Studies on the Application of Steady State Assumption in 1DV Model for the Estimation of Settling Velocity of Suspended Sediments in a Shallow Estuary

Settling velocity is one of the important parameters in sediment transport modeling of estuaries. The methods adopted for its determination vary from theoretical equations to experimental methods. The theoretical equation generally adopted in the 1DV model include assumptions in order to simplify the solution. It is generally assumed that either the condition is steady or the vertical diffusion is negligible. This study evaluated the relative importance of the two assumptions made for the estimation of settling velocity. Two approaches were adopted: unsteady and negligible vertical diffusion (NS-NVD) and steady with vertical diffusion (S-VD) to estimate the settling velocity. The Muthupet Estuary in the Coromandal coast of India was selected for the study. The S-VD approach estimated settling velocity fairly well at the two locations with appreciable vertical diffusion. The NS-NVD approach was observed to be superior for estimating settling velocity at shallow reaches of the estuary having low flow velocity. The calculated settling velocity was further applied in 1DV model to predict the suspended sediment concentration. The S-VD approach predicted suspended sediment concentration at those locations with appreciable vertical diffusion with an R² value of 0.82 against 0.67 for the NS-NVD approach. At the other shallow reach of the estuary with low flow velocity, the NS-NVD approach gave an R² value of 0.822 against 0.71 for the S-VD approach. The vertical diffusion was observed to play a secondary role at those locations which are shallow with a water depth of 0.6 m and with a low flow velocity of the order of 0.01 m/s. The study demonstrated that localized hydrodynamic conditions influence the method adopted for the estimation of settling velocity.