General Principles of Canal design (Lined &; Unlined) & its operation

Dr I.S.N.RAJU, M.Tech,F.I.E,B.L,M.B.A,PhD
Former CHIEF ENGINEER , I&CAD
Central Designs Organisation,HYDERABAD.
 INTRODUCTION TO CANAL ALIGNMENT
&
HYDRAULIC PARTICULARS
➢ IRRIGATION
The process of supplementing the supplies of rain water on the area to be
cultivated at the season to the extent required for the successful cultivation
of the Crop.
➢ Process of Irrigation comprises of
a) Source of Water
b) Carrier System to transport water from the source to the place of
cultivable lands.
➢ Efficiency of Irrigation mainly depends upon the
1) Effective functioning of the Carrier System &
2) Efficient Controlling.
➢ The distribution system which conveys water from the head works to the
land to be irrigated is called CANAL SYSTEM.
➢ The canal system is a vital element for the success of an IRRIGATION
PROJECT.
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 CARRIER SYSTEM

CANALS CANAL STRUCTURE

Main Branch Major Minor Field Cross Drainage Cross Masonry

Works Works

Contour Canal Ridge Canal Side Slope Canal

for Main Canals for Branch, Dist
& Field
Channels

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 CANALS

MAJOR MINOR
MAIN CANAL BRANCH CANAL
DISTRIBUTORY DISTRIBUTORY
FIELD CHANNEL

OFF TAKE TAKING

OFF TAKE FROM
TAKES OFF OFF TAKE FROM OFF FROM A PIPE OFF TAKE
MAIN / BRANCH
DIRECTLY FROM MAIN CANAL MAJOR SERVING LESS
CANAL
THE U/S SIDE OF DISTRIBUTORY THAN 40.47
Q = 14.15 to
WEIR HEAD WORKS Q > 14.15 Cumecs SERVING > 40.47 Hectares of Ayacut
0.028 Cumecs
OR DAM (500 c/s ) Hectares (100 Acres)
( 500 to 1 c/s )
(100 Acres)

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➢ CANALS which carry water play a very significant role in the branch of
Irrigation since these canals carry Water to the fields starting from Main
canal to Branches and Distributaries and then to Field Channels .

➢ They can be Lined or Unlined depending upon the availability of water and
the importance of works besides economy.

➢ CANAL ALIGNMENT:
a) covering the entire / maximum area to be irrigated
b) with shortest possible length
c) its cost including the cost of CM & CD works is a minimum.
d) shorter length of canal ensures less loss of head due to friction and
smaller loss of discharge due to seepage and evaporation, so that additional
areas can be brought under cultivation.

➢ Certain decisions consistent with economy and safety have to be taken while
aligning a canal.
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 CANAL STRUCTURES

CROSS DRAINAGE WORKS CROSS MASONRY WORKS

CROSS DRAINAGE WORKS

AQUEDUCT/UT/VIADUCT SP SYPHON LEVEL CROSSING INLET & OUTLET

DRAINAGE SYPHON CANAL SYPHON

CROSS MASONRY WORKS

REGULATION & CONTROL WORKS COMMUNICATION WORKS

Head Regulator Cross Regulator Drops Bridges, Roads & Foot Bridges for
Escapes Measuring Devices OT Sluices
Railways Men & Cattle
CROSS DRAINAGE WORKS

To Pass Irrigation Canal Over the
Drainage by means of Aqueduct/ UT/
Viaduct / Syphon Aqueduct
To Pass Drain Over the Irrigation Canal
To Pass Drain through Irrigation Canal
By means of SP/ Canal Syphon
By means of Inlet & Outlet/ Level
Crossing
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Irrigation canals are generally aligned with reference to the contours of the country in
one of the following ways:

Contour canals

Ridge canals

Side slope canals.

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➢ CLASSIFICATION OF CANALS:

1. Contour Canal:--
a)Canal aligned nearly parallel to the contours of the country
b)include all culturable area of the valley on one side of the canal.
c) To enable the water to flow by gravity, some surface slope is given .
d)in highly undulated tracks, deep cutting across the ridges and high
embankments across the valleys are inevitable in order to reduce the
unnecessary length of the channel in long detours and sharp curves in the
alignment

2. Ridge Canal ( water shed canal):

a)aligned along a water shed
b) runs for most of its length on a water shed .
c) a larger area can be brought under cultivation.
d) Also no drainage can intersect a water shed and hence necessitates no CD
work across the canal.

