ME 321

Measurement Systems
Dr. Mayhew
Spring 20142015

Experimental Determination of an
Orifice Discharge Coefficient

04/20/2015

Team 4
Zach Lehman
Joseph Arthur
Joseph Kaltenthaler
Andrew Niemann

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Terre Haute, IN 47803

Introduction
When discussing junctions or objects that impede flow in piping networks it is often useful to
know the factor by which these objects impede the flow. The discharge coefficient essentially
describes the relationship between the ideal flow in a system and the actual, restricted flow
caused by an obstruction of some kind. Thus the goals of this experiment were to determine the
discharge coefficient for an orifice and to develop a reasonable uncertainty approximation that
will verify the accuracy of the discharge coefficient. Additionally, it was our expectation to
demonstrate that the discharge coefficient was between 0 and 1, based upon evidence from
external sources.
To accomplish these goals, the data reduction equation was determined for the discharge
coefficient of the orifice and the parameters of the system were altered and measured with the
appropriate instrumentation. A manometer was used to obtain the pressure differential of the
fluid across the orifice and a rotameter measured the flow rate of the fluid. By utilizing
transducer accuracies and resolution values, and by altering the number of data trials collected,
the uncertainty in the resultant was determined.

Experimental Facilities and Instrumentation

The experimental system used in this experiment consisted of a water tank, a pump, input and
output valves, and the necessary piping to direct the flow of the fluid being pumped, in this case
water, to the orifice being tested.

Figure 1. Schematic of the Experimental System

Figure 1 is a schematic of the entire experimental apparatus which includes a tank, the orifice in
question, manometer, rotameter, control valves, and the appropriate piping. Key in determining
the discharge coefficient of the orifice are the rotameter and the manometer.

Figure 2. Schematic of the Manometer

The measurands in this system are obtained using the manometer and the rotameter. The
rotameter measures the volumetric flow rate of the water from 2 to 20 liters per minute. The
manometer measures the amount of pressure difference across the orifice by displaying water
height from of 0 to 440 millimeters as shown in Figure 2.
The manometer and rotameter were utilized in this experiment to measure two fluid heights
and the fluid flow rate to determine the discharge coefficient of the orifice. Figure 3 is a cross
section view of the orifice displaying flow direction and areas impacting fluid flow.

Figure 3. Orifice Schematic

Of the factors contributing to the discharge coefficient,

rate

C d , variables include: volumetric flow

, manometer height before and after the orifice, h1 and h2 respectively. Constant

values for this experiment include: the orifice area,

the fluid,

A 2 , the pipe area,

, and the gravitational acceleration of the Earth,

A 1 , the density of

g . The mass flow rates and

pressures outlined in Figure 3 are related to the manometer heights and volumetric flow rates as
described in the following section. The first manometer height recorded,
upstream of the orifice and the second reading,

h1 is taken

h2 is taken downstream of the orifice. These

heights are outputs of the manometer at positions 6 and 7 on Figure 2, while the actual
measurand is the pressure before and after the orifice. However, the actual manometer readings
can be treated as measurands considering they are used directly in our data reduction equation.
In order to collect the necessary information to determine

C d , the pump was turned on to

allow the water to pass through the system. With both valves fully open, the pump was run
until all of the air had escaped. Some of the water and air was drained from the manometer so
that the fluid levels were in the center of the manometer readout and no bubbles remained.
Once all of these criteria were met, the experimental trials were conducted.
By opening or closing the input valve, the flow rate of the water was increased or decreased. To
collect data, the valve would be set to a specific position and the flow rate would be observed on
the rotameter while the heights were recorded from the manometer. Comparing the alignment
of the very top of the float in the rotameter with the measuring markings was crucial to the
accuracy of this measurement. Specific to our experiment is the calibration of the rotameter to
achieve improved accuracy. This calibration is outlined in Appendix B.
With the flow bench operating, one datum was collected at five unique flow rates in a random
order. We randomized the order of data collection minimized the potential effects of hysteresis
on random uncertainty.
After collecting the five different flow rates and corresponding values of

h1 and h2 , the

random uncertainty in the discharge coefficient was determined. By comparing this value with
the systematic uncertainty in the discharge coefficient,

