Laboratory flume studies on monochromatic wave-fine sandy bed interactions Part 2. Sediment suspensions

As reported in preceding paper (Part 1. Soil Fluidization), the observed phenomena of sediment suspensions above a fluidized sandy bed of Sand II (d₅₀ = 0.092 mm) under monochromatic wave actions are quantitatively investigated. The suspended sediment concentration (SSC) at a single point within 5 cm above the bed was synchronously measured with water waves and bed soil's pore pressures with an intrusive optical sediment-concentration probe. The measurements show that SSC initiates several wave cycles after initiation of bed soil's fluidized response and grows to a peak value mainly in the post-fluidization phase. Under similar wave loadings in the same test series, SSC is usually higher over a resonantly fluidized (RF) bed than over a non-resonantly fluidized (NRF) bed. On the contrary, only relatively low SCC can be identified above an unfluidized bed. The analyses illustrate that to certain extent, peak values of SSC are directly proportional to the thickness of fluidized soil layer d_f. Values of d_f usually decrease with repeated fluidized response, longer consolidation periods, and in deeper water depths. Once the fluidized responses initiate, pore pressures are generally much significantly amplified in both shallow fluidized soil layers and near below the fluidized layer, especially during the resonance event. The resulting depth gradients of dynamic pore pressure amplitudes in shallow layers are likely to have caused higher initial rises of SSC in a RF bed than in the subsequent NRF bed. Those in deeper layer should have contributed to sustain the fluidization state for further SSC increments. Immediately after termination of wave loading, re-deposited suspended sediments always result in a typical flat bed form. For a pre-fluidized bed, wave-induced drastic sediment suspensions are still obtainable very near above the bed with even a rather thin fluidized surface soil layer.     

Laboratory flume studies on monochromatic wave-fine sandy bed interactions: Part 1. Soil fluidization

Tests on two fine sandy soils (d₅₀ = 0.134 mm and 0.092 mm) under monochromatic wave actions were conducted in a wave flume of 37 m (L) by 1.2 m (H) by 1 m (W) to investigate characteristics of fluidized responses. The pore pressure measurements demonstrate only an unfluidized response in the coarser sandy bed, while in the finer one, two more feature fluidized responses. Fluidized responses are similarly classified into resonantly and non-resonantly fluidized according to Foda and Tzang [Foda, M.A., Tzang, S.-Y., 1994. Resonant fluidization of silty soil by water waves. J. Geophys. Res., 99-C10: 20463–20475.]. At a given depth, they are in principle defined by magnitude of fluidization ratio between excess pore pressure and static soil stresses and by the occurrence of a resonance event in the same test series. Inside the sandy bed, the excess pore pressures of a fluidized response are almost initiated simultaneously. Their magnitudes are essentially in static balance to the integrated weight of overlaying fluidized soil layers. Comparisons with previously reported data from a silty bed (d₅₀ = 0.05 mm) by Foda and Tzang have immediately indicated the importance of grain fraction. With less fine constituents, surface layers of the two sandy soils are less susceptible to fluidization. Resonance mechanism is evidently diminishing in a resonantly fluidized response, and re-fluidization becomes less potential in the subsequent tests. In a resonantly fluidized response, pore pressures at a given depth would start to resonantly grow from a fluidization ratio of 7–14%. In a few wave cycles, resonant growth subsides at a fluidization ratio of greater than 50%, which value increases with depth. The analyses clearly illustrate that fluidization tends to be initiated in surface layers and fast spreads into lower layers. Fluidization is dependent on finer constituting grains, smaller shear modulus G and permeability k and thinner boundary layers in bed soils. Measurements of previous silt tests are analyzed to show that lower limits of wave steepness on resonantly fluidizing a soil bed increase linearly with relative water depth ranging from 0.13 to 0.23. Data of present fine sand tests have preliminarily confirmed the linear trend. Over a fluidized sandy bed, similar vivid sediment suspensions were observed during wave generations as had been reported in silt tests.     

