Venturi meter is a device used to measure the flow of liquid in a pipe.

CONSTRUCTION

Venturi meters are generally made of cast iron bronze or steel. There are five major sections
of a venturi meter. First is the upstream section which connects directly in line with the pipe
by flanges. this section also houses the high-pressure tap and that pressure tap is located
about one half (1/2) the length of the diameter, one half (1/2) that length away from this, the
beginning of the converging section.

The second section is the converging section; that's a section in which the pressure energy
begins to be converted into kinetic energy, after that you get into the center section which is
called the throat and it houses the low-pressure tap. The throat is the section in which the
kinetic energy is at its maximum and the pressure is at its minimum.

The next section in the configuration of the venturi meter meter is the diverging column. As
we can see it's a more gradual expansion of the pipe than the converging cone section. The
effect of this coupled with the smooth entry and exit into the downstream helps to increase
the total pressure recovery downstream. It also reduces the total pressure loss in the flow.
This configuration of the venturi meter is an overall improvement in regards to energy loss as
compared to other flow measuring devices such as the orifice plate.

PRINCIPLE & WORKING

A venturi meter consists of a converging diverging pipe section as shown in the figure. To measure
flow rate in a pipe this device can be connected to it. To pressure tappings 1 at the beginning of
converging pipe section and 2 at the neck of venturi meter are used to measure static pressure at
these locations. A U-tube manometer can be used for measuring the differential pressure between 1
& 2. Assume steady flow through the pipe and viscous forces are neglected. Due to the converging
area, velocity of flow increases from 1 to 2 because the mass flow rate remains same at each
location. The goal is to find an expression for flow rate through pipe in terms of p1 and p2, density of
fluid and cross-sectional areas of locations at 1 & 2. For this, consider Bernoulli equation for fluid
flowing from 1 to 2. Assume location 1 & 2 are at same height. This simplifies Bernoulli equation 2 to
equation 1. Let Q be the flow rate through the pipe which is constant at different cross-sections. The
flow rate will be equal to the area and velocity at each location. Combining equation 1, 2 & 3 we can
derive an expression for flow rate in terms of p1 and p2, density of fluid and cross-sectional areas at
locations at 1 & 2.

APPLICATION, INSTALLMENT & COST

Let’s discuss about the application, installment and cost of venturi meter

Starting with application venturi meter has three purposes:

to measure the flow rate

to restrict the flow and
to reduce the pressure of the flowing fluid

Venturi meters can be used reliably for billing and custody transfer. They can be used for
rectangular or circular metering. They can be oriented in any plane and can measure
accurately whether the line fluid is flowing upwards or downwards. Some industrial
applications include aviation. An example would be measuring the speed of air around the
plane. In automotive: to measure the fuel and air distribution in carburettor. Medical: an
example would be to measure the volume flow of blood through vessels and finally chemical
and that's and would be when measuring the flow rate of chemical through pipes.

The venturi meter can be installed in any position suitable to the application. It can be vertical
horizontal or at an angle. To install it the location, need to be determined the straight length
of the pipe must be respected. and in the case of any necessary fittings the flow must be in the
directions indicated by the flow arrow located on the venturi meter. Venturi meter has no
moving parts that requires routine maintenance. there may be some periodic verification or
cleaning of the process line due to the particular process conditions. Venturi should be
included in any scheduled piping inspection for the line in which its installed.

Engineers must consider many factors when choosing what type of meter to use. They may
choose venturi meter when accuracy and permanent pressure loss prevention is critical.

Most engineers use different kind of meters other than venturi because of their low cost and
ease of production. In spite of its high initial cost, the total cost of ownership can still be
favourable because of savings in installation and operating and maintenance cost.
NUMERICAL PROBLEMS:

Now let’s see some numerical problems on Venturimeter.

A venturi meter is connected to a pipe where water is steadily flowing. A U-tube manometer
connected to it shows a differential pressure of two centimeters of Hg. Calculate flow rate through the
pipe. Diameter of pipe and the throat are given. Using the venturi meter flow rate equation derived
from Bernoulli equation and substituting given parameters we can calculate the flow rate through the
pipe.

Consider another problem. A venturi meter is connected to a pipe where air is steadily flowing. A u-
tube manometer connected to it shows a differential pressure of two centimeters of water. calculate
mass flow rate through the pipe. Diameter of pipe and the throat are given. Using the venturi meter
flow rate equation derived from Bernoulli equation and substituting the given parameters we can
calculate the flow rate through the pipe.

A venturi meter is connected to a pipe as shown in Figure. Calculate mass flow rate of air, if the
coefficient of discharge is 0.7. Calculate actual discharge. We will solve this problem in class. In
summary we have seen that a venturi meter is used for flow measurement. The flow rate can be
related to differential pressure across the throat and entry, its area ratio and the density of the fluid
using the Bernoulli equation.

USES:
Now coming to the uses of the venturi meter. Venturi meters are used in industries such as oil
and gas, industrial , aerospace, research applications, and they're used when high pressure
recovery is a requirement. They measure the flow rate of liquids gases and suspended solids
through pipe.

PRONS & CONS

Advantages of using the venturi meter include that it can be easily installed in vertical,
horizontal and inclined positions and the coefficient of discharge is high. Their behaviour can
be predicted perfectly.
Some of the disadvantages is that these are large in size and requires lot of space for them to
install. These cannot be used in pipes that have diameters larger than seven point five
centimetres.