SECTION 5

Problem 5.1
Sulphuric acid of specific gravity 1.3 is flowing through a pipe of 50mm internal diameter. A thin-
lipped orifice, 10mm diameter, is fitted in the pipe and the differential pressure shown by a
mercury manometer is 10cm. Assuming that the leads to the manometer are filled with the
acid. calculate (a) the weight of acid flowing per second and (b) the approximate loss of
pressure (in kN/m 2 ) caused by the orifice.
The coefficient of discharge of the orifice may be taken as 0.61 the specific gravity of mercury as
13.55 and the density of water as 1000kg/m 3 .

Answer:

Problem 5.2
The rate of discharge of water from a tank is measured by means of a notch for which the
flowrate is directly proportional to the height of liquid above the bottom of the notch. Calculate
and plot the profile of the notch if the flowrate is 0.01m 3 /s when the liquid level is 150mm
above the bottom of the notch.

Answer:

Problem 5.3
Water flows at between 3000 and 4000cm 3 /s through a 50mm pipe and is metered by means of
an orifice. Suggest a suitable size of orifice if the pressure difference is to be measured with a
simple water manometer. What approximately is the pressure difference recorded at the
maximum flow rate?

Answer:

Problem 5.4
The rate of flow of water in a 150mm diameter pipe is measured with a venture meter with a
50mm diameter throat. When the pressure drop over the converging section is 100mm of water
the flowrate is 2.7kg/s. what is the coefficient for the converging cone of the meter at that
flowrate and what is the head lost due to friction? If the total loss of head over the meter is
15mm water what is the coefficient for the diverging cone?

Answer:
 Problem 5.5
A venture meter with a 50mm throat is used to measure a flow of slightly salt water in a pipe of
inside diameter 100mm. the meter is checked by adding 20cm 3 /s of normal sodium chloride
solution above the meter and analyzing a sample of water downstream from the meter. Before
addition of the salt 1000cm 3 of water requires 10cm 3 of 0.1m silver nitrate solution in a
titration. 1000cm 3 of the downstream sample required 23.5cm 3 0.1m silver nitrate. If a
mercury –under-water manometer connected to the meter gives a reading of 205mm what is
the discharge coefficient of the meter? Assume that the density of the liquid is not appreciably
affected by the salt.

Answer:

Problem 5.6
A gas cylinder containing 30m 3 of air at 6MN/m 2 pressure discharges to the atmosphere
through a valve which may be taken as equivalent to a sharp edged orifice of 6mm diameter
(coefficient of discharge = 0.6) Plot the rate of discharge against the pressure in the cylinder.
How long will it take for the pressure in the cylinder to fall to (a) 1MN/m 2 and (b) 150kN/m 2 ?
Assume an adiabatic expansion of the gas through the valve and that the contents of the
cylinder remain 273K.

Answer:

Problem 5.7
Air at a pressure of 1500kN/m 2 and a temperature of 370K flows through an orifice of 30 mm 2
to atmospheric pressure.
If the coefficient of discharge is 0.65 the critical pressure ratio 0.527 and the ratio of the specific
heats is 1.4 calculate the weight flowing per second.

Answer:

Problem 5.8
Water flows through an orifice of 25mm diameter situated in a 75mm pipe at the rate of 300cm
3
/s. What will be the difference in level on a water manometer connected across the meter?
Take the viscosity of water as 1mN s/m 2 .

Answer:

Problem 5.9
Water flowing at 1500cm 3 /s in a 50mm diameter pipe is metered by means of a simple orifice
of diameter 25mm. if the coefficient of discharge of the meter is 0.62 what will be the reading of
a mercury-under-water manometer connected to the meter?
What is the Reynolds number for the flow in the pipe?
(Density of water = 1000kg/m 3 ; viscosity of water= 1mN s/m 2 ).

