Application of gradually-varied ow algorithms to simulate buried streams

Les algorithmes des coulements graduellement varis appliqus la simulation des

cours deau enterrs
RIZWANUL BARI, Telephony and Program Support Directorate, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1A 0L5, Tel.: (613)-562-6185, Fax: (613)-957-8511, email: MDRizwanul.Bari@ccra-adrc.gc.ca
DAVID HANSEN, Associate Professor, Dalhousie University, Dept. of Civil Engineering (Sexton Campus), Halifax, NS, Canada B3J
1Z1, Tel.: (902)-494-3115, Fax: (902)-494-3108, email: david.hansen@dal.ca
ABSTRACT
This paper reports the underlying algorithm, implementation, and development details of the Flow Analysis of Buried Streams (FABS) hydraulic model.
This model simulates water surface proles for 1-D non-Darcy ow through buried streams. Buried streams are formed in open-pit coal mines due to
the disposal of large volumes of coarse rockll. In such buried streams the formerly open channel passes through very coarse porous media but the
behavior of this ow does not follow Darcys law. Rather, it behaves in a manner similar to that of ordinary open channel ow. The longitudinal
variation in the depth of water along the stream is not, however, governed by the roughness of the stream-bed, but by the characteristics of the coarse
porous media that now lls the channel. Such ow is governed by non-Darcy ow operating under the Dupuit assumptions. The performance of the
model in simulating steady non-Darcy ow proles was evaluated under laboratory experimental conditions and found to be satisfactory. The model
uses either Wilkins or Stephensons equation to compute head losses. It was found that these equations performed equally well in simulating experimental water surface proles. The performance of the model was also evaluated under three different friction-slope averaging methods, namely, the
arithmetic, geometric, and harmonic average. Based on the results obtained in this study, it is suggested that any of these frictions-slope averaging
techniques result in satisfactory ow proles, provided that reach lengths are not excessive. Although there are certain limitations and denite possibilities for further improvement, it is believed that the FABS model represents a signicant step forward in providing more explicit assistance in the nonDarcy water surface prole simulation process.
RSUM
Larticle prsente lalgorithme sous-jacent, sa mise en uvre, et les dtails du dveloppement du modle hydraulique FABS pour lanalyse de
lcoulement des cours deau enterrs. Ce modle simule les lignes deau des coulements de type non-Darcy unidimensionnels dans les cours deau
enterrs. Ces derniers se forment dans les mines de charbon ciel ouvert cause de llimination de grands volumes de dblais rocheux grossiers. Dans
ces cours deau enterrs, le canal ouvert initial traverse un milieu poreux trs grossier, mais le comportement de cet coulement ne suit pas la loi de
Darcy. Il se comporte plutt de manire similaire aux coulements surface libre ordinaires. Toutefois la variation longitudinale de la hauteur deau
nest pas rgie par la rugosit du lit, mais par les caractristiques du milieu poreux grossier qui le remplit dsormais. Un tel coulement est rgi par
une loi non-Darcy oprant sous les hypothses de Dupuit. La validit du modle pour la simulation de prols dcoulements permanents non-Darcy,
a t value dans des conditions exprimentales de laboratoire et trouve satisfaisante. Le modle utilise soit lquation de Wilkins soit celle de
Stephenson pour calculer les pertes de charge. On constate que ces quations permettent lune et lautre de simuler convenablement, les lignes deau
observes exprimentalement. La performance du modle a galement t value avec trois faons diffrentes de moyenner la perte de charge linaire,
savoir, une moyenne arithmtique, une moyenne gomtrique, et une moyenne harmonique. Les rsultats de cette tude montrent que chaque type
de moyenne donne des prols dcoulement satisfaisants, condition de ne pas atteindre des longueurs excessives. Bien quil y ait quelques limitations
et des possibilits certaines damlioration futures, le modle FABS reprsente une avance signicative en fournissant une aide plus explicite au
processus de simulation des prols dcoulements de type non-Darcy.
Keywords: non-Darcy ow, buried streams, gradually varied water surface proles.

