MECH 320

EXPERIMENT 320-G FLOW MEASUREMENT TEST

1. OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the experiment is to demonstrate the working principles of four most common
devices used to measure the instantaneous flow rate in pipes; the orifice meter, the nozzle meter, the
venturi meter, and rotameter, and to determine discharge coefficients for the first three of them.

2. THEORY
Four of the most common devices used to measure the instantaneous flow rate in pipes are the
orifice meter, the nozzle meter, the Venturi meter, and the rotameter. Each of these meters operates
on the principle that a decrease in flow cross-section area in a pipe causes an increase in velocity
(see conservation of mass principle, continuity equation) that is accompanied by a decrease in
pressure (see the Bernoulli equation). Correlation of the pressure difference with the velocity
provides a means of measuring the flow rate.




Fig.1 Typical orifice meter construction

A typical orifice meter is constructed by inserting a flat plate with a hole between two flanges of a
pipe, as shown in Fig.1. The pressure at point (2) within the vena contracta is less than at point (1).
Nonideal effects occur for two reasons. First, the vena contracta area, A
2
, is less than the area of the
hole, A
0
, by an unknown amount. Thus, A
2
= C
c
A
0
, where C
c
is the contraction coefficient (C
c
< 1).
Second, the swirling flow and the turbulent motion near the orifice plate introduce a head loss that
cannot be calculated theoretically. Thus, an orifice discharge coefficient, C
o
, is used to take these
effects into account. The derivation results in the following expression:

= C
o
ideal

= C
o
A
o
) 1 (
) ( 2
4
2 1
|
P P

(Eq.1)

where A
o
= d
2
/ 4 is the area of the hole in the orifice plate. The value of C
o
is a function of =d/ D
and the Reynolds number, Re = VD/, where V=

/ A
1
. The values of C
o
for a typical orifice
meter are given in Fig.2. Note that the coefficient depends on the specific construction of the orifice
meter (i.e. the placement of the pressure taps, whether the orifice plate edge is square or chamfered,
etc.). It also depends on the Re number.




Fig. 2. Discharge coefficient for a typical orifice meter

Another type of pipe flowmeter that is based on the same principles used in the orifice meter
is the nozzle meter (Fig.3). This device uses a contoured nozzle rather than a simple plate with a
hole as in an orifice meter. The resulting flow pattern for the nozzle meter is closer to ideal than the
orifice meter flow. There is only a slight vena contracta and the secondary flow separation is less
severe, but there still are viscous effects. These are accounted for by use of the nozzle discharge
coefficient, C
n
:


) 1 (
) ( 2
4
2 1
|

= =
P P
A C C
n n ideal n

(Eq.2)

where, A
n
= d
2
/ 4. As with the orifice meter, the value of C
n
is a function of the diameter ratio, =
d/D, and the Reynolds number, Re= VD/ . Typical values obtained from experiments are shown
in Fig.4



Fig.3. A typical nozzle meter construction Fig.4. Discharge coefficient for a typical nozzle meter


The most precise and most expensive of the three obstruction type flow meters is the Venturi
meter shown in Fig. 5 (The Venturi effect is named after Giovanni Battista Venturi, (17461822),
an Italian physicist). Although the operating principle for this device is the same as for the orifice or
nozzle meters, the geometry of the Venturi meter is designed to reduce head loss to a minimum.
This is accomplished by providing a relatively streamlined contraction (which eliminates separation
ahead of the throat) and a very gradual expansion down-stream of the throat ( which eliminates
separation in this decelerating portion of the device).

Fig. 5 A typical Venturi meter construction.
The flowrate through a Venturi meter is given by

= C
v
) 1 (
) ( 2
4
2 1
|

=
P P
A C
T v ideal

(Eq. 3)
where, A
T
= d
2
/ 4 is the throat area.
The meters described above are termed variable head because the pressure drop varies
with the flow rate, obstruction ratio being fixed. In contrast, the variable-area meter ( or much
commonly known as rotameter) maintains a constant pressure differential but varies the flow area
with flow rate (Fig.6).

