Yes / Self-aeration in open channel flows occurs owing to free surface air entrainment. Self-aeration development and fully cross-sectional distribution of air concentration are not thoroughly understood. In the present study, an analytical solution for the averaged cross-sectional air concentration in the gradually varying region is established using a simplified mechanism of free surface air entrainment. For a fully cross-sectional distribution of air concentration affected by the channel bottom, a model of a diffusion region without wall restraint is proposed, and two situations are classified based on averaged cross-sectional air concentration. Good agreement between measured data and calculations is obtained, and the computational accuracy of the air concentration distribution near the wall is improved. The results reveal that the channel slope determines the air entrainment quantity, while water flow discharge determines the self-aeration evolution distance. The solutions for the averaged cross-sectional air concentration and the effect of the bottom wall on air diffusion promote air–water flow applications in hydraulic engineering practices. / This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 51939007, 51979183]; Sichuan Province Science and Technology support program [grant number 2019JDTD0007].

The movement of granular material along a streambed has been a challenging subject for researchers for more than a century. Predicting the limiting case of nearly zero bedload transport, usually referred to as threshold of motion or critical condition, is even more challenging due to the highly fluctuating nature of turbulent flow. Numerous works have advocated that the peak turbulent forces, randomly occurring in time and space with magnitudes higher than the average, initiate the bed material motion. More recent findings have shown that not only the magnitude of the peak turbulent forces acting on individual grains but their duration as well have to be considered for determining the incipient conditions. Their product, or impulse, is better suited for specifying such conditions. The goal of this study was to investigate the mechanism responsible for initiation of sediment motion under turbulent flow conditions. The impulse concept was investigated by utilizing appropriate measurement methods in the laboratory for determining the condition of incipient motion. The experimental program included measurements of particle entrainment rates of a mobile grain and turbulence induced forces acting upon a fixed grain for a range of flow conditions. In addition, near bed flow velocities were measured synchronously with both the entrainment and pressure measurements at turbulent resolving frequencies. Results of this work covered the limitations and uncertainties associated with the experimental methods employed, and the description of the inadequacies of existing incipient motion models via the impulse framework. The extreme sensitivity of bed material activity to minute adjustments in flow conditions was explained by the associated change in the frequency of impulse events. The probability density function proposed for impulse was used together with the critical impulse to estimate the particle entrainment rate for a range of flow conditions. It was shown that the impulse events with potential to dislodge the grain were occurring mostly during sweep type of flow structures. The impulse events were also typically accompanied by positive lift forces. The force patterns showed that the positive peaks in the lift consistently occurred before and after the impulse events in the drag force. The magnitude of these lift forces were significantly higher in the wake of a cylinder compared to that of uniform flow conditions. The time average lift force in the wake of a cylinder was also observed to be positive with magnitudes reaching more than 30% of the submerged weight of the particle. The cylinder caused the downstream turbulence intensity to increase slightly but the particle entrainment rate to increase significantly. This finding provided a physically based explanation for the modification of turbulent force fluctuations and resulting changes in the particle movement rates by such unsteady flow conditions. / Ph. D.

It is demonstrated that the method for locating a velocity profile origin, or plane of zero velocity, by fitting log profiles to streamwise velocity measurements is applicable to a larger range of roughness scales than previously expected. Five different sets of detailed, experimental velocity measurements were analyzed encompassing sediment-scale roughness elements, roughness caused by rigid vegetation, and large-scale roughness elements comprised of mobile bedforms. The method resulted in similar values of normalized zero-plane displacement for all roughness types considered. The ratios of zero-plane displacement, dh, to roughness height, ks, were 0.20 and 0.26 for the sediment- and vegetation-scale experiments, respectively. The results for the two experiments with bedform dominated roughness were 0.34 and 0.41. An estimate of dh/ks ranging from 0.2 to 0.4 is therefore recommended for a range of roughness types with the higher end of the range being more appropriate for the larger, bedform-scale roughness elements, and the lower end for the sediment-scale roughness elements. In addition, it is demonstrated that the location of the plane of zero velocity is temporally constant even when the bed height is not. The effects of roughness element packing density were also examined with the identification of a possible threshold at 4%, above which zero-plane displacement is independent of packing density. The findings can be applied to field velocity measurements under mobile bed conditions, facilitating the calculation of turbulence parameters such as shear velocity, by using point measurements and providing guidelines for the estimation of an appropriate value for zero-plane displacement. / Master of Science

