Modification of the Engelund bed-load formula

Abstract

The classic Engelund bed-load formula involves four oversimplified assumptions concerning the quantity of particles per unit bed area that can be potentially entrained into motion, the probability of sediment being entrained into motion at a given instant, the mean velocity of bed-load motion, and the dimensionless incipient shear stress. These four aspects are reexamined in the light of new findings in hydrodynamics, and a modified bed-load formula is then proposed. The modified formula shows promise as being reliable in predicting bed-load transport rates in a wide range of flow intensities.