Clean 2007, 35 (2), 183 – 185 A. Baylar et al.

183

Ahmet Baylar1
Fahri Ozkan2
Research Article
Mehmet Unsal2
On the Use of Venturi Tubes in Aeration
1
Firat University, Civil Engineering
Department, Elazig, Turkey. The ecological quality of water depends largely on the amount of oxygen that the
2
Firat University, Construction Education water can hold. The higher the level of dissolved oxygen, the better the quality of a
Department, Elazig, Turkey. water system. By measuring dissolved oxygen, scientists determine the quality of
water and health of an ecosystem. Oxygen enters water by entrainment of air bubbles.
Many industrial and environmental processes involve the aeration of a liquid by such
entrainment of air bubbles. Venturi aeration is a method of aeration that has become
popular in recent years. When a minimal amount of differential pressure exists
between the inlet and outlet sides of a venturi tube, a vacuum (air suction) occurs at
the suction holes of the venturi tube. The present paper describes the effect of Rey-
nolds Number, air inlet hole diameter, inlet diameter, pipe length, and angle of pipe
downstream of the venturi tube, on the air injection rate. It is observed from the
results that venturi tubes have high air injection efficiencies. Therefore, venturi tubes
can be used as highly effective aerators in ponds, lakes, fish hatcheries, water treat-
ment plants, etc.
Keywords: Aeration; Air injection; Venturi; Water quality;
Received: November 17, 2006; revised: February 9, 2007; accepted: March 1, 2007
DOI: 10.1002/clen.200600025

1 Introduction
Water quality and its enhancement have a close connection with
the presence of dissolved oxygen. In fact, the oxygen concentration
in water is a prime indicator of the water quality for human use as
well as for aquatic biota. The physical process of oxygen transfer or
oxygen absorption from the atmosphere acts to replenish the oxy-
gen used. This process has been termed re-aeration or aeration.
Many industrial and environmental processes involve the aeration
of a liquid by the entrainment of air bubbles. The aeration efficiency
of different aeration devices has been studied experimentally by a
number of investigators.
Venturi aeration is a method of aeration that has become popular
in recent years. Air that is entrained into the water from the air
holes at the throat portion of a venturi tube is momentarily forced Figure 1. Variation of the Piezometric head for flow through venturi.
downstream in the form of small air bubbles. The dissolution of oxy-
gen into the water results from small air bubbles that are injected.
The dissolution of oxygen into the water is usually greater in sys-
tems with fine bubbles than systems with coarse bubbles. This
2 Air Injection Mechanism in Venturi Tubes
results from the fact that fine bubbles present a greater surface area
to the surrounding water than larger bubbles. Oxygen diffuses into A converging tube is an effective device for converting pressure
the water at the surface, so a large surface area facilitates greater head to velocity head values, while the diverging tube converts velo-
oxygen absorption. city head to pressure head values. The two may be combined to form
Recently, Baylar and Emiroglu [1], Emiroglu and Baylar [2], Baylar a venturi tube, named after Venturi, an Italian, who investigated
et al. [3–7], Bagatur [8], Ozkan et al. [9, 10], and Baylar and Ozkan [11] the principle about 1791. It was applied to the measurement of
have studied the use of venturi tubes in water aeration systems. In water by Clemens Herschel in 1886. As shown in Fig. 1, it consists of
this study, a systematic review was conducted to evaluate the litera- a tube with a constricted throat which produces an increased velo-
ture regarding the air injection rate of venturi tubes. city accompanied by a reduction in pressure, followed by a gradu-
ally diverging portion in which the velocity is transformed back
into pressure with a slight friction loss [12].
Correspondence: Assoc. Prof. Dr. A. Baylar ([email protected]), Firat When a minimal amount of differential pressure exists between
University, Civil Engineering Department, Elazig 23279, Turkey. the inlet and outlet sides of a venturi tube, a vacuum (air suction)

i 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.clean-journal.com

184 A. Baylar et al. Clean 2007, 35 (2), 183 – 185

Figure 3. Schematic representation of the venturi tube experimental

apparatus.

