Anew water flume intended to help teach students about the dynamics of moving water has been opened in the water resources engineering lab of Prof. Doug Joy, Engineering.
Crystal Springs-Danone Waters of Canada donated $50,000 to pay for construction of the flume and to fund undergraduate and graduate scholarships for a total of 15 U of G students over the next five years.
Company representative Gara Hay, vice-president, national retail, and University staff, faculty and students attended a ceremony this month to unveil a recognition plaque on the flume.
The scholarships were awarded this year to graduate student Nick Mocan and two top first-year undergraduates, Martin Garcia and Edward Poisson.
The new equipment consists of a clear Plexiglas box about 10 metres long. A controlled flow of water pumped in at one end from a reservoir below the floor courses along the enclosed flume and exits at the other end to be recirculated through the system.
Students taking courses in fluid mechanics, open channel hydraulics and watershed system design will be able to alter water velocity, volume, dissolved oxygen and depth to study water flow. That information is important in understanding fish habitat and water quality issues and in designing such structures as weirs, dams, fish ladders and spillways, says Joy. “This flume gives us an opportunity to make measurements to confirm some concepts we're talking about in class,” he says.
