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Under extreme weather conditions, such as storm surges or strong winds, high-intensity sand transport at the bed bottom is prone to occur, which has a profound impact on the dynamic geomorphological processes, port and waterway facilities, and ecological protection. It is of significant theoretical and practical engineering importance to conduct research on the mechanisms of sediment transport near the bottom. In this study, silt transport under wave actions was studied via wave flume sediment transport tests conducted in varying dynamic environments. A bottom sediment measurement system with a high sensor density was constructed to collect data from the fixed bed surface to the suspended sediment layer. The results showed that sand ripples on the bed surface developed under relatively weak dynamic conditions. With the increase in dynamic excitation, ripples were eroded and sheet flow occurred. The bottom layer movement of fine sediment, revealed by analyzing the sediment concentration process at different bed heights, was characterized by the silt surface lateral oscillations aligned with the periodic wave motion. The amplitude of the silt layer oscillations decreased with increasing depth and a phase lag arose. The concepts of movement number and compactness coefficient were introduced and a formula for critical sheet flow condition for a siltsand wide gradation range was established. The bottom movement mechanism of fine- grained sediment proposed in this study will form a departing point for further studies of the mechanism of sudden- onset scouring and silting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sheet flow driven by a near-breaking transient wave is numerically investigated using SedFoam, a two-phase Eulerian sediment transport model in the OpenFOAM framework. SedFoam resolves the full profile of sediment transport processes within the bottom boundary layer based on closures for intergranular stresses and fluid–particle interactions. Compared with large-scale wave flume data, good agreements are obtained for streamwise flow velocity profiles, sediment concentration profiles, and the sheet flow layer thickness. Model results show near-bed velocity and sediment profile evolution within the sheet flow layer. Intense sediment suspension trailing the wave crest generates stable density stratification that dampens near-bed turbulent kinetic energy and contributes to decreasing bed shear stress. Results suggest that the buoyant flux dominates turbulent kinetic energy dissipation after the passing of the wave crest, coinciding with the reduction of bed shear stress. The instantaneous upper bound of the sheet flow layer exists in different log-law regimes under the transient wave, giving rise to a near-bed velocity profile that is highly dependent on the variable sheet flow layer wall unit. The effect of the profile shape parameter on bedload sediment transport is studied where the bedload predicted using the time-varying optimal profile shape parameter yields good agreement compared to the directly modeled bedload. Modeled sediment transport rates demonstrate that reduced bed shear stress caused by density stratification limits bedload and results in a suspended load-dominant mode. [Display omitted] • SedFoam is validated with measured data for sheet flow under a transient wave. • Significant sediment suspension causing stable density stratification is observed. • Near-bed velocity profile is affected by the wall unit in a transient boundary layer. • Time-dependent profile shape parameter is proposed for near-bed velocity prediction. • Suppressed near-bed turbulence reduces bed shear stress and bedload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents novel insights into hydrodynamics and sediment fluxes in large‐scale laboratory experiments with bichromatic wave groups on a relatively steep initial beach slope (1:15). An Acoustic Concentration and Velocity Profiler provided detailed information of velocity and sand concentration near the bed from shoaling up to the outer breaking zone including suspended sediment and sheet flow transport. The morphological evolution was characterized by offshore migration of the outer breaker bar. Decomposition of the total net transport revealed a balance of onshore‐directed, short wave‐related and offshore‐directed, current‐related net transport. The short wave‐related transport mainly occurred as bedload over small vertical extents. It was linked to characteristic intrawave sheet flow layer expansions during short wave crests. The current‐related transport rate featured lower maximum flux magnitudes but occurred over larger vertical extents. As a result, it was larger than the short wave‐related transport rate in all but one cross‐shore position, driving the bar's offshore migration. Net flux magnitudes of the infragravity component were comparatively low but played a nonnegligible role for total net transport rate in certain cross‐shore positions. Net infragravity flux profiles sometimes featured opposing directions over the vertical. The fluxes were linked to a standing infragravity wave pattern and to the correlation of the short wave envelope, controlling suspension, with the infragravity wave velocity. Plain Language Summary: Nearshore sandbars are seabed features that protect coastal infrastructure behind many sandy beaches around the world. In response to waves, they change in shape and distance to the beach. To improve understanding of their offshore movement, experiments representing natural conditions in a controlled laboratory setting were done. In this context, the underwater transport of sand was measured. The experiments featured groups of single short waves (less than 2.5 m long), which transported sand in different ways. Single short waves largely transported sand toward the beach, and in a very thin layer close to the seabed. Currents, caused by the short waves and their breaking, largely transported sand away from the beach, and over a much wider layer. Interactions between the single short waves in a group created longer waves. They transported sand partly toward and partly away from the beach. The currents transported sand more effectively than the single short waves, which explains the sandbar's offshore movement. The long waves transported less sand and only became important when transports from currents and short waves canceled each other out. This study provides useful information for better forecasting of sandbar movement, improving coastal protection. Key Points: Bar offshore migration resulted from balance of offshore‐directed, current‐related and onshore‐directed, short wave‐related transportsShort wave‐ (current‐) related transport dominant in sheet flow (suspended) layer. As they oppose, infragravity transport non‐negligibleThe presence/absence of time‐lags between concentration and hydrodynamics in the suspended/sheet flow layers affects transport direction [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intense collisional transport of bimodal sediment mixture in open-channel turbulent flow with water as carrying liquid is studied. The study focusses on steep inclined flows transporting solids of spherical shape and differing in either size or mass. A process of vertical sorting (segregation) of the two different solids fractions during the transport is analyzed and modelled. A segregation model is presented which is based on the kinetic theory of granular flows and builds on the Larcher-Jenkins segregation model for dry bimodal mixtures. Main modifications of the original model are the carrying medium (water instead of air) and a presence of a non-uniform distribution of sediment across the flow depth. Testing of the modified model reveals that the model is applicable to flow inclination slopes from 20 to 30 degrees approximately, making it appropriate for debris flow conditions. Changing the slope outside the specified range leads to numerical instability of the solution. A use of the bimodal mixture model is restricted to the grain size ratio 1.4 and no restriction is found for the grain mass ratio in a realistic range applicable to natural conditions. The model reveals trends in the vertical sorting under variable conditions showing that the sorting is more intense if flow is steeper and/or the difference in size or mass is bigger between the two sediment fractions in a bimodal mixture.

In an open channel with a mobile bed, intense transport of bed load is associated with high-concentrated sediment-laden flow over a plane surface of the eroded bed due to high bed shear. Typically, the flow exhibits a layered internal structure in which virtually all sediment grains are transported through a collisional layer above the bed. Our investigation focuses on steady uniform turbulent open-channel flow with a developed collisional transport layer and combines modelling and experiment to relate integral quantities, as the discharge of solids, discharge of mixture, and flow depth with the longitudinal slope of the bed and the internal structure of the flow above the bed.

