Water Engineering 3

Shields Flume Uniform Flow Experiment

Introduction:
The classification of flow types has been integral part of Water Engineering during Year 2 and continues to be in Year 3. Of particular interest has been the concept of uniform flow where hydraulic parameters describing the flow do not vary with distance along the flow path. During steady uniform flow, flow is constant with both time and distance; this constitutes the fundamental type of flow in an open channel in which gravity forces are in equilibrium with the resistance forces. An understanding of steady uniform flow is important for manipulating hydraulic equations, set up of hydraulic models ( e.g HEC-RAS) and conducting laboratory research.

Flume Equipment:
Dimensions
0.3m x 0.35m x 12m

Gradient

Set to 1 in 200 using tilting wheel on flume

Max Velocity
6.85m/s

Coarse Gravel (17-20 mm)

Marble (13-15mm)

Impermeable bed

2m

1m

1m

1m

7m

A Digital Pointer Gauge was used to accurately measure the water level height and ground level. A Portaflow is an acoustic device that calculates the discharge and average velocity in the return pipe, under the main flume, that circulates flow from the downstream to upstream end of the flume. The discharge in the pipe is the same as that running through the test section of your flume. The probes on the return pipe are set at a distance of 41.1mm

Layout of Varying Bed Materials

Water Engineering 3
Shields Flume Uniform Flow Experiment

Experiment Methodology:
A. Pre Setup of the flume was carried out and settings and readings at every stage were noted. Check that there are no obstructions in the test area of the flume. Set up bed slope to 1/200 using the dial on the flume. Make sure there is a digital pointer gauge for measuring water depth along the length of the flume. Make sure there is a thermometer for measuring water temperature.

B. Starting the Flume: Start the flume using the wall-mounted primary and secondary power buttons. When the screen gives a reading in Hz, set it to 20 Hz (this will cause water to flood the flume) Initially assume water temperature is 23 degrees and reset portaflow if necessary. Using a ruler at intervals and adjusting the tailgate, set the flow depth of 200mm Press 9 on the portaflow to obtain a discharge reading (m3/h) Q

C. Data Collection: Take depth readings along the length of the flume and take care to add in the fall of the flume as the pointer gauge is set to a reference datam and therefore needs to be corrected.

Water Engineering 3
Shields Flume Uniform Flow Experiment

Analysis:
An acceptable error for this project was taken as 15%. The graph was first plotted but did not result in a very accurate flow profile therefore the first two points were removed. The first point was removed due to it being too close to the pump for uniform flow to have been established. The second was removed due to the base of the flume being exceptionally rough making it difficult to measure the depth and therefore giving us an inaccurate result. Below are the results before and after the removal of the two points: Before Removal (%)
max depth error (+ve) min depth error (-ve) slope error (+ve) slope error (-ve)

After Removal (%) 5.6 -5.4 0.53 -0.54

13.1 -9.1 -38.4 27.75

As can be seen from the table, once these points are removed a much smaller percentage error is achieved. This shows that the error is mostly in the flume, due to either the surfaces used or the effect of the pump on uniform flow.

Water Engineering 3
Shields Flume Uniform Flow Experiment

Introduction
The classification of flow types has been integral part of Water Engineering during Year 2 and continues to be in Year 3. Of particular interest has been the concept of uniform flow where hydraulic parameters describing the flow do not vary with distance along the flow path. During steady uniform flow, flow is constant with both time and distance; this constitutes the fundamental type of flow in an open channel in which gravity forces are in equilibrium with the resistance forces. An understanding of steady uniform flow is important for manipulating hydraulic equations, set up of hydraulic models ( e.g HEC-RAS) and conducting laboratory research.

Methodology
Experiment:
The experiment uses the shields flume (0.3 m wide) to take data of flow and depth at intervals along the flume. The data will be compared and contrasted within this report and discussed in terms of the principles of steady uniform flow

Instruments;
1- The shield flume : 0.3 m wide, different surfaces of bed (Marbles, sediment, Hard board) 2- Point Gauge 3- Ruler The Shields Flume (section):

Water Engineering 3
Shields Flume Uniform Flow Experiment

Flow Direction 2m

Method:
A Pre Setup: Check that there are no obstructions in the test area of the flume Set up bedslope to 1/200 us the dial on the flume Make sure there is a thermometer for measuring water temperature Make sure there is a pointer gauge for measuring depth B Setting Up Flume: Start the flume When the screen gives a reading in Hz, set it to 20 Hz (this will cause water to flood the flume) Take a temperature reading and adjust portaflow if necessary Using a ruler at intervals and adjusting the tailgate, set the flow depth of 200mm Press 9 on the portaflow to obtain a discharge reading (m3/h) Q C Data Collection : The best way to approximately set uniform flow is to measure the depth of flow at intervals along the flume; uniform flow will have constant depth recordings. Start depth recording at a distance 2m downstream of the inlet to test the section of the flume; this is because water from the tank takes approximately 2m to develop a turbulent boundary layer appropriate for study of open channel flows

Water Engineering 3
Shields Flume Uniform Flow Experiment

Take a depth recording along the centreline of the channel at 1m intervals in a downstream direction. First, establish a reference zero level for the point gauge at a fixed point in the flume ( set over hard board part of bedslope and try to gauge by eye an average bed point). Second it must be noted that the pointer travels along the rails that tilt at the same gradient as the bedslope; as such fall must be taken into account when calculating values of elevation in reference to the zero level ( Over a slope of 1/200, for every 200 m travelled there is a fall of 1m; hence fall = distance from reference level x slope). Take depth readings along the flume and note the location (intervals) and depth in a table