FIELD STUDIES FOR RATING OF TUNGABHADRA LEFT BANK CANAL (LBC), AT

CH. 28 IN MILE 1, TUNGABHADRA DAM, MUNIRABAD, KOPPAL, KARNATAKA.

Dr S Sampath1, N.P. Khaparde2, B. Suresh Kumar3
Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune-411024, Maharashtra, India
 ABSTRACT
The management of water resources depends, to
a considerable degree, on the availability of
hydrological and hydraulic data. The operation
and maintenance of irrigation systems requires
collecting regular data on water levels and
discharges. The calibration of canal sections or
structures provides information on canal
discharges and hence supports the efficient day-
to-day water management and regulation of
irrigation systems. The Tungabhadra Dam is
constructed across the Tungabhadra River, a
tributary of the Krishna River. The dam is near
the town of Hospet in Karnataka. It is a
multipurpose dam serving irrigation, electricity
FIGURE1:TUNGABHADRA PROJECT
generation, flood control, etc. This is a joint
project of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana after its completion in 1953. The
water level profiling was done at the CH 28 in
mile 1 during August 2014, March 2015 and
August 2015 using Acoustic DopplerGaugingCurrent Section
Profiler (ADCP) and Current Meter[1]. The
[8]
measurements were performed simultaneously
with the two methods to present a comparison of
discharge measurement made by current
meter[14] which is the conventional method[2][3]
and latest developed technique, ADCP [13].
Results show that the relative error is very
small with the ADCP over the conventional
method. Besides the total value of discharge, the
ADCP method also offers detailed information
about velocity distribution over the cross
section.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Tungabhadra dam Project (Figure 1) is an
interstate, Multipurpose Project between the
two states viz. Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh. The Project consists of a High level
masonry dam constructed across
Tungabhadra River near Munirabad town in
Koppal Districts of Karnataka State. The
reservoir upstream of Tungabhadra dam has
a storage capacity of about 120 TMC. The
water from this reservoir is used for
generating 126 MW of electricity and
irrigating 3, 62,800 Ha of agricultural lands
in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Water
from the dam is released in to the Left Bank
Canal (LBC) and is utilized for power
generation and irrigation in the Karnataka
state. Three power houses are constructed
on the LBC, one at the foot hill of the dam,
and other two are at Shivapur and Sanapur.
Tail water from the dam power house is
carried to Shivapur and Sanapur reservoir
through LBC. Tail water of Shivapur power
house is released in to LBC. The length of
LBC is about 225 km in Karnataka,
Operation and maintenance of this canal is
under control of Irrigation Department,
Government of Karnataka. Estimation of
canal discharge at the head at CH 28 in Mile
1, is therefore very significant.

