KW AM E NKRUM AH UNI VERSI TY OF SCI ENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF M ECHANI CAL AND AGRICULTURAL ENGI NEERING

DEPARTM ENT OF M ECHANI CAL ENGINEERI NG


M ECHANI CAL ENGI NEERI NG LAB I I I (M E 395)


CALI BRATI ON OF A VENTURI M ETER

DATE: 14
TH
SEPTEM BER, 2011
GROUP 13
NAM E I NDEX NO
Fi anya, Laud Kw eku 3758509
Fosu, M ar k 3758309
Yeboah, Benj ami n 3758109
Puni , Ri char d 3756809
SUM M ARY
Even t hough t hi s t opi c has not yet been t r eat ed i n cl ass, t hi s exper i ment has enl i ght ened our
under st andi ng on t he r el at i onshi p bet w een t he r at e of f l ow and pr essur e w i t h r espect t o a
Vent ur i met er . It al so hel ped us under st and how t he Ber noul l i s equat i on i s appl i ed pr act i cal l y.
Al l gr oup member s w er e pr esent and act i vel y par t ook of t he exper i ment w hi ch w as conduct ed
i n t he Fl ui d M echani cs l ab on 7
t h
Sept ember , 2011. M ar k w r ot e t he summar y and i nt r oduct i on
of t he r epor t . Kof i Yeboah w or ked on t he t heor y aspect of t he r epor t . Ri char d descr i bed and
dr ew t he Exper i ment al Set up. Laud compi l ed and anal ysed t he dat a r esul t s and f i ni shed up w i t h
t he concl usi on.


I NTRODUCTI ON
The Vent ur i t ube i s a devi ce used f or measur i ng t he r at e of f l ow al ong a pi pe. A f l ui d movi ng
t hr ough i t accel er at es i n t he di r ect i on of t he t aper i ng cont r act i on w i t h an i ncr ease i n t he
vel oci t y i n t he t hr oat . Thi s i s accompani ed by a f al l i n pr essur e, t he magni t ude of w hi ch
depends on t he r at e of f l ow . The f l ow r at e may t her ef or e be i nf er r ed f r om t he di f f er ence i n
pr essur e i n as measur ed by pi ezomet er s pl aced upst r eam at t he t hr oat . The ef f ect t hat t he
met er has on t he pr essur e change i s t er med as t he Vent ur i ef f ect . A vent ur i can al so be used t o
mi x a l i qui d w i t h a gas. If a pump f or ces t he l i qui d t hr ough a t ube connect ed t o a syst em
consi st i ng of a vent ur i t o i ncr ease t he l i qui d speed (t he di amet er decr eases), a shor t pi ece of
t ube w i t h a smal l hol e i n i t , and l ast a vent ur i t hat decr eases speed (so t he pi pe get s w i der
agai n), t he gas w i l l be sucked i n t hr ough t he smal l hol e because of changes i n pr essur e. At t he
end of t he syst em, a mi xt ur e of l i qui d and gas w i l l appear .

OBJECTI VE
The ai m of t hi s exper i ment w as t o:
1. Obt ai n t he cal i br at i on cur ve f or t he met er .
2. Invest i gat e t he var i at i on i n pr essur e at i nl et and t hr oat at var i ous r at es of f l ow .
3. Pr esent t he r esul t s i n a non-di mensi onal f or m so t hat t hey coul d be used t o est i mat e
t he f l ow t hr ough any si mi l ar met er .