C d , one could determine how many

trials were necessary to prevent the random uncertainty from being a large contributing factor

to the total uncertainty. We determined that the random uncertainty should be of equal or lesser
magnitude than the systematic uncertainty. Once the standard deviation in

C d was

determined from the five trials, it was used in the random uncertainty equation and was
compared to the systematic uncertainty. It was determined that 20 trials were necessary to
produce a random uncertainty that was comparable to the systematic uncertainty. Details on the
mathematics required to obtain the systematic and random uncertainties are outlined in the
following section and sensor information is displayed in Appendix C.

Data Reduction and Uncertainty Analysis

The data reduction equation for the discharge is derived from the conservation of mass at the
orifice. The fluid flow before the orifice,

m
1 , is equal to the fluid flow through the orifice,

m
2 , as shown by,
m
1=m
2.

(1)

From fluid principles, it is known that

m=VA=

The density of the fluid is

(2)

, V is the velocity of the fluid at the given location, A is the cross

sectional area that the fluid passes through, and

is the volumetric flow rate of the fluid.

Assuming the density is still constant and utilizing equations 1 and 2, it is determined that,

V 2=V 1

A1
A2

(3)

From Bernoullis equation,

1
1
P1+ V 21=P 2+ V 22
2
2

we solved for the change in pressure over the orifice;

(4)

A2 2
]
A1
1
P1P2= V 22
2
1

( )

(5)

Simplifying this we now have a new expression for V at the orifice,

V 2=

2(P1P2 )
A1 2
]
A2

( )

[1

(6)

The ideal flowrate through the system is

ideal =V 2 A 2

(7)

And the discharge coefficient essentially is a ratio between the actual flow rate, which is
measured, and the ideal flow rate. This relationship can be described as

C d=

m
actual
= actual
m
ideal

ideal

(8)

Utilizing equations 6, 7, and 8, we arrive at

m=

C d A2

A
1( 1 )
A2

2 ( P1P2 )

(9)

Knowing that the pressure is measured by the manometer, the pressure can be simplified to,

P=gh
where

h is the height in the manometer and

(10)
g is the gravitational acceleration of the

Earth. Utilizing equations 2, 9, and 10, we arrive at the data reduction equation;

h1h2
A2 2 g()

(11)
2

1( A 2 )

A1
C d=

wC

To determine the total uncertainty in the discharge coefficient,

, the systematic

uncertainty and the random uncertainty of the discharge coefficient are root sum squared to
produce,

w 2C =w2C , sys +w2C

d

(12)

,rand

C d , w C , sys , is dependent upon the systematic uncertainties

The systematic uncertainty in

of the measurands as

where

2
C d , sys

w h , sys
1

Cd 2 2
Cd 2 2
C d 2 2
=(
) wh 2, sys+(
) wh 1,sys +(
) w , sys
h2
h1

(13)

is the systematic uncertainty in the height after the orifice,

systematic uncertainty in the height before the orifice, and

w , sys

w h , sys
2

is the

is the systematic

uncertainty in the volumetric flow rate. The uncertainties of the areas factor into this analysis as
well except that the uncertainties were not given, nor was any information that would allow us
to determine the uncertainty. It can be assured that the accuracies of these values is exceptional.
The sensitivity coefficients of the orifice area,

A 2 , and the pipe orifice,

A 1 , are roughly

2 x 103 and 1.35 x 104 respectively. The sensitivity of the gravitational acceleration
is even smaller, being

2.9 x 10

. When these small sensitivity coefficients are combined with

the low values of uncertainty in accuracy we determined that the areas, as well as the
gravitational acceleration do not significantly impact uncertainty analysis and are assumed to be
absolute values. A better determination of the uncertainty can be determined if the uncertainty
in the areas is accounted for.
To determine the uncertainties in the heights, the accuracy and readability of the manometer,
are utilized in the following way, and can be applied to both
2

w h ,sys =wmanometer , accuracy + wmanometer ,readability

h1 and h2 ,

(14)

