A new pressure drop model for flow-through orifice plates

This study was carried out to seek a suitable model to describe flow throug h orifices. The model of developing flow through short ducts was found to b e adequate. There were two free parameters in the model equation involving the normalized pressure drop and Reynolds number. Experiments were performe d using two Plexiglas tanks separated by an orifice. The liquid level heigh t variation with time was recorded. A unique parametric estimation techniqu e was used to determine the two free parameters from the dynamic liquid lev el data. It was found that direct use of the experimental data (liquid leve l heights) is the best option in correlating the experimental data with the model. The correlation fits well with the present and literature experimen tal data quite well. It was found that the variation of the pressure drop w ith the flow rate is linear when the flow is weak, where the orifice Reynol ds number is less 10. When the flow is strong, the ratio of the pressure dr op to the flow rate becomes linearly related to the flow rate. These two li mits are identical to those for flow in porous media.