CALIBRATION OF VENTURI AND ORIFICE METERS

CEDELYN L. INTANO
Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering

Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and Architecture

Cebu Institute of Technology – University, N. Bacalso Ave. Cebu City, 6000 Philippines

Date Performed: February 18, 2016

Date Submitted: February , 2016

ABSTRACT

In order to calibrate flowmeters specifically the venturi and orifice flowmeters, a known
volume of fluid is used to pass to measure the rate of flow of the fluid through the pipe. A
venturi meter ​consists of a short length of pipe shaped like a vena contracta which fits into a
normal pipe-line. An orifice meter behaves similar to a venturi and consists of a thin plate
with a hole and is placed at the middle of the pipe.

In the experiment, water was made to flow at different rates until the maximum and the
corresponding pressure differences are noted. The actual volumetric flowrate was measured
through getting the time it took for the volume of water to be collected. The calibration of the
venturi flowmeter is shown to be more accurate than in the orifice flowmeter.
1. Introduction

Determining the flow rate of fluids is important in many applications. This can be
done using devices called differential flow meters. These are obstructions placed in the
pipe that alter the pressure and velocity. A commonly used device for measuring the
pressure differential across a head is a manometer. It consists of a glass or plastic U-tube
containing a fluid such as water, mercury, or oil. The change in the height of the fluid in
the tube indicates the pressure difference using the formula
P​1​ = P​2​ + ρgh
where ρ is the density of the fluid, g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s​2​), and h is
the height of the fluid in the tube. Manometers are very useful for measuring small to
moderate pressure (Cengel and Cimbala 2010). Two devices commonly used to measure
the flow rate of fluids are the Orifice flow meter and the Venturi flow meter. They both
use the same principle for measuring flow rate, which is the relationship between the
pressure and the velocity of the fluid.
An orifice meter is a thin plate with a hole in the middle that is placed in a pipe
through which the fluid flows. It increases the velocity of the fluid as it flows through it,
which decreases the pressure. It is a conduit and a restriction to create a pressure drop. An
hour glass is a form of orifice. For orifice meter, as N​Re increases, C should decrease since
friction increase and a greater head loss results.
A nozzle, venturi or thin sharp edged orifice can be used as the flow restriction. In
order to use any of these devices for measurement it is necessary to empirically calibrate
them. That is, pass a known volume through the meter and note the reading in order to
provide a standard for measuring other quantities. Due to the ease of duplicating and the
simple construction, the thin sharp edged orifice has been adopted as a standard and
extensive calibration work has been done so that it is widely accepted as a standard means
of measuring fluids. Provided the standard mechanics of construction are followed no
further calibration is required. The minimum cross sectional area of the jet is known as
the “vena contracta.”
A venturi meter uses a narrowing throat in the pipe that expands back to the original
pipe diameter. It creates an increase in the velocity of the fluid, which also results in a
 pressure drop across that section of the pipe. It is more efficient and accurate than the
orifice meter. The long expansion section (diffuser) enables an enhanced pressure
recovery compared with that of an orifice plate, which is useful in some metering
applications. As N​Re increases in fluid flow, C should increase since friction effects
decrease and flow rate approaches the theoretical.

Figure 1. Diagram of a venturi meter where 1 indicates the upstream portion of the meter, 2
represents the throat of the meter and Δh indicates the pressure drop of the manometer.
(Source: A Manual for the Mechanics of Fluids Laboratory, W.S. Janna, 2008)

The hydrostatic equation is applicable to all types of flowmeters (venturi and orifice)
(Equation 1). By Bernoulli’s equation, the cause of the pressure drop is determined to be the
increase of velocity of the pipe flow (Equation 2). By aggregating the hydrostatic, Bernoulli’s
and continuity equations, the theoretical flow rate passing through the venturi meter can be
calculated. Bernoulli’s equation is an energy balance equation and is given as:

P​1​/ρ + V​1​ 2​​ /2 + gz​1​= P​2​/ρ + V​2 2​​ /2 + gz​2 (Equation 1)

where

P​1​ is the pressure of the fluid flow as it enters the meter,

ρ is the density of the flowing fluid,

V​1​ is the upstream velocity of the flow,

G is gravitational acceleration,

z​1​ is the height of the fluid as it enters the meter,

P​2​ is the pressure of the fluid at the throat of the meter,

V​2​ is the velocity of the flow at the throat and

z​2​ is the height of the fluid at the throat of the meter.

