Flume

Four artificial closed channels at the Ohakuri power plant

Flume ( by mining used to be running around , related to trough ) referred to in the hydraulics ( fluid dynamics ) the natural or artificial river bed , by mining and outside the jargon is also a small, man-made watercourse.

Types of flumes

Open and closed channels

• Open channels
  • Natural open channels are natural flowing waters
  • Artificial open channels, e.g. B. channels or technical experimental channels
• Closed channels
  • Natural closed channels, e.g. B. karst and cave waters, groundwater flows
  • Artificial closed channels, e.g. B. Water and sewer pipes

Differentiation according to water level

In the case of an artificial channel with a circular cross-section, one speaks of a half- channel if the water level does not exceed the center of the circle. If the water is higher, it is a hollow channel . The difference is explained by the pressure conditions: in half channels, a possible pressure increase can be neglected.

Flumes at water wheels

With a waterwheel , the water supply line to the motor is called the upper channel or impact channel . The water drainage from the engine is the lower channel .

• In overshot waterwheels , the end of an upper channel with a steeper gradient is the weft channel .
• With undershot water wheels, the channel surrounds the wheel . A batter line exists if the enclosure only touches the wheel in one place. When the wheel is gripped concentrically along an arc, it is a goiter .

The end channel is the trench into which the water is carried when the engine is not in use, i.e. when the impact channel is closed. The drainage channel or free channel is used to remove excess water.

Old names

Gefluder and Kesselgraben are outdated synonyms in the sense of canal . Often the term " Künen" is only used for the low water channels installed in larger channels.

Channel hydraulics

Flows in open channels are important in many areas of application (see also fluid dynamics ). This channel hydraulics enables hydraulic engineers to dimension newly built or converted water beds, i.e. H. to train efficiently enough for the expected runoff . In practice, as part of the planning process in hydraulic engineering, so-called hydraulic verifications are required for the dimensioning of the channels. An important area of ​​application for channel hydraulics is the calculation of flood profiles.

Web links

Wiktionary: Flume  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

1. ↑ According to Duden, small and very small watercourses are called this, cf. Flume at Duden online.
2. ^ Otto Lueger: Lexicon of the entire technology and its auxiliary sciences . tape 4 . Stuttgart, Leipzig 1906, p. 406-407 ( online article ).
3. ↑ Cf. Otto Lueger: Lexicon of the entire technology and its auxiliary sciences . tape 4 . Stuttgart, Leipzig 1906, p. 405 ( online article ).