Formula for Sediment Transport in Rivers, Estuaries,

and Coastal Waters

Shu-Qing Yang1

Abstract: The aim of the present study is to develop a formula for the relationship between flow strength and sediment discharge. The
appropriate definition of energy dissipation rate E in the theorem of Bagnold in 1966 is discussed and it is found that the sediment
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

transport rate gt in unidirectional flows can be well predicted when E is defined as the product of bed shear stress ␶0 and near bed velocity
u⬘*. Then the linear relationship between u*⬘E and the sediment transport rate is examined using measured data. The good agreement
between measured and predicted values indicates that the phenomena of sediment transport can be reasonably described by the near bed
flow characteristics. As the hydrodynamic modelers are able to calculate the bed shear stress and near bed velocity in various cases now,
thus the new relationship may provide numerical modelers a tool to calculate the sediment transport in rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.
To prove this, the simplified analytical expressions of E and u⬘* in wave-current flows and coastal waters are derived, the results are
checked with the available data over a wide range of flow conditions; and good agreements are achieved, indicating that the presumption
is valid in the cases investigated.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0733-9429共2005兲131:11共968兲
CE Database subject headings: Sediment discharge; Ocean water; Shear stress; Coastal processes; River flow; Current; Energy
dissipation.

Introduction plication have greatly stimulated the engineers and scientists to

improve the existing equations intensively. To date, there are
Sediment transport plays an important role in the evolution of many empirical formulas for the calculation of sediment dis-
river beds, estuaries, and the coastlines; consequently it exerts a charge in alluvial channels, but few have gained general applica-
considerable influence on the evolution of the topography of the tions to estuaries and coastal waters.
earth’s surface. Therefore, the mechanism of sediment transport is For sediment transport in rivers, Chien and Wan 共1999兲 pro-
of great interest to hydraulic engineers, coastal engineers, geolo- vided a good summary of the well-cited equations, such as those
gists, hydrologists, geographers, and so on. Integral modeling of proposed by Einstein 共1942兲, Meyer-Peter and Muller 共1948兲,
sediment transport from river to marine environment requires a Bagnold 共1966兲, Yalin 共1977兲, Engelund and Hansen 共1972兲, and
quantitative and universally applicable law governing the motion Ackers and White 共1973兲. Chien and Wan 共1999兲 show that all
of the transported sediment in all flow situations ranging from these equations can be expressed as ⌽ = f共␺兲, i.e., the dimension-
pure current to complex flow in the wave-current situation includ- less sediment transport rate ⌽
ing irregular and sometimes breaking waves. The equation of
sediment transport correlated with local flow parameters such as
bed shear stress and near bed velocity is highly demanded by
⌽=
gt
冉 冊冉 冊
␥
␥s ␥s − ␥
1/2
1
gd350
1/2
共1兲

hydrodynamic modelers who are able to precisely determine these is a function of the Shields shear stress parameter

冉 冊
flow parameters by solving the Reynolds equations in rivers, es-
tuaries and coastal waters. ␥s − ␥ d50
⌿= 共2兲
On the other hand, engineers also prefer a simple approach to ␥ RS
describe the sediment transport rate with sufficient accuracy. where ⌽⫽Einstein’s sediment intensity parameter; gt⫽sediment
However, few of the equations developed for sediment transport transport rate per unit width 共kg/ m / s兲; d50⫽median sediment
so far can be used in a wide range of flow conditions. This lack of size; ␥s and ␥⫽specific weight of sediment and water, respec-
accepted fundamental principles and the demand of practical ap- tively; R⫽hydraulic radius; S⫽energy slope; and g⫽gravitational
acceleration. There are other parameters developed to express
1
Visiting Professor, Div. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, sediment discharge or concentration, such as the V3 / 共gR␻兲 pro-
Korea Maritime Univ., Busan, Korea 606791; formerly, Principal posed by Velikanov 共1954兲, the dimensionless unit stream power,
Research Scientist, Maritime Research Center, Nanyang Technological VS / ␻ by Yang 共1996兲, and the transport-stage parameter,
Univ., Nanyang Ave., Singapore 639798. E-mail: csqyang@ntu.edu.sg T = 共u⬘*2 − u2*c兲 / u2*c by Van Rijn 共1984兲, in which
Note. Discussion open until April 1, 2006. Separate discussions must
V⫽depth-averaged velocity; ␻⫽sand fall velocity; and
be submitted for individual papers. To extend the closing date by one
month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Managing Editor. u⬘* = 共g0.5 / C⬘兲V⫽bed-shear velocity related to grains;
The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and possible C⬘ = 18 log共12R / 3 / d50兲⫽Chezy-coefficient related to grains;
publication on March 6, 2003; approved on January 17, 2005. This paper u*c⫽critical shear velocity.
is part of the Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 131, No. 11, Yang and Lim 共2003兲 and Yang 共2005兲 developed the follow-
November 1, 2005. ©ASCE, ISSN 0733-9429/2005/11-968–979/$25.00. ing equation to express the sediment transport:

968 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005

J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.

