Soil Erosion Modelling for Sustainable Environmental Management in Sebeya Catchment, Rwanda

Soil erosion models can be understood as a virtual laboratory that brings together data, observations and knowledge from different fields for sustainable environmental management. The present study was carried out on Sebeya catchment which is located in the Western Province of Rwanda. The main objective of this study was to develop a Universal Soil Loss Equation type of erosion model to be used in predicting soil loss and associated crop yields for sustainable agriculture management in Sebeya catchment at the level of parcels. USLE parameters were determined on each parcel in Sebeya catchment using map overlapping techniques as applied in Geographical Information System (GIS). Applying a combination of 0, 1, 2 and 3 soil erosion control measures on each of 259,673 parcels, the simulated annual soil loss for Sebeya catchment was 849.94;143.27;88.64 and 28.59 t/ha/yr respectively. Soil Loss and Crop Yield (SOLCY) model has been developed to predict soil loss and crop yields for each main cultivated crop in Sebeya catchment. A combination of 3 soil erosion control measures such as (bench terrace + mulching + drainage channels) has been found to be the most effective in reducing soil erosion on each parcel with slope range of (16 - 60)%. Farmers and agriculture technicians can use SOLCY model. Finally, researchers should develop similar models on other catchments based on SOLCY model design concept.

Comparison of Slope Length Factor Extraction in Hillslope Soil Erosion Model with Different DEM Resolutions

In this study, non-cumulative slope length(NCSL) calculation method and spatial analytical calculation(SAC) method were respectively applied to extract slope length and slope length factor from 10 sample areas, which are located in Ansai County, north Shaanxi Province. The comparison of computation precision between variable DEM resolutions showed that NCSL was superior to SAC entirely. And the results were best when the DEM resolutions were 5 and 10 m. Besides, the results of slope length factor were nearly the same under the two conditions. So DEM of 10 m resolution can be used to extract slope length.

A hillslope version of the revised Morgan,Morgan and Finney water erosion model

The revised Morgan,Morgan and Finney(rMMF)water erosion model calculates annual surface runoff and soil loss from field-sized areas.The original version of the rMMF is neither suited to calculate water erosion along irregular hillslopes,nor capable to allow infiltration of once generated surface runoff at places where the runoff speed slows down,and infiltration could occur under natural conditions.The aim of this article is to describe a new hillslope version of the rMMF model that allows infiltration of surface runoff,and to show examples of soil erosion modelling along real and hypothetical hillslopes.The new hillslope version(hMMF)splits the entire hillslope into a number of sections that have individual properties,such as slope angle,slope length,soil properties and vegetation characteristics.The surface runoff along the slope is calculated by summing the volume of surface runoff generated in a particular section with the surface runoff coming from the immediate upsiope section.The related sediment transport is calculated for each section using the calculated detachment for the section,the sediment coming from the upsiope section and the transport capacity.A new variable is introduced to account for infiltration of surface runoff and allows simulating the effects of soil and water conservation structures on water erosion.The model was tested using measured data from plots in Africa,Asia,the US and Europe,as well as for a surveyed hillslope in Tunisia(Barbara watershed).Overall,the performance of the hMMF was reasonable for surface runoff and poor for soil loss when recommended input variable values are used.Calibration of the model resulted in a good performance,which shows the capability of the hMMF model to reproduce measured surface runoff and erosion amounts.In addition,realistic water erosion patterns on hillslopes with soil and water conservation can be simulated.

A Simplified Model for the Prediction of the Erosion of a Metal Screen for Sand Control

In oil drilling processes,sand production in the oil layer is a common issue,generally mitigated by means of sand control screens.To prevent or reduce the risk of damage of these screens and to improve the related service life,it is necessary to investigate the related erosion dynamics.In this study,a screen mesh model based on the flow field similarity theory is proposed to overcome the otherwise too complex geometric structure of this type of equipment.Such model is optimized using experimental data.The predicted results are in good agreement with the measured values,and the error is less than 15%.The results also show that the simplified geometric screen model and the optimized Zhang et al.erosion model have high reliability;therefore,they could effective be used to select underground screen meshes and improve the design of production process.

