Sediment Transport - why are predictions so poor?

• Natural river channels - mixed grain sizes

• Characterisation of grain size distributions - unimodal and bimodal
• Static and Dynamic Armouring
• Physical processes of sorting and grain sheltering and protrusion
• Methods to predict mixed grain size transport

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 Characterisation of River Sediment Size Distributions

ψ = grain size on psi scale

σ = standard deviation on psi scale
Sample Grain Size Distribution (with Extrapolation)
100

90 N
80
ψ = ∑ ψ i fi
70
i =1
Percent Finer

60
N
σ 2 = ∑ (ψ i − ψ ) fi
50 2
40
i =1
30

20 Dg = 2 ψ
10

0 σ g = 2σ
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10

Grain Size mm
Dg = geometric mean size
σg = geometric standard deviation ( ≥ 1)
Dg = 0.273 mm, σg = 2.17
Sediment is well sorted if σg < 1.6

Unimodal and Bimodal Grain Size Distributions

The fractions fi(ψi) represent a discretized version of the continuous function f(ψ), f
denoting the mass fraction of a sample that is finer than size ψ. The probability
density pf of size ψ is thus given as p = df/dψ.
1
0.9
The example to the left 0.8
f(ψ)
corresponds to a Gaussian 0.7
(normal) distribution with = -1 0.6
(Dg = 0.5 mm) and σ = 0.8 (σg = 0.5

1.74): 0.4
0.3 p(ψ)
1 ⎡ 1 ⎛ ψ − ψ ⎞2 ⎤ 0.2
p= exp⎢− ⎜ ⎟ ⎥
2π σ ⎣⎢ 2 ⎝ σ ⎠ ⎦⎥
0.1
0
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2

ψ
The grain size distribution is called D84
unimodel because the function p(ψ) has a Dg = D84D16 , σg =
D16
single mode, or peak.

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 Unimodal and Bimodal Grain Size Distributions

A sand-bed river is a river with a

characteristic size of surface
1
sediment (D50 or Dg) that is in the
sand range. 0.9

0.8 f(ψ)
A gravel-bed river has a 0.7
characteristic size that is in the range
0.6
of gravel or coarser material.
0.5
The grain size distributions of most 0.4
sand-bed streams are unimodal, and
0.3
can often be approximated with a
Gaussian function. 0.2 p(ψ)
0.1
Many gravel-bed river show bimodal 0
grain size distributions, as shown to -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
the upper right. Such streams show a ψ
sand mode and a gravel mode, often
with a lack of sediment in the grain
size (2 ~ 8 mm).

Laboratory experiments - gravel transport

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Laboratory Slot Type Sampler

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 Mobile and Static Armour – Vertical Effects

• surface armour layers are common in gravel bed

river
• gravel bed surface layer is coarser than the
substrate
• bed surface usually even coarser than the grain
size distribution of the mean annual load of
transported gravel.
• surface of a gravel-bed stream in equilibrium
must be coarser than the gravel load because
larger material is somewhat harder to move than
finer material.
• Static/mobile armours depend on upstream
sediment supply (amount and composition).

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 Equilibrium grain size distributions of sediment feed and
mobile armor at various sediment feed rates qbTo

100
nearly unarmored
surface layer
80 Feed
(distribution almost
0.01 m2/s
Percent finer

identical to that of 0.003 m2/s

60 sediment load) 0.001 m2/s
0.0003 m2/s
40 0.0001 m2/s
0.00001 m2/s
1e-6 m2/s
20
1e-8 m2/s
approaching static armor
0
1 10 100 1000
D mm

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n

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 Bedload Transport Rate Equations

Problems with excess shear stress relationships

Bedload Transport Rate Equations

Threshold of Motion
Shields (1936)
u(z)
Examine balance between fluid drag
forces (FD) and grain weight (W)
FD
FD
tan φ =
W

FD = τ D 2 k1 W
where τ = bed shear stress ( N / m 2 ), D = grain diameter , k 1 = empirical const .

πD 3
W = (ρ s − ρ )g k2
6
where ρ s = density of solid , ρ = density of water , g = gravity , k 2 = empirical const .

FD τ D 2 k1
tan φ = =
W πD 3
(ρ s − ρ )g k2
6
τ π tan φ
= =θ Shields No .
( ρ s − ρ ) gD 6 k1k 2

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 Shields Curve - Threshold of Motion

Shields Curve

Motion

No Motion

Shields Curve - with

data - note scatter -
and logarithmic axis

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Relative Protrusion P/d

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 Bedload Transport Rate Equations

Semi-Theoretical and Data Optimisation - Ackers and White 1973

Concept
Coarse sediment - BEDLOAD - men flow velocity (u)
Fine sediment - SUSUSPENDED - turbulence shear velocity(u*)
Three non-dimensional groups (Dgr,Fgr, Ggr)
1− n
⎡ ⎤
u n ⎢ U ⎥
Fgr = *
⎢ ⎥
gD( s − 1) ⎢ 32 log⎛ 10d ⎞ ⎥
⎢⎣ ⎜ ⎟
⎝ D ⎠ ⎥⎦

m
⎛ Fgr ⎞
Ggr = ⎜ − 1⎟
⎝ A ⎠

1
⎡ g ( s − 1) ⎤ 3
Dgr = D ⎢ ⎥
⎣ υ ⎦

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Bedload Transport Rate Equations

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Behaviour with grain size fractions

From Kirchner et al. (1990)

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Bed Layer Models

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