 ⌽=k 冉 冊␥
␥s − ␥
1/2
TT⬘ 共3兲
where k = dimensionless coefficient= 12.5; TT⬘ ⫽dimensionless
parameter⫽␶0共u*⬘2 − u2*c兲 / 关共␥s − ␥兲␻冑gd350兴; and ␶0 = ␥RS.
The objectives of this paper are 共1兲 to express the empirical
equation of Yang and Lim’s 共2003兲 in a more general form; 共2兲 to
extend the basic equation to wave-current motion and longshore
sediment transport; and 共3兲 to determine coefficients for different
cases; 共4兲 to provide a general relationship between sediment
transport and local flow characteristics to numerical modelers.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Sediment Transport Formula
Bagnold 共1966兲 developed a sediment transport function from the
power concept. He considered the relationship between the avail-
able energy, E to an alluvial system and the rate of work being
done by the system in transporting sediment. The total load, gt is
expressed in the following way from the power concept:
␥s us
gt = k 1E 共4兲
␥s − ␥ ␻ very well, this is why the stream power 共␶0V兲 and the unit stream
where us⫽mean transport velocity of sediment,
k1 = ␻eb / 共us tan ␣兲 + 0.01, in which eb⫽efficiency coefficient and
tan ␣⫽ratio of tangential to normal shear force.
Bagnold 共1966兲 expressed the available energy as follows:
E = ␶ 0V 共5a兲
Yalin 共1977兲 notes that Eq. 共5a兲 means the loss of potential en-
ergy of the flow per unit area and time because the “available
power” termed by Bagnold can be expressed as follows:
冕 he stressed that u*⬘ can eliminate the bed form roughness, and also
h
E = ␶0V ⬇ ␥S udy = ␥Sq 共5b兲
0
where q⫽water discharge per unit width and h⫽water depth.
Different from Bagnold’s assumption, some researchers found
empirically that the sediment transport is closely related to the
energy dissipation near the bed 共Yalin 1977; Cheng 2002兲, viz.
the product of bed shear stress ␶0 and shear velocity u* with the
following form:
E = ␶ 0u * 共5c兲
where u* = 共gRS兲0.5 = 共␶0 / ␳兲0.5. In Eq. 共5c兲, the near bed velocity is
represented by the overall shear velocity, u*.
The assumption of Bagnold 共1966兲 shown in Eq. 共5b兲 indicates
that the importance of any unit water volume is identical to sedi-
ment transport, regardless of its position. Noticing that most of
sediment particles travel with water near the bed, and these par-
ticles converts the water energy dissipated on the bed to their
kinetic energy, consequently the particles are able to collide with
each other and to move in the modes of rolling, saltation and
suspension. In other words, the water energy dissipation on the
bed plays a more important role relative to the potential energy
loss in the upper layer. In order to show this argument clearly, let
us imagine the density current in a dead water, when the water
bodies with different densities contact each other, the density cur-
rent of denser water in the lower layer moves in the opposite
direction of lighter water in the upper layer, this phenomenon
often occurs in the dead waters such as reservoirs or lakes and the
sediment transport driven by the density current can be observed.
However, according to Eq. 共5a兲 and 共5b兲, in such case the net
JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005 / 969
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.
sediment transport should be zero because the mean velocity V or
discharge per unit width q in the dead water is zero. Obviously,
this is not correct. This example indicates that Eq. 共5a兲 is not a
general expression, the near bed velocity rather than the mean
velocity V plays more important role to express the sediment
movement.
Yalin 共1977兲 noticed the shortcomings in the assumption of
Bagnold 共1966兲, and he tried to correct it by introducing the near
bed velocity in the expression of E, thus the numerical modelers
can determine the local sediment transport rate in every grid using
the local hydraulic parameters. But unfortunately he expressed the
near bed velocity using the shear velocity as shown in Eq. 共5c兲.
From the relationship of u* = 共␶0 / ␳兲0.5, one can conclude that the
approach of Yalin 共1977兲 actually indicates that the energy sup-
porting the sediment transport is proportional to ␶3/2 0 , in other
words, the bed shear stress is the sole parameter to express the
energy supporting the sediment transport. Obviously the effects of
bed forms on the sediment transport are not considered in this
expression. By plotting the measured sediment transport rate ver-
sus the bed shear stress, researchers such as Yang 共1996兲 and
Bagnold 共1966兲 have known for a long time that the boundary
shear stress ␶0 cannot solely determine the sediment transport
power 共VS兲 have been proposed. Therefore one can see that the
goal of Yalin 共1996兲 was to replace the mean velocity V with the
near bed velocity, but he inappropriately expressed the near bed
velocity, which results in that little improvement has been made
by his definition.
According to Einstein 共Chien and Wan 1999兲 the total shear
stress, ␶0 can be divided into two components, viz., bed shear
related to grains, ␳ u⬘*2 and sand wave shear. Van Rijn 共1984兲 first
discovered that a better relationship can be obtained between the
sediment transport and the bed-shear velocity related to grains, u⬘*,
it is simple and convenient. Van Rijn 共1984兲 comprehensively
investigated the sediment transport phenomena and concluded
that the bed-shear velocity related to grains u⬘* rather than the total
shear velocity, u* or mean velocity, V, plays a dominant role for
sediment transport.
Therefore, it is acceptable to express the “available energy,” E
in Eq. 共4兲 in the following way:
E = ␶0u*⬘ 共6兲
Different from Eq. 共5a兲 共Bagnold 1966兲 and Eq. 共5c兲 共Yalin
1996兲, Eq. 共6兲 states that not all energy dissipation, but only the
energy loss caused by grain friction is responsible for sediment
transport, the energy loss due to the bed forms has little contribu-
tion on the sediment transport. This may be understandable be-
cause the form drag is caused by the difference between the high
pressure upstream and low pressure downstream of bed form
when a separation flow appears behind the sand wave, obviously
the separation flows or large vortexes behind the save waves
transport little sediment directly to the downstream.
Different from the bed form drag, the grain friction is the shear
stress acting on the sediment grains directly; both the water and
sediment particles move in the same direction, thus the grain fric-
tion plays a key and direct role for the sediment transport.
McLean et al. 共1999兲 differentiated the roles of form drag and
grain friction for sediment transport, they concluded that the tur-
bulent intensity, which is primarily responsible for the mainte-
nance of sediment in suspension, is proportional to the total
boundary shear stress ␶0, which is typically dominated by the
form drag, this is why the total shear stress must be taken into
 account in any analysis of sediment transport. They also noted
that the form drag is unimportant in transporting sediment be-
cause only the grain friction or u⬘* is responsible for the down-
stream sediment transport, thus both ␶0 and u*⬘ are crucial for
sediment transport.
In Eq. 共6兲, if the bed shear stress ␶0 is replaced by bed shear
related to grain ␶⬘0 共=␳ u⬘*2兲 and us is assumed to be proportional
to the mean velocity V, then Eq. 共4兲 indicates virtually that the
total sediment discharge gt is proportional to V4 / ␻, or the sedi-
ment concentration c relies on V3 / 共hg␻兲 that becomes the Veli-
kanov’s parameter.
The mean transport velocity of sediment, us in Eq. 共4兲 is de-
fined as follows 共Yalin 1977兲:
冕
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
1
h ␥s − ␥
冕
us = h lim cyudy
␧→0 ␧
lim cydy
␧→0 ␧
where y⫽distance from the bed; u⫽local velocity at level y; and
cy⫽volumetric concentration of particles at level y. us can be
determined theoretically by assuming that u in Eq. 共7兲 follows the
log law and cy follows the Rouse equation 共Chien and Wan 1999兲,
but the result is too complicated, thus researchers have to express
it empirically.
Bagnold 共1966兲 assumed that us = V = 兰h0udy / h, this is equiva-
lent to the assumption that the concentration cy does not vary with
y as commented by Yalin 共1977兲. As is well known, the sediment
concentration increases from zero at water surface with the de-
creasing values of y depending on the Rouse parameter, in other
words, most sediment particles travel with water near the bed,
therefore, it is rational to assume that the mean transport velocity
of sediment is proportional to the near bed water velocity, i.e.
us = ␣1u⬘*
in which ␣1⫽coefficient.
Substituting Eqs. 共6兲 and 共8兲 into Eq. 共4兲, one obtains a sedi-
ment transport formula
␥s E − Ec
gt = ku⬘*
␥s − ␥ ␻
where k = k1␣1; Ec is introduced to express the critical condition
for sediment motion. Eq. 共9兲 states that the sediment transport rate
depends on the energy dissipation on the bed, E and near bed
velocity, u⬘*, the net transport will be always in the same direction
as the movement of u⬘*. Since the direction of near bed velocity
may differ from the direction of mean velocity in marine environ-
ment, hence Eq. 共9兲 may explain why the net sediment transport
goes against the current in some cases as observed by Inman and
Bowen 共1963兲. In other words, if the bed shear stress and near
bed velocity in complicated cases can be modeled correctly, Eq.
共9兲 could predict the direction and quantity of sediment transport
in various scenarios including rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.
The validity of Eq. 共9兲 in these scenarios will be justified in the
following sections.
Keulegan 共1938兲 also introduced the near bed velocity u⬘* to
express the rate of energy dissipation E. In his definition, u⬘* is the
velocity at a certain distance from the bed at which log law holds,
and he admitted that the near bed distance for the determination
of u*⬘ cannot be theoretically computed. Therefore, one should
resort to semiempirical ways to express u⬘* or E in some compli-
cated scenarios, and some simplified assumptions have to be in-
troduced, which will certainly bring in some errors.
970 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.
Sediment Transport in Rivers
To simplify the expression of near bed velocity, similar to the
definition of Van Rijn 共1984兲, in this study u*⬘ is expressed as
follows 共Yang and Lim 2003兲:
V
u*⬘ = 共10兲
11R
2.5 ln
2d50
By simply assuming u⬘*共E − Ec兲 = ␶0共u⬘*2 − u2*c兲, one can obtain the
equation of Yang and Lim 共2003兲 from Eq. 共9兲
gt = k
␥s
␶0冉u⬘*2 − u2*c
冊 共11兲
␻
共7兲
In order to test which hydraulic parameter is suitable for the ex-
pression of total sediment discharge, the data set of Barton and
Lin 共1955兲 is particularly selected to compare the correlation co-
efficients of existing hydraulic parameters with measured sedi-
ment discharge for the dataset has been widely cited in textbooks
including Yalin 共1977, p. 127兲, Chien and Wan 共1999, p. 543兲.
The experiment was carried out in a 0.267 m width flume; the
water depths varied from 0.047 to 0.09 m, the median sediment
sizes were 0.088 and 0.145 mm; the observed dunes ranged gen-
erally from 1 / 6 to 1 / 16 of the depth of flow. The data are shown
in Fig. 1 in which the solid curves are obtained to fit the data
points best visually.
Correlation coefficient measures the degree to which two vari-
ables are related to, in the present analysis it is calculated by
共X − X̄兲共Y − Ȳ兲
冑共X − X̄兲2冑共Y − Ȳ兲2
correlation coefficient =
共8兲 in which the overbar denotes the mean value; Y⫽measured sedi-
ment transport load 共c , ⌽, or gt兲; and X⫽hydraulic parameters
共VS / ␻, V3 / gR␻, T, ⌿, or TT⬘ 兲, and Y = f共X兲 has been expressed by
previous researchers in various ways based on their own data and
theoretical development.
Fig. 1共a兲 shows the relationship between the sediment concen-
共9兲 tration c and the hydraulic parameters of VS / ␻, V3 / 共gR␻兲, and
T = 共u*⬘2 − u2*c兲 / u2*c, respectively. The unit stream power parameter
of Yang 共1996兲 VS / ␻ gives the correlation coefficient of 0.942;
the parameter V3 / 共gR␻兲 of Velikanov 共1954兲 provides correlation
coefficient of 0.948; the dimensionless parameter, T developed by
van Rijn 共1984兲 is correlated with the sediment concentration for
a coefficient of 0.943.
Based on the same data set, Fig. 1共b兲 shows the measured
sediment discharge gt versus the stream power ␶0V and ␶0u*, the
former provides a correlation coefficient of 0.96 and the latter
gives a correlation coefficient of 0.885. The correlation coefficient
of the parameter of Einstein 共1942兲, ⌽ with ⌿ is −0.877.
Fig. 1共c兲 exhibits that a one-to-one and linear relationship be-
tween gt and TT⬘ can be provided by the parameter of Yang and
Lim 共2003兲, which gives the highest correlation coefficient of
0.973.
Yang 共1996兲 ascertained that among all previous hydraulic pa-
rameters for the prediction of sediment transport including the
stream power ␶V of Bagnold 共1966兲 and the parameter V3 / gRS of
Velikanov 共1954兲, the dimensionless unit stream power VS / ␻ is
preferable to others in the view of correlation coefficients of mea-
sured total load with these parameters. This conclusion was sup-
ported by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Bureau of Recla-
mation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 共Yang 1996兲.

