Hydraulics Engineering

Lec #1 : Specific Energy and Critical Depth

Books
◼ Fluid Mechanics with Engineering applications
 By:Roberts L. Duagherty, Joseph B. Franzini, E.
John Finnemore
◼ Open Channel Flow
 By: Ven te Chow
◼ Civil Engineering Hydraulics
 By: R.E. Featherstone & C. Nalluri
◼ Fluid Mechanics
 By: Yunus A. Cengel, John M. Cimbala
Steady Flow in Open Channels

◼ Specific Energy and Critical Depth

◼ Surface Profiles and Backwater Curves in

Channels of Uniform sections

◼ Hydraulics jump and its practical applications.

◼ Flow over Humps and through Constrictions

◼ Broad Crested Weirs and Venturi Flumes

 CLASSIFICATION OF OPEN-CHANNEL FLOWS
Open-channel flow: Refers to the flow of liquids in channels open to the
atmosphere or in partially filled conduits and is characterized by the presence of a liquid–
gas interface called the free surface.
Examples: Most natural flows encountered in practice, such as the flow of water in
creeks, rivers, and floods, as well as the draining of rainwater off highways, parking lots,
and roofs are open-channel flows. Human-made open-channel flow systems include
irrigation systems, sewer lines, drainage ditches, and gutters, and the design of such
systems is an important application area of engineering.
In an open channel, the flow velocity is zero at the side and bottom surfaces because of
the no-slip condition, and maximum at the midplane for symmetric geometries, typically
somewhat below the free surface.

Typical constant axial velocity contours in an

open channel of trapezoidal cross section;
values are
relative to the average velocity.
Natural and human-made open-channel
flows are characterized by a free surface 4
open to the atmosphere.
The velocity distribution (and thus flow) in open channels is, in
general, three-dimensional. Since the average velocity varies only
with streamwise distance x, V is a one-dimensional variable.
We consider flows with one-dimensional average velocity.
Despite its simplicity, the one-dimensional equations provide
remarkably accurate results and are commonly used in practice.
The no-slip condition on the channel walls gives rise to velocity
gradients, and wall shear stress develops along the wetted
surfaces.
The wall shear stress varies along the wetted perimeter at a given
cross section and offers resistance to flow.
The magnitude of this resistance depends on the viscosity of the
fluid as well as the velocity gradients at the wall surface, which in
turn depend on wall roughness.
Open-channel flows are also classified as being steady or unsteady.
The flow is said to be steady if the flow depth does not vary with
time at any given location along the channel. Otherwise, the flow is
unsteady.
 Uniform and Varied Flows
Uniform flow: If the flow depth (and thus the average velocity)
remains constant.
Nonuniform or Varied flow: The flow depth varies with distance in the
flow direction.
Uniform flow conditions are commonly encountered in practice in long
straight sections of channels with constant slope, constant roughness,
and constant cross section.
The flow depth in uniform flow is called the normal depth yn, which is
an important characteristic parameter for open-channel flows.

For uniform flow in an open

channel, the flow depth y and the
average flow velocity V remain
constant.

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The presence of an obstruction in the channel, such as a gate or a
change in slope or cross section, causes the flow depth to vary (varied
or nonuniform flow).
Such varied flows are common in both natural and human-made open
channels such as rivers, irrigation systems, and sewer lines.
Rapidly varied flow (RVF): If the flow depth changes markedly over a
relatively short distance in the flow direction (such as the flow of water
past a partially open gate or over a falls), and
Gradually varied flow (GVF): If the flow depth changes gradually
over a long distance along the channel.
A gradually varied flow region typically occurs between rapidly varied
and uniform flow regions.

Uniform flow (UF),

gradually varied flow
(GVF), and rapidly
7
varied flow (RVF) in an
open channel.
Laminar and
Turbulent flows in Channels
Like pipe flow, open-channel flow can
be laminar, transitional, or turbulent,
depending on the value of the.

Reynolds number

V is the average liquid

velocity
 is the kinematic viscosity
Rh is the hydraulic radius

Laminar: Re  500, Turbulent for Re  The relationship between

2500 Transitional for 500  Re  2500
Laminar flow is encountered when a thin
layer of water flows at a low velocity.
the hydraulic radius and
hydraulic diameter is not
8
what you might expect.
 The Reynolds number associated with water flow in open
channels is typically above 50,000, and thus the flow is
almost always turbulent.
The wetted perimeter includes the sides and the bottom of the
channel in contact with the liquid—it does not include the free
surface and the parts of the sides exposed to air.
For example, the wetted perimeter and the cross-sectional flow
area for a rectangular channel of height h and width b
containing water of depth y are p = b + 2y and Ac = yb,
respectively. Then,

9
 13–2 FROUDE NUMBER AND WAVE SPEED
Open-channel flow is also classified as subcritical, critical, or supercritical,
depending on the value of the dimensionless Froude number:
Lc is taken to be the
flow depth y for wide
rectangular channels

Subcritical or tranquil flow: At low flow velocities (Fr < 1), a small
disturbance travels upstream (with a velocity c0 - V relative to a
stationary observer) and affects the upstream conditions.
Supercritical or rapid flow: At high flow velocities (Fr > 1), a small
disturbance cannot travel upstream and thus the upstream conditions
cannot be influenced by the downstream conditions. The flow in this
case is controlled by the upstream conditions.
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 12

A liquid can accelerate from subcritical to

supercritical flow. It can also decelerate
from supercritical to subcritical flow, and it
can do so by undergoing a shock. The
shock in this case is called a hydraulic
jump, which corresponds to a normal shock
in compressible flow.

Definitions of subcritical flow and

supercritical flow in terms of critical depth.
 14

Supercritical flow through a sluice

gate.

A hydraulic jump
can be observed on
a dinner plate when
(a) it is right- sideup,
but not when (b) it is
upside down.
 SPECIFIC ENERGY

z is the elevation head

P/g = y is the gage pressure
head V2/2g is the velocity or
dynamic head
Specific energy Es: The sum of
the pressure and dynamic heads
of a liquid in an open channel.

The specific energy Es of a liquid in an open channel is the total

mechanical energy (expressed as a head) relative to the bottom of
the channel.

15
 The specific energy reaches a
minimum value Es, min at some
intermediate point, called the
critical point, characterized
by the critical depth yc and
critical velocity Vc.
The minimum specific energy
is also called the critical
energy.
16
Variation of specific energy Es with depth y
for a specified flow rate.

A sluice gate illustrates alternate depths—

the deep liquid upstream of the sluice gatte
and the shallow
liquid downstream of the sluice gate.
• The distance from a point on the vertical y-axis to the curve represents the
specific energy at that y-value. The part between the Es =y line and the curve
corresponds to dynamic head (or kinetic energy) of the liquid, and the
remaining part to pressure head (or flow energy).
• The specific energy tends to infinity as y 0 (due to the velocity
approaching infinity), and it becomes equal to flow depth y for large values of
y (due to the velocity and thus the kinetic energy becoming very small).
• There is a minimum specific energy Es, min required to support the specified
flow rate. Therefore, Es cannot be below Es, min for a given flow rate.
• A horizontal line intersects the specific energy curve at one point only, and
thus a fixed value of flow depth corresponds to a fixed value of specific
energy. This is expected since the velocity has a fixed value when flow rate ,
b, and y are specified. However, for Es > Es, min , a vertical line intersects the
curve at two points, indicating that a flow can have two different depths (and
thus two different velocities) corresponding to a fixed value of specific energy.
These two depths are called alternate depths. For flow through a sluice gate
with negligible frictional losses (and thus Es constant), the upper depth
corresponds to the upstream flow, and the lower depth to the downstream
flow.
• The value of the minimum specific energy and the critical depth at which it
occurs can be determined by differentiating Es from with respect to y for
constant b and volume flow rate and setting the derivative equal to zero:
 The point of minimum specific energy is indeed
the critical point, and the flow becomes critical
when the specific energy reaches its minimum
value.
It follows that the flow is subcritical at lower flow velocities and thus
higher flow depths (the upper arm of the curve in Fig. 13–13),
supercritical at higher velocities and thus lower flow depths (the lower
arm of the curve), and critical at the critical point (the point of minimum
specific energy).
Specific energy can be expressed in
terms of the critical depth alone as

In uniform flow, the flow depth and the flow velocity, and thus the specific
energy, remain constant since Es = y + V2/2g. The head loss is made up
by the decline in elevation (the channel is sloped downward in the flow
direction). In nonuniform flow, however, the specific energy may increase
17
or decrease, depending on the slope of the channel and the frictional
losses.
18
 13–4 CONSERVATION OF MASS AND ENERGY
EQUATIONS

The slope of the

bottom of the channel
If the channel bottom is straight
The total energy of a (the bottom slope is constant):
liquid flowing in an 19

open channel.
In the design of open-channel systems, the bottom slope is selected such that it
provides adequate elevation drop to overcome the frictional head loss and thus to
maintain flow at the desired rate.
Therefore, there is a close connection between the head loss and the bottom slope,
and it makes sense to express the head loss as a slope (or the tangent of an
angle). This is done by defining a friction slope as
Note that the friction slope
is equal to the bottom slope
when the head loss is equal
to the elevation drop. That
is, Sf = S0 when hL = z1 - z2.
The energy line z + y + V2/2g (total
mechanical energy of the liquid expressed as
a head) above the horizontal reference datum.
The energy line is typically sloped down like
the channel itself as a result of frictional
losses, the vertical drop being equal to the
head loss hL and thus the slope being the
same as the friction slope.
The total energy of a liquid at two
sections of an open channel.
Assignment

◼ Problems: 13.31 to 13.40 from Fluid

Mechanics by Yunus A. Cengel, John M.
Cimbala
◼ Submission Date: 02/10/2018