Yes / The Prandtl second kind of secondary current occurs in any narrow channel flow causing velocity dip in the flow velocity distribution by introducing the anisotropic turbulence into the flow. Here, a study was conducted to explain the occurrence of the secondary current in the outer region of flow velocity distribution using a universal expression. Started from the basic Navier-Stokes equation, the velocity profile derivation was accomplished in a universal way for both smooth and rough open channel flows. However, the outcome of the derived theoretical equation shows that the smooth and rough bed flows give different boundary conditions due to the different formation of log law for smooth and rough bed cases in the inner region of velocity distribution. Detailed comparison with a wide range of different measurement results from literatures (from smooth, rough and field measured data) evidences the capability of the proposed law to represent flow under all bed roughness conditions.

Yes / Aquatic vegetation can significantly affect flow structure, sediment transport, bed scour and water quality in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and open channels. In this study, the lattice Boltzmann method is applied for performing the two dimensional numerical simulation of the flow structure in a flume with rigid vegetation. A multi-relaxation time model is applied to improve the stability of the numerical scheme for flow with high Reynolds number. The vegetation induced drag force is added in lattice Boltzmann equation model with the algorithm of multi-relaxation time in order to improve the simulation accuracy,. Numerical simulations are performed for a wide range of flow and vegetation conditions and are validated by comparing with the laboratory experiments. Analysis of the simulated and experimentally measured flow field shows that the numerical simulation can satisfactorily reproduce the laboratory experiments, indicating that the proposed lattice Boltzmann model has high accuracy for simulating flow-vegetation interaction in open channel. / National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 11861003 and 11761005)

Yes / Bridge pier is a common feature in hydraulic structure. Its impact to the river usually occurs in group form rather than single pier, so this challenging piers-group influence towards river hydraulics and turbulence needs to be explored. In this paper, the measurements were conducted using an Acoustic doppler velocimeter (ADV) to study velocities in three dimensions (longitudinal, transversal, and vertical). Based on the experimental data, we have observed reversed depth-averaged velocity vector after each pier in the group of three-pier. The analysis has been conducted on the contribution of each bursting event to Reynolds shear stress (RSS) generation, in order to identify the critical events and turbulence structures around the piers. In the upstream near-wake flow in the bed-wall layer, strong sweep and ejection events have been observed; while at downstream, sweeps were more dominant. The pattern of burst changed in the outer layer of flow, where ejections were more dominant. Furthermore, the contribution fractional ratio to RSS variation at hole size H = 0 indicates that sweeps and ejections were significantly generated at the near wake-flow in upstream.

Yes / This paper aims to investigate the mean velocities and turbulence characteristics, which include Reynolds shear stresses (RSS) and turbulent intensities, in order to study temporal and spatial flow patterns around a complex three square-piers group. Measurements have been performed by acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) to identify turbulence flow structures alteration and vortices formation in longitudinal, transverse, and vertical directions. In total, 164 locations around the bridge piers have been measured, while each location consists of no lesser than 15 vertical depth ADV data point measurements. To investigate the flow turbulence, critical locations have been observed from high vortex-influenced regions. The impacted mean velocity profiles have been compared to that at the unaffected region to study the flow alteration caused by piers group. The result reveals that the log-law layer near wall has been enhanced by the installation of pier. Furthermore, as identified from the most critical locations of turbulent structures across different measurement rows, the accelerated flow will result in lower observed turbulent structures. Although flow after each pier has been influenced by strong reversal velocities, vortices have managed to form at near wake. Analysis has been divided into inner and outer flow regions (IFR and OFR) based on flow depth to enhance the understanding of how bridge piers contribute to the development of flow turbulence. / Shuyan Zang acknowledges the support of Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 22308222) to this study.

