Design of Minimum Earthwork Cost Canal Sections

Though the minimum area section is generally adopted for canals,it is not the least earthwork cost section as it does not involve the cost of earthwork which varies with the excavationdepth. On account of complexities of analysis, explicit designequations for minimum earthwork cost canal sections has not available yet. In this investigation explicit equations and section shape coefficients for the design variables of minimumearthwork cost canal sections for triangular, rectangular, trapezoidal, and circular shapes have been obtained by applyingnon-linear optimization technique. Application of the proposeddesign equations along with the tabulated section shape coefficients results directly into the optimal dimensions andcorresponding cost of a least earthwork cost canal sectionwithout going through the conventional trial and error method of canal design.