HOME ASSIGNMENT

DIBRUGARH UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED GEOLOGY

TOPIC: Types of channel flow, forces acting in channel flow

and velocity distribution
SESSION 2019-2020

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO :

Joyashree bora Mrs. Ratamali Machahary
ROLL No. 11 Assistant professor
M.Sc. 4th sem Applied Geology

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. TYPES OF FLOW 4

3. FORCES ACTING IN CHANNEL FLOW 9

4. VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION IN CHANNEL FLOW 11

5. FACTORS AFFECTING VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION 12

6. CONCLUSION 17

7. REFERENCE 18

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INTRODUCTION
In case of flow in a natural channel where the surface of flow is open to
atmosphere i.e. there is only atmospheric pressure on the surface, the flow is
called as open channel flow.
In other words the open channel flows are those that are not entirely included
within rigid boundaries; a part of the flow is in contract with nothing at all,
just empty space. The surface of the flow thus formed is called a free surface,
because that flow boundary is freely deformable, in contrast to the solid
boundaries. The boundary conditions at the free surface of an open-channel
flow are always that both the pressure and the shear stress are zero
everywhere.

Types of Flow in Open Channels

1. Steady and Unsteady Flow
In an open channel flow, if the flow parameters such as depth of flow, the
velocity of flow and the rate of flow at any point within cross-section of an
open channel do not change with respect to time, then it is called as steady
flow.

If v is the velocity of the fluid, Q is the rate of flow and d is the depth of flow,
then for a steady flow:

dv/dt = 0; dQ/dt = 0; dy/dt = 0;

For example, away from the downstream of any obstruction in a channel like
regulator, barrage etc flow is considered steady flow.

And if at any point on the open channel flow, the flow parameters like depth
of flow, the velocity of flow and rate of flow do change their value with
respect to time, then it is called as an unsteady flow. It is hence given by :

dv/dt ,dQ/dt and dy/dt ≠ 0

For example, Flood flows in rivers and rapidly varying surges in canals are
some examples of unsteady flows.

2. Uniform Flow and Non-Uniform Flow

The flow in the channel is said to be uniform, if, for a given length of the
channel, the velocity of flow, the depth of flow remains constant. i.e.

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dy/dS = 0 ; dv/dS=0;

Uniform flow serves as a good reference case from which to think about
the effect of gravity on the free surface in an open-channel flow. Only if an
open-channel flow can somehow be adjusted to be strictly uniform, in the
sense that the water surface is planar and the flow depth is the same at all
cross sections along the flow, can the effect of gravity in shaping the flow be
ignored.
But uniformity is an abstraction: real flows are never perfectly uniform,
because, no matter how closely the conditions of flow are adjusted, there are
always subtle free-surface effects that extend downstream from the source of
the flow and upstream from the sink for the flow, or upstream and
downstream from places where the channel geometry changes, like dams or
bridge piers. However flows in the laboratory can be set up to be very nearly
uniform, and outdoors flows like those in long canals are often also close to
being uniform.

In a Non-uniform flow, the flow parameters like velocity, depth of flow, etc do
not remain constant for a given length of the channel.

dy/dS and dv/dS ≠ 0

The Non-uniform flow can be again defined as Rapidly varying flow (R.V.F)
and Gradually Varied Flow (G.V.F). In the case of R.V.F, the depth of flow
rapidly changes over a smaller length of the channel. It rises up suddenly for a
short length and settles back. While in a G.V.F, the depth of flow changes
gradually over a longer length of the channel.

Non-uniform flow is also called varied flow which can be further classified as:
Gradually varied flow (GVF and Rapidly varied flow (RVF)

In real-life projects, however, channel cross sections and bottom slopes are not
constant with distance in natural channels and these are varied in constructed
channels to suit the existing topographical conditions for economic reasons.
In addition, hydraulic structures are provided for flow control. These changes
in the channel geometry produce nonuniform flows while changing from one
uniform-flow condition to another.

Gradually varied flows: For nonuniform open-channel flow, the cross

sectional area, depth, and velocity vary along the channel. The flow is
classified as gradually varied flow when the change of the fluid depth along
the channel dy/dx is much less than one. In other words, the flow depth
changes gradually over a long distance in gradually varied flows.

Rapidly varied flows: The flow is called rapidly varied flow when the change
of the fluid depth along the channel dy/dx is larger than one. In other words,

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the flow depth changes gradually in a much shorter distance in rapidly varied
flows

 The pressure distribution in gradually varied flow may be assumed

hydrostatic because the streamlines are more or less straight and
parallel. However, this is not the case in rapidly varied flows where
significant acceleration normal to flow direction may be produced by
sharp curvatures in the streamlines.
 If the water depth in a flow varies at every cross-section along the
channel but does not vary with time at each cross-section, it is steady
varied flow otherwise unsteady varied flow.

3. Laminar Flow and Turbulent Flow

Laminar and turbulent flow in open channel flow is defined based on the
Reynolds Number, Re. The Reynolds number is given by the relation:

 If the Reynolds number Re is less than 500 or 600, then the flow is
called laminar flow.
 If the Reynolds number is more than 2000, then the flow is said to be
turbulent.
 A flow that has Reynolds number between 500 and 2000 is said to be in
the transition state.

