7.

6 Flow Measurement by Drag Effects 331

100◦ F is probably the stagnation temperature. The pressure would probably be measured by a
static tap in the side of the pipe upstream from the nozzle so that a static-pressure measurement
is most likely the one which will be available. If the upstream pipe diameter is large enough,
the static pressure will be very nearly equal to the stagnation pressure, and the error in the
above calculation will be small. Let us examine the above situation, assuming that the 300 psia
is a static-pressure measurement. The mass flow upstream is
p1s
ṁ = A1 u1 [a]
RT1s
where the subscript s denotes static properties. The velocity upstream may be written in terms
of the stagnation temperature as
 
u1 = 2gc cp T10 − T1s [b]

Combining Eqs. (a) and (b), we have

 
p1s
ṁ = A1 2gc cp T10 − T1s [c]
RT1s
Taking p1s = 300 psia and T10 = 100◦ F = 560◦ R, we may solve Eq. (c) for T1s . The result is
T1s ≈ 560◦ R [d]

or the upstream velocity is so small that the stagnation properties are very nearly equal to the
static properties. This result may be checked by calculating the upstream velocity from Eq. (a)
using the result from Eq. (d). We obtain
u1 = 14.1 ft/s (4.3 m/s)
The pressure difference (p10 − p1s ) corresponding to this velocity would be only 0.031 psia,
while the temperature difference (T10 − T1s ) would be 0.017◦ F. Both of these values are
negligible. It may be noted, however, that if the upstream pipe diameter were considerably
smaller, say, 1.0-in diameter, it might be necessary to correct for a difference between the
measured static pressure and the stagnation pressure that must be used in Eq. (7.24).

7.6 Flow Measurement by Drag Effects

Rotameter
The rotameter is a very commonly used flow-measurement device and is shown
schematically in Fig. 7.16. The flow enters the bottom of the tapered vertical tube and
causes the bob or “float” to move upward. The bob will rise to a point in the tube such
that the drag forces are just balanced by the weight and buoyancy forces. The position
of the bob in the tube is then taken as an indication of the flow rate. The device is
sometimes called an area meter because the elevation of the bob is dependent on the
annular area between it and the tapered glass tube; however, the meter operates on
the physical principle of drag so that we choose to classify it in this category. A force
balance on the bob gives
g g
Fd + ρf Vb = ρb Vb [7.25]
gc gc

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 332 C H A P T E R 7 • Flow Measurement

um

Bob

Tapered
tube

Flow

Figure 7.16 Schematic of a rotameter.

where ρf and ρb are the densities of the fluid and bob, Vb is the total volume of the
bob, g is the acceleration of gravity, and Fd is the drag force, which is given by
ρf u2m
Fd = Cd Ab [7.26]
2gc
Cd is a drag coefficient, Ab is the frontal area of the bob, and um is the mean flow
velocity in the annular space between the bob and the tube.
Combining Eqs. (7.25) and (7.26) gives
  1/2
1 2gVb ρb
um = −1 [7.27]
Cd Ab ρf
  1/2
or 1 2gVb ρb
Q = Aum = A −1 [7.28]
C d Ab ρf
where A is the annular area and is given by
π
A = [(D + ay)2 − d 2 ] [7.29]
4
D is the diameter of the tube at inlet, d is the maximum bob diameter, y is the vertical
distance from the entrance, and a is a constant indicating the tube taper.
The drag coefficient is dependent on the Reynolds number and hence on the fluid
viscosity; however, special bobs may be used that have an essentially constant drag
coefficient, and thus offer the advantage that the meter reading will be essentially
independent of viscosity. It may be noted that for many practical meters the quadratic
area relation given by Eq. (7.29) becomes nearly linear for actual dimensions of the
tube and bob that are used. Assuming such a linear relation, the equation for mass
flow would become

ṁ = C1 y (ρb − ρf )ρf [7.30]

where C1 is now an appropriate meter constant.

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 7.6 Flow Measurement by Drag Effects 333

For flow of a gas

p
ρf =
RT
and for a bob density ρb  ρf ,
 1/2
−1/2 RT
ṁ ≈ (ρf ) = [7.30a]
p
As noted before, it is common practice to rate gas flowmeters in terms of scfm or
sccm. For rotameters their rating is usually in scfm of full scale. To determine the
mass flow under inlet conditions other that 70◦ F and 1 atm, one must use a correction
to both the relation in Eq. (7.30a) as well as a conversion to mass flow from volume
flow, which is necessary to convert Eq. (7.28) to Eq. (7.30).

AIRFLOW IN A ROTAMETER A rotameter is used for airflow measurement and has a Example 7.5
rating of 8 scfm for full scale. The bob density has ρb  ρf . Calculate the mass rate of flow
for inlet conditions of 80 psig and 100◦ F with a meter reading of 64 percent. The barometric
pressure is 750 mmHg.
Solution
For the barometric pressure 750 mmHg = 14.5 psia. The inlet conditions are therefore

T = 100◦ F = 560◦ R
p = 80 psig + 14.5 = 94.5 psia

If the inlet were at standard conditions, the volume flow would be

Q = (8)(64%) = 5.12 scfm [a]

This value must be corrected because the measurement is made at other than standard
conditions.
(94.5)(530)
Qcorr = (5.12) = 31.15 scfm [b]
(14.7)(560)
The corresponding mass flow at 70◦ F and 14.7 psia is
pQ (14.7)(144)(31.15)
ṁ = = = 2.332 lbm/min [c]
RT (53.35)(530)
In Eq. (7.30a) the meter constant C1 takes into account a conversion of volume flow to mass
flow at standard conditions, but not an allowance for variation of ρf from standard conditions.
So, we multiply the value in (c) by the pressure and temperature ratios to obtain
 1/2
(560)(14.7)
ṁcorr = (2.232) = 0.9454 lbm/min
(530)(94.5)

It is frequently advantageous to have a rotameter that gives an indication that is

independent of fluid density; that is, we wish to have
∂ṁ
=0
∂ρf

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