Solids Distribution in Sediment-Laden Open-Channel Flow: Experiment and Prediction

Solid-liquid flow is studied in an open channel with a mobile bed at the condition of intense transport of solids. It is flow of high-concentrated mixture of coarse sediment and water over a plane surface of the bed eroded due to high bed shear. In the flow, solid particles are non-uniformly distributed across the flow depth. The flow develops a transport layer, adjacent to the the top of the bed, in which transported particles interact with each other. Results are presented of experimental investigations of the sediment-laden open-channel flow in a recirculating titling flume. The experiments included measurements (using ultrasonic techniques) of the distribution of solids velocity across the transport layer. The related distribution of solids concentration was deduced from the measured distribution of velocity and from other measured flow quantities. Since recently, a direct measurement of the solids distribution across the transport layer has been added to the experiments using a measuring technique svideo camera and a laser sheet. This work discusses results of combined measurements of the distributions of solids concentration and velocity in steady uniform turbulent flow for two lightweight solids fractions and various flow conditions (a broad range of the bed Shields parameter, discharge of solids, discharge of mixture, and the longitudinal slope of the bed). Furthermore, the camera-based measuring method and the deducing method for a determination of solids distribution are discussed and their results compared to show a good agreement in a majority of the test runs. The experimental results are compared with predictions of a recently developed bed-load transport model. Among other outputs, the model predicts the position of the top of the transport layer and the local velocity of sediment particles at this position. The presented model predictions agree well with experimental results based on the measured distibutions.