底床粉质土液化下波动水体含沙量垂向L型分布特征试验研究

根据现场大风浪条件下的实测资料,粉质土海岸水体中的含沙量沿垂向具有上部均匀、近底突增的分布特点,即呈L型分布特征。利用黄河三角洲粉质土作为试验底床开展波浪水槽试验研究,揭示了底床粉质土在波浪作用下产生液化情况的水体含沙量沿垂向存在L型分布特征。根据试验现象以及悬沙粒度变化,分析认为底部高含沙层的形成主要受粉质土液化后细颗粒析出的影响,上部水体中悬沙由湍流脉动维持。对粉质土海岸大风天气期间水体含沙量剧烈增加采用波致粉质土液化的观点进行了初步解释。     

波流作用下海底边界层沉积物再悬浮与影响因素研究

海底沉积物再悬浮及其分布取决于海洋水动力、沉积物类型与床面形态之间复杂的相互作用,准确地理解和确定沉积物再悬浮过程对于沉积物输运的研究具有重要的意义。本文在祥云湾海洋牧场典型海域开展现场原位观测,获取研究区波浪、海流及悬浮沉积物浓度数据;分析了波、流作用下海底边界层悬浮沉积物垂向分布特征,并探究了海洋水动力和床面形态对悬浮沉积物垂向分布的影响。结果表明,研究区波流之间的相互作用不显著,沉积物再悬浮受控于风暴浪作用,风暴浪作用下底床切应力可以达到沉积物临界切应力的10～15倍,沉积物的再悬浮滞后于风暴浪作用2～3 h。在波浪荷载微小的情况下,悬浮沉积物垂向分布呈现"I"型,波浪荷载下,悬浮沉积物垂向分布呈现幂指函数分布,表现为"L"型;床面形态随波、流作用而演化,影响沉积物的再悬浮过程,u_(?w)/u_(?c)=1.00可作为波浪和海流起主导控制作用的床面形态的判别依据,纯波浪荷载作用下的u_(?w)/u_(?c)显著高于波浪主控作用下,但二者之间的界线随着波浪荷载的增加而升高。     

Experimental investigations on developments of velocity field near above a sandy bed during regular wave-induced fluidized responses

Regular waves were applied in a laboratory flume to investigate the evolutions of the velocity fields near above a fine sandy bed (d₅₀=0.073 mm) during fluidized responses. Measurements of 2D velocity components and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) at 1 cm above the bed in addition to water surface displacements and sub-soil pore pressures were carried out with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter and an optical probe. The results have shown similar three typical soil responses including one unfluidized and two fluidized responses to previous report in other fine-grained soil beds. In the post- and pre-fluidized stages of a resonantly fluidized response, amplitudes of horizontal velocity component can be decreased by a maxima value of 50% while vertical components can be amplified up to 5 times larger. The developments of near-bed velocity field become less significant in consecutive non-resonantly fluidized responses. Particularly, the evolutions of the velocity field are closely dependent on the deepening of fluidized surface soil layers d_f and the characteristics of soil fluidization responses. The amplified vertical velocity components are clearly contradictory to the dissipated overloading waves near above a fluidized bed but are critical to much drastic sediment suspensions by interactions between overloading waves and fluidized bed soils.     

黄河三角洲海底土波致再悬浮研究

在现代黄河三角洲采集土样,制备室内水槽试验的底床,施加波浪作用,观测波致悬沙含量的变化规律,分析不同波高、作用时间对单位面积底床再悬浮量的影响,及波浪停止作用后悬浮泥沙的静水沉降规律。研究发现,在水深一定条件下底床再悬浮量呈现随波高增大而增大的特性,两者线性拟合的相关性很好;在一定波高的波浪连续作用下,约5 000~6 000个波周期底床再悬浮过程完成;在波浪作用初始阶段底层悬沙含量与中上层的相差很大,悬沙含量垂线结构呈斜线型,稳定阶段的悬沙浓度垂向结构呈准直线型,底层与表层含沙量比值为0.98~1.25,整个水层含量分布均匀;静水沉降过程中当悬沙含量大于1 g/dm3,悬沙含量(SSC)呈现出随时间指数衰减的规律,悬沙浓度与沉降通量呈线性关系。研究结果对认识黄河水下三角洲泥沙运移规律具有一定的科学意义。     

