MAJAK MARIAL CHOL

5/8/23
VENTURIMETER EXPERIMENT

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

DEPARTMENT OF PETROLEUM AND MANUFACTURING

ENGINEERING

BSC. PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

FPE 232: FLUID MECHANICS II

EXPERIMENT 2: VENTURIMETER

PREPARED BY:

F22/143270/2021: MAJAK MARIAL CHOL DHOL

SUBMITTED TO: ENG. J. MWAKA

SUBMITTION DATE:

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VENTURIMETER EXPERIMENT

ABSTRACT
This experiment is to confirm and obtain the coefficient of discharge Cd, from
experimental data by the use of Venturimeter. By the ratio of the actual discharge
Qa to its theoretical discharge Qt. The main function of venturimeter is to measure
the flow rate of the fluid flowing in a pipe by means of a manometer attached to it.
Basically it works on the principal of Bernoulli’s Theorem. The pressure difference
in the inlet and the throat area where the venture meter is attached helps to measure
the flow rate of the liquid by means of a manometric head difference. The
theoretical discharge Qt is measured by means of a formula and the actual
discharge Qa values are obtained by collecting some amount of water in the
measuring tank and note the time in seconds. The slope of the graph constructed by
taking log Qa against log h gives us the average value of Cd. Due to losses inside
the pipe of the venturimeter and manometer limbs the Cd value is always less than
1. The overall experiment was performed according to the given instructions and
guidelines and the final result obtained established an important relationship
between the flow of liquid through a venturimeter.

OBJECTIVES

 To obtain the coefficient of discharge from experimental data by utilizing

venturi meter.
 To confirm the expression for the discharge through venture meter, Q = C.

√
2 g(h 1−h2 )
A2
( )
2
A2
1−
A1

 To determine n.

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INTRODUCTION

A venture meter is a device to measure the flow rate of a flowing fluid through a
pipe first created by a hydraulic Engineer Clemens Herschel (1842-1930). Venturi
meters are made of cast iron, bronze or steel. It consists of a short conical inlet
section known as diverging section leads to a throat section, then to a long
discharge cone known as the converging section. One end of a manometer is
attached at the location of convergence and the other end is attached to the throat
of the Venturimeter thus measuring the pressure difference by means of
manometer. An example of Venturimeter is shown in the fig 1.1:

FIG 1.1: VENTURIMETER

D1 = diameter of the inlet/pipe = 29mm

D2 = diameter of the throat =17mm

hm = manometer deflection.

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THEORY

The Venturi effect is a jet effect; as with an (air) funnel, or a thumb on a garden
hose, the velocity of the fluid increases as the cross sectional area decreases, with
the static pressure correspondingly decreasing. According to the laws governing
fluid dynamics, a fluid's velocity must increase as it passes through a constriction
to satisfy the principle of continuity, while its pressure must decrease to satisfy the
principle of conservation of mechanical energy. Thus any gain in kinetic energy a
fluid may accrue due to its increased velocity through a constriction is negated by a
drop in pressure. An equation for the drop in pressure due to the Venturi effect
may be derived from a combination of Bernoulli's principle and the continuity
equation.

The limiting case of the Venturi effect is when a fluid reaches the state of choked
flow, where the fluid velocity approaches the local speed of sound. In choked flow
the mass flow rate will not increase with a further decrease in the downstream
pressure environment.

However, mass flow rate for a compressible fluid can increase with increased
upstream pressure, which will increase the density of the fluid through the
constriction (though the velocity will remain constant). This is the principle of
operation of a de Laval nozzle. Increasing source temperature will also increase
the local sonic velocity, thus allowing for increased mass flow rate.

