1

Experimental and Numerical Investigations on Conical Flowmeter in comparison with

orifice and venturimeter
- Pavan Kumar, Lokesh Meena, U.S.Powle and S.V.Prabhu
Department oI Mechanical Engineering, I.I.T., Bombay, Mumbai 400 076
Abstract
An experimental investigation is conducted on the inIluence oI cone angle oI conical
Ilowmeter with a constant ratio oI 0.75 on the coeIIicient oI discharge, irrecoverable
pressure drop, upstream and downstream velocity proIiles with Iully developed Ilow
condition at the inlet oI the conical Ilowmeter. Experiments are perIormed Ior Reynolds
numbers ranging Irom 1,00,000 5,30,000 with water as the working medium. Upstream
and downstream velocity proIiles are measured using Pitot tube at a Reynolds number oI
4,25,000. PerIormance oI conical Ilowmeter is compared with that oI oriIice meter and
venturimeter whose ratio is 0.75. Experimental investigations are supplemented by
numerical studies on the eIIect oI cone angle oI conical Ilowmeter Ior a | ratio oI 0.75 at a
Reynolds number oI 1,00,000. CoeIIicient oI discharge increases with the decrease in the
cone angle and is almost independent oI Reynolds number within the range covered in this
study.
Introduction
DiIIerential pressure devices such as oriIicemeter, venturimeter and conical Ilowmeters have
become dominant Ilow measurement devices Ior custody transIer because oI their simplicity
and reliability. Deotte et al. |1| studied the Ilow oI air through a 0.5 diameter ratio oriIice in
a standard 50.8 mm pipe Ior a Reynolds number oI 54,700. They employed 3-D laser Doppler
Anemometry to measure the three-dimensional velocities and their Iluctuating components at
various locations along the axis oI the pipe. The reattachment length oI the jet is Iound out to
be around 4.5 to 5 times the radius oI the pipe, which is equivalent to 9-10 step heights. It is
observed that the location oI the vena contracta characterized by complete axial velocity
proIile is at a distance equal to the radius oI the pipe (2 step heights). Hence, the reattachment
length would turn out to be 7-8 times the step height downstream oI the vena contracta. This
is correlated with the Ilow characteristics oI a sudden pipe expansion Ior which the
reattachment length is around 6.5-7.5 step heights. The centerline velocity reached a
maximum at X/RoI 1, which is the location oI vena contracta. One oI the most interesting
2
Iinding was that in a separate test by measurement oI pressure the location oI the minimum
static pressure was Iound to be at X/RoI 1.5. Thus, the location oI the minimum static
pressure does not coincide with location oI maximum axial velocity. It is believed that the
reason Ior locating the downstream tap at D/2 is to measure minimum pressure at the vena
contracta. However since the static pressure is not minimum at vena contracta. This is the
Paradox oI Vena Contracta`. The coeIIicient oI discharge calculation oI oriIicemeter and
venturimeter are provided in ISO 5167 |2|. Variation oI the coeIIicient oI discharge with
beta ratio, Reynolds number Ior Ilange and corner tappings are given by Reader-Harris and
Sattary |3| and Reader-Harris et al. |4|. Gerd Urner |5| presented a new equation Ior the
irrecoverable pressure loss in oriIicemeters. Reader-Harris et al. |6| studied twenty one
Venturi tubes oI a wide variety oI diameters and diameter ratios in water and high-pressure
gas. FiIteen oI these were oI the standard design, and an equation Ior the discharge
coeIIicient in water and gas was obtained with an uncertainties oI 0.74 per cent and 1.23
respectively.
Conical Ilowmeter is a diIIerential pressure type Ilowmeter operating on the same principle
as conventional oriIice meter, venturi meter, nozzle etc. Principally, the conical Ilowmeter
consists oI a suitably designed cone centrally located in a precisely machined Ilow tube. The
advantages oI the meter are high accuracy (/-1), high repeatability (/- 0.1), high
rangeability (10:1). This is achieved by the divergent shape oI the meter which reshapes the
velocity proIile. IIIt and Mikkelson |7| have carried experiments to study the installation
eIIects on a conical Ilowmeter oI Ilow disturbances such as a single elbow and double elbows
out-oI-plane. The elbows are all 90 long-radius with R/D 1.5. They conclude that the
conical Ilowmeter is not aIIected by these two disturbances even Ior zero upstream piping
length. Prabhu et al. |8| studied the eIIect oI upstream perturbations due to a single 90