Fig. 6 Rotameter-type flowmeter
The fluid enters the bottom of the tapered
vertical tube and causes the bob or float
to move upward. The bob will rise to a
point in the tube such that the drag forces
are just balanced by the weight and
buoyancy forces. The position of the bob in
the tube is then taken as an indication of
the flow rate. A force balance on the bob
gives:

g g F
b b b f d
= + (Eq. 4)

where,
f
and
b
are the densities of the
fluid and the material of the bob,
b
is the
total volume of the bob, g is the
gravitational acceleration, and F
d
is the
drag force, which is given by

F
d
= C
d
A
b
2
2
m f
V

(Eq.5)
where, C
d
is a drag coefficient, A
b
is the frontal area of the bob, and V
m
is the mean flow velocity in
the annular space between the bob and the tube. From Eqn.s 4 and 5 one can obtain:

|
|
.
|

\
|

= = 1
2
f
b
b d
b
m
A C
g
A AV

(Eq. 6)
where A is the annular area and is given by:
A= ( ) | |
2 2
4
d ay D +
t
(Eq. 7)
D is the diameter of the tube at the inlet, d is the maximum bob diameter, y is the vertical distance
from the entrance, and a is a constant indicating the tube taper. The drag coefficient is dependent on
the Reynolds number; however, special bobs may be used that have an essentially constant drag
coefficient and thus offer the advantage that the meter reading will be essentially independent of
viscosity. The Eq. 6 may be written as follows:

f
f b
r
y C

(Eq. 8)
where C
r
is a meter constant. For designing a rotameter that gives an indication that is independent
of fluid density for measuring the mass flowrate, one can indicate that
b
should be equal to 2
f
. In
that case mass flowrate, m is given by
m =
b
r
y
C

2
(Eq. 9)
3. SET-UP DESCRIPTION
The set-up is designed to demonstrate three basic types of pipe-flow meter. The apparatus enables
the following instruction capabilities:
- Comparison of different flow meter types
- Study of flow and pressure measurement methods
- Determining the meter coefficient
- Calibration of flow meters
The test section, located over a hydraulics bench (Fig. 7), consists of a Venturi meter (3), an orifice
meter/ or nozzle meter (4), and a rotameter (5). A flow control valve (6) permits variation of the
flow rate. Pressure tappings enable measurement of the head losses of each flow meter. The
tappings are connected via hoses to a multi-tube manometer bank (2). The manometer panel
incorporates a manifold with an air bleed valve. All components of the flowmeter demonstration
unit are assembled on a panel (1) with stand. The unit is suited on the top of the hydraulic bench in
order to make use of water supply and volumetric measurement facilities of the bench. The
hydraulics bench unit provides the basic services for the pumping and volumetric measurement of
the water supply in a certain period of time. A calibrated level indicator (11) allows measuring the
amount of water circulated through the meters in the period.















4. EXPERIMENTATION
4.1 Notes on Safety
The set-up is kept in perfect condition from a safety point of view. To maintain this state and ensure
safe operation, the following points should be observed:
- Pull the power cord before working on the electric circuits.
- Any modifications and repairs to the electrical equipment must only be carried out under the
supervision of the lab technician and/ or the academic staff.
- In the event of obvious defects (e.g. split insulation on the electric wires), operation of the
system is potentially fatal. In such cases, shut down the system immediately.
- Never allow the electrical components to come into contact with water.
- Never operate the submergible pump with the tank empty.



11

1

1
10
11
12
13

14
15
16
17
18
19 Hydraulics Bench

10 Volumetric mesuring tank
11 Level indicator
12 Sliding valve
13 Sump
14 Drain cock
15 Submersible motor driven
pump
16 Water supply for
accessories with pump
17 Flow contrl valve
18 Overflow pipe
19 Switch box

Fig. 7 Test section and hydraulics bench
8
7
(or nozzle meter)
4.2 Procedure
Check the level of water in the sump tank. If necessary, fill sump tank with tap water until the water
level is 100 mm below edge of the sump tank.
- Control the type of the meter at part (4). Depending on the requirement of the supervisor,
assemble, either the orifice meter or the nozzle meter by screwing the terminal nuts, pay
attention to the direction of the flow through the meter.
- Join the test unit to the bench with water inlet and water drain hoses.
- Connect the up-stream and down-stream taps of the meters to the multi-tube manometer.
Note that all level tubes are connected to one another at the top and have a common vent
valve. Differential pressure is measured with the vent valve closed, and the gage pressure
with the vent valve open. (Fig.8)

