Experimental study of simple flumes with converging triangular walls

Abstract

For water management, the accurate measurement of discharge in irrigation channels is essential. Static flow measuring devices such as weirs and flumes play a significant role in discharge measurement in open channels. Flumes are one of the most commonly used devices for flow measurement. Many researchers have focused on application of simple flumes in irrigation networks. This investigation aims to study the flow discharge through a simple flume with converging triangular walls under free-flow conditions. The flume is constructed by placing two right-angled triangular plates on either side of a rectangular open channel. The channel cross section is rectangular while height of the converging walls reaches to zero at the end of the flume opening. The proposed flume is inexpensive, its operation is simple, its installation is easy and does not require high maintenance (maintenance free). The present study is designed to determine the effect of different variables on flow discharge of this kind of flumes. For this, an experimental program was conducted under upstream subcritical flow regime and under free outflow conditions to formulate the flow discharge of the flume. Flume discharge relationship was deduced using dimensional analysis method and then calibrated using the experimental data collected in this study (318 runs). The proposed discharge equation has an average absolute relative error of 1.66 %, and for 96.5 % of the measured discharge values, the relative errors are within ±5 %. To reliably estimate the flume discharge, free-flow and submerged-flow conditions should be distinguished. For this, suitable equation with an average absolute relative error less than 3.44 % was presented to estimate the submergence threshold. This flume is suitable for the rectangular channel for accurate measurement of free flow at any location on field. This particular device has considerable advantages over the other devices, as it can be quickly installed and removed for use in irrigation channels. The findings and results of this study will be of interest for practical applications.