Section 1 2 3

y(m) 0.033 0.033 0.033

Q (m3/s) 7.78x10-4 7.82x10-4 7.78x10-4
v (m/s) 0.197 0.198 0.197
A (m2) 3.95x10-3 3.95x10-3 3.95x10-3
D (m) 0.1090 0.1115 0.1140
T (m) 0.160 0.172 0.184

Section Time (s)

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 TAverage
1 2.38 2.51 2.78 2.58 2.44 2.540
2 2.40 2.57 2.50 2.43 2.75 2.530
3 2.43 2.77 2.60 2.44 2.44 2.536

y = depth of water flow

d = depth of channel (use to calculate So)
n = 0.015 (it’s concrete formed with no finish)
Length of every section(Length of ping pong ball string) = 0.5m
T = Top width of water surface
P = Wetted perimeter
𝑑𝑛+1 − 𝑑𝑛
𝑆0 =
𝐿

So = 0.005

Section 1 2 3
y(m) 0.033 0.033 0.033
d (m) 0.1090 0.1115 0.1140
T (m) 0.160 0.160 0.160
A (m2) 3.95x10-3 3.95x10-3 3.95x10-3
v (m/s) 0.197 0.198 0.197
Q (m3/s) 7.78x10-4 7.82x10-4 7.78x10-4
P (m) 0.1804 0.1804 0.1804

𝑇 = 𝐷𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
 𝐷2
𝐴= (2𝜃 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛2𝜃) ; 𝐷 = 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑙 = 0.215𝑚
8
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑣=
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒
𝑄 = 𝐴𝑉
𝑃 = 𝜃𝐷

Discussion
Measurement of surface water flow is an important component of most water quality
monitoring projects. Surface water flow is simply the continuous movement of water in
runoff or open channels. This flow is often identified as discharge, defined as the rate of flow
or the volume of water that passes through a channel cross section in a specific period of
time. Discharge can be reported as total volume or as a rate such as cubic feet per second or
cubic meters per second. Discharge is typically calculated as the product of velocity and
cross-sectional area. Determination of discharge (usually symbolized as Q ) thus requires two
measurements, the velocity of moving water (V, e.g., in m/s) and the cross-sectional area of
the water in the channel (A, e.g, in m2). The product of these two measurements gives
discharge in volume per unit time, Q = V x A.

The volume flow rate Q of a fluid is defined to be the volume of fluid that is passing through a given
cross sectional area per unit time. The term cross sectional area is just a fancy term often used to
describe the area through which something is flowing, e.g., the circular area inside the dashed line in
the diagram below.

Since volume flow rate measures the amount of volume that passes through an area per time,
the equation for the volume flow rate looks like this:
Q=V/T=Volume/Time
In S.I. units (International System of Units), volume flow rate has units of meters cubed per
second, (m3/s), since it tells you the number of cubic meters of fluid that flow per second.