Lam_VOL1_final 16-11-2004 11:59 Pagina 1

Edited by

Lee
& Environmental Hydraulics and
In the sustainable development of our water resources,
hydraulic engineers are often called upon to solve water
Lam
Sustainable Water Management
environment problems. These include the impact of
large scale reclamation, eutrophication and harmful
algal blooms, enhancement of water quality by de-stra- Volume 1:

Volume 1: Environmental Hydraulics

Sustainable Water Management

Environmental Hydraulics and
tification, design of sea outfalls and power plant cooling
water systems, and restoration of aquatic ecosystems. Environmental Hydraulics
Volume 1 of ‘Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable
Water Management’ contains a collection of keynote
and invited lectures, together with contributions selec-
ted for presentation at the 4th International
Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics. A rich body
of the latest advances in turbulent transport and mixing
processes, stratified flow, hydrodynamic and water qua-
lity modeling can be found herein – along with examples
of novel concepts for studying complex eco-hydraulic
problems. The collection of papers reflects the vibrant
research activity on environmental hydraulics, as well
as the complementary role of numerical modeling, expe-
rimental and field studies for the solution of practical
engineering problems. Edited by J.H.W. Lee & K.M. Lam
Both volumes of ‘Environmental Hydraulics and
Sustainable Water Management’ are of special interest
to engineers, academics and researchers in the fields of
hydraulics and water environment, earth scientists,
geographers, and planners.
1

Balkema
ENVIRONMENTAL HYDRAULICS AND
SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT
This page intentionally left blank
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 4TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL
HYDRAULICS AND THE 14TH CONGRESS OF ASIA AND PACIFIC DIVISION,
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING AND RESEARCH,
15–18 DECEMBER 2004, HONG KONG

Environmental Hydraulics

Edited by
J.H.W. Lee
The University of Hong Kong, China

K.M. Lam
The University of Hong Kong, China

Volume 1

A.A. BALKEMA PUBLISHERS LEIDEN / LONDON / NEW YORK / PHILADELPHIA / SINGAPORE

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Table of Contents

Editors’ foreword XXV

Chairman’s message XXVII
Organisation XXIX

Volume I
Keynote lectures
Artificial intelligence techniques in environmental hydrodynamics: The role of expert
knowledge 3
A.E. Mynett, Q.N. Chen & V.M. Babovic
Hydraulic phenomena in urban atmospheric environments and their role in
contaminant dispersion 15
H.J.S. Fernando

Invited lectures
Exchange flows and estuarine barriers 27
P.A. Davies & A.J.S. Cuthbertson
The interface smoothness criteria and its application for two layer flow from a
circular weir 35
I.R. Wood
Water quality management of river and estuarine waters 45
R.A. Falconer & B. Lin
Fate and transport modeling vs. models: a management perspective 57
W.S. Lung
Internal waves in Monterey Bay: An application of SUNTANS 67
O.B. Fringer, M. Gerritsen & R.L. Street
Environmental and ecological impacts of the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River 77
Z.Y. Wang
Resolving environmental hydraulics complexity, linking theory, practice and
conceptual ideas 87
K. Cederwall

1 Mixing and transport

1.1 Mixing and transport – I
Prediction of turbulent flow structure in compound channel with roughened floodplain
using Large Eddy Simulation 99
M. Ifuku & K. Shiono

V
A field study of extremely rough, three-dimensional river flow 107
M.J. Franca & U. Lemmin
Influence of variable morphological conditions on the mass transport characteristics
in rivers 113
V. Weitbrecht & G.H. Jirka
Longitudinal vortices in a water of finite depth in the absence of wind 121
Z. Huang & C.C. Mei

1.2 Mixing and transport – II

Field tests on transverse mixing in natural streams 129
I.W. Seo, K.O. Baek & T.M. Jeon
Effects of variable river geometry on longitudinal dispersion 137
M. Jamali & G.A. Lawrence
Vertical turbulent mixing in tidal estuary 143
Y. Du & J. Chu
Experimental scale effect of pollutant diffusion/dispersion in rivers 151
L. Luo, M.J. Wang & Y.L. Jiang
Trace experimental study on diffusion coefficients at heavy sediment-carrying reach of
Yellow River 159
G.H. Hu & X.Q. Xiao
Advection and dispersion of substance discharged by intermittent point source in rivers 167
Z.H. Wu & H.T. Qiao

1.3 Gas transfer

Modeling wind-driven gas-transfer in a lake 177
C. Gualtieri
Experimental study on air-water interfacial turbulent hydrodynamics and gas transfer in
wind-induced open channel flows 185
K. Yoshida & I. Nezu
Estimation of the transfer velocity of carbon dioxide at the surface of wind waves 193
H. Tsumori, Y. Sugihara & A. Masuda
Surface-renewal eddies at the air-water interface in oscillating-grid turbulence 199
Y. Sugihara & H. Tsumori
Numerical simulation of two-phase flow in aeration tank 207
J. Mao, Y. Chen & D. Wang
Study on numerical simulation for rupture of bubble at water surface by Level Set method 215
K. Asai & K. Tsubogo

2 Stratified flow
2.1 Stratified flow – I
The dynamic behavior of the benthic boundary layer in a thermally stratified lake 225
C.L. Marti & J. Imberger

VI
Formation and expansion of a double-diffusive staircase in Lake Nyos, Cameroon 233
M. Schmid & A. Wüest
Turbidity currents in an Alpine pumped-storage reservoir 239
J. Bühler, C. Siegenthaler & A. Wüest
Interfacial waves in exchange flows over a sill 245
H. Fouli & D.Z. Zhu
Experiments on the stability analysis of thermally stratified shear flows in
weakly curved open channel 251
K. Chu, Z. Hua & H. Wang
k-ε modeling of vertical mass transport in turbulent stratified open-channel flow 257
C. Reiher & Y. Niño
Q2D turbulence by Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities 263
X. Li & V.H. Chu
Numerical simulations and linear stability analysis of transient buoyancy-induced
flow in a two-dimensional enclosure 269
C.F. Ihle, Y. Niño & R.L. Frederick

2.2 Stratified flow – II

A large, vertically distorted hydraulic model of outflow withdrawal from a
thermally stratified reservoir 277
R. Ettema, M. Muste, A.J. Odgaard & O. Abaci
Use of physical model and 3D numerical models to design a selective withdrawal intake 283
P.J. Ryan, F.A. Locher & S. Tu
Application of sigma coordinate ocean model to strongly stratified estuary with steep
bottom slopes 289
M. Irie, K. Nakatsuji & S. Nishida
Enhancement of mixing processes in semi-deep coastal channels by a bathymetry change 297
N. Ravlic
Numerical prediction of incompressible two-fluid system and its application to
stratified flows with water and silicone-oil 303
K. Yoshida, S. Ushijima & I. Nezu
Numerical study of a turbulent oil slick 311
G.Q. Chen, L.Z. Zhang & J.H.W. Lee

3 Jets and plumes

3.1 Jets and plumes – I
Non-dimensional scaling of turbulent jets in confined spaces 319
P. Rinaldi & F. Valentin
Further investigations on jet spreading in oscillating grid turbulence 325
A.W.K. Law & D.W.F. Ho
Experimental study on tandem buoyant jets in crossflow 331
D. Yu, J.H.W. Lee & C.W. Li

VII
Light attenuation data from weakly and strongly advected discharges 337
G. Kikkert, M.J. Davidson & R.I. Nokes
Integral model prediction and laser induced fluorescence measurement of round
buoyant jet in counterflow 343
W.Y. Lee, K.M. Lam & C.H.C. Chan
Observation on the vertical upward discharge of dense liquid into the stagnant
stratified ambient water 351
B.S. Shiau & B.J. Tsai
Spreading and mixing characteristics of a round jet in co-flow 357
H. Tang, Y. Xiao & M. Hua

3.2 Jets and plumes – II

LES of 2D and 3D vertical jets impinging on free surfaces 367
Y.P. Chen, C.W. Li & C.K. Zhang
Similarity analyses on flapping turbulent plane jets 375
J. Sun & C.T. Hsu
Study on the behavior of jets discharged vertically downward in flowing environment 381
W.X. Huai & Z.H. Yang
Laser Doppler velocimetry measurements on a duckbill valve jet in a co-flow 387
H.W. Tang, J.H.W. Lee, Zh. Gao & Y. Xiao
The characteristics of flow and concentration fields near bank outfall 393
X. Huang

3.3 Bubble plumes/jets

Entrainment and mixing properties of a simple bubble plume 403
C. Bergmann, D.G. Seol, T. Bhaumik & S.A. Socolofsky
Interaction between a bubble plume and the near field in a stratified lake 411
D.F. McGinnis, J.C. Little, A. Lorke, A. Wüest & A. Stöckli
3D PTV measurement of bubble jet in water 417
J. Funaki, Y. Yokoyama & K. Hirata
Upward flux of methane in the Black Sea: Does it reach the atmosphere? 423
D.F. McGinnis, A. Wüest, C.J. Schubert, L. Klauser, A. Lorke & R. Kipfer
The use of mechanical mixers to improve circulation and mixing of large bodies of water 431
K.H.M. Ali & L.S. Tong
Production of efficient bubble plumes for destratification: Theory and experiment 439
N.V.M. Odd, J.G. Rodger & C.B. Waters

3.4 Outfall discharge

Near- and far-field model coupling methodology for wastewater discharges 447
T. Bleninger & G.H. Jirka
Mixing and entrainment in tidal impoundments 455
K.H.M. Ali, M. Diamanti & G. Papapostolou

VIII
2-D numerical simulation of saline intrusion in marine sewage outfalls 461
W. Wu, J. Xia & Z.M. Yan
Probabilistic modeling of produced water outfall 467
H. Niu, T. Husain, B. Veitch & N. Bose
Formulas for dilution prediction of inclined buoyant jets in stagnant water 473
Z.R. Guo

4 Hydrodynamic modelling
4.1 Hydrodynamic models – I
3D LES on the formation mechanism of Langmuir circulations 481
K. Uzaki & N. Matsunaga
Semi-implicit sigma-coordinate hydrodynamic model 489
W.C. Pang & P. Tkalich
Effects of core-region vortices on near-wall vortices generated by steady incoming
flows past a wall-mounted long circular cylinder 495
M.K. Kwan, C.T. Hsu & R.R. Hwang
Finite difference TVD scheme for modeling two-dimensional advection-dispersion 503
Y. Guan & D. Zhang
Study of island wakes in shallow waters 511
F.C. Chan & M.S. Ghidaoui
k-ε turbulent modeling of tidal bore in an idealized estuary 517
L.F. Lu, S.W. Li & Z. Shi
Numerical simulation of particle-laden gas wake flow by vortex method 525
H. Yagami & T. Uchiyama

4.2 Hydrodynamic models – II

Hydrodynamic characteristics of the new Athens 2004 Olympic Rowing Center 535
G. Christodoulou, I. Papakonstantis, A. Stamou, A. Andreadakis,
K. Noutsopoulos & E. Romas
Stability of dumped sediment on sandbanks due to tidal currents off the
East Anglia coast, UK 541
C.P. Kuang, P.K. Stansby, D.R. Laurence & B.E. Launder
Reservoir circulation modeling with analytical non-uniform wind boundary conditions 549
S. Rubbert, C. Reuter & J. Köngeter
Numerical analysis of flows in circular and square stones embedded fishways 557
S. Chhatkuli & M. Fujihara
On the time scale of sea water exchange in Ariake Sea 563
K. Asai & H. Sato
Numerical simulation on the research of cooling water engineering of fire plant considering
the environmental protection under the impaction of coastal artificial land engineering 571
Z. Li, Q. Zhu, S. Zhang & R. Zhao

IX
Numerical modelling approach in the sustainable development of a power plant 579
N.M.K. Nik Hassan, I.T.S. Tan & A.M. Hashim
Application of tidal flow mathematical model in the study on deepwater navigation
channels in Xinghua Bay 587
M.G. Li
Development of coupled 1-D–2-D hydrodynamic models for tidal rivers 593
H. Yin & Z. Xu
Hydrodynamic and transport modeling study in a highly stratified estuary 599
F. Arega & E. Hayter

4.3 Hydrodynamic models – III

Modeling water quality for Mu-Dan Reservoir in southern Taiwan 607
C.C. Young, J.T. Kuo, W.C. Liu & W.S. Lung
A two-dimensional water quality approach in transient flow modeling 613
Gh. Naser, B.W. Karney & M.S. Ghidaoui
Hydrodynamic and water quality modeling approach for a dynamic lagoon system 621
A. Ekadal, M. Gurel, A. Erturk & A. Tanik
Analysis of water quality in Lake Ogawara using a coupled hydrodynamic and
primitive ecosystem model 629
S. Suzuki, S. Nishida & K. Nakatsuji
The research of plane two-dimensional eutrophication ecological dynamics model in lake 637
Y. Wang & X. Zhou
The research of water environment capacities in lake – taking Bosten Lake as an example 643
J. Pan & Y. Wang
Grey relational assessment of water quality and space diversity analysis of pollution
for coastal zone of Bohai Bay 651
G. Jiang, J. Tao & H. Wang
Application of 2-D vertical model in temperature forecast of Nuo Zha Du reservoir 657
X. Zhang, X. Zhou & L. Zhang

5 Water quality modelling

5.1 Water quality models
Calibrating steady-state river water quality models with field data 665
C.C.K. Liu
Design of a river water quality modeling software for Turkish rivers 671
A. Erturk, A. Ekdal, A. Tanik & A. Kucukballi
Simulation of water quality in networks of estuary 677
Z.Y. Mao, J.L. Wang & J.M. Ma
Establishing and applying water quality model of Suzhou Creek 683
Z. Xu & Z. Liao

X
Study on upstream water quality boundary and local pollution loads of Suzhou Creek
based on mathematics model 689
Z.X. Xu, Z.L. Liao & J.P. Zhang
Linking watershed and receiving water models for water quality simulations of
Tseng-Wen Reservoir, Taiwan 697
M.H. Hsieh, J.T. Kuo, H.C. Chen, W.C. Liu & W.S. Lung
Biodegradability evaluation and prediction of organic pollutants in natural river water 703
G.H. Lu & C. Wang

5.2 Non-point source pollution

Estimation of total nitrogen export in the East River (Dongjiang) Basin I. Export
coefficient method 711
X.B. Ma, L. Fok, A. Koenig & Y. Xue
Estimation of total nitrogen export in the East River (Dongjiang) Basin II. Source
apportionment and distribution using GIS approach 719
L. Fok, A. Koenig & P.J.-F. Yeh
Processes of nutrient load and transportation in a flooding river 727
H. Nagabayashi, Y. Ogawa, J. Yuda & A. Mano

5.3 Field studies

Field observation of salinity intrusion into Nagatsura-ura Lagoon 737
H. Tanaka, M. Takasaki, H.S. Lee & H. Yamaji
Measurements of ocean current in the vicinity of Yunlin Offshore Industrial Park 745
M.H. Hsu, J.L. Yu, T.-K. Liu, R.C. Kao & H.H. Hwung
An analysis of water circulation in the basin by stable isotopes 753
T. Kumekawa, M. Hasebe & H. Ii
Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine, China: impacts of acid mine drainage on downstream
aquatic ecosystem 759
C. Lin & X. Tong
Impacts of land drainage on water quality in an Australian estuarine waterway:
Chemical and biochemical processes 765
C. Lin & M. Wood
Fluctuation of nearshore water quality during a tidal cycle in Yunlin County 771
P. Chen, T.-K. Liu, J.L. Yu, R.C. Kao & H.H. Hwung

5.4 Impact assessment

Potential impact of northern flow diversion on Qiantang Estuary environment 781
A. You, Z. Han & Y. Shi
A prototype spatial expert system for evaluation and mitigation of groundwater
contamination: The case of arsenic in Bangladesh 789
S. Shams, S. Langaas & P. Bhattacharya

XI
Research on the water environment carrying capacity of river and reservoir – A case
study of Wanjiazhai reservoir in Yellow River 795
K.Q. Chen, H. Qian, G.B. Li & P.Y. Xu
Analysis of effect of south-to-north water transfer project on aquatic ecosystems of
Haihe River basin 801
Y. Pei, J. Wang & L. Luo

6 Ecohydraulics
6.1 Algal blooms/eutrophication
Predicting Phaeocystis globosa bloom in Dutch coastal waters 811
Q. Chen & A.E. Mynett
Methodologies to assess the effects of human interventions and pollution control
measures in the Hong Kong coastal waters 819
F.J. Los, J.A.G. van Gils, A.N. Blauw, D.K. Vatvani, A.J. Nolte & L. Postma
Influence of sea currents to chlorophyll-a distribution of enclosed bay in
Sanriku coastal area 825
H. Sato, K. Takahashi, M. Nomura & M. Sawamoto
A vertical stability theory and model for red tide forecasting 833
K.T.M. Wong & J.H.W. Lee
Phytoplankton-data assimilation in a coupled eco-hydrodynamic model of the
Mediterranean Sea 839
E. Bournaski, G. Crispi & A. Crise

6.2 Ecohydraulics – I
Environmental aspects of the hydraulic design of the twin rivers diversion for
Terminal 5, Heathrow Airport 847
P.B. Clark, D.K. Palmer, P. Joyce & R.V. Pether
Flow patterns in the wake of model mussel long-lines 853
D.R. Plew, R.I. Nokes & M.J. Davidson
Gradually varied flow through semi-rigid vegetation 859
B.Y.F. Tam & C.W. Li
Effects of vegetation and litter on flow 865
K.B.S.N. Jinadasa, N. Tanaka, K. Yutani & W. Seki
Recognition of wetlands hydraulics as a tool for their protection and restoration 873
T. Okruszko & S. Ignar
Hydrodynamic observations around a caged finfish aquaculture site 879
N.D. Hartstein, B. De Young & M.R. Anderson
Numerical analysis on the topographical change around artificial reefs 887
M. Minami & A. Mano
Bottom current characteristics near the openings of artificial reefs 893
K. Osanai, M. Minami & A. Mano

XII
6.3 Ecohydraulics – II
Growth and interspecific competition of filamentous and non-filamentous periphyton
on flat channel bed 901
Y. Toda, Y. Akamatsu & S. Ikeda
Oncomelania’s environmental property and its control 907
D.M. Li & X.L. Fu
The distribution of Chironomids by flow mechanisms 913
S.H. Lee, K.S. Lee, T.W. Kim, J.P. Park & T.S. Chon
Japanese firefly habitat assessment based on hydrological simulation 919
S. Matsumoto, S. Kazama & M. Sawamoto
Study on the method of determining down stream minimal ecological flow in the river 927
L. Liu & H. Tan
Freshwater invertebrate community structure in a small urban river 933
M. Tamai, T. Fujisawa & N. Uenoyama
A study on physical feature of river channel which supporting the diversity of species
of fishes 939
K. Kawamura & K. Sunada
Evaluation of weight of parameter for spawning of Ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis, and
prediction of spawn density per unit area 947
T. Nagaya, K. Onitsuka, M. Higashino, T. Takami, N. Otsuka, J. Akiyama &
K. Matsumoto
Estimation of the inhabiting possible ground of Raptorial birds in Saitama Prefecture 955
S. Tanaka, T. Hatta & G. Uehara
The proposed assessment criteria with habitat evaluation applied to ecotechnological
works for upland river regulation in Taiwan 961
Y.C. Chen & C.H. Ho
Comprehensive assessment index system of ecological riparian zone 969
J. Xia, W. Wu & Z. Yan

7 Shallow water flow

Turbulence in shallow re-circulating flows 975
R.A. Delatolla, S. Babartutsi & V.H. Chu
Computations of 2D shallow mixing layers in open channel flows using a modified
depth-averaged model 981
I. Kimura & T. Hosoda
Weakly nonlinear spatial stability analysis of shallow water flows 989
M.S. Ghidaoui & A.A. Kolyshkin
Shallow re-circulating flow in a cavity 995
W. Altai, C. Pinilla & V.H. Chu

8 Waves and coastal processes

8.1 Waves/coastal processes – I
Wave induced pressures and forces on parallel submarine pipelines at low KC numbers 1003
P.L. Vijayakumari, V. Sundar & K. Murali

XIII
Multi-layer modeling of nonlinear short waves 1009
S.C. Hsiao, Y.H. Chang & H.H. Hwung
Control of substance transport due to plural submerged asymmetrical roughness in
wave fields 1017
H. Oshikawa, T. Komatsu & M. Hashida
Experiments on evolution of surface gravity waves from deep to shallow waters 1023
C.T. Hsu & Y.K. Law
Hydrodynamic characteristics of chambered breakwaters in regular waves 1029
R. Balaji & V. Sundar
Numerical wave modeling based on curvilinear element meshes 1035
V. Berkhahn & S. Mai
Water surface fluctuations inside the perforated circular caisson of a
seawater intake well 1041
K. Vijayalakshmi, S. Neelamani, R. Sundaravadivelu & K. Murali

8.2 Waves/coastal processes – II

Energy partitioning in breaking internal waves on slopes 1051
S.K. Venayagamoorthy & O.B. Fringer
Effect of porosity of brushwood fences on wave transmission 1057
S.M. Sayah, J.-L. Boillat & A. Schleiss
Experimental study of damage caused by prolonged irregular wave impact on gently
sloping sea dikes 1063
T. Takahashi, T. Abe, H. Konno & S. Arai
Studies on the evolution of bichromatic wave trains 1071
H.H. Hwung, W.S. Chiang, C.H. Lin & K.C. Hu
Transformation of ship waves on a sloping coast 1079
K.T. Dam, K. Tanimoto, N.B. Thuy & Y. Akagawa

8.3 Case studies/modelling

Improved air–sea interaction formulas for the modeling of environmental hydraulics 1089
S.A. Hsu
Shoreline change due to highly oblique waves in Lake Inawashiro 1095
Y. Fujita & H. Tanaka
Monitoring of long-term shoreline evolution on Sendai Coast 1101
H.W. Kang & H. Tanaka
Shoreline change in Yuriage Fishing Port due to breakwater extension 1109
S. Pornpinatepong, H. Tanaka, K. Watanabe & P. Srivihok
Modelling headland equilibrium bays with rotating DLA clusters 1115
A. Bhagatwala & K. Murali
Beach deformation and erosion measures in Misawa Coast, Japan 1121
M. Sasaki, T. Takeuchi, Y. Fujita & K. Ogasawara

XIV
Use of old maps for studying historical shoreline change in Japan 1129
H. Tanaka, H. Matsutomi & N. Izumi
Study on morphological variations and seawater exchange in a mangrove-fringed
river mouth 1135
Y. Nihei & T. Nakamura
Estimation of water depth at a river mouth using water level variations – Application
to Lake Jusan 1141
K. Watanabe, H. Tanaka & M. Sasaki

9 Impact of Reclamation
Impact of reclamation in Isahaya Bay on water environment in Ariake Sea, Japan 1149
S. Yano, T. Saita, H. Nishinokubi & T. Komatsu
Impact of large-scale reclamation on environmental hydrodynamics in Sansha Bay 1155
J.H. Zheng & Y.G. Wang
Impact of reclamation and HATS Stage I on Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong 1163
C.P. Kuang & J.H.W. Lee
Impact on the silt coast environment of tidal flat reclamation in Jiangsu – Take the
coastal salt marsh as an example 1169
J. Chen
Subsurface injection of RO-treated waste water at a reclaimed land site 1175
L.H.C. Chua, K.C. Wong, N. Mzila, S.K. Tan, T.T. Lim, J.H. Tay, L.C.C. Koe & J.O. Leckie
The dispersion characteristics of sand under water 1183
T. Yamamoto, M. Takezawa & Y. Maeno

Author index 1191

Volume II
Keynote lectures
Water in a changing climate 1199
J. Imberger
Sustainable utilization of water resources and hydropower resources in China 1219
C.K. Zhang

Invited lectures
Ecosystem management for sustainability in the Changjiang (Yangtze) river catchment 1229
M. Watanabe
Connecting human and system health in the assessment, design and operation of
water distribution systems 1239
B.W. Karney

XV
Sewer sediments and processes 1247
J.-L. Bertrand-Krajewski

1 Water resource management

A new paradigm of river basin management – A case history study of Saigawa,
Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan 1261
N. Tamai, M. Yamamoto & T. Fukumoto
Effects of alternative irrigation management models on the water delivery
performance in Vietnam 1267
T.C. Trung, A.D. Gupta, R. Clemente & M.S. Babel
Control of Three Gorges Project and the sustainable development 1273
H. Dai & R. Wang
Mitigation of stream temperature change with reservoir management 1279
K. Yoshida, H. Tanji, H. Somura, K. Higuchi & O. Toda
Integrated watershed modeling using Finite Element Method and GIS approach 1285
A. Jha, T.I. Eldho, R. Jana & A.K. Singh
Sustainable development of the source area for the Eastern Route Project of
South-to-North water diversion in China 1293
Y. Qian, Y. Zhang, X. Jiang, R. Wang, X. Zhu & G.F. Lu
Case studies on management measures of urban water environment 1299
Z.Y. Dong & P.L. Su
Water resources system simulation based on object-oriented technology 1305
H. Gan, J.J. You, L. Wang & S. Huang
Using WATERGEM for Taiwan water policy decision making 1311
Y.-F. Wang & J.-C. Hsu

2 Water distribution and management

Multiobjective design of water networks with random loads 1319
Y.R. Filion, B.W. Karney & B.J. Adams
Chance-constrained stochastic optimization applied to reservoir operation 1325
A.B. Celeste, K. Suzuki & A. Kadota
A study on the application of pressure management and continuous monitoring
for controlling and reducing water mains leakage in a pilot area in the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 1333
J.W.M. Lai, K.C. Luk, S. O’Brien, M. Tomkins, R. Spittle, S.K.S. Lai & P.W.H. Au
Available water model based on sustainable use of water resources in Beijing 1339
X. Zhang, Z. Liu, Z. Yang & X. Xu
Multiobjective optimization for water supply system management 1345
L.J. Cui
A multi-objective dynamic model for water resources management 1351
J.Z. Qian, J.Q. Wang, R.Z. Li & W.P. Wang
A new macroscopic model of multi-source water distribution network 1357
Z. Liao & G. Yu

XVI
3 Hydraulic transients
Investigation of transient leak detection using a 2D transient flow model 1365
W. Nixon & M.S. Ghidaoui
Simulation of transient flow in building drainage networks 1373
Z.Y. Mao, J.L. Wang & X. Zhao
Case study: Computed and measured transient pressures at Çatalan power plant 1379
B. Selek, M.S. Kirkgöz & Z. Selek
Study on propagation of pressure surge in steel pipe network 1387
Y. Kono, T. Moriya, Y. Sugai, M. Watanabe & M. Shimada

4 Urban stormwater management; urban drainage modelling

4.1 Urban stormwater management – I
Analytical probabilistic models for urban stormwater erosion potential 1397
J.A. Harris & B.J. Adams
Hydraulic model test of inundation water intrusion in underground space 1403
K. Toda, K. Inoue, T. Nakai & R. Oyagi
Hydraulic model test and calculation of flood in urban area with underground space 1411
T. Ishigaki, H. Nakagawa & Y. Baba
Coupled numerical model of flood inundation-groundwater flows 1417
K. Kawasaki, N. Piamsa-nga & K. Nakatsuji
Stormwater modelling for the South East Kowloon Development – A case study 1425
K.C. Luk, D.D. McLearie, R.J. Armstrong & B.R. Poole

4.2 Urban stormwater management – II

Implications for site drainage systems of reduced water use in buildings 1435
M. Escarameia & C.S. Lauchlan
The development of a comprehensive flood prevention strategy for Hong Kong 1441
S.K. Chui, J.K.Y. Leung & H.C.K. Chu
Rehabilitation priority of urban sewer systems considering storm water management
and inflow/infiltration 1449
J.H. Lee, D.J. Jo, J.H. Kim & M.J. Park
Inundation analysis of urban areas by using GIS – Application to the Tokai
Heavy Rain Flood 1457
H. Kiyomiya, A. Mano & T. Katada
Variability of combined sewer overflow emissions measured by means of online techniques 1463
M. Hochedlinger, G. Gruber & H. Kainz
Numerical analysis model of inundation due to river water and interior runoff 1471
M. Takeda, N. Matsuo & H. Kogiso
Field investigation of urban rainfall–runoff pollution 1479
Z.Y. Dong & M.E. Wang
Numerical analysis of inundation process in urban area with an underground space 1485
M. Sekine & N. Kawakami

XVII
Inundation flow analysis due to heavy rainfall applied to the Isahaya low-lying area 1493
K. Kawaike, H. Maruyama, M. Noguchi & S. Yoshimoto

4.3 Urban stormwater management – III

Energy losses at surcharged combining junction manholes 1503
C.H. Zhao, D.Z. Zhu & N. Rajaratnam
Prediction of storm tank performance using Computational Fluid Dynamics 1509
S. Lau, V. Stovin, I. Guymer & A. Saul
Outlet depth of sewerage pipe 1515
D.H. Yoo & J.T. Lee
Toilets and their impacts on water environment in Jiangsu Province, China –
Sample survey in Xiaguan district of Nanjing city and Dapu town of Yixing city 1521
L.L. Liu, X. Qian, G.F. Lu, L.M. Gao, W.Y. Liu, G. Gu & H.H. Yin

5 Flood forecasting and prevention

A study of the effects of tidal variations on the return period of floods 1529
H.F. Cheong & G.T. Lim
Real-time simulation of flooding in the lower Illinois River with UNET model 1535
Y. Lian & M. Demissie
Impacts of Tongguan’s elevation on the flood defense in the lower Weihe River 1541
C. Li, Z.Y. Wang & B. Wu
Application of appropriate modeling to assess flood risk 1549
Y. Huang, J.L. de Kok & A.E. Mynett
Effect of stem-breaking caused by flood on the transition of wetland vegetation in
old river trace 1555
N. Tanaka, Y. Kitakami, T. Ogawa & T. Asaeda
Flood simulation coupled with remotely sensed data of land use and land cover 1563
L.L. Ren, R. An, H.M. Jiang, F. Yuan & M.R. Wang
Impact of land use change on watershed flood in Jingluowei River basin 1571
G. Huang, X. Rui & Shipeng
Simple method for flood inundation area predicting 1577
Y.R. Chung & K.T. Lee
Hydraulic modelling study for evaluation of the bridge induced hydro-morphological
changes of the Dhaleswari River: A case study for a Bangladeshi River 1583
M. Mahboob-ul-Kabir, S. Jahan, J.Md. Abdul Hye & A. Abdullah Noor

6 Open channel flow

6.1 Open channel flow – I
3-D velocity measurements in transition region from straight to meandering
open-channel flow with floodplains 1593
I. Nezu, M. Sanjou, H. Wakamoto & T. Doi

XVIII
LES numerical calculation of a groin in open-channel flow 1601
M. Yano & I. Nezu
Investigation of generation mechanism of secondary flows in the open-channel
flow using DNS data 1609
S.-U. Choi & Y. Joung
Hydrodynamic and concentration properties in permeable side-cavity open-channel
flow by digital visualization technique 1617
I. Nezu, M. Yano & Y. Mitsunari
Discrete vortex simulation of horizontal vortices and effect on environment in
compound straight open-channel flow 1625
M. Sanjou, I. Nezu & A. Kamiya

6.2 Open channel flow – II

An investigation on the flow resistance of a mountain river 1635
M. Habibi & Y. Guo
The effects of bottom settlement, vegetation and macro-roughness on the erosion
stability of the relocated river Inde 1643
P. Kamrath, S. Rubbert & J. Köngeter
Numerical simulation of unsteadiness effect in depth-varying and time-dependent
open-channel flow 1651
M. Sanjou & I. Nezu
Velocity distribution and discharge intensity of lateral overflow on mobile bed 1659
B. Rosier, J.-L. Boillat & A. Schleiss
Flow resistance in vegetated channels: Characteristics of natural woody vegetation 1667
J. Järvelä
A study on grain size distribution of bed material using fractal theory and analysis 1673
X. Wang, S. Cao, T. Liu & W. Lu

6.3 Open channel flow – III

Discharge formula of side-weir with zero height in subcritical open-channel flows 1681
K. Onitsuka, J. Akiyama, T. Tsunematsu & M. Takeda
Computation of free overfall 1689
Y. Guo & Y. Shen
Numerical study of submerged hydraulic jump 1697
H. Dai & L. Wang
Length of hydraulic jump on horizontal bed with abrupt rise 1703
K. Onitsuka, J. Akiyama, H. Isechi & D. Kiuchi
Manning’s roughness coefficient for different types of open channel flows 1711
J.-J. He

7 Hydraulic structures
7.1 Hydraulic structures – I
High velocity two-phase flows over stepped chutes: Focus on air concentration 1719
S. André, J.-L. Boillat & A.J. Schleiss

XIX
Computational fluid dynamics analysis of three major dam spillway structures in Australia 1727
D.K.H. Ho, K.M. Riddette & S.M. Donohoo
Hydraulic experiment of arc-shaped gate on the Qinhuai River 1733
D.Y. Liu, Q.F. Zhang & H.M. Xu
Computational analysis of flow in bottom outlet conduits 1741
M.R. Kavianpour & A. Aghakouchak
Three-dimensional turbulence numerical simulation on the configuration optimization of
aeration device of the free flow spillway tunnel 1747
H.-Y. Wang, G.-Q. Dai, Q. Yang & C. Liu
Design and construction of 1/100 scaled model of Cine Dam stepped spillway 1755
M.S. Guney, A. Ozgenc, C. Ozcelik & G. Bombar
Optimizing the hydraulic performance of a stilling basin for cooling-water
discharge: An experimental study 1761
H. Yun & J. Ping
Determination of jet length in jet spillways 1769
E. Üzücek & G. Yildiz
Stabilization of the bottom plate of still basin under the action of jet flow from a
flaring gate pier 1775
G. Yan, Q. Hu & F. Chen
Characteristics of wake flow in long bluff bodies 1781
W. Chen, J. Zhao, J. Guo & C. Li
Influence of gas nucleus on scale effect of cavitation 1787
Q. Yang, G.-Q. Dai, J.-M. Zhang, H.-Y. Wang & J.-Q. Wu

7.2 Hydraulic structures – II

Large eddy simulation of free surface over broad-crested weir 1795
X.J. Cheng, L. Luo & W.Q. Zhao
Study on flow structure and discharge over a permeable rubble mound weir 1801
K. Michioku & S. Maeno
Numerical simulation of the flow around a rubble mound weir 1809
S. Maeno & K. Michioku

8 Scour in hydraulic structures

3D numerical analysis of local flow and scouring around cylindrical piles 1819
H. Jin
The use of riprap protection as a countermeasure against scour downstream of
two compound piers 1827
A. Kadota, R. Aragão, K. Suzuki & V.S. Srinivasan
Effect of seepage on scour caused by circular wall jets 1835
S.B. Dugad & B.S. Pani
Influence of the spur dike permeability on local velocities and scouring 1843
T. Mioduszewski, S. Maeno & Y. Uema

XX
Numerical simulation of local scouring process by solid–liquid two-phase flow model 1851
E. Harada, T. Hoaoda, H. Gotoh & K. Obayashi
Study on local scour around circular pier with riblet 1859
K. Asai, N. Kawamoto & Y. Mimura
Research on downstream scouring of flip bucket with tongue-type 1867
F. Zhang, Y. Zhu & W. Xu

9 Treatment plant hydraulics

Helicoidal flow jet flocculator 1875
L.G. Patil & B.S. Pani
Interaction of sludge bed height and scraper operation in horizontal flow final settling tanks 1883
R. Hollenstein, P. Volkart & H.-E. Minor
Hydraulic evaluation of an active landfill 1889
E. Durmusoglu, A. Karademir, M. Bakoglu & S. Ayberk
On intermittence of air entrainment in a suction sump and three-dimensional PTV analysis 1895
K. Hirata, K. Saito & J. Funaki

10 Hydrological modelling
Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses of coupled surface – subsurface flow model on
steep slopes 1903
Z. Lu, Y.-K. Tung, C.W.W. Ng & W.H. Tang
An evaluation of statistical downscaling methods for simulating daily precipitation
and extreme temperature series at a local site 1911
V.-T.-V. Nguyen, T.-D. Nguyen & P. Gachon
Stochastic generation of GIUH-based flow hydrograph 1917
Y. Wang & Y.-K. Tung
Reliability of the Gama I Synthetic Unit Hydrograph after 15 years of its development
as applied in South Sulawesi 1925
M. Farouk & Br. Sri Harto
Statistical characteristics of annual maximum 24-hour rainfall and 48-hour rainfall 1931
N. Suzuki & A. Mano
Study of hydrological simulation on the basis of digitized basin 1937
X. Zhang, L. Jing, D. Xia & H. Kuang
Hydrological simulation of the East River basin (Dongjiang) in China 1945
P.J.-F. Yeh, L. Fok & J.H.W. Lee
Methodology of a grid-based hydrological model and its application 1951
F. Yuan & L.L. Ren
Folding concept in rainfall excess transformation into runoff in natural watersheds 1959
M.R. Najafi
Rainfall–runoff modeling of a sandy soil catchment 1967
Y. Guan & D. Zhang

XXI
Some observations on the estimation of solute load in a small headwater catchment
in Hong Kong 1975
M.R. Peart & L. Fok
Irrigated water estimation model to paddy fields using pump sets in Cambodia 1981
H. Somura, H. Tanji, K. Yoshida, K. Higuchi & O. Toda

11 Data driven methods in hydrology

Input correction in rainfall runoff models using the Ensemble Kalman filter 1991
T. Koster, G.E. Serafy, H.F.P. van den Boogaard, A.W. Heemink & A.E. Mynett
Hydrological time series forecasting SVM operated in feature space 1997
X. Yu & S.-Y. Liong
Evaluation of river velocity and discharge with a new assimilated method 2005
Y. Nihei, A. Kimizu, Y. Yamasaki & K. Sato
Application of artificial neural network for reference crop evapotranspiration estimation 2011
V. Jothiprakash & M.G. Devamane
Tidal level and current prediction using Adaptive Neural Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) 2017
A. Oveisy, M. Teshnehlab & M. Nassiri

12 Groundwater
Salinity intrusion – Its characteristics and impact – Cases in the Asia Pacific region 2027
G.S. De Costa, T. Kojiri & M. Porter
Study on the interaction between surface water and groundwater in Qin River basin
using a distributed hydrologic model 2033
L. Wang, G. Ni & H. Hu
Subsurface water between adjacent rivers – Subsurface water from Nagara River
to Kiso River 2039
K. Onitsuka, M. Yano, J. Akiyama & I. Nezu
Preliminary numerical study on groundwater system at the Hong Kong
International Airport 2047
F. Wang & J.J. Jiao
Using adaptive finite element model to study groundwater flow and contaminant transport
in the Yucca Mountain Repository 2053
Y. Chen, D.W. Pepper & L. Li
Flow movement and contaminant transport of groundwater in southern Bangladesh 2059
T. Umeki, A. Mano,Y. Ishibashi & Wahiduzzaman
Application of Modflow to the simulation of land subsidence due to the exploitation of
groundwater 2067
M. Sun, Z. Lou & C. Pan
Application of groundwater flow measuring techniques: The use of colloidal
borescope system (CBS) 2075
Y.-S. Wu, J.L. Yu, C.-C. Tseng, T.-K. Liu & H.-H. Hwung

XXII
13 Sediment transport
13.1 Sediment in rivers
CRS-1 river model verification and its field studies 2085
S. Cao, X. Liu & H. Er
Field studies of Late Cenozoic Minjiang River incision rate and its constraint on
morphology of the eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau 2091
Y. Li, S. Cao, R. Zhou, A.L. Densmore & M.A. Ellis
Measuring system of suspended sediment concentration at a river entrance 2099
H. Tanaka, R. Sugawara, H. Yamaji & Suntoyo
Modeling river bed evolution in natural alluvial streams 2107
L. Schippa & S. Pavan

13.2 Sediments in reservoirs and estuaries

Deposition of sand–gravel mixture in a steep slope reservoir with hydraulic jump 2115
K. Suzuki, A. Kadota, B.B. Parajuli
Distribution of suspended sediment in a mesotidal estuary, Taiwan 2123
W.C. Liu, M.-H. Hsu, C.-R. Wu, A.Y. Kuo & S.-T. Chang
Field measurements and numerical simulation on sediment transport in an
urban river estuary 2129
Y. Nihei, M. Oozeki, Y. Yamasaki & T. Nishimura
A field study on near-bottom turbulence and resuspension of fine sediment in the
Tone River Estuary 2137
K. Shimizu, T. Ishikawa & M. Irie
Numerical simulation on entrainment of fluid mud in Lake Kasumigaura 2145
X. Qian, T. Ishikawa, M. Umeda & F. Gao
Numerical estimation of countermeasures against sedimentation in Masaki Dam
Reservoir, Japan 2153
T. Okabe & H. Takebayashi
Large Eddy Simulation Sediment Transport Model for Deep Bay, Hong Kong 2161
P.C.B. Kwok & O.W.H. Wai

13.3 Sediment dynamics

Turbulence modulation and particle–fluid interaction in sediment-laden open-channel flows 2171
I. Nezu & R. Azuma
Effects of flow characteristic and boundary shear stress on sediment transport processes in
two-stage meandering channel 2179
T.L. Chan & K. Shiono
Nonlinear theory study on incipient motion of sediment 2189
W. He, S. Cao, X. Feng & J. Yuan
Hydrodynamic and sediment transport properties in a Lid-driven Elongated
Annular Flume (LEAF) 2195
W.Y. Chan & O.W.H. Wai

XXIII
Modified vertically-integrated 2D suspended sediment transport equation by considering
secondary flows in channel bends 2201
S.L. Huang, Y. Jia & S.S.Y. Wang
A PDA study of sediment transport in a sediment-laden flow for the estimation of
pollutant fluxes at water/sediment interface 2207
Yuqi An & Daoyi Chen
Velocity profiles and von Karman constant in open-channel flows with
suspended sediment 2213
R. Azuma & I. Nezu
Experimental investigation of velocity and density profile in highly concentrated
sand–water mixture flows 2221
B. Pirouz, M.R. Kavianpour & P. Williams
Flow of water with hyper concentrated sediment and its numerical solution 2229
D. Legono

13.4 Other sediment problems

Numerical analysis of surface erosion and sediment yield from bare hillside 2237
M. Sekine & S. Hishinuma
Study on the measures to prevent severe sedimentation in the large inverted siphons
for a sewage system 2243
C. Liu, Y. He, Z.Y. Wang & H. Wei
Some experiments of sand-draining funnel 2251
X.-Q. Zhou, S.Y. Cao & X. Liu

14 Sediment–water interaction
Mobility of estuarine sediments and its effect on nutrient distribution 2261
M.S. Chen, S. Wartel, L. Goeyens, L. Lavkulich & W. Baeyens
The mud suspension due to strong tidal motion and the oxygen consumption 2269
T. Tokunaga, N. Matsunaga, M. Kodama & H. Yasuda
Sorption equilibrium of phthalate esters on sediment particulates low in organic
carbon using solid phase extraction disks 2277
N. Xu, J.R. Ni & W.L. Sun
Study on heavy metals and nutrient salts of bottom sediments in mountain lakes 2283
Y. Ogawa & H. Nagabayashi
A mathematical model of phosphorus release from the bed sediment of lake 2293
Y. Wang, Y. Xie & S. Guo
Relationships between ionic concentration and water and sediment in the
lower Weihe River 2301
D. Cheng, Z.Y. Wang, J. Xu & C. Liu
Some characteristics of copper sorption by sediments in the middle Yellow River 2307
R. Zhao & J.R. Ni

Author index 2315

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Editors’ foreword

The 4th International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics (ISEH) – 14th Congress of the
Asia and Pacific Division of the International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research
(IAHR-APD) was organised by the Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong
Kong. The Symposium and Congress were jointly held in parallel at the Sheraton Hotel, Hong
Kong during December 15–18, 2004.
The objective of the joint conference (ISEH&IAHR-APD2004) is to bring together scientists,
engineers and researchers with a common interest in water environment and hydraulic problems.
The conference aims to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences on recent
developments in environmental hydraulics and water management issues. The main theme of the
conference is “Sustainable Water Management in the Asia-Pacific Region”.
The International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research (IAHR) was founded in
1935 as a world-wide independent organisation to promote basic and applied research in hydraulics.
The Asia and Pacific Regional Division (APD) of the IAHR was formed in 1973 to promote the
development of hydraulics and the competence of hydraulic professionals in solving the water
problems in the region. As a major activity of APD, the biennial Congresses have a long history and
provide a forum for discussion among APD members on current hydraulic research and engineering
issues. It is our honour to host the 14th Congress, the first after the IAHR-APD Secretariat moved
to Beijing in 2003.
Environmental hydraulic problems feature prominently in many of the infrastructure develop-
ments in Hong Kong in the past two decades. The University of Hong Kong hosted the 1st and
2nd International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics, in 1991 and 1998 respectively. We are
very pleased to host the 4th Symposium again after the success of the 3rd International Symposium
held in Tempe, Arizona, USA in 2001.
The initial call for papers received an enthusiastic response with submission of over 400 abstracts.
After review and selection, about 300 full papers are accepted for oral presentation and inclusion
in the conference proceedings. Due to time constraints, we have not been able to include some
worthwhile contributions and late papers that are presented orally at the conference.
This Proceedings was prepared in two volumes with the theme of Volume I as “Environmental
Hydraulics” and Volume II as “Sustainable Water Management in the Asia-Pacific Region”. The
papers have been grouped into relevant topics under these two themes but of course many papers
inevitably touch on and cut across both themes.
Volume I of the Proceedings contains 2 keynote lectures, 7 invited lectures and 153 contributing
papers. The papers cover a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from basic science of environmental
hydraulics including mixing and transport, stratified flow, jets and plumes, waves and coastal
processes, to hydrodynamic and water quality models as tools of water management and impact
assessment, and to field studies. In particular, there is a notable collection of papers on eco-
hydraulics discussing the interaction of environmental hydraulics with ecology – e.g. vegetation
and algal dynamics.
Volume II of the Proceedings covers topics in sustainable water resources management: water
distribution, urban storm water drainage, flooding problems, groundwater, and hydrological mod-
elling, as well as topics in open channel flow and hydraulic structures. The volume also contains
a collection of papers on sediment transport and sediment-water interaction. There are 2 keynote
lectures, 3 invited lectures and 143 contributing papers in the Volume.

XXV
 We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the keynote and invited speakers and authors of
all papers. Without their contribution, we could not have produced this valuable and latest state-of-
the-art Proceedings. Thanks are due to the members of the Advisory Committee, the International
Scientific Committee, and the IAHR-APD Executive Committee for their advice and support. The
assistance of the Local Organising Committee, in particular the fund-raising and technical review
sub-committees, are gratefully acknowledged. We thank the financial sponsors for their generous
support, and A.A. Balkema for the professional production of the Proceedings.

J.H.W. Lee
K.M. Lam
December 2004

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Chairman’s message

It is our great pleasure to host the 4th International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics
(ISEH) and the 14th Congress of the Asia and Pacific Division of the International Association
of Hydraulic Engineering and Research (IAHR-APD) in Hong Kong. On behalf of the Local
Organising Committee, I would like to express my gratitude to all participants of the Symposium
and Congress for their kind participation, for the excellent papers they present, and for their
contribution to idea exchange and discussion. The participants come from over 35 countries and
regions.
In the macro-scale, the Asia-Pacific rim faces many water environment challenges in the new
millennium. Examples include the assurance of an adequate and clean water supply, the prevention
of urban and basin flooding, the search of a sensible sewage strategy, the achievement of sustainable
water quality to enhance quality of life, the protection of aquatic and coastal fisheries. Water
problems will be associated with increasing complexity and wider scope brought about by issues
like global climate change, massive urbanisation, economic risks in infrastructure investments,
cross-border pollution and government policies.
Since the 1st ISEH held in Hong Kong in 1991, environmental hydraulic problems have become
issues of mounting importance in every country and region. Every government is targeted at
sustainable water resources management. Water environment is crucial to the sustainability of
Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region. We are indeed fortunate to have the opportunity to
organise the 14th Congress of IAHR-APD jointly with the 4th ISEH in Hong Kong. The Symposium
and Congress is a timely event following the Johannesburg Summit on Water Issues in 2002.
This Proceedings reflects the diversity and depth of the papers in covering the frontier research
and practices in environmental hydraulics, hydraulic engineering and water resources management.
I am sure that the Proceedings will remain a valuable reference to engineers, academics and
researchers in the fields of hydraulics and water environment.

J.H.W. Lee
Redmond Chair of Civil Engineering
Chairman, Local Organising Committee

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© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Organisation

Organised by
Department of Civil Engineering
The University of Hong Kong

Sponsored by
American Society of Civil Engineers
Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society
Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research
International Association of Hydrological Sciences
The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Financially supported by
K.C. Wong Education Foundation
CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd.
William M.W. Mong Engineering Research Fund
Environmental Hydraulics Visiting Fellowship, The University of Hong Kong
Chun Wo Construction and Engineering Company Ltd.
WL|Delft Hydraulics, The Netherlands
SonTek/YSI Inc.
Marktec Technology Ltd.
Consulate General of Sweden
Consulate General of France
Macao Water Supply Company Ltd.
Leader Civil Engineering Corporation Ltd.
MWH Hong Kong Ltd.
Wo Hing Construction Company Ltd.
State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics, Sichuan University
Black & Veatch Hong Kong Ltd.

COMMITTEES

International Scientific Committee

J.P. Chabard, Electricite de France, France
H.F. Cheong, National University of Singapore, Singapore
V.H. Chu, McGill University, Canada
P.A. Davies, University of Dundee, UK
R.A. Falconer, Cardiff University, UK
C. Fenn, H.R. Wallingford Ltd., UK
H.J.S. Fernando, Arizona State University, USA
Z.R. Guo, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, NEPA, China
W.X. Hui, Wuhan University, China

XXIX
H.H. Hwung, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, China
S. Ikeda, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan
J. Imberger, University of Western Australia, Australia
G.H. Jirka, University of Karlsruhe, Germany
P. Julien, Colorado State University, USA
B.W. Karney, University of Toronto, Canada
T. Komatsu, Kyushu University, Japan
A.W.K. Law, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
G.F. Li, IWHR, Beijing, China
Z.H. Li, Guangdong Institute of Hydraulic Research, China
W.S. Lung, University of Virginia, USA
I. Nezu, Kyoto University, Japan
J.R. Ni, Peking University, China
P.E. O’Connell, University of Newcastle, UK
A.J. Odgaard, The University of Iowa, USA
B.S. Pani, Indian Institute of Technology, India
N. Rajaratnam, University of Alberta, Canada
W. Rodi, University of Karlsruhe, Germany
I.W. Seo, Seoul National University, Korea
G.S. Stelling, WL|Delft Hydraulics, The Netherlands
R.L. Street, Stanford Universty, USA
N. Tamai, Kanazawa University, Japan
J.H. Tao, Tianjin University, China
T. Tingsanchali, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
G.Q. Wang, Tsinghua University, China
H. Wang, IWHR, Beijing, China
S.S.Y. Wang, The University of Mississippi, USA
Z.Y. Wang, IRTCES, Beijing, China
S.J. Wright, University of Michigan, USA
F.D.L. Young, National Taiwan University, Taipei, China
W.Q. Zhao, Sichuan University, China
X.N. Zhang, Hohai University, China

Advisory Committee
Shucheng Wang (Honorary Chairman), Ministry of Water Resources, China
Y.K. Cheung (Chairman), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
V.M. Bendre, Central Water & Power Research Station, India
D. Boyer, Arizona State University, USA
B.N. Lin, IWHR, Beijing, China
K. Yen, Hohai University, China
E.M. Zhu, China Hydraulic Engineering Society, China

Local Organising Committee

J.H.W. Lee (Chairman), The University of Hong Kong
A.W. Jayawardena (Vice-Chairman), The University of Hong Kong
C.W. Li (Vice-Chairman), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Y.K. Tung (Vice-Chairman), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
K.M. Lam (Secretary), The University of Hong Kong
E.W.K. Au, Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong Government
E.W.S. Chiang, Drainage Services Department, Hong Kong Government
Y.L. Choi, The University of Hong Kong
A.K.C. Chow, Scott Wilson Ltd.
M.S. Ghidaoui, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

XXX
C.T. Hsu, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
J.J. Jiao, The University of Hong Kong
A. Koenig, The University of Hong Kong
G.Y. Li, Hyder Consulting Ltd.
X.Y. Li, The University of Hong Kong
V.K.Y. Lo, Water Supplies Department, Hong Kong Government
K.C. Luk, Montgomery Watson Harza
M.R. Peart, The University of Hong Kong
P. Purnell-Edwards, Consulting Environmental Engineer
O.W.H. Wai, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
C.F. Wong, Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong Government

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Keynote lectures
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Artificial intelligence techniques in environmental hydrodynamics:

The role of expert knowledge

A.E. Mynett
WL | Delft Hydraulics
UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands

Q.N. Chen
UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands

V.M. Babovic
WL | Delft Hydraulics, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT: Predicting algal blooms is an ambitious and difficult topic due to the complexity
of aquatic ecosystem behaviour, insufficient knowledge of underlying processes, and shortage
of high quality data. The same holds for the proper modelling of overland flows in wetlands
and vegetated floodplains, which is of great practical importance in both flood early warning
and in river restoration. Even though in both applications the purely hydrodynamic behaviour is
conveniently formulated in terms of classical mathematical equations, some important physical,
chemical or biological processes are often ‘hidden’ in the coefficients contained in these equations.
It is demonstrated in this paper that Artificial Intelligence techniques can prove extremely valu-
able for establishing these coefficients or for providing complementary formulations of processes
that can not (yet) be incorporated in these equations. Results are presented for the two cases of
algal bloom prediction and vegetation flow resistance. It is shown that knowledge can be inferred
from data directly, but that the techniques are applied most effectively when involving expert
knowledge.

1 INTRODUCTION

Predicting algal blooms is an ambitious and difficult topic due to the complexity of the aquatic
ecosystem behaviour. Quite often insufficient knowledge is available on the detailed processes and
mechanisms involved, in particular when complicated interactions are involved. Also, high quality
data are usually lacking. On the other hand, Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques like Fuzzy
Logic (FL) Rule Based Systems and Genetic Programming have the ability to deal with imprecise,
uncertain or ambiguous data and can be used to explore relationships among data. Hence such
techniques may prove useful for solving practical problems in environmental hydrodynamics, when
dealing with water bodies in their natural environment, where physical, chemical and biological
processes are often of relevance (Mynett, 2002).
In order to explore the occurrence of harmful algal blooms in coastal waters, a robust fuzzy
logic approach has been developed that derives (inter)relationships directly from measurements,
using expert knowledge as a reference. This allows the capability to combine partial knowledge
on processes with partially available data from observations. In collaboration with the European
Commission project Harmful Algal Bloom Expert System (EU-HABES), this approach was applied
to the North Sea for modelling chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentrations as an indicator for likely bloom
events (Mynett, 2003).

3
 A Fuzzy Logic approach is known to be a practical and successful technique when dealing with
semi-qualitative knowledge and semi-qualitative data which is usually the case when trying to model
algal biomass or algal blooms. However, the definition of appropriate membership functions and
the induction of inference rules, common to any fuzzy logic modelling approach, remain difficult to
achieve, since these very much depend on specific knowledge and expertise of specialist ecologists.
Hence, the relatively new approach of inferring learning rules directly from measurement data is
recently receiving considerable attention. In the next section, a methodology is presented that
deduces membership functions and inference rules from measurement data directly, rather than
from combined expert knowledge. This methodology is then verified by comparing results of
modelling algal biomass (Chl-a) concentrations with observations obtained from station NW2
along the Dutch North Sea coast. Using total biomass as bloom indicator (model variable), the
bloom dynamics are seen to be captured quite well.
Yet another example of applying AI-techniques to relevant environmental problems was chosen to
be flow resistance in vegetated floodplains. Many research initiatives have been undertaken in order
to improve on the description of the relationship between flow resistance and the presence and spatial
distribution of vegetation. However, the approach presented here is based on Genetic Programming
(GP). Just as natural evolution on earth is said to have started from a small initial population some
2 billion years ago, computer-based (‘in silico’) algorithms and artificial intelligence techniques
also begin by creating an initial set of contending solutions for a particular problem. The set may be
generated by randomly creating a population of initial solutions or by utilizing possibly available
expert knowledge about the problem.
The ‘parent’ solutions then generate ‘children’ by means of sexual reproduction (crossover) or
asexual alteration (mutation). Both of these operations are conceptually very simple. In mutation
one replaces a randomly chosen piece of a formula with another randomly generated piece of
formula. In crossover one swaps a randomly chosen piece from one formula with a randomly chosen
piece from another formula. The resulting solutions (children) are evaluated for their effectiveness
(their fitness) and undergo selection. Just as nature imposes the rule of ‘survival of the fittest’
those solutions that are least fit are removed from further consideration, and the process is repeated
over successive generations. In the most general terms, evolution can be described as a two-step
iterative process: random variation followed by selection. Genetic algorithms, evolution strategies,
evolutionary programming as well as differential evolution represent a few examples of evolutionary
algorithms.
In the hydrosciences, it is quite common and well established to account for dimensional correct-
ness of expressions and problem solutions, viz. the results should be independent of measurement
units. For this reason a dimensionally aware GP methodology was developed by Babovic & Keijzer
(1999). An extra objective for selection, the goodness-of-dimension, is introduced that is used next
to a goodness-of-fit objective. These two objectives are then used in a multi-objective optimiza-
tion routine using the concepts of dominance and Pareto optimality. Goodness-of-dimension is
measured by calculating how many constants with appropriate units should be introduced to render
an equation dimensionally correct. In computer science terms: an incorrectly typed manipulation
is resolved by casting one or all of the terms involved to appropriate types (Keijzer & Babovic,
1999).
The result of a single run of such unit typed genetic programming is a set of equations – a so-called
Pareto front of non-dominated solutions – that balance dimensional correctness (goodness-of-
dimension) with goodness-of-fit. The role of the user then is to choose the most suitable formulation
for further analysis, exploiting his background knowledge or implementing some belief about the
problem domain. The final step lies in examining the selected equation(s). When a reasonable
explanation for the apparent goodness-of-fit of such an equation is produced, the user’s belief in
the correctness of the equation is enhanced. The equation then no longer functions as a black box
for making accurate predictions but as a genuine empirical equation that can be used with more
confidence than mere statistical security. Moreover, the resulting equation and corresponding
interpretation is amenable to review by experts and peers. An example is presented below on
inducing empirical equations for flow resistance.

4
2 FUZZY LOGIC MODELLING OF ALGAL BLOOMS

2.1 Dominant processes and data availability

Predicting algal blooms is an ambitious and difficult topic due to the complexity of the aquatic
ecosystem behaviour, the insufficient knowledge available on the detailed processes and mechan-
isms involved, and the shortage of high quality data. However, Fuzzy Logic (FL) techniques have
the ability to deal with imprecise, uncertain or ambiguous data or relationships among data, and
hence can be a useful and practical method in algal bloom modelling.
In order to explore this, a robust fuzzy logic approach has been developed that derives
(inter)relationships directly from measurements, using expert knowledge as a reference. This allows
the capability to combine partial knowledge on processes with partially available data from obser-
vations. In collaboration with the European Commission project Harmful Algal Bloom Expert
System (EU-HABES), this approach was applied to the North Sea for modelling chlorophyll a
(Chl-a) concentrations.
The North Sea is a semi-enclosed shelf sea with a densely populated and very industrialised
hinterland. It had been one of the most productive fishing areas in the world. In the last 20–50
years, the increase of nutrients discharged by the rivers has led to eutrophication of the coastal
zones. Spring phytoplankton blooms dominated by diatoms and Phaeocystis occur regularly in the
Dutch coastal waters.
These blooms (defined by chlorophyll a ≥ 30 µg/l) are usually non-toxic, but can still be annoying
or even harmful since they are able to produce a thick foam (Fig. 1) under certain onland wind
conditions, which gives rise to unpleasant looks and an evil smell. It is also speculated that the
consequent mineralisation of settled P. globosa leads to anoxia and massive bivalve mortality.

2.2 Fuzzy Logic model development

A number of studies have been carried out to investigate the Dutch coastal ecosystems and to forecast
possible P. globosa blooms through monitoring and modelling programs in order to minimize
economic loss. Both expert knowledge on the underlying processes as well as data from in-situ
measurements are available to construct a Fuzzy Logic model, involving a number of steps as
decribed hereafter.

Figure 1. Dutch coast of the North Sea and monitoring stations (Left), foam after algal blooms (right).

5
Representing heuristic knowledge
A way to construct a reference for interpreting results from data analysis, is to set up a general
rule base containing commonly accepted knowledge from expert ecologists; these rules need not
be specified in great detail, but should provide an adequate benchmark for assessing the results
(Chen, 2004).

Clustering input and output data

In order to characterise the measurement dataset, a self-organising feature map (SOFM) technique
was applied to analyse the data for characteristic clusters or subsets, determining the mean values as
well as 97.5% confidence interval bands of each cluster of model variables. If there is no statistically
significant overlap between the clusters, the classification result is considered acceptable. The
procedure of SOFM can be summarised as follows:
1. initialisation by choosing random values for the initial weight vectors wj (0), imposing that wj (0)
are different for j = 1, 2, . . ., N , where N is the number of neurones in the lattice;
2. sampling by drawing a sample X from the measurement dataset, using the probability distribution
that is evolving through the process (initially random);
3. similarity matchinging by finding the best-matching (winning) neurone i at time t, using the
minimum distance Euclidean criterium: i(x) = argj min ||x(n) − wj ||, j = 1, 2. . .N ;
4. updating by adjusting the synoptic weight vectors of all neurones, using the update formula
j (t + 1) = wj (t) + η(t) · λ(t, r) · (ξn − w j (t)), where η(t), λ(t, r) are the learning rate and

  
w
neighbourhood function resp. and r the radius of neighbourhood;
5. continuation (step 2) until observed changes in the feature map are no longer relevant.

Defining membership functions

Now membership functions for each variable are defined by selecting proper function types and
assigning the mean value of each cluster membership degree µ = 1.0 (Fig. 2).

Inducing fuzzy rules

There are two common strategies for inference rules induction, viz. feature reasoning and case
based reasoning. For feature reasoning, the clusters obtained from SOFM analysis are used; each
feature (cluster) then provides at most one rule, which are added to the general (heuristic) rule base
introduced above. An extend case based reasoning method involves 5 steps:
1. generating rules from each case by fuzzification expressed in linguistic terms;
2. checking whether this rule already exist in the general rule base;
3. checking if the newly generated rules conflict (same premise but different reasoning);
4. selecting relevant rules according to the Bernoulli test;
5. checking for any conflict among the remaining newly generated rules.

VL L M H VH
L M H
membership

1
membership

1
0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2
0 0
0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
concentration (mg/l) concentration (ug/l)

Figure 2. Membership functions of TIN (left) and Chl-a (right).

6
2.3 Case study results for the Dutch coast
Preliminary estimates of nutrient and light requirements for colonial blooms of Phaeocystis indicate
values for inorganic phosphorus >0.2 µM (i.e. 0.0062 mg/l) and irradiance >100 Wh/m2 day−1 . A
high nitrate-ammonia ratio is believed to promote the colonial life form as well. Relatively high
growth rates (>0.5 day−1 ) seem to occur at salinity levels of (20–35 psu) within a temperature
range from (7–22◦ C) and a daily irradiance value of >100 Wh/m2 day−1 .
Biweekly data were collected at 17 stations (Fig. 1) during the period May 1975 to March 1983.
The observations include temperature, pH, salinity, Si O2 , total inorganic phosphorus, NO− −
2 , NO3 ,
+
NH4 , chlorophyll α and others – 18 parameters in total. Since there is no observation of Phaeocystis
concentration directly, it is assumed here that any Chl-a concentration above (30.0 µg/l) represents
a Phaeocystis bloom. Since station Noordwijk2 (NW2) contained the least missing data, it was
selected here. Salinity (S), temperature (T), total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) and total inorganic
phosphorus (TIP) were used as input to predict the Chl-a concentration.
No data was available on wind or solar irradiance. The total dataset contained 171 records, of
which 145 (May, 1975∼Dec, 1981) were selected for model construction and 26 (Jan, 1982∼Mar,
1983) were used for verification. Cluster analyses were preformed distinguishing between three
pre-defined classes for TIN and TIP and five classes for Chl-a resp.; the constructed membership
functions are presented in Figure 2.
The extended case reasoning strategy is applied for rule generation; after the membership func-
tions of each variable are defined, the 145 learning data are fuzzified following the procedures
described above. From these 145 records a limited set of 15 rules were obtained. In order to enable
a quantitative comparison, the model outputs are defuzzified by the centre of gravity method in
combination with a normalised weighted sum, according to

where D is numerical output, wi is the weight associated with rule i, νi is the fired degree of rule
i, and M (Bi ) is the fuzzy mean of the corresponding output fuzzy set of rule i, given by

in which µB is the membership function of fuzzy set B on variable x. The defuzzified outputs are
plotted against the observations for comparison (Fig. 3). The two series are seen to match reasonably
well (having an R2 of about 0.83 which can be considered quite acceptable) given the approximate

testing results vs. observations

70 50
Chl-a (ug/l)

60 modelled R2 = 0.8322
observed

40
50 observed
40 30
30 14
20
20
10 10
0 0
0 6 12 18 24 30 0 10 20 30 40 50
t FuzzHAB modelled

Figure 3. Chl-a concentration at NW2 with t ≈ 15 days (left), and scatter plot and R2 (right).

7
nature of the procedure (Chen et al., 2004). It is seen that the model fails to numerically reproduce
the very low or very high values. One reason is that the model variables are divided into three or five
classes, which is too coarse to be very precise. Of course this can be improved by applying a finer
division into (sub)classes if quantitative prediction is of interest and adequate data are available for
membership function construction.
The overall conclusion is that a Fuzzy Logic rule-based model seems feasible for algal bloom
alarm, provided irradiance data are available from meteorological observations and nutrient data
from a hydrodynamic transport model, e.g. the Delft3D coastal hydrodynamic software system of
WL | Delft Hydraulics (Chen & Mynett, 2004). Clearly, the role of expert knowledge is important
in identifying the proper membership functions and establishing an appropriate rule-base.

3 GENETIC PROGRAMMING OF FLOW RESISTANCE DUE TO VEGETATION

3.1 Modelling considerations

Proper modelling of overland flows in wetlands and vegetated floodplains is of great practical
importance both in flood early warning and in river restauration. Many research initiatives have
been undertaken in order to improve on the description of the relationship between flow resistance
and the temporal and spatial distribution of vegetation. Both analytical and experimental studies of
vegetation-related resistance to flow and the equivalent resistance coefficients have shown that the
resistance coefficients are very much waterdepth (and hence solution) dependent. Consequently, the
traditional approach of using a single resistance coefficient fails to describe correctly the (nonlinear)
physical behaviour of this phenomenon. One way of improving the description is updating the
equivalent resistance coefficient based on the computed water depth. However, in order to do so,
a relation between vegetation characteristics, bed resistance, water depth and equivalent resistance
coefficient is needed. Genetic Programming is used here to derive such relation.
When refining a model of a physical process, a scientist focuses on the agreement of theoretically
predicted and experimentally observed behaviour. If these agree in some accepted sense, then
the model is considered ‘correct’ within that context. Here, the inverse problem to verification
of theoretical models is considered: (how) can we obtain the governing equations directly from
measurements? To do this, we will extend the notion of qualitative information contained in a
sequence of observations to consider directly the underlying mechanisms. We will show that, using
this information, one can deduce the effective governing equations. The latter represent up to an a
priori specified level of correctness or accuracy, the deterministic portion of the observed behaviour.

3.2 Equation building – the 1DV turbulence model

One way of obtaining a detailed account of resistance description of flow through and above
vegetation, is to perform detailed numerical simulations based on a one-dimensional turbulence
model for the vertical (1DV) direction (Uittenbogaard, 2003). The 1DV model assumes that the flow
is locally uniform in the horizontal directions, and calculates the orthogonal horizontal velocities
u(z) and v(z) as a function of the vertical coordinate z. The 1DV model is a simplification of the
full 3D Navier-Stokes equations by decoupling the vertical from the horizontal flow conditions. In
order to include the effects of plants into the commonly used k-ε model for turbulence closure, the
following modifications have been included:

1. the decrease of the available cross-section for the vertical exchange of momentum, turbulent
kinetic energy and turbulent dissipation,
2. the drag force exerted by the plants in the horizontal direction,
3. an additional turbulence production term due to vegetation, and
4. an additional turbulence dissipation term due to vegetation.

8
 After incorporation of these effects the equation of motion becomes:

where (1 − Ap ) denotes the specific area occupied by the fluid and F is the drag force exerted by
the plants. The k-equation in the k-ε model is modified to account for the effect of plants:

For a more detailed description of this 1DV model the reader is referred to (Uittenbogaard, 2003).
The purpose of running the 1DV k-ε model in this study was to obtain the detailed roughness descrip-
tion of resistance to the flow caused by vegetation and to obtain the commonly used roughness
values like the Manning (n), Chézy (C) or Nikuradse (ks ) coefficients. Water-depth-dependent
roughness relationship as well as the water-level slope are plotted in Figure 4 against ratio of plant
height (k) and water depth (h). Two different conditions can be identified: (i) un-submerged vege-
tation, when the plants height exceeds the water depth, and (ii) submerged vegetation, when the
water depth exceeds the plants height.
Clearly, for un-submerged flow conditions the water-level slope is much higher than for sub-
merged conditions implying that the resistance of the vegetation is higher. Un-submerged flow
conditions can be successfully treated analytically (Rodriguez, 2003). If the water level is high

Manning coefficient (n) Chezy coefficient (C)

0.8 40

0.6 30
C [m·0.5/s]
n [-]

0.4 20

0.2 10

0 0
0 5 10 0 5 10
Relative water depth (h/k) [-] Relative water depth (h/k) [-]

Nikouradse roughness height (ks) Water-level slope (i)

8 100

6
ks [m]

i [-]

0 10-5
0 5 10 0 5 10
Relative water depth (h/k) [-] Relative water depth (h/k) [-]

Figure 4. Vegetation-related resistance coefficients and water-level slope versus water depth.

9
 Table 1. Inputs to the 1DV k-ε model.

Input Dimension Description

D L Diameter of the stems.

m L−2 Number of stems per square meter.
k L Plants height.
CD – Drag coefficient of a single stem.
Cb L0.5 /T Bed Chézy resistance coefficient.
h L Water depth.

enough, flow through the vegetation is negligible compared to the flow above (Fig. 4); in the transi-
tion zone both the flow through vegetation and above it are relevant and consequently all resistance
coefficients are depth-dependent.

3.3 Genetic Programming – evolutionary development

Genetic algorithms, evolution strategies, evolutionary programming as well as differential evolu-
tion represent a few examples of evolutionary algorithms that have been explored by a number
of scientists during the past decades. However it was rather recently that John Koza (1992) of
Stanford University proposed a special kind of evolutionary algorithm: Genetic Programming
(GP) which involves symbolic expressions. Applications of genetic programming in hydrosciences
were introduced by (Babovic & Abbott, 1997) and (Babovic & Keijzer, 2000).
Inspired by Koza’s pioneering work and in order to improve the performance of his algorithm, the
dimensionally aware GP algorithm was developed by (Keijzer & Babovic, 1999) which is considered
extremely useful for knowledge discovery in engineering science. In that field it has been ‘common
scientific practice’ to eliminate units of measurements through the introduction of dimensionless
numbers (which can be derived systematically by applying Buckingham’s Pi-theorem) in order
to use knowledge-free induction tools such as regression analysis, neural networks or genetic
programming. Moreover, as a consequence the original search space collapses, making it more
effective for algorithms that fit models to the data.
The dimensionally aware genetic programming (Keijzer & Babovic, 1999) differs in that the raw
observations are used together with their units of measurement. The system of units of measure-
ment can be viewed as a typing scheme and as such can be used in some form of typed genetic
programming. The dimensionally aware approach proposes what can be called a weakly typed or
implicit casting approach – dimensional correctness is promoted, not enforced.
The role of the (expert) user is then to choose his most suitable formulation to further analyse
the proposed relationships. The user can exploit background knowledge or implement some belief
about the problem domain. The final step lies in examining the selected equation(s) in order to
interpret them. When a reasonable explanation for the apparent goodness-of-fit of such an equation
is produced, the user’s belief in the correctness of the equation is enhanced. The equation then
no longer functions as a black box for making accurate predictions but as a genuine empirical
equation that can be used with more confidence than mere statistical accuracy. The equation and
corresponding interpretation is amenable to review by experts and peers.

3.4 Resistance formulae for submerged vegetation obtained from GP

The dimensionally aware genetic programming approach was applied to a set of 990 calculations
carried out with the 1DV numerical model for submerged vegetation, using the input variables as
presented in the table above (Rodriguez, 2004).
For dimensional consistency a slightly adapted Chézy’s coefficient was used:

10
Figure 5. Scatter plot of Cr (GP based formula).

by virtue of which time-related units of measurements are avoided and the resistance coefficient
becomes solely a function of the geometry of the system. GP was then employed in a multi-
objective sense, simultaneously optimising the following three objectives: (i) root mean square
error (RMSE): measure of overall the accuracy of the formula, (ii) coefficient of determination
(CoD): measure of the goodness of the shape of the formula and (iii) dimensional error: measure
of the dimensional consistency of the formulae. The following formula with smallest RMSE and
highest CoD appeared:

which can be rearranged to give:

The RMSE of this formula was 0.98 m0.5 /s; its scatter plot is presented in Figure 5.
The relationship between the resistance coefficient Cr and the water depth h consists of an h-
independent term and a logarithmic h-dependent term. For h = k the log term reduces to 0, which
will be denoted by Ck :

Ck is equivalent to the simplest expression of Cr for flow through un-submerged vegetation as

derived by (Rodriguez, 2004):

11
Substitution immediately gives:

It can be seen that (3.8) may take the form of a differential equation with a boundary condition
imposed at h = k; differentiating both sides with respect to h results in:

In turn, integration and applying the boundary condition C = Cref at h = href gives:

In this case the logical boundary condition is href = k which is compatible with the simplest expres-
sion for Cr in case of un-submerged vegetation. However, in order to be compatible with the more
accurate expression of (Rodriguez, 2004):

The corresponding expression for Ck becomes:

This expression provides more accurate results (RMSE = 0.77 m0.5 /s). Also, with this change in
Ck , it was found that a better fit was possible using a slightly different coefficient in front of the

Figure 6. Scatter plots for Cr (GP based formula with theoretical Ck for different coefficients).

12
logarithmic term in (Eq. 3.8), corresponding to:

which has a fit with an RMSE of 0.63 m0.5 /s, as indicated in Figure 6.
Using this modified coefficient, the differential equation (3.9) becomes:

4 CONCLUSIONS

The application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques like Fuzzy Logic or Genetic Program-
ming in essence concerns extracting useful information from data sources and combining available
knowledge with new observations. However, merely applying AI-techniques is not the entire story,
at least not in the field of scientific knowledge discovery. New scientific theories encourage
the acquisition of new data and these data in turn lead to the generation of new theories. The
authors strongly believe that the most appropriate way for scientific applications of data mining
is to combine both theory-driven and data-driven approaches. By incorporating expert knowledge
in the discovery process, one can take full advantage of knowledge discovery and advance the
understanding of physical processes in the field of environmental hydrodynamics.

REFERENCES

Babovic, V. & Abbott, M.B. (1997). The evolution of equations from hydraulic data, Part I: Theory, and Part
II: Application, Journal of Hydraulic Research, 35(3): 397–430.
Babovic, V. & Keijzer, M. (1999). Computer supported knowledge discovery – A case study in flow resistance
induced by vegetation. In: Proceedings of the XXVIII Congress of International Association for Hydraulic
Research, Graz, Austria.
Babovic, V. & Keijzer, M. (2000). Genetic programming as a model induction engine. Journal of
Hydroinformatics, 2(1): 35–60.
Chen, Q. (2004). Cellular Automata and Artificial Intelligence in Ecohydraulics Modelling. PhD thesis,
UNESCO-IHE, Taylor & Francis Group plc, London UK, ISBN: 90 5809 696 3.
Chen, Q. & Mynett, A.E. (2004). Predicting algal blooms along the Dutch coast by integrated numerical and
fuzzy logic approaches. In: Liong et al. (Eds.), Proc. 6th Hydroinformatics Conference, Singapore.
Chen, Q., Mynett, A.E. & Teng, L. (2004). Integrated numerical and decision tree modelling of Phaeocystis
globosa bloom along the Dutch coast”, In: Liong et al. (Eds.), Proc. 6th Hydroinformatics Conference,
Singapore., Vol. 1, pp 315–323.
Keijzer, M. & Babovic, V. (1999). Declarative and preferential bias in GP-based scientific discovery, Genetic
programming and evolvable machines, 3: 41–79.
Koza, J.R. (1992) Genetic Programming: On the Programming of the Computes by Means of Natural Selection,
MIT Press.
Mynett, A.E. (2002). Environmental Hydroinformatics: the way ahead. In :Falconer et al. (Eds.), Proc. 5th
Hydroinformatics Conference, Cardiff, UK, Vol.1, pp 31–36.
Mynett, A.E. (2003). Hydroinformatics in ecosystem restauration and management. Final Report, Science,
Technology & Management Panel, 3rd World Water Forum, Kyoto-Osaka-Shiga, Japan.
Mynett, A.E. (2004). Environmental Hydroinformatics tools for ecohydraulics modelling. In: Liong et al.
(Eds.), Proc. 6th Hydroinformatics Conference, Singapore., Vol. 1, pp 13–23.
Rodriguez, J.R. (2004). Evaluation of Physically Based and Evolutionary Data Mining Approaches for
Modelling Resistance due to Vegetation in SOBEK1D-2D. MSc thesis HH485, UNESCO-IHE.
Uittenbogaard, R. (2003). Modelling turbulence in vegetated aquatic flows. In: Riparian forest vegetated
channels workshop, Trento, Italy.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Hydraulic phenomena in urban atmospheric environments and

their role in contaminant dispersion

H.J.S. Fernando
Environmental Fluid Dynamics Program, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering,
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

ABSTRACT: Stable stratification associated with nocturnal thermal circulation in areas of com-
plex terrain leads to interesting internal “hydraulic” phenomena. Given that most urban areas are in
complex topography, understanding and prediction of such phenomena are of immediate practical
importance. The results of some theoretical, laboratory and field experimental studies aimed at
understanding stratified flow and turbulence phenomena in urban areas is summarized in this paper,
with particular emphasis on internal hydraulic effects that arise during the topographic adjustment of
stably stratified gravity-driven flows in complex topographies and turbulent diffusion in such flows.

1 INTRODUCTION

Although the subject of Hydraulics (hydōr + aulos = water + tube) has been historically used in
conjunction with water motion in constrained engineering systems such as tubes, pipes, channels
and elbows, the techniques used therein have also been used for air flows. A striking example in this
context is the epoch-making work of Long (1953), wherein the techniques of free-surface hydraulics
were applied to study the motion of layered (stratified) flow over obstacles, thus mimicking stratified
air flow over mountains, which has been extended to oceanic and engineering flows. Natural flows
are turbulent; layers of different densities mix significantly and thus the techniques of idealized
internal hydraulic theory are barely applicable to such flows. The basic ideas and analyses, however,
have been successfully used to study and predict many environmental flows. This paper attempts to
identify and analyze internal hydraulic phenomena that have important bearing on air flow and dis-
persion in urban areas. World population is expanding at a rate of ∼1.5% annually, and has a strong
tendency to pool in ever larger and more complex urban settings in search of an enhanced quality of
life (Fuchs et al. 1995). The population tends to settle along transportation corridors along water-
ways, which are typically associated with complex terrain (defined as areas replete with mountains,
valleys and escarpments). Uneven topography not only causes perturbations to the background large
(synoptic) scale (∼1000 km) atmospheric flows, but also induces local flows within urban air basins
(airsheds) known as thermal circulation; a combination of synoptic flow, thermal circulation and
other local flows determines the local micrometeorology (Brazel et al. 2004). It is the internal
hydraulic phenomena associated with urban meteorological flows that are of interest to this paper.
The thermal circulation, which is driven by local diurnal solar heating and cooling of the topog-
raphy, is broadly classified into two classes, slope and valley flows, the former occurring on side
slopes and the latter blowing along the valley. Up-slope (anabatic) and up-valley circulations occur
during the day and down-slope (katabatic) and down-valley winds develop at night. These flows
are exemplified in Figure 1 on a topographic map of the Salt Lake Valley, where an extensive
measurement program – Vertical Transport and Mixing eXperiment (VTMX) – was conducted in
October 2000 (Doran et al. 2002). VTMX concerned nocturnal thermal circulation under negligible
(or weak) synoptic influence. Also of interest were the transition periods where winds shift their
direction. In the evening, the winds switch from up slope/valley winds to down slope/valley winds
(evening transition) and the opposite occurs during morning transition. At night, the air layer near

15
 ASU US
N
DS
UV

3000

2550
US
2100
DS
DV
1650

DS-Downslope
US-Upslope 1200
DV-Down-valley
UV-Up-valley

Figure 1. The thermal circulation in the complex terrain of Salt Lake Valley, Utah, where the VTMX campaign
was conducted. The shading indicates the topography (in m).

the sloping ground become heavier and drains down as down-slope (DS) or katabatic flows. A part
of this flow accumulates (“pool”) in the valley bottom as a stably stratified layer (which acts as a
“smog trap,” given that vertical turbulent diffusion is inhibited by stable stratification), whereas
the rest drains along the valley slope forming down-valley winds (DV). This circulation patterns
reverses during the day, forming up-slope (US) and up-valley (UV) winds. Figure 1 also shows the
suite of instruments deployed by various groups during the VTMX Program, and the measurements
to be described here were taken at the ASU site located on a slope in the east valley. In addition,
laboratory experiments and theoretical analyses were also conducted to elicit physical processes
active in the thermally driven flows, some results of which are also summarized in this paper.

2 DOWN-SLOPE (KATABATIC) FLOWS AND HYDRAULIC ADJUSTMENTS

Katabatic flows are driven by radiative cooling of a thin fluid layer, and most of the previous studies
have focused on quasi-steady state of such flows on simple slopes; see, for example, Figure 2
(Manins & Sawford 1979; Doran & Horst 1993). Here the mean flows are largely determined
by local forces due to buoyancy, inertia and Reynolds stress gradients. In the thin-layer (shallow
water) formulation, the equation of motion of two-dimensional katabatic flows over simple flows
is written is the layer-averaged form (e.g. Manins & Sawford 1979),

where the averages are defined in terms of a depth H at which katabatic velocity perturbations
vanishes, i.e.

16
 θva
z
n
z
x
α θvR
s

d
n

θv

Figure 2. A schematic of a down-slope flow along a simple slope.

where h is a characteristic thickness of the flow and the entrainment velocity wH can be written in
terms of the entrainment coefficient E as wH = −EU 2 . For top hat profiles, the profile factors S1 ,
S2 and S3 can be taken as unity, as in (2.1)–(2.2). Here a planar slope of inclination α (Figure 2), is
assumed, the initial undisturbed (virtual) temperature stratification is θva = θvR + γ z, z is the vertical
coordinate, s and n, respectively, are the along-slope and slope-normal coordinates, and γ is the
ambient vertical temperature gradient. The nocturnal cooling of the surface causes a temperature
deviation −d(s, n, t) from the original θva , leading to an along-slope katabatic flow with temperature
θv = θva − d(s, n, t). With the usual definition of buoyancy based on a reference temperature θvR or
reference density ρR (at z = 0), bva = g(θva − θvR )/θvR and bv = g(θv − θvR )/θvR , it is possible to write

where N is the buoyancy frequency, B0 = Q0 − (RH − R0 ), Q0 = (b w  )0 is the surface buoyancy

flux, (RH − R0 ) is the buoyancy deficit caused by the differential net radiation between n = 0 and
H and (b w  )H is the turbulent buoyancy flux at the top of katabatic layer. The physical meaning
of the terms of (2.1)–(2.4) has been discussed extensively and can be found in Manins & Sawford
(1979) and Papadopoulos et al. (1997). Note that the second term in (2.1) can be expressed as

and the term τE = EU 2 represents the shear stresses introduced by the entrainment flow into the
katabatic current. Note that this shear stress differs from the Reynolds stresses at the edge of the
katabatic flow. Both the surface stress τS = CD U 2 and τE contribute to the retardation of the gravity
currents, but detailed measurements made during the VTMX campaign show that the τE /τS ratio
can be as high as (10–20) when the Richardson number (Ri = bh cos α/U 2 ) is less than 0.8,
whereupon the entrainment is dominant (Princevac et al. 2004). At larger Ri(>1), the surface shear
stress as well as the inertial term Uh∂U /∂s become important.
In general, the scales of the first two terms in (2.1) become Uh/T and U 2 h/LH , respectively, and
whenever their ratio LH /UT , where T and LH are the time and along-slope length scales, becomes
small the unsteady terms can be neglected. For typical LH ∼ 10 km and U ∼ 3 m/s, this requires
consideration of time averages over about an hour. Under steady conditions, a balance of the along
slope buoyancy and the inertia can be assumed for Ri > 0.8, since τE is assumed negligible or on

17
 (a) (b)

Figure 3. The propagation of a gravity current with Q0 = 38 cm2 /s: (a) α = (10◦ , 20◦ ) and (b) α = (0◦ , 26◦ )
(the top of the concentration contour represents the 90% of the maximum concentration).

the same order as τS . The balance of forces, therefore, gives

VTMX results show that λu ≈ 0.5 − 0.6, although the data is somewhat scattered. If the entrainment
stress is dominant for Ri < 0.8, then a major balance of the form

can be proposed, where at least for laboratory down-slope slows E can be expressed as (Turner 1986),

Princevac et al. (2004) have argued that (2.8) underestimates the entrainment rate, given that the
Ellison & Turner (1959) experiments were performed at lower Reynolds numbers. For very small
Ri, E can be approximated as a constant and thus

Figures 3a, b show a laboratory gravity current down a slope, and Figure 4 shows a comparison of
results with (2.7b), the Richardson numbers at the measurement locations being small (Ri < 1). The
directly measured entrainment coefficients were used in the calculations. In the experiments, the
flow was introduced by releasing a 2-dimensional layer of dense water at the upper end of the slope.
Measurements were made using the PTV technique at 10 cm upstream of the slope discontinuity
under steady flow conditions for a range of slope angles (0 < α < 60◦ ) and source buoyancy fluxes
35 < Q0 < 45 cm2 /s, where Q0 = V0 b0 , V0 is the initial volume flux rate and b0 is the buoyancy
of the source fluid.
When considering time scales smaller than LH /U , the unsteadiness in (2.1) plays a dominant role
and, late into the night, the entrainment and buoyancy flux B0 are negligibly small (E << tan α).
Therefore, over small slopes, one may expect linear oscillations determined by

18
Figure 4. Comparison of steady state flow velocity with the predictions (2.7b).

with a frequency N sin α. Such oscillations in katabatic flows have been previously noted both
observationally and on theoretical grounds (Fleagle 1950), but different mechanisms have been
proposed with regard to their existence. Fleagle’s (1950) model shows that, as the air accelerates
down the slope, the development of an adverse pressure gradient due to adiabatic heating of air
leading to flow retardation. If the friction can be written as F = −kU , then the friction reduces
as air decelerates while radiational cooling continues to be the driving force. Porch et al. (1991)
have argued that cross flows over the slopes also can cause oscillations. In this case, katabatic
flow temporarily stops as drainage currents from tributaries intermittently enter the valleys. As
cold air accumulates and buoyancy forcing increase in tributaries, there will be periodic releases
of colder air onto the slope, causing oscillations. Oscillations described by (2.10), however, do
not require such a mechanism nor do they rely on adiabatic heating of draining air. The major
mechanism of oscillations here is a balance between unsteady inertia and buoyancy forces of fluid
elements.
It is possible to obtain the characteristic layer thickness h and the buoyancy deficit scale b
of katabatic flows by using the continuity equation in integrated form ∂Uh/∂s = EU , an entrain-
ment law of the form E = A/Ri for larger Richardson numbers (Manins & Sawford 1979), (2.2),
(2.6) and by employing a set of reasonable assumptions. After some simplifications, it is possible
to obtain

where B = λ2u A. The buoyancy equation (2.2), with the assumptions of quasi-steadiness, B0 ≈ 0,
(b w )H /(UhN 2 ) << E and E << tan α as well as by invoking the usual boundary layer approxima-
tion h/s << 1, becomes

Note that the gradual cooling of the entire slope over the night can be accounted in the analysis
when b at the top of the slope is specified, b = b0 at s = 0. Using (2.11) and (2.12), it is

19
possible to obtain the invariant

where h = h0 at s = 0, and

The layer thickness in (2.14) can be simplified to obtain h ≈ (3B/2)½ (tan α)½ s for the case of
s >> h0 /(3B tan α/2)½ , but this condition is not typically satisfied in field situations.
Another interesting aspect is the hydraulic adjustment of flow near a slope break, for example,
at the foot of a mountain. For the idealized case of laboratory flows described above, where the
down-slope flow is given by (2.7), the internal Froude number can be written as

and for √ small Ri (<0.2), the above expression can be written as (with λ∗u ≈ 0.9 and E ∼ 0.1)
Fr ≈ 2.9 sin α. Note that the flow becomes supercritical for Fr > 1 or α > 7◦ , and thus any slope
discontinuity connecting two slopes of sufficient length that satisfies α > 7◦ for both upper and
lower slopes ought to realize a flow that remains supercritical on either side of the discontinuity.
This phenomenon is exemplified in Figure 3a, where only a little change of the nature of the current
is evident following the slope discontinuity. Here all disturbances caused by topography change
are swept away by the flow, allowing little time for the flow to adjust at the discontinuity. Alter-
natively, if the lower (lesser) slope is less than 7◦ or so, with flow over the larger slope remaining
supercritical, then it is possible to expect a sudden transition downstream of the slope break in the
form of an internal hydraulic jump. This is evident in Figure 3b.
The flow will be different from the above laboratory case if the gravity-driven flow is to be highly
stratified so that entrainment is negligibly small. The velocity in this case is given by (2.6), and
thus the internal Froude number becomes

where γ = h/LH . Using typical values of λ ≈ 0.5 and γ ≈ 0.01, we find that the flow is supercritical
for about α > 2◦ .
It will also be useful to consider the hydraulic adjustment process in light of the theory of
Manins & Sawford (1979). They found that for the case of negligible ambient stratification the
flow becomes supercritical when

where c1 , c2 and c3 are defined in terms of the solutions to the hydraulics equations with N = 0, viz.

c1 ≈ 0.073, c2 ≈ 2.5 and c3 ≈ 8.2. Using the typical value S1 ≈ 0.5, the requirement for supercrit-
icality becomes β > 0.6◦ . Accordingly, unless the terrain following a slope break is unwontedly
flat, no hydraulic jumps can be expected.

20
3 DISPERSION IN NOCTURNAL FLOWS

One of the striking properties of nocturnal thermal circulation is its intrinsic stable stratification,
which leads to drastic modifications in transport and dispersion properties. The dispersion is
characterized by the eddy diffusivities of momentum and heat, respectively,

Figure 5 shows, respectively, the dimensional forms of KM , KH and their ratio KH /KM as a
function of the averaged local gradient Richardson number Rig of the flow (Monti et al. 2002).
Note that in the Rig range investigated both KH and KM are much larger than their molecular diffusive
counterparts (KH = 2 · 10−5 and KM = 1.5 · 10−5 m2 s−1 , respectively), indicating the dominance
of turbulent transport. As evident from Figure 5, KH /KM is approximately unity for Rig < 0.2. In
this range, the stratification effects are of lesser importance and the heat is carried by turbulent
eddies at the same rate as momentum. When Rig > 0.2, KM becomes greater than KH , which can
be attributed to the increasing influence of buoyancy that facilitates internal gravity-wave activity.
Internal waves transport momentum, but sustain only little (or in the ideal case of linear waves, no)
buoyancy fluxes. In the range 1 < Rig < 10, the eddy diffusivities have only little dependence on
Rig . A commonplace assumption made in geophysical modeling is that KH /KM is a constant, but
this does not hold true over the extended range of Rig investigated here. According to the stratified
shear flow studies of Strang and Fernando (2001), K-H billowing is prominent when Rig < 1, and at
higher Rig the dominant mixing mechanism becomes sporadic breaking of Hölmböe and/or internal
waves. The buoyancy flux associated with these latter mechanisms is smaller and hence a lower
KH /KM can be expected. Due to the paucity of very high Rig events in the time series, data points
for Rig > 20 have not been subjected to extensive statistical averaging and hence need to be viewed
with circumspection.
Suitable non-dimensional forms for the eddy diffusivities were sought during the VTMX data
analysis, and the buoyancy scale Lb = σw /N , the shear scale Ls = σw /|d Ṽ /dz|, the nocturnal bound-
ary layer height h and the integral length scale z of eddies at a distance z from the ground
were considered as possible length scale candidates. Note that near the ground the approxima-
tion |d Ṽ /dz| = {(dU /dz)2 + (dV /dz)2 }½ ≈ (dU /dz) applies and σw is the vertical rms velocity. It
was found that the best scaling for both eddy coefficients is realized when σw Ls , or equivalently
σw2 /|d Ṽ /dz| is used. The normalization was found to arrange the data in Figure 5 to a more regular
variation, with the following semi-empirical expressions for diffusivities:

It is interesting that (3.2a, b) reduces to the expressions KM ≈ 0.34 · σw2 /|d Ṽ /dz| and KH ≈
0.08 · σw2 /N , one is dominated by shear and the other by buoyancy. The above expressions were
implemented in the meso-scale meteorological models MM-5 and RAMS, which were then used to
predict the basin-scale circulations in Salt Lake valley (Lee et al. 2004) and in Rome (Paolo Monti,
personal communication), respectively. The new parameterizations (3.2a, b) were found to give
significantly better predictions for the near-surface temperature, but only a marginal improvement
was found with respect to velocity predictions. A number of possible causes could be identified
for this anomalous behavior, one being the relatively straightforward dependence of temperature
structure on eddy diffusivity of heat vis-à-vis the dependence of momentum distribution on both
heat and momentum diffusivities in a convoluted fashion.

21
Figure 5. The variation of eddy diffusivities and their ratio with the local Richardson number, measured
during the VTMX experiment. The lines show best fits for the entire KM range and for the ranges KH > 1
and KH < 1. The KH plots were separated into two regimes due to the striking change of behavior at KH = 1
(Monti et al. 2002).

22
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The contributions of the ASU VTMX team, especially Dr. Marko Princevac and Mr. Cristian
Dumitrescu, are gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported by the DOE (EMP), NSF
(CTS/ATM) and ARO (Geosciences).

REFERENCES

Brazel, A.J., Fernando, H.J.S., Hunt, J.C.R., Selover, N., Hedquist, B. and Pardyjak, E., 2004: The evening
transition phenomena in Phoenix, Arizona. Journal of Applied Meteorology, In Press.
Businger, J.A. and Rao, K.R., 1965: The formation of drainage wind on a snow-dome. J. Glaciol., 5, 833–841.
Doran, J.C. and Horst, T.W., 1993: Observations and models of simple nocturnal slope flows. Boundary-Layer
Meteor., 18, 495–527.
Doran, J.C., Fast, J.D. and Horel, J., 2002: The VTMX 2000 campaign. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 83, 537–551.
Fleagle, R.G., 1950: A theory of air drainage. J. Meteor., 7 (3), 227–232.
Fuchs, R.J., Brennan, E., Chamie, J., Lo, F., Uitto, J.I., (Eds) 1995: Mega-city growth and the future, United
Nations University Press, Tokyo.
Lee, S.M., Giori, W., Princevac, M. and Fernando, H.J.S., 2004: “A new turbulent parameterization for the
nocturnal PBL over complex terrain,” Submitted to Boundary Layer Meteorology.
Long, R.R., 1953: Some aspects of the flow of stratified fluids. I. A theoretical investigation. Tellus, 5, 42–57.
Mahrt, L., 1982: Momentum balance of gravity flows. J. Atmos. Sci., 39, 2701–2711.
Manins, P.C. and Sawford, B.L., 1979: A model for katabatic winds, J. Atmos. Sci., 36, 619–630.
Monti, P., Fernando, H.J.S., Princevac, M., Chan, W.C., Kowalewski, T.A. and Pardyjak, E.R., 2002: Observa-
tions of flow and turbulence in the nocturnal boundary layer over a slope. J. Atmos. Sci., 59(17), 2513–2534.
Porch, W.M., Fritz, R.B. and Coulter, R., 1991: Tributory, valley and sidewall air flow interactions in a deep
valley. J. Appl. Meteor., 28, 578–589.
Princevac, M., Fernando, H.J.S. and Whiteman, D.C., 2004: Entrainment into natural gravity driven flows,
Submitted for publication.
Papadopoulos, K.H., Helmis, C.G., Soilemes, A.T., Kalogiros, J., Papageorgas, P.G. and Asimakopoulos, D.N.,
1997: The structure of katabatic flows down a simple slope. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 123, 1581–1601.
Strang, E.J. and Fernando, H.J.S., 2001: Turbulence and mixing in stratified shear flows, Journal of Fluid
Mechanics, 428, 349–386.

23
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Invited lectures
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Exchange flows and estuarine barriers

P.A. Davies & A.J.S. Cuthbertson

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK

ABSTRACT: The hydrodynamic effects of incorporating or removing natural or constructed

barriers (e.g. sand bars, tidal barrages) within estuaries are reviewed from the point of view of
restricted tidal intrusion and flushing of saline waters and the suppression of associated density-
driven exchange processes. Results from recent experimental studies investigating various aspects
of these processes for fully- and partly-submerged barrier configurations are presented herein. In
each case, attempts are made to describe these processes through appropriate scaling relationships
of the controlling parameters. Applications to field scale observations are attempted.

1 INTRODUCTION

Recent interest in the commercial exploitation of port and dockland areas and management of
urban estuaries has resulted in considerable capital investment for regeneration schemes aimed at
enhancing the aesthetic, leisure and environmental value of the site in question. In some cases
such as the Cardiff Bay scheme in the UK (Crompton, 2002), waterfront developments include the
construction of barriers (Burt & Rees, 2001) across the estuary. Such structures restrict completely
any tidal incursion and maintain the upstream water level at a controlled elevation allowing leisure
and business activities to continue unhindered by low water for a substantial proportion of the day.
In other developments such as the Wansbeck and Tawe barrages, submerged barriers are constructed
in order to moderate rather than prevent the tidal exchange. Estuaries may also become fully or
partially blocked by natural causes. For example, sediment deposition at the mouth of the estuary
may be sufficiently strong as to cause a bar to form, thereby restricting exchange between the
estuary proper and the coastal waters. Many shallow, micro-tidal estuaries exhibit this behaviour
when prolonged low river flows persist during summer months (Coates et al. 2001) or where there
is substantial abstraction of river water for agricultural or industrial use). Sea lochs and fjords have
similar natural topographic constraints due to the presence of a submerged sill that provides an
effective submerged barrier to full exchange.
The presence of such flow obstructions can have important implications for the overall estuarine
ecology. The inhibition of natural tidal intrusion and flushing processes can result in stagnation and
contaminant accumulation in the brackish water body trapped within the estuary. Such a situation
is known to have deleterious effects on water quality and dissolved oxygen levels (Donnelly et al.
2000; Coates et al. 2001).

2 MODELLING APPROACHES

2.1 Purging of a trapped brackish water pool

The first and simplest case to be considered is that of a full barrier (such as a sediment bar) for which
microtidal conditions obtain. The problem is then more of a purging problem than an exchange
process per se. Figure 1 shows a schematic view of such a case. A trapped volume of salt water of
prescribed initial density ρ0 + (ρ)0 initially fills an estuary of length L and uniform width b to
the level Hs defined by the bottom slope α, (the estuary bed slopes with angle α over a distance of

27
 z=H
Q, ρ0
h

z = Hs
δ(x,t) A
z = ξ(x,t) B

ρ0 + (∆ρ)0 α E z=0
xs xw(t) x=0

Figure 1. Defining sketch of physical system and laboratory channel.

xs from the upstream height Hs ). A surface flow of fresh water of density ρ0 , depth h, flow rate Q
and discharge per unit width q (= Q/b) is initiated upstream in the channel, causing the interface
between the trapped salt water and the overlying fresh water flow to distort. By an elapsed time t
after initiation of the fresh water surface flow, a salt wedge has formed with nose position x = xw (t)
and nominal interface height z = ξ (x, t) relative to the origin of a Cartesian coordinate system
(x, y, z) defined by the undisturbed upstream location (x = 0) of the trapped saline water and the
base (z = 0) of the channel respectively (see Figure 1). The behaviour of the saline water may be
analysed in terms of the reduction δ(x, t) in interface level, where δ is defined as δ = (Hs − ξ ). With
such a system, the flow is described conveniently by the Froude number Fr 0 = q/(g  h3 )1/2 and the
additional parameters α, h/Hs , xs /Hs and Hs /L, where g  = g(ρ)0 /ρ0 and g is the gravitational
acceleration.
For maintained steady discharges, Coates et al. (2001) showed that the response is char-
acterised by an initial phase of intense shear-induced mixing at the nose of the wedge and
a second phase where the mixing is significantly reduced and the wedge is forced relatively
slowly down and along the bed slope. An energy balance analysis predicts that k(t) [(1/2)
ρ0 Q3 t/(hb)2 ] ∼ [(1/4)(2L − xw )bδ 2 (ρ)g] where k(t) is the proportion of the total kinetic energy
“river” input allocated in time t to an increase in potential energy of the system due to flushing.
The scaling prediction δ/h ∼ k(t)1/2 [(Q3 t/h4 b3 )/(2L − xw )(g  )0 ]1/2 follows from the energy bal-
ance equation. Experimental results show good agreement with this scaling and indicate that the
energy conversion factor k decreases with time to an asymptotic value ka that scales well with Fr 0 .
For cases with multiple intermittent periodic flushing flows of duration ts , experiments confirm
the importance of the starting phase of each flushing event for the time-dependent behaviour of
the saline wedge after reaching equilibrium in the intervals between such events. No significant
differences are found in the position of the wedge between cases of sequential multiple flushing
flows and steady single discharges of the same total duration.

2.2 Transient exchange flow development over a descending barrier

The second case to be studied (Cuthbertson et al. 2004) is that of a microtidal estuary in which the
full blockage to the estuary is removed. For such cases, the reduction of the height of the barrier
causes the development of a transient exchange flow between the initially-separated, quiescent
fresh or brackish water of the estuary and the saline coastal waters. An important issue is the
extent to which the developing exchange flow across the descending barrier may be analysed in
terms of quasi-linear behaviour. Figure 2 illustrates the model flow configuration. A fresh water
volume of homogeneous density ρ0 fills a channel C with bottom slope α. This is separated from a
large reservoir R of homogeneous saline water of uniform density ρ0 + (ρ)0 by an impermeable
barrier I of initial height (hb )max . The barrier descends at a rate dhb /dt, allowing the two water
bodies (i) to connect above the submerged barrier crest at time t = 0 and (ii) to initiate a transient,
buoyancy-driven exchange flow across the descending barrier. Details of this exchange process, and

28
Figure 2. Schematic representation of experimental configuration.

Figure 3. Integrated time series of vertical density profiles at X /Hb = 1.75, g  Hb /(dhb /dt)2 = 3.31 × 105
and (ρ)/(ρ)0 coded values shown.

associated formation of a near-bed brackish pool behind the descending barrier, may be analysed
as a parametric function of barrier descent rate dhb /dt, total fluid depth Hb at the barrier and the
reduced gravitational acceleration g  associated with the proportional density difference (ρ)0 /ρ0
driving the exchange flow.
Above the crest of the descending barrier, a well-defined density interface is established, separat-
ing an intruding dense saline water layer of thickness h2b (t) flowing over the barrier and descending
into the initially-quiescent fresh water volume C, and a compensating outflow layer of fresh water
at the free-surface with thickness h1b (t), flowing towards the saline reservoir R. The saline intrusion
into the upper channel results in the formation of a near-bed layer of brackish water of nominal
thickness δ(x, t) and mean density excess (ρ)m , where (ρ)m < (ρ)0 due to turbulent mixing. The
leading edge of this intrusion propagates away from the barrier as a gravity current as the intruded
volume of brackish water increases. Figure 3 shows an integrated time series plot of the growth in
thickness of this brackish layer in terms of normalised density contours (ρ)/(ρ)0 = 0 − 1.0 for
the growing layer. The brackish layer thickness δ can be defined arbitrarily by the elevation δ0.2 of
the normalised contour (ρ)/(ρ)0 = 0.2 within the interface between the brackish layer and the
overlying fluid. The dependence of the temporal increase in δ0.2 upon the external forcing param-
eters g  and Hb is shown in Figure 4. These dimensional plots show that (for otherwise constant
conditions) an increase in Hb is associated with an increased brackish layer thickness δ0.2 , while
larger g  values result in an accelerated brackish layer development.
To reflect the variation in detection time (tdet )j of the brackish water layer at the different
measurement stations Xj located successively upstream from the barrier and to integrate all experi-
mental data, it is convenient to utilise a modified time scale (t − tdet ) and express the model

29
(a) (b)
0.06 -2
0.06
Run 1A g' = 0.192 ms
Run 2A g' = 0.095 ms-2 g' = ~0.2 ms-2
0.05 Run 3A g' = 0.052 ms-2 0.05 dhb/dt = ~2.3e-04 ms-1
Run 4A g' = 0.282 ms-2

0.04 0.04 Hb = 0.152 m

δ0.2 (m)
0.03 0.03

0.02 0.02 Hb = 0.092 m

Run 1A
0.01 Run 6A
0.01 Hb ~ 92 mm Run 13A
dhb/dt = ~2.2e-04 ms-1 Run 14A
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
t (s) t (s)

Figure 4. Plots of δ0.2 versus t for Xj /Hb = 1.75 illustrating effects of (a) Hb and (b) g  .

0.6 0.6
δ/Hb@ t/Tb = 1 (i.e. barrier fully descended)

0.5 0.5

0.4 0.4
δ/Hb
δ/Hb

0.3 Run 16A Run 15A Run 4A 0.3

Run 14A Run 13A Run 16B
Run 15B Run 6A Run 1A
Run 14B Run 4B Run 13B
Run 1B Run 16C Run 2A
0.2 Run 6B Run 7A Run 13C 0.2
Run 14C Run 3A Run 4C
g'Hb/(dhb/dt)2 = 4.4-9.4 e+05 Run 8A Run 2B Run 1C g'Hb/(dhb/dt)2 = 8.2-4.0 e+05
Run 6C Run 7B Run 4D
0.1 g'Hb/(dhb/dt)2 = 1.1-3.3 e+05 Run 3B Run 8B Run 7C 0.1 g'Hb/(dhb/dt)2 = 4.0-1.0 e+05
g'Hb/(dhb/dt)2 = 4.5-9.3 e+04 Run 2C Run 6D Run 3C
Run 7D Run 8C Run 2D g'Hb/(dhb/dt)2= 1.0-0.4 e+05
g'Hb/(dhb/dt)2 = 0.9-3.8 e+04 Run 3D Run 8D ∆EH/Hb = 0.0 g'Hb/(dhb/dt)2= 4.0-0.3 e+04
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 0 50 100 150 200 250

(tⴚtdet)(g'/Hb)1/2 (tⴚtdet)(g'/Hb)1/2

Figure 5. Non-dimensional plots of δ0.2 /Hb versus (t − tdet )(g  /Hb )1/2 for g  Hb /(dhb /dt)2 ranges shown for
(a) experimental data obtained at X /Hb = 2.65, 1.75, 1.05 and (b) model-derived predictions.

results in dimensionless form. Dimensional analysis provides a functional relationship δ0.2 /Hb =
[(t − tdet )/(g  Hb )1/2 , (g  Hb )/(dhb /dt)2 , Xj /Hb ], from which the complete data set of measured
brackish water thicknesses δ0.2 /Hb can be plotted versus (t − tdet )/(g  Hb )1/2 for different values of
(g  Hb )/(dhb /dt)2 and Xj /Hb (Figure 5(a)).
Predictions are also obtained from the maximal exchange flow model through computation of
the saline fluid volume flowing over the descending barrier crest as a function of elapsed time
t. By continuity, this volume of intruded saline fluid is used to calculate the resulting brackish
layer thickness behind the barrier δ/Hb . Comparisons between the measured experimental data and
model predictions (Figures 5(a) and 5(b), respectively) are encouraging: in particular, they reveal
similar qualitative tendencies in the observed reduction in the rate of increase in δ0.2 /Hb values
with (t − tdet )(g  /Hb )1/2 for larger values of g  Hb /(dhb /dt)2 .

2.3 Tidal overtopping of a fixed barrier

Partially- or fully-submerged control structures (i.e. tidal weirs) within estuaries will generally
allow a certain degree of exchange and mixing between the semi-enclosed fresh water body and
coastal saline waters. For such cases the flow is determined by the relative influence of tidal and
fluvial forcing, as well as density-driven processes. A laboratory model (see Figure 6) has been built
to show the temporal variation in density stratification within the semi-enclosed channel resulting
from cyclic tidal intrusions of saline water over a fixed barrier.
A barrier of fixed height hb and submergence depth hs separates a homogeneous salt water
reservoir of density ρ0 + (ρ)0 from a channel of width B and slope α carrying a steady fresh

30
Figure 6. Schematic representation of physical system.

(a) (c)

(b) (d)

Figure 7. Time series of vertical density profiles at Xj /hb = 1.6, q/(g  h3b )1/2 = (a) 0.0, (b) 0.063, (c) 0.126
and (d) 0.189, with hs /hb : Hα /hb : g  τ 2 /hb = 0.25 : 1.3 : 5390.

water “river” inflow at a discharge Q (i.e. discharge per unit width q (= Q/B)) and uniform density
ρ0 . The free surface level of the salt water reservoir varies sinusoidally, with amplitude Hα and
period τα .
If the temporal characteristics of the brackish water pool can be described adequately in terms
of its thickness δ(Xj , t), the functional relationship δ/Hb = [q/(g  Hb3 )1/2 , hs /hb , Hα /hb , g  τα2 /hb ,
t/τα ] can be applied to describe the problem. Figure 7 shows typical integrated time sequences
of density profiles obtained at high frequency over a series of tidal cycles at a fixed location
Xj behind the barrier. These illustrate the cyclic nature of the intrusion and flushing process for
different external conditions and indicate well the influence of the inflow discharge q for otherwise-
identical conditions. Cases with no freshwater inflow (i.e. q = 0, Figure 7(a)), are characterised by
a rapid filling of the pool over the first few tidal cycles. The brackish layer increases in thickness δ
to fill the full flow depth, resulting in a near-homogeneous water column of density excess (ρ)m
close to that of the undiluted saline water (i.e. ρ = (ρ)m /(ρ)0 ∼ 1). By contrast, cases with
high freshwater inflow q (i.e. Figure 7(c) and (d)) show weaker intrusion resulting from increased
mixing, which in turn inhibits the formation of a clearly-defined near-bed brackish pool. During
the ebb phase of the tidal cycle, this high magnitude freshwater inflow typically flushes out a large
proportion of the well-mixed brackish fluid from behind the barrier. Indeed, experimental findings
suggest that the non-dimensional inflow parameter q/(g  Hb3 )1/2 is dominant in determining the
temporal development of the brackish layer behind the barrier, while parameters associated with
the downstream tidal conditions (i.e. hs /hb , Hα /hb and g  τα2 /hb ) are of secondary importance, at
least for the range of parameters considered here.
The brackish water pool thickness δ(Xj , t) is again defined arbitrarily in terms of the elevation of a
specific density excess contour representing the upper edge of the intruded layer at a given measure-
ment station Xj (e.g. ρ  = (ρ − ρ0 )/(ρ)0 = 0.4 → δ0.4 (Xj , t)). Composite dimensional time-series
plots of the tidally-averaged brackish layer thickness δ0.4,ave (which is spatially-averaged over four
measurement locations Xj ) are plotted in Figure 8 for different values of q, g  and hb . These reveal
the systematic reduction in δ0.4,ave values for increasing values of q. This plot also indicates that

31
 8
hb = ~ 0.06 m Hα = 0.078 m
7 τα = ~ 40 sec
g
= 0.291 m.s-2, Q = 0.00 l.s-1
6 g
= 0.197 m.s-2, Q = “
g
= 0.096 m.s-2, Q = “
g
= 0.291 m.s-2, Q = 0.25
δ0.4,ave (cm)

5
g
= 0.197 m.s-2, Q = “
4 g
= 0.096 m.s-2, Q = “
g
= 0.291 m.s-2, Q = 0.50
3 g
= 0.197 m.s-2, Q = “
g
= 0.096 m.s-2, Q = “
2 g
= 0.291 m.s-2, Q = 0.75
g
= 0.197 m.s-2, Q = “
1 g
= 0.096 m.s-2, Q = “

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
t (s)

Figure 8. Tidally-averaged plots of δ0.4 versus t for hb , Hα , g  and Q values shown.

(a) (b)
10 10
ρ
= 0.0 ρ
= 0.1 ρ
= 0.3 ρ
= 0.4 ρ
= 0.0 ρ
= 0.1 ρ
= 0.3 ρ
= 0.4
9 ρ
= 0.5 ρ
= 0.7 ρ
= 0.8 ρ
= 0.9 9 ρ
= 0.5 ρ
= 0.7 ρ
= 0.8 ρ
= 0.9
ρ
= 1.0 ρ
= 0.2 ρ
= 0.6 8 ρ
= 1.0 ρ
= 0.2 ρ
= 0.6
8
7 7
6 6
z (cm)

5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
0
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
t (s) t (s)

Figure 9. Time series of density contours ρ  for q/(g  h3b )1/2 : g  τα2 /hb = (a) 0 : 8230 and (b) 0.123 : 13000.

larger values of g  (for otherwise identical conditions) are generally associated with increased
values of δ0.4,ave .
Two mixing mechanisms are postulated to operate within the flow, on different time scales.
Firstly, significant mixing occurs as a result of turbulent entrainment of fresh and brackish water
into the descending plume of denser saline water as it intrudes over the barrier at high tide. This
process dominates when the freshwater outflow q is weak and the thickness δ of the intruded pool
is small (i.e. the descent distance for the intruding plume is a maximum). This process would
therefore be expected to weaken with time t as the pool fills and the descent distance diminishes.
The second mechanism for mixing is the shear-induced entrainment between the upper layers of
the brackish water pool and the overlying fresh water outflow. In contrast to the first mechanism,
this process is expected to dominate when q is high and when the thickness δ of the brackish water
pool is sufficiently large (i.e. after a number of tidal cycles) for the brackish water to be “eroded”
and expelled by the freshwater discharge.
Time series plots of density contours for weak and strong freshwater outflows (Figure 9(a)
and (b), respectively) appear to validate this conceptual mixing model. In the former case (q = 0;
Figure 9(a)) the thickness of the interface between the brackish and freshwater layers (defined here
by the difference in elevation between the ρ  = 0.2 and 0.6 contours, i.e. δ0.2 − δ0.6 ) is largest after
the initial tidal intrusion and decreases significantly with time t as the brackish layer thickness
increases with time t. This provides clear evidence for the enhanced mixing between the intruding
saline plume and receiving waters in the early stage of the exchange. By contrast, time series plots
for a high magnitude inflow q (Figure 9(b)) reveal that the thickness of the brackish water pool and

32
 1.2
(∆t/τα)(α/hb)
0.083
1 0.125
0.300
0.8

δ0.4,ave/hb
0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 1 2 3 4
Rb = q/(g'hs3 )1/2

Figure 10. Non-dimensional plot of δ0.4,ave /hb versus the modified estuarine Richardson number Rb for
values of (t/τα )(Hα /hb ) shown.

the interface thickness (δ0.2 − δ0.6 ) increase significantly with time t. This is clearly indicative of
upper surface mixing by shear-induced entrainment into the high fresh water flow q.
Within unblocked estuaries the estuarine Richardson number R is commonly used to measure
the degree of turbulent mixing between the outflowing fresh water layer and the underlying saline
water intrusion or wedge. This is generally defined as the ratio of buoyancy input from the fresh
water inflow Q to the kinetic energy input from the tide (Fischer, 1979) such that R = g  Q/(BUt3 ),
where B is the channel width and Ut is the r.m.s. tidal velocity. In the presence of a tidal bar-
rier, it may be hypothesised that Ut across the barrier crest may be represented by k(g  hs )1/2 (k
being a numerical coefficient) and a modified blocked estuarine Reynolds number Rb given by
q/(g  h3s )1/2 . This modified estuarine Reynolds number takes account of the contribution both from
fluvial and tidal forcing. Figure 10 shows the tidally-averaged brackish layer thickness δ0.4,ave /hb
plotted versus Rb for three groups of a dimensionless parameter (t/τα )(Hα /hb ), where (t/τα )
represents the relative time per tidal cycle over which the saline intrusion occurs and (Hα /hb ) is the
relative tidal amplitude. This plot suggests that for a given brackish layer thickness δ0.4,ave /hb , down-
stream tidal forcing becomes more significant (i.e. lower q/(g  h3s )1/2 values) when the parameter
(t/τα )(Hα /hb ) increases (i.e. larger relative intrusion times or tidal amplitudes).

3 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The model studies reveal a range of different processes that can affect the hydrodynamic exchanges
associated with natural or man-made barriers that restrict the flushing of open estuary environments.
Turbulent mixing is seen to be influential throughout the transient adjustment of the flow, with
turbulent entrainment and shear-induced overturning processes being dominant respectively during
different phases of the flow development. Simple dimensional analysis is seen to produce useful
functional relationships for these exchange processes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors acknowledge the support provided for this work by the UK Engineering & Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). As the reference list below indicates, much of the work
reviewed in this paper was done in collaboration with Dr Mike Coates (Deakin University, Australia)

33
and Dr Yakun Guo (now University of Aberdeen, UK). Both individuals played important roles in
the development of our understanding of exchange flows.

REFERENCES

Burt, N & Rees, A (eds), 2001. Guidelines for the Assessment and Planning of Estuarine Barrages, Thomas
Telford Publishing, London, UK.
Coates, M J, Guo, Y & Davies, P A, 2001. Laboratory model studies of flushing of trapped salt water from a
blocked tidal estuary. J. Hydraulic Res., 39, 6, 601–609.
Crompton, J, 2002. Cardiff Bay barrage. Proc. Instn Civil Engrs, Water & Maritime, 154, 81–88.
Cuthbertson, A J S, Davies, P A, Coates, M J & Guo, Y, 2004. A modelling study of transient buoyancy-driven
exchange flow over a descending barrier. Environm. Fluid Mech., 4, 127–155.
Donnelly, B, Hamill, G A, Robinson, D J, MacKinnon, P & Johnston, H T, 2000. Interfacial layer development
due to turbulent mixing at a density interface. Proc. 5th Int’l. Sympos. Stratified Flows (eds G A Lawrence,
R Pieters & N Yonemitsu), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 2000, Vol. II, 853–858.

34
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The interface smoothness criteria and its application for two

layer flow from a circular weir

Ian R. Wood
Civil Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

ABSTRACT: The general equation for the energy difference between two flowing layers is derived.
For a circular weir the gradually varied velocity near the free surface is matched with the spherical
velocity distribution. For a single layer this implies the velocity in the layer flowing is self-similar
and using the energy difference equation and the condition of interface smoothness give the critical
flow. This discharge is then matched with the weir discharge. When two layers are flowing we use
the critical flow for a single layer and assuming the density differences are small when the both
layers are flowing this discharge is constant. When the interface is above the critical interface we
require the interfaces to be smooth. We then use both the differential of both the energy difference
equation and the equation at the free surface to determine the ratio of the discharge in the lower to
the total discharge.

1 INTRODUCTION

For a circular weir and for a particular two layer stratification we wish to know the discharge from
each layer. In this case there are two controls. The discharge control is complicated with curvature
of the streamlines and the rating curve is normally determined by model studies. Away from the
discharge control where the curved streamlines are important there is zero velocity in the lower
layer we can use the spherical distribution matched with the uniform distribution of the gradually
varied flow assumption and then use the steady state Bernoulli equation. We can either maximize
the discharge or determine the conditions when the interface becomes tangent to the upstream face
of the weir to determine the critical layer depth.
When two layers are flowing the second control (sometimes called the virtual control) is also in
the region away from the curved streamlines and in this region we can make reasonable velocity
assumptions and then using the two steady Bernoulli equations and differentiating them with respect
to distance and obtain the expression for the surface slope. The smoothness condition leads to the
calculation for control surface and matching the flow with weir discharge determines the discharge
from the lower layer. We assume that this must be maximized. It is important to note that the
theory considers steady flow only and these would be difficult to obtain in any practical situation.
However the theory should be satisfactory provided the reservoir is sufficiently large that the time
for a particle to travel between the controls is short compared to the time for changes in levels of
the interface.

2 THE ENERGY DIFFERENCE EQUATION

Before looking at the specific flows it is appropriate to look at the equations at an interface which
has a sharp density change. The case considered is illustrated in Figure 1. Above this velocity,
density, potential energy and pressure are A1, v1, ρ1 , PE1 and p1 and below this interface variable are
sub-scripted 2. Applying the Bernoulli equation for a steady flow between the flow and the infinite

35
Figure 1. The nomenclature for energy difference equation.

reservoir we get on the upper side of the interface and the lower side of the interface we get

We define It as ρ1 /ρ2 and zr and Zr as the level of the interface at r and at infinity and assuming
the velocity is constant at any r within each layer we can remove the pressure by subtracting the
equation for the upper and the lower layer and scaling with Zr we get

where q1 and A1 and q2 and A2 are the discharges and area in the upper and lower layer. It is
notable that this equation is not dependant on the hydrostatic assumption. The form of equation (3)
is the same as used by Dalziel (1991) Armi(1986) and Lane-Serff (2000) and is sometime called
the internal energy equation. (It is however the energy difference between the two layers). The
smoothness criteria requires the differential of the equations

Defining

And the energy difference becomes and differential energy equation become

And differential energy equation becomes

36
Figure 2. The nomenclature for the case of the critical flow for a single layer flowing over a circular weir
with a sloping upstream face.

Figure 3. The flow over weir and the pressure distribution on the upstream face.

3 THE SINGLE LAYER FLOW WITH A SPHERICAL VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION

For any particular radius (R) and weir angle (ϕw ) the critical discharge will depend on the depth of
the interface below the crest. This is illustrated in Figure 2. For any flow, the outlet characteristics
of weir is the first control and determines the discharge. For the case of two dimensional weir
when the upstream face of the two dimensional weir is vertical. Figure 3 illustrates the pressure
distribution on the vertical face (Reid and Rouse 1935). Close to the crest there is a region were
the flow feels the zero pressure at the crest and the curvature of the streamlines at the weir and
this will pull the interface over the crest. We assume that when R is finite this pattern of pressure

37
does not change. When the flow is from layer above a stationary layer then for the critical flow
there is a second control and we assume that is beyond the influence of the pressure at the crest.
This control is where the interface intersects the upstream face of this weir. We assume that there is
an origin on the extension of the upstream face of the circular weir, but the position of this origin
will be determined later. At the origin, we consider a horizontal plane and define this level as a
datum. Below this datum we define a radius, r, and the angle from the horizontal to the downstream
face of the weir, ϕw and upstream of the contact with the interface the angle is ϕi . At the control
point the interface becomes tangent to the wall and hence ϕi equals ϕw and r equals rc . Upstream
of the point of contact we assume that portion of the flow next to the surface is gradually varied
and below this the velocity vectors are radial. We further assume that the division level between
the gradually varied region and the radial velocity region is at the datum. (The horizontal datum
enables the matching of the velocity and the gradient of the velocities at the junction of the two
regions). We assume there is no mixing and hence the density along any streamline is constant and
thus the ratio of the discharge in the gradually varied region to the discharge in the radial velocity
region does not change with r. This assumption is an extension of the classic assumption used by
Craya (1949).
The gradually flow region is zg above the datum and below the datum the vector is radial. zri
is the vertical distance from a point on the curve ob in the region where the flow is radial to the
datum. zs is the vertical distance from the free surface at any point along the curve ab and zt is the
sum of zg and zri. When r equals infinity then the value of the gradually varied region, radial region
and the total depth are Zg , Zri and Zt . For the single layers at the level of the interface at infinity
the pressure are hydrostatic thus

This can be satisfied if

And

Using equation (8) we get

substituting into the area into equation 6 with v21 as zero we get

when ϕi is ϕw and dϕw /dr equals zero then equation 11 gives the expression for the control radius
rc and noting that zc is rc sin ϕw we get

38
This is a quadratic equation and using its solution we calculate the discharge as a function of zc
and this with the normal weir equation for the main control.

This give us the for Zdc .The value of C for a two-dimensional vertical weir is approximately 0.611.
Senturk (1994) showed that the difference between a circular weir and the two dimensional weir is
small. The USBR model experiments show that for a two dimensional weir the difference between
the C for a vertical upstream face and a 45 degrees face is very small (Chanson 1999) and we will
assume that differences are small for ϕw of π/2 and 3π/8. This equation allows us to calculate
Zdc /Zr for a range of angles.
When ϕw is π/2 the origin is vertically above the upstream face of the weir crest (Figure 2).
Taking a new datum as the free surface at r equals infinity (Zdc ) the origin for r is Zg below this.
The crest is Zdc − Zg below the r origin. When ϕw is less than π/2 the origin is obtained extending
a distance rc along the upstream face of the weir (Figure 2b). We then use an iterative process to
determine the real Ro . We initially assume that Ro equal R. Calculating the value of rc and Zdc ,
and taking an origin Zdc (the origin for r is Zg ) and the vertical position of the crest of the weir
below the r datum we have the values of Zdc − Zg . Thus the new estimate of Ro is (Zdc − Zg )cot
ϕw . If this is less zero there is no solution, otherwise we repeat until the value of Ro converges.
It remains to check whether the distance from the crest interface to the lower layer intersection
with the upstream face (Figure 2 zbc ) for the assumed velocity to be reasonable.

4 THE TWO LAYER FLOW

For the case when the density difference is constant above the interface and a defined depth below the
interface (Zri + Zg ) have determined the depth above the weir crest (Zdc ) and the critical discharge
(qtc ) such that there was no flow below the interface. We now consider the case density difference
between the layers is small and thus when the depth of the interface is decreased the discharge is
then unchanged. For this critical discharge (qtc ) and we want to determine the ratio of flow from
the lower layer to the total discharge as the depth of the interface below the free surface at infinity
decreases. We assume that the upper flow may be divided into a region of gradually varied flow and
radial flow as Figure 4 and it is noted that at infinity the depth of the upper layer tends to a finite
value where as the depth of the lower layer tend to infinity. This implies that at infinity a finite
velocity in the upper layer and zero in the lower layer and thus at infinity interface Zg is (1 − It )/It .
In the second layer there is a step change in the velocity magnitude. The flow is still radial and
at the upstream face of the weir the flow direction is ϕw . In this case we need to use the free surface
and the interface equations and consider only the virtual control (the second control) far upstream
from the region where the streamline curvature affects the control. We scale with the new value of
Zr and the area of the flows are

Now it is worth noting that an infinity the depth of the upper layer tends to a finite value where as

39
Figure 4. The nomenclature for the case of two layers flowing over a circular weir with a sloping
upstream face.

Differentiating equation (15) we get the equation

using equation 7 for the lower layer and noting that zri is r sin ϕ and inserting this into equation 6
we get

The coefficient of equations 16 and 17 are written as A1 , B1 and C1 and A2 , B2 and C2 and thus
the slope of the interfaces are

Now for all cases when r tends to infinity, D0 tends to 1 − It and it is reasonable to assume that the
form of the value of D0 as in Figure 5. Thus, for these interfaces to be finite, when D0 equals zero
then both D1 and D2 also equal zero. When D0 equals zero we get

And when for D1 equals zero we get

40
Figure 5. The variation of D0 with r.

Equating we get

Now A2 and its partial differentials are function of r and ϕi . Similarly the partial differential of A1
with zg are functions of r and ϕi . However A1 and the rest of its partial differentials are functions
of zg . Equation 15 is used to obtain zg as a function ω and we get after some algebra a quadratic
equation in ω , and for any given φi this determines the smoothness criteria when D0 and D1 equal
zero. For any R and φw , we choose ϕi and can then obtain a solution for ω as a function of r . We
then return to the either expression for v21 and obtain the equation for

So far we have used the condition of smoothness and determined the virtual control and the ratio of
the discharge above the interface and below it and with the Boussinesq approximation to calculate
value of q2 /qt . Hence for a given ϕw , It and R, we get ω as a function of rv and φi . For each ϕi
equation 22 with some algebra gives a plot of q2 /qt as function of rv .
For the case when ϕw is π/2, R is 1.0 m, the depth below the free surface is 1.0 m and It is 0.98 the
calculations in equation (13) gives the free surface height above the weir crest as 0.4483 m (Zdc ).
We define a constant values of Ct (Zt /Ztc = Zr /Zrc ) and using the smoothness equation (21) and (22)
and assumption of constant discharge we get q2 /qt as function of rv (Figure 6a) for a range of these
constant values of Ct . This Figure shows that when ϕw is π /2 for each constant value of Ct there is
a maximum of q2 /qt, and this maximum value determines the solution. Figure 7 shows the function
of q2 /qt at this maximum as a function of Ct (Zt /Ztc ). For the same geometry when It is 0.93 the
calculations in gives the free surface height above the weir crest as 0.6676(Zd ) and solutions which
are negligibly different from Figures 6 and 7. This is not surprising as it infers that the major effect
of the density differences (1 − It ) is accounted for by the determination of the critical discharge.
The most interesting portion of Figure (6a) is the step jump from the case when there is no flow
in the lower layer to the solution q2 /qt when Ct is 0.98. This is not surprising as the streamlines for

41
Figure 6. When R and the interface depth are 1.0 metre and It is 0.98 the smoothness criteria yields q2 /qt as
function of rv for a range of values Ct (Zt /Zc ). Figure 6a is the case with φ is π/2 and the critical calculations
give the free surface height above the weir crest as 0.4483 metres and Figure 6b is the case when φw is 3π /8
and the critical calculations give the free surface height above the weir crest as 0.3905 metres.

Figure 7. The final values of q2 /q t as a function of Ct (Zt /Ztc ) for the case when R is 1 m and φw is π/2 and
3π /8. It is notable but not surprising that the small variation in the density ratio (It ) is negligible.

the critical flow and the start of the flow from the lower layer are distinctly different. Figure (6a)
also shows that the value rv at the maximum of q2 /qt increases as the value of Ct decreases. Thus the
distance between the discharge control and the virtual control increases and this may be important
as the time for a particle to travel between the virtual control and the crest increases the steady
solution may become invalid.
For the case when ϕw is 3π/8, R is 1.0 m, the depth below the free surface 1.0 m and It is 0.98
the calculations from equation (13) gives the free surface height above the weir crest as 0.3905 m
(Zd ). For smoothness condition we get for a range of value the graphs of Ct as function of rv in
Figure 5b. Figure 6b for ϕw equal to 3π /8 then gives the maximum of q2 /qt as a function of Ct .
The difference between the Figures 6a and Figure 6b is remarkable in that with the smaller slope
of the upstream face of the weir there is no longer a major step change between the critical flow
and the small flow coming from the lower layer. In this case the total discharge is the same as the

42
critical discharge (qc ) and the equation in Figure 7 can be written as

This implies that if we know the depth at infinity for the critical discharge (Ztc ) then for any lesser
depth (Zt ) then we can obtain the proportion from the lower layer. This is not surprising as the
density differences between the layers are small and flow behaves as if was of a uniform density.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The selective withdrawal of a surface layer of small density difference from a circular weir the most
important variable is the critical discharge .When the upstream face of the weir is vertical there is
a sharp change between the critical discharge and when there is flow from the lower layer and this
must cause instabilities and may be avoided with a weir with a sloping upstream face.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to thank Mr. Choo of Lincoln University, Christchurch who drew my
attention to this area of research and Dr Law of Nanyang Technology University, Singapore for
encouragement me to continue with this work.

REFERENCES

Armi, l. 1986. The hydraulics of two flowing layers with different densities. J. Fluid Mech., v163, 27–58.
Chanson, H. 1999. The hydraulics of open channel flow. Arnold Press.
Dalziel, S.B. 1991. Two Layer Hydraulics: a function approach. J. Fluid Mech., v223, 135–163.
Lane-Serff, G.F, Smeed, D.A. and Postlethwaite, C.R. 2000. Multilayer exchange flows. J. Fluid Mech., v416,
269–296.
Imberger, J. 1980. Selective withdrawal: a review. Second International Symposium on Stratified Flows, The
Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim, Norway, v1, 381–400.
Lawrence, G.A. and Imberger, J. 1979. Selective withdrawal through a point sink in a continuously stratified
fluid with a pynocline. Report No ED-79-002 Environmental Dynamics, Department of Civil Engineering,
University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia.
Ray, N.W. 1973. Some studies in stratified fluid flow. Water Research Laboratory, University of New South
Wales, Manly Vale, NSW, Australia. No. 136.
Reid, L. and Rouse, H. 1935. Model research on spillway crests. Civil Engineering, v5(1).
Senturk, F. 1994. Hydraulics of dams and reservoirs. Water Resources Publications, Highland Ranch,
Colorado, USA.
Wood, I.R. 1968. Selective withdrawal from a stably stratified fluid. J. Fluid Mech., v32, 209–223.
Wood, I.R. 1978. Selective withdrawal from a two-layer fluid. J. Hyd. Div. ASCE, v104, HY12, 1647–1659.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Water quality management of river and estuarine waters

R.A. Falconer & B. Lin

School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK

ABSTRACT: Details are given herein of the limitations of physical and numerical models in
predicting water quality indicator levels in river and estuarine waters and with particular emphasis
being focused on faecal coliform levels. On-going research studies to improve on the predictive
capabilities of such models for coliform and nutrient loadings are outlined, incorporating field,
experimental, and computational hydraulics and hydroinformatics modeling techniques. Three
case studies are cited, including: (i) Cardiff Bay, a freshwater body where dynamic decay rates
were found to be significant, (ii) the Ribble Estuary, where diffuse source pollution was found
to be significant during storm conditions, and (iii) the Severn Estuary, where bacterial-sediment
interactions were found to have a key impact on compliance of bathing waters with the European
Union Bathing Water Directive.

1 INTRODUCTION

In recent years there has been a growing global effort to address issues relating to water quality in
river and estuarine waters. For example, in the U.K. much effort and expenditure has been focused on
treating domestic and industrial effluent waste, with a view to reducing to a minimum the discharge
of storm water overflows into riverine waters. As a result the water quality of many major rivers,
e.g. the Thames, has improved considerably in recent years and aquatic life is once again thriving
in numerous river and estuarine waters. In most cases the challenge to clean up river and estuarine
waters has been driven by legislation, e.g. in Europe by EU Directives, such as the Bathing Water
Directive, the Habitats Directive and, more recently, the Water Framework Directive. In connection
with such water quality concerns and legislative requirements engineers and scientists have now
been involved for some time in a range of hydroenvironmental impact assessment studies for water
quality management. Typical causes of concern to engineers and scientists involved in improving
river and estuarine water quality include, for example: (i) sewage discharges of untreated effluent,
either directly or from storm water overflows, (ii) industrial and chemical waste from factories
alongside rivers and estuaries, (iii) animal waste, either in the form of point sources from intensive
husbandry or aquaculture, or diffuse source inputs from land or rivers, (iv) fertilizers from crop
farming, and (v) other less obvious forms of impediment to good water quality. Such other forms
of water quality impediment might include: increased temperatures from cooling water discharges,
increased saline levels (or brine) discharged from desalination plants, high turbidity levels due to
storms, and changes in the flow regime due to natural or human intervention with the geometric or
bathymetric boundary conditions.
Over the past two or three decades there has been an increasing emphasis placed on using
computational hydraulics and hydroinformatics tools, rather than physical modelling facilities, for
predicting flow, water quality, sediment and contaminant transport and morphological processes
in river and estuarine waters. This increased enthusiasm for using numerical and hydroinformatics
models has occurred for a number of reasons; primarily due to problems associated with phys-
ical models such as: scaling, expense, transportability and adaptability. For further details see
Falconer & Lin (2003). However, although computational hydraulicians have placed considerable
emphasis on predicting the hydrodynamic processes with increasing levels of sophistication in river

45
and estuarine waters, many of the bio- and geo-chemical processes are still often treated in a some-
what simplistic manner. In modelling numerically the flow and water quality indicator processes in
river and estuarine waters, there are still a large number of uncertainties included in computational
hydraulics models, and particularly with regard to the kinetic transformation rates and partitioning
interactions between solutes and the bed sediments. The studies reported herein therefore focus on
representing more accurately some of these complex kinetic and bio-geochemical processes.
In addition to the provision of brief details about the model, particular emphasis is focused herein
on describing the refinements with regard to the kinetic transformation processes and the application
of these developments to three site specific studies. The first two studies relate to refinements to
the decay rate for faecal coliforms in Cardiff Bay, Wales, and the Ribble River Basin and Estuary
along the North East coast of England. The third study, outlined briefly, relates to the partitioning
and interaction between faecal coliform and heavy metals with the bed sediments in the Severn
Estuary, with the basin again being sited in the U.K. The resulting field data acquired and the
numerical model simulations have shown that the receiving water concentration predictions for
coliforms, nutrients and heavy metals are all highly dependent upon the choice of constants and
the formulation of complex kinetic and bio-geochemical processes.

2 HYDROENVIRONMENTAL MODEL DETAILS

2.1 Hydrodynamic model

The numerical models herein developed to predict the hydrodynamic features reported in the studies
cited herein were set up to solve the 3-D Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. Two
2-D/3-D models were used in these studies; the first being the Hydroenvironmental Research
Centre’s (HRC) own model, named TRIVAST (ThRee-dimensional layer Integrated Velocities
And Solute Transport), which solves the layer averaged 3-D RANS equations (i.e. including the
hydrostatic pressure assumption). Likewise, for the 2-D simulations the model DIVAST was used.
These model are based on a regular finite difference grid solution in the horizontal plane and an
irregular boundary fitting grid in the vertical plane. The models have been used extensively for
coastal and estuarine studies, with further details of the 3-D model being given in Wu & Falconer
(2000) and Lin & Falconer (2001). In extending either of these models well up any riverine basin,
and where conditions could be adequately represented by a 1-D model, then the Centre’s 1-D solver
of the area integrated RANS equations – giving the St. Venant equations – was used, namely the
FASTER (Flow And Solute Transport in Estuaries and Rivers) model. This model is again finite
difference in form and further details are given in Falconer et al. (2001).
More recently the studies have been extended to use the HEMAT (Hydro-Environmental Model
and Analysis Tool) model. This model has been primarily developed by the Water Research Centre
in Iran, in collaboration with the HRC at Cardiff University. The model is ideally suited to predicting
complex free-surface flows in estuarine and coastal basins, since it solves the 2-D RANS equations
(including 3 types of turbulence models) and uses the finite volume method. Both second- and third-
order accurate and oscillation free explicit numerical schemes are included in the model to solve the
shallow water equations, together with an algorithm to predict for flooding and drying of inter-tidal
regions. The model deploys an unstructured triangular mesh and incorporates two types of mesh
layouts, namely the ‘cell centred’ and ‘mesh vertex’ layouts. A powerful mesh generator is also pro-
vided, which enables the user to adjust the mesh-size distribution interactively to create a desirable
mesh. The quality of the mesh has been shown to have a major impact on the overall performance
of the numerical model. Further details of this model are given in Namin et al. (in press).

2.2 Water quality and sediment transport model

In modeling numerically the flux of water quality indicator organisms, sediments or heavy metals
etc. within river and estuarine basins, the conservation equation of a solute mass can first be derived

46
in the general form for a 3-D flow field and then time averaged to give the following form of the
equation for solution:

where φ = time averaged solute (including suspended sediment and heavy metal) concentration;
φs = source or sink solute input (e.g. an outfall); φd = solute decay or growth term; and φk = kinetic
transformation rate for the solute.
The cross-produced terms u φ  etc. represent the mass flux of solute due to the turbulent fluc-
tuations and are then layer (or depth or area) averaged to give a combined turbulent diffusion and
longitudinal dispersion term. By analogy with Fick’s law of diffusion, these terms are generally
assumed to be proportional to the mean concentration gradient and with a positive flux being in
the direction of decreasing concentration. For transport in the various directions the combined lon-
gitudinal dispersion and turbulent diffusion coefficient is often associated with the eddy viscosity
(εt ) through the Schmidt number, with typical values of the coefficient found to vary significantly
depending upon the flow field and basin characteristics, see Fischer (1973).
In modelling faecal coliform (or similar) the decay in Equation (1) is generally expressed as a
first order decay function in the form of the following formulation:

where k = coliform decay rate (day−1 ), and with values of k being typically assumed to be a
constant or a function of temperature. For hydroenvironmental management studies the decay rate
is often expressed in terms of a T90 value, i.e. the time taken for 90% of the bacteria to die-off. The
relationship between T90 and k is given as:

where T90 is the decay rate (hr), with values often varying from 0.5 hr to several days.
In modelling enteric bacteria in river and estuarine waters, as for heavy metals, faecal coliform
can also be locked up in the sediments and in the studies reported herein the advective-diffusion
equation (1) was first used to predict the depth averaged cohesive and non-cohesive sediment
fluxes and concentrations. For the cohesive sediment transport flux the source term φs was equated
to the net erosion-deposition, with resuspension and deposition rates being given by Sanford &
Halka (1993). For the non-cohesive sediment transport flux the van Rijn (1984a,b) formulations
were used to determine the bed load and suspended load concentrations. The corresponding source
term in equation (1) was expressed in terms of the product of the particle settling velocity and
the difference between the sediment concentration at a reference level ‘a’ above the bed and the
equilibrium sediment concentration at the reference level ‘a’. The reference level ‘a’was assumed to
be equal to the equivalent roughness height ks , with a minimum value being given by: a = 0.01H –
where H is the depth of the water column.
A new conceptual model has been developed for the interaction between enteric bacteria and
the suspended and bed sediments (see Lei et al. 2004), with this model being further refined
through current on-going studies. In developing new formulations of the link between enteric
bacteria levels and suspended sediment concentrations in natural waters the following assumptions
were first adopted: (i) that the adsorption of bacterial organisms to suspended solids takes place
immediately; (ii) that there are enough suspended solids surfaces in the water column to provide
living places for the bacterial organisms; and (iii) that within the water column the distribution of
the suspended solids concentrations and bacterial populations are uniform along the water depth,
therefore the bacterial populations absorbed onto the sediment surfaces are the same as that for

47
 Input of bacteria in Input of bacteria in
particulate form dissolved form

Desorption
Bacteria on
Bacteria in
suspended
Advection dissolved form Advection
particulates Sorption
Diffusion Diffusion
Resuspension Settling

River or Estuary Bed

Figure 1. Schematic illustration of bacterial–sediment interaction in estuarine waters.

each unit of sediment concentration. In applying these assumptions and based on extensive field
surveys the formulation for the source term in the advective-diffusion equation, expressed in a
form enabling the enteric bacterial levels in the water column to be calculated, can be written as:

where φs source or sink term, including bacterial decay, deposition disappearance, entrainment
from the bed and wastewater treatment outfalls etc; C = depth averaged bacteria concentration
(cfu/100 ml); dCd = loss of bacteria population due to deposition of the suspended solids dur-
ing a time interval dt; dCr = bacterial population increase due to sediment resuspension in a
time interval dt; Qo = outfall discharge (m3 /s); Co = outfall discharge concentration (cfu/100 ml);
Ao = horizontal discharge area (m2 ); H = water column depth (m); and N = total number of outfalls.
An example illustration of the bacterial–sediment interaction is illustrated in Figure 1.

3 HYDROENVIRONMENTAL MODEL DETAILS

3.1 Cardiff Bay study

The port of Cardiff was once one of Britain’s largest international trading ports and has been through
a period of decline since its heyday in the 1920s. Whole scale urban regeneration of the docks area
was seen as the most appropriate means of regenerating the southerly part of Cardiff and a plan to
construct a 1.4 km long tidal exclusion barrage across the mouth of Cardiff Bay was given Royal
Assent in 1993. The barrage was designed to create a freshwater lake of 200 hectares, incorporating
the rivers Taff and Ely, with 13 km of waterfront, enhancing opportunities for recreational water
use and commercial and domestic development (see Figure 2).
In constructing the barrage and lock gate structures etc, across the mouth of the estuary, the
impoundment of the two rivers and the change of the Bay from an estuary, with extensive flooding
and drying, to a freshwater lake would have major changes on the hydroenvironmental management
and water quality issues upstream of the impoundment. In particular, following impoundment the
main water quality issues needing to be addressed can be summarized as follows:
• The Bay would now experience long retention times, whereas previously the estuary was well
flushed with substantial tidal variations – up to 14 m during spring tides;

48
Figure 2. Photographic illustration of Cardiff Bay and Barrage and the rivers Taff and Ely.

• Several combined sewer overflows (CSOs) discharge directly into the watercourses under wet
weather flow conditions, thereby leading to effluent discharges reaching the Bay;
• Nutrient and pathogenic inputs were expected in the form of diffuse source discharges from
agricultural runoff etc, which in turn would flow via the rivers into the Bay; and
• Low dissolved oxygen levels were expected in summer, particularly in the lower layers of the
water column, leading to stratification and interaction with contaminated sediments.

As a result of some of these concerns the Hydroenvironmental Research Centre at Cardiff Uni-
versity undertook a substantial on-going research study to refine and apply an integrated modelling
tool for hydroenvironmental management of the Bay. The project strategy consisted of integrat-
ing a CSO model (namely SWMM), with the Centre’s 1-D river model FASTER and 3-D model
TRIVAST. The latter two models have been developed by staff within the Research Centre, whereas
the model SWMM is a stormwater rainfall-runoff model developed by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. The integrated modelling tool is being continuously refined to predict faecal
coliform and dissolved oxygen levels in the Bay for various scenarios. The numerical modelling
has been complemented with an extensive field monitoring programme to establish more precise
values for the kinetic decay rate and thereby provide enhanced predictions of coliform levels in the
Bay. A laboratory model study has also been undertaken to establish retention times and provide
an indication of dispersion values within the basin.
To enable the inclusion of a dynamic representation for determining the survival rates of bacteria
in the numerical model, two field measurement exercises were undertaken to determine the key
environmental parameters affecting the faecal indicator organism levels in the bay and the rivers
Taff and Ely. These surveys were conducted in March (characterising cold, overcast conditions) and
July (characterising hot, sunny conditions). The surveys involved the deployment of two survey
boats within the bay, as well as land based survey teams to sample the rivers and other inputs.
The surveys were conducted over the period dawn to dusk, to provide information on the diurnal
variability of the relevant parameters. The main parameters measured, at various depths, included
bacterial concentrations, solar irradiance in air and water, water temperature, turbidity, pH, salinity,
conductivity, suspended particulate matter and water depth. The hydro-environmental model was
set up with field values of the vertical light extinction coefficient for the March and July surveys
and the die-off rate directly related to the solar intensity, implying that the die-off rate in darkness
would be zero. Gameson and Saxon (1967) reported that the effects of sunlight on coliform die-off

49
 Faecal Coliform
counts/100ml
70,000
60,000
45,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0

(a) 4 am release (b) 4 pm release

Figure 3. Coliform levels for arbitrary release into rivers Taff and Ely at: (a) 4 am and (b) 4 pm.

were additive and independent of temperature, hence the die-off rate was expressed as the sum
of the die-off rate for darkness, kd , and the die-off rate due to sunlight, ks . Assuming that the
total faecal coliform mortality rate, k, can be defined by a simple relationship, taking into account
darkness and sunlight mortality, then this relationship gives:

where typical values for kd and ks were 100 hr and 10 hr respectively. Extensive further research was
undertaken by Kashefipour et al. (2002) and Lin et al. (2003) where extensive field data of faecal
coliform levels were used, together with artificial neural networks, to develop new formulations
for the faecal coliform decay rate k.
As part of this extensive research study, simulations were undertaken to investigate the impact of
using the dynamically proposed varying decay rates for the faecal coliform levels of the receiving
waters in the rivers and the Bay. In particular, comparisons were undertaken for a range of variables
and the results showed that the receiving water faecal coliform levels were highly dependent upon the
key variables cited above. The hydroenvironmental model was first run for hypothetical spillages
into the rivers and for a constant decay rate (T90 ) of 60 hr, both for day-time and night-time
conditions. The model was then re-run for day-time and night-time decay rates cited above, i.e.
ranging from 10 hr to 100 hr respectively and based on the representation given in Equation (5). The
difference in the predictions was significant and indicated that, for this freshwater basin, night-time
spillages during the autumn and winter months led to reduced faecal coliform levels in the rivers
and Bay, in comparison with corresponding spillages occurring during the notional 12 hr day-time
period (see Figure 3). Further field measurements and model predictions were undertaken, with
the die-off related to sunlight intensity, temperature and irradiance.
The corresponding test case results showed a further significant variation in the coliform levels of
the receiving waters, and highlighted the need for further studies into establishing more precisely the
relationship between the decay rate and a range of meteorological, hydrodynamic and bio-chemical
processes. Work is currently on-going within the Research Centre to relate the decay rate for faecal
coliform to a range of other variables, including: pH, turbidity, air temperature and salinity.
More recently, the hydroenvironmental studies of Cardiff Bay have been extended to include
genetic programming simulations, with these hydroinformatics tools offering new decision support
software tools for predicting water quality levels in the Bay. The approach involves using extensive
data to establish complex functional relationships, specifically for faecal coliform levels across
Cardiff Bay in this instance. This approach enables real-time predictions to be made of the gov-
erning variables once the programme has been trained. Detailed measurements were taken across
Cardiff Bay at 17 sites and typical comparisons of measured versus predicted coliform levels for
one site are shown in Figure 4. Further details of this study are given in Harris (2003). This research

50
 Cardiff Bay, Wales. Site 5
Indicator Organism Concentrations
100000
Faecal Coliform Concentrations (/100ml)

10000

1000

100

10

0.1

0.01 Training Data Validation Data Applied Data

1
4

7
10

13
16

19

22
25

28

31
34

37

40

43
46

49

52
55

58

61
64

67

70

73
76

79

82
number
Measured Faecal Coliform levels GP Predicted levels (best program) GP Predicted levels (best team)

Figure 4. Comparison of measured and predicted faecal coliform levels using genetic programming.

relating to the application of genetic programming to predict faecal coliform levels in Cardiff Bay
is also currently being integrated within the framework of 2-D and 3-D hydroenvironmental models
with a view to using these tools together in a combined form. Major land use changes are currently
on-going in the Cardiff Bay catchment area and the approach being developed is to use the determin-
istic model to predict the faecal coliform levels in the Bay for a range of input parameters and then to
use the numerical model to provide the data to train and verify the genetic programme. Once trained
for the new input conditions the genetic programme can then be used for on-line management of
water quality within the Bay, with a ‘predict and Protect’ approach being used for signage when
water quality standards become a potential health risk. The model has also been extended to pro-
duce gastro-enteritis disease burden risk levels, with the aim being to reduce hydroenvironmental
health risk within the receiving waters and maximize the Bay for recreational water sports etc.

3.2 Ribble estuary and river

Another recent study undertaken by the authors relates to the refinement of the Centre’s hydro-
environmental models for studying the Fylde Coast and Ribble River Basin in the U.K., where
major concerns have arisen in recent years as a result of the coastal receiving waters failing to
meet the European Union (EU) Bathing Water Directive mandatory standards, particularly during
storm flow conditions. The Ribble river basin is situated along the North West coast of England,
near the town of Blackpool – one of the U.K.’s largest seaside resorts and a key tourist centre. At
the mouth of the estuary, there are two well-known seaside resorts, namely Lytham St. Anne’s and
Southport, and both designated EU bathing waters (see Figure 5). The area has three main centres
of population, namely the towns of St. Anne’s and Southport, located on the north and south coasts
of the Ribble Estuary, and the town of Preston that straddles the Ribble near the tidal limit. In order
to improve the receiving water quality, North West Water has invested over £500 m along the Fylde
coast and in the Ribble river basin over the past 10 years. Examples include upgrading various
wastewater treatment works from primary treatment to including UV disinfection and with storm
discharges having been reduced by the construction of 260,000 m3 of additional storage.
Although the decrease in the input of bacterial loads has resulted in a marked reduction in the
concentration of bacterial indicators, elevated coliform counts are still encountered, particularly
during flood conditions, and the bathing waters frequently continue to fail to comply with the EU
Bathing Water Directive (1976) mandatory standards. The mandatory coliform standards given in
the directive to assess compliance require that there be no more than 2,000 faecal coliform counts

51
 433000

431000
Ribble Boundary
Bullnose
429000
3milepost Blue Bridge
St. Anne’s Penwortham
427000 Darwen Boundary

11milepost 7milepost
Upstream 2-D Boundary
425000

Downstream 1-D Boundary

423000
Measuring Water Elevation
421000 Tarleton Lock
Tide Survey Point
Southport
Douglas River Measuring Discharge
419000 Upstream 1-D Boundary

417000

415000

413000 Wanes Blades Bridge

Douglas Boundary
411000
326000 330000 334000 338000 342000 346000 350000 354000 358000 362000

Figure 5. Schematic illustration of Ribble River Basin.

per 100 ml. For bathing waters to comply with this directive then 95% of the samples taken must
meet these standards. The water quality failures have become a major threat to the local tourist
industry. Considerable fieldwork has been undertaken by the Environment Agency and North West
Water to investigate land use management issues and how these relate to the adverse water quality
conditions. The main objective of the study was therefore to quantify the impact on various sewerage
infrastructure inputs into the Ribble river basin and the receiving coastal waters.
In undertaking a comprehensive modelling study of the basin, the Centre’s FASTER and HEMAT
models were used for predicting water elevations, velocities, salinity, total and faecal coliform levels
and suspended sediment loads in the river, the estuary and the coastal receiving waters. The main
area of interest in this study was from the outer seaward boundary, of length 41.2 km, to the tidal
limit of several rivers, each having a width at the limit of typically less than 10 m. Such a difference
in the modelling scale made it almost impossible for either a 1-D or 2-D model to be used alone.
Therefore a linked 1-D and 2-D modelling approach was used, with the domain being divided
into two sub-domains and with diffuse source inputs included in the form of line sources from
catchment land use model inputs provided by the Centre for Research in Environment and Health
at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
In order to ensure that the integrated model could be used to predict accurately the impact of
future improvement works and climate change on the river basin, the model was calibrated for water
elevations, velocities, salinity, suspended solids, faecal and total coliforms and faecal streptococci
against six datasets. Three of the datasets were used for initial calibration and the other three were
used for model verification. The data were collected during winter and summer months, and for
wet and dry weather conditions. Measurements were also taken for different tidal ranges, including
neap and spring tides, and at the tidal limits of the rivers and the seaward boundary, to provide
boundary conditions at the weirs for the model. Measurements were also taken within the basin at
several sites, including: 11 milepost, 7 milepost, 3 milepost and Preston Bullnose (see Figure 5).
Full details of the model study are given in Kashefipour et al. (2002).
For the calibration tests excellent agreement was obtained between the flow and faecal col-
iform predictions for the river basin. Model predictions of elevations and velocities were in close

52
Figure 6. Computed faecal coliform levels for: (a) dry and (b) wet weather river flows.

agreement with the measured data. Similarly, comparisons of the predicted and measured faecal
coliform levels at all of the calibration points showed that the model was able to predict this water
quality indicator satisfactorily. The calibrated wet weather event values of T90 for the 2-D and 1-D
regions were 72 hr and 85 hr for day-time, and 106 hr and 142 hr for night-time conditions. Like-
wise, for dry weather conditions the corresponding calibrated T90 values were 37.3 hr and 50.1 hr
for day-time and 80.8 hr and 132.2 hr for night-time conditions respectively. The measured and
predicted coliform indicator levels at all of the calibration points were found to be much greater
for wet weather events, in comparison with dry weather events. It was also interesting to note that
for all wet weather events the coliform inputs from the catchments into the upstream reaches of the
Ribble and Darwen rivers were significantly larger than for the corresponding dry weather loads.
Finally, a series of baseline simulations was undertaken for a range of river flows, tidal conditions
and meteorological conditions. In addition to these baseline simulations, a number of scenario
simulations were also undertaken to establish the impact on the coastal receiving waters of further
investments in the wastewater treatment works (such as UV disinfection) at a number of sites along
the rivers. The results showed that, whilst UV disinfection and storage tanks would undoubtedly
reduce the effluent coliform inputs from the sewage works, the diffuse source inputs from the
catchment were significant during flood (or wet weather) conditions and little could be done to
reduce the adverse impact. Comparisons of the predicted faecal coliform levels for dry and wet
weather conditions are shown in Figure 6, highlighting that non-compliance at the bathing water
site was much influenced by diffuse source pollutants.

