Optical means of determining the surface flow characteristics of open channel flows: a proposed design

A study of surface flow characteristics of free falling fluid over an inclined plate with a smooth surface kept at different inclined angles is reported. Governing equations describing the flow characteristics are formulated. They are discretised using the control volume method and simplified marker-and-cell method with SIMPLE algorithm applied to obtain numerical solutions of the flow characteristics. Important flow parameters considered in this study are the time dependant fluid thickness over different spatial regions of the surface and the velocity profile at selected cross sections along the flow direction. Results obtained for various Reynolds and Froude numbers are presented. The theoretical results are confirmed with experimental results. This paper proposes an optical method for measuring the fluid thickness at different spatial regions of the surface. A laser beam is directed to pass through the fluid and the intensity of the beam is sensed at a photosensitive mosaic kept behind the flowing fluid and the signal is amplified, digitised, processed in PC and displayed.