Double-average characteristics of sediment motion in one-dimensional bed load

The sediment transport process on a flat bed was investigated experimentally, with reference to the relationship between the average solid discharge and the concentration and velocity of the moving grains. The instantaneous values of the quantities were measured and, therefore, it was possible to quantify the contribution of the temporal fluctuations of concentration and velocity to the resulting average sediment transport rate. Recognizing that the sediment transport process is an episodic phenomenon, an intermittency factor was defined and its contribution to the solid discharge, typically implicit in earlier formulations of the sediment flux, was highlighted. Conceptual analyses of the spatial scale dependence of the quantities were also made.     

Estimators of alluvial bed load transport

The equilibrium stream represents a compromise between three tendencies: (i) to maximize grain size, (ii) to maximize quantity of bed load transported, and (iii) to minimize bed shear stress (which represents, among other things, water discharge).     

Bed load transport by bed form migration

A theoretically-based methodology is presented for the determination of bed load transport from high-resolution measurements of bed surface elevations for steady-state or developing dunes. The methodology is based on the general form of the Exner equation for sediment continuity and requires information on the distribution of sediment volume concentration as well as the migration velocity of bed layers. In order to determine layer speeds, a new method based on cross-correlation analysis of elevation slices is proposed. The methodology is tested using artificially-created data as well as data from a physical model and from a flume study of developing bed forms. The analyses show the applicability of the method to determine bed load transport without the need to introduce assumptions about the form of the migrating surface. It is shown that predicted transport rates match measured or theoretical transport rates for steadily moving bed forms of an arbitrary shape. The method can also be used to predict transport rates over deforming bed forms, with the reasons for potential deviations between predicted and measured or theoretical transport rates for deforming bed forms identified and discussed. It is further shown that a simplified bulk-surface approach, that is relatively straightforward to apply and in which it is assumed that bed-layer velocity is constant with depth, gives results that are comparable to analyses based on determined bed-layer velocity variation with depth.     

Suspended load in flows on erodible bed

Steady state suspended-load of sediment transported in flow over erodible beds usually is treated by the advection-diffusion approach, though in recent years, it is being treated as a two-phase flow phenomenon incorporating kinetics of sediment particles. Among the advection-diffusion approaches, Rouse＇s equation is the well-known, although a number of researchers in later periods have attempted to improve it by modifying the mixing length concept taking into account other aspects. In this paper, the advection-diffusion approach and associated logarithmic law of flow velocity are revisited. It is concluded from the logarithmic law that the Reynolds shear stress is a linear function of height above the bed, which reduces to bed shear stress in the case of a long horizontal channel. As a consequence, it is shown that the volumetric concentration of sediment is best approximated by the sum of two power laws of height above the bed. An equation is derived for the suspended-load transport rate in terms of elementary functions.     

Neural network prediction of bed material load transport

Abstract

Bed material load, which comprises bed load and suspended load, has been extensively studied in the past few decades and many equations have been developed, but they differ from each other in derivation and form. If a process can be related to various flow conditions on a general basis, a proper understanding of bed material load movement can be ascertained. As the process is extremely complex, obtaining a deterministic or analytical form of it is too difficult. Neural network modelling, which is particularly useful in modelling processes about which knowledge of the physics is limited, is presented here as a complimentary tool for modelling bed material load transport. The developed model demonstrated a superior performance compared to other traditional methods based on different statistical criteria, such as the coefficient of determination, Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient and discrepancy ratio. The significance of the different input parameters has been analysed in the present work to understand the influence of these parameters on the transport process.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis

Citation Kumar, B., 2012. Neural network prediction of bed material load transport. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (5), 956–966.     

A reappraisal of the Engelund bed load equation

Abstract

Many bed load transport equations have been developed from differing standpoints. The Engelund equation has been selected for scrutiny since, although it accords well with experimental data in general, it has limitations under conditions of high bed load transport rates. The application of two phase flow theory has been used to derive an alternative “Engelund” equation which may be applied to both high and low transport rates.     

Total load transport in gravel bed and sand bed rivers case study:Chelichay watershed

Field experiments were conducted on total load transport in the Chelichay River Basin,a mountainous catchment (1,400 km~2) located in north eastern of Iran,to evaluate total load formulas including four gravel bed rivers and a sand bed river(Qaresoo River).Gravel bed rivers in Chelichay River Basin can be grouped into two types;steep slope rivers with high shear values(Chehelchay River and Khormaloo River) and mild slope rivers with low shear values(Narmab River and Soosara River).Two depth integrating suspended load samplers(DH-48 and D-49),and two bed load samplers(Helley-Smith and BLSH) were used to measure total load.The performance is tested of 8 total load transport formulae including 4 macroscopic and 4 microscopic methods.A systematic and thorough analysis of 59 sets of data collected from sand bed river indicate that Yang and Engelund and Hansen reach to the better results, and from four gravel bed rivers confirmed that the methods of Karim and Kennedy and Engelund and Hansen yields the best results for steep slope rivers,and the methods of Einstein and Bijker are ranked highest in gradual slope rivers.     