3.3 Bristol Channel – Severn Estuary

In the final study reported herein an extensive on-going 2-D modelling research project is being
undertaken with the Centre for Research into Environment and Health, at the University of Wales,
Aberystwyth, and the U.K. Environment Agency. The study involves an extensive programme of
field monitoring and numerical modelling to predict faecal contamination and nutrient levels in
the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary where, despite extensive levels of wastewater treatment
(including UV disinfection), high levels of enteric bacterial contamination are still found in some
of the bathing waters along the estuary. In this study a new enteric bacterial–sediment transport
interaction conceptual model has been developed and measured data used to estimate the sorption
and desorption rates between the bacteria and the sediments. The data acquired through the field
data monitoring studies have shown that the bacteria can remain trapped within the sediments for
considerably long periods, only to be released and transported potentially to bathing waters during

53
storm or spring tide conditions. When the bacteria are adsorbed onto the sediments and deposited
to the bed then the decay rate is found to be very low and the bacteria can be regarded almost
as a conservative substance. Relatively good agreement has been obtained between the measured
and predicted levels of faecal coliform along the estuary, with the results highlighting considerable
differences between the concentration levels measured and predicted when the interactions between
the bacteria and the sediments are included in the model.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In recent years environmental hydraulicians have placed considerable emphasis on modelling accur-
ately the hydrodynamic, mixing and sediment transport processes in river and estuarine waters.
However, in many cases the level of contamination in the downstream receiving waters is often
highly dependent upon the kinetic decay rates or the partitioning coefficients for coliform bac-
teria, nutrients and heavy metals etc. These coefficients are generally assumed to be constants in
many model studies and insufficient emphasis is often placed on these coefficients in comparison
with other hydrodynamic and mixing parameters and coefficients, such as the bed roughness and
turbulence characteristics.
In the study reported herein brief details are given of the importance of the kinetic decay rate and
the partitioning coefficient and the influence on these parameters of such variables as temperature,
salinity, irradiance, turbidity etc. Three studies are highlighted to varying degrees, with the first
study of Cardiff Bay highlighting the significance of irradiance on the decay rate for faecal coliform
and the influence of this parameter on the receiving water coliform levels. This study is now being
extended to investigate the influence of other master variables on the decay rate using artificial
neural networks and other hydroinformatics tools. In the second study the significance of diffuse
source pollutants has been illustrated, again using refined representations of the faecal coliform
decay rate. Finally, in a study of enteric bacterial levels along the Bristol Channel and Severn
Estuary an initial conceptual model – together with extensive field data – has highlighted the
potential significance of the interaction of bacteria with the sediments and, like heavy metal fluxes,
adsorption and desorption are predicted to be important processes in the transport of bacteria
through and with the water column. This latter study is currently in its infancy and is now being
extended to nutrient fluxes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research studies reported herein were mainly funded by the Natural Environment Research
Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Environment Agency.
The authors are also grateful to Cardiff Harbour Authority for the provision of data and their past
research students involved these studies including: Dr Emma Harris, Dr Seyed Kashefipour and
Ms. Lei Yang. The authors are also particularly grateful to Professor David Kay and Dr Carl
Stapleton (CREH, University of Wales, Aberystwyth) for their collaboration with these studies.

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ASCE. 110: 1431–1456.
Wu, Y. & Falconer, R.A. 2000. A mass conservative 3-D model for predicting solute fluxes in estuarine waters.
Advances in Water Resources, 23: 531–543.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Fate and transport modeling vs. models: A management perspective

Wu-Seng Lung
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

ABSTRACT: While fate and transport modeling of contaminants in natural waters has been a
useful tool in managing water resources by the regulatory agencies, there is misconception about the
use of models toward water quality management, particularly in the name of modeling vs. models.
It should be pointed out that the skills of modeling are most crucial to the fate and transport
modeling instead of applying models. More importantly, practical fate and transport modeling
analyses require the support of water quality data. Modeling without data or simply applying
models should not be encouraged for water quality management. This presentation demonstrates a
number of practical fate and transport modeling studies in assisting regulatory agencies on water
quality management.

1 INTRODUCTION

One of the purposes of fate and transport modeling is for management use. Managers must be
convinced that the model is fully calibrated and verified prior to making projections and predictions
for decisions that have a large sum of money at stake. Ranging from a modeling study of a small
creek to clean up the point source discharges to the large scale study of the Chesapeake Bay, USA,
managers keep asking questions such as: Are the model(s) calibrated, how good is the calibration,
is the calibration/verification scientifically defensible, and how would the citizens buy in the study
results?
Water quality managers at regulatory agencies must be convinced that the models are fully
functional to produce credible results so they can submit them to the management for a full imple-
mentation of the modeling outcome. In addition, public citizens are well educated these days and
they must also buy in to support the decisions related to the model results. They often ask intelligent
questions on the modeling analysis at public meetings. Environmental groups are another watch
dog that is closely monitoring the modeling analysis and scrutinizing the model results.
Based on the experience gained during the past two decades on fate and transport modeling of
contaminants, it is clear that the most important question that managers ask is: How do you know
your model results are right? That is the central theme of this paper: modeling vs. models. A number
of technical issues relating to fate and transport modeling are presented to offer a perspective toward
this question.

2 NATURE OF FATE AND TRANSPORT MODELS

Fate and transport models are mass balance based, i.e. the only equation that has a solid foundation
in the model is the mass balance equation. Any thing else such as modeling algal growth, suspended
solids settling and resuspension, or contaminant adsorption by sediments all have various degrees
of empiricism. It is this empiricism that requires field data support in the modeling analysis.
Essentially, it is the comparison of model results with data that demonstrates model calibration and
verification.

57
 The extent of field data to support the modeling analysis depends on the sophistication and
complexity of the modeling framework configured for the analysis. Obviously, more complicated
models require more data and simpler models use less data. A sound strategy is to use the simplest
model possible to address the water quality problem(s) in practice.

3 FATE AND TRANSPORT MODELING IN WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT

3.1 Assigning and deriving key coefficient values

Kinetic coefficients are highly dependent of the process formulation in most of the fate and transport
models in practice today. For example, regulatory agencies issue discharge permits for point sources
in terms of CBOD concentrations in the effluent, usually expressed as 5-day BOD or CBOD. To
accommodate the permit writer’s need, the modeler formulates the rate of consumption of dissolved
oxygen in the receiving water using a first-order kinetics based on the remaining concentration of
CBOD in the receiving water. Such a formulation is highly empirical and as such, assigning the
in-stream deoxygenation rate becomes a formidable task without prior knowledge of the wastewater
characteristics, particularly for the situations of upgrading the treatment level or constructing a new
treatment plant (Lung, 2001). Failure to understand this key aspect would seriously compromise
the modeling analysis, resulting in erroneous permit conditions.
A good example of such a practice is the modeling analysis of Walnut Creek in Alabama (AL),
USA. The state regulatory agency had completed a modeling study of the wastewater treatment plant
for the City of Troy, discharging into Walnut Creek. They used a very high CBOD deoxygenation
rate in the order of 0.5 day−1 to 0.6 day−1 for the receiving water. Such a high rate would result
in a very stringent permit (i.e. extremely low CBOD concentrations in the effluent). Yet, a close
review of their long-term BOD data showed a low rate of 0.06 day−1 , suggesting a highly stabilized
effluent. Figure 1 demonstrates the model calibration results matching the dissolved oxygen (DO)
data, based on the much lower CBOD deoxygenation rate for the model.
Another example is the determination of stream reaeration rate in Shirtee Creek, AL. Initially, the
state regulatory agency used a much lower reaeration rate, resulting in very stringent CBOD limits
for the discharger. A critical review of their modeling analysis showed that they used the Langbien
and Duram (1967) Equation for the receiving water, generating very low reaeration coefficients
and thereby, extremely stringent effluent limits for CBOD. Because Shirtee Creek is a very small
stream, the use of the Langbien and Duram Equation is not justified (Lung, 2001). Instead, the
Tsivoglou Equation (Tsivoglou and Neal, 1976), designed for small streams, should be used. Table 1

Figure 1. Model calculated vs. measured DO in Walnut Creek using October 1991 data.

58
shows the comparison of the reaeration coefficients for both equations to calibrate and verify the
DO model of Shirtee Creek.
In both cases of Walnut Creek and Shirtee Creek, the saving of treatment cost was significant
following the revised modeling analysis, further demonstrating the benefit of correct modeling
analysis in the regulatory decision-making process. It is particularly important to note that these
two modeling studies used a very simple BOD/DO model, which is exactly what was needed to
address this water quality problem for the study sites. Was a more complex model needed? No.
The model selected was the right tool for the job. What is most important, however, is how to use
the model correctly – making a point for modeling vs. models.

3.2 Selecting the right model to address the management question

In a total maximum daily load (TMDL) modeling study for the Santa Fe River, NM, it was hypothe-
sized that excess nutrients from the Santa Fe wastewater treatment plant result in attached algae
in the river bed and might be causing the observed significant diurnal variations in DO and pH.
The QUAL2E (see Chapra, 1997) model was originally selected and modified to accommodate
attached algae coupled with DO and pH calculations. Further modeling analysis revealed that
the QUAL2E code cannot support time-variable (i.e. diurnal in this case) calculations. A model
capable of calculating DO levels in the water column on an hourly basis reflecting the transient
impact of periphytons was needed. The WASP/EUTRO5 (Ambrose et al., 1993) code, capable of
time-variable computations, was used instead. It was further modified from daily average time-
variable algal growth dynamics to real time calculations to address the water quality problem
(Lung, 2001). The mass transport component for attached algae would be bypassed in the code.
Algal/nutrient dynamics between the attached algae and nutrient components in the water column
was updated for the periphytons. Since the light level needed for the calculation would be the value
reaching the bottom of the water column, no depth-averaged light effect was needed in the WASP
code. The modified WASP/EUTRO5 model for the Santa Fe River performed well, producing
real-time results of DO and pH, matching the measured values (Figure 2). The model was then
used to develop the TMDL for the Santa Fe River, resulting in setting an instantaneous minimum
DO of 4 mg/L for the receiving water (Lung, 2001), to meet the water quality standard.

3.3 Uncover previously hidden interactions

Super-saturation of DO in the surface layers of the water column has been observed in many reser-
voirs. In their modeling studies using the CE-QUAL-W2 model, Cole and Wells (1999) reported
super-saturation in a number of reservoirs. Their model results consistently under-predict the DO
levels in the surface layers. In a recent modeling study of the Loch Raven reservoir outside of the
City of Baltimore, model results match the DO levels in the bottom water of the reservoir quite well
but could not reproduce the supersaturation condition observed in the surface layers (Lung and Zou,
2004). The water quality model used for the Loch Raven reservoir was the EPA’s WASP/EUTRO5

Table 1. Comparison of reaeration coefficients (day−1 ) at 20◦ C in Shirtee Creek.

Mile point August 19911 March 19911 August 19891 August 19892 October 19902

0.0–0.53 5.074 6.266 5.392 9.77 1.82

0.53–0.75 9.886 11.79 14.62 0.76 0.10
0.75–2.02 14.94 17.05 17.45 0.76 2.25
2.02–3.95 8.427 9.222 9.181 0.76 1.44
3.95–6.07 4.897 3.598 3.072 0.76 1.44

1 Tsivoglou Equation.
2 Langbien and Duran Equation.

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Figure 2. Comparison of model calculated vs. measured DO concentrations in the Santa Fe River, showing
significant daily fluctuations over a 96-hour period in the water column.

model. Model calibration results of DO using the 1991 data consistently under-predict the measured
DO levels in the surface layers (Lung and Zou, 2004).
Additional effort was launched to improve the DO prediction in the surface layers. Model sensi-
tivity analyses indicated that increasing the algal growth rate in the water column would significantly
raise the algal biomass (chlorophyll a) level and exhaust the inorganic nutrients. The high algal
biomass level (significantly exceeding the observed chlorophyll a level); however, would not
increase the DO level to achieve super-saturation in the surface layers due to depletion of inorganic
nutrients.
The EUTRO5 module was then modified to provide rapid nutrient recycling rates. In addition,
zooplankton was added into the model to serve as the predator of algae. Zooplankton death would
complete the nutrient recycling process. An additional system, zooplankton was introduced to
simulate zooplankton biomass in mg carbon L−1 . At high levels of phytoplankton biomass, zoo-
plankton grazing levels off. The zooplankton gains biomass by assimilating phytoplankton and
loses biomass by respiration, excretion, and death. These processes can be incorporated into a
zooplankton balance (see Chapra, 1997).
Figure 3 presents model results vs. data at Station GUN0142 at the dam for 1992 simulations.
The water quality constituents shown are DO, chlorophyll a, total phosphorus, and ammonia in the
surface and bottom layers of the water column. Results from the original model (in dots) and the
enhanced model (in solid lines) are displayed for comparison with the data (depth-averaged values
and max/min values). Figure 3 shows that results from the enhanced model match the surface-
layer DO levels much better than the results from the original model in 1992. The chlorophyll a
match (particularly in the surface layer) also improves with the enhanced model and so do the total
phosphorus results in both surface and bottom layers.

3.4 Modeling with limited data

While fate and transport modeling requires significant data support, there are modeling studies that
must be made with very limited field data to support regulatory decisions. In that case, the modeler
must rely on other information and try to establish as many check points as possible to guide the
analysis. One approach would be to perform the modeling analysis using conservative assumptions
in lieu of data support. If the model results, developed under conservative assumptions, yield the
model results meeting water quality standards, they are much easier accepted by the regulatory
agencies. The following example illustrates such a case study.
Mixing zone modeling is one of the important environmental hydraulic topics these days that
must be addressed by the regulatory agencies under the current Clean Water Act in the US. The
focus of the mixing zone modeling is now on many small wastewater discharges, either from
municipal or industrial wastewater facilities. Unfortunately, field data to support a mixing zone
analysis of small dischargers is usually lacking. One of the key elements is quantifying the mixing

60
Figure 3. Original and improved model results vs. data of DO, chlorophyll a, total phosphorus, and ammonia
nitrogen in a two-layer configuration for Loch Raven at station GUN0142 near the dam.

and dispersion coefficients in the receiving water. While regulatory agencies require field work
to independently develop such data, carrying out a full scale dye dispersion study in the field is
not only time consuming but also costly. In lieu of a field study, technical data from other sources
could be used to support the modeling analysis as shown in the following case study.
With the completion of construction and commercial operation of Unit 6, a 550 megawatt
combined cycle gas turbine unit, in 2003, several new wastewater streams entered the existing
treatment pond system at the Possum Point power station in Dumfries, VA (Figure 4). This system
is known as the low volume waste system and is regulated as outfall 004 by Virginia Department of
the Environmental Quality (VDEQ). The discharge from this system enters Quantico Creek near its
confluence with the Potomac River. One of these new wastewater streams, cooling-tower blowdown
quench water, is thermally enriched. Because of this new thermal source, VDEQ expressed concern
about the impact of the thermal loading from outfall 004 to the existing thermal mixing zone in
Quantico Creek (see Figure 4).
The existing discharge permit stipulates that temperature rise over the ambient should not be
greater than 3◦ C within the regulatory mixing zone. Temperature monitoring to record the thermal
impact of outfall 004 has been conducted since 1985 on an annual basis and it has become a
semi-annual event since 2001. Historical data from the monitoring indicate that temperature rises
over the ambient has been consistently below 1◦ C. Thus, the key question to be addressed in this
study is whether the new thermally enriched water from outfall 004 would significantly increase this
temperature rise beyond that level. That is, would the combined temperature rise still be below 3◦ C?
A conservative modeling approach was adopted to determine if the temperature increase due to
the effluent from outfall 004 would be below 1.8◦ C inside the regulatory mixing zone. A number

61
Figure 4. Possum Point Power Station, Quantico Creek, and the Potomac River, VA.

of assumptions for the modeling analysis are listed as follows:

1. Initial dilution of the effluent due to momentum impact is neglected. The flow rate of outfall
004 is very small that it carries little momentum on the receiving water.
2. Surface dissipation of heat from outfall 004 discharge is not included.
3. The temperature rise due to thermal sources other than outfall 004 could reach 1.2◦ C, thereby
resulting in a balance of 1.8◦ C for outfall 004.
The above assumptions yield a very conservative approach to meet the water quality standard. A
worse-case thermal load from the effluent at outfall 004 is associated with a flow rate of 3.5 MGD
and temperature of 20◦ C above the ambient water (i.e. T = 20◦ C). The station operation records
indicate that the T at the outfall has been rarely over 10◦ C. The flow rate of 3.5 MGD is also a
very extreme event. Therefore, such a thermal load scenario is on the conservative side.
Lung (1995, 2001) presented a simplified, analytical solution to track the fate and transport of
pollutants in estuaries in a 2-D configuration with longitudinal and lateral dispersion:

where
C = concentration at any given location downstream from the discharge
M = mass discharged/unit time

62
Figure 5. Model results showing T contours in the Potomac River.

u = average velocity in the river

Dy = dispersion coefficient across the river
x = distance downstream from the discharge outfall
y = distance in lateral direction
d = average depth in the river
Dx = the longitudinal dispersion coefficient and
K0 = the modified Bessel function of the second kind of order zero.
In this study, values of key model coefficients in Eq. 1 such as u, Dx and Dy were obtained from the
EPA’s Chesapeake Bay (including the Potomac River) hydrodynamic model instead of conducting
a field study. Note that the Chesapeake Bay hydrodynamic model has been fully calibrated and
verified with close match of long-term data; and rigorously scrutinized by peer reviews (Lung,
2001). The mixing pattern derived from that model was readily accepted by VDEQ. Figure 5 shows
the model calculated temperature over the ambient, T (◦ C) under the worst case scenario. The
results clearly indicate that the 1.8◦ C contour of T is well within the regulatory mixing zone.

3.5 Tracking the fate and transport of nutrients in the receiving water
In a study of analyzing the fate and transport of phosphorus from the Metropolitan Wastewater
Treatment Plant (Metro Plant) in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, a numerical tagging technique was
developed to identify the source of phosphorus in the algal biomass in the Upper Mississippi River.
Such a technique is quite similar to the 32 PO4 technique that limnologists use in tracking phosphorus
in natural water systems by measuring the amount of 32 PO4 in various phosphorus compartments
in the water column. Instead of using a radioactive tracer, a numerical tracer was injected into
one of the nutrient sources in the eutrophication model. A comprehensive presentation of this
technique can be found in Lung (1996). Results of the numerical tagging analysis is presented in
Figure 6, showing that despite the significant reduction of phosphorus loads from the Metro Plant,
the phytoplankton biomass reduction in Lake Pepin amounts to only 10 µg/L. Such an outcome
helped to convince the regulatory agency that spending a significant sum (i.e. over $400 M) on
phosphorus removal at the Metro Plant would not be a wise strategy.
The model results are particularly useful in quantifying the contribution of an individual phos-
phorus source or a group of sources to the phytoplankton biomass in the receiving water. Applying
the numerical tagging technique on a watershed basis would yield helpful information for devel-
oping a sound water quality management strategy, particularly in terms of the trade-off between

63
Figure 6. Model results showing the fate and transport of various phosphorus sources in the Upper Mississippi
River and Lake Pepin under 1988 and reduced phosphorus loads at the Metro Plant.

point and nonpoint loads. This study has demonstrated the numerical tagging analysis that can be
instrumental in improving the overall TMDL development of a particular watershed.

3.6 Linking models

Nonpoint sources in the watershed usually dominate the contaminant loads to the receiving waters
these days. A complete fate and transport model package for water quality management must
include a watershed model, a hydrodynamic model, and a receiving water quality model. Accurate
predictions of watershed loads represent a key step in fate and transport modeling of the receiving
water. Unfortunately, data to support the watershed modeling effort is far short of its need, thereby
making watershed modeling one of the most inaccurate effort in the fate and transport modeling
analysis and it is the weakest link of all the modules.
To strengthen this link, modelers rely on the receiving water modeling effort as a key check
point for watershed modeling. Receiving water modelers should not take in everything that the
watershed modelers provide. Instead, receiving water modelers are expected to offer feedbacks to
the watershed modelers to calibrate the watershed model. Examples of such a practice have been
reported in many nutrient TMDLs in US.
Another key step is linking the hydrodynamic and receiving water quality model. In the case of
the Loch Raven Reservoir eutrophication modeling, the 2-D (longitudinal-vertical) CE-QUAL-W2
code (simply called W2 model) by Cole et al. (1998) was used to quantify the advective flows in
the water column by running the hydrodynamic module. While the W2 code has the water quality
module, the regulatory agency had chosen the WASP/EUTRO5 for water quality simulations (Lung,
2001). An important check point in linking the W2 and WASP/EUTRO5 models is to run the

64
Figure 7. Linking a hydrodynamic model with a water quality model, matching results from both models
with measured specific conductivity data in Loch Raven Reservoir, Maryland, 1991.

WASP model for a conservative substance (in this case, specific conductivity) using the flow field
generated by the W2 model. Results from both models must match to insure a proper linkage.
Figure 7 displays the model results for specific conductivity from both models of Loch Raven
Reservoir using the 1991 data. Results from these two models match each other closely and also
reproduce the same measured vertical profiles of specific conductivity levels in the reservoir.
Note the slightly increased specific conductivity levels in the bottom waters during the summer
months. The elevated specific conductivity levels are due to the release of iron and manganese ions
from the sediment under anaerobic conditions (Lung, 2001). Results presented in Figure 7 further
substantiate the validity of the mass transport calculations in the WASP model and indicate that
the mass transport model is ready for water quality simulations.

4 PHYSICALLY BASED MODELS

The above case studies clearly demonstrate the necessity of field data support in fate and transport
modeling analyses. An experience modeler would feel frustrated with any analysis lacking data
support. Modeling does not generate data; it only interprets data to quantify the cause-and-effect
relationship. Fate and transport models are most useful in quantifying such relationships between
the pollutant loads and the receiving water response.
In recent years, the so-called “physically based models” have surfaced. Developers of these
models claim that there is no need to calibrate the model at all, i.e. no model coefficients need to
be adjusted for any applications. In light of the case studies presented, it is easy to see that such a

65
claim is totally false and without a scientific base. One simple counter argument would be: Even
the hydrodynamic models still need to adjust the Manning’s n or its equivalent, how could a water
quality model, which has significantly more coefficients than hydrodynamic models, be applied
globally without any change of its values of parameters and coefficients?
Because of the current construct of the model, BOD/DO modeling of streams still requires
a priori assignment of the deoxygenation coefficient values in the receiving water. It is almost
impossible to quantify the deoxygenation coefficient in a stream without a full characterization of
the wastewater input. An independent assignment of the deoxygenation coefficient values would
be as difficult, if not impossible, as trying to quantify the bottom coefficients in a hydrodynamic
model. It should be pointed out that turbulence closure modeling has been around for decades
and still remains more an art than science today, let alone the independent quantification of the
deoxygenation coefficients in stream BOD/DO modeling.

5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

Over the past two decades, fate and transport modeling has matured into a useful tool in water quality
management for regulatory agencies, particularly for TMDLs in recent years. A scientifically
defensible modeling study requires significant data support to configure, calibrate, and verify
the model. A model should not be used for management use until it is properly validated with
site specific data. The take home message of this paper is: conducting modeling analysis correctly
instead of using models as a black box. Adequate training of modelers, not blindly applying models,
is essential to the success of fate and transport modeling.

REFERENCES

Ambrose, R.B., T.A. Wool, and J.L. Martin, 1993. The water quality analysis simulation program, WASP5,
part a: model documentation. U.S. EPA Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling, Athens, GA.
Chapra, S.C., 1997. Surface water-quality modeling. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
Langbien, W.B. and W.H. Durum, 1967. The aeration capacity of streams. U.S. Geological Survey Circular
542, Washington, DC.
Lung, W.S., 1995. Mixing zone modeling for toxic waste-load allocations. J. Environ. Eng., 121(11): 839–842.
Lung, W.S., 1996. Fate and transport modeling using a numerical tracer. Water Resources Res., 32(1): 171–178.
Lung, W.S., 2001. Water quality modeling for wasteload allocations and TMDLs. John Wiley & Sons, New
York, NY.
Lung, W.S. and R. Zou, 2004. Modeling supersaturation of dissolved oxygen in reservoirs. Manuscript
submitted for publication.
Tsivoglou, E.C. and L.A. Neal, 1976. Tracer measurements of reaeration: III. Predicting the reaeration capacity
of inland streams. J. Water Pollution Contr. Fed., 48(12): 2669–2689.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Internal waves in Monterey Bay: An application of SUNTANS

O.B. Fringer, M. Gerritsen & R.L. Street

Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

ABSTRACT: Internal waves are ubiquitous in the oceans and their simulation is a necessary
precursor to understanding ocean mixing and energy dissipation. Toward this end, we present an
unstructured grid, nonhydrostatic, parallel Navier-Stokes simulator, SUNTANS, which employs
unstructured grids in the planform and z-levels in the vertical. The grids for SUNTANS are par-
titioned with the ParMETIS parallel graph partitioning tool, and parallelization is accomplished
with MPI, the message passing interface. We demonstrate the necessity of employing a non-
hydrostatic solver to reproduce the physics of the lock-exchange problem, and find that, although
the nonhydrostatic solver is five times as expensive per time step, the hydrostatic solver is less effi-
cient because it requires 16 times as many time steps for the same simulation time. When applied
to the Monterey Bay bathymetry, we show that SUNTANS correctly simulates the internal wave
field by comparing the results to those from two field sites.

1 INTRODUCTION

Internal waves account for a significant portion of mixing and dissipation within the world’s oceans.
Based on a balance between mixing and deep-water upwelling, the average eddy diffusivity of the
ocean is roughly 10−4 m2 s−1 . Despite this prediction, Munk and Wunsch (1998) report that profiler
measurements in the ocean away from boundaries yield diffusivities on the order of 10−5 m2 s−1 .
One possible explanation of this dichotomy is that the eddy diffusivity is very large in small,
localized turbulent patches over a small percentage of the ocean. The most likely source for this
elevated diffusivity is internal wave breaking.
In the continuously stratified ocean, internal wave energy propagates along beams at an angle θ
with respect to the horizontal and slope dz/dx given by

where ω is the internal wave frequency, f is the Coriolis parameter, and N is the buoyancy frequency.
Unlike surface waves, internal waves retain their angle with the vertical after reflection from
topography. For an internal wave beam propagating towards a topographic slope, supercritical
topography implies that the topographic slope, γ , is steeper than θ , and results in internal wave
reflection, whereas subcritical topography for which γ < θ results in transmission. When θ = γ ,
critical topography results in focusing of internal wave energy that can lead to turbulence and
mixing, as is shown by the numerical simulations of Slinn and Riley (1998).
Internal tides, or internal waves of tidal frequency, are generated at critical topography
(Prinsenberg et al., 1974). Steep ridges or breaks in topography transition rapidly from subcritical
to supercritical slopes and serve as sources of generation of internal wave energy. Using field
measurements and numerical simulations with the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) (Blumberg &
Mellor, 1987), Petruncio et al. (1998; 2002) show that internal waves are generated at critical
topography within Monterey Bay and this energy propagates into the Monterey Bay Submarine

67
Canyon. Their results show that submarine canyons along coastal margins act as conduits which
focus internal wave energy which in turn leads to elevated levels of dissipation and mixing. Others
(Kunze et al., 2001; Lien & Gregg, 2001) have also measured elevated turbulence and mixing due
to the internal tide in Monterey Bay.
Like Petruncio et al. (2002), Holloway (2001) and Holloway et al. (2001) used POM to study
internal tides by simulating internal waves on the Australian Northwest Shelf. Although they
used primitive equation models, these simulations yielded excellent results because internal tides
are approximated well with the hydrostatic approximation, especially when the grid resolution is
relatively coarse. Refining the grid is necessary if finer scale internal wave physics is to be captured,
but at finer scales it becomes necessary to compute the nonhydrostatic pressure because in some
regions evolution of the internal wave spectrum leads to shorter, nonhydrostatic and breaking waves.
It is these processes that should define the energy dissipation and mixing.
The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of a nonhydrostatic parallel code, SUNTANS
(Stanford Unstructured Nonhydrostatic Terrain-following Adaptive Navier-Stokes Simulator),
which is capable of running at very high resolution on parallel computers. We present some results
obtained with SUNTANS as applied to Monterey Bay.

2 THE SUNTANS CODE

SUNTANS is a nonhydrostatic, unstructured-grid, parallel, coastal ocean simulation tool that

solves the Navier-Stokes equations under the Boussinesq approximation with a large-eddy simu-
lation of the resolved motions (Fringer et al., 2002; Fringer, 2003). The formulation is based
on the method outlined by Casulli (1999), where the free-surface and vertical diffusion are
discretized with the θ-method, which eliminates the Courant condition associated with fast free-
surface waves and the friction term associated with small vertical grid spacings at the free-surface
and bottom boundaries. The grid employs z-levels in the vertical and triangular cells in the
planform. Advection of momentum is accomplished with the second-order accurate unstructured-
grid scheme of Perot (2000), and scalar advection is accomplished semi-implicitly using the
method of Gross et al. (1999), in which continuity of volume and mass are guaranteed when
wetting and drying is employed. The wetting and drying capabilities of SUNTANS enable its
use for coastal as well as estuarine domains. The θ-method for the free-surface yields a two-
dimensional Poisson equation, and the nonhydrostatic pressure is governed by a three-dimensional
Poisson equation. These are both solved with a preconditioned conjugate gradient algorithm that
employs diagonal preconditioning. SUNTANS is written in the C programming language, and the
message-passing interface (MPI) is employed for use in a distributed memory parallel computing
environment.
Of critical importance to the study of parallel unstructured grid simulations is the method by
which the grids are partitioned among the processors. Since the grids for SUNTANS are unstruc-
tured in the planform and z-leveled in the vertical, we partition in the horizontal to ensure that water
columns remain contiguous on given processors. In addition to greatly simplifying the underlying
parallel implementation, partitioning in this way allows contiguous allocation of water columns in
memory which enhances performance. When partitioning a grid among processors, it is important
to balance the workload so that each processor does not do more work than any of the others
involved in the simulation.
While load-balancing ensures an equal workload distributed among the processors, the parallel
performance of a particular unstructured grid code depends highly on the communication required
between neighboring processors. Communication between processors is directly proportional to
the surface area on interprocessor boundaries. A load-balanced partitioning that minimizes the
interprocessor communication can be obtained with the ParMETIS software package (Karypis et al.,
1998) that partitions the unstructured two-dimensional planform grid using multilevel recursive
bisection. As an example, Figure 1(a) depicts a typical unstructured grid of Monterey Bay. Using the
depth as weights for the partitioning, a balanced partitioning among eight processors is depicted in

68
Figure 1. (a) Typical unstructured grid of the Monterey Bay region with 3026 grid cells, showing the depth
in meters. The domain is 100 km × 100 km. (b) Load-balanced partitioning using eight processors.

Figure 2. Connectivity matrices for the (a) original and (b) ordered cells.

Figure 1(b). Using ParMETIS, it is guaranteed that this partitioning results in a balanced workload
and minimizes the communication time by minimizing the surface area between each processor.
Because the deeper regions in Figure 1(a) have more cells in the water column, the planform area
of the partitions containing these regions is smaller, as shown in Figure 1(b).
Performance can be further improved by ordering the cells such that the physical distance in mem-
ory between adjacent cells is minimized. The physical distance in main memory can be visualized
with the boolean connectivity matrix. Specifically, row i of the connectivity matrix is populated by
ones in the columns which correspond to neighbors of cell i, and zeros elsewhere. The connectivity
matrix for a 1089-cell unstructured grid of Monterey Bay as output by the Triangle package of
Shewchuck (1996) with no specific ordering is shown in Figure 2(a). The same connectivity matrix
after using the grid cell ordering routines of ParMETIS is shown in Figure 2(b). Comparing the two
shows how the reordered grid reduces the average distance in main memory between neighboring
cells by a significant amount. Typical speedups due to reordering the cells result in a 20 to 30%
reduction of the per-processor computation time.

69
Figure 3. Comparison of the resulting density contours for the (a) hydrostatic simulation and (b) nonhydro-
static simulation after t = 10T s. Contours are plotted every 0.1ρ/ρ0 .

3 NONHYDROSTATIC EFFECTS

Kanarska and Maderich (2003) present a detailed set of numerical experiments which they use to
verify the accuracy of a free-surface nonhydrostatic solver, including short surface wave experi-
ments, run-up of a solitary wave on a vertical wall, a neutrally buoyant intrusion, and exchange
flows. Following that work, we present the results of computing an exchange flow using the param-
eters of the direct numerical simulations of Hartel et al. (2000) and discuss the differences between
the nonhydrostatic and hydrostatic results. The simulation is performed with SUNTANS in a
two-dimensional domain of length L = 0.8 m and depth D = 0.1 m (one dimension of equilateral tri-
angles in the planform) using 400 × 100 cells and employing a drag law on the lower boundary with
a drag coefficient of Cd = 0.01. Figures 3(a) and (b) depict √the density contours for the hydrostatic
and nonhydrostatic simulations after t = 10T s, where T = D/2g  and g  = gρ/ρ0 = 0.01 m s−2
is the reduced gravity.
The hydrostatic simulation does not capture the generation of the Kelvin-Helmholtz billows,
but does capture the speed of the front correctly. On average per time step, the nonhydrostatic
simulation takes 5 times longer than the hydrostatic simulation. However, the maximum vertical
velocity for the hydrostatic simulation is roughly 20 times larger than that for the nonhydrostatic
simulation. This results from the assumption that vertical inertia does not play an important role
in the hydrostatic simulation. Without vertical inertia, vertical accelerations result in excessively
high vertical velocities. This disparity in the maximum vertical velocity between the hydrostatic
and nonhydrostatic simulations is a direct result of the fact that this particular flow is highly non-
hydrostatic. Thus, the hydrostatic simulation must be run with a time step 16 times smaller than the
nonhydrostatic simulation to achieve roughly the same vertical Courant number, Cw = wmax t/z,
where wmax is the maximum vertical velocity. For the hydrostatic simulation, wmax = 0.20 m s−1 and
Cw = 0.57, while for the nonhydrostatic simulation wmax = 0.01 m s−1 and Cw = 0.47. Therefore,
neglecting accuracy considerations, even though the nonhydrostatic simulation takes longer per
time step, the hydrostatic simulation takes 3.2 times longer overall.

4 INTERNAL WAVES IN MONTEREY BAY

4.1 Simulation setup

As a demonstration, we simulate the internal wave field in Monterey Bay by employing SUNTANS
on the 100 km × 100 km domain shown in Figure 1(a) with a total of 24 963 cells in the planform
and 100 cells in the vertical. Because SUNTANS does not store data associated with inactive cells
that lie beneath the bathymetry, this yields substantial savings because only 41% of the 2.5 million
cells are active. The total number of grid cells for this computation is then reduced to roughly 1
million. The planform cells are equilateral triangles with sides of length 840.33 m. The vertical

70
 (a) (b)

Figure 4. (a) Density field and (b) buoyancy period 2π/N taken from Petruncio et al. (2002). The dots in
subplot (a) indicate the vertical position of every other z-level.

grid is stretched to refine the grid near the surface, where the density gradients are larger. The
minimum vertical grid spacing at the surface where index k = 1 can be expressed as

where D = 3 367.5 m is the maximum depth, r = 1.025 is the algebraic stretching factor, and
Nk = 100 is the number of vertical levels, yielding z1 = 7.8 m. The vertical grid spacings beneath
the surface are then given by zk = rzk−1 , where k = 2, … , Nk , which yields a maximum vertical
grid spacing of zNk = 89.7 m. The depth is interpolated from data with 1 km resolution obtained
from the MBARI Multibeam Survey CD-ROM (Hatcher et al., 1998).
The model is initialized with a stagnant velocity field and free-surface, and the initial density
profile is taken from the work of Petruncio et al. (2002), which gives an average density profile
obtained from 50 CTD casts in Monterey Bay. This density profile and associated buoyancy period
are shown in Figure 4. The western boundary of the domain is forced with the most dominant
semi-diurnal (M2 ) and diurnal (K1 ) components of the barotropic tide by imposing the horizontal
velocity field in the form

where uM2 = 2.445 mm s−1 , uK1 = 1.82 mm s−1 , ωM2 = 1.41 × 10−4 rad s−1 , ωK1 = 7.27 ×
10−5 rad s−1 , and the phase difference beteen the arrival of the M2 and K1 tides is φM2 −K1 =
0.66 rad. These parameters are obtained from the tidal component analysis of Petruncio (1996)
using tidal gauge data near the Monterey Peninsula. The magnitudes of the barotropic velocity
field at the western boundary are set to obtain sea-surface heights of 0.489 m for the M2 tide and
0.362 m for the K1 tide at the boundary. Since the Bay essentially co-oscillates, it is assumed that
the sea-surface heights at the boundary are the same as those measured and computed by Petruncio
near the Monterey Peninsula. Boundary conditions on the northern and southern boundaries are
closed, while we employ a sponge layer at the western boundary in order to prevent reflections of
the internal tides from that boundary. The sponge layer is implemented by adding a source term to
the u-and v-momentum equations of the form

where τs = 1000 s and Ls = 1 km. We run the simulation for a total of four M2 tides with a time
step of t = 29.808 s. This simulation time is sufficient to generate internal tidal energy at the

71
Figure 5. Transects used to compare the results of SUNTANS to the numerical and field studies of Petruncio
et al. (1998; 2002) and Kunze et al. (2001) (along-canyon transect: –) and Lien and Gregg (2001) (along-ridge
transect: – –).

semidiurnal and diurnal frequencies, but is short enough such that internal wave energy reflect-
ing from the northern and southern boundaries does not drastically affect the results. We are
currently implementing the Sommerfeld radiation condition to radiate internal wave energy from
these boundaries in order to allow for longer simulation times.
When the simulation is run on a PC in nonhydrostatic mode with two processors, it takes roughly
1 minute of computation per time step. We have performed tests which show that speedup is linear
with 16 processors using this grid size, indicating that we can run 8 times faster than real time
using this time step if we use 16 processors. The vertical eddy-viscosity is constant and given by
νV = 10−4 m2 s−1 , the horizontal eddy viscosity is νH = 10 m2 s−1 , and there is no physical scalar
diffusion. The normalized residual of the conjugate gradient solver for the free-surface is 10−10
and that for the nonhydrostatic pressure is 10−5 , and we use θ = 0.55 for the theta-method.

4.2 Internal wave generation sites

Numerous works have documented the location of internal wave generation sites in Monterey Bay.
The field and numerical studies of Petruncio et al. (1998; 2002) and the field observations of Kunze
et al. (2001) show that internal wave energy is generated beyond the shelf break in Monterey Bay
and that this energy propagates towards the shore and is focused within the Monterey Submarine
Canyon. The transect we use to compare the results of our model with their findings is shown as
the along-canyon transect in Figure 5. Lien and Gregg (2001) show that an internal wave beam that
is generated at the shelf break just north of the along-canyon transect results in elevated dissipation

72
Figure 6. Baroclinic velocity contours in the (a) along-canyon and (b) along-ridge transects depicted in
Figure 5 after 3.83 M2 tides. Contours are plotted at intervals of 2 mm s−1 from −0.01 to 0.02 m s−1 . Positive
contours are solid while negative contours are dashed. The numbers indicate possible generation sites for
internal waves and indicate the origins of the ray paths predicted by linear theory. The inset in (a) depicts the
horizontal velocity profile at the vertical transect depicted by the dashed line, with the numbers indicating
the likely origin of the internal wave energy at that depth, while that in (b) is a detail of the dash-dot region
surrounding generation sites 2 and 3.

and mixing. We compare the results of our model with their field results by studying the internal
wave field in the along-ridge transect shown in Figure 5.
Contours of the east-west baroclinic velocity field after 3.83 M2 tides are shown in Figure 6(a)
for the along-canyon transect. From linear theory, internal waves are generated at regions where
the internal wave ray path matches that of the local topography. Steep topographical ridges present
effective regions of generation because the bottom slope passes through criticality in a narrow
region where the vertical momentum is large. Linear theory predicts that the internal wave ray

73
paths follow trajectories defined by the dispersion relation (1). Here we only consider internal
M2 tidal beams, because they dominate the internal wave field. The internal wave ray paths are
depicted by the solid lines that emit from likely generation sites at locations 1–6 in Figure 6(a).
As noted by Petruncio et al. (2002), most of the smooth ridge from which rays 1 and 2 are gen-
erated is critical, which is the likely source of the westward velocities in the upper 400 m of
the water column between 0 and 20 km. Internal wave energy emitting from location 1 propa-
gates downward into the deeper ocean where it encounters further critical topography. Generation
sites 2–6 all generate internal wave energy that propagates out to the open ocean as well as onto
the shallow shelf, and these intersect near the surface and generate large westward velocities.
Generation sites 3, 4, and 5 also generate downward propagating energy but this is omitted for
clarity. The inset plot in Figure 6(a) depicts the horizontal velocity field as a function of depth
20 km east of the start of the along-canyon transect. The profile indicates that the velocity is
negative (westward) near the surface as a result of the internal wave beams that are generated at
locations 2 and 3.
Figure 6(b) depicts the internal wave field in the along-ridge transect depicted in Figure 5.
Internal wave energy is generated at the shelf break (location 3) that propagates on-and off-shore
and generates the offshore beam (detailed in the inset plot) measured by Lien and Gregg (2001)
which contains a region of enhanced turbulent mixing and dissipation. They measured eddy dif-
fusivities in this region as large as 0.01 m2 s−1 , which are likely due to turbulence generated by
a shear instability that results from the internal wave field. The present simulations show that
internal wave energy is also generated along the bottom between generation sites 1 and 2, where
the bottom slope is almost exclusively critical. This internal wave energy is also contributing to
the elevated levels of shear which generates the turbulence in the tidal beam measured by Lien
and Gregg.

5 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE PLANS

We have presented a parallel code, SUNTANS, which is capable of solving nonhydrostatic flows
on unstructured grids using the message passing interface for parallelization. While computation
of the nonhydrostatic pressure is expensive, for predominantly nonhydrostatic flows it can be more
expensive to employ the hydrostatic approximation, since the vertical velocity can be an order of
magnitude higher for the hydrostatic solver than it is for the nonhydrostatic solver. For field-scale
simulations, the large-scale features of the flow are well approximated with a hydrostatic code,
while smaller-scale features such as short internal waves or solitary waves can only be captured
with a nonhydrostatic model.
We have employed SUNTANS to study the internal wave field in Monterey Bay and have found
the results to agree well with the measurements obtained by two field studies. Both cases exhibit
pronounced internal wave generation at critical topography. In particular, we have found that the
turbulence generated in the beam that was measured by Lien and Gregg (2001) results from the
intersection of upward and downward propagating internal wave energy from the critical deep slope
as well as the shelf break.
Currently, we are employing SUNTANS on a highly-resolved grid to simulate the nonhydrostatic
energy cascade as internal wave energy leads to breaking along critical topography and through
highly nonlinear wave propagation on the shelf. This will yield an improved understanding of the
mechanisms that lead to dissipation and mixing on coastal margins both by analyzing the results
of the highly resolved simulations and employing SUNTANS as a tool to help design cruise tracks
to better locate regions of elevated internal wave activity.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to acknowledge the support of NSF/ITR grant 0113111 (Program manager:
Barbara Fossum) and ONR grant N00014-02-1-0204 (Scientific officer: Dr. C. Linwood Vincent).

74
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Casulli, V. 1999. A semi-implicit finite difference method for non-hydrostatic, free-surface flows. Int. J. Numer.
Methods Fluids, 30, 425–440.
Fringer, O. B. 2003. http://suntans.stanford.edu.
Fringer, O. B., Gerritsen, M., Jachec, S., & Street, R. L. 2002. A new nonhydrostatic parallel coastal ocean
model. Eos Transactions, AGU, 83(47), Fall Meeting Suppl. Abstract OS11C-0238.
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Hatcher, G., Maher, N., & Greene, H. G. 1998. MBARI Multibeam Survey CD-ROM. http://www.mbari.org.
Holloway, P. E. 2001. A regional model of the semidiurnal internal tide on the Australian North West shelf.
J. Geophys. Res., 106, 19,625–19,638.
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flows. Ocean Dyn., 53, 176–185.
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ordering library.
Kunze, E., Rosenfeld, L. K., Carter, G. S., & Gregg, M. C. 2001. Internal waves in Monterey Submarine
Canyon. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 32, 1890–1913.
Lien, R. C., & Gregg, M. 2001. Observations of turbulence in a tidal beam and across a coastal ridge. J. Geophys.
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Petruncio, E. 1996. Observations and modeling of the internal tide in a submarine canyon. Ph.D. thesis, Naval
Postgraduate School.
Petruncio, E. T., Rosenfeld, L. K., & Paduan, J. D. 1998. Observations of the internal tide in Monterey Canyon.
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Petruncio, E. T., Paduan, J. D., & Rosenfeld, L. K. 2002. Numerical simulations of the internal tide in a
submarine canyon. Ocean Modelling, 4, 221–249.
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Environmental and ecological impacts of the Three Gorges Project on

the Yangtze River

Zhao-Yin Wang
Professor, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Chairman of the Advisory Council, International Research and Training Center on Erosion and
Sedimentation (IRTCES)

ABSTRACT: This paper reviews the studies on the Three Gorges Project (TGP) on the Yangtze
River and its environmental and ecological impacts. Sedimentation in the reservoir will reach an
equilibrium in 100 years with a total volume about 16 billion m3 . Experimental studies have showed
that the impoundment will cause sediment deposition at the apron of the Chongqing harbor and
even change the braided channel into a single thread one. The released water from the dam will
scour 2.5 billion tons of sediment from the downstream channels in 40 years. The flood stage
will then be reduced. The reservoir will not necessarily cause earthquakes, but will induce more
landslides, which will threaten little the safety of the dam. It is reported that the impoundment of the
reservoir so far has not obviously affected the water quality. The reservoir operation will change the
hydrologic conditions, which may affect the life cycle and habitats of fishes and reduce the fishery
harvest. The regulation of the flow for power generation and flood control may change the fluvial
processes and some meandering and braided sections may become unstable, which will undermine
the habitats of some endangered species. New resettlement policy has been implemented with
overall arrangements for working and living conditions for the emigrants.

1 INTRODUCTION

The 6,300-km long Yangtze River is the largest and longest river in China, which has a watershed
area of 1.80 million km2 . The Three Gorges Project (TGP) is constructed near Yichang in Hubei
province (Fig. 1), where the Yangtze River’s middle and upper reaches meet. Figure 1 also shows
the main tributaries, riparian lakes and hydrological stations. The river poses high flood risk to the
middle reaches, especially the Shashi-Wuhan reach. For instance the 1998 flood claimed 2,292
lives, caused serious flood damages and affected 8 million people. The recurrence period of the
1998 flood is only 7 years in terms of the crest flood discharge at Yichang, and is 100 year in
terms of 30 days flood volume (Ministry of Water Resources, 1999). The flood stages in the middle
reaches of the river were even higher than those in 1954 although the flood crest discharge and the
total runoff were smaller (Zhou, 1999).
The Three Gorges Dam is at Sandouping, 38 km upstream from Yichang (Fig. 1). The main
purposes of the project are flood control, power generation and navigation. The dam is 185 m high
and the storage capacity of the reservoir is 39.3 billion m3 , in which 22.1 billion m3 are for flood
control. The dam controls 1 million km2 of drainage area. The project started in 1993 and will be
completed in 2009. The dam has stored water and generated electricity since 2002.
The flood defense system in the middle reaches consists of 3,570 km long grand levees along
the Yangtze River, and more than 30,000 km long levees along the tributaries, riparian lakes and
canals. Floodwater can be diverted into the Tongting Lake through three channels and flows back
to the river at Chenglingji after the flood recedes, which can reduce peak flow of the river by
about 10,000 m3 /s. The Tongting Lake, however, is shrinking quickly due to sedimentation and
reclamation. The Three Gorges Reservoir, in co-ordination with the enhanced levees and utilization
of temporary flood-diversion works, can raise flood control capacity to defend against 100-years

77
Figure 1. The Yangtze River and its tributaries, riparian lakes, hydrological stations and the dam site of the
Three Gorges Project.

floods. It will reduce water and sand discharge into the Tongting Lake and reduce the rate of
sedimentation of the lake.
The hydroelectric station of the TGP is the biggest in the world, with an installed capacity of
17,680 MW and an annual generation of 84 billion kwh. The project may replace several thermal
power stations, thus reduce the consumption of coal by 50 million tons per year and cut carbon
dioxide, sulphur-dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen-oxide emissions by 100 million tons,
2 million tons and 10,000 tons and 370,000 tons, respectively.
The project will improve navigation conditions from Yichang to Chongqing, by eliminating
shoals, deepening and widening the shipping lanes and reducing river currents, and thus enable
10,000-ton towboats to sail right up to Chongqing. The annual shipping capacity will increase to
50 million tons from the present 10 million tons and transport costs will be cut by 35–37%.

2 SEDIMENTATION IN THE RESERVOIR

The rate of sedimentation in the reservoir depends mainly on the pool levels and operation scheme.
The normal pool level (NPL) is set at 175 m, and the flood control level (FCL), to which the pool
will be drawn down at the beginning of the flood season generally in June, is set at 145 m. The
reservoir is impounded to NPL after the flood season, usually from the mid of October and drawn
down to FCL before and during flood. FCL is the major factor affecting the sediment deposition
amount in the reservoir.
The long-term average annual runoff at Yichang Station is 450 billion m3 and annual sediment
load is 532 million tons, in which about 0.8 million tons are gravel bed load. The median diameter
of suspended load is 0.033 mm and the median diameter of bed load is 24 mm.
The main strategy for sedimentation control is “storing the clear and releasing the turbid” (Sedi-
mentation Panel, 1988). Sediment transportation in the Yangtze River occurs, of 80–90% of annual
sediment load with 50–60% of annual runoff water, in 2–4 months of the flood season. The pool
level is drawn down from 175 m to 145 m from June to September when the sediment concentration
is high, allowing the turbid water through the dam. The reservoir stores water from October when
the income water becomes clear. Fig. 2 shows the typical variation process of sediment concentra-
tion at Yichang and the operational pool level for sedimentation control. By employing the strategy
of “storing the clear and releasing the turbid”, much less sediment will deposit in the reservoir while
the reservoir will be still able to store enough water for power generation in the low flow seasons.
Although the pool level is drawn down to FCL, the stage in a 400 km long reach within the
reservoir is 10–70 m higher than those without the dam and the average velocity is much slower.
For a discharge of 30,000 m3 /s, the average velocity would be 1.5–3.5 m/s if there were no dam,

78
 6

Sediment concentration at Yichang

4

S (kg/m3)
2

0
Jan April July Oct. Dec.

175
170 Reservoir pool level

165
E (m)

160
155
150
145

Jan April July Oct. Dec.

Figure 2. Typical processes of sediment concentration atYichang and the operational pool level of the reservoir
for sedimentation control.

180
160
Sedimentation volume (108m3)

140
120
100
80 Scheme 1
60 Scheme 2
40 Scheme 3
20
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Year of operation

Figure 3. Calculated sedimentation volume in the TGP reservoir for the three scenarios: Scheme 1 = without
upstream reservoirs; Scheme 2 = with the Xiangjiaba Reservoir; Scheme 3 = with the Xiluodu Reservoir
(Sedimentation Panel of TGP, 2002).

and it is only 0.3–1.3 m/s with the dam. Therefore, sedimentation occurs and the riverbed is silted
up. Calculation with numerical models shows that after 80 years operation, the accumulative
sedimentation amount will approach equilibrium and will increase very slowly thenceforth. The
total sedimentation in 100 years will be about 16 billion m3 (Sedimentation Panel of TGP, 2002).
In order to reduce the rate of sedimentation and develop the hydropower of the river, two more
reservoirs – the Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu reservoirs – will be constructed on the river. The Xiangjiaba
dam will be located at 1,020 km upstream of the TGP dam, with a storing capacity of 5.06 billion m3 .
The reservoir can be used to trap sediment for 60 years. The Xiluodu dam will be located at 1,180 km
upstream of the TGP dam, with a total capacity of 11.57 billion m3 , which can be used to trap
sediment for 90 years (YVPO, 2002). Bed load and coarse suspended load from upstream reaches
can be trapped by the two reservoirs. Thus, the rate of sedimentation of the TGP reservoir will be
reduced in the first 90 years. Fig. 3 shows the calculated sedimentation volume of the TGP reservoir
for the three scenarios: Scheme 1 = without upstream reservoirs; Scheme 2 = with the Xiangjiaba
Reservoir; Scheme 3 = with the Xiluodu Reservoir (Sedimentation Panel, 2002).
The industrial hub – Chongqing City – is in the fluctuating backwater region. The Jialing River
flows into the Yangtze River at Chongqing. Chaotianmen harbor is a passenger ship terminal and
Jiulongpo Harbor, which is about 610 km from the dam, is the most important freight ship terminal
in southwest China (Fig. 4).

79
Figure 4. Sedimentation in the Chongqing reach after 80 years operation of the TGP reservoir (Physical
model experimental results). The shadowed areas indicate the places where cumulative sedimentation would
occur. G2–G130 represent the measurement cross sections (Wang et al., 1986).

Scale model experiments have been performed to study the sedimentation problems in a 33 km-
long section around Chongqing. The experiments showed that impoundment of the reservoir will
cause sediment deposition at the apron of the harbors, as shown in Fig. 4. The shadowed areas in
the figure indicate the places where cumulative sedimentation would occur. There are two channels
separated by the Daliang Bar. Water flows in the west channel during low flow season and the main
stream flow shifted to the east channel during flood, but the west channel maintains around-the-
year a depth over 3 meters, which is necessary for the harbor. After 80 years impoundment of the
reservoir, however, cumulative sedimentation would occur in the west channel, which could result
in blockage of the channel eventually. The harbor facilities would not be useful if dredging or other
technical measures were not taken. The experiments showed that building spur dykes and groins
to regulate the flow could solve the problem. The dykes and groins may narrow the channel and
concentrate the flow, so that flow velocity in the west channel can be enhanced, which can prevent
sediment from depositing (Wang et al., 1986).

3 DEGRADATION OF THE DOWNSTREAM REACHES

The discharge released from the dam will be higher from January to May but lower from October to
November than that without the dam (Fig. 5a). It will remain unchanged during flood season from
July to September. Fig. 5b shows the calculated annual sediment load released to the downstream
reaches, compared with the annual sediment load atYichang under natural conditions (recycle of the
data in the period 1961–1970). The sediment load will be greatly reduced by the reservoir in the first
50 years. The load reduction must cause degradation of the downstream reaches (Tsinghua, 2002).
China Institute of Water Resources and Hydro-Power Research (IWHR, 2002) andYangtze River
Planning Office (YVPO) calculated the amount of sediment that will be scoured from the riverbed
fromYichang to Wuhan with 1-D models. Fig. 6 shows the results of the two models, in which minus
value means scoured volume. In the first 40 years the two models yield the same results, about −2.5
billion tons at the end of the 20th year and −4 billion tons at the end of the 40th year. Resiltation
will occur from the 50th year (YVPO model) or from 70th year (IWHR model). The scour and
reduction of riverbed will cause flood stage reduction, which will be 3 m at Shashi and 0.75 m at
Wuhan for a flood of discharge 30,000 m3 /s. Fig. 7 shows the calculated bed profiles and stage
profiles in the 120 km long reach. The scoured depth will be different at different places because
the composition of bed materials and bedrock elevation are different (Sedimentation Panel, 2002).
The Tongting Lake regulates the flood flow. Water and sediment are diverted into the lake
during high flood stage period through three channels and water flows back to the river from the

80
 40000

Discharge (m3/s)
30000 With TGP
Without TGP
20000
10000

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Time(month)

8
Annual sediment load (108t)

7
6
5
4
3
2 Before TGP With TGP
1
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Time (year)

Figure 5. (a) Month-mean discharges under the natural conditions and with the regulation of theTGP reservoir.
(b) Variation process of annual sediment load released to the downstream reaches from the reservoir compared
with the annual sediment load atYichang under natural conditions (recycle of the data in the period 1961–1970)
(Sedimentation Panel, 2002).

0
Total scoured volume (108t)

-10 IWHR
YVPO
-20

-30

-40

-50
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Time (year)

Figure 6. Calculated amount of sediment that will be scoured from the riverbed from Yichang to Wuhan by
the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydro-Power Research (IWHR) model and Yangtze River Planning
Office (YVPO) model (Sedimentation Panel, 2002).

lake during the falling limb of the flood through a downstream channel near Chenglingji. At the
present, the lake shrinks at a rate of −14 km2 /a due to sedimentation. The reservoir will reduce
the sedimentation rate of the lake and extend its useful life. According to model calculation, the
ratio of flood water diverted into the lake will decrease from 11.5% to 8% after 10 years operation
of the reservoir. Fig. 8 shows the reduction of floodwater volume and sediment volume diverted
into the lake through the channels in the period 0–60 years. The floodwater diverted into the lake
will be reduced by about 40% but sediment volume will be reduced by about 70% (Sedimentation
Panel, 2002). The shrinkage of the lake will largely slow down but the function of the lake in flood
regulation will also diminish.
Although the dam is about 1,900 km distant from the river mouth, the reservoir affects, more
or less, the river mouth. Nowadays, 48% of the coast in the estuary are suffering from erosion,
but 38% are extending toward the sea, and only 14% are stable. For instance the Nanhui beach
is extending toward the sea due to sediment deposition. It is estimated that the impoundment of
the TGP reservoir will increase the percentage of eroded coastline and cause the Nanhui beach
retreating by 1,457 m in 40 years. Sand bars in the river mouth area will shrink as well.

81
 40

35
Elevation (m)

30

25 Original bed
After scour
Flood stage without the dam
Stage after scour
20
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Distance from Yichang (km)

Figure 7. Calculated flood stage profiles and bed profiles before and after scouring of the riverbed
(Sedimentation Panel, 2002).

Diverted sediment (10 t)

Diverted water (10 m )

4
8000
3

600 IWHR
8

YVPO
6000
400
IWHR 4000
200 YVPO
2000

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (year)
Time(year)

Figure 8. Reduction of floodwater volume and sediment volume diverted into the Tongting lake through the
three channels in the period 0–60 years of reservoir operation (Sedimentation Panel, 2002).

4 ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS

Earthquakes: The mechanism of reservoir-induced earthquakes has not been well understood yet
so far. Since 1960 six reservoirs induced earthquakes of magnitudes over 6 on the Richter scale
but caused no destruction of any dam. The quake induced by Xinfengjiang Reservoir in China has
caused slight damage to the dam. Statistics shows that only 5% of reservoirs each with a storage
capacity of more than 100 million m3 have set off tremors in China. Although TGP reservoir has
a huge capacity its impoundment will cause no great geological stress because the reservoir will
extend over 660 km long and the increased stress is diverse. The dam is located in an area where
the earth crust is relatively stable. Historical records covering the past 2,000 years indicate that no
destructive earthquakes have ever occurred within a 300-km radius of the site of the dam. Seven
seismic monitoring stations in the dam’s vicinity have been monitoring tremors. A total of 2,910
shocks of a magnitude of 1 or higher have been recorded within a 300-km radius around the dam.
Of these, only a few are of magnitude over 4. A new digital monitoring system has been put into
use to monitor earthquakes since 2000 and 9 wells over 800 m deep have been used to sense the
stress tension (Yang, 2003).
Landslides: The Yangtze River cut its bed deeply into the gorges and causes the slopes on the
two banks unstable. For instance, the 1985 landslide at Xintan Town, Hubei Province, hurled
2.6 million m3 of earth and stone into the river, forming a 55 m-high hillock. Investigations found
that there are 263 landslides, rockfalls and deformed rock masses on the 1380 km long valley slopes
from the dam site upstream to Jiangjin. The total volume of them is about 1.6 billion m3 (Han et al.,
1988). About 6% of the landslides are precarious and 10% may buckle after the reservoir is filled
with water. Studies of the stability of the reservoir slopes have been going on for several decades
and sufficient data have been acquired of the basic conditions of the reservoir banks. Fig. 9 shows
the distribution of potential landslides in the reservoir.

82
Figure 9. Distribution of potential landslides (black hemi-circles) in the TGP reservoir.

The pool level of the reservoir will vary in the range 145–175 m and the fluctuation of pool
level will certainly induce instability of slopes and cause landslides. However, after the reservoir is
filled with water, the river will broaden and the water will deepen. A landslide, which may hinder
navigation under natural condition, will not do so in the reservoir. Studies indicate that any collapse
of slopes will not clog the river nor form a blockage.
Water Quality: The annual runoff at the dam is over 400 billion m3 ; and the total wastewater
discharged into the reservoir is predicted to be about 1 billion tons. Now the water quality of the river,
however, remains good, except for pollution belts along the banks near cities. Generally speaking,
after impoundment the pollution in the reservoir will worsen due to lower flow velocity and lower
concentration of dissolved oxygen. To a press conference on June 5, 2003, the director of State
Environment Protection Bureau, Mr. Xie Zhenhua (2003), reported that the impoundment of the
TGP reservoir has not obviously affected the water quality. In 2002, 144-million m3 wastewater and
319-million m3 sewage water were discharged into the reservoir. In the same period, 20 incidents of
oil spills from boats occurred in the reservoir. The water quality in the reservoir is still in Grade III.
Only in some places, the content of bacilli is higher. A pollution control project has been launched
2 years ago. All wastewater and sewage water will be treated after the completion of the project
(Chinese Hydroweb, 2003). Studies indicate that the thermal stratification in the reservoir water
will begin around April and end in May. The released water from the bottom outlets will be colder
in this period, which may cause 20 days late for the temperature of downstream water to rise to the
spawning temperature of 18◦ C.
Impacts on Fishery: There are 300 fishery species in the middle and lower Yangtze River, includ-
ing catfish, bleak, carp, grass carp and so on. After the impoundment, the freshwater fishes that
thrive in rapids would have to move upstream to find new habitats. The expanded water surface of
the reservoir may create better conditions for aquatic farming. The existing eight spawning grounds
located in the section between Chongqing and Zigui will be inundated in part or in whole. The breed-
ing of farm fishes has to be moved to the uppermost end of the reservoir or even farther. In addition,
the spawning and breeding period will occur later due to the changes in flow and water temperature.
Flood and stage rise are the main signals for fish to spawn (Yi and Liang, 1964). Fig. 10a
shows the stage variations at Yichang and Jianli and the time of fish spawning, in which the solid
circles represent spawning of fishes (Cao et al., 1987). Fig. 10b shows the relationship between the
discharge increment in a few to ten days and the flux of fries, in which the flux of fries was about
4–6 days lag behind the discharge increase. The figures demonstrate that the spawning of fishes is
excited by the stage and discharge increase. The higher the discharge increase is, the higher the flux
of fries will be. The reservoir will moderate the stage rise and discharge increase in May, which
will affect the spawning of fishes and reduce the flux of fries.
Impacts on Endangered Aquatic Species: There are several important species in the river, Chinese
sturgeon, white-flag dolphin, Yangtze alligator, giant salamander and black finless porpoise are
several among them. The reservoir will impact little on the living conditions of theYangtze alligator,

83
 47 36

46 35

Stage at JianLi (m)

Stage at Yihang (m)
45 34

44 33

43 32
stage at Yichang
42 Fish spawning 31

41 stage at Jianli 30
Fish spawning
40 29
(a) 5-10 5-20 5-30 6-9 6-19 6-29

2.5
Flux of fries (billion)

1.5

0.5

0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
(b) ∆ Q(m3/s)

Figure 10. (a) Stage variation at Yichang and Jianli under natural conditions and the spawning time of fishery
species; (b) Relationship between the discharge increment and flux of fries (Cao et al., 1987).

giant salamander and black finless porpoise. Chinese sturgeon usually swims upstream to spawn
and then return to their home grounds. The Gezhouba Dam has made it impossible for the fish to
swim upper and down the river during the spawning period. But the specie has spawned naturally
in the waters below the dam. White-flag dolphin usually lives in meandering and braided sections
below the TGP dam. Studies indicate that the species finds its best habitats in meandering and
braided-meandering sections because it has been accustomed to the backwater zones created by
the convex bank of meanders or the gravel and sand bars in the braided channels (Chen and Hua,
1987). The reservoir may change the fluvial processes and some meandering and braided sections
of the river may become unstable, which will undermine the habitats of the species. More studies
are needed for protection of the species.

5 EMIGRATION AND RESETTLEMENT

A total of 19 counties and cities, 13 county towns, 140 towns and 4,500 villages would be affected
by the reservoir inundation. According to the data in 1985, the population to be dislocated will be
725,500, including urban population 285,200, towns’ population 107,800 and villagers 332,500.
New investigation in 1992 demonstrates that there are about 844,000 people in the submerged area.
By taking the population growth into account, the total number of people to be emigrated from the
reservoir will be 1.1318 million up to the year 2008 (Changjiang River Commission, 1997). The
pilot resettlement projects began from 1984. Chinese government has invested 28.7 billion Yuan
on emigration and 458,000 people have successfully resettled up to the end of 2003.
Production capita to be inundated includes 23,793 h of farmland (paddy field: 7,380 h, and dry
farmland: 16,314 h), and 4,960 h of citrus orchards, 956 km long highways and 941 factories and
mines; and over 200 million US dollars of fixed assets will be affected as well. The people in the
submerged area will be emigrated from the area in 20 years (started from 1989). The basic policy
is to resettle them in the surrounding area. The GDP per capita in the area is only 45% the national
average and the income per capita is only 53% the national average. There is a big room to develop

84
local industry and tourism industry. With help of the government, the urban resettled residents find
jobs in the county towns and cities. Because the emigrants are leading a better life than before,
70% of the local people are willing to remove from their old homes.
The investment for the resettlement of the emigrants is about $2,700 for each emigrant. Moreover
the emigrants are paid back for their houses at a rate of $35/m2 . The removed production facilities
are also compensated according to the estimation of the market price. The resettlement programs
are implementing at county and township level under the guidance of overall planning of local
socio-economic development. Farmers in the submerged areas will lose their land, how can they
continue farm production after resettled in the nearby areas? The number of people an area can
accommodate depends on the natural conditions, resources, and economic developmental level.
The water surface of the reservoir will be 1,084 km2 . The total area of land to be inundated will
be 632 km2 , which equals 1% of the total area of the surrounding area (19 counties and cities).
The total area of farmland to be inundated is 23,000 hectares but the largest proportion of it is
low-yield hillside land. Experiments indicate that 2.7 million hectares of the barren slope-land in
the surrounding area may be transformed into a terraced citrus orchard, and then it is able to turn
out an output value equal to as much as three times farmland, thus the surrounding area will be
able to support the resettled farmers (Chen and Zhou, 1987).
The emigrants are also encouraged to settle in other provinces at their willing. The State Council
has made a decision that all provincial governments should provide assistance for emigration
and resettlement. A number of economically developed provinces and municipalities have made
agreements with the counties in the reservoir area to assist the resettlement. Many people have
found their homes in lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Chongming Island at the river mouth,
the Xingjiang Urgle autonomous region, Hainan, Heilongjiang and other provinces.

6 CONCLUSIONS

The Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River, with purposes of flood control, power generation
and navigation, will impact the environment and ecology in both the upstream and downstream
reaches. Cumulative sedimentation in the reservoir will reach an equilibrium in 100 years with a total
volume about 16 billion m3 . The Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu reservoirs can be used to trap sediment
and reduce the sedimentation rate of TGP reservoir in the first 90 years. The Jiulongpo harbor in
Chongqing will be affected or even blocked by sedimentation after the reservoir is impounded for 80
years. Building spur dykes and groins to regulate the flow can solve the problem. The released water
from the dam will scour 2.5 billion tons of sediment in 40 years and will cause the river channel
degradation; and the flood stage will be reduced by about 3 m at Shashi and 0.75 m at Wuhan for
a flood of discharge 30,000 m3 /s. The reservoir will not necessarily cause tremors, but will induce
more landslides. Wastewater treatment projects are necessary to control pollution and maintain
the water quality in the reservoir unchanged. The reservoir operation will affect the life cycles and
habitats of fishes and reduce the fishery harvest. Some endangered species may be affected because
some meandering and braided sections may become unstable. About 2.7 million hectares of barren
slope-land in the 19 counties affected by the reservoir can be transformed into a terraced citrus
orchard, which is able to turn out an output value equal to as much as those by the inundated land.

ACKNOWLEGEMENT

This work is supported by the 973 Program (No.2003CB415206).

REFERENCES

Cao Wenxuan et al., 1987, Impacts of the Three Gorges Project on Aquatic Ecosystems along the Changjiang
River and Possible Countermeasures, in Environment and Ecology Panel of Chinese Academy of Sciences

85
 for the TGP Project (eds), Impacts of the Yangtze River Three Gorges Project on Environment and Ecology,
Chinese Science Press (in Chinese).
Changjiang River Commission, 1997, Studies on the Emigration for the Three Gorges Project, Hubei Science
and Technology Press.
Chen Hongzhao and Zhou Huizhen, 1987, Effects of the Three Gorges Project on land resources in the reservoir
area and possible countermeasures, in Environment and Ecology Panel of Chinese Academy of Sciences
for the TGP Project (eds), Impacts of the Yangtze River Three Gorges Project on Environment and Ecology,
Chinese Science Press (in Chinese).
Chen Peixun and Hua Yuanyu, 1987, Prediction of Effects of the Three Gorge Project on Fish Resources in
Lakes along the Middle Changjiang River and Study of Possible Countermeasure, in Environment and
Ecology Panel of Chinese Academy of Sciences for the TGP Project (eds), Impacts of the Yangtze River
Three Gorges Project on Environment and Ecology, Chinese Science Press.
Chinese Hydro-Web, 2003, http://www.Chinawater.com, on March 2, 2003.
Han Zongshan et al., 1988, Landslides and rockfalls of Yangtze Gorges, Geological Publishing House and Tai
Dao Publishing Ltd.
IWHR (China Institute of Water Resources and Hydro-electric Power Research), 1989, Progress report on the
physical model study on the channel regulation projects of the Chongqing section of the TGP reservoir
(175 m scheme), Selection of Papers on the Sedimentation Studies for the Yangtze River Three Gorges
Project, Chinese Science and Technology Press (in Chinese).
IWHR (China Institute of Water Resources and Hydro-Electric Power Research), 2002, Calculation of erosion
and sedimentation of the Yangtze River from the TGP dam down to Datong with a 1D model, Sedimentation
Studies for the Yangtze River Three Gorges Project, Vol.7, China Patent Press (in Chinese).
Ministry of Water Resources of China, 1999, 1998 floods in China, Water and Hydropower Press (in Chinese).
Sedimentation Panel for TGP Project, 1988, Suggestion for the pool level schemes for the Yangtze River
Three Gorges Project, Proceedings of the Sedimentation Studies for the Yangtze River Three Gorges Project
(160 m–180 m Schemes), Department of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Water Resources of China
(in Chinese).
Sedimentation Panel for TGP, 2002, Comprehensive analysis on “9.5” sedimentation study results for the Three
Gorges Project on the Yangtze River, Intellectual Copyright Press (in Chinese).
Tsinghua University, 2002, Comparison and assessment of the calculation results of erosion and sedimentation
of the Yangtze River from the TGP dam down to Datong with a 1D models, Sedimentation Studies for the
Yangtze River Three Gorges Project, Vol.7, China Patent Press (in Chinese).
Wang Zhaoyin, Lu Xiuzhen and Zeng Qinghua, 1990, Physical model experimental study on sedimentation
in the Chongqing reach of the Yangtze River for the Three Gorges Project – a report for the 175 m scheme,
in the Collection of Research Results on the Sedimentation in the Chongqing reach of the Yangtze River
195–1990, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydro-Power Research (in Chinese).
Xie Zhenhua, 2003, Press conference on June 5, Consulate-general of the People’s Republic of China in Milan,
http://www.consolatocinami.it/.
Yang Shengjin, 2003, Will impoundment of TGP reservoir induce earthquake? WWW.Chinanews.Com,
June 01, 2003.
YVPO, Yangtze River Research Institute, 2002, Calculation of erosion and sedimentation of the Yangtze River
from the TGP dam down to Datong with a 1D model, Sedimentation Studies for the Yangtze River Three
Gorges Project, Vol.7, China Patent Press (in Chinese).
YVPO,Yangtze River Research Institute, 2002, Calculation with 1-D numerical model for the sedimentation of
TGP Reservoir in the scenarios of construction of the Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba Dam, Sedimentation Studies
for the Yangtze River Three Gorges Project, Vol.5, China Patent Press (in Chinese).
Yangtze River Research Institute, YVPO, 2002, Physical model experiments on the regulation of the navigation
channel in the Chongqing-Tongluo gorge reach, Sedimentation Studies for the Yangtze River Three Gorges
Project, Vol.5, China Patent Press (in Chinese).
Yi B. and Liang Z., 1964, The natural conditions of the spawning ground and external factors affecting fish
spawning in the Yangtze River, Journal of Hydrobiology, Vol.5, No.1, pp.1–15 (in Chinese).
Zhou Zhide, 1999, 1998 floods in the Yangtze River valley, International Research and Training Center on
Erosion and Sedimentation, UNESCO Beijing Office.

86
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Resolving environmental hydraulics complexity, linking theory,

practice and conceptual ideas

Klas Cederwall
Department of Land and Water Resources, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

ABSTRACT: Environmental systems studies often have a base in water transport and mixing
focusing on the significance of preserving water quality. This presentation follows a learning pro-
cess starting with point source and near field studies to the integration of larger parts of the natural
environment and more diffuse patterns of pollution. The Stockholm archipelago is an example of
a water system that has unique invaluable assets and at the same time is extremely sensitive to
environmental disturbances. A combination of theoretical and empirical analysis provides means
for developing effective environmental management principles.

1 INTRODUCTION

Engineering research is in a broader and deeper context concerned with the societal benefits and
possible improvements of quality of life, which can be created by such efforts. This emphasizes
a need for a mode of research that is more interdisciplinary and more socially accountable than
the traditional disciplinary research. An example of the significance of developing comprehensive
knowledge in environmental hydraulics and a qualified environmental management capacity, is the
Stockholm archipelago.
The Stockholm archipelago and its Finnish counterparts Åland and Åboland archipelagoes form
the world’s largest continuous archipelago area. Thousands of islands provide a very complex
water landscape with coastal basins and interconnecting straits. The water exchange and flushing
of pollutants to the open sea is reduced and maintained by an estuarine circulation characterized by a
brackish type and weakly stratified environment. The nature in this area is beautiful but vulnerable.
There is great potential for conflicts between human activities and preservation interests in the
future. To maintain good water quality is crucial and so is the capacity to monitor and control the
environmental health status, since the water quality is threatened by a wide spectrum of point and
more distributed sources of pollution.
The environmental situation of the archipelago is linked to Lake Mälaren, which outflows directly
through Stockholm into the archipelago. For the analysis and modeling of water exchange, the
archipelago forms a system of major water basins and their interconnecting straits, around 50
discrete basins and 100 straits – a few of these straits hydraulically control the estuarine circulation
(Figure 1). Applying driving forces and environmental loadings on the system will provide the
basis for prediction of water quality conditions as a dynamic process.

2 DEALING WITH COMPLEX DIFFUSION MECHANISMS

It takes some steps to establish physical insight into environmental mixing phenomenon. Two
simple cases, i.e. a plume in a linearly stratified environment, and gravitational diffusion induced
by an air-bubble plume, can be analysed with the powerful dimensional reasoning method. The
following cases are elaborated briefly and further information is available in the references.

87
Figure 1. The Stockholm archipelago, bathymetry (left) and basin-decomposition (right) (Engqvist, A., and
Andrejev, O., 2003, Stenström, P., 2003).

q m b s θ

m0
q0 = 0
x
θ0 = 0
b0

Figure 2. A three dimensional buoyant jet (Cederwall, 1975).

2.1 Buoyant jet diffusion

Let us assume an idealized source characterized by initial flux of momentum and buoyancy only
having the same dynamic impact on the environment as a corresponding volume source with volume
flux. To simplify, let the initial momentum flux be horizontal and the buoyant jet three-dimensional
as illustrated in Figure 2.
The momentum, buoyancy and volume fluxes along the buoyant jet trajectory are all Eulerian
quantities. However, m and b will be included in the following Lagrangian equations:

88
where t is a time variable defined by a Lagrangian velocity that moves a control volume along the jet
trajectory so that there is no net momentum flux passing through the control volume. Consequently
we have

where A(l) is the lateral area of the moving control volume, a function of the typical jet width l
only. This gives us the following equation defining the Lagrangian velocity.

The only change of momentum is then within the moving control volume and furthermore the
buoyancy flux is conserved. Applying the principle of entrainment we get the following equation
for conservation of volume flux where β is an empirical constant.

Hence, the following equations reduced to Eulerian form will characterize the diffusion process
including also the equation for the jet trajectory

Normalizing the equations and solving numerically for given starting conditions will give the
result illustrated in Figure 3. The relation between mean dilution S from the present theory and
the centerline dilution according to Abraham’s theory is found to be approximately in line with
experimental findings.

2.2 Air-bubble plumes

Air-bubble plumes have been used for a variety of purposes such as pneumatic breakwaters, for
prevention of ice formation, as barriers against salt water intrusion in rivers and locks, for stopping
the spreading of oil spills on the water surface, for reduction of underwater explosion waves and
for mixing and reaeration in density stratified reservoirs to improve water quality. The physical

89
 y . −1
0.1 1 10
Fj 100
10
D 10

y x q0 . y . 4 β 1 / 2
y . −1
= ( ) Sm
qx q D π y . −1 D
y . 4β 1 / 2 Sm
= S −1 . ( ) D
D π Abraham's solution

1 1
yx
= f ( yx )
qx
Present theory

0.1 0.1
0.1 1 10 100
y . −1 . 4 β 1 / 4
yx = Fj ( π )
D

Figure 3. Horizontal buoyant jet dilutions according to present and existing theories (Abraham, 1963,
Cederwall, 1975).

u
h

Figure 4. Velocity field close to the air-bubble plume (Cederwall, 1971).

structure of air-bubble systems is very complex making it difficult to provide a general theory.
The gross behavior of the air-bubble plume can however be analyzed sufficiently well for design
purposes. The velocity field close to the air-bubble plume is illustrated in Figure 4.
A flow model for the air-bubble plume can be based on the similarity to the basic buoyant plume
phenomenon as previously discussed. The interaction between the rising bubbles and the ambient
water is a complex function depending on several parameters.
An idealized model will be based on the following selection of significant variables:
q0 The volume rate of air flow at atmospheric pressure
ub The differential velocity of the air bubbles relative to the water
[(ρa − ρair )/ρa ]g Apparent gravity where ρa and ρair are the density of the ambient water and
the air respectively and g the acceleration of gravity
H The depth above the air flow source
H0 Piezometric head equivalent to the atmospheric pressure (H0 is regarded as a
constant ≈ 10.4 m).

The terminal rise velocity of an air bubble in stagnant ambient water is assumed to be attained
near the source and then remain essentially constant throughout the depth and to be equal for all

90
bubbles. This has been found experimentally to be a good approximation. The expansion of the air
bubbles as they rise through the water is neither adiabatic nor truly isothermal. The choice of gas
law does not significantly affect the theoretical result. Assuming isothermal conditions gives the
following volume rate of air flow.

Dimensional reasoning implies that we have two non-dimensional parameters, a design parameter
and a scaling ratio, to characterize the flow phenomenon. The analysis is restricted to the zone
where the horizontal flow near the surface does not affect the vertical flow, that is for x less than
H − h.

The first parameter is a “design parameter” and the second one a scaling parameter.
When the air-bubbles rise through the water the vertical flow resembles turbulent diffusion from
a buoyancy source. To solve the problem an integral technique is used. The rate of entrainment at
the edge of the plume is assumed proportional to the mean axial plume velocity. The similarity
principle is used to describe velocity and density deficiency distributions. We then have for a point
source of buoyancy only:

The volume flux and the rate of entrainment are given as follows where the coefficient of entrainment
is assumed to be constant. Similarly relations for the buoyancy flux

For

The momentum flux is given by

91
The driving force of the plume is the buoyancy and the momentum flux equation is then given by

We then have the following equations for a point source to obtain the centerline values of the
velocity and the half-width b of the plume:

The differential equations may be solved by numerical integration after a normalizing procedure
as illustrated in the main reference.

2.3 Tracer simulation of dispersion

Field surveys by use of tracer technology are important measures in investigation of water circulation
and exchange processes in receiving water bodies exposed to pollutants. The dispersion properties
of the receiving water can be studied either by repeated instantaneous tracer injections or by
a continuous adding of tracer material to for instance discharged sewage. An approach will be
discussed with parallel and continuous injection of two tracers that makes possible simultaneous
registration of distribution of concentration and residence time of effluent discharged into a water
area (Cederwall, 1968, Cederwall and Hansen, 1968).
To be used for dual tracer injection, the two tracers have to fulfill the following conditions: The
decay parameters must be well defined and differ significantly and the tracer substances must differ
in at least one property, detectable in low concentration.
Consider a non-conservative tracer with decay factor k continuously injected at a constant rate
into a receiving water area starting at time t = 0. At time t = T the concentration C(T ) is recorded
at a certain point in the receiving water as a sum of contributions from tracer elements released in
succession from the injection point. Then C(T ) can be expressed by means of an age distribution
f (T − t) with reference to time of release.

A residence time for the tracer in the measuring point can also be defined.

This time parameter τ depends on the dispersive properties of the receiving water and the decay
factor of the tracer material. For practical purposes τ may be considered very close to the mean
residence time. Assume that the two tracers 1 and 2 with decay parameters k1 and k2 are simulta-
neously and continuously released and the amount of tracer injected per unit time is constant. A
time parameter τ is now defined through the following equations:

92
where C1 and C2 are the tracer concentrations at the measuring site C1 and C2 are the corresponding
concentrations of totally conservative tracers. Hence we have

where c1 · q1 and c2 · q2 are tracer injection rates. This gives us

where R and a have constant values. Consequently a τ value may be determined for each site in
the receiving water area where tracers are found in measurable concentrations. Hence the method
may provide us with both the spatial distribution of recorded physical dilution of the tracer in the
receiving water, or discharged pollutant if the tracers have been used for tracking the pollutant, and
the corresponding distribution of residence time.

2.4 Float dispersion mechanisms

The study that is referred to here was conducted in a laboratory flume using submerged floats of
different sizes. Measured data on lateral diffusion revealed that the floats act as filters to certain
frequencies of the turbulence spectrum. A similar effect was observed when studying the response
of the floats to the vorticity field in the flume flow.
Dimensional considerations indicate a parameter of the principal form l/r and possibly also a
form factor of the dispersed object to characterize the rate of diffusion in a homogeneous turbulence
field. L is a typical geometrical dimension of the diffusing object and r is a typical length of the flow
field also characterizing the scale of the turbulence spectrum. We assume that the turbulence field
is not disturbed by the presence of the diffusing object and that only those eddies of the turbulence
spectrum that are larger than a characteristic dimension of the object contribute to diffusion of the
particle.
Laboratory experiments were carried out in a 40 m long and 110 cm wide flume. The floats used
for the experiments were made of plexiglass and balanced to be almost neutrally buoyant. They
varied in wing size from 4 to 16 cm. All the floats were submerged 6 cm below water surface and
exposed to almost homogeneous turbulence. The lateral diffusion of the floats was determined by
a simple two-scale method. The floats were released manually upstream from the first scale. In a
separate series of experiments the response to vorticity in the flume flow was observed, see Figure
5.
The lateral diffusion was determined by a simple two-scale arrangement, see Figure 5. Let z
be the reading of the position of the floats when passing the scales. A proper description of the
frequency distribution of the diffence in position at the scales was accomplished by calculating
the three characteristics of the distribution, namely the mean, the variance and the skewness. We
define the mean as

93
 Second scale
Upstream filter First scale Second scale (Alternative position) Weir
0m 12 m 20 m 28 m 40 m
y, v
d
110 cm x1 x2 x3
x, u z, w inside

W Float release ~ 40 m

Lateral (left) and longitudinal (right) cross-sections

Figure 5. A 40-m flume and experimental setup for float experiments (Okoye, 1970, and Cederwall, 1971).

Float size I Run A

Float size II
1 Float size III
Float size I Run B
Float size II
Relative float diffusivity εzp /εz

Float size III

0.5
lmax = 4 r
lmax = r

0
0 1 2
Relative float size l/r

Figure 6. Relative float diffusivity εzp /ε̄z as a function of relative float size l/r. Experimental data compared
to predicted variation.

where N is the number of repetitive runs. The second and third moments are given as

To study how the floats picked up vorticity they were released at a distance from the left wall.
The presence of eddies of both positive and negative rotation was found at all float positions in
the flume. Large floats did not rotate very much but small floats picked up more vorticity. Floats
respond more to eddies that are large relative to their own size.
The variance of the lateral diffusion of the floats can be compared with the depth-averaged lateral
diffusion of dissolved substance. It is evident that there is a large reduction of lateral float diffusion.
The lateral diffusivity of the floats are evaluated by

94
in analogy with lateral channel diffusivity. The relative float diffusivity are given in Figure 6 as
a function of relative float size l/r where r is the hydraulic radius of the flume flow section. A
comparison is made with a theoretical evaluation of particle diffusion, for further information see
main reference.

3 CONCLUSIONS

Environmental hydraulics provides a part of the knowledge base for our understanding of environ-
mental problems. Sustainable management of coastal and archipelago environments benefits from
a continuous progress in our capacity to deal with point source pollution, more diffuse leaching of
contaminants as well as water exchange mechanisms of marine environments. The learning process
is often step-wise. We can identify fundamental needs for expanding knowledge in environmental
engineering considering the complexity of environmental impacts we may have to handle. Strategic
environmental impact assessments are required for controlling environmental threats for a wide
range of activities from dredging to coastal erosion due to ship induced wave attacks. There are gaps
to bridge between theory and practice, between empirical knowledge and advanced mathematical
modeling, that still does not properly simulate man-made disturbances and all the background
variability found in nature.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In the beginning of my post-graduate research I was lucky to meet Gerrit Abraham from Delft
Hydraulics Laboratory, to share interests in environmental hydraulics. Later on I visited the research
group at W M Keck Laboratory of Hydraulics and Water Resources at Caltech. Norman Brooks and
Vito Vanoni and their graduate students provided a very friendly and efficient scientific atmosphere
at the laboratory. The hydraulics departments in Scandinavia have close contact and for me that
meant valuable and stimulating collaboration with particularly Torkild Carstens in Norway and
Poul Harremoes and Jens Hansen in Denmark. I am very glad that I in all these years have had the
possibility to work with Peter Larsen, during his many international academic assignments.

REFERENCES

Abraham, G. 1963. Jet Diffusion in Stagnant Ambient Fluid, Report No. 29, Delft Hydraulics Laboratory.
Brooks, N.H. and Vanoni, V.T. 1970. Post-graduate courses in “Environmental Hydraulics” (Hy. 106, Exper-
imental Hydraulics and Similitude, Hy. 210, Hydrodynamics of Sediment Transportation). W.M. Keck
Laboratory of Hydraulics and Water Resources, California Institute of Technology.
Cederwall, K. 1968. Hydraulics of Marine Waster Disposal. Report No. 42 (PhD-thesis), Dept. of Hydraulic
Engineering, Chalmers Institute of Technology.
Cederwall, K. and Hansen, J. 1968. Tracer Studies on Dilution and Residence Time Distribution in Receiving
Waters. Water Research, Vol. 2, pp. 297–310.
Cederwall, K. 1970. Dispersion Phenomena in Coastal Environments. Journal of Boston Society of Civil
Engineers, January 1970.
Cederwall, K. 1970. The Oslo Fjord. A Model for Circulation and Diffusion of Discharged Sewage. Vatten,
Vol. 3.
Cederwall, K. and Ditmars, F.D. 1970. Analysis of Air-bubble Plumes, W.M. Keck Laboratory of Hydraulics
and Water Resources. Report No. KH-R-24, California Institute of Technology.
Cederwall, K. 1971. A Float Diffusion Study. Water Research. Vol. 5, pp. 889–907.
Cederwall, K. 1971. Buoyant Slot Jets Into Stagnant or Flowing Environments. W.M. Keck Laboratory of
Hydraulics and Water Resources. Report No. KH-R-25, California Institute of Technology.
Cederwall, K. 1975. Gross Parameter Solutions of Jets and Plumes. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, ASCE,
May 1975.

95
Cederwall, K. and Svensson, T. 1976. Sediment Flushing after Dredging inTidal Bays. Journal of the Hydraulics
Division, ASCE, July 1976.
Engqvist, A. and Anderjev, O. 2003. Water Exchange of the Stockholm Archipelago – A Cascade Framework
Modeling Approach. J. Sea Research: 1–20.
Okoye, J. 1970. Characteristics of Transverse Mixing in Open-channel Flow. W.M. Keck Laboratory if
Hydraulics and Water Resources, Report No. KH-R-23, California Institute of Technology.
Stenström, P. 2003. Exchange Flows in Estuaries and Archipelagos. Hydraulic Engineering Division, Royal
Institute of Technology.

96
 1 Mixing and transport

1.1 Mixing and transport – I

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Prediction of turbulent flow structure in compound channel with

roughened floodplain using Large Eddy Simulation

M. Ifuku
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ehime University, Japan

K. Shiono
Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, UK

ABSTRACT: This paper presents quantitative analyses of large eddies, turbulence and secondary
flow in compound channel with floodplain roughened by trees for overbank flow using simulation
results of a 2-D depth averaged Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The results are compared with the
experimental data obtained from Flood Channel Facility UK (FCF). The predicted longitudinal
velocity and bed shear stress were compared with the experimental data and were a reasonably
good agreement. The contributions of the Reynolds stress and secondary flow to flow resistance
were found to be relatively significant in the shear layer.

1 INTRODUCTION

Floodplains are an integral part of a river system and flooding is a natural consequence of periodic
increase in the hydrological flow regime. The benefits of flooding include the ability to replenish
nutrient supplies on floodplains and to provide water to seedlings and trees requiring periodic
inundation, all of which contribute to a unique environment for both flora and fauna. Overbank
flow is natural and also desirable, of course, with no risk to human life. It is therefore a need to
investigate roughness effect of floodplains due to vegetation with trees and bushes on mixing and
transport processes in compound channels. In recent years, there have been many studies on flow
structure in straight compound channels without roughened floodplains (e.g, Shiono & Knight,
1991). As a result, large horizontal eddies, secondary flow and high turbulence have been observed
in the shear layer between the main channel and the floodplain. There are also a few experimental
studies on flow structure in straight compound channels with trees on the floodplain carried out by
Pasche and Rouve, (1985) and Thornton et. al. (2000). These studies have shown more complex
flow structure in the shear layer caused by the interaction between a typical compound channel flow
and the flow around trees on the floodplain. On the other hand, numerical modelling of compound
channel flow has been undertaken using mostly Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes models with
turbulence closure models e.g. Shiono and Lin (1992), and Naot et.al. (1994), however these
models can not produce large horizontal eddies. Large Eddy Simulation (LES) can produce large
eddies and has been also used by Thomas and William, (1995), who showed flow structure in a
straight compound channel with smooth floodplain but did not show evolution of large eddies. This
paper investigates large horizontal eddies, turbulence and secondary flow in a straight compound
channel with the floodplain roughened by trees using simulation results of a 2-D depth averaged
model of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and the results are compared with the experimental data
obtained from the Flood Channel Facility UK (FCF).

99
2 MODELLING

2.1 Basic equations

The 2-D depth averaged model with Large Eddy Simulation is adopted in this study. The governing
2-D depth averaged equations of motion are as follows:

where t is the time, U and V are the depth averaged velocities in the x and y directions respectively.
g is the gravitational acceleration, η is the free surface elevation, ρ is the density of water, h̃ is
the water depth, λ is the density of vegetation, Cdx and Cdy are the drag coefficients in the x and
y directions respectively, τxx , τyx , τxy and τyy are the Reynolds stresses. KG is turbulence kinetic
energy of subgrid scale.
The Reynolds stresses can be expressed in the tensorial form:

Where υ is the kinematics viscosity. υt is the eddy viscosity of subgrid scale (SGS) given by

where Cs is a Smagorinsky constant,  = (xy)1/2 , x and y are a computational mesh size

in the x and y directions respectively.
The turbulence kinetic energy of SGS is given by KG = (υt /Ce ) where Ce is a model constant.
The free surface elevation is determined by the continuity equation:

2.2 Boundary conditions

The upstream boundary condition was given by discharge. The lateral component of velocity was
set to zero. The downstream boundary condition was set to the fixed water depth as with the
experimental data and with the following conditions

100
Figure 1. Experimental compound channel.

2.3 Computation
The mesh in the longitudinal direction was set to be 2.5 cm uniformly, but the mesh in the lateral
direction was set to vary in the range of 1.25∼5 cm, of which a mesh of 1.25 cm was used in near
walls and in the vicinity of the junction between the main channel and floodplain. The Smagorinsky
constants, Cs and Ce in the subgrid scale model have been normally adopted between 0.1 and 0.2
in the literature, in this study the best values for this experimental case chosen through calibration
were 0.1 and 0.094 respectively. The flow resistance due to the boundary was fixed to a Manning
coefficient of 0.012 as with experimental smoothed bed. The density of rods on the floodplain was
12 rods/m2 and the drag coefficient of the rod was assumed to be 1.0. The time step was set to
0.005 sec. The LES was solved by a second-order central difference scheme with a staggered grid.

3 EXPERIMENTAL DATA

The experimental data used in this study is from Series 07 of the UK-FCF experiments (see Fig. 1).
The experimental flume was 60 m long and 10 m wide, with a maximum discharge of 1.1 m3 /s. The
experiments were performed in a straight compound channel consisting of flat floodplains with rods
(a diameter of 0.025 m). The density of rods was 12 rods/m2 . The top width of the main channel was
1.8 m and the floodplain width was 2.3 m. The side slopes were 45 degrees with a bankfull depth
of 0.15 m. The longitudinal bed slope was 1.024 × 10−3 . The velocity and boundary shear stress
were measured using an array of 10 miniature propeller meters and a Preston tube respectively. The
water depth of the experiment varied from Dr = 0.1 to Dr = 0.5, where Dr = relative depth defined
as floodplain water depth/main channel water depth.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The 2-D depth averaged LES model was applied to the FCF experiment to predict turbulent flow
structure in the shear layer. The results of turbulent fluctuations of two velocity components at
197.5 sec and 200 sec after the LES execution in the reach between 35 m and 45 m for very shallow
flooding, Dr = 0.093 are shown in Fig. 2 as a horizontal eddy vector form. The vectors were
generated by subtracting the instantaneous turbulent velocities from a stream-wise velocity of
0.5 m/s around the edge of the floodplain, thus the directions of flow in the main channel and
floodplain far from the edge are opposite. It can be seen from the figure that there are three
different horizontal eddies moving downstream over the 10 m reach. The pattern of eddy formation
shows that relatively strong flow from the floodplain rapidly enters into the main channel and the
main channel flow slowly moves onto the floodplain, which is similar to that observed by Fukuoka
et al. (1989). When water depth increases, see Dr = 0.25, in Fig. 2, the start of evolution of large

101
a) b)

c)

Figure 2. (a) Large horizontal eddies at t = 197.5 s, (b) Large horizontal eddies at t = 200 s, (c) Large
horizontal eddies for Dr = 0.25.

Figure 3. Vorticity for Dr = 0.093.

eddies is noticeably downstream compared with that of Dr = 0.093. Figure 3 shows the magnitude
of vorticity for Dr = 0.093. The vorticity has a maximum value of −2. Pair of vorticity peaks
are normally found in the either side of inflexion point of velocity distribution for simple shear
instability flow, like a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, but in this case, not quite pairing up. This
may indicate that there are different perturbations of velocity due to difference levels of turbulence
across the side slope section (i.e. cause of variation of water depth).
The depth averaged stream-wise velocity distributions for Dr = 0.093 and 0.25 are shown in
Fig. 4 together with the measured data. Both cases of the LES results are a good agreement with
the experimental data except around the edge of floodplain for Dr = 0.25. The predicted boundary

102
 1 1
70101 70501
LES LES
U (m/s)

U (m/s)
0.5 0.5

vegetated zone
vegetated zone
0
0 1 2 3 0
0 1 2 3
y (m)
a) y (m)
b)

Figure 4. (a) Stream-wise velocity for Dr = 0.093, (b) Stream-wise velocity (Dr = 0.248).

2
70501
Bed shear stress (N/m2)

LES

0
0 1 2 3
y (m)

Figure 5. Boundary shear stress (Dr = 0.248).

shear stress was also compared with the experimental data and again both are a good agreement in
the main channel, but LES slightly overestimates on the floodplain (see Fig. 5).
The secondary flow and Reynolds stress were not measured in this experiment, but the contri-
bution of those to flow resistance can be estimated using the equation given by Shiono and Knight
(1991) and compared with the results of LES. The equation is as follows

(I) = secondary flow contribution, (II) = weight component, (III) = bed shear stress, (IV) = Rey-
nolds stress contribution and (V) = drag force.
Each term can be normalised by the weight component of ρgHSo to see each contribution. (II),
(III) and (V) were worked out from both experimental data and LES, knowing velocity and boundary
shear stress, which gives the combined (I) and (IV). Figure 6 shows both experimental and LES
results for Dr = 0.25 as an example. For experimental data, the combined contribution is increasing
from positive 30% to 50% towards the floodplain in the main channel, decreasing to negative 200%
near at the floodplain junction and back to 0% at some distance on the floodplain. The LES result
has a similar trend to that of experimental data in the main channel and most floodplain, but much
shaper change occur in the main channel side slope wall region, and the peak magnitude is much
larger.
LES gives U and V so that the contribution of secondary flow (I) can be worked out. (I) was
first calculated, then the contribution of the Reynolds stress was estimated. Both contributions

103
 6.0 LES (I)
LES (I)-(IV)
4.0
LES (IV)
Normalised terms

2.0 Exp. (I)-(IV)

0.0

-2.0

-4.0

-6.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
y(m)

Figure 6. Contribution terms in equation (7) normalised by ρgHSo.

normalised by ρgHSo are also shown in Fig. 6. It can be seen from the figure that both magnitudes
are significantly larger than the weight component of 1.0 and boundary shear stress in the shear
layer region. The Reynolds tress term (IV) shows first negative in the main channel, then becomes
positive with a sharp gradient where the peak Reynolds stress occurs. The peak Reynolds stress
occurs at the edge of the floodplain where is consistent with that occurs for smooth floodplain
case shown by Knight and Shiono (1990). The magnitude of the secondary flow term in the main
channel is larger than a value of 0.15 given by Shiono and Knight (1991) for the smooth floodplain
case whereas, on the floodplain, it becomes positive and negative in the vicinity of the junction
instead of a value of −0.25 given by Shiono and Knight. When the magnitude of the secondary
flow term was estimated for various water depths, it was noticed, in the main channel, there was
a certain trend in magnitude, which it increases as water depth increases. This might suggest that
an influence of turbulence anisotropy to the mean flow would become larger owing to trees on the
floodplain. This analysis indicates that the contributions of secondary flow and Reynolds stress to
flow resistance in the hear layer are significantly high.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The LES predicted two components of instantaneous turbulent velocity along the 10 m reach in
the straight compound channel, which clearly shows large horizontal eddies in the shear layer.
The flow pattern from the eddy formation was found to be very much similar to those observed
by experimental studies in the literature. The predicted velocity and boundary shear stress were
a good agreement with the experimental data. The contributions of secondary flow and Reynolds
stress to flow resistance are much higher than the weight component and boundary shear stress in
the shear layer. The contribution of secondary flow to momentum equation becomes larger when
water depth increases, which might suggest that the influence of anisotropic turbulence to the main
flow would increase. Finally, the 2-D depth averaged LES can reasonably predict turbulent flow
structure in the shear layer of compound channel with roughened floodplain.

REFERENCES

Fukuoka, S and Fujita, K (1989), Prediction of flow resistance in compound channels and its application to
design of river courses, Proc. JACE, Vol. 411/11-12, pp.63–72.
Naot, D, Nezu, I and Nakagawa, H (1994), Towards the modelling of the hydrodynamic forces in compound
open channel with vegetated flood plain. Proc. Hyd. Eng. 38 pp.437–442.

104
Knight, DW and Shiono, K, (1990), “Turbulent measurements in a shear layer region of a compound channel”,
J. Hydraulic Research, IAHR, Vol. 28, 2, pp.175–196.
Pasche, E and Rouve, G (1985), Overbank flow vegetative roughened flood plains. J. Hyd. Eng. 111 (9)
pp.1262–1278.
Shiono, K and Knight, DW (1991), Turbulent open channel flows with variable depth across the channel,
J F M , 222, pp.617–646.
Shiono, K and Lin, B, (1992), “Three dimensional numerical model for two stage open channel flows”,
Hydrocomp ’92, 25–29 May, Budapest, Hungary, pp.123–130.
Thomas, TG and Williams, JJR, (1995), Large eddy simulation of turbulent flow in an asymmetric compound
open channel, J. Hydraulics, IAHR, No. 1, Vol. 33, pp.27–41.
Thornton, CI, Morris, CE and Fischenich, JC, 2000, Calculating shear stress at channel-overbank interfaces
in straight channels with vegetated floodplains. J. Hyd. Eng. 126 (12) pp.929–936.

105
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A field study of extremely rough, three-dimensional river flow

M.J. Franca & U. Lemmin

LHE – École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: Field measurements using a deployable 3-D Acoustic Doppler Velocity Profiler
were made under stationary conditions, during a low water period in the Swiss lowland river
Venoge. The riverbed is hydraulically rough; it is composed of coarse gravel and has randomly
spaced protuberances as high as half the water depth. The measurements were made in one half
of the cross section of the river. The present analysis focuses on the three-dimensional character
of the mean river flow and its implication on mixing and transport. The mean velocity cross river
distribution is affected by the riverbank effect and large bottom roughness. The three-dimensionality
of the mean flow induces secondary motion due to large-scale bottom roughness. As a consequence,
the turbulence distribution across the section and along the water depth is modified. It is concluded
that 2-D concepts developed for open-channel flow are of limited value under these conditions.

1 INTRODUCTION

Field measurements of velocity including turbulence features are needed for the validation and
calibration of engineering tools in river simulations with respect to sediment transport, morphology
evolution, secondary flows and mixing and transport of heat and matter. Only a small number of
field studies have been carried out in natural or canalized rivers, mainly due to the lack of suitable
instrumentation. Some recent publications give a limited insight into turbulent flow aspects under
natural conditions (González et al. (1996); Nikora and Smart (1997); Powell et al. (1999); Smart
(1999); Nikora and Goring (2000); Babaeyan-Koopaei et al. (2002); Hurther et al. (2002); Tritico
et al. (2002) and Roy et al. (2004)).
In this paper we present the results of a field measurement campaign made on a lowland stretch
of the Swiss river Venoge, during the summer of 2003. A deployable three-dimensional Acoustic
Doppler Velocity Profiler (ADVP) developed at the LHE was used. The instrument which permits
three-dimensional, quasi-instantaneous profiling of the fluctuating velocity flow field along the
whole water depth (Rolland and Lemmin, 1997), is positioned at several points across the river
section. The flow conditions were stationary and the riverbed was extremely rough. Our results
focus on the three-dimensionality of the mean river flow and on the turbulence distribution across
the section and along the water depth.

2 FIELD STUDY

The field measurements were made during a low water period, across the Swiss lowland river
Venoge (Table 1). They were carried out on a single day and under stationary flow conditions, as
confirmed by discharge data provided by the Swiss Hydrological and Geological Services. The
chosen cross section was situated along a straight river reach, about 120 m upstream of the Moulin
de Lussery (Figure 1).
In Table 1, Re is the Reynolds number; U, the vertical mean of the longitudinal velocity; ν, the
cinematic viscosity; Fr, the Froude number; g, the gravity acceleration and D50 , the bottom grain

107
Table 1. Summary of the Venoge river flow characteristics.
√
Mean slope Discharge Av. water depth Width Re = Uδ/ν Fr = U/ sgδ D50 from the riverbed(1)
(%) Q (m3 /s) δ (m) B (m) (×104 ) (-) (mm)

0.13 0.80 0.21 6.30 3.0–14.4 0.2–0.9 40

(1) D50 obtained from a sample of the bottom material using Wolman (1954) method.

Figure 1. View of the study reach and of the deployable support structure for the ADVP field measurements.

size diameter for which 50% of the grain diameters are smaller. Considering the average water
depth, one obtains B/δ = 30 which corresponds to shallow water conditions.
The riverbed is hydraulically rough, composed of coarse gravel and randomly spaced protu-
berances as high as half the water depth (0.5δ). The measurements were made in half the cross
section of the river starting from the right riverbank (y/B = 0). The deployable 3-D ADVP was
used for the measurements. ADVP spatial and time resolutions are sufficient to estimate the main
turbulent parameters related to open-channel flows within the production and inertial subranges of
the spectral space. In the present study, 25 profiles were measured for 5 min. each with horizontal
spacing of 10 to 12.5 cm. A Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF) of 2000 Hz and a Number of Pulse
Pairs (NPP) equal to 32 was used for the estimation of the Doppler shift and subsequently the
three-dimensional velocity components, resulting in a sampling frequency of 62.5 Hz. Though a
low degree of aliasing was expected, a correcting algorithm developed by the authors was applied
to the data. This algorithm rectifies directly the instantaneous values of the Doppler frequencies
measured by the receivers through a procedure that follows the signal history and chooses the best
correction to be made. A deployable support structure was constructed for the easy displacement of
the ADVP along two directions (horizontal and vertical, see Fig. 1). The installation minimizes the
disturbance of the flow field and instrumentation vibration. This structure is leveled and aligned
and allows to carry out the measurements of the cross section over a short period of time.

3 RESULTS

3.1 Mean velocity field

Figure 2 shows the mean velocity field in the longitudinal, transversal and horizontal planes across
the section. Each vertical line corresponds to one measured profile and each vector results from

108
 River bank
(a)
0.00 0.00
0.02 0.02
0.04 0.04

Water depth (m) , W

0.06 0.06
0.08 0.08
0.10 0.10
0.12 0.12
0.14 0.14
0.16 0.16
River bank

0.18 0.18
0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50
0.05 m/s y/B , U
1.50 m/s (b)
0.00 0.00
0.02 0.02
0.04 0.04
Water depth (m) , W

0.06 0.06
0.08 0.08
0.10 0.10
0.12 0.12
0.14 0.14
0.16 0.16
River bank

0.18 0.18
0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50
0.10 m/s y/B , V
0.10 m/s
0.10 m/s (c)
0.00 0.00
0.02 0.02
0.04 0.04
Water depth (m) , U

0.06 0.06
0.08 0.08
0.10 0.10
0.12 0.12
0.14 0.14
0.16 0.16
0.18 0.18
0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50
1.50 m/s y/B , V
0.05 m/s

Figure 2. Mean vector fields (U: longitudinal; V: transversal; W: vertical component) in cross section of
the river Venoge: (a) longitudinal plane (U-W); (b) transversal plane (V-W); (c) horizontal plane (U-V).
Measurements cover half the river width.

one of the ADVP bins. The local water depth is determined from the backscattering echo intensity
of the ADVP with a resolution of ±5 mm.
The high three-dimensionality of the flow is evident from Figure 2, best seen in the near bank
zone and around the higher riverbed protuberances. In fact, the large-scale bottom roughness
locally produces important secondary mean motion in the flow, as seen from the transversal (V)
and vertical (W) components of the mean velocity field (Figure 2b). This leads to a strongly 3-D
flow field over most of the cross section (Fig. 2b and c). On a cross section average, the transversal
and vertical velocities represent about 5.3% and 7.5% of the longitudinal component, whereas they
become locally more important over the large-scale roughness. No structured secondary flow cells
were detected. In agreement with observations by Studerus (1982), higher intensity cells in the
(U) field are observed across the section where large-scale bottom roughness is found (Fig. 2a).
The transversal decrease of the longitudinal velocity component (Fig. 2a) towards the riverbank is
associated with a secondary recirculation flow (Fig. 2b and c) and indicates the drag effect of the
riverbank occurring for y/B < 0.15.
The profiles of the longitudinal component of the mean velocity field measured in the river
Venoge were compared to the classical log-law approach. Despite the three dimensional character
of the flow, the mean longitudinal velocity distribution shows a logarithmic layer in the lower 40%

109
 100
stream wise
y/B=0.262 span wise
y/B=0.341 -1 vertical
10
y/B=0.413
y/B=0.444
Power spectral density, m2/s2/Hz

-1
10

Power spectral density, m/s/Hz

-2 -5/3
-5/3 10

-2
10
-3
10

-3
10 -4
10

-4 -5
10 10 0 1
-2 -1 0 1 -2 -1
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Frequency, Hz Frequency, Hz
(a) (b)

Figure 3. Power spectral density of the turbulent velocity fields: (a) vertically averaged power spectral density
of the streamwise velocities for several profiles measured across the section; (b) vertically averaged power
spectral density of the streamwise, spanwise and vertical velocity components, for y/B = 0.282.

of the water column along most of the section, and classical 2-D boundary layer profiles are found
over most of the depth in sections where the bottom is relatively homogeneous (0.25 > y/B < 0.35).
For all the 25 measured profiles only one did not correspond to hydraulically rough turbulent
conditions. The average dimensionless roughness is k+ = 9500; with the dimensionless roughness
defined as k+ = ks U*/ν, where U* is the friction velocity. The computed value of ks,50 , defined as
the equivalent roughness for which 50% of the values are higher, is equivalent to the grain diameter
D85 taken from the grain size distribution of the riverbed.
Obviously, a 2-D approach of a rough flow is impossible especially in the inner bank zone and near
the large-scale bottom roughness. Therefore, concepts developed for open channel flow particularly
concerning bottom friction velocities are of limited value in these flows. This is important because
sediment transport is controlled by bottom friction and new concepts for the prediction of sediment
transport in these flows may be needed. The three-dimensional mean field has its maximum value
around the protuberance correspondent to y/B = 0.45. In this vertical the mean vertical velocity
component assume the highest values, representing about 14% of the maximum longitudinal one.
In the profile y/B = 0.50 the spanwise velocity acquires its maximum, representing about 10% of
the maximum longitudinal one. Taking these two latter values as reference, it is obvious that the
secondary mean velocity field introduces an additional advection of about 25% for any physical
property present in the flow in its balance equation. The spanwise and the vertical terms should
thus be included in this calculation.
The three dimensionality of the flow is confirmed by the inexistence of mass conservation within
the cross section. In this flow, mass conservation can only be verified over a river stretch. The
secondary mean motion induced by the large-scale bottom roughness is important in the spreading
of matter, heat and momentum across the river section. Due to the strong shear zones this may
locally be more efficient than background turbulence. Turbulence production is not restricted to
the shear due to the bottom roughness. Instead, the shear zones observed in the mean velocity field
provide for an additional turbulence production along the whole water column.

3.2 Fluctuating velocity field

Figure 3 presents estimates of the power spectral density of the fluctuating velocity fields. The
data was split into blocks of one minute duration and the Welch method with 50% overlapping was
used for the calculation of the power spectral density. The vertically averaged spectral density for
several measured profiles, representing the bulk average streamwise turbulent energy distribution
is shown in Fig. 3a.

110
 0 0.00
10

-1 -5/3 0.04
10
Power spectral density, m /s /Hz
2 2

water depth, m
0.08
-2
10
Downwards
direction

0.12
-3
10

0.16
-4
10
-2 -1 0 1 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12
10 10 10 10
Frequency, Hz 2 2
u’2, m /s
(a) (b)

Figure 4. For the streamwise component at y/B = 0.282: (a) Power spectral density of the turbulent velocities
for several points along the water depth; (b) vertical distribution of turbulence intensity. The points corre-
sponding to the spectral density plots shown in Fig. 4a are represented by a dot surrounded by a circle in
Fig. 4b.

No particular tendency of the total bulk energy distribution between y/B = 0.262 and y/B = 0.444
is detected, despite the difference in roughness and water depth between these two flow zones. The
vertically averaged spectral density for the three velocity components for the profile y/B = 0.282 is
given in Fig. 3b. It shows a strong anisotropy of the flow, with the streamwise velocity component
dominating in the energy production, in agreement with the conclusions by Buffin-Bélanger et al.
(2000). It was also verified that in the transversal plan (y-z), the anisotropy level decreases in the
upward direction, towards nearly complete isotropy conditions.
Figure 4 shows the streamwise spectral density for several water depths and the vertical
distribution of the streamwise turbulent intensity for y/B = 0.282.
High values of the turbulent intensity are found, particularly in the near surface area (Fig. 4). The
turbulent energy distribution decreases downwards in the water column, confirmed by the spectral
density distribution (Fig. 4a) and by the turbulence intensity profile (Fig. 4b). Thus, in the present
flow the bottom production does not seem to be the main source of turbulence. In order to explain
the turbulence distribution shown, several other production sources can be envisioned and will be
investigated. The flow features here shown for the vertical y/B = 0.282 are generally valid for the
rest of the cross section.

4 DISCUSSION

Macro roughness and high protuberances present on the riverbed promote mixing in the water
mass (pollutants, heat or momentum), due to the existence of secondary mean flow and due to
an increase of the turbulence levels within the flow. The effect of the secondary mean flow on
the structure of the flow provides for a supplementary advection term in a balance equation, in
both the spanwise and vertical directions. This is not considered in exclusively two-dimensional
approaches. Furthermore, the high turbulence levels observed are of major importance for mixing.
The strong variation of the mean streamwise velocity field across the section (Fig. 2a) is respon-
sible for additional shear zones that produce horizontal eddies, thus providing for a turbulent
energy production all along the water depth. Due to the random distribution of the protuberances
and macro-roughness along the studied river reach, the high turbulence levels are equally distributed
across the river section. We concluded that in the present flow, sources other than bottom shear
contribute to the turbulent energy production.
The presence of macro-roughness elements in the riverbed induces large flow structures with
length scales of the water depth. These dominate the turbulence production and are present in

111
the entire flow depth (Roy 2004). These large structures are conveyed upwards within the water
column where the higher longitudinal velocities together with the constraint imposed by the water
surface distort them in the streamwise direction. This process explains the high values of stream
wise turbulence near the surface and can be considered to be similar to the rapid distortion for
which a theory was first developed by Batchelor and Proudman (1954).
At the same time, a regular occurrence of alternating periods of faster and slower streamwise
velocity with respect to the mean velocity is observed in the whole water column in the present data,
though is not discussed here. This velocity variation induces an additional oscillating component
with extremely high amplitude which affects the longitudinal turbulent intensity. This periodic
oscillation occurs at a periodicity lower than 1 Hz and can be considered as a quasi-stationary
feature of the flow. It will therefore not contribute to the small-scale turbulence. However, the
existence of these alternating time cells, sugested by Yalin (1977) can be responsible for the strong
anisotropy in the streamwise direction observed in the turbulence intensity analysis.
The authors acknowledge the financial support of the FCT (BD 6727/2001) and the Swiss
National Science Foundation (2000-063818).

REFERENCES

Babaeyan-Koopaei K., Ervine D.A., Carling P.A. and Cao Z. (2002), Velocity and turbulence measurements
for two overbank flow events in river, Severn, J. Hydr. Eng., 128(10), 891–900.
Batchelor G.K. and Proudman I. (1954), The effect of rapid distortion of a fluid in turbulent motion, Q. J.
Mech. Appl. Maths, 7, 83.
Buffin-Bélanger T., Roy A.G. and Kirbride A.D. (2000), Vers l’intégration des structures turbulentes de
l’écoulement dans la dynamique d’un cours d’eau à lit de graviers, Géogr. Phys. Quat., 24(1), 105–117.
González J.A., Melching C.S. and Oberg K.A. (1996), Analysis of open-channnel velocity measurements
collected with an acoustic doppler current profiler, Proc. 1st Int. Conf. New/Emerging Conc. Rivers,
Chicago (USA).
Hurther D., Lemmin U. and Blanckaert K. (2002), A field study of transport and mixing in a river using
an acoustic Doppler velocity profiler, Proc. Riverflow 2002 – Int. Conf. Fluv. Hydr., Louvain-la-Neuve
(Belgium).
Nikora V. and Goring D. (2000), Flow turbulence over fixed and weakly mobile gravel beds, J. Hydr. Eng.,
126(9), 679–690.
Nikora V. and Smart G.M. (1997), Turbulence characteristics of New Zealand gravel-bed rivers, J. Hydr. Eng.,
123(9), 764–773.
Powell D.M., Reid I. and Laronne J.B. (1999), Hydraulic interpretation of cross-stream variations in bed load
transport, J. Hydr. Eng., 125(12), 1243–1252.
Rolland T. & Lemmin, U. (1997). A two-component acoustic velocity profiler for use in turbulent open-channel
flow, J. Hydr. Res. 35(4): 545–561.
Roy A.G., Buffin-Belanger T., Lamarre H. and Kirkbride A.D. (2004), Size, shape and dynamics of large-scale
turbulent flow structures in a gravel-bed river, J. Fluid Mech., 500, 1–27.
Smart G.M. (1999), Turbulent velocity profiles and boundary shear in gravel bed rivers, J. Hydr. Eng., 125(2),
106–116.
Studerus, X. (1982), Sekundärströmungen im offenen Gerinne übn rauhen Längsstreifen. Ph.D. thesis, Institut
für Hydromechanik und Wasserwirstschaft – ETH, Zurich.
Tritico H.M., Stone M.C. and Hotchkiss R.H. (2002), Turbulence characterization in the wake of an obstruction
in a gravel bed river, Proc. Hydr. Meas. Exp. Met., Estes Park (USA).
Wolman M.G. (1954), A method of sampling coarse river-bed material, Trans. Amer. Geoph. Un., 35(6),
951–956.
Yalin, M.S. (1977), Mechanics of Sediment Transport. Surrey: Pergamon Press.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Influence of variable morphological conditions on the mass

transport characteristics in rivers

Volker Weitbrecht & Gerhard H. Jirka

Institute for Hydromechanics, University of Karlsruhe

ABSTRACT: A 2-D Lagrangian-Particle-Tracking-Method (LPTM ) has been developed to simu-

late dispersive mass transport in rivers under the influence of dead-water zones, such as groin fields.
Results from laboratory experiments are used in the LPTM to include velocity and diffusivity
distribution and the mean residence time. With the help of different LPTM simulations where the
retention effect of the groin fields varies along the travel distance, the influence of morphological
changes on the transport characteristics has been analyzed.

1 INTRODUCTION

The mass transport of dissolved pollutants in a river reach is difficult to predict, due to the limited
knowledge of the relation between morphological conditions and transport characteristics. In rivers
with strong morphological heterogeneities like dead-water-zones (see Fig. 1, i), channel meander-
ing or varying channel width, the prediction of transport velocities, maximum concentration and
skewness contains strong uncertainties. A far-field 1-D prediction tool called the River-Rhine-
Alarm-Model (Spreafico, 1993) has been developed by the “International Commission for the
Hydrology of the River Rhine” (CHR) and the “International Commission for the Protection of
the Rhine” (ICPR) for cases of accidental pollutant releases. For this kind of predictive models,
much effort and money is spent on calibration by means of extensive in-situ tracer measurements
(van Mazijk, 2002). In the case of the River Rhine Alarm Model, which uses a one-dimensional
analytical approximation for the travel time and concentration curve, a dispersion coefficient and
a lag coefficient have to be calibrated. The model works well for cases of similar hydrological
situations. However, variations in discharge, and thus, changes in water surface levels, lead to
increased errors if the same calibrated parameters are used for different hydrological situations.

Figure 1. Morphological heterogeneities due to groin fields and related flow pattern; (i) Aerial photograph
of the River Elbe taken at 490 km, with low discharge conditions, authorized by WSD Ost, Berlin; (ii) Flow
structures in the mixing layer between dead-water zone and main stream, observed in the river Rhine near
Karlsruhe.

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(i) normalized mean velocities (ii) normalized rms velocities

Figure 2. Results of velocity measurements for (i) mean velocities approximated with a tanh function and
(ii) turbulent velocity fluctuations v approximated with a Gaussian curve, measured in a cross section with
groins fields of an aspect ration width/length = 0.4.

Hence, predictive methods that are appropriate for variable flows and changing morphological
conditions are needed.
In the present research project, the influence of dead-water zones such as, groin fields, on the
transport characteristics has been investigated (Weitbrecht, 2004). The influence of groin fields
on the transport characteristics can be described by three different aspects that are caused by the
dynamics of the mixing layer between the dead-water zone and the main stream, which is dominated
by large coherent horizontal eddy motion due to the shallowness of the flow (see Fig. 1). Taylor
(1954) showed that the two main processes with respect to longitudinal dispersion are longitudinal
velocity shear and transverse diffusion. The mixing layer leads to enhanced transverse mixing
and therefore, reduces longitudinal dispersion. The mean horizontal velocity distribution is also
strongly affected by the mixing layer. Compared to a mixing layer along a smooth wall the velocity
distribution is much less homogeneous which enhances longitudinal stretching. The third aspect
is given by the mass exchange between the dead-water zone and the main stream, which is also
driven by the mixing layer dynamics. Mass that travels in the main stream gets retained in the dead
water zone and therefore, leads to additional stretching of a pollutant cloud.
With the help of detailed velocity and concentration measurements the flow and transport phe-
nomena in the presence of groins has investigated systematically for varying geometrical conditions.
The mean and turbulent flow properties have been measured with a Surface-Particle-Imaging-
Velocimetry system (Weitbrecht et al. 2002). In Figure 2 typical results of the velocity measurements
for the mean velocities and rms-velocities are illustrated. The measurements were performed in
a tilting flume of 20 m length and 1.8 m width. The water depth h was 4.6 cm and the mean flow
velocity U about 16 cm/s. The groins were placed on one side of the flume with a length of 50 cm
and a varying spacing from 15 cm to 145 cm. The profiles in Figure 2 represent measurements with
a spacing of 125 cm and are used later in the numerical transport simulation (LPTM ) to determine
the advective and diffusive step.
With the help of concentration measurements where dye is injected instantaneously into one
single groin and by analyzing the concentration decay the mean residence times could be determined
for the various groin field geometries (Jirka, 2004), which are used in the transport simulations
to parameterize the influence of the particle retardation as described above. The transfer of the
measured results locally at single groin fields into a system of many groin fields has been performed
using a Lagrangian-Particle-Tracking-Method (LPTM ) described in the next section.
In Jirka (2004), it was shown that the influence of groin fields on the dispersion process is
strongly related to the current Peclet Number defined as (UB)/Dy with U as the mean flow velocity
B the channel width and Dy the transverse turbulent diffusion coefficient. The Peclet Number as
it is defined here, is directly related to the time scale that describes the transverse mixing time. It
was shown that with increasing Peclet Number the influence of the groin field retardation TD as
a second time scale gets much stronger. Furthermore, it has been shown, that the dimensionless

114
mass exchange coefficient k (Valentine & Wood, 1979) that describes the strength of the mass
exchange between dead-water zone and main stream, scales with a certain shape factor RD , defined
similar as a hydraulic radius of the groin field WL/(W + L)/hs , where W is the width and L length
of a groin field and hs the water depth in the main channel. k lies in the range between 0.012 and
0.035 and increases with increasing RD . Using this information in a LPTM simulation as boundary
condition it could be shown (Jirka, 2004) that with increasing RD , which corresponds to smaller
residence times, the dispersion coefficient decreases and the transport velocity increases. In the
present paper additional results of LPTM simulations are presented, where the influence of varying
morphological conditions along the main flow direction can be analyzed.

2 LAGRANGIAN PARTICLE TRACKING METHOD

A transport model based on a 2-D Lagrangian-Particle-Tracking-Method (LPTM ) has been devel-

oped to determine transport characteristics in the far-field of a pollutant transport scenario by
analyzing the statistics of such a particle cloud at any position of the simulation. The method
represents a random walk approach as has been used, for example, by Sullivan, 1971 to model
turbulent shear flow based on statistical mechanical transport theories presented by Taylor (1921).
A random walk simulation can be understood as the tracking of discrete particles, under the
influence of the governing flow processes. Typically, the particle displacement dXi is described by
a deterministic and a stochastic part, leading to the so called Langevin equation (Gardiner, 1985)

where XSi is the position x, y and z. f(X_i,t) represents the advective or drift component, which can
be interpreted as the mean flow velocity field. The expression g(x_i,t) describes the diffusive or
noise component of the particle movement that describes the strength of the turbulent diffusion in
space. The stochastic part is represented by the Langevin force Z, which is a Gaussian distributed
variate with a mean value of zero and a variance equal to one.
In the present case the governing processes are advection in longitudinal direction x and diffusion
in transverse direction y, which implies that we can neglect the drift component in y-direction and
the noise component in x-direction in eq. 1. An important part of such a model is the link between
the diffusive step size and the length of the time step. Here the approach given by Taylor, 1921 is
used, who stated that the spreading of a particle ensemble measured with the standard deviation
under the influence of turbulent diffusion can be treated as a Fickian type of diffusion, where
σ ∼ (2Dy t)0.5 with Dy as the turbulent diffusion in y-direction and the time t. The diffusive step
size for a single particle at a certain time step in y-direction is therefore given with

Using these assumptions, the position of the particles in every time step t can be described by a
simplified 2-D version of eq. 1.

where xold , yold and xnew , ynew are the spatial locations at times t and t + t respectively. The function
u(y) denotes the mean flow velocity in relation to the position in transverse direction. Dy (y) is the
transverse component of the turbulent diffusion coefficient related to the position in y-direction.
In order to satisfy continuity an extra advection term in y-direction has to be included, to achieve

115
consistency with the governing Advection-Diffusion-Equation. This extra term in eq. 4 is called the
noise-induced drift component (Dunsbergen, 1994). Consequently, in every time step, a particle
moves convectively in x-direction depending on the velocity profile and does a positive or negative
diffusive step in transverse y-direction.
Also the boundaries of the calculation domain and their effect on the particles are important.
The inflow and outflow boundaries do not affect the particles as in our case the domain has an
infinite length. In case of horizontal shear the boundaries representing the channel bank and
channel centre line act as reflective walls. With the given equations and boundary conditions
transport in open channel flow can be simulated with a depth-averaged velocity profile (Fig. 2, i)
in transverse direction and a certain distribution of the diffusivity (Fig. 2, ii). The next step is to
include the influence of dead-water zones into the LPTM, which can be achieved by introducing the
mean residence time of tracer material in the dead-water zone. Weitbrecht, 2004 showed, that it is
possible to model the influence of the mass transport by including this parameter into the boundary
conditions as a transient-adhesion-boundary, such that this boundary simulates the behavior of
mass trapping and mass release. A particle that reaches such a boundary is fixed to that x-position
until the mean residence time TD has elapsed.
The outcome of a LPTM simulation are x and y-positions of every single particle at every
time step. By analyzing the statistics of the particle positions, information about the transport
characteristics can be determined. The 1-D longitudinal dispersion coefficient DL , as a measure of
the spatially averaged spreading rate of a tracer cloud, can be determined by calculating the time
change of the longitudinal variance σ 2 particle distribution.
A second result will be the skewness Gt of the particle cloud, which is defined as the relation
between the quotient of the third moment about and the third power of the standard deviation.
The skewness of a certain distribution describes the degree of asymmetry of a distribution. The
skewness can be used as an indicator for the length of the advective zone, in order to define when
it is acceptable to apply the Taylor solution to a pollutant transport problem. Another parameter of
interest is the transport velocity c of the tracer cloud, defined as the velocity of the center of mass of a
particle ensemble. In the case of regular channel flow with ordinary reflective boundary conditions
c is equal to the mean velocity if the particles are homogeneously distributed over the river cross-
section. In case of point sources this can be reached after the tracer has passed the advective zone.
The transport velocity is defined as the velocity of the center of mass of the particles.

3 SIMULATIONS WITH VARYING BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

In the present paper two different simulations are presented using the flow conditions from the
experiment described in the introduction. The transverse mean velocity is represented by a tanh
function (see Fig. 2, i), such that the velocity at the groin field boundary is not zero. The turbulent
diffusivity in the main channel is taken to be constant with DL = 0.15 u∗ h. Close to the groin
fields the transverse diffusivity increases related to the Gaussian distribution given in Figure 2(ii).
Simulation A (Fig. 3) starts without the influence of groin fields for the first 1000 times the channel
width B. For x/B > 1000, the effect of the groin fields is turned of by setting the residence time
TD at the adhesive boundary to 92 seconds. In case B (Fig. 4) the simulation starts with a channel
reach with groin fields for 0 < x/B < 1000. For x/B > 1000 the residence time is set to zero. In
both cases the number of particles is 10,000, they are homogeneously distributed over the inflow
boundary at x = 0 and the length of a time step is 5 s.
In Figure 3(i–iv) the results for simulation A are visualized where the simulation starts without
the influence of dead-water zones. In Figure 3(i) the results after the first time step is plotted
where particle distribution in the upper part shows exactly the related velocity distribution. At this
time step the particle distribution in longitudinal direction is strongly skewed because, most of the
particles sit in the homogeneous part of the velocity distribution in the main channel. In Figure 3(ii)
and (iii) the particle distribution is still strongly skewed but, the dispersion coefficient tends to a
final value of about 0.04 m2 /s, long before x/B = 1000 is reached. Part (iii) shows that exactly

116
 (i) after first time step (ii) after 105 time steps

(iii) after 5085 time steps (iv) after 15960 time steps

Figure 3. Results of simulation A where in the initial phase x/B < 1000 no groin fields are present, visualized
at four different time steps. In the upper diagram of the four figures the particle position is plotted, in the mid
part the dispersion coefficient [m2 /s] as well as the coefficient of skewness is shown, and in the lower part the
particle distribution in longitudinal direction is visualized.

at x/B = 1000, where the channel section with transient-adhesion boundary starts the dispersion
coefficient increases as expected to reach the final value of about 7 m2 /s, which is the same result
as if the simulation starts from the beginning with the influence of groin fields.
Interesting in case A is the evolution of the coefficient of skewness plotted in red in the mid part
of Figure 3. According to previous studies (Schmid, 2002) strong morphological changes, as the
begin of a channel section with groin fields would lead to strong local increase of the skewness
coefficient. In the present simulation (Fig. 3, iii and iv) the influence on the skewness is almost not
visible. In contrary, at x/B = 1000 a local decrease of the skewness can be observed, which leads
to the assumption that the process of particle retention in a dead-water zone leads to increased
homogenization in longitudinal direction. In Figure 3(iv) the final stage of mixing is achieved with
almost Gaussian particle distribution in longitudinal direction.
The results of simulation B where the groin fields stop at x/B = 1000 stop, in principle lead to the
same conclusions as the results of simulation A. The initial mixing conditions do not influence the
final results. In case B the final dispersion coefficient (Fig. 4, iv) is the same than without the groin
field section in first phase. In Figure 4(ii) the influence of the transient-adhesion boundary is clearly
visible. Five different particle clouds follow the main particle cloud where the mean residence time
TD is visible as the distance between these clouds divided by mean flow velocity. In case B an
interesting phenomena occurs with respect to the dispersion coefficient at x/B = 1000. Here, the
effect of the groin fields is virtually turned off by setting the mean residence time to zero. Against our
first expectations the dispersion does not immediately decrease but increases over a travel distance
that is of the order of the standard deviation of particle distribution in longitudinal direction. The
dispersion coefficient increases about 30% in this region for this configuration. The stretching effect

117
Figure 4. Results of simulation B where only in the initial phase x/B < 1000 groin fields are present, visualized
at four different time steps.

is enhanced because the front of the cloud does move from x/B = 1000 with the mean velocity U ,
whereas the other part of the cloud still travels with transport velocity given by the ratio of particles
that are sitting in the dead zone to the number of particles in the main stream. Also in case B the
skewness (Fig. 4, iv) is almost not affected by the changing morphological conditions. Figure 4(iv)
shows again, that the groin fields enhance the homogenization of the particle cloud in longitudinal
direction and the particle distribution is still more skewed at the end of the simulation in case B.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In the present paper it has been shown that LPTM is a simple to use tool to simulate dispersive
mass transport in rivers and to transfer results obtained locally at single dead-water zones in the
laboratory into the far-field transport characteristics of a system with many groin fields. With two
simulations where the effect of groin fields is virtually turned on, or turned off respectively, after
a travel distance of 1000 times the channel width, it could be shown that the initial conditions do
not affect the final result. In case B where the groin field effect is turned off after 1000 times the
channel width the stretching rate and hence, the dispersion coefficient increases locally before it
reduces to the final value. Both simulations showed that the skewness of the particle distribution in
longitudinal direction is almost not influenced by this strong change of the boundary conditions that
simulate a sudden change in the morphological conditions. The skewness of the particle distribution
tends in the presence of dead-water zones faster towards zero than without groin fields, due to the
fact that the particle retention in the groin field enhances homogenization in longitudinal direction.

118
REFERENCES

Aris, R. (1959), ‘The longitudinal diffusion coefficient in flow through a tube with stagnant pockets’, Chemical
Engineering Science 11, 194–198
Dunsbergen, D.W. (1994), Particle Models for Transport in Three-Dimensional Shallow Water Flow, PhD
thesis, TU-Delft, Faculty of Civil Engineering
Fischer, H.B., List, E.J., Koh, R.C.Y., Imberger, J. and Brooks, N.H. (1979), ‘Mixing in Inland and Coastal
Waters’, Academic Press, New York
Jirka, G.H. (2004), ‘Mixing and dispersion in rivers’, Proc. ‘River Flow 2004’, Greco, Carravatta & Della
Morte eds., IAHR, Naples
Schmid, B.H. (2002), ‘Persistence of Skewness in Longitudinal Dispersion Data: Can the Dead Zone Model
Explain It After All? J. Hydr. Engrg. 128, 848 (2002)
Spreafico, M. and van Mazijk, A. (1993), Alarmmodell Rhein. Ein Modell für die operationelle Vorhersage
des Transportes von Schadstoffen im Rhein. Bericht Nr. I-12, Kommission für die Hydrologie des Rheins,
Lelystad
Sullivan, P.J. (1971), ‘Longitudinal dispersion within a two-dimensional turbulent shear flow’, J. Fluid Mech.
49, 551–576
Taylor, G.I. (1921), ‘Diffusion by continuous movements’. Proc. London Math Soc. 20, 196–211
Taylor, G.I. (1954), ‘The Dispersion of matter in turbulent flow through a pipe’, Proc. of the Royal Soc.,
London, England Vol. 233, pp. 446–468
van Mazijk, A. (2002), ‘Modelling the effects of groyne fields on the transport of dissolved matter within the
rhine alarme model’, J. of Hydrology 264, 213–339
Weitbrecht, V., Kuhn, G., Jirka, G.H. (2002), ‘Large scale PIV-measurements at the surface of shallow water
flows’, Flow Measurement and Instrumentation 13 (5–6) pp. 237–245
Weitbrecht, V. (2004), ‘Influence of Dead-Water Zones on the Dispersive Mass Transport in Rivers’, doctoral
hesis, IfH-University of Karlsruhe
Weitbrecht, V., Uijttewaal, W.S.J. & Jirka, G.H. (2003), ‘2-D Particle Tracking to Determine Transport
Characteristics in Rivers with Dead Zones’, Int. Symp. for Shallow Flows, IAHR, Delft

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Longitudinal vortices in a water of finite depth in the

absence of wind

Zhenhua Huang
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, P.R. China

Chiang C. Mei
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts, USA

ABSTRACT: It has been found from laboratory measurements that near-surface velocity of a
turbulent current can be reduced by following-waves but increased by opposing-waves. For both
wave-following and -opposing currents, longitudinal vortices have been observed in the experi-
ments on wave-current interaction. By a depth-varying eddy viscosity, we show analytically that
the change of the mean-velocity near the surface is the result of the wave-current interaction, in
particular the second-order mean shear stress on the mean surface. Comparisons with existing
experiments are discussed about the change of the near-surface velocity of a turbulent current. By
analyzing the instability of the wave-current system to the span-wise perturbation, we show that a
second-order mean shear stress exists on the mean water surface. This mean shear stress, together
with the vortex force found by Craik and Leibovich (1976), causes the span-wise perturbation to
grow in time, and leads to instability and the formation of longitudinal vortices. The side-wall
effects which always exist in laboratory experiments will also be addressed.

1 INTRODUCTION

In a shallow lake or sea, fine sediments can be stirred up by waves and then transported by the current
in the form of suspended particles. Understanding the transport of these suspended sediments is
important to the study of the water quality as the fine sediment particles may be the carries of the
contaminants or nutrients. Notable decrease/increase of the near-surface mean velocity has been
found experimentally when long-crested waves are following/opposing a uniform turbulent shear
current in a water of finite depth (see, Kemp and Simons (1983), etc.). This decrease/increase
of the near-surface mean velocity may affect the transport processes that depend on the near-
surface shear of the mean current. Also the unstable growth of the span-wise perturbation to this
two-dimensional wave-current system can lead to the formation of longitudinal vortices similar
to Langmuir cells, which have been observed in deep ocean, large lakes (Langmuir (1938)) and
shallow lagoon (Szeri(1996)). These large-scale longitudinal vortices can affect the transport of the
suspended sediments as well. We first present a two-dimensional theory to explain the wave-induced
change of the near-surface mean velocity, and then study the instability of the two-dimensional
wave-current system to the span-wise perturbation and the formation of longitudinal vortices. The
longitudinal vortices produced by side walls will be discussed based on the linearized instability
analysis and the concept of vortex force.

2 WAVE-INDUCED CHANGE OF NEAR – SURFACE MEAN VELOCITY

We study the wave-induced change of the mean current over a bottom characterized by a dimension-
less roughness height zb , normalized by the inverse of the wave number k. The mean current velocity

121
is assumed to be comparable to the wave orbital velocity, which is appropriate for swells riding on a
tidal current in a shallow water environment. The eddy viscosity near the surface will be affected by
the presence of waves. In the core region (above the bottom oscillatory boundary layer), similar to the
eddy viscosity used for wind over water waves (Townsend (1972)), we adopt the following eddy vis-
cosity νe to account for the effect of the moving surface η and the water depth h on the eddy viscosity:

where ν is the molecular viscosity, uf the friction velocity and κ = 0.4. Both z and η in equation (1)
have been normalized by the inverse of the wave number. In the core region, the friction velocity
uf is dominated by the turbulent current but slightly affected by the presence of waves, thus the
friction velocity uf will take a value different from that without waves. Inside the bottom oscillatory
boundary layer where the effect of η can be omitted, we adopt the linear eddy viscosity mode of
Grant and Madsen (1986), who showed that waves may greatly enhance the turbulence intensity in
this thin layer and leads to friction velocity uf larger than that in the core region.
The total velocity of the mean motion can be written as the sum of the unperturbed turbulent cur-
rent and the wave-induced current uc . After a perturbation analysis, it was found that a second-order,
non-zero mean shear stress exists on the mean surface even without wind (Huang and Mei (2003)),
who also showed that in the core region the mean shear stress experienced by uc can be expressed by

in which A is the dimensionless wave amplitude (normalized by the typical wave amplitude), The
dimensionless friction velocity in the core region αc is defined by

with C being the wave speed and ε the wave slope. The dimensionless friction velocity inside the
bottom wave boundary layer (αb ) and the dimensionless friction velocity without waves (α0 ) are
defined in a similar way. β is the dissipation rate of wave energy, which has been given in Huang and
Mei (2003) for a spatially-decaying waves in a turbulent current. The shape of the unperturbed eddy
viscosity and the shape of the surface distortion of the eddy viscosity are given, respectively, by

In (2), symbol Im (·) stands for the imaginary part of its argument. K (Z), a function describing the
bottom Stokes boundary layer, is defined by

with K0 (Z) being the Kelvin function of the zero-th order. Zδ is the thickness of the bottom wave
boundary layer, determined by a matching procedure (Huang and Mei(2003)). It can be seen from
(2) that the perturbed mean shear stress is controlled by the following factors: (1) the surface
distortion of eddy viscosity; (2) wave-induced change of the friction velocity; (3) wave-damping;
(4) wave-induced Reynolds stress due to the bottom Stokes layer, and (5) the curvature of the
eddy viscosity. Predicted wave attenuation and mean velocity profile agree well with available

122
Figure 1. Comparison between the measured (circles) and the predicted (solid line) mean velocity for
wave-opposing current. The dashed line is the mean velocity without waves. Data points are from the run
WDR4 of Kemp and Simons (1983) for wave-opposing current, which shows the increase mean velocity near
surface by opposing wave. Symbol cross (x) is the location where velocity patching was made. The water depth
was 0.2 m, wavelength 1.23 m and the wave amplitude 2.5 cm.

experiments. Figure 1 shows the comparison of the measured and predicted mean velocity profiles
for wave-opposing current. To certain extent, the change of the mean current profile due to waves
will contribute to the generation of the longitudinal vorticity discussed in the next section.

3 LONGITUDINAL VORTICES DUE TO INSTABILITY

Longitudinal vortices in shallow water can produce large-scale cellular motions similar to Langmuir
circulations in deep sea. These cellular motions can extend down to the bottom in a water of finite
depth, thus are crucial to the mixing processes and the transport of suspended sediment in shallow
water environments. We present a linear instability analysis to study the unstable growth of a span-
wise perturbation to the two-dimensional wave-current system. Similar problems for wind-driven
current comparable to the wave orbital velocity in deep seas have been studied by Craik (1982) and
Phillips (1997). We study here the problem for tidal current in a shallow water environment. Follow-
ing a standard perturbation analysis (Huang (2003)) , the linearized equations governing the longi-
tudinal velocity u0 and the longitudinal vorticity ξ0 of the span-wise periodic motion are obtained

which are supplemented by, respectively, the definition of the longitudinal vorticity and continuity
equation for the span-wise perturbation.

In equation (7), Us is the Stokes drift computed by the linear waves. The second term on the left-
hand side of equation (6) is due to the shear in the unperturbed current which is logarithmic with

123
Figure 2. Illustration of the physical mechanism of instability caused by mean surface stress (equation (9)).
The undisturbed current, absence from the mean stress on the surface, is not shown in the figure.

respect to the distance from the bottom; the third term on the left-hand side of (6) is due to the
shear in the wave-induced current (uc ), whose shear rate in the core is comparable with that of the
unperturbed current (see Huang and Mei (2003)). The nonlinear interaction between the primary
waves and the secondary waves (due to the interaction between primary waves and the span-wise
perturbation) produces a non-zero mean shear stress on the mean surface which is the one of the
surface boundary conditions of the spane-wise motion (Huang (2003), Huang and Mei (2004))

where u0 the longitudinal mean velocity, w0 vertical mean velocity, and ζ0 = −∂u0 /∂y the vertical
vorticity. s is a known numerical parameter depending on the wave and current conditions (Huang
(2003)). The other surface boundary conditions are ∂v0 /∂z = 0 and w0 = 0 on the mean surface.
No-slip and no-flux are required on the bottom.
The non-zero mean shear stress (9) couples the transverse motion (v0 , w0 ) with the longitudinal
motion (u0 ) and causes a further growth of the span-wise perturbation, as illustrated in the Figure 2.
Suppose that surface has the initial surface divergence/convergence due to small perturbation (see
Leibovich (1983)), there must be upwelling and down-welling motion as sketched in Figure 2.
Consider a half y-period where ∂w0 /∂y > 0 in the core but ∂w0 /∂y = 0 on the mean surface. It
then follows that near the water surface the vertical gradient of ∂w0 /∂y is negative. Because of
(9), there will be a downward influx of the vertical vorticity. This influx is diffused downward
by eddy viscosity to increase the vertical vorticity in the core. In view of (7), the increment of
vertical vorticity ζ0 forces further increase of the longitudinal vorticity ξ0 by the shear in the Stokes
drift, which in turn forces further increase of the vertical vorticity on account of (6). Thus surface
boundary condition (9) contributes to the unstable growth of span-wise perturbation. Within the
half-y period where ∂w0 /∂y < 0 in the core region, all signs reversed.
It is found by numerical examples that this non-zero mean shear stress is as important as the
vortex force in the formation of the longitudinal vortices by an instability mechanism. There are
two vertical modes which may grow in time. The first mode is due mainly to the surface stress
(cf. (9)); while the second mode is driven by both the vortex force in the core and the mean shear
stress on the surface. Effects of wave steepness (ε), wave number of span-wise perturbation (K),
water depth (kh) and relative current strength uf /C on the growth rate of the span-wise perturbation

124
Figure 3. Left figure: Computed cell pattern of longitudinal vortex motion for ε = 0.18 in which the arrows
indicate the flow direction and the numbers indicate the values of stream function; Right figure: Growth rates
of the second mode as a function of the lateral wave-number K and wave slope ε in which the numbers indicate
the growth rate σr . Conditions: uf /C = 0.003, kh = 1.0 and zb = 2 × 10−6 .

Figure 4. Longitudinal vortices due to sidewalls in current following waves. U0 is the unperturbed
open-channel flow which has boundary layer structures near the two sidewalls.

σr were studied by Huang (2003), who found that the second mode is more important to the transport
processes. Figure 3 shows a typical cell pattern and contour of the growth rate σr in (σr , K) space
for the second mode. The minimum wave slope needed for the instability is ε = 0.06 below which
the wave-current system is stable to all span-wise perturbations. The maximum growth rate occurs
at ε = 0.1 and K = 3.8. Further increasing wave slope will reduce the growth rate due to the wave-
induced reduction of the mean velocity near the surface (i.e. negative shear rate ∂uc /∂z in (6)).
Longitudinal vortices can also be formed in a wave-opposing current, but they are much weaker
than those in a wave-following current and are of less practical importance.

4 LONGITUDINAL VORTICES DUE TO SIDEWALLS

In laboratory experiments on the formation of longitudinal vortices, effects of side walls cannot
be neglected. As strong shears (due to sidewall current boundary layers) exist near the sidewalls,
a pair of longitudinal vortices can be formed in both the wave-following and opposing currents.
Consider waves following a turbulent current in a tank as shown in Figure 4. The vertical vortices
exist due to current boundary layers next to sidewalls and are finite in magnitude. The presence of

125
the finite vertical vorticity will produce longitudinal vorticity because of the vortex force (cf. (7)).
As a result, traces placed on water surface will eventually collect themselves in the centerline of
the wave tank. For wave-opposing current, all signs of vertical and longitudinal vortices reversed,
and tracers placed on the water surface will collect themselves next to the two sidewalls. In view
of the analysis given above, the longitudinal vortices measured by Klopman (1997) were not the
results of the instability of the wave-current system. Therefore it is not appropriate to use them to
test the theory on the instability of the wave-current system to the span-wise perturbations.

5 DISCUSSION

Two important aspects of the wave-current interaction in shallow water have been discussed here: the
change of the turbulent mean current by waves and the instability of the wave-current system to
the span-wise perturbations which leads to the generation of longitudinal vortices. It is found that
the surface distortion of the eddy viscosity contribute most to the change of the velocity profile
of the turbulent current. The nonlinear interaction between waves and current gives rise to a mean
shear stress at the mean surface, which has a span-wise variation and contributes a great deal
to the growth of the span-wise perturbation in both wave-following and wave-opposing currents.
The theory presented here can find its application in the study of the transport of fine sediment
grains or nutrients in the coastal environment where the swells and tidal currents dominate. Even
though Craik and leibovich instability theory provides us a mechanism to explain the presence of
longitudinal vorticity in a wave-current system, but it is still subject to observational verification
both in field and in laboratory conditions. It seems so far that this verification is not an easy task
on account of the complex field conditions and the sidewall effects in the laboratory conditions.
The work was supported by US Office of Naval Research (Grant N00014-89J-3128,
Dr. Thomas Swean) and US National Science Foundation (Grant CTS-0075713, Dr. C.F. Chen
and Dr. M. Plesniak).

REFERENCES

Craik, A.D.D. 1982. Wave-induced longitudinal vortex instability in shear layer. J. Fluid Mech. 125: 37–52.
Craik, A.D.D. and Leibovich, S. 1976. A rational model for Langmuir circulation. J. Fluid Mech. 73: 401–426.
Grant, W.D. and Madsen, O.S. 1986. The continental shelf bottom boundary layer. Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech.
18: 265–305.
Huang, Z.H. 2003. Wave-current interaction in water of finite depth. PhD thesis, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Huang, Z.H. and Mei, C.C. 2004 Effects of surface waves on a turbulent current over a smooth or rough seabed.
J. Fluid Mech., 497, 253–287.
Huang, Z.H. and Mei, C.C. 2004. Wave induced longitudinal vortices in a shallow current. Submitted to
J. Fluid Mech.
Kemp, P.H. and Simons, R.A. 1983. The interaction between waves and a turbulent current: wave propagating
against the current. J. Fluid Mech. 130: 73–85.
Klopman, G. 1997. Secondary circulation of the flow due to waves and current: Laser-doppler flow
measurements for waves following or opposing current. Tech. Rep. Z2249. Delft Hydraulics.
Langmuir, I. 1938. Surface motion of water induced by wind. Science 87: 119–123.
Leibovich, S. 1983. The form and dynamics of Langmuir circulation. Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 15: 391–427.
Longuet-Higgins, M.S. 1953. Mass transport in water waves. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. (A) 245: 535–581.
Phillips, W.R.C. 1998. Finite-amplitude rotational waves in viscous shear flows. Stud. Appl. Math. 101: 23–47.
Szeri, A.J. 1996. Langmuir circulations on Rodeo lagoon. Monthly Weather Review, 124(2): 341–342.
Townsend, A.A. 1972. Flow in a deep turbulent boundary layer over a surface distorted by water waves.
J. Fluid Mech., 55: 719–753.

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1.2 Mixing and transport – II
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Field tests on transverse mixing in natural streams

I.W. Seo, K.O. Baek & T.M. Jeon

Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

ABSTRACT: Tracer tests were conducted in natural streams to investigate the characteristics
of the transverse mixing of pollutants. These field tests were carried out at six different sites in
Han River system in Korea, three in Sum River, two in Hongcheon River, and one in Cheongmi
Stream. At each field test, six transections were selected to obtain hydraulic and concentration data.
Using the acquired concentration data and hydraulic data, the transverse dispersion coefficients
were evaluated via three methods such as moment method, modified moment method, and routing
procedure which is newly proposed in this study. Those results calculated by three methods are in
good agreement with each other. It is also found that the transverse dispersion coefficient (TDC)
is inversely proportional to the dimensionless radius of curvature of the meander (Rc /W ), whereas
TDC is increasing as the aspect ratio (W /H ) increases. TDC also tends to increase with increasing
ratio of average velocity to the shear velocity (U /U∗ ).

1 INTRODUCTION

There is lack of studies on the two-dimensional tracer test in natural streams compared with those
in laboratory channels. The transverse dispersion coefficients have been observed in the laboratory
channel and can be well predicted at such situations. However, predictions were not credible when
trying to extend this information to natural stream flows. Thus, it is necessary to perform field
tests in order to determine the transverse dispersion coefficient of a particular river at given stages.
In this study, field tracer tests were conducted in three streams at six reaches which had various
meandering patterns. And transverse mixing characteristics in natural streams were analyzed and
determining method of the transverse dispersion coefficient was newly developed.

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The simple moment method was derived by several researchers (Sayre and Chang, 1968; Holley,
1971 and Holley et al., 1972). When both the velocity and depth are constant, and the transverse
velocity are negligible small, the simple moment equation can be written as

where DT is the transverse dispersion coefficient; U is mean velocity; and σy2 is the variance about
the transverse distribution of depth-averaged concentration.
Beltaos (1980) proposed another moment method which was derived through the stream-tube
concept. The governing equation is

129
where q is the flow discharge between the left bank and any location at y. Also, the diffusion factor,
ET , can be written as

where  is a dimensionless shape-velocity factor found to lie in the range  = 1.0∼3.6 (Sayre,
1979; Beltaos, 1980) and defined by

where Q is total flow discharge. Normalizing C and q through the definitions, Equation (2) can be
transformed as

1
where η ≡ q/Q; C  ≡ C/C∞ ; and C∞ = 0 Cdη. Through Equation (5), the moment method
combined with the stream-tube concept can be derived as (Baek, 2004)

where ση2 , η0 are the variance and centroid of the C  − η distribution respectively; and C0 , C1
are normalized concentration at left bank and right bank, respectively. Plotting ση2 versus corre-
sponding values should result in a straight line of slope 2ET /Q2 , which can be used to compute the
corresponding value of DT .
The preceding analysis, Equation (1) and Equation (6), apply only when concentration is inde-
pendent of time, i.e., for steady-state concentration condition. However, Beltaos (1975) showed
that moment methods also be applied to the results of transient tests without complex calculation,
if C is replaced by the dosage which is defined by

where θ is dosage of the solute mass.

The stream-tube routing procedure is developed in this study. The concept of the stream-tube
routing procedure is to combine the stream-tube model and the routing procedure. Using the
routing procedure (Fischer, 1968) one can obtain dispersion coefficient by matching a downstream
observation of passage of a tracer cloud to the prediction based on an upstream observation. The
conceptual diagram of an application of the stream-tube routing procedure at a stream is shown in
Figure 1. The derivation of the stream-tube routing procedure can start with Equation (5). Recalling
the suggestion of Beltaos (1975) under the transient concentration condition, the dimensionless
dosage is defined as

where S is dimensionless dosage and  is total dosage. In Equation (5), C  is substituted into S,
then Equation (5) becomes

130
where BC is a bulk dispersion coefficient defined as

The analytical solution to Equation (9) for a vertical line source being instantaneously injected at
x = 0, η = ω can be obtained (Carslaw and Jaeger, 1959) as:

Based on Fischer (1968), the stream-tube routing equation can be expressed as (Baek, 2004)

where S(x1 , ω) is the observed dosage as a function of dimensionless discharge at an upstream

site, S(x2 , η) is the predicted dosage as a function of dimensionless discharge at a downstream site,
and ω is a normalized dummy transverse distance variable of integration. Through Equation (12),
the dosage profile at a downstream can be calculated, and then by fitting between the calculated
dosage and the observed dosage, the bulk coefficient can be evaluated. Using the acquired bulk
coefficient, the transverse dispersion coefficient can be calculated as

3 FIELD TESTS

In order to conduct field tests, three mid-sized streams were selected considering the degree of a
meander, hydraulic characteristics, and so on. The Sum River and the Cheongmi Stream which are

Figure 1. Sum River test reaches.

131
Figure 2. Cheongmi Stream test reach.

Figure 3. Hongcheon River test reaches.

Figure 4. Installation of measuring equipments.

132
tributaries of the South Han River, and the Hongcheon River which is tributary of the North Han
River were selected as the test sites. The layout of the test reaches are shown in Figures 1∼3. The
measuring systems of the tracer are depicted in Figure 4. Lateral lines which were fixed by piles
located at both banks were set up perpendicular to a flow direction. The interval of each lateral line
ranged 200∼400 m, and six lateral lines were set up at each test reach (Figures 1∼3). Using lateral
lines, measurements of the hydraulic and concentration data were performed.
Before the tracer tests, both velocity and depth were measured at each transection using the
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) of which the principle of operation is based on the
Doppler effects. After finishing measurement of velocity and depth, tracer tests were performed
in the same locations. Among the radioisotopes, I-131 was used as a tracer. In order to conduct
two-dimensional analysis, the tracer was injected instantaneously into the stream as a full-depth
vertical line source at the centerline of the stream width. The concentration of a tracer was detected
at ten points transversely at the mid-depth.

4 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

4.1 Hydraulic data

Through field experiments of six cases, the mean hydraulic data could be obtained. Natural streams
at which experiments were conducted are about 30∼100 m wide and 0.3∼2 m deep. Distributions
of the depth-averaged primary velocity and depth at each transection for the case of S-Expt 2 are
plotted in Figure 5. The reach of S-Expt 2 consisted of alternative bends so that the thalweg was
biased toward the left bank in the first bend, and skewed toward the right bank in the second bend.
Also, the transverse distribution of the velocity arose according to the trace of thalweg.

4.2 Concentration data

After finishing measurement of velocity and depth, tracer tests were performed in the same tran-
sections. In general, high concentration was detected transversely according to the high flow
discharge through the whole experiments. In order to visualize the behavior of the tracer cloud, the
concentration spatial distributions which could be obtained through the concentration-time curve
by the interpolation technique are plotted in Figure 6 for the case of H-Expt 1. As shown in Figure 6,
it is obviously observed that the core of the tracer cloud is biased toward the outer bank by the

Figure 5. Distributions of velocity and depth on S-Expt 2.

133
Figure 6. Behavior of tracer cloud for H-Expt 1.

effect of meander. It is observed that the tracer cloud is transporting downstream following the
maximum velocity line.

5 EVALUATION OF TRANSVERSE DISPERSION COEFFICIENTS

The simple moment method and the stream-tube moment method were used to evaluate the trans-
verse dispersion coefficient. When the simple moment method and the stream-tube moment method
are applied to test sites, the dispersion coefficients can be obtained through the gradient of the vari-
ances according to longitudinal distance. The results of applying the stream-tube routing procedure
are tabulated in Table 1. As shown in Table 1, the results of the stream-tube routing procedure agree
well with those of other methods. The observed transverse dispersion coefficients in the cases of
the S-curved reach and the sharp curved reach were higher than those in other cases. This means
that the additional transverse mixing occurs due to the effect of the sharp or alternative meander.
On the other hand, the transverse dispersion coefficients in the mild curved reaches were not higher
than those in the straight reach. This implies that a mild curvature may little affect the increase of
the transverse mixing.

134
 Table 1. Comparison of observed transverse dispersion coefficients.

DT /HU∗

Simple MM Stream-tube MM Stream-tube RP

Case Eq. (1) Eq. (6) Eq. (12)

S-Expt 1 0.45 0.43 0.46 Sec. 3 – 6

S-Expt 2 0.76 0.85 1.21 Sec. 2 – 4
S-Expt 3 0.27 0.32 0.30 Sec. 1 – 5
C-Expt 1 0.24 0.34 0.27 Sec. 2 – 5
H-Expt 1 0.47 0.85 0.64 Sec. 2 – 6
H-Expt 2 0.24 0.24 0.23 Sec. 2 – 6

1 1.2 1.4
a) DT /HU* vs. W/H b) DT /HU* vs. RC /W 1.2 c) DT /HU* vs. U/U*
0.8 1
1
0.8
DT / HU*

DT / HU*
DT / HU*

0.6 0.8
0.6
0.4 0.6
0.4
0.4
0.2 Simple MM
S-T MM 0.2 0.2
S-T RP
0 0 0
50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0 5 10 15
W/H RC / W U / U*

Figure 7. Transverse dispersion coefficients according to hydraulic ratios.

In order to investigate the effect of the geometric and hydraulic properties on the transverse
dispersion coefficients more quantatively, plots of the dimensionless dispersion coefficients versus
the hydraulic ratios are depicted in Figure 7. As the ratio of width to depth becomes larger, the
transverse dispersion coefficients tend to increase irrespective of evaluation methods (Figure 7a).
On the other side, the transverse dispersion coefficients are in inverse proportion to the ratio of
curvature to width (Figure 7b). This result is reasonable because large radius of curvature decreases
the meandering effect on the transverse mixing. And the transverse dispersion coefficients have a
tendency to increase, as the ratio of mean velocity to shear velocity becomes larger (Figure 7c).

6 CONCLUSIONS

The transverse mixing characteristics in meandering streams were analyzed two-dimensionally, and
calculation methods of the transverse dispersion coefficient were developed. As the result of field
experiments, it was observed that the transverse distributions of the velocity and depth were biased
by the effects of the meander. Through the tracer tests, it was observed that the tracer cloud spread
following the peak velocity line. Using the stream-tube routing procedure proposed in this study,
the transverse dispersion coefficients were determined in each field site. The evaluated transverse
dispersion coefficients by the routing procedure were in good agreement with those by the moment
method and the stream-tube moment method. Those results calculated by three methods are in good
agreement with each other. It is also found that the transverse dispersion coefficient is inversely
proportional to the dimensionless radius of curvature of the meander (Rc /W ), whereas TDC is
increasing as the aspect ratio (W /H ) increases. TDC also tends to increase with increasing ratio of
average velocity to the shear velocity (U /U∗ ).

