Source: Engineering Hydrology: An Introduction to Processes, Analysis, and Modeling, 1st Edition

ISBN: 9781259641978
Authors: Sharad K. Jain Ph.D., Vijay P. Singh Ph.D.

11.3. Measurement of Discharge

The river discharge at a site is a function of flow velocity and cross-sectional area and the latter is a function of river stage at
the site. In most cases, discharge is measured once a day at a fixed time. It might be measured more frequently at important
stations or during high flows. Techniques to measure discharge can be classified into two categories: (1) direct measurement
and (2) indirect measurement.

11.3.1. Direct Determination of Discharge

In these methods, either discharge is measured directly or some variable on which discharge uniquely depends is measured.
The commonly used methods in this category are velocity-area methods, dilution techniques, electromagnetic method, and
ultrasonic method.

11.3.2. Velocity-Area Methods

Mathematically, the discharge (Q) passing through a cross section is

Q=AV

(11.1)

where A is the area of cross section of flow (m2 ), and V is the mean flow velocity (m/s). In the velocity-area method, the flow
area and velocity are measured and are multiplied to get discharge.

Water moving in a river cross section is subject to friction as it comes in contact with the sides and bottom of the channel.
Speed of flow of water is the fastest slightly below the open water surface and center of the channel (away from the frictional
influences). A typical velocity profile is shown in Fig. 11.7 where the velocity varies as a parabola from zero at the channel
bottom to a maximum at (or near) the surface. Due to the variation in velocity, it is not enough to measure the velocity at a
single point. Depending on the accuracy required, the cross-sectional area is divided into a number of vertical segments (Fig.
11.8). In each segment, velocity is measured at one or more points along the depth to get the average segment velocity. The
area of the individual segment can be calculated by use of data of bed profile and flow depth.

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 Figure 11.7 Typical velocity profile.

Figure 11.8 Schematic sketch for a velocity-area station. (Redrawn from Jain and Singh, 2003.)

Figure 11.9 shows isovels, which are the contours of equal velocity in a river cross section.

Figure 11.9 Velocity distribution in channel cross sections (isovels in m/s).

Usually, there are national guidelines on how the vertical sections should be chosen and the depth at which the velocity should
be measured to determine the mean velocity in the vertical profile (see, e.g., CWC, 2017). Two methods often used to determine
the mean velocity over the vertical velocity profile are discussed here.

Two-Point Measurement The variation of flow velocity with depth for most channels is such that the average of the velocities
at 0.2d and 0.8d depth below the surface equals the mean velocity in the vertical (Fig. 11.10).

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 Figure 11.10 Scheme for a current meter measurement.

One-Point Measurement The velocity at 0.6d depth below the surface closely approximates the mean velocity in the vertical.
The validity of this assumption for a particular stream can be tested by making a detailed vertical velocity traverse.

The number of velocity determinations is also dictated by the number of measurements that are possible in a reasonable time.
If the river stage is changing rapidly, one should quickly complete the measurements before the stage changes significantly.

11.3.3. Measurement of Velocity

Flow velocity can be measured by a number of means. Some important ones are discussed here.

Floats A float is an object that does not sink and remains near or on the water surface, for example, a wooden log, or branch
of a tree, or a closed bottle partly filled with water. Floats that are used to measure streamflow velocity are wooden cylindrical
rods of about 0.3 m length. They are shaped such that they remain vertical while float and sufficient length protrudes above
water. It is common to paint floats in bright colors for easy identification in muddy or turbulent water. At times, a floating
object, such as a branch of a tree, may serve as a float.

To measure velocity, two cross sections sufficiently apart (for accurate assessment of float travel time) on a straight river
reach are selected. Cross sections should be clearly marked so that the time when the float crosses the cross section is
correctly known. The river width at the upstream cross section is divided into a number of equal segments in which floats are
tossed.

