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January 9

Air flow report

2013

Table of contents
1.0. Abstract.....3

2.0.Background and theory.......3 2.1.Derivations of the formulae.....4 3.0.Apparatus ........5

4.0.Experimental procedure......6

5.0.Results...6 5.1.Venturi results....7 5.2.Pitot tube results.....8

6.0.Discussion...9

7.0.Conclusion..10

8.0.References.......11

1.0.Abstract In this experiment we will be investigating the differences in the calculated air flow rates obtained when using two air flow measurement devices-the venturi meter and the pitot tube by applying Bernoullis equation and the principle of conservation of mass. When comparing both results, a clear difference in the values can be noted, which can be accounted for as a result of experimental errors and assumptions which had to be made when carrying out this experiment. 2.0.Background Theory The Bernoulli equation demonstrates the law of conservation of energy, stating that the total internal, potential and kinetic energy(all together termed as mechanical energy) along a streamline remains constant. It was discovered by a famous Mathematician, Daniel Bernoulli, while he was conducting experiments to investigate the conservation of energy. This equation can be derived from either Newtons second law or by using the law of conservation of energy. In this experiment, the flow of air in a pipe is measured using both a Pitot tube and a venturi. The results from both methods are analyzed to work out the difference. As an outcome of this experiment, one should observe that as the velocity increases, the pressure of the fluid should decrease, according to the Bernoulli eq. Firstly, we should consider the assumptions that are made when constructing the Bernoulli equation, Both points under consideration lie on a streamline Steady, Incompressible flow Negligible viscous effects No temperature changes are taking place

Figure1.0-Shows the experimental set up (Lab handout, 2012)

The venturi meter is designed such that it consists of three parts, the convergence tube, throat section and the divergence tube. It allows air to flow through a constricted pipe, and at 2 different points, the pressures and velocities can be related with the use of Bernoulli. The pitot tube is constructed in such a way that two tubes are interconnected. One is the pitot tube, which is basically situated in the middle of the 2nd tube, the static tube. The static tube consists of small holes, where the static pressure is measured, while the pressure in the other tube, is the total pressure (Ref eq.6). The difference in the pressure is measured using a manometer.
For the venturi meterUsing the principles of continuity we know that the mass flow rate .This equation is constructed from the basic understanding that mass is conserved in a closed system, In an incompressible flow, it can be expressed as Equation 1(Munson, 2012) Where is the mass flow rate, and denotes the area and and denotes the speed at points 1 and 2 respectively. In words, this equation explains demonstrates that as area reduces there should be an increase in speed. According to the Bernoulli equation the total pressure should be constant; Equation 2(Munson, 2012) and , denote the pressure, velocity and the height at points1 and 2,and is the density of air.In this case, the and terms can be omitted since the venturi meter is placed horizontally. There would not be a pressure change due to difference in height. We can substitute for and ,using the principle of continuity; Equation 3 Therefore,we arrive at an equation where the flow rate is related to the difference in pressure which can be read off by the water manometer(Substituting Equation 3 in 2) [
[( ) ]

For the pitot tubeApplying Bernoullis equation, total pressure at two points, should be equal;

The terms and can be omitted as because the flow is horizontal

Equation 6 At the point 2, where the fluid meets the tube the dynamic pressure is 0, Equation 7 Using a manometer the pressure difference can be calculated to be; Equation 8 is negligible, because Equation 9

We can substitute for the pressure difference by , where represents the density of the manometer fluid. The mass flow can be determined from the velocity traverse, by summing up the incremental flow rates. Equation 10(Lab handout, 2012)

Equation 4 The mass flow rate can be found by; Equation 5


[( ) ]

There will always be a difference between the actual flow rate and the theoretical flow rate calculated from these instruments, due to the assumptions that are made in the Bernoulli equation. To overcome this is multiplied by the discharge coefficient, , to obtain the actual flow rate. 3.0 Apparatus IM Venturi meter Pitot tube Air pump Height gauge PD

Figure 1.1-The experimental set-up, photo taken during the experiment in the Aero lab balcony.

