Operation of the Teaching Flume at the CEE Hydraulics Laboratory

by Gilberto E. Urroz, September 2010

Introduction
The Armfield's teaching flume available at the CEE Hydraulics Laboratory is shown in the picture
below. In this picture, the flume has been fitted with a sluice gate and stop logs at the exit to produce a
hydraulic jump.

Figure 1. Picture of the C4-MKII-7 Armfield's Multipurpose Teaching Flume with a sluice gate.

The next two figures show schematics of the upstream and downstream ends of the Teaching Flume
with a listing of its most relevant parts. The flume consists of an aluminum bed and plexiglass walls.
It rests on two support pedestals, with the upstream pedestal fitted with a handwheel that operates a
jack that can change the slope of the flume. The flume slope is shown in a scale attached to the
upstream pedestal. The flume is provided with separators to keep the plexiglass walls rigid and
parallel, as well as with carriers fitted with point gages for the measurement of depths in the flume.
Water supply to the flume is provided by an Armfield's Hydraulic Bench that has its outlet attached to a
supply hose which connects to the flume's inlet tank (the operation of the Hydraulic Bench is presented
in a separate document). Water flowing through the flume then drains onto the Hydraulic Bench's

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sump so that water discharges can be measured by closing its dump valve. The channel outlet, or exit,
is fitted with slots where plastic stop logs can be placed to modify the flow depth within the flume.
For open-channel experiments the flume can be fitted with a variety of devices, such as the sluice gate
shown in Figure 1. Other devices available are: a sharp-crested weir, a broad-crested weir, and a
channel contraction.

Figure 2. Schematic of the upstream section of the Teaching Flume.

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 Figure 3. Schematic of the downstream section of the Teaching Flume.

Basic operation of the Teaching Flume

1 – Make sure that the pump is not operating and that the supply valve in the Hydraulic Bench is
closed.
2 – Install the device to be tested (e.g., sluice gate, sharp-crested weir, broad-crested weir, etc.), if any.
3 – Set the flume slope.
4 – Switch pump on on the Hydraulic Bench, and open the supply valve to let water flow into the
Teaching Flume.
5 – Place stop logs in the flume exit if needed.
6 – Proceed to make measurements for your flow.
7 – Change flow and repeat steps 6 and 7 as needed.
8 – When done, close down the supply valve and turn the Hydraulic Bench pump off.

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Pictures of the flume at varying slopes
The following pictures illustrate the position of the flume walls with respect to horizontal lines in the
CEE Hydraulics Laboratory walls as defined by the walls' blocks.

Figure 4. Slope indicator and flume side view at 0 % slope.

Figure 5. Slope indicator and flume side view at 1 % slope.

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 Figure 6. Slope indicator and flume side view at 2 % slope.

Figure 7. Slope indicator and flume side view at 3 % slope.

Figures 4 through 7 show how the flume leans downwards, from right to left, as the slope in the
indicator increases.

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Devices that can be tested in the Teaching Flume
Sharp-crested weir - Figure 8 shows a picture of a sharp-crested weir laid across the flume cross-
section. The device is provided with an aeration tube to keep the underside of the nappe (the jet of
water shooting over the weir) at atmospheric pressure. If the underside of the nappe is not aerated, the
flow will carry away the air from that region and pretty soon the nappe will be attached to the weir. An
attached nappe in sharp-crested weirs produce discharge characteristics that are not easy to calculate.
Thus, the proper operation of a sharp-crested weir is with a well-aerated nappe underside.

Figure 8. Sharp-crested weir with aerated nappe in the Teaching Flume.

Sluice gate - Figure 1, above, shows a full view of the Teaching Flume featuring a sluice gate followed
with the supercritical flow downstream of the gate followed by a hydraulic jump. Details of the flow
upstream and downstream of the sluice gate are presented in Figure 9. Notice that the flow depth
downstream, call it y2, is shallower than the gate opening, call it b. This is due to the curvature of the
free-surface as it detaches itself from the tip of the sluice gate. The lengths y2 and b are related by a
contraction coefficient, cc, i.e., y2 = ccb. A typical value of cc, based on a theoretical analysis of free
flow from an orifice and on observations in the field, is cc = 0.61.

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 Figure 9. Details of flow under a sluice gate in the Teaching Flume.

Crump weir - A flow measuring device that relates flow depth to discharge is the so-called crump weir
shown in operation in the Teaching Flume in Figure 10. The device consists of a triangular shaped
weir with a sharp increase in the channel bed leading to a more gradual descent to the flume bed. An
analysis of specific energy between a section upstream of the crump weir and the crest section reveals
that critical depth must occur at the crest. Since critical depth is related to the unit discharge (discharge
per unit width of channel), the discharge in the flume can be obtained by knowing the flow over the
crest. A calibration of the crump weir is therefore possible using the Teaching Flume.

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 Figure 10. Crump Weir tested in Teaching Flume.

Channel Width Contraction - A contraction of the channel width leading to a more gradual expansion (a
sort of Venturi device for a rectangular open channel) is also available for the Teaching Flume as shown
in Figure 11. The contraction device is made of an opaque material, therefore, the changes in water
depth within the contraction are not visible except from the top of the flume. Figure 11, however, does
show a larger depth of flow upstream of the contraction where the flow in subcritical. The contraction
device includes a short contracted section preceded by a slightly longer converging section and
followed by a much longer diverging section. The flow downstream of the contraction, as illustrated in
Figure 11, is supercritical. For this test, stop logs were placed at the channel exit forcing the flow depth
to go subcritical again, thus generating a hydraulic jump as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 12 is a photograph of the flow depth drop through the contraction taken from the top of the
flume. In that photograph you can see the decrease in water depth due to the contraction making the
flow transition from subcritical, upstream of the contraction, to supercritical, immediately downstream.
The crisscrossing standing waves visible downstream of the contraction are characteristic of
supercritical flow.

