k Study of Methods Used i n

MEASLREMENT AND ANALYSIS OF SEDIMENT MADS I N STREAMS

Planned and conducted j o i n t l y by

Tennessee Volley Authority, Corps of Engineers,

Department of k g r i c u l t u r o , G o o l o ~ i c a lSurvey,

Bureau of Recl&mation, Indian Service, and

Iowa I n s t i t u t e of Hydraulic Research

'Report No. 5

LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENT SAMPLERS

Published a t

S t . Paul TJ. S. Engineer D i s t r i c t Sub-office

Hydraulic Laboratory, University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

November 1941
Reports 2

The cooperative study of methods used in

MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS OF SEDIMENT LOADS IN STREAMS
covers phases indicated by the following report titles.

Report-No. 1
FIELD PUCTICE AND EQUIPMENT USED IN SAMPLING SUSPENDED SEDIMENT

Re~ort.No. 2
EQUIPMENT USED FOR SAMPLING BED-LOAD AND BED MATERIAL

Report No. 3
ANALYTICAL STUDY OF METHODS OF SAMPLING SUSPENDED SEDIMENT

Report No. 4
METHODS OF ANALYZING SEDIMENT SAMPLES

Report No. 5
LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENT SAMPLERS
 SYNOPSIS

This report presents the results of experimental s t u d i e s of sus-

pended sediment samplers. Various forms of simple i n t a k e tubes and

t y p i c a l suspended sediment sampler i n t a k e s were t e s t e d t o e v a l u a t e e r r o r s

i n t h e sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n of samples due t o adverse sampler e n t r a n c e

conditions, d e p o s i t i o n of sediment with flow through a h o r i z o n t a l c y l i n -

d e r , and l o s s o f s e d i m e n t i n t r a n s f e r r i n g t h e samples t o o t h e r c o n t a i n e r s .

T e s t s were maue with f i v e representative slow f i l l i n g samplers t o

deternine their filling characteristics under various c o n d i t i o n s of

stream v e l o c i t y , sampling depth, and sampler operation.

Table of Cnhtents 4

TABLE OF CONTENTS

. INTRODUCTION
I

1 Scopeofproject ........................ 9
2 . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Purpose of e x p e ~ i m e n t a lstudy .of san.,lers
3 Methods of study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

4 Authorityandpersonnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2

I1 . TEST EQUIPMENT AND EXPERIMENTAL MATERIAL

5 T e s t equipment ......................... 14
6 Accessories f o r operating the c i r c u l a t i n g system ....... 18

7 Sampling apparatus used i n study of sampling a c t i o n . . . . . . 1 9

8 Water and sediment used i n t e s t s of sampling a c t i o n . . . . . . 2 2

9 Operating c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of c i r c u l a t i n g system ........ 25

I11 . TESTS OF SAMPLER ENTRANCE CONDITIONS

10 Flow p a t t e r n s a t t h e entrance ................. 31

11 .........
General procedure i n t e s t i n g sampler intakes 33
12 Outlineoftests ....................... 35

13 Technique i n c o l l e c t i n g and analyzing samples ......... 35

14 E r r o r s i n sediment concentration
s t w a r d sampler nozzle . . . . . . .of. samples
. . . . .c o.l l.e c.t e.d .with
.. 37
15 E f f e c t of small deviations from normal nozzle o r i e n t a t i o n Dn
e r r o r s i n sediment concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

16 E f f e c t of s i z e of nozzle mouth on e r r o r s i n sediment concen-

tration ............................. 42

17 E f f e c t of sampler nose design on e r r o r s i n sediment concen-

tration ............................ 44

18 E f f e c t of f l a p valves a t sampler i n t a k e s ........... 53

19 E r r o r s i n sediment concentration of samples c o l l e c t e d with

nozzles i n v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n ................. 55
5 Table of Contents
... . . .-

Section

E r r o r s i n sediment concentration of samples c o l l e c t e d

20
sampler i n t a k e h o r i z o n t a l and normal t o flow . . . . . through
.... 59

IV . DEPOSITION OF SEDIMENT IN INSTANTANEOUS HORIZONTAL SAMPLER

21 ...................
Scope of deposition study 68

22 Testprocedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
23 Testresults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

V . INACCURACIES DUE TO SEDIMENT ADHERING TO SAMPLER

24 . . . . . . .
Source of e r r o r i n t r a n s f e r r i n g samples 72

25 Testprocedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

26 Testresults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

V I . FILLING CHARACTERISTICS OF SLOW FILLING SILYPLERS

27 Natureoftests ........................ 76
28 ........
Samplers t e s t e d and t h e i r a l t e r a t i o n s f o r t e s t 76
29 Procedure of t e s t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

30 Filling characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
31 E f f e c t i v e n e s s of f i l l i n g r a t e adjustmonte . . . . . . . . . . . 87
32' E f f e c t of lowering and r a i s i n g t h e Colorado sampler upon i t s
f i l l i n g cbaracteriStics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
53 E f f e c t of stream v e l o c i t y on f i l l i n g r a t e s . . . . . . . . . . 92

1 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

34 Summary of sampler s t u d i e s .................. 94

35 Study of' sampler entrance conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

36 Flow through h o r i z o n t a l c y l i n d e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

37 Loss of sediment i n sample t r a n s f e r from non-removable con-

tainers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
38 F i l l i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of slow f i l l i n g samplers ....... 98
L i s t of I l l u s t r a t i o n s 6

LIST OF 1LLUST.SATIONS

1 Equipment f o r t e s t i n g sampler intake conditions ........ 15

2 Sampling apraratus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

3 S i z e gradations of t e s t m a t e r i a l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

4 F a l l v e l o c i t i e s of t e s t m a t e r i a l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

5 Velocity contours at sampling s t a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

6 Fluctuations of sediment concentration a t d u p l i c a t e sampling

points .... ........................ 27

7 Sediment d i s t r i b u t i o n a t sampling s t a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . 29

8 Flow p a t t e r n s a t mouth of sampler i n t a k e . . . . . . . . . . . 32

9 Standard nozzle intake diameter 0.25 i n . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

10 E f f e c t of sampling rate on sediment concentration; 0.45-nun.

sediment ........................... 38

E f f e c t of sampling rate on sediment concentration; 0.15-nun.

sediment .. .. . . .. ...... . . ..... .. .. ..
E f f e c t of sampling r a t e
and 0.01-mm. sediments . . on. .sediment concentration; 0.06-nun.
.. .. . .... .. . . .. .
E f f e c t of stream v e l o c i t y on e r r o r s i n sediment concentration

Relation of sediment s i z e t o e r r o r s i n sediment concentration

E f f e c t of small d e v i a t i o n s from normal nozzle o r i e n t a t i o n on

e r r o r s i n sediment concentration ...............
E f f e c t of nozzle s i z e on e r r o r s i n sediment concentration ...
Nozzles modified a t mouth from standard design ........
E f f e c t of round edged nozzle mouth on e r r o r s i n sediment
c o n c e n t r a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
E f f e c t of outside beveled nozzle mouth on e r r o r s i n sediment
c o n c e n t r a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E f f e c t of i n s i d e
.. . .. . .. . . .. .. . . . . . . ... . .
beveled nozzle mouth on e r r o r s i n sediment
concentration
7 L i s t of I l l u s t r a t i o n s

Figure

21 Blunt nose sampler i n t a k e s .... .............. 48

22 E f f e c t of b l u n t nose sampler i n t a k e s on e r r o r s i n sediment

concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

23 Replica of Rock I s l a n d t i m e - i n t e g r a t i n g sampler nose ..... 51

24 E f f e c t of Rock I s l a n d sampler nose on errors i n sediment

concentration ......... .... .... ...... .. 52

25 Flap valve i n a l t e r n a t e p o s i t i o n s a t mouth of standard nozzle . 54

26 E f f e c t o f f l a p valve a t mouth o f nozzle on e r r o r s i n sediment

concentration ............... ......... . 54

27 Standard shaped nozzles i n v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n . . . . . . . . . 60

28 E f f e c t of sampling r a t e and sediment s i z e on e r r o r s i n s e d i -

ment c o n c e n t r a t i o n with standard nozzle i n v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n . 60

29 E f f e c t of stream v e l o c i t y on e r r o r s i n sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n
with standard nozzle i n v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n .......... . 61

30 E f f e c t of s i z e of sampler mouth on e r r b r s i n sediment concen-.

t r a t i o n with s?:... nozzle i n v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n ....... 61

31 Sampler i n t a k e i n v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n ; o r i f i c e i n f l a t plate . . 62

32 E f f e c t of sampling r a t e and sediment s i z e on e r r o r s i n sediment

...
c o n c e n t r a t i c n with f l a t p l a t e i n t a k e i n v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n 62

I3 E f f e c t of stream v e l o c i t y on e r r o r s i n sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n
with f l a t p l a t e i n t a k e i n v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n.......... 65

34 E f f e c t of mouth s i z e on e r r o r s i n sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n witin

f l a t plate intake in v e r t i c a l position .......... . . 63

35 Mushroom shaped sampler i n t a k e i n v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n . . . . . . 64

36 E f f e c t of sampling r a t e on e r r o r s i n s e d i n e n t concentration
with mushroom shaped i n t a k e i n v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n ....... 64

37 F l a t p l a t e sampler i n t a k e h o r i z o n t a l and normal t o flow . . . . 65

38 E f f e c t of sampling r a t e , sediment s i z e and mouth diameter on

e r r o r s i n sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n with f l a t p l a t e i n t a k e h o r i -
zontal and normal t o flow . . . . . . . .... ... . . . . . 57

39 E f f e c t of stream v e l o c i t y on e r r o r s i n sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n
with f l a t p l a t e i n t a k e h o r i z o n t a l and normal t o flow ..... 67
List of I l l u s t r a t i o n s 8

40 .......
United S t a t e s Geological Survey Colorado sampler 77

41 Straubsampler ........................ 78

42 Sketch of F r a z i e r sampler showing method of operation ..... 78

43 Omahasampler ......................... 79

44 Rock I s l a n d sampler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

45 Method of suspending samplers i n flume ............ 82

46 F i l l i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of samplers i n s t i l l water ..... 83

47 I n i t i a l inrush i n t o slow f i l l i n g r i g i d c o n t a i n e r samplers . . . 85

48 E f f e c t of s i z e of opening i n F r a z i e r sampler upon f i l l i n g r a t e 89

49 E f f e c t of a i r exhaust adjustment upon f i l l i n g r a t e of Rock

I s l a n d sampler i n s t i l l water ................. 89

50 F i l l i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of Colorado sampler with v e r t i c a l move-

ment i n s t i l l water ...................... 90

51 E f f e c t of stream v e l o c i t y upon f i l l i n g r a t e s . . . . . . . . . 93

LIST OF TABLES

Table
1 Test data.. sediment d e p o s i t i o n i n h o r i z o n t a l c y l i n d e r ..... 70

2 Sediment -etained i n samplers; p e r c e n t by weight ....... 74

Section 1 9
-

LABO-MTORY INVESTIGATIONS

OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENT SAMPLERS

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Scope of project--Measurement of the q u a n t i t y and c h a r a c t e r of

sediment t r a n s p o r t e d by streams i s an important a c t i v i t y common t o r i v e r

maintenance and development, stream d i s c h a r g e measurement, e r o s i o n con-

trol, irrigation, and hydro-electric development. A cooperative p r o j e c t

has been sponsored by a number of Government agencies t o s t u d y t h e v a r i o u s

methods and types of equipment used i n t h e measurement of sediment l o a d s ,

with t h e u l t i m a t e aim of improving and standardizing them s o that more

analogous d a t a w i l l be secured.

From t h e s t a n d p o i n t ofsampling equipment and technique, t h e movement

of sediment has been c l a s s i f i e d a s suspended load and bed load. The b a s i c

difference i n their measurement i s t h a t t h e former i s determined from a

sample as the weight of s o l i d s per u n i t volume of water which, when cor-

r e l a t e d with water d i s c h a r g e , w i l l give t h e q u a n t i t y o f suspended sediment

t r a n s p o r t e d i n a given time, while t h e bed-lohd i s measured d i r e c t l y as

t h e weight of sediment moving p a s t a u n i t of stream width per u n i t of time.

This p r o j e c t was concerned p r i m a r i l y with t h e problems of suspended s e d i -

ment determinations, b u t included, a l s o , a b r i e f review of bed-load and

bed m a t e r i a l sampling equipment.

The determination of t h e q u a n t i t y and c h a r a c t e r of suspended sediment

p a s s i n g a s e l e c t e d stream c r o s s s e c t i o n over a period o f time, involves

t h e following phases:
a. S e l e c t i o n of sampling p o i n t s s o t h a t t h e samples can
be properly c o r r e l a t e d with t h e water discharge and t h e d e t e r -
mination of t h e frequency of sampling.
10 Section 2

b. Collection of samples from t h e s e s e l e c t e d p o i n t s i n

such a manner and with such equipment t h a t t h e samples w i l l
a c c u r a t e l y represent t h e t r u e water-sediment suspension a t t h e
p o i n t s a t t h e time of sampling.

c. Analysis of t h e samples f o r t h e sediment content, par-

t i c l e - s i z e gradation and any o t h e r sediment c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a s
required.

The s t u d i e s of t h e v a r i o u s phases of suspended sediment determina-

tions, t o g e t h e r with t h e review of equipment used f o r bed-load measure-

ments, a r e presented as i n d i c a t e d by t h e following t i t l e s of t h e respec-

t i v e reports:

Report No. 1. " F i e l d P r a c t i c e and Equipment Used i n Sam-

p l i n g Suspended Sediment;" a review of sediment i n v e s t i g a t i o n s
which p r e s e n t s and d i s c u s s e s t h e various methods of s e l e c t i n g
t h e v e r t i c a l s t o be sampled i n a stream s e c t i o n , t h e methods of
s e l e c t i n g t h e sampling p o i n t s i n a v e r t i c a l and t h e considera-
t i o n s i n determining t h e frequency of sampling t h e p a r t i c u l a r
stream s e c t i o n ; and which d e s c r i b e s , c l a . s s i f i e s , and d i s c u s s e s
the numerous suspended sediment samplers.

Report No. 2. "Equipment Used f o r Sampling Bed-Load and

Bed Material;" a. review a.nd c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of t h e various types
of equipment.

Report No. 3. "Analytical Study of Methods of Sampling

Suspended Sediment;" a hypothetical a n a l y s i s of t h e various
methods of sampling a stream v e r t i c a l .

Report No. 4. "Analysis of Sediment Samples;" a presenta-

t i o n and study of t h e numerous l a b o r n t o r y methods of analyzing
sediment samples f o r p a r t i c l e s i z e and t o t a l s o l i d s concentra-
t ion.
Report No. 5. ltLaboratory I n v e s t i g a t i o n s of Suspended
Sediment Samplere" a s presented i n t h i s r e p o r t is'm experi-
mental study of t h e b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s of samplfng a c t i o n as
a f f e c t s t h e accuracy of t h e samples, and of t h e f i l l i n g charac-
t e r i s t i c s of r e s r e s e n t a t i v e types of slow f i l l i n g samplers.

2. Purpose of experimental study ~f samplers--A number of f e a t u r e s

of samplers and aampiing a c t i o n have been v i s u a l i z e d as sources of e r r o r

i n t h e sediment concentration i n suspended sediment samples. A non-

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e sample may r e s u l t from adverse entrance conditions i n t o a

sampler, from accumulation of sediment i n t h e sample container, o r from

l o s s of sediment i n t r a n s f e r r i n g a sample. These f a c t o r s , and t h e magni-

tude of t h e i r e f f e c t s upon t h e samples, were i n v e s t i g a t e d experimentally

i n t h i s l a b o r a t o r y study.

From the review of sediment investigations a s presented i n Report

No. 1, i t was evident t h a t t h e r e was a s e r i o u s lack of exact knowledge of

the f i l l i n g characteristics of slow f i l l i n g samplers, p a r t i c u l a r l y the

magnitude of t h e i r f i l l i n g r a t e s under various sampling conditions. The

experimental study was conducted t o provide t h i s b a s i c information neces-

sary i n the study of t h e f i e l d operation, i n the a n a l y s i s of e r r o r s re..

s u l t i n g from the f i l l i n g a c t i o n , and i n the design of a sampler.

