graph).
3. Plot the lift coefficient as a function of angle of attack for the three tunnel velocities on the same
graph (3 plots total on one graph).
G. REFERENCES
1. Moran, J. (2003). An Introduction to Theoretical and Computational Aerodynamics. Dover.
2. Anderson, John D. (2007). Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, Fourth Edition. McGraw-Hill.
3. Munson et. al (2009). Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics, Sixth Edition. Wiley.
62 | P a g e
Appendix A
APPENDIX A
MANOMETER PREPARATION AND OPERATION
The fluid manometer provides a relatively simple method to measure fluid pressures under steadystate conditions. A sketch of a simple U-tube manometer is shown in Fig. A.1. In this configuration,
one side of the manometer is open to the atmosphere and the other is open to the pressure to be
measured. The theory behind manometer operation (Ref. A.1, Section 2. and Ref. A.2, Section 6-3)
shows that the difference between the pressures on each side of the manometer are given by the
hydrostatic equation, i.e.,
(
where
is the density of the fluid in the manometer and
(A.1)
is the density of the fluid transporting
the unknown pressure. Typically, the density of the fluid in the manometer is much larger than the
density of the fluid transmitting the pressure so Eq. (A.1) is often written as
(A.2)
Figure A.1: U-tube manometer
Note: The distance h is measured parallel to the gravitational force and that the differential
pressure is measured at the location of the manometer. If the location of the pressure source is at a
different elevation than the manometer, there could be appreciable error in the pressure
determination depending on the density of the transmitting fluid.
63 | P a g e
Appendix A
The manometer can also be used to measure a pressure difference between two locations such as
on opposite sides of an orifice flow meter. The pressure difference between the two locations is
calculated using Eq. (A.2) comparing pressures between the two pressure taps
.
Figure A.22
(A.3)
The experiments in this lab make use of manometers to measure pressure differences. Figure A.2
shows how the hydrostatic pressure can be found by comparing a pressure source with
atmospheric pressure. A slight difference between those used in the lab and shown in figure A.2 is
that multiple manometer tubes share the same reservoir. With reservoir manometers the cross
sectional area of the reservoir is significantly greater than that of the manometer tube. Thus a
decrease in pressure causes an increase in the height of the fluid in the tube but a negligible change
in the height of the fluid in the reservoir. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the configuration
before attempting to interpret your measurements.
Water manometers are simple to use once they have been properly prepared. Often, if the
apparatus has been standing for some time, air will become trapped in the pipes and in the water
columns of the manometer tubes. These air pockets will affect the pressure measurement because
air ha a different density than water. The manometer should be ready for operation when you
report to the lab. Improper use of the manometer during the experiment may cause air to become
trapped in the lines. Also, there are some experiments which, by nature, require moving the rubber
tubes leading from the manometer to various pressure taps in the system. This may result in air
bubbles forming in the manometer tubes. If this condition occurs during your experiment, you will
have to remove the air bubbles before beginning the experiment. This procedure varies depending
on the exact configuration but generally involves putting a pressure difference across the two ends
of the manometer. This will induce a flow through the tube thereby forcing the bubble out the tube.
64 | P a g e
Appendix A
REFERENCES
A.1. Munson, B.R., Young, D.F., and Okiishi, T.H., Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics, John Wiley and
Sons, New York, 1990.
A.2. Holman, J.P., Experimental Methods for Engineers (7th edition), McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001.
65 | P a g e
Appendix B
APPENDIX B
FLOW MEASURING USING A ROTAMETER
Many devices and methods exist to measure the flow rate of a fluid. Several of the more popular of
these are described in Chapter 7 of Ref. B.1. An orifice flow meter and a venturi flow meter are
examples of obstruction-type flow meters because their operating principle is based on measuring
the response of the fluid to an obstruction in the flow. A rotameter is slightly different in that the
fluid flow rate is determined by measuring the response of an obstruction to the fluid motion. Flow
enters from the bottom of a rotameter, shown in Fig. B.1, and flows through a tapered vertical tube.
This flow causes a bob in the tube to move upward due to the fact that as flow increases, the area
around the float must also increase in accordance with the basic equation for volumetric flow rate
(Eq. B.1). The bob will rise to a position in the tube where the drag forces acting on the bob are just
balanced by the weight and buoyancy forces. The position of the bob is then taken as an indication
of the flow rate of the fluid. The drag force acting on the bob will be a function of not only the flow
rate of the fluid but how the tube is tapered and the shape of the bob. Therefore, each rotameter
must be calibrated to correctly account for these geometric effects.
(B.1)
The equations detailing the operating principle of a rotameter are presented in Ref. B.1, Section 7-6.
(
[
(B.2)
where y = vertical displacement of the bob, = density of the fluid, = density of the bob, and C is
