FLOW OVER NOTCHES

ELEMENTARY FLUID MECHANICS

CEE-203
 Introduction

■ A notch may be defined as:

“An opening in one side of a tank or a reservoir,
like a large orifice, with the upstream liquid level
below the top edge of the opening”
 Introduction

■ Since the top edge or the notch above the

liquid level, serves no purpose, therefore a
notch may have only the bottom edge and
sides.
■ The bottom edge, over which the liquid
flows, is known as sill or crest of the
notch and the sheet of liquid flowing over
a notch (or a weir) is known as nappe or
vein.
■ A notch is usually made of a metallic plate
and is used to measure the discharge of
liquids.
Types:

■ There are many types of notches,

depending upon their shapes. But the
following are important from the subject
point of view.

1. Rectangular notch
2. Triangular notch
3. Trapezoidal notch
4. Stepped notch
 Discharge over a
Rectangular Notch

■ Consider a rectangular notch. in one

side of a tank over which the water
is flowing as shown in Fig.
 Discharge over a
■ Let Rectangular Notch
H = Height of water above sill of the notch,
b = Width or length of the notch, and
Cd = Coefficient of discharge.
Let us consider a horizontal strip of water of
thickness dh at a depth of h from the water level
as shown in Fig.
■ Area of the strip = b.dh (i)
■ We know that theoretical velocity of water through
the strip (ii)

 2 gh
 Discharge over a
Rectangular
■ Discharge Notch
through the strip,
dq = Cd x Area of strip x Theoretical
velocity
 C d b.dh 2 gh

■ The total discharge, over the whole notch,

may be found out by integrating the above
H
equation within the limits 0 and H.

Q  C d .bdh 2 gh
0
H
1
C d .b 2 g 
0
h 2 dh
 Discharge over a
Rectangular Notch
H
 3  H
h 2  2  3 
C d .b 2 g    C d .b 2 g h2 
 3  3  
0
 2  0
2 3
 C d .b 2 g H 2
3
■ Note: Sometimes the limits of integration, in the
above equation, are from H1 to H2 (i.e. the liquid
level is at a height of H1 above the top of the
notch and H2 above the bottom of the notch,
instead of 0 to H; then the discharge over such a
notch will be given by the equation.

2

Q  C d .b 2 g H 23 / 2  H 13 / 2
3

 Problem-1
A rectangular notch 0.5 meters wide has a
constant head of 400 mm. Find the
discharge over the notch, in litres per
second, if coefficient of discharge for the
notch is 0.62.
Given :
Solution:
b 0.5m
H 400mm 0.4m
C d 0.62
Discharge over the rectangular notch,
2 3
Q  C d .b 2 g H 2
3
Putting values,
2
Q  x0.62 x0.5 2 x9.810.4 3 / 2 m 3 / sec
3
Q 0.915 x0.253 0.231m 3 / s 231 litres / s
 Problem-2
A rectangular notch has a discharge of 21.5
cubic meters per minute, when the head of
water is half the length of the notch. Find the
length of the notch. Assume Cd = 0.6.
Solution:
 Problem-2
A rectangular notch has a discharge of 21.5
cubic meters per minute, when the head of
water is half the length of the notch. Find the
length of the notch. Assume Cd = 0.6.
Given :
Solution:
Q 21.5m 3 / min 21.5 / 60 0.358m 3 / s
H b/2 0.5b
C d 0.6
Discharge over the rectangular notch,
2 3
Q  Cd .b 2 g H 2
3
Putting values,
3
5
2 b 2
0.358  x0.6 xb 2 x9.81  0.626b 2
3  2
5
0.358
b 
2
0.572 b 0.8m
0.626
 Discharge over a
Triangular Notch

■ A triangular notch is also called a V-notch.

Consider a triangular notch, in one side of the tank,
over which the water is flowing.
 Discharge over a
Triangular Notch
■ Let
H = Height of the liquid above the apex of the
notch
 = Angle of the notch
Cd = Coefficient of discharge
■ From the geometry of the figure, we find that the width
of the notch at the water surface

2 H tan
2
■ Now let us consider a horizontal strip of water of
thickness dh, and at a depth h from the water level as
shown in previous Fig.
 Discharge over a
Triangular Notch
■ We know that the width of the strip

2H  h tan
■ Area of the strip 2

2H  h tan .dh
2
■ We know that theoretical velocity of water through
the strip  2 gh

■ and discharge over the notch,

dq = Cd x Area of strip x Theoretical velocity

C d .2H  h tan dh 2 gh
2
 Discharge over a
Triangular
■ The total Notch
discharge, over the whole notch, may
be found out by integrating the above
equation,H within the limits
 0 and H.
Q   Cd .2H  h tan dh. 2 gh
0 2