1.0 Introduction
Open-pit mining operations in mountainous areas often result in
the permanent inlling of some of the valley terrain with large
volumes of coarse rockll (see Figure 1). Under such circumstances the most common practice for the continued conveyance
of streamow is to allow it to pass through the rockll, instead of
diverting it or passing the ow under the deposit via culverts
(Ritcey, 1989). In such cases the pre-existing watercourse becomes a buried stream which continues to ow through the same
valley, but under great depths of waste rock, and sometimes over
considerable distances. There exist a number of such buried
streams in coal mines of the Canadian Rockies, particularly the
Kootenays in south-eastern British Columbia. Although for buried streams the formerly open channel ow passes through a porous media, the behavior of this ow does not follow Darcys

law, the governing equation for most porous media ow. Rather,
it behaves in a manner similar in some ways to natural open channel ow (Bari, 1997). This relatively rapid ow through coarse
porous media is often referred as non-Darcy ow. The formation
of these buried streams causes permanent local changes in the
hydraulic, hydrologic, and sediment regimes of the watershed in
which they are located. The water surface elevation along the
streams affects the design, planning, and operation of the coal
mines that generate them. Also, elevated water depths along these
rockll deposits of buried streams are sometimes associated with
large-scale slope failures, particularly at the downstream toe. It is
therefore necessary to have an efcient tool for the hydraulic
modeling of buried streams. The FABS model contains two gradually-varied non-Darcy open channel ow algorithms and is apparently the rst in its domain.

Revision received May 20, 2002. Open for discussion till April 30, 2003.

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC RESEARCH, VOL. 40, 2002, NO. 6

673

a) before coverage by millions of tons of coarse rockll.

b) after partial coverage. Eventual lenght: 2500m.

Fig. 1. Line Creek, Kootenay Mountains British Columbia, before and after coverage by coarse material. (Photo courtesy of BC Ministry of Natural
Resources).

2.0 Equation for steady ow through buried streams

For ow through porous media that follows Darcys law the velocity is very small (< 10-2 m/s). Consequently, the momentum
and kinetic energy of the ow are negligible. This is not the case
for non-Darcy ow through mine waste-dumps. The ow in such
cases behaves in a manner that is similar in some ways to open
channel ow. However, the longitudinal variation in water depth
is no longer partly governed by the roughness of the stream-bed,
as is the case for open channel ow, but by the characteristics of
the coarse porous media, which now lls the formerly open channel. Using the denitions shown in Figure 2, the one-dimensional
dynamic equation of ow through mine waste-dumps under
steady-state conditions can be shown to be:

dy So ( x ) Sf ( x, y)
= f ( x, y)
=
dx
1 FrP2 ( y)
where:
x
: distance along the channel bed (L),
y
: vertical depth of water (= yp cos ; L),
yp : piezometric depth of water (L),
: stream bed slope angle (degree),
So : channel bed slope (= sin ; dimensionless),
Sf : friction slope (dimensionless),

674

(1)

FrP
UV
D
g

:
:
:
:

pore Froude number (= U V g D , dimensionless),

void velocity (bulk velocity U divided by porosity; L/T),
hydraulic depth (area of ow divided by top width; L),
gravitational constant (L/T2).

Eqn. [1] is analogous to the equation applicable to open channels

for which the term Frp is replaced by the Froude number Fr associated with ordinary open channel ow, and the friction slope Sf
is computed using a uniform-ow resistance equation (such as the
Manning equation). For non-Darcy ow through buried streams,
Sf is evaluated using a non-Darcy ow equation. The following
section provides a brief overview of some of the available nonDarcy ow equations. It is worthwhile mentioning that for most
open channels 4O and in such cases the distinction between y
and yp is so insignicant that it is common practice to assume
dy/dx = dyp/dx. But, as stated earlier, buried streams usually occur in mountainous areas where may be larger than 4 and this
common assumption would cause erroneous results.
3.0 Overview of 1-d non-darcy ow equations
Experimental studies suggest that for non-Darcy ows the relation between bulk velocity U and hydraulic gradient i is non-linear, taking either a power law form i = aUN (where a is an empirical constant determined by the properties of the uid and of

