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Special Note:

This workshop will not be held in 2013. We hope to offer it again in early 2014.

Basic Principles and Developments in Flow Measurement

INTRODUCTION
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
TRAINING STAFF
AGENDA
PUBLICATIONS
TRANSPORTATION & LODGING
REGISTRATION & COST
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - COMPUTER REQUIREMENT

This Flow Measurement workshop deals specifically with flow measurement concepts, devices, instrumentation, and the new WinFlume program to design long-throated flumes. This workshop could be an alternative to our "Modern Methods in Canal Operation and Control" workshop, for people who want more detailed information on flow measurement without the canal operation and control topics.
 

A training course on Basic Principles and Developments in Flow Measurement has been developed by the Bureau of Reclamation's Hydraulic Investigations and Laboratory Services Group. This course covers open channel and closed pipe measurement methods and instrumentation. Laboratory workshop sessions involve each student in the hands-on flow measurement using different techniques and various types of water measurement equipment.
 

A computer laboratory is also included in the class with in-depth coverage and application of a Windows-based program to design long-throated flumes (WinFlume). Long-throated flumes are the preferred alternative for many new flow measurement sites, since the devices can be custom designed for the site. They are cheaper to build than Parshall flumes and are more versatile since they can be designed to operate with a small head difference. The computer program produces rating tables, equations and staff gage templates at full scale.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Basic Principles and Developments in Flow Measurement is designed for water conservation specialists, canal operators, managers, and design engineers who are interested in improved water measurement methods. The instruction is geared towards people who want to learn through active participation and "first hand" experience with the computer program and water measurement instrumentation in the laboratory.
 

This year's workshop will offer a basic curriculum for students who are attending our water measurement training for the first time. To get the most out of the hands-on exposure to the flume design software, students should have some experience with Windows-based computers and familiarity with concepts related to the selection and setting of traditional water measurement structures.

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TRAINING STAFF

Workshop instructors are engineers and scientists with extensive experience and knowledge in the areas of water measurement methods, computer programming, canal automation, operation and control. Principal instructors are Tony Wahl, Bob Einhellig, and Tracy Vermeyen.. These Bureau of Reclamation engineers have conducted many training programs for Reclamation and other organizations.

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SCHEDULE

The course will begin Tuesday morning at 8:00 and end Thursday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. The following agenda is planned:

Tuesday ---

Introduce Basic Concepts -

• "Water Measurement Manual," "Long-Throated Flume Manual"
• Discuss students' expectations and needs
• Flow Measurement - Basic Principles
• Pressure / head definitions
• Discharge/area/velocity relationships
• Energy principles - (Bernoulli, velocity head, specific energy, critical depth)

• Stream gaging, weirs, submerged orifices, flow measurement flumes pipe flow measurement
• Propeller meters, orifice plates, venturi meters, vortex meters, magnetic flow-meters, acoustic velocity measurement (Doppler and transit time), elbow meters

• Water Measurement Demo Flume-

weirs, submerged orifices, vortex meters, transit time pipe flow meters, flow measurement flumes

• Velocity Measurement  Devices-

ADCP, transit time open channel flow meter, ADV, ADFM, electromagnetic velocity meter, propeller velocity meter
 

• Assorted water measurement devices-

slide gates, radial gates, overshot gates, pre-fabricated flume, broad-crested weir, staff gages, stilling wells and floats, ink charts, bubblers, potentiometers, pressure transducers, ultrasonic sensors
 

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Introduction to Long-Throated Flumes-

• History and advantages
• Stationary-crest flumes
• Movable-crest flumes
• Examples of long -throated flumes
• Basic design criteria
• Ensure critical flow (submergence)
• Limit upstream Froude number
• Ensure adequate freeboard
• Ensure required accuracy & precision
• H₁/L ratio
• Limits on converging transition slope
• Necessary approach channel length
• Minimum gage-to-ramp and gage-to-control distance

• Computer system requirements
• Tour of the Software
• Data entry
• The design module
• The flume wizard
• Producing output
• Example application
• Laboratory demo (modular limit)

• Selecting a flume with the Water Measurement Manual
• Design a flume for an existing canal with a bed drop
• Illustrate effects of measurement accuracy, freeboard, Froude number

• Design a flume for high tailwater
• Illustrate how to satisfy tailwater criteria and provide factor of safety
• Allow students to use design module to examine headloss tradeoffs
• Flumes with compound control sections
• Determination of tailwater levels
• Gage placement and zero setting of water level sensor

Construction Considerations  /  Wrap-up and Discussion -

• Stilling wells
• Foundation treatment / Seepage cutoff
• Reinforcement and concrete placement
• Downstream erosion protection
• Off-season drainage
• Summary: how it all fits together
• Device selection for existing systems

PUBLICATIONS

Presentation notes and other course materials will be compiled into a notebook and distributed to all participants at the start of the workshop. As a supplement to the course notes, participants will also receive complementary copies of Reclamation's new Water Measurement Manual (third edition) .
 

TRANSPORTATION & LODGING

Course participants are responsible for their own transportation and lodging arrangements and costs. The workshop is held in Building 56 at the Denver Federal Center, on the west side of the Denver metropolitan area. Several hotels are located nearby; some of these have complementary van service to the Federal Center. Taxis or shuttle service from Denver International Airport (DIA) to hotels can be arranged at DIA.

• Local hotels and airport shuttle services
• Maps

REGISTRATION & COST

Participants should register using the enclosed registration form. Course tuition for each participant is $850. Fee payment should accompany the registration form. Checks should be made payable to "Bureau of Reclamation ". Payment by VISA or MasterCard credit card is also acceptable. Reclamation employees may pay with an internal funds transfer by providing their cost center and a 19-digit cost authority number.

Tuition will be charged to all registrants unless cancellation is made a minumum of 15 days prior to scheduled class.  A substitute will be allowed to attend the class in place of the paid student.

To maximize the benefit for each student, each workshop session is limited to 16 participants. The first 16 registrations received with payment will be accepted.

A confirmation package with additional information will be sent upon receipt of the registration form and payment. For more information contact the Hydraulic Investigations and Laboratory Services Group:

Hydraulic Investigations and Laboratory Services Group
ATTN: Leah Lottes
Hydraulic Investigations and Laboratory Services Group
Bureau of Reclamation
Mail Code 86-68460
P.O. Box 25007
Denver, Colorado 80225

Telephone: 303-445-2180
Fax: 303-445-6324
E-mail: LLottes@usbr.gov

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - COMPUTER REQUIREMENT

• The course makes extensive use of the WinFlume computer program for design and analysis of long-throated flumes and broad-crested weirs.  If possible, each student should bring a laptop computer for use during the course.  If you cannot bring a computer, please notify us so that we can arrange to have a computer available for your use.  You are encouraged to download and install the WinFlume software in advance of the class.  The program can be downloaded from http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/hydraulics_lab/winflume/.

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Last reviewed: 12/13/12