135
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research work was supported by the 21C Frontier project of the Ministry of Science and
Technology. This research conducted in the Research Institute of Engineering Science of Seoul
National University, Seoul, Korea. The authors thank KICT, KAERI, and GeoGlobus for acquisition
of field data.

REFERENCES

Beak, K. O. 2004. Transverse mixing in meandering channels with unsteady pollutant source. PhD thesis,
Seoul, Korea.
Beltaos, S. 1975. Evaluation of transverse mixing coefficients from slug tests. J. of Hydr. Res., IAHR, 13(4),
351–360.
Beltaos, S. 1980. Transverse mixing tests in natural streams. J. of Hydr. Div., ASCE, 106(HY10), 1607–1625.
Carslaw, H. S., and Jaeger, J. C. 1959. Conduction of heat in solids, Oxford University Press, New York.
Fischer, H. B. 1968. Dispersion predictions in natural streams. J. Sanit. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 94(SA5), 927–943.
Holley, E. R. 1971. Transverse mixing in rivers. Laboratory Report No. S-132, Delft Hydraulics Lab., Delft,
Netherlands.
Holley, E. R., Siemons, J., and Abraham, G. 1972. Some aspects of analyzing transverse diffusion in rivers.
J. of Hydr. Res., IAHR, 10(1), 27–57.
Sayre, W. W. 1979. Shore-attached thermal plumes in rivers. Modelling in Rivers, Wiley-interscience, London.
Sayre, W. W., and Chang, F. M. 1968. A laboratory investigation of open channel dispersion processes for
dissolved, suspended, and floating dispersants. Professional Paper No. 433-E, U.S. Geological Survey.

136
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Effects of variable river geometry on longitudinal dispersion

Mirmosadegh Jamali
Department of Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Teheran, Iran

Gregory A. Lawrence
Department of Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

ABSTRACT: Most analyses of turbulent mixing in rivers assume constant hydraulic geometry
(width, depth, and velocity), despite the fact that in natural rivers these variables typically increase
downstream. A comprehensive set of data for the rivers and streams in the United States is used to
derive generalized equations for variations in hydraulic geometry. As a preliminary investigation
of the importance of these variations, an approximate analytical solution to the one-dimensional
advective-dispersion equation is derived for rivers with variable velocity, cross-sectional area, and
dispersion coefficient. The solution compares well with previous analyses of field data, and is used
to show that the downstream concentrations of a tracer are considerably lower than those calculated
assuming constant hydraulic geometry.

1 INTRODUCTION

Prediction of the impacts of contaminant discharges into rivers on downstream water quality is one
of the classic problems in Environmental Engineering, see Fischer et al. (1979) and Rutherford
(1994). In these books, and most other references on the subject, the hydraulic geometry (average
width, depth and velocity) of the river and the dispersion coefficients are generally assumed to
remain constant. However, the impact of a release may extend to a point where both the cross-
sectional area of the river and the discharge have increased considerably. The effects of variable
river properties are most likely to be important in the far-field where cross-sectional mixing is
complete and one-dimensional longitudinal dispersion dominates.
In its most general form the one-dimensional (longitudinal) advective-diffusion equation
(conservation of solute mass) can be written as:

where C is concentration, t is time, x is downstream distance, A is the cross-sectional area of the river,
u is the cross-sectionally averaged velocity, and K is the longitudinal dispersion coefficient. The
adequacy of the constant river model has been called into question for some time. Nordin and Sabol
(1974) reported that the constant Fickian type equation can not adequately describe longitudinal
dispersion in rivers. Day (1977a,b) found significant disagreement between his experimental results
and the solution of the constant longitudinal dispersion equation for an instantaneous point source.
His data showed that that the longitudinal dispersion coefficient increased indefinitely with distance
downstream.
Hunt (1999) used a similarity technique to find an analytical solution to the one-dimensional
equation in which the dispersion coefficient was linearly proportional to the distance downstream of
an instantaneous point source. He compared his solution and the results obtained with the constant
coefficient model with the field data of Day and Wood (1976) and Day (1977a,b) and concluded that

137
in all cases the variable dispersion coefficient model provided a much more accurate description
of experimental results.
Jobson (1996, 1997) reported tracer data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in over 60
different rivers representing a wide range of sizes, slopes, and geomorphic types. He incorporated
variations in hydraulic geometry in an empirical method to predict the rate of attenuation of the peak
concentration of a conservative contaminant, and to predict the time required for a contaminant
plume to pass a particular point.
The present paper presents an analytical solution to the one-dimensional dispersion equation
for an instantaneous point release into a river with slowly varying velocity, cross-sectional area,
and dispersion coefficient. The solution is then compared with the “standard” constant geometry
solution, the solution of Hunt (1999), and with the results of Jobson (1996, 1997). Calculations
are presented that demonstrate the potential importance of variations in hydraulic geometry on
longitudinal dispersion.

2 THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT

The hydraulic characteristics of a river or stream are the main factors in determining the rate of
mixing and dispersion of a solute. As a river flows downstream, tributaries add to the discharge
and as a result, river width, depth, and velocity increase. Our primary objective is to solve the
advective-diffusion equation (1) for the case where A, u and K are slowly varying functions of
downstream position. Before attempting to solve (1) it is useful to examine how these properties
vary in a general sense.

2.1 Variations of river properties

Even though all rivers are different, downstream variations of river properties tend to follow certain
hydraulic equations, see Leopold (1994). To provide a framework for the assessment of the effects
of downstream variations on dispersion we use a summary of data for the rivers and streams of
the United States first presented by Leopold (1962) and later extended by Keup (1985). Linearly
regressing the width w (m), depth d (m), and velocity u (m/s) against the discharge Q (m3 /s) in the
data set yields:

The purpose of (2) is not to accurately describe any particular river system, but to provide a
framework for our analysis of the effects of variations in hydraulic geometry on dispersion. Jamali
et al. (2004) extended Keup’s data set and found the following equation for variation of Q (m3 /s)
with x̂(m), where x̂ denote the distance from the river source.

Combining (2) and (3), and noting that x̂ = x + L, where x is the distance downstream of the
spill, and L is the distance between the spill location and the river source, gives

where the subscript o refers to conditions at the spill location. The distance L can be also interpreted
as a representative length-scale for variation of the properties of the river. From (4), the equation
for the downstream variation in cross-sectional area is

138
 Therefore, the variation of cross-sectional area with downstream distance cannot be ignored
unless x  L. Note that if the river discharge at the spill location Qo = 10 m3 /s, then (3) yields
L = 46 km, so there are likely to be many circumstances where variation of the cross-sectional area
is important.
Another important factor in the analysis of downstream mixing is the longitudinal dispersion
coefficient, which specifies the rate of dispersion along the river once cross-sectional mixing is
complete. An approximate expression for the longitudinal dispersion coefficient is given by:

(Fischer et al., 1979), where u∗ is shear velocity. Taking the shear velocity to be proportional to u,
from (4) we can write:

The above equations will be used in the application of our solution of longitudinal dispersion in
rivers with varying characteristics.

2.2 Solution to the variable coefficient advective-diffusion equation

Jamali et al. (2004) found the following approximate solution to the variable coefficient advective-
diffusion equation (1) for an instantaneous release of a point mass M into an infinitely long river
at x = 0 and t = 0, when u, K, and A all vary downstream.

where x̄(t) is the distance traveled by the center of the tracer cloud in time t and is calculated from

The key assumption in derivation of (8)

√ is that in natural rivers the length-scale L is much greater
than the diffusion length-scale Ld ≈ 2Kt, which is generally valid (Jamali et al., 2004). When
u, A and K are constant, (8) reduces to the solution for a uniform river. Note that Equation (8) is
also the fundamental solution to the variable-geometry river problem when L  Ld regardless of
the form of variation of A, u, and K with x. With (8) the solution to a wide range of problems
including continuous releases, or problems with different initial and boundary conditions can be
constructed using the techniques discussed in Fisher et al. (1979).

3 COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS AND FIELD DATA

Hunt (1999) considered the problem of one-dimensional dispersion in a uniform river (constant
u and A) in which the longitudinal dispersion coefficient increases linearly with the downstream
distance from the release location of an instantaneous point source, i.e. K = εux, where ε is a
constant and x = 0 is the release point. A comparison of (8) and Hunt’ solution for ε = 0.01 is given
in Figure 1, which indicates a good agreement between the solutions.

139
 Hunt (1999) Equation 8
5

Aut C(x,t)/M
3

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
x/ut

Figure 1. Comparison of our solution with that of Hunt (1999) for ε = 0.01. A and u are assumed constant
for the purpose of comparison.

Jobson (1997) showed that the quantity:

known as unit-peak concentration, has strong correlation with travel time t of tracer according to the
field measurements for 422 cross sections obtained from more than 60 different rivers in the U.S.
These data represent mixing conditions in rivers with a wide range of size, slope, and geomorphic
type. All the measured rivers had varying hydraulic geometry in the downstream direction. From
a regression analysis of the field data, Jobson (1996, 1997) found that:

with β = 0.89. This value of β is close to the value of 0.7 reported by Nordin and Sabol (1974).
Fickian dispersion in a uniform river yields β = 0.5 (Fischer et al., 1979). Using (10), we obtain
β = 0.91 at large times (Jamali et al., 2004). Therefore, an explanation for the deviation of β
from the Fickian value of 0.5 is that the river geometry variations facilitate attenuation of the peak
concentration.

4 APPLICATION OF SOLUTION

The analytical solution provides a tool for calculating downstream concentrations in a river with
varying hydraulic geometry. The solution is used here to assess the impact of an accidental release
of 90 tonnes of a miscible liquid, corresponding to the approximate size of a rail car, into a small
river with w0 = 23 m, d0 = 0.64 m, u0 = 0.68 m/s, and k0 = 62 m2 /s.
In Figure 2, the peak concentration curves from the uniform- and variable-river models are com-
pared. It is seen that the uniform river model greatly overestimates the downstream concentrations.
It takes more than 1200 km for the concentration to drop below 100 mg/L in the uniform river
model, but less than 100 km in the variable river model. In reality a river vary considerably over a
few hundreds kilometer, so the uniform river model is not appropriate for an accurate prediction
of dispersion in a small river.

140
 Uniform-river Model Variable-river model
10000

1000
Cpeak (mg/L)

100

10
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
x (km)

Figure 2. Comparison of the peak concentration curves obtained from the variable-coefficient and
uniform-river model for the release scenario of 90 tonnes of miscible liquid into a small river (Q0 = 10 m3 /s).

5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

We have presented the fundamental solution to the one-dimensional advective-diffusion equation

for a river with variable velocity, cross-sectional area, and longitudinal dispersion coefficient. The
results are consistent with the field data of Jobson (1996, 1997) and the theoretical results of Hunt
(1999), and provide support for the contention that downstream variations in river properties are
important. When the variable coefficients are allowed to vary in accordance with the results of
Keup (1985), the rate of attenuation of peak concentration is much higher than predicted using the
standard constant coefficient solution and is consistent with Jobson’s (1996, 1997) analysis of data
from 60 different rivers. The solution was used to provide an assessment of the possible behavior
of an accidental instantaneous release of a miscible liquid into a typical small river. The resulting
concentrations were very much less than those predicted using the standard solution.
The primary limitation to the discussed model is that the exact one-dimensional dispersion
equation (1) is not always appropriate. It should not be applied immediately downstream of the
discharge before cross-sectional mixing is complete. This limitation can be very important in the
case of a non-buoyant discharge, although it is of less concern in the case of a highly buoyant
substance, like methanol, where transverse mixing is accelerated.

REFERENCES

Day, T. J., and Wood, I. R. 1976. “Similarity of the mean motion of fluid particles dispersing in a natural
channel.” Water Resour. Res., 12(4), 655–666.
Day, T. J. 1977a. “Longitudinal dispersion of fluid particles in mountain streams: 1.Theory and field evidence.”
J. Hydro. New Zealand, 16(1), 7–25.
Day, T. J. 1977b. “Longitudinal dispersion of fluid particles in mountain streams: 2. Similarity of the mean
motion and its application.” J. Hydro. New Zealand, 16(1), 26–52.
Fischer, H. B., List, E. J., Koh, R. Y. C., Imberger, J., and Brooks, N. H. 1979. Mixing in inland and coastal
waters. Academic Press, San Diego, Calif.
Hunt, B. 1999. “Dispersion model for mountain streams.” J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE, 125(2), 99–105.

141
Jamali, M., Lawrence, G., and Maloney, K. 2004. “Dispersion in varying-geometry rivers with application to
methanol releases.” To appear in J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE.
Jobson, H. E. 1996. “Prediction of travel time and longitudinal dispersion in rivers and streams.” Water-
Resources Investigations Rep. 89-4133, U.S. Geological Survey.
Jobson, H. E. 1997. “Predicting travel time and dispersion in rivers and streams.” J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE,
123(11), 971–978.
Keup, L. E. 1985. “Flowing water resources.” Water Resour. Bull., 21(2), 291–296.
Leopold, L. B. 1962. “Rivers.” American Scientist, 50, 511–537.
Leopold, L. B. 1994. A View of the River. Harvard University Press.
Nordin, C. F. Jr., and Sabol, G. V. 1974. “Empirical data on longitudinal dispersion in rivers.” Water-Resour.
Investigations, 20–74, U. S. Geological Survey.
Rutherford, J. C. 1994. River Mixing. John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., England.

142
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Vertical turbulent mixing in tidal estuary

Yanliang Du
Hydrosoft Technology Institute, Japan

Junda Chu
Environmental Science & Engineering College, Hohai University, China

ABSTRACT: The vertical turbulent mixing of the isodensity oscillation current in tide estuary
has been studied in this paper. On the basis of the governing equation and character analysis of
the tidal flow, the expression of time-space distribution of shear stress, which is influenced by
gravity and inertia, has been derived. Considering the terms of gravity and inertia, the theoretical
equation of turbulent exchange coefficient of the tide estuary flow has been developed. Then the
vertical average and the time average equations have also been obtained. To verify those equations,
the time-space distribution of vertical turbulent exchange coefficient in Yangtze Estuary has been
calculated according to measure data. Its variation character with the flood and ebb tide has been
analyzed.

1 INTRODUCTION

Usually the turbulent exchange coefficient Ez of channel is calculated by the equation of

Ez = 0.067HU ∗ (Lane E.W. & Kalinske A.A), which only considers the influence of gravity. In tidal
estuary, Ez becomes more complex when the current moves to and fro, and Ez should vary with the
tide flow. It is difficult to obtain the value of bottom shear stress, which causes vertical mixing, nei-
ther on theory nor on really measure. Therefore usually the experienced equation has been applied
into practical case, such as the one developed by Bowdernis used to calculated the time-averaged
Ez , Ēz = 0.0025 ūa H . Evidently, the variation of Ez in the whole tide period can’t be obtained by
that one. Tamai Nobuyuki used electromagnetism velocity meter and hotwire velocity meter to
measure the tideway of Tama River in Japan and got much data of turbulence, used the Taylor’s
equation, Ez has been calculated, and the equation has been obtained as Ez = 0.0005(1 + sin 2ωt)
by analysis. It can be seen easily that Ez varies periodically with time, and the period is half of the
tidal. Ez equals 0 when slack tide. In that equation, Ez has no relationship with the hydrodynamic
characteristic, and that sounds unreasonable. In this paper further research and analysis on the
vertical turbulent exchange coefficient of the tidal estuary have been carried out on the former
achievements of scholars.

2 HYDRODYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF TIDAL ESTUARY

2.1 Basic equation

Considering of density gradient, the basic equation of tidal flow is:

143
where u = longitudinal velocity component; v = lateral velocity component; x = longitudinal direc-
tion; t = time; z = vertical direction; H = averaged depth of flow; g = gravitational acceleration;
I = surface slope; τ = shear stress; D = density gradient, D = H /2ρ · ∂ρ/∂x.

2.2 Determination of hydraulic factors

H.B. Fisher mentioned that longitudinal velocity of tidal flow could be calculated by u = ua sin ωt
in estuary. Yuliang Li and Zhengju Bian ect. Used u(z, t) = [Us + u∗ /κln(1 − η)]sin(ωt − φ) when
study on longitudinal dispersion of tide flow. In which u(z, t) is logarithm profile in vertical. It was
also supposed that both velocity direction of the surface flow and bottom flow change simultane-
ously. Miu Jin used u = Us ηm sin(ωt − φ) for Huangpu River in China. On the research of to and
fro oscillation current, Anthony Kay used equation as u(t) = U1 + U2 sin ωt, where η = relatively
depth; η = z/H ; m = velocity exponent; κ = Karman constant; ω = angular frequency; ϕ = phase
difference, and subscript a = average value; s = values at water surface.
In this paper, considered the difference period of the tide flow and synthesizing Jin and Kay’s
equations, the velocity, slope and depth of tide flow are divided into two parts: the U1s , I1s , H1 are
of time-averaged flow and the U2s , I2s , H2 are caused by tidal flow, respectively, and the u has the
exponent distribution in vertical, it is expressed as:

It is supposed that there is no phase difference of velocity in whole depth. The process of the
surface slope and flow depth are I = I1s + I2s sin ωt and H = H1 + H2 sin(ωt − φh ).

2.3 Hydrodynamic analysis

Some data of the Yangtze River in Nantong section was used to analyze the quantity grade of each
term in equation (1). The quantity grade of D is 10−7 , and the others are all 10−5 . Hence the density
slope can be neglected, and equation (1) can be simplified as:

Used equation (2) to calculate u, each term in equation (3) may be written as

Used the continual equation, other terms can be obtained, then integrated it over η and input the
boundary condition as η = 0, v = 0, the following equation can be get.

Equation (3) can be transformed to

Substituting the equations (4) and (5) into (6), integrate over η, then τ = τ (I , H , g, ρ, U , η, . . .) + C.
Input the boundary condition η = 1, τ = 0, and obtain C, then the shear stress distribution of tide
flow in equation (6) can be rewritten as:

144
 It may be seen from equation (7) that the shear stress is divided into three parts: (1) part one is
caused by the gravity force; (2) the second term is caused by the spatial inertia; (3) the third one is
cause by the time inertia.

3 VERTICAL TURBULENT EXCHANGE COEFFICIENT

3.1 Theoretic equations

On the basis of the theory of Prandtl mixing length, the turbulent exchange coefficient or momentum
exchange coefficient νt can be written as

From equation (4), that is

Substituting equation (7) into (8), the turbulent exchange coefficient νt can also be written as three
parts. According to the Prandtl’s assume, the momentum of liquid particle hold the constant after
move the distance L, so that assume is based on steady uniform flow. It is unreasonable when that
assume is used into the time inertia term. For the gravity term and the spatial inertia term, it can be
supposed that the flow is approximate steady uniform flow in the minute t. Compared with the
gravity term, the time inertia term is less, and can be ignored. So νt can be written as two parts:
νt = νt1 + νt2 . Calculate each term of the equation respectively, both us and ū vary with the time.
According
√ to 3.2, the phase difference between velocity and surface slope can be ignored. Since
ū = Cc HI , νt1 can be rewritten as:

where Cc = Chezy coefficient. Then, the second part νt2 can be written as:

The sum of νt1 and νt2 is the theoretical vertical exchange coefficient, and the dimension is [L2 /T].
It varies with the varieties of depth and time. For the tideway, the processes of flood tide and ebb tide
can be regarded as two independent half period tidal processes, then ω, Us , Is have different value
in flood and ebb time respectively. Therefore it can be regarded as U1s = 0, I1s = 0 approximately,
hence νt can be derived as:

where m and H are also different in different time. θ1 = 1 and θ2 = 0, when it is ebb tide; and θ1 = 0
and θ2 = 1, when it is flood tide.

3.2 Calculation of vertical turbulent exchange coefficient in tideway

The observation data in Yangtze River are used to analyze and calculate the correlated terms for
the verification of equation (12).

145
3.2.1 Definitions of hydraulic factors
The observation data in this paper are from the spring and neap tides of Nantong section of Yangtze
estuary in Jan. 1999.
(1) Phase difference between velocity and surface slope
The process of velocity is lag than the surface slope, and the lagged phase is ϕ. Compared with
the whole tide period, ϕ is minute. According to the observations data of process of velocity and
surface slope in Fig. 1, ϕ can be ignored.
Therefore, the surface slope can be also written as I ≈ I0s sin(ωt − φ).
(2) Velocity exponent m
Lots of research works on velocity exponent m of nature river has been done, usually m = 1/6∼1/7.
m also be influenced by the flood tide and ebb tide, and become more complex. The values of m
are determined by observation data during relative stable flow of race ebb and flood tide. It may
be deduced that m = 1/6 for ebb tidal flow, m = 1/5 for ebb tidal flow. The comparison of velocity
calculated with observed in ebb and flood tide is shown in Fig. 2.
It can be seen from Fig. 2 that the velocity calculated and observed are in good agreement. It
shows that vertical velocity distribution during flow relative stable of race ebb tidal and race flood
tidal is coincident with that of channel flow.
(3) Variety of velocity amplitude with the distance
According to the spring tide data of Yangtze River in Jan. 1999, using the depth averaged 2D
numerical model, the vertical averaged velocity processes of two points located at upstream and
down stream respectively is obtained and showed in Fig. 3.
The distance of those calculated two points in Fig. 3 is 3119.4 m. It can be seen that the ebb tidal
period of upstream is longer than that of downstream, and it is reversed in flood tide. The difference
of velocity amplitude is about 0.09 m/s in ebb tide, while it is 0.05 m/s in flood tide. Let m = 1/6
in ebb tide and m = 1/5 in flood tide when those are transformed into the surface velocity, then the

0.8 2

0.4 1
Velocity (m/s)

Slope (×10-5)

0 0
7:20 13:20 19:20 1:20 7:20 Time 13:20
-0.4 -1

-0.8 -2
Velocity Slope
-1.2 -3

Figure 1. Process of velocity with surface slope.

1
=y/H

0.8

0.6
observations
0.4 calculated (m=1/6)
observations
0.2 calculated (m=1/5)
0
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
velocity (m/s)

Figure 2. Comparison of velocity calculated with observed data.

146
following can be obtained:

(4) Value of angular frequency ω

The current is influenced by river flow and the tide flow, the averaged period is about 12 hours and
25 minutes, the period of ebb tide is 8.25 hours, and that of flood tide is about 4.15 hours, so we
obtain ω as

(5) Phase difference ϕh between level and surface slope

According to the observation, we may obtain the phase difference ϕh = 1.115 between level and
surface slope, the water level amplitude H2e = 1.94 m of ebb tide and H2f = 0.77 m of flood tide.
The process of level and surface slope in Yangtze estuary is shown in Fig. 4.
So the process of the water depth is written as H = H1 + H2 sin(ωt + 0.355π).

3.2.2 Vertical distribution of turbulent exchange coefficient

Substituting equations above, we have carried out analysis and calculation on turbulent exchange
coefficient νt as follows.
The time of slack tide, ωt − ϕ = kπ, k = 0, ±1, ±2, . . . , and sin(ωt − ϕ) = 0, so νt = 0.

0.8

0.4
Velocity (m/s)

0
7:20 13:20 19:20 1:20 7:20 Time 13:20

-0.4

upstream downstream
-0.8

Figure 3. Velocity process of upstream and downstream in Yangtze River estuary.

4.4 2

3.6 1
Water Level (m)

Slope (×10-5)

2.8 0

2 -1

1.2 -2
Water Level Slope
0.4 -3
7:20 13:20 19:20 1:20 7:20 13:20
Time

Figure 4. Process of level and surface slope in Yangtze estuary.

147
 1 1

0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6
=y/H

=y/H
te2 te1 te tf2 tf1 tf
0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08
t (m2/s) t (m2/s)

Figure 5. Vertical distribution of νt in race ebb tide and flood tide.

The time of race ebb tide, ωt − ϕ = 2kπ + π/2, k = 0, ±1, ±2, . . . , and sin(ωt − ϕ) = 1, so

The time of race flood tide, ωt −φ = 2kπ + 3π/2, k = 0, ±1, ±2, . . . , then sin(ωt + φ) = −1, so

where the subscript e = values in ebb tide; f = values in flood tide. According to the observation
of Yangtze estuary, the vertical distribution of turbulent exchange coefficient in race ebb tide and
flood tide can be calculated, and be showed in Fig. 5.

3.2.3 Variation of vertical maximum and averaged νt with the time

The maximum exchange coefficient νtmax in vertical locals at η = 0.45 from Fig. 5, so it can also
be calculated by (12).
Integrate equation (12) of η, the averaged coefficient in vertical can be get.

Assumed ϕ = 0, inputted the ebb tide and flood tide value respectively, νt in the whole period can
be obtained and be showed in Fig. 6. From Fig. 6, νtmax varies with time, and reaches the maximum
in the ebb tide or flood tide.

3.3 Analysis of the result

A.A. Kalinske had ever observed the displacement of dyed sediment grain, its specific gravity is
larger than water, and deduced the turbulent intension and turbulent diffusivity, then obtained the
vertical distribution of diffusion coefficient and momentum exchange coefficient in channel flow.
Those values are about 0 at both bottom and surface. The maximum turbulent diffusion in vertical is
at y = 0.4H , while for momentum exchange coefficient, it is at y = 0.45H . In several decades after
A.A. Kalinske, many scholars researched this problem through experiments, such as Jobson, Ueda,
and get the same conclusion of uniformed flow, and only gravity term has been considered. In this

148
 0.04

Vertical averaged vt (m2/s)

0.03

0.02

0.01

0
0 10 20 30 40
Time (×103s)

Figure 6. Variation of vertical averaged νt with time.

paper, the studied material is dissolvable solute and has the same specific gravity as water, and
moves of solute with water particle are synchronous, so the values of turbulent diffusion coefficient
are same as turbulent momentum exchange coefficient.
Some conclusion can be followed from Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. (1) The vertical turbulent exchange
coefficient of estuary flow is composed with two parts: gravity term and inertial term. Usually
gravity term is larger than the later. (2) The vertical distribution of the coefficient closes to parabola.
The value is 0 at bottom and surface, and the maximum local at 0.45H . That is similar to the result
of A.A. Kalinske. (3) The exchange coefficient varies with tide, it is zero in slack tide, and reach
maximum at race ebb tide and flood tide. The maximum of flood tide is a little bigger than that
of ebb tide. (4) At the time of race ebb tide, the flow is similar to the channel flow, used Equation
(17) to calculate Ez = 0.037 m2 /s of the same section, and while Ez = 0.0389 m2 /s calculated by
Ez = 0.067HU ∗ . Those two values are approached.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, on the basis of the governing equation in estuary, the character of the tide flow has
been analyzed. The expression of time-space distribution of shear stress, which is influenced by
gravity and inertia, has been derived. Considering the terms of gravity and inertia, the theoretical
equation of turbulent exchange coefficient of the estuary flow has been developed. To verify those
equations, the time-space distribution of vertical turbulent exchange coefficient of Yangtze River’s
estuary has been calculated according to measure data. Its variation character following the flood
and ebb tide has been analyzed.

REFERENCES

Fischer, H.B, et al. 1979. Mixing in land and coastal waters. Academic Press, Inc. San Dalif.
Yongliang Zhang, Peizhe Liu, 1991. Handbook of water environmental capacity, Tsinghus University Press
522–528 (in Chinese).
Yuliang Li, Zhengju Bian, 1995. “Longitudinal dispersion of Guangzhou Zhujiang River”, J. Water Resource
Science. 6 (1): 10–15 (in Chinese).
Miu Jin, 1965. Sediment transportation in Huangpu River, Master paper of Hohai University: 21.
Anthony Kay, 1997. “Advection-diffusion in reversing and oscillating flow: 2 flow with multiple reversals”,
J. Applied Mathematics. l58: 185–210.
Ning Chien, Zhaohui Wan, 1983. Dynamics of sediment, Science Press (in Chinese).

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Experimental scale effect of pollutant diffusion/dispersion

in rivers

L. Luo, M.J. Wang & Y.L. Jiang

State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

ABSTRACT: Scale effect of pollutant diffusion/dispersion in laboratory experiment was inves-

tigated. Based on the flow governing equations, the diffusion/dispersion equations, and the
fundamental similarity law in hydraulic experiment, the similarity laws about diffusion/dispersion
between the laboratory experiment and the prototype flow were introduced. The derived formulas
were validated by the published data. It shows that the diffusion/dispersion coefficient ratio of
the prototype over the laboratory experiment is the 2/3 power of the scale. The pollutant release
amount ratios of river over laboratory experiment are the 3rd power for the instant point source,
the 5/2 power for the continuous point-source and the 3/2 power for the continuous line source, of
the scale, respectively.

1 INTRODUCTION

Pollutant diffusion/dispersion in rivers is a very important issue in the environmental hydraulics

field. Even the numerical simulation approach advances to a very effective way to investigate the
pollutant movement phenomenon in a river, it is still necessary to deploy laboratory experiment to
get the first-hand data and to validate the numerical models. Before a field monitoring implemen-
tation, the laboratory experiment can be carefully processed to propose the convenient approach
for a better result. Only be understood good enough the scale effect of diffusion/dispersion, the
experimental results in the laboratory can be truly used to explain the pollutant behavior in the real
world. In this paper, authors addressed the similarity law for the laboratory experiment of pollutant
movement in rivers from the fundamental theory of hydraulic similarity law, the flow governing
Equations, and the pollutant diffusion/dispersion equations. The derived formulas are validated by
published experimental and field monitoring data.

2 BASIC SIMILARITY CONDITION FROM FLOW FEATURES (XIE, 1990)

According to the pollutant diffusion manner in rivers, the fixed bed model of the river can be
adopted. Considering two systems, one is laboratory physical model, and another is prototype
river. From the similarity law, the scale ratios for different variables in the same mathematical
equation to describe the above two systems must be the same. But for a typical physical model
system, it is almost impossible to maintain all of the scale ratios be equal simultaneously. For the
diffusion/dispersion problems, the most important factors are the inertial force and the turbulent
shear stress.
In the continuity Equation:

151
and the 3D incompressible Reynolds Averaged N-S (RANS) Equations:

the inertial force and the turbulent shear stress should be similar. The undistorted model is chosen,
or λx = λy = λz = λl , in which λx is the length scale in the x direction, λy in the y direction, λz in
the z direction, and λl is the universal length scale. The experimental fluid, water, is considered as
incompressible; its density will be a constant. Hence the scale ratio relationship which meets the
basic geometric similarity:
continuity similarity

or

the inertia force/gravity similarity

and the inertia/friction force similarity

or

in which λu is the velocity scale, λt the time scale, λQ the flow rate scale, λf the friction force
coefficient scale, and λn the roughness scale of the prototype over the model values. Due to the
Reynolds similarity condition is difficult to meet in a model experiment, it is necessary to maintain
the turbulence condition in the model, or the Reynolds number Re must be greater than 1000–2000.
Another requirement for the model is that its depth should be greater than 1.5 cm to avoid the
surface tension interference.

3 SIMILARITY CONDITION FROM THE POLLUTANT

DIFFUSION EQUATION

It is an efficient way to obtain the similarity condition by means of the physical equations. The
similarity conditions based on different pollutant diffusion/dispersion equations are analyzed as
follows:

3.1 Turbulent diffusion

In the environmental hydraulic engineering field, the turbulent diffusion is usually much greater
than the molecular one, so only the turbulent diffusion case is analyzed here. By following the
turbulent diffusion equation (Fisher, 1979)

152
in which x, y, z are the coordinates in three directions, C is the averaged pollutant concentration,
Ex , Ey , Ez are the turbulent diffusion coefficients in corresponding directions. In the prototype and
the model, there are

in which the subscript p indicates the prototype, and the subscript m the model. Substituting the
following relationship

into Equation 9, and both sides are divided by the λC /λt , one obtained

In order to make Equation 12 match Equation 10, which describes the same model activity, the
similarity index can be derived

in which λC is the concentration scale, λE the turbulent diffusion coefficient scale, of the prototype
over the model values. Equation 13 can be rewritten as

The above equation can be described as that the scale relationship of the turbulent diffusion coef-
ficient between the prototype and the model should be decided by Equation 14 when the flow
similarity condition is provided by Equations 3 and 5.
If the isotropic diffusion condition is assumed, Ex = Ey = Ey = E, the solution of Equation 8
under instant release point source is

If the same concentration values are expected at the corresponding scale points, or λC = 1, it requires
that

in which λm is the pollutant release amount ratio of the prototype over the model.

153
3.2 Turbulent convection and diffusion
From the turbulent convection and diffusion equation (assuming that Ex = Ey = Ey = E)

The similarity index, which is similar with the derivation of Equation 13, can be written as

The solution of Equation 17, in which the main stream flow direction, x, is assumed, and the uy
and uz are negligible, is as follows

Substituting with the scales into the above equation, and expecting λC = 1 at the corresponding
scale points, Equation 16 is required to be met. Again, the release amount ratio of the prototype
over the model should equal λ3l .

3.3 Convection and diffusion under continuous point source

For the continuous point source, there is no time scale. The solution under the 3D continuous point
source is (Zhang, 1987)

The 2D solution under the continuous line source is

3/2 5/2
In Equation 20, there are λE = λl and λm = λl , when λC = 1 is expected at the corresponding
scale points.
3/2 3/2
In Equation 21, there are λE = λl and λm = λl , when λC = 1 is expected at the corresponding
scale points.

3.4 Dispersion in turbulent flows

The dispersion in turbulent flows is the supplement diffusion effect resulted from the non-uniform
velocity distribution in a cross-section. It is obvious that the friction is the main reason of non-
uniform distribution of the velocities. Then Equation 6 or 7, which means the inertia/friction force
similarity, must be satisfied in laboratory model experiment. The 2D turbulent dispersion equation
is as follows

Adopting the Taylor methodology to the 2D open channel flow dispersion problem (Zhao, 1986),
ignoring the longitudinal turbulent diffusion items, and letting uy = 0, the similarity index can be
obtained

154
 The similarity index can be derived from Elder’s result on Taylor’s method for 2D open channel
dispersion problem, too

Considering the above relationship, Equation 23 is obtained, then.

3/2
For the continuous source, like Equation 20 and 21, the λm can be chosen from λEL = λu λl = λl ,
so as to make λC = 1.

4 VALIDATION OF THE SIMILARITY LAW OF POLLUTANT

DIFFUSION/DISPERSION

4.1 Validation with experimental data of different scale models in laboratory

The experimental data (Zhao, 1986) was collected by Okoye in a laboratory open channel experi-
ment (see Table 1). The Ez denotes the lateral diffusion coefficient in the channel. The data in
Table 1 shows that the two models maintain roughly geometrical similarity, and the velocities in
two cases meet the requirement of Equation 5. From the above analysis about the similarity law,
we have

in addition


In a river or an open channel flow, u∗ = ghi, so the above equation can be written as

Then it can be drawn from Equation 25

Equation 28 claims that the dimensionless value of Ez /hu∗ should be equal in the prototype (model 1)
and the model (model 2). For the actual distorted models listed here, the result shown in Table 1
could be considered as meeting the claim.

Table 1. Experiment data by Okoye and the scale calculation result.

River Averaged Averaged Friction Lateral diffusion

Data Rough- width depth velocity velocity coefficient
time ness B (cm) h (cm) u (cm/s) u∗ (cm/s) Ez (cm2 /s) Ez /hu∗

1968 Smooth 85 1.5–17.3 27.1–42.8 1.6–2.2 0.64–2.9 0.09–0.20

1970 Smooth 110 1.7–22.0 30.0–50.4 1.4–2.6 0.79–3.3 0.11–0.24
Calculated scale 1.29 1.13–1.27 1.10–1.18 0.88–1.18 1.14–1.23 1.20–1.22

155
 Table 2. Data collected by Holley Abraham on I Jssel river and its model (Zhao, 1986).

Data river width Depth Averaged velocity Friction velocity

type B (m) h (m) u (m/s) u∗ (m/s) Ez /hu∗

I Jssel river 69.5 4.0 0.96 0.075 0.51

I Jssel model 1.22 0.9 0.13 0.0078 0.45–0.77
Calculated scale 56.97 4.44 7.38 9.62 0.66–1.13

4.2 Validation with I. Jssel river model and its prototype data
The data was collected by Holley Abraham in 1973, including the I Jssel River and its laboratory
model (see Table 2). It is shown that the Ez /hu∗ values in the River and the model are almost the
same. According to the analysis in chapter 4.1, the data collected in the prototype and the model
are satisfied with the similarity law in this paper.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In the laboratory model experiment of pollutant diffusion/dispersion in water, the similarity law
between the different scales should be counted to obtain the correct data that will be applied into
the prototype water body later. In this paper, the similarity law for pollutant diffusion/dispersion is
derived from the hydrodynamic features and the diffusion/dispersion formulas:

1. Either turbulent diffusion or dispersion, and instant or continuous source, the following similarity
law should be followed for the diffusion/dispersion coefficient between the prototype and the
model:

2. In order to make the expected concentration at the corresponding scale points between the
prototype and the model equal, the release amount of pollutant, or tracer, should be counted as
follows, according to the different cases:
Instant point source

Continuous point source

Continuous line source

The results in this paper can provide design guidelines for laboratory experiment about diffu-
sion/dispersion in water. Further detailed study should be conducted to get the more solid evidence
of the similarity of diffusion/dispersion in a laboratory experiment. And the similarity law under
the bio-degradation effect will be studied in the future.

156
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The project is supported by the Trans-Century Training Programme Foundation for the Talents by
the Ministry of Education, China.

REFERENCES

Fisher, H.B. et al. 1979. Mixing in Inland and Coastal Waters. New York: Academic Press.
Xie, Jiaheng. 1990. River Simulation (in Chinese). Beijing: Water Resource and Hydropower Press.
Zhang, Shunong. 1987. Environmental Hydraulics (in Chinese). Nanjing: Hohai University Press.
Zhao, Wenqian. 1986. Environmental Hydraulics (in Chinese). Chengdu: Chengdu University of Science and
Technology Press.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Trace experimental study on diffusion coefficients at heavy

sediment-carrying reach of Yellow River

Hu Guo-Hua
School of River & Ocean Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology,
Changsha Hunan, China

Xiao Xiang-Qun
Institute of Water Resource Protection of the Yellow River, Zhengzhou Henan, China

ABSTRACT: To determine the diffusion coefficients, a field trace experiment was made at
Mengjin reach of the Yellow River. The sodium dichromate was selected as the tracer. The
tracer was continuously thrown in a constant rate during the finite time along the bank. The
mixing and transporting law of the tracer in mixing area is quantitatively described by using
a steady-state two-dimensional Taylor’s equation. The diffusion coefficients in the equation are
calculated using a finite difference method. Based on the observed data, the calculated val-
ues of transverse mixing and longitudinal dispersion coefficients are 0.32 m2 /s and 40 m2 /s,
respectively. The equation E = αHu∗ was selected as the empirical formula that can be used
to deduce directly diffusion coefficients from hydraulic parameters. By using the empirical
formula and the experimental data, the calculated values of dimensionless transverse mix-
ing and longitudinal dispersion coefficients in the experimental reach is 3.61 and 451.25,
respectively.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Yellow River is a famous heavy sediment-carrying river in the world. The heavy sediment-
carrying reach of the Yellow River channel is much wide than deep. Pollutants travel in an
inhomogeneous concentration for a long distance at this reach. The transverse mixing and longitu-
dinal dispersion coefficients (hereafter called diffusion coefficient) are two important parameters
that describe the mixing and transporting process of the pollutants in mixing region. The deter-
mination of diffusion coefficient is an important content of simulation and predication for the
river water quality. Though many empirical and half-empirical formulas have been used to cal-
culate the diffusion coefficients in natural rivers (Elder, 1959; Fischer, 1967; Yotsukura and
Sayre, 1976; Zhou et al., 1986; Zhou, 1988), the determination of the empirical constants in
the formulas is dependent on the hydrological and hydraulic characteristics of the given river.
The empirical constants are difficult to be revise by relate theory. If the constants yielded from
other rivers or laboratory were used to calculate the diffusion coefficients in the Yellow River, a
significant difference between the calculated values and the real values might be caused. There-
fore, the integrated method of empirical formulas with field diffusion trace experiment is still the
most reliable method to gain the diffusion coefficients of pollutants in the river. In order to deter-
mine the transverse mixing and longitudinal dispersion coefficients at heavy sediment-carrying
reach of the Yellow River, a field diffusion trace experiment was made at Mengjin reach of the
Yellow River.

159
2 RATIONALE OF DISPERSION TRACE EXPERIMENT

2.1 Diffusion and transport equation of pollutant

When a pollutants material is discharged from bank to river in a form of continuous point source, its
transport processes can be divided into vertical mixing, transverse mixing and longitudinal transport
process. Based on the principle of continuity of incompressible fluid and law of conservation of
mass, the three-dimensional diffusion equation under turbulent condition in rectangular coordinates
system can be elicited using the method on the analogy of molecular one under the considering
that turbulent diffusion effect is much bigger than molecular one.

where c = the concentration of pollutant, mg/L; ux , uy and uz = longitudinal, vertical, and transverse
velocities of water body in river, m/s, respectively; x, y and z = longitudinal, vertical, and trans-
verse coordinates of water body in river, m, respectively; Ex , Ey and Ez = longitudinal dispersion,
vertical mixing, and transverse mixing coefficients, m2 /s, respectively; t = time, s; k = attenuation
coefficient of pollutant, s−1 .
For the wide and shallow river channel, transverse mixing process, in comparison with vertical
mixing process, lasts more time, so the vertical mixing processes can be neglected, that is, the
distribution of a pollutant in vertical direction can be considered as uniform. As transverse mixing
and longitudinal transporting process go on, pollutant and river water mix homogeneously gradually,
pollutant concentration in some transverse section is uniform. The reach during this section is called
mixing area. If the pollutant quantity discharged into river were steady and continuous, the mean
river water velocity did not vary with time, that is called steady-state condition, the dilution and
dispersion rule of pollutant in mixing area can be quantitatively described using the steady-state
two-dimensional Taylor’s equation (Taylor, 1921):

For the relatively straight river channel, the declination of river flow is small, and the transverse
velocity is bound to be very small, so the second term of equation (2) may be neglected. Moreover,
the tracer is usually relatively steady and scarcely decays in the reach; consequently the item kc
may be neglected too. Therefore, equation (2) can be simplified as:

The partial differential equation (3) can be quickly solved by a finite difference method.

2.2 Identification of diffusion coefficient

In the view of mathematics, the identification of diffusion coefficients in partial differential equa-
tion, which describes the diffusion and transportation of pollutant, falls into a inverse problem of
partial differential equation, that is inversely to find coefficients of partial differential equation
after the solution of partial differential equation is given. As regards identifying the uniqueness
and existence of dispersion coefficients in diffusion equation, theoretic proofs have been given in
mathematics.
Field trace experiment method is to inject the tracer into the river and trail the variation of its
concentration, and then calculate diffusion coefficients by mathematical approaches. A group of
observed concentration values of tracer in river are obtained via throwing tracer into river, simulating

160
pollutant discharged into river from receiving outlet, and determining tracer concentration value
injected into river. If the deviation between the observed concentration values of tracer (c) and the
simulated concentration values (c∗ ) of tracer computed using diffusion equation is minimum, the
diffusion coefficients in the diffusion equation are the optimal identified parameters (Ex , Ez ). To
identify the parameters, given:

Based on experience we learn that: within the ranges of 20 ≤ Ex ≤ 300 and 0.01 ≤ Ez ≤ 1.0,
f (Ex , Ez ) has a minimum point, that is min f (Ex , Ez ). The Ex and Ez is optimal identified values.

3 DIFFUSION TRACE EXPERIMENT METHODOLOGY

3.1 Selection of tracer

When selecting the tracer for diffusion trace experiment in river, following characteristics are
usually required:  1 dissolvable in water, and flowing with water, not divorced from the study
system for sedimentation, absorption et al. and not affected by biological and chemical changes;
2 low natural existent value in river and distinct differences with natural background;  3 easy
to determine and possible to measure its low concentration value;  4 cheap and easy to buy, low
injection quantity and simple injection method;  5 healthy to human being and creature in river,
no harm to the use of water and no danger to the beauty of water or leave unhealthy influence.
Now, tracer in common use including:  1 inorganic salt, such as NaCl, CaCl2 , NH4 Cl, LiCl,
NaI, NaF and NaCr2 O7 ;  2 dyes, for instance luciferin, rhodanmine B, eosline, malachite green,
methylene blue;  3 radioactive isotope, such as Br82, Na24, I131, T;  4 pollutant of outlet, that is
selecting pollutant discharged from the outlet of traced river as tracer.
For the heavy sediment-carrying reach of the Yellow River, if radioactive isotope is chosen as
tracer, special analytical equipments will be required, moreover, the use of radioactive isotope
tracer will be strictly controlled, ordinary dyes are easily to be absorbed by sediment in water, for
example, sediment has a strong absorption to rhodanmine B (Shao and Zhang, 1994), so inorganic
salt was selected as tracer in this study. As the background concentration of sodium dichromate in
Yellow River is nearly zero, and its analysis and measurement method are mature, moreover it is
easily bought and has a low price, sodium dichromate was selected as the tracer in this experiment.
Besides, indoor absorption test shows (Table 1): NaCr2 O7 is hardly absorbed by the suspended
sediment in Yellow River.

3.2 Summary of trace experiment

The reach for tracer experiment is in the Mengjin reach of the Yellow River. Being restrained by a
control and training project, the river channel of the reach is relatively straight, the surface water is
wide, and main current is steady. It belongs to typical wide-shallow and heavy sediment-carrying
channel.

Table 1. Absorption test of Cr2 O2−

7 in the Yellow River water.

Sediment Amount of added Amount of recovery Cr2 O2−

7 Amount of Cr2 O2−
7 adsorbed
concentration (g/L) Cr2 O2−
7 (µg) from clean water (µg) on suspended sediment (µg)

5 100.0 100.0 0.0

5 50.0 49.9 0.1
5 25.0 25.0 0.0
10 100.0 100.0 0.0
10 50.0 49.9 0.1
10 25.0 24.9 0.1

161
 Table 2. Distances of sampling sections from injection point.

Section I Section II Section III Section IV Section V Section VI

−20 m 300 m 600 m 1000 m 1500 m 2000 m

Table 3. Measured values of water depth and flow velocity at each sampling point.

Sampling point
Hydrological
Section parameter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

III Water depth, m 1.50 1.36 1.28 1.30 1.32 1.30

Velocity, m/s 1.31 1.30 1.28 1.20 1.17 1.18
IV Water depth, m 1.42 1.43 1.38 1.36 1.28 1.29 1.34 1.30
Velocity, m/s 1.38 1.47 1.35 1.24 1.13 1.15 1.20 1.23
V Water depth, m 1.40 1.55 1.43 1.28 1.32 1.28 1.30 1.34 1.34
Velocity, m/s 1.30 1.42 1.31 1.22 1.10 1.14 1.17 1.20 1.30 1.27
VI Water depth, m 1.44 1.50 1.38 1.35 1.35 1.37 1.35 1.33 1.26 1.28 1.26 1.30
Velocity, m/s 1.28 1.36 1.27 1.24 1.14 1.15 1.18 1.25 1.26 1.25 1.30 1.29

Figure 1. The distribution of measured tracer concentration at each section.

The tracer injection point was 7 m from the left bank. In the reach, 5 tracer-sampling sections
and one control section were selected (Table 2). According to the dispersion capacity estimated
from float method, 4–12 sampling points which interval is 10 m were selected on each section.
At the injection point, the given concentration sodium dichromate was continuously injected at a
constant rate until the sampling was finished. When the tracer concentrations at each section were
steady, samples were simultaneously collected at each section every 20 minutes. Four batches of
samples were collected altogether and the flow velocity and water depth at each sampling point were
measured at the same period (Table 3). Within the valid time of the preservation, the water samples

162
were sent to the laboratory for determination. The distribution of measured tracer concentration at
each section is showed in Figure 1.

4 DETERMINATION AND VERIFICATION OF DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT

4.1 Determination of diffusion coefficient

The reach for the tracer experiment, which is 300 × 2000 m, were divided into 30 × 100 subareas
with the two groups of parallels (whose unit distances are hx = 20 m, hz = 10 m, respectively). At
each grid point, a difference equation can be formed which has an unknown number ci, j , so there
is a equation set which consists of 30 × 100 equations. Using the initial and boundary conditions,
the equation set can be solved using a line over-relaxation method.
In a given interval for finding the optimal diffusion coefficients, a “computer scanning and
calculation – gradient search method” may be used to determine the parameters (diffusion coeffi-
cients) of the steady-state two dimensional Taylor’s model. The computer scans the given interval
and calculates all the target values (ci, j ), which is corresponding to the given diffusion coefficients,
according to a given step and an order. Comparing the calculated value and the measured value of
a tracer, the minimum target and its corresponding diffusion coefficients in the given interval may
be found by the computer. The range of one step around the diffusion coefficients corresponding
to the minimum target value is regarded as a new given interval for finding the optimal diffusion
coefficients. Correspondingly, the step is reduced. The computer scans the new given interval in the
reduced step and calculates. Repeat like that until the minimum target value and the correspond-
ing diffusion coefficients trend to steady and reach an established precision and yield a global
approximate optimal solution.
According to the longitudinal and transverse diffusion coefficients at the Tuoketuo and Hejin
reach of the Yellow River (Shao and Zhang, 1994), we suppose the interval for finding the optimal
longitudinal diffusion coefficient is 20 ≤ Ex ≤ 300, the interval for finding the optimal transverse
mixing coefficient is 0.01 ≤ Ez ≤ 1.00. To avoid a sudden error in the calculation process, the
search step at the first time must be in the range of an allowable error of diffusion coefficient
variables. To ensure the calculation precision, the global optimal solution is regarded as initial
diffusion coefficients. An optimal search of the gradient method is made again to the global optimal
solution. Calculating by a computer, the yielded optimal solution is Ex = 40 m2 /s, Ez = 0.32 m2 /s,
respectively.

4.2 Verification of diffusion coefficient

To verify the two diffusion coefficients, substituting the coefficients into equation (3), using the
initial and boundary conditions to simulate the tracer experiment transport and to yield the calculated
value of the tracer concentration at each sampling point, comparing the calculated value with the
measured value of tracer concentration from another batch of the tracer experiment, the results are
listed in Table 4.
From table 4, the relative error is less than 27.2%, the precision is relatively high, which shows
the diffusion coefficients yielded from this tracer experiment are reliable, and can be used to modify
the empirical constants of the empirical equation for calculating diffusion coefficients, thereby to
determine the diffusion coefficients of a traced river channel under different hydrological conditions
and to quantitatively describe the diffusion transport of a pollutant.

5 MODIFICATION OF DIMENSIONLESS DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT

Although the diffusion coefficients gained from field trace experiment were relatively reliable,
they can only stand for the diffusion capacity of the reach under the hydrological and hydraulic

163
 Table 4. Comparison of calculated value and measured value of tracer diffusion transport.

Sampling point 1 2 3 4 5 6

Section I Calculated value, mg/L 0.57 0.31 0.12

Measured value, mg/L 0.52 0.36 0.13
Relative error, % 9.6 −13.9 −7.7
Section II Calculated value, mg/L 0.51 0.35 0.20 0.10
Measured value, mg/L 0.50 0.47 0.25 0.10
Relative error, % 2.0 −25.5 −20.0 0
Section III Calculated value, mg/L 0.44 0.34 0.24 0.14 0.08
Measured value, mg/L 0.48 0.40 0.22 0.11 0.07
Relative error, % 8.3 −15.0 9.1 27.2 14.3
Section IV Calculated value, mg/L 0.39 0.32 0.24 0.17 0.11 0.06
Measured value, mg/L 0.33 0.28 0.20 0.16 0.10 0.05
Relative error, % 18.2 14.3 20.0 6.3 10.0 20.0

condition when the trace experiment was carrying out. In actual application, the diffusion situation
of a reach in different hydrological and hydraulic conditions still must be learned. Therefore,
the empirical formula in which the diffusion coefficients can be deduced from hydrological and
hydraulic parameters usually should be formed.
According to Taylor’s theory, the diffusion coefficient of pollutant in river is product of Lagrange
linear measure and turbulence intensity. Based on this conception, the general expression formula
of diffusion coefficient can be given:

where E = diffusion coefficient, m2 /s; α = dimensionless diffusion coefficient; H = water depth,

m; u∗ = friction velocity, m/s; g = acceleration of gravity, m/s2 ; I = hydraulic gradient.
Formula (5) is a universal one, which can be applied to vertical, transverse and longitudinal
dispersions. The only difference among them is the value of dimensionless diffusion coefficient
assumed. From formula (5) we know that: water depth, friction velocity and dimensionless diffusion
coefficient will influence diffusion coefficients. For a certain reach, both of water depth and friction
velocity can be obtained from observing or riverbed data. Thus the problem of evaluating diffusion
coefficient is converted to estimate the value of α.
If we define transverse coordinate as Z and longitudinal coordinate as X , the corresponding
transverse mixing coefficient Ez and longitudinal dispersion coefficient Zx can be denoted as:

where αz , αx = dimensionless transverse mixing coefficient and longitudinal dispersion coefficient,

respectively, which are usually a constant.
As to the calculation of αz and αx , a lot of experiment have been studied. Based on analysis
and calculation of results observed from diffusion trace experiments, the values of αz and αx in
the experimental river are yielded in this paper, which are 3.61 and 451.25, respectively. Analysis
shows that the dimensionless diffusion coefficients determined are matched with the fact of trace
experiment reach. From formula (7) and (8), the longitudinal dispersion coefficients and transverse
mixing coefficients of the reach under different hydrological and hydraulic conditions can be
calculated.

164
6 CONCLUSIONS

It is important to select the tracer in the diffusion experiment for the heavy sediment-carrying reach
of Yellow River. We selected sodium dichromate as the tracer for the trace experiment at Mengjin
reach of the Yellow River.
The mixing and transporting law of the tracer in mixing region of the river, which surface water is
relative wide and water depth is relative shallow, can be described by a steady-state two-dimensional
Taylor’s diffusion equation. The diffusion coefficients in the equation can be calculated using the
finite difference and optimization method.
The integrated method of empirical formulas with the field diffusion trace experiment is the most
reliable method to determine the empirical formula used to deduce directly diffusion coefficients
from hydraulic parameters and the dimensionless diffusion coefficients of the empirical formula.

REFERENCES

Elder, J.W. 1959. The dispersion of marked fluid in turbulent shear flow. Journal of fluid mechanics 5(4):
544–560.
Fischer, H.B. 1967. The mechanics of dispersion in natural streams. J. Hydraul. Div, ASCE, 93(HY6):
187–216.
Shao, Q.S. & Zhang, H.J. 1994. The study on dispersion of pollutants in muddy River. Advances in
environmental science 2(3): 65–70.
Taylor, G.I. 1921. Diffusion by continuous movements. In: Proceedings London Mathematical Society, Series
2, 20: 196–212.
Yotsukura, N. & Sayre, W.W. 1976. Transverse mixing in natural channels. Water resources research 12(4):
695–704.
Zhou, K.Z., Yu, C.Z. & Zhang, Y.L. 1986. Study on the method calculating longitudinal dispersion coefficient
of trace experiment in natural rivers. Journal of environmental science 6(3): 314–326.
Zhou, Y. 1988. Study on transverse mixing coefficient of natural rivers. Journal of hydraulic engineering (6):
56–60.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Advection and dispersion of substance discharged by intermittent

point source in rivers

Wu Zhouhu & Qiao Haitao

Qingdao Polytechnic University

ABSTRACT: Suppose that an intermittent point source discharge cycle T , a discharge duration
time t0 (t0 < T ), and the discharge strength in the discharge duration W are kept constant. According
to the one-dimensional advection and dispersion equation, the spatially varied concentration of
contaminants is obtained which discharged by the intermittent point source at the downstream
dispersal period. Reasonableness of the solution is deserved. The consistency of the analytical
solution and the simplified equation at given condition are discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION

As a stream of effluent is discharged into a river, what happens can be divided into three stages:
the initial dilution, the mixture across the cross section and the longitudinal dispersion after the
cross-sectional mixing. If the effluent discharge is not instantaneous, and not at a constant rate, but
a continuous discharge during one period and a non-discharge during the next period, and so on, this
pollution source is termed an intermittent discharge source. In most practical cases, the intermittent
discharge point source can be seen frequently. The plants periodically produce polluted water. If the
polluted water discharges directly, water quality downstream will vibrate cyclically. In this case, the
instantaneous discharge concentration of the contaminants far exceeds the average concentration
of the same amount at the constant discharge rate. In order to heighten the level of analyzing the
monitoring datum of the water quality and the level of water management, we must analogy the
advection and dispersion of contaminants discharged by the intermittent point source precisely. In
this paper, suppose that an intermittent point source discharge cycle T , a discharge duration time
t0 (t0 < T ), and discharge strength in the discharge duration W are kept constant. According to the
one-dimensional advection and dispersion equation, the spatially varied concentration distribution
law of contaminants is obtained which discharged by the intermittent point source at the downstream
dispersal period.

2 BASIC EQUATION AND ITS CONDITIONS OF DEFINITE SOLUTION

Suppose that a point discharge source at the origin of x-coordinate system in a one-dimensional
flow, let the downstream be the positive direction at initial time t = 0 the concentration is zero
everywhere along the axis. During the period nT < t ≤ nT + t0 (n = 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .. . .), the effluent
discharge concentration at the rate C0 at the point x = 0 and is held at that value. During the period
nT + t0 < t ≤ (n + 1)T , the concentration is zero at the point x = 0. Then the one-dimensional
advection and dispersion equation will be:

167
in which, U is the flow velocity in the x direction, the D is the longitudinal dispersion, and K is
the mass degradation coefficient.
The conditions for solution are: C|t=0,all x = 0, C|nT <t≤nT +t0 ,x=0 = C0 , C|nT +t0 <t≤(n+1)T ,x=0 = 0,
C|t>0,x=L = 0, L is large.

3 ANALYTIC SOLUTION

For variable replacement, let C(t, x) = e 2D

Ux
Q(t, x), eq. (1) becomes:

in which K = K + (U 2 /4D). Corresponding conditions of solution become: Q|t=0, = 0,

Q|nT <t≤nT +t0 ,x=0 = C0 , Q|nT +t0 <t≤(n+1)T ,x=0 = 0, Q|t>0,x=L = 0. Taking second variable transform-
t
ation, let Q(t, x) = e−K V (t, x), eq. (2) becomes:

t
Corresponding conditions of solution become: V |t=0,all x = 0, V |nT <t≤nT +t0 ,x=0 = C0 eK ,
V |nT +t0 <t≤(n+1)T ,x=0 = 0, V |t>0,x=L = 0.
For eq. (3), taking Laplace transform about t (t = nT and nT + t0 are first kind discontinuous
point, meet the
∞condition of Laplace).
U (p, x) = 0 V (t, x)e−pt dt, eq.(3) becomes:

Substituting V |t=0,all x = 0 into above equation, we have:

t
Corresponding conditions of solution become: when nT < t ≤ nT + t0 , U (p, 0) = L[C0 eK ] = C0 /
p − K  ; when nT + t0 < t ≤ (n + 1)T , U (p, 0) = 0; U (p, L) = 0.
The general solution of eq. (4) is:

According to the conditions of solution, when L is big enough and U (p, L) = 0 it can be obtained
C2 = 0.Therefore when nT < t ≤ nT + t0 , C1 = C0 /p − K  ; when nT + t0 < t ≤ (n + 1)T C1 = 0,

168
we have:

For eq. (6), taking Laplace transform, it can be obtained:

In which g1 (t) * g2 (t) is called convolution of g1 (t) and g2 (t).

Substituting g1 (t) * g2 (t) into eq. (7) and using the convolution there in, When nT < t ≤ nT + t0 :

when nT + t0 < t ≤ (n + 1)T :


let v = x/(2 D(t − τ)), we have τ = t − x2 /4Dv 2 , τ and v’s corresponding relationship is illustrated
in Table 1, then the second integration becomes:

√  √ √ √ √ √
in which, f(t, x) = eUx/2D [e−( K /D)x erfc(x/(2 Dt) − K  t) + e( K  /D)x erfc(x/(2 Dt) + K  t)].
It’s last item is neglected except that the value of x is low.

169
 Table 1. The corresponding relationship of τ and v.

In the same reason, for eq. (8), taking integral transform and simplifying, we have:

Eq. (9) becomes:

so:

Equation (13) and eq. (14) are the analytic solution for one dimensional advection and dispersion
model of intermittent discharge point source.

4 DISCUSSION

To illustrate the method, suppose that the velocity of river flow U = 1.0 m/s, dispersion coefficient
D = 30 m2 /s, discharge cycle of intermittent point source T = 2 h, discharge duration time t0 = 1 h
are taken. The solution of concentration distribution according to eq. (13) and eq. (14) is depicted
graphically in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. In Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the full line represents the conservative sub-
stance when the degradation coefficient K = 0. The broken line represents the non-conversation
substance when K = 0.26 d−1 . It can be seen from the Fig. 1, the concentration is zero at the origin
of the one-dimensional system at the middle of discharge duration of the intermittent point source
t = nT + t0 /2. Because of the advection the contaminants discharged previously diffuses to down-
stream gradually according to discharge cycle (X = UT ), which becomes the cyclical concentration
vibration law along the flow. Because of dispersion the peak spreads out in a decaying distribution.
The concentration of the flow zone at the discharge duration decreases along the flow. The con-
centration of the flow zone at the non-discharge duration increases along the flow. The difference
between the maximum concentration and the minimum concentration decreases gradually. When x
is quiet big the maximum and the minimum concentration tend to accord with the concentration dis-
tribution of the one-dimensional advection and dispersion model of the constant continuous point
source in the direction of flow. That is, when K = 0, the maximum and the minimum concentration
will both take the horizontal line C/C0 = t0 /T as asymptotic line .When K  = 0 the maximum
 and the
minimum concentration will take the decline curve C/C0 = t0 /T exp [Ux/2D(1 − 1 + 4DK/U 2 )]
as the asymptotic line. Certainly, if the discharge cycle of an intermittent point source T is quiet long,
and the non-discharge duration (T − t0 ) is also long, the cyclical vibration law of the concentration

170
 C/C0
1.00

0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00
(km)

Figure 1. The concentration distribution of the intermittent discharge point source at t = nT + t0 /2 (T = 2 h,

t0 = 1 h, n ≥ 7).

C/C0
1.00

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00
0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00
(km)

Figure 2. The concentration distribution of the intermittent discharge point source at t = nT + (T + t0 )/2
(T = 2 h, t0 = 1 h, n ≥ 7).

distribution along the flow will remain very long distance or overall length. It can be seen from Fig.
2, at the middle of non-discharge duration of the intermittent point source t = nT + (T + t0 )/2, the
concentration of point source is zero. The cyclically vibrated concentration distribution curve dis-
perses to downstream with half cycle in the direction of flow compared to Fig. 1. The concentration
distribution law along the flow is the same with the analysis of Fig. 1.
Suppose that the discharge period of intermittent point source T = 3 h. discharge duration
t0 = 1 h. In the middle of the discharge duration t = nT + t0 /2 the concentration distribution along
the flow is shown in Fig. 3. Suppose that the discharge period of intermittent point source T = 3 h,
discharge duration t0 = 2 h. In the middle of the discharge duration t = nT + t0 /2, the concentration
distribution along the flow is shown in Fig. 4. It can be seen from Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, that there is a
concentration distribution law along the flow which is the same with the law of the Fig. 1, memrly
it has a longer cycle. In Fig. 3, the non-discharge duration is longer than the discharge duration. The
low concentration zone is longer. In Fig. 4, the non-discharge duration is shorter than the discharge
duration. High concentration zone is longer. When x is comparatively large, the maximum and the
minimum concentrations in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 both take:

C/C0 = t0 /T exp [Ux/2D(1 − 1 + 4DK/U 2 )] as the asymptotic line accordingly.
When x = 0, the concentration C0 is derived from the assumption, the contaminants consumption
in the whole river reach is equal to the discharge strength W . That is:

171
 C/C0
1.00

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00
0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00
(km)

Figure 3. The concentration distribution of the intermittent discharge point source at t = nT + t0 /2(T = 3 h,
t0 = 1 h, n ≥ 5).

C/C0
1.00

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00
0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00
(km)

Figure 4. The concentration distribution of the intermittent discharge point source at t = nT + t0 /2(T = 3 h,
t0 = 2 h, n ≥ 5).


in which, when x ≥ 0 substituting C = C0 (t0 /T ) exp [Ux/2D(1 − 1 + 4DK/U 2 )] into eq. (15) and
taking integral transform. When the contaminants disperse toward upstream its influence span is
very short. In this paper we don’t analyze it in detail. But it has an influence on the computing
result of C0 . Therefore when x < 0 substituting C = C0 (t0 /T ) exp [Ux/2D(1 + 1 + 4DK/U 2 )]
into eq. (15) and taking integral transform. This is the same with the integral result of substituting
periodical concentration distribution along the flow. That is:


Therefore, C0 = WQ / 1 + 4DK/U 2 ], in which Q = AU is the river flow quantity, A is the cross
section area.
There is a discussion between the simplified equation at corresponding conditions of eq. (13)
and eq. (14) and comparably analytic solution, as follows:

(1) when t0 = T, the eq. (13) and eq. (14) become:

172
 It is the same with the analytic solution of one-dimensional advection and dispersion model of
continuous discharge point source in the reference 1.
(2) when U = 0, K = 0, n = 0, eq. (13) and eq. (14) become:

It is the same with analytic solution of parallel problem in reference 2.

Through the above derivation and demonstration, analyzing and discussing the solution shows
that the simplified equation at corresponding conditions is consistent with the comparably analytic
solution. The distribution law of concentration is reasonable. It is sure that eq. (13) and eq. (14) are
the analytic solution of one-dimensional advection and dispersion model for intermittent discharge
point source.

REFERENCES

Li Wei. 1999, Environmental Hydraulics Progress. Wuhan: Wuhan Hydraulics and Electric power University
Press.
Li Wenxun (American), 1982, Translated by Han Zuheng, Zheng Kaiqi. The differential equation and its
application in hydraulics. Shanghai: Scientific and Technical Press of Shanghai.
Yu Changzhao, M. Microfsche, Li Yuliang. 1989,Contaminants diffusion and advective theory and water
quality model in water environment. Beijing: Environmental Scientific Press of China.

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1.3 Gas transfer
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Modeling wind-driven gas-transfer in a lake

Carlo Gualtieri
University of Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy

ABSTRACT: Several predictive equations have been proposed to estimate wind-driven gas-
transfer rate in a lake. They have different structure and numerical constants and were mostly
obtained from correlations with experimental data. The present paper proposes a turbulence-based
model developed to estimate wind-driven gas transfer rate through the air–water interface of a
lake. The model compares the laminar boundary layer at the air–water interface with the bottom
classic laminar sublayer. Comparison with field data demonstrates that the proposed model can
capture field data at low wind speed, whereas for higher values of W10 , the model tends to under-
estimate gas-transfer process. This result should be expected because the model do not consider
the contribution of waves to the gas-transfer process. Also, the model exhibits an exponent −2/3
for the Schmidt number Sc (Sc = ν/Dm ) which is consistent with gas-transfer theory and literature
experimental data for smooth surfaces.

1 FOREWORD

Gas transfer of chemicals, such as oxygen, nitrogen and toxins, across the air–water interface of
lakes and streams is an effective process for the environmental quality of the aquatic ecosystem
(Chapra, 1997). In standing waters, such as lakes, impoundments and wide estuaries, wind is
the predominant factor in causing gas-transfer. Also, gas exchange between the atmosphere and
the ocean is believed to be affected by turbulence associated with wind waves at the air–water
interface (Jähne & Haußecker, 1998). Several predictive equations have been proposed to estimate
wind-driven gas-transfer rate in a lake. They have different structure and numerical constants and
were mostly obtained from correlations with experimental data. Moreover, some equations directly
compute gas-transfer rate for a chemical, whereas other ones follow the so-called approach of
reference substance, which relates the gas-transfer rate for a chemical to that of a reference substance
(Rathbun, 1998). However, research efforts are needed to better describe and quantify wind-driven
gas-transfer. The present paper proposes a turbulence-based model developed to estimate wind-
driven gas-transfer rate through the air–water interface of a lake at low wind speed. The model
provides a linear relationship between gas-transfer rate and wind speed. Finally, the model was
compared with literature data.

2 WIND-INDUCED GAS-TRANSFER: THEORY

The gas-transfer is an interphase mass-transfer process that occurs at the air–water interface if a
non-equilibrium condition between the air phase and the water phase exists for a chemical. This
condition is related to the gradient in concentration across the interface, which is the driving force
of the process. The flux of chemical Φ across the air–water interface [ML−1T−2 ] is:

where KL is the gas-transfer rate [LT−1 ] and Csat and Cw are the equilibrium, or saturation, and bulk
water concentration of the chemical [ML−3 ], respectively. For gas of low solubility, KL depends

177
on the molecular and turbulent transport processes in the waterside of the air–water interface.
Molecular transport depends mainly on the molecular diffusion coefficient of the dissolved gas into
water Dm [L2 /T], which is a gas characteristic. On the other hand, the turbulent transport is governed
by the forcing that is active in the natural environment. As turbulent eddies approach the air–water
interface, this interface tends to damp them as they approach closer than their length scale (Moog &
Jirka, 1999). Thus, away from the interface turbulent transport is predominant, whereas it gradually
decreases toward the interface, where molecular transport takes control. This process gives rise to
a diffusive or concentration boundary layer (CBL) on both sides of the interface. Its thickness δc
depends on Dm and turbulence intensity near the surface. Outside these layers, turbulent motions
provide full vertical mixing and the gas profile is uniform at the bulk concentration. Within the
CBLs, the fluid is intermittently mixed by surface renewal process, which periodically occurs with
a frequency that is a function of the turbulent characteristics of the flow. Thus, the relation between
the turbulence structure near the free-surface and the gas-transfer process should be investigated
(Jähne & Haußecker, 1998; Nakayama, 2000). Generally, three conditions hold. In open-channel
flow, the surface turbulence is mainly due to the interaction of the water flow with the bottom
shear (bottom-shear generated turbulence). Also, free surface fluctuations affect the turbulent
redistributions near the air–water interface, which are greatly dependent on Froude number Fr and
the bed slope Jb . At the contrary, the surface of lakes and reservoirs is not affected by bottom
features, and the shear stress exerted at the air–water interface by the wind blowing above the
water surface is the main physical factor of turbulence (wind-shear generated turbulence). Finally,
in estuaries, bottom shear and interfacial shear are both present (combined wind/stream turbulent
conditions). Thus, gas-transfer modeling approaches are different according to the nature of the
forcing mechanism. For wind-shear condition, the gas-transfer mechanism is someway complicated
by the presence of waves. Three distinct wave formation regions have been identified depending
on wind speed W10 , which is usually used to quantify the turbulence intensity at the air–water
interface (Jean-Baptiste & Poisson, 2000). In the first region, for W10 < 2–4 m/s, KL increases only
slightly with the wind speed. As the wind speed is low, the wind stress is supported by viscous drag
and the height of the roughness elements of the surface is completely encompassed by the viscous
boundary layer (VBL) on the water side of the air–water interface. Thus, this interface could be
characterized as a smooth surface. The second region, for 2–4 < W10 < 10–13 m/s, corresponds
to the presence of capillary waves, with an increasing dependence of KL on W10 . The turbulent
wind field transfers energy not only into the mean shear current but also into the waves and the
air–water interface could be considered as a rough surface. Notably, for laboratory measurements
a W10 of about 4 m/s is the breakpoint from smooth to rough surfaces (Thibodeaux, 1996), while
for field studies smooth surface holds up to 6–7 m/s (O’Connor, 1983). Finally, the third region,
for W10 > 10–13 m/s, where KL increases greatly with W10 , is characterized by the occurrence of
breaking waves. However, wind is just an indirect factor affecting near-surface turbulence and it
can describe only approximately the real physical and dynamic conditions at the interface. This fact
could explain the large scatter among the different literature data. Nevertheless it is traditionally
used due its global availability. Sometimes, gas-transfer rate KL was related with the shear velocity
on the air side of the interface ua∗ [L · T−1 ] (Nakayama, 2000; Chu & Jirka, 2003). Finally, as
laboratory and field studies have demonstrated that gas-transfer is enhanced by the formation of
bubbles due to wave breaking, KL was recently associated both with wind speed and development
degree of wind waves using a breaking-wave parameter RB = ua∗ 2 /(ωp · ν), which can be regarded
as a kind of Reynolds number formed by ua∗ and by the spectral peak angular frequency of wind
waves ωp . Thus RB describes the intensity of turbulence induced in water when wind waves are
produced (Zhao et al., 2004). However, KL is classically:

where a, b and c are numerical constant, W10 is the wind speed measured at 10 m above the
water surface [L · T−1 ], and Sc = ν/Dm is the Schmidt number, ratio of water kinematic viscosity
ν to molecular diffusivity Dm · Sc is in the order of 103 and it could be seen as the ratio between

178
diffusion of momentum and diffusion of mass through molecular transport. Notably, ν decreases
with temperature, while Dm increase with temperature. The value of the exponent b has been
the focus of both theoretical and experimental studies. The differences in that value correspond to
various assumption regarding the boundary layer processes and boundary conditions, corresponding
to different dynamic states of the air–water interface, going from purely diffusive to turbulent
(Jean-Baptiste & Poisson, 2000). Literature agrees that b value tends to increase when the transfer
regime becomes more energetic. Both theoretical models and experimental values show that b is
rising from −2/3 at low regime, where the water surface is smooth, to −1/2 at higher regimes, for
water surface with waves (Crusius & Wanninkhof, 2003). Finally, the exponent c is ranging from
1 to 2 (Crusius & Wanninkhof, 2003).

3 THE PROPOSED MODEL

The proposed model provides the estimation of the thickness δc of the CBL on the water side. The
model compares the VBL at the air–water interface with the bottom VBL. The bottom layer lies
on a solid boundary, which has an infinite surface tension, whereas the VBL below the air–water
interface, due to its surface tension, could be considered as a semi-solid boundary.
To follow this analogy, first of all, the velocity distribution in the VBL near the water surface
can be defined starting from the velocity distribution in the VBL near the bottom, which is known.
Notably a similar analysis was applied to characterize reaeration rate in a river (Gualtieri & Gualtieri,
2004). The shear stress distribution in the water column is:

where τb and τw are the shear stress on the bottom and on the water-side of the free surface due to
the wind, respectively, [N · L−2 ], y is the vertical distance downward from the air–water interface
[L] and h is water depth [L] (Fig. 1). Eq. (3) could be equated to the Newton’s expression for the
shear stress τ = −ρ ·v ·(du/dy), where u is water velocity [L · T−1 ] and ρ is water density [M · L−3 ].
Integrating eq. (3) near the water surface, a velocity distribution is defined as:

Wind
τw Gas-transfer

δv δc

δb τb z

Ts= ∞

Figure 1. The proposed model.

179
where u0 is the water velocity for y = 0. Notably, the shear stress on the bed τb is related to the shear
stress τw . In fact, a wind acting on the water surface causes a drift current near the free surface in
the direction it blows and a bottom return flow in the opposite direction (Wu & Tsanis, 1995). The
value of the bed shear stress τb is usually presented in literature as τb = ητw where η is a coefficient
that depends on Rew = uw h/v, which is the Reynolds number related to the wind-induced flow
velocity at the interface uw . The ratio η = τb /τw has in laminar flow the constant value of −0.50
(Tsanis & Leutheusser, 1988) and it decreases with increasing Rew (Gualtieri, in press). Introducing
this relation between τb and τw , eq. (4) yields:

Assuming the continuity of the stress at the air–water interface, the shear stress τw is equal to
τa , which is the shear stress on the air-side of the interface (O’Connor, 1983; Thibodeaux, 1997):

where CD is the drag coefficient and ρa is air density [M · L−3 ]. Introducing eq. (6) into eq. (5):

Also, in the VBL near the bottom, equating the Newtonian expression for bottom shear stress
and from the friction velocity expression τb = ρ · u∗2 , a linear velocity distribution holds:

where u∗ is the friction velocity [L · T−1 ] and z is the distance upward from the bottom (Fig. 1).
Also, from the expression of the Reynolds number Re, it yields:

From eqs. (8) and (9), it yields:

The thickness of the viscous boundary layer near the bottom δb (Fig. 1) is:

From eqs. (10) and (11), if ub is the velocity at z = δb , its Reynolds number is given by:

Now, the outlined analogy between the laminar layers at the air–water interface and at the bottom
could be used to estimate the thickness of the VBL δv at the air–water interface (Fig. 1). In fact,

180
if uδv is the velocity at the lower bound of the VBL near the interface, it is possible to write an
expression analogous to eq. (12), where (u0 − uδv ) has the same meaning as ub :

Notably, δv · (uo − uδv )/ν must be lower than 52 because the air–water interface has a finite surface
tension. In fact, the value of 52 holds for a boundary with infinite surface tension. Eq. (13) allows
to define a particular Reynolds number for gas-transfer, namely Reg−t :

and, thus, the gas-transfer Reynolds number Reg−t < 25. Equating (u0 − uδv ) in eqs. (7) and (14):

The term in the square bracket could be approximated to the unity. In fact, η ranges from −0.26
to −0.07 (Gualtieri, in press), δν is in the order of 1 × 10−4 m and h typically ranges from 1 × 101
to 1 × 102 m. Thus, for y = δν , we have:

Since the CBL thickness δc is related with the VBL thickness δν as δc = δν /Sc1/3 , eq. (16) yields:

The gas-transfer rate KL could be related with CBL thickness δν as:

and, finally, the gas-transfer rate KL is:

Equation (19) provides a linear relationship between KL and W10 . This is consistent with other
equation derived for low wind speed (W10 < 4 m/s), when air–water interface is a smooth surface
(O’ Connor, 1983). Also, the model exhibits an exponent −2/3 for the Schmidt number Sc which
is consistent with gas-transfer theory and literature experimental data for smooth surfaces.

4 ANALYSIS OF DATA MODEL RESULTS

The proposed model has been verified using literature experimental data, that are taken from studies
carried out in lakes and rivers using as tracer SF6 (Wanninkhof et al., 1991; Tucker et al., 1996;

181
 3
Rockland lake
Crowley Lake
2.5 Mono Lake
Pyramid Lake
Gas-transfer rate KL -

2 Lake 302N
eq.(19)
Hudson River
m/day

1.5 Parker River

Chu-Jirka

0.5

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Wind speed W10 - m/s

Figure 2. KL predictions from eq. (19) against field data.

Crusius & Wanninkhof, 2003) or 3 He (Clark et al., 1996). Some data collected in laboratory flume
using oxygen as exchanged gas were also considered (Chu-Jirka, 2003).
Wanninkhof and Crusius-Wanninkhof data sets were collected in lakes, whereas Clark and Tucker
data sets refer to rivers and estuaries measurements. The temperature of the considered data is in
the range from 5.0 to 23.0◦ C and Sc values of SF6 are accordingly from 2257 to 812. The available
data shows generally a significant scatter as expected (Fig. 2). Notably, the data collected in rivers,
i.e. Hudson River and Parker River data sets, exhibit generally at the same W10 value gas-transfer
rate higher than the data collected in lakes (Fig. 2). This is due to the fact that in rivers and estuaries
bottom shear and interfacial shear are both present. In these conditions, KL measured data include
also the contribution of stream turbulence.
In eq. (19) the drag coefficient CD was calculated using the equation proposed by Wu.
(Thibodeaux, 1996), which assumes that CD is constant for W10 < 5 m/s and increases linearly
with W10 for W10 > 5 m/s. Water temperature was assumed to be T = 20◦ C where the Schmidt
number of SF6 is 946 and the ratio between air and water density is ρa /ρ = 0.001206. Finally,
Reg−t was Reg−t = 20. The comparison between results from eq. (20) and field data is presented in
Fig. 2, where the proposed model can capture field data at low wind speed (W10 < 5 m/s), whereas
for higher values of W10 (W10 > 5 m/s) the model tends to underestimate gas-transfer process. How-
ever this result should be expected because the model do not consider the contribution of waves to
the gas-transfer process that it is significant at the higher wind speeds.

5 CONCLUDING REMARKS

The paper proposed a model to predict gas-transfer rate KL due to the wind blowing above the
air–water interface of a lake, where the shear stress produced by the wind is the main physical
factor of turbulence. The model was developed comparing the viscous boundary layer (VBL) at the
air–water interface with the bottom VBL and assuming that the interface could be characterized as
a smooth surface with no-waves condition. The model provides a linear relationship between gas-
transfer rate KL and wind speed W10 that is consistent with previous literature empirical equations for
low wind speed conditions. Comparison with field data demonstrated that the proposed model can
capture field data at low wind speed (W10 < 5 m/s), whereas for higher values of W10 (W10 > 5 m/s)
the model tends to underestimate gas-transfer process because it cannot consider the contribution
of wind waves to the gas-transfer process.

182
REFERENCES

Chapra S.C. (1997). Surface water quality modeling. McGraw-Hill, New York, USA
Chu C.R. & Jirka G.H. (2003). Wind and stream flow induced reaeration. Journal of Environmental
Engineering, ASCE, vol. 129, n. 12, December 2003, pp. 1129–1136
Crusius J. & Wanninkhof R. (2003). Gas transfer velocities measured at low wind speed over a lake. Limnology
& Oceanography, vol. 48, n. 3, March 2003, pp. 1010–1017
Gualtieri C. & Gualtieri P. (2004). Turbulence-based models for gas transfer analysis with channel shape factor.
Environmental Fluid Mechanics, vol. 4, n. 3, September 2004, pp. 249–271
Gualtieri C. (in press). Discussion on M.Higashino, H.G. Stefan and C.J. Gantzer: Periodic diffusional mass
transfer near sediment/water interface: Theory. J. Env. Eng., ASCE, vol. 129, n. 5, May 2003. Journal of
Environmental Engineering, ASCE, pp. 447–455, in press
Jähne B. & Haußecker H. (1998). Air–water gas exchange. Annual Review Fluid Mechanics, vol. 30, 1998,
pp. 443–468
Jean-Baptiste P. & Poisson A. (2000). Gas transfer experiment on a lake (Kerguelen Islands) using 3 He and
SF6 . Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 105, n. C1, pp. 1177–1186
Moog D.B. & Jirka G.H. (1999). Air–water gas transfer in uniform channel flow. J. Hydraulic Engineering,
ASCE, 125, 1, January 1999, pp. 3–10
Nakayama T. (2000). Turbulence and coherent structures across the air–water interface and relationship with
gas-transfer. PhD Dissertation, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
O’Connor D.J. (1983). Wind effects on gas-liquid transfer coefficients. Journal of Environmental Engineering
Division, ASCE, vol. 109, 3, June 1983, pp. 731–752
Rathbun R.E. (1998). Transport, behavior and fate of volatile organic compounds in streams. U.S. Geological
Survey Professional Paper n. 1589, Washington, DC
Thibodeaux L.J. (1996). Environmental chemodynamics. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, U.K.
Tucker J., Carini S., Weston N., Vallino J., Hopkinson C., Giblin A. and Garritt R. (1996). Direct mea-
surement of gas exchange rates in the Parker River Estuary. http://ecosystems.mbl.edu/PIE/data/PHY/
PHYSF6Description.htm
Wanninkhof R., Ledwell J.R. and Crusius J. (1991). Gas transfer velocities on lakes measured with sul-
fur hexafluoride. in Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on gas transfer at water surfaces,
Minneapolis, MN
Wu J. & Tsanis I.K. (1995). Numerical study of wind-induced water currents. J. Hyd. Eng., ASCE, vol. 121,
n. 5, May 1995, pp. 388–395
Zhao D., Toba Y., Suzuki Y. and Komori S. (2003). Effect of wind waves on air-sea exchange: proposal
of an overall CO2 transfer velocity formula as a function of breaking-wave parameter. Tellus, vol. 55B,
pp. 478–487

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Experimental study on air-water interfacial turbulent hydrodynamics

and gas transfer in wind-induced open channel flows

K. Yoshida
Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Civil & Earth Resources Engg., Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

I. Nezu
Professor, Dept. of Civil & Earth Resources Engg., Kyoto University, Japan

ABSTRACT: This study focuses on the fundamental relationship between air-water turbulent
motions and the associated gas transfer phenomena in wind-induced open channel flows by some
unique measurements. The purpose of the present study is mainly to clarify the gas transfer phe-
nomena across the wavy deformed air-water interface on the basis of the wall-sheared bursting
phenomena of turbulence, and also to evaluate the effects of the coherent vortex motions on gas
exchanges across the interface. In the experiments, the turbulent motions caused by both the bottom
wall-shear and the air-shear force were intensively measured with the conditional sampling methods
using laser Doppler anemometers (LDA), and the basic characteristics of coherent dynamics were
investigated by a wavelet analysis and 4th quadrant threshold method. Furthermore, the dissolved
oxygen in the bulk water layer was measured in order to investigate the gas transfer coefficients. As
the results, it was found that the coherent motions have a great influence on gas transfer phenomena.
Especially, it can be pointed out that the gas transfer phenomena between air-water interfaces are
governed by the specific coherent motions in each flow pattern.

1 INTRODUCTION

Recently, gas transfer phenomena across the largely deformed air-water interfaces, such as CO2 ,
O2 , NOx and SOx have greatly attracted the vigorous researchers all over the world, because of
the serious global environmental problems. In addition, it is so important to clarify the reaeration
mechanism, by which the stream usually recovers the biochemical oxygen from air. In previous
studies, it has been pointed out that the gas transfer phenomena are greatly affected by the turbulent
motions near the interface, e.g., see Rashidi et al. (1991) and Komori et al. (1993). However, few
studies to make clear the gas exchange mechanism across air-water interface have been carried
out because of lack of measurement accuracy and experimental difficulties. Thus, it is necessary
to investigate the air-water interfacial turbulent hydrodynamics and the associated gas transfer in
wind-induced open channel flows, which are often observed in natural rivers, lakes and oceans.
It has been previously recognized that the transfer of low-solubility gases between air and water
like CO2 , and O2 is governed in the very thin water layer beneath the interface in which the
turbulent motions control and have influence on the gas transfer. This is because the transfer of
the low-solubility gases undertakes the high degree of resistance in the water side of the interface
in spite of the great turbulent mixing. Therefore, the gas transfer coefficient is then called KL . In
the gas transfer theory in the early time, the effects of the turbulent eddies was not taken account
of, for example, Danckwerts (1951) proposed the renewal theory which described the random
replacement of fluid particles near the air-water interface. Later, the renewal theory has been
successfully developed with the effects of the turbulent eddies and suggested as the ‘large eddy
model (LEM)’ by Fortescue and Pearson (1967) and ‘small eddy model (SEM)’ by Lamont and

185
 16m

0.4m air fan

Air
0.5m

Water

weir Water

jack water pump jack

Figure 1. An air-water tunnel.

Scott (1970). In the models, the gas transfer coefficient is formulated as follows,

where Sc ≡ ν/Dl is Schmidt number, ν and Dl are the kinetic viscosity and the molecular diffusion
of water, respectively. u is the turbulence intensity. Many researchers have intensively investi-
gated the relationship between the gas transfer and the Reynolds number, however the gas transfer
mechanism remains unknown. Especially, there are few findings by Eloubaidly & Plate (1972) and
Chu & Jirka (1995) on the gas transfer across the air-water interface in wind-induced open channel
flows.
In this study, the relationship between gas transfer phenomena and the associated turbulent
motions in wind-induced open channel flows was intensively investigated by the experimental
method. In the experiments, the turbulent motions in the water side were measured by LDA and the
basic characteristics of coherent dynamics were investigated by a wavelet analysis and 4th quadrant
threshold method.

2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

In this study, the experiments were conducted in a 16 m long, 40 cm wide and 50 cm deep wind-water
tunnel, in which the channel slope was possible to be accurately adjusted (see Fig. 1, a schematic
description of the present air-water tunnel). Fig. 2 shows a LDA system with an ultrasonic wave
gauge and coordinate system. The coordinate system is as follows:x is the horizontal coordinate
and z is the upward vertical one from the bottom wall. In addition, the corresponding velocity
fluctuations are u and v. Air blew over open channel surfaces in a wide range, and water went
through the channel and passed the pipe under the channel for recirculation. Table 1 shows the
hydraulic conditions of these experiments. The water depth is fixed at 7.0 cm. Ua,max is the maximum
air velocity, U∗a is the friction velocity on the airside by evaluating mean velocity profiles near
the interface using log-law and U∗w is the friction velocity on the bottom wall. Um is the mean
velocity of water stream and Fr ≡ Um h/νw means the Froude number of water flow. A laser Doppler
anemometer (LDA, Dantec) was used to measure the instantaneous velocity and an ultrasonic wave
gauge was simultaneously used with LDA in order to investigate a correlation between the velocity
fluctuation and an air-water interface fluctuation η from mean water depth. Moreover, the dissolved
oxygen instrument (called as the DO meter, hereafter) was used to measure the bulk concentration
of oxygen in the water flume, see Moog et al. (1999).

186
 A-D
Converter
PC with Floware
Ultrasonic RD-50
Depth
Sensor Flow Analyzer

y
B x 300mW Ar-ion
ha z Laser Tube
Air Flow Optic System
h Laser Probe Air Cooling
(u,v)
Water Flow

Figure 2. LDA system with an ultrasonic wave gauge and coordinate system.

Table 1. Hydraulic condition.

ua,max u∗a um u∗w

RUN (m/s) (cm/s) (cm/s) Fr (cm/s)

OPEN1 0.0 0.0 8.3 0.10 0.39

OPEN2 0.0 0.0 16.6 0.20 1.15
OPEN3 0.0 0.0 24.8 0.30 1.30
OPEN4 0.0 0.0 33.1 0.40 1.58
OPEN5 0.0 0.0 41.4 0.50 1.97
OPEN6 0.0 0.0 49.7 0.60 2.37
OPEN8 0.0 0.0 66.3 0.80 2.78
COM21 1.58 5.80 16.6 0.20 1.12
COM22 2.23 6.91 16.6 0.20 1.10
COM23 3.58 12.5 16.6 0.20 1.09
COM24 4.31 17.0 16.6 0.20 1.15
COM25 5.06 17.6 16.6 0.20 1.31
COM26 5.83 23.8 17.4 1.21 1.46
COM27 6.56 26.9 17.4 0.21 1.41
COM28 7.24 29.1 18.2 0.22 1.48
COM51 1.11 4.3 41.4 0.50 1.35
COM52 1.11 9.1 42.2 0.51 1.31
COM53 1.11 15.6 43.1 0.52 1.29
COM81 3.93 3.94 66.3 0.80 2.78
COM82 3.93 9.23 66.3 0.80 2.76
COM83 3.93 13.6 67.1 0.81 2.70

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Fundamental turbulent properties

The fundamental statistics of coherent motions in the water layer were investigated by the one-
point measurements by LDA using a linear filtering technique (LFT) by Benilov et al. (1974) and
a wavelet analysis of Daubechies (1988). A LFT has been frequently used to clarify the semi-
periodic flows like wind-induced waves flows (see, Cheung and Street, 1988). Fig. 3 shows the
2
vertical profiles of the flatness value Fv ≡ v4 /v 2 calculated by the data of the vertical velocity
fluctuation v (open circle) and decomposed velocity fluctuation v∗ (open triangle) in the case of
OPEN, COM22 and COM26. Here, v∗ means the data in which the wind-induced semi-periodic
component is removed with a LFT. It is clearly observed that there’s the large value of Fv not only
near the bed due to the wall turbulence, but also near the interface due to the air-sheared flow.

187
 a) OPEN (Fr = 0.2, Ua,max = 0.0 m/s) b) COM22 (Fr = 0.2, Ua,max = 2.23 m/s)
10.0 10.0
9.0 9.0
8.0 Raw dada with no filter 8.0
7.0 7.0
6.0 Decomposed data 6.0
Fv 5.0 with LFT Fv 5.0
4.0 4.0
3.0 3.0
2.0 2.0
1.0 1.0
0.0 0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
z z
h h

c) COM26 (Fr = 0.2, Ua,max = 5.83 m/s)

10.0
9.0
8.0
7.0
6.0
Fv 5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
z
h

Figure 3. Flatness value Fv ≡ v4 /v4 (Case: OPEN, COM22 and COM26).

This is because that the coherent motions are generated by the air-sheared flows and these motions
correspond to the result which was observed in the visualization of the flow with the hydrogen
bubbles method, mentioned before. In addition, it is interestingly notified that the turbulence,
which is not associated with the interface fluctuation, is generated, when the high-speed wind
blows over the water surface.
Fig. 4 (a) shows the relationship between the non-dimensional bursting period TB+ ≡ TB U∗w 2
/νw
and the friction Reynolds number R∗ ≡ U∗w h/νw in no air-sheared open channel flows. The cur-
rent data was analyzed by the 4th quadrant half-threshold value method by Nakagawa & Nezu
(1978). In the figure, the data of Nakagawa & Nezu (1978) was added. Fig. 4 (b) shows the rela-
tionship between the non-dimensional bursting period TB+ ≡ TB U∗s 2
/νw andthe friction Reynolds
number R∗η ≡ U∗s η /νw in wind-induced open channel flows. Here, η ≡ η2 is the root mean
square (rms) value of η. It is recognized that for the relatively high Reynolds number, TB+ is likely
1/2 1/2
to be proportional to R∗ or R∗η in both open channel flows and wind-induced open channel flows.

In addition, from the renewal theory, when these bursting motions contribute the renewal motions
beneath the air-water interface and the representative velocity of renewal motions can be replaced

188
 a) Open-channel b) Wind-induced open-channel
103 2 103
1
1 2
102 1 1
2
+ TBU*s
2 TB ≡
+ T U vw 102
T* ≡ B *w
vw present study z+=30
10
present study z / h = 95.0
Nakagawa & Nezu (1978)

1 10
102 103 104 1 10 102
U h U η
R* ≡ *w R*η ≡ *s
vw vw

Figure 4. Relationship between the bursting period and the Reynolds number (a) open channel flows,
(b) wind-induced open channel flows).

by the friction velocity U∗w or U∗s , then the following equation can be obtained,

3.2 Gas transfer and turbulent motion

The reaeration coefficient K2 has been effectively used to monitor the environmental quality of
water in rivers and lakes. K2 is defined as follows,

where Cs is the equilibrium concentration of the gas in water in contact with air, and Cb is the bulk
concentration of the gas. t denotes time. Also, KL is defined as follows,

J means the gas flux across the air-water interface. From Eqs.(5) and (6), the following equation
to evaluate KL is derived,

where V denotes the water volume and A shows the air-water interface area where the gas flux
occurs. Eq.(7) is roughly derived by the assumption that the fluctuation of air-water interface is
approximately neglected in comparison with the water depth. In this study, K2 was calculated by
the two-station method suggested by Rathbun (1988) . Fig. 5 shows a sketch of typical length scales
and the concentration profile of oxygen gas beneath the air-water surface, accompanied with the
DO meter in this experiment. In this study, it is assumed that the bulk concentration of oxygen
gas is nearly constant along the water depth. In the two-station method, K2 is calculated as follows
(see Fig. 6),

189
 ln D
A-D converter
(Keyence) Amplier DO sensor
A

C AIR K2,acc
Csat
Concentration Boundary
Layer (Surface Diffusion C(t) INTERFACE x K2,conv Upstream station
Layer) δc
Kolmogoroff WATER B
Length Scale
η Downstream station

Surface-influenced
Layer Cb(t)
δs O2
∆t Time
DO deficit Travel time between two station

Figure 5. Sketch of typical length scales and Figure 6. Sketch of two station method in order to
concentration profile of oxygen gas beneath the analyze the gas transfer coefficient [9].
air-water interface.
Open-channel
10-3 Open-channel
10
present study
1
8 Present study Moog (1995)
Moog (1995)
6 Chu & Jirka (1995)
KL 10-1
(cm/s)
4 KL Sc
U*w 1
10-2 1
2 2 4
Large-Eddy Model Small-Eddy Model
0
10-3 10-2 10-1 1 10 102 103 104 10-3
2 102 103 104
U*w Um U h
R* = r*w
h w

Figure 7. Gas transfer coefficient and power of Figure 8. Gas transfer coefficient and the fricition
mean water stream in open channel flows. Reynolds number in open channel flows.

where D ≡ Cs − Cb denotes the deficit of the dissolved oxygen in water flow, t means the travel
time of fluid between two station (A and B), x is the distance between them. In this method, KL
can be obtained by the Eq.(7) and (8). In addition, it is well known that KL varies dependently
on the temperature, therefore, KL in the following figures means the gas transfer coefficient at
20 degree C (Elmore & West, 1961). √
Fig. 7 shows the relationship between the non-dimensional gas transfer coefficient KL+ Sc and
the friction Reynolds number R∗ in no air-sheared open channel flows. √ In the figure, the dataset
of Moog (1995) is added. It is recognized that the dependency of KL+ Sc to R∗ is from −1/4
to −1/2. This tendency corresponds to the small eddy model and the large eddy model. It can
be suggested that as R∗ becomes larger, the gas transfer is governed by the small eddy model,
as suggested by Theofanous et al. (1976). Fig. 9 shows KL against the friction velocity U∗a in
wind-induced open channel flows. In the figure, the data of Chu (1993) is included. It is observed
that the data of Fr = 0.2 (open circle) is greatly affected by the air shear. This may be because the
coherent motions beneath the air-water interface are generated
√ by the air-sheared flows. Fig. 10
shows the non-dimensional gas transfer coefficient KL+ Sc and the friction Reynolds number √ R∗η
in wind-induced open channel flows at Fr = 0.2. It is observed that the dependency of KL+ Sc to
R∗η is about −1/4, which corresponds to the small eddy model. √
After all, the above experimental results of the dependency of KL+ Sc to R∗ are explained by
the Eq.(4) which means that bursting motions contribute the surface renewal motions beneath the
air-water interface.

190
 Wind-induced open-channel (Fr=0.2)
Wind-induced open-channel 1
10-1

10-2
10-1
KL 1
10-3 Sc
U*s
present (Fr=0.2)
KL 4
10-4 present (Fr=0.5) 10-2
(cm/s)
present (Fr=0.8)
10-5 Chu (1995) (Fr=0.2)
Chu (1995) (Fr=0.62) 10-3
10-6 10-1 1 10 102 103
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 U*s η
U*a (cm/s) vw

Figure 9. Gas transfer coefficient and the friction Figure 10. Gas transfer coefficient and the friction
velocity in wind-induced open channel flows. Reynolds number in wind-induced open channel
flows.

4 CONCLUDING REMARKS

This study focuses on fundamental relationship between air-water turbulent motions and gas transfer
phenomena in wind-induced open channel flows by unique measurements. As the results, it was
shown that the coherent motions have a great influence on gas transfer phenomena and it was
clarified that the dependency of non-dimensional gas transfer coefficient to the Reynolds number
is about −1/4 by the experimental method.

REFERENCES

Benilov, A.Y. et al. (1974): Boundary Layer Meteo., Vol.6, pp.269–285.

Cheung, T.K. and Street, R.L. (1988): J. Fluid Mech., Vol.194, pp.133–151, 1988.
Chu, C.R. (1993): Ph.D Thesis presented to Cornell University.
Chu, C.R and Jirka, G.H. (1995): Air-Water Gas Transfer, B. Jahne and E.S.Monahan eds., AEON Verlag,
pp.553–569.
Daubechies, I. (1988): Comm. Pure and Appl. Math., Vol.41, pp.909–996.
Danckwerts, P.V. (1951): Indust. & Eng. Chem., Vol.43 (6), pp.1460–1467.
Elmore, H.L. and West, W.F. (1961): J. Sanitary Eng., ASCE, Vol.87, No.SA6, pp.59–71, 1961.
Eloubaidly, A.F. and Plate, E.J. (1972): J. Hydraulics Div., ASCE, Vol.98, pp.153–170, 1972.
Fortescue, G.E. and Pearson, J.R.A. (1967): Chemical Engrg. Sci., Vol.22, pp.1163–1176.
Higbie, R. (1935): AIChE Trans, Vol.31, pp.365–390.
Komori, S et al. (1993): J. Fluid Mech., Vol.249, pp.161–183.
Lamont, J.C. and Scott, D.S. (1970): AIChE J., Vol.16 (4), pp.513–519.
Moog, D.B. (1995): Ph.D Thesis presented to Cornell University.
Moog et al. (1999): J. Hydr. Eng., ASCE, Vol.125, pp.3–10.
Nezu, I. and Nakagawa, H. (1993): Turbulence in Open Channel Flows, IAHR-monograph, Balkema,
Netherlands.
Rashidi et al. (1991): Int. J. Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.34, No.7, pp.1799–1810.
Rathbun, R.E. (1988): J. Enrironr. Eng., ASCE, Vol.114, No.2, pp.473–475.
Theofanous, T.G. et al. (1976): Int. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol.19, pp.613–624.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Estimation of the transfer velocity of carbon dioxide at the

surface of wind waves

H. Tsumori & Y. Sugihara

Department of Earth System Science and Technology, Kyushu University, Kasuga, Fukuoka, Japan

A. Masuda
Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, Kasuga, Fukuoka, Japan

ABSTRACT: An experimental study for estimating accurately the transfer velocity of CO2 at the
surface of wind waves is presented. Vertical profiles of the mean wind speed and the concentration
of CO2 in the air were measured in a wind-wave tank. The local flux of CO2 was estimated at several
fetches by using the profile method. The concentration of CO2 dissolved in the water was measured
by using a gas-liquid equilibrator made of hydrophobic porous tube. The local CO2 transfer velocity
on the water side was obtained from the local flux and the concentration difference across the air-
water interface. The transfer velocity increases monotonously with the friction velocity, and also
increases remarkably with the fetch under the condition of the same friction velocity.

1 INTRODUCTION

The gas transfer velocity of CO2 at the air-sea interface has frequently been investigated through
laboratory wind-wave experiments and field observations. Various empirical expressions for the
transfer velocity have been proposed and most of them have been represented in terms of functions
of the mean wind speed referred to the 10 m height. The developments of wind waves and turbulent
boundary layer depend strongly on the fetch of the sea surface, so that the transfer velocity under
the condition of the same wind speed seems to vary owing to the degree of their developments.
Thus, it is very important to reveal quantitatively the fetch dependence of the gas transfer velocity.
However, in most previous experiments, the overall transfer velocity averaged over the whole
interface in a wind-wave tank has been measured. There are few laboratory studies concerning the
fetch dependence of the transfer velocity.
Komori et al. (1993) measured the local CO2 transfer velocity in a laboratory wind-wave tank.
They set a control volume on the air side over the region of fetch = 3 to 5 m, and obtained the local
flux across the air-water interface from the budget of CO2 within the volume. As an alternative
method to quantify the local gas transfer rates, we may think of the eddy correlation method
and the profile method. Especially, the latter allows us to estimate the local flux from laboratory
measurements of vertical profiles of the wind speed and the concentration of CO2 in the air.
The purpose of this study is to estimate experimentally the transfer velocity of CO2 at the surface
of wind waves. Vertical profiles of the mean wind speed and the mean concentration of CO2 in
the air were measured in a wind-wave tank. In order to estimate the local CO2 flux at a certain
fetch, we employed the profile method in laboratory experiments. The concentration of CO2 in
the water was measured by using a gas-liquid equilibrator made of hydrophobic porous tube. The
local CO2 transfer velocity was obtained from the local flux and the concentration difference of
CO2 across the air-water interface. The dependence of the transfer velocity on the fetch was also
examined.

193
2 ESTIMATION OF CO2 TRANSFER VELOCITY

In order to estimate the local CO2 flux at a certain fetch F (mol/m2 s), the profile method was used.
For the turbulent transfer of passive scalar, the turbulent Schmidt number νt /Kt , where νt (m2 /s)
is the eddy viscosity and Kt (m2 /s) the eddy diffusivity of CO2 , is close to the unity. By using the
mixing-length model, we obtain

where Ca (mol/m3 ) is the mean concentration of CO2 in the air, z the vertical coordinate axis taken
upward from the still water surface, u∗a (m/s) the friction velocity on the air side and κ the von
Kármán constant (=0.4). After the integration for both sides of (1), we obtain a logarithmic law
for the mean concentration of CO2 in the air:

where C∗ (mol/m3 ) is a representative concentration defined as F/u∗a and Ca (z0 ) the concentration
at the height of the roughness length z0 . We can estimate the local fluxes at several fetches from the
product of C∗ and u∗a , which are obtained according to logarithmic laws. Consequently, the local
gas transfer velocity on the water side kL (m/s) can be obtained from the following relation:

where Cw (mol/m3 ) is the concentration of CO2 in the bulk of water and Cs (mol/m3 ) is the
equilibrium concentration on the water side balanced with the concentration of CO2 on the air side
at the air-water interface.

3 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

Experiments were made by using a wind-wave tank as illustrated schematically in Figure 1. The
tank was 17 m long, 0.60 m wide and 0.80 m deep, and the water depth was kept at 0.39 m. The
horizontal coordinate axis x was taken leeward from the upwind edge in the tank, and x indicates
the fetch. In order to estimate the CO2 flux from the water side to the air side, the concentration
of CO2 in the water was increased in advance to about 40,000 ppm by injecting the 100% CO2 gas

Pitot tube
Water pump
Sampling tube
x=2m x=6m x=9m x = 12 m

Wind z Air
x CO2-rich
water

Gas-liquid 100 %
PC CO2
equilibrator

Flow controller NDIR

Air pump

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of experimental apparatus.

194
into the circulating water. After the aeration, wind waves were generated by blowing the air above
the water surface. The reference wind speed at the entrance of the wind tunnel Ur was varied from
4.0 to 12.0 m/s. Vertical profiles of the wind speed and the concentration of CO2 in the air were
measured at the fetch x = 2.0, 6.0, 9.0 and 12.0 m along the centerline of the tank. The vertical
profile of the wind speed was measured by using a Pitot tube in the range of 0.30 m above the
still water surface. u∗a was calculated by fitting the logarithmic law to the vertical profile. The
10 m-wind speed U10 was calculated by extrapolating the wind speed to 10 m height according to
the logarithmic law.
Figure 2a shows a schematic diagram of the measuring system for the concentration of CO2 in the
air. The air in the wind tunnel was sampled by two inlet tubes, which were traversed vertically in the
range of z ≤ 20 cm. The sampling flow rate was about 1 l/min. The control of the sampling flow rate
and the dehumidification of the air were made by a flow controller instrument. The concentration
in the air was measured by using a non-dispersive infrared gas analyzer (NDIR, LI-COR LI-6252).
The NDIR was calibrated with 198 and 498 ppm standard CO2 gases. The data were recorded on a
personal computer at 1 Hz. Though the air was sampled for 90 s at each level, only the data for the
latter 60 s were used to evaluate the mean concentration.
Figure 2b shows a schematic diagram of the measuring system for the concentration of CO2
dissolved in the water. The partial pressure of CO2 in the water was quantified by using a gas–liquid
equilibrator made of hydrophobic porous tube. There were a large number of small holes on the
surface of the tube, and the diameter of the holes was about 1 µm. The CO2 gas can be exchanged
between the equilibrator and the water through such holes. An air-circulating circuit through the
gas–liquid equilibrator and NDIR was set as shown in the figure. The position of the gas-liquid
equilibrator was changed depending on experimental conditions. The equilibrator was located at
0.20 m below the still water surface and 0.50 m backward from the measuring position on the
air side. The air CO2 flowing in the hydrophobic porous tube was rapidly equilibrated with the
dissolved CO2 in the water. The equilibrated gas was dehumidified by both the peltier dryer and
the magnesium perchlorate (Mg(ClO4 )2 ). The partial pressure of CO2 in the equilibrated gas pCO2
was measured by a NDIR (RMT DX-6100) which can measure up to 50,000 ppm. The concentration
of CO2 in the water Cw was evaluated on the basis of Henry’s law. The solubility of CO2 in the
water was calculated by using a function of Weiss (1974).
The mean concentration of CO2 in the water during the flux measurement was used as Cw in
(3) because the concentration decreases temporally. According to Henry’s law, Cs was calculated
from the partial pressure on the air side at the interface obtained by extrapolating the concentration
profile to z = 0. The gas transfer velocity of CO2 was normalized to kL600 for the fresh water at the
standard reference temperature of 20◦ C by means of the Schmidt number dependence proposed by
Jähne et al. (1987). The Schmidt number Sc is defined as νw /D, where νw is the kinematic viscosity
of the water and D the molecular diffusivity of CO2 in the water. We computed Sc by using a
function of Wanninkhof (1992).

(a) 3-way valve (b)

Air inlet 1 Mass flow
Mg(ClO4)2 controller
column 2-way valve
Needle valve Flow meter
3SV1 Mg(ClO4)2 Air pump
Wet gas Dry gas column
Air inlet 2 Wind-wave
Sample cell
tank Wet gas Dry gas
NDIR Out
Air pump 3SV3 LI-6252 NDIR
Reference cell DX6100
Peltier Peltier In
dryer 2SV1 dryer
Gas-liquid
Zero gas
198 ppm equilibrator
Span gas
2SV2 498 ppm

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of measuring system for CO2 : (a) on the air side and (b) on the water side.

195
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 3 shows the vertical profiles of the mean concentration of CO2 in the air in the case of
Ur = 6.0 m/s. The solid lines indicate the fitting curves for the logarithmic law obtained by the
least square method. Though the concentration on the water side is unequal for each case in the
strict sense, it is clear that the vertical gradient of the concentration increases with the fetch. It
is also apparent that logarithmic layers are formed near the water surface. The values of C∗ were
evaluated by fitting (2) to these logarithmic layers.
The corresponding profiles normalized by using u∗a and z0 are shown in Figure 4, where the solid
line indicates (2) and all the data in the present study are plotted. A large scattering of the data are
seen around the solid line in the region of z/z0 > 3.0 × 102 because the logarithmic law is applicable
only to the profile at small z. It is observed that the data agree accurately with (2) in the vicinity of
the water surface. This implies that C∗ estimated from the experimental results has a good accuracy.
Figure 5 shows the time variation of the partial pressure in the water pCO2 , from the start of the
aeration to the end of the measurement in the case of x = 9.0 m and Ur = 8.0 m/s. pCO2 increases
gradually from the start of the aeration, and reaches about 40,000 µ atm after about 4,000 s. A rapid
change of pCO2 is found as soon as the wind begins to blow, and the partial pressure decreases
monotonously due to the transfer of CO2 from the water side to the air side.
In Figure 6, the time variations of pCO2 during the flux measurement are shown for the
cases of x = 9.0 m and Ur = 4.0, 8.0 and 12.0 m/s. We should note that the partial pressures are

100 104
x = 2.0 m
x = 6.0 m
x = 9.0 m
x = 12.0 m
10-1 103
z (m)

z/z0

10-2 Ur = 6.0 m/s 102

x = 2.0 m
x = 6.0 m
x = 9.0 m
x = 12.0 m
10-3 101
10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Ca ( mol/l) [Ca(z0) – Ca(z)]/C*

Figure 3. Vertical profiles of mean concentration Figure 4. Normalized vertical profiles of mean
of CO2 in the air. concentration of CO2 in the air.

1.2

50000 1.0 Ur = 4.0 m/s

pCO2/pCO2start

0.8
40000 8.0 m/s
pCO2 ( atm)

0.6
30000 Stop of aeration
Start of wind blowing 12.0 m/s
0.4
20000 Start of measurement
on the air side x = 9.0 m
0.2
10000 x = 9.0 m
Ur = 8.0 m/s
0 500 1000 1500
0 2000 4000 6000 Time (s)
Time (s)
Figure 6. Dependence of the reduction rate of
Figure 5. Time variation of pCO2 . pCO2 on the wind speed.

196
non-dimensionalized by the value at the start of the measurement pCO2start . The figure shows that
the reduction rate of pCO2 increases with the wind speed and the transfer velocity should increase
with the wind speed. By averaging the partial pressure during the flux measurement, we calculated
the values of Cw , which are necessary when estimating the transfer velocity.
Figure 7 shows the relations between the CO2 transfer velocity on the water side kL and the
friction velocity on the air side u∗a . The results of experiments and field observations obtained by
other researchers are also plotted in the figure. All the data in the figure have been normalized to
kL600 . The experimental data of Komori et al. (1993) and Komori & Shimada (1995), and the field
data of McGillis et al. (2001) correspond to the results of local flux measurements. On the other
hand, the data of Broecker et al. (1978) (quoted from Jähne et al., 1979) and Ocampo-Torres et al.
(1994) correspond to the transfer velocities averaged over the whole interface in a wind-wave tank.
The results in this study show that the transfer velocity increases monotonously with the friction
velocity, and also increases remarkably with the fetch under the condition of the same friction
velocity. Komori et al. (1993) pointed out that the airflow separated at the wave crest reattaches
in front of the leeward wave, where a high-shear region is formed and surface renewal eddies are
generated. For a longer fetch, the airflow is separated more frequently, so that surface renewals may
be more active. Therefore, the transfer velocity increases with the fetch if the mechanism of Komori
et al. (1993) controls the mass transfer across the air-water interface. Though the dependence of
wind waves and water-side turbulence on the fetch cannot be shown in the present study, the
growth of them may be closely connected with the fetch dependence of the transfer velocity. It is
also observed that the present results are relatively larger than the fetch-averaged transfer velocity
obtained by other researchers. The difference between the present results and McGillis et al. (2001)
becomes large in the region of low wind speed, whereas in the region of u∗a > 0.5 m/s, their data
are close to the present results in the case of long fetch.
In the case of x = 2.0 m, the increasing rate of the transfer velocity begins to decrease around
u∗a = 0.3 m/s, and it tends to increase again in the range of high friction velocity. This behavior has
been already reported by Komori et al. (1993) and Komori & Shimada (1995). In their experiments,
the measurements were carried out in the region of x = 3 to 5 m. Therefore, their results correspond
to the transfer velocity in the case of short fetch. On the basis of the comparison of the present
results with their ones, it is deduced that the transfer velocity in the case of short fetch indicates such
a behavior against the friction velocity. As a reason why the transfer velocity tends to saturate in the
region of intermediate friction velocity, Komori et al. (1993) concluded that the energy transferred
from the airflow to water-side turbulence tends to saturate because of the energy consumption by
wave growth.
In order to compare the experimental data in the present study with previous empirical expres-
sions, the relations between the gas transfer velocity kL and the 10 m-wind speed U10 are shown in
Figure 8, where all the data have been normalized to kL600 . The results in the present study become
larger than those of Liss & Merlivat (1986) and Nightingale et al. (2000) within the wind range

Komori et al. (1993) [×10-3]

x = 2.0 m
Komori & Shimada (1995) x = 6.0 m
McGillis et al. (2001)
10-3 Broecker et al. (1978)
x = 9.0 m
x = 12.0 m
Ocampo-Torres et al. (1994) 1.0
Liss & Merlivat (1986)
Wanninkhof (1992)
Nightingale et al. (2000)
kL(m/s)
kL(m/s)

McGillis et al. (2001)

10-4 Jacobs et al. (2002)
0.5
x = 2.0 m
x = 6.0 m.
10-5 x = 9.0 m
x = 12.0 m

10-1 100 0 10 20 30
u*a (m/s) U10 (m/s)

Figure 7. Relation between kL and u∗a . Figure 8. Relation between kL and U10 .

197
shown in the figure. In the region of U10 < 10 m/s, the present results except the case of x = 2.0 m
agree approximately with the expression of Jacobs et al. (2002), while in the region of U10 > 15 m/s,
the results for x = 9.0 and 12.0 m are comparatively close to the expression of Wanninkhof (1992).
The difference between the present results and the expressions of Jacobs et al. (2002) and McGillis
et al. (2001), which provide the local transfer velocities based on the eddy correlation method, is
found to be large in the region of high wind speed. However, their field observations were made in
the region of U10 < 15 m/s, in which the present data almost exist between their expressions.

5 CONCLUSIONS

This paper presents laboratory wind-wave experiments to estimate the CO2 transfer velocity at the
surface of wind waves. In the experiments, the vertical profiles of the wind speed and the concentra-
tion of CO2 in the air were measured at several fetches, and the local CO2 flux was estimated by using
the profile method. The concentration of CO2 dissolved in the water was quantified by using the
gas-liquid equilibrator. The local transfer velocity on the water side was obtained from these exper-
imental results. The transfer velocity increases monotonously with the friction velocity and also
increases remarkably with the fetch under the condition of the same friction velocity. In addition, the
transfer velocity in the present study becomes relatively large compared with that averaged over the
whole interface obtained by other researchers. With regard to the dependence on U10 , in the region
of U10 <10 m/s, the present results agree approximately with the empirical expression of Jacobs
et al. (2002) except the case of x = 2.0 m, while in the region of U10 >15 m/s, the results in the cases
of x = 9.0 and 12.0 m are comparatively close to the expression of Wanninkhof (1992). The fetch
dependence of the transfer velocity seems to be closely connected with the growth of wind waves
and turbulent boundary layer, so that it is reasonable to suppose that an empirical expression for the
transfer velocity should be described in terms of local characteristics of wind waves and turbulence.

REFERENCES

Broecker, H.C., J. Petermann & W. Siems 1978. The influence of wind on CO2 -exchange in a wind-wave
tunnel, including the effect of monolayers. J . Mar. Res. 36: 595–610.
Jacobs, C., J.F. Kjeld, P. Nightingale, R. Upstill-Goddard, S. Larsen & W. Oost 2002. Possible errors in CO2 air-
sea transfer velocity from deliberate tracer releases and eddy covariance measurements due to near-surface
concentration gradients. J . Geophys. Res. 107: doi:10.1029/2001JC000983.
Jähne, B., K.O. Münnich & U. Siegenthaler 1979. Measurements of gas exchange and momentum transfer in
a circular wind-water tunnel. Tellus 31: 321–329.
Jähne, B., K.O. Münnich, R. Bösinger, A. Dutzi, W. Huber & P. Libner 1987. On the parameters influencing
air-water gas exchange. J . Geophys. Res. 92: 1937–1949.
Komori, S., R. Nagaosa &Y. Murakami 1993. Turbulence structure and mass transfer across a sheared air-water
interface in wind-driven turbulence. J . Fluid Mech. 249: 161–183.
Komori, S. & T. Shimada 1995. Gas transfer across a wind-driven air-water interface and the effects of sea
water on CO2 transfer. In B. Jähne & E.C. Monahan (eds), Air-Water Gas Transfer: 553–569. Hanau: AEON.
Liss, P.S. & L. Merlivat 1986. Air-sea gas exchange rates: Introduction and synthesis. In P. Baut-Ménard (ed.)
The Role of Air-Sea Exchange in Geochemical Cycling: 113–127. Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
McGillis, W.R., J.B. Edson, J.E. Hare & C.W. Fairall 2001. Direct covariance air-water CO2 fluxes. J . Geophys.
Res. 106: 16729–16745.
Nightingale, P.D., G. Malin, C.S. Law, A.J. Watson, P.S. Liss, M.I. Liddicoat, J. Boutin & R.C. Upstill-Goddard
2000. In situ evaluation of air-sea gas exchange parameterizations using novel conservative and volatile
tracers. Global Biogeochem. Cycles. 14: 373–387.
Ocampo-Torres, F.J., M.A. Donelan, N. Merzi & F. Jia 1994. Laboratory measurements of mass transfer of
carbon dioxide and water vapour for smooth and rough flow conditions. Tellus 46B: 16–32.
Wanninkhof, R. 1992. Relationship between wind speed and gas exchange over the ocean. J . Geophys. Res.
97: 7373–7382.
Weiss, R.F. 1974. Carbon dioxide in water and seawater: The solubility of a non-ideal gas. Mar. Chem. 2:
203–215.

198
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Surface-renewal eddies at the air-water interface in

oscillating-grid turbulence

Y. Sugihara & H. Tsumori

Department of Earth System Science and Technology, Kyushu University, Kasuga, Fukuoka, Japan

ABSTRACT: Characteristics of surface-renewal eddies are investigated experimentally to exam-

ine the mechanism of gas transfer at the air-water interface. The experiments are performed in
oscillating-grid turbulent flows with various water depth. The horizontal velocity fields on the
interface are measured using a particle image velocimetry. The gas transfer velocities on the water
side are also obtained through aeration experiments of O2 . Statistical quantities such as the dissi-
pation rate and the free-surface divergence are obtained from the results of velocity measurements.
The experimental data support that the root-mean-square of the free-surface divergence increases
in proportion to (εs /ν)1/2 , where εs is the dissipation rate and ν the kinematic viscosity of the water.
The gas transfer velocity is found to depend on −1/4 power of a turbulent Reynolds number. This
implies that the interfacial gas transfer due to oscillating-grid turbulence should be described by a
certain kind of small-eddy model.

1 INTRODUCTION

For sparingly soluble gases such as O2 and CO2 , the gas transport across the air-water interface is
usually controlled by the resistance in the water phase, so that interfacial gas transport rates are
determined by the gas transfer velocity on the water side. The formulation of the transfer velocity has
frequently been made in terms of turbulent characteristic quantities concerning surface-renewal
eddies. Thus, detailed observations of such eddies are an important subject from viewpoints of
environmental hydraulics and chemical engineering.
One of the simple laboratory flow systems is turbulence in the absence of mean flow, which is
often generated using an oscillating grid. Chu & Jirka (1992) examined the concentration boundary
layer of O2 on the water side close to the air-water interface in grid-generated turbulent flows. They
pointed out on the basis of cospectra from velocity and concentration fluctuations that large eddies
in a lower frequency range dominate the interfacial gas transfer, so concluded that a dimensionless
gas transfer velocity is in proportion to −1/2 power of a turbulent Reynolds number. On the other
hand, using a similar experimental apparatus, Asher & Pankow (1986) and Dickey et al. (1984)
found out the relation kL ∝ D1/2 (εs /ν)1/4 with D being the molecular diffusivity of O2 in the water.
This finding supports that the gas transfer should be represented in terms of a small-eddy model (e.g.
Jähne & Monahan, 1995). These earlier experiments thus become inconsistent though turbulent
fields are simple enough.
The purpose of this study is to present some laboratory results of relevance to surface-renewal
eddies at the air-water interface in oscillating-grid turbulent flows. The horizontal velocity fields
on the air-water interface are measured using a particle image velocimetry (PIV), and turbu-
lent characteristic quantities of such eddies are obtained from the results of the measurements.
The relations between the quantities and the gas transfer velocity on the water side are also
examined.

199
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of experimental apparatus. The size of a rectangular water
tank was 25 cm long, 25 cm wide and 60 cm deep. A horizontal square grid was oscillated in the
vertical direction to generate turbulence. The mesh size of the grid M was 5.0 cm, and the width
of crossing square bars was 1.0 cm. Tap water across a filter system for purification was used as
the working fluid. Experimental parameters are summarized in Table 1, where fg and Sg denote the
frequency and the stroke of the grid oscillation, respectively and zs is the distance from the center
of the grid oscillation to the water surface. Re indicates a grid Reynolds number defined as fg Sg2 /ν.
A particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used for velocity measurements on the air-water inter-
face; the setup is shown in Figure 1a. A horizontal plane very close to the interface was illuminated
with a 1 kW slide projector, and flow pattern images in this plane were taken with a digital video
camera. The PIV analyses with two digital images taken at an interval of 30 s were conducted for
the region of 20 × 20 cm2 far from walls of the water tank. The number of pixels in the image is
listed in the table. The spatial resolution in the present analyses l becomes 0.58 mm or 0.63 mm.
Statistical quantities, i.e. the turbulent kinetic energy ks , the dissipation rate of the energy εs , the
vertical vorticity ω, Taylor’s micro length scale λ and the integral length scale l defined as ks3/2 /εs ,
were obtained from the results of velocity measurements. The free-surface divergence β, i.e.

(a) (b)
y water surface
25 × 25 cm2 Digital video
camera

DO meter

Projector Digital
x recorder
PIV region
20 × 20 cm2
zs N2 PC

Oscillating grid
Bubbler
Motor

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of experimental apparatus: (a) for PIV and (b) for aeration experiments.

Table 1. Experimental parameters.

Run No. fg (Hz) Sg (cm) M (cm) zs (cm) Re Pixels l (mm) kL (cm/s)

1 2.0 4.0 5.0 15 3.73 × 103 344 × 344 0.58 8.18 × 10−4
2 2.0 4.0 5.0 10 3.73 × 103 316 × 316 0.63 9.74 × 10−4
3 2.0 4.0 5.0 7.5 3.73 × 103 316 × 316 0.63 1.20 × 10−3
4 4.0 4.0 5.0 15 7.47 × 103 344 × 344 0.58 9.69 × 10−4
5 4.0 4.0 5.0 10 7.47 × 103 316 × 316 0.63 1.31 × 10−3
6 4.0 4.0 5.0 7.5 7.47 × 103 316 × 316 0.63 1.76 × 10−3
7 2.0 6.0 5.0 15 8.40 × 103 344 × 344 0.58 1.46 × 10−3
8 4.0 6.0 5.0 15 1.68 × 104 344 × 344 0.58 2.61 × 10−3

200
with u and v being fluctuating velocities in x and y directions, respectively, was also deduced
because it has been thought to be directly associated with surface renewal eddies. McKenna &
McGillis (2004) conducted laboratory experiments concerning the gas transfer due to oscillating-
grid turbulence, and they concluded that bulk turbulence estimates are unable to provide a strong
relationship for the gas transfer velocity, whereas the free-surface divergence becomes important in
the interfacial gas transport. Under assumptions that horizontal velocity fluctuations are isotropic
in a horizontal plane and both the vertical velocity and the vertical gradient of horizontal velocity
are set to zero at the air-water interface, these statistical quantities were calculated by averaging
arithmetically the mean values for five instantaneous velocity fields. Longitudinal wavenumber
spectra for velocity fluctuations along pixel lines in x and y directions were also calculated, and
the statistical mean values F(k) with k being the wavenumber were obtained from the ensemble
averages over all the spectra for five velocity fields.
The gas transfer velocities on the water side kL were obtained through aeration experiments of O2 ;
the setup is shown in Figure 1b. The concentration of O2 in the water was decreased in advance by
injecting N2 into the water in the tank. After the injection, turbulence was generated by oscillating
the grid. The transfer velocities were determined from the increasing rate of O2 transferred from
the air side to the water side. The values of kL are given in Table 1.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 2 shows a snapshot of the instantaneous horizontal velocity field on the air-water interface,
which has been obtained from PIV measurements in the case of Run1. It is observed from the
figure that the turbulent structure is almost isotropic and homogeneous in the horizontal plane.
Also, relatively large horizontal eddies are found to form in the turbulence.
Contour maps of the vertical vorticity and the free-surface divergence calculated from the velocity
field shown in Figure 2 are drawn in Figures 3 and 4, respectively. Here, the solid and dotted lines
indicate the positive values and negative ones, respectively. The values of the integral length scale
and the Taylor micro length scale are given in these figures, and they are 2.73 cm and 0.61 cm,
respectively. In the regions for large vorticity exist the horizontal eddies appearing in Figure 2, and
the spatial scale of these regions corresponds approximately to the integral length scale. On the other
hand, the spatial scale of the free-surface divergence is significantly smaller than that of the vorticity,
and it seems to be characterized by the micro length scale rather than the integral length scale.
Figure 5 shows longitudinal wavenumber spectra for velocity fluctuations under the conditions
of Runs 1 to 3, for which the grid conditions were remained fixed and the water depth was varied

Integral scale Integral scale

Taylor microscale Taylor microscale

15 15 15
y (cm)
y (cm)

y (cm)

10 10 10

5 5 5

5 10 15 5 10 15 5 10 15
1.0 cm/s
x(cm) x (cm) x (cm)

Figure 2. Instantaneous horizon- Figure 3. Contour map of instant- Figure 4. Contour map of instant-
tal velocity field on the air-water aneous vertical vorticity. aneous free-surface divergence.
interface.

201
 101
101
Run 1
Run 1 Run 2
Run 2 100 Run 3
100 Run 3

10-1
10-1 5

F(k) (cm2/s2)

F(k)/(ksλ)
3
10-2 10-2

5
5 
10-3  10-3 2
2

10-4 10-4

10-5 -1 10-5
10 100 101 102 10-1 100 101 102
k (cm-1) kλ

Figure 5. Longitudinal wavenumber spectra for Figure 6. Dimensionless longitudinal wavenumber

velocity fluctuations. spectra.

from 7.5 to 15 cm. The slope of the spectra is found to be independent of the water depth, though
the magnitude is decreased with increasing the water depth. The spectra decay approximately
in proportion to −5/2 power of k, and the spectral slope becomes steep compared with −5/3
power for isotropic turbulence. The power exponent is comparatively close to that for oscillating-
grid turbulence obtained experimentally by Brumley & Jirka (1987). These spectra have been
nondimensionalized by using the turbulent kinetic energy and the Taylor micro length scale, and
the dimensionless profiles are shown in Figure 6. The figure shows that the dependence of the
spectra on the water depth has vanished, and they have been normalized to a universal relation.
It should be noted that in the case where the water depth or the integral length scale is used for
the normalization, the dimensionless profiles cannot be expressed universally. These facts suggest
that the micro length scale is significant to quantify statistical properties of surface-renewal eddies
very close to the air-water interface.
Considering the units of the free-surface divergence, we examine the dependence of the root-
mean-square (RMS) of the surface divergence βrms on the ratio of the turbulent velocity ks1/2 to the
integral length scale l or the micro length scale λ. Figure 7 shows the relationship between βrms and
ks1/2 /l. It is difficult to find a certain relation between both, so that l is not suitable for characterizing
the free-surface divergence. Figure 8 also demonstrates the dependence of βrms on ks1/2 /λ. The RMS
of the surface divergence βrms increases linearly with ks1/2 /λ, and the proportionality constant is
independent of the water surface. Thus, the free-surface divergence is closely connected with
the micro length scale. Here, let us check the relationship between the dissipation rate εs and
νks /λ2 , which is represented in Figure 9. A strong proportional correlation is observed between
both, the proportionality constant appears to be somewhat smaller than 15 for isotropic turbulence.
According to Figures 8 and 9, βrms should be proportional to the inverse of Kolmogorov’s time scale
(εs /ν)1/2 . Figure 10 shows the dependence of βrms on (εs /ν)1/2 , and the experimental data support
the following relation:

The relation between the gas transfer velocity kL and the RMS of the free-surface divergence
βrms is shown in Figure 11. It is seen from the figure that kL is proportional to 1/2 power of βrms .
From the experimental results, we obtain

202
 4.0 4.0

3.0 3.0
βrms (1/s)

βrms (1/s)
2.0 2.0

1.0 1.0

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0 1.0 2.0 3.0

ks1/2 /l (1/s) ks1/2 /λ (1/s)

1/2 1/2
Figure 7. Dependence of βrms on ks /l. Figure 8. Dependence of βrms on ks /λ.

0.8 4.0

0.6 3.0
βrms (1/s)
εs (cm2/s3)

0.4 2.0

0.2 1.0

0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

νks/λ2 (cm2/s3) (εs/ν)1/2 (1/s)

Figure 9. Relation between εs and νks /λ2 . Figure 10. Dependence of βrms on (εs /ν)1/2 .

10-2 100
Present data
Chu & Jirka
Shimada et al.
Eq. (4)
kLSc1/2/ks1/2
kL (cm/s)

4
10-3 10-1
1 1

2
Present data
Eq. (3)

10-4 10-2
10-1 100 101 101 102 103 104
βrms (1/s) Rts

1/2 1/2
Figure 11. Relation between kL and βrms . Figure 12. Relation between kL Sc /ks and Rts .

McCready et al. (1986) investigated the gas exchange process at a mobile air-water interface, and
showed that the gas transfer velocity normalized with the friction velocity acting on the interface
1/2
and the kinematic viscosity of the water, is in proportion to βrms . When their relation is rewritten
as the dimensional one, the coefficient of proportionality becomes 0.71, which is of same order
as that of (3). By substituting (2) to (3) and using the turbulent velocity ks1/2 , the nondimensional

203
transfer velocity becomes then:

where Sc indicates the Schmidt number defined as ν/D, and Rts a turbulent Reynolds number
defined as ks2 /εs ν. The above expression can be recognized as a scalar transport model based on
the concept of small surface-renewal eddies. The behaviors of kL Sc1/2 /ks1/2 against Rts are shown
in Figure 12, where experimental data of Chu & Jirka (1992) and Shimada et al. (1998) are
also plotted. The values of ks and εs are necessary to normalize the experimental data of other
researchers. They have been determined on the basis of semi-theoretical expressions for turbulent
characteristic quantities of oscillating-grid turbulence proposed by Matsunaga et al. (1999). This
figure shows that the nondimensional gas transfer velocity is found to depend on −1/4 power
of Rts over a wide parameter range. The solid line in the figure gives the expression in (4), and
agrees accurately with the experimental results. Therefore, it is concluded that the mechanism of
the interfacial gas transfer due to oscillating-grid turbulence should be described on the basis of
a certain kind of small-eddy model. We compare the proportionality constant in (4) with those in
similar expressions obtained from small-eddy concepts in previous studies. For the interfacial gas
transfer in open-channel turbulent flows, Brown et al. (1970) and Prasher (1973) gave 0.22 and
0.196, respectively. It is worth notice that these values are comparatively close to 0.18, though
open-channel turbulent flows are very complicated compared with grid-generated turbulent flows.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The horizontal velocity fields on the air-water interface in oscillating-grid turbulent flows were
measured by means of PIV. The turbulent kinetic energy, the dissipation rate, the vertical vorti-
city, the free-surface divergence, the Taylor micro length scale, the integral length scale and the
wavenumber spectrum were obtained from the estimates of the velocity fields. The gas transfer
velocities of O2 on the water side were also measured. Based on the results of these measurements,
the relations between the gas transfer velocity and the statistical quantities were investigated.
The RMS of the free-surface divergence, which is significant to quantify properties of surface-
renewal eddies, was found to be closely connected with the micro length scale, whereas the integral
length scale is unable to show a clear relationship with the surface divergence. It is seen from
the experimental data that the RMS of the surface divergence is proportional to (εs /ν)1/2 . The
dimensionless gas transfer velocity normalized with the turbulent velocity was found to depend
on −1/4 power of the turbulent Reynolds number. A reasonable conclusion is that the mechanism
of the interfacial gas transfer due to oscillating-grid turbulence should be described in terms of a
certain kind of small-eddy model, not large-eddy model.

REFERENCES

Asher, W.E. & J.F. Pankow 1986. The interaction of mechanically generated turbulence and interfacial films
with a liquid phase controlled gas/liquid transport process. Tellus 38B: 305–318.
Brown, L.C. 1970. Oxygen transfer in open channel flow. Ph.D thesis, University of Wisconsin.
Brumley, B.H. & G.H. Jirka 1987. Near-surface turbulence in a grid-stirred tank. J . Fluid Mech. 183: 235–263.
Chu, C.R. & G.H. Jirka 1992. Turbulent gas flux measurements below the air-water interface of a grid-stirred
tank. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 35: 1957–1968.
Dickey, T.D., B. Hartman, D. Hammond & E. Hurst 1984. A laboratory technique for investigating the rela-
tionship between gas transfer and fluid turbulence. In W. Brutsaert and G.H. Jirka (eds), Gas Transfer at
Water Surfaces: 93–100. Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
Jähne, B. & E.C. Monahan 1995. Air-Water Gas Transfer; Selected Papers, 3rd Int. Symp. Air-Water Gas
Transfer, 24-27 July 1995. Hanau: AEON.

204
Matsunaga, N., Y. Sugihara, T. Komatsu & A. Masuda 1999. Quantitative properties of oscillating-grid
turbulence in a homogeneous fluid. Fluid Dyn. Res. 25: 147–165.
McCready, M.J., E. Vassiliadou & T.J. Hanratty 1986. Computer simulation of turbulent mass transfer at a
mobile interface. AIChE J. 32: 1108–1115.
McKenna, S.P. & W.R. McGillis 2004. The role of free-surface turbulence and surfactants in air-water gas
transfer. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 47: 539–553.
Prasher, B.D. 1973. Gas absorption into a turbulent liquid. Chem. Eng. Sci. 28: 1230–1232.
Shimada, T., R. Misumi & S. Komori 1998. The effect of sea water on CO2 transfer velocity across the air-water
interface. Trans. Jpn. Soc. Mech. Eng. 64 (621) B: 186–193 (In Japanese).

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical simulation of two-phase flow in aeration tank

Mao Jingqiao & Chen Yongcan

Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, China

Wang Deguan
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hohai University, China

ABSTRACT: Because DO reflects the operating reliability of the reactor, the simulation and
forecast of the concentration of dissolved oxygen (CDO ) or the air-rate distribution in aeration tank
plays a key role in engineering practice. Up to now, the references about the numerical simulation
of two-phase flow in aeration tank are rather limited. In this paper, a serial numerical model has
been set up. The numerical model focus on this study combines two-dimensional shallow water
flow model and two-dimensional mass transport model with the capability of predicting the flow
and CDO distribution in super-mini bubbles or pure oxygen aeration tank. Numerical simulation is
carried out based on ADI (Alternative directional implicit) scheme. A 1D two-phase flow numerical
model was established for discussing air-rate change along upright direction of air-aeration tank.
These results will head to a possibility of improvement of operating reliability of aeration tank and
designing proceeding.

1 INTRODUCTION

Sewage treatment is an important part of environmental conservation, and the aeration tank is
one of the most important reactors of the processing procedure. Designing high efficient aeration
tank is always the key problem for environment engineers. Up to now, most aeration projects are
designed based on empirical formulas and some experiments. Although these empirical formulas
are very useful for designers, they are lack of sufficient theoretical basis. At percent time, most
sewage treatment techniques are based on activated sludge process. Aeration tank with plug-flow
type, a traditional disposal technique of aeration tank, is still used in many sewage treatment plants
till now due to excellent treatment efficiency.
The concentration of dissolved oxygen CDO is one of the most important water quality variables
in aeration tank, which could reflect aeration effect and sewage disposal effect. There are several
popular aeration systems. Their types are different, but could be classified basically as air-aeration
and pure oxygen aeration. Oxygen uptake rate of pure oxygen aeration can be 90% (Gu, 1993),
almost ten times as large as air-aeration system. In recent years, a new air-aeration, super-mini
bubbles aeration, could make oxygen uptake rate up to 70% in specified tank with sufficient water
depth (Xu, 2000). In this paper CDO is taken into accounted in pure oxygen aeration and super-mini
bubbles aeration for its stable flow status. Air-rate is studied for the turbulent flow of air-aeration
and low oxygen uptake rate situation.

2 BASIC EQUATIONS OF CONCENTRATION MODEL

As a huge plug-flow aeration tank, its vertical dimension is much smaller than others. As far as
oxygen uptake rate concerned, the trend of developing aeration is pure oxygen aeration or super-mini
bubbles aeration in order to get high oxygen uptake rate but less power consumed.

207
The numerical model is based on following equations along the water depth averaged:

where C – the concentration of dissolved oxygen; h – water depth; ρ – wastewater or water density; x
and y denote variables in longitudinal and transverse directions respectively; u, v – depth-averaged
velocity components in the directions of x and y axes respectively; Dx and Dy are depth-averaged
diffusion coefficients; Sc – source and consumption. Some parameters in the model can be given
by using the following formulas:
1) Chezy coefficient: c0 = h1/6 /n, where
 n is manning roughness coefficient;
2) Turbulent viscosity: εx , εy = 0.1 h (∂u/∂x)2 + (∂u/∂y)2 .
Boundary condition is as follows:
Inflow: u(x, y, t) = ui (t), C(x, y, t) = Ci (t); Outflow: h(x, y, t) = hi (t), ∂C/∂n = 0; and Solid
boundary: v · n = 0, ∂C/∂n = 0.

3 NUMERICAL METHOD

Alternative direction implicit (ADI) scheme and alterative meshes are used in the numerical model.
ADI scheme is a classical finite difference method, first given in 1970, and its solution is stable and
accurate for the present numerical model. For ADI scheme, time step t is split as two semi-steps:
(n)t → (n + 1/2)t and (n + 1/2)t → (n + 1)t. Double sweep, a useful and simple method
for ADI scheme, is used in the model. For the stability of solution, the shear stress of momentum
equations was given as time-averaged formulation (5). Every variable was given as space-averaged
value, which is not defined in specified mesh point.

Convection component of equation (4) is expressed as upwind finite difference formulation:

Because the outflow and land boundary condition of concentration field is ∂C/∂t = 0, a row of
false mesh should be created out of boundary. In the proceeding of Double Sweep, the CDO value
of outflow and land boundary must be given. To satisfy second order accuracy, it is assumed that
Ck−1 = Ck+1 , then Ck = (Fk + Ek Fk−1 )/(1 − Ek Ek−1 ), where k – land and outflow boundary; k + 1 –
false mesh; Ek , Fk – coefficients of Double Sweep.

208
4 CALCULATIONAL EXAMPLES

4.1 Example I
Plug-flow aeration with one inflow point is a common inflow pattern, which has been proven with
excellent BOD disposal efficiency, and CDO of outflow can attain up to 2 mg/L. On the other hand,
research has proved that the forepart of tank is always in anerobic condition, while the CDO of
posterior part is excessive. To overcome this disadvantage, a newer technique called stage inflow
was invented, which was first advocated from analogy of experience.
Figure 1 shows flow field of one inflow point status, and Fig. 2 shows CDO distribution contour
correspondingly. Flow field and CDO distribution of stage inflow are described as Fig. 3 and Fig. 4
respectively. It could be known from Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 that stage inflow status makes averaged CDO
of forepart to increase. On the other hand, CDO of outflow in stage inflow status is lower than the
status with one inflow point, showing in Fig. 5. To get the same CDO of outflow, the length of tank
must be extended.
In Fig. 6, these lines demonstrate different intervals of two inflow points, which are ranged
from 0.1 L to 0.5 L. It could be seen that there is a concentration wave between two inflow points.
While the interval accesses 40% of the length of the tank, the concentration peak could receive the
maximum. To make CDO of outflow competency, based on the analyses of this model, it is strongly
suggested that the interval should be taken as 20% to 30% of the length.

inflow outflow

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38

Figure 1. The flow field in one point inflow situation after 0.5 hours simulation period.

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
-5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Figure 2. Distribution contour of CDO in one point inflow situation after 0.5 hours simulation period.

inflow inflow outflow

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38

Figure 3. The flow field in stage inflow situation after 0.5 hours simulation period.

209
 6

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

-5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45
Figure 4. Distribution contour of CDO in stage inflow situation after 0.5 hours simulation period.

Figure 5. The comparison between one point Figure 6. The comparison among different
inflow and stage inflow. intervals of stage inflow.

outflow
18

16

14

12

10

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38

Figure 7. The flow field after 0.5 hours simulation period.

4.2 Example II
Yizheng sewage disposal plant is located in Jiangsu province, China, near the Yangtze River. One
of the aeration tanks of rectangular shape uses super-mini bubbles system with three galleries.
The size is 38 m × 18 m × 3.5 m. Figure 7 and Fig. 8 are flow field and CDO distribution contour
respectively. As shown in Figs 9–14, analysis and comparison between calculation and observations
has demonstrated that the model is correct. The similarity between simulated results and the real
status is quite reasonable.
To avoid the anaerobic reaction in the forepart of tank, it was advised by some designers that the
tank width should been widened. It could be seen from Fig. 13 that the concentration of dissolved
oxygen distribution in a tank of 30 meters width has no value peak of CDO in the posterior part but
in the middle resulting in debasing the BOD disposal effect of the tank. Concerning the importance

210
 15

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
Figure 8. Distribution of CDO (centigram/L) after 0.5 hours simulation period.

Figure 9. The comparison between one point Figure 10. The comparison between calculation
inflow and stage inflow. and observation for CDO of the second gallery.

Figure 11. A comparison between calculation Figure 12. The comparison between calculation
and observation for CDO of the third gallery. and observation for CDO of outflow.

of the size, the relation between operation efficiency and aspect ratio (the rate of width to length)
is given in Fig.14. It is clear that the optimal rate is from 1:5 to 1:8.

5 1D TWO-PHASE FLOW MODEL

As to air aeration system with larger bubbles, oxygen uptake rate is low. Air-rate along vertical
direction plays an important role in flow status and sludge stabilization. The tank could be taken as
many resembled vertical flow pipes. The vertical flow is air-water two-phase flow, so the numerical

211
30

25
70
65
60
20 55
50
45
15 40
35
30
25
10 20
15
10
5 5
0

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Figure 13. Distribution of CDO (centigram/L) after 0.5 Figure 14. The relation between operation
hours simulation period with a width of 30 meters. efficiency of tank and aspect ratio.

model was created as 1D two-phase model expressed as follows (Cheng, 1991):

where α – air-rate, p – pressure to the two-phase,  – increasing rate of air mass, q – heat flux; ρ∗ –
density of k-phase, v∗ – velocity of mix, e∗ – intrinsic energy of k-phase, in which set k = g, l, m
for the gas, liquid phase and mixture phase respectively.
The above equations are taken as time-averaged equations. Velocity, air-rate, and turbulence
energy are weighted average variables, pressure, density are averaged normally. The above men-
tioned equations are not a closed mathematical system, so some closure relations must be specified
for solving them (Valero, 2001). In the course of this work, the following relations should be
used: ρm = αρg + (1 − α)ρl , ρg = p/RT , em = αeg + (1 − α)el , dek = ck dTk and  = Q/L. Here,
R = 8.3144 J/(mol·K); T is temperature; Ck is specific heat of k-phase; Q is absorbed heat; L is
latent heat of gas.

6 DISCRETE METHOD

A semi-implicit scheme with alterative meshes (Liles, 1978) is used to make the governing equations
discrete. Convection component and pressure gradient locate on n + 1 time level, and the other
variables are located on n time level. Here, all average marks overhead are omitted.

212
Figure 15. The relation of air-rate with mass flow rate from Smith empirical formula.

Figure 16. The relation of air-rate with mass flow Figure 17. The relation of air-rate with depth
rate from homogeneous phase empirical formula. from 1D two-phase flow.

Here: v, ρ are values of the mixture; S = αρg (1 − α)ρl v  /ρm g, S  = αρg (1 − α)ρl v 2 /ρm , ε = ρm em ,
ω = αρg (1 − α)ρl (eg − el )/ρm , ξ = (1 − α)v (ρl − ρg )/ρm .
For an aeration tank with 3.5 meters depth, while airflow discharge is 125 cm3 /s, and the flow
velocity of aerators is 0.57 cm/s, the analysis about the results of the empirical formulas and cal-
culation are shown in Figs 15–17. The relations between air-rate α and mass flow rate χ are shown
in Fig. 15 based on Smith empirical formula (Cheng, 1991) with different situations. Fig. 16 is
the result of homogeneous phase empirical formula with ρl /ρg = 25. The relation between α and
depth is shown in Fig. 17. Air-rate increases while depth decreases. While the pressure reaches the
smallest value near the water surface, air-rate heightens in the site strikingly. The results agree with
empirical formulas quite well.

7 CONCLUSION

It is reasonable to take following simplifications: (i) The average values of oxygen concentration
and air-rate are taken. (ii) The aeration system is configurated evenly on the tank bottom. (iii) The
suspended particles and sludge are neglected.

213
 Starting from the two-dimensional numerical model, the concentration of dissolved oxygen
distribution could be simulated. And the air-rate change along vertical depth could be calculated
in terms of the 1D two-phase numerical model. The best interval of inflow points of stage inflow
type can be defined from 20% to 30% of the length; the optimal aspect ratio is from 1:5 to 1:8.
The disposal efficiency with different sizes of tanks could be analyzed too. The optimal aerating
condition may be selected based on the results of air-rate simulated along the depth. The rationality
of the models has been shown in this paper by the reasonable accuracy, and the prospect working
with fully perfect numerical model based on the model still remains attractive.
Because of the numerous and complicated patterns of aeration tank, some improvement for
tanks with deeper depth or with small sizes is needed. Because it’s difficult to observe the air-rate
value along vertical depth in aeration tank, it is very necessary to do some experiments to make
the two-phase model more pragmatic and available.

REFERENCES

Cheng X.J. 1991. Two-phase and heat Transfer-Principle and Application. Nuclear Energy Press, China.
Gu X.S. 1993. Numerical Method for Wastewater Treatment[M]. Tsinghua University Press, China.
Liles D.R. 1978. A Semi-Implicit Method for Two-phase Fluid Dynamics[J]. J. of Computational Physics,
Vol. 26.
Xu B.J. & Nong T.Y. 2000. Contemporary Principles of Water and Wastewater Treatment[M]. Higher education
publishing Press, China.
Valero E., Ricchiuto M. & Degrez G. 2001. Two-phase Flow Computations using a Two-Fluid Model and
Fluctuation Splitting Schemes[C]. Trends in Numerical and Physical Modeling Multiphase Industrial
Multiphase Flows, Meeting, 26th–28th September 2001.

214
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Study on numerical simulation for rupture of bubble at water surface

by Level Set method

Koji Asai
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yamaguchi University, Ube, Japan

Koichi Tsubogo
Graduate school, System Engineering, Yamaguchi University, Ube, Japan

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we attempt numerical simulations on the ruptures of bubbles at water
surface by using the Level Set method. The Level Set method proposed by Sussman et al. is one
of the Gas-Liquid two-phase analytical methods. Firstly, we try to investigate the effect of the
numerical scheme for advection term on the performances of the Level Set method by solving a
dam break problem. Especially, volume conservations and mass conservations are checked. The
third order TVD-MUSCL scheme was used for advection term of a movement equation, and the
CIP method was used for advection term of a distance function. Finally, the numerical simulations
of ruptures of bubbles are conducted.

1 INTRODUCTION

Physical quantities transported through a water-air interface are momentum, heat and so on.
Recently, attention has been paid to oxygen, carbon dioxide, and methane from the viewpoint
of the global environmental problem. Transport phenomena through the water-gas interface are
concerned with water surface turbulence. The following four phenomena can be considered as
factors that induce water surface turbulence.
I. Wind wave
II. Collision of water drops with the water surface
III. Collision of eddies or turbulence with the water surface
IV. Rupture of bubbles at water surface
In this study, we have paid our attention to the rupture of bubbles and have attempted numerical
simulations of bubble rupture at water surface by using the Level Set method(1) .
Firstly, we try to investigate the effect of the numerical scheme for advection term on the
performances of the Level Set method by solving a dam break problem. Volume conservations and
mass conservations are checked. Finally, we consider whether surface tension gives any difference
to phenomenon of ruptures of bubbles.

2 METHOD OF APPROACH

2.1 Governing equations

The governing equations of gas-liquid two-phase fluid are the equations of continuity, a momentum
equation, and the law of conservation of density. The liquid phase and the gaseous phase are dealt
with as incompressible fluid. The governing equations are expressed with the following equations.

215
where u is the flow velocity, p is the pressure, µ is the fluid viscosity, F is a body force, and we
denote FS as the surface tension.

2.2 Level Set function

The Level Set method does not solve the equation (3), instead solves the following equation for the
conservation of the Level Set functions.

In which,  is the Level Set function. We shall initialize  to be signed normal distance from
the gas-liquid interface. Therefore, if the value of the Level Set function is zero, the gas-liquid
interface exists. It is taken positive outside the liquid phase and negative inside the gas phase.

2.3 Reinitialization
The character as a distance function will be lost in the stage of transporting a Level Set function
and the gas-liquid interface will disappear depending on conditions. Therefore, reinitialization of
a Level Set function is required. It is conducted after calculation of the equation (4). Specifically,
the following equation will be calculated until stationary solutions are obtained.

where, S(0 ) = 0 /(20 + ε)1/2 , 0 is the value of the Level Set function following after solving
the equation (4). ε is a parameter to avoid an indeterminate form when 0 = 0.
An interface position 0 = 0 is always the stationary solution. Interface positions do not change
in principle. However, it is found that interface positions can move in the iteration calculation
of equation (5). We adopt a numerical treatment in which equation (5) is not computed near the
interface (−0.5α < 0 < 0.5α; α is an interface thickness as shown in section 2.4.).

2.4 Density and viscosity

In the Level Set method an interface is not sharp face but have a finite thickness α. The value of
α is one mesh size. Densities and viscosities change in this region smoothly. Using a heavy side
function H , we can express the density and the viscosity as follows.

216
2.5 Correction of volume
Volumes of the liquid phase and the gas phase are not always conserved after the reinitialization,
so a correction of the volume is required. The correction method of volume proposed by Himeno(2)
is employed in this study. The procedure of the correction method of volume is as follows.
Step 1: Computing the volume of the gas phase using the following equation.

Step 2: Computing the volume error between the initial volume of the gas phase VGas (0) and
VGas (t). VErr (t) is the volume error induced by the reinitialization.

Step 3: Computing the following equation.

V (t) is the volume of interface thickness in the computational region and can be obtained by
equation (12).

Step 4: Adding LErr (t) to all the values of level set function.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Dam break problem

To estimate the most suitable advection computation scheme for the momentum equations and
the Level Set function equation, we computed the dam break problem which was experimentally
studied by Martin & Moyce(3) a half-century ago and then widely used as a benchmark test for
numerical models. A 40 × 40 mesh, with the grid spacing being uniformly 0.015 m, is used. The
initial rectangular water column has a width L = 0.15 m and a height of 2 L. As shown in Fig. 1, the
collapse of the water column creates a complex configuration that is characterized by the breakup
and coalescence of liquid and a heavily distorted interface.
We validated the computational model by examining the displacement of the waterfront along
the lower surface. The normalized displacement is plotted in Fig. 2. The computational result
of the TVD-CIP (3rd order TVD-MUSCL scheme was used for advection term of a movement
equation, and the CIP method(4) was used for advection term of a distance function) agrees well
with the experiment, while the TVD-TVD gave a less accurate front speed. Mass and volume are
conserved well.
It is found from this test problem that the 3rd order TVD MUSCL scheme is suitable for the
momentum equation and the CIP scheme is suitable for the Level Set function equation.

3.2 Rupture of bubble problem

The phenomenon of ruptures of a single bubble, which was situated underwater initially, on the
water surface was analyzed.
A calculation domain and initial arrangement is shown in Fig. 3. Values of each of the physical-
properties are shown in Table 1. The initial diameter D of gas bubble used here were of two kinds,

217
 t = 0.0 s t = 0.1 s t = 0.2 s

t = 0.3 s t = 0.6 s t = 0.7 s

Figure 1. The Level Set function of the density current generated by the release of a rectangular water dam.
The interface is computed by the TVD-TVD (3rd order TVD-MUSCL scheme was used for advection term
of a movement equation, and the 3rd order TVD-MUSCL method was used for advection term of a distance
function).

4
Z/L

Exp.(Martin & Moyce, 1.125in)

Exp.(Martin & Moyce, 2.25in)
TVD-CIP
TVD-TVD
0
0 2 4
t(2g /L)½

Figure 2. Time change in water column front Figure 3. Initial arrangement of calculation for
position. rupture of bubble.

Table 1. The physical-properties value used by calculation for rupture of bubble(2) .

Fs (N/m) µ (PaS) ρ (kg/m3 )

Water 0.072 0.001 1000

95.7%* 0.02846 0.00179 812
10.0% 0.05633 0.00217 984

* Concentration of ethanol aqueous solution.

218
 t = 0.10s

t = 0.14s

t = 0.16s

t = 0.19s
(a) Water (surface tension 0) (b) 95.7%* (c) 10.0%* (d) Water
* Concentration of ethanol solution

Figure 4. The numerical results of ruptures of bubble (initial diameter is 0.01 m).

D = 0.01 m and D = 0.02 m. Although the size of all calculation domains changed with sizes of
the diameter of air bubbles, in both the cases, the calculation domains were divided into the grid
of 80 × 80. In both cases the time increment was set to t = 1.0 × 10−3 sec. Boundary conditions
were made of individual walls with a slip. The 3rd order TVD-MUSCL scheme was used for
advection term of a movement equation and the CIP method was used for advection term of a
distance function.
Figure 4 shows the numerical results of the rupture of bubble of which the initial diameter is
0.01m. The explosion starts from the core of the bubble film when the surface tension is 0. It is
understood that the time for the collapse by the surface tension is early.
Figure 5 is the result of the analysis of rupture of bubble with diameter of 0.02 m. This is the
same condition as Nabesaka’s(5) experiment. Near the water surface, each of the gas bubble divides
into two, and then the divided bubbles move to the sidewalls. In this case, an action very different
from the case with a diameter of 0.01 m was observed. When surface tension is large, it turns
out that the time to divide underwater gas bubbles into two is early. In Nabesaka’s experiment it

219
 t = 0.10s

t = 0.20s

t = 0.22s

t = 0.23s

t = 0.28s
(a) 95.7%* (b) 10.0%* (c) Water
*Concentration of ethanol solution

Figure 5. The numerical results of ruptures of bubble (initial diameter is 0.02 m).

220
is reported that a hole spreads in the shape of a concentric circle from one point of a gas bubble
film in ethanol solution of concentration 10.0%. The present position is maintained and the bubble
explodes along with a film in ethanol solution of concentration 95.7%. Our calculation results
differ from Nabesaka’s experiment results. We can consider the following points to be the reason of
the discrepancy between the numerical results and the experimental results. (a) The computational
region is small. (b) The two-dimensional simulations have been conducted. (c) The computational
resolutions may be coarse.
The volume preservation of the bubble collapse simulation was excellent in all cases. Moreover,
the relative error of mass was of an order of 10−2 % in all cases.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The numerical analysis model of incompressible gas-liquid two-phase fluid is built using the Level
Set method. This model is excellent in conservation of volume and mass. The influence of the
surface tension on the rupture of bubbles can be estimated by using our numerical model.

