Determining discharge coefficient of labyrinth and arced labyrinth weirs using support vector machine

A labyrinth weir is a linear weir folded in plan-view which increases the crest length and the flow rate for a given channel width and an upstream flow depth. The present study aimed at determining discharge coefficients of labyrinth and arced labyrinth weirs using support vector machine (SVM)-based models. A total of 527 laboratory test data of four types of weirs, namely, Normal and Inverted orientation Labyrinth Weirs in flume (NLW, ILW) and Arced Labyrinth Weirs with and without nappe Breakers in reservoir (ALW, ALWB), were captured from the published literature and utilized to feed the SVM-based models. The obtained results revealed the capability of the SVM-based models in determining discharge coefficients. The results showed that the SVM-based model of arced labyrinth weir (ALW) produced the most accurate results when three dimensionless parameters, e.g. ( H T / P ) head water ratio, ( α / θ ) angle ratio and ( L c / W ) magnification ratio, were introduced as input parameters (Root mean square error [RMSE] = 0.013 and R 2 = 0.970 for the test stage). Nonetheless, sensitivity analysis showed that Froude number and head water ratio are the most influential parameters on discharge coefficients of the labyrinth and arced labyrinth weirs, respectively.