Numerical study on erosion behavior of sliding sleeve ball seat for hydraulic fracturing based on experimental data

The sleeve sealing ball seat is one of the important components in the multistage fracturing process of horizontal wells.The erosion and wear of the surface will decrease the sealing performance of the fracturing ball and the ball seat.This leads to pressure leakage during the fracturing process and fracturing failure.In this paper,combined with the actual ball seat materials and working conditions during the fracturing process,the erosion tests of ductile iron and tungsten carbide materials under different erosion speeds,angles,and mortar concentrations are carried out.Then the erosion test results were analyzed by mathematical fitting,and a set of erosion models suitable for sliding sleeve setting ball seat materials were innovatively established.For the first time,this paper combines the erosion model obtained from the experiment and the computational fluid dynamics(CFD)with Fluent software to simulate the erosion of the ball seat.Based on the simulation results,the morphology of the sliding sleeve seat ball after erosion is predicted.Through analysis of the test and simulation results,it is showed that the erosion rate of tungsten carbide material is lower and the wear resistance is better under the condition of small angle erosion.This research can offer a strong basis for fracturing site selection,surface treatment methods,and prediction of failure time of ball seats.

Comprehensive Euler/Lagrange modelling including particle erosion for confined gas-solid flows

The present research aims to assess the capability of a comprehensive Euler/Lagrange approach for predicting gas-solid flows and the associated solid particle erosion.The open-source code OpenFOAM®4.1 was used to carry out the numerical simulations,where the standard Lagrangian libraries were substantially extended to account for all necessary models.Particles are tracked considering both translational and rotational motion as well as all relevant forces,such as gravity/buoyancy,drag and transverse lift due to shear and particle rotation.The tracking time step was dynamically adapted ac-cording to the locally relevant time scales,which drastically reduces computational times.Stochastic approaches are adopted to model particle turbulent dispersion,particle collisions with rough walls and particle-particle interactions.Five solid particle erosion models,available in the literature,were considered to estimate pipe bend erosion.Three study cases are provided to validate the adopted nu-merical approach and erosion models extensively.The first case intends to evaluate the ability of the extended CFD code to predict the behaviour of gas-solid flows in pneumatic conveying systems.This goal is achieved by comparing the numerical results with the experimental data obtained by Huber(1997)and Huber and Sommerfeld(1994,1998)in a pneumatic conveying system.Here,the importance of considering inter-particle collisions and surface roughness for predicting particle velocity,mass flux and mean diameter distributions in gas-solid flows is highlighted.The second and third case intend to evaluate the ability of the erosion models in estimating bend erosion in diluted gas-solid flows.The erosion data obtained experimentally by Mazumder et al.(2008)and Solnordal et al.(2015)in very dilut pneumatic conveying systems is used for validating the numerical results,neglecting now inter-particle collisions and two-way coupling.Besides a comprehensive analysis of the different influential properties on erosion,the innovation of the present study is as follows.For the first time also a temporal modifi-cation of the surface roughness due to the erosion was considered in the simulations obtained from previous measurements(Novelletto Ricardo&Sommerfeld,2020).As the surface roughness is increased due to erosion,eventually erosion rate becomes lower.This is the result of diminishing wall collision frequency.Simulations for several degrees of surface roughness showed that larger roughness is coupled with a drastic reduction of erosion.Hence,numerical simulations neglecting wall surface roughness are not realistic.The consideration of a particle size distribution instead of mono-sized computations showed a possible reduction of erosion rate.The detailed analysis of the different single-particle erosion models revealed that the model proposed by Oka et al.(2005)and Oka and Yoshida(2005)yields the best agreement with the measurements,however particle and wall properties are needed.

Experimental investigation of erosion rate for gas-solid two-phase flow in 304 stainless/L245 carbon steel

Erosion is one of the most concerning issues in pipeline flow assurance for the Oil&Gas pipeline industries,which can easily lead to wall thinning,perforation leakage,and other crucial safety risks to the steady operation of pipelines.In this research,a novel experimental device is designed to investigate the erosion characteristics of 304 stainless and L245 carbon steel in the gas-solid two-phase flow.Regarding the impacts on erosion rate,the typical factors such as gas velocity,impact angle,erosion time,particle material and target material are individually observed and comprehensive analyzed with the assistance of apparent morphology characterized via Scanning Electron Microscope.Experimental results show that the severest erosion occurs when the angle reaches approximate 30°whether eroded by type I or type II particles,which is observed in both two types of steel.Concretely,304 stainless steel and L245 carbon steel appear to be cut at low angles,and impacted at high angles to form erosion pits.In the steady operational state,the erosion rate is insensitive to the short erosion time and free from the influences caused by the“erosion latent period”.Based on the comparison between experimental data and numerical results generated by existing erosion models,a modified model with low tolerance(<3%),high feasibility and strong consistency is proposed to make an accurate prediction of the erosion in terms of two types of steel under various industrial conditions.

Applying seepage modeling to improve sediment yield predictions in contour ridge systems

Contour ridge systems may lead to seepage that could result in serious soil erosion. Modeling soil erosion under seepage conditions in a contour ridge system has been overlooked in most current soil erosion models. To address the importance of seepage in soil erosion modeling, a total of 23 treatments with 3 factors, row grade, field slope and ridge height, in 5 gradients were arranged in an orthogonal rotatable central composite design. The second-order polynomial regression model for predicting the sediment yield was improved by using the measured or predicted seepage discharge as an input factor, which increased the coefficient of determination(R^2) from 0.743 to 0.915 or 0.893. The improved regression models combined with the measured seepage discharge had a lower P(0.007) compared to those combined with the predicted seepage discharge(P=0.016). With the measured seepage discharge incorporated, some significant(P<0.050) effects and interactions of influential factors on sediment yield were detected, including the row grade and its interactions with the field slope, ridge height and seepage discharge, the quadratic terms of the field slope and its interactions with the row grade and seepage discharge. In the regression model with the predicted seepage discharge as an influencing factor, only the interaction between row grade and seepage discharge significantly affected the sediment yield. The regression model incorporated with predicted seepage discharge may be expressed simply and can be used effectively when measured seepage discharge data are not available.

水轮机活动导叶端面间隙磨蚀特性数值模拟

为了研究水轮机活动导叶端面间隙固液两相流动的规律,以及间隙上下表面的磨损情况,基于Fluent软件的RNG k-ε湍流模型和DPM模型,结合水轮机活动导叶端面间隙流的简化模型(圆柱绕流和后台阶流),数值模拟了不同进口速度下,沙粒体积分数分别为1%,5%,7%,10%以及沙粒粒径分别为0.020,0.050,0.075,0.100 mm时,活动导叶端面间隙的三维非稳态流动.通过定常数值模拟得到不同工况下间隙上下表面的平均磨损率分布,分析磨蚀规律和磨蚀位置.结果表明:流场中平均磨损率分布受间隙流模型的结构和两相流参数设置影响较大.随着进口速度和沙粒体积分数增大,间隙流模型上下表面平均磨损率增大,磨损主要集中在轴前、台阶下游再附点位置以及间隙流出口处,最大平均磨损率约为2.0×10^(-6)kg/(m^2·s).随着沙粒粒径增大,由于惯性力作用,模型上下表面平均磨损率减小;在沙粒粒径小于0.020 mm时,磨损情况相比其他粒径更严重,最大平均磨损率约为0.100 mm时的2倍.

Salt Balance of Moderately Saline-Alkaline Rangeland Soil and Runoff Water Quality from Rainfall Simulation Studies near Moab,Utah U.S.A.

A Walnut Gulch rainfall simulator was used to determine runoff water quality and salt balance of a Sandy Loam moderately saline-alkaline site containing 0.27%of gypsum near Moab,Utah.Four rainfall intensities corresponding to 2,10,25 and 50-year storm return intervals were applied to dry soil.During each rainfall simulation,time-stamped runoff samples were also collected for the determination of ions concentration.Soil water and solute content by depth increments were determined before and after simulations.All correlation coefficients between the applied simulation water and the amounts of Cl-,SO42-,NO3-and sum of anions in runoff water were positive and ranged between 0.922 and 0.999.The correlation coefficients for Ca2+,Mg2+,Na+,K+and sum of cations ranged between 0.783 and 0.983.We concluded from the data analysis that:(1)The amounts of ions in simulation water and in runoff water represent less than 1%of sum of the soil soluble content before rainfall simulation.(2)The CEC contained about 250%the sum of cation in saturated extract.(3)The very small amount of gypsum in the soil contained 50%the sum of saturated extract ions.This means that special attention should be paid to CEC and gypsum content in the management of such soils.Moreover,when modeling runoff and water quality from soils with these properties the modelers must include suitable subroutines considering gypsum and CEC of the soil for accurate prediction of runoff water quality.

青藏高原东缘龙门山晚新生代剥蚀厚度与弹性挠曲模拟

龙门山是青藏高原东缘边界山脉,具有青藏高原地貌、龙门山高山地貌和山前冲积平原三个一级地貌单元。利用数字高程模式图像和裂变径迹年代测定方法研究和计算龙门山晚新生代剥蚀厚度与剥蚀速率,结果表明:3.6 Ma以来龙门山的剥蚀厚度介于1.91-2.16 km之间,剥蚀速率介于0.53-0.60 mm/a之间。在此基础上,开展了该地区岩石圈的弹性挠曲模拟,结果表明龙门山的隆升机制具有以构造缩短隆升和剥蚀卸载隆升相叠合的特点。3.6 Ma之前,龙门山的隆升与逆冲推覆构造负载有关,以构造缩短驱动的构造隆升为特色;3.6 Ma之后,龙门山的隆升与剥蚀卸载驱动的抬升有关,并以剥蚀卸载隆升为特色,进而提出了龙门山晚新生代以来的隆升机制以剥蚀成山作用为主的认识。