converging cone angle, h1, and the diverging cone angle, h2, were
218 and 78, respectively. The converging cone angle of 218 and the
diverging cone angle of 78 are values that, according to the ASME
MFC-3M-1989 [13], minimize the head losses for a venturi tube. At
the throat portion of the venturi tubes, two holes with diameters, d,
of 3, 5, 6, and 12 mm were drilled through the wall. The angle of the
pipe downstream of the venturi tube was varied as 08 (horizontal),
Figure 2. Air suction produced by a venturi tube. 458, and 908. The the pipe length downstream was taken as 2.5 m
and 5.0 m. The Reynolds number at the inlet portion of the venturi
tubes was varied between 22000 and 437000.
occurs at the suction holes of the venturi tube (see Fig. 2). When a
pressurized operating (motive) fluid, such as water, enters the ven-
turi tube inlet, it constricts toward the throat portion of the venturi
tube and changes into a high velocity jet stream. The increase in
4 Results
velocity through the throat portion of the venturi tube, as a result The variation in the ratio of the volumetric flow rate of air entering
of the differential pressure, results in a decrease in pressure in the the air holes on the venturi tube to that of water (QV/QW) in the ven-
throat portion. This pressure drop enables air to be injected turi tubes with Reynolds Number is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The
through the suction holes, which is then dynamically entrained values of QV/QW increased with increasing Reynolds Number up to a
into the motive stream. As the jet stream diffuses towards the ven- certain point, and then decreased with further increases of the Rey-
turi tube outlet, the velocity is reduced and reconverted into pres- nolds Number.
sure energy (but at a level lower than the venturi tube inlet pres- It was seen from Fig. 4 that the variation in the air inlet hole dia-
sure). Venturi tubes are high efficient, requiring less than 20% dif- meter affected the value of QV/QW. The values of QV/QW increased
ferential to initiate suction. with increasing the air inlet hole diameter up to a certain point and

3 Experimental Description
The data used in this study were taken from studies conducted by
Baylar et al. [7] and Ozkan et al. [9]. A general view of the experimen-
tal setup used in these studies is presented in Fig. 3. The experimen-
tal setup consisted of a water tank, water pump, flow control valve,
water flowmeter, water feed line, venturi tube, air hood, and release
valve. All experiments were carried out in a 1.8 m3 water tank with
glass-walls (0.75 m wide62.0 m long61.2 m high). The water in the
experimental setup was circulated by a water pump through a
water flowmeter.
When a minimal amount of differential pressure existed between
the venturi inlet and outlet portions, the venturi tubes caused air to
be drawn into the water stream. An air hood for which the plan-
view dimensions were 0.70 m60.75 m, was used to trap the air bub-
bles entering the air holes on the venturi tubes. The air injection
rate, QV, was measured by using an air flowmeter installed on the
air hood surface, as illustrated in Fig. 3.
The venturi tubes used in the experiments were manufactured
from clear plastic material. The inlet and outlet diameters of the
venturi tube, D, were 36, 42, and 54 mm. The ratio of the throat dia-
meter to the inlet diameter of the venturi tube, Dt/D, was taken as Figure 4. Plot of QV/QW versus Re for different values of D and d (L =
0.75. The throat length of the venturi tubes was selected as Dt. The 0.25 m).

i 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.clean-journal.com

Clean 2007, 35 (2), 183 – 185 Venturi Tubes in Aeration 185

There are many advantages of using venturi tubes in water aera-

tion systems. A venturi tube does not require external power to
operate. It does not have any moving parts, which increases its life
and decreases the probability of failure. The venturi tube is usually
constructed of plastic and it is resistant to most chemicals. It
requires minimal operator attention and maintenance. Since the
device is very simple, its cost is low compared to other equipment of
similar function and capability. It is easy to adapt to most new or
existing systems, provided that there is sufficient pressure in the
system to create the required pressure differential. Because the ven-
turi tube utilizes a vacuum principle rather than a pressure princi-
ple, the material being handled is never under high pressure in a
concentrated form. This reduces the possibility of caustic chemicals
being sprayed into the air through cracks or breaks in the pipe.

Acknowledgement
The financial support of this work was provided by the Firat Univer-
sity Scientific Research Projects (FUBAP).

Figure 5. Plot of QV/QW versus Re for different values of h and L.

