CHAPTER 4

CONCEPTS OF FLUID FLOW & FLOW MEASUREMENT

CO3: Acquire and apply knowledge on hydrodynamic

concepts and its application to fluid flow problems.

PO2: Ability to identify, formulate, research literature

and analyse complex civil engineering problems in
reaching substantiated conclusions using principles of
mathematics, sciences and engineering knowledge.

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 MOTION of FLUID SUBJECTED TO UNBALANCED
FORCES or stresses

CHAPTER 4
CONCEPTS OF FLUID FLOW
&
FLOW MEASUREMENT

The determination of the QUANTITY (m3/s) of

fluid/liquid/gas/vapor that PASSES through a pipe,
duct or open channel.
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 4.1 CONCEPT OF FLUID FLOW, VELOCITY, AVERAGE VELOCITY &
DISCHARGE

4.2 STEADY AND UNSTEADY FLOW, UNIFORM AND NON-UNIFORM

FLOW, 1-D, 2-D AND 3-D FLOW, LAMINAR AND TURBULENT FLOW

4.3 PRINCIPLE OF MASS CONSERVATION & THE CONTINUITY

EQUATION.
4.4 PRINCIPLE OF ENERGY CONSERVATION - BERNOULLI'S PRINCIPLE
AND ENERGY EQUATION
4.5 MEASUREMENTS OF FLOW – PITOT TUBE, ORIFICE, NOTCH,
VENTURI METER

4.6 FLOW MEASUREMENT IN IRRIGATION SYSTEM

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 4.1 CONCEPT OF FLUID FLOW, VELOCITY, AVERAGE VELOCITY &
DISCHARGE

CONCEPT OF FLOW HYDRODYNAMIC

HYDROSTATIC
 Study of fluid which are
not in motion.
 Shear stress do not exist.
 Study of fluid which are in
motion.
 Due to presence of shear
stress.
 Flow passing a solid
boundary gives rises to the
velocity gradient,
 Means that fluid particles
at different locations in
the flow have different
locations in the flow have
different velocities.

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 HYDRODYNAMIC
 The movement of the fluid particles are easily analyse
mathematically.
 It needs to be supplemented by experiment/observation.
 Introduce concepts to help flow visualization : pathline,
streakline and streamline.

CONCEPT OF FLOW VISUALIZATION

PATHLINE
 An imaginary line which traces
the path of an individual fluid
particle at intervals of time
starting from a given point.

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 STREAKLINE
 Show the direction of particular particle as it
moves ahead.
 Gives the path taken by all fluid particles which
pass through the particular point.

STREAMLINE
 An imaginary line which is drawn tangentially
to the velocity of fluid particles.
 There can be no flow across a streamline

STREAMLINE & FLOW PATTERNS

 Streamlines are used for visualizing the flow. Several streamlines make up a flow
pattern.
 A streamline is a line drawn through the flow field such that the flow vector is
tangent to it at every point at a given instant in time.

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 CONCEPT OF VELOCITY AND DISCHARGE
VELOCITY
Is a parameter which tells how fast and in what direction the fluid flows & not
constant throughout a cross section
Due to resistance of flow by solid boundaries, fluid velocity is generally low near
the boundaries and higher away from them .
AVERAGE VELOCITY
The mean or average velocity will be used in the analysis of fluid in motion.
The average or mean velocity : V average= Q/A
DISCHARGE / FLOWRATE
A parameter that tells how much is flowing.
It may be expressed as the rate of flow of volume, weight or mass of fluid.
The discharge is: Q = AV (m3/s)

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 4.2 STEADY AND UNSTEADY FLOW, UNIFORM AND NON-UNIFORM
FLOW, 1-D, 2-D AND 3-D FLOW, LAMINAR AND TURBULENT FLOW

a. REAL FLUID & IDEAL FLUID

b. COMPRESSIBLE & INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUID
c. STEADY & UNSTEADY FLOW
d. UNIFORM & NON-UNIFORM FLOW
e. LAMINAR & TURBULENT FLOW
f. ROTATIONAL & IRROTATIONAL FLOW
g. 1D, 2D & 3D FLOW

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 4.3 PRINCIPLE OF MASS CONSERVATION AND THE
CONTINUITY EQUATION
 This principle of conservation of mass says matter cannot be
created or destroyed.
 This is applied in fluids to fixed volumes, known as control volumes
(or surfaces).

Mass entering Mass leaving Increase

per unit mass per unit mass of mass in
control
vol. per
unit time
For steady flow there is no increase in the mass
within the control volume.

Mass entering Mass leaving

per unit mass per unit mass
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 1A1u1 2A2u2

The continuity equation for steady flow :

1A1u1 = 2A2u2 = Constant = m = dm/dt

In real pipe (or any other vessel), mean velocity is used :

1A1um1 = 2A2um2 = Constant = m

For incompressible, fluid 1 = 2 = 

A1u1 = A2u2 = Q
This is the continuity equation most often used.

