Flow Characteristics for the Variation of Radius of Curvature in Open Channel Bends

The flow characteristics varying with rate of the radius of curvature to width (Rc/B) in open channel bends are investigated with a simplified numerical model. Secondary flow velocity and transverise bed slope are formulated from the equations of momentum and force balance analysis, respectively. The conservation equations of mass and streamwise momentum are simplified by depth integration and its solution could be obtained from the explicit finite difference method. Three sets of computer simulation are executed. The rates of Rc/B adopted in simulations are 2.7, 5.4 and 8.1. The terms analyzed in this paper secondary flow velocity, streamwise velocity, the path of maximum steamwise velocity, deviation angle, and mass-shift velocity.