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Aerated flows pose both challenges and opportunities in the measurement of free water surface. In this study, an amplitude-modulated continuous wave scanning LIDAR device was used to measure a distance from the device sensor to the water column surface subjected to different degrees of aeration, while reference measurements were performed by high-speed imaging. Different aeration conditions were generated by variation of the air flow rate supplied to the liquid and by using perforated plates with different hole arrangements. The LIDAR device was shown to produce level readings consistently below visible water levels. The measurement error of the LIDAR method is largely determined by the volume fraction of air in water and was lowest at about 0.1 air volume fraction. The error increases linearly until a very high air volume fraction (i.e., above 0.55), while the LIDAR method also performs poorly in unaerated water. Although the measurement uncertainty of LIDAR in the range of aerated water is by at least an order of magnitude higher than in the case of measuring dry solid surfaces, the method is viable for free surface measurement under low to moderate aeration conditions that don't produce excessive foaming. • Laser ranging measurements of aerated free water surface were performed. • Reference water surface measurements by high-speed imaging. • Slight aeration significantly improves the accuracy of the LIDAR method. • Minimum error around 0.1 air volume fraction, increases linearly after that. • Low effect of air bubble size on measurement error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring the topography of water surfaces with conventional measurement methods is, particularly in the case of turbulent flow with strong vertical and longitudinal dynamics, a very demanding and challenging task. Channel confluences are important elements in river engineering, as they appear in natural and regulated river channels, torrents, as well as in numerous hydraulic structures. At confluences, especially in the case of incoming supercritical flow, turbulent three-dimensional flows occur, and a time-varying structure of waters surface. Laser scanning enables data capture with high spatial and temporal resolution, and this method is widely used nowadays. This article discusses laser scanning as a measurement method for acquiring the agitated shape of a water surface. The application of a commercial two-dimensional LIDAR device for free-water-surface acquisition is presented for two cases. In the first case the measurements were performed in a glass tank where it was possible to determine the precise reference water level. In the second case we used LIDAR with turbulent aerated flow for fluctuating free-water surface measurement. Measurements were taken in the model of supercritical confluence, where the development of standing waves leads to the phenomenon of self-aerated flow. The measurements presented in the paper were conducted for a selected discharge rates and the Froude numbers of the main and side flow channels. Measurement results are shown as surface profiles at several selected locations of confluence. This measurement method has proven to be very promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin-plate weirs are the simplest and least expensive devices, which frequently have been employed in many water projects. In this research, a unique type of Sharp-Crested V-notch weir, entitled SCVW, has been introduced. The hydraulic characteristics of the present weir were investigated theoretically and experimentally under free aerated and non-aerated flow conditions in an open channel for large physical models. To investigate the variations of the discharge coefficient of SCVW versus weir height and vertex angle, a comprehensive laboratory experiments were conducted by measuring the discharge and the water head over the crest of weir. Possibility of different formulations for the head- discharge relationship of SCVW was examined and suitable analytical equation was proposed. The computed discharge using the suggested equation was within 0–10% of the observed ones. According to the experimental observations, the SCVW showed better performance in comparison with normal wire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]