Different Types of Orifice Plates
Of all the pressure-based flow elements in existence, the most common is the orifice plate. This is simply a metal plate with a hole in the middle for fluid to flow through. Orifice plates are typically sandwiched between two flanges of a pipe joint, allowing for easy installation and removal:
The point where the fluid flow profile constricts to a minimum cross-sectional area after flowing through the orifice is called the vena contracta, and it is the area of minimum fluid pressure. The vena contracta corresponds to the narrow throat of a venturi tube.
The precise location of the vena contracta for an orifice plate installation will vary with flow rate, and also with the beta ratio (β) of the orifice plate, defined as the ratio of bore diameter (d) to inside pipe diameter (D): β = d/D
The simplest design of orifice plate is the square-edged, concentric orifice. This type of orifice plate is manufactured by machining a precise, straight hole in the middle of a thin metal plate. Looking at a side view of a square-edged concentric orifice plate reveals sharp edges (90o corners) at the hole:
Square-edged orifice plates may be installed in either direction, since the orifice plate “appears” exactly the same from either direction of fluid approach. In fact, this allows square-edged orifice plates to be used for measuring bidirectional flow rates (where the fluid flow direction reverses itself from time to time).
A text label printed on the “paddle” of any orifice plate customarily identifies the upstream side of that plate, but in the case of the square-edged orifice plate it does not matter.
The purpose of having a square edge on the hole in an orifice plate is to minimize contact with the fast-moving moving fluid stream going through the hole. Ideally, this edge will be knife-sharp.
If the orifice plate is relatively thick (1/8 or an inch or more), it may be necessary to bevel the downstream side of the hole to further minimize contact with the fluid stream:
Looking at the side-view of this orifice plate, the intended direction of flow is left-to-right, with the sharp edge facing the incoming fluid stream and the bevel providing a non-contact outlet for the fluid.
Beveled orifice plates are obviously uni-directional, and must be installed with the paddle text facing upstream.
Other square-edged orifice plates exist to address conditions where gas bubbles or solid particles may be present in liquid flows, or where liquid droplets or solid particles may be present in gas flows.
The first of this type is called the eccentric orifice plate, where the hole is located off-center to allow the undesired portions of the fluid to pass through the orifice rather than build up on the upstream face:
For gas flows, the hole should be offset downward, so any liquid droplets or solid particles may easily pass through. For liquid flows, the hole should be offset upward to allow gas bubbles to pass through and offset downward to allow heavy solids to pass through.
The second off-center orifice plate type is called the segmental orifice plate, where the hole is not circular but rather just a segment of a concentric circle:
As with the eccentric orifice plate design, the segmental hole should be offset downward in gas flow applications and either upward or downward in liquid flow applications depending on the type of undesired material(s) in the flowstream.
An alternative to offsetting or re-shaping the bore hole of an orifice plate is to simply drill a small hole near the edge of the plate, flush with the inside diameter of the pipe, allowing undesired substances to pass through the plate rather than collect on the upstream side.
If such a hole is oriented upward to pass vapor bubbles, it is called a vent hole. If the hole is oriented downward to pass liquid droplets or solids, it is called a drain hole.
Vent and drain holes are useful when the concentration of these undesirable substances is not significant enough to warrant either an eccentric or segmental orifice:
The addition of a vent or drain hole should have negligible impact on the performance of an orifice plate due to its small size relative to the main bore. If the quantity of undesirable material in the flowstream (bubbles, droplets, or solids) is excessive, an eccentric or segmental orifice plate might be a better choice.
Some orifice plates employ non-square-edged holes for the purpose of improving performance at low Reynolds number values, where the effects of fluid viscosity are more apparent.
These orifice plate types employ rounded- or conical-entrance holes in an effort to minimize the effects of fluid viscosity.
Experiments have shown that decreased Reynolds number causes the flowstream to not contract as much when traveling through an orifice, thus limiting fluid acceleration and decreasing the amount of differential pressure produced by the orifice plate.
However, experiments have also shown that decreased Reynolds number in a venturi-type flow element causes an increase in differential pressure due to the effects of friction against the entrance cone walls.
