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.

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.

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.

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.