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC RESEARCH, VOL. 40, 2002, NO. 6

the porous medium, and N is a turbulence-related exponent between 1 and 2) or a quadratic form i = sU + tU2 (s and t being
empirical constants determined by the properties of the uid and
of the medium). Both the power and quadratic forms are used to
describe one-dimensional non-Darcy ow phenomena, and are
interchangeable, with some caveats (George and Hansen, 1992).
Some of the better-known non-Darcy ow equations are the
Ergun equation (Ergun, 1952), the Ergun-Reichelt equation (see
Fand and Thinakaran, 1990), the Martins equation (Martins,
1990), the McCorquodale equation (McCorquodale et al., 1978),
the Stephenson equation (Stephenson, 1979), and the Wilkins
equation (Wilkins, 1956). Hansen et al. (1995) have reviewed
these and other equations. The Ergun, McCorquodale, and ErgunReichelt equations represent generalizations of large amounts of
data into unied equations. These data-sets included the results
of researchers other than those to whom the nal equation is attributed. The Martins equation is based on experiments performed
on a moderate range of porous media types but included little or
no data from other sources. Both the Stephenson and Wilkins
equations are based on experiments on crushed rocks of a relatively narrow size-range and of a given angularity.
Among the non-Darcy ow equations mentioned above, the
Stephenson and the Wilkins equations are the simplest in form
and are also widely used (although in different parts of the globe).
Both these equations were used in the numerical models developed in this study (described in Section 4). Brief overviews of
these two equations are provided in the following sections.

3.1 The Stephenson Equation

By analogy to ow in conduits, Stephenson (1979) proposed that
the hydraulic gradient for ow through coarse porous media
might be expressed as:

i=

K st U 2
g d n2

(2)

where:
d
: particle diameter (L),
n
: porosity (dimensionless),
Kst : Stephensons friction factor (dimensionless).
Stephenson (1979) presented the following relation for evaluating
Kst:

K st =

800
+ Kt
Re

(3)

where:
Re : pore Reynolds number = Ud (dimensionless),
n

Kt

: kinematic viscosity of water (L2/T),

: parameter to account for the angularity of the particles,
ranging from 1 for polished spheres to 4 for rough and
angular crushed stone (dimensionless).

2 Upstream

1 Downstream
Horizontal line parallel to datum

U 2V2
2g

Energy line, slope: Sf

dH

dy
Water surface, slope:
dx

U 2V1
2g

y2

y1

z2

Stream bed slope, So

dx

z1
Stream bed slope angle,

Datum
2 Upstream

1 Downstream

Fig. 2. Energy considerations for non-Darcy ow through buried streams (water surface and energy line are in fact
completely buried).

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC RESEARCH, VOL. 40, 2002, NO. 6

675

3.2 The Wilkins Equation

Based on experimental work done in a large packed-column,
Wilkins (1956) proposed the following dimensionally-unbalanced
equation for ow through coarse porous media:

U V = W m 0.50 i 0.54

(4)

where:
W : Wilkins constant (= 52.43 for U in cm/s and m in cm;
L0.50/T),
m : hydraulic mean radius of the coarse porous media (L).

f(x, y) in eqn. [1] at a number of discrete points xj and so as to

obtain solutions yj at these points, where j = 1, 2, 3, ..., N (N being the total number of cross-sections in the reach being considered). Among the simplest numerical integration methods are
those in which the solution at one cross-section is used to generate the solution at the next cross-section, as long as a suitable
boundary conditions of the form y = y0 at x = x0 are available.
Adopting this general method, eqn. [1] can be written:

xj + 1

= y + f(y, x) dx
j+1
j
x

(6)

0.50

The product Wm in eqn. [4] is analogous to the intrinsic permeability of the porous media. The exponent 0.54 indicates that
this equation is suited to the ow regime of nearly fully-developed turbulence. Knowing that Uv = U/n, eqn. [4] can be stated
as:

i=

1 U

m 0.93 W n

A particularly simple scheme results from eqn. [6] if f(x, y) is

assumed to vary linearly over the interval, yielding:

1.85

(5)

which renders it useful for independently computing Sf for a buried stream.