o
mitre
bend, a double 90
o
mitre bend in-plane and a double 90
o
mitre bend out-oI-plane on a conical
Ilowmeter and oriIice meter having common ratio oI 0.75. The speciIic reason Ior the
selection oI 0.75 as ratio is that an oriIice meter with this beta ratio is very sensitive to
swirl. The experiments are conducted at various Ilow rates covering Reynolds number range
Irom 30, 000 to 4,94,000 with air as working medium. Initially, Ior each Ilowmeter, an
upstream piping oI 72D is provided as the developing length. The coeIIicient oI discharge
obtained in this condition is regarded as the ideal coeIIicient oI discharge which were 0.8 and
0.61 respectively Ior conical Ilowmeter and an oriIice meter. The irrecoverable pressure drop
|K| as measured by them Ior conical Ilowmeter and oriIice meter are1.6 and 2.8.
3
The objective oI the present study is to experimentally and numerically investigate the eIIect
oI cone angle oI conical Ilowmeter with a constant | ratio oI 0.75 on the coeIIicient oI
discharge, irrecoverable pressure drop and upstream and downstream velocity proIiles under
Iully developed condition at the inlet oI the conical Ilowmeter. The perIormance oI the
conical Ilowmeter is compared with those oI oriIicemeter and venturimeter Ior the same |
ratio
Experimental Investigations
Experimental Setup and Procedure
Dynamic calibration Iacility is employed Ior measuring the mass Ilow rate oI the water
Ilowing through the Ilowmeter as shown in Figure. 1. Water is pumped using a mixed Ilow
type oI pump (110 litres/sec, 1450 rpm and 8 m head) through a straight circular pipe oI
102.3 mm inner diameter. Mass Ilow rate is controlled by sluice Ilow control valves located
at the upstream and downstream oI the Ilowmeter. Developing length oI 56 times the pipe
diameter is provided upstream to the conical Ilowmeter. An undisturbed pipe length oI 43
times the pipe diameter is provided downstream to the conical Ilowmeter. Details oI conical
Ilowmeter and oriIice meter along with tap locations are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. DiIIerential
pressure drop across Iollowing tap locations is measured Ior the determination oI coeIIicient
oI discharge in conical Ilowmeter.
Upstream tap location (P
1
) and downstream tap location (P
2
) which is positioned on
the trailing edge oI the cone
Upstream tap location (P
1
) and downstream tap location (P
3
) that is positioned on the
pipe wall at a location where the trailing edge oI the cone exists.
Location oI taps corresponding to static pressures P
1
, P
2
and P
3
are shown in Fig. 2.
The diIIerential pressure is measured using a diIIerential pressure transmitters (Rosemount
make) having an accuracy oI 0.075 whose ranges are oI the order 0.12-6.22 kPa and 0.62-
62.2 kPa. Water is collected in a mild steel collecting tank (1.5m 1.5 m 1.7 m) with a
capacity oI around 4000 liters. Measuring tank is mounted on a platIorm scale (1.5m 1.5
m). Shear beam load cell is placed below the platIorm scale. Capacity and accuracy oI the
shear beam load cell are 5000 kg and 0.5 kg. Load cell is interIaced to the personal
computer through a RS 232 port. Two butterIly valves (150 mm) are provided downstream
the collecting tank in order to drain or collect water in the tank. Water Irom the tank is
recirculated back to the sump. Required mass Ilow rate is set using the upstream and
4
downstream sluice valves. ButterIly valves downstream the collecting tank are closed aIter
the steady state is reached. Mass variation with time is obtained on the personal computer.
Typical mass variation with time Ior a Reynolds number oI 1,65,000 is shown in Fig. 4. Slope
oI the mass variation with time provides the mass Ilow rate oI the water Ilowing through the
Ilowmeter. Pressure drop distribution downstream oI a conical Ilowmeter and an oriIice
meter is measured by providing static pressure taps at an interval oI 150 mm Irom each other.
Velocity proIile is measured by using a standard Pitot tube. Cones oI diIIerent cones angles
o Ior a constant ratio are covered in this study. Details oI the various cones are given in
Fig. 5. OriIice plate with a bevel angle oI 45
o
is used along with D-D/2tappings Ior a ratio
oI 0.75. Venturimeter with a | ratio oI 0.75 is shown in Fig. 6.
Data Reduction
CoeIIicient oI discharge is calculated using the measured diIIerential pressure and the
measured actual mass Ilow rates. Detailed relations used are given below.
CoeIIicient oI Discharge
th
act
d
m
m
C

