CHAPTER – 6

DETERMINING COEFFICIENT
OF DISCHARGE

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INTRODUCTION

The flow of fluids through open containers is a topic studied frequently in introductory
physics classes. A fluid mechanics class delves deeper into the topic of fluid flow through
open containers with holes or barriers. The flow of a fluid jet out of a sharp-edged orifice
rarely has the same area as the orifice due to a fluid flow phenomenon known as the vena
contracta. The area of a fluid jet out of an orifice is related to the actual area of the orifice by
a value known as the coefficient of discharge, Cd. An orifice is an opening, of any size or
shape, in a pipe or at the bottom or side wall of a container (water tank, reservoir, etc.),
through which fluid is discharged. If the geometric properties of the orifice and the inherent
properties of the fluid are known, the orifice can be used to measure flow rates. Flow
measurement by an orifice is based on the application of Bernoulli’s equation, which states
that a relationship exists between the pressure of the fluid and its velocity. The flow velocity
and discharge calculated based on the Bernoulli’s equation should be corrected to include the
effects of energy loss and viscosity. Therefore, for accurate results, the coefficient of
discharge (Cd) should be calculated for an orifice.

APPLICATIONS

Orifices have many applications in engineering practice besides the metering of fluid flow in
pipes and reservoirs. Flow entering a culvert or storm drain inlet may act as orifice flow; the
bottom outlet of a dam is another example. The coefficients of velocity and discharge are
necessary to accurately predict flow rates from orifices.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this experiment is to determine the coefficient of discharge of tank’s outlet
considering the outlet as an orifice.

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THEORY

The usual purpose of an orifice is the measurement or control of flow from a reservoir. It can
also be used to make a pressure differential (drop). The orifice outflow velocity can be
calculated by applying Bernoulli’s equation (for a steady, incompressible, frictionless flow)
to a large reservoir with an opening (orifice) on its side (Figure 1):

√ (1)

where h is the height of fluid above the orifice. This is the ideal velocity since the effect of
fluid viscosity is not considered in deriving Equation 1. The actual flow velocity, however, is
smaller than vi and is calculated as:

√ (2)

Cv is the coefficient of velocity, which allows for the effects of viscosity; therefore, Cv <1.
The actual outflow velocity calculated by Equation (2) is the velocity at the vena contracta,
where the diameter of the jet is the least and the flow velocity is at its maximum.

The actual outflow rate may be calculated as:

(3)

where Ac is the flow area at the vena contracta. Ac is smaller than the orifice area, Ao, and is
given by:

(4)

where Cc is the coefficient of contraction; therefore, Cc < 1.

Substituting v and Ac from Equations 2 and 4 into Equation 3 results in:

√ (5)

The product CvCc is called the coefficient of discharge, Cd; Thus, Equation 5 can be written
as:

√ (6)

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When there is no inflow, conservation of volume for the tank is given by

(7)

where AT = Area of Tank

Figure 1: Orifice Parameters

DETERMINATION OF COEFFICIENT OF DISCHARGE

If Cd is assumed to be constant, then a graph of Q plotted against √ (Equation 6) will be

linear, and the slope of this graph will be:

√ (8)

Comparing equation 7 and 8, we can derive equation with variables as height and time:

√
∫ ∫ (9)
√

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PROCEDURE

1. Collect Stop Watch and Yard Stick from TA.

2. Measure the diameter of the Tank and calculate the cross-sectional area.
3. Measure diameter of the smallest outlet and make sure all the holes are plugged in.
4. Fill the bucket until it widens out with water from the table sump.
5. Once the tank is filled, turn off the water supply.
6. Now open the plug from the smallest hole and let the water drain.
7. As soon as the plug is removed, start the stop watch and let the water drain for 1
minute. After 1 minute, close the plug and measure the height of water from the
orifice.
8. Note down the heights after every minute till the water drains out.
9. Again repeat the Steps from 4 – 8 so that we have 3 readings.
10. After 3 readings, calculate the average heights for every minute.
11. Plot √ vs. t after solving Equation 9.
12. The Slope of the linear curve will give an equation which when solved gives the
Coefficient of Discharge, Cd.

CALCULATIONS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

1. Solving Equation 9, one can say that hi is nothing but the initial height of water from
the orifice and can be designated as H. hi can be denoted as h, which tells the height of
water at any time. ti is nothing but the initial time, which is nothing but 0. tf can be
denoted as t. So, by integrating the equation we get:

√
(√ √ ) ( )

√
(√ √ )

√
√ √ (10)

√
√

√ √ (11)

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 2. By observing Equation 11, one can say that the curve obtained when h vs. t is plotted
will be a Parabola. The level thus decreases quadratically over time. The apex of the
parabola corresponds to the time at which the container is completely discharged.

