Sediment Transport: New Approach and Analysis

TLDR

Sediment transport depends on fluid flow, with distinct dimensionless groupings for coarse and fine particles due to different transport modes. The study aims to develop a new analysis of flume experiment data and propose a method for handling transitional sediment sizes. The authors analyze flume data using these dimensionless groupings and suggest a method for transitional sediment sizes. The analysis confirms the theory, yielding predictive equations linking sediment flux to flow properties, and preliminary comparisons with natural river data show consistency.

Abstract

The relationship of sediment transport to fluid flow is considered. Physical reasoning leads to dimensionless groupings of the variables which are different for coarse sediment and for fine sediment, because of dissimilar modes of transport. This concept provides a basis for a new analysis of data from flume experiments, and a method for dealing with transitional sizes of sediment is suggested. The analysis of experimental data supports the theory put forward and predictive equations are derived which relate total sediment flux to measurable properties of flow. A preliminary comparison is made with observations from other sources, including natural rivers.