Effects of ramp slope and discharge on hydraulic performance of submerged hump weirs

Arash Ahmadi a, Amir H. Azimi b

Abstract

험프 웨어는 수위 제어 및 배출 측정을 위한 기존의 수력 구조물 중 하나입니다. 상류 및 하류 경사로의 경사는 자유 및 침수 흐름 조건 모두에서 험프 웨어의 성능에 영향을 미치는 설계 매개변수입니다.

침수된 험프보의 유출 특성 및 수위 변화에 대한 램프 경사 및 유출의 영향을 조사하기 위해 일련의 수치 시뮬레이션이 수행되었습니다. 1V:1H에서 1V:5H까지의 5개 램프 경사를 다양한 업스트림 방전에서 테스트했습니다.

수치모델의 검증을 위해 수치결과를 실험실 데이터와 비교하였다. 수면수위 예측과 유출계수의 시뮬레이션 불일치는 각각 전체 범위의 ±10%와 ±5% 이내였습니다.

모듈 한계 및 방전 감소 계수의 변화에 대한 램프 경사의 영향을 연구했습니다. 험프보의 경사로 경사가 증가함에 따라 상대적으로 높은 침수율에서 모듈러 한계가 발생함을 알 수 있었다.

침수 시작은 방류 수위를 작은 증분으로 조심스럽게 증가시켜 모델링되었으며 그 결과는 모듈 한계의 고전적인 정의와 비교되었습니다. 램프 경사와 방전이 증가함에 따라 모듈러 한계가 증가하는 것으로 밝혀졌지만, 모듈러 한계의 고전적인 정의는 모듈러 한계가 방전과 무관하다는 것을 나타냅니다.

Hump weir 하류의 속도와 와류장은 램프 경사에 의해 제어되는 와류 구조 형성을 나타냅니다. 에너지 손실은 수치 출력으로부터 계산되었으며 정규화된 에너지 손실은 침수에 따라 선형적으로 감소하는 것으로 나타났습니다.

Hump weirs are amongst conventional hydraulic structures for water level control and discharge measurement. The slope in the upstream and downstream ramps is a design parameter that affects the performance of Hump weirs in both free and submerged flow conditions. A series of numerical simulations was performed to investigate the effects of ramp slope and discharge on discharge characteristics and water level variations of submerged Hump weirs. Five ramp slopes ranging from 1V:1H to 1V:5H were tested at different upstream discharges. The numerical results were compared with the laboratory data for verifications of the numerical model. The simulation discrepancies in prediction of water surface level and discharge coefficient were within ±10 % and ±5 % of the full range, respectively. The effects of ramp slope on variations of modular limit and discharge reduction factor were studied. It was found that the modular limit occurred at relatively higher submergence ratios as the ramp slope in Hump weirs increased. The onset of submergence was modeled by carefully increasing tailwater level with small increments and the results were compared with the classic definition of modular limit. It was found that the modular limit increases with increasing the ramp slope and discharge while the classic definition of modular limit indicated that the modular limit is independent of the discharge. The velocity and vortex fields in the downstream of Hump weirs indicated the formation vortex structure, which is controlled by the ramp slope. The energy losses were calculated from the numerical outputs, and it was found that the normalized energy losses decreased linearly with submergence.

Introduction

Weirs have been utilized predominantly for discharge measurement, flow diversion, and water level control in open channels, irrigation canal, and natural streams due to their simplicity of operation and accuracy. Several research studies have been conducted to determine the head-discharge relationship in weirs as one of the most common hydraulic structures for flow measurement (Rajaratnam and Muralidhar, 1969 [[1], [2], [3]]; Vatankhah, 2010, [[4], [5], [6]]; b [[7], [8], [9]]; Azimi and Seyed Hakim, 2019; Salehi et al., 2019; Salehi and Azimi, 2019, [10]. Weirs in general are classified into two major categories named as sharp-crested weirs and weirs of finite-crest length (Rajaratnam and Muralidhar, 1969; [11]. Sharp-crested weirs are typically used for flow measurement in small irrigation canals and laboratory flumes. In contrast, weirs of finite crest length are more suitable for water level control and flow diversion in rivers and natural streams [7,[12], [13], [14]].

The head-discharge relationship in sharp-crested weirs is developed by employing energy equation between two sections in the upstream and downstream of the weir and integration of the velocity profile at the crest of the weir as:

where Qf is the free flow discharge, B is the channel width, g is the acceleration due to gravity, ho is the water head in free-flow condition, and Cd is the discharge coefficient. Rehbock [15] proposed a linear correlation between discharge coefficient and the ratio of water head, ho, and the weir height, P as Cd = 0.605 + 0.08 (ho/P).

Upstream and/or downstream ramp(s) can be added to sharp-crested weirs to enhance the structural stability of the weir. A sharp-crested weir with upstream and/or downstream ramp(s) are known as triangular weirs in the literature. Triangular weirs with both upstream and downstream ramps are also known as Hump weirs and are first introduced in the experimental study of Bazin [16]. The ramps are constructed upstream and downstream of sharp-crested weirs to enhance the weir’s structural integrity and improve the hydraulic performance of the weir. In free-flow condition, the discharge coefficient of Hump weirs increases with increasing downstream ramp slope but decreases as upstream ramp slope increases (Azimi et al., 2013).