For laminar flow to occur, the cross section must be extremely small, the
velocity very small, or the kinematic viscosity extremely high.
Pipe flow has a lower critical Reynolds number of 2000, and this same
value may be applied to an open channel when the diameter D is
replaced by R, R is the hydraulic radius, defined as the cross-sectional
flow area of the channel divided by the wetted perimeter.
Most open-channel flows are turbulent, usually with water as the liquid.

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4. Critical, Sub-Critical and Super – Critical Flow
The open channel flow is categorized as critical or sub-critical or super-
critical based on the Froude number Fe. Froude number is given by the
relation:

 Open channel flow is Sub-critical if the Froude number is less than 1.

Sub-Critical open channel flow is also defined as a tranquil or streaming
flow.
 flow occurs at low velocities so that a small disturbance can travel
upstream and thus change upstream conditions.

 An open channel flow with a Froude number equal to one is a critical

flow.
 flow occurs at such high velocities that a small disturbance, such
as an elementary wave is swept downstream.

 And super-critical flow in open channel has a Froude number greater

than 1. A supercritical flow is also termed as rapid flow or torrential
flow or shooting flow.

 flow is such that its velocity is just equal to the velocity of an

elementary wave.

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Forces acting in channel flow
A force is anything that moves an object, or causes the speed or direction of a
moving object to change. And if a force is exerted on an object, the object will
react with an equal and opposite force. In most situations, several forces are
involved, so the balance between driving and resisting forces is usually
considered. Forces acting on an object are balanced if the object is stationary,
or if it is moving at a constant velocity.

1. Gravity: The driving force causing water to flow (whether in a

channel, rill, gully or overland) is the down-slope component of gravity.
This acts on a given mass of water, causing it to deform (flow) and move
in a downstream direction over the channel boundary (bed and banks).

2. Bed shear stress: The bed shear stress is the force per unit area the flow
exerts on the bed. Actually the force per unit area varies strongly from
point to point, depending on the details of the bed geometry, and the
concept of boundary shear stress is built around the idea that you
average over an area large enough to eliminate the effects of such things
as sediment particles or local sediment topography. The importance of
the bed shear stress lies in its role in moving the sediment particles
resting on the river bed.

THE DU BOYS EQUATION

The shear stress acting on the bed of a channel is defined by:

where 0 is the spatially averaged bed shear stress, r is water density, g is

the acceleration due to gravity, h is the depth of flow and S is the slope.

3. Resisting forces: Opposing this movement are resisting forces.

Resistance occurs because of friction between the flow and channel
boundary. Also, the fluid itself resists deformation because of internal
forces within the flow.

 Channel resistance: At the valley scale, flow resistance increases

when the channel comes into contact with the valley margins. The
three-dimensional shape of the channel is also influential, since
resistance is increased by irregularities in the banks, downstream
changes in cross-section, and where the flow moves around
bends. Bedrock-influenced channels can be highly irregular in
form, with large variations in slope, width and channel cross-
section. The high resistance of such channels is further increased
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 by features such as cascades, vertical steps and potholes which
increase form resistance.

Boulders, can also act as obstacles to the flow. As discharge

increases, a decrease in resistance is seen as these features become
increasingly submerged by the flow. Also during flood flows,
vegetated bars separating the distributary channels in some rivers
become inundated, with an increase in resistance that is attributed
to the increased resistance of the vegetation (Heritage et al.,
2004).

 Boundary resistance: There are two components of boundary

resistance. The first of these, grain roughness, relates to the effects
of the individual grains making up the channel boundary. Form
roughness refers to features such as ripples and dunes, which are
created when certain alluvial substrates are moulded by the flow.

Velocity Distribution in Open Channels

An open channel is a conduit which has free water surface exposed to the
atmosphere. Rivers, canals etc come under open channel category. Because of
free water surface and frictional resistance along the channel boundary
velocity distribution is non-uniform in open channels.

To measure velocity of open channel at required depth, Pitot tube or current

meter are used. In general, to find average velocity of a particular open
channel, velocity at a depth of 0.6 m from free water surface is measured.

In the other case, velocity at 0.2 m depth, 0.8 m depth from free water surface
is taken and average velocity of these two values is considered as channel
average velocity.

Velocity always vary across channel because of friction along the boundary
 The maximum velocity usually found just below the surface

Factors Affecting Velocity Distribution in Open Channels

Velocity distribution in open channels is mainly depends upon the following
factors.

1. Shape of the channel section

2. Roughness of channel
3. Alignment of channel
4. Slope of Channel bed
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1. Shape of the Channel Section
Open channels may be naturally formed or artificially developed. Natural
open channels do not have any particular shape and they contain irregular
sections while artificial channels are provided with certain designed shapes
such as rectangular, circular, trapezoidal, triangular etc.

