Flow characteristics in partially vegetated channel with homogeneous and heterogeneous layouts

Abstract

This study presents the experimental results of the flow characteristics, such as the flow adjustment, velocity profiles, mixing layer, and the momentum exchange, in the partially vegetated channel with homogeneous and heterogeneous layouts. Three cases are considered, including two homogeneous canopies with uniform sparse and dense vegetation patches respectively, and a heterogeneous canopy consisting of alternating patches of both densities. Results show that heterogeneous canopy requires a longer adjustment distance to reach the quasi-equilibrium region, compared with the homogenous canopy of the same density. In heterogeneous canopy flow, the mixing layer width and the momentum thickness fluctuates with the alternation of vegetation density. The increased values for these two parameters compared to those values for the homogeneous canopies indicate that the greater resistance and momentum loss occur for the heterogeneous layout. A wavy region of the enhanced in-plane turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) is observed in the heterogeneous canopy, suggesting a comparatively more chaotic flow condition, whereas the contours of in-plane TKE are smooth in homogeneous canopies. The presence of the coherent structures in heterogeneous canopy is identified by spectral analysis and the quasi-periodic fluctuations of velocities. The Reynolds stress associated with the coherent structures is found to be the dominator of the contribution to the total Reynolds stress. The comparison between the homogenous canopies of different density is also conducted. These results will be of practical importance for the design of vegetation layouts in water ecological restoration projects and for river management.