TITLE:

LAB REPORT ON V NOTCH

JOMO

KENYATTA

UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

NAME: WABURI FRANCIS GATUBU

REG: NO; EN251-3428/2013

COURSE: Bsc CIVIL ENGINEERING

UNIT: HYDRAULICS 1

UNIT CODE: ECE 2304

LECTURER: DR PHD KAZUNGU MAITAIRIA

SUBMITED ON: JAN 2015

TABLE OF CONTENT

CONTENT

PAGE

Lab Report 1

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

AIMS / OBJECTIVE

THEORY

APPARATUS

PROCEDURE

RESULTS

CALCULATION

DISCUSSION

11

CONCLUSION

12

RECOMMENDATION

12

REFERENCES

13

APPENDICES

14

2-3

7-9
9-11

ABSTRACT

Lab Report 1

From the experiments that we did, we are going to determine the

characteristics of a triangular (v) notch. The flow pattern of water from the
V-notch is being observed. Other than that we are going to determine the
discharged coefficient of the notch. The discharged coefficients are going
to be determined from the volumetric flow rate calculated from the time
taken and the volume collected. The v notch weir is very good for measuring a low
flow rate of open channel flow. The head over the v notch is measured and correlated with
flow rate through the open channel. A v notch weir equation will give the open channel flow
rate. The purpose of this lab report was to enhance us as the civil engineering students to
observe and appreciate the use of v notch in determination of state of flow.

INTRODUCTION

Fluid mechanics has developed as an analytical discipline from the

application of the classical laws of statistics, dynamics and
thermodynamics, to situations in which fluids can be treated as continuous
media. The particular laws involved are those of the conservation of mass,
energy and momentum and, in each application, these laws can be
simplified in an attempt to describe quantitatively the behavior of the
fluid.
A weir is an opening in the sidewall of a tank at top. The stream of
liquid coming out the weir is known as a nappe, sheet, or vein. There is no
difference between a notch and weir except that the former is a small
structure and has sharp edges. A weir is generally an overflow structure,
with a broad crest, built across an open channel. The terms air and weirs
are used synonymously in general. The top of weir wall over which the
liquid flows is known as the sill or crest. The head under which the weir is

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discharging is measured from the crest to the free surface. A weir or notch
is generally used for measuring the flow of liquids.
In this experiment, we are using the triangular weirs. triangular or v-notch
weirs are often used in water supply, wastewater and sewage systems.
They consist of a sharp edged plate with a triangular or v-notch profile for
the water flow.
There are different types of weir. It may be a simple metal plate with a Vnotch cut into it, or it may be a concrete and steel structure across the bed
of a river. A weir which causes a large change of water level behind it,
compared to the error inherent in the depth measurement method, will
give an accurate indication of the flow rate. Some of them are :
i)

Sharp crested weir (fayoum weir)

A sharp-crested weir allows the water to fall cleanly away from the weir.
Sharp crested weirs are typically 0.64cm or thinner metal plates. Sharp
crested weirs come in many different shapes such as rectangular, V-notch
and Cipolletti weirs.
ii)

Combination weir

The sharp crested weirs can be considered into three groups according to
the geometry of weir: a) the rectangular weir, b) the V or triangular notch
and c) special notches, such as trapezoidal, circular or parabolic weirs. For
accurate flow measurement over a wider range of flow rates, a
combination weir combines a V-notch weir with a rectangular weir. This is
typically used in pipes ranging from 10.16 cm to 38.1 in diameter.

