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1.1. Introduction
BASIC CONCEPTS OF OPEN CHANNEL FLOW
The flow of a liquid in a conduit may be either open channel flow
or pipe flow .
In pipe flow the flowing liquid
is completely enclosed by solid
boundary and flow
occurs under pressure.
In open channel flow the flowing
liquid is not completely enclosed by
solid boundary and flow occurs with a free surface.
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A free surface is subjected to atmospheric pressure.
Also, water is the most common liquid in civil engineering applications.
Therefore, open channel flow may be defined as the flow of water in a
conduit with a free surface.
Open channel flow is also known as the free surface flow.
Flows in rivers and canals are the familiar examples of open channel
flow.
Flow of water in a closed conduit, e.g. in an underground sewer or in a
culvert, may be open channel flow if the flow occurs with a free surface
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Open Channel Flow
• have a free space
• Subject to atmospheric
pressure also
• Flow driven by gravity
(potential Energy)
• Unknown cross section
(due to unknown depth)
• Flow depth computed
using continuity and
momentum equations
• Atmospheric Pressure
as boundary condition
Pipe Flow
• No free space
• Hydraulic pressure only
• Flow driven by pressure
• Known and fixed flow
cross section
• Velocity deduced from
continuity equation
• No boundary condition
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Open channel flow occurs under the action of gravity and at
atmospheric pressure
The component of the gravity force or weight of water along the
bottom slope acts as the driving force
The boundary friction over the channel perimeter acts as the
resistance force.
Obviously, for open channel flow to occur, the total energy at an
upstream section must be more than the total energy at a
downstream section.
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An open channel is a flow system in which the top surface of the fluid is
exposed to the atmosphere.
The term open channel refers to liquid flow that is not completely
enclosed by solid boundaries (such as in a river)
In open channel flow therefore, the flowing liquid has a free surface,
and thus the liquid is not under gauge pressure at the surface
open channel takes place due to slope of bed of the channel only
The Hydraulic grade line of open channel flow is exactly conceding
with the water surface but the total energy lines lie at a distance of
𝑉2
( ) above the hydraulic grade line at every section as in closed channel.
2𝑔
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Since the pressure on the top surface of water in a channel is
constant, no pressure difference can be built up between any two
sections along the channel
It will always be subjected to same resistance
As such in order to overcome the resistance and to cause the flow
of water in a channel, it is constructed with its bottom sloping
towards the direction of flow, so that the component of weight of
the flowing water in the direction of flow is developed which
causes the flow of water in channel.
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Open channel flow occurs where ever the flow proceeds with the liquid
surface exposed to constant pressure
In practice this pressure is the atmospheric pressure, and the flow
proceeds with free surface (exposed to the atmosphere)
Thus open channel flow may occur regardless of the type of conduit in
which it is occurring i.e. an open channel flow may exist in a pipe, if it is
flowing partially full
In practice flow in sewers, canals, streams and gutters is exposed to
atmospheric pressure and hence is an example of open channel flow.
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The longitudinal profile of the free surface in an open channel
flow defines the hydraulic gradient and determines the cross-
sectional area of flow, as is shown in Figure below
It also necessitates the introduction of an extra variable, the stage,
to define the position of the free surface at any point in the
channel.
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Types of Channel
An open channel is a conduit in which water flows with a free surface.
Open channels are classified on different criteria as follows.
A. Natural and Artificial Channels
Natural open channels are the channels which exist naturally on the
earth, e.g. rivers and tidal estuaries.
They are generally very irregular in shape.
Artificial open channels are the channels developed by men, e.g.
irrigation canals, laboratory flumes, spillway chutes, drops, culverts,
roadside gutters, etc.
They are usually designed with regular geometric shapes. 12
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Navigation Canal
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All natural channels generally have varying cross-sections and
therefore are non-prismatic
Examples of natural channels are streams, rivers and tidal
estuaries.
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B. Prismatic and Non-prismatic Channels
A channel in which the cross-section does not change along the channel and the
bottom slope is constant is called a prismatic channel; otherwise it is non-
prismatic
The artificial channels are usually prismatic and the natural channels are
generally non-prismatic.
C. Rigid and Mobile Boundary Channels
A channel with immovable bed and sides is known as a rigid boundary channel,
e.g. lined canals and sewers.
