1.

0 INTRODUCTION

The measurement of water flowing in open channels is important in many aspects of

our society. For example, water flowing in rivers and streams must be monitored to assure
adequate water supplies for residential and industrial uses. In agriculture, water is often
conveyed to farmers in open channels for irrigating fields, and such allocations are strictly
controlled. It is also important to measure water flow during flooding events for water level
prediction to avoid property damage and loss of life.

Most methods for measuring water flow in open channels involve placing an
"obstruction" in the channel that extends from one channel boundary to the other. Water
backs up and then spills over or through the obstruction. Large obstructions, which are
capable of measuring open channel flow in rivers, are called dam. In smaller streams and
canals we use weirs to measure water flow, which are smaller and more structurally simple.
Weirs are the most common method of measuring flows in open channels, and they are
widely applied in both the field and the laboratory. They will be the focus of today's
laboratory experiment.

Weirs used for the purposes of flow measurement are most often sharp crested, so that
the water springs" clear of the notch (Fig. 1). The two most common shapes of weirs are
rectangular and V-notched (Fig. 2). As might be expected, the V-notch weir is better suited
for measurement of low flow rates since the head increases more rapidly in proportion to the
discharge. Most V-notched weirs are designed with a vertex angle of 90 degrees.

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 Fig.1 Flow over a Sharp-Crested Weir

Fig. 2 - Common Weir Geometries

As for our experiment, we used a combination of rectangular and v-shaped notch to

measure the flow rate of the weir.

2.0 OBJECTIVE

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 (a) To investigate the discharge of the weir.
(b) To calculate the coefficient for the combination of rectangular and V-shaped notch on
a hydraulic bench.

3.0 THEORY

The analysis of water flow over a sharp crested weir is at best a exceedingly complex
problem, and a rigorous analytical solution is not possible. We will therefore make certain
simplifying assumptions in order to solve the problem. It will be assumed that:

 The fluid is incompressible

 The fluid friction is negligible.
 The flow is irrotational.
 The flow is steady and two-dimensional.
 The fluid velocity upstream of the weir very small relative to the velocity of the
water passing over the weir and can be neglected.

We begin with a fundamental equation that relates the flow rate, the width of weir, and
the depth of water passing over the weir. From considerations of continuity and Bernoulli's
Theorem, the generic weir equation may be written as

3
2
Q=[C d B √ 2 g] H 2
3

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where : Q = flow rate over the weir

C d = coefficient of discharge, also known as the weir coefficient

B= length of weir over which water flows

H= depth of water

4.0 EQUIPMENT

(a) Hydraulic bench

(b) The combination of rectangular and V-shaped notch
(c) Stopwatch

Figure 3 Combination of rectangular and V-shaped notch

5.0 PROCEDURE

1. Set up the notch in the Hydraulic bench.

2. Open the control valve in maximum to flow the water into the channel.
3. Take measurement of water from maximum to minimum as shown in Table 1.
4. Detain 5 litre of water and record the time.
5. Step 1 to 4 is repeated for a different value.

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6.0 RESULT AND ANALYSIS

H (m) V( T (s) Q ( m3 /s ¿ 3
Cd Theory Q ( m3 /s ¿
H 2 (m)
3
m ¿
H1=0.060 0.005 5.76 8.6805 ×10−4 0.015 0.070 3.7207 ×10−4 m3 /s
3
H2=0.050 0.005 9.62 5.1975× 10
−4
0.011 0.070 −4
3.1006 ×10 m /s
−4 3
H3=0.040 0.005 17.46 2.8636 ×10−4 0.008 0.070 2.4805 ×10 m /s

H4=0.030 0.005 58.05 0.8613 ×10

−4
0.005 0.070 1.8604 ×10−4 m 3 / s

H5=0.020 0.005 210.45 0.2376 ×10−4 0.003 0.070 1.2402× 10−4 m3 /s

Table 1

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0
0 0 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02

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Calculation of C d :

8.6805 ×10−4 −0.2376 ×10−4

C d= =0.070
0.015−0.003

Then, the value of theory Q can be calculated as follow by using the equation:

2
Cd B √2 g ] 3
3 H2
¿

When

H1= 0.060, [ 2
Q= 0.070× ×0.03 × √2 ×9.81 0.060
3 ] = 3.7207 ×10−4 m3 /s

H2= 0.050, [ 2
Q= 0.070× ×0.03 × √2 ×9.81 0.050
3 ] = 3.1006 ×10−4 m3 /s

H3= 0.040, [ 2
Q= 0.070× ×0.03 × √2 ×9.81 0.040
3 ] = 2.4805 ×10−4 m3 /s

H4= 0.030, [ 2
Q= 0.070× ×0.03 × √2 ×9.81 0.030
3 ] =1.8604 ×10−4 m3 / s

H5= 0.020, [ 2
Q= 0.070× ×0.03 × √2 ×9.81 0.020
3 ] = 1.2402× 10−4 m3 /s

7.0 DISCUSSION

The flow of water and the coefficient of discharge as measured and calculated using the
combination of rectangular and V-shaped notch were determined during the experiment. The
calculated coefficient if discharge is 0.070.

The first assumption in making the experiment is the head has a definite influence on
the flow rate and the discharge over the weir. As expected, as the head increases, the flow rate

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also increases. From 0.020 to 0.060 cm head, the flow rate increase from 0.2376 ×10−4 to
8.6805 ×10−4 . Thus, an increase in head also resulted in increase of flow rate.

As shown in the Table 1, the experiment value and the theory value for flow rate is not
the same. This is because of some errors during the experiment that make the value is
different from the theory value. Some precaution should be taken to minimize the error. As
example, make sure the eye level is same with the Head reading to avoid parallax error.

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8.0 CONCLUSION

The smooth flow over the weir is essential to the determination of accurate rates of
flow since the height of water has a definite influence on the flow rate of the weir. As the
height of water increases, the flow rate also increases and it also take much less time to fill in
the Hydraulic bench.

It can be concluded that the experiment was successful although Qexperiment and
Qtheory is not the same as some error was occurs during the experiment. It also shown that
C d for all readings are the same as the value is taken from the slope of the graph that had
been plotted.

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9.0 REFERENCES

Web

1. https://www.scribd.com/doc/34695544/Flow-of-Water-Over-Weirs , retrieve in August

2015.

2. http://www.academia.edu/18747051/CHE241Lab_Report_Solteq_Flow_Over_Weirs_
FM26_2015_

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APPENDIX

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