Probabilistic Modeling of Bed-Load Composition
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 130, Issue 2
Abstract
This paper proposes that the changes which occur in composition of the bed load during the transport of mixed-grain-size sediments are largely controlled by the distributions of critical entrainment shear stress for the various size fractions. This hypothesis is examined for a unimodal sediment mixture by calculating these distributions with a discrete particle model and using them in a probabilistic calculation of bed-load composition. The estimates of bed-load composition compare favorably with observations of fractional transport rates made in a laboratory flume for the same sediment, suggesting that the hypothesis is reasonable. The analysis provides additional insight, in terms of grain mechanics, into the processes that determine bed-load composition. These insights strongly suggest that better prediction methods will result from taking account of the variation of threshold within size fractions, something that most previous studies have neglected.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 130 • Issue 2 • February 2004
Pages: 129 - 139
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 19, 2001
Accepted: May 29, 2003
Published online: Jan 16, 2004
Published in print: Feb 2004
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