STREAM FLOW MEASUREMENT

DILUTION TECHNIQUE

PREPARED BY: ENGR. NESLYN LOPEZ

 DILUTION TECHNIQUE
• The dilution method of flow
C1 Sudden injection of
Concentration

volume V1 at Sec 1
measurement, also known as
Conc. At Sec 2 chemical method depends
upon the continuity principle

C0 applied to tracer which is

C2
allowed to mix completely
t1 t t2 with the flow.
Time
 C1
DILUTION TECHNIQUE
Sudden injection of
Concentration

volume V1 at Sec 1
𝑴𝟏 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 1 = ∀1 𝐶1
Conc. At Sec 2
𝑡2 𝑡2
∀1
𝑴𝟏 = 𝑄 𝐶2 − 𝐶0 𝑑𝑡 + 𝐶2 − 𝐶0 𝑑𝑡
𝑡1 𝑡2 − 𝑡1 𝑡1

C0
C2

t1 t t2
Time
Neglecting the second term on the right hand side as insignificantly small,
∀𝟏 𝑪𝟏
𝑸= 𝒕𝟐 Eq.4.13
𝒕𝟏
𝑪𝟐 − 𝑪𝟎 𝒅𝒕
 DILUTION TECHNIQUE
• The discharge 𝑸 in the stream can be estimated if for a known 𝑴𝟏 the
variations of 𝑪𝟐 with time at Section 2 and 𝑪𝟎 are determined.

• This method is known as sudden injection or gulp or integration

method.
 DILUTION TECHNIQUE
• Dilution principle can be done
Section 1 also by injecting the tracer of
C1
concentration 𝑪𝟏 at a constant
rate 𝑸𝒕 at Section 1.
Concentration

Section 2
Background • At Section 2, the concentration
Conc. gradually rises form background
value 𝑪𝟎 at time 𝒕𝟏 to a constant
value 𝑪𝟐 .
C1 C2

0
Time
 DILUTION TECHNIQUE
At a steady state, the continuity
Section 1 equation for the tracer is
C1
𝑄1 𝐶1 + 𝑄𝐶0 = 𝑄 + 𝑄𝑡 𝐶2
Concentration

Section 2 Thus,
Background
Conc. 𝑸𝒕 𝑪𝟏 − 𝑪𝟐
𝑸= Eq.4.14
𝑪𝟐 − 𝑪𝟎
C2
C1
0
Time
 DILUTION TECHNIQUE
• The technique in which 𝑸 is estimated
by knowing 𝑪𝟏 , 𝑪𝟐 , 𝑪𝟎 and 𝑸𝒕 is known
as constant rate injection method or
plateau gauging.

• It is necessary to emphasize here that

the dilution method of gauging is
based on the assumption of steady
flow.

• If the flow rate changes appreciably

during gauging, there will be a change
in the storage volume in the reach and
the steady-state continuity equation is
not valid.
 TRACERS
• The tracer used should have ideally the following properties:

1. It should not be absorbed by the sediment, channel boundary

and vegetation. It should not chemically react with any of the
above surfaces and also should not be lost by evaporation.

2. It should be non-toxic.

3. It should be capable of being detected in a distinctive manner

in small concentrations.

4. It should not be very expensive.

 TRACERS
• The tracers used are of three main types.

1. Chemicals (common salt and sodium dichromate are typical)

2. Fluorescent dyes (Rhodamine-WT and Sulpho-Rhodamine B

Extra are typical)

3. Radioactive materials (such as Bromine-82, Sodium-24 and

Iodine-132)
 TRACERS
• Common Salt – can be
detected with an error of ±1%
up to a concentration of 10
ppm.

• Sodium dichromate – can be

detected up to 0.2 ppm
concentration.
 TRACERS

• Fluorescent dyes – advantage can be

detected at levels of tens of nanograms
per liter ( ̴1 in 1011) and hence requires
very small amounts of solution for
injections.