4.0 Development of numerical model
Since unconned gradually-varied non-Darcy ow is analogous
to that of open channels, it was hypothesized that ow proles for
the former could be computed in the same general manner as is
done for the latter. Two procedures for computing steady Gradually-Varied Flow (GVF) proles are the method of Prasad (1970)
and the Standard Step Method (SSM) (Chow 1959). The method
proposed by Prasad numerically integrates the one-dimensional
dynamic equation for open channel ow (the differential equation
analogous to eqn. [1]) at successive cross-sections, starting at a
known water level. Under this method the direction of computation does not depend on whether the ow is subcritical or
supercritical. On the other hand, the SSM applies the energy
equation successively across pairs of cross-sections where the
depth at one of them is known. Under this method the direction
of computation must be upstream for subcritical ow, and downstream for supercritical ow. In this study both computational
schemes were modied in order to simulate non-Darcy water surface proles for buried streams. The details of these schemes are
reported below.
4.1 Non-Darcy Flow Prole Modeling Using Prasads Scheme
It was hypothesized by Stephenson (1979) that ordinary openchannel ow and ow through buried streams are analogous, implying that steady water surface proles for the latter can be computed by numerically integrating eqn. [1]. Since a closed-formed
integration is not generally possible it is necessary to resort to
numerical integration. This requires evaluation of the function

676

where:
yj : depth of ow at cross-section j (L),
yj+1 : depth of ow at cross-section j + 1 (L).

y j+ 1 = y j +

x j dy dy
+

2 dx j dx j+1

(7)

where:
xj : distance between the cross-sections j and j + 1 (L).
Application of eqns [1] and [7] to a pair of adjacent cross-sections
of a buried stream shown as cross-sections 1 and 2 in Figure 2,
yields:

y 2 = y1 +

x So ( x ) Sf ( x, y ) So ( x ) Sf ( x, y )
+

2 1 FrP2 ( y ) 1 FrP2 ( y )
2
1

(8)

where:
y1 : depth of ow at cross-section 1 (L),
y2 : depth of ow at cross-section 2 (L),
x : distance between cross-sections 1 and 2 (L).
As described in Section 3, non-Darcy ow equations can be
stated as predictors of i, as a function of the void velocity and of
the physical characteristics of the coarse porous medium. If we
replace the friction slope term Sf in eqn [8] by i, it will be possible to evaluate y2. Substituting the Stephenson and the Wilkins
equations (eqns [2] and [5] respectively) into eqn. [8] yields:

K st U 2
K st U 2
S

So

g d n2 o g d n2
x
+

y 2 = y1 +

2 1 FrP2 1 FrP2

(9)

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1.85

1 U

So 0.93

m W n

1 FrP2

1
x
y 2 = y1 +

1.85
2
1 U
So m 0.93 W n

+


1 FrP2


2

of buried stream between a pair of cross-sections shown in Figure

2. Computing the magnitude of representative friction slope of the
reach by the arithmetic average of friction slopes of the two
cross-sections, replacing Sf by i, and computing i by the
Stephenson or the Wilkins equations, the following equations
arise for the two cross-sections under consideration:

(10)

H1 = z1 + y 1 +

Solution of either eqn. [9] or [10] provides the unknown depth of

water at cross-section 2 in Figure 2 (assuming the direction of
computation to be upstream). At the beginning of each iteration
all parameters associated with cross-section 1 are known. However, for the terms with subscript 2, only the channel slope and
the parameters associated with the porous media are known. This
leaves the velocity U and the pore Froude number FrP at crosssection 2 as unknowns. Since both U and FrP at cross-section 2
are functions of y2, there is no explicit solution to the above equations (in most cases), an iterative solution technique is needed.
One technique is xed-point iteration. This method proceeds from
an initial assumption about the implicit variable y at cross-section
( 0)
j + 1, say y j+1 . This value is subsequently incorporated into the
right hand side of the equation, which in turn provides a new
(1)
depth estimate, y j+1 . The recursion relation expressed by the following equations summarizes this process:

y k2 +1

K U2
K U2
So st 2 So st 2
g dn
g dn
x

+
= y1 +

2
2
2 1 FrP 1 FrP

2
1

(11)

y k2 +1

1.85

1 U
So 0.93

m W n

1 FrP2

1
x
= y1 +

k
1.85
2
1 U
So 0.93

W n
m
+


1 FrP2


2

(12)

