Turbulent burst around experimental spur dike

Three-dimensional turbulent flow field was measured around an experimental spur dike by using a micro-acoustic Doppler velocimeter.Time fractions of turbulent burst events including outward interaction,ejection,inward interaction,and sweep were analyzed in each quadrant at the neighbor of the dike before and after the formation of scour hole.Over 80%of burst events near the bed have lower-order of magnitudes for both flat and scoured bed surfaces.Ejections and sweeps are prevalent before the local scour was initiated,and then outward interactions are dominant after the scour hole was formed.Conditional Reynolds stresses and high-order moments of turbulent velocities were analyzed along the thalweg.The magnitudes of u’-w’ pair were much larger than those of v’-vv’ pair in the scour zone.Among four burst events,ejections and sweeps are the higher order events contributing to the Reynolds stresses.Since sediment entrainment and transport are closely associated with turbulent bursts near bed,the development of scour hole greatly depends on the higher order event near the bed.     

Contributions of burst-sweep cycles to Reynolds shear stress over fluvial obstacle marks generated in a laboratory flume

This paper investigates the phenomena of turbulent bursting events,and to make a comparative study among the events in the scour geometry developed by short circular cylinders of fixed length with different diameters placed on the sand bed transverse to the flow.The distributions of turbulent kinetic energy(TKE),turbulent diffusion in both longitudinal and vertical directions at different locations of scour marks,and the contributions of burst-sweep cycles to the Reynolds shear stress are presented.     

Spatial variability of three‐dimensional Reynolds stresses in a developing channel bend

Experimental results of the mean flow field and turbulence characteristics for flow in a model channel bend with a mobile sand bed are presented. Acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) were used to measure the three components of instantaneous velocities at multiple cross sections in a 135° channel bend for two separate experiments at different stages of clear water scour conditions. With measurements at multiple cross sections through the bend it was possible to map the changes in both the spatial distribution of the mean velocity field and the three Reynolds shear stresses. Turbulent stresses are known to contribute to sediment transport and the three‐dimensionality inherent to flow in open channel bends presents a useful case for determining specific relations between three‐dimensional turbulence and sediment entrainment and transport. These measurements will also provide the necessary data for validating numerical simulations of turbulent flow and sediment transport. The results show that the magnitude and distribution of three‐dimensional Reynolds stresses increase through the bend, with streamwise‐cross stream and cross stream‐vertical components exceeding the maximum principal Reynolds stress through the bend. The most intriguing observation is that near‐bed maximum positive streamwise‐cross stream Reynolds stress coincides with the leading edge of the outer bank scour hole (or thalweg), while maximum cross stream‐vertical Reynolds stress (in combination with high negative streamwise‐cross stream Reynolds stress near the bend apex) coincides with the leading edge of the inner bank bar. Maximum Reynolds stress and average turbulent kinetic energy appear to be greater and more localized over the scour hole before final equilibrium scour is reached. This suggests that the turbulent energy in the flow is higher while the channel bed is developing, and both lower turbulent energy and a broader distribution of turbulent stresses near the bed are required for cessation of particle mobilization and transport. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Turbulent flow structures and geomorphic characteristics of a mining affected alluvial channel

Sediment mining in rivers may have a major impact on river geomorphology and research is required to quantify these impacts. In this research, experimental studies were conducted to analyse the morphological changes of channel bed and the turbulent characteristics of flow in the presence of mining. The channel bed profile shows erosion at the bank of the pit and that the erosion expands to the whole width of the channel and propagates downstream with time. The deposition of sediment occurs along the upstream edge of the pit and the depth of the pit decreases with time. Velocity reversal occurs at the central bottom of the pit related to a recirculation zone. Reynolds shear stress and the turbulent intensities become higher in the mining pit region and downstream of it as compared to the upstream section, causing a more rapid movement of bed particles. Analysis of the bursting phenomenon shows that the contribution of sweep and ejection events to the total Reynolds shear stress is more dominant over outward and inward interaction events. The dominance of the sweep event over ejection is observed at the near‐bed region for all the sections, but the depth range of dominance of sweep events in the pit and downstream of the pit is found to be more than the upstream. The increase in thickness is responsible for the increase in bed material transport. The increased sediment transport capacity at the mining pit and downstream of it caused the deformation and lowering of channel bed downstream. An empirical formulation of bedload transport for mining induced channels is derived from two different sized uniform bed materials. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Turbulent flow structures in alluvial channels with curved cross‐sections under conditions of downward seepage

