Behavior of Sediment Clouds in Waves
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 1
Abstract
The effects of regular surface waves on the descent of instantaneously released sediments were investigated experimentally. The detailed wave characteristics, including wave height (), wave period (), and wave phase of release, were controlled systematically through a wave synchronization system. The results showed that the sediment cloud was passively advected by the wave orbital motion, and there was no significant phase lag between the sediments and surrounding water particles. The motion of the center of mass and the growth rate of the sediment cloud averaged over four representative wave phases of release were found to be similar to those in a stagnant ambient condition. However, a shift (in the range of ) in the horizontal equilibrium position of the oscillatory motion was observed and could be related to the wave phase of release. A passive advection model was proposed to predict the motion of a sediment cloud in the wave environment by superimposing the wave orbital velocity onto the descent velocity of the sediment cloud induced by buoyancy excess. The prediction was found to be in reasonable agreement with the experimental data.
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Acknowledgments
This research project was funded by the Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF) through the Singapore–Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Center for Environmental Sensing and Modeling (CENSAM).
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Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 1 • January 2013
Pages: 24 - 33
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 23, 2011
Accepted: May 14, 2012
Published online: May 18, 2012
Published in print: Jan 1, 2013
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