River Engineering and Sediment Transport Mechanics

University of Gondar

School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering

Department of Hydraulic Engineering

Getachew Tegegne (Ph.D.)

Hydrologic, Hydraulic and Civil Engineering
E-mail: getachewtegegne21@gmail.com
 Chapter Three
Sediment Transport
 Sediment Transport
o Sediment load
• Classification based on mechanism
 Suspended load
 Bed load
• Classification based on particle size
 Wash load
 Bed-material (sediment) load
• Total sediment load
 Wash load
 Suspended load (bed material load)
 Bed load (bed material load)
 Modes of sediment transport by a flow of water
o Bed - load
• part of the total load which has more or less in continuous contact
with the bed
• must be determined in relation to the effective shear stress which acts
directly on the grain surface
o Suspended load
• the part of the total load which is moving without continuous contact
with the bed as the result of the agitation of the fluid turbulence
• related to the total bed shear stress may also contain some wash load
(usually, particles smaller than 50 μm)
 Modes of particle motion
o rolling and sliding motion or both

o saltation motion

o suspended particle motion

 Sediment transport in steady and uniform currents
o Understanding sediment transport in rivers is essential for river regulation and
design and operation of canal systems
o Many formulas have been suggested over years
o The problem of the engineer is to select one or more of these for use in solving
the particular problem
o This selection is not straight forward since the results of different formulas often
differ drastically
o Selections are usually based on evaluating:
• data on which each formula is based
• formulas by comparing observed sediment discharges in rivers with values
calculated by the formulas
 Bed Load Transport
 When the flow conditions satisfy or exceed the criteria for incipient motion,
sediment particles along the alluvial bed will start move.
 If the motion of sediment is “rolling”, “sliding” or “jumping” along the bed, it is
called bed load transport
 Generally the bed load transport of a river is about 5 - 25% of that in suspension.
 However for coarser material higher percentage of sediment may be transported
as bed load.
 There are several approaches (equations) proposed to calculate the bed load
sediment transport; however, some commonly used methods are considered
here
 Bed Load Transport
1) Shear stress approach:
 DuBoys’ Approach
o Duboys (1879) assume that sediment particles move in layers along the bed
and presented following relationship

o The relationship between c, k and d are shown in figure below

o c can be estimated from Shields diagram
 Bed Load Transport
1) Shear stress approach:
 DuBoys’ Approach
 Bed Load Transport
1) Shear stress approach:
 DuBoys’ Approach
 Bed Load Transport
1) Shear stress approach:
 Shields’ Approach:
o In his study of incipient motion, Shield obtain semi empirical equation for bed-
load which is given as

o Where qb and q = bed load and water discharge per unit width, respectively

• D = sediment particle diameter

• s and  = specific weights of sediment and water, respectively
• The critical shear stress can be obtained from Shields diagram
 Bed Load Transport
1) Shear stress approach:
 Shields’ Approach
 Bed Load Transport
2) Energy slope approach:
 Meyer-Peter’s Approach
o Meyer-Peter et al. (1934) conducted extensive laboratory studies on sediment
transport. His formula for bed-load using the metric system is

• where qb = Bed load (kg/s/m), q = water discharge (kg/s/m)

S = slope and d = particle diameter
• The Constants 17 and 0.4 are valid for sand
• Above formula can be applied only to coarse material that have d > 3mm
• For non-uniform material d = d35
 Bed Load Transport
2) Energy slope approach:
 Meyer-Peter and Muller’s Approach
o After 14 years of research and analysis, Meyer-Peter and Muller (1948)
modified the Meyer-Peter formula as shown below:

• where s and  = specific weights of sediment and water (metric tons/m3)

• R = Hydraulic Radius (m) and  = specific mass of water (metric tons – s/m4)
• S = energy slope and d = mean particle diameter
• qb = bed load rate in underwater weight per unit time and width [(metric
tons/s)m] and (ks/kr)S = the kind of slope
 Bed Load Transport
2) Energy slope approach:
 Meyer-Peter and Muller’s Approach
o The slope energy can be found by Stricker’s formula
then

o However test results showed the relationship to be of form

o The coefficient Kr can be determined by Muller as follows:

• where d90 = size of sediment for which 90% of the material is finer
 Bed Load Transport
3) Discharge approach:
 Schoklistch’s Approach
o Schoklistch pioneered the use of discharge for determination of bed load.
o There are two Schoklistch formulas:
• Schoklistch (1934)

• Schoklistch (1943)

• where: qb = bed load (kg/s/m), d = particle size (mm), and

q and qc = water discharge and critical discharge at incipient
motion (m3/s/m)
 Bed Load Transport
4) Regression approach:
 Rottner’s Approach
o Rottner (1959) applied a regression analysis on laboratory data and
developed dimensionally homogenous formula give below

• where qb = bed load discharge, s = specific weight of sediment

s = specific gravity of sediment, g = gravitational acceleration
D = mean depth, V = mean velocity
d50 = particle size at 50% passing
 Bed Load Transport
5) Other approaches:
 Velocity Approach
o Duboy’s Approach
 Bed Form Approach
 Probabilistic Approach
o Einstein Approach
o The Einstein-Brown Approach
 Stochastic Approach
o Yang and Syre Approach
 Please refer your text book for details of bed load transport!!!
 Numerical example: Bed Load Transport
 The sediment load was measured from a river with average depth D = 1.44 ft
and average width W = 71 ft. The bed load is fairly uniform with medium particle
size d50 = 0.283 mm, average velocity V = 3.2 ft/s, slope S = 0.001444, water
temperature T = 5.6 0C and measured bed load concentration is Cm = 1610 ppm
by weight. Calculate the bed load based on the equation proposed by Duboys,
Shields, Schoklitsch, Meyer-Peter, Meyer-Peter and Mullers and Rottners, and
compare the results with measurement.
 Solution
o Depth of river (D) = 1.44 ft, width (W) = 71 ft,
o Sediment size (d50) = 0.283 mm, Flow velocity (V) = 3.2 ft/sec,
o Slope (S) = 0.001444, and Water temperature (T) = 5.60C
 Numerical example: Bed Load Transport
o Measured bed load concentration (Cm) = 1610 ppm by weight
 Discharge = AV = (71 * 1.44) * 3.2 = 327 ft3/sec
 Discharge/width (q) = 327/71 = 4.61 ft3/sec/ft
 Measured bed load (qm) = (Q/W) Cm (6.24x10-5) = 0.46 lb/sec/ft
 Duboys Approach

o From Figure with d50 = 0.283

 Numerical example: Bed Load Transport
 Duboys Approach
 Numerical example: Bed Load Transport
 Shields Approach

o From Figure to calculate c

Shield diagram for incipient motion

 Numerical example: Bed Load Transport
 Shields Approach
o From figure dimensionless shear stress
 Numerical example: Bed Load Transport
 Schoklistch’s Approach
 Numerical example: Bed Load Transport
 Meyer-Peter Approach
 Numerical example: Bed Load Transport
 Meyer-Peter and Muller Approach
 Numerical example: Bed Load Transport
 Meyer-Peter and Muller Approach
 Numerical example: Bed Load Transport
 Rottner Approach
 Numerical example: Bed Load Transport
 Comparison of results
 Suspended load transport in steady and uniform currents

