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Lecture 18 X Open Channel Flow

This document discusses key concepts in open channel flow including specific energy, critical flow, Froude numbers, and hydraulic jumps. It defines specific energy as the sum of depth, velocity head, and elevation head for open channel flow. Critical flow occurs when the specific energy is minimized and the Froude number equals 1. A hydraulic jump forms when flow transitions from supercritical (Froude >1) to subcritical (Froude <1) flow, causing a sudden change in flow depth.

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Mir Dostain Baloch
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
270 views

Lecture 18 X Open Channel Flow

This document discusses key concepts in open channel flow including specific energy, critical flow, Froude numbers, and hydraulic jumps. It defines specific energy as the sum of depth, velocity head, and elevation head for open channel flow. Critical flow occurs when the specific energy is minimized and the Froude number equals 1. A hydraulic jump forms when flow transitions from supercritical (Froude >1) to subcritical (Froude <1) flow, causing a sudden change in flow depth.

Uploaded by

Mir Dostain Baloch
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 7 continued

Open Channel Flow

Specific Energy, Critical Flow,


Froude Numbers, Hydraulic Jump
Bernoulli
 
• Return to the Bernoulli equation for open
channels:
 

Pressure , kinetic energy, and potential energy head

• H is the total head. The units are length.


 
Depth and height above datum
• As you know, we can separate z into two
components: the depth of water h and the depth to
some lower datum z0, maybe to sea-level.
Specific Energy
• We can define a component of the total energy that only
contains the flow depth and the velocity term.

*Note, no P/

• This is called the specific energy. Notice we changed h to


y, and H (energy head) to E for energy

• * this is appropriate for open channels, since nearby areas have about the same pressure
Specific Energy for Flow Rate
• Now redefine specific energy in terms of
discharge Q instead of velocity V.
• Substitute V = Q/A
• The velocity in kinetic energy was squared in
the previous slide, so we will get a discharge
term squared Q2/A2 .
Flow Rate per unit width
• Let’s take the simple example of a rectangular
channel, and then define q = Q/width. The
area for a rectangle is A = base (i.e. width) x
height, so only the height part is left after we
divide by the width (the width of a unit width
is 1. )

We changed from Q to q to show that it’s discharge per unit width.


On the right hand side of the equation, q2/2gy2 is the specific kinetic energy,
and y is the specific potential energy. Notice that all terms have units of
length, for the depth.
Plot of Specific Energy vs. Depth
• Lets plot E, the specific energy, against y, for a
particular flow rate (discharge) per unit width, q.

At the red line specific energy is minimum, so the exact slope at that
point is zero, dE/dy = 0. For higher energy (blue line) there are
two possible depths for the same specific energy.
Same plot with depth vertical
• Let’s turn the graph on its side, as in the text.
We can again graph how flow depth y changes
for any change in Specific Energy E. For some
constant q:
For the energy line shown,
there are two possible
depths where it crosses
the blue plot of some flow
per unit width q. The upper
one is mostly potential
energy (the water is
elevated) , and the velocity
is small; the lower one has
greater velocity and is not
as high
Critical Depth

• There’s also one specific depth, yc, the critical depth, for which energy E in the system is
minimized. This is the lowest specific energy for a given discharge q. If the flow is deeper
(higher on the graph) than this, the velocity drops, but if the flow is shallower than this, the
velocity increases.
Solving for Critical Depth
• This critical point occurs where the derivative (slope)
dE/dy is 0. So, take the derivative of E with respect to
y. Only E and y are variables.

which is

Then
or

Setting this equal to zero

gives
At the minimum specific energy
the ratio of velocity squared to depth
times the gravitational acceleration is
one.
Froude Number
• V2/gy is the Froude Number, squared. Notice that it is
dimensionless, i.e. all the units cancel. It is the ratio of kinetic to
potential energy, and is used to characterize open channel flow.
• And so, returning to the text, at the minimum specific energy
the dimensionless Froude Number is:
Flow deeper than a Froude Number of Fr=1 (large depth in
denominator so Fr <1) is called subcritical flow. It is higher and
slower.

Flow shallower than Fr=1 (Fr>1) is called supercritical or


shooting flow. It is lower and faster.

Never design a channel on a slope that is near


critical (Fr = 1) because of the unpredictable water
surface.
Hydraulic Jump
• What happens if the Froude number crosses from Fr>1 (shallow, fast) to Fr < 1
(deep, slow)? At the transition, the flow has to suddenly change from one flow
depth to the other. It forms a jump between one and the other. The two regions
are separated by a continuously collapsing wall of water referred to as a
hydraulic jump.
The Depth Ratio for a Hydraulic Jump

The ratio of the depths is:


 
Momentum Balance for a Rectangular Channel
Again, Bedient
skips the
derivation. Here it
is.
Example 7-6: Calculation of a Hydraulic Jump

A sluice gate is constructed across an open channel.


Water flowing under it creates a hydraulic jump.
Determine the depth just downstream of the jump
(point b) if the depth of flow at point a is 0.0563
meters and the velocity at point a is 5.33 meters/sec.

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