Observers are placed at either end of the reach such that they can see each other. Floats are thrown uniformly (as feasible)
across the cross section a short distance before the upstream section (so that they attain the velocity of water when they arrive
at the upstream cross section). Floats may be tossed from the riverbank, bridge, or cableway. When the float crosses the
upstream cross section, the observer placed there gives a signal to the downstream observer who acts as a timekeeper and
who notes the time taken by the float to cover the reach and compute the float velocity. Next, the mean flow velocity in the
vertical is the float velocity multiplied by a coefficient, which depends on the velocity profile and the depth of immersion of the
float; it ranges from 0.80 to 0.85. International Standard ISO 748 may be seen for more details.

Floats can rarely be thrown at the desired locations in the river. It is difficult to throw them far from the bank manually and
hence only the velocity of water near the banks can be measured. Measurements by floats are not reliable and are normally
taken only when other means are not available or cannot be used.

Current Meter A current meter (CM) is commonly used to measure the velocity of flowing water. It consists of a rotating
element (rotor) which moves due to the reaction of the water current and acquires an angular velocity proportional to that of
water. The CM is placed at a point in the water body and the number of revolutions of the rotor during a time interval are
counted to determine the velocity of water. CMs are of two types: propeller type and cup type.

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A horizontal axis propeller-type CM consists of a propeller mounted at the end of a horizontal shaft (Fig. 11.11). These are
available in a range of propeller diameters and pitch as per flow conditions. Propellers can be made of metal or plastic. Some
CMs come with propellers of different sizes for different flow conditions. In the vertical axis CMs, a number (about 4–6) of cups
are mounted on a vertical axis and rotate due to the force of moving water.

Figure 11.11 Propeller-type current meter.

The propeller-type CM causes less disturbance to flow than vertical axis rotors. Further, due to axial symmetry with the flow
direction, the rotor is less likely to be entangled by debris than vertical axis rotors and has less bearing friction.

CM measurements are usually classified based on the means used to cross the stream during observations, such as wading,
cableway, bridge, or boat. Wading is feasible in small streams of shallow depth only; the CM is held at the requisite depth below
the surface by an observer who stands in the water. In narrow deep channels, a cableway is stretched from bank to bank well
above the high water level and a carriage moving over the cableway serves as the observation platform (Subramanya, 2013).
CMs are held down and stabilized at a position in the flowing water by sounding weights connected at the bottom. Bridges are
advantageous from the view of accessibility, although these are not the best locations hydraulically since the bridge piers
disturb natural flow conditions. The velocity should be measured on the downstream of the bridge. If the CM is deployed
upstream side of the bridge, it may drift and knock against piers. Boats are most satisfactory for CM measurements in wide
rivers.

The relation between revolutions per second N of the current meter and the water velocity v is given by an equation of the
following type

v = a+b×N

(11.2)

where a = the starting velocity or velocity required to overcome mechanical friction, and b = a constant of proportionality. The
values of a and b are determined by calibration which should be checked periodically due to wear and tear.

11.3.4. Moving Boat Method

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11.3.4. Moving Boat Method
On very wide streams and estuaries, measurement of discharge by conventional methods by CM are frequently impractical or
tedious. In the moving boat method, flow data are collected by an observer who is riding a boat traversing the stream along a
preselected path. During the traverse, an echo sounder records the bed profile of the river and a CM measures the combined
flow and boat velocities. The observer also measures the angle between the CM, which aligns itself in a direction parallel to the
movement of water and the preselected path. Data are collected at a large number of observation points in the cross section.

The velocity (vv) measured at an observation point (Fig. 11.12) is the velocity of water past the CM resulting from both
streamflow and boat movement. This velocity is the vector sum of the velocity of water (v) and the velocity of boat (vb). The flow
velocity can be obtained by measuring the angle α between the selected path of the boat and a vertical vane, which aligns itself
in a direction parallel to the movement of water past it.

Figure 11.12 Moving boat method of discharge measurement.

The flow velocity v, perpendicular to the boat path (true course) at each observation point 1, 2, 3,…, can be determined from the
relationship

v = vv sin α

(11.3)

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