CEE211L: Fluid Mechanics Lab, NSU

EXPERIMENT NO: 04
Flow through an Orifice
Objective
1. To determine the coefficient of discharge Cd,
2. Coefficient of velocity Cv and
3. Coefficient of contraction Cc for the Orifice.
4. To find the head loss, H L
5. To plot Qa vs H in log-log paper and to find (a) the exponent of H and (b) C d
6. To plot V a vs H in log-log paper and to find (a) C v and (b) the exponent of H

Figure: Orificemeter Apparatus

General
An orifice is an opening in the wall of a tank or in a plate normal to the axis of a pipe, the plate
being either at the end of pipe or in some intermediate location. An orifice is characterized by the
fact that the thickness of the wall or plate is very small relative to the size of the opening. For a
standard orifice there is only a line contact with fluid.

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 CEE211L: Fluid Mechanics Lab, NSU

Fig.-1: Jet contraction

Where the streamlines converge in approaching an orifice, they continue to converge beyond the
upstream section of the orifice until they reach the section xy where they become parallel.
Commonly this section is about 0.5D from the upstream edges of the opening, where D is the
diameter of the orifice. The section xy is then a section of minimum area and is called the vena
contracta. Beyond the vena contracta, the streamlines commonly diverge because of frictional
effects.

Practical application
The usual purpose of an orifice is the measurement or control of flow from a reservoir. The
orifice is frequently encountered in engineering practice operating under a static head where it is
usually not used for metering but rather as a special feature in a hydraulic design. Another
problem of orifice flow, which frequently arises in engineering practice, is that of discharge from
an orifice under falling head, a problem of unsteady flow.

Description of Apparatus
This is a self- contained, compact, closed circuit set-up in hydraulics laboratory. It consist of a
tank, mono-block pump and a measuring tank along with necessary piping. A measuring flask (2
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 CEE211L: Fluid Mechanics Lab, NSU

liter) is provided for flow measurement. After measuring the water discharge at specific time
intervals, water in the measuring flask is released into measuring tank. Further all water are
released to sump tank by opening the valve2.

Specification:
 Orifice : 10 Ø – 1 no.
7 Ø – 1 no.
 Measuring Flask: 2 Liters.

Theory:
Coefficient of contraction (Cc):
The ratio of the area of a jet at the vena contracta to the area of the orifice is called the
coefficient of contraction.
Aa
C c=
A
Coefficient of velocity (C v ¿ :
The velocity that would be attained in the jet if the friction did not exist may be termed to
the theoretical velocity. The ratio of actual velocity to the theoretical velocity is called
coefficient of velocity.
Va
C v=
Vt
Coefficient of discharge (C d):
The ratio of actual rate of discharge to the theoretical rate of discharge (the flow that
would occur if there were no friction and no contraction) is called coefficient of
discharge.
Qa
C d=
Qt

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 CEE211L: Fluid Mechanics Lab, NSU

Fig.-2: Flow through an orifice

Consider a small orifice having a cross-sectional area A and discharging water under a constant
head H as shown in the above figure. Applying Bernoulli’s theorem between point 1 & 2
2
Vt
H +0+ 0=0+ 0+
2g
So, V t =√ 2 gH
Where, g is the acceleration due to gravity.

So, theoretical discharge Qt is given by

Qt = A √ 2 gH
Let Qa be the actual discharge.
Then the Coefficient of discharge, (C d) is given by
Qa
C d=
Qt
Coefficient of velocity (C v ¿ by the Co-ordinate method:
Let H be the total head causing flow through an orifice with vena contracta as shown in above
figure. The jet of the water has horizontal velocity but is acted upon by gravity with a downward
acceleration of g. Let us consider a particle of water in the jet at P and let the time taken for this
particle to move O to P be t.
Let x and y be the horizontal and vertical co-ordinates of P respectively. Then
x = V at
and
1 2
y = 2 gt

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 CEE211L: Fluid Mechanics Lab, NSU

Equating the values of t 2 from these two equations, one obtains

2
x 2y
2
=
Va g

Or, V a =
√
g x2
2y
But the theoretical velocity, V t =√ 2 gH
Hence, the coefficient of velocity is,

√
Va 2
C v= = x and
Vt 4 yH
the head loss is given by
H L = ( 1−CV 2) H
Aa
Cc = Coefficient of contraction =
A
It follows that
C d=C v x C c

Procedure
1. Fill the sump tank by sufficient water.
2. Place the required assembly and add the hose nipple to QRC.
3. Also attach the required orifice. Loose the knobs to add the pointers and after then tight
the knobs.
4. Now check the inlet VALVE1 in full clockwise direction.
5. Now press the MAINS button to ON position.
6. Allow the water to rise to any constant level. (For quick rise of water in the tank, the
orifice may be closed by hands)
7. Deliver the overflow water into the drain directly by a PVC pipe connection. Adjust this
pipe by hand to maintain the constant head over the centerline.
8. Wait for some time. After that Record ‘h’ i.e. head over the centerline of the orifice in
mm.
9. Adjust the all pointed tip of the rod at the center of the jet to touch the water flowing
through orifice.
10. Measure all the Y-coordinates in mm with the steel scale from the center of the knob to
the water touching line.
11. Also measure all the X-coordinates in mm each difference is 25mm.
12. Same process repeat for another .
13. To vary the head over the orifice, raise or lower the overflow pipe.
14. During the experiment, ensure that the water overflows continuously through the pipe.

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 CEE211L: Fluid Mechanics Lab, NSU

Practice Questions

1. What are the coefficient of velocity, Coefficient of contraction, coefficient of discharge

for an orifice? On what factors do these coefficients depend?
2. What is a submerge orifice? What are the average values of the coefficient of velocity,
Coefficient of contraction, coefficient of discharge for a submerged orifice?
3. Why is the actual discharge through an orifice less than the theoretical discharge?
4. Define vena contracta. Why does it form?
5. Will the value of Cv be different for sharp-edged and rounded orifices? Why?

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 CEE211L: Fluid Mechanics Lab, NSU

EXPERIMENT NO: 04
Flow through an Orifice
Experimental Data and Calculation Sheet

OBSERVATIONS:
Diameter of the Orifice d = 10 mm = 1.0cm
X-Coordinate start point = 48 mm
Y-Coordinate start point = 50 mm

OBSERVATION TABLE:
Head (H) over Time required (t) for 1
Sl. X-Coordinate Y-Coordinate
the center line liter water collect in
No. (mm) (mm)
(cm) measuring flask (Sec)

CALCULATIONS:
Actual X-Coordinate in cm = (X-Coordinate in mm + X-Coordinate start point in mm)/10
Actual Y-Coordinate in cm = (Y-Coordinate in mm - Y-Coordinate start point in mm)/10

RESULT TABLE:
No. of Observation/Group
01 02 03 04 05 06
No.
Actual X-Coordinate (cm)

Actual Y-Coordinate (cm)

Actual discharge Qa (cm3/sec)

Theoretical discharge Qt
(cm3/sec)

Actual velocity V a (cm/sec)

Theoretical velocity V t (cm/sec)

Actual Head H (cm)

Head loss H L (cm)

Coefficient of discharge Cd

Coefficient of Velocity Cv

Coefficient of contraction Cc

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 CEE211L: Fluid Mechanics Lab, NSU

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