This Civil Engineering Course under the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) on the broad subject of Fluid Mechanics, Hydraulics, Hydrology and Flow is being carried out by the Indian Institute of Technology’s and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore as a collaborative project supported by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Government of India) to enhance the quality of engineering education in the country, by developing curriculum based video and web courses. In these web based lectures, the authors have developed the subject in detail and in stages in a student-friendly manner. The broad group of Fluid Mechanics, Hydraulics, Hydrology and Flow is structured into modules on the following topics:
Fluid Mechanics: The course developed by IIT, Guwahati deals with the study of fluids (liquids, gases, plasma) and the forces on them. A fluid is defined as a substance that deforms continuously under the action of a shear stress, of however small magnitude. The fluid is treated as an infinitely divisible substance, a continuum at which the properties of the fluid are considered as a continuous (smooth) function of the space variables and time. Since most of the engineering problems deal with fluids at a dimension which is larger than the limiting volume, the assumption of fluid as a continuum is valid. Some of the basic properties of fluids such as mass density, specific weight, relative density, specific volume, viscosity (Newton’s law of viscosity, kinematic viscosity) are discussed.
Fluids in which shear stress is not linearly related to the rate of shear strain are non-Newtonian fluids. In the section on surface tension, fluid property at the interface of liquid and gas or at the interface of two immiscible liquids is discussed. The section on vapour pressure discusses how the molecules of a liquid are in constant motion, and how some of the molecules in the surface layer having sufficient energy will escape from the liquid surface, and then change from liquid to gaseous state. Fluid mechanics is further discussed by introducing fluid statics (the study of fluids at rest), kinematics of fluids (the study of fluid motion), dynamics of fluid flow, dim analysis and hydraulic similitude. The dynamics of fluid flow is the study of fluid motion with forces causing the fluid flow. The dynamic behavior of the fluid flow is analyzed by Newton 's second law of motion. To view the modules at the NPTEL website please click here. The lectures on the topic by IIT, Bombay can be viewed here
Hydraulics: The course on Hydraulics deals with the study of fluids: their behavior, motion and interaction of fluids with other bodies. Technically fluids include liquids and gases, but from the perspective of Hydraulics in Civil Engineering the term fluid generally means a liquid and water in particular. The topics covered include channel versus pipe flow, continuity equation, pressure distribution, specific energy, specific force, trapezoidal and circular channels, hydraulic exponent, measuring flumes, critical depth flumes, weir introduction, control structures, proportional weirs, flow over weir’s, types of broad crested weirs, bear trap, sluice gate, brink depth, outlets, modules, canal lining, hydraulic jumps, spillways, surges, dam break analysis etc. Please click here to download the modules at the NPTEL website here. Lectures on the subject by IIT, Guwahati can be viewed here
Computational Hydraulics: The course on computational hydraulics aims to provide an understanding of the numerical approximation and solution of physical systems, especially in open channel hydraulics by using problems in hydraulics to give simple methods that can be used in practice. Download the modules from the NPTEL website here
Advanced Hydraulics: This course by IIT, Roorkee introduces the fundamental concepts, advanced principles and application of hydraulic analysis and design to the undergraduate students of civil engineering. The contents of the course include types of open channel flow, resistance relationships in open channel flow, use of momentum principle in open channel flow, concept of specific energy and specific force, velocity measurement, flow profiles, draw down and backwater curves, hydraulic jumps, basic characteristics of jump, energy dissipation due to jumps, flow through culverts and bridge piers, types of turbines and pumps, operating characteristic curves, cavitation etc. View the syllabus and references at the NPTEL website here
This same course on "Advanced Hydraulics" by IIT Guwahati describes the flows and properties in open channels through a total of 41 lectures devised for this course. The course deals with the various types of flows in open channels, the velocity distribution across and along the channel, hydraulic jumps, and turbines and pumps. It also covers the design of channel sections and drains, jumps and pumps for various hydraulic and hydrologic projects. View the syllabus and references at the NPTEL website here
Advanced Hydrology: This course on Advanced Hydrology by IIT Kanpur has been designed to present the principles of advanced hydrology at a postgraduate level. The course provides a thorough understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of various components of hydrologic cycle e.g. atmospheric water, rainfall, infiltration, evaporation, surface flow, sub-surface flow, groundwater flow, and hydrograph analysis. Also dealt with are statistical techniques such as statistical properties of a PDF, probability distributions employed in hydrology, fitting probability distributions, testing goodness of fit, frequency analysis and reliability analysis. The contents of the course include – (a) Hydrologic cycle, systems concept, hydrologic model classification; (b) Reynold's Transport Theorem, continuity equation, momentum equation, and energy equation; (c) Atmospheric hydrology; Hydrologic processes, precipitation, evaporation, surface flow, sub-surface flow, and groundwater flow; and (d) Unit hydrograph, various response functions and their interrelationships; hydrologic statistics, statistical parameters, fitting a probability distribution, testing goodness of fit, frequency analysis, and reliability analysis. Download the details of the course at the NPTEL website here
The same course by IIT, Mumbai has been prepared mainly to address the computational emphasis of advanced hydrology at a post-graduate level, and to provide a balanced approach to important applications in hydrologic engineering and science. Fundamental mechanisms of hydrologic cycle with the probabilistic approaches are discussed in a logical progression. A number of selected numerical problems are solved to illustrate the concepts lucidly. The contents include - Hydrologic Principles - hydrologic cycles and weather, hydrologic losses; Philosophy of Mathematical Models of Watershed Hydrology; Hydrologic Analysis - watershed concepts, rainfall-runoff, hydrograph analysis, unit hydrograph theory, linear and kinematic wave model, and overland flow models; Routing - lumped flow, distributed flow, dynamic wave routing and Muskingum method; Saint-Venant Equations - Reynold's transport theorem, continuity equation, momentum equation, and energy equation; Hydrologic Statistics - statistical parameter estimation, probability distribution, goodness of fit, concepts of probability weighted moments & L-moments, frequency analysis, Markov process, Markov chain and reliability analysis; Hydrologic Simulation Models - steps in watershed modeling, major hydrologic models. View the syllabus and references at the NPTEL website here
Unsteady Open Channel Flow: This course developed by IIT, Kanpur covers the following -
- Introduction: Terminologies, Causes of unsteady flow, Application of unsteady flows, Methods to study unsteady flows.
