8 pp. / az1329: Measuring Water Flow in Surface Irrigation Ditches and Gated Pipe Martin, E.C. 2000. Determining the Amount of Water Applied to a Field. Cooperative Extension Pub. No. AZ1157, Arizona Water Series No. 29. University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. Martin, E.C. 1999. Measuring Water Flow and Rate on the Farm. Cooperative Extension Pub. No. AZ1130, Arizona Water Series No. 24. University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. / Measuring water is a critical part of any irrigation management system. This informational bulletin gives some simplistic methods of measuring flow rate in an open ditch and in gated pipe. Using the float method, dye tracers and velocity head meters, growers can get a quick estimate of the flow in their farm ditch. From this, an estimate of water applied or a set time can be determined. The bulletin also explains how a propeller meter works for gated pipe. Gated pipe is widely used through the state and in the West.

The thesis is focused on the design of a self-powered sensor for measurement of water flow rate and temperature in water pipelines. The key block of this thesis is the construction of an electric generator powered by excitation with turbulent flow. The generated voltage should power the sensor's circuits and allow water flow rate measurements. Throughout the development, three prototypes of generators powered by turbulent flow were created. Turbulences were not created by an insertion of a bluff body but by inner geometry of the pipeline elements. Maximum power of 10,66 uW was generated at flow rate of 8 m3/h. Afterwards, a prototype of water flow rate and temperature sensor was assembled. Energy self-sufficiency of the device at common flow rates was not achieved using the chosen procedure. The designed flow rate measurement method is suitable for an approximate flow rate estimation.

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to make volume-flow-rate measurements at the exit of a turbulent, planar nozzle. The objective of this report is to assess a range of data acquisition and processing parameters. Data is acquired for volume flow rates of Reynolds numbers between 10,000 and 100,000 for both two-component (2C) and stereo PIV. The parameters are systematically changed one at a time and evaluated using differences in uncertainty, calculation time, and volume- flow-rate deviation. Data acquisition parameters follow the trends of previous work. A multitude of processing parameters were varied for several PIV processing methods. Recommendations for each method are developed and listed with potential drawbacks. 2C PIV was found to underestimate volume-flow-rate by 3-4% depending on the integration scheme and stereo PIV underestimated volume-flow-rate by 2%.

Predicting fatigue failure is a critical design element for many engineering components and structures subject to complex service conditions. In high-temperature and corrosive environments, many materials exhibit rate dependent phenomena that can significantly alter safe service life predictions. Existing cycle processing techniques such as Peak Counting, Simple Range, and the Rain Flow method are able to resolve complex service histories into sets of simple cycles, but these methods are unable to handle time-related parameters such as engage rate and cycle sequence. To address this, a cycle processor was written in FORTRAN 95 later termed the Multi-Algorithm Cycle Counter (MACC). This code was utilized as a platform to develop, test, and study various methods of extracting and interpreting rate parameters extracted from cycles defined by existing counting algorithms.

No description available.

<p> Drop sizes were measured photographically for water in kerosene and for water in methyl isobutyl ketone, at varying flow rates and levels of agitation. At high levels of agitation the data could be represented very approximately by the well known relationship of Hinze and others: d32= CONS(σ0.6)/ρ0.6E0.44) (where d32=mean drop diameter, σ= interfacial tension, p̂= mean density and E= power input per unit mass). However this equation was not satisfactory at low levels of agitation, and an alternative equation based on dimensional analysis and including effects of density difference and gravity has been proposed. Qualitative observations regarding drop formation, holdup and various operating phenomena are made. </p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

No description available.

An examination of various methods for mass flow rate measurements was undertaken to evaluate their applicability for measuring refrigerant R-134a two-phase mass flow in refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment. An experimental apparatus was constructed to generate the required two-phase flow conditions. A turbine and a venturi flowmeter were used together with either a capacitance transducer or a gamma densitometer to determine the two-phase mass flow rate. The time-averaged void fraction was measured using a capacitance transducer and a gamma densitometer. Their measurements were in good agreement. Hence, for mass flow rate measurements, the capacitance transducer was used as the void fraction meter because of its ease of operation. A number of models were used to combine the output of either the turbine flowmeter or the venturi flowmeter, with the void fraction measurement to estimate the mass flow rate. It was found that, within the range of experimental data tested in the present work, the venturi flowmeter, in conjunction with Chisholm's model, provided the best agreement with the experimental results. / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

Water conservation efforts have led to a decrease of flow rates in buildings, increasing water retention time (WRT) and sometimes opportunistic pathogens (OPs) growth. A novel experiment with replicated distal pipes operated at commonly used flow rates was designed to evaluate the effects of water age, flush frequency, flow rate, pipe diameter, water temperature, disinfectant residual presence, and microbial regrowth in hot and cold pipes. In cold water, total bacterial regrowth was a function of water age, plateauing after approximately 6 days at cell counts 20 times higher than influent water with minimal disinfectants. In warm (40 °C) water, most regrowth occurred in the heater tank, reducing the relative growth in the pipes. When cold water with ~1 mg/L chloramine was present, cold-water total bacteria regrowth plateaued after about 2 days WRT with cell counts 14 times higher than influent water, but regrowth still occurred in the heater tank. With 1 mg/L chloramine and elevated heater temperature (60 °C), regrowth in the tank was suppressed and cell counts in the pipes increased 82 times above cold-water influent levels at 7.5 days WRT. Legionella spp. and Mycobacterium spp. demonstrated opposite responses to flow rate with chloramine minimization. The highest levels of Legionella spp. (1.7 log higher than influent) were present when flow velocity was >2 feet per second (fps), but the highest levels of Mycobacterium spp. (1.5 log higher than influent) were observed at the lowest flow velocity (0.33 fps). This study highlights the tradeoffs between water conservation and water quality. / Master of Science / Regulations that decrease flow rates of faucets and showers have driven water conservation in buildings, increasing the time water sits in pipes and tanks (i.e., water retention time or WRT) elevating the likelihood of harmful bacterial growth. A novel faucet rig was designed to carry out a comprehensive experiment revealing the combined effects of WRT, flush frequency, flow rate, pipe diameter, water temperature, and disinfectant residual presence on water quality at the tap. In water without disinfectant, growth in cold water pipes increased with WRT, but in hot water the growth of bacteria occurred mostly in the warm water tank at 40 °C, which is a temperature known to leave a system vulnerable to bacterial growth. Cold pipes with a disinfectant residual saw a decrease in bacterial regrowth in comparison to cold pipes without disinfectant. However, if there was a disinfectant residual and an elevated water heater temperature set point in the tank, regrowth occurred when water was in the pipes at room temperature and there were lower disinfectant residuals. Potentially harmful bacteria, like Legionella spp. and Mycobacterium spp., which cause Legionnaires' disease and nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) infections, grew more readily at higher flow rates, whereas others grew less readily, but all harmful bacteria were reduced by lowering WRT to less than ≈ 2 days and maintaining the water at 60 °C with a disinfectant. This study has important implications for regulations requiring minimum disinfectant levels to buildings, faucet flow rates regulations, and design and operation of building plumbing systems.

The dispersion model was used to study mixing levels in a full scale aeration tank. The effect of air flow rate, water flow rate and diffuser type was investigated. The peak time technique proved satisfactory in predicting the theoretical tracer response curve generated using the dispersion model. The dispersion model adequately described the longitudinal mixing that occurred in a full scale aeration tank equipped with fine and coarse bubble air diffusers. Response curves from two tanks-in-series were also obtained. / Thesis / Master of Engineering (ME)