H 2 = H1 +

H 2 = H1 +

where:
H1 & H2
z1 & z2

U V1 & U V2

x K st U 2 K st U 2
+

2 g d n 2 1 g d n 2 2

x 1 U

2 m 0.93 W n

1.85

1 U 1.85
+ 0.93

1 m W n 2

(15)

(16)

: total head above a datum at cross-sections 1 and

2, respectively (L),
: elevations above a datum at cross-sections 1 and
2, respectively (L),
: void velocities at cross-sections 1 and 2, respectively (L/T).

(17)

where y2 was computed by one of the following relations (see

Appendix):

y 2 =

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC RESEARCH, VOL. 40, 2002, NO. 6

(14)

2g

y 2 New = y 2 Old + y 2

4.2 Non-Darcy Flow Prole Modeling Using the Standard Step

Method
The SSM is performed by simultaneously solving a set of equations based on the total head and friction slope between a pair of
adjacent cross-sections (Chow, 1959). Consider again the reach

U V2

Simultaneous solution of eqns [13] and [14] with either eqn. [15]
or [16] leads to the unknown depth of water at the next upstream
cross-section (section 2). Both eqns [15] and [16] dene procedures for the solution at cross-section 2 that are implicit in the
sense that the terms with subscript 2 on the right-hand side are
functions of the term H2 of left-hand side. This implies that an
iterative procedure must be used to obtain the solution represented by either of these eqns.
There are a number of numerical methods in the literature that
can employed to implement the iterative computation in the SSM.
For this study, the equation used to iteratively update y2 was:

y 2 =

(13)

2g

H 2 = z2 + y 2 +

The cycle is repeated until the difference between two successive

estimates of y2, i.e. y 2k +1 y 2k , becomes smaller than some predened tolerance.

U V1

1 FrP22 + x

Sf 2

(if Stephensons equation used )

(18)

D2

1 FrP22 + 0.925x

Sf 2

(if Wilkinsequation used )

(19)

D2

677

where:
D2
:
Sf2
:
FrP2
:

hydraulic depth at cross-section 2,

friction slope at cross-section 2,
pore Froude number at cross-section 2,
difference in computed total heads, i.e. = eqn. [14]
eqn. [15], or eqn. [14] eqn. [16].

The above method of correction signicantly reduced the number

of iterations. A high-level owchart of the algorithm used in the
model is shown in Figure 3.
5.0 Limitations of the model
In addition to all the generic assumptions associated with GVF in
open channels (see Chow, 1959 and French, 1994) the following
assumptions and limitations are implicit to this model:
a) It is assumed that the whole owthrough cross-section contributes to the ow. The capability of determining ineffective ow area(s) due to the downward movement of ne

b)

c)

particles is not considered.

The quantity of vertical inltration from the overlying ll is
assumed to be small, in general, compared to the stream discharge itself, and is not part of the formulation of the model.
The model does not consider the interaction of groundwater
with the non-Darcy ow.

6.0 Model performance

Although the FABS model had to be capable of simulating nonDarcy ow proles through natural buried streams, the performance of the model could not be evaluated for eld-scale cases
because such data was not available. It was therefore decided to
carry out the performance evaluation by physical model testing,
and so a model buried stream was built as part of the study. Figure 4 shows the model as constructed in a glass-walled ume located in the Hydraulics Laboratory at Dalhousie University. Figure 5 shows a schematic of the same set-up. Crushed limestone
was used as the porous media (sample shown in Figure 6). The

Fig. 3. High level ow chart of FABS.

678

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC RESEARCH, VOL. 40, 2002, NO. 6

simulation effort indicated that, in general, the nature of the porous media greatly affects computed water surface proles. This
necessitates accurate characterization of the various media parameters in order to be able to independently predict water surface
proles. Table 1 presents the characteristics of the media used. In
this study the parameters Kt and re were also optimized; the details of which are presented in Bari (1997).
Tab. 1. Characteristics of Porous Media Used.
*d50a

32.0 mm

b/b

d50b

21.5 mm

avg Kt, re

d50c

12.0 mm

void ratio e

0.21
3.1, 1.1
0.79

* 3 orthogonal particle axes: a longest , b intermediate, c shortest.