(1)
t
m m
m
initial final
act

(2)
( (( (
( (( (

( (( (




| || |
| || |
. .. .
| || |


\ \\ \
| || |

= == =
2
1
A
2
A
1
P 2
2
A
th
m
A AA A
; ( )
2
1
2
2
4
D D A =
t
; ( )
2
1
4
D A
t
=
(3)
Irrecoverable pressure Drop
2
2
1
J
P
K

A
=
(4)
Velocity measured by Pitot tube

P
J
A
=
2
(5)
Uncertainties in the measurement oI coeIIicient oI discharge, irrecoverable pressure drop and
velocity are 0.9 , 0.12 and 0.04 respectively by the uncertainty estimation method oI
Kline andMcClintock |9| at a 95 conIidence level.
5
Results and Discussions on Experimental Results
InIluence oI the cone angle (o 10
o
, 15
o
, 30
o
and 45
o
) on coeIIicient oI discharge,
irrecoverable pressure drop, upstream and downstream velocity proIiles are experimentally
investigated with water as working medium Ior a | ratio oI 0.75. CoeIIicient oI discharge
and irrecoverable pressure drop are Iound Ior Reynolds numbers ranging Irom 1,00,000 to
5,30,000. Velocity proIile is measured at a distance oI 4D upstream, 6D , 10 D , 15 D and 20
D downstream oI the conical Ilowmeter using Pitot tube. Similar investigations are carried
out Ior an oriIice meter with a | ratio oI 0.75.
Variation oI coeIIicient oI discharge with Reynolds Number Ior conical Ilowmeter with
various cone angles and oriIice meter is shown in Fig. 7. CoeIIicient oI discharge in conical
Ilowmeters is calculated based on P
1
(upstream tap location) & P
2
and (downstream tap
location positioned on the trailing edge oI the cone) and P
1
(upstream tap location) & P
3
(downstream tap location positioned on the pipe wall at a location where the trailing edge oI
the cone exists) are almost identical. It may be observed that the coeIIicient oI discharge oI
oriIice plate is less compared to conical Ilowmeter Ior any cone angle. CoeIIicient oI
discharge oI venturimeter is almost unity. There is mild decrease oI coeIIicient oI discharge
with the increase in the Reynolds number Ior all Ilowmeters. CoeIIicient oI discharge oI
conical Ilowmeter increases with the decrease in cone angle. Average values oI coeIIicient oI
discharge Ior oriIice plate, conical Ilowmeters with cone angles oI 10
o
, 15
o
, 30
o
and 45
o
and
venturimeter are shown in Table. 1.
Table. 1 Average coefficient of discharges of conical flowmeter, orificemeter and
venturimeter
Sl. No. Type of the flowmeter
Coefficient of
discharge
1 OriIicemeter 0.62
2 Venturimeter 0.98
3 10 Conical Flowmeter 0.85
4 15 Conical Flowmeter 0.81
5 30 Conical Flowmeter 0.71
6 45 Conical Flowmeter 0.63
6
Figure. 8 shows irrecoverable pressure drop variation with Reynolds number Ior oriIice meter
and conical Ilowmeter with diIIerent cone angles. It may be observed that the pressure losses
in oriIice meter and conical Ilowmeter with a cone angle oI 45
o
are comparable to each other.
Irrecoverable pressure losses decrease with the decrease in the cone angle. Conical
Ilowmeter with a cone angle oI 10
o
has least irrecoverable pressure drop compared to other
cone angles and oriIice meter.
Figure. 9 shows the axial velocity variations along the radius Ior an 10
o
conical Ilowmeter. It
can be observed that at 4D upstream to the conical Ilowmeter Iully developed Ilow
conditions are achieved, but at 6D and 10D downstream the Ilowmeter, velocity proIiles do
not match the Iully developed velocity proIile indicating that much more developing length is
needed to achieve Iully developed Ilow conditions. From 15D-20D downstream oI the
Ilowmeter, velocity proIiles match with the Iully developed Ilow proIile indicating that Iully
developed Ilow conditions are obtained. Same trends are observed Ior other conical
Ilowmeters with cone angles 15
o
, 30
o
, and 45
o
as shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12 respectively.
Figure. 13 shows the axial velocity variations along the radius Ior an oriIice meter. It can be
