Discharge estimation in open channels by means of water level hydrograph analysis

A new methodology, based on the synchronous measurement of stage hydrographs in two river sections located some kilometres from each other, was developed to estimate the discharge hydrograph in the upstream section. The methodology is based on the one-parameter calibration of a numerical flow routing algorithm, solving the Saint-Venant equations in diffusive or complete form. The methodology was validated using results of laboratory experiments carried out at the Polytechnic of Bari University. A known discharge hydrograph was generated in the upstream tank of a rectangular flume, where two water level sensors were located. Two different bed materials have been used to account for different roughness coefficients. Eight measured discharge hydrographs have been compared with the hydrographs computed using both a diffusive and a fully dynamic model. The diffusive model provides a good estimate of the measured discharge in the experiments with the highest roughness value. Keywords: Calibration, discharge estimation, experimental validation, flow meter, shallow water flow