- Governing equations: Three-D Navier-Stokes equations, Two-D Saint Venant equations, One-D Boussinesq equations, One-D Saint Venant equations.
- Method of characteristics: Numerical grid, Characteristic equations, Initial and boundary conditions.
- Finite Difference Methods: Introduction, Terminology, Explicit Finite-Difference Schemes, Implicit Finite - Difference Schemes, Consistency, Stability.
- Two- Dimensional Flows: Numerical Solution, MacCormack Scheme, Gabutti Scheme, Artificial Viscosity, Beam and Warming Schemes.
- Numerical solution of Navier-Stokes equations, MAC Method, SMAC Method, SOLA-VOF Method.
- Special Topics: Reservoir Routing, Channel Routing, Aggradation and Degradation of channel.
The course details can be viewed at the NPTEL website here
Stochastic Hydrology: The objective of this course is to introduce the concepts of probability theory and stochastic processes with applications in hydrologic analysis and design. Modeling of hydrologic time series with specific techniques for data generation and hydrologic forecasting are dealt with and case study applications discussed. The course syllabus can be viewed at the NPTEL website here
Design of Hydraulic Structures: Structures that are constructed for the purpose of the utilisation of water or to contain the damages caused by water, occupy a position of special importance in human society. Although an introduction to this unique class of structure is available through the course on Water Resources Engineering, the present course discusses each of these structures in detail, with ample worked examples. Special reference is made, wherever possible, to relevant national and international standards and norms. The course covers the design aspects of the hydraulic structures meant for storage, diversion, conveyance and distribution of water apart from structures for river flow modification and control. Preliminary design aspects of hydropower structures are also included. Foundation considerations in the design of the structures are discussed for each structure. View the details of the course at the NPTEL website here
Ground Water Hydrology: The course by IIT, Guwahati has been designed to introduce groundwater hydrology to the graduate and undergraduate students of engineering colleges and universities. The course has altogether 45 lectures which cover all the aspects of groundwater hydrology, such as assessment, development and management. Example problems including its solution are incorporated for easy understanding of the physical and mathematical concepts of groundwater hydrology. Some real world example problems are also incorporated to give an idea about the complexities and challenges encountered during the modeling and management of groundwater processes. The contents include introduction to groundwater hydrology, role of groundwater in water resources system and management, movement of groundwater through saturated and unsaturated porous media, well hydraulics, groundwater management and groundwater transport process. View the syllabus of the course at the NPTEL website here
The course by IIT, Kharagpur on groundwater hydrology introduces the basic concepts, principles and application of the analysis and preliminary design of subsurface structures like wells for relevant components of the hydrologic cycle. It focuses on ground water availability/flow/storage/intermixing/investigation while simultaneously bringing out the advanced/relevant theories/practices/techniques of practical importance. The topics covered include introduction, occurrence and movement of ground water, advanced well hydraulics, pollution and quality analysis of ground water, surface/ sub-surface investigation of ground water, artificial ground water recharge, saline water intrusion in aquifers, modeling and management of ground water. The entire course material is quite useful for undergraduate and post graduate students, teachers and professionals. A number of selected problems are solved to clearly illustrate the concepts. View the details of the course at the NPTEL website here
Contaminant Transport in Natural and Manmade Systems: The course by IISc, Bangalore deals with the behavior of flow and transport in both natural systems such as rivers/lakes/groundwater systems and also in man-made systems such as channels and pipelines which carry drinking water. Water quality in these systems undergo changes due to various reasons such as advection, dispersion, chemical and biological reactions. Behavior of all these processes are dealt with along with their application on several types of problems using modeling approaches, numerical and analytical tools.View the details of the course at the NPTEL website here