 H  h 
H
2Cd 2 g tan h.dh
2 0


 Hh 
H 1/ 2
Cd 2 g tan  h 3 / 2 dh
2 0

H
  3 5
  H .h h  2 2
2Cd 2 g tan  
2 3 5  If  90o ,

 2 2 0 Cd 0.6 and

8  5 g 9.81m/s 2
 Cd 2 g tan H 2
15 2 then Q  1.417 H 5/2
 Advantages of a
Triangular Notch over a
Rectangular Notch
1. Only one reading i.e., head (H) is required
to be taken for the measurement of
discharge, in a given triangular notch.
2. If, in a triangular notch the angle of the
notch i.e. θ=90°, the formula becomes
very simple (i.e., Q = 1.417H5/2) to
remember.
3. A triangular notch gives more accurate
results for low discharges than a
rectangular notch.
4. The same triangular notch can measure a
wide range of flows accurately.
 Problem-3
A right-angled V-notch was used to measure the
discharge of a centrifugal pump. If the depth of
water at V-notch is 200 mm, calculate the
discharge over the notch in litres per minute.
Assume coefficient of discharge as 0.62.
Solution:
Given :
 90o , H 200mm 0.2m
C d 0.62
Discharge over the triangular notch,
5
8 
Q  Cd 2 g tan xH 2
15 2
Putting values,
5
8
Q  x0.62 x 2 x9.81 tan 450 x(0.2) 2 m 3 / sec
15
Q 1.465 x0.018 0.026m 3 / sec
Q 26 Lit / s 1560 Lit / min
 Problem-4
During an experiment in a laboratory, 280 litres
of water flowing over a right-angled notch was
collected in one minute. If the head of the sill is
100mm, calculate the coefficient of discharge of
the notch.
Solution:
Given :
Q 280lit / min 0.0047 m 3 / s
H 100mm 0.1m
Discharge over the triangular notch,
5
8 
Q  Cd 2 g tan xH 2
15 2
Putting values,
5
8
0.0047  Cd 2 x981 tan 450 x(0.1) 2 0.0075Cd
15
C d 0.0047 / 0.0075 0.627
 Problem-5
A Rectangular channel 1.5 meter wide is used to carry 0.2
cumecs of water. The rate of flow is measured by placing a V-
notch weir. If the maximum depth of water is not to exceed 1.2
meter, find the position of the apex of the notch from the bed of
the channel. Assume Cd = 0.6.
Solution:
Given :
Width of rectangular notch (b) 1.5m
Q 0.2m 3 / s,  90o , C d 0.6
Let H Height of water above the apex of notch.
We know that Discharge over the triangular notch (Q),
5
8 
Q  Cd 2 g tan xH 2
15 2
Putting values,
5
8
0.2  x0.6 2 x9.81 tan 45 x( H ) 2 1.417 H 5 / 2
0

15
H 0.46m
Position of apex of notch from bed of channel = depth of water in channel
– height of water over V notch = 1.2 – 0.46 = 0.74 m
 Problem-6
Water flows over a rectangular notch of 1 meter
length over a depth, of 150 mm. Then the same
quantity of water passes through a triangular
right-angled notch. Find the depth of water
through the notch.
Take the coefficients of discharges, for the
rectangular and triangular notch, as 0.62 and
0.59 respectively.
Solution: Given :
For rectangular notch b 1m
H1 150mm 0.15m
C d 0.62
For triangular notch
 90o and C d 0.59
First of all, consider the flow of water over rectangular notch.
3
2
Q  Cd b 2 g H 2
3
Putting values,
3
2
Q  x0.62 x1x 2 x9.81x(0.15) 2
3
Q 0.106m3 / s
Now consider the flow of water over the triangular notch.
We know that discharge over the triangular notch,
5
8 
Q  Cd 2 g tan xH 2
15 2
5
8
0.106  x0.59 2 x9.81 tan 450 xH 2 2
15
H 2 0.357 m
 Discharge over a
Trapezoidal Notch

■ A trapezoidal notch is a combination of a

rectangular notch and two triangular
notches as shown in Fig.
■ It is thus obvious, that the discharge over
such notch will be the sum of the
discharges over the rectangular and
triangular notches.
 Discharge over a
Trapezoidal Notch
■ Consider a trapezoidal notch ABCD as shown in Fig. For
analysis is purpose split up the notch into a rectangular
notch BCFE and two triangular notches ABE and DCF. The
discharge over these two triangular notches is equivalent
to the discharge over a single triangular notch of angle θ.
■ Let
H = Height of the liquid above the sill of the notch.
Cd1 = Coefficient of discharge for the rectangular portion
Cd2 = Coefficient of discharge for the triangular portions
b = Breadth of the rectangular portion of the notch, and
 =Angle, which the sides make, with the vertical.
 Discharge over a
Trapezoidal Notch
■ Discharge over the trapezoidal notch,
Q = Discharge over the
Rectangular notch +
Discharge over the Triangular notch.
3 5
2 8 
 Cd 1.b 2 g H  Cd 2 2 g tan H
2 2
3 15 2
 Problem-7
A trapezoidal notch of 1.2m wide at the top and
450mm at the bottom is 300mm high. Find the
discharge through the notch, if the head of
water is 225mm. Take coefficient of discharge
as 0.6.
Solution:
Given :
Width of notch 1.2m
b 450mm 0.45m
Height of notch 300mm 0.3m
H 225mm 0.225m and C d 0.6
From the geometry of notch, we find that,
 1200  450 1 750
tan  x  1.25
2 2 300 600
and the discharge over the trapezoidal notch,
3 5
2 8 
Q  Cd .b 2 g H 2  Cd 2 g tan H 2
3 15 2
3 5
2 8
Q  x0.6 x0.45 2 x9.81x(0.225) 2  x0.6 x 2 x9.81x1.25 x(0.225) 2
3 15
Q 0.085  0.043 0.0128m 3 / s 128lit / s