Abstract
The discharge in a river or canal can be measured indirectly using weirs and flumes, which enable measured water levels to be related to discharge through known rating functions. A single upstream water level measurement is sufficient if the structure operates as a control, but the downstream level is also required under submerged conditions. Rating functions are provided for different types of weir, including sharp-crested horizontal and triangular weirs, broad-crested weirs and Crump weirs with horizontal and V-shaped crests. A general formulation for flumes is presented, followed by design details for the Parshall and cutthroat flumes. A procedure is described for estimating the discharge error in terms of the water level measurement error.
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Further Reading
Abt, S. R., Cook, C., Staker, K. J., & Johns, D. D. (1992). Small Parshall flume rating correction. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 118(5), 798–803.
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Samani, Z., & Magallanez, H. (1993). Measuring water in trapezoidal channels. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 119(1), 181–186.
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James, C.S. (2020). Flow-Measuring Structures. In: Hydraulic Structures. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34086-5_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34086-5_7
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