Experimental investigations have been done to analyze turbulent structures in curved sand bed channels with and without seepage. Measures of turbulent statistics such as time‐averaged near‐bed velocities, Reynolds stresses, thickness of roughness sublayer and shear velocities were found to increase with application of downward seepage. Turbulent kinetic energy and Reynolds normal stresses are increased in the streamwise direction under the action of downward seepage, causing bed particles to move rapidly. Analysis of bursting events shows that the relative contributions of all events (ejections, sweeps and interactions) increase throughout the boundary layer, and the thickness of the zone of dominance of sweep events, which are responsible for the bed material movement, increases in the case of downward seepage. The increased sediment transport rate due to downward seepage deforms the cross‐sectional geometry of the channel made of erodible boundaries, which is caused by an increase in flow turbulence and an associated decrease in turbulent kinetic energy dissipation and turbulent diffusion.     

Conditional statistics of Reynolds shear stress in flow over 2D dunes in the presence of surface waves

This study presents the analysis of the velocity fluctuations to describe the conditional statistics of Reynolds shear stress in flow over two‐dimensional dunes in the presence of surface waves of varying frequency. The flow velocity measurements over the dunes are made using a 16‐MHz 3D acoustic Doppler velocimeter. The joint probability distributions of the normalized stream‐wise and vertical velocity fluctuations at different vertical locations are calculated in the trough region of a selected dune in quasi‐steady region of the flow. Third‐order moments of the stream‐wise and vertical velocity components over one dune length are also calculated throughout the flow depth for understanding the effect of surface waves on relative contributions to the Reynolds shear stress due to the four quadrant events. The structure of instantaneous Reynolds stresses is analysed using quadrant analysis technique. It has been shown that the contributions of second and fourth quadrant events to the Reynolds shear stress increase with increase in the frequency of surface waves. In fact, the largest contribution to turbulent stresses comes from the second quadrant. The cumulant discard method is applied to describe the statistical properties of the covariance term u′w′. Conditional statistics and conditional sampling are used to compare the experimental and theoretical relative contributions to the Reynolds shear stress from the four quadrant events. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Statistics and spectra of turbulence under different roughness in the near-neutral atmospheric surface layer

Accurate knowledge of the contacts between surface roughness and the resultant wind speed are important for climatic models, wind power meteorology, agriculture and erosion hazards especially on sand saltation in arid and semi-arid environments, where vegetation cover is scarce. In this study, synchronous measurements of three-dimensional wind speed below 5 m are carried out in three different surface roughness conditions in Minqin, China, and the difference in the turbulence statistics and the structure of the very large-scale motions (VLSMs) were revealed. The results show that the slope of the mean wind profile (MVP), the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and Reynolds stress increase with the surface roughness. The roughness seems to suppress the ejection events and the surface roughness will not only weaken the energy of the VLSMs, but also reduce the scale values of VLSMs near the wall. These influences may cause some changes regarding the dust transportation in streamwise and vertical directions during the sand and dust storm (SDS). That is, the decrease of the mean velocity near the ground will reduce the dust transportation in the streamwise direction and influence of the roughness on the ejection and sweep events will change the dust transportation in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the increase of roughness will weaken the scale and energy of VLSMs, which will lead to the decrease of the capacity of dust transportation. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow near a model spur dike with a fixed scoured bed

Three-dimensional flow velocities were measured using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter at a closely spaced grid over a fixed scoured bed with a submerged spur dike. Three-dimensional flow velocities were measured at 3,484 positions around the trapezoidal shaped submerged model spur dike. General velocity distributions and detailed near field flow structures were revealed by the measurement. Clear differences were revealed between flow over fixed flat and scoured beds. Strong lateral flows were the dominant cause of the observed local scour. Shear stresses were higher for the scoured bed than in the flat bed case. Decreasing rates of scour as the scour hole developed were attributed to increases in critical shear stress in the scour holes caused by the increase in the length and magnitude of adverse slopes associated with the two main scour holes.     