3. Methods of studx--The a n a l y s i s of sampler entrance conditions

c o n s t i t u t e d the major problem i n the study of t h e e r r o r s i n sediment con-

t e n t of samples. I t required e l a b o r a t e procedure and equipment and i n -

volved t h e l a r g e s t number of t e s t s . Entrance conditions were e s t a b l i s h e d

which, logically, would cause e r r o r s , and the magnitude of t h e e r r o r s

were evaluated, but no attempt was made t o determine the a c t u a l flow

p a t t e r n s a t the i n t a k e s . Samples were c o l l e c t e d from suspensionsofknown

concentration and e r r o r s i n the sample concentrations were a t t r i b u t e d t o

t h e p a r t i c u l a r entrance conditions. This procedure involved the c i r c u l a -

t i o n of a water-sediment suspension through a closed conduit from which

t e s t and standard samples were c o l l e c t e d simultaneously from a d j a c e n t

sampling points. The standard samples, collected under the most i d e a l

entrance conditions, were u s e d t o e s t a b l i s h t h e t r u e sediment concentration

12 Section 4

of t h e suspension a t t h e sampling p o i n t , a s no method of computing t h i s

c o n c e n t r a t i o n was devised.

The tendency toward d e p o s i t i o n of sediment i n t h e passage of a sus-

pension through a h o r i z o n t a l cylinderwas r e a d i l y o b s e r v e d i n a t r a n s p a r e n t

c y l i n d e r placed i n t h e flowing suspension. The phenomenon was s t u d i e d

quantitatively f o r several samples which were trapped i n t h e c y l i n d e r .

To e v a l u a t e the tendency toward a loss of sediment i n a sample

t r a n s f e r , caused by sediment adhering w i t h i n t h e samplers, simple, d i r e c t

t e s t s were made. The procedure consisted e s s e n t i a l l y of emptying pre-

pared samples of known concentration out of various samplers and of

analyzing both t h e f i n a l sample and t h e r e s i d u e i n t h e sampler.

The study of sampler filling charscteristics, of t h e v a r i o u s slow

f i l l i n g samplers, involved a c t u a l f i l l i n g r a t e measurements under a range

of c o n d i t i o n s of stream depth, v e l o c i t y , and sampler o p e r a t i o n . A number

of t h e t e s t s were made i n t h e deep, s t i l l water of an abandoned quarry,

and t h e t e s t s involving stream v e l o c i t y were made i n a l a r g e flume a t t h e

l a b o r a t o r y of t h e Iowa I n s t i t u t e of Hydraulic Research.

4. Authority and personnel--The cooperative p r o j e c t , of which this

study i s a p a r t , was authorized and sponsored informally by t h e following

Federal Government agencies: t h e Geological Survey, Indian S e r v i c e , and

Bureau of Reclamation of t h e Departmerit of I n t e r i o r ; t h e Flood Control

Coordinating Committee of the Department of A g r i c u l t u r e ; t h e Engineer

Department of t h e War Department; and t h e Tennessee Valley Authority.

The s t u d i e s were conducted a t the Hydraulic Laboratory of t h e Iowa

I n s t i t u t e of Hydraulic Research, S t a t e University of Iowa, under the

Section 4 15

supervision of Professor E. W. Lane, consulting engineer. Engaged on the

p r o j e c t a s representatives of t h e i r respective cooperating agencies have

been Cleveland H. Horne, J r . , Engineer Department; Victor A . Koelaer,

Geological Survey; Donald E. Rhinehart, Bureau of Reclamation; Vernon J .

Palmer, Flood Control Coordinating Committee; and Clarence A . Boyll,
Tennessee Valley Authority.

The Iowa City Sub-office of the S t . Paul U. S. Engineer D i s t r i c t

under t h e d i r e c t i o n of Martin E. Nelson, Engineer, a s s i s t e d i n t h e admin-
i s t r a t i o n of t h e p r o j e c t , e d i t e d and published the r e p o r t s and a s s i s t e d

i n t h e design and construction of equipment and i n t h e conduct of t e s t s .

-1 4 Section 5

11. TEST EQUIPMENT AND EXPERIMENTAL MATERIAL

5. Test equipment--The experimental study of sampler entrance con-

d i t i o n s required t h e development of s p e c i a l l a b o r a t o r y equipment which

c o n s i s t - d e s s e n t i a l l y of: a conduit through which a water-sediment sus-

penelon was c i r c u l a t e d a s d e s i r e d ; s p e c i a l sampling apparatus p e r m i t t i n g

t h e c o l l e c t i o n of samples from t h e c i r c u l a t i n g suspension under c a r e f u l l y

controlled sampling conditions; and r e g u l a r laboratory equipment f o r

analyzing samples.

No a d d i t i o n a l equipment was required f o r t h e study of sediment de-

p o s i t i o n i n instantaneous horizontal samplers. For t h e evaluation of t h e

l o s s of sediment i n t r a n s f e r r i n g samples t h e c o n t a i n e r s of s e v e r a l common

samplers were used.

The t e s t s of f i l l i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of samplers were conducted w i t h

f i v s r e l a t i v e l y common slow f i l l i n g samplers, including both t h e bubbling

type and t h e smooth filling type provided w i t h s e p a r a t e a i r exhauste.

The d e s c r i p t i o n s of t h e samplers t e s t e d and t h e a l t e r a t i o n s t o adapt them

f o r the t e s t s , a r e given i n Section 28. The main a d d i t i o n a l equipment

c o n s i s t e d of a U . S. Geological Survey type sounding r e e l f o r suspending

t h e samplers, and a T r i c e c u r r e n t meter f o r measuring t h e stream v e l o c i t y

a t t h e sampling p o i n t .

The conduit o r c i r c u l a t i n g system a s shown i n Fig. 1, f o r t h e study

of sampler entrance conditions, was composed of (1) a h o r i z o n t a l , rec-

t a n g u l a r conduit, 1 0 by 10 i n . by 16 f t . long, as the main t e s t i n g and

observation s e c t i o n , ( 2 ) a 6-in. c e n t r i f u g a l sand pump, a t t h e downstream

end of t h e main section, for circulating t h e suspension, ( 3 ) a 6-in.

Section 5 15

I I

FIG. 1
16 Section 5

c y l i n d r i c a l pipe l i n e t o carry the suspension from t h e pump t o t h e up-

stream end of t h e main s e c t i o n , and (4) a r e s e r v o i r o r head tank connected

t o t h e system above t h e upstream end of t h e main s e c t i o n .

The main s e c t i o n , c o n s i s t i n g of t h r e e s e c t i o n s , formed of 1/8 i n .

s h e e t s t e e l and two t r a n s p a r e n t pyralin s e c t i o n s , was b u i l t on a s i n g l e

16.8-ft. length of 10-in. 15.3-lb. s t e e l channel. The channel, with

f l a n g e s turned down, provided the smooth bottom of t h e conduit, and t h e

formed s e c t i o n s were bolted over rubber gaslcets t o the f l a n g e s of t h e

channel. The two t r a n s p a r e n t s e c t i o n s , b u i l t up of 1/4-in. sheet pyralin,

were b o l t e d t o the adjoining s t e e l sections and t o t h e f l a n g e s of t h e

channel. They provided observation and t e s t s e c t i o n s , t h e downstream one

being equipped and used as t h e sampling s t a t i o n .

A reconditioned, 6-in., Morris, c e n t r i f u g a l sand pump, model 1911,

b e l t d r i v e n by a 30 hp. e l e c t r i c motor, was used t o c i r c u l a t e t h e suspen-

sion. It had a maximum c a p a c i t y of 3.8 c .f .s., which provided 5.5 f t . / s e c .

velocity a t the sampling s t a t i o n . One disadvantage i n the use of t h i s

pump, a f t e r it was-cleaned of r u s t , was t h e somewhat p u l s a t i n g n a t u r e of

i t s discharge.
The tank, connected i n d i r e c t l y i n t o t h e conduit above t h e upstream

end of t h e main s e c t i o n , functioned a s a pressure c o n t r o l and r e s e r v o i r ,

and provided a means of adding sediment and water t o t h e suspbnsion t o

replace that withdrawn as samples. I t a l s o served a s a reservoir i n t o

which t h e e n t i r e suspension from t h e main section could be pumped and

saved wnile a l t e r a t i o n s were made a t t h e sampling s e c t i o n . As t h e c i r -

c u l a t i n g suspension d i d not flow tldrough t h e tank, t h e water i n t h e tank

normalzy was Wanquil, undisturbed, and f r e e from sediment. The water

p r e s s u r e i n t h e tank was transmitted d i r e c t l y t o t h e system, resulting

i n o p e r a t i n g pressures above atmospheric throughout, and thereby prevent-

i n g t h e suction o f a i r through small l e a k s i n t o t h e c i r c u l a t i n g suspension.

A 6/4-in. water supply l i n e was tapped i n t o t h e conduit below t h e

tank and faced t o d i r e c t i t s supply i n the direction of t h e c i r c u l a t i n g

suspension. Faced i n t h i s way, t h e danger of sediment accumulating i n

t h i s pipe was eliminated. In a d d i t i o n t o i t s use f o r i n i t i a l f i l l i n g of

t h e system, the l i n e provided a clean water supply during o p e r a t i o n ,

which, i n conjunction w i t h t h e overflow d r a i n i n t h e tank, allowed a con-

tinuous exchange of t h e water witnout a f f e c t i n g t h e sediment of t h e sus-

pension.

A d r a i n pipe, i n s t a l l e d through t h e c e n t e r of t h e t a n k and open a t

t h e t o p about 6 i n . below t h e t o p of t h e tank, acted a s a constant l e v e l ,

overflow d r a i n . This pipe was tapped with a valve-controlled opening 2

f t . below t h e overflow level, whereby t h e water of t h e tank could be

drained a s d e s i r e d . By using the overflow drain, t h e used, somewhat

d i s c o l o r e d water of t h e suspension could be drained a s f r e s h water was

added through the supply l i n e . The sediment of t h e suspension was pre-

vented from r i s i n g i n t o t h e tank by t h e slow r a t e of t h i s operation; t h e

upward v e l o c i t i e s i n t h e tank were lower than t h e f a l l v e l o c i t i e s of t h e

sediment.

A 1 - i n . d r a i n pipe, tapped i n t o t h e bottom of the pump, provided

means f o r completely d r a i n i n g t h e e n t i r e system. The valve c o n t r o l l i n g

t h i s d r a i n was placed immediately below t h e pump t o minimize t h e amobnt

of sediment t h a t could accumulate i n t h e d r a i n during operation.

Flow of t h e c i r c u l a t i n g suspension was regulated by t h r o t t l i n g t h e

18 Section 6

d i s c h a r g e of :,he pump with a 6 - i n . g a t e v a l v e . A second 6 - i n . g a t e valve,

located J u s t downstream from t h e tank connection, remained open d u r i n g

~perati~~
and
; . was used only when t h e suspension was pumped o u t o f t h e main

s e c t i o n f o r s t o r a g e i n t h e tank.

6. Accessories for operating t h e c i r c u l a t i n g system--Flow meters

were used t o measure t h e r a t e s of d i s c h a r g e of t h e c i r c u l a t i n g suspension

and c o o l i n g water was used t o r e g u l a t e t h e temperature of t h e suspension.

A p i t o t t u b e , c a l i b r a t e d i n a r o t a t i n g , c i r c u l a r trough was u s e d t o m e a s u r e

v e l o c i t i e s a t any p o i n t i n t h e sampling s e c t i o n . I t was connected t o a

d i f f e r e n t i a l manometer whose s c a l e was sloped t o magnify t h e r e a d i n g s by

five. The s c a l e was graduated so a s t o i n d i c a t e velocities directly in

f e e t per second.

The t r a n s i t i o n from t h e r e c t a n g u l a r t o t h e c y l i n d r i c a l conduit a t t h e

downstream end of t h e main s e c t i o n was used a s a v e n t u r i meter t o measure

t h e r a t e of flow i n t n e system. I t was c a l i b r a t e d i n place by u s e of a

s e p a r a t e water supply and a weighing tank. A p a i r of piezometers a t t h e

l a r g e end and a n o t h e r p a i r a t t h e s m a l l end of t h e t r a n s i t i o n were con-

nect,ed to a differential. manorneter which was equipped with a s c a l e

graduated t o i n d i c a t e flow d i r e c t l y i n cubic f e e t per second. Separate

calibrations, with and without t h e pump i n o p e r a t i o n , showed t h a t t h e

pump, downstream from t h e v e n t u r i meter, did not a f f e c t t h e accuracy of

t h e d i s c h a r g e r e 8 d i r . g ~ . A comparison of t h e r a t e of flow a s i n d i c a t e d by

t h e v e n t u r i meter with t h a t computed f r o m t h e p i t o t t u b e v e l o c i t y r e a d i n g s

i n t h e sampling section served t o v e r i f y s a t i s f a c t o r i l y the individual

c a l i b r a t i o n s of t h e s e inetruments.
Section 7 19

A temperature rise in the suspension of about 8' F. per hour was

observed during t h e operation of t h e c i r c u l a t i n g system. In order t o

maintain uniform temperature a c o o l i n g system was i n s t a l l e d c o n s i s t i n g of

a 36-ft. l e n g t h of 3/4-in. copper t u b i n g doubled and extended i n t o t h e

6-in. pipe l i n e from t h e c r o s s connection under t h e tank. Tap w a t e r c i r -

c u l a t i n g through t h i s copper t u b e provided s u f f i c i e n t c o o l i n g and allowed

r e g u l a t i o n of t h e temperature o f t h e suspension t o a n y d e s i r e d temperature

above t h a t o f t h e water supply. The continuous exchange of w ~ t e ro f t h e

system by u s e of t h e water supply l i n e and overflow d r a i n o f t h e t a n k pro-

vided an a d d i t i o n a l means of r e g u l a t i n g t h e temperature.

7. Samplina a p p a r a t u s used i n study of s a m p l i n ~action--Equipment

f o r c o l l e c t i n g samples o f t h e c i r c u l a t i n g suspension c o n s i s t e d p r i n c i p a l l y

oft

a . An assortment of s a a p l e r n o z z l e s which were designed

a s r e a d i l y interchangeable t n s e r t s , t o s e a t with a t a p e r lock
j o i n t i n t o t h e mouth of withdrawal t u b e s .

b. S p e c i a l l y shaped b r a s s tubes f o r withdrawing samples

o u t 07 t h e c o n j u i t , which were equipped w i t h s t o p cock v a l v e s
f o r c o n t r o l l i n g t h e sampling r a t e and provided with a t a p e r e d
mouth a s a s e a t f o r t h e v a r i o u s nozzle i n s e r t s .

c . Necessary p l a t e s and w a t e r t i g h t bushings i n s t a l l e d i n

t h e t r a n s p a r e n t sampling s e c t i o n of t h e c o n d u i t t o f a c i l i t a t e
t h e i n s e r t i o n and adjustment of t h e sampling t u b e s and p i t o t
t u b e t o any d e s i r e d p o i n t i n t h e s e c t i o n .

d. An a i r i n j e c t i o n pump f o r r e t u r n i n g t h e water-sediment
d i s c h a r g e of t h e samplers t o t h e head t a n k when i t was n o t r e -
t a i n e d a s a sample.

The t e s t i n g s e c t i o n of t h e c o n d u i t and t h e sampler n o z z l e s and t u b e s f o r

withdrawing t h e samples a r e shown i n Fig. 2.

The n o z z l e s a r e d e s c r i b e d individually and d e t a i l s and dimensions

a r e given i n t h e d i s c u s s i o n s of t h e r e s p e c t i v e t e s t results. They were

20 Section 7

machined from heavy wall b r a s s tubing o r brass cylinders t o the desired

shapes and dimensions, and t h e c r i t i c a l dimenrlons were held t o within

0.001 i n . The back ends of t h e nozzles were machined on a standard t a p e r

of 4' included angle, t o s e a t and lock i n t o t h e s i m i l a r l y tapered mouth

of t h e sample withdrawing tubes. They seated f i r m l y b u t could e a s i l y be

twisted o u t of t h i s j o i n t and interchanged.

The tubes f o r withdrawing t h e samples were of heavy wall b r a s s tub-

i n g i n two sizes: 9/16-in. and 3/8-in. o u t s i d e diameter. The assortment

included those bent t o f a c e t h e nozzles d i r e c t l y i n t o t h e stream o r a t

s l i g h t angles t o t h i s direction, t o face the nozzles horizontally but

a c r o s s t h e d i r e c t i o n of flow, and t o f a c e t h e nozzles v e r t i c a l l y .