THEORY
The Vent ur i ef f ect i s a j et ef f ect ; as w i t h an (ai r ) f unnel , or a t humb on a gar den hose, t he
vel oci t y of t he f l ui d i ncr eases as t he cr oss sect i onal ar ea decr eases, w i t h t he st at i c pr essur e
cor r espondi ngl y decr easi ng. Accor di ng t o t he l aw s gover ni ng f l ui d dynami cs, a f l ui d' s vel oci t y
must i ncr ease as i t passes t hr ough a const r i ct i on t o sat i sf y t he pr i nci pl e of cont i nui t y, w hi l e i t s
pr essur e must decr ease t o sat i sf y t he pr i nci pl e of conser vat i on of mechani cal ener gy. Thus any
gai n i n ki net i c ener gy a f l ui d may accr ue due t o i t s i ncr eased vel oci t y t hr ough a const r i ct i on i s
negat ed by a dr op i n pr essur e. An equat i on f or t he dr op i n pr essur e due t o t he Vent ur i ef f ect
may be der i ved f r om a combi nat i on of Ber noul l i ' s pr i nci pl e and t he cont i nui t y equat i on.
The l i mi t i ng case of t he Vent ur i ef f ect i s w hen a f l ui d r eaches t he st at e of choked f l ow , w her e
t he f l ui d vel oci t y appr oaches t he l ocal speed of sound. In choked f l ow t he mass f l ow r at e w i l l
not i ncr ease w i t h a f ur t her decr ease i n t he dow nst r eam pr essur e envi r onment .
How ever , mass f l ow r at e f or a compr essi bl e f l ui d can i ncr ease w i t h i ncr eased upst r eam
pr essur e, w hi ch w i l l i ncr ease t he densi t y of t he f l ui d t hr ough t he const r i ct i on (t hough t he
vel oci t y w i l l r emai n const ant ). Thi s i s t he pr i nci pl e of oper at i on of a de Laval nozzl e. Incr easi ng
sour ce t emper at ur e w i l l al so i ncr ease t he l ocal soni c vel oci t y, t hus al l ow i ng f or i ncr eased mass
f l ow r at e.
Consi der t he f l ow of an i ncompr essi bl e and i nvi sci d f l ui d t hr ough t he conver gent -di ver gent
Vent ur i t ube. Gi ven t hat bot h t he vel oci t y and pi ezomet er head ar e const ant over each of t he
sect i ons consi der ed, w e mi ght assume t hat f l ow t o be one-di mensi onal so t hat t he vel oci t y and
t he pi ezomet r i c head var y onl y i n t he di r ect i on of t he t ube l engt h. Tr eat i ng t he conver gent -
di ver gent pi pe as a st r eam-t ube and appl yi ng t he Ber noul l i s t heor em at sect i ons 1,2,3,
and have
0
1
2
2g
+
1
=
0
2
2
2g
+
2
=
0
n
2
2g
+
n
---------------------- 1
The Cont i nui t y equat i on i s gi ven by
u
1
A
1
= u
2
A
2
= u
n
A
n
= -------------------------- 2
Subst i t ut i ng equat i on 1 f or U
1
i n equat i on t w o gi ves
0
1
2
2g
j
A
2
A
1
[
2
+
1
=
0
2
2
2g
+
2
------------------------------ 3
Thi s i mpl i es
u
2
=
_
2g ( h
1
-h
2
)
1-[
A
2
A
1

2

--------------------------- 4
The f l ow r at e Q = A
2
_
2g ( h
1
-h
2
)
1-[
A
2
A
1

2

(i deal di schar ge r at e) ------------------------- 5
The act ual di schar ge i s gi ven by (w her e C = Di schar ge coef f i ci ent )
Q = C. A
2
_
2g ( h
1
-h
2
)
1-[
A
2
A
1

2

-------------------------------------- 6
The vel oci t y head u
2
2
/ 2g at t he t hr oat can be conveni ent l y used t o expr ess a di mensi onl ess w ay
of expr essi ng t he di st r i but i on of pi ezomet r i c head al ong t he l engt h of t he Vent ur i met er .
Accor di ngl y, t he Pi ezomet er Head Coef f i ci ent
C
p
=
h
2
-h
1
0
2
2
/ 2g
(n = 2,3,) ----------------------------- 7
The i deal di st r i but i on C
p
h al ong a Vent ur i met er (i n t er ms of i t s geomet r y) i s gi ven.
C
p
= [
A
2
A
1

