NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
HYDRAULICS LABORATORY

EXPERIMENT NO. 9
DEMONSTRATION OF FLUID FLOW THROUGH AN ORIFICE

I. OBJECTIVE:
1. To demonstrate the fluid flow through an orifice.
2. To identify the factors affecting the fluid flow through an orifice.
3. To relate the head causing the flow and the time of discharge.
4. To determine the meter coefficient or coefficient of discharge Cd.
5. To cite practical examples of the use of an orifice.

II. MATERIALS:
 Prismatic Container (constant cross section ex. Cylindrical container with a
height of 0.5 m or higher)
 Stopwatch
 Water

III. THEORY:

An opening, in a vessel, through which the liquid flows out is known as orifice. This
hole or opening is called an orifice, so long as the level of the liquid on the upstream side
is above the top of the orifice.
The typical purpose of an orifice is the measurement of discharge. An orifice may be
provided in the vertical side of a vessel or in the base. But the former one is more
common.
https://www.codecogs.com/library/engineering/fluid_mechanics/orifice/
 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
HYDRAULICS LABORATORY

IV. PROCEDURE:

A. Contruction of an orifice on the side of a vessel.

1. Prepare a cylindrical container with one end open.

2. Locate a point on the side of the tank at H/4 from the ground. Name this as
point O.
3. Punch a 1 cm diameter hole at Point O. This hole represents the orifice.
4. Mark points H1, H2 and H3 at a height of H, 3H/4 and H/2 from the ground,
respectively.

B. Measurement of discharge through an orifice on an open vessel with variable

heads. (For an open vessel, head is equal to the height of liquid measured from the
centroid of the orifice).
1. Record the time for the water level to drop from H1 to H2 following the steps
below:
a. Close or cover the orifice with your hand and fill the container with water
up to its full height.
b. Start the timer as you open or uncover the orifice and allow the fluid to
flow.
c. Close or cover the orifice as soon as the water level reaches H2. Stop the
timer.
d. Record the results in Table 1.
2. Record the time for the water level to drop from H2 to H3. Repeat steps a to b
above. Use Table 2.
3. Record the time for the water level to drop from H3 to O. Repeat steps a to b
above. Use Table 3.
4. Repeat Steps 1 to 3 up to three trials.
5. Solve for the theoretical discharge (Qth) from the formula: Q= A o √ 2 gH
6. Solve for the actual discharge (Qa) = Volume discharged / time
7. Solve for Cd.
 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
HYDRAULICS LABORATORY

C. Demonstration of fluid flow through an orifice on a closed vessel.

1. Fill the container with water up to H2 while covering the orifice.
2. Cover the top of the vessel and secure the lid such that no air could enter the
container.
3. Start the timer as you open/uncover the orifice and allow the fluid to flow.
4. Stop the timer as the water level reaches H3.
5. Record the results and repeat steps 1-4 up to 3 trials. Use Table 4.

V. DATA AND RESULTS

A. Closed Vessel: Discharge when the head is H1.

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

Time (s)
Average time in seconds:
Head (H1) in m:
Volume discharged (V) in m3:
Qa in m3/s:
Qth in m3/s:
Meter coefficient Cd = Qa / Qth:
*Volume discharged is equal to the amount of water from H1 to H2 as shown:

B. Closed Vessel: Discharge when the head is H2.

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

Time (s)
Average time in seconds:
Head (H1) in m:
Volume discharged (V) in m3:
Qa in m3/s:
Qth in m3/s:
Meter coefficient Cd = Qa / Qth:
 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
HYDRAULICS LABORATORY

C. Closed Vessel: Discharge when the head is H3.

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

Time (s)
Average time in seconds:
Head (H1) in m:
Volume discharged (V) in m3:
Qa in m3/s:
Qth in m3/s:
Meter coefficient Cd = Qa / Qth:

D. Open Vessel: Discharge when the head is H2.

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

Time (s)
Average time in seconds:
Head (H1) in m:
Volume discharged (V) in m3:
Qa in m3/s:
Qth in m3/s:
Meter coefficient Cd = Qa / Qth:

VI. COMPUTATIONS

VII. DRAWING (drawing of the set-up you created with complete details such as materials
used and dimensions)

VIII. PICTURES (actual pictures while performing the experiments.)

 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
HYDRAULICS LABORATORY

IX. DISCUSSION
Answer the following questions:
1. Compare the time taken to dicharge water through an open and closed vessels. Use
values from Tables 2 and 4 to support your answer.
2. Discuss how the pressure head affects the discharge through an orifice.
3. Cite other examples to show the effect of pressure in the fluid flow such as follows.
Provide at least 5 pictures and explain each.

Punching one hole at the lid of
the can will allow you to pour the
milk but not as fast as when you
do it with two holes as shown
above. Imagine how faster could
it be when you add more holes?
By doing this, air is allowed to
enter and creates pressure that
pushes the milk out the
container.
Have you seen something similar to these? Have
you ever wondered what are these for? The
vertical pipes that you see protruding on a roof
are called vents. Yes, I know you figured that
out already, to allow air to flow, but for what
reason? As an example, these vent pipes are
connected to the plumbing and sanitary pipes
such as in soil stacks, the air through the vent
helps you flush the toilet. Imagine how difficult
it would be to use the bathroom without the
vents.

X. OBSERVATION AND CONCLUSION