Computational Hydraulics in Irregular Channels

About the Book

With the recent advances in microcomputer capabilities, the use of computer software to solve problems in water resources engineering has increased severalfold. The potential benefits available in the use of computers to solve water resources problems is especially fruitful in the specialized field of open channel flow hydraulics.

The design of land development projects, flood control systems, and water supply or irrigation systems all involve a significant computational effort in the sizing and evaluation of structures to carry the flow of water. Therefore, the use of computer software to solve the most frequently occurring problems will reduce design time expenditure costs and possibly project construction costs due to a more finely tuned design product.
Presented in this book are several FORTRAN computer programs for solving open channel flow hydraulics problems involving steady flow in irregularly shaped channel sections. Specific program capabilities are summarized in Chapter 4 where the program input requirements are provided as well as the accompanying FORTRAN software executable code.

In order to provide an explanation of what each computer program is attempting to do, a brief review of the fundamentals of open channel flow hydraulics is provided in Chapter 2. A more rigorous theoretical development of the concepts of conservation of mass, energy and momentum, accompanied by the necessary simplifications leading to the often-used specific-force and specific-energy relationships are included in Chapter 3. Chapter 3 also presents background information for a quick review of the definitions for the well-known water surface profiles corresponding to subcritical, critical, and supercritical flow regimes.

Chapter 5 includes a variety of example problems solved by using the provided software codes. Although several application problems are provided, the full capabilities of the software codes could not be fully demonstrated due to the excessive space needed to contain the various results.
The provided computer code is designed to operate in batch mode. That is, a data file is prepared by the program user and then the program operates upon the data file.

The data entry program definitions and suggested range of allowable values are provided in the form of "text pages". These text pages provide a design objective to be considered in developing a "user-friendly" cathode ray tube (CRT) data entry environment.

    Table of Contents

    Chapter 1
    Introduction to User-Friendly Software
    1.1. About the Book
    1.1.1. Included Software Codes
    1.1.2. Review of Open Channel Flow Hydraulics
    1.1.3. Included Application Problems
    1.1.4. "User-Friendly" Guidelines
    1.1.5. Computer Code Preliminaries
    1.2. Developing User-Friendly Computer Software
    1.3. Data Entry Strategies
    1.3.1. Interactive Computer Software
    1.3.2. Screen Layout Strategy
    1.4. Flow of User Data
    1.5. Screen Design Method
    1.6. Subroutine Descriptions and Listings
    1.6.1. SUBROUTINE CRINIT
    1.6.2. SUBROUTINE CURSOR
    1.6.3. SUBROUTINE GETVAL
    1.6.4. SUBROUTINE NUMCK
    1.6.5. SUBROUTINE ERROR
    1.6.6. SUBROUTINE CLEAN
    1.6.7. SUBROUTINE BELL
    1.6.8. SUBROUTINE CLRSCR
    1.6.9. SUBROUTINE INFO
    1.6.10. SUBROUTINE ALLOW

    Chapter 2
    Classification of Open Channel Flow
    2.1. Definitions
    2.2. Mannings' Equation
    2.3. Froude Number

    Chapter 3
    Open Channel Flow
    3.1. Introduction
    3.2. Conservation of Mass, Momentum, and Energy
    3.2.1. Conservation of Mass
    3.2.2. Conservation of Momentum
    3.2.3. Conservation of Energy
    3.3. Fundamentals of Hydraulics
    3.3.1. Hydraulic Grade Line and Energy Grade Line
    3.3.2. Specific Energy
    3.3.3. The Specific Force
    3.3.4. The Hydraulic Jump in a Rectangular Channel
    3.4. Gradually Varied Flow
    3.4. 1. 'S' Profiles
    3.4.2. 'M' Profiles
    3.4.3. 'C' Profiles
    3.4.4. The Standard Step Method

    Chapter 4
    Hydraulic Elements II
    4.1. Introduction
    4.2. PROGRAM 1. Irregular Channel Gradually Varied Flow Analysis
    4.3. PROGRAM 2. Irregular Channel Hydraulics
    4.4. Computer Code

    Chapter 5
    Example Problems
    5.1.1a. Profiles in a Transition: Flat Scope
    5.1.1b. Effect of Additional Energy Balances
    5.1.1c. Verification of Interpolation Results
    5.1.2. Profiles in a Transition: Steep Slope
    5.1.3. Steep Channel S2 Profile in a Prismatic Channel: Sensitivity to Energy Balance Locations
    5.1.4. Supercritial and Subcritical Profiles in Transition
    5.1.5. Profiles in a Transition: Variable Parameters
    5.1.6a. Pressure-Plus-Momentum Analysis (in a Transition)
    Sensitivity to Energy Balance Discretization: Flat Slope
    5.1.6b. Verification of Pressure-Plus-Momentum Analysis Results
    5.1.7. Pressure-Plus-Momentum Analysis (In a Transition) Steep Slope
    5.1.8. Hydraulic Jump Analysis: Flat Slope
    5.1.9. Verification of Hydraulic Jump Analysis in a Prismatic Channel
    5.1.10. Hydraulic Jump Analysis in a Prismatic Channel
    5.1.11. Sensitivity to Cross-Section Detail: Water Surface Profiles in Pipeflow Analysis
    5.1.12. Multiple Cross-sections and Variable Parameters
    5.1.13. Multiple Channel Section Flow Analysis
    5.1.14. Sensitivity of Modeling Results to Overbank Flow
    5.1.15. Simple Approximation of Bridge Effects (With and Without a Sudden Constriction)
    5.2.1. Irregular Channel Hydraulics for Normal Depth Flow

    Software Purchase Information

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