Venturi meter-This measures the air flow rate by varying its cross sectional area (as can be seen in fig.1.1), as the cone converges and diverges, and thereby generating a pressure difference between two points. This pressure difference can be easily measured and used to calculate the flow rate along with other variables. It has a discharge coefficient of approximately 0.95(Orifice, Nozzle and Venturi Flow Rate Meters, 2001)

Pitot tube-The pitot tube measures the fluid flow rate by creating a stagnation point, where the velocity of the fluid reaches zero. This causes the dynamic pressure at that point to be 0, allowing us to calculate the flow rate with the use of the Bernoulli equation. Air pump-It is used to produce air flow at 3 different velocities. This can be controlled by a directing a knob at different marked levels.

Inclined Manometer (IM)-This is an instrument used to measure the pressure. It is very suitable to measure small changes in pressure as it is inclined at an angle and a smaller increase causes a large height difference. Electronic pressure transducer (PD)-This is an electronic device that can be used to measure pressure, especially in turbulent flow, where it readily fluctuates to give a proper reading of pressure. Thermometer-This is used to measure the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. Height gauge-This was used to measure the position of the probe. Connecting valves-These are used to connect the pressure measuring devices to the flow rate measuring measurement devices.

4.0.Experimental Method

4.1. Procedures carried out before the experiment a) The temperature reading was read off the thermometer. b) The atmospheric pressure was noted down from the barometer. c) The diameters of both the venturi and the pitot tube was also noted down. d) The apparatus was set up as required (ref fig 1.0).

4.2.Experimental Procedures a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j) k) The IM and PD was set to zero. The PD was then calibrated against the IM, to ensure accurate readings. The PD was attached to the venturi meter by the connecting tubes. The air flow pump was set to the lowest flow rate (30 mmH2O) and switched on. The pressure reading in the IM was noted. 10 readings of pressure was taken in the PD, due to fluctuating values. The pump was switched off and the valves were connected to the pitot tube. Steps c) and d) was repeated. The pitot tube was then brought downstream by 1mm,the measurements were taken with the use of a height gauge. Steps f) and g) was repeated until the pitot tube has moved 12 mm (in 12 steps on 1mm). This whole process was repeated for two other flow rates at speeds 2(60mmH2 O) and 3(90mmH2O)

4.3.Problems encountered during the experiment a) When varying the distance of the pitot tube, it was very difficult to accurately determine its position from the center line. b) At certain flow rates, the manometer refused to move up to give a justifiable pressure reading so the flow rate was increased slightly to obtain a proper value. These values are highlighted separately in the appendix. c) The PD was fluctuating very rapidly and an average value for the pressure reading had to be taken. d) The height gauge used to measure the height had small increments therefore it was difficult to read off the value. 5.0 Results 5.1.For the venturi meter The mass flow rate of the venturi can be found out by using the equation in sec 2,equation 5. Raw data and the sample calculations are included in the appendix.The raw data obtained was the pressure difference indicated by the IM when it was connected to the venturi meter at the specified speeds.10 readings were made for each speed and the averaged value was used for the calculations. The data was then computed in the above mentioned equation to find out the flow rate. The work out the density of the air ( )the following equation was used. where represents the density,R is the specific gas constant and T is the temperature(in kelvin) Applying,

To calculate the areas

and

These values were then substituted in the equation to obtain the values in the table below.(ref.table 1.1)
Speed/ 30 60 90 Velocity ( 1.78 2.55 3.14 Mass flow rate/ 0.0204 0.0291 0.0359

Table 1.1-This table shows the results obtained for velocity and masss flow rates for the venturi meter.

5.2.For the pitot tube To find out the velocities at different speed and distance settings, the following equation was used,(Ref sec.2,equation 9) where refers to the pressure reading taken by the PD and denotes the density of air. The mass flow rates can be determined by using the following equation.

