Flume Facility

LUMCON houses a world-class flume facility for studying the role of hydromechanical forces in geological, biological, and chemical processes. The facility consists of a large racetrack flume which can be filled with freshwater, ambient estuarine water, and high salinity seawater. Several large tanks are available for housing organisms, and a two-channel laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) is available for detailed flow characterization.

The racetrack flume was designed and constructed by LUMCON staff based on a prototype located at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Marine Laboratory. The flume walls and bottom are constructed of 3/4" acrylic. Water is driven by a set of paddles driven linearly along the flume’s backstretch. The drive mechanism is designed so the paddles enter, traverse, and exit the flume in a vertical position to reduce the introduction of secondary flows. A dropbox for working with sediments or infauna, is located in the main flume channel. However, the dropbox can be covered with acrylic forming a constinuous smooth bottom. In addition, the flume is equipped such that chillers, filters, or other devices can be placed "in-line" for continuous water conditioning.

Flume Images and Diagrams:


Large Layout Diagrams of the Flume	End View Showing Salt/Fresh Water Plumbing	Paddles and Drive Mechanism

Flow Straighteners	Top View of Drop Box	Side View of Drop Box

Core Insert for Drop Box	Sediment Core Setup in Use	Solid Cover for Drop Box

Recent projects in the flume. link laser doppler... to intruments page.