To help you focus on your flow numbers - and not how you got them - Openchannelflow flow offers a range of accessories for our RBC flumes.
These accessories cover a wide range of installation, site, and monitoring conditions, but keep in mind that we always have the capability to customize our products to your specific needs. Contact Openchannelflow for additional details.
End Connections
Wing Wall Transitions
Wing walls are flat plates attached to a flume to direct flow into or out of the flume from the larger channel that it is installed in.
Wing walls can be factory attached or shipped loosed for field installation as required.
Flow / Level Accessories
Bubbler Tubes
A bubbler tube is a stainless steel assembly used in conjunction with a bubbler flow meter mounted in a cavity molded into the sidewall of a flume. The tube extends down to the flume floor and is secured in place by two nuts in the top flange of the flume.
Rigid and recessed from the main flow stream, a bubbler tube allows the operator to connect the usual vinyl / Teflon tubing from their bubbler flow meter to the flume.
Probe Well
A probe well is a small diameter tube molded on the outside of a flume that allows a submerged pressure transducer to be slid into it without the need to unbolt / mount the probe.
Staff / Head / Level Gauge
Essentially a ruler attached or molded into the side of a flume that allows for a quick visual measurement of the level. Black numbers / gradations are printed onto a reflective white background. The standard staff gauge is in centimeters, 1/10-foot, and 1/100-foot increments. Staff gauges are also available with custom level and flow scales.
Stilling Well
A stilling well is a chamber (round or rectangular) off to the side of a flume where flow measurement or parameter monitoring can be conducted. Isolated from the flume's main flow, the level in a stilling well is quite – with surface waves and turbulence eliminated.
Stilling wells can be attached to the side of the flume, or they can be remote from it (detached) and are available in a range of sizes – from 6-inches [15.24 cm] and up.
The connection between the flume and the stilling well is usually a 2-inch [5.08 cm] connection, although larger / smaller connections are available.
The floor of a stilling well is usually recessed below that of the flume so that there is always standing water in the stilling well at all times – even when there is no flow in the flume itself. This body of water can help to keep parameter probes wetted.
Stilling wells are not for use on sanitary flows (clogging) or flows with high solids contents (sedimentation). Periodic flushing / maintenance may be required.
Ultrasonic Transducer Bracket
An adjustable stainless steel bracket designed to hold ultrasonic transducers (and their separate temperature sensors) above a flume or stilling well. Transducers up to 1-inch [2.54 cm] can be accommodated with the standard bracket – with custom sensor holders available for larger sensors.
Openchannelflow ultrasonic transducer brackets have multiple degrees of freedom and can be mounted in horizontal or vertical positions and uneven surfaces.
Parameter Monitoring
Probe Holder
A stainless steel assembly recessed into a flume's sidewall, allowing a parameter probe to be held rigidly in place. The probe holder is secured to the flume's top flange with two nuts and holds the probe in place with two stainless steel spring clips.
Probe holders are preferable to probe wells in applications where sedimentation may occur. Probe holders are not, however, recommended in applications where ragging solids are present.
Probe Well
A probe well is a small diameter tube molded on the outside of a flume that allows a parameter probe to be slid into it without the need to unbolt / mount the probe (like a probe holder). Simpler and cheaper than a probe holder, a probe well is essentially a smaller version of a stilling well – with all of its advantages and disadvantages.
Sampler Tube
Like a bubbler tube, a sampler tube is a rigid stainless steel assembly that can be mounted in a cavity molded into the sidewall of a flume. The tube extended down to the flume floor and is secured in place by two nuts in the top flange of the flume.
A sampler tube is recessed from the main flow stream, allowing an operator to sample from the flume with standard suction line.
Unlike a sampler strainer, a sampler tube has only one opening through which a sample can be drawn. As a result, should the opening ever be clogged, no sample is taken.
Customization
Flume Covers
Available in bolt-down, hinged, and fixed configurations, flume covers are one way of keeping debris, inflow, and prying hands out of a flume.
Covers are available in several materials and can be provided with hinged and fixed observation windows to operator access without the need to remove the cover.
In applications where more operator access may be required, sections of a flume cover can be hinged (typically over the point of measurement) while the rest of the cover remains in place.
Multi-Piece Flumes
As a flume gets larger, it gets heavier. This can make it cumbersome and difficult to transport a flume to a remote site or install it in a confined space. For these applications, Openchannelflow offers flume sectioning. Sectioning a flume breaks it down into manageable sections that are later field assembled.
Recessed Grating
For installation where foot traffic will be present next to or around a flume, recessed grating may be necessary to ensure operator safety. Mounted into a recess at the top of the flume, recessed grating is flush with the top of the flume – eliminating any trip hazard while ensuring that the operator cannot accidentally fall into the flume.
Larger flumes may require multiple sections of grating, while smaller flumes may have the grating as one continuous piece.