Granular flow is modelled under the following conditions: Steady-state uniform turbulent open-channel solid–liquid flow carrying combined load at high solids concentration above a plane mobile bed. In the combined load, a portion of transported particles is transported as collisional bed load and the rest as suspended load supported by carrier turbulence. In our modelling approach, we consider one-dimensional flow and take into account a layered structure of the flow with the intense combined load. Principles of kinetic theory of granular flow are employed together with the mixing-length theory of flow turbulence in order to predict distributions of solids concentration and velocity in sediment-water flow of the given flow depth and longitudinal slope in an open channel. Components of the model are tested and calibrated by results of our laboratory experiments with lightweight sediment in a recirculating tilting flume.

Collisional interactions in a sheared granular body are typical for intense bed load transport and they significantly affect behavior of flow carrying bed load grains. Collisional mechanisms are poorly understood and modelling approaches seldom accurately describe reality. One of the used approaches is the kinetic theory of granular flows. It offers constitutive relations for local shear-induced collision-based granular quantities - normal stress, shear stress and fluctuation energy - and relates them with local grain concentration and velocity. Depth distributions of the local granular quantities produced by these constitutive relations have not been sufficiently verified by experiment for the condition of intense bed load transport in open channels and pressurized pipes. In this paper, results from a tilting-flume facility including measured velocity distribution and deduced concentration distribution (approximated as linear profiles) are used to calculate distributions of the collision-based quantities by the constitutive relations and hence to test the ability of the kinetic-theory constitutive relations to predict conditions observed in these collision-dominated flows. This test indicates that the constitutive relations can be successfully applied to model the local collisional transport of solids at positions where the local concentration is not lower than approximately 0.18 and not higher than approximately 0.47.

Turbidity current and coastal storm deposits are commonly characterized by a basal sandy massive (structureless) unit overlying an erosional surface and underlying a parallel or cross‐laminated unit. Similar sequences have been recently identified in fluvial settings as well. Notwithstanding field, laboratory and numerical studies, the mechanisms for emplacement of these massive basal units are still under debate. It is well accepted that the sequence considered here can be deposited by waning‐energy flows, and that the parallel‐laminated units are deposited under transport conditions corresponding to upper plane bed at the dune–antidune transition. Thus, transport conditions that are more intense than those at the dune–antidune transition should deposit massive units. This study presents experimental, open‐channel flow results showing that sandy massive units can be the result of gradual deposition from a thick bedload layer of colliding grains called sheet flow layer. When this layer forms with relatively coarse sand, the non‐dimensional bed shear stress associated with skin friction, the Shields number, is larger than a threshold value approximately equal to 0·4. For values of the Shields number smaller than 0·4 the sheet flow layer disappeared, sediment was transported by a standard bedload layer one or two grain diameters thick, and the bed configuration was characterized by downstream migrating antidunes and washed out dunes. Parallel laminae were found in deposits emplaced with standard bedload transport demonstrating that the same dilute flow can gradually deposit the basal and the parallel‐laminated unit in presence of traction at the depositional boundary. Further, the experiments suggested that two different types of upper plane bed conditions can be defined, one associated with standard bedload transport at the dune–antidune transition, and the other associated with bedload transport in sheet flow mode at the transition between upstream and downstream migrating antidunes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SedWaveFoam, an OpenFOAM-based two-phase model that concurrently resolves the free surface wave field, and the bottom boundary layer is used to investigate sediment transport throughout the entire water column. The numerical model was validated with large-scale wave flume data for sheet flow driven by shoaling skewed-asymmetric waves with two different grain sizes. Newly obtained model results were combined with previous nonbreaking and near-breaking wave cases to develop parameterization methods for time-dependent bed shear stress and sediment transport rate under various sediment sizes and wave conditions. Gonzalez-Rodriguez and Madsen (GRM07) and quasi-steady approaches were compared for intra-wave bed shear stress. The results show that in strongly asymmetric flows, considering the separated boundary layer development processes at each half wave-cycle (i.e., GRM07) is essential to accurately estimating bed shear stress and highlights the impact of phase-lag effects on sediment transport rates. The quasi-steady approach underpredicts (∼60%) sediment transport rates, especially for fine grains under large velocity asymmetry. A modified phase-lag parameter, incorporating velocity asymmetry, sediment stirring, and settling processes is proposed to extend the Meyer-Peter and Mueller type power law formula. The extended formula accurately estimated the enhanced net onshore sediment transport rate observed under skewed-asymmetric wave conditions.

The impacts of aquatic vegetation on bed load transport rate and bedform characteristics were quantified using flume measurements with model emergent vegetation. First, a model for predicting the turbulent kinetic energy, kt, in vegetated channels from channel average velocity U and vegetation volume fraction ϕ was validated for mobile sediment beds. Second, using data from several studies, the predicted kt was shown to be a good predictor of bed load transport rate, Qs, allowing Qs to be predicted from U and ϕ for vegetated channels. The control of Qs by kt was explained by statistics of individual grain motion recorded by a camera, which showed that the number of sediment grains in motion per bed area was correlated with kt. Third, ripples were observed and characterized in channels with and without model vegetation. For low vegetation solid volume fraction (ϕ ≤ 0.012), the ripple wavelength was constrained by stem spacing. However, at higher vegetation solid volume fraction (ϕ=0.025), distinct ripples were not observed, suggesting a transition to sheet flow, which is sediment transport over a plane bed without the formation of bedforms. The fraction of the bed load flux carried by migrating ripples decreased with increasing ϕ, again suggesting that vegetation facilitated the formation of sheet flow. Key Points: Turbulent kinetic energy and bed load transport rate were predicted from velocity and vegetation volume fractionVegetation‐generated turbulence impacts the bed load transport rate by controlling the number of grains in motionVegetation of sufficient volume fraction suppressed bedform formation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The seabed is sloped in shallow coastal regions, where strong nonlinear shoaling waves can generate sheet-flow sediment transport. Both wave nonlinearity and bottom slope can lead to a wave-averaged (net) sediment transport rate, but the bottom slope effect is often overlooked in existing sediment transport models. A full-scale experimental study of sheet-flow sediment transport under the oscillatory flows with nonlinear features (skewness or asymmetry) was conducted in an inclinable oscillatory water tunnel, so the bottom-slope-induced net transport rate in the context of nonlinear waves was experimentally investigated. The tests cover a variety of nonlinear wave shape, bottom slope (0 to 2. 