The bushings i n s t a l l e d i n t o p and bottom of the t e s t i n g s e c t i o n were

designed t o accommodate e i t h e r of t h e two s i z e s of sampling tubes and t o

allow t h e i r adjustment v e r t i c a l l y i n t h e stream. A removable p l a t e 4 i n .

long and 6 i n . wide, i n s e r t e d i n the bottom of t h e conduit with i t s t o p

surface flush with t h e bottom of t h e channel, contained t h r e e bushings,

spaced 1-1/2 i n . c e n t e r t o center, which throughout most of the t e s t i n g

accommodatedthepitot tube and two sampling tubes arranged symmetrically.

A p l a t e i n the t o p of t h e s e c t i o n , designed t o s l i d e a c r o s s t h e con-

duit, contained bushings at - - . c e n t e r s so t h a t a s many a s seven

could be used simultaneously. This f e a t u r e was not used i n the t e s t s ,

but was convenient i n t h e study of the sediment and v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u -

t i o n s throughout t h e sampling c r o s s s e c t i o n , f o r which a sampling tube o r

t h e p i t o t tube was i n s t a l l e d and moved t o any d e s i r e d p o i n t over t h e

section.

A r e a d i l y removable 8 by 8-in. p l a t e was provided i n t h e t o p of t h e

22 Section 8

transparent section, j u s t upstream from the s l i d i n g p l a t e . It provided

easy access into the conduit t o allow i n s t a l l a t i o n of sampler nozzles

o r other a l t e r a t i o n s of t e s t conditions.

The a i r i n j e c t i o n pump allowed continuous operation of the samplers

without a depletion of t h e suspension i n the system. Water and sediment,

withdrawn through the samplers, but not collectedassamples, was returned

t o the head tank.

8. Water and sediment used i n t e s t s of sampling action--Filtered

and chlorinated Iowa River water of the regular University of Iowa supply
was used throughout the t e s t s . During the program of t e s t i n g , thetemper-
a t u r e of the water varied from about 40° t o 80° F., but the temperature

of the suspension during t e s t s was controlled wjthin a range of from 650

t o 8S0 F., which range was found t o have no perceptible e f f e c t upon the

t e s t results. I n previous experiments it had been found t h a t the water

tended t o cause f l o c u l a t i o n of f i n e grained sediments, but t h i s was n o t

evident i n these teats because of the l a r g e s i z e s of sediment and the

technique used. The waterwastreated with potassium dichromate, 0.02 per

cent concentration, t o i n h i b i t r u s t i n g inside the pump and conduit. This

p r a c t i c e was found t o have no e f f e c t upon t e s t r e s u l t s .

The sediment used consisted of four d i f f e r e n t , r e a d i l y obtainable,

commercial sands, differing principally i n s i z e a s represented by the

s i z e a n a l y s i s curves i n Fig. 3 . They a r e designated and referred t o by

the mean p a r t i c l e s i z e which on the s i z e analysis curve i s the p a r t i c l e

diameter corresponding t o the 50 per cent ordinate.

The behavior of suspended sediment under various sampler entrance

condition0 i s more d i r e c t l y a function of the fall velocity of t h e

Section 8 23

sediment particles than of t h e p a r t i c l e diameters. The f a l l v e l o c i t y ,

or rate a t which the particle falls through water under t h e f o r c e of

gravity, i s a f u n c t i o n of t h e p a r t i c l e mass, size, shape, and s u r f a c e

properties, and of t h e water d e n s i t y and v i s c o s i t y . Thus, i t provides

a more g e n e r a l b a s i s f o r comparing t h e a c t i o n of v a r i o u s sediments. Fall

v e l o c i t i e s of the m a t e r i a l used i n these t e s t s under t h e u s u a l c o n d i t i o n s

and with t h e n a t i v e water a r e shown by F i g . 4 .

It was advantageous i n t h i s s t u d y t o work s e p a r a t e l y with t h e narrow

ranges i n s i z e of sediment t o show t h e r e l a t i o n of t h e p a r t i c l e s i z e t o

i t s a c t i o n under t h e v a r i o u s sampling c o n d i t i o n s .

The 0.45-mm. Ottawa f l i n t silica and the 0.15-mm. Ottawa banding

sand c o n s i s t e d of n a t u r a l , w e l l rounded, uniform p a r t i c l e s of a s u f f i -

ciently narrow s i z e range f o r use a s purchased. The 0.06-mm. ground

f l i n t sand was graded i n a hydraulic sand s e p a r a t o r t o t h e s i z e range

shown. The p a r t i c l e s of t h e l a t t e r were more angular and l e s s uniform

than were t h e Ottawa sands. The s m a l l e s t sediment, 0.01-mm. ground

Wausau q u a r t z , was used a s purchased.

Samples of t h e sediment were taken from t h e system a f t e r v a r i o u s

p e r i o d s of o p e r a t i o n and were analyzed t o determine the amount of break-

i n g o r wearing down of p a r t i c l e s . From t h e s e t e s t s i t was found t h a t 12

t o 1 4 hours of o p e r a t i o n would r e s u l t i n n noticeable but unimportant

i n c r e a s e i n t h e percentage of f i n e r p a r t i c l e s due t o wearing and breaking

of l a r g e r p a r t i c l e s . To i n s u r e t h a t t h e r e d u c t i o n i n t h e sediment s i z e

should n o t a f f e c t the t e s t r e s u l t s , the suspension was drained a f t e r each

6 t o 8 hours of operation, and r e p l a c e d with f r e s h sand and water.

 24 Section 8

103

90

80

TO

5
.y 60
a
i=
a
u 40
*L
Y)

20

I0

0
01103 O.M4 0.01 0.02 0.04 0.1 0.2 0.8
M l o l s D l u s t a r in ~ l l l t n e t e ~ .

F i g . 3 - Size g r a d a t i o n s of t e s t ~ n a t e r i a l s .

F i g . 4 - F a l l v e l o c i t i e s of t e s t m a t e r i a l s .
FIGS. 3 & 4
Section 9 25

9. Operatina characteristics of c i r c u l a t i n g system--4 preliminary

study of t h e o p e r a t i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e c i r c u l a t i n g system was made

t o verify the'reliability of the general procedure and t o e s t a b l i s h t h e

operating and sampling technique. This study included ohsorvations of

v e l o c i t y a c r o s s t h e sampling s e c t i o n , t h e n a t u r e of the flow through the

conduit, t h e v a r i a t i o n of sediment concentration with time and s n m p l i n ~

point, and t h e distribution of sediment a t the sampling s e c t i o n and

throughout t h e system.

R e s u l t s of t h e v e l o c i t y observations throughout thesampling s e c t i o n ,

shown i n Fig. 5 , i n d i c a t e a uniform, symmetrical d i s t r i b u t i o n . Although

of a p u l s a t i n g n&;re, t h e flow i n the system would remain c o n s t a n t over

long periods of operation. The maximum v e l o c i t y obtainable a t the sam-

p l i n g s e c t i o n was about 6.5 f t . / s e c . , correspsnding t o t h e maximum punp

discharge of 3.8 c.f.s. The.minimum v e l o c i t y was r e s t r i c t e d only by the

sediment s i z e , and was t h e lowest v e l o c i t y a t which a p a r t i c u l a r sediment

would remain i n suspension.

I n order t o study t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e sediment suspension, i t

was necessary t o c o l l e c t and analyze samples of t h e water-sediment mix-

ture. The technique e s t a b l i s h e d f o r t h a t purpose wasdevised with thorough

c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e f o r c e s a f f e c t i n g t h e accuracy of a sample which a r e

discussed more f u l l y i n Section 10. A thin, sharp-edged sampling tube,

f a c i n g d i r e c t l y i n t o t h e flow was used, i n t o which t h e sampling r a t e was

carefully controlled s o t h a t t h e v e l o c i t y a t t h e tube entrance was equal

t o t h e undisturbed stream v e l o c i t y . This technique was assumed t o give a

sample whose concentration was t r u l y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e sediment con-

c e n t r a t i o n i n t h e system. The l o g i c of t h i s assumption is discussed more

i n d e t a i l i n Section 11.
26 Section 9

Inchos from c e n t e r
c r o s s s e c t i o n of cvnd.iit --
v e i o c i t i o s shown i n ft./seo.
-
Fie. 5 - Velocity contours s t samplinq s t a t i o n .

A study of t h e v a r i a t i o n with time of sediment concentration a t a

sampling p o i n t was comtined with a comparat,ive study of t h e sediment con-

c e n t r a t i o n a t two sampling p o i n t s , s y m ~ n e t r i c a l l yl o c a t e d i n a h o r i z o n t a l

plane. Fwo samplers were i n s t a l l e d i n t h e sampling section with t h e i r

mouths a t a r b i t r a r i l y selected points i n d i c a t e d i n Fig. 5, and a s e r i e s

of successive samples were c o l l e c t e d from each of t h e two p o i n t s simul-

taneously. The r e s u l t s of t h e s t u d y a r e presented g r a p h i c a l l y i n Fig. 6 .

The c o n c e n t r a t i o n of t h e silccessive 20-sec. samples v a r i e d over a range

Fig. 6 - F i u z t u a t i ? n s c;f sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n a t d u p l i c a t e
ssnpling puints .
28 Section 9

of 37 per c e n t of t h e mean concentration, and t h e concentration of t h e

successive 1-min. samples varied over a range of 10.5 per cent. These

f l u c t u a t i o n s i n t h e concentration were a t t r i b u t e d p a r t l y t o ordinary t u r -

bulence and p a r t l y t o t h e p u l s a t i n g n a t u r e of t h e flow. Their e f f e c t was

minimized by sampling over long periods of time, u s u a l l y about 10 min.

The s i m l t a n e o u s samples from t h e two sampling p o i n t s showed much

c l o s e r agreement than d i d successive samples from t h e same p o i n t . The

maximum difference in concentration between two simultaneous 20-sec.

samples was 12 per c e n t , and t h e average concentrations of the s e r i e s of

l e f t and r i g h t samples d i f f e r e d only 0.4 per cent. This e s t a b l i s h e d t h e

v a l i d i t y o f s i m u l t a n e o u s sampling, whereby t h e concentration measured with

a standard sampler a t one of a p a i r of symmetrical sampling p o i n t s was

considered t o be t h e t r u e concentration a t the o t h e r t e s t sampler point.

To study t h e sediment distribution a t t h e sampling s e c t i o n , a sam-

p l e r was placed a t the center of t h e sampling s e c t i o n and samples of

10-min. d u r a t i o n were c o l l e c t e d t o establish the t r u e concentration a t

that point. Operating simultaneously with t h e f i x e d sampler, another

was moved from point t o point v e r t i c a l l y and h o r i z o n t a l l y throughout t h e

section, collectinp: a sumple a t each p o i n t which was compared with t h e

corresponding sample a t t h e c e n t e r . The sediment d i s t r i b u t i o n found f o r

d i f f e r e n t p a r t i c l e s i z e s i s shown i n F i g . 7. The concentration of s e d i -

ment v a r i e d over tlie depth of the conduit a s expected, that is, concen-
t r a t i o n s increased toward t h e bottom. I t v a r i e d symmetrically a c r o s s t,he

conduit, t h e maximum concentration being a t the center. Two sampling

points a t - t h e same depth and symmetrically l o c a t e d a c r o s s t h e s e c t i o n had

t h e same averace concentration of sediment, which v e r i f i e d t h e f i n d i n g s

i n previous t e s t s .
50 Section 9
-- ...- -

The d i s t r i b u t i o r r of sediment throughout t h e system v a r i e d with t h e

s i z e of sed.inent, the r a t e o f . c i r c u l a t i o n , and poeeibly with o t h e r f a c t o r s .

The co:icc7.c~- tion on a t :my p o i n t was n o t found t o have a r e a d i l y a s c e r t a i n -

a b l e rel.::itlon tc 'he a v e n g e c o n c e n t r a t i o n of t h e lapension. Therefore,

i t was not :~rnct.icnhi.e t o compute the true c o n c e n t r a t i o n a t a sampling

p o i n t nor r c -tt.eml:t t o c o n t r o l it t o any predetermined value.

S e c t i o n 10 31

111. TESTS OF Sht4PLER ENTRI!NCE CONDITIONS

10. Flow o a t t e r n s a t the ontrance--Conditions a t the mouth of a

sampler may be represented by the flo\,i p a t t e r n of t h e water-sediment

suspension approaching and entering t h r sampler. I t i s l o g i c a l t h a t any

curvature i n t h i s flow p a t t c r n , o r i n any of i t s stream l i n e s caused by
chnnges i n velocity of d i r e c t i o n , o r by disturbances due t o t h e sampler
itself, will tend t o scgrc&ate t h e scdiment from t h e water. This, in
t u r n , will change t h e concentration of sediment i n t h e filament e n t e r i n g

t h e sampler 'and, conccqucntly, a l s o i n the sample collected. This tend-

ency i s due t o t h e differonce i n d e n s i t y of t h e sediment and t h e viater;

t i c sediment, having grec.tcr d e n s i t y cnd i n c r t i r . than t h c ~::.tcr, responds
l e s s r a p i d l y than t h e vicitcr t o f o r c e s c l i c n g i n ~i t s n o t i o n . The magnitude

of cny error i n the sediment contcnt of a s a n p l c r e s u l t i n g from t h i s

phenomenon would be a function of t h e . p a r t i c u l a r flow p a t t c r n e s t a b l i s h e d

and of t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e scdincnt.

This phenomonon i o i l l ~ ~ s t r n t e d i n Fie;. 8 f o r t h r e e pnt-

Wrns of flow into n snmpler whoso rnouth faces clircctly i n t o t h e

stream. In Fig. Oh i s represented t h e cormon c c s c i n which t h e snmpling

r a t e i s slolv, and t h e vsl.ocit;- i ; ~

t h e aouth ;f t h e s:m?lcr i s l e s s thnn

t h e natilral strenm velocitj- some d i s t a n c c upctrccn from t h e sampler. This

c o n d i t i o n i s p i c t u r e d bg- a filr.mcnt of t h e suspcnsion diverging i n cross

sectional area and decreasing i n v e l o c i t y cs i t ~ p p r o c ~ c h etsh e mouth of

t h e sampler. The sediment from j u s t outside t h e bordcr of t h e sampled

f i l a m e n t , diverging l e s s r a p i d l y thc,n t h c wctcr, c n t e r s the mouth of the

sampler ols an excess. In Fie;. 3s is represented t h c converse of t h i s

condition i n vihich t h e velocity n t t h c mouth of t h c csmpler i s g r e a t e r

 -
stream l i n e s

-
a. Normal sampling r a t e -- i n t a k e v e l o c i t y
equal t o strean v e l o c i t y .

b. Sampling r a t e below normal -- a s i l l u s t r a t e d , r a t i o

of i n t a k e v e l o c i t y t o stream v e l o c i t y approximately 5/3.

c. Sampling r a t e above normal -- as illustrated, ratio

o f i n t a k e v e l o c i t y t o stream v e l o c i t y approximatsly 3 .
F i g . 8 - Flow p a t t e r n s a t mouth of sampler i n t a k e .
FIG. 8
tYan the natur-1 ctr.e?.m v e l o c i t y . The sediment i n t h e sampled f i l a m e n t

tg?cds t o converge t , o e l e s s e r degree than t h e water, r e s u l t i n g i n a sample

t o o low i n sediment concentration.
Conditions of similar n a t u r e mqv be prevalent with a l l types of
sam?le?s i i ~ dt h e corres;~onding flow p a t t e r n s m y be conveniently demon-

s t r a t e d by i n j e c t i n g streams of dye i n t o t h e suspension. A demonstration

of this n a t u r e nas been mnde recently a t the C a l i f o r n i a I n s t i t u t e of
\
~ e c h n o l o g y ( ~using
-J s e v e r a l e x i s t i n g samplers.

?'lie t e s t s which follow a r e concerned d i r e c t l y w i t h t h e q u a n t i t a t i v e

e v a l u a t i o n o f er.rcrs i n snnples r e s u l t i n g from t h e s e phenomena.