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 Figure 11. Contraction in channel width in the Teaching Flume.

Figure 12. Front view of flow through channel contraction in Teaching Flume.

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How to measure depths using the Teaching Flume point gages
The experiments in the Teaching flume, as those shown in the previous pages, typically involve
measuring water depths in the flume. For example, you may be required to measure the water depths
upstream and downstream of the channel contraction of Figures 11 and 12 to verify conservation of
energy through the transition. In this section we will show the operation of the point gages in the
Teaching Flume with the purpose of measuring water depths.

Figure 13 shows a point gage in the

Teaching Flume. Details of the point
gage at the base of the carrier are also
shown in the same figure. The numbers
in the two figures represent the following
components of the point gage device:

(1) Main scale given in millimeters (mm)

(2) Vernier scale – this scale is designed

such that ten divisions in the Vernier scale
correspond to nine divisions in the main
scale.

(3) Top Collar with tightening screw –

this collar is used to fix the location of the
Vernier scale in the point gage shaft.

(4) Bottom Collar with tightening screw –

this collar is used to fix the point gage
shaft when the point gage tip is at the top
of the water surface at a measuring
position.

(5) Small-adjustment screw – once you

have brought the point gage tip near the
free surface for a depth measurement,
you can adjust the position of the tip by
a small amount using this screw.

Figure 13. Point gage components in Teaching Flume.

The operation of the point gage for measuring depths is as follows:

1 – Holding the point gage shaft firmly with one of your hands, release the tightening screws in both
the Top and Bottom Collars (3) and (4).
2 – Slowly let the shaft slide down until the tip of the point gage touches the channel bottom (or the top
of a crump weir or sharp-crested weir, if we intent to measure the depth over those points), and tighten
the screw in the Bottom Collar (4).

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3 – You can slide the Vernier scale (2) up and down by sliding the Top Collar (3), with its tightening
screw still loose, until the zero in the Vernier scale (2) is aligned with a particular value you want to use
as your “zero” reading. Then, tighten the screw in the Top Collar (3). (This value doesn't have to be
zero, but it is more convenient if the zero value in the Vernier scale is aligned with one of the markings
in the Main scale.).
4 – Write down the Vernier reading that will be your “zero” reading. Let's call this value R0.
5 – Loosen the screw in the Bottom Collar, and gently lift the point gage shaft until the tip is slightly
above or below the water surface. Tighten the screw in the Bottom Collar.
6 – Use the Small-adjustment Screw to adjust the tip of the point gage as close as possible to the water
surface. (Note: The free surface in subcritical flow tends to be smoother than in supercritical flow.
Therefore, for supercritical flow select the position of the point gage tip as the best average of the free
surface that you can get by eye).
7 – Write down the Vernier reading for this position. Let's call this value Rf.
8 – The depth just measured will be the difference between Rf and R0, i.e., depth = Rf – R0.

How to read a measurement using the Vernier scale

Figure 14 shows a particular positioning of the Vernier scale after the tip of the point gage has been set
to coincide with the free surfaced at a point whose depth is being measured. At this point both the Top
Collar and Bottom Collar tightening screws have been tightened, and the point gage shaft is at a fixed
position (i.e., it won't slide down from its current position).

Figure 14. Example showing how to read a value using the Vernier scale in the Teaching Flume's point
gages.

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To read the value indicated by the Vernier scale do the following:

1 – Find the mark in the Main Scale that is closest, but immediately below the zero in the Vernier scale.
For the example of Figure 14, that value is 47 mm. Let's call this mark M, for Main Scale value, thus,
M = 47 mm for Figure 14.
2 – Find the mark in the Vernier Scale (0 to 10) that coincides with one of the marks in the Main Scale
within the range of the Vernier Scale. For the example of Figure 14, that value is 3, which coincides
with the 50 mark in the Main Scale. (Note: The mark in the Main Scale is irrelevant. All what we need
is that mark coincide with one, and only one, of the Vernier marks. It is the mark in the Vernier Scale
that is important). Let's call this Vernier mark V, for Vernier Scale value, thus, V = 3 mm.
3 – The actual reading that the Vernier scale provides is calculated as Reading = M + V/10. Thus, for
the case of Figure 14, Reading = 47 mm + 3 mm/10 = 47.3 mm.

Of course, you don't need to write down the calculation. With practice, you can just read it out of the
Vernier scale. Look back at Figure 14 and realize that the reading shown is indeed 14.3 mm, 14 mm
from the Main Scale plus 0.3 mm from the Vernier scale.

An example of depth measurement

Figure 15 shows the point gage with its tip touching the bottom of the flume with the corresponding
(arbitrarily-set) “zero” reading of R0 = 30.4 mm. On the other hand, Figure 16 shows the point gage
with its tip at the free surface and the corresponding reading Rf = 189.9 mm. Thus, the water depth at
this section is depth = Rf – R0 = 189.9 mm – 30.4 mm = 159.5 mm.

Figure 15. Point gage tip at the bottom of the flume at a given section with corresponding Vernier
reading.

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 Figure 15. Point gage tip at the free surface in the same section as in Figure 15. The corresponding
Vernier reading is also shown.

Measuring position along the flume

Notice in the left photograph in Figure 15 that, at the top of the plexiglass wall in the Teaching Flume,
there is a measuring tape that allows to read the location of a measuring section with respect to the
flume's Inlet Tank. Thus, if you measure water depths and location you can plot the profile of the water
surface. This could be useful, for example, to plot the profile of the flow over the Crump Weir of
Figure 10, or that of the hydraulic jump of Figure 11.

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