CE – 459

Credits: 3 + 0
Min. Contact Hours (Theory): 48
Batch: UG CE 2k19
Spring 2022 Semester

Hydraulic Engineering

Lecture 2 – Open Channel Flow

Dr. Muhammad Noor

Assistant Professor Civil Engineering Department
NUST Balochistan Campus, Quetta,
Pakistan
Cell: 92-333-3393776, Email: mnkakar@gmail.com
 Introduction 2

An open channel may be defined as a passage in which

liquid flows with its upper surface exposed to atmosphere.

In open channels the flow is due to gravity, thus the flow

conditions are greatly influenced by the slope of the
channel
The behavior of open-channel flow is governed by the
effects of viscosity and gravity relative to the inertial forces
of the flow. Surface tension has a minor contribution but
does not play a significant enough role in most
circumstances to be a governing factor. Due to the
presence of a free surface, gravity is generally the most
significant driver of open-channel flow; therefore, the ratio
of inertial to gravity forces is the most important
dimensionless parameter. The parameter is known as
the Froude number, and is defined as:

Where U is the mean velocity,

D is the characteristic length scale for a
channel's depth,
and g is the gravitational acceleration.
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 Comparison between Open Channel and Pipe Flow 3

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 Comparison between Open Channel and Pipe Flow 4

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 Types of Channels 5

The various types of channels

are:
It is the one which has irregular sections of varying shapes, developed in a
natural way.
Examples: Rivers, streams etc
It is the one which is built artificially for carrying water for various purposes. They
have the cross-sections with regular geometrical shapes (which usually remain
same throughout the length of the channel).
Examples: Rectangular channel, trapezoidal channel, parabolic channel etc

A channel without any cover at the top is known as an open channel.

Examples: Irrigation canals, rivers, streams, flumes and water falls.

The channel having a cover at the top is known as a covered or closed channel.
Examples: Partly filled conduits carrying public water supply such as sewerage
lines, underground drains, tunnels etc. not running full of water

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 Types of Channels 6

The various types of channels

are:
A channel with constant bed slope and the same cross-section along its length is
known as a prismatic channel.
The prismatic channels can be further subdivided as:

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 Types of Flow in Channels 7

The flow in channels is classified into the following types, depending upon the change in the depth
of flow with respect to space and time:

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 Types of Flow in Channels 8

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 Types of Flow in Channels 9

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Types of Flow in Channels 0

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Types of Flow in Channels 1

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Types of Flow in Channels 2

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Definitions 3

It is the vertical distance of the lowest point of a

channel section (bed of the channel) from the free
surface.

The depth of flow and depth of flow section

are assumed equal, unless mentioned
otherwise

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 Definitions

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OPEN CHANNEL FORMULAE FOR UNIFORM FLOW 5

For uniform flow in open channels, the following formulae will be

discussed :

Consider a longitudinal section of an open channel in

which the flow is steady and uniform, as shown in Fig. The
forces acting on the free body of water between sections
1-1 and 2-2 in the direction of flow are as follows:
(i) Pressure forces F1 and F2 acting on the two ends of the
body; these forces balance each other since the depth of
channel remains constant.
(ii) The component of weight of the water in the direction
of flow, which is = W sin θ = wAL sin θ
where
,

(iii) Frictional resistance offered by the sides of the channel which is = τ0 PL, where P is the wetted
Fluid Mechanics - II Spring Seismic
Semester 2021 (Atif Rasheed)
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OPEN CHANNEL FORMULAE FOR UNIFORM FLOW 6

As the flow is steady and uniform, it is neither accelerating nor

decelerating; the liquid mass is in equilibrium and the frictional
resistance to flow equals the weight of liquid mass acting along
the line of fluid motion. Thus
wAL sin θ = τ0
PL

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OPEN CHANNEL FORMULAE FOR UNIFORM FLOW 7

Eqn. (16.8) is known as Chezy’s formula (named after the French

engineer Antoine Chezy who developed this formula in 1775). The
term C is known as Chezy’s constant.

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OPEN CHANNEL FORMULAE FOR UNIFORM FLOW 8

Although Chezy’s equation is quite simple, the selection of a correct value of C is rather difficult.
Some of the important formulae developed for Chezy’s constant C are:

A French hydraulician H. Bazin’s (1897) proposed the following empirical formula for
Chezy’s constant:

where, R is the
hydraulic radius and
K is the Bazin’s
constant whose
value depends on
surface roughness.
Some typical values
of K are:

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OPEN CHANNEL FORMULAE FOR UNIFORM FLOW 9

Although Chezy’s equation is quite simple, the selection of a correct value of C is rather difficult.
Some of the important formulae developed for Chezy’s constant C are:

Two Swiss engineers Ganguillet and Kutter proposed the

following empirical formula (1869) for the determination of
Chezy’s constant C.

where N is the Kutter’s constant

whose value depends upon the
type of the channel surface.
Some typical values of N are
given as:

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OPEN CHANNEL FORMULAE FOR UNIFORM FLOW 0

Although Chezy’s equation is quite simple, the selection of a correct value of C is rather difficult.
Some of the important formulae developed for Chezy’s constant C are:

Rober Manning (an Irish engineer) gave the following empirical relation for determination of Chezy’s
constant C (1889), which is simplest of all used for uniform open channel flow:

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Solved Examples 1

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Solved Examples 2

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Solved Examples 3

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Solved Examples 4

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Solved Examples 5

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Solved Examples 6

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Solved Examples 7

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Solved Examples 8

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

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