scholarly journals Gravel threshold of motion: a state function of sediment transport disequilibrium?

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 685-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel P. L. Johnson

Abstract. In most sediment transport models, a threshold variable dictates the shear stress at which non-negligible bedload transport begins. Previous work has demonstrated that nondimensional transport thresholds (τc*) vary with many factors related not only to grain size and shape, but also with characteristics of the local bed surface and sediment transport rate (qs). I propose a new model in which qs-dependent τc*, notated as τc(qs)*, evolves as a power-law function of net erosion or deposition. In the model, net entrainment is assumed to progressively remove more mobile particles while leaving behind more stable grains, gradually increasing τc(qs)* and reducing transport rates. Net deposition tends to fill in topographic lows, progressively leading to less stable distributions of surface grains, decreasing τc(qs)* and increasing transport rates. Model parameters are calibrated based on laboratory flume experiments that explore transport disequilibrium. The τc(qs)* equation is then incorporated into a simple morphodynamic model. The evolution of τc(qs)* is a negative feedback on morphologic change, while also allowing reaches to equilibrate to sediment supply at different slopes. Finally, τc(qs)* is interpreted to be an important but nonunique state variable for morphodynamics, in a manner consistent with state variables such as temperature in thermodynamics.

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel P. L. Johnson

Abstract. In most sediment transport models, a threshold variable dictates the shear stress at which non-negligible bedload transport begins. Previous work has demonstrated that nondimensional transport thresholds (τ*c) vary with many factors related not only to grain size and shape, but also with characteristics of the flow and surrounding grains. Both a conceptual model and flume experiments suggest that τ*c should evolve as a function of local entrainment and deposition. Net entrainment preferentially removes more mobile particles while leaving behind more stable grains, gradually increasing τ*c and reducing transport rates. Net deposition tends to fill in topographic lows, progressively leading to less stable distributions of surface grains, decreasing τ*c and increasing transport rates. A new model is proposed for the temporal evolution of τ*c as a power-law function of net erosion or deposition, which shares some similarities with the Exner equation. Model parameters are calibrated based on flume experiments that explore transport disequilibrium. The τ*c-evolution equation is then incorporated into a simple morphodynamic model. The evolution of τ*c acts as negative feedbacks on morphologic change, while also allowing reaches to equilibrate to sediment supply at different slopes. Finally, τ*c is interpreted to be an important but nonunique state variable for channel morphology, in a manner consistent with the role that state variables such as temperature play in describing the evolution of thermodynamic systems.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiamei Wang ◽  
Marwan A. Hassan ◽  
Matteo Saletti ◽  
Xingyu Chen ◽  
Xudong Fu ◽  
...  

<p>Steep step-pool streams are often coupled to adjacent hillslope, directly receiving episodic sediment supply from mass movement processes such as landslides and debris flows. The response of step-pool channels to the variations in sediment supply remains largely unexplored. We conducted flume experiments with a poorly sorted grain-size distribution in an 8%-steep, 5-m long flume with variable width at the University of British Columbia, to study the effects of episodic sediment supply on channel evolution. After a conditioning phase with no feed, the channel was subjected to sediment pulses of different magnitude and frequency under constant flow discharge. High-resolution data of hydraulics, bedload transport, bed surface grain size, and channel morphology were collected every 10-20 minutes and an additional time at the end of each pulse.</p><p>In response to sediment pulses, we recorded an increase in bedload transport rates, channel aggradation, bed surface fining, and continuous step formation and collapse. In between pulses, bedload rates dropped by several orders of magnitude, net erosion occurred, the bed surface gradually coarsened, and steps became more stable. The small-magnitude high-frequency pulses caused smaller but more frequent spikes in bedload transport, bed surface evolution, and thus step stability. Instead, the large-magnitude low-frequency pulses cause larger changes but provided a longer time for the channel to recover. This suggests that in step-pool channels pulse magnitude is a key control on channel rearrangement, while pulse frequency controls how fast and strong the recovery is.</p><p>The frequency and stability of steps varied as a function of local channel width, showing that channel geometry is a primary control on step formation and stability even under episodic sediment supply conditions. Instead, the effect of sediment pulses is less important because the total number and average survival time of steps were similar among runs with different pulses. The critical Shields stress decreased following sediment pulses, then increased immediately after, and fluctuated until the next pulse. The variations in sediment supply caused cycles in bedload transport rate, surface and bedload texture, thus controlling the variability in the threshold for motion.</p><p>Our results indicate that episodic sediment supply is a primary control on the evolution of step-pool channels, with sediment feed magnitude affecting mostly morphological changes, and sediment feed frequency controlling channel stability.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1041-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Müller ◽  
Marwan A. Hassan