FIGURE 2: LOCATION MAP OF TUNGABHADRA DAM LEFT BANK CANAL
2.0 TUNGABHADRA LEFT BANK
CANAL
Tail water of dam power house and
irrigation sluices release flow into
Tungabhadra left bank canal. The canal is
lined and is designed to carry discharge of
116 m3/s (4100 ft3/s) at head. It has an
irrigation potential of 2,43,900 hectares in
Karnataka. The left bank canal traverses for
a length of 225 km in Karnataka.
2.1 Gauging site at ch. 28 in mile 1.
The canal in this section is lined and
is designed for 116 cumec (4100 cusec) at
the head. A cross regulator is situated on
4.65
1V
1.5H
25.46
0
FIGURE 3: CROSS SECTION OF CANAL AT CH. 28 IN MILE 1
Gauging Site
Left Bank
Main Canal
Tungabhadra
Dam
ch.28 in mile 1 which regulate the flow in
the Tungabhadra left bank canal. A
permanent gauging site on the canal is
located at ch.28 in mile 1. A cross section of
the canal at the above site is given in Figure
3. A permanent foot bridge is constructed at
one km downstream of the site at ch. 28,
which facilitates depth and velocity
measurements across the width of the canal.
A gauge well is constructed on the right
bank of the canal at the site. The view of the
foot bridge of the canal is shown in Figure
4.
WL (FSL)
4.05
1V
1.5H
FIG. NOT TO SCALE & ALL DIMNS. IN METRES
 FIGURE 4: GAUGING SITE AT km 2.842
3.0 FIELD MEASUREMENTS FOR
TUNGABHADRA LEFT BANK CANAL
The field studies were carried out at
the canal site for gauge and corresponding
discharge at the gauging site. The
observations were confined to the discharge
range as indicated below.
Discharges from 72.62 m3/s (2564
ft3/s) to 124.37 m3/sec. (4392 ft3/s ).
During the field measurements, the
discharge in the canal was gradually
increased from lower to higher water depths.
Different sets of observations were carried
out for different water levels in the canal [14].
3.1 Objective
Studies were conducted in
Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal at ch.28 in
mile 1, for different gauge levels to find out
corresponding discharges and establish
gauge discharge correlation for the above
gauging site [15].
3.2 Methodology
The discharge in the canal was
measured by Area-Velocity method as
prescribed in BIS 1192: 1981 and ISO 748:
1997 using Current Meter & Echo Sounder
[1]
.
The discharges in the canal were also
measured and confirmed by Acoustic
Doppler Current Profile (ADCP) using
River Surveyor instrument for better
accuracy [13].
4.0 Discharge Measurement using
Area Velocity Method
4.1 Gauge Observations
For confirmation of stable flow
condition at the gauging site, gauge
observations were made at a regular interval
from two to three hours prior to
commencement of discharge measurements
and also during the period of discharge
measurements. It was observed that zero at
the average bed level of the canal i.e. depth
measurements and gauge readings were
same. A gauge plate graduated in feet was
mounted on the inside wall of the gauge
well. Figure 5 depicts the view of the gauge
well at site. The gauge data, as observed
during these studies, is given in Table-1.
 FIGURE 5: GAUGE WELL ON LBC AT CH. 28 IN MILE 1
4.2 Depth measurements using Echo
Sounder
The canal section of base width
25.46 m (83.53 ft) at ch. 28, was divided
into 7 equal segments to cover the flow
having uniform depth. Two segments were
marked on either sides for lower water level
and four segments were marked for higher
water level to cover the flow in the sloping
bank canal portion. Depths were measured
at the center of each of the vertical using
Echo sounder, where sufficient depth was
available. Sounding rod was used to
measure the small depths in the end
segments. Details of verticals are shown in
Figure 6. Depths were measured at the start
and end of the measurements and average
value was taken as the depth for
computation of area of the segment.
4.3 Velocity measurements using
Current Meter
Velocity measurements were
subsequently taken at the verticals
located at the center of each of segment.
Velocities were measured at 0.2, 0.6 and
0.8 depth from the surface. Velocity
measurements were carried out using
self-recording propeller type current
meter average velocity on each vertical of
a segment was worked out as:
V V0.8
V0.6 0.2
Vav 2
2
Discharges were computed using
values of areas of the segments and
average velocity of the segment as per
the mid section method given in IS 1192:
1981.
Various observations were carried
out for different gauge levels in canal
range from 10.1 ft to 12.5 ft at the above
site in August 2014, March 2015 and
August 2015. Details of these
observations are given in Table 1.
 SEGMENT
WIDTH
WL (FSL)
4.65
1V
1.5 H
FIG. NOT TO SCALE,
ALL DIMNS. IN METRES
FIGURE 6: DEPTH / VELOCITY VERTICALS ACROSS LBC AT CH. 28 IN MILE 1
4.4 Computation of Discharge using
Current Meter and Echo Sounder
The average of the three velocities
observed on a vertical was taken as the
mean velocity of flow through the segment.
By knowing the width, depth and mean
velocity of the flow, the discharge passing
through each segment was worked out using
mid section method as explained in BIS
1192: 1981 and ISO 748: 1997. Total
discharge in the canal was then obtained by