observed that at 6D downstream the Ilowmeter the velocity across the walls oI the pipe is
relatively small due to the blockage created by the Ilowmeter and increases at the centre oI
the pipe. At 10D, 15D and 20D downstream the Ilowmeter Iully developed Ilow conditions
are not achieved indicating that much more developing length is necessary Ior an
oriIicemeter.
Numerical Investigations
Numerical investigations are carried out to gain insight into the Ilow physics around the
conical Ilowmeter. Numerical investigations are carried out using Fluent commercial
soItware package. Cone angles oI 10
o
, 15
o
, 30
o
and 45
o
are covered in this study Ior a
Reynolds number oI 1,00,000. CoeIIicient oI discharge and irrecoverable pressure drop
obtained by numerical investigations are compared with the corresponding experimental
results.
Numerical Procedure
The Iluid Ilow problem solving in numerical approach is done with the aid oI CFD package
which uses Finite volume method to solve the governing equations Ior Iluid. The
computational Ilow domain oI the problem being studied is as shown in Fig. 14. The CFD
7
package is comprised oI Gambit i.e., Preprocessor meant Ior geometry creation and grid
generation, In Fluent the problem is setup and solved. Three-dimensional Geometric model oI
the test section is modelled using Gambit. The model comprises oI cone placed at a distance
oI 56D in the pipeline comprising 100D length with no upstream disturbances present so that
the Ilow is Iully developed. The model is then meshed with unstructured Tri/Pave mesh oI
suitable interval count to generate mesh Iaces. Face meshes are then meshed with hex/wedge
to obtain mesh volumes Ior analysis purpose. Typical mesh generated Ior an 30
o
conical
Ilowmeter is shown in Fig. 15. Appropriate boundary conditions are applied and the model is
exported to Fluent. In Fluent the corresponding mesh Iile is read. The convergence criterion
chosen is 0.001 with a cell based solver and turbulence model employed is standard k-c.
Working Iluid selected is water and speciIic boundary conditions are applied and are iterated.
Mesh is Iurther reIined near the region oI interest with typical v values ranging Irom 30 to
500 and the results are evaluated Ior getting grid independence tests.
Results and discussions on numerical results in comparison with experimental results
Table. 2 shows a reasonably good comparison oI numerically obtained coeIIicient oI
discharge and irrecoverable pressure loss coeIIicient with the corresponding experimental
results. Table. 3 shows the numerically obtained coeIIicient oI discharge, upstream pressure
at the cone, downstream pressure at the cone, coeIIicient oI pressure drag, coeIIicient oI
viscous drag and coeIIicient oI total drag Ior conical Ilowmeters with diIIerent cone angles.
It can be observed that the pressure at the downstream oI the conical Ilowmeter is decreasing
with the increase in the cone angle resulting in increasing the pressure drop measured across
the conical Ilowmeter. This results in the decrease in the coeIIicient oI discharge with the
increase in the cone angle Irom 10 to 45. It may be seen that the pressure drag increases and
viscous drag decreases with the cone angle.
8
Table. 2 Comparison of Experimental and Numerical results for various
Cone angles for Reynolds number 1,00,000
Cone angles
(Degrees)
Coefficient of
Discharge
(Experiment)
Coefficient of
Discharge
(Numerical)
Press Loss
Coefficient
(Experiment)
Press Loss
Coefficient
(Numerical)
10 0.85 0.90 0.90 1.20
15 0.81 0.88 1.17 1.34
30 0.71 0.79 1.55 2.04
45 0.63 0.74 2.00 2.20
Table. 3 Variation of upstream and downstream pressure, pressure drag and viscous
drag with cone angle
Cone
angle
Coefficient
of
discharge
Upstream
Pressure
P1
(Pa)
Downstream
Pressure
P2
(Pa)
A AA AP
(Pa)
Coefficient of
pressure drag