5 ∘ ) and two sediment diameters (0.24 and 0.51 mm). Since the downslope direction is the "offshore" direction in our tests, it is found that bottom slope reduces the net "onshore" transport rate due to wave nonlinearity. The slope contribution to the net transport rate is evaluated by taking the difference between the measured net transport rate from a sloping-bed experiment and the measured net transport rate from the corresponding horizontal-bed experiment. The results suggest that slope-induced net transport rate is insensitive to wave nonlinearity, and its variation with bottom slope can be considered linear in the context of predicting net transport rate. Comparisons between this study and a preceding sinusoidal-flow study of Yuan et al. (2017b) suggest that nonlinear waves can be approximated as sinusoidal flows for estimating the slope contribution to the net transport rate. Subsequently, an empirical model for predicting net sheet-flow transport rate due to bottom slope is established based on dimensional analysis. This model can be simply added to existing sheet-flow sediment transport models to improve their applicability in coastal regions. Highlights • Presented experiments on the sheet-flow sediment transport under skewed and asymmetric oscillatory flows above a sloping bed. • Test results show that the slope-induced net transport rate is insensitive to nonlinear wave shape. • Proposed an empirical model for slope's contribution in net sheet-flow sediment transport rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The simultaneous occurrence of rain and wind during an erosion event may cause severe soil loss. Although, many studies have been conducted on the single effects of rain and wind on soil erosion, little attention has been taken to their simultaneous contribution to wash load as well as splash load in a rain-induced erosion system. To address this issue, three different soil samples were subjected to rain intensities of 30, 50, and 75 mm h−1 in combination with wind velocities of 0, 6, 9, and 12 m s−1. The results showed that the measured wash load was much more than the downward splash load and both were more than the upward splash load. A synergistic interaction was found between rain intensity and wind velocity on the downward splash load however, the effect of wind velocity was more evident. On the other hand, rain intensity was a better predictor of splash load than wash load under windless conditions. Moreover, the downward splash load was more satisfactorily predicted (R2 > 0.992) than the wash and upward splash loads by exponential functions of wind velocity. In addition, regarding the relative contribution of wash and downward splash loads, two distinctive phases were recognized. In the first phase, when wind velocity was less than a threshold value (V ≤ V t), the measured wash load was 74.3 to 231.2 times higher than the downward splash load, whereas in the second phase when V > V t , the contribution of downward splash load was enhanced sharply. The findings of this study revealed the importance of high-speed winds (especially those higher than a threshold value) in increasing sediment load during rain-induced erosion events. Highlights • Washed and splashed loads were measured under controlled wind-driven rains. • A synergistic interaction was found between rain intensity and wind velocity on downward splash load. • The effect of wind velocity was more evident than rain intensity on sediment load. • Wash load was much more than splash load during rain-induced erosion. • When the wind speed exceeded a threshold value (V > V t), the contribution of downward splash load increased sharply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetland ecosystems are often characterized by self‐organized landscape patterning, driven by abiotic and biotic factors. In the Florida Everglades, natural sheet flow is hypothesized to have distributed sediments to form the pattern of linear emergent ridges and submerged sloughs. Drainage and barriers to flow have degraded these microtopographic features. As part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, the Decompartmentalization Physical Model is a landscape‐scale experiment to evaluate ecosystem responses to restored sheet flow by increasing freshwater inputs and removing barriers to flow. To test the proposed mechanism that flow rebuilds ridge‐slough microtopography by remobilizing slough sediments into ridges, four molecular markers capable of distinguishing ridge, slough, and microbial sources were evaluated in flocculent benthic sediments (floc) and advected sediments (collected in traps) during preflow, high‐flow, and postflow conditions over 4 years. The combined use of the four biomarkers, namely, the aquatic proxy (Paq), C20 highly branched isoprenoids, kaurenes, and botryococcenes, showed compositional patterns that clearly distinguished ridge and slough organic matter. Of these molecular parameters, the Paq was the most reliable in distinguishing among organic matter sources. Long‐term patterns in floc Paq at ridge and slough sites indicate a general increase, indicative of preferential mobilization of slough material. The Paq values for advected sediments are also strongly associated with slough environments, supporting temporal trends in floc samples. Our results tentatively confirm the hypothesis that increased flow in degraded ridge‐and‐slough wetlands, and associated sediment transport, is a potentially viable mechanism to restore historic patterns of microtopography. Plain Language Summary: We examined how experimental flows within the Decompartmentalization Physical Model (DPM) altered the movement of benthic sediment (floc) in ridge and slough habitats, an important mechanism for restoring pattern and topography of the historic Everglades ridge‐and‐slough landscape. The approach is novel in utilizing molecular organic biomarkers that identify sources of organic matter from ridges and sloughs to infer the movement of floc. Results so far are promising in suggesting that sediment redistribution does occur and may over longer time periods help rebuild topography, an important objective of large‐scale flow restoration projects such as those proposed in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Key Points: The aquatic proxy (Paq) was used to distinguish organic matter sources of sediments from Everglades ridge‐and‐slough habitatsTemporal changes in Paq showed preferential mobilization of slough material and movement into ridgesSheet flow redistributes sediment, an important step in restoring historic landscape pattern and microtopography [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical model with essential parameters given by a two-phase numerical model is utilized to study the net boundary layer current and sediment transport under skewed asymmetric oscillatory sheet flows. The analytical model is the first instantaneous type model that can consider phase-lag and asymmetric boundary layer development. The two-phase model supplies the essential phase-lead, instantaneous erosion depth and boundary layer development for the analytical model to enhance the understanding of velocity skewness and acceleration skewness in sediment flux and transport rate. The sediment transport difference between onshore and offshore stages caused by velocity skewness or acceleration skewness is shown to illustrate the determination of net sediment transport by the analytical model. In previous studies about sediment transport in skewed asymmetric sheet flows, the generation of net sediment transport is mainly concluded to the phase-lag effect. However, the phase-lag effect is shown important but not enough for the net sediment transport, while the skewed asymmetric boundary layer development generated net boundary layer current and mobile bed effect are key important in the transport process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We present a new methodology that is able to concurrently resolve free surface wavefield, bottom boundary layer, and sediment transport processes throughout the entire water column. The new model, called SedWaveFoam, is developed by integrating an Eulerian two‐phase model for sediment transport, SedFoam, and a surface wave solver, InterFoam/waves2Foam, in the OpenFOAM framework. SedWaveFoam is validated with a large wave flume data for sheet flow driven by monochromatic nonbreaking waves. To isolate the effect of free surface, SedWaveFoam results are contrasted with one‐dimensional‐vertical SedFoam results, where the latter represents the oscillating water tunnel condition. Results demonstrate that wave‐averaged total sediment fluxes in both models are onshore‐directed; however, this onshore transport is significantly enhanced under surface waves. Onshore‐directed near‐bed sediment flux is driven by a small mean current mainly associated with velocity skewness. More importantly, progressive wave streaming drives onshore transport mostly in suspended load region due to an intrawave sediment flux. Further analysis suggests that the enhanced onshore transport in suspended load is due to a “wave‐stirring” mechanism, which signifies a nonlinear interaction between waves, streaming currents, and sediment suspension. We present some preliminary efforts to parameterize the wave‐stirring mechanism in intrawave sediment transport formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A one-dimensional-vertical model is developed for net sheet-flow sediment transport rate under oscillatory boundary layer flows. This model couples the boundary-layer model proposed by Yuan and Madsen (2015) with new predictors for bedload and suspended-load transport rates. Sediment concentration is modeled by solving the advection-diffusion equation with a parameterized turbulence diffusivity and a bottom pick-up rate. The slope effect is included in the predictions of instantaneous bedload transport rate and sediment pick-up rate, so the model can rigorously account for wave nonlinearity (velocity skewness and asymmetry) together with a mild bottom slope. The model performance on net sediment transport rate is excellent for large grain sizes, except that the velocity-asymmetry effect seems to be moderately underestimated. For small grain sizes, the model performance deteriorates, but is still acceptable for many cases. This is possibly because the model does not consider turbulence damping due to stratification and underestimates the phase-lag effect. Using the validated model, it is found that a boundary layer streaming due to velocity skewness and/or asymmetry can be a major contributor to net transport rate, when significant sediment suspension occurs. A simple case study also suggests that a mild bottom slope can be equally important as the wave