Supercritical Flow Measurement Using a Small Parshall Flume
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 5
Abstract
An experimental program was conducted to determine if a Parshall flume, developed to accurately measure open-channel subcritical flow, could also be used to measure discharge in a supercritical flow regime. Fifteen experimental configurations were tested using two small Parshall flumes [6-in. (15.2-cm) and 9-in. (22.9-cm) crest width] with varying approach channel slopes, approach channel roughness, and flume convergence. It was determined that a single Parshall flume can be used to measure flow (within ±5%) for both supercritical and subcritical flow regimes for a specified range of flows. The original Parshall flume equation was then modified to incorporate crest width, channel slope, channel roughness, and convergence in the prediction algorithm. Unique expressions were developed for both supercritical and subcritical flow regimes to estimate the discharge. A single expression does not appear feasible for accurate discharge measurement for both flow regimes in a Parshall flume at this time.
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Acknowledgments
This project was funded by the U.S. National Park Service through Contract No. UNSPECIFIEDCA238099001.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 5 • October 2009
Pages: 683 - 692
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: May 9, 2006
Accepted: Jan 9, 2009
Published online: Jan 27, 2009
Published in print: Oct 2009
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