If the channel boundary is composed of loose sedimentary particles moving
under the action of flowing water, the channel is called a mobile boundary
channel. 16
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Most of the man-made (artificial) channels are prismatic channels
over long stretches
Examples of man-made channels are irrigation canal, flume,
drainage ditches, roadside gutters, drop, chute, culvert and tunnel.
irrigation canal
Fig. Prismatic channels 17
flume
drainage ditches
roadside gutters
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Drop Structure
chute
culvert
tunnel
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C. Rigid and Mobile Boundary Channels
A channel with immovable bed and sides is known as a rigid boundary channel
Typical examples are lined canals, sewers and non-erodible unlined canals.
If the channel boundary is composed of loose sedimentary particles moving
under the action of flowing water, the channel is called a mobile boundary
channel.
Mobile boundary channels are channels with boundaries that undergo
deformation due to the continuous process of erosion and deposition due to the
flow
Examples are unlined man-made channels and natural rivers.
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An alluvial channel is a mobile boundary channel transporting the same
type of material as that comprising the channel perimeter.
D. Small and Large Slope Channels
A channel with a bottom (or longitudinal) slope less than or equal to
10:1 (10 horizontal to 1 vertical) or angle of bottom slope less than or
equal to 6°, is called a channel of small slope; otherwise it is a channel
of large slope.
The angle of bottom slope ϴ is the angle made by the channel bottom
with the horizontal
The slopes of many natural and artificial channels. like rivers and
canals, are less than 10:1 or 0 < 6°. However, some artificial channels
like drops and chutes have slopes more than 10:1 or 0 > 60o. 21
1.2 Open channel flow Classification
Open channel flows are classified on the basis of different criteria as
follows.
Steady and Unsteady Flows (time is the criterion)
Flow in an open channel is said to be steady if the depth of flow h,
mean velocity U and discharge Q at a channel section do not change
with time.
The flow is unsteady if these quantities at a channel section change
with time.
Mathematically, for steady flow
𝜕ℎ 𝜕𝑈 𝜕𝑄
= =
𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑡
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Classifications based on the change in flow depth with respect to time
and Space
Time as criterion:Steady flow
a. Steady
b. unsteady flow
Unsteady flow
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True steady flow is rare in nature.
Flow in a channel may be steady only when the discharge in the channel is
𝜕𝑄 𝜕𝑄
constant, i.e. for steady flow not only = 0, but also =0
𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑥
The flow of water in a straight prismatic channel with a constant discharge
(e.g. in a laboratory flume in which a constant discharge is circulated) and
the dry-season flow of a river may be considered as steady flow.
The flood flow in a river and the tidal flow in an estuary are two familiar
examples of unsteady flow.
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Uniform and Varied Flows (space is the criterion)
Flow in an open channel is said to be uniform if the depth, mean velocity and
discharge do not change along the length of the channel at a given instant of time.
When these quantities change along the length of the channel at any instant, the flow
is termed as varied or, non uniform.
Mathematically, for uniform flow
𝜕ℎ 𝜕𝑈 𝜕𝑄
= = 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑 𝑡
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥
In uniform flow, the channel bottom, the water surface and the total energy line are
parallel to one another, i.e. their slopes are equal Fig. below
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a. Uniform
Uniform flow
b. Non uniform flow
Non-uniform flow
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True uniform flow is rare in nature.
The flow of water in a straight prismatic channel (e. in a laboratory
flume) with a constant discharge and a constant velocity and without
any structure like weir or sluice gate may be considered as uniform
flow.
Uniform flow can be steady only.
The unsteady uniform flow requires that the water surface fluctuates
from time to time remaining parallel to the channel bottom.
This is practically impossible and hence "uniform flow" is used to
mean "steady uniform flow".
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Varied or non-uniform flows are further classified into
1. Gradually varied flow
2. Rapidly varied flow, and
3. Spatially varied flow.
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Gradually Varied Flow
If the depth of flow and the mean velocity change gradually along the
length of the channel , the flow is gradually varied
It may again be steady or unsteady
The flow upstream of a dam in a river or upstream of a sluice gate in
a canal is an example of steady gradually varied flow.
The flood flow in a river and the tidal flow in an estuary are two
familiar examples of unsteady gradually varied flow,
Friction plays an important role in gradually varied flows.