The flow rate uncertainty was determined from the rotameter calibration as described in
Appendix B. The data reduction equation for this calibration is

=
t
where

(15)

is the volume change in the tank and

is the change in time during which

the volume change occurred. From equation 15, the systematic uncertainty of the flow rate
becomes

w
2

( w2stopwatch , acc + w2stopwatch , read )
t
2

2
w , sys=(
)

( )

( sight glass , acc 2+ w2sight glass , read )+

(16)

The subscripts sight glass and stopwatch in equation 16 refer to properties of the sight glass on the
tank and stopwatch respectively. Their accuracies and readabilities determine the new
uncertainty in volumetric flow rate since they were used to calibrate the readings from the
rotameter.

Cd

The random uncertainty in

distribution value,
number of trials,

w C ,rand =
d

is determined from the number of trials, n, the related t-

t n1 , and the sample standard deviation of the C d values for the given
SC

using the equation,

t n1 S C

(17)

The uncertainties for the accuracy and readabilities of the transducers are given in Appendix C
and the resulting uncertainties as well as the partial derivatives of the data reduction equation
in equation 11 are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Variable impact on the overall C d uncertainty

Parameter

Units

Typical Value (mean)

Partial

Sensitivity Coeff i

Term i

3.521 102

3.88 107

7.33 10 3

3.36 106

mm3

sec

29.3

h2

mm

141

Cd
h1

-3.0610-4

1.17 106

h1

mm

194

Cd
h2

3.0610-4

1.17 106

W , sys

W h , sys

mm3
sec

1.25 104

1.12 102

mm

W Cd ,rand

0.001851

W Cd ,total

0.020

Rotameter calibration was essential as its uncertainty caused

W , sys

3
5 mm
1.179
x
10
to be
sec ,

which is an order of magnitude greater than the calibrated uncertainty in flow rate and three
orders of magnitude greater than the uncertainty caused by the heights. For these reasons, the
rotameter was calibrated with the available tank and stopwatch. Uncertainties for areas and
gravity are not provided as they were deemed to have a negligible effect on the overall
uncertainty.

Results and Discussion

The mean result for the orifice discharge coefficient with associated uncertainty is

C d=0.564 0.020
Figure 4 shows the relationship between the discharge coefficient and the fluid volumetric flow
rate as well as the uncertainty associated with each value using the rotameter calibration
outlined in Appendix B.
0.6

0.58

0.56

Discharge Coefficient (-)

Experimental data

0.54

Relative uncertainty
0.52

Note: uncertainty is larger

at lower flow rates
0.5

10

11

12

13

14

15

Volumetric Flow Rate (L/min)

Figure 4. Discharge coefficient with uncertainty of an orifice at varying volumetric flow rates
Figure 4 reflects the mean of four measurements at each of the flow rates measured. Complete
data is available in Appendix D.
When discussing fluid dynamics it is essential to mention Reynolds number, which is a nondimensional term that characterizes the flow of the fluid. The relationship between Reynolds

number and discharge coefficient can be seen in Figure 5 to exhibit a near-parabolic behavior
when transitioning into higher Reynolds numbers from the 10 to the 2000 range. Figure X
compares our measured values of discharge coefficient and Reynolds numbers to those of an
orifice plate with a similar

A2
A1

ratio. Our data reflects a small range of Reynolds numbers as

compared to the reference data.

0.75

0.7

0.65

Discharge Coefficient (-)

0.6

0.55

0.5
10

100

1000

10000

Reynolds Number (-)

Figure 5. This relationship is based on tests done on a similar orifice plate to the one used in our
experimentation. Source: Discharge Coefficient Performance of Venturi, Standard Concentric Orifice
Plate, V-Cone and Wedge Flow Meters at Small Reynolds Numbers, Authored by Colter L
Hollingshead, Utah State University.
Figure 5 shows that our data increases for the three lower Reynolds number trials. When
compared to the reference data for a similar orifice plate, this trend does not agree. We have no
justification as to why this is. This would suggest that for our trials, the discharge coefficient is
not constant. Our results however, indicate that for our trials, discharge coefficient is constant.