Consider the flow of an incompressible and inviscid fluid through the convergent-
divergent Venturi tube. Given that both the velocity and piezometer head are
constant over each of the sections considered, we might assume that flow to be

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VENTURIMETER EXPERIMENT

one-dimensional so that the velocity and the piezometric head vary only in the
direction of the tube length. Treating the convergent-divergent pipe as a stream-
tube and applying the Bernoulli’s theorem at sections 1,2,3,…………… and have

U 21 U 22 U 2n
+h1= + h2= +hn ---------------------- 1
2g 2g 2g

The Continuity equation is given by

U 1 A 1=U 2 A 2=U n An =Q-------------------------- 2

Substituting equation 1 for U1 in equation two gives

[ ]
2 2 2
U1 A2 U2
+h 1= + h2 ------------------------------ 3
2 g A1 2g

This implies

√
2 g (h1−h 2)
U 2=
--------------------------- 4
( )
2
A2
1−
A1

√
2 g(h 1−h2 )
The flow rate Q = A2
( ) (ideal discharge rate) ------------------------- 5
2
A2
1−
A1

The actual discharge is given by (where C = Discharge coefficient)

√( )
2 g(h 1−h2 )
Q = Cd A2 A2 2 -------------------------------------- 6
−1
A1

The velocity head U 22/2g at the throat can be conveniently used to express a
dimensionless way of expressing the distribution of piezometric head along the
length of the Venturi meter. Accordingly, the Piezometer Head Coefficient

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VENTURIMETER EXPERIMENT

h2−h1
C p h= 2 (n = 2,3,…) ----------------------------- 7
U2/ 2 g

The ideal distribution Cph along a Venturi meter (in terms of its geometry) is given.

( ) ( ) ------------------------------- 8
A 2 2 A2 2
C p h= −
A1 An

( ) ( ) ------------------------------- 9
D2 2 D2 2
C p h= −
D1 Dn

APPARATUS

Venturi meter

Two supply hoses

Measuring tank

DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

- A tube is connected to each to the inlet and outlet of a Venturi meter.

- The tube connected to the outlet of the Venturi meter is connected to the
measuring tank.

- The adjustable screws are adjusted to level

the Venturi meter.

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EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

 The apparatus was leveled by opening both the Bench Supply valve and the
control valve downstream of the meter to allow water to flow and clear air
pockets from the supply hose. This was achieved by connecting the
apparatus to a power supply.
 The control valve was then gradually closed causing water to rise up in the
tubes of the manometer thereby compressing the air contained in the
manifold.
 When the water level had risen to a convenient height, the bench valve was
also closed gradually so that as both valves are finally shut off, the meter
was left containing static water at moderate pressure.
 The adjustable screws were operated to give identical reading for all of the
tubes across the whole width of the manometer board. To establish the meter
coefficient measurements of a set of differential heads (h 1-h2) and flow rate
Q were made. - The first reading was taken with the maximum possible

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value when (h2 – h1) i.e. with h1 close to the top of the scale and h2 near to
the bottom. This was obtained by gradually opening both the bench valve
and the control valve in turn.
 Successive opening of either valve increased both the flow and the
difference between h1 and h2. The rate of flow was found by timing the
collection of unknown amount of water in the weighing tank, in the
meantime valves h1 and h2 was read from the manometer. Similarly, readings
were then taken over a series of reducing values of h 1 – h2 roughly equally
spread over the available range.

DATA/RESULTS

D1 = 0.029m

D2 = 13 mm = 0.017m

A1 = 3.14*(0.029)2/4 = 6.6x10^-4 m2

A2 = 3.14*(0.0.017)2/4 = 2.27x10^-4 m2

H =hm*(s-1)

Where s = specific gravity = 2.97 kg/m3

hm = h2-h1

TABLE OF RESULTS

h1 h2 h (m) hm (m) Volume Time Discharg ln(Q) ln(h)

(m) (m) V (m3) (s) eQ

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(m3/s)

0.6 1.08 0.48 0.245 0.012 23.22 5.17E-04 -7.57 -0.73

0.12 0.50 0.38 0.193 0.012 26.6 4.51E-04 -7.70 -0.97

0.22 0.48 0.26 0.133 0.012 32.72 3.67E-04 -7.91 -1.34

0.34 0.52 0.18 0.091 0.012 39.19 3.06E-04 -8.09 -1.72

0.42 0.53 0.11 0.058 0.012 51.45 2.33E-04 -8.36 -2.17

0.49 0.54 0.06 0.029 0.012 76.34 1.57E-04 -8.76 -2.86

Q = volume of liquid in the tank

Time in second

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Agraph of ln(h) against ln(Q)

-6.50
-3.00 -2.50 -2.00 -1.50 -1.00 -0.50

-7.00

-7.50
f(x) = 0.554756047570528 x − 7.16111726835207
ln(Q)

-8.00

-8.50

-9.00

ln(h)

CALCULATIONS

√
2g
CdA 1
Let
( )
A1 2
A2
−1
=k

» Q = khn

lnQ = lnkhn = nlnh +lnk

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This is in the form of y = mx+c

From the graph, n = 0.5548 ≈ 0.5

჻ n = 0.5

Y – intercept = - 7.1611

» lnk = -7.1611

K = ℮-7.1611 = 7.762x10-4

√( )
2g
Cd A 1
» A1 2 = 7.762x10-4
−1
A2

√
−4 2∗9.81
Cd x 6.6 x 10

( ) = 7.762x10^-4
−4 2
6.6 x 10
−4
−1
2.27 x 10

1.0708x10^-3 Cd = 7.762x10^-4

» Cd = 7.762x10-4/1.0708x10^-3

= 0.7248
Cd ≈ 0.72

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DISCUSSION

The graph above shows the relationship between ln(Q) and ln(h). It is anticipated
that the graph for ln(Q) against ln(h) result in a straight line. From the gradient of
the graph the average value of Cd can be obtained. However, the line does not pass
exactly through the Centre of origin which can be a result of experimental errors or
human errors while taking the readings

The experimental error is calculated as;

(0.98-0.72)/(0.98)*100 = 26.5%

CONCLUSION

The objectives were successfully achieved, however not to a high level of

accuracy. The objective of finding n was achieved but with a significant degree of
accuracy. We got our value as 0.5548 which I approximated to 0.5 which is the
true value. The other objective of calculating Cd was also achieved but with a low
level of accuracy. I got out value of Cd as 0.72 whereas the true value of the
coefficient of discharge of a venturi-meter(Cd) is 0.98 this implies that our value
has a percentage error of about 26.5%. These prevalent errors could arise from
various significant sources of errors present while conducting this experiment. One
of the major sources of error is: Due to the Universal Venturi Tube’s single-tap
design, the interface of the piezometer face to the flow must be sharp and free from
burrs or debris; otherwise, the differential pressure developed may be in error, and
thus, the indicated flow rate will be inaccurate. Other sources could arise from
errors in reading, and errors of parallax.

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REFERENCES

[1] Venturi Meter-Construction, working, equation, Application, Advantage,

and Disadvantage, 2016, Mecholic, [online].[Accessed 12th

November,2018]. Available from World Wide Web:

https://www.mecholic.com/2016/11/venturi-meter-construction-
working-equation- application-advantages.html.

[2] Venturi Meter, 2009, NPTEL, [online]. [Accessed 12th

November,2018]. Available from World Wide Web:

https://nptel.ac.in/courses/122103011/22.

[3] Venturi Effect and Its Applications, 2018, ScienceStruck, [online].

[Accessed 13th November, 2018]. Available from World Wide Web:

https://sciencestruck.com/explanation-applications-of-venturi-effect.

[4] Fluid Mechanics, 2018, Mech4study, [online]. [Accessed 13th

November, 2018]. Available from World Wide Web:
http://www.mech4study.com/2018/06/what-is-venturimeter-how-it-works.html

[5] Advance Measurement System and Sensors, 2011, Flow and

Temperature Sensors, [online]. [Accessed 12th November, 2018]. Available

from World Wide Web:
https://www.philadelphia.edu.jo/academics/kaubaidy/uploads/Sensor-Lect10.pdf

***THE END***
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