CHG 3122

Chemical Engineering Practice

Air Flow Measurements

Introduction
Almost all physical and chemical processes at industrial scale are associated with a flow of fluid
or fluids and accurate measurements of flow rates and/or fluid velocity is indispensable for the
control of a given process. In this laboratory the students are exposed to two basic devices used in
the fluid flow measurements, a Pitot tube and an orifice meter.

Objectives

1. To measure velocity profiles for air flowing in a cylindrical pipe at varying Reynolds
numbers.
2. To evaluate the average velocity and calculate the discharge coefficient for an orifice meter.
3. To measure pressure drop in the pipe and to interpret the data in terms of the
Friction Factor – Reynolds number relationship.

Equipment
The experiment is performed in a long cylindrical pipe having the internal diameter of 3 inches.
Attached to one end of the pipe is a blower with a dampener, which allows for the flow rate of air
in the pipe to be varied. The flow rate of air is determined from the local velocities of air measured
with a Pitot tube. The Pitot tube may be positioned anywhere along a diameter of the pipe. An
orifice meter is installed some distance above the Pitot tube. The diameter of the orifice is 1.8
inches. Vena contracta taps are employed on the orifice meter. In addition, several pressure taps
are installed at “strategic locations” in the pipe. The pressure taps are connected to electronic
pressure transducers, which measure 1) the gauge pressure just above the blower, 2) the difference
between the stagnation pressure and the bulk pressure at the pipe cross section where the Pitot tube
is located, 3) the pressure drop across the orifice meter, and 4) the pressure drop along the pipe.

• Pitot tube pressure transmitter is Omega PX277-01D5V with pressure range selected as 0 to
0.25 inch H2O
• Orifice meter pressure transmitter is Omega PX277-05D5V with pressure range selected as 0
to 1.25 inch H2O
• Pipe frictional loss pressure transmitter is Omega PX277-01D5V with pressure range selected
as 0 to 0.25 inch H2O

Accuracy is 1% of the full scale. Differential Pressure Transmitter with Field-Selectable Ranges
(omega.com)

While the Pitot tube is visible through the transparent section of the pipe, a photo of the orifice
meter plate is shown in Figure 1.
Procedures
1. Study the experimental set up and measure all relevant distances along the pipe. For a given
pipe I.D., determine the positions for a 10-point traverse of the Pitot tube and make the marks
on the ruler on which the Pitot tube slides.
2. When the above preparatory steps are completed, the demonstrator will turn on the motor and
the blower will start delivering air to the pipe. For the maximum flow rate that the blower will
deliver, make the 10-point traverse with the Pitot tube recording the pressure at each position.
Place the Pitot tube at the pipe center and take another pressure reading. Also record the bulk
air pressure just above the blower, the pressure drop across the orifice and the pressure drop
along the pipe. In addition, record atmospheric pressure and room temperature in the
laboratory.
3. Change the opening to 80% with similar placement of the Pitot tube. Repeat the procedure of
step 2.
4. Repeat step 3 with values of the pressure drop described above equal to 60%, 40%, 20% and
10% that of step 2.
Theory

A. Pitot tube
Pitot tube is a device used to measure the local velocity along a streamline. For isothermal,
incompressible fluid, the local velocity (u) in the free stream is given by:

2( ps − p0 )
u= (1)


where ps is the pressure at the stagnation point at the head of the Pitot tube, p0 is the pressure in
the free stream and  is the density of fluid.

For compressible and non-isothermal fluids Eq. (1) is not applicable. In a special case of
compressible, adiabatic flow of an ideal gas, the following equation should be used:

 −1
 
2  p0   ps  
u=     − 1 (2)
 − 1   0   p0  
 

where  is the ratio of the molar heat at constant pressure to the molar heat at constant volume
(cp/cv) and o is the density of fluid in the free stream.

B. Velocity profiles and average velocity

At any cross section of pipe, the local velocity is a function of the radius. The maximum velocity
(umax) occurs at the center of the pipe. For laminar flows, a plot of u/umax gives a parabola. For
turbulent flows, the velocity profile becomes increasingly blunt, as the Reynolds number (Re) is
increased.

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In chemical engineering, the average velocity ( u ) of fluid is also important. For laminar flows, the
average velocity can easily be determined from a single local velocity measurement along the
centre-line. This is because the ratio of the average velocity to maximum velocity ( u /umax) is
always equal to 0.5. For turbulent flows, this ratio is greater than 0.5 and it approaches unity as Re
is increased. Knowing the velocity profile in the pipe (u(r)), the average velocity in turbulent flows
can be calculated as follows:

u=

A0
u (r )dA
(3)
A0

Average velocity from a set of local velocities taken from the entire cross section of the pipe:

 u A i i
u= i =1
(4)
A0

where ui is a “representative” velocity in a given piece of pipe of area equal to Ai. The total area
of all pieces must be equal to the cross section area of the pipe,

 A = A
i =1
i 0 (5)

For Ai chosen so that Ai =A0/n, Eq. (4) simplifies to:

n
A0
u i
1 n
 ui
n
u= i =1
= (6)
A0 n i =1

The accuracy of the average velocity calculated using Eq. (6), depends on the number of equal-
area pieces (n). Normally, n varies from 5 to 10. The radial positions at which the local velocities
are measured depend on the pipe internal diameter (I.D.) and n. For example, for a 40 cm I.D. pipe
and n = 5, 10 local velocities should be measured at the following radial positions:  19.0 cm, 
16.7 cm,  14.15 cm,  10.9 cm,  6.3 cm. These positions are said to represent a 10-point traverse
with a 40 cm I.D. pipe. The readings taken at the points symmetrical with respect to the pipe center
should be averaged before substitution into Eq. (6).

