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Gradually Varied Flow Equation Is

The document describes the numerical integration method used in FishXing to solve the Gradually Varied Flow equation for calculating water surface profiles in culverts. FishXing uses the Standard Step Method, which divides the culvert into reaches and calculates changes in specific energy from one end of the reach to the other using an iterative bisection method. It can perform backwater or frontwater calculations depending on flow conditions. Hydraulic jumps may occur when flow changes from supercritical to subcritical; FishXing locates potential jumps by comparing momentum values along supercritical and subcritical profiles.

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Refisa Jiru
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69 views5 pages

Gradually Varied Flow Equation Is

The document describes the numerical integration method used in FishXing to solve the Gradually Varied Flow equation for calculating water surface profiles in culverts. FishXing uses the Standard Step Method, which divides the culvert into reaches and calculates changes in specific energy from one end of the reach to the other using an iterative bisection method. It can perform backwater or frontwater calculations depending on flow conditions. Hydraulic jumps may occur when flow changes from supercritical to subcritical; FishXing locates potential jumps by comparing momentum values along supercritical and subcritical profiles.

Uploaded by

Refisa Jiru
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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General form of the Gradually Varied Flow equation is:

Where:

So = Bottom slope, positive in the downward direction

Sf  = Friction slope, positive in the downward direction

y  = Water depth, measured from culvert bottom to water surface

x  = Longitudinal distance, measured along the culvert bottom

Fr = Froude number

The Friction slope is approximated from Mannings Equation:

Where:

Sf = Friction slope, positive in the downward direction

n    = Mannings roughness coefficient

V  = Average cross section velocity

  = Constant equal to 1.49 for English units and 1.00 for SI units.

R  = Hydraulic radius, (Wetted Area / Wetted Perimeter)

Numerical Integration of the GVF Equation:


The GVF differential equation does not have an analytical solution.  Therefore, FishXing uses
numerical integration to generate a water surface profile.   Numerical integration is a technique
of dividing the channel, or culvert, into numerous short reaches and then performing the
computations from one end of the reach to the other. 

FishXing primarily uses the Standard Step Method of numerical integration.  The following form
of the equation is used:

Where:

E  = Change in specific energy from one end of the reach to the other

Sfave = Average friction slope across the reach

x = Longitudinal distance from one end of the reach to the other

y   = Depth of water

Q = Flow rate

g = Gravitational acceleration

A = Wetted cross sectional area

Since the friction slope and wetted area are functions of depth, solving for depth at a given
distance (x) requires an iterative solution. FishXing uses a bisection method to find the
solution.

Backwater and Frontwater Calculations

The water surface profile can be calculated from downstream going upstream (backwater
calculations) or from upstream going downstream (frontwater calculations).  The direction
depends on the classification of the water surface profile (hydraulic slope and type of curve). For
Mild, Critical, Adverse, and Horizontal slopes FishXing performs a backwater calculation
beginning at the downstream boundary. Frontwater calculations are performed for Steep slopes,
beginning at the upstream boundary.  If a Steep slope culvert is backwatered (S1 curve), Fishing
also performs a backwater calculation and identifies the location of the hydraulic jump (if one
occurs).

Other Considerations

If only a portion of the culvert becomes pressurized, FishXing will switch between the GVF and
full flow equations.

Hydraulic Jumps
Whenever the flow profile changes from supercritical to subcritical, hydraulic jumps will occur.
A hydraulic jump represents a significant head loss that manifests in available energy for scour
and creation of turbulence. Hydraulic jumps are one of the three occurrences of Rapidly Varied
Flow that FishXing approximates. Hydraulic jumps are generally an undesirable condition for
fish passage and erosion control.

 Photos of  Hydraulic Jump,  Hydraulic Jump 2,

In FishXing a hydraulic jump can only occur if the following two conditions are satisfied:

1. The culvert has a steep hydraulic slope (yc > yn)

2. The tailwater depth is greater than critical depth (yTW > yc)

If both of these conditions exist FishXing checks for the possibility of a jump occurring within
the culvert. FishXing solves the Gradually Varied Flow equations in the downstream direction
(frontwater calculations) starting from critical depth at the inlet.  This gives a supercritical water
surface profile. Next, FishXing performs backwater calculations starting at the outlet with the
water depth equal to the tailwater depth.  Proceeding upstream, the backwater calculations
produces a subcritical water surface profile.  At any given point in the culvert there is now both a
supercritical and subcritical depth.  To determine which depth is correct, at each node (point) the
corresponding momentum (or specific force) is calculated for both of the depths. When the
upstream momentum and downstream momentum values are equal a jump occurs.

FishXing does not locate the exact location of the jump but determines the up and downstream
nodes of the jump and connects sub and supercritical flow between these nodes.

The steps followed to locate the jump are summarized as:

1.       Compute the upstream supercritical water surface profile by solving the
Gradually Varied Flow equations from the inlet depth equal to critical depth.
Calculations proceeding in the downstream direction are called "frontwater
calculations".

2.       Starting at the downstream boundary condition at the outlet, compute the
subcritical water surface profile in the upstream direction. Calculations
proceeding in the upstream direction are called "backwater calculations".

3.       At each node, compute the momentum (specific force) for associated with the
two depths (supercritical and subcritical).

Where:

M = Momentum or specific force

Q = Flow rate

g =Acceleration due to gravity

A = Cross sectional area

zbar  = is the distance from the water surface to the centroid of the cross sectional area of flow.

4. Beginning at the outlet and proceeding towards the inlet, compare the momentum
associated with the corresponding supercritical and subcritical depths.  When the
momentum associated with the subcritical profile becomes less than the
momentum associated with the supercritical profile, a hydraulic jump is assumed
to have occurred between the two nodes.

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