Abstract. In steep headwater reaches, episodic mass movements can deliver large volumes of sediment to fluvial channels. If these inputs of sediment occur with a high frequency and magnitude, the capacity of the stream to rework the supplied material can be exceeded for a significant amount of time. To study the equilibrium conditions in a channel following different episodic sediment supply regimes (defined by grain size distribution, frequency, and magnitude of events), we simulate sediment transport through an idealized reach with our numerical 1-D model “BESMo” (Bedload Scenario Model). The model performs well in replicating flume experiments of a similar scope (where sediment was fed constantly, in one, two, or four pulses) and allowed the exploration of alternative event sequences. We show that in these experiments, the order of events is not important in the long term, as the channel quickly recovers even from high magnitude events. In longer equilibrium simulations, we imposed different supply regimes on a channel, which after some time leads to an adjustment of slope, grain size, and sediment transport that is in equilibrium with the respective forcing conditions. We observe two modes of channel adjustment to episodic sediment supply. (1) High-frequency supply regimes lead to equilibrium slopes and armouring ratios that are like conditions in constant-feed simulations. In these cases, the period between pulses is shorter than a “fluvial evacuation time”, which we approximate as the time it takes to export a pulse of sediment under average transport conditions. (2) In low-frequency regimes the pulse period (i.e., recurrence interval) exceeds the “fluvial evacuation time”, leading to higher armouring ratios due to the longer exposure of the bed surface to flow. If the grain size distribution of the bed is fine and armouring weak, the model predicts a decrease in the average channel slope. The ratio between the “fluvial evacuation time” and the pulse period constitutes a threshold that can help to quantify how a system responds to episodic disturbances.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Müller ◽  
Marwan Hassan

Abstract. In steep headwater reaches, episodic mass movements can deliver large volumes of sediment to fluvial channels. If these inputs of sediment occur with a high frequency and magnitude, the capacity of the stream to rework the supplied material can be exceeded for a significant amount of time. To study the equilibrium conditions in a channel following different episodic sediment supply regimes (defined by grain size distribution, frequency, and magnitude of events), we simulate sediment transport through an idealized reach with our numerical 1D model BESMo (Bedload Scenario Model), which was configured using flume experiments with a similar scope. The model performs well in replicating the flume experiments (where sediment was fed constantly, in 1, 2 or 4 pulses) and allowed the exploration of alternative event sequences. We show that in these experiments, the ordering of events is not important in the long term, as the channel quickly recovers even from high magnitude events. In longer equilibrium simulations, we imposed different supply regimes on a channel, which after some time leads to an adjustment of slope, grain size, and sediment transport that is in equilibrium with the respective forcing conditions. We observe two modes of channel adjustment to episodic sediment supply. 1) High-frequency supply regimes lead to equilibrium slopes and armouring ratios that are like conditions in constant feed simulations. In these cases, the period between pulses is shorter than a fluvial evacuation time, which we approximate as the time it takes to export a pulse of sediment under average transport conditions. 2) In low-frequency regimes the pulse period (i.e. recurrence interval) exceeds the fluvial evacuation time, leading to higher armouring ratios due to longer exposure of the bed surface to flow. If the grain size distribution of the bed is fine and armouring weak, the model predicts a lowering in the average channel slope. The ratio between the fluvial evacuation time and the pulse period constitutes a threshold that can help to quantify how a system responds to episodic disturbances.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Pähtz ◽  
Yonghui Liu ◽  
Yuezhang Xia ◽  
Peng Hu ◽  
Zhiguo He ◽  
...  

<p>Nonsuspended sediment transport (NST) refers to the sediment transport regime in which the flow turbulence is unable to support the weight of transported grains. It occurs in fluvial environments (i.e., driven by a stream of liquid) and in aeolian environments (i.e., wind-blown) and plays a key role in shaping sedimentary landscapes of planetary bodies. NST is a highly fluctuating physical process because of turbulence, surface inhomogeneities, and variations of grain size and shape and packing geometry. Furthermore, the energy of transported grains varies strongly due to variations of their flow exposure duration since their entrainment from the bed. In spite of such variability, we here propose a deterministic model that represents the entire grain motion, including grains that roll and/or slide along the bed, by a periodic saltation motion with rebound laws that describe an average rebound of a grain after colliding with the bed. The model simultaneously captures laboratory and field measurements and discrete element method (DEM)-based numerical simulations of the threshold and rate of equilibrium NST within a factor of about 2, unifying weak and intense transport conditions in oil, water, and air (oil only for threshold). The model parameters have not been adjusted to these measurements but determined from independent data sets. Recent DEM-based numerical simulations (Comola, Gaume, et al., 2019, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082195) suggest that equilibrium aeolian NST on Earth is insensitive to the strength of cohesive bonds between bed grains. Consistently, the model captures cohesive windblown sand and windblown snow conditions despite not explicitly accounting for cohesion.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 746-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn L Russell ◽  
Geoff J Vietz ◽  
Tim D Fletcher

