EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION INTO FACTORS AFFECTING THE TRANSIENT FLOW OF FLUID THROUGH AN ORIFICE IN REALISTIC CONDITIONS

Abstract

During operations, damage can occur with a resulting ingress or egress of fluid. The incoming water affects the reserve buoyancy and it can also change stability and hull girder loading. During a flooding event it is vital that the flow through the damaged orifice and the movement of floodwater around the structure can be predicted quickly to avoid further damage and ensure environmental safety. The empirical measure coefficient of discharge is used as a simplified method to quantify the flooding rate. In many internal flow applications the coefficient of discharge is estimated to be 0.6 but recent research shows that it can vary considerably when applied to transient flooding flows. This paper uses an experimental setup to investigate how changes to the orifice edges and position within the structure affect the flow. It is then used to investigate the coefficient in a more realistic scenario, a static compartment in waves.