Considering a horizontal application, gravitational potential energy is neglected because there

is no change in height of the fluid and Bernoulli’s equation can be rewritten as:

P​1​/ρ + V​1​ 2​​ /2 = P​2​/ρ + V​2 2​​ /2 (Equation 2)

Bernoulli’s equation can then be rearranged to solve the energy balance in terms of the
velocities of the flow at state 1 and state 2.

ΔP/ρ = V​2 2​​ /2– V​1​ 2​​ /2 (Equation 3)

where

ΔP is the pressure difference P​1​– P​2

Because the pressure drop, ΔP, and the velocities V​1 ​and V​2 ​cannot be measured directly, the
hydrostatic equation (Equation 4) and the continuity equation (Equation 5) are employed. The
Δh variable of the hydrostatic equation is the difference in height of the air over water
manometer due to pressure and is measured directly.
A​1 of
​ the continuity equation is the cross sectional area of the upstream region of the venturi
meter, labelled as region 1 in Figure 1.

A​2 is
​ cross sectional area of the throat of the venturi meter, labelled as region 2 in Figure 1.

ΔP = ρgΔh (Equation 4)

Qth= V​1​A​1​= V​2​A​2 (Equation 5)

Equation 5 is rearranged to solve for V​1 and

​ is written as follows:

V​1​= V​2​A​2​/A​1​= V​2​(D​2​2​/D​1​2​) (Equation 6)

Where:

D​2 ​is the diameter of the throat of the venturi meter and D​1 ​is the diameter of the upstream
region of the meter. Still, the velocity at state 2 is unknown and can be solved for by
rearranging the continuity equation to be substituted into Equation 3.

V​2​2​= (Qth/A​2​)​2 (Equation 7)

where

Qth is the theoretical flow rate

Substituting Equation 4 in for ΔP and Equation 6 in for V​1​, the Bernoulli equation (Equation
3) becomes:

gΔh = [V​2​2​/2 - V​2​(D​2​2​/D​1​2​)] (Equation 8)

Tidying up Equation 8 yields the following:

2gΔh = V​2​2​ [1 - (D​2​2​/D​1​2​)] (Equation 9)

Substituting Equation 7 into Equation 9 yields the following:

2gΔh = Qth​2​/A​2​2 ​[1 - (D​2​2​/D​1​2​)] (Equation 10)

Rearranging to solve for the theoretical flow rate

Qth yields the following:

2(P 1 −P 2 )

√
(2gΔh)

√
Qth= A2 D2
= A2 ρ
D 4 (Equation 11)
1− 22 1− ( D 2 )
D 1
1

The Reynolds number of the pipe flow can be calculated using the following equation:

Re = V​2​D​2​ / ν = V​2​D​2​ρ/µ (Equation 12)

where ν is the kinematic viscosity of the fluid.

The coefficient of discharge, C​v​ (for venturi) and C​o​ (for orifice), can be calculated using the
following equation

C = Qact/ Qth (Equation 13)

Where: Qth is the theoretical flow rate and Qact is the indicated flow rate of the testing
apparatus
2. Materials and Methods

● Hydraulic bench apparatus

● Orifice meter, venturi meter
● Stopwatch
● Manometer
● Water
● Caliper

For the calibration of venture meter/ orifice meter apparatus, the venturi or orifice
meter apparatus was set up. The pump was started and the main regulating flow valve
was opened to fix the water flow rate. The tubes from the venture or orifice pressure
tapping points to the manometer (mouth or inlet tap point and throat tap point) were
connected. It was ensured that there is no trapped air in the connecting lines. Ample
time was allowed to stabilize the flow before readings were taken.

The upstream and downstream of the manometer were read and recorded. The
diameter of the cylindrical cross-section of the tapping points of the venture or orifice
apparatus was recorded. The theoretical volumetric flow rate was computed. For any
reading of the manometer, the volume discharged was collected at the outlet and the
time to collect the volume discharged at the outlet was measured using a graduated
cylinder. The volume collected and the time was recorded. The actual volumetric flow
rate from the volume collected divided by the time obtained was computed. Several
 trials were taken by adjusting the main flow regulating valve. All the data were
recorded and the coefficient of discharge of the Venturi and Orifice apparatus and
their Reynolds Number were computed respectively.

