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The 4-Inch Palmer Bowlus Flume | Open Channel Flow
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The 4-Inch Palmer Bowlus Flume

Flume
In this article: palmer bowlus, flume, flow, flow rate, flow equation, free flow, submerged flow, submergence, submergence transition, dimensions

The 4-inch Palmer Bowlus Flume is the smallest of the Palmer Bowlus family of flumes.  The flume can pass sanitary solids without clogging.    

Applications

4-inch fiberglass Palmer Bowlus flume for Malibu CA

The 4-inch Palmer Bowlus Flume is used to measure:

  • Dam seepage
  • Industrial pretreatment monitoring
  • Mine discharge
  • Wastewater treatment plants
    • Waste / interplant flows
    • Lagoons

Palmer Bowlus Flumes are not usually used to measure surface waters.

Styles & Configurations

4-inch Palmer Bowlus flume with pipe stubs and probe wellPalmer-Bowlus Flumes have more flexibility in their layout than other flume types.  They have both a style (physical layout) and a configuration (how they can be adapted to flow streams).

The 4-inch Palmer Bowlus Flume is available in four different styles:

  • Permanent style with approach
  • Permanent style without approach
  • Insert style
  • Cutback style

The flume is also available in four different configurations:

  • Plain
    • Customer to form transitions into / out of the flume
  • Bulkheads with stubs / flanges
    • Stubs and flanges up to 4-inches [10.16 cm] can be accommodated
  • Staged ends
    • Curved inlet or outlet to mate flush against the inside of a manhole barrel
  • Metering Manholes (factory integration into a fiberglass manhole structure)

Flume Accuracy

Where the head in the flume is large compared to the length of the throat, Palmer-Bowlus Flumes are accurate to within +/- 3-5%.

For lower flows where the head is low compared to the length of the throat, the accuracy decreases to +/-5-6%.

Palmer-Bowlus Flumes are best when used within a defined level range.

The recommended head should be between:

0.1D < H < 0.6D

Also, unlike the Parshall Flume, corrections for settling have not been developed for Palmer-Bowlus Flumes.  It is important that the flume is installed and remains level.

Flume Dimensions

dimensional drawing of a fiberglass permanent style 4-inch Palmer-Bowlus Flume

Unlike Parshall Flumes, Palmer-Bowlus Flumes ARE scale models of each other.

A Palmer-Bowlus Flume's dimensions are solely based upon the throat width D.  

Free-Flow Equation

The free-flow equation for Palmer-Bowlus Flumes is:

general Palmer-Bowlus Flume free flow equation

For the 4-inch Palmer-Bowlus:

Minimum Head (ft) 0.06 Minimum Head (m) 0.0183
Minimum Flow Rate (cfs) 0.0086 Minimum Flow Rate (l/s) 0.2436
Maximum Head (ft) 0.25 Maximum Head (m) 0.0762
Maximum Flow Rate (cfs) 0.1213 Maximum Flow Rate (l/s) 3.435
Equation (cfs, ft) 1.68*H1.9 Equation (l/s, m) 486.34*H1.9


Discharge Table

4-inch Palmer-Bowlus Flume discharge table thumbnailThe flow table for the 4-inch Palmer-Bowlus Flume is available for download. 

The table provides:

  • Permanent style (with approach) dimensions
  • Plan view of the flume with the primary point of measurement (Ha) shown
  • Discharge equations in (3) Imperial and (2) SI units
  • Submergence transition (St)
  • Source of the flow table

Materials

The 4-inch Palmer-Bowlus Flume is available in fiberglass construction.

Submergence Transition

The high submergence transition (St) for Palmer-Bowlus Flumes - 85-90% - means that it is impractical to correct for submergence (and no corrections have been developed).

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