Quick answer. In this HB series the decision that governs every purchase is which hydraulics bench you buy, because the bench comes first. Most of the 35 items are experiment modules that sit on a bench and are fed by it; on their own they do nothing. So choose between the hydraulics bench, the gravimetric hydraulic bench and the basic hydraulic bench, then write down the flow and head each intended module needs and compare the total with what the bench delivers. A module starved of flow produces results that do not match the theory, and students conclude the theory is wrong.
Thirty-five items in the HB series make up a fluid mechanics laboratory: three hydraulics benches, hydrostatics and pressure measurement apparatus, a dead weight pressure tester, metacentric height, Bernoulli, flow meters, a pitot tube, pipe friction and losses in bends and fittings, orifice and jet experiments, flow over notches and in open channels, free and forced vortex apparatus, an Osborne Reynolds apparatus, a laminar flow apparatus, five mini turbines, a hydraulic ram pump, centrifugal and series-parallel pump sets, and a cavitation panel.
The fact that governs every purchase here: most of these items are experiment modules that sit on a hydraulics bench and are fed by it. On their own they do nothing. The bench carries the sump, the pump, the flow control and the measuring arrangement; the module is the experiment. So the bench is bought first, the modules are chosen to suit it, and anyone who buys the modules first may find that the bench cannot supply them. Three benches are listed - a hydraulics bench, a gravimetric hydraulic bench and a basic hydraulic bench - and choosing between them is the decision worth spending time on.
Before approving a list, write down three numbers for every module you intend to buy: the flow rate it needs, the head it needs, and whether it has to run at the same time as anything else. Then compare the total against what the bench actually delivers. It takes an hour and it prevents the two most common disappointments in a fluid mechanics laboratory.
| Check | What goes wrong without it |
|---|---|
| Flow each module needs against the bench flow | A module starved of flow does not simply work more slowly - it produces results that do not match the theory, and students conclude the theory is wrong. Pipe friction, notch and jet experiments are the sensitive ones |
| Head available at the bench outlet | The mini turbines and the jet experiments need head, not just volume. A bench sized for low-head work cannot drive a Pelton wheel to a useful speed |
| How many modules run at once | One bench serves one experiment at a time. A class of thirty in one session needs several benches or a rotation, and the rotation has to be planned before purchase |
| Measuring method of the bench | A gravimetric bench weighs the water collected; a volumetric one reads a level in a tank. Gravimetric is usually the more accurate and some syllabuses specify it, so check what yours examines |
Ask us for the flow and head requirement of each module and the delivery curve of each bench, and we will confirm the combinations that work before you order.
This is the laboratory where careful technique matters more than equipment quality, and three faults account for most bad data.
Air in the manometer lines. A single bubble in a manometer tube or a tapping line puts a fixed error into every reading taken afterwards, and it is invisible unless you look for it. Bleeding and checking the manometer before readings begin is the first thing to teach, and it should be written into the worksheet rather than mentioned once. Ask whether each module has proper bleed points.
Reading the meniscus. Two students reading the same manometer differ by more than the quantity being measured in a surprising number of experiments. Teach a consistent eye position and reading rule, and expect repeated readings rather than one.
Timing by stopwatch. Where flow is found by timing a volume, human reaction time is often the largest single error. Several readings and an average, with the spread reported, teaches more about measurement than the fluid mechanics does - and a bench with a timer or a flow meter removes the problem where the syllabus allows.
Two modules deserve a specific warning on technique. The Osborne Reynolds apparatus needs an exceptionally steady, slow flow and settled water: if the supply pulsates or the tank has been disturbed, the dye filament will not stay coherent and the laminar case cannot be shown. Allow the tank to stand before the class, and ask whether a constant-head arrangement is included. The cavitation panel demonstrates a phenomenon that damages equipment, so ask what the recommended run time and duty are, and expect it to be noisy.
A fluid mechanics laboratory makes demands on the building that no other workshop in this group does. Settle these before delivery.
A water supply with a hose connection, and a floor drain or a reliable way to empty a sump. A floor that tolerates being wet, and a plan for the slip hazard - wet floors are the realistic injury risk in this room, not pressure. Electrical sockets kept away from the splash zone and protected by earth-leakage devices, because a pump and a water-filled bench in the same room is the one genuinely dangerous combination here. Enough floor space to walk around a bench with a trolley, and a route by which a bench can be brought in - a filled bench is heavy enough to need a proper floor and an empty one is wide enough to catch on a doorway. Ask us for the empty and filled weight, the footprint and the packed dimensions of every bench before you plan the room.
