STREAMFLOW

MEASUREME
NTS

4.1

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS
STREAM?

STREAMFLOW?

IS A FLOW CHANNEL
INTO WHICH THE
SURFACE RUNOFF
FROM A SPECIFIC
BASIN DRAINS.

IS THE ONLY PART OF

THE HYDROLOGICAL
CYCLE THAT CAN BE
MEASURE
ACCURATELY.
MEASUREd IN m3/s

MEASUREMENT
OF
4.2
STAGE

 THE

STAGE OF A RIVER DEFINED AS ITS

WATER-SURFACE ELEVATION MEASURED
ABOVE A DATUM. THIS DATUM CAN BE
THE MEAN-SEA LEVEL (MSL) OR ANY
ARBITRARY
DATUM
CONNECTED
INDEPENDENTLY TO THE MSL.

TWO TYPES OF STAGE

MEASUREMENTS

AUTOMATIC
STAGE
RECORDERS

MANUAL GAUGES

STAFF GAUGE
WIRE GAUGE

FLOAT-GAUGE
RECORDER
BUBLE GAUGE

STAFF GAUGE
THE SIMPLEST OF STAGE
MEASUREMENTS.

SECTIONAL
GAUGE
TYPE OF STAFF GAUGE

WIRE GAUGE
A MEACHANICAL COUNTER
MEASURES THE ROTATION OF
THE WHEEL WHICH IS
PROPORTIONAL TO THE
LENGTH OF THE WIRE PAID
OUT.

FLOAT GAUGE
RECORDER
COMMON TYPE OF
AUTOMATIC STAGE
RECORDER.

BUBLE GAUGE
A PRESSURE GAUGE THAT
MEASURES THE GAS
PRESSURE WHICH IN TURN IS
EQUAL TO THE WATER
COLUMN ABOVE THE OUTLET.

STAGE DATA
OFTEN

PRESENTED IN THE FORM OF A

PLOT OF STAGE AGAINST CHRONOLOGICAL
TIME
KNOWN
AS
HYDROGRAPH.
IMPORTANT IN DESIGN OF HYDRAULIC
STRUCTURES, FLOOD WARNING AND
FLOOD
WARNING
AND
FLOODPROTECTION
WORKS
FOR
ITS
DETERMINATION OF STEAM DISCHARGE.

MEASUREMENT
OF
4.3
VELOCITY

 IMPORTANT

ASPECT OF MANY DIRECT

STEAM
FLOW
MEASUREMENT
TECHNIQUES.
ONE
OF
THE
MOST
COMMON
MECHANICAL
DEVICE
USED
TO
DETERMINE THE VELOCITY IS THE
CURRENT METER BUT CAN ALSO BE
DETERMINED BY OTHER MEANS LIKE
FLOATS.
FIRST CURRENT METERS WAS INVENTED
BY ROBERT HOOKE (1663) BUT IN THE
PRESENT WE USE HENRYS DESIGN IN
1868.

TYPES OF CURRENT
METERS
VERTICAL-AXIS

HORIZONTALAXIS

VERTICAL-AXIS
CONSIST OF A
SERIES OF A CONICAL
CUPS MOUNTED
AROUND A VERTICAL
AXIS.
NORMAL RANGE OF
VELOCITIES IS FROM
0.15 TO 4.0 m/s WITH
AN ACCURACY OF
1.50% AND IMPORVES
TO ABOUT 0.30% IN
EXCESS OF 1 M/S.

HORIZONTALAXIS
CONSIST

OF A
PROPELER MOUNTED
AT THE END OF THE
HORIZONTAL SHAFT.
CAN REGISTER
VELOCITIES IN THE
RANGE OF 0.15 TO 4.0
m/s AND WITH AN
ACCURACY OF 1% AND
IMPROVES TO ABOUT
0.25% AT AT VELOCITY
OF .3 m/s AND ABOVE.

CALIBRATION
RELATION

BETWEEN THE STREAM

VELOCITY AND REVOLUTIONS PER
SECOND OF THE METER AS IN THE
EQUATION IS CALLED THE CALIBRATION
EQUATION.
CALIBRATION
VARIES
FROM
EACH
INSTRUMENT AND IS DETERMINED BY
TOWING THE INSTRUMENT IN A SPECIAL
TANK CALLED TOWING TANK.

FIELD USE

SOUNDING WEIGHTS

VELOCITY MEASUREMENT BY FLOATS

A

FLOATING OBJECT ON THE SURFACE

OF A STREAM WHEN TIMED CAN YIELD
THE SURFACE VELOCITY BY THE
RELATION

4.4

AREA-VELOCITY METHOD
DIRECT METHOD

 METHOD

OF DISCHARGE MEASUREMENT
CONSIST ESSENTIALLYOF MEASURING
AREA OF CROSS-SECTION OF THE RIVER
AT A SELECTED SECTION CALLED
GAUGING SITE AND MEASURING THE
VELOCITY OF FLOW THROUGH THE
CROSS-SECTION AREA.
THERE ARE CRITERIAS WHICH ARE
NEED TO BE ADOPTED.

