Article 5
Energy Loss of an Oscillating Water Column
by Chinnapong Kulmanochwong, Dokyung Kwak, Pongsiri Sukrasepya, Tanaphat Wuttivorajinda
Abstract
We examine the effects of tube diameter on the period and decay constant of a vertically oscillating water column. Using transparent tubes with diameters ranging from 17 to 88 mm, oscillations were recorded and analyzed using video tracking. Theoretical models predict that the period is independent of both oscillation amplitude and tube diameter. The results confirm this independence, showing a constant period of approximately 1.29s. However, relative energy loss was found to increase with oscillation amplitude through a power-law relationship, with the exponent increasing with tube diameter before plateauing at a value close to 0.41; this indicates that the damping behavior becomes increasingly nonlinear as tube diameter increases, approaching a velocity dependence of drag around v1.41 for larger tubes.