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 1. Relationship between the measured sediment discharge and
various hydraulic parameters based on the data of Barton and Lin
共1955兲
Therefore, it is meaningful to compare the correlation coefficients
based on the data of Gilbert 共1914兲 by use of available hydraulic
parameters.
The database of Gilbert 共1914兲 is selected for the comparison
because the dataset covers a wide experimental range and its re-
liability makes it widely cited such as in the textbooks of Graf
共1971, p. 144兲, Chien and Wan 共1999, p. 169兲, Yang 共1996, p.
219兲, and Yalin 共1977, p. 127兲. The results are shown in Table 1.
JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005 / 971
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.
In Table 1, all the observations of Gilbert 共1914兲 are used in
the calculation of correlation coefficients for avoidance of preju-
dice; Column 1 shows the number of experimental runs done by
Gilbert 共1914兲 and Column 2 indicates the median sediment size,
Columns 3–5 list the calculated correlation coefficients between
the measured sediment concentration c and VS / ␻ , V3 / 共gR␻兲 and
T developed by Yang 共1996兲, Velikanov 共1954兲, and Van Rijn
共1984兲, respectively; Columns 6 and 7 exhibit the correlation co-
efficients of the measured sediment discharge ⌽ or gt with param-
eters ⌿ and TT⬘ proposed by Einstein 共1942兲 and Yang and Lim
共2003兲, respectively. The last row of Table 1 shows the mean
values, it can be seen that the parameter TT⬘ achieves obviously the
highest correlation coefficient in all cases, in other words, sedi-
ment transport is strongly related to TT⬘ . The data of Gilbert 共1914兲
confirms the conclusion drawn from Fig. 1.
Based on flume observations available in the database com-
piled by Brownlie 共1981兲, Yang and Lim 共2003兲 found that
k = 12.5 is sufficiently accurate to describe the sediment discharge
measured in laboratory.
The procedure of calculation for sediment discharge in steady,
uniform and fully developed turbulent channels is shown as
follows:
1. Determine u2*c from the Shields curve based on d50, or using
the empirical equation proposed by Guo 共1997兲;
2. Calculate the bed-shear velocity related to grains u*⬘ using
Eq. 共10兲;
3. Calculate the mean bed shear stress using ␶0 = ␥RS;
4. Calculate the sediment settling velocity based on d50; and
5. Calculate the total load of sediment transport using Eq. 共11兲.
Field data 共Toffaleti 1968; Culbertson et al. 1976兲 from the Rio
Grande River are also used for the verification. The river widths
varied from 11.9 to 120.4 m, water depths from 0.2 to 1.5 m, d50
from 0.174 to 0.351 mm, energy slopes from 0.00053 to 0.0008,
gradations from 1.34 to 1.87, sediment concentrations from 35 to
4,890 ppm. Fig. 2 shows that the agreement between the predicted
and measured sediment discharges is acceptable.
Experiments show that the movement of solid particles occurs
when the bed shear stress exceeds the critical value ␶c, with the
increment of bed shear stress, the bed will be generally rippled.
But when the bed shear stress is increased to a very high range,
the bed tends to become plane that is characteristic of sediment
transport in this high-shear range, in which the grains of contact-
load solids move in a near-bed zone, and its thickness of moving
layer is much larger than the particle diameter.
For contact load 共or sheet flow兲, the Einstein 共1942兲 bed-load
function is proportional to ␶0, whereas that of Meyer-Peter and
Muller 共1948兲 is proportional to ␶1.5 0 . Nnadi and Wilson 共1992兲
examined experimentally these two equations and concluded that
both formulas cannot provide satisfactory predictions 共also see
Ribberink 1998兲. The experiments of Nnadi and Wilson 共1992兲
were conducted in a pressurized horizontal conduit of square
cross section 98 by 98 mm to obtain a high range of shear stress.
In the experiments, bakelite 共␳s = 1.56t / m3 and d50 = 1.05,0.67
mm兲, sand 共␳s = 2.67t / m3 and d50 = 0.7 mm兲 and Nylon
共␳s = 1.14t / m3 and d50 = 3.94 mm兲 were used. The measured
contact-load transport rate is shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 also includes
the measured sediment discharge at high velocity 共1–2 m / s兲 from
filed 共Voogt et al. 1991兲, the estimated energy slopes for Krammer
tidal channel and Scheldt Estuary are 0.18 and 0.13%, respec-
tively. Fig. 3 demonstrates a reasonably good agreement between
Eq. 共11兲 and the measured sediment transport rate, the scatter in
the field data could be partly attributed to the assumed constant
 Table 1. Correlation Coefficients between Sediment Transport and Hy-
draulic Parameters based on the Data of Gilbert 共1914兲
Number c c c gt
of and and and and
runs d50共mm兲 VS / ␻ V3 / 共gR␻兲 T ⌽ and ⌿ TT
62 0.305 0.863 0.137 0.265 −0.384 0.972
207 0.37 0.845 0.508 0.528 −0.800 0.921
235 0.51 0.781 0.549 0.491 −0.768 0.956
116 0.79 0.901 0.747 0.669 −0.659 0.988
47 1.71 0.903 0.758 0.688 −0.699 0.973
35 3.08 0.893 0.681 0.503 −0.895 0.972
68 4.94 0.926 0.880 0.846 −0.808 0.989
Mean 0.873 0.608 0.570 −0.716 0.967
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 3. Comparison of sediment discharge measured from high shear

energy slope, in reality the energy slope S for a tidal flow would
vary with time.
For sediment transport in unidirectional flows, Yang and Lim
共2003兲 compared Eq. 共11兲 with other popular equations proposed
by Engelund and Hansen 共1972兲, Van Rijn 共1984兲, and Karim
共1998兲 for a wide range of data sets, they concluded that, if Eq.
共11兲 was not better than most of the existing, at least they were
comparable.
stress conduit flows and high velocity channel flows with computed
results from Eq. 共11兲
Eq. 共9兲 could be valid for expressing the sediment transport
rate in such case. The velocity near the bed, u⬘* in Eq. 共9兲 can be
replaced with the bed-shear velocity u⬘*cu driven by current. Thus,
the sediment transport rate can be expressed as

Sediment Transport by Currents and Waves

In this section, the relationship between the rate of energy dissi-
pation on the bed and the rate of sediment transport is extended to
the case that wave and current interact on sediment transport.
Theoretically, Eq. 共11兲 can be directly applied to the calculation
of the sediment transport rate when the bed shear stress is ex-
pressed in the following form 共Fredsoe and Deigaard 1995,
p. 184兲:
␥H dH
␶0 = ␥hS + 共12兲
8 dx
where H⫽wave height. However, in practice, the wave height
decay dH / dx and energy slope S shown in Eq. 共12兲 are not gen-
erally measured. As a result, Eq. 共11兲 cannot be applied directly to
the assessment of the sediment transport rate in the wave-current
conditions.
␥s u⬘*cu
gt = k 共E − Ec兲 共13兲
␥s − ␥ ␻
where the boldface typeface denotes vector variables and the criti-
cal energy dissipation rate Ec is empirically expressed as
Ec = ␶cu*c, in which ␶c and u*c⫽critical shear stress and shear
velocity, respectively, and ␶c共=␳ u2*c兲 can be determined from
Shields curve.
According to the definition shown in Eq. 共6兲, the time-
averaged energy dissipation rate on the bed, E is expressed as
follows:
E = ␶b共t兲ub共t兲 共14兲
where ␶b and ub⫽instantaneous bed shear stress and velocity near
the bed, respectively; t⫽time; the subscript b refers to the bed.
The velocity in the boundary layer of wave-current motion con-
sists of two components: the steady current contribution ucu and
an unsteady contribution in which uw共t兲 is taken to vary harmoni-
cally with time 共Airy wave兲. Thus ub共t兲 is expressed as follows
共Fredsoe and Deigaard 1995兲:

ub共t兲 = uw共t兲 + ucu = uwm sin共␻1t兲 + ucu 共15兲

where ␻1 is the angular frequency and uwm⫽amplitude of har-
monic near-bed orbital velocity near the bed.
The bed shear stress in wave-current motions has been inves-
tigated by many researchers, and a comprehensive review can be
found in the work by Soulsby et al. 共1993兲. The widely accepted
expression of instantaneous bed shear stress is shown as follows:

1
␶b共t兲 = 2 f wub共t兲兩ub共t兲兩 共16兲
Fig. 2. Comparison between sediment discharge measured from Rio in which f w is wave friction factor. Substituting Eqs. 共16兲 and 共15兲
Grande River and computed results from Eq. 共11兲 into Eq. 共14兲 yields

972 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005

J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.

 冕 current motion is normally not measured. Thus the time-averaged
T
fw
E= 兩ub共t兲兩ub共t兲
2
dt rate of energy dissipation in wave-current conditions can be ex-
2T 0 pressed as

冕 冋 冉 冊 册
T
fw
= 关u2cu + uwm
2
sin2共␻1t兲 ␳ 2␲A 3
2T E=f f wcos ␸ + ␶cuu⬘*cu 共24兲
0 4 T
+ 2ucuuwmsin共␻1t兲cos ␤1兴3/2dt 共17兲 Usually a live bed will be hydraulically rough, and in this case the
where ␤1⫽the angle between the current and the direction of wave friction factor is given by Nielsen 共1992兲 in the following
wave propagation and T⫽wave period. form:
The integral in Eq. 共17兲 cannot be solved analytically. For
simplification of the expression of energy dissipation rate in
wave-current motion, it is assumed that the bed shear stress is
冋 冉 冊
f w = exp 5.5
2d50
A
0.2
− 6.3 册 共25兲

superposed as follows:
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

The bottom orbital excursion amplitude A may be computed by

␶b共t兲 = f共␶w共t兲 + ␶cu兲 共18兲 use of

where f⫽function of uwm / ucu and needs to be determined empiri- A = H/2 sinh共2␲h/L兲 共26兲
cally; ␶w共t兲 and ␶cu⫽bed shear stresses introduced by waves and where h⫽water depth; L⫽wave length; H = Hs / 冑2 for random
current, respectively. The experiments of Lodahl et al. 共1998兲 wave; and Hs being the significant wave height.
showed that the mean bed shear stress in wave-current motion Substituting Eq. 共24兲 into Eq. 共9兲 leads to

再冋 册 冎
may retain its steady-current value, indicating that the coefficient
f in Eq. 共18兲 is a unit, but their measured data also show that the
mean bed shear stress may be less than the steady-current value in
the wave-dominated regime, meaning that coefficient f should be
gt = k
␥s u⬘*cu
␥s − ␥ ␻
␳
f f wcos ␸
4
2␲A
T
冉 冊 3
+ ␳u⬘*cu
3
− ␳u⬘*c3

smaller than 1. 共27兲

Thus, the instantaneous energy dissipation on the bed is ex-
pressed by use of Eqs. 共15兲 and 共18兲 as follows:
␶b共t兲ub共t兲 = f共␶w共t兲uw共t兲 + ␶cuuw共t兲 + ␶w共t兲ucu + ␶cuucu兲
For periodic waves, the time-averaged wave shear stress ␶w共t兲
and velocity uw共t兲 are assumed to be zero. The averaged energy
The procedure of calculation is shown as follows:
1. Determine u2*c from the Shields curve based on d50.
共19兲 2. Calculate the current shear velocity u⬘*cu with Eq. 共10兲 if the
mean velocity is measured or if the local velocity u at eleva-
tion y is measured, the following equation is suggested for
assessment of the bed-shear velocity u⬘*cu:

冉 冊
dissipation E over one wave period can be obtained by the sub-
stitution of Eq. 共19兲 into Eq. 共14兲 u 30y
= 2.5 ln 共28兲
u⬘*cu 2d50
E = f共␶w共t兲uw共t兲 + ␶cuucu兲 = f共␶w共t兲uw共t兲 + ␶cuucu兲 共20兲
3. Calculate f w and A using Eqs. 共25兲 and 共26兲 using wave
Eq. 共20兲 indicates that the energy dissipation in wave-current height, wave period, and water depth.
flows is simply taken to be the sum of energy dissipation rate in 4. Calculate the sediment discharge gt using Eq. 共27兲 and as-
pure waves and that in a steady flow. suming k = 12.5 and f = 1.
For periodic waves, the time-averaged rate of energy dissipa- The measured data of sediment transport in combined current
tion near the bottom was obtained by Kajiura 共1968兲 and its ex- and nonbreaking wave conditions is rather scarce to verify Eq.
tension to spectral waves was conducted by Madsen et al. 共1988兲 共27兲, especially field data, because of the difficulties in measuring
as follows: both the fluid velocities and sediment concentrations under wave
1
␶w共t兲uw共t兲 = ␳f wcos ␸
4
2␲A
T
冉 冊 3
共21兲
conditions. The experimental data of Van Rijn et al. 共1993兲 are
used for the verification. In their experiments, two types of sedi-
ment material were used with median diameter of 100 and
where A⫽water particle semiexcursion near the bed; f w⫽wave 200 ␮m. The current velocities varied in the range of
friction factor; ␸⫽phase lead of the near bottom wave orbital 0.1–0.5 m / s, irregular waves following and opposing current
velocity which is expressed as follows: with a peak period of 2.5 s were generated. The significant wave
height varied in the range of 0.075 to 0.18 m, the water depth was
␲/2 about 0.5 m. The sediment concentrations were determined from
tan ␸ = 共22兲
30␬uwm water-sediment sampler using a pump sampling instrument and
ln − 1.15
␻12d50 the velocities were measured with an electromagnetic velocity
meter. The bed load transport rate was estimated from the mea-
in which u*wm⫽shear velocity driven by waves. sured bed form characteristics. The total sediment transport rate
The rate of energy dissipation on the bed by current in Eq. 共20兲 passing a section was determined as the sum of the rate of
can be written in a way similar to that for steady flows current-related bed load transport and the rate of suspended-load
␶cuucu = ␶cuu⬘*cu 共23兲 transport. Two-dimensional ripples were observed, the ripple
heights ranged from 1 to 3 cm and the ripple lengths were in the
where u⬘*cu⫽bed shear velocity related to grains and u⬘*cu can be range of 6–20 cm. From the experiments, they concluded that
determined using Eq. 共10兲. “the influence of the current direction on the concentration profile
The relationship ␶cu = ␳ u⬘*cu
2
is used to estimate the bed shear and transport rate is negligible,” which is in accordance with
stress driven by a current because the energy slope S in wave- Eq. 共20兲.

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005 / 973

J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.