Answer:
Problem 5.10
What size of orifice would give a pressure difference of 0.3m water gauge for the flow of a
petroleum product of specific gravity 0.9 at 0.05m 2 /s in a 150mm diameter pipe?

Answer:

Problem 5.11
The flow of water through a 50mm pipe is measured by means of an orifice meter with a 40mm
aperture. The pressure drop recorded is 150mm on a mercury-under-water manometer and the
coefficient of discharge of the meter is 0.6. What is the Reynolds number in the pipe and what would
you expect the pressure drop over a 30m length of the pipe to be?
Friction factor Ɵ = R/pu 2 = 0.0025
Specific gravity of mercury = 13.6
Viscosity of water = 1 mN s/m 2
What type of pump would you use how would you drive it and what material of construction would be
suitable?

Answer:

Problem 5.12
A Rota meter has a tube 0.3m long which has an internal diameter of 25mm at the top and
20mm at the bottom. The diameter of the float is 20mm its effective specific gravity is 4.80 and its
volume 6.6cm 3 . If the coefficient of discharge is 0.72 at what height will the float be when metering
water at 100cm 3 /s?

Answer:

Problem 5.13
Explain why there is a critical pressure ratio across a nozzle at which for a given upstream
pressure the flowrate is a maximum. Obtain an expression for the maximum flow for a given upstream
pressure for isentropic flow through a horizontal nozzle. Show that for air 9ratio of specific heats y=1.4)
the critical pressure ratio of 0.53 and calculate the maximum flow through an orifice of area 30mm 2
and coefficient of discharge 0.65 when the upstream pressure is 1.5 MN/m 2 and the upstream
temperature 293K.
(Kilogram moleculator volume = 22.4m 3 )

Answer:
Problem 5.14
A gas cylinder containing air discharges to atmosphere through a valve whose characteristics
may be considered similar to those of a sharp-edged orifice if the pressure in the cylinder is initially 350
kN/m 2 by how much will the pressure have fallen when the flowrate has decreased to one quarter of its
initial value?
The flow through the valve may be taken as isentropic and the expansion in the cylinder as
isothermal. The ratio of the specific heats at constant pressure and constant volume 1.4.

Answer:

Problem 5.15
Water discharges from the bottom outlet of an open tank 1.5m by 1m in cross-section the outlet
is equivalent to an orifice 40mm diameter with a coefficient of discharge of 0.6. The water level in the
tank is regulated by a float valve on the feed supply which shuts off completely when the height of
water above the bottom for the tank is 1m and which gives a flowrate which is directly proportional to
the distance of the water surface below this maximum level. When the depth of water in the tank is
0.5m the inflow and outflow are directly balanced.
As a result of a short interruption in the supply the water level in the tank falls to 0.25m above
the bottom but it’s then restored again. How long will it take the level to rise to 0.45m above the
bottom?

Answer:

Problem 5.16
The flowrate of air at 298K in a 0.3m diameter duct is measured with a pitot tube which is used
to traverse the cross-section. Readings of the differential pressure recorded on a water manometer are
taken with pilot tube at ten different positions in the cross-section. There positions are so chosen as to
be the mid-points of ten concentric annuli each of the same cross-sectional area. The readings are as
follows:
Position 1 2 3 4 5
Manometer Reading (mm water) 18.5 18.0 17.5 16.8 15.7
Position 6 7 8 9 10
Manometer Reading (mm water) 14.7 13.7 12.7 11.4 10.2

The flow is also metered using a 15cm orifice plate across which the pressure differential is 50mm on a
mercury-under-water manometer. What is the coefficient of discharge of the orifice meter?

Answer:

Problem 5.17
Explain the principle of operation of the pitot tube and indicate how it can be used in order to
measure the total flowrate of fluid in a duct. If a pitot tube is inserted in a circular cross-section pipe in
which a fluid is In streamline flow calculate at what point in the cross-section it should be situate so as
to give a direct reading representative of the mean velocity of flow of the fluid.

Answer: