Experimental Study on Flow Measurement in Corrugated Metal Pipes Used in Irrigation Turnouts
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 10
Abstract
An innovative measurement system using submerged ultrasonic Doppler velocimetry (SUDV) has been adopted by the Lower Neches Valley Authority (LNVA) in Texas to measure flow velocity in corrugated metal pipes of an irrigation turnout. However, a 20% error in flow rate has been found due to the corrugation feature of the pipe. The objective of this study is to determine the correction coefficient by comparing the measured flow velocity with that measured using SUDV under full pipe flow conditions. The physical model is set up with inflow controlled by a sluice gate, passing through three chambers in series with two combinations of pipe sizes (61, 76, and 61 cm, and 91, 76, and 61 cm), which then flows through the last chamber and discharges water over a weir into a channel. Experimental results show an average velocity correction coefficient of 0.824 is satisfied for all pipe sizes evaluated in the experiment, with . The SUDVs in LNVA irrigation turnouts have been programmed with the correction coefficient to improve flow measurement accuracy for better water use management planning.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the partial support of this study by National Science Foundation under Grant No. CNS-1427838. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 10 • October 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 16, 2017
Accepted: May 25, 2018
Published online: Aug 10, 2018
Published in print: Oct 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jan 10, 2019
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