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Rapidly Varied Flow
The flow is rapidly varied if the depth of flow and the mean velocity
change abruptly over a comparatively short distance
Rapidly varied flow is also known as a local phenomenon.
It may be steady or unsteady
Hydraulic jumps and hydraulic drops are two familiar examples of
steady rapidly varied flow and surges in canals and tidal bores are
examples of unsteady rapidly varied flow
A surge is a moving wave front that is produced whenever there is an
abrupt change in the discharge or depth of flow or both, i.e. during the
sudden closure of a sluice gate, in a channel.
The tidal bore is a moving wave front by which the tide enters a river.
Friction can usually be neglected in rapidly varied flows. 31
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Spatially Varied Flow
A flow in which the discharge varies along the length of the channel
𝜕𝑄
resulting from lateral addition or withdrawal of water so that ≠ 0 is
𝜕𝑥
known as a spatially varied flow
The production of surface run-off due to rainfall, known as overland
flow, and the flow over a roadside gutter are examples of unsteady
spatially varied flow.
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Fig. Roadside gutter
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Classification based on the effect of Viscosity
The effect of the viscous forces relative to the inertial forces on
open channel flow is determined by the Reynolds number, which
may be written as
𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑅𝑒 = =
𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 × 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
Laminar
Turbulent
Transitional
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Depending on the effect of gravity forces relative to inertial forces,
the flow may be subcritical, critical and supercritical.
Froude number represents the ratio of inertial forces to gravity forces,
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Regimes of Flow
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1.3 Geometric elements of open channel
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Example_1
A trapezoidal channel has a bottom width of 6 m and side slopes of 2:1
Compute the discharge and determine the state of flow in this channel if
the depth of flow is 1.5 m and the mean velocity of flow is 2.30 m/s. If
elementary waves are created in this channel, determine the speed of the
wave fronts upstream and downstream
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1.3 Velocity and Pressure Distribution in Open Channels
Naturally three types of velocity are occurred in open channel flow,
1) Longitudinal:- the one along the flow direction, (V)
2) Lateral:- at the bedside of the channel
3) Normal :- perpendicular to the flow direction.
However, the two velocities (lateral and normal) are insignificance as
compared to the longitudinal velocity
Due to the presence of free surface and friction along the channel wall,
the longitudinal velocity in a channel are not uniformly distributed.
The velocity is zero at the solid boundaries and gradually increase with
distance from the boundary and reach to its maximum at the center a
certain distance below the free surface
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The property of the velocity distribution is used to determine the
discharge of stream gauging station using Area-Velocity method
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The property of the velocity distribution is used to determine the
discharge of stream gauging station using Area-Velocity method
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Compound channel with three regions of flow
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Pressure Distribution
The intensity of pressure for a liquid at its free surface is equal to that of the
surrounding atmosphere.
Since the atmospheric pressure is commonly taken as a reference and of value
equal to zero, the free surface of the liquid is thus a surface of zero pressure
This linear variation of pressure with depth having the constant of
proportionality equal to the unit weight of the liquid is known as hydrostatic-
pressure distribution.
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Channels with Small Slope
Let us consider a channel with a very small value of the longitudinal slope 𝜃 .
Let 𝜃~sin𝜃~1/1000. For such channels the vertical section is practically the
same as the normal section.
If a flow takes place in this channel with the water surface parallel to the bed,
i.e. uniform flow, the streamlines will be straight lines and as such in a vertical
direction the norm acceleration is zero
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Con’t…
Thus the piezo metric head at any point in the channel will be
equal to the water surface elevation,
The hydraulic grade line will therefore lie essentially on the water
surface.
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Channels with Large Slope
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The pressure pA varies linearly with the depth y but the constant
of proportionality is 𝑦𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃.
If h = normal depth of flow, the pressure on the bed at point 0,
𝑃𝑜 = 𝛾ℎ𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
If d=vertical depth to water surface measured at the point 0, then
ℎ = 𝑑𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 and the pressure head at point 0, on the bed is given by
𝑃𝑜 = ℎ𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = 𝑑𝑐𝑜𝑠2𝜃
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Reading Assignment
Pressure distribution
Pressure Distribution in Curvilinear Flows
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