Shallow sediment transport flow computation using time-varying sediment adaptation length

Abstract

Based on the common approach, the adaptation length in sediment transport is normally estimated in the temporal independence. However, this approach might not be theoretically justified as the process of reaching of the sediment transport equilibrium stage is affected by the flow conditions in time, especially for those fast sediment moving flows, such as scour-hole developing flow. In this study, the 2D shallow water formulation together with a sediment continuity-concentration (SCC) model were applied to flow with mobile sediment boundary. A time-varying approach was proposed to determine the sediment transport adaptation length to treat the flow sediment erosion-deposition rate. The proposed computational model was based on the Finite Volume (FV) method. The Monotone Upwind Scheme of Conservative Laws (MUSCL)-Hancock scheme was used with the Harten Lax van Leer-contact (HLLC) approximate Riemann solver to discretize the FV model. In the flow applications of this paper, a highly discontinuous dam-break fast sediment transport flow was used to calibrate the proposed time-varying sediment adaptation length model. Then the calibrated model was further applied to two separate experimental sediment transport flow applications documented in literature, i.e. a highly concentrated sediment transport flow in a wide alluvial channel and a sediment aggradation flow. Good agreements with the experimental data were presented by the proposed model simulations. The tests prove that the proposed model, which was calibrated by the discontinuous dam-break bed scouring flow, also performed well to represent the rapid bed change and the steady sediment mobility conditions.