Effect of slope angle of an artificial pool on distributions of turbulence

Experiments were carried out over a 2-dimentional pool with a constant length of 1.5 m and four different slopes.The distributions of velocity,Reynolds stress and turbulence intensities have been studied in this paper.Results show that as flow continues up the exit slope,the flow velocity increases near the channel bed and decreases near the water surface.The flow separation was not observed by ADV at the crest of the bed-form.In addition,the length of the separation zone increases with the increasing of entrance and exit slopes.The largest slope angle causes the maximum normalized shear stress.Based on the experiments,it is concluded that the shape of Reynolds stress distribution is generally dependent on the entrance and exit slopes of the pool.Also,the shape of Reynolds stress distribution is affected by both decelerating and accelerating flows.Additionally,with the increase in the slope angle,secondary currents are developed and become more stable.Results of the quadrant analysis show that the momentum between flow and bed-form is mostly transferred by sweep and ejection events.     

Response of Reynolds stresses and scaling behavior of high-order structure functions to a water-worked gravel-bed surface and its implication on sediment transport

The aim of this experimental study is to investigate the interaction between turbulent flow and a gravelbed that mimics the actual roughness structures of a natural bed and its implication on sediment transport.In particular,the response of the Reynolds stresses and the role of intermittency to the bed roughness is the primary focus of the current study.To this end,the flow field,measured with an Acoustice Doppler Velocimeter (ADV),is thoroughly examined,considering the conditional Reynolds shea...     

Turbulent kinetic energy budget in a gravel-bed channel flow

The present experimental investigation focuses on the characteristics of near bed turbulence in a fully rough, uniform open-channel flow over a gravel-type bed. Due to bed topography small scale heterogeneity, the flow is not uniform locally in the near bed region and a double averaging methodology is applied over a length scale much larger than the gravel size. The double-averaged Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE) budget derived in the context of the present flow over a gravel bed differs from the TKE budget written for flow over a vegetation canopy. The non-constant shape of the roughness function measured in our gravel bed leads to an additional bed-induced production term which is null for vertical roughness elements, such as simplified vegetation elements. The experimental estimation of the terms of the TKE budget reveals that the maximum turbulent activity takes place away from the reference plane, near the roughness crests. However, within the interface sublayer the work of the bed induced velocity fluctuations against the Reynolds stress is of the same magnitude as the main turbulence production term. Consequently, the characteristics of the TKE budget have similarities with uniform flows over canopies and strongly differ from uniform flows over smooth and transitionally rough flows over sedimentlike beds.     

