Transition between Two Bed-Load Transport Regimes: Saltation and Sheet Flow
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Volume 134, Issue 3
Abstract
In the saltation regime where bed-shear stress is low, bed load moves by sliding, rolling, and saltating along the bed, while in the sheet-flow regime where bed-shear stress is high, it travels by a combination of saltation and sheet flow. In this paper a theoretical model is developed for predicting the onset of the sheet-flow regime as shear stress increases. This model is based on a new variable representing the proportion of grains on the bed that are entrained as bed load. The model yields the equation in which , bed-shear stress; and value of at which grains begin to move. The equation shows that , which is the value of at the onset of the sheet-flow regime and is assumed to occur when , is around 0.5 with the exact value controlled by . For example, when , . The theoretical model is verified by performing a nonlinear regression analysis on data from 285 flume experiments. Additional flume experiments with a high-speed video (HSV) system result in consistent values of for the onset of the sheet-flow regime, which support the theoretical model. The HSV images further reveal that: (1) the sheet-flow regime is characterized by granular sheets or laminations; and (2) a zone of mixed saltation and rolling grains exists not only in the saltation regime but also in the sheet-flow regime.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Jornada Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program of the National Science FoundationNSF and the College of Arts and Sciences, University at Buffalo, which provided a grant to lease the high-speed video system. The writer thanks Professor Athol D. Abrahams for his support, helpful discussions, and comments on the manuscript. The suggestions of two anonymous reviewers have been greatly appreciated.
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Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 3 • March 2008
Pages: 340 - 349
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© 2008 ASCE.
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Received: May 19, 2005
Accepted: Aug 17, 2006
Published online: Mar 1, 2008
Published in print: Mar 2008
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