Introduction

Bernoulli principle states that for a steady, incompressible and streamline flow the sum of all energy is
the same along all points of the flow. Bernoulli Equation relates fluid velocity, fluid pressure, and fluid density
and elevation to compare the conditions along two different flow points in a given system. The purpose of the
lab was to determine the volumetric flow rate of water using Bernoullis principle along various points of a
flow-measuring apparatus. The apparatus consisted of a Venturi meter, Orifice plate meter, and a Rotameter. The
Bernoulli principle is given by the following equation:
P 1 V 12
P 2 V 22
+
+ Z 1= +
+ Z 2+ H 12
2g
2g

(1)
P1

Where
V1

is the pressure entering the system

is the initial elevation

[ N /m3 ]

of the fluid

[ m ] , Z2

is the pressure exiting the system

V2

[ m/s ] ,

is the velocity of the fluid entering the system

[ m/s ] , Z 1

P2

[Pa] ,

is the velocity exiting the system

[ m ] , is the specific weight

is the final elevation

[ m/s 2 ]

is the acceleration due to gravity

[Pa] ,

and

H 12

is loss in total head

between sections 1 and 2.

The flow through the Venturi meter is calculated using a modified version of equation (1) into the
following equation:
(2)

Where

Q v =C V A B

is the flow rate the venture meter

()
2g
DB
1
DA

[ m3 /s ]

Cv

area of the throat [ 201.1 106 m2 ], g is gravity [9.81 m/s2],

is the diameter of the throat [16 mm] and

P A and

P A PB

is the discharge coefficient [1.0],

AB

D A is the diameter upstream [26 mm],

is the
DB

PB are the manometer readings from point A and B,

respectively. The flow of the Orifice plate meter is calculated using the following equation:
(3)
Where

Co

[2116 mm2],

Q o= A F V F=C A F

()
2g
DF
1
DE

is the discharge coefficient [0.601],

DE

Orifice meter and

AF

P EP F

is the area of the Orifice meter

[51 mm] and

D F [20 mm]

PE

are the readings of the manometer at points E and F,

and

PF

are the diameters of the points around the

respectively. The Bernoulli Equation can be applied to many situations assuming a

steady, inviscid, incompressible and streamline flow. Specific applications of a Venturi
meter include measuring flow of sewage pipes without obstructing solids passing

through. The applications of the Orifice meter include measuring air flow through pipes
and restricting flow in pipes.
Methodology:
The equipment used in this experiment as shown in figure 1, was mainly the hydraulic bench equipped
with a Rotameter, a Venturi meter, and an Orifice meter. The hydraulic bench had access to water through pipes
and the water flow was controlled and manipulated through the valves to the apparatus. The different meters
were used to measure water flow through the system. Water entered the system through the Venturi meter at
point A, then flows along the Throat (point B), wide angle diffuser (Point D) to the Orifice meter (point E and
F) and exits through the Rotameter. Each point as shown in figure 1, was linked externally to a manometer to
measure pressure drops across the system.
The apparatus was set up by removing all trapped air from the tubes and system. The Rotameter float
was then adjusted to halfway point and the manometer tubes were leveled to 240 mm using a hand pump. The
experiment was conducted in a repetitive manner where the height of the Rotameter float was manipulated by
controlling the water flow to set heights from 16.0 to 7.0 cm in a decreasing order of 1.0 cm for 10 trials. For
each trial a known mass of weights were added to the weigh tank arm to keep it closed and stopped when the
mass of the weigh tank reached the known value. Measurements obtained for each trial were the manometric
levels of point A to I (millimeters), the mass of weights (kilograms), and the time measured by a stopwatch
(seconds). The average of the two times recorded were used as the official time for each test. Using the acquired
data, the discharge of the water in the weight tank, the Venturi meter, the Orifice meter, and the Rotameter were
calculated. The results of each of the three meters were then compared to the discharge of the weight tank to
determine and compare accuracies of those meters.

Figure 1: Diagram of Flow Measuring Apparatus1

Results:
The measured weight tank discharge, Qw, was calculated using the following equations:

(4) V =
(5) t =

m
water

trial 1+trial 2
2

(6) Qw =

V
t

Where V ( m3) is the volume in cubic meters, m(kg) is the mass in kilogram, t( s) is average time in
seconds, and

water (1000 kg/m3) is the density of water at 20 degree Celsius in kilogram per cubic meter. The

discharge over the Venturi, Qv , was calculated using equation (2) and the discharge at the Orifice, Qo , was
calculated using equation (3). The calculated results were recorded in Table 1.
Sample Calculations:
1. Discharge of Weigh Tank
V=

m
water

24 kg
=0.024 m3
3
1000 kg /m
trial 1+trial 2
2

t=
Qw =

V 0.024 m 3
=
=3.92104 m3 / s
t
61.24 s

2. Discharge Over Venturi Meter

Qv =C v A B

()

2g
(P AP B / )
4
DB
1
DA

Qv =(1)(201.1106)

Qv =1.30 104 m3 / s

2( 9.81)
(302122/9810)
0.016 4
1
0.026

3. Discharge Over Orifice Meter

Qo=C o A F

()
2g
D
1 F
DE

(P E PF / )