高炉铁口孔道侵蚀过程的模拟

从流体动力学的角度出发,建立高炉出铁口处流动的数学模型.基于对孔口出流出口处流线公式的推导并作适当修正,计算出铁时铁口孔道的侵蚀形状,并描述了侵蚀过程.通过水模型实验和模拟计算的方法分别模拟出侵蚀过程.实验与模型假设较为符合,可以为铁口区的维护以及推荐适宜的打泥量提供参考.

基于坡度—汇水面积关系的黄土浅沟与切沟沟头形成敏感区模拟

黄土高原侵蚀沟治理是黄河流域高质量发展中面临的重要问题。本研究以坡面侵蚀沟中的浅沟、切沟为研究对象,基于高分辨率无人机航摄和野外高精度实测,以陕北子洲岔巴沟典型小流域为研究区,得到沟头坡度—汇水面积关系曲线,构建了沟头形成的地形临界模型,进行沟头形成敏感区模拟。结果表明:(1)浅沟、切沟沟头形成临界模型分别为:S≥0.6073A-0.142,S≥1.2065A-0.229;(2)综合运用沟头形成临界模型和流域坡度—汇水面积关系曲线可较为准确地预测浅沟、切沟沟头形成敏感区与非敏感区,浅沟、切沟沟头预测准确度分别为91.43%和71.79%,非沟头区域预测准确度为98.44%。研究结果可为黄土侵蚀沟防治提供技术支撑。

Global analysis of cover management and support practice factors that control soil erosion and conservation

Cover management and support practices largely control the magnitude and variability of soil erosion.Although soil erosion models account for their importance(particularly by C-and P-factors in the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation),obtaining spatially explicit quantitative field data on these factors remains challenging.Hence,also our insight into the effects of soil conservation measures at larger spatial scales remains limited.We analyzed the variation in C-and P-factors caused by human activities and climatic variables by reviewing 255 published articles reporting measured or calculated C-and P-factor values.We found a wide variation in both factor values across climatic zones,land use or cover types,and support practices.The average C-factor values decreased from arid(0.26)to humid(0.15)climates,whereas the average P-factor values increased(from 0.33 to 0.47,respectively).Thus,support practices reduce soil loss more effectively in drylands and drought-prone areas.The global average C-factor varies by one order of magnitude from cropland(0.34)to forest(0.03).Among the major crops,the average C-factor was highest for maize(0.42)followed by potato(0.40),among the major orchard crops,it was highest for olive(0.31),followed by vineyards(0.26).The P-factor ranged from 0.62 for contouring in cropland plots to 0.19 for trenches in uncultivated land.The C-factor results indicate that cultivated lands requiring intensive site preparation and weeding are most vulnerable to soil loss by sheet and rill erosion.The low P-factor for trenches,reduced tillage cultivation,and terraces suggests that significantly decreased soil loss is possible by implementing more efficient management practices.These results improve our understanding of the variation in C-and P-factors and support large-scale integrated catchment management interventions by applying soil erosion models where it is difficult to empirically determine the impact of particular land use or cover types and support practices:the datasets compiled in this study can support further modeling and land management attempts in different countries and geographic regions.

Experimental and numerical investigation of the abrasive waterjet machining of aluminum-7075-T6 for aerospace applications

The machining of hard-to-cut materials with a high degree of precision and high surface quality is one of the most critical considerations when fabricating various state-of-the-art engineered components.In this investigation,a comprehensive three-dimensional model was developed and numerically simulated to predict kerf profiles and material removal rates while drilling the aluminum-7075-T6 aerospace alloy.Kerf profile and material removal prediction involved three stages:jet dynamic flow modeling,abrasive particle tracking,and erosion rate pre-diction.Experimental investigations were conducted to validate the developed model.The results indicate that the jet dynamic characteristics and flow of abrasive particles alter the kerf profiles,where the top kerf diameter increases with increasing jet pressure and standoff distance.The kerf depth and hole aspect ratio increase with jet pressure,but decrease with standoff distance and machining time.Crosssectional profiles were characterized by progressive edge rounding and parabolic shapes.Defects can be minimized by utilizing high jet pressure and small standoff distance.The material removal rate increases with increasing jet pressure,abrasive particle size,and exposure time,but decreases with increasing standoff distance.