Hydraulics Laboratory
The lab’s centerpiece is a steel 8-foot by 50-foot tilting table with an articulated center 2.5 foot above the floor. The 8-foot width allows model channel curvature and junctions. Slope from 0 to 10 percent is adjustable by hydraulic jacks. The table has a finform top face. The tilting table site above a 2 x 2-foot recirculation channel and 360 cubic-foot sump. A 6-inch, 10-HP air-cooled pump provides primary model flow. A 4-inch flexible pipe from a 5-HP submersible pump and a 2-inch flexible line from a ¼-HP submersible pump supply auxiliary flow. A 5-inch adjustable overhead pipe allows elevated delivery. Submersible structures are modeled in a 35 cubic-foot portable Plexiglas tank.
The lab makes extensive use of material salvaged from Sandia, Los Alamos, and other UNM labs. Model components constructed of sheet metal, wood, and Plexiglas are assembled on the tilting table. Component recycling makes subsequent constructions less capital-intensive.
Discharge is measured with the following meters:
- Marsh-McBirney Magnetic Flowmeter, Model 201
- ISCO Ultrasonic Flow Transmitter, model 3410
- Dieterich Standard Annubar Flow Sensor, model GCR25, with an Eagle Eye pneumatic local flow indicator
- Teledyne Gurley Current Meters, models 622 and 625, with Teledyne Gurley Flow Velocity Indicator
- model 1100, and AquaCalc Stream Flow Computer, model 5000, v.2.1
