Flumes come in a wide variety of styles, and certain flumes, such as the RBC and Palmer-Bowlus, come equipped with long-throated ramps. While this can be beneficial in some regards, long-throated ramps are also very much at risk from sedimentation, and as anyone in the flow management field knows, sedimentation can be disastrous for an operation.
If you have a long-throated ramp flume in your system, or if you’re interested in installing one of these devices, you need to learn more about the risk of sedimentation and how it may affect your system. Find out how sedimentation can impact long-throated ramp flumes and learn a few solutions for addressing this common flow management problem.
How Long-Throated Flumes Work
When you’re learning about how long-throated ramp flumes are impacted by sedimentation, a good place to start is to review how these flumes actually work. The primary purpose of this type of flume is to increase the flow in a system from subcritical to supercritical, and the way this goal is achieved is by changing the height of the flume floor.
The floor of the flume will be heightened to change the velocity of the flow, and this change in elevation can also result in standing water that will be found in the area upstream of the flume’s ramp. In some systems, this isn’t a problem, but in others, it can easily result in sedimentation.
How Sedimentation Occurs
If you have long-throated ramp flumes installed in your system, you probably won’t need to worry about sedimentation if your flow is in the normal to high range. However, if the flow in your system isn’t consistent, meaning there’s a possibility of low flows, then sedimentation is absolutely something about which you should be concerned.
When the flow in your system is very low, sediments can easily settle at the top of the ramp. This can also be a concern if there are a large amount of solids in your flow. When sediment deposits in your flume, it can change the profile of your flow. As you can imagine, this will greatly interfere with your ability to take accurate flow readings.
Addressing Sedimentation
If you suspect that sedimentation is a risk for your long-throated ramp flumes, then there are a few easy ways you can address this issue. First and foremost, you can increase the amount of regular maintenance that your operators perform on your flume. Although this will help you correct sedimentation, it means your operators will spend more time away from their normal duties.
When sedimentation occurs frequently, you could also consider installing a new flume in your system. Certain flumes, particularly Trapezoidal flumes, have been specifically designed with sedimentation in mind. Installing one of these flumes means you won’t have to worry about sediment altering your flow.
Install Long-Throated Ramp Flumes
As long as you take the proper precautions, you should be able to prevent sedimentation from interfering with your long-throated ramp flumes, and if you need one of these devices for your system, you can get help from Tracom, FRP.
Tracom offers our customers multiple fiberglass flume styles, including long-throated ramp flumes such as the Palmer-Bowlus flume. Contact us today to learn more.
