Experimental analysis of the effect of bed-load movement on flow hydraulic characteristics

In this study, the effect of bed-load movement on mean flow characteristics was evaluated in two rigid rectangular flumes. The experiments consisted of creating flow conditions carrying sediments with mean diameters of D-50 = 0.5, 0.6, and 2.84 mm over both smooth and rough beds. Various sediment concentrations were injected at the upstream end of the flume at non-deposit injection rates to study the effect of various concentrations on flow resistance. The effect of sediment movement on flow resistance was examined by comparing the results with those of clear water flows (without sediment injection on both smooth and rough beds). The results showed that the sediment transport in maximum injection rate may increase the friction factor up to 50 and 58 percent for smooth bed, and up to about 75 and 80 percent in rough bed with mean diameter of 0.5 and 0.6 mm. Besides, for D-50 = 2.84 mm, the friction factor decreased in smooth bed and increased up to 50 percent in rough bed. In general, it can be concluded that bed-load transport can be increased by the flow friction factor. The results also showed that bed-loads may decrease the average velocity and increase shear velocity with extraction of momentum from the flow, which both of mentioned factors may increase the flow friction factor. Raising the bed-load concentration in the flow may increase the elevation of the friction factor, approaching a constant value after reaching to the aggregation threshold and generation of bed forms.