Draining a Tank through Multiple Orifices: An Improved Lab Experiment in Fluid Mechanics

The junior-level draining of a tank experiment has been given more flexibility by employing sharp-edged, rounded-edge and straight-bore orifices.Steady-state experiments were carried out to determine the discharge coefficients for the orifices, yielding coefficients which ranged from 0.63-0.83.Transient experiments were performed to collect experimental height vs. time measurements that were compared to model data generated from a Bernoulli balance and the measured discharge coefficients.The experimental and model data agreed very well, demonstrating the validity of the procedures used in the experiment and in the development of the model.