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[Chemical Engineering Lab Practice 1#]

SEGi UNIVERSITY
ORIFICE DISCHARGE
Candidates name: Prasilla
Student ID: SCM 019310
Group members name: Edwin Cheong Zeng Tze
Loh Wei Neng
Shasonniaah Vjay Nair

Lecturer/Supervisor: Ms. Chan Yi Shee
Date of submission: 19/04/14
[SEGi University]
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1) Abstract
The objective of orifice discharge experiment is to determine the contraction and
velocity coefficient. This is done simply by reducing the diameter of the vessel where the
water flows. A fluid which passes through an orifice has a significant change in the rate
of discharge. Those coefficients are the measure of energy loss due to friction. As the
relationships between the coefficients are discussed in the introduction, it proves that the
energy loss in the system can be linked to the difference in the pressure head between
ideal and actual conditions. Thus, the orifice discharge experiment is conducted to
calculate the discharge coefficient and the coefficient of contraction is calculated. The
relationship between the contraction and flow rate is discussed.

2) Introduction

The water which passes through an orifice plate will undergo pressure difference between
point 1, before the plate and point 2, after the plate. The change in the diameter of the
vessel will affect the velocity of the water flowing. This can be best explained using
Bernoullis principle:

Since the flow is in horizontal,

. Thus,

The change in the volumetric flow rate can be determined through the equation below;

The orifice discharge experiment allows determining the three main coefficients.
Coefficient of discharge (

), coefficient of contraction (

and the velocity coefficient

(

are used to determine the performance of water and the effect of friction on the
performance. The coefficient of discharge is the ratio of the actual discharge divided by
the ideal discharge.

Coefficient of the velocity is the ratio of actual velocity to ideal velocity;

The coefficient of contraction is the ratio of the actual diameter of jet to the ideal
diameter of the jet;

The sub equations related to the finding of those main equations is stated below;
i)

ii)

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iii)

iv)

3) Experimental method
A standard orifice unit (Model Num: FM100) which consists of
i) Manometer
ii) Pressure transmitter
iii) Water inlet
iv) Overflow
v) Traverse total head tube
vi) Orifice
vii) Adjustable feet
viii) Control panel




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General start- up process
The unit was ensured placed on top of the hydraulic bench and the equipment was
set up properly, then the unit was leveled using the adjustable feet. Water was
filled into the sump tank of the hydraulic bench until approximately 90% full. The
water supply was connected from hydraulic bench to water inlet using a flexible
hose. A flexible hose was connected to the overflow outlet and was made sure
that it is directed into the sump tank. An orifice provided was installed at the
discharge opening of the cylindrical tank which is located at the bottom of the
tank. The bench flow control valve was fully closed. It was then connected to the
main power supply and the pump was switched on. The flow control valve was
gradually open for inlet flow and the piping also the cylindrical tank was allowed
to fill with water until all air has been expelled from the system.
Flow through orifice study
The hydraulic bench was turned on and the water flows was allowed to enter the
cylindrical tank. The flow was adjusted until the water level in the tank is just
above the overflow. The adjustable inlet pipe was used to raise the level of the
diffuser till it is just below water level. The level of the diffuse was always
adjusted for the best results. The water level

was recorded in the tube

connected to the bottom of the cylindrical tank. It was ensured that there is no
bubble in the tube. The pitot tube was moved onto position directly underneath
the exiting water jet. The water level (

in the tube connected to the pitot tube

was recorded once the equilibrium is reached. It was made sure that there is no
bubble in the tube. The level

was made to be less than the level

. The
diameter of the exiting water jet was recorded using the wire. The wire was
moved through the water jet and barely touching the water jet. The distance
traversed by the wire to determine the diameter of the the vena contracta was
recorded.




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4) Data and Analysis
Table 1
SET

H
o
(m)
H
c

(m)
P
(m)
V
(L)
T
(s)
D
o

(m)

D
c

(m)
1 0.357 0.343 0.014 10 29 0.012 0.0103
2 0.350 0.326 0.024 10 25 0.012 0.0085
3 0.290 0.270 0.02 10 19 0.012 0.0087



Table 2
Ideal
velocity,
V
0
(m/s)
Actual
velocity,
V
c
(m/s)
Orifice
cross-
section,
A
o
(10
-4

m
2
)
Contractile
cross-
section,
A
c
(10
-4

m
2
)
Ideal
flowrate,
Q
o
(10
-4

m
3
/s)
Actual
flowrate,
Q
c
(10
-4

m
3
/s)
Velocity
coefficient,
C
v
(-)
Discharge
coefficient,
C
d
(-)
(10
-6
)
Variation
coefficient,
C
C
(-)
Cross-
section
area
coefficient,
C
a
(-)
2.647 2.594
1.131
0.836 2.994 0.003 0.980 10.02 10.22 0.7396
2.620 2.529
1.131
0.503 2.963 0.004 0.965 13.50 13.99 0.5065
2.385 2.302
1.131
0.592 2.697 0.005 0.965 18.54 19.21 0.5232













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5) Discussion
i) Vena contracta is where the area of vessel which the water flows reduces.
Reducing the area will increase the difference in pressure, which means the
friction rate is high. Through its proven that when the area decreases,
the flow rate decreases.
ii) The discharge coefficient is the ratio of actual discharge to ideal discharge. Since
the area and velocity is related to the flow rate, when the area decreases, the flow
rate decreases. Thus, the discharge coefficient increases because they are
inversely proportional (

.
6) Results
i) From the results, it is concluded that the contractile cross section plays an
important role in the whole process whereby decreasing its value will increase the
flow rate and discharge coefficient. Thus, the smaller the area the greater the
discharge coefficient.
ii) As per ideal calculation, the result slightly varies. This may be the consequences
of the error occurred during the experiment. The error was the leakage in the
orifice unit. This eventually reduces the efficiency of the unit as well as the results
obtained. Thus, the piping should be thoroughly checked before starting the
experiment.
7) References
i) R.K. Bansal 1983, A Textbook of Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Machines, 1
st

Edition, Laxmi Publications (P) Ltd, India.
ii) Rama Durgaiah, 2002, Fluid Mechanics and Machinery, 1
st
Edition, New Age
International (P) Ltd, India.