The grain–fluid interaction as a self-stabilizing mechanism in fluvial bed load transport

A grain-scale model of fluvial bed load transport is described, with particular emphasis on the equilibrium between the saltating grains and the near bed flow, and its role in determining transport rate. The model calculates, explicitly, the modification of the velocity profile by the moving grains, together with the consequential reduction in surface fluid shear stress. As the surface fluid shear stress is reduced by the moving grains, so the entrainment rate decreases and the model reaches a steady state. The results provide insight into two important questions at a macroscopic level. First, they show that, in the absence of large static roughness, the dynamic roughness caused by the moving grains may be a significant contributor to flow resistance. Secondly, the model indicates the manner in which transport may be limited by a combination of the transport capacity of the flow and the availability of sediment for entrainment. Only in the case of high sediment availability does the fluid shear stress acting at the surface approach the critical entrainment value, reproducing the behaviour suggested by Bagnold (1956 ) and Owen (1964 ). This suggests that prediction formulae based on this assumption only describe the bed load transport system under particular conditions.     

Threshold for particle entrainment into suspension

ABSTRACT Laboratory observations regarding the limit conditions for particle entrainment into suspension are presented. A high‐speed video system was used to investigate conditions for the entrainment of sediment particles and glass beads lying over a smooth boundary as well as over a rough bed. The results extend experimental conditions of previous studies towards finer particle sizes. A criterion for the limit of entrainment into suspension is proposed which is a function of the ratio between the flow shear velocity and particle settling velocity. Observations indicate that particles totally immersed within the viscous sublayer can be entrained into suspension by the flow, which contradicts the conclusions of previous researchers. A theoretical analysis of the entrainment process within the viscous sublayer, based on force–balance considerations, is used to show that this phenomenon is related to turbulent flow events of high instantaneous values of the Reynolds stress, in agreement with previous observations. In the case of experiments with a rough bed, a hiding effect was observed, which tends to preclude the entrainment of particles finer than the roughness elements. This implies that, as the ratio between particle and roughness element sizes becomes smaller, progressively higher bed shear stresses are required to entrain particles into suspension. On the other hand, an overexposure effect was also observed, which indicates that a particle moving on a smooth bed is more prone to be entrained than the same particle moving on a bed formed by identical particles.     

Sensitivity of incipient particle motion to fluid flow penetration depth within a packed bed

A discrete element method is applied to a three‐dimensional analysis related to sediment entrainment on a micro‐scale. Sediment entrainment is the process by which a fluid medium accelerates particles from rest and advects them upward until they are either transported as bedload or suspended by the flow. Modelling of the entrainment process is a critically important aspect for studies of erosion, pollutant resuspension and transport, and formation of bedforms in environmental flows. Previous discrete element method studies of sediment entrainment have assumed the flow within the particle bed to be negligible and have only allowed for the motion of the topmost particles. At the same time, micro‐scale experimental studies indicate that there is a small slip of the fluid flow at the top of the bed, indicating the presence of non‐vanishing fluid velocity within the topmost bed layers. The current study demonstrates that the onset of particle incipient motion, which immediately precedes particle entrainment, is highly sensitive to this small fluid flow within the topmost bed layers. Using an exponential decay profile for the inner‐bed fluid flow, the discrete element method calculations are repeated with different fluid penetration depths within the bed for several small particle Reynolds numbers. For cases with slip velocity corresponding to that observed in previous experiments with natural sediment, the predicted particle velocity is found to be a few percent of the fluid velocity at the top of the viscous wall layer, which is a reasonable range of velocities for observation of incipient particle motion. This method for prescribing the fluid flow within the particle bed allows for the current discrete element method to be extended in future studies to the analysis of sediment entrainment under the influence of events such as turbulent bursting. Additionally, predictions for the slip velocities and fluid flow profile within the bed suggest the need for further experimental studies to provide the data necessary for additional improvement of the discrete element method models.     