Qo=(0.601)(2116 106 )

Qo=1.44 10 m / s

2( 9.81)

0.02
1
0.051

(9872/9810)

61+ 61.48
2

= 61.24 s

4. To find the discharge over the Rotameter, calibration chart 35X was used and L/min was converted to
m3 /s .
QR = (18 L/min) * 1.66666667 10-5 = 0.003 m3/s
5. Percentage Error:
% error =

Approximate Value Exact value

% error =

(1.30E-4) (3.92E-4)

Exact value

(3.92E-4 )

(100)

(100)

% error = 66.73%
Table 1: Discharge Data in a Flow Measuring Apparatus
Test No
1

Manometric
Levels(mm)
A 302
B 122
C 280
D 286
E 298
F 72
G 106
H 102
I 0
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

298
136
276
280
290
92
122
120
10

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

286
148
268
274
280
108
136
134
26

Rotameter
(cm)

Water
Mass(kg)

Time(s)

Weigh
Tank

Venturi

Orifice

Rotameter

3.92E-4

1.30E-4

1.44E-3

3E-4

3.66E-4

1.24E-4

1.35E-3

2.83E-4

3.45E-4

1.14E-4

1.26E-3

2.67E-4

1. 61
16.0

24

2. 61.48
Average:
61.24

15.0

24

1.

65.15

2.

66.05

Average:
65.6

14.0

24

1.

69.70

2.

69.32

Average:
69.51

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

280
156
266
268
276
126
148
146
42
274
170
258
262
268
144
164
160
58

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

268
178
254
258
264
156
174
172
70

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

262
188
252
254
258
170
184
182
80

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

258
198
248
250
254
182
194
192
92

13.0

18

1.

57.24

2.

56.73

3.16E-4

1.08E-4

1.17E-3

2.45E-4

2.87E-4

9.91E-5

1.07E-3

2.25E-4

2.7E-4

9.22E-5

9.95E-4

2.08E-4

2.47E-4

8.36E-5

8.98E-4

1.83E-4

2.19E-4

7.53E-5

8.13E-4

1.67E-4

Average:
56.985

12.0

18

1.

62.17

2.

63.13

Average:
62.65

11.0

18

1.

66.10

2.

67.47

Average:
66.785

10.0

18

1.

72.22

2.

73.64

Average:
72.93

9.0

12

1.

54.28

2.

55.15

Average:
54.715

10

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

256
204
248
250
252
192
202
200
100

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

252
210
244
246
248
202
210
208
108

8.0

12

1.

58.08

2.

58.73

2.05E-4

7.01E-5

7.42E-4

1.48E-4

1.8E-4

6.3E-5

6.5E-4

1.25E-4

Average:
58.405

7.0

Table 2: Percentage Error

Weigh Tank vs Venturi
66.73394
66.1942
66.93894
65.74373
65.50895
65.79663
66.13191
65.68042
65.89551
65.07531

12

1.

65.53

2.

67.58

Average:
66.55

Weigh Tank vs Orifice

267.3721
268.3436
263.7712
271.3314
271.1824
269.2719
264.0014
270.5266
261.0542
260.2249

Weigh Tank vs Rotameter

23.45
22.55555
22.76667
22.43708
21.6875
22.70254
25.71944
24.00694
27.80493
30.67708

Discussion:
The results from the three different meters used in this experiment varied significantly. Out of the three
meters, The Rotameter produced the most accurate results with an error ranging from approximately 21.7% to
30.7%. Generally, the percentage error decreased with the volumetric flow up to 12.0 cm on the Rotameter then
began to increase as volumetric rate increased. The least accurate of the three meters was the Orifice with an
error ranging from roughly 260% to 271%. The error of this meter seemed to follow no pattern as it increased
and decreased back and forth. The Venturi meter fell somewhere in the middle being a lot more accurate than
the Orifice and a bit less accurate than the Rotameter. The error of the Venturi meter ranged from 65.1% to
66.9%. Similarly to the Orifice meter, the error percentage of the Venturi also follows no pattern however the
error percentage range is very small compared to the other meter, as it increased and decreased back and forth
within less than 2% range of error.
The Rotameter produced the most accurate results due to its complexity of design. The Rotameters are
gravity based meters that are based on the opposition between the downward force of gravity and the upward

force of liquid flow. They are also designed specifically for rather small liquid flows thus making them ideal for
this experiment. Comparatively, the Venturi and the Orifice meters use differential pressure measurements
which can be converted into mass flow using pressure and temperature. The reason both portrayed less accurate
results is due to the fact that both pressure and temperature were not accurate throughout the whole experiment.
This is mainly caused by the leak in the water device which is a significant source of error.
References:
1. Joy, Douglas M., Jana Levison, and Jonathan VanderSteen. Fluid Mechanics Laboratory Manual.
School of Engineering - University of Guelph, Sept. 2014. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
2. Reader-Harris, Michael J. Venturi Meters. Thermopedia, Feb. 2011.
3. Sensor Contributor. Flow, the Basics of Rotameter. Sensors Online, Oct. 2011.