REFERENCES

Sussmann, M., Smereka, P. & Osher, S. (1994) : A level set approach for computing solutions to incompressible
two phase flow, J.Comp.Phys., Vol.114, pp.146–159.
Himeno, T.: http://park.itc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/jetlab/themes/twophase/reference.html#BUBBLE2 (in Japanese).
Martine, J.C. & Moyce, W.J. (1952): An Experimental Study of the Collapse of Liquid Columns on a Rigid
Horizontal Plane, Philos.Trans.R.Soc.London Ser.A, 244, 312–324.
Yabe, T. & Aoki, T. (1991): A Numerical Solver for Hyperbolic Equations by cubic-Polynomial Interpolation,
Comput. Phys. Commun, Vol.66, pp.219–232.
Nabesaka, S., Etoh, G. & Takehara, K. (2002): A new technique to separately evaluate the effects of surface and
viscosity on rupture of a bubble at water surface, Journals of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, No.705/
II-59 pp19 pp2(in Japanese).

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 2 Stratified flow

2.1 Stratified flow-I

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The dynamic behavior of the benthic boundary layer in a

thermally stratified lake

C.L. Marti1 & J. Imberger

Centre for Water Research, The University of Western Australia, Western Australia, Australia
1 Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina

ABSTRACT: The impact of the periodic forcing on the structure and dynamics of the benthic
boundary layer (BBL) in a thermally stratified lake was investigated using data collected from two
field studies. Times series temperature data from thermistor chains were used to characterize the
thermal structure and the basin-scale internal wave field in the lake. Microstructure data were used
to derive the thickness of the BBL and to describe the mean turbulent properties within the BBL.
It was found that the thickness of the BBL on the sloping boundary of the lake varied considerably
with time and space. A clear connection of the dynamics of the BBL with the large-scale features of
the flow is presented. The time history of the mixing in the BBL was shown to vary with the phase
of the basin-scale internal waves. The findings provide a proper characterization of the dynamics
of the BBL required for water quality modelling.

1 INTRODUCTION

The benthic boundary layer (BBL) may be defined as the fluid layer, adjacent to the bottom, in
which the bottom shear and internal wave breaking cause active mixing leading to strong dissipation
of turbulent kinetic energy and a uniformity of temperature and other water column properties. It
is a layer in which many interrelated physical, geochemical and biological processes actively take
place (Boudreau & Jørgensen 2001). Although those interrelated processes are complex and many
of them are still not well understood, they are believed to have a great impact on the water quality
of the overlying water (Stumm & Morgan 1981).
The existence of BBL has been reported for a variety of marine and freshwater environments.
In the ocean, BBL’s generally exhibits a thickness of circa 100 m (e.g. Armi & Millard 1976), but
in strongly stratified water systems, the thickness can often be only a few meters or even less (e.g.
Imberger & Ivey 1993, Gloor et al. 1994, Stips et al. 1998, Gloor et al. 2000, Wüest & Lorke 2003,
Lemckert et al. 2004). The thickness of the BBL has been found to vary dramatically over sloping
boundaries within both oceans and lakes (Lentz & Trowbridge 1991, Gloor et al. 1994, Stips et al.
1998, Gloor et al. 2000) as a result of the advection induced by internal waves, repeated intrusions
of boundary mixed water into the interior, and turbulence patches being advected into the boundary
region.
Recent studies have emphasized the importance of the BBL for the overall energy dissipation
in aquatic systems and suggest that the BBL is the major energy sink for basin-scale currents due
to bottom friction and breaking of high frequency waves as they shoal upon sloping boundaries at
the depth of the metalimnion (Boegman et al. 2003, Yeates & Imberger 2004). Field results have
shown that the level of turbulence near basin boundaries and topographic features can be several
orders of magnitude higher than turbulence offshore (Imberger 1998, Gloor et al. 2000, Yeates &
Imberger 2004).
The large-scale currents, which are very often periodic, are predominantly produced by basin-
scale internal waves in enclosed water bodies (Gloor et al. 2000, Antenucci et al. 2000). The near
bottom speeds are usually in the range of ∼2 to ∼10 cm s−1 (Gloor et al. 1994, Wüest & Lorke

225
2003) and may trigger resuspension, mixing and transport of particles and nutrients within the BBL
(Gloor et al. 1994). The resulting well-mixed water may then be transported into the lake interior as
intrusions along the isopycnals (Thorpe 1998). Consequently, it may be expected that the periodicity
and magnitude of basin-scale currents, and the resulting periodic BBL turbulence, affect both the
vertical and lateral transport of solutes and resuspended particles from lake sediments toward the
interior of lake basins. Proper characterization of the BBL dynamics and fluid flow characteristics
in the BBL are thus required for water quality modelling.
In the present paper, the temporal “diurnal” and spatial dynamic behavior of the thickness,
currents and turbulence structure of the BBL in a thermally stratified lake is investigated by com-
bining measurements of the background flow conditions with measurements of properties of the
turbulence.

2 SITE DESCRIPTION AND METHODS

Data used in this investigation were collected during two field experiments conducted in Lake
Kinneret, a medium-sized freshwater lake located in the northern part of the Great Afro-Syrian
Rift, Israel (Fig. 1). The first study was performed from 14 June to 02 July, 1999, while the
second was performed from 19 June to 01 July, 2001. Lake Kinneret is approximately pear shaped
with ∼22 km length and ∼12 km width (surface area 168 km2 ), and a maximum depth of ∼43 m.
From early May until late December, the water column exhibits a stable density stratification
with epilimnetic water temperatures reaching 30◦ C in the peak of summer. Strong westerly winds
(wind speed ∼12 m s−1 ) during summer afternoons excite a broad-band of basin-scale internal
waves of various horizontal and vertical modes. Using thermistor chain data, Antenucci et al.
(2000) identified a 24-h period, vertical-mode-1 Kelvin wave as the dominant response to the wind
forcing. Vertical-mode-1, -2 and -3 Poincaré waves were also observed with periods of 12, 20
and 20 h, respectively. Lemckert et al. (2004) documented the existence of a well-developed BBL,
evolving with the vertical-mode-1 seiche and capped by the stratification of the overlying water
column. Nevertheless, the interpretations were all in terms of a vertical one-dimensional mixing
layer at seasonal time scale.
Temperature data were collected using thermistor chain moorings located at five stations (labelled
T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 in Fig. 1) aligned with the principal axis of the dominant wind direction

Tabha
34° N
Mediterranean 12 T1
T2
Sea
Tb 32 T3 T# Thermistor chain station
Lake Kinneret Tf
42 T4 T5 # Sampling station
32° N 53 52
Field experiment 1999
ISRAEL
Dead Sea Field experiment 2001
Tiberias

30° N

34° E 36° E
0 1 2
km

Figure 1. Site location and bathymetric map of Lake Kinneret with sampling stations. Contour intervals are
given in metres below the mean sea level.

226
during 1999, and at stations Tb and Tf during 2001. Each chain consisted of a series of fast response
thermistors, with accuracies of 0.01◦ C, vertically spaced at 1-m intervals in the metalimnion and
up to 5-m intervals in the epilimnion and hypolimnion during 1999, and every 0.75 m during 2001.
All stations were equipped with wind speed and direction sensors mounted 2.4 m above the water.
All data were recorded at 10-s intervals. Time series of isotherm displacements were determined
from linear interpolation of temperature records.
Microstructure profiles of temperature, temperature gradient, conductivity, and three compon-
ents of velocity were measured using the Portable Flux Profiler (PFP; Imberger & Head 1994).
The PFP has two combined four-electrode temperature and conductivity sensors (0.001◦ C and
0.0004 m s−1 resolution respectively) mounted in the front of the probe between a pair of orthogo-
nal two-component forward scatter laser Doppler velocimeters (0.001 m s−1 resolution). Profiling
vertically through the water column at a speed of ∼0.1 m s−1 and a sampling frequency of 100 Hz,
the PFP resolved the water column structure with vertical scales as small as 1 mm. Profiles were
taken close to Sta. T1 and T2 and a transect, cycling from Sta. T5 through to T12 (Fig. 1) during
1999, and close to Sta. Tb and Tf during 2001. The total number of PFP profiles taken during 1999
and 2001 field experiments were 259 and 360 respectively.
The PFP data processing techniques used in this paper follow those used by Lemckert et al.
(2004). In this study, following previous works (e.g. Lentz & Trowbridge 1991) the BBL was
defined as the region near the bottom where the observed temperature was within T = 1◦ C
of the observation closest to the bottom and the turbulence was statistically stationary. Rates of
dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy (ε) were calculated using a Batchelor curve-fitting technique
described in Luketina & Imberger (2001). The velocity shear squared S2 = (∂U/∂z)2 + (∂V/∂z)2 (U
and V velocity components and z elevation), the buoyancy frequency squared N2 = −(g/ρo )(∂ρ/∂z)
(using the sorted density profile, g acceleration due to gravity, and ρ fluid density), and the gradient
Richardson number Ri = N 2/S 2 were computed from signals low-pass filtered at 0.4 Hz, equivalent
to a vertical scale of approximately 0.25 m.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Internal wave activity

Comparing wind speed and isotherm motion during both periods of measurement, it is evident that
the isotherm displacement pattern consistently repeated from year to year (Fig. 2). This was the
result of the regularity of the wind field; a westerly sea breeze commencing daily around noon
and with speeds exceeding 10 m s−1 for a duration of 6 to 8 h (Figs 2a, d). Metalimnion isotherms
displacement revealed a pronounced 24-h periodicity associated with a vertical-mode-1 Kelvin
wave that was on phase with the wind forcing and a lower 12-h periodicity associated vertical-
mode-1 Poincaré wave (Figs 2b, c, e, f). Crests of the 24-h wave were observed daily around 2000 h
at Sta. T2 and Tb (Figs 2c, e), whereas crests of the 12-h wave were observed at the 24-h Kelvin
wave crests and troughs.

3.2 Mixed and mixing BBL

Figure 3 presents examples of representative profiles from PFP casts taken at Sta. T1, T2 and Tf.
The epilimnion was typically 10 m deep and characterized by little to no stratification (N 2 ∼ 0),
temperatures between 27 and 28◦ C, and dissipation values consistently elevated and in excess of
10−6 m2 s−3 . The metalimnion spanned from 10 to 18 m depth and was characterized by a peak
in stratification (N 2 > 5 × 10−3 s−1 ), and dissipation values generally more variable and ranged
between 10−10 m2 s−3 and 10−5 m2 s−3 . The hypolimnion extended from ∼13–18 m deep (depend-
ing on the location) to 2 to 8 m above the bottom sediments and was characterized by weak stratifi-
cation, temperatures between 17 and 18◦ C and dissipation values that seldomexceeded 10−8 m2 s−1 .
The temperature signal was used to determine the thickness of the mixed BBL whereas the
fluctuating turbulent velocity components were used to determine the thickness of the mixing

227
 Depth (m) Wind Speed (m s-1) 15
12 T2 (1999) a) Tf (2001) d)
9
6
3
0
0
T1 (1999) b) Tb (2001) e)
10
20
30
0
T2 (1999) c) Tf (2001) f)
Depth (m)

10
20
30
172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180
Day of the Year Day of the Year

Figure 2. Records of 10-minute average wind speed and isotherm displacements at 2◦ C intervals. 1999:
a) wind speed at Sta. T2; b) isotherms at Sta. T1; c) isotherms at Sta. T2. 2001: d) wind speed at Sta. T2;
e) isotherms at Sta. Tb; f) isotherms at Sta. Tf. The bottom isotherms in panels b), c), e) and f) are 18◦ C.
The days on which microstructure profiles were measured are shaded.

T (° C) 178.8986 Ri T (° C) 173.8111 Ri T (° C) 179.6451 Ri

16 22 28 0 0.5 1 16 22 28 0 0.5 1 16 22 28 0 0.5 1
0 0 0
a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i)
5
5
5 10
Depth (m)

Depth (m)

Depth (m)

10
15
10 15 20
25
20
15 30
0 0.010.02 -0.02 0 0.02 -10-5 0 0 0.010.02 -0.02 0 0.02 -10-5 0 0 0.010.02 -0.02 0 0.02 -10-5 0
N2 (rad2 s-2) u
(m s-1) ε (m2 s-3) N2 (rad2 s-2) u
(m s-1) ε (m2 s-3) N2 (rad2 s-2) u
(m s-1) ε (m2 s-3)

Figure 3. Profiles from PFP casts. a), d) and g) Temperature T profile (dash line), N 2 (solid line), and BBL
thickness (shaded area); b), e) and h) u component and mixing BBL thickness (shaded area); and c), f) and
i) gradient Ri (solid line) and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy ε (starts). Note that panels a), b) and c)
correspond to Sta. T1 (1999); panels d), e) and f) to Sta. T2 (1999); and panels g), h) and i) to Sta. Tf (2001).

region at the bottom or mixing BBL. A mixed BBL or constant temperature layer is clearly visible
in the profiles in Figures 3a, d, g (see shaded areas) and the thickness of this mixed BBL changed
in both time and space. Dissipation values in the BBL ranged from 10−9 m2 s−3 at the top of the
BBL to 10−5 m2 s−3 near the sediment boundary. In most cases, the top of the mixed BBL was
also characterized by a rapid decrease in the fluctuating velocity component u , indicating that the
thickness of both the mixed and mixing BBL coincided (Figs 3d, e, g, h, shaded areas), however
at other times the two diverged (Figs 3a, b, shaded areas). The surface layer and BBL regions
were characterized by strong u signal and Ri consistently below the critical value of 0.25. The u
signal rapidly decreased at the top of the BBL and at the bottom of the surface layer; the v and w
fluctuations (not shown) showed similar behavior. Interestingly, in most cases the mixed BBL
thickness coincided with the vertical extent of the low Ri region near the bottom. In contrast, the

228
 T12 T1
0 22:50 T2 T32 T3 T42 T4 T53 T52 T5
22:28 21:49 21:16 20:22 19:20 18:24 17:11 16:13 15:14

10
Depth (m)

20

30

40
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Progressive (km)

Figure 4. Vertical profiles of temperature (dark line) and temperature gradient (lighter line) recorded along
a transect cycling from Sta. T5 through to T12 on day 180, 1999. The stations and times are given for each
profile. The open circles indicate the BBL thickness and the crosses the bottom of each profile.

motion in the metalimnion was characterized by high Ri values. However, there were regions in the
metalimnion with strong u signals and Ri < 0.25 (Figs 3c, f, i) that bounded the high-N 2 regions,
indicating the possibility of localized shear instability as previously suggested by Boegman et al.
(2003).

3.3 Spatial and temporal evolution of the mixed BBL thickness

The spatial variation of the mixed BBL thickness along a transect from Sta. T5 through to T12
during 1999 is shown in Figure 4. It is evident that the thickness of the BBL increased with depth
of the water column, i.e. towards the centre of the lake, as shown by Lemckert et al. (2004). The
BBL at about 10 m depth (T12) was approximately 0.40 m thick and increases gradually at larger
depth to a thickness of about 10 m at Sta. T53. A similar feature was also observed in Lake Alpnach
(Gloor et al. 2000). Note that the time difference between the first and last profile (Sta. T5 and T12
respectively) was less than 8 h, smaller than the dominant basin. time scale of 24 h so that these
results were not aliased by basin-scale waves. In the shallow stations, where the data were collected
in the region of the metalimnion, the BBL thickness was inhibited by the locally strong density
gradients in the water column. On the other hand, at greater depths, away from the metalimnion/bed
interaction zones, where the density gradient was significantly reduced, the BBL thickness was
able to reach higher into the water column.
A time history of the layer thickness recorded at Sta. T1, T2 and Tf, during both experiments, is
presented in Figure 5. The thickness of the mixed BBL on the sloping boundary of the lake (slope
∼1:200) varied markedly depending on the phase of the internal wave sweeping past the station.
It can be seen that the layer thickness started to increased around 1400 h, corresponding to the
Kelvin and Poincaré wave crests being overhead, and then decreased after 2000 h when the Kelvin
and Poincaré wave crests moved away from the site. The BBL thickness change was due to both
advection moving a different BBL thickness into the site as well as increased/decreased mixing as a
result of a changing water column velocity. Examinations of the horizontal currents, averaged over
the entire BBL thickness, showed a consistent trend in both years (Fig. 5); on the leading phase
of the Kelvin wave crest, the currents were mostly onshore, decreasing in magnitude as the BBL
thickened. Under the wave crest, at maximum layer thickness, the horizontal velocities reversed
and decreased, supporting a less vigorous mixing under the wave crest. During the Kelvin wave
trailing phase, the BBL thinned and the horizontal current velocities increased once again to around
7 cm s−1 , but now directed alongshore towards the southeast. The BBL thickness was almost in
phase with the isotherm displacements, but in opposite phase to the average current amplitude in
the BBL.

229
 0 0 0
T1 (1999) a) T2 (1999) b) T3 (2001) c)
5
5
5 10
Depth (m)

Depth (m)

Depth (m)
10
15
10 20
15
25
15 20
30
Speed (m s-1)

Speed (m s-1)

Speed (m s-1)
0.1 0.1 0.1

0 0 0

-0.1 -0.1 -0.1

178.6 178.8 179 179.2 178.6 178.8 179 179.2 179.5 179.6 179.7179.8179.9
Day of the Year Day of the Year Day of the Year

Figure 5. Thickness of the BBL (open circles) superposed on contours of temperature (top panel) and time
series of the current vectors averaged over the BBL thickness (bottom panel). a) Sta. T1 on day 173, 1999;
b) Sta. T2 on day 178, 1999; and c) Sta. Tf on day 179, 2001. The crosses indicate the bottom of each profile.

4 CONCLUSIONS

From field data collected during two field experiments we have investigated the temporal and spatial
dynamics behavior of the BBL in a thermally stratified lake. The field data revealed large-scale
metalimnion oscillations with amplitudes up to 10 m and two main periodicities corresponding to
the 24-h period Kelvin wave and a 12-h period Poincaré wave, as previously observed in the lake,
and a well-mixed BBL over the lake slopes and the deepest part of the lake. It was found that
thickness of the BBL changed markedly both in time and space. Further, the short-term changes
in thickness over the lake slope were due to both advection and increased/decreased of mixing
induced by the internal wave activity. Therefore, it is important that models have routines that
simulate accurately the dynamics and structure of the BBL in aquatic systems as the BBL is a
natural feature that plays an important role in the transport processes of mass and momentum
influencing ultimately the water quality. Future work is needed to quantify the water mass transport
within the BBL and to address its ecological implications.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The first author was supported by a FOMEC Scholarship N◦ 826 (Argentina) and an Ad-Hoc Centre
for Water Research (CWR) Scholarship. The assistance and support of the CWR and Kinneret
Limnological Laboratory field staff is gratefully acknowledged.

REFERENCES

Armi, L. & Millard, R.C.J. 1976. The bottom boundary layer of the deep ocean. Journal Geophysical Research
81: 4983–4990.
Antenucci, J.P., Imberger, J. and Saggio, A. 2000. Seasonal evolution of the basin-scale internal wave field in
a large stratified lake. Limnology and Oceanography 45: 1621–1638.
Boegman, L., Imberger, J., Ivey, G.N. and Antenucci, J.P. 2003. High-frequency internal waves in large
stratified lakes. Limnology and Oceanography 42: 895–919.
Boudreau, B.P. & Jørgensen, B.B. 2001. The Benthic Boundary Layer: Transport Processes and Biogeo-
chemistry. Oxford University Press.

230
Gloor, M., Wüest, A. and Imboden, D.M. 2000. Dynamics of mixed bottom boundary layers and its
implications for diapycnal transport in a stratified, natural water basin. Journal of Geophysical Research
105: 8629–8646.
Gloor, M., Wüest, A. and Münnich, M. 1994. Benthic boundary mixing and resuspension induced by internal
seiches. Hydrobiologia 284: 59–68.
Imberger, J. 1998. Flux paths in a stratified lake: A review, p. 1–17. In J. Imberger [ed.], Physical Processes
in Lakes and Oceans. American Geophysical Union.
Imberger, J. and Head, R. 1994. Measurement of turbulent properties in a natural system. In Fundamental and
Advancements in Hydraulic Measurements and Experimentation. Hydraulics Division, ASCE.
Imberger, J. and Ivey, G.N. 1993. Boundary mixing in stratified reservoirs. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 248:
477–491.
Lemckert, C.J., Antenucci, J.P., Saggio, A. and Imberger, J. 2004. Physical properties of turbulent benthic
boundary layers generated by internal waves. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 130: 58–69.
Lentz, S.J. and Trowbridge, J.H. 1991. The bottom boundary layer over the northern Californian shelf. Journal
of Physical Oceanography 21: 1186–1201.
Luketina, D.A. and Imberger, J. 2001. Determining turbulent kinetic energy dissipation from Batchelor curve
fitting. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 18: 100–113.
Stips, A., Prandke, H. and Neumann, T. 1998. The structure and dynamics of the bottom boundary layer
in shallow sea areas without tidal influence: an experimental approach. Progress in Oceanography 41:
383–453.
Stumm W. and J.J. Morgan. 1981. Aquatic Chemistry, 2nd ed. Wiley.
Thorpe, S.A. 1998. Some dynamical effects of internal waves and the sloping sides of lakes, p. 441–460.
In J. Imberger [ed.], Physical Processes in Lakes and Oceans, American Geophysical Union.
Wüest, A. and Lorke, A. 2003. Small-scale hydrodynamics in lakes. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics 35:
373–412.
Yeates, P.S. and Imberger, J. 2004. Pseudo two-dimensional simulations of internal and boundary fluxes in
stratified lakes and reservoirs. International Journal of River Basin Management 4: 1–23.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Formation and expansion of a double-diffusive staircase in

Lake Nyos, Cameroon

M. Schmid & A. Wüest

EAWAG, Limnological Research Institute, Kastanienbaum

ABSTRACT: During the dry season of the year 2002, convective cooling triggered the formation
of a double-diffusive regime of the convective type below the chemocline at 52 m depth in Lake
Nyos. Since then, the vertical extent of the double-diffusive staircase has continuously increased,
and the front reached a depth of about 92 m in March 2004. The input of turbulent energy from
wind or surface convection below the chemocline is very weak and not sufficient to disturb the
development of the double-diffusive staircase. The lake represents thus a perfect natural laboratory
to study the expansion and the horizontal variability of a double-diffusive staircase at a much larger
scale than in laboratory experiments. Between March 2002 and March 2004, the staircase expanded
vertically with a seemingly rather constant average speed of about 1.3 m per month. The formation
of the double-diffusive staircase temporarily leads to a local divergence of the vertical heat flux,
which also propagates downwards. The merging of layers in the upper part of the double-diffusive
zone was about as frequent as the formation of new layers, keeping the number of observed layers
fairly constant.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Lake Nyos

Lake Nyos is a 208 m deep crater lake with a surface area of 1.58 km2 in the north-western part of
Cameroon. A subaquatic source introduces warm, salty and CO2 -enriched water into the deepest
layers of the lake (Evans et al. 1994; Kusakabe et al. 2000; Nojiri et al. 1993; Schmid et al. 2003).
The CO2 introduced by this subaquatic source slowly accumulates in the deep waters. In August
1986, a large part of the CO2 stored in the lake suddenly erupted, flowed down the neighboring
valleys and killed more than 1700 people (Evans et al. 1994; Kling et al. 1987; Sigvaldason 1989).
Since then, CO2 had again been accumulating in the deep waters, and a new eruption was likely
to occur within a few decades. To prevent a new eruption, a degassing tube has been installed in
the lake which transfers water from 200 m depth to the surface (Halbwachs 2002; Halbwachs &
Sabroux 2001). The water flow of 65 l s−1 through the tube is sustained by the buoyancy of the
water-gas mixture formed in the upper part of the tube.
The CO2 can only accumulate in the deep waters because of the very stable stratification of the
lake (Figure 1). Seasonal convective mixing reaches a maximum depth of about 50 m. The deeper
part of the lake, the hypolimnion, is separated from the surface waters by a chemocline, a zone
with strong chemical gradients. The energy supplied to turbulent mixing by the wind action at the
lake surface and by convection due to cooling of the surface waters is not sufficient to effectively
penetrate the chemocline. Furthermore, internal seiches are very weak. Consequently, only very
little energy is available for turbulent mixing in the hypolimnion. For this reason, the vertical
profiles of temperature and conductivity change only very slowly in the hypolimnion, with the
exception of the accumulation of CO2 , salts and heat from the subaquatic source in the bottom
waters. Figure 2 shows that temperature remained constant within 0.1◦ C between 55 and 150 m
depth during more than 5 years.

233
 0
density (T)
density (T,TDS) Degassing
density (T,TDS,CO2) pipe Epilimnion
50 Chemocline
Double-diffusive zone
Depth [m]

100 Lateral valve

Down-welling Hypolimnion
due to degassing
150

Chemocline
200
998 1000 1002 1004 1006 Subaquatic
source
Density [ kg m-3]

Figure 1. Overview of Lake Nyos. The graph to the left shows the contributions of temperature, total dis-
solved solids (TDS) and CO2 to the density stratification of Lake Nyos in December 2002. The operation of
the degassing pipe causes a down-welling of 1–3 m yr−1 . The double-diffusive staircase was formed below
the upper chemocline.
0

April 1996
50 November 2001
Depth [m]

100

150

200

22 23 24 25 26
Temperature [ºC]

Figure 2. Vertical temperature profiles measured in Lake Nyos in April 1996 (Kusakabe et al. 2000) and
November 2001.

1.2 Double diffusive convection

The vertical temperature profile with temperature increasing with depth would be unstable without
the stabilizing effects of the dissolved substances (Figure 1). Such stratification with a stabilizing
and a destabilizing component, can lead to convective layers by double-diffusion (Turner 1973)
if the effect of the stabilizing component is not more than approximately 10 times as large as the
destabilizing effect of temperature (Kelley et al. 2003). Staircases in vertical temperature and con-
ductivity profiles caused by double-diffusive convection have been observed in several lakes with a
diffusive regime: Lake Vanda (Hoare 1966; Huppert & Turner 1972; Spigel & Priscu 1998), Powell
Lake (Osborn 1973), Lake Kivu (Lorke et al. 2004; Newman 1976), and Lake Miers (Spigel &
Priscu 1998). In Lake Nyos, a double-diffusive staircase was first observed in December 2002
(Schmid et al. 2004). The double-diffusive convection caused an increase of the vertical heat fluxes
by about one order of magnitude in the upper part of the double-diffusive zone. As a consequence,
the temperature, which had hardly changed for years in this zone (Figure 2), decreased by 0.1–0.2◦ C

234
within less than one year. The present article describes the temporal development of this staircase
between December 2002 and March 2004.

2 MEASUREMENT METHODS

2.1 CTD profiles

Vertical profiles of conductivity and temperature were measured with a Sea-Bird SBE19 on 8
December 2002 (6 profiles), and on 17–21 March 2004 (8 profiles). The 2002 and 2004 profiles
included the measurement of pH with a Sea-Bird SBE-22B combined pH and oxygen sensor,
whereas the 2001 profile did not. The pH and oxygen sensors were calibrated with pH and Winkler
measurements made on water samples from several depths.

2.2 Temperature time series

Temperature time series were measured with Vemco minilogs and with RBR TR-1050 temperature
recorders at several depths. Three Vemco minilogs were located within the double-diffusive zone:
One at 62 m depth between November 2001 and December 2002, and one each on two different
moorings at 58 and 60 m depths from December 2002 to March 2004.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Evolution of the staircase between December 2002 and March 2004
Figure 3 shows the temperature and conductivity profiles measured in the double-diffusive zone in
December 2002 and March 2004. In December 2002, the double-diffusive staircase was observed
down to a depth of 74 m. From the temperature logger we know that it had reached a depth of
62 m around the end of March 2002. The staircase consequently developed with a vertical speed
of about 1.4 m per month. In March 2004, the double-diffusive staircase faded out at about 95 m
depth, which implies a vertical speed of about 1.3 m per month.
The number of observed mixed layers was around 25 to 30 in March 2004 as well as in December
2002, but the average thickness of the mixed layers increased by about a factor of two. In March
2004, two large mixed layers with thicknesses of about 4 and 5 m were observed, which must have
been formed by the merging of several smaller layers.
In the upper part of the double-diffusive staircase, between 55 and 65 m depth, the temperature
profile remained approximately constant between December 2002 and March 2004. This is also
confirmed by the data from two temperature loggers at 58 and 61 m depth which showed variations
of less than 0.05◦ C and no significant trend during this period. Below 65 m, the temperature
decreased by more than 0.1◦ C. Only a small part of this decrease can be explained by the lowering
of the whole water column due to the degassing operation, which can be estimated to ∼2 m. This
means that an average divergence of the heat flux of roughly 0.01 Wm−3 would be needed to produce
the observed changes. The average heat flux must have been about 0.3 Wm−2 higher at 65 m than
at 100 m depth, where the two temperature profiles join each other again. This divergence is very
similar to that observed between 53 and 70 m depth between November 2001 and December 2002
(Schmid et al. 2004).
Conductivity in the double-diffusive zone increased during the observation period. From double
diffusive-convection alone, we would expect a qualitatively similar but less important decrease in
conductivity. The observed increase in conductivity indicates that there must be a salt source at this
depth, which is probably the dissolution of settling particles such as iron oxides that are formed at
the lake surface due to the degassing process (Schmid et al. 2004).

235
 55
55 December 2002
March 2004

60
60

Depth [m]
Depth [m]

December 2002
65
65 March 2004

70 70

22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 22.7 22.8 500 550 600 650 700
Temperature [°C] Conductivity at 25 °C κ25 [µS/cm]

December 2002 75
75
March 2004

80 80

Depth [m]
Depth [m]

85 85

90 90

22.6 22.7 22.8 22.9 23.0 700 720 740

Temperature [°C] Conductivity at 25 °C κ25 [µS/cm]

Figure 3. Vertical profiles of temperature (left panels) and conductivity at 25◦ C (right panels) measured in
Lake Nyos in December 2002 and March 2004 between 53 and 73 m depth (upper panels) and between 73 and
93 m depth (lower panels). Note the different conductivity and temperature scales.

Lake Center 17 March Lake Center 17 March

55 Lake Center 22 March 55 Lake Center 22 March

60 60
Depth [m]

Depth [m]

65 65

70 70

22.0 22.2 22.4 22.6 600 650 700

Temperature [°C] Conductivity at 25 °C κ25 [µS/cm]

Lake Center 17 March

75 Lake Center 17 March 75 Lake Center 22 March
Lake Center 22 March

80 80
Depth [m]

Depth [m]

85 85

90 90

22.6 22.7 22.8 700 720 740

Temperature [°C] Conductivity at 25 °C κ25 [µS/cm]

Figure 4. Vertical profiles of temperature (left panels) and conductivity at 25◦ C (right panels) measured in
Lake Nyos on 17 and 22 March 2004 between 53 and 73 m depth (upper panels) and between 73 and 93 m
depth (lower panels).

236
 Lake Center Lake Center
55 700 m SSW of Center 55 700m SSW of Center

60 60

Depth [m]
Depth [m]

65 65

70 70

22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 600 650 700
Temperature [°C] Conductivity at 25 °C κ25 [µS/cm]

Lake Center
75 Lake Center 700m SSW of Center
75
700 m SSW of Center

80 80
Depth [m]

Depth [m]
85 85

90 90

22.6 22.7 22.8 700 720 740

Temperature [°C] Conductivity at 25 °C κ25 [µS/cm]

Figure 5. Vertical profiles of temperature (left panels) and conductivity at 25◦ C (right panels) measured in
Lake Nyos at the center of the lake and near the side wall of the crater 700 m South-Southwest of the center
between 53 and 73 m depth (upper panels) and between 73 and 93 m depth (lower panels).

3.2 Local and short-time variability

Figure 4 shows the vertical profiles of temperature and conductivity observed in the center of the
lake on 17 and 22 March 2004. The profiles agree perfectly below the thick homogeneous layer at
75 m depth, above, the profile from 22 March is shifted about 80 cm upwards which must be due to
internal wave motion. However, there is one exception: in one layer at 80 m depth, the conductivity
increased by about 3 µS/cm. It is interesting to compare this to the observations near the steep side
wall of the lake crater 700 m South-Southwest of the center (Figure 5). Profiles of conductivity and
temperature at these two stations agree very well. The same mixed layers are clearly discernible in
both profiles, but in several layers, the conductivity is about 2–3 µS/cm larger near the rock wall
than in the center, and usually very similar to the conductivity in the next lower layer in the center.
One of these layers is again the layer at 80 m depth. Furthermore, there are conductivity peaks at the
top of many of these layers. Interestingly, no similar differences exist in the temperature profiles.
Consequently, these signals are not due to simple mixing of water masses, but there is a source
of conductivity near the rock wall which increases the conductivity of the mixed layers from the
top. If we assume that this source is the dissolution of settling particles, the sedimentation must
be increased near the side wall of the lake. The increased conductivity can then be transferred to
the center of the lake by horizontal mixing, as seems to have happened between March 17 and 22
at the layer at 80 m depth.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The formation of a double-diffusive staircase has been triggered in Lake Nyos by convective cooling
at the top of the chemocline during the dry season in February 2002. Since then, the double-diffusive

237
staircase has been continuously expanding downwards with an average speed of about 1.4 m per
month. Within the double-diffusive zone, the heat transport is dominated by the double-diffusive
convection, and about one order of magnitude larger than it was before the onset of double diffusion.
The increased upwards heat flux leads to a local divergence of heat and consequently a reduction
of temperature near the front of the developing staircase.
The average thickness of the observed mixed layers has increased from about 0.8 m in December
2002 to 1.5 m in March 2004. The number of observed layers remained almost constant between
25 and 30, which means that for every newly formed layer at the front of the staircase, two layers
must have merged. The new layers formed between 85 and 90 m depth are around 80 cm thick.
Consequently, the formation of a new layer at the front takes on average about 20 days.
The double-diffusive zone could continue to grow until it reaches the second chemocline at
185 m depth. With the current growing speed, it would take about 6 years to reach this depth.
However, between 95 and 130 m depth, the stratification is less favorable for the formation of
a double-diffusive staircase than above and below (Schmid et al. 2004). It will be interesting to
observe in the upcoming years whether the staircase can penetrate this zone.

REFERENCES

Evans, W.C.; White, L.D.; Tuttle, M.L.; Kling, G.W.; Tanyileke, G. & Michel, R.L. 1994. Six years of
change at Lake Nyos, Cameroon, yield clues to the past and cautions for the future. Geochemical Journal
28(3): 139–162.
Halbwachs, M. 2002. Degassing Lake Nyos project: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/mhalb/nyos/nyos.htm
Halbwachs, M. & Sabroux, J.C. 2001. Removing CO2 from Lake Nyos in Cameroon. Science 292(5516):
438–438.
Hoare, R.A. 1966. Problem of heat transfer in Lake Vanda, a density stratified arctic lake. Nature 210: 787–789.
Huppert, H.E. & Turner, J.S. 1972. Double-diffusive convection and its implications for the temperature and
salinity structure of the ocean and Lake Vanda. Journal of Physical Oceanography 2: 456–461.
Kelley, D.E.; Fernando, H.J.S.; Gargett, A.E.; Tanny, J. & Oezsoy, E. 2003. The diffusive regime of double-
diffusive convection. Progress in Oceanography 56: 461–481.
Kling, G.W.; Clark, M.A.; Compton, H.R.; Devine, J.D.; Evans, W.C.; Humphrey, A.M.; Koenigsberg, E.J.;
Lockwood, J.P.; Tuttle, M.L. & Wagner, G.N. 1987. The 1986 Lake Nyos gas disaster in Cameroon,
West-Africa. Science 236(4798): 169–175.
Kusakabe, M.; Tanyileke, G.Z.; McCord, S.A. & Schladow, S.G. 2000. Recent pH and CO2 profiles at Lakes
Nyos and Monoun, Cameroon: implications for the degassing strategy and its numerical simulation. Journal
of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 97(1–4): 241–260.
Lorke, A.; Tietze, K.; Halbwachs, M. & Wüest, A. 2004. Response of Lake Kivu stratification to lava inflow
and climate warming. Limnology and Oceanography 49(3): 778–783.
Newman, F.C. 1976. Temperature steps in Lake Kivu: a bottom heated saline lake. Journal of Physical
Oceanography 6: 157–163.
Nojiri,Y.; Kusakabe, M.; Tietze, K.; Hirabayashi, J.; Sato, H.; Sano,Y.; Shinohara, H.; Njine, T. & Tanyileke, G.
1993. An estimate of CO2 flux in Lake Nyos, Cameroon. Limnology and Oceanography 38(4): 739–752.
Osborn, T.R. 1973. Temperature microstructure in Powell Lake. Journal of Physical Oceanography 3: 302–307.
Schmid, M.; Lorke, A.; Dinkel, C.; Tanyileke, G. & Wüest, A. 2004. Double-diffusive convection in Lake
Nyos, Cameroon. Deep Sea Research Part I (in press).
Schmid, M.; Lorke, A.; Wüest, A.; Halbwachs, M. & Tanyileke, G. 2003. Development and sensitivity analysis
of a model for assessing stratification and safety of Lake Nyos during artificial degassing. Ocean Dynamics
53: 288–301.
Sigvaldason, G.E. 1989. International Conference on Lake Nyos Disaster, Yaounde, Cameroon 16–20
March, 1987 – Conclusions and Recommendations. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
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238
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Turbidity currents in an Alpine pumped-storage reservoir

Johannes Bühler
Inst. of Hydromechanics and Water Resources Management, ETH Hönggerberg, Zurich, Switzerland

Christoph Siegenthaler
Geological Consulting, Zurich, Switzerland

Alfred Wüest
Applied Aquatic Ecology, FZL-EAWAG, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: The Grimsel Reservoir is located about 80 km SE of Berne, Switzerland, and part of
a pumped-storage scheme. To assess the influence of hydropower production on reservoir dynamics
and downstream turbidity, the temperature distribution in the water column and the turbidity of the
outflow were monitored in a one-year field campaign starting in summer 2000. The data obtained
in the outflow show occasional turbidity events, which were associated with strong disturbances of
the temperature stratification as well. In summer and fall the events were due to turbidity currents
caused by large and sediment-laden inflows induced by storms, whilst those in spring 2001 appear
to be related to pumped-storage operations.

1 INTRODUCTION

Local fishermen in Lake Brienz have been pointing out for a number of years that their catches
are dwindling, and they attribute this decline to an increase in water turbidity. A considerable part
of the sediment load discharged into this lake comes from the Grimsel region. The water power
in this region has been progressively harnessed by Kraftwerke Oberhasli (KWO) since the 1930s.
The question then arose whether this development might have caused a turbidity increase in Lake
Brienz. The Grimsel Reservoir plays a key role in this context, as it receives the full sediment load
produced by the mighty Unteraar glacier and traps much of it (Fig. 1).
The Grimsel Reservoir is 1909 m above sea level (asl) and has a surface area of 2.7 km2 at its
full live storage capacity of 94 · 106 m3 . Its outflow initially passed through a conduit to the Gelmer
Reservoir, but since 1954 part of it enters the Räterichsboden Reservoir via a turbine of the plant
Grimsel 1. The latest addition is a 350 MW pumped-storage plant which went on line in 1980
(Grimsel 2), and exchanges water between the Grimsel and Oberaar reservoirs.
Early in 2000 we conducted a study on sedimentation in the Oberaar Reservoir. To address the
concerns of the fishermen, the study was redirected to the Grimsel Reservoir in July of that year.
This was done by monitoring the water temperature and turbidity in the outlet of the Grimsel Reser-
voir, and by regularly collecting water samples from its outflow. The samples were subsequently
analysed in terms of chemical and physical parameters of the water and of the suspended sediments.
Additional information was obtained by installing thermistor chains in the reservoir to measure the
temperature distribution in the water column.
The results of the entire campaign were presented by Bühler and Siegenthaler (2003). Typical
grain size distributions in the outflow were bimodal, with a mean grain size d50 of about 4 µm in
the warm season (Fig. 2), and half that much in winter. The sediment load leaving the Grimsel and
Oberaar reservoirs was estimated at 25,000 t per year. No evident correlation was found between
temperature variations in the Grimsel Reservoir before December 2000 and the weekly rhythm

239
Figure 1. Hydropower installations in the Grimsel region. Location of measurements in the Grimsel Reservoir
and its outlet. (Background from brochure of KWO, “Stausee” = Reservoir).

Figure 2. Grain size distribution in outflow from Grimsel Reservoir on 23 October 2000.

of the pumped-storage operations. The present contribution relates to the signatures of turbidity
currents which were found in the turbidity records and temperature distributions.

2 TURBIDITY AND TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENTS IN THE GRIMSEL

RESERVOIR

The Grimsel Reservoir is confined by an arch dam in the main valley, and by a weight dam of
lesser height in a side valley. The outlet of the reservoir is located close to the arch dam at 1833 m
asl, which is 10 m above the local bottom and 17 m below the minimum water level. A small

240
stream of sampling water was withdrawn a few meters inside the outlet, with the aim of obtaining
measurements which reflect the water quality in the reservoir at that level even in times of no
outflow. Temperatures of the sample water were measured and recorded at intervals of 10 min.
with a MINILOG12 temperature logger by Vemco (Nova Scotia, Canada), of 0.015◦ C resolution.
A marine sensor manufactured by Sea Tech (Corvallis, Oregon), which is based on the backscatter-
ing method and operates with light of 880 nm, was used to measure the turbidity of the reservoir
outflow. To adapt this sensor for measurements in a flow it was mounted in a acrylic glass pipe,
through which the sample water passed. The output signal of the sensor was averaged and recorded
at intervals of 20 20 .
The two thermistor chains were installed on 5 July 2000. One of them was used to measure the
temperature distribution in the surface layer of the reservoir. For this purpose it was attached to a
floating buoy tied loosely to the railing on the dam, and kept upright in the water column by some
weight on its lower end. As the wet wall of the dam tilts slightly outward, the weight remained
in contact with the wall, but the thermistors further up stayed clear of it. The second chain was
installed in the lower layer and measured temperatures at fixed elevations above sea level. It was
anchored to a weight suspended from the railing, and kept taut as well as clear of the dam wall by
a submerged buoy. The chains were withdrawn on 23 November 2000, when the annual ice cover
started to develop on the reservoir, whilst measurements in the outlet continued until August 2001.

3 FEATURES AND CAUSES OF TURBIDITY CURRENTS

Most of the sediments supplied to the Grimsel Reservoir by the Unteraar Glacier are trapped, but
µm-scale fractions stay in suspension for long times and cause a permanently and well visible
turbidity of the water. The temperature measurements in summer and fall 2000 show that the
dynamics of the upper layer in the Grimsel Reservoir was controlled by the weather, as in natural
lakes. The measurements in the outflow show sudden increases of the turbidity in the deep water,
which we attribute to turbidity currents.
Gravity currents and sediment-laden turbidity currents occur in lakes and reservoirs when the
inflow is denser than the lake water (Fig. 3). In summer, bottom – hugging currents are slightly
warmer than the water they displace, because warm water from the surface layer is continuously
entrained along their path (Wüest et al. 1988). Downstream of the plunge point turbidity currents
flow down along the slope and may erode the bed or gradually deposit their sediment load
(Kranenburg & Winterwerp 1997, Siegenthaler & Buhler 1985). Such underflows in reservoirs
can reach the dam, where they are backed up and form a turbid pool of bottom water. When the
pool is sufficiently deep and reaches the outlet, the outflow from the reservoir becomes turbid as
well. Oehy (2003), and Oehy & Schleiss (2003) recently investigated such flows in reservoirs, as
well as measures designed to control them.
The turbidity and temperature record from the reservoir outlet is shown in Figure 4, together
with reservoir levels and natural inflow rates. The turbidity currents in summer and fall 2000
were caused by sediment-rich inflows due to intense precipitation and warm periods, they were,
therefore, related to the weather as well. The occurrence of turbidity currents also explains earlier

Figure 3. Turbidity current in a reservoir due to a dense inflow (from Oehy 2003).

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Figure 4. Grimsel Reservoir: Turbidity and temperature in 2000/2001. (A) Water level of the reservoir in [m],
with an offset of 1830 m relative to sea level. (B) Temperature × 10 [◦ C], and (C) Turbidity signal × 33 [V],
both in the reservoir outlet. (D) Computed natural reservoir inflows × 2 [m3 /s].

observations of sudden bottom temperature increases in this reservoir which were reported by
Bühler & Siegenthaler (2001).
Curve C in Figure 4 shows a particularly strong turbidity event on the weekend of 14/15 October
2000, on which a Foehn storm associated with precipitation struck Switzerland. The drastic increase
of the turbidity in the Grimsel Reservoir on this weekend confirms a study by Oehy (2003) who
postulated that a turbidity current developed at this time and modelled its evolution.
From 13 to 16 October the metrological records show intensive rainfall, as well as some snow;
average daily reservoir inflows were as high as 60 m3 /s. On 14 October the temperature of the
outflow rapidly decreased by 3/4◦ C, and the turbidity signal increased fourfold within 6 hrs. The
turbidity then returned to the previous value within about five weeks. The temperature variations
in the reservoir on this weekend are shown in Figure 5. The temperature was initially close to 5.5◦ C
in the entire water column due to a previous cold spell.
In the afternoon of Saturday, 14 October the temperature in the deeper layers dropped signifi-
cantly as about 107 m3 of colder water (about 10% of the reservoir volume) started flowing in, and
the resulting turbidity current reached the arch dam. The turbid and cold water was then backed up
until it reached the sensor at 27 m below the free surface. Due to a rebound the interface between
warmer and colder water dropped again to 1861 m asl. After an additional 6 h this motion ceased
too, and a sharp interface was created at −21 m, such that the sensor at that location was subject to
large temperature changes even when the interface level variations were small. The interface then
rose further and reached a level of −19 m at noon on Sunday. The uppermost sensor at −1 m was
finally affected by the disturbance too, and the surface temperature started decreasing.
Figure 4 shows that similar turbidity events occurred early in spring 2001, but the natural
reservoir inflows were still small at this time. These inflows are computed by KWO on the basis of
reservoir level variations, as well as of controlled in – and outflows related to power production.
As a consequence, reconstructed winter and spring inflows can even become negative when the
reservoir level is decreasing, since parts of the ice cover settle on the shore and cease to displace
water as they do so. Prolonged drops of the water level generally occurred on weekends, when
water was continuously withdrawn for pumped-storage operations. In spring of 2001 the drops
were particularly large because the water level was low and the corresponding reservoir surface was

242
Figure 5. Temperature distribution in the Grimsel Reservoir and turbidity signal in its outflow on October
14/15 2000. Upper layer: Sensor positions relative to water level. Lower layer: Positions above sea level.

Figure 6. Turbidity events associated with pumping operations on weekends in spring 2001. (E) Average daily
pumping rates/11 [m3 /s], other scales as in Figure 4.

small. The average daily pumping rates (E) during that period are included in Figure 6. The inflows
do show negative or decreasing values on weekends due to ice deposition. A prominent increase of
outflow turbidity occurred on the weekend of 28/29 April, during which the level dropped to the
minimum of 1850 m asl required for pumped-storage operations.

243
 The processes leading to the formation of the turbidity events in spring are not yet clearly
identified, and under ongoing investigation. Three causes which suggest themselves are (a) that
the inflow was impeded by ice deposited on the shoreline, and then eroded a new path underneath
the ice deposit, (b) that parts of the delta region, which emerged from the water but still remained
saturated, yielded under the weight of the ice deposit and slid back into the reservoir, or (c) that the
rapid level drop destabilized the sediments on the steep banks of the reservoir. All three mechanisms
could lead to turbidity currents, but the first one would require a notable inflow.
After mid-May the inflows and the reservoir level increased, and the turbidity currents were
again due to rain storms (Fig. 4).

4 CONCLUSIONS

The results of a field study of the Grimsel Reservoir in 2000 and 2001 show that temperature
variations in the surface layer is dominated by the weather in the warm season, especially by the
daily cycle of air temperature and solar radiation. Deeper layers are strongly disturbed by occasional
turbidity currents. Turbidity currents in summer and fall were due to sediment laden inflows during
rainstorms, i.e. to the weather conditions as well. In spring 2001, however, turbidity events were
associated with drops of the water level on weekends, which were due to water being transferred
into the Oberaar Reservoir by the pumps of the plant Grimsel 2 (Fig. 1). The underlying mechanisms
are not well known, and under further investigation. Possible causes are the erosion by the river of
a new passage under the ice deposited in the delta region, or slumps of still saturated and unstable
sediments just above the receding waterline.

REFERENCES

Bühler, J. & Siegenthaler, Ch. 2001. Diurnal temperature variations in a pumped storage reservoir. In Xavier
Casamitjana (ed), Physical Processes in Natural Waters; 6th workshop, Univ. of Gerona: 189–193.
Bühler, J. & Siegenthaler, Ch. 2003. Veränderungen im Oekosystem Brienzersee, Teilprojekt 3.2:
Korngrössenverteilung, Zusammensetzung und Transport von Schwebstoffen im Grimselgebiet. Amt
für Gewässerschutz und Abfallwirtschaft des Kantons Bern, Gewässer- und Bodenschutzlabor.
www.gsa.bve.be.ch/gbl/de/seen/brienzersee/pdf/berichte/bzsee_bericht_b%FChler_phase_1.pdf
Kranenburg, C. & Winterwerp, J.C. 1997. Erosion of fluid mud layers. I Entrainment model. Jour. Hydraulic
Engineering 123 (6): 504–511.
Oehy, Ch. 2003. Effects of obstacles and jets on reservoir sedimentation due to turbidity currents. Faculté
ENAC, PhD Thesis Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Thèse No. 2684.
Oehy, Ch. & Schleiss, A. 2003. Beherrschung von Trübeströmen in Stauseen mit Hindernissen, Gitter,
Wasserstrahl- und Luftblasenschleier. Wasser Energie Luft, 95 (5/6): 143–152.
Siegenthaler, C. & Buhler, J. 1985. The kinematics of turbulent suspension currents (turbidity currents) on
inclined boundaries. Jour. Marine Geology 64: 19–40.
Wüest, A., Imboden, D.M. & Schurter, M. 1988. Origin and Size of Hypolimnic Mixing in Urnersee, the
Southern Basin of Vierwaldstattersee (Lake Lucerne). Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Hydrologie – Swiss
Journal of Hydrology, (50) 1: 41–70.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Interfacial waves in exchange flows over a sill

Hesham Fouli & David Z. Zhu

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

ABSTRACT: Interfacial waves are studied in two-layer exchange flows in a rectangular channel
with a sill connecting two water basins of slightly different density. Flow visualization and particle
image velocimetry (PIV) are used to obtain simultaneous measurements of interface positions and
velocity fields. We observe frequent releases of large lumps of the lower layer fluid down the sill
crest. Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) instabilities are also generated along the interface over the sill. Both
interfacial activities cause remarkable mixing between the two layers. Analysis of the interface posi-
tions’ and velocities’ time series indicate the existence of a unique low frequency at the sill crest and
multiple modes of this frequency elsewhere. The higher frequencies could be related to the release
events of those lumps and the K-H instabilities. Our measurements indicate that K-H instabilities
are generated at a bulk Richardson number, J , of 0.27–0.53 during the maximal exchange.

1 INTRODUCTION

Exchange flow occurs when two fluids of slightly different densities are connected by a channel.
The exchange of the more saline Mediterranean water with the less saline Atlantic Ocean water
through the Strait of Gibraltar (Armi & Farmer 1988), and the summer time exchange of warmer
heavily polluted Hamilton Harbor water with cooler (denser) Lake Ontario water through the
Burlington Ship canal (Hamblin & Lawrence 1990) are examples of such flows. This paper studies
the interfacial activities and characteristics of the instabilities that are generated along the interface
of two-layer exchange flow over a smooth bottom sill.
The hydraulics of exchange flows over a smooth bottom sill in a constant-width channel (Fig. 1)
has been studied by Morin et al. (2004) using the internal hydraulic theory. The internal Froude
number, G (G2 = F12 + F22 ), describes the criticality of two-layer flows, where F is the densimetric
Froude number (Fi2 = Ui2 /g  yi ) for layer i, and the mean horizontal velocity Ui = Qi /byi , Q being
the volumetric flow rate, b the channel width, yi the thickness of layer i, g  = εg the reduced gravity,
and ε = (ρ2 − ρ1 )/ρ2 , where ρ is the density. Locations where G = 1 are called internal controls.
Two-layer exchange flows can have up to two controls. With two controls, the flow is at maximal
exchange; whereas with one control only, it is sub-maximal. For the flow shown in Figure 1, the
two controls can occur at the sill crest and the channel left-hand exit.
At the interface of the two fluids, large-scale shear instabilities can be generated, which then
cause entrainment and mixing between the two fluids. The shear strength can be described with the

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental setup: (a) side view; (b) plan view. All dimensions are in cm.

245
bulk Richardson number J , J = g  δ/U 2 , where δ is the shear layer thickness, and U the velocity
difference between the two layers. Other parameters that affect the generation of instabilities include
the ratio of the shear to density layer thicknesses, δ/η. Pawlak & Armi (2000) studied experimentally
down-slope accelerating current in arrested wedge flow setup. They observed large scale K-H
instabilities at J = 0.08–0.33 when η ≈ δ. Morin et al. (2004) studied the interfacial instabilities
in the supercritical region of two-layer exchange flows over a smooth bottom sill. They reported
K-H instabilities at J = 0.07–0.1 when δ/η is O(10). In this study, our interest is in the interfacial
activities and generation conditions of the K-H instabilities observed in experiments of exchange
flows over a smooth bottom sill.

2 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

Two-layer exchange flow over a smooth sill in a rectangular channel was modeled in the laboratory
(Fig. 1). The sill has the shape: h(x) = hm cos2 (πx/2Ls ), with hm = 12 cm, and Ls = 25 cm within
−25 < x < 2.8 cm with the crest at x = 0. The downstream part of the sill (2.8 < x < 47.7 cm) has a
flat slope at 14.5◦ to the horizontal matching that of Pawlak & Armi (2000). The left toe of the sill
coincides with the channel left exit. Two experiments were conducted with g  = 1.62 cm/s2 for Exp
1 and 6.47 cm/s2 for Exp 2. The tank was filled with fresh water to a depth of 30 cm. A vertical
barrier was placed at the left toe of the sill to divide the tank into two reservoirs. NaCl salt was added
in the left reservoir. Silver-coated spherical glass particles (mean diameter of 15 µm and specific
gravity of 1.65) were seeded in both reservoirs for PIV. Rhodamine 6G dye (optimal emission at a
wavelength of ≈550 nm) was mixed with the water in the left reservoir to visualize the lower layer.
A laser sheet was produced through a 5W argon-ion laser operating at 488 nm. A fiber optical cable
transmitted the light to a top-located lens that produced a 2 mm laser sheet at the center of the
channel where measurements were made. Two TK-1280U JVC CCD cameras were synchronized
and used during the measurements at a shutter speed of 1/60 s. The images (640 × 480 pixels) were
grabbed at a rate of 30 Hz both for PIV and interface analysis. A band-pass filter with a rejection
range of 525–800 nm (Edmund Industrial Optics) was used with the PIV camera to filter out the
dye. A high-pass filter with a cutoff at 520 nm (Melles Griot Inc.) was used with the interface
camera to filter out the particles.
The fields of view for the PIV images were about 44 cm (horizontal) × 33 cm (vertical) and
40 cm × 29 cm with pixel resolution of 0.07 and 0.06 cm/pixel for Exp 1 and 2, respectively. The
average error in the instantaneous velocity measurements was estimated at 4% (Morin, 2002). The
velocity fields were computed using a cross-correlation PIV algorithm (Morin, 2002) with a search
and interrogation windows of 32 and 16 pixels at 50% overlap allowing a velocity measurement
each 8 pixels. The interface position images covered a field of about 45 cm × 33 cm at a pixel
resolution of about 0.07 cm/pixel for both experiments. The interface was detected based on the
differing gray scales of the upper and lower layers. Because of the existence of rolling instabilities,
a mean of the upper and lower interfaces that enveloped the instability was taken as a measure of
the true interface. Errors of about 2–3 pixels (1.4–2 mm) were estimated in detecting the interface
position. The interface images were also used to estimate η through vertical profiles of the gray
scale at different locations along the sill.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Wave activities along the interface

As the barrier separating the two fluids was removed, exchange flow started (Fig. 2). The flow was
unsteady for about a minute, after which a control was first established at the sill crest followed at a
later time by a second control at the channel left-hand exit. Once the two controls were established,
the flow was at maximal exchange that lasted for about 8 and 2 min, for Exp 1 and 2 respectively.

246
Figure 2. Images taken from Exp 1: (a) and (b) during maximal exchange at 23.7 and 36.33 s, respectively;
(c) during the sub-maximal exchange at 14.28 minute.

As the experiment proceeded, the upper layer flow filled the left reservoir and flooded the left-hand
exit control; hence the flow became sub-maximal.
As observed, the lower layer continually accelerates as it flows over the sill. During the steady
maximal regime, frequent releases of large lumps of the lower layer fluid around the crest along
the flat slope (Fig. 2a). These lumps grow bigger on traveling down the slope and attain steep
fronts along which K-H instabilities are generated. Eventually they break and leave in their wakes
remarkable mixing. The mixed layer is then entrained into the lower layer and flushed away leaving
behind a steep sharp interface along which new K-H instabilities are generated (Fig. 2b). K-H
instabilities are also generated around the sill crest and move towards upstream (Fig. 2b). This
pattern persists during the maximal regime. Later in the sub-maximal regime, a thin intermediate
layer is formed upstream to the crest. This layer suppresses the generation of K-H instabilities then.
At this stage, we do not observe those lumps anymore. However, more frequent K-H instabilities
are formed at the tip of the intermediate layer. The location of the point at which these instabilities
are formed constantly shifts further downstream with time. A larger intermediate mixed layer also
forms downstream and progresses towards the crest (Fig. 2c).
PIV images were processed to produce velocity fields at 15 Hz. Velocity vectors were post-
processed to remove any spurious vectors. All vectors were corrected and interpolated on the grid
points using Adaptive Gaussian Window (AGW) interpolation. Velocity profiles were used to vali-
date our measurements and to study the generation conditions of the instabilities. The instantaneous
flow rate per unit width, q, (obtained by vertically integrating horizontal velocity profiles in each
layer) at the crest was time-averaged over the maximal regime and compared to predictions of the
internal hydraulic theory. The upper layer mean q measuring 21.64 and 42.50 cm/s2 in Exp 1 and 2,
respectively are within 5% of the theoretical predictions obtained using the control curve approach
(refer to Zhu (2002) for details). In Exp 1, we estimate the maximal exchange lasted till t ≈ 500 s
and the sub-maximal exchange to t ≈ 750 s.
The interface positions’ time series obtained as stated in Section 2 were used to generate a wave
characteristic plot (Fig. 3) that shows the wave activities during the experiment. It can be seen that
two sets of waves are generated at the sill crest and propagate in two opposite directions. The waves
propagating upstream are smaller in amplitude and seem slower than those traveling downstream.
This is envisaged by tracing any wave through the slope of its characteristic line. The large lumps
that we reported earlier appear to be generated at a frequency of about 25 s within 0 < x < 5 cm
beyond which K-H instabilities are generated on their steep fronts causing more wave activities to
occur at higher frequencies.
It is also obvious that within the sub-maximal regime, almost no K-H instabilities are generated in
the upstream. This is reflected through the flattening of the interface as portrayed in the third panel
of Figure 3. We begin to see though more frequent interfacial waves than before although maybe
at smaller amplitudes as observed. In what follows, we investigate the conditions of generation of
the K-H instabilities as well as the frequencies of the wave activities involved.

3.2 Frequency analysis of the interface and velocity fluctuations

The time series of the interface obtained as stated in Section 2 at five locations were extracted.
The u-velocities at the closest grid points to the mean density interface at the corresponding

247
Figure 3. Wave characteristic plot in Exp 1. The first two panels from the left reflect the maximal exchange
regime, while the third portrays the sub-maximal regime.

Figure 4. (a) Time series of the u-velocity along the mean interface; (b) its corresponding spectra along with
that of the interface during maximal exchange in Exp 1 (f = 0.0073 Hz). The numbers in (b) are the periodic
times (1/f ) in seconds.

locations in the PIV images were also obtained. The u-velocity data with its spectra and that
of the density interface are shown in Figure 4. The time series shows the amplitude and frequen-
cies to increase with x. A dominant low frequency exists upstream to and at the crest which
then seems to fade down the slope being overtaken by higher frequencies. This agrees with
what Morin et al. (2004) found in their analysis of the interface fluctuations. Because of the

248
 (a) (b)

Figure 5. (a) The variation of the shear layer thickness, δ, during the maximal regime; (b) the variation of the
bulk Richardson number, J , along the sill in Exp 1 and 2.

ambiguity in defining the density interface, we expect the frequency analysis of the velocity
time series to be more accurate than the density interface data. Both time series were analyzed
using Fourier power analysis to investigate the different interfacial wave activities. Both spectra
appear similar expect for few differences at some locations. Low frequencies dominate at the
crest (x = 0). The lowest peak, f0 of 0.0147 Hz (T0 = 68 s), exists only at and upstream to the
crest (x = −10 cm) where the flow is internally sub-critical and both spectra confirm that. Morin
et al. (2004) referred f0 to the basin internal seiching whose period can be estimated as T = 2L/C
with L being
√ the length of the basin (123 cm) and C the propagation speed of the interfacial
wave (= g  y1 y2 /H ). They measured T0 as 60 s in the same tank but with a different sill geom-
etry which we expect would not affect the basin seiche. With y1 = y2 = 15 cm, T is ≈70 s. Our
measurement of T0 is closer to the prediction given the longer time of the experiment and the
finer frequency resolution. Upstream to the crest (x = −10 cm), a second peak of 0.0370 Hz (27 s)
is seen. This frequency matches well with the observed upstream K-H instabilities. At x = 0, a
second peak of 0.0295 Hz (≈ 2f0 ) and 34 s is dominant in the u-spectrum. This peak could be a
sub-harmonic of f0 .
This second peak shifts further downstream to 0.0223 Hz (≈ 1.5f0 ) and 45 s (10 ≤ x ≤ 30 cm). It
is not clear yet why there is a shift in this peak as x increases. Two other higher peaks overtake though
as x increases; these are f1 (0.0438–0.0370 Hz) at about 23–27 s, and f2 (0.0661–0.0589 Hz) at about
15–17 s. We relate f1 and f2 to the release events of the lower layer lumps that we reported earlier
(Fig. 2a). They were observed to occur at both periods at different times during the course of the
experiment. Note that the peak f1 has most of the energy in the spectrum. The K-H instabilities that
were coupled with the release events occurred at f1 and f2 as well. However, other K-H instabilities
seem to match with the higher frequencies of f3 (0.0809 Hz or 12 s) and f4 (0.1250 Hz or 8 s).

3.3 Instabilities and their generation conditions

Various instantaneous horizontal velocity profiles where K-H instabilities were generated were used
to assess the generation conditions of the instabilities. Our measurements for δ and J are shown
in Figure 5. Our estimates for η show δ/η is O(10). The measurements show increase in δ with x,
which agrees with Pawlak & Armi (2000) and Morin et al. (2004). However, while Pawlak & Armi
(2000) report δ ranging from 2.5–8 cm along the same slope for g  of 1.75 cm/s2 , our δ ranges from
1.5–2.8 cm, which agrees otherwise with Morin et al. (2004) in their experiments with variable
slope sill. Our J data on the other hand shows that K-H instabilities were generated at J = 0.27–0.53
during the maximal regime. These values, although far from the theoretical predictions of Haigh
& Lawrence (1999) for parallel flows, overlap with those of Pawlak & Armi (2000) but are higher
than those reported by Morin et al. (2004) to range between 0.07–0.1. Our data seem to follow
those of Pawlak & Armi (2000) in that they have an initial rising limb followed by a decaying

249
one, unlike the results of Morin et al. (2004) where there was constant increase of J with x. It
is of interest now to investigate J within the sub-maximal regime where we could observe the
organized K-H instabilities (Fig. 2c). Although this happens after our estimate for the regime to
end at t ≈ 750 s, we expect that J would still be representative for the generation conditions of K-H
instabilities in two-layer flows. Likewise, it is important to assess J upstream to the crest where
no more K-H instabilities were observed in this regime. This will answer the quest at what J the
instabilities will not form in such a flow setup. Ten successive K-H instabilities were traced from
the moment we started to observe this frequent regular pattern down the slope. The locations and
times of generation of those instabilities were traced and about four instantaneous velocity profiles
around their initiation were averaged to obtain a mean value for J .
Likewise, ten instants at five locations upstream to the crest were selected to evaluate J at which
instabilities were suppressed. The five locations are: −3, −3.5, −4, −5 and −5.5 cm and the
times were between 12.3 and 15.6 minutes. Figure 5 presents these data for Exp 1. It is obvious
that J of 0.63–0.83 within the upstream in the sub-maximal regime is almost double that during the
maximal exchange. In the downstream though, J varies between 0.37–0.60 for 4.4 < x < 11.5 cm,
which is still in agreement with our data for the maximal exchange.

4 CONCLUSIONS

An experimental study on two-layer exchange flow over a smooth sill in a channel connecting two
reservoirs was presented. Particle image velocimetry and flow visualization were used to obtain
instantaneous velocity and interface positions. The focus of the study is to investigate the generation
conditions of Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) instabilities and other wave activities along the interface.
K-H instabilities were generated at a bulk Richardson number, J of 0.27–0.53 during the maximal
regime, which is really high compared to the studies on parallel flows. The ratio of the shear to
density layer thicknesses, δ/η, is O(10). The upstream K-H instabilities did not form within the
sub-maximal exchange when J was 0.63–0.83. Spectral analysis of the interface and velocities’
time series confirmed a unique low frequency that could be related to the basin internal seiche.
Higher frequencies in the downstream could either be matched with releases of large lumps of
lower layer fluid down the crest or to generated K-H instabilities.

REFERENCES

Armi, L. & Farmer, D.M. 1988. The flow of Mediterranean water through the Strait of Gibraltar. Progress in
Oceanography, 21: 1–105.
Haigh, S. & Lawrence, G.A. 1999. Symmetric and non-symmetric Holmboe instabilities in an inviscid flow.
Phys. Fluids, 11: 1459–1468.
Hamblin, P.F. & Lawrence, G.A. 1990. Exchange flows between Hamilton Harbour and Lake Ontario. In Proc.
of 1990 Annual Conf. of Canadian Society for Civil Eng, V: 140–148.
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Flow over a Smooth Sill. M.Sc. thesis, University of Alberta.
Morin, V.M., Zhu, D.Z. & Loewen, M.R. 2004. Supercritical Exchange Flow Down a Sill. J. Hydraulic Eng,
130(6): 521–531.
Pawlak, G. & Armi, L. 2000. Mixing and entrainment in developing stratified currents. J. Fluid Mech,
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Zhu, D.Z. 2002. Control curves for two-layer flows. J. of Hydraulic Eng., 128(1): 113–116.

250
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Experiments on the stability analysis of thermally stratified shear

flows in weakly curved open channel

Chu Kejian, Hua Zulin & Wang Huimin

College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT: The stability of thermally stratified shear flows in weakly curved open flume has
been experimentally studied, with warm water flowing over the stationary layer of cold water. Two
laboratory flumes, straight and weakly curved with 45◦ bend, have been established respectively. The
hydrodynamic parameters such as velocity, temperature, turbulent velocity intensity and Reynolds
stress are measured in the experiments. The stabilities of the stratified flows in the two flumes
are discussed. Their stability criteria are given as the inequation of the initial densimetric Froude
number Fd 0 . Results indicate that the stable critical value of Fd 0 in weakly curved flume is about
0.7 times of the one in straight flume.

1 INTRODUCTION

As the classical problem of environmental hydromechanics, the stability analysis of stratified flows
is focused on the determination of criteria where the stable stratification can be maintained. Up
to now, the reports on investigation in this field have been introduced in large number, such as:
Keulegan (1949), Majewski (1971), Thorpe (1973), Chu & Baddour (1984), Redondo & Sanchez
(1996), and Friedlander (2001) etc. Several critical parameters had been advanced like Keulegan
number and Richardson number. But the former researches were mostly carried out in the straight
channel, and the stability analysis in curved channel has been rarely reported. In this paper, the
experiments conducted on stratified flows in straight and weakly curved flume with 45◦ bend are
described, which covered the flows from rather stable to neutral stratification. The stabilities of
stratified flows in the two flumes are discussed respectively, and their stability criteria are presented.

2 EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS AND EXPERIMENTS

Experiments are conducted in two open rectangular flumes made from organic glass, of which one
is straight and the other is weakly curved with 45◦ bend of 1/3 curvature. The cross-section of
each flume is 34 cm × 30 cm, and the bottom slope is 1‰. Each flume consists of an introduction
section and a mixing section. The introduction sections are 300 cm long, divided into upper and
lower layer by a thin glass plate mounted 20 cm above the bottom of flumes. In the mixing sections,
there are several measuring cross-sections, which located at 20 cm, 40 cm, 80 cm, 120 cm and
200 cm starting from the outlet of introduction section in straight flume, and 11.25◦ , 22.5◦ , 45◦
bend position and 40 cm, 80 cm from the outlet of the bend in curved flume. The detail drawings
are shown in Figures 1, 2. In experiments, the warm and ambient water are introduced respectively
into upper and lower layer of introduction section to form thermal stratified shear flows. The water
level in each flume is controlled by the automatic end door at the downstream end.
The distribution of velocity, turbulent velocity intensity and Reynolds stress were measured by
a 16 MHz MicroADV, whose technical indicators: 0.1 Hz∼50 Hz sampling frequent, ±3 cm/s∼
±250 cm/s measuring range and ±1% measuring precision. Downstream temperatures were
measured by an infrared thermograph and several digital thermometers.

251
 end door

e
lin
er
nt
ce
R=102.0 cm sec5
sec4
flume inboard flume outboard
center line
sec3
B=34.0 cm sec1 sec2

outlet
sec1 sec2 sec3 sec4 sec5 end door
introduction section

Figure 1. Ichnography of experimental flume.

warm water outlet

h1 1 v1
thin glass plate mixing region
h2 2 v2

introduction section mixing section

ambient water

Figure 2. Longitudinal cutaway view of experimental flume.

Fourteen experimental test runs were conducted, six in straight flume and eight in curved flume,
wherein temperature difference between the warm and ambient water was approximately 10◦ C;
discharge and flow depth of warm water were approximately 3 cm and 0.3 l/s; discharge of ambient
water varied from 3.0 l/s to 10.0 l/s. A summary of the testing conditions is given in Table 1.

3 STABILITY ANALYSIS

The initial densimetric Froude number and the wide-averaged dimensionless vertical density
gradient of intermediate layer for a cross section at X are defined as

where U = average velocity; g = acceleration of gravity; h = flow depth; ρ = density difference

w
between the warm and ambient fluid in the cross section; δ = depth of intermediate layer; and []
indicates wide-averaging. The value of Fd0 is found to characterize the overall flow in its tendency
to mix.

3.1 Stability analysis in straight flume

As Figure 3 mentions: (1) when Fd 0 ≤ 0.80, the value of gradρX always is greater than 0.50, while
the gradient of gradρX to X /h0 is nothing more than 0.009. Obviously the stratified flow is in the

252
Table 1. Summary of testing conditions.

Ambient water Warm water

Velocity Depth at Density at Temperature Velocity Depth at Density at Temperature
at outlet outlet outlet at outlet at outlet outlet outlet at outlet
Test number u2 (cm/s) h2 (cm) ρ2 (g/cm3 ) T2 (◦ C) u1 (cm/s) h1 (cm) ρ1 (g/cm3 ) T1 (◦ C)

Straight 1 4.64 20.00 0.999215 14.40 2.95 3.00 0.996786 26.10

flume 2 6.44 20.00 0.999193 14.55 3.02 2.95 0.996638 26.65
3 7.82 20.00 0.999643 10.90 2.94 3.02 0.997967 21.25
4 10.99 20.00 0.999466 12.50 2.95 3.01 0.997544 23.10
5 12.39 20.00 0.999513 12.10 2.97 2.95 0.997645 22.67
6 13.97 20.00 0.999710 10.20 2.56 3.25 0.998068 20.78
Weakly 1 4.54 20.00 0.999200 14.50 2.91 3.05 0.996813 26.00
curved 2 5.67 20.00 0.999186 14.60 2.86 3.05 0.996711 26.38
flume 3 6.47 20.00 0.999186 14.60 2.95 3.04 0.996821 25.97
4 7.53 20.00 0.999299 13.80 2.91 3.05 0.996926 25.57
5 9.00 20.00 0.999096 15.20 2.91 3.05 0.996624 26.70
6 10.70 20.00 0.999339 13.50 2.91 3.05 0.997118 24.83
7 12.59 20.00 0.999417 12.90 2.90 3.03 0.997382 23.77
8 13.54 20.00 0.999502 12.20 2.64 3.02 0.997567 23.00

gradρX
0.60 Fd0 = 0.59
Fd0 = 0.80
0.50
Fd0 = 1.15
0.40 Fd0 = 1.48
0.30 Fd0 = 1.69
0.20 Fd0 = 1.97
0.10
0.00
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 X/h0

Figure 3. Wide-averaged dimensionless vertical density gradients versus X /h0 in straight flume.

form of complete stable stratification. (2) when Fd 0 increases to 1.15, gradρX decreases markedly
at first, and then stabilizes around the value of 0.18. Here local mixing occurs, and the depth of
the intermediate layer grows until the flow re-stabilizes finally with a stable intermediate layer.
(3) when Fd 0 ≥ 1.48, gradρX precipitates near the outlet, and decreases along the flume unto lt.
0.05 finally. Stratified flow mixes intensely, transits to a developed turbulent flow with neutral
stratification.
Figure 3 also shows, in all test runs, the gradient of gradρX to X /h0 is descending along the
flume and becomes rather small at X /h0 = 8.621 position, so it is deduced that re-establishment of
vertical density distribution has been almost completed at the position, and that is in conformity
with Majewski’s (1971) experimental result. Thus the experimental formula for re-establishing
vertical density gradient, designed as gradρS , via Fd 0 is put forward as follows:

Through laboratory observation, we find that neutral stratification occurs when gradρS ≤ 0.05.
So the stability criteria of thermally stratified flows in straight flume is achieved:

253
Fl×101.0 FdX
inboard 3.50 inboard
1.20 center line center line
outboard 3.00
outboard
2.50
0.80 2.00
1.50
0.40 1.00
0.50
0.00 0.00
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 X/h0 0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 X/h0

Figure 4. (a) Dimensionless heat flux Fl versus X /h0 . (b) Fdx versus X /h0 .

1.0 cm/s
inboard outboard

1
2

Figure 5. Velocity vectorgraph on the transect of 22.5◦ bend position.

3.2 Stability analysis in weakly curved flume with 45◦ bend

The densimetric Froude number for a cross section at X and the dimensionless heat flux per unit
width are defined as:

where T = temperature; ρ = density; u = principal velocity; Te = temperature of ambient water;

and the meanings of other parameters are defined as before.
Figures 4a, b indicate that, in the weakly curved flume, Fl decreases but Fdx increases continu-
ously from the inboard to the outboard of the bend. Thus the outboard vertical mixing intensity
of stratified flows is higher than the inboard one. Possible reasons are described as follows: when
stratified flows enter into the bend, the transect secondary flows occur. As Figure 5 mentions, the 2#
circumfluence, which plays a dominant role in the upper layer flow, transports the warm water from
the outboard to the inboard, thus decreases the amount of warm water and weaken the inhibiting
effect of water buoyancy on vertical mixing in the outboard; in addition, because the outboard
water locate in the region of high principal velocity, its exchange of energy and momentum caused
by the interaction of upper and lower circumfluence is more intense than the inboard water. So the
instability of stratified flows take place firstly in the outboard of the bend.
Laboratory observations indicated that: (1) when Fd 0 ≤ 0.59, the well-defined stratified flow
occurred with a stable interface existing between layers. The transect secondary flows were weak,
so the landscape heat diffusion was unconscious, and the interface almost horizontal. (2) when
0.71 ≤ Fd 0 ≤ 0.94, interface waves disrupted, and local mixing took place to form intermediate

254
 FdX
14.0 Fd0 = 0.59
12.0 Fd0 = 0.71
10.0 Fd0 = 0.82
Fd0 = 0.94
8.0 Fd0 = 1.10
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 X/h0

Figure 6. Fd X at flume outboard versus X /h0 .

layer between warm and ambient water. In the bend, along with increase of Fd 0 , the secondary
flows strengthened gradually, and warm water began to flow towards the inboard. As a result, the
depth of intermediate layer became more and more deeper in the inboard and thinner in the outboard
(3) when Fd 0 ≥ 1.10, waveless mixing occurred. In outboard of the bend, warm and ambient water
mixed completely and the phenomenon of density stratification disappeared.
As Figure 6 mentions, when the maximum value of Fd X < Fdcr ≈ 5.5, the stratified flows keep
running stably in the form of stratification, so the stability criteria of thermally stratified flows in
weakly curved flume with 45◦ bend is achieved:

Comparing equations 5 and 3, it is found that the value of Fd0cr2 /Fd0cr1 is about 0.7. Obviously,
the effluent and ambient water mix more intensely in curved flume than in straight one under the
same inflow condition.

4 CONCLUSION

1) The experimental relationship between initial densimetric Froude number Fd 0 and

re-establishing vertical density gradient gradρS of stratified flows in straight flume is put
forward.
2) In curved flume, the instability of stratified flows takes place firstly in the outboard of the bend.
3) The stability of the stratified flows in the straight and weakly curved flumes is discussed respect-
ively, and their stable critical values of Fd 0cr are given. It is found that the latter is about 0.7 times
of the former, which indicates that the bend can intensify the mixing of effluent and ambient
water in stratified flows.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The study is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No: 50009001)
and The Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No: BK2000004).

REFERENCES

Keukegan, G. H. Interfacial instability and mixing in stratified flows. J. of Research, 1949, Bd. 45, S: 487–500.
Sherekov, I. A., Netjukhalio, A. P. & Teleshkin, E. D. Research investigation of transfer process in two-
dimensional stratified flow. IAHR, 1971, Vol.1: 217–226.
Majewski, W. Laboratory investigation on heat transfer in thermally stratified flow. IAHR, 1971, Vol.1:
207–216.

255
Thorpe, S. A. Experiments on the instability of stratified shear flow. J. Fluid Mech., 1973, 61: 731–751.
Chu, V. T. & Baddour, R. E. Turbulent gravity-stratified shear flows. J. Fluid Mech., 1984, 138: 353–378.
Grubert, J. P. Interfacial stability in stratified channel flows. Journal Hydraulic Engineering, 1989, 115 (5):
1185–1203.
Redondo, J. M. & Sanchez, M. A. Turbulent mechanism in stratified fluids. Dynamics of Atmospheres and
Oceans, 1996, 24: 107–115.
Friedlander, S. On nonlinear instability and stability for stratified shear flow. J. Math. Fluid Mech., 2001,
3: 82–97.

256
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

k-ε modeling of vertical mass transport in turbulent

stratified open-channel flow

C. Reiher & Y. Niño

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

ABSTRACT: A k-ε model is applied to study vertical mass transport in turbulent stratified open
channel flow. The situation studied resembles that observed in inflow streams to Punta Negra
salt lake in northern Chile, where salinity intrusion can stratify the water column affecting mass
transfer from the sediment bed. Two flow situations are considered, wind-driven and slope-driven
flows. Likewise, two scenarios: stratified and non-stratified water column are compared. Mass
transfer from the sediment bed and mixing through the water column depend on both Richardson
and Reynolds numbers. This dependence is studied by means of a mixing time scale, defined as
a measure of the time it takes to reach a uniform concentration of a neutrally-buoyant solute in
the whole water column. Dimensionless values of this time scale are analyzed as a function of the
governing parameters, and predictive relationships are fitted to the computed data.

1 INTRODUCTION

In extreme environments, some species exist under a fragile equilibrium, which, if altered by antro-
pogenic factors, can break the balance that supports the extraordinarily well-adapted development
of these organisms. As an example, in Salar Punta Negra, a salt lake inserted in Atacama desert in
northern Chile, subsistence of flamingos depends on the existence of certain algae in the inflow
streams, which develop under precise conditions of salinity and nutrients. These last factors keep
close relation with mass transfer processes at the sediment-water interface, as well as wind-driven
and/or slope-driven turbulent mixing in the water column. Systems, like the one described, need
the prediction of mass transport and the eventual interaction of turbulent flow and salinity strati-
fication in the water column. The objective of this study is to use the k-ε turbulence model to
simulate vertical mass transport in salinity-stratified open channel flow, under pressure gradients
and/or wind driven circulation, in order to describe how these different conditions applied over the
water column affect mixing capacity, transfer rates at the bottom, and time scales involved in the
transport process. All this aims at quantifying the effect of stratification on turbulent diffusion that
determines the vertical transport of mass from the sediment-water interface into the water column.
The modeling scenarios defined to achieve the objectives consider uniform flow conditions,
as in a one-dimensional (vertical) transport model. Source terms for water circulation can be
both gravity and/or wind, under salt-wedge type stratification or no-stratification. Both salinity
and another species (e.g., nutrients) need to be modeled. The chosen scenarios allow comparison
between wind-driven and pressure gradient induced turbulence. In each case, different levels of
turbulence are achieved by changing water column height, and shear stress at the free surface, in
the wind-driven case, or pressure gradient value, in the slope-driven case. The boundary conditions
for momentum equations to be considered are the common ones for open-channel flow: no-slip
condition at the bottom and a fixed wind shear-stress value at the upper boundary. For mass transfer
equations, a conservative constituent is considered, imposing a constant concentration value for
this scalar at the water-sediment interface, which means that an unlimited amount of solute is
available to be transported into the water column. In addition, no mass transfer through the free
surface boundary is considered.

257
2 MODEL EQUATIONS

The basic equations formulated to describe mathematically the problem under consideration are
RANS equations, mass conservation equations and k-ε model equations. The latter correspond to
the turbulence closure approach selected herein, considered as in Rodi (1984). This set of equations
was used for the simulation of vertical profiles of velocity, turbulence parameters and mass concen-
tration, in a uniform, one-directional flow. The set of equations is listed below (Svensson, 1986):

Turbulence closure equations (k-ε model):

where x = horizontal (flow direction) coordinate; z = vertical coordinate; t = time; u = flow

velocity; C = mass concentration; k = turbulent kinetic energy; ε = turbulent energy dissipation
rate; ρ = fluid density; g = gravity acceleration; dp̂/dx = pressure gradient in flow direction;
ν = kinematic viscosity, νt = eddy viscosity; Sc = Schmidt number; Sct = turbulent Schmidt num-
ber; β = volumetric expansion coefficient; C1ε , C2ε , C3ε and Cµ are k-ε model empirical constants.
For near-bed mass transfer, a special wall function is used, determining the mass transfer rate
fm through the calculation of the Stanton number St, as described in Equation 6:

where C = solute concentration far from the bed; Cb = near-bed solute concentration; kc = mass
transfer coefficient; Uref = reference flow velocity. A representative Stanton number is determined
as the maximum between molecular and turbulent Stanton numbers (Spalding, 1991; Dade, 1993).
Boundary conditions at the free surface depend on the modeled case (with or without wind), but
they consist on a fixed value of the surface shear stress; no-slip condition is used at the bottom of
the water column imposed through a logarithmic bridge function. For mass transfer computations,
sediments are considered as sources of solute, setting a constant value for mass concentration in
the bed. This type of condition is preferred, instead of imposing a fixed mass transfer rate across
the boundary, since this rate can change in time as mixing evolves. Boundary conditions used for
k-ε turbulence model are those recommended by Rodi (1984).

3 NUMERICAL MODEL

The numerical solution for this system of equations is computed using the algorithm developed
by Svensson (1986), which solves transient, one-dimensional boundary layer problems using the
finite volumes method (Patankar, 1980). This solver has a built-in k-ε model, and has being used

258
in several studies on turbulent flow structures and heat and mass transfer applications (Svensson &
Rahm, 1988; Niño et al., 2000). This gives reliability on its current use. The previously described
wall function for mass transfer was implemented into the algorithm for the present computations.
The simulated cases correspond to water columns of different height H , initially stagnant. This
column can be either density-homogenous or stratified in two layers of different density, both of the
same height H /2. In t = 0, momentum source terms begin to act, corresponding to either a surface
shear stress applied at the upper boundary (simulating wind blowing over the water surface), or a
pressure gradient in the flow direction (simulating slope-driven flow).
For the simulations, transport of two species is considered: salt (that creates the initial strati-
fication of the water column), and a neutrally buoyant compound. Both species have a constant
concentration value at the bottom boundary, except in non-stratified cases, where no salt is con-
sidered. Thus, concentration gradient and turbulence intensity induce mass transfer from the bottom
and mixing through the column. For non-stratified cases, the only dimensionless relevant parameter
is the Reynolds number, Re∗h . When stratification is present, a second parameter, the Richardson
number, Ri∗0 , affects the process. Both dimensionless parameters are defined in Equations 7–8.

where u∗ b∞ = bottom shear velocity to be reached under steady conditions at t = ∞.

Shear stress or pressure gradient values are defined externally, to describe situations under
controlled ranges of Re∗h and Ri∗0 . Column height, H , and bottom shear velocity u∗b are determined
from Equations 7–8 for each value of the governing dimensionless parameters considered. Bottom
shear velocity is used to calculate the pressure gradient or the surface shear stress to be finally set
in the algorithm.
It must be noted that the product β · Cb in Equation 8 can be expressed as ρmax /ρ, a parameter
commonly used to show how boyancy affects reduced gravity. Since density differences across
the water column decreases as mixing progresses (in the stratified cases) only the initial density
difference is considered in the definition of the Richardson number used in these simulations.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF SIMULATIONS

The simulation process returns velocity, turbulence properties and concentration profiles, varying
in time. Velocity and turbulence characteristics resulting from the simulations show good agreement
with experimental observations (Reiher & Niño, 2004). An example of the mass transport results
obtained from the simulations is presented in Figure 1, which shows that salinity stratification
affects mixing of another (non-buoyant) species, because the density gradient in the middle of the
column decreases turbulence transfer, thus affecting the mass transfer rate to the upper layer. To
analyze and summarize the numerically generated information about bottom mass transfer rates
and vertical mixing, a time scale t90 is defined, as the time for which the mass transferred to the
water column from the sediments, M, reaches 90% of the maximum mass of solute allowed in the
column (equivalent to a uniform concentration Cb throughout the water column). Figure 1 shows
that the M/M0 ratio approaches a value of 1 asymptotically. Results analogous to those of Figure 1
are obtained for all other conditions tested, with certain modifications, particularly when high
turbulence intensity conditions are able to destroy salinity stratification within a time scale similar
to t90 . When this happens, the solute mixing velocity increases, defining two different stages of
the mixing process: an initial slow stage affected by the stratification, and a final fast stage that
develops once the salinity stratification is destroyed. When salinity and neutrally-buoyant solute are
mixed simultaneously, curves of M/M0 versus t/t90 collapse into one, such as that shown in Figure 1.
A similar collapse is obtained in the case of non-stratified water columns (Reiher & Niño, 2004).

259
 1 1
t
0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

M /M0
z/H

0.4 0.4

C 0.2
0.2
S
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
(a) C/ Cb, S / Sb (b) t / t90

Figure 1. Example of mixing evolution in a stratified column, for Re∗h = 2000 and Ri∗0 = 155. (a) Solute
concentration (C) and salinity (S) profile evolution from t = 0 s to t = 47,000 s, on regular intervals of 4700 s.
Both mass quantities are made dimensionless with their bottom boundary value. (b) Mass transferred to the
column, M , divided by maximum mass allowed M0 , versus time made dimensionless with the time to reach
90% of the mass transfer (t90 ).

1000 1000

t90* = 2.67 Re*h0.5506 t90* = 8.06 Re*h0.381

R2 = 0.9807 R2 = 0.99
t90*

t90*

100 100

Ri*o=155 Ri*o=77 Ri*o=155 Ri*o=77

Ri*o=52 Ri*o=15 Ri*o=52 Ri*o=15
Ri*o=0 Ri*o=0
10 10
100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
(a) Slope-driven flow Re*h (b) Wind-driven flow Re*h

∗ with Re and Ri .
Figure 2. Variation of dimensionless featured mixing time t90 ∗h ∗0

∗
The computed dimensionless time scale t90 = t90 · u∗ b∞ · H −1 , was analyzed for a wide range of
Re∗h and Ri∗0 , values. The results are shown in Figure 2, separately for slope-driven and wind-driven
∗
flows. At low values of Re∗h , t90 appears to increase as the Reynolds number increases, independ-
ently of the Richardson number. This region corresponds to cases when the salinity stratification
keeps well defined along the solute mixing process, due to a rather weak capacity of the turbulence
to break the density stratification. A power law can be defined in this particular zone, showing no
dependence on the Richardson number (results of the best fit are shown in Figure 2). At high enough
values of Re∗h , solute transfer from the bottom and mixing of the salinity-stratified layers occurs
∗
at similar time scales, and t90 increases with Re∗h following a power law with an exponent that
depends on the particular value of Ri∗0 . Simulations with no salinity presence (Ri∗0 = 0) show the
∗ ∗
same power law dependence of t90 on Re∗h (Figure 2). It is found that t90 increases more dramatically
with Ri∗0 , showing the mixing process high dependence on stratification conditions. Besides, as
Ri∗0 increases, the dimensionless mixing time dependence on Re∗h becomes less important. Both
of these last statements can be detected in Figure 3, where the constants of the power law fit
∗
between t90 and Re∗h are plotted as a function of the Richardson number. From this Figure it can

260
 400 400
300 300 A = 1.27 Ri*0 + 13.51
R2 = 0.99
200
A

200

A
A = 2.30 Ri*0 + 16.90
100 100
R2 = 0.99
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 0 50 100 150 200
(a) Slope-driven flow Ri*0 (b) Wind-driven flow Ri*0

0.12 0.12
0.1 B = 0.076 exp (-0.019 Ri*0) 0.1 B = 0.010 exp (-0.013 Ri*0)
0.08 R2 = 0.90 0.08 R2 = 0.99
0.06 0.06
B

B
0.04 0.04
0.02 0.02
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 0 50 100 150 200

(c) Slope-driven flow Ri*0 (d) Wind-driven flow Ri*0

Figure 3. Potential law parameters in adjustments of t90 ∗ = A Re B , where A and B are functions of Richardson
∗h
number Ri∗0 . (a) and (b): lineal law for base A; (c) and (d): exponential law for exponent B.

be concluded that the dimensionless mixing time grows linearly with Ri∗0 , for fixed values of Re∗ ,
and the exponent of the power law tends to drop to zero for high values of Ri∗0 .
The behavior described previously is analogous for the slope-driven and wind-driven flows,
however, the dimensionless mixing time tends to be slightly lower in the latter case, because of the
more uniform distribution of turbulent kinetic energy in the water column obtained for that flow
situation.

5 CONCLUSIONS

A numerical simulation of mass transfer from the bottom and its mixing across the water column has
been developed. Results demonstrate the influence of both turbulence intensity and stratification
in the concentration vertical structure and associated mixing time scales. The main parameter
used to describe this processes is t90 , the time needed to reach 90% of the maximum solute mass
∗
allowed in the water column, and its dimensionless quantity t90 . With this time scale, M/M0 vs. t/t90
curves collapse in the case of non-stratified water columns and when salinity and neutrally-buoyant
solute are mixed simultaneously in stratified water columns. Stratification affects the mechanism
of mass transfer from the sediment bed. While the two-layer structure remains well defined, solute
is transferred mostly to the lower layer, that is closer to the solute source, and a reduced amount of
it is transferred to the upper layer, because of the reduction in the turbulent diffusion of mass and
momentum in the zone of high density gradients. As stratification begins to fade, mainly because of
turbulence effects on its structure, the solute concentration profile becomes more uniform. When
mixing time scale is longer than the time scale needed to break the salinity stratification, a particular
∗
behavior of t90 varying only with Re∗h is found and a power law can be fitted to the computed data.
Otherwise, the dimensionless mixing time shows a strong dependence on Ri∗0 , defining a series
of curves with similar properties than the ones obtained in non-stratified columns. These curves
∗
can also be represented by power laws such as t90 = A Re B∗h , but with A and B being functions of
∗
Ri∗0 . t90 increases linearly with Ri∗0 for fixed Reynolds number values, while its dependence on
Re∗h becomes less important as Ri∗0 increases, as B tends to zero at high Richardson numbers.

261
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors acknowledge the financial support given by Fondecyt Project No. 1040494.

REFERENCES

Dade, W.B. 1993. Near-bed turbulence and hydrodynamic control of diffusional mass transfer at the sea floor.
Limnol, Oceanogr., 38(1), 52–69, 1993.
Niño, Y., López, F., Pirard, C., Hillmer, I. & García, M.H. 2000. Modelación numérica de procesos de mezcla
turbulentos inducidos por el viento en cuerpos de agua estratificados. Ingeniería Hidráulica en México,
Vol. XV, Num. 1, pp. 13–25.
Patankar, S.V. 1980. Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow. New York: Hemisphere Publishing Corp.
Reiher, C. & Niño, Y. 2004. Efecto de la turbulencia sobre la transferencia de masa desde los sedimentos en
un cuerpo de agua. Simulaciones con un modelo k-e. XXI Congreso Latinoamericano de Hidráulica, São
Pedro, Brasil.
Rodi, W. 1984. Turbulence models and their application in hydraulics. IAHR Monograph.
Spalding, D.B. 1991. The PHOENICS Reference Manual. CHAM Reference Manual, TR/200A.
Svensson, U. 1986. Program for Boundary Layers in the Environment. Swedish Meteorological and
Hydrological Institute, S-601 76.
Svensson, U. & Rahm, L. 1988. Modeling the near-bottom region of the benthic boundary layer. J. Geophys.
Res., Vol. 93, 6909–6915.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Q2D turbulence by Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities

Xi Li
Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, Department of
Ocean and Traffic Engineering, Hohai University, China

Vincent H. Chu
Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

ABSTRACT: Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities were initiated in the laboratory by the sudden over-
turning of a tank of initially stably stratified fluid of two layers. The tank was of small thickness and
the turbulence subsequent to the instabilities was quasi two-dimensional in the tank. For flow visu-
alization, dye was introduced as tracer in one of the layer. The depth-averaged dye concentration in
the quasi-two-dimensional turbulent flow was measured in the fluid using a video imaging method.
The experiment was conducted to provide data for the purpose of model verification. Therefore, a
Large Eddy Simulation of the instabilities and the turbulent flow was conducted using a modified
Smagorinsky model. The computations were carried out using a numerical scheme known as the
Lagrangian Block method. The results of the numerical simulation of the highly irregular turbulent
interface are consistent with experimental observation.

1 INTRODUCTION

Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities occur when heavy fluid rests on top of lighter fluid in unstable density
stratification. The force of the gravity, which accelerates the intrusion of one fluid into the other,
produces the turbulence and the subsequent mixing across the interface. The problem has many
environmental and geophysical applications (Taylor 1950, Popil and Curzon 1980, Read 1984,
Andrews and Spalding 1990, Voropayev et al. 1993). In lakes and oceans, the instabilities are often
initiated by cooling and freezing of the surface layer. The negative buoyancy in the unstably stratified
fluid is the driving force that produces the instabilities and subsequently the turbulence exchange
between the surface layer and the underlying lighter fluid. The evolution of the turbulent and the
laminar interface between the layers is highly chaotic. The interface is difficult to be simulated
by numerical method. Because the requirement for high accuracy of the numerical scheme, the
data obtained from the laboratory studies of the instabilities is significant for the purpose of model
development and verification of the numerical scheme.
In the present investigation, the instabilities are produced in the laboratory by overturning of a
tank of stably stratified fluid of two layers. The sketch in Figure 1 shows the two fluid layers of initial
depths h1 and h2 , after the overturning of the tank to produce the instabilities in the laboratory. The
instabilities start initially as wrinkles at the interface. Lighter fluid rises through the upper layer and
heavy fluid penetrates into the bottom layer. The exchange of fluids is ultimately a chaotic process
that leads to turbulence. Earlier laboratory studies of the process by Andrews and Spalding (1990)
and Voropayev et al. (1993) were primarily based on flow visualization. Despite the difficulty in
locating the position of the interface by flow visualization, Voropayev et al. (1993) were able to
obtain a formula for the depth of the advancing layer,

263
 h1

h2

Figure 1. Upper heavy layer of depth h1 and lower lighter layer of depth h2 in the tank after the tank had
suddenly rotated by 180◦ to this unstable gravity stratification.

In this formula, g = gravity constant, A = (ρ1 + ρ2 )/(ρ1 + ρ2 ) = Atwood number, and h1 = initial
depth of the upper layer; 2gAh1 = total buoyant force associated with the upper layer. From a series
of flow visualization experiments, Voropayev et al. (1993) found the coefficient in the formula
to be a = 0.38. However, this value of the coefficient is dependent on how the advancing front
was defined. Because the front is highly chaotic, the location of front cannot be determined with
certainty by the flow visualization. To remove this uncertainty, the frontal position is defined in
the present experiment based on the dye concentration, which was introduced to the one layer
and accurately measured using a video imaging method developed at McGill by Zhang and Chu
(2003). The goal of the present laboratory investigation is to collect the dye concentration data
and to utilize this data to verify the capability of a LES (Large Eddy Simulation) model of the
turbulence interface.

2 EXPERIMENT

The experimental apparatus is a tank of small thickness (Figure 1). The inside dimensions of the
tank in the present experiment were H = h1 + h2 = 57.1 cm high, L = 115 cm wide, and d = 1.27 cm
thick. The density difference between the two layers was due to dissolved salt and dye introduced in
the upper layer. The lower layer is fresh water. A series of experiments were conducted for different
densities and heights. The experimental results to be presented in this paper are for one test with
depth of upper heavy layer h1 = 3 cm. The density of the fluid of the upper layer was 0.95% higher
than the underlying fluid in the tank. In this case, the depth of the heavy layer is small compared
with the total height of the tank (h1 << H ). Therefore, the frontal advancement is expected to be
dependent on the total buoyancy force associated with the upper layer and to increase linearly with
time following the relation given by Equation 1.
Dye of known initial concentration is introduced into the surface layer as tracer to observe the
exchange of fluids between the layers. The intrusion of the dyed fluid into underlying water is
recorded using a video camera. The light intensity in the video images is correlated with the dye
concentration by a calibration of the camera using a method developed at McGill University by
Zhang and Chu (2003). Figure 2 shows the dye images of the surface layer obtained 9 s, 11 s,
13 s, and 15 s after fluid in the tank is overturned. In these images, the gray scale is directly
proportional to the dye concentration. The interface produced by the advancement of the surface
layer is highly irregular. However, an averaged concentration C and be determined by averaging
the dye concentration of the pixels of the same height across the width of the tank. Figure 3 shows
the averaged concentration profiles. Despite the highly irregular interface, the averaged depth
of the advancing layer, δ, is determined by curved fitting the averaged dye-concentration data by
the following Gaussian profile as shown in Figure 3.

264
 t = 9s t = 11s

t = 13s t = 15s

Figure 2. Images of the advancing front through a 68 cm × 39 cm window at times t = 9 s, 11 s, 13 s, and 15 s.

The gray scale is proportional to the dye concentration of the fluid in the advancing layer.

1 1
t = 9s t = 13s
0.8 - Gaussian profile 0.8 - Gaussian profile
o Experiment o Experiment
0.6 0.6
C/Cm
C/Cm

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 10 21 32 43 55 0 10 21 32 43 55
Vertical distance: cm Vertical distance: cm

Figure 3. Averaged dye concentration profiles fitted by the Gaussian profiles at times t = 9 s and 13 s.

where Cm is the maximum of the averaged dye concentration. Table 1 gives the depth of the layer, δ,
and the coefficient, α, as determined by the curved fitting the data over a period of time from t = 9 s
to 15 s. Figure 4 shows the plot of the depth of advancing layer versus time. The data fit well with
a linear relation with time following Equation 1. The coefficient α = 0.13 is significantly smaller
than the value of 0.38 obtained by Voropayev et al. (1993). The difference is expected because
the difference in the definition of the δ. Voropayev et al. determined the δ as the depth of the
very leading edge of the advancing front by visual inspection. The leading edge is highly irregular
and is difficult to objectively determine by visual inspection. However, the present definition
is based on the averaged dye-concentration profile that can be exactly determined by the
concentration data.

265
 Table 1. Depth of the surface layer obtained by curve fitting the
averaged dye concentration data.

Time (s) depth δ (cm) coefficient α

9 6.1700 0.13
10 7.1947 0.14
11 7.6056 0.13
12 8.5235 0.13
13 9.2586 0.13
14 10.2756 0.14
15 11.2919 0.13

4
δ/(2gA)-1/2(s)

0
5 10 15 20 25 30
t(s)

Figure 4. Normalized depth of the surface layer, δ/(2gAh1 )1/2 , versus time t.

3 LARGE EDDY SIMULATION

As mentioned in the introduction, one of the purposes of the laboratory investigation was to collect
data for model verification. Numerical computation of the overturning process was conducted
using a 384 × 192 grid corresponding to a mesh size of 0.3 cm. Figure 5 shows the turbulent
interfaces at times t = 9 s and 15 s obtained from the simulation. The simulation was based on a
two-dimensional depth-averaged formulation. The sub-grid viscosity for the Large Eddy Simulation
(LES) is obtained using a modified Smagorinsky model proposed by Babarutsi, Nassiri and Chu
(2004). The modified model was derived based on a quasi-two-dimensional model for the limiting
case when the mesh size is large compared with the depth of the flow ( >> h) and a pseudo-
three-dimensional model for the limiting case when the mesh size is small compared with the
depth of the flow ( << h). The general formula for the transition between the two limiting cases
is given by the four-third-power interpolation formula:

266
 t=9s t = 15 s

Figure 5. Images of the advancing fronts obtained from the LES simulation using the LBM at times t = 9 s
and 15 s. The gray scale is proportional to dye concentration.

According to this interpolation formula, depending on the size of the grid, the sub-grid viscosity
would be vSG = vSD + v2D if  >> h, or vSG = vP3D if  << h. The 2D version of the Smagorinsky
viscosity is


in which CS = Smagorinsky coefficient and  = x 2 + y2 = mesh size; ũ and ṽ, are compo-
nents of the velocity on the x- and y-plane. The sub-depth viscosity is proportional to the shear
velocity ũ∗ and the water depth h:

√
where u∗ = τb /ρ is the friction velocity. If the mesh size were large compared with the depth of
the flow (i.e., if x, y >> h), the total sub-depth and sub-grid viscosity is the sum of the sub-depth
component given by Eq. (5) and the 2D component by Eq. (4): vSG = vSD + v2D . However, if the
mesh size were significantly smaller than the depth of the flow (i.e., if x, y << h), the sub-grid
viscosity will be given by the quasi-three-dimensional model:

The value of the Smagorinsky coefficient Cs was selected to be 0.075 in the present LES simulation
of the advancing front.

4 LAGRANGIAN BLOCK METHOD

Figure 6 shows the averaged concentration profiles obtained from the LES compared with the
laboratory data. The agreement between the simulation and the laboratory data is remarkable not
only for the correctness of the interface position but also for the details features of the interface. As
the fluid of the surface layer is advanced into the underlying fluid, the initially small eddies merges
with the surrounding eddies to form eddies increasing size. The increase in the size of eddies is
approximately proportional to the depth of the surface layer. This growth in the length scale of the
process is quite correctly simulated by the LES as can be observed by comparing the LES results
in Figure 5 with the laboratory images of the interface in Figure 2.
The success of the numerical simulation can be attributed to the accuracy of the Largrangian
Block Method (LBM) that was employed in the present LES. The LBM is a highly accurate

267
 1 1
t = 9s t = 15s
0.8 - LES 0.8 - LES
o Experiment o Experiment
0.6 0.6

C/Cm
C/Cm

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50
Vertical distance: cm Vertical distance: cm

Figure 6. Comparison of the numerical results obtained from the LES with the experimental data.

numerical scheme that is relatively free of numerical diffusion and unphysical oscillations. Similarly
successful simulations of turbulence interfaces have been obtained using the method for a variety
of turbulent flows (see e.g., Chu and Altai 2002).

5 CONCLUSION

Successful simulation of a highly irregular turbulent interface due the Rayleigh-Taylor instability
has been obtained using the Lagrangian Block Method. The results are highly consistent with the
laboratory data obtained from an overturn experiment. The LBM is positive definite and rela-
tively free of the numerical diffusion and has shown in the present investigation to be suitable for
simulation of complex turbulence interfaces.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research reported in this paper was conducted at McGill University while the senior author
was on leave from Hohai University. We acknowledge the financial support of the research under
CSC Fund from the Ministry of Education of China and a NSERC research grant of Canada.

REFERENCES

Andrews, M.J. and Spalding, D.B. 1990. A simple experiment to investigate two-dimensional mixing by
Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Phys. Fluids A 2, 922.
Babarutsi, S., Nassiri, M. and Chu, V.H. 2004. Horizontal turbulence simulation in shallow re-circulating
Flows. Submitted to Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (tentatively accepted).
Chu, V.H. and Altai, W. 2001. Simulation of shallow transverse shear flows by second moment method.
J. Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 39, 575–582.
Chu, V.H. and Altai, W. 2002. Simulation of turbulence and gravity interfaces by Lagrangian block method.
Computational Fluid Dynamics 2002, 299–304, Springer-Verlag, New York (ISBN 3-540-00739-3).
Popil, R. and Curzon, F.L. 1980 Climbing water films in experiments on Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. Phys.
Fluids 23, 1718.
Lord Rayleigh. 1900. Scientific Papers (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,), Vol. II: 200–207.
Read, K.I. 1984. Physica D (Amsterdam) 12(1–3), 45.
Taylor, G.I. 1950. Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A 201, 192.
Voropayev, S.I., Afanasyev, Y.D. and van Heijst, J.G.F. 1993. Experiments on the evolution of gravitational
instability of an overturned initially stably stratified fluid. Phys. Fluids A 5, 2461.
Zhang, J.-B. and Chu, V.H. 2003. Shallow turbulent flows by video imaging method. J. Engrg. Mechanics,
ASCE, 129, 1164–1172.

268
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical simulations and linear stability analysis of transient

buoyancy-induced flow in a two-dimensional enclosure

C.F. Ihle
Graduate student, Ph.D. Program in Fluid Dynamics, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Y. Niño
Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

R.L. Frederick
Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

ABSTRACT: Numerical experiments using two-dimensional DNS and a linear stability analysis
with an unsteady base state, using propagation theory, were performed to learn about the onset
and non-linear dynamics of penetrative convection in lakes and reservoirs. For this purpose, in a
first stage of development, some idealized conditions have been considered, namely a step change
and constant cool skin temperature imposed onto the surface. Two different horizontal boundary
conditions were considered in the stability analysis, seeking for an approximate description of a
stratified reservoir. Critical time-dependent Rayleigh numbers were found from the stability analy-
sis, which agree with experimental results for the related Rayleigh-Bénard instability. Non-linear
analysis showed the occurrence of periodically self-organized structures of buoyant plumes and
iso-Nusselt lines. It was found numerically that boundaries appear to delay the onset of instabilities
and to reduce the heat extraction rate.

1 INTRODUCTION

Many numerical and experimental studies in fluid systems subjected to surface cooling or bottom
heating have been motivated by problems in several branches of physics, engineering and, partic-
ularly, in environmental sciences. Buoyancy driven flows, generated by this kind of phenomenon,
are found in many aquatic systems in nature, such as lakes and reservoirs. This kind of instability
contributes to strong momentum, heat and concentration transport and complex biological
interactions inside the water body.
A particular kind of unstable stratification is found in lakes and reservoirs when the temperature
of the surface water drops, due to heat exchange with the atmosphere, below the mean temperature
of the water body. This, so called cool skin temperature, may occur on a daily basis in some cases,
due to abrupt changes of air temperatures between day and night. The instability generated due to
density differences between surface and deep waters drives the water mass to a buoyancy-induced
circulation, which eventually evolves to different turbulent patterns, organized according to the
depth level, as reviewed by Wüest & Lorke (2003).
The present article summarizes recent research work developed in two aspects relative to this kind
of phenomenon: the onset of instability, which can be predicted using linear stability analysis, and
a preliminary study of non-linear behaviour solving a DNS two-dimensional model for prescribed
conditions.

269
2 EQUATIONS AND GENERAL CONDITIONS

2.1 General equations

Using tensor notation, the governing equations for the ith component of flow momentum and
temperature field for an incompressible Boussinesq fluid are:

For convenience, the z axis (i = 3) is considered positive downwards. In eq. (2): p̃ = p∗ − ρ0 gx3∗ .
In eq. (3) the viscous dissipation term is neglected, which would act as a source term in this equation.
On the other hand, α = kρ0−1 C −1 denotes thermal diffusivity and δpq is the Kronecker-delta function.
Density changes are modelled as a linear function of temperature: ρ = ρ0 (1 − β(Tc − T0 )), with
β = −(1/ρ0 )∂ρ/∂T ∗ |0 denoting the coefficient of thermal expansion.
In the case of lakes, the water body exchanges heat with the atmosphere, inflows, outflows and
bed sediments. Reasonable assumptions are to consider that no heat is exchanged between the water
body and the bed and that no inflows or outflows are present. However, a way must be considered
to model the interaction between the lake and the atmosphere. We could use, for instance, the
equilibrium temperature concept, such that the heat flux exchange from the atmosphere to the
lake can be estimated as: Hn = ce (Te − Ts ), where Te denotes the equilibrium temperature for given
meteorological conditions over the lake, Ts denotes the water body surface temperature and ce a heat
exchange coefficient, also depending on meteorological conditions. Hn is continuously modified
by weather conditions, via ce and Te , which also modifies Ts as it tends to follow Te . Both Hn
and Ts are continuously changing, so constant flux and constant surface temperature hypotheses
are not exact but widely used, as reviewed by Maxworthy (1997). In this problem we propose the
second case as an approximation for this condition, that is, a step change in surface temperature,
which is kept for t > 0 at a value equal to Tc . The stability of a similar problem with these initial
and boundary conditions have been treated recently (Kim et al., 2002). We aim to implement in
the near future a more realistic time varying boundary condition scheme, along with consideration
of an initial density stratification, having learned previously from the dynamics offered by the
approximated model reported herein.

2.2 Equations and conditions for linear stability analysis

Equations (1) to (3) are the starting point for the linear stability system. The enclosure to be
considered is the deep pool system, defined by Foster (1969) as a fluid body where no total pene-
tration of the thermal disturbance is observed throughout its depth. Keeping the temperature step
hypothesis at the upper surface, we impose the rigid-rigid and free-free boundary conditions, alter-
natively. The latter reflects the situation of the surface layer in a thermally strongly stratified water
body having an idealized thermocline, (whose structure is discussed in the review by Imberger &
Patterson, 1990) subjected to a sudden surface cooling. In deep pool systems, the free-rigid case
yields the same result as the free-free case, as every perturbation variable vanishes provided x3∗ is
large enough. Non-dimensional stability equations for temperature and vertical velocity, deduced
from (1) to (3) are:

270
where  denotes the three dimensional Laplacian and 1 the horizontal one. x3 = x3∗ /L, τ = t ∗ α/L2 ,
T = (T ∗ − T0 )/(Tc − T0 ) =  + θ  and u3 = u3∗ L/α = U + u3 = u3 , as the fluid is quiescent on its
base state. O(θ  ) = O(u3 ) = ε. Pr = ν/α is the Prandtl number and Ra = gβ(T0 − Tc )L3 /(αν) is
the Rayleigh number, based on the length scale L. The unsteady base state  (x3 , τ ) corresponds
to the solution of the well known heat equation subjected to the boundary and initial conditions
considered herein. Horizontal modes of the form exp(i(a∗1 x1 + a∗2 x2 )) are supposed.
Due to the time dependency of  , it is not possible to assume a priori an exponential growth for
the amplitude functions, as in the case of systems with a steady base state. This case was treated
by Hadji & Jin (1996), and more recently by Kato et al. (2003). According to the propagation
theory developed by Kang & Choi (1997) and Yang & Choi (2002), using dimensional reasoning
and
  assuming an early
 onset (small τ ), the dimensionless
√ amplitude functions may have the form:
u3 (τ , x3 ), θ  (τ , x3 ) = [τ u3 (ζ ), θ(ζ )], with ζ = x3 / τ . Propagation theory can be applied if it is
possible to find a self-similar solution for the base temperature state. If that is the case, from Eqs. (4)
and (5) explicit space and time dependence can be  transformed into ζ -only dependence, defining
an implicit time-dependent wave number aτ = τ 1/2 (a∗1 )2 + (a∗2 )2 and an implicit time-dependent
Rayleigh number Raτ = τ 3/2 Ra. Now, the onset of the instability is ruled by the conjunction of the
following three parameters: the Prandtl number, which depends solely on the fluid properties, Raτ
and τ , that depend on the system being studied.
The critical Raτ number can be found by using a shooting method to solve (4) and (5) for Raτ and
the unknown boundary conditions at ζ = 0. For the rigid-rigid case, it was considered that on ζ = 0,
u3 = Du3 = θ = 0, with Dn (·) ≡ d n (·)/dζ n , and on ζ → ∞, u3 = Du3 = Dθ = 0. For the free-free
case, equivalent conditions are on ζ = 0, u3 = D2 u3 = θ = 0 and on ζ → ∞, u3 = D2 u3 = Dθ = 0.

2.3 Conditions for non-linear analysis

The results reported here correspond to a two-dimensional flow situation in a rectangular domain
with height 1 and width A = 2. The region contains water, with Pr = 7. Both side-walls and bottom
are considered adiabatic, so heat transfer is allowed only through the air-water interface. Fluid
properties (except density as stated) are assumed to be constant. Density inversion below 4◦ C is
not considered.
Initial and boundary conditions are: T = 0 in x3 = 0, always, T (τ = 0) = 1 everywhere,
∂T /∂x1 (x1 = 0, x1 = 2) = 0, always, and ∂T /∂x3 (x3 = 1) = 0, always. No-slip is imposed on every
boundary.
The time-dependent solution field was found numerically using the finite volume method. To
solve the pressure gradient field, the simpler scheme was chosen in an orthogonal staggered grid
of 182 × 92 nodes. Temperature field was computed using the power law scheme (Patankar, 1980).
Tolerances for dimensionless values of pressure, pressure correction, temperature and continuity
equation residue were set to 10−9 . The dimensionless time step used was 10−6 . Rayleigh number
chosen was 106 , because of the good balance found between the time for instability onset and
computational cost.
A relevant feature of the two-dimensional problem is that it delivers information, from the
numerical simulation point of view, of the onset of the instability, provided its origin lies on the
x3 axis.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

For the deep pool systems studied, a suitable self-similar solution for the base temperature field
is  = erf (ζ /2), where erf (·) stands for the error function. For the deep pool Rayleigh-Bénard
problem, with an initially uniform temperature in the whole water body, rigid-rigid boundaries,
Pr = 7 and Ra = 106 , Kim et al. (2002) found a critical Rayleigh number Raτ = 27.07 ± 1.35,

271
Figure 1. Marginal stability curves for the deep pool system with small onset critical time, τc . The rigid-rigid
case exhibits a critical value of Raτ = 24.73. In the free-free case the critical value found was 12.68.

slightly higher than the critical value found for the rigid-rigid case in the present study (Figure 1).
These results do not consider the existence of vertical side-walls.
For the Rayleigh-Bénard problem, Foster (1969) reported that the time for incipient growth of
instabilities, obtained from the linear stability analysis, differs from the experimental observation
time (τm ) by a factor close to 4. In the present numerical simulation, for Ra = 106 , the onset time
found (using both the present numerical model along with a 10 aspect ratio prototype program)
was τm ≈ 0.01. This result comes from the observation of a computed dimensionless velocity field
on the order of 10−2 . On the other hand, using the results from the stability curve (Figure 1), a
critical time τc can be found by using the critical Rayleigh number: τc = Raτ /Ra2/3 = 0.002473.
With this value, the time for the observed growth of instabilities in the numerical simulations differs
from the critical time calculated from the linear stability analysis by a factor τm /τc = 4.04, in close
agreement with Foster’s factor of 4. Further analyses must be done, using other Rayleigh numbers
and experimental evidence, to generalize this result for the present problem.
Non-linear evolution after the onset of the fastest growing modes exhibits a spatially-periodic
behavior, as vertical plumes tend to organize in nearly fixed places. The downwelling of these
thermal plumes generate circulation rolls, and patterns of horizontal motion, where the most active
places of heat exchange with the atmosphere lie in between the thermal plumes. This can be observed
on Figure 2, which shows the temperature field and the Nusselt number on the upper lid, defined
as Nu0 = − ∂T /∂x3 |x3 = 0 . Although the mean temperature in the cavity tends to decay throughout
the simulation because of the heat extraction with no balancing source terms, the dynamics of
the phenomenon keeps its shape and also the mean distance and positions of the convecting rolls,
whose motion tends to decay asymptotically. The corresponding organization pattern is shown on
Figure 3. Another interesting feature of the phenomenon is the less active (but not null) heat release
close to the boundaries, showing the relative importance of the velocity field on the overall cooling
process, whose magnitude near the walls is about 40% lower than near the center. It would be
interesting to know the relationship between heat extraction efficiency of the system and aspect
ratio. This will be addressed in a future stage of the present research project.

272
Figure 2. Temperature field for the non-linear model, τ = 0.0172. The black line corresponds to the Nusselt
number onto the upper lid, normalized by its maximum. The latter shows that most of the heat exchange with
the atmosphere occurs in between the thermal plumes.

Figure 3. Iso-Nusselt number curves onto the upper lid for the two-dimensional non-linear simulation. Both
thermal plumes and the highest heat extraction zones tend to maintain their original positions, given by the
kinematic, thermal and geometric conditions imposed.

4 CONCLUDING REMARKS

A relatively novel linear stability technique for non-steady base states was applied to predict
the onset of the penetrative convection problem with constant surface temperature. Theoretically
predicted onset time is about 4 times lower than the time at which the instability is detected in
the numerical non-linear simulations. Similar results have been reported for the Rayleigh-Bénard

273
problem using experimental observations instead of numerical simulations. The deep pool rigid-
rigid 2-D system appears to be slightly less stable than the classical Rayleigh-Bénard problem with
transient base state, as concluded from comparison with results by Kim et al. (2002). Non-linear
dynamics of the penetrative convection flow is characterized by a spatially periodic self-organization
of the system on alternating zones with high and low surface heat transfer rates, along with per-
sistent buoyant plumes that create circulation as they fall through the water column. Numerical
simulations also show the importance of the vertical boundaries on the heat extraction efficiency,
at least for the studied aspect ratio of 2.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank financial support by CONICYT, Chile, through a graduate scholarship for the
main author and FONDECYT Project No. 1040494.

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1997.
Patankar, S. V. 1980. Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow. Mc Graw Hill, 1980.
Wüest, A. & Lorke, A. 2003. Small-Scale hydrodynamics in lakes. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 35: 373–412.
Yang, D. J. & Choi, C. K. 2002. The onset of thermal convection in a horizontal fluid layer heated from below
with time-dependent heat flux. Phys. Fluids, 14(3): 930–937.

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2.2 Stratified flow – II
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A large, vertically distorted hydraulic model of outflow withdrawal

from a thermally stratified reservoir

R. Ettema, M. Muste, A.J. Odgaard & O. Abaci

IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering, and Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering,
The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a unique hydraulic model used to determine the performance
of design modifications that would enable an existing water intake to selectively withdraw colder
water from the lower depths of a thermally stratified reservoir. The model was unique by virtue of
its large size, the fact that it was vertically distorted, and that it had the capacity to simulate outflow
withdrawal from a thermally stratified reservoir for lengthy period. An innovative calibration and
validation approach enabled the model to be used successfully. Use of the model illuminated the
importance of simulating flow vorticity when replicating the withdrawal performance of an intake.

1 INTRODUCTION

Fairly numerous studies have investigated the selective withdrawal of water from a thermally strati-
fied body of water; e.g., Harleman and Elder (1965), Jirka (1979), Goldring (1989), and Vermeyen
(1997). However, few studies have involved the size and complexity of hydraulic model described
in the present paper. Scant few (if any) studies address the influence of vertical distortion on simula-
tions of selective withdrawal of outflow. Moreover, studies involving vertically distorted hydraulic
models of density currents (e.g., Nystrom 1981) do not explain how vertical distortion may affect
modeling results.
This paper describes the use of a large, vertically distorted hydraulic model and an innovative
procedure with which to calibrate and validate the model. The calibration process shed useful
insights into modeling outflow withdrawal from the markedly three-dimensional flow field gener-
ated by the intake. The procedure relied on experiments using a pair of “testboxes” that simulated
simplified geometries of the intake and the lake bathymetry surrounding it. One testbox simu-
lated a vertically distorted intake, whereas the other simulated an equivalent undistorted intake.
Additionally, the procedure relied on the extensive use of three-dimensional numerical modeling of
flow in the reservoir, though numerical modeling proved less useful than the testboxes. A practical
factor making the model feasible was the availability of large volumes of water (cold, temperate,
and warm) with which to establish and maintain water-temperature profiles in the hydraulic model.
The model was used to determine the feasibility of modifying a water-intake structure located
in a reservoir so that, during summer months, it could release colder water than it presently can
release. Several modifications were proposed for enabling the intake to withdraw colder water from
the lower levels of the lake during summer. They included a skimming curtain placed around the
intake, a hooded-inlet pipe extending from the intake, and sundry excavations near the intake. Tests
with the hydraulic model showed that a curtain held best promise for enabling the intake to release
colder water.
The testboxes provided calibration information for setting the discharge scale of the hydraulic
model, thereby ensuring that the (distorted) model intake developed essentially the same flow-
field mixing as occurs at the intake in the reservoir. The testboxes served also to validate the
performance of the skimming-curtain. The hydraulic model and testboxes provided useful insights
into the hydraulic modeling of outflow from a thermally stratified reservoir. The insights concern

277
Figure 1. View of the hydraulic model.

simulation of water mixing in the three-dimensional flow field at the intake. Of particular relevance
was simulation of flow vorticity in the vicinity of the intake. The results from the numerical modeling
supported those from the testboxes and the hydraulic model.

2 HYDRAULIC MODEL

The hydraulic model encompassed a 5.2 km by 3.2 km area of the reservoir surrounding the intake,
as indicated in Figure 1. A bathymetric feature of the modeled area is a submerged channel called
the incised channel. It connects the intake with the reservoir’s deeper branch and main source of
cold water. It was considered important that the model simulate flow along the incised channel.
The model was sized to be sufficiently large to ensure that it had the capacity to maintain the
temperature profile of water in the reservoir while enabling a steady temperature of outflow.
Similitude constraints, including issues, such as the Reynolds number of the flow approaching
the intake, led to the selection of a horizontal-length scale of Xr = 220 (≡ prototype horizontal
length/model horizontal length) and a vertical scale of Yr = 40. This combination of length scales
was judged to be a practicable compromise between the need for the model to encompass a large
portion of the reservoir, and to have adequate model flow depth so as to simulate the flow field at the
intake, as well as simulate the prospective flow of colder water moving along the lake bed from the
reservoir’s deeper branch, the main source of cold water. It was anticipated that the modifications
would cause cold water to be drawn as a density current along the lakebed toward the Intake. The
model therefore had to simulate the frictional and temperature aspects of the density current flow
toward the intake.

3 CALIBRATION AND VALIDATION

Calibration of the model, and validation of results from the model, relied primarily on the findings
from experiments with the pair of testboxes, which comprised simplified, vertically distorted and
undistorted representations of the intake placed amidst simplified forms of the lake bathymetry
near the intake. Figure 2 shows the testboxes placed in the hydraulic model. Work with each testbox
entailed measuring the variation of outflow temperature Tout for a range of outflow discharge, Q,
normalized with the intake’s normal operating discharge, Q0 . The measurements were made for
water-temperature profiles representative of three summer months at the lake (June, July, and

278
 Water
Water
Intake Intake Surface
Surface

Simulated Simulated
Topography In
ci Topography
In

Warm se
cis

Warm Water (Upp Water d

C
ed

er La ha
(Upper Layer) yer)
Ch

nn
an

el
ne
l

Cold Water
(Bottom Layer)

Model Model
Bed Bed
Cold Water
(Bottom Layer)

Figure 2. Layouts of undistorted (left) and distorted intake and local bathymetry.

Tepi
Outflow Temperature, T0ut

Tmixed
Undistorted
Test Box
T0
Distorted
Test Box
Thypo

1.0 α Discharge Ratio, Q/Q0

Figure 3. Conceptual relationship between outflow temperature and discharge ratio in the distorted and
undistorted testboxes, indicating the discharge-calibration factor α.

August). Figure 3 illustrates conceptually the relationships between Tout and Q/Q0 obtained from
the distorted and the undistorted testboxes. The offset between the data curves obtained from the
two testboxes represents the value of the discharge-calibration coefficient, α, needed to interpret the
results from the hydraulic model, and apply those results to the intake; the same offset is expected
to occur between the vertically distorted hydraulic model of the intake and an undistorted version
of the hydraulic model.
The value of α = 1.7 was determined from the data curves from two forms of the testboxes, and
was validated using data obtained from tests with all three temperature profiles and water-surface
elevations of the lake. Additional calibration information was provided from numerical models
used to simulate the testboxes. Subsequently, field data relating outflow temperature to outflow
rate from the hydraulic model verified the value determined for α. Consequently, the (distorted)
model intake operated at the discharge ratio Q/Q0 = 1.7 produced the same value of Tout as actually

279
measured for the intake at its normal operating outflow; i.e., Q/Q0 = 1.0. It was found that the
factor α applied to the full range of model discharges used in testing (0.25 ≤ Q/Q0 ≤ 2.75).

4 SIMILITUDE IN MIXING

The writers attribute the differences in flow field between the distorted and the undistorted testboxes
to differences in the intensities of flow rotation, and especially eddies and coherent turbulence
structures in the flow fields generated by the intake with and without modification. Such intensities
usually are characterized in terms of a flow vorticity, a measure of the intensity of rotation of
a flow region. Prior studies of flow in stratified water bodies seem not to take into account the
influence of the three-dimensional and rotating features of flow on the stability and mixing of
such flows. Instead, the similitude relationships proposed for characterizing the flows are based
on idealized two-dimensional situations of flow, and do not adequately describe water mixing in
the three-dimensional flow field generated by an intake.
By comparing the scaling ratios of vorticity for the flow fields formed by the undistorted test-
box and the distorted testbox, the writers found it possible to venture an explanation for the value
determined for the coefficient α during the calibration work with the testboxes – essentially, flow
vorticity in the distorted testbox is over-scaled relative to flow vorticity in the undistorted testbox.
In other words, in the distorted testbox, most forms of vortices, eddies, and turbulence were reduced
in strength compared to the flow in the undistorted testbox, such that local mixing of flow is not
as pronounced as in the distorted testbox. To increase flow mixing in the distorted testbox entails
increasing flow vorticity in the near field of the intake in the distorted testbox. The question then
concerns by how much should the vorticity be increased.
Flow vorticity scales as ωr = Lr /Vr = Lr /L1/2r = Lr
1/2
for a model operated in accordance with
Froude-number similitude; here, L = length and V = velocity. Thus for the undistorted testbox,
built at length scales Lr = Yr = Xr = 40, flow vorticity scales as ωr = L1/2 r = 6.3. In comparison,
flow vorticity in the flow field of a geometrically similar, but smaller, undistorted testbox built at
length scales Lr = Yr = Xr = 220, would scale as ωr = L1/2 r = 14.8. (Note that an undistorted testbox
of these scales was not actually used in the present study.) For the flow field in a vertically distorted
hydraulic model built with Yr = 40 and Xr = 220, the scale of flow vorticity lies somewhere between
6.3 and 14.8, the vorticity scales for the two sizes of undistorted testbox. It is reasonable to assume
that the overall vorticity scale for the distorted testbox is the average of 6.3 and 14.8; i.e., for the
distorted testbox, ωr = (6.3 + 14.8)/2 ≈ 10.5.
To increase the vorticity in the distorted testbox and the hydraulic model, so that it is comparable
to that in the undistorted testbox, requires increasing vorticity by a factor of 10.5/6.3 = 1.7. This
increase can be achieved by increasing flow velocities in the distorted model by a factor of 1.7. For
a fixed water-surface elevation, as in the present case, the adjustment calls for outflow discharge to
be increased by a factor 1.7. The preceding analysis gives an average value, but its outcome concurs
with the average value of discharge-adjustment coefficient found from the testbox calibration;
α = 1.7.

5 RESULTS FROM HYDRAULIC MODEL

With its outflow appropriately calibrated, the hydraulic model was used to carry out a series of tests
that delineated the baseline relationship, Tout versus Q/Q0 , for the intake operated in its existing
configuration. The model then was used to ascertain the capabilities of the various modifications
for reducing Tout for the operational range of Q/Q0 . Tests with the hydraulic model showed that
the greatest decreases in outflow temperature, Tout were obtained when a large floating, skimming
curtain was placed around the intake. Additionally, the tests showed that a further reduction in
Tout could be achieved by excavating a region of raised bathymetry (herein called levees) near the
curtain entrance. The model curtain deployed around the intake, and the excavation in front of the
curtain, are shown in Figure 4.

280
Figure 4. View of curtain deployed around intake in hydraulic model.

Tepi

Tmixed
Outflow Temperature, T0ut

Existing
Intake ∆TOut

Intake With Curtain,

Levees Removed
Thypo

Prattville Intake
Operational Range

10-1 100 101

Discharge Ratio, log (Q/Q0)

Figure 5. Conceptual illustration of the effect of the skimming curtain and minor excavation on the temperature
of outflow released from the intake.

The temperature-reducing effect of a curtain and the excavation is illustrated conceptually in Fig-
ure 5, which shows the relationship between Tout and Q/Q0 obtained with the existing configuration
of the intake, together with the results obtained when a curtain was positioned around the intake,
and the levees removed. For small outflows (nominally, 0.25 ≈ Q/Q0 ), the intake, with or without
the curtain, withdraws essentially cold water from the hypomnion at a representative temperature
of Thypo . The curtain then has negligible effect on Tout at this flow rate.
For Q/Q0 values approaching and somewhat exceeding the intake’s usual operating range of
flows (Q/Q0 = 1), the curtain blocks warm water from approaching the intake. As the value of
Q/Q0 exceeds the intake’s usual outflow range, the effect of the curtain diminishes. Based on an
extrapolation of the trends shown by the data curves from the hydraulic model, Q/Q0 would be
approximately 10 or greater before the curtain had no influence on outflow temperature. At that
limit, the flow is fully mixed as it passes beneath the curtain.

281
 23.00

22.00

21.00

20.00 Existing config.

19.00

18.00
TOUT (°C)

17.00

16.00
Curtain No.4
15.00

14.00

13.00

12.00
Curtain No.4, without levee
11.00
1.70
10.00
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00
Q/Q0

Figure 6. Outflow temperature versus normalized outflow discharge; July condition.

The data obtained from the hydraulic model indicate (Figure 6 is a sample of the data) that
the curtain together with excavation would enable the intake to release water up to 5.8◦ C colder
during July than the intake presently can release during those months. The corresponding maximum
reductions in outflow temperature would be 4.5◦ C for June and 5.2◦ C for August.

6 CONCLUSIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The study showed that a vertically distorted hydraulic model could be used successfully to simulate
the outflow performance of a water intake in a thermally stratified reservoir. Calibration tests
conducted with a simplified pair of distorted and equivalent undistorted, testbox replications of
the intake indicate that an important modeling consideration for 3D flow fields is similitude of
flow vorticity near the intake. The findings from the testboxes were supported by the results of a
numerical simulation. Ettema et al. describe the full study (2004).
The modeling involved extensive interaction with Pacific Gas and Electric and Bechtel
Corporation.

REFERENCES

Ettema, R., Muste, M., Odgaard, A.J. and Lai, Y., (2004). “Lake Almanor Cold-water Feasibility: Hydraulic
Model.” IIHR Report 524, IIHR, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA.
Goldring B.T., (1989). “Capped Water Intakes in a Stratified Crossflow.” Journal of Hydraulic Engineering,
115(2), pp 228–243.
Harleman, D.R.F. and Elder R.A., (1965). “Withdrawal from Two-Layer Stratified Flows.” Journal of the
Hydraulics Division, ASCE, 91(HY4), pp 43–58.
Jirka, G., (1979). “Super-critical Withdrawal from Two-layered Fluid Systems, Part 1. 2D Skimmer Wall.”
Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 17(1), pp 43–51.
Nystrom, J.B., Hecker, G.E. and Moy, H.C., (1981). “Heated Discharge in Estuary: Case Study.” Journal of
the Hydraulics Division, ASCE, 107(11), pp 1371–1406.
Vermeyen, T., (1995). “Prattville Intake, Lake Almanor, California, Hydraulic Model Study on Selective With-
drawal Modifications.” US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Report R-95-07, Denver, CO.

282
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Use of physical model and 3D numerical models to design a

selective withdrawal intake

P.J. Ryan & F.A. Locher

Bechtel Corporation, USA

S. Tu
Pacific Gas and Electric, USA

ABSTRACT: Most of the releases from a stratified reservoir in Western USA are through a
hydroelectric power plant, which withdraws water from a relatively shallow arm of the reservoir.
Much of the cold water both enters the reservoir and is stored in a second but deeper arm of the
reservoir located about 6 km from the intake for the hydroelectric plant. The plant releases flow to
downstream reservoirs and stream channels, where the water temperature is an issue in terms of
cold-water fisheries. Extensive modeling studies have been performed to design a modified intake
to enhance the selective withdrawal of cold water. The models included a distorted physical model,
and several 3D numerical models. Selective withdrawal options included floating curtains, and an
offshore submerged intake structure connected to the existing intake by a pipeline. This paper will
focus on the efforts to calibrate the physical model.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Problem description

A stratified reservoir in the Western USA has a surface area of 11,800 hectares, a storage volume
of 1400 million cubic meters, and a maximum depth of 25 m. The reservoir configuration is shown
in Figure 1, and consists of two lobes.
Inflows to the reservoir are distributed approximately 40% into the western lobe, 30% into the
eastern lobe and 30% through a series of cold water springs, with most of the spring inflow into
the northern end of the eastern lobe, which is 3+ meters deeper than the western lobe. Most of the
outflow from the reservoir (up to 60 m3 /s) is through a hydroelectric plant located as shown on the
southern shore of the shallower western lobe. A 6 km long narrow incised channel, about 3 m deep
and 25–35 m wide, connects the intake to the cooler water in the eastern lobe. The remainder of
the outflow, typically 1 m3 /s, is through a low level outlet at the south end of the eastern lobe. The
large hydroelectric plant outflow is released into a narrow, partially stratified reservoir, about 8 km
long, with a surface area of 700 hectares, and a volume of 33 million m3 . At present the releases
from the downstream reservoir exceed 20◦ C in August about 90% of the time. The objective of
these studies is to determine how to minimize and preferably eliminate flow releases exceeding
20◦ C from the downstream reservoir. Since typical warming through the downstream reservoir is
1–2◦ C, the intent is to restrict the temperature of the hydroelectric releases to less than 18◦ C.

1.2 Study objectives

The primary objective of the study is to determine if a modified hydroelectric intake can selectively
withdraw cold water and keep peak summer return temperatures below 18◦ C for normal outflows
of 45 m3 /s, and if possible for peak outflows of 60 m3 /s.

283
 N

west
lobe
(typical depths
12-15m)
east
lobe
(typical depths
16-19m)

incised
channel

intake

physical
model area
dam
0 1 2 3 kilometers

Figure 1. Map of stratified reservoir including outline of physical model.

A secondary objective is to determine the impact of the intake modifications on release

temperatures for a range of release flows.

1.3 Approach
The approach was to develop a series of models including:
• A distorted physical model of the area around the hydroelectric intake, including the incised
channel connecting the intake to the cooler water in the eastern lobe.
• A numerical model of the entire lake.
• A numerical model of both the distorted physical model, and an undistorted version of the
physical model.
The models were used to evaluate the performance of the intake modifications over a range of
environmental conditions, including both flows and density stratification.

1.4 Deliverables
The study deliverables were to include both the proposed intake modifications and a validated
numerical model for future design modifications and flow simulation.

2 MODELS

2.1 Selection of models

A distorted physical model was selected for the following reasons:
• Simulating stratified flow through a long channel typically requires a distortion of approximately
5 to compensate for the increased friction (both interfacial and bed) in the model compared to
the prototype.

284
• Available test basins were such that a distorted model allowed a more representative area of the
reservoir to be reproduced with flows in an acceptable range of Reynolds Numbers.
The area covered by the model is shown in Figure 1.
The numerical model used was a 3D Unsteady and Unstructured Reynolds-Averaged Navier-
Stokes (U2 RANS) solver. The primary model user was one of the model developers with extensive
experience in using the model, and worked at the institute where the physical modelling was
performed, allowing for close interaction between the physical and numerical modelling.

2.2 Physical model

As shown in Figure 1, the physical model covered an area approximately 5 km by 3 km, including
the incised channel connecting the intake to the cool water in the deeper eastern lobe. The horizontal
scale ratio was 1:220 and vertical scale ratio was 1:40. The bottom and sides of the model basin were
heavily insulated, and cooling coils were installed in the bottom of the model. Separate warm and
cold water inflow systems were installed which allowed (along with the cooling coils) a high degree
of control over the temperature stratification in the model. Extensive field bathymetric data were
obtained to allow detailed reconstruction in the model of the incised channel and the topography
around the intake. A model filling process was developed by trial and error that allowed typical
temperature profiles for the three summer months, June, July and August, to be routinely imposed
in the model. Flow and temperature measurement systems were installed that allowed instantaneous
readout of flows and temperatures into and out of the model, plus temperature profiles at 6 locations
in the model. The time-history of temperatures at the hydroelectric intake was recorded, so that the
response of the system to intake modifications could be determined as soon as it occurred. Dye
injection was used to examine the stratified flow behavior along the incised channel, particularly
in vicinity of the intake.

2.3 Scaling
A major uncertainty in using a distorted stratified model is how to scale the flows into and out of the
model. The standard approach for the case where the density stratification is the same in model and
prototype is to use Froude similarity. For a horizontal scale of 1:220 and vertical scale of 1:40, the
flow ratio is 1:55,656. However, this is only correct when the flow direction is parallel to the bed.
In our case, the flow near the intake dives towards the bed. In the distorted model, with standard
Froude scaling, initial tests indicated that the model was withdrawing cooler bottom water, even
though field data indicated a relatively uniform (top to bottom) withdrawal. This was because the
vertical component of the velocity was ‘under-scaled’, and it was necessary to re-evaluate the flow
scale ratio. For an undistorted model, with a horizontal scale ratio of 1:40, the flow scale ratio is
1:10,119. Due to the fact that far from the intake the flow is parallel to the bottom, but near the
intake vertical velocity components are significant, the flow scale ratio is expected to be between
the above two values, and generic tests were developed to determine the appropriate ratio.

2.4 Scaling test program

The generic test program consisted of constructing an idealized intake, or ‘test box’, in both distorted
and undistorted form, and placing it in the model (see Figure 2) so that it is exposed to the same
temperature profile as the hydroelectric intake. Two types of intakes were constructed. Both cases
included the incised channel and intake tower. In one case, the sidewalls of the test box penetrated
the water surface, while in another case the sidewalls stopped short of the surface to simulate the
underwater ridges in the prototype. Tests were performed for a range of flows for both the existing
intake condition, and an intake with a skimmer curtain in front of it. Over a wide range of tests
a consistent scale ratio of about 1.5–1.7 was found to apply, i.e. increasing the distorted Froude
flow ratio by approximately 50–70% resulted in the same intake temperature as the undistorted

285
 Test Box

Station 2
Station 4 Station 5 Station 6

Incised Channel

Station 1 Station 3
Intake

Temperature
0 1 2 kilometers profile stations

Figure 2. Physical model showing location of test box.

Test Boxes Without Curtain Test Boxes With Curtain

(August) (August)
23.00
22.00
21.00
undistorted
TOUT(°C)

20.00 undistorted
19.00
18.00
17.00 distorted
distorted
16.00
15.00
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00
Q/Q0 Q/Q0

Figure 3. Flow scaling factor determined using the ‘Test Box’.

intake. Figure 3 shows typical results. The horizontal scale Q/Q0 is the ratio of the flow through the
hydroelectric intake to the design flow rate of 45 m3 /s. A numerical model of the ‘test box’ resulted
in a similar value of the scale ratio.

2.5 Hydraulic model validation

Field data were available for three temperature profiles and a limited range of flow conditions.
Figure 4 shows that increasing the model flow ratio by a factor of approximately 1.7 allows the
model to accurately simulate prototype behavior.

2.6 Numerical model calibration and validation

A 3D numerical model of the entire reservoir was developed, and did a reasonable job of predicting
both the outflow temperature and the temperature profiles in the deeper parts of the reservoir.
However in the shallower areas of the model, the agreement between the predicted and measured
temperature profiles was not as good.

286
 23.00

22.00

21.00 August

20.00
July
19.00
TOUT(°C)

18.00
June
17.00

16.00

15.00
Model Data
14.00
Field Data
13.00

12.00
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00
Q/Q0

Figure 4. Comparison of physical model data and field data using a flow scaling factor of 1.7.

3 INTAKE MODIFICATIONS

A range of intake modifications was considered including

• Curtain – This consisted of a curtain surrounding the intake so that the flow was withdrawn
through a bottom opening, 2–3 m high. Typical curtain dimensions were 700 m long by 13 m
deep. The major opening under the curtain was about 280 m from the intake tower.
• Levee removed – Levees formed during the incised channel construction created an under-water
berm approximately 1.5 m high and affected the stratified flow towards the intake. Tests were
performed with and without levees for a range of curtain lengths and depths.
• Offshore submerged intake – A submerged ‘hood’, about 30 m square, was located abut 300 m
offshore in the incised channel, and connected to the existing intake by 4 m diameter pipes.
Several versions were tested.

4 RESULTS

4.1 Physical model

Test results are given in Table 1, and show that the curtain with the levees removed gave the best
results, with a temperature reduction during the critical month of August of over 5◦ C. Similar
results were obtained for June and July. The submerged ‘hood’, without levees, gave a reduction
of ∼3.5◦ C.

4.2 Comparison of physical model and numerical model

Our early concepts involved developing a numerical model of the distorted physical model with
the idea of calibrating/validating the numerical model against the physical model results. The
numerical model would then be ‘undistorted’, i.e. the horizontal scale in the numerical model
would be increased by a factor of 5.5, and the effect of the distortion could be directly assessed.

287
 Table 1. Effect of intake modification on withdrawal temperatures.

Withdrawal temperature Temperature reduction

Intake condition (◦ C) (◦ C)

Existing 21 –
Curtain without levees 15.8 5.2
Curtain with levees 17.5 3.5
Offshore submerged intake 17.6 3.4

Comparisons between the physical and numerical model results were preformed both for the
existing intake and for the intake with curtain (with levees). Initial results were not promising, but
after considerable-refinement of the numerical model grid, in particular using a much finer vertical
grid near the bottom, reasonable agreement was obtained. However, when the numerical model
was ‘undistorted’, some unexpected behavior was observed, including a decrease in the withdrawal
temperature as the withdrawal flow increased. Further changes to the numerical model e.g. reducing
the time step by a factor of 10, improved the agreement with the results of the ‘corrected’ physical
model. However, the combination of finer grid and smaller time steps led to such long run times on
the available desktop computers, that the use of the numerical model to verify the scaling factor,
observed in the physical model test, was discontinued before conclusive results were obtained.

5 CONCLUSIONS

• A consistent flow scaling factor was established for a distorted physical model of a stratified
reservoir for a wide range of conditions.
• The validated distorted physical model allowed a variety of intake options to be compared, and
showed that temperature reductions in the outflow from the reservoir as high as 5◦ C can be
achieved.
• The use of a numerical model to confirm the scaling factor for the physical model was only
partially successful.

288
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Application of sigma coordinate ocean model to strongly stratified

estuary with steep bottom slopes

M. Irie, K. Nakatsuji & S. Nishida

Department of Civil Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita City,
Osaka, Japan

ABSTRACT: Many researchers have been investigating the applicability of a sigma coordinate
system to hydrodynamics in estuaries. However, there are a number of problems in the simulation
of current because numerical errors may occur due to steep topography and strong stratification.
In the present paper a scheme to reduce the overestimation of the horizontal gradients of pressure
and diffusion is applied to intrusions of saline water into lagoon and the wind-induced currents
in estuaries. These are used to evaluate the influence of the scheme on a realistic simulation. In a
test run of an intrusion the scheme reduces the overestimation of horizontal velocity and vertical
diffusion. In the simulation of wind-driven current in a stratified estuary the scheme also has the
effect of removing the overreaction of bottom water upwelling.

1 INTRODUCTION

Recently, sigma coordinate ocean models such as the POM (Princeton Ocean Model) have been
applied to estuarine problems in semi-enclosed coastal seas. The POM code was developed by
Blumberg & Mellor (1987) and is now open to the public. One of the principal attributes of POM
is a coordinate system, which has a horizontal curvilinear orthogonal coordinate and a vertical
coordinate scaled on the water column depth using the sigma coordinate transformation. Such
a coordinate system is useful in dealing with the significant topographical variability seen in
estuaries. In particular, the sigma coordinate system makes it possible to express the sea bottom as
a smooth plane, while in the Cartesian coordinate system the sea bottom is represented by stepped
topography. However, a few successes have been reported in simulating hydrodynamics in stratified
semi-enclosed coastal seas with steep bottom slopes in the sigma coordinate system. The sigma
coordinate system converts not only a vertical differencing but also a horizontal one. It means that
the original isopycinics may be treated as distorted ones, while the sea surface and bottom can be
dealt with as the horizontal planes, after the conversion of sigma coordinate transformation. If the
slope of the sea bottom becomes steeper and the stratification does stronger, a refined horizontal
difference calculation is required.
Sundqvist (1975) points out that, in the early stages of sigma transformation research, numerical
errors often appear in areas of steep topography. One of the causes of these numerical errors is
the approximation of horizontal pressure; therefore, many researchers have tried to reduce the
numerical errors. Stelling & van Kester (1994) and Slørdal (1997) focused on the calculation of
horizontal gradient terms of pressure and diffusion, and obtained good results with high accuracy
in simulating stable diffusion, or slow currents. In the present study, which follows their algorithm,
the efficacy of the newly devised scheme is examined in two cases: the intrusion of seawater into
a lagoon along a steep bottom topography, and the influence of stratified flow in an estuary that is
under wind stress.

289
2 APPROXIMATION OF HORIZONTAL GRADIENT TERMS IN SIGMA
COORDINATE SYSTEM

2.1 Sigma coordinate system and its numerical errors

Sigma coordinate systems have long been used in modeling the hydrodynamics of estuaries and
oceans. Each water column is divided vertically into the same number of control volumes in the
sigma coordinate system, therefore the shallower the water depth, the thinner each control volume
becomes. As a result, the spatial changes of the sea surface level and bottom topography can be
followed smoothly, but the control volumes that lay between these boundaries become irregular
quadrilaterals corresponding to the change in water depth. The center of the control volume where
density is defined features no uniform depth even neighboring control volumes can feature highly
differentiated center points. The approximation of the horizontal pressure gradients (hereafter called
as an “HPG”) causes these errors. The transformation of the HPG to the sigma coordinate system
is as follows:

where the first term on the right-hand side is a barotropic pressure term; the second is a baroclinic
pressure term; σ = 0 at the sea surface and σ = −1 at the sea bottom; ρa is a constant reference
density; ρ  is the difference from the reference density ρa ; η is the position of the sea surface; D is
a water depth.
As shown in Eq. (1), the value of the HPG in Cartesian coordinates (left-hand side) represents the
sum of the sea surface gradient, the “horizontal” gradient of the density along the grid-lines in the
sigma coordinate system, and the vertical gradient of the density (right-hand side). When the vertical
difference of density is large, as in the case of a strongly stratified flow, these two gradients of density
become larger in spite of the fact that the horizontal gradients of density in the Cartesian coordinates
are small. As a result, the calculations of these terms cause numerical errors. It should be noted that
another error may appear when a horizontal diffusion term is calculated, because the “horizontal”
gradient of scalar values along sigma grid-lines differs greatly from the horizontal gradient of those
in Cartesian coordinates. Furthermore, when the bottom is steep, a “hydrostatically consistent
condition” (Janić 1977, Haney 1991) will not be fulfilled. Under hydrostatically inconsistent
conditions, the error will become larger even if the horizontal gradient of density is slight.

2.2 Improvements in calculation of horizontal gradient terms

Many researchers have developed schemes to reduce the numerical errors so prevalent in the
calculations of horizontal gradients. These schemes can be classified into two types: those that seek
to improve vertical coordinate system and those that work to improve the precision of horizontal
gradient calculation. The first group uses methods such as the improving discretizing coordinate
systems like the general vertical coordinates of Burchard & Petersen (1997) and the combination
of two vertical coordinate systems such as Spall & Robinson (1990). The second group seeks to
improve calculation precision of the terms of horizontal gradients; though high-order differencing
schemes, which are used by this group, are well known, they are not effective enough to reduce
the errors if stratified flows are simulated with inadequate vertical representation. This group also
uses another method for calculating the terms with small errors. This technique was presented by
Stelling & van Kester (1994), and is used in the present study.
Stelling & van Kester (1994) proposed an error correction scheme for horizontal gradient terms
(hereafter referred to as the “SvK scheme”). The basic idea of the SvK scheme is to change the
grid system before calculating the horizontal gradient terms. In Stelling & van Kester (1994) the
SvK scheme was used only to calculate horizontal diffusion terms, but Slørdal (1997) also applied
it to calculate the HPG. The SvK scheme is based on the concept of the finite volume method.

290
 Figure 1. Conceptual diagram of the SvK and Slørdal’s scheme. Figure 2. Conclusive differencing
in the Slørdal’s scheme.

The original sigma grids and the redefined grids are shown in Figure 1. The defined points of
the density or other scalar values are identical in both grids. The original irregular quadrilateral
control volumes are transformed to be rectangular. If the number of layers is k in the original sigma
coordinates, the maximum number of the segments of the vertical line at x = i − 1/2 divided by the
horizontal gridlines of the redefined grid system is 2k + 1. Thus, the horizontal baroclinic pressure
gradients are as follows:

where Pbcl is the baroclinic pressure; n is the ordinal number of the segment from the sea surface;
(δz )i−1/2,n is the length of the n-th segment. This expression implies that the horizontal gradient of
the baroclinic pressure in a certain depth is the sum of the horizontal gradient of pressure at the
segment of n = 1 to n − 1, and that at the defined position in the last n-th segment. The HPG of
the n-th segment at the depth of z = a which is defined by the depth of density ρi,k(za) in the water
column of x = i and at the depth of z = b which is defined by that of density ρi,k(zb) in the water
column of x = i − 1 are:

where ρ z (xi−1 , za ) and ρ z (xi , zb ) are densities given by linear interpolations using the densities at
the adjacent points in the water column of x = i − 1 and x = i, respectively. As a result, the HPG
at the n-th segment is computed in two ways: in the SvK scheme, the HPG are determined by the
signs of these two formulas, but Slørdal (1997) found that the algorithm results in an automatic
underestimation of that the data. Slørdal uses a new linear interpolation at the middle point of the
segment (the position X marked in Fig. 1) between the value of the formulas (3) and (4) for the
single HPG. The Slørdal scheme, therefore, uses a simple algorithm by which the single value can
be calculated by the gradient of the linear-interpolated values between the nearest density values
in each side water column, as shown in Figure 2.
The SvK and Slørdal schemes not only bring about the accurate calculations of horizontal gradi-
ents, they also eliminate the need to satisfy the “hydrostatic consistency condition”. An advantage
of the Slørdal scheme over the SvK scheme is its ability to calculate the more accurate horizontal
gradients and shorten computation time needed to achieve these results. Slørdal (1997) uses the
scheme only for the calculation of the HPG; in the present study, the scheme is applied to calculate
the horizontal gradients of both pressure and diffusions of salinity and temperature.

291
3 COMPARISONS OF ERROR CORRECTION SCHEMES

3.1 Intrusion of seawater along a steep bottom in a lagoon

3.1.1 Outline of computation
Two test runs are made with or without the error correction schemes mentioned above. The first
run calls for the intrusion of salt water from the sea into the bottom of a lagoon. The assumed
lagoon is 30 km long from east to west, 20 km wide from north to south, and 30 m deep. The
salinity and temperature of the water in the lagoon and the seawater are 15 psu, 25◦ C and 34 psu,
19◦ C, respectively. The seawater flows from the east open channel into the lagoon at 0.5 m2 /s per
the width of 1 m. The lower boundary is treated as an open boundary. The computation domain
is divided to grids of 1 km by 1 km in the horizontal plane, and 30 layers vertically. The slope
between the east channel and the lagoon bottom is steep, as its depth of 4 m drops to 30 m over the
course of 4 km. The error correct scheme in use was built into the POM (Princeton Ocean Model)
developed by Mellor (2004). The computation conditions are shown in Table 1. The effects of the
error correction schemes of the horizontal gradient terms of pressure and diffusion on velocity and
density are examined below.

3.1.2 Computational results and discussion

Figure 3 shows the computed velocity and density (σt ) in the cross-section 48 hours after the
commencement of seawater intrusion; by this time, it is approaching a steady state. The comparisons
between Case 2 and Case 1, between Case 3 and Case 1, and between Case 4 and Case 1, serve to
clarify the effects of error correction on horizontal pressure gradient, that of horizontal diffusion
gradient, and both error corrections, respectively. A comparison of Case 1 with Case 4 leads to the

Table 1. Test runs with the error correction schemes.

Case Horizontal pressure gradient Horizontal diffusion gradient

1 off off
2 on off
3 off on
4 on on

Figure 3. Comparisons of computed velocity and density in the cross-section.

292
following improvements: (1) seawater intrudes along the steep slope and along the lagoon bottom
with less vertical diffusion as shown in Figure 4; (2) the fluctuations of isopycnics become smaller.
Figure 5 shows the vertical profiles of horizontal velocity at the middle of a steep slope where the
water depth is 15.5 m. The maximum velocities of the underflow are −54 cm/s in Case-1, −51 cm/s
in Case-2, −64 cm/s in Case-3, and −33 cm/s in Case-4. In another calculation (not shown), in
which the horizontal diffusion parameter is zero, the maximum velocity in Case-2 is −56 cm/s
compared with −73 cm/s in Case-1. It is evident that the error of HPG causes the overestimation
of the velocity of the underflow. However, the result in Case-3 is almost the same as that in Case-1.
This indicates that the error correction scheme, when applied only to the horizontal gradient of
diffusion, has done very little to help compute the accurate velocities and densities. The error
correction scheme is also revealed to be more effective when both schemes are applied. The error
reduction scheme achieves good results when simulating the rapid changes of currents and density
structures, and also in simulates the slow change of currents and densities, as presented by Stelling &
van Kester (1994) and Slørdal (1997).

3.2 Wind-driven current in a stratified estuary

3.2.1 Outline of computation
Another test run was to evaluate the effects of wind-driven force on dynamic phenomena occurring
in a stratified estuary. Although the computation area was almost identical to that in Section 3.1,
here, the lower boundary is enclosed. The assumed estuary is 30 km wide from east to west, 20 km
long, and 30 m deep. Salinity and temperature are assumed to vary vertically and be 0.8 psu and
28◦ C near the surface and 13 psu and 8.8◦ C at a depth of 30 m. The horizontal grid size is 1 km by
1 km, and there are 30 vertical layers. Computation conditions mirror those in Section 3.1. During
the 48 hours of the experiment, the wind was blowing from east to west.

3.2.2 Computational results

Figure 6 shows the vertical profiles of temperature in the four cases 24 hours later after the onset of
the calculation. When the wind blows over the sea surface, lower water upwells along the bottom
slope on the windward side at the same time that the surface water moves leeward. In addition,
the isotherms tend to incline. If an HPG error occurs, the term of HPG is over-estimated, and the

0
0

-5 Case-1
Case-2
Case-3 -5
Depth (m)

-10 Case-4
Depth (m)

-15
-10

-20
Case-1
Case-2
-25 -15 Case-3
Case-4
-30 -0.5 0 0.5
10 15 20
σt Velocity (m/s)

Figure 4. Vertical profiles of density at Figure 5. Vertical profiles of velocity on

12.5 km far from the west boundary. the steep bottom.

293
Figure 6. Vertical distributions of temperature.

lower water could upwell faster than an accurate result would predict, and the bottom saline and
cold water will tend to diffuse into the upper layer.
The comparison of Case-1 with Case-4 indicates that the isotherms larger than 20◦ C tend to heave
in Case-1 and the upwelling phenomena influences the entire region. The depth of the isotherm at
15◦ C on the middle of a steep slope on the windward side (23.5 km far from the leeward boundary)
is 9.2 m in Case-4, and it is 8.8 m in Case-1. These results show that the bottom water upwells to the
shallower region with large vertical diffusion in Case-1. Though Case-2 and Case-3 are not very
different from Case-1, the small-scale fluctuations of isotherms disappear in Case-4. These results
are almost the same as that obtained in Section 3.1. As mentioned above, the vertically defined
position of density is much different between the adjacent water columns. The numerical errors
that occurred on the steep slope, therefore, can easily be applied to the whole region, given the
strong stratification found in the present case.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The authors applied a devised scheme to reduce the numerical errors caused by the approximation
of horizontal gradients of pressure and diffusion to the test cases which featured a rapid change in
densities and currents. The main conclusions are as follows:

(1) The error correction scheme for the calculations of horizontal gradient terms has a significant
effect not only on static currents, but also on rapidly changing currents and densities.
(2) When the scheme is applied only to calculate the HPG, the scheme reduces numerical vertical
diffusion and the overestimation of velocity. The scheme is more effective when it is applied to
horizontal gradient terms of both pressure and density.
(3) When the scheme is applied only to calculate the horizontal gradients of diffusion, it is not
expected that the scheme have a remarkable effect. The scheme, however, does mark the
fluctuations of isopycnics, which begin to occur as the steep topography disappears.

The scheme is expected to have effects on the simulations of the rapid change of flow where density
changes variously in real estuaries.

