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orifice lab report

Experimental Methods (Houston Community College)

Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university

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ORIFICE PLATE

LABORATORY REPORT

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ABSTRACT

The flow measuring instrument which is used to measure the difference in a pressure of a

fluid at different point is called Orifice meter. It is constructed by two vertical pipes that

supports the orifice plate and pressure taps. These plates are affected by the change in pressure

and the velocity of the fluid passing through the pipe. The orifice’s readings record the flowrate

when the fluid passes through the pipe. As it is known, the dropping pressure will cause the

increment in velocity and vice-versa. This is the main idea that operates Orifice meter.

Several trials were conducted in the lab to achieve a more precise reading at different

flowrates of water flowing through the pipe. From the readings recorded, we were able to

calculate the coefficient of discharge(Cc), which is mainly depends on the cross-sectional area of

the pipe, the orifice plate and the Reynolds number as well. This coefficient of discharge enables

us to adjust the settings of the orifice meter to any type of fluid that might have different

viscosities.

There are two different methods to calculate the coefficient of flow. The first one is by

calculating the average of coefficient of discharge for each trial by using the ratio of the actual to

ideal flowrate. Whereas, the second method was involving the plotting of ideal flowrate and

actual flowrate and finding the slope.

To calculate the coefficient of discharge of the flow, two different methods are used. The

first one involves averaging the coefficient of discharge for each run by using equation (3),

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which is the ratio of the actual flowrate to the ideal flowrate. The second method includes

plotting the ideal flowrate and the actual flowrate and finding the slope of the line.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................1

METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................5

RESULTS ................................................................................................................................................8

DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................................................10

CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................................................12

REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................14

APPENDIX A -DERIVATION OF THE IDEAL FLOW RATE .........................................................15

APPENDIX B - EXPERIMENTAL DATA .........................................................................................17

APPENDIX C........................................................................................................................................18

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INTRODUCTION
The theory behind the working mechanism of Orifice plates is the conservation of

energy and the conservation of mass. The flow rate in a pipe can be measured by restricting the

flow and measuring the pressure differences through that restriction. The devices that are used to

measure the flow rates are Orifice meter, Nozzle meter, Ventura meter which work under the

same physical principles. Figure below illustrates orifice meter. It shows a plate that drops the

pressure and increase the velocity. The small tapered hole or orifice with the sharp edge facing

upstream is placed at a joint in a pipeline and the pressure drop between a point just upstream of

the plate and a second point slightly downstream is measured.

Figure 1. Orifice Plate Meter.

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The volumetric flow rate in the pipe can be measured using an orifice meter by

calculating the pressure drops between two points. In the DLMX® Orifice Plate cartridge, the

pressure drop is measured across an orifice of fixed geometric shape, where the orifice and

pressure taps can be observed. The actual picture for the DLMX® Orifice Plate cartridge is

shown below.

Figure 2. Orifice Plate cartridge on DLMX® with base unit.

The DLMX® Orifice Plate cartridge illustrates the principles of change in form of

mechanical energy and how the change in pressures relate to the change in velocity in form of

kinetic energy at a point in the system.

After the experiment, one can have a clear understanding about the energy changes

throughout the orifice plates and can be able to calculate the orifice coefficient, Co, which
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doesn’t have any unit and is used to characterize the type of flow and pressure loss in fluid

systems. It can be calculated by taking the ratio of actual flow rate and ideal flow rate as shown

in the equation below,

/
,-. 1×∆3
!"#$%"& = () × × / (1)
0 8.
4∗ 67
89

where,

Qactual = actual flow rate

Co = the orifice coefficient

DB = diameter of orifice

DA = diameter of pipe

∆P = pressure difference

ρ = density of the fluid

This equation can be used to calculate the actual flow rate where pressure

difference is obtained from DLMX® during the experiment.

Similarly, the ideal flow rate can be calculated using the equation below,

=>?1 2×∆B
!:;<"& = × 1
4 >? (2)
C∗ 1−
>F

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Equation (2) shows the equation one can use in order to calculate the ideal flow rate, and

an extended derivation is shown in Appendix A. The pressure difference, ∆B, is gathered from

the DLMX® during the experiment; this will be used to calculate the ideal flow rate passing

through the meter.

Finally, these calculated actual and ideal flow rate can be used to determine the Orifice

coefficient, Co, which is simply the ratio of actual flow rate to the ideal flow rate.

orifice coefficient, (G , in Equation (3)

!"#$%"&
(G = (3)
!:;<"&

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METHODOLOGY
Equipment and Material List

A DLMX® Orifice Plate cartridge was used along with a DLMX® Base Unit. The

DLMX® Orifice Plate had an unrestricted pipe region that was measured 6.4 mm in diameter

and an orifice region that was measured 4.0 mm in diameter. Tap water from the lab’s sink was

also used to fill up the vessel.