C. Orifice meter
An orifice meter is an example of a full-bore meter. Unlike the Pitot tube, which measures the
local velocities, the orifice meter allows measuring the average velocity through the orifice ( u o ).
For an isothermal and incompressible fluid the following equation is applicable:

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 Co 2( pa − pb )
uo = (7)
1−  4 
where Co is a dimensionless coefficient of discharge for the orifice,  is the ratio of the orifice
diameter to the pipe diameter, and pa and pb are the pressures before and after orifice, respectively.
The exact locations at which pa and pb are measured depend on the type of orifice taps. The
discharge coefficient is determined experimentally; it depends on
Re and .
.
When the mass flow rate of fluid ( m ) is a desired quantity, Eq. (7) is multiplied by the area of the
orifice and the fluid density to give:

. Co Ao
m= 2( pa − pb )  (8)
1−  4

For a non-isothermal and compressible flows, Eq. (8) is modified by the introduction of an
expansion factor (Y):

. Co AoY
m= 2( pa − pb )  a (9)
1−  4

Factor Y is a function of pa/pb, , and . For standard sharp-edged orifices, Y can be predicted from
the following empirical equation:

0.41 + 0.35 4  pa 
Y = 1− 1 −  (10)
  pb 

D. Friction factor
The friction factor is a dimensionless parameter defined as:

𝑠∆𝑃 𝐷
𝑓 = 2𝐿𝜌𝑢 ̅2
(11)

where ps is the pressure drop due to skin friction, and L and D are the pipe length over which ps
is measured and the pipe I.D., respectively.

For laminar flows, the skin friction can be calculated from the following analytical equation:

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f = (12)
Re

The prediction of f in turbulent flows is more complicated than in laminar flows. In general, f is a
function of Re and the relative pipe roughness (k/D), where k is the absolute pipe roughness and

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D is the pipe I.D. For the special case of hydraulically smooth round pipes f and Re are related by
the von Kármán equation:

1
f /2
(
= 2.5 ln Re )
f / 8 + 1.75 (13)

Equation 13 is applicable for Re ranging from 104 to 106. It is however, not convenient to use Eq.
(13), because it does not allow for a direct calculation of f. For the Re ranging from 5x104 to 106,
a much more convenient empirical equation exists:

f = 0.046 Re −0.2 (14)

Equation 14 is consistent with Eq. (13) for the above-specified range of Re. Another empirical
equation, which is applicable for a much wider range of Re (3x103 < Re < 3x106) and which is still
consistent with Eq. (13) is given by:
0.125
f = 0.0014 + 0.32 (15)
Re

Eqs. (13-15) are applicable for smooth pipes only. The skin friction in rough pipes may be
predicted using friction factor charts, which are available in any fluid mechanics book. In McCabe
et al., 2001, friction factor chart is provided in Figure 5.10.

The friction factor appearing in Equations (11-15) is known as the Fanning friction factor (fF).
Some textbooks use the Blasius (Darcy) friction factor (fB) instead of the Fanning friction factor.
The two friction factors are correlated as:

fB = 4fF (16)

Consequently, when using the Blasius (Darcy) friction factor, Equations (11-15) and the friction
factor charts are modified accordingly.

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Questions for the Report

Set 1:
1. At very high velocities the local velocity calculated using Eq. (1) is associated with an error
and Eq. (2) should be used instead. For the measurement of air velocity at atmospheric
pressure, at what velocity the difference between equations (1) and (2) becomes greater than
3%?
2. Calculate the average velocity from data taken with the Pitot tube for each flow rate. Calculate
the Re in the pipe in each case. Do you need to include the reading taken at the pipe center in
calculation of the average velocity? Justify.
3. Plot u/umax versus r/ro (ro is the pipe radius) for the maximum and minimum flow rates. Is the
expected result obtained?
4. Plot u /umax versus Re in the pipe for each flow rate. Compare the obtained plot with Figure
5.8 in McCabe et al., 2001 and comment on your result.
5. Use the flow rates determined by the Pitot tube to evaluate the discharge coefficient of the
orifice meter at each flow rate. Plot Co versus Re and compare your results with published
values.
6. In this experiment the orifice meter is equipped with vena contracta taps. What other types of
pressure taps are used in industry?

Set 2:
1. Describe the principle of operation of a Pitot tube; what are the advantages and disadvantages
of this instrument?
2. Calculate the average velocity from data taken with the Pitot tube for each flow rate. Calculate
the Re in the pipe in each case. Do you need to include the reading taken at the pipe centre in
calculation of the average velocity? Justify.
3. If the equal areas were not used for the multi-point traverse, how would you determine the
average velocity from the local velocities?
4. Use the flow rates determined by the Pitot tube to evaluate the discharge coefficient of the
orifice meter at each flow rate. Plot Co versus Re and compare your results with published
values.
5. For each flow rate, calculate the corresponding friction factors using Eq. (11) and plot them as
f versus Re on a log-log scale. In the same graph, plot the accepted curve for smooth pipes
using Eq. (14) and/or Eq. (15). Do you data follow the curve for hydraulically smooth pipes?
6. Plot your friction factor data in the form of the von Kármán equation:

1
f /2
(
= k1 ln Re )
f / 8 + k2

Determine the constants k1 and k2 and compare them with those found in Eq. (13).

Reference
McCabe, W.L., Smith, J.C. and Harriott, P., Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering”
Sixth ed., McGraw-Hill, New York NY, 2001.

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Fig. 2 Discharge coefficient of orifice meter versus Reynold number

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Figure 3. Schematic diagram of the air flow system

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Figure 4. Distribution and wiring of pressure taps.

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Figure 5. Orifice plate and housing.

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