Evaluating Different Methods for Determining the Velocity-Dip Position over the Entire Cross Section and at the Centerline of a Rectangular Open Channel

The velocity profile of an open channel is an important research topic in the context of open channel hydraulics; in particular, the velocity-dip position has drawn the attention of hydraulic scientists. In this study, analytical expressions for the velocity-dip position over the entire cross section and at the centerline of a rectangular open channel are derived by adopting probability methods based on the Tsallis and general index entropy theories. Two kinds of derived entropy-based expressions have the same mathematical form as a function of the lateral distance from the sidewall of the channel or of the aspect ratio of the channel. Furthermore, for the velocity-dip position over the entire cross section of the rectangular open channel, the derived expressions are compared with each other, as well as with two existing deterministic models and the existing Shannon entropy-based expression, using fifteen experimental datasets from the literature. An error analysis shows that the model of Yang et al. and the Tsallis entropy-based expression predict the lateral distribution of the velocity-dip position better than the other proposed models. For the velocity-dip position at the centerline of the rectangular open channel, six existing conventional models, the derived Tsallis and general index entropy-based expressions, and the existing Shannon entropy-based models are tested against twenty-one experimental datasets from the literature. The results show that the model of Kundu and the Shannon entropy-based expression have superior prediction accuracy with respect to experimental data compared with other models. With the exception of these models, the Tsallis entropy-based expression has the highest correlation coefficient value and the lowest root mean square error value for experimental data among the other models. This study indicates that the Tsallis entropy could be a good addition to existing deterministic models for predicting the lateral distribution of the velocity-dip position of rectangular open channel flow. This work also shows the potential of entropy-based expressions, the Shannon entropy and the Tsallis entropy in particular, to predict the velocity-dip position at the centerline of both narrow and wide rectangular open channels.