2
[
A
2
A
n

2
------------------------------- 8
C
p
= [

2
[

2
------------------------------- 9

APPARATUS
1. Vent ur i met er
2. Tw o suppl y hoses
3. M easur i ng t ank

DESCRI PTI ON OF EXPERI M ENTAL SETUP
- A t ube i s connect ed t o each t o t he i nl et and out l et of a Vent ur i met er .
- The t ube connect ed t o t he out l et of t he Vent ur i met er i s connect ed t o t he measur i ng t ank.
- The adj ust abl e scr ew s ar e adj ust ed t o l evel t he Vent ur i met er .








Fig. 1 - Vent uri M et er
w w w . t ecquipment . com
EXPERI M ENTAL PROCEDURE
- The appar at us w as l evel ed by openi ng bot h t he Bench Suppl y val ve and t he cont r ol val ve
dow nst r eam of t he met er t o al l ow w at er t o f l ow and cl ear ai r pocket s f r om t he suppl y hose.
Thi s w as achi eved by connect i ng t he appar at us t o a pow er suppl y.
- The cont r ol val ve w as t hen gr adual l y cl osed causi ng w at er t o r i se up i n t he t ubes of t he
manomet er t her eby compr essi ng t he ai r cont ai ned i n t he mani f ol d.
- When t he w at er l evel had r i sen t o a conveni ent hei ght , t he bench val ve w as al so cl osed
gr adual l y so t hat as bot h val ves ar e f i nal l y shut of f , t he met er w as l ef t cont ai ni ng st at i c w at er at
moder at e pr essur e.
- The adj ust abl e scr ew s w er e oper at ed t o gi ve i dent i cal r eadi ng f or al l of t he t ubes acr oss t he
w hol e w i dt h of t he manomet er boar d. To est abl i sh t he met er coef f i ci ent measur ement s of a
set of di f f er ent i al heads (h
1
-h
2
) and f l ow r at e Q w er e made.
- The f i r st r eadi ng w as t aken w i t h t he maxi mum possi bl e val ue w hen (h
2
h
1
) i .e. w i t h h
1
cl ose
t o t he t op of t he scal e and h
2
near t o t he bot t om. Thi s w as obt ai ned by gr adual l y openi ng bot h
t he bench val ve and t he cont r ol val ve i n t ur n.
- Successi ve openi ng of ei t her val ve i ncr eased bot h t he f l ow and t he di f f er ence bet w een h
1
and
h
2
. The r at e of f l ow w as f ound by t i mi ng t he col l ect i on of a know n amount of w at er i n t he
w ei ghi ng t ank, i n t he mean t i me val ves h
1
and h
2
w as r ead f r om t he manomet er . Si mi l ar l y,
r eadi ngs w er e t hen t aken over a ser i es of r educi ng val ues of h
1
h
2
r oughl y equal l y spr ead over
t he avai l abl e r ange f r om 250mm t o zer o. About t en r eadi ngs suf f i ced.

DATA/ RESULTS
Tabl e 1 Exper i ment al Val ues obt ai ned f or h
2
and h
1

h
2
(D)/ mm h
1
(A)/ mm Di schar ge/ l i t r es Ti me/ s h
1
h
2
/ mm (h
1
h
2
)
1/ 2
/ mm Q/ (l i t r e/ s) C (x 10
-4
)
230 250 5 49.75 20 4.472 0.101 5.377
210 252 5 31.81 42 6.481 0.157 5.768
190 254 5 25.12 64 8.000 0.199 5.922
170 256 5 19.19 86 9.274 0.261 6.700
150 258 5 17.06 108 10.392 0.293 6.712
130 262 5 15.97 132 11.489 0.313 6.486
110 264 5 14.56 154 12.410 0.343 6.580
90 268 5 13.72 178 13.342 0.364 6.495
70 270 5 13.00 200 14.142 0.385 6.481
50 274 5 12.04 224 14.967 0.415 6.601
Tabl e 2 Exper i ment al val ues f or Ideal Cur ve
Di schar ge (5) A/ mm B/ mm C/ mm D/ mm E/ mm F/ mm G/ mm H/ mm J/ mm K/ mm L/ mm
1
st
250 250 240 230 230 236 240 244 246 248 250
5
t h
258 254 214 150 162 198 218 230 238 244 248
10
t h
274 266 182 50 84 150 190 214 232 244 250
Ar ea/ mm
2
530.9 422.7 265.9 261.1 221.4 267.9 319.2 374.6 434.8 499.2 530.9

