An efficient method of discharge measurement in tidal streams

The efficient method presented herein is based on the regularity of water flow in an open channel, which is maintained by nature at a constant ratio of mean to maximum velocities at a channel section. This ratio is a function of a parameter of a probability distribution that is equivalent to velocity distribution in the physical space. The maximum velocity can be determined quickly by measuring only a few velocities from a single vertical axis. As well as the ratio, the location of the sampling vertical axis on which the maximum velocity occurs tends to remain invariant with time. The mean velocity in a section can be rapidly determined by estimating the product of the maximum velocity multiplied by the ratio. The cross-sectional area of an open channel can be determined by the relation between gage height and area. Thus, the discharge in an open channel may be estimated as the product of mean velocity multiplied by the cross-sectional area. This efficient method can be used with any current meter to reduce the time and cost of discharge measurement in open channel flows under tidal effect. The available data of the Tanshui River downstream reach of which is in an estuarine area is used to illustrate the accuracy and reliability of the method. The results show that the simple but reliable method is capable of estimating discharge in tidal streams.