11. Genera1 procedure i n testing_smalery.Jntakes--The g e n e r a l pro-

cedure follo~~:ij.!ci in t h e +,f:,t.st o c ~ n l u - t et h e e f f e c t of sampler entrance

cor,dit,ionn ;nvolveti c r ~ l l e c t i n g t e s t samples under various i n t a k e condi-

tions and comparirjg t h e i r sediment concentrations with t h e t r u e concen-

tr:lt.ion k ~ t ,b:ie so.m>llng point,. As previously s t a t e d , t h e value of t h e t r u e

conc~c~,:ra?.ioa
' ; I ~ nc e c e s s a r i l y s o t a b l i s h e d by samgling, but t h i s was done

under c-:.ef':~Lly c o x t r o l l e d " s t a n d a d sampling coriditions1I devised w i t h

thorough con.:ids:'ation of t h e physical-forces' a f f e c t i n g t h e accuracy of a

sam>le.,Thsse standard sam?ling conditions were defined a s those i n whfc'z

t n e approaching filamezt of water-sediment suspension was n o t d e f l e c t e d

or disturbed in any manner u l l t i l it reached t h e mouth of t h e sampler.

The Standard sampling conditions were a t t a i n e d by:

a. Using t h e standard sampling nozzle, shown i n Fig. 9,

which was designed t o minimize i t s e f f e c t upon the approaching
suspensior.
--------------- ---------------------------------------------------------
( 1 ) American Geophysical Union, Transactioqs 1940, P a r t I, p. 78, "The
Use of Hydraulic Models i n t h e Design of >repended Load SamplersMby
J . P a t OtNeiZ1.
34 S e c t i o n 11
-.-

b . Facing the nozzle d i r e c t l y i n t o t h e flou: (normal posi-

t i o n ) - - ~t ~
h a t a sample would undergo no change of d i r e c t i o n i n
ent,erinp t h e sampler.

c . Controlling t h e sampling r a t e s o t h a t t h e v e l o c i t y i n
t h e nGuth of t h e sampler would be e q u a l t o t h e undisturbed ve-
l o c i t y i n t h e stream a s i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g . 85, ara no change i n
v e l o c i t y o r d i r e c t i o n would r e s u l t a s t h e sample ..as c o l l e c t e d .

With t h i s minimum of d i s t u r b a n c e and change of flow of t h e sample 8s it

approached 8nd e n t e r e d t h e sampler, no f o r c e s were v i s u a l i z e d which might

tend t o a f f e c t :.he accuracy.

L-.Jz !. ".--

S e c t onaj.
'
+I
.-.:I,<
I-BI , , -
s i d e view
4
End view

Flg. 9 - S t q n i a r a nozzle i n t a k e diameter 0.25 i n .

F u r t h e r . from t h e study of t h e sediment suspension characteristics

a t t h e samp.Ling s e c t i o n . Section 3, it we3 e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t :

a . Samples c o i l e c t e d over long periods of time, 5 t o 10

-
min., provided a s a t i s f a c t o r y average of t h e f l u c t u a t i n g con-
centration.

b. Values of sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n , based on long sam-

-
p l e s , a r e t h e seme a t two sampling p o i n t s symmetrically l o c a t e d
i n a horizontal plane.

Based on t h e s e f : ~ ? : i h ~ e n t aassumptions
l and c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , t h e pro-

cedure involved c o l l e c t i n g , from twin sampling p o i n t s , a t e s t a n d a stand-

a r d sample simult,sneor;:;lj over a 10-min. sampling p e r i o d . Any d i f f e r e n c e

S e c t i o n 12

between t h e sediment concentration of t h e t e s t sample and t h n t of t h e

standard sample was a t t r i b u t e d a s an e r r o r due t o t h e p a r t i c u l a r sampling

c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e t e s t sam?ler.

12. Outline of tests--All sampling conditions were arranged and

c l a s s i f i e d according to t h e i r d e v i a t i o n from the assumed standard sampling
c o n d i t i o n s i n the following manner:
a.
- Deviations from t h e normal sampling r a t e .

-b. Deviation from t h e normal p o s i t i o n o f t h e s n m p l e r nozzle.

c.
- Deviations i n s i z e and shape of t h e nozzle.

-d . Disturbance of samale by nozzle appurtenances.

e. Major v a r i a t i o n s from standard conditions in the

o r i e n t n t i o n of sampler nozzle.

These d e v i a t i o n s are l i k e l y t o occur i n various combinations and

their effect should vary w i t h sediment s i z e and stream v e l o c i t y . Tests

were conducted i n an order arranged t o evaluate t h e i r e f f e c t s s e p a r a t e l y

and i n probable combinations.

kach t e s t consisted of a s e r i e s of samples c o l l e c t e d a t i n t a k e r a t e s

from about 25 p e r cent to about 300 per c e n t of normal, with a s i n g l e

s i z e o f sediment, a s i n g l e stream v e l o c i t y , and one nozzle placed i n one

position. Thus each t e s t showed t h e e f f e c t of d e v i a t i o n s from normal

intake r a t e s e i t h e r alone, o r i n combination w i t h any o t h e r d e s i r e d de-

v i a t i o n from standard conditions.

13. Techniaue i n collecting and a n a l y z i n ~samales--The technique

followed i n c o l l e c t i n g and analyzing t h e samples allowed an i m e d i a t e

determination of t h e i r sadlment concentrations, and r e s u l t e d i n a high

degree of accuracy.
36 Section 1 3

The sampling period of 1 0 min., e s t a b l i s h e d i n t h e study of f l u c t u a -

t i o n s of' sediment concentration a t t h e twin sampling p o i n t s , Section 9,

resulted in l a r g e volumes of water and sediment in each sample. The

samples, u s u a l l y i n volumes from 5 t o 50 g a l l o n s were weighed d i r e c t l y .

The sedimentwas separated from the water e i t h e r b y s i e v e s o r sedimentation

and was weighed d i r e c t l y i n t h e wet condition by a water displacement

method. This method consisted i n determining t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n weight of

a given volume of water and an equal volumeofthe water-sediment mixture.

Equal volumes were obtained by measurement i n volumetric f l a s k s . This

d i f f e r e n c e , the buoyed up weight of sediment, multiplied by the s p e c i f i c

g r a v i t y of sediment and divided by t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n s p e c i f i c g r a v i t y of

sediment and that of water gave t h e t r u e weight of d r y sediment. The

r a t i o of t h e d r y weight of sediment t o t h e weight of water gave the sedi-

ment concentration of the sample which could be expressed i n per cent

o r i n p a r t s of sediment per m i l l i o n p a r t s of water-sediment, p.p.m.

I n preliminary s t u d i e s of the sediment suspension c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ,

where smaller samples were c o l l e c t e d , these were analyzed s e p a r a t e l y by

siphoning o f f the water and drying the sediment. This method was used

a l s o t o v e r i f y t h e accuracy of the displacement method of determining t h e

q u a n t i t y of sediment i n t h e samples.

The mean sampling rate f o r each sample was computed from the t o t a l

volume of t h e sample and the time of sampling. The v e l o c i t y a t t h e mouth

of t h e nozzle was determined by d i v i d i n g the sampling r a t e by the a r e a

of t h e nozzle mouth, and was usually expressed a s a r a t i o t o t h e normal

o r undisturbed stream v e l o c i t y . The "normal" sampling r a t e was that re-

sulting i n a v e l o c i t y a t the mouth of t h e nozzle, i n t a k e v e l o c i t y , equal

Section 14 37

to the normal or stream velocity. The area of the nozzle mouth was that
defined by the sharp edge.

14. Errors in sediment concentration of samples collected with

standard sampler nozzle--Tests were made to evaluate the effect of devi-
ations from the normal sampling rate upon the samples collected, and to
show the importance of controlling the sampling rate into a sampler. A
series of samples collected at rates varying from about 1/4-normal to
about 3-normal, with a single size sediment and a singls stream velocity,
comprised one test. The standard nozzle, shown in Fig. 9, was used,
oriented in the normal position so that any effect upon the flow pattern
of the sampled filament and consequently any error in the sediment con-
centration of the sample could be attributed to the particular deviation
of the intake rate from normal alone.
Results of four tests with a stream velocity of 5 ft./sec., and
suspensions of 0.45-mm., 0.15-mm., 0.06-m.,and 0.01-mm. sands are shown
on Figs. 10 to 12. These data show that appreciable errors in the sedi-
ment concentration of" a sample result from an incorrect or uncontrolled
sampling rate. Samples collected at rates such that the velocity in the
mouth of a nozzle is less than the normal stream velocity contain an
excess of sediment, while samples collected at rates above normal are low
in sediment content. Errors resulting from sampling rates below normal
are considerably larger in magnitude than errors resulting from compar-
able deviations in sampling rate above normal. The errors increase in
magnitude as the samgling rate increases above normal.
Resultsofthree tests using 0.15-mm. sediment with stream velocities
of 3, 4, and 5 ft./sec. are shown together on Fig. 13. From these data it
Section 1 5 41

t h e e r r o r i n concentration of samples a s a function of t h e s i z e of sedi-

ment f o r s e v e r a l sampling r a t e s . ' A s t h e s i z e of sediment increased above
0.06-mm., the magnitude of t h e e r r o r ~i n sediment concentration of t h e

samples increased rapidly. h'ithin t h e range of Stokes1 Law, sediment

sizes below 0.06-mm., t h e e r r o r s were comparatively small i n magnitude

and v a r i e d l e s s r a p i d l y with t h e sediment s i z e .

Moderate v a r i a t i o n s i n t h e a c t u a l sediment concentration and i n t h e

temperature of the suspension were found t o have no p e r c e p t i b l e e f f e c t

upon t h e r e e u l t s . Data from two s e r i e s of samples whose mean concentra-

tions s e r e 1250 and 2150 p.p.m. and two s e r i e s of samples c o l l e c t e d a t

t e m ~ e r a t u r e c of 67' and 90' F., a r e presented i n Fig. 10. There i s no

consistent variation i n t h e s e d a t a which can be a t t r i b u t e d t o v a r i a t i o n s

i n t h e temperature o r the sediment concentration.

15. E f f e c t of small d e v i a t i o n s from normal nozzle o r i e n t a t i o n on

e r r o r s i n sediment concentration--The d i r e c t i o n of o r i e n t a t i o n of a sam-

pler nozzle with respect t o t h e d i r e c t i o n of the stream c u r r e n t might

vary considerably during sampling. Any deviation of a sam?ler nozzle

from facing directly into the stream flow r e p r e s e n t s a d e v i a t i o n from

t h e s p e c i f i e d standard sampling c o n d i t i o n s . To evaluate t h e e f f e c t s of

small d e v i a t i o n s , t e s t s were made with t h e standard nozzle s e t a t angles

of lo0, 20°, and 30' from the normal p o s i t i o n . Each t e s t c o n s i s t e d of a

s e r i e s ofsamples c o l l e c t e d a t various i n t a k e r a t e s , and showed t h e e f f e c t

of d e v i a t i o n s from normal p o s i t i o n a s well a s of d e v i a t i o n s from normal

intake rate. Results of t h e s e t e s t s a r e shown i n Fig. 1 5 and t h e c o r r e s -

ponding t e s t with t h e standard nozzle i n t h e normal p o s i t i o n has been r e -

p l o t t e d thereon for comTarison. The r e s u l t s of t h e 10' t e s t have been

 Section 17

the sediment concentration of a sample r e s u l t i n g from deviations from the

normal sampling r a t e , are somewhat l a r g e r with smaller nozzles, but a t

the norm...:- sampling r a t e , the samples collected through nozzles of

d i f f e r e n t s i z e s were i d e n t i c a l i n concentration.
These r e s u l t s from the collection of samples i d e n t i c a l i n sediment
concentration w i t h nozzles of d i f f e r e n t mouth a r e a s s e r w t o v e r i f y the
accuracy of the standard sampling conditions.

17. Effect of sampler nose design on e r r o r s i n sediment concentra-

--A sampler, a s does any s t a t i o n a l y object i n a flowing stream, in-

fluences the flow pattern of the suspension approaching i t , and thereby

tends t o a f f e c t the filnment collected a s a sample.

Tests were made with sam?ler nozzles modified i n various ways from

t h e standard design t o evaluate the e f f e c t of nozzle shape upon the

samples collected. These t e s t nozzles, a l l of which were faced d i r e c t l y

i n t o the flow so a s t o be comparable t o a standard nozzle i n the normal

~ o s i t i o n ,consisted of:

a . Nozzles modified a t the mouth, with edge bluntly

rounded, beveled on outside, and beveled on i n s i d e a s i l l u s t r a t e d
by Fig. 17 2, b, and.^, respectively.

b. Intake simulating a b l u n t sampler nose with sharp edged

mouth, beveled mouth, nozzle extensions i n f r o n t of the nose
1/2 i n . , 1/4 i n . , and 1/8 i n . long a s i l l u s t r a t e d by Fig. 21
a, b, c, cl, and g, respectively.
c. An exact r e p l i c a of the nose of the Rock Island time-
i n t e g r a t i n g sampler, shown i n Fig. 66 of Report No. 1, and t h i s
r e p l i c a with a nozzle extension 1 i n . long i n f r o n t of the nose
a s i l l u s t r a t e d by Fig. 23 2 and 1,respectively.

Figs. 18, 19, and 20 show the results of the t e s t s on the t h r e e

nozzles which were modified only a t the mouth. The nozzle with rounded

edge shows an appreciable decrease i n the magnitude of the e r r o r s due t o

50 S e c t i o n 17

The blunt nose i n t a k e w i t h sharp edged mouth and without nozzle

extensions c o l l e c t e d 12 per c e n t excess of sediment a t t h e normal i n t a k e

rate. A t lower sampling r a t e s , it approached t h e a c t i o n of t h e standard

nozzle. The action of t h e blunt nose i n t a k e was improved s l i g h t l y by

b s v e l i n g t h e edge of t h e mouth i n which case only 6 p e r c e n t excess of

sediment was c o l l e c t e d a t t h e normal i n t a k e r a t e , A t low i n t a k e r a t e s t h i s

nozzle c o l l e c t e d samples s l i g h t l y l e s s i n e r r o r than d i d t h e standard,

but the d i f f e r e n c e i s unimportant i n com?arison t o t h e e r r o r caused by

t h e slow r a t e .

Nozzle extensions of 1/2 and 1/4 i n . i n f r o n t of t h e nose gave r e -

s u l t s which were t h e same as those obtained with a standard nozzle.

Results of these t e s t s were n o t p l o t t e d because t h e y were s o n e a r l y t h e

same a s those of t h e standard nozzle. The 1/8-in. nozzle extension was

not s u f f i c i s n t t o o b v i a t e t h e e f f e c t of t h e b l u n t nose, but it changed

i t s a c t i o n so t h a t , a t t h e normal r a t e , i n s t e a d of c o l l e c t i n g a n excess

of sediment t h e nozzle c o l l e c t e d i n s u f f i c i e n t sediment.

The actual l e n g t h s of these extensions a r e meaningless u n l e s s com-

pared dimensionally with t h e s i z e of t h e mouth, and t h e s i z e and shape of

t h e nose. As sufficient data were n o t c o l l e c t e d to allow a r e l i a b l e

dimensionless c o r r e l a t i o n of t h e s e f a c t o r s , conclusions a s t o t h e e f f e c t i v e

l s n g t h of nozzle extensions must be avoided.

F i g . 24 shows t h e r e s u l t s of t e s t s with t h e r e p l i c a of t h e nose of

t h e Rock I s l a n d sampler, with and without an extension of t h e nozzle

as illustrated in Fig. 23. The d a t a show t h a t a sampler of t h i s type

collects a considerable excess of sediment, even a t a normal sampling

rate. With t h e nozzle extended 1.0 i n . i n f r o n t of the nose of t h e

Section 18 53

18. Effect of f l a p valves a t sampler intnites--Flap valves, commonly

placed above t h e mouths of instantaneous, horizontal t r a p s a m ~ l e r s ,un-

doubtedly cause disturbances i n the water-sediment filament approaching

t h e mouth of t h e sampler. To evaluate t h e general magnitude of the e f f e c t

of such conditions upon the regular operation of a sampler, t e s t s were

made with models of f l a p valves i n the open position attached t o the

standard nozzle and protruding over and i n f r o n t of the mouth of the

nozzle. Although these t e s t s did not duplicate t h e operation of instan-

taneous samplers, the r e s u l t s a r e believed t o be representative of re-

s u l t s obtained with such sam?lers, inasmuch a s t h e phenomenon involved i s

fundamentally the same.

Flap valves, a s i l l u s t r a t e d by Fig. 25, were t e s t e d i n each of three

positions, namely:

a_. Valve extended horizontally from top of nozzle mouth.

b. Valve deflected upward from the top o f t h e nozzle mouth

a t a n a n g l e of 30' with the horizcntal.

c. Valve deflected downward from t h e t o p of the nozzle a t

an ahgle of 30° with t h e horizontal.