Fine particle deposition to initially starved,stationary, planar beds

Reported here are results from new flume experiments examining deposition and entrainment of inert, silt‐sized particles (with spherical diameters in the range from 20 to 60 μm) to and from planar, impermeable and initially starved beds underlying channel flows. Bed surfaces comprised smooth or fixed sand‐size granular roughness and provided hydraulically smooth to transitionally rough boundaries. Results of these experiments were analysed with a simple model that describes the evolution of vertically averaged concentration of suspended sediment and accommodates the simultaneous delivery to and entrainment of grains from the bed. The rate of particle arrival to a bed diminishes linearly, and the rate of particle entrainment increases by the 5/2 power, as the value of the dimensionless Saffman parameter S = u_*³/g’ν approaches a threshold value of order unity, where u is the conventional friction velocity of the turbulent channel flow, g’ is the acceleration due to gravity adjusted for the submerged buoyancy of individual particles and ν is the kinematic viscosity of the transporting fluid. This transport behaviour is consistent with the notion that non‐cohesive, silt‐sized particles can neither reach nor remain on an impermeable bed under flow conditions where mean lift imposed on stationary particles in the viscous sublayer equals or exceeds the submerged weight of individual particles. Within the size range of particles used in these experiments, particle size and the characteristic size of granular roughness, up to that of medium sand, did not affect rates of dimensionless arrival or entrainment to a significant degree. Instead, a new but consistent picture of fine‐particle transport is emerging. Silt‐sized material, at least, is subject to potentially significant interaction with the bed during intermittent suspension transport at intermediate flow speeds greater than the value required for initiation of transport (ca 20 cm sec^?1) but less than the value (ca 50 cm sec^?1) required by the Saffman criterion ensuring transport in fully passive suspension or, equivalently, ‘wash‐load’.     

床面附近泥沙运动的分析

基于水、沙两相的分相测量试验结果,分析了床面附近泥沙颗粒的脉动和力学特性,指出床面附近的泥沙运动有着特殊的力学机制:颗粒相具有较强的非湍流脉动,其产生的脉动应力对颗粒的运动起着重要作用。论述了沙粒在水流中从推移运动到扬起悬浮的物理过程,讨论了过去一些理论中存在的问题和不足,概括了泥沙颗粒在水流中从床面扬起的基本模式,运用两相流理论分析了沙粒在水流中扬起的动力学机理。根据颗粒运动的垂向动量平衡原理,对泥沙颗粒的垂向浓度分布规律作了新的分析解释。证实了除浓度梯度之外,颗粒相的垂向脉动强度梯度也是泥沙扩散的重要扩散势,进一步揭示了悬移质浓度垂线分布存在两种类型的内在机理。     

河流动力学进展

从流域产沙、床面形态及河床阻力、泥沙输移、河流形态及其演变、工程泥沙、河流模拟、泥沙测验和环境泥沙等八个主要方面评述了河流动力学研究的内容、方法和现状,分析了存在的主要问题,讨论了未来可能引起关注的若干课题.     

泥沙起动概率的高速摄影测量方法

为了通过实验测量泥沙起动概率,基于封闭槽道内开展的泥沙起动实验,系统论述了基于高速摄影的起动概率测量方法所涉及的起动概率定义、相机采样频率、图像处理方法、起动比例与运动比例的关系等关键问题.根据泥沙在水流紊动猝发作用下起动的物理机制,定义实测起动概率为单个紊动猝发周期内,从一定面积床面上冲刷外移的泥沙比例.根据推移质运动概念模型,提出高速图片拍摄间隔应小于推移质运动的中间时间尺度,以捕获泥沙的每一次起动.在高速图像处理时,通过连续两帧图片之间的灰度差实现运动比例的无偏差提取.进一步分析表明,运动泥沙可处于起动、止动或滑翔状态,运动比例等于起动比例、止动比例和滑翔比例之和,起动比例与运动比例之比等于两张图片之间的时间间隔除以推移质运动的中间时间尺度.基于上述关键技术,将高速摄影测量方法用于泥沙起动概率的测量,结果表明,临界起动水流条件时,床沙处于少量起动现象,对应的临界起动概率与窦国仁所推导的2.28%接近.     

