POTENTIAL FLOW THROUGH CHANNEL

CONSTRICTION
By J o n a t h a n K. Lee, 1 A. M . ASCE
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ABSTRACT: Standard methods for computing backwater at width constrictions

of flood plains severely underestimate backwater when the flood plain is wide
and heavily vegetated. The energy-loss term for the approach reach upstream
from a constriction depends on the average streamline length in the reach. In
standard one-dimensional step-backwater procedures, this average streamline
length is approximated by the length of the approach reach. Calculation of en-
ergy loss in the approach reach can be improved if a more accurate estimate
of the average streamline length is used. Potential-flow streamlines are a rea-
sonable approximation to physical streamlines for convergent flow outside the
boundary layer if flood-plain depth and roughness are fairly uniform. In this
paper, potential flow through an eccentric, normal constriction of zero thick-
ness in an infinitely long, straight channel of constant width and unit depth is
studied by use of a Schwarz-Christoffel transformation. The transformation is
integrated by a direct approach. Parametric equations for streamlines are ob-
tained and used to compute an average streamline length for a potential-flow
field.

INTRODUCTION

Standard methods for computing backwater at width constrictions of

flood plains severely underestimate backwater when the flood plain is
wide and heavily vegetated (4). Accurate computation of backwater re-
quires an improved method for calculating energy loss at a constriction.
The energy-loss term for the approach reach upstream from a con-
striction depends on the average streamline length in the reach. In stan-
dard one-dimensional step-backwater procedures, this average stream-
line length is approximated by the length of the approach reach.
Schneider, et al. (4) observed that, for large constriction ratios, the av-
erage streamline length is considerably greater than the length of the
approach reach. Thus, calculation of energy loss in the approach reach
can be improved if a more accurate estimate of the average streamline
length is used.
To estimate the average streamline length, Su (5) studied two-dimen-
sional potential flow through a symmetric, normal constriction of zero
thickness in an infinitely long, straight channel of constant width and
unit depth. Potential-flow streamlines are a reasonable approximation to
physical streamlines for convergent flow (i.e., flow upstream from the
constriction) outside the boundary layer if flood-plain depth and rough-
ness are fairly uniform. Su used a Schwarz-Christoffel transformation to
map the upper half plane conformally onto the interior of the constricted
channel. Using elliptic integrals, Chen and Su (2) extended Su's work
to eccentric, normal constrictions.
'Hydro., U.S. Geological Survey, Gulf Coast Hydroscience Center, NSTL Sta-
tion, Miss. 39529.
Note.—Discussion open until September 1, 1984. To extend the closing date
one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager of Technical
and Professional Publications. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for
review and possible publication on November 19, 1982. This paper is part of the
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 110, No. 4, April, 1984. ©ASCE, ISSN
0733-9429/84/0004-0515/$01.00. Paper No. 18746.
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J. Hydraul. Eng. 1984.110:515-520.

 In this paper, the problem studied by Chen and Su is solved by direct
integration of the Schwarz-Christoffel transformation. This approach,
based on an appropriate substitution, gives a much simpler expression
(Eq. 9) for the integrated transformation than those obtained by chen
and Su. Eq. 9 yields simple parametric equations for streamlines and
equipotentials. The streamline equations can be used to obtain an av-
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erage streamline length for the potential-flow field, which can be used
to approximate the average streamline length in the approach reach up-
stream from a flood-plain constriction.

SCHWARZ-CHRISTOFFEL TRANSFORMATION

An eccentric, normal constriction of zero thickness in an infinitely long,

straight channel of constant width and unit depth in the z-plane is shown
in Fig. 1(a). The boundary of the flow domain is the polygon
Z8ZJZ2Z3Z4Z5Z6Z7Z8. Points z4 and z8 are at infinity. The channel width is
B, the opening width is B2, and the widths of the constrictions, ztz2 and
z5z6, are B3 and Bi, respectively. Thus, B = B^ + B2 + B3. A Cartesian
coordinate system is selected with the x-axis coincident with the right
bank of the channel and the y-axis coincident with the constriction. Be-

z3.zi
• ! " 1
!

i ;
' i !
1 '
z
Z4 Z5.Z7 8
(a) -00 0 00

£, t>Z
z £3
»3 £4
1
=4 ^
=5 £e £7 t
(b) -I -a" 0 e I

FIG. 1.—Definition Sketches of: (a) Constricted Flow Field In z-Plane; and (b) Up-
per Half of Transformed £-Plane
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J. Hydraul. Eng. 1984.110:515-520.