Each t e s t consisted of a s e r i e s of samples collected a t d i f f e r e n t sam-

pling rates.

Results of these tests are shown i n Fig. 26. The curve from the

basic standard sampler i n the normal position without f l a p valves i s re-

peated f o r comparison. These d a t a show t h a t t h e f l a p valve i n t h e hori-

zontal position had r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e e f f e c t on t h e a c c u r a c y o f t h e samples

co1leci;e;i through a s ~ a n d a r d nozzle. The f l a p valve inclined upward

tended t o d e f l e c t an excess of sediment i n t o the nozzle, and t h e f l a p

valve inc1.ined downward, obstructing t h e flow d i r e c t l y i n t o t h e nozzle,

Section 19 55

had t h e opposite e f f e c t . Although the effects of t h e s e appurtenances

were small i n comparison t o t h e magnitude of t h e e r r o r s which r e s u l t from

an incorrect sampling rate, they should be avoided i f p o s s i b l e where

h i g h l y a c c u r a t e sampling i s d e s i r e d .

19. E r r o r s i n sediment concentration of sam3les collected with

gqzzles i n v e r t i c a l uosition--Several nozzles were o r i e n t e d i n t h e t e s t

c o n d u i t to simulate sampler entrance c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e common slow f i l l i n g

o r b o t t l e type samplers and t o some e x t e n t i n v e r t i c a l t r a p samplers. For

photographs and descriptions of t h e s e samplers, reference i s made t o

Report No. 1 of t h e study of "Nethods Used i n Measurement and Analysis of

Sediment Loads i n Streams," S e c t i o n s 47 t o 53 f o r v e r t i c a l t r a p samplers

and S e c t i o n s 63 t o 81, 89 and 90, f o r t h e slow f i l l i n g samplers. Samplers

of t h e s e t y p e s have mouths which do n o t f a c e i n t o t h e stream flow and a

sample e n t e r i n g them must undergo a 90' change of d i r e c t i o n , and con-

sequently there i s a tendency f o r segregation and l o s s of sediment t o

take place.

S e v e r a l of t h e samplers r e f e r r e d t o a r e constructed w i t h separate

a i r exhausts so that t h e inflow of t h e sample i s s t e a d y and continuous.

I n those n o t so equipped t h e flow p a t t e r n of an e n t e r i n g sample i s d i s -

turbed by the spasmodic escape of air. Such d i s t u r b a n c e , o r bubbling

Ciction, and i t s e f f e c t upon t h e sampled f i l a m e n t , was neglected i n t h e s e

tests. The v a r i o u s nozzles o r i e n t e d i n t h e v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n were t e s t e d

w i t h t h e same procedure as described i n S e c t i o n 11, each t e s t c o n s i s t i n g

of a s e r i e s o f s a m p l e s c o l l e c t e d a t d i f f e r e n t sampling r a t e s . The sampling

r a t e s were expressed, as i n t h e t e s t s w i t h nozzles f a c i n g i n t o t h e stream,

 56 Section 19

by t h e r a t i o of t h e v e l o c i t y i n t h e mouth, i n t a k e v e l o c i t y , t o the stream

velocity. Although the physical s i g n i f i c a n c e of such a r a t i o i s n o t

c l e a r l y defined f o r these conditions, i t i s a convenient f a c t o r t o use i n

' presenting the results. The entrance conditions a s e s t a b l i s h e d by t h e

v a r i a b l e f a c t o r s of stream v e l o c i t y , sediment s i z e , and p h y s i c a l f e a t u r e s

of the sampler such a s s i z e , shape, and s i z e of mouth, were varied f o r

the different tests to allow evaluation of t h e e f f e c t of each f a c t o r

separately.

The nozzles consisted of the following:

a . Standard shaped nozzles, i n each of two mouth s i z e s ,

placed i n t h e v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n a s i l l u s t r a t e d by Fig. 27.

b. I n t a k e s c o n s i s t i n g of o r i f i c e s , 0.150 and 0.250 i n . i n

diameter, i n the t o p surface of a t h i n h o r i z o n t a l p l a t e a s
i l l u s t r a t e d by Fig. 31.

c. Intake c o n s i s t i n g of an o r i f i c e , 0.250 i n . i n diameter

i n t h e t o p surface of a mushroom d i s k a s i l l u s t r a t e d by Fig. 35.

These nozzles were designed t o approximately simulate t h e entrance

conditions of actual samplers and a r e not exact r e p l i c a s of any one

sampler.

T e s t s w i t h t h e standard nozzles i n t h e v e r t i c a l position were made

a s follows:

a . Four t e s t s , using 0.45-nun., 0.15-nun., 0.06-mm., and

0.01-k. sediment, r e s p e c t i v e l y , w i t h 0.25-in. nozzle and stream
v e l o c i t y of 5 f t ./sec.

b. One t e s t , using 0.15-mm. sediment, with 0.25-in. nozzle

and 3-ft ./sec. stream v e l o c i t y for comparison w i t h similar t e s t ,
above, a t 5 f t . / s e c . stream v e l o c i t y t o show t h e e f f e c t of t h i s
factor.

c . One t e s t , using 0.45-mm. sediment, w i t h 0.15in. nozzle

.
and 5-ft ./sec stream v e l o c i t y f o r comparison with s i m i l a r t e s t ,
above, w i t h 0.25-in. nozzle t o show the e f f e c t of nozzle s i z e .
 R e s u l t s of t h e f o u r t e s t s w i t h v a r i o u s s i z e s of sediment a r e presented

i n Fig. 28. Large errors i n the sediment c o n t e n t of a sample r e s u l t e d

from t h e a b r u p t change i n d i r e c t i o n of flow a t t h e mouth of t h i s sampler.

The e r r o r s , a l l negative, demonstrate t h a t t h e sediment was segregated

from t h e sampled f i l a m e n t of water a s it turned t o e n t e r t h e sampler.

The sediment p a r t i c l e s passed on and d i d n o t e n t e r t h e mouth of t h e sam-

pler. The f a c t o r which a f f e c t e d t h e magnitude of t h e e r r o r most was t h e

sediment s i z e s a s shown by t h e f o u r curves i n Fig. 20. A t any sampling

rate, t h e e r r o r increased with sediment s i z e up t o t h e 0.15-mm. sediment

but t h e r e was l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e r e s u l t s obtained w i t h t h e 0.15-mm.

and 0.45-mm. sediments. The e r r o r varied g r e a t l y w i t h t h e sampling r a t e ;

from a very high value a t low r a t e s to a smaller and n e a r l y constant

value a t normal and faster rates. With t h e smaller s i z e s of sediment,

t h e e r r o r v a r i e d l e s s markedly w i t h t h e sampling r a t e but was s t i l l nega-

t i v e and of a p p r e c i a b l e magnitude.

R e s u l t s of two comparable t e s t s , d i f f e r i n g only i n stream v e l o c i t y

a r e presented in F i g . 29 to show t h e e f f e c t cf this f a c t o r upon t h e

magnitude of t h e e r r o r s . The e r r o r was l a r g e r with the f a s t e r stream

velocity, but the e f f e c t of stream v e l o c i t y was small i n comparison t o

t h e magnitude o f t h e t o t a l e r r o r caused by t h e o r i e n t a t i o n of t h e sampler.

Results of two comparable tests w i t h d i f f e r e n t s i z e s of sampler

mouths but with a l l o t h e r conditions t h e same a r e shown i n Fig. 30. The

magnitude of the e r r o r varied inversely, and t o an a p p r e c i a b l e e x t e n t ,

with t h e s i z e of opening, l a r g e r e r r o r s r e w l t i n g w i t h t h e s m a l l e r nozzle.

Testa with intakes consisting of an o r i f i c e i n a f l a t h o r i z o n t a l

p l a t e , shown i n F i g . 31, were made a s follows:

 Section 19

a . Three t e s t s , using 0.45-mm., 0.15-mm., and 0.06-mm.

sediment, w i t h intake 0.250-in. diameter and stream v e l o c i t y of
S ft./sec.

b. Two t e s t s , with stream v e l o c i t i e s of 4 ft./sec. and

3 f t Jsec., w i t h i n t a k e 0.250-in. diameter and 0.15-mm. sediment
f o r comparison with s i m i l a r t e s t above a t 5 f t . / s e c . t o show .
t h e e f f e c t of stream v e l o c i t y .

c. One t e s t w i t h i n t a k e 0.150-in. diameter and with

0.15-&. sediment and 5 f t ./sec. stream v e l o c i t y f o r comparison
w i t h the s i m i l a r t e s t above with i n t a k e 0.25-in. diameter t o
show t h e e f f e c t of mouth s i z e .

Results of the t h r e e t e s t s with different s i z e s of sediment a r e

shown i n Fig. 32. A s i n t h e t e s t s on t h e standard nozzle i n t h e v e r t i c a l

position, t h e e r r o r i n sediment content of a sample was negative, demon-

s t r a t i n g t h e l o s s of sediment from the sampled filament a s it turned t o

enter the mouth of t h e sampler. The magnititde of t h e e r r o r , as in a l l

previous tests, decreased with smaller s i z e s of sediment, b u t t h i s t e n d -

ency was l e s s evident w i t h t h e two l a r g e s i z e s of sediment, 0.15 mm. and

0.45 mm., respectively. For the particular conditions of t h e s e t h r e e

tests, t h e sampling r a t e had l i t t l e e f f e c t upon th* magnitude of e r r o r .

The t h r e e t e s t s a t d i f f e r e n t stream v e i o c i t l e s ?resented i n Fig. 33, i n -

dicated t h a t a s t h e stream v e l o c i t y decroased t h e proportion of sediment

e n t e r i n g t h e sampler increased, r e s u l t i n g i n an excess of sediment being

c o l l e c t e d when t h e stream v e l o c i t y and r e l a t i v e sampling r a t e were low.

The two t e s t s i n which s i z e was t h e v a r i a b l e , presented i n Fig. 34,

indicated t h a t both t h e magnitude of e r r o r and t h e r e l a t i v e e f f e c t of t h e

sampling r a t e on t h e e r r o r i n sample concentration, were dependent on t h e

mouth s i z e .

From t h e s e t e s t s with f l a t p l a t e nozzles, it was concluded t h a t t h e

entrance conditions and; t h e i r e f f e c t upon a sample a r e too complex f o r

Section 20

thorough a n a l y s i s without more exhaustive t e s t s . It can be reasoned that

there are two g e n e r a l phenomena a f f e c t i n g t h e r e l a t i v e behavior of t h e

sediment and water passing and e n t e r i n g a sampler of t h i s type. The one

a l r e a d y discussed i s t h a t t h e sediment, being of g r e a t e r d e n s i t y than t h e

water, tends b y i t s g r e a t e r i n e r t i a t o ~ a s i s t h e sharp d i r e c t i o n a l change.

and passes by t h e sampler mouth. The second a r i s e s from t h e e f f e c t of

t h e f l a t p l a t e upon t h e flow c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . I n t h e suspension a d j a c e n t

t o the plate, boundary conditions a r e s e t up which a r e similar t o those

along t h e boundaries of a conduit. Turbulence i s decreased i n this l a y e r ,

r e s u l t i n g i n t h e s e t t l i n g out of sediment along t h e s u r f a c e of t h e plate

and tho movement of t h e sediment i n higher than normal concentrations

u n t i l it drops i n t o t h e mouth of t h e sampler a s excess sediment. These

two phenomena a r e opposite i n n a t u r e and e f f e c t ; the former predominating

a t higher stream v e l o c i t i e s , and t h e l a t t e r a t lower v e l o c i t i e s . A con-

d i t i o n may be considered, with a suspension of sediment varying widely i n

p a r t i c l e s i z e s , i n which samples would contain i n s u f f i c i e n t q u a n t i t i e s of

s m a l l s i z e s of t h e sediment and an excess of t h e l a r g e s i z e s .

R e s u l t s of t h e s i n g l e t e s t w i t h t h e mushroom shaped sampler i n t a k e ,

shown i n Fig. 36, indicate that i t s a c t i o n was s i m i l a r t o that of t h e

other v e r t i c a l intakes. Exnaaustive t e s t s were n o t made w i t h t h i s nozzle,

a s there was no i n d i c a t i o n of advantages t o be gained i n a sampler de-

signed along t h e s e l i n e s . It seemed probable t h a t a thorough a n a l y s i s

of t h e intake conditions i n t o t h i s nozzle would be complicated by t h e

same variable factors and phenomena a f f e c t i n g the f l a t p l a t e nozzle.

20. E r r o r s i n sediment concentration of samples c o l l e c t e d through

sampler intake horizontal and normal to f l o w - - I t was pointed out i n

 S e c t i o n 20

T e s t s of t h e f l a t p l a t e sampler i n t a k e h o r i z o n t a l and normal t o flow

were made a s follows:

a . Two t e s t s , u s i n g 0.45-m. and 0.15-mm. sediment, w i t h

t h e 0-15-in. mouth and stream v e l o c i t y of 5 f t . / s e c .

b. Two t e s t s with sediment and stream v e l o c i t y c o n d i t i o n s

same a s above but with t h e 0.25-in. mouth.

c. One a d d i t i o n a l t e s t with a stream v e l o c i t y of 3 f t . / s e e . ,

0.15-hi. sediment, and t h e 0.15-in. mouth.

Results of t h e f o u r t e s t s described i n and 1a r e shown i n Fig. 38.

The negative e r r o r was l a r g e i n magnitude and was d e f i n i t e l y a function

of t h e sediment s i z e . It v a r i e d t o some e x t e n t w i t h t h e sampling r a t e ,

i n c r e a s i n g w i t h decreasing i n t a k e v e l o c i t i e s . The magnitude of t h e e r r o r

was n o t a f f e c t e d m a t e r i a l l y by t h e Cifference i n mouth s i z e .

R e s u l t s of t h e two t e s t s a t 5 end 3 f t . / s e c . stream v e l o c i t y , o t h e r

f a c t o r s t h e same, a r e shown i n Fig. 59. The e f f e c t of t h e stream v e l o c i t y

upon t h e magnitude o f t h e e r r o r was p r a c t i c a l l y n e g l i g i b l e and n o t c l e a r l y

d e f i n e d by t h e d a t a .

A comparison of t h e curves ir. Figs. 38 nnci 39 w i t h s i m i l a r curves i n

F i g s . 32 and 53, respectively, illoatrares t h e r e l a t i v e a f f e c t s of t h e

two i n t a k e phenomena discussed above. The negative e r r o r s discusded i n

t h i s s e c t i ~ n were a l l g r e a t e r i n magnitude f o r a given s e t of t e s t con-

d i t i o n s than were t h e e r r o r s discussed i n Section 19. This f a c t v e r i f i e s

the analysis presented a t t h e beginning of t h i s section, s i n c e , a s was

noted i n Section 1 9 , t h e two f a c t o r s thought t o a f f e c t sample concentra-.

t i o n , f l a t p l a t e i n t a k e s o r i e n t e d v e r t i c a l l y , tend t o o f f s e t eacn other.

 IV. DEPOSITION OF SEDIMENT IN INSTANTANEOUS HORIZONTAL SAMPLERS

2i. Scope of d e p o s i t i o n studp--The u s u a l form of an instantaneous

sampler c o n s i s t s of a h o r i z o n t a l cylinder with a mechanism a t each end

dezigned f o r i n s t a n t closing. The sampler is usually suspended a t any

d e s i r e d p o i n t i n a stream by means of a cable. The c y l i n d e r i s maintained

i n a horizontal position p a r a l l e l t o t h e stream flow by means of a vane

and f i n s fastened t o the sampler i n a manner which w i l l n o t obstruct,

stream flow. Water flows f r e e l y through t h e c y l i n d e r u n t i l t h e operation

k i p s t,he i n s t a n t - c l o s i n g mechanism thereby e n t r a p p i n g a sample. Under

c e r t a i n conditions it has been observed t h a t samples which c o n t a i n an ex-

c e s s of sediment were c o l l e c t e d i n such types of samplers. In order t o

i n v e s t i g a t e t h i s phenomenon a s e r i e s of experiments were c a r r i e d o u t i n

the recirculating apparatus described i n Section 5 of t h i s r e p o r t . The

scope of the s t u d y was very l i m i t e d , but i n o r d e r t o make t h e record of

t h e experimental work complete, t h e following d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e t e s t s and

s t a t e m e n t of r e s u l t s i s presented.