the calibration constant for the rotameter. While you may find different types of rotameters, most
are calibrated to read from the top of the bob. Since rotameters are typically used to measure the
flow rates of gases, is much larger than equation B.2 can be reduced to
(B.3)
where = volumetric flow rate (m3/s). Equation (B.2) shows that we must know the density of a
fluid to determine either the volumetric or mass flow rate. The calibration constant, C, is a function
not only of the geometry of the tube and bob but also of the density of the fluid used during the
calibration. Luckily, we do not need separate rotameters calibrated for every fluid density that we
may encounter during our experiment. Instead, we can correct the mass flow rate given by Eq.
(B.3) for the density of our fluid if we know the conditions at which the rotameter was calibrated
and our test conditions. Rotameters and most gas flow devices are calibrated at standard
atmospheric condition, i.e., calibrated using air at 70 F and 1 atm. Calibration tables or
66 | P a g e
Appendix B
Figure B.3
graphs give as a function of y where the subscript s indicates at standard temperature and
pressure. Therefore, the calibration constant quoted by the manufacturer can be interpreted as
(B.4)
Using the calibration constant given by the manufacturer, Eq. (B.3) becomes
(B.5)
Comparing equations B.3 and B.5:
(B.6)
For a given value of y, we can use equation B.6 to find the experimental calibration constant once a
flow measurement has been made.
REFERENCES
B.1.
Holman, J.P., Experimental Methods for Engineers (7th edition), McGraw-Hill, New York,
2001.
67 | P a g e
Appendix C
APPENDIX C
ANALYSIS OF BIAS ERRORS AND EXPERIMENTAL
UNCERTAINTY
A. Terminology
As in all experimental investigations, any measured data are subject to experimental errors that cannot
be eliminated completely. These errors arise because of limitations in the accuracy of one or all of the
instruments used to make the measurements or to the variations between people using the instrument.
These errors must be quantified to provide a measure of the reliability or uncertainty associated with
the data.
Various types of errors can contribute to the uncertainty in fundamental measurements. These include
accidental errors (outright mistakes), bias errors (also referred to as fixed or systematic errors), and
random errors. Accidental errors cause repeated readings to differ without apparent reason and may be
attributed to instrument friction, time lag, and personal errors. These must be identified and corrected
in any experiment. If this type of error is not removed entirely, it must at least be made to effect the
experiment the same way every time. Then it is known as a bias error. Bias errors result when data are
shifted from actual values by some characteristic of the substance being measured or the measurement
technique. Bias errors account for reductions in the accuracy of the experimental data. Random errors
may be caused by random human error, random environmental changes, or any fluctuation of the
property being measured. The magnitude of this type of error is a measure of the precision of a
measurement. The physical difference between precision and accuracy as applied to experimental
measurements is illustrated below.
Figure 4C: Precision and accuracy in measurements
Because these errors are random, they are better expressed as an uncertainty and require that
probability concepts be applied to quantify experimental errors. A concise way to describe data that
consists of both bias errors and experimental uncertainty is to specify the mean value and an
uncertainty interval, i.e.
68 | P a g e
Appendix C
u (xx percent uncertainty)
(C.1)
where m is the mean value, u is the uncertainty interval, and xx is the percent confidence we have in the
uncertainty level. The meaning of these terms is more transparent if Eq. (C.1) is expressed in words as
There is an xx percent probability that the true value of a property lies within u of the mean value,
. The factor xx is often called the confidence level or interval.
As an example, consider measuring the length of a desk using a yardstick. If the measurement was made
several times, each measurement will probably be slightly different. If every student in the class made
the same measurement, these measurements would also vary. Its not that any single measurement was
wrong or right. The variations occur because the measurement technique and procedure (using a
yardstick) has inherent errors that limit the accuracy of the measurement. How can you express this
uncertainty about the true length of the table? The set of all the length measurements can be
represented as (x1, x2, x3, x4, , xn) where n is the number of measurements and is assumed, for now, to
be large (greater than ~30). The following statistical quantities can then be defined calculated using this
set.
Mean:
(C.2)
Absolute
Deviation:
Average
Deviation:
(C.4)
Variance:
Standard
Deviation:
(C.3)
(C.5)
(C.6)
If we only have a limited set of data (less than 20 or so samples), we really dont have sufficient data to
accurately estimate the standard deviation using Eq. (C.6). The true value of the standard deviation can
then be estimated using the following equation
Note that the factor (n-1) is used in equation C.7 instead of n in equation C.6.
69 | P a g e
(C.7)
Appendix C
We could also plot the number of times a specific value of x was obtained for the length of the table
from the entire set of data. As n goes to infinity (an infinite number of samples), a continuous curve
would be obtained. Assuming that the errors associated with these measurements are equally likely to