The performance of the model was evaluated by comparing its

output to the data generated from the experiments performed on
the model buried stream. The results of such comparisons are presented in Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 presents the outcomes when
the model used Stephensons equation to compute the friction
slope and Figure 8 presents the outcomes when Wilkins equation
was used. It can be seen from Figures 7 and 8 that the performance of the model in simulating water surface proles is quite
satisfactory. It can also be readily seen that both the Wilkins and
Stephenson equations simulated similar water surface proles for
all the imposed discharges, and did so nearly equally well.
Reynolds numbers for full-scale buried streams owing through
coarse material (mine-waste dumps in the Kootenay Mountains
with d50 0.4 m) have been observed to be nearly 50,000 (Piteau
Engineering 1999). Such high values of pore ReP will make the
Stephenson friction factor of the porous media (Kst in eqn 3) tend
toward 4 throughout the reach in question. We observed that
when the value of ReP was low the performance of the Wilkins
equation was better than the Stephenson equation. For higher values of ReP the reverse was the case. We expect that the
Stephenson equation will, in general, perform better for nonDarcy ow through eld-scale buried streams. The highest value

of ReP found in this study was about 5000.

In addition to arithmetic averaging, the model provides two other
widely-used methods for estimating the representative friction
slope across a given pair of cross-sections. Several studies recommend specic friction slope averaging techniques (see Feldman,
1981, Reed and Wolfkill, 1976, Tavener 1974). All such recommendations are based on the results of studies on GVF in true
open channels (no porous media). There appears to be little or no
information regarding the relative suitability of these procedures
for water surface prole computation under non-Darcy ow. In
order to evaluate the performance of the model in simulating water surface proles for the three different friction slope averaging
techniques mentioned above, proles were simulated using various friction slope models.
For each discharge, the sum of squared errors (SSE) was then
calculated (see Table 2), using the following relationship:
P

j
j
SSE = y obj
y sim
j=1

where:
j
:
P
:
j
y obs :
j
:
y sim

(20)

cross-section number,
total number of cross-section,
observed depth of ow at section j,
simulated depth of ow at section j.

It can be seen from Table 2 that the friction slope models performed approximately equally well in simulating the water surface proles. Based on Table 2 it can be concluded that any of the
friction slope averaging techniques stated in Table 2 will produce
satisfactory estimates of ow through rockll dumps, provided
reach lengths are not excessive.

Fig. 4. Model buried stream in the glass-walled ume.

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC RESEARCH, VOL. 40, 2002, NO. 6

679

1800

610

1800

1800

1800

Transducer

1800

1800

Details 'A'

Intake
Tank

V-notch
800
Collection Tank
Baffle Screen
1600
460

305

305

310

730

Wood Planks
210

260
Details 'A' (Plan)
1800

450

Details 'A' (Elevation)

Fig. 5. Schematic of the experimental setup (all dimensions in mm).

Table 2. Differences between observed and simulated water surface proles.

Sum of Squared Errors (10-4 m2)
Wilkins equation

Stephensons equation

Discharge
(L/s)

Arith
metic
mean

Geometric
mean

Harmonic
mean

Arith- Geometic metric

mean mean

Harmonic
mean

1.60
2.39
3.75

8.12*
17.83
10.88

8.28
17.15
10.81

8.76
16.99
9.51

12.97
16.14
7.83

13.58
15.37
6.93

*8.12

13.61
15.77
7.50

8.12 10-4 m2

Although the FrP for free surface ow through an embankment

comprised of ne sand would indeed be small, this would not
usually be the case for a mine waste dump where a depth of perhaps a meter could be associated with pore velocities near 0.15
m/s. This means that, in general, the Froude number should not
be omitted from the analysis of full-scale cases, especially near
the downstream face of mine waste dumps or other instances of
emergent buried streams. For the ow passing through the model
buried stream that is portrayed in Figs. 7 and 8, FrP increased in
the downstream direction and was in the range of 0.02 to 0.23. It
does appear (Piteau et al 1999) that the value of FrP is small
through the middle of full-scale waste dumps during ood ows.
This is because water depths can be 10 meters and more inside
the deposit, but the velocity of ow is not very different from
velocities associated with small depths and discharges. The error
that would be introduced by completely omitting FrP was not investigated in this study. However, it can be said that it would not
be omitted when analyzing the water surface prole of an ordi-

