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CE74.9001A
(RESEARCH DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS)
LABORATORY EXERCISE: 1
CALIBRATION OF WEIR (STEADY AND UNSTEADY CASES)
Submitted by
Mr. Sajal Kumar Adhikary
Student ID: 105599
Group No: 6
1 Introduction
The weir is one of the oldest structures used to measure the flow rates of water in open
channels and rivers in connection to water supply and sewage plants. The discharge over a
weir is a function of the weir geometry and of weir head. There are different types of weirs,
classified according to the geometric shape of the portion of the weir over which the flowing
water is in contact. Rectangular and V-notch (triangular) are the most common shapes for
weirs. If properly calibrated, weirs can measure the flow rate to within plus or minus 2
percent. By simply knowing the dimensions of the notch of the weir, as well as the height of
water above the crest (head of water, H), it is possible calculate the amount of flow over the
weir, by using the theoretical equations for discharge over different type weirs.
2 Objectives
The overall objective of this lab exercise is to familiar with a hands-on experience about the
different techniques of weir calibration in the laboratory and to obtain a through knowledge to
compare the results using corresponding analytical solutions to find limitations (if any) and its
application in practical problems of measurement techniques. The specific objectives of this
exercise is:
• To determine the head-discharge relationship (calibration equation) of a 900 V-notch
weir using the falling head technique (unsteady flow conditions).
• To calibrate the same weir again under steady state flow conditions (constant head
technique) to compare the results obtained for both cases.
3 Experimental Procedures
4 Experimental Data
st
Discharge vs Head Plot (1 experiment) for Variable Head Method
0.100
1
2.6023
y = 1.6986x
2
R = 0.9834
Discharge, Q (m3/s)
0.010
0.001
0.01 0.10 1.00
Head, H (m)
Figure 1: Relationship between discharge and head on arithmetic scale (First test)
nd
Discharge vs Head Plot (2 experiment) for Variable Head Method
1.000
1
2.5893
y = 1.7456x
2
Discharge, Q (m3/s)
0.100 R = 0.986
0.010
0.001
0.01 0.10 1.00
Head, H (m)
Figure 2: Relationship between discharge and head on arithmetic scale (Second test)
rd
Discharge vs Head Plot (3 experiment) for Variable Head Method
1.000
1
2.5886
y = 1.8346x
2
R = 0.9865
Discharge, Q (m3/s)
0.100
0.010
0.001
0.01 0.10 1.00
Head, H (m)
Figure 3: Relationship between discharge and head on arithmetic scale (Third test)
th
Discharge vs Head Plot (4 experiment) for Variable Head M ethod
1.000
1
2.3531
y = 1.5043x
2
R = 0.9744
Discharge, Q (m3/s)
0.100
0.010
0.001
0.01 0.10 1.00
Head, H (m)
Figure 4: Relationship between discharge and head on arithmetic scale (Fourth test)
Sample Calculation:
0.100
y = 1.632x2.5089
1
R2 = 0.9753
Discharge, Q (m3/s)
0.010
0.001
0.01 0.10 1.00
Head, H (m)
6.1 Discussions
A weir is an obstruction in an open channel over which flow occurs. Although a dam spillway
is an example of a weir, most weirs are intended specifically for flow measurement. The
weir is placed in a channel so that fluid backs up behind it and then falls through a notch cut
into the weir, normally causing a waterfall effect over the crest of the weir. There are many
kinds of weirs. In this experiment, the triangular weir has been used. The bottom of the notch
is called the crest of the weir, and the crest height is measured from the bottom of the
channel to the crest. By simply knowing the dimensions of the notch of the weir, as well as
the height of water above the crest (head of water, H), one can calculate the amount of flow
over the weir, by using the theoretical equations for discharge over different type weirs.
Theoretical equation:
The uncertainties associated with the resulting weir calibration equation may be the
fluctuation of water level in the weir and the accuracy of reading while testing, as there are
many possibilities of error during experiments. Some of them are given below:
6.2 Conclusions
In the field, the calibration of weir is essential to measure the flow rate in the open channel,
which is different from the theoretical value as theoretical formulation uses some
assumption. For the falling head technique the value of K is 1.6958 and n = 2.5333 and for
constant head technique the value of K = 1.632 and n = 2.5089. for both cases, the variation
for n is very less and K is little bit higher than the theoretical value.
Based on the result, it can be finally concluded that the calibration equation developed for
both cases in this experiment is good enough.
References