By manufacturing an orifice plate in such a way that the hole exhibits “venturi-like” properties (i.e. a dull edge where the fast-moving fluid stream has more contact with the plate), these two effects tend to cancel each other, resulting in an orifice plate that maintains consistent accuracy at lower flow rates and/or higher viscosities than the simple square-edged orifice.
Two common non-square-edge orifice plate designs are the quadrant-edge and conical-entrance orifices. The quadrant-edge is shown first:
The conical-entrance orifice plate looks like a beveled square-edge orifice plate installed backwards, with flow entering the conical side and exiting the square-edged side:
Here, is it vitally important to pay attention to the paddle’s text label. This is the only sure indication of which direction an orifice plate needs to be installed.
One can easily imagine an instrument technician mistaking a conical-entrance orifice plate for a square-edged, beveled orifice plate and installing it backward!
Several standards exist for pressure tap locations. Ideally, the upstream pressure tap will detect fluid pressure at a point of minimum velocity, and the downstream tap will detect pressure at the vena contracta (maximum velocity).
In reality, this ideal is never perfectly achieved. An overview of the most popular tap locations for orifice plates is shown in the following illustration:
Flange taps are the most popular tap location for orifice meter runs on large pipes in the United States. Flanges may be manufactured with tap holes pre-drilled and finished before the flange is even welded to the pipe, making this a very convenient pressure tap configuration.
Most of the other tap configurations require drilling into the pipe after installation, which is not only labor-intensive, but may possibly weaken the pipe at the locations of the tap holes.
Vena contracta taps offer the greatest differential pressure for any given flow rate, but require precise calculations to properly locate the downstream tap position. Radius taps are an approximation of vena contracta taps for large pipe sizes (one-half pipe diameter downstream for the low-pressure tap location).
An unfortunate characteristic of both these taps is the requirement of drilling through the pipe wall. Not only does this weaken the pipe, but the practical necessity of drilling the tap holes in the installed location rather than in a controlled manufacturing environment means there is considerable room for installation error.
Corner taps must be used on small pipe diameters where the vena contracta is so close to the downstream face of the orifice plate that a downstream flange tap would sense pressure in the highly turbulent region (too far downstream).
Corner taps obviously require special (i.e. expensive) flange fittings, which is why they tend to be used only when necessary. Care should be taken to avoid measuring downstream pressure in the highly turbulent region following the vena contracta.
This is why the pipe tap (also known as full-flow tap) standard calls for a downstream tap location eight pipe diameters away from the orifice: to give the flow stream room to stabilize for more consistent pressure readings.
Wherever the taps are located, it is vitally important that the tap holes be completely flush with the inside wall of the pipe or flange. Even the smallest recess or burr left from drilling will cause measurement errors, which is why tap holes are best drilled in a controlled manufacturing environment rather that at the installation site where the task will likely be performed by nonexperts.
For relatively low flow rates, an alternative arrangement is the integral orifice plate. This is where a small orifice plate directly attaches to the differential pressure-sensing element, eliminating the need for impulse lines.
Even smaller integral orifices exist for the measurement of very low flow rates, another type of integral orifice is available. This style uses the pass-through nature of a typical differential pressure transmitter’s capsule flanges to advantage. Note the paths of fluid flow, as well as the unusual orientation of the three-valve manifold, in these two example illustrations:
In both examples, the third hand valve serves the purpose of bypassing process fluid flow rather than equalizing both ports of the differential pressure transmitter. Process fluid actually flows through at least one chamber of the DP transmitter’s body.
Clearly, this kind of integral orifice plate is practical only for very low rates of flow, typically where the process flow line is no larger than the size of the pressure ports on the transmitter’s body.
The task of properly sizing an orifice plate for any given application is complex enough to recommend the use of special orifice sizing computer software provided by orifice plate manufacturers.
There are a number of factors to consider in orifice plate sizing, and these software packages account for all of them. Best of all, the software provided by manufacturers is often linked to data for that manufacturer’s product line, helping to assure installed results in close agreement with predictions.
In the days before ubiquitous personal computers and the Internet, some orifice plate manufacturers provided customers with paper “slide rule” calculators to help them select appropriate orifice plate sizes from known process parameters.