680

nary (large) river having comparable Froude numbers. If the FrP

term was to be omitted from eqn [1] we would expect computed
water surface proles to become increasingly inaccurate in the
downstream direction, especially for M2 analogues. It is this zone
that is most associated with safety concerns at open-pit mining
operations.
7.0 Conclusions
An integrated software system, FABS, was developed and tested.
This model simulates non-Darcy ow through buried streams, a
phenomenon of interest to managers and regulators of waste rock

Fig. 6. Sample of the porous media used in gradually-varied ow experiments.

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC RESEARCH, VOL. 40, 2002, NO. 6

Elevation above datum (m)

2.5
Floor of flume
Simulated
Observed

Q = 3.75 L/s

2.4
2.3
2.2

Q = 2.39 L/s

2.1

Q = 1.60 L/s

2.0
1.9
1.8
0.0

0.3

0.6

0.9

1.2

1.5

1.8

Distance downstream (m)

Fig. 7. Comparison of observed and simulated water surface proles (friction slope computed by Stephensons equation).

deposits and rock drains at open-pit mines. It is intended that it

will eventually have three modules: a steady prole simulation
module, an unsteady prole simulation module, and a water quality analysis module. This paper describes the development of the
rst module.
Two numerical schemes for GVF in open channels were modied
in order to reect the unique characteristics of non-Darcy ow,
and were successfully implemented. The performance of the
model in simulating laboratory water surface proles was found
to be satisfactory. The model uses either Wilkins or Stephensons equation to compute head losses, and both equations performed well in simulating experimental water surface proles. It
was observed that when the value of ReP was low, the performance of the Wilkins equation was better than that of the
Stephenson equation. For higher values of ReP the reverse was
the case. Although the shortage of eld data precluded reaching

denitive conclusions regarding the comparative performance of

the Wilkins and Stephenson equations in predicting water surface
proles, it is expected that the Stephenson equation would perform better under fully-developed turbulent ow conditions
(eld-scale buried streams).
Two numerical schemes (the SSM and the method of Prasad) for
GVF of open channel were modied in this study in order to reect the unique characteristics of non-Darcy ow. The performance of the model was also evaluated using different friction
slope averaging methods. It was found that the performance of
these friction slope-averaging techniques was nearly the same.
The model is capable of predicting steady-state ow proles
through any natural buried stream. However, its performance
could not be evaluated for eld-scale cases because relevant data
was not available. The performance of the model was evaluated
by physical model testing. The performance of both numerical

Elevation above datum (m)

2.5
2.4

Floor of flume
Simulated
Observed

Q = 3.75 L/s

2.3
2.2

Q = 2.39 L/s

2.1

Q = 1.60 L/s

2.0
1.9
1.8
0.0

0.3

0.6

0.9

1.2

1.5

1.8

Distance downstream (m)

Fig. 8. Comparison of observed and simulated water surface proles (friction slope computed by Wilkins equation).

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC RESEARCH, VOL. 40, 2002, NO. 6

681

schemes implemented in the model in simulating water surface

proles under laboratory conditions was found to be almost identical and quite satisfactory.

Nomenclature

Abbreviations

A
A2
d
D
D2
Fr
FrP
FrP2
g
H1
H2
i
j
Kst
Kt
m
n
Q
Re
So
Sf
Sf1
Sf2
T
T2
U
U2
UV
U V1

