The flow characteristics in a meander channel are fully three-dimensional. With the primary flow in the streamwise direction, the secondary flow in the transverse and vertical directions induced by the channel bends are significant in the analyses of the turbulent structure. Some of the analyses in the straight channel, for instance, the quadrant analysis for the bursting phenomena, are inadequate in investigating the meander channel, since the flow in the transverse direction is not taken into account. In order to reveal the flow characteristics in a multi-bend meander channel, especially, the bursting process, experiments are conducted in the present study. With the three-dimensional quadrant analysis, the influence of the transverse flow velocity during the bursting process could be correctly addressed. The analyses and discussions are presented in this paper.
The incipient motion of bedload is due to the interaction between the flow and sediment.It is stochastically correlated with the flow structure,the sediment gradation and the arrangement of grains on the bed surface.The random position of the sediment on bed can be represented by a hiding factor or an exposure degree.Based on the numerical simulation of the disturbed flow in the interstice of grains,the influence of the two-way exposure degree(the vertical exposure degree and the longitudinal exposure degree) on the coarse grain incipient motion was investigated in this work.Results show that the exposure degree varies with the position of the sediment on the bed,which influences the flow structure around the particle and the incipient motion.In this paper,the major research achievements on this phenomenon include:Firstly,a mathematical model is established for the rolling-pattern incipient motion of the coarse grain under a critical state of moment balance.The influence of the partial disturbed flow is considered.Secondly,the two-way relative-exposure-degree probability distribution functions are developed to reflect the influence of the disturbed flow and the random arrangement of sediments.Thirdly,a formula to calculate the incipient velocity is presented based on the above results,which considers the impact of the two-way exposure degree of sediment particles.
Large-scale structure of river flow is the main driving force for bed erosion-deposition and bank deformation.The structure shapes and retains a corresponding hydraulic geometry form.Therefore,the most stable flow structure is the probable natural river plane formation.Natural coordinate transformation and perturbation methods were adapted to deform the governing equations of sine-generated river basic flow and disturbance flow independently.The stability and retention of perturbation waves were analyzed in our model to explain why meandering rivers followed a certain type of flow path.Computation results showed that all types of perturbation waves in meandering rivers were most stable when the meandering wave number was about 0.39–0.41.We believe that this type of stable flow structure shaped a certain meandering river.The statistical average length-width ratios of Yalin,Habib and da Silva and Leopold and Wolman somewhat confirmed our most stable river meandering wave number.In some ways,meandering rivers always tend to diminish internal turbulence intensity.
Bending river is the most common river type in nature, and it is also a typical example for river evolution. The transform of the flow pattern can affect the development of the riverbed form. In return, the variation in the riverbed form can affect the hydrodynamic characteristics of the flow, thereby leading to the continuous evolution of the bending river. Based on this, a theoretical model for the bending river is established. The hydrodynamic instability characteristics of the laminar flow in the channel with a variable curvature, a typical model as the meandering river, are studied,and the variations of some parameters such as the curvature, the wave number, and the wave frequency are also discussed.
