Nikuradse Roughness Height Derived from a Physically Based Model Applied to a River Channel with Dunes
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 4
Abstract
The Nikuradse roughness height for a river channel or, equivalently, the friction factor () or Manning’s coefficient, are parameters required to calibrate hydrodynamic models used for flood risk management. In general, modeling hydraulic roughness includes the contributions of skin friction, related to sediment grain size, and bed-form roughness, related to bed-form geometry. Frequently, bed-form resistance is larger than the resistance due to skin friction. An empirical approach has been presented in the literature to estimating bed-form roughness, which is widely used for engineering purposes. This contribution presents an alternative physically based formulation for dune roughness estimation. Flow resistance generated by the bed form is assumed to arise from the drag force exerted by the bed, based on depth-averaged flow quantities. The new formulation agrees with existing experimental laboratory results and new field data from the Tercero (Ctalamochita) River, Córdoba, Argentina.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge Professor Marcelo H. Garcia of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for the inputs regarding the use of other velocity profile (Christensen velocity profile) and Kevin Oberg (retired USGS) for the recommendations for ADCP data collection and a technical edit of this paper. The authors also acknowledge financial support [Grant BID PICT2019 02423 of Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (FONCyT) de la Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT)].
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 4 • July 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 10, 2023
Accepted: Jan 4, 2024
Published online: Mar 26, 2024
Published in print: Jul 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Aug 26, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Bed forms
- Channels (waterway)
- Coastal engineering
- Coasts, oceans, ports, and waterways engineering
- Design (by type)
- Dunes
- Engineering fundamentals
- Flow (fluid dynamics)
- Flow resistance
- Fluid dynamics
- Fluid mechanics
- Hydraulic engineering
- Hydraulic properties
- Hydraulic roughness
- Hydraulic structures
- Hydrologic engineering
- Hydrologic models
- Load and resistance factor design
- Load factors
- Models (by type)
- River and stream beds
- River engineering
- Rivers and streams
- Shores
- Structural design
- Water and water resources
- Waterways
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