And the thing nobody thinks about until the second term: the sump water. In a warm laboratory, standing water grows algae and the pump seals and steel parts corrode. Decide who drains and refills the benches, how often, and what happens over a long vacation; if dye is used in flow visualisation, remember that it stains both the equipment and the students.
The dead weight pressure tester, HB-0005. This is a pressure reference, used to calibrate gauges, and it is only as good as its masses and its piston area. Ask for the stated accuracy, the tolerance on the masses and whether a certificate is supplied. One refinement worth knowing: a dead weight tester generates pressure from mass under gravity, so a precise figure depends on the local value of gravity. For teaching the difference is small enough to ignore, but if the tester is going to be used as the laboratory reference for calibrating other gauges, ask what gravity value it was calibrated for and have that recorded with it.
The pressure measurement apparatus, HB-0035, and the flow meters module, HB-0011. These teach the instruments themselves - Bourdon gauge, manometer, transducer; venturi, orifice plate, rotameter - and they are the modules most worth having if your students will work in process industries, because the comparison between methods on one flow is the lesson. Ask what the stated uncertainty of each device in the module is, since the comparison is only meaningful if the figures are known.
Five mini turbines appear in this listing - propeller, impulse, Francis, Kaplan and Pelton - along with a centrifugal pump, series and parallel pump sets and a hydraulic ram pump. These are bench-scale units driven by the hydraulics bench, which makes them affordable and compact, and limits what they can demonstrate. Larger free-standing turbine and pump test sets, with dynamometers and computer interfaces, are listed separately in the turbine test set workshop and pump test set workshop ranges; open channel, sediment, piping loss and flow measurement rigs are in the flow measurement workshop range. If you are equipping a civil or mechanical engineering laboratory rather than a trade workshop, ask us to quote across all four, because the sensible split is usually bench modules for the teaching laboratory and one free-standing set for project and final-year work.
For the mini turbines specifically, ask how they are loaded and how speed and torque are measured: a turbine without a brake and a tachometer can be watched but not characterised, and a characteristic curve is the point of the experiment.
Every product name in this listing is in capital letters, which is a presentation fault on our side rather than anything about the products, and it makes some names harder to read than they should be. More importantly, one record is corrupted: the reciprocating pump appears as "RECIPROCATING PURECIPROCATING PUMPMP", where a name has been pasted into itself. It is a reciprocating pump test module. Several other names differ only slightly - two notch experiments, two hydrostatic pressure items, a hydrostatics bench and a hydrostatics panel - with nothing in the listing to separate them. Quote the code and ask for the full description and specification sheet to be confirmed on the proforma invoice, and if a name looks wrong, ask; it is more likely to be our data than your reading of it.
Flow and head delivered by each bench, with a curve if available, and the flow and head each module requires; the measuring method of the bench, gravimetric or volumetric, and the accuracy claimed; empty and filled weight, footprint and packed dimensions; water connection type and drain requirement; pump motor voltage, frequency, phase and plug pattern; what instrumentation is built into each module and what it reads; bleed points and the manometer type; the experiment list and worksheets each module is designed to deliver, to compare against your syllabus; spares and consumables with prices - seals, tubing, manometer fluid, dye, filters and pump parts; and the warranty, commissioning and local service position. For any certification stated here, contact us for the latest copies of the relevant certificates before you tender on it.
Related: mechanical engineering trainers for machines and mechanisms, the mechatronics workshop for hydraulic power and control as opposed to fluid mechanics, and the test and measurement workshop for instruments. The full set is listed under workshop training equipment. For a quotation, tell us the destination country, the water and drainage available, the class size in one session and the syllabus or tender specification you are working to.
Choose the bench first and the modules to suit it. Three are listed - a hydraulics bench, a gravimetric hydraulic bench and a basic hydraulic bench. Compare them on the flow and head each delivers, ideally as a curve, against the flow and head each module needs, and on measuring method: a gravimetric bench weighs the water collected, a volumetric one reads a level in a tank, and gravimetric is usually more accurate and specified by some syllabuses. Ask us for each module's requirement and each bench's delivery curve, and we will confirm the combinations that work before you order.