Head vs. Time

0.3500
0.3000
0.2500
Head, h (m)

0.2000
0.1500
y = 6E-07x2 - 0.0008x + 0.2978
0.1000
0.0500
0.0000
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time, t (sec)

Figure 2: Head vs. Time

From the equation, it is clear that as the time increases, the head decreases exponentially as
the order of equation is 2. Also, rate of change of head is nothing but velocity at discharge.
As the time increases, the potential energy or the pressure head decreases which inturn
decreases the velocity (rate of change of height).

3. Using the data collected, √ vs. t is plotted which is linear curve. Equation 10 clearly
shows a linear equation of the form y = mx + c. Slope can be obtained from the plot.
After getting the slope, one must equate the slope to the coefficient of t in equation
10.

Sqrt(h) vs. Time

0.6000

0.5000

0.4000
Sqrt (h)

0.3000

0.2000

0.1000
y = -0.0007x + 0.5381
0.0000
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time

Figure 3: Sqrt (h) vs. time

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From the graph,

Also from Equation 10,

So, equating both the above equations, we get

While recording the data, the cross-sectional area of the tank was, AT = 2134.44 cm2.

Cross-sectional Area of the Orifice or Hole, Ao = 0.95033 cm2.

4.

Sqrt(h) - Sqrt(hfit) vs. time

0.0200

0.0100
Sqrt(h) - Sqrt(hfit)

0.0000
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
-0.0100

-0.0200

-0.0300
Time, t (sec)

Figure 4: Difference in Head vs. time

The noticeable difference when the head is closer to the orifice is due to the major
decrease in height and as the water reaches the orifice, the velocity of the flow decreases,
allowing us to visualize the difference. The Fit line also shows linear dependency but at
the end of the original sqrt (h) curve also one can see deviation from the linear original
curve. That might be the reason for noticeable difference.
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 5. There are in fact many sources of error. Human Error is one of them. While taking the
reading, a person can miss calculate the time taken and the other can be false reading
from the scale (height). There might be also a case where there can be a
manufacturing defect or a permanent error in the stop watch or the measuring scale.
Apart from these errors, the viscosity of the fluid in the Tank also plays a major role is
the source of error. The derivation of the formulas also has a lot of assumptions taken
into consideration which are when an ideal case is performed. But in reality, there
might be many errors possible accumulating till the end which when observed in parts
can be negligible but when observed on a large scale, gives us a visible error.

CONCLUSION

One can learn from this experiment that, the discharge coefficient is a dimensionless number
used to characterize the flow and pressure loss behavior of nozzles and orifices in fluid
systems. Orifices and nozzles are typically used to deliberately reduce pressure, restrict flow
or to measure flow rate. The fluid flow follows Bernoulli’s law. Measurements and
calculations for the coefficient of discharge can be done with water only, or the fluid
properties can be varied by changing the surface tension and/or viscosity of the fluids. The
objective of the experiment was concluded and learnt the importance of coefficient of
discharge. Future work could investigate fluids draining from shaped containers.

REFERENCES

[1] Ashley Hicks, William Slaton, “Determining the Coefficient of Discharge for a Draining
Container”, The Physics Teacher 52, 43 (2014)

[2] Tech-Science, https://www.tec-science.com/mechanics/gases-and-liquids/discharge-

outflow-liquid-speed-torricellis-law/

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APPENDIX

Head, h Head, h Head, h Avg. Avg. Sqrt(h) -

Time Time Time Time Sqrt(h) Sqrt(h_fit)
(Run 1) (Run 2) (Run 3) Head Head Sqrt(h_fit)
min cm min cm min seconds cm cm m
0 30.5 0 30.5 0 0 30.5 29.5 0.2950 0.5431 0.5381 0.0050
1 26.9 1 25.9 1 60 25.9 25 0.2500 0.5000 0.4961 0.0039
2 21.9 2 21.7 2 120 21.6 20.73 0.2073 0.4553 0.4541 0.0012
3 18.1 3 17.8 3 180 17.7 16.87 0.1687 0.4107 0.4121 -0.0014
4 14.4 4 14.2 4 240 14.1 13.23 0.1323 0.3637 0.3701 -0.0064
5 11.2 5 11 5 300 11 10.07 0.1007 0.3173 0.3281 -0.0108
6 8.3 6 8.2 6 360 8.1 7.2 0.0720 0.2683 0.2861 -0.0178
7 6.1 7 5.9 7 420 5.9 4.97 0.0497 0.2229 0.2441 -0.0212
8 4.3 8 4.2 8 480 4.1 3.2 0.0320 0.1789 0.2021 -0.0232
9 2.9 9 2.9 9 540 2.9 1.9 0.0190 0.1378 0.1601 -0.0223
10 2.1 10 2 10 600 2 1.03 0.0103 0.1015 0.1181 -0.0166
11 1.8 11 1.8 11 660 1.8 0.8 0.0080 0.0894 0.0761 0.0133

Diameter of the Outlet (orifice/hole) = 1.1 cm

Cross-sectional Area of the Orifice, Ao = 0.95033 cm2

Cross-sectional Area of the Tank, AT = 2134.44 cm2

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