Effect of conical angle on the hydraulic properties of orifice plate flows: A numerical approach

Abstract

Orifice flowmeters are widely used in industry due to their simple design, ruggedness, and easy installation. However, high-pressure losses, measurement accuracy, and long pipe length requirements are still significant concerns. Typically, conical entry orifice plates at a 45-degree conical angle are recommended by orifice standards, especially for low Reynolds numbers instead of the sharp-edged orifice plates, which pose stability. The primary goal here is to develop the conical entry orifice plates further over a broader range of Reynolds numbers. In this case, a 45-degree conical angle may seem questionable since the optimization of conical angles has not been studied so far. To clarify that point and reach the new technical data about the conical entry orifice plates, orifice plates in different orifice diameter ratios (0.4, 0.5, 0.63) and beveled with different conical angles (15°, 30°, 45°) were tested numerically through water flow simulations inside a pipe with an inner diameter of 50.8 mm at different Reynolds numbers (5000,18,400, 91,100, 240,000).According to the analysis made, the 30-degree conical angle orifice plate was the best in reducing pressure losses, resulting in pressure losses 37–52% less than that of sharp-edged orifice plates in the min-max range. Furthermore, it reduced the pressure losses by 13–21 % more than that of the 45-degree conical angle. These last outcomes indicate that current orifice standards needs a modification into the recommended conical angles. Through these findings, pressure losses in multi-hole plate flow conditioners can be reduced considerably when the holes are beveled at the 30-degree conical angle.Also in the study, the axial characteristic lengths relevant to recirculation region, flow recovery and vena contracta were predicted approximately, along with the derived numerical correlations resulting with constants. Moreover, the effect of orifice plates exposed to an upstream distorted velocity profile on orifice flows was tested numerically. According to this evaluation, the lowest measurement errors were observed at the 30-degree conical angle orifice plate, about 30–70 % less than that of the sharp-edged orifice plate in the min-max range.