adding all the segment discharges. The
discharge data, as observed on different
days, is given in Table - 1.
4.5 ACOUSTIC DOPPLER CURRENT
PROFILER
The main external components of
an ADCP are a transducer assembly and a
pressure case. The transducer assembly
consists of nine transducers that operate at
a fixed, ultrasonic frequency, typically
Dual 4-beam 3.0 MHz/1.0 MHz, Janus 25
Slant Angle, 0.5 MHz Vertical Beam Echo
sounder. The pressure case is attached to
the transducer assembly and contains most
of the instrument electronics.
When an ADCP is deployed from a
moving boat, it is connected by bluetooth
to a portable laptop. The computer is used
to program the instrument, monitor its
operation, and collect and store the data.
Operational Principles:
The ADCP measures velocity magnitude
and direction using the Doppler shift of
acoustic energy reflected by material
suspended in the water column. The
OBSERVATION DEPTH & VELOCITY
POINTS VERTICAL
O 0.2D
4.05
O 0.6D 1V
O 0.8D 1.5 H
25.46
ADCP transmits pairs of short acoustic
pulses along a narrow beam from each of
the four transducers. As the pulses travel
through the water column, they strike
suspended sediment and organic particles
(referred to as scatterers) that reflect
some of the acoustic energy back to the
ADCP. The ADCP receives and records
the reflected pulses. The reflected pulses
are separated by time differences into
successive, uniformly spaced volumes
called depth cells. The frequency shift
(known as the Doppler effect) and the
time-lag change between successive
reflected pulses are proportional to the
velocity of the scatterers relative to the
ADCP. The ADCP computes a velocity
component along each beam; because the
beams are positioned orthogonally to one
another and at a known angle from the
vertical (usually 20 or 30 degrees),
trigonometric relations are used to
compute three-dimensional water-velocity
vectors for each depth cell. Thus, the
ADCP produces vertical velocity profiles
composed of water speeds and directions
at regularly spaced intervals.
ADCP discharge measurements are made
from moving boats; therefore, the boat
velocities must be subtracted from the
ADCP measured water velocities. ADCPs
can compute the boat speed and direction
using bottom tracking (RD Instruments,
1989). The channel bottom is tracked by
measuring the Doppler shift of acoustic
pulses reflected from the bottom to
measure boat speed; direction is
determined with the ADCP on-board
compass. If the channel bottom is
stationary, this technique accurately
measures the velocity and direction of the
boat. The bottom-track echoes also are
used to estimate the depth of the river
(Oberg, 1994).
ADCP discharge measurements are made
by moving the ADCP across the channel
while it collects vertical- velocity profile
and channel-depth data. The ADCP
transmits acoustic pulses into the water
column. The groups of pulses include
water-profiling pulses and bottom-
tracking pulses. A group of pulses
containing an operator- set number of
water-profiling pulses (or water pings)
interspersed with an operator-set number
of bottom- tracking pulses (or bottom
pings) is an ensemble; a single
ensemble may be compared to a single
vertical from a conventional discharge
measurement (Oberg, 1994). A single
crossing of the stream from one side to the
other is referred to as a transect. Each
transect normally contains many
ensembles. When depth and water
velocities are known for each ensemble,
an ADCP can compute the discharge for
each ensemble. The discharge from all
transect ensembles are summed, yielding
a computation of river discharge for the
entire transect. ADCP operational
FIGURE 7: DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS USING ADCP AT CH 28 IN MILE 1
parameters (such as depth-cell length,
number of water and bottom pings per
ensemble, and time between pings) are set
by the instrument user. The settings for
these parameters are governed by
canal/river conditions (such as depth and
water speed) and also by the frequency
and physical configuration of the ADCP
unit (RD Instruments, 1989).
4.6 Measurement Procedure using
ADCP
The Hydro boat carrying the ADCP
is traversed from one end to the other end of
the canal across the section. The
measurement of discharge using the river
surveyor system comprises of three
components viz., Start Edge, Transect and
End Edge. ADCP calculates the total
discharge by summing the Start Edge, Top
Estimate, Measured Area, Bottom Estimate
and End Edge. Only the Measured Area is
calculated by ADCP and all other areas are
calculated by a technique known as Velocity
Profile Extrapolation using power law
velocity profile, which is inbuilt in the
software. At least four cycles of
measurements are taken by ADCP for each
gauge observation and the average of four
measurements are computed during data
processing. Likewise for different gauges
the procedure is repeated and the
observations are tabulated, the measurement
observation using ADCP at the gauging site
is shown in Figure 7. An insight of the pixel
data across the canal is shown in Figure 8.
 FIGURE 8: PIXEL DATA COLLECTION ACROSS THE CANAL USING ADCP

5.0 ANALYSIS OF FIELD DATA The gauge and discharge data as observed
on Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal at ch 28
The technical features/specifications in mile 1 is given in Table 1 and the
as described above, clearly show that same is plotted in Figure 9.
accuracy of ADCP is higher than the
current meter used for measurements in
the canal. Hence, data collected by the
ADCP and Current Meter is compared
and better results are incorporated in
Table 1.
TABLE 1
GAUGE DISCHARGE DATA OF TUNGABHADRA LEFT BANK CANAL AT CH 28 IN
MILE 1

Time of Gauging Gauge Discharge measured

S.No Date in Hrs. reading in by ADCP
From To Feet ft3/s m3/s
1 03.08.2014 11.30 12.50 10.01 2564 72.62
2 03.08.2014 14.45 15.40 10.4 2761 78.18
3 04.08.2014 16.30 17.15 11.0 3181 90.07
4 04.08.2014 18.00 19.00 11.1 3254 92.15
5 17.03.2015 09.45 10.30 12.0 3962 112.20
6 17.03.2015 11.30 12.10 12.2 4131 116.98
7 06.08.2015 13.40 14.20 12.3 4217 119.41
8 07.08.2015 15.00 16.00 12.5 4392 124.37
This plot indicates that relationship
between gauge and data is non-linear. A
statistical analysis of this data using method
of least square, revealed following
relationship between depth of flow and
discharge.
Q=7.483 G2.524 Where Q = Discharge in
ft3/sec and G=Gauge / Flow depth in feet.
The above relationship has a
correlation coefficient (R2) = 0.9969. It
would be seen that the correlation
coefficient is very high and the standard
error (0.0031) is well within the reasonable
limit i.e., 5%. The results of the statistical
analysis thus indicate that the quality of
field data is very accurate and the error in
estimation of discharge will, therefore, be
very small. A rating curve and a chart,
prepared on the basis of above
relationship, are given in Figure 8 and
Table 2 respectively. It may, however, be
mentioned that the above rating curve and
chart should be used within the observed
range of data. Any extrapolation of the
rating curve / chart may likely to cause
additional error. It is also mentioned that
the rating curve / chart is valid as long as
the site conditions under which the field
FIGURE 9: GAUGE-DISCHARGE CURVE OF TUNGABHADRA LBC AT CH. 28 IN
MILE 1
measurements were carried out are not
changed i.e. The canal no silting or no
scouring of canal bed, canal lining not
disturbed or removed, no weed growth in
the canal, the downstream cross regulator
gates kept fully opened and location of
gauge well and zero of the gauge not
changed.
NOTE: i) Gauge-Discharge data observed
by CWPRS, Pune, in Left Bank
Canal at ch. 28 in mile 1. during
field studies. The rating chart
prepared on the basis of following
Gauge-Discharge relationship.
Q = 7.483 G 2.524
Where Q = Discharge in ft 3/s and
G = Gauge / depth in feet.
ii) The rating chart to be used within
the observed range of data. Any
extrapolation may likely to cause
additional error.
iii) The rating chart is valid as long
as site conditions, under which the
field measurements were made,
are not changed.
 TABLE 2
RATING CHART OF TUNGABHADRA LEFT BANK CANAL AT CH 28 IN MILE 1
Gauge(G) in ft Discharge(Q) in ft3/s Discharge (Q) in m3/s
10.1 2564 72.62
10.2 2629 74.44
10.3 2694 76.30
10.4 2761 78.18
10.5 2829 80.09
10.6 2897 82.03
10.7 2966 84.00
10.8 3037 86.00
10.9 3108 88.02
11.0 3181 90.07
11.1 3254 92.15
11.2 3329 94.26
11.3 3404 96.40
11.4 3481 98.57
11.5 3559 100.77
11.6 3637 102.99
11.7 3717 105.25
11.8 3798 107.54
11.9 3879 109.85
12.0 3962 112.20
12.1 4046 114.57
12.2 4131 116.98
12.3 4217 119.41
12.4 4304 121.88
12.5 4392 124.37

6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS Q = 7.483 G 2.524

Based on the field studies for rating of
Tungabhadra Left Bank canal at ch 28 in
mile 1. carried out by CWPRS, Pune
following recommendations are made:
i) The gauge and discharge data is
given in Table 1 and plot of gauge
vs. discharge is given in Figure 9. A
statistical analysis of the above field
data revealed following relationship
between gauge and discharge of the
best fit curve.
Where Q = Discharge in ft3/s and
G = Gauge / depth in feet.
ii) Rating curve and rating chart based
on above statistical relationship are
given in Figure 9 and Table 2
respectively.
References:
1. BIS 1192: 1981, Velocity area methods
for measurement of flow in open
channels.
2. Herschy RW (1985), Stream flow
measurement, Elsevier Applied Science
Publishers
3. ISO 748: 1997, Measurement of liquid
flow in open channels Velocity are
methods
4. Chen YC, Chiu CL (2002) An efficient
method of discharge measurement in
tidal streams. J Hydrol 265(1 4):212
224
5. Chiu CL, Chen YC (2003) An efficient
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on probability concept. J Hydraul Res
41(6):589596
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Principles of Operation a Practical
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2016, CWPRS, Pune