Prediction of boundary shear stress distribution in straight open channels using velocity distribution

Conventional methods for measuring local shear stress on the wetted perimeter of open channels are related to the measurement of the very low velocity close to the boundary.Measuring near-zero velocity values with high fluctuations has always been a difficult task for fluid flow near solid boundaries.To solve the observation problems,a new model was developed to estimate the distribution of boundary shear stress from the velocity distribution in open channels with different cross-sectional shapes.To estimate the shear stress at a point on the wetted perimeter by the model,the velocity must be measured at a point with a known normal distance to the boundary.The experimental work of some other researchers on channels with various cross-sectional shapes,including rectangular,trapezoidal,partially full circular,and compound shapes,was used to evaluate the performance of the proposed model.Optimized exponent coefficients for the model were found using the multivariate Newton method with the minimum of the mean absolute percentage error(MAPE)between the model and experimental data as the objective function.Subsequently,the calculated shear stress distributions along the wetted perimeter were compared with the experimental data.The most important advantage of the proposed model is its inherent simplicity.The mean MAPE value for the seven selected cross-sections was 6.9%.The best results were found in the cross-sections with less discontinuity of the wetted perimeter,including the compound,trapezoidal,and partially full circular pipes.In contrast,for the rectangular cross-section with an angle between the bed and walls of 90°,MAPE increased due to the large discontinuities.

Experimental Research on Boundary Shear Stress in Typical Meandering Channel

A novel instrument named Micro-Electro-Mechanical System(MEMS) flexible hot-film shear stress sensor was used to study the boundary shear stress distribution in the generalized natural meandering open channel, and the mean sidewall shear stress distribution along the meandering channel, and the lateral boundary shear stress distribution in the typical cross-section of the meandering channel was analysed. Based on the measurement of the boundary shear stress, a semi-empirical semi-theoretical computing approach of the boundary shear stress was derived including the effects of the secondary flow, sidewall roughness factor, eddy viscosity and the additional Reynolds stress, and more importantly, for the first time, it combined the effects of the cross-section central angle and the Reynolds number into the expressions. Afterwards, a comparison between the previous research and this study was developed. Following the result, we found that the semi-empirical semi-theoretical boundary shear stress distribution algorithm can predict the boundary shear stress distribution precisely. Finally, a single factor analysis was conducted on the relationship between the average sidewall shear stress on the convex and concave bank and the flow rate, water depth, slope ratio,or the cross-section central angle of the open channel bend. The functional relationship with each of the above factors was established, and then the distance from the location of the extreme sidewall shear stress to the bottom of the open channel was deduced based on the statistical theory.