Differential Quadrature type solution for steady nonuniform flow in an open channel

This research focuses on evaluating Differential Quadrature Method (DQM) for numerical simulation of steady nonuniform open channel flow. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first endeavor to exploit DQM for flow computations in open channels. The governing equations of steady nonuniform open channel flow are discretized using DQM rules and the resulting system of equations are used to compute water depth at preselected grid points. For confirmation of results and evaluation of the accuracy of the method, a few examples having analytical solutions and comparison with HEC-RAS solutions are considered. In conclusion, the DQM was found to be simple to implement, efficient and accurate compared to other existing methods using even less grid points in the spatial domain. The results could find direct application in river training works where fewer cross sections has a major impact on reducing surveying cost.

Keywords:

Gradually Varied Flow , Spatially Varied Flow , Flow profile computation , Open channel flow , Backwater curve , DQM