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Open channel flow

ABDIKAFI ELMI ABDISHAKUR
Course description 2

 Introduction
 Conservation of energy in open channel flow
 Uniform flow in prismatic channels
 Steady gradually-varied non-uniform flow
 Design of channels
 Sediment transportation
Course objective 3

 The objective of the course is to enable students to realize

the different types of flows in channels, to classify open
channel flows, to adapt the basic principles of energy and
momentum in open channel flows and to compute various
types of flows. At the end of the course students can also
differentiate between gradually varied flow and spatially
varied flow types and their characteristics; analyze
uniform, critical, gradually-varied, rapidly-varied, spatially
varied and unsteady flows in open channels.
Course Evaluation 4

 Testone = 20%
 Assignment and presentation =20%
 Attendance and class participation =10%
 Final exam =50
Class rules and regulation 5

 Class will start at 7:45 morning, maximum allowable time

for student to come to class is 8:10
 The attendance is very important if you miss 12 hours in
whole semester I can not allow you to take the final exam.
 Respect between students is very important
 Bring assignment and duties in time is also very important
 Clothing academically will be highly appreciated
 Class ethics is well advised
Study plan: 6

week 1&2
 1. introduction
 1.1 Types of channel flow to be studied
 1.2 Properties of channel flow
 1.3Continuity equations
 1.4Velocity and pressure distribution in open
channels
1. introduction 7

 Liquid (water) flow with a free surface (interface between

water and air)
 Open Channel Flow is also known as free surface flow.
 OCF occur under the action of gravity and atmospheric
pressure.
 Example: Flow in river, canal, under ground sewer, culvert
ect.
Examples of open channel flow 8


Count……….. 9
Types of open channel flow 10

Natural and artificial channels

Prismatic and non prismatic channels
Rigid and mobile boundary channels
Small and large slope channels
Natural and artificial channels 11

 Natural open channels include all channels that exist

naturally on the earth. They are generally very irregular in
shape.
Example: Rivers, tidal estuaries, etc.
 Artificial open channels are the channels develops by men.
They are usually designed with regular geometric shapes.
Example: Irrigation canals, laboratory flumes, spillway
chutes, drops, culverts, roadside gutters, etc.
Prismatic and non prismatic channels 12

 Prismatic channels is a channel with unvarying cross-

section and the constant bottom slope is called a prismatic
channel. All artificial channels are usually prismatic. The
rectangular, trapezoid, parabola and circle are the most
commonly used shapes of prismatic channels.
 non prismatic channel is a channel with either varying
cross-section or the varying bottom slope is called a non-
prismatic channel. The natural channels are usually none
prismatic.
Rigid and mobile boundary channels 13

 A channel with an immovable bed and sides is known as a

rigid boundary channel.
Example: Lined canals, sewers, and non-erodible unlined
canals
 If a channel boundary is composed of loose sedimentary
particles moving under the action of flowing water, the
channel is called a mobile boundary channel.
Example: An alluvial channel is a mobile boundary channel
transporting the same type of material comprising the
channel perimeter
Small and large slope channels 14
 An open channel having a bottom slope of less than 1
in 10 is called a channel of small slope (Chow, 1959).
The slopes of ordinary channels, natural or artificial,
are far less than 1 in 10.
 An open channel having a bottom slope greater than 1
in 10 is called a channel of small slope (Chow, 1959).
Some artificial channels like drops and chutes have far
more than 1 in 10.
Types of channel flow 15

Steady and Unsteady flow

In an open channel flow, if the flow parameters such as depth of flow,
the velocity of flow and the rate of flow at a particular point on the
fluid do not change with respect to time, then it is called as steady flow.

And is at any point on the open channel flow, the flow parameters like
depth of flow, the velocity of flow and rate of flow do change their
value with respect to time, then it is called as an unsteady flow.
Uniform and non-uniform flow 16
 The flow in the channel is said to be uniform, if, for a given length
of the channel, the velocity of flow, the depth of flow remains
constant. i.e.
 In a Non-uniform flow, the flow parameters like velocity, depth of
flow, etc. do not remain constant for a given length of the channel.
 The Non-uniform flow can be again defined as Rapidly varying flow
(R.V.F) ,Gradually Varied Flow (G.V.F) and spatialy varied flow (
S.V.F).In the case of R.V.F, the depth of flow rapidly changes over a
smaller length of the channel. It rises up suddenly for a short length
and settles back. While in a G.V.F, the depth of flow changes
gradually over a longer length of the channel and in S.V.F the
discharge varies along length of channel due to addition or
withdrawal of water.
Count……. 17
Laminar and turbulent flow 18

 Laminar and turbulent flow in open channel flow is defined based on the Reynolds
Number, Re. The Reynolds number is given by the relation:

 Re=
 Re is less then 500 the flow is laminar
 Re is greater then 12500 the flow is turbulent
 Re is between 500 and 12500 the flow is transitional
Critical, Sub-Critical and Super - 19

Critical Flow
 The open channel flow is categorized as critical or sub-critical or super-critical
based on the Froude number Fe. Froude number is given by the relation:

Fr=
 Fr is less then 1 the flow subcritical
 Fr is greater then 1 the flow is supercritical
 Fr is equal to 1 the flow is critical
Properties of channel flow 20

 Flow Area (A): is the cross-sectional area of the flow normal to the
direction of flow.
 Wetted perimeter (P): is the length of interface betwen water and channel
boundary.
 Top width (B): Top width is the width of channel at the water surface.
 Hydraulic Radius (R): is the ratio of the flow area to the wetted
perimeter. R= A / P
 Hydraulic Depth (D): is the ratio of the flow area to the top width.
 D= A / B
Channel section 21
22
Continuity equation 23

 The continuity equation is simply a mathematical expression of the

principle of conservation of mass. For a control volume that has
a single inlet and a single outlet, the principle of conservation of
mass states that, for steady-state flow, the mass flow rate into the
volume must equal the mass flow rate out.

ṁin = ṁout
 Mass entering per unit time = Mass leaving per unit time
Velocity distribution 24

 In an open channel flow, velocity distribution is non-uniform which

means velocity is different at different depths. Various Factors such
as channel slope, alignment, shape, roughness etc. plays key role in
velocity distribution.
 velocity distribution in open channels is mainly depends upon the
following factors. Shape of the channel section
1. Roughness of channel
2. Alignment of channel
3. Slope of Channel bed]
4. Shape of chanel
Count……… 25
Pressure distribution in open channel 26

 The intensity of pressure for a liquid at its free surface is

equal to that of the surrounding atmosphere. Since the
atmospheric pressure is commonly taken as a reference
and of equal to zero, the free surface of the liquid is thus a
surface of zero pressure. The pressure distribution in an
open channel flow is governed by the acceleration of
gravity g .
Example 1.1 27

A trapezoidal channel has bottom width of 6m and

side of 2:1 compute the discharge and state of flow in
this channel if the depth of flow is 1.5m and the mean
velocity of flow is 2.3m/s?
Example 1.2 28

 A circularchannel 2.75 diameter carries discharge

of 6.55m3/S at the depth 1.1 m determine the state
of flow ?
Example 1.3 29

 A wide channel the velocity is u = 1+ where h is the

total depth and u is the velocity at distance z from the
channel bottom.
 Compute the discharge per unit width
 Determine the state of flow
Example 1.4 30

 A spillway flip bucket has a radius of curvature of

2.0 m of the depth of flow is 3m and discharge per
unit width is 66m2/s. Compute the pressure at A?