Shear velocity estimates in rough‐bed open‐channel flow

Shear velocity u_* is an important parameter in geophysical flows, in particular with respect to sediment transport dynamics. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of applying five standard methods [the logarithmic mean velocity profile, the Reynolds stress profile, the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) profile, the wall similarity and spectral methods] that were initially developed to estimate shear velocity in smooth bed flow to turbulent flow over a loose bed of coarse gravel (D₅₀ = 1·5 cm) under sub‐threshold conditions. The analysis is based on quasi‐instantaneous three‐dimensional (3D) full depth velocity profiles with high spatial and temporal resolution that were measured with an Acoustic Doppler Velocity Profiler (ADVP) in an open channel. The results of the analysis confirm the importance of detailed velocity profile measurements for the determination of shear velocity in rough‐bed flows. Results from all methods fall into a range of ± 20% variability and no systematic trend between methods was observed. Local and temporal variation in the loose bed roughness may contribute to the variability of the logarithmic profile method results. Estimates obtained from the TKE and Reynolds stress methods reasonably agree. Most results from the wall similarity method are within 10% of those obtained by the TKE and Reynolds stress methods. The spectral method was difficult to use since the spectral energy of the vertical velocity component strongly increased with distance from the bed in the inner layer. This made the choice of the reference level problematic. Mean shear stress for all experiments follows a quadratic relationship with the mean velocity in the flow. The wall similarity method appears to be a promising tool for estimating shear velocity under rough‐bed flow conditions and in field studies where other methods may be difficult to apply. This method allows for the determination of u_* from a single point measurement at one level in the intermediate range (0·3 < h < 0·6). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Near‐bed shear stress,turbulence production and dissipation in a shallow and narrow tidal channel

Near‐bed, highly resolved velocity profiles were measured in the lower 0.03 m of the water column using acoustic Doppler profiling velocimeters in narrow tidal channels in a salt marsh. The bed shear stress was estimated from the velocity profiles using three methods: the log‐law, Reynolds stress, and shear stress derived from the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). Bed shear stresses were largest during ebbing tide, while near‐bed velocities were larger during flooding tide. The Reynolds stress and TKE method gave similar results, while the log‐law method resulted in smaller bed shear stress values during ebbing tide. Shear stresses and turbulent kinetic energy followed a similar trend with the largest peaks during ebbing tide. The maximum turbulent kinetic energy was on the order of 1 × 10^{? 2} m²/s². The fluid shear stress during flooding tide was approximately 30% of the fluid shear stress during ebbing tide. The maximum TKE‐derived shear stress was 0.7 N/m² and 2.7 N/m² during flooding and ebbing tide, respectively, and occurred around 0.02 m above the bed. Turbulence dissipation was estimated using the frequency spectrum and structure function methods. Turbulence dissipation estimates from both methods were maximum near the bed (~0.01 m). Both the structure function and the frequency spectrum methods resulted in maximum dissipation estimates on the order of 4 × 10^{? 3} m²/s³. Turbulence production exceeded turbulence dissipation at every phase of the tide, suggesting that advection and vertical diffusion are not negligible. However, turbulence production and dissipation were within a factor of 2 for 77% of the estimates. The turbulence production and dissipation decreased quickly away from the bed, suggesting that measurements higher in the water column cannot be translated directly to turbulence production and dissipation estimates near the bed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of submerged flexible vegetation and solid structure bars on channel bed scour

The effects of different submerged obstacle longitudinal bars with different arrangement densities on the flow profile and morphology of a scour hole were investigated under clear water conditions. Acoustic Doppler velocimetry(ADV) data were applied to plot the vertical distributions of three-dimensional velocities and turbulent contours.The experimental results indicate that arrangement density(also can represent porosity),structural material(flexible or solid),and the sidewall effect are the main factors impacting turbulent kinetic energy and the morphology of scour holes.For flexible vegetation,the maximum turbulent kinetic energy near the bed surface increased with the arrangement density.For the same structure,the depth and the magnitude of the lateral expansion of the scour hole also increased with the arrangement density.The flexible vegetation reduced the depth of the scour hole because of deflection and arrangement density.The larger volumes of scour found in the upstream and middle sections of solid structures compare well to those in flexible vegetation.The deflection of porous flexible vegetation transported the turbulent kinetic energy downstream,reduced the turbulent kinetic energy near the sediment bed,and increased the stability of the bars.Flexible vegetation bars are able to protect the bank and the bed of a river under normal conditions,making them a good alternative design in the management and restoration of rivers.     

