Flow experiment

This page documents the flow experiment in the 3rd year labs. It is used as one of the experiments for the Process Dynamics (CPN 321) component of Laboratory (CLB 321). The sections below lists the equipment currently on the rig, and links to software/manuals concerned with the setup.

Hardware

Experimental setup

The experiment consists of feed tank, from which water is pumped to two cascading tanks. Water flows, due to gravity, from these tanks (through valves) and finally into a collection tank. Water can then be pumped back from the collection tank to the feed tank.

Instruments/Devices

The following instruments and devices are fitted onto the flow experiment;

Instrument/Device	Signal/Connection	Notes
2x Pumps	Operated via NI DAQ
1x Rotameter	Manual reading
3x Pressure transmitters	4-20mA / Connected to NI DAQ	In top tank; range: 0-1bar, Manual
		In lower tank; range: 0-2.5bar.
		In collection tank; currently not working.
National Instruments DAQ	USB connection to PC

Software

The National Instruments DAQ is used to interface to the instruments and to LabView for data-logging. A LabView .vi file is used to operate the experiment. The currently used .vi files as well as previously used files can be found here.