Measurement of flowing fluids

Variable head meters

Variation of flow rate thro a constant area generates a
variable pressure drop which is related to the flow
rate
Venturi meter
Orifice meter

Variable area meters
Consists of devices in which the pressure drop is
constant, or nearly so, and the area thro which the
fluid flows varies with the flow rate. The area is
related, thro proper calibration, to the flow rate
Rotameter
Venturi meter
In this meter the fluid is accelerated by its
passage through a converging cone of angle
15-20.

The pressure difference between the upstream
end if the cone and the throat is measured and
provides the signal for the rate of flow.

The fluid is then retarded in a cone of smaller
angle (5-7) in which large proportion of kinetic
energy is converted back to pressure energy.

The attraction of this meter lies in its high energy
recovery so that it may be used where only a
small pressure head is available, though its
construction is expensive.
Although venturi meters can be applied to the
measurement of gas, they are most commonly used for
liquids. The following treatment is limited to
incompressible fluids.

The basic equation for the venturi meter is obtained by
writing the Bernoulli equation for incompressible fluids
between the two sections a and b.

Friction is neglected, the meter is assumed to be
horizontal.

If v
a
and v
b
are the average upstream and downstream
velocities, respectively, and r is the density of the fluid,

v
b
2
- v
a
2
= 2(p
a
- p
b
)/r ---1

The continuity equation can be written as,

v
a
= (D
b
/D
a
)
2
v
b
= b
2
v
b
--- 2

where D
a
= diameter of pipe
D
b
= diameter of throat of meter
b = diameter ratio, D
b
/D
a
If v
a
is eliminated from equn.1 and 2, the
result is


(3)
Equn.3 applies strictly to the frictionless flow of
non-compressible fluids.
To account for the small friction loss between
locations a and b, equn.3 is corrected by
introducing an empirical factor C
v
.
The coefficient C
v
is determined experimentally.
It is called the venturi coefficient,
For a well designed venturi, the constant Cv is
about 0.98 for pipe diameters of 2 to 8 inch and
about 0.99 for larger sizes.
r
b
) ( 2
1
.......
4
b a v
b
p p C
v
therefore

Volumetric flow rate:

The velocity through the venturi throat v
b
usually
is not the quantity desired.

The flow rates of practical interest are the mass
and volumetric flow rates through the meter.

Volumetric flow rate is calculated from,
Q = A
b
v
b
and

Mass flow rate = volumetric flow rate x density
Orifice Meter

The venturi meter described earlier is a reliable
flow measuring device.

Furthermore, it causes little pressure loss.

For these reasons it is widely used, particularly for
large-volume liquid and gas flows.

However this meter is relatively complex to construct
and hence expensive.

Especially for small pipelines, its cost seems
prohibitive, so simpler devices such as orifice
meters are used.
Orifice Meter

The orifice meter consists of a flat orifice
plate with a circular hole drilled in it.

There is a pressure tap upstream from the
orifice plate and another just downstream.

The principle of the orifice meter is
identical with that of the venturi meter.

Bernoulli's equation provides a basis for
correlating the increase in velocity head
with the decrease in pressure head.
Similar to venturi meter





where. b= (orifice dia / tank dia)
Co = orifice coefficient (0.51-0.61)

r
b
) ( 2
1
.......
4
b a o
b
p p C
v
therefore