Experimental apparatus

The picture of two devices are shown below where figure 3 shows the DLMX® Base

Unit and Figure 4 shows the DLMX® Orifice Plate Cartridge used in the lab. First, the DLMX®

Base Unit was filled with tap water and the power was turned on using the device manual

instruction. The DLMX® Orifice Plate then was connected to the DLMX® Base Unit. The

display on the DLMX® Base Unit showed the difference in pressure reading in mbar and the

actual volumetric flow rate in L/min. The flow was adjusted using the tuner on the base unit.

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Figure 3. DLMX® Base Unit

Figure 4. DLMX Orifice Plate Cartridge

Experimental procedure

The experiment was started by connecting the DLMX® Orifice plate cartridge to the base

unit which made a clicking noise. The base unit was turned on and the vessel was filled up with

tap water so that the maximum flow rate could be determined. In order to base the increments,

the maximum flow rate must be determined before the data was recorded. Then, the flow rate

was adjusted to approximately 1L/min and the readings of pressure dropped between the

entrance and orifice and the actual flow rate were recorded. Slowly, the flow rate was increased

by approximately 0.5L/min and readings for each increment were taken until the maximum flow

rate was achieved. We took the snapshots using our cellphone while taking the readings to

minimize any possible uncertainty errors. Another error that might have occurred in this
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experiment is due to the formation of air bubbles in the meter which could be eliminated by

readjusting the pipes from time to time.

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RESULTS
Using the data tables in Appendix B to determine the average actual flow rate Qactual for

each 0.5 L/min increment, where the ideal flow rate Qideal were obtained using the Equation (1)

and averaged. We obtained Co, by dividing Qactual over Qideal .

Table 1. Average ideal and actual flow rates and coefficient of discharge () .

Pressure
Flow
(ΔPa>b) Q actual Q ideal Q ideal Co=
[L/min Pressure (Pa)
[mbar (in (L/min) (m^3/s) (L/min) Qactual/Qideal
(GPH)]
H2O)]
1 19 1900 1 3.13805E-05 1.8828 0.531116023
1.1 25 2500 1.1 3.59959E-05 2.1598 0.509317836
1.2 28 2800 1.2 3.80944E-05 2.2857 0.525011038
1.3 32 3200 1.3 4.07247E-05 2.4435 0.532028096
1.4 37 3700 1.4 4.37909E-05 2.6275 0.532835777
1.5 41 4100 1.5 4.60972E-05 2.7658 0.54233238
1.6 48 4800 1.6 4.98773E-05 2.9926 0.534645072
1.7 56 5600 1.7 5.38737E-05 3.2324 0.525921726
1.8 62 6200 1.8 5.66863E-05 3.4012 0.529228062
1.9 70 7000 1.9 6.02326E-05 3.6140 0.525739715
2 77 7700 2 6.31725E-05 3.7903 0.527655947
2.1 83 8300 2.1 6.55876E-05 3.9353 0.533637638
2.2 91 9100 2.2 6.86757E-05 4.1205 0.533910164
2.3 101 10100 2.3 7.23508E-05 4.3410 0.529826106
2.4 109 10900 2.4 7.51616E-05 4.5097 0.532186921
2.5 117 11700 2.5 7.7871E-05 4.6723 0.535073302
2.6 128 12800 2.6 8.14493E-05 4.8870 0.532028096
2.7 143 14300 2.7 8.60896E-05 5.1654 0.522711373
2.8 153 15300 2.8 8.90488E-05 5.3429 0.524056993
2.9 173 17300 2.9 9.46903E-05 5.6814 0.510435828
Average of Co = 0.5285

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We calculated the coefficient of discharge Co by using two methods. The first one, is by

calculating the Coefficient of discharge for each trial. The second method, is by graphing the

data on excel and fit a line to find the slope which turned to be Co = 0.5274.

3.5

2.5
y = 0.5274x
R² = 0.9973
Q actual

1.5

0.5

0
0.0000 1.0000 2.0000 3.0000 4.0000 5.0000 6.0000
Q ideal

Figure 4. Ideal Flow rate (!:;<"& ) versus Actual Flow rate (!"#$%"& )

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DISCUSSION
We were able to calculate the volumetric flow rate using equation (2) which was derived

from the mechanical energy and continuity equation. The actual flow rate and the pressure drop

was obtained from the experiment readings. The graphical and analytical method was used to

determine the value of orifice coefficient from the ideal flow rate values. The graphical method

used the plotting of calculated !:;<"& vs. !"#$%"& on a graph and finding the slope of the function.

