Automated Sediment Erosion Testing System Using Digital Imaging

Abstract

Measurement of vertical profiles of the critical shear stress, τc, and the erosion rate, E, from the same undisturbed sediment core is crucial for modeling the resuspension of fine-grained natural sediments. The automated sediment erosion testing system (ASETS) was developed to determine profiles of τc and E with centimeter spatial (vertical) resolution in an undisturbed (Shelby tube) sediment core, whose surface was eroded by steady turbulent flow through a flume. The unique feature of ASETS is that it is a real-time imaging method that accurately determines the position of the core surface during erosion for both calculating the vertical profile of E and controlling a motor-driver system that automatically pushes up the core to maintain its surface flush with the flume bottom. Undisturbed, field cores were tested over a range of flow (average bed shear stress, τb) conditions. The amount of eroded sediment from both optical backscattering measurements and the imaging method were in good agreement, which validated ASETS. Measured vertical profiles of τc and E were similar to those reported in literature. E correlated well with (τb-τc)2, which agrees with previous results in literature.