Turbulence and Flow–Sediment Interactions in Open-Channel Flows

The main focus of this Special Issue of Water is the state-of-the-art and recent research on turbulence and flow–sediment interactions in open-channel flows. Our knowledge of river hydraulics is becoming deeper and deeper, thanks to both laboratory/field experiments related to the characteristics of turbulence and their link to the erosion, transport, deposition, and local scouring phenomena. Collaboration among engineers, physicists, and other experts is increasing and furnishing new inter/multidisciplinary perspectives to the research in river hydraulics and fluid mechanics. At the same time, the development of both sophisticated laboratory instrumentation and computing skills is giving rise to excellent experimental–numerical comparative studies. Thus, this Special Issue, with ten papers by researchers from many institutions around the world, aims at offering a modern panoramic view on all the above aspects to the vast audience of river researchers. Full article

Most of the existing works on vegetated flows are based on experimental tests in smooth channel beds with staggered-arranged rigid/flexible vegetation stems. Actually, a riverbed is characterized by other roughness elements, i.e., sediments, which have important implications on the development of the turbulence structures, especially in the near-bed flow zone. Thus, the aim of this experimental study was to explore for the first time the turbulence anisotropy of flows through emergent rigid vegetation on rough beds, using the so-called anisotropy invariant maps (AIMs). Toward this end, an experimental investigation, based on Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) measures, was performed in a laboratory flume and consisted of three runs with different bed sediment size. In order to comprehend the mean flow conditions, the present study firstly analyzed and discussed the time-averaged velocity, the Reynolds shear stresses, the viscous stresses, and the vorticity fields in the free stream region. The analysis of the AIMs showed that the combined effect of vegetation and bed roughness causes the evolution of the turbulence from the quasi-three-dimensional isotropy to axisymmetric anisotropy approaching the bed surface. This confirms that, as the effects of the bed roughness diminish, the turbulence tends to an isotropic state. This behavior is more evident for the run with the lowest bed sediment diameter. Furthermore, it was revealed that also the topographical configuration of the bed surface has a strong impact on the turbulent characteristics of the flow. Full article

We address the issue of characterizing experimentally entrainment and disentrainment of sediment particles of cohesionless granular beds in turbulent open channel flows. Employing Particle Image Velocimetry, we identify episodes of entrainment and of disentrainment of bed particles by analysing the raw PIV images. We define a reference velocity for entrainment or disentrainment by space-averaging the flow field in the vicinity of the (entrained or disentrainned) particle and by time-averaging that space-average over a short duration encompassing the observed episode. All observations and measurements took place under generalized movement conditions and in non-controlled geometrical set-ups, resulting in unique databases of conditionally sampled turbulent flow kinematics associated with episodes of particle entrainment and of particle disentrainment. Exploring this database, the objective of this paper is to prove further insights on the dynamics of fluid-particle and particle-particle interactions at entrainment and disentrainment and to polemicize the use of a reference velocity to serve as a proxy for hydrodynamics actions responsible for entrainment or disentrainment. In particular, we quantify the reference velocity associated with entrainment and disentrainment episodes and discuss its potential to describe the observed motion vis-a-vis local bed micro-topography and the type of entrainment or disentrainment event. Entrainment may occur at a wide range of reference velocities, including smaller than mean (double-averaged) velocities. Anecdotal evidence was collected for some typologies of entrainment: (i) momentum transfer from flow to a single particle, (ii) momentum transfer from a perturbed local flow to a single particle, (iii) collective entrainment associated to momentum transfer between a moving and a resting particle and (iv) collective entrainment considered to be a dislodgment of several particles involving momentum transfer from other particles. In some of these cases, e.g., (ii) and (iii), the use of a reference velocity seems inadequate to characterize the entrainment episode. A word of caution about the use of entrainment models based on reference velocities is henceforth issued and contextualized. In the case of disentrainment, a reference velocity seems to constitute a better descriptor of the observed behaviour. The scatter in the observed values seems to express the contribution of bed micro-topography. All particles were found to experience frictional contacts with the resting bed surface particles, but some particles were stopped more abruptly due to the presence of an obstacle along their path. Most disentrainment of particles took place when the near-bed flow was featuring ejection events. Full article