The value of orifice coefficient was found to be 0.5274 Using graphical method. Also, the orifice

coefficient, () , was determined at each flow rate increment by dividing !"#$%"& by !:;<"& , and

taking the average of the calculated () values, which came out to be 0.5285. The difference

between two values for () was seen between the two techniques because of statistical outliers in

the () data and the fact that the orifice’s geometry generates higher energy loss with higher flow

rate.

As the flow meters obey the law of the conservation of the mechanical energy, the

velocity of the flow will increase and the pressure will decrease as the cross-sectional area of the

meter is decreased. This experiment was clarified this fact since the pressure drop ΔP between

the portion of unobstructed flow and the portion at the orifice for each flow increment shows a

decrease in pressure and can been seen in Appendix B. Due to the non-ideal situations each type

of flow meter has its own discharge coefficient which is used to calculate the energy losses in the

meter due to any friction and other factors. Comparing the data and calculations taken from the

previous lab, it was found the Venturi discharge coefficient of the DLMX® Venturi Cartridge

was 0.8867. whereas the orifice coefficient, () , was 0.5274. It is clear that the orifice meter

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produces greater energy losses compared to the Venturi meter. Since the orifice plate caused

swirling turbulent flow motion, the smooth and steady expansion in the Venturi meter results in a

higher discharge coefficient. In addition, the vena contracta effect causes a greater head loss in

the orifice meter which resulted in lower discharge coefficient. The vena contracta effect occurs

when the cross-sectional area of the flow is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the sharp

edged orifice. The converging streamlines of the flow follows a smooth path and were unable to

abruptly change direction to closely follow the sharp angle of the orifice. One way to rectify the

problem with sharp edged orifice meter and obtain a higher () is to use a round edged orifice or

a short protruding tube orifice.

Even though Venturi is more preferable than orifice energy loss wise, the orifice is

known to be more cost efficient because of its manufacturing simplicity. Also, its plates are easy

to repair or replace which makes it applicable in many industrial applications. So, the selection

of one of these devices really depends on the type of application it is going to be used for where

one has to compromise advantage of energy losses over the cost or vice versa.

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CONCLUSION
The learning outcome of this lab was gaining the knowledge of how system pressures

relate to kinetic energy at different points of system and flow measurements as the fluid flows

through that system. The data recorded were used to calculate the orifice coefficient which could

be compared to the experimental value of the Venturi discharge coefficient.

By using the DLMX® Base Unit, flow rates and changes in pressure readings were

recorded and tabulated in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, which were then used to calculate () . It

was observed that the change in pressure affected the velocity in the flow by increasing it, but it

also caused the vena contracta, and in turn this caused turbulence reducing the () . The averages

of the collected data were taken to find the true () value which turned out to be 0.5274 The

range for a typical orifice meter is approximately between 0.60 to 0.64 and the value calculated

for this laboratory experiment turned out to be within that range confirming this is an orifice

meter. There are four types of orifices, a sharp edged orifice with a () of 0.62, a rounded orifice

with a () of 1.00, a short tube orifice with a () of 1.00, and a borda orifice with a () of 0.52 [3].

Comparing our experimental value to these values, it was clear the type of orifice that was used

in the experiment was a sharp edged orifice.

This experimental data was compared to a Venturi meter’s discharge coefficient, Cv, from

previous lab with a value of 0.8867, and it was observed that the () was much lower with a

numerical value of 0.5274 which indicates that there were more losses accounted for the orifice

meter making it a less efficient meter.

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At the end, it is obvious that orifice meter is not an ideal choice for an application that

requires minimum energy losses, but it can still be suitable choice where the cost and

maintenance is the real preference due to its simplicity.

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REFERENCES

[1] "FUNDAMENTALS OF ORIFICE METERS." Ed. Smith Metering, Inc. Web.

[2] " Orifice Meter - Google Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.

[3] " Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Feb. 2017. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.

[4] " Spreadsheet Software Programs | Excel Free Trial. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.

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APPENDIX A -DERIVATION OF THE IDEAL FLOW RATE

By using the orifice meter, the flow rate of can be obtained by applying the mechanical

energy equation (1) and the continuity equation (2). point A will be at the unrestricted region of

the meter and point B will be at the orifice of the meter.

