Using Hydraulic Engineering Model Experiment to Study the Sediment Trapping Efficiency of Adjustable Check Dam

The construction of fully closed check dam (CD) is a conventional flood prevention mechanism implemented on rivers. Fully closed CDs trap large amounts of sediments in rivers to stabilize the river slopes and control erosion. However, fully closed CDs cannot selectively trap sediment and may easily overflow, causing them to losing their ability to mediate and hold sediments. Previous studies proposed the concept of “breathable CDs”. The researcher introduced metal slit dam (SD) that could be assembled and disassembled quickly and conveniently. Once a CD reaches maximum capacity, operators must ensure that the water channels of the dam are free from blockage. Moreover, they must inspect the internal accumulation conditions of the dam periodically or immediately following heavy typhoon rains. When necessary, either the sediment buildup in the upriver blockage must be cleared, or the transverse structure of the dam must be removed to allow fine particles to be discharged along with a moderate amount of water. These actions can free up the sediment-storing capacity of the dam for the next heavy typhoon rains. In addition, operators should also inspect the damages inflicted on the dam, such as erosion, wear and tear, and deformation conditions. Damaged components should be disassembled and repaired if possible, or recycled and reused. The present study performed channel tests to simulate closed CDs, SDs, steel pipe dam (SPDs), and steel pipe plus slit dam (SPSDs) for 50-year and 100-year frequency floods. Results were then analyzed to determine the sediment trapping (ST) effects of various CDs, the effects of “adjustable CDs”, and the changes of moderated riverbeds.

Dynamic Modeling Framework of Sediment Trapped by Check-Dam Networks:A Case Study of a Typical Watershed on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Check-dam construction is an effective and widely used method for sediment trapping in the Yellow River Basin and other places over the world that are prone to severe soil erosion.Quantitative estimations of the dynamic sediment trapped by check dams are necessary for evaluating the effects of check dams and planning the construction of new ones.In this study,we propose a new framework,named soil and water assessment tool(SWAT)–dynamic check dam(DCDam),for modeling the sediment trapped by check dams dynamically,by integrating the widely utilized SWAT model and a newly developed module called DCDam.We then applied this framework to a typical loess watershed,the Yan River Basin,to assess the time-varying effects of check-dam networks over the past 60 years(1957–2016).The DCDam module generated a specific check-dam network to conceptualize the complex connections at each time step(monthly).In addition,the streamflow and sediment load simulated by using the SWAT model were employed to force the sediment routing in the check-dam network.The evaluation results revealed that the SWAT-DCDam framework performed satisfactorily,with an overestimation of 11.50%,in simulating sediment trapped by check dams,when compared with a field survey of the accumulated sediment deposition.For the Yan River Basin,our results indicated that the designed structural parameters of check dams have evolved over the past 60 years,with higher dams(37.14%and 9.22%increase for large dams and medium dams,respectively)but smaller controlled areas(46.03%and 10.56%decrease for large dams and medium dams,respectively)in recent years.Sediment retained by check dams contributed to approximately 15.00%of the total sediment load reduction in the Yan River during 1970–2016.Thus,our developed framework can be a promising tool for evaluating check-dam effects,and this study can provide valuable information and support to decision-making for soil and water conservation and check-dam planning and management.

Sediment control function of river notches

The purpose of this study is to investigate the control function and mechanisms of natural river notches. Physical and numerical experiments are analyzed in this study for two representative types of sediment events： high intensity and short duration Type A sediment disaster events, and low intensity and long duration Type B moderate non-disaster events. Two dimensionless parameters, sediment trapping rate and reduction rate of peak sediment transport, are defined to evaluate the sediment control function of river notches. Study results indicate that the contraction ratio of the notch has a significant influence on sediment control function, with high contraction ratios resulting in both high sediment-trapping and high reduction rates. River notches provide better sediment control during Type A events than Type B events. The sediment control mechanism of river notches is the result of multiple interactions among river flow, sediment transport, and riverbed variation. Analysis of these interactions supports the significant protection role of river notches on sediment control for disaster events.

Experimental Investigation on Flow Characteristics at Leeside of Suspended Flexible Curtain for Sedimentation Enhancement

A new patent registered device- suspended flexible curtain （SFC） for sedimentation enhancement is proposed in this paper, which consists of two parts： a light-weight curtain with sediment-passing windows and a heavy pillar for the device stability. The mechanism of trapping nearbed sediment by the SFC is such that a primary and a secondary circulations with horizontal hubs would be formed at the leeside when it is placed on beds in running flow; the velocities within the sediment-passing windows are locally accelerated, the nearbed sediments would be brought by the flow through the windows, and then settled down within the primary circulation zone. Experimental tests on hydraulic characteristics are conducted in a laboratory flume with rigid bed. It is found that the dimensions of the curtain and the sediment-passing windows determine the characteristics of the primary and the secondary circulations. The intensity of the primary and the secondary circulations is dominated by the size of the sediment-passing window. Whether the secondary circulation would contact the bed or not depends on the level of the sediment-passing window. The length and the height of the primary circulation zone demonstrate quasi linear relationships with the effective height of the SFC. And the tests on sandy bed flume show that the sediment deposition happens just in the primary circulation zone.

