ChE Lab 1

Chemical Engineering Laboratory 1

(Semester & year deleted)
Experiment #3
LIQUID LEVEL MEASUREMENT USING A BUBBLER DEVICE

ABSTRACT
The hydrostatic pressure of five varying depths of water inside a tank was measured using a digital air
pressure gauge and compared to the pressure for those depths calculated using the formula P= ρgℎ. The
pressures attained from the two methods are nearly identical, and it was found that as the height of the fluid
increased, its hydrostatic pressure also increased.

Submitted by:

GROUP XX:
(deleted)

Submitted to:
(erased)

Date Performed:
(deleted)

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A. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure that is exerted by a fluid at equilibrium at a given point within
the fluid, due to the force of gravity. Hydrostatic pressure increases in proportion to depth measured from
the surface because of the increasing weight of fluid exerting downward force from above.

If a fluid is within a container then the depth of an object placed in that fluid can be measured. The
deeper the object is placed in the fluid, the more pressure it experiences. This is because the weight of the
fluid is above it. The denser the fluid above it, the more pressure is exerted on the object that is
submerged, due to the weight of the fluid.

Hydrostatic pressure in a liquid can determined using the following equation:

P= ρgℎ

Where:
P = pressure in fluid (N/m2, lbf/ft2)
h = height of fluid column, or depth in the fluid at which the pressure is measured (m, ft)
ρ = density of liquid (kg/m3, slug/ft3)
g = acceleration of gravity (9.8067 m/s2, 32.174 ft/s2)

B. OBJECTIVES
1. To determine the tank levels experimentally using an air bubbler.
2. To compare the experimentally determined levels with the actually measured levels.
3. To derive a level measurement equation for the tank in this particular experiment.

C. EQUIPMENT & APPARATUS NEEDED

1. CSA-B Engineering Laboratory equipment set-up for air bubbler liquid level measurement.
2. Air compressor (for bubbler air supply)
3. Digital air pressure gauge

D. MATERIALS & SUPPLIES

1. Thermometer
2. Steel tape, or meter stick
3. Plastic tubing
4. Water supply

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E. SAFETY GEAR/APPAREL
1. rubber gloves
2. safety glasses or goggles

F. PROCEDURE

1. The equipment and apparatus needed were secured. (Refer to Appendix Figure 3.0).
2. Starting from the reference point which is slightly above the bubbler pipe, the tank was then
marked/divided into five levels in order to achieve 5 trials.
3. The tank was filled with water until it reaches the reference point. Accurate measurement of the
water level was taken. After that, the air compressor was turned on and the air was regulated while
getting into the bubbler pipe in order to sustain/maintain the least bubbling effect.
4. The tank was filled with additional water to increase the level to the arbitrarily-decided level. The
bubbling effect was monitored (if necessary the air was adjusted/regulated). The bubbling was
allowed to stabilize, then measurements of the actual water level, the water temperature, and the
Digital hydrostatic pressure meter reading were taken.
5. Step #5 was repeated to the next arbitrary level. Step #5 was repeated until the last water level,
with all measurements/readings properly taken/recorded.
6. The experiment/working area was cleaned after performing the experiment.

Figure 1.0 Experiment Setup

G. RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS

In this experiment, the water level of the water inside the fluid tank was the independent variable. By
adding and subtracting the water that filled the tank, this variable was controlled for the purposes of the
experiment.

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 At each value of this height, for five trials, it was noted that the experimentally determined value of
the corresponding pressures were almost identical to the values calculated using the formula P= ρgℎ,
proving either its reliability in solving real world problems, that the apparatus used was properly calibrated,
or both.

Pressure Calculated vs. Actual

1.4
1.2
1
Pressure

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1 2 3 4 5
Trial
P(calculated) P(actual)

TRIAL PCALCULATED PACTUAL

(PSI) (PSI)
Figure 2.0 Calculated Pressure vs. Actual Pressure
1 0.1195 0.12
2 0.3244 0.32
3 0.603 0.59
4 0.859 0.84
5 1.17 1.16

Table 1.0 Calculated Pressure vs. Actual Pressure

H. SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS

A fluid depth of larger value yields higher calculated pressure and pressure reading, not simply
because the formula P= ρgh states that hydrostatic pressure is directly proportional to the height of the
fluid, with fluid density and gravity as the proportionality constants.
From the experiment, it was clear that the increase in depth increased the pressure at the bottom of the
fluid because each layer’s weight contributed to the hydrostatic pressure.

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I. APPENDIX
A. Calculations
Reference point @ 8.8 cm

TRI H
AL (CM)
1 17.2
2 31.6
3 51.2
4 69.2
5 91.2
Table 3.1 Raw data of the Experiment

m kg
g=9.81 ρ=1000
s2 m3
Trial 1 Trial 2

P= ρgℎ P= ρgℎ

ℎ=17.2− 8.8=8.4 cm(0.084 m) ℎ=31.6 −8.8=22.8 cm(0.228 m)

kg m kg m
P=(1000 3
)( 9.81 2 )(0.084 m) P=(1000 3
)( 9.81 2 )(0.228 m)
m s m s

P=824.04 Pa(0.1195 psi)

P=2236.68 Pa(0.3244 psi)Trial 3 Trial 4

P= ρgℎ P= ρgℎ

ℎ=51.2− 8.8=42.2 cm(0.424 m) ℎ=69.2− 8.8=60.4 cm(0.604 m)

kg m kg m
P=(1000 )( 9.81 2 )(0.424 m) P=(1000 3
)( 9.81 2 )(0.604 m)
3
m s m s

P=4159.44 Pa(0.603 psi)

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P=5925.24 Pa ¿
Trial 5

P= ρgℎ

ℎ=91.2 −8.8=82.4 cm(0.824 m)

kg m
P=(1000 3
)( 9.81 2 )(0.0 .824 m)
m s

P=8083.44 Pa( 1.172 psi)

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