 Suspended load transport

o Less massive particles may be carried upwards into the main body of the
flow to be transported in suspension as suspended load
o Onset of suspended load transport, involving principally the sand fraction,
has been linked to the turbulent properties of flow close to the bed of a
stream
o When the values of the bed‐shear velocity exceeds the particle fall velocity,
the particles can be lifted to a level at which the upward turbulent forces
will be comparable to or higher than the submerged particle weight
 Suspended load transport in steady and uniform currents
 Suspended load transport
o Movement in suspension is maintained against gravity by turbulent eddies of
variable strength and direction so that particles do not follow predictable paths
o Particle in suspension mode is occasional and random
o Once suspended, the fate of a particle depends on the balance between its fall
velocity and the vertical component of flow associated with turbulent eddying
o This interaction usually results in a vertical distribution of suspended sediment
in which both the concentration and average grain size decrease with distance
up from the bed
o Rate decrease depends on the ratio of the fall velocity and the bed‐shear
velocity (Ws/u*)
 Suspended load transport in steady and uniform currents
 Suspended load transport
o Depth‐integrated suspended‐load transport rate (qs) is defined as the integration
of the product of velocity (u) and concentration (c) from the edge of the
bed‐load layer (z = a) to the water surface (z = h)

𝑞𝑠 = න 𝑢𝑐𝑑𝑧
𝑎
or

ℎ
1 𝑢 𝑐
𝑞𝑠 = 𝑐𝑎 𝑢ത න 𝑑𝑧 = 𝑐𝑎 𝑢ത ℎ𝐹
ℎ 𝑢ത 𝑐𝑎
𝑎
 Suspended load transport in steady and uniform currents
 Suspended load transport
o With
ℎ
𝑢 𝑐
𝐹=න 𝑑 𝑧 Τℎ
𝑢ത 𝑐𝑎
𝑎
qs = volumetric suspended load transport (m2/s)
u = fluid velocity at height z above bed
c = sediment concentration (volume) at height z above bed
𝑢ത = depth‐averaged fluid velocity
ca = reference concentration at height z = a above bed
h = water depth
F = dimensionless shape factor
 Suspended load transport in steady and uniform currents
 Suspended load transport

Definition sketch for suspended sediment transport

 Suspended load transport in steady and uniform currents
 Suspended load transport
o Total suspended sediment discharge Q is obtained from integration of the unit
suspended sediment discharge over the entire width of the channel, or

𝑄𝑆 = න 𝑞𝑆 𝑑𝑊
𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ
o The suspended load LS defines the amount of sediment passing a cross‐section
in suspension over a certain period of time, thus

𝐿𝑆 = න 𝑄𝑆 𝑑𝑡
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
 Suspended load transport in steady and uniform currents
 Suspended load transport
o Sometimes, the suspended load transport is given as a mean volumetric
concentration defined as the ratio of the volumetric suspended load transport (=
sediment discharge) and the flow discharge

𝑞𝑠
𝑐𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 =
𝑞
o Mean concentration (cmean) is approximately equal to depth‐averaged
concentration ( 𝑐)ҧ for fine sediments
o Units used in the measurement of sediment concentration vary with the range
of concentrations and the standard measurement techniques utilized in
different countries
 Suspended load transport rate

 Einstein formula
o Based on a parabolic distribution of the fluid mixing coefficient and a
logarithmic distribution of the velocity

