THE UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM

COLLAGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (COET)

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND MINING ENGINEERING

MINING LAB 1 ( MN 350)

NAME OF STUDENT: MWAKAJABA MARTHA M

REGISTRATION NO: 2017-04-06942

PRACTICAL TITTLE: MEASUREMENT OF AIR VELOCITY VENTILATION IN DUCT

SUPERVISOR: Mr. ENOS MASOLWA

PRACTICAL DATE: 26th JUNE 2020

SUBMISSION DATE: 10th JULY 2020

PRACTICAL VENUE: MINING LABORATORY

GROUP NO: THREE

 ABSTRACT:
The experiment was done to determine the velocity of the moving in a duct. Different apparatus
such as water manometer and pitot tube was provided. The use of a pitot tube was due to its
ability to measure higher velocity moving air from a range of 5 to 50 (HARTMAN, 1997).

The velocity was recorded by the use of a water manometer where different readings were taken
by varying the cross section area of the ventilation duct in a range of 100%, 75%,50%, 25% and
full closed 0%

The results obtained showed that the velocity head increases with the increase of the cross
sectional area of the pipe hence the lager the flow velocity of the air which indicates a linear
relationship between the cross sectional area of the duct and the quantity of air flow

It was recommended that possible errors should be minimized in doing of the experiment to
come up with accurate results which will be used in planning processes.

ii
Contents
ABSTRACT:....................................................................................................................................2
1.0 INTRODUCTION:.....................................................................................................................5
2.0 THEORETICAL PRINCIPLE:..................................................................................................6
3.0 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE AND EQUIPMENT:..........................................................7
3.1 EQUIPMENT PROVIDED....................................................................................................7
3.2 EXPERIMENTAL SET UP:.................................................................................................7
3.3 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES:......................................................................................7
4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:...............................................................................................8
4.1 RESULTS...............................................................................................................................8
4.2 RESULTS DISCUSSION:.....................................................................................................9
4.3 SOURCES OF ERRORS:.......................................................................................................9
4.4 HOW TO MINIMIZE ERRORS:...........................................................................................9
5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.......................................................................10
5.1 CONCLUSSION:.................................................................................................................10
5.2 RECCOMANDATIONS:....................................................................................................10
APPENDIX:...................................................................................................................................11
APPENDIX A: RAW DATA TABLE...........................................................................................11
NOMENCLATURE:......................................................................................................................11
BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................................................................................12

iii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Air flow in pipes experimental set up............................................................................................7

LIST OF TABLES
Table1: Table of velocity pressure

Table 2:Table of velocity pressure and maximum velocity

Table 3: Table of Effective area, Maximum velocity, Average velocity and quantity of air flow

iv
1.0 INTRODUCTION:

Ventilation in mining is referred as the process of controlling the circulation of air in the mine in
terms quantity and direction . Ventilation is important since its provide human comfort , used in
production process to dilute contaminants in working headings and provide a safe working
environment (HARTMAN, 1997). Moving air velocity can be determined by a pitot tube in
combination with a water manometer since it is capable of measuring high velocities of range
from 5 to 50 m/s (McPherson).

The centrifugal pump was provided which was used to suck air from the surrounding and creating
motion and pressure inside the duct. The pitot is placed at the middle of the duct and directed to
the direction of the air flow which led to difference in pressure readings of the manometer that
provided velocity pressure.

The knowledge of measuring velocity of a moving air in a duct helps in ventilation planning so as
to determine the required quantity of air flow which needs to be supplied to the mine with respect
to the quantity of power required and the cost of consuming such power.

The discussion of different theories involving the principles of fluid flow in pipes are closely
discussed from the derivation made from Bernoulli's equation. The experimental set up was
provided as per figure 1. Data obtained from the experiment lead to several findings and
discussion of the results such as the linearly relationship between the cross sectional area pipe
and the quantity of air flow in the mine which led to making of a conclusion that the
successfulness of the experiment depends largely on the number of errors occurred during the
experiment hence there is a need for error minimization during the experiment

1
2.0 THEORETICAL PRINCIPLE:

Pitot tube is an instrument used to measure total ,static and velocity pressure of the moving fluid
which consist of L shaped concentric tubes which are directed to the direction of the air flow; The
inner tube is used to measure the total pressure (Pt) and the outer tube is connected by small
holes drilled at right angle hence perpendicular to the direction of the air flow and used to
measure static pressure (Ps) (McPherson).

Velocity measurement is enabled by connecting the pitot to the two ends of the water manometer
where one is for static pressure and the other for total pressure and the difference between the two
pressures gives velocity head. The velocity is measured at the center of the duct since it is the
place of higher velocity and the average velocity can be obtained by applying a correction factor
to the maximum velocity.

PV =¿ P − P ¿..............................................................................................................(1)
t S

2
ρV
HV = ..................................................................................................................(2)
2

v=
√ 2 Hv
ρ
....................................................................................................................(3)

Q= AV ....................................................................................................................(4)

V av =0.8 V max ..........................................................................................................(5)

Velocity pressure= ρ× g× velocity h ead ....................................................(6)

2
πD
A= .................................................................................................................(7)
4

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3.0 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE AND EQUIPMENT:

3.1 EQUIPMENT PROVIDED.

The following are the equipment provided and used during the experiment

 Ventilation duct connected to centrifugal pump

 Pitot static tube
 Water manometer
 Ruler

3.2 EXPERIMENTAL SET UP:

The set up of the experiment was as per figure 1 provided below

Figure 1: Air flow in pipes experimental set up

3.3 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES:
For accurate values and minimal deviations the following procedures were undertaken during the
experiment.