46
44
42
40

Tube Height Difference (mm)

38
36
34
32
30
75

95

115

135

155

175

195

215

Volumetric Flow Rate2 (L2/min2)

Figure 6. The volumetric flow rate squares with the difference in manometer tube height
Figure 6 shows how the manometer tube height difference changes with the square of the
volumetric flow rate. If equation 11 is squared and rearranged, one arrives at
2

A 2 g(h1h2)
2=C 2d 2
2
A
(1 2 )
A1

( )

(18)

which describes the relationship in Figure 6. This relationship, which is linear, strongly suggests
that the discharge coefficient

C d , is constant. In other words, since the volumetric flow rate

squared and the manometer height difference vary proportionately to one another, then every
other element in this equation must be constant. This evidence supports our resultant,
being a single value at all flow rates and is more conclusive than the Reynolds number
comparison.

Cd ,

Conclusions
This experiment measured the resultant discharge coefficient and the related uncertainty of an
orifice plate, and successfully demonstrated that this resultant was between 0 and 1, as we
expected due to previous experimentation and research conducted on the topic. We successfully
proved this within and uncertainty of

0.020.

It is recommended that similar experiments use an input range for the volumetric flow rate
between 4 and 20 liters per minute. The measurement of volumetric flow rate was the largest
source of uncertainty in our analysis. It is recommended to improve sensor accuracy by
calibrating the rotameter prior to use. Once the calibration is successfully executed using the
water tank and stopwatch, the uncertainty dramatically decreases.

Appendix A - Principles of Operation - Orifice Flowmeter

The manometer consists of a set of glass tubes that follow hydrostatic principles to provide a
readout of pressure, displayed in water column height. This allows the user determine the
pressure difference following equation 10. The tubes are connected at different points in the
flowstream, shown in Figure 7, in order to determine the pressure difference across the orifice
plate.

Figure 7. Assembly photograph

When power is inputted, the pump sends water out of the holding tank at a constant rate
through the system. Air accumulates inside the system because some of the pipes and valves in
the setup are exposed to the air. The excess air is released from the system by adjusting the
manometer valve marked on Figure 4. Once there is no excess air remaining in the system, the
system is stabilized and accurate readings can be made on the manometer and the rotameter.
The meniscus of the water level is read directly from the height gage attached to the manometer.
In determining the discharge coefficient, tubes numbered 6 and 7 were used for analysis because
they are connected immediately before and after the orifice, as shown in Figure 7. The pressure
difference across the orifice is proportional to the flow rate. The rotameter contains a metallic
float that, once the system is stabilized, remains at a constant level within the device. This
device is pre-calibrated in the system to display an output of liters per minute. The rotameter is
the second sensor used in experimentation. It produces the final measurand, flow rate, used for
the original DRE, equation 11.

Appendix B - Principles of Operation Rotameter Calibration

The rotameter was calibrated as it was the highest source of uncertainty in the measurement
system. This calibration allowed for a more precise discharge coefficient to be reported. This
calibration consisted of the water tank, stopwatch, and rotameter. The sight glass that displays
the water tank volume is outlined in Figure 8.

Figure 8. Tank sight glass used in rotameter calibration

To begin, an initial flow rate was recorded from the output of the rotameter. Then the input
valve was closed so that the tank would fill. An initial fluid level was recorded and after a
specific amount of time elapsed the final volume was recorded. The difference in these times
and the difference in volume measurements was used in equation 15 to determine the calibrated
flow rate. The calibrated flow rates were used in the systematic uncertainty calculation of the
volumetric flow rate.
Figure 9 is the comparison of the rotameter flow rates and the more accurately determined
calibrated flow rates found from the tank filling calibration.

