Flow resistance, sediment transport, and bedform development in a steep gravel-bedded river flume

Abstract

Quantifying flow resistance and sediment transport rates in steep streams is important for flood and debris flow prediction, habitat restoration, and predicting how mountainous landscapes evolve. However, most studies have focused on low gradient rivers and the application of this work is uncertain for steep mountain streams where surface flows are shallow and rough, subsurface flows are not negligible, and there is form-drag from bed- and channel-forms that differs from those in low gradient rivers. To evaluate flow resistance relations and sediment transport rates for steep channel beds, experiments were conducted using a range of water discharges and sediment transport rates in a 12 m long recirculating flume with bed slopes of 10%, 20%, and 30%, and a bed of nearly uniform natural gravel. Flow resistance for planar beds and beds that developed bedforms match empirical models that account for bedload-dependent roughness. Some bedforms were atypical for natural rivers at these bed slopes, such as stepped alternate bars and upstream migrating alternate bars. Total flow resistance increased with decreasing particle submergence and energetic sediment transport and drag on bedforms. Using linear stress partitioning to calculate bed stresses due to grain resistance alone, sediment flux relations developed for lower gradient rivers perform well overall, but they overestimate fluxes at 20% and 30% gradients. Based on previous theory, mass failure of the bed, which did not occur, was predicted for the highest Shields stresses investigated at 20% and 30% bed slopes; instead a concentrated layer, four to ten particle diameters deep, of highly concentrated granular sheetflow was observed.