THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

CVNG l001: FLUID MECHANICS LABORATORY- YEAR 1
TITLE:

To trace the horizontal trajectory of a jet exiting an orifice and to determine the discharge
coefficient

1. OBJECTIVES:
a.
To trace the horizontal jet trajectory of a liquid exiting an orifice
b.
To study the effect of head on the trajectory
c.
To compare the measured trajectories with those obtained theoretically
d.
To determine the discharge coefficient, the velocity coefficient, and the
coefficient of contraction for the orifices provided
2. PROCEDURE:
a.
Study the apparatus
b.
Draw a schematic of the apparatus
c.
Run the unit and take measurements at steady state
d.
Do the necessary calculations and plot the results
3. DESCRIPTION OF THE MAIN COMPONENTS:
See the attached figure of the apparatus comprising of:
o Orifice fitting device
o Orifice nozzles
o Hydraulic bench
o Pump
o Trajectory probe panel
4. EXPERIMENTATION:
a.
Insert the orifice into the orifice fitting
b.
Start the pump and adjust the water head (300 mm, 350 mm, 400 mm)
c.
Move the trajectory tracing device (pins) until it is in contact with the jet
d.
Read the measured x and y positions of the jet and note them
down in a tabular form
e.
Collect the jet water in an empty measuring container for a
certain period. Note down the period of collection and the
volume of the water collected

f.
Change the water head and repeat (c) to (e)
g.
Change the orifice and repeat (b) to e)
5. CALCULATIONS AND RESULTS:
When a liquid filled tank is discharged through an orifice (hole),
potential energy is converted to kinetic energy according to
Bernoulli's equation.
Neglecting the losses, the jet velocity at the orifice exit obtained
from Bernoulli's equation is
Vx 2 gh where h is the head of water in the tank measured
from the orifice level.
Trajectory calculation

Horizontal velocity along the jet remains constant.

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Therefore, Vx

2 gh

Horizontal distance, x Vx t where t is the time to travel x m,

Vertical distance, y m is given in terms of x below.
y gt 2 2
y g / 2 x / Vx

yg 2 x

2 gh

y x 2 4h

Calculate the y-value at each measured x-position from the above

equation and tabulate them as follows for both the water heads.

Water head, h =
x-position (m)

(m)
Measured y-position (m)

Theoretical y-position (m)

Plot the theoretical and measured trajectories on graph paper; one for each head. Also plot
the two measured trajectories for two different heads on one graph. (Take origin at top left
corner).
Coefficient of discharge .
Actual discharge Qac Volume of the water collected / Period of collection
Theoretical discharge Qth AVth A 2 gh

where A is the orifice area.

Coefficient of discharge Cd Qac Qth

Calculate C d for the both the heads.
See Massy 8th Edition, Pg 112-119 for theory and computation of
Coefficient of Velocity, Vc and Coefficient of Contraction, Cc.

6. REPORT
The report should contain introduction, objectives, sketch (not photocopy) and description
of the experimental apparatus, theory, experimental procedure, measurements taken,
calculations, results and discussion on results.

General Instructions
Reports must be submitted one week after the laboratory session to the laboratory
technician.
Students are required to submit independent, individual reports written in a structured
manner in letter size manila folder with the following information on the front page of the
folder. University/Faculty/Department, Course code/Course name/Year, Title of
experiment, Date conducted, Date submitted, Name/ID of student, Lab group and Name of
lecturer/Demonstrator.
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7. PRESENTATION OF DATA AND RESULTS

GROUP ORIFICE #1 Trial #

Head (cm)

1
H~=

Volume collected
(ml)

Time (s)

hmax. =

V1 =

10

hmin. =

V2 =

10

havg. =

V3 =

10

Units in mm
x1

x2

x3

x4

x5

x6

x7

x8

y1

y2

y3

y4

y5

y6

y7

y8

Figure 1 HM 150.09 apparatus setup

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