• Radioactive tracers – detectable up to

accuracies of tens of picocuries per liter
( ̴1 in 1014) and therefore permit large
scale dilutions.
 TRACERS
CHIEF FACTORS:

• Availability of detection
instrumentation

• Environmental effects

• Overall cost of tracers

 LENGTH OF REACH
• The length of reach between the dosing section and sampling
section should be adequate enough to have complete mixing of the
tracer with the flow.

• Length depends:
 Geometric dimensions of the channel cross-section
 Discharge
 Turbulence levels
 LENGTH OF REACH
An empirical formula suggested by Rimmar (1960) for estimation of
mixing length for point injection of a tracer in a straight reach is

𝟎. 𝟏𝟑𝑩𝟐 𝑪 𝟎. 𝟕𝑪 + 𝟐 𝒈
𝑳= Eq.4.15
𝒈𝒅

Where:
𝑳 = mixing length (m)
𝑩 = average width of the stream (m)
𝒅 = average depth of the stream (m)
𝑪 = Chezy coefficient of roughness
𝒈 = acceleration due to gravity
 LENGTH OF REACH
• The value of 𝑳 varies from about 1 km
for a mountain stream carrying a
discharge of about 1.0 m3/s to about
100 km for river in a plain with the
discharge of about 300.0 m3/s.

• The mixing length becomes very large

for large rivers and is one of the major
constraints of the dilution method.

• Artificial mixing of the tracer at the

dosing station may prove beneficial for
small streams in reducing the mixing
length of the reach.
 USE
It is recommended by many
regulatory agencies that
permanent open channel
flow monitoring systems be
calibrated in-situ utilizing the
dye dilution method.

• Major Advantage: Discharge is estimated directly in absolute way

• Attractive method for small turbulent streams, such as those in

mountainous areas.

• Where suitable, it can be used as an occasional method obtained by

other methods for:
 checking the calibration
 stage-discharge curves, etc.
 SAMPLE PROBLEM
A 25 g/l solution of a fluorescent tracer was discharged into a stream at
a constant rate of 10 cm3/s. The background concentration of the dye
in the stream water was found to be zero. At a downstream section
sufficiently far away, the dye was found to reach an equilibrium
concentration of 5 parts per million. Estimate the stream discharge
 SAMPLE PROBLEM
SOLUTION
For the constant-rate injection method:
𝑐𝑚3
𝑄𝑡 = 10 = 10 × 10−6 𝑚3 /𝑠
𝑸𝒕 𝑪𝟏 − 𝑪𝟐 𝑠
𝑸=
𝑪𝟐 − 𝑪𝟎
𝐶1 = 0.025, 𝐶2 = 5 × 10−9 , 𝐶0 = 0

10 × 10−6 0.025 − 5 × 10−9

𝑸=
5 × 10−9 − 0

𝑸 = 𝟓𝟎 𝒎𝟑 /𝒔
STREAM FLOW MEASUREMENT
ELECTROMAGNETIC TECHNIQUE

PREPARED BY: ENGR. NESLYN LOPEZ

 ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD
• It is based on the
Faraday’s principle that
an emf is induced in the
conductor (water in the
present case) when in
cuts a normal magnetic
field.

• Large coils buried at the

bottom of the channel
carry a current 𝑰 to
produce a controlled
vertical magnetic field.
 ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD
• Electrodes provided at the sides of the channel section measure the
small voltage produced due to flow of water in the channel.
 ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD
It has been found that the signal output 𝑬 will be of the order of
millivolts and is related to the discharge 𝑸 as
𝒏
𝑬𝒅
𝑸 = 𝑲𝟏 + 𝑲𝟐 Eq.4.16
𝑰

Where:
𝒅 = depth of flow
𝑰 = current in the coil
𝒏, 𝑲𝟏 , 𝑲𝟐 = system constant
ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD
• This method involves
sophisticated and expensive
instrumentation and has been
successfully tried in a number of
installations.

