Statistical Analysis of Concentration Records

A time-series analysis of continous records of total discharge concentration of bed material from tests in a laboratory flume defines experimental values of the mean statistical parameters (mean concentration, standard deviation of the concentration fluctuations, and mean spectral frequency) as well as the probability and spectral distribution functions. The mean concentration and standard deviation are closely related only to the Froude number of the flow, but the mean spectral frequency and the normalized spectra and probability functions exhibit additional variability that may be attributed to a combined influence of water temperature and flow variables. That the mean concentration was only about 1.6 times the standard deviation illustrates the extreme variability of concentration data.