Flow measurements were performed in the altered Yeongsan estuary, Korea, in August 2011, to investigate changes in flow structure in the water column and turbulence characteristics very close to the bed. Comparison between the bottom turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was conducted to examine how discrete freshwater discharge affects the bottom sediment concentration. The discrete freshwater discharge due to the gate opening of the Yeongsan estuarine dam induced a strong two-layer circulation: an offshore-flowing surface layer and a landward-flowing bottom layer. The fine flow structure from the bed to 0.35 m above the bottom (mab hereafter) exhibited an upside-down-bell-shaped profile for which current speed was nearly uniform above 0.1 mab, with the magnitude of the horizontal and vertical flow speeds reaching 0.1 and 0.01 m/s, respectively. The bottom turbulence responded to the freshwater discharge at the surface layer and the maximum magnitude of the Reynolds stress reached up to 2 × 10⁻⁴ m²/s² during the discharged period, which coincided with increased SSC in the bottom boundary layer. These results indicate that the surface freshwater discharge due to opening of the estuarine dam gate increases the SSC by the discharge-induced intensification of the turbulent flow in the bottom boundary layer. Full article

Confluences are common components of all riverine systems, characterized by converging flow streamlines and the mixing of separate flows. The fluid dynamics of confluences possesses a highly complex structure with several common types of flow features observed. A field study was recently conducted in the area of the confluence of the Negro and Solimões/Amazon Rivers, Brazil, collecting a series of Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) transects in different flow conditions. These data were used to investigate the morphology of the bedforms observed in that area. First, the bedforms were mostly classified as large and very large dunes according to Ashley et al. (1990), with an observed maximum wavelength and wave height of 350 and 12 m, respectively. Second, a comparison between low flow and relatively high flow conditions showed that wavelength and wave height increased as the river discharge increased in agreement with previous literature studies. Third, the lee side angle was consistently below 10°, with an average value of about 3.0°, without flow separation confirming past findings on low-angle dunes. Finally, a comparison between the bedform sizes and past literature studies on large rivers suggested that while several dunes were in equilibrium with the flow, several largest bedforms were found to be probably adapting to discharge changes in the river. Full article

Several researchers have studied turbulent structures, such as ejections, sweeps, and outwards and inwards interactions in flumes, where the streamwise velocity dominates over vertical and transversal velocities. However, this research presents an experimental study in which there are ejections associated with the interchange between surface and subsurface water, where the vertical velocity dominates over the streamwise component. The experiment is related to a surface alluvial stream that is polluted with fine sediment, which is percolated into the bed. The subsurface flow is modified by a lower permeability associated with the fine sediment and emerges to the surface current. Quasi-steady ejections are produced that drag fine sediment into the surface flow. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measured the velocity field before and after the ejection. The velocity data were analyzed by scatter plots, power spectra, and wavelet analysis of turbulent fluctuations, finding changes in the distribution of turbulence interactions with and without the presence of fine deposits. The flow sediment ejection changes the patterns of turbulent structures and the distribution of the turbulence interactions that have been reported in open channels without subsurface flows. Full article

Experimental turbulence measurements of scour hole downstream of bed sills in alluvial channels with non-cohesive sediments are investigated. Using an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV), the flow velocity-field within the equilibrium scour hole was comprehensively measured. In this study, we especially focus on the flow hydrodynamic structure in the scour hole at equilibrium. In addition to the flow velocity distribution in the equilibrium scour hole, the turbulence intensities, the Reynolds shear stresses, the turbulent kinetic energy, and the turbulent length scales are analyzed. Since the prediction of equilibrium scour features is always very uncertain, in this study and based on laboratory turbulence measurements, we apply the phenomenological theory of turbulence to predict the maximum equilibrium scour depth. With this approach, we obtain a new scaling of the maximum scour depth at equilibrium, which is validated using experimental data, satisfying the validity of a spectral exponent equal to −5/3. The proposed scaling shows a quite reasonable accuracy in predicting the equilibrium scour depth in different hydraulic structures. Full article

