UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

B.Sc. (Hons) Civil Engineering - Level IV

HYDRAULIC STRUCTURES

December 2015. Engin. CE 406

Answer any FIVE Questions

All Questions carry equal marks

Time allowed: 3 hours

Please write on each book and loose sheet you use;
 The Examination Number
 The date of this Examination
 Your Registration Number

This Examination Paper consists of 3 pages.

QUESTION 1

(a) Show that for a uniform rainfall intensity falling throughout the catchment with a coefficient of discharge
of 20%, the rainfall intensity can be estimated by equation Q1a. Define all the terms used in the derivation
of the formulae. [10 marks]

𝑸𝑷
𝒊 = 𝟔. 𝟖𝟕 Equation Q1a
𝑨

(b) The outflow from a dam through the spillway can be estimated from the numerical form of the continuity
equation shown in Equation Q1b. Show how equation Q1b is derived from the water balance equation for
the capacity of the reservoir above the spillway water level defining all the terms in the equation.
[10 marks]
𝟐𝑺𝟐 𝟐𝑺𝟏
𝑸𝟐 + = 𝑸𝟏 + − 𝟐𝑸𝟏 + 𝑰𝟐 + 𝑰𝟐 Equation Q1b
𝒅𝒕 ∆𝒕

QUESTION 2
The spillway of a dam has a discharge per unit width of 26.5m 3/s/m onto a horizontal stilling apron. As the
super critical flow comes out of the spillway onto the apron, it is at a depth of 0.6m. In order to ensure that
a stable hydraulic jump occurs on the apron, a sill has been constructed on the apron with a sufficient
length to allow the establishment of normal conditions.

(a) Calculate the height of the hydraulic jump and the height of the sill necessary to stabilise the
jump. Neglect energy losses. [10 marks]

(b) Given that downstream of the sill, the channel is wide with a slope of 1 in 15, calculate the
normal depth of flow in the downstream channel assuming a Manning’s n = 0.015.
[6 marks]

(c) What practical difficulties can be experienced in the operation of such a structure?
[4 marks]

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QUESTION 3

A farmer intends to irrigate 20 hectares of maize crop during spring. There is effectively no rainfall during
the irrigation period. The average potential reference evapotranspiration for the location of the farm is
5mm/day. The rooting depth of the crop is 1.2m and the peak crop coefficient can be assumed to be 1.2.

(a) Calculate the peak daily net crop water requirement for the farm. [2 marks]

(b) If the soil has available water capacity of 130mm/m and an effective depth of 0.75m, what is the
net irrigation requirement per irrigation cycle if water is to be added at 50% soil moisture depletion?
[4 marks]

(c) Calculate the required sprinkler discharge if the spacing is 12m x 18m and the system has a
conveyance efficiency of 80% and a distribution efficiency of 90% and each irrigation cycle is 10
hours. [8 marks]

(d) How many days does it take before there is need to irrigate the same portion of the farm again?
[2 marks]

(e) How many sprinklers does the farmer need to complete irrigating the field before being required to
come back and irrigate the same field? [4 marks]

QUESTION 4

(a) State the known broad classes of irrigation systems and describe one critical intrinsic characteristic
that differentiates each irrigation system from the others. Present your answer in tabular form.
[6 marks]

(b) State any FIVE selection criteria that affect appropriateness of a particular irrigation system type to a
given location and briefly give the respective critical aspects which influence the choice of an irrigation
system type. [10 Marks]

(c) After the land reform in Zimbabwe, there is a marked decline in irrigated agriculture whilst there are
significant quantities of water sources that are developed but underutilised. Describe the irrigation
system that you think should be given priority by the nation to improve food security in the country.
Justify your choice. [4 Marks]

QUESTION 5

(a) Given the following data, determine the Total Freeboard for the Dam: [10 marks]

Spillway maximum discharge = 500m 3/s

Spillway coefficient of discharge = 3.0
Spillway length = 200m
Wind speed in direction of the Dam wall = 1.5km/hour
Dam Fetch = 2km
Dam Height = 15m

(b) Using Nelson’s 1991 equation, determine the Full Supply Capacity of a Dam in m 3 whose parameters
are: [5 marks]

Kn = 1.2
Maximum water depth at Full Supply Level = 15m
Width of water surface at the Dam wall at Full Supply Level = 650m
Dam’s Throwback at Full Supply Level = 1.5km
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(c) Using the Weibull Distribution (P = e-km) to represent the distribution of annual inflows into a Dam, what
is the probability, P, of the Dam filling from empty given the data in Table Q5 and that: [5 marks]

Dam capacity at Full Supply Level = 6 million m 3

Annual Inflow into the Dam = 2 million m 3
Coefficient of Variation of the Annual Inflow = 90%
Table Q5
CV (%) c n
60 0.90 1.72
70 0.91 1.45
80 0.94 1.26
90 0.97 1.11
100 1.00 1.00
110 1.05 0.91
120 1.11 0.84
130 1.17 0.78
140 1.24 0.73

QUESTION 6

(a) State any FIVE cases when In-kind Compensation and any FIVE cases when Monetary (Cash)
Compensation is appropriate for project induced human resettlement. [10 marks]

(b) An emergency call was received from the Resident Engineer on a Dam Construction Site and you
were tasked to respond to the call. You visited the Dam Construction Site and took several
photographs including Figure 6.

i) In bullet form, explain what your findings were giving reasons and justifications for your
conclusions. [5 marks]

ii) In your opinion, what should have been done to avoid the situation that you found at the Dam
Construction Site? [5 marks]

Figure 6: Downstream face of the Dam under construction

END OF THIS EXAMINATION

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