The hydraulic performance of weirs is evaluated in both free and submerged flow conditions. In free flow condition, water freely flows over weirs since the downstream water level is lower than that of the crest level of the weir. Channel blockage or flood in the downstream of weirs can raise the tailwater level, t. As tailwater passes the crest elevation in sharp-crested weirs, the upstream flow decelerates due to the excess pressure force in the downstream and the upstream water level increases. The onset of water level raise due to tailwater raise is called the modular limit. Once the tailwater level passes the modular limit, the weir is submerged. In sharp-crested weirs, the submerged flow regime may occur even before the tailwater reaches the crest elevation [8,14], whereas, in weirs of finite crest length, the upstream water level remains unchanged even if the tailwater raises above the crest elevation and it normally causes submergence once the tailwater level passes the critical depth at the crest of the weir [7,17]. The degree of submergence can be estimated by careful observation of the water surface profile. Observations of water surface at different submergence levels indicated two distinct flow patterns in submerged sharp-crested weirs that was initially classified as impinging jet and surface flow regimes [14]. [8] analyzed the variations of water surface profiles over submerged sharp-crested weirs with different submergence ratios and defined four distinct regimes of impinging jet, surface jump, surface wave, and surface jet.

[18] characterized the onset of submergence by defining the modular limit as a stage when the free flow head increases by +1 mm due to tailwater rise. The definition of modular limit is somewhat arbitrary, and it is difficult to identify for large discharges because the upstream water surface begins to fluctuate. This definition did not consider the effects of channel and weir geometries. The experimental data in triangular weirs and weirs finite-crest length with upstream and downstream ramp(s) revealed that the modular limit varied with the ratio of the free-flow head to the total streamwise length of the weir [17]. Weirs of finite crest length with upstream and downstream ramps are known as embankment weirs in literature [1,19,20] and Azimi et al., 2013) [19]. conducted two series of laboratory experiments to study the hydraulics of submerged embankment weirs with the upstream and downstream ramps of 1V:1H and 1V:2H. Empirical correlations were proposed to directly estimate the flow discharge in submerged embankment weirs for t/h > 0.7 where h is the water head in submerged flow condition. He found that the free flow discharge is a function of upstream water head, but the submerged discharge is a function of submergence level, t/h [21]. studied the hydraulics of four embankment weirs with different weir heights ranging from 0.09 m to 0.36 m. It was found that submerged embankments with a higher ho/P, where P is the height of the weir, have a smaller discharge reduction due to submergence. Effects of crest length in embankment weirs with both upstream and downstream ramps of 1V:2H was studied in both free and submerged flow conditions [1]. It was found that the modular limit in submerged embankment weirs decreased linearly with the relative crest length, Ho/(Ho + L), where Ho is the total head and L is the crest length.

In submerged flow condition, the performance of weirs is quantified by the discharge reduction factor, ψ, which is a ratio of the submerged discharge, Qs, to the corresponding free-flow discharge, Qf, based on the upstream head, h [12]. In submerged-flow conditions, flow discharge can be estimated as:��=���

[1] proposed a formula to predict ψ that could be used for embankment weirs with different crest lengths ranging from 0 to 0.3 m as:�=(1−��)�where n is an exponent varying from 4 to 7 and Yt is the normalized submergence defined as:��=�ℎ−[0.85−(0.5��+�)]1−[0.85−(0.5��+�)]where H is the total upstream head in submerged-flow conditions [7]. proposed a simpler formula to predict ψ for weirs of finite-crest length as:�=[1−(�ℎ)�]�where m and n are exponents varying for different types of weirs. Hakim and Azimi (2017) employed regression analysis to propose values of n = 0.25 and m = 0.28 (ho/L)−2.425 for triangular weirs.

The discharge capacity of weirs decreases in submerged flow condition and the onset of submergence occurs at the modular limit. Therefore, the determination of modular limit in weirs with different geometries is critical to understanding the sensitivity of a particular weir model with tailwater level variations. The available definition of modular limit as when head water raises by +1 mm due to tailwater rise does not consider the effects of channel and weir geometries. Therefore, a new and more accurate definition of modular limit is proposed in this study to consider the effect of other geometry and approaching flow parameters. The second objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of upstream and downstream ramps and ramps slopes on the hydraulic performance of submerged Hump weirs. The flow patterns, velocity distributions, and energy dissipation rates were extracted from validated numerical data to better understand the discharge reduction mechanism in Hump weirs in both free and submerged flow conditions.

Section snippets

Governing equations

Numerical simulation has been employed as an efficient and effective method to analyze free surface flow problems and in particular investigating on the hydraulics of flow over weirs [22]. The weir models were developed in numerical domain and the water pressure and velocity field were simulated by employing the FLOW-3D solver (Flow Science, Inc., Santa Fe, USA). The numerical results were validated with the laboratory measurements and the effects of ramps slopes on the performance of Hump

Verification of numerical model

The experimental observations of Bazin [16,17] were used for model validation in free and submerged flow conditions, respectively. The weir height in the study of Bazin was P = 0.5 m and two ramp slopes of 1V:1H and 1V:2H were tested. The bed and sides of the channel were made of glass, and the roughness distribution of the bed and walls were uniform. The Hump weir models in the study of Seyed Hakim and Azimi (2017) had a weir height of 0.076 m and ramp slopes of 1V:2H in both upstream and

Conclusions

A series of numerical simulations was performed to study the hydraulics and velocity pattern downstream of a Hump weir with symmetrical ramp slopes. Effects of ramp slope and discharge on formation of modular limit and in submerged flow condition were tested by conducting a series of numerical simulations on Hump weirs with ramp slopes varying from 1V:1H to 1V:5H. A comparison between numerical results and experimental data indicated that the proposed numerical model is accurate with a mean

Author contributions

Arash Ahmadi: Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft. Amir Azimi: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – review & editing

Uncited References

[30]; [31]; [32]; [33].

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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