V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

Table of Contents
List of tables...............................................................................................................................2
Abstract......................................................................................................................................4
1.0. Introduction.....................................................................................................................5
2.0. AimsandObjectives.......................................................................................................5
2.1. Aim..............................................................................................................................5
2.2. Objectives....................................................................................................................5
3.0. LiteratureReview............................................................................................................6
4.0. Methodology...................................................................................................................8
4.1. Apparatus used............................................................................................................8
4.2. Procedure....................................................................................................................8
5.0. Limitations......................................................................................................................9
6.0. Results.............................................................................................................................9
7.0. AnalysisofResults.......................................................................................................10
8.0. Recommendationsonwhereresultscanbeusedinengineeringpractice....................12
9.0. HealthandSafety..........................................................................................................12
10.0. Disseminationofknowledge.....................................................................................12
11.0. Contributionofteammembers..................................................................................13
12.0. Conclusion.................................................................................................................13
13.0. References.................................................................................................................13

1|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

List of figures
Figure1.0...................................................................................................................................6
Figure2.0...................................................................................................................................6
Figure 3.0. Graph of discharge against H 5/2..........................................................................10
List of tables
Table1.0.Results.......................................................................................................................9
Table2.0.AnalysisofResults.................................................................................................10
Table3.0.ContributionofTeamMembersforExperiment....................................................13

2|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

Acknowledgement

WewouldliketothankthetwoLaboratoryTechnicians,Mr.SeeburnandMr.Bhuruthfortheir
preciousguidanceandexplanationinconductingtheexperiment.Theyshowedushowtousethe
apparatuseffectively.Wewouldalsoliketothankourlecturer,ProfessorRamjeawonwhoprovided
uswithusefulnoteswhichservedasareferenceforcarryingouttheexperiment.

Group Members: -BheenuckAnusha

-HalkhariBhagyasha
-RamdharryBhavish

-LuforDhandevi

Date of Practical:

Venturimeter:2ndOctober2015

Bernouilli:9thOctober2015

Rectangular Weir:16th October2015

V-Notch: 23rd October2015

Venue: FluidMechanicsLaboratory,UoM.

3|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

Abstract

Inthisexperiment,thecoefficientofdischargeforaV-notchweirwasfoundbyfollowinga
procedure.Toobtaintherequiredvalue,therelationshipbetweendischarge,Qandhead,H
wasconsideredwhichsuggeststhatthedischarge,QisdirectlyproportionaltoH5/2,thusthe
coefficientofdischargeremainingaconstantthroughoutthepractical.Thedischargeofthe
weir was calculated at different heights and a graph of Q against H5/2 was plotted whose
gradientgivesthevalueforthecoefficientofdischarge.

4|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

1.0. Introduction

AccordingtoR.KRajput(Fluidmechanicsandhydraulicsmachines,2008),anotchmaybedefined
asanopeningprovidedinthesideofatankorvesselsuchthattheliquidsurfaceinthetankisbelow
thetopedgeoftheopening.Anotchmayberegardedasanorificewiththewatersurfacebelowits
upperedge.Itisgenerallymadeofmetallicplate.Itisusedformeasuringtherateofflowofaliquid
throughasmallchanneloratank.

Aweirmaybedefinedasanyregularobstructioninanopenstreamoverwhichtheflowtakesplace.
It is made of masonry or concrete.The conditions of flow, in the case of a weir are practicallythe
same, as those of a rectangular notch.That is why; a notch is sometimes called as a weir and vice
versa.

Function of a V-notch:

Tocontroltheflowofthewateroutofthebasin.

How does it work?

Lets consider the example of a V-notch in a pond. When water gets into the pond, its height
increases,whenmorewatercomesdownthestream,thehigheritwillriseinthepondandthewater
willspillovertheV-notch.Therefore,byrecordingtheheightofthewaterinthepond,theamountof
water flowing out of the watershed can be measured and the flow rate can be calculated. In this
experimentapumpwasusedtovarytheflow,agaugewasusedtocalculatetheweirheadandthe
abovesituationwassimulated.

2.0. Aims and Objectives

2.1. Aim

Theexperimentiscarriedoutsoastoobservetherelationshipbetweentheheightofthewaterlevel
andthedischargeofthewaterflowinginthechannelandstudydischargeflowratesthroughanopen
channelusingaV-notchweir.

2.2. Objectives

Theobjectivesoftheexperimentwere:

(i) Tomaintainasteadyflowrateofwaterintheweir,

(ii) TotakemeasurementsoftheV-notchaccordingly.

5|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

3.0. Literature Review

RefertoFigure1.0.Atriangular(V-notch)

Let

1. theHeadofwaterabovetheapexofthenotchbeH
2. theanglebea
3. co-efficientofdischargebeCd
Considerahorizontalstripofwaterofthicknessdh,andatadepthhfromthewatersurfaceasshown
inFigure1.0.

Figure 1.0.

Figure 2.0.