6 6
BF + CKF1 + L ∙ CℎF + OPQ"R$ = B? + CK?1 + L ∙ Cℎ? + O&GPP (1)
1 1

!:;<"& = KF ×SF = K? ×S? (2)

BF Is the pressure at point A, KF is the average velocity of the flow at point A, ℎF is the

vertical distance from the reference point to a point in part A, and SF is the cross sectional area at
T
part A. Part B will be similar, also L is the gravitational acceleration 9.81 / ,, OPQ"R$ is the shaft
P

energy, O&GPP is the loss energy, and C is the water density.

By applying Eq (2) we can obtain the average velocity at point A

U. ×F.
KF = (3)
F9

Also we can simplify Eq (1) by neglecting the friction loss and assuming ℎF = ℎ?
6 6
CK?1 = BF − B? + CKF1 (4)
1 1

The cross sectional areas for the orifice meter at point A and B are

SF = =/4×>F 1 (5)

S? = =/4×>? 1

(6)

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We can determine the average flow velocity by combining Equations (3), (4), (5), and (6), we
get.

1×(39 73.)
K? = 8.
/ (7)
4× 67
89

By using Eq (1), (7), and the diameter of the meter at point B we can calculate ideal flow rate at
point B.

=>?1 2×∆B
!:;<"& = ×
4 > 1 (8)
C∗ 1− ?
>F

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APPENDIX B - EXPERIMENTAL DATA

Pressure
(ΔPa>b) Q actual
Pressure (Pa)
[mbar (in (L/min)
H2O)]
19 1900 1
25 2500 1.1
28 2800 1.2
32 3200 1.3
37 3700 1.4
41 4100 1.5
48 4800 1.6
56 5600 1.7
62 6200 1.8
70 7000 1.9
77 7700 2
83 8300 2.1
91 9100 2.2
101 10100 2.3
109 10900 2.4
117 11700 2.5
128 12800 2.6
143 14300 2.7
153 15300 2.8
173 17300 2.9

Table 2: Experimental Data

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APPENDIX C
Quiz exercises

1. Why would an engineer choose to use an orifice plate over other types of flow

meters?

Orifice plate is preferred of other types because of the low maintenance. Also, the

accuracy of the flow that can be determined without the need for calibration due to the

coefficients that converts the pressure into flow rate.

2. What is the “vena contracta” as it relates to an orifice plate? What causes this vena

contracta to occur?

Pressure increases as the fluid approaches the orifice and then drops suddenly as the

orifice passed. It keeps dropping down until it reaches the “vena contracts” and it

increases gradually until it is about 5 to 8 diameters downstream a maximum pressure

point is reached which it is lower than the pressure upstream.

3. Derive the equation for velocity in an orifice plate starting with the mechanical

energy balance for the orifice on the left below. NOTE: Do = orifice diameter; Dp =

pipe diameter

[ [
YZ + Y]\Z + ^_Z = Y` + Y]\` + ^_`
\ \

a = bZ ]Z = b` ]`

b` ]`
]Z =
bZ

[ g\d [
cd ^\( f \ − f) = id − ih
\ gh \

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\(id − ih ) \ id − ih
cd = cd\ =
g\d
g\ f \−[
f( \d − [) gh
gh

Worksheet Exercises

1. After viewing the cartridge, sketch the orifice meter labeling flow directions,

diameters, and pressure taps. Briefly describe how you think those values will allow

you to measure flow rates.

The differential pressure depends on the flow rate of the fluid used and is calculated

using the pressure taps at both ends of the plate. The type of fluid used and size of pipe

will determine the size of the pressure taps.

2. Sketch a graph of the pressure versus distance along the pipe in the vicinity of the

Orifice Plate. Also sketch a graph of the velocity versus distance. In the graphs,

start a short distance upstream and go to a short distance downstream the Orifice

Plate?

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Pressure-distance
18000

Pressure (Pa)
13000

8000

3000

-2000 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2
Distance

Q actual
Pressure (Pa)
(L/min)
1900 1
2500 1.1
2800 1.2
3200 1.3
3700 1.4
4100 1.5
4800 1.6
5600 1.7
6200 1.8
7000 1.9
7700 2
8300 2.1
9100 2.2
10100 2.3
10900 2.4
11700 2.5
12800 2.6
14300 2.7
15300 2.8
17300 2.9

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The change in pressure in a pipe between the two ends is represented in the Pressure vs.

Distance chart.

Velocity-distance
3.5
Velocity (m/s) 3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0

Distnace

Q actual
Velocity (m/s)
(L/min)
0.9364 1
1.0742 1.1
1.1368 1.2
1.2153 1.3
1.3068 1.4
1.3756 1.5
1.4884 1.6
1.6077 1.7
1.6916 1.8
1.7974 1.9
1.8852 2
1.9572 2.1
2.0494 2.2
2.1591 2.3
2.2429 2.4
2.3238 2.5
2.4306 2.6
2.5690 2.7
2.6574 2.8
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2.8257 2.9

The change in velocity in a pipe between the two ends is represented in the Velocity vs.

