The hydraulic channel is a channel with variable slope, and its transparent side walls allow to visualize the flow of the vein.

Educational goals:

Identification of different flow: torrential, critical, fluvial

Distribution of speeds in a channel

Chezy, Bazin, Manning-Strickle Formulas

Evidence of different flows: uniform, permanent, gradually or abruptly varied.

Flows above different types of thresholds: thin, thick rim, triangular weir.

Flow measurements in a critical section

Influence of roughness on a flow

Torrential – fluvial: the hydraulic jump

Studies of eddy curves

Flow through a Venturi and / or Parshall Flume.

Technical description:

The hydraulic channel is made of Plexiglas.

Of uniform roughness, it is assembled by a special assembly which ensures parallel walls and a constant section.

The valve “duckbill” makes turbulence, turbulence, vortices and excessive disturbances.

The flow is regulated by a multi-turn manual valve and is measured by an electromagnetic needle flow meter.

The end of the canal ends with a spilling ceiling with a guillotine valve from which the water falls back into the main tank. Due to its configuration, this spillway is still unclogged and provides an essential hydraulic break at the exit of the channel.

The perfect rigidity of the channel is ensured by a Plexiglas box beam. At its end stream, it is based on a manual screw jack that allows a fine adjustment of positive or negative slopes. The water is pumped from the main tank and fed into the canal itself, via a “duckbill” valve, located upstream of the test vein.

The bench consists of:

1 kW stainless steel centrifugal pump

Water tank

Magnetic float needle type flow meter.

Parshall Canal, siphon, radial sector valve, inclined sill, weir and ski jump, weir and weir.

2 vernier gauges. 1 pitot tube

1 thin-walled weir with ventilated ply, 2 thick weirs, 1 venturi, 1 vertical guillotine valve, 2 bridge piers, 1 triangular weir and 1 rough bed.