Chapter 5

DESIGN OF CHANNELS

Date: 19-10-2020: Lecture 17

5.1 INTRODUCTION
The hydraulic design of a channel, like an irrigation canal or a drainage channel,
involves the determination of the cross-sectional dimensions of the channel, e.g. the
bottom width b, the side slope s, if any, the depth of flow h etc., to convey the required
discharge with the available difference in head.
Since a channel may be lined or unlined, and may or may not carry sediment, we
consider the design of three types of channels:
(i) rigid-boundary or non-erodible channels carrying clear water with little or no
sediment,
(ii) mobile-boundary or erodible channels carrying clear water which scour but do not
silt, and
(iii) alluvial or mobile boundary channels carrying sediment which both scours and silt.

Alluvial channel mobile-boundary channel rigid-boundary channels

The shape of the cross-section to be used is generally decided by the discharge

and the engineering properties of the material forming the channel body. Normally, a
trapezoidal section is used when the discharge is large. For small discharges, triangular
sections are used. Rectangular cross-sections are also used when the discharge is small
or in special situations, such as rock cuts, steep chutes and cross-drainage works.
The type of materials forming the channel body determines the roughness
characteristics and the side slope of the channel. The longitudinal slope of the channel
generally depends on the topography of the land, the energy head required for the flow
of water, and in many cases, on the purpose of the channel
In the design of a channel, it is desirable to maintain subcritical flow in the
channel having a Froude number range of 0.3 to 0.4. When the Froude number is high
and the flow approaches the critical state, the water surface becomes unstable and wavy
and large disturbances are expected at bends and obstructions
The freeboard is the vertical distance between the top of the channel and the
water surface at the design condition. It is provided to prevent the water level from
overtopping the sides of the channel due to its fluctuation caused by wind, tide,

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 superelevation at bends, hydraulic jump etc. Freeboards varying from 5% to 30% of the
depth of flow are commonly used in design. As a rough estimate of freeboard in unlined
channels, the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) suggested the formula:

Fb  ch (5.1)

where Fb is the freeboard in ft, h is the depth of water in the canal in ft, and c is a
coefficient varying from 1.5 for a canal capacity of 20 ft3/s (0.57 m3/s) to 2.5 for a canal
capacity of 3,000 ft3/s (85.2 m3/s) or more.

The current practice of providing freeboard in India is as follows:

Table 5.1 Suggested free board (Ranga Raju, 1993)

Q (m3/s) <0.75 0.75 to 1.50 1.50 to 85.0 >85.0

Fb (m) 0.45 0.60 0.75 0.93

In case of lined channels, the top of the lining is generally located half the total freeboard
above the water surface.

5.2 RIGID-BOUNDARY OR NON-ERODIBLE CHANNELS

Most of the lined channels and the built-up unlined channels fall into this category. A
uniform flow formula, like the Manning or the Chezy formula, is used to compute the
section dimensions of the channel by maintaining a velocity which will not cause
sedimentation of the particles in suspension on the channel boundary.
For lined channels, the materials used include concrete, stone or brick
masonry, steel, cast iron, timber, glass, plastic, geotextile etc. The choice of a material
depends mainly on the availability and cost of the material and the purpose and the
method of construction. The provision of lining in a channel (i) permits the water to flow
at high velocities, (ii) decreases seepage and percolation losses, (iii) reduces the costs of
operation and maintenance, and (iv) ensures the stability of the channel section.
The minimum permissible velocity or the non-silting velocity is the lowest
mean velocity of flow that will prevent sedimentation and vegetative growth. The exact
value of this velocity cannot be easily determined. In general, an average velocity of 2
to 3 ft/sec (0.61 to 0.91 m/s) will prevent sedimentation when the silt load of the flow is
low (Chow, 1959). A velocity of 2.5 ft/sec (0.75 m/s) is usually sufficient to prevent the
growth of vegetation.
The maximum permissible velocity or the non-erodible velocity is the greatest
mean velocity that will not cause erosion of the channel body. The maximum
permissible velocity is not usually the criterion in the design of non-erodible
channels. However, when the flow velocities are very high, there is a tendency for the
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 rapidly flowing water to lift the lining blocks and push them out of position. For brick
and concrete tile linings, the mean velocity of flow is restricted to 2 m/s to avoid any
danger to the lining materials.

Best Hydraulic Section

A channel section that conveys the maximum discharge for a given area is known as the best
hydraulic section. Since Q  AR 2/3 and R = A/P, the best hydraulic section gives minimum
wetted perimeter P and maximum hydraulic radius R for a given area A. It is to be noted that
a minimum wetted perimeter also gives minimum amount of lining.
Among all possible open channel cross-sections, the best hydraulic section is a semicircle (h
= d0/2). Also, for any channel section of a given geometric shape, there is a relationship
between the various geometric elements to form the best hydraulic section such that a
semicircle can be inscribed in it. Thus, the best hydraulic rectangular section is one-half of a
square (B = 2h), the best hydraulic triangular section is one-half of a square (s = 1), the best
 
hydraulic trapezoidal section is one-half of a regular hexagon s  1/ 3 and for the best


hydraulic parabolic section the top width is equal to 2 2 times the depth of flow B  2 2h . 
Table 5.1 lists the geometric elements of some best hydraulic sections.
Table 5.1 Geometric elements of some best hydraulic sections

Cross section A P R B D

Rectangular 2h2 4h h/2 2h h

Triangle h2 2 2h 2h / 4 2h h/2

Trapezoid 3h 2 2 3h h/2 4 3h / 3 3h/4

Circle  h2 / 2 h h/2 2h h / 4

Parabola 4 2h 2 / 3 8 2h / 3 h/2 2 2h 2h/3

Example 5.1
Show that the best hydraulic rectangular section is one-half of a square. Also, determine the
geometric elements of best hydraulic rectangular section.
Solution
For a rectangular section, A = bh, so, b = A/h
P=b+2h=A/h+2h
Considering A to be constant and differentiating P with respect to h, we get
dP A
 2 2
dh h
For P to be minimum, dP/dh = 0. Hence we get

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 A bh
 2
 2  0 or 2  2
h h
or b  2h
This means that the best hydraulic rectangular section is one-half of a square, as shown in
Fig. 5.1. A semi-circle with O as center and h as radius can be inscribed in the best hydraulic
rectangular section. Also, for the best hydraulic rectangular section, we get

A=bh=2h2 P=b +2h =4h R=A/P=2h2/4h=h/2

B =b =2h D = A/B=2h2/2h= h
as given in Table 5.1.

Fig.5.1 Best hydraulic rectangular section

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* The cross-sectional area of a channel is 40m2. Calculate the wetted perimeter P and the
hydraulic radius R of the best hydraulic section if the channel is i. rectangular, ii. Triangular,
iii. Trapezoidal, iv. Circular and v. parabolic. Which section has the minimum wetted
perimeter?

**Show that for a given area A, the best hydraulic rectangular and triangular sections have
the same wetted perimeter.