U V2
W
x
y
y1
y2
j
y obj
j
y sim
z1
z2
P
x
xj
y
y2

cross-sectional area (L2)

cross-sectional area at cross-section 2 (L2)
particle diameter (L)
hydraulic depth, = A/T (L)
hydraulic depth at cross-section 2
Froude number (dimensionless)
pore Froude number (dimensionless)
pore Froude number at cross-section 2 (dimensionless)
gravitational constant (L/T2)
total head at cross-section 1 (L)
total head at cross-section 2 (L)
rate of change in piezometric head along the path of ow
(dimensionless)
an arbitrary cross-section number
Stephensons empirical friction factor (dimensionless)
Stephensons empirical friction factor if turbulence is
fully-developed (dimensionless)
hydraulic mean radius of the coarse porous media (L),
porosity (dimensionless)
discharge (L3/T)
Reynolds number (dimensionless)
channel bed slope (dimensionless)
friction slope (dimensionless)
friction slope at cross-section 1 (dimensionless)
friction slope at cross-section 2 (dimensionless)
channel top width (L)
channel top width at cross-section 2 (L)
bulk velocity (L/T)
bulk velocity at cross-section 2 (L/T)
average velocity of water through the voids (L/T)
average velocity of water through the voids at cross-section 1 (L/T)
average velocity of water through the voids at cross-section 2 (L/T)
Wilkins empirical constant (dimensionless)
longitudinal distance (L)
depth of ow (L)
epth of ow at cross-section 1 (L)
depth of ow at cross-section 2 (L)
observed depth of ow at section j (L)
simulated depth of ow at section j (L)
elevation of cross-section 1 above a datum (L)
elevation of cross-section 2 above a datum (L)
total number of cross-sections
distance between two adjacent cross-sections (L)
distance between two arbitrary cross-sections j and j + 1
(L)
change in depth of ow (L)
djustment factor (L)

differential error in computed depth (L)

error in computed head (L)
kinematic viscosity of water

FABS
GVF
SSE
SSM

Flow Analysis of Buried Streams

Gradually-varied Flow
Sum of Squared Errors
Standard Step Method

Appendix. Derivation of the Adjustment Factor y2

The expression for y2 is developed on the premise that the result
of the rst trial is a useful guide to the second trial under the iterative scheme of the SSM described in Section 4.2. The aim is to
equalize the two H2s (see Figure 2). The difference between
these two H2s is: = H2 (M) H2 (N). The intention is to make
vanish by changing y2. The response of to small changes in y2
can be measured by the derivative d/dy2:

d
d
=
dy 2 dy 2

Now,

d
dy 2

U 2V2 1
y
+
2 2g 2 x Sf2

(21)

U 2V2
Q 2 1 dA 2
. Since dA 2 = T2 , the top
=

2g
g n 2 A 32 dy 2
dy 2

width at the upstream cross-section, this when substituted in the

above equation yields:

A 22 U 22 T2
Q 2 T2
d U 2V2

=
=
dy 2 2g
g n 2 A 32
g n 2 A 32

(22)

U 22 T2
U 22

=
=
g n2 A2
g n 2 D2
where D 2 = A 2 = hydraulic depth at the upstream cross-section.
T2
Denote FrP2 =

U2
n g D2

as the pore Froude number at the up-

stream cross-section. When substituted in eqn [22] this yields:

d U 2V2
= FrP22
dy 2 2g

(23)

Approximating the friction slope by the Wilkins equation, we

have:

Sf
d
S f2 = 1.85 2
dy 2
D2

( )

(24)

When Wilkins equation is used to compute the headloss, substi-

682

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC RESEARCH, VOL. 40, 2002, NO. 6

tuting eqn [23] and [24] into eqn [21] yields:

Sf 2
Sf
d
x
= 1 FrP22
1.85 2 = 1 FrP22 + 0.925x

dy 2
2
D2
D2

(25)

In nite difference form this leads to:

Sf 2

= 1 FrP22 + 0.925x
D2
y 2

(26)

where can be expressed by:

= ( y 2 + y 2 ) ( y 2 )

(27)

The term (y2 + y2) in eqn [27] is negligible compared to (y2),

if y2 is chosen properly, so that -(y2)=-. Substitution of
eqn [27] into eqn [26] yields:

y 2 =

1 FrP22 + 0.925x

Sf 2

(28)

D2

By similar reasoning the equation corresponding to the

Stephenson eqn would be:

y 2 =

1 FrP22 + x

Sf 2

(29)

D2

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