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I. ABSTRACT
This paper describes the calibration of a custom orifice-plate airflow sensor. Pressure drop and
reference airflow were recorded at multiple steady-flow conditions over a range of 0 to 7 standard cubic-
feet-per-minute (SCFM). A King Instruments rotameter provided a calibration reference for volumetric
airflow. Two piezoresistive silicon pressure sensors recorded the pressure drop across the flow sensor. For
calibration, the experiment flowrates were regressed to the square root of the pressure drop. This approach
allows a standard linear regression to determine the coefficients of the nonlinear relationship between the
airflow rate and pressure drop across the orifice plate. The results of the calibration verify the nonlinearity
of the theoretical relationship between airflow and pressure drop, and demonstrate the effectiveness of an
II. INTRODUCTION
The measurement of the rate of flow of a fluid through a pipe has wide implications in engineering
and business. Devices used to perform such measurements, called flow meters or flow sensors, are used to
both measure and monitor the flow rates of liquids (e.g. water) and gases (e.g. natural gas). These flow rate
measurements determine system performance and/or cost. Therefore, it is important for the measurements
Obstruction flow meters, including the orifice plate, constrict the flow of fluid in a pipe, causing a
repeatable pressure drop across the sensor. In the case of the orifice plate flow meter, the restriction is in
the form of an obstruction (plate) perpendicular to the flow direction with a hole (orifice) of smaller
diameter than the pipe. To measure the pressure drop across the obstruction, pressure taps are placed at
(typically) equal distances both up- and downstream of the orifice plate.
Experiments with orifice plates as flow measurement devices were conducted as early as the Roman
Empire and later by Renaissance scientists that included Torricelli and Newton (Rouse and Ince 1957).
More modern experiments with orifice plates, including application and calibration, were conducted by
various academic researchers, independent companies, and national organizations of standards (Joint
Committee on Orifice Coefficients of the American Gas Association and the American Society of
Mechanical 1936).
This paper describes the calibration of a custom orifice-plate airflow sensor, and is organized as
follows. The Methods section describes the theory of orifice-plate flow sensors and their calibration,
followed by a description of the custom orifice-plate airflow sensor and the supporting experimental
apparatus and data acquisition equipment, and finally, a detailed description of the experimental procedure.
Next, the Results section describes the calibration data and the accuracy regression. The final section,
Discussion and Conclusions, evaluates the custom orifice plate as an airflow meter and describes potential
III. METHODS
THEORETICAL FLOW
Volumetric airflow, Q , through an orifice plate can be calculated according to (Figliola and Beasley
2015)
2p
Q YK 0 A0 , (1)
where p is the pressure drop across the plate, is the density of the fluid (air), A0 is the hole area of
the orifice, K 0 is the flow coefficient, and Y is the adiabatic expansion factor (necessary for airflow).
CALIBRATION
The theoretical flow equation (1) for airflow through an orifice plate can be reorganized into the
following form:
2
Q YK 0 A0 p . (2)
This form can be compared directly to the standard equation for linear regression, which has the form
y a1x a0 , (3)
where x is the input variable, y is the output variable, and a01 are the regression coefficients. In this
case, the input variable is the square root of the pressure drop, p , and the output is the volumetric
flowrate Q . By inspection of (3) and (2), we see that the slope coefficient of the regression, a1 , is the
combination factor YK0 A0 2 . Also, note that the theoretical flow rate equation predicts the calibration
offset, a0 , to be zero.
EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS
The custom orifice plate consists of a half-inch plate sandwiched between two 3/4” NPT schedule 80
PVC pipe flanges (see Figure 1). The orifice has a 1/8” diameter and a 45 exit taper (downstream side).
Two straight sections of 3/4” pipe allow for flow stabilization up and downstream of the orifice plate. A
ball valve at the inlet controls airflow from a constant source (set to 30 psig for this experiment). At the exit
of the apparatus, a 90 fitting turns the flow to the upward (vertical) where a Kings Instrument rotameter
The custom orifice plate has up and downstream pressure taps that terminate with 1/4” NPT to 1/8”
flexible tubing adapters. Two Honeywell pressure sensors (SSCDRRN030PDAA5) were connected to the
pressure taps via 1/8” flexible tubing. These differential pressure sensors have a ±30 psi range, require a
5V supply, are temperature compensated, and provide amplified output from 0 to 5 Volts.
