Journal of Hydraulic Engineering

In this paper, the results of laboratory transient tests concerning the interaction between a pressure wave and an in-line device are discussed. Transients are generated by means of a fast and complete closing of an end valve, and pressure measurements are carried out just upstream of the maneuver valve. The main effect of the device on the pressure time-history—hereafter referred to as pressure signal—is a sharp increase caused by the pressure wave reflection. Three experimental setups are considered, in which different in-line devices are installed (i.e., a ball valve, a butterfly valve, and different-sized orifices). The pressure signal is analyzed in the time domain, and a reliable evaluation of the device location is obtained by means of wavelet functions. Furthermore, on the basis of the value of the pressure increase, the status of the device can be determined; experimental results are synthesized in a dimensionless diagram. Finally, criteria for using the obtained results in other pipe systems are discussed.

Advances in bathymetric data acquisition have made it possible to explore alternative methods for measuring bed-load transport in rivers. The method validated herein consists of measuring rates of bed scour by using time-sequenced bathymetric data. The validation is performed in a laboratory flume by comparing the measured rates of bed scour with direct measurements of bed-load transport. The bed forms in the flume are dunes traveling at nearly constant speed. The shape of the dunes remains nearly constant. No suspended load is present. The ranges for Froude and Rouse numbers are 0.24–0.50 and 4.6–10.4, respectively. The study shows that under the given conditions, bed-load transport determined from time-sequenced bathymetric data is equally accurate to that determined from measurements of bed-form amplitude and speed. Obtaining bed-load transport from time-sequenced bathymetric data is often more expedient than traditional methods.

Bubble size distribution (BSD) plays a major role in transport and fate of gas or oil released in deepwater. However, no reliable method is available to estimate gas or oil BSD after a deepwater spill. Breakup and coalescence have been identified as key processes controlling BSDs in turbulent jets. The present work introduces bubble breakup and coalescence processes for deepwater gas or oil spill models. A population balance equation representing bubble volumes is used to model the evolution of bubble sizes caused by breakup and coalescence. Existing theories for bubble breakup and coalescence rates in bubble columns are adopted to deepwater plumes. The advantage of the present model is that the BSD is generated as a result of breakup and coalescence; and therefore, a predefined BSD is no longer necessary for simulations. The comparison of model-computed results with laboratory and field data shows a good agreement. Scenario simulations show that the seed diameter given to start computations affects only for a short distance from the release point. Simulations also show that bubble breakup and coalescence is important only during the early stages of the plume where turbulence is dominant. The importance of accounting for gas bubble breakup and coalescence in estimation of gas dissolution is also demonstrated.

Empirical data indicate that hydraulic geometry relationships for single-thread sand-bed rivers (i.e., rivers with median bed-material size between 0.062 and 0.50 mm) can be delineated such that bankfull width, bankfull depth, and channel slope are related in consistent ways to bankfull discharge. Such relationships ought to be the external expression of physical relationships intrinsic to sand-bed river dynamics. In this study, a back-calculation is performed to identify parameters (exponents and coefficients) for three relationships taken to be intrinsic to sand-bed rivers: (1) a generalized Manning-Strickler resistance relationship; (2) a relationship for channel-forming Shields number; and (3) a relationship for sand yield at bankfull flow. To back-calculate parameters for the physical relationships, first the hydraulic geometry relationships are expressed in suitable dimensionless form. Second, the physical relationships are expressed with coefficients and exponents that are analytically related to parameters in the hydraulic geometry relationships. Third, parameters from the hydraulic geometry relationships are used to calculate parameters for the physical relationships. The analysis yields the following results for the sand-bed rivers: (1) no physical basis exists for using an exponent of $1/6$ in the resistance relationship; (2) channel-forming Shields number decreases with particle Reynolds number, and thus grain size, in a consistent way; and (3) sand concentration at bankfull flow must decline with increasing bankfull discharge. Although each of these relationships could have been established independently on its own, in this study they have been obtained as the only conclusions consistent with the observed hydraulic geometry relationships and the proposed physical framework. The analysis also yields a useful, dimensionally homogeneous predictive relationship for bankfull discharge as a function of bankfull width, bankfull depth, bed slope, and bed-material median grain size.

Undular bores and shocks generated by dam-break flows or tsunamis are examined considering nonhydrostatic pressure and dispersive effects in one- and two-horizontal-dimensional space. The fully nonlinear Boussinesq-type equations based on a weakly nonhydrostatic pressure assumption are chosen as the governing equations. The equation set is solved by a fourth-order accurate finite-volume method with an approximate Riemann solver. Several typical benchmark problems such as dam-break flows and tsunami wave fission are tested in one- and two-horizontal-dimensional space. The computed results by the Boussinesq-type model are at least as accurate as the results by the hydrostatic shallow water equations. This is particularly evident near the steep front of the wave, where frequency dispersion can play an important role. The magnitude of this nonhydrostatic pressure and dispersive effect near the front is quantified, and the engineering implications of neglecting these physics, as would be done through the use of a hydrostatic model, are discussed.

This paper details the development of a method for subcritical flow modeling in channel networks by using the implicit finite-difference method. The method treats backwater effects at the junction points on the basis of junction-point water stage prediction and correction (JPWSPC). It is applicable to flows in both looped and nonlooped channel networks and has no requirement on the flow directions. The method is implemented in a numerical model, in which the Saint-Venant equations are discretized by using the four-point implicit Preissmann scheme, and the resulting nonlinear system of equations is solved by using the Newton-Raphson method. With the help of JPWSPC, each branch is computed independently. This guarantees the simplicity, efficiency, and robustness of the numerical model. The model is applied to two hypothetic channel networks and a real-life river network in South China. All the networks contain both branched and looped structures. The simulated results compare well with the results from literature or the measurements.

The relationship between leak outflow from a damaged pipe and flow condition inside the pipe plays a crucial role in pressurized pipe systems management. As an example, this relationship is used in leakage reduction techniques based on pressure control and in leak detection techniques based on inverse analysis. To explore the relationship between total head inside the pipe and leak outflow for a single leak in a polyethylene pipe, tests were carried out at the Water Engineering Laboratory of the University of Perugia. These tests point out that the viscoelastic nature of the pipe material gives rise to a hysteretic behavior of the investigated relationship, i.e., the outflow depends not only on the synchronous total head but also on the total head time history and variation rate.

Deflector structures used in many fish habitat rehabilitation schemes are frequently overtopped, yet few studies have examined the scour patterns created around submerged models. Furthermore, laboratory studies typically test smooth-surfaced structures, whereas those installed in natural rivers are generally made of logs or boulders. This study uses rough-surfaced paired deflectors to investigate the temporal evolution of scour for three overtopping ratios in identical approach flow conditions in a flume. Results show that maintaining identical discharge and raising the deflector height, which reduces the overtopping ratio (i.e., flow depth divided by structure height), generates increased depth and volume of scour next to the structures. The location of maximum depth and the rate of scouring with time is similar for the two highest deflectors (overtopping ratios of 1.22 and 1.83), but different for the lowest deflector model (overtopping ratio of 3.67). To improve the success rate of river restoration projects using in-stream structures, the overtopping ratio should be considered in equations that predict the scour depth evolution with time.