be positive and negative, the curve would form a normal or Gaussian distribution about the mean
value, . This distribution is shown below.
Figure C5: Normal distribution about the mean value
This figure shows that the standard deviation, , is a measure of the width of the distribution.
In the above discussion, the arithmetic mean value has been assumed to be our best estimate of the
true value of a set of experimental measurements. The Gaussian distribution allowed us to estimate
how the data are distributed around the mean value. We still have a very important question to answer,
i.e., how well does this arithmetic mean approximate the true value, which is unknown? To obtain an
answer to this question experimentally, it would be necessary to repeat the entire set of measurements
and calculated a new mean value. This value would undoubtedly differ from the previous value because
of the same variations that produced the differences within any one data set. We could continue this
procedure to obtain a large number of mean values, estimate the standard deviation of the mean values
an, finally, the uncertainty in our estimate of the mean value. In other words, the mean value of all the
mean values of a large number of data sets is presumably the true value. Fortunately, this problem can
be treated with a statistical analysis that allows us to approximate the standard deviation of the mean
value using the standard deviation of a single set of data. This analysis will not be repeated here but
results in the following equation for the standard deviation of the mean,
m,
(C.8)
where
is the standard deviation given by equation C.6 or C.7 and n is the number of samples in the
data set. We could then say with 95 percent confidence, for example, that the true value of x was
within
of our calculated mean value. An example of the application of equation C.8 to a set of
70 | P a g e
Appendix C
data is given in Ref. C.1, Section 2-3.2, example 2.2. If n is very small (less than 15-20) the approximation
for
given by equation 8 becomes worse, and other methods must be used to estimate the standard
deviation of the mean value. This method, known as the t distribution test, will not be discussed here
but can be found practically in any book on statistics (Ref. C.2, Section 7.4 and 9.3, for example).
To better understand the variance of a probability distribution, for an engineer, the following analogy
may be helpful. The variance of a probability distribution is conceptually identical to the mass (or area)
moment of inertia. As you move away from the center of mass in a straight line, the moment of inertia
about that new axis will increase with the square of that distance (see parallel axis theorem), just as the
variance goes as the absolute deviation squared .
B. Propagation of Errors in Experiments with Multiple Variables
The analysis of uncertainties and confidence intervals discussed above were all concerned with knowing
the true value of a single measured parameter such as the fluid height is a manometer, temperature,
mass flow rate, etc. However, in all our experiments, these parameters are used to calculate additional
quantities. Bias errors and uncertainties in the individual measurements propagate through the
equation, resulting in an overall uncertainty in the calculated result. This uncertainty can be estimated if
the uncertainties of all the individual parameters are known. For instance, what is the error in
where A and B are two measured quantities with errors A and B respectively?
A first thought might be that the error in Z would be just the sum of the errors in A and B. However, this
assumes that when combined, the errors in A and B have the same sign and maximum magnitude; that
is, they always combine in the worst possible way. This could only happen if the errors in the two
variables were perfectly correlated, (i.e. if the two variables were not really independent.)
If the variables are independent (they usually are), then sometimes the error in one variable will happen
to cancel out some of the error in the other and so, on the average, the error in Z will be less than the
sum of the errors in its parts. A reasonable way to try to take this into account is to treat the
perturbations in Z produced by perturbations in its parts as if they were "perpendicular" and added
according to the Pythagorean theorem,
(C.9)
This idea can be used to derive a general rule. Suppose there are two measurements, A and B, and the
(
) for some function f. If A is perturbed by A then Z will be perturbed by
final result is
(C.10)
Similarly, the perturbation in Z due to a perturbation in B is
Combining these by the Pythagorean theorem yields
71 | P a g e
(C.11)
((
Appendix C
((
(C.12)
We can then write down a general definition for the uncertainty in a variable Z by considering Z to be a
(
). If each xi has corresponding
linear function of n independent variables, so that
uncertainties
, the relation for the uncertainty in Z is given as
(C.13)
When equation C.13 is applied, the confidence level for UZ is the same as for the estimates of
value of Z is then reported as
. The
(xx percent confidence level) or equivalently
(for percent confidence level). An example of the application of equation C.13 is given below. Several
additional examples can be found in Ref. C.1, section 5-3.
Example
Consider a pressure measurement made using an open-end U-tube water manometer. The pressure is
then given by
(C.14)
where h is the height of the fluid column, po is the atmospheric pressure measured with a barometer,
and is the density of the fluid. We find that the atmospheric pressure, po = 29.6 inches Hg and h = 24
inches H2O. During our measurements, we determine that the scale on the barometer can be read to
