Hydrodynamics of turbidity currents evolving over a plane bed

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the hydrodynamics of turbidity currents evolving over a plane bed. The analytical framework encompasses the depth-averaged conservation equations for fluid mass, sediment mass, momentum, and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). The analysis incorporates self-similar distributions of streamwise velocity, sediment concentration, and TKE. Using the self-similar distributions of streamwise velocity and sediment concentration, the distributions of turbulent diffusivity, Reynolds shear stress, and TKE production rate are determined. The analytical model of turbidity currents enables the prediction of streamwise evolutions of flow depth, depth-averaged velocity, depth-averaged sediment concentration, and depth-averaged TKE. The self-acceleration and subsidence of turbidity currents are found to depend on the initial conditions. Additionally, the model results demonstrate the sensitivity of turbidity current hydrodynamics to grain size and longitudinal bed slope. Importantly, increased grain size and longitudinal bed slope contribute to enhanced self-acceleration, leading to a decrease in the subsidence rate of turbidity currents. The model predictions satisfactorily capture the available experimental data.