 Fig. 4. Comparison between the rate of total sediment transport in
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
combined current and wave conditions from Eq. 共27兲 and the data of
Van Rijn et al. 共1993兲
The calculated fall velocities for d50 = 100 and 200 ␮m are
0.616 and 1.92 cm/ s, respectively. The estimated critical shear
velocities are u*c = 1 and 1.31 cm/ s, respectively. Fig. 4 shows the
comparison of measured and predicted sediment transport rate, in
which the measured sediment discharge gt is referred to as the
total sediment transport load including the bed load transport rate
and suspended load transport rate. The positive sign shown in Fig.
4 represents sediment transport following the wave direction and
the negative sign means the sediment transport against the wave
direction.
Van Rijn et al. 共1993兲 compared the measured sediment trans-
port rate shown in Fig. 4 with the Bijker 共1971兲 method, the
Nielsen 共1985兲 method, and the Van Rijn 共1985, 1989兲 method.
These methods are all based on the computation of a time-
averaged concentration and velocity profile. All three methods are
sensitive to the bed roughness value that is related to the ripple
height.
Van Rijn et al. 共1993兲 determined the roughness values by the
best fit of the measured velocity profiles, after this treatment he
found that the Bijker 共1971兲 method underestimates 共factor of
3–5兲 the transport rates, about 48% of the predicted transport rates
are within a factor of 2 of the measured values. The Nielsen
共1985兲 method overestimates 共factor of 5–10兲 the transport rates,
this large overprediction cannot be explained from the predicted
concentration profiles, it is caused by the function proposed by
Nielsen 共1985兲 because this function is quite sensitive to the par-
ticle size of the bed material 共Van Rijn et al. 1993兲. The Van Rijn
et al. 共1993兲 method shows reasonable results over the full range
of conditions, about 73% of the predicted transport rates are
within the discrepancy ratio of 2 of the measured values.
Without the knowledge of measured velocity profiles and
ripple heights, Eq. 共27兲 also shows reasonable results, about 52%
of the predicted transport rates are within the discrepancy ratio of
2 of the measured values. Besides, it can be seen from Fig. 4 that
significant errors occur in the region of low transport rates, the
discrepancy could be ascribed to two main reasons: 共1兲 the mea-
surement error is relatively larger in the low transport region, this
is why researchers generally exclude the data with low sediment
concentration or discharge for comparison 共Yang 1996兲; 共2兲 the
low transport region is actually the wave-dominated regime, as
mentioned in such case f is less than 1, but for simplification
f = 1 is employed to estimate the transport rate, this may introduce
some errors. Nevertheless, the results of Eq. 共27兲 are still encour-
aging.
Fig. 4 only shows the sediment transport under waves in com-
974 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.
Fig. 5. Comparison between total sediment discharge between Eq.
共27兲 and the data of Van Rijn and Havinga 共1995兲 for different
current-wave angles
bination with following and opposing currents in flume condi-
tions. To demonstrate the influence of the angles between the
direction of wave propagation and current on sediment transport,
Van Rijn and Havinga 共1995兲 carried out experiments in a wave-
current basin, in which the water depth was about 0.4 m for all
tests, and three different wave conditions were generated: signifi-
cant wave height⫽0.07, 0.1, and 0.14 m for three wave
directions—60, 90, and 120° between wave orthogonal and cur-
rent direction. Irregular waves with a single-topped spectrum and
a peak period of 2.5 s were generated. Sediment of a median
diameter of 100 ␮m was used. Instantaneous fluid velocities were
measured by an acoustical probe and an electromagnetic probe,
the averaged sediment concentrations were measured by a pump
sampler. The regular ripples are observed, the ripple heights
ranged from 0.7 to 1.4 cm and the ripple lengths were in the range
of 5.9–11.1 cm. The sediment discharge was measured in 11 tests.
Fig. 5 displays good agreement between the measured sediment
discharge and that calculated with Eq. 共27兲, in which the coeffi-
cient f = 1 and k = 12.5 are applied. The fall velocity and critical
shear velocity are given as 0.616 and 1 cm/ s, respectively.
Van Rijn and Havinga 共1995兲 compared the measured trans-
port rate with the methods of Bijker 共1971兲 and Van Rijn 共1985,
1989兲, they found that the method of Van Rijn yielded the best
results if roughness is set to be 3 times the ripple height, whereas
the method of Bijker gave the best results provided the roughness
is about 0.5 times the ripple height, and after the best fit of data,
about 60% of the computed transport rates were within the dis-
crepancy ratio of 2 of the measured values. But Eq. 共27兲 shows
very good results for these experiments, 100% of the predicted
transport rates are within the discrepancy ratio of 2 of the mea-
sured values, this is a remarkable achievement for k remains the
value obtained from unidirectional flows and f = 1 is taken, espe-
cially Eq. 共27兲 does not require the input of ripple height and the
measured velocity profiles.
In 1999, Grasmeijer and Van Rijn 共1999兲 presented a series of
laboratory measurements of sediment transport resulting from un-
dertow driven by breaking waves over a near shore bar. The ob-
jectives of their experiments were to create breaking wave condi-
tions over a movable bed and to identify the mechanism of
sediment transport processes. The experiments were conducted in
a flume with a length of 45 m, a width of 0.8 m and a depth of 1.0
m. Irregular waves were generated with a peak spectral period of
2.3 s, an artificial sandbar was constructed in the flume, the bed
profile varied in depth from 0.6 m seaward of the bar to 0.3 m at
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 6. Comparison of sediment transport rate between Eq. 共27兲 and

the data of Grasmeijer and Van Rijn 共1999兲

the bar crest. The water depth in the trough landward of the bar
crest was 0.5 m, sand with d50 = 95 ␮m was used to form the sand
bar. Two test series were performed with incoming significant ⬘ / u*cu based on experiments shown in
Fig. 7. Variation of f with u*wm
wave heights of 0.16 and 0.19 m, respectively. Time-averaged Figs. 4–6
concentrations were measured with a pump-sampling system and
an acoustic sediment transport meter was used to measure the
instantaneous velocity and particle concentration. Measurements
were performed at 10 different locations across the sand bar, all confirms that f is less than 1 in the wave-dominated regime.
collected sediment discharges are shown in Fig. 6, including the Figs. 4–6 show that k = 12.5 and f = 1 for nonbreaking waves
measurement at breaking point. It was observed that waves were and k = 12.5 and f = 0.4 for breaking waves can generate suffi-
shoaling toward the bar crest, the measured maximum wave ciently accurate results to meet the practical demand.
height was found near the bar crest, the wave height decreased For sediment transport driven by pure oscillatory waves with-
while moving further toward land due to the energy dissipation out currents, Eq. 共9兲 may be also applicable to assess directly the
caused by breaking of waves. Nearly all breaking waves were of transport rate at the time scale of the wave period, in which E can
the spilling breaker type and occurred near the bar crest. be determined from Eq. 共21兲 and the near bed velocity, u⬘*cu can be
An attempt is made herein to extend Eq. 共27兲 to express the estimated by the numerical models or the second-order stokes
sediment transport by undertow. The current shear velocity is cal- wave theorem and the net transport will be always in the direction
culated by Eq. 共10兲 with the depth-averaged velocity, the rate of of the near bed velocity or the drift velocity. Therefore, for the
energy dissipation is calculated with Eq. 共24兲 based on the mea- movement of sediment particles normal to the shore, the shear
sured significant wave heights and the rate of sediment transport velocity of mass transport u⬘*cu in Eq. 共27兲 can be replaced by the
is calculated with Eq. 共27兲. It can be seen from Fig. 6 that the near bed velocity which is expressed as follows according to the
sediment transport rate is well predicted when k = 12.5 and Longuet-Higgins 共1970兲:
f = 0.4 are applied. The reduction of f may be understandable: as
mentioned earlier, in the wave-dominant regime, the factor of f is 5␲2 H2 1 5 um2
smaller than 1. It can be seen from Fig. 6 that about 95% of the u⬘*cu = 2 = 共30兲
4 LT sinh 2␲h/L 4 C
predicted transport rates are within the discrepancy ratio of 2 of
the measured values, in this case of sediment transport driven by where C⫽wave propagation celerity, and
breaking waves over a near shore bar no other methods are avail-
able for comparison in the literature, as far as the writer knows. ␲H
Further investigation shows that the factor of f in the wave um = 共31兲
T sinh 2␲h/L
dominant regime can be modified as follows based on the experi-
mental data shown in Figs. 4–6: For long waves, h / L Ⰶ 1, thus Eq. 共31兲 can be simplified as
1
f= 共29兲 H
⬘ /u⬘*cu
1 + 0.7u*wm um = C 共32兲
2h
Fig. 7 shows the comparison between Eq. 共29兲 and the cited ex-
periments. It can be seen from Fig. 7 that the data points are very substituting Eq. 共32兲 into Eq. 共30兲, one obtains
scattered, and the trend for the 0.2 mm sand seems to be opposite
from the 0.1 mm sand, this clearly indicates that Eq. 共29兲 may be
not fully reliable and other parameters such as suspended-
sediment stratification and cohesive behavior should be included
u⬘*cu = 冉 冊
5␲2 H
4 2h
2
C 共33兲

in the function, and the complete analysis of f obviously requires Therefore, one obtains the landward sediment transport rate by
more experiments to be conducted in future. However, Fig. 7 inserting Eq. 共33兲 into Eq. 共27兲.

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005 / 975

J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.


