Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications

Third Edition in SI Units

Yunus A. Cengel, John M. Cimbala
McGraw-Hill, 2014

Lecture 5
OPEN-CHANNEL FLOW

Prof Taha Taher

Copyright 2014 McGraw-Hill Education (Asia). Permission required for reproduction or display.

135 UNIFORM FLOW IN CHANNELS

Flow in a channel is called uniform flow if the flow depth (and thus the average
flow velocity remains constant. Uniform flow conditions are commonly encountered
in practice in long straight runs of channels with constant slope, constant cross
section, and constant surface lining.
The flow depth in uniform flow is called the normal depth yn, and the average flow
velocity is called the uniform-flow velocity V0.

Chezy coefficient

The Chezy coefficient ranges from about 30 m 1/2/s

for small channels with rough surfaces to 90 m 1/2/s
for large channels with smooth surfaces.

In uniform flow, the flow depth y, the average flow velocity

V, and the bottom slope S0 remain constant, and the head
loss equals the elevation loss, hL = z1 - z2 = SfL = S0L.

Manning coefficient n: It depends on

the roughness of the channel surfaces.
Manning equations (GaucklerManning equations)

Critical Uniform Flow

Flow through an open channel becomes critical flow
when the Froude number Fr = 1 and thus the flow speed
equals the wave speed

For film flow or flow in a wide rectangular

channel with b >> yc,

Superposition Method for Nonuniform Perimeters

The surface roughness and thus the Manning coefficient for most
natural and some human-made channels vary along the wetted
perimeter and even along the channel.
A river, for example, may have a stony bottom for its regular bed but a
surface covered with bushes for its extended floodplain.
There are several methods for solving such problems, either by finding
an effective Manning coefficient n for the entire channel cross section,
or by considering the channel in subsections and applying the
superposition principle.
For example, a channel cross section can be divided into N
subsections, each with its own uniform Manning coefficient and flow
rate.
When determining the perimeter of a section, only the wetted portion of
the boundary for that section is considered, and the imaginary
boundaries are ignored.
The flow rate through the channel is the sum of the flow rates through
all the sections.
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Example
Link:
lecture 5 example 13-3.xlsx

Example
Q= 1.5cms
b=1.2
m
n=0.0
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s=0.0
02
Q
(left)
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5

b
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2

y
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2

A
0.6
0.72
0.84
0.96
1.08
1.2
1.32
1.44

Q
(right
p
R
n
S
)
2.2 0.273 0.014 0.002 0.81
2.4 0.300 0.014 0.002 1.03
2.6 0.323 0.014 0.002 1.26
2.8 0.343 0.014 0.002 1.50
3
0.360 0.014 0.002 1.75
3.2 0.375 0.014 0.002 1.99
3.4 0.388 0.014 0.002 2.24
3.6 0.400 0.014 0.002 2.50

136 BEST HYDRAULIC CROSS SECTIONS

For a given channel length, the perimeter of the channel is representative of the
system cost, and it should be kept to a minimum in order to minimize the size
and thus the cost of the system.

The best hydraulic cross

section for an open channel is a
semicircular one since it has the
minimum wetted perimeter for a
specified cross-sectional area,
and thus the minimum flow
resistance.

A rectangular open channel of width

b and flow depth y. For a given
cross-sectional area, the highest flow
rate occurs when y = b/2.

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The flow rate increases as the flow aspect ratio

y/b is increased, reaches a maximum at y/b=0.5,
and then starts to decrease.
We see the same trend for the hydraulic radius,
but the opposite trend for the wetted perimeter
p. These results confirm that the best cross
section for a given shape is the one with the
maximum hydraulic radius, or equivalently, the
one with the minimum perimeter.

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Rectangular Channels

Therefore, a rectangular open channel should be designed such that the

liquid height is half the channel width to minimize flow resistance or to
maximize the flow rate for a given cross-sectional area.
This also minimizes the perimeter and thus the construction costs.

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Trapezoidal Channels

Parameters for a trapezoidal channel.

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The best hydraulic cross section

for a circular channel of diameter
D can be shown to be y = D/2.

The best cross section for

trapezoidal channels is half
of a hexagon.

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Discussion Note that the trapezoidal

cross section is better since it has a
smaller perimeter (3.37 m versus 3.68
m) and thus lower construction cost.
This is why many man-made waterways
are trapezoidal in shape. However, the
average velocity through the
trapezoidal channel is larger since Ac is

Many man-made water

channels are trapezoidal
in shape because of low
construction cost and
good performance.

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