Archimedean screw pump is known to be the oldest types of pumps and earliest hydraulic machines. It is a positive displacement pump. It consists of row of helical blades that surround a central cylindrical hollow tube and installed inside semi-circular, or even closed circular cross section trough. Electric motor coupled with gearboxes is often used to the drive mechanism for the pump set. It is known for its practicality in pumping water to higher elevations for low head and high-volume application. Archimedean screw pump are used extensively for low-lying land drainage system, pumping in wastewater treatment plants and irrigation system. Although, the maturity of Archimedean screw pump in industrial applications are observed lately, the actual flow performance of the pump on field still remains uncertain. Since the pump is a positive displacement pump, the pumping medium is not pressurized and typically are discharge in open channel. Thus, to evaluate the flow performance of the pump, open channel flow measurement are the only solution to identify the flow of the pump in actual field installation. This paper intended to review various type of open channel flow measurement and investigate its feasibility to be employed as flow measurement method for Archimedean screw pump flow performance testing.
