Hindered Settling of Silt
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 9
Abstract
Sediment particles smaller than 64 μm, with a noncohesive base mineral, are referred to as silt. The settling velocity of suspended sediment decreases with increasing concentration due to hindered settling effects. Compared with clay and sand, hindered settling of silt is poorly documented and understood. A formulation is proposed for the hindered settling of silt-water mixtures, derived from physical reasoning. The effect of silt on the mixture’s viscosity is addressed in particular. The formulation compares favorably with laboratory experiments on the settling of silt-sized sediment. This study shows that effective settling velocities can be derived from a single concentration time series measured within the settling mixture, provided that the sediment is initially homogeneously distributed.
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Acknowledgments
This work has been carried as part of the Sino–Dutch collaboration project Effects of Human Activities on the Ecomorphological Evolution of Rivers and Estuaries funded by the Netherlands Royal Academy of Sciences (KNAW) within the framework of Scientific Alliances between China and the Netherlands.
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Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 9 • September 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 1, 2013
Accepted: Mar 20, 2015
Published online: May 18, 2015
Published in print: Sep 1, 2015
Discussion open until: Oct 18, 2015
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