Distance chart. The change in velocity was calculated by from the two equations

\(id 7ih ) U. ×F.

cd = , KF = Then jK = K? − KF
g\
F9
f( \d 7[)
gh

3. Imagine a fluid packet moving through the Orifice Plate. What happens to its

kinetic energy as it moves through the Orifice and then downstream? Where does

this energy come from and where does it go?

The orifice reduces the cross-sectional area which causes an increase in velocity of

the fluid used through the orifice to help keep a steady fluid flow through the pipe. The

velocity of the fluid is directly proportional to the kinetic energy while kinetic energy is

inversely proportional to static pressure. Any increase in velocity will cause an increase

in kinetic energy. Any increase in kinetic energy will result a decrease in static pressure.

The differential pressure depends on the flow rate of the fluid used and is calculated

using the pressure taps at both ends of the pipe.

4. Draw the flow profile with streamlines and eddies formed as fluid enters and exits

an orifice plate, forming the vena contracta.

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HOMEWORK

C. Homework Exercises

1. Determine the orifice coefficient from the experimental data. Do this graphically.

Also determine average values for the collective data set. Why might the values for

Co differ between the two techniques? Between flow rates?

3.5

2.5 y = 0.5274x
R² = 0.9973
Q actual

1.5

0.5

0
0.0000 1.0000 2.0000 3.0000 4.0000 5.0000 6.0000
Q ideal

When plotting the data from Qactual and Qideal obtained from the table in the results, we use the

slope equation to obtain the Coeffection of discharge which we found to be equal to 0.5274 and

by calculating the average values of the Coeffection of discharge, we get CoAverage= 0.5285.
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2. Using the derived equation that relates the velocity to the pressure drop from the

take home quiz, calculate the flow rate of the fluid through the orifice plate for each

pressure drop. Compare to the DLMX® flow readings.

Q actual
Velocity (m/s)
(L/min)
0.9364 1
1.0742 1.1
1.1368 1.2
1.2153 1.3
1.3068 1.4
1.3756 1.5
1.4884 1.6
1.6077 1.7
1.6916 1.8
1.7974 1.9
1.8852 2
1.9572 2.1
2.0494 2.2
2.1591 2.3
2.2429 2.4
2.3238 2.5
2.4306 2.6
2.5690 2.7
2.6574 2.8
2.8257 2.9

3. Tell why an orifice coefficient in needed.

The coefficient of discharge is needed to observe and categorize the flow rate and any

pressure losses caused by friction in a pipe during the fluid flow. The coefficient of

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k9lmnop
discharge is calculated using the equation (G = the ratio of the measured flow
kqrsop

rate from the orifice meter dividing it by QIdeal which is analytically calculated using the

/
,-. 1×∆3
following equation !:;<"& = × / to obtain accurate readings.
0 8.
4∗ 67
89

4. What are the advantages of choosing an orifice meter over other types of meters?

The disadvantages?

There are many advantages of using the orifice meter. The orifice meter does not

need any calibration before use and is easy to maintain. Orifice plates are very simple to

install and/or replace. The orifice meter recovers the majority of the pressure drop. It’s

suitable for many, if not most liquids and gasses which makes it more common and

universal. Also, the orifice meters are not as expensive as other meters and are easy to

find in today’s market.

There are also some disadvantages to using the orifice meter. It causes a pressure

drop in the fluid even though it still recovers the majority of the dropped pressure. Very

sensitive accuracy that depends on pressure and viscosity of the fluid used and to make

sure that this accuracy is maintained, it requires the usage of a straight pipe.

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5. Assuming a permanent loss using the pressure drop from the 180L/min flow rate

and taking energy to cost $0.10/kWh, how much does it cost to have an orifice meter

in a line for 24 hours?

1
tuvwx yz{| = }u~ ∗ zÄuLuvwx yz{| ∗
CÅ1Ç ∗ !G%$

$).6) ).)1áááà
ÉÄuLuvwx yz{| = =
ÖÜQ Ü.P<#

}u~ = 24ℎzâÄ{ = 1440 ~uv = 86400 {y

ç ~è
!G%$ = 180 = 0.003
~uv {y

6.

êL
C = 1000
~è

0.027778 1
tuvwx (z{| = 86400{y = 800.0064
O. {y êL ~è
1000 è ∗ 0.003
~ {y

7.

it costs around $800 to have an orifice meter in a line for 24 hours

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