1.

1 Objective:
 To investigate the validity of Bernoulli’s equation when applied to the steady flow of water
in a tapered duct.
 To draw a graph between total head and volume flow rate.

1.2 Introduction:
Bernoulli’s theorem assumes that the flow is frictionless, steady, and incompressible. These assumptions
are also based on the laws of conservation of mass and energy.  Thus, the input mass and energy for a
given control volume are equal to the output mass and energy:
Qin = Qout
Ein = Eout

These two laws and the definition of work and pressure are the basis for Bernoulli’s theorem and
can be expressed as follows for any two points located on the same streamline in the flow:
2 2
P1 v 1 P v
+ + z 1= 2 + 2 + z 2 …..... (2)
ρg 2 g ρg 2 g
Where:
P: pressure,
g: acceleration due to gravity,
v: fluid velocity, and
z: vertical elevation of the fluid.
In this experiment, since the duct is horizontal, the difference in height can be disregarded, i.e., z 1=z2
Manometers tapped into the duct measure the hydrostatic pressure (P) along the flow. The pressure head
(h), thus, is calculated as:
P
h= … (3)
ρg
Therefore, Bernoulli’s equation for the test section can be written as:
2 2
v v
h1 + 1 =h2 + 2 ….. (4)
2g 2g
2
v
In equation 4,  is called the velocity head (hd).
2g
The total head (ht) may be measured by the traversing hypodermic probe. This probe
is inserted into the duct with its end-hole facing the flow so that the flow becomes
stagnant locally at this end thus:
 2
ht =h +  v … (5)
2g

The conservation of energy or the Bernoulli’s equation can be expressed as:

ht1 = ht2 … (6)
The flow velocity is measured by collecting a volume of the fluid (V) over a time period (t). The flow rate
is calculated as:
V
Q= …. (7)
t
The velocity of flow at any section of the duct with a cross-sectional area is determined as:
Q
v= … (8)
t
For an incompressible fluid, conservation of mass through the test section should be also satisfied
(Equation 1a), i.e.
A1v1 = A2v2… (9)

1.3 Methodology:
In this experiment, the validity of Bernoulli’s equation will be verified with the use of a tapered duct
(venturi system) connected with manometers to measure the pressure head and total head at known points
along the flow.

1.3.1 Experimental setup:

 Place the apparatus on the hydraulics bench, and ensure that the outflow tube is positioned above
the volumetric tank to facilitate timed volume collections.
 Level the apparatus base by adjusting its feet. (A spirit level is attached to the base for this
purpose.) For accurate height measurement from the manometers, the apparatus must be
horizontal.
 Install the test section with the 14° tapered section converging in the flow direction. If the test
section needs to be reversed, the total head probe must be retracted before releasing the mounting
couplings.
 Connect the apparatus inlet to the bench flow supply, close the bench valve and the apparatus
flow control valve, and start the pump. Gradually open the bench valve to fill the test section with
water.
 The following steps should be taken to purge air from the pressure tapping points and
manometers:
 Close both the bench valve and the apparatus flow control valve.
 Remove the cap from the air valve, connect a small tube from the air valve to the volumetric tank,
and open the air bleed screw.
  Open the bench valve and allow flow through the manometers to purge all air from them, then
tighten the air bleed screw and partly open the bench valve and the apparatus flow control valve.
 Open the air bleed screw slightly to allow air to enter the top of the manometers (you may need to
adjust both valves to achieve this), and re-tighten the screw when the manometer levels reach a
convenient height. The maximum flow will be determined by having a maximum (h 1) and
minimum (h5) manometer readings on the baseboard.
 If needed, the manometer levels can be adjusted by using an air pump to pressurize them. This
can be accomplished by attaching the hand pump tube to the air bleed valve, opening the screw,
and pumping air into the manometers.  Close the screw, after pumping, to retain the pressure in
the system.
 Take readings of manometers h1 to h6 when the water level in the manometers is steady. The total
pressure probe should be retracted from the test section during this reading.
 Measure the total head by traversing the total pressure probe along the test section from h 1 to h6.
 Measure the flow rate by a timed volume collection. To do that, close the ball valve and use a
stopwatch to measure the time it takes to accumulate a known volume of fluid in the tank, which
is read from the sight glass. You should collect fluid for at least one minute to minimize timing
errors. You may repeat the flow measurement twice to check for repeatability. Be sure that the
total pressure probe is retracted from the test section during this measurement.
 Reduce the flow rate to give the head difference of about 50 mm between manometers 1 and 5
(h1-h5). This is the minimum flow experiment. Measure the pressure head, total head, and flow.
 Repeat the process for one more flow rate, with the (h 1-h5) difference approximately halfway
between those obtained for the minimum and maximum flows. This is the average flow
experiment.
 Reverse the test section (with the 21° tapered section converging in the flow direction) in order to
observe the effects of a more rapidly converging section. Ensure that the total pressure probe is
fully withdrawn from the test section, but not pulled out of its guide in the downstream coupling.
Unscrew the two couplings, remove the test section and reverse it, then re-assemble it by
tightening the couplings.
 Perform three sets of flow, and conduct pressure and flow measurements as above.