The shape of a river channel affects its hydraulic efficiency, something that
can be quantified by calculating the hydraulic radius. This is a measure of how
much contact there is between the flow and channel boundary, and is
calculated from:

The wetted perimeter is the length of channel boundary that is in direct

contact with the flow at a given cross-section.

2. Roughness of Channel
Roughness of channel is the measure of amount frictional resistance offered by
channel bed material against flow of water. In natural channels, the flow
velocity is affected by the presence of large angular boulders as bed material,
vegetation, obstructions etc.

If the channel is made of smooth clay or silt, its roughness is very low and
water flows faster. In case of artificial channels, smooth finishing is required
to maintain required flow velocity. The average velocity in open channels can
be calculated using manning’s formula mentioned below.

Where,

V = Average velocity of channel

R = hydraulic radius of channel = Area/Perimeter

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S = Slope of channel

n = Manning’s roughness coefficient

Manning’s roughness coefficient values are different for different materials

used to construct channels and the values for different materials are tabulated
below.

3. Alignment of Channel
The velocity of flow in channel also depends up on the alignment of channel.
If the channel is straight there will be no change is velocity with respect to
alignment. In straight channels, maximum velocity is generally occurs at 0.05
to 0.15 m depth from free water surface.

If it is sinuous or meandering, the velocity will vary at bends. At bend, due to

centrifugal action of flow the velocity becomes more at convex side compared
to concave side.

4. Slope of Channel Bed

Slope of channel bed or gradient of channel will also effects the velocity of
flow in open channels. At steeper gradients, velocity increases while at normal
gradients velocity decreases.

Channel slope is usually expressed as a gradient (difference in channel bed

elevation along a given length of channel in meters divided by that length in
metres). This is related to, but not necessarily the same as, the water surface
slope, the downstream change in water surface elevation along the channel.
Water surface slope is an important variable because it closely approximates
the energy slope along a particular length of channel. As water flows through
the channel, potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. This is in turn
converted to heat energy, which is generated as a result of friction,2 and ‘lost’
from the channel. As a result there is a downstream reduction in the total
energy ‘possessed’ by a given parcel of water. The steepness of the energy slope
reflects the rate at which energy is being expended.

CONCLUSION
It may be concluded that the flow of water is driven by the downslope
component of gravity. Forces that resist this movement include friction
between the flow and channel boundary, and viscous forces within the fluid.
Boundary resistance refers to the characteristics of the channel boundary. It
has two components: grain roughness relates to the effects of the individual

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grains making up the channel boundary, while form roughness is associated
with features such as ripples and dunes.

At the valley scale, channel resistance is associated with downstream changes

in valley alignment and channel form. As water flows down-slope, potential
energy is converted to kinetic energy. Most of this energy is used in
overcoming flow resistance, when kinetic energy is converted to heat energy
as a result of friction. Most of this friction occurs within the moving fluid as a
result of turbulence. Heat is dissipated to the surrounding environment,
resulting in a downstream reduction in total energy along the channel.

The flow in natural channels is unsteady, varying over time in response to

fluctuations in discharge. Downstream changes in channel shape mean that
the flow is spatially non-uniform.

Variations in velocity are seen at different scales, including small-scale

turbulent fluctuations, changes with depth, downstream changes and
variations associated with unsteady flow. The balance between inertial and
gravitational forces determines whether flow is subcritical, critical, or
supercritical.

Flow can also be classified as laminar or turbulent according to the ratio

between inertial and viscous forces. At low flow velocities, viscous forces
dominate and the flow is laminar. At higher flow velocities, inertial forces
dominate and a turbulent flow profile develops.

REFERENCE

Allen, P.A., 1997, Earth Surface Processes. Blackwell Science, 404 p. (Chapter
3)
Bathurst, J.C., 1993. Flow resistance through the channel network. In: K.
Beven and M.J. Kirkby (eds), Channel Network Hydrology. John Wiley & Sons,
Chichester, pp. 43–68.
Bloom, A.L., Geomorphology; A Systematic Analysis of Late Cenozoic
Landforms, Third Edition. Prentice Hall, 482 p. (Chapters 10–12)
Bridge, J.S., 1993. The interaction between channel geometry, water flow,
sediment transport and deposition in braided rivers. In: J.L. Best and C.S.
Bristow (eds), Braided Rivers. Special Publication of the Geological Society of
London 75, pp. 13–71, London.

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Chaudhry, M. H. (1993). Open-Channel Flow. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs,
NJ
Easterbrook, D.J., 1999, Surface Processes and Landforms, Second Edition:
Prentice hall, 546 p. (Chapters 5–6)
Ponce, V. M. and Simons, D. B. (1977). Shallow water propagation in open
channel flow. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, ASCE, 103(HY12), 16–28.

Sevuk, A. S. (1973). Unsteady flow in sewer networks. PhD thesis, Department

of Civil Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL.
Sturm, T. W. (2001). Open Channel Hydraulics. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
Thornbury, W.D., 1969, Geomorphology, Second Edition: Wiley, 594 p.
Yen, B. C. (1973). Open-channel flow equations revisited. Journal of the
Engineering Mechanics Division, ASCE, 99(EM5), 979–1009.

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