(DiagramdrawnonAutoCad)

6|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

FromFigure2.0.,wehave

Tan = =

LN=(H-h)tan

Widthofstrip=LM=2LN=2(H-h)tan

Areaofthestrip=2(H-h)tan xdh

ApplyingBernoulliequation,

Totalenergyperunitmassatpoint1=totalenergyperunitmassatpoint2

v12 P1 v2 P
h1 2 2 h2
2g g 2g g

Equalsto0 Equalsto0

Thetheoreticalvelocityofwaterthroughthestrip= 2

Dischargethroughthestrip,

dQ=areaofstripxtheoreticalvelocity

Total discharge, over the whole notch, = tan

Thisequationisidealortheoreticaldischarged

For the actual discharge equation, the theoretical discharge must be multiplied by a coefficient of
dischargetoallowforenergylossesandthecontractionofthecross-sectionofthebottomendsides.
Q actual = Cd x Q theoretical

Q actual = Cd x tan

7|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

4.0. Methodology

4.1. Apparatus used

Stopwatch(0.01s)
Ruler(0.5cm)
Protractor(0.5o)
ChannelwithaV-notchattheend.
Hook-gauge(0.1cm)
Glasstubewithmeasuringtape(0.5cm)

Hook Gauge Glass tube giving water height with measuring tape alongside

4.2. Procedure

The discharge ofthe flowis regulated by using the benchsupply valve andtheexperiment
startedwiththehighestdischarge.

Usingasmallbeaker,thewaterlevelwasadjustedsothatthereflectionoftheV-notchweir
inthewaterlayjustonthesurface.

The flow wasallowedto be steady, thatis, remainat the same level;the Hook Gauge was
levelledsothatthepointedendjusttouchesthewatersurface(seeFigure6).Thereadingwas
noted.

Theriseofwaterintheglasstubewasnotedforaparticulartimeframe.

Thevalveinthetankwasthenopenedtoallowwatertogothroughtopreventoverflowofthe
tank.

Theaboveprocedureswererepeatedfor8differentdischarge.

ThedimensionsoftheV-notchweirweremeasuredusingtherulerandaprotractor.

8|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

5.0. Limitations

Thepumpsvibrationcausedthewatertomovealot;hencetheflowisnotkeptsteady.
The main source of error we encountered was the reaction time while we had to stop the
stopwatchandsimultaneouslynotethereadingofheightinthehopper.

6.0. Results

DimensionsofHopper
L,Lengthofhopper=1.215m

W,Widthofhopper=0.901m

Cross-sectionalarea,A=1.095m2

Headofwateraboveweirwhenthereisnoflow, H 0 =0.038m

Angle=30

Hook Volume
Time/s
Gauge Waterin ofwater
Flow
reading, hopper/m
h/m t1/s t2/s <t>/s V/m
5.5 0.2685 0.0508 8.18 9.160 8.670 0.055626
5.0 0.2595 0.0508 10.30 10.53 10.415 0.055626
4.5 0.2275 0.0508 15.23 15.69 15.460 0.055626
4.0 0.22700 0.0508 15.43 15.92 15.675 0.055626
3.5 0.2255 0.0508 15.40 15.89 15.645 0.055626
3.0 0.22500 0.0508 15.80 16.00 15.900 0.055626
2.5 0.2247 0.0508 16.33 16.35 16.340 0.055626
2.0 0.22400 0.0508 16.44 16.39 16.415 0.055626
1.0 0.2175 0.0508 18.42 18.38 18.400 0.055626
Table 1.0. Results

9|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

7.0. Analysis of Results

Hook Gauge Water in Time/s Volume of Discharge, Q(actual)

Flow H(H - h) /m H5/2 / m5/2 water
reading, h/m hopper/m
t1 /s t2 /s <t>/s V/m x 10-3 m/s
5.5 0.2685 0.2305 0.02550805 0.0508 8.18 9.160 8.670 0.055626 6.41591696
5.0 0.2595 0.2215 0.02309055 0.0508 10.30 10.53 10.415 0.055626 5.34095055
4.5 0.2275 0.1895 0.01563231 0.0508 15.23 15.69 15.460 0.055626 3.59805951
4.0 0.22700 0.18900 0.01552939 0.0508 15.43 15.92 15.675 0.055626 3.54870813
3.5 0.2255 0.1875 0.01522310 0.0508 15.40 15.89 15.645 0.055626 3.55551294
3.0 0.22500 0.18700 0.01512182 0.0508 15.80 16.00 15.900 0.055626 3.49849057
2.5 0.2247 0.1867 0.01506124 0.0508 16.33 16.35 16.340 0.055626 3.40428397
2.0 0.22400 0.18600 0.01492047 0.0508 16.44 16.39 16.415 0.055626 3.38872982
1.0 0.2175 0.1795 0.01365090 0.0508 18.42 18.38 18.400 0.055626 3.02315217
Table 2.0. Analysis of Results

Graph of Discharge Q against H5/2

0.03
Discharge, Q , x10-3 / m3/s

0.025

0.02

0.015

0.01

0.005

0
0.0000 1.0000 2.0000 3.0000 4.0000 5.0000 6.0000 7.0000
H5/2 / m5/2

Figure 3.0. Graph of discharge against H 5/2

Fromtheoryweknowthat,Q= tan

Hence a graph of Q against H5/2 should produce a straight line with gradient tan

passingtheorigin.