Application of Sediment Traps in Global Change Research in Mountain Lakes

Representativity of biota in the biosphere also have similar significance in the lithosphere after their death. Recently, taphonomic representation of biota in the lithosphere has been widely used for minimizing the biases in palaeo-environmental reconstructions including global climate change. In September 2001, a sediment trap was installed at the central area of the Loch Coire Fionnaraich （LCFR）, a small, oligotrophic mountain loch in northwest Scotland for a taphonomic study of cladoceran zooplankton. The trap was emptied on a seasonal basis, where an average 0.14 g dry material was recovered in each season, January, May and August 2002 respectively. A sediment core was also taken from near the sediment trap location. The top 0.5 cm section, the ＇core＇ was used for a comparative study with the trap sediment samples. The planktonic Cladocera consisted of Bosmina coregoni and appeared to have excellent preservation in the trap assemblages. Moreover, some common littoral Cladocera such as Alonella excisa and Aloha guttata appear to be less well preserved in the fossil assemblages. Large littoral taxa such as Eurycercus lamellatus and Aloha quadrangularis were rare in the trap but relatively common and well preserved in the sediment-water interface. It is suggested that taphonomic processes play a dominant role on deposition of fossil remains of Cladocera and caution should be taken while inferring the past environmental changes whilst using fossil assemblages recovered from the lake centre as a representation of the entire cladoceran community in the lake.

The particle fluxes in sediment traps from Niulang Guyot area in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

The flux of settling particles in the ocean has been widely explored since 1980s due to its important role in biogenic elements cycling,especially in the transport of particulate organic carbon(POC)in the deep sea.However,research in the seamount area of the oligotrophic subtropical Northwest Pacific Ocean is lacking.In this work,two sediment traps were deployed at the foot and another two at the hillside of Niulang Guyot from August2017 to July 2018.The magnitude and composition of particle fluxes were measured.The main factors influencing the spatial variations of the fluxes were evaluated.Our results indicated a low particulate flux from Niulang Guyot area in the Northwest Pacific Ocean,reflecting low primary productivity of the oligotrophic ocean.The total mass flux(TMF)decreased from 2.57 g/(m^(2)·a)to 0.56 g/(m^(2)·a)with increasing depth from 600 m to 4850 m.A clear seasonal pattern of TMF was observed,with higher flux in summer than that in winter.The peak flux of 26.52 mg/(m^(2)·d)occurred in August at 600 m,while the lowest value of 0.07 mg/(m^(2)·d)was shown in February at 4850 m.The settling particles at the deep layers had similar biochemical composition,with calcium carbonate(CaCO_(3))accounting for up to 90%,followed by organic matter and opal,characteristics of Carbonate Ocean.The POC flux decreased more rapidly in the twilight layer because of faster decomposition,remineralization,and higher temperature.A small fraction of POC was transported into the deep ocean by biological pump.Particle fluxes were mainly controlled by the calcareous ballasts besides the primary productivity of the surface water.The advection may be another important factor affecting the flux in the seamount area.The combination of settled matters rich in foraminiferal tests with topography and currents may be the reason for regulating the local abundance of benthos on seamounts.Our results will fill in the knowledge gap of sedimentation flux,improve the understanding of ecosystem in Niulang Guyot area,and eventually provide data support for the optimization of regional ecological modeling.

Effectiveness of Gabions Dams on Sediment Retention： A Case Study

Illegal deforestation changes in land use and climate change have resulted in increased runoff and surface erosion from the upper areas of watersheds, affecting directly the lower lands where human settlements are common. Such is the case of Angangueo in the state ofMichoacam, Mexico, where in 2010 an unusual weather event caused substantial damage to infrastructure, and unfortunately human deaths. Against disasters, the government has carried out actions such as implementing infrastructure to alleviate flooding and mudslides. Gabions dams were used to control erosion and runoff, as they are considered environmentally friendly as compared to most of the constructed impermeable weirs. This study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of gabions dams in sediment retention in a small watershed East of Michoacan. Eight gabions dams and five masonry dams two years after of construction were studied. The results indicated that the gabions dams retained less gravel than masonry dams, more sand, but no significant differences were found for fine sediments. Regarding the efficiency of gabions dams, there were not identified relationships since the building volume and contribution area is different in each one of them.