294
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The present research is supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Science Research (A) 14205073,
sponsored by The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

REFERENCES

Blumberg, A. F. & Mellor, G. L. 1983. A description of a three-dimensional coastal ocean circulation model.
In N. Heaps (Ed.), Three-dimensional costal ocean models, Vol.4, pp. 208–223.
Burchard, H. & Petersen, O. 1997. Hybridization between sigma- and z-co-ordinates for improving the internal
pressure gradient calculation in marine models with steep bottom slopes, Int. J. Numer. Methods in Fluids,
Vol.25, pp. 1003–1023.
Haney, R. L. 1991. On the pressure gradient force over steep topography in sigma coordinate models, J. Phys.
Oceanogr., Vol.21, pp. 610–619.
Janjić, Z. I. 1977. Pressure gradient force and advection scheme used for forecasting with steep and small
scale topography, Contrib. Atmos. Phys., Vol.50, pp. 186–199.
Mellor, G. L. 2004. User guide for a three-dimensional, primitive equation, numerical ocean model, Princeton
University’s Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Web site, http://www.aos.princeton.edu/
WWWPUBLIC/htdocs.pom/.
Slørdal, L. H. 1997. The pressure gradient force in sigma-co-ordinate ocean models, Int. J. Numer. Methods
in Fluids, Vol.24, pp. 987–1017.
Spall, M. A. & Robinson, A. R. 1990. Regional primitive equation studies of the gulf stream meander and ring
formation region, J. Phys. Oceanogr. Vol.20, pp. 985–1016.
Stelling, G. S. & Van Kester, J. H. Th. M. 1994. On the approximation of horizontal gradients in sigma
co-ordinates for bathymetry with steep bottom slopes, Int. J. Numer. Methods of Fluids. Vol.18, pp. 915–935.

295
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Enhancement of mixing processes in semi-deep coastal channels

by a bathymetry change

N. Ravlic
Civil Engineering Institute of Croatia, Rijeka, Croatia

ABSTRACT: Recent investments in construction of a number of submarine outfalls in Croatia

pushed the local scientific community to focus attention to hydrodynamics of numerous stratified
semi-deep (60–80 m) coastal channels in the Eastern Adriatic, which are planned to receive import-
ant quantities of partially treated wastewater in the near future. In some cases, however, simple
channel geometry is complicated by bottom irregularities which are suspected to be the main cause
of enhancement of mixing rates between different layers of stratified fluid. As a consequence, partial
or complete destruction of typical density stratification can result in surfacing of intermediate layers,
where trapping of wastewater mixture is expected in normal oceanographic conditions. In order to
examine hydrodynamics in the zone affected by a bathymetry change, the 3-D numerical model
has been set up and tested in the channel where sea bottom irregularity, extending perpendicularly
to the shore, encompasses one half of the channel width. Beside phenomenological description
of this type of stratified flow, obtained results are compared with known functional relationships
governing turbulent interfacial mixing in layered flows.

1 INTRODUCTION

Characteristic elongated shape of almost all islands in the Eastern Adriatic results in a number of
semi-deep and narrow coastal channels extending parallel to the shore (Fig. 1). Typical channel
width is 5–10 km, with depths between 60–80 m. The base flow in those highly attractive aquatic
environments, characterized by steep rocky shores and flat sandy or muddy bottom, is usually
governed by gradient (density) currents and tidal oscillations, creating stable SE currents aligned
with the channel longitudinal axis.
With very few exceptions, numerous oceanographic studies and reports have confirmed relatively
passive hydrodynamics of bottom layers with respect to intermediate and surface ones, especially
in the summer season. This kind of layered flow is apparently a consequence of dampening effects

Figure 1. Geographic location of the Eastern Adriatic (left) and typical bottom irregularity (sill) in one Eastern
Adriatic coastal channel (right).

297
Figure 2. Configuration of the coastal channel model with bottom irregularity (above) and longitudinal section
through the model containing initially stratified still seawater (below).

caused by density stratification that seems to suppress all surface forcing (winds, heating, fresh
water inflows), keeping their impact limited to the zone above the pycno-cline layer (typically
at −20 to −30 m level) that separates the two regions with substantially different oceanographic
and hydrodynamic properties.
As a recipient of all partially treated wastewater discharged via numerous existing and planned
submarine outfalls, coastal channels in the Eastern Adriatic could face serious water quality prob-
lems in the absence of water column stratification. The longer the stratification survives, the smaller
is the probability for the released wastewater to reach the sea surface, implying less environmental
risks, aesthetic nuisances and health hazards.
In some cases, however, important sea bottom irregularities (sills), extending almost perpendicu-
larly to the channel longitudinal axis (Fig. 1), are suspected to cause a whole series of hydrodynamic
phenomena that result in significant enhancement of mixing between different layers. In the absence
of direct field measurements, set-up and application of 3-D hydrodynamic model (Rasmussen et al.,
1990) represents an alternative way to assess the magnitude of impacts by a bathymetry change
(Fig. 2) before construction of important structures takes place.

2 MODELING OF BOTTOM TOPOGRAPHY EFFECTS

Presence of sudden changes of bottom topography in coastal channels can complicate otherwise
simple channel hydrodynamics to quite a large extent. Arriving at the obstacle, bottom denser
water will try to pass around it, for if the fluid can circulate horizontally without climbing, it will
do so. Basically, two competing forces in the vicinity of the obstacle are the inertial forces and
gravity forces. Hence, Froude number can be taken as the representative parameter that charac-
terizes mixing of stratified fluid in the region adjacent to the obstacle. Therefore, if the Froude
number is sufficiently low, the fluid will simply flow horizontally in layers around the obstacle
(Fig. 3e). Beyond the zone affected by bathymetry change, where no increased vertical mass trans-
port is expected, the overall Richardson number can be used as a parameter that governs interfacial
entrainment rate and mixing between layers with different densities (Christodolou 1986).
By increasing mean flow velocity in the channel, the denser fluid in front of the obstacle will
tend to rise and try to climb over the obstacle. If it succeeds, it will fall behind it and produce
intensive mixing in the lee zone of the sill (Figs 3a–3d).

298
Figure 3. Simulation of stratified flow in the channel for different velocity boundary conditions (5, 10, 20
and 40 cm/s, respectively); surface currents and density fields (Figs 3a–3d), currents and density isolines at
−30 to −40 m level (Figs 3e–3h).

As homogeneous deeper layers try to climb over the sill, dynamic balance between gravity and
inertial forces results in a number of macroscopic hydrodynamic phenomena confirmed by the
numerical experiments and recorded in the literature (Farmer & Armi 1999, Baines 1984). Some of
the most important that can be observed in Figures 3–4 are: occurrence of internal solitary waves

299
Figure 4. Simulation results (density (kg/m3 ) in Figs 4a–4c and turbulent energy production (m2 /s2 ) isolines
in Figs 4d–4f, respectively) in the longitudinal mid-section through the model extracted in stationary flow
conditions with different prescribed boundary velocity conditions (10, 20 and 40 cm/s, respectively).

both upstream and down-stream to the obstacle, resulting in regular surface modulations above
the sill (Fig. 4a); partial blocking of the flow at lower mean flow Reynolds numbers, bifurcation
of currents resulting in general turn of the main stream toward the shore downstream to the sill
(Fig. 3); set-down of density interface in frontal region of the sill (Fig. 4a); local instabilities at higher
Reynolds numbers and increased interfacial mixing across sheared density interfaces upstream to
the sill (Figs 4a–4c); plunging of denser water down the lee face of the sill and accompanying
partial or complete destruction of stratification in the lee zone of the sill (Figs 4b–4c); piling-up
(upwelling) of denser bottom water along the frontal slope of the sill, resulting in partial and much
less intensive homogenization of initial density profile (Figs 4b–4c).
Although the model grid resolution has not permitted detailed analysis of turbulent structure of
this type of stratified flow, some interesting conclusions about macroscopic properties of turbu-
lence generation, dampening and collapse can be derived from simulation results. As demonstrated
in Figure 4, the sill in the channel can be viewed as a source of turbulent energy, whose transport
and dissipation rate depends strongly on preservation of stratification of water column, especially
at profiles downstream to the bottom irregularity. Being detached and transferred by convection
into downstream region of the channel, recorded turbulent energy “pockets” contribute addition-
ally to the intensification of mixing rates, giving rise to flow instabilities that result in complete
homogenization of initially stratified water column.
Figures 4 and 5 clearly show that the bulk of turbulent energy is generated in horizontal and
vertical model contractions and along the lee face of the sill. It is interesting to note that at lower
mean flow Reynolds number the turbulence energy generated in surface layer remains confined
in surface layer as long as stratification persists, while further gradual homogenization of water
column results in merger of turbulent energy pockets until the entire water column is not fully mixed.
Presented numerical calculation results have illustrated how direct simulations of large-eddy
structures can be capable of resolving a number of basic phenomena that occur in coastal channels

300
Figure 5. Turbulent energy (m2 /s2 ) production in surface layer (Figs 5a–5c) and in −30 to −40 m layer
(Figs 5d–5f), respectively, extracted in stationary flow conditions with different prescribed boundary velocity
conditions (10, 20 and 40 cm/s, respectively).

with a bathymetry change. Highlighted importance of preservation of stable stratification, that has
obvious influence on the decay and eventual collapse of produced turbulence, can have important
practical application when, for example, the optimum wastewater outfall site is to be selected.
From that standpoint, performed simulations have clearly indicated that the zone upstream (in the
direction of flow) to the sill seems to be much better choice than the zone behind the irregularity.

3 ENTRAINMENT COEFFICIENT CALCULATION

Depending on the interfacial mixing mechanism, four governing laws, all of a power form, were
proposed by Christodoulou (1986). The validity of those entrainment laws (stated in terms of the
mean flow characteristics) was numerically tested in the region of the model sufficiently away
from the sill in upstream direction (computational point i, j, k = 70, 30, 3), where stable horizontal

301
 1,0E+00

1,0E-01

1,0E-02

Entrainment coeff.
1,0E-03

1,0E-04

1,0E-05

1,0E-06

y = 0,0259 Ri -0,0592
1,0E-07
0,1 1 10 100 1000
Ri

Figure 6. Entrainment coefficient vs. Richardson-number data obtained in the above experiments.

layered flow was recorded in all experiments (i.e. out of reach of recorded turbulent energy “pockets”
and increased vertical mass transport areas). Computed entrainment coefficient data, plotted vs.
Richardson number based on the mean velocity data (Fig. 6) are apparently in good congruence
with known functional relationships (Christodoulou 1986) governing turbulent interfacial mixing
in layered flows.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Obtained numerical results, congruent with previous experimental and theoretical considerations,
clearly show that substantially different mixing regimes can be expected in the frontal and lee zone
of shallow sills in semi-deep stratified coastal channels. Due to much more intensive mixing in the
lee zone behind the bottom irregularity and resulting total destruction of initial stratification (which
would otherwise ensure that the wastewater plume would remain submerged), it seems reasonable
to suggest to avoid those areas as locations for submarine release of wastewater via deep sea outfalls.

REFERENCES

Rasmussen, E.B. et al. 1990. System 3 – A Three Dimensional Hydrodynamic Model. Horsholm: Danish
Hydraulic Institute.
Christodoulou, G.C. 1986. Interfacial mixing in stratified flows. Journal of Hydraulic Research 24(2): 77–92.
Farmer, D. & Armi, L. 1999. The Generation and Trapping of Solitary Waves over Topography. Science 283:
188–190.
Baines, P.G. 1984. A unified description of two-layer flow over topography. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 146:
127–167.

302
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical prediction of incompressible two-fluid system and

its application to stratified flows with water and silicone-oil

K.Yoshida
Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Civil & Global Environment Eng., Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

S. Ushijima
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil & Earth Resources Eng., Kyoto University, Japan

I. Nezu
Professor, Dept. of Civil & Earth Resources Eng., Kyoto University, Japan

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a two-dimensional computational method for incompressible

multiphase flows, consisting of immiscible two fluids with different density. A robust unified
procedure proposed in this paper enables us to deal with the two-fluid system as a single-phase
flow with a density distribution. In this method, consideration was given to the solution of the
pressure Poisson equation as well as the treatment of the numerical accuracy of the convection
terms in the Navier- Stokes equation, and to the advection method of the normalized density. This
method was applied to some benchmark tests for estimating the present numerical simulation and
to stratified two-fluid flows arising in a cavity. As a result, it was shown that the proposed numerical
scheme has sufficient accuracy and that flow patterns and the profiles of the interface between two
fluids are reasonably predicted with the computational method.

1 INTRODUCTION

From a macroscopic point of view in hydrodynamics, the immiscible multiphase flows phenomena
are often observed in every river and ocean, as wind-induced waves flows and oil-contaminated
water flows in lakes and ocean, and so on. In these flows, the complicated scalar and vector transfer
phenomena are so much associated with the corresponding flows across the largely deformed
interface. For example, recently, gas transfer phenomena across the air-water interface, such as
CO2 , O2 , NOx and SOx greatly have attracted the vigorous researchers, because of the serious
earth environmental problems. Thus, it is considered that the immiscible multi phase flows should
be intensively studied well for the prediction of the material transport phenomena accompanied with
experimental and numerical approaches. However, the multiphase flow phenomena have not been
sufficiently clarified in the field of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) because of numerical
difficulties. So far, CFD have treated the multiphase flows with low numerical accuracy. Thus,
it is important to improve the numerical methods for the complicated multiphase flows system,
and to apply them to the flows in the laboratories and natural fields. In this paper, the robust
numerical methods for incompressible liquid-liquid flows with different materials was developed
on the basis of the piecewise linear interface calculation (PLIC) (Youngs, 1982) and surface tension
model. The present numerical accuracy was verified with some benchmark tests for the three-
dimensional direct numerical simulation (DNS). In addition, the proposed scheme was applied
to incompressible liquid-liquid flows in an experiment, consisting of water and silicone oil. The
applicability was discussed, comparing the predicted velocity fields and time-averaged interface
line with experimental results.

303
2 NUMERICAL PROCEDURE

In this calculation, it is commonly assumed that the multiphase flows are treated as a single-phase
incompressible Newtonian flow with a density distribution. The governing equations analyzing for
incompressible fluids consists of the mass conservation (1), the Navier-Stokes equations (2) and
the conservative equation of color function (3), as follows:

where t and xi (i = 1, 2) are time and Cartesian coordinate system in the two dimensional space,
and δij is the Kronecker’s respectively. ρ is fluid density, p is pressure, µ is viscosity and gi = 2
is gravity acceleration. φ is color function in order to distinguish the respective phases, which
means that φ denotes fraction volume of one fluid in each cell in the computational space, like
volume of fluid (VOF) method suggested by Hirt and Nichols (1981). Eq. (3) can be derived from
Eq. (1) through some mathematical transformations, and the value of φ varies from 0 to 1. In
this calculation, the governing equations are solved with the simplified MAC (SMAC) method for
velocity and pressure and with MARS method (Kunugi, 2001) for the equation of color function.
The complicated interface line between different materials can be explicitly calculated by the MARS
method on the basis of PLIC. In addition, the surface tension force Fv is numerically evaluated by
the CSF model (Brackbill et al., 1991).

2.1 Time integration

In this study, the SMAC method with Euler explicit scheme is basically applied to the incompres-
sible flows consisting of immiscible two fluids for the mathematical ease. In order to apply this
unified computational method to the whole flow field, Boussinesq approximation is not used in the
governing equations and the derived pressure Poisson equation should be treated taking account of
the density distributions.

∆x Continuous interface line

in the physical space
vi,j+1/2

Numerical
pi,j Approximation
ui−1/2,j ui+1/2,j ∆y Piecewise interface
line in the
computational space

vi,j−1/2
Figure 2. Approximated interface line in the computational
Figure 1. A staggered mesh. cells.

304
2.2 Interface tracking method & surface tension model
The convection equation (3) means the time evolution of complicated interface line, and this
equation was explicitly calculated by the MARS method. In this method, the complicated interface
line is approximately regarded as the sum of the piecewise linear interfaces (see Fig. 2), and it
is assumed that each linear interface line was transferred by the local velocity on the basis of
finite volume method (FVM). The surface tension force exerted to the interface is estimated by the
dynamic condition in the interface between two fluids as follows,

where σ is the fluid surface tension coefficient, pα is the pressure in fluid α for α = 1, 2, τα,ik is the
viscous stress tensor, n̂i is the unit normal (into fluid 2) at the interface, and κ is the local surface
curvature. Brackbill et al. (1991) developed the numerical model that allows us to deal with the
surface tension force as the volume force like the gravity force near the interface. They proposed
the following form for evaluating the surface tension force,

3 RESULUTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Water column collapse

In this section, the present numerical scheme is compared with other numerical and experimental
results for the water column collapse phenomena in a closed region including air. Figure 3 shows
the visualization of the water collapse phenomena with velocity maps. It is clearly observed that

(a)

(b)

H0

(c)

200 (cm/s), (H0=9cm, L0=20cm)

Figure 3. Visualization of the water collapse phenomena (a; 0.08 s, b; 0.16 s, c; 0.24 s). (The black color
denotes water and the right-hand side figure shows the velocity vectors map.)

305
 (%)
Non-slip(present) 1
5.0
Free-slip (present)
10-1
4.5 10-2
Kawasaki & Nakatsuji (C-CUP)
10-3
4.0 Martin & Moyce (Exp.) 10-4
-5
Σ φ − Σ φ 10-6
3.5 n 0
Z 10
Σφ
0
3.0
L L 10-7
2.5 10-8
air
2.0 water 10-9
2L
10-10
1.5
10-11
Z
1.0 10-12
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 0 0.05 0.1 0.15
t(2g / L)0.5 t(sec)

Figure 4. Time elapse of the front of water column. Figure 5. Time elapse of mass conservation.

Nx = 64
Lx = 8δ
Nz = 64
Lz = 4δ Ny = 64
Non-slip wall Ly = 2δ

U
Non-slip wall
y z y
x
x
Figure 6. Computation domain and coordinate
system. Figure 7. Computational grids in the x–y plane.

the water column falls down due to the gravity force and the water front impinges on the wall with
some water drops. Fig. 4 shows the time elapse of the front of water column in comparison of the
present method with the other numerical solution (Kawasaki & Nakatsuji, 2002) and experimental
result (Martine and Moyce, 1952). As show in Fig. 4, it is recognized that the proposed numerical
solution is in good agreement with
 the other results. Figure 5 indicates the time-series of the mass
conservation in this calculation. φ n denotes the sum of water at n-time step in the computation
domain, therefore, the figure means the residual of mass against initial water volume. It is clearly
known in Fig. 5 that the mass is well conserved. Thus, it was shown that the proposed numerical
method allows us to deal with multi-phase flows with a high degree of accuracy.

3.2 DNS in the two-dimensional channel between the two parallel walls
It is essentially important to check the accuracy of the convection term in Navier-Stokes equations
in calculating the turbulent flows. In this section, the accuracy of present numerical method with
QSI scheme (Ushijima et al., 2000) is discussed, compared with other numerical results calculated
by spectral method by Kasagi et al. for the two-dimensional turbulent channel between two pararrel
walls. The DNS has no turbulent model and the 2-D turbulent channel flows is so simple that the
accurate numerical solution of this flow will be effectively used for verifying the current numerical
accuracy. In this study, the DNS of the 2-D turbulent channel is carried out with respect to low-
Reynolds number (110) in a staggerd mesh with irregular vertical grid space y (see Figs. 7 and 8).
Table 1 and 2 show the numerical condition for spatial & time resolution, and numerical scheme.
Figures 8 and 9 shows the present numerical results of time-averaged streamwise and turbulent
statistics value compared with that of Kasagi et al. It is reconized that most of the dataset with the
present method agree well with the results by Kasagi et al. The slight difference of the current data

306
 20 4
u'+ v'+ w'+ −uv+
present data 3.5
present data
Kasagi et al. 3
15 Kasagi et al.
2.5
2
U+ 10
1.5

1
5
0.5
0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
0
0.1 1 10 100 y
y+ δ

Figure 8. Time-averaged streamwise flow. Figure 9. Turbulence intensity and Reynolds stress.

Table 1. Spatial & time resolution.

Reynolds Number 110 Table 2. Numerical scheme in the simulation.

R∗ (≡U∗ δ/ν)
Velocity component (x, y, z) u, v, w Time integration 2nd order
Computational volume 8δ, 2δ, 4δ Crank- Adams-
(Lx , Ly , Lz ) Diffusion Other Nicolson Bashforth
Computational volume 880, 220, 440 term terms Method Method
(L+ + +
x , Ly , Lz ) Advection term QSI
Grid number (Nx , Ny , Nz ) 64, 64, 64 In N-S Eqs.
Spatial resolution 13.75, 6.875
(x+ , z + ) Diffusion term 2nd order Central
Spatial resolution (y+ ) 0.133∼5.39 In N-S Eqs. Difference Method
Time resolution (t + ) 0.055 Solution of ILU-BiCGSTAB
Time integration (T + ) 5500 Poisson Eq. Method

against the data by Kasagi et al. will be caused by the unadequate spatial resolution in the present
simulation.

3.3 Water and silicone-oil stratified flows in a cavity

In this section, the present computational method is applied to the immissible two-fluid flows with
water and silicone-oil arising in a rectangular cavity and the predicted results are compared with the
experimental values. The flow is assumed to be two-dimensional. In the experiments, the velocity
was measured by laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) and the interface line between two materials
was investigated by digital photo and human eyes. Figure 10 shows the sketch of the cavity flows
with the coordinate system. In the experiments, water and silicone-oil as listed in Table 3 were
used and names as Fluid-I and II, respecively. The Fluid-II, which has smaller density than Fluid-I,
stays above the Fluid-I, while Fluid-I flows in the cavity by a pump. The momentum arising in the
Fluid-I is transferred into the Fluid-II through the interface. The top boundary of the Fluid-II is
covered with a flat smooth wall, so Fluid-II has no free-surface.
In the computations, our interests are mainly placed on the validation of the unified numerical
procedures for two-fluid system and detailed conditions, such as turbulence and wall frictions are
treated in a simple manner. Thus, free-slip conditions are applied on all walls and a turbulent
viscosity is represented in a zero-equation turbulence model. The adhension condition in a cavity
wall was experimentally investigated and used for the calculation. In addition, it was assumed
that the surface force coefficient is evaluated by the average value of each material properties.

307
 L=200

silicone oil HS=25

water
HW=65
y obstacle H0=50
U x HA=20

X0=75 L0=45
unit: mm

Figure 10. Experimental setup and coordinate Figure 11. A digital image of water-silicone oil strati-
system. fied flows in a rectangular cavity.

Table 3. Material properties.

Properties

Surface force
Material Density (kg/m3 ) Viscosity (m2 .sec) coefficient (N/cm)

Water 1000 1.0 ∗ 10−6 7.2 ∗ 10−2

Silicone oil 873 2.0 ∗ 10−6 1.83 ∗ 10−2

10.0

8.0

(x,y) = (4.0cm, 4.5cm)

|u| (cm/s)

6.0

4.0
(x,y) = (16.0cm, 4.5cm)

2.0

0.0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000
N

Figure 12. Numerical result of time-series of the magnitude of velocity |u| at two particular points in the
cavity (N denotes the time step in this calculation).

Figure 12 shows the numerical result of time-series of the magnitude of velocity |u| at two particular
monitoring point in the cavity. It is observed that the velocity field is in a steady state, after the
long time step passed Fig. 13 shows the numerical result of velocity map and interface line in a
steady state, without surface tension model. In the figure, for example, the term “1upwind” denotes
the numerical result with the first-order upwind convection scheme included. Figure 14 shows the
experimental results of velocity map of water measured by LDA. It is observed that experimental
result of velocity map is relatively similar to that with QSI scheme because of less numerical
diffusion. However, it is recognized that the interface line with QSI scheme is exaggerated since
there is no surface tension force exerted into the interface. Figure 15 shows the time-averaged
interface investigated by an experimental (filled circle symbol) and a steady-stated interface line
predicted by numerical simulation (open circle, triangle and square symbol). In the experiment,
the interface profile is the time-averaged one after 20 sec passed. It is recognized that the data with
QSI scheme and surface tension model (CSF) relatively agree with the experimental result. Thus,

308
 (a) (b)
100 (mm/s) 100 (mm/s)

Figure 13. Numerical results of the velocity map and the interface line in a steady state (a; with “1upwind”
convection scheme, b; with “QSI”).

7.5
Experiment QSI
1upwind QSI+CSF
100 (mm/s) 7.0

y (cm) 6.5

initial interface line

6.0
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0
x (cm)

Figure 15. Time-averaged interface line investigated

by the experimental and steady-stated interface line by
Figure 14. Experimental result of the velocity map. numerical simulation.

while the predicted interface line profiles show small semi-unsteady sloshing, it can be seen that
the profile is roughly predicted with the present computational method.

4 CONCLUDING REMARKS

This paper proposed a 2-D computational method for incompressible multiphase flows, consisting
of immiscible two fluids with different density. The numerical accuracy of the present method was
verified with the DNS database and experimental results. As a result, it was shown that the flow
patterns and interface profiles are reasonably predicted with the present method.

REFERENCES

Brackbill, J.U., Kothe, D.B. and Zemach, C. (1991). J. Comp. Phys., pp. 335–354.
Hirt, C.W. and Nichols, B.D. (1981). J. Comp. Phys, Vol. 39, pp. 201–225.
Kasagi et al., DNS database on the web site (http://www.thtlab.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/index.html)
Kawasaki, K. and Nakatsuji, K. (2002). Proc. of 13th APD-IAHR Congress, pp. 360–365.
Kunugi, T (2001). Comput. Fluid Dynamics J., Vol. 9, No.1, pp. 565–571.
Martine and Moyce (1952). Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, Ser.A, Vol. 244, pp. 313–324.
Ushijima, S. et al. (2000). Proc. XXIX IAHR Congress, pp. 586–592.
Youngs, D.L. (1982). Numerical Methods for Fluid Dynamics, Morton, K.W. and Banies, M.J., eds.,
pp. 273–285, Academic Press.

309
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical study of a turbulent oil slick

G.Q. Chen
State Key Laboratory for Turbulence Research, Department of Mechanics, Peking University,
Beijing, China

L.Z. Zhang
School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China

Joseph H.W. Lee

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

ABSTRACT: The motion of a lock-release oil slick as an immiscible two-fluid gravity current is
numerically studied by a finite difference algorithm based on the volume of fluid (VOF) method for
the basic formulation and a rigid cover approximation for the open free surface. Detailed numerical
simulation with careful model validation reveals the existence of turbulence and the adaptability
of the renormalization group (RNG) k-ε model for the Reynolds-stress closure in the case of the
oil slick. The evolution of turbulence kinetic energy and turbulent viscosity is characterised, and
asymptotic self-similar spreading laws are well reproduced. The mechanism for the transition from
an initial gravity-inertial phase to a second gravity-viscous phase is shown to be the relaminarization
effect of the initially highly turbulent slick.

1 INTRODUCTION

Marine oil pollution due to oil spills become a matter of international concern, and corresponding
numerical simulation technique has been in great demand (Chao et al. 2001). Understanding the
spreading process of oil slicks over waters as immiscible two-fluid gravity currents is of essential
interest (Simpson 1997, Hoult 1972, Fay 1969).
A typical procedure for generating an oil slick in laboratory is the sudden removal of a vertical
lock separating oil and water in a channel, as illustrated in Figure 1. After the release, the dense
ambient water will push the less dense oil to move over the water body. The motion of oil thus

lock gate
x0 xf(t)

oil

h0
water

Figure 1. Generation of a lock-release oil slick.

311
produced is referred to as a lock-release oil slick, as an immiscible two-fluid lock-release gravity
current.
The basic aspect of the study of the lock-release oil slick is to determine the rate of advance of
the slick front. As the earliest analytic endeavor in this aspect, Fay (1969) considered the problem
by means of an order of magnitude evaluation of forces within the slick and estimated that the slick
would pass through three phases: an initial gravity-inertial phase, an intermediate gravity-viscous
phase and a final viscous-surface tension phase. Hoult (1972) and Fannelop & Waldman (1972)
confirmed Fay’s results by actually solving governing equations. Their analyses are based on the
depth-averaged, shallow-water equations for the oil slick and neglecting the motion in the ambient
fluid. For the initial gravity-inertial phase, retaining only the buoyancy and inertial terms results in a
spreading law as l ∼ (g  h0 x0 )1/3 t 2/3 , where l is the length of the slick, h0 is the depth of the channel,
x0 is the lock length, and g  = gρ/ρw is the reduced gravity, g is the gravity, ρ = ρw − ρoil is
the density difference, with ρw standing for the density of water, and ρoil the density of oil. For
the second gravity-viscous phase, retaining only the buoyancy and viscous terms and making use
of the boundary-layer approximation to describe the motion in the slick, a spreading law is given
as l ∼ (g 2 (h0 x0 )4 /voil )1/8 t 3/8 , where voil is the kinematic viscosity of the water. Though laminar
flow assumption has been the basis of the analyses, the self-similar spreading laws thus obtained
have been found consistent with available laboratory observations (Simpson 1997, Hoult 1972).
But basic flow structure and other features rather than the spreading laws of the lock-release oil
slick remain to be known. Whether turbulence is involved is to be found out.
Taking advantage of our experience in numerical simulations of the single-fluid lock release
gravity currents (Zhang et al. 2004, Chen & Lee 2001), we carried out a numerical modelling of
the motion of the lock-release oil slick as an immiscible two-fluid gravity current in the present work.

2 FORMULATION

2.1 Governing equations

The basic governing equations are presented by the volume of fluid (VOF) method (Hirt & Nichols
1981). With volume fractions of water and oil in a computational cell denoted as ϑ1 and ϑ2 ,
respectively, we have the following three possibilities:
I. ϑ1 = 1, ϑ2 = 0, while the cell is full of water,
II. ϑ1 = 0, ϑ2 = 1, while the cell is full of oil,
III. 0 < ϑ1 , ϑ2 < 1, ϑ1 + ϑ2 = 1, while the cell contains the interface of oil and water,
where ϑ1 and ϑ2 can be obtained by solving the equations of

where t is the time measured from lock release, xi is the spacial coordinate, Ui is the flow velocity,
with components in the horizontal (x) and vertical ( y) directions denoted by u and v respectively.
Based on the local values of ϑ1 and ϑ2 , appropriate properties of density ρ and molecular viscosity
µ will be assigned to the control volume associated with the cell as

ρ = ρw ϑ1 + ρoil ϑ2 , µ = µw ϑ1 + µoil ϑ2 ,

where µw is the dynamic viscosity of water and µoil is the dynamic viscosity of oil. The single,
global continuity and momentum equations dependent on volume fractions through ρ and µ read

312
where p is the pressure, τij ≡ µeff (∂Uj /∂xi + ∂Ui /∂xj ) − 2/3 · µeff · ∂Ul /∂xl · δij is the stress tensor,
gi = (0, −g) is the gravitation vector, Fi ≡ 2σ κϑ2 · ∂ϑ2 /∂xi is the surface tension, with the effective
viscosity µeff equal to the sum of the molecular viscosity µ and the turbulent viscosity µt in
general case, σ standing for the surface tension coefficient, and κ ≡ ∇ · (∇ϑ2 /|∇ϑ2 |) standing for
the curvature of the interface.
For turbulence closure, we adopt the renormanization group (RNG) k–ε model (Yakhot 1986),
which differs from the most commonly used standard k–ε model and its variants in several ways.
Functions in the RNG model are evaluated by rigorous analysis and not by empiricism. The model
is therefore considered much more generally applicable without modification. Low-Reynolds-
number effects are included in the RNG theory, permitting transitional and laminar-like behavior
to be predicted, and thence possibly more applicable to the partly-turbulent characteristics of the
oil slick.

2.2 Boundary and initial conditions

The boundary condition on the open surface, assumed as a horizontal rigid cover due to the small
difference in densities, is approximated by ∂u/∂y = 0 and v = 0 at y = h0 (the free slip boundary).
At the solid boundaries, the non-slip condition is imposed, as u = v = 0. A zero value is set for k
and ε over all the boundaries.
The initial conditions are given as follows: Ui are set at zero, and the turbulence kinetic energy
k and its dissipation rate ε, being zero in fact, are given as two very small values to ensure that the
turbulent viscosity µt is two orders of magnitude less than the molecular viscosity µ, for numerical
reasons. The physical properties of the fluid are taken as those of oil for the region of 0 ≤ x ≤ x0
and of water for x0 ≤ x ≤ L, respectively, where L is the total length of the channel.

3 COMPUTATION AND VALIDATION

The governing equations are solved numerically by a finite difference method based on the SIMPLE
(Patankar 1980) algorithm. We take a basic grid size of x = y = 0.1 h0 and a dimensionless
time (as defined below) step of t ∗ = 0.01. Tests have confirmed that the general features and
characteristics reported in this paper are unrelated to numerical procedure adopted.
The following parameters are adopted: ρoil = 960 kg/m3 , ρw = 998.2 kg/m3 , µoil = 0.048 kg/s·m,
µw = 0.001 kg/s·m, σ = 0.025N/m, h0 = 0.1 m, x0 = 0.3 m, and the total length of the channel
L = 10 m. The number of basic grids is 1000 × 10 and 41,000 time steps are taken to cover the slick
for so long a period that the final front location advances to about xf = 7.2 m. Resolution cells for
the time-space involved amounts to 41,000 × 1000 × 10 = 410,000,000, near half a billion.
The current front location xf and time t after release are nondimensionalized by a length scale
2 
of l0 ≡ [ρoil g (h0 x0 )5 /µoil ]1/7 = 1.2 m and a time scale of tc ≡ [ρoil
3 
g (h0 x0 )4 /(g 2 µ3oil )]1/7 = 12.4 s
∗
respectively, as xf = xf /l0 and t = t/tc . Corresponding time step is then t ≡ tc t ∗ = 0.124 s.
∗

4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Figure 2 shows the computed slick front position as a function of the time after lock release, with
uniform and logarithmic scales, respectively. It is evident that in the computed range the oil slick
passes through two distinct phases: an initial phase in which the front location varies as t ∗2/3 ,
corresponding to front speed decreasing as t ∗−1/3 ; and a second phase in which the front location
varies as t ∗3/8 , corresponding to front speed decreasing as t ∗−5/8 . The turning period around t ∗ = 5,
corresponding to that for the time evolution of turbulent viscosity, is remarked essential for the

313
 (a)

(b)

Figure 2. Spreading laws for the gravity-inertial phase and the gravity-viscous phase presented (a) with
uniform scale and (b) with logarithmic scale.

transition from the gravity-inertial phase, in which molecular viscosity is actually irrelevant due
to the existence of intensive turbulence, to the gravity-viscous phase, in which molecular viscosity
plays a dominant role as turbulence decays so much that the slick is relaminarised. This compares
well with known experimental observations (Simpson 1997, Hoult 1972).
Shown in Figure 3(a) is the time evolution of the total turbulence kinetic energy in the
flow field as a whole denoted as Ktotal , which increases almost instantly to its maximum
of 0.094J, equal to 16.7% of the initial reduced potential energy of the locked oil (equal to

h0
x0
0 0
ρ · g(h0 − y)dxdy = 12 ρ · gx0 h20 = 0.56154 J, at t ∗ = 0.5, then decreases very quickly to
0.002 J at t ∗ = 20, and thereafter decreases so slow as to remain essentially unchanged until the
computational terminal of t ∗ = 410. The total turbulence kinetic energy in the oil slick and that in the
ambient water have very similar time histories, with maxima of 0.0374 J and 0.0566 J respectively
at t ∗ = 0.5.
Shown in Figure 3(b)(c)(d) is the time evolution of the maximum
√ turbulence intensity, defined as
a so called maximum
√ virtual fluctuating velocity taken as 2k √max , and its ratios over the maximum
mean velocity, 2kmax /Umax , and over the slick front speed, 2kmax /uf , respectively. The trend of

314
Figure 3. Time evolution of total turbulence kinetic energy (a), and turbulence intensity defined as (b) the
maximum virtual fluctuating velocity and its ratios (c) over the maximum mean velocity and (d) over the slick
front speed, respectively.

time evolution of the maximum fluctuating velocity is very similar to that of the total turbulence
kinetic energy, as shown in Figure 3(a). The maximum fluctuating velocity increases to 1.75 times
the maximum mean velocity, and keeps approximately in the same magnitude of the maximum
mean velocity after t ∗ = 100, as shown in Figure 3(b). The maximum fluctuating velocity increases
to 1.2 times the front speed shortly after release at t ∗ = 0.5, then deceases to 0.8 times the front speed,
and thereafter keeps increasing, up to 7.3 times the front speed at the computational terminal of
t ∗ = 410, as shown in Figure 3(c). Some small zigzags seen in the evolution profiles are obviously
due to the limited resolution of the numerical modelling, as is the common case with a numerical
simulation.
The time evolution of the maximum turbulent viscosity is shown in Figure 4. Shortly after
the release at about t ∗ = 0.3, turbulent viscosity reaches its maximum, valued 816 times of the
molecular viscosity of the water, and then decreases very quickly. At about t ∗ = 5, the value of the
maximum turbulent viscosity becomes quite small, in the oil about 2 times that of the molecular
viscosity, while in the water less than 200 times that of the molecular viscosity, and thereafter
decreases slowly and slowly. The value of the maximum turbulent viscosity is near zero in the oil
slick when t ∗ = 70, while remains more than 100 times that of the molecular viscosity in the ambient
water even for t ∗ = 410. Turbulence decays more intensively in the oil, due to greater molecular
viscosity. The turning period around t ∗ = 5 of the evolution history have essential implication to
the transition from the gravity-inertial phase to the gravity-viscous phase.

315
Figure 4. Time evolution of the maximum turbulent viscosity (a) in oil and (b) in water.

5 CONCLUSIONS

A numerical study of a lock-release oil slick as an immiscible two fluid lock-release gravity current
is successfully carried out via a finite difference algorithm based on the volume of fluid (VOF)
method based on the renormanization group (RNG) k–ε model for the turbulence closure and
a rigid cover approximation for the open free surface. It is found that there is highly localized
turbulence associated with the current. The existence of an initial gravity-inertial phase and a second
gravity-viscous phase is well illustrated, with well-known self-similar spreading laws satisfactorily
reproduced. Evolution of turbulence kinetic energy and turbulent viscosity are characterised.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The project is supported by the Doctoral Training Programme of the Ministry of Education and by
the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10372006).

REFERENCES

Chao, X., Shankar, N.J. & Cheong, H.F. 2001. Two- and Three-dimensional oil spill model for coastal waters.
Ocean Engineering 28: 1557–1573.
Chen, G.Q. & Lee, Joseph H.W. 2001. Turbulent lock release gravity current. Science in China (Series E) 55:
449–462.
Fannelop, T.K. & Waldman, G.D. 1972. Dynamics of oil slicks. AIAA J. 10: 506–510.
Fay, J.A. 1969. The spread of oil on a calm sea. In D.P. Hoult (ed.), Oil on the Sea: 53–63. New York: Plenum
Press.
Hirt, C.W. & Nichols, B.D. 1981. Volume of fluid (VOF) method for the dynamics of free boundaries. J. Comput.
Phys. 39: 201–225.
Hoult, D.P. 1972. Oil spreading on the sea. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics: 341–367.
Patankar, S.V. 1980. Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow. New York: Hemisphere Publishing Co.
Simpson, J.E. 1997. Gravity currents in the environment and the laboratory, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Yakhot, E. 1986. Renormalization group analysis of turbulence, I. Basic theory. J. of Sci. Comput. 1: 1–53.
Zhang, L.Z., Lee, Joseph H.W. & Chen, G.Q. 2004. Numerical solution of lock-release gravity current with
viscous self-similar regime. China Ocean Engr. 18: 157–162.

316
 3 Jets and plumes

3.1 Jets and plumes – I

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Non-dimensional scaling of turbulent jets in confined spaces

P. Rinaldi & F. Valentin

Chair of Hydromechanics and Hydrology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany

ABSTRACT: Turbulent jets can be found in a wide variety of applications. A theoretical deter-
mination of the velocity field, however, is possible only for jets in indefinitely wide spaces. In
technical applications, the dimensions are often restricted. On the basis of measurements in an
experimental basin, a quantitative comparison between the jet theory and the actual situation was
carried out. Backward flows due to continuity are the reason that the dimensionless representation
by means of the Gaussian curve is no longer possible. A modified Mexican Hat Wavelet is pre-
sented as a novel scaling function. This function permits the description of the occurring negative
velocities.

1 INTRODUCTION

Under simple boundary conditions, jets are characterised in that they generate most complex flows
with heavy turbulences. These result in a thorough mixing of the fluid into which the jet is entering.
The jet accelerates the surrounding fluid, mixes with it, and is thereby decelerated. Numerous
technical applications utilise this behaviour of jets.
Regardless of the significance of jets for industrial applications, there is presently only one jet
theory for the time-averaged flow of a jet which enters into an infinite space. An interesting fact is
that the influence of a spatial confinement on the jet behaviour can virtually nowhere be found in
the relevant literature, much less is covered satisfactorily. Needless to say, however, that size and
shape of the container or basin into which the jet enters influence the global flow behaviour. It is
this topic, however, on which information is sparse.
One reason for this knowledge gap is certainly due to the experimental expenditures. The experi-
ments for studying various basin geometries are extremely expensive. Another reason might be that
the effects related to the spatial confinement have been underestimated.

2 JETS IN UNCONFINED SPACES

Initial studies have already been made by Tollmien (1926) and Förthmann (1933). The two
researchers determined a self-similar behaviour of the jet after a certain length of travel (x/d ≈ 7)
as well as linear jet propagation. Self-similarity means that dimensionless velocity profiles for all
points of the flow field come to lie on one curve. The theoretical approaches on which these studies
are based can be found at Rajaratnam (1976). The assumptions made result in simple formulas
which describe important parameters.
The jet width is a linear function of the form

The constant of proportionality Cb in eq. (1) ranges from 0.07 und 0.09, depending on the
respective author. An opening angle of approx. 5◦ can thus be calculated. The velocity vx,max on the

319
 v_x/v_x,max
1.00 Goertler's approach
Schlichting's approach
0.75
Tollmien's approach

0.50 Reichardt's approach

0.25

0.00
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 b/b_0.5 3.5

Figure 1. Dimensionless velocity distribution in the unconfined jet.

jet axis is generally used in its dimensionless form. The scaling parameters are the diameter d of
the inlet pipe and the mean velocity v0 of the inlet.

The constant CV ranges from approx. 5.5 to 7.5 (Rajaratnam (1976)). Numerous authors have
chosen this approach. Due to the respective assumptions, several differences result in the quanti-
tative determination of the jet. Summaries of the various approaches can be found at Abramovich
(1963) or Rajaratnam (1976). Figure 1 is a combined illustration of the velocity distribution in the
jet for various approaches. As the scale of width, the width was selected at which the velocity is
exactly half the maximum velocity in the jet axis. In the following, this parameter is referred to as
“jet half-width” b0.5 .
As can be seen from the diagram, Görtler’s and Schlichting’s approaches yield nearly identical
results. In both cases, the velocity is invariably greater zero, while Tollmien assumes a finite
jet width. The fourth variant shows the solution by Reichardt (1951). He chose an approach in
analogy to heat diffusion processes. This resulted in a representation by means of the Gaussian
error function. As can be seen from the above the Gauss error distribution curve also yields very
good results and offers the additional advantage that the values can be determined relatively easily.

3 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

A test basin was built in the laboratory of the Chair of Hydromechanics and Hydrology of the
Technische Universität München for the purpose of studying the flow conditions of a spatially
confined jet. The present paper covers only the self-similarity of the jet. A detailed description
of the measurements, the flow field, and a comparison between the jet theory and the measuring
values can be found at Rinaldi (2004).
The parallelepiped-shaped basin was installed in a glass-walled channel. The width (1.18 m)
and the height (0.85 m) of the experimental basin have therefore been predetermined by the local
conditions. The length only could freely be determined over a wide interval, and a length of 4.00 m
was chosen. The flow field was measured for a volume flow of Q0 = 20 l/s, corresponding to a
Reynolds number of approx. 2.5 105 in the inlet. At the end of the basin, the water exits over an
overfall weir. For the sake of accessibility to the measuring devices, the basin had a free water
surface. Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of the basin.
In the selection of the measuring device and the measuring program care was taken to influence
the flow field as little as possible. TheADV probe from Nortek covers a measuring volume of approx.

320
 Rear wall Outlet
Front wall

z
Axis
y x
Inlet tube

Figure 2. Schematic illustration of the experimental basin.

118
y

59

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 x 400

Figure 3. Sketch of the streamlines at the height of the inlet.

1 cm3 which is located 10 cm below the probe head. Particles contained in this measuring volume
reflect the ultrasonic signals transmitted by the probe. From this, the three velocity components at
the point of interest are determined. From the individual measurements, a time-averaged pattern
of the overall flow field is ultimately derived.
Due to the fact that the probe head must be fully immersed in the water, it follows, however, that
the region 15 cm below the water surface cannot be covered by measurements. Under consideration
of this restriction, the velocities were measured in the entire basin volume in an orthogonal grid
with 10 cm mesh width. In total, 39 cross-sections were examined which consisted of 11 points
in the lateral y direction and of 7 points in the vertical z direction. For the given geometry, 3003
measuring points result. A local grid refinement was not taken into consideration, because the
present study focuses primarily on the global behaviour of the jet.

4 FLOW FIELD FOR THE CONFINED SPACE

The overall situation in the flow field can best be evaluated by studying the streamlines. In Figure 3
the streamlines in the x-y plane at the height of the inlet are plotted. The inlet is located at the left
margin of the figure. The immediately commencing entrainment of the jet upon entering the basin
can clearly be seen. In this region, the streamlines are all directed towards the jet axis. At the same
time, backward flows start at the margins. As the jet width increases, zones with pronounced
negative velocities can be observed. Shortly after half the basin length, at an x coordinate of approx.
220 cm, the recirculation eyes are formed which decisively influence the entire flow field. The
backward flows considerably constrict the jet and are dissolved again towards the end of the basin.

5 SELF-SIMILARITY

Outside the potential core unconfined jets exhibit a self-similar behaviour. Dimensionless velocity
distributions coincide in a Gaussian error distribution curve independent of the distance from the

321
 1.50 010 020 030
v_x/v_x,max 040 050 060
1.25
070 080 090
1.00 100 110 120
0.75 130 140 150
bottom water surface 160 170 180
0.50
190 200 210
0.25 220 230 240
0.00 250 260 270
280 290 300
-0.25
310 320 330
-0.50 340 350 360
-10.0 -5.0 0.0 5.0 b/b_0.5 10.0
370 380 390

Figure 4. Self-similarity for the vertical radius; the figures 010 to 390 indicate the position of the section
from the origin in cm.

1.50 010 020 030

v_x/v_x,max 040 050 060
1.25
070 080 090
1.00 100 110 120
0.75 130 140 150
160 170 180
0.50 right wall left wall 190 200 210
0.25 220 230 240
0.00 250 260 270
280 290 300
-0.25
310 320 330
-0.50 340 350 360
-10.0 -5.0 0.0 5.0 b/b_0.5 10.0
370 380 390

Figure 5. Self-similarity for the horizontal radius; the figures 010 to 390 indicate the position of the section
from the origin in cm.

inlet (Figure 1). The same scaling results in another situation for the confined jet. The following
two figures show dimensionless velocity profiles for the vertically extending radius in the test basin
(Fig. 4) and for the horizontally extending radius (Fig. 5).
In the vertically extending radius, no negative velocities were measured so that the conventional
representation with the Gaussian curve is still applicable. Negative velocities occur in the horizontal
radius, which can no longer be described by means of the invariably positive Gaussian curve. It
can also be seen how the behaviour of the backward flows is changing.
In a novel approach, it was not the Gaussian curve which was used as scaling function but a
Mexican Hat Wavelet which is represented by the solid line in Figure 5. The fact that the two
functions can be transferred into each other because both are based on an exponential function is
of particular interest. The Gaussian curve is an axis-symmetrical exponential function of the form

322
 1.0

v_x/v_x,max
y direction
z direction
Gaussian curve
0.5 Wavelet
Modified Wavelet

0.0

-0.5
-10.0 -5.0 0.0 5.0 b/b_0.5 10.0

Figure 6. Dimensionless velocity distribution 240 cm from the origin.

The factor a (a > 0) determines the width of the Gaussian distribution curve. For the scaling to
the half-maximum radius b0.5 , the factor a must satisfy the following equation:

In comparison, a summary for the Mexican Hat Wavelet will be given. As in the case of , there
is also an axis symmetry about the y axis. In addition to the exponential function, a pre-factor in
the form of a simple polynomial is taken into consideration.

Contrary to the Gaussian distribution, the Wavelet comprises two zero-crossings.

Beyond these points,  exhibits only negative values. It is also possible for the Wavelet to
perform a scaling to the half-maximum radius. The amount of the factor a, however, can no longer
be explicitly determined and is a ≈ 1.5976.
The shape of the conventional Mexican Hat Wavelet (eq. 5) can be changed by varying both
the exponents and the factor a. In the following, the respective values are separately changed for
the polynomial and the exponential part. This results in four independent control variables for the
distortion of the function graph.

Each of the four parameters cause a certain change in the curve characteristics. The different
combinations of these parameters result in a wide variety of the generated graphs. The details will
be omitted herein. The approach is explained in Rinaldi (2003).
Figure 6 below shows the scaling result by way of the example of a section in the y-z plane. As
can be seen, both the values along the z direction and the y direction are described by a modified
Wavelet function. Thus, the use of the Gaussian curve could be omitted.

323
4.0
a_p a_q

3.0 p q

2.0

1.0

x [cm]
0.0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Figure 7. Dimensionless velocity distribution 240 cm from the origin.

One aspect which cannot yet be covered at the present state of the study is the influence of
the lateral boundaries. Due to the no slip condition the velocities drop to zero. The limited spatial
resolution of the measurements does not allow statements as to the behaviour of the velocity profile
in the vicinity of the walls.
At first it does not seem surprising that a combination can be found with four freely adjustable
parameters, which can satisfactorily describe the measured velocities. Rather, it is remarkable that
certain systematics could be developed for the respective parameters in the examined 39 sections,
which is illustrated in the following Figure 7.

6 CONCLUSIONS

Due to the occurring backward flows the dimensionless representation of the velocity distribution
in a turbulent free jet in the confined space by means of the Gaussian curve is no longer possible.
The scaling approach by means of Wavelets showed promising results.
For the time being, only the horizontal and vertical radii of the jet have been studied. More
in-depth considerations are required in order to be able to apply the Wavelet function to the entire
flow flied.
In order to be able to better comprehend the behaviour of free jets in confined spaces, it is
mandatory to carry out a systematic the study of jets. The Chair of Hydromechanics and Hydrology
of the Technische Universität München plans to investigate further basin geometries by means of
numerical methods.

REFERENCES

Abramovich, G.N. 1963. The Theory of Turbulent Jets. Cambridge, Massachusetts: M.I.T. Press.
Förthmann, E. 1933. Über turbulente Strahlausbreitung. Göttingen University.
Rajaratnam, N. 1976. Turbulent Jets. Amsterdam: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.
Reichardt, H. 1951 Gesetzmäßigkeiten der freien Turbulenz. Düsseldorf: VDI-Verlag.
Rinaldi, P. 2003. Über das Verhalten turbulenter Freistrahlen in begrenzten Räumen. Technische Universität
München.
Rinaldi, P. 2004. On the behaviour of turbulent jets in confined spaces. The Sixth International Conference on
Hydro-science and Engineering; Brisbane May 30–June 3, 2004.
Tollmien, W. 1926. Berechnung turbulenter Ausbreitungsvorgänge. Zeitschrift für angewandte Mathematik
und Mechanik 6(6): 468–478.

324
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Further investigations on jet spreading in oscillating grid turbulence

Adrian Wing-Keung Law & Dominique Wei-Fun Ho

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Republic of Singapore

ABSTRACT: The results of a detailed experiment on the mean and turbulence characteristics of
a non-buoyant jet spreading in oscillating grid turbulence are reported. The centerline decay rates
of both the velocity and concentration experienced a sudden jump when the jet propagated close to
the oscillating grid, with the increase in the concentration decay appeared to precede the increase
in the velocity decay. A similar transition was also observed in the turbulence intensities of the
velocity and concentration. The PIV measurements of the turbulence velocity fluctuations showed
that the jet-induced fluctuation was little affected by the presence of the ambient turbulence before
the transition, but was subsequently overwhelmed by the fluctuation induced by the oscillating grid.
The relative relationship between two fluctuations was one of dominance rather than superposition.

1 INTRODUCTION

The dilution of effluent discharges from an ocean outfall is dominated initially by the active mixing
through the discharge momentum and buoyancy. At larger distances, the active mixing weakens
and the mixing becomes controlled by the ambient flows and turbulence. At present, the active
and passive mixing are often analysed separately due to the contrasting length scales in the two
processes. A good understanding of their interaction will hence be helpful in determining the zones
of influence and the transition.
A number of studies have been reported in the literature addressing the role of passive turbulence
on jet mixing. McQuivey (1971) studied the mixing of a jet in an open channel flow. He showed
that when the bottom roughness increases, the jet mixing also increases. Weil and Fischer (1974)
also observed that increasing ambient turbulence leads to an increase in the mixing of surface
cooling water discharges. Wright (1993) suggested that the influence of ambient turbulence is
more significant when the primary jet motion is in the direction of the currents. Guo et al. (1999)
studied the break down of a jet by background turbulence generated by an oscillating grid with video
records. Their results showed that when the root-mean-squared velocity of the ambient turbulence
reaches about 0.125 of the centreline jet velocity, the jet is destroyed dramatically. While these
studies confirmed the significance of ambient turbulence in affecting the jet mixing, most of them
did not quantify the turbulence conditions in their experiments directly and hence there was a lack
of details on how the influence took place. A more detailed investigation by Gaskin et al. (2001)
demonstrated that for a plane jet in a co-flow, an increase in the level of ambient turbulence leads to
a significant decrease in jet velocity, an increase in jet width and a slight increase in concentration
that is consistent with the conservation of mass flux.
In this study, we address the spreading of a non-buoyant jet in oscillating grid turbulence. In
particular, we examine the transition in turbulence characteristics from the active jet turbulence
to the turbulence induced by the oscillating grid. The study is a continuation of the preliminary
investigation reported in Law et al. (2001). Subsequent to that, we extended the distance between
the port and grid, and conducted new experiments focusing on the quantification of the mean and
turbulence characteristics in the interaction zones. Besides having PIV for velocity measurements,
we also added PLIF for the scalar spreading. A few sets of experiments were performed altogether
in this study. Here, we will summarise briefly the findings in one of the experimental sets.

325
 Discharge nozzle

265
30
180
Flow meter
Imaging 615
360
area
75
110
Grid
mm
Peristaltic Test tank
pump

Storage tank
500

Figure 1. Experimental setup.

2 EXPERIMENTS

The experimental setup is shown in Figure 1. The discharge nozzle had an internal diameter
of 5.5 mm. It discharged vertically downward inside a glass tank with dimensions of 500 mm
(length) × 500 mm (width) × 1000 mm (height), with an initial velocity of 1.45 m/s toward a grid
that was oscillating at a frequency of 4 Hz. Note that the turbulence profile with the oscillating grid
was previously quantified in Cheng and Law (2001).
The setup of the PIV and PLIF measurements was similar to the one used in Wang and Law
(2002). Overlapping imaging windows were taken for PIV and PLIF within the range of z/d = 30 to
100. The last frame was kept 75 mm away from the grid that was equivalent to 1.5 mesh size away.
A total of 300 image pairs were taken by the PIV camera in double-frame mode for the velocity
measurements. The frequency of the image pairs was set at 5 Hz. Polyamid particles with a size
of 50 µm were used as seeding particles. The PLIF camera was operated at the same time in
single-framed mode, however only the first 150 images were extracted for analysis because the dye
diffused quickly in the tank causing difficulty in identifying the jet boundary from the surrounding
contaminated water.

3 MEAN CHARACTERISTICS

Guo et al. (1999) and Law et al. (2001) both reported a sudden expansion in the jet spreading angle,
or breakdown of the jet profile, at some downstream location when the jet approached the oscillating
grid. Similar expansion or breakdown was also observed in this experiment. Figures 2 and 3 show the
decay rates of the axial velocity and concentration along the centerline, respectively. The increase
in the velocity decay rate occurred around z/D = 84, while the increase in the concentration decay
appeared to precede the velocity change at around z/D = 78. It should be noted that the Gaussian
width of the mean velocity profile, not shown here due to space constraint, also increased suddenly
but corresponded to the transition location in the concentration rather than the centerline velocity.

4 TURBULENCE CHARACTERISTICS

The turbulence intensity of the axial velocity along the centerline is shown in Figure 4. The intensity
had a nominal range of 0.20–0.26 prior to the transition with and without the oscillating grid

326
 w0
wc
20 Wo 1 z
=
18 stagnant ambient Wc Kjw D
16 with ambient turbulence
14
12
10
z/D=84.4
8
6
4
2
0
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 z/D 100

Figure 2. Decay in centerline velocity.

c0
cc
35 Co 1 z
stagnant ambient =
Cc Kjc D
30 with ambient turbulence

25

20

15

10
z/D=78.7
5

0
40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 z/D100

Figure 3. Decay in centerline concentration.

turbulence, which is consistent with the range for a jet in stagnant ambient reported in the literature
(Wang and Law, 2002). The change in turbulence intensity occurred at approximately the same
location as the transition in the velocity decay rate shown in Figure 2, whereby the intensity jumped
to a magnitude of around 0.4 near the downstream end of the imaging window.
Figure 5 plots the turbulence intensity of the concentration along the centerline. Without the grid
turbulence, the intensity range was approximately 0.2–0.3. The range moved up to 0.3–0.5 with
the grid turbulence before the transition at z/D = 70, and then jumped to 0.9–1.1 after that. This
implied that more ambient fluid was able to reach the central portion of the jet core in the presence
of the oscillating grid turbulence even before the breakdown transition. The jump in turbulence
intensity for the concentration also preceded that for the velocity similar to what was observed in
the decay rates.
Figure 6 plots the turbulence fluctuations of the axial velocity along the centerline in three
different settings, namely a jet in stagnant ambient, oscillating grid turbulence only and finally a
combined jet with grid turbulence, with the same experimental setup and measurement approaches.

327
 wc'2
wc
0.50 stagnant ambient
0.45 with ambient turbulence
0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10 z/D=84.4
0.05
0.00
60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 z/D 100
5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 Zg/M

Figure 4. Turbulence intensity of centerline axial velocity.

cc'2
cc
1.4
stagnant ambient
1.2 with ambient turbulence

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2
z/D=64
0.0
40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 z/D100
7.5 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 Zg/M

Figure 5. Turbulence intensity of centerline concentration.

The profile by the oscillating grid turbulence alone was consistent with the previous work of Cheng
and Law (2001). The figure clearly illustrates the interplay between the turbulence fluctuation
induced by the jet and by the oscillating grid. In the combined test, the turbulence fluctuation of the
axial velocity remained approximately the same with or without the grid turbulence (in the range
of 0.018–0.025 m/s), decreasing from approximately 0.035 m/s to 0.025 m/s from z/D = 60 to 85.
Beyond the transition, the magnitude of the fluctuations by the oscillating grid began to override
the jet fluctuations, and thereafter the fluctuations along the centerline followed the profile of the
oscillating grid turbulence instead.
The present results serve to demonstrate that the relationship between the jet and ambient
turbulence is one of dominance depending on their absolute magnitudes, rather than super-
position. They also imply that that the transition from active to passive dispersion would take
place when the turbulence fluctuations of the jet are less than the fluctuations in the ambient
environment.

328
 wc'2
0.08

0.07 with ambient turbulence

stagnant ambient
0.06 grid turbulence only

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01
z/D=84.4
0
60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 z/D 100
5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 Zg/M

Figure 6. Variation of turbulence fluctuation in axial velocity along the centerline.

5 SUMMARY

The measurements of both the mean and turbulence characteristics of a non-buoyant jet spreading
in oscillating grid turbulence provided solid experimental evidence on how the ambient turbulence
affects the jet characteristics, including the decay rates of the velocity and concentration and their
turbulence intensity. The sudden transition, or breakdown, in the concentration decay rate preceded
that of the velocity decay rate in the present setup. The increase in turbulence intensity of the
concentration also occurred much earlier than that of the velocity. This implies that more ambient
fluid was able to penetrate the central portion of the jet core through the aid of the ambient turbulence
even prior to the transition. In terms of the axial velocity, the strong influence of the ambient
turbulence took place when the absolute magnitude of the ambient fluctuations overwhelmed the
jet-induced fluctuations.

REFERENCES

Cheng, N.S. and Law, A.W.K., 2001. “Measurements of Turbulence generated by oscillating grid.” J. Hyd.
Eng., Vol 127, pp201–208.
Gaskin, S.J., McKernan, M. and Xue, F., 2001. “The influence of increase ambient turbulence on the evolution
of a plane turbulent jet in a shallow co-flow.” Proc., 3rd Int. Sym. Env. Hyd., Arizona, USA.
Guo, Y., Davies, P.A., Fernando, H.J.S. and Ching, C.Y., 1999. “Influence of background turbulence on the
evolution of turbulent jets.” 28th IAHR Congress, Graz, Austria.
Law, A.W.K., Cheng, N.S. and Davidson, M.J., 2001. “Jet spreading in oscillating grid turbulent.” Proc., 3rd
Int. Sym. Env. Hyd., Arizona, USA.
Wang, H.W. and Law, A.W.K., 2002. “Second-order integral model for a round turbulent buoyant jet.” J. Fluid
Mech., Vol. 459, pp397–428.
Weil, J. and Fischer, H.B., 1974. “Effect of stream turbulence on heater water plumes.” ASCE J. Hyd. Div.,
Vol. 100, HY7, pp951–970.
Wright, S., 1993. “The effect of ambient turbulence on jet mixing.” Recent Research Advances in the Fluid
Mechanics of Turbulent Jets and Plumes, edited by P.A.Davies and M.J.Valente Neves, pp13–27.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Experimental study on tandem buoyant jets in crossflow

Daeyoung Yu & Joseph H.W. Lee

Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

C.W. Li
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

ABSTRACT: The interaction of multiple tandem buoyant jets in crossflow and the resultant reduc-
tion of ambient velocity affecting jet behavior are investigated through laboratory experiment. LIF
and PIV experiments of 2- and 4-buoyant jet group discharged into a perpendicular crossflow are
conducted. The effective crossflow in between buoyant jets is estimated from the measured tra-
jectory and prediction of a validated Lagrangian model (VISJET). It is found that the entrainment
demand in the MDNF of the upstream jet as well as the sheltering cause the significant reduc-
tion of effective crossflow velocity. Compared with the momentum jet case, multiple buoyant jets
with the same order of momentum and buoyant length scale are found to show the same range
of reduction of crossflow as the momentum jets. A heuristic model relating the ratio of reduced
effective ambient velocity to jet spacing and momentum length scale is proposed and found to yield
predictions comparable with the experimental results.

1 INTRODUCTION

The multiple buoyant jet in crossflowing ambient is one of the common fluid flow problems found in
various environmental and industrial applications. Wastewater outfall discharges into a coastal water
with tidal current or gas injections into a combustion chamber of different temperature are examples
of multiple buoyant jets. Whereas the problem of a single jet in crossflow has been well studied,
the mixing, trajectory and interaction of multiple jets in crossflow has not been studied in depth.
When multiple jets are arranged in a line parallel to the ambient current, this configuration
is named tandem jets in crossflow (Fig. 1). When tandem jets are discharged into a perpendic-
ular crossflow, there exists complicated interaction of the closely spaced jets as well as jets and
the crossflow. For the pure momentum jet group in crossflow case, Kamotani & Greber (1974),
Monismith et al. (1990) have observed that the downstream jet of twin tandem jets is less deflected
than the upstream one. Recently Yu et al. (2003) have shown that the reduced effective crossflow
velocity that causes the downstream jet to bend less is strongly related to the jet spacing from LIF
experiments of multiple jet group in crossflow.
In this study multiple tandem buoyant jets in crossflow are studied through experiments using
Laser Induced Florescence (LIF) and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) techniques. A heuristic
model that explains the reduced effective crossflow velocity is proposed and its results are veri-
fied against the experimental results. The finding of the study is compared with that of the pure
momentum jet case.

2 CONCEPTUAL MODEL

When a buoyant jet is discharged into a crossflow, the jet is deflected after some distance due
to entrainment of ambient fluid with crossflow momentum. Asymptotic regions of the buoyant

331
Figure 1. Definition of multiple tandem jets in Figure 2. Conceptual model for tandem jets in
crossflow. crossflow.

jet in crossflow
√ can be depicted using buoyancy length scale lb (=Fo /Ua3 ) and momentum length
scale lm (= Mo /Ua ) where Fo , Mo = initial buoyancy and momentum flux of jet and Ua = crossflow
velocity. The buoyancy length scale, lb , is the height of the buoyant jet where the buoyancy-induced
velocity decreases to a value comparable to the velocity of the crossflow. Since a buoyant jet has
both momentum and buoyancy, whether a discharge is momentum or buoyancy dominated depends
on lm /lb . If lm /lb ≈ 1, the initial momentum is relatively important before the jet is bent over and
the buoyancy dominates after very short transition so this kind of jet will appear to go through
a momentum-dominated near field (MDNF) – buoyancy dominated far field (BDFF) sequence
(Wright 1977; Fischer et al. 1979; Lee & Chu 2003).
The conceptual model can be formulated considering two tandem jets discharging with Mo , Fo
and the initial velocity of Uo , into a perpendicular crossflow (Fig. 2). For lm ≈ lb case, the leading
edge jet is assumed to be bent over and merges with the downstream one at a level of z ≥ lm . It is
postulated that the velocity reduction is mainly attributed to the action within the MDNF. Experi-
mental results indicate that the jet interaction results in a reduced effective velocity, Ur , in front of
the downstream jet. From x-momentum balance for the control volume of lateral extent of 2B and
height z, the first order analysis adopting a boundary layer approximation (B/z  1), gives

where B = width of jet, Qo = jet initial volume flux and S = dilution of jet which is given by
SQo = αMo1/2 z in the MDNF. p = the pressure difference between upstream and downstream
boundary of the control volume. By Bernoulli’s equation, p = 12 ρ(Ua2 − Ur2 ), and linear spread
of jet, B = βz, Eq. 1 can be rearranged to give

where R = Ur /Ua = reduced effective velocity ratio. Using the jet trajectory in the MDNF,
z/lm = 2.65(x/lm )1/2 (Davidson & Pun 1999), and α = 0.286, β = 0.17 (Fischer et al. 1979; Lee &
Chu 2003), and choosing the extent of the control volume in x-direction as the jet spacing, s, Eq. 2
becomes

According to this heuristic model, the effective reduced crossflow velocity is dependent on s/lm or
equivalently s/(KD) where K = Uo /Ua = jet-crossflow velocity ratio and D = initial jet diameter.

332
Figure 3. Diagram of experimental setup.

3 EXPERIMENT

3.1 Setup
The experiments are performed in the Environmental Hydraulics laboratory of the University of
Hong Kong. Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) are used
to investigate the characteristics of multiple jets in crossflow. A multiple jet group is discharged
through a number of circular nozzles (I.D = 1 cm) mounted on a diffuser. The buoyant jets are
arranged in tandem and vertically discharged to a crossflow in a 15 m long, 0.4 m wide and
0.5 m deep recirculating flume (Fig. 3). The ambinent velocity is measured by a Acoustic Doppler
Velocimeter (ADV) positioned at approximately 5 cm upstream of the most upstream jet. Heated
water is used to generate buoyancy of the jet. The temperature of heated water inside the diffuser
and the ambient is measured by a thermometer (FLUKE 54II).
For the LIF experiments the centerline plane of symmetry of the jet group is illuminated by a laser
sheet from a 5 W Argon-Ion laser using a cylindrical lens. Rhodamine 6G is used as the fluorescent
dye tracer. For each set of LIF experiment, 600 LIF images are taken with a CCD camera at
approximately 10 Hz frequency and stored in a personal computer through a monochromatic frame
grabber. The digitized images are time-averaged and then corrected using separately obtained
background images and uniform concentration images. A linear relation of light intensity and
fluorescence dye concentration is verified through a preliminary test.
PIV experiments are carried out separately from LIF experiments to investigate the velocity
field. The illumination pulses are generated from a pair of Nd: Yag lasers with maximum average
power of 2 W and 4 ns pulse duration. Neutrally buoyant polyamide particles with nominal diameter
of 30 µm are used as the seeding particles for PIV. Pairs of PIV images are captured using a CCD
camera with pulse delay of 2 ms between two images of the pair at 5 Hz frequency. 50 image pairs
are captured to obtain the time-averaged velocity field for each experimental case.
A series of LIF experiments of 2- and 4-jet group with a jet spacing of 5D are carried out to
investigate the change of ambient crossflow velocity in between jets. In addition, experiments with
twin jets (N = 2) with variable jet spacing (s/D = 3, 10 and 15) are carried out to study the effect
of jet spaceing (Table 1). The jet-ambient velocity ratio, K, covers approximately 4.4–11.8 and

333
 Table 1. Key parameters and reduced effective velocity ratio of LIF experiments (D = 1 cm).

Run Uo Ua lm lb Ur1 Ur2 Ur3

no. N s/D (cm/s) (cm/s) K Fr (cm) (cm) Ua−vj Ua−vj Ua−vj

BJ2J11 2 5 26.3 3.0 8.7 7.1 7.7 10.1 0.43

BJ2J12 2 5 37.2 3.1 11.8 10.2 10.5 12.5 0.43
BJ2J13 2 5 37.2 5.0 7.5 11.9 6.6 2.3 0.41
BJ4J11 4 5 13.1 3.0 4.4 3.8 3.9 4.6 0.44 0.44 0.52
BJ4J12 4 5 25.9 3.2 8.0 7.2 7.1 7.9 0.45 0.52 0.42
BJ4J13 4 5 36.9 3.5 10.4 10.2 9.2 8.4 0.43 0.43 0.38
BJ2JS11 2 10 26.3 3.0 8.7 8.0 7.7 8.1 0.63
BJ2JS13 2 15 26.3 2.9 9.1 8.2 8.1 8.8 0.72
BJ2JS15 2 3 26.3 3.1 8.5 8.1 7.6 7.4 0.41

20

0.25 15
0.1 0.2 0.2
15

0.25 0.3 0.25

z/D

0.3 0.3 10
0.35
0.35
10
0.4 0.4 0.1
z/D

0.25 0.5 0.5 5

0.3 0.7
5 0.5 0.7
0.9
0.7 0.9
0
0 5 10 15 20
0 x/D
0 5 10 15 20
x/D Figure 5. Velocity vector plot of PIV experi-
ment with VISJET-computed centerline trajectories
Figure 4. Normalized concentration contour (Uo /Ua = 8.3, Fr = 8.6, lm = 7.3 cm, lb = 6.0 cm,
and center line trajectory from a 4 buoyant jet D = 1.0 cm, for the downstream jet trajectory, Ua
LIF experiment (Run No.: BJ4J12). is reduced by 0.43).

densimetric Froude number, Fr, is within 3.8–11.9. The momentum and buoyant length scale are
practically of the same order for almost all experiment cases.

3.2 Results
The reduced ambient crossflow velocity in between jet is estimated through the comparison of tra-
jectory from a LIF experiment with the prediction of a validated Lagrangian model, VISJET. The
modelling engine of VISJET is the Lagrangian model JETLAG (Lee & Cheung 1990; Lee & Chu
2003). While the centerline trajectory from a LIF image is determined following the vertex of the
concentration contour lines (Fig. 4), VISJET predicts trajectory corresponds to a mass centerline.
Due to the presence of a vortex pair in the cross-section of bent-over jet there is discrepancy between
the centerlines from measured concentration and VISJET prediction. Strictly speaking, the visual
trajectory should be used to estimate the ambient velocity but in practice, it is often difficult to trace
the jet boundary from a LIF image especially where the jets have merged and separation of each
jet is impractical. Thus through the comparison of measured and VISJET-predicted trajectory, the
effective ambient velocity which gives the best fit to the observed trajectory is adopted as the best
estimate of Ur . For consistency, the estimated ambient velocity that is determined from comparing
the measured and VISJET-predicted trajectory of the leading edge jet is taken to be Ua−vj and the
relative reduced effective ambient velocity is taken as Ur /Ua−vj .

334
 1
1

0.8
0.8

0.6

Ur/Ua
0.6
Ur /Ua

0.4
0.4

BJ2J 0.2 ,
0.2 BJ2JS Buoyant Jet
BJ4J-Ur1 Momentum Jet
BJ4J-Ur2 Proposed Model (Eq. 3)
BJ4J-Ur2 0
0 0 1 2 3 4
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 s/lm
s/lm
Figure 7. Comparison of reduced effective
Figure 6. Reduced effective velocity ratio of velocity ratio of buoyant jet, momentum jet and
buoyant jet vs. s/lm . proposed model.

In Figure 4 the concentration contour and the concentration centerlines used in estimating the
reduced velocity ratio of a selective 4-jet experiment is shown. The downstream jets are clearly
observed to be less bent over than the most upstream one indicating that the effective velocity
affecting the downstream jets are reduced by the interaction of the upstream one. In addition, the
downstream jets show almost same degree of bent-over regardless of their order of the position.
It is worth noting that the concentration centerline in the region where concentration field of a jet
is not affected by the neighboring jets is used to determine Ur of each jet. The ratios of reduced
ambient velocity of 2- and 4-jets with s = 5D and twin jets with s = 3, 10 and 15D estimated from
the above described method are summarized in Table 1.
The velocity vector plot of a selective 2-jet buoyant jet PIV experiment are shown in Figure 5
with centerline trajectories predicted by VISJET. The centerline of the downstream jet is computed
with the reduced ambient velocity by the factor of 0.43 based on the finding from LIF experiments.
Although the velocity very close to the jet source is not precisely depicted because of the relatively
low resolution used in PIV and the sharp velocity gradient, the overall velocity distribution is clear
visible and the centerlines agree well with the velocity vector. The ambient crossflow velocity is
observed to decrease downstream of jets and to increase gradually as the x-direction.
The ratio of reduced effective velocity is presented as a function of s/lm (Fig. 6). Though there
is some scatter, the relation of the ratio of R with the jet spacing and the momentum length scale
is clearly found. As s/lm increases, the reduced effective velocity ratio grows which means smaller
effect on the downstream jet by the upstream one. In accordance with the conceptual model, the jet
interaction is stronger for closely spaced jets, that is, smaller s/lm . The result from 4-jet in Figure 6
shows almost same reduced effective velocity ratio regardless of the sequential order in the group.
The ratio of reduced effective crossflow velocity of buoyant jet is compared with that of momen-
tum jet (Yu et al. 2003) and the proposed model (Eq. 3) in Figure 7. Compared with the momentum
jet case, the buoyant jet shows almost same R at corresponding s/lm . It is believed that this similar R
of both momentum and buoyant jet results from the fact that lm ≈ lb in the present study and thus the
momentum redistribution of the downstream x-direction takes place in the MDNF for both buoyant
and momentum jet. It is also found that the prediction of proposed model (Eq. 3) is comparable
with the observed R.

4 CONCLUDING REMARKS

The reduced effective crossflow velocity in between tandem buoyant jets in crossflow is investi-
gated via laboratory experiment. From the experiments, the reduced effective velocity is found

335
approximately within 0.38–0.72 with s/lm range of 0.48–1.86. The complicated mechanism causing
the reduction of effective velocity can be well-interpreted by an heuristic model; the prediction of
the proposed model are comparable with the observed data. It is concluded that this interaction of
jets should be considered in the modelling of multiple jets in crossflow.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work was supported by a grant from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (HKU 7347/01E).

REFERENCES

Davidson, M. J. and K. K. Pun (1999). Weakly advected jets in cross-flow. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
125(1): 47–58.
Fischer, H. B., E. J. List, R. C. Y. Koh, J. Imberger, and N. H. Brooks (1979). Mixing Inland and Coastal
Waters. New York, N.Y.: Academic Press.
Kamotani, Y. and I. Greber (1974). Experiments on confined turbulent jets in cross flow. Technical Report
NASA CR-2392, NASA.
Lee, J. H. W. and V. Cheung (1990). Generalized Lagrangian model for buoyant jets in current. Journal of
Environmental Engineering 116(6): 1085–1106.
Lee, J. H. W. and V. H. Chu (2003). Turbulent Jets and Plumes – a Lagrangian approach. Kluwer Academic
Publishers.
Monismith, S. G., J. R. Koseff, J. K. Thompson, C. A. O’Riordan, and H. M. Nepf (1990). A study of model
bivalve siphone currents. Limnol. Oceanogr. 35(3): 680–696.
Wright, S. J. (1977). Mean behavior of buoyant jets in a crossflow. Journal of the Hydraulics Division,
Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers 103(HY5): 499–513.
Yu, D., M. S. Ali, and J. H. W. Lee (2003). Experiments on interaction of multiple jets in crossflow. In 16th
ASCE Engineering Mechanics Conference, Seattle, U.S.

336
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Light attenuation data from weakly and strongly advected discharges

Gustaaf Kikkert, Mark Davidson & Roger Nokes

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

ABSTRACT: An application of a light attenuation (LA) system to an experimental investigation

into the behaviour of buoyant discharges in a moving environment is described. Particular emphasis
is placed on the interpretation of the integrated information that the LA system provides. Data is
presented from weakly and strongly advected discharges.

1 INTRODUCTION

The study of the mixing processes associated with the release of buoyant discharges into the envir-
onment has relied heavily on laser based techniques in recent years, for example, Papantoniou & List
(1989), Davidson & Pun (1999), Tian & Roberts (2003) and others. Laser-Induced Fluorescence
(LIF) is regularly employed to obtain quantitative information from such flows. LIF systems provide
detailed information in the plane illuminated by the laser, which is ideal for flows with two-
dimensional trajectories, but has limitations when flows move along 3-dimensional paths, such as
horizontal buoyant discharges that are perpendicular to the direction of a cross-flow. In these situ-
ations the planar LIF system can be employed to obtained cross-sections, but this is cumbersome
if one is to map out the flow behaviour for a range of initial conditions. It is possible to overcome
this problem by scanning the laser light sheet (Tian & Roberts 2003), however, another alternative
is to employ a relatively simple light attenuation (LA) system.
Light attenuation (LA) techniques are based on relatively weak and inexpensive white light
sources and they make use of non-toxic food dyes for tracers. It is therefore possible to establish
multiple systems and to operate them with minimal safety concerns. In contrast LIF systems
have significant safety implications in terms of the strength of the laser light and the potentially
carcinogenic Rhodamine dyes are often employed as tracers. The reliance of LIF systems on high-
powered laser light also makes them expensive to establish, and this, in general, limits their number
in a laboratory to one. Thus, for those laboratories that do have LIF systems, multiple projects can
be forced to queue for access to this quantitative optical technique.
However, LA systems are not strictly an alternative to LIF, because LA provides information that
has been integrated over a flow depth, whereas LIF provides information that has been integrated
over the width of the light sheet (typically of the same scale as the source). Although LA systems
have been successfully employed to study a range of problems (Holford & Dalziel 1996, Zhang &
Chu 2003), their application to buoyant discharge problems has some special challenges.
One of these challenges is interpreting the data obtained from a LA system in the context of
current modeling efforts. In this paper we describe the application of the LA technique to the study
of axisymmetric buoyant discharges in still and moving environments, and focus in particular on
methods of interpreting the acquired data. Consideration is given to weakly-advected flows, where
the mean cross-sectional concentration distributions are assumed to be Gaussian and to strongly-
advected flows, where the mean concentration distributions resemble those of a vortex pair, making
the interpretation of the integrated LA information more difficult.

337
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of LA system.

2 LIGHT ATTENUATION SYSTEM

A typical layout of a LA system is shown in figure 1. The light source consists of a bank of eight
100 Hz fluorescent light tubes, which is placed behind a light diffuser (opaque Perspex) and both
are located directly behind the buoyant discharge. A red food dye is employed as a tracer and the
flow behaviour is recorded on a digital video camera. Cameras employed for these experiments
were a Canon MV4 and a Jai CVM7+. Particularly important features of these progressive scan
cameras are the manual controls of the exposure, shutter speed and white balance. The Jai is a more
expensive scientific camera that offers more complete control over these features, as well as an
ability to sample a portion of the image at higher frame rates. In addition, it has a more consistent
pixel response. However, both cameras can provide good quality data with appropriate calibration.
The digital images from the LA system contain information on the strength of the red, blue and
green light at each pixel in the image. Note that for single CCD cameras such as these, a Bayer filter
must be applied to obtain this information. The Canon has a Bayer filter implemented internally,
whereas the Jai does not. The Bayer filter interpolates colour specific pixel information (one colour
per pixel) in the raw image to obtain values for the three colours at each pixel location. This process
results in colour information being spatially smoothed over a maximum distance of 3 pixels.
With a red dye as the tracer, red light is transmitted through the buoyant jet and hence the strength
of the red signal is unaltered by the presence of the flow, provided the dye concentrations is low.
However, the concentration of the red dye can be determined from the attenuation or absorption
of the green or blue signals. The green signal is the strongest and hence provides the best quality
data. The integrated dye concentration (ci ) can then be determined from:

where the reference intensities (Iref _green ) are obtained from a similar image without dye present.
Calibration data obtained with known dye concentrations are compared with equation (1) in figure 2.

3 WEAKLY ADVECTED FLOWS

A green absorption image of an axisymmetric jet is shown in figure 3. The concentration distribu-
tions are known to be Gaussian in this case and hence the expected ratio of the centerline integrated

338
 0.4
0.4
0.3

log(Iref/I_green)
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.1 Run #6
Run #7
0.1
0.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
ml of dyed solution

Figure 2. Calibration experiment results.

Figure 3. Green absorption image of jet.

concentration (Ci ) to the initial integrated concentration (Ci0 ) is 0.9 along the jet and this is shown
in figure 4. Also shown in figure 4 are equivalent point values of dilution (C0 /C), which have been
obtained from the integrated values using the following relationship:

Here bc is the concentration spread and d the diameter of the source. Model predictions are also
shown in figure 4 and there is very good agreement with the experimental data. Buoyant jets and
weakly advected flows are also Gaussian and can be treated in a similar way.

339
 45 1
40 0.9
35 0.8
0.7
30
0.6

Ci0/Ci
25
C0/C

0.5
20
0.4
15
0.3
10 C0/Cl 0.2
5 Ci0/Ci
0.1
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250
x/d

Figure 4. Integrated and centerline jet dilution.

1.2
Theory
1 z/(Mo^0.5/Ua) = 2.92
z/(Mo^0.5/Ua) = 3.22
z/(Mo^0.5/Ua) = 3.80
0.8

0.6
ci/Ci

0.4

0.2

0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

-0.2
y/bc

Figure 5. Concentration profiles obtained from a line momentum puff (figure 6) and compared with the
double Gaussian profile.

4 STRONGLY ADVECTED FLOWS

In the strongly advected case a relatively simple method of interpreting the data is based on the
assumption that concentration profiles are adequately represented by a double Gaussian. It is
expected that this assumption will be reasonable near the central part of the profile, but that it
will be less effective near the edge of the flow. Evidence of this can be seen in figure 5, where
profiles obtained from a line momentum puff are compared with the double Gaussian. This data
was obtained from the green absorption image shown in figure 6.
Integrating the double Gaussian profile in the same direction as the path of light absorption
and incorporating this into typical integral solutions, indicates that the integrated flow dilution
is proportional to distance traveled in the direction of discharge. Model lines are compared with

340
Figure 6. Green absorption image of a line momentum puff (initial condition: M00.5 /Ua = 0.0524 m).

10 10.00
C0/C*Ur

Ci0/Ci
1 1.00

Centerline Dilution Data

Integrated Puff Solution
Puff Solution
Integrated Centreline Dilution Data

0.1 0.10
11 0
z/(Mo^0.5/Ua)

Figure 7. Integrated and point centreline line momentum puff data.

integrated and point centerline data in figure 7. The data conversion was implemented with
equation (2).

5 CONCLUSIONS

A Light Attenuation system for studying the behaviour of buoyant discharges in a moving environ-
ment has been described and data obtained from it presented. Particular emphasis has been placed
on the interpretation of the integrated information that the LA system provides. A multiple camera
LA system is currently being developed to enable flows with three dimensional trajectories to be
studied in some detail.

REFERENCES

Davidson M. J. and Pun K. L., 1999, Weakly Advected Jets in Cross-Flow, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering,
ASCE, Vol. 125, No. 1, 47–58.

341
Holford J. M. and Dalziel S. B., 1996, Measurements of Layer Depth during Baroclinic Instability in a
Two-Layer Flow, Applied Scientific Research, Vol. 56: 191–206.
Papantoniou D. and List E. J., 1989, Large-scale structure in the far field of buoyant jets, Journal of Fluid
Mechanics, Vol. 209, 151–190.
Tian X. and Roberts P. J. W., 2003, 3D LIF system for turbulent buoyant jet flows, Experiments in Fluids,
Vol. 35, 646–647.
Zhang J. B. and Chu V. H., 2003, Shallow Turbulent Flows by Video Imaging Method, Journal of Engineering
Mechanics, ASCE, Vol. 129, No. 10, 1164–1172.

342
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Integral model prediction and laser induced fluorescence

measurement of round buoyant jet in counterflow

W.Y. Lee, K.M. Lam & C.H.C. Chan

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China

ABSTRACT: We report LIF measurement result of the spreading of a round buoyant jet into a
counterflow. The experiments are carried out by towing the jet in a large water channel. Effects of
jet-to-current velocity ratio and jet effluent buoyancy are investigated. Integral model prediction
of jet trajectory and jet widths is made with the Lagrangian model JETLAG. The effect of a
modification to the model is investigated. The results show that the model predictions are generally
unsatisfactory in the bent-backwards region. The predictions become poorer for stronger jets in
weak counterflow.

1 INTRODUCTION

Numerical prediction of trajectory and spreading of a buoyant jet in an ambient current is relevant
to the design of ocean outfall. JETLAG is a generalized Lagrangian jet model developed by Lee
& Cheung (1991) for prediction of buoyant jet discharge in a current. The model prediction has
been validated against laboratory and field results on both trajectory and centerline concentration
data for a wide range of discharge and ambient flow conditions. JETLAG has been applied to
predict flow cases including horizontal buoyant jets in coflow; vertical jet discharges, oblique jet
discharges, dense plumes in crossflow; buoyant jets in stagnant uniform or stratified fluid; and
horizontal buoyant jets in perpendicular crossflow.
The flow situation of this paper is a buoyant round jet in a counterflow. The authors have
previously reported some laboratory results of jet trajectory and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF)
data for this flow problem (Lam 2001, Lee & Lam 2004). In this paper, we report some additional
experimental results which are obtained in a large water basin. We also apply JETLAG model to
this flow situation and compare the model prediction to the experimental data. An improvement to
the model is attempted based on a modification due to Kwan (1997) in which the calculation starts
from the end of the potential core.

2 EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP

The experiments were done in a 12 m long and 5 m wide water basin. A test water channel, 120 cm
wide, was formed in the basin by installing a wooden panel partition along the length of the basin.
It is filled with fresh water to 60 cm depth. A circular nozzle of exit diameter D = 5 mm was placed
10 cm below the water surface. Salt water at a relative density precisely at 1.0206 was prepared in
a salt-water tank by dissolving pure salt in water. The salt water was pumped to an overhead tank
which supplied the jet nozzle. The flow rate of salt water and thus the jet exit velocity Uj were
adjusted with a valve and a calibrated rotameter in the supply line. The nozzle was fixed with on a
trolley which is towed by a stepper motor. The trolley was towed at a speed Uo in the same direction
of the discharging jet. A counterflow was therefore formed by the relative motion between the
moving jet and the stagnant ambient water. In this laboratory set-up, the jet was negatively buoyant

343
Figure 1. Some instantaneous LIF images, Fr = 5 and R = 7.5. Figure 2. Mean LIF image.

but the results could be interpreted for the positive buoyancy situation by transforming the reference
frame upside down.
The two governing flow parameters for the flow were the jet-to-current velocity ratio R and the
densimetric Froude number, Fr. They were defined as:

The buoyancy of the jet discharge was due to the density difference ρ between the density of the
discharging jet fluid, ρj and the density of the ambient fluid, ρo .
Tests were carried out at a number of flow cases at Froude number, Fr with values between 3.3
and 11 and jet to current ratio, R between 2.5 and 15. The Reynolds number of the jet exit ranged
from 525 to 1751. The concentration of the jet effluent on the central vertical plane of the flow was
measured with LIF. The light source was a 4 W continuous wave Argon-ion laser. A combination
of mirrors and lenses were used to direct a vertical light sheet to cut through the central vertical
plane of jet flow. The laser sheet was about 2 mm thick. The salt water in the tank was dozed with a
fluorescent dye, Rhodamine-6G, at a fixed concentration at 2 g/m3 . LIF pictures were taken with a
12 bit CCD camera. The resolution of the images was 1280 pixels × 1024 pixels with physical size
330 mm × 265 mm. LIF images were captured at a rate of roughly one frame per second. Thirty
images were taken for each test case.
The LIF images were processed by a number of image processing algorithms to extract various
spreading characteristics of the flow. The flow case at Fr = 5 and R = 7.5 is shown in Figure 1 as an
illustrative example. Two instantaneous LIF images of this moderately buoyant jet are shown. Thirty
LIF images were averaged to obtain the mean LIF image in Figure 2. The concentration information
contained in the mean LIF image was then analyzed by a digital image processing algorithm to
locate the trajectory of the jet centerline and half width. The details have been described in Lee &
Lam (2004). The extracted jet centerline and boundaries of the jet are shown in Figs. 3 to 6 as open
symbols.

3 JETLAG MODEL

Integral model prediction was made with the generalized Lagrangian model JETLAG (Lee &
Cheung 1991). The latest version of JETLAG was used in this study. This version known as
VISJET included interactive computer interfacing and some updated entrainment hypotheses (Lee
et al. 2000). Calculation of jet dispersion by JETLAG was based on Lagrangian jet/plume elements
with top-hat velocity and concentration profiles. The computation started directly at the jet exit.
In a real jet or plume, there exists a zone of flow establishment (ZFE), also called the potential
core, where the mean velocity profiles transit from the top-hat shape to the Gaussian shape. Kwan
(1997) proposed a modification to the JETLAG model by starting the computation from the end of
the ZFE. In this paper, we also attempted to use this modification to JETLAG. For a non-buoyant

344
Figure 3. Mean LIF concentration field and JETLAG predictions, Fr = 3.3, at different R: (a) 2.5; (b) 5;
(c) 7.5; (d) 10. Solid lines: JETLAG; broken lines: modified JETLAG; symbols: image processing.

jet in counterflow, Chan & Lam (1998) has shown that the length of the ZFE or potential core
depends on R as:

This equation was used in the modified JETLAG model for the potential core length of buoyant jet
in counterflow.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 3 shows the comparison between the predictions by the two JETLAG models and the
experimental results at Fr = 3.3 at different values of R between 2.5 and 10. As described earlier,
the open symbols are the jet centerline and jet boundaries extracted from the mean LIF image using
the image processing technique in Lee & Lam (2004). The jet boundary is laterally away from the
jet centerline by a distance of the half jet width b, which is the location where the local concentration
drops to 1/e times the centerline concentration at that jet section. The solid and broken lines in
the figure are the model predictions by the original JETLAG model and the modified version
respectively.
The present LIF results give the same behaviours of the jet as reported in earlier studies (Lam
et al. 2001). There exists two flow regions; a momentum dominated region where the jet essentially
spreads into the counterflow with little vertical rise, followed by a region where the jet curves

345
Figure 4. Mean LIF concentration field and JETLAG predictions, Fr = 5.5, at different R: (a) 2.5; (b) 5;
(c) 7.5; (d) 15. Solid lines: JETLAG; broken lines: modified JETLAG; symbols: image processing.

backwards while rising under the effect of buoyancy. At this Froude number, Fr = 3.3, the jet
effluent is highly buoyant. The first region is very short and the flow transits readily into the
combined buoyancy and momentum region. As for JETLAG, both models, original and modified,
predict well in the short first region. In the second region where the jet becomes bent backwards
and rise under buoyancy, the prediction is reasonably good only at R = 5. For the weaker jet at
R = 2.5, the JETLAG models under-predict the vertical rise in the bent-backwards region. On the
other hand, they over-predict the vertical rise for the stronger jets at R > 5.
The predictions by the two models differ mainly in the near field of the jet (Kwan 1997). At
farther downstream distances, the two models predict very similar trajectories. For this highly
buoyant case, the original JETLAG makes better predictions in the near field.
Figure 4 shows the results at Fr = 5.5. The jets are still very buoyant though not as highly buoyant
as in Figure 3. The first region of forward flow is longer. Similar to Figure 3, the jet trajectory
and spreading are well predicted by JETLAG at the velocity ratio R = 5. At R = 2.5, the modified
JETLAG model makes good prediction for the weak jet. The predictions on the stronger jets at
R > 5 still give vertical rises larger than the experimental results.
Figure 4 shows the results at Fr = 5.5. The jets are still very buoyant though not as highly buoyant
as in Figure 3. The first region of forward flow is longer. Similar to Figure 3, the jet trajectory
and spreading are well predicted by JETLAG at the velocity ratio R = 5. At R = 2.5, the modified
JETLAG model makes good prediction for the weak jet. The predictions on the stronger jets at
R > 5 still give vertical rises larger than the experimental results.
The results at Fr = 8.3 are shown in Figure 5. The lower buoyancy of jet effluent results in
backward bending of the jet by the counterflow with smaller vertical rise. The JETLAG predictions

346
Figure 5. Mean LIF concentration field and JETLAG predictions, Fr = 8.3, at different R: (a) 2.5; (b) 5;
(c) 7.5; (d) 15. Solid lines: JETLAG; broken lines: modified JETLAG; symbols: image processing.

Figure 6. Mean LIF concentration field and JETLAG predictions, Fr = 11, at different R: (a) 2.5; (b) 5;
(c) 7.5; (d) 15. Solid lines: JETLAG; broken lines: modified JETLAG; symbols: image processing.

347
Figure 7. Location of penetration point (xp , yp ): LIF results and JETLAG predictions.

are better at all velocity ratios as compared with the more buoyant jets in the two previous figures.
The best prediction is still achieved at R = 5. It is also noted that unlike the more buoyant jets, the
modified JETLAG model makes better predictions at R > 5 here.
Figure 6 shows the results of the least buoyant jets at Fr = 11. The JETLAG models, especially
the modified version, make good predictions of the jet trajectories and jet widths at all velocity
ratios. This is consistent with the much smaller vertical rise of the jet when it is being bent backwards
by the counterflow.
An important parameter of the spreading of a jet in a counterflow is the location of the penetration
point. Figure 7 show how the axial and vertical locations of the penetration point (xp , yp ) depends
on R and Fr. The predictions by JETLAG are shown for comparison. It is evident from the results
of yp at that both versions of JETLAG predicts higher vertical locations of penetration than the
LIF results. Results of axial penetration distance shows that while the predictions of the original
JETLAG model match the LIF data for the highly buoyant jets, the modified JETLAG version
makes better predictions for the less buoyant jets. As for the effect of R, both models make good
predictions on weak jets. In general, the predictions become poorer at higher values of R.

5 CONCLUDING REMARKS

Spreading of a buoyant jet into a counter-flowing ambient flow stream is studied by LIF measure-
ment made in towed jet experiments. Buoyancy of jet effluent results in a vertical rise of the jet
as it is being bent backwards into the counterflow. Integral model prediction of jet trajectory and
jet width is made with the original model as well as a modified version. The results are compared
with the data from the LIF results. It is found that in general, the predictions are reasonably good at
smaller velocity ratio up to R = 5. At R > 5, the model prediction generally gives a larger vertical
rise than the LIF data.
The original JETLAG model predict well the jet spreading of highly buoyant jets at the two lower
values of Fr being studied; Fr = 3.3 and 5.5. For the less buoyant jets at the two higher values of Fr,
the modified version makes better prediction. It appears that the Lagrangian model needs further
improvement towards better prediction of integral jet behaviours in the near field of buoyant jet in
counterflow, especially for stronger jets.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The investigation is supported by a research grant awarded by the Research Grants Council of
Hong Kong (HKU7006/00E).

348
REFERENCES

Chan, C.H.C & Lam, K.M. 1998. Centreline velocity decay of a circular jet in a counterflowing stream. Physics
of Fluids, 10(3): 637–644.
Kwan, S.H. 1997. A study of the near-field characteristics of round jets discharged into waves. Ph.D. Thesis,
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London.
Lam, K.M. & Lee, W.Y. 2004. Trajectory and spreading of a buoyant jet in a counterflow. CD-Rom Proceedings,
11th International Symposium on Flow Visualization, Notre Dame, August 2004. Paper No. 184: 1–10.
Lam, K.M., Chan, C.H.C. & Lee, J.H.W. 2001. Penetration of a round buoyant jet into a counterflow. CD-Rom
Proceedings, 3rd International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics, Tempe, December 2001. Paper
199: 1–6.
Lee, J.H.W. & Cheung, V. 1990. Generalized Lagrangian model for buoyant jets in current. J. Envir. Engrg.,
ASCE 116(6): 1085–1106.
Lee, J.H.W., Cheung, V., Wang, W.P. & Cheung, S.K.B. 2000. Lagrangian modeling and visualization of rosette
outfall plumes. Proc. Hydroinformatics 2000, Iowa, July 2000 (CD-Rom).

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Observation on the vertical upward discharge of dense liquid into

the stagnant stratified ambient water

Bao-Shi Shiau
Department of Harbor and River Engineering, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung,
Taiwan, Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

Ben-Jue Tsai
Department of Harbor and River Engineering, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan

ABSTRACT: Experiments of the vertical round dense liquid discharging upward into the two-layer
stratified ambient water were conducted in the water tank. Dense liquid jet images were grabbed and
analyzed by using the digital image processing technique. The experiments were conducted in the
water tank. A laser power (300 mW) emits light which is introduced into a fiber and a cylindrical lens
is employed to create the light sheet to illuminate the observed dense liquid jet flow. A high speed
CCD (Charged-Coupled-Detector) is applied to grab the image of the dense liquid jet. The image
signals are digitized. They are processed and analyzed by the digital image skill in the personal
computer to obtain the dense liquid jet flow characteristics in the stratified water. The relations
among the dense liquid jet parameters, such as the initial densimetric Froude number (Fr ), terminal
height (Z√ m ), final width (W ), and spread velocity of the dense liquid current are reported. Here
Fr = U0 / gρD/ρa , U0 is the initial jet velocity; D is the orifice diameter; ρ = ρi − ρa ; ρi is the
density of the dense liquid; ρa is the ambient coastal water density. Observational results reveal that
the linear log–log relations between the dense liquid jet terminal height and the jet initial densimetric
Froude number exist for the various two-layer density stratification (ε  = (hL /hu )(ρL /ρu )) cases of
ambient waters. Here hL is the depth of lower layer water; hu is the depth of upper layer water;
ρL is the density of lower layer water; ρu is the density of upper layer water. The linear log–log
relations between the final width of the dense liquid jet and the initial densimetric Froude number
for different stratification cases also exist.

1 INTRODUCTION

In Taiwan, many dense waste liquids from industrial plants or brine from distillation plants are
discharged directly into the coastal water. The coastal water is sometimes two-layer stratification.
All the dense waste liquids or brine are heavier than the fresh water or sea water, and they are called
dense liquid. Discharging of these kinds of dense liquids usually result in coastal water pollution.
The discharges of dense liquids to ambient water form the negative buoyant jet. In general, the
characteristics of spread and diffusion of the negative buoyant jet are quite different from that of the
traditional buoyant jet. Therefore, it is necessary to study the characteristics of spread and diffusion
of the dense liquids.
Classical literature reviews on the jet and plume are like of List (1982), and Chen and Rodi
(1980). The study of negative buoyant jet was firstly seen in Turner (1966). He adopted a simple
theoretical approach to analyze the behavior ot the vertical negative buoyant jet in the stagnant
water. James et al. (1983) and Roberts and Toms (1987) conducted experiments on the study of
the negative buoyant jet in the homogeneous ambient water. The relevant experimental studies on
the simulation of discharges of heavy fluids in the marine environment were conducted by using
jet discharging into the stratified fluid with the cross flow. In the experimental works of Koh et al.

351
(1973), and Wright (1977) they all used the camera to take pictures of dye observation and sketched
the jet trajectory and boundaries free hand from the photos. Their methods are rather hard work
and somehow too rough for determining the jet centerline and its boundary. For the recent years,
the optical instruments and digital image analysis techniques have a great progress. Ferrier et al.
(1993), Nash et al. (1995), Lam and Chan (1995) were some typical studies who used optical
technique to study the plumes in a stratified fluids. Chen et al. (1992), Tokumaru and Dimotakis
(1995), and Stvens and Coates (1994) were typical studies that employed the digital image process
techniques to investigate the flow field of the jet.
To avoid the shortcomings of the previous studies, the present study employs the optical instru-
ments and digital image analysis technique to investigate the dense liquid jet discharging vertically
into a two-layer stratified water which is to simulate the discharges of brine liquid into the stratified
coastal water. The CCD (Charged Coupled Detector) will be used to grab the image of negative
buoyant jet that is lightened by the laser light sheet. Different runs of discharging of various
densimetric Froude number and two-layer density stratification ambient waters would be per-
formed to measure the spread and concentration of the negative buoyant jet of the dense liquid
discharge.

2 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

The experiments were conducted in the water tank. A laser power (300 mW) emits light that is
introduced into a fiber and a cylindrical lens is employed to create the light sheet to illuminate the
observed jet flow. A high speed CCD (Charged-Coupled-Detector) is applied to grab the image of
the dense liquid jet. The image signals are digitized. They are processed and analyzed by the digital
image skill in the personal computer to obtain the negative buoyant jet flow characteristics in the
stratified water.
Measurements were carried out in a towing water tank that is 60 cm by 60 cm and 100 cm long.
A quick method for continuously filling the linear density stratified fluid in the towing flume
developed by Shiau and Hong (1996) is used. The dense liquid discharges vertically upward in the
two-layer stratified ambient water.
A 300 mW laser power was operated in multi-line mode (457 nm to 514.5 nm) in order to have
the maximum energy to be available. The light beam diameter is 0.82 mm, and beam divergence is
0.78 mrd. The light was introduced through the fiber and incorporated with a cylindrical lens
to generate a light sheet of 2 mm thick. Light intensity distribution in the sheet is Gaussian.
A high-speed CCD camera of the DALSA, IA-D1-0256 is used to grab the image of jet flow.
The camera has 8-bit image resolution, and exposure time is 4.5 milli-second. The CORECO
OCULUS-F/64 digital image card is used to digitize the image taken from the CCD. Each frame
of image is digitized into 256 × 256 pixels. Each pixel is with a brightness of 8-bit resolution.
The maximum sampling rate for the image card is 229 frames per second. The image is digitized
and stored in TIFF Class G-gray level format. The brightness ranges is from 0 to 255 level of
gray-scale.
For measurement of the jet concentration, the titanium dioxide (TiO2 ) was added in the discharge
water. Concentration calibration of the discharge water was done by SPECTRONIC GENESYS
5 spectrophotometer of Milton Roy Corporation. To obtain the maximum measurement, the
wavelength is set about 280 nm.
The time interval for grabbing each image frame depends upon the time scales of the dis-
charging jet and ambient water motion. The time interval should be larger than the time scale of
discharging jet Dj /Uj . And the experimental observational time period also should be longer
than the time scale of the main flow H /U0 (H is the water depth). Lam and Chan (1995)
also pointed out that in accordance with such time criteria, it may ensure the effect of the
secondary flow in the flume that should be smoothed out. In the present experiments, both
of the time intervals of grabbed image and observational time period are satisfied with these
requirements.

352
3 OBSERVATIONAL RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS

The experimental measurements of image for the dense liquid jet were grabbed, and the images are
averaged. An example of the averaged image for the dense liquid jet discharging vertically into the
homogeneous ambient coastal water is shown in Fig.1.
In the present experiments, effects of the parameters of initial densimetric Froude number Fr,
and density stratification of two-layer ambient water ε  on the characteristic parameters of the dense
liquid jet are investigated. Digital image analysis techniques are employed to analyze √ the exper-
imental images. Here the initial densimetric Froude number is defined as: Fr = U0 / gρD/ρa ,
and density stratification is defined as ε = (hL /hu )(ρL /ρu ). Here U0 is the initial jet velocity; D is
the orifice diameter; ρ = ρi − ρa ; ρi is the density of the dense liquid; ρa is the ambient coastal
water density. For the two-layer density stratification of ambient water, hL is the depth of lower
layer water; hu is the depth of upper layer water; ρL is the density of lower layer water; ρu is the
density of upper layer water.
Four different diameters of orifice with D = 0.096 cm, 0.14 cm, 0.3 cm, and 0.5 cm are adopted
in the experiments. Density stratification of the two-layer ambient water, is chosen as ε = 1.2500,
1.2875, 1.3125, and 1.3750. Dense liquid discharge is with density of 1.13 g/cm3 , and 1.15 g/cm3 .
The initial densimetric Froude number is in the range of 1 to 100 for the experiments.
Images of the dense liquid discharge in the two-layer stratified water were taken and stored in
digital form. The images were processed by using the digital image technique. Averaging of the
grabbed image frames would yield the average image of dense liquid discharge such as Fig. 1.
According the typical average image of the dense liquid jet shown in Fig. 1, the schematic
diagram of the dense liquid jet shown in Fig. 2 depicts some characteristic parameters of the dense
liquid jet, such as the terminal height Zm , final width of the jet W , and the spread velocity of the
dense liquid current along the wall V when it drops down the wall.

Figure 1. Example of the averaged image for the dense liquid jet discharging vertically into the homogeneous
ambient water.

W
Zm

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the dense liquid jet in the two-layer stratified water.

353
 10000

1000
ZmLmLq/D3

100

10
ε'=1.25
ε'=1.2875
ε'=1.3125
ε'=1.375
1
1 10 100
Fr

Figure 3. Relations between the terminal height and initial densimetric Froude number for various two-layer
density stratification cases.

Table 1. Relations between the Zm and Fr .

Two-layer density stratification Terminal height of the heavy liquid jet

ε  = 1.2500 ln(Zm Lm Lq /D3 ) = 2.054 ln (Fr ) + 0.564

ε  = 1.2875 ln(Zm Lm Lq /D3 ) = 2.023 ln (Fr ) + 0.248
ε  = 1.3125 ln(Zm Lm Lq /D3 ) = 1.970 ln (Fr ) + 0.561
ε  = 1.3750 ln(Zm Lm Lq /D3 ) = 1.741 ln (Fr ) + 0.650

3.1 Terminal height and initial densimetric Froude number

The log–log relations between the terminal height and initial densimetric Froude number for various
two-layer density stratification cases are plotted and shown in Fig. 3.
In Fig. 3 the terminal height is properly scaled by the characteristic length scale of Lm , Lq ,
and D. Here the Lm and Lq are the dense liquid jet specific momentum and specific buoyancy
length scales, respectively. They are defined as: Lm = M 3/4 /B1/2 , and Lq = Q/M 1/2 · M is specific
momentum, M = Q × U0 · B is the specific buoyancy, B = Q × g(ρi − ρa )/ρa · Q is the discharge,
Q = (πD2 ) × U0 /4. The range the initial densimetric Froude number in the experiments is from 1
to 100.
The results present that the linear log–log relations between the terminal height and initial
densimetric Froude number for various cases of two-layer density stratified coastal waters exist.
Table 1 lists the equations. It is seen from the Figure 3 that the log–log relations lines apart from
each other as the initial densimetric Froude number increases.
The results present that the linear log–log relations between the terminal height and initial
densimetric Froude number for various cases of two-layer density stratified coastal waters exist.
Table 1 lists the equations. It is seen from the Figure 3 that the log–log relations lines apart from
each other as the initial densimetric Froude number increases.

3.2 Final width and initial densimetric Froude number

As the jet reached the terminal height, then it dropped down and attached the wall. The final width
of the dense liquid jet W, is measured from one side of the jet attached the wall to the other side of
the jet attached the wall (refer to Fig. 2).

354
 10000

1000
WLmLq/D3

100

10
ε'=1.25
ε'=1.2875
ε'=1.3125
ε'=1.375

1
1 10 100
Fr

Figure 4. Relations between the final width and initial densimetric Froude number for different two-layer
density stratification cases.

Table 2. Relations between the W and Fr .

Two-layer density stratification Final width of the heavy liquid jet

ε = 1.2500 ln(WLm Lq /D3 ) = 1.735 ln (Fr ) + 0.748

ε = 1.2875 ln(WLm Lq /D3 ) = 1.830 ln (Fr ) + 0.120
ε = 1.3125 ln(WLm Lq /D3 ) = 1.715 ln (Fr ) + 0.073
ε = 1.3750 ln(WLm Lq /D3 ) = 1.508 ln (Fr ) + 0.037

The relations between the final width and the initial densimetric Froude number for different
two-layer density stratification cases are plotted and shown in Fig. 4. It is seen that there exist the
linear log–log relations between these two parameters for all density stratification cases. The linear
log–log relations are in equation forms and listed in Table 2.

3.3 Spread velocity of the dense liquid current along the wall
As the jet attached the wall, it spreads radically and forms the current moving along the wall. The
relations between the spread velocity of the dense liquid current and the jet initial densimetric
Froude number for different ambient two-layer density stratification cases are presented as Fig. 5.
The density of discharged dense liquid is 1.15 g/cm3 . And diameter of the orifice is 0.5 cm.
Results indicate that the spread velocity of the dense liquid current decreases as the initial
densimetric Froude number increases for all cases of the two-layer density stratification.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Experiments of the vertical round dense liquid discharging into the two-layer stratified ambient
water were conducted in the water tank. Dense liquid jet images were grabbed and analyzed by
using the digital image processing technique. The relations among the dense liquid jet parameters,
such as the initial densimetric Froude number, terminal height, final width, and spread velocity of
the dense liquid current are reported. Results show that the linear log–log relations between the
dense liquid jet terminal height (Zm ) and the jet initial densimetric Froude number (Fr ) exist for the

355
 0.2

0.16

V 0.12
U0

0.08

0.04

0
2 4 6 8 10
Fr

Figure 5. Relations between the spread velocity along the wall and the jet initial densimetric Froude number
for different ambient two-layer density stratification cases.

various two-layer density stratification (ε ) cases of ambient coastal waters. The final width (W )
of the dense liquid jet and the initial densimetric Froude number (Fr ) also has the same results of
the linear log–log relations for different stratification cases.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors express their thanks to the National Science Council, Taiwan for the financial support
under the grant NSC92-2611-E019-021.

REFERENCES

Chen, C.J., Kim, Y.G., and Walter, J.A., 1992. Progress in quantitative flow visualization and imaging Process.
Atlas of Visualization: Progress in Visualization, 1, 279–295.
CHEN, C.J., and RODI, W., 1980. Vertical Turbulent Buoyant Jets, A Review of Experimental Data. Pergamon,
Ferrier, A.J., Funk, D.R., and Roberts, P.J.W., 1993. Application of optical techniques to the study of plumes
in stratified fluids. Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans, 20, 155–183.
James, W.P., Vergara I., and Kim, K., 1983. Dilution of a dense vertical jet. Journal of Environmental
Engineering, ASCE, 109(6), 1273–1283.
Lam, K.M., and Chan, H.C., 1995. Investigation of turbulent jets issuing into a counter-flowing stream using
digital image processing. Experiments in Fluids, 18(3), 210–212.
List, E.J., 1982. Turbulent jets and plumes. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, 14, 189–212.
Nash, J.D., Jirka, G.H., and Chen, D., 1995. “Large scale planer induced fluorescence in turbulent density-
stratified flows,” Experiments in Fluids, 19, 297–304.
Roberts, P.J.W., and Toms, G., 1987. Inclined dense jets in flowing current. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering,
ASCE, 113(3), 323–341.
Shiau, B.S., and Hong, C.J., 1999. Digital image investigation on the short term fate of offshore discharges of
produced water. Proceedings of the ninth International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference (Brest,
France) pp. 402–405.
Stevens, C., and Coates, M., 1994. Application of a maximized cross-correlation technique for resolving
velocity fields in laboratory experiments. Journal of Hydraulic Research, 32(2), 195–212.
Tokumaru, P.T., and Dimotakis, P.E., 1995. Image correlation velocimetry. Experiments in Fluids, 19, 1–15.
Turner, J.S., 1966. Jets and plumes with negative or reversing buoyancy. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 26,
779–792.

356
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Spreading and mixing characteristics of a round jet in co-flow

Tang Hongwu & Xiao Yang

College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, HoHai University, Nanjing, China

Hua Ming
Shanghai Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project Head Office, Shanghai, China

ABSTRACT: In this paper, the new measuring system, including Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter
(ADV) technique, Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) technique and Laboratory Virtual Instrument
(Labview) technique, are employed to measure the quantitative time-averaged and turbulent velocity
fields and scalar concentration fields of a round jet issuing into a co-flowing current. The spreading
and mixing characteristics of a round jet in a co-flow are discussed and compared with previous
works. The experimental results not only demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of the new meas-
uring system but provide the basis for understanding a round jet in a counter-flow and wave flow.

1 INTRODUCTION

Round jets issuing into the stagnant or flowing circumstance are frequently occurred in atmosphere,
river, lake and coast water. Examples include industrial waste gas issuing into atmosphere, volcano
eruption, all kinds of waste water issuing into river, lake and coast water, and so on. Thus, the
investigations of characteristics of jets are very important for industrial and municipal outfall project
design and environment protection. Within several decades, many analytical and experimental
investigations have been given to a turbulent round jets issuing into the stagnant and flowing
circumstance because of their wide range of industrial applications and fundamental significance
as basic flows in turbulence research. According to the direction between jet and ambient velocity,
the jet is divided into four possible types: A jet in stagnant circumstance, in co-flow, in counter-
flow and in cross-flow respectively. For a round jet discharging into a stagnant ambient, the mean,
turbulent velocity fields and scalar concentration fields have been well studied (Ricou & Spalding
1961), (Wygnanski & Fiedlerh 1969), (Hussein et al. 1994), (Chu 1996), (Sangras et al. 2002),
(Wang & Davidson 2003). For a round jet issuing into the flowing environment, their spreading and
mixing characteristics have been the subject of numerous investigations for the past few decades
(Antonia & Bilger 1974), (Nickels & Perry 1996), (Lam & Chan 1997), (Chu et al. 1999), (Lee
et al. 1999), (Pun et al. 2000), (Agrawal & Prasad 2003).
Moreover, along with the development of the flow measuring techniques, many new experimental
techniques are applied to measure the velocity and scalar fields of jets in recent several decades
(Arcoumanis et al. 1990), (Hussein et al. 1994), (Lemoine et al. 1996), (Melton & Lipp 2003). It
is still interesting on using the new experimental techniques to investigate the important turbulent
flow because these experimental techniques are convenient or less cost or can improve the accuracy
and reliability of investigation results. On the other hand, it is valuable to select some typical jet
flows, which their characteristics are well established, to demonstrate the accuracy and reliability
of the new experimental techniques.
In this paper, we set up firstly the ADV automatic measuring and analyzing system (Tang &
Xiao 2003) and the LIF flow visualization and concentration field measuring system (Tang & Xiao
2003), (Xiao & Tang 2003). Thereafter, a round jet issuing into co-flow is selected as the typical flow
because its spreading and mixing characteristics are well investigated and it is a basis to investigate

357
a round jet discharging into counter-flow and wave flow. Detailed velocity and scalar concentration
fields are obtained using the two systems and the results of this experimental investigation are
compared with that of the previous works.

2 EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS

The experiment were carried out in a 6-m long, 0.2-m wide, and 0.3-m high laboratory flume (as
shown in Fig. 1). The head of flume connects with equalizing tank. The flow flux is measured
by an acoustic Doppler flowmeter in the intake pipe with a precision of 0.25∼0.5%. Water depth
is measured by a point gauge of water level that can freely slip on the flume with a precision of
0.1 mm. The jet is discharged from a horizontally positioned circular nozzle fed from a constant
head tank that its diameter is 8 mm. The coordinate original point is the center point of nozzle and
the x direction is consistent with the direction of jet velocity where the z direction point to upper
and the y direction is affirmed by the right-hand rule.
ADV system consisting of ADV, automatic position frame, stepping motor, stepping motor data
controlling driver, PCL-839 card, computer with two ISA plug slots, and controlling and data
analysis software (compiled by Labview language) was employed to measure the velocity field. In
the measurement, the measuring and locating of ADV can be automatically finished. Thereby, the
time for velocity fields measuring can be largely abbreviated and the accuracy and reliability of
data can be improved (Tang & Xiao 2003).
The concentration scalar measurements using LIF system were performed with a laser sheet,
1.6 mm thickness, produced from a 3.5-W argon-ion laser by a cylindrical lens. The laser sheet was
directed to form the water level sheet or vertical sheet to illuminate a horizontal longitudinal section
of the flow containing the jet central axis or a vertical cross section respectively. Water issuing from
nozzle is mixing completely with Rhodamine 6G, a fluorescence dye can be excited by the argon-ion

18
1 20 10 2
9

11 3
4

5
7

17 6
19 13
z
14
12
16
15 x
y

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of laboratory plume, LIF, ADV system and jet discharge system. 1-flume;
2-flowmeter; 3-direction of ambient flow; 4-tail gate; 5-twisted column; 6-Doppler flowmeter; 7-intake pipe
(connected to the equalizing tank); 8-constant head tank; 9-jet; 10-nozzle; 11-CCD camera; 12-argon ion
laser; 13-semi-cylinder lens; 14-monitor; 15-video tape recorder; 16-computer; 17-sheet light; 18-ADV;
19-computer.

358
laser light. The intensity of fluorescence at each point corresponding to the concentration in image
was calibrated before LIF experiment.
LIF images were collected by a Discover-888c CCD and were captured into computer memory
by a Canada Matrox II image grabber card with which sampling frequency is 25 Hz. Images of
resolution 640 × 480 × 8 bits and 256 gray grades can be obtained. The image analysis software
is compiled using Visual C++ language. The detailed setup of ADV system and LIF system were
described in (Tang & Xiao 2003) and are shown in Fig. 1.

3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

When the direction between u0 and ua is same, a co-flow jet is formed, where u0 is the jet velocity,
ua is the ambient velocity of co-flowing. The previous investigations show that, when a round jet
issuing into the co-flow, three distinct flow regions are formed namely the zone of flow establishment
(the potential core region), the transition region and the zone of established flow as shown in Fig. 2.
Within the zone of flow establishment (ZFE), the flow behavior is similar to the flow at the end of
nozzle exit and there exists the potential core region that its velocity is equal to u0 . In the zone of
established flow, the transection profiles of mean velocity and concentration are self-similar and
approximately Gaussian profile.
In this paper, the investigations are emphasized on the ZFE due to its importance in the trans-
porting and mixing behavior of jets. The ZFE and the transition region are ignored. Experiments
was carried out with several jet-to-current velocity ratios ranging from u0 /ua = 5 − 10 where ua is
6 cm/s. The jet Reynolds number ranged from 2393–4786.

3.1 Mean properties

The radial profiles of mean velocity at different x are shown in Fig. 3 where x = 2.7, 9.2, 19.2,
29.2, 38.2, 45.2 and 50.2 cm respectively. Figure 3 show that, with the increasing of x, namely
measuring location far from the nozzle, the centerline velocity decreases, the velocity profile tends
to be flatness and the jet width increases. This phenomenon reveals that, along with downstream
spreading of jet, the more ambient fluid is drawn into jet induced by the discrepancy of velocity
between jet and its surrounding environment. As a result, the flow flux increases and the momentum
decreases. Finally, the jet velocity is equal to the co-flowing velocity and the jet is diluted completely.
Figure 4 shows the radial profile of normalized mean excess velocity against the normalized
radial distance, where ue = u − ua is the excess velocity, uem = um − ua is the centerline excess
velocity, r is the radial distance from the centerline of jet, bg is the velocity half-width defined

uem
ua ue

u0
Jet boundary
ua
Jet nozzle Potential core B
bg
D
u
Transition zone Gaussian

Zone of flow Zone of

establishment established flow

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of a round jet in co-flow.

359
 1.5
x D
ue 3.375
x uem 11.5
u 2.7 24
9.2 1.0 36.5
40 47.75
19.2 56.5
29.2 62.75
38.2 0.5 Gauss
20 45.2
50.2

0.0
0 -3 -2 -1 r bg 1 2 3
r
-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8
Figure 4. Measured radial profile of mean
Figure 3. Radial profile of mean velocity at different x. excess velocity.

100
x-1
Experiment data
Nickels' data
10
uem
ua

1
x-2/3

0.1
0.1 1 x l*m 10 100

Figure 5. Decay of centerline velocity against downstream distance.

by the radial location at which ue = e−1 uem , D is the diameter of nozzle. It is seen that the radial
distribution of dimensionless mean excess velocity is self-similar overlapping to Gaussian curve
at the different downstream location and can be described as ue /uem = exp{−(r/bg )2 }. The similar
results have been obtained by many different investigators (Wygnanski & Fiedlerh 1969), (Antonia
& Bilger 1974), (Chu 1996), (Chu et al. 1999).
Figure 5 represents decay of centerline velocity against downstream distance, where lm∗ =
1/2
Me /Ua is excess momentum length scale. It can be seen that the present experimental data are
agree with previous studies and follow closely the asymptotic relation in the strong jet region, uem =
7.0Me1/2 x−1 , as well as the −2/3 law in the weak region, uem = 2.67Me1/2 x−2/3 .
Figure 6 shows the instantaneous and time-averaged concentration measurement of a round jet
using the LIF system in which u0 = 40 cm/s, ua = 4 cm/s, u0 /ua = 10. In this system, the longitudi-
nal and cross-section concentration profile can be easily obtained. The cross-section time-averaged
concentration distributions at different x locations are shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. The results show
that the radial profile of time-averaged concentration is self-similar and appears to be Gaussian
can be expressed as C/Cm = exp{−(r/bgc )2 }, where C is the measured concentration, Cm is the
max centerline concentration, bgc is the concentration half-width defined by the radial location at
which C = e−1 Cm and bgc = λbg = 1.16 bg (λ ≈ 1.2 in (Chu 1996)).
The centerline dilution Sc = C0 /C is an important parameter to predict the mixing extent of
jet, where C0 is the initial concentration and C is the centerline concentration. The normalized
measured centerline dilution Sc R /(1 − R ) is plotted against the normalized distance x/lm∗ in Fig. 9,

360
Figure 6. The instantaneous and time-averaged image of jet measuring by LIF system.

0.09

0.08

0.07
x/D = 0 x/D = 2.5 x/D = 8.75 x/D = 15.0
0.06

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

x/D = 23.75 x/D = 36.25 x/D = 48.75 0.00

Figure 7. The transecting time-averaged concentration distribution at different x locations.

2.0 1.5
x/D ScR' /(1-R')
c 0
cm 1.2
1.5 2.5
8.75
15 0.9
23.75
1.0 36.25
48.75 0.6 Experiment
Gauss Theory line
0.5 Chu (1996)
0.3
r / bgc x l*
m
0.0 0
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 0 2 4 6 8

Figure 8. The cross-section concentration Figure 9. Centerline dilution against downstream

distribution. distance.

361
where R = ua /u0 is ambient to jet velocity ratio. The result is almost same with the data of
(Chu 1996) and has well agreement with the theory equation obtained by dimensional analysis.

3.2 Mixing processes

The turbulent statistics measured in around jet in a co-flowing ambient fluid using ADV system
are shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, in which u0 = 60 cm/s, ua = 6 cm/s, u0 /ua = 10. Figure 10 shows
the cross-section distribution of turbulent intensity (Root-Mean-Square (RMS) data) at different
downstream locations. It can be seen that, in this region near the nozzle, the turbulent intensity is
self-similar at some extent and its peak value is about 0.25 as the r/bg = 0.7 and the similar results
are obtained by (Davidson & Wang 2002).
In the light of the streamwise distribution of turbulent intensity (RMS-X, RMS-Y, RMS-Z) on
the jet centerline (are shown in Fig. 11), it appears that the magnitude of RMS-X is everywhere
larger than RMS-Y and RMS-Z, which agrees well with the results of (Wygnanski & Fiedlerh
1969) and (Antoine et al. 2001), in spite of the significant differences in the measured values. The
results suggest that the kinetic energy is first transferred from the mean motion to the longitudinal
turbulent velocity and is redistributed to the radial and azimuthal turbulent velocity. On the other
hand, after x/D > 12, the turbulent intensity presents the status of steady decay. This phenomenon
also implies that the velocity discrepancy between the jet and ambient fluid decreases gradually.

1.5
x D
ui
2
3.375 11.5
1.0 u
24 36.5
47.75 56.5
62.75
0.5

0.0

r / bg
-0.5
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Figure 10. The cross-section distribution of turbulent intensity.

0.3

ui
2 RMS-X
RMS-Y
u0 RMS-Z
0.2

0.1

x D

0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Figure 11. The streamwise distribution of turbulent intensity on jet centerline.

362
4 CONCLUSIONS

Comprehensive characteristics of mean and turbulent velocity fields and scalar concentration fields
in a round jet in co-flow are investigated combining with the LIF technique, the ADV technique and
Labview technique. Experimental results agree well with the previous works. The mean velocity and
concentration fields, which provide the information of the spread and dilution of jet in the ambient
current, show that the cross-section distributions of velocity and concentration are self-similar and
appear to be Gaussian in the ZFE. As the non-dimensional distance from the nozzle increases, the
jet is diluted because the ambient fluid is drown into the jet and the relation between the dilution and
the non-dimensional distance is linear. The turbulent velocity distribution presenting the mixing
process of jet show the turbulent intensity is self-similar at some extent near the nozzle and the
kinetic energy is first transferred from the mean motion to the longitudinal turbulent velocity and
is redistributed to the radial and azimuthal turbulent velocity. The experimental results demonstrate
that the new measuring system is accurate and reliable to study a round jet in co-flow and can be
applied to next studies.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The writers acknowledge the financial support of National Natural Science Foundation of China
(NNSFC) on projects of No.59779021.

REFERENCES

Agrawal, A. and A. K. Prasad (2003). Integral Solution for the Mean Flow Profiles of Turbulent Jets, Plumes,
and Wakes. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 125(5): p. 813–822.
Antonia, R. A. and R. W. Bilger (1974). Prediction of The Axisymmetric Turbulent Jet Issuing into a
co-flowing Stream. Aeronautical Quarterly. 251: p. 69–80.
Antoine, Y., F. Lemoine, and M. Lebouche (2001). Turbulent transport of a passive scalar in a round jet
discharging into a co-flowing stream. European Journal of Mechanics – B/Fluids, 20(2): p. 275–301.
Arcoumanis, C., J. Mcguirk, and J. Palma (1990). On the Use of Fluorescent Dyes for Concentration
Measurements in Water Flows. Experiments in Fluids, 10: p. 177–180.
Chu, P. C. K. (1996). Mixing of turbulent advected line puffs. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong.
Chu, P. C. K., J. H. Lee, et al. (1999). Spreading of Turbulent Round Jet in Coflow. Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering 125(2): 193–204.
Davidson, M. J. and H. J. Wang (2002). Strongly Advected Jet in a Coflow. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
128: 742–752.
Hussein, H. J., S. P. Capp, et al. (1994). Velocity measurements in a high-Reynolds-number, momentum-
conserving, axisymmetric, turbulent jet. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 258: 31–75.
Lam., K. M. and H. C. Chan (1997). Round Jet In Ambient Counterflowing Stream. Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering 123(10): 895–904.
Lee, J. H. W., L. Li, et al. (1999). Semianalytical Self-Similar Solution of Bent-Over Jet in Cross-Flow. Journal
of Engineering Mechanics 125(7): 733–746.
Lemoine, F., M. Wolff, et al. (1996). Simultaneous Concentration and Velocity Measurement Using Com-
bined Laser-Induced Fluorescence and Laser Doppler Velocimetry: Application to Turbulent Transport.
Experiments in Fluids 20: 319–327.
Melton, L. A. and C. W. Lipp (2003). Criteria for Quantitative LIF Experiments Using High-Power Lasers.
Experiments in Fluids 35: 310–316.
Nickels, T. B. and A. E. Perry (1996). Experimental and Theoretical Study of The Turbulent Coflowing Jet.
Journal of Fluid Mechanics 309: 157–182.
Pun, K. L., M. J. Davidson, et al. (2000). Merging jets in a coflowing ambient fluid – a hybrid approach.
Journal of Hydraulic Research/De Recherches Hydrauliques 38(2): 105–114.
Ricou, F. P. and D. B. Spalding (1961). Measurements of entrainment by axisymmetrical turbulent jets. Journal
of Fluid Mechanics 11(Part 1): 21–32.

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Sangras, R., O. C. Kwon, et al. (2002). Self-Preserving Properties of Unsteady Round Nonbuoyant Turbulent
Starting Jets and Puffs in Still Fluids. Journal of Heat Transfer 124(3): 460–469.
Tang, H. and Y. Xiao (2003). The Acoustic-Doppler Velocimeter Automatic Measuring and Analyzing System.
Computer Measuring and Controlling 11: 651–654. (In Chinese)
Tang, H. and Y. Xiao (2003). Experimental Study on the Coherent Structure of the Turbulent Boundary Layer
in Open-Channel Flow. International Journal of Sediment Research. 18: 355–363.
Wang, H. J. and M. J. Davidson (2003). Jet Interaction in a StillAmbient Fluid. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
129(5): 349–357.
Wygnanski and Fiedlerh (1969). Some Measurements in The Self-Preserving Jet. Journal of Fluid Mech. 38(3):
577–612.
Xiao, Y. and H. Tang (2003). System of Plane Laser Induced Fluorescence And Its Application. Laser Journal.
24: 41–43. (In Chinese)

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3.2 Jets and plumes – II
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

LES of 2D and 3D vertical jets impinging on free surfaces

Y.P. Chen & C.W. Li

Department of Civil & Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HKSAR, China

C.K. Zhang
Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

ABSTRACT: A dynamic LES model is introduced to study the flow characteristics of a 2D slot
jet and a 3D round jet vertically impinging on free surfaces. The σ -coordinate transformation and
a split-operator finite difference scheme are employed in the computation of the instantaneous
velocity and pressure field. A Lagrange-Euler method is developed to compute the free surface
elevation. The results show that the free surface has little influence on the initial jet discharge region
where the mean velocity and turbulence intensity retain their self-similar properties. When the jet
approaches the free surface, the centerline velocity decreases rapidly and the flow is deflected by the
free surface and forms symmetrical horizontal surface jets. An approximate Guassian distribution
of super-elevation is formed on the free surface. The computed results are in agreement with the
available experimental data.

1 INTRODUCTION

The discharge of waste water into the ambient environment usually leads to the formation of
turbulent jet. In many cases, the jet is vertically arranged and capable of impinging on the free
surface when the surrounding water depth is shallow. Due to the complexity of the interaction
between the jet and free surface, the early theoretical and numerical research mostly focused on
the mean flow and turbulence characteristics of the jets in the self-similarity region and usually
neglected the free surface effect or treated the free surface as a rigid lid. Using the rigid lid
assumption, the hydrodynamic effect of the surface elevation will be converted to an increase
in pressure on the imaginary lid. Though the agreement between the numerical results and the
experimental data is qualitatively good (Li & Huai 1994), the drawbacks of this method are obvious.
One is that it artificially sets the vertical velocity to zero and thus the vertical movement near the
surface is definitely restricted. The other is that it is unable to describe the movement of the surface
super-elevation which may play an important role on the flow field near the surface.
For the numerical model, the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method was widely
used in the early research. Many turbulence models such as the mixing length model, the k-ε
model and the SSG pressure model had been used in the simulation of jet (e.g. Li & Huai 1994,
Younis et al. 1996). In recent years, the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) method, based on the
spatial filtered N-S equations, was developed in order to obtain the transitional characteristics of
the turbulence. The Smagorinsky model was always introduced to close the governing equations
but excessive dissipative was found when it was applied in simulating a plane jet (Ribault 1999).
A refined model, in which the eddy viscosity coefficient was dynamically determined (Germano,
et al. 1991), was proved to be efficient in eliminating such dissipation (Ribault 1999).
In this paper, the dynamic Large Eddy Simulation (LES) technique is introduced to study the
flow characteristics of a 2D slot jet and a 3D round jet vertically impinging on free surfaces.
A σ -coordinate transformation and a split-operator finite difference scheme are used to compute

367
the instantaneous velocity and pressure field. A Lagrange-Euler method is developed to calculate
the transient free surface elevation.

2 GOVERNING EQUATIONS

Denoting the space vector by xi , the velocity field by ui , the pressure by p, the kinematic vis-
cosity by ν, the density by ρ, the time by t and the spatially filtered variable by an overbar, the
three-dimensional, unsteady, incompressible, filtered continuity and Navier–Stokes equations are
written as,

where i = 1, 2, 3, and x1 ≡ x, x2 ≡ y, x3 ≡ z; u1 ≡ u, u2 ≡ v, u3 ≡ w. Rij is the sub-grid scale stress

tensor:

which can be decomposed into the sum of a trace-free tensor τij and a diagonal tensor Rkk :

Rkk can be absorbed into the pressure term of (2) while τij must be modeled in terms of the resolved
quantities. The Smagorinsky model is usually adopted as follows,

where νT is the eddy viscosity which is defined by,

whereCs is the Smagorinsky coefficient,  = (x1 x2 x3 )1/3 , xi is the grid size, and
|S| = 2Sij Sij is the magnitude of the large-scale strain-rate tensor. To dynamically determine
the value of Cs , a test filter is similarly applied to (1) and (2). Cs is assumed to be invariant
to the grid and the test filter. Based on the least squares approach, the coefficient Cs can be
obtained from:

368
 t
Here the test filter width  = k and the coefficient k can be optimized by some test computations.
According to the fully nonlinear kinematic equation, the governing equation for free surface
elevation can be yielded as,

Here the SGS terms generated from the spatial filtering the velocity with the elevation are neglected
because the elevation gradient induced by the jet impingent is assumed to be small.
Due to the fluctuation of the free surface, the instantaneous depths vary with space and time. In
order to regularly discretize the domain, a σ -coordinate is introduced,

where H = η + h. The above transformation basically maps the varying vertical coordinate in the
physical domain to a uniform transformed space where σ spans from 0 to 1. Lin & Li (2002) have
presented a detailed description on the σ -transformed governing equations as well as the boundary
conditions and the similar equations are used in this study.

3 NUMERICAL SCHEME & BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

3.1 Numerical scheme

An operator splitting method is used to numerically solve the governing equations. At each time
interval the momentum equations are split into three parts:

where A denotes the advection operator, D denotes the diffusion operator, and P denotes the pressure
gradient and body force operator.
In the Advection step, the equation to be solved is as follows,

where t is the time step size. The Minimax characteristics method (Li 1990) on non-uniform grid
is used to solve the above equation.
In the diffusion step, the equation to be solved is as follows,

In the pressure propagation step, the equation to be solved is as follows,

369
 The non-uniform central difference scheme is utilized to discretize the above two equations. For
the sake of fluid continuity, equation (1) must be satisfied. Substituting (15) to (1), the Poisson
pressure equation can be yielded as,

where ∇ 2 denotes the Laplace operator and S denotes the source item. The CGSTAB method
(Ferziger 1998) is used to solve the above equation. The method has been verified to be much
more robust and efficient than the traditional Gauss-Seidel method. Once the correct pressure
information is found at a new time step n + 1, it can be substituted into equation (15) to find the
velocity information at the time step n + 1.
For solving the elevation at the new time tn+1 , a Langrage-Euler method is developed. By
backward tracing the Lagrangian movement of a particle on the position of the grid node (xi , yj )
at tn+1 , the particle’s original position(X , Y ) at tn can be obtained from the following Lagrangian
displacement equations:

where tθ = tn + θ t is an intermediate point between tn and tn+1 , and θ is normally set to 0.5.
Based on Taylor series expansion, Equations (17) and (18) can be rewritten as,

The variable (X , Y ) can be easily solved based on numerical discretization of equations (19)
and (20). Assuming the particle in the element (I , J ) at tn , the original surface elevation ηXn ,Y is
obtained by interpolation of the corresponding grid node values in the element (I , J ). Applying the
Lagrangian displacement equation again, the surface elevation at tn+1 can be calculated from

3.2 Boundary conditions

At the bottom boundary, No-slip boundary condition with a log-law modification is adopted to
calculate the bottom stress. The radiation condition is applied at the streamwise and spanwise
outflow boundary to reduce the reflection at the artificial boundaries. At the jet nozzle boundary,
the velocity without perturbation is specified, viz., u = 0, v = 0 and w = W0 .

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In this study, a 2D slot jet and a 3D round jet vertically impinging on free surfaces are simulated
by the dynamic LES model. In the 2D case, the computational parameters used are in accordance
with the physical experiment of Kuang et al. (2001), where the jet velocity W0 is 1.33 m/s, the jet
width is 2 mm, and the still water depth is 0.26 mm. The flume length is reduced by 2.0 m to save

370
Figure 1. Computational grid in xz-plane.

250 250

200 200

150 150
z(mm) z(mm)
100 100

50 50

0 0
-250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 250 -250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 250
x(mm) x(mm)

Figure 2. Snapshow of instantaneous flow field Figure 3. Mean flow field averaged from 5 s
at t = 2. to 20 s.
1 12
Numerical results
0.8
Experimental data
0.6 8
Wc/W0 w1/2/d
0.4
4
0.2 Numerical results

0 Experimental data
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
0 20 40 60 80 100
z/d z/d

Figure 4. Comparison of Wc and w1/2 between the numerical results and experimental data.

the computational cost. A 201 × 4 × 61 mesh is used with the grid refinement in the center of the
jet and near the bottom (Fig. 1). The total computational time is 20 s and the time step is 0.0002 s.
In this situation, the flow is purely generated by the vertical jet. Since no velocity fluctuation is
imposed at the jet entry, the flow is initially laminar. It gradually becomes unstable after traveling
a short distance and starts to fluctuate. When approaching the water surface, it is deflected and
split into two horizontal jets. Turbulent entrainment occurs beneath the horizontal jets to retard the
motion and some large scale recirculation eddies are formed beneath the jets. The snapshot of the
flow field on the xz-plane at t = 20 s is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 3 shows the mean flow field averaged from 5 s to 20 s. It can be seen that the flow field is
symmetrical in the vertical central x-z (or x-σ ) plane. The jet spreads self-similarly in the established
flow zone with entrainment of ambient water. It is gradually deflected towards the two sides when
reaching the surface. The flow performs like a surface jet near the surface and the reversed flow
forms near the bottom to supply the entrained water to the jet impingement.
Figure 4 shows that the mean velocity Wc and jet half-width w1/2 along the centerline are good
agreement between the numerical results and the experimental data from Kuang et al. (2001).

371
 15
Mean elevation
10 t=5s
t=10s
5 t=15s
η(mm) t=20s
0

-5

-10
-300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300
x(mm)

Figure 5. Mean and instantaneous surface elevations at t = 5 s, 10 s, 15 s, 20 s

0.2486r 0.7071r
1.0r
0 0.4872r

Figure 6. xy-plane grid in the round jet orifice.

Figure 7. Three-dimensional mean surface elevation profile.

The time-averaged and instantaneous surface elevation at t = 5 s, 10 s, 15 s and 20 s are shown

in Figure 5. It can be seen that the surface elevation profile follows the Guassian distribution quite
well. The maximum elevation is 5.2 mm, which is reasonable with reference to the value of 3.9 mm
from the empirical formula proposed by Huai (2002b).
In the 3D case, the jet velocity W0 is set to 0.60 m/s, the jet diameter is 2 cm, and the still water
depth is 0.60 m. To ensure the jet discharge in the staggered grid equivalent to the circle one, the
xy-plane grid is non-uniformly arranged in the round jet orifice (Fig. 6).

372
 The numerical results show that the instantaneous and the mean flow fields of the 3D round
jet are similar with the 2D slot jet. The symmetrical figure is stereoscopic like a trumpet. The
approximate Guassian distribution super-elevation is also found on the free surface (Fig. 7). The
maximum elevation is 2.2 mm, which is reasonably close to the value of 1.4 mm from the empirical
formula proposed by Huai (2002a).

5 CONCLUSIONS

A LES model has been developed to simulate 2D slot jet and 3D round jet impinging on free
surfaces. The computational results show that the free surface has little influence on the initial
region of the jet where the mean velocity and turbulent intensity retain their self-similar properties.
When the jet approaches the free surface, the center velocity decreases rapidly and the jet flow is
subsequently deflected by the free surface and forms horizontal surface jets near the surface. An
approximate Guassian distribution of super-elevation is formed on the free surface. These results are
qualitatively and quantitatively validated by comparisons of the experimental results from Kuang
et al. (2001) and Huai (2002).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work was supported by a grant from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (Project No. 5048/01E).

REFERENCES

Ferziger, J. H. 1998. Numerical methods for engineering application: 283–290. New York: Wiley.
Germano, M., Piomelli, U., Moin, P. & Cabot, W. H. 1991. A dynamic subgrid-scale eddy viscosity model.
Physics of Fluids A3: 1760–1765.
Kuang, J., Hsu, C. T. & Qiu, H. H. 2001. Experiments on vertical turbulent plane jets in water of finite depth.
Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE 127(1): 18–26.
Huai, W. X., Na, Y. T., Huang, J. Z., Tong, H. Y. & Jiang, G. Q. 2002a. An experimental study of veritcal round
jets in shallow water (in Chinese). Advanced in Water Science 13(1): 26–30.
Huai, W. X., Na, Y. T., Tong, H. Y. & Li, A. H. 2002b. Experimental Study on vertical turbulent jet discharged
from the bottom of shallow water (in Chinese). Shui Li Xue Bao (9): 32–36.
Li, C. W. 1990. Advection simulation by minimax-characteristics method. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering,
ASCE 116(9): 1138–1144.
Li, W. & Huai, W. X. 1994. Numerical Simulations of whole field behavior for round buoyant jet. Journal of
Hydrodynamics, Ser. B 6(1): 43–49.
Lin, P. Z. & Li, C. W. 2002. A σ -coordinate three-dimensional numerical model for surface wave propagation.
International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids 38: 1045–1068.
Ribault, C., Sarkar, S. & Stanley, S.A. 1999. Large eddy simulation of a plane jet. Physics of Fluids 11(10):
3069–3083.
Shen, L. & Yue, D. Y. P. 2002. Large eddy simulation of free surface turbulence. Journal of Fluid Mechanics
440: 75–116.
Shi, J., Thomas, T. G. & Williams, J. J. R. 1999. Development of a large-eddy simulation open channel code.
International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow 9(1): 6–17.
Younis, B.A., Gatski, T. B. & Speziale C. G. 1996. Assessment of the SSG pressure-strain model in free
turbulent jets with and without swirl. Journal of Fluid Engineering 118: 800–809.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Similarity analyses on flapping turbulent plane jets

Jianhong Sun
Dept. of Ergonomics and Environmental Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
Nanjing, China

Chin-Tsau Hsu
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,
Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China

ABSTRACT: In this study, the similarity theory applicable for mean flows of turbulent plane
jets is extended to that of unstable flapping turbulent plane jets. Although the flapping oscillatory
motions are organized, its effect on the mean flows of turbulent plane jets is similar to the effect of
turbulence. Therefore, the close relation for the Reynolds stress due to flapping-induced velocity
components is assumed to be similar to the relation for the turbulent Reynolds stress. Here, the
effect of flapping motion on mean flows can be regarded as two folds: one is to enhance the mixing
by flapping-induced Reynolds stress and the other is to modify the effective advection. The results
from similarity analyses are in good agreement with the experimental data.

1 INTRODUCTION

Submerged turbulent plane jet impinging vertically onto a free water surface had been studied
for decades due to its wide engineering applications. Early investigations included the works of
Wygnanski and Gutmark (1971), Gutmark and Wygnanski (1976), Jirka and Harleman (1979),
and others. They showed the existence of coherent structure in the plane jets. The mean flows are
basically two-dimensional. In the zone of established flow (ZEF), similar velocity profiles were
observed and a linear jet spreading was found accompanied by decay of jet centerline velocity.
List (1982) summarized the decay law for the jet-centerline velocity Wc in the zone of established
flow (ZEF) as Wc /W0 = k((z − z0 )/d)−n , where W0 is the jet exit velocity from the orifice of slot
distance d, z is the distance from the jet orifice, z0 is the virtual origin, k is the decay coefficient
and n is the decay power which is equal to 0.5 for a turbulent plane jet. The mean velocity profile
as obtained with a similarity analysis resulted in a hyperbolic secant function distribution, which
in general can be approximated very well by a Gaussian distribution.
On the other hand, Goldschmidt and Bradshaw (1973) and de Gortari and Goldschmidt (1981)
investigated the possibility of “puffing” and “flapping” modes of oscillation for a plane jet discharg-
ing into an infinite stagnant ambient and conclude that “flapping” modes of oscillation existed.
Such type of “puffing” and “flapping” modes of oscillation is the consequence of coherent vortices
in the turbulent jets. On the other hand, for a submerged turbulent plane jet in shallow water imping-
ing vertically onto the free surface, the jet will become unstable to oscillate horizontally when the
velocity exiting the jet orifice exceeds a critical value Wcr . This new type of oscillation is associated
with the gravitational restoring force due to surface displacement as a result of impingement, which
is different from the early type of oscillation. Madarame et al. (1993) observed the self-induced
oscillations of a vertical jet in shallow water and attempted to establish a relation between the flap-
ping frequency and the water depth. Madarame and Iida (1998) proposed a mechanism to interpret
their early-observed jet flapping oscillation. Wu et al. (1998) performed experiments to delineate
the characteristics of flapping turbulent plane jet flapping. A detail dimensionless analysis was

375
provided by Hsu et al. (2001) to obtain the dimensionless parametric relations for the onset of
flapping instability of vertical impinging turbulent plane jets in shallow water; they also performed
experiments to determine the coefficients in the parametric relations.
In this paper, the basic similarity theory for the mean flows of turbulent plane jets in the zone of
established flow (ZEF) is extended to that for unstable flapping turbulent plane jets. Although the
flapping motion represents a new type of oscillatory motions different from the coherent vortices
in turbulent plane jets, the mean flows are observed to have the same similarity. Expression for
the flapping-induced Reynolds stress is assumed to be similar to that of turbulent Reynolds stress.
The similarity solutions are obtained and the effects of flapping motion on the mean flows are
discussed.

2 THEORETICAL ANALYSES

For a vertical turbulent plane jet in shallow water undergoing a two-dimensional flapping motion
as shown in Figure 1, the flow velocity (u, v, w) and pressure p components are decomposed as:

where ‘ – ’ denotes the mean component, ‘ ∼ ’ the oscillatory component and ‘ ’ the turbulent
fluctuation component. The coordinate is chosen such that z is in the vertical direction and (x, y)
are in the horizontal directions with x being in the direction of jet-flapping motion. Here (u, v, w)
are in the (x, y, z) directions respectively.
Substituting Eq. (1) into the continuity and Navier-Stokes equations and taking time-average to
the resultant equations lead to the two-dimensional mean flow equations, which, after the neglecting
the term with z-derivatives for the Reynolds stress based on the thin mixing layer approximation,
become

z
g

η0
f0

He  H z0 0

W0 z0
0
x
d

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the vertical turbulent plane jet.

376
The proper boundary conditions for Eq. (2) are:

and

On the right hand side of Eq. (2b), the first term is the contribution due to flapping-motion-induced
Reynolds shear stress and the second term is the contribution by turbulent Reynolds shear stress.
Both terms require closure modeling.
In the zone of established flow (ZEF), the early experiments have established that the jet mean
flow exhibits a self-similar behavior for pure turbulent plane jets. It has been shown experimentally
that this similarity behavior also holds for mean velocity profiles when the jets are in flapping
motion (Sun, 2001). As a result, we should define the dimensionless similarity function f (η̂) for
the mean stream function using the jet-mixing layer thickness δ(z) as length scale and the centerline
velocity Wc (z) as velocity in the following form:

where η̂ = x/δ(z) is the dimensionless variable for the x coordinate. The velocities in term of the
dimensionless variables then become:

If the velocities are scaled with the jet centerline velocity Wc (z), then the coefficients on the right
hand side of Eq. (5a) are required to be constants, i.e. dδ/dz = α where α is the jet spreading
constant and (δ/Wc )(dW c /dz) = constant. If δ(z) represents the half-velocity-width x1/2 , the jet
spreading width then becomes

where z0 is the virtual origin of the jet. By invoking the conservation of the jet momentum, the
decay of the jet centerline velocity takes the form of

where k is the decay coefficient and kf is the additional decay power due to jet flapping motion.
The value of nf depends on the jet exit velocity W0 and the critical velocity Wcr . which onsets
the flapping instability motion. When W0 < Wcr , kf = 0. From Eq. (7), it is clear that the effect of
flapping motion is to modify the power of the jet centerline mean velocity decay rate from −1/2
for non-flapping jet to −(1 + kf )/2 for flapping jet. With the existence of the flapping oscillation
component, the mean velocity decay along the jet centerline will be faster than the case without
flapping motion.
A similarity solution may exist only if the turbulent shear stress takes the form of

377
which after invoking the Prandtl third eddy viscosity model, εt = kt Wc δ, take the following
expression:

It will be demonstrated later that the experimental results showed that the flapping-motion-induced
Reynolds shear stress has the similar profiles similar to those of the turbulence shear stress.
Therefore, the flapping-motion-induced Reynolds shear stress is expressed as

where ktf is a constant coefficient. The substitution of Equations (5), (9) and (10) into Eq. (2b)
leads to

The proper boundary conditions are then given by

and

No closed-form solution can be obtained for Eq. (11) subjected to boundary condition (12). How-
ever, numerical solutions can easily be found from a Runge-Kutta procedure with shooting method.
From Equation (11), it is clear that the effect of jet flapping motion on mean flows can be regarded
as two folds: one is to enhance the mixing by additional source terms ktf and the other is to modify
the advection effect through the parameters α and kf .

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Figure 2 shows the experimental results of the jet-spreading width for the cases of flapping and non-
flapping jets. As shown in Fig. 2, the jet spreading in the zone of established flow (15 < z/d < 30) for
flapping jet is much larger than that for non-flapping jets. The linear fitting of the data in ZEF yields
the value of α = 0.359, which is considerably larger than those of α = 0.147 for non-flapping jet as
obtained early by Kuang et al (2001). It is interesting to see that in the zone of flow establishment
(z/d < 15) and the zone of surface impingement (35 < z/d < 50) where the flapping oscillation is
small, the jet spreading for the flapping jets is of the same order of that for non-flapping jets.
Figure 3 shows the decay of dimensionless mean velocity (Wc /W0 ) along jet centerline. For
comparison, the data of the case without flapping motion (W0 = 1.21 m/s when H /d = 50) are also
plotted in Fig. 3. For the jet with flapping motion (W0 = 1.72 m/s when H /d = 50), the decay of
longitudinal mean velocity along the jet centerline is apparently faster than that without flapping
motions. If the data in the ZEF regime (15 < z/d < 30) are used to fit the power law as described by
Eq. (6), the value of k and kf are found to be k = 6.2 and kf = 0.88. Clearly, the result of similarity
analyses fits very well with experimental data. It is seen that the jet flapping motion has very
significant effect on the jet decay.
In Figure 4, we show the comparison of the turbulent shear stress predicted from the similarity
analysis with those measured at z/d = 15, 20, 25 and 30. Although the measured results only showed
that the profiles of the turbulent shear stress are only nearly self-similar, the shapes of the turbulent

378
 14
1.00
12 .9
Impinging jet (w0=1.21m/s) .8
Flapping jet (w0=1.72m/s) .7
10 fitting result in ZFE .6
fitting result in ZFM .5
8
x1/2/d

.4

Wc/W0
6 .3 w0=1.72m/s
w0=1.21m/s
4 .2 k=6.20, kf=0.88
k=2.20, kf=0.0
2 .15

0 .10
0 20 40 60 80 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910 20 30 40 50 60
z/d z/d

Figure 2. The growth of jet half-width for flapping Figure 3. Mean velocity decay along jet center-
jet along the downstream distance as compared with line for H /d = 50 and W0 = 1.21 (no-flapping) and
non-flapping jet results. 1.72 m/s (flapping).

.08
.15
.06 z/d=15
z/d=20
z/d=20
.10 z/d=25
z/d=25
flapping induced uw/Wc2

.04 z/d=30
z/d=30 fit
.02 fit .05
(u'w')/Wc2

0.00 0.00
-.02
-.05
-.04
-.10
-.06

-.08 -.15
-1.5 -1.0 -.5 0.0 .5 1.0 1. -1.5 -1.0 -.5 0.0 .5 1.0 1.5

Figure 4. The distribution of turbulent Reynolds Figure 5. The distribution of the flapping-induced
stresses (u w /Wc2 ) at different z/d when W0 = shear stresses (ũw̃/Wc2 ) at different z/d when W0 =
1.72 m/s and H = 100 mm (Re = 2970 and H /d = 50). 1.72 m/s and H = 100 mm (Re = 2970 and H /d = 50).

shear stress are nearly the same. The predicted result shown as the solid curve is based on the value
of kt = 0.037 which is a universal constant adapted for the Prandtl third eddy viscosity model. The
flapping-motion-induced Reynolds shear stresses as measured at z/d = 20, 25 and 30 are plotted
in Figure 5. Clearly, the characteristic of flapping-motion-induced Reynolds stresses as shown in
Figure 5 is quite similar to the turbulent shear stresses shown in Figure 4. Therefore, it is plausible
to assume that the flapping-motion-induced Reynolds stress may take the same functional form as
the turbulent shear stress as described by Eqs. (9) and (10), even though their magnitudes may be
different. The best fit of the experimental results of Fig. 5 to Eq. (10) gives the value of ktf = 0.053
which is slightly larger than kt . It should be noted that ktf is not a universal constant and may depend
on the amplitude of flapping motion.

4 CONCLUSION

In this paper, the similarity solution for turbulent plane jets has been extended to that for turbulent
plane jets with flapping motions. The main effort of this extension is to include the flapping-
motion-induced Reynolds shear stress into the analysis. Although the flapping motion represents
an organized motion of flow in turbulent plane jets, the mean flows are also assumed to have some
similarities to those of turbulent plane jets without flapping motion. Expressions to approximate the

379
effect of flapping-motion-induced Reynolds stress are obtained. The end effect is the enhancement
of the effective eddy viscosity by a factor of more than two. This greatly increases the jet spreading
in the mixing process for the transport of momentum, energy, and mass. Here, the effect of jet
flapping motion on mixing process can be regarded as two folds: one is to produce an additional
diffusivity and the other is to modify the effective advection, which leads to faster jet decays.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work was supported under the Grant, HKUST6254/02E, by the Research Grant Council of
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.

REFERENCES

Antonia, R.A., Browne, L.W.B., Rajagopalan, S. & Chambers, A.J. 1983. On the organized motion of a
turbulent plane jet. J. Fluid Mech. 134: 49–61.
de Gortari, J.C. & Goldschmidt, V.W. 1981. The apparent flapping motion of a turbulent plant jet – further
experimental results. ASME J. Fluids Eng.103: 119–122.
Gutmark, E. & Wygnanski, I. 1976. The planar turbulent jet. J. Fluid Mech. 73: 465–495.
Goldschmidt, V.W. & Bradshaw, P. 1973. Flapping of a plane jet. Phys. Fluids 16: 354–358.
Goldschmidt, V.W., Moallemi, M.K. & Oler, J.W. 1983. Structures and flow reversal in turbulent plane jets.
Phys. Fluids 26: 428–432.
Hsu, C.T., Kuang, J. & Sun, J.H. 2001 Flapping instability of vertical impinging turbulent plane jets in shallow
water. ASCE, J. of Engineering Mechanics 127: 411–420.
Jirka, G.H. & Harleman, D.R.F. 1979. Stability and mixing of a vertical plane buoyant jet in confined depths.
J. Fluid Mech. 94: 275–304.
Kuang, J. , Hsu, C.T. & Qiu, H.H. 2001 Experiments on vertical turbulent plane jets in water of finite depth.
ASCE, J. of Engineering Mechanics 127: 18–26.
List, E.J. 1982. Mechanics of turbulent buoyant jet and plume. Turbulent Buoyant Jets and Plumes, ed. Rodi,
W., Pergamon, 1–68.
Moum, J.N., Kawall, J.G. & Keffer, J.F. 1979. Structural features of the plane turbulent jet. Phys. Fluids 22:
1240–1244.
Moum, J.N., Kawall, J.G. & Keffer, J.F. 1983. Coherent structures within the plane turbulent jet. Phys. Fluids
26: 2939–2945.
Madarame, H., Lida, M., Okamoto, K. & Fukaya, M. 1993. Jet-flutter: self-induced oscillation of upward
plane jet impinging on free surface. Asia-Pacific Vibration Conference ’93, Kitakyushu, Japan, 265–270.
Maradame, H. & Iida, M. 1998. Mechanism of jet-flutter: Self-induced oscillation of an upward plane jet
impinging on a free surface. JSME International Journal B 41(3): 610–.
Sun, J.H. 2001. Flapping Turbulent Plane Jets in Shallow Water and Interacting with Surface Waves. Ph.D.
thesis, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
Thomas, F.O. & Goldschmidt, V.W. 1986. Structural characteristics of a developing turbulent planar jet.
J. Fluid Mech. 163: 227–256.
Wu, S., Rajaratnam, N. & Katopodis, C. 1998. Oscillating vertical plane turbulent jet in shallow water.
J. Hydraulics Research 36: 229–234.
Wygnanski, I. & Gutmark, E. 1971. Lateral motion of the two-dimensional jet boundaries. Phys. Fluids
14: 1309–1311.

380
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Study on the behavior of jets discharged vertically downward in

flowing environment

W.X. Huai & Z.H. Yang

State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University,
Wuhan, Hubei, China

ABSTRACT: A particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to measure and visualize the flow of
jets discharged vertically downward in flowing environment. The k-ε turbulent model is used to
obtain a mathematical model of turbulent, planar jets. The Hybrid Finite Analytic Method and a
staggered grid are used to calculate the whole field of this flow pattern. The numerical results fitted
well with the measurement, which proved the model and method can predict this kind of flow. The
relationship between the velocity ratio and position of vortex center and separate-point are got by
simulation data. The difference between jets discharged vertically downward and which discharged
vertically upward from the solid bottom is analyzed also.

