Open-channel flow
branch of hydraulics and fluid mechanics
In fluid mechanics and hydraulics, open-channel flow is a type of liquid flow within a conduit with a free surface, known as a channel. The other type of flow within a conduit is pipe flow. These two types of flow are similar in many ways but differ in one important respect: open-channel flow has a free surface, whereas pipe flow does not, resulting in flow dominated by gravity but not hydraulic pressure.
Classifications of flow
Open-channel flow can be classified and described in various ways based on the change in flow depth with respect to time and space. The fundamental types of flow dealt with in open-channel hydraulics are:
Time as the criterion
Steady flow
The depth of flow does not change over time, or if it can be assumed to be constant during the time interval under consideration.
Unsteady flow
The depth of flow does change with time.
Space as the criterion
Uniform flow
The depth of flow is the same at every section of the channel. Uniform flow can be steady or unsteady, depending on whether or not the depth changes with time, (although unsteady uniform flow is rare).
Varied flow
The depth of flow changes along the length of the channel. Varied flow technically may be either steady or unsteady.
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This entry incorporates text from “Open-channel flow” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.