• The fact that this kind of set-up

gives the total discharge when
once it has been calibrated,
makes it specially suited for field
situations where the cross-
sectional properties can change
with time due to weed growth ,
sedimentation, etc.
ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD
• Specific application is in tidal channels
where the flow undergoes rapid
changes both in magnitude as well as
in direction.
 ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD
• In present, electromagnetic flow meters commercially available can
measure the discharge to an accuracy of ±3%, the maximum
channel width that can be accommodated being 100 m.

• The minimum detectable velocity is 0.005 m/s.

STREAM FLOW MEASUREMENT
ULTRASONIC METHOD

PREPARED BY: ENGR. NESLYN LOPEZ

 ULTRASONIC METHOD
• This is essentially an area-velocity method with an average velocity
being measured by using ultrasonic signals.

• The method was first reported by Swengel (1955), since then it has
been perfected and complete systems are available commercially.
 ULTRASONIC METHOD
• Considering a channel carrying a flow with two transducer A and B
fixed at the same level h above the bed and on either side of the
channel.

• These transducers can receive as well as send ultrasonic signals.

 ULTRASONIC METHOD
• Let A send an ultrasonic signal to be received at B after an elapse
time 𝒕𝟏

• Similarly, let B send a signal to be received at A after an elapse

time 𝒕𝟐
𝑳
𝒕𝟏 = Eq.4.17
• If 𝑪 = velocity of sound in water, 𝑪 − 𝒗𝒑
Where:
𝑳 = length of path A and B
𝒗𝒑 = component of the flow velocity in the sound path, 𝒗𝒑 = 𝒗 cos 𝜽
 ULTRASONIC METHOD
Similarly,
𝑳
𝒕𝟐 = Eq.4.18
𝑪 − 𝒗𝒑
Thus,

𝟏 𝟏 𝟐𝒗𝒑 𝟐𝒗 cos 𝜽
− = =
𝒕𝟏 𝒕𝟐 𝑳 𝑳
Or
𝑳 𝟏 𝟏
𝒗= − Eq.4.19
𝟐 cos 𝜽 𝒕𝟏 𝒕𝟐
 ULTRASONIC METHOD
• Thus for a given 𝑳 and 𝜽, by knowing 𝒕𝟏 and 𝒕𝟐 , the average
velocity along the path AB, i.e. 𝒗 can be determined.

• It may be noted that 𝒗 is the average velocity at a height h above

the bed and is not the average velocity V for the whole cross-
section.

• However, for a given channel cross-section 𝒗 can be related to V

and by calibration a relation between 𝒗 /V and h can be obtained.
 ULTRASONIC METHOD
• For a given set-up, as the area of cross-section is fixed, the
discharge is obtained as a product of area and mean velocity V.

• Estimation of discharge by using one signal path as above is called

single-path gauging.

• Alternatively, for a given depth flow, multiple single paths can be

used to obtain for different values which is known as multi-path
gauging.
 ULTRASONIC METHOD
• Ultrasonic flowmeters using the above principal have frequencies
of the order of 500 kHz.

• Sophisticated electronics are involved to transmit, detect and

evaluate the mean velocity of flow along the path.

• In a given installation of calibration (usually performed by current-

meter method) is needed to determine the system constants.

• Currently available commercial systems have accuracies of about

2% for the single-path method and 1% for the multi-path method.

• The systems are currently available for rivers up to 500 m width.

 ULTRASONIC METHOD
The specific advantages of the ultrasonic system of river gauging are

1. It is rapid and gives high accuracy.

2. It is suitable for automatic recording of data.

3. It can handle rapid changes in the magnitude and direction of

flow, as in tidal channel rivers.

4. The cost of installation is independent of the size of rivers.

 ULTRASONIC METHOD
The accuracy of this method is limited by the factors that affect the
signal velocity and averaging of flow velocity, such as

i. Unstable cross-section

ii. Fluctuating weed growth

iii. High loads of suspended solids

iv. Air entrainment

v. Salinity and temperature changes