Abstract
Understanding the effects of riparian vegetation under sediment-laden flow is becoming crucial due to the increase in frequency of extreme weather events. This study designed three densities and nine random distributions of bent flexible vegetation in flume experiments under sediment-laden flow. Sediments were continually added to the flume at a rate of 21 kg/h to simulate a natural river environment in a sediment-laden flow. The results showed that the evolutionary process of bed form under sediment-laden flow could be divided into four stages: scouring, development, recovery, and deposition stages, forming a dynamic cycle. Dunes were formed and backwater caused them to develop upstream, while structural resistance developed the dunes downstream. Contrary to clear water regime, sediments were deposited upstream of the vegetation area and scour occurred behind the vegetation. In addition, the vertical velocity profile showed to be dependent on the vegetation structure and four clear zones were identified: fixed, bent, canopy, and developed zones. The findings from this study provide crucial information towards river management through understanding the diverse vegetation effects under sediment-laden flows.
Highlights
Vegetation exists in different forms in rivers, and their existence influences flow and sediment transport dynamics and biological and other natural processes
Flume experiments were used to investigate the interactions between floods, vegetation, and sediments
Findings were compared to a clear water regime
Summary
Vegetation exists in different forms in rivers, and their existence influences flow and sediment transport dynamics and biological and other natural processes. Brown and Roshko [1], Stephan and Wychera [2], and Wang et al [3], among several other authors [4,5,6,7], illustrated how vegetation could contribute to additional drag and lift force in rivers. These additional forces reduce the critical velocity of incipient motion for sediments, making the channel bed unstable [3,8]. The resultant cross-sectional flows influenced the bed shear stress distribution along the bend such that the peak of the bed shear stress did not reach the outer banks
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