Aerospace Engineering Department, IIST

CALIBRATION OF VENTURIMETER















Aerospace Engineering Department, IIST

Exp no:
Date:
CALIBRATION OF VENTURIMETER
Aim :
To determine the coefficient of discharge and calibration equation for the given Venturimeter.
Specifications :
Diameter of pipe - 25 mm
Diameter of throat - 15 mm
Collecting tank size - 500 x 500 mm

Apparatus :
Venturimeter fitted across a pipeline leading to a collecting tank, Stop Watch, U-Tube manometer
connected across entry and throat sections etc.

Theory :
Venturimeter is a device consisting of a short length of gradual convergence and a long length of
gradual divergence. Pressure tapping is provided at the location before the convergence commences and
another pressure tapping is provided at the throat section of a Venturimeter. The Difference in pressure head
between the two tapping is measured by means of a U-tube manometer. On applying the continuity equation &
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Bernoullis equation between the two sections, the following relationship is obtained in terms of governing
variables.
Theoretical discharge through Venturimeter,

) a (a
h g 2 .a a
Q
2
2
2
1
2 1
th

= cm
3
/s
Where:
a
1
=

Cross section area of Venturimeter at entry section in cm
2
.
a
2
=

Cross section area of Venturimeter at throat section in cm
2
.
h = Pressure head difference in terms of fluid flowing through pipeline.
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
1

H
w
m
cm of water
H = Mercuric level difference in manometer in cm.
Actual discharge through Venturimeter,

t
h A.
t
V
Q
act
= = cm
3
/s
Where,
V = (A. h), volume of water collected in collecting tank in cm
3
.
A = Cross section area of collecting tank in cm
2
.
h = Height of water collected in collecting tank in cm.
t = Time required to collect the water up to a height h in the collecting tank.

Hence,
Coefficient of discharge of the Venturimeter, C
d
=
th
a
Q
Q

In order to take real flow effect into account, coefficient of discharge (C
d
) must be introduced in equation of
Theoretical discharge. Then,

) a (a
h g 2 .a a
Q
2
2
2
1
2 1
a

=
d
C cm
3
/s
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ie,
) a (a
1

H g 2 .a a
C Q
2
2
2
1
w
m
2 1
d a

|
|
.
|

\
|

= cm
3
/s
Where, H - manometric difference in cm.

m
= Density of mercury

w
= Density of water
The above equation can be expressed as,
H K Q
n
a
= cm
3
/s .............(1)
Where, K - a constant
n - exponent
Calibration of venturimeter is to find out the numerical values of K and n.
The graph of equation (1) can make linear by taking logarithms on both side.
ie, log Q = log K + n log H
The graph of the above equation is linear and the values of K and n can find from the graph. While
plotting the graph by taking log Q
a
on Y axis and log H on X axis, the slope of the line will give the value of n
and Y-intercept will give the value of log K.
Ref: Fluid mechanics F.M.White, Section. 6.10
Procedure :
- Note the pipe diameter (d
1
) and throat diameter (d
2
) of Venturimeter.
- Note the density of manometric liquid i.e. mercury (
m
) and that of fluid flowing through pipeline ie,
water (
w
).
- Start the pump and adjust the control valve in pipeline for maximum discharge.
- Measure the pressure difference (H) across the Venturimeter by using U tube manometer.
- Measure flow rate ie, actual discharge (Q
act
) through Venturimeter by means of collecting tank.
- Calculate the theoretical discharge (Q
th
) through Venturimeter by using the formula.
- Decrease the flow rate by adjusting the control valve and repeat the process for at least five times.
- Determine the coefficient of discharge (C
d
) for each flow rate and find the mean value of coefficient of
discharge (C
d
).
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- Tabulate the readings and find the values of log Q
a
and log H.
- Plot the graph log Q
a
Vs log H.
- Determine the value of constant K and n from the graph.
Observation Table :
l
o
g


H

-

-



l
o
g


Q
a

-

-



C
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t

o
f

d
i
s
c
h
a
r
g
e

C
d

-



T
h
e
o
r
e
t
i
c
a
l

D
i
s
c
h
a
r
g
e

Q
t
h

c
m
3
/
s



A
c
t
u
a
l


i
s
c
h
a
r
g
e

Q
a

c
m
3
/
s



T
i
m
e

f
o
r

5

c
m

r
i
s
e

i
n

c
o
l
l
e
c
t
i
n
g

t
a
n
k

(

t

)

m
e
a
n

t

s



2

s



1

s



M
a
n
o
m
e
t
e
r

R
e
a
d
i
n
g

D
i
f
f
e
r
e
n
c
e

H
=
h
2
-
h
1

c
m

o
f

H
g



R
i
g
h
t

l
i
m
b

h
2

c
m



L
e
f
t

l
i
m
b

h
1

c
m



S
l
.

N
o
:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7


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Graph :

Sample Calculations: Set No _____












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Result :
Coefficient of discharge of Venturimeter, C
d
=
The value of K =
The value of n =
The Calibration equation is, Q
a
=

Inference :