AIMS/ OBJECTIVE
1. To observe the state of flow over a V-notch
2. To determine the relationship between the discharge and the head above the notch
3. To compare the theoretical discharge and the actual discharge

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4. To compare the coefficient of discharge obtained by the experiment with that of

British standard (Bs 3680,part 4A)

THEORY
i)

Triangular ( v) Notch

[4]

Figure 4 Triangular or V Notch

8

Qt C d
tan 2 g H 2
15 2
Where
Qt = volume flow rate
H = height above notch base
B = width of rectangular notch
= angle of the Vee in the triangular notch
Cd = the discharge coefficient, which has to be determined by experiment

Thus,
4

Lab Report 1

Cd =

15Qt

8 tan (/2) (2g) H5/2

For a rectangular notch the rate of discharged is proportional to the liquid depth raised to
power 1.5 and for the triangular notch to a power of 2.5. A triangular notch will therefore
handle a wider range of flowrates. It can be shown that the notch must have curved walls
giving a large width to the bottom of the notch and a comparatively small width towards the
top. The weir is frequently installed for controlling the flow within the unit itself, for instance
in a distillation column or reactor.
APPARATUS
1. A steady water supply system (equipment 1)

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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

An approach channel with a hook gauge (equipment 1)

A sharp edged v-notch (equipment 1)
A discharge measuring device ( a bucket ,a steel container and a weighing balance)
A stop watch
A thermometer
A steel tape measure

PROCEDURE
1. The width of the approach channel and the height of the crest were measured with a
steel tape
2. The temperature of water was also measured
3. The crest level of the v notch with the hook gauge was measured after the approach
channel was filled up with water to crest level
4. The operation of steady water supply was started and discharge was set small with the
gate valve
5. After the flow became steady the water level was measured with the hook gauge
6. The discharge was measured with bucket and weighing balance
7. The discharge was hence increased little and procedure 5 and 6 repeated.

Lab Report 1

RESULTS
TITLE : EXPERIMENT OF V
NOTCH
EXPERIMENT

DATE :29/10/2014
NO: 1

***Fundamental data****
PROPERTI
Temperature
ES OF
WATER
Density()

21 c

properties

997.996 kg/m

of
V-notch

***OPERATION DATA****
Stag Actual discharge
Total
mas
e
s of
volum
mass
wate e
r
Kg
Kg
x10
m
1
5.1
4.45 4.45
4.9
4.25 4.25

5.2

4.55

4.55

5.5

4.85

4.85

6.35

6.35

10.4

9.75

9.75

15.3

14.65

9.7

14.6
5
9.05

7.5

6.85

6.85

10.2

9.55

9.55

8.2

7.55

7.55

12.7

12.0
5
8.95

12.05

9.6

9.05

8.95

mean
Tim
e

Dischar
ge

Sec

x10
m/s
1.483
1.486

3
2.8
6
2.8
4
2.4
9
3.6
5
5.6
1
5.4
3
3.0
9
2.5
9
2.6
5
1.9
2
3.7
2.4
3

Dischar
ge
(Qa)
x10
m/s

width of the channel (B)

0.6

Height of the crest (z)

Half angle of nortch ()
k =8/15(2g) tan
crest level (gauge)

0.125
45
2.362
0.222

Manometer
Readin Hea
g
d
H

Theoretic
al
H/Z

Discharg
e

Cd

x10
m/s

1.524

0.168

0.05
4

0.43
2

1.601

0.95
2

2.249

1.809

0.165

0.05
7

0.45
6

1.832

0.98
7

2.332

2.757

0.151

0.07
1

0.56
8

3.173

0.86
9

2.053

3.598

0.145

0.07
7

0.61
6

3.886

0.92
6

2.187

3.727

0.141

0.08

0.64

4.411

0.84

1.996

1.602
1.948
1.74
1.738
2.698
2.929
2.645
3.604
3.982
3.257
3.683

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13.6
15.8
6

13.9
9.8
14.8

10.6
12
10.5

mean value

12.9
5
15.1
5
13.2
5
9.15

12.95

14.1
5
9.95

14.15

11.3
5
9.85

11.35

15.15
13.25
9.15

9.95

9.85

3.4
8
4.0
1
3.0
6
2.1
8
3.5
3
2.2
2
2.6

3.721

2.1
4

4.603

3.778
4.33
4.178

0.136

0.08
6

0.68
8

5.123

0.81
6

1.926

4.483

0.123

0.09
9

0.79
2

7.284

0.61
5

1.454

Cdm

km=2.0
28

4.197
4.008
4.482
4.365

=
0.85
9

1.)A GRAPH OF ACTUAL DISCHARGE AGAINST HEAD(H)

