Ken McFarland
Pascal Matengo
Lab Overview
Measure flow of water using three
different flow meters
 Measure flow manually to obtain actual
flow rate
 Use known flow rates and meter reading
to construct calibration curves for each
meter
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Lab Purpose
Gain experience with calibration curves
 Familiarization with flow meters
 Gain additional experience with LabView
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Rotameter
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Simplest type
Operator read
Height of bob
corresponds to rate
of flow
Height * Constant =
Flow Rate
Our constant was
C’m=113
Orifice Plate
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Constricts flow to
create pressure
differential between
two sides of plate
Pressure differential
is proportional to
flow rate
Create calibration
curve as with
Rotameter
Magnetic Flow Meter
Most sophisticated meter
 Easily computer monitored
 Displays flow rate as a percent of the
maximum measureable flow rate
 Percent is displayed visually on the
meter, and as a voltage that is
monitored via computer

Magnetic Flow Meter VI

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Top is raw voltage
VI takes voltage
from meter and
multiplies it by
conversion factor
Final output is flow
rate in kg/s
Bottom is final VI
Max flow rate was
2.11 kg/s
Conclusions
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This lab
demonstrated how
to use Rotameter
and Magnetic flow
rate meters
Found constants to
relate meter
readings to flow
rates
Learned to create
calibration curves
Recommendations
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Read the lab
beforehand
Think about how to
do lab
Teamwork
Insure all meters are
working correctly