Coefficient of
viscous drag
Total drag
Coefficient
10 0.90 -644.51 -1765.67 1121.16 1.57 0.04 1.61
15 0.88 -600.06 -1914.46 1314.40 2.01 0.03 2.05
30 0.79 -629.65 -2295.65 1665.97 2.94 0.02 2.96
45 0.74 -606.10 -2536.23 1930.13 3.61 0.01 3.62
Figures. 16,17,18 and 19 show the velocity distribution around conical Ilowmeters Ior cone
angles oI 10
o
, 15
o
, 30
o
and 45
o
. It can be observed that the Ilow approaches the conical
Ilowmeter without any disturbance. Once the Ilow reaches the conical Ilowmeter the Ilow
gets varied along the walls and through the constriction. As the Ilow passes through the
leading Iace oI the cone its velocity decreases and along the slant walls oI the cone the
velocity gradually increases and at the minimum cross sectional area between the pipe wall
and the conical Ilowmeter the velocities are maximum. Downstream the cone, vortices are
Iormed and swirling motion is observed resulting in loss oI energy.
It may be observed that the Ilow gets accelerated as it passes between the cone and the pipe
wall. The velocity at the location oI the downstream pressure (P
2
) increases with the increase
in the cone angle. This is because oI the increase in the deIlection oI the Ilow in the radial
direction with the increase in the cone angle. It may be seen that the velocity between the
pipe wall and cone edge is increasing as the angle increases i.e. Ior 10 cone it is 1.84 m/s, Ior
9
15 cone it is 2 m/s, Ior 30 cone it is 2.18 m/s, Ior 45 cone it is 2.27 m/s. This explains the
increase in the measured pressure drop between the upstream and downstream oI the conical
Ilowmeter and decrease in the coeIIicient oI drag with the increase in the cone angle. Flow
downstream oI the conical Ilowmeter consists oI two vortices shed Irom the tip oI the cone.
Conclusions
Experimental investigations are carried out on the conical Ilowmeter Ior various cone angles
oriIice meter and venturimeter with a | ratio oI 0.75 Ior Reynolds number ranging Irom
1,00,000 to 5,30,000 under Iully developed ideal conditions. Numerical investigations are
carried out on the conical Ilowmeter with diIIerent cone angles with a | ratio oI 0.75 Ior a
Reynolds number oI 1,00,000 under Iully developed condition. Following conclusions may
be drawn Irom the present study.
- CoeIIicient oI discharge oI a conical Ilowmeter Ior cone angles oI 10
o
, 15
o
, 30
o
and 45
o
Ior a | ratio oI 0.75 is 0.85, 0.81, 0.71 and 0.63 respectively. However, coeIIicient oI
discharge oI an oriIicemeter and venturimeter Ior a | ratio oI 0.75 is 0.62 and 0.98.
- CoeIIicient oI discharges obtained based on upstream pressure tap location (P
1
) and
downstream tap location (P
2
) which is positioned on the trailing edge oI the cone and
Upstream tap location (P
1
) and downstream tap location (P
3
) that is positioned on the pipe
wall at a location where the trailing edge oI the cone exists are almost identical under
Iully developed Ilow condition.
- Irrecoverable pressure drop increases with the increase in the cone angle. Irrecoverable
pressure drop caused by conical Ilowmeter is less compared to that oI oriIice meter by
around 56 , 44 and 26 Ior cone angles oI 10
o
,
15
o
and 30
o
. However, irrecoverable
pressure drop oI conical Ilowmeter with a cone angle oI 45
o
is comparable with that oI
oriIice meter.
- Measured velocity proIiles upstream and downstream the conical Ilowmeter and oriIice
meter under Iully developed conditions suggest that the downstream velocity proIile nears
the Iully developed velocity proIile within a downstream distance oI around 15D-20D.
However, the downstream velocity proIile with an oriIice meter takes a distance longer
than 20D.
10
Nomenclature
d Internal diameter oI oriIice meter (m)
m Mass (kg)
act
m
Actual mass Ilow rate (kg/s)
th
m
Theoretical mass Ilow rate (kg/s)
r Radius in m
v

