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Introduction
The equation beginning V=.... is called the Manning Equation. It is a semi-empirical equation and is the
most commonly used equation for uniform steady state flow of water in open channels (see Discussion and
References for Open Channel Flow for further discussion). Because it is empirical, the Manning equation
has inconsistent units which are handled through the conversion factor k. Uniform means that the water
surface has the same slope as the channel bottom. Uniform flow is actually only achieved in channels that
are long and have an unchanging cross-section. However, the Manning equation is used in other situations
despite not strictly achieving these conditions.
In our calculation, most of the combinations of inputs have analytic (closed form) solutions to compute the
unknown variables; however, some two require numerical solutions ("Enter Q, n, S, d" and "Enter V, n, S,
d"). Our numerical solutions utilize a cubic solver that finds roots of the equations with the result accurate
to at least 8 significant digits. All of our calculations utilize double precision.
It is possible to get two answers using "Enter Q,n,S,d" or "Enter V,n,S,d". This is because maximum Q and
V do not occur when the pipe is full. Qmax occurs when y/d=0.938. If y/d is more than that, Q actually
decreases due to friction. Given a pipe with diameter d, roughness n, and slope S, let Qo be the discharge
when the pipe is flowing full (y/d=1). As seen on the graph below, discharge is also equal to Qo when
y/d=0.82. If the entered Q is greater than Qo (but less than Qmax), there will be two solution values of
y/d, one between 0.82 and 0.938, and the other between 0.938 and 1. The same argument applies to V,
except that Vo occurs at y/d=0.5, and Vmax occurs at y/d=0.81. If the entered V is greater than Vo (but
less than Vmax), there will be two solution values of y/d, one between 0.5 and 0.81, and the other
between 0.81 and 1. For further information, see Chow (1959, p. 134).
The following graphs are valid for any roughness (n) and slope (S):
Qo=full pipe discharge; Vo=full pipe velocity:
Non-Metals:
Corrugated Polyethylene (PE) with smooth inner walls a,b 0.009-0.015
Corrugated Polyethylene (PE) with corrugated inner walls c 0.018-0.025
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) with smooth inner walls d,e 0.009-0.011
Glass 0.010 Finished Concrete 0.012
Clay Tile 0.014 Unfinished Concrete 0.014
Brickwork 0.015 Gravel 0.029
Asphalt 0.016 Earth 0.025
Masonry 0.025 Planed Wood 0.012
Unplaned Wood 0.013
© 1998-2000 LMNO Engineering, Research, and Software, Ltd. (All Rights Reserved)
Revision 0 on 12/17/1998. Revision 1 on 7/13/2000 (additional units).
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