Open Access

ARTICLE

Flow Structure and Short-Term Riverbed Evolution in Curved Flumes

Shuxian Gao¹, Yonggang Cao^2,*, Yuchuan Bai³, Yanhua Yang¹

1 Tianjin Research Institute for Water Transport Engineering, Ministry of Transport, Tianjin, China
2 South China Sea Marine Survey and Technology Center, State Oceanic Administration, Guangzhou, China
3 State Key Laboratory of Hydraulic Engineering Simulation and Safety, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

* Corresponding Author: Yonggang Cao. Email:

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2023, 19(2), 487-500. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2022.021149

Received 30 December 2021; Accepted 02 April 2022; Issue published 29 August 2022

Abstract

River bending is the major effect responsible for bed topography and bank changes. In this study, fluid velocity (measured by a three-dimensional Doppler advanced point current meter) and bed topographical data have been collected in 40 sections of an experimental model. The whole flume was composed of an organic glass bend, upstream and downstream water tanks, two transition straight sections, a circulation pump, and a connection pipeline. Each section has been found to be characterized by a primary circulation and a small reverse circulation, with some sections even presenting three more or more circulation structures. The minimum circulation intensity has been detected in proximity to the top of the curved channel, while a region with small longitudinal velocity has been observed near the concave bank of each bend, corresponding to the flat bed formed after a short period of scouring. The maximum sediment deposition and scour depth in the presence of a uniform distribution of living flexible vegetation within 10 cm of the flume wall have been found to be smaller than those observed in the tests conducted without vegetation.

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Keywords

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