Reducing of Bend Scour by Setting Spurs in a Curved Channel

Abstract

In Taiwan, the rivers not only are fast-flowing with high discharge, but they badly erode their beds during the typhoon seasons. In addition, erosion on the concave bank in a meandering channel is the primary cause of levee break. Therefore, the study conducted a down-scale experiment on erosion induced by oblique flow in a laboratory. It was similar to number 27–34 cross sections of the Fengshan river of Hsinchu County, Taiwan. The region was chosen because there are some special attacking angles of water flow and historical precedents of levee break. The study adopted the discharges of return periods of 10 and 20 years and measured the flow field by laser doppler velocimetry (LDV). Then the protective effects with different spur types were examined. The results indicate that increasing velocity induces side erosion when the flow impacts with the adjacent angle on the concave bank. However, the decreasing of velocity causes deposition of sediment on the concave bank. Furthermore, based on the vertical velocity profile of water flow, a higher flow rate is measured in the downstream on the concave bank. After the spurs are installed, the velocity at the spurs in the downstream is reduced, and the cross section with the larger velocity is moved to upstream. In addition, after setting the spurs, the reduction rates in volume of scour are 7.97% of a 10 year return period and 4.65% of a 20 year return period, respectively. That demonstrates the scour is effectively reduced as long as the spurs are set. Although the erosion mitigation rate and protection effect are decreased when the velocity is high, there is still a good protection effect at the bank. The setting of spurs has the following effects: First, the maximum scour depth generates in the front spur, while the maximum scour position keeps away from the bank. Then, the overall flow rate can be reduced to approximately 35%–40% comparing with the original flow field. Lastly, the spur on the slope of 1/30 degrees demonstrated the best function of stretching the distance from the embankment.