Antoine de Chézy
French physicist and engineer (1718–1798)
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Antoine de Chézy (September 1, 1718 – October 5, 1798), also called Antoine Chézy, was a French physicist and hydraulics engineer who contributed greatly to the study of fluid mechanics and designed a canal for the Paris water supply.[1] He is known for developing a similarity parameter for predicting the flow characteristics of one channel based on the measurements of another, known today as the Chézy formula.[1] The Chézy equation is a pioneering formula in the field of fluid mechanics, and was expanded and modified by Irish engineer Robert Manning in 1889[1] as the Manning formula. The Chézy formula concerns the velocity of water flowing through conduits and is widely celebrated for its use in open channel flow calculations.[2] By the definition of open channel, the Chézy formula also applies to partially-full pipe flow.[3][4][5][6]
Hydraulics
Antoine de Chézy | |
|---|---|
Antoine de Chézy, ca. 1772–76, by Louis Jean Desprez, The Metropoltain Museum of Art | |
| Born | September 1, 1718 Châlons-en-Champagne, France |
| Died | October 5, 1798 (aged 80) Paris, France |
| Known for | Chézy formula |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics Hydraulics |
Chézy was born September 1, 1718, in Châlons-en-Champagne, France. Chézy graduated with honors from the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées and worked closely with Jean-Rodolphe Perronet, the first director of the school.[7] He contributed to a wide range of projects that we would describe today as civil engineering, including the construction of bridges, canals, and streets in Paris.[1][7] Chézy and Perronet were tasked to assess the magnitude of water flow that could be diverted from the Yvette River to improve the Paris water supply.[7] They sought to predict the flow of water in open channels based on analytical methods.[7] In this pursuit, Chézy built model channels on which he ran tests to determine the factors that influence flow in an open channel.[1][7] The famed Chézy formula continues to be used in open channel analyses today.[1] In 1798, he became Director of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Ponts-et-Chaussées after teaching there for many years.[6] Antoine de Chézy died October 5, 1798, in Paris after serving as director of the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées for less than one year.[8]
His son was Antoine-Léonard de Chézy (1773–1832), a famous orientalist.