A Modified Chezy Formula for One-Dimensional Unsteady Frictional Resistance in Open Channel Flow

It has been observed in literature that for unsteady flow conditions the one-to-one relationships between flow depth, cross-sectional averaged velocity, and frictional resistance as determined from steady uniform flow cases may not be appropriate for these more complex flow systems. Thus, a general friction resistance formula needs to be modified through the addition of new descriptive terms to account for flow unsteadiness, in order to eliminate errors due to uniform and steady-flow assumptions. An extended Chezy formula incorporating both time and space partial derivatives of hydraulic parameters was developed using dimensional analysis to investigate the relationship between flow unsteadiness and friction resistance. Results show that the proposed formula performs better than the traditional Chezy formula for simulating real hydrograph cases whereby both formula coefficients are individually identified for each flood event and coefficients are predetermined using other flood events as calibration cases. Although the extended Chezy formula as well as the original Chezy formula perform worse with the increasing degree of flow unsteadiness, its results are less dramatically affected by unsteadiness intensity, thereby improving estimations of flood routing. As a result, it tends to perform much better than traditional Chezy formula for severe flood events. Under more complex conditions whereby peak flooding events may occur predominantly under unsteady flow, the extended Chezy model may provide as a valuable tool for researchers, practitioners, and water managers for assessing and predicting impacts for flooding and for the development of more appropriate mitigation strategies and more accurate risk assessments.