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How the flow is distributed when the water flow from one river/drain to multiple rivers/drains?

Physics Asked on September 8, 2020

Assuming that water ( total amount $Q$) flows down from one river/drain, into multiple rivers/drains, under the action of gravity, as shown below:

enter image description here

How the flow ($Q$) will be divided among different outflows ($Q_i$)?

Assume that we know that

  1. The drain geometry is predetermined—we know the $x,y,z$ coordinates of the start and end node of the river/drain and we know the cross sectional information and length of the river/drain
  2. The velocity is approximated by manning formula, $$V=frac{k}{n}R_h^frac{2}{3} S^frac{1}{2}$$
  3. The flow is incompressible flow, so $Q=VA$

where

  1. $R_h$ is the hydraulic radius of the river/drain
  2. $S$ is the slope
  3. $k$ conversion between the SI and English units
  4. $n$ the manning coefficient
  5. $A$ is the cross section area of the river/drain

For one, I know that the water flow volume must be conserved

$Q=Q_1+Q_2+Q_3+…$

But I don’t know what are the other factors that could help us determine $Q_i$.

Edit: After some research, I think that I need use Bernoulli equation to include headloss in this calculation, but I have no idea how to do it, how to proceed?

One Answer

Each drain has a flow coefficient $C_v$ that relates the flow to the pressure drop. The equation for water is $Q=C_vsqrt {Delta P}$ where $Q$ is the flow rate and $Delta P$ is the pressure drop. The pressure at the junction will rise until the total flow out the three drains matches the flow in from the source. The flow down each drain will then be divided so that the inlet pressures of the drains are equal.

Answered by Ross Millikan on September 8, 2020

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