Irrigation & Drainage Systems Engineering

A one-dimensional Saint Venant model is developed using the Einstein sediment transport formula for simulating hydraulics and bed changes in irrigation channels. The governing equations are discretized using Finite Volume Method. The Central-Upwind method is used in this study to calculate the numerical flux. The model gives a stable and good prediction of sub, super and transcritical flows and captures harp changes such as hydraulic jump without leading to numerical oscillation or diffusion. An experimental test case is adopted to examine the performance of this mode. The simulated results show a good agreement with experimental data in the upstream section, and can predict an average value of measured profile in the downstream section of a steep channel. The knick point movement is successfully predicted by the model. The model appears to be a potential and reasonably accurate tool to predict bed changes in irrigation channels due to the water flow.