Sediment Control At The Lateral Channel Inlet

Abstract

Environmental and civil engineering projects frequently employ the open channel side intake structure. However, the commonest among the issues faced in most of the lateral intakes include sedimentation and sediment delivery. This involves several problems namely, decreased flow discharge capacity in the irrigation canals and the threat of water blockage during times of low water flow. Besides, this problem with the sediment either lowers the performance levels or causes failure of the facilities that this sub-channel serves. Hence, the engineers focused on designing an intake with the features of high flow discharge and low sediment delivery. This paper attempts to review and summarize the literature relevant to the branching channel flow and submerged vane technique to minimize the sediment-related issues. The present review highlights that most of the earlier research work done dealt with the characteristics of the flow in a right-angle branch channel possessing rigid confines. Also, more investigations are required regarding the implications of the submerged vanes. Besides, no comprehensive studies are available on the saddle point itself, and a high percentage of the studies have been part of earlier investigations that had focused on only briefly outlining this subject.