When you’re looking for a flume for flow rate measurement, you’re probably going to come across the Parshall flume before anything else. That’s no accident, as the Parshall flume is the most commonly used flume for measuring water flow in open channel conditions anywhere. Learn why the Parshall flume is so popular, and discover the advantages you can enjoy when you opt for one under certain flow channel conditions.
Rectangular Cross Section Design
The rectangular cross-section design is one of the most useful features of the Parshall flume style. With this kind of design, the flume can be easily integrated into channels meant for irrigation or treatment plant flow. That’s because the rectangular design is the standard shape of those particular kinds of channels anyways. The primary consideration is whether the walls have to be contracted to control the flow itself. When you work with a fiberglass flume manufacturer, that’s a trivially easy modification to make with the design.
No Additional Training Required
Whether you’re doing it yourself or you’re hiring someone else, the flume operator needs to be familiar with the design to take flow rate measurements correctly. Fortunately, the Parshall design is the most widely known design in the industry, so you’re more likely than not going to have someone who knows exactly how to handle Parshall flumes. That means fewer errors than you may reasonably expect from a more obscure style.
Submergence Resistance
Submergence is a potential problem any flume can face when the downstream conditions create a backflow that throws off any measurements. Fortunately, Parshall flumes are quite adept at resisting submergence forces, especially larger Parshall flumes. For example, a very large flume has a submergence transition rate of 80%. The higher that percentage is, the more submergence forces are tolerable before the flume is properly considered to be submerged. This technically isn’t the highest submergence transition ratio available, but it’s near the top and applicable in the vast majority of situations.
History of Research
The Parshall flume is the most well-researched flume style there is as the first of modern flume styles. It’s been around a century since it all began, and in all that time, a wide variety of research has been done finding solutions for submerged flow equations, corrections for submergence, and corrections for settling both laterally and longitudinally. No other flume style can boast the same history of intensive research.
Compatibility with Accessories
Accessories can be essential for proper flume operation, and the Parshall design makes them easy to implement. The small and medium-sized Parshalls are especially friendly to accessories like inlet flow conditioners, flow meter mounts, and integrated structures both above and below ground. You can also easily add features like stilling wells and baffle plates, which may be necessary for flow conditioning.
Parshall Flumes from Tracom
Now that you know why the Parshall flume is popular, it’s time to make use of all those benefits. At Tracom, our team will work with you to create a customized Parshall flume that offers everything you need for your unique flow conditions. Contact us today to get started!
