Best non scour channel section design using artificial neural networks

• Main Author: Ahmed M. Tawfik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-06-01
• Series: Ain Shams Engineering Journal
• Subjects: Open channel; Shield’s diagram; Manning’s equation; Neural networks
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2090447920302161

Water flowing in channels has the ability to scour sediments from bed, berm, and banks and sweep these sediments downstream causing a lot of problems. Using Shield’s diagram and Manning’s equation, the design for trapezoidal cross sections is determined. This design ensures no motion of sediments. Matlab code is written to solve the design equations using trial and error. Design charts that determine the best design are presented. The best hydraulic section design is the worst design from the scour point of view. The effect of each design variable is studied. Increasing particle diameter or specific gravity of sediments leads to decrease in the bed width and increase in the corresponding water depth. Artificial Neural Networks are then used to find the best design. About 30,000 synthetic realizations were used to train, validate, and test the network. The proposed design aids help the design engineer to find the best design easily.