Fluid Flow Measurement

There are numerous number of devices used to measure the flow of fluids. In any of these devices, the
Bernoulli’s Energy Theorem is greatly utilized and additional knowledge of the characteristics and
coefficients of each device is important. In the absence of reliable values and coefficients, a device
should be calibrated for the expected operating conditions.

DEVICE COEFFICIENTS
Coefficient of Discharge, C or Cd

The coefficient of discharge is the ratio of the actual discharge through the device to the ideal or
theoretical discharge which would occur without losses. This may be expressed as:
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑄
𝐶 𝑜𝑟 𝐶 = =
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑄
The actual discharge may be accomplished by series of observation, usually by measuring the total
amount of fluid passing through the device for a known period. The theoretical value can be
accomplished using the Bernoulli’s Theorem neglecting losses.

Coefficient of Velocity, Cv

The coefficient of velocity is the ratio of the actual mean velocity to the ideal or theoretical velocity
which would occur without any losses.
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑣
𝐶 = =
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑣
Coefficient of Contraction, Cc

The coefficient of contraction is the ratio of the actual area of the contracted section of the stream or jet
to the area of the opening through which the fluid flows.
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑜𝑟 𝑗𝑒𝑡 𝑎
𝐶 = =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐴
Relationship between the Three Coefficients

𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒, 𝑄 = 𝐶 × 𝑄

Also

𝑄 = 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎, 𝑎 × 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑣

𝑄 =𝐶 𝐴×𝐶 𝑣
𝑄 = 𝐶 𝐶 𝐴𝑣
But

𝐴𝑣 = 𝑄
𝑄=𝐶 𝐶 𝑄
Therefore

𝐶 = 𝐶 ×𝐶
The coefficient of discharge varies with Reynolds Number. It is not constant for a given device.

HEAD LOST
The head lost through Venturi meters, orifices, tubes, and nozzles may be expressed as:

1 𝐴 𝑣
𝐻𝐿 = −1 1−
𝐶 𝐴 2𝑔

If the orifice or nozzle takes off directly from a tank where A 1 is very much greater than A2, then the
velocity of approach is negligible and the equation can be reduced to:

1 𝑣
𝐻𝐿 = −1
𝐶 2𝑔

Note: v = actual velocity

ORIFICE
An orifice is an opening is an opening (usually circular) with a closed perimeter through which fluid
flows. It is used primarily to measure or to control the flow of fluid. The upstream face of the orifice may
be rounded or sharp.

According to shape, orifice may be circular, square, or rectangular in cross section. The circular sharp-
crested orifice is most widely used because of the simplicity of its design and construction.
Contraction of the Jet

The figure shown represents a cross-section of fluid flow through a vertical sharp-edged orifice from a
reservoir to the atmosphere. The fluid flowing is coming from all direction upstream from the orifice and
as they leave the orifice, they cannot make an abrupt change in their direction and they leave the
curvilinear paths, thus causing the jet to contract for a short distance beyond the orifice. The
phenomenon is referred to as the contraction of the jet. The section on the jet where the contraction
ceases is called the vena contracta which is approximately located at one half of the orifice diameter
(D/2) from the upstream face.

Orifice under Low Heads

When the head on a vertical orifice is small in comparison with the height of the orifice, there is an
appreciable difference between the discharges using the previous analysis.

Consider the rectangular section of length L and height D as shown in the figure with both the surface
and the jet subject to atmospheric pressure. The theoretical discharge through an elementary strip of
length L and height dt is:

Illustrative Problem

1. Calculate the discharge through the 140 mm diameter orifice shown. Assume 𝐶 = 0.62.
𝑄 = 0.108 𝑚 𝑠 .
 2. An orifice of 50 mm square, with C = 0.6 is located on one side of a closed cylindrical tank
shown. An open mercury manometer indicates a pressure head of 300 mm Hg in the air at the
top of the tank. If the upper 4 m of the tank is oil (sg = 0.80) and the remainder is water,
determine the discharge through the orifice.
𝑄 = 0.01173 𝑚 𝑠 .

