Mapua Institute of Technology

School of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Experiment No. 3

Discharge Coefficient (Orifice Meter)

Kim, Sung Mina, Lopez, Essene Qumran a, Santacruz, Margarette Louisea
a

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, Mapua Institute of Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

ARTICLE INFO
Keywords:

AB S T R AC T

Flow meter
Orifice Meter
Calibration curve
Discharge Coefficient
Manometer

Fluid flow is usually monitored by devices that measure the

rate of fluid flow known as flow meters. There are many types of
flow meters but this study will focus on orifice meters. An orifice
meter has a fixed area of restriction which makes the fluid velocity
faster, and therefore corresponds to a certain pressure drop. The
objectives of this study is to: generate a calibration curve for the
orifice meter; to compare the calibration curves of the orifice meter
and of the rotameter; and to determine the effect of increasing the
mass flow rate of water to the coefficient of discharge of the orifice.
The calibration curve generated for the orifice meter may be
characterized by the equation y = -14282x5 + 15002x4 5542.3X3 +
854.87x2 43.673, where y is the manometer reading in cmHg, and
x is the mass flow rate of the water in kg/sec, having a goodness of
fitting of 0.9961. There were some similarities and differences
between the calibration curves for the rotameter and the orifice
meter. A similarity would be, both readings increase as the mass
flow rate of water increase. A difference would be, the calibration
curve for the rotameter is theoretically linear while the calibration
curve for the orifice meter is theoretically half of a parabola in the
positive x direction. The relationship between the mass flow rate
and the discharge coefficient may vary from fluid to fluid. But a
pattern that may be observed is that as the mass flow rate of the
fluid increases, the discharge coefficient also increases. But this is
only true up to a maximum discharge coefficient value. If the mass
flow rate of the fluid is increased further than this maximum value,
the discharge coefficient will then decrease.

Date submitted:
11 November 2014

INTRODUCTION
A flowmeter is an instrument used to
measure linear, nonlinear, mass or volumetric
Experiment 02 Group No. 2

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flow rate of a liquid or a gas (Omega

Engineering Inc., n.d.). In this study, the use of
flow meters using fixed area of restriction is
going to be studied. The type of flow meter
which uses fixed area of restrictions are usually
called head meters, or differential head flow
meters in some cases.
As mentioned by
Gutierrez, C. and Ngo, R. (2005), some of the
popular examples of head meters are Venturi
meter, pitot tube, flow nozzle and orifice meter.
Among the above mentioned examples of head
meters, this study will focus on orifice meters.

equation 1 will have a positive value. Also, as

the velocity of the fluid flowing through the pipe
is equal to the quotient of the volumetric flow
rate, Q, and the cross sectional area, A, equation
1 may be transformed into:

[ ( )]
2

A
1
1
p= Q2 2 1 2
2
A1
A2

eqn. 2

in which, solving for the volumetric flow rate

gives:

Q=

2 p

A2

A
1 2
A1

( )

eqn. 3

Equation 3 may be applied for non-viscous fluid

flow in the laminar region. But in real life
applications, there may be turbulence and the
viscosity is also a factor. Turbulence and
viscosity factors will have an effect in which
kinetic energy of the fluid may be converted into
heat. Thus, in order to account for this effect, a
correction factor should be introduced. The
correction factor to be introduced is the
discharge coefficient, Cd
According to eFunda Inc. (2014), the
incompressible Bernoullis equation may be
applied as long as the fluid speed is sufficiently
subsonic, that is the velocity is less that mach
0.3. Two locations are to be considered: the first
location is upstream of the orifice and the
second location is at a location slightly behind
the orifice. The streamline of the fluid flow
through the horizontal tube gives,

1
1
p= p 1p 2= V 22 V 12
2
2

eqn. 1

The pressure in the first location is

higher than the pressure in the second location.
This means that the change in pressure in

Experiment 02 Group No. 2

Q=C d

2 p

A2

A2
A1

( )

eqn. 4

Or if the equation 4 should be in terms of the

velocity of the fluid in the vena contracta,

V 2=C d

2 p

A2
A1

( )

eqn. 5

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but if the area ratio is transformed into its

equivalent diameter ratio, which is equal to
(D2/D1), equations 4 and 5 will be transformed
into

Q=C d

V 2=C d

2 p A2
1 4

W
ater
tank
on
weighing
scale
Record

Opening
of
Rotameter
Collection
water

of

eqn. 6
Record

Compute

2 p
1
1 4

Repeat
with
different
readings

eqn. 7

Plot

Where: Q = volumetric flow rate

V2 = velocity of the fluid in the vena
contracta

Interpret

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram

Cd = discharge coefficient
p = p1 p2 = the difference in the
pressure in the pipe and the pressure in
the vena contracta
= density of the fluid
= D2/D1 = ratio of the diameters of the
vena contracta and the pipe
The objectives of the study are: to
generate a calibration curve for the orifice meter;
to compare the calibration curves of the orifice
meter and of the rotameter; and to determine the
effect of increasing the mass flow rate of water
to the coefficient of discharge of the orifice.
EXPERIMENTAL SECTION

i.