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3. Side Slope Canal:

a) aligned roughly at right angles to the Contours

b) neither on the water shed nor in the valley.

c)it has very steep bed slope

d)not preferred in general

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 BROAD PRINCIPLES CONSIDERED FOR THE CANAL ALIGNMENT

➢ The alignment of canals will have to be that which would result in the greatest saving
of both capital and maintenance costs and also in the loss of head and transmission
losses.
➢ In an undulating country a straight alignment of canal for any length may not be
possible as it would involve heavy filling and cutting resulting in both heavy capital
and maintenance investments.
➢ The economically shortest route is to be kept in view which can be attained strictly
following the falling contour line where balanced filling and excavation is feasible.
➢ An irrigation canal must run on a water shed or ridge and where that is not possible it
should run as near a ridge as possible so that the canal will be able to command on
both
sides.
➢ The alignment of an irrigation canal should be central in its command as far as possible
and the length of the off-take canal should be minimum.
➢ The drainage line should not be blocked as the canal itself may get damaged and result
in flooding and water logging of the surrounding areas.

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 In addition to the above, practical points also be considered while fixing the
alignment of canals.

➢ Proper location of cross drainage works is most important. The crossing

should be located at places where the water way is sufficient and the
foundations are good and the material of construction is available nearby.

➢ The alignment of canal should avoid difficult country, i.e. one having ridges,
rocky sandy and alkaline strata and also religious centers such as mosques,
temples and burial grounds.

➢ When a canal passes near a village or an important town, it should pass on

the lower side even at additional cost .In case it passes on the higher side of
the town it should be at a considerable distance and may be lined as the
seepage from canal may create difficulties.

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➢ To minimize silting problem, the canal shall be so aligned as to avoid level
crossings with drainages.

➢ Hydraulics of channels is very much a complicated subject since it involves

several elements such as
1) Discharge 2) Velocity 3) Area of water way 4) Wetted Perimeter 5)Side
Slopes 6) Surface fall 7) Rugosity coefficient 8) Silt factor
9) Quantity of sediment 10) Size of silt particles transported etc.which are
inter dependent.

➢ Usually the design procedure is to compute Discharge from the known ayacut.
As such this is a basic factor and all other variants are designed to suit this.

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Design

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 DESIGN OF CANAL SECTION
➢ THE BASIC KNOWN FACTOR IS REQUIRED DISCHARGE ‘Q’

➢ FOR THIS ‘Q’ , b/d RATIO IS TO BE FOUND OUT FROM C.W.Cs

RECOMMENDATIONS

➢ LONGITUDINAL SLOPE MAY BE DETERMINED EITHER BY LACEY’S CURVES

FOR VALUE OF ‘f’ OR AS REQUIRED BY THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTRY

➢ AS A FIRST APPROXIMATION, ASSUME d = 0.73Q1/3

THEN ADOPT A SECTION WHICH SATISFIES b/d RATIO AS PER C.W.C
 DESIGN OF CANAL SECTION

➢ FIND OUT VELOCITY ‘V’ ADOPTING MANNING’S FORMULA

V = 1/n x R2/3 x S1/2
Where n = Coe. of Rugosity
R = Hydraulic Mean Radius = A/P
Where A = Area of C/S in m2
P = Wetted Perimeter in m
S = Surface Fall
➢ FIND OUT Q (DESIGNED ) = AV
This Q (D ) should be greater than Q (required )

➢ THEN CHECK CRITICAL VELOCITY

VO = 0.39 d0.55 for Godavari Fine silt
VO = 0.53d0.52 for Krishna Fine silt

➢ ARRIVE AT CRITICAL VELOCITY RATIO V/VO AND

It should be in between 0.9 to 1.1 for unlined canal &
> 1.0 for lined canal
➢ If the above conditions are satisfied, the assumed Canal Section is
adequate.
MODIFIED PENMAN METHOD:

➢ Often the existing systems are being designed on an arbitrary assumption

of duty on average basis.

➢The duty required from Project to Project varies depending on several

parameters.

➢Thus adopting a single duty as a means of estimating the Irrigation water

requirement resulted in an improper estimation.

