Patent Document ID: 20030055579
Application ID: 09864522
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method of estimating the flow rate of a liquid through an open-channel geometry, the method comprising steps of: defining (i) an open-channel geometry having an inlet end and an outlet end, between which there is a capillary passage having two parallel walls, (ii) a set of parameters associated with the open-channel geometry, and (iii) analytical equations involving the set of parameters which govern the flow of liquid through the open-channel geometry; and deriving a modified set of analytic equations corresponding to the governing analytic equations of the open-channel geometry, and solving said modified set of analytic equations to calculate a representative flow rate defined by the modified set of equations; wherein said modified set of equations are derived from a modified open-channel geometry based on an artificial assumption that an elongate dimension of the open-channel geometry is tapered, so that the representative flow rate can be calculated as an approximation of the flow rate in the open-channel geometry.