Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology

Department of Civil Engineering

Hydraulics / Irrigation Laboratory
OBJECT:

Characteristics of flow through a parshall flume.

APPARATUS:

Self-contained glass sided Tilting flume, Parshall Flume Assembly,

Instrument carrier, Hook and point gauge,

THEORY:

Q = 0.177 Ha 1.55
Where Q= m3/s

and

Ha= meters

FLUME:
Flume is a human-made channel for water in the form of an open declined gravity chute
whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch.[1][2] Flumes
lead water from a diversion dam or weir to a desired location.

PARSHALL FLUME:
A Parshall flume, the most recognized and commonly used flume today, is a fixed hydraulic
structure developed to measure surface waters and irrigation flow. It is currently used to measure
volumetric flow rate in industrial discharges, municipal sewer lines, and influent/effluent flows in
wastewater treatment plants. The Parshall flume accelerates flow through a contraction of both the
parallel sidewalls and a drop in the floor at the flume throat. Under free-flow conditions the depth
of water at specified location upstream of the flume throat can be converted to a rate of flow. Some
states specify the use of Parshall flumes, by law, for certain situations (commonly water rights).
Parshall flumes are designated by their throat widths and are built to standard dimensions. This
results in a graph of varying heads to corresponding flows for each throat width.

Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology

Department of Civil Engineering
Hydraulics / Irrigation Laboratory
PROCEDURE:
Level the tilting flume and insert the Parshall flume, ensuring that the larger inlet contraction is
positioned upstream. Take great care to seal the unit in the flume, because leakage will tend to
invalidate measurement of flow.
Two gauging wells are provided within the Parshall flume fabrication and are to be used with the
point gauge to determine the water levels.
Following the sealing of the unit, the water inlet valve is opened a fixed amount and water admitted
to the flume. With this constant flow and level, Q, Ha and HB are measured and noted. The throat
width is constant for this model. Vary the flow in stages, measuring and noting Q, Ha and HB for
each level. These results can then be plotted and comoarea with the graphs provided. Observation
of the variations in flow characteristics can be noted. With the self-contained flume, the flow is
determined from the flowmeter and height of water in stilling flumes is measured with the hook
and point gauge.

RESULTS AND CALCULATIONS

RESULTS:
Confirm that chance from the free flow to submerged flow occurs when HI, exceeds 0.6.

Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology

Department of Civil Engineering
Hydraulics / Irrigation Laboratory

Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology

Department of Civil Engineering
Hydraulics / Irrigation Laboratory

Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology

Department of Civil Engineering
Hydraulics / Irrigation Laboratory

Short Questions
Q#1: What have you learned from this experiment?

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology

Department of Civil Engineering
Hydraulics / Irrigation Laboratory
_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

Q#2: Give reasons for any discrepancies between results obtained and graph provided. Note

the

effect of change from free flow to submerged flow.

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology

Department of Civil Engineering
Hydraulics / Irrigation Laboratory

Q#3: What are the functions of parshall flume?

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

Q#4: What is difference between venture flume and venturiflume?

Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology

Department of Civil Engineering
Hydraulics / Irrigation Laboratory
_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology

Department of Civil Engineering
Hydraulics / Irrigation Laboratory

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_

_______________________________________________________________________________
_