EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON SEDIMENT BEHAVIOR ON ALTERNATE GRAVEL-BARS

Abstract

These days, more information about the physical surface condition of riverbeds is needed for good river management to be able to take the habitat of river organisms into account. However, it is difficult to examine either sediment conditions at the surface or the substrate structure in detail because of problems in predicting sediment behavior in a real river. Furthermore, the attributes of mixed sediment transport vary depending on physical conditions, making it difficult to describe using numerical simulations. Therefore, a series of flume experiments were conducted in order to examine sediment behavior through alternate bars composed of sand and gravel. These experiments demonstrated the characteristics of fine and coarse sediment movement and indicated the plane distribution of sediment transport on the bars. Additionally, results indicated the impact of fine sediment supply on bed degradation, as well as on bar–morphology.