Fig. 8. Definition sketch
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Longshore Sediment Transport
The previous sections show that the rate of sediment transport is
closely related to the product of energy dissipation rate on the bed
and near bed velocity. This section discusses the validity of Eq.
共9兲 for sediment transport driven by currents. As shown in Fig. 8,
the rate of energy dissipation, E in a control area can be obtained
from the energy conservation equation as follows:
b 共d50 / H兲0.5. Therefore, it is acceptable to assume that K tan ␤ / f w in
共E⬘cgb兲in = 共E⬘cgxb兲out + xbE
cos ␣
where 共E⬘cg兲⫽wave energy flux; b⫽width between the two in-
clined wave lines as shown in Fig. 8; E⬘⫽wave energy; cg⫽wave
group velocity; xb⫽distance from shoreline to breaker line;
␣⫽angle between the normal direction of shoreline and the direc-
tion of wave propagation; and the subscripts “in” and “out” de-
note the incoming and outgoing in the control area, respectively.
In Fig. 8, 共E⬘cgxb兲out = 0, then the rate of energy dissipation on
the bed can be expressed as follows:
E=
共E⬘cg兲incos ␣
xb
Strictly speaking, the energy dissipation on the bed is a fraction of
that obtained from Eq. 共35兲, but as described in the previous
section, this can be reflected in a reduction of coefficient f in Eq.
共27兲 or k in Eq. 共9兲 in the breaking waves. Thus, the total sedi-
ment discharge in the surf zone, Gt can be obtained by substitut-
ing Eq. 共35兲 into Eq. 共9兲, one gets
G t = g tx b = k 冉 冊
␥s u⬘*
␥s − ␥ ␻
共E⬘cgcos ␣ − ␶cu*cxb兲
Instead of near bed velocity u*⬘ in Eq. 共36兲, the mean velocity
V in the surf zone is suggested because it is more reliable in
complicated conditions. A well-cited formula developed by
Longuet-Higgins 共1970兲 is used to assess the mean velocity in the
surf zone
5␲ K tan ␤
V= 冑gh sin ␣
16 f w
where K⫽ratio of wave height to mean water depth and
tan ␤⫽beach slope. Therefore, the longshore sediment transport
rate is expressed as follows:
Gt = K0共P − Pc兲
where Pc = ␶cu*cxbsin ␣ and
976 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.
P = E⬘cgsin ␣ cos ␣ 共40兲
K0 = k 冉 冊␥s 5␲ K tan ␤ 冑gh
␥s − ␥ 16 f w ␻
共41兲
Eq. 共38兲 is similar to the equation of Komar and Inman 共1970兲 if
K0⫽constant and Pc = 0.
In the equation of Komar and Inman 共1970兲 the factor K0 is
assumed to be constant, but a number of studies 共Bailard 1981;
Dean 1973, 1983; Thornton 1972兲 have suggested that K0 in Eq.
共38兲 is not constant but a variable dependent on sediment size and
density. Dean et al. 共1982兲 has shown that K0 varies with grain
size or sediment fall velocity. It can be seen that their investiga-
tions are supported by Eq. 共41兲, or in other words, the coefficient
of K0 is a function of 共gh兲0.5 / ␻ and ␥s / 共␥s − ␥兲 as discovered by
Dean et al. 共1982兲.
By analyzing the measured data, it is found that the calculated
Pc is very small relative to P for the wave motion exceeds critical
conditions for at least part of the wave cycle, this explains why
without critical condition, the equation of Komar and Inman is
still valid to estimate the longshore sediment discharge.
In the surf zone the wave height is proportional to the water
depth 共Fredsoe and Deigaard 1995, p. 322兲. Kamphuis and Sayao
共1982兲 found that the beach slope tan ␤ is proportional to
共34兲 Eq. 共41兲 is proportional to the parameter 关共gh兲0.5 / ␻兴n, where n is
an empirical exponent to be determined. Using the measured data,
it is found that the following expression fits the measured data
best in the view of correlation coefficient:
k
5␲ K tan ␤
16 f w
= 0.0187 冉冑 冊gh
␻
1/2
共42兲
Substituting Eq. 共42兲 into Eq. 共38兲, one gets
共35兲
Gt = 0.0187
␥s
␥s − ␥
冉冑 冊
gh
␻
0.5
E⬘cgsin ␣ cos ␣ 共43兲
Eq. 共43兲 is the modified equation of Komar and Inman for long-
shore sediment transport.
Fig. 9 shows the measured longshore sediment discharge Gt
against P共冑gh / ␻兲0.5, the data were measured by Komar 共1969兲,
Gable 共1981兲, Inman 共1980兲, Kraus et al. 共1982兲, Watts 共1953兲,
Bruno and Gable 共1977兲, and these datasets were compiled by
Kamphuis et al. 共1986兲. Fig. 9 also includes the measured data by
Wang et al. 共1998兲, Kamphuis and Sayao 共1982兲, Ozhan 共1982兲,
共36兲
and Saville 共1950兲. The basic conditions of these datasets are
shown in Table 2.
The correlation coefficient between the measured Gt and
P共冑gh / ␻兲0.5 is 0.95. Hence, the longshore sediment transport can
be roughly estimated using Eq. 共43兲. About 65% of the computed
transport rates by Eq. 共43兲 are within the discrepancy ratio of 2 of
the measured values, whereas the equation of Komar and Inman
has 60% of predictions in the error band. It can be seen from Fig.
9 that Eq. 共43兲 provides significant discrepancies for the data
共37兲 measured by Komar and Sayao 共1982兲, Ozhan 共1982兲, and Wang
et al. 共1998兲. The measurement techniques may contribute to the
discrepancy, e.g., Wang et al. 共1998兲 measured the transport rates
using the streamer sediment traps and short-term impoundment,
Bodge 共1986兲 and Dean et al. 共1982兲 found that this technique
was not reliable and Wang et al. 共1998兲 themselves also found
共38兲 that their measured values was 3 times lower than the Coastal
Engineering Research Center, U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers
共39兲 共CERC兲 predictions.
 near bed velocity. This new relationship has been examined using
the experimental data available in the literature, and the following
conclusions can be drawn from this study.
1. In open channel flows, the total rate of sediment transport
⌽ is highly correlated to the proposed parameter
TT⬘ = ␶0共u⬘*2 − u2*c兲 / 关共␥s − ␥兲␻冑gd350兴, among the existing hy-
draulic parameters including the widely cited parameters,
such as VS / ␻ , V3 / gh␻ and T, the highest correlation coef-
ficient is achieved by the new parameter when the same ex-
perimental data is used for comparison. A linear relationship
exists between ⌽ and TT⬘ , and the proportionality factor k is
found to be 12.5.
2. Eq. 共9兲 has been extended to wave-current motions, the sedi-
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

ment transport rate is expressed in Eq. 共27兲 which estimates

Fig. 9. Measured longshore sediment transport rate versus parameter
P共冑gh / ␻兲0.5
On the other hand, the disagreement shown in Fig. 9 between
the predicted and measured transport rates could be caused by the
assumptions made in the theoretical development, for example the
energy dissipation on the bed in Eq. 共9兲 is assumed to be propor-
tional to the incoming wave energy and the near velocity u⬘* is
assumed to be proportional to the longshore current velocity.
Therefore, the errors could be greatly reduced if the bed shear
stress and near bed velocity are provided by numerical models,
and the real energy dissipation on the bed is used in Eq. 共9兲.
Conclusions
The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship
between flow strength and sediment discharge. It is presumed that
a general relationship between them exists in a wide range of flow
conditions such as wave-current flows and coastal waters. To in-
vestigate the general relationship, different expressions of E in the
theorem of Bagnold 共1966兲 are discussed. It is found that there is
a one-to-one and linear relationship between the sediment dis-
charge and the product of energy dissipation on the bed with the
the observed sediment transport with reasonable accuracy,
the coefficient k 共=12.5兲 remaining the same as that for open
channel, and the factor f = 1 for nonbreaking waves. The
comparison between the measured and predicted transport
rates shows that the proposed equations are valid for com-
bined interaction of wave and current at any arbitary angle.
3. For breaking wave condition, or the wave-dominant regime,
it is found that k = 12.5, but f = 0.4, providing good estimation
for sediment transport under breaking waves over a near-
shore bar.
4. Eq. 共9兲 has been applied to assess the longshore sediment
transport, the widely cited Komar and Inman’s equation can
then be directly derived from it. The constant in Komar and
Inman’s equation is expressed in Eq. 共41兲 and its improved
form is shown in Eq. 共43兲.
5. To express the sediment transport in coastal waters, some
assumptions have to be introduced, and consequently these
oversimplified assumptions incur some errors. To avoid this,
the direct application of Eq. 共9兲 in numerical models is
highly recommended for the near bed velocity and bed shear
stress can be easily determined numerically from in the avail-
able numerical models.
6. This study establishes the general expression of sediment
transport for numerical modelers as shown in Eq. 共9兲, it is
suggested that the users calibrate the proportionality k using
measured data because the definition of near bed velocity
generally differs from each other.

