Discharge Distribution in Open-Channel T-Shape Bifurcations: Effect of a Reduced Side Branch Width
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 9
Abstract
The primary challenge for river managers in handling open-channel bifurcations is the prediction of the discharge distribution to downstream branches. In this study, we aimed to summarize and complete the available database and empirical correlations for T-shape bifurcations at 90°, both in subcritical and transcritical flow regimes, in equal and reduced side branch width geometries. An experimental campaign generated a database of 668 new configurations in addition to 299 sets collected from the literature. The existing correlation for predicting the discharge distribution in the subcritical regime appears to be of limited agreement with these data, whereas a new empirical relationship significantly increases the accuracy and is useful for a side branch as narrow as a third of the main branch width. Regarding the free-recirculation transcritical regime, the present data validate the correlation proposed in 1967 for downstream branch ratios not tested by the authors. An approach was proposed to predict the flow discharge distribution for configurations without a priori knowledge of the flow regime.
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Data Availability Statement
A table of the 668 measurement data points from the present experimental campaign is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. This table comprises the width ; three discharges , , and ; corresponding water depths , , and ; and Froude numbers and .
Acknowledgments
This work was performed within the framework of EUR H2O’Lyon (ANR-17-EURE-0018) of Université de Lyon (UdL) within the program “Investissements d’Avenir” operated by the French National Research Agency (ANR). Part of the research was funded (for the first author) by the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) Malaysia, that is, Project No. FRGS19-130-0739.
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Oct 12, 2021
Accepted: May 1, 2022
Published online: Jun 29, 2022
Published in print: Sep 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Nov 29, 2022
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