Case Study: Forecasting the Lower Vistula Bed Deformation without and with Development of Dam Cascade

The case study presents the results of numeric simulations of deformations of Vistula River bed downstream the Włocławek Dam, with and without development of the downstream dam cascade. Calculations were performed using a one-dimensional flow model MIKE11 with a river transport module. Using synthetic inflow hydrographs, predictions were performed for 39 year period (2016–2055). Results indicate that the construction of the dam cascade will reduce the erosion of the river bed downstream the Włocławek dam.

Numerical Investigation of a Flash Flood Process that Occurred in Zhongdu River, Sichuan, China

In 2018, a flash flood occurred in the Zhongdu river, which lies in Yibin, Sichuan province of China. The flood caused many casualties and significant damage to people living nearby. Due to the difficulty in predicting where and when flash floods will happen, it is nearly impossible to set up monitors in advance to detect the floods in detail. Field investigations are usually carried out to study the flood propagation and disaster-causing mechanism after the flood’s happening. The field studies take the relic left by the flash flood to deduce the peak level, peak discharge, bed erosion, etc. and further revel the mechanism between water and sediment transport during the flash flood This kind of relic-based study will generate bigger errors in regions with great bed deformation. In this study, we come up with numerical simulations to investigate the flash flood that happened in the Zhongdu river. The simulations are based on two-dimensional shallow water models coupled with sediment transport and bed deformation models. Based on the real water level and discharge profile measured by a hydrometric station nearby, the numerical simulation reproduced the flash flood in the valley. The results show the flood coverage, water level variation, and velocity distribution during the flood. The simulation offers great help in studying the damage-causing process. Furthermore, simulations without considering sediment transport are also carried out to study the impact of bed erosion and sedimentation. The study proved that, without considering bed deformation, the flood may be greatly underestimated, and the sediment lying in the valley has great impact on flood power.

Experiments on Longitudinal and Transverse Bedload Transport in Sine-Generated Meandering Channels

Bedload grains in consecutive meandering bends either move longitudinally or across the channel centerline. This study traces and quantifies the grains’ movement in two laboratorial sine-generated channels, i.e., one with deflection angle θ0 = 30° and the other 110°. The grains originally paved along the channels are uniform in size with D = 1 mm and are dyed in various colors, according to their initial location. The experiments recorded the changes in the flow patterns, bed deformation, and the gain-loss distribution of the colored grains in the pool-bar complexes. We observed the formation of two types of erosion zones during the process of the bed deformation, i.e., Zone 1 in the foreside of the point bars and Zone 2 near the concave bank downstream of the bend apexes. Most grains eroded from Zone 1 are observed moving longitudinally as opposed to crossing the channel centerline. Contrastingly, the dominant moving direction of the grains eroded from Zone 2 changes from the longitudinal direction to the transversal one as the bed topography evolves. Besides, most building material of the point bars comes from the upstream bends, although low- and highly curved channels behave differently.

A Numerical Study on Impacts of Sediment Erosion/Deposition on Debris Flow Propagation

Debris flows tend to erode sediment from or deposit sediment on the bed, which changes their volume and, thus, in turn, affects their rheological properties. However, previous modeling studies on debris flows mostly ignore sediment erosion/deposition. Here, three models are presented: a debris model without bed deformation, which is similar to traditional models in that it does not consider sediment erosion/deposition but uses the Herschel–Bulkley formulation to describe the non-Newtonian nature; a debris model with bed deformation, which is better improved than the traditional model in that it considers sediment erosion/deposition; and a turbidity current model, which is further simplified from the debris model with bed deformation by ignoring the non-Newtonian nature. These models, formulated in the same modeling framework, are solved by a shock-capturing finite volume method. These models were firstly validated against three laboratory experiments, which indicated that the debris models with and without bed deformation with reasonably well-specified parameters can give satisfactory agreements with the measurements, whereas the turbidity current model overestimated the experimental result due to its lack of yield stress and dynamic viscosity. Moreover, a hypothetical field application was used to explain the difference between a turbidity current and debris flows with and without bed deformation. It was shown that debris flows and turbidity currents are capable of impacting the bed significantly. However, turbidity currents have thinner tails, less shear stress, and form horizontal deposits on the bed, while debris flows have a thicker tail, high shear stress, and form vertical deposits on the bed. Finally, sensitivity analyses were carried out to study the impact of sediment size, bed slope, concentration, and porosity on the deformation of the bed after debris flow where they all showed a positive correlation.

Dynamic testing to determine and predict trampoline function

Safety standards for domestic trampolines are based on static-load testing using a factor of five times the maximum intended user mass. This paper presents a dynamic test method for trampolines, and provides measures of the users’ performance (e.g., peak acceleration, Accmax) and injury risk (e.g., mean rate of change of acceleration, Jerkmean). Uniform masses (41–116 kg) were dropped from 0.66 m onto the bed centre of nineteen different trampolines. Trampoline bed and spring stretches, mass flight time (FlightT) and accelerations were recorded using motion capture and accelerometers. Thirty-seven percent of trampolines exceeded the static safety standard bed deformation limits (80% of frame height) by 11 ± 6% with dynamic testing (mean ± standard deviation). Across all trampolines and masses dropped, the Accmax ranged from 5.1 to 7.6 g, suggesting the factor of five used in static-loading safety standards needs reviewing. Statistically significant negative correlations (p < 0.05) were found between trampoline bed diameter and Accmax (r = – 0.88), Jerkmean (r = – 0.77) and FlightT (r = – 0.82). Furthermore, significant correlations (p < 0.05) were also found between the mass dropped and Accmax (r = – 0.27), Jerkmean (r = – 0.59) and FlightT (r = 0.25). The combined effects of the spring constants, number of springs, bed diameters and masses dropped were described in predictive multivariate equations for Accmax (explained variance, R2 = 95%) and maximum vertical bed deformation (R2 = 85%). These findings from dynamic testing may assist manufacturers in designing trampolines that meet safety standards while maximising user performance and reducing injury risk.

Numerical modelling of sediment transport in a channel bend with floating units

&lt;p&gt;Floating units/booms are used to trap or guide floating debris in watercourses. In a relatively shallow depth, these floats could affect the velocity distribution, sediment transport and channel bed deformation. &amp;#160;A three-dimensional non-hydrostatic numerical modelling was performed in a 180 degree channel bend with floats to see the effects in flow distribution and bed deformation as a conceptual study. Different configurations of the floats were simulated. The results showed that the flow velocity increased and deposition decreased at the inner bank of the bend. Use of floating units could be studied to alter sediment deposition pattern and sediment transport phenomenon in watercourses.&lt;/p&gt;

Morphological effects of a hydraulic lifting dam on the middle Fenhe River, China

&lt;p&gt;Hydraulic lifting dams become increasingly popular in China for water storage, river landscaping and environmental restoration. Inevitably, dams influence riverine morphology. Unfortunately, current understanding of this topic has remained rather limited. Here, the morphological effects of a hydraulic lifting dam on the middle Fenhe River, China are investigated. This reach features a compound channel and floodplains, and the riverbed is mainly composed of silt that can be easily eroded, indicating potential significant bed deformation. A computationally efficient depth-averaged two-dimensional shallow water hydro-sediment-morphodynamic model is employed. Unstructured meshes are refined around dam structures to accurately present topography. The numerical predictions show discrepancies of morphological responses of the main channel and floodplains to different operation schemes of the hydraulic lifting dam. This work helps to support decisions on the management of hydraulic lifting dams on the middle Fenhe River and reveals a general pattern for the morphological impact of hydraulic lifting dam.&lt;/p&gt;