30.2 𝑒 ℎ
𝑞𝑠 = 11.6𝑢∗′ 𝑐𝑎 𝐼2 + 𝐼1 𝑙𝑛
𝑑65

1 𝑧
𝑧−1
𝐴 1−𝑋
𝐼1 = 𝑧
න 𝑑𝑥
1−𝐴 𝑋
𝐴

1 𝑧
𝑧−1
𝐴 1−𝑋
𝐼2 = 0.216 𝑧
න ln 𝑥 𝑑𝑥
1−𝐴 𝑋
𝐴
 Suspended load transport rate
 Einstein formula
o Where
• qs = volumetric suspended load transport (m2/s)
• 𝑢∗′ = bed shear velocity due to the grain (m/s)
• ca = reference concentration (volume) = qb/(11.6 𝑢∗′ a)
• a = reference level (= 2d)(m)
• h = water depth (m)
• d = particle diameter (m)
• A = a/h = dimensionless reference level
• X = z/h = dimensionless vertical coordinate
• Z = ws/(κ u*) = suspension number
• e = correction factor
 Suspended load transport rate
 Bagnold formula
o Based on energy balance concept relating suspended load transport to the
work done by the fluid
o Normal fluid stress (𝜎) supporting suspended load per unit area is:
𝜎 = 𝜌𝑠 − 𝜌 𝑉𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛽
• Vs = solid volume of suspended load per unit area (m3/m2)
o Per unit time the suspended load sinks over a vertical distance equal to fall
velocity Ws
o To keep the load in suspension (all particles remain statistically at the same
level above the bed), the normal stress must do work (per unit time and area)
𝑊𝑟 = 𝜌𝑠 − 𝜌 𝑉𝑠 𝑊𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛽
 Suspended load transport rate
 Bagnold formula
o Volumetric suspended load transport is defined as 𝑞𝑠 = 𝑉𝑠 𝑢ത , giving
𝑤𝑠
𝑊𝑟 = 𝜌𝑠 − 𝜌 𝑞𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛽
𝑢ത
o Work done per unit time and width by the longitudinal gravity force component
to keep the fluid in motion is 𝜏𝑏 𝑢ത
o Part of this energy available to transport the suspended load yielding,
𝑊𝑎,1 = 𝑒𝑠 1 − 𝑒𝑏 𝜏𝑏 𝑢ത
• 𝑢ത = depth-averaged velocity
• 𝜏𝑏 = bed-shear stress
• es = efficiency factor related to suspended load ( = 0.01 to 0.02)
• eb = efficiency factor related to bed load ( = 0.1 to 0.2)
 Suspended load transport rate
 Bagnold formula
o Per unit time and width the suspended load is moved in longitudinal direction
over a distance equal to 𝑢ത
o Work done per unit time by the longitudinal gravity component is
𝑊𝑎,2 = 𝜌𝑠 − 𝜌 𝑉𝑠 𝑢ത 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛽 = 𝜌𝑠 − 𝜌 𝑞𝑠 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛽
o Suspended load transport can be derived from the energy balance 𝑊𝑟 =
𝑊𝑠,1 + 𝑊𝑠,2 , yielding

𝑒𝑠 1 − 𝑒𝑏 𝜏𝑏 𝑢ത
𝑞𝑠 =
𝑊
𝜌𝑠 − 𝜌 𝑔𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛽 𝑠 − 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝛽
𝑢ത
 Suspended load transport rate
 Bagnold formula
• 𝑢ത = depth-averaged velocity
• τb = overall current-related bed-shear stress (N/m2)
• tanβ = bottom slope
• ρs = sediment density (kg/m3)
• ρ = fluid density (kg/m3)
• es = efficiency factor related to suspended load (= 0.01 to 0.02)
• eb = efficiency factor related to bed load (= 0.1 to 0.2)
• β = bottom angle with horizontal datum
• qs = volumetric suspended load transport (m2/s)
• ws = fall velocity of sediment (m/s)
 Suspended load transport rate
 Bijker formula
o Based on the concept of Einstein, Bijker proposed:
𝑞𝑠 = 1.83 𝑞𝑏 𝐼2 + 𝐼1 𝑙𝑛 33 ℎΤ𝑘𝑠
• qs = suspended sediment transport rate (m2/s)
• qb = bed-load sediment transport rate (m2/s)
• I1, I2 = Integrals according to Einstein formula
• a = ws = reference level
o Current-related bed-load transport rate (m2/s) is expressed as
𝑞𝑏 = 𝑏𝑢∗ 𝑑50 𝑒 −0.27Τ 𝜇𝜃

• 𝜇 = 𝐶 Τ𝐶 ′ 1.5 = bed form factor

• C’ = grain related Chezy-coefficient = 18 log (12h/d90)
• b = coefficient (1 to 5)
 Suspended load transport rate
 Van Rijn formula
o Suspended load transport can be computed from:
𝑞𝑠 = 𝐹 𝑢ത ℎ 𝑐𝑎
• where
ℎ
𝑢 𝑐
𝐹=න 𝑑 𝑧/ℎ
𝑢ത 𝑐𝑎
𝑎
• Using parabolic constant concentration profile and logarithmic velocity profile

