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Discussion of “Self-Cleansing Sewer Design Based on Sediment Transport

Principles” by David Butler, Richard May, and John Ackers

Article  in  Journal of Hydraulic Engineering · July 2004

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2004)130:7(722)

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Discussion of ‘‘Self-Cleansing Sewer
Design Based on Sediment Transport
Principles’’ by David Butler, Richard May,
and John Ackers
April 2003, Vol. 129, No. 4, pp. 276 –282.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0733-9429共2003兲129:4共276兲
D. R. Kaushal1 and Cyril Clement2
1
Senior Lecturer, Civil Engineering Dept., Visvesvaraya National Insti-
tute of Technology, Nagpur—440011, Maharashtra, India. E-mail:
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi on 09/28/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
dkaushal@vnitnagpur.ac.in
2 belas 共1977兲 model by considering the effect of efflux concentra-
Post Graduate Student, Civil Engineering Dept., Visvesvaraya National
Institute of Technology, Nagpur—440011, Maharashtra, India.
The writers acknowledge the authors’ excellent contribution to
develop a new design methodology for sewers based mainly on
sediment mobility data from laboratory pipe-flume experiments
using single-sized sediment. The authors have also considered the
effects of sediment deposition on the hydraulic performance of
sewers in the design methodology. This discussion stems from the
main limitation of the design methodology that it is based mainly
on single-sized sediment. The writers also attempted to comple-
ment some less addressed, yet relevant, aspects of sewer design
with deposited beds.
O’Brien 共1933兲 and Rouse 共1937兲 presented an advection/
diffusion method to predict the variation of particle concentration
with depth in sediment-laden open channel flow. According to
this method, the rate of upward transfer of suspended particles
due to turbulence (⫺␧ s dC/dy) is in equilibrium with the down-
ward exchange due to gravitational forces (wC), where
w⫽settling velocity; C⫽concentration; ␧ s ⫽particle diffusivity;
and (dC/dy)⫽concentration gradient. The value ␧ s is defined as
(␤␧ 1 ), where ␤ is dimensionless particle diffusivity and ␧ 1 is
liquid diffusivity or eddy viscosity of liquid. This method is at-
tractive in that the only parameter that is not very well quantified
is the dimensionless particle diffusivity 共␤兲. This model of par-
ticle suspension may be traced back to the work of O’Brien
共1933兲, through Rouse 共1937兲, Ismail 共1952兲, Hunt 共1954兲, Kara-
belas 共1977兲, Walton 共1995兲, Kaushal 共1995兲, Kaushal et al.
共2002a,b兲, and Kaushal and Tomita 共2002c,d兲 to the lucid ac-
counts given in many textbooks 共Wasp et al. 1977; Raudkivi
1990; Govier and Aziz 1982兲.
The completeness of the basic advection/diffusion model has
been questioned by Hunt 共1954兲. He has shown that the main
deficiency of this model lies in the fact that the law of mass
conservation has been essentially disregarded by not taking into
account the volume of particles in suspension. Hunt 共1954兲 has
developed a more complete set of diffusion equations, in which
he has taken into account the liquid volume displaced upwards by
an equal volume of particles moving in the lower strata of a
horizontal flow field as given below
⳵C j
␧s ⫹C j 关 w j ⫺ v y 兴 ⫽0, j⫽1,2,...,n
⳵y
where v y ⫽ 兺 i⫽1
n
w i c i ⫽liquid velocity in the vertical direction;
C j ⫽concentration of jth particle size; and w j ⫽settling velocity of
jth particle size.
Obviously, Eq. 共1兲 proposed by Hunt 共1954兲 is more suitable
than the basic equation for studies of relatively concentrated sus-
pensions. Another major advantage of Hunt’s equation is that it
722 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2004
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2004.130:722-723.
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can be directly applied to suspensions of wide particle size distri-
bution.
Karabelas 共1977兲 obtained the general solution of the system
of Eq. 共1兲 proposed by Hunt 共1954兲 for the flow of multisized
particles in pipelines and channels. On the basis of extensive
analysis of experimental data for multisized particles in closed
ducts and open channels collected by Kaushal 共1995兲 in the range
of a volumetric efflux concentration from 0.001 to 26% and a
particle size from a few microns to 750 microns, Kaushal et al.
共2002a兲 observed discrepancies in the prediction of composite
concentration profiles by Karabelas’ 共1977兲 solution at higher ef-
flux concentrations. Kaushal et al. 共2002a兲 modified the Kara-
tion on particle diffusivity (␧ s ) and settling velocity. On the basis
of a comparison with experimental data, Kaushal et al. 共2002a兲
observed that the modified Karabelas model also shows good
agreements at higher efflux concentrations. Kaushal and Tomita
共2002c兲 compared the solids concentration profiles based on the
modified Karabelas model with experimental data and observed
that the model predicts more asymmetric profiles for larger par-
ticles and less asymmetric profiles for finer particles. Kaushal and
Tomita 共2002d兲 modified their previous model for composite and
solids concentration profiles by considering the effect of particle
size and efflux concentration on particle diffusivity. The modified
method is compared with experimental data and shows good
agreement for composite as well as solids concentration profiles.
From the modified Karabelas model, Kaushal et al. 共2002a兲 ob-
tained the overall concentration profile across the cross section at
the measured deposition velocity. From the analysis of predicted
concentration profiles, it is concluded that the ratio of concentra-
tion at the bottom to the static settled concentration can be used
effectively as a tool to evaluate the deposition velocity. Deposi-
tion occurs when the solid concentration at the bottom reaches
approximately three times the product of efflux concentration and
static settled concentration by volume. This methodology can be
used for finding the minimum design velocity for multisized par-
ticles transport in sewers by considering its hydraulic diameter.
The writers are of the same opinion as the authors that a small
amount of deposition may be advantageous in terms of sediment
mobility. The sewer pipeline with a deposited bed will behave
like a duct having a flat bottom. Kaushal and Tomita 共2003兲 com-
pared pressure drop data for multisized sediment transport in a
rectangular duct having an aspect ratio of 4.0 and in a pipeline. It
was felt that not only the larger bed area but also the secondary
flows inside a rectangular duct is a factor for head loss reduction.
Kaushal and Tomita 共2003兲 observed that particle diffusivity in-
creases exponentially with efflux concentration in both rectangu-
lar ducts and pipes. They also observed that particle diffusivity in
a rectangular duct is more than in a pipe for all the efflux con-
centrations. Thus the solid distribution across the pipe cross sec-
tion will be more asymmetric than in a rectangular duct according
to the basic diffusion equation, which is also borne out from
Kaushal and Tomita’s 共2003兲 experimental observations. Less
asymmetric solids concentration profiles will lead to larger sedi-
ment mobility in the rectangular duct. Similar observations have
(1) been made by the authors while comparing the hydraulic perfor-
mance of a sewer with and without a deposited bed.
References
Govier, G. W., and Aziz, K. 共1982兲. The flow of complex mixtures in
pipes, Krieger, Malabar, Fla.