One bench serves one experiment at a time, so a class of thirty in one session needs several benches or a planned rotation, and the rotation has to be settled before purchase. Write down, for each module, the flow it needs, the head it needs and whether it must run at the same time as anything else. Note that the mini turbines and jet experiments need head, not just volume: a bench sized for low-head work cannot drive a Pelton wheel to a useful speed. Pipe friction, notch and jet experiments are the most sensitive to a starved supply.
Three faults account for most bad data. Air in the manometer lines: a single bubble puts a fixed error into every later reading and is invisible unless you look, so bleeding and checking the manometer belongs in the worksheet, and each module should have proper bleed points. Reading the meniscus: teach a consistent eye position and take repeated readings. Timing by stopwatch: where flow is found by timing a volume, reaction time is often the largest error, so average several readings and report the spread - or use a bench with a timer or flow meter where the syllabus allows.
A water supply with a hose connection and a floor drain or reliable way to empty a sump; a floor that tolerates being wet, with a plan for the slip hazard, which is the realistic injury risk here; electrical sockets kept away from the splash zone and protected by earth-leakage devices; and space to walk round a bench with a trolley. Ask the empty and filled weight, footprint and packed dimensions before planning the room. Decide who drains and refills the sumps and how often, because standing water grows algae and corrodes pump seals and steel parts.
It is a pressure reference, and only as good as its masses and piston area, so ask the stated accuracy, the tolerance on the masses and whether a certificate is supplied. Because it generates pressure from mass under gravity, a precise figure depends on local gravity; for teaching the difference is small enough to ignore, but if it will be the laboratory reference for calibrating other gauges, ask what gravity value it was calibrated for and record that with it. The pressure measurement apparatus (HB-0035) and flow meters module (HB-0011) teach the instruments themselves.
Not for every purpose. The five mini turbines - propeller, impulse, Francis, Kaplan and Pelton - and the centrifugal, series and parallel and hydraulic ram pump sets are bench-scale units driven by the bench, which makes them affordable and compact and limits what they show. Ask how each turbine is loaded and how speed and torque are measured: one without a brake and tachometer can be watched but not characterised. Larger free-standing sets with dynamometers are in the turbine and pump test set workshops; the usual split is bench modules for teaching and one free-standing set for project work.
Ray Export is a manufacturer and exporter of laboratory, scientific and educational equipment based at Plot No. 449, HSIIDC Industrial Area, Saha, Ambala, Haryana 133104, India. Enquiries: [email protected], +91-9817319615.
Written by Palak Mall, Senior Content Writer. Technically reviewed by Arvind Kumar, Lab Equipment Specialist, 12+ years in laboratory and testing instrumentation. Last updated: 17 October 2026.
Specifications - bench flow and head with delivery curve, measuring method and accuracy, weights and footprint, water and drain connections, module instrumentation and bleed points, and the dead weight tester's mass tolerance - are confirmed in writing on the quotation. For calibration certificates, standards or approvals, contact us for the latest copies of the relevant certificates. No price is quoted on this page. Listing notes: every product name is in capital letters; the reciprocating pump record is corrupted, with the name pasted into itself (it is a reciprocating pump test module); and several names differ only slightly with nothing to separate them - two notch experiments, two hydrostatic pressure items, and a hydrostatics bench and a hydrostatics panel.
FLOW METERS This equipment determines the coefficients of discharge for different flow measuring devices.
BENDS AND FITTINGS FRICTION All bends and fittings are connected in series with pressure tappings on both sides of each device. A water manometer with a vent valve and a hand air pump is connected to these tappings. A valve at the outlet is used to control the flow
ORIFICE AND JET FLOW The equipment consists of a removable clear acrylic cylinder with sharp edge orifice installed at and flush with the lower inside wall of the cylinder.
IMPACT OF A JET The equipment comprises of a removable clear acrylic cylinder. Water is supplied through a tube at the bottom of the cylinder and discharged vertically through a nozzle onto a target plate. Each plate maintains the same working distance from the nozzle. A clear acrylic guard is provided to prevent water jet from splashing on the target.
FLOW THROUGH AN ORIFICE.
This equipment allows measurement of contraction and velocity coefficients as well as discharge coefficient for an orifice discharge.It is to be used with Hydraulics Bench
The equipment comprises of a clear acrylic cylinder on a plinth. The free vortex is generated by water discharging through an interchangeable orifice at the base of the cylinder and the resulting profile is measured by a combined caliper and depth scale.
This equipment is designed to produce and measure free and forced vortices.
This equipment explains axial flow propeller turbine characteristics i.e. torque, power and efficiency at different speeds for various heads and flow rates of water.
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