Experiments on the resuspension of estuarine sediments containing benthic diatoms

A laboratory system was used to test the effect of water flow on the resuspension of mud and sand sediments and, specifically, benthic diatoms from the Ems estuary, The Netherlands. Current velocities generated by two rotating cylinders in a cylindrical tank were determined by a small float and a laser Doppler velocimeter. At low angular velocities, the amount of suspended matter increased linearly with angular velocity and the float current velocity. However, at higher angular velocities, the increase in current velocity was less because of the strong turbulence: concomitantly, the current velocity boundary layer (δ) became thinner and the suspended matter concentration increased rapidly. The dominant diatom species from the sandy sediment were suspended in two distinct groups, one of which consisted of the species Navicula aequorea, Navicula salinicola, Ophephora martyi and Opephora pacifica, and was more exclusively bound to sand grains than the other. The benthic diatom species inhabiting the silty sediment did not show this difference. The most important shortcoming in the experiments was the inability to determine the radial and vertical velocity components. This precluded reliable calculations of the shear stress. The data presented emphasize the importance of finding a method to determine the shear stress under experiments and field conditions so that direct comparisons can be made. Despite this it is assumed that, just as under the experimental conditions discussed, under natural conditions in shallow waters resuspension starts at current velocities as low as ca. 10 cm s⁻¹.     

A multi-frequency Acoustic Concentration and Velocity Profiler (ACVP) for boundary layer measurements of fine-scale flow and sediment transport processes

The use of acoustics to measure sediment transport boundary layer processes has gained increasing acceptance over the past two decades. This has occurred through the development of increasingly sophisticated measuring systems and theoretical developments, which have enabled flow and suspended sediment parameters to be obtained from acoustic data with a high degree of accuracy. Until relatively recently, separate acoustic systems were used to measure flow and suspended sediment concentration. Over the past few years, however, the technology has become sufficiently advanced so that flow and sediment measurements can be integrated into a single system. This integration provides, quasi-instantaneous, non-intrusive, co-located, high temporal-spatial resolution measurements of benthic flow and sediment processes. Here the development of such an instrument, the Acoustic Concentration and Velocity Profiler (ACVP) is described. The theory underpinning its application is outlined, new approaches to velocity de-aliasing and suspended sediment inversion instabilities using multi-frequency capabilities are presented and the application of the system to sediment transport processes over a sandy ripple bed is illustrated. The observations clearly show the value of such instrumentation for studying the dynamical interaction between the bed, the flow and the sediments at and within the bottom boundary layer.     

Pore pressures in marine sediments: An overview of measurement techniques and some geological and engineering applications

Pore pressures in the seabed are extremely sensitive to any imposed stress because of the low permeabilities commonly exhibited by marine sediments. Consequently, the measurement of sediment pore pressures can be used to infer either the nature of the imposed stress (if the sediment properties are known) or the physical properties of the sediment (if the imposed stresses are known). Stresses of many different types may be exerted on the seabed either through hydrostatic forces (e.g. tidal and wave effects), or directly by lithospheric forces (e.g. tectonic and thermal forces). Several techniques for measuring in situ pore pressures in the upper few metres of sediments have been developed, and one instrument, the PUPPI, will operate autonomously in water depths up to 6000 m. Basic sediment properties and processes can already be inferred from pore pressure responses using this technique. However, further application and development could greatly enhance its capability, especially for long-term monitoring of sediment conditions. In this Chapter, pore pressure measurement techniques are briefly reviewed and problems are highlighted. An outline is given of some of the many ways in which pore pressure measurements could be used to gain further insight into geological processes and to determine some of the pertinent sediment properties more accurately for engineering applications.     