2.)A GRAPH OF THEORETICAL DISCHARGE AND ACTUAL DISCHARGE

Lab Report 1

AGRAPH OF H/Z AGAINST COFFICIENT OF DISCHARGE (Cd)

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SAMPLE CALCULATION
TRIANGULAR ( V) NOTCH

= 90O

g = 9.81 m/s
For H = 0.054m
H

5/2

= 6.776 x 10-4

Volumetric flow rate, Qact =

volume, m3
time, s

4.45 103 m3
3s
= 1.483 x 10-3 m3/s

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Lab Report 1

Mean discharge , QM=

Q 1+Q 2+ Q3
3
1.483+1.486+ 1.602
=
3
= 1.524x 10-3 m3/s

Theoretical Discharge , Qth =

8
2 g H 5/ 2 tan
15

Where; g= gravity acceleration

H= head above notch
=half angle of notch
k =

8
2 g tan =2.362
15

Qth= k H5/2
=2.362 x 0.054^ (5/2)
=1.601 X 10-3 m3 /s

Discharged coefficient, Cd=

Qact
Qth

Where: Qa actual

discharge
,Qth - theoretical discharg

15 Q
5

8 tan 2g H 2
2

11

Lab Report 1
3

15 1.524 10
90
8 tan
2 g 6.776 104
2

= 0.952
Qa
k=

5
2

1.524
=

0.054 2

=2.249

DISCUSSION
From the experiment, we were to determine the discharged
coefficient of the triangular notches. The discharged coefficient for the
triangular notch is influenced by its

, H and also its volumetric flow

rate.
From the results, we can see that the volumetric flow rate of V-notch
is increased. These showed that the water outflow increased as the H
increased. These is supposed to happen as the water level increased, the
water outflow from the notch should be increased over time. But from the
discharged coefficient, we can see that the values of the V-notch are not
stable. This may be from the friction at the head of the notches during the
starter of the experiment. The friction will affect the time taken to collect 3
liters of the water. Thus it will affect the volumetric flow rate and also the
discharged coefficient as the volumetric flow rate influenced the value of
the Cd.
These deviations of values are contributed by the errors during
handling the experiment. If we take it as overall errors, most of errors
occurred when step of taking the height started. First, we have to be
careful about the height of datum. For convenience, it is recommended to
take your datum height as zero.Other than that, the time should be taken
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Lab Report 1

at least 3 times to take the average so that the error during the time taken
can be minimized. The purpose of doing it is to minimize the errors.
Besides that, we noticed that there is inconsistency in our readings
because of the error that occur.

CONCLUSION

i)

V-notch has small range of variations for the value of Cd. This is
because this notch has an angle at its bottom where about 90 o.
This angle might effect the values of flowrate and Cd.

ii)

Therefore the best discharged coefficient, Cd is from the V-notch.

RECOMMENDATION

i)

The data that was observed in the experiment that was time gain
should be taken twice. This can avoid the very wide deviation
because of only take once of each observation.

ii)

Take care not to allow spillage to occur over the plate top
adjacent to the notch. If this happened, it would effect the
collection of known volume.

iii)

Once the data were taken, the procedure cannot be reverse to

find the value of time collection by adjusting the height. This
would affect the value of height datum. The height datum must

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be constant and the observation should be done once round for

the little increment of height especially for V-notch.
iv)

The readings of height should be taken carefully by avoiding sight

error. The time collection should be taken much appropriately.

LITERATURE CITED.
1. Daugherty, Robert L. Hydraulics. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company,
Inc, 1925. Print.
2. Harris, Charles W. Hydraulics. New York: J. Wiley, 1936. Print.
3. King, Horace W, Chester O. Wisler, and James G. Woodburn. Hydraulics. New
York: J. Wiley, 1948. Print.
4. Simon, Andrew L, and Andrew L. Simon. Hydraulics. New York: Wiley, 1986.
Print.
5. Lecturers note and lab hard outs by Dr.PHD K. Maitairia, 2014.Print.

APPENDICES

14

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The v notch

15

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16

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17

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18

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19

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20