0.5 𝑧′ 1
𝑢∗ 𝑎 𝑧 ℎ−𝑧 −4𝑧 ′ 𝑧Τℎ−0.5
𝐹= න 𝑙𝑛 𝑧Τ𝑧0 𝑑 𝑧Τℎ + න𝑒 𝑙𝑛 𝑧Τ𝑧0 𝑑 𝑧Τℎ
𝑢ത ℎ − 𝑎 𝑧
𝑎 Τℎ 0.5
 Suspended load transport rate
 Van Rijn formula
o Transport rate of suspension with an inaccuracy of about 25% can be expressed as
(0.3  Z  3 and 0.01  a/h  0.1)
𝑞𝑠 = 𝐹 𝑢ത ℎ 𝑐𝑎
• where
𝑎 𝑧′ 𝑎 1.2
−
𝐹= ℎ ℎ
𝑎 𝑧′
1− 1.2 − 𝑧 ′
ℎ
• where
𝑧 ′ = 𝑧 + 𝜙 = 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟
 Suspended sediment size in case of non-uniform bed material
 Van Rijn formula
o Using regression analysis, the computational results for depth range
of 1 to 20 m, a velocity range of 0.5 to 2.5 m/s and a particle range of
100 to 2000 m were represented by

2.4 0.6
𝑞𝑠 𝑢ത − 𝑢ത 𝑐𝑟 𝑑50 1
= 0.012 0.5
𝑢ℎ
ത 𝑠 − 1 𝑔𝑑50 ℎ 𝐷∗

o where
• qs = volumetric suspended load transport (m2/s)
• 𝑢ത 𝑐𝑟 = critical depth-averaged velocity according to shields
• h = water depth (m)
• 𝑢ത = depth-averaged velocity (m/s)
 Ratio of suspended to total load
 Van Rijn formula
o When the bed load transport and suspended load transport are known, the total
load transport of bed material can be determined by summing: qt = qb + qs
o Ratio of the suspended load and total load transport

𝑞𝑠 𝑞𝑠 1
= =
𝑞𝑡 𝑞𝑏 + 𝑞𝑠 𝑞𝑏 Τ𝑞𝑠 + 1
o For reasons of simplicity, the bed load transport is defined as
𝑞𝑏 = 𝑎 𝑐𝑎 𝑢ത 𝑎
• 𝑎 = reference level (= bed-load layer thickness)
• 𝑐𝑎 = reference concentration
• 𝑢ത 𝑎 = effective transport velocity of bed-load particles
 Ratio of suspended to total load
 Van Rijn formula

𝑞𝑠 1
=
𝑞𝑡 1 𝑢ത 𝑎 𝑎
+1
𝐹 𝑢ത ℎ
o The comparison of suspended load to bed-load delineates which mode of
sediment transport is dominant
o It is found that sediment transport can be subdivided into three describing
which mode of transport is dominant:
1) Bed-load
2) Mixed load
3) Suspended load
 Ratio of suspended to total load

o For turbulent flow over rough boundaries, incipient motion corresponds to u*/  0.2
 Ratio of suspended to total load

o Bed-load is dominant at values of u*/ < 0.5

 Ratio of suspended to total load

o Mixed load is found where 0.5 < u*/ < 2 in which both the bed-load and the
suspended load contribute to the transport
 Ratio of suspended to total load

o When u*/ < 2, the ratio of the suspended load to the bed-load
is approximately equal to (u*/)2
 Ratio of suspended to total load

o The bed-load and suspended load are approximately equal when u* = 

 Ratio of suspended to total load

o In the case of mixed load u*/ <2, the total load will be less than 5 times the bed-load
 Ratio of suspended to total load

o Suspended load is dominant when u*/ > 2, and gravitational effects on the particles
are negligible compared to turbulent mixing as u*/ becomes very large
 Total load transport