For streams draining urban catchments, sediment transport capacity is the key driver of physical impacts including bed sediment removal and channel incision. The main unanswered question is the relative role of flow alteration compared to sediment supply in influencing sediment transport capacity. With this objective, we computed sand and gravel bed sediment transport capacity using the Wilcock and Kenworthy two-fraction bedload transport relation for nine streams in catchments covering a gradient of urbanisation. Computations were done for typical natural bed surface material, based on conditions in the least urban study streams. We compared transport capacity distributions and cumulative transport capacity over one-year between the streams. Transport capacity was up to three orders of magnitude higher in urban streams than in forested-catchment streams. This was driven overwhelmingly by the urbanisation-induced alterations to the flow regime, with only minor feedback from channel form changes. Transport capacity was two to three orders of magnitude greater than measured bedload transport in all but the least urban streams. This excess bedload transport capacity mobilises and removes bed sediment, produces channel incision and enlargement and reduces channel complexity. Rebalancing transport capacity with sediment supply therefore requires significant flow mitigation towards pre-urban conditions. Other responses, which may theoretically help to regain this balance – channel widening, grade control, increasing roughness, sediment augmentation – are either inappropriate or only feasible following flow mitigation measures.


Author(s):  
Marcello Pericoli ◽  
Marco Taboga

Abstract We propose a general method for the Bayesian estimation of a very broad class of non-linear no-arbitrage term-structure models. The main innovation we introduce is a computationally efficient method, based on deep learning techniques, for approximating no-arbitrage model-implied bond yields to any desired degree of accuracy. Once the pricing function is approximated, the posterior distribution of model parameters and unobservable state variables can be estimated by standard Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. As an illustrative example, we apply the proposed techniques to the estimation of a shadow-rate model with a time-varying lower bound and unspanned macroeconomic factors.


2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Boboń ◽  
A. Nocoń ◽  
S. Paszek ◽  
P. Pruski

AbstractThe paper presents a method for determining electromagnetic parameters of different synchronous generator models based on dynamic waveforms measured at power rejection. Such a test can be performed safely under normal operating conditions of a generator working in a power plant. A generator model was investigated, expressed by reactances and time constants of steady, transient, and subtransient state in the d and q axes, as well as the circuit models (type (3,3) and (2,2)) expressed by resistances and inductances of stator, excitation, and equivalent rotor damping circuits windings. All these models approximately take into account the influence of magnetic core saturation. The least squares method was used for parameter estimation. There was minimized the objective function defined as the mean square error between the measured waveforms and the waveforms calculated based on the mathematical models. A method of determining the initial values of those state variables which also depend on the searched parameters is presented. To minimize the objective function, a gradient optimization algorithm finding local minima for a selected starting point was used. To get closer to the global minimum, calculations were repeated many times, taking into account the inequality constraints for the searched parameters. The paper presents the parameter estimation results and a comparison of the waveforms measured and calculated based on the final parameters for 200 MW and 50 MW turbogenerators.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Hui Wang ◽  
Huang Shiwang

The various parts of the traditional financial supervision and management system can no longer meet the current needs, and further improvement is urgently needed. In this paper, the low-frequency data is regarded as the missing of the high-frequency data, and the mixed frequency VAR model is adopted. In order to overcome the problems caused by too many parameters of the VAR model, this paper adopts the Bayesian estimation method based on the Minnesota prior to obtain the posterior distribution of each parameter of the VAR model. Moreover, this paper uses methods based on Kalman filtering and Kalman smoothing to obtain the posterior distribution of latent state variables. Then, according to the posterior distribution of the VAR model parameters and the posterior distribution of the latent state variables, this paper uses the Gibbs sampling method to obtain the mixed Bayes vector autoregressive model and the estimation of the state variables. Finally, this article studies the influence of Internet finance on monetary policy with examples. The research results show that the method proposed in this article has a certain effect.


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