Measuring Bedload by a Hybrid Impact Plate System
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 6
Abstract
Accurate measurement of bedload is challenging, considering its spatial and temporal variability. Various indirect acoustic techniques are often used for estimating the bedload rate and total bedload mass. Estimating the grain size distribution for a bedload event of relatively short duration, taking the smaller bedload particles into account, is difficult. In the current study, an impact plate with two sensors, namely, an accelerometer and a geophone, is tested in a laboratory flume. Available bedload grains are sorted into different grain size classes, and two sets of experiments are conducted. Single-grain/multigrain particles and mixed-grain particles are considered in the single-class and multiclass experiments, respectively. Three different grain mixtures with variable fineness are fed to the plate in the mixed-grain experiment. The present setup can detect bedload grains from 2.36 to about 150 mm, which is an improvement over other indirect methods. A hybrid analysis methodology to predict the grain size distribution using signals from both sensors is developed. The grain size distributions (GSDs) are estimated with a maximum deviation of 22%, which is expected to improve further with data from longer bedload events.
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Data Availability Statement
All data or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) India, the Department of Science and Technology, India (IMPRINT Project), and Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar for extending their necessary support.
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© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 23, 2023
Accepted: May 28, 2024
Published online: Jul 27, 2024
Published in print: Nov 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Dec 27, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Bed loads
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Engineering mechanics
- Equipment and machinery
- Grain (material)
- Hybrid methods
- Laboratory tests
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials engineering
- Methodology (by type)
- Particles
- Plates
- Probe instruments
- River and stream beds
- River engineering
- Rivers and streams
- Static loads
- Statics (mechanics)
- Structural analysis
- Structural engineering
- Structural members
- Structural systems
- Tests (by type)
- Water and water resources
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