Hydromechanics for the formation and development of radial sandbanks (II)Vertical characteristics of tidal flow

In order to study the tidal current ridges, a three-dimensional numerical model is, for the first time, applied to studying the hydrodynamic circumstance with Houbolt’s spiral assumption in the radial sandbank area. It successfully reveals that the radial sandbanks are molded by to-and-fro tidal current as well as the subtransverse circulation current, and that both contribute to maintaining the interior dynamic balance of the sandbanks. It is also found that the subtransverse circulation current would not always appear in pair within the ridges. These discoveries enrich the theoretical results in hydrodynamics of tidal current ridges.