Sediment distribution and depositional processes along the fluvial to marine transition zone of the Mekong River delta,Vietnam

The area of coastal rivers with a combination of fluvial, tidal and wave processes is defined as the fluvial to marine transition zone and can extend up to several hundreds of kilometres upstream of the river mouth. The aim of this study is to improve the understanding of sediment distribution and depositional processes along the fluvial to marine transition zone using a comprehensive dataset of channel bed sediment samples collected from the Mekong River delta. Six sediment types were identified and were interpreted to reflect the combined action of fluvial and marine processes. Based on sediment‐type associations, the Mekong fluvial to marine transition zone could be subdivided into an upstream tract and a downstream tract; the boundary between these two tracts is identified 80 to 100 km upstream of the river mouth. The upstream tract is characterized by gravelly sand and sand and occasional heterolithic rhythmites, suggesting bed‐load supply and deposition mainly controlled by fluvial processes with subordinate tidal influence. The downstream tract is characterized by heterolithic rhythmites with subordinate sand and mud, suggesting suspended‐load supply and deposition mainly controlled by tidal processes with subordinate fluvial influence. Sediment distributions during wet and dry seasons suggest significant seasonal changes in sediment dynamic and depositional processes along the fluvial to marine transition zone. The upstream tract shows strong fluvial depositional processes with subordinate tidal influence during the wet season and no deposition with weak fluvial and tidal processes during the dry season. The downstream tract shows strong coexisting fluvial and tidal depositional processes during the wet season and strong tidal depositional processes with negligible fluvial influence during the dry season. Turbidity maxima are present along the downstream tract of the fluvial to marine transition zone during both wet and dry seasons and are driven by a combination of fluvial, tidal and wave processes.     

The partitioning of the total sediment load of a river into suspended load and bedload: a review of empirical data

The partitioning of the total sediment load of a river into suspended load and bedload is an important problem in fluvial geomorphology, sedimentation engineering and sedimentology. Bedload transport rates are notoriously hard to measure and, at many sites, only suspended load data are available. Often the bedload fraction is estimated with ‘rule of thumb’ methods such as Maddock’s Table, which are inadequately field‐tested. Here, the partitioning of sediment load for the Pitzbach is discussed, an Austrian mountain stream for which high temporal resolution data on both bedload and suspended load are available. The available data show large scatter on all scales. The fraction of the total load transported in suspension may vary between zero and one at the Pitzbach, while its average decreases with rising discharge (i.e. bedload transport is more important during floods). Existing data on short‐term and long‐term partitioning is reviewed and an empirical equation to estimate bedload transport rates from measured suspended load transport rates is suggested. The partitioning averaged over a flood can vary strongly from event to event. Similar variations may occur in the year‐to‐year averages. Using published simultaneous short‐term field measurements of bedload and suspended load transport rates, Maddock’s Table is reviewed and updated. Long‐term average partitioning could be a function of the catchment geology, the fraction of the catchment covered by glaciers and the extent of forest, but the available data are insufficient to draw final conclusions. At a given drainage area, scatter is large, but the data show a minimal fraction of sediment transported in suspended load, which increases with increasing drainage area and with decreasing rock strength for gravel‐bed rivers, whereby in large catchments the bedload fraction is insignificant at ca 1%. For sand‐bed rivers, the bedload fraction may be substantial (30% to 50%) even for large catchments. However, available data are scarce and of varying quality. Long‐term partitioning varies widely among catchments and the available data are currently not sufficient to discriminate control parameters effectively.     

黄河下游河道边界条件影响输沙效率研究述评

如何高效输沙始终是黄河下游河道治理的一个根本问题,其中河道边界条件对泥沙输送具有重要的影响,这源于两者之间存在的耦合作用。对现有河道边界条件影响输沙效率相关研究进展及存在的问题进行了系统的总结与分析。河道边界条件不仅影响河道空间沿程输沙效率,而且河道边界条件的演化还决定了输沙效率的时间调整过程。这种影响在不同输沙计算方法(水文学方法、水动力学方法)中的表现形式有所不同,但反映物理本质相同,彼此之间存在一定的联系。能否反映水沙运动与河床变形之间的相互作用及耦合特性,这是判断输沙模拟有效性的关键所在。河道输沙与河床变形作为泥沙赋存状态同一问题的两个方面,提出了从河床演变学角度研究输沙效率的问题,为相关研究的开展提供思路与参考。     

Effects of short flexible seagrass Zostera noltei on flow,erosion and deposition processes determined using flume experiments