CRITERIA:
THE

STREAM SHOULD HAVE A WELLDEFINED CROSS-SECTION WHICH DOES

NOT CHANGE IN VARIOUS SECTION.
IT SHOULD BE EASILY ACCESIBLE ALL
THROUGH THE YEAR.
THE SITE SHOULD BE IN A STRAIGHT,
STABLE AREA.
THE GAUGING SITE SHOULD BE FREE
FROM BACK WATER EFFECTS IN THE
CHANNEL.

GUIDELINE TO SELECT THE

NUMBER OF SEGMENT
THE

SEGMENT WIDTH SHOULD NOT BE

GREATER THAN 1/15 TO 1/20 OF THE
WIDTH OF THE RIVER.
THE
DISCHARGE IN THE SEGMENT
SHOULD BE LESS THAN 10% OF THE
TOTAL DISCHARGE.
THE DIFFERENCE OF VELOCITIES IN
ADJACENT SEGMENTS SHOULD NOT BE
20%.

NOTE
IN

NATURAL RIVERS, THE VERTICALS

FOR VELOCITY MEASUREMENT ARE NOT
NECESSARILY EQUALLY SPACED.
AREA-VELOCITY
METHOD
IS
ALSO
CALLED, STANDARD CURRENT METER
METHOD.

CALCULATION

CALCULATION

CALCULATION

MOVING BOAT METHOD

A

SPECIAL PROPELLER-TYPE CURREN

METER WHICH IS FREE TO MOVE ABOUT
A VERTICAL AXIS IS TOWED IN A BOAT
AT A VELOCITY VB AT THE RIGHT ANGLES
TO THE STEAM FLOW.

4.5
DILUTION TECHNIQUES OF STREAMFLOW
MEASUREMENT

 DILUTION

METHOD OF FLOW
MEASUREMENT DEPENDS UPON THE
CONTINUITY PRINCIPLE APPLIED TO A
TRACER WHICH IS ALLOWED TO MIX
COMPLETELY WITH THE FLOW, ALSO
KNOWN AS CHEMICAL METHOD.
TWO METHOD WAS SHOWN IN THE
BOOK, ONE WAS,
INJECTION/GULP/INTEGRATION METHOD,
AND THE OTHER, CONSTANT RATE
INJECTION/PLATEAU GAUGING.

TRACERS

 DILUTION

METHOD HAS THE MAJOR

ADVANTAGE THAT THE DISCHARGE IS
ESTIMATED DIRECTLY IN AN ABSOLUTE
WAY. IT IS A PARTICULAR ATTRACTIVE
METHOD FOR A SMALL TURBELENT
STREAMS, SUCH AS THOSE IN
MOUNTAINOUS AREA. WHERE SUITABLE,
IT CAN BE USED AS AN OCCASIONAL
METHOD FOR CHECKING THE
CALIBRATION, STAGE-DISCHARGE
CURVES, ETC. OBTAINED BY OTHER MEHTODS

4.6

ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD

DIRECT METHOD

 BASED

ON THE FARADAYS PRINCIPLE

THAT AN EMF IS INDUCED IN THE
CONDUCTOR WHEN IT CUTS A NORMAL
MAGNETIC FIELDS.
INVOLVES SOPHISTICATED AND
EXPENSIVE INSTRUMENT AND HAS BEEN
SUCCESSFULLY TRIED IN A NUMBER OF
INSTALLATIONS.
TODAY, ELECTROMAGNETIC
FLOWMETERS CAN MEASURE THE
DISCHARGE TO AN ACCURACY OF 3+_%.

4.7

ULTRASONIC METHOD

DIRECT METHOD

 THIS

IS ESSENTIALLY AN AREA-VELOCITY
METHOD WITH THE AVERAGE VELOCITY
BEING MEASURED BY ULTRASONIC
SIGNALS.
THE METHOD WAS FIRST REPORTED BY
SWENGEL (1955), SINCE THEN IT HAS
BEEN PERFECTED AND COMPLETE
SYSTEMS ARE AVAILABLE COMMERCIALLY.

4.8

INDIRECT METHODS

FLOW MEASURING
STRUCTURES
BASIC

PRINCIPLE GOVERNING THE USE

OF A WEIR, FLUME OR SIMILAR FLOWMEASURING STRUCTURES IS THAT THESE
STRUCUTURES PRODUCE A UNIQUE
CONTROL SECTION IN A FLOW.
CAN BE BROADLY CONSIDERED UNDER
THREE CATEGORIES.

CATEGORIES:
THIN-PLATE

STRUCTURESW
LONG-BASE WEIRS
FLUMES

SLOPE-AREA METHOD

SLOPE-AREA METHOD

SLOPE-AREA METHOD

SLOPE-AREA METHOD

REQUIREMENTS:
SELECTION

OF A REACH IN WHICH
CROSS-SECTIONAL PROPERTIES
INCLUDING BED ELEVATIONS ARE
KNOWN AT ITS END.
THE VALUE OF MANNINGS N
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION AT THE
TWO SECTION.