How Channel Inlets and Outlets Shift the Current
Off-centre entries, raised outlets, and the eddy formed above a bottom drain
Three short diagram notes examine how the placement of a channel's entry and exit deflects its flow. In the first (a, b), off-centre inlet and outlet sites draw the current away from the middle of the channel's width; in the second (c, d), raising or lowering the inlet and outlet changes the depth at which the current runs, when it ought to stay equally far from bank and bottom. The third poses a problem: if a parallel channel is given an outlet in its bed, an eddy forms above that outlet, and Leonardo asks about its nature. Small channel diagrams accompany each note down the right side of the page.
On this page
Off-centre inlets pull the current from midline
The varying positions of the water's entry and exit across a channel's width draw the current away from the universal middle of that width.
High or low openings change the current's depth
Raising or lowering the entry and exit alters the overall height of the current in the channel, which otherwise ought to run everywhere equally remote from both bank and bottom.
An eddy above a bottom outlet
If a parallel channel is given an outlet in its bed for a quantity of water, an eddy is generated above that outlet; Leonardo asks what the nature of such an eddy is.