Numerical and Experimental Investigation on the Function of Siphons for Tipping-Bucket Rain Gauges

Abstract

Siphons can effectively reduce the influence of rainfall intensity on the mechanical bias of tipping-bucket rain gauges (TBRs). To identify the function of siphons for TBRs, this study investigated three types of siphons: a Texas Electronics (TE) siphon, a RIMCO (RIM) siphon, and a Sutron siphon, with both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and laboratory experiments. To provide better structural designs, further simulations were conducted to adjust two parameters of the siphons: d, the distance from the cap to the outer part, and w, the distance from the main part to the cap part. The simulation results reveal that the most significant advantage of a siphon over a rain gauge collector is to provide stable outflow for the tipping bucket. The stable outflow rates were around 1.5 g s−1 (TE) and 1.55 g s−1 (RIM), while the Sutron siphon increased from 1.75 to 2.45 g s−1. The ratio of stable outflow time to a complete siphon event was 69% (TE), 81% (Sutron), and 83% (RIM). In experiments with rainfall intensity higher than 1 mm min−1, the RIM and TE siphons showed oscillations in the outflow during consecutive siphon events, whereas the Sutron siphon was relatively stable. Further simulations showed that the recommended d and w for the TE siphon are 2.5 and 1.1 mm, respectively, while the recommendations for the RIM siphon are d = 2.5 mm and w = 0.9 mm. The manufacturer’s specifications for d and w are best for the Sutron siphon. These results help to understand the functionality of siphons for TBRs, and benefit the structural design of common siphons.