Innovative flume experiments were conducted in a recirculating straight flume. Zostera noltei meadows were sampled in their natural bed sediments in the field at contrasting stages of their seasonal growth. The aims of this study were: (i) to quantify the combined effects of leaf flexibility and development characteristics of Zostera noltei canopies on their interaction with hydrodynamics; and (ii) to quantify the role of Zostera noltei meadows in suspended sediment trapping and bed sediment resuspension related with changes in hydrodynamic forcing caused by the seasonal development of seagrasses. Velocity within the canopy was significantly damped. The attenuation in velocity ranged from 34 to 87% compared with bare sediments and was associated with a density threshold resulting from the flow‐induced canopy reconfiguration. The reduction in flow was higher in dense canopies at higher velocities than in less dense canopies, in which the reduction in flow was greater at low velocities. These contrasted results can be explained by competition between a rough‐wall boundary layer caused by the bed and a shear layer caused by the canopy. The velocity attenuation was associated with a two to three‐fold increase in bottom shear stress compared with unvegetated sediment. Despite the increase in near‐bed turbulence, protection of the sediment against erosion increased under a fully developed meadow, while sediment properties were found to be the main factor controlling erosion in a less developed meadow. Deposition fluxes were higher on the vegetated bed than on bare sediments, and these fluxes increased with leaf density. Fewer freshly deposited sediments were resuspended in vegetated beds, resulting in an increase in net sediment deposition with meadow growth. However, in the case of a very high leaf area index, sediment was mostly deposited on leaves, which facilitated subsequent resuspension and resulted in less efficient sediment trapping than in the less developed meadow.     

Initial motion and pivoting characteristics of sand particles in uniform and heterogeneous beds: experiments and modelling

Experiments are described in which the threshold conditions for sediment entrainment are measured for uniform and mixed sand beds beneath both steady and combined steady/oscillatory flows. Derived critical shear stresses are compared with the mixed bed entrainment model of Wiberg & Smith (1987). As predicted by the model, coarser grains within a sand mixture are entrained at lower bed shear stresses than progressively finer grains. Entrainment occurs generally at lower shear stresses than predicted by the model, especially under unidirectional flows. This may be the result of grains resting in unusually unstable positions during the experiments because the beds are ‘unworked’ at the start of the experiments. The model of Wiberg and Smith predicts threshold conditions more accurately for the mixed beds if the bed pivoting angle is correctly defined. The pivoting angles of the beds used here are measured using a new technique designed specifically for comparison with the threshold data. The measured angles repeat the finding that the coarse grains are more mobile than the finer fractions of a mixture. The results are poorly described by the pivoting angle model presented by Wiberg & Smith (1987) and are better represented by a model of the form Φ = αD^γ(D_i/D₅₀)^β (after 21 ), where α, γ and β are empirical constants. The threshold model is found to be more effective using the improved pivoting relationship. The entrainment of grains is found to be easier beneath unidirectional flows than combined flows, in accordance with previous authors’ findings. A suggestion that this result is caused by a change in the erosion mechanism beneath wave flows is made. Wave boundary layers may act as an extended laminar sublayer over bed grains and reduce the erosive efficiency of the overlying current flow. The results of the experiment have implications for the natural sorting mechanisms of sediment beds being deposited in near-threshold flows.     

Applications of grain-pivoting and sliding analyses to selective entrapment of gravel and to flow-competence evaluations

Models of sediment threshold by grain pivoting or sliding over underlying particles are examined in order to explore their application to evaluations of selective entrainment of gravel by flowing water. Of special interest is whether such process-based models provide satisfactory evaluations of flow competence and the movement of large clasts by floods. A detailed derivation is undertaken, focusing first on the fluid flow and forces at the particle level. The resulting threshold equation for the particle-level velocity is then modified to yield the mean entrainment stress for the flow as a whole. This approach is appropriate for considerations of selective entrainment of grains of varying sizes within a deposit, the sorting being due to their relative projection distances above the bed and the dependence of their pivoting angles on grain size and shape. The resulting threshold equations contain a number of coefficients (e.g. drag and lift) whose values are poorly known, but can be constrained by requiring agreement with the Shields curve for the threshold of grains in uniform deposits. If pivoting coefficients based on laboratory measurements with tetrahedral arrangements of particles are used in the models, smaller degrees of selective sorting are predicted than found in the field measurements of gravel entrainment. However, if reasonable modifications of those coefficients are made for expected field conditions, then the models yield good agreement with the data. Sliding models, where sorting is due entirely to projection distances of the grains above the bed, yield somewhat poorer agreement with the field data; however, the sliding models may have support from laboratory experiments on gravel entrainment in that the data and theoretical curves have similar concave trends. The existing measurements lack documentation of the mechanisms of grain movement, so it is not possible to conclusively determine the relative importance of grain pivoting versus sliding. In spite of such uncertainties, the results are encouraging and it is concluded that pivoting and sliding models for grain entrainment do have potential for field computations of selective entrainment and flow competence.     