1 INTRODUCTION

Polluted water is often discharged to the river or the sea from the surface, which can be seen as
the jets discharged downward from the surface in flowing environment (Seen in Figure 1). At
the present time, much study is on the jets discharged upward from the bottom. For example,
Kamotari & Greber (1972) measured the macroscopical character of turbulent jets, Subramanya &
Porey (1984), Pratte (1967), Andreopolous (1983), Keffer & Baines (1963) studied the contrail
of jets, velocity and concentration distribution by examination. Demuren (1993), Sykeys (1986),
QiMeilan (1999) and Huai et al. (1998) made numerical simulation on round jets in flow cross.
Aihua Li & Huai (2002) studied the planar jets by examination and numerical simulation. In this
paper study is on the jets discharged vertically downward from the surface in flowing environment.
Numerical simulation which is modified by examination is made to predict the characteristic of
the jets discharged vertically downward in flowing environment.

2 MATHEMATICAL MODEL AND NUMERICAL METHOD

Figure 1 shows jets discharged downward from the surface in flowing environment. Where the
jet exit width is B, the exit velocity is u0 . If the Boussinesq approximation is made and the k-ε

u0
x0
B

ua

o x

Figure 1. Sketch of jets discharged vertically downward in flowing environment.

381
turbulence model is used, the mathematical model of this flow pattern can be presented as

where φ = u, v, k, ε. In each equation,  and S are

where u and v denote the x and y direction velocity components, k and ε are the turbulent kinetic
energy and its dissipation. The modeling constants are adopted as follows (W. Rodi, 1980[11] ):

The following boundary conditions are adopted

L is the edge of the calculation domain in the horizontal direction and it is so large to guarantee
the full development of the flow. ξ is the x-distance from the centerline of the jet exit. In order to
reduce the numbers of grids, the non-uniform grids are used in this study. The x-y domain is divided
into small rectangular elements with non-uniform grid. The Hybrid Finite Analytic Method[13] is
used in this simulation. The staggered grid technique is adopted to obtain the correct pressure and
velocity at each grid point. Convergence is declared when the normalized residual is less than
1 × 10−5 for all the equation.

3 EXPERIMENT AND MODEL TESTING

The two-dimensional jet was realized in the experiments by introducing a constant down-
wards discharge of water from a specially designed injection box into a deep rectangular flume

382
 180
180
160
160
140
140
120 120
y (mm)

y(mm)
100 100

80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
x(mm) x(mm)

Figure 2. Measured streamline at R = 4.86. Figure 3. Calculated streamline at R = 4.86.

150 150
140 140
130 130
y/B

120
y/B

120
110 110
100 100
90 90
140 160 180 200 220 240 140 160 180 200 220 240
x/B x/B

Figure 4. Calculated streamline at R = 3.0. Figure 5. Calculated streamline at R = 4.86.

(length × depth × width = 600 m × 0.4 m × 0.3 m). The flume itself was fabricated with glass plate
sides built on a steel frame to allow a better flow visualization and measurement by PIV. The injector
box was an adjustable constant-head arrangement and grid inside to ensure the uniformity of slot
velocity. The slot width is 2 mm. The jet flux is 1.0 × 10−3 m3 /h with the slot velocity 0.463 m/s. The
cross flux is varied from 5.0 × 10−3 m3 /s to 15.0 × 10−3 m3 /s. PIV is used to measure and visualize
the flow of jets discharged vertically downward in flowing environment. Figure 2 and Figure 3 are
the measured and calculated streamline with the cross flux Qa = 10.0 × 10−3 m3 /s (velocity ratio
R = u0 /ua = 4.86). The slot located at x0 /B = 30 with the width B = 2 mm. In Figure 3, part of the
calculation domain (near the slot) is given in order to compare the two plots easily and the whole
calculation domain is much larger than that. The position of vortex center and separate-point fitted
well in the two plots. The streamline of environment (under the vortex) in Figure 3 is different with
that in Figure 2. It means that the calculated influence area of jets is larger than the measured one,
but the difference has little effect at the figure of vortex.

4 NUMERICAL RESULTS

The difference between the jets downward and jets upward lies in the influence of rigid bottom
and surface of flow. Different velocity ratio is chosen to compare the two flows as calculation.
Figures 4–9 are streamlines at different velocity ratio. Similar flows shapes are shown in these plots,
the area of vortex are much larger at the large velocity ratio. The relations between the velocity ratio
and the position of vortex center (located from the slot xv and from the surface yv ) and separate-point
(located from the slot) are given in Figure 10. Different from the jets upward (Seen in Figure 11),
the area of vortex is larger at the velocity ratio R = 6. This means that the adsorption of rigid bottom

383
 375 375
350 350
325 325
300 300
y/B

y/B
275 275
250 250
225 225
200 200
300 350 400 450 500 550 600 300 350 400 450 500 550 600
x/B x/B

Figure 6. Calculated streamline at R = 6.0. Figure 7. Calculated streamline at R = 8.0.

950
750
900
700

y/B
y/B

850
650
800
600
750
600 700 800 900 1000 1100 800 900 1000 1100 1200
x/B x/B

Figure 8. Calculated streamline at R = 10.0. Figure 9. Calculated streamline at R = 14.0.

300 300
250 xv/B xv/B
250
200 yv/B 200 yv/B
150 150 xs/B
xs/B
100 100
50 50
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
R R

Figure 10. Relations between the velocity ratio and Figure 11. Relations between the velocity ratio and
the position of vortex center and separate-point in jets the position of vortex center and separate-point in jets
downward. upward.

restricts the grown of vortex. At the velocity ratio R = 6, the difference between jets downward
and jets upward is little because the area of vortex is small and the influence of rigid bottom
is less.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, k-ε turbulent model is used to simulate the jets discharged vertically downward in
flowing environment, particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to measure and visualize this kind
of flow, streamlines of different velocity ratio are given. The relation between the velocity ratio and
position of vortex center, separate-point are got by simulation. Without the effect of rigid bottom,
the area of vortex in jets discharged downward is larger than that in jets discharged upward. It is
more obvious in large velocity ratio.

384
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was funded by National Nature Science Foundation of China, No. 50279037. The writers
are grateful for this support.

REFERENCES

Kamorani Y. & Greber I. 1972. Experiments on a turbulent jet in a cross wind J. Fluid Mech. 15: 481–496.
Subramanya K. & Porey P.D. 1984. Trajectory of a turbulent cross jet. J. of Hydraulic Research. 22: 343–354.
Pratte B.D. & Baines W.D. 1967. Profiles of the round turbulent jet in cross flow. J. of the Hydraulics Div.
ASCE. 93: 53–64.
Andreopolous J. 1983. Heat transfer measurements in a heated, jet-pipe flow issuing into a cold cross-stream.
Phys. Fluids. 26: 3201–3210.
Keffer, J.F. & Baines W.D. 1963. The round turbulent jet in a cross wind. J. Fluid Mech. 15(4): 481–496.
Demuren A.O. 1993. Characteristics of three-dimensional turbulent jets in cross flow. Int. J. Engng Sci. 31:
899–913.
Skyes R.I. et al. 1986. On the vorticity dynamics of a turbulent jet in a cross flow, J. Fluid Mech. 168: 393–413.
Qi M.L. & Fu R.H. et al. 1999. Computations for plane turbulent impinging jet in cross flow, J. Hydr. Ser. B
(4): 23–37.
Huai W.X., Li W. & Peng W.Q. 1998. Calculation and behavior analysis on turbulent jets in cross flow. Journal
of Hydraulic Engineering. (4): 7–14. In Chinese.
Li A.H. & Huai W.X. 2002. Experimental study and numerical simulation of 2-dimensional vertical pure jet
in flowing ambient. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering: 49–55. In Chinese.
Rodi W. Turbulence Models and their Application in Hydraulics. IAHR. 1979. Delft.
Chen C.J. & Nikitopoulos. 1979. On the Near Field Characteristics of Ax symmetric Turbulent Buoyant Jets
in a Uniform Environment. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. 22(1): 1–10.
Li W. & Huai W.X. 1997. Theory and application of buoyant jets. Science Publishing Company. In Chinese.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Laser Doppler velocimetry measurements on a duckbill valve jet

in a co-flow

H.W. Tang
College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, HoHai University, Nanjing, China

J.H.W. Lee
Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Zh. Gao & Y. Xiao

College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, HoHai University, Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT: The mixing characteristics of a duckbill valve jet in co-flow, including centerline
velocity decay, turbulence intensity, turbulent shear stress, axis-switching, have been studied using
Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) and Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF). The experimental results
for different jet to ambient velocity ratio indicate: i) the mean axial velocity decay can be divided
into three regions with different characteristics; ii) when x/D > 1.5 in the major axis and x/D > 0.1
in the minor axis, mean velocity, mean concentration, turbulence intensity, turbulent shear stress
(minor axis) are self-similar; axis-switching happens at x/D = 1 − 1.5; iii) Compared with round
jet at the same discharge condition, DBV jet has much higher dilution.

1 INTRODUCTION

Duckbill-shaped elastomer check valves (DBV) are often installed on wastewater effluent diffu-
sion systems and stormwater outfalls to prevent sea water intrusion, and have been applied to
engineering practice since two decades ago. However, a systematic experimental investigation and
theoretical development for DBV is somewhat lacking. Since the mid-1990s, various researchers
have performed studies of hydraulics discharge characteristics of DBV jet. Lee et al. (1997) per-
formed a comprehensive study of DBV. They used the experimental data obtained in Utah and
New South Wales to obtain a theory of the head-discharge relation to the material properties and
flow conditions of a DBV and incorporated these relations into a computer model to determine
the port discharge distribution of diffuser outfalls fitted with duckbill valve of different materials
and different dimensions. Tang & Lee (2001) studied the mixing characteristics of a DBV jet using
Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry (ADV) and Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF). The measurement
results revealed a complicated near-field flow extending up to about 12.5 jet diameters, within
which the turbulence intensity is much higher than that of a round jet, the jet spreading in the major
and minor axis are distinctly different, and an axis-switching is observed in this region. Beyond
the near-field, however, the jet mixing characteristics are similar to an equivalent round jet. Lee
et al. (2002) developed a numerical model of DBV jet in a co-flow using rectangular jet of the same
aspect ratio and exit area with an assumed shear inlet velocity. The result indicated that a DBV
jet in co-flow has a higher dilution than the equivalent round jet at the same discharge condition.
The objective of the present study is to investigate systematically the mixing characteristics of
a DBV in a co-flow using experimental technique, including LDV and LIF techniques. This paper
mainly covers the measurement results of LDV related to the mixing characteristics of a DBV in
a co-flow. This includes the centerline velocity decay, turbulence intensity, turbulent shear stress,

387
 Table 1. Experimental parameters of a DBV jet in co-flow.

Jet max Ambient Velocity Valve Initial Horizontal

Jet discharge velocity velocity ratio opening momentum flux distance
Run No. Q0 (L/hr) Uj (m/s) Ua (m/s) (Uj /Ua ) A (mm2 ) Mo (m2 /s2 ) x/D

1 35 2.28 0.10 24 5.5 2.12E−05 0.1∼20

2 98 3.69 0.10 38 7.9 9.78E−05 0.1∼20
3 340 5.75 0.10 60 17.1 5.34E−04 0.1∼20

axis-switching under different velocity ratios. In addition, this paper also includes comparison of
mixing characteristics between a DBV and a round jet. The detailed experimental results of LIF
will be separately analyzed.

2 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

A series of experiments were performed in a 10 m long, 0.3 m wide and 0.45 m deep re-circulating
flume with a duckbill valve (DBV) jet. DBV valve is slipped onto the open end of a circular jet
nozzle of diameter D = 2 cm and fixed with clamps. The DBV jet discharges into a co-flow with
Ua = 10 cm/s, the velocity of the co-flow in the flume was measured by a miniature propeller current
meter positioned upstream of the nozzle. Each experiment was performed in the central portion
of the flume to ensure uniform flow conditions. The steady flow was measured by calibrated
rotameter. The run parameters for the DBV jet experiments are summarized in Table 1, where
Q0 is jet discharge volume flux, Uj is the centerline (maximum) velocity and A is the opening
cross-section area of the DBV. Thus, the average discharge velocity of the jet can be defined as
U0 = Q0 /A.
For each experiment, the velocity at selected cross-sections was measured by a LDV with a
Dantec two-color fibre-optics. Measurements were performed in backscatter mode with a 3-watt
Argon-ion laser and FVA enhanced processors with a nominal diameter 10 micron. The duration
time of each measurement was at 1 minute. The LDV traverses were made in the two central (x, y)
and (x, z) plane. The simultaneous measurement of velocity component of U and V in the (x, y)
plane, and U and W in the (x, z) plane are taken respectively. The detailed setup of LDV was
described in Chu (1996). In addition, digital image processing technique is employed to calculate
the jet exit area. The images of the valve exit are taken by the video camera, which the locations
of images range from 0 to 40 cm in the downstream of the nozzle, and inputted into computer by a
DT 3155 digital image card. Then, the properties such as exit area and aspect ratio can be obtained
by the digital image processing software (Global Lab Image).

3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Excess centerline velocity decay

DBV jet can be described as a large aspect ratio rectangular jet and belongs to three-dimensional
jet because the opening area of duckbill valve varies with the volume flux as shown in Figure 1.
Sforza et al. (1965) suggested that the flow field of the DBV jet was divided into three distinct
regions, defined by the axial mean velocity decay, which are referred to as: potential core region
(OA), characteristic region (AB), and axisymmetric-type region (BC) as shown in Figure 2, where
Um = um − Ua is the centerline excess velocity, Ua is ambient velocity, um is velocity in centerline.
Beyond the potential core, the rate of centerline excess velocity decay follows the n = −1/3 power
law in the second region (AB) and m = −1 power law in the third region (BC) respectively.

388
 Duckbill wall Z(W)
0.3
log(Um /(Uj -Ua))
X(U) 0.0 n=-1/3
U0 O A
Uj -0.3 B

-0.6 m=-1
Uj /Ua
Ua -0.9
24
Z(W) -1.2 C
38
-1.5 60
Y(V) log(x/D)
-1.8
-1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5

Figure 1. Definition of duckbill valve jet. Figure 2. Decay characteristics of centerline

excess velocity of a DBV jet in co-flow.

Major y-axis plane Minor z-axis plane

1.2 1.2
U(x, y)/Um x/D U(x, z)/Um x/D
1 run2 1 1 run2 0.1
Gaussian 2 Gaussian 1
x/D 3 x/D 2
0.8 6 0.8 4
run1 run1
1 10 0.1 10
0.6 2 0.6 0.5 20
3 run3 1.5 2 run3 0.1
0.4 6 5 4 1
10 10 0.4 10 2
20 20 20 4
0.2 0.2 10
20
0 0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
ry/bgy rz /bgz

Figure 3. Radial profile of mean axial excess velocity.

3.2 Excess velocity profile

Figure 3 shows the radial profiles of excess x axis velocity along the major axis (y axis) and minor
axis (z axis) respectively. The excess velocity U (x, y) or U (x, z) is normalized by centerline excess
velocity Um and radial distance ry or rz is normalized by the half-width bgy or bgz respectively where
bgy or bgz is the velocity half-width defined by the radial locations in y or z axis at which U (x, y)
or U (x, z) = e−1 Um . For the major axis plane (x/D > 1.5) and minor axis plane (x/D > 0.1), all the
results at different locations fall in the same curve; the excess velocity distribution of the DBV jet
can be well approximated by a Gaussian distribution. It can be seen that the self-similar velocity
profile is established early in the minor axis plane, where the shear layer penetrates the core close
to the nozzle.

3.3 R.m.s. intensity profile

Figure 4 shows the radial profiles of normalized turbulence intensity Urms /Um at different down-
stream locations where Urms is the root mean square velocity. The profiles in general show a double
peak off the centerline. Most of the results fall on the same curve and the intensity value ranged
approximately from 0.13 to 0.26 (average∼0.19) in the major axis and 0.14–0.29 (average∼0.22) in
the minor axis around the central region with approximately |ry /bgy | < 0.9 or |rz /bgz | < 0.9, which
is almost same as the results of a round jet in co-flow with a intensity value from 0.15 to 0.25
(average∼0.20) reported by Chu (1996).

389
 Major y-axis plane x/D
0.4
Major y-axis plane
Run1 1 2
Urms /Um 0.
U’V’/Um2 3 6
0.3 0.02
0.01 10 20
Run2 1.5 2
0.2
0
3 6
-0.01
0.1 10 20
-0.02
Run3 2 5
0 -0.03
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 10 20
ry /bgy ry /bgy
Minor z-axis plane Minor z-axis plane x/D
0.4 Run1 0.1 0.5
Urms /Um 0.
U’V’/Um2
0.02 2 4
0.3
0.01 10 20
Run2 0.1 1
0.2 0
2 4
-0.01
0.1 10 20
-0.02
0.1 1
Run3
0 0.03 2 4
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 10
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 20
rz /bgz rz /bgz

Figure 4. Radial profile of r.m.s. axial velocity. Figure 5. Radial profile of turbulent shear stress.

Figure 5 shows the normalized turbulent shear stress u v /Um2 and u w /Um2 in the x-y and x-z
plane at different downstream locations, where u , v , w is the fluctuant velocity of x, y, z directions
respectively. The turbulent shear stress profiles in the major plane are not similar in geometry, but
they are similar in the minor plane with maximum value approximately 0.015 to 0.02 at |ry /bgy | or
|rz /bgz | = 0.7–0.8. It seems to suggest the development of turbulent shear stress profiles reaches
the asymptotic phase in minor axis plane, but, in major axis plane, turbulent shear stress is still in
developing phase. So the similarity in major axis plane may be established at some further distance
downstream.

3.4 Jet half-width and axis switching

Figure 6 shows the jet normalized half-width growth rate in the major and minor axis plane respect-
ively. The characteristics of the growth rates in the major and minor axis plane are quite different.
In the major plane axis, the shear layer mainly spreads into the potential core region. The half-
width firstly decreases when the fluid is discharged from the nozzle. This trend continues until
about x/D = 2. Beyond this range, the jet spreads again. On the contrary, in the minor-axis plane,
the shear layer spreads widely into the ambient fluid. The jet spreads quickly when the fluid is
discharged from the nozzle. Growing rates of the jet half-width in the two axis planes are different
when x/D is less than 8. After x/D is larger than 8, jet half-width in two axis planes grow at
approximately the same rate, then, they asymptotically approach to each other. The axis switching
will take place at the initial near-field region about x/D = 1–1.5.

3.5 Dilution
Average dilution of the DBV jet can be expressed as S = Q/Q0 , where Q is the volume flux of
the cross section. A comparison of average dilution between a round jet in co-flow and a DBV jet

390
 20
2 S S=0.7807x/D+1.055
bgy /D, bgz /D (mm)
DBV
major minor Uj/Ua 15
1.5 Linear(DBV)
24
Round jet
38
Linear(round)
1 60 10

S=0.31x/D
0.5 5

x/D x/D
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20

Figure 6. Velocity half width vs. downstream Figure 7. Comparison with average dilution of DBV
distance x/D in major and minor axis planes. jet and round jet along distance downstream.

2.5 1.0 x/d

C/Cm 1
Me/Meo Uj/Ua 1.5
2
2 24 0.8 2.5
38 3
4
60 0.6 6
1.5 7.5
10
0.4 15
1 20
Gaussian
0.2
0.5
x/D 0.0
0 -2.5 -1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 2.5
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 r/bgc

Figure 8. Conservation of excess momentum flux. Figure 9. Radial profile of time-averaged concen-
trated at major axis.

in co-flow (run 3) against downstream distance is shown in Figure 7. The dilution of the DBV jet
is found to vary linearly with downstream distance. The DBV jet in co-flow obviously has much
higher dilution than the round jet in co-flow when they are discharged at the same volume flux
with the same nominal diameter. It should be noted that the value of S is not equal to zero as x/D
is equal to zero. This may indicate that the dilution law for the DBV jet is non-linear due to the
existence of the axis switching.

3.6 Conservation of excess momentum flux

Figure 8 shows the normalized momentum against downstream distance x/D, where Me is the
measured excess momentum, Meo = Q0 (Uj − Ua ) is the initial excess momentum. It can be seen
that the value of Me /Meo is approximately equal to 1 for x/D > 5, indicating that good excess
momentum flux balance is achieved.

3.7 Concentration characteristics

In order to get more understanding about the mixing characteristics of DBV in co-flow, the Laser
Induced Fluorescence (LIF) technique is used to obtain the concentration field of DBV. Figure 9
shows the tracer concentration field measurement in the DBV jet cross-section, where C is the

391
measured concentration, Cm is the centerline maximum concentration, r is the radial distance and
bgc is the concentration half-width defined by the radial location at which C = e−1 Cm . It can be
seen the concentration variation is self-similar and similar to the velocity distribution measured by
LDV; the data at different sections collapse nicely onto one curve and can be well approximated
by Gaussian distribution.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The mixing characteristics of a DBV in a co-flow are investigated using LDV technique and LIF
technique and compared with the previous results of a round jet in this paper. The experimental
results indicate: i) the mean axial velocity decay can be divided into three regions, every region
has its own power law; ii) when x/D > 1.5 in the major axis and x/D > 0.1 in the minor axis, mean
velocity, mean concentration, turbulence intensity, turbulent shear stress (z axis) are self-similar;
the axis-switching occurs at x/D = 1–1.5; iii) the excess momentum flux is balance after x/D is
larger than 8. The experimental results using LDV further verify that the DBV has higher dilution
in co-flow than an equivalent round jet under same conditions.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This study is supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC HKU 7008/97E).

REFERENCES

Chen D. and Jirka G.H. (1999). LIF Study of Plane Jet Boundary in Shallow Water Layer. Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, ASCE, 125(8), 817–826.
Chu P.C.K. (1996). Mixing of Turbulent Advected Line Puffs. Ph.D. Thesis, The University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong, China.
Chu P.C.K., Lee J.H.W. and Chu V.H. (1999). Spreading of Turbulent Round Jet In Coflow, Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, ASCE,125(2), 193–204.
Duer M.J. (1998). Use of Variable Orifice DuckbillValves for Hydraulic and Dilution Optimization of Multiport
Diffusers. Water Science and Technology, 38(10), 227–284.
Fischer H.B., List E.J., et al. (1979). Mixing in inland and coastal waters. Academic Press.
Ho C.M. and Gutmark, E. (1987). Vortex Induction and Mass Entrainment in a Small-Aspect-Ratio Elliptic
Jet, J. Fluid Mech. (1987), vol.107, pp. 383–405.
Lee J.H.W., Kuang C.P. and Chan H.C. (2002). The Velocity Field of a Duckbill Valve (DBV) jet in Coflow,
Proceedings of the 15th ASCE Engineering Mechanics Congress, New York, USA.
Lee J.H.W., Karandikar J. and Horton P. (1998). Hydraulics of “duckbill” Elastomer Check Valves [J]. ASCE,
J. Hydraulic Engineering, 124: 394–405.
Lee J.H.W., Wilkinson D.L. and Wood I.R. (2001). “On the Head-discharge Relation of a Duckbill Elastomer
Check valve.” Journal of Hydraulic Research, 39(6), 619–627.
Lozanova M. and Stankov P. (1998). Experimental investigation on the similarity of a 3D rectangular turbulent
jet, Experiments in Fluids 24: 470–478.
Karandikar, J. (1997). Hydraulics of Duckbill Value Jet Diffuser. M. Phil. Thesis, The University of
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Krothapall I.A., Baganoff D. and Karamcheti K. (1981). On the mixing of a rectangular jet, J. Fluid Mech.,
vol.107, pp. 201–220.
Tang H.W. and Lee J.H.W. (2001). Experimental Study on Characteristics of Turbulent Jet for Duck-bill Valve
Diffuser, Advances In Water Science, 12(2), 153–159.
Tong Kei wan. Hydraulics of a Duckbill Valve Jet. M.Sc. (Eng.). Project Report. (2002). The University of
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Trentacoste N. and Sforza P.M. (1996). An Experiment Investigation of Three-Dimensional Free Mixing in
Incompressible Turbulent Free Jets. Report No.81, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Polytechnic
Institute of Brooklyn, New York, USA.

392
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The characteristics of flow and concentration fields near bank outfall

Huang Xibin
College of water conservancy and hydropower engineering, Hohai Univ, Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT: Applying the depth-averaged k–ε turbulence model for side discharge with right-
angle and oblique-angle, the distributions of velocity, concentration, turbulent viscosity and other
parameters over the near field are calculated. The actual concentrations and other flow features of
some side discharge schemes are observed and measured in the hydraulic laboratory. The validity of
the numerical solution is demonstrated by the comparison between values measured and calculated.
Based on numerical results and experiment data, some effects of significant factors on near field
flow are analyzed. An empirical formula is proposed to estimate the channel width Bcr , when the
effect of far bank on the near field can be neglected. The laws of recirculation zone variation are
discussed. In addition, for the near field on which the far bank has rather limited effect, a formula
for predicting the jet trajectory is derived.

1 INTRODUCTION

It is a common way to discharge the waste water into a river through a bank outfall. The behavior
of the side-discharged effluents is similar to that of cross jet but more complicated due to the
limitation of the river boundary. When the discharge velocity is high, the downstream of the outfall
will raise a large re-circulation. This possibly results in an unsteady concentration built-up and
the modification of the river hydrographs, such as scouring and silting. A more direct impact on
navigation is another possibility. Therefore, an adequate prediction of the concentration and velocity
fields in the receiving water is a basic requisite for further environmental impact analysis of any
proposed discharge cases. Previous analytical or physical scale modeling of the bank outfalls were
primarily concerned with the prediction of the side discharge with right angle. The flow patterns
induced by the side-discharge with oblique-angle have hitherto not been investigated. In this paper, a
mathematical and experimental investigation is conducted for the purpose of developing predictive
methods for the side-discharge with both right-angle and oblique-angle. The results of this study
can be used for bank outfall design or preliminary design.

2 MATHEMATICAL MODEL

2.1 Depth-averaged equations

Strictly, the flow near bank outfall is a three-dimensional flow, and is general described by three-
dimensional equations. However, when the ratio of river width to depth is large, the vertical
distribution of flow quantities is nearly uniform due to strongly vertical mixing and the horizontal
variation of flow quantities is only of interest. Therefore the two dimensional equations of the depth-
average can be applied to the flow and concentration field where stratification flow is insignificant.
The local depth-averaged state of turbulence can be characterized by the turbulence energy k and
dissipation rate ε. For the calculation of the depth-averaged horizontal quantities, the rigid-lid
approximation is used to treat the free surface. Vertical profiles are assumed as uniform, and

393
 Table 1. Empirical constants in k–ε model.

Cu C1ε C2ε σk σε σc

0.09 1.43 1.92 1.00 1.30 0.50

dispersions of depth-averaged quantities due to vertical non-uniformities are neglected, so the

depth-averaged equations of the stead flow are as follows:

Equation (1) is the continuity equation and Eqs (2)∼(3) are respectively the momentum equations
1 1
in the longitudinal and transverse direction x, y, where τbx = Cf u(u2 + v2 ) 2 , τby = Cf v(u2 + v 2 ) 2 ,
in which Cf is determined from the channel formula of Schlichting for smooth river beds and from
Manning’s law for rough beds. Equations (4)∼(5) are respectively transport equations for k and
ε, in which Gk = νt 2(∂u/∂x)2 + 2(∂v/∂y)2 + (∂u/∂y + ∂v/∂x)2 , PkV = Ck u∗3 /h, PεV = Cε u∗4 /h,
1 1 1 3
u∗ = Cf2 (u2 + v 2 ), Ck = 1/Cf2 , Cε = 3.6C2ε Cu2 /Cf4 .
Equation (6) is transport equation for concentration c; Sc represents a source term accounting for
species production due to biological or chemical reactions. In the present model, only convection
and diffusion are concerned, so Sc is neglected. All empirical constants in the above turbulence
model are listed in Table 1.

2.2 Boundary conditions and solution procedure

Since the partial differential equations governing the flow field near outfall are of elliptic type,
the boundary conditions must be specified around the whole calculation domain. A typical
flow situation is illustrated in Figure 1, where three kinds of boundary conditions are given
as follows:
(a) Inlet Boundaries Across the channel upstream (AF) and the jet inflow boundary (BC),
the velocity u and v, turbulence parameters k and ε, discharge concentration c0 are given.
(b) Outlet Boundary At the downstream (DE), it is assumed that the transverse velocity v
equals zero and other flow variables have a zero x gradient, thus v = 0, ∂u/∂x = 0, ∂k/∂x = 0,
∂ε/∂x = 0, ∂c/∂x = 0.

394
 F E

U1

B1
Hi Ho
A B C D
θ0 L

0
V
B
0

Figure 1. Definition sketch for side discharge.

Table 2. Summary of the experiment.

Channel width B1 /(m) 0.60, 0.45, 0.30

Upstream velocity U1 /(m/s) 0.05, 0.10, 0.15
Pollution discharge Q0 /(l/s) 0.11, 0.15, 0.23, 0.28, 0.60
Velocity ratio R = V0 /U1 1.00, 1.50, 2.00, 3.00, 4.00,
6.00, 10.00

(c) Wall Boundaries Along the banks of the channel, the conditions are given as
u = v = 0, k = 0, ε = 0, ∂c/∂y = 0. In the near-wall region, the wall function is introduced to han-
1
dle the viscous sublayer and buffer layer: uδ = (u∗ /κ)ln(Eu∗ δ/ν) (30 ≤ u∗ δ/ν ≤ 100), kδ = u∗2 /Cu2 ,
1
εδ = u∗3 /κδ, in which, δ is the distance from the wall, u∗ = (τw /ρ) 2 , κ = 0.4, E = 9.
In the present work, Eqs (l)∼(6) become to algebraic equations by integration over control
volumes. The algebraic equations together with boundary conditions are solved by employing the
SIMPLE algorithm proposed by Patankar.

3 PHYSICAL MODEL

Experiments were performed in a flume with horizontal bed. Waste water was simulated with salt
water, in which the dye is mixed in order to visually observe the flow patterns. The discharge
through outfall was controlled by using a rotameter, the concentration was estimated by sampling
and the velocity fields were measured by using small propeller meters.
The tests are classified into side discharges with right-angle and with oblique angle. The angles
to the bank are respectively 60◦ , 75◦ , 90◦ and 120◦ . The outfall height is 5 cm and the widths are
respectively 1.5 and 3 cm. The other test circumstances are shown in Table 2.
The experiment observations shown that the flow patterns near the outfall were very complicated.
All flow parameters varied rapidly with time. It implied that there existed strong exchange of the
momentum and mass between discharge and ambient water.

4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

4.1 The comparison between calculation and experiment

The sizes of the recirculation region obtained by predictions and experiments are shown in Figure 2.
From the trend of variation, the agreement between values calculated and measured appears

395
 L/ B1
4.0
3.0
2.0

1.0
Experimental data
0.5 B0 / B1=0.025
B0 / B1=0.050
Numerical solution
0.2 B0 / B1=0.100
B0 / B1=0.050
B0 / B1=0.025
0.1
0.01 0.02 0.05 0.1 0.2 0.5 1.0 2.0 M0/M1

Figure 2. Effect of momentum flux ratio on reattachment length.

Hi /B0
(¦Ã=1.2 Predictions)
R=6
10 c/c0
1.0 (RB0 /B1=0.1)
R=4
0.9 Experimental data
0.8
5.0 Numerical solution
0.7
4.0
Affected 0.6
3.0 Unaffected
0.5 R=1
R=2 R=2
2.0 0.4
R=4
0.3
1.5 R=10
10 20 30 40 50 B1 / B0 0.2
0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 x
Figure 3. Effect of far bank on recirculation
bank. Figure 4. Effect of discharge velocity on dilution alone.

acceptable, but there are some slight differences between them. The differences result from many
reasons, one of which is the test errors.

4.2 Factors affecting flow and concentration fields

The flow near outfall is affected by various factors, such as hydraulic conditions and geometrical
conditions. In this paper, the flow and concentration fields under different combined conditions are
calculated and tested. Based on numerical results and experimental data, some effects of significant
factor on the near field flow are analyzed.
(a) Effect of B1 /B0 on Recirculation The effect of the ratio B1 /B0 on the recirculation zone
depends mainly on the influence of far bank. When other conditions are same, the reattachment
length L and width Hi . Increase with increasing the value of B1 /B0 . In particular Hi . Varies strongly
with B1 /B0 (see Fig. 3). The effect decreases with increasing B1 /B0 . When channel width B1 is wide
enough (thus B1 > Bcr ), the flow and concentration fields near outfall are not affected almost by
B1 /B0 . It is shown that the influence of the far bank can be neglected. To study the effect of the far
bank on flow near field, the calculations are made with the different B1 /B0 , velocity ratio R and
ratio γ of jet width to depth. Based on the results, affected width Bcr may be calculated with follow
formula:

396
 0.01
0.01 0.20
0.10 0.35
0.30 0.6 0.5
0.50 0.8
0.70 0.4

(a) ¦ È=60 ¡ã (c) ¦ È=90 ¡ã

0.01
0.01
0.20
0.1 0.30
0.3
0.5 0.5
0.7 0.35
0.7 0.6 0.55

(b) ¦ È=75 ¡ã (d) ¦ È=120 ¡ã

(B0 /B1=0.05, R=4, ¦ Ã=0.6)

Figure 5. Effect of discharge angle on concentration field (lines represent constant c/c0 ).

in which R = V0 /U1 ≤ 8, 0.2 ≤ γ = B0 /h ≤ 1.5, α = 0.32γ −0.65 .

(b) Effect of Velocity Ratio R on Flow Field under Same Discharge The numerical results
and experimental data demonstrate that as the velocity ratio R increases with the same discharge,
the size of the recirculation region increases. This induces that pollutant diffusion and dilution
increase rapidly. Figure 4 shows that the pollutant along the near bank is carried fairly far distance
from outfall for low velocity ratio, but the pollutant is diluted much faster for high velocity ratio.
(c) Effect of Discharge Angle θ0 on Flow Field In the numerical prediction and laboratory test,
only the angle θ0 is changed keeping other parameters constant in order to know the effect of θ0
on the flow field near outfall. When the discharge angle θ0 is less than 60◦ , the recirculation zone
does not exist nearly. In this case, it is unfavorable for one to intake water from the river along
the downstream bank because the locus of maximum pollutant concentration is near bank. As the
angle θ0 increases, the turbulent motion intensifies which induces that waste water spreads further
away from the bank and the extent of polluted region decreases (see Fig. 5). When the angle varies
between 60◦ and 90◦ the effect of θ0 on the rate of concentration dilution is significant.

4.3 Law of recirculation zone variation

(a) Size of Recirculation Zone Affected by Far Bank The numerical results and experimental
data indicated that the size of recirculation zone depends mainly on the momentum flux ratio
M0 /M1 · L/B1 and Hi /B1 increase with increasing M0 /M1 . Based on Mikhail et al. simple control
volume analysis, the relation is as follow:

in which β should be adjusted to obtain agreement at various discharge cases. In this paper, the
formula for calculating β is obtained from regression analysis, that is

(b) Size of Recirculation Zone Unaffected by Far Bank It has been mentioned above that the
far bank become insignificant when channel width B1 is wider than Bcr . In this case, the size of the
recirculation zone is nearly independent of the channel width B1 . The numerical solutions show
that the dimension of the recirculation depends mainly on the velocity ratio R and the ratio γ of

397
 y y/B0
R=6 Eq.(17)
η 10 k-¦ Å model
ζ
U1 R=4
θ
¦Ä
5
R=2
x
θ0 B0

0
V0 0 5 10 15 x/B0

Figure 6. Definition sketch of the trajectory. Figure 7. Center line of trajectory (γ = 1.2).

the jet width to depth. The variations of L/B0 and Hi /B0 with R and γ are shown as follows:

in which a = 0.43γ −0.34 , b = 1.46γ −0.05

4.4 Formula for predicting the jet trajectory

With reference to Figure 6, the momentum flux of the jet normal to the bank is as

in which ū is the mean velocity in the ζ direction, θ is the angle of the trajectory to the x-axis,
δ is the total thickness of the jet normal to the ζ -axis, h is water depth and α  is the correction
coefficient of momentum taken as 1.
Based on the law of momentum, the following formula can be derived:

It is believed that the defection of the trajectory is due to the pressure difference caused by the
river acting on the jet, that is

in which Cd is taken as 4,

Solving Eqs (14)∼(15) with the boundary conditions of outfall, one can find the equation for
the trajectory as follows:

398
Without considering the effect of the river bed friction, Eq. (16) is reduced as

Figure 7 shows good agreement between Eq. (16) and the numerical solution. This demonstrates
that it is feasible to use Eq. (16) for predicting the jet trajectory.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, the investigation and analysis on the characteristics of the flow and concentration
field near bank outfall are made. The main conclusions are as follows:
(a) The effects of the velocity ratio and discharge angle on the flow and concentration fields near
outfall are significant. Thus, R and θ0 are important factor for study, which must be concerned in
outfall design.
(b) The effect of far bank on flow near field may be estimated according to the Eq. (8). In the case
that the channel width is narrower than Bcr the dimension of recirculation zone depends mainly on
the ratio of the discharge to the river momentum flux. On the other hand, when the channel width
is wider than Bcr , the dimension depends mainly on the ratio of the discharge to river velocity and
the ratio of jet width to depth.
(c) The distributions of velocity and concentration are concerned with the jet trajectory. In
predicting the jet trajectory, Eq. (16) deserve to be recommended.

REFERENCES

Mcguirk, J. & Rodi, W. 1978. A Depth-averaged Mathematical Model for the Near Field of Side Discharge
into Open-channel Flow, J. of Fluid Mechanics, 86(4): 761–781.
Mikhail, R., Chu, V.H. & Savage, S.B. 1975. The Reattachment of A Two-Dimensional Turbulent Jet in
A Confined Cross Flow, Proc. 16th. IAHR Cong., São Paulo, Brazil, Vol. 3: 414–419.
Patankar, S.V. 1980. Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow, Mc Craw-Hill.
Rastogi, A.K. & Rodi, W. 1978. Predictions of Heat and Mass Transfer in Open Channels, J. of Hyd. Div, Proc.
ASCE, 3: 397–420.

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3.3 Bubble plumes/jets
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Entrainment and mixing properties of a simple bubble plume

C. Bergmann, D.-G. Seol, T. Bhaumik & S.A. Socolofsky

Coastal & Ocean Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University,
College Station, Texas, USA

ABSTRACT: Two-fluid and mixed-fluid integral models of bubble plumes are compared to experi-
mental measurements of full-field velocity in laboratory-scale unstratified air-bubble plumes. Two-
fluid models treat the buoyancy of the bubbles and the entrained fluid separately; mixed-fluid models
treat the buoyancy of the bubbles and entrained fluid as a mixture. Laboratory data are obtained
using particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) for the bubbles and particle image velocimetry (PIV)
for the entrained fluid. The time-averaged velocity profiles of the entrained fluid match Gaussian
profiles; time-averaged velocity profiles of the bubbles resemble top-hat profiles. The laboratory
data provide a direct measurement of the entrainment coefficient, which lies between 0.1 at the
plume base and 0.06 far from the source. Bias in the mixed-fluid model toward a higher flow rate
and a narrower plume give poor comparison with the entrained fluid velocity and momentum flux.
By contrast, the two-fluid model matches all state space variables well.

1 INTRODUCTION

Multiphase plumes occur in a wide range of environmental applications, including bubble plumes
for reservoir aeration and destratification (McDougall 1978, Asaeda & Imberger 1993, Wüest
1993), oil and gas plumes in accidental oil-well blowouts (Socolofsky & Adams 2003, 2002,
Yapa & Zheng 1999), and direct ocean carbon sequestration (Crounse 2000) to name a few. In each
application, it is desirable to apply a simple model to predict the interaction of the multiphase
plume with its surroundings. Integral plume models are an example of such models and have been
developed extensively in past studies. However, detailed measurements of the full-field mixing
properties have not been available to test model formulations and to validate model coefficients.
As a first step to fill this need, we present full-field velocity measurements in an unstratified,
laboratory-scale bubble plume to test the applicability of mixed-fluid and two-fluid integral models.
The mixed-fluid and two-fluid integral models are derived in Section 2 along with an analysis of
the major differences between the models. Section 3 describes the experimental data and presents
results for the time-averaged velocity profiles of the entrained fluid and bubble rise velocity. The
comparison between the model and the experimental data is presented in Section 4.

2 INTEGRAL MODEL EQUATIONS

The integral models presented here are derived from the self-similarity assumption – lateral profiles
have the same shape at different plume heights. Although multiphase plumes are known to violate
self similarity even in the unstratified case, models based on the self-similarity assumption have
been successfully applied by many authors (e.g. McDougall 1978, Asaeda & Imberger 1993, Wüest
et al. 1993). For the models derived here, the lateral variation of a state variable is assumed to be

403
Gaussian, and is given by the equation

where X is the state variable of interest, Xm is the centerline value of the state variable, r is the radial
coordinate, b is the characteristic profile width, and λ is a scaling factor that allows different state
variables to have a characteristic width proportional to the base width b. Because the functional
variation in the radial direction is known, state variables can be integrated in the lateral direction to
obtain integral fluxes that are functions of height only. This reduces the problem to one dimension.
Thus, integral plume models consist of a system of conservation equations in the form of first-order
ordinary differential equations.
To derive the plume equations, we make two main assumptions. First, a turbulence closure model
is needed. The entrainment hypothesis states that the induced entrainment velocity at the boundary
of a turbulent plume is proportional to a characteristic upward velocity within the plume (Morton
et al. 1956). For a multiphase plume, we take the centerline velocity Um of the continuous phase
as the characteristic plume velocity. Second, we make the dilute plume assumption: the dispersed
phase void fraction C is small so that (1 − C) ≈ 1. Under these approximations, the conservation
of mass equation gives the classic result

where α is an entrainment coefficient and b is the characteristic width of the continuous phase
velocity profile.
The driving forces in a multiphase plume are due to buoyancy. The dispersed phase (bubbles,
droplets or particles) drives the plume either against gravity in the case of a dispersed phase
lighter than the ambient fluid or with gravity in the case of a heavier dispersed phase. If the
ambient environment is also stably stratified, then the entrained continuous phase also contributes
to the plume forcing and always acts in a direction opposite to the dispersed phase. There are
two common methods to treat these opposing forces. First, in two-fluid models, the buoyancy of
the dispersed phase and the buoyancy of the continuous phase are tracked separately. Second, in
mixed-fluid models, the buoyancy of the mixture is treated together by taking the average density
of the dispersed and continuous phase mixture as a single variable.
The differences between these two approaches are seen clearly in the conservation of momen-
tum equation. The momentum of the dispersed phase is negligible; thus, the net momentum is
M = π b2 Um2 /2 for both models. The applied force of the dispersed phase is not negligible, how-
ever, and two forcing terms appear in the two-fluid model, whereas, a single forcing term appears
in the mixed-fluid model. For the two-fluid model, the conservation of momentum gives

where γ is a momentum amplification factor that accounts for the added momentum of the tur-
bulence above that of the mean flow (first proposed by Milgram 1983), λ1 is the spreading ratio
between the bubble and velocity profile (generally less than 1), and λ2 is the spreading ratio between
the continuous phase buoyancy and velocity profile (generally greater than 1). The buoyancy of
the dispersed phase is given by the reduced gravity g  of the continuous phase (subscript b for
bubbles), and the buoyancy of the continuous phase is given by the reduced gravity of the entrained
fluid (subscript w for water). Cm is the void fraction of the continuous phase, which accounts for
the fact that the whole plume width is not occupied by bubbles. By contrast, the conservation of

404
momentum for the mixed-fluid model has a single forcing due to the mixture, given simply by the
reduced gravity g  of the mixture, resulting in the equation

where λ is the spreading ratio between the buoyancy and velocity profiles. In each case, g  is the
difference between the ambient density ρa at the height z and the constituent density (dispersed
phase, entrained phase, or mixture) normalized by a reference density ρr and multiplied by the
gravity constant g.
To close the set of equations, conservation equations for the buoyancy flux in the plume are
needed. The two-fluid model requires two equations, one each for the buoyancy of the dispersed
and continuous phases. For the continuous phase, buoyancy changes due to the entrainment of
stratified ambient fluid. Tracking the conservation of continuous phase buoyancy results in the
classic plume buoyancy equation for a stratified ambient (e.g. Morton et al. 1954)

where N is the Brunt-Väisälä buoyancy frequency −g/ρ(dρ/dz). The buoyancy conservation of

the dispersed phase depends on its physical and chemical properties. For inert, incompressible
particles or droplets, the buoyancy would be invariant. A common application of two-phase plume
models is for reservoir restoration. There, the fluid is air and is assumed to obey the ideal gas law.
In this case, the conservation of dispersed phase buoyancy is given by

where Q0 is the air flow rate at standard temperature and pressure (STP), HA is the atmospheric
pressure head, HT is the total pressure head at the release point, and z is the height above the
injection. Because bubbles rise faster than the entrained fluid, the buoyancy flux of bubbles is
adjusted by the factor Ub = (1 + λ21 )us , where the slip velocity us is the terminal rise velocity of a
single bubble in a quiescent ambient. Equations (5) and (6) close the system of equations for the
two-fluid model.
To derive the buoyancy conservation equation for a mixed-fluid model, McDougall (1978)
combined equations (5) and (6) to obtain a single equation. Assuming an unstratified ambient,

Then, multiplying the terms inside the derivative on both sides of equation (6) by Um /(Um + Ub )
and taking λ1 = λ2 = λ, the left-hand-side of equation (6) becomes identical to that of equation (5).
Since both equations (5) and (6) account for different effects, they are treated as parts of a total
derivative and combined to obtain

which is the equation derived in McDougall (1978). Hence, only equation (8) is needed to close
the system of equations for the mixed-fluid model.

405
 Table 1. Model flux equations for the two types of integral models derived in Section 2.

Conservation
equation Two-fluid model flux equations Mixed-fluid model flux equations

Mass:

Momentum:

Buoyancy:

The integral model equations presented above are solved using a fourth-order Runga-Kutta
algorithm. The state-space variables in the two-fluid model are the flux variables given by

and for the mixed-fluid model, the state-space variables are given by

Table 1 presents the equations for the two integral models in terms of the flux variables.

3 EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

To compare the behavior of simple bubble plumes to the equations derived above, detailed experi-
ments were conducted in a 40 cm by 40 cm cross-section by 70 cm deep Plexiglas tank under uniform
ambient conditions at the Hydromechanics Laboratory of the Coastal and Ocean Engineering
Program at Texas A&M University. Full-field velocity measurements of the dispersed phase were
obtained using particle tracking velocimetry (PTV), and measurements of the continuous phase
were by particle image velocimetry (PIV). Air bubble plumes were created for three air flow rates
(0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 l/min at STP) using a standard aquarium air stone (average bubble size 3 mm in
diameter). PTV measurements of the bubbles were obtained in the absence of seeding particles
using a continuous Ar-Ion laser and a high speed Phantom camera (500 fps at 512 by 512 pixels and
8 bit color depth). Velocity measurements of the continuous phase were obtained using an Nd:YAG
laser (250 mJ/pulse) and a high-resolution Flow Master camera (4 double frames per second at
1280 by 1024 pixels and 12 bit color depth). The bubbles could be filtered from the images because
they were brighter than the seeding particles; hence, the analysis could be applied to the bubbles
and entrained fluid separately for the high-resolution images. The bubble velocities obtained from
each camera were similar.

406
 (a) (b)

1 1

0.8 0.8
U/Um

U/Um
0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
r/b r/b

Figure 1. Measured and fitted velocity profiles for the entrained fluid (a) and bubbles (b). The profiles are
normalized by the centerline velocity of the fitted curve for each phase.

Time-average velocity fields (1200 frames for the PIV and 5000 frames for the PTV) were
obtained for the fluid and bubbles after accounting for plume wandering (the tendency for the
plume centerline to meander slowly during an experiment). Figure 1 shows typical velocity profiles
obtained for the entrained fluid (a) and the bubbles (b). The Gaussian curve fit to the entrained fluid
shows good agreement with the measured data. The bubble velocity profile more closely resembles
a top-hat profile, and the curve fit to the data in the figure is the reverse of a shallow water wake
profile suggested by Monkewitz (1988) and given by

where β is a parameter that adjusts the flatness of the central part of the profile. Taking β = 1 gives
a profile very similar to the Gaussian profile. The profile shown in the figure is for β = 3.
The Gaussian profiles fitted to the measured entrained fluid velocity provide direct measurement
of the variation of Um and b with height, which in turn define the variation of Q and J with
height. From these measured values and equation (2), the effective entrainment coefficient α is
also obtained and was found for all three experiments to have the functional relationship

This scaling is not intended to apply to field-scale plumes; scaling with the bubble Froude number
proposed by Milgram (1983) did not provide a collapse of the data. The entrainment coefficient
varied between 0.1 near the plume source and 0.06 far from the source. These values are comparable
to the pure-plume value of 0.083.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The integral models derived above were run for each of the three flow rates conducted in the experi-
ments using the entrainment coefficient value obtained from equation (12). This comparison is use-
ful to validate the formulation of the bubble expansion term but does not validate the effects of
stratification since the experiments were unstratified (stratified experiments are currently planned).
Figure 2 presents the results for the two-fluid and mixed-fluid models compared to the measured
data at a gas flow rate of 1.0 l/min at STP. Both models appear to agree well for predictions of the
flow rate and plume width, however, the variation of the velocity and, consequently, the momentum

407
 (a) (b)
0.4 5

4
0.3

Um/(B/z)1/3
Q/(Bz5)1/3

3
0.2
2
0.1
1

0 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
z/HT z/HT
(c) (d)
0.4 0.8

0.3 0.6
M/(Bz2)2/3
b/z

0.2 0.4

0.1 0.2

0 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
z/HT z/HT

Figure 2. Comparison of the two-fluid (solid line) and mixed fluid (dashed line) integral models to the
measured experimental data (dotted line).

do not match well for the mixed-fluid model. This is because the mixed-fluid model consistently
over-predicts the flow rate Q and under-predicts the plume width b. For both models, the spreading
ratio λ was taken as 0.8, and the models were nearly insensitive to λ. The only remaining free
parameter is the momentum amplification factor. The data in the figure are for a best-fit value of
γ = 1.5. The mixed-fluid model result does not significantly improve until an unrealistic value for
γ of 8 or greater is reached. Trials were also attempted with the right-hand-side of equation (8)
multiplied by a factor ½ to account for effectively adding equations (5) and (6) to obtain
equation (8). This did not improve the agreement.
Comparisons with the other flow rates in the experiments give similar trends, and the two-fluid
model tracks the variations due to different bubble flow rates well. These comparisons indicate
that the two-fluid model includes multiphase plume physics consistent with the experimental data.
The poor agreement for the mixed-fluid model for the plume momentum flux has important con-
sequences in stratified flows, where the plume will be arrested as the momentum approaches zero
due to the negative buoyancy of the entrained fluid. Experiments at other scales are necessary to
evaluate the variation of α at the field scale.

5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Mixed-fluid and two-fluid integral models of unstratified bubble plumes are compared to detailed
experimental measurements of full-field plume velocity. The experimental data were obtained
using PTV for the bubbles and PIV for the entrained fluid. Time average profiles allow the direct
measurement of the entrainment coefficient, which lies between 0.1 near the plume source and
0.06 in the upper regions of the plume.

408
 The two-fluid model tracks all of the state space variables well (entrained volume flux, center-
line velocity, plume width, and momentum flux) and its trend with bubble flow rate also agrees
with the experimental data. The mixed-fluid model over-predicts the flow rate and under-predicts
the plume width so that the entrained fluid velocity and momentum flux do not track the experi-
mental results. This has important consequences in stratified flows, where the plume arrests as the
momentum flux approaches zero due to the entrainment of ambient water.

REFERENCES

Asaeda, T. & Imberger, J. 1993. Structure of bubble plumes in linearly stratified environments. J. Fluid Mech.
249: 35–57.
Crounse, B.C. 2000. Modeling buoyant droplet plumes in a stratified environment. MS thesis, Dept. of Civil &
Envirn. Eng., MIT, Cambridge, MA.
McDougall, T.J. 1978. Bubble plumes in stratified environments. J. Fluid Mech. 85(4): 655–672.
Milgram, J.H. 1983. Mean flow in round bubble plumes. J . Fluid Mech. 133: 345–376.
Monkewitz, P.A. 1988. The absolute and convective nature of instability in two-dimensional wakes at low
Reynolds number. Phys. Fluids 31(5): 999–1006.
Morton, B.R., Taylor, G.I. & Turner, J.S. 1956. Turbulent gravitational convection from maintained and
instantaneous sources. Proc. Royal Soc. 234A: 1–23.
Socolofsky, S.A. & Adams, E.E. 2002. Multi-phase plumes in uniform and stratified crossflow. J . Hydraul.
Res. 40(6): 659–672.
Socolofsky, S.A. & Adams, E.E. 2003. Liquid volume fluxes in stratified multiphase plumes. J . Hydraul. Eng.
129(11): 905–914.
Wüest, A., Brooks, N.H. & Imboden, D.M. 1993. Bubble plume modeling for lake restoration. Wat. Resourc.
Res. 28(12): 3235–3250.
Yapa, P.D. & Zheng, L. 1999. Modeling underwater oil/gas jets and plumes. J . Hydraul. Eng. 125(5): 481–491.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Interaction between a bubble plume and the near field in a

stratified lake

D.F. McGinnis, J.C. Little

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
Virginia, USA

A. Lorke, A. Wüest
Applied Aquatic Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG),
Kastanienbaum, Switzerland

A. Stöckli
Baudepartemement des Kanton Aargau, Abteiling für Umwelt, Aargau, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: A steady-state bubble-plume model is evaluated using full-scale temperature, salin-

ity and dissolved oxygen data collected in a Swiss Lake. The data revealed a plume-generated
near-field environment that differed significantly from the ambient far-field water column prop-
erties. A near-field torus of reduced stratification developed around the six plumes, the extent of
which is on the same lateral scale as the horizontal dislocations generated by persistent 1st-mode
seiching. The plume fallback water was found to penetrate much deeper than expected, thereby
maintaining reduced vertical gradients in the near-field torus. The plume entrains a portion of the
fallback water leading to short-circuiting, which generates a complex plume-lake interaction and
reduces far-field downwelling relative to the upward plume flow. As the integral plume model
incorporates the entrainment hypothesis, it is highly sensitive to the near-field environmental con-
ditions. After identifying appropriate near-field boundary conditions, the plume model predictions
agree well with the field observations.

1 INTRODUCTION

No thorough full-scale studies have been undertaken to investigate plume-lake interactions.

While many bubble-plume models have been developed, most were tested in laboratory settings
[McDougall, 1978; Asaeda and Imberger, 1993; Brevik and Kristiansen, 2002] or in limited
in-situ studies [Wüest et al., 1992; Lemckert and Imberger, 1993]. Previous models typically
assume steady-state conditions and do not account for short- and long-term temporal and spatial
alteration of the density structure or water quality with the associated change in plume dynam-
ics. Such changes may result from seasonal (climatic) warming and cooling, reservoir operation
(withdrawal), inflow, seiching, and more importantly for this study, the plume-lake interaction
itself. This paper demonstrates that a more complex plume-lake interaction exists than generally
assumed, and that knowledge of this interaction is necessary to correctly simulate plume dynamics.
Using a combination of field measurements and modeling we 1) study the bubble-plume and the
plume-lake interaction, 2) determine from the data and model the appropriate boundary conditions,
and 3) use the new understanding of the plume behavior in a full-scale validation of the Wüest et al.
[1992] bubble-plume model.

411
2 BUBBLE-PLUME MODEL

A model that predicts hydrodynamics and constituent concentrations in circular bubble-plumes

[Wüest et al., 1992] is investigated. The plume model theory is based on horizontally integrated
equations of the conservation of mass, momentum, heat, salinity and gas species [McDougall,
1978]. Entrainment is assumed proportional to the local plume velocity and circumference [Morton,
1959]. The plume model also includes the effects of stratification due to vertical temperature and
salinity gradients. A key contribution of the Wüest et al. [1992] model was the use of a variable
buoyancy flux to account for changing bubble size not only due to decompression and thermal
expansion, but also gas dissolution and stripping. While previous studies neglected gas exchange,
it is particularly important in deep systems, or for weak plumes, where gas transfer can be rapid.
The model also uses bubble size dependent equations for bubble rise velocity and mass transfer
coefficients. The gas transfer component of the plume model has been independently validated in
discrete-bubble oxygen transfer tests [McGinnis and Little, 2002], and in a full-scale airlift aerator
[Burris et al., 2002].

3 EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

The in-situ study was undertaken in Lake Hallwil, a medium-sized lake located on the Swiss Plateau.
In 1986, the “Tanytarsus” diffuser system was installed to combat anoxia. As shown in Figure 1,
six 6.5-meter diameter diffusers are installed in a 300-meter diameter circular configuration near
the center of the lake. To establish appropriate boundary conditions for the plume model, high
spatial resolution of the near-plume environment is required. Measurements therefore focused on
the entire lake response to hypolimnetic oxygenation in 2001, and the near-field plume environment
in 2002. During 2001, transects were measured at 18 locations along the main axis of Lake Hallwil
(Figure 1) using a SeaBird SBE19 CTD profiler. In 2002, spatially high-resolution (1–2 meter)
transects were obtained across an individual plume, also using the CTD.

Figure 1. Lake Hallwil bathymetry showing CTD sampling stations (diamonds), diffuser locations (circles),
mooring 1 (M1) and mooring 2 (M2).

412
4 OBSERVATIONS AND MODEL COMPARISONS

4.1 Plume-induced near-field environment

Figure 2 shows high-resolution contour plots for temperature in the near-field plume environment.
From the contour plot, the plume appears highly turbulent and somewhat heterogeneous in nature.
The high-resolution temperature contour plot indicates an approximately Gaussian distribution
as expected. The depth of maximum plume rise (DMPR) is 7.5 meters with the average of 9.4
meters taken at the 7◦ C contour line. Multiple detrainments appear to occur in the northerly (left)
direction. This is probably the result of horizontal advective cross flow due to internal seiching.
The depression in the temperature isopleths that plunges almost to the lake bottom immediately to
the north (left in Figure 2) of the plume is probably the result of detrained water that passes the
equilibrium depth (ED) due to momentum.

4.2 Far-field hypolimnetic environment

Whole-lake contour plots from 24 July, 16 August, and 27 September 2001 (Figure 3) show tem-
perature distributions in Lake Hallwil during plume operation in the 2001 stratified season. The
nearly 1-km wide depression of the isotherms in the deep central region between 25 and 40 meters
indicates the presence of warmer water, while the slightly convex isotherms in the shallower region
indicate cooler water, demonstrating the impact of the six circular plumes on the hypolimnion. The
1-km wide near-field plume-induced structure is caused by seiching.
The persistent warmer water at lower depths in the seiche-enhanced near-field may be explained
by plume water fallback from either detrainment at the top of the plume, detrainment along the
rising plume (multiple detrainment), or a combination of both. It was surprising to observe plume
fallback water at depths lower than the estimated ED or point of neutral buoyancy. This could also
occur due to multiple detrainments, with some denser plume water detraining lower down in the
plume. It is further hypothesized that after the higher than ambient density plume water detrains at
the DMPR, momentum carries the fallback water past the point of neutral buoyancy and towards

Figure 2. 18 July 2002 near-field temperature (◦ C) contours with predicted plume diameter overlaid. For
clarity, the contours are scaled to show only values in the range of 5.7–8◦ C.

413
Figure 3. 24 July (top), 16 Aug (middle) and 27 Sept (bottom) 2001 far-field temperature contours (◦ C).
The x-axis zero point is located at the center of the 300-meter diameter diffuser ring. The contours were
interpolated from 18 CTD profiles (locations indicated by black squares at the bottom of the plots) sampled
along the centerline of the lake (see Figure 1).

the lake bottom, before finally rising again to the ED, which is estimated to be between 20–30
meters based on the temperature structure shown in Figure 3. This phenomenon was observed,
although to a lesser extent, by Lemckert and Imberger [1993].
As previously mentioned, the internal seiching motion explains the horizontal dispersion of
the plume “signature.” As indicated in Figure 3, the horizontal extent of the seiche-induced zone
(higher temperature) at the lower depths is approximately 1-km wide and slightly shifted to the north
(right on Figure). This is substantially larger than would be expected for the six individual plumes
arranged in a 300-meter diameter ring in quiescent water. Due to the geometry of the basin and a
24-hour wind forcing, rather intense and persistent 1st-mode seiching occurs [Gwaze, 2003]. The
hypolimnetic seiche currents are sinusoidal with an amplitude of ∼3.5 cm/s and an average current
velocity of 1 cm/s. The distance this water moves at 1 (3.5) cm/s over a 6-hour period is 220 (750)
meters, and thus seiching can significantly increase the horizontal dispersion of the localized plume
signature. These observations further support the hypothesis that the plume generates a near-field
environment, which strongly affects the plume hydrodynamics and constituent concentrations.

414
Figure 4. Averaged measured in-plume temperature and DO profile and plume-model predictions using
appropriate near-field boundary conditions.

4.3 Model comparison with improved boundary conditions

Using appropriate near-field boundary conditions in the plume model yielded substantial improve-
ments in model predictions, as shown in Figure 4. The results of the simulation are also
superimposed on the temperature contour plot (Figure 2) showing predicted plume diameter as
a function of depth, and the predicted DMPR. The new boundary conditions were constructed
by averaging the boundary profiles measured 5 meters on either side of the center of the plume.
Using these profiles, the plume model predicts both the DMPR and rate of spread extremely well,
given the top hat assumption versus the actual approximately Gaussian distribution. In Figure 4,
the predicted temperature profile compares well, but appears to diverge at 20 meters depth to
approximately 0.3◦ C less than the measured temperature. This may be a result of the boundary
profiles still being somewhat inaccurate. Depending on the direction and strength of the horizontal
hypolimnetic current velocities and the plume interaction at stronger temperature gradients, the
plume may entrain and detrain water at different rates and with different properties around the
plume. Furthermore, the average plume temperature is based only on the two-dimensional transect
and may also be laterally heterogeneous. Also, as previously discussed, the plume boundaries are
not well defined due to inhomogeneity caused by seiching and detrainment. Using a single profile
for the model calculation may not be as accurate under such heterogeneous boundary conditions.

5 CONCLUSIONS

A steady-state, horizontally-averaged, bubble-plume model was evaluated on a 1:1 scale using

high-resolution CTD data. Observations of the plume near- and far-field revealed the following:

• The plume-lake interaction was found to be much more complex than previously believed. The
bubble plume creates its own local environment on two different scales: the plume torus, where
the directly detrained water and fallback water are accumulated over tens of meters off the plume,

415
 while the seiche-induced near-field of the plume reaches up to 1/2 km in either direction. This
distance is governed by the internal seiche velocity multiplied by 1/2 the seiche period.
• The data show that the plume fallback and mixing results in a more homogeneous density
structure within the plume torus. This leads to a shallower DMPR, as there is less density
gradient to overcome. To properly model the plume, it is necessary to select the appropriate
density boundary conditions.
• Using the near-field boundary conditions, rather than the far-field, produced excellent model
predictions, with a shallower DMPR and closer temperature and dissolved oxygen predictions.
• Because a significant portion of entrained plume water is from the torus, the plume constituents
depend strongly on the near-field environment, which is created by the plume itself. The plume
properties and model predictions are strongly dependent on these continually changing boundary
conditions.
The data also show that the plume falls back much deeper than expected from the far-field
model predictions, which leads to considerable short-circuiting of the return flow, and a subsequent
reduction in the rate of oxygen transport to the entire lake. It is unclear whether the deeper fallback
is primarily due to multiple detrainments or the more isothermal plume torus. This fallback may
alter the entrainment coefficient, currently assumed to be constant, due to enhanced turbulence at
the plume/ambient water interface.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Financial support was provided by the U. S. National Science Foundation (Grant No. BES
0202034) with supplemental funding from the Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science
and Technology (EAWAG) and Canton Aargau.

REFERENCES

Asaeda, T., and J. Imberger (1993), Structure of bubble plumes in linearly stratified environments, J. Fluid
Mech., 249, 35–57.
Brevik, I., and Ø. Kristiansen (2002), The flow in and around air-bubble plumes, Int. J. Multiphase Flow,
28(4), 617–634.
Burris, V. L., D. F. McGinnis, and J. C. Little (2002), Predicting oxygen transfer rate and water flow rate in
airlift aerators, Water Res., 36(18), 4605–4615.
Gwaze, S. (2003), Structure, Dynamics and Energetics of Internal Waves in Lake Hallwil, M.Sc., IHE-DELFT,
Delft, Holland.
Lemckert, C. J., and J. Imberger (1993), Energetic bubble plumes in arbitrary stratification, Jour. Hyd. Eng.,
119(6), 680–703.
McDougall, T. J. (1978), Bubble plumes in stratified environments, J. Fluid Mech., 85(4), 655–672.
McGinnis, D. F., and J. C. Little (2002), Predicting diffused-bubble oxygen transfer rate using the discrete-
bubble model, Water Res., 36(18), 4627–4635.
Morton, B. R. (1959), Forced plumes, J. Fluid Mech., 5, 151–163.
Powell, T., and A. Jassby (1974), The estimation of vertical eddy diffusivities below the thermocline in lakes,
Water Resour. Res., 10(2), 191–198.
Wüest, A., N. H. Brooks, and D. M. Imboden (1992), Bubble plume modeling for lake restoration, Water
Resour. Res., 28(12), 3235–3250.
Wüest, A., and A. Lorke (2003), Small-scale hydrodynamics in lakes, Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 35, 373–412.
Wüest, A., G. Piepke, and D. C. Van Senden (2000), Turbulent kinetic energy balance as a tool for estimating
vertical diffusivity in wind-forced stratified waters, Limnol. Oceanogr., 45(6), 1388–1400.

416
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

3D PTV measurement of bubble jet in water

J. Funaki, Y. Yokoyama & K. Hirata

Dept. Mech. Engng., Doshisha Univ., Kyoto, Japan

ABSTRACT: The bubble flow often becomes a key phenomenon in diverse engineering aspects.
However, bubble’s movement has not been clear, yet. In this paper, in order to individually inves-
tigate the movement of each bubble, we attempt a 3D PTV analysis. A compressor blows air into
water in a cubic tank through a converging nozzle with an inner diameter of 0.3[mm]. The pressure
of a chamber between the compressor and the nozzle is p0 = 1.0 × 105 [Pa], p0 = 2.0 × 105 [Pa]
or p0 = 0.1 × 105 [Pa]. We take the stereo pictures, using two high-speed cameras, and compare
choked and non-choked conditions.

1 INTRODUCTION

In recent years, we have often suffered from water pollutions caused by eutrophication in lakes,
ponds and harbors. Engineers have developed a simple method to improve water quality, using
bubble jets which provide oxygen into water.
This study is a basic research for an air-bubble jet into water. Concretely speaking, our aim is
to develop a 3-Dimentional Particle Tracking Velocimetry (3D PTV), and to reveal the movements
of bubbles one by one, quantitatively. This method has the following advantages. There exists no
sensor which disturbs flow, And we get 3D information of a whole area successively (for example,
see Adrian (1991)).

2 METHOD

2.1 Experimental apparatus

Figure 1 is our experimental apparatus. A tank is a cube of 1 [m] × 1 [m] × 1 [m], and made by
acrylic resin. A compressor makes air flow from a converging nozzle (inside diameter of bubbles’
loci and the nozzle is 0.3[mm]) into water. Air flow is shed as air bubbles in water. Using two
high-speed video cameras with a frame rate of 1/500[s], two images of bubble flow are taken at the
same time. Figure 2 shows a sample pair of two photos, at the same time. From these two photos,
we obtain spatial positions of bubbles at the time. 3D PTV analysis gives us bubbles’ loci and the
velocity vectors, from a sequence of the positions. We use a halogen lamp as lighting. Pressure
in a chamber is measured by a pressure transducer. Pressure signal from the transducer through
a sensor interface are converted in digital data on a PC. The present experimental conditions are
p0 = 0.1 × 105 , 1.0 × 105 , and 2.0 × 105 [Pa], L = 700[mm], T = 7.0[◦ C]. Here p0 is pressure in
the chamber, L is nozzle depth, T is temperature of water.

2.2 Experimental method

2.2.1 Outline of 3D PTV analysis
For 3D PTV analysis, we regard bubbles as tracer particles. First, using two high-speed cameras,
which are calibrated in advance, we take two simultaneous images of bubbles in a measurement
volume. Secondly, we calculate three-dimensional positions of bubbles from a par of stereo images.

417
 1 3 2 10

7 1 Tank100010001000
2 Pressure sensor
air
3 Chamber
4 Air pipe
5 Compressor
8 6 Personal computers
7 High-speed cameras
8 Camera interface
4 9 Sensor interface
10 Flow control valve

6 9 5

Figure 1. Schematic view of experimental apparatus [mm].

(a) (b)

Figure 2. A sample of stereo photos for 3D PTV analysis (Lower area, p0 = 1.0 × 105 [Pa] (choked)).

Velocity vectors of bubbles are obtained from 4 successive informations of position. All data
processings have been done in a PC. Details are as follows.

2.2.2 Calibration for 2 high-speed cameras

First, we fix two cameras as their fields of view just cover up the measurement volume. Here, if
possible, two camera centers should cross, and should be right-angled. Second, we put as many
datum points as possible in the measurement volume, and take a stereo photo. Here, datum points
are known. But, because actual datum points are spheres with finite volumes, we have to determine
sphere’s centers as datum-points. In the present experiment, the number of datum points is about 40.
Thirdly, we can decide a co-ordinate system, by which we construct a virtual space corresponding
to the real space in a PC.

418
 Flow Field Bubbles

Image
Plane 1 Image
Ray 2 Plane 2

Ray 1

Camera 1 Camera 2

Figure 3. Specification of bubbles’ positions.

2.2.3 Specification of 3-dimensional positions of air bubbles

First, we specify the center positions of air bubbles on each 2-dimentional photo, through a digital
image processing. Namely, after removal of the background image which is the assemble of station-
ary pixels during measurement time, we consider the maximum luminosity position as the bubble
center. Here, in order to identify each bubble from crowded bubbles, we suppose two thresholds,
that is a minimum dimension of bubbles and a minimum luminosity for bubbles. These thresholds
can reduce random error, but we should assume appropriate values depending on experimental
conditions. Second, we determine the straight line on which there are both the bubble center and
the camera view point. Then, we can see a bubble’s position on the decided co-ordinate system as
a intersection of the two straight lines from a pair of stereo images (see Fig. 3).

2.2.4 Loci and velocity vectors of air bubbles

Now, we know all bubbles’ positions in the real 3D space on every time steps. For identification
of a bubble on different time steps, a genetic algorithm is used, based on successive 4 time steps’
data. So, we can get loci of bubbles. Then velocity vectors are obtained from 2 time steps’ data.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 4 is a one typical result of 3D PTV for a choked jet. As chamber pressure is enough high to
choke, jet velocity is regarded to be sonic. As the whole flow field is too large to analyse accurately,
we divide the whole area into two; that is, an upper area near the water-tank surface and a lower area
near the tank bottom. Figures 4 (a) and (b) are almost side views, on the other hand, Figs 4 (a) and
(b) are almost top views. Figures 4(a) and (a) indicate the same flow field, and Figs 4(b) and (b) do
as well. However, an upper-area result ((a) and (a) ) and a lower-area result ((b) and (b) ) are not the
same time results. Photos are taken enough time after air has begun to be shed. From Fig. 4, except
for two regions near the free surface and near the nozzle, we can see bubbles’velocities in the central
part of the air jet tend to be smaller than those in the surrounding part. On the other hand, near the
free surface, we cannot observe the above tendency, that is, we can see low and large velocities
every where in the jet. Near the nozzle, bubbles are forming and crowded, then PTV analysis
becomes difficult. So, except for the above two regions, we can confirm that smaller bubbles are
likely to exist in the central part, and that larger bubbles are likely to exist in the surrounding part.
Figure 5 is one typical result for non-choked. As well as Figs 4 (a) and (b), Figs 5 (a) and (b)
indicate an upper area and a lower area from an almost side view point, respectively. And the
instants when the pictures are taken are not the same. We can confirm that most bubble velocities
are almost equal, which is contrast to Fig. 4, while bubbles slowly spread in the radial direction
with rising.

419
 10-2[m/s] 10-1[m/s]

(a) Upper area (side view) (b) Lower area (side view)

10-2[m/s]
10-1[m/s]

(a)
Upper area (top view) (b)
Lower area (top view)

Figure 4. Vectors of bubbles shed from a converging nozzle, at p0 = 1.0 × 105 [Pa] (choked).

Figure 6 is a close-up photo near the nozzle exit at p0 = 2.0 × 105 [Pa] (choked). In the present
experiment, at the nozzle exit, there is a small bulk of air at any time. Air bubbles with various
diameters are shed from the bulk. Some shed bubbles may combine with each other, or may split up.
Figure 7 shows typical three air-bubble loci, at p0 = 2.0 × 105 [Pa] (choked), which are obtained
from PTV results. One locus is for a smaller bubble with an average diameter (a + b)/2 = 0.9 [mm].
The bubble’s shape is almost a sphere. The locus is near the center of a jet, and has less hor-
izontal fluctuation. Two loci are for larger bubbles with (a + b)/2 = 2.4 [mm] and 3.0 [mm]. The
bubbles’ shapes are almost spheroids. The loci are far from the jet center, and have larger horizontal

420
 10-2[m/s] 10-1[m/s]

(a) Upper area (side view) (b) Lower area (side view)

Figure 5. Vectors of bubbles shed from a converging nozzle, at p0 = 0.1 × 105 [Pa] (non-choked).

(mm)
60

50

40

30

20

10

Figure 6. A close-up photo near a nozzle exit (po = 2.0 × 105 [Pa] (choked)).

100

80 Small bubble
(a+b)/2= 0.9(mm)
a/b=0.68 a/b=0.69
60 a/b=1.0
z [mm]

Large bubble 1
a/b=0.60 (a+b)/2= 2.4(mm)
40 Large bubble 2
a/b=0.65 (a+b)/2= 3.0(mm)
20 a/b=0.53
a/b=0.72

-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25
X [mm]

Figure 7. Loci of large and small bubbles (po = 2.0 × 105 [Pa] (choked)).

421
fluctuation in a spiral. The above results are agree with the result of Fig. 4, where larger and faster
bubbles are in the surround and smaller and slower bubbles are in the center.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The authors obtain the following conclusions.

(1) We have developed 3D PTV analysis on an air-bubble jet in water, in order to reveal air
bubbles’ movements from a bottom nozzle into a water tank, quantitatively, instantaneously,
and, successively and individually.
(2) For a choked jet, small and slow bubbles tend to be in the central part of a bubble jet. On
the other hand, large and fast bubbles tend to be found in the surrounding part of it. For a
non-choked jet, all bubble’s velocities are almost equal.
(3) We confirmed that most larger bubbles rise up with large fluctuations in a spiral, and that most
smaller bubbles rise up near the center with small fluctuations.
This study was partly supported by the Academic Frontier Research Project on “Next Generation
Zero-emission Energy Conversion System” of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology.

REFERENCE

Adrian, R. J. 1991, “Particle-imaging techniques for experimental fluid mechanics,” Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech.,
23, pp. 261–304.

422
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Upward flux of methane in the Black Sea: Does it reach the

atmosphere?

D.F. McGinnis, A. Wüest, C.J. Schubert & L. Klauser

Applied Aquatic Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG),
Kastanienbaum, Switzerland

A. Lorke
Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany

R. Kipfer
Wasserressourcen und Trinkwasser, Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology
(EAWAG), Dübendorf, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: As methane has 21 times the global warming potential as the same mass of carbon
dioxide, it is important to determine the physical processes which contribute to the upward flux
to the atmosphere from methane-containing submarine seeps. The Black Sea’s contribution to
the global methane flux is a growing concern, it is important to properly understand the relevant
transport mechanisms in the water column. Subsurface methane is released into the water column in
the Black Sea from destabilizing methane hydrates and active seep areas. Vertical methane transport
can occur due to bubble transport, methane-induced bubble plumes and turbulent diffusion. The
combination of modeling and analysis reveals that advective methane transport to the surface from
plumes and gas bubbles is very low, and only occurs in very shallow sites (<200 m). Furthermore,
the low turbulent diffusion coefficient and the relatively high methane oxidation rates are important
processes that hinder high methane contributions to the atmosphere.

1 INTRODUCTION

Methane, after carbon dioxide, is the second most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and
has caused dramatic climate shifts in the past several million years (Dickens, 2000; Hinrichs et al.,
2003). Methane has 21 times the global warming potential as the same mass of carbon dioxide
(St. Louis et al., 2000). Anthropogenic inputs, such as rice paddies, livestock, and biomass combus-
tion contribute the largest proportion to the atmospheric concentration (71%) (Reeburgh, 1996).
Methane concentrations have in fact doubled from 850 ppb to currently approximately 1750 ppb over
the last 150 years (Cicerone & Oremland, 1998). Natural sources, such as wetlands and termites,
contribute, along with other small sources, approximately 29%. Recently, it has been suggested
that up to 18% of the atmospheric methane is emitted from reservoirs (St. Louis et al., 2000).
Atmospheric methane concentrations, however, would be even much higher if the huge methane
pools that are stored in ocean and lake sediments would be released to the atmosphere. Current
research has therefore focused on the methane contribution from gas hydrates, a phenomenon that
has been overlooked some 20–30 years ago (Kvenvolden, 1988). Higher temperatures from global
warming lead to the dissociation of methane hydrates and the subsequent release of methane to the
water column. It is estimated that twice the amount of energy is stored in gas hydrates than in all
combined coal, gas, and oil deposits (Kvenvolden, 1988). In this study, we estimate the vertical
flux of methane in the Black Sea above gas seeps resulting from methane hydrate destabilization
to determine how much, if any, methane reaches the atmosphere.

423
Figure 1. Black Sea study sites (map from OMC) for which methane release assessment was performed.

The Black Sea has a surface area of 423,000 km2 , a volume of 5.45 × 105 km3 and a maximum
depth of 2212 m, making it the largest anoxic water basin in the world (Ross & Degens, 1974).
Originally a freshwater lake, the Black Sea became brackish when the Bosporus made a full con-
nection to the Mediterranean waters about 7150 yr ago due to glacial activity (Ryan & Cita, 1977;
Görür et al., 2001). Freshwater river inflow resulted in lower surface water salinity (17.5–18.5‰),
whereas the deep water salinity is 22.3‰ (Murray, 1991). Due to the permanently stable stratifica-
tion, anoxia developed in the hypolimnion (∼4.7 km3 ) over the past several thousands of years, with
the aerobic surface waters separated by a chemocline of 100-200 m deep, depending on location
(Sorokin, 2002).
In the north western Black Sea, hundreds of active gas seeps occur along the shelf and slope of
the Crimea Peninsula at water depths between 35 and 800 m (Ivanov et al., 1991). Recently, active
gas seeps down to 2100 m water column have been detected in the Dvurechenskii mud volcano area
(Fig. 1) (44◦ 16 N, 34◦ 58 E, Bohrmann & Schenk, 2002). This portion of the CRIMEA project (EC
project EVK-2-CT-2002-00162) focuses on the fate of the methane resulting from such seeps, i.e.
physical transport and the microbial methane oxidation. To determine the physical processes which
contribute to the upward flux from these seeps, it was necessary to combine various modeling and
analysis techniques to understand these transport mechanisms in the water column. Results are
presented detailing methane transport in the Black Sea due to (1) bubble transport, (2) methane-
induced bubble plumes and (3) vertical turbulent diffusion. These transport mechanisms are then
compared with the methane concentrations and oxidation rates, which allows us to estimate the
conditions and means by which methane released from seeps reaches the surface.

2 METHODS AND LOCATIONS

Measurements were performed at the shallow (Dnepr paleo-delta area) as well as the deep
(Dvurenchenskiy area) seep sites with R/V Professor Vodyanitsky during the two CRIMEA cruises,
May–June 2003 and 2004 (Fig. 1). An active mud volcano was located at the Dvurenchenskiy site
at approximately 1850 m depth where gas bubbles could be seen on the echosounder up to 1000 m
water depth, i.e. a flare of bubbles could be followed 850 m through the water column. Therefore

424
 80% % methane
40 remaining
60% 90%
80
40%

Depth (m)
60%
120

20%
160 30%

200 0%
4 8 12 16 20
Initial Bubble Diameter (mm)

Figure 2. Model results: percent of methane reaching the surface from a 100% methane bubble.

temperature profiles where collected using both a Seabird SBE 25 CTD probe (Conductivity, Tem-
perature and Depth, sampled at 25 Hz) and a modified Seabird SBE 9 CTD profiler equipped with
fast response thermistors (sampled at 96 Hz) at both sites. Water samples were also collected to
measure methane concentrations and methane oxygenation rates. These data are then used to look
for the occurrence of plumes, and as boundary conditions for modelling of bubble plumes and
turbulent transport.

3 RESULTS

3.1 Bubble transport

In dispersed seeps, which typically occur at the shallow sites, methane is released intermittently
where the buoyancy introduced by bubbles is not sufficient to drive a plume. Vertical transport is
therefore by bubble dissolution in the water column, or gaseous methane transport to the atmos-
phere. Using a bubble model which tracks an individual bubble traveling through the water column
(McGinnis & Little, 2002), we are able to determine the amount of methane transported to the
surface as a function of depth and bubble diameter (Fig. 2).
The equations of state for gas have been modified to account for non-ideal behavior of gaseous
mixtures at high pressure. The model includes nitrogen, oxygen, methane and CO2 . As shown in
Figure 1, a rather large bubble from a relatively shallow depth is needed to transport a significant
quantity of methane to the atmosphere. However, bubbles, even if not reaching the atmosphere, will
dissolve methane higher into the water column where it is more likely to diffuse to the atmosphere
(Section 3.3). When seeps are strong and release high volumes of gas, or have a high heat flux,
then a plume may be generated.

3.2 Plume transport

Plumes advectively transport dissolved methane as well as bubbles higher in the water column.
CTD profiles obtained during the Spring 2003 cruise are used to look for evidence of these plumes.
A technique, called the Thorpe scale analysis, is used to reorder the temperature profiles to give a
corresponding smooth profile (Thorpe, 1977) (Fig. 3). This allows us to locate turbulent overturns
and the associated small-scale temperature inversions. Figure 3 shows 30 m mixing lengths at
around 950 meters depth, with the corresponding profile section shown on the right. Although
not all of the CTD temperature profiles have been analyzed, such overturn lengths have not been
observed in the off-seep site temperature profiles. These large overturns correspond to the same

425
 850

900

Depth (m) 950

1000

1050
-20 0 20 8.850 8.855 8.860 8.865
Displacement length (m) Temperature (°C)

Figure 3. An example of a temperature profile near the deep seep and the corresponding Thorpe scale
displacement.

Methane Concentration (mg L-1)

0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020
800
Velocity Concentration
1000

1200
Depth (m)

50 mol s-1 gaseous methane

1400 100 m source diameter
10 mm bubble diameter
1600

1800
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40
Velocity (m s-1)

Figure 4. Preliminary plume model results showing plume velocity and in-plume methane concentration.

location as the previously discussed active mud volcano (Section 2) where gas bubbles could be
seen on the echosounder up to 1000 m water depth. The energy represented by the overturns shown
in Figure 3 is likely added by the plume at this location.
To determine if such a large plume could exist, a previously developed bubble-plume model was
employed. The model is based on fundamental principles and is applicable to deep-water bubble
plumes with some modifications. An important aspect of the model is that it accounts for the
variable buoyancy flux due to (i) isothermal expansion of the rising plume water; (ii) the density
contribution of dissolved methane and thermal fluxes, both of which also increase the buoyancy;
and (iii) changes in bubble size. Appropriate plume modeling is important in that both the rising
plume and gas bubbles are the key deep-water physical transport mechanisms for methane.
Figure 4 shows the preliminary bubble-plume model results using the boundary conditions
(temperature, methane, salinity and CO2 ) obtained near the deep water seep. Using a source
diameter of 100 m, bubble size (10 mm) and gaseous methane flux (50 mol s−1 or 0.025 Tg yr−1 )
were adjusted such that the plume reached approximately 900 m. Note the initial acceleration of the

426
Figure 5. Diffusivity estimates and water column stability from microstructure profiles.

plume in the lower 200 m. Dissolved methane decreases water density, which increases the plume
buoyancy. This effect stops when enough ambient water is entrained to dilute the high methane
concentration in the plume.

3.3 Vertical diffusion

Methane bubbles and methane induced plumes, regardless of whether they reach the surface,
enhance the upward vertical transport of methane, potentially leading to higher concentrations in the
shallow waters and subsequent diffusion to the atmosphere. The vertical diffusivity is estimated from
the 34 temperature microstructure profiles obtained in spring 2003. The profiles were processed
by fitting to the theoretical Batchelor spectrum to estimate the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic
energy. The data are then used to calculate the turbulent diffusivity of constituents through the ther-
mocline and halocline (Fig. 5). The results indicate that turbulence within the stratified water column
is very weak. From Figure 5, the vertical diffusivity in the surface water is Kz = 1 × 10−6 m2 s−1 ,
the upward flux of dissolved methane into the surface 50 meters can then be calculated as

where Az is the area of the Black Sea at 50 m, and the right-hand term is the methane concentration
gradient. Using a concentration gradient of 0.3 nM m−1 yields a basin-wide vertical flux in the
surface layer of 70 Mg yr−1 (1.6E−4 g m−2 yr−1 ).

3.4 Methane oxidation

As the diffusivity is low, it is likely that a large portion of the dissolved methane in the shallow water
is oxidized before reaching the atmosphere. The Black Sea water column contains spatially varying
amounts of methane, with concentrations in the oxic surface waters in the nano-molar range and con-
centrations in the deep water exceeding 11 µM (Table 1) (Scranton, 1988); (Reeburgh et al., 1991).
Background methane concentrations vary around 11 µM in the deep water; however concentrations
up to 16 µM have been detected in the area of active seeps. At a shallow seep site, the methane
increase was even more pronounced with concentrations approximately 4 times higher compared to
a reference site (no seep influence). Given the high methane oxidation rates, and the corresponding
high turnover of, on average, approximately 1–2 years, it is likely that a substantial portion of the
surface-water methane is oxidized, preventing large fluxes from reaching the atmosphere. This is
in agreement with the very low methane flux estimate (70 Mg yr−1 ) from Section 3.3.

427
Table 1. Methane concentrations, oxidation rates, and residence times (Schubert, 2004).

Methane concentraion nM Methaneoxidation rate nM/d Residence time day

Location
depth (m) 1–150 m 150–300 m 300–end 0–150 m 150–300 m 300–end 0–150 m 150–300 m 300–end

250 (seep) 34 736 0.08 2.05 425 359

600 (seep) 262 3585 8443 0.34 6.99 16.15 771 513 523
2000 269 3326 11318 1.04 10.3 33.4 259 323 339
(off seep)

4 CONCLUSIONS

It is estimated that the Black Sea contains a total of 96 Tg of methane (Reeburgh et al., 1991). From
Table 1, the methane oxidation rate is calculated as 60 Tg yr−1 , based on a methane residence time of
approximately 1–2 years, a relatively short period of time. Assuming steady state, this oxidation rate
is in balance with a methane-carbon production of 100 g C m−2 yr−1 , which is in good agreement to
the primary production of 240 C m−2 yr−1 reported by Sorokin (2002). Typically, approximate 10–
20% of primary productivity results in a net system carbon production (i.e. 24–48 g C m−2 yr−1 );
suggesting other sources of methane besides from methanogenesis.
Preliminary conclusions indicate that methane plumes from deep water sources, while perhaps
strong (e.g. the ∼0.025 Tg yr−1 estimated from the single, deep plume in this study), stop well below
the surface where the methane is oxidized to CO2 before reaching the atmosphere. Depending on
the initial bubble size, methane reaches the surface only in shallow sites (<about 200 m), however,
most is dissolved and subsequently oxidized in the water column. Plume formation, while less
likely in shallower regions, will also increase the amount of methane which reaches the surface,
and may allow slightly deeper sources to reach the atmosphere. However, the high oxidations rates
and low diffusivities lead to surface flux estimates of less than 70 Mg yr−1 , allowing us to conclude
that the Black Sea is not, compared to a worldwide release of 500 Tg yr−1 , a significant contributor
of methane to the atmosphere.

REFERENCES

Bohrmann, G., & S. Schenk. 2002. RV Meteor Cruise Report M52/1, Margasch. Geomar, Kiel.
Cicerone, R. J., & R. S. Oremland. 1998. Biogeochemical aspects of atmospheric methane. Global
Biogeochemical Cycles, 2, 229–327.
Dickens, G. R. 2000. Methane oxidation during the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum. Bull. Soc. Geol.
France, 171(37).
Görür, N., M. N. Cagatay, Ö. Emre, B.Alpar, M. Sakinc,Y. Islamoglu, O.Algan, T. Erkal, M. Kecer, R.Akkök, &
G. Karlik. 2001. Is the abrupt drowning of the Black Sea shelf at 7150 yrBP a myth? Marine Geology, 176,
65–73.
Hinrichs, K.-U., L. R. Hmelo, & S. P. Sylva. 2003. Molecular fossil record of elevated methane levels in late
Pleistocene coastal waters. Science, 299(5610), 1214–1217.
Ivanov, M. V., G. G. Polikarpov, A. Y. Lein, V. F. Galchenko, V. N. Egorov, S. B. Gulin, M. B. Gulin,
I. I. Rusanov, Y. M. Miller, & V. I. Kupsov. 1991. Biogeochemistry of the carbon cycle in the zone of
Black Sea methane seeps. Dokl. Akad. Nauk USSR, 320, 1235–1240.
Kvenvolden, K. A. 1988. Methane Hydrates and Global Climate. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 2(3),
221–229.
McGinnis, D. F., & J. C. Little. 2002. Predicting diffused-bubble oxygen transfer rate using the discrete-bubble
model. Water Research, 36(18), 4627–4635.
Murray, J. W. 1991. Black Sea Oceanography. Results from the 1988 Black Sea Expedition. Deep-Sea Research,
38, Supplementary Issue No. 2A, S655–S1266.
Reeburgh, W. S. 1996. “Soft spots” in the global methane budget. Pages 334–342 in M. E. Lidstrom, &
F. R. Tabita, editors. Microbial growth on C1 compounds. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Amsterdam.

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Reeburgh, W. S., B. B. Ward, S. C. Whalen, K. A. Sandbeck, K. A. Kilpatrick, & L. J. Kerkhof. 1991. Black
Sea methane geochemistry. Deep-Sea Res., 38, Supplement 2, S1189–1210.
Ross, D. A., & E. T. Degens. 1974. Recent sediments of Black Sea. Pages 183–199 in E. T. Degens and
D. A. Ross, editors. The Black Sea – Geology, Chemistry, and Biology. Memoir 20. Amer. Assoc. of Petrol.
Geol., Tulsa.
Ryan, W. B. F., & M. B. Cita. 1977. Ignorance concerning episodes of ocean-wide stagnation. Marine Geol.,
23, 193–215.
Schubert, C. J. 2004. Unpubl. data.
Scranton, M. I. 1988. Temporal variations in the methane content of the Cariaco Trench. Deep Sea Res., 34,
1511–1523.
Sorokin, Y. I. 2002. The Black Sea Ecology and Oceanography. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands.
St. Louis, V. L., C. A. Kelly, E. Duchemin, J. W. M. Rudd, & D. M. Rosenberg. 2000. Reservoir surfaces as
sources of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere: a global estimate. BioScience, 50(9), 766–775.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The use of mechanical mixers to improve circulation and mixing of

large bodies of water

K.H.M. Ali & L.S. Tong

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

ABSTRACT: Water quality of large bodies of water can be improved by using various artificial
techniques. These include aerators, mechanical mixers and water jets. This paper describes some
preliminary experimental results obtained using a mechanical mixer in two different hydraulic
models. Also given are some results obtained using the FLUENT computer package to predict the
behaviour of an air plume and a buoyant jet.

1 INTRODUCTION

Reservoir and lakes are usually isothermal in winter and spring with wind maintaining the circu-
lation. Prolonged solar radiation heats the water surface resulting in stratification. In the United
Kingdom, the onset of summer results in a continuous increase in surface temperature (Stephens
and Imberger 1992). The increased temperature gradient decreases vertical mixing, further increas-
ing the strength of stratification. Three zones may be defined (Tolland 1977): the epilimnion – the
upper layer which contains warm water and is kept in circulation by the wind; the thermocline –
a layer which the temperature decreases rapidly with depth, and the hypolimnion – a cool and
relatively static bottom layer. Decomposition of organic matter depletes the available oxygen in the
hypolimnion resulting in deoxgenation and deterioration of water quality.
Several methods have been used to destratify and aerate reservoirs. These include the use of water
jets (Ali and Jaeffar-Zadeh 1989), the use of bubble plumes (Wuest et al 1992) and mechanical
mixers (Stephens, R and Imberger, J 1992). Figure 1 shows an example of the use of an aeration
system in Cardiff Bay (UK). The £3.4 million project involved installing 27000 m of air line,
feeding 700 diffusers placed on the bottom of the bay.
The present writers are involved in an extensive research programme to apply Computational
Fluid Dynamics through the FLUENT package to study intermediate and far field circulation and
mixing using bubble plumes, water jets and mechanical mixers. Various experiments were conduced
for verification purposes. This paper reports some preliminary experiments employing mechanical
mixers.

2 THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS

2.1 Mechanical mixers

Stephens and Imberger 1993 stated that the impeller induced flow closely resembles the flow from a
simple turbulent jet with initial specific momentum flux of ω2 D4 , where ω is the impeller’s angular
speed and D is diameter of the impeller. Assuming, as usual, constant momentum flux in the case
of a simple jet (Fisher et al 1979), we obtain

431
Figure 1. Plan view of the Cardiff Bay barage improvement.

Figure 2. View of the physical model.

where c = constant, u = jet centreline velocity, Dz = diameter of the jet at a distance z from the jet’s
virtual origin. Stephens and Imberger used a relationship for the jet width bw :

Approximately, Eq. (2) gives

Dz = 0.1 z and Eq (1) gives

where Up = ωD
Eq. (3) is not applicable at very small values of z.

432
Figure 3. Two layer destratification by a mixer (after Stephens and Imberger).

Figure 4. Circulation by mechanical mixer in the square tank.

Figure 5. Distribution of velocity cause by mechanical mixers in the square tank.

2.2 The round turbulent jet

(a) Homogenous jet and ambient fluid
Fisher et al give the following relationships for a circular turbulent jet.

where Uo = jet velocity and Do = jet diameter.

433
 The centreline dilution, s, is given by

where Qc = entrained discharge at z.

(b) The radial jet
A vertical jet will spread radially at the water surface. If ro is the radius of the jet and bo is its
thickness, then experiments give:

and

b = half width of jet at radial distance r.

3 EXPERIMENT ARRANGEMENT AND PROCEDURE

Two experiment arrangements were used in this study. A square tank 3.1 m in length and 0.5 m high
was used in one set of experiments. A square grid 0.2 m in length was marked on the floor of the
tank. The second set of experiments was conducted on a scale model of Cardiff Bay. This model
was undistorted with a scale ratio 74.
An axial impeller was used in both models. The impeller was 0.23 m in length and 40 mm wide. In
the square tank experiments the impeller was positioned in the centre of the tank, near the bed pro-
ducing flow vertically upwards. In the Cardiff Bay model the orientation of the impeller was varied.
A video camera was positioned above each model and the movement of surface floats was
recorded using video monitoring equipment.
At the beginning of each experiment 10 mm diameter floats were positioned over the whole
surface of the model. The water surface was then allowed to settle for about 10 minutes. The
impeller was then started and the angular speed was adjusted using a digital techeometer. The
circulation in the tank was allowed to establish over a period of about 30 minutes. Recording of
the float’s movements was then started and additional floats were as necessary to cover different
parts of the model.
The impeller power is given by

Using the experimental results, the following relationship was obtained.

where Qc = circulating discharge.

The orientation of the impeller was varied in the Cardiff Bay model. It was found that much
better circulation was obtained when the axes of the impeller was at an angle of about 30◦ to the

434
Figure 6. Graph showing circulation against impeller discharge.

Figure 7. Circulation pattern by a mixer in the Cardiff Bay model.

horizontal. Figure 7 shows a typical surface circulation pattern. Figure 8 shows surface velocity
distribution across a section in the model.
The FLUENT computer package was used to simulate the behaviour of an air plume. Figure 9
gives a typical example. Also, FLUENT was used to simulate the behaviour of a radial buoyant jet
discharging into a circular reservoir. Figure 10 gives some preliminary results.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Mechanical mixers are efficient in improving the circulation and mixing of large bodies of water.
Positioning the axes of the impeller at a slight angle to the bed results in considerable improvement
in mixing. This is hardly surprisingly since for a round jet, the circulating discharge is directly
proportional to the distance from the jet (Eq. 5).
FLUENT is a very useful means of studying these phenomena.

435
 5

2
velocity (m)

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
-1

-2

-3

-4
distance (m)

Figure 8. Sample surface velocity distribution at grid line 9.

Figure 9. Break up of a stratified condition by air plume model through “FLUENT”.

436
Figure 10. Computer modeling output of circulation pattern in a service reservoir with a buoyant jet inlet.
Plan view of circulation on top and the cross-section at the bottom.

REFERENCES

Ali, K.H.M. and Pateman, D.R. (1981), “Prediction of the Circulation in Reservoirs”, Proc ICE, Part 2, 71,
June, pp 427–446.
Ali, K.H.M. and Jaefar-Zadeh, M.R. (1989), “Circulation and Mixing in a Stratified Reservoirs”, Jour. of Hyd.
Res., Vol.27, No. 5, pp 683–697.
Ali, K.H.M. and Othman, K. (1997), “Investigation of Jet forced Water Circulation in Reservoirs,” Proc. ICE.
Wat., Marit. & Energy, 124, March, pp 44–62.
Fisher, H.B., List, E.J., Koh, R.C.Y., Imberger, J. and Brooks, N.H. (1979), “Mixing in Inland and Coastal
Waters”, Academic press.
Jonsson, L. and Rissler, S. (1991), “The Use of Mixers for Improving Water Quality in Reservoirs”, Advances
in Water Resources Technology, pp 407–416.
Smith, J.M., Goosens, L.H.J. and Doorn, M.V. (1982), “The Mixing of Ponds with Bubble Columns”, 4th Eur.
Conf. On Mixing, BHRA, Lecuwenhorst, Netherlands, April, pp 71–80.
Stephens, R. and Imberger, J. (1993), “Reservoir Destratification via Mechanical Mixers”, Jour. of Hyd. Eng.,
ASCE, Vol.119, No.4, April, pp 438–457.
Tolland, H.G. (1977), “Destratification/Aeration in Reservoirs”, Tech. ReportTR50, Water Res. CTR, 37 pages.
Wuest, A., Brook, N.H. and Imboden, D.M. (1992), “Bubble Plume Modeling for Lake Restoration”, Water
Resources Research, Vol.28, No.12, December, pp 3235–3250.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Production of efficient bubble plumes for destratification:

Theory and experiment

N.V.M. Odd, J.G. Rodger & C.B. Waters

Consultants to HR Wallingford Ltd, Oxfordshire, England

ABSTRACT: Four different full scale prototype Aquaerators, pre-dilution devices for mixing air
bubbles with water to form an efficient bubble plume in relatively shallow water, were designed,
manufactured and tested in a 6m deep tank in the laboratory and in a 20 m deep London reservoir.
This paper describes the development and testing of theories and a numerical model developed
to predict the buoyancy and flow exiting the mixing device and within the bubble plume rising
through a stratified water column. The bubble plume model may also be used by itself to predict
the behavior of the bubble plume with specified patterns of stratification as shown in this paper.

1 BACKGROUND

In 2001, Aquarius Marine Group (AMG), together with a small to medium sized European business
organization, were awarded a CRAFT contract by the European Commission to develop and test
innovative ideas of Mr. T Wynes, for a device, the Aquaerator, which would improve the control of
stratification in tanks, lakes, reservoirs and still coastal waters.
Thermal stratification causes a number of problems in poorly flushed waters. The presence of a
layer of warm water overlying colder, denser water inhibits vertical mixing and, in particular, the
downward transfer of dissolved oxygen from the normally well oxygenated surface waters. The
bottom waters become deoxygenated, with the possibility of the release of metals from the bed
sediments while the warm, well lit, surface layer is conducive to the growth of larger populations
of phytoplankton. If stratification can be controlled by artificial mixing, dissolved oxygen can be
maintained at an acceptable level throughout the water column and algal growth is reduced as the
phytoplankton are diluted and spend less time in the photic zone.
A number of devices and strategies exist to help control stratification but most are relatively
inefficient and there is little published information on the values of physical parameters, which
determine the behavior of the bubble water mixture. The Aquaerator discussed in this paper, is a
new pre-dilution device which helps initiate an efficient bubble plume in relatively shallow water
of 10 m–50 m.

2 DESIGN OF THE AQUAERATOR

The main purpose of the Aquaerator is to mix air bubbles with static water near the bed of the
body of water or at a higher level in the water column. This is done in order to generate optimum
initial conditions for the rising buoyant plume exiting the device with respect to: (1) bubble size;
(2) bubble concentration distribution; (3) water discharge; (4) swirl and turbulence.
An Aquaerator works on the same principal as an air lift suction pipe that is used for dredging
sand where compressed air is injected into the base of a rigid draught tube. The air/water mixture
in the vertical tube has a significantly lower bulk density than the surrounding water and the
net hydrostatic force creates and upward flow in the tube. AMG’s main innovative idea were to

439
introduce the air via a large number of jets, to streamline the horizontal water inlets and to remove
obstructions to flow up the draught tube.
The bubble size should be as small as possible to minimise the slip velocity relative to the rising
water. A high slip velocity reduces the effective buoyancy of the plume. However, very small jets
or fine bubble blocks generate significant energy losses and may require air filters.
A non-uniform bubble distribution across the plume diameter also reduces the effective buoyancy
of the rising plume. The water discharge through the Aquaerator should be as large as possible – for
a given air flow – in order to maximise the initial vertical momentum and turbulence of the water
exiting the Aquaerator to increase entrainment of the static ambient water. The effect of injecting
swirl into the flow is discussed later.

3 THEORY FOR FLOW THROUGH AN AQUAERATOR

The net upward hydrostatic force on the water over the cross-section at the base of the draught tube
may be calculated as follows (HR Wallingford 2003):

where: Fhs = net hydrostatic force; At = cross sectional area of the draught tube; ρo (kg/m3 ) = the
density of the ambient water; ρB (z)(kg/m3 ) = the bulk density of the air/water mixture z (m) above
the base of the tube; g (m/s/s) = the acceleration of gravity; Qo = the air flow rate (m3 /s) at Normal
Temperature and Pressure (NTP); Qw = the water discharge (m3 /s) up the tube; ha= the atmospheric
head (∼10.2 m at sea level); uB = the bubble slip velocity (m/s); H = d + ha is the pressure head
at the base of the tube where d = depth of tube base below the water surface (m).
Part of the net hydrostatic force, Fhs , is expended accelerating the bubble-free water into the
relatively streamlined (frictionless) inlets in the horizontal direction. The increase in the horizontal
2
momentum flux at the throat (narrowest part) of the inlet is: QW /Ati where Ati is the minimum
cross-sectional area of the inlet.
Any resulting tangential flow – depending on the angle of the inlet vane – is assumed to be
converted into angular momentum (swirl). The flow then requires a similar external force to accel-
erate it up the draught tube in the vertical direction. The increase in vertical momentum flux at the
narrowest section in the draught tube is: Qw2 ρo /(At − ao ) where (At − ao ) is the minimum cross-
sectional area of the draught tube and the minimum area is determined by the degree of separation
of the flow at the curved transition above the inlet (Vena contracta) and to a lesser extent by air jets
reducing the effective area of the waterway.
The remaining excess hydrostatic pressure force is assumed to be balanced by the retarding force
caused by skin friction on the perimeter of the draught tube: F = ρo f πDhQw2 /2A2t where f = the
Darcy Weisbach friction factor; D = the diameter of the draught tube.
By equating forces and changes in momentum flux we obtain:

The equation is implicit in Qw The water discharge through the device, which varies with the cube
root of the airflow, is weakly dependent on the height of the draught tube but is sensitive to the
diameter of the draught tube. Initially, it was assumed that the friction factor, f , would be small
(∼0.02) because the draught tube is smooth. The remaining main variable was the bubble slip
velocity relative to the water. The bubble size depends on the size of the air outlets in the manifold.

440
4 LABORATORY AND FIELD EXPERIMENTS

Several full scale prototype Aquaerators were tested in a 6m deep tank and in a 17m deep reservoir to
compare their performance and evaluate the constants. The following equipment and experimental
methods were employed:
– Calibrated gas flow meters and pressure and temperature sensors were used to evaluate the
airflow (Qo ) at NTP;
– An ultrasonic Doppler meter was used to obtain the water discharge (Qw ) up the draught tube;
– A nuclear density probe was used to measure the time-averaged bulk density (air distribution)
across the outlet of the draught tube;
– A small roving submerged camera was used to view the bubble flows;
– Qw was measured for a range of air flows. The prototypes had a range of values for h, and D,
inlet shapes and sizes and air manifold designs (distribution and number of air jets).
– The ultrasonic meter was used to measure the rise velocity of a small stream of bubbles from an
individual jet.

5 BUBBLE SIZE AND RISE VELOCITY

The bubble size and its rise (or slip) velocity, uB , relative to the water has a significant influence
on the magnitude of the water discharge in the draught tube and on the effective buoyancy of the
air/water mixture. A fine bubble block will produce a cloud of small bubbles but the head loss
across the block is large and the air has to be filtered. Visual observations showed that the selected
jets produced bubbles of about 10 mm in diameter. The bubble slip velocities were measured to be
0.13 m/s. Scorer (1978) showed that surface tension prevents bubbles of less than 20 mm diameter
from breaking up and that they have a spherical upper surface, radius R, and a flattened slightly
concave lower surface. Daris
√ and Taylor (1950) assumed a constant pressure on the bubble surface
and predicted that:uB = 23 gR (m/s).
A bubble rise velocity of 0.13 m/s is equivalent to a bubble diameter of 8 mm, which is close to that
derived from observations made using a background grid. The bubble rise velocity was also used to
correct the ultrasonic flow meter results in order to obtain the water discharge:Qw = Qobserved −At uB .

6 FRICTION FACTOR OF DRAUGHT TUBE

The laboratory experiments showed, unexpectedly, that the presence of bubbles occupying only a
few percent of the flow caused the friction factor, f , to increase 20 fold compared to usual smooth
pipe values. The flow in the relatively short smooth draught tube (0.5 m−3 m) probably did not
reach an equilibrium profile. The best fit be was achieved using f = 0.39 for a 2.66 m high and
0.298 m diameter single stage Aquaerator, which is equivalent to a very large effective spherical
roughness, Ks , of 175 mm.
Later, it was found that extrapolated values using the Nikuradse rough pipe theory fitted the
experimental data from larger diameter tubes (600 mm) and that the friction factor did not appear
to be sensitive to the air volume ratio in the experiment (1%–5%). The effect of the draught tube
diameter on the water flow through the Aquaerator is shown in Figure 1. The tube lengths were
3.4 m and 2.7 m for the large and smaller tube diameters respectively.
The theory and the empirical constants were considered to be sufficiently accurate to define the
discharge, buoyancy and momentum flux at the exit of the Aquaerator as a function of its basic
dimensions, depth of overlying water and the air flow. The main effect of adding swirl by angling
the inlet vanes was to cause the air bubbles to be concentrated in the centre of the draught tube.
Typical shapes of the velocity and bulk density profiles 1m above the exit with swirl are shown in
Figure 2.

441
 Single Stage Aquaerator
Predicted, d=0.6m
200
Observed, d=0.6m
Predicted, d=0.296m
150 Observed, d=0.296m
QW (L/s)

100

50

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Qo at NTP (L/s)

Figure 1. Comparison between the observed and predicted draught tube water flows (Qw ) for different airflows
(Qo ).

w(r) r2
w(0) 0.8 e l2b2

r2 r(r)
1 2
b r(0)
0.6

0.4

0.2

0
-0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
r (m)

Figure 2. Observed velocity (w) and density (ρ) profiles as a function of radius (r).

7 THE BUOYANT PLUME

Buoyant brackish and thermal plumes have been the subject of considerable study over many years
assuming Gaussian velocity and density distributions. The authors found, however, that a parabolic
velocity profile with a definite boundary (w = 0) and a Gaussian density profile allows for bubbles
to spread outside the rising plume. Bubble plumes differ from normal buoyant plumes because the
buoyancy is provided by the bubbles which rise faster than the water, is immiscible and is lost if
the bubbles separate from the plume. As a bubble plume rises, the hydrostatic pressure decreases
and the bubbles expand which increases the buoyancy and hence the momentum flux of the plume.
Should the bubble plume reach a point in a stratified water body where the air/water mixture
forming the plume becomes neutrally buoyant and the vertical momentum falls to zero, the plume
will tend to spread out laterally. The detrained air bubbles then start another plume.

442
 Based on the observed velocity and density profiles (Fig. 2) and theory, the equations describing
the bubble plume can be written as:

Where z = the height above the base of the Aquaerator; ρr = representative density of the receiving
waters; λ = constant; g  (z)/g = the value of the relative density deficit at the plume centre line at
height z; Q(z) = volume airflow (m3 /s) at height z.
The entrainment velocity, ue , at the edge of the plume (r = b, w(z, r) = 0) is assumed to be directly
dependent on the centre line velocity ⇒ ue = αwo (z). An equation describing the conservation of
water volume can then be written as:

Because the relatively rapidly rising (0.5 m/s) bubble plume field appears to have a well defined flow
boundary, the authors allowed for the turbulent shear stress in terms of a mixing length (l = Kr(z),
K a constant)and, applying the Boussinesq assumption, obtained the following equation describing
conservation of vertical momentum:

The equation describing conservation of buoyancy can be written as:

Where ρ(z) is the ambient density at height z above the base of the Aquaerator. As shown in HR
Wallingford 2003, this equation can be simplified to:

In developing the plume model, two principal areas of uncertainty should be noted. As discussed
above, the bubble plume may reach a point in a stratified water body where the air/water mixture
forming the plume becomes neutrally buoyant and the vertical momentum falls to zero, the plume
will tend to spread out laterally. The detrained air bubbles then start another plume (McDougall
1978). In the current model, it is assumed that the second bubble plume begins to rise with a
velocity equal to the bubble slip velocity. Immediately above the exit of the Aquaerator, there
will be a transition zone in which the exit momentum of the bubble plume will dominate the
plume development and buoyancy forces will be of minor importance. Numerical experiments
were carried out in which different assumptions about the size of the transition zone and rates of
entrainment were made but it was found that within a few tube diameters of the tube exit, the

443
simulated plume was fairly insensitive to the assumptions being made. However, farther work is
required to investigate these two areas of uncertainty.
A Newton-Raphson iterative procedure was used to solve the three simultaneous ordinary dif-
ferential equations describing conservation of water volume, conservation of momentum and
conservation of buoyancy. At the exit from the Aquaerator, the volume flux of water and verti-
cal water velocity were determined from the theory described above using the dimensions of the
particular device.
The bubble plume model was calibrated using field data from an Aquaerator deployed in a 17 m
deep water supply reservoir. The initial discharge out of the Aquaerator was observed to be 145 L/s
for an air flow of 13.4 L/s. The main empirical constant to be determined was the entrainment
coefficient, α. It proved to be impossible to measure water velocity profiles in the plume because
of the interference of the bubbles with the ultrasonic device and movement of the plume which had
considerable swirl in some cases. The use of tracers in a reservoir was not allowed for health and
safety reasons. Instead, small surface and sub-surface drogues were deployed to measure the radial
outflow at the surface in non-stratified conditions. The optimum value for α was determined to be
0.116 which reproduced the observed outflow of 10 m3 /s at the surface for an airflow of 13 L/s. The
prediction was mildly sensitive to the value of λ which is usually set at 0.7 and it was fairly insensitive
to the turbulent mixing/friction coefficient K which was set at 0.035. The predicted radius of the
surface boil was about 4 m compared to an observed radius of ∼3 m. The predicted centre line
velocity 5 m above the Aquaerator was 0.5 m/s compared to an observed velocity of ∼0.4 m/s
The field trials showed that significant quantities of swirl induced by angling the intake vanes
caused λ to increase and the bubble plume to precess in a circular orbit which would reduce the
re-entrainment of sinking detrained water.

8 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

A theory was developed successfully to predict the discharge, momentum and buoyancy fluxes of
an air/water mixture exiting a pre-dilution device called an Aquaerator.
The results of laboratory and field observations were used to develop and calibrate a theoretical
description of a bubble plume rising in a stratified water column.
The resulting bubble plume model was incorporated into HR Wallingford’s existing three-
dimensional seasonal model (SULIS) of water movements and water quality that can be used
to predict conditions in reservoirs.
An analysis of the impact of six Aquaerators using a total of only 90L/s of air on a working
London water supply reservoir, which showed that they reduced the peak and average potential
energy of thermal stratification (J/m2 ) by about 40%, will be the subject of a later paper.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research described in this paper – a small part of the AQUAERATION Project, was carried
out by the Environmental Measurement and Assessment Group of HR Wallingford Ltd and its
consultants. The HR project was managed by Dr A.S. Nottage. The research was funded by the
European Commission as CRAFT Contract EV1-CT-2000-30007.

REFERENCES

Davis, R.M. & Taylor, G.I. 1950. The mechanics of Large Bubbles Rising Through Extended Liquid and
Through Liquids in Pipes. Pro Roy. Soc. A Vol 200, p 375.
McDougal, T.J. (1978). Bubble Plumes in Stratified Environments. J. Fluid Mech. Vol 85, part 4, pp 655–672.
HR Wallingford (2003). Aquaeration. Improved Reservoir Water Destratification. Report EX 4808Scorer, RS.
(1978). Environmental Aerodynamics. Ellis Forward Ltd.

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3.4 Outfall discharge
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Near- and far-field model coupling methodology for

wastewater discharges

T. Bleninger & G.H. Jirka

Institute for Hydromechanics, University Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany

ABSTRACT: The prediction of pollutant concentrations in the coastal waters is essential for water
quality control. The description of physical processes and their implementation in computer models
shows that there is neither a “complete model” including all important spatial and temporal scales
of the dominant processes nor a standard procedure for the coupling of models. This is explained by
deficiencies in either implementing dominant physical near-field processes into a far-field model
and/or coupling the models to each other. Capabilities and limitations of modeling techniques
applied to waste plume mixing and dispersion from submerged multiport discharges are discussed
for environmental impact analysis. The recommended procedure combines the relative strengths
of the near-field mixing zone model CORMIX and the Eulerian far-field flow and water quality
models within Delft3D.

1 INTRODUCTION

There is worldwide increasing utilization of controlled treatment facilities in combination with

submarine outfalls to achieve better coastal water quality. Outfalls transport the effluent offshore
through a pipe or tunnel and discharge commonly through a multiport diffuser. The latter is a
linear structure with a (usually large) number of ports mounted on, or connected through risers to a
submerged pipe laid on the ocean floor. Multiport diffusers are effective mixing devices which by
the choice of discharge point and hydraulic design can influence the short-term impact. Long-term
influence of the discharge needs to be addressed in terms of levels of bacteria or persistent substances
in the effluent. There are several diagnostic and predictive methodologies for examining the mixing
from point sources and showing compliance with environmental quality standards. Beside costly
and difficult field measurements and hydraulic model studies, which both are usually limited to
certain ambient conditions computer models became the most important tool. Existing scientific
approaches and techniques for predicting environmental impacts for large regions and long time
periods are still very complex and do not allow standard engineering design solutions. Therefore
capabilities and limitations of modeling techniques applied to waste plume mixing and dispersion
from submerged multiport discharges are discussed in terms of model selection and the linking of
mixing zone models (near-field) and general water quality models (far-field).

Mixing Processes for multiport diffuser plume predictions

The hydrodynamics of an effluent continuously discharging into a receiving water body can be con-
ceptualized as a mixing process occurring in two separate regions. In the first region, the initial jet
characteristics of momentum flux, buoyancy flux (due to density differences), and outfall geometry
influence the effluent trajectory and degree of mixing. This region, the “near-field”, encompasses
the buoyant jet flow and any surface, bottom or terminal layer interaction (fig. 1). Outfall designers
can usually affect these initial mixing characteristics through appropriate manipulation of design
variables. A review of these processes has been given by Fischer et al. (1979), Jirka & Lee (1994),
Baumgartner et al. (1993) and Roberts et al. (1989 a, b, c). As the turbulent plume travels further
away from the source, the source characteristics become less important and the far-field is attained.

447
Figure 1. Left: Laboratory investigation of near-field mixing of submerged discharge into a stratified water
body. The initial buoyant jet motion is followed by trapping and internal spreading at the terminal level
Right: Physical processes, length and time scales for discharge in coastal environment (Jirka et al., 1976).

A pool of wastewater is formed either at the surface or at the level of submergence under strati-
fication conditions. Ambient environmental conditions will control trajectory and dilution of the
turbulent plume through buoyant spreading motions, passive diffusion due to ambient turbulence,
and passive advection by the often time-varying, non-uniform, ambient velocity field. The flow is
forced by tide at the open boundaries, wind stress at the free surface, pressure gradients due to free
surface gradients (barotropic) or density gradients (baroclinic). Vertical mixing in stratified water
bodies is damped by buoyancy, so subsequent dilution is mainly due to horizontal mixing by the
turbulent eddies (Zielke & Mayerle, 1999).

2 WASTEWATER PLUME DISPERSION MODELLING

Near-field models describe with good resolution the details of physical mixing processes (mass
advection and diffusion), but are limited to relatively simple pollutant kinetics by assuming either
conservative substances or linear decay kinetics. This is acceptable for most applications, since
residence times in the near-field are typically short so that chemical or biological mass transform-
ations are usually unimportant. In simple water bodies, such as coastal regions or estuaries with
well defined uni-directional current regimes or with simple reversals, and with moderate pollutant
loadings, the use of near-field mixing zone models alone may suffice to arrive at, or to evaluate, a
design of a point source discharge that meets regulations. However, regions with multiple current
regimes (inertial, tidal, wind- or buoyancy driven) and with large pollutant loadings, especially
where several sources may interact and additional diffuse sources may exist, near-field models
must be supplemented by larger-scale (far-field) transport and water quality models. The latter are
capable of prediction over greater distances in the water body of the concentration distributions for
different pollutants, but also for nutrients and other bio-chemical parameters with due consideration
of mass transformation and exchange processes. They do not, however, have the high spatial
resolution that is required to predict near-field mixing processes, a coupling approach is necessary.

2.1 Near-field model

The near-field focused expert-system CORMIX (Jirka et al., 1996) was chosen because it addresses
the full range of discharge geometries and ambient conditions, and predicts flow configurations
ranging from internally trapped plumes, buoyant plumes in uniform density layers with or with-
out shallow water instabilities. Boundary interaction, upstream intrusion, buoyant spreading and
passive diffusion in the intermediate field are also considered.

448
 CORMIX assumptions are a cross-section of the water body be described as a rectangular straight
uniform channel, uniform ambient velocity and steady-flow conditions (however recent develop-
ments allow the analysis of unsteady mixing in tidal environments). If the assumptions are too
rigorous, influences of ambient non uniformities can be analyzed within CORMIX using CORJET,
a 3-D buoyant jet integral model that predicts the jet trajectory and dilution characteristics of a
single round jet or of a series of merging jets from a multiport diffuser with arbitrary discharge
direction and positive, neutral or negative buoyancy in a general ambient environment (Jirka, 2004).
The ambient conditions can be highly non-uniform with both ambient current magnitude, current
direction, and density a function of vertical distance. CORJET can be used as an enhancement
to the near-field predictions. The major limitation of CORJET lies in the assumption of an infin-
ite receiving water body, similar to all other available jet integral type models (e.g. UM or RSB
in Visual Plumes or JetLag in VisJet). Thus, CORJET (and so far all the other models with the
infinite receiving water body assumption) should only be used after an initial CORMIX classifi-
cation has shown that the single or multiple port discharge is indeed of the deep water type, i.e.
hydrodynamically stable, without boundary interactions.

2.2 Far-field flow model

The velocity field may be obtained from a numerical calculation of the equations of motion
(a so-called “circulation model”) or from field surveys, or occasionally from a physical scale
model. Three-dimensional modeling is needed where the horizontal flow field shows significant
variation in the vertical direction. This variation maybe generated by wind forcing, bed stress,
Coriolis force, bed topography or density differences. A number of public-domain or commercial
codes are available at present to aid in the prediction and engineering design of coastal effluent
discharge schemes. These include the models Delft3D (Delft Hydraulics), ECOM (Hydroqual),
Mike 3 (Danish Hydraulic Institute), POM (Princeton University) and Telemac-3D (HR Walling-
ford). For this study the model suite Delft3D from Delft Hydraulics (2001) was chosen for the
following reasons.
The hydrodynamic module Delft3D-FLOW solves the unsteady shallow water equations in three
dimensions (hydrostatic assumption). The effect of variable density is only taken into account in
the horizontal pressure gradient term (Boussinesq approximation). The equations are formulated
in orthogonal curvilinear co-ordinates or in spherical co-ordinates on the globe. The utilization
of sigma grids tolerates much smaller levels of horizontal viscosity and diffusivity (Mellor et.al.,
2002). It includes: tidal forcing, Coriolis force, density driven flows (pressure gradient terms in
the momentum equations), advection-diffusion solver included to compute density gradients with
an optional facility to treat very sharp gradients in the vertical, space and time varying wind and
atmospheric pressure, advanced turbulence models to account for the vertical turbulent viscosity
and diffusivity based on the eddy viscosity concept. For this paper the k-ε turbulence closure
model was chosen. Depending on the near-field coupling procedure typical far-field processes like
buoyant spreading and the damping of vertical exchange due to stratified conditions may be directly
modeled and represented in the flow field. Further transport modeling allows for considerations of
mixing, diffusion and decay processes in direct relation to occurring far-field processes.

2.3 Far-field transport model

Given the velocity field, the pollutant concentration field is typically obtained by solving the Eule-
rian convective diffusion equation in three dimensions for different substances (bacteria, nutrients,
indicators, …) from different sources. The hydrodynamic conditions (velocities, water elevations,
density, salinity, vertical eddy viscosity and diffusivity) resulting from the flow field module
Delft3D-FLOW are therefore used as input to the other modules of Delft3D, which are: Delft3D-
WAQ: Eulerian far-field water quality module or Delft3D-PART: Lagrangian mid-field particle
tracking module. A disadvantage for grid based Eulerian approaches is numerical diffusion due to
often large grid sizes. Detailed analysis of the applied numerical methods and tests with varying grid

449
sizes are indispensable for Eulerian transport modeling. If numerical diffusion is not neglectable
the flow field is not represented sufficiently and a Lagrangian particle tracking approach should
be chosen.
Lagrangian plume tracking models treat the development of the unsteady far-field pollutant
plume by superimposing individual patches (“particles”) of released pollutant masses. During a
time step each pollutant patch is advected by the instantaneous advective velocity field and diffused
by a random time-dependent diffusion process. Particle tracking models are grid size independent.
In addition, reaction or decay processes can be simulated using different particle attributes (density,
surface area, ages). Various realistic features (e.g. the return of previously diluted sewage over the
outfall and different source conditions) can be readily simulated by superposition methods. However
(as opposed to the Eulerian models) proper formulations for representing horizontal spreading and
damped vertical exchange are often not implemented and time-scales of simulations are usually
limited to a few weeks, in order to simulate accurately using a large number of particles.
The chosen Delft3D model suit allows for both, the direct coupling of the flow field with either
a Eulerian water quality model or a mid-field particle tracking model.

3 COUPLING NEAR- AND FAR-FIELD MODEL

The previous description of physical processes and their implementation in computer models shows
that there is neither a “complete model” including all important spatial and temporal scales of the
dominant processes (fig. 1) nor a standard procedure for the coupling of near and far field models
or even flow field and transport models. This is explained by deficiencies in either implementing
dominant physical near-field processes into a far-field model and/or coupling the models to each
other. Suggested approaches (e.g. Blumberg et al., 1996, or Zhang & Adams, 1999) have various
redundancies or shortcomings.
Generally, the coupling is less complicated for the case of integral type near-field models and
a Lagrangian tracking far-field model since both model types have a similar structure (Roberts,
1999, Zhang, 1995). However, considerable conceptual and data handling difficulties exist for
linking a near-field integral model to a Eulerian far-field circulation model.
To allow a more detailed representation of fluctuating components on the mean currents a field-
class approach will be used to couple the near-field model CORMIX with the far-field models
within Delft3D. Classes in both, the near and the far field summarize similar flow patterns and
certain parameters into a qualitative description of the flow situation and characteristics. This
qualitative description allows to choose process-, numerical domain- and model-characteristics to
account for the occurring processes. Thus, field-class models have a considerable advantage in the
mathematical treatment and improved accuracy and detail in the solution.
The recommended coupling procedure is based on four steps: ambient baseline conditions mod-
eling (ambient velocity field, density field, background concentrations), near-field mixing and
transport modeling, coupled near-field far-field flow modeling, far-field transport and water quality
modeling.

Step I: Ambient baseline modeling with Delft3D flow (hydrodynamics)

The baseline modeling has to represent the prevailing velocity and density field for the coastal region
for different ambient conditions. Calibration has to be done using existing field-data. The results
of the grid cell(s) containing or overlapping the diffuser (depending on horizontal grid resolution)
are passing a classification procedure. Density profiles are spatially averaged and classified into
two density classes: uniform and stratified profiles. The stratified profiles are passing further
classification according the A, B, C type profiles in CORMIX. This allows to describe density
profiles with very few parameters. If no clear matches are found an intermediate run of CorJet will
allow for better classification.
Velocity field data from baseline modeling is analyzed separately for the previous two classes.
Each class is classified into two velocity profile classes: vertically uniform or non-uniform. The

450
Figure 2. Example of a CORMIX prediction of a diffuser discharge into a stratified flowing environment with
an oblique alignment angle (45◦ ) seen in the plan view, leading to an internally trapped plume, seen in the side
view. Superposed are far-field grid characteristics and the grid cell centre point, where source characteristics
may enter the far-field model.

non-uniform profiles are passing further classification in unidirectional and non-unidirectional

profiles.
Time series files for all classes are computed as preparation for the near-field model. These files
contain time, general density profile data according to CORMIX definitions (Jirka et al., 1996),
and an average ambient velocity (uniform class) or the whole velocity profile (non-uniform class)
as well as the average water level at the discharge location.

Step II: Near-field modeling with CORMIX (hydrodynamics and transport)

CORMIX is applied using the baseline time-series as input files. Furthermore effluent data and
the diffuser geometry have to be specified. The short travel time of the effluent in the near-field
region allows to run CORMIX without decay processes. CORMIX results are plume trajectories
and dilutions or concentrations (fig. 2, inner graph). These are classified into two classes: surfacing
plume and internally trapped plume. For each class time series files are computed containing plume
geometries (horizontal and vertical extent in respect to the centerline), plume centerline orientation
and vertical location (in respect to the diffuser and its midpoint), volume flux and mass flux at the
coupling position defined as a distance from the diffuser midpoint. For coarse grids (larger than
diffuser length) the coupling position is generally the center of the far-field grid cell nearest the
diffuser (fig. 2, overlayed Eulerian grid over CORMIX prediction graph) in the direction of the
prevalent flow, but at least five times the water depth apart. For fine grids (diffuser length is multiple
of grid size) an iterative procedure has to be undertaken to find the coupling position where only
horizontal advection is a prevalent process and density spreading processes are considered in the
far-field model.

451
Step III: Coupling of CORMIX with Delft3D flow (hydrodynamics)
For each class all coupling position cells are identified. In Delft3D flow a discharge is specified
for these cells using the resulting time series from step II. These are therefore analyzed and divided
so that for every cell a discharge volume and mass flux is specified. For coarse horizontal grids,
the discharge effects generally only one cell. For finer horizontal grids the fluxes have to be
distributed on several cells according to the near-field concentration profile predictions. For the
vertical location of the discharge it is best to modify the vertical layer distribution in approximation
for the predicted near-field plume class. The plume location (surface or internal layer) should be
highly resolved (layer thickness = 1 − 1/2 plume width). If the plume affects more than one cell in
the vertical the mass and volume flux have to be distributed on these cells according the CORMIX
concentration profiles. The far-field model run is repeated with the additional discharge sources
and eventually a modified vertical grid distributions.

Step IV: Far field transport modeling with Delft3D Part/WAQ (mixing, transport, decay)
Delft3D allows a direct coupling of hydrodynamic results for the different flow classes for water
quality modeling (Eulerian or Lagrangian). If step III shows either uncorrectable effects of high
numerical diffusion or minor influences of the effluent induced velocity field on the plume trans-
port in the far-field a particle tracking approach will be more convenient for mid-field bacteria
concentration distribution. In any other case, especially for long prediction periods and multiple
hydrodynamically interacting sources an Eulerian water quality model should be used.

4 CONCLUSIONS

A coupling methodology for near- and far-field models has been described. The methodology is
focused on representing mixing and transport processes resulting from multiport diffuser wastewa-
ter discharges in coastal waters. Scale and time disparities are overcome by a field-class approach,
summarizing similar flow and mixing patterns into a qualitative description. Model coupling and
numerical implementations are optimized for each class providing more precise and faster results.
Capabilities and limitations of either Eulerian or Lagrangian transport modeling approaches are
included in the coupling approach. The recommended procedure uses CORMIX for the near-field
and the Delft3D suit for far-field predictions.

REFERENCES

Baumgartner, D.J., Frick, W.E. & Roberts, P.J.W., 1993, “Dilution Models for Effluent Discharges”, Report
No. EPA/600/R-93/139
Blumberg, A.F., Ji, Z.G. & Ziegler, C.K., 1996, “Modeling outfall plume behaviour using far field circulation
model”, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 122, No. 11
Delft Hydraulics, 2001, “Delft3D user interface, Capabilities and applications”, Delft Hydraulics, Delft
Fischer, H.B., List, E.J., Koh, R.C.Y., Imberger, J. & Brooks, N.H., 1979, “Mixing in Inland and Coastal
Waters”, Academic Press, New York
Jirka, G.H., Abraham, G. & Harleman, D.R.F., 1976, “An Assessment of Techniques for hydrothermal
prediction”, Department of Civil Engineering, MIT for U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Cambridge
Jirka, G.H. & Akar, P.J., 1991, “Hydrodynamic Classification of Submerged Multiport Diffuser Discharges”,
J. Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, (117), 1113–1128, HY9
Jirka, G.H. & Lee, J.H.-W., 1994, “Waste Disposal in the Ocean”, in “Water Quality and its Control”, M. Hino
(ed.), Balkema, Rotterdam
Jirka, G.H., Doneker, R.L. & Hinton, S.W., 1996, “User’s Manual for CORMIX:A Hydrodynamic Mixing Zone
Model and Decision Support System for Pollutant Discharges into Surface Waters”, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Tech. Rep., Environmental Research Lab, Athens, Georgia, USA
Jirka, G.H., 2004, “Integral Model for Turbulent Buoyant Jets in Unbounded Stratified Flows, Part 1: The
Single Round Jet”, Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 4, 1–556

452
Mellor, G., Häkkinen, S., Ezer, T. & Patchen, R., 2002, “A Generalization of a Sigma Coordinate Ocean
Model and an Intercomparison of Model Vertical Grids”, Ocean Forecasting: Conceptual Basis and
Applications, N. Pinardi, J. Woods (Eds.), Springer, Berlin, 55–72, (URL: ftp://ftp.aos.princeton.edu/
pub/pom/PAPERS/GENSIG.pdf)
Roberts, P.J.W., Snyder, W.H. & Baumgartner D.J., 1989a, “Ocean outfalls I, Submerged wastefield formation”,
J. Hydraulic Engineering, 115, 1–25
Roberts, P.J.W., Snyder, W.H. & Baumgartner D.J., 1989b, “Ocean outfalls II, Spatial evolution of submerged
wastefield”, J. Hydraulic Engineering, 115, 26–48
Roberts, P.J.W., Snyder, W.H. & Baumgartner D.J., 1989c, “Ocean outfalls III, Effect of diffuser design on
submerged wastefield”, J. Hydraulic Engineering, 115, 49–70
Roberts, P.J.W., 1999, “Modeling Mamala Bay Outfall Plumes. I. Near Field. II: Far Field, J. Hydraulic
Engineering, Vol. 125, No. 6.
Zhang, Xue-Yong, 1995, “Ocean Outfall Modeling – Interfacing Near and Far Field Models with Particle
Tracking Method”, Dissertation thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA
Zhang, Xue-Yong & Adams, E.E., 1999, “Prediction of near field plume characteristics using far field
circulation model, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 125, No. 3
Zielke W. & Mayerle R., 1999, “Küstengewässer” in: Zielke, W. [Hrsg.]: Numerische Modelle von Flüssen,
Seen und Küstengewässer, DVWK Schriften 127, Bonn

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Mixing and entrainment in tidal impoundments

K.H.M. Ali, M. Diamanti & G. Papapostolou

Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Liverpool, UK

ABSTRACT: Recently, tidal barrages have been constructed to rehabilitate urban land in the UK.
These impoundments provide for many sporting amenities. In some cases, saltwater flows over
the barrage during high tide creating a heavy saltwater layer under the freshwater. In conditions of
slight mixing little reoxygenation of the lower layers takes place leading to low levels of dissolved
oxygen. Aerators can be used to solve this problem. Another possible solution is to use a baffle just
upstream of the barrage in order to retain the freshwater and limit the stratification. This will force
the saltwater tidal influx to down under the baffle and into the impoundment. At the end of the tidal
period, river flow will push the saltwater under the baffle and over the barrage. This paper describes
some preliminary experimental and numerical results describing some aspects of this phenomenon.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the United Kingdom, there are many examples of tidal impoundments suffering water quality
problems resulting from saline stratification. Dyrynda (1994) described the interaction between
river flow and tidal flow over a barrage. One possible solution utilizes the natural separation
tendency of freshwater and saltwater bodies together with maximum retention of freshwater in
the impoundment. This is achieved by the introduction, immediately upstream of a barrage of a
baffle penetrating down from the water surface. This paper attempts to use the FLUENT computer
package to simulate those flow situations. FLUENT is a computer program for modeling fluid flow.
This package was used to simulate a homogenous surface jet, a buoyant surface jet and a heavy
jet discharging over a barrage. The k-ε turbulence scheme was used together with the Volume
of Fluid (VOF) free surface multiphase model. Details of the methods of solution are given in
Papapostolou (2003).

2 THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS

River flow into impoundments containing saline water can be considered to be a two-dimensional
turbulent shearing flow of a light fluid flowing on top of a heavier one. The effects of stable
stratification on the rate of entrainment will be influenced by temperature and density gradient.
Many of the relationships of the spread of the jet are similar to those for a surface jet discharging
into fluid of the same density. For a two-dimensional plane turbulent jet issuing from a long slot,
there will be a zone of fluid establishment of length Lo in which the centerline velocity Uo remains
constant (Daily and Harleman, 1960). For distances greater than Lo , the jet will be fully developed
and the velocity profiles will be Gaussian. The maximum centerline velocity um will be less than
Uo . We have:

455
 Figure 1. Definition sketch for a 2D jet. Figure 2. Harleman’s density current.

where u = local velocity at normal distance y; um = maximum centerline velocity; x = axial dis-
tance; Qo = jet discharge per unit length; Q = entrained discharge per unit length and C1 = 0.109.
The spread of the jet is given by b = 0.128x where b = value of y where u = 0.5um .
Chu and Vanvari (1976) conducted experiments on buoyant surface jets and found that the
horizontal velocity distributions were similar and well represented by a Gaussian law. The following
relationship was fitted to their values of b:

where ao = 17 and bo = 1.04 for F = 43 and 45 (eo = 1)

ao = 25 and bo = 1.27 for F = 90 and 141 (eo = 1)
F = Uo2 /(g(ρ/ρo )do ). The maximum velocity varied with the overall Richardson number.
In the case of a barrage, the flow is similar to than of a two-dimensional jet with negative
buoyancy. The jet expands and mixes with the surrounding fluid and it transforms to a plume near
the base of the barrage. The upstream flow of this plume at the base of the barrage is similar to that
of a density current except that in this case entrainment of the plume reduced by the adverse slope
of the impoundment.

3 EXPERIMENTAL ARRANGEMENTS

Experiments were conducted using a new glass-walled flume. The flume was 6 m long, 1 m high
and 0.3 m wide (Figure 4). The flume was designed so that fresh water or saline water could
be introduced at either end of the flume. Water, temperature and density were measured using a
DMA35 oscillating-U-tube density meter manufactured by Paar Scientific Ltd. A Nixon Streaflow
miniature propeller meter was used for measuring the velocity.

4 EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL RESULTS

Few experiments were conducted to verify the numerical solutions obtained using the FLUENT
package. Figure 5 shows experimental velocity distributions at various distances from the inlet.

456
Figure 3. Definition sketch for a surface jet.

Figure 4. Experimental arrangement.

Figure 5. Experimental velocity distribution for homogenous jet.

These results were obtained for a freshwater surface jet discharging into ambient fluid of the same
density. Figure 6 shows the resulting dimensionless plots, which are well represented by a Gaussian
distribution. Figure 7 shows velocity distributions obtained from a freshwater jet discharging into
fluid having a density of 1026 kg/m3 . Figure 8 shows the resulting dimensionless profiles, which
are, again, well represented by a Gaussian distribution.

457
Figure 6. Dimensionless velocity distribution for homogenous jet.

Figure 7. Experimental velocity distribution for buoyant jet.

Figure 8. Dimensionless velocity distribution for buoyant jet.

Equations (2) and (6) were fitted to the experimental results and the various parameters are given
in Table 1. The various coefficients for the two cases are almost identical.
Figure 9 shows velocity vectors obtained from FLUENT for a homogenous jet. Using this figure,
dimensionless velocity distributions were obtained and are given in Figure 10. This figure shows
that the velocity profiles are similar and Figure 11 shows the results for a buoyant jet. The various
parameters in Equations (2) and (6) are given in Table 1.
Figure 12 gives velocity vectors for a jet having density of 1026 kg/m3 discharging into a tank
containing freshwater. This example represents tidal flow flowing over a barrage. The velocity
distributions are similar to those given in Figure 2.

458
 Table 1. Values of parameters in Equations (2) and (6).

Type of Range of
Method flow* αo bo Co do eo x/do

Experiment 1 0.40 0.39 2.28 0.50 1 –

Experiment 2 0.41 0.38 1.00 0.34 1 –
Jet theor. 1 0.13 1.00 2.28 0.5 0 –
Jet theor. 2 17–25+ 1.04–1.27+ – – – –
FLUENT 1 0.250 0.63 1.00 0.17 1 x/do < 30
FLUENT 1 0.020 1.31 3.16 0.50 1 30 < x/do < 60
FLUENT 2 0.013 1.50 1.00 0.14 1 x/do < 24
FLUENT 2 0.013 1.50 1.80 0.33 1 24 < x/do < 73

* (1) Homogenous surface flow, (2) Buoyant surface flow.

+ Depending on values of F.

Figure 9. FLUENT velocity vectors for homogenous jet.

Figure 10. Dimensionless plot of velocity for homogenous jet.

459
Figure 11. Dimensionless plot of velocity for buoyant jet.

Figure 12. FLUENT velocity vectors for heavy jet.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Limited number of experiments was conducted to verify predictions given by the FLUENT com-
puter package for homogenous and stratified flows. These preliminary results show considerable
agreement between the two methods. The present authors are carrying out further tests for more
complicated flow configurations.

REFERENCES

Abraham, G., 1965. Horizontal jets in stagnant fluid of other density. ASCE, Journal of the Hydraulics Division,
Vol.91, No HY4, July 1965, 139–150
Chu, V.H. and Vanvari, M.R., 1976. Experimental study of Turbulent Stratified Shearing Flow, ASCE, Journal
of the Hydraulics Division, Vol.102, No HYˆ, June 1976, 691–706
Daily, J.W. and Harleman, D.R.F., 1966. Fluid Dynamics, Addison-Wesley USA
Dyrynda, P.E.J., 1994. Environmental Impacts of an Operational Amenity Barrage: Tawe Estuary (South
Wales), University of Wales, Swansea, Report to WWF
Papapostolou, G., 2003. Some Characteristics of Homogenous and Buoyant Surface Jets, MSc (Eng),
University of Liverpool, September

460
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

2-D numerical simulation of saline intrusion in marine

sewage outfalls

Wu Wei, Xia Ji-Hong & Yan Zhong-Min

College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT: Saline intrusion in marine sewage outfalls will decrease the efficiency of marine
sewage disposal. To settle this problem the optimization of outfall design and monitoring is an
available measure. Designers and operators would benefit from improved methods for predicting
of the phenomenon of saline intrusion. However, most present numerical simulation is limited to
one-dimension and cannot describe the flow details in outfalls such as stratified and mixing flow
that greatly affected intrusion. In this paper, two-dimensional model is set up and the commercial
CFD software STAR-CD is applied to simulate the progress of saline intrusion. The viability of
applying CFD software STAR-CD to predict saline intrusion is validated. The results recreate
the growth of density wedge and indicate evidence interfacial mixing. The potential problems in
this two-dimensional model are discussed. Quantitative analysis, the effect of outfall design and
monitoring and three dimensional characteristics of internal flow are required to be considered in
further research.

1 INTRODUCTION

Saline intrusion in long sea outfalls is difficult to avoid in many cases. During periods of low
discharge, for example, in the initial stages the outfalls put into operation or periodically varied
flow or the pump stopped abruptly due to some reasons, seawater will be drawn into the diffusers
due to density difference. Studies show that the discharge required to purge outfalls is much greater
than that to prevent saline intrusion. Under intrusion saline wedge may blocked some of risers and
seawater circulation may occur in outfalls. These may greatly decrease the efficiency of the sewage
disposal. If seawater remained in outfalls for too long time the sediment will deposit and marine
organisms will grow on the inner walls of outfalls and result in blockage.
To settle this problem, besides some assistant engineering measures, the main approach is to
improve design and operation methodology. Through these techniques the system is hoped to oper-
ate without saline intrusion during general discharge or if intrusion occurred the system can be
purged itself in peak discharge. The process of intrusion and purging is complicated unsteady
flow that includes stratified and mixing and buoyant flow in the mean time. So reliable hydraulic
calculation method hasn’t been set up to this day. In this case great engineering have to resort to
physical model. But the scaling law is very complicated because of complicated flow characteris-
tics and experiment condition is difficult to control for some practical reasons. These will affect
the reliability of physical model. Besides these for design optimization physical model was too
expensive. Numerical model can overcome above limitations and become an important assistant
design methodology.

2 DEVELOPMENTS IN NUMERICAL MODELING OF SALINE INTRUSION

Saline intrusion in long sea outfalls was investigated from 1970s. In the initial stage, physical experi-
ment is main means. From 1980s, numerical simulation is investigated. In recent years, various

461
researchers have made significant contributions towards this goal. Early research (Wilkinson 1984,
Burrows & Davies 1996) addressed the fundamental processes of saline intrusion. Subsequent
work by Mort (1989) provided the basis for numerical model. Later, Larsens & Burrows (1989)
and Guo & Sharp (1996) refined Mort’s model. The refined model by Guo & Sharp (1996) is
integrally one-dimensional and locally two-dimensional. Buoyant effect and interfacial mixing in
stratified flow are taken into consideration in this model. The group lead by Wilkinson in Australia
has investigated local loss due to resistance in crossing of main pipe and risers under unsteady
condition. This was the first step to set up numerical model. Larsen & Burrows (1989) investigated
the effect of risers’ diameter on purging and intrusion induced by wave. Guo & Sharp (1996) and
Guo (2001) investigated factors such as the number and spacing of risers, resistance of main pipe
and diffuser exit, elevation of riser bottom, slope of main pipe and variety of riser cross-section
along main pipe, the course of sewage discharge, the type of risers connected to main pipe such as
soffit-connected or invert-connected.
However, the above model is one-dimensional in nature. The goal of this model is to seek critical
condition for purging but not to simulate full details of flow in outfalls. In fact, internal flow of
system is complicated three-dimensional unsteady flow. Variations of velocity and density in each
point cannot be described in one-dimensional model nor did details of turbulent and mixing in
interfacial of stratified flow be simulated. To describe more flow details, a two-dimensional model
and a commercial CFD package STAR-CD are adopted in this study.

3 TWO-DIMENSIONAL NUMERICAL SIMULATION

3.1 Brief introduction of CFD package STAR-CD

Computer-aided analysis techniques have revolutionized engineering design in several important
areas. The STAR-CD package produced by Computational Dynamics Limited is a powerful CFD
tool based on FVM for fluid flow analysis. It’s distinct attributes include a general geometry-
modeling capability that renders the code applicable to the complex shapes often encountered
in industrial applications, accepting extensive unstructured mesh shapes, friendly links with
CAD/CAE, etc. It can deal with many types of flow includes steady and transient, laminar and tur-
bulent, mass transfer, buoyancy and rotation, free surface flows an multiple streams, etc. Solution
algorithms include SIMPLE, PISO and SIMPISO algorithms. Saline intrusion and purging in out-
falls are three-dimensional flow in complex configuration that buoyant and mixing must be taken
into consideration. From this point STAR-CD package is suitable for simulation of flow in outfalls.

3.2 Numerical simulation model

3.2.1 Solution domain description and Mesh definition
The first step is to define solution domain according to outfalls’ geometry and the field of receiv-
ing water. The model is made up of a main pipe and two risers and a flume. The section of main pipe
is square of 110 mm × 110 mm, the section of each riser is square of 50 mm × 50 mm, the distance
of risers is 450 mm, each riser has the height of 355 mm that is the distance between the center of
main duct and the export of riser. The flume which represents receiving water is of 4550 mm long
and 750 mm high, the accepted water surface is 300 mm above the export of risers. The solution
domain is shown in figure 1.
The solution domain is very large and in the mean time the flow details are required to be
described as fully as possible. In order to simulate flow field as accurately as possible and at the
same time to improve calculating efficiency, patched block-structured grid system is applied. In
this grid system, the grids coarser in receiving water and refined in outfalls. Especially for the
intersection of main pipe and risers, the grids in this field are refined locally. The total of grids is
6492. Mesh system in riser 1 is shown in figure 1. Mesh system in riser 2 is resembled with that in
riser 1.

462
 free surface

riser 1 riser 2
receiving water

outfall

Figure 1. Solution domain of outfall model and grid system in riser 1.

3.2.2 Boundary conditions

The boundary conditions were modeled to represent those in physical model. The limits of the
receiving water were modeled as ‘hydrostatic pressure outlets’ and in other hand it allowed flow
both in and out of the domain. The boundary of receiving water is sufficiently far from the outfall
diffuser manifold to have negligible effect on flow in outfalls. The surface of receiving water
is free surface and is modeled as symmetrical boundary. The elements contained in the wall of
outfalls are defined as ‘dead elements’ which didn’t join in calculation and couldn’t allow flow
pass it. The surface of walls of outfalls and flume are defined using ‘wall function’, the wall surface
roughness is 0.001 mm. The inlet of the diffuser is described as velocity condition with a freshwater
velocity of 0.2 m/s. The turbulence characteristics are characteristic length and turbulent eddy
intensity. According to the size of outfalls the characteristic length is set as 0.11m in the preliminary
calculation. The turbulent eddy intensity is chosen according to experiential formulation:

where Ū = average velocity; L = characteristic length; ν = kinematics viscosity.

3.2.3 Physical characteristics of the fluids

Density of freshwater and saline water is 1000 kg/m3 and 1018 kg/m3 respectively. The dynamic
viscosity is 1.1 × 10−3 Ns/m2 for both.

3.3 Numerical simulation of flow characteristics

3.3.1 Turbulence model
Under the condition of saline intrusion the internal flow of outfalls is stratified flow and combined
with mixing flow. To model this flow more actually, the k − ε turbulence model is chosen. As to the
mixing course of two fluids, species model is applied in STAR-CD. In this model, mass transfer in
fluid mixtures is modeled by following equation:

where the subscript m is represent constituent m of a fluid mixture. ρm is the density of each fluid
in mixture. mm is local concentration of each fluid which expressed as mass fraction:

The concentration mm is defined as the mass fraction of fluid occupied in mixture. That is to say,
within outfalls, before the freshwater flow into it, the concentration of freshwater is 0 and the

463
concentration of saline is 1. The variable Fm, j is diffusion flux component and Sm is the rate of
production of source.
In time-averaged turbulence flow, diffusion flux are modeled as following:

where Dm is the molecular diffusivity of component m, mm is the concentration fluctuation, Sct is
turbulent Schmitt number with the value of 0.7, µt is turbulent viscosity.

3.3.2 Solution algorithm

The governing equations are discrete in solution domain. For discrete equations, the PISO algorithm
is applied. PISO algorithm includes one predictor stage and two corrector stages. The solution
sequence is as following (Tao, W.Q. 2000):
The first is predictor stage. According to pk in the k time step, nodal velocity u∗ , v ∗ are calculated.
In this step, u∗ , v∗ and pk satisfied with momentum conservation equations, but not satisfied with
mass conservation equations.
The second is first corrector stage. The corrector of pressure and respective velocities are
calculated to make velocities satisfied with mass conservation equations further.
The third is additional corrector stage. On the basis of the first corrector stage, further corrector
is searched to make velocities satisfied with mass and momentum conservation equations at the
same time.

3.4 Results of simulation

According to the results of calculation, density wedges in different time are shown in figures 2 to 5.
According to the growth of density wedge, conclusions can be drawn as following:
In the initial stage, the freshwater flow into the main pipe. Before it arrived at riser 1, the saline
water in outfalls flow to the direction of seaward that is rightward in figures. Saline water are
extruded by freshwater and flow out of riser 1 and riser 2 simultaneously. The front of freshwater
is parabolic like. The freshwater front is slightly lean to the upside and the saline front is to the
lower. The front of freshwater pushed forward with the time. Just as shown in figure 2.

receiving water
riser 1

fresh water mixing fluid

saltwater

Figure 2. Flow characteristics after 4 seconds.

464
 With the freshwater push forward, when it is closed to the riser 1, the front of the freshwater
distort rapidly, freshwater flow along the upside of the outfalls’ inner wall to riser 1 and mixed with
saline water in riser 1 then flow out of the outfall. At the same time, saline water intruded into riser
2. Flow in the main pipe reversed and saline water in the outfall flow to the landward. The section
plane of density distribution is no longer parabolic but wedge like, just as shown in figure 3.
In the following period the freshwater continued to flow along the upside of the outfalls’ inner
wall to riser 1, and then flow out after mixed with saline water in riser 1. The density wedge
continued to develop and formed stratified flow as shown in figure 4. The upper layer is fresh water
and flow to the seaward. The lower is saline water and flow to the landward. At the same time,
saline intruded into riser 2.

receiving water
riser 1

fresh water mixing fluid

saltwater

Figure 3. Flow characteristics after 12 seconds.

receiving water

riser 1

fresh water mixing fluid

saltwater

Figure 4. Flow characteristics after 16 seconds.

receiving water

riser 1

fresh water mixing fluid

saltwater

Figure 5. Flow characteristics after 208 seconds.

465
 After a long period of time, density wedge became stabile gradually. As shown in figure 5, the
fresh water continued to flow along the upper layer and flow out after mixed. At this stage, the
lower layer that is saline layer flow very slowly and almost stilled. This is a relative balance. Saline
continued to intrude into riser 2 and flow out through riser 1 by mixing. Saline water circulated in
the outfall. This relative stable status is continued.
In all stages, evidence mixing is found in the interface of the freshwater and saline water in
outfall. A large region of density transition is visible. In riser 1, freshwater and saline water has
mixed to a high level. The fluid flow out of the riser 1 is well-mixed fluid and it take left two-thirds
section of riser 1.

4 CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSIONS

Applying a 2-D k–ε turbulence model, the progress of saline intrusion into diffusers is simu-
lated. Modeled progress is on the whole similar with that in experiments done by Shannon et al.
(2001). This indicates the feasibility of commercial package STAR-CD applying to simulate saline
intrusion. However, there are many potential problems such as followings.
Firstly, further quantitative experiments should be taken to analyze the ultimate length of density
wedge, the growth of density wedge with the time, the region of density transition and its growth, etc.
Secondly, the effect of geometric parameters of the outfalls and hydrographs on saline intrusion
and purging should be taken into consideration. Some more practical factors should be considered
to improve this model.
Thirdly, in this calculation, the section of main ducts and risers are all square so calculation
is two dimensional. But in practice, main ducts and risers are all circular in section. In this case,
2-D simulation is not applicable though some investigators apply 2-D simulation on the basis of
keeping the same hydraulic radius, just as work done by Shannon et al. (2001). In manifold with
circular sections, internal flow has strong characteristic of three-dimensional that two-dimensional
model cannot describe the flow details. So 3-D model is required to investigate. Only by this could
flow characteristics be described and reference provided to engineering design.

REFERENCES

Burrows, R. & Davies, P. A. 1996. Studies of saltwater purging from a model sea diffuser. Water Maritime &
Energy 118: 77–87.
Guo, Z.R. & Sharp, J.J. 1996. Numerical Model for Sea Outfall Hydraulics. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
122(2): 82–89.
Guo, Z.R. 2001. Engineering Hydraulics in Sewage outfalls. Beijing: Science Press.
Larsen T. & Burrows, R. 1989. Wave induced saline intrusion in sea outfalls. Proc. IAHR Congress, Ottawa.
Mort, R.B. 1989. The effect of wave action on long sea outfalls. University of Liverpool, PhD thesis.
Shannon, N.R., Mackinnon P.A. & Hamill G.A. 2001. Modeling of saline intrusion in a long sea outfall with
two risers. 1st International Conference on Computational Methods in multiphase Flow. Orlando, USA.
Tao, W.Q. 2000. Development of Numerical Heat Transfer. Beijing: Science Press.
Wilkinson, D.L. 1984. Purging of saline wedges from ocean outfalls. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
110(12): 1915–1829.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Probabilistic modeling of produced water outfall

H. Niu, T. Husain, B. Veitch & N. Bose

Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

ABSTRACT: A probabilistic analysis of a produced water outfall using Monte Carlo simulation
(MCS) is discussed in this paper. The model consists of five sub-models in either deterministic
or probabilistic form and it gives a continuous solution for all mixing regions. The uncertainty
associated with the model formulation and ambient environments are evaluated and the approach
is applied to a produced water outfall located off the south-east coast of Canada. It is shown from
the study that the reliability of discharge designs and the exceedance probability of threshold values
can be estimated using a probabilistic approach.

1 INTRODUCTION

The recent increase of offshore oil and gas development off the east coast of Canada has created
concern regarding the capability of the marine environment as an intermediate buffer zone for
receiving the produced water and the subsequent mixing of the waste materials with offshore waters.
Produced water, which is normally comprised of formation water and injected seawater, is the largest
waste stream associated with offshore oil and gas production and its composition is strongly site
dependent. The salinity of discharged produced water ranges from a few parts per thousand to
saturated brine (∼300 ppt) and the flow pattern can be treated as a buoyant jet flow as the discharge
has both initial momentum and a density difference between the effluent and the receiving water.
While mapping the dispersion and dilution of produced water by field measurements is time-
consuming and challenging from a technical point of view, mathematical models provide a
conceptual framework for interpreting the observations, as well as a predictive capability. Over
the last few decades, a number of computer models have been developed to describe the dispersion
of discharges (e.g. drilling muds and produced waters) in the vicinity of offshore platforms, such as
OOC, CHARM, DREAM, PROTEUS, and PROVANN. A considerable number of environmental
discharge models which were developed for sewage outfall or other discharges can also be used to
estimate the dilution of produced water. Some examples of these models are VISJET, CORMIX,
and Visual PLUME. Although these models require little amount of data and are easy to use, they do
not include uncertainty analysis. Once discharged, the produced water effluent is subjected to ran-
dom fluctuations. Together with the inherent uncertainty in the marine environment and limitations
in measurements, this leads to uncertainty in estimated dilution and concentration at a distance
from the outfall discharge. As a result, there is always a possibility that the outfall design fails to
achieve its intended purpose. Thus, the use of a deterministic approach may result in a partial loss
of information, misleading results, and incorrect solutions. A more advanced probabilistic analysis
of the mixing zone is necessary.
A probabilistic approach has been used for ocean outfall initial dilution and mixing zone analysis
by Huang et al. (1996). As Huang et al.’s (1996) analysis only considered the uncertainty associ-
ated with the ambient environment, this study presents a methodology which takes into account the
uncertainty associated with the model inputs, model coefficients and error term, as well as the uncer-
tainty with ambient environment. Mukhtasor (2001) demonstrated that the probabilistic analysis
can be conducted using Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS), Advanced First Order Second Momen-
tum (AFOSM) method or Mean First Order Second Momentum (MFOSM) method. His analysis

467
showed that the Monte Carlo Simulation provided the best performance and this method is used in
present study using a Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) technique. Only the buoyancy dominated
single port discharge vertically into unstratified ambient conditions will be discussed in this paper.

2 MODEL APPROACH

2.1 Initial dilution model

Asymptotic approaches that derive equations with the aid of dimensional analysis and data from
laboratory experiments are widely used in developing empirical initial dilution models (e.g. Lee &
Cheung 1991). For buoyancy dominated discharges in crossflow, the mixing behavior is governed
primarily by the ratio of water depth above discharge H and the buoyancy length scale lb , and
two limiting flow regimes (buoyancy-dominated near field (BDNF) for H /lb <<1 and buoyancy-
dominated far field (BDFF) for H /lb >>1) are commonly classified according to this ratio.
Problems of asymptotic solution arise when theH /lb of a outfall fall into the transitional region
between BDNF and BDFF because of the concept of BDNF and BDFF is strictly valid only for
H /lb <<1 and H /lb >>1, respectively (Lee & Neville-Jones 1989). Facing this problem, Lee &
Cheung (1991) used the BDNF equation with a modified coefficient to estimate the initial dilution
for the transitional region. Because of the discontinuity of this approach, Huang et al. (1998) pro-
posed a centerline dilution equation that spans all flow regimes. The residual analysis by Mukhtasor
(2001) shows that Huang et al.’s (1998) solution underestimates dilution at BDNF and overestimates
dilution at BDFF. Based on the analysis of data from Lee & Cheung’s (1991) series of 48 experi-
ments, Mukhtasor (2001) developed an empirical model for buoyancy dominated jets discharged
vertically into crossflow. The model can be expressed in both deterministic and probabilistic forms
depending on the regression coefficient used. The model is shown in Equation 1 and plotted in
Figure 1:

where S = initial dilution at depth H above discharge (or below for negative buoyant plume),
Q = volume of discharge (m3 /s), Ua = ambient velocity (m/s), R1 , R2 , R3 and R4 = coefficients
determined from regression (their values are presented later), and ε1 = a random quantity normally
distributed with a mean of zero and a standard deviation of 0.092.