15

14

13

Calibrated Flow Rate (L/min)

12

11

10

9
10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Rotameter Flow Rate (L/min)

Figure 9. Rotameter Calibration curve
The calibration equation for the rotameter is

Calibrated Flow Rate=0.9426Rotameter Flow Rate+ 0.413 ,

(19)

which is used to generate more accurate flow rates from the rotameter flow rates and ultimately
leads to more accurate discharge coefficients. The uncertainty in the volumetric flow rates for
the calibrated flow rates is equation 16 instead of the rotameter equivalent of equation 14.
Suggestions for Future Experimentation Efforts
Calculating values for discharge coefficients can be simplified and expedited by using the
rotameter on the orifice bench, and not timing tank fillings. For simplicity a calibration of the
rotameter has been completed in this appendix yielding the calibration equation 19. Future
experiments can be conducted using this calibration, but it is suggested that flow rates above 4
liters per minute are measured. Our results are reported in Figure 10.

0.6

0.58

0.56

Discharge Coefficient (-)

Experimental data
0.54

0.52

Uncertainty is
larger at lower flow
rates

0.5
9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Rotameter Volumetric Flow Rate (L/min)

Figure 10. Discharge coefficient and uncertainty before calibrating the rotameter
The larger uncertainty at lower flow rate is due to the greater systematic uncertainty of the
transducers in their lower operation ranges. It is suggested that flow rates greater than 4 liters
per minute are used to mitigate this issue.

Appendix C - Systematic Uncertainties for the Measurands

Table 2 provides a list of all sources of sensor uncertainties apparent in our experimentation.
The resolutions for the manometer and rotameter were taken directly from their readouts and
their readabilities and accuracies are half of their resolutions. The tank was found to have an
accuracy of an eighth of a liter an and equal readability. The readability of the stopwatch was
half of the resolution but the accuracy was made a quarter from judgement based on the
difficulty in operating the stopwatch at the correct time.
Table 2. Sensor Accuracies and Readabilities
Sensor

Resolution

Readability

Accuracy

Manometer (mm)

2.5

2.5

Rotameter (L/min)

0.5

0.5

Tank Volume (L)

0.25

0.125

0.125

Stopwatch Time (s)

0.01

0.005

0.25

Appendix D Experimental Data

Table 3 contains the measurands and the resultant

C d calculated from equation 11 for the

four trials at five separate volumetric flow rates. The flow rates displayed are the rotameter
readings post calibration using equation 19. The mean of the twenty values of
reported for this orifice.

C d is the value

Table 3. System measurands and calculated resultant for randomized trials

V
10
15
12
11
14
13
10
15
12
11
14
13
10
15
12
11
14
13
10
15
12
11
14
13

[ ]
L
min

h1 [ mm ]
165
148
157
161
150
154
165
150
158
161
152
154
166
149
157
162
152
153
165
150
158
160
153
153

h2 [ mm ]
203
225
207
204
217
211
203
226
208
205
219
211
202
225
207
204
218
211
201
226
208
204
219
211

h [ mm ]
38
77
50
43
67
57
38
76
50
44
67
57
36
76
50
42
66
58
36
76
50
44
66
58

Cd
0.544821
0.565923
0.565895
0.561193
0.567411
0.572592
0.544821
0.569634
0.565895
0.55478
0.567411
0.572592
0.55975
0.569634
0.565895
0.567835
0.571694
0.567634
0.55975
0.569634
0.565895
0.55478
0.571694
0.567634

To utilize the values above and equation 11 to determine the discharge coefficients, the areas,
density, and gravitational acceleration must be known. These values are presented below in
Table 4.

Table 4. Experimental variables that are presumed constant

Constant
Orifice Area,
Pipe Area,

A 2 (mm2 )

792
314

A 1 (mm )
kg
)
m3

1000

Graviational Acceleration,

9.81

Density of Water,

g(

m
)
sec