An experimental study of seabed responses around a marine pipeline under wave and current conditions

Experiments on three types of soil (d₅₀=0.287, 0.057 and 0.034 mm) with pipeline(D=4 cm) either half buried or resting on the seabed under regular wave or combined with current actions were conducted in a large wave flume to investigate characteristics of soil responses. The pore pressures were measured through the soil depth and across the pipeline. When pipeline is present the measured pore pressures in sandy soil nearby the pipeline deviate considerably from that predicted by the poro-elasticity theory. The buried pipeline seems to provide a degree of resistance to soil liquefaction in the two finer soil seabeds. In the silt bed, a negative power relationship was found between maximum values of excess pore pressure p_max and test intervals under the same wave conditions due to soil densification and dissipation of the pore pressure. In the case of wave combined with current, pore pressures in sandy soil show slightly decrease with time, whereas in silt soil, the current causes an increase in the excess pore pressure build-up, especially at the deeper depth. Comparing liquefaction depth with scour depth underneath the pipeline indicates that the occurrence of liquefaction is accompanied with larger scour depth under the same pipeline-bed configuration.     

波浪作用下海床孔压累积过程离散元数值模拟

海床土层在波浪的循环荷载作用下会逐渐累积孔压,降低土层的稳定性,并威胁海上工程。为了研究孔隙水压力的累积机制,本文提出离散元孔隙密度流方法,并改进研发离散元分析软件MatDEM,实现了海床沉积物孔压的累积过程模拟。基于现场试验装置及土体力学参数建立离散元模型,通过对比试验和数值模拟结果发现:对海床沉积物施加波浪荷载后,表层土体中产生较高孔压,并逐渐向深层传递;在循环波浪荷载作用下,土颗粒间孔压累积范围逐渐增加;当孔压累积时间足够长时,土层中孔压收敛于所施加最大荷载与最小荷载的平均值,此时若孔压达到初始有效应力,土体将发生液化,内部土颗粒成为再悬浮沉积物;在周期性波浪荷载作用下,土颗粒液化悬浮后发生移动,浅层颗粒位移量大,土体整体表现为圆弧形移动。     

东海陆架中北部沉积物粒度特征及其沉积环境

通过对东海陆架表层沉积物粒级组成、粒度参数、14C年龄和微体古生物组合的综合分析,绘制了东海陆架的沉积物类型分布图;运用Folk等(1970)沉积物分类方法将东海表层沉积物分成砂、粉砂、粉砂质砂、砂质粉砂、砂质泥5种类型,其中粉砂质砂分布最广,砂质泥分布最少;沉积物由陆向海粒度变粗,反映沉积过程中的物源和沉积动力控制作用。根据沉积环境及成因分析,可将东海陆架沉积分为3类:分别是长江口外席状砂沉积区、现代泥质沉积区和陆架中部砂质沉积区。长江口外砂质沉积是全新世冰消期晚期潮流作用及风暴潮流共同作用的产物,是高海平面以来太平洋潮波系统作用下的潮流沙沉积,沙波地貌仍在发生变化。现代泥质沉积区包括长江前三角洲沉积、浙闽沿岸流沉积和济州岛西南泥质沉积三个区域,不同沉积区的成因机制不同。陆架中部砂质沉积是末次冰盛期之后海侵作用下发育的砂质沉积物,在海侵的不同阶段中沉积物被冲刷改造,具有不等时性特征,沉积环境与现代陆架海洋环流的动力特征不一致,现代沉积作用较弱,仅接受悬浮体细粒沉积。     