This excessive d e p o s i t i o n of sedimen.t probably l a r g e l y r e s u l t s from

a r e d u c t i o n of t h e v e r t i c a l v e l o c i t y components i n t h e filament e n t e r i n g

t h e sampler. Generally, flowing water possesses t u r b u l e n c e ~ t hmomentary

e d d i e s which have upward v e l o c i t y components of s u f f i c i e n t magnitude t o

e l e v a t e sediment part,icles i n t h e stream. When t h e f i l a m e n t e n t e r s t h e

mouth of t h e sampler t h e v e r t i c a l components a r e r e d u c e d b y t h e boundaries

of t h e h o r i z o n t a l tube; t h e r e f o r e , some of t h e l a r g e r p a r t i c l e s i n s u s p e n -

s i o n s e t t l e t o t h e bottom of t h e sampler. The reduction of v e l o c i t y due

t o the friction on t h e i n s i d e of t h e sampling tube would a l s o tend t o

Section 22 69

produce s e t t l i n g . The s e t t l i n g tendency i s o f f s e t somewhat by t h e d i s -

turbance which occurs a t t h e entrance t o t h e tube, o r which may be set up

by roughness within t h e tube. However, under f a v o r a b l e conditions, t h e

c o a r s e r sediments may accumulate, and i f t h e sampler i s l e f t open f o r a

r e l a t i v e l y long time, considerable e r ~ o ri n t n e ser'iment concentration of

t h e sample may r e s u l t .

22. T e s t procedure--These tendencies f o r sediment t o accumulate i n

a h o r i z o n t a l t r a p sampler were observed with a t r a n s p a r e n t c y l i n d e r 1-1/4

i n . i n diameter and 1 4 i n . long, placed i n t h e transparent t e s t section

of t h e conduit. The t e s t s included observations with:

a . The c y l i n d e r with smooth unobstructed i n s i d e surface,

and sKarp edged mouth.

b. The c y l i n d e r equipped with model f l a p v a l v e s i n t h e

open p o s i t i o n t o cause more t u r b u l e n t flow i n t h e c y l i n d e r .

c . The c y l i n d e r equipped f u r t h e r with two b r a s s bands

1/16 i n . t h i c k and 1/8 i n . wide, spaced along the inside,
3-1/2 and 7 i n . from t h e upstream end.

I n each t e s t t h e flow through t h e c y l i n d e r was o b s e r v e d a s t h e veloc-

i t y of t h e c i r c u l a t i n g suspension was gradually decreased from 5-ft./sec.

The v e l o c i t y allowing sediment t o accumulate i n t h e c y l i n d e r was main-

t a i n e d f o r a period of about PO min. during which time a standard sample

was c o l l e c t e d t o establish the true concentration of t h e suspension.

The flow was then stopped, t h e c y l i n d e r capped and removed and i t s sample

analyzed f o r comparison with t h e t r u e sample. T e s t s were made with t h e

nominal 0.15-mm. diameter sediment.

23. Test r e s u l t s - - I n each t e s t , a s t h e suspension was passed through

the cylinder a t t h e higher v e l o c i t i e s , sediment was observed a l o n g t h e

70 Section 23

invert of t h e cylinder i n higher than normal concentrations. A s the

stream v e l o c i t y was reduced, t h e sediment moved along i n t h e c y l i n d e r i n

a wave form s i m i l a r t o t h a t of bed load movement. As t h e stream v e l o c i t y

was s t i l l f u r t h e r reduced, i t became incapable of moving t h e sediment

along t h e bottom of t h e cylinder and t h e r e was a d i s t i n c t , continuous

accumulation of sediment i n t h e cylinder. Results of s e v e r a l q u a n t i t a t i v e

measurements of t h i s accumulation a r e presented i n Table 1.

The model f l a p valves i n s t a l l e d a t t h e mouth o f t h e c y l i n d e r prevented

t h e accumulation of sediment f o r a d i s t a n c e of approximately 3 i n . down-

stream from t h e mouth, b u t beyond t h i s p o i n t t h e valves had very l i t t l e

e f f e c t upon t h e conditions within t h e cylinder.

The bands i n s i d e t h e cylinder served t o i n c r e a s e t h e turbulence and

g r e a t l y decrease the amount of sediment accumulation. Although samples

were n o t obtained with t h i s condition, the phenomenon was observed. No

',rouble was experienced with sediment being piled u p i n f r o n t of o r behind

t h e r i n g s , but t h a t condition might occur with some shapes o f o b s t r u c t i o n .

Data from the three quantitative tests made with the horizontal

c y l i n d e r s a r e t a b u l a t e d below:

TABLE I

TEST DATA--SEDIMENT DEPOSITION I N HORIZONTAL CYLINDER

Condition of Stream Time of True Sample Increase i n

cyllnder Velocity
ft./sec.
Operation
Min . Cone.
11.0.m.
Conc
u.p.m.
. Conc .
p.p.m. per mln.

Smooth 1.7 20 54 314 13

Smooth 1.1 22 4 1370 62

F l a p Valves 1.1 23 3 605 26

Section 23 71

Because of t h e limited scope of these experiments, no conclusions

can be drawn a s t o t h e weight which t h i s phenomenon should be given i n

a r r i v i n g a t t h e accuracy of t h e instantaneous horizontal t r a p sampler.

The tube used i n t h e t e s t s had a smaller diameter i n proportion t o

i t s length than i s generally found i r ~e x i s t i n g types of samplers and it

i s probable t h a t t h i s d i d produce relatively larger sediment d e p o s i t s

within t h e tube. The sediment used was a l s o much coarser than that

u s u a l l y found i n streams which would a l s o r e s u l t i n l a r g e r d e p o s i t s . The

deposition occurred only under a narrow r a n g e o f v e l o c i t i e s and turbulence

conditions whlch might r a r e l y be duplicated i n natural streams. The

experiments demonstrate only t h a t under favorable conditions, deposition

may occur i n some types of t h e s e samplers.

72 Section 24

V. INACCUPACIES DUE TO SEDIMENT ADHERING TO SAMPLERS

24. Source of e r r o r i n transferrin,q samples--In most of t h e instan-

taneous t r a p samplers and i n some of the i n t e g r a t i n g samplers, t h e con-

t a i n e r s a r e n o t removable and the sediment samples when c o l l e c t e d i n them

must be poured into other containers f o r shipment t o the laboratory

(Report No. 1, Section 45). D i f f i c u l t i e s a r e commonly experienced i n re-

moving a l l the sediment from a container without r i n s i n g with excess

clean water. Even with i n t e n s e shaking of t h e sample a s i t i s poured out,

some of t h e f i n e sediment may adhere t o the walls of t h e container and

some of t h e coarse p a r t i c l e s may f a i l t o pour o u t with t h e water. As t h e

t o t a l amount of sediment i n ordinary samples i s u s u a l l y small, the loss

of a minute amount of sediment may c o n s t i t u t e a l a r g e e r r o r i n t h e con-

c e n t r a t i o n of t h e sample.

The magnitude of an e r r o r of t h i s n a t u r e , varying as it does with

t h e f e a t u r e s of t h e sample container, t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and amounts of

sediment, and t h e d e t a i l s o f t h e emptying technique, cannot be e s t a b l i s h e d

f o r a l l conditions without exhaustive t e s t s . A few t e s t s were made t o

i n d i c a t e t h e order of magnitude of e r r o r s which might occur with s e v e r a l

common samplers.

25. Test procedure--The sample containers of t h r e e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e

samplers were t e s t e d t o determine t h e amounts of sediment which might be

retained i n them when t h e i r samples were emptied. These samplers were

t h e Vicksburg h o r i z o n t a l toggle t r a p sampler, t h e Omaha time-integrating

sampler, and t h e Rock Island simplified time-integrating sampler as

described i n Sections 66, 90, and 88, respectively, of Report No. 1.

Section 26 73

The h o r i z o n t a l c y l i n d e r of t h e Vicksburg sampler was removed from

t h e weight so t h a t it could be shaken more vigorously when emptying t h e

sample. 3ccause the sample container of t h e Omaha sampler i s removable

and can be s e n t d i r e c t l y t,o t h e l a b o r a t o r y f o r sample a n a l y s i s , l o s s of

sediment by adherence t o t h e container was n o t corgidered a problem, b u t

t e s t s were made t o determine t h e amounts of sediment adhering t o t h e cork

"
f l o a t device w i t h i n the' sampler. The Rock Island sampler was suspended

t o faci'li'tate shaking and emptying t h e samples.

For each determination, t h e sampler was f i l l e d with a suspension of

distilled water and a known weight of sediment. This f i x e d sample was

thoroughly mixed by vigorously shaking t h e sampler, and then was quiclcly

poured o u t f o r an a n a l y s i s of i t s f i n a l sediment c o n t e n t . The sediment

l e f t i n t h e sampler was washed o u t and d r i e d t o provide a d i r e c t check of

t h e amount l o s t from t h e sample. Five determinations were made, u s i n g as

nearly a s possible t h e same technique f o r each condition and sampler

tested.

The t e s t s of each sampler consisted of a s e r i e s of determinations

with each of f o u r s i z e s of sediment, 0.01 mm., 0.06 mm., 0.15 mm., and

0.45 mm., a t c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of 500 and 100 p.p.m. TheRock I s l a n d sampler

a l s o was t e s t e d with each s i z e sediment a t 2000 p.p.m. concontrat,ion.

26. Test results--Results of the tests a r e presented i n Table 2.

Each value given i n t h e t a b l e i s a percentage of t h e t o t a l sediment i n

the original sample and i s an average value based on f i v e s e p a r a t e

determinations. The i n d i v i d u a l determinations v a r i e d , c o n s i d e r a b l y , being

a s much a s 50 per. c e n t above o r below t h e average value.

 TABLE 2

SEDIMENT RETAINED I N SAMPLE-RS; PER CENT Bi WEIGHT

1::
--
'tioc!r I s l a n d Vicksburg Omaha . ,
Sediment lOGO 20CO 500 1000 500 1000
- . ... ..m. ;.p.m. ..p.m. D.P.~. ..p.m. P.P.~.

0.01 3.5 2.3 2.1 2.4 1.3 1.1

0.06 9.3 6 .O 2.1 12.5 8.2 2.1 1.9 ,

0.15 7 . 6 6.2 9.0 1 14.4 8.0 1.9 3.7

T i e s e d a t a show t h a t appreciab1.e amounts of sediment ma;? be r e t a i n e d

i n a sampler when a sample i s poured out, i n t o a n o t h e r container. The

residues indicated a r e pmbably c r n e l k r . t h n would r e s u l t under average

f i e l d conditions because t h e vigorou:.. shaltjiig j u s t p r i o r t,o ponring t h e

samples out i n t h e s e experiments i: l e a s f a v o r s b ~ l et o d e p o s i t than when a

sampler i s being r a i s e d up arkd ernpt.icl, anr'er. cc?iperaSi17~1y q u i e t e r f i e l d

conditions. The e r r o r s ir. tesT,s i ;he Omaha s a n p l e r .were due e n t i r e l y

t o t'ne d e p o s i t of sediment on t.>e f!osf c1osir.g d e v i c e , and t h e s e were

apparently l e s s i n magnitude than :.:.t e r r o r s with t h e o t h e r samplers. No

c o r r e i a t i o n cf t h e sampler, t h e seciirnent s i z e and concentration, and t h e

r e s u l t i n g e r r o r s was obtained.

I t should be noted t h a t fne v a l u e s i n Table 2 indicate the per cent

of m a t e r i a l r e t a i n e d i n t h e sampler and a r e n o t n e c e s s a r i l y the errors

wbich would result i n t a k i n g consecutive samples. Assuming t h a t t h e

sampler was c l e a n p r i o r t o taking t h e f i r s t sample, t h e r e s i d u e s i n d i c a t e d

i n Table 2 a r e t y p i c a l of t h e e r r o r s i n t h e f i r s t sample. Ifthedeposits

l e f t from t h e f i r s t sample i n a sampler of t h e h o r i z o n t a l t r a p type were

washed o u t by t h e flow through t h e tube before t a k i n g t h e following

samples, t h e residues would a l s o be r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of conditions f o r sub-

sequent samples. I n h o r i z o n t a l tube sampler i f previous samples a r e n o t

e n t i r e l y cleaned o u t , and i n samplers l i k e t h e Rock I s l a n d type, where no

c u r r e n t s flow through t h e container, (.he d e p o s i t s 'rom one sample washes

o u t more o r l e s s i n t o subsequent samples, with a general tendency t o i n -

c r e a s e samples of low concentration and decrease those of high concelltra-

tion. However, i f t h e same samples were more thoroughly cleaned o u t than

o t h e r s , i n some cases high concentrations would be increased and low ones

decreased. Much more extensive research would be necessary t o e v a l u a t e

t h e importance of e r r o r s due t o t h i s cause i n stream observations.

76 Section 27

27. Nature of tests--The f i l l i n g action of a number of suspended

sediment samplers of t h e slow f i l l i n g , rigid container type was gtudied

i n v a r i o u s sampling depths and stream v e l o c i t i e s . The t e s t was designed

t o secure b a s i c information necessary i n making a t h e o r e t i c a l a n a l y s i s of

t h e depth-integratibn method of sampling a v e r t i c a l a s performed by two

common samplers, and t o allow a p r a c t i c a l correlation of t h e r e s u l t s of

t h e t e s t s of various entrance conditions, presented previously i n t h i s

report, with the actual filling c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of e x i s t i n g samplers.

The t e s t s of t h e entrance conditions showed t h a t t h e sampling o r f i l l i n g

r a t e was one of the most important fact,ors a f f e c t i n g t h e accuracy of t h e

sedlment concentrations i n t h e samples c o l l e c t e d .

These t e s t s of samplers invol.ved t h e determination of:

a.
- F i l l i n g c h a r ~ c t e r i s t i c si n s t i l l water.

b. I n i t i a l inrush or effect of i n i t i a l pressure d i f f e r -

entiay.

c . Effectiveness of f l l l i n j r a t e adjustments such a s

~ a r ~ i ; s.i ~
z e of in.take and s i z e of ? i r exhaust.

d . E f f e c t of lowering and r a i s i n g a b o t t l e type sampler

upon Xts f i l l i n g r a t e .

e.
.- E f f e c t of stream v e l o c i t y on f i l l i n g r a t e s .

28. Samplers tested and t h e i r a l t e r a t i o n s for-test--The samplers

t e s t e d r e p r e s e n t types ofslow f i l l i n g samplers and, except f o r t h e h a z i e r

sampler, which i s a r e l a t i v e l y new design, have been extensively used i n

sediment i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . I n making t h e t e s t s it was necessary t o open o r

c l o s e the sampler a t any desired depth o r time and the samplers were
S e c t i o n 29 81

29. T e s t procg+ure--The procedure i n making the t e s t w i l l be de-

sccihed i n d i v i d c a l l y f o r t h e t h r e e b a s i c c o n d i t i o n s considered.

a. F i l l i n e charnctg~:riics i n s t i l l water--The t e s t s i n
s t i l l water were r a d e i n an abandoned q u a r r y where d e p t h s
g r e a t e r than SO f t . were a v a i l a b l e . An i c e cover f a c i l i t a t e d
t h e work. The samplers were ~l:::pended by a c a b l e from a winch
which r e s t e d upon t h e i c e ant: p:r,xitted l c rering and r a i s i n g
t h e samplers a s d e s i r e d through h o l e s o r s l o t s c u t i n t h e i c e .

For a s e l e c t e d depth t h e f i l l i n g d a t a f o r a sampler was

secured by lowering t h e closed sampler t o t h e d e s i r e d p o i n t and
then opening Tor ii s h o r t period of time. The p e r i o d s of time
sliowed f o r f i l l i n g v a r i e d from 1 sec. up t o a time n e c e s s a r y
t o f i l l the container. The volume of each sample a s measured
i n il gr:lJuated cy!.inder was p l o t t a d a g a i n s t t h e corresponding
f i l l i n g time producing f i l l i n g curves whose s l o p e s r e p r e s e n t
filling rates. This ~ l ' o c s d u r e was followed f o r a number of
d e p t h s t\rith e r c h s ~ . n p l e r .

