Large Tilting Flume

The Lab’s largest tilting flume is 49.0-m long, 1.83-m wide, and 1.22-m deep. The flume is supported by a center pin and four pairs of mechanically connected jacks that allow the channel slope to be varied from 0 to 2.5%. The flume is constructed of steel with 3.8-cm thick plexiglass walls.

Water can be supplied to the flume directly by a 250 l/s pump drawing water from the laboratories auxiliary sump or from the laboratory head tank. The flume is equipped with a hydraulically operated tainter gate to control water levels.

The flume is equipped with a hydraulically operated wave maker. The wave maker system can generate a maximum velocity of 2 m/s, a maximum acceleration of 6 m/s2, and a period of 1 s – 18 s.

This flume has been used extensively for sediment transport studies1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and model studies6.

Image of large tilting flume

Image of large tilting flume

Wave maker piston

Wave maker piston

View of configurable beach

View of configurable beach

 

 

1 Catano-Lopera, YA, Garcia, MH. 2006 Burial of short cylinders induced by scour under combined waves and currents. Journal of Waterway Port Coastal and Ocean Engineering-ASCE, 132(6), 439-449.

2 Catano-Lopera, YA, Garcia, MH. 2008 Closure to “Burial of short cylinders induced by scour under combined waves and currents”. Journal of Waterway Port Coastal and Ocean Engineering-ASCE, 134(4), 262-264.

3 Catano-Lopera, YA, Garcia, MH. 2007 Geometry of scour hole around, and the influence of the angle of attack on the burial of finite cylinders under combined flows. Ocean Engineering, 34(5-6), 856-869

4 Catano-Lopera, YA; Garcia, MH. 2006 Geometry and migration characteristics of bedforms under waves and currents. Part 1: Sandwave morphodynamics. Coastal Engineering, 53(9), 767-780.

5 Catano-Lopera, YA; Garcia, MH. 2006 Geometry and migration characteristics of bedforms under waves and currents – Part 2: Ripples superimposed on sandwaves. Coastal Engineering, 53(9), 781-792.

6 Caisley, Marjorie E., Fabian A. Bombardelli, and Marcelo H. García. 1999 December. “Hydraulic Model Study of a Canoe Chute for Low-Head Dams in Illinois.” University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Civil Engineering Studies, Hydraulic Engineering Series No. 63 (UILU-99-2012). 103 p.