Search results for " meander"

Experimental observations of upstream overdeepening

2005

The issue of morphodynamic influence in meandering streams is investigated through a series of laboratory experiments on curved and straight flumes. Both qualitative and quantitative observations confirm the suitability of the recent theoretical developments (Zolezzi & Seminara 2001) that indicate the occurrence of two distinct regimes of morphodynamic influence, depending on the value of the width ratio of the channel β. The threshold value βR separating the upstream from the downstream influence regimes coincides with the resonant value discovered by Blondeaux & Seminara (1985). Indeed it is observed that upstream influence may occur only in relatively wide channels, while narrower stream…

The effect of geometrical parameters on the discharge capacity of meandering compound channels

2008

A number of methods and formulae has been proposed in the literature to estimate the discharge capacity of compound channels. When the main channel has a meandering pattern, a reduction in the conveyance capacity for a given stage is observed, which is due to the energy dissipations caused by the development of strong secondary currents and to the decrease of the main channel bed slope with respect to the valley bed slope. The discharges in meandering compound channels are usually assessed applying, with some adjustments, the same methods used in the straight compound channels. Specifically, the sinuosity of the main channel is frequently introduced to account for its meandering pattern, al…

ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF SINUOSITY IN THE DISCHARGE CAPACITY OF MEANDERING COMPOUND CHANNELS

2007

Flow in meandering bends

2004

Momentum transport and bed shear stress distribution in a meandering bend: Experimental analysis in a laboratory flume

2015

The paper concerns the mechanisms underlying the distribution of the bed shear stress in meandering bends. Literature indicates that cross-stream circulation strongly affects the redistribution of the downstream velocity, but the feedback between them is still poorly understood. The aim of this paper is to gain some insight into how the momentum transport by cross-stream circulation contributes to the bed shear stress redistribution. Experimental analysis, based on a detailed dataset collected in a large-amplitude meandering laboratory flume, is presented. From these data an evaluation is made of the terms in the depth-averaged momentum equations and the analysis is especially devoted to te…

Effect of Vegetation on Fluvial Erosion Processes: Experimental Analysis in a Laboratory Flume

2013

Abstract The plane evolution of a meander wave is determined by the erosion processes at the banks. Particularly, the outer- bank is considerably vulnerable to the erosion processes. Indirect techniques, which act upon the reduction of the effect of the cross-circulation motion, have been recently proposed to limit the outer-bank erosion. This paper shows preliminary results on the role played by vegetation on cross-circulation motion. The analysis is conducted on the basis of experimental data collected in a large amplitude meandering channel constructed at the hydraulic laboratory of DICAM. Maps describing the cross-stream flow, both over the no-vegetated bed and over the vegetated bed, a…

Vegetation effects on cross-sectional flow in a large amplitude meandering bend

2017

ABSTRACTCross-stream circulation, which develops in meandering bends, exerts an important role in velocity redistribution. This paper investigates how the presence of vegetation could affect the evolution pattern of cross-stream flow along a high-curvature meandering bend. The analysis is conducted with the aid of data collected in a meandering laboratory flume over non-vegetated and vegetated beds. The experiments reveal that, once the vegetation is introduced, the flow pattern determined by the channel’s curvature is interrupted. In the presence of vegetation, the central-region circulation cell seems to be divided into thin circulation cells developing at the top of the vegetated layer a…

Turbulence structure and implications in exchange processes in high-amplitude vegetated meanders: Experimental investigation

2018

Aquatic plants in rivers interact with flow and exert an important role in maintaining suitable habitat and ecological equilibrium. Understanding turbulence structure in the presence of vegetation is important with respect to environmental processes, such as sediment transport and mixing of transported quantities. Literature indicates that mass and momentum exchanges in the presence of vegetation are strongly influenced by the sequence of coherent structures which form between vegetated and non-vegetated zones. In the present paper we investigate turbulence structure and coherent motion in high-curvature channels with submerged vegetation. The analysis is performed with the aid of detailed …

Experimental investigation of the evolution of secondary motion in a large amplitude meandering flume

2008

The development of secondary motion along open-channel bends strongly affects the bed deformation and the channel plane evolution. Recent experimental results obtained at the apex section of a large amplitude meandering flume have confirmed that besides the main central circulation cell a second counter-rotating cell develops near the free surface of the outer bank. In the light of such results, in this work the attention is devoted to the analysis of the evolution of the observed secondary motion along whole bend. The analysis is conducted on the basis of flow velocity data collected in five transversal sections along half wave-length of the same large amplitude meandering flume.

Role of secondary circulation on bank erosion in a large amplitude meandering laboratory channel

2009

This paper reports peculiar results of experimental investigation on the evolution of flow secondary circulation motion along a meander wave. The experiments have been conducted in a large amplitude meandering laboratory channel for two values of the width-to-depth ratio. Attention is focalised on how secondary motion affects the bank shear stress distribution, influencing the bank stability. The analysis essentially highlights that, especially for small width-to-depth ratio, as the channel curvature increases besides the classical central-region secondary circulation cell a counter-rotating circulation cell forms in the outer-bank region. Such counterrotating circulation cell allows to obt…