Therefore, =

Fromthegraphweobtainedgradient=369.17x10-3,takingg=9.81ms-2and = 15

10|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

.
=
.

Cd = 0.583

. .
Percentageerror= .
100 =10.28%

The mean experimental value obtained for the coefficient of discharge is within 15 % of the
acceptablepercentageerror.Thetypicalvalueofcoefficientofdischargeis0.65(Douglas JF et al.,
2005).Therefore,ourresultiswithinthelimits.

Theorysuggestedthatthelineshouldpassthroughzerowhileinoursituationthiswasnotthecase.
TheQ-interceptwas0.0024x10-3m3/s.Thiserrormighthaveoccurredduetolossesinfrictionand
theconstantvibrationofthewaterduetothepump.
Thefollowingexperimentalerrorscouldhavecausedthedifferenceincoefficientofdischarge:
Vibrationandfrictionintheapparatusduetothepump

Errorinthemeasurementoftime(humanreactiontime).

Parallaxerrorwhenmeasuringtheincreaseinwaterlevelofthehopper.Also,thepositionof
thehopperandthedamageddivisionsofthescalealsomadeitdifficulttotakethereadings.

Hookgaugewasloose,withthedivisionsnotclearlyvisible.Thewaterlevelover the weir
wasnotconstantduringsomemeasurements

Andalsothetimeintervalrecordedwastooshort.

Suggestionstoimprovethepractical:

Thetimebeingmeasuredshouldbeenoughlargetocompensateforhumanreactiontime.So,
thelargestpossible-heightofwatershouldbetimedfor.Inaddition,morereadingsforthe
timetakenforeachsetupshouldberecordedandameancalculated.

Foreachsetofreadings,theflowratemustbemeasuredseveraltimesandameanshouldbe
calculatedtominimiseerrors.
Theexperimentshouldbecarriedoutwithanon-defectivehookgauge.

11|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

WemustletthewaterwellstabilisebeforetakingthewaterPressureheadreadings.
Thechannelinnerwallscanbecoatedwithcarboncoatingsoastoreducefrictionand
energylosses.

8.0. Recommendations on where results can be used in engineering practice

Broad-crested weirscan beobservedin damspillwayswhere thebroadedgeisbeneaththe

watersurfaceacrosstheentirestream.
In rivers, so that the water utility company can easily measure the flow and other required
parametersfortheriver.

9.0. Health and Safety

Directcontactwiththewaterusedintheexperimentwasavoidedsinceitwasnothygienic.
Anyspillageofwaternearthepowersupplywaswipedtoavoidelectrocution.

10.0. Dissemination of knowledge

Gaugingtheflowinnaturalstreamscanneverbeprecisebecausethechannelisusuallyirregularand
soistherelationshipbetweenstageandflowrate.Naturalstreamchannelsarealsosubjecttochange
byerosionordeposition.Morereliableestimatescanbeobtainedwhentheflowispassedthrougha
section where these problems have been reduced. This could be simply smoothing the bottom and
sides of the channel, or perhaps lining it with masonry or concrete, or installing a purpose-built
structure.Thereisawidevarietyofsuchdevices,mostlysuitableforaparticularapplication.Hence,
aV-notch is usedto calculatethe flow ofthe water.The above situationhas been simulatedin the
laboratorywherethepumpwasusedto varytheflow,theV-notch wasplaced attheendofalong
rectangular metallic passage where the water falling from the V-notch was collected and the time
taken to collect it was measured. From these measurements, the flow was calculated using the
formula; Volume collected/ time taken. The theoretical flow calculated will not be the same as the
actualflowobtainedfromthisexperiment;thisiswhereacoefficientofdischargeisapplied.Itadjusts
thedifferenceswhichoccurduetofrictionlosses.

12|P a g e

V-notch Practical Student ID: 1410441

11.0. Contribution of team members

Team Member Contribution during experiment

Halkhari Collectionofwater+Timingcollectionofwater
Bhagyasha

Bheenuck Recordingthevalues+Measuringvolume+Monitoring
Anusha steadyflow

LuforDhandevi Recordingthevalues+Measuringvolume+Monitoring
steadyflow

Ramdharry Measuringvolume+Collectionofwater+emptyingthe
Bhavish measuringtank

Table 3.0. Contribution of Team Members for Experiment

12.0. Conclusion

Asperthecalculations,theexperimentproducedavalueofcoefficientofdischargeof0.583
withadegreeofuncertaintyof10.28%.Hence,theresultscanbeconsideredassatisfactory
andreliable.Toconclude,theaimsandobjectivesofthispracticalhavebeenachieved
successfully.

13.0. References

1. DouglasJF,GasiorekJM,SwaffieldJA,JackLB(2005).Fluid Mechanics, Fifth edition,Pearson

PublicationLimited,England.

2. https://www.scribd.com/doc/39520118/Flow-Over-Weirs[accessedon24.11.15]

13|P a g e