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 4.4 PRINCIPLE OF ENERGY CONSERVATION -
BERNOULLI'S PRINCIPLE AND ENERGY EQUATION.

The Bernoulli equation is a statement of the principle of

conservation of energy along a streamline.
Conservation of energy – defined as energy can be neither created
nor destroyed, but it ca be transformed from one form into another

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 KE = FE = Fd
PE = mgh FE = PAd = PV
½(mv2)
V = W/
m=
W/g

KE
PE = Wz FE = PW/
=Wv2/2g
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 2
𝑣 𝑃 of energy, the total energy
By the principle of conservation
𝐸 =does𝑧 not
in the system + change,
+ thus
𝑊 the total head does not
2𝑔 𝛾
change.
2
𝐸 𝑣
So the=Bernoulli 𝑃 can be written:
equation
𝑧+ +
𝑊 2𝑔 𝜌𝑔
𝑣2 𝑃 All units of
𝐻= 𝑧+ + = constant length, (m)
Total
2𝑔 𝜌𝑔
head
Pressure
head
Potential Velocity
head head

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This equation assumes no energy losses (e.g. from friction) or energy
gains (e.g. from a pump) along the streamline. It can be expanded to
include these simply, by adding the appropriate energy terms:

𝑝1 𝑢12 𝑝2 𝑢22
+ + 𝑧1 = + + 𝑧2 + ℎ𝑙
𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 𝜌𝑔 2𝑔
Head loss
due to
Total energy per Total energy per friction
unit weight at 1 unit weight at 2

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 TOTAL ENERGY LINE (TEL) &
HYDRAULIC GRADE LINE (HGL)
i. TEL – gives the amount of total energy or total head at
any point along the flow
ii. HGL- is a plot which gives the sum of the elevation and
pressure heads
 The vertical distance between the TEL and HGL
represents the VELOCITY HEAD

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 4.5 MEASUREMENTS OF FLOW – PITOT TUBE,
ORIFICE, NOTCH, VENTURI METER

Flow measurement is a measurement based on

differential pressure principal.
Flow measurement can be done by using a few
instruments such as:

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 i. Pitot Tube
The Pitot tube is a simple velocity measuring device
and is an L – shaped tube held against the flow.
 Uniform velocity flow hitting a solid blunt body, has
streamlines similar to this:

At this point (2) velocity is zero

Using the Bernoulli equation to calculate the pressure
at this point.
Along the central streamline at 1: u1 & p1; at the
stagnation point of: u2 = 0. (Also z1 = z2)
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Two piezometers, one as normal and one as a Pitot
tube within the pipe can be used as shown below to
measure velocity of flow.

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 Normally used to measure velocity of an open channel
flow.

The actual velocity will be slightly less than the velocity

given and it is modified by introducing a coefficient.

where; k = the coefficient of the instrument (0.95 to

1.0)

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 ii. Notch and Weir
Notch is an opening at the
side of a tank or reservoir
extending above the fluid’s
free surface, i.e. its area
varies depending on the level
of the free surface.

A weir is a
notch on a
larger scale –
usually found
in rivers
It is used to measure discharge and a device to raise
water levels
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 Triangular notch is used to measure low flowrate.

Rectangular used to measure higher values of flowrate

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 iii. Orifice
 Is a circular hole in the side/base of a tank, through
which fluid is discharge.
 Orifices can be of different types depending upon their
size, shape, and nature of discharge.
B. shape:
A. size: - Circular C. shape of edge:
- Small - Sharp- edged
- Rectangular
- Large - Bell-mouthed
- Triangular

D. to nature of discharge:
- Fully submerged ;
- Partially submerged

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 Flow through a Small Orifice

 The continuous stream of a liquid, that comes out or

flows out of an orifice, as known as the Jet of Water.
Vena contracta – is the actual area of the jet and is
smaller than the actual area of orifice due to the
convergence of the fluid on the orifice.

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 Hydraulic/Orifice Coefficients
The property Coefficient

i. Contraction

ii. Velocity

iii. Discharge

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 Small Orifice

The theory of small orifice can be extended to calculate time

required to empty a tank.

Where;
A = x-section area of tank
a = area of orifice
H1 = initial height of the liquid
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H2 = final height of the liquid
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 Large Orifice

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 iv. Venturi Meter

i. used to measure the velocity of flow of fluids in a

pipe.
ii. consist of a short length of pipe shaped like a vena
contracta, or the portion with the least cross-
sectional area, which fits into a normal pipe-line

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 iii. It is a rapidly converging section which increases
the velocity of flow and hence reduces the
pressure.
iv. using Bernoulli’s equation, is used to calculate the
rate of flow of the fluid flowing through the pipe.

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