 Prediction Methods
o Make distinction between bed and suspended load transport methods of
 Einstein, Bagnold, Bijker, Van Rijn
o Directly give the total load transport rate
 Methods of Engelund-Hansen, Ackers-White, Yang

o Einstein, Bagnold, Bijker, Van Rijn

• Total load transport of bed material particles can be obtained by
summation of the bed load and suspended load transport
𝑞𝑡 = 𝑞𝑏 + 𝑞𝑠
 Total load transport

 Prediction Methods
o Engelund-Hansen
• Based on energy balance concept
• Work (per unit time and width) required to elevate a sediment load over a
height equal to the bed form height Δ is:
𝑤𝑟 = 𝜌𝑠 − 𝜌 𝑔𝑞𝑡 ∆
• Work (per unit time and width) done by the fluid on moving the particles
over a length equal to the bed form length λ is:
𝑤𝑎 = 𝛼1 𝜏𝑏′ − 𝜏𝑏,𝑐𝑟 𝑢∗ 𝜆
 Total load transport
 Prediction Methods
o Engelund-Hansen
• Energy balance, Wr = Wa yields

𝜏𝑏′ − 𝜏𝑏,𝑐𝑟 𝜆𝑓 1
𝑞𝑡 = 𝛼1 𝑢∗ 𝑑
𝜌𝑠 − 𝜌 𝑔𝑑 ∆ 𝑓

• where
 𝑞𝑡 = volumetric total load transport (m/s)
 𝜏𝑏′ = effective bed-shear stress
 𝜏𝑏,𝑐𝑟 = critical bed-shear stress
 d = particle diameter (m)
 𝑢∗ = overall bed-shear velocity
 f = friction coefficient = 2g/C2
 C = Chézy-coefficient
 λ, Δ = bed-form length and height (m)
 Total load transport

 Prediction Methods
o Engelund-Hansen
• Based on data analysis, λf/Δ is found to be approximately constant, giving:

𝛼2 ′
𝑞𝑡 = 𝜃 − 𝜃𝑐𝑟 𝑢∗ 𝑑
𝑓

• Using dimensionless transport parameter 𝜙𝑡 = 𝑞𝑡 Τ 𝑠 − 1 𝑔0.5 𝑑1.5

𝛼2 ′
𝜙𝑡 = 𝜃 − 𝜃𝑐𝑟 𝜃 0.5
𝑓
• Using 𝜃 ′ = 0.06 + 0.4𝜃 2 , and assume 𝜃𝑐𝑟 = 0.06, it follows that
𝜃 ′ − 𝜃𝑐𝑟 = 0.4𝜃 2 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑚𝑒
𝛼3 𝜃 2.5
𝜙𝑡 =
𝑓
 Total load transport
 Prediction Methods
o Engelund-Hansen
• 𝛼3 coefficient was determined by data fitting (approximately 100 flume
data) giving 𝛼3 = 0.1
0.1𝜃 2.5
𝜙𝑡 =
𝑓
• Where
𝑞𝑡
𝜙𝑡 = 0.5 𝑔0.5 𝑑1.5
𝑠−1 50