Previous field demonstration projects in metro-Atlanta have shown that seep berms, which are elongated sedimentation basins at the outlet of a disturbed land area, can provide high suspended sediment trap efficiencies with respect to coarse sediments on construction sites having drainage areas greater than five acres. Previous literature has shown that vegetative filter strips are efficient traps for fine suspended sediment in stormwater runoff. A combination of a seep berm and vegetative filter in series was studied in this thesis as an erosion control measure with quantification of its flow resistance and sediment removal efficiency. First, a field demonstration project was implemented to evaluate seep berms as a viable erosion control measure through a side-by-side comparison with the more commonly-used silt fences on construction sites with drainage areas less than five acres in metro Atlanta. High suspended sediment trap efficiencies were recorded for the seep berm on two separate sites, and the seep berm was shown to be superior to silt fences with respect to sediment control in the site runoff. Then a vegetative filter was studied in the laboratory in a specially-built flume for that purpose. The relationship between vegetative drag coefficient and various parameters reflecting flow conditions and vegetation density in steady, uniform open channel flow was studied in the flume. Both rigid, emergent vegetation and submerged, flexible vegetation were studied at two different plant densities. The application of porous media flow concepts to open channel flow through vegetation resulted in a collapse of data for vegetative drag coefficient for the various vegetation types and densities into a single relationship when plotted against vegetative stem Reynolds number. Point velocity and turbulence intensity profiles at different locations in the vegetative filter were recorded with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter to observe the turbulence structure of the flow and its effects on vegetative drag and settling of sediment. A sediment slurry consisting of a suspension of fine sand was fed into the flume, and an automated sampler was used to measure suspended sediment concentrations along the vegetative filter length for a series of discharges from which sediment flux and trap efficiency could be determined. Experimental data for trap efficiency were plotted against a dimensionless settling efficiency for each type of vegetation and density. These relationships, along with the one developed for the coefficient of drag, were applied in a numerical design technique that allows designers to determine the flow depth, velocity and trap efficiency of a vegetative filter of known dimensions for a given flow rate, sediment grain size distribution, slope, and vegetation density. In a typical design example, the combined trap efficiency proved that a seep berm followed by a vegetative filter can be a very effective erosion control measure.

Tyrolean type water-intake structures are widely used on mountain rivers to provide water to hydropower stations. The main concern encountered in these kinds of structures is the amount of water diverted from the main channel and sediment carried by this flow. The diverted flow should not be less than the design discharge of the hydropower station and the amount of the sediment entering the hydraulic system should be minimum. In this study a physical model of a Tyrolean weir was constructed at the Hydromechanics Laboratory and by varying the dimensions of the various components of this system / the length, the inclination angle of the rack and the distance between the rack bars, the amount of water and sediment entering the system were measured for a wide range of discharges. The experiments were conducted in two stages. In the first stage the tests were made with only water, and in the second stage, water and sediment having different gradation were used. Applying dimensional analysis to the related parameters of the system dimensionless terms were defined for water capture efficiency and discharge coefficient of the system, and their variations with the relevant parameters were plotted. Using these diagrams one can determine the amount of water to be diverted by a Tyrolean weir of known geometry and main channel flow.

Tyrolean type water-intake structures are commonly used on mountain rivers to supply water to hydropower stations. The amount of water to be diverted from the main channel is the major concern in these kind of structures and should not be less than the design discharge. In this study a physical model of a Tyrolean type water-intake structure was built at the laboratory and the diverted flow from the main channel through the intake structure having steel racks and perforated plates of different types were measured. The experiments were conducted in two stages. In the first stage the tests were carried out with only steel racks having three different bar openings and slopes, and in the second stage, perforated screens of three different circular openings and screen slopes were used. Applying dimensional analysis to the related parameters of the system the dimensionless terms were defined for the water capture efficiency and discharge coefficient of the system, and their variations with the relevant parameters were plotted. Using these diagrams one can determine the amount of water to be diverted by a Tyrolean weir of known geometry and main channel discharge.