The influence of riparian vegetation on near‐bank turbulence: a flume experiment

Measurements from a fixed‐bed, Froude‐scaled hydraulic model of a stream in northeastern Vermont demonstrate the importance of forested riparian vegetation effects on near‐bank turbulence during overbank flows. Sections of the prototype stream, a tributary to Sleepers River, have increased in channel width within the last 40 years in response to passive reforestation of its riparian zone. Previous research found that reaches of small streams with forested riparian zones are commonly wider than adjacent reaches with non‐forested, or grassy, vegetation; however, driving mechanisms for this morphologic difference are not fully explained. Flume experiments were performed with a 1:5 scale, simplified model of half a channel and its floodplain, mimicking the typical non‐forested channel size. Two types of riparian vegetation were placed on the constructed floodplain: non‐forested, with synthetic grass carpeting; and forested, where rigid, randomly distributed, wooden dowels were added. Three‐dimensional velocities were measured with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter at 41 locations within the channel and floodplain at near‐bed and 0·6‐depth elevations. Observations of velocity components and calculations of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), Reynolds shear stress and boundary shear stress showed significant differences between forested and non‐forested runs. Generally, forested runs exhibited a narrow band of high turbulence between the floodplain and main channel, where TKE was roughly two times greater than TKE in non‐forested runs. Compared to non‐forested runs, the hydraulic characteristics of forested runs appear to create an environment with higher erosion potential. Given that sediment entrainment and transport can be amplified in flows with high turbulence intensity and given that mature forested stream reaches are wider than comparable non‐forested reaches, our results demonstrated a possible driving mechanism for channel widening during overbank flow events in stream reaches with recently reforested riparian zones. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geometry of obstacle marks at instream boulders—integration of laboratory investigations and field observations

Obstacle marks are instream bedforms, typically composed of an upstream frontal scour hole and a downstream sediment accumulation in the vicinity of an obstacle. Local scouring at infrastructure (e.g. bridge piers) is a well-studied phenomenon in hydraulic engineering, while less attention is given to the time-dependent evolution of frontal scour holes at instream boulders and their geometric relations (depth to width, and length ratio). Furthermore, a comparison between laboratory studies and field observations is rare. Therefore, the morphodynamic importance of such scour features to fluvial sediment transport and morphological change is largely unknown. In this study, obstacle marks at boulder-like obstructions were physically modelled in 30 unscaled process-focused flume experiments (runtime per experiment ≥ 5760 min) at a range of flows (subcritical, clear-water conditions, emergent and submerged water levels) and boundary conditions designed to represent the field setting (i.e. obstacle tilting, and limited thickness of the alluvial layer). Additionally, geometries of scour holes at 90 in-situ boulders (diameter ≥ 1 m) located in a 50-km segment of the Colorado River in Marble Canyon (AZ) were measured from a 1 m-resolution digital elevation model. Flume experiments reveal similar evolution of local scouring, irrespective of hydraulic conditions, controlled by the scour incision, whereas the thickness of the alluvial layer and obstacle tilting into the evolving frontal scour hole limit incision. Three temporal evolution phases—(1) rapid incision, (2) decreasing incision, and (3) scour widening—are identified based on statistical analysis of spatiotemporal bed elevation time series. A quantitative model is presented that mechanistically predicts enlargement in local scour length and width based on (1) scour depth, (2) the inclination of scour slopes, and (3) the planform area of the frontal scour hole bottom. The comparison of field observations and laboratory results demonstrates scale invariance of geometry, which implies similitude of processes and form rather than equifinality.     

Investigation of turbulence characteristics in channel with dense vegetation

In this experimental study,the turbulent flow in a channel with vegetation by using sprouts of wheat on channel bed was investigated.Two different aspect ratios of channel were used.An Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry was used to measure parameters of turbulent flow over submerged sprouts of wheat,such as velocity profiles.The log law and the Reynolds shear stress distribution were applied. Results indicate that the position of the maximum turbulence intensity superposes on the inflection point situated over the top of submerged vegetation cover.Quadrant analysis shows that near the vegetation bed,the sweeps and ejections appear to be the most dominant phenomenon,while far from the vegetated bed,the outward is dominant event.Results also show that the aspect ratio plays an important role on the contribution of the different bursting events for Reynolds stress determination.     

