Water Resources

Sahlu Baker
School of Engineering
Chemical Engineering Department
1
Types of Flow
 Steady flow is when the depth does not change at a
point with respect to time.
 Unsteady flow is when the depth does change at a
point with respect to time. This could be a traveling
wave.
 Uniform flow is when the depth and velocity are the
same at every section of the channel .
 Steady uniform flow is when the depth and velocity are
constant with respect to distance and time. This is the
type of flow that occurs most often in open channels.
The slope of the channel, the hydraulic grade line
(water surface) and the energy grade line are all the
same.
 Steady non-uniform flow is when the depth varies with
distance but not with time. This type of flow may be
when the depth is gradually varied or rapidly varied.
 Laminar flow is characterizes by smooth, parallel and
predictable streamlines (the paths a single particle
takes). It occurs at relatively low velocity.
 Turbulent flow is when the streamlines are erratic and
unpredictable. This is the type of flow that occurs
most often.
(Taken fromPDHengineer.com)
 hL- Head loss due to viscous stress (friction)
 Energy equ nonuniform open-channel flow
V12 V22
y1  z1  1  y2  z 2   2  hL
2g 2g
 Sf- Headloss per unit length = hL/L
 Sf =So =tanθ
 Momentum
 F1+Fg+Ff-F2 =0
 Manning’s Equ
table_05_01a
table_05_01b
table_05_01c
table_05_01d
table_05_02
Best Hydraulic Sections
 Uniform flow
 Nonerodible channels
 Conveyance increase with increased R or decreased P
 Channel with Min P for given area will have max
conveyance -Best Hydraulic Sections
 May not be practical in terms of construction or
material use
 Min area may not mean min excavation
table_05_03
Slope Area Method
 Estimate flood discharge through a channel or river
reach of length Δx, known cross-sectional area of flow
Au and Ad up and down stream respectively

 Conveyance is the carrying capacity of a channel

K  Ku K d
 Average K is geometric mean of Ku and Kd
Specific Energy and Critical
Flow
 Total head or Energy head (H)
 Critical flow when E is minimun for given discharge
 Normal depth is the depth in a channel when the slope
of the channel bottom and the water surface are the
same.
 Flows that have a depth greater than critical depth are
more tranquil and are called subcritical.
 Flows that have a depth below critical depth are more
rapid and are called supercritical.
Specific Energy and Critical
Flow
 The velocity at critical depth is called the critical
velocity.
 When the channel slope causes both the normal depth
and the critical depth to coincide, the slope is called
critical slope.
Froude Number and Critical
Depth
 A parameter called the Froude number may be used to
distinguish between subcritical flow and supercritical
flow.
 When F=1, flow is at critical depth.
 When F<1, flow is subcritical
 When F>1, flow is supercritical
fig_05_003
fig_05_004
fig_05_007
fig_05_008
Critical Flow
 Specific energy min
 Specific force min
 Velocity head = hydraulic depth
 Froude number = 1
 Discharge is max for given specific energy
fig_05_009
Steady, Non-Uniform Flow,
Gradually Varied
 Steady, gradually varied flow occurs in long distances
from hundreds of feet the thousands of feet where
friction losses are more important than accelerations.
 commonly occurring condition.
 actual depth of flow is either larger or smaller than the
normal depth (yn) and either larger or smaller than the
critical depth (yc)
 We need to determine the type of water surface and
perform the calculations to plot that surface.
Water Profiles
 There are five classes of channel slopes.
 1. Mild slopes
 2. Steep slopes
 3. Critical slopes
 4. Horizontal slopes
 5. Adverse slopes
 Subcritical flow is associated with low velocity, high
depth and a mild slope.
 Supercritical flow is associated with high velocity, low
depth and steep slopes
Mild Slope
Steep Slope
Critical Slope
Horizontal Slope
Adverse Slope
table_05_07
fig_05_016
Rapidly varied flow
 A hydraulic jump will occur when the velocity is rapid
or supercritical and the slope is decreased to a slope
for subcritical flow
 or an obstruction is placed in the flow path
 The supercritical depth is changed to a subcritical
depth, called the sequent depth
Hydraulic Jump

fig_05_020