Fig. 8 6-Tube manometer panel
- Open flow control valve slowly.
- Connect measurement lines again.
- Open water inlet slowly.
- Adjust the heights of the water in the manometer tubes with the help of flow control valve
until water becomes visible.
- Set the flow rate and the measuring scale with the inlet and outlet control valves
- Record the up-stream and down-stream pressures across the meters on the Experiment Data
Sheet.
- Close the siding valve (12) and determine the volumetric flow rate by reading the amount of
water stored in the tank of the bench from, e.g. from 20 to 30 liters and dividing this amount
to the time period for such a filling, use a stopwatch to establish the time period. Write down
the values on the Experiment Data Sheet.
- Measure the temperature of the water; determine its necessary physical properties at that
temperature.
- Set a new flow rate and repeat the pressure and flow rate measurements.

- Connect electric power supply.
- Switch on main power switch.
- Open all valves at pipe section and 6-tube
manometer.
- Switch on the pump.
- Open flow adjustment valve of the bench (17)
carefully, (Note that if the handle of the valve
is parallel to the axis of the pipe, the valve is
open).
- Let the water to flow for ~1 minute.
- Close flow control valve (6).
- Close drain valve of the 6-tube manometer to
vent the measurement lines.
- Close vent valve of the 6-tube manometer.
- Close water inlet.
- Disconnect measurement lines.
- Open vent and drain valve to discharge level
tubes of the 6-tube manometer.
- Close vent and drain valves.
4.3 Analysis
- Referring to the expressions and the definitions given at the theory part of the booklet calculate
the discharge coefficient for the Venturi meter and the orifice meter (or that for the nozzle
meter, if it is at the unit) for, at least five different values of the flow rate. The necessary
dimensions are as follows:
Orifice hole diameter, d= 18.50 [mm]
Minimum diameter of the nozzle, d= 14.00 [mm]
Pipe inside diameter, D= 28.35 [mm]
Venturi throat diameter, d= 10.38 [mm]
Venturi upstream diameter, D= 20.76 [mm]
- Plot the C vs Re number curve for the Venturi meter.
- Plot the C vs Re number curve for the orifice (or nozzle) meter.
- Check if the indicated value of the flow rate for each of the settings by the rotameter is the
same with the determined one by calculation. If it exists, calculate the relative error for the
indicated value of the rotameter; plot the calibration curve marking the calculated values vs
the indicated ones, respectively.
- Check if the density of the bob material is equal to the double of that of water.
- Plot the rotameter coefficient vs Re number curve
4.4 Report Questions
Answering the following questions and finding some others write a discussion part and express
your concluding remarks:
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of an orifice meter in flow measurement?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of a nozzle meter?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of a Venturi meter?
- Do you advise determining flow rate by applying storage tank- stopwatch method, for non-
steady flow? Why?
- Do you advise determining flow rate by applying storage tank- stopwatch method in a
closed loop pipe line?
- Why a rotameter is installed vertically?
- For a pipe-flow, which method do you apply in determining the flowrate with a orifice,
nozzle or Venturi meter considering that the flow meter discharge coefficient is a function of
Re number?




Appendix

Fig. 9 Density of pure water as a function of temperature.


Fig. 10 Dynamic viscosity of some common fluids as a function of temperature.

Name of the Student:___________________________ Lab Group No:___________
ID Number:__________________
Name of the Lab Supervisor:____________________ Date:___________________
MECH 320
320-G FLOW MEASUREMENT TEST
DATA SHEET

Physical Properties of Water:
Temperature:_____[C] Mass of Bucket (empty):___________ (kg)
Density:________[kg/m
3
] Mass of Bucket (full):___________ (kg)
Viscosity:_______[Ns/m
2
]
Flow Properties:
Set
No:
Storage
Time, [s]
Orifice/Nozzle Meter
Venturi Meter
A
1
:_________ A
2
:_________
Up-Stream
Pressure
[mmH
2
O]
Down-
Stream
Pressure
[mmH
2
O]
Up-Stream
Pressure
[mmH
2
O]
Down-
Stream
Pressure
[mmH
2
O]
Rotameter
reading
[L/s]