𝑢∗2 𝜏𝑏 ℎ𝐼
𝜃= = =
𝑠 − 1 𝑔𝑑50 𝜌𝑠 − 𝜌 𝑔𝑑50 𝑠 − 1 𝑑50

2𝑔
𝑓= 2
𝑐
 Total load transport
 Prediction Methods
o Engelund-Hansen
• Rearranging:
𝑢5
0.05ത
𝑞𝑡 =
𝑠 − 1 2 𝑔0.5 𝑑50 𝐶 3
o Yang
• Assumed that the sediment transport is related to the unit stream power,
defined as: 𝑢ത 𝐼
• Total sediment concentration (ct), defined as the ratio of the sediment and
fluid discharge per unit width, (ct = qs/q), was expressed as:
𝑢ത 𝐼 − 𝑢ത 𝑐𝑟 𝐼
𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑐𝑡 = 𝛼1 + 𝛼2 𝑙𝑜𝑔
𝑤𝑠
 Total load transport
 Prediction Methods
o Yang
• Analysis of flume and field data resulted in:
𝛼1 = 5.435 − 0.409𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑤𝑠 𝑑50 Τ𝑣 − 0.457𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑢∗ Τ𝑤𝑠
𝛼2 = 1.799 − 0.409𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑤𝑠 𝑑50 Τ𝑣 − 0.314𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑢∗ Τ𝑤𝑠
• where
 Ct = total load concentration in parts per million by weight (ppm)
 𝑢ത = depth-averaged velocity (m/s)
 𝑢ത 𝑐𝑟 = depth-averaged velocity at initiation of motion (m/s)
 I = energy gradient
 d50 = median particle diameter of bed material (m)
 Ws = fall velocity (based on d50 of bed material) (m/s)
 𝑢∗ = bed-shear velocity (m/s)
 Total load transport

 Prediction Methods
o Yang

2.5 𝑢∗ 𝑑50
𝑢ത 𝑐𝑟 = + 0.66 𝑤𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 1.2 < < 70
𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑤𝑠 𝑑50 Τ𝑣 − 0.06 𝑣

𝑢∗ 𝑑50
𝑢ത 𝑐𝑟 = 2.05𝑤𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ≥ 70
𝑣
• Total transport rate (in kg/sm) is given by:
𝑞𝑡 = 10−3 𝑐𝑡 𝑢ത ℎ
• where
 qt = total load transport rate (kg/sm)
 h = water depth (m)
 Total load transport
 Prediction Methods
o Ackers-White
• Applied dimensional analysis to express mobility and sediment transport
rate in terms of some dimensionless parameters
• Based on analysis of 925 sets of flume and field data, the following
empirical formula was proposed
𝑛 𝑚
𝑢ത 𝑌 − 𝑌𝑐𝑟
𝑞𝑡 = 𝐾 𝑢ത 𝑑35
𝑢∗ 𝑌𝑐𝑟
 qt = total load transport (m3/s)
 𝑢ത = depth-averaged velocity (m/s)
 u* = bed-shear velocity (m/s)
 Y = particle mobility parameter
 n, m, K = coefficients, and s = specific density
 d35 = representative diameter of bed material (m)
 Total load transport
 Prediction Methods
o Ackers-White
• Their mobility parameter for sediment transport is
1−𝑛
𝑢∗𝑛 𝑢ത
𝑌= 0.5
𝑠 − 1 𝑔𝑑35 5.66𝑙𝑜𝑔 10ℎΤ𝑑35
1Τ3
𝑠−1 𝑔
𝐷∗ = 𝑑35
𝑣2
−3.53+2.86𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝐷 − 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝐷 2
 𝐾= 10 ∗ ∗ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 1 < 𝐷∗ < 60
 𝑛 = 1 − 0.56 𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝐷∗ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 1 < 𝐷∗ < 60
9.66
 𝑚= + 1.34 𝑓𝑜𝑟 1 < 𝐷∗ < 60
𝐷∗

𝑜.23
 𝑌𝑐𝑟 = + 0.14 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐷∗ ≥ 60
𝐷∗0.5
 Total load transport
 Prediction Methods
o Ackers-White
 𝐾 = 0.025, 𝑛 = 0, 𝑚 = 1.5, 𝑌𝑐𝑟 = 0.17 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐷∗ ≥ 60
• Revised K and m coefficients (HR Wallingford):
 𝐾 = 10−3.46+2.79𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝐷∗ −0.98 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝐷∗ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 1 < 𝐷∗ < 60
 𝐾 = 0.025 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐷∗ ≥ 60
6.83
 𝑚= + 1.67 𝑓𝑜𝑟 1 < 𝐷∗ < 60
𝐷∗

 𝑚 = 1.78 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐷∗ ≥ 60
• Revision of the original coefficients is necessary because it predicted
transport rates which were considerably too large for relatively fine
sediments(d50 < 0.2 mm)