Orifice and Venturi Meter:

Description:
Orifice meter and venturi meter both indirectly measures the discharge or flow rate. Both of these
have pressure changes phenomenon which measure the flow rate by determining head. There is a
converging section of pipe in the venturi meter which results in velocity rise, that drops pressure.
On the other hand, orifice plate in the orifice meter has a small diameter hole, that will also increase
the velocity. From the rotameter, one has the access to take the actual discharge and also has a
scale printed on it for pressure. (Chadwick, 2013)

Principle:
While fluid flows from the convergent section of pipe, the velocity increases in accordance with
the equation of continuity at the same time pressure will decline as to fulfill the energy
conservation Equation. These processes are according to the equation of continuity and Bernoulli’s
Principle. The pressure drop in orifice is also analogous to Venturi meter.
These is a dimensionless coefficient i.e. discharge coefficient which shows the frictional losses
that most of the time assumed negligible. Discharge coefficient also identifies the pressure loss, in
venturi and orifice meter of fluids under investigation. We need the discharge coefficient to
compare it with Reynolds No. (Chadwick, 2013)

Results Table of Orifice/ Venturi Meter:

Discharge Venturi Meter Orifice Meter

Rotam
Qact (m3/s) Cd Re Cd Re

200 5.37E-04 1.00 5195.162 0.98 3325.533

180 4.57E-04 0.96 4421.209 0.97 2830.109
150 3.93E-04 0.99 3802.046 0.96 2433.77
120 3.15E-04 0.98 3047.441 0.95 1950.732
90 2.41E-04 0.96 2331.535 0.93 1492.465
60 1.73E-04 0.95 1673.674 0.92 1071.354
30 1.04E-04 0.99 1006.139 0.92 644.0511
20 8.10E-05 0.94 783.628 0.91 501.6167

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 Graph Between Reynold Number (Re) and Coefficient Of Discharge (Re)

Energy Loss:
Venturi meter energy loss = Qact*ρ*g*(h1-h3) = 0.242 watt.
Orifice meter energy loss = Qact*ρ*g*(h5-h7) = 1.433 watt.

Explanation of Energy Losses:

As from the above graph we can see that the discharge coefficient of venturi meter is greater than
discharge coefficient of orifice meter. The reason behind that is venturi meter has a steady change
in the pipe diameter which offer less loses as compared to orifice meter, that’s why its discharge
coefficient is greater than orifice meter. Whereas in orifice meter there is a drastic and sudden
change caused by orifice plate due to no divergent and convergent cones so there comes additional
losses therefore has small discharge coefficient.
Or in the other way in venturi meter due to streamline appearance of the diffuser losses are less
than orifice meter, that have abrupt pressure gradient. There is no possibility of the discharge
coefficient greater than 1. If it is greater than 1 then there will be some human error. It can be
eradicated by double check to record proper reading. (Hamill, 2011)

Orifice Meter Advantages:

• Orifice meter is easy to install and remove.
• It can be easily maintained.

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• Orifice meter has a simple construction.
• Between the flanges it can be easily installed.
• Their prices are not too high and also not dramatically increases with size.

Orifice Meter Disadvantages:

• It requires single phase and homogeneous liquid.
• Flow of axial velocity is required in it.
• There is greater drop in pressure is in orifice meter than venturi meter.
• The accuracy of the orifice meter is affected by the viscosity, density and pressure of the fluid.
• Straight conduits are required to maintain its accuracy.
• For the flow measurement, special pipe is required
• It has low range of capacity.

Venturi Meter Advantages:

• There are very minimum chances of stuck with sediments.
• It has high coefficient of discharge as compared to orifice meter.
• Venturi meter has highly predicted behavior.
• It can be fixed horizontally and at any inclination.
• It is used for high range of flow and is very precise than orifice meter
• In the venturi meter around 85 % drop in pressure can be regained
• In venturi meter about 90 percent of the pressure drop can be regained in the venturi meter.

Venturi Meter Disadvantages:

• Venturi meter cannot be used where space is less because they are large in size.
• They have high installation costs and expensive maintenance.
• Venturi meter cannot be used in pipes having diameter less than 7.5 cm.
• Its maintenance is not too easy.
• Beyond a maximum speed, it cannot be modified to measure the pressure. (UKEssays, 2018)

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References
Chadwick, M. a. B., 2013. Hydraulics in Civil and Environmental Engineering. 5th ed. s.l.:E&FN Spoon.

Hamill, 2011. Understanding Hydraulics. 3rd ed. s.l.:Palgrave Macmillan.

UKEssays, 2018. Laboratory Experiment on Venturi Meter and Orifice Meter. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/physics/laboratory-experiment-on-venturi-meter-and-
orifice-meter.php?vref=1
[Accessed 03 04 2020].