SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING,

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, ISLAMABAD.

ME-337 Fluid Mechanics Lab Report

Name Registration # Section
Abdulrehman khan 414848 C

Lab # 01: The Hydraulic Bench

Objective
To measure the volume flow rate at various valve positions using the volumetric tank of the
hydraulic bench.

Apparatus
1. Water Channel

2. Working Bench

3. Flow Control Valve

4. Main Switch

5. Centrifugal Pump

6. Dump Valve

7. Volumetric Tank

8. Sight Tube

9. Dump Valve

10. Sump Tank

 Hydraulic bench

Description
In the lowest section is a sump tank used to hold water. Water is drawn from the sump tank
via a centrifugal pump, which is connected to a control valve and an exit in the open channel's
bed. Water is collected in the volumetric measurement tank, which is stepped on to handle
high and low flow rates after it has passed through the testing unit. A stilling baffle and a
remote sight tube with a calibrated volumetric scale are features of the volumetric tank.
Water is recycled back into the sump tank via a dump valve located at the foot of the tank. In
the case that the dump valve is left closed, the stilling baffle has an overflow aperture to avoid
overtopping.

Procedure
1. Firstly, we ensured that the Hydraulic Bench is placed on a level ground with
locked wheels and that the sump tank of the Hydraulic Bench is approximately
90% full.
2. Then we directed the water supply from the Hydraulic Bench into the volumetric
tank using the appropriate connector and hose. After that, we fastened the hose
with a hose clip.
3. Then we fully closed the flow control valve and switched on the main switch to
run the centrifugal pump.
4. After that, we gradually opened the flow control valve and allowed the piping to
fill with water until all air had been expelled from the system.
5. As the water level got risen in the tank, we measured the amount of time taken
to fill a portion of the sump tank by observing the “sight gauge”.
6. We repeated observation for various flow rates to fill up ten liters space of water.
Results and Calculations
S# Valve position Volume, [m3] Time, [s] Flowrate, ̇[m3/s]
1 180o 0.01 61 0.0001639
2 360o 0.01 25 0.0004
3 540o 0.01 21.2 0.0004716
4 720o 0.01 19.5 0.0005128
5 900o 0.01 17.5 0.0005714
6 1080o 0.01 15.39 0.0006497
Table 1

Specimen Calculation
For 1800: -
Volume to be filled = 0.01m3
Time taken = 61s
Flowrate = Volume/Time = 0.01/61 = 0.0001639m3/s

Graph
The graph between the valve position and the volumetric flow rate: -

Valve position
0.0007

0.0006
Volumetric Flow rate

0.0005

0.0004

0.0003

0.0002

0.0001

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Graph 1
Discussion
By looking at the results obtained from the table and the graph, we can see that the volume
flow rate increases with the opening of the flow control valve. The relationship between these
two is supposed to be completely directly proportional in an ideal case but is not in our case.
This can be because of the following reasons: -

➢ Friction between the fluid and the pipe.

➢ Faulty apparatus.
➢ Wrong calculation of time or volume on the sight tube.
➢ Incapability of the performer.
Overall, we tried to reduce the error as much as possible by taking multiple readings.

Conclusion
In conclusion, we simply learned that the volume flow rate is directly proportional to the flow
of the fluid. The greater the flow, the greater the volume flow rate.