Measuring Flow (Flow is a rate, typically measured as volume/ time)
- Equipment/Material
| = Qty. = | = Equipment/Material =
|
| == People (total minimum). Select roles A, B, and C. ==
| |
| Pencil | |
| Note pad | |
| Calculador | |
| Tape measure. 30-feet minimum. | |
| Stop watch | |
| 5-gallon bucket | |
| Measuring stick, just under 5 feet | |
| I-Beam spirit Level, (15" to 24" is convenient). | |
| Moving water source that can be captured in a buket. | |
| Inclined walking surface |
Jobs: Member A (fills bucket with water), Member B (timer), Member C (recorder)
Note: Find an easy and SAFE place. Also make sure that this site has very similar slope to the site that you will measure head. .
- Member A places the bucket in front of the waterfall, waits for timer.
- Member B says “Go,” and starts the timer.
- Member A places the bucket under the waterfall, capturing all of the water
- When the bucket is full, the Member A says, “Stop”.
- Member C records time.
- Repeat Steps 3 times.
- NOTE: Here are some reasons why one might not want to accept certain data:
- The bucket is not capturing all of the water.
- The bucket overflows before the bucket holder says stop..
- A large piece of debris falls down the waterfall into the bucket.
Calculations
Average Time = (1st time + 2nd time + 3rd time ..)/Total number of time measurements
Calculate the flow rate (Q). . Answer should be in volume per time (v/t)
Often, flow is given in gallons per minute or liters per second.
gallons x 60 seconds = gallons OR gallons x 3.8 liters = liters
second minute minutesecond gallon second