Subcritical open channel flows in four branch intersections

Nicolas Riviere (1) , G. Travin (1) , Richard J. Perkins (1)

1 LMFA - Laboratoire de Mecanique des Fluides et d'Acoustique

[1] Subcritical flow in an intersection composed of four similar orthogonal channels has been studied experimentally in a configuration with two inflows and two outflows for a wide range of experimental conditions. The results have been used to develop a relationship between the incoming flow rates and the flow distribution in the two outlet channels, based on the conservation of discharge and momentum in the intersection, and suitable stage-discharge relationships for the downstream controls in the outflow channels. A final equation is provided by an empirical correlation for the outflow in one of the channels, based on the experimental data obtained from these experiments; this correlation agrees with all the available data to within 65%. It is shown how the resulting set of equations can be used to compute the discharge distribution in any similar intersection, given the incoming flow rates and some form of stage-discharge relationship for the outlet conditions.

Domaines: Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]

Nicolas Riviere, G. Travin, Richard J. Perkins. Subcritical open channel flows in four branch intersections. Water Resources Research, 2011, 47 (10), pp.W10517. ⟨10.1029/2011WR010504⟩. ⟨hal-00691087⟩