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Laboratory Facilities

Tilting Flume

The primary tilting flume is used to obtain experimental data at model scale which is used with theoretical considerations to:

• Develop digital models for evaluating the effects of man's encroachment on the flood plain,
• develop models for predicting the concentration, dispersion, and ultimate fate of waste injected into streams and estuaries,
• develop formulas for predicting sediment erosion, transport, and deposition,
• develop models of flow systems in rivers and estuaries that more accurately appraise the chemical and biological systems that exist naturally or that are changed by man's activities, and
• test instruments and sampling equipment to determine the effect of water depth, water velocity, or sediment concentration on instrument performance.

The primary tilting flume is 6 ft wide, 3 ft deep and 250 ft long and can be tilted to a slope of 1 percent. The discharge capacity is at least 50 cubic feet per second (cfs), partially or wholly supplied by the laboratory's constant head tank. The whole discharge can be recirculated, hence it is adequate for sediment work. The head box is 6 x 3 x 30 ft and serves to straighten the flow prior to introduction to the flume. The type of straighteners may be varied to suit the study. The tail box is 10 x 8 x 30 ft. In a recirculatory mode, the tail box serves as the primary storage for the water used in the flume. Additional storage is provided in an adjacent isolatable floor sump.

Three pumps are provided to service the tilting flume. There are two possible flow loops for use in connection with this facility. Clean water can be recirculated from the tail box to the constant head tank. Water then flows from the constant head tank to the flume head box in one, two, or all three lines (16, 18, or 24 in.) provided. In addition, the flume can be operated in a closed recirculating mode. Water-sediment (fine to medium sands) mixtures are recirculated from the tail box through the pumps directly back to the head box.

A second tilting flume, better known as the NBS flume, has been recently added to the Laboratory. This flume measures 1m wide, 0.5m deep and 20m long and can be tilted to a slope of 3 percent. This flume is equipped with a 10 meter section of plexiglas walls and bottom. The discharge capacity is 8 cfs with water supplied by the laboratory's constant head tank.

For additional information contact Kirk Thibodeaux (228-688-1508).

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