Environmental Impact of Artificial Harbors in Tropic Pacific Oceanic Islands

For loading and unloading of boats or ships round the clock, the access channel and its expanded part-a port are excavated on the lagoon and ocean reef flats in the tropic Pacific oceanic islands. Without moles, the access channel port traps sediment and further transports it to the ocean or lagoon, resulting in coastal erosion. The wide uneven reef flat with a large catchment area tends to cause the formation of tide currents in the channel port, while strong waves on the narrow even reef flat can give rise to rip currents. An access channel port with a mole on one side or two moles on both sides results in less erosion. A model is recommended as an artificial harbor on the ocean coast, which is an excavated port surrounded by a mole, connected with the ocean by an access channel and with the shore by a bridge shaped pier.

Dynamics of settling participate matter during typhoon Muifa in Heini Bay,China

Settling particulate matter(SPM) is widely used to describe the sedimentary environment.We have investigated here the SPM collected with a time-series sediment trap in the Heini Bay,Weihai,Shandong Peninsula,China,during the super typhoon Muifa(August 2011,maximum wind speed 55 m/s).Meteorological and hydrological parameters were measured for 18 days.By analyzing the particle flux,grain size,and loss-on-ignition(organic matter content) of SPM we found dramatic changes in these parameters,induced by typhoon Muifa for about 6 days.With the arrival of typhoon,the daily SPM fluxes increased sharply to the maximum at 76.4 g/(m^2·d) on the first day and this increase is about 9 times of the normal value,and after 6 days the SPM decreased to the normal value gradually.Other parameters,such as grain size of SPM and organic matter also experienced similar changes.Using these SPM parameters,we divided the settling progress by cluster analysis into three phases:strong(for 3 days),weak(for 3 days),and zero typhoon impact.

Using a Lagrangian model to estimate source regions of particles in sediment traps

A Lagrangian model is used to evaluate source regions of particles collected in the sediment traps at the DYFAMED （Dy namique des Flux Atmospheriques en Mediterranee） station by tracking particles backwards from March 1 to August 31, 2001. The analysis suggests that source regions depend on the flow fields, the settling speed of the particles, and the deployment depths of the traps. Monthly variation is observed in the distribution patterns of source regions, which is caused by the currents The source regions are located around the traps and up to hundreds of kilometers away. As the settling speed increases with the particle diameters, the distance to the source regions decreases. The vertical flux can be approximately estimated in 1D for the particles with diameters larger than 500 lain. Furthermore, traps moored at various depths at the DYFAMED can collect parti- cles that originated from different regions in the Ligurian Sea.

Comparison of two-and three-dimensional modeling of invert trap for sewer solid management

In the present study, five different invert trap configurations （rectangular with and without lids on both sides; trapezoidal, trapezoidal with rectangular base and rectangular with trapezoidal base with lids on both sides） were simulated for both two-dimensional （2D） and three-dimensional （3D） flow conditions for three sediment types （sand, styrocell and plastic beads） at six flow rates （0.35, 0.70, 1.05, 1.35, 4.55 and 9.95 L/s） for each trap. Computational fluid dynamics （CFD）-based modeling using FLUENT software with Renormalization Group （RNG） k-e model along with discrete phase model （DPM） were used in the simulations. A hexagonal/tetrahedral and map-type non-uniform grid was chosen to discretize the entire computational domain and a control volume finite difference method was used to solve the governing equations. The flow rates selected in the present study cover the entire range of flow rate expected for dry weather and monsoon. The simulation is capable of differentiating between 2D and 3D modeling of particle trajectories, the effects of flow rate and trap geometry on flow patterns developed in the trap. The sediment retention ratio for 2D is higher than that for 3D modeling for all flow conditions, particle types and model geometry due to inclusion of lateral effects in 3D modeling. The invert trap having rectangular shape with trapezoidal base is found to be the most efficient configuration in both 2D and 3D modeling.

Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics （volume of fluid） modelling coupled with a stochastic discrete phase model for the performance analysis of an invert trap experimentally validated using field sewer solids

Invert traps are used to trap sewer solids flowing into a sewer drainage system, The performance of the invert trap in an open rectangular channel was experimentally and numerically analysed using field sewer solids collected from a sewer drain. Experiments showed that the free water surface rises over the central opening （slot） of the invert trap, which reduces the velocity near the slot and allows more sediment to be trapped in comparison with the case for the fixed-lid model （assuming closed conduit flow with a shear-free top wall） used by earlier investigators. This phenomenon cannot be modelled using a closed conduit model as no extra space is provided for the fluctuation of the water surface, whereas this space is provided in the volume of fluid （VOF） model in the form of air space in ANSYS Fluent 14.0 software. Additionally, the zero atmospheric pressure at the free water surface cannot be modelled in a fixed-lid model. In the present study, experimental trap efflciencies of the invert trap using field sewer solids were fairly validated using a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model （VOF model） coupled with a stochastic discrete phase model. The flow field （i.e., velocities） predicted by the VOF model were compared with experimental velocities obtained employing particle image velocimetry. The water surface profile above the invert trap predicted by the VOF model was found to be in good agreement with the experimentally measured profile. The present study thus showed that the VOF model can be used with the stochastic discrete phase model to well predict the performance of invert traps.