Effect of sill spacing and sediment size grading on scouring at grade‐control structures

Sequences of arti?cial steps are sometimes used to reproduce the natural step–pool morphology of high‐gradient streams. The depth, length and shape of the scour holes in gravel‐bed rivers can be predicted reasonably using recently developed formulae. However, the properties of the scour holes can sometimes be affected by the distance between structures. This effect is called ‘geometrical interference’ and leads to a reduction of the scour hole compared to its potential size. Geometrical interference may occur in sequences of arti?cial steps in high‐gradient torrents, where structures are sometimes built at distances of a few tens of metres apart, but may also apply to natural step–pool systems. In this paper, a series of tests have been conducted to determine the effect of bed sill spacing and sediment grading on the potential erosion by jets forming over the sills. A new formula is derived, applicable to high‐gradient streams (slope > 0·04), which can be applied to the special case of scour holes developed by interfering sills. Sediment size gradation, not accounted for in previous formulae, is found to have a signi?cant effect on the scour dimensions and is included in the new predictive formula. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of non-submerged boulder on flow characteristics – A field investigation

The effect of fully submerged boulders on the flow structure in channels has been studied by some researchers. However, many natural streams have bed material with boulders that are not fully submerged under water. In many natural streams, boulders cover between 1% and 10% of the area of the stream reach. The effect of non-submerged boulders on the velocity profile and flow characteristics is very important for assessing riverbed deformation. The objectives of this paper are to find the pattern of velocity distribution around a non-submerged boulder and to compare it with the classical studies on flow resistance and Reynolds stress distribution in open channels. Also, by considering the variation in the Reynolds stress distribution at different locations around a non-submerged boulder, the effect of a non-submerged boulder on the estimation of shear velocity and resistance to flow has been investigated. Results indicates that inside the scour hole caused by a non-submerged boulder in a river velocity distributions are irregular. However, velocity distributions are regular outside the scour hole. The presence of the boulder causes a considerable deviation of the Reynolds shear stress from the classic distribution, showing a non-specific distribution with negative values. The classical methods for calculating shear velocity are not suitable because these methods do not give detailed velocity and Reynolds stress distributions in natural rivers with a lot of boulders. Thus, the effect of a non-submerged boulder on the estimation of the resistance to flow by considering the variations in velocity and Reynolds stress distributions at different locations around a non-submerged boulder is important and needs to be studied in a natural river instead of just in laboratory flumes. The negative values in Reynolds stress distribution around a boulder indicate that the classical methods are unable to predict resistance to flow, and also show strong turbulence inside the scour hole where the complex flow conditions present ambiguous Reynolds stress distributions. In the current study, to obtain a reasonable estimation of parameters in natural rivers, the classical method has been modified by considering velocity and Reynolds stress distributions through the boundary layer method.     

Modelling time varying scouring at bed sills

In this paper a modelling approach is presented to predict local scour under time varying flow conditions. The approach is validated using experimental data of unsteady scour at bed sills. The model is based on a number of hypotheses concerning the characteristics of the flow hydrograph, the temporal evolution of the scour and the geometry of the scour hole. A key assumption is that, at any time, the scour depth evolves at the same rate as in an equivalent steady flow. The assumption is supported by existing evidence of geometrical affinity and similarity of scour holes formed under different steady hydraulic conditions. Experimental data are presented that show the scour hole development downstream of bed sills due to flood hydrographs follow a predictable pattern. Numerical simulations are performed with the same input parameters used in the experimental tests but with no post‐simulation calibration. Comparison between the experimental and model results indicates good correspondence, especially in the rising limb of the flow hydrograph. This suggests that the underlying assumptions used in the modelling approach are appropriate. In principle, the approach is general and can be applied to a wide range of environments (e.g. bed sills, step‐pool systems) in which scouring at rapid bed elevation changes caused by time varying flows occurs, provided appropriate scaling information is available, and the scour response to steady flow conditions can be estimated. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.