➢MODIFIED PENMAN METHOD gives a reasonable assessment of the crop

water requirement, duly taking into consideration, the various climatic
factors, the duration of crop, the stage of growth of crop etc,.
Transmission Losses
Seepage Losses in Unlined Canal

Character of Material Seepage Loss Cumecs/million m2 of

wetted Perimeter
Impervious clay loam 0.90 to 1.20
Medium clay loam under laid with hard pan 1.20 to 1.80
at depth of not over 0.60 to 0.90 m below
level
Ordinary clay loam silt soil are lavash loam 1.80 to 2.70
Gravelly or sandy clay loam , cemented 2.70 to 3.60
gravel, sand and clay
Sandy loam 3.60 to 5.20
Loose sandy soils 5.20 to 6.10
Gravelly sandy soils 7.00 to 8.80
Porous gravelly soil 8.80 to 10.70
Very gravelly soil 10.70 to 21.30

In the case of lined canals seepage losses may be assumed as 0.60 cumec/million m2
of wetted perimeter.
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 2b) CRITICAL VELOCITY RATIO:-

➢ Non silting & non scouring velocity is known as Critical Velocity Ratio (V/Vo).

Here……Vo = 0.39 x d0.55 for Godavari Fine Silt

Vo = 0.53 x d0.52 for Krishna Fine Silt

➢This criteria is required to be considered when there is appreciable bed &

suspended load.

➢This is not required for canals taking off from Reservoirs & tanks ,as they carry
almost no sediment.

➢In case of lined canal, question of scouring does not arise. Hence V/Vo
recommended is > Unity.
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Free board:- The free board shall be measured from the FSL to the Top of lining
/ TBL. The height of dowel portion should not be used for purposes of free
board.
For Lined Canal : >10 Cumecs 0. 75 m
(as per IS 10430-2000) 3 to 10 0.60
1 to 3 0.50
For Unlined Canal : >10 Cumecs 0. 75 m
(as per IS 7112-1973) < 10 Cumecs 0.50.
Allowable Velocities :- In no case, the velocity should not be too low to allow
weed growth or deposit of water borne material.
Dowels:- Dowels are short projections provided on canal bank usually on water
edge of the bank to prevent cutting up of bank slopes due to rain. They
provide additional safety so far Free board is concerned & also give greater
safety in driving.
IS: 10430- 2000 recommended Dowels on one or both the banks.
CDO recommended on both banks on water edge.
 Curves: As per I.S.I.5968-1987 recommends, radii of curves should be usually 10 to
15 times the bed width subject to minimum given in Table – 1.Radii of curvature
for curves,(clause 6.4) below

Unlined Canals Lined Canals

Discharge m3 /sec Radii Min. Discharge m3 /sec Radii Min.
m m
80 & above 1500 280 & above 900
Below 80 to 30 1000 Below 280 to 200 760
Below 30 to 15 600 Below 200 to 140 600
Below 15 to 3 300 Below 140 to 70 450
Below 3 to 0.3 150 Below 70 to 40 300
Less than 0.3 90

Note: 1.The above radii are not applicable to unlined canals located in hilly reaches and in
highly permeable soil.
2.On lined canals where the above radii cannot be provided, proper super elevation shall
be provided.
3.For navigation canals further modification may have to be made
3)Radii of curvature :- Curves disturb the regime of the canal.
Hence these should be as gentle as possible.

4)Hydraulic grade Line :-. The canal banks should have sufficient cover above the
H.G with a minimum cover of 0.3m.
•The gradient depends upon the characteristics of the type of soil of the
embankment
•For Banks < 5m high in silty & sandy soils, HG line varies from 4:1 to 6:1.
•In the case of canals with very high banks a second counter berm may be
provided so as to cover the HG line.

5)Catch Water Drains:- Effective system of catch water drainage shall be provided
to prevent damages to banks due to rain water. The size of catch water drain shall
be Width at top – 1.5 m
Width at bottom – 0.6 m
Depth of drain – 0.45 m

6)Road Way & Drainage:- Whenever additional spoil banks are to be provided on
the land side of the embankment, adequate drainage channel shall be provided
with suitable slope.
2g) BERMS:- A berm is a narrow strip of land on eitherside of the canal between
upper edge of the cut & toe of the bank..

In Irrigation Dept. of Kerala State, Codal norms are not being

recommended / followed for uniform adoption where land is very costly & scarce.
The Engineer-in - charge may decide upon the width of Berm.
THANK YOU