Effects of Lateral and Vertical Constrictions on Flow in Rough Steep Channels with Bedload
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 12
Abstract
Two-phase flows occurring at flow constrictions such as bridges or open sediment check dams are complex, especially for steep rivers with bedload transport. Dangerous bedload deposition and backwater effects may occur in steep mountain rivers at bridges. In contrast, sediment deposition is desirable at open check dams combined with sediment traps. For design purposes, the discharge and bedload capacity across these flow constrictions must be known. The energy losses, discharge capacity, and bedload transport capacity of vertical and lateral flow constrictions are experimentally studied in a rough, 2% inclined, trapezoidal channel. Both free surface and pressurized flow conditions, as caused by lateral and vertical flow constrictions, respectively, were analyzed because both may occur at bridges and check dams. The experiments demonstrate that the vertical flow constrictions cause a faster increase in the backwater depth, with increasing discharge, than lateral constrictions. The resulting upstream flow conditions can be described by the upstream Froude number, defined as a function of the constriction dimensions (height and width). The bedload transport capacity through the flow constriction decreases with the upstream Froude number. The practical relevance of the findings is illustrated by a design example of flow constrictions at open sediment check dams.
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Acknowledgments
This research is funded by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment within the Sediment and Habitat Dynamics project. Guillaume Piton (Irstea Grenoble, France) contributed within fruitful discussions to the research.
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Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 12 • December 2017
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©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 22, 2016
Accepted: Jun 23, 2017
Published online: Oct 12, 2017
Published in print: Dec 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Mar 12, 2018
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