Table 2. Summary of Hydraulic Conditions for the Data in Fig. 9

Maximum
Median Maximum longshore
sediment Wave longshore transport
size height current rate Measurement
Researchers Runs 共mm兲 共cm兲 共cm/ s兲 共cm3 / s兲 location
Saville 共1950兲 6 0.3 2.5–5.2 12.1 2.95 Wave basin
Kamphuis and Sayao 共1982兲 38 0.18 4.4–13.1 15 15.7 Wave basin
Wang et al. 共1998兲 29 0.17–2.25 14–79 47 3,170 field
Ozhan 共1982兲 6 0.83 4.5–18.8 41 Wave basin
Kana 共1978兲 6 0.18–0.42 88–200 23-47 158,490 field
Kraus et al. 共1982兲 2 0.23–0.27 98–110 6,241 field
Komar 共1969兲 11 0.18–0.6 39–1.46 76 18,656 field
Watts 共1953兲 3 0.42 28–55 1,852 field
Bruno and Gable 共1977兲 6 0.22 84–1.67 29,792 field
Gable 共1981兲 8 0.22 65–177 73,962 field
Inman 共1980兲 2 0.29 112–129 22,181 field

JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005 / 977

J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.

 Acknowledgment
The data of longshore sediment transport were collected and ana-
lyzed by Mr. Seow Tien-Jin Kelvin, former student of the Na-
tional University of Singapore.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
A ⫽ bottom orbital excursion amplitude of water
particle 关L兴;
b ⫽ length along wave crest 关L兴;
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
C ⫽ wave propagation velocity 关L / T兴;
C⬘ ⫽ Chezy-coefficient related to grains 关L1/2 / T兴;
c ⫽ depth-averaged sediment concentration 共ppm兲;
cg ⫽ wave group velocity 关L / T兴;
cy ⫽ volumetric concentration of particles at level
y;
d50 ⫽ median sediment size 关L兴;
E ⫽ energy dissipated rate 关M T−3兴;
Ec ⫽ critical rate of energy dissipation on the bed
for sediment motion 关M T−3兴;
E⬘ ⫽ wave energy at breaker line 关M T−2兴;
E⬘cg ⫽ wave energy flux 关M L T−3兴;
eb ⫽ efficiency coefficient;
f ⫽ function of uwm / ucu;
f w ⫽ wave friction factor;
Gt ⫽ longshore sediment transport rate 关M L−1兴;
g ⫽ gravitational acceleration 关L T−2兴;
gt ⫽ total sediment discharge 关M L−1 T−1兴;
H ⫽ wave height 关L兴;
Hs ⫽ significant wave height 关L兴;
h ⫽ water depth 关L兴;
K ⫽ ratio of wave height to mean water depth;
K0 ⫽ coefficient;
k ⫽ constant;
k1 ⫽ coefficients⫽␻eb / 共us tan ␣兲 + 0.01;
L ⫽ wave length 关L兴;
P ⫽ wave energy at beaker line 关M L T−3兴;
Pc ⫽ critical wave energy for sediment 关M L T−3兴;
q ⫽ water discharge per unit width 关L2 T−1兴;
R ⫽ hydraulic radius 关L兴;
S ⫽ energy slope;
T ⫽ van Rijn’s transport stage parameter in steady
flow;
T ⫽ wave period in unsteady flow 关T兴;
TT⬘ ⫽ dimensionless transport
parameter⫽␶0共u2* − u2*c兲 / 关共␥s − ␥兲␻冑gd350兴;
t ⫽ time 关T兴;
tan ␣ ⫽ ratio of tangential to normal shear force;
tan ␤ ⫽ beach slope;
ub共t兲 ⫽ instantaneous velocity near the bed 关L T−1兴;
uwm ⫽ amplitude of harmonic near-bed orbital
velocity near the bed 关L T−1兴;
uw共t兲 ⫽ near bed velocity driven by waves 关L T−1兴;
⬘ ⫽ amplitude of harmonic near-bed orbital shear
u*wm
velocity 关L T−1兴;
u ⫽ local velocity 关L T−1兴;
ucu ⫽ velocity near the bed driven by current
关L T−1兴;
us ⫽ mean transport velocity of sediment 关L T−1兴;
978 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.
u* ⫽ shear velocity⫽共gRS兲0.5 关L T−1兴;
u⬘* ⫽ bed-shear velocity related to grains 关L T−1兴;
u*c ⫽ Shields critical shear velocity 关L T−1兴;
u⬘*cu ⫽ bed-shear velocity related to grains 关L T−1兴;
V ⫽ mean flow velocity 关L T−1兴;
xb ⫽ distance from breaker line to shore line 关L兴;
y ⫽ distance from the bed 关L兴;
␣ ⫽ angle of wave propagation;
␣1 ⫽ coefficients;
␤1 ⫽ angle between the current and the direction of
wave propagation;
␥ ⫽ specific weight of water;
␥s ⫽ specific weight of sediment;
␶b共t兲 ⫽ instantaneous bed shear stress 关M L−1 T−2兴;
␶cu ⫽ bed shear stresses by current 关M L−1T−2兴;
␶w共t兲 ⫽ bed shear stresses by waves 关ML−1 T−2兴;
␶0 ⫽ bed shear stress 关ML−1T−2兴;
⌽ ⫽ Einstein’s transport parameter;
␾ ⫽ phase;
⌿ ⫽ Einstein’s flow intensity parameter;
␻ ⫽ fall velocity of particle 关L T−1兴; and
␻1 ⫽ wave angular frequency 关T−1兴.
References
Ackers, P., and White, W. R. 共1973兲. “Sediment transport: New approach
and analysis.” J. Hydr. Div., 99共11兲, 2041–2060.
Bagnold, R. A. 共1966兲. “An approach to the sediment transport problem
from general physics.” Geol. Survey Professional Paper No. 422-I,
U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
Bailard, J. A. 共1981兲. “An analytic total load sediment transport model for
a plane sloping beach.” J. of Geophysical Research, 86共C11兲,
10938–10954.
Barton, J. R., and Lin, P. N. 共1955兲. “A study of the sediment transport in
alluvial streams.” Rep. No. 55 JRB2, Civil Engineering Dep., Colo-
rado Colleage, Fort Collins, Colo.
Bijker, E. W. 共1971兲. “Longshore transport computations.” J. Waterway,
Harb., and Coast. Engrg., 97共4兲, 687–701.
Bodge, K. R. 共1986兲. “Short term impoundment of longshore sediment
transport.” PhD disertation, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
Brownlie, W. R. 共1981兲. “Compilation of alluvial channel data: Labora-
tory and field.” Rep. No. KH-R-43B, California Institute of Technol-
ogy, Pasadena, Calif.
Bruno, R. O., and Gable, C. G. 共1977兲. “Longshore transport at a total
littoral barrier.” Proc., 15th Coastal Engineering Conf., Honolulu,
1203–1222.
Cheng, N. S. 共2002兲. “Exponential formula for bedload transport.” J.
Hydraul. Eng. 128共10兲, 942–946.
Chien, N., and Wan, Z. 共1999兲. Mechanics of sediment transport, ASCE,
Reston, Va.
Culbertson, J. K., Scott, C. H., and Bennett, J. P. 共1976兲. “Summary of
alluvial-channel data from Rio Grande Conveyance Channel, New
Mexico, 1965–1969.” USGS Professional Paper 562-J, U.S. Geologi-
cal Survey, Madison, Wis.
Dean, R. G. 共1973兲. “Heuristic models of sand transport in the surf zone.”
Proc., 1st Australian Conf. on Coastal Engineering, IAHR, Sydney,
Australia.
Dean, R. G. 共1983兲. “Physical modeling of littoral processes.” Proc.,
Conf. on Physical Modeling in Coastal Environment, Univ. of Dela-
ware, Newark, Del.
Dean, R. G., Berek, E. P., Gable, C. G., and Seymour, J. 共1982兲. “Long-
shore transport determined by an efficient trap.” Proc., 18th Coastal
Engineering Conference, Cape Town, South Africa.
Einstein, H. A. 共1942兲. “Formulas for the transportation of bed load.”
 Trans. Soc. Civ. Engrg., 107, 561–597.
Engelund, F., and Hansen, E. 共1972兲. A monograph on sediment transport
in alluvial streams, Teknisk Forlag, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Fredsoe, J., and Deigaard, R. 共1995兲. Mechanics of coastal sediment
transport, World Scientific, Singapore.
Gable, C. G. 共1981兲. “The role of dune creation and destruction in chang-
ing dune geometry during unsteady flows.” 13th Intl. Sedimentologi-
cal Congress, International Association of Sedimentologists, Com-