nonlinearity for producing net sediment transport rate. Model predictions show that wave-nonlinear and bottom-slope effects can be linearly superimposed, which provides a simple way for incorporating bottom slope into existing transport-rate formulas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new instantaneous mobile bed thickness model is presented for sediment transport in skewed asymmetric oscillatory sheet flows. The proposed model includes a basic bed load part and a suspended load part related to the Shields parameter, and takes into account the effects of mass conservation, phase-lag, and asymmetric boundary layer development, which are important in skewed asymmetric flows but usually absent in classical models. The proposed model is validated by erosion depth and sheet flow layer thickness data in both steady and unsteady flows, and applied to a new instantaneous sediment transport rate formula. With higher accuracy than classical empirical models in steady flows, the new formula can also be used for instantaneous sediment transport rate prediction in skewed asymmetric oscillatory sheet flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional Eulerian two-phase flow model for sediment transport in sheet flow conditions is presented. To resolve turbulence and turbulence-sediment interactions, the large-eddy simulation approach is adopted. Specifically, a dynamic Smagorinsky closure is used for the subgrid fluid and sediment stresses, while the subgrid contribution to the drag force is included using a drift velocity model with a similar dynamic procedure. The contribution of sediment stresses due to intergranular interactions is modeled by the kinetic theory of granular flow at low to intermediate sediment concentration, while at high sediment concentration of enduring contact, a phenomenological closure for particle pressure and frictional viscosity is used. The model is validated with a comprehensive high-resolution dataset of unidirectional steady sheet flow (Revil-Baudard et al., 2015, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 767, 1–30). At a particle Stokes number of about 10, simulation results indicate a reduced von Kármán coefficient of κ  ≈ 0.215 obtained from the fluid velocity profile. A fluid turbulence kinetic energy budget analysis further indicates that the drag-induced turbulence dissipation rate is significant in the sheet flow layer, while in the dilute transport layer, the pressure work plays a similar role as the buoyancy dissipation, which is typically used in the single-phase stratified flow formulation. The present model also reproduces the sheet layer thickness and mobile bed roughness similar to measured data. However, the resulting mobile bed roughness is more than two times larger than that predicted by the empirical formulae. Further analysis suggests that through intermittent turbulent motions near the bed, the resolved sediment Reynolds stress plays a major role in the enhancement of mobile bed roughness. Our analysis on near-bed intermittency also suggests that the turbulent ejection motions are highly correlated with the upward sediment suspension flux, while the turbulent sweep events are mostly associated with the downward sediment deposition flux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes results of validation of authors' recently proposed formulae for sediment transport and bed friction in the upper plane bed regime using laboratory experiments in a pressurized pipe. Flows of mixture of water and fine to medium ballotini (d50 = 0.18 mm) were observed in a rectangular pipe (51 x 51 mm) with a deposit at the bottom of the pipe. A comparison of test results with transport-formula predictions shows a satisfactory match confirming a good prediction ability of the proposed transport formula at high bed shear. A prediction ability of the friction formulae appears to be less convincing but still reasonable. A joint use of the formulae for transport and friction predicts the delivered concentration of transported sediment within the accuracy range of ± 40 per cent for flows in which transported sediments strongly affect the bed friction, i.e. for flows with delivered concentration of sediment higher than say 3 per cent.

Swash zone sheet flow and suspended sediment transport rates are estimated on a coarse sand beach constructed in a large-scale laboratory wave flume. Three test cases under monochromatic waves with wave heights of 0.74 m and wave periods of 8 and 12.2 s were analyzed. Sediment flux in the sheet flow layer exceeds several hundred kg m − 2 s − 1 during both uprush and backwash. Suspended sediment flux is large during uprush and can exceed 200 kg m − 2 s − 1 . Instantaneous sediment flux magnitudes in the sheet layer are nearly always larger than those for suspended sediment flux. However, sediment transport rates, those integrated over depth, indicate that suspended load transport is dominant during uprush for all cases and during the early stages of backwash except in the case for the 12.2 s wave case when the foreshore was steeper. Results could not be obtained for an entire swash event and were particularly truncated during backwash when water depths fell below the elevation of the lowest current meter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A laboratory experiment was carried out to study sediment transport dynamics occurring in the swash zone of a coarse-sandy beach built in a large-scale wave flume. Hydro- and morpho-dynamic as well as sediment transport data were collected using sensors mounted on a scaffold rig deployed in the lower swash zone close to the moving bed. The high resolution of near-bed data permitted quantitative evaluation of suspended and sheet flow contributions to the total sediment transport. Although sheet flow sediment fluxes were higher than suspended fluxes, the vertically integrated suspended sediment load overcame the sheet flow load during uprush and it was on the same order of magnitude during backwash. The observed cumulative sediment transport was generally larger than the morphological changes occurring shoreward of the rig location implying either an underestimation of the offshore sediment transport or an overestimation of the onshore fluxes obtained from concentration and velocity profile data. Low correlations were found between net swash profile changes and runup parameters suggesting that local hydrodynamic parameters provide little or no predictability of accretion and erosion of an upper beach which is near equilibrium. The balance between erosion and deposition induced by individual swash events brought a dynamic equilibrium with small differences between the profiles measured at the start and at the end of the run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed measurements of bed level motions and sheet flow processes in the lower swash are presented. The measurements are obtained during a large-scale wave flume experiment focusing on swash zone sediment transport induced by bichromatic waves. A new instrument (CCM + ) provides detailed phase-averaged measurements of sheet flow concentrations, particle velocities, and bed level evolution during a complete swash cycle. The bed at the lower swash location shows a clear pattern of rapid erosion during the early uprush and progressive accretion during the middle backwash phase. Sheet flow occurs during the early uprush and mid and late backwash phases. Sheet flow sediment fluxes during these instances are highest in the pick-up layer. Sediment entrainment from the pick-up layer occurs not only during instances of high horizontal shear velocities but also in occurrence of wave–backwash interactions. As opposed to oscillatory sheet flow, the pivot point elevation of the sheet flow layer is time-varying during a swash event. Moreover, the upper sheet flow layer concentrations do not mirror the concentrations in the pick-up layer. Both differences suggest that in the lower swash zone the dynamics of the upper sheet flow layer are not only controlled by vertical sediment exchange (such as in oscillatory sheet flows) but are strongly affected by horizontal advection processes induced by the non-uniformity of the flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sheet flow sediment concentration profiles were measured in natural conditions for the first time as part of a comprehensive field study on swash-zone hydrodynamics and sediment transport. Three conductivity concentration profilers (CCPs) measured the sediment concentration profile in the sheet flow layer with a 1-mm resolution in the swash zone of a dissipative beach. This paper focuses on sheet flow during quasi-steady backwash events generated by infragravity motion when the effects of phase lags, surface-generated turbulence, and accelerations are small. The sheet flow sediment concentration profile has a linear shape in the lower section of the profile and a power-law shape in the upper section, with the transition occurring at sediment volume fractions of 0.20-0.30. The shape of the concentration profile is self-similar for measured sheet flow layer thicknesses ranging from 6 to 18 mm. Because of the self-similarity, a single concentration profile curve can be used to describe the normalized profile for the entire range of sheet thicknesses, leading to improved estimates of the sheet flow layer thickness in a simple analytical model. The sheet flow layer thickness and sheet load, the sediment mass mobilized in the sheet flow layer, are well correlated with the hydrodynamic forcing represented by the mobility number ( for sheet thickness and for sheet load). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive study of swash-zone hydrodynamics and sediment transport was conducted on a macrotidal beach in Perranporth, United Kingdom. The unique study is the first to simultaneously measure suspended sediment and sheet flow sediment concentrations, water depth, near-bed velocity profiles, and high-resolution swash surface and bed-level changes on a natural beach. Data collected during the study are used to quantify the vertical profile of cross-shore and alongshore velocities and the importance of sheet flow sediment processes in the swash zone. The swash-zone boundary layer for cross-shore velocities is observed to generally occur over at least the lower 0.06 m of the water column. Alongshore velocities are often the same order of magnitude as the cross-shore velocities and are dominant near cross-shore flow reversal. Flows are often logarithmic in profile, but the instantaneous nature of the measurements renders application of the logarithmic model difficult. When valid, the logarithmic model enabled cross-shore shear stress estimates of up to with maximum alongshore shear stress estimates of , further highlighting the potential importance of alongshore flows. Friction coefficient estimates, assuming a quadratic drag law, showed no statistical difference between onshore- and offshore-directed motion, with typical values of (). Sheet flow concentrations exceeded the maximum measured suspended sediment concentrations of approximately . Sediment loads in the sheet layer are up to 10 times larger than the sediment loads in the lower suspension layer. Simplified sheet flow sediment transport estimates are 3.6 times larger on average than those in the suspension layer. The latter two findings indicate the importance of sheet flow processes in the swash zone that are generally ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granular flow is modelled under the following conditions: Steady-state uniform turbulent open-channel solid–liquid flow carrying combined load at high solids concentration above a plane mobile bed. In the combined load, a portion of transported particles is transported as collisional bed load and the rest as suspended load supported by carrier turbulence. In our modelling approach, we consider one-dimensional flow and take into account a layered structure of the flow with the intense combined load. Principles of kinetic theory of granular flow are employed together with the mixing-length theory of flow turbulence in order to predict distributions of solids concentration and velocity in sediment-water flow of the given flow depth and longitudinal slope in an open channel. Components of the model are tested and calibrated by results of our laboratory experiments with lightweight sediment in a recirculating tilting flume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water erosion is the main cause of soil degradation in agricultural areas. Rill erosion can contribute vastly to the overall erosion rate. It is therefore crucial to identify areas prone to rill erosion in order to protect soil quality. Research on rainfall-runoff and subsequent sediment transport processes is often based on observing these processes at several scales, followed by a mathematical description of the observations. This paper presents the use of a combination of data obtained by different approaches at multiple scales to validate the SMODERP2D episodic hydrological-erosion model. This model describes infiltration, surface retention, surface runoff, and rill flow processes. In the model, the surface runoff generation is based on a water balance equation and is described by two separate processes: (a) for sheet flow, the model uses the kinematic wave approximation, which has been parameterized for individual soil textural classes using laboratory rainfall simulations, and (b) for rill flow, the Manning formula is used. Rill flow occurs if the critical water level of sheet flow is exceeded. The concept of model validation presented here uses datasets at different scales to study the surface runoff and erosion processes on the Býkovice agricultural catchment. The first dataset consisted of runoff generated by simulated rainfall on plots with dimensions of 2 × 8 m. The second dataset consisted of the runoff response to natural rainfall events obtained from long-term monitoring of 50 m2 plots. These two datasets were used to validate and calibrate the sheet flow and infiltration parameters. The third dataset consisted of occurrence maps of rills formed during heavy rainfalls obtained using remote sensing methods on a field plot with an area of 36.6 ha. This last dataset was used to validate the threshold critical water level that is responsible in the model for rill flow initiation in the SMODERP2D model. The validation and the calibration of the surface runoff are performed well according to the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient. The scale effect was evident in the 50 m2 plots where parameters lower than the mean best fit the measured data. At the field plot scale, pixels with measured rills covered 5% of the total area. The best model solution achieved a similar rill cover for a vegetated soil surface. The model tended to overestimate the occurrence of rills in the case of simulations with bare soil. Although rills occurred both in the model and in the monitored data in many model runs, a spatial mismatch was often observed. This mismatch was caused by flow routing algorithm displacement of the runoff path. The suitability of the validation and calibration process at various spatial scales has been demonstrated. In a future study, data will be obtained from various localities with various land uses and meteorological conditions to confirm the transferability of the procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effect of streaming on the sea bed boundary layer flow beneath combined waves and current has been investigated for waves following and opposing a current, taking both linear waves and second order Stokes waves into account. This flow results from an interaction between the classical wave–current seabed boundary layer mechanism and two different streaming mechanisms. The classical wave–current seabed boundary layer mechanism leads to a reduced mean velocity relative to the current alone; the two streaming mechanisms are streaming caused by turbulence asymmetry in successive wave half-cycles (beneath asymmetric forcing) and streaming caused by the presence of a vertical wave velocity within the seabed boundary layer as earlier explained by Longuet-Higgins. The effect of wave asymmetry, wave length to water depth ratio, magnitude of current and bottom roughness have been investigated by numerical simulations for realistic physical situations. Mean Eulerian quantities as well as the mass transport (wave-averaged Lagrangian velocity) are presented. The resulting sediment dynamics near the ocean bottom has been investigated; results for both suspended load and bedload are presented. For wave dominated situations, the velocity profiles beneath opposing waves and current are substantially different from those beneath following waves and current, both for linear and second order Stokes waves. As the flow becomes current dominated, the velocity profiles beneath opposing and following waves and current approach the velocity profile beneath horizontally uniform sinusoidal forcing. The net transport of suspended sediments and bedload is in the direction of the current both for waves following and opposing the current. For wave dominated situations the net sediment transport is strongly affected by the streaming mechanisms, both for linear and second order Stokes waves and current. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The prediction of the transport of sediments in streams is of crucial importance for many geophysical and industrial applications. Most of the available formulas for sediment transport are empirical and apply to situations near initiation, where a few erratic particles are seen jumping and rolling over an immobile bed. However, they are commonly adopted for predicting massive transport of sediments, although more rigorous approaches exist. The latter make use of constitutive relations from kinetic theories of granular gases, but require the numerical integrations of complicated, nonlinear differential equations, hence discouraging their usage for practical purposes. A new, explicit formula for predicting intense sediment transport is proposed here, based on kinetic theories of granular gases and incorporating in a simple yet rigorous way the possibility of turbulent suspension of the particles. It is shown that this formula, unlike others, can quantitatively reproduce physical experiments on steady, uniform flows of natural and artificial particles and water over horizontal, movable beds taken from the literature. These findings suggest that granular physics is now mature enough to provide practical tools in fields that were so far mainly empirically oriented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new sensor for measuring sediment concentration under sheet flow conditions is presented. Electrical conductivity, measured using a four-electrode method, is used as a proxy for sediment concentration. The relationship between conductivity and sediment concentration was calibrated using known masses of neutrally suspended sediment in a heavy liquid and agrees well with existing linear and power-law relationships (r^2 > 0.98). A 29-point conductivity profile at 1-mm resolution is generated by multiplexing through a vertical array of 32 plate electrodes. Numerical simulations of the voltage field around the sensor indicate that the horizontal extent of measurement volume is 1.5 times the sensor width. The finite extent of the measurement volume leads to smoothing of the vertical concentration profile. The sensor resolves sheet flow layers with a thickness greater than 3.5 mm, and a correction formula is introduced to correct the measured sheet thickness for the smoothing effect. Initial field results in the swash zone of a natural beach quantify sheet flow processes with unprecedented detail. Short-lived sheet flow with a maximum thickness of 19 mm was observed during the uprush, and a longer duration sheet flow with a maximum thickness of 8 mm was observed during the backwash. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: A two-phase sheet flow model is utilized to investigate the wave-induced vertical sediment flux in the benthic boundary layer. The near-bed vertical sediment flux is a critical parameterization for suspended load models. In this paper, we show that the vertical sediment fluxes predicted by the two-phase model agree with the U-tube data for oscillatory flows. Both the measured data and model results indicated that the sediment upward flux (pick-up) increases with Shields parameter (or bottom bed stress) during the flow acceleration phase, but quickly reaches a saturated value with a “plateau” near the peak flow. This feature is also captured by the reference concentration formulation, but not the pick-up function formulation, developed empirically for steady flows. With further consideration of wave–current interaction and wave-induced streaming inside the boundary layer, we conclude that to accurately parameterize the upward sediment flux, the feedback of the sediment phase to the carrier flows must be included. The feedback mechanism is introduced through sediment stresses and drag forces. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

New experiments under sheet flow conditions were conducted in an oscillating water tunnel to study the effects of flow acceleration on sand transport. The simulated hydrodynamic conditions considered flow patterns that drive cross-shore sediment transport in the nearshore zone: the wave nonlinearities associated with velocity and acceleration skewness and a negative mean current, the undertow. Net transport rates were evaluated from the sediment balance equation and show that (1) the acceleration skewness in an oscillatory flow produces a net sediment transport in the direction of the highest acceleration; (2) the net transport in the presence of an opposing current is negative, against the direction of the highest acceleration, and reduces with an increase in flow acceleration; and (3) velocity skewness increases the values of the net onshore transport rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Near-bed oscillatory flows with acceleration skewness are characteristic of steep and breaking waves in shallow water. In order to isolate the effects of acceleration skewness on sheet flow sand transport, new experiments are carried out in the Aberdeen Oscillatory Flow Tunnel. The experiments have produced a dataset of net transport rates for full-scale oscillatory flows with varying degrees of acceleration skewness and three sand sizes. The new data confirm previous research that net transport in acceleration-skewed flow is non-zero, is always in the direction of the largest acceleration and increases with increasing acceleration skewness. Large transport rates for the fine sand conditions suggest that phase lag effects play an important role in augmenting positive net transport. A comparison of the new experimental data with a number of practical sand transport formulations that incorporate acceleration skewness shows that none of the formulations performs well in predicting the measured net transport rates for both the fine and the coarser sands. The new experimental data can be used to further develop practical sand transport formulations to better account for acceleration skewness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A 1DV-RANS diffusion model is used to study sand transport processes in oscillatory flat-bed/sheet flow conditions. The central aim is the verification of the model with laboratory data and to identify processes controlling the magnitude and direction (‘onshore’/‘offshore’) of the net time-averaged sand transport. The model is verified with a large series of measured net sand transport rates, as collected in different wave tunnels for a range of wave-current conditions and grain sizes. Although not all sheet flow details are represented in the 1DV-model, it is shown that the model is able to give a correct representation of the observed trends in the data with respect to the influence of the velocity, wave period and grain diameter. Also detailed mean sediment flux profiles in the sheet flow layer are well reproduced by the model, including the direction change from ‘onshore’ to ‘offshore’ due to a difference in grain size from 0.34mm (medium sand) to 0.13mm (fine sand). A model sensitivity study with a selected series of net transport data shows that the stirring height of the suspended sediment ε s /w s strongly controls the magnitude and direction of the net sediment transport. Inclusion of both hindered settling and density stratification appears to be necessary to correctly represent the sand fluxes for waves alone and for waves + a superimposed current. The best agreement with a large dataset of net transport measurements is obtained with the 1DV-RANS model in its original settings using a Prandtl–Schmidt number σ ρ =0.5. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Concentration profiles and overall flow parameters were measured in a 0.37-mm-sand-mixture flow above a plane stationary deposit in a pressurized circular pipe of the inner diameter of 150 mm. The new data and additional data from the literature are used to propose a tentative transport formula of the Meyer-Peter and Müller type, and a slip-ratio formula, for flows at high shear stress in enclosed conduits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fan deltas are excellent recorders of fan-building processes because of their high sedimentation rate, particularly in tectonically active settings. Although previous research focuses mainly on allogenic controls, there is clear evidence for autogenically produced storage and release of sediment by flume and numerical modelling that demands further definition of characteristics and significance of autogenically forced facies and stratigraphy. Analogue experiments were performed on fan deltas with constant extrinsic variables (discharge, sediment supply, sea-level and basin relief) to demonstrate that fan-delta evolution consists of prominent cyclic alternations of channellized flow and sheet flow. The channellized flow is initiated by slope-induced scouring and subsequent headward erosion to form a channel that connected with the valley, while the removed sediment is deposited in a rapidly prograding delta lobe. The resulting decrease in channel gradient causes a reduction in flow strength, mouth-bar formation, flow bifurcation and progressive backfilling of the channel. In the final stage of channel filling, sheet flow coexists for a while with channellized flow (semi-confined flow), although in cycle 1 this phase of semi-confined flow was absent. Subsequent autocyclic incisions are very similar in morphology and gradient. However, they erode deeper into the delta plain and, as a result, take more time to backfill. The duration of the semi-confined flow increases with each subsequent cycle. During the period of sheet flow, the delta plain aggrades up to the ‘critical’ gradient required for the initiation of autocyclic incision. This critical gradient is dependent on the sediment transport capacity, defined by the input conditions. These autogenic cycles of erosion and aggradation confirm earlier findings that storage and release of sediment and associated slope variation play an important role in fan-delta evolution. The erosional surfaces produced by the autocyclic incisions are well-preserved by the backfilling process in the deposits of the fan deltas. These erosional surfaces can easily be misinterpreted as climate, sea-level or tectonically produced bounding surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study is presented consisting of swash zone hydrodynamics, sediment transport flux estimates, and bed changes under a single dam-break-driven swash event over a steep (1:7), movable sand bed. The study provides resolved measurements of instantaneous water depths, cross-shore flow velocities, sheet flow and suspended sediment concentrations, and morphological response. An ensemble-averaging over 24 repetitions of the swash event allows convergence in the time-averaged measured swash quantities. The sand bed profile was re-constructed after each run with a re-smoothing procedure that allowed for minimum variations that are within the profiler system accuracy (<0.006 m). High-resolution measurements are employed to reconstruct the spatial-temporal evolution of the flow velocity field. Temporal extrapolation and spatial logarithmic/exponential fits are