Open-Channel Hydraulics [Hardcover]

Ven Te Chow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1959 | ISBN-10: 0070107769 | ISBN-13: 978-0070107762

Open-Channel Hydraulics, originally published in 1959, has been described as one of the best textbooks ever written. It's clear descriptions of timeless fundamental principles make Chow a classic. Anyone wanting to learn, to teach, and to work with water and fluids must own a copy. Open-Channel Hydraulics deals with the design for flow in open channels and their related structures. Covering both theory and practice, it attempts to bridge the gap that generally exists between the two. Theory is introduced first and is then applied to design problems. In many cases the application of theory is illustrated with practical examples. Theory is frequently simplified by adopting theoretically less rigorous treatments with sound concepts, by avoiding use of advanced mathematical manipulations, or by replacing such manipulations with practical numerical procedures. To facilitate understanding of the subject matter, the treatment is mostly based on the condition of one- or two-dimensional flow. The book deals mainly with American practice but also includes related information from many countries throughout the world. Material is divided into five main sections for an orderly and logical treatment of the subject: Basic Principles. Uniform Flow, Varied Flow, Rapidly Varied Flow, and Unsteady Flow. There are 67 illustrative examples, 282 illustrations, 319 problems, and 810 references. This classic textbook was the first English-language book on the subject in two decades. Open-Channel Hydraulics is a valuable text for students of engineering mechanics. hydraulics. civil. agricultural. sanitary. and mechanical engineering, and a helpful compendium for practicing engineers.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Ven Te Chow was a Professor of Hydraulic Engineering and led the hydraulic engineering research and teaching programs at the University of Illinois. Through many years of experience as a teacher, engineer, researcher, writer. lecturer, and consultant, he became an internationally recognized leader in the fields of hydraulics, hydrology and hydraulic engineering. Dr. Ven Te Chow authored two technical books and more than 60 articles and papers in scientific an engineering magazines and journals. He was a member of lAHR, ASCE, AGU, AAAS, SEE, and Sigma Xi, and had been Chairman of the American Geophysical Union's Permanent Research Committee on Runoff. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 680 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill College (June 1, 1959)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070107769
• ISBN-13: 978-0070107762
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic for a Reason, August 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Open-Channel Hydraulics (Hardcover)

A professor teaching my Open Channel Flow class stated that this book is widely regarded as "The Bible" of open channel hydraulics. After reviewing a library copy, I was so impressed with it that I bought one for myself. The text is written in a clear, concise language that is sorely lacking in other texts. His chapter on energy and momentum principles is especially good. Sure, it's an old text (1959) but 98% of this book is still relevant. There's a reason it still in print; engineers love it and continue to buy it!

Incidentally, I found the review of this book by Hubert Chanson to be at best, disingenuous. He rates the book with only one star (every other reviewer gave it 5 stars) while at the same time recommending a "better" text that he fails to mention he authored and is out of print! There's one in every crowd.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Classic Text, January 3, 2006

By 

David B. Thompson (Carson City, Nevada USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Open-Channel Hydraulics (Hardcover)

In the fall semester of 1980, I sat a class in the civil engineering department of the University of Missouri--Rolla on open channel hydraulics. The instructor used Chow's Open-Channel Hydraulics as the text. I was a dual-enrolled senior at the time and this course counted toward my graduate degree.

If it's possible to fall in love with an engineering textbook, I did -- with this one. I spent a lot of time with the text, both as a student, then later as a professional, then later yet as a teacher of young civil engineers. This has to be one of the best-written textbooks I've owned, ever. The writing is clear, lucid, and precise. Chow really knew his open channels, and it shows.

The text is clearly dated, hence the "classic reissues" monogram. The text contains material that is no longer useful, except in a historic sense. Much of the material presented on backwater-curve analysis is no longer used. Our computers are adept at applying the direct-step and standard-step methods (both topics are well-treated in the text), so the hand-computation methods are outdated. Furthermore, the technologies presented in the chapters describing unsteady flow in open channels are also dated because we have numerical computation methods more sophisticated than those available in the late 1950's.

Those topics are NOT what makes this an excellent textbook. It is the clear descriptions and derivations of fundamental principles that make Chow a classic. That material is timeless and remains the emphasis of my personal teaching of young engineers. Technologies change; fundamentals do not. For that reason alone I continue to use and recommend Chow's Open-Channel Hydraulics to my students and colleagues.

If I could have only one reference on open channels, this would be it. It is the book I return to and refer to whenever I need to know something about fundamental open channels. When I need newer technology, I go to the journal literature. But when I need to teach or review the fundamentals, I pick up my copy of Chow.

I want to affirm the comments of another reviewer that Chanson's review is subject to bias--he is the author of another open-channels text.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for hydraulic engineers, August 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Open-Channel Hydraulics (Hardcover)

This is the foundational text of modern open-channel hydraulics. All engineers should have a copy. The only negative review on this page (or that I have ever heard) is by an author (Hubert Chanson) of books which compete with this one.