For t h e Rock I s l a n d and F r a z i e r samplers t h e e f f e c t of t h e

s i z e of t h e a i r exhaust opening and of t h e s i z e of t h e i n t a k e
opening, r e s p e c t i v e l y , were s t u d i e d u s i n g t h i s same procedure.

b. V e r t i c a l t r a n c s - - E f f e c t of v e r t i c a l motion of t h e
colorado sampler upon i t s f i l l i n g r a t e was determined f o r a
l i m i t e d range of c o n d i t i o n s . As with the f i l l i n g d e t e r m i n a t i o n s
i n s t i l l water, t h e f i l i i r g r a t e s were n e c e s s a r i l y determined
i n d i r e c t l y from a time-volume r e l a t i o n s h i p e s t a b l i s h e d by a
nimber of i n d i v i d u a l observations. Each observation, with
sampler descending, c o n s i s t e d of lowering t h e open sampler a t a
uniform r a t e , 1 o r 2 ft.:'sec. used i n t h e s e t e s t s from t h e
s u r f a c e t o a s o l e c t e d depth where t h e sampler was closed. By
s e c u r i n g a number of samples a t d i f f e r e n t d e p t h s , corresponding
t o t h e v a r i o u s timss allowed f o r f i l l i n g , t h e f i l l i n g r a t e was
determined.

I n d i v i d u a l t e s t s with sampler ascending were made by f i r s t

lowering the c l o s e c zamy;:e!: bclow tine s e l e c t e d dept,h of opening.
The m i f o r m r a t e of r a i s i n g wan then e s t a b l i s h e d , rind t h e
sampler was opened a s i t passed t h e d e s i r e d d e p t h . It was l e f t
open f o r a lmown period of time, which e s t a b l i s h e d t h e depth
range smnipled. A s e r i e s of such samples, d i f f e r i n g only i n
time allowed f o r f i l l i n g .1r6 consequently t h e depth a t which
the sampler was c l o s e d , >#as ohtained f o r each of tvio d e p t h s of
opening viitn each of two r a t e s of r a i s i n g .

c. F'lowin~water--The test.s t o d e t e r n i n e t h e e f f e c t of
stream velocity upon t h e sampler f i i l i n g r a t e s were made i n a
l a r e e flume 1 0 f t . w i d e and. 114 f t . long, which was equipped
84 S e c t i o n 30

a. I n i t i a l inrush--Immediate1 a sampler i s opened, an

i\,
i n r u s h of water occurs, which i s vo u m e t r i c a l l y a f u n c t i o n of
t h e depth of submergence, and may r e q r e s e n t a considerable per-
centage of t h e t o t a l sampler capaci',ty. It i s termed i n i t i a l
i n r u s h i n t h i s r e p o r t because o f i t s high r a t e of inflow.

b . Normal filling--The average k i l l i n g r a t e , a f t e r t h e

i n i t i a l i n r u s h , i s s u b s t a n t i a l l y a conbtant f o r any one sampler
and i s unaffected by t h e depth of sampling. It may be e i t h e r
uniform and smooth, i f a s e p a r a t e air exhaust i s provided, o r
i n t e r m i t t e n t i f a s i n g l e opening must serve f o r both a i r escape
and sample i n t a k e .

T'ne i n i t i a l i n r u s h r e p r e s e n t s t h e volume d e c r e a s e of t h e a i r w i t h i n

a sampler, corresponding t o i t s compression from atmospheric p r e s s u r e t o

the *ydrostatic pressure a t t h e p a r t i c u l a r s b p l i n g depth. During t h i s

!
a c t i o n no a i r escapes and the f i l l i n g r a t e i s \ a f u n c t i o n of t h e p r e s s u r e

differential from o u t s i d e t o i n s i d e ' t h e sam*ler. A t the instant the

sempler i s opened, t h i s pressure d i f f e r e n t i a l i s a maximum, equal tb t h e

f u l l h y d r o s t a t i c p r e s s u r e a t t h e sampling poin
t, and, consequentZy, t h e

f i l l i n g r a t e i s a maximum. Both pressure differential and f i l l i n g r a t e

e r e quickly reduced a s t h e air i n t h e sampler i s compressed, and when t h e

pressure d i f f e r e n t i a l reaches zero, t h e f i l l i n g becomes t h e normal a c t i o n

invoi.ving a displacement of a i r . Tne i n i t i a l , i n r u s h period was found t o

2s less than 1 sec., b u t because df t h e i n a b i l i t y t o c o l l e c t samples f o r

z h o r t e r periods, the quantity collected d d i n g t h e f i r s t second a f t e r a

sampler was opkned was considered a s r e s u l t i A g , from i n i t i a l i n r u s h .

After the initial inrush, and t h e compression of t h e air t o a

pressure practkally equal t o t h e h y d r o s t a t i c pressure at the depth i s

c:mpleted, t h e f i l l i n g t a k e s place as a displacenent of a i r caused by t h e

i~uoyancy of the a i r . For each volume of water e n t e r i n g t h e sampler an

nquel volume of a i r escapes and t h e f i l l i n g rate i s affected by t h e

Section 30 85

sanpling depth. It may be smooth and uniform i f a s e p a r a t e opening i e

provided f o r a i r escape, but i s i n t e r m i t t e n t and i r r e g u l a r when t h e a i r

must i n t e r r u p t t h e sample inflow t o escape through t h e same opening.

From t h e s t i l l water t e s t s with a l l t h e samplers, the i n i t i a l i n r u s h

quantities of t h e individual samples, expressed a s percentages of t h e

s ~ m p l e rc a p a c i t y a r e p l o t t e d i n Fig. 47. The t h e o r e t i c a l v a l u e s of the

a i r volume decrease, f o r various depths, were computed hy Boyle's gas law

and a r e a l s o p l o t t e d on F i g . 47. The c l o s e agreement of t h e experimental

and t h e o r e t i c a l curves, with l e s s than 1 per c e n t deviation, v e r i f i e s t h e

I n i t i a l Inmah i n Pmr Cant of Total C a p o i t y P i l l a d in Om 80oond

Fig. 4 7 - - I n i t i a l i n w s h i n t o slow f i l l i n g , r i g i d container samplers.
86 S e c t i o n 30

a n a l y s i s of t h e i n i t i a l i n r u s h phenomena. The s l i g h t l y g r e a t e r experi-

mental v a l u e s of i n i t i a l inrush may be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e

q u a n t i t y c o l l e c t e d d u r i n g t h e f i r s t second of sampling was considered t h e

volume of i n i t i a l i n r u s h whereas, undoubtedly, it e n t e r e d t h e sampler i n

l e s s than 1 sec. The curve, representing data with a l l the samplers

tested, indicates that the i n i t i a l inrush-sampling d e p t h r e l a t i o n s h i p

established, is applicable to a l l e x i s t i n g samplers of t h e r i g i d con-

t a i n e r type.

The i n i t i a l i n r u s h phenomenais an important c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n sampling

w i t h slow f i l l i n g r i g i d c o n t a i n e r samplers when t i e sampler i s opened a t

some p o i n t below t h e s u r f a c e . There a r e two a c t i o n s t h a t may r e s u l t in

s e r i o u s e r r o r s i n t h e sample c o l l e c t z e d .

a . The e x c e s s i v e sampling r a t e d u r i n g t h e i n i t i a l i n r u s h
p e r i o d may r e s u l t i n a s e g r e g a t i o n of' t h e sediment from t h e
w a t e r and a sample t o o low i n c o n c e n t r a t i o n . Dependent upon
p a r t i c l e s i z e , t h i s phenomena may be s e r i o u s a s determinedin
t h e s t u d y of e n t r a n c e c o n d i t i o n s presented i n Chapter 111.

b . With t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r a r e l a t i v e l y l a r g e p o r t i o n of
t h e sample c o n t a i n e r t o be f i l l e d i n l e s s t h a n 1 s e c . t h e
sample secured i s n o t a t r u e t i n e - i n t e g r a t e d sample and may n o t
r e p r e s e n t a n average value of sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n a t t h e
sampling p o i n t . O r , when used f o r t h e d e p t h - i n t e g r a t i o n method
where t h e sampler i s t o c o l l e c t a szmple only w h i l e being r a i s e d ,
t o o l a r g e a p o r t i o n of t h e sample w i l l be c o l l e c t e d n e a r t h e
bottom. I n t h i s c a s e , t h e i n c r e a s e i n c o n c e n t r a t i o n r e s u l t i n g
t e n d s t o o f f s e t t h e d e c r e a s e a s d e s c r i b e d under above.

The normal f i l l i n e a c t i o n of t h e samplers n o t provided with s e p a r a t e

a i r exhausts was intermittent and i r r e g u l a r because of the a i r e s c a p e .

This a c t i o n apparently consisted of a period d u r i n g which t h e f i l l i n g

decreases and finally stops, followed by an i n s t a n t of a i r escape o r

bubbling. A t times, e s p e c i a l l y i n s t i l l w a t e r , t h e a i r escape was d e l a y e d ,

p o s s i b l y because of t h e s u r f a c e t e n s i o n o f t h e water a t t h e sampler mouth,

Section 3 1 87

and t h e r e would be a period of n e i t h e r filling n o r a i r escape. This

clogging a c t i o n was prevented i n the tests by a g i t a t i n g t h e samplers t o

a l l o w normal i n t e r m i t t e n t f i l l i n g . T h i s d i f f i c u l t y has been experienced

by s e v e r a l f i e l d observers u s i n g t h e samplers under a c t u a l stream con-

ditions.

With t h e Omaha sampler, although it was provided with s e p a r a t e a i r

exhaust t o allow smooth uniform f i l l i n g , the f i l l i n g a c t i o n i n s t i l l water

and i n low stream v e l o c i t i e s was i n t e r m i t t e n t and s u b j e c t t o t h e clogging

action. This may be a t t r i b u t e d t o a tendency f o r t h e a i r t o escape and t h e

water t o e n t e r through both t h e a i r exhaust tube and t h e i n t a k e o r i f i c e .

With t h e Rock I s l a n d sampler, and i n o t h e r slow f i l l i n g samplers of

similar design, a condition i n f i e l d operation was observed which should

be avoided. When t h i s sampler becomes t i l t e d nose downward, air is

trapped i n t h e back end of t h e sample container and cannot escapen The

sampler may f i l l u n t i l water i s p a s s i n g through and o u t t h e air exhaust,

y e t t h e sample volume w i l l not indicate that the sampler i s e n t i r e l y

filled. Under t h i s a c t i o n t h e r e e x i s t s t h e opportunity f o r d e p o s i t i o n of

sediment i n t h e sampler, r e s u l t i n g i n an abnormally high sediment concen-

tration.

31. Effectiveness of f i l l i n g r a t e adjustment--The F r a z i e r and Rock

I s l a n d samplers were t e s t e d t o determine t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s of t h e a d j u s t -

ment provided t o regulate their filling rates. On t h e F r a z i e r , the

effective s i z e of t h e mouth may be changed by varying t h e d i s t a n c e t h e

stopper i s r a i s e d from t h e mouth. On t h e Rock I s l a n d , t h e a i r exhaust

may be t h r o t t l e d by a s t o p cock valve.

88 S e c t i o n 32

Results of t h e tests with tine F r a z i e r sampler a d j u s t e d t o l a r g e ,

medium, and small openings a r e shown by Fig. 48. The f i l l i n g r a t e s o f ,

46, 21, and 5 cc./sec., r e s p e c t i v e l y , show p o s i t i v e a n d e f f e c t i v e c o n t r o l .

These d a t a were secured a t a depth of 45 f t . , but d a t a a t a depth of

20 f t . gave corresponding r e s u l t s . The f i l l i n g r a t e a f t e r i n i t i a l i n r u s h

f o r each adjustment of t h e stopper does n o t vary with depth. This i s

a l s o shown by t h e t e s t d a t a presented i n Section 30.

The r e s u l t s with t h e Rock I s l a n d sampler f o r two adjustments of t h e

a i r exhaust a r e presented i n Fig. 49. From a f i l l i n g r a t e of 23 cc./sec.

with t h e a i r vent open, the r a t e was reduced t o 15 cc./sec. by t u r n i n g

t h e v a l v e t o t h e h a l f closed p o s i t i o n .

The d e s i r a b i l i t y of t h r o t t l i n g the f i l l i n g r a t e of t h e Rock I s l a n d

sampler i s questionable, however, Secause of t h s e r r o r s i n sediment con-

c e n t r a t i o n which were found t o o-cur from an i n t a k e r a t e below normal a s

described i n Section 14. Even without throttling t h e a i r exhaust, t h e

sampling r a t e would be lower than t h e d e s i r e d normal r a t e .

32. E f f e c t of lowerine and r a i s i n g t h e c o l o r a d o Sampler upon f i l l i n g

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s - - T h e Colorado sampler, s e l e c t e d a s a sampler commonly used

i n t h e d e p t h - i n t e g r a t i o n method of sampling, was t e s t e d t o determine i t s

f i l l i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s under various c o n d i t i o n s of lowering and r a i s i n g .

The t e s t . procedure i s described i n S e c t i o n 23. The t e s t s withchedescend-

i n g sampler c o n s i s t e d o f t w o s e r i e s o f s a s ~ p l e sc o l l e c t e d a s t h e sampler was

lcwered from t h e s u r f a c e a t r a t e s of 1 f t . / s e c . and 2 f t . / s e c . The t e s t s

with t h e ascending sampler consisted of *.-o s e r i e s of samples c o l l e c t e d

a s t h e samp!.er was r a i s e d from each of two openinc d e p t h s a t r a t e s of 1

ft./sec. and 2 f t . / s e c . R e s u l t s of t h e s e t e s t s a r e presented i n Fig. 50.

Section 32 89

Fig. 48 - Effect of size of opening in Frazier sampler upon

filling rate.

Fig. 49 - Effect of air exhaust adjustment upon filling rate

of Rock Island sampler in still water.
FIGS. 48 & 49
90 Section 32

Volume of 9amnlo in a c ,

Fig. 50--Filling c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of Colorado sampler with

v e r t i c a l movement i n s t i l l water.

The f i l l i n g of t h e descending sampler i s a combination of f i l l i n g

which corresponds t o the continuous a i r compression and of f i l l i n g which

r e p l a c e s t h e escaping a i r . The proportions of each v a r i e s with lowering

rate. Their r e l a t i v e magnitudes a t any time depends ondepth and lowering

rate. Comparing t h e f i l l i n g curves r e s u l t i n g from t e s t s with the descend-

in^ sampler with t h e t h e o r e t i c a l i n r u s h volume curve, it i s evident t h a t

a l a r g e percentage of the f i l l i n g corresponds t o t h e compression of t h e
a i r volume i n t h e sampler. For t h e 2 f t ./sec. lowering r a t e t h e r e was no

appreciable a i r escape u n t i l a 15-ft. depth was reached. From t h a t l e v e l

downward t h e r a t e of pressure equalization was more r a p i d , relatively,

allowing time f o r a i r r e l e a s e and normal f i l l i n g . W i t ' ' a decreased r a t e

of l o w e r i n ~ , i l l u s t r a t e d by t h e 1 f t . / s e c . curve, the time f o r a i r r e l e a s e

i s g r e a t e r , allowing normal f i l l i n g t o occur a t shallow d e p t h s .

The average sampling rate is slightly greater f o r the 2 ft./sec.

r a t e of lowering than t h e 1 f t . / s e c . but the d i f f e r e n c e i s probably n o t

s i g n i f i c a n t because of considerable d e v i a t i o n of i n d i v i d u a l observations

from t h e general curve f o r t h e 1 f t . / s e c . lowering r a t e .

The f i l l i n g o f t h e ascending sampler, a f t e r i n r u s h h a s taken place, i s

e n t i r e l y an a c t i o n of displacement of t h e escaping and expanding a i r , and

t h u s i s s i m i l a r t o t h e normal f i l l i n g action of a sampler s t a t i o n a r y a t

a depth a f t e r i n i t i a l i n r u s h has occurred. I n t h e t e s t s made t h e i n i t i a l

i n r u s h was volumetrically p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e depth a t which t h e sampler

was opened, t h e sane a s i n the t e s t s with t h e sampler stationary a t a

depth. The r a t e s a f t e r the inrush are practically uniform and, except

f o r the 2 f t . / s e c . raising rate from the 20 f t . depth, a r e appreciably

higher than t h e c o r r e s p n n d i n ~r e s u l t s with no v e r t i c a l movement.

Further a n a l y s i s of t h e s e r e s u l t s and g e n e r a l conclusions a r e n o t

attempted because t h e f i l l i ~ ga c t i o n o f t h e Colorado sampler with v e r t i c a l

movement i s complicated by t h e disturbance of t h e mechanism above t h e

sampler mouth. Considering t h e v a r i a t i o n s i n i n d i v i d u a l observations and

the a r t i f i c i a l agitation found necessary t o i n s u r e f i l l i n g , these d a t a

serve only t o show t'nat f o r t h e Colorado sampler t h e f i l l i n g r a t e may be

considered constant for a l l practical r a t e s of r a i s i n g and lowering.

