Skip to content
All models

Pressure drop · coefficient · discharge

Incompressible orifice flow

Inputs

User-entered dimensionless discharge coefficient from 0 through 1; this screen does not select it.
User-entered circular orifice diameter.
User-entered circular upstream pipe internal diameter; it must exceed the orifice diameter.
User-entered absolute or gauge pressure on a consistent basis.
User-entered pressure on the same basis as upstream pressure.
User-entered incompressible fluid density at the stated condition.

Results

Incompressible volumetric flow

7.6758

Mass flow

7.6758

kg/s
Orifice mean velocity

3.9093

Stated pressure difference

20,000

Orifice / pipe diameter ratio

0.4902

Q = CdA2√[2(p1−p2)/(ρ(1−β⁴))]; ṁ = ρQ; β = D2/D1

A first-pass number, not a code check, certification, or approval. Read the method and its limits below. What this is and is not.

Nearby: Hydrostatic pressure · Flow continuity · Pipe mean velocity · Bernoulli equation

Method

Formula, when it applies, and when it does not

Calculate incompressible volumetric and mass flow through a sharp-edged orifice-meter geometry using a discharge coefficient.

Q = CdA2√[2(p1−p2)/(ρ(1−β⁴))]; ṁ = ρQ; β = D2/D1

When

  • Incompressible fluid
  • User-entered discharge coefficient
  • Steady pressure difference
  • Circular pipe/orifice geometry

Don’t

  • This is a steady incompressible pressure-drop screen with user-entered discharge coefficient and circular geometry. It excludes gases/compressibility, choked flow, cavitation, viscosity/Reynolds effects, non-Newtonian fluids, temperature change, pulsation, installation requirements, upstream/downstream disturbance, meter calibration, uncertainty, permanent pressure loss, and acceptance/compliance.

ISO 5167 — flow measurement by differential-pressure devices