Sediment Phosphorus Chemistry and Microbial Biomass along a Lowland New Zealand Stream

An evaluation of the distribution of P concentrations in streamflow, P fractions andthe microbial biomass P pool was made of bed and bank sediments along a lowlandstream in New Zealand. Agricultural intensification increased downstream. However,most P fractions decreased downstream (total P decreased from c. 400 to 250 mg kg^-1) in bed sediments, while P in streamflow remained relatively constant (generally < 0.005 mg l^-1) and sediment microbial P increased from 2 to 8 mg kg^-1. An investigation of P release from dried and rewetted sediments showed that solution P (CaCl2-P) increased, on average > 300%, and proportional to the size of the microbial biomass P pool before drying, except in sediments with much organic carbon (OC). When supplied with a P source (1 mg l^-1) and then simultaneously with a C source (glucose, 100 mg l^-1), all sediment behaved similarly and biotic sorption accounted for, on average, 27 and 34% of the total sediment uptake, respectively (maximum of 58%). The quantity of P taken up was related to the initial size of the microbial biomass P pool, and the availability of P as influenced by organic P complexes and OC. The sediment microbial biomass represents a transient, but small store of P could be useful to indicate bioavailable P inputs.     

单向流边界层泥沙起动规律

Shields曲线常用于表示泥沙起动的临界条件,基于边界层理论,对Shields曲线各个流区的线型进行了推证;考虑粘结力的作用,对Shields参数及Shields曲线进行了修正,并给出修正Shields曲线表达式;在此基础之上,从边界层角度重新阐述了Shields曲线。结果表明:Shields曲线在光滑紊流及层流区呈直线分布,在过渡区与阻力系数线型保持一致,在粗糙紊流区呈水平直线分布;修正后Shields曲线与原始Shields曲线在形式上保持一致,修正Shields曲线表达式与实测数据吻合较好,适用于粗、细颗粒泥沙起动条件的计算;Shields曲线事实上代表了Shields参数与沙粒周围绕流流态的关系,同一颗粒处于不同流区起动时,其起动切应力不同。     

Controls on sedimentation in distal margin palaeovalleys in the Early Tertiary Alpine foreland basin, south-eastern France

The influence of palaeodrainage characteristics, palaeogeography and tectonic setting are rarely considered as controls on stratigraphic organization in palaeovalley or incised valley systems. This study is an examination of the influence of source region vs. downstream base level controls on the sedimentary architecture of a set of bedrock-confined palaeovalleys developed along the distal margin of the Alpine foreland basin in south-eastern France. Three distinct facies associations are observed within the palaeovalley fills. Fluvial facies association A is mainly dominated by poorly sorted, highly disorganized, clast-to-matrix-supported cobble-to-boulder conglomerates that are interpreted as streamflood deposits. Facies association B comprises mainly yellow siltstones and is interpreted as recording deposition in an estuarine basin environment. Estuarine marine facies association C comprises interstratified estuarine siltstones and clean, well-sorted washover sandstones. The sedimentary characteristics of the valley fill successions are related to the proximity of depositional sites to sediment source areas. Palaeovalleys located proximal to structurally controlled basement palaeohighs are entirely dominated by coarse fluvial streamflood deposits. In contrast, distal palaeovalley segments, which are located several kilometres downstream, contain successions showing upward transition from coarse fluvial facies into estuarine central basin fines, and finally into estuarine-marginal marine facies. Facies distributions suggest that the fluvial deposits form wedge-shaped, downstream-thinning sediment bodies, whereas the estuarine deposits form an upstream-thinning wedge. The vertical stacking of fluvial to estuarine to marginal marine depositional environments records the fluvial aggradation and subsequent transgression of relatively small bedrock-confined river valleys, which drained a rugged, upland terrain. Facies geometries suggest that a fluvial sediment wedge initially prograded downvalley, in response to high bed load sediment yields. Subsequently, palaeovalleys became drowned during the passage of a marine transgression, with the establishment of estuarine conditions. Initial fluvial aggradation and subsequent marine flooding of the palaeovalleys is a consequence of the interaction of high local rates of sediment supply and relative sea-level rise driven by flexural subsidence of the basin.     