Grid adaption parameter

A
1
Area oI the pipe (m
2
)
A
2
Area oI the conical Ilowmeter (m
2
)
C
d
CoeIIicient oI discharge
D Internal pipe diameter (m)
D
1
Diameter oI conical Ilowmeter (m)
K Irrecoverable pressure drop
P
1
Upstream static pressure location
P
2
Downstream static pressure location through the cone
P
3
Downstream static pressure location on the pipe wall
R Pipe radius
Re
Reynolds number
D J
avg
t Time (seconds)
J
avg
Average velocity (m/s)
AP DiIIerential pressure ( kPa)
Density (kg/m
3
)
Cone angle (degrees)
Beta ratio (d/D Ior oriIice meter);(
2
1
2
1
D
D
Ior conical Ilowmeter)
11
References
1. R. E. Deotte, Jr, G. L. Morrison, D. L. Panak and G. H. Nail '3-D Laser Doppler
anemometry measurements oI the axisymmetric Ilow Iield near an oriIice plate, Flow
Measurement and Instrumentation, Vol. 2, 1991, pp. 115-123.
2. IS0 5167-1980 (E). Measurement oI Iluid Ilow by means oI oriIice plate, nozzles and
venturi tubes inserted in circular cross section conduits running Iull.
3. M.J. Reader-Harris and J.A. Sattary, 'The oriIice plate discharge coeIIicient equation,
Flow measurement and Instrumentation, 1990, Vol. 1, pp.67-76.
4. M.J. Reader-Harris, J.A. Sattary and E.P.Spearman, 'The oriIice plate discharge
coeIIicient equation-Iurther work, Flow measurement and Instrumentation, 1995,
Vol. 6 No.2, pp.101-114.
5. Gerd Urner, 'Pressure loss oI oriIice plates according to ISO 5167-1, Flow
measurement and Instrumentation, 1997, Vol. 8, No.1, pp.39-41.
6. M.J. Reader-Harris, W.C. Brunton, J.J. Gibson, D. Hodges, I.G. Nicholson,
'Discharge coeIIicients oI Venturi tubes with standard and non-standard convergent
angles, Flow measurement and Instrumentation, 2001, Vol. 12, pp. 135-145.
7. S.A. IIIt and E. D. Mikkelsen, 'Pipe elbow eIIects on the V-Cone Ilowmeter, FED,
Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, ASME, 1993, 161.
8. S.V.Prabhu, R.Mascomani, K.Balakrishnan and M.S.Konnur, 'EIIects oI upstream
pipe Iittings on the perIormance oI oriIice and conical Ilowmeters, Flow
Measurement and Instrumentation, 1996, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp .49-54.
9. Kline, S.J. and McClintock, F.A.., Describing uncertainties in single-sample
experiments, Mechanical Engineering, 1953, Vol. 75, pp. 3-8.
12
1. Sump
2. Mixed Ilow pump
3. Sluice valve
4. Conical Ilowmeter
5. DiIIerential pressure transducer
6. Collecting tank
7. RS 232 connection
8. Computer
9. Shear beam load cell
10. Mild steel platIorm
Figure. 1 Schematic of the test facility of volumetric flowmeters
Figure. 2 Schematic of the coneflowmeter with tap locations
Figure. 3 Schematic of the orificemeter with tap locations
D D/2
D
3 3
10
To Sump
56D 43D
Flow Direction
4
2
7
8
9
6
5
1
3
Conical flowmeter
D
P
1
P
2
P
3
Flow direction
D
1
13
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175
Time(sec)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
M
a
s
s
(
k
g
)
Figure. 4 Typical mass variation with time obtained during mass flow rate
measurement
Dimensions
(mm)
o 45
o
o 30
o
o 15
o
o 10
o
a 20 37.2 20 20
b 28.7 46.4 99.8 148.4
c 14.2 13.8 10 10
d 12.2 12.6 12.5 12.5
e 67.4 67.1 66.8 65.1
f 7.2 7.8 7 6
Figure. 5 Configurations of the cones used in conical flowmeter
f
a c b
e
2 mm
22.5
d
14
All dimensions in mm
Figure. 6 Schematic of Venturimeter
0 100000 200000 300000 400000 500000
Reynolds Number
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
C
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t