92 S e c t i o n 33

33. E f f e c t of stream v e l o c i t y on f i l l i n g rates--The results of t h e

f i l l i n g r a t e determinations with t h e samplers i n v a r i o u s stream v e l o c i t i e s

a r e shown by Fig. 51. The f i l l i n g rates plotted f o r each respective

stream v e l o c i t y r e p r e s e n t ' t b e f i l l i n g a f t e r i n i t i a l i n r u s h obtained a s an

average of from 1 0 t o 1 5 i n d i v i d u a l samples which v a r i e s over a range of

about 20 p e r c e n t .

From t h e s e r e s u l t s it i s seen t h a t t h e Rock I s l a n d sampler, with i t s

mouth f a c i n g i n t o t h e :.s:tr,eam, i s t h e only o n e o f t h e samplers t e s t e d which

e x h i b i t s a d e f i n i t e r e l a t i o n s h i p between f i l l i n g r a t e and stream v e l o c i t y .

With t h e S t r a u b , F r a z i e r , and Colorado samplers, with i n t a k e s f a c i n g

normal t o t h e stream, t h e stream v e l o c i t y did not significantly affect

the f i l l i n g r a t e s , Any s l i g h t vari:!tionc in filling r a t e which t h e s e

samplers appeared t o have with v a r i o u s strrtan~v e l o c i t i c r : a r e a c c i d e n t a l

and probably r e s u l t from i n d i r e c t e f f e c t s such a s a g i t a t i o n and b e t t e r

a i r escape. With t h e Omaha sampler, rhose mouth a l s o faced normal t o t h e

stream, b u t whose a i r exhaust was faced downstream t h e r e w a s n o a p p r e c i a b l e

e f f e c t of t h e stream v e l o c i t y upon t h e f i l l i n g r a t e .
Section 33 93
94 S e c t i o n 34

VII. SUMMARY AND CONCJJSIONS

34. Sumnary of sampler studies--Report No. 1 of tnis p r o j e c t in-

cluded a reviewaf suspended sediment samplers, which c o n s i s t e d of c l a s s i -

f i c a t i o n , d e s c r i p t i o n s , and g e n e r a l d i s c u s s i o n s of t h e samplers. Certain

f e a t u r e s of sampler design and o p e r a t i o n were s u s p e c t e d of a f f e c t i n g t h e

accuracy ofs,mples c o l l e c t e d and t h e general a d a p t a b i l i t y o r t h e samplers.

Although these f e c t u r e s and t h e i r e f f e c t s could n o t be r o l i a b l y analyzed

i n t h a t review, they were l i c t c d a s f o l l o v ~ s :

a . Disturbance of normal stream flour and t h e tendencies

toward segregction of water and sediment a s t h e sample i s bcing
collected.

-b . F i l l i n g due t o i n i t i a l pi-essure d i f f e r e n t i a l , r e s u l t i n g
in :
i non-representative f i l l i n g r a t c .

c . Non-removable sample c e n t a i n c r s 1vhj.ch t e n d t o loose

-
sediment when t h e sample i s t r a n s f e r r e d t o a n o t h e r c o n t a i n e r .

-d . Inctantanoous s < m . ? l i n ~a c t i o n a s r c l a t o d t o f l u c t u a -
t i o n s of sediment concentration i n t h e stream a t t h e s m p l i n g
point.

-
o . I n a b i l i t y t o c o l l e c t a ocaple c l o s c t o t h c bcd r e s u l t -
i n & i n an inadequate sample of t h e l a r g e r m a t e r i a l bcing trano-
ported.

-
f , Nixing of sample with w t e r - s e d i m e n t above tine sampling
p o i n t r e s u l t i n g i n an u n r o p r c s e n t a t i v e sample.

Features a, b, and c have been s t u d i e d experimentally and t h e r e s u l t s a r e

presented by this r e p o r t .

The d i s t u r b a n c e of normal stream f l o v ~a t t h e sampler e n t m u c c and

d e p o s i t i o n d u r i n g the flow through a h o r i z o n t a l c y l i n d e r have been found

t o have considerable effect upon t h e sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n of samples.

The f i l l i n g due t o i n i t i a l pressure d i f f erential, termed i n i t i a l i n r u s h

in t h i s report, was i n v e s t i g a t e d i n t h e experimental s t u d y of t h e sampler

Section 35 95

characteristics. Conclusion; from these s t u d i e s a r e presented i n sub-

sequent s e c t i o n s .

In Report No. l w a s pointzd out t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of o b t a i n i n g w i t h an

instantaneous .uampler a v d u e of sediment concentration n o t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e

of the average a t t h a t p o i n t due t o the f l u c t u a t i o n s i n sediment concen-

t r a t i ~ n caused by turbulence. These f l u c t u a t i o n s were n o t studied i n

t h i s p r o j e c t and s i n c e t h e few experimental d a t a a v a i l a b l e do n o t d e f i n e

t h e magnit~tde of thcnc e r r o r s n o r t h e c o n d i t i o n s under which they become

important, t h c e r r c r s c : ~be determined apgroximately talting d u p l i c a t e

samples md comparing t h e i r concentrations. Under c o n d i t i o n s where im-

p o r t a n t d i f f e r e n c e s a r e found, a s u f f i c i e n t number of samples should be

t a k e n t o o b t a i n a reasonably accuratc value f o r t h e average concentration.

The i n a b i l i t y t o c o l l e c t a snmplo c l o s e t o t h e stream bcd is a design

f e a t u r e a s a r e various o t h c r minor f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g t h e a d a p t a b i l i t y of

a sampler. The n e c e s s i t y of sampling c l o s e ts t h e c t r e m bed, i f repre-

s a n t a t i v e p a r t i c l e size-discharge r c l a t i o n s h i ~i s t o be s e w e d , is dis-

cussed i n Report 110. 9.

The intermix in^ of water-sediment from above a s m p l i n ~ p: o i n t i n t o a

sample is obviously undesirable when a s m p l e representing a particular

depth is d e s i r e d . It i s p r i m a r i l y a consideration i n sampler design.

85. Studri of s m w l e r o n t r m c e conditions--The flow conditions of n

suspended sediment smp1.o approaching and entoring a sampler have been

analyzed and t h e tendencies toward segregation of t h e water and sediment

as a r e s u l t of d e f l e c t i o n o r d i ~ t u r b c ~ n c eof t h e flow have been evaluated

f o r the r e s u l t i n g errors in t h e sediment concentration of t h e samples.

96 Section 35
-- --

From these studies, errors of s e r i o u s magnitudes were found t o r e s u l t

from c e r t a i n , n o t unusual, entrance conditions and were found t o vary

s i g n i f i c a n t l y with t h e f a c t o r s l i s t e d below:

a. Size of sediment--The s i z e of t h e sediment p a r t i c l e s

was e s t a b l i s h e d a s one of the more important f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g
t h e magnitude of e r r o r s which r e s u l t froin u n d e s i r a b l e i n t a k e
a c t i o n . The s i z e , 0.06 mm., approximately t h e upper l i m i t o f
Stokes' law, appeared a s a c r i t i c a l s i z e above which t h e e r r o r s
increased r a p i d l y i n magnitude a s t h e sediment s i z e increased,
and below t h e 0.06 mm. s i z e t h e v a r i a t i o n i n t h e magnitude of
e r r o r s , a s t h e sediment s i z e v a r i e d , was considerably l e s s .
Below 0.06 mm. t h e e r r o r s f o r a l l c o n d i t i o n s s t u d i e d were l e s s
than 1 0 p e r c e n t . For p a r t i c l e s l a r g e r than 0.06 mm., which
a r e n o t uncommon, the r e s u l t s have immediate p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a -
t i o n i n proper sampler design o r s e l e c t i o n .

b. O r i e n t a t i o n of sampler intake--It n a s found t o be es-

s e n t i a l i n o r d e r t o c o l l e c t accurate samples, t h a t t h e samplcr
mouth f a c e i n t o t h e stream. A l t h o u ~ ha nozzle f a c i n g d i r e c t l y
i n t o t h e stream is the d e s i r a b l e condition, small d e v i a t i o n s up
t o 20° from t h i s o r i e n t a t i o n , as might occur a c c i d e n t a l l y in
t h e o p e r a t i o n of a sampler, have l i t t l e e f f e c t upon t h o sediment
concentration.

c . Sampline-;ate_--The sampling r a t e was f o u ~ dt o be the

most i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r i n t h e o p e r a t i o n of a slow f i l l i n g
sampler, f o r sorious e r r o r s may occur, p a r t i c u l a r l y when t h e
sampling r a t e i s appreciably slower than the stream v e l o c i t y .
The sampling r a t e must e i t h e r be c o n t r o l l e d s o t h a t t h e v e l o c i t y
i n t h e mouth i s approximately equal t o t h e normal stream veloc-
i t y a t t h e sampling p o i n t o r the sampler must be c a l i b r a t e d f o r
i t s r a t i o of i n t a k e v e l o c i t y t o stream v e l o c i t y and c o r r e c t i o n
curves determined s i m i l a r t o t h e curves shown i n Fig. 13. Any
c o n t r o l of a sampling r a t e o r c a l i b r a t i o n of a slow f i l l i n g
sampler i s complicated by t h e extremely r a p i d e n t r a n c e of water
d u r i n g t h e i n i t i a l pressure e q u a l i z a t i o n t h a t h a s been shorn
t o occur within l e s s than 1 sec.

d . Shape of samvler i n t a k e s - - I t was found t o be e s s e n t i a l

t h a t -the mouth of t h e sampler be extended upstream from any
d e f l e c t i o n o r d i s t u r b a n c e of the flow caused by t h e body of t h e
sampler. No a b s o l u t e values of t h e required l e n g t h of t h i s
extension were determined b u t i t was demonstrated t h a t a mouth
f l u s h with t h e body of t h e sampler i s n o t s a t i s f a c t o r y . The
a c t u a l shape of t h e nozzle should approximate t h e streamlined
shape of t h e standard nozzle a s n e a r l y a s p r a c t i c a l but n o t a t
a s a c r i f i c e of s i m p l i c i t y and ruggedpess as small v a r i a t i o n s i n
shape of t h e nozzle were found t o be unimportant.
S e c t i o n 36 97

e . Area of sampler---The a r e a of t h e sampler mouth,

a l t h o u g h found t o a f f e c t somewhat t h e nagnitude of e r r o r s t h a t
do o c c u r < i d n o t a f f e c t t h e accuracy of samples c o l l e c t e d under
t h e p r o p e r l y c o n t r o l l e d standard sampling c o n d i t i o n s . The tend-
ency was toward l a r g e r e r r o r s w i t h s m a l l e r mouth s i z e s . I t i s
more important t h a t t h e extreme l e a d i n g edge of t h e sampler
mouth, as i l l u s t r a t e d i n Fig. 17, be used i n computing t h e a r e a
t o be used i n determining t h e i n t a k e v e l o c i t y . The a r e a of t h e
mouth of a slow f i l l i n g sampler should be determined from con-
s i d e r a t i o n s of t h e volume of t h e samples t o be c o l l e c t e d , t h e
d e s i r e d d u r a t i o n of sampling time, and t h e range of stream
velocities.

Al.though t h e f a c t o r s L i s t e d above have been discussed primarily a s

pertaining to slow f i l l i n g o r t i m e - i n t e g r a t i n g samplers, t h e considera-

t i o n s a r e a p p l i c a b i e a l s o t o t h e i n s t a n t a n e o u s h o r i z o n t a l samplers. The
conception of t h e phenomena of s t r e a m l i n e d e f l e c t i o n and d i s t u r b a n c e i s

a l s o applicable t o t h e study of t h e v e r t i c a l t r a p i n s t a n t a n e o u s samplers.

36. Flow t h r o u ~ h horizontal cylinders---The experiments d e s c r i b e d

h e r e i n have shown that under certain c o n d i t i o n s d e p o s i t s may occur i n

samplersof t h e h o r i z o n t a l t r a p t y p e , due t o t h e r e d u c t i o n of t h e v e r t i c a l

componen.ts of the momentary c u r r e n t s of t h e stream a s i t flows through

the cylinder. The s t u d i e s made were insufficient t o evaluate the in-

portance of t h e s e e r r o r s .

37. Loss of sediment in s a m p l e t r a n s f e r from nonremovable con-

tainers--The study of the amount of sediment a d h e r i n g t o nonremovable

c o n t a i n e r samplers when t h e samples a r e pcured out indicate that even

under f a v o r a b l e c o n d i t i o n s of a g i t a t i o n , t h e s e amounts may be of appreci-

able magnitude and under c e r t a i n c o n d i t i o n s may l e a d t o e r r o r s of con-

s i d e r a b l e magnitude.

The studies were not sufficient t o d e l i m i t t h e c o n d i t i o n s under

which e r r o r s of importance would occur.

08 Section 38

38. Fillinn chzracteristics of s l o a f i l l i n c samvlers--The filling

c h z r a , c t e r i s t i c s of f i v e ropresentc~tivo slow f i l l i n g samplers a c r e d e t e r -

:nilled experiinentnlly. Two d i s t i n c t f i l l i n g a c t i o n s , a rapid inflow t o

equalize a i r a d water pressures ond a normal f i l l i n g a f t e r t h c equaiiza-

t i o n , were found t o be common t o t h e snmp1er.s of t h i s c l a s s .

When the samplers were opened a t a p o i n t below t h e s u r f m e tile

pressure e q u a l i z a t i o n , terned i n i t i a l i n r u s h , ,rvas found t o occur j.n one

second or loss with no escape of a i r d u r i n ~the a c t i o n ; t h e vol.me ol^

v:atcr e n t e r i n g being p r o p o r t i o n a l t o the depth. This c c t i o n i s extremely

important in the collection of t i n e - i n t e g r a t e d samples. For e x m p l e ,

Bo3-le's Law i n d i c a t e s t h a t a t a 34-ft. depth approximately 50 per cent of

t h e sampler c a p a c i t y would be f i l l e d by t i i s i n i t i a l inrush volwne. 11n-

portmt also tc consirler is t n a t e r r o r s i n coiicsntrstion tend t o o c c u r

:~oceusoof t i e extensively high i n t a k e r a t e , a condition i.n t h e

laboratory stcdy of intake action, was f v u d t o be serious. The tvio

effr:cts, iiowevcr, uouclly tend t o o f f s e t ecch o t h s r .

In s t i l l \*~cter, or if the samplcr o p c n i i l ~does n o t f a c e i n t o t h e

stream, normal f i l l i n g a f t o r the i n i t i a l pressure e q u a l i z a t i o n occurs n t a

%ore o r l e s s constant r a t e ; the a c t i o n being t;encrally smooth and w i f o r m

i f the a i r escn:,as through a separate exhaust, 1mt i ~ l t e r n i t t e n t~ ~ ni rd-

r e g u l a r i f t h e a i r ond semple florr through a common opening. I f the sam-

p l e r f a c e s i n t o t h e strnear;!, t h e f i l l i n g r a t e l o g i c a l l y vras fourld t o vary

with stream v e l o c i t y . Although f i l l i n g r a t e adjustments were Eound t o be

e f f e c t i v e i n c o n t r o l l i n g t h e r a t e s , t h e procedure i s q u e s t i o n a b l e from t h e

standpoint of t h e mcuracy of t h e sedinent content of t h s samples c o l l e c t e d

with intake v e l o c i t i e s considerably below the normal streant. v e l o c i t i e s .

S e c t i o n 58 99

The f i l l i n g a c t i o n of a common bottle sempler was s t u d i e d under

v h r i o u s c o n d i t i o n s of lov;cring and re.ising. Thc r a t e of f i l l i n g , wkvhetlier

a f t e r i n i t i a l i n r u s h i f the sampler was lowered t o n p o i n t , opened and

filled while being raised, or during constant r a t e s of lowering and

r a i s i n g , rrns e s s e n t i a l l y constant. There d i d not appear t o be a substan-

cia1 difference in filling rates under t h e v a r i o u s t y p e s of movement.

This .test was not comprehensive and the results a r e not necessarily

cpplicc.ble to bther types of slow f i l l i n g s m p l e r s used i n the dopth-

i i l t e g r a t i o n metinod.