Sediments in the East China Sea

This paper describes measurements of sediments during the 2000-2001 Asian Seas International Acoustic Experiment in the East China Sea. A number of techniques were used to infer properties of these sediments, including gravity and piston cores, subbottom profiling using a water gun, long-range sediment tomography, and in situ measurement of conductivity. Historical data from echosounder records and cores showed two regions of surficial sediments in the experimental area: a silty area to the west and a sandy area to the east. The tomography, cores, and water-gun measurements confirm the two surficial sediment regions seen in the historical data and also indicate that the subbottom structure at the experimental site consists of a thin (0-3 m thick) layer of sandy sediment directly beneath the sea floor. Below this layer, there is an extensive package of sediment with relatively uniform acoustic attributes. Core analysis shows that the surface sediment layer varies in compressional wave speed from a low near 1600 m/s in the west side of the experiment area to 1660 m/s in the east side of the experiment area. Long-range sediment tomography inversions show a similar spatial variation in the surface layer properties. In addition, the layer thickness as determined from tomography is consistent with the estimates from subbottom profiling.     

Fundamental response of pore-water pressure to microfabric and permeability characteristics: Eckernförde Bay

Ambient and dynamic in situ pore pressures were measured, and microfabric was examined in finegrained, shallow-water sediment in Eckernförde Bay, Germany. In situ permeabilities were calculated from piezometer data. Pore-water pressure decay times in sediments 0.5–1.0 m subbottom are indicative of clayey materials. Shallower sediments, although of similar classical grain size as the deeper sediments, have quicker decay times typical of silty marine sediment. Pore pressure response is a function of the microfabric, porometry, and sediment permeability. Aggregates (composed of fine-grained material, biota, and extracellular polymers) produce large pores and complex microstructure, resulting in effective permeabilities characteristic of silts.     

潮流场对渤、黄、东海陆架底质分布的控制作用

运用二维潮流数学模型，模拟了渤、黄、东海陆架的M2潮汐、潮流。结果表明，渤、黄、东海陆架的潮流有强弱之分以及往复流和旋转汉之别。在此基础上，计算了8种粒径沙的湖平均悬移输沙率、潮平均推移输沙以及相应的输沙率散度。根据输沙率散度的正负，划分了海底冲刷区与淤积区。根据不同粒径泥沙输沙率散度的相对大小，确定出海底的主要底质类型为砂质沉积、粉砂质泥沉积和以粉砂为主的混合沉积。计算结果表明，海底3种主要底负类型的分布格局与海底的冲淤格局以及与输沙率矢量的发散和聚合状况基本一致。在渤、黄、东海陆架，沙脊主要在强往复流区形成，沙席主要在强或较强的旋转流区形成，泥质沉积主要在弱潮流区形成。砂质沉积、泥质沉积以及混合沉积这3种主要底质类型并非孤立存在，而是受渤、黄、东海陆架潮流场控制而形成的一个完整的潮流沉积体系。渤、黄、东海陆架的砂质沉积与泥质沉积并非残留沉积，而是潮流沉积。在没有冷涡的情况下，黄、东海陆架的典型泥质沉积在弱潮流环境中同样可以形成，因此，认为冷涡并非黄、东海陆架典型泥质沉积形成的必要条件。     

Laboratory measurements of instantaneous sediment concentrationunder waves

An optical instrument which detects the light attenuation in sediment-laden flows has been developed to measure the instantaneous and time-average suspended concentration of cohesive sediments. In a flume test with natural muds, the device showed that the instantaneous sediment concentration oscillated with the waves but that the amplitude decreased rapidly with the distance above the mud bed. Strong sediment motion was found near the benthic boundary layer. This indicates a weak vertical turbulent diffusion in the upper portion of the water column in a pure wave erosion process. It is concluded that the probe design can be easily modified and the apparatus can be deployed for both laboratory and field measurements     

Sediment distribution and transport across the continental shelf and slope under idealized wind forcing

