Propagation of surge waves in channels with large-scale bank roughness

Abstract

In open channels, a sudden rise in water elevation generates a positive surge. Positive surges are commonly observed in man-made channels (Bazin 1865, Treske 1994) and a natural occurrence is the tidal bore in macro-tidal estuaries (Tricker 1965, Chanson 2011a). The positive surge may propagate upstream or downstream (Fig. D1). It is a rapidly-varied flow and the flow properties immediately upstream and downstream of the front must satisfy the continuity and momentum principles (Rouse 1938, Liggett 1994). The authors investigated positive surge waves in a long channel with a range of sidewall configuration. Their configuration corresponded to a downstream surge configuration (Fig. D1, right). The contribution is a welcome addition to the literature on rapidly-varied unsteady open channel flows. In this discussion, it is shown that the effects of boundary friction were previously documented, and a recent investigation provided some insight into the energy dissipation induced by large-scale sidewall roughness.