CE408 IRRIGATION ENGINEERING

TOPICS: IRRIGATION ENGINEERING

WEEK: 5
LECTURE: 2
LEVEL: 8 T H SEMESTER
PREREQUISITES: NONE
 
COURSE TEACHER: ENGR. KHURAM SALEEM ( khurram
.civil@suit.edu.pk)
ACCESS AT: portal.suit.edu.pk
Civil Engineering Department, SUIT Peshawar
KHURAM SALEEM 1
Lacey’s Theory (1939)
Lacey was a senior engineer of UP Irrigation Department. He carried out
extensive investigations on the design of stable channels in alluviums. On the
basis of his research he found many drawbacks in Kennedy’s Theory.
Lacey put forward his own theory for channel design based upon a new Regime
concept.

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Lacey’s Regime Channel
Contrary to what Kennedy said about Regime channel (a channel without silting
and scouring), Lacey said that even without silting and scouring a channel may
not be in Regime.
Lacey gave three Regime conditions. (i) True regime (ii) Initial regime (iii) Final
regime.
He stated that a channel without silting and scouring is in initial regime and is
actually not a channel in regime. He proposed a theory that could be applied on
channels in Final Regime or True Regime.

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True Regime
A channel having a certain fixed section and a certain fixed slope can behave in
Regime only if the following conditions are satisfied:
Discharge is constant
Flow is uniform
Silt charge is constant ; i.e. the amount of silt is constant.
Silt grade is constant; i.e. the type and size of silt is always the same.
And the channel is flowing through a material which can be scoured as easily as
it can be deposited (such soil is called Incoherent Alluvium).

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But in practice all these conditions cant be satisfied so therefore a channel can
never be in true regime.
So the only option left is of Final Regime.
INITIAL REGIME:
When water passes through a narrow dimension channel having a defective
slope and its sides been grown with grass and weeds. So the silt carried by the
water gets deposited in its upper reaches thereby increasing channel bed slope.
Now due to this increase in slope, velocity increases and silt of water is no more
deposited rather carried in suspension.
Now the next issue is of scouring. The increased velocity can scour the sides,

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But the weeds and grass growth on the sides of the channel prevents scouring to
happen.
Hence we see that the channel is exhibiting non scouring and non silting
qualities but actually is not in Regime. They have simply achieved working
stability due to the rigidity of their banks. This is Initial Regime.
FINAL REGIME:
If the sides of the above stated channel is not rigid and all parameters like
depth, slope and wetted perimeter are equally free to vary and get itself
adjusted to the flowing discharge and silt grade then the channel is said to have
achieved permanent stability, called Final Regime.

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Such channels in which all variables are equally free to vary has a tendency to
assume a semi elliptical shape. The coarser the silt the flatter is the semi ellipse
and vice versa.

Channel shape carrying coarser silt

Channel shape carrying fine silt

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Silt factor
It is denoted by f.
f = 1.76 √d where d is average particle size in mm
S.No Type of soil Avg grain size in mm
1. Fine silt 0.12
2. Standard silt 0.32
3. Medium sand 0.51
4. Coarse sand 0.73
5. Medium gravel 7.28
6. Heavy gravel 26.10
7. Small boulder 50.10

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Question
Design a Regime channel for a discharge of 50 cumecs and silt factor 1.1
Use Lacey’s theory.
Solution: 1/6
V= Qf²
140
1/6

= 50 x (1.1)² = 0.869 m/s

140

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A = Q = 50 = 56.3 m²
V 0.869
Rһ = 5 . V² = 5 x (0.869)² = 1.675 m
2 f 2 1.1
P = 4.75√Q = 4.75 x √50 = 33.56 m

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 y/2
Assume a trapezoidal channel of side slopes ½:1

Wetted surface y
½:1
P = b + √5 y
A= b+y y
b
2
33.56 = b + √5 y --------- Eq1
56.3 = by + y² --------- Eq2
2

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Solving eq 1 and eq 2
We get a quadratic equation
y² - 19.3 y + 32.4 = 0
y = 1.65 m
b = 29.77 m

5/3 5/3
Sₒ = (f) = (1.1) = 0.00018
1/6 1/6
3340(Q) 3340(50)

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Kennedy and Lacey theory comparison
Both considered the generation of eddies necessary for holding the silt.
Kennedy didn’t give much importance to side ways eddies as compared to
eddies generated from bottom of the channel.
Kennedy used only initial regime for his theory where lacey explained initial,
final and true regimes for his theory.
Kennedy used critical velocity ratio (m) where lacey used silt factor (f).
Kennedy used kutter formula for checking his assumptions. Lacey didn’t use
kutter equation
Lacey had his own slope equation

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The end

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