Determination of mass flow rate vs.

manometer reading

In order to determine the mass flow rate of

water that corresponds to the manometer
reading, the valve must be adjusted to a certain
opening then measure the amount of water (in
terms of kg) that has flowed in a certain amount
of time. In the experiment, while letting the
valve opening remain constant, the mass of
water that has flowed was determined by getting
the difference in the weight of a water tank,
which serves as a water reservoir, before and
after letting water flow in a certain amount of
time. Last step is to compute for the mass flow
rate of water may then be calculated by dividing
the mass of water that has flowed by the time
recorded.
ii.

Determination
of
coefficient of orifice

discharge

In order to obtain the coefficient of

discharge, equation 7 may be used. The first
step is to calculate for p/ using the equation

Experiment 02 Group No. 2

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 Hg
p
=Rm
1

)( )
g
gc

eqn. 8

The manometer reading, Rm may be obtained

experimentally. The density of the mercury and
water may obtained from references.
Substituting the value obtained in equation 8, the
coefficient of discharge may then be calculated.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1. Data and Results
Rotamete
r Reading

1
3
5
7
9
11

Manomete
r Reading,
cmHg
0.3
0.5
0.6
0.7
1.5
2.3

Mass
of
Water,
kg
3.7
5.0
6.7
8.4
9.8
11.2

Time,
sec

30
30
30
30
30
30

Mass Flow
Rate, kg/sec

0.1233
0.1667
0.2233
0.28
0.327
0.3733

There is a constriction in the closed channel that

was used in the experiment. As the mass flow
rate of the water is uniform through-out the
channel, the fluid velocity must increase at the
point of constriction and therefore increase in
kinetic energy. From Bernoullis theorem, an
energy balance would give a corresponding
reduction in pressure (Green, D. and Perry, R.,
2008). This reduction in pressure is what the
manometer reading represents. The increase in
the reduction of pressure results from the
increase in the mass flow rate of water. The
increase in the mass flow rate of water results in
the increase of fluid velocity, and thus also
increases the kinetic energy of the fluid. The
resulting increase in kinetic energy will
correspond to a bigger reduction in pressure
between upstream the vena contracta and the
vena contracta itself. Thus, the manometer
reading increases as the mass flow rate of the
water increases.
Although as may be seen in the curve fittings in
the figures below, the relationship between the
change in pressure and the mass flow rate is not
linear. The relationship between the two should
not be linear as the relationship between the two
may be observed from the equation

P=

Experiment 02 Group No. 2

eqn. 9

This equation may be derived by manipulating

equation 1. Since

V=
As may be seen in table 1, the change in
pressure represented as the manometer reading,
increases as the mass flow rate increases. This
may be interpreted as the change in pressure is
directly proportional to the mass of the flow rate
of the water flowing through the tube.

2 1
1
2
2
2 A2 A1

eqn. 10

equation 1 would be transformed into

P=

[( ) ( ) ]
2

A 2
A1

eqn. 11

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And factoring out the same variables would

result in equation 9. The relationship between
the manometer reading ( P ) and the mass
flow rate may then be observed as parabolic. But
since there is no negative value for mass flow
rate, the trendline should be similar to a half
parabola in the positive x-axis direction.
Accounting for inaccuracy of the reading of the
manometer and the mass flow rate, the trendline
for the relationship between the manometer
reading and the mass flow rate is similar but not
exactly parabolic as may be seen in figure 2.
The relationship between the change in
pressure (manometer reading) and the mass flow
rate of water may be characterized by the
equation y = -14282x5 + 15002x4 5542.3X3 +
854.87x2 43.673, where y is the manometer
reading in cmHg, and x is the mass flow rate of
the water in kg/sec. The goodness of the fitting
is 0.9961 which means the equation generated
may be used for approximating the manometer
reading with a given mass flow rate.
As may be seen in table 2, it may be
observed that the coefficient of discharge of the
orifice increases up to a certain point as the mass
flow rate increases. But as the mass flow rate
increases further after this maximum point, the
discharge coefficient decreases. This means that
the discharge coefficient will increase as the
mass flow rate of water increase up to a certain
maximum point, then it will decrease as the
mass flow rate of water increase further.