Figure 1. Plot of initial dilution model (Equation 1).

468
 It can be seen from Figure 1 that the model provides a continuous solution for all three regions.
For a given discharge, for example H /lb = 0.1, the model predicts a distribution of initial dilution
rather than a single value.

2.2 Wave effect model

It has been shown by previous studies (Chin 1987, Hwung et al. 1994, Chyan et al. 2002) that the
surface waves can significantly increase the dilution achieved by ocean outfalls. However, both
present design practice and prediction models ignore the wave motion. To the author’s knowledge,
only the CORMIX model considers the wave effects on far field dispersion and no existing models
integrate the wave effects on initial dilution.
Chin (1987) has studied the influence of surface waves on horizontally discharged buoyant jets.
In Chin’s (1987) setup, the water depth h to wave length L ratio is less than 0.4, which means
the wave acts in the entire water column and the induced velocity is not uniform with depth.
Similar studies were conducted by Hwung et al. (1994) for horizontally discharged buoyant jets
at 3 different angles and Chyan et al. (2002) for a buoyant jet at 13 different angles. The former
study was conducted in stronger wave motion (Lq /Zm = 0.0527∼0.1356) while the latter study was
conducted in weaker wave motion (Lq /Zm = 0.0120∼0.0263), where Lq is a length scale which
measures the length over which the port geometry influences the effluent behavior, Zm is a length
scale which measures the distance required for the jet momentum to be on the order of the wave
induced momentum. Based on the combination of these two experimental works, a wave effect
model (shown in Equation 2) for 90 degree discharges is obtained through linear regression:

where Swave = is the initial dilution with the influence of wave, Snowave = is the initial dilution without
the influence of wave, R5 = a experimental determined coefficient that depends on the discharge
angel (its value is given later), ε2 = a random quantity normally distributed with a mean of zero
and a standard deviation of 0.089.
It should be mentioned here that the Snowave in Equation 2 is the initial dilution in still water without
the influence of waves and ambient currents. However, due to the lack of available study on the
interactions between waves and ambient currents, an assumption is made that the effects of surface
waves on initial dilutions achieved in still water and in crossflow are of same magnitude. Therefore,
the initial dilution S (achieved in crossflow, see Equation 1) was directly used as Snowave (see
Equation 2) in this study. An experimental study on the initial dilution of a buoyant jet discharged
into unstratified ambient water with the presence of both currents and waves is being planned in a
58 m long wave tank at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

2.3 Boil location model

The vertically discharged buoyant jet flow can be considered as a cross-current jet, co-stream jet or
jet in opposing flow during a wave cycle alternatively due to the unsteady wave induced velocity.
The displacement of the jet axis under the influence of this velocity was described by Koole & Swan
(1994). Due to the fact that the boil locations for a buoyant jet under the influence of a surface
wave are not well understood now, the mean boil location, which is the same as the still water
boil location for vertical discharges due to the oscillating nature of the wave induced horizontal
velocity, was used in this study. The detailed explanation of the model formulation and uncertainty
measurements is given by Mukhtasor (2001).

2.4 Intermediate model

The intermediate region, which connects the near and far fields, is a region where the surface
impingement takes place. The modeling approach for the intermediate region has been discussed
previously by Doneker & Jirka (1990) and Huang et al. (1996). The uncertainty associated with this
approach has been evaluated by Mukhtasor (2001) and the same approach has been used in this study.

469
2.5 Far field spreading model
The far field dilution of a buoyant plume is governed by buoyant spreading and oceanic turbulent dif-
fusion. Buoyant spreading is a horizontal transverse spreading and vertical collapse of the plume due
to the residual buoyancy contained in the plume, while the turbulent diffusion is a passive dispersion
resulting from oceanic eddies or turbulence. Generally, both buoyant spreading and turbulent diffu-
sion could be important for a distance from an outfall. As the buoyancy effects gradually diminish
as plume travels downstream, only the ambient turbulence is of concern after a transition point.
A buoyant spreading model (Huang et al. 1996) together with a turbulent diffusion model
(Kuehnel et al. 1981) have been adopted in this study. The details of the buoyant spreading model
and the uncertainty measurements have been described by Mukhtasor (2001) and the turbulent
diffusion model is given in Equation 3:

where C(x, y) = concentration at a point x, y downstream, CBS = the centerline concentration at

the end of buoyant spreading, WBS = the plume width at the end of buoyant spreading, σ 2 (x) = the
variance of the concentration distribution which can be related with diffusion length scale Ly by
Ly = 2(3)1/2 σ (x). To estimate the concentration, the σ (x) must be obtained through field dye diffu-
sion experiments, or be estimated from empirical ocean diffusion diagrams in the case of lacking
experimental data. Three diffusion laws (Fickian, Linear, and Inertial sub-range) are normally used
to describe the turbulent processes. However, empirical results from large lakes and oceans show
that natural turbulent processes cannot always be described by any one single diffusion law. There-
fore, an empirical diffusion law (Equation 4), which was developed based on extensive oceanic
diffusion studies (Okubo 1971), is used in this work.

where T = the effective diffusion time approximated by x/Ua , k and f = regression coefficient
which depends on the time scale (day, week, or month) or length scale of dispersion. For the acute
effects of produced water in the vicinity of platform, time scale of one day is important because
of the produced water can travel several kilometers during one day and become well diluted. The
values of k and f for this range are given in Table 1.
It is assumed that there is no vertical variation of concentration and only the horizontal diffusivity
was considered in this work.

3 CASE STUDY

The method described above was applied to a produced water outfall discharged from a platform
located off the south-east coast of Canada. It was assumed that the treated produced water will be

Table 1. Uncertainty measure of model inputs.

Parameter Value Distribution Parameter Value Distribution

R1 0.13 ± 0.02 Normal k 0.06 ± 0.02 Normal

R2 −0.31 ± 0.03 Normal f 2.25 ± 0.04 Normal
R3 0.46 ± 0.02 Normal Ambient density (kg/m3 ) 1020 Constant
R4 −0.22 ± 0.04 Normal Effluent density (kg/m3 ) 1031∼1132 Uniform
R5 5.67 ± 0.64 Normal Current Speeds (m/s) 0.002∼0.515 Gamma
ε1 0 ± 0.09 Normal Current Direction (Radian) 0.03∼6.28 Beta
ε2 0 ± 0.08 Normal Lq /Zm 0∼0.15 Uniform

470
discharged vertically through a 0.3048 m diameter pipe at a location of 40 m above the seafloor
with a relative density difference ratio range from 0.011 to 0.11. The concentration of dispersed
oil in the produced water is assumed to be 40 mg/L.
An influence area of 2000 m × 2000 m around the platform was studied. The coordinate system
was defined using the same method as Huang et al. (1996). The Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS)
method with a Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) was used in this work to consider the uncertainty
associated with the variability of model inputs. The uncertainty measures associated with the models
are listed in Table 1. The ambient water data (DFO 1999) for this area were analyzed and it was
found that the ambient current speed can be fitted by a Gamma distribution and their directions can
be approximated by a Beta distribution (see Table 1). For a given simulation, a sample is randomly
drawn from each distribution and the value is assigned to the model input. The concentrations for
the grid points within the study area were then calculated using the model described above. After
repeating the simulation a given number of times, the concentration distribution for the whole study
area was obtained. The simulation was conducted using the @RISK software and the distribution
of mean and 95 percentile concentrations (1000 simulation) are plotted in Figure 2.
Figure 2 shows the mean dilution factor of 1000:1 is achieved at around 100 m downstream
the platform while the 95 percentile dilution factor of 368:1 is achieved at the same distance. The
cumulative frequency of the concentration at a certain distance downstream (e.g. 200 m) is plotted in
Figure 3. It can be seen from Figure 3 that the concentration of 0.0189 mg/L from the deterministic
analysis is associated with a cumulative probability of 37%, meaning that there is 63% probability
that this concentration is exceeded. It is also shown that there is 42% probability that the mean

Figure 2. Distribution of mean (left) and 95 percentile concentrations.

100%

80% Cumulative Probability

Probability

60% Exceedance probability

58%

40% 37%

20% 8.45%

0%
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45
Concentration (mg/L)

Figure 3. Cumulative and exceedance probability at 200 m downstream.

471
concentration 0.0448 mg/L is exceeded. Using this approach, the reliability of a discharge design
can be estimated.
As shown in Figure 3, the probability analysis can also be presented in the format of exceedance
probability of a given threshold toxic concentration. If the threshold value for dispersed oil in
produced water is taken as 0.1 mg/L, the exceedance probability is approximately 8.45% at 200 m
downstream the platform for the designed discharge.

4 CONCLUSIONS

A probabilistic method for the modeling of produced water has been described in this study. The
model includes: (1) A initial dilution model that gives a continuous solution for all regions; (2)
A wave effect model that calculates the effects of both weak and strong waves on initial dilution;
(3) A boil location model; (4) A intermediate model that connects the near field and far field mixing
processes; and (5) A far field model that considers both buoyant spreading and turbulent diffusion
processes.
The proposed model was applied to a produced water discharge from a platform located off the
south-east coast of Canada. It was shown from the case study that the probabilistic model is capable
of estimating the reliability of a given discharge design. The exceedance probability of a threshold
concentration can also be estimated.
The wave induced entrainment and the bottom friction (only for negative buoyant plume) for the
far field buoyant spreading processes were ignored in this study.

REFERENCES

Chin, D.A. 1987. Influence of surface waves on outfall dilution. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE
113(8):1006–1018.
Chyan, J.M., Hwung, H.H., Chang, C.Y. & Chen, I.P. 2002. Effects of discharge angles on the dilution
of buoyant jet in wave motions. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Hydrodynamics,
Oct 31–Nov 2, 2002, Tainan, Taiwan.
Chyan, J.M. & Hwung, H.H. 1993. On the interaction of a turbulent jet with waves. Journal of Hydraulic
Research 31(6): 719–810.
Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). 1999. http://www.mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/ocean/
current_statistics/so54n.html
Doneker, R.L. & Jirka, G.H. 1990. Expert system for hydrodynamic mixing zone analysis of conventional and
toxic submerged single port discharges (CORMIX 1), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Report No.
EPA/600/3–90/012.
Huang, H., Fergen, R.E., Proni, J.R. & Tsai, J.J. 1998. Initial dilution equations for buoyancy-dominated jets
in currents. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 124(1): 105–108.
Huang, H., Fergen, R.E., Proni, J.R. & Tsai, J.J. 1996. Probabilistic analysis of ocean outfall mixing zones.
Journal of Environmental Engineering, ASCE 122(5): 359–367.
Hwung, H.H., Chyan, J.M., Chang, C.Y. & Chen, Y.F. 1994. The dilution processes of alternative hori-
zontal buoyant jets in wave motion. Proceedings of the Twenty-fourth International Coastal Engineering
Conference, Oct 23–38, 1994, Kobe, Japan.
Koole, R. & Swan, C. 1994. Dispersion of pollution in a wave environment. Proceedings of the 24th
International Coastal Engineering Conference, Oct 23–28, Kobe, Japan, 3071–3085.
Kuehnel, R.O.W., Murthy, C.R., Miners, K.C., Kohli, B. & Hamdy, Y. 1981. A coastal dispersion model for
effluent plumes. National Water Research Institute, Burlington, ON, Canada.
Lee, J.H.W. & Cheung, V. 1991. Mixing of buoyancy-dominated jets in a weak current. Proceedings of the
Institute of Civil Engineers Part 2 91 : 113–129.
Lee, J.H.W. & Neville-Jones, P. 1989. Initial dilution of horizontal jet in crossflow: closure. Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering 115: 284–288.
Mukhtasor 2001. Hydrodynamic modeling and ecological risk-based design of produced water discharged
from a offshore platform. Ph.D Thesis. Memorial University of Newfoundland, St.John’s, Canada.
Okubo, A. 1971. Ocean diffusion diagrams, Deep Sea Research 18: 789–802.

472
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Formulas for dilution prediction of inclined buoyant jets

in stagnant water

Z.R. Guo
South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Guanzhou/Shenzhen graduate school of
Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China

ABSTRACT: Empirical formulas for predicting dilution of arbitrarily inclined buoyant jets in
stagnant water are derived in this paper to facilitate preliminary calculation in engineering practice.
A virtual source approach is employed to convert the buoyant jet with an arbitrary inclined angle into
an approximately equivalent vertical buoyant jet. Based on classical theory for turbulent jets and
plumes and existing experimental data, brief formulas are derived that cover both round and plane
buoyant jets in a stagnant uniform ambient. Comparisons show that dilutions of inclined buoyant
jets predicted by the suggested formulas well agree with the results calculated by UPLUME model.
The formulas automatically reduce to the classical formulas for dilution prediction of vertical jets
and plumes when the inclined angle to the horizontal is 90◦ and to Cederwall’s equation when the
inclined angle is 0◦ .

1 INTRODUCTION

With ocean outfalls, wastewater is usually discharged at the seabed through inclined ports with
vertical angles to the horizontal plane so as to maximize initial dilution while avoiding attachment
of the jet to the seabed. Vertical and horizontal discharges are particular cases of inclined discharges.
Stagnant seawater is considered to be the typical ambient condition because the nearly minimum
initial dilution which then occurs is the most critical from an environmental point of view.
Currently there are no simple, empirical, formulas available for universal prediction of dilution
from buoyant jets discharged at arbitrarily inclined angles, even in stagnant water. Some previous
investigations aimed at vertical buoyant jets (Ricou and Spalding, 1961; Kotsovinos and List,
1977; Papanicolaou and List, 1988) and horizontal buoyant jets (Cederwall, 1968). Little literature
can be found regarding empirical work on inclined buoyant jets with arbitrary vertical angles. In
this paper formulas used for predicting dilution of buoyant jets with arbitrarily inclined angle are
presented.

2 THEORY

It is well known that buoyant jets have jet-like characteristics in the zone near the source and plume-
like characteristics at locations far from the source (Fischer et al, 1979). This is true for vertical
buoyant jets, horizontal buoyant jets (Brooks, 1980), and also for round buoyant jets and plane
buoyant jets (Kotsovinos, 1975). For vertical buoyant jets, in the jet-like zone, i.e., the momentum-
dominated zone, properties of the jet can be estimated using pure jet-related equations and in the
plume-like zone, i.e., the buoyancy-dominated zone, pure plume-related equations may be used.
It is important to notice that in calculating dilution in the plume-like zone, the equation for a pure
plume can be directly applied without the necessity of modifying the structure of the equation or
the coefficient to account for effects from the jet-like zone.

473
 y

A
yA
yA= sAsinθ

θ
0 xA yS = sA(1-sinθ) x

Figure 1. Inclined buoyant jet and equivalent vertical buoyant jet.

The above method for vertical buoyant jets can be introduced to inclined buoyant jets with an
arbitrary vertical angle, θ, as shown in Figure 1. Neglecting the transition it is assumed that point
A is the boundary between the momentum-dominated zone and the buoyancy-dominated zone. If
the distance between O, the origin, and point A is sA , and if the curvature effect is assumed to be
negligible in the momentum-dominated zone, then

Now the objective is to determine point A and find equations for calculating dilution in the
jet-like zone and the plume-like zone, respectively.
For round jets in an unstratified ambient, it is suggested that the boundary (point A) between the
jet-like and plume-like zones can be defined by the centerline densimetric Froude number of the
jet at point A

where ρ = ρc − ρo is centerline density deference, ρc is centerline density of the jet and ρo is

density of discharged fluid, uc is centerline velocity, g = gravitational acceleration and w = width
of the jet, subscript A denotes location and f1 is a constant to be determined. The densimetric Froude
number, FCA represents the ratio, or weighting, of momentum and buoyancy in the jet. It can be
deduced that

where ρo is the initial density deference of the jet and Sc is the centerline dilution.
In the momentum-dominated zone the following equations are valid.

474
where s is distance from the jet origin, D = diameter of outlet of the jet, Qo = (π/4)D2 uo is the
original volume flux of the jet, Mo = uo Qo is the momentum of the source, uo is the velocity at the
outlet, ε is the spread rate (i.e. the ratio of half width to distance of travel), Cj and C1 are constants
determined by experiments or numerical models, and Cj = (4/π)1/2 Cj , C1 = (π/4)1/2 C1 .
In the buoyancy-dominated zone, and analagous to the vertical buoyant jet, the following plume
equation is used to calculate dilution, i.e.,

where B = (ρo /ρo )gQo is the buoyancy flux, Cp is a coefficient determined by experiment or
numerical model, yv is the vertical distance from a virtual origin of plume and

where y is the vertical elevation relative to the real source and ys is an added distance accounting
for the effect of inclination.
In the case of a vertical buoyant jet, yv = sA is the interface of the two zones if the transition zone
is neglected. Equations (4) and (7) should give the same dilution. This gives

√
where Fo = uo / ρo /ρo gD is the initial densimetric Froude number. If the widely accepted results,
Cj = 0.158 and Cp = 0.09, are employed, equation (9) becomes

which is equivalent to

Now, if the traditional values of ε = 0.114 and C1 = 7.0 are used, equations (2–6) and (10) lead to

Here, lM = Mo3/4 /B1/2 = (π/4)1/4 Fo D is a traditional length scale used to measure the length
of the jet-like (momentum-dominated) zone of a buoyant jet. Previous studies have found that
when (s/lM ) < 1, the buoyant jet is jet-like and when (s/lM ) > 5, the buoyant jet is plume-like
(Papanicolaou and List, 1988). The boundary between the two zones defined by equation (12) falls
in the transition zone. At that point, the value of FcA is 2.5.
Equation (9) may now be assumed to hold for an inclined buoyant jet discharged at an angle, θ.
This basic assumption is reasonable if the curvature effect of buoyancy on the jet-like part of

475
the buoyant jet is small and can be neglected. Substituting equation (9) into equation (4) and
considering conditions at point A, gives, from equations (4) and (7)

Substituting from equation (1) then yields

or

Substituting equations (8) and (14) into equation (7) yields

where α = (π/4)1/4 (Cj /Cp )3/2 .

Comparing equations (9) and (14), it is interesting to note that ys = sA (1 − sin θ) since
yA = sA sin θ , yA + ys = sA . This means that dilution prediction of the plume-like part of an inclined
buoyant jet using equation (16) is equivalent to dilution prediction of a virtual vertical buoyant jet
that is positioned by turning the real jet around point A, as seen in Figure 1.
To summarize, for an inclined round buoyant jet, equation (9) can be used to determine the
distance, sA , to the boundary between the jet-like and plume-like zones. Equation (4) may then be
used to calculate dilution in the jet-like zone and equation (16) may be used for the plume-like
zone.
With similar procedure, formula corresponding to equation (16) but for arbitrarily inclined plane
buoyant jets in unstratified ambient can be derived as follows


where α2 = (Cj2 /Cp2 )2 and Cj2 = 0.508 and Cp2 = 0.417; Fo2 = uo / ρo /ρo gb and b is the half-
width of the slot of the plane jet.
Based on the results given by Fischer et al (1979) for plumes in a linearly stratified ambient, and
using procedures similar to the analyses described above, equations for estimating the maximum
height of rise, yt , and the dilution, St , of inclined buoyant jets in a linearly stratified ambient can
also be obtained.

476
3 COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED NUMERICAL STUDIES

For Cp = 0.09, α = 2.20, and θ = 0◦ , equation (16) becomes

Transforming B and Qo into Fo and D, this is equivalent to

Equation (27) is very close to the well-known Cederwall’s equation

In the case of θ = 90◦ , equation (16) automatically becomes the ordinary plume equation. This
is also true for equation (17) in the case of plane jets.
The above comparison suggests that the deduced equations seem to be reasonable at the two
extreme values of θ = 0◦ and 90◦ .
Dilutions calculated for inclined buoyant jets using numerical models are given in the form of
design charts and have been recommended for use in a number of sources, such as, Fan’s charts are
repeatedly recommended. Comparison has therefore been made with selected Fan’s charts (Fan,
1967). It has been found that for low Fo and high y/D, results given by the suggested equations agree
very well with Fan’s charts. But for high Fo and low y/D, there exists obvious deviation between
them, it might be because that Fan’s model uses a constant plume-like entrainment coefficient and
thus is inaccurate for strong jet-like behavior with a high Fo or low y/D.
Further comparison has been made with the UPLUME model developed by USEPA. This is
accepted as a very reliable model. This model is suitable for single round buoyant jets discharged
at an arbitrary angle into a stagnant stratified ambient. Comparison of equations (16) and (4) with
calculated results from UPLUME is shown in Figure 2. For θ = 90◦ and y/LM < 2.34, and for
θ = 45◦ and y/LM < 1.65, the parts of the two curves are given by equation (4). The rest parts of the
two curves and other two curves are given by equation (16). It can be seen that equations (16) and
(4) agree very well with calculated results given by UPLUME. In addition, the UPLUME model
does not work if θ < 0, while equation (16) can give proper results even for θ = −30◦ as is seen in
Figure 2.

4 CONCLUDING REMARKS

Based on the fact that a buoyant jet can be divided into a jet-like zone and a plume-like zone,
equations have been developed here for predicting dilution of arbitrarily inclined buoyant jets
in stagnant ambients. In the jet-like zone, properties of the buoyant jet can be predicted using
traditional equations for jets. In the plume-like zone, modified plume equations are used to account
for the effect of inclination. Neglecting the transition, the boundary between the two zones is
determined by the requirement that the jet equation and the plume equation should predict the
same dilution on the boundary. Criteria for identifying the position of the boundary have been
given.

477
Figure 2. Comparison of equation (16) and (4) with UPLUME model.

The equations and coefficients suggested here are based on existing classical results and have
been compared with widely accepted results given by previous published studies. Access to the
suggested equations should be easier than to numerical models and therefore be more convenient
for primary calculation in engineering practice.

REFERENCES

Brooks, N. H. 1980. Synthesis of stratified flow phenomenon for design of outfalls. Proc. 2nd int. Symposium
on Stratified Flows, Trondheim, Norway, 2, 809–831.
Cederwall, K. 1968. Hydraulics of Marine Waste Disposal, Hydraulics Div., Chalmers Institute of Technology,
Goteborg, Sweden, Rep. No. 42.
Fan, L.-N. 1967. Turbulent Buoyant Jets into Stratified or Flowing Ambient Fluids. Technical Rep. KH-R-15,
W. M. Keck Laboratory of Hydraulics and Water Resources, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena,
California.
Fischer, H. B., List, E. J., Koh, R. C. Y., Imberger, J., and Brooks, N. H. 1979. Mixing in inland and coastal
waters, Academic press.
Kotsvinos, N. E. 1975. A Study of the Entrainment and Turbulence in a Plane Buoyant Jet. Ph. D. thesis,
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California.
Kotsvinos, N. E., and List, E. J. 1977. Plane turbulent buoyant jet. Part I. Integral properties. J. Fluid Mech.,
81, 25–44.
Papaniclaou, P. N., and List, E. J. 1988. Investigation of round vertical turbulent buoyant jets. J. Fluid Mech.,
195, 341–391.
Ricou, F. P., and Spal, D. B. 1961. Measurements of entrainment by axisymmetrical turbulent jets. J. Fluid
Mech., 11, 21–32.

478
4 Hydrodynamic modelling

4.1 Hydrodynamic models – I

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

3D LES on the formation mechanism of Langmuir circulations

K. Uzaki
Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

N. Matsunaga
Dept. of Earth System Science & Technology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

ABSTRACT: Today, the interaction theory between wind waves and mean currents, which was
proposed by Craik (1977) and Leibovich (1977) and referred to as the CL II theory, is widely
accepted as the formation mechanism of Langmuir circulations. Recently, the authors carried out
laboratory experiments in which the generation of wind waves was suppressed by adding surfactant
to the working fluid. The experimental results led us to an idea that Langmuir circulations could
be formed due to the instability of wind-driven currents themselves. In this study, a rigid surface
model has been used in 3D LES in order to confirm analytically the idea. The formation of
Langmuir circulations has been reproduced numerically and they agree well with experimental
results quantitatively. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the sidewalls do not play an essential
role on the circulations formed in a wind wave tank by imposing the periodic conditions as lateral
boundary conditions of the computational domain.

1 INTRODUCTION

When the wind blows over the seawater surface, floating seaweeds or foam often line up in many
rows whose axes are parallel to the wind direction. These rows are formed by wind-driven surface
currents and convergent flows toward them near the surface, i.e., by secondary circulations induced
in wind-driven currents. They are called ‘Langmuir circulations’. Many studies on Langmuir
circulations have been made since Langmuir’s first report in 1938. They play an important role in
the formation processes of a surface mixing layer or the transport processes of materials in the layer,
so that many researchers in hydrodynamics, ocean physics or coastal engineering have investigated
the characteristics and tried to reveal the formation mechanism.
As the formation theory of Langmuir circulations, the interaction theory between irregular waves
and mean currents, which was proposed by Craik (1977) and Leibovich (1977), is widely accepted
today. It has been referred to as the CL II theory. Faller & Caponi (1978) and Mizuno et al. (1998)
investigated these circulations experimentally and pointed out the importance of wind waves. Li &
Garrett (1993) made numerical simulations by using the CL equations derived from the CL II theory,
and showed the time-development of multiple small cells near the surface to a pair of large circula-
tions. Skyllingsrad & Denbo (1995) made Large Eddy Simulations with considering the heat flux
through the seawater surface. They concluded that the circulations based on the CL II theory have
stronger upward and downward currents than those due to the heat convection near the surface. The
authors (2000, 2002) have investigated Langmuir circulations experimentally and showed that these
circulations can be formed in both cases where the wind waves are fully developed and where the
generation of wind waves is suppressed by adding surfactant to the working fluid. From our experi-
mental results, we came to an idea that Langmuir circulations are formed not due to the interaction
between wind waves and mean currents but due to the instability of wind-driven currents themselves.
In this study, 3D Large Eddy Simulations are conducted under a rigid surface model in which
the water surface is treated as a flat, rigid boundary because the goal of our research is to confirm

481
the idea. In addition, the sidewall effects on the Langmuir circulations formed in a wind wave tank
are investigated by analyzing the wind-driven currents under both no-slip conditions and periodic
conditions.

2 NUMERICAL METHODS

2.1 Computational domain and governing equations

3D Large Eddy Simulations were performed under a rigid surface model in order to confirm the
idea that Langmuir circulations can be formed without the generation of wind waves. Figure 1
shows the non-dimensional computational domain. Variables with the unit of length were non-
dimensionalized by using the water depth h, and ones with the unit of velocity were done by
the friction velocity of water on the surface u∗w . All the variables in this paper are given in the
non-dimensional form. As shown in Fig. 1, the axes of coordinates x, y and z were taken in the
down-wind direction, in the horizontal direction from the center of the tank so as to cross the wind
and in the upward direction from the still water level, respectively. Velocity components u, v and
w are ones along the axes of x, y and z, respectively. A rectangular prism Lx long, Ly wide and Lz
high was taken as a computational domain.
The governing equations are given below in the non-dimensional form. They were composed
of the grid-filtered continuity equation and momentum equations. The subgrid-scale (SGS) stress
terms in the momentum equations were represented by the product of the shear rate of mean velocity
Sij and the eddy viscosity νt . Here, the Smagorinsky model was used for the estimation of νt . Each
momentum equation was split into two equations by means of the fractional step method, one being
the equation in which the pressure term is excluded and the other being included the pressure term.
The pressure p was obtained by taking the divergence of the equation including the pressure and by
using the SOR method for the convergent calculation. A Runge-Kutta scheme of third order was
used for the integration related to time.
Governing equations

Figure 1. Non-dimensional computational domain.

482
2.2 Boundary conditions and numerical conditions
Boundary conditions are given below. At the water surface, the vertical gradient of u was given
by the reciprocal of the sum of the non-dimensional kinematic viscosity ν and the eddy viscosity
νt . For the vertical gradient of v, 0 was given. The value of w was based on the relationship
between the wind shear stress on the water surface and the wind setup for the laminar flow. The
negative value of the non-dimensionalized gravity −g was given for ∂p/∂z at the water surface.
At the bottom boundary, no-slip conditions were imposed for the velocity and −g was given as
∂p/∂z. At the windward end and the leeward one, no-slip conditions were imposed for the velocity
and ∂p/∂x = 0 was put. Both no-slip conditions and periodic conditions were tried as the lateral
boundary conditions.
Boundary conditions

Six simulations of Run 1 to 6 were performed as shown inTable 1. The length of the computational
domain was 80 times the water depth and the width was changed from once to 5.40 times. The
parameters nx, ny and nz indicate the number of grids in the direction of x, y and z, respectively.
The grid sizes are given by dx, dy and dz. The Smagorinsky constant Cs was changed from 0.120 to
0.200 correspondingly to the value of Ly/Lz. In these calculations, the Reynolds number Re(=u∗w
h/ν) was set at 659 except 1,920 in Run 1. In Run 1 to 3, no-slip conditions were adopted as the
lateral boundary conditions and the aspect ratio Ly/Lz was changed from 1.00 to 2.14. On the other
hand, periodic conditions were imposed in Run 4 to 6 and the value of Ly/Lz was given by the first
three multiples of 1.80.

Table 1. Conditions of numerical calculations.

Run Lx Ly Lz nx ny nz dx dy dz Cs Ly/Lz Re

1 80.0 1.00 1.00 502 16 16 0.159 0.0625 0.0625 0.120 1.00 1920
2 80.0 1.80 1.00 502 28 16 0.159 0.0643 0.0625 0.140 1.80 659
3 80.0 2.14 1.00 502 34 16 0.159 0.0625 0.0625 0.140 2.14 659
4 80.0 1.80 1.00 502 28 16 0.159 0.0643 0.0625 0.140 1.80 659
5 80.0 3.60 1.00 502 56 16 0.159 0.0643 0.0625 0.170 3.60 659
6 80.0 5.40 1.00 502 84 16 0.159 0.0643 0.0625 0.200 5.40 659

483
3 NUMERICAL RESULTS

3.1 Comparison of numerical results with experimental ones

Figures 2 (a) and (b) show lateral variations of vertical profiles of u and w in the cross section of
non-dimensional fetch x = 67.1 in Run 1. The numerical results are given by the curved lines. The
experimental data obtained by the authors are also plotted in these figures. Experiments were carried
out by using a wind wave tank, being 6.2 m long, 0.15 m wide and 0.46 m high, and wind waves
were suppressed by adding surfactant to the working fluid. The details of experiments are described
in the papers of Matsunaga & Uzaki (2000, 2002). Experimental data and numerical values are the
average of two values at axial symmetric positions on y = 0.0. From Fig. 2 (a), we can see that the
vertical profiles of wind-driven currents vary remarkably in y-direction. Numerical results agree
well with experimental results though some deviation between the two is recognized in the middle
of depth at y = 0.0. Figure 2 (b) shows that upward currents are formed in the middle of the cross
section and downward currents along the lateral boundaries. The area which the upward currents
occupy is wider than that of the downward currents. The maximum values of the upward current and
the downward one are about 0.30. The numerical results simulate well experimental data. Vertical
profiles shown in Fig. 2 (b) suggest a pair of circulations to be formed over the whole cross section,
and its formation induces the lateral variation of the wind-driven currents as shown in Fig. 2 (a).

3.2 Ly/Lz-dependence
Figures 3 (a) to (c) show the dependence of the secondary flow patterns on the aspect ratio Ly/Lz.
The x-values of the cross section in Figs. 3 (a), (b) and (c) are 67.1, 68.7 and 73.0, respectively. Flow
patterns, which are averaged ones over the dimensionless time interval 12.0 from t = 12.0 to 24.0,
show that the cross section is occupied by a pair of depth-scaled circulations with upward currents
in the middle of the section and downward currents along the lateral boundaries. The pattern in
Fig. 3 (a) is symmetric with respect to the center line though the cells seem to be slightly squeezed
in the lateral direction. A symmetric pattern is also formed in Fig. 3 (b). In Fig. 3 (c), however,
the symmetry begins to collapse and a pair of the secondary circulations becomes unstable. From
these results, we can guess that the aspect ratio for symmetric and stable secondary circulations is
about 1.80.

3.3 Sidewall effects

Figure 4 shows a flow pattern in Run 4. The fetch of the cross section is x = 73.5 and the pattern
is averaged over the time interval of 10.0. The aspect ratio of 1.80 was chosen in the calculation

0.0 0.0
z z
-0.2 -0.2

-0.4 -0.4

-0.6 -0.6
N.S. Exp. y
0.0
-0.8 ±0.125 -0.8
±0.250
±0.375
-1.0 -1.0
-2.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4
(a) u (b) w

Figure 2. Comparison of numerical results in Run 1 with experimental results. (a) u, (b) w (x = 67.1,
t = 12.0∼24.0).

484
under the periodic lateral boundary conditions because a symmetric and stable pattern is formed
in the cross section with the aspect of 1.80 under the no-slip conditions. The downward triangle on
the water surface indicates the position of the downward current, and the upward triangle below
the bottom that of the upward current. We can see that a pair of circulations is formed over the whole
cross section, though the symmetry collapses slightly because of the periodic conditions. Figures 5
(a) and (b) show flow patterns in Run 5 and 6, respectively. Their fetches are x = 57.4 and 48.4
and the averaging time interval is 20.0. Two pairs of circulations are formed in the aspect ratio of

z z
0.50 0.50
0.0 0.0

-1.0 y -1.0
-0.50 0.0 0.50 -0.90 0.0 0.90
(a) (b)
z
0.50
0.0

-1.0
-1.07 0.0 1.07
(c)

Figure 3. Variation of secondary flow patterns in cross section with increase of aspect ratio. (a) Run 1
(x = 67.1, t = 12.0∼24.0), (b) Run 2 (x = 68.7, t = 12.0∼24.0), (c) Run 3 (x = 73.0, t = 12.0∼24.0).

z
0.80
0.0

y
-1.0
-0.90 0.0 0.90

Figure 4. A pair of secondary circulations generated under periodic lateral boundary conditions (Run 4,
x = 73.5, t = 10.0∼20.0).

485
 z

1.00
0.0

y
-1.0
-1.80 0.0 1.80
(a)
z

1.00
0.0

y
-1.0
-2.70 0.0 2.70
(b)

Figure 5. Variations of secondary flow patterns with increase of aspect ratio under periodic lateral boundary
conditions. (a) Run 5 (x = 57.4, t = 10.0∼20.0), (b) Run 6 (x = 48.4, t = 10.0∼30.0).

3.60 and three pairs in the aspect ratio of 5.40. These numerical results show that the sidewalls of a
wind wave tank do not contribute to the formation of Langmuir circulations observed in laboratory
experiments.

4 CONCLUSIONS

3D Large Eddy Simulations were performed with a rigid surface model in order to confirm the
idea that a self-instability of wind-driven currents may play an essential role on the formation of
Langmuir circulations. The numerical results showed the formation of Langmuir circulations with
the size of water depth and gave a good agreement with the experimental results. The aspect ratio
for the formation of a pair of symmetric and stable circulations was found to be about 1.80. Multiple
circulations were formed under the periodic lateral boundary conditions. These results revealed that
wind waves do not play an essential role on the formation of Langmuir circulations and the existence
of sidewalls is not important on the formation of observed circulations in a wind wave tank.

REFERENCES

Craik, A. D. D. 1977. The generation of Langmuir circulations by an instability mechanism. J. Fluid Mech.,
81, 209–223.
Leibovich, S. 1977. On the evolution of the system of wind drift currents and Langmuir circulations in the
ocean. Part 1. Theory and averaged current. J. Fluid Mech., 79, 715–743.
Faller, A. J. & Caponi, E. A. 1978. Laboratory studies of wind-driven Langmuir circulations. J. Geophys. Res.,
83, pp.3617–3633.
Mizuno, S., Noguchi, H. & Kimura, Y. 1998. A pair of Langmuir cells in two laboratory tanks (II) on generation
mechanism. Jour. Oceanography, 54, 77–100.
Li, M. & Garrett, C. 1993. Cell merging and the jet/downwelling ratio in Langmuir circulation., Jour. Mar.
Res. 51, 737–769.

486
Skyllingsrad, E. D. & Denbo, D. W. 1995. An ocean large-eddy simulation of Langmuir circulations and
convection in the surface mixed layer, Jour. Geophys. Res., 100, No. C5, 8501–8522.
Nadaoka, K. & Uchiyama, Y. 1997. Formation of longitudinal vortices generated by wind-driven current and
their influence on mixing processes in nearshore region. Proc. of Coastal Eng., JSCE., (in Japanese), 44,
421–425.
Uzaki, K. & Matsunaga, N. 2000. Wind-driven currents with Langmuir circulations in a shallow water region.
Proc. of 4th International Conference on Hydro-science & Engineering (CD-ROM Proc.).
Matsunaga, N. & Uzaki, K. 2002. Experimental study of secondary circulations in wind-driven currents. Jour.
Hydraulic, Coastal and Environmental Eng. (in Japanese), No. 705/II – 59, 67–82.

487
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Semi-implicit sigma-coordinate hydrodynamic model

W.C. Pang & P. Tkalich

Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI), National University of Singapore, Singapore

ABSTRACT: The concept, implementation and verification of a semi-implicit 3-D sigma coord-
inate hydrodynamic model are described. Numerical scheme and linear matrix solver for the shallow
water equations are based on the work of Casulli with several modifications. The utilized implicit
scheme eliminates stability dependency on surface wave celerity. Governing 3-D hydrodynamic
equations are written for curvilinear sigma-coordinates, and discretized using mixed forward-
and centre-time differencing scheme. The modified solution algorithm takes into account various
types of boundary conditions and employs an unsymmetric matrix solver. The model developed is
rigorously tested against exact solutions, and its performance is compared with other hydrodynamic
models. The model successfully produces comparable accuracy relatively to explicit model, but
with higher efficiency. The model is used as one of the forecasting tools for Singapore Strait tidal
currents. The Tropical Marine Hydrodynamic (TMH) model developed is named after the Institute.

1 INTRODUCTION

Hydrodynamic models are used routinely worldwide and regionally as a part of coastal management
and environmental impact assessment. Increasingly, higher accuracy and understanding of finer
phenomena is being demanded, thus pushing the resolution of hydrodynamic modeling smaller. Yet
these models of enhanced resolution should still operate efficiently for most practical applications.
Many traditionally used public-available 3-D hydrodynamic models are unable to satisfy the
increasing requirements. Explicit models such as Princeton Ocean Model (POM) (Blumberg et al.
1987) must satisfy strict Courant-Friedrich-Lewy (CFL) stability criterion for the gravity wave
celerity. As the routinely required grid size tends to tens of meters, the CFL-controlled timestep is
becoming prohibitively small; however, the timestep is much smaller than what accuracy consider-
ation would require. Hence, it is desirable to remove stability dependency on surface wave celerity
from the model.
Some hydrodynamic models especially commercial ones have already eliminated the depen-
dency. Many employ alternate direction implicit (ADI) method, which offers a superior performance
compared to explicit models, but suffers from another limitation called ADI effect (Stelling et al.
1986). The ADI effect limits integration timestep in areas with narrow channels to only several
times of explicit model. Several alternatives to ADI have been proposed, such as Wilders et al.
(1988), Casulli (1990), Dukowicz et al. (1994) and Ye et al. (1998). All these methods eliminate
dependency on the surface wave celerity without having limitations of the ADI effect.
In this paper a semi-implicit Tropical Marine Hydrodynamic model (TMH) is presented. The
model is based on ideas of Casulli (1990, 1992, 1994) and Dukowicz (1994); however, several
modifications have been made to the original algorithms. Section 2 describes the modified gov-
erning equations while Section 3 outlines utilized numerical discretization with the discussion on
accuracy and stability of the method. Treatment of open boundary conditions and solution algo-
rithms of discretized equations are presented in Section 4. This is followed by model testing using
exact solutions and field observations in Section 5.

489
2 GOVERNING EQUATIONS

The free surface primitive equation model with bottom-fitting sigma coordinate is given by:

where η = surface elevation; (U, V ) = horizontal velocities; ω = vertical velocity; D = total water
depth; ν = vertical kinematic viscosity; F(x,y) = horizontal viscous terms; and S(x,y) = other source
and sink terms such as Coriolis force and dynamic pressure.
Hydrostatic assumption and Boussinesq approximation have been applied. For reference con-
venience the equations are shown in Cartesian coordinates; however, horizontally curvilinear
transformed equations are used in the model. In spite of symbolic difference, equations written in
curvilinear coordinates have essentially the same form as Cartesian ones, except for additional curv-
ature terms (Arakawa et al. 1977). Descriptions of some terms are omitted from the paper because
they do not affect the discretization method presented. Major differences between the Equations 1
and those of Casulli (1994) are the use of vertical sigma coordinate, horizontal curvilinear
coordinates, and inclusion of some additional terms in S(x,y) .

3 NUMERICAL METHODS

To illustrate implicit discretization of some terms, Equation 1 is rewritten in the compact form:

where Equation 2a is a depth averaged version of Equation 1a; G (x,y) is the sum of advection,
horizontal viscosity, source and sink terms.
As per Casulli (1990) analysis, stability dependency of Equation 2 on celerity could be removed
by implicit discretization of left hand side terms. Implicit discretization of vertical viscosity terms
removes another stringent stability criterion arises from vertical component of the turbulent dif-
fusion. One difficult choice in discretizing Equation 2 is whether to use forward- or central-time
differencing scheme for ∂t (U, V ) terms. A central-time three-layer Leap-Frog scheme allows G (x,y)
terms to be centered, but causes solution decoupling. On the other hand, forward-time two-layer
differencing employed by Casulli does not suffer from decoupling, but it is only first order accu-
racy in time, unless some form of Crank-Nicolson time differencing is used, resulting in an overly
complicated and large matrix to be solved. The choice thus depends on the importance of G (x,y)
terms in particular applications.

490
 In this paper only central-time differentiation of Equation 2b and 2c is presented; however,
forward-time differencing has been utilized in TMH as an alternative. Discretized governing
equations are obtained as follows:

where

The idea of discretization originates from the method of Dukowicz (1994). Central differencing
of Equation 3b and 3c allows G (x,y) terms to be centered in time. While forward differencing in
Equation 3a reduces solution decoupling. Three-layer discretization of the ηα term removes stability
constraint and reduces decoupling without sacrificing temporal accuracy. By setting θ = 0.5 and
α = γ all first order temporal truncation errors are removed from Equation 3, thus yielding second
order accuracy in time. In spatial derivatives the central discretization is used. Proper control volume
formulation is applied to ensure conservation of mass and energy in rectangular or curvilinear grids.
Based on the analysis of Dukowicz (1994), stability of Equation 3 is free from celerity con-
straints in pure gravity or Rossby wave mode as long as θ > 0.5 and α > ¼. Meanwhile, implicit
discretization of vertical viscosity term removes another stability constraint. That would leave sta-
bility of Equation 3 to be dependent on terms of G (x,y) . In practice, most stringent limits could arise
from any of the followings: horizontal advection, horizontal viscosity, Coriolis force or dynamic
pressure term.

4 SOLUTION ALGORITHMS

4.1 System of equations

General framework of the Equations 3 discretization follows Casulli (1992, 1994). Given Nx , Ny
and Nσ as the number of nodes in x, y and σ direction respectively, and that Arakawa C grid
is employed (Arakawa 1977), 2Nx Ny independent symmetric positive definite (SPD) tridiagonal
systems of Nσ equations are formed due to implicit discretization of the vertical viscosity term.
Each of these systems could be solved efficiently by factorizing it into L’DL form where L is the
lower triangle matrix and D is the diagonal one. Equations 3b and 3c are then substituted into
Equation 3a to eliminate all U n+1 and V n+1 terms, yielding the following set of equations:

where d, s and q consist of variables known in advance, e.g. (U, V )n , ηn and G (x,y),n . Explanations
of these terms and their derivations are given by Casulli (1992, 1994), except for slight deviations
due to the different discretization process or coordinates. Five ηn+1 terms are the only unknowns
in Equation 4. The equation thus constitutes a five-diagonal system of Nx Ny linear equations. The
system is positive definite as shown by Casulli (1992). In the symmetric case it can be solved

491
with an efficient Conjugate Gradient Method (CGM). Application of open boundary conditions
can destroy symmetry of the system; therefore, the method is modified as shown in the following
section.

4.2 Integrating open boundary conditions

Consider Equations 3 centered around the computational cell (i, j). Since Arakawa C grid is used,
the cell averaged value ηi,j is assigned in the centre, while Ui ± 1/2,j and Vi,j ± 1/2 are specified at four
faces of the cell. Consider also a flow discharge condition at the right side of the control volume i.e.

where f (t) is the time dependent discharge function.

Replacing all occurrences of U n+1 and U n at the right side of Equation 3 with Equation 5,
substitution of Eqs. 3b and 3c into 3a yields:

where q̃ is q with U n substituted by Equation 5b; and r contains all known terms associated with
U n+1 . Equation 6 is equivalent to Equation 4 with the discharge boundary condition on right side
of the control volume. The system of Nx Ny equations, formed with one or more equations 6,
would constitute an unsymmetric linear five-diagonal matrix. Unless the matrix is only slightly
unsymmetric, CGM would not fail to converge. Two other substitutions show that implicit open
boundary conditions, such as gravity wave propagation (Palma et al. 1998) or radiation condition
by Flather (1976), also yield unsymmetric matrix. Only exception is prescribed surface elevation
condition of

where h(t) is the time dependent function. Boundary condition based on Equation 7 yields a
symmetric matrix.
It has been shown that use of discharge or implicit radiation boundary conditions yields unsym-
metric matrix that CGM could not resolve efficiently. Since these types of open boundary conditions
are frequently used in coastal or estuarine modeling, an unsymmetric matrix solver is needed, such
as Bi-Conjugate Gradient Stabilized (BiCG-STAB) method developed by van der Vorst (1992).
The method requires two times more matrix-vector products and vector inner products per itera-
tion compared to CGM but converges faster (Barrett et al. 1994). Tests have shown a comparable
efficiency with CGM in symmetric case without any preconditioning.
Other optimizations of the iterative solver include the use of a five-band storage scheme for the
five-diagonal system of Nx Ny equations which requires introduction of special matrix-matrix or
matrix-vector multiplication algorithms. This is necessary because in most applications a Nx Ny by
Nx Ny matrix would be too large and inefficient to be operated on. The solver is further optimized
by using only wet grid-cells to form the matrix involved.

5 VERIFICATIONS

5.1 Basic property tests

Various basic numerical tests have been performed on TMH. These tests evaluate only certain
portion of Equation 1 in simplified or linearized forms. Simplicity and linear nature of the tests

492
allow analytical solutions to be obtained and compared against numerical ones. The tests include
propagation of linear gravity wave in 1-D channel, pure momentum advection and diffusion in
horizontal or vertical 1-D channel, and water mass and total energy conservation in 3-D domain
using curvilinear coordinates.
Many other numerical tests without analytical solutions have also been carried out. They test
the model performance in presence of wind forcing, bottom friction, complex bathymetry, or
combinations of the tests mentioned. The space does not permit a detailed comparison; therefore,
one can only summarize that TMH performs well within a theoretically expected range of stability
and accuracy. Other tests include numerous experiments on explicit or implicit open boundary
conditions, such as those mentioned in Section 4.2. Tests on accuracy, convergence and sensitivity
of iterative solvers and preconditioner have also been performed.

5.2 Application to Singapore Strait

Performance and accuracy of TMH was tested once more at the Singapore Strait hydrodynamics.
This application is based on the work described earlier in paper of Pang et al. (2003). Rectangular
grid of 500 m by 500 m is used for the domain shown in Figure 1. Locations of comparison are
marked by triangles in the Figure. For comparison with data the bathymetry is chosen to reflect
conditions of the year 2001.
Figure 2 shows typical surface current pattern. There are 236 × 170 nodes in the horizontal
grid and 7 vertical sigma layers. Computed currents are also compared against field observations
(Figure 3 and Table 1). Results of the POM based model described in Pang et al. (2003) are also
included in Table 1. The models show a comparable accuracy. TMH produces similar result for
Station 1 and more accurate one in Station 2. However, TMH takes only 1/8 of the POM time to
complete the simulation.

Malaysia 10 km
Singapore

1 2

Figure 2. Typical computed surface

Figure 1. Study area of Singapore Strait model. current.

Figure 3. Computed result versus field measurement at station 2 for 7 days. Pattern is typical for whole
simulation and both stations 1 and 2.

493
 Table 1. Computed water currents of TMH and POM based model versus field
observations. MAE stands for mean absolute error. P-values for all correlation
are less than 1 × 10−3 .
Station 1 Station 2

MAE Correlation MAE Correlation Run time*

(m/s) coefficient (m/s) coefficient (hours)

TMH 0.14 0.96 0.22 0.91 3.6

POM 0.14 0.95 0.25 0.91 29.5
∗Time taken by model to complete simulations of 34 days.

6 CONCLUSIONS

The semi-implicit hydrodynamic model TMH utilizing an advanced linear system solver has been
developed and tested. Numerical tests and application to Singapore Strait show that the model
is reliable and efficient. While TMH has already been applied to hydrodynamic forecast of
Singapore Strait (www.porl.nus.edu.sg/forecast), various improvements in terms of functionality
and reliability are currently being worked on. More benchmarks, both numerical and real world
are carried out.

REFERENCES

Arakawa, A., and V. R. Lamb. 1977. Computational design of the basic dynamical processes of the UCLA
general circulation model. Methods of computational physics, vol. 17, Academic Press, New York,
pp. 173–265.
Barrett, R., M. Berry, T. F. Chan et al. 1994. Templates for the Solution of Linear Systems: Building Blocks
for Iterative Methods, SIAM, Philadelphia.
Blumberg, A. F., and G. L. Mellor. 1987. A description of a three-dimensional coastal ocean circulation model.
Three-dimensional coastal ocean models. Coastal and estuarine sciences: 4, N. Heaps, ed., American
Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C., pp.1–16.
Casulli, V. 1990. Semi-Implicit finite difference methods for the two-dimensional shallow water equations.
Journal of Computational Physics, 86, pp.56–74.
Casulli, V., and R. T. Cheng. 1992. Semi-Implicit finite difference methods for three-dimensional shallow
water flow. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 15, pp.629–648.
Casulli, V., and E. Cattani. 1994. Stability, accuracy and efficiency of a semi-implicit method for three-
dimensional shallow water flow. Computers Math. Applic., 27, No. 4, pp.99–112.
Dukowicz, J. K., and R. D. Smith. 1994. Implicit free-surface method for the Bryan-Cox-Semtner ocean model.
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 99, NO. C4, pp.7991–8014.
Flather, R. A. 1976. A tidal model of the north-west European continental shelf. Memoires Societe Royale des
Sciences de Liege, 6e serie, tome X, pp.141–164.
Palma, E. D., and R. P. Matano. 1998. On the implementation of passive open boundary conditions for a
general circulation model: the barotropic mode. Journal of Geophysical Research, 103, pp.1319–1341.
Pang, W. C., P. Tkalich and E.S. Chan. 2003. Hydrodynamic forecast model for the Singapore Straits.
Proceedings of the XXX IAHR Congress, August 2003, Thessaloniki, Greece, pp.9–16.
Stelling, G. S., A. K. Wiersma and J. B. T. M. Willemse. 1986. Pratical aspects of accurate tidal computation.
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 112, No. 9, pp.802–817.
van der Vorst, H. A. 1992. Bi-CGSTAB: A fast and smoothly converging variant of Bi-CG for the solution of
non-symmetric linear systems. SIAM J. Sci. Stat. Comput., 12, pp.631–644.
Wilders, P., Th. L. van Stun, G. S. Stelling and G. A. Fokkema. 1988. A fully implicit splitting method
for accurate tidal computations. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 26,
pp. 2707–2721.
Ye, J., J. A. McCorquodale and R. M. Barron. 1998. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model in curvilinear
co-ordinates with collocated grid. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 28, pp.1109–1134.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Effects of core-region vortices on near-wall vortices generated by

steady incoming flows past a wall-mounted long circular cylinder

M.K. Kwan
Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, Republic of China

C.T. Hsu
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,
Hong Kong, China

R.R. Hwang
Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, Republic of China

ABSTRACT: In this study, flows near the base of a wall-mounted long obstacle were investigated
by simulating steady flows past a circular cylinder with endplates. In order to create a pattern of
simple shedding from a long obstacle, the Reynolds number and aspect ratio are chosen as 100
and 50 respectively. Our results show that the flow near the cylinder base is a continuation of the
shedding vortices in the upper (core) region, and is directly affected by the motion of these vortices.
Examples include the low-amplitude periodic variation of the trailing vortices near the base, and
the generation of near-base secondary flows due to the inclined vortex pair. Though the flows in
the present study were simulated at low Reynolds number, the results provide a fundamental and
detailed understanding of the effects due to the core-region vortices.

1 INTRODUCTION

For decades, flows near the base of a wall-mounted obstacle have attracted much research interest,
as they are frequently encountered in engineering applications. Typical problems include the flow
structure near the base of a tall building, the horseshoe vortices at the joint between wing and body of
an aircraft and the scouring at the bottom of a bridge column. Previous investigations were focused
mostly on the development of the near-wall structures such as horseshoe vortices (Baker 1979,
Dargahi 1989, Seal et al. 1995, Seal & Smith 1999) and trailing vortices (Hunt & Snyder 1980,
Mason & Morton 1987, Sau et al. 2003). For long wall-mounted obstacles encountered in daily
applications, vortex shedding will occur at the upper region of the obstacle when the Reynolds
number is sufficiently high, and therefore flows in the upper (core) region will interact with those
in the near-wall region. On the other hand, researches on vortex shedding for steady flows past a
long cylinder were aimed at the effects due to cylinder endplates such as the decrease in shedding
frequency and the generation of different frequency cells along the span (Gerich & Eckelmann
1982, Williamson 1989, Lee & Budwig 1991, Norberg 1994), but the flows near the endplate was
not investigated in details. From the above, it is noticed that the interactions between flows at the
core and the near-wall region are rarely addressed, neither from the “near-wall structure” group
nor the “vortex shedding” group.
In this study, a numerical simulation was performed for steady flows past a circular cylinder
with endplates. In order to have a simple shedding pattern for the easy visualization, the governing
parameters were chosen as ReD = 100 and H /D = 50, where ReD is the Reynolds number based on
incoming uniform steady velocity Um and cylinder diameter D, and H /D is the cylinder aspect ratio
with H being the length of the cylinder. The upper and lower ends of the cylinder were mounted

495
respectively with a circular endplate of diameter Do , with Do /D = 50. Because of high aspect ratio,
the simulation shows three frequency cells: one core cell which is nearly parallel to the cylinder
axis and two end cells that are inclined to the endplates. In addition, the vortex lines of the end-cell
vortices are attached to the endplates, implying a continuation of shedding effect from the core to
the endplate regions. With the present study, a clear picture of the interaction between the core and
the near-base flows is provided.

2 GOVERNING EQUATIONS, BOUNDARY AND INITIAL CONDITIONS

The motion of fluid is calculated based on continuity and Navier-Stokes equations of constant
density and viscosity. Using the far-away mean velocity Um as the velocity scale, the cylinder radius
R as the length scale, R/Um as the time scale and ρUm2 as the pressure scale, the dimensionless
governing equations become:

where ∇ = (∂/∂x, ∂/∂y, ∂/∂z) is the gradient operator and ∇ 2 = ∂ 2 /∂x2 + ∂ 2 /∂y2 + ∂ 2 /∂z2 is the
Laplacian in Cartesian coordinate system (x, y, z) which denotes the streamwise, transverse and
spanwise (lateral) directions respectively, u = (u, v, w) denotes the velocities and p is the pressure.
The origin is located at the intersection point of the cylinder center and bottom endplate. Another
coordinate used in this study is the cylindrical coordinate system (r, θ , z), where r = (x2 + y2 )1/2
and tan θ = y/x. For the ease of presentation, all variables are in dimensionless form hereafter.
To solve Equations (1) and (2), suitable boundary and initial conditions have to be imposed. For
the present study, the boundary conditions are:
– On the surfaces of the cylinder (r = 1) and the endplates (z = 0 and 100), the no-slip boundary
condition is used;
– On the upstream boundary (r = Ro = Do /2 and 90◦ < θ < 270◦ ), a uniform incoming flow Um
is applied;
– On the exit boundary (r = Ro and −90◦ ≤ θ ≤ 90◦ ), for the ease of manipulation the outflow
boundary condition is implemented, i.e. the outflow velocities at the boundary are obtained
from the velocities in the adjacent grids using a third degree extrapolation.
However, this method causes a global mass imbalance that the total inflow and outflow volume
fluxes are unequal. In our simulation, the mass imbalance is removed by distributing the excess
mass evenly on all cells of the exit boundary. The correction of mass imbalance is usually of the
order 10−3 , which is very small as compared to the total volume flux across the boundary of
computational domain.
For the initial condition, the flow was assumed to be stagnant at t = 0. The simulation then kept
running until several tens of shedding cycles had passed.

3 NUMERICAL METHODS

To solve the governing Equations (1) and (2) numerically, the method by Zang et al. (1994) is applied
herein. In this method, the governing equations in the Cartesian coordinate are first transformed
into the cylindrical coordinate, so that the Cartesian velocities become fitted to a circular domain.
The transformed equations are then discretized based on the method proposed by Kim & Moin
(1985) – a semi-implicit time-advancement scheme with second order Adams-Bashforth method
for the convective and source terms and Crank-Nicolson method for the viscous terms. Besides, a
co-located grid is employed, so that velocities and pressure are stored at the cell center and volume
fluxes are placed at the midpoint of the cell faces.

496
 The use of fractional time step method (Kim & Moin 1985) results in a predictor-corrector
solution procedure and a Pressure Poisson Equation (PPE), and the computed pressure will lead
to a velocity field that satisfies mass conservation at the new time step. From our experience,
calculation of the PPE solution is the most time consuming part in each time step. On the other
hand, high accuracy of the PPE solution is a necessary condition for obtaining physically accurate
results. Therefore, an efficient Poisson solver is the key to a successful simulation. In the present
calculation, different numerical algorithms were used to speed up the convergence. Since pressure
is periodic in the circumferential direction, spectral method (Press et al. 1992) is applied to the
original 3-D PPE, resulting in a set of 2-D Poisson equations. Then, each Poisson equation is solved
using a V-cycle multi-grid method (Brandt 1977, Perng & Street 1989), until the residue of the
PPE solution is less than 10−7 in all cells. With this combined spectral and multi-grid solver, the
computation time is reduced significantly.
In the present simulation, the numbers of grids in radial, circumferential and spanwise directions
are 128, 128 and 96 respectively. Besides, grid stretching is applied in both radial and spanwise
directions in order to resolve the boundary layers on the cylinder surface and on the endplates.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In the present simulation, even after several months of computation elapsing several tens of shedding
cycles, the flow remained varying slightly at very low frequency and did not reach an absolutely
periodically steady state. Fortunately, the main flow structures are captured in the simulation and
are consistent with the experimental results by others.
Along the cylinder, there exist three vortex shedding cells, with the shedding frequency of the
two cells near the endplates slightly lower than that of the core cell. This three-cell pattern was also
observed in the experimental studies of Williamson (1989) and Lee & Budwig (1991) at similar
values of ReD and H /D. From Fourier analysis, the Strouhal numbers St (dimensionless shedding
frequency) of the core and end cells in the present study are 0.163 and 0.148 respectively, that agree
well with the results of 0.1602 and 0.1408 in Williamson’s experiment (1989). Besides, the use of
spectral analysis also defines the spanwise length of these single-frequency regions, and confirms
that the length of the end cells in our study is consistent with the experimental value of around 20R
by Gerich & Eckelmann (1982) and Williamson (1989).
Though there is slight asymmetry between flows on the upper and lower half of the cylinder, the
structures near the top and bottom endplates show no significant difference because of increased
viscous effect and decreased flow freedom. Therefore, only the results for the bottom endplate
are presented. The transverse velocity v of the wake near the endplate is first shown in Figure 1,
where the data were collected at (x, y) = (1.488, 0.037) and z = 1.54, 5.63 and 9.10 respectively.
At the collection point nearest to the endplate (z = 1.54), the velocity contains a steady component
due to biased positioning (y = 0), and a low-amplitude periodic component due to vortex shedding.
Besides, the velocities at these three points are in-phase with each other, and show a gradual decrease
of amplitude from the core region towards the endplate. Hence, it can be concluded that all three
points are located inside the same frequency cell (of which St = 0.148 from the aforementioned
Fourier analysis), showing the continuous shedding effect from the core to the endplate regions.
In addition to velocity, vorticity is also plotted to present vortex structures in the flow. The x, y
and z components after non-dimensionalized using Um /R are defined as:

497
 0.2
z = 1.54
= 5.63
= 9.10

0.1
v

0.0

-0.1

400 450 500 550 600 650

t

Figure 1. Velocity v at different spanwise locations for a time period of 250, with (x, y) = (1.488, 0.037).

To illustrate the shedding vortices near the endplate, the z-vorticity ωz at a time instant is shown
in Figure 2 using iso-surface plot. Different from the vortices in 2-D simulations that the vortex
lines are always parallel to the axis of the infinitely long cylinder, here the vortex lines are inclined
and are attached to the junction of the cylinder and the endplate. Also provided in Figure 2 is the
vector plot of projected velocity on y = 0. In front of the cylinder, the flow is nearly uniform in the
x-direction, except at the vicinity of the endplate surface that boundary layer starts to appear. In
addition, there is a downward flow from the core region towards the endplate (See the enlarged view
in Figure 3), which is created by the high stagnation pressure in the core region when the incoming
flow encounters the cylinder. Behind the cylinder, this downward flow reverses upwards in order to
satisfy the constraint of mass conservation. As indicated by the slanted shape of the iso-surfaces,
the vorticity is lifted up by this upward flow and then follows the wake to the downstream. From the
velocity plot, it is interesting to see that the wake wiggles when x > 10, with the velocity vectors
going up and down periodically. This phenomenon is due to the interaction of the near-endplate
wake and the rolls of positive and negative vortices – When the flow on y = 0 encounters the vortex
rolls, because of the inclination of vortices (or lifting of vortices), the upward flow is enhanced but
the downstream flow is reduced. As a result, the direction of the velocity vectors varies accordingly.
After plotting the z-vorticity to show the change of shedding vortices, the x-vorticity is presented
to illustrate the streamwise vortices near the endplate. Figure 3 shows the iso-surface plot of
x-vorticity and the vector plot of projected velocity on y = 0. For easy interpretation, it uses a
magnified view taken at the same instant of Figure 2. In front of the cylinder, the downward flow
as mentioned in last paragraph changes to upstream direction when it is blocked by the endplate,
resulting in a small recirculation region at the cylinder end. When we chased the evolution of this
recirculation region using velocity plots at different θ (not shown here), it was found that this region
forms a U-shape horseshoe vortex that wraps around the peripheral of the cylinder, as represented
by the iso-surface “ωx = −0.2” in Figure 3. However, this horseshoe vortex cannot sustain far to the
downstream – It decades soon after its generation and finally disappears when x = 0. In one case of
Williamson’s experiment (1989) at ReD = 70, a tail of dye that extended from the cylinder surface
to the downstream was found near the endplate, and was believed to be a horseshoe vortex. On the
other hand, most experimental studies on horseshoe vortex were performed at ReD of the order of

498
Figure 2. Iso-surface plot of z-vorticity ωz and vector plot of projected velocity on y = 0 near the bottom
endplate. Surfaces from dark grey to light grey: Solid surface, ωz = −0.2 and ωz = 0.2; Black arrows: Velocity
vectors.

Figure 3. Iso-surface plot of x-vorticity ωx and vector plot of projected velocity on y = 0 close to the end of
the cylinder, at the same instant of Figure 2. Surfaces from dark grey to light grey: Solid surface, ωx = −0.2
and ωx = 0.2; Black arrows: Velocity vectors.

499
thousands, and it has been a common belief that horseshoe vortex cannot appear at low ReD (In the
experimental study by Baker (1979), the lowest Reynolds number that a laminar horseshoe vortex
appeared was around 750). Therefore, there is confusion between the conclusions by Williamson
and others. Finally, the present simulation provides the details of the whole field and shows that
the streamwise structure at low Reynolds number is actually an “incomplete” horseshoe vortex.
Behind the cylinder, because of the inclination of shedding vortices that converts z-vorticity
in the core region to x-vorticity near the endplate, the iso-vorticity surface “ωx = 0.2” forms a
triangular shape. In addition, the velocity plot shows that the flow near the endplate is generally
upwards and towards the downstream, except near the rear of the cylinder that the shedding vortices
creates flow reversal towards the upstream. Below the shedding vortices, there is a small streamwise
structure represented by the iso-surface “ωx = −0.2”. From the change of vorticity sign, i.e. rotation
direction, it is believed that this small structure is a secondary vortex induced by the lifting of the
shedding vortex. More importantly, from the 3-D velocity plots (not shown here), the counter-
rotation of these two sets of vortices squeezes the flow in-between, giving rise to a source point on
the plane y = 0 that supplies fluid to nearby regions on this plane. The source point is indicated by
the center of outgoing vectors on the velocity plot and is located approximately at x = 4 and z = 1.
From the above phenomena, it is obvious that the lifting of shedding vortices and the generation of
secondary vortices play a dominant role in the flow structures near the endplate, and demonstrate
again the direct influence of the core-region flows.

5 CONCLUSIONS

For a long wall-mounted obstacle, the effect of core-region vortex shedding on the near-wall flows
is illustrated, by a numerical simulation of steady flows past a cylinder with endplates at ReD = 100
and H /D = 50. It is found that vortex shedding results in a periodic velocity variation along the
entire span. The velocity oscillation is in-phase within the same frequency cell, but its amplitude
decreases from the core region towards the endplate. In addition, with the presence of endplate the
shedding vortices become inclined and their vortex lines are attached to the junction of cylinder
and endplate, instead of being parallel to the cylinder axis as in 2-D simulations for an infinitely
long cylinder. The inclination (lifting) of shedding vortices gives rise to a secondary vortex at the
vicinity of the endplate surface. As a result, these two sets of vortices squeeze the flow in-between,
and create a source point on the plane y = 0 that supplies fluid to the nearby regions on the same
plane. Though the present study was performed at low Reynolds number, it clearly demonstrates
that vortex shedding not only is the principle phenomenon in the core region, but also bears a
constitutive influence on the structures near the endplate.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work was supported under the Grant, HKUST6254/02E, by the Research Grant Council of
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.

REFERENCES

Baker, C.J. 1979. The laminar horseshoe vortex. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 95(2): 347–367.
Brandt, A. 1977. Multi-level adaptive solutions to boundary-value problems. Mathematics of Computation
31(138): 333–390.
Dargahi, B. 1989. The turbulent flow field around a circular cylinder. Experiments in Fluids 8: 1–12.
Gerich, D. & Eckelmann, H. 1982. Influence of end plates and free ends on the shedding frequency of circular
cylinders. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 122: 109–121.
Hunt, J.C.R. & Snyder, W.H. 1980. Experiments on stably and neutrally stratified flow over a model three-
dimensional hill. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 96(4): 671–704.

500
Kim, J. & Moin, P. 1985. Application of a fractional-step method to incompressible Navier-Stokes equations.
Journal of Computational Physics 59: 308–323.
Kwan, M.K. 2003. Numerical Studies of Steady Flows past a Circular Cylinder Bounded with Endplates. PhD
thesis. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Lee, T. & Budwig, R. 1991. A study of the effect of aspect ratio on vortex shedding behind circular cylinders.
Physics of Fluids A 3(2): 309–315.
Mason, P.J. & Morton, B.R. 1987. Trailing vortices in the wakes of surface-mounted obstacles. Journal of
Fluid Mechanics 175: 247–293.
Norberg, C. 1994. An experimental investigation of the flow around a circular cylinder: influence of aspect
ratio. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 258: 287–316.
Perng, C.Y. & Street, R.L. 1989. Three-dimensional unsteady flow simulations: Alternative strategies for a
volume-averaged calculation. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids 9: 341–362.
Press, W.H., Teukolsky, S.A., Vetterling, W.T. & Flannery, B.P. 1992. Numerical Recipes in Fortran (2nd ed.).
Cambridge University Press.
Sau, A., Hwang, R.R., Sheu, T.W. & Yang, W.C. 2003. Interaction of trailing vortices in the wake of a
wall-mounted rectangular cylinder. Physical Review E 68: 056303.
Seal, C.V., Smith, C.R., Akin, O. & Rockwell, D. 1995. Quantitative characteristics of a laminar, unsteady
necklace vortex system at a rectangular block-flat plate juncture. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 286: 117–135.
Seal, C.V. & Smith, C.R. 1999. Visualization of a mechanism for three-dimensional interaction and near-wall
eruption. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 394: 193–203.
Williamson, C.H.K. 1989. Oblique and parallel modes of vortex shedding in the wake of a circular cylinder at
low Reynolds numbers. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 206: 579–627.
Zang, Y., Street, R.L. & Koseff, J.R. 1994. A non-staggered grid, fractional step method for time-dependent
incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in curvilinear coordinates. Journal of Computational Physics 114:
18–33.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Finite difference TVD scheme for modeling two-dimensional

advection-dispersion

Y. Guan
College of Water Resources and Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

D. Zhang
Moe’s Key Laboratory of Water Resources Development, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT: This paper describes the development of the stream-tube based dispersion model for
modeling contaminant transport in open channels. The operator-splitting technique is employed
to separate the 2D contaminant transport equation into the pure advection and pure dispersion
equations. Then the total variation diminishing (TVD) schemes are combined with the second-
order Lax-Wendroff and third-order QUICKEST explicit finite difference schemes respectively to
solve the pure advection equation in order to prevent the occurrence of numerical oscillations. Due
to various limiters owning different features, the numerical tests for 1D pure advection and 2D
dispersion are conducted to evaluate the performance of different TVD schemes firstly, then the
TVD schemes are applied to experimental data for simulating the 2D mixing in a straight trapezoidal
channel to test the model capability. Both the numerical tests and model application show that the
TVD schemes are very competent for solving the advection-dominated transport problems.

1 INTRODUCTION

To predict the contaminant transport in open channel flows, either the analytical or the numerical
solutions can be applied. The analytical solution is suitable for straight channels with uniform flow
conditions. For natural rivers with such complex geometries as the irregular cross-sections and
channel bends, it is impossible to apply the analytical solution. Therefore, it is essential to develop
the numerical models for modeling the mixing problems in open channels.
There exist a number of numerical models ranging from the complex 3D to the relatively simple
1D. 1D models are suitable for fully mixing problems over the cross-sections, but inaccurate for
the larger river simulations. In addition, 3D models are not favorable for the practical engineering
uses due to requiring more input data and computer resources. Therefore the 2D models might be
appropriate for simulating the pollutant distribution over the downstream sections. However, due to
lacking of secondary flow data in most natural rivers, difficulty arises for calibrating 2D dispersion
models. Consequently, 2D advection-dispersion equation has to be further simplified so that it could
be probably applied for the practical engineering problems. One popular method for the simplifi-
cation is using the concept of cumulative discharge to transform the 2D dispersion equation into a
simple stream-tube based dispersion model, which the transverse advection term disappeared, but is
implicitly considered in the modified lateral dispersion term (Holly, 1975; Guan and Zhang, 2004).
To solve the advection-dispersion equation numerically, the operator-splitting approach is firstly
used, and then the Eulerian finite difference method is employed. It is well known that the accurate
solution can be easily achieved using central difference scheme for solving the dispersion dominated
transport problems, but for the advection dominated problems, numerical diffusions and numerical
oscillations are often observed by using most classical numerical schemes. Hence, the accuracy
for solving the advection-dispersion equation depends on the application of numerical advec-
tion schemes. It is demonstrated that lower order upwind finite difference method is monotonic

503
preserving, but inherent numerical diffusion in its solution (Guan and Zhang, 2004). In contrast,
high order methods are more accurate, but produce the numerical oscillations in the solutions
because they are no longer monotonic. Moreover, high order methods have difficulty for treating
the boundary problems due to more points involved in the interpolations. To combat the unphysical
oscillations, the TVD algorithms have been proposed to discrete the strong advection problems,
which have been widely applied for the simulation of discontinuity problems. However, there is little
investigation on the features of different limiters for modeling the contaminate transport problems.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of several TVD schemes for mod-
eling the advection-dominated transport problems. First the operator-split approach is employed
to separate the advection-dispersion equation into several sub-equations, and then each part is
solved using the most suitable numerical scheme. Third, the numerical studies are carried out for
the advection dominated 1D and 2D transport problems in order to test features of different TVD
schemes, and the performance of different schemes is discussed. The proposed numerical models
are also applied to the dispersion experiments to assess the model capability and finally the primary
conclusions are drawn.

2 GOVERNING EQUATION

The depth-averaged advection-dispersion by using the concept of stream tube in the natural
curvilinear coordinate system is written as (Guan et al., 2002):

where U is the longitudinal velocity; t is time; C is the contaminant concentration; H is the flow
depth; Q is the total discharge of channel; hx and hy are the metric coefficients in the longitudinal and
transverse directions, respectively; Kx and Ky are the dispersion coefficients in the longitudinal and
transverse directions, respectively. For straight channels, hx and hy will be unity. The dispersion
coefficients can be determined as function of water depth and friction velocity, Kx = Dx HU∗
and Ky = Dy HU∗; Dx and Dy are the dimensionless mixing coefficients in the longitudinal and
transverse directions, respectively. Dx and Dy have to be calibrated.

3 NUMERICAL METHOD

To solve the 2D dispersion equation numerically, it requires the numerical methods to be accurate
and stable. To meet this goal, the operator-split approach is commonly used for solving the practical
mass transport problems (Holly, 1975; Luk et al., 1990). The idea of the split-operator approach is
that it separates the 2D advection-dispersion equation into the pure advection and pure dispersion
sub-equations according to the physical processes; then solves each sub-equation by using the
most accurate and efficient numerical methods. If the source and sink terms are not considered, the
resulted pure advection and dispersion equations can be expressed as follows according to Guan
et al. (2002)

504
 In 2D shear flows, the longitudinal dispersion will play minor role compared with the longitudinal
advection for the transient mixing problems. Therefore, this term can be ignored in the calculation
(Luk et al., 1990).

4 ADVECTIVE SCHEMES

The numerical approximation for the 1D pure advection equation by using the explicit finite
difference method is written in the flux form (Guan and Zhang, 2004)

where α(x,t) = Ut/x is the Courant number. sr and sl are the concentration values at the right
and left flux faces, respectively (Fig. 1). They can be determined by explicitly interpolating the
concentration values defined at the center of the staggered grid to the flux faces.
The simplest method to approximate the flux value is the first-order upstream interpolation,
which is mass conserving, positive and monotonic. It provides stable solution if the Courant
number less than unity. But it is inherent of strong numerical diffusion (Guan and Zhang, 2004).
The second-order quadratic upwind scheme and other high order schemes are more accurate, but
produce spurious oscillations. In the present study, the Lax-Wendroff scheme and QUICKEST
scheme with different flux limiters are applied to solve the advection equation and described in the
following subsections.

4.1 The TVD Lax-Wendroff scheme

The Lax-Wendroff scheme is second-order in space and in time. This method often generates the
unphysical oscillations in the solutions. Such unphysical oscillation can be interpreted as a poor
choice of slopes near the steep gradients. Therefore, suitable slope limiters can be used to eliminate
these oscillations and produce the TVD scheme. For the right face value of control volume, the
TVD Lax-Wendroff scheme can be expressed in the following flux form

where φi is the flux limiter function, which plays an important role in obtaining the monotonic
solutions. Certainly, the flux form equation can be taken as the lower first-order upwind scheme
plus a high order scheme with limiter. The limiter is supposed to be some sort of function of the
regularity of the solution. As a measure of the regularity, the following function is employed

which is called the monotonic monitor. It is apparently that the resulted scheme will be the first-
order upwind TVD scheme in case φi = 0. If φi = 1, it is the Lax-Wendroff non-TVD scheme. If

Figure 1. Definition of the control volume.

505
φi = r, it is Beam-Warmer scheme. Various oscillation free methods can be achieved by applying
a series of limiters. For modeling the hyperbolic equation, the most widely used limiters are the
Roe’s Superbee limiter, the Minmod limiter, the Woodward limiter, the monotonic limiter of Van
Leer, the MUSCL limiter of Van Leer, and et al. It is clearly that a monotonic finite difference
method is of TVD property. Certainly, a TVD finite difference method is monotonic preserving
and prevents the spurious oscillations.
The flux limiter can be defined as function of r. The Superbee limiter of Roe is defined as

in which contains three terms. When Roe’s Superbee limiter is used with the second-order LW
scheme, the resulting scheme is monotonic preserving because the flux limiter eliminates the
nonphysical oscillations present with the LW scheme. Furthermore, the Roe’s Superbee limiter is
over compressive and is excellent for surface scalar markers.
The Minmod limiter of Roe is expressed as (Harten, 1983).

The Minmod method is diffusive and slow to converge. However, both Minmod and Superbee
limiters produce similar results. The monotonic limiter of Van Leer is given as

The Woodward limiter is expressed as

The MUSCL limiter is similar as the Woodward limiter and defined as

These limiters are considerably simple; as a result, they are often used for solving the advection
problems. In addition, since φ determines the value of the anti-diffusion flux, different limiters
result in different diffusion. The Minmod and Superbee limiters are the most and least diffusive of
all acceptable limiters, respectively. Other limiters lie in between.

4.2 The TVD QUICKEST scheme

The QUICKEST scheme was proposed by Leonard (1979), and is third-order in space and in time.
The interpolation of right face value of control volume using QUICKEST method is

It is stable for simulating strong advection problems because it is third-order in time. As pre-
viously motioned, the high order QUICKEST scheme is not monotonic and produces wiggles in
the vicinity of abrupt gradient change. The TVD scheme, therefore, have to be applied for the
numerical dispersions. In this study, the ULTIMATE universal flux limiter designed by Leonard
(1991) for arbitrary high order numerical schemes is combined with the QUICKEST scheme to
solve the advection equation. The ULTIMATE has been widely used in mass transport simulations
(Guan and Zhang, 2004). For more information about ULTIMATE, it can be found in Leonard
(1991).

506
5 NUMERICAL TESTS

To further investigate the numerical properties of different TVD schemes, the numerical tests are
carried out. The numerical results depicting various numerical algorithms listed in the previous
section with several test problems are presented in this section.

5.1 Test for 1D pure advection

The numerical experiment for 1D pure advection case is performed in a 2 m wide rectangular channel
with a uniform flow depth of 15 cm and a mean velocity of 0.5 m/s. One typical concentration
profile was specified as the initial condition which consists of a step profile, c(x,0) = 10 for
5x ≤ x ≤ 35x, and a sine-squared profile, c(x,0) = 10 sin2 [(πx)/(20x)] for 60x ≤ x ≤ 80x.
The results at 360 s for the grid and time spaces of 1 m and 0.4 s are shown in Fig. 2. It is clearly
seen that the QUICKEST scheme shows some overshoots and undershoots near the discontinuity
regions; moreover, the LW scheme not only produces the errors of damping at the peak value of
concentration, but also generates significant phase errors. The TVD QUICKEST scheme improves
a lot over the QUICKEST to achieve the oscillation free solutions. The TVD LW schemes display
similar numerical performance of the limited QUICKEST scheme. However, the Superbee limiter
is more suppress and the Minmod is more diffusive. It is shown that the Monotonic, Woodward and
MUSCL range between the Superbee and Minmod. Therefore, only the ULTIMATE QUICKEST,
the Superbee, Minmod and Woodward limiters with LW are used in the further investigations to
illustrate the performance of TVD schemes.

5.2 Test for 2D advection-dispersion

A very long straight rectangular channel of 30 m wide is used for the 2D test. The uniform flow
depth is 1 m and the mean velocity is 0.5 m/s. One continuous line source of 0.1 l/s is injected into
flow at the channel centerline, and the source concentration is 24 g/l. The analytical solution exists
under such simple channel flow conditions (Graf and Altinakar, 1998).
In this test, the concentration distribution obtained from the analytical model at downstream
section of 10 m from source is taken as input for the numerical models. The transverse mixing
coefficient, Ky = 0.23HU∗, is used for both numerical and analytical models. In the numerical
model, the dispersion sub-equations are solved using the implicit central difference scheme, and the

Figure 2. Comparison between the numerical and analytical solutions for 1D advection test.

507
Figure 3. Comparison between the numerical results and analytical solutions for 2D dispersion test.

Figure 4. Comparison of model results with the measurements.

limited QUICKEST and LW schemes are used to solve the advection sub-equation. The simulations
from both analytical and numerical models are illustrated in Fig. 3. It is seen that the TVD schemes
produce very identical results to each other. As expected that some apparent discrepancies on peak
values between the numerical and analytical solutions can be found at the upstream cross-sections.
This indicates that the numerical solutions are not very accurate in case the concentration gradient
is large. Furthermore, computations show that the numerical model results compare favorably with
the analytical solution.

6 APPLICATION TO EXPERIMENT

The dispersion measurement was carried out in a 25 m long laboratorial trapezoidal flume. The
flume surface is 1.2 m wide and the bottom is 0.05 m wide (Holly, 1975), hence the flow velocity
and water depth vary across the flume. The measured concentrations at downstream section of 7 m
from source were taken as input to the numerical models, and the lateral mixing coefficient is taken
as 0.23HU∗ in the calculation.
The computed results are illustrated in Fig. 4. The comparison shows that the TVD schemes are
also very identical and match quite well with the measurements except the very diffusive Minmod
limiter. This indicates that most of the employed TVD schemes are suitable for the contaminant
transport simulations except the more diffusive Minmod limiter.

7 CONCLUSIONS

In summary, the TVD schemes are combined with the operator-splitting algorithm to solve the 2D
advection-dispersion equation in the present study. The numerical test illustrate that the ULTIMATE

508
QUICKEST and limited LW schemes produce the oscillation free solutions. The comparison show
that the limited QUICKEST and the limited LW perform very well compared with the exact solu-
tions, moreover, the performance show that the accuracy of TVD schemes are comparable except
the diffusive Minmod limiter.
The study indicates that the limited QUICKEST, most performed limited LW algorithms are
very favourable for simulating high advection-dominated transport problems because they possess
the desirable properties of high accuracy and computational efficiency. In addition, comparable
accuracy between the limited QUICKEST and limited LW schemes also indicates that the TVD LW
schemes are more attractive for the flow and scalar simulations because they are simple and use less
points in the interpolation and easy to be extended for 2D scalar transport and flow simulations,
especially for treating the boundary problems.

REFERENCES

Graf W. H. and Altinakar M. S. 1998. Fluvial Hydraulics, West Sussex, Wiley.

Guan Y., Altinakar M. S. and Krishnappan B. G. 2002. Two-dimensional simulation of advection-dispersion
in open channel flows, Proc. 5th Int. Conference on Hydroinformatics, Cardiff, UK, (1): 226–231.
Guan Y. and Zhang D. 2004. Comparative study of numerical methods to the advection equation, Proc. 6th
Int. Conference on Hydroinformatics, SG, (1): 134–141.
Harten A. 1983. High resolution schemes for hyperbolic conservation law. J. Comp. Phys., (49): 357–393.
Holly F. M. 1975. Two-dimensional mass dispersion in rivers, Colorado State University, Colorado.
Leonard B. P. 1991. The ULTIMATE conservative difference scheme applied to unsteady one-dimensional
advection, Comp. Methods Appli. Mech. Engrg., (88): 17–74.
Luk G. K. Y., Lau Y. L. and Watt W. E. 1990, Two-dimensional mixing in rivers with unsteady pollutant source.
ASCE J. Environ. Engrg., (116): 105–143.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Study of island wakes in shallow waters

F.C. Chan & M.S. Ghidaoui

Department of Civil Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

ABSTRACT: Shallow wake flows are common in nature. Field and experimental studies have
been carried out previously and found the turbulent shallow wake is highly influenced by the verti-
cal confinement and bottom friction. Dimensional analysis of the Navier-Stokes equations reveals
that wake flows are, in general, governed by two main parameters, namely, ReLx and L2X /L2Z ReLx
where LZ is the vertical length scale and ReLx is the Reynolds number based on the horizontal
length scale LX . Investigation of available shallow wake flow data using both parameters shows
these are governed by ReLx L2Z /L2X and not by ReLx and that the range of values of ReLx L2Z /L2X , which
defines each wake regime, is quantitatively similar to that of deep flows. Comparison between
measured and computed velocity profiles in the wake gives indicates that general large scale fea-
tures of shallow wake flows may be described by the shallow water equations. Physically, when the
wake is shallow (i.e., LX >> LZ ), vortical structures formed by flow separation at the island and
extending from the bed of the flow to the water surface experience little stretching and bending.
As a result, there is little breakdown of large vortical structures into three dimensional turbulent
motion. Instead, vortical structures of the same sign tend to pair up and form large scale coherent
structures as seen in published experiments. The frictional dissipation at the bed of the flow limits
the growth of these structures.

1 INTRODUCTION

Shallow wake flows are prominent in geophysical and environmental applications. Aerial photo-
graphs and images of oceanic and atmospheric wakes can be found in Van Dyke (1982), Wolanski
et al. (1984), Ingram & Chu (1987), Scorer (1978). The study of flow patterns and mixing processes
in the wake of natural protrusions such as mountains, islands and headlands is critical for the
prediction, assessment, analysis and mitigation of pollution problems in air and water.
Shallow wake flows are characterized by their large horizontal length, LX , scale such as the
width of the wake, which greatly exceeds their vertical scale, LZ , such as water depth, and the flow
behaves differently compared with the deep flow. Vortex street, which is typical in low Reynolds
number deep wake flow, is observed in the shallow wake flows at high Reynolds number (≈106 –
109 ). Field, laboratory and numerical investigation show that the flow patterns in high Reynolds
number turbulent shallow wakes is strikingly similar to low Reynolds number deep wakes. This
suggests that the bottom friction and the vertical confinement by the free surface and the flow bed
play the key role in the behavior of shallow wakes.
Field studies of shallow wake flows were carried out by Wolanski et al. (1984) and Ingram & Chu
(1987). In order to understand and characterize the shallow wake behavior, Ingram & Chu (1987)
proposed the stability parameter, S = cf LX /LZ , on the basis of the ratio of the rate of energy input
into the eddies in the wake by the mean shear to the rate of dissipation of energy from these eddies
by the bottom friction. Here cf is the bottom friction coefficient. Experimental investigations on
turbulent shallow wakes were made by Chen & Jirka (1995), Lloyd & Stansby (1997), Balachandar
et al. (1999), Balachandar et al. (2000) and Tachie & Balachandar (2001). Chen & Jirka (1995)
performed the study of shallow wakes on vertical cylinder and the results showed that the shallow
near-wakes behind the cylinder can be classified as: (i) the vortex street (VS) type when S < 0.2,

511
(ii) the unsteady bubble (UB) wake type when 0.2 < S < 0.5, and (iii) the steady bubble (SB) wake
type when S > 0.5. Chen & Jirka (1997) also classified the three flow patterns by the concepts of
absolutely unstable, convectively unstable and stable flow respectively.
Coherent structures that are observed in shallow wakes are believed to appear as a result of flow
instability. Methods of hydrodynamic stability theory have been successfully used to investigate
the behavior of flows in shallow water (e.g., Chen & Jirka 1997, van Prooijen & Uijttewaal 2002,
Kolyshkin & Ghidaoui 2002 and 2003, Socolofsky et al. 2003).

2 DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS

For flow around blunt bodies (such as island), the mass and momentum equations are:

where g is the gravitational acceleration; ρ is the density of the fluid; T is the time; κ = 1,2
and α = 1,2 with 1 indicating the streamwise direction and 2 indicating the cross stream direc-
tion; (Xα Z) = (X1 , X2 , Z) are the streamwise, cross stream and vertical coordinates, respectively;
(Uα , W ) = (U1 , U2 , W ) are the velocities along (X1 , X2 , Z), respectively; P is the pressure; υ is the
kinematic viscosity.
With horizontal and vertical length and velocity scales being (LX , U ) and (LZ , W ) respectively,
pressure scale being ρU 2 , the dimensionless form of the above equations can be written as:

where ReLx = ULX /υ. The last two terms on right hand side of equation (5) represents the shear
stress on the vertical plane associated with the wall of the blunt body and the shear stress on the
horizontal plane associated with the bed of the flow, respectively. The relative importance of the
shear stresses in the vertical and horizontal planes depend on the relative magnitudes of 1/ReLx and
L2X /L2Z ReLx , respectively.
Deep Wakes: In the case of classical deep wake flows, where vertical length scale is larger than
horizontal length scale, i.e. LZ >> LX , the shear stress on horizontal plane is negligible and the
flow characteristics are governed by ReLx . Indeed, it is well known (e.g., Batchelor 2000) that flow
patterns in the wake of a blunt body can be classified as follows:
1. Steady recirculation eddy, hereafter referred to as steady bubble (SB), when ReLx is the range of
10 to 40.
2. Unsteady recirculation eddy, hereafter referred to as unsteady bubble (UB), when ReLx is the
range of 40 to 60.
3. Vortex street (VS) when ReLx exceeds 60.

512
 It must be noted that the ranges of ReLx given above can vary with respect to the shape of the
blunt body and the magnitude and type of perturbations that are either inherent in the experiment
itself or intentionally introduced into the flow field by the experimenter. It is also clear from the
dimensional analysis that, unless LZ >> LX , the wake may also be influenced by the aspect ratio of
the blunt body or more precisely by ReLx L2Z /L2X . Indeed, a scan through previously published wake
flow data reveals that the ranges described above do vary from experiment to experiment when the
aspect ratio is not kept the same and care is not taken to ensure that unless LZ >> LX .
Shallow Wakes: Recent field studies (e.g., Wolanski et al. 1984, Ingram & Chu 1987) and labora-
tory tests (e.g., Chen & Jirka 1995, Lloyd & Stansby 1997, Balachandar et al. 1999, Balachandar et
al. 2000, Tachie & Balachandar 2001) indicate that flow pattern in the wake of island is either SB,
UB or VS despite the fact that Reynolds number is very large – well beyond the ranges described
above for the case of deep wakes. In the abstract of their paper, Wolanski et al. (1984) noted that
“The length of the wake in the lee of the island, as documented by aerial photographs and satellite
images, appears equal to that of the wake behind a flat plate in a two-dimensional flow [deep flow]
at Reynolds number of 10.”
The striking similarity between flow characteristics of shallow wakes at high Reynolds number
to that of deep wakes at low Reynolds number can be explained by referring to the dimensional
analysis shown above. In particular, since shallow wake flows have a horizontal length scale that is
much larger than the vertical length scale (i.e. LX >> LZ ), equation (5) shows that viscous stresses
associated with the bed become significant and the flow is mainly governed by ReLx L2Z /L2X and
not ReLx . To test this hypothesis, we have plotted the data in Chen & Jirka (1995) in the parameter
space given by ReLx L2Z /L2X and ReLx in Figure 1. It is clear from the figure that the classification of
the wake patterns cannot be performed on the basis of ReLx for there is no discernible pattern with
respect to the Reynolds number. On the other hand, it is quite clear that flow pattern observed by
Chen & Jirka (1995) fall in distinctive regions of the axis defined by ReLx L2Z /L2X . In particular,
1. The SB regime appears when ReLx L2Z /L2X is roughly less than 40.
2. The UB regime appears when ReLx L2Z /L2X is roughly in the range of 40 to 120.
3. The VS regime appears when ReLx L2Z /L2X is roughly larger than 120.
The above results indicate that flow pattern in shallow wakes is governed by ReLx L2Z /L2X and that
the range of values of the modified Reynolds number for each wake class is similar to that of deep
flows.
It must be noted that Chen & Jirka (1995) and (1997) successfully classified the various flow pat-
terns on the basis of the bed friction number, S, introduced by Ingram & Chu (1987). This number

Shallow wakes (Experimental data in Chen & Jirka 1995)

450000

400000 VS
UB
350000 SB
300000

250000
Re

200000

150000

100000

50000

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Re(Lz/Lx)^2

Figure 1. Shallow wake experimental data plotted in the parameter space given by ReLx L2z /L2X and ReLx .

513
S describes the ratio of the rate of energy input into the eddies by the mean flow field to the rate of
energy loss from the eddies by the bottom friction and is related to the parameter, P, introduced by
Wolanski et al. (1984) on the basis of the ratio of vorticity generated by the island to the vorticity
depleted by the bed of the flow. Realizing that ReLx L2Z /L2X = ReLz LZ /LX , where ReLz = ULz /υ is
the Reynolds number based on the vertical length scale, and recalling that ReLz is related to the
bottom friction coefficient, cf , shows that ReLx L2Z /L2X can be related to S and by implication to
P. For example, in laminar flow, the friction coefficient cf varies inversely with Reynolds num-
ber based on vertical length scale (i.e. cf ∼ 1/ReLz ). Therefore, ReLx L2Z /L2X ∼ (1/cf )LZ /LX = 1/S.
More experiments are required to decide which of these three parameters is most appropriate for
defining and understanding the wake behavior and flow patterns in shallow wakes. It is noted, how-
ever, that ReLx L2Z /L2X naturally emerges from the scaling of Navier-Stokes equations and provides
a direct link to the well studied problem of deep wakes.
Physically, when the wake is shallow (i.e. LX >> LZ ), vortical structures formed by flow sep-
aration at the island and extending from the bed of the flow to the water surface experience little
stretching and bending. As a result, there is little breakdown of large vortical structures into three
dimensional turbulent motion. Instead, vortical structures of the same sign tend to pair up and
form large scale coherent structures as seen in the experiments by Uijttewaal & Jirka (2003). The
frictional dissipation at the bed of the flow limits the growth of these structures.
Wakes that are Neither Shallow nor Deep: In addition to deep wake and shallow wake flows,
attention should also be drawn to the intermediate ranges of scales where LX is neither much larger
nor much smaller than LZ . These flows are expected to be governed by both ReLx L2Z /L2X and ReLx .
Viewed from parameter space, it is plausible to expect that the ranges of parameters that define
the wake pattern in deep and in shallow wakes constitute asymptotes to the general problems of
wake flows. Plans are underway to investigate wake patterns in the space defined by ReLx L2Z /L2X
and ReLx .

3 SHALLOW FLOW MODEL

When the flow is shallow, equation (6) reduces to a hydrostatic balance. Since interest is focused
on large scale two dimensional coherent structures, it is plausible to expect that these structures can
be studied by the depth averaged form of the Navier-Stokes equations. Integrating (4) and (5) with
respect to depth, imposing the kinematic boundary condition at free surface and no slip condition
and zero flux at the bed, and introducing the hydrostatic balance gives:

where δκα = 1 when κ = α and 0 otherwise; S0α is the bed slope, ∂u/∂z|z=b are the bottom shear
stresses, βκα are the momentum correction factors. The ability of these equations to reproduce the
velocity profile data in Socolofsky, et al. (2003) is assessed in this section. Note that there is a
serious lack of data to allow for a conclusive conclusion as to how well (7) and (8) model shallow
wake flows.
A Boltzmann-based large eddy simulation surface water model is used to study the shallow
wake flows. This explicit 2D conservative finite volume model is first order in time second order
in space. The algorithm for the mass and momentum fluxes at the control surface is obtained from
the solution of the mesoscopic Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) Boltzmann equation. The detailed
formulations of the BGK surface water model can be referred to Ghidaoui et al. (2004). Previously
the BGK model has been applied successfully for the qualitative study of shallow wake flow patterns

514
 Wake velocity deficit (UB)
Comparison between numerical data and experimental data
Y/b
-0.4

-0.2
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
0

0.2
(Ua-U)/(Ua-Uc)

(Num)close wall
(Expt)close wall
0.4
(Num)0.5D

0.6 (Expt)0.5D
(Num)1.0D
0.8 (Expt)1.0D
(Num)1.5D
1
(Expt)1.5D

1.2

Figure 2. Wake velocity deficit for UB case. (U = 0.144 m/s, H = 0.017 m, D = 0.5 m, cf = 0.0078).

(Chan et al. 2004) and the results obtained showed generally good agreement with the experimental
observations.
Comparison between the numerical model results and the experimental measurement in
Socolofsky et al. (2003) of the wake velocity deficit is made herein and shown in Figure 2. Since
the results generated from the numerical model are depth-averaged while the experimental mea-
surements are conducted on the water surface, only qualitative comparison on the velocity profile
can be made. The general features of the computed velocity deficit profiles are in reasonable agree-
ment to the measured profiles. The computed and measured profiles match quite well except the
experimental profiles exhibit less lateral spread as evidenced by the overshoot in Figure 2. Possible
factors that lead to this overshoot include (i) the computed profiles are an average with respect
to depth while the measured are not; (ii) the turbulence model used here is a simple zero closure
model; (iii) the bottom friction coefficient is constant in the model although this coefficient may
experience wide spatial variation in the wake region due to the large variation in velocity with
respect to the cross stream coordinate.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Dimensional analysis of the Navier-Stokes equations reveals that wake flows are, in general, gov-
erned by two main parameters, namely, ReLx and L2X /L2Z ReLx where LZ is the vertical length scale
and ReLx is the Reynolds number based on the horizontal length scale LX . Investigation of available
shallow wake flow data using both parameters shows these are governed by ReLx L2Z /L2X and not by
ReLx and that the range of values of ReLx L2Z /L2X , which define each wake regime, is quantitatively
similar to that of deep flows. In particular, SB regime appears when ReLx L2Z /L2X is roughly less
than 40; UB regime appears when ReLx L2Z /L2X is roughly in the range of 40 to 120; and VS regime
appears when ReLx L2Z /L2X is roughly larger than 120.
The parameter ReLx L2Z /L2X is related to bed friction number S, which is in turn related to the
vorticity based parameter P. However, ReLx L2Z /L2X naturally emerges from the scaling of Navier-
Stokes equations and provides a direct link to the well studied problem of deep wakes.
Comparison between measured and computed velocity profiles in the wake indicates that the
general large scale features of shallow wake flows may be described by the shallow water equations.

515
 Physically, when the wake is shallow (i.e. LX >> LZ ), vortical structures formed by flow sep-
aration at the island and which extend from the bed of the flow to the water surface experience
little stretching and bending. As a result, there is little breakdown of large vortical structures into
three dimensional turbulent motion. Instead, vortical structures of the same sign tend to pair up
and form large scale coherent structures as seen in published experiments. The vortex pairing is
associated with enstrophy cascade (reverse energy cascade), which is known to occur in turbulent
two-dimensional flows. The frictional dissipation at the bed of the flow limits the growth of these
structures.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The writers wish to thank the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University
of Science and Technology for their financial support.

REFERENCES

Balachandar, R., Ramachandran, S. and Tachie, M.F. (2000). “Characteristics of shallow turbulent near wakes
at low Reynolds numbers”. J. Fluid Eng., 122, 302–308.
Balachandar, R., Tachie, M.F. and Chu, V.H. (1999). “Concentration profiles in shallow turbulent wakes”.
J. Fluid Eng., 121, 34–43.
Batchelor, G.K. (2000). “An introduction to fluid dynamics”. (Cambridge University Press).
Chan, F.C., Ghidaoui, M.S. and Li, Q. (2004). “Numerical Modeling of Island Wakes in Shallow Waters”,
Proceedings of the XVth International Conference on Computational Methods in Water Resources, June
13–17, 2004, Chapel Hill, NC, USA, 1731–1742.
Chen, D. and Jirka, G.H. (1995). “Experimental study of plane turbulent wake in a shallow water layers”. Fluid
Dyn. Res., 16, 11–41.
Chen, D. and Jirka, G.H. (1997). “Absolute and convective instabilities of plane turbulent wakes in a shallow
water layer”. J. Fluid Mech., 338, 157–172.
Ghidaoui, M.S. and Gray, W.G. (2004). “A Boltzmann approach to shallow water flows”, Proceedings of the
XVth International Conference on Computational Methods in Water Resources, June 13–17, 2004, Chapel
Hill, NC, USA, 1715–1730.
Ingram, R.G. and Chu, V.H. (1987). “Flow around islands in Rupert Bay: An investigation of the bottom
friction effect”. J. Geophys. Res., 92, 14521–14533.
Kolyshkin, A.∼A. and Ghidaoui, M.∼S. (2002). “Gravitational and shear instabilities in compound and
composite channels”. J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE, 128, 1076–1086.
Kolyshkin, A.∼A. and Ghidaoui, M.∼S. (2003). “Stability analysis of shallow wake flows”. J. Fluid Mech.
494, 355–377.
Lloyd, P.M. and Stansby, P.K. (1997). “Shallow-water flow around model conical islands of small side slope”.
J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE, 123, 1057–1067.
Scorer, R.S. (1978). “Environmental Aerodynamics (Ellis Horwood Ltd., Chichester)”.
Socolofsky, S.A, Carmer, C.A and Jirka, G.H. (2003) “Shallow turbulent wakes: Linear stability analysis
compared to experimental data”. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Shallow Flows, Volume
III, 133–140, June 16–18, Delft, the Netherlands.
Tachie, M.F. and Balachandar, R. (2001). “Shallow wakes generated on smooth and rough surfaces”. Exp.
Fluids, 30, 467–474.
Uijttewaal, W.S.J. and Jirka, G.H. (2003). “Grid turbulence in shallow flows”. J. Fluid Mech., 489, 325–344.
Van Dyke, M. (1982). “An album of fluid motion.” (Parabolic Press, Stanford, CA).
van Prooijen, B.C. and Uijttewaal, W.S.J. (2002). “A linear approach for the evolution of coherent structures
in shallow mixing layers” Phys. Fluids, 14, 4105–4114.
Wolanski, E.J., Imberger, J. and Heron, M.L. (1984). “Island wakes in shallow coastal waters”. J. Geophys.
Res., 89, 10553–10569.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

k-ε turbulent modeling of tidal bore in an idealized estuary

L.F. Lu
School of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University,
Shanghai, China

S.W. Li
School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

Z. Shi
School of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University,
Shanghai, China

ABSTRACT: A quasi three-dimensional numerical model incorporating the k–ε turbulence clos-
ure scheme is developed to understand hydrodynamics of the tidal bore in an idealized estuary.
The governing equations are discretized by using the unstructured finite volume method in the
σ -coordinate system. The model is verified by simulating a propagating bore in a numerical
rectangular flume. The model is then applied to study a propagating bore in an idealized estu-
ary. Modeled results show that (1) the highest point of tidal elevation generally corresponds to
both the maximum velocity and the position of the maximum turbulent kinetic energy during the
propagation of tidal bores; (2) the turbulent kinetic energy is primarily concentrated at the bottom
of the estuary; and (3) the turbulent eddy viscosity increases with the turbulent kinetic energy
through time.

1 INTRODUCTION

Tidal bores are waves formed when the incoming flood tidal currents rush up against ebb tidal or
river flow currents and propagate upstream at high speeds. Many tidal bores have occurred in the
world, including the Changjiang in China (Chen 2003); the Dordogne in France (Chanson 2001);
the Hugli in India (Mazumder & Bose 1995); and the Qiantang in China (Moore 1890; Chen
et al. 1990).
Many previous studies have been carried out on tidal bores. Formation and propagation of
tidal bores have been analyzed through theoretical formulas (Mazumder & Bose 1995) and field
observations (Moore 1890; Chen 2003). Their impact on sediment transport and ecology has
been studied through field observations (Chen et al. 1990) and laboratory experiments (Chanson
2001). Su et al. (2001) developed 1D and 2DH numerical models of tidal bore in Hangzhou Gulf
and Qiantangjiang. Pan et al. (2003) used a 2DH numerical model to simulate the tidal bore in
Qiantangjiang. The finite volume method (FVM) was used in the models above, but the turbulent
closure scheme was not included. Other relevant studies developed 2DH model equations of bores
in a canal or river (Bona et al. 1994) and used 1D and 2DH numerical models of bores in an open
channel (Hu et al. 1998).
The primary objective of this study is to develop a quasi three-dimensional tidal bore model with
the k–ε turbulence closure scheme, in order to better understand the hydrodynamic processes of
the tidal bore in an idealized estuary.

517
2 DETAILS OF THE MODEL

2.1 Governing equations

Considering the bottom topographic variations in estuaries, the governing equations are thus
transformed into the σ -coordinate system as

where H is the total water depth; t the time; u, v and w the components of the flow velocity in the
x, y and σ directions, respectively; σ = (z − ζ )/(h + ζ ) = (z − ζ )/H , where σ = 0 at the surface
and σ = −1 at the bottom; g the gravity acceleration; ζ the water surface elevation; f the Coriolis
coefficient; and νx , νy and νσ the components of the turbulent eddy viscosity in the x, y and σ
directions, respectively.
The k–ε turbulence closure scheme has been widely applied in hydraulics (Rodi 1980). Similarly,
it has been used to calculate the vertical turbulent eddy viscosity νσ in Eqs (2) and (3), i.e.

where the empirical constants for Eqs (4), (5), and (6) are cµ = 0.09, σk = 1.0, σε = 1.3, c1ε = 1.44,
and c2ε = 1.92, respectively (The ASCE Task Committee on Turbulence Models in Hydraulic
Computation 1988); k the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE); ε the dissipation rate of TKE; and P the
shear production of TKE.

2.2 Boundary conditions

The following equations are free surface conditions for Eqs (2), (3), (5), and (6), respectively

518
where ksurface is the value of k at the surface; and κ von Karman’s constant.
The following equations are sea bed boundary conditions for Eqs (2), (3), (5), and (6), respectively

where τbx and τby are the components of the bottom shear stress τb in the x and y directions,
respectively.
Non-flux condition is assumed for the rigid boundary

Time series of tidal elevations is given as the open boundary

3 NUMERICAL SOLUTIONS

3.1 Discretization of equations

The governing equations above are discretized by using the finite volume method (FVM), which
combines the simplicity of finite difference method (FDM) with the geometric flexibility of finite
element method (FEM) (Valiani et al. 1999). Unstructured triangular grids are adopted in the
horizontal plane for better fitting to the arbitrary shape. A logarithmic grid spacing σ -coordinate
system is employed in order to obtain fine resolution near the bottom for high velocity gradient; thus,
the whole computational domain is subdivided into several prism-shaped elements. Equation (1) is
depth-integrated in order to obtain the water surface elevation. By integrating Eqs (2), (3), (5), and
(6) over each element, advective terms are calculated by using normal flux through two adjacent
elements. Time terms adopt the first-order forward stepping scheme. All vertical diffusion terms
in Eqs (2), (3), (5), and (6) are solved implicitly and the other terms explicitly.

3.2 Calculation of normal flux

The Osher’s scheme is used to calculate the horizontal normal flux through two adjacent elements.
As all variables are well-distributed within each element, there exists discontinuity between two
adjacent elements, which forms the Riemann problem. The task of the scheme is to solve this
Riemann problem and consequently obtain the normal flux at the interface of two adjacent elements.
For more details, see Tan (1992). The vertical normal flux is the difference between the normal
fluxes through the upper and lower surfaces of the element.

519
4 VERIFICATION OF THE MODEL

To verify the model, a propagating bore is simulated in a numerical rectangular flume. The plane
shape and unstructured triangular grids are shown in Figure 1. The bore propagates from the left
end to the right end of the flume. In this case, wave propagation velocity and flow velocity of the
bore can be expressed as, respectively

where V̇ is the wave propagation velocity; H1 the water depth after bore propagation; H0 the initial
water depth; and u̇ the flow velocity.
In the present simulation, H1 and H0 are set to be 6 m and 5 m, respectively. Figure 2 is a compari-
son of modeled and theoretical longitudinal profiles of the propagating bore at three selected times
(t = 20 s, 30 s, and 40 s, respectively), where the dotted line denotes the modeled, cross-sectional
averaged results and the solid line denotes the theoretical results calculated by using Eq. (17).
Figure 3 is a comparison of modeled and theoretical longitudinal distributions of flow velocity
at three selected times (t = 20 s, 30 s, and 40 s, respectively), where the dotted line denotes the
modeled, longitudinal and cross-sectional averaged results and the solid line denotes the theoretical
results calculated by using Eq. (18). Modeled and theoretical results are in reasonable agreement;
thus, the model is valid.
Width (m)
100

400
Length (m)

Figure 1. The plane shape and unstructured triangular grids for a numerical rectangular flume.

1.6
Height above the bed (m)

6.0 1.4
Flow velocity (m/s)

5.8 1.2
1.0
5.6 0.8
t=20s t=30s t=40s t=20s t=30s t=40s
5.4 0.6
0.4
5.2 0.2 Modeled
Modeled
Theoretical Theoretical
5.0 0.0
-0.2
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Distance (m) Distance (m)

Figure 2. Comparison of modeled and theoretical Figure 3. Comparison of modeled and theoretical
longitudinal profiles of the propagating bore at three longitudinal distributions of flow velocity at three
selected times (t = 20 s, 30 s, and 40 s, repectively). selected times (t = 20 s, 30 s,and 40 s, repectively).

520
5 MODELING TIDAL BORE IN AN IDEALIZED ESTUARY

The model is then applied to simulate the tidal bore in an idealized estuary, in which the plane shape
and the computational unstructured triangular grids are shown in Figure 4. Water depths at the inner
and outer boundaries are set to be 5 m and 10 m, respectively, while water surface elevation at the
outer boundary is 1 m.
Modeled longitudinal distributions of the vertical tidal velocity and TKE of propagating tidal
bore at three selected times (t = 20 s, 100 s, and 180 s) are shown in Figure 5. Results show that
(1) during the propagation of tidal bore, the highest tidal elevation TB generally corresponds to

-400 landward seaward

Outer boundary (m)

Inner boundary (m)

-200

950
100

200 A
B
400 C

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 18001920

Distance from the inner boundary (m)

Figure 4. The plane shape and unstructured triangular grids for an idealized estuary.

landward seaward landward seaward

TB TB
0 0
k(m2/s2)
0.002 0.014 0.026 0.038
-5 -5
kmax
t=20s 2.5m/s t=20s
-10 10
TB TB
0
Water depth (m)

0
0.002 0.014 0.026 0.038
-5 -5 kmax
t=100s 2.5m/s t=100s
10 10
TB TB
0 0
kmax 0.002 0.014 0.026 0.038
-5 -5

t=180s 2.5m/s t=180s

-10 -10
0 300 600 900 1200 1500 1800 0 300 600 900 1200 1050 1800
Distance from the inner boundary (m) Distance from the inner boundary (m)

Figure 5. Longitudinal distributions of the vertical tidal velocity (left column) and the TKE (right column) for
propagating tidal bore at three selected times (t = 20 s, 100 s, and 180 s, respectively) in an idealized estuary.
Note that TB is the highest tidal elevation; kmax is the maximum TKE.

521
 0.0 t=20s 0.0 t=20s 0.0 t=20s
0.2 A 0.2 B 0.2 C
0.4 0.4 0.4
0.6 0.6 0.6
0.8 0.8 0.8
1.0 1.0 1.0
Relative water depth

0.0 t=100s 0.0 t=100s 0.0 t=100s

0.2 A 0.2 B 0.2 C
0.4 0.4 0.4
0.6 0.6 0.6
0.8 0.8 0.8
1.0 1.0 1.0
0.0 t=180s 0.0 t=180s 0.0 t=180s
0.2 A 0.2 B 0.2 C
0.4 0.4 0.4
0.6 0.6 0.6
0.8 0.8 0.8
1.0 1.0 1.0
0.000 0.008 0.016 0.024 0.000 0.008 0.016 0.024 0.000 0.008 0.016 0.024
Turbulent eddy viscosity Turbulent eddy viscosity Turbulent eddy viscosity

Figure 6. Vertical profiles of modeled turbulent eddy viscosity at three selected locations (A, B, C,
Figure 4) at three selected times (t = 20 s, 100 s, and 180 s, respectively), corresponding to those in Figure 5,
respectively.

the maximum velocity and the maximum TKE kmax; and (2) the TKE of propagating tidal flow
increases through time and is primarily concentrated at the bottom of the estuary.
Vertical profiles of the turbulent eddy viscosity at three selected locations (A, B, C, Figure 4) at
three selected times (t = 20 s, 100 s, and 180 s, corresponding to those in Figure 5) are shown in
Figure 6. Results show that the turbulent eddy viscosity increases with the turbulent kinetic energy
through time.

6 CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, a quasi three-dimensional numerical model is developed to understand the hydro-
dynamics of tidal bores. To verify the model, a propagating bore in a numerical rectangular flume is
simulated. Modeled and theoretical results are in reasonable agreement. The model is then applied
to simulate a tidal bore propagating in an idealized estuary. Results show (1) during the propagation
of tidal bore, the highest tidal elevation generally corresponds to the maximum velocity and the
maximum TKE kmax; (2) the TKE of propagating tidal flow increases through time and is primarily
concentrated at the bottom of the idealized estuary; and (3) the turbulent eddy viscosity increases
with the turbulent kinetic energy through time. To better understand the hydrodynamic processes
of tidal bores in any idealized and real estuaries, three more factors should be taken into account;
including the river flow, the scaling, and the salt water.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was partly supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars
(Estuarine and Coastal Science 40225014) and the Shanghai Rising-Star Program (03QMH1408).
Special thanks to Dr. Z.W. Zhu for his comment.

522
REFERENCES

Bona, J.L., Rajopadhye, S.V. & Schonbek, M.E. 1994. Models for propagation of bores I two dimensional
theory. Differential and Integral Equations 7 (3): 699–734.
Chanson, H. 2001. Flow field in a tidal bore: a physical model. Proceedings of the 29th IAHR Congress,
Beijing, Theme E, 16–21 Septemper 2001, Tsinghua University Press, Beijing, China: 365–373.
Chen, S.L. 2003. Tidal bore in the North Branch of the Changjiang Estuary. Proceedings of International
Conference on Estuaries and Coasts, 9–11 November 2003, Zhejiang University Press, Hangzhou, China:
233–239.
Chen, J.Y., Liu, C.Z., Zhang, C.L. & Walker, H.J. 1990. Geomorphological development and sedimentation in
Qiantang Estuary and Hangzhou Bay. Journal of Coastal Research 6 (3): 559–572.
Hu, K., Mingham, C.G. & Causon, D.M. 1998. A bore-capturing finite volume method for open-channel
flows. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids 28 (8): 1241–1261.
Mazumder, N.C. & Bose, S. 1995. Formation and propagation of tidal bore. Journal of Waterway, Port,
Coastal, and Ocean Engineering 121 (3): 167–175.
Moore, W.U. 1890. The bore of the Tsien-tang-Kiang. Minutes of the Proceedings, Part 1, Institution of Civil
Engineers, U.K., Volume 99, Session 1889–1890: 297–304.
Pan, C.H., Lin, B.Y. & Mao, X.Z. 2003. New development in numerical simulation of the tidal bore. Pro-
ceedings of International Conference on Estuaries and Coasts, 9–11 November 2003, Hangzhou, China:
99–111.
Rodi, W. 1980. Turbulence Models and Their Application in Hydraulics-a State of the Art Review. International
Association for Hydraulic Research, Delft, The Netherlands.
Su, M.D., Xu, X., Zhu, J.L. & Hon, Y.C. 2001. Numerical simulation of tidal bore in Hangzhou Gulf and
Qiantangjiang. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids 36 (2): 205–247.
Tan, W.Y. 1992. Shallow Water Hydrodynamics: Mathematical Theory and Numerical Solution for a Two-
dimensional System of Shallow Water Equations. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publisher.
The ASCE Task Committee Turbulence Models in Hydraulic Computation 1988. Turbulence modeling of
surface water flow and transport: Part I. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 114 (9): 970–991.
Valiani, A., Caleffi, V. & Zanni, A. 1999. Finite volume method for 2D shallow-water equations application
to the Malpasset dam-break. Proceedings of the 4th CADAM Meeting, 18-19 November 1999. Saragozza,
Spagna: 63–94.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical simulation of particle-laden gas wake flow by

vortex method

Hisanori Yagami
Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

Tomomi Uchiyama
ECOTOPIA Science Research Institute, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

ABSTRACT: The two-dimensional wake gas flows behind flat plate, loaded with solid particles of
the Stokes number 0.15 and 1.4, are simulated through the vortex method proposed by the authors
in a prior study. The simulated particle distribution is confirmed to agree with the experimentally
visualized result. The simulation clarifies that the loaded particles make the gas mean velocity
gradient in the wake cross-section gentler and that the gas turbulent intensity is reduced by the
particle except near the wake centerline.

1 INTRODUCTION

Gas free shear layers containing small solid particles are frequently observed in various industrial
equipments. A number of investigations have been done on such gas-particle two-phase free shear
layers. Brown and Roshko (1974) had clarified that the development and momentum transport of
single-phase mixing layer are dominated by the large-scale organized eddies. Thus, the relation
between the organized eddies in free shear layers and the particle movement has received consid-
erable attention. Crowe et al. (1985) made a hypothesis that the particle motion could be classified
by the responsiveness of the particle to the large scale eddies, and they proposed the Stokes num-
ber, which is the ratio of the particle response time to the characteristic time of the fluid flow,
as a parameter estimating the particle motion. The number density and velocity of the particle in
various free shear flows, such as plane mixing layers (Hishida et al. 1992, Wen et al. 1992), jet
(Longmire and Eaton 1992) and wakes (Yang et al. 2000), were measured to confirm the validity
of the classification. But the particle mass loading ratio was so low that the effect on the flows
remains unclarified.
Vortex methods have been usefully applied to analyze single-phase free shear flows. This is
because the methods can calculate the vortical structure. The methods promise to be applicable to
simulate gas-particle two-phase free shear flow. The particle motion in axisymmetrical jet (Chung
and Troutt 1988), two-dimensional mixing layers (Chein and Chung 1987, Wen et al. 1992) and
plane wake (Tang et al. 1992) has been simulated. But the simulations were performed by a one-way
method ignoring the interaction between the two phases. Thus, one of the authors (Uchiyama and
Naruse 2001) has proposed a two-way vortex method. The method was applied to calculate a plane
mixing layer (Uchiyama and Naruse 2002) and a slit nozzle jet (Uchiyama and Naruse 2003),
to demonstrate that the simulated gas turbulent features are favorably compared with the mea-
surements. In the succeeding study (Uchiyama 2004), the method was employed to calculate the
particulate jet induced by free falling particles in a quiescent air, and the effects of the particle
diameter and mass loading ratio on the entrained air flow rate were successfully simulated.
In this study, a gas-particle two-phase wake is simulated by the two-way vortex method proposed
by the authors. The two-dimensional wake, used for the experimental visualization of particle
motion by Yang et al. (2000), is chosen as the simulation model. It is confirmed that the obtained

525
particle distribution agrees with the visualized results. The simulation also makes clear the effects
of particle mass loading ratio on the particle motion and gas wake.

2 BASIC EQUATIONS AND CALCULATING CONDITIONS

2.1 Governing equations for gas and particle

The conservation equations for the gas-phase are expressed as follows when the flow is
incompressible.

where F D is the force exerted by the particle.

When the particle is so small and the density is much larger than the gas, the equation of motion
is written as (Chein and Chung 1987):

where the drag force fD is given as:

Here, d is the particle diameter and the drag coefficient CD is estimated as:

where Rep = d|ug − up |/ν.

For the simultaneous calculation of Eqs(1)–(3), a vortex method is used to solve Eqs(1) and (2),
and the Lagrangian approach is applied to Eq.(3).

2.2 Discretization of gas vorticity field by vortex element

When taking the curl of Eq.(2) and substituting Eq.(1) into the resultant equation, the vorticity
equation for the gas is derived. For a two-dimensional flow field, the equation is written as:

The vorticity field is discretized by vortex elements. The behavior of vortex element is calculated
by the Lagrangian approach, and the obtained vorticity field is substituted into the Biot-Savart
equation to estimate the velocity field. The two-way coupling, which computes the FD value, is
performed by using rectangular grids (Uchiyama and Naruse 2001).

2.3 Calculating condition

A wake illustrated in Fig. 1 is simulated. Gas flows with a velocity U0 in the horizontal direction
at both sides of a flat plate of a thickness 2 s = 31.5 mm, and it forms the wake downstream of the
plate. The Reynolds number 2 sU0 /ν is 6500. Glass particles with diameters of 10 and 30 µm and
density of 2400 kg/m3 are loaded from the plate trailing edge, in the horizontal direction. The loaded

526
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of wake.

velocity is 0.5 m/s. The velocity shear layers are represented by releasing vortex elements from the
plate trailing edge. It seems to be appropriate to express the gas mass flow rate Mg by using the
defect velocity behind the plate when estimating the particle mass loading ratio m = Mp /Mg . In
the experiment of Yang et al. the Mp value is 0.08 g/s, accordingly m = 1.03 × 10−3 . This study
simulates the cases of m = 1 × 10−3 and m = 2 × 10−3 .
The plate length is set at 13 s, and the plate surface is divided into panels of length 0.5 s for the
boundary element method. The rectangular region of 20 s × 20 s downstream of the plate is taken as
the calculating domain, and it is resolved by 100 × 100 grids. The nondimensional time increment
U0 t/s is 0.054, and a relation of tv = t is used.
The Stokes number St is the ratio of the particle response time τp to the characteristic time of
the large-scale eddy τg . Using the τg defined by Yang et al. (2000), St is expressed as follows:

In this calculation, the St values for 10 µm and 30 µm particles are 0.15 and 1.4, respectively.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Figure 2(a) depicts the instantaneous distribution of the vortex element for the single-phase air flow.
The vortex elements with positive and negative vorticity are indicated by the symbols ◦ and +,
respectively. The vortex elements having the same sign for the vorticity form clusters just behind
the plate. The velocity distribution at the same instance as Fig. 2(a) is shown in Fig. 2(b), where
the uniform velocity U0 is subtracted to make the distribution more understandable. The cluster of
vortex element corresponds to the large-scale eddy.
The instantaneous distribution of the particle is shown by the symbol • in Fig. 3, where the vortex
elements are also depicted. Most 10 µm particles distribute near the outer boundary for the cluster
of vortex elements or on the periphery of large-scale eddy. The 30 µm particles are focused on
thin layers, outlining the boundaries of the vortical structures. These distributions are attributable
to the centrifugal force exerted by the large-scale eddies. They are favorably compared with the
experimentally visualized results by Yang et al. (2000), as found in Fig. 4.
The distribution of particle number density Np for 10 µm particle on three cross-stream sections
is presented in Fig. 5(a), where Np is normalized by the maximum value Np max on the section

527
 - -

Figure 2. Single phase air flow field.

(a) d = 10 m (b) d = 30 m

Figure 3. Distributions of particle and vortex element for m = 1 × 10−3 .

(a) d = 10 m (b) d = 30 m

Figure 4. Comparison of particle dispersion with experiment for m = 1 × 10−3 .

at x/s = 8. The Np value is higher at |y/s| ≤ 2. With increasing streamwise direction, the particle
disperses in the cross-streamwise(y) direction and the Np value lessens. In case of m = 1 × 10−3 , Np
presents a so-called saddle-type distribution having two maximum values, because most particles
flow near the outer boundaries of the large-scale eddies, as seen in Fig. 3(a). The maximum values
lower slightly with an increment in m. This is caused by the reduction of the centrifugal effect on
the particle due to the decrement in the strength of large-scale eddies, as discussed later. Figure 5(b)
shows the distribution of Np for the 30 µm particle. Since the particles concentrate on thin layers
around the large-scale eddies, the marked saddle-type distribution is observed. With an increment
in m, the position where Np takes its maximum value shifts toward the wake centerline. This is also
attributable to the reduction of the strength for large-scale eddies.
When the 10 µm particles are loaded, the streamwise mean velocity of the air ūgx distributes
as shown in Fig. 6(a), where the defect velocity (U0 − ūgx ) nondimensionalized by the centerline
velocity for the single-phase flow ūgc is plotted. The velocity gradient in the cross-stream section

528
 (a) d = 10 m (b) d = 30 m

Figure 5. Distribution of particle number density.

(a) d = 10 m (b) d = 30 m

Figure 6. Mean velocity profile of air.

becomes gentler at x/s ≥ 12 when particle mass loading ratio m is increased. The velocity gradient
corresponds to the strength of large-scale eddy. Thus, the increment in m lowers the centrifugal
effect on the particle, accordingly it causes the change in the Np distribution shown in Fig. 5(a).
Figure 6(b) shows the streamwise mean velocity of the air when loaded with the 30 µm particles.
The increment in m causes the similar change as that in case of 10 µm particles. But the change
is not so remarkable. For larger particles, the number of particles loaded per unit time decreases
when the particle mass loading ratio is constant, and accordingly the effect of particle on the air
lowers.
The streamwise mean velocity of the 10 µm particle ūpx is shown in Fig. 7(a), where the velocity
(U0 − ūpx ) nondimensionalized by the single-phase air velocity at the centerline ūgc is plotted. The
air mean velocity ūgx is also plotted in the figure. In every cross-section, the region where the particle
flows faster than the air exists at the outer region of the wake |y/s| ≥ 1. This is because the particle
flying out of the large-scale eddy due to the centrifugal force exerted by the eddy maintains its
velocity owing to the large inertia. But the marked change in the air velocity is not induced in
this region, since the Np value is low as seen in Fig. 5(a). In the cross-sections of x/s ≥ 12, the
particle velocity is higher than the air near the wake centerline |y/s| ≤ 0.5. Such velocity difference
between the two phases makes the change in the sir velocity shown in Fig. 6(a). The increment in
m makes the velocity distribution flatter. This is because the strength of large-scale eddies lowers,
and accordingly the centrifugal effect on the particle reduces. The particle velocity slightly scatters
at x/s = 16. Because the particle disperses in the lateral direction. Figure 7(b) shows the velocity
distribution for the 30 µm particle. The distribution is flatter than that for the 10 µm particle. This

529
 (a) d = 10 m (b) d = 30 m

Figure 7. Mean velocity profile of particle.

(a) d = 10 m (b) d = 30 m

Figure 8. Distribution of r.m.s. velocity fluctuation of air.

is because the particles distribute around the large-scale eddies, where the air velocity is relatively
flat. The m value scarcely affects the distribution.
When the 10 µm particles are loaded, the r.m.s. velocity fluctuation for the air distributes as
shown in Fig. 8(a). In every section, the fluctuation decreases with an increment in m at |y/s| ≤ 4
except near the wake centerline. The marked decrement occurs at the wake edges y/s = ±1. Such
dissipation of turbulent intensity due to the loaded particle was also analyzed in the two-dimensional
jet by the authors (Uchiyama and Naruse 2003). Figure 8(b) shows the r.m.s. velocity fluctuation
for the air when loaded with the 30 µm particle. Though the change due to the loaded particle is
similar to that in case of 10 µm particles, it is not so large.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The wake air flow behind a flat plate, loaded with small solid particles of the Stokes number
0.15 and 1.4, is simulated by the two-way vortex method. The calculated particle distribution is
confirmed to agree with the experimentally observed one. The effect of mass loading ratio on the
wake is clarified.

REFERENCES

Brown, G. L. and Roshko, A. 1974. J. Fluid Mech., 64: 775–816.

Chein, R. and Chung, J. N. 1987. Int. J. Multiphase Flow, 13(6): 785–802.
Chung, J. N. and Troutt, T. R. 1988. J. Fluid Mech., 186: 199–222.
Crowe, C. T., et al. 1985. Particulate Sci. Tech. J., 3: 149–158.
Hishida, K., et al. 1992. Int. J. Multiphase Flow, 18(2): 181–194.

530
Longmire, E. K. and Eaton, J. K. 1992. J. Fluid Mech., 236: 217–257.
Tang, L., et al. 1992. Phys. Fluids, A, 4(10): 2244–2251.
Uchiyama, T. and Naruse, M. 2001. Powder Technol., 119: 206–214.
Uchiyama, T. and Naruse, M. 2002. Powder Technol., 125: 111–121.
Uchiyama, T. and Naruse, M. 2003. Powder Technol., 131: 156–165.
Uchiyama, T. 2003. Proc. 4th ASME/JSME Joint Fluids Eng. Conf., Honolulu, FEDSM2003-45742, (on
CD-ROM).
Wen, F., et al. 1992. Trans. ASME, J. Fluids Eng., 114(4): 657–666.
Yang, Y., et al. 2000. Int. J. Multiphase Flow, 26: 1583–1607.

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4.2 Hydrodynamic models – II
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Hydrodynamic characteristics of the new Athens 2004 Olympic

Rowing Center

G. Christodoulou, I. Papakonstantis, A. Stamou, A. Andreadakis,

K. Noutsopoulos & E. Romas
National Technical University of Athens, Greece

ABSTRACT: A study of the hydrodynamic characteristics of the artificial lake built for the rowing
and canoe-kayak competition in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games is undertaken. The lake consists
of two interconnected shallow water courses aligned in the north-south direction. A 3-D numerical
model with a zero equation turbulence closure scheme is applied. Steady-state flow patterns for a
range of inflows through the main and auxiliary inlets and for various intensities of the prevailing
north winds are obtained and presented. Further, the implications for the water quality of the lake
are briefly discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION

An artificial lake was built near Athens, for holding the rowing and canoe-kayak sprint competition
in the 2004 summer Olympic Games. The lake consists of the main course, about 2.2 km long and a
secondary course, about 1.5 km long, connected to the main one by a short channel at the northern
end and by a curved channel about 0.5 km long at the southern end. The main watercourse has
a trapezoidal section, with bottom width 120 m, depth 3.5 m and side slope 1:6. The secondary
course is about 100 m wide and 2.0 m deep. The water supply to the lake comes from a natural
spring through a canal and a side inlet on the bank of the main course. An auxiliary water supply is
also provided through a 600 diameter pipeline ending at the southern boundary of the main course.
Two outlet weirs on the bank of the secondary course serve to maintain constant water level and
discharge overflow to the adjacent wetlands. The prevailing winds at the site are north, i.e. parallel
to the main axis of the lake, especially during the summer. The inflow rate to the lake is small,
ranging between 200 and 3600 m3 /h, but with a considerable supply of nutrients; as a consequence
there is a probability of algal growth, implying potential eutrophication problems as well as possible
interference with the athletic events.
The present paper presents the first part of a study aiming at investigating the prevailing flow
patterns within the lake and at quantifying its water quality characteristics for the Olympic Games
and beyond.

2 MATHEMATICAL MODELING

The hydrodynamic study was performed using CFX-5, a fully three-dimensional commercial com-
puter code (ANSYS 2003). The code solves the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations,
coupled with a turbulence closure model. After preliminary tests with the k-ε model, a zero equa-
tion model was adopted for reducing computational cost, following available knowledge on its
suitability for flows in relatively large water bodies (Rodi 2000).
The computational grid used consists of about 113000 hexahedral elements in 10 layers over the
vertical. The rigid lid assumption with a free slip condition at the surface was employed in the case
of no wind, whereas the wind shear was simulated by the introduction of an appropriate shear force

535
Figure 1. Geometry of the lake and computational mesh.

within a thin top layer. A specified inflow velocity was imposed at the inlet locations, whereas
zero relative pressure was set at the outlets. At the solid boundaries the wall function method was
applied, assuming that the logarithmic profile reasonably approximates the velocity distribution
near the wall, without fully resolving the boundary layer, thus saving computational resources. For
rough walls the logarithmic profile moves closer to the wall. The roughness of the solid boundaries
was set at ks = 20 mm, after sensitivity analysis showed no considerable influence of its magnitude
on the circulation pattern.
A plan view of the geometry of the rowing course and the computational grid is shown in
Figure 1. A number of 18 flow scenarios were examined, covering six different inflow rates, with
or without additional inflow from the auxiliary inlet, and four different wind intensities in the
prevailing north-south direction.

3 RESULTS

Calculations were performed up to the establishment of steady state. For ensuring stability, a small
time step was used at the beginning of each run and it was subsequently increased. The main results
of steady-state flow fields obtained under various conditions are summarized in the following.
Further details are presented by Christodoulou (2004).

3.1 Circulation due to inflow from the main inlet

Under no wind conditions, the flow pattern is governed by the inflow from the main inlet and the
two outflows from the weirs on the bank of the secondary channel. The simulation results show that
two large opposite gyres develop in the main watercourse, on each side of the inlet, the southern
one being more elongated, while in the secondary course the flow is mostly directed from south
to north. Figure 2 shows the flow field near the surface for an inflow rate of 1800 m3 /h. Due to
the shallowness of the lake, the flow pattern remains qualitatively the same over the depth, with
decreasing velocities near the bottom. The flow velocities are generally small, of the order of a
few cm/sec to a few mm/sec. The results are qualitatively similar for larger or smaller inflow rates.
However there is considerable variation of the distribution of the inflow to the two connecting

536
Figure 2. Flow field near the surface for an inflow of 1800 m3 /h from the main inlet.

Figure 3. Distribution of inflow to the northern and southern connecting channels.

channels. As shown in Figure 3, for the largest inflow of 3600 m3 /h only 27% go through the
northern channel, whereas for the smallest inflow of 200 m3 /h the percentage rises to 80%.

3.2 Circulation due to combined inflow from the main and auxiliary inlets
The additional inflow at the southern end of the main course produces a counterclockwise gyre in
this area and enhances the flow in the southern connecting channel and in the secondary course,
but it reduces the extent of the clockwise gyre to the south of the main inlet. As shown in Figure 4,
the flow velocities remain small, especially in the central part of the main course. However, it was
found (Christodoulou 2004) that the results are sensitive to the orientation of the auxiliary inflow;
if the inflow is directed along the axis of the main watercourse it may significantly increase the
flow velocities in that area.

3.3 Circulation due to wind

The simulation results show that the presence of wind entirely alters the previous flow patterns.
For the prevailing north wind the flow in the main course is directed opposite to the wind in the

537
Figure 4. Flow field near the surface for combined inflow of 1800 m3 /h from both the main and auxiliary
inlets.

Figure 5. Flow field near the surface for a north wind 5.5 m/sec.

deeper central part and along the wind in the shallower parts over the sloping banks as well as in the
shallow secondary course and in the southern connecting channel. Many small gyres are observed,
and the currents are much stronger compared to the case of no wind, reaching to about 0.5 m/sec for
a wind speed of 14 m/sec. Figure 5 shows the flow field near the surface for a 5.5 m/sec north wind.
The flow field is qualitatively the same over the depth, implying essentially a one-layer flow, as a
consequence of the particular geometry and the variable depth of the lake. It is worth mentioning
that, under the influence of wind, the effect of the inlets on the flow field is clearly negligible, due
to the small magnitude of the inflows.

538
Figure 6. Temporal variations of chlorophyll concentration for the detailed and a simplified flow pattern.

3.4 Implications for water quality

Taking into account the large volume of the lake (about 1.5 · 106 m3 ) and the small inflow/outflow
rate (200 to 3600 m3 /h) it is obvious that the conventional average renewal time is quite
large. However, tracing individual particles through the computed flow fields shows significant
variability of residence times depending on the particular point of origin. Furthermore it is noted
that even with wind blowing, the average renewal time remains the same, as it is governed by the
inflow/outflow rate. The main effect of the wind is to increase considerably the flow velocities
and intensity of mixing within the lake, which eventually becomes a nearly well-mixed waterbody.
Limited field measurements of water quality parameters support this conclusion. The application
of an eutrophication – dissolved oxygen model (Romas et al. 2004) shows that the main transport
mechanism is dispersion, so that spatial variations of main water quality parameters (chlorophyll,
nitrogen, phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, BOD and transparency) do not exceed 10%. Temporal and
seasonal variations of these parameters are significant, as they depend on the variability of inflows
and meteorological conditions, such as temperature and solar intensity. However, the solutions
obtained by dynamic (transient) simulation either by taking into account the detailed flow field
or by considering a simplified flow pattern and segmentation of the lake are practically the same
(Fig. 6). The results of the water quality model indicate that eutrophication problems are not likely
to emerge in the Olympic Rowing Center.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The study of the flow field in the newAthens Olympic Rowing Center by means of the CFX computer
code has led to typical circulation patterns for the main conditions considered. In the case of no

539
wind, the inflow from the main inlet produces two large gyres in the main watercourse, but the flow
velocities are generally small especially in the southern part of the main watercourse. The flow in
that region may be enhanced by an inflow from an auxiliary inlet at the southern end. However,
considering the small rates of inflow, wind effects are dominant. Under the prevailing north winds,
a counterflow pattern is obtained, consisting of flow along the wind in the shallower parts and a
return flow in the deeper central parts of the watercourse. Higher velocities and intensified mixing
due to wind imply a nearly uniform spatial distribution of main water quality parameters and
negligible dependence on the details of the flow field.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This study was funded by the Ministry of Environment, Planning and Public Works.

REFERENCES

ANSYS 2003. CFX – 5.6, User Guide. Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK.
Christodoulou, G. 2004. A mathematical modeling study of the flow field of the Olympic Rowing and
Canoe-KayakWatercourse in Schinias Marathon. Final Research Report, Laboratory of Applied Hydraulics,
NTUA, Athens, Greece [in Greek].
Rodi, W. 2000. Turbulence Models and Their Applications in Hydraulics: A State-of-the-art review. IAHR
Monograph, Third edition, Rotterdam: Balkema.
Romas, E., Noutsopoulos, K., Andreadakis, A., Christodoulou, G., Papakonstantis, I., Stamou, A. 2004. Water
quality modeling of the Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Center at Schinias. Protection and Restoration of
the Environment VII; Proc. Intern. Conf., Myconos, Greece.

540
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Stability of dumped sediment on sandbanks due to tidal currents

off the East Anglia coast, UK

C.P. Kuang & P.K. Stansby

Manchester Center for Civil and Construction Engineering, UMIST, Manchester, UK

D.R. Laurence & B.E. Launder

Departmental of Mechanical, Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering, UMIST, Manchester, UK

ABSTRACT: The finite-element TELEMAC software system is used to study stability of dumped
sediment on sandbanks due to tidal currents off the East Anglian coast in UK. The sediment
transport/morphodynamics study using the SISYPHE module, driven by TELEMAC-2D, shows
that sediment load is often significantly suspended as well as bed load. Coriolis forcing has an
effect on the average accretion within the whole domain and can increase accretion slightly in
shallow-water areas. There are local areas on Scroby bank, which accrete significantly and are
thus most suitable as a first choice for sediment dumping to increase bed level for potential coastal
protection from wave action. The study suggests that zones of accretion are most likely where the
water depth is the shallowest. If dredged material is available to increase sandbank levels, sediment
dumping in shallow water over sandbanks will be a most appropriate starting point.

1 INTRODUCTION

While sandbanks are navigation hazards, they are beneficial as offshore dissipators of wave energy,
protecting the coastline to some degree (MacDonald et al. 1997). They are highly varied in form
and characteristics, some remaining moribund for hundreds of years while others change markedly
in extreme storms, e.g. Dyer and Huntley (1999). The East Anglian coast in UK is particularly
vulnerable and has already been the subject of several nearshore protection schemes. Dredged
material is regularly dumped offshore in large quantities and over a period of years could be used
to build up offshore banks. There is one obvious question associated with any given coastal region.
If dredged material is dumped on a sandbank, will it remain on the bank or be washed away? In
other words, if tidal motion is causing a bank to erode it seems likely that further dumped sediment
will also erode. The prediction of sediment transport on sandbanks due to wave action remains
quite uncertain (Williams et al. (2000)). Although sediment transport due to tidal action is a more
mature area of prediction, there are still uncertainties. It is well known that even modelling sediment
transport and associated morphological changes due to currents involves much empiricism and is
far from precise. Here we only use such modelling to investigate changes qualitatively rather than
quantitatively.
The finite-element TELEMAC software system is used to study stability of dumped sediment
on sandbanks in a region off the coast of East Anglian, UK. The unstructured mesh with triangu-
lar cells is readily adapted to arbitrary geometries. The software was developed by the National
Hydraulics Laboratory (LNH) of the Research and Studies Directorate of the French Electric-
ity Board (EDF-DER) and is licensed in the UK through HR Wallingford. For tidal currents
the depth-averaged code TELEMAC-2D is used. The module SISYPHE is used for sediment
transport.

541
2 CURRENT MODELLING

2.1 Mathematical formulation

The two-dimensional Saint-Venant equations are solved by TELEMAC-2D. They are derived
from the Navier-Stokes and continuity equations by taking vertical averages. This necessitates
the assumptions of hydrostatic pressure and negligible vertical acceleration. The water depth and
the depth-averaged velocity are the main variables, with empirical formulations for turbulence
effects. The equations are solved in non-conservation form, which can be expressed as in a Carte-
sian reference frame – x and y axes define the horizontal plane and gravity acts in the negative
z direction:
Continuity:

Momentum:

where h, u and v are water depth and velocity components in x and y directions respectively. Z is
the free surface elevation. ve is the (kinematic) eddy viscosity defining horizontal diffusion, and
often also represents the effect of dispersion (due to the vertical variation of velocity). Fx and Fy
are forces in x and y directions, including bottom friction, Coriolis forcing and the influence of the
wind and atmospheric pressure.

2.2 Numerical scheme and model parameters

The above equations were discretised as finite elements of triangular form and solved using the
fractional step method. The first step is for advection, using the SUPG (Stream Upwind Petrov
Galerkin) scheme for velocity and a mass conservative scheme without sub-iterations for depth.
The second step is for diffusion and source terms (i.e. terms other than the advection terms), using
the GMRES (Generalised Minimum RESidual) solver with a Krylov space dimension of 3. An
iteration accuracy of 10−4 was used and if this was not achieved within 70 iterations (generally
during start up) the computation proceeded to the next step.
For this study a Manning’s coefficient of 0.02 m−1/3 s for bottom friction will be seen to give
good predictions of tidal levels at Lowestoft. A constant Coriolis force with Coriolis coefficient ( f )
1.153 × 10−4 N m−1 s was used, given by the formula f = 2 sin λ, where is the angular velocity
of the earth with value of 7.292 × 10−5 rad/s and λ is the average latitude in the computational
domain. An implicit coefficient of 0.6 was used for water depth and velocity (1.0 being fully
implicit and 0.0 being fully explicit). Mass balance was checked at each time step.
The Elder model is used to represent longitudinal dispersion in the turbulence model for hori-
zontal diffusion with an eddy viscosity coefficient, Kl = al U ∗ h, where U ∗ is the friction velocity
and al is the longitudinal dispersion coefficient, given a value of 6. Transverse mixing is defined
by the depth-averaged eddy viscosity, Kt = at U ∗ h with at = 0.6. Longitudinal and transverse here
are with respect to the local flow direction and the al and at given are default values.

2.3 Boundary condition and bathymetry

The Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL) provided, under licence, hourly surface levels
and velocities at 32 points (range from 52◦ 06 N to 53◦ N in the latitudinal direction and from

542
 Offshore sandbank

Nearshore
sandbank

Figure 1. Bathymetry of the modeled region and corresponding mesh.

1◦ 20 E to 2◦ 10 E) from their continental shelf model CS3 for year 2000. Digitised bathymetry
from Admiralty charts was provided by METOC Ltd., also under licence. The coastline (assumed
to be at the LAT) is derived manually from the digitized bathymetry. The bathymetry data used
in the computational domain is derived using a simple self-written Fortran program and changed
to SINUSX data format that can be read by MATISSE. The computational mesh and bathymetry
data file used by TELEMAC-2D and SISYPHE are created by MATISSE, as shown in Figure 1.
The datum of water surface level in CS3 is mean sea level (MSL), while the bathymetry datum
for this region is the lowest astronomical tide (LAT) level at Lowestoft. A constant of 1.61 m is
added to surface levels in CS3 to convert from MSL to LAT. This constant is based on tidal levels
at Lowestoft since 1976. The surface levels and velocities at all open boundary mesh points were
linearly interpolated from the data of CS3. This may introduce some inconsistency in both water
elevation and velocity at the boundary points. This is corrected using the Thompson technique
(1987) giving corrected values of velocity. To cover typical spring and neap tides the simulation
is started on 1st August, 2000 at 22.00 hours and finishes on 10th August, 2000 at 19.00 hours, a
simulation period of 213 hours. The time step is 20 seconds, giving a maximum Courant number
of less than 0.3.

3 MORPHODYNAMIC MODELLING

3.1 Mathematical formulation

The conservation form of the bottom evolution equation is given by

543
where Zf is the bottom elevation and Qs the solid volume transport per unit width as a function
of porosity. This is defined by standard sediment transport formulae in which friction velocity
is determined from output stored from TELEMAC-2D at hourly intervals. These formulae are
strictly valid for equilibrium conditions. The transport is assumed to adapt instantaneously to the
driving hydrodynamics without feedback, which is adequate for small changes in bed level. The bed
elevation is updated through the above equation, which is solved by the module SISYPHE, at each
time step. Meanwhile, the currents from the TELEMAC-2D data file are also updated. SISYPHE
is set up for non-cohesive sediments of uniform size with diameters ranging from 0.1 mm to 4 mm.

3.2 Numerical scheme, model parameters and boundary conditions

SISYPHE makes use of the same finite-element mesh as TELEMAC-2D. The equation is solved
with a predictor-corrector scheme. This scheme can be split into three steps: predictor step, corrector
step and final step. The predictor step is solved through a finite element method using the GMRES
(Generalised Minimum RESidual) solver with a Krylov space dimension of 3, as used in the second
step for diffusion and source terms in current modelling. For the corrector step, the sediment
transport can be computed from the assessment of the bottom depth at the end of the time step in
the predictor step. The implicit coefficient is again 0.6 as used in TELEMAC-2D. The final step is
solved like the predictor step.
Based on the reports, “South of North Sea Survey” by British Geological Survey in 1998 and
“Understanding the behavior and engineering significance of offshore and coastal sand banks” by
HR Wallingford in 2001, the bed sediment varies from sand to sand/gravel in the region of study.
We are concerned with the morphodynamics of the Scroby bank which has an average diameter of
0.4 mm and this was assumed for the whole region. The densities of water and sediment are 1000
and 2665 kg/m3 respectively.
The same period in year 2000 was used as for TELEMAC-2D. As stated above, the computed
water depth and velocity at each grid node stored for hourly intervals in the results file from
TELEMAC-2D were used as the input current condition. A solid boundary was used for the coastline
and zero normal gradient sediment flux (free boundary conditions) for the outer boundaries. The
region was thus modelled as a box independent of adjoining coastal regions.

4 COMPUTATIONAL RESULTS

4.1 Current modeling

The comparison of the computed and measured water surface levels at Lowestoft, provided by
BODC (British Oceanographic Data Centre), shows the differences between computed and mea-
sured values are less than 6%. The computed water level and velocity components at selected
internal point No.4 (shown in Figure 1) are shown in Figure 2 for comparison with those from the
CS3 model. The tidal period is about 12.5 hours. In general the maximum ebb velocities occur
within one hour either side of low tides on the South/North boundaries and the maximum flood
velocities within one hour of high tides on these boundaries. The maximum differences in velocity
magnitude are less than 4% except at points 6 and 8, which is less well resolved by the coarse
grid of the CS3 model. The u- and v-components for both TELEMAC-2D and CS3 are always in
phase. The computed velocity vector fields show there is some evidence of recirculations and wake
behaviour in the Scroby area which is quite complex.

4.2 Morphodynamic modeling

The sediment transport modelling was started 6 hours later than the current modelling, and
continued for a period of 200 hours, including 8 spring tides and 8 neap tides. The standard
Engelund-Hansen formula and Einstein-Brown formula were chosen for sediment transport. The

544
Figure 2. Comparison of computed water surface Figure 3. Time series of sediment volumes in the
level and velocity components with those from CS3 entire computational domain using Engelund-Hansen
model at selected point No.4. formula.

Table 1. Computed average bed growth rate (mm/period) on the whole computational
domain.
Case Flood period Ebb period Tidal period

Engelund-Hansen formula 0.01952 −0.00942 0.0101

with Coriolis force
Einstein-Brown formula 0.00165 0.00004 0.00168
with Coriolis force
Engelund-Hansen formula 0.01565 −0.0165 −0.00085
without Coriolis force

former includes bed load and suspended load, driven by depth-averaged velocities, while the latter
only gives bed load. The computed bed evolution fields (change in bed elevation) shows the major
changes on and around the Scroby sandbank; the bed levels increase in some places, and decrease in
others. Figure 3 shows the time series of sediment volume in the whole domain using the Engelund-
Hansen formula. It can be seen that the net volume increases as the amount of sediment entering
the domain from the outer water body is greater than that leaving the domain. The sediment mainly
enters the domain during flood periods and leaves the domain during ebb periods. This is more
marked during spring tides. The average bed level growth, averaged over the whole domain, is
shown in Table 1. These average bed evolutions for a flood, ebb and tidal period are 0.01952,
−0.00942 and 0.01010 mm respectively, over the period of 200 hours. The average bed evolutions
using the Engelund-Hansen formula, averaged over the whole domain, for a flood, ebb and tidal
period are 0.00165, 0.00004 and 0.00168 mm respectively. The growth rate for bed load only is
thus about 1/6 of the total (due to suspended and bed load). So the suspended sediment entering
the domain under flood conditions is major contribution to the overall bed level growth.
It is of interest to test the influence of Coriolis force which is known theoretically to cause
accretion of idealized, isolated sandbanks, e.g. Roos and Hulscher (2002). Coriolis causes a
residual circulation around a sandbank with the inwards centrifugal force (towards the middle
of the bank) moving sediment inwards. The tidal flow is recomputed with Coriolis force set to

545
 Table 2. Computed average bed growth rate (mm/period) on the Scroby sandbank.

Case Flood period Ebb period Tidal period

Engelund-Hansen formula −0.591 −0.708 −1.299

with Coriolis force
Einstein-Brown formula −0.369 −0.128 −0.497
with Coriolis force
Engelund-Hansen formula −0.746 −0.551 −1.297
without Coriolis force

Table 3. Computed average bed growth rate (mm/period) on the top of the Scroby
sandbank.
Case Flood period Ebb period Tidal period

Engelund-Hansen formula 0.206 0.243 0.448

with Coriolis force
Einstein-Brown formula 0.045 0.133 0.178
with Coriolis force
Engelund-Hansen formula 0.204 0.234 0.438
without Coriolis force

zero in TELEMAC-2D and the morphological changes are computed using the Engelund-Hansen
formula. The computed time series of sediment volume in the whole domain (not shown here)
shows there is a significant difference from that including the Coriolis force. The sediment leaves
the domain during the second half of the ebb period and the first half of flood period in spring
tides, while it almost always leaves the domain in neap tides. The average bed evolutions, averaged
over the whole domain, for a flood, ebb and tidal period are 0.01565, −0.01650 and −0.00085 mm
respectively. The Coriolis force thus causes the overall growth rates in the computational domain
to be decreased instead of increased.
The average bed level growth over the Scroby sandbank is shown in Table 2 and the average bed
level growth over the top of the Scroby sandbank in the range x: 52000–54000 m, y: 65000–71500 m
is shown in Table 3. The sediment volume and average evolution over the offshore sandbank (north)
and nearshore sandbank (south) are also computed. The above figures and tables show that Coriolis
forcing has an effect on the average accretion within the whole domain and can increase accretion
slightly in shallow-water areas. There are local areas on Scroby bank, which accrete significantly
and are thus most suitable as a first choice for sediment dumping to increase bed level for potential
coastal protection from wave action.

5 CONCLUDING REMARKS

Tidal flow simulations have been undertaken for a coastal region off EastAnglia using boundary con-
ditions from the UK continental shelf model CS3 of POL and digitized Admiralty bathymetry from
METOC Ltd. It is notable that in a local area of relatively shallow flow over complex bathymetry,
over the Scroby Bank, wake/recirculation type flows were sometimes observed with TELEMAC-
2D but not with the CS3 model with a much coarser mesh. The details of such flows clearly affect
sediment transport and morphodynamics and it is stressed that, for this study, we are concerned
with qualitative effects, in particular whether sandbanks, or parts thereof, accrete or erode. The
sediment transport/morphodynamics study using the SISYPHE module, driven by TELEMAC-2D,

546
shows that sediment load is mainly suspended rather than bed load. Coriolis forcing has an effect on
the average accretion within the whole domain and can increase accretion slightly in shallow-water
areas. There are local areas on Scroby bank, which accrete significantly and are thus most suitable
as a first choice for sediment dumping to increase bed level for potential coastal protection from
wave action.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work (Tyndall project IT 1.37) is part of a larger project ‘towards an integrated regional coastal
simulator for the impact of sea-level rise in East Anglia’ and has been funded through the Tyndall
Centre for Climate Change Research.

REFERENCES

Dyer, K.R. and Huntley, D.A. 1999 The origin, classification and modelling of sand banks and ridges,
Continental Shelf Research, 19, 1285–1330.
Evans, C.D.R., Crosby, A., Wingfield, R.T.R., James, J.W.C., Slater, M.P. and Newsham, R. 1998 Inshore
seabed characterization of selected sectors of the English coast. British Geological Survey, Technical Report
WB/98/45.
MacDonald, N.J., Pan, S., Nicholoson, J. and O’Connor, B.A. 1997 Numerical modelling of short to medium
term offshore sand bank evolution, Zbl. Geol. Palaont. Tell I, H 11/12, 1093–1105.
Roos, P.C. and Hulscher, S.J.M.H. 2002 Finite amplitude sandbanks, 28th Int. Conf. On Coastal Engineering,
ASCE, Cardiff.
Thompson, K.W. 1987 Time dependent boundary conditions for hyperbolic systems. J. Comp. Phys., 68, 1–24.
Whitehouse, R.J.S. 2001 Understanding the behavior and engineering significance of offshore and coastal
sand banks. HR Wallingford, Report SR 512.
Williams, J.J., MacDonald, N.J., O’Connor, B.A. and Pan, S. 2000 Offshore sand bank dynamics, J. Marine
Systems, 24, 153–173.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Reservoir circulation modeling with analytical non-uniform

wind boundary conditions

S. Rubbert, C. Reuter & J. Köngeter

Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, Aachen University, Germany

ABSTRACT: Three-dimensional numerical simulations of the barotropic circulation in small,

shallow Spremberg Reservoir fail to reproduce characteristic time-averaged features of three ADCP
measurement profiles when uniform wind boundary conditions are used. The agreement between
simulations and measurements is improved distinctly if small-scale wind field inhomogeneities
due to sheltering effects along the shoreline are taken into account. An analytical approach is
presented to calculate non-uniform wind stress boundary conditions for different background wind
conditions. It considers (1) the gradual increase of the wind speed with growing fetch due to the
re-establishment of the atmospheric boundary layer behind the discontinuity of surface roughness
at the land-lake boundary and (2) the changing water surface roughness along with the development
of surface waves. The study underlines the need to pay attention to such effects in circulation models
for small lakes and reservoirs.

1 INTRODUCTION

Spremberg Reservoir is a small, shallow, vertically well-mixed water body in the German state
of Brandenburg featuring steep and densely forested banks along major sections of its shoreline
(Fig. 1). The River Spree constitutes its only major inflow and outflow. Three-dimensional hydro-
dynamic simulations are carried out in order to study the barotropic mixing behavior of the water
body without initial assumptions on the dimensionality of the flow.
The wind plays an important role in driving lake and reservoir circulation. Wind field inhomo-
geneities on the meteorological microscale comprise processes within the atmospheric boundary
layer such as separation behind discontinuities of surface elevation (Ottesen Hansen 1979), and
re-establishment after sudden discontinuities of surface roughness (e.g. Taylor & Lee 1984). At the
lake or reservoir edge, a combination of these effects is expected to occur, which implies a reduction
and, subsequently, gradual increase of the wind stress with increasing fetch (“sheltering effects”,
e.g. Venäläinen et al. 1998). In several instances the reduced wind stress along the windward shore

Figure 1. Bathymetry of Spremberg Reservoir and locations of ADCP measurement profiles (“MP”).

549
has been found to promote a one-cell horizontal circulation pattern with a return flow along the
sheltered banks whose orientation is opposed to the wind direction (Józsa et al. 2000, Józsa et al.
1990, Podsetchine & Schernewski 1999).
In the latter two studies, small-scale inhomogeneities of the wind stress field are incorporated
into the boundary conditions of hydrodynamic models. Podsetchine & Schernewski (1999) use
distributed wind measurements collected in the field as input to a spatial interpolation scheme.
Józsa et al. (1990) linearly decrease surface stresses down to zero across a distance of 1000 m
towards the shoreline. While the first approach restricts hydrodynamic simulations to the wind
conditions registered in the field, the second implies assumptions on essential quantities such
as the extent of the sheltered region and the shape of the wind stress distribution. Given the
potential impact of sheltering effects on the flow field, a physically founded, yet computationally
efficient parameterization should be sought with sufficient prognostic capabilities to cover varying
background wind conditions. In this study a set of equations is proposed which addresses the
mechanisms outlined above physically and can be solved analytically. The resulting surface stress
fields are used as boundary conditions for hydrodynamic simulations of the circulation pattern in
Spremberg Reservoir. The results are compared to those obtained from using uniform winds and
to ADCP measurements collected at three characteristic locations in the water body.

2 METHODS

2.1 Measurements and hydrodynamic model

Vertical velocity profiles are measured at the three locations indicated in Fig. 1 (MP06, MP08,
MP10) by means of a 600 kHz ADCP installed at the lake bottom in an upward-looking configur-
ation. Further information on data collection and post-processing is given by Rubbert et al. (2003).
The mean vertical profiles shown in Fig. 2 result from time-averaging over periods of reasonably
steady wind conditions. The error bars represent the standard deviations of the post-processed

Figure 2. Measured (ADCP) and simulated profiles of velocity magnitudes |v| and horizontal directions
(bottom), simulations are based on uniform (UW) or non-uniform (NUW) wind boundary conditions.