References
then remained constant with further increases of the air inlet hole
diameter. Thus, the results revealed that the air inlet hole diameter [1] A. Baylar, M. E. Emiroglu, Air Entrainment and Oxygen Transfer in a
Venturi, Proc. of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Water & Maritime Engi-
of a venturi tube played a significant role in the values of QV/QW, and
neering, 2003, 156 (WM3), 249 – 255.
there was an optimal air inlet hole diameter of the venturi tube that
[2] M. E. Emiroglu, A. Baylar, Study of the Influence of Air Holes along a
maximized the air injection. Moreover, it was observed from the Length of Convergent-Divergent Passage of a Venturi Device on Aera-
results that the values of QV/QW increased with an increasing ratio of tion, J Hydraulic Res. 2003, 41 (5), 513 – 520.
the air inlet hole diameter on the venturi tube to the inlet diameter [3] A. Baylar, F. Ozkan, M. Ozturk, Influence of Venturi Cone Angles on
of the venturi tube, d/D. Jet Aeration Systems, Proc. of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Water Man-
It was observed from Fig. 5, that QV/QW decreased with increasing agement, 2005, 158 (WM1), 9 – 16.
pipe length, L, downstream of the venturi tube. The reason for this [4] A. Baylar, M. E. Emiroglu, M. Ozturk, The Development of Aeration
is the decreased pressure differential between the inlet and outlet Performance with Different Typed Nozzles in a Vertical Plunging
sides, as the value of L increased. However, QV/QW increased as the Water Jet System, Int. J. Sci. Technol. 2006, 1 (1), 51 – 63.
angle of the pipe downstream of the venturi tube, h, increased. The [5] A. Baylar, M. C. Aydin, M. Unsal, F. Ozkan, Computational Fluid
primary reason for this is gravity, which can significantly affect the Dynamics Modeling of Air Injection in Venturi Tubes, La Houille
Blance 2007, in press.
flow pattern development and the increased pressure differential
between the inlet and outlet sides, as the pipe inclination is chan- [6] A. Baylar, M. C. Aydin, M. Unsal, F. Ozkan, CFD Analysis to Predict
Optimal Air Inlet Hole Diameter of a Venturi Tube in terms of Air
ged. Injection, Can. J. Civil Eng. 2007, in press.
[7] A. Baylar, F. Ozkan, M. Unsal, Effect of Air Inlet Hole Diameter of a
Venturi Tube on Air Injection, J. Environ. Sci. 2007, in press.
5 Concluding Remarks [8] T. Bagatur, Minimal Conditions for Venturi Aeration of Water Flows,
Proc. of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Water Management 2005, 158
When a minimal amount of differential pressure existed between
(WM3), 127 – 130.
the inlet and outlet sides of a venturi tube, air suction occurred at
[9] F. Ozkan, M. Ozturk, A. Baylar, Experimental Investigations of Air
the air inlet holes of the venturi tube. The results revealed that the and Liquid Injection by Venturi Tubes, Water Environ. J. 2006, 20 (3),
air inlet hole diameter of venturi tubes plays a significant role in air 114 – 122.
injection. There was an optimal air inlet hole diameter of the ven- [10] F. Ozkan, A. Baylar, M. Tugal, The Performance of Two Phase Flow
turi tube that maximized air injection. Moreover, the results Systems in Pond Aeration, Int. J. Sci. Technol. 2006, 1 (1), 65 – 74.
revealed that air injection decreased with increasing pipe length [11] A. Baylar, F. Ozkan, Applications of the Venturi Principle to Water
downstream of a venturi tube. However, air injection increased as Aeration Systems, Environ. Fluid Mechan. 2006, 6 (4), 341 – 357.
the angle of the pipe downstream of a venturi tube increased. The [12] R. L. Daugherty, J. B. Franzini, E. J. Finnemore, Fluid Mechanics with
results indicated that venturi tubes had high air injection efficien- Engineering Applications, McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, 1985, 418 – 421.
cies. As a result, venturi tubes can be used as highly effective aera- [13] ASME Standard MFC-3M-1989, Measurement of Fluid Flow in Pipes Using
tors in water aeration systems. Orifice, Nozzle and Venturi, ASME, Reaffirmed 1995.

i 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.clean-journal.com