Analytical solution of specific energy and specific force equations: Trapezoidal and triangular channels

The specific energy and specific force equations have many applications in open-channel flow problems. At present, these equations have analytical solution only for rectangular channels. Trial and error procedure also graphical solutions are the existing methods of solving these equations. No analytical solutions are available in the technical literature for these equations in trapezoidal and triangular channels because it is presumed that these equations are quintic equations. The inversion of such equations consists of finding the roots of quintic equations. In the current study for a given channel geometry and discharge, the subcritical (supercritical) depth is analytically found in terms of the other supercritical (subcritical) depth. For this purpose, by considering physically meaningful domains, a quintic equation has been reduced to a quartic equation. In the next step, this quartic equation has been converted to a resolvent cubic equation and two quadratic equations. This research shows these steps clearly to reach an acceptable physical analytic solution for water depth in trapezoidal and triangular channels.