Mean flow, secondary currents and bed shear stress at a 180-degree laboratory bend with and without enhanced permeable groins as an Eco-friendly river structure

River restoration aims to apply environmentally-friendly structures for bank protection in meandering rivers to restore their natural habitat. Enhanced Permeable Groin (EPG) is a novel river restoration technique that can improve the fish habitat environment in a river system by creating a series of eco-friendly scour pools. This study reports the results of two groups of 3D velocity measurements in a 180-degree channel bend in cases with and without an EPG for clear water conditions to characterize the mechanisms leading to the primary stages of the scouring phenomenon. The analysis revealed that the presence of an EPG amplified the velocity magnitude in the regions near the tip of the van…