To find out the mass flow rate the specific velocities for the pressure readings are calculated and are multiplted by the increment and 0.001( ).Then the summation of these values were calculated and multiplied again by ,where is the density of air which is taken as as calculated above in Sec 5.1 The calculations were done using MS EXCEL.The following screenshot shows how the results were worked for the 30 volts speed.

Figure 1.2-This figure shows the calculations made for the pitot tube in MS Excel.

The mass flow rates found for the pitot tube are shown in the table below:Speed of air pump/ 30 60 90 Mass flow rate/ 0.0130 0.0182 0.0224 )

Table 1.2-This table shows the mass flow rates obtained for the pitot tube.

6.0.Discussion Pressure difference / 30 60 90 Mass flow rate of venturi/( 0.0204 0.0291 0.0359 Mass flow rate of pitot tube/( 0.0130 0.0182 0.0224 Percentage difference/% 44.31 46.09 46.31

Table 1.3-This table compares the difference in mass flow rates obtained from both the measurement devices

The percentage differences which are calculated in the table above indicates quite a discrepancy between the values calculated for the flow rates using both devices. As can be noted,the pitot tube results are much lesser than the values calculated using the venturi meter,and also it is evident from the above table that the percentage differences between the values increase as the pump speed is increased.
0.07 0.06 Mass flow rate/(Kg/s) 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0 30 60 Pump speed(volts) 90 Series2 Series1

Figure 1.3-This graph shows the relationship between the mass flow rates obtained from the venturi and pitot tube.The blue line shows the venturi results and the red line refers to the pitot tube results.

Theoretically,both results should be identical but the difference in the values can be attributed to several reasons which are discussed below: Firstly,we should consider the assumptions that are used in the measurement devices,such as neglecting the viscous effects.The errors that are introduced due to viscous effects can be minimised by multiplying the velocity by the appropriate discharge co-efficents.

In this experiment,the pitot tube results have more expermiental errors invloved,when compared to the venturi as several human errors may have been introduced when carrying out the procedure.The velocity was calculated at several localised points,but to improve the accuracy, the readings could have been taken at more points and then used for the calculations. The IM did not move up to a justifiable reading,at several points,therefore the speed has to be increased to allow a proper reading,this might also have influenced the reading obtained for the pressure diffrence.The PD also has fluctuating values and it was quite difficult to come to a conclusion at a certain value so an average was taken from 10 values. Other experimental errors that could have occurred could be a parallax error when varying the distances in the pitot tube as the distances were very small values,and also when measuring the height of the probe using the height gauge,there may be an error of involved.The other features that should be considered are if small particles are present in the fluid,the pitot tube could be blocked as it has a small diameter.When measuring the pressure from IM,the water moved continously and also a parallax error could have been introduced when reading the results. To improve the reliability of the experiment,we could have used a U-tube manometer therefore a more precise reading could have been taken by eliminating parallax error and also more readings for the pitot tube could have been taken and averaged. 7.0.Conclusion In this experiment we have found out the mass flow rates of air using two different measurement devices and compared them.As the percentage differences between the results are quite high,this suggests that experimental errors could have influenced the results to a higher extent,as according to theory the results should be similar.This experiment can be improved more by taking repeated readings and using instruments with a higher precision. 8.0.References (Munson,1998)Munson, Bruce R., Donald F. Young, and Theodore H. Okiishi. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. New York: Wiley, 1998. Print. (Lab handout,2012)Lab handout,DEN4101 - Fluid Mechanics 1 Flow Rate Measurement Experiment, Version 4.0, 29 October 2012. (Orifice, Nozzle and Venturi Flow Rate Meters,2001) Engineeringtoolbox.com (2001) Orifice, Nozzle and Venturi Flow Rate Meters. [online] Available at: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/orifice-nozzle-venturid_590.html [Accessed: 12 Nov 2012]

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