HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING

Course Instructor: Engr. Arif Asghar Gopang

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lecture students will be able:
 To describe Characteristics of the specific energy curve

2
 Specific Energy Curve
if flow depth (y) is plotted against the specific energy (E) for a given
channel section and discharge, a curve is obtained, which is called
specific-energy curve.

 This plot is very useful

D
 From this plot it is easy to
see breakdown of E into B
pressure head (y) and
dynamic/kinetic head
(V2/2g)

Specific energy diagram

O
 Characteristics of the  Specific Energy Curve

 This curve has two limbs AC and BC.

 The limb AC approaches the horizontal
D
axis asymptotically toward the right. E B
  as y  0
 The limb BC approaches the line OD as
it extends upward and to the right.
 E  y for large value of y
 Line OD is a line that passes through
the origin and has an angle of C
inclination equal to 45°. A
O
 Characteristics of the  Specific Energy Curve

 At any point P on this curve, the

ordinate represents the depth, and
the abscissa represents the specific
energy, which is equal to the sum of
the pressure head y and the velocity
head V2/2g.
 The curve shows that, for a given
specific energy, E>Emin, there are
P
two possible different depths, or
alternating depths, which can
Y2 C
occur for a fixed value of E, for
instance, the low stage Y1 and the
Y1
high stage Y2.
 Characteristics of the  Specific Energy Curve

 At point C, the specific energy is a minimum,

which corresponds to the critical state of flow.
Thus, at the critical state the two alternate D
B
depths apparently become one, which is
known as the critical depth Yc.
 A small change in E near the critical point
causes a large difference between alternate
depths and may cause violent fluctuations in
flow level. Operation near this point should
be avoided. C
 When the depth of flow is greater than the A
critical depth, the velocity of flow is less than O
the critical velocity for the given discharge,
and, hence, the flow js subcritical.
 Characteristics of the  Specific Energy Curve

 When the depth of flow is

less than the critical depth,
the flow is supercritical.
 Hence, Y1 is the depth of a
supercritical flow, and Y2 is
the depth of a subcritical
flow. P
 If the discharge changes,
the specific energy will be Y2 C
changed accordingly.
Y1
 E = y + Q2/(2 g A2)
 From the above Eq. we know that E = f(y) only for the given channel section
and discharge.
 We also know that critical state of flow is obtained at minimum specific energy.
 To get minimum value of E (i.e. Emin ), E must be differentiated w.r.t. y and
equated to zero, as follows:

 Q2 
d y  
dE  2 g A2 2
  1  2 Q dA  0 (1)

dy dy 2 g A 3 dy
Q2 T
Substitution of dA/dy = T in Eq. (5) results in 3
1 (2)
gA
If energy coefficient α is incorporated in Eq. (6), then we have
α Q2 T (3)
3
1
gA
Eq. (6) and (7) are the general equations for governing critical flow.
 V
The expression gD is called Froude number

In the above expressions D- is called hydraulic depth, D = A/T

where, A- is cross area and T- is top width of the channel.

V
 For critical flow Fr   1, y = yc and V = Vc
gD

V
Fr   1,
gD
 For sub-critical flow y > yc and V < Vc
V
Fr   1,
gD

 For super-critical flow y < yc and V > Vc

Critical flow in a Rectangular Channel
T
A = b yc T=b D = A/T = (b yc)/b = yc
yc

2 2 b
General Eq. for Q T Vc A
1 or   D  yc
critical flow is: gA 3
g T

2
Vc
2
y Vc yc 3
 c E min  yc   yc   yc
2g 2 2g 2 2

1/3
3 2 q 2 q  2

E min  yc y c  E min  yc y c   
 g 
2
2 3 g yc
 Criterion for Critical State of Flow
 At critical state of flow the Froude number, Fr = 1
 At critical state of flow the the specific energy (Es) is minimum for the
given discharge and channel geometry
 At critical state of flow, the velocity head is equal to half of the
hydraulic depth: V 2  D or V
Fr  1
2g 2 2g

If the above criterion is to be used in any problem, the following conditions

must be satisfied:
(1) flow should be parallel or gradually varied,
(2) channel should have small slope, and
(3) energy coefficient assumed to be unity.
THANKS