NOZZLE

A nozzle is a converging tube installed at the end of a pipe or hose for the purpose of increasing the
velocity of the issuing jet.
GATES
A gate is an opening in a dam or other hydraulic structure to control the passage of water. It has the
same hydraulic property as the orifice. In using gates, calibration test is advisable if accurate
measurements are to be obtained since its coefficient of discharge varies widely.

Illustrative Problem

3. A sluice gate flows into a horizontal channel as shown in the figure. Determine the flow through
the gate per meter width when y = 1.0 m and d1 = 6 m. Assume that the pressure distribution at
sections 1 and 2 to be atmospheric and neglect friction losses in the channel. Use coefficient of
contraction Cc = 0.85 and coefficient of velocity Cv = 0.95.
𝑄 = 8.2 𝑚 𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 .

PITOT TUBE
Named after French physicist and engineer Henri Pitot, Pitot tube is a bent (L-shaped or U-shaped) tube
with both ends open and is used to measure the velocity of fluid or velocity of air flow as used in
airplane speedometer.

When the tube is placed in a moving stream with open end oriented into the direction of flow, the liquid
enters the opening at point 2 until the surface in the tube rises a distance of h above the stream surface.
An equilibrium condition is then established, and the quantity of liquid in the tube remains unchanged
as the flow remains steady. Point 2 at the face of the tube facing the stream is called the stagnation
point.
Illustrative Problem

4. A Pitot tube in the pipe in which air is flowing is connected to a manometer containing water as
shown in the figure. If the difference in water levels in the manometer is 87.5 mm, what is the
velocity of flow in the pipe, assuming a tube coefficient, Cp = 0.99?
(𝑣 = 37.07 𝑚⁄𝑠 ).
VENTURI METER
Venturi meter is an instrument used in measuring the discharge through pipes. It consists of a
converging tube AB which is connected to the main pipe at the inlet A, and ending in a cylindrical section
BC called the throat, and a diverging section CD which is connected again to the main pipe at the outlet
D. The angle of divergence is kept small to reduce the head lost cause by turbulence as the velocity is
reduced.

Note:

If we neglect the head lost in our energy equation, the values we get are known as theoretical or ideal
values (theoretical velocity and theoretical discharge). Considering head lost, we get the actual values
(actual velocity and actual discharge).

Illustrative Problem

5. A horizontal 150 mm diameter pipe gradually reduces its section to 50 mm diameter,

subsequently enlarging into 150 mm section. The pressure in the 150 mm pipe at a point just
before entering the reducing section is 140 kPa and in the 50 mm section at the end of the
reducer, the pressure is 70 kPa. If 600 mm of head is lost between the points where the
pressures are known, compute the rate of flow of water through the pipe. 𝑄 = 22.4 𝐿 𝑠 .
Orifice, Discharge Under Falling Head
Since the head causing the flow is varying, the discharge through the orifice varies with time. If
the h is the head at any constant t, the velocity through the orifice is 2𝑔ℎ.

Illustrative Problem:

6. Determine the time t required to lower the liquid surface shown by 2m through a 160 mm Ø
orifice having a C = 0.65. (𝑡 = 62.12 𝑠𝑒𝑐.)

7. A circular vessel 2 m in diameter and 3 m high is one third filled with liquid A having a sg = 1.0,
one third filled with liquid B having a sg = 2.0 and the remaining one third is filled with liquid C
having a sg = 3.0. At the bottom of the vessel is a 900 cm 2 standard orifice having a C = 0.6. Find
the time to empty the vessel. (𝑡 = 51.15 𝑠𝑒𝑐.)

8. A swimming pool 10 m long, 8 m wide, and 2.5 m deep at one end and 1.5 m on the other end is
fitted with a drain pipe 200 mm in diameter at the lowest part of the pool. Compute the time
required to drain the full content of the pool assuming C = 0.80. (𝑡 = 42.49 𝑚𝑖𝑛.)
Weirs
Weirs are overflow structures which are built across an open channel for the purpose of
measuring or controlling the flow of liquid. Weirs have been commonly used to measure the flow of water,
but it is now adopted to measure the flow of other liquid.