Resuspension, transport, and deposition of sediments over the continental shelf and slope are complex processes and there is still a need to understand the underlying spatial and temporal dynamical scales. As a step towards this goal, a two-dimensional slice model (zero gradients in the alongshore direction) based on the primitive flow equations and a range of sediment classes has been developed. The circulation is forced from rest by upwelling or downwelling winds, which are spatially uniform. Results are presented for a range of wind speeds and sediment settling speeds. Upwelling flows carry fine sediments (low settling speeds) far offshore within the surface Ekman layer, and significant deposition eventually occurs beyond the shelf break. However, coarser sediments quickly settle out of the deeper onshore component of the circulation, which can lead to accumulation of bottom sediments within the coastal zone. Downwelling flows are more effective at transporting coarse sediments off the shelf. However, strong vertical mixing at the shelf break ensures that some material is also carried into the surface Ekman layer and returned onshore. The concentrations and settling fluxes of coarse sediments decrease offshore and increase with depth under both upwelling and downwelling conditions, consistent with trends observed in sediment trap data. However, finer sediments decrease with depth (upwelling) or reach a maximum around the depth of the shelf break (downwelling). It is shown that under uniform wind conditions, suspended sediment concentrations and settling fluxes decay offshore over a length scale of order τ_s/ρf|w_s|, where τ_s is the wind stress, ρ the water density, f the Coriolis parameter, and w_s is the sediment settling velocity. This scaling applies to both upwelling and downwelling conditions, provided offshore transport is dominated by wind-driven advection, rather than horizontal diffusion.     

粉质土海底边界层动态演化过程波浪水槽实验

The objectives of this study are carried out a series of controlled large wave flume experiments using fine-grained sediment from the Huanghe River Delta, exploring the complete sequence of sediment behavior in the bottom boundary layer(BBL) during wave-induced liquefaction. The results show that:(1) The BBL in silty seabed is exposed to a progressive wave, goes through a number of different stages including compaction before liquefaction, sediment liquefaction, and compaction after liquefaction, which determines the range and thickness of BBL.(2) With the introduction of waves, first, the sediment surface has settled by an amount S(S=1–2 cm) in the course of wave loadings with an insufficient accumulation of pore water pressure. And a thin high concentration layer formed the near-bed bottom.(3) Once the liquefaction sets in, the liquefied sediment with an ‘orbital motion' and the sub-liquefied sediment form a two-layer-sediment region. The range of BBL extends downwards and stopped at a certain depth, subsequently, develops upwards with the compaction process. Meanwhile, resuspended sediments diffuse to the upper water column.(4) During the dynamics process of the BBL beneath progressive waves, the re-suspended sediment increment ranked as sediment liquefaction erosion before liquefaction compaction after liquefaction.     

Rapid wave-driven advective pore water exchange in a permeable coastal sediment

In this study we present in-situ measurements of pore water flow velocities in a coastal sandy sediment (permeability=3.65×10⁻¹⁰ m²). The advective pore water flows were driven by the interaction of oscillating boundary flows with sediment wave ripples, (amplitude=7 cm, wavelength=30 to 50 cm). The measurements were carried out in the Mediterranean Sea at 50 to 70 cm water depth during a phase of very low wave energy (max. wave amplitude=10 cm). An optode technique is introduced that permits direct pore water flow measurements using a fluorescent tracer. Near the sediment surface (0.5 cm depth) pore water reached velocities exceeding 40 cm h⁻¹. Thus, advective transport exceeded transport by molecular diffusion by at least 3 orders of magnitude. Based on the pore water velocity measurements and ripple spacing, we calculate that 140 L m⁻² d⁻¹ are filtered through the sediment. Pore water visualisation experiments revealed a flow field with intrusion of water in the ripple troughs and pore water release at the ripple crests. The wave-driven water flow through the sediment, thus, was directly linked to the wave-generated sediment topography, and its spatial dimensions. These results show that surface waves cause water filtration through permeable sediments at water depths smaller than half the wavelength. We conclude that surface gravity waves constitute an important hydromechanical process that may convert large areas of the continental shelves into expansive filter systems. Surface gravity waves thereby could affect suspended particle concentration and cycling of matter in the shelf.