TECHNICAL PAPERS
May 1, 1997

Characteristic Analysis of Turbid Underflows

Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 123, Issue 5

Abstract

Some analytical solutions are derived for the one-dimensional, vertically integrated, time-dependent equations describing turbid underflows. The system of equations is hyperbolic, therefore, the method of characteristics may be used to transform the partial differential equations to a system of ordinary differential equations, which may then be integrated for the solution. The resulting analytical solutions provide a valuable tool which may be used not only to verify a numerical method, but also to gain insight into the behavior of the equations. It is also shown that the two-dimensional equations cannot be transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations and therefore cannot be integrated exactly. However, the characteristic decomposition of the equations yields important information about the physics of the turbidity equations and also provides insight into the appropriate construction of numerical techniques for solving the multidimensional equations.

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Go to Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 123Issue 5May 1997
Pages: 420 - 431

History

Published online: May 1, 1997
Published in print: May 1997

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Authors

Affiliations

Scott F. Bradford
Doctoral Candidate, Dept. of Civ. and Envir. Engrg., Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.
Nikolaos D. Katopodes
Prof., Dept. of Civ. and Envir. Engrg., Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Gary Parker
Prof., Dept. of Civ. and Mineral Engrg., Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414.

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