Graded and uniform bed load sediment transport in a degrading channel

Twenty runs of experiments are carried out to investigate non-equilibrium transport of graded and uniform bed load sediment in a degrading channel. Well-sorted gravel and sand are employed to compose four kinds of sediment beds with different gravel/sand contents, i.e., uniform 100%gravel bed, uniform 100% sand bed, and two graded sediment beds respectively with 53% gravel and 47% sand as well as 22%gravel and 78%sand. For different sediment beds, the experiments are conducted under the same discharges, thereby allowing for the role of sediment composition in dictating the bed load transport rate to be identified. A new observed dataset is generated concerning the flow, sediment transport and evolution of bed elevation and composition, which can be exploited to underpin devel-opments of mathematical river models. The data shows that in a degrading channel, the sand greatly promotes the transport of gravel, whilst the gravel considerably hinders the transport of sand. The promoting and hindering effects are evaluated by means of impact factors defined based on sediment transport rates. The impact factors are shown to vary with flow discharge by orders of magnitude, being most pronounced at the lowest discharge. It is characterized that variations in sand or gravel inputs as a result of human activities and climate change may lead to severe morphological changes in degrading channels.     

Coarse bed load transport in an alluvial gravel bed stream,Dupuyer Creek,Montana

Coarse bed load was sampled in a gravel/cobble bed stream during two major floods in the snowmelt runoff season. The channel is characterized by high rates of bank erosion and, therefore, high rates of sediment supply and bed load flux. Peak discharge reached four times bank‐full, and bed load was sampled at flows 0·7–1·7 times bank‐full. A large aperture bed load sampler (1 m by 0·45 m) captured the largest particles in motion, and specifically targeted the coarse bed load size distribution by using a relatively large mesh (32 mm or D₂₅ of streambed surface size distribution). Bed load flux was highly variable, with a peak value of 0·85 kg/s/m for the coarse fraction above 38 mm. Bed load size distribution and maximum particle size was related to flow strength. Entrainment was size selective for particles D₇₀ and larger (88–155 mm), while particles in the range D₃₀–D₇₀ (35–88 mm) ceased to move at essentially the same flow. Bed load flux was size selective in that coarse fractions of the streambed surface were under‐represented in or absent from the bed load. Painted tracer particles revealed that the streambed surface in the riffles could remain stable even during high rates of bed load transport. These observations suggest that a large proportion of bed load sediments was sourced from outside the riffles. Repeat surveys confirmed major scour and fill in pools (up to 0·75 m), and bank erosion (>2 m), which together contributed large volumes of sediment to the bed load. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantifying bed-related suspended load in gravel bed rivers through an analysis of the bedload-suspended load relationship

Suspended load transport can strongly impact ecosystems, dam filling and water resources. However, contrary to bedload, the use of physically based predicting equations is very challenging because of the complexity of interactions between suspended load and the river system. Through the analysis of extensive data sets, we investigated extent to which one or several river bed or flow parameters could be used as a proxy for quantifying suspended fluxes in gravel bed rivers. For this purpose, we gathered in the literature nearly 2400 instantaneous field measurements collected in 56 gravel bed rivers. Among all standard dimensionless parameters tested, the strongest correlation was observed between the suspended sediment concentration and the dimensionless bedload rate. An empirical relation between these two parameters was calibrated. Used with a reach average bedload transport formula, the approach allowed to successfully reproduce suspended fluxes measured during major flood events in seven gravel bed alpine rivers, morphodynamically active and distant from hillslope sources. These results are discussed in light of the complexity of the processes potentially influencing suspended load in a mountainous context. The approach proposed in this paper will never replace direct field measurements, which can be considered the only confident method to assess sediment fluxes in alpine streams; however, it can increment existing panel tools that help river managers to estimate even rough but not unrealistic suspended fluxes when measurements are totally absent. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Occurrence of bed load transport in the presence of stable clast

It is well-versed that transport occurrence is vital for in stream rehabilitation, river restoration and installment of sediment sampler on river beds. Current practice emulates the use of continuous pre-diction using reach-averaged approach. However, prediction of transport occurrence entails the use of binary model through the execution of logistic regression analysis. Bed load and turbulence data were physically measured at mountainous region with divergent surface bedform in its presence. The para-meterization and statistical approaches are treated in the similar fashion with multiple regression except for the test for model fit and model selection criterion. The parameters on near-bed turbulence char-acteristics at the entrainment threshold were assigned as independent variables containing 15 pre-dictors. Almost 80 models were generated by selecting the best possible combination in accordance with the statistical precaution of alleviating multicollinearity issue. It is postulated that the model containing shields stress in the form of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) at vertical direction and fractional time for second quadrant provides better estimation of potential location for greatest sediment-entrainment;hence a high possibility for transport occurrence.     

