Subject Group of Field Engineering for Environment
21204
Sediment Transport
Winter
Description and rationale: The morphology and the configuration of river channels are determined by the
sediment movement due to flow, but the flow itself is in turn strongly affected by the channel configuration.
The river morphology is self-organized by the interaction between flow and the channel configuration. It is
important to predict river morphology formed under given conditions from viewpoints of flood protection,
sustainable development of water resources, and high level of land planning. The purpose of this lecture is to
obtain knowledge on fluid mechanics, sediment transport, and morphodynamics in rivers, needed to solve a
variety of river engineering problems.
Keywords: fluid mechanics, morphodynamics, open channel flow, sediment transport, river morphology
Pre-requisite: A basic knowledge of fluid mechanics, multivariate calculus and ordinary differential equations
is expected.
Expected students: master and doctoral
Instructors: Prof. Norihiro IZUMI (nizumi@eng.hokudai.ac.jp)
Course outline:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
Introduction
Sediment Properties – rock types, specific gravity, size, size distribution, porosity, shape
Review of Fluid Mechanics 1 – Navier-Stokes equations, Reynolds decomposition
Review of Fluid Mechanics 2 – bed shear stress, relations for channel resistance, St. Venant shallow water
equations
Equations of Particle Motion – particle moving through quiescent fluid, terminal fall velocity in quiescent
fluid, particle in a moving fluid, collision with the bed, diffusion of turbulence
Macroscopic View of Sediment Transport – bedload, suspended load, Exner equation
Threshold Condition for Sediment Motion – Critical stress for flow over a granular bed, Shields diagram
Mechanics of Bedload Transport 1 – Bagnold hypothesis of bedload transport
Mechanics of Bedload Transport 2 – Ashida-Michiue formula, smorgasbord of bedload transport relations
Suspended Sediment Transport 1 – mass conservation of suspended sediment, Rousean distribution of
suspended sediment
Suspended Sediment Transport 2 – vertically-averaged concentration, relation for sediment entrainment
Descriptive Analysis of Bedforms – introduction of bedform mechanics, dunes, antidunes, ripples, bars
Stability Analysis of Bedforms 1 – one-dimensional St. Venant model of bedform stability, modified St.
Venant stability model
Stability Analysis of Bedforms 2 – shear flow model
Grading:
50%: assignments (4-5 assignments are required during the term)
50%: final exam
Textbooks and references: Handouts are distributed. The following books may be of reference.
 J.W. Daily, and D. R. Harleman, Fluid Dynamics, Addison-Wesley, 454p, 1966.
 M.Selim Yalin, Mechanics of Sediment Transport, Elsevier, 360p, 1977.
 J. Raudkivi, Loose Boundary Hydraulics, third edition, Pergamon, 400p, 1990.
8/2008