Gases are different fluids from liquids in that they are compressible. The understanding of compressible fluids is important not only for general transport purposes but also in the operation of safety systems. i.e. pressure relief, bursting discs, control lines, etc..

This experiment demonstrates some of the characteristics of compressible flow. One of the important effects which will be investigated is that of ‘choking' a nozzle.

There is an operator's manual for this apparatus available to the supervisor in which some other experiments to those mentioned below are available. Investigate the effects of varying the inlet and outlet pressures on the mass flowrate of air through various nozzles. In addition the pressure distribution along the nozzles for varying outlet pressures is also investigated.