Response of sliding structures to earthquake support motion

To study the effectiveness of sliding supports in isolating structures from damaging earthquake ground motions, a mathematical model of a single degree of freedom structure supported on a sliding foundation and subjected to the N-S component of the El Centro 1940 earthquake is considered. Spectra for absolute accelerations, relative displacements, relative-to-ground displacements, sliding displacements and residual sliding displacements are evaluated for three mass ratios, four coefficients of friction and a damping of 5 per cent critical. It is observed that, for structures with periods less than 1-8 s, for the coefficients of friction considered, the suprema of relative-to-ground displacements, sliding displacements and residual sliding displacements are only of the order of 1–25 times the peak ground displacement. To study the response sensitivities, the spectra for absolute acceleration and sliding displacement of the 1949 Olympia earthquake (S86E component) are also presented. It is concluded that sliding supports can be quite effective in isolating structures from support excitations.     

Response of sliding structures to harmonic support motion

The problem of response of a single degree of freedom structure supported on a sliding foundation and subjected to harmonic support motions is considered. The non-linear governing equations of motion are derived. It turns out that these equations are linear in each sliding and non-sliding phase and can be solved in closed forms in each phase. The equations for evaluation of the beginning and ending times of different phases are also formulated and solved numerically. The response for different coefficients of friction and various levels of excitation is evaluated and presented graphically. It is concluded that sliding supports can be quite effective in isolating structures from support excitations.     

Effect of bed load supply on sediment transport in mountain streams

Mountain streams with their tributary torrents build the upper part of the fluvial network. They are important regarding the transfer of sediment from headwaters to lower basins. Channels are typically steep with wide grain size distributions, ranging from fine sand up to large boulders, and a stabilized bed surface. Mountain streams often are supply-limited with respect to mobile bed load, which needs to be addressed when bed load transport equations are applied to such streams. To better understand supply limitation, laboratory experiments highlighting the effect of bed load supply on incipient motion and bed load transport rate are discussed. Experimental tests were done in which fine bed load was supplied to a previously armored channel bed, with flow conditions ranging from one-third to twice the critical dis-charge for the bed surface. At flows not exceeding the critical discharge, the time series of the bed load transport rate at the downstream model boundary featured consistent patterns which are attributed to distinct phases: (i) a temporal lag, (ii) an equilibrium state, and (iii) a post-supply phase. Bed load transport occurred even at flows distinctly below that for incipient motion of the bed surface. But, with the mass of total bed load outflow approaching the supply amount, the mass did not exclusively consist of supplied grains. The coarser the supplied bed load, the more sediment was mobilized from the bed surface. At higher flows, processes differed. Total bed load outflow exceeded the supply amount and the break-up of the armor layer caused a refining of the bed surface.     

Influence of earthquake ground motion incoherency on multi-support structures

A linear response history analysis method is used to determine the influence of three factors: geometric incoherency, wave-passage, and local site characteristics on the response of multi-support structures subjected to differential ground motions. A one-span frame and a reduced model of a 24-span bridge, located in Las Vegas, Nevada are studied, in which the influence of each of the three factors and their combinations are analyzed. It is revealed that the incoherency of earthquake ground motion can have a dramatic influence on structural response by modifying the dynamics response to uniform excitation and inducing pseudo-static response, which does not exist in structures subjected to uniform excitation. The total response when all three sources of ground motion incoherency are included is generally larger than that of uniform excitation.     

In-plane response of two-story structures to near-fault ground motion

Linear and non-linear responses of a two-story structural model excited by near-source fault-normal pulse and fault-parallel displacement are investigated. For the considered linear system, the multi-component differential-motion effects amplify the first-story drifts 3.0–4.0 times relative to the excitation by synchronous horizontal ground motion only. The contribution of horizontal differential ground motion to the total drift is about two thirds, and the contribution of vertical and rocking differential ground motions is about one third. For the considered nonlinear system, the effects of vertical and rocking differential ground motions become more significant for the second-story drifts. The horizontal differential ground motion amplifies the first-story drifts, but the simultaneous action of horizontal, vertical, and rocking differential ground motions can amplify the first- and second-story drifts by more than 2.0 times relative to the drifts computed for uniform horizontal ground motion only.     

剪力墙结构对等效地震动输入的影响

采用ANSYS软件建立了考虑土-剪力墙结构相互作用的二维时域动力计算模型,分别考虑了不同土体、上部结构层数对等效输入的影响.根据计算结果,上述因素对等效输入的平动影响不大,但对基础的转动影响很大.特别地,桩基对基础的转动角位移影响很大.因此,分析土-结构相互作用的等效输入,应着重研究基础的转动输入.     

Simplification of strong ground motion considering inelastic responses of structures

Simplification of strong ground motions to 1 cycle sine waves was investigated from the elastic and inelastic earthquake response analyses and response analyses under sine wave input using single‐degree‐of‐freedom systems. Strong ground motions could be simplified to 1 cycle sine waves if large plastic deformations, with ductility factor more than 2, were assumed. This is because the approximate maximum responses from input sine waves are determined by the initial response cycle, due to period elongation and plastic energy dissipation of the systems. A sine wave whose acceleration amplitude is the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and whose period is that of an equivalent 1 cycle sine wave is proposed. The period of an equivalent sine wave is easily obtained from the elastic response acceleration spectrum of a seismic record. This means that the inelastic responses are approximately determined by the PGA and an equivalent 1 cycle sine wave period. Therefore, an equivalent 1 cycle sine wave period provides a single index to express the frequency characteristics of a strong ground motion. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.