 cause the channel is assumed to be of unit depth, discharge per unit
width is equal to velocity. At infinity, we assume that the velocity is in
the x-direction and is uniform across the channel with magnitude IT. The
total discharge, Q, is then UB.
A Schwarz-Christoffel transformation (1) is used to map the upper half
plane, Im £ > 0 [Fig. 1(b)], conformally onto the interior of the con-
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stricted channel in the z-plane. The real axis in the £-plane is mapped
onto the boundary of the constricted channel. The points z 2 , z 4 , and z8
are chosen to correspond to £2 = - 1 , £4 = 0, and £8 = ±», respectively.
Thus, £4 acts as a source and £8 as a sink in the £-plane. The streamlines
in the £-plane are the rays, arg t, = constant, 0 < arg £ < TT. The equi-
potential lines are the semicircles, \t\ = constant, Im £ > 0. Because the
flow in the z-plane is symmetric with respect to the y-axis, the vertical
segment connecting z6 and z2 is an equipotential line and corresponds
to some equipotential line in the £-plane. Because z2 corresponds to £2
= — 1, it follows that z6 must correspond to £s = 1. As a consequence of
the Schwarz reflection principle (6), points inverse with respect to the
unit circle in the £-plane will be mapped onto points symmetric with
respect to the vertical segment connecting z6 and z 2 . Thus, 2i and z3
correspond to £i = -a and £3 = - a - 1 , respectively, and z5 and z7 cor-
respond to £5 = e and £7 = e"1, respectively, where 0 < e < l < a < +a>.
The Schwarz-Christoffel transformation preserving these correspon-
dences is
dz (i2 - 1)
T~M = = (1)

The strength of the source at the origin in the £-plane is UB/TS. Thus,
the complex potential, w, which is defined as
xv = <}> + ity (2)
in which <>
j = the velocity potential and I|J = the stream function, is given
(3) by
UB
w^ — I n I (3)
IT

If the velocity is denoted by q and its real and imaginary parts by u and
v, respectively, then (3)

dw dw di UB V « + «)« + 0 « - c)« - e-1)

q = u - xv = — = = :
2
(4)
w
* dz d{ dz TTM (i - 1)
At z4 = -oo (£4 = 0) or at z8 = +oo (£8 = ±oo), q = U. It follows from Eq.
4 that M = B/TT.

INTEGRATION OF SCHWARZ-CHRISTOFFEL TRANSFORMATION

To integrate Eq. 1, let

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J. Hydraul. Eng. 1984.110:515-520.

 Then — (6)
2
K V « + «)3« + a-'M - c)(t - e"1)'
1 (£ + «)(£ + tT1)
and (7)
1 + X2 (a + a^ + e + e'1)!,""
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It follows from Eqs. 1, 6, a n d 7 that

2Bi ,. « - e)(£ - O + N
z= tan i 1 (8)
(t + «)« + a- )
Since z 5 = 0 corresponds to £5 = e, t h e n N = 0.

DETERMINATION OF ACCESSORY PARAMETERS

The accessory p a r a m e t e r s (1), a a n d e, of t h e transformation

2Bi _x. /(£ - e)(£ - e-1)

z= tan i (9)
(? + «)(£ +a"1)
can n o w b e determined. Because z 6 = iBx a n d z 2 = i(Bi + B2) correspond
to {(, = 1 a n d £2 = _ 1 / respectively, we obtain from Eq. 9

^ 1 f _,
= tan , (10)
2B VI + a
TT(B1 + B2) _i/e+l
and = tan (11)
IB \a - \)
Subtracting Eq. 10 from Eq. 11 and using trigonometric identities yields

^B2l
ctn (12)
4B
We combine Eq. 12 with Eqs. 10 and 11, solve the resulting linear equa-
tions for a and e, apply several trigonometric identities, and use the fact
that B = Bi + B2 + B3 to obtain
(nB2 ir(B2 + 2B 3 )
a = ctn I I tan (13)
4B
TTB: TT(B 2 + 2BQ
and e a = c t n I -— I t a n (14)
4B 4B
These expressions are the same as those obtained by Chen and Su (2)
using elliptic integrals. Note that the special cases of symmetric or fully
eccentric constrictions are obtained from Eqs. 9, 13, and 14 by setting Bt
= B 3 , Bi = 0, or B3 = 0.

STREAMLINES AND EQUIPOTENTIALS

For k n o w n values of Blt B2, a n d B 3 , values of a a n d e~x are found

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J. Hydraul. Eng. 1984.110:515-520.

