Measuring the geometry of a developing scour hole in clear-water conditions using underwater sonar scanning

A novel scanning technique using a rotating-head sonar profiler attached to a slider mechanism is presented as a means to directly measure the complex erosion and deposition features of local scour holes developing in clear-water conditions around vertical cylinders mimicking bridge piers.Extensive validation shows that the method produces high-density elevation surfaces to within≌1.5±2 mm accuracy in a quasi-non-invasive manner.This equates to 0.5±0.7% relative to the flow depth which sonar resolution is well known to scale with.Experimental data from three trials using different cylinder diameters indicate that monitoring of the entire scour hole over time(instead of only the maximum depth as is commonly done in laboratory experiments) can reveal important information about local scour evolution.In particular,results show that the scour-hole volume scales with the maximum scour depth cubed(V_(OL)-y_S~3) through three linear regimes.The transition to the third linear regime was found to represent a step change in the scour evolution process.Following the recent theoretical framework proposed by Manes and Brocchini(2015),this change,termed the crossover point,was interpreted as the point where the production of turbulent kinetic energy plateaus which corresponds to a stabilization in the erosive power of the horseshoe vortex.Scour development beyond the crossover point is characterised by a significant reduction in the rate of volumetric scour,relative to the steadily-increasing maximum scour depth.This overall reduction in volume-development is attributed to a balance between erosion from in-front of the pier and deposition around the sides using topography analysis.It is speculated that the existence of the crossover point may help to identify the characteristic length and time scales describing the evolution of local scour,which may be used for modeling purposes.     

Incipient sediment motion based on turbulent fluctuations

The current study modifies the representation of the Shields parameter using turbulent strength,i.e.the root-mean-square(rms) fluid velocity.Experiments were done under a steady,uniform flow using eight sediment sizes with particle Reynolds numbers(Rep) ranging between 1.0(fine sediment) and 183.4(coarse sediment).Utilising the peak rms horizontal(u) values,the critical Shields parameter,θ_c,was calculated and a trend similar to the well-established Shields curve was developed.The analysis was extended to the Shields curve obtained based on the critical shear velocity,Reynolds shear stress,and data extracted fro m the oscillating grid-turbulence experiments.Results show that turbulent fluctuations are crucial for the incipient sediment motion and are essentially better predictors than the commonly used critical shear velocity.A quadrant analysis to identify the role of turbulent bursting events in incipient sediment motion also was done where sweeps and ejections are dominant for finer and coarser sediment sizes,respectively.     

Experimental study on the effect of bottomless structure in front of a bottom outlet on a sediment flushing cone

One of the main problems in reservoirs is sedimentation which reduces the operating life of dams if a proper plan and analysis method are not in place.The techniques to manage sediment in reservoirs include several sustainable management techniques that route sediment through or around the reservoir.One of the main economical methods in arid and semi-arid regions is pressurized flushing using moderate drawdown of the water level of the reservoir to evacuate sediment deposited behind dams.In the current study,the effect of a new structure called a dendritic bottomless extended(DBE)outlet structure at three angles of 30°,45°,and 60°
on pressurized flushing efficiency was investigated.Consequently,45 experiments were designed for three discharge rates (Qo),three sediment levels(Hs),four types of structure,and a no-structure condition(reference test).The results indicated that the DBE structure with a 30°angle between the branches,a sedimentary dimensionless index of Hs/Do=4.59,and a flow dimensionless index of Qo=/√gD05=1:43(where g is the acceleration of gravity and Do is the diameter of the bottom outlet)lead to 10-fold increase in the sediment flushing cone dimensions and sediment removal efficiency compared to the results of the reference test.Finally,according to a statistical analysis of the results,a dimensionless equation for calculating the sediment flushing cone dimensions was developed for the tested sediment characteristics.     

Multifractal features of the particle-size distribution of suspended sediment in the Three Gorges Reservoir,China

The Three Gorges Reservoir(TGR)in China is the largest hydroelectric project in the world,but the threat of sediment affecting ecological sustainability of the reservoir is a topic of concern.Sediment particlesize distribution(PSD)is informative in understanding sediment transport dynamics and biochemical functions.It is,therefore,important to quantitatively characterize the distribution of sediment particles.In the current study,fractal theory is applied to determine the PSD of suspended sediment in the TGR.The results show that the volumetric fractal dimension(D_v)exhibits a significant seasonal difference(p<0.05),reflecting sediment source and hydrodynamic sorting control the granularity of suspended sediment in the TGR.More specifically,suspended sediment particles are coarser in the wet season than in the dry season for the Yangtze River,and the opposite is true for the Ruxi River,an important tributary.The generalized dimension spectrum,D(q)-q,and multifractal singularity spectrum,f[α(q)]-α(q),were calculated for each suspended sediment sample.Thereafter,the parameters,D(0),D(1),D(2),α(0),Δα(q),andΔf[α(q)],were determined to characterize the PSD.As a result,the coarser suspended sediment during the wet season is characterised by a more complex PSD pattern,with a wider range of particle sizes,greater heterogeneity,and greater homogeneity of distribution over the measurement interval.However,the multifractal structure of the PSD of suspended sediment is more complex during the dry season than during the wet season,with higher local dispersion and variability.The findings of the current study highlight that multifractal analysis provides important insight for understanding the PSD of suspended sediment in the TGR.