Journal of New Approaches in Water Engineering and Environment
Scientific Journal

Laboratory and Numerical Investigation of Flow Rate in SMBF Flumes Using Flow3D and Comparison with Energy Equations

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mahdi Majedi Asl 1
Mohammad Rasoul Momeni 1
Saman Nikmehr 2
Tohid Omidpour Alavian 1

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran.

2 Department of Water Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Iran.

10.22034/nawee.2025.517806.1152
Abstract
Objective: Accurately measuring flow rates in open channels is one of the fundamental challenges in hydraulic engineering, playing a crucial role in water resource management and the design of hydraulic structures. This study aims to develop an accurate hydraulic model for estimating flow rates in Simple Modified Baffle Flumes (SMBF) through a combination of laboratory experiments and numerical simulations using Flow3D software.
Methods: Experiments were conducted in a rectangular channel with 27 different flow rates (ranging from 5 to 50 liters per second) and four contraction ratios (0.342, 0.467, 0.561, and 0.726). Numerical simulations were performed using the RNG turbulence model and the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method in Flow3D software. The numerical model was calibrated with experimental data, and its accuracy was evaluated using the Mean Absolute Relative Error (MARE) criterion.
Results: The findings indicated that by applying calibrated energy correction coefficients (K ranging from 0.95 to 1.05), the MARE was reduced to 4.85%, which represents a 2.47% improvement over previous methods. Increasing the contraction ratio from 0.342 to 0.726 led to a 32.5% increase in the Froude number and a 20% increase in turbulent kinetic energy.
Conclusions: This study presents an accurate numerical model and novel correction coefficients, providing an efficient and sustainable approach for optimizing the design of SMBF flumes and enhancing the accuracy of flow rate estimation. It is recommended that future studies investigate the effects of submerged flow and environmental parameters.

Keywords

SMBF Flume
Flow Rate
Hydraulics
Numerical Simulation
Flow3D
Turbulence
Critical Depth
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Journal of New Approaches in Water Engineering and Environment
Volume 5, Issue 1
February 2026
Pages 58-75

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