This study presents the results of an experimental investigation on the flow-structure interactions at scoured horizontal cylinders, varying the gap between the cylinder and the bed surface. A 2D Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system was used to measure the flow field in a vertical plane at the end of the scouring process. Instantaneous and ensemble-averaged velocity and vorticity fields, viscous and Reynolds stresses, and ensemble-averaged turbulence indicators were calculated. Longitudinal bed profiles were measured at the equilibrium. The results revealed that suspended and laid on cylinders behave differently from half-buried cylinders if subjected to the same hydraulic conditions. In the latter case, vortex shedding downstream of the cylinder is suppressed by the presence of the bed surface that causes an asymmetry in the development of the vortices. This implies that strong turbulent mixing processes occur downstream of the uncovered cylinders, whereas in the case of half-buried cylinders they are confined within the scour hole. Full article

This study examines the turbulence in wall-wake flow downstream of an isolated dunal bedform. The streamwise flow velocity and Reynolds shear stress profiles at the upstream and various streamwise distances downstream of the dune were obtained. The results reveal that in the wall-wake flow, the third-order moments change their signs below the dune crest, whereas their signs remain unaltered above the crest. The near-wake flow is featured by sweep events, whereas the far-wake flow is controlled by the ejection events. Downstream of the dune, the turbulent kinetic energy production and dissipation rates, in the near-bed flow zone, are positive. However, they reduce as the vertical distance increases up to the lower-half of the dune height and beyond that, they increase with an increase in vertical distance, attaining their peaks at the crest. The turbulent kinetic energy diffusion and pressure energy diffusion rates, in the near-bed flow zone, are negative, whereas they attain their positive peaks at the crest. The anisotropy invariant maps indicate that the data plots in the wall-wake flow form a looping trend. Below the crest, the turbulence has an affinity to a two-dimensional isotropy, whereas above the crest, the anisotropy tends to reduce to a quasi-three-dimensional isotropy. Full article

Bridge pier scour is one of the main causes of bridge failure and a major factor that contributes to the total construction and maintenance costs of bridge. Recently, because of unexpected high water during extreme hydrologic events, the resilience and security of hydraulic infrastructure with respect to the scour protection measure along a river reach has become a more immediate topic for river engineering society. Although numerous studies have been conducted to suggest pier scour estimation formulas, understanding of turbulence characteristics which is dominant driver of sediment transport around a pier foundation is still questionable. Thus, to understand near bed turbulence characteristics and resulting sediment transport around a pier, hydraulic laboratory experiments were conducted in a prismatic rectangular flume using scale-down bridge pier models. Three-dimensional velocities and turbulent intensities before and after scour were measured with Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV), and the results were compared/analyzed using the best available tools and current knowledge gained from recent studies. The results show that the mean flow variable is not enough to explain complex turbulent flow field around the pier leading to the maximum scour because of unsteady flows. Furthermore, results of quadrant analysis of velocity measurements just upstream of the pier in the horseshoe vortex region show significant differences before and after scour. Full article

Many studies based on single-point measurement data have demonstrated the impressive ability of wavelet coherency analysis to catch the coherent structures in the wall-bounded flows; however, the question of how the events found by the wavelet coherency analysis relate to the features of the coherent structures remains open. Time series of velocity fields in x–y plane of the steady open channel flow was obtained from a time-resolved particle imaging velocimetry system. The local wavelet spectrum found shows that one of the main energetic scales in open channel flows is 3h motions. The wavelet coherent coefficients of u and v series from the same measurement points successfully detected the occurrence and the scale of these 3h motions, and the phase angle indicates their inside velocity structure is organized by the Q2 and Q4 events. The wavelet coherency analysis between different measurement points further reveals the incline feature of the 3h scale motions. All the features of this 3h motion found by the wavelet coherency analysis coincide well with the flow field that is created by the passing of hairpin packets. Full article