 The diameter of the duct was measured using a ruler

 Pito tube is inserted in the hole at the top of steel duct and aligned at the middle/center of
the duct facing the direction of the air flow
 Two ends of a water manometer are connected to pitot tube
 The cross section area of the duct was opened 100% full open
 Motor was switched on to allow it to suck air from the surrounding and left for few
minutes to allow the process to stabilize
 The difference in pressure readings was read and recorded from the manometer

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The process was repeated in series of decreasing cross sectional area for the following values
75%,50%,25% and 0%.

4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

4.1 RESULTS
The velocity pressure at each cross sectional area can be calculated from equation (6) and raw
data from Appendix A; given that

m
g=9.81
s
3
ρ=1000 kg/m

Table1: Table of velocity pressure.

cross sectional area velocity head (m) ρ × g × velocity h ead velocity pressure N/m2
(%)
100 0.058 1000 ×9.81 × 0.058 568.98
75 0.043 1000 ×9.81 × 0.043 421.83
50 0.024 1000 ×9.81 × 0.024 235.44
25 0.007 1000 ×9.81 × 0.007 68.67
0 0 1000 ×9.81 × 0 0

Referring equation (3), the velocity in the ventilation duct can be calculated and Referring
equation (5) maximum velocity can also be calculated.

Table 2: Table of velocity pressure and maximum velocities.

√
Size of the W(kg/m3) Hv (N/m2) 2× H v m Vmax (m/s)
opening (%) V= ( )
W s
100 1.2 568.98 30.79 24.63
75 1.2 421.83 26.5 21.2
50 1.2 235.44 19.81 15.85
25 1.2 68.67 10.6 8.48
0 1.2 0 0 0

Table shows the quantity of airflow Q calculated from equation (4) as the product of average
velocity and effective area from equation (5) and (7) respectively for all values of the cross
sectional area where the velocity of the pipe is from appendix B.

A=3.14 ׿ ¿

A=0.00785m2
3
Table 3: Table of Effective area, maximum velocity, average velocity and quantity of air flow

Cross sectional Effective area(m2) Vmax (m/s) Vav =0.8Vmax Q = VavA (m3/s)
−3
area (%) ×10
100% 7.85 24.63 19.704 0.155
75% 0.75 ×0.00785=5.89 21.2 16.96 0.1
50% 0.5 × 0.00785=3.925 15.85 12.68 0.05
25% 0.25 × 0.00785=1.963 8.48 6.784 0.0133
0% 0 0 0 0

4.2 RESULTS DISCUSSION:

As per results obtained from table 3 it indicate that the size of the cross sectional area opened has
a great impact on the velocity head in the duct hence the following findings were observed

 Velocity pressure increases with the increase in the cross sectional area
 The quantity of the air flow into the duct increases with the increase in cross sectional
area

4.3 SOURCES OF ERRORS:

Various errors which occurred during the experiment and led to deviation of the results are such
as

 Improper set up and alignment of the of the pitot tube at the center and parallel to the
direction of air flow
 Non verticality of a water manometer due to lack of a board to hang it
 Difficult in measuring the diameter of the pipe
 parallax error during reading of water manometer values

4.4 HOW TO MINIMIZE ERRORS:

The above errors can be minimized by considering the following

The pitot tube should be set up at the center of the steel pipe

Hard board should be inserted in the laboratory to hang the water manometer

Proper reading of the manometer by taking the reading when the eye is perpendicular to the
reading

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5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 CONCLUSSION:
The experimental results shows that the velocity pressure lies directly proportional to the cross
section area of the pipe as the area increases so do the velocity pressure as well as the quantity of
air flow through the pipe. This indicates how crucial is the proper choice of the diameter of the
opening or duct in designing and planning of the ventilation system to come up with the proper
quantities of air flow in the system which go hand to hand with the economics of mine in terms
of power required for ventilation and the cost encountered.

5.2 RECCOMANDATIONS:
It has been recommended that errors must be minimized as much as possible to come up with
accurate results and proper experimental set up should be emphasized in the experiment.

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APPENDIX:

APPENDIX A: RAW DATA TABLE

CROSS SECTIONAL TOTAL HEAD (mm) STATIC HEAD (mm) VELOCITY HEAD
AREA (%) (mm)
100 145 87 58
75 138 95 43
50 128 104 24
25 120 113 7
0 114 114 0

APPENDIX B:

Diameter of the pipe 10cm

NOMENCLATURE:

g Acceleration due to gravity

V Velocity of air

A Area

Q Quantity of airflow

Vav Average velocity

Hv Velocity head

Pt Total pressure

Ps Static pressure

m/s mater per second

cm centimeter

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
HARTMAN, H. L. (1997). Mine ventilation and Air Conditioning.

McPherson, M. J. Subsurface Ventilation Engineering.

Mines, C. S. (2017). Mind Ventilation.