Sediment transport by waves and currents

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Quick

Sediment transport is measured under the combined action of waves and currents. Measurements are made with currents in the direction of wave advance and with currents opposing the wave motion. Theoretical relationships are considered that predict the wave velocity field and the mass transport velocity for zero current and for steady currents.Following Bagnold's approach, a transport power relationship is developed to predict the sediment transport rate. Making assumptions for the mass transport velocity, the transport power is shown to agree with the measured sediment transport rates. It is particularly noted that the sediment transport direction is mainly determined by the direction of wave movement, even for adverse currents, until the waves start to break. Keywords: sediment transport, waves and currents, coastal engineering.

1984 ◽  
Vol 1 (19) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
Wi-Gwang Pae ◽  
Yuichi Iwagaki

In the present study, two-dimensional laboratory experiments were performed to investigate the sediment transport due to waves on a fixed sloping beach. Polystyrene particles and glass balls were used as tracers to determine the mass transport velocity near the bottom and the net transport velocity of sediment moving on an impermeable slope. Relationships between the mass transport velocity of water and the net sediment transport velocity are investigated experimentally. The mechanism of two-dimensional beach deformation from an initial uniform slope toward an equilibrium profile due to bed-load movement is discussed on the basis of spatial distributions of the net sediment transport velocity. In addition, some results of experiments using a movable bed are presented to confirm the validity of a beach deformation model derived from the discussion of the tracer experiments.


Ocean Science ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 673-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Franz ◽  
Matthias T. Delpey ◽  
David Brito ◽  
Lígia Pinto ◽  
Paulo Leitão ◽  
...  

Abstract. Coastal defence structures are often constructed to prevent beach erosion. However, poorly designed structures may cause serious erosion problems in the downdrift direction. Morphological models are useful tools to predict such impacts and assess the efficiency of defence structures for different scenarios. Nevertheless, morphological modelling is still a topic under intense research effort. The processes simulated by a morphological model depend on model complexity. For instance, undertow currents are neglected in coastal area models (2DH), which is a limitation for simulating the evolution of beach profiles for long periods. Model limitations are generally overcome by predefining invariant equilibrium profiles that are allowed to shift offshore or onshore. A more flexible approach is described in this paper, which can be generalised to 3-D models. The present work is based on the coupling of the MOHID modelling system and the SWAN wave model. The impacts of different designs of detached breakwaters and groynes were simulated in a schematic beach configuration following a 2DH approach. The results of bathymetry evolution are in agreement with the patterns found in the literature for several existing structures. The model was also tested in a 3-D test case to simulate the formation of sandbars by undertow currents. The findings of this work confirmed the applicability of the MOHID modelling system to study sediment transport and morphological changes in coastal zones under the combined action of waves and currents. The same modelling methodology was applied to a coastal zone (Costa da Caparica) located at the mouth of a mesotidal estuary (Tagus Estuary, Portugal) to evaluate the hydrodynamics and sediment transport both in calm water conditions and during events of highly energetic waves. The MOHID code is available in the GitHub repository.


1994 ◽  
Vol 266 ◽  
pp. 121-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangang Wen ◽  
Philip L.-F. Liu

Mass transport under partially reflected waves in a rectangular channel is studied. The effects of sidewalls on the mass transport velocity pattern are the focus of this paper. The mass transport velocity is governed by a nonlinear transport equation for the second-order mean vorticity and the continuity equation of the Eulerian mean velocity. The wave slope, ka, and the Stokes boundary-layer thickness, k (ν/σ)½, are assumed to be of the same order of magnitude. Therefore convection and diffusion are equally important. For the three-dimensional problem, the generation of second-order vorticity due to stretching and rotation of a vorticity line is also included. With appropriate boundary conditions derived from the Stokes boundary layers adjacent to the free surface, the sidewalls and the bottom, the boundary value problem is solved by a vorticity-vector potential formulation; the mass transport is, in gneral, represented by the sum of the gradient of a scalar potential and the curl of a vector potential. In the present case, however, the scalar potential is trivial and is set equal to zero. Because the physical problem is periodic in the streamwise direction (the direction of wave propagation), a Fourier spectral method is used to solve for the vorticity, the scalar potential and the vector potential. Numerical solutions are obtained for different reflection coefficients, wave slopes, and channel cross-sectional geometry.


The mass transport velocity in water waves propagating over an elastic bed is investigated. Water is assumed to be incompressible and slightly viscous. The elastic bed is also incompressible and satisfies the Hooke’s law. For a small amplitude progressive wave perturbation solutions via a boundary-layer approach are obtained. Because the wave amplitude is usually larger than the viscous boundary layer thickness and because the free surface and the interface between water and the elastic bed are moving, an orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system (Longuet-Higgins 1953) is used in the analysis of free surface and interfacial boundary layers so that boundary conditions can be applied on the actual moving surfaces. Analytical solutions for the mass transport velocity inside the boundary layer adjacent to the elastic seabed and in the core region of the water column are obtained. The mass transport velocity above a soft elastic bed could be twice of that over a rigid bed in the shallow water.


1974 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Porter ◽  
B. D. Dore

AbstractThe mass transport velocity field is determined for surface waves which propagate from a region with a clean free surface into a region beneath an inextensible surface film. The waves are assumed to be incident normally on the edge of the film. Determination of this velocity field requires the investigation of a mixed boundary value problem for the bi-harmonic equation, the solution of which is obtained using the Wiener–Hopf technique. Streamlines for the mean motion of the fluid particles are thus obtained. It is found that considerable vertical displacement of fluid is possible due to the presence of the surface film.


Author(s):  
M. S. Longuet-Higgins

ABSTRACTThe following theorems are proved for irrotational surface waves of finite amplitude in a uniform, incompressible fluid:(a) In any space-periodic motion (progressive or otherwise) in uniform depth, the mean square of the velocity is a decreasing function of the mean depth z below the surface. Hence the fluctuations in the mean pressure increase with z.(b) In any space-periodic motion in infinite depth, the particle motion tends to zero exponentially as z tends to infinity. The pressure fluctuations at great depths are therefore simultaneous, but they do not in general tend to zero.(c) In a progressive periodic wave in uniform depth the mass-transport velocity is a decreasing function of the mean depth of a particle below the free surface, and the tangent to the velocity profile is vertical at the bottom. This result conflicts with observations in wave tanks, and shows that the waves cannot be wholly irrotational.(d) Analogous results are proved for the solitary wave.


1966 ◽  
Vol 1 (10) ◽  
pp. 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Brebner ◽  
J.A. Askew ◽  
S.W. Law

On the basis of non-viscous small amplitude firstorder theory the maximum value of the horizontal orbital motion at the bed in water of constant depth his given by /U/n yy* »* " r •»** */i where k = /L, H is the wave height crest to trough, T is the period, and L the wave length (L = Sry2jr Arf 2*%/L ). On the basis of finite amplitude wave theory where the particle orbits are not closed ana by the insertion of the viscous laminar boundary layer (the conducti6n solution) the mean drift velocity or mass transport velocity on a perfectly smooth bed is given by Longuet- Higgins (1952) as 7, K H* kcr where


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document