1.3.2 Apparatus:
The following equipment is required to complete the demonstration of the Bernoulli equation experiment:

 F1-10 hydraulics bench,

 F1-15 Bernoulli’s apparatus test equipment, and
 A stopwatch for timing the flow measurement.
 Fig 1.1: Armfield F1-15 Bernoulli’s apparatus test equipment

1.4 Observation and calculations:

Volume of Volume Flow Area of the Dynamic

water(V) Time(t) Rate(Q) Duct Velocity Static Head Head Total Head
(m3) (s) (m3/s) (m 2) (m/s) (m) (m) (m)
0.156692 0.001251 0.267251
0.0004909 0.266
0.507053 0.013104 0.259104
0.0001517 0.246
0.001 13 0.00007692 0.703108 0.025197 0.253197
0.0001094 0.228
0.855617 0.037313 0.242313
0.0000899 0.205
0.979873 0.048937 0.203937
0.0000785 0.155

Volume Time(t) Volume Area of the Velocity Static Head Dynamic Total Head
Collected Flow Rate Duct Head
 (V) (Q)
(m )
3
(s) (m3/s) (m2) (m/s) (m) (m) (m)
0.000491 0.224078 0.296 0.002559 0.298559
0.000152 0.725115 0.259 0.026799 0.285799
0.001 9.13 0.00011 0.000109 1.005484 0.224 0.051529 0.275529
0.000090 1.223582 0.178 0.076307 0.254307
0.000079 1.401274 0.147 0.100080 0.247080

Volume of Volume Flow Area of the Dynamic

water(V) Time(t) Rate(Q) Duct Velocity Static Head Head Total Head
(m )
3
(s) (m /s)
3
(m 2 ¿ (m/s) (m) (m) (m)
0.0004909 0.203 0.27 0.00211 0.2721
0.0001517 0.659 0.242 0.02214 0.26414
0.001 10 0.0001 0.0001094 0.914 0.216 0.04258 0.2585
0.0000899 1.112 0.185 0.06306 0.2480
0.0000785 1.273 0.165 0.08271 0.2477

Volume of Volume Flow Area of the Dynamic

water(V) Time(t) Rate(Q) Duct Velocity Static Head Head Total Head
2
(m )
3
(s) (m /s)
3
(m ) (m/s) (m) (m) (m)
0.0004909 0.154 0.248 0.0012 0.249
0.0001517 0.498 0.230 0.0126 0.242
0.001 13.24 0.0000755 0.0001094 0.6901 0.213 0.0242 0.237
0.0000899 0.840 0.193 0.0363 0.229
0.0000785 0.962 0.178 0.0472 0.225

Volume Volume
Area of the Static Dynamic
of Time(t) Flow Velocity Total Head
Duct Head Head
water(V) Rate(Q)
(m3) (s) (m3/s) (m) (m/s) (m) (m) (m)
0.001 13.06 0.0000766 0.0004909 0.1560 0.23 0.0012 0.2312
0.001 13.06 0.0000766 0.0001517 0.5047 0.219 0.0130 0.2320
0.001 13.06 0.0000766 0.0001094 0.6999 0.207 0.0250 0.2320
0.001 13.06 0.0000766 0.0000899 0.8517 0.194 0.0370 0.2310
0.001 13.06 0.0000766 0.0000785 0.9754 0.188 0.0485 0.2365
 Chart Title
0.3

0.25

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
1 2 3 4 5

Total head(h) Volume flow rate (Q)

1.4 Conclusion:
 From the observation we examined the faster the flow rate, the lower the pressure will be
and for the slower flow rate, the pressure would be high.
 We demonstrated the experiment based on Bernoulli’s principle, which provides a relation
between pressure, velocity, and height/elevation for steady and incompressible flow.
 We performed the experiment to check the validity of Bernoulli’s equation and concluded
that for a specified period and at a given length, the volume passing through the pipe was
the same, and thus pressure was reduced consequently.
 In addition, the sum of the static head (Pressure energy), velocity head (kinetic energy), and
elevation head (potential energy) was proved to be constant for a steady flow of given
incompressible fluid.