0.1 inch Hg while that on the manometer can be read to 0.25 in H2O. The density of water and the
gravitational acceleration can be taken as constant, = 62.4 lbm/ft3 and g = 32.2 ft/s2, respectively. As
always, gc = 32.2 lbm-ft/lbf-s2. The problem is to determine the pressure, p (in psia), and the uncertainty
in the measurement of p caused by the uncertainties in po and h.
Solution
First, substituting the measured values of po and h into equation C.14 and converting to psia, we find
that p = 15.41 psia. Since there was some uncertainty in reading the scale of both the barometer and
the manometer, the atmospheric pressure and the fluid height are properly expressed as po = 29.6 0.1
inches Hg and h = 24 0.25 inches H2O. For this problem, equation C.13 can be expanded as follows:
72 | P a g e
((
Appendix C
((
(C.15)
The derivatives in equation C.15 must now be evaluated using equation C.14.
Substituting these derivatives into equation C.15, we obtain
(C.16)
Substituting the known values into equation C.16, being aware that units of psia are desired and must
be consistent in the equation, we get the calculated pressure as p = 15.41 0.05 psia or p = 15.41 0.32
%.
References
C.1.
Holman, J.P. (2001), Experimental Methods for Engineers, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill, New
York.
C.2.
Mendenhall, W., Reinmuth, J.E. (1989), and Beaver, R., Statistics for Management and
Economics, 6th edition, PWS-Kent Publishing Company, Boston.
C.3.
Taylor, John R. (1982), An Introduction to Error Analysis: The Study of Uncertainties if
Physical Measurements. University Science Books.
C.4.
P.V. Bork, H. Grote, D. Notz, M. Regler (1993), Data Analysis Techniques in High Energy
Physics Experiments. Cambridge University Press.
C.5.
H. Coleman and W. Steele, Experimentation and Uncertainty Analysis for Engineers, (2nd
edition), Wiley, New York, 1999
73 | P a g e
Appendix D
APPENDIX D
FITTING CURVES TO EXPERIMENTAL DATA
The procedures to perform curve fits of experimental data can be some of the most useful and
insightful means of data analysis. Unfortunately, the simplicity with which most current
spreadsheet and plotting programs perform curve fits has allowed students and engineers alike to
fit data without analyzing which type of equation should be best based on physical grounds. For
example, suppose that you just measured the pressure and specific volume of a gas at constant
temperature. If you plot your experimental data and attempt to fit it with a curve, it might be
tempting to start trying all of the curve fits available in your plotting program to determine which
gives the lowest error. However, by doing this, you are neglecting any physics that might determine
the proper form of the curve. For a gas that is represented by the ideal gas equation, an isotherm is
expressed as
(D.1)
where the constant is the quantity (nRT). Therefore, it would only make physical sense to fit this
data with a hyperbolic curve. Any other fit that gives a low error (high concentration coefficient)
over a limited range of specific volume could hide important results. What if your plotting program
doesnt explicitly offer a hyperbolic curve fit? Practically any equation can be reduced to a linear
function provided that the variables are properly defined. This procedure is discussed in the
following section.
A. General Curve Fitting
Suppose we have a set of measurement {
the relation
} which we can plot on linear graph paper. However,
(D.2)
is suggested by either a trend in the data or applicable theory. To apply this type of curve fit, we
must determine a, b, and n. The simplest way to do this is to note that Eq. (D.2) can be written as
Taking the natural logarithm of both sides of the equation, we obtain
(D.3)
74 | P a g e
Appendix D
Equation (D.3) has the form of the equation of a straight line, i.e.,
(
) vs.
(
), m = n,
, and
. Plotting
graph paper, we obtain
if we define
on linear-linear
Figure D.1
Where the constant a, b, and n are thus determined. Some common functional relations and
corresponding straight-line plot are given in Ref. D.1.
B. General Curve Fitting
All plotting programs can easily perform a linear curve fit but it is beneficial to understand how these
values are being obtained. Most of these programs use a method of least squares to fit polynomial
curves. The procedure for linear and quadratic curves is discussed below. Higher-order fits generally
become cumbersome to derive but follow the same procedure
Suppose we have a set of n measurements represented by
(D.4)
{ }
The sum of a set of squares of numbers { } about a given number
(
We want to minimize S with respect to
zero, i.e.
(D.5)
. At any maximum or minimum, the first derivative must be
(D.6)
which implies
(D.7)
This of course, is the definition for the mean value of { }. From this, you can see that by calculating the
mean value of an array of numbers you are actually minimizing the function S given in Eq. (D.5).
Next, consider a two-dimensional set of n measurements represented as
75 | P a g e
Appendix D
)(
)(
(D.8)
where the error in y is independent of the magnitude of the error in x. Suppose we have a linear
relation between y and x.
Recall from the previous section that even if the relationship is exponential, it can be expressed in linear
Figure D.6
form by redefining the variables. Define the general linear equation
(D.9)
where
is taken as the optimum y value to represent the data at a given x.
Then
(D.10)
We wish to compute a and b such that S is a minimum. Therefore, S must be differentiated with respect
to both a and b and the resulting equations both set equal to zero:
)
)( )
(D.11)
(D.12)
Solving for a and b leads to

