Erosion of Cohesive Sediments: Resuspension, Bed Load, and Erosion Patterns from Field Experiments

New field data on cohesive sediment erosion is presented and discussed, with particular focus on partitioning the total erosion into resuspension and bed load. The data were obtained using a recently developed in situ flume of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of hydraulic engineering (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 133; no. 5; pp. 508 - 520
Main Authors Debnath, K, Nikora, V, Aberle, J, Westrich, B, Muste, M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Reston, VA American Society of Civil Engineers 01.05.2007
Subjects
Applied sciences
Buildings. Public works
Computation methods. Tables. Charts
Exact sciences and technology
Hydraulic constructions
Structural analysis. Stresses
TECHNICAL PAPERS
New Zealand
Bedform
In-situ tests
Sediment
Hydraulics
In situ test
Calibration
Plume
Experimental study
Sediments
Cohesive soil
Formulation
Cohesive soils
Flumes
Bed load
Computing method
Comparative study
Erosion
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Summary:New field data on cohesive sediment erosion is presented and discussed, with particular focus on partitioning the total erosion into resuspension and bed load. The data were obtained using a recently developed in situ flume of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand. The erosion rate is estimated from direct measurements of bed surface elevations by acoustic sensors, whereas resuspension rate is obtained using data on sediment concentrations measured by optical backscatter sensors. The bed- load contribution to the total erosion rate is evaluated from the conservation equation for sediments. To test repeatability, the data from the in situ flume are compared with those from a previous version of the flume. The results show that comparative studies of in situ flumes and standardized deployment procedures enable direct comparison of experimental data on cohesive sediment erosion. Overall, the data show that a commonly used assumption that the erosion rate is equal to the resuspension rate is not always valid as bed load plays a significant role in cohesive sediment erosion. The data also highlight the importance of clay content and other sediment physical characteristics in the sediment mixture.
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ISSN:0733-9429
1943-7900
DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2007)133:5(508)