Classification of weirs:

According to the shape, weirs may be rectangular, triangular, trapezoidal, circular, parabolic or
any other regular form. The most commonly used shapes are rectangular, triangle, and trapezoidal
shapes. In the measurement of other liquids other than water, the triangular weirs are best adopted.
According to form of the crest, weirs maybe sharp-crested or broad-crested.

The flow over a weir may either be free or submerged. If the water surface downstream from the
weir is lower than the crest, the flow is free, but if the downstream surface is higher than the crest, the
flow is submerged.

Definition of Terms

Nappe the overflowing stream in a weir.

Crest the edge of the top surface of a weir with which the flowing liquid comes in
contact.

Contracted Weir weir having side sharp edge, so that the nappe is contracted in width or having a
contraction either one end or two ends.

Suppressed Weir weir having its length L being equal to the width of the channel so that the nappe
supper no end contracted/contraction.

Drop Down Curve the downward curvature of the liquid surface before the weir.

Head, H the distance between the liquid surface and the crest of the water measure
before the drop down curve.
For Rectangular Weirs

actual discharge considering velocity of approach

2
𝑄 = 𝐶 2𝑔𝐿(𝐻 − ℎ )
3
actual discharge neglecting velocity of approach
2
𝑄 = 𝐶 2𝑔𝐿𝐻
3
For weirs which a side contraction, the following convection for weir length will be applied:

For one end contraction 𝐿 = 𝐿 − 0.10𝐻

For two end contraction 𝐿 = 𝐿 − 0.20𝐻

Where 𝐿 will be the value to be used for L in the previous formulas

2
𝑄 = 𝐶 2𝑔𝐿′𝐻
3
Empirical Formulas:

1. Francis Formula

𝑄 = 1.84𝐿 (𝐻 − ℎ ) − ℎ

𝑄 = 1.84𝐿𝐻
2. Bazin Formula
0.003
𝑄 = 0.405 + 2𝑔𝐿𝐻
𝐻
𝑣
𝐻 = 𝐻 + 0.6
2𝑔

0.003
𝑄 = 0.405 + 2𝑔𝐿𝐻
𝐻
3. Rehbock Formula
0.24𝐻
𝑄 = 1.782 + 𝐿𝐻
𝑃
𝐻 = 𝐻 + 0.0011
4. Fteley and Stearns Formula
𝑣
𝑄 = 1.826𝐿 𝐻 + 𝜆 + 0.00065𝐿
2𝑔
 Flow over a Triangular Weir

General Formula:

𝑄= 𝐶 2𝑔𝐿𝐻

For triangular V-notch weir:

tan =

𝑄= 𝐶 2𝑔 tan 𝐻

For standard 90˚ weir

𝑄 = 1.4𝐿𝐻
Trapezoidal Weir

2 8 𝜃
𝑄 = 𝐶 2𝑔𝐿𝐻 + 𝐶 2𝑔 tan 𝐻
3 15 2
Cipolletti weir (sides angle = 75.96˚)

𝑄 = 1.86𝐿𝐻

Suttro Weir or Proportional Weir

𝑄 = 𝐶𝜋𝐾 2𝑔𝐻

𝐾 = 2𝑥 𝑦
Submerged Weir

𝑄 = 𝐶 𝐿 2𝑔(ℎ − ℎ ) + 𝐶"𝐿𝐻 2𝑔(ℎ − ℎ )

𝐶 = 0.58
𝐶" = 0.80

Illustrative Problem:

9. Find the width, in meters, of the channel at the back of a suppressed weir using the following
data:
Head, H = 28.5 cm
Depth of water, d = 2.485 m
Discharge, Q = 0.84 m3/s
Consider velocity of approach and use Francis Formula. (𝐿 = 3𝑚)

10. The flow in a rectangular channel varies from 225 liters per second to 350 liters per second, and
it is desired to regulate the depth by using standard 90-degree V-notch weir at the end. How many
weirs are needed to regulate the variation in depth to 60 mm? (3)

11. The discharge over a trapezoidal weir is 1.315m3/s. The crest length is 2 m and the sides are
inclined at 75˚ 57’ 49” with the horizontal. Find the head on the weir in meters. (𝐻 = 0.50 𝑚)