A flow field characterization in a circular channel along a side weir

Abstract Side weirs have been used for centuries in urban drainage and flood control for their ability to divert high incoming flow rates. The flow along a side weir may be studied by means of different approaches. However, although the question of side weir has been debating for many decades, there are few studies on the local hydraulic characteristics of the flow along these structures in circular channels. An experimental study of the flow field in a circular channel along a side weir using a commercial TSI Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system is shown in this paper. Weakly supercritical flows running into different geometric configurations of the weir were investigated, with Froude numbers varying from 1.1 to 1.6. Free surface profiles have been obtained by an image processing technique. An empirical equation has been proposed for their representation. Longitudinal velocity profiles along the side weir can be well predicted by an entropic approach. Local outflow along the side weir may be represented by an asymmetric curve. The peak outflow generally occurs between the 30% and the 50% of the weir length. The elementary discharge coefficient significantly increases from upstream to downstream. An energy head reduction was observed under the investigated configurations. Most of the head variation occurs in the central part of the weir. Finally, the flow power decreases along the weir according to a non-linear function. A thorough knowledge of the flow field features should allow to improve side weir analysis and design, whatever approach is used for the study.