Experiment 02 Group No. 2

Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow Rate

2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4

Figure 2. Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow

Rate

Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow Rate

2.5
2
1.5
1

f(x) = 4.31x
R = 0.89

Trendline:
Linear

0.5
0
0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

Figure 3. Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow

Rate - Trendline: Linear

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Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow Rate

2.5
2
1.5

f(x) = 18.27x^2 - 1.23x

R = 0.97
Trendline: 2nd Order Polynomial

Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow Rate

2.5
f(x) = 366.44x^4 - 151.76x^3 + 15.54x^2 + 2.54x
R2= 0.99
1.5

0.5

0.5

Trendline: 4th Order Polynomial

0
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4

0
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4

Figure 4. Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow

Rate - Trendline: 2nd Order Polynomial

Figure 6. Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow

Rate - Trendline: 4th Order Polynomial

Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow Rate

Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow Rate

2.5

f(x) = 136.43x^3 - 55.68x^2 + 7.96x

2 R = 0.99

1.5

Trendline: 3rd Order Polynomial

2.5
f(x) = - 14281.8x^5 + 15001.8x^4 - 5542.27x^3 + 854.87x^2 - 43.67x
R2= 1
1.5

0.5

0.5

0
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4

Figure 5. Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow

Rate - Trendline: 3rd Order Polynomial

Experiment 02 Group No. 2

Trendline: 5th Order Polynomial

0
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4

Figure 7. Manometer Reading vs. Mass Flow

Rate - Trendline: 5th Order Polynomial

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Rotameter Reading vs. Mass Flow Rate

12
10f(x) = - 21765.34x^5 + 24434.28x^4 - 10112.04x^3 + 1876.33x^2 - 110.24x
R = 1
8
Trendline: 5th Order Polynomial
6
4
2
0
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4

Figure 8. Rotameter Reading vs. Mass Flow

Rate

Experiment 02 Group No. 2

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Specific Gravities
Water
1.0

Diameters, inch
Orifice
0.60

Areas, m2
So=1.82x10-

Temperature
Water Density

26 oC
1000 kg/m3

= do/d1

0.57197

-P/, N-m/kg

Co

Mercury

13.534

Pipe

1.049

S1=5.57x104

Rotameter
Reading
1
3
5
7
9
11

Mass Flow
Rate, kg/sec
0.1233
0.1667
0.2233
0.28
0.327
0.3733

U1, m/s

U2, m/s

0.2521
0.3002
0.4009
0.5043
0.5889
0.6725

0.6788
0.9175
1.2257
1.5413
1.7999
2.0548

Manometer
Reading
0.3
0.5
0.6
0.7
1.5
2.3

CONCLUSION
From the calibration curve generated as
may be seen in figure 7, it may be observed that
the manometer reading (pressure drop) is
directly proportional to the mass flow rate of
water. Although not linear, the curve may be
represented by the equation y = -14282x5 +
15002x4 5542.3X3 + 854.87x2 43.673, where
y is the manometer reading in cmHg, and x is
the mass flow rate of the water in kg/sec, having
a goodness of fitting of 0.9961.
If the calibration curve for the rotameter
and the orifice meter were compared it may be
observed that there are some similarities but
there are also differences. One similarity is that
for both readings, as the mass flow rate of the
water increases, the reading also increases. One
particular difference that may be observed is that
the calibration curve for the rotameter is
theoretically linear and the calibration curve for
the orifice meter is theoretically half of a
parabola in the positive x direction.
The relationship between the mass flow
rate and the discharge coefficient may vary from
fluid to fluid. But a pattern that may be observed

is that as the mass flow rate of the fluid

increases, the discharge coefficient also

Experiment 02 Group No. 2

0.3684
0.7459
0.6142
0.7815
0.737
0.9555
0.8598
1.1091
1.8425
0.8848
2.8252
0.8157
increases. But this is only true up to a maximum
discharge coefficient value. If the mass flow rate
of the fluid is increased further than this
maximum value, the discharge coefficient will
then decrease.

REFERENCES

[1] Omega Engineering Inc. (n.d.). Introduction

to Flow Meters. Retrieved from:
http://www.omega.com/prodinfo/flowm
eters.html
[2] eFunda Inc. (2011). Orifice Flow Meter
Retrieved
from:
http://www.efunda.com/formulae/fluids/
calc_orifice_flowmeter.cfm
[3] Gutierrez, C., Ngo, R. (2005). Chemical
Engineering Laboratory Manual Part 1.
Philippines
[4] Icenta (2014). Variable Area / Rotameter
Flow Meters Principles of Operation.
Retrieved
from:
http://www.icenta.co.uk/FlowPrinciple/Variable-Area-/-Rotameter
[5] Engineering ToolBox (n.d.). Orifice, Nozzle
and Venturi Flow Meters. Retrieved
from:

8 of 9

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/orif
ice-nozzle-venturi-d_590.html

Experiment 02 Group No. 2

[6] Green, D. and Perry, R. (2008). Perrys

Chemical Engineers Handbook, 8th
Edition.

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