Channel Design

Most Efficient Hydraulic Section

Most efficient Hydraulic Section
A section that gives maximum section factor,
for a specified flow area, is called the most
efficient hydraulic section or best hydraulic
section.

Most efficient Hydraulic Section
The best hydraulic section minimizes the area required to convey a
specified flow, however, the area which must be excavated to achieve the
flow area required by the best hydraulic section may be significantly larger
if the overburden which must be removed is considered.
It may not be possible to construct a stable best hydraulic section in the
available natural material. If the channel must be lined, the cost of the
lining may be comparable with the cost of excavation.
The cost of excavation depends not only on the amount of material which
must be removed, but also on the ease of access to the site and the cost
of disposing of the material removed.
The slope of the channel in many cases must also be considered a variable
since it is not necessarily completely defined by topographic
considerations. For example, while a reduced channel slope may require a
larger channel flow area to convey the specified flow, the cost of
excavating the overburden may be reduced.
Geometric Elements of best hydraulic
sections
The most efficient hydraulic section is the one
that yields the minimum wetted perimeter for
a given area.
Erodible Channels
If the channel bottom or sides are erodible,
then the design requires that the channel size
and bottom slope are selected so that channel
is not eroded.
Methods used to design such channels are:
Permissible Velocity Method
Tractive Force Method
Permissible Velocity Method
The channel size is
selected such that the
mean flow velocity for the
design discharge under
uniform flow conditions is
less than the permissible
flow velocity.
The permissible velocity is
defined as the mean
velocity at or below
which the channel
bottom and sides are not
eroded.
(Choudhry, 2008)
Permissible Velocity Method
1. For the specified material, select value of Manning ,
side slope (Table 9-2, Chaudhry), and the
permissible velocity .
2. Determine the required hydraulic radius, , form
Manning formula, and the required flow area, , from
the continuity equation, = /
3. Compute the wetted perimeter, = /
4. Determine the channel bottom width, , and the flow
depth, for which the flow area is equal to that
computed in step 2 and the wetted perimeter, , is
equal to that computed in step 3
5. Add a suitable value for the freeboard using Table 9-1.
Example
Design a channel to carry a flow of 6.91
3
/.
The channel will be excavated through stiff
clay ( = 0.025) at a channel bottom slope of
0.00318.