The output from the pressure sensors were connected to an Analog Devices USB device (NI USB-
6008) for data acquisition. A custom program was written to acquire and log data using Simulink (software
from MathWorks©) and the Instrumentation© and Data Acquisition© toolboxes. The input data range was
EXPERIMENTAL PROTOCOL
Calibration data was acquired at 8 flow rates ranging from zero (no flow) to 7 SCFM (inlet valve fully
open). Time was allowed for the flow to stabilize before data was recorded. At each experimental inlet
valve setting; upstream pressure sensor voltage, downstream pressure sensor voltage, and outlet volumetric
flow rate were recorded. Preliminary plots of flow vs the square root of pressure drops were created to
identify areas of the calibration range that may need additional data points.
CALIBRATION VERIFICATION
Once the calibration was completed, the resulting equation was added to the Simulink data acquisition
program in order to output the current flow rate through the custom orifice plate sensor. At five distinct
flowrates the output from the calibration equation was compared to the flow rate indicated by the rotameter
as a validation of the calibration. In addition, a step input was applied and the transient response of the flow
IV. RESULTS
The primary focus of this report is the calibration of a custom orifice-plate pressure sensor. Figure 2
(left side) shows the calibration data, with flow rate, Q , plotted vs. the square-root of the pressure drop
across the orifice plate, p . As can be seen, the relationship between Q and p is highly linear, and
the linear regression provides a good fit to the data. The resulting calibration equation is
Q=5.8√∆p+0.022 (4)
Figure 2 (right side) shows the calibration data plotted as Q vs. p along with the calibration curve
described in (4). As can be seen, the calibration equation accurately captures the nonlinear relationship
between flow rate and pressure drop across the orifice plate.
Figure 2. Calibration data for the custom orifice plate. Left side: Calibration data points and linear fit line found
by regressing the volumetric airflow rate to the square-root of pressure. Right Side: Calibration equation plotted
for flow rate vs pressure drop.
Once the calibration was completed, the resulting equation was programmed into the data acquisition
system and the accuracy of the flow rate measurement system was compared to the rotameter reference
source at multiple values. On average, the calibrated orifice plate airflow measurement system was within
conducted. At approximately 1 second into a 5 second data logging, the inlet valve was opened as quickly
as possible from a closed position. As can be seen in Figure 3, the step response of the pressure measurement
system is characterized by a sharp overshoot at the start of the step input, followed by an approximately
Figure 3. Step input response plot for the custom orifice plate. Orange line is the calibrated flow rate calculated
using the data from the calibration plot. Blue is the pressure drop measured in volts.
This paper described the calibration of a custom orifice plate sensor. The results from this experiment
conclude that calibrating Q vs sqrt(p) can yield good results for applications that require only a certain
degree of accuracy. The resulting system was accurate within roughly ±0.1 SCFM. This accuracy was
repeatable with the amount of data that was collected, but more extensive testing would be necessary for
conclusive results. An overshoot in the step response was noted when collecting data. This was mostly due
to the compressibility of air, which becomes turbulent when rapidly accelerated. After a short period, this
overshoot reached an equilibrium. Cost, ease of use, and the ability to use with most computers all play into
the advantages of the orifice plate sensor. It could be easily monitored remotely, and easily recalibrated
provided an alternate measuring device. A large disadvantage of the orifice plate flow measurement system
is the inaccuracy of measurement when turbulent air is present i.e, when there are dramatic pressure
changes. The relatively low accuracy of this system could also be seen as a disadvantage. Overall, with a
specific application, the custom orifice plate flow measurement system could be a very practical and useful
system.
VI. REFERENCES
Figliola, R. S. and D. Beasley (2015). Theory and design for mechanical measurements, John Wiley
& Sons.
Joint Committee on Orifice Coefficients of the American Gas Association and the American Society
of Mechanical, E. (1936). History of orifice meters and the calibration, construction, and operation of
orifices for metering. New York, Reprinted by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers.