CE 272 – Advanced Engineering Hydraulics Spring 2018

Homework #1 – Due on SacCT, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018 at 5PM on SacCT

1. Consider laminar flow in a channel of width 2b. The channel is aligned in the x-direction, and
the velocity at a distance y from the centerline is given by the parabolic distribution:

y2
(
u ( y )=U 0 1− 2
b )
In terms of the viscosity , calculate the shear stress  at a distance of y = b/2.

2. Consider tidal flow in San Francisco Bay tidal channel. Assume the pressure gradient that
drives the flow during ebb or flood tie is balanced by bottom friction.

(a) Draw a roughly rectangular control volume and show the forces acting on it under flood
(incoming) tide conditions. Assume the bottom of the channel is flat.
(b) Assuming steady, fully developed flow (i.e. you can ignore momentum fluxes), state the
force balance mathematically) in the x-direction. Assume the bottom of the channel is flat.
Ignore changes in flow depth over the small horizontal distance of your control volume.
∂p
(c) Express the mean velocity in the channel as a function of the pressure gradient , bottom
∂x
drag coefficient CD, the density  and flow depth H.
(d) With a pressure gradient of 0.2 Pa/m, a drag coefficient of CD = 0.2, density  = 1000 kg/m3,
and depth H = 10 m, estimate the mean velocity (depth averaged) in the channel.
(e) If this pressure gradient is entirely barotropic, calculate the free surface slope needed to
generate it. What elevation change does this correspond to over a 100-km distance?