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FIG. 2.—Streamlines and Equipotentials to Left of Constriction with BJB = B2/B

= 0.1 and 63/6 = 0.8. Streamlines are Shown at Values of Dimensionless Stream
Function, <\>/(UB), from 0 to 1.0 in Increments of 0.1. Equipotentials are Shown at
Values of Dimensionless Velocity Potential, <f>/(liB), from -2.2 to -0.1 in Incre-
ments of 0.1

from Eqs. 13 and 14. Then the equation of a streamline is obtained from
Eq. 9 by setting £ = re'6 for constant 0 and 0 < r < +00. From Eqs. 2 and
3, the value of the normalized stream function, \\i/(UB), is 6/fr. The
equation of an equipotential is obtained from Eq. 9 for constant r and 0
£ 8 £ n . From Eqs. 2 and 3, the value of the normalized velocity po-
tential, <(>/(l7B), is (1/ir) In r. Simple numerical methods can be used to
obtain streamline lengths and an average streamline length.
As an example, consider an eccentric constriction with Bi/B = B2/B =
0.1 and B3/B = 0.8. The values of the accessory parameters are a = 52.93
and e"1 = 3.05. Streamlines and equipotentials obtained from Eq. 9 are
shown in Fig. 2 for the left half of the flow domain, where both x and
y-coordinates have been normalized by division by B. Normalized
streamline lengths between x/B = -1.0 and x/B = 0 range from 1.01 to
1.80. By averaging streamline lengths for increasingly smaller incre-
ments of 6, the average normalized streamline length is found to be 1.14.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

In this paper, potential flow through an eccentric, normal constriction

of zero thickness in an infinitely long, straight channel of constant width
and unit depth is studied by means of the Schwarz-Christoffel transfor-
mation that maps the upper half plane onto the interior of the con-
stricted channel. The transformation is integrated by a direct approach.
The resulting streamline equations can be used to obtain an average
streamline length for the potential-flow field, which can be used to ap-
proximate the average streamline length in an approach reach upstream
from a flood-plain constriction.

APPENDIX I.—REFERENCES

1. Ahlfors, L. V., Complex Analysis, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New
York, N.Y., 1966, pp. 228-230.
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J. Hydraul. Eng. 1984.110:515-520.

 2. Chen, C. L., and Su, M. Y., "Schwarz-Christoffel Theory of Flow Past an
Opening," Journal of the Engineering Mechanics Division, ASCE, Vol. 108, No.
EM2, Proc. Paper 16983, Apr., 1982, pp. 399-418.
3. Pennisi, L. L., Elements of Complex Variables, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc.,
New York, N.Y., 1963, p p . 357-358, 365-367.
4. Schneider, V. R., et al., "Computation of Backwater and Discharge at Width
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by UNIVERSITY OF DHAKA on 05/11/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Constrictions of Heavily Vegetated Flood Plains," U.S. Geological Survey Water-

Resources Investigations Report 76-129, U.S. Geological Survey, NSTL Station,
Miss., Feb., 1977.
5. Su, M. Y., "Complex Potential Flow Through a Symmetric Two-Dimensional
Constriction," Technical Report No. 73-51, General Electric Company, NSTL
Station, Miss., Nov., 1973.
6. von Koppenfels, W., and Stallman, F., Praxis der konformen Abbildung, Spring-
er-Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 1959, p p . 109-114.

APPENDIX II.—NOTATION

The following symbols are used in this paper:

a = accessory parameter of Schwarz-Christoffel transformation;

B = total channel width = Bx + B2 + B3;
Bj = constriction width at right bank of channel;
B2 = opening width;
B3 = constriction w i d t h at left b a n k of channel;
e = accessory parameter of Schwarz-Christoffel transformation;
/ = imaginary unit;
M = coefficient of Schwarz-Christoffel transformation;
N = constant of integration of Schwarz-Christoffel transformation;
Q = total discharge of channel;
q = velocity = u + iv;
r = magnitude of complex number £;
U = magnitude of uniform velocity at infinity;
u = velocity component in direction of x-axis;
v = velocity component in direction of y-axis;
w = complex potential = c(> + «|<;
x = real axis of z-plane;
y = imaginary axis of z-plane;
z = physical p l a n e = x + iy;
I = transformed p l a n e = £ + i%
y\ = imaginary axis of £-plane;
6 = a r g u m e n t of complex n u m b e r I;
X = substitution variable defined in Eq. 5;
£ = real axis of £-plane;
(J, = velocity potential; and
i|< = stream function.

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