CE (353)

Hydraulics of Engineering

Fall Semester, 2022

Naqibullah Sediqi
Sediqi.naqib2020@gmail.com

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 CE (353)
Hydraulics of Engineering
October 2022

Chapter 6
Water Flow in Open Channels
Agenda/Topics:
• Differences b/w pipe and open channel flow
• Open-Channel Flow Classifications

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Differences b/w pipe and open channel flow
Flow driven by
Flow cross section
Characteristics flow
parameters
Specific boundary condition
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Pipe flow Open channel flow
Pressure work Gravity (potential energy)
Known, fixed Unknown in advance b/c the
flow depth is unknown
Velocity deduced from Flow depth deduced
continuity simultaneously from solving
both continuity and
momentum equation
Atmospheric pressure at the
free surface
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HGL and EGL

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Geometric and Hydraulic Definitions
The basic geometric and hydraulic definitions used to describe open-channel flow
through a channel section are:

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Cont’d…

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6.1 Open-Channel Flow Classifications
Open-channel flow may be classified by space and time criteria.
 Based on the space criterion, an open channel characterizes
uniform flow: if the water depth remains the same throughout a length of channel
reach at a given time.
varied flow: if the water depth or the discharge change along the length of the
channel. Varied flow can further be classified as gradually varied flow or rapidly
varied flow.

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Cont’d…
 Based on the time criterion, an open channel characterizes
Based on the time criterion, open-channel flow may be classified into two
categories: steady flow and unsteady flow.
In steady flow, the discharge and water depth at any section in the reach do not
change with time during the period of interest. In unsteady flow, the discharge and
the water depth at any section in the reach change with time.
Note: Uniform flows in open channels are mostly steady; Varied open-channel flow may be either
steady or unsteady.

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6.2 Uniform Flow in Open Channels
1. The water depth, flow area, discharge, and
the velocity distribution must remain
unchanged in all sections of the entire channel
reach.
2. The EGL, the water surface, and the channel
bottom must be parallel to each other.

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Chezy’s and Manning's Equations

Equation 6.2 is the well-known Chezy’s formula for open-channel flow. Chezy’s formula is
probably the first formula derived for uniform flow.

in which n is known as Manning’s coefficient of channel roughness.

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Example 6.1
A 3-m-wide rectangular irrigation channel carries a discharge of 25.3 𝑚3 /s at a uniform depth of
1.2 m. Determine the slope of the channel if Manning’s coefficient is n = 0.022.

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Example 6.2
A 6-ft-diameter, concrete pipe is flowing with a free surface (i.e., not under pressure). If the pipe is
laid on a slope of 0.001 and carries a uniform flow at a depth of 4 feet (y in Table 6.1), what is the
discharge?

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Example 6.3
If the discharge in the channel in Example 6.1 is increased to 40m^3/s, what is the normal
depth of the flow?

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6.3 Hydraulic Efficiency of Open-Channel Sections
The Manning uniform flow equations (6.4 and 6.5) show that for the same cross-
sectional area (A) and channel slope (S0), the channel section with a larger
hydraulic radius (Rh) delivers a larger discharge. It is a section of higher hydraulic
efficiency. Because the hydraulic radius is equal to the water cross-sectional area
divided by the wetted perimeter, for a given cross-sectional area, the
channel section with the least wetted perimeter is the best hydraulic section.

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6.3 Hydraulic Efficiency of Open-Channel Sections
For large channels, trapezoidal sections are most commonly used

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Example 6.4
Prove that the best hydraulic trapezoidal section is a half-hexagon.

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 Thanks!

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