( )
(D.13)

( )
(D.14)
The equation that results from this procedure,
76 | P a g e
Appendix D
(D.15)
is called a regression equation. As previously stated, this method may be used for any functional relation
that can be expressed in terms of a linear relationship. Recall that we previously found that y = axb
could be written as log y = log a + b log x.
The above procedure can also be performed to determine the coefficients of the quadratic equation
that best fits a set of data. In general, a quadratic equation is given as
(D.16)
the function S (Eq. (10)) is then given as
(D.17)
Equation (21) is then differentiated with respect to a, b, and c and all three equations set equal to zero,
e.g.,
These three equations can then be solved for the three unknowns, i.e., a, b, and c to obtain the
quadratic equation that fits the given data. Higher-order least squares methods follow a similar
development procedure but will require solution of an (N+1) X (N+1) matrix, where N is the order of the
polynomial being used to fit the data.
References
D.1.
Holman, J.P., Experimental Methods for Engineers (7th edition), McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001.
D.2.
H. Coleman and W. Steele, Experimentation and Uncertainty Analysis for Engineers, (2nd edition),
Wiley, New York, 1999
77 | P a g e

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MEM311

THERMAL & FLUID SCIENCE LABORATORY

Edited by Brandon Terranova, Eric Wargo, Ertan Agar, Chris

Adopted from MEM 311 Thermal & Fluid Science Laboratory

EXPERIMENT 2: CONTROL VOLUME ENERGY AND ENTROPY

EXPERIMENT 3: HEAT TRANSFER FROM A CIRCULAR CYLINDER

EXPERIMENT 4: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A STEAM TURBINE

EXPERIMENT 5: LIFT CHARACTERISTICS OF AN AIRFOIL SECTION

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

Equating Eq. (1) and (2), we obtain

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

Pipe Flowrate Meters

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

Figure 1. Schematic of three typical obstruction meters

Figure 2. Orifice meter detail

The Orifice Flow Meter

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

The Inlet Nozzle

, d being the inner diameter of the nozzle and

= d/D where D is the outer diameter

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

Table 1: Pressure tap distances

Figure 1. Armfield F6 flow facility with transducer array

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

The pressure transducers have a built-in uncertainty of 1%.

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

F. DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

, to calculate the Reynolds number.

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

A. INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Figure 1: General Flow Pattern inside a Vortex Tube

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

Figure 2: Streamlines in a cross-section of a vortex Tube

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

Figure 3: Differential volume element within

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

Substituting equations 1 and 2, respectively, into equation 4 we obtain

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

where is the heat, the work,

for irreversible systems,

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

Figure 5: Experimental Setup

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory

Experiment 2: Control Volume Energy

Figure 6: Inlet setup

Figure 7: Vortex Tube

Figure 8: Cold stream measuring device

MEM311: Thermal and Fluid Science Laboratory