The origin and sources of loess‐like sediment in the Jinsha River Valley,SW China

The grain size of the loess‐like sediment in the Jinsha River Valley is essentially similar to that of typical loess, and it differs from that of the fluvial sediment in the Jinsha River area. We conclude that the loess‐like sediment is of aeolian origin, as is the loess of the Chinese Loess Plateau. The geochemical characteristics of the loess‐like sediment are similar to those of dammed lake and fluvial sediments in the same area, which is significantly different from those of the typical loess in NW China. The geochemical characteristics show that the loess‐like sediment originated from proximal materials. Combined with the grain‐size distribution pattern of the aeolian deposits, we suggest that the loess‐like sediment of the Jinsha River Valley originated from the dammed lake and fluvial sediments that accumulated in the valley. The local mountain‐valley wind circulation (especially the valley wind in winter and spring) provided the transport force for the loess‐like sediment. The presentation of the loess‐like sediment may indicate the appearance of the grassland and forest steppe and the beginning of the dry‐hot valley phenomenon.     

River tributaries as sediment sinks: Processes operating where the Tapajós and Xingu rivers meet the Amazon tidal river

The Amazon River is the largest fluvial source of fresh water and sediment to the global ocean and has the longest tidally influenced reach in the world. Two major rivers, the Tapajós and Xingu, enter the Amazon along its tidal reach. However, unlike most fluvial confluences, these are not one‐way conduits through which water and sediment flow downstream towards the sea. The drowned‐river valleys (rias) at the confluences of the Tapajós and Xingu with the Amazon River experience water‐level fluctuations associated not only with the seasonal rise and fall of the river network, but also with semidiurnal tides that propagate as far as 800 km up the Amazon River. Superimposed seasonal and tidal forcing, distinct sediment and temperature signatures of Amazon and tributary waters, and antecedent geomorphology combine to create mainstem–tributary confluences that act as sediment traps rather than sources of sediment. Hydrodynamic measurements are combined with data from sediment cores to determine the distribution of tributary‐derived and Amazon‐derived sediment within the ria basins, characterize the sediment‐transport mechanisms within the confluence areas and estimate rates of sediment accumulation within both rias. The Tapajós and Xingu ria basins trap the majority of the sediment carried by the tributaries themselves in addition to ca 20 Mt year^?1 of sediment sourced from the Amazon River. These findings have implications for the interpretation of stratigraphy associated with incised‐valley systems, such as those that dominated the transfer of sediment to the oceans during lowstands in sea level.     

An empirical model of subcritical bedform migration

The ability to predict bedform migration in rivers is critical for estimating bed material load, yet there is no relation for predicting bedform migration (downstream translation) that covers the full range of conditions under which subcritical bedforms develop. Here, the relation between bedform migration rates and transport stage is explored using a field and several flume data sets. Transport stage is defined as the non‐dimensional Shields stress divided by its value at the threshold for sediment entrainment. Statistically significant positive correlations between both ripple and dune migration rates and transport stage are found. Stratification of the data by the flow depth to grain‐size ratio improved the amount of variability in migration rates that was explained by transport stage to ca 70%. As transport stage increases for a given depth to grain‐size ratio, migration rates increase. For a given transport stage, the migration rate increases as the flow depth to grain‐size ratio gets smaller. In coarser sediment, bedforms move faster than in finer sediment at the same transport stage. Normalization of dune migration rates by the settling velocity of bed sediment partially collapses the data. Given the large amount of variability that arises from combining data sets from different sources, using different equipment, the partial collapse is remarkable and warrants further testing in the laboratory and field.