EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON SEDIMENT DISTRIBUTION AT CHANNEL BIFURCATION

1 INTRODUCTION Bifurcations are typical features in alluvial rivers as well as in estuaries. In braided rivers confluence and bifurcation occur regularly (Fig.1). A bifurcation occurs when a river splits into two branches (Fig. 2). This happens when a middle bar forms in a channel or a distributary carries flow from the main river. In estuaries when the direction of tidal flow turns around an island, a confluence becomes bifurcation and vice versa. A braided river in the upstream end o…

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON SEDIMENT DISTRIBUTION AT CHANNEL BIFURCATION

This paper presents the experimental results on the distribution of sediments at channel bifurcation. The experiments have been conducted in a physical model of channel bifurcation. It consists of a straight main channel which bifurcates into two branch channels of different widths. The test rig is a mobile bed with fixed bank. Four different noses have been used to study the phenomenon. For each nose, three upstream discharges viz. 20 l/s, 30 l/s and 40 l/s have been employed. From the measured data, discharges and sediment transport ratios per unit width are calculated in the downstream branches. These data have been set to the general nodal point relation and a set of equations has been developed to describe the distribution of sediments to the downstream branches for different nose angles.