parative Sedimentology Div., Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Gilbert, G. K. 共1914兲. “The transportation of debris by running water.”
USGS Professional Paper 86, U.S. Geological Society, Madison, Wis.
Graf, E. H. 共1971兲. Hydraulics of sediment transport, McGraw-Hill, New
York.
Grasmeijer, B. T., and Van Rijn, L. C. 共1999兲. “Transport of fine sands by
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/14/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
currents and waves. III: Breaking waves over barred profile with
ripples.” J. Waterw., Port, Coastal, Ocean Eng., 125共2兲, 71–79.
Guo, J. 共1997兲. “The Albert Shields story.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 123共7兲,
666.
Inman, D. L. 共1980兲. “The origin of swash cusps on beaches.” Marine
Geology 49, 133–148.
Inman, D. L., and Bowen, A. J. 共1963兲. “Flume experiments on sand
transport by waves and currents.” Proc., 8th Int. Conf. Coastal Engi-
neering, ASCE, Reston, Va. 137–150.
Kajiura, K. 共1968兲. “A model of the bottom boundary layer in water
waves.” Bulletin of the Earthquake Research Institute, DPRI, Tokyo
Univ., Tokyo, 46, 75–123.
Kamphuis, J. W., and Sayao, O. F. S. J. 共1982兲. “Model test on littoral
sand transport rate.” Proc., 18th Coastal Engineering Conf., Cape-
town, Republic of South Africa, ASCE, 2, 1305–1325.
Kamphuis, J. W.,, Davies, M. H., Nairn, R. B., and Sayao, O. J. 共1986兲.
“Calculation of littoral sand transport rate.” Coastal Eng., 10共1兲,
1–21.
Kana, T. W. 共1978兲. “Surf zone measurements on suspended sediment.”
Proc., 16th Coastal Engineering Conf., Hamburg, Germany 1725–
1743.
Karim, F. 共1998兲. “Bed material discharge prediction for nonuniform bed
sediment.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 124共6兲, 597–604.
Keulegan, G. H. 共1938兲. “Law of turbulent flow in open channels.” J.
Nat. Bureau of Standards, Research Paper No. 1151, 21, 707–740.
Komar, P. D. 共1969兲. “The mechanics of sand transport on beaches.” J.
Geophysical Res., 76, 713–721.
Kraus, N. C., Isobe, M., Igarashi, H., Sasaki, T. O., and Horikawa, K.
共1982兲. “Field experiments on longshore transport in the surf zone.”
Proc., 18th Intl. Conf. on Coastal Engineering, ASCE, New York,
969–988.
Komar, P. D., and Inman, D. L. 共1970兲. “Longshore sand transport on
beaches.” J. Geophys. Res. 75共30兲, 5914–5927.
Komar, P. D., Kamphuis, J. W., and Sayao, O. F. S. J. 共1982兲.
Lodahl, C. R., Sumer, B. M., and Fredsoe, J. 共1998兲. “Turbulent com-
bined oscillatory flow and current in a pipe.” J. Fluid Mech., 373,
314–350.
Longuet-Higgins, M. S. 共1970兲. “Longshore currents generated by ob-
liquely incident waves: 1 and 2.” J. Geophys. Res., 75共33兲, 6678–
6801.
Madsen, O. S., Poon, Y-K., and Graber, H. C. 共1988兲. “Spectral wave
attenuation by bottom friction theory.” Proc., 21st Int. Coastal Eng.
Conf., Malaga, Spain, 1, 492–504.
McLean, S. R., Wolfe, S. R., and Nelson, J. M. 共1999兲. “Predicting
boundary shear stress and sediment transport over bed forms.” J. Hy-
draul. Eng., 125共7兲, 725–736.
JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2005 / 979
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2005.131:968-979.
Meyer-Peter, E., and Muller, R. 共1948兲. “Formula for bed load transport.”
Proc., 2nd Meeting, Vol. 6, IAHR, Stockholm.
Nielsen, P. 共1992兲. Coastal bottom boundary layers and sediment trans-
port, World Scientific, Singapore.
Nielsen, P. 共1985兲. “Short manual of coastal bottom boundary layers and
sediment transport.” Rep. No. TM85/1, Public Works Dept., Sydney,
Australia.
Nnadi, F. N.,, and Wilson, K. C. 共1992兲. “Motion of contact-load particles
at high shear stress.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 118共12兲, 1670–1684.
Ozhan, E. 共1982兲. “Laboratory study of breaker type effect on longshore
sand transport.” Proc., Euromech 156: Mechanics of Sediment Trans-
port, B. M. Sumer and A. Muller, eds., Istanbul, 2, 265–274.
Ribberink, J. S. 共1998兲. “Bed-load transport for steady flows and un-
steady oscillatory.” Coastal Eng., 34, 59–82.
Saville, T. 共1950兲. “Model study of sand transport along an infinitely
long, straight beach.” Transactions, American Geophysical Union,
31共4兲, 555–565.
Soulsby, L. H., Klopman, G., Myrhaug, D., Simons, R. R., and Thomas,
G. P. 共1993兲. “Wave-current interaction within and outside the bottom
layer.” Coastal Eng., 21, 41–71.
Thornton, E. B. 共1972兲. “Distribution of sediment transport across the
surf zone” Proc., 13th Coastal Engineering Conf., Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada.
Toffaleti, F. B. 共1968兲. “A procedure for computation of total river sand
discharge and detailed distribution, bed to surface.” Tech. Rep. No. 5,
Committee of Channel Stabilization, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Vicksburg, Miss.
Van Rijn, L. C. 共1989兲. “Handbook of sediment transport in currents and
waves.” Rep. No. H461, Delft Hydraulics, Delft, The Netherlands.
Van Rijn, L. C. 共1984兲 “Sediment transport. Part II: suspended load trans-
port.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 110共11兲, 1613–1641.
Van Rijn, L. C. 共1985兲. “Two-dimensional vertical mathematical model
for suspended sediment transport by currents and waves.” Rep. No.
S488 part IV, Delft Hydraulics, Delft, The Netherlands.
Van Rijn, L. C., and Havinga, F. J. 共1995兲. “Transport of fine sands by
currents and waves. II.” J. Waterw., Port, Coastal, Ocean Eng.,
121共2兲, 123–133.
Van Rijn, L. C., Nieuwjaar, M. W. C., Van der Kaay, T., Nap, E., and Van
Kampen, A. 共1993兲. “Transport of fine sands by currents and waves.”
J. Waterw., Port, Coastal, Ocean Eng., 119共2兲, 123–143.
Velikanov, M. A. 共1954兲 “Gravitational theory for sediment transport.” J.
of Science of the Soviet Union, Geophysics, Vol. 4, 共in Russian兲.
Voogt, L., van Rijn, L. C., Van den Betg, J. H. 共1991兲. “Sediment trans-
port of fine sands at high velocities.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 117共7兲 869–
890.
Wang, P., Kraus, N. C., and Richard, A. D. 共1998兲. “Total longshore
sediment transport rate in the surf zone: Field measurements and em-
pirical predictions” J. Coastal Res., 14共1兲, 269–281.
Watts, G. M. 共1953兲. “A study of sand movement at south Lake Worth
Inlet, FL.” Tech. Memo No. 42, U.S. Army, Beach Erosion Board,
Washington, D.C.
Yalin, M. S. 共1977兲. Mechanics of sediment transport, Pergamon, Oxford,
U.K.
Yang, C. T. 共1996兲. Sediment transport: Theory and practice, McGraw–
Hill International Editions, USA.
Yang, S.-Q. 共2005兲. “Prediction of total bed material discharge.” J. Hy-
draul. Res., 43共1兲, 12–22.
Yang, S.-Q., and Lim, S.-Y. 共2003兲. “Total load transport formula for flow
in alluvial channels.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 129共1兲, 68–72.