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Lab #2

Experiment #3
Venturi Meter

Fluid Mechanics Lab

Abstract

Flow rate is a common measurement which often needs to be performed. A venturi

meter allows the flow rate in a pipe to be determined from a pressure differential. A
venturi narrows the diameter of the pipe for a short duration, converting pressure head
to velocity head. Through this pressure differential, Bernoulli’s equation, and the
known dimensions of the venturi, the flow rate of the incompressible fluid can be
determined.

h1

hthroat
ntroduction

Figure 1: Venturi Meter Concept

Pressure is measured at the point h1 and hthroat. As seen in Figure 1, the point hthroat is
known as the vena contracta – this is where the velocity is at its maximum. Listed in
Table 1 are the venturi dimensions. Athroat is the cross-sectional area of the throat,
where hthroat is measured; A1 is the area at the point where h1 is measured.

Table 1: Venturi Data

 A1 (d1) Athroat (dthroat)

0.0021 m2 (0.026 m) 0.00080 m2 (0.016 m)

Because the amount of energy in the flowing fluid must be conserved, the pressure
drop occurring is easily used to measure the velocity of the fluid in the throat. This is
converted to volumetric flow rate by multiplying the cross-sectional area.

Procedure

The venturi meter experiment is initiated by closing the valves on the hydraulic bench,
turning on the pump, and slowly opening them to ensure that water is flowing. Open
the air valve atop the manometer bank and adjust the flow control valve and/or the air
valve to develop a difference of at least 100 mm of head between manometers A and
D. Place weight on the balance lever and begin timing and weighing. When the
balance tips, the time is recorded and used to calculate the actual mass flow rate. Mass
flow rates are calculated five times for each adjustment in flow on the hydraulic
bench. Five flow adjustments are to be made, with an average time calculated.
Additional mass may be added if the time is too short to accurately measure. The head
loss between manometers A and D is also recorded for each flow rate.

Results and Discussion

The venturi meter constant k, calculated from equation 1, is a reformulation of

Bernoulli’s equation, taking into account the change in velocity head between the inlet
and the throat of the venturi.
 (1) Venturi meter constant

This constant is then multiplied by the square root of the differential head observed on
the manometers (Equation 2). This will give the theoretical discharge, which assumes
an ideal fluid with no energy loss due to viscosity/friction. In order to determine a
more realistic value, a coefficient determined either empirically or from charts of
Reynolds Numbers and venturi materials must be used. The coefficient will always be
less than 1, as in the real world energy is always lost. This coefficient is multiplied
(Equation 3).

(2) Theoretical Discharge

(3) Actual Discharge

The flow rate is related logarithmically to the differential head (See Figure 2). In the
case of this experiment, the discharge coefficient C is calculated graphically using
empirical data – measured volumetric flow rate and change in head. By plotting the
logarithmic measured discharge and measured head loss data points (see Figure 3) and
determining the linear trend line equation, two constants – α and β – can be found.
Rearrangement of Equation 3 can also be used to determine C:

(4) Determination of C from measured flow rate

Table 2: Venturi Constants

k (Equation 1) Discharge Coeff. C (Equation 4)
0.0039 0.041

Table 3: Venturi Meter Test data

Trial Time Mass Δh Qmeas Qtheo Qactual %
(avg. kg) error
(avg. s) (avg. (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s)
m)

1 48.892 6 0.1138 0.0003682 0.0012984 4.19E-05 11.38

2 27.782 4 0.1332 0.0004319 0.0014048 5.75E-05 13.32

3 26.912 4 0.1398 0.0004459 0.0014392 6.23E-05 13.98

4 7.188 2 0.1898 0.0008347 0.0016769 0.00016 18.98

Figure 2: Calibration Curve – relationship between discharge and head loss.

Figure 3: Determination of C – Flow rate vs. Head Loss

y = 1.6543x – 4.5197
While five different flow rates were tested, one of the flow rate tests contained several
outliers and skewed the graph, bringing the R2 value to 0.78 versus 0.96 without that
particular data point. Hence, it was removed.

Conclusions

The results seemed to be more error-prone that expected, in reality there will be
variations from theory as friction/viscosity result in energy loss in the system and
slightly different heads in each part of the venturi. Also pulsation of the water being
pumped made it difficult to read some of the manometer readings; these were either
discarded or averaged with others in order to obtain a more consistent result. If the
pump is turned off, extra air enters the system and needs to be purged prior to
proceeding, or else it will produce error in the manometer readings.

References

1. Crowe, Clayton T., Donald F. Elger, Barbara C. Williams, and John A. Roberson.
Engineering Fluid Mechanics. 9th edition. John Wiley & Sons, 2009.