Data Interpretation for In Situ Measurements of Cohesive Sediment Erosion
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 6
Abstract
Methods for interpreting data from in situ flume measurements of cohesive sediment dynamics are evaluated and a technique for estimating various erosion parameters using in situ measurements is proposed. There is currently a lack of uniformity in analysis techniques for cohesive erosion data collected in flumes and with in situ instruments and the proposed technique resolves some of these inconsistencies. The data set used in this study was derived from field experiments conducted with a straight benthic in situ flume in different aquatic environments in New Zealand. The experiments with stepwise increases in flow velocity revealed that peaks in the erosion rate at the beginning of each velocity step are most likely associated with heterogeneous bed structure, as transient hydrodynamic effects due to the experimental procedure were found to be insignificant. The field data showed an exponential decay of the erosion rate with time that is indicative of depth-limited erosion. These data are used to illustrate methods for the parameterization of the proposed semiempirical erosion equation, taking into account the time dependency of the erosion process.
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Acknowledgments
The research was conducted under Contracts CO1X0215 and C01X0307 from the Foundation for Research Science and Technology (New Zealand). R. Pridmore provided helpful advice and generous support to this project. The authors are grateful to S. McLean, C. Doscher, I. McEwan, M. Green, D. Goring, J. Walsh, A. Stokes, B. O'Brien, M. Duncan, and C. Chague-Goff for useful comments and suggestions during flume development. C. Grace, D. Gunn, J. Heilig, F. Munro, and C. Mason assisted with field measurements. NIWA Instrument Systems helped with flume instrumentation. The writers are grateful to three anonymous reviewers and the Associate Editor for helpful comments and suggestions.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 6 • June 2006
Pages: 581 - 588
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Oct 18, 2002
Accepted: Jun 10, 2005
Published online: Jun 1, 2006
Published in print: Jun 2006
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