o
f

D
i
s
c
h
a
r
g
e
"Cd vs Re
Orificemeter
Venturimeter
10 deg cone flowmeter
15 deg cone flowmeter
30 deg cone flowmeter
45 deg cone flowmeter
Figure. 7 Variation of Coefficient of Discharge with Reynolds number
15
0 100000 200000 300000 400000 500000 600000
Reynolds Number
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
K
45 Deg cone
30 Deg cone
15 Deg cone
10 Deg cone
Orifice plate
Figure. 8 Irrecoverable Pressure drop variation for conical flowmeters
and orificemeter
16
-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
4D Upstream
Fully developed profile
10 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
D Downstream
Fully developed profile
10 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
1D Downstream
Fully developed profile
10 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
15D Downstream
Fully developed profile
10 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
2D Downstream
Fully developed profile
10 degree cone

Figure. 9 Axial Velocity profiles along Radius for an 10
o
Conical Flowmeter
17
-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
4D Upstream
Fully developed profile
15 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
D Downstream
Fully developed profile
15 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
1D Downstream
Fully developed profile
15 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
15D Downstream
Fully developed profile
15 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
2D Downstream
Fully developed profile
15 degree cone

Figure. 10 Axial Velocity Profiles along Radius for an 15
o
Conical Flowmeter
18
-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
4D Upstream
Fully developed profile
30 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
D Downstream
Fully developed profile
30 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
1D Downstream
Fully developed profile
30 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
15D Downstream
Fully developed profile
30 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
2D Downstream
Fully developed profile
30 degree cone

Figure. 11 Axial Velocity Profiles along Radius for an 30
o
Conical Flowmeter
19
-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
4D Upstream
Fully developed profile
45 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
6D Downstream
Fully developed profile
45 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
U
/
U
c
l
1D Downstream
Fully developed profile
45 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
15D Downstream
Fully developed profile
45 degree cone

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
2D Downstream
Fully developed profile
45 degree cone

Figure. 12 Axial Velocity Profiles along Radius for an 45
o
Conical Flowmeter
20
-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.4
0.8
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
D Downstream
Fully developed profile
Orifice meter
-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
1D Downstream
Fully developed profile
Orifice meter

-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
15DDownstream
Fully developedprofile
Orifice meter
-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
U
/
U
c
l
2D Downstream
Fully developed profile
Orifice meter

Figure. 13 Axial Velocity Profiles along Radius for an Orifice Meter
21
Figure. 14 Computational flow domain
Figure. 15 Typical mesh generated for a 30
o
conical flowmeter
Figure. 16 Velocity vectors for 10
o
conical flowmeter for a Reynolds number of 1,00,000
U

4 m/s
10000 mm
5680 mm
Outflow
No slip boundary conditions
Conical flowmeter
22
Figure. 17 Velocity vectors for 15
o
conical flowmeter for a Reynolds number of 1,00,000
Figure. 18 Velocity vectors for 30
o
conical flowmeter for a Reynolds number of 1,00,000
23
Figure. 19 Velocity vectors for 45
o
conical flowmeter for a Reynolds number of 1,00,000