Hydraulics

Prof. B.S. Thandaveswara

Towing Tank Facility

The Towing tank is housed in a separate building of length 90 m, width 10 m and height 5 m. The towing tank hall is well ventilated and is equipped with very effective lighting system. The towing tank is of length 82 m, width 3.2 m and depth 2.8 m. At the forward end of this tank, a trimming tank is constructed to facilitate proper ballasting of the model to the required draft. Arrangements are provided for filling and emptying the towing tank. A weir has been provided at the other end. Precise alignment of rails is made parallel to the water level. The tolerance observed is 0.1 mm. Such a precision is necessary to prevent undue accelerations or decelerations of the carriage, which might be transmitted to the model.

The Towing Carriage

The carriage has the necessary provisions for conducting the rating of current meters for flow velocity measurement. The attachment devices for the rods of water current meters are arranged at the rear end of the carriage on a special frame. Three current meters can be tested at a time (Plate).

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Hydraulics

Prof. B.S. Thandaveswara

The carriage has two speed ranges, (i) 0.02 m s-1 to 0.50 m s-1 (ii) 0.50 m s-1 to 5.50 m s-1 In the low speed range it can be operated by a low duty D.C. motor (manual control only), whereas in the higher speed range it can be operated by a heavy duty D.C. motor fed by a Ward-Leonard set, (both by manual and electronic control) and the A.C./D.C. power supplied via overhead bus bars. The approximate speed of the carriage is indicated on a speedometer fixed in the panel on the carriage. The towing carriage is provided with braking system for stopping at any position in the towing tank. Also for safety purposes, emergency braking rails are provided at both the ends of the towing tank, which retard the towing carriage at 10 m s-2. For Testing of ship models in shallow water, the observation bridge and the measuring frame can be lowered in the centre of the towing carriage.

Calibration of Flow Meters

Flow meters such as pitot tubes, pilot cylinder, and current meters are rated before being put to use. For example, in the case of current meters, it is necessary to determine the constants which establish the relation between the number of revolutions

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Hydraulics

Prof. B.S. Thandaveswara

per second of the propeller and the water flow velocity rating is carried out in still water of towing tank.

Test Installation for Rating of Current Meter Measuring Equipment

The carriage is equipped for the concurrent connection of three current meters to the sockets located on a small switch desk. The exact measurement of the speed of the carriage is made with the use of a measuring wheel. The distance measuring wheel provides for the three different distance sampling signals to suit different speed ranges. These signals are routed through a crystal controlled timing mechanism. The Data Acquisition System is mounted on the carriage for conducting the test. Also the digital timing mechanism which receives and indicates on four individual displays, the time intervals during each run of rating as follows: 1. The time that elapses for the carriage to traverse a distance of 10 m at the set constant speed. 2. The time that elapses for the completion of 10/20 revolutions of each current meter.

Testing Procedure
The procedure for Rating of Current meter as in accordance with HIS: 3910 -1966 and HIS: 3918- 1966

Spin Test
The current meter is made to rest on horizontal plane and a spin is induced to the bucket wheel by means of an air jet from a solenoid valve/nozzle. The air jet is controlled to be active for a duration till the equilibrium condition is reached, maintaining an air pressure of 4 kg cm-2. At the end of the solenoid valve action, a digital timer is used for measuring the spinning time.

Current Meter Installation

Three current meters can be fixed to the special frame at the rear end of the carriage. Two current meters are fixed at a distance of 50 cm from the sides of the tank and the third one is fixed at the centre. The current meters are submerged to a depth of 50 cm.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Hydraulics

Prof. B.S. Thandaveswara

They are held by vertical rigid rods fixed with the axis of the current meters parallel to the tank wall.

Threshold Velocity
The current meter is towed at very low speed range from 0.02 ms-1 in steps of 0.010 ms1

till the current meter begins rotating after overcoming the inertia and the corresponding

velocity is taken as threshold velocity.

Rating Run
The rating of the current meter is carried out in still water. The rating run length at constant velocities are (i) 10 m for velocities less than 0.60 ms-1 and (ii) 20 m to 30 m for velocities above 0.60 ms-1. The carriage runs are made in the forward direction at selected velocities. The velocity of the carriage is changed from 0.20 to 3.60 ms-1 in steps of 0.2 ms-1 initially and then 0.3 ms-1 so as to obtain about 14 readings. The accuracy of rating is of the order of 0.5%.

Evaluation of the Data

From the readings, the actual value of the velocity of the carriage, V (ms-1) and the corresponding revolution per second of the cup/propeller 'N' are calculated and plotted. One or more straight lines are manually fitted through the data points as necessitated and the corresponding equation(s) are determined. The graphical plot will also be provided with the report for reference.

Tabulation
Using the rating equation(s) determined as above, the current meter rating tables are prepared on a digital computer. Special remarks if any are noted in the rating chart (Table 1).

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Hydraulics

Prof. B.S. Thandaveswara

Typical Chart
Environmental and Water Resource Engineering Division, Dept. of Civil Engineering, I.I.T. Madras, Chennai 600036 Table 1: Ready Reckoner for Velocity, given for the number of revolution Meter No. Report No. Date of Calibration Spin Test V max Threshold velocity Velocity Equation(s)
Time in secs 40 41 42 43 44 45 65 66 67 68 Velocity in m/s 5 Revs 40 Revs 50 Revs 60 Revs

CIE /EWRE/ secs ms-1 ms-1 V = m*n+c

Velocity in m/s 250 Revs 300 Revs Time in secs 40 41 42 43 44 45 65 66 67 68

Salient Technical Data Towing Tank Length Width Maximum Water Depth Gauge of Rails Towing Carriage Net Weight Length Speed Range Test length for 5.5 m/s Velocity Precision Maximum Acceleration/Deceleration Drag Balance Maximum drag Least Count Error range Ratio of Force Transmission 82.0m 3.2m 2.8m 3.5m 3.9 tones 5.3m 0.02 to 5.5 ms-1 50.0m 0.1% 3 ms-2 100 N 0.01 N 1% 2 : 1 or 4 :1

Indian Institute of Technology Madras