Clogging of Fine Sediment within Gravel Substrates: Dimensional Analysis and Macroanalysis of Experiments in Hydraulic Flumes
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 8
Abstract
An understanding of the clogging of fine sediments within gravel substrates is advanced through use of dimensional analysis and macroanalysis of previously conducted clogging experiments in hydraulic flumes. Dimensional analysis via the Buckingham pi theorem is used to suggest that the dimensionless clogging depth can be potentially collapsed using the original and adjusted bed-to-grain ratios, i.e., ratio of substrate diameter to fine sediment diameter, substrate porosity, roughness Reynolds number, and Peclet number. Macroanalysis and statistical analysis is performed using 10 previously published studies that include a total of 146 different test conditions reporting noncohesive, fine sediment clogging, or deposition in porous gravel-beds with hydraulically rough turbulent open channel flow. Results suggest that the adjusted bed-to-grain ratio is a reliable predictor of the initiation of clogging with clogging occurring below 27 for the fine fluvial sediment clogging in a gravel bed substrate for hydraulically rough turbulent flow flumes considered. The original and adjusted bed-to-grain ratios show little influence on the depth of clogging once the lower threshold for bed filling is reached. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the bed-to-grain ratio is not used to predict the maximum depth of clogging. Rather, results suggest that the dimensionless clogging depth can be collapsed using the substrate porosity and roughness Reynolds number reflecting the impact of the pore water velocity distribution on the dispersion of fine sediment into the gravel substrate. The clogging depth results are used to estimate the clogging profile for fine sands in gravel substrate for the datasets.
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Acknowledgments
The anonymous reviewers, associate editor, and editor are thanked for their comments on a previous version of the paper, which helped to greatly improve the paper. The University of Kentucky, Department of Civil Engineering, is thanked for partial graduate student funding. The financial support of the research reported in this paper under National Science Foundation Award Nos. 0918856 and 0754888 is gratefully acknowledged.
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Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 8 • August 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 2, 2013
Accepted: Jan 28, 2015
Published online: Apr 24, 2015
Published in print: Aug 1, 2015
Discussion open until: Sep 24, 2015
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