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The University of Nottingham

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
A LEVEL 4 MODULE, AUTUMN 2013-2014
SEDIMENTATION AND EROSION ENGINEERING
Time allowed TWO Hours

Candidates must NOT start writing their answers until told to do so.
Answer ALL questions
Only silent, self-contained calculators with a Single-line Display or Dual-line Display are
permitted in this examination.
Dictionaries are not allowed with one exception. Those whose first language is not English
may use a standard translation dictionary to translate between that language and English
provided that neither language is the subject of this examination. Subject specific translation
dictionaries are not permitted.
No electronic devices capable of storing and retrieving text, including electronic dictionaries,
may be used.
Do NOT turn examination paper over until instructed to do so.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL:

Formula Sheet (3 sides)

INFORMATION FOR INVIGILATORS:

None

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Turn over

(a)
(b)
(c)

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Explain with the aid of a diagram the difference between suspended load sediment transport
and sheet flow sediment transport.
[3]
What is meant by the settling velocity of a sediment grain?
[2]
Explain what a well-sorted sediment mixture is and how that property is determined.
[3]

(d)

Calculate the settling velocity of a grain of sand of diameter 0.15mm in fresh water at
10 C.
[4]

(e)
(f)

Explain what is meant by the term settling lag.

[4]
Give an example of when median grain size (D50 ) might not be a good representation of a
sediment mixture. Explain why it might not be.
[4]

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(a)

A wide open channel of uniform depth 3.5m and a bed slope 0.00002 has a bed composed
of erodible sediment of grain diameter 0.1mm.
Use the Shields relation to determine whether the sediment will be mobilised by the flow. [7]

(b)

A wide open channel has a bed slope 0.00001, and grain diameter of erodible bed material
of 0.5mm.
Use the Shields relation to determine maximum discharge per unit width in the channel if
sediment mobilisation is to be avoided.
[8]

(c)

In a coastal region a tidal, depth-averaged velocity is measured as 1.1 m/s, and depth of
water as 3.9m.
If the bed grain diameter there is 1.5mm, use the Shields relations to determine whether
the sediment is mobilised and, if so, how it is transported.
[10]

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(a)

(b)

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You are asked to design a wide open channel of trapezoidal cross-section. It is determined
that the channel will have side slopes of 1:2, a water depth of 4m, and a longitudinal
gradient of 0.00003.
Determine a minimum sediment grain size that can line the channel so that we can be sure
that there will be no sediment mobilisation, making sure to account for slope effects.
[12]
3
A uniform open channel of width 50m, discharge 130 m /s, and depth 3.4m, and gradient
2.358 105 , is spanned by a bridge, the abutments of which form a contraction of the
channel such that it narrows to 30m at that location. The median sediment grain size in
the channel is 0.25mm.
Estimate the contraction scour at the bridge.
[13]

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(a)

(b)

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A navigation channel of width 90m and total water depth 12m, is subject to infilling by
tidal currents that run perpendicular to the channel. The flood current (on the un-dredged
sea bed) persists for 2.5 hours at a mean, depth-averaged velocity of 1.5 m/s; and the ebb
persists for 3 hours at 0.75 m/s. The tides are semi-diurnal. Sediment transport is by bed
load only. The surrounding (un-dredged) water depth is 6m, and the sand grain size in the
area is 0.6mm.
Determine at what rate (mm per day) the channel will infill, assuming that sediment is
deposited uniformly across the channel bed, and ignoring any effect of the channel side
slopes.
[15]
3
A narrow reservoir (see Figure Q.4) receives inflow of constant discharge (Q) of 60 m /s
from a river (width 30m) at x = x1 . The river carries suspended sediment only, of grain
size 0.05mm. At x = x1 , the concentration is measured as 0.005. No entrainment or bed
load transport takes place in the reservoir.
Using the Exner and concentration equations, ignoring any lateral expansion in the reservoir,
and assuming that the concentration is depth uniform, calculate the rate per day at which
the bed level is increasing halfway along the reservoir.
(h1 = 2m; h2 = 20m; L = 200m).
[15]

h1

h2
Q

L
x = x1

x = x2

Figure Q.4

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Formula Sheet
Physi al onstants
g = 9.81m/s2 (gravitational a eleration onstant);
= 1000kg/m3 (density of fresh water at 10 C);
= 1027kg/m3 (density of sea water at 10 C);
s = 2650kg/m3 (density of sand grains);
s = s /;
= 1.3 106 m2 /s (kinemati vis osity of fresh water at 10 C);
= 1.36 106 m2 /s (kinemati vis osity of sea water at 10 C);
n = 0.4 (porosity of sediment);
s = 32 (angle of repose of sediment).

Sediment properties
Dimensionless grain diameter:
D = D g [(s /) 1] / 2

where D is grain diameter.

Settling velo ity:
ws =

1/3

i
p
h
12.86 + {(12.86)2 + 0.952D3} .
D

Bed shear stress and sediment mobilisation

Shields parameter:
=

0
u2
=
,
(s )gD
(s 1)gD

where 0 = u2 is bed shear stress, and u is fri tion velo ity.

Criti al value of Shields parameter:
crit =

0.3
+ 0.055 [1 exp (0.02D )] .
(1 + 1.2D )

Bed shear stress in steady, uniform open hannel ow:

0 = gRS0 ,

where R = PA is hydrauli radius, A being area, and P wetted perimeter; and S0 is hannel
slope.
General quadrati drag law:
0 = cd u 2 ,

where u is depth-averaged velo ity, and

cd = 0.0415

 z  27
0

where h is water depth, and z0 = D/12.

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Slope ee ts on riti al bed shear stress:

In general,
L/T

0,crit,tan = ktan 0,crit ,

where tan is the slope, and L and T denote longitudinal and transverse slopes respe tively.
Longitudinal slope:
Flow with the slope:
L
ktan
=

sin (s )
sin s

Flow against the slope:

L
ktan
=

sin (s + )
sin s

Transverse slope:
T
ktan

1/2

tan2
.
= cos 1
tan2 s

General slope:
L
T
0,crit,tan ktan
L ktan T 0,crit ,

where tan L (tan T ) is the longitudinal (transverse) slope.

Modi ation to 0 on open hannel side slopes:
0,tan , the applied bed shear stress on the hannel side slope, is as given in the Table
below.
Side slope
1:2
1:3
1:4
1:6
1:7

0,tan
0.750
0.850
0.900
0.950
0

Interpolate for values in between those spe ied.

Criti al value of suspended load transport Shields parameter:
crit,s

0.16ws2
0,crit,s
=
,
=
(s )gD
(s 1)gD

where 0,crit,s is the riti al bed shear stress for mobilisation of sediment as suspended load.
Sediment transport formulae
Meyer-Peter Muller (MPM) bed-load sediment transport rate (qb ) formula:

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1/2
qb = g (s 1)D 3
,

where

= 8 ( crit )3/2 .

Morphodynami equations
Exner equation (for ombined bed- and suspended load):
(1 n)

b qb
+
= ws c E ,
t
x

where b is bed level, c is (depth-uniform) on entration, and E is the erosion rate.

Con entration equation:
(hc) (huc)
+
= ws c + E
t
x

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