By Boone Fleenor

Faculty Mentor: Desmond Villalba

Abstract

Fluid dynamics is a physics discipline that describes the way fluids move and interact between themselves as well as their environment. To fabricate interactions and study the consequences, a controlled and isolated environment is required. A flume is an example of a controlled environment because it isolates the fluid from interacting with its surroundings. The flume that was built is a 72”x10”x24” plexiglass rectangle, with one end completely open which allows water to flow directly through the channel. The plans for the flume include a sluice gate, to control depth, and 3D printed “flow strainers” which are 3D printed sheets with holes in them to slow the flow of water coming into the channel. Some examples of how to analyze flow in a flume include, the Reynold’s Number can be used to describe the qualitative properties of fluid flow through the flume. As well as, the Bernoulli Equation can be used to study many variables, including mass flow rate, volumetric flow rate, and pressure.