ANALYSI S

Fi g 2 Gr aph of (h
2
-h
1
)
1/ 2
ver sus t he f l ow r at e Q

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45
(
h
2
-
h
1
)
1
/
2
/
m
m
Q/ (lit res/ s)

Fi g 3 Gr aph of f l ow r at e (Q) agai nst di f f er ent i al head (h
1
h
2
)


Fi g 4 - Gr aph of Di schar ge coef f i ci ent (C) agai nst f l ow r at e (Q)
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0 50 100 150 200 250
Q
/
(
l
i
t
r
e
/
s
)
h
1
h
2
/ mm
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45
C

(
x

1
0
-
4
)
Q/ (lit re/ s)
DI SCUSSI ON OF RESULTS
Fr om t he cur ve f or f i g. 2, i t coul d be seen t hat (h
1
-h
2
)
1/ 2
r i ses st eadi l y w i t h r espect t o t he f l ow
r at e Q. Despi t e t hi s, t her e i s a sudden decr ease i n r i se r at e at h
2
=170. It can t hen be sai d t hat
(h
1
-h
2
)
1/ 2
i s di r ect l y pr opor t i onal t o t he f l ow r at e of t he l i qui d.
Fr om t he cur ve f or f i g. 3, i t coul d be not i ced t hat t he f l ow r at e Q r i ses st eadi l y w i t h r espect t o
t he di f f er ent i al head. But at h
2
=170, t her e i s a shar p r i se i n f l ow r at e bef or e t he l i qui d assumes
i t st eady f l ow r at e. It can al so be sai d her e t hat Q i s di r ect l y pr opor t i onal t o t he di f f er ent i al
head (h
1
h
2
).
Fr om t he cur ve f or f i g, 4, a si mi l ar ef f ect i s not i ced as i n f i g 2 and 3 t hat t he di schar ge
coef f i ci ent r i ses st eadi l y w i t h r espect t o t he f l ow r at e and i ncr eases shar pl y at h
2
=170. Asi de
t hat t he di schar ge coef f i ci ent i s di r ect l y pr opor t i onal t o t he f l ow r at e Q.

CONCLUSI ON
It can t her ef or e be concl uded t hat t he exper i ment w as successf ul . Thi s i s because f r om t he
r esul t s, i t can be seen cl ear l y t hat a r i se i n di f f er ent i al head of t w o t ubes causes t he f l ow r at e o f
t he l i qui d i n t he t ubes t o i ncr ease and t hi s pr oves t he Vent ur i ef f ect . How ever , t her e i s a
si gni f i cant change i n t he r i se i n f l ow r at e w hen h
2
i s equal t o 170mm and t he r eason f or t hi s
change coul d not be account ed f or .

RECOM M ENDATI ON
The oper at i on of t he Vent ur i met er can be appl i ed i n t he f ol l ow i ng mechani sms:
1. Pr essur e t r ansducer s
2. Robot i c Fuel i ng Syst em

REFEREN CES
1. ht t p:/ / en.w i ki pedi a.or g/ w i ki / Vent ur i _ef f ect
2. w w w .t ecqui pment .com
3. Inst r uct i on manual f r om Fl ui d M echani cs Labor at or y.