employed to fill velocity gaps in the measured data for the estimation of instantaneous and depth-integrated sediment flux. The spatial gradients of instantaneous sediment flux indicate that the sheet flow sediment dominates over the suspended load during the most relevant phases for sediment transport. Upon bore arrival and initial uprush, the relative contribution of the sheet flow load is larger than during the backwash phase and is decreasingly dominant onshore. Depth-integrated instantaneous sediment flux and total sediment transport estimates, based on two different approaches, are compared with equivalent total sediment transport estimates obtained from the observed morphological changes and the sediment continuity equation. The close agreement between the various approaches indicates that existing models and empirical estimates for the sheet load concentration profile can be used as first order estimates for sediment transport in the swash zone. Novel laboratory experiments of instantaneous sediment transport flux in the swash zone Suspended and sheet flow contributions estimated across the swash zone Relative contribution of the sheet flow load decreases landward Existing spatial approximations and temporal extrapolation techniques for the estimation of swash zone sediment transport are tested New bench mark data set for testing time-/phase-resolving hydro-morphodynamical swash models [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To predict sediment transport under oscillatory sheet flow condition, especially for fine sand, is still a challenging research subject in coastal engineering. This paper describes a newly-developed numerical model based on two-phase theory with the use of a one-equation turbulence closure, and its applications in predicting fine sediment suspension in near-prototype oscillatory sheet flow conditions. Model results were compared with comprehensive laboratory measurements of flow velocity and sediment concentration under both symmetrical and asymmetrical oscillatory sheet flows from a large-scale water tunnel. Good agreements between the model results and measurements were achieved and the results demonstrated that the model is capable of reproducing detailed characteristics of sediment entrainment process in the sheet flow regime. The comparisons also revealed the fact that the concentration peaks at flow reversal is associated with the strong vertical sediment transport flux in the pickup layer, which has been widely observed in many laboratory experiments. The effects of flow reversal events on total sediment transport were also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A large number of studies have been done dealing with sinusoidal wave boundary layers in the past. However, ocean waves often have a strong asymmetric shape especially in shallow water, and net of sediment movement occurs. It is envisaged that bottom shear stress and sediment transport behaviors influenced by the effect of asymmetry are different from those in sinusoidal waves. Characteristics of the turbulent boundary layer under breaking waves (saw-tooth) are investigated and described through both laboratory and numerical experiments. A new calculation method for bottom shear stress based on velocity and acceleration terms, theoretical phase difference, φ and the acceleration coefficient, a c expressing the wave skew-ness effect for saw-tooth waves is proposed. The acceleration coefficient was determined empirically from both experimental and baseline k–ω model results. The new calculation has shown better agreement with the experimental data along a wave cycle for all saw-tooth wave cases compared by other existing methods. It was further applied into sediment transport rate calculation induced by skew waves. Sediment transport rate was formulated by using the existing sheet flow sediment transport rate data under skew waves by Watanabe and Sato [Watanabe, A. and Sato, S., 2004. A sheet-flow transport rate formula for asymmetric, forward-leaning waves and currents. Proc. of 29th ICCE, ASCE, pp. 1703–1714.]. Moreover, the characteristics of the net sediment transport were also examined and a good agreement between the proposed method and experimental data has been found. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A large series of field-scale experiments on turbulent sand-laden flows, conducted in preceding years in the LOWT and AOFT large oscillating water tunnels are reviewed and reanalysed. Using the combined experimental data sets, new insights are obtained on the detailed sand transport processes occurring in sheet-flow and ripple regime conditions. For sheet flow (i) new equations are presented relating maximum erosion depth and sheet-flow layer thickness to the maximum Shields parameter; (ii) detailed analysis of sediment flux data shows the dominance of the current-related flux in the sheet-flow layer and the different characters of the current-related flux for fine and medium sands; (iii) a RANS-diffusion type model is shown to reproduce important trends in net transport rate related to grain size, velocity and wave period and to predict the magnitude of net transport rate to within a factor 2 of measured values. For the ripple regime it is shown that (i) asymmetric waves generate negative ('offshore') streaming and the current-related suspended sediment flux associated with this streaming appears to be of the same order of magnitude as the wave-related suspended sediment flux; (ii) time-averaged near-bed transport and time-averaged suspended transport appear to be of about equal magnitude but of opposite sign, and are concentrated on the 'onshore' flank of the ripple for asymmetric wave conditions; (iii) near-bed transport along the onshore flank is generated by sand transported over the ripple crest during the 'onshore' half-cycle. Net sand transport under asymmetric waves can be 'onshore' directed or 'offshore' directed, depending on the degree of unsteadiness in the sand flux behaviour during the wave cycle. Dimensionless phase-lag parameters are presented, for sheet flow and ripples, which can discriminate between predominantly quasi-steady behaviour (resulting in 'onshore' transport) and predominantly unsteady behaviour (resulting in 'offshore transport'). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the saltation regime where bed-shear stress is low, bed load moves by sliding, rolling, and saltating along the bed, while in the sheet-flow regime where bed-shear stress is high, it travels by a combination of saltation and sheet flow. In this paper a theoretical model is developed for predicting the onset of the sheet-flow regime as shear stress increases. This model is based on a new variable Pb representing the proportion of grains on the bed that are entrained as bed load. The model yields the equation Pb=2.56θG3 in which G=1-θc/θ, θ=dimensionless bed-shear stress; and θc=critical value of θ at which grains begin to move. The equation shows that θt, which is the value of θ at the onset of the sheet-flow regime and is assumed to occur when Pb=1, is around 0.5 with the exact value controlled by θc. For example, when θc=0.045, θt=0.52. The theoretical model is verified by performing a nonlinear regression analysis on data from 285 flume experiments. Additional flume experiments with a high-speed video (HSV) system result in consistent values of θ for the onset of the sheet-flow regime, which support the theoretical model. The HSV images further reveal that: (1) the sheet-flow regime is characterized by granular sheets or laminations; and (2) a zone of mixed saltation and rolling grains exists not only in the saltation regime but also in the sheet-flow regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: For the general purposes of morphodynamic computations in coastal zones, simple formula-based models are usually employed to evaluate sediment transport. Sediment transport rates are computed as a function of the bottom shear stress or the near bed flow velocity and it is generally assumed that the sediment particles react immediately to changes in flow conditions. It has been recognized, through recent laboratory experiments in both rippled and plane bed sheet flow conditions that sediment reacts to the flow in a complex manner, involving non-steady processes resulting from memory and settling/entrainment delay effects. These processes may be important in the cross-shore direction, where sediment transport is mainly caused by the oscillatory motions induced by surface short gravity waves. The aim of the present work is to develop a semi-unsteady, practical model, to predict the total (bed load and suspended load) sediment transport rates in wave or combined wave-current flow conditions that are characteristic of the coastal zone. The unsteady effects are reproduced indirectly by taking into account the delayed settling of sediment particles. The net sediment transport rates are computed from the total bottom shear stress and the model takes into account the velocity and acceleration asymmetries of the waves as they propagate towards the shore. A comparison has been carried out between the computed net sediment transport rates with a large data set of experimental results for different flow conditions (wave-current flows, purely oscillatory flow, skewed waves and steady currents) in different regimes (plane bed and rippled bed) with fine, medium and coarse uniform sand. The numerical results obtained are reasonably accurate within a factor of 2. Based on this analysis, the limits and validity of the present formulation are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The effect of acceleration skewness on sheet flow sediment transport rates is analysed using new data which have acceleration skewness and superimposed currents but no boundary layer streaming. Sediment mobilizing forces due to drag and to acceleration (∼ pressure gradients) are weighted by cosine and sine, respectively, of the angle φ τ · φ τ =0 thus corresponds to drag dominated sediment transport, , while φ τ =90° corresponds to total domination by the pressure gradients, . Using the optimal angle, φ τ =51° based on that data, good agreement is subsequently found with data that have strong influence from boundary layer streaming. Good agreement is also maintained with the large body of U-tube data simulating sine waves with superimposed currents and second-order Stokes waves, all of which have zero acceleration skewness. The recommended model can be applied to irregular waves with arbitrary shape as long as the assumption negligible time lag between forcing and sediment transport rate is valid. With respect to irregular waves, the model is much easier to apply than the competing wave-by-wave models. Issues for further model developments are identified through a comprehensive data review. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Data from flume studies are used to develop a model for predicting bed-load transport rates in rough turbulent two-dimensional open-channel flows moving well sorted non-cohesive sediments over plane mobile beds. The object is not to predict transport rates in natural channel flows but rather to provide a standard against which measured bed-load transport rates influenced by factors such as bed forms, bed armouring, or limited sediment availability may be compared in order to assess the impact of these factors on bed-load transport rates. The model is based on a revised version of Bagnold's basic energy equation ibsb = ebω where ib is the immersed bed-load transport rate, ω is flow power per unit area, eh is the efficiency coefficient, and sb is the stress coefficient defined as the ratio of the tangential bed shear stress caused by grain collisions and fluid drag to the immersed weight of the bed load. Expressions are developed for sb and eb in terms of G, a normalized measure of sediment transport stage, and these expressions are substituted into the revised energy equation to obtain the bed-load transport equation ib = ω G3.4. This equation applies regardless of the mode of bed-load transport (i.e. saltation or sheet flow) and reduces to ib = ω where G approaches 1 in the sheet-flow regime. That ib = ω does not mean that all the available power is dissipated in transporting the bed load. Rather, it reflects the fact that ib is a transport rate that must be multiplied by sb to become a work rate before it can be compared with ω. It follows that the proportion of ω that is dissipated in the transport of bed load is ibsb/ω, which is approximately 0.6 when ib = ω. It is suggested that this remarkably high transport efficiency is achieved in sheet flow (1) because the ratio of grain-to-grain to grain-to-bed collisions increases with bed shear stress, and (2) because on average much more momentum is lost in a grain-to-bed collision than in a grain-to-grain one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most models of sediment transport are based on the hypothesis of a weak interaction between the fluid and the sediment phase, where the main flow is subjected to the mass and momentum conservation of the fluid phase, with small corrections due to the presence of the sediments. These models usually give a correct answer for conditions where the concentration of sediment is really low. In the case of high sediment transport, some models analyze the two subdomains separately, the high and the low concentration, and employ different constitutive equations. In the present model there is a two-phase description of the whole domain. The closure of the turbulence and the interaction between the sediments and the fluid introduce approximations, but results are consistent with experiments and previous models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A series of sand bed experiments was carried out in the Large Wave Flume in Hannover, Germany as a component of the SISTEX99 experiment. The experiments focussed on the dynamic sediment response due to wave group forcing over a flat sand bed in order to improve understanding of cross-shore sediment transport mechanisms and determine sediment concentrations, fluxes and net transport rates under these conditions. Sediment concentrations were measured within the sheet flow layer (thickness in the order of 10 grain diameters) and in the suspension region (thickness in the order of centimetres). Within the sheet flow layer, the concentrations are highly coherent with the instantaneous near-bed velocities due to each wave within the wave group. However, in the suspension layer concentrations respond much more slowly to changes in near-bed velocity. At several centimetres above the bed, the suspended sediment concentrations vary on the time scale of the wave group, with a time delay relative to the peak wave within the wave group. The thickness of the sheet flow changes with time. It is strongly coherent with the wave forcing, and is not influenced by the history or sequence of the waves within the group. The velocity of the sediment was also measured within the sheet flow layer some of the time (during the larger wave crests of the group), and the velocity of the fluid was measured at several cm above the sheet flow layer. The grain velocity and concentration estimates can be combined to estimate the sediment flux. The estimates were found to be consistent with previous measurements under monochromatic waves. Under these conditions, without any significant mean current, the sediment flux within the sheet flow layer was found to greatly exceed the sediment flux in the suspension layer. As a result, net transport rates under wave groups are similar to those under monochromatic waves. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Oscillatory flow tunnel measurements of velocities and fluxes for sands in oscillatory sheet flow conditions are presented. The experiments involved a range of well-sorted and graded sands in two asymmetric flows. Velocities were measured using an ultrasonic velocity profiler (UVP) capable of measuring deep within the sheet flow layer. Velocity profiles are found to be similar for the same flow but different sand beds and display expected features of oscillatory boundary layer flow. The near-bed velocity leads the main flow velocity by approximately 21° and a small offshore-directed current is generated near the bed. Measures of the boundary layer thickness are in good agreement with those predicted using an equation formulated for the boundary layer thickness over fixed beds. Velocity data have been combined with concentration data to produce time-dependent sand flux profiles covering the sheet flow and suspension regions. There are fundamental differences in the transport processes of sands of different size and grading, caused by unsteady effects which dominate in the case of fine sand and are largely absent in the case of coarse sand. (1) Time-averaged flux is onshore-directed (positive) in the case of coarse sand and is confined to a region immediately above the bed; in contrast, time-averaged flux in the case of fine sand extends high above the bed, is offshore-directed (negative) in the sheet flow layer and becomes onshore-directed in the suspension layer. (2) Net transport in the case of coarse sand is directed onshore. As the percentage of fine sand in the bed increases, offshore transport becomes increasingly dominant as the percentage of fine sand increases. (3) Net transport in the suspension layer is onshore while net transport in the sheet-flow layer may be onshore or offshore depending on sand size and grading. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

New data on the settling velocity of artificial sediments and natural sands at high concentrations are presented. The data are compared with a widely used semiempirical Richardson and Zaki equation (Trans. Inst. Chem. Eng. 32 (1954) 35), which gives an accurate measure of the reduction in velocity as a function of concentration and an experimentally determined empirical power n. Here, a simple method of determining n is presented using standard equations for the clear water settling velocity and the seepage flow within fixed sediment beds. The resulting values for n are compared against values derived from new and existing laboratory data for beach and filter sands. For sands, the appropriate values of n are found to differ significantly from those suggested by Richardson and Zaki for spheres, and are typically larger, corresponding to a greater reduction in settling velocity at high concentrations. For fine and medium sands at concentrations of order 0.4, the hindered settling velocity reduces to about 70% of that expected using values of n derived for spheres. At concentrations of order 0.15, the hindered settling velocity reduces to less than half of the settling velocity in clear water. These reduced settling velocities have important implications for sediment transport modelling close to, and within, sheet flow layers and in the swash zone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]