3. Results

Table 1. Tabulated Results for Venturi Flowmeter

Trial Manometer Reading Rm (mm) Volumetric C

Flowrate,
Upstream Downstrea
Q​(actual)​ (m​3​/s)
m

1 21.6 21.2 0.4 4.65x10​-4 2.0711

2 34.1 33.5 0.6 4.85x10​-4 1.7638

3 50.2 49.1 1.1 5.00x10​-4 1.3429

4 63.6 61 2.6 5.50x10​-4 0.9608

5 70.8 70.8 0 5.70x10​-4 0

Table 2. Tabulated Results for Orifice Flowmeter

Trial Manometer Reading Rm (mm) Volumetric C
Flowrate,
Upstream Downstrea
Q​(actual)​ (m​3​/s)
m
1 4.7 3.6 1.1 3.15x10​-4 0.84603

2 15.4 13.9 1.5 3.40x10​-4 0.78200

3 24.2 21.9 2.3 4.10x10​-4 0.76154

4 27.5 24.5 3.0 4.85x10​-4 0.78877

5 41.4 38.8 2.6 5.00x10​-4 0.87348

6 63.1 59.5 3.6 5.00x10​-4 0.83140

7 96.1 91.8 4.3 6.25x10​-4 0.84902

Graph 1: A Chart on Reynolds number of the fluid vs C in a venturi flowmeter

  
Graph 2: A Chart on Pressure drop vs Q​actual​ in a venturi flowmeter

Graph 3: A Chart on Reynolds number of the fluid vs C in a venturi flowmeter

 Graph 4: A Chart on Pressure drop vs Q​actual​ in an orifice flowmeter

4. Discussion

By constricting and restricting the flow in the pipe, a pressure drop occurs.
Through this, the fluid velocity increases with the reducing cross-sectional areas
perpendicular to the flow. The volumetric flow is proportional to the square root of
this pressure drop.

The coefficient of discharge is the quotient of the actual volumetric flowrate in

the pipe to the theoretical volumetric flowrate. The coefficient of discharge increases
as N​Re increases due to loss of friction effects for a venturi meter. The coefficient of
discharge for an orifice meter decreases as N​Re increases since there is a larger head
loss and an increase in friction.

Errors in the results can be due to the formation of air bubbles found in the
tube as the water flows. It took a lot of time to remove the air and because of this, an
error in the reading can be found.

5. Conclusions
 This experiment was to calibrate the orifice and venturi flow meters by passing a
known volume of water and reading the pressure changes from a manometer. The
calibration from the venturi flowmeter is more accurate than the calibration from the
orifice flowmeter as found in the value of its coefficient of determination which shows
how the data fits in the regression line.

With a decreasing Reynolds number, the coefficient of discharge of a venturi

flowmeter increases. The increase in the pressure drop vs volumetric flowrate in an
orifice is greater than in the venture flowmeter. While the pressure losses in an orifice
flowmeter is approximately twice that of a venturi flowmeter

6. Recommendations

The main cause of error is due to the presence of air bubbles in the hose and
would have an effect in the volumetric flowrate and in the manometer readings. I
recommend fixing the equipment to eliminate the bubble formation in the pipes and in
the hose.

References:
[2] C.J. Geankoplis, et. al. Principles of Transport Processes and Separation Processes,
Pearson Education Inc., New Jersey, 2003.
[2] W.L. McCabe, et. al. Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 5​th ed, McGraw-Hill
Inc., Singapore, 1993.

Appendices:

Sample Calculations:

Data:
Diameter of the pipe = 25 mm = 0.025 m
Throat Diameter = 12.5 mm = 0.0125 m
 kg
At 25 degrees Celsius: density of water = 997.08 m3

*The equations apply for venturi and orifice meters.

2
π(D) π(0.0125 m)2
C ross sectional area of the throat diameter (A2 ) = 4
= 4
= 0.0005 m3

∆h = upstream - downstream =21.6-21.2 = 0.4 mmH​2​O = 0.0004 mmH​2​O

m kg
∆P in manometer = ∆hgρ = 0.0004 m (9.8066 s2
)(997.08 m3 ) = 3.9112 P a

V olume collected : 465 mL = 0.0005 m3

0.0005 m3 m3
Qactual = 5s
= 9x10−5 s

√
(2)(3.9112 P a)

√
(2)(P 1−P 2)
997.08 kg/m3 m3
Qtheo. = A2 ρ
D 4
= 0.0005 m 3
0.025 m 4
= 5x10−5 s
(1− D 2 ) (1−( 0.0125 m) )
1

3
Qactual Qactual 9x10−5 ms m
C= Qtheo.
= 2.071 v= A2
= 0.0005 m3
= 0.189 s

(0.025 m)(0.189m )(997.08 kg )

D2 vρ s m3
N Re = μ
= kg
0.0008937 m.s
= 5284.3