550
ensemble values with respect to their temporal averages. Averaging times are 69 h (MP06) and
∼22 h (MP08, MP10), respectively. Representative background wind conditions measured 2 m
above the water surface are U02W = 3 m/s SW (MP06), and U02W = 5 m/s WSW (MP08, MP10).
These two wind scenarios are investigated by hydrodynamic modeling. Corresponding wind speeds
10 m above the water surface are obtained by logarithmic scaling.
The hydrodynamic model is based on the three-dimensional, incompressible, non-hydrostatic
Navier-Stokes equations, the Projection-2 algorithm for pressure uncoupling, the Finite Element
Method on a hexahedral mesh for spatial discretization, the Crank-Nicolson scheme for time inte-
gration, and an anisotropic form of the Smagorinsky turbulence closure for subgrid scale turbulence
modeling. As such, it corresponds to the model presented by Forkel et al. (1997), with modifications
applied to the turbulence closure by Bergen (1999). These modifications specifically address the
issues of both mesh and flow anisotropy encountered in natural water bodies. The 3D mesh features
a resolution of between 20 and 50 m in the horizontal and 1/6 of the local water depth in the vertical
direction. The rigid lid assumption is imposed at the water surface. Bottom boundary conditions
are applied by scaling adjacent, previously simulated velocities according to the logarithmic law of
the wall. A uniform bottom roughness, ks = 0.10 m, and the Smagorinsky coefficient, cs = 0.08, are
chosen as for shallow Quitzdorf Reservoir (Rubbert et al. 2003). Simulations comprise 100,000
time steps of t = 10 s each, i.e. roughly 28 hours, using steady forcing. Quasi-steady state is
reached after approximately 10 to 14 hours. Time-averaging over the second half of the simulation
time yields the results presented below.

2.2 Analytical inhomogeneous wind boundary conditions

Non-uniform wind stress boundary conditions τW are provided according to

where U10W is the wind speed 10 m above the water surface, c10 denotes the friction coefficient and
ρa the density of the atmosphere. Both U10W and c10 are non-uniform, considering (i) the gradual
increase of the wind speed downstream from the discontinuity of surface roughness at the land-lake
boundary and (ii) the development of the surface wave field with growing fetch.
(i) A simple method for calculating the increase of the wind speed is suggested by Taylor & Lee
(1984) and Walmsley et al. (1989). It is valid in case of neutral thermal stratification and based
on the assumption that both inside and outside the growing internal boundary layer of depth δ the
velocity distribution Uz = U (z) takes a logarithmic shape, i.e.

where z0L and z0W denote the roughness lengths upstream (land) and downstream (water) of the dis-
turbance, respectively, u∗ represents the upstream surface shear velocity, κ (= 0.4) is von Karman’s
constant and ! a factor of proportionality. Values of δ can be calculated iteratively as a function of
the distance from the roughness change, which is replaced by the fetch length F:

The fetch F is determined according to ACER (1992). By enforcing continuity between Equations
1 and 2 at z = δ, ! can be quantified and U10W (F) (z = 10 m) is obtained as a function of F.

551
 Venäläinen et al. (1998) successfully fit this theoretical distribution to the wind speeds measured
over small, sheltered Lake Råksjön. Close to the shore (F < 100 m), however, measured wind
speeds drop to zero fast as the boundary is approached, while calculated wind speeds remain at the
level of the over-land values according to Equation 2 because δ from Equation 4 is smaller than the
measurement elevation. The banks of Lake Råksjön are covered by dense forest with tree tops >20 m
above the water surface, so boundary layer separation along the shoreline may cause the observed
effect. The same behavior is expected for Spremberg Reservoir. Thus, a slight modification is
applied to the above approach. In the region adjacent to the shoreline where δ ≤ z = 10 m, U10W (F)
is replaced by a logarithmic distribution,

∗
whose coefficients a and b are determined such that both U10W (F) and U10W (F) as well as their
derivatives with respect to F are continuous at F0 , the specific fetch at which δ = 10 m.
(ii) Downstream of the reservoir edge, surface waves develop whose height and phase speed
both increase gradually with fetch. The resulting effective roughness length z0W and, via

the friction coefficient c10 depend on both processes and can be calculated as a function of rms
wave height σw and wave age, where the latter represents the ratio of U10W over Cp , the wave phase
speed at the spectral peak (Donelan, 1998):

The wave parameters σw and Cp are estimated from the set of shallow water surface wave equations
given by Chapra (1997). Equation 7 is verified for near-shore lake data by Hsu (1994).
The wind distribution (Eqs 2–5) and wave development (Eqs 6 + 7) are coupled through the
water surface roughness, z0W , and the wind speed over the water, U10W , and thus would have to
be solved iteratively. However, the coupling is neglected in a first step. As in Venäläinen et al.
(1998), z0L = 0.7 m is assumed, while z0W = 0.00015 m (corresponding to c10 = 0.0013) is used as
uniform input to Equations 3 and 4, which implies that the influence of the gradual surface wave
development on the wind distribution is not taken into account. The surface wave equations from
Chapra (1997) are evaluated using the spatial average of the wind speed U10W , which is expected
to somewhat distort the actual wave field development. The wind speed over the surrounding land,
U10L , determines u∗ in Equation 2 and is iterated such that the spatial average of the surface stress
over Spremberg Reservoir is equal to that obtained for a uniform wind.

3 RESULTS

The ADCP measurements yield almost depth-uniform velocity profiles at MP06 and MP08, while
a complete velocity overturn with a shear layer at a depth of 2.5 m is observed at MP10 (Fig. 2,
ADCP). The prevailing wind direction is perpendicular to the velocity directions at MP06 and
opposed to those at MP08, while the surface flow is aligned with the wind at MP10.
If uniform winds according to the two meteorological scenarios specified in 2.1 are used as
boundary conditions (c10 = 0.0013, Eq. 1), 3D circulation patterns evolve. A northward wind drift
covers the entire depth in the shallow east of the northern sub-basin. The return flow occurs at
depth in the west, where the surface currents still follow the wind (not shown). Correspondingly,
the depth-averaged velocities in Figure 3a are close to zero at all three MP, and the profiles displayed
in Figure 2 (“UW”) feature shear layers at depths of about 1.5 m. The agreement with the ADCP

552
Figure 3. Depth-averaged simulated velocity fields for (a) a uniform wind of U02W = 3 m/s (SW) and (b)
a non-uniform wind equivalent to U02W = 3 m/s (SW) in terms of averaged τW , (c) differences (b − a), (d)
non-uniform wind stress field, e) distribution of wind stress τW and wind speed U10W along section A-A.

data at MP06 and MP08 is poor, while the simulated velocity overturn at MP10 (probed at a distance
of 40 m from the exact ADCP position) is less distinct than measured.
The non-uniform wind stress field that is equivalent to U10W = 3 m/s (SW) in terms of hori-
zontally averaged τw is shown in Figure 3d, while Figure 3e displays the wind speed and wind
stress along the indicated section A-A (Fig. 3d). Neither spatially distributed wind nor wave data
are available for validation at this point of time. However, the wind field is in qualitative agree-
ment with the data shown for Lake Belau (Podsetchine & Schernewski 1999) and Lake Råksjön
(Venäläinen et al. 1998). In the northern sub-basin of Spremberg Reservoir, the wind speed and
wind stress reach 90% of their maximum values at fetch lengths >1000 m.
If the inhomogeneous wind stress fields are used as model boundary conditions, the simulated
circulation pattern in the northern sub-basin changes distinctly. A southward return flow that covers
the entire depth now occurs along the north-western shore (Fig. 3b). This return flow does not only
compensate for the wind drift in the east, but generates an additional northward re-circulation in
the basin center. All in all, this implies that a complete counterclockwise gyre is induced in the
main northern sub-basin of Spremberg Reservoir (Fig. 3c). Within the resulting one-cell circulation
pattern, MP06 and MP08 are in regions of essentially 2D, depth-uniform flow, while MP10 is located
at the center of the gyre. Based on this circulation pattern it is possible to explain the characteristic
features of the ADCP profiles, and the agreement between measurements and simulation results is
improved significantly (Fig. 2, “NUW”).

553
4 DISCUSSION

The observed modification of the flow by the action of small-scale wind field inhomogeneities is
in line with the findings by Józsa et al. (1990), Józsa et al. (2000) and Podsetchine & Schernewski
(1999) with respect to the generation of a return flow along the sheltered banks and the promotion of
a one-cell horizontal circulation pattern. It becomes obvious that considering such inhomogeneities
may be essential to successful modeling of the wind-driven circulation in small lakes and reservoirs.
However, with increasing lake size and characteristic fetch length, the percentage of the surface area
subject to sheltering effects decreases. Further investigations are required in order to quantify lake
dimensions at which sheltering effects are negligible compared to mesoscale mechanisms causing
non-uniform wind fields, such as sea and lake breezes (e.g. Laval et al. 2003). The development
of a physically founded parameterization of small-scale wind field inhomogeneities is a first step
towards such investigations.
An aspect that still requires more explicit consideration in the proposed parameterization is the
reduction of the wind stress due to complete separation of the atmospheric boundary layer from
the water surface behind sudden drops of surface elevation. Such drops may be formed by steep
banks, structures or incompletely penetrated vegetation. The modification applied to the procedure
suggested by Taylor & Lee (1984) and Walmsley et al. (1989) (Eq. 5) is directed towards such
effects. From the analogy of flow across a backward facing step, however, it can be concluded that
a larger area adjacent to the shoreline may be completely free of surface stresses, i.e. up to fetch
lengths of six times the height of the step (Ottesen Hansen, 1979).
All elements of the proposed parameterization require formal quantitative validation. To that end,
combined systematic measurements should be made covering (a) the spatial variability of the wind
with increasing distance from the banks (e.g. Venäläinen et al. 1998) as well as (b) water surface
wave heights and periods along with the developing wind field. Furthermore, the aerodynamic
surface roughness z0L of the lake surroundings must be known. Qualitatively, however, the shape
of the wind stress distribution and its effect on the circulation pattern in Spremberg Reservoir are
not expected to change.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Without considering small-scale inhomogeneities of the wind stress distribution over Spremberg
Reservoir resulting from sheltering effects along the windward shore, it is not possible to achieve
agreement between characteristic features of ADCP measurement profiles and simulated velocities.
The tendency of the flow modification is towards a one-cell basin-scale horizontal circulation with
a return flow opposed to the background wind direction along the sheltered banks. The proposed
analytical parameterization allows to incorporate such effects into the boundary conditions of the
hydrodynamic model without much additional computational effort, while still providing suffi-
cient prognostic capabilities to work with different wind speeds and directions. It requires further
refinement and quantitative validation by means of systematic wind and wave field measurements.

REFERENCES

ACER 1992. Freeboard criteria and guidelines for computing freeboard allowances for storage dams. Technical
Memorandum No. 2. Denver, Colorado: US Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation.
Bergen, O. 1999. Die Large-Eddy Simulation von Strömungen in Seen und Talsperren mit der Finite Elemente
Methode. Ph. D. Thesis at the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, Aachen
University. Aachen: Mainz.
Chapra, S. C. 1997. Surface Water Quality Modeling. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Donelan, M. A. 1998. Air-Water Exchange Processes. In J. Imberger (ed.), Physical Processes in Lakes and
Oceans: 19–36. Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union.

554
Forkel, C., Bergen, O. & Köngeter, J. 1997. A three-dimensional Model for the Calculation of complex Flow
and Transport Phenomena in Reservoirs. Notes on Numerical Fluid Mechanics 59: 158–169.
Hsu, S. A. 1994. A verification of two shear velocity equations for the wind-wave interaction in a lake
environment. Boundary Layer Meteorology 71(1–2): 205–209.
Józsa, J., Sarkkula, J. & Kramer, T. 2000. Wind Induced Flow in the Pelagic Zones of Lake Neusiedl.
In Hydraulic Engineering for Sustainable Water Resources Management at the Turn of the Millenium;
Proceedings of the XXVIII IAHR Biennial Congress, Graz, Austria, 22–27 August 1999.
Józsa, J., Sarkkula, J. & Tamsalu, R. 1990. Calibration of Modelled Shallow Lake Flow using Wind Field
Modification. In G. Gambolati (ed.), Computational Methods in Water Resources VIII, Vol. 2; International
Conference,Venice, Italy, 11–15 June 1990. Berlin: Springer.
Laval, B., Imberger, J., Hodges, B.R. & Stocker, R. 2003. Modeling circulation in lakes: Spatial and temporal
variations. Limnology and Oceanography 48(3): 983–994.
Ottesen Hansen, N. E. 1979. Effect of Boundary Layers on Mixing in Small Lakes. In W. H. Graf &
C. H. Mortimer (eds), Hydrodynamics of Lakes: Proceedings of a Symposium in Lausanne, Switzerland,
1978. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Podsetchine, V. & Schernewski, G. 1999. The Influence of Spatial Wind Inhomogeneity on Flow Patterns in a
Small Lake. Water Research 33(15): 3348–3356.
Rubbert, S., van Linn, A., Rettemeier, K. & Köngeter, J. 2003. Comparison of ADCP Measurements and
3D-Large-Eddy-Based Simulations of Flow in Small, Shallow Quitzdorf Reservoir. In Water Engineering
and Research in a Learning Society: Modern Developments and Traditional Concepts; Proceedings of the
XXX IAHR Congress, Thessaloniki, Greece, 24–29 August 2003.
Taylor, P. A. & Lee, R. J. 1984. Simple Guidelines for Estimating Wind Speed Variations due to Small-Scale
Topographic Features. Climatological Bulletin 18(2): 3–32.
Venäläinen, A., Heikinheimo, M. & Tourula, T. 1998. Latent Heat Flux from Small Sheltered Lakes. Boundary
Layer Meteorology 86: 356–377.
Walmsley, J.L., Taylor, P.A. & Salmon, J.R. 1989. Simple Guidelines for Estimating Wind Speed Variations
due to Small-Scale Topographic Features – An Update. Climatological Bulletin 23(1): 3–14.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical analysis of flows in circular and square stones

embedded fishways

S. Chhatkuli
Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan

M. Fujihara
Faculty of Agriculture, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan

ABSTRACT: Two dimensional shallow water equations are solved by applying Godunov type
numerical method to analyze the flows in stones embedded fishways. Flow properties have been
investigated in the fishways with stones of circular and square shapes, embedded in regular and
staggered patterns. The results obtained show more stagnation region is found in fishways with
stones embedded in regular patterns than that in the fishways with stones embedded in staggered
patterns. But the magnitude and the area of the highest velocity is found little higher in fishways
with stones embedded in regular pattern than in staggered pattern. Alternate shallower and deeper
water depths are found in the fishways with stones embedded in staggered pattern. It is concluded
that the shape of stones, pattern of embedment of stones and the independent slot width affects the
resistance in the flow even though the area of stones and net slot width is same.

1 INTRODUCTION

Constructions of dams, weirs or culverts in rivers obstruct or change the natural flow pattern. These
obstructions may diminish or in cases threaten the existence of the species of migratory fishes as
they cannot move upstream to downstream or vice versa for spawning, food and so on. For the
preservation and protection of these species, fishways are constructed. Fishways are the hydraulic
structures that dissipate the energy of flowing water to provide adequate water depth and velocity
for the safe passage of fishes.
Most of the studies on fishways hydraulics have been done by hydraulic model experiments (Wu
et al. 1999; Rajaratnam et al. 1992; Kurdistani & Bajestan 2002) and field investigations (Izumi
et al. 2000). Since the flow structures in fishways are generally complicated with free surface
and sub- and super-critical flow conditions usually coexist, only a few papers have been published
which had applied numerical methods to the flow in fishways (Fujihara et al. 2001; Tsujimoto &
Shimizu 1996).
In this paper Godunov type numerical method of two dimensional shallow water equations has
been applied to analyze the flow in stones embedded fishways. Stones embedded fishways are
gaining popularity in place of traditional type of fishways, like pool and weir type, as it is in more
harmony with natural river system and can also provide easy passage to fishes which do not prefer
to jump.

2 QUADTREE GRID GENERATION

A scheme presented (Greves & Borthwick 1998) is used to develop quadtree grids that represent the
flow domain in the fishways. Hierarchical quadtree grids are generated by the recursive subdivision
of a unit cell about seeding points indicating boundaries until subdivision criteria no longer satisfies.

557
Grid regularization is achieved by ensuring a maximum of 2:1 ratio between the linear dimensions
of adjacent cells to ensure no more than one hanging node can occur on the cell interface. The
advantage of this technique of grid generation is: it is automatic, grid information can be held as an
ordered tree and Cartesian shallow water equations can be discretised directly on the rectangular
panel of the grids generated.

3 SHALLOW WATER EQUATIONS AND NUMERICAL SCHEME

Shallow water equations expressed below are derived by assuming water to be incompressible and
by neglecting vertical accelerations (Rogers et al. 2001).

where ζ = free surface elevation above the still water level hs ; h(= ζ + hs ) = total water depth;
u and v = depth-averaged velocities in x and y directions respectively; ux , uy and vx , vy = derivatives
of the depth averaged velocity components in the x and y directions respectively; g = acceleration
due to gravity; ρ = water density; τbx and τby = bed friction stresses in x and y directions respec-
tively; ν = kinematic eddy viscosity coefficient; and Sox and Soy = bed slopes in x and y directions
respectively.
The shallow water equations expressed above can be written in an integral form as below

where " = problem domain; q = vector of conserved variables; f and g = flux vectors in x and y
directions respectively; and h = the vector of forcing functions.
The two dimensional shallow water equations are discretised spatially using finite volumes on
the quadtree grids.
By applying Gauss’ theorem, equation 4 can be expresses as

where S = the boundary of "; and fˆ = vector of flux functions through S given by

here nx and ny are Cartesian components of n, the unit normal vector to S.
Equation 6 can also be written in terms of inviscid and viscid form:

558
Figure 1. Quadtree grids generated for regular circular (RC), regular square (RS), staggered circular (SC)
and staggered square (SS) stones fishways.

where

The inviscid flux is evaluated by adopting Roe’s approximate Riemann solver at each cell edge.
Slope limiter is implemented to prevent the numerical oscillations when trying to simulate flow
discontinuities. Viscid flux is evaluated by central difference method. Smagorinsky model is used
to evaluate kinematic eddy viscosities. Time integration is performed by fourth order Runge-Kutta
scheme.

4 EXPERIMENTAL CASES

The numerical analyses of flows were performed in the stones embedded fishways having length
and width 25 m and 2 m respectively. Slope of a fishway was set 1:20 from 1 m to 21 m. First
1 m and last 4 m was set horizontal as upstream and downstream. Circular and square stones were
embedded in the fishways in regular and staggered patterns. Radius of the circular stone was set
as 0.2 m and the area of square stone was kept equal to the circular stone. For the regular cases,
stones were kept at every 1 m interval center to center from 1 m to 21 m along the length and three
stones were kept at 0.6 m interval center to center along the breadth. For the staggered cases, along
the length of fishways, the stones were kept in similar fashion as in regular cases. But along the
breadth, three stones were kept at 0.6 m interval center to center and four stones, two of half size at
the beginning and at the end, were kept at 0.7 m, 0.6 m and 0.7 m center to center alternately. The
net opening width at the cross section, along the center of the stones, was then 0.80 m and 0.92 m
for circular and square stones fishways.
Figure 1 shows the quadtree grids generated for the four different experimental cases. The finest
grid size was 5.96 cm2 and the coarsest was 95.36 cm2 .
Water depths at upstream and downstream were set 0.2 m as boundary condition. No slip
condition was set at the solid boundaries of the fishways. Manning’s coefficient was taken as
0.03 m−1/3 s.

5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Velocities and water depths observed in the pools, 13 m–15 m, for all the four cases are
discussed below.

5.1 Velocity
The velocity vectors of all four types of stones embedded fishways are shown in Figures 2 and 3.
From the figures, wake regions, where velocities are relatively low, are seen behind every stone.

559
 9.5 9.5

9 9

Distance (m)
Distance (m)

8.5
8.5

8
8

7.5
7.5 13 13.5 14 14.5 15
13 13.5 14 14.5 15 Distance (m)
Distance (m)

Figure 2. Velocity vectors in RC and SC stones fishway.

9.5 9.5

9
Distance (m)

Distance (m)

8.5 8.5

8 8

7.5 7.5
13 13.5 14 14.5 15 13 13.5 14 14.5 15
Distance (m) Distance (m)

Figure 3. Velocity vectors in RS type and SS type fishways.

The wake regions are the regions where fishes can take rest during ascending. Stagnation regions
(velocity <= 0.1 m/s) for regular circular (RC), staggered circular (SC), regular square (RS) and
staggered square (SS) stones fishways are found 19%, 14%, 17% and 14% respectively. In all the
four cases, maximum velocity is found at the center of slots between the stones. Whereas, closer
the slots edges lower the velocity is found, due to solid roughness.
As the flows spread from the slots, flow becomes calmer. The least velocity is found immediately
behind the stones. Circulation of water at wake region helps to dissipate the energy of flowing
water resulting lower velocity. Velocity greater than 1.1 m/s and less than or equal to 1.2 m/s is
the maximum range of velocity in RC and SC stones fishways that occupies 0.52% and 0.24% of
the fishways area respectively. In RS stones fishway, velocity greater than 1.1 m/s and less than or
equal to 1.2 m/s is the maximum range of velocity occupying 0.69% of the area. 1.92% of the area
in SS stones fishway is occupied by the maximum range of velocity that is velocity greater than
0.9 m/s and less than or equal to 1.0 m/s.

560
Figure 4. Water depth contours in RC type and SC type fishways.

Figure 5. Water depth contours in RS type and SS type fishways.

The staggered patterns have found to reduce the magnitude and areas of highest velocity to some
extent but also reduce the area of the lower velocity (stagnation) region because of the meandering
of flow caused by the staggered obstructions.

5.2 Water depth

The water depth contours of all four types of stones embedded fishways are shown in Figures 4
and 5. For the RC and RS stones fishways, average water depths in the consecutive pools except a
few pools in the downstream is found to be the same. There is a gradual increase of water depths
in a few downstream pools to satisfy the boundary conditions.
For the SC and SS stones fishways, shallower and deeper water depths are alternately found in
pools behind four stones in a row and in pools behind three stones in a row. Water depth in every
pool behind the three stones and every other pool behind the four stones remains almost same
except in a few downstream pools. In the downstream pools water depths increase gradually to fit
the boundary condition.
Average water depths in RC and SC stones fishways are 0.159 m and 0.157 m respectively.
Average water depth in RS and SS stones fishways are 0.152 m and 0.161 m respectively. This

561
shows the water depth difference between regular and staggered pattern is larger in square stones
fishway than circular one.
In the case of RC and SC stones fishways, discharges 0.080 m3 /s and 0.083 m3 /s are required
for the upstream and downstream water depth to be 0.2 m. And still the average water depth in RC
stones fishway is found a little higher than that in SC stones fishway, even the supply of water in
the latter case is a little higher. This shows that the resistance to flow in SC stones fishway is lesser
than in RC stones fishway even though both has same slot widths of 0.80 m and equal stones areas.
The resulting discharges are 0.086 m3 /s and 0.087 m3 /s in the cases of RS and SS stones fishways
respectively. Though the discharges in RS and SS stones fishways are almost same, as mentioned
above, average water depth in RS stones fishway are relatively small compared to that in SS stones
fishway. This shows that square stones embedded in staggered pattern provides more resistance to
the flow than that in regular pattern.
Comparing four results, it also can be said when the shape of stones is changed from circular to
square, resistance to flow in staggered case increased sharply.
The alternate shallower and deeper water depths in pools behind the four stones and the three
stones in SC and SS stones fishways even though the net slot width opening at the three stones and
that at the four stones is same, 0.80 m for circular stones cases and 0.92 m for square stones cases,
shows that the resistance to flow depends on the independent slot width and its arrangement not
the total opening of slots in the transverse section.

6 CONCLUSION

This paper presented the application of Godunov type numerical method of two dimensional shallow
water equations to investigate the flows in four different cases of stones embedded fishways. From
the results, it is found that the average water depth and water depth distribution in the consecutive
pools, except few downstream pools, are almost same in fishways with stones embedded in regular
pattern. Alternate shallower and deeper water depths are found in the pools behind four and three
stones in a row when the stones are embedded in staggered pattern. The results also show that
the stagnation region is more when the stones are embedded in regular patterns than in staggered
patterns. However, the area occupied by higher velocity, e.g. over 1 m/s, is found a little higher in
regular cases than in staggered cases.
These results show that the shape of stones, pattern of embedment of stones and the independent
slot width affects the resistance in the flow even though the area of obstruction stones and net slot
width is same.

REFERENCES

Greves, M.D. & Borthwick, A.G.L. 1998. On the use of adaptive hierarchical meshes for numerical simulation
of separated flows, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 26: 303–322.
Izumi, M., Kudo, A. & Azuma, N. 2000. A field survey on flow characteristics and ascending of fishes in
ice-harbor type fishway of Mitumenai headworks, Journal of Hydroscience and Hydraulic Engineering,
18(2): 169–178.
Masayuki, F., Kinoshita, S. & Fukushima, T. 2001. An application of Godunov-type scheme to flow in a vertical
slot fishways, Journal of Rainwater Catchment Systems, 6(2): 21–26.
Rajarathnam, N., Katopodis, C. & Solanki, S. 1992. New designs for vertical fishways, Canadian Journal of
Civil Engineering, 19: 402–414.
Rogers, B., Fujihara, M. & Borthwick, A.G.L. 2001. Adaptive Q-tree Godunov-type scheme for shallow water
equations, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 35: 247–280.
Kurdistani, S.M. & Bajestan, M.S. 2002. Experimental investigation of hydraulic criteria in the fishways,
CSCS/EWRI of ASCE Environmental Engineering Conf Niagara: 1–8.
Tsujimoto, T. & Shimizu, Y. 1996. Flow structures of stream type fishway, Echohydraulics 2000, B843–B854.
Wu, S., Rajaratnam, N. & Katopodis, C. 1999. Structure of flow in vertical slot fishway, Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, ASCE, 125(4): 351–360.

562
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

On the time scale of sea water exchange in Ariake Sea

Koji Asai
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yamaguchi University, Japan

Hideki Sato
Graduate School, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yamaguchi University, Japan

ABSTRACT: The Ariake Sea Japan is surrounded by Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Saga and Nagasaki
prefecture, and has a huge tidal flat area with a very high productivity. Nowadays, the water environ-
ments in the Ariake Sea have been worsened by various factors such as the reclamation of the large
tidal flat, a decrease in the tidal height of the outer sea, an increase of the mean water depth and so
on. It is suspected that the embankment in the Isahaya bay is one of the main factors. The effect of the
existence of the embankment in the Isahaya bay on the seawater exchange in the Ariake Sea is inves-
tigated numerically in this paper. The existence of the embankment makes the seawater exchange
active in the inner part of the Ariake Sea, but makes the water exchange weak in the whole bay area.

1 INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the haul of fish, seaweed and shellfish in the Ariake Sea has decreased, and large
red tides frequently occur. It is obvious that the water environment of the Ariake Sea is getting
more serious. It is thought that the decreases of the tidal height and tidal currents of the Ariake Sea
cause deterioration in the water environment. Indeed, the decrease in tidal amplitude on the East
China Sea and the increase in average water level has been reported. In other words, the change of
the physical environments in the outside of the Ariake Sea influences the physical environment in
the Ariake Sea.
The Isahaya bay is located in the west part of the Ariake Sea shown in Fig. 1. In recent years, the
redevelopment called the Isahaya reclamation project has been done. The purposes of this project
are to construct a farming place and to protect Isahaya city from typhoon tides or floods. The
embankment in Isahaya Bay was constructed in 1997. As a result, the total sea area of the Ariake
Sea including the Isahaya Bay has been reduced by 2.1%. Although 2.1% seems to be small enough
not to influence the Ariake Sea, it is suspected that it makes the physical environment of the Ariake
Sea worse. However, it is difficult to make clear from field observations that the reduction of the
sea area by 2.1% can affect the physical environment of the Ariake Sea significantly, because the
physical environment of Ariake Sea is influenced by not only the embankment but also the outer sea.
We have tried to investigate the effect of the reduction of the sea area on the physical environment
of the Ariake Sea numerically. The present paper gives a 3-dimensional flow analytical model to
predict how the constructing the embankment in Isahaya Bay has had an influence on seawater
exchange and tidal current.

2 ANALYSIS METHOD

2.1 Numerical model

We used the MEC (Marine Environmental Committee) ocean model1) to reproduce the physical
environments of the Ariake sea. The Cartesian coordinate system in which the horizontal x-y plane

563
Figure 1. The location of Ariake Sea and Isahaya Bay.

is placed on the mean sea level and the z-axis is positive downward was used in the present study.
The continuity equation and momentum equations of the fluid are written with assumptions of
f -plain, Boussinesq and hydrostatic approximation as follows:

Where u, v and w are the velocity components in x-, y-, z-coordinate directions, P is the pressure, ρ
is the density, ρa is the reference density, ρ(=ρ − ρa ) is the deviation from the reference density,
g is the gravitational acceleration, AH is the horizontal eddy viscosity, AV is the vertical eddy
viscosity, f is the Coriolis parameter. S is the deviation from the reference salinity, KH is the
horizontal eddy diffusivity, KV is the vertical eddy diffusivity.

2.2 Calculation area and computational conditions

The calculation area is shown in Fig. 1. The coordinate system in which the horizontal x-axis goes
from west to east, y-axis goes from south to north and z is positive downward was used in the
present study. The computational domain is 62.5 km long in the x-direction and 91.5 km long in
the y-direction. The horizontal computational grid size is 500 m. The computational domain in the

564
Table 1. The average discharge (1993).

Honnmyou Rokkaku Kase Chikugo Yabe Kikuchi Shira Midori

Discharge (m3 /sec) 3.2 6.67 18.67 200.21 43.46 69.07 55.11 73.07

Table 2. The comparison of M2 tidal amplitude.

Case 1 Case 2

Observed Calculated Observed Calculated

Kuchinotu (m) 1.01 1.01 1.00 1.01

Ooura (m) 1.56 1.62 1.51 1.59

vertical direction is divided into 8 layers. The thicknesses of the layers are 5 m, 5 m, 5 m, 5 m, 5 m,
20 m, 20 m and 40 m, from the water surface.
The tidal current is induced at the open boundary by M2 tide. Tidal amplitude is 0.87 m at the
open boundary. Fresh water from main 8 rivers, which are the Honmyou, the Rokkaku, the Kase,
the Chikugo, the Yabe, the Kikuchi, the Shira and the Midori, flow into the Ariake Sea shown in
Fig. 1. In this study, the average discharge of the 8 rivers in the year 1993 is used and was the
maximum discharge in recent years (shown in Table 1). The time difference interval is 5 seconds,
the calculation period is 60 tidal.

2.3 Numerical experimental cases

The case of that the embankment in Isahaya Bay does not exist is Case 1. On the other hand, the
existence of the embankment is Case 2. Both cases are calculated on the same boundary conditions
and the river inflow conditions.

3 COMPUTATION RESULTS

3.1 Tidal amplitude

The observed M2 tidal amplitudes2) and the calculated ones at Ooura (inner sea) and Kuchinotu
(near the bay mouth) are compared in this study. The comparison between the observed results and
calculated results is shown in Table 2. A discrepancy between the observed result and the calculated
result is small at Kuchinotu, but the discrepancy at Ooura is somewhat recognized. Although there
are huge tidal planes in the inner sea area, our numerical model does not take the tidal plane into
account. It may lead to that discrepancy.
It is also found that the calculated M2 tidal amplitude at Ooura in Case 2 is smaller the amplitude
in Case 1. On the other words, the embankment reduced the tidal amplitude.

3.2 M2 tidal ellipse

A comparison of the calculated M2 tidal ellipses with that of observed results in 20013) is shown
in Fig. 2 and the observed stations are shown in Fig. 1 (3 m below the sea surface at 12 stations).
The embankment in Isahaya Bay was constructed in 2001. Therefore, the observed results and
calculated results for Case 2 are compared in order to confirm the reliability of our computation.
The consistency between the observation and computation at station 12 is not good. However, it
may be judged that the calculated tidal ellipses are similar to the observed ones.

565
3.3 Reduction of the maximum tidal current
In order to check the change in the tidal current of Case 1 and Case 2, the rates of reduction of the
maximum tidal current at station 7, and at stations a, b, c and d (shown in Fig. 1) are investigated
and shown in Table 3. It turns out that the maximum tidal currents at all the stations reduce. It is

Figure 2. The comparison of M2 tidal ellipse (m/sec).

Table 3. Maximum tidal current.

St.7 a b c d

Case 1 (m/sec) 0.50 0.42 0.46 0.44 0.54

Case 2 (m/sec) 0.40 0.40 0.36 0.34 0.43
Rate of reduction (%) 20.00 4.76 21.47 22.73 20.37

566
also confirmed from the observation4) that the maximum tidal current near station 7 has reduced
by 30%. It is thought that the rate of reduction for the observed currents is larger than that for the
calculated currents because of the influence of the outer sea.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Ability of seawater exchange

We have used a particle tracking method in order to compute a time scale of seawater exchange.
The particles have been arranged initially as shown in Fig. 3 in the inner area of the Ariake Sea
(area A) and in the whole bay area (area B) and then the particles are released after the tidal current
is fully developed (after 25 tidal cycles).
The Euler-Lagrange method is used to track the movement of the particles. The ability of the
seawater exchange can be estimated from the number of particles in the inner area of the Ariake Sea
(A) and in the whole bay area (B). A tidal cycle in which a residual rate reaches 50% is employed
as the time scale of the seawater exchange. Table 4 shows the time scales.
In the case of the inner bay area, the time scale of the seawater exchange shortens when the
embankment exists. On the other hand, the time scale lengthens for the whole bay area.
Figure 4 shows the snapshots of the moving particles when the tidal cycle is 10. It can be found
that the particles in Case 2 go far away compared with Case 1.

4.2 Tidal residual current energy

In order to check the relationship between the ability of the seawater exchange and the influence
of the construction of the embankment in Isahaya Bay, we will analyze the change of the velocity
of the tidal residual current.

Figure 3. The location of particle set condition and tidal residual current energy area.

Table 4. The time scale of the seawater exchange (The tidal

cycles when the residual rate reached 50%).

Case 1 (tidal) Case 2 (tidal)

Inner bay area (A) 17 15

Whole bay area (B) 23 24

567
 Case-1 Case-2

Figure 4. The snapshots of the moving particles when tidal cycle is 10.

The first layer (the surface layer) The 4th layer (form the surface)

Figure 5. The change of the velocity of the tidal residual current.

Figure 5 shows the change of the velocity of the tidal residual current. This figure is obtained by
subtracting Case 1 from Case 2. Blue area means the increase of the velocity and red area means
the decrease in the velocity. The tidal residual current is enhanced along the stations a, b, c, d and
St.7 in the upper layer. As mentioned before, the tidal current is reduced at theses stations. It is
conformed that the tidal current is reduced when the flood tide but that does not change when the
low tide. This fact is the reason why the time scale of the seawater exchange shortens in the inner
bay area. However, the area of the reduced residual current is spread in the lower layer. The water
exchange may be weak in the lower layer.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, the influences of the existence of the embankment in Isahaya Bay on the time scale
of the seawater exchange have been discussed by the numerical experiments. The time scale for
the inner bay area decreased when the embankment exists. Although the embankment makes the
water movement in the upper layer active, the water movement in the lower layer is suppressed.

568
The water exchange in the inner bay area is enhanced because the water body in the inner bay area
which is in the shallow area moves in the upper layer. On the other hand, the water exchange in the
whole bay area is affected by the upper layer and the lower layer. The effect of the lower layer may
be greater than that of the upper layer.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors wish to thanks Mr. P. Koirala for his help to check English texts in our paper.

REFERENCES

http://mee.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp/mec/model/ (in Japanese)

Sanae Unoki 2003. Why did the tide and the tidal current decrease in Ariake bay, Oceanography in Japan,
No.12-(1), pp. 85–96. (in Japanese)
Minoru Odamaki, Yukihiro Ooniwa & Noriaki Shibata 2003. Comparative tidal current observation in Ariake
Bay with the previous result, Report of hydrographic and oceanographic researches, No. 39, pp. 33–39.
The Asahi Shimbun (January 15 2004) (in Japanese)

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical simulation on the research of cooling water engineering

of fire plant considering the environmental protection under the
impaction of coastal artificial land engineering

Li Zhenhai, Zhu Qiumei, Zhang Shijie & Zhao Rong

Department of Water Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research,
Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: Large scale of artificial land engineering will be constructed in the northern coast
of DayaBay, GuangDong province of China. A fire power plant will be built in the land, and the
near sea will be used as the cooling water source. The flow is very complex in the sea and the
artificial land will impact the flow farther. Calculation of tidal flow and diffusion of warm water
in the sea has been performed by mathematics model in this paper. An optimum proposal of layout
of the cooling water engineering has been put forward, considering the intake temperature, the
economy, and the environmental protection. This paper is useful to the design and research of the
same engineering.

1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION

DayaBay is a semi-closed bay, with little tide range at bay base, weak tidal current, and very complex
flow. There exist combination-separation flows, which are very sensitive to the external disturbance.
The artificial land, with area of about 6.6 km2 , will change the flow greatly. The diffusion of
discharged warm water from plant will be effected by the above conditions. Considering the intake
temperature, the economy, and the environmental protection, what type layout of cooling water
engineering will be the best? Numerical simulation research on the problem has become necessary.
In the recent 20 years, a great deal of research work about the cooling water engineering of
seaside fire plant has been performed. But cooling water engineering under the background of large
scale of artificial land engineering has never been met. Traditional method of layout of cooling
water engineering considers intake temperature and economy mainly, whereas the environmental
protection was considered as a main problem in this paper.

2 BRIEF INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE ARTIFICIAL LAND PLAN, FIRE PLANT,

HYDROGRAPHY AND LOCAL WEATHER

The position of artificial land engineering and fire plant was shown in Figure 1.The area of the
artificial land is 6.56 km2 . The coastal line will be moved forward about 1000 m. Figure 2 indicates
the range and shape of the artificial land. The location of fire plant is about 1 km apart from planning
coastal line. The cooling water will be taken from the near sea, as the warm water discharged into the
same sea region. The electric capacity is 6 × 350 MW. The flux of cooling water is about 46.4 m3 /s.
The condenser temperature rise is 7.8◦ C.
The near sea is shallow, and the water depth is about 2–5 m. The tidal in DayaBay is the semi-
regular half-day type, the average range of which is about 0.8–1.2 m, with very low velocity. The
flow was divided into two routes: east route and west route. There is a combination-separation point

571
 N

ng
fi re po w er p l an t Yo
Xia
0.0
V9
V10
2 V11
0 3(km)
la nt 2.0

V7 V5 e r p
V12 V8
d pow
lan 2 outlet
5 V6 tidal current ial g
ific n
art ineeri
10
V1 measurment point 1 outlet
eng ne
V4 V3 V2
V19 l li
tide measurment sta
coa 4 outlet
V1 7
station nt inlet I
V18
V15 pr ese inlet II 3 outlet
V16 inlet III
D a y a Ba y ɳ
³§
N
V14 V13
10 ¸Û¿Ú
¶«É½ 0.0 2.0
D a y a Ba y

0 800(m)
20

Figure 1. Position of artificial land engineer- Figure 2. Layout of artificial land and cooling water
ing and fire power plant. engineering in DayaBay.

in the near region. The eastern flow is stronger than the western. The mean temperature of natural
water for annual and summer is about 23.4◦ C, and 30.6◦ C.

3 MATHEMATICAL MODEL AND CALCULATION METHOD

3.1 Mathematical model

A vertical average 2D shallow water circumfluence equation is used to describe the flow. The
equation group is indicated as follows:
Continuity equation:

Momentum equation in x:

Momentum equation in y:

Heat transfer equation:

where u, v-vertical average velocity in x, y direction, t-time, H -water depth, H = h + ξ, h-base

depth, ξ-sea surface level, τbx τby -bottom resistance in x, y direction, E-viscosity coefficient, D-heat
diffusion coefficient, T - temperature rise, ρ-water density, K-general heat dissipation coefficient
in water surface.

572
 tide (m) XiaYong Stastion (1999.8.11) measurement
calculation
1.5
1
0.5
0
-0.5 14 18 22 2 6 10 14 t(h)
-1
-1.5
-2

Figure 3. Comparison of calculated and measurement tide (spring tide).

3.2 Calculation method

The whole DayaBay was taken as the simulation area (552 km2 ), which was divided into a large
amount of square meshes. Water level and temperature were calculated in mesh center, and velocity
was calculated in mesh boundary. The treatment of convection term in momentum equation was
upwind scheme, and the diffusion term was center difference scheme. Calculation of continuity
and heat transfer equation was the control volume method (Liu 1999). Every method above was
commonly used in the same calculation.

3.3 Initial and boundary condition

Initial condition:

where ξ0 -initial level of water surface, "-calculation region, velocity at land boundary: u · n = 0,
tide process were given in open boundary: ξ(x0 , y0 , t) = ξ  (x, y, t), (x0 , y0 )-coordiante of open
boundary, temperature rise boundary condition: ∇(T ) · m  = 0, temperature rise in outlet:
(T )1 = (T )2 + 8(◦ C), (T )2 -Intake temperature rise.

3.4 Coefficient
(1) Viscosity coefficient: E = α|U ||L|. U is characteristic velocity. Velocity difference of two
opposite boundary in a same mesh has been taken here. L is characteristic length, standing for
mesh boundary length here. α is coefficient, confirmed by verification calculation.
(2) Heat diffusion coefficient: D = β|U ||L|, β-0.1.
(3) K: general heat dissipation coefficient, K = 48.5 W/(m2 · ◦ C). Calculated data based on the
weather parameter.

4 VERIFICATION CALCULATION OF TIDE AND VELOCITY

Measurement of tide and velocity had been performed at 6 points and 19 points respectively. The
points are shown in Figure 1. Verification calculations of spring tide, middle tide and neap tide
were performed. Calculated data are in good agreement with measurement at most points except
for point 10. Figures 3–4 are the verification calculation results of tide and velocity at XiaYong
station and point V11, V12. Figure 5 shows the verification calculation of velocity vector, and
indicates the good agreement with measurement.

573
 velocity(m/s) mean middle calculation velocity(m/s) mean middle calculation

0.4 0.4
0.3 0.3
point 11 point12
0.2 0.2
0.1 0.1
0 0
14 18 22 2 6 10 14 14 18 22 2 6 10 14
t(h) t(h)

Figure 4. Calculated and measurement velocity (spring tide).

Figure 5. Calculated and measured velocity vector at the moment of velocity vector at the moment of rapid
rising and rapid falling of spring tide respectively of spring tide.

N N

separation point combination point

0 0.5(m/s) 0 2.0(km)
0 0.5(m/s) 0 2.0(km)

Figure 6. Calculated velocity field at the moment of rapid rising and rapid falling of spring tide respectively
under the present coastline.

5 CALCULATION OF FLOW

5.1 Flow field under the present coast line

From the calculated flow field under the present coastline (Fig. 6), we can see that there is a
combination-divergence flow in the near sea region, separate point is about 1km apart from seashore.
This agrees with the observation. The nearshore velocity is about 5–6 cm/s.

574
 N
N

separation point combination point

0 0.5(m/s) 0 2.0(km) 0 0.5(m/s) 0 2.0(km)

Figure 7. Calculated velocity field at the moment of rapid rising and rapid falling of spring tide respectively
under the planning coastline.

5.2 Flow changing caused by the artificial land engineering

Figure 7 indicates the calculated flow field under the planning coastline. We can see that the
combination-separation flow also exits, and the separation point is about 1 km apart from the
planning seabank. The flow-pattern has been changed greatly. The separation point has been moved
3 km to southwest. The maximum velocity along seashore has been increased from 6 cm/s to
10 cm/s.
The reason for changing is that artificial land changed the coastal boundary and decreased the
water volume of western sea area, resulting in weakened western flow momentum and, thus the
original equilibrium has been broken.

6 CALCULATION OF DIFFUSION OF WARM WATER

6.1 Calculation case

The calculation cases are formed by the combination of 3 inlets and 4 outlets (Fig. 2), 8 cases are
calculated under the planning coastline. I# inlet was located at the bank; II# inlet was 400 m apart
from I# into the sea; and III# inlet was 600 m from I# into the sea. I# outlet was in the east of and
1.6 km apart from I# inlet. II# outlet was in the east of and 2.8 km apart from I# inlet. 3# outlet was
1000 m into the sea from the bank by pipeline. 4# outlet was 30◦ C declined to east from 3# pipeline.
The calculation cases are shown in Table 1.
Middle tide was used as the calculation tide. Calculation of diffusion of warm water and intake
temperature of above-mentioned 8 cases has been performed.

6.2 Intake temperature rise and diffusion range of warm water

Table 2 shows the calculation results of intake temperature rise and diffusion area of warm water.
Except case 7, the intake temperature rise of every other case is not over 0.5◦ C. Because the tidal
current is weak, the moving range of the warm water was short, and it can’t reach the inlet. Intake
temperature rise of case 7 is about 1.3◦ , relatively higher, because the outlet is very near to the flow
separation point, and east-flow has carried the warm water to the inlet.
Figure 8 shows the temperature rise distribution of case 8 in the moment of middle current going
up to rest and going down to rest respectively. The temperature near the outlet is higher and becomes
lower and lower as the distance increases. The temperature envelop areas of 8 cases are very close,
among which, the areas of 3.0, 2.0, 1.0◦ C are about 2.0, 4.5, 10.0 km2 respectively.

575
 Table 1. Calculation cases.

Case no. Inlet Outlet

1 I# 1#
2 I# 2#
3 II# 1#
4 II# 2#
5 III# 1#
6 III# 2#
7 I# 3#
8 I# 4#

Table 2. Calculated results of temperature rise of every case.

Temperature rise (◦ C)
Cooling Condenser Intake 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.5
water temperature temperature
Case Tide flux (m3 /s) rise (◦ C) rise (◦ C) Area of integrated temperature rise scope (km2 )

1 Middle 46.4 7.8 0.1 0.42 1.95 4.41 10.00 18.15

2 Middle 46.4 7.8 0.1 0.73 2.09 4.60 9.69 17.78
3 Middle 46.4 7.8 0.2 0.44 2.00 4.46 10.00 18.09
4 Middle 46.4 7.8 0.1 0.74 2.11 4.60 9.69 17.81
5 Middle 46.4 7.8 0.2 0.44 2.06 4.51 10.14 18.10
6 Middle 46.4 7.8 0.1 0.74 2.12 4.65 9.73 17.77
7 Middle 46.4 7.8 1.3 0.86 2.27 4.65 10.03 17.79
8 Middle 46.4 7.8 0.2 0.13 0.71 3.26 10.36 18.95

³±Î» (m)
1.5
³±Î» (m)
1.0 1.5
0.5 1.0
0.0 0.5
12 16 20 0 4 8 12 ʱ¼ä (h)
-0.5 0.0
12 16 20 0 4 8 12 ʱ¼ä (h)
-1.0 -0.5
-1.5 -1.0
-2.0 -1.5
Öг±³±Î»ÇúÏß(1999.8.14---15) -2.0
Öг±³±Î»ÇúÏß(1999.8.14---15)

outlet outlet
inlet inlet
2.0 0.1
3. 0.5 0.1 3.0 1.0
2.0 0.5
1.0
N 0.5
0.5 0.1 N
0.1
0.1
0.1

0 2.0(km) 0 2.0(km)

Figure 8. Temperature rise distribution of case 8 in the moment that middle current goes up to rest and goes
down to rest respectively.

6.3 Optimization proposal

Optimization standard is shown as follows: The intake temperature must be lower; environmental
impact to seashore must be less; and it must save the constructing investment. It’s better that the
warm district is far away from the shore, to remain the natural water passageway out along the coast.
From the computational results, we can see that the case 8 accords with the above standards.
The intake temperature is lower, pipeline is short, and warm water region (greater than 2.0◦ C) is
far away from the shore (1 km). Thus, case 8 was proposed as the optimization layout of cooling
engineering.

576
7 CONCLUSIONS

(1) There exits combination-separation flow before and after the land engineering in near sea
region. The flow-pattern has been changed greatly by the engineering, the main feature of
which is that the separation point has been moved.
(2) The warm water moves with tidal current in a small range. Intake temperature is lower (not
overtakes 0.5◦ C) when a distance was maintained between inlet and outlet. The combination-
separation flow has a great effect to the diffusion characteristic of warm water. It’s better to let
the outlet keeping away from the separation point, and the lower and steady intake temperature
can be obtained consequently.
(3) Case 8 has several advantages, such as lower intake temperature, shorter pipeline, and keeping
warm water far away from the shore. Thus, it was recommended as the optimization layout.

REFERENCES

Liu P.B. & Geng L.C. 1999. Mathematical simulation about river engineering problem (in Chinese).
Zhengzhou: Yellow River Conservancy Publishing Company.
Wu J.H. & Han Q.S. 1988. The theory, method and application of computational fluid mechanics (in Chinese).
Beijing: Science Publishing Company.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical modelling approach in the sustainable development

of a power plant

N.M.K. Nik Hassan, I.T.S. Tan & A.M. Hashim

Dr. Nik & Associates Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ABSTRACT: The usage of numerical modelling coupled with a properly executed data collec-
tion plan is essentially a good tool in the sustainable development and management of shorefront
projects. A hydraulic study was performed to evaluate a power plant’s thermal plume recirculation.
Of concern, was adhering to the Malaysian Environmental Quality Act’s temperature limit for open
water discharge. Influence of currents and waves to the project was studied along with impacts of
adjacent reclamation projects. A survey and fieldwork was conducted to gather data for the MIKE
21 and LITPACK numerical modelling works. The pipelines traversed an existing fishermen jetty
requiring the jetty’s relocation. A study and design was performed for the new jetty. A monitoring
programme was instituted by conducting surveys and analysing the data using MIKE INFO Coast.

1 INTRODUCTION

A 720 MW combine cycle plant was constructed next to an existing 440 MW open cycle power
plant at Teluk Gong, Melaka in 2000 (Figure 1). The plant became operational in March 2003. As
the cooling water pipelines traversed across an existing fishermen’s jetty, the jetty was relocated.
This was done to ensure fishermen’s activities are unimpeded due to the pipelines’ presence. The
new fishermen’s jetty is sited immediately southeast of the existing fishermen’s jetty (Figure 2).
The new jetty includes two armour rock breakwaters with lengths of 36 and 86 m and a 50 m wide
access channel about 450 m in length. Safety of the pipelines and fishermen is of the utmost concern
for the plant owner. The location of the cooling water pipelines was constrained by the presence of
two adjacent proposed reclamations.
The usage of numerical modelling tools together with field data collection works was deemed
crucial to ensure a viable project implementation. A study on wave propagation, cooling water
recirculation and thermal dispersion was done using MIKE 21. Impacts due to the presence of the
proposed reclamations and new jetty were analysed. The behaviour of coastal processes was studied
using LITPACK. MIKE INFO Coast (MICoast) was used to store and analyse survey data from
monitoring works conducted during and after construction of the new fishermen’s jetty. Mitigation
measures were also identified.

2 MARINE ENVIRONMENT

2.1 Location
The offshore area of the project site is Malacca Strait, a relatively narrow and shallow channel
separating Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. The shoreline of the project area is part of a series of
long shallow bays found along the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The coastline is generally
aligned at 120◦ N. A hydrographic and nearshore survey was performed. Published Admiralty charts
were used to provide additional bathymetry data. The study area’s seabed gradient is steeper in the
northwest and gentle in the southeast. The beaches are quite narrow. In general, the shoreline is

579
Figure 1. Location of pipelines.

experiencing varying degrees of erosion. The jetty is bounded by two rock bunds. The distance
between the bunds is about 115 m. The length of the western and eastern rock bunds are about 200
and 75 m respectively. The bunds protecting the jetty were initially constructed in the mid-1980s.
Since construction, about 500 m of the shoreline west of the jetty has receded by about 50 m.

2.2 Met-ocean features

The met-ocean characteristics at the project site can be summarised as follows:
(a) Winds – Winds in the project area are mainly governed by monsoons. The Northeast Monsoon
predominates from November to March. The Southwest Monsoon occurs from June to October.
Wind is the primary wave generating mechanism. Hourly averaged wind data between 1980
and 2000 was procured from Malaysian Meteorological Service (MMS). It was inferred from
the annual wind rose that winds from 30 and 60◦ N are dominant, accounting for 26.5% of
occurrence.
(b) Waves – Offshore wave conditions were hindcasted using the wind data. Based on the annual
wave rose, the occurrence of offshore significant wave heights less than 0.5 m is about 86%.
The maximum offshore wave heights are incident from 270 and 300◦ N.
(c) Tides – Water level fluctuation is mainly due to astronomical tides. The tides are semi-diurnal.
The maximum and mean tidal range in the area is 3.1 and 1.8 m respectively.

580
 Western
Jetty Area
Breakwater
Pipelines

Eastern
Breakwater

Navigation Channel

Figure 2. Location of breakwaters and navigation channel.

(d) Currents – Surface currents in the Malacca Strait generally move northwestwards for most of
the year due to monsoon effects of South China Sea and Indian Ocean. The mean current speed
in the project area recorded in December 2000 was about 0.35 and 0.25 m/s during spring and
neap tides respectively.
(e) Temperature – The Malaysian Environmental Quality Act 1974 has prescribed that the max-
imum hot water temperature for power plants should not exceed 40.0◦ C. Information on sea
temperature at the water intake is vital in establishing sea ambient temperature variations during
the life cycle of the power plant. Atmospheric temperature influences surface water temperature.
Results of measurements show that atmospheric temperature fluctuated from 25.3 to 33.2◦ C.
Temperatures measured at mid-depth and at bed level showed little variation. Information from
MMS’ monthly marine meteorological observations was also inferred. The maximum surface
temperature recorded was 32.0◦ C. An average ambient sea temperature of 31◦ C was adopted
for this study.
(f) Water Sampling – Results of analysis of samples collected indicate that total suspended solids
(TSS) concentration at bed and near bed levels is higher. The average concentration for both
neap and spring periods are less than 150 mg/l.
(g) Seabed Grab Sampling – Results from analysis indicate that d50 size for samples collected above
0 mACD range from 0.5 to 0.82 mm. The median grain size for samples collected between 0
to 2 mACD and 2 to 4 mACD were found to be 0.004 to 0.34 mm and 0.002 to 0.065 mm
respectively.

3 NUMERICAL MODELLING

The main approach in modelling is by numerical modelling of current flows, waves and thermal
plume dispersion using MIKE 21. Three model areas, i.e. coarse, medium and fine grid models
were prepared with a grid spacing of 500, 125 and 50 m respectively. Another fine grid model was
prepared incorporating two proposed reclamations located adjacent to the pipelines.

581
3.1 Calibration and verification
MIKE 21 HD, the hydrodynamic model, was calibrated and verified to ensure that the model was
simulating as closely as possible water level fluctuations and currents at site. Simulated results
of water levels were compared and found to display close correlation with measured values (an
average difference of less than 10%). Similarly, simulated current speeds and direction showed
good comparison with the measured values with an average difference of less than 30% and 45◦
respectively.

3.2 Currents
Flood tide propagates in a southeasterly direction; ebb tide is to the northwest. Results indicate
that the current flows within the affected area would be partially obstructed and diverted by the
proposed reclamations.

3.3 Wave modelling

MIKE 21 NSW results show that the presence of both reclamations causes waves to break at the
seawards edge of the reclamations creating a wave shadow area directly behind the reclamations.
There is almost no change in wave heights with the presence of the reclamations at both the intake
and outfall, which extend beyond the seawards most end of both reclamations. Wave heights of
about 0.5 to 2 m can occur at both locations. The jetty is sheltered by the reclamations thereby
experiencing a reduction in wave heights.

3.4 Thermal plume

Modelling was done to investigate recirculation of thermal plume from the proposed outfall while
evaluating excess temperature occurring due to the heat discharge. Simulations for the cooling
and hot water recirculation study were done using MIKE 21 AD. Sensitivity analyses were carried
out to analyse the effect of dispersion coefficients where a dispersion coefficient (Dx = Dy) of
1.67, 2.5 and 5 m2 /s were evaluated. The results indicate that a dispersion coefficient of 2.5 m2 /s
provides a reasonable estimate. The duration of thermal plume simulation is about 49 days. An
excess source temperature of 7.5◦ C with an outfall discharge and velocity of 52,380 m3 /hr and
2.323 m/s respectively was used as model input.
The modelling results show that the movement of the plume is predominantly aligned along the
shoreline (Figure 3). However, the results also show that the thermal plume is better dispersed

Figure 3. Contours of mean excess temperature (with reclamations).

582
southeasterly i.e. in the direction of flood flow. The numerical hydraulic studies indicated that
the maximum excess temperature at the intake for the existing condition of the proposed power
plant is in the order of 0.56◦ C during the critical period of neap tide conditions with the plants
running at design normal load. The maximum water intake temperature would be about 31.56◦ C
on the assumption that the sea ambient temperature at the intake is about 31.0◦ C. The maximum
and excess temperatures at the intake with the presence of the reclamations are 31.58 and 0.58◦ C
respectively. This implies that the maximum hot water temperature discharge from the outfall is
39.06 and 39.08◦ C for the existing and with reclamation condition respectively.

3.5 Coastal processes

The behaviour of coastal processes within the study area is studied using LITPACK. The model
was used to compute littoral drift and predict coastline changes. Wave data for the simulation were
obtained from MIKE 21 NSW results. Cross-shore profiles were based on survey data supplemented
by Admiralty charts. Sediments in the littoral zone to a large extend consists of sand with a mean
grain diameter (d50 ) between 0.1 and 0.3 mm. A d50 of 0.15 mm was used in the analysis to assure a
conservative prediction of the drift. The gross annual littoral drift was calculated to be in the order
of 20,000 to 25,000 m3 /year with a net transport of about 5000 m3 /year to the north.
Sensitivity tests were carried out for varying grain sizes. The littoral drift depends strongly on
grain size, especially for a diameter between 0.1 and 0.15 mm. The effect of the grain size is less
pronounced for grain sizes between 0.2 and 0.25 mm.
Results of the coastline evolution analysis indicate that the area experiencing erosion would
continue to recede. Although the stretch slightly northwest of the outfall location is expected to
experience further erosion, the shoreline at the outfall seems no longer receding. Since the outfall
structure is located almost immediately next to the existing long rock bund, its presence would not
be in the path that would cause significant disruption to the longshore drift.

4 SHORELINE MONITORING

A previous study conducted for a jetty consisting of breakwaters, which jut out further offshore
than the present one indicated that the presence of the jetty would have an impact on the shore-
line adjacent to the eastern breakwater arm of the jetty. The breakwaters of the new fishermen’s
jetty do not encroach further into the open waters compared with the western rock bund of the
previous jetty. It is anticipated that the beach immediately southeast of the eastern breakwater
would accrete after the breakwater construction. It was anticipated that there would be no adverse
impact due to the placement of dredged material from the harbour basin onto the beach immedi-
ately next to the eastern breakwater. If erosion is evident due to the jetty construction, two types
of mitigation measures were identified i.e. a soft and hard measure. A soft mitigation measure
involves beach nourishment works. A hard mitigation measure would be the use of a revetment
structure.
Shoreline monitoring works was conducted during and after construction jetty. MIKE INFO
Coast (MICoast), a GIS based software was used to store and analyse survey data. Three monitoring
surveys were conducted at three months interval from May till December 2002.
Survey was conducted over two areas. Area 1 covered a distance of 1 km southeast of the southern
breakwater. Area 2 covered the berthing area and navigation channel. Cross-sections for Area 1
were performed at 200 m intervals. The landward limit of the shore profile was 50 m beyond the
High Water (HW) mark with the seaward limit extending 1 km from the HW mark. Survey for
Area 2 was done at 100 m intervals across the navigation channel and at 20 m intervals within the
berthing area. Spot levels along the cross-sections were taken at 10 m intervals. A cross-sectional
survey was also done for the breakwaters.
Geo-referenced survey data from the monitoring surveys were input into MICoast. Profiles
were made at selected cross-sections generating ‘Profile Difference’ plots showing profile changes.

583
 Project MyCoast: Teluk Gong Profile 3
(Generated by nz, 20-01-2003)

Profiles: Profile 3 (16/12/02) & Profile 3 (28/08/02)

5 z (mCD)
4

3
2
1

0
-1
-2

-3
-4
-5 Profile 3 (28/08/02)
Profile 3 (16/12/02)
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950
Distance(m)
Differences: Profile 3 (16/12/02) – Profile 3 (28/08/02)
Difference (m) [>0 is deposit from Profile 3 (16/12/02) to Profile 3 (28/08/02), <0 is erosion]
5
4

3
2
1

0
-1
-2

-3
-4
Zero line
-5 Difference (m)

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950
Distance(m)

Figure 4. Profile comparison and differences for shoreline monitoring.

Figure 4 shows plots of profile comparison and difference for Profile 3, located about 400 m east of
the eastern breakwater. The cross-sectional area difference was tabulated as ‘Volume Differences’
in m2 . An accuracy of ±0.1 m for the vertical datum was applied in the analysis. A positive change
in the volume is considered accretion. A negative change in volume indicates erosion.
The results of the monitoring surveys indicate a general lowering trend for all six shore-
perpendicular profiles within Area 1. The last monitoring survey for the channel and berthing
area showed that slight infilling had occurred. Cross-sectional surveys of the breakwater indicate
that after seven months, there was only a very slight settlement. Survey results were influenced by
changes in monsoons. Survey results show good agreement with simulated model results.

5 CONCLUSION

Analysis using numerical models in the cooling water recirculation and thermal plume dispersion
study, shoreline stability analysis and shoreline monitoring works is useful as a management and a

584
decision-making tool. Coupled with proper data collection works and surveys, numerical models
usage offers a good means for planning, execution and post-construction monitoring for a project
such as power plant development that consists of a variety of elements.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Powertek Bhd., Siemens Power Generation Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd., Panglima Power Sdn.
Bhd., and KTA Tenaga Sdn. Bhd., for the opportunity to undertake various components of this
project.

REFERENCES

Dr. Nik & Associates. 1997. Cooling Water Recirculation and Thermal Plume Dispersion Study – Final Report.
Dr. Nik & Associates Sdn. Bhd. 2001. Teluk Gong CCGT Power Plant, Melaka: Hydraulic C.W. Seawater
Recirculation Studies – Final Report.
Dr. Nik & Associates Sdn. Bhd. 2003. Shoreline Monitoring for Construction of Fishermen’s Jetty at Teluk
Gong, Melaka.
Stanley Consultants, Inc., Jurutera Konsultant (SEA) Sdn. Bhd. and Moffatt and Nichol. 1985. National
Coastal Erosion Study, Volumes I & II.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Application of tidal flow mathematical model in the study on

deepwater navigation channels in Xinghua Bay

Li Mengguo
School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China,
Tianjin Research Institute of Water Transport Engineering, Tianjin, China

ABSTRACT: A 2-D tidal flow mathematical model of Xinghua Bay is set up, and numeri-
cal simulation of tidal flow field is carried out. Based on the simulation results, the tidal flow
characteristics of Xinghua Bay and its Nanri waterway and Xinghua waterway are analyzed. The
study results in this paper can be used as scientific basis for deepwater navigation channel plan in
Xinghua Bay.

1 INTRODUCTION

Xinghua Bay, one of six deep bays in Fujian Province, China, lies in the middle coast of Fujian
Province. Backing on economically developed Fuzhou city, Fuqing city, Putian city, etc., Xinghua
Bay has basically become a center for Taiwanese compatriots and overseas Chinese to invest in.
To further develop economics and attract businessmen to invest, developing local marine trans-
portation has become the focus for the local economic development. It is necessary to open up and
construct deepwater ports and deepwater navigation channels in Xinghua Bay.
Xinghua Bay is a natural bay with wide deepwater area (see Fig.1). It is basically encircled by
islands, peninsula and land, and is connected with Taiwan Strait by Nanri waterway and Xinghua
waterway. Xinghua Bay is about 28 km long in NW-SE direction and 23 km wide, with a total area
of about 619 km2 , where there exit obvious deep channels. The Nanri waterway, Xinghua waterway
and the inner channel take on the shape of a inverse “Y”, and their cross sections take on the shape
of “U”. The water depth of the inner channel which is from Jiangyin Peninsula to Houqingyu and
Yemayu running from NW to SE is from −14 m to −17 m (local theoretical base, the same below),
and the Nanri waterway and Xinghua waterway is mostly deeper than −20 m, the maximum water
depth reaching −50 m (in Xinghua waterway). There are a sand barrier in Nanri waterway at its
south mouth, with the minimum water depth of −12.8 m. The Xinghua waterway is wider and
deeper than Nanri waterway and has no sand barrier, but the width of its −20 m deep channel
between Yemayu and Egg Island is only 500 m.
From the point of view of water depth, Xinghua Bay possesses the conditions to be constructed
into a deepwater port, and its Nanri waterway, Xinghua waterway and inner channel can be
developed into deepwater navigation channels. And Xinghua waterway is a very ideal channel
for 20–30 hundred thousand DWT class ships with its natural water depth. However, the hydro-
dynamic conditions must be understood for deepwater port and deepwater navigation channel
construction (Ke Wenrong, 2002, Limengguo, 2001a,b).
By means of mathematical model, tidal flow field of Xinghua Bay is numerically simulated.
The grids in Nanri waterway, Xinghua waterway and the sea area near Egg Island and Yemayu
which are to be planned to be developed into deepwater channels are locally finely enriched and
the flow field is finely calculated. According to the calculated results, the tidal flow characteristics
are analyzed.

587
Figure 1. Sketch of Xinghua Bay.

2 2-D TIDAL FLOW MATHEMATICAL MODEL

2.1 Basic equations and definite conditions

Basic equations of 2-D tidal flow include continuity equation and momentum equation.
Continuity equation

Momentum equation

In equations (1) through (3), x and y = the coordinates in the Cartesian coordinate system, in which
xy plane coincides with still sea surface; u and v = depth-averaged velocity components in x and
y directions respectively; g = acceleration due to gravity; ε = eddy viscosity coefficients of water
in x and y directions respectively; t = time; and f = the Coriolis parameter; ζ = the water surface
displacement relative to the xy plane; h = still water depth; c = Chezy coefficient, c = H 1/6 /n;
n = Manning coefficient.
The definite conditions include boundary conditions and initial conditions. For boundary con-
ditions, the measured or analyzed tidal flow velocities or tidal levels are used as open boundary
conditions, and the normal components in the closed boundaries are let to be zero. For initial con-
ditions, the flow velocities in the whole domain are let to be zero, and tidal level takes the initial
approximate average value of the whole domain according to the limited tidal level measuring
stations.

588
 Figure 2. Computation domain and hydrological Figure 3. Triangular grid map of Xinghua Bay.
measuring stations.

2.2 Numerical method

Finite-difference numerical method based on triangular grid is used here (Li Mengguo et al., 2001,
Li Mengguo, 2001c). When forward difference scheme is used for time derivative and central
difference scheme is used for spatial derivatives, the equations (1), (2) and (3) can be discreted into
the following calculation formulae:

In the above, M = the number of nodal point; K = the number of time steps; t = the step of time.

3 NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF TIDAL FLOW

3.1 Determination of computation domain and division of grids

The computation domain is about 68 km × 58 km (see Fig. 2), including the whole Xinghua Bay,
Nanri waterway, Xinghua waterway and many islands such as Nanri Island, Egg Island, Yemayu, etc.
The computation domain is divided by irregular triangular grids (see Fig. 3). The grids in Nanri
waterway, Xinghua waterway and the sea area near Egg Island and Yemayu are locally finely
enriched.
There are 15180 triangular grid nodes and 29302 triangular elements in the domain with 47
islands being taken into account. The minimum spatial step is 30 m and the maximum spatial step
is 800 m. It can be seen from the Fig. 3 that the triangular grids fit the complex coastline, shapes
of islands and features of underwater topography very well.

589
Figure 4. Verification of tidal level.

Figure 5. Verification of flow velocity. Figure 6. Verification of flow direction.

Figure 7. Computed flow field at flood strength Figure 8. Computed flow field at ebb strength of
of tide in Xinghua Bay. tide in Xinghua Bay.

3.2 Model verification

To verify the model rationality, the flow velocity and tidal level in computation domain are first
calculated. Calculated data of flow velocity and flow direction at three stations and tidal level data
at Bitou are verified with measured one. The verification curves are shown in Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and
Fig. 6. It can be seen that the computed results and the measured data agree very well. It can be
seen from the computed flow pattern (Shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8) at flood tide and ebb tide that
the flow pattern agrees basically with the tidal flow characteristics.

590
4 ANALYSES OF NUMERICAL SIMULATION RESULTS

4.1 General tidal flow characteristics in Xinghua Bay

The tide in Xinghua Bay is normal semi-diurnal tide with the maximum tidal range 7.51 m, and the
minimum tidal range 2.95 m. The mean sea level is 4.30 m (theoretical base). The average flood
duration is 5 h 59 min, and the average fall duration is 6 h 26 min. The fall duration is longer than
flood duration. The tidal range increases from outsea to the bay head, in which the tidal range at
Bitou is 0.37 m larger than that at Shicheng. The time when high tide and low tide occur in the
Xinghua Bay is not the same, in which, the time when high tide and low tide occur at Niutouwei and
Shicheng is basically the same, but the high tide and low tide occur at Bitou later than at Niutouwei
and at the bay head later than at Bitou, making fall duration increase and flood duration decerase
at the head of Xinghua Bay.
The tidal flow in Xinghua Bay is abnormal semi-diurnal shallow sea tidal flow. The flood and
ebb tidal flow in the bay consist of two strands of flow from Xinghua waterway and Nanri waterway,
assuming reversing current movement with stable flow path. The flow direction agrees basically
with the deep channel axis (See Fig. 7 and Fig. 8). The flood duration is shorter than ebb duration
and the flood flow velocity is greater than ebb flow velocity. The tidal flow outside Nanri Island is
anticlockwise rotating current.

4.2 Tidal flow velocity characteristics in Xinghua waterway and Nanri waterway
The maximum flood velocity on the Nanri waterway axis arranges from 0.60 m/s to 0.93 m/s, and
maximum ebb velocity arranges from 0.49 m/s to 0.72 m/s. The average flood velocity on the
Nanri waterway axis arranges from 0.36 m/s to 0.53 m/s, and average ebb velocity arranges from
0.31 m/s to 0.44 m/s. The maximum flood velocity on the Xinghua waterway axis arranges from
0.60 m/s to 1.03 m/s, and maximum ebb velocity arranges from 0.49 m/s to 0.87 m/s. The average
flood velocity on the Xinghua waterway axis arranges from 0.36 m/s to 0.55 m/s, and average
ebb velocity arranges from 0.31 m/s to 0.49 m/s. The maximum flood and ebb velocity can reach
1.91 m/s and 1.55 m/s respectively in the local area between Egg Island andYemayu, and the average
flood and ebb velocity can reach 1.08 m/s and 0.97 m/s respectively.
The flood and ebb tidal flow movement in Nanri waterway precedes that in Xinghua waterway,
and the flood and ebb tidal flow movement in Xinghua waterway is a little stronger than that in
Nanri waterway. There is a rush zone in the local section of Xinghua waterway.

4.3 Tidal flow field characteristics between Egg Island and Yemayu
According to numerical simulation, there is a rush zone in Xinghua waterway between Egg Island
and Yemayu (See Fig. 9 and Fig. 10). The reason for such a rush zone is that the narrow flow section
(the width of −20 m deep channel is only 500 m) makes the current rush. In addition, the north
salient of Egg Island acts as a spur dike.
The flow characteristics between Egg Island and Yemayu are as follows:
(1) The rush appears at middle tidal level, the range of which has about 2 kilometers along the
channel axis with north salient of Egg Island as center. The maximum velocities in the rush
all exceeds 1.0 m/s. The maximum velocity occurs near the north salient of Egg Island, which
reaches 2 m/s on the south side of the channel and 1.91 m/s on the channel axis.
(2) The maximum velocity appears near Egg Island. The velocity decreases gradually to the east
and to the west from Egg Island. The flow velocity is generally greater on the north side of the
channel than on the south side. Egg Island has obvious effect to spur the ebb flow northward.
(3) With the flow-spurring effect of Egg Island, there exits crosscurrent which is normal to the
channel axis. The crosscurrent at flood slack is very small, but there appears obvious crosscur-
rent at maximum flood tide or at maximum ebb tide, especially at maximum ebb tide, whose
speed may exceed 0.5 m/s.

591
 Figure 9. Flow field at maximum flood tide near Figure 10. Flow field at maximum ebb tide near
Yemayu and Egg Island. Yemayu and Egg Island.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Tidal flow field of Xinghua Bay is numerically simulated successfully. The grids in Nanri waterway,
Xinghua waterway and the sea area near Egg Island and Yemayu which are to be planned to be
developed into deepwater channels are locally finely enriched and the flow field is finely calculated.
According to the calculated results, the tidal flow characteristics are analyzed. The study results in
this paper can be used as scientific basis for deepwater navigation channel plan in Xinghua Bay.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was supported in part by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars
of China(Estuarine and Coastal Studies 40225014).

REFERENCES

Ke Wenrong, 2002. Feasibility study for deep-water channel construction in Xinghua Bay, Fujian. Taiwan
Strait, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 360–366, in Chinese.
Li Mengguo, 2001a. Analysis on the conditions for Xinghua Bay to be constructed into deepwater port.
In: 10th China. Conf. On Coastal Eng. Beijing Ocean Press. pp. 419–423, in Chinese.
Li Mengguo, 2001b. Analysis on the hydrological and sediment features in Xinghua Bay. Waterway and Harbor,
No. 4, pp. 156–159. in Chinese.
Li Mengguo, et al., 2000. A 2D tidal current visualization mathematical model for coastal and estuarine waters.
Marine Science Bulletin, Vol. 19, No. 6, pp. 57–65, in Chinese.
Li Mengguo, 2001c. Application of triangular mesh in mathematical models of hydrodynamic and
hydro-environmental field. Hydro-science and Engineering. No. 3, pp. 59–64, in Chinese.

592
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Development of coupled 1D–2D hydrodynamic models for tidal rivers

Yin Hailong & Xu Zuxin

College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: In tidal river network region, small, medium and large rivers or lakes usually
co-exist, for many years, one-dimensional (1D) mathematical models have been widely applied to
simulating flow in tidal network rivers, however, this is a simplified way of solving the problem,
one-dimensional and coupled two-dimensional (2D) model aiming at different scale rivers is more
suitable selection. In this study, coupled 1D–2D hydrodynamic model is presented, first finite
element method is used to solve the governing equations so as to meet tidal rivers with complex
topography, further the 1D and 2D model are coupled based on the principle that hydrologic
constituents simulated by 1D and 2D model respectively is equal at the junction section. The
adopted numerical computation technique and model coupling method are both advanced. The
developed coupled 1D–2D model is applied in tidal river network region of Shanghai, China,
application practice proves developed 1D–2D model is scientific.

1 INTRODUCTION

In tidal river network region, many rivers cross-link and interact, tidal water goes back and forth
in the rivers, simulation of flow in this region is rather difficult. For many years, one-dimensional
(1D) mathematical models have been widely applied for simulating flow in the complex tidal
network rivers (Xu Zuxin & Lu Shiqing 2003, Li Yuxiang & Pang Yong 2001). However, small,
medium and large rivers or lakes usually co-exist in tidal river network region, small or medium
rivers feature one dimensional flow, one-dimensional models are suitable; in contrast, large rivers
or lakes feature two-dimensional (2D) flow, one-dimensional models are not suitable. In a word,
a uniform one-dimensional models for such region may be simplified way of solving the problem
and is not very suitable, one-dimensional and two-dimensional models aiming at different scale
rivers should be considered. Considering that rivers in the network region intersect and can’t be
separated from others easily, the one-dimensional and two-dimensional models for different rivers
should be linked together to form coupled 1D–2D mathematical model.
For the coupled 1D–2D model for tidal rivers, the following two problems has been concerned,
this is:
(1) Application of good numerical computation method. Tidal river network region is usually
characterized by having narrow long channels and curved boundaries, this brings great difficulty
for two-dimensional numerical computation. For the most conventional finite difference method
under Cartesian coordinates (He Shaoling & Lin Bingnan 1984), the “stair-stepped” configuration
shows in the curved boundaries; to ensure enough simulation precision in this special geometry,
the grid spacings must often be small and the number of grids may, in some cases, make com-
putations uneconomical. For the advanced finite difference method under curvilinear coordinates
(Thompson J. F. 1980, Feng Minquan et al. 2003), curvilinear grids can be used to describe the
narrow and curved geometry, the computation efficiency is relatively high, however, this method is
incapable of simulating any kind of curved geometry, for the most complex geometry, this method
can’t offer a satisfactory result. By contrast, finite element method is capable of describing any
kind of complex curved geometry by the flexible triangular and quadrangular meshes, in addition,

593
the computation stability and efficiency is convincing. Therefore, for two-dimensional flow and
water quality simulation of tidal rivers with narrow channel and curved boundaries, finite element
method is adopted in our study, correspondingly one-dimensional simulation of tidal rivers is also
given by finite element so that coupling of 1D and 2D models is relatively easy.
(2) Nowadays two methods are used for 1D–2D model coupling. One method is: stretching
domain of 1D and 2D model to form an overlapping area, the 1D–2D model is linked or coupled
at the overlapping area (Lai Xijun & Wang Deguan 2002), this method is not very strict; another
method is: not stretching domain of 1D and 2D model to form an overlapping area, the 1D–2D
model is coupled at the junction section of two models, the principle of model coupling is that water
elevation, flow, pollutant flux simulated by 1D and 2D model separately are equal at the junction
section (Cheng Hangping & Han Zengcui 2002, Jin Lahua & Xu Junfeng 2004); this is a more
reasonable design method for model’s coupling compared with the front method. In our study, the
latter coupling method is used, which is realized by setting transition element linking 1D and 2D
finite element.
The adopted numerical computation technique and model coupling method in the study are both
advanced. By the above methods, coupled 1D–2D hydrodynamic and water quality models for tidal
rivers are developed, compared with previously established 1D models, coupled 1D–2D models
are more precise and suitable for tidal network rivers with different spatial scales.

2 COUPLED ONE-DIMENSIONAL (1D) AND TWO-DIMENSIONAL (2D)

MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR TIDAL RIVERS

2.1 One-dimensional (1D) hydrodynamic model

2.1.1 Governing equations
The governing equations of one-dimensional hydrodynamic model are the Saint-venant equations:

where x, t = longitudinal distance and time respectively; A = area of cross section; Bt = storage
width; Q = discharge; Z = water elevation; q = lateral flow; C = Chezy coefficient; R = hydraulic
radius; α = momentum modification coefficient; g = acceleration due to gravity.

2.1.2 Handling of river intersection and control structure

Tidal river network is usually very complex. In this region, two special circumstances should be
noticed: river intersection and control structure. At the river intersection and control structure,
the above governing equations are useless. Instead of using governing equations, other special
equations are adopted.

2.1.2.1 River intersection

Each river intersection is a junction element, which is a kind of special finite element in the study.
Take the river intersection shown in Figure 1 as an example, at the junction element, the following
equations are given.
Equation for flow:

where Q3 , Q4 , Q5 = flow at river intersection.

Equation for water elevation:

594
 element 2
element 1

element 3

junction element

Figure 1. Explanation of river intersection.

element 1 element 2

control structure element

Figure 2. Explanation of control structure.

where Z3 , Z4 , Z5 = water elevation at river intersection.

2.1.2.2 Control structure

In the study, the control structure is gate. Each gate is considered as a control structure element,
this special element has two nodes. Take the control structure shown in Figure 2 as an example, at
the control structure element, the following equations are given.
Equation for flow:

where Q3 , Q4 = flow at upstream and downstream node of gate respectively.

Equation for momentum conservation:

where Q = flow through gate, Q = Q3 = Q4 ; Z3 , Z4 = water elevation at upstream and downstream

node of gate respectively; Z0 = bottom elevation of gate; e = gate opening height.

2.2 Two-dimensional (2D) vertically averaged hydrodynamic model

The governing equations of two-dimensional hydrodynamic model are based on the shallow water
equations:

595
 junction section

1D element
transition element
2D element

Figure 3. Explanation of 1D–2D model coupling.

where x, y = the Cartesian coordinates; Z, h = water elevation and water depth respectively; u,
v = depth averaged velocity component in x, y direction respectively; g = acceleration due to
gravity; ε = turbulent coefficient; n = roughness coefficient; f = Coriolis coefficient, f = 2ω sin φ,
ω = rate of earth’s angular rotation, φ = local latitude.

2.3 Coupling of 1D and 2D models

As described in 2.2, the principle of model coupling is that water elevation, flow, pollutant flux
simulated by 1D and 2D model respectively are equal at the junction section. To realize the coupling,
transition element (shown in Fig. 3) linking 1D element and 2D element is set up, it contains 5
nodes and shows “T” shape, transition element must be perpendicular so as to maintain flux
conservation.
For the coupling of hydrodynamic model, following equations are presented at the junction
section:

where Z1 , Q1 = water elevation, flow at junction section respectively, simulated by 1D hydrody-

namic model; Z2 = averaged water elevation of three nodes (node 3,4,5) at the junction section,
simulated by 2D hydrodynamic model; Uξ = velocity component normal to the junction section,
simulated by 2D hydrodynamic model; hξ = water depth at junction section respectively, simulated
by 2D hydrodynamic model; ξ = distance of junction section.

3 APPLICATION OF COUPLED 1D–2D MATHEMATICAL MODELS IN

TIDAL RIVER NETWORK REGION OF SHANGHAI

3.1 Presentation of 1D–2D mathematical models for tidal rivers of Shanghai

The developed 1D–2D mathematical models are applied to simulating hydrologic constituents in
tidal rivers of Shanghai, China. Shanghai is situated in the eastern boundary of the Yangtze River
Delta with East China Sea in the east, Yangtze River in the north, Hangzhou Bay in the south
and bordered with the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu in the west; it is a region with intensive
distribution of rivers and lakes, in addition, it features a tidal river network region. In tidal river
network region of Shanghai, Huangpu River is the largest river, it is much larger than the other
rivers, for rivers linking with Huangpu River, the width vary from 10 to 50 meters, one-dimensional
models are sufficient to simulate flow and water quality; for Huangpu River, its width varies from
300 to 500 meters, one-dimensional models seem to be limited in simulating complex flow and
water quality, two-dimensional vertically averaged models are more suitable selection. Considering
that rivers in the this tidal river network region intersect and can’t be separated from others easily, the
one-dimensional and two-dimensional models for different special scale rivers are linked together
to form coupled 1D–2D models.

596
 Yangtze estuary
Wusongkou

Yangpu
Suzhou Creek

Nanshi

Linjiang

Songpu Bridge
Mishidu typical stations of
Huangpu River
stations at provincial
boundaries

Figure 4. Depiction of study domain and generalized rivers.

Puhui Tang

Zhangjia Tang
Huangpu River

junction section of
Dianpu River 1D and 2D models

Figure 5. Part of the study domain showing finite element meshes and junction of 1D–2D models.

Specifically, the study domain is: the whole Huangpu River’s mainstream from Mishidu to
Wusongkou, tidal rivers linked with upstream Huangpu River. The study domain, is shown in
Figure 4. Part of the study domain showing finite element meshes and junction of 1D–2D models
is shown in Figure 5.

3.2 Simulation of hydrologic constituents

To simulate hydrologic constituents, such as tidal water elevation, discharge and velocity of the study
domain, the coupled 1D–2D hydrodynamic model is calibrated using measured data of Huangpu
River and the correlated tributaries from June, 1999 to August, 1999. Resistant coefficient is taken

597
 Huangpupu River
Huangpu River

Dianpu River
Dianpu River

Figure 6. Simulated coupled 1D flow of Dianpu River and 2D flow of Huangpu River (left: flood tide,
right: ebb tide).

as the basic calibration coefficient, the calibration results show the resistant coefficient in Huangpu
River ranges from 0.020 to 0.028, in other rivers of the study domain, it ranges from 0.020 to 0.040.
Based on calibrated results analysis, it is known the relative error between simulated and measured
water elevation is less than 10%; the relative error between simulated and measured discharge
is less than 20%. The calibrated results are satisfactory. In addition, simulated coupled 1D flow
of Dianpu River and 2D flow of Huangpu River during flood and ebb tide is shown in Figure 6,
this hydrodynamic pattern reflects complex coupled 1D–2D flow reasonably.In conclusion, the
developed coupled 1D–2D hydrodynamic model aiming at the very complex tidal rivers with
different spatial scale is scientific, it is a most effective tool for hydrodynamic simulation.

4 CONCLUSION

In this study, coupled 1D–2D hydrodynamic model depicting tidal water bodies with very complex
topography is presented. The developed coupled 1D–2D model is applied in tidal river network
region of Shanghai. Application of coupled 1D–2D model in tidal river network region of Shanghai
is successful, this proves developed coupled 1D–2D mathematical model for tidal rivers is scientific.

REFERENCES

Hangping Cheng & Zengcui Han 2002. 1-D and 2-D coupling model for thermal pollution and application.
Journal of Hydrodynamics (Ser. A) 17(6): 647–655.
Lahua Jin & Junfeng Xu 2004. Water Environmental Numerical Simulation and Visualization Techniques.
Beijing, China: Chemical Industry Press.
Minquan Feng et al. 2003. Two-dimensional plane water flow and water quality distribution in Boston Lake.
Journal of Hydrodynamics (Ser. B) 15(5): 91–97.
Shaoling He & Bingnan Lin 1984. Fractional steps method for 2D tidal flow computation. Journal of
Oceanography 6 (2): 260–271.
Thompson J.F. 1980. Numerical solution of flow problems using body-fitted coordinate systems, Computational
Fluid Dynamics. USA: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.
Xijun Lai & Deguan Wang 2002. 1-D and 2-D coupling numerical model of unsteady flow. Hydro-Science
and Engineering 2: 48–51.
Yuxiang Li & Yong Pang 2001. Hydrodynamic model for tidal river network in Pearl River Delta. Journal of
Hydrodynamics (Ser. A) 16(2): 143–155.
Zuxin Xu & Shiqing Lu 2003. Research on hydrodynamic and water quality model for tidal river networks.
Journal of Hydrodynamics (Ser. B) 15(2): 64–70.

598
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Hydrodynamic and transport modeling study in a highly

stratified estuary

Feleke Arega
National Research Council, US Environmental Protection Agency, Athens, GA, USA

Earl Hayter
US Environmental Protection Agency, Athens, GA, USA

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the preliminary results of hydrodynamic and salinity predictions
and their implications to an ongoing contaminated sediment transport and fate modeling effort in
the Lower Duwamish Waterway (LDW), Seattle, Washington. The LDW is highly stratified when
freshwater inflows are greater than 28 m3 /s; otherwise, the lower portion of the estuary grades into
a partially stratified type. The LDW is located in the heart of Seattle’s industrial area and numerous
industrial, manufacturing and combined sewer outfalls have contributed to contamination of the
waterway. The primary purpose of this hydrodynamic modeling was to test the capability of a
public domain, three-dimensional, hydrodynamic and transport and fate model in simulating the
highly stratified flow conditions in the LDW. Model predictions were compared with observed
water surface elevations, measured current and salinity distribution time series. The comparison
shows that the model reasonably reproduces the existing circulation patterns in the study area under
low to medium freshwater discharges, but over predicts the amount of vertical mixing under high
freshwater discharge conditions.

1 SITE DESCRIPTION

As seen in Fig. 1, the Lower Duwamish Waterway is an estuary located in the heart of Seattle’s
industrial area and flows north into the southeastern tip of Elliot Bay. Elliot Bay joins Puget Sound
on its western side. The LDW extends 18.5 km upstream from Elliott Bay to the Green River. It
is a heavily used shipping port and a significant habitat area for salmon and other wildlife. Boat
manufacturing and repair, marina operations, airplane parts manufacturing, metals fabrication,
combined sewer overflows and storm drains have contributed to contamination of the waterway.
The U.S. EPA added an 8 km reach of the LDW, in which contaminated sediments are found, to its
Superfund National Priority List in 2001 (U.S. EPA 2001). Most of the LDW is dredged for shipping,
with dredging extending upstream to the Turning Basin (see Fig. 1), located approximately 12.5 km
upstream from the confluence of the LDW and Elliot Bay. The water depths, relative to Mean Lower
Low Water (MLLW), in the dredged sections of the LDW vary from 15 m at the mouth to 4 m at
the 14th Avenue Bridge (9.5 km upstream). The LDW above the turning basin is not dredged, and
varies in depth from 1 to 1.5 m. Upstream tidal flow reversal has been observed in the Green River
21 km upstream of the mouth of the LDW. Average and spring tidal ranges in the LDW range are
2.3 m and 3.4 m, respectively. The LDW is highly stratified, with a well-defined salt wedge in the
dredged navigation channel when freshwater flows in the Green River are greater than 28 m3 /s;
when flows are less than 28 m3 /s, the lower 5.5 km of the estuary grades into the partially mixed
type (Santos and Stoner 1972). The upstream extent of the salt wedge is dependent upon freshwater
inflow to the LDW from the Green River and the tidal range. However, freshwater flows greater
than 128 m3 /s prevent intrusion of the wedge farther than 12.6 km upstream regardless of the tidal
range (Santos and Stoner 1972). Dye studies indicate that very little of the freshwater in the upper

599
layer of the estuary mixes downward into the saline-water wedge. Most of the mixing between
the saline and fresh water occurs at the interface of the two layers, when saline water is entrained
upward into the overriding freshwater layer (Santos and Stoner 1972). The net movement of water
in the saline wedge is upstream, as is typical for salt wedge estuaries.

2 MODELING OBJECTIVE

Protection of human health and the environment at sites that are exposed to contaminated sediments
are important, and yet remediation of these sites is usually extremely expensive. Modeling the
transport and fate of contaminated sediments is often one of the tools in assessing remediation
alternatives. Sites remediation efforts can be complemented by using contaminant transport and
fate models in assessing the effectiveness of proposed remedial measures. The primary purpose of
this modeling is to test the capability of a public domain transport and fate model in simulating
the highly stratified flow conditions in the LDW estuary. There has been various observational
(field) and modeling efforts to study the mixing and circulation pattern in the LDW (e.g., Santos
and Stoner 1972; Dawson and Tilley 1972; Harper-owes 1981; Parametric, Inc, 1999). However,

Figure 1. Location map of lower Duwamish waterway and observation stations.

600
there has never been any modeling work that used a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model with
a high-resolution grid of the LDW.

3 NUMERICAL MODEL

The numerical model employed in this modeling effort is the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code
(EFDC) (Hamrick 1992). Imhoff et al. (2003) evaluated public domain contaminated sediment fate
and transport models, and EFDC was one of the top ranked models. The EFDC model solves the
three-dimensional, vertically hydrostatic, free surface, turbulent averaged equations of motion for
a variable density fluid. The model uses a stretched, or sigma, vertical coordinate and Cartesian, or
curvilinear – orthogonal horizontal coordinates. The governing equations of the model are closed
by a turbulence closure scheme that relates turbulent correlation terms to the mean variables.
The EFDC model employs the Mellor and Yamada’s (1982) level 2.5 closure scheme. Dynam-
ically coupled transport equations for turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent length scale, salinity and
temperature are also solved. The EFDC model also simultaneously solves an arbitrary number of
Eulerian transport-transformation equations for dissolved and suspended constituents. For example,
equations describing the transport of suspended sediment, toxic contaminants, and water quality
state variables are also solved. Multiple size classes of cohesive and non-cohesive sediments and
associated deposition and resuspension processes and bed geomechanics are simulated.

4 MODEL APPLICATION

EFDC was configured to simulate salinity, velocity and water elevations within Duwamish water
way. Bathymetric data collected by the Washington State Department of Ecology and King County
were used to construct 1995 horizontal curvilinear–orthogonal grid cells (see Fig. 2). The grid
resolution is typically on the order of 20–150 m within the LDW and 150–400 m in Elliot Bay.
Figure 2 also shows the model domain and observation stations. Vertically, the model uses 10

Figure 2. Model domain and observation stations.

601
 4
3
2
mMLLW

1
0
1
2
(a)
3
270 272 274 276 278 280 282
4
Data
3 Model
2
mMLLW

1
0
1
2
3 (b)
270 272 274 276 278 280 282
Julian day 1996

Figure 3. Computed and observed water surface elevations at Seattle Ferry Pier station (a) and at the 16th
Avenue bridge within the LDW navigation channel (b).

stretched layers, each having an equal fractional thickness (i.e., 0.10) of the local water depth.
At the open water boundary at the mouth of Elliot bay, the model was forced by tidal time series
constructed using six harmonics constituents (M2, S2, N2, K1, O1, and P1), and a constant
vertical salinity profile of 31 psu. The forced radiation hydrodynamic boundary condition is used.
These boundary values were obtained from a previous EFDC model of Elliot Bay and the LDW
(Parametric, inc 1999) that used a coarser horizontal grid that did not resolve the navigation channel
in the LDW. The upstream boundary conditions in the Green River were defined by daily average
river flows and freshwater (zero salinity). Freshwater flows at the Green River open water boundary
were obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Auburn gage station. Wind forcing was
assumed to be spatially uniform and was based on NOAA observations at the Seattle Ferry Pier.
The model was cold-started for more than 60 days to obtain initial conditions for subsequent
hot-start simulations. Initial model calibration was performed by simulating Julian days 238–283
in 1996. A time step of 1.0 s was used. This period was characterized by low freshwater flows in
the Green River. Calibration of the hydrodynamic model was performed by adjusting the spatially
uniform bottom boundary roughness. Optimal agreement was obtained using a bottom roughness
height of 0.02 m. Figure 3 shows comparisons of model predictions and observed water surface
elevations at two stations, at Seattle Ferry Pier station at the mouth of the Elliot Bay (Fig. 3a)
and at the 16th Avenue bridge within the LDW navigation channel (Fig. 3b). As seen, the model
satisfactorily represents the propagation of tidal flow through the LDW. Figure 4 shows comparisons
of computed currents (Fig. 4a) and directions (Fig. 4b) toAcoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP)
data at station SBW (see Fig. 2) for even numbered layers (i.e., layers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10), with the bottom
rows showing the surface layer (layer 10) conditions, and the top rows showing the second layer
conditions. Similar comparisons were made at three other interior locations – Spokane Street Bridge,
the 16th Avenue Bridge, and the Duwamish Yacht Club (see Fig. 2); the agreements obtained were
similar to those shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Validation of the model was accomplished using data for

602
 80
60
cm/s
40 200

o
20
0
0
240 241 242 243 244 245 240 241 242 243 244 245
80
60
cm/s

40 200

o
20
0
0
240 241 242 243 244 245 240 241 242 243 244 245
80
60
cm/s

40 200

o
20
0
0
240 241 242 243 244 245 240 241 242 243 244 245
80
60
cm/s

40 200

o
20
0
0
240 241 242 243 244 245 240 241 242 243 244 245
80
60
cm/s

40 200
o

20
0
0
240 241 242 243 244 245 240 241 242 243 244 245
(a) Julian Day 1996 (b) Julian Day 1996

Figure 4. Computed currents (a) and directions (b) to Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data at
station SBW.

Julian days 283–342 in 1996. This is a period characterized by high freshwater flows in the Green
River, in excess of 28 m3 /s most of the time. The model correctly showed that the migration of
the salt wedge is controlled by the tidal range and freshwater flows. Figure 5 shows the model
predicted and observed salinity data at stations at Spokane Street (Fig. 5a) and the 16th Avenue
Bridge (Fig. 5b) for the surface and bottom layers. The model satisfactorily simulated surface
salinities; however, referring to the bottom layer profiles (plotted in the top panels in Fig. 5), the
model appears to over predict vertical mixing since the predicted salinities are substantially less
than the measured salinities. The predicted amount of vertical mixing is mainly dependent on the
turbulence closure model EFDC uses. Canuto et al. (2004) found that the Mellor-Yamada level
2.5 closure model yields too little mixing in stably stratified flows. Hilton et al. (1998) in their
modeling work to Boston Harbor reported that Mellor-Yamada level 2.5 closure model produce
several orders of magnitude smaller than common background values. However, this is in sharp
contrast to the results reported herein. Further investigation into this issue is needed. Furthermore,
low bottom salinity level predicted by the model at upstream stations, like the 16th Avenue Bridge,
suggests that the model under predicted the salt wedge intrusion length. The seawater intrusion as
a ‘wedge’ with high saline water did not reach those stations.

5 CONCLUSIONS

A three-dimensional flow and salinity model code of EFDC was applied to Lower Duwamish Water
way. The model results compare satisfactorily with observed water surface elevations, current
speeds and directions, and salinity distribution data. Preliminary analysis shows that the model
over estimates vertical mixing, at least during high freshwater flows, and, as a result, did not
satisfactorily capture the observed salt wedge intrusion in the navigation channel.

603
 Spokane 16 Avenue

30 30

25 25
Data
20 20 Model
ppt

ppt
15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0
300 305 310 300 305 310

30 30

25 25

20 20
ppt

ppt
15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0
300 305 310 300 305 310
(a) Julian day 1996 (b) Julian day 1996

Figure 5. Model predicted and observed salinity data at stations at Spokane Street (a) and the 16th Avenue
Bridge (b) for the surface and bottom layers.

Disclaimer: Although this work was reviewed by EPA and approved for presentation, it may not
necessarily reflect official Agency policy. Mention of trade names or commercial products does
not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

REFERENCES

Canuto, V. M., A. Howard, P. Hogan, Y. Cheng, M. S. Dubovikov, & L. M. Montenegro. (2004). “Modeling
ocean deep convection,” Ocean Modeling, 7, 75-95.
Dawson, W. A., & L. J. Tilley. (1972). “Measurement of salt-wedge excursion distance in the Duwamish river
estuary, Seattle, Washington, by means of the dissolved-oxygen,” Geological Survey water-supply paper
1873-D, U.S. Government Printing office, Washington.
Hamrick, J. M. (1992). “A Three-dimensional environmental fluid dynamics computer: Theoretical and com-
putational aspects,” Special Report No. 317 in Applied Marine Science and Ocean Engineering, Virginia
institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA. 64pp.
Harper-owes. (1981). “Duwamish waterways navigation improvements study,” Report # ADA098271, U.S.
Army of Corps of Engineers, Seattle District.
Hilton, A. B. Chan, D. L. McGillivary, & E. E. Adams. (1998). “Residence time of freshwater in Boston’s
Inner Harbor,” J. Waterway, port, coastal and ocean eng., 124 (2), 82-89.
Imhoff, J. C., A. Stoddard, & E. M. Buchak. (2003). “Evaluation of contaminated sediment fate and transport
models,” Final Report, U.S. EPA, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Athens, GA.
Mellor, G. L., & T. Yamada. (1982). “Development of a turbulence closure model for geophysical fluid
problems,” Rev. Geophys. Space Phys., 20, 851–875.
Parametric, Inc, (1999). “King County combined sewer overflow water quality assessment for the Duwamish
River and Elliot Bay”, Report, King County Department of Natural Resources, Washington.
Santos, J. F., & J. D. Stoner. (1972). “Physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the Duwamish river estuary
King County, Washington 1963–67,” Geological Survey water-supply paper 1873-c, U.S. Government
Printing office, Washington.
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (2001). http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/nar1622.htm

604
4.3 Hydrodynamic models – III
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Modeling water quality for Mu-Dan Reservoir in southern Taiwan

Chih-Chieh Young
Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

Jan-Tai Kuo
Department of Civil Engineering and Hydrotech Research Institute, National Taiwan University,
Taipei, Taiwan

Wen-Cheng Liu
Department of Civil Engineering, National United University, Miao-Li, Taiwan

Wu-Seng Lung
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA

ABSTRACT: Hydrodynamic and biochemical processes constitute an integral part of a reservoir.

Since these processes are dynamic interactions, a full understanding of them is required for water
quality simulations and management of a reservoir system. However, there has been a tendency
to focus on the rigorous development of ecological relationships in water quality modeling, often
at the expense of comparable rigor in characterizing hydrodynamic behavior. In this study, a 3-D
hydrodynamic model EFDC, coupled with a water quality model WASP was used to simulate the
water quality conditions in the Mu-Dan Reservoir in southern Taiwan. The model results show
reasonably good agreements between measured and computed concentrations of water quality
constituents. The coupling of a 3-D hydrodynamic model and a water quality model provides a
useful tool to predict water-quality conditions in the reservoir and further can be used to investigate
the effective water quality management strategies in the future.

1 INTRODUCTION

Reservoirs have been a key source of water for southern Taiwan. However, serious decline of water
quality in these reservoirs has become a concern for municipal water supply in that area. The
cleanness of water in the reservoir and the quality of water for public use are closely related. Water
quality models are being used as a tool to evaluate and understand the water quality conditions in
an effort to better manage such a resource. The purpose of this study is to develop a water quality
model for the Mu-Dan Reservoir, a small impoundment with little human activities, in southern
Taiwan. Field data were used to calibrate and verify the model. The model was then used to evaluate
various watershed management alternatives for the reservoir. The EPA’s EFDC code was used to
simulate hydrodynamics and its results were incorporated into the WASP model for real-time water
quality simulations.

2 THE SITE DESCRIPTION AND DATA COLLECTION

The Mu-Dan Reservoir, located in the southern Taiwan, is formed by the confluence of Ru-Reng
Creek and Mu-Dan Creek with a storage volume of 31.2 × 106 m3 . The watershed area is 69.2 km2
and the detention time is about 0.6 to 1.6 days during storms.
Compared with other reservoirs, the watershed of the Mu-Dan Reservoir has the smallest storage.
In the dry seasons, there is little rain and the storage volume declines. During the rainy and typhoon

607
Figure 1. Location of the Mu-Dan Reservoir.

145 25
Water ele.(m)
140 Inflow (10^6 CMD) 20

135 15
water ele

Inflow
130 10

125 5

120 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Number of days since January

Figure 2. The water elevation of the Mu-Dan Reservoir and its inflow.

seasons, the volume of inflow increases and the water elevation rises sharply. In general, the
water elevation ranges from 122 to142 meters. Figure 2 illustrates the dynamic variation of water
elevations of the Mu-Dan Reservoir and its inflow during the year of 2000 to 2001.
The major functions of the Mu-Dan Reservoir are irrigation and municipal water supply. The
monthly point source sampling and analysis have been carried out since 1999. There are three
sampling stations: at the outfall, the junction of Ru-Reng Creek, and the junction of Mu-Dan Creek
(Figure 3).

3 MODEL DESCRIPTION

The hydrodynamic model, EFDC developed by Hamrick (1992) resembles the widely used
Blumberg-Mellor model (Blumberg and Mellor 1987) in both the physics and the computational
scheme utilized. The model solves the three-dimensional continuity and free surface equation of
motion. The Mellor and Yamada turbulence closure scheme was implemented in the model (Mellor
and Yamada 1982; Galperin et al. 1988). The model uses stretched (or sigma) vertical coordinates
and Cartesian or curvilinear, orthogonal horizontal coordinates; therefore, it is easy to handle irregu-
lar boundary and bottom topography. The model uses a second-order accurate, three-time-level
finite difference scheme with an internal-external mode splitting procedure to separate the internal
shear or baroclinic mode from the external free surface gravity wave. The external mode solution
uses a semi-implicit scheme to allow large time steps which are constrained by the stability criteria

608
 Ru-Reng Creek
2

Mu-Dan Creek
Dam site

Figure 3. Map of the sampling points.

Figure 4. The 2-D spatial grid of the hydrodynamic model, EFDC.

of the explicit central difference or upwind advection scheme used for the nonlinear acceleration.
The model has been applied to a wide range of environmental studies.
The water quality model, WASP can be used to analyze a variety of water quality problems in a
diverse set of water bodies. WASP simulates the transport and transformation of conventional
and toxic pollutants in the water column. The WASP modeling system consists of two mod-
ules, DYNHYD5 and WASP5 that can be run together or separately. The hydrodynamic program,
DYNHYD5, simulates the movement and interaction of pollutants within the water. The latter pro-
gram is supplied with two kinetic sub-models to simulate two of the major classes of water quality
contaminants: conventional and toxic. In this study, the component for conventional contaminants,
EUTRO5 was used to address the eutrophication problem.

4 MODEL CALIBRATION AND VALIDATION

4.1 The linkage of the models

A 2-D horizontal grid was first configured for the hydrodynamic model using EFDC. The water
column was then divided into two layers in vertical direction. The inflows of the Ru-Reng Creek and

609
Mu-Dan Creek calculated from the inflow of the Mu-Dan Reservoir by the ratio of the watershed
area were used as the total inflows at the upstream boundary. The water elevation at the dam site
was used as the downstream boundary condition.
A depth-averaged 2-D grid was configured for the WASP model, with 24 segments in the
horizontal direction, to simulate the water quality conditions in the Mu-Dan Reservoir. The

Figure 5. The 2-D spatial grid of the water quality model, WASP.

Dam site Dam site

1.0
Amonia nitrogen (mg/L)

60.0
Chlorophyll a (µg/L)

measurement measurement
0.8 50.0
simulation simulation
40.0
0.6
30.0
0.4
20.0
0.2 10.0

0.0 0.0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Number of days since January 1, 2000 Number of days since January 1, 2000

Dam site Dam site

2.0 10.0
Nitrite nitrogen (mg/L)

measurement measurement
1.6 8.0
simulation simulation
BOD (mg/L)

1.2
6.0
0.8
4.0
0.4
2.0
0.0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0.0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Number of days since January 1, 2000 Number of days since January 1, 2000

Dam site Dam site

0.20
Total phosphorus (mg/L)

measurement 16
0.15 simulation measurement
DO (mg/L)

12 simulation
0.10
8

0.05 4

0.00 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Number of days since January 1, 2000 Number of days since January 1, 2000

Figure 6. Calculated and measured water quality variables at the dam site of the Mu-Dan Reservoir.

610
spatial and temporal-averaged hydrodynamic results were used to drive the water quality model,
WASP5.

4.2 Model results

The study is to calibrate and verify the model with the data of the Mu-Dan Reservoir from 2000 to
2001 and 2002 to 2003, respectively.

4.2.1 Calibration
The calibration of the model is based on the water quality data of the Mu-Dan Reservoir in the year
2000 and 2001. Figure 6 represents the comparison between simulation and field data of various
water quality state variables at the surface layer in the Mu-Dan Reservoir. The results reveal that the
concentration of chlorophyll a is higher in the summer due to the strong of sunlight and high water
temperature. In the summer of 2000, the concentration of chlorophyll a was 50 ppb, which might
be a partial phenomenon when sampling. Comparisons of water quality state variables calculated
by the numerical model and field data at the dam site show good agreement.

4.2.2 Verification
The water quality data of the Mu-Dan Reservoir in the year 2002 and 2003 were used to verify
the model. Figure 7 indicates the simulation and field data of water quality state variables at the

Dam site Dam site

50
Amonia nitrogen (mg/L)

1.0
Chlorophyll a (µg/L)

measurement measurement
0.8 40
simulation simulation

0.6 30

0.4 20

0.2 10

0.0 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Number of days since January 1, 2002 Number of days since January 1, 2002

Dam site Dam site

2.0 10
Nitrite nitrogen (mg/L)

measurement measurement
1.5 8
BOD (mg/L)

simulation simulation
6
1.0
4
0.5
2

0.0 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Number of days since January 1, 2002 Number of days since January 1, 2002

Dam site Dam site

Total phosphorus (mg/L)

0.20 16
measurement measurement
0.15 simulation 12 simulation
DO (mg/L)

0.10 8

0.05 4

0.00 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Number of days since January 1, 2002 Number of days since January 1, 2002

Figure 7. Calculated and measured water quality variables at the dam site of the Mu-Dan Reservoir.

611
surface layer in the Mu-Dan Reservoir. The model shows that the concentration of chlorophyll a
raises during the rainy season in 2002 and the summer in 2003 due to the strong of sunlight and
high water temperature.
With the model calibration and validation, the coupled model can simulate the seasonal changes
of water quality in the Mu-Dan reservoir, which can further serve as a tool for providing the man-
agement strategies. The detention time of the water can be estimated by means of dividing the
volume of the Mu-Dan reservoir by the outflow. Through the calculation, the detention time in the
Mu-Dan reservoir during the storm event is quite short. The detention time lasts at least a day and
it does not exceed a week. Thus, the concentrations of water quality in the reservoir are similar to
that at the upstream boundary due to the relatively short detention time.

5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

This study is to simulate the water quality conditions in the Mu-Dan Reservoir by coupling the
3-D hydrodynamic model, EFDC, with the water quality model, WASP. The water quality data of
the Mu-Dan Reservoir from 2000 to 2001 and 2002 to 2003 were used to calibrate and verify the
model. The model results show good agreements with observations. The concentrations of water
quality are similar to that in the upstream reach due to the relatively short detention time in the
Mu-Dan Reservoir.

REFERENCES

Blumberg, A. F. and G. L. Mellor 1987. A description of a three-dimensional coastal ocean circulation model.
Three-dimensional Coastal Ocean Models, N. S. Heaps, ed., American Geophysical Union, 1–16.
Galperin, B., L. H. Kantha, S. Hassid, and A. Rosati. 1988. A quasi-equilibrium turbulent energy model for
geophysical flows. J. Atoms. Sci., 45, 55–62.
Hamrick, J. M. 1992. A three-Dimensional Environmental Fluid Dynamics Computer Code: Theoretical and
computational aspects. Special Report in Applied Marine Science and Ocean Engineering, No. 317, The
Coll. Of William and Mary, Virginia Inst. Of Marine Sci., 40 pp.
Mellor, G. L. and T.Yamada. 1982. Development of a turbulence closure model for geophysical fluid problems.
Rev. Geophys. Space phys., 20, 851–875.

612
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A two-dimensional water quality approach in transient

flow modeling

Gh. Naser & B.W. Karney

Civil Engineering Department, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

M.S. Ghidaoui
Civil Engineering Department, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR

ABSTRACT: This study evaluates the benefits and computational efficiency of replacing the
traditional one-dimensional advection-dominated approach to water quality modeling in pipelines
during transient conditions by a two-dimensional approach that includes advection, diffusion, and
reaction phenomenon. More specifically, using a modified Vardy-Hwang model, a two-dimensional
hydraulic model for transient flow was further coupled with a two-dimensional advection-diffusion-
reaction equation for the concentration of individual constituents. The decay/growth of the
constituent was modeled with a first-order reaction term. To simplify the determination of the
turbulent shear stresses and to reduce the computational burden, a five-region turbulence model
was used to compute the velocity fluctuations. Using the fixed grid method of characteristics, the
governing equations for transient flow were integrated numerically, resulting in values of the flow
velocity and pressure head. Next, using an explicit/implicit finite difference schemes, the advection-
diffusion-reaction equation was discretized to produce a system of linear algebraic equations for the
unknown concentration corresponding to each node of the numerical mesh. A standard reservoir-
pipe-valve system was used to illustrate the analysis, with the transient flow was generated by a
sudden opening of the valve. The results of the numerical simulation for the model were compared
to those from available one-dimensional-based transient models. The comparison showed a signifi-
cant improvement in accuracy over traditional one-dimensional models, thus providing evidence
for the validity of the model.

1 INTRODUCTION

Transient flow is highly important phenomena that must be considered in the design of almost all
significant pipeline systems. The large pressures created by the transients can damage pipelines,
pumps and any other system elements, and the rapidly oscillating flows can re-suspend sediments
in the pipeline or draw external contaminants into the pipe, leading to the water quality problems
and posing a threat to safe drinking-water criteria. These considers in turn motivate the quest for
a greater understanding of the process of the deterioration of the water quality in the distribution
systems. As Clark (1998) and Haas et al. (1994, 1996) argued, disinfectants such as chlorine
are unstable agents taking part in chemical reactions with both organic and inorganic materials
carried by the water. They might also interact with the pipe-wall material and with the biofilm
attached to the pipe-wall. All these interactions change the chlorine concentration in the water,
which consequently may require additional disinfection.
Most water quality models of pipeline systems have applied a 1-D approach. Using a lumped
approach and a first-order reaction model, Rossman (1994) studied the consumption at the pipe
surface and Axworthy & Karney (1996) studied the role of dispersion. However, both these models

613
were based on a constant bulk-decay and wall-decay. Ozdemir & Metin Ger (1999) developed a
quasi 2-D water quality model and included dispersion and longitudinal advection. More recently,
Fernandes (2002) developed a transient 1-D water quality model including advection, diffusion,
and first-order reaction for constituent concentration.
A robust water quality model requires an accurate evaluation of the concentration of each con-
stituent at any point and at any time. Such a model must not only take into account the effects of
the chemical reactions, but also of longitudinal and radial advection and diffusion. To this end, a
2-D unsteady water quality approach is investigated here. Using a fixed grid method of character-
istics (FGMOC) for the unsteady flow equations and finite difference method for the water quality
portion, the flow equations are solved for velocity, pressure head, and concentration. Results are
then compared with those from a transient 1-D model.

2 TWO-DIMENSIONAL MATHEMATICAL MODEL

2.1 Water hammer model

The current mathematical representation of the turbulent flow begins with Vardy & Hwang (1991), a
model that discretizes the pipe into several hollow concentric cylinders. Consequently, the hydraulic
model was expressed as a quasi 2-D representation for the longitudinal continuity and the momen-
tum equations. Zhao & Ghidaoui (2003) modified Vardy & Hwang model by decoupling the
original flow equations into two sets; one for piezometric head and radial flux and the other for
axial velocity. As Zhao & Ghidaoui (2003) argued, the application of the modified scheme to real-
istic systems requires only a few minutes of execution time, a significant improvement compared
to hours needed for the original model. This smaller execution time makes the modified quasi-2-D
model practical for water hammer problems. Further details about the hydraulic model are given
in Zhao & Ghidaoui (2003) and Naser et al. (2004).

2.2 Water quality model

LeChevallier (1998) has argued that a clear understanding of the transport of disinfectants in general
and chlorine in particular, from the bulk flow into the biofilm at the pipe-wall is an important
prerequisite to water quality modeling. Two specific mechanisms are responsible for the decay of
chlorine. The first mechanism is due to the reaction between chlorine and organic/inorganic matter
flowing with the bulk flow; the second involves interaction between chlorine and the pipe-wall
material. In general, the rates of these two mechanisms depend upon many factors including flow
conditions, the material and age of the pipe, and the residual concentration of chlorine within the
water. Following the work of Rossman et al. (1994), Biswas et al. (1993) and Fernandes (2002)
first-order decay is again assumed in the current study. Therefore, using the mass conservation law
for the constituent, the following second-order parabolic partial differential equation in cylindrical
coordinate system represents the unsteady advection-diffusion-reaction equation (ADRE) for the
chlorine concentration:

in which x, r are longitudinal and radial coordinates (L), C is the concentration (ML−3 ) at point
(x, r) and time t, K is the chlorine decay coefficient (T −1 ), Jx and Jr are the mass flux in longitudinal
and radial directions, and U and V are the instantaneous velocities (LT −1 ) in longitudinal and radial
direction, respectively. The last two terms on the left side of (1) represent the advection of chlorine
throughout the pipe by the bulk flow and the first two terms on the right side account for the
diffusion of the chlorine toward the pipe-wall (radial direction) and along the pipe (longitudinal

614
direction). The last term in (1) represents the decay of the chlorine due to its reaction with organic
and inorganic matters in the bulk flow. As Rodi (1993) argues, it is assumed that the turbulent
mass transport was related to the gradient of the transported quantity (chlorine concentration in
this study) in direct analogy to the turbulent momentum transport. Hence:

in which u and v are the fluctuations of velocity components in longitudinal and radial directions
and c is the fluctuations of concentration of chlorine,  is the turbulent diffusivity (L2 T −1 ). The
bar-sign over the quantities indicates a temporal average.

2.3 Turbulence model

The Reynolds shear stress terms in the hydraulic model and the turbulent diffusivity of each con-
stituent within the flow could readily be calculated using the eddy-viscosity and eddy-diffusivity
concepts. In principle, the simulation model of this study can be used with any prescribed turbu-
lence model based on the eddy viscosity concept. However, to overcome the complexity in the
determination of the turbulent shear stresses and to reduce the computational burden, the standard
five-region turbulence model, initially proposed by Kita et al. (1975), was used to model velocity
fluctuations. This approach was justified to the fact that different mechanisms were responsible
for damping the turbulence along the pipe section. In fact, molecular viscosity was dominant in
the region near to the pipe wall (viscous sub-layer) while eddy viscosity was the main damping-
mechanism in the core region (close to the centerline of the pipe). Details of the turbulence model
are given in Naser et al. (2004).
According to Rodi (1993), using the Reynolds analogy between the mass transport and the
momentum transport, the turbulent diffusivity coefficient is closely obtained from the eddy-
diffusivity concept through the relation:  = υt /Sn where Sn is the dimensionless turbulent
Schmidt number and υt is the turbulent eddy viscosity (L2 T −1 ). As Rodi (1993) argued the tur-
bulent Schmidt number had only small variations across any flow and also from flow to flow.
Consequently, like many other models the turbulent Schmidt number was considered constant
throughout the study.

2.4 Boundary and initial conditions

To solve the water quality model, the chlorine concentration must be specified at the boundaries
(boundary conditions) and at the beginning of the simulation (initial conditions):
• Constant concentration at the upstream (inlet) section.
• No-flux boundary at the downstream (outlet) section.
• Biofilm effect at the pipe-wall and no-flux boundary at pipe centerline.
A constant concentration of the chlorine was assumed throughout the flow domain at the initial
steady-state (i.e., before the transient state occurs). Other approaches are clearly possible.

2.5 Numerical approach

Using the FGMOC and following Naser et al. (2004), the hyperbolic differential equations of
flow were converted into a pair of ordinary differential equations along the positive and negative
characteristic lines and then integrated numerically. A finite difference-based scheme, namely the
Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) approach, was used to integrate numerically equation (1). As
Ferziger (1981) argued, the ADI scheme provides an efficient numerical solution to the parabolic
differential equations using tri-diagonal matrices. Knowing the concentrations at the previous time

615
 Elev. 200 m
Elev. -100 m

Valve

Figure 1. Schematic of the example pipe system.

level (n) and using the finite difference scheme in both the radial and longitudinal directions, the
discretization of (1) for the next time level (n + 1) is divided into two half steps. For the first step,
the technique is implicit in radial direction but explicit in longitudinal direction, providing a set
of tri-diagonal equations for the unknown chlorine concentrations at each node at the intermediate
time level n + 1/2. For the second half step, the scheme is explicit in radial direction but implicit in
longitudinal direction, providing another set of three-diagonal matrices for the unknown chlorine
concentrations at each node at the time level n + 1. This cycle repeats over the whole simulation
period. Overall, the solution of these two sets of equations provides the unknown concentrations
at each node for the corresponding time level.

3 CASE STUDY

In order to assess the validity of the proposed model, a hypothetical case is drawn from Fernandes
(2002). Figure 1 depicts the system consists of a pipeline connecting two constant-head reservoirs.
The pipeline is 1000 m long, 1128.4 mm in diameter, its Darcy-Weisbach friction factor is 0.05
and the wavespeed is 1000 m/s. The water in the reservoirs is at 200 and −100 m for the upstream
and downstream reservoirs, respectively. The final steady-state flow rate (valve is fully open) is
2000 l/s. The head-loss coefficient of the downstream valve is Ev = 0.11547 m2.5 /s. The initial
steady-state chlorine concentration is zero throughout the flow domain. The system has no flow
initially (the valve is initially fully closed) but then the valve is suddenly opened to introduce a
transient state, during which 0.5 mg/l of chlorine was continuously supplied at the upstream end.
In addition, an overall bulk-flow decay coefficient is 0.0006 s−1 . For the numerical simulation, the
hydraulic time-step is 0.02 s and the water quality time step is 0.48 s.
To facilitate comparison between the 1-D and 2-D models, the concentration is averaged over
the cross-sectional area A:

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The system responses for the maximum and minimum pressure head along the pipeline are given
in Fig. 2 for both 1-D and 2-D model. Following the opening of the valve, the pressure wave was
created that travels through the system until it decays to the new steady state. The results of the
study shows that it takes approximately 25 s for the system to reach the 2000 l/s steady flow.
Figure 3 shows the wave front evolution for the average concentration through the pipeline
during the transient event based on the results of both the 1-D and 2-D models. Using the soft-
ware EPANET, steady-state analysis was also performed and the corresponding results indicated.
The excellent agreement between the converged numerical results and those of EPANET anal-
ysis generally confirms the validity of the simulation. Although there is an overall agreement

616
 300

Max. Head 1D Model

250
Pressure Head

200 Max. Head 2D Model

150

100
Min. Head 2D Model
50 Min. Head 1D Model

0
0 250 500 750 1000
x (meter)

Figure 2. Comparison between 1-D and 2-D models for maximum/minimum pressure head.

0.6
1-D Model
2-D Model
0.5
Average Concentration

0.4 steady state/EPANET

time=12 sec
0.3
time=96 sec
time=300 sec
0.2

0.1

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
x (meter)

Figure 3. Chlorine front evolution for chlorine concentration, comparison between models.

between the results of both models, the evolution is faster for the 2-D model. This highlights
the importance of the velocity profile along the section to the evolution. Splitting into the wall-
region and core-region (close to the centerline of the pipe), the fluid of each region (along a cross
section) moves with the same average velocity in the 1-D model, unlike in the 2-D model. The
no-slip condition makes the particles in the wall region travel slowly with a speed much smaller
than the average velocity. On the other hand, those in the core-region move faster with speed
much greater than the average velocity. It is the flow in the core-region that strongly dominates
the evolution of the chlorine concentration along the pipeline. The study shows that the system
requires approximately 600 and 400 s to approach steady-state for both the 1-D and 2-D models,
respectively.
The results of the 2-D numerical model for three typical chlorine concentration-profiles at the
section 20 m downstream of the higher reservoir are shown in Fig. 4. It is interesting that although
it takes approximately 25 s for the current system to hydraulically approach to 2000 l/s steady-
state flow discharge, it takes much longer time to reach the steady-state profile for the chlorine
concentration. This, in fact, is obvious from the large variations in the chlorine concentration-
profiles in Fig. 4. This is more obvious in Fig. 5, which shows the variations of average concentration
along the pipe within an hour-simulation of 2-D model.

617
 0.6

0.5
time=60.48 sec
Radial Distance

0.4

0.3
time=65.28 sec
time=79.68 sec
0.2

0.1

0.0
0.475 0.480 0.485 0.490 0.495 0.500 0.505 0.510
Local Concentration (mg/liter)

Figure 4. Concentration profile along the pipe cross section at x = 20 meter.

0.6

at x=20 m
0.5
Average Concentration

at x=500 m
0.4
at x=1000 m
0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
0 600 1200 1800 2400 3000 3600
Time (second)

Figure 5. Variations of average concentration with time; two-dimensional model.

5 CONCLUSION

The water-quality problems during the transient events were traditionally modeled consider-
ing only 1-D variations for not only hydraulic parameters but also for the concentration of
chlorine/constituent in time and along the pipeline. The main weakness of the traditional 1-D
models is that they ignore the variations in both velocity and concentration profiles during unsteady
states. Both these factors were considered in the present study. In other words, using the five-
region turbulence model, a 2-D hydraulic model for transient flow was further coupled with
a 2-D advection-diffusion-reaction equation for the concentration of chlorine/constituent. The
decay/growth of the constituent was modeled by the reaction term.
Overall, the study shows that although there is qualitatively excellent agreement between the
1- and 2-D models, the convergence of the 2-D model to steady state is much faster. The implications
of these finding to transient water quality simulation will be assessed in the next stages of this
modelling effort.

618
REFERENCES

Axworthy D. H., and Karney B. W., 1996, “Modeling Low Velocity High Dispersion Flow in Water Distribution
Systems”, Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 122(3), 218–221.
Biswas P., Lu C. S., and Clark R. M., 1993, “Chlorine Concentration Decay in Pipes”, Water Research, 27(2),
1715–1724.
Clark R., and Grayman W., 1998, “Modeling Water Quality in Drinking Water Distribution Systems”, American
Water Works association, Denver.
Fernandes C. V. S., 2002, “Water Quality Modeling in Pipelines Including the Impact of Hydraulic
Transient”, Ph.D. Thesis, Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Ferziger J. H., 1981, “Numerical Methods for Engineering Application”, Wiley, New York.
Haas C., Joffe J., Anmangandla U., Jacangelo J., and Heath M., 1996, “Water Quality and Disinfection
Kinetics”, Journal of American Water Work Association, 88(3), 95–103.
Kita Y., Adachi Y., and Hirose K., 1980, “Periodically Oscillating Turbulent Flow in a Pipe”, Bulletin of the
JSME, 23(179), 656–664.
LeChevalier M. W., Cawthon C., and Lee R. G., 1998, “Inactivation of Biofilm Bacteria”, Appl. Environ.
Microbial, 54, 2492–2499.
Naser Gh., Karney B. W., Nixon W., Ghidaoui M. S., and Brunone B., 2004, “A Quasi Two-Dimensional
Approach in Transient Flow Modeling”, 12th Annual Conf. of Computational Fluid Dynamics, Ottawa,
Canada.
Ozdemir O. N., and Metin Ger A., 1999, “Unsteady 2-D Chlorine Transport in Water Supply Pipes”, Water
Research, 33(17), 3637–3645.
Rodi W., 1993, “Turbulence Models and their Application in Hydraulics; A State of the Art Review”,
A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 3rd Edition.
Rossman L. A., Clark R. M., and Grayman W. M., 1994, “Modeling Chlorine Residuals in Drinking Water
Distribution Systems”, J. of Environmental Engineering, 120(4), 803-820.
Vardy E., and Hwang K. L., 1991, “A Characteristic Model of Transient Friction in Pipes”, Journal of Hydraulic
Research, 29(5), 669–684.
Zhao M., and Ghidaoui M. S., 2003, “An Efficient Solution for Quasi Two-Dimensional Water Hammer
Problems”, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, 129(12), 1007–1013.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Hydrodynamic and water quality modeling approach for a dynamic

lagoon system

A. Ekdal, M. Gurel, A. Erturk & A. Tanik

Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department,
Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey

ABSTRACT: In this study, a model structure has been developed to simulate the transport pro-
cesses and nutrient dynamics for a complex lagoon system situated in the southwest Mediterranean
coast of Turkey. All the tasks carried out can be summarized in three stages; data analysis and stud-
ies conducted prior to modeling operations, hydrodynamic/water quality modeling of streams, and
hydrodynamic/water quality model selection and preliminary model runs for the overall system.
The paper refers to a part of an integrated ecosystem modeling efforts for Koycegiz Lake – Dalyan
Coastal Lagoon system. The methodology developed here can be applied to other similar complex
and dynamic lagoon systems. WASP has been selected as the most appropriate water quality model
for Koycegiz Lake – Dalyan Lagoon System. The initial model runs were completed successfully.
All the operations prior to model calibration are completed, and calibration of the model itself is
an ongoing task.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Koycegiz Lake – Dalyan Lagoon System is situated in the southwest Mediterranean coast of
Turkey. The watershed of interest, shown in Figure 1, covers approximately 1200 km2 . It consists of

Namnam

Koycegiz Lake
Yuvarlakcay

Lagoon

Mediterranean
Sea

Figure 1. Location of Koycegiz-Dalyan Watershed and the sub-basins.

621
two subsystems, Koycegiz Lake with a drainage area of 1070 km2 in the northern part and Dalyan
Lagoon with a drainage area of 130 km2 in the southern part.
The channels of the Dalyan Lagoon connect the Koycegiz Lake to the Mediterranean Sea. The
system, especially the Dalyan Lagoon, is of complex structure and modeling it mathematically is
an outstanding challenge. The watershed of Koycegiz-Dalyan Lagoon is a mountainous region with
quite complex and variable land-use distribution. There are two main streams (one perennial and
one ephemeral) and eight smaller ephemeral streams feeding the receiving water system. The aim
of this study is to develop a methodology for a hydrodynamic and water quality modeling of the
lagoon system and to summarize the recent tasks carried out.
The study was carried out in three stages; data analysis and studies conducted prior to model-
ing operations, hydrodynamic/water quality modeling of streams and hydrodynamic/water quality
model selection and preliminary model runs for the overall system.
The first stage includes the following steps; determination of hydrodynamically homogeneous
water bodies/regions in the system, investigation of the hydraulic characteristics of the streams
discharging into Koycegiz Lake, investigation of the hydraulic and limnological properties of
Koycegiz Lake and investigation of sea water movements in the Dalyan Lagoon.
In the second stage water quality modeling studies were carried out for the two main streams,
Namnam and Yuvarlakcay. WASP/EUTRO (Wool et al. 2001) and QUAL2E-UNCAS (Brown &
Barnwell 1987) were run for the water quality simulations in the two main streams.
The third stage includes the mathematical model selection for Koycegiz Lake – Dalyan Lagoon
system, and preliminary model runs on simplified model networks for the overall system.
CE-QUAL-W2 (Cole & Wells 2003) and WASP (Ambrose et al. 1993) were used for the initial
model runs.
The entire modeling framework will be a component of a decision support system, which will
provide input data to decision – makers for the sustainable management of Koycegiz – Dalyan
Lagoon. The methodology developed in this study can be applied for similar model development
for other complex coastal lagoon systems as well.

2 DATA ANALYSIS AND PRELIMINARY MODELING EFFORTS

Determination of hydrodynamically homogeneous water bodies/regions in the system is import-

ant, during modeling a complex system with spatial differences. This approach is also useful and
applicable to assess estuarine trophic status or to develop dose – response relationships (USEPA
2001, Bricker et al. 2003). Regions with different geomorphology and hydrodynamic properties are
expected to have different transport properties such as advection/dispersion, retention time or mix-
ing and turbulent effects. Zonation of the lagoon system (Figure 2) was done using the bathymetry,
geomorphologic and salinity data and the locations of the monitoring stations (Figure 3).
Koycegiz Lake (Figure 4), which is the first region, is a stratified, moderately sized lake under
weak saline water influence compared to other regions in the system. The lake consists of two
basins, a large northern basin and a smaller but deeper south basin.
Water budget calculations of the Koycegiz Lake were done using the meteorological time series
obtained from the State Meteorological Works (DMI), and stream flow and lake water level time
series from the State Hydraulic Works (DSI) and Institute of Electrical Affairs (EIE), respectively.
The analyses of these data and water budget calculations are referred in Erturk et al. (2003a)
and Ekdal et al. (2003) in detail. According to water budget calculations, the retention times for
epilimnion and hypolimnion layers of the lake are about one year and a few decades, respectively.
The long retention times calculated for the hypolimnion were consistent with the results of another
study conducted by Bayari et al. (2000), where isotope analyses were used for the determination of
the water age. In that study, retention times for hypolimnions of the northern and southern basins
were calculated as 25 and 18 years, respectively. Data analyses on the inflow and salinity have
shown that a stable thermal and salinity stratification could be expected. Further data analyses
have shown that Coriolis effects, internal waves at the epilimnion/hypolimnion interface and wind

622
 St 0

St 4
St 3 St 1
St 2

St 15
St 5
St 14 St 13
St 6
St 7 St 8 St 12
St 9 St 10
St 11

Figure 2. Zonation of the system. Figure 3. Monitoring stations (Gurel 2000).

45 80
40 70

3
Volume 10 m
4
8 mm 35 60
16 12 m

6
20 m m
30 50
2
Area, km

25
40
24 m 20
15 30
10 20
5 10
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Bottom

Surface
18 35
16 30
14

3
Volume 10 m
25
Area, km2

12

6
10 20
m Area 8 15
m

6
m

4 8m
m
24 m

12
28 m

10
16
20

Volume 4
2 5
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Bottom

Surface

Figure 4. Bathymetry and morphology of the Koycegiz Lake.

induced mixing may gain importance according to meteorological conditions and runoffs. All the
related calculations were summarized in Erturk et al. (2003b). The results of these analyses were
utilized during the hydrodynamic model selection stage and at preliminary water quality model
segmentation.
Ten streams are flowing to the Koycegiz Lake. Two of them carry more than 85% of the total
flow from the watershed. The first one, Yuvarlakcay Creek is a small perennial stream with a length
of 21 km, average width of 10-20 m, depth of 0.5–1.5 m, and relatively higher slope of 1/100 to
1/200. The stream and its drainage area, that is 117 km2 , have been analyzed in stream reach and
sub-basin detail, respectively. The relevant data analyses are mentioned in detail in Erturk et al.
(2004). The second stream is the Namnam Creek, which has the largest watershed area of 604 km2 .
It has several branches spread to its watershed. These branches join to a main branch, which is
12 km long and 20–50 m width. Namnam watershed can be divided into two sub-basins; an upper

623
Koycegiz
Lake Mediterranean
Sea

Figure 5. Sketch of the two layer flow along the main branch of Dalyan Lagoon.

basin (80% of the watershed) which is drained by several branches in the upstream, and a lower
basin (20% of the watershed) which is drained by the main branch. The data analyses on daily
flows of the Namnam Creek indicated that there are rapid changes in daily flows within short time
periods such as days or weeks. For the Namnam Creek, the seasonal changes within a hydrological
year and yearly flow quantity differences between several hydrological years are also significant
factors (Erturk et al. 2003a).
As a result of data analyses conducted by Erturk et al. (2003b) for the southern part, Dalyan
Lagoon and its channels, it was concluded that there exists a two layered (surface and bottom layers)
flow (Figure 5). Barotrophy is the driving force of the surface flow, whereas the bottom flow is
baroclinic. The depth of the interface between these layers varies spatially and temporally. Further
data analyses indicated that the Dalyan Lagoon is expected to be well – mixed laterally, but on the
other hand, it is poorly mixed longitudinally and vertically.

3 USING STREAM WATER QUALITY MODELS FOR THE CALCULATION OF

NUTRIENT LOADS ORIGINATING FROM THE WATERSHED OF THE
KOYCEGIZ LAKE

Water quality modeling studies were carried out for the two main streams, the Namnam Creek
and Yuvarlakcay Creek. Due to structure of the streams, a one dimensional mathematical model as
given in Equation 1 was found to be appropriate for both of them.

Equation 1 is the one dimensional advection dispersion equation where, C is the concentration for
any pollutant, Ax is the cross section area, Vc is the velocity, Sc is the external pollutant load and
x is the distance. This equation states that the concentration changes of any substance along the
stream depend on advection, dispersion, and the processes and mechanisms for this substance in
the aquatic media. Since Ax , Vc and Sc vary along x, Equation 1 is solved for both streams using
the finite difference method.
The integration of uncertainty analyses was necessary during the water quality model develop-
ment for the Namnam Creek due to the complexity of the watershed characteristics and unstable
flows. QUAL2E-UNCAS code developed by USEPA was used to solve Equation 1 for Namnam
Creek. Monte Carlo simulation option built in UNCAS provides summary statistics and frequency
distribution for the state variables at user specified locations in the system. The method can be used
for complex numerical systems that have random components. Also, the validity of this method is
not affected by nonlinearities in the water quality model (Brown & Barnwell 1987). The Namnam
Creek water quality modeling study is referred in Erturk et al. (2003a).

624
Figure 6. Dalyan Lagoon transport/water quality model segmentation.

Uncertainty analyses were not conducted forYuvarlakcay Creek, since it has a stable flow regime.
Equation 1 is solved by QUAL2E, and then WASP/EUTRO 6.1 (Wool et al. 2001) was used for
dynamic water quality simulations. Details on the water quality modeling study of Yuvarlakcay
Creek are given in Erturk et al. (2004).
The results of stream water quality modeling studies indicated that pollutant loads are transported
to Koycegiz Lake without any significant decrease in quantity due to short retention times of the
streams. Thus, it was decided to calculate the transported nutrient loads to the Lake using integrated
watershed models for the future studies.

4 MATHEMATICAL MODEL SELECTION AND PRELIMINARY MODEL RUNS

It was decided to conduct modeling studies separately because of geomorphologic differences. The
studies were carried out for two systems, Koycegiz Lake is assumed to be a system and Dalyan Chan-
nel, Dalyan Channel Networks, two independent lakes and Iztuzu Region at the Mediterranean coast
are assumed to be the components of the other system (See Figure 2). WASP code was found to be
appropriate for transport modeling for both systems. EUTRO and Advanced Eutrophication Model
supplied with WASP software will be used for water quality and eutrophication modeling studies.
Inputs required by WASP are; model segment geometry, meteorological data, nutrient/pollutant
loads, mass transport coefficients such as dispersion coefficient, and flow rates through the model
segments. The complex geomorphologic structure of the Lagoon caused problems in hydrodynamic
modeling. Therefore, the hydrodynamic model development studies were initiated with simplified
systems and simple salinity mass balance approaches. The first model network developed consisted
of 49 model segments and 63 links between them for each layer (Figure 6).
Dalyan Lagoon has two receiving water boundaries, an upstream boundary connecting the
Lagoon to the Lake and a downstream boundary of the Mediterranean Sea. Inflows through the
upper boundary were estimated using water budget calculations for the Koycegiz Lake (Ekdal
et al. 2003) and saline water intrusion from the Mediterranean Sea was estimated to be between

625
 40 Measured 40 Measured
Salinity (ppt)

Salinity (ppt)
30 Model Result 30 Model Result
20 20
10 10
0 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Day Day

Measured Measured
50 50 Model Result
Salinity (ppt)

Model Result

Salinity (ppt)
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Day Day

Figure 7. Calibration of the Dalyan Lagoon transport model using salinity as a tracer.

7 to 20 m3 /s according to seasonal changes. Then, DYNHYD5 (Ambrose et al. 1993) model

coupled with a Lung O’Connor (Lung 1992) method was used for preliminary flow estimations.
The estimated flows were checked using the field data obtained from another monitoring study.
Modifications were made on an open source old version of WASP/EUTRO to make it capable
for salinity simulations. It is then that the model was run with the estimated flow rates from
DYNHYD5/Lung O’Connor method. The salinity results obtained from the modified EUTRO
were compared with the field observations (Figure 7), and were found to be consistent. The ver-
ified flows were used in initial water quality simulations. Dissolved oxygen simulation results
were obtained initially for model calibration period, which were compatible with the observed
data. Simulation/calibration studies for nutrients are still ongoing. CE-QUAL-W2 will be further
used for hydrodynamic modeling, and a hydrodynamic model linkage will be developed between
CE-QUAL-W2 hydrodynamic modules and WASP transport modules.
Studies for modeling the Lake have also started. Water quality results from the Lake outlet will
be used as the boundary concentrations for the Lagoon. It was determined that the hydrodynamic
and chemical characteristics of the Lake vary vertically (in the z direction). When the size of the
lake, morphology of the two basins, high retention time and two different boundary conditions
(streams and the Lagoon) are taken into consideration, it can be estimated that the hydrodynamic
characteristics could vary in the north–south direction as well. The first water quality modeling
study of the Koycegiz Lake (Ustun 1998) was done using a modified version of U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers WQRRS (Water Quality for River and Reservoir Systems, USACE 1978) code. The
outlet results obtained from this model were also used as boundary concentrations for the Dalyan
Lagoon model. In this specific study, however, CE-QUAL-W2 code based water quality model
development efforts have been initiated. A model network has already been developed, but the
model itself is not ready for producing water quality simulation results.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In this study, preliminary integrated ecosystem modeling studies were completed for the complex
Koycegiz-Dalyan Coastal Lagoon system. Results from the initial model runs were useful to better
understand the system. The estimated dissolved oxygen results compared with the field tests have
indicated that the dissolved oxygen concentrations were close to saturation values. This means that
temperature and salinity are the main variables controlling the dissolved oxygen parameters and it
is still not controlled by pollution/nutrient loads. Nutrient modeling results, which will be obtained
in the near future, will be helpful to eutrophication assessments or nutrient criteria development for

626
the Koycegiz-Dalyan Lagoon System. The model network constructed in this study can be further
developed for more detailed and complex transport models, if necessary. The study results also
indicated that WASP/EUTRO is applicable to complex coastal lagoon systems. The methodology
developed here can be applied to any other similar complex and dynamic coastal lagoon systems.

REFERENCES

Ambrose, R.B., Wool, T. & Martin, J.L. 1993. WASP5, User’s manual. US Environmental Protection Agency,
Environmental Research Laboratory, Athens, Georgia, GA, EPA/600/3-87-039.
Bayari, C.S. & Kurttas, T. 2000. Pilot Project on hydrologic, hydrogeochemical, geochemical and environ-
mental isotopic investigation of the lakes of Turkey: Koycegiz Lake. The Scientific and Technical Research
Council of Turkey, Earth, Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Research Group, Project No: 195Y039, Final
Report (in Turkish).
Bricker, S.B., Ferreira, J.G. & Simas, T. 2003. An integrated methodology for assessment of estuarine trophic
status. Ecological Modelling, 169: 39–60.
Brown, C.L. & Barnwell, T.O. 1987. The Enhanced stream water quality models QUAL2E and QUAL2E-
UNCAS: Documentation and user Manual, US Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Research
Laboratory, Athens Georgia, EPA/600/3-87/007.
Cole, T.M. & Wells, S.A. 2003. CE-QUAL-W2 A two dimensional, laterally averaged, hydrodynamic and
water quality model, Version 3.1. Instruction Report EL-2002-1, US Army Engineering and Research
Development Center, Vicksburg, MS.
Ekdal, A., Erturk, A., Gurel, M., Yuceil, K. & Tanik, A. 2003. Developing a computational framework for
estimating inflows to a coastal lagoon from its basin. In Sixth international symposium & exhibition on
environmental contamination in Central & Eastern Europe and the commonwealth of independent states,
Proc. intern. symp. on CD Rom, Prague, 1–4 September 2003.
Erturk, A., Gurel, M., Ekdal, A., Yuceil, K. & Dertli, B. 2003a. Application of Mathematical Modelling and
Uncertainty Analysis to a Stream for the Estimation of Nutrient Loadings Transported into a Lake. Asian
Waterqual 2003 IWA Asia-Pacific Regional Conference; Proc. intern. symp. on CD Rom, Bangkok, 19–23
October 2003.
Erturk, A., Gurel, M., Koca, D., Ekdal, A., Tanik, A., Seker, D.Z., Kabdasli, S. & Gonenc, I.E. 2003b.
Determination of Model Dimensions for a Complex Lagoon System-A Case Study From Turkey. In
J. Ganoulis & P. Prinos (eds.), XXX IAHR Congress Water Engineering and Research in a learning Society:
Modern Developments and Traditional Concepts; Proc. intern. symp., Thessalonica, 24–29 August 2003,
Greece.
Erturk, A., Ekdal, A., Gurel, M. & Tanik, A. 2004. Use of Mathematical Models to Estimate the Effects of
Nutrient Loadings on Small Streams. (accepted for publication in Fresenius Environmental Bulletin).
Gurel, M. 2000. Nutrient dynamics in coastal lagoons: Dalyan Lagoon case study. PhD Thesis, Istanbul
Technical University Institute of Science and Technology, Istanbul, Turkey.
Lung, W. 1992. A water quality model for the Patuxent Estuary. Final report submitted to Maryland Department
of Environment – University of Virginia.
USEPA 2001. Nutrient criteria technical guidance manual, estuarine and coastal marine waters. United States
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA-822-B-01-003.
Ustun, T.T. 1998. EGOLEM model for the water quality management of Koycegiz Lake. M.Sc. Thesis, Istanbul
Technical University Institute of Science and Technology, Istanbul, Turkey (in Turkish).
Wool, T.A., Ambrose, R.B., Martin, J.L. & Comer, E.A. 2001. Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program
(WASP), Version 6.0.0.12. User’s manual, United States Environmental Protection Agency, GA.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Analysis of water quality in Lake Ogawara using a coupled

hydrodynamic and primitive ecosystem model

S. Suzuki, S. Nishida and K. Nakatsuji

Osaka University, Department of Civil engineering, Osaka, Japan

ABSTRACT: In Lake Ogawara, Corbicula Japonica is a dominant bivalve and an important

fishery resource. Such a bivalve plays an important role in removing phytoplankton and detritus in
water, and contributes to the prevention of eutrophication. Lots of Corbicula Japonica, about 3,000
ton/year are taken out as fishery product in Lake Ogawara. In this study, we analyze the seasonal
and annual variations of water qualities based on the long-term observation data. Moreover, in
order to clarify the physical and biochemical processes in monthly and daily time scale, a quasi
3-D hydrodynamic model coupled with ecological model is applied. The model is developed
to consider the biochemical processes concerned the bivalve into the water quality model, that
calculates water temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a, inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous, organic
nitrogen and phosphorous, COD and DO. Each parameter for the calculation is determined based
on the observation data. The calculation results show that the distribution of chlorophyll-a is greatly
dependent on the habitat of Corbicula Japonica and that Corbicula Japonica’s purification restricts
the growth and habitat of itself.

1 INTRODUCTION

In a blackish lake, rich organic matters and nutrients are supplied from a river, and salinity is
provided from a sea. There exists a balanced ecosystem, and its stability greatly depends on the
nutrient cycle. On the other hands, the matter cycle depends on the ecosystem. Therefore, it is
important to understand the characteristics of the water qualities considering the ecosystem to
manage and preserve the water environment in a blackish lake.
Lake Ogawara is a blackish lake in the Takase River basin. Seawater intrudes into the lake
through the Takase River, during high tide. Salinity in Lake Ogawara keeps stable over the long
term. Nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous) inflow from upper 6 rivers, and are released from bottom
sediment, so that primitive production is active in the lake.
Bivalves play an important role in removing phytoplankton and detritus in water, and contribute
to the prevention of eutrophication. In Lake Ogawara, lots of Corbicula Japonica are living, and
about 3,000 ton are taken out as fishery product.
In this study, we analyze the seasonal and annual variations of water qualities based on the
observation data for ten years, and a 3-D hydrodynamic model coupled with an ecological model
is applied to clarify the physical and biochemical processes in monthly and daily time scale. More-
over, the model is developed to consider the effects of the bivalves on the biochemical processes,
and the influence of the water quality on Corbicula Japonica growth is analyzed, using a bivalve
growth model.

2 CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER QUALITIES IN LAKE OGAWARA

Lake Ogawara is located in the north Japan, and is connected with the Pacific Ocean through the
Takase River of about 6 km long as shown in Fig. 1. The surface-area is 63 km2 , and the mean and
the maximum depth are about 11 m and 25 m respectively.

629
 Approximately 12 psu salt water exists in a lower layer (under 20 m) through the year, and strong
stratification appears upper layer in summer.
In Lake Ogawara, the regular observations for water qualities have been conducted once a month
at the points shown in Fig. 1. From the observation results, it is found that DO and chlorophyll-a
indicate nearly 0 mg/L throughout the year in the lower layer, and that COD, T-P and T-N are almost
uniform in the upper layer. Figure 2 shows the results of the observations from 1985 to 1994.

N River mouth St.

Takase river

Takase bridge St.

0 No.I
No.J
Observatory Pacific Ocean
No.H
No.F
No.G

No.D No.E
20
No.A
15
10 No.C
5 No.B

0 5km

Figure 1. Bathymetric map of Lake Ogawara and observed points.

15 15
D=1(m) D=18(m)
DO(mg/L)

DO(mg/L)

10 10
5 5

0 0

40
Chl-a(µg/L)
Chl-a(µg/L)

30 D=1(m) D=18(m)
30
20 20
10 10
0 0

6.0 6.0
COD(mg/L)

COD(mg/L)

D=1(m) D=24(m)
4.0 4.0
2.0 2.0
0.0 0.0

2.0 2.0
D=1(m) D=24(m)
TN(mg/L)

TN(mg/L)

1.5 1.5
1.0 1.0
0.5 0.5
0.0 0.0
0.06 0.3
D=1(m) D=24(m)
TP(mg/L)

TP(mg/L)

0.2
0.04
0.2
0.02 0.1
0.1
0.00 0.0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
month month

Figure 2. Seasonal variations of water qualities (◦: observed value, -: average).

630
We show the results at the depth of 1 m and 18 m for DO and chlorophyll-a, and at the depth of 1 m
and 24 m for COD, T-P and T-N.
DO in the surface layer (1 m) shows the maximum value of 12–14 mg/L in March and the
minimum value of 6–9 mg/L in September. Also in middle layer (18 m), it shows a similar change.
From August to September, DO gradually decreases due to forming a thermocline. The annual
change of DO is not so large. On the other hand, DO is scattered in the middle layer especially
in the stratification season, because a depth of thermocline and an intensity of stratification are
different in each year. It is considered that such a variation of DO greatly affects habitat of benthos.
Results of Chlorophyll-a show that blooming happens in the surface layer in spring and autumn,
and happens in middle layer in spring. However, it has yearly gaps of 20 µg/L or more, because
blooming greatly depends on weather and rapidly occurs.
COD in the surface layer shows the same tendency as chlorophyll-a due to the influence of the
blooming. Environmental standard regarding COD in Lake Ogawara is 3.0 mg/L. The observed
data indicate the vicinity of the standard limit, so that the achievement of the environmental standard
depends on the generation of blooming.
T-N in the surface layer indicates the highest value in April and the lowest value in September.
On the other hands, T-P in the surface layer indicates very low values throughout the year with
exception of winter season. It means that Lake Ogawara is limited by phosphorous. In the lower
layer (24 m), T-P concentration is high from summer to autumn due to benthic release.
Thus, the water qualities in Lake Ogawara have high annual and seasonal variability, and they
also change vertically. In following section, we make clear clarify the physical and biochemical pro-
cesses in daily change, and the bivalve’s effects on water qualities, using a quasi 3-D hydrodynamic
model coupled with ecological coupled model.

3 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS

3.1 Numerical models

3.1.1 Water quality model
The major biochemical process and state variables in our model are shown in Fig. 3. Corbicula
Japonica preys on phytoplankton in water, excretes DIN and consumes oxygen by breathing. In
this study, these effects of Corbicula Japonica on matter cycles are taken into account as follows:

advection · diffusion
radiation
reoxygenation
temperature salinity decomposition
photosynthesis consumption
internal DO
COD
production respiration consumption
sinking
uptake uptake
DIP CHL-a DIN
decomposition

decomposition

mortality·
breath

excretion

advection extracellular release advection

benthic Release

benthic Release

· diffusion . diffusion
fishing Corbicula Japonica consumption
benthic release

DOP DON
death

mortality
sinking
sinking

extracellular
release

advection · diffusion

Figure 3. Schematic view of the ecological model.

631
where S(P): phytoplankton production term, S(DIN): inorganic nitrogen production term,
GP : primary production rate, DP : mortality of phytoplankton, γ: conversion factor for weight,
F: filtration rate of Corbicula Japonica, B: population density of Corbicula Japonica, α: conver-
sion constant (N/Chl-a), RN : decomposition rate, θON : temperature limitation factor, WIN : release
rate from sediment, θIN : temperature limitation factor and E: excretion rate.
We estimate a total amount of Corbicula Japonica by observation data (Ishikawa, 2001), and
assume that it is constant throughout the year. It means that an increase of Corbicula Japonica is
equal to the amount of taking out as fishery product.
The filtration rate of Corbicula Japonica is assumed to depend on water temperature based on
experimental results. For the consumption oxygen by breath of Corbicula Japonica, a formula
shown in Hamada and Ida formula is adopted.

3.1.2 Vertical one-dimensional model

Using the following one-dimensional model taken account of the lake bathmetry, seasonal variations
of water qualities are calculated.

We adopt a diffusion coefficient proposed by Yoon (1993), which is taken wind and stratification
effects into consideration. Heat balance across the surface is considered as a boundary condition.
Hindcasting calculation is made. From January 1st in 1993 to December 31st in 1994, we calculate
the water qualities (temperature, salinity, DO, chlorophyll-a, organic nitrogen and phosphorous,
inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous, and COD), considering boundary conditions for weather,
inflow and outflow. The amount of salinity intrusions into each layer caused by gravity current is
calculated by another model for the underflow. The amount of inflow loads from upper 6 rivers is
given in the surface layer.

3.1.3 Three-dimensional hydrodynamic model

To clarify the spatial structure of water quality, we make a 3-D simulation by using a 3-D hydro-
dynamic model coupled with ecological model. The applied hydrodynamic model is based on
ODEM (Osaka Daigaku Estuary Model) developed by Murota (1988). The computational domain
is 8.2 km × 5.8 km with grid size of 200 m × 200 m in the horizontal plane. The thickness of each
layer from surface to bottom is 0.8 × 1 layer, 0.2 × 2 layers, 0.8 × 1 layer, 1.0 × 21 layers, 3.0 × 1
layer; 26 layers in total. The calculation is started with observation data as initial conditions, and
inflow from the river, heat budget and wind are taken into consideration as boundary conditions.
The calculation period is from August 24 to September 7 in 1994.

3.1.4 Bivalve’s growing model

To estimate the influence of water quality on Corbicula Japonica growth, we adopt the growth
model for the bivalve.

Where, DWC : Carbon flesh weight, F: Filtering rate, AE: assimilation efficiency, R: consumption
by breath, G: consumption by spawning, and L: shell length. Calculated growth rates are compared
with observation results at the points shown in Fig. 1.

632
3.2 Calculation results
3.2.1 Seasonal variation
Figure 4 shows the comparison of the computed results of 1-D model with the observed data
for chlorophyll-a at the depth of 1 m and 18 m. The calculation results are good agreement with
the observed ones except the data at the depth of 1 m in summer. Because Corbicula Japonica
inhabits a shallow area and has actively-growing in summer, it is considered that the concentration
of chlorophyll-a in shore is higher than that in offshore. The observed data in Fig. 4 were obtained
in the center of the lake; so that the influence of Corbicula Japonica does not appear enough on
the data.
Figure 5 shows the seasonal variations of temperature, DO, chlorophyll-a, COD, and T-P calcu-
lated by the 1-D model. As for DO, the anoxic water mass with less than 3 mg/L reaches the depth
of 7 m in summer of 1994. It is considered that it is due to high stratification formed in the upper
layer, because this year is a record year for heat wave and drought. The high concentrations of
COD, nitrogen and phosphorous exist below the depth of 20 m throughout the year. From January
to April, the high concentration of nutrition is supplied to the upper layer from the lower layer due
to vertical mixing, and it makes a spring blooming in each year. The same tendency is also found
in the observation results. Because phosphorous is always short in Lake Ogawara, it is considered
that the nutrient supply from the lower layer plays a important role in multiplication.

25 30
20 D = 1 (m) D = 18 (m)
chl-a (µg/L)

chl-a (µg/L)

20
15
10
10
5
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
month month

Figure 4. Comparison of the computed results (-) with observed results ( ).

month month

month month

month month

Figure 5. Seasonal variations of water qualities (1993–1994).

633
3.2.2 Spatial and short-term variation
Figure 6 shows the results of water quality changes calculated by the 3-D model. Fig. 6 (a) and (b)
show the chlorophyll-a concentrations after seven days in the surface layer. (a) is the result in the
case of considering Corbicula Japonica, and (b) is the case of no Corbicula Japonica. It is found
that chlorophyll-a reduces in the northwest area and west shore in the case of considering Corbicula
Japonica, though there is little reduction of chlorophyll-a in center area. It can be concluded that the
distribution of chlorophyll-a concentration greatly depends on the habitat distribution of Corbicula
Japonica.
Figure 6 (c) and (d) show the distributions of T-P and COD concentrations after seven days in
the surface layer. The results are different from the results of chlorophyll-a, which is affected by
Corbicula Japonica remarkably. The concentrations are decreasing toward the downstream due
to the influence of the inflow load from upper rivers. Spatial distributions of water qualities are
dependent on the physical factor such as a flow scale and a lake size, and on the biochemical
factor such as a time scale of production and decomposition processes. It is considered that the
distributions shown in Fig. 6 remain stable even though they have seasonal changes.

3.2.3 Influence of water quality on Corbicula Japonica growth

Figure 7 shows the growth of shell length at the points shown in Fig. 1. The growth rate in the south
area is grater than in the north area, the difference in the shell length reaches about 10 percent

Figure 6. Distributions of chlorophyll-a (a) actual case, (b) no bivalve case, (c) T-P and (d) COD in the surface
layer.

(mm)
25 No. A
No. D
No. F
20 No. I
No. J
shell length

15

10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 (year)

Figure 7. Growth of shell length at each point.

634
after 6 years. The results suggest that primitive production in the surface layer is kept by nutrients
sourced from the river. The supplied nutrients are not so much compared with population of
Corbicula Japonica that the phytoplankton is short regionally in Lake Ogawara. It means that
Corbicula Japonica’s purification restricts the growth and habitat of itself.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The main conclusions obtained by this study are as follows: (1) The water quality has a tendency of
yearly variation, however it changes greatly dependent on weather condition. (2) In stratification
season, the multiplication of phytoplankton is suppressed due to the shortage of phosphorus in the
upper layer. In mixing season, phosphorus released from the bottom is supplied to upper layer to
cause the blooming. (3) The distribution of chlorophyll-a is greatly dependent on the habitat of
Corbicula Japonica, and the calculation result shows a low value in shallow area compared with the
center of the lake. (4) Corbicula Japonica’s purification restricts the growth and habitat of itself.

REFERENCES

Ishikawa, T., Tsuruta, Y., Nishida, S. and Narita, M. 2001. Salt Water Behavior Near the Exit of Lake Ogawara,
in Relation to the Breeding of Corbicula Japonica, The 21st IAHR Congress: 565–571
Yoon, J., Nakatsuji, K., Itoh, W. and Muraoka, K. 1993. One-Dimensional Thermocline Modelling in Enclosed
Coastal Seas. Proceedings of Hydraulic Engineering, JSCE 37: 325–330
Murota, A. and Nakatsuji, K. 1988. Internal Hydraulic Jump within Gradually Expanding Channel. The 6th
Congress APD-IAHR Proceedings: vol. 3: 33–40

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The research of plane two-dimensional eutrophication ecological

dynamics model in lake

Wang Yumin & Zhou Xiaode

Xian University of Technology, Xian, Shannxi, China

ABSTRACT: In this paper, firstly the author sets up the eutrophication ecological dynamics
model, which is simplified by system dynamics and the character in the model is determined
according to the monitored data in Bosten Lake. Finally the plane two-dimensional eutrophication
ecological dynamics model in lake is established to simulate the algae, TN, TP, which is proved to
be very similar to the monitored value.

1 INTRODUCTION

In China, Bosten Lake in Xinjiang is the biggest freshwater lake. It lies in Mongolia Bayinguoleng
autonomous, and it is the lowest region in the desert oasis – Yanqi basin. The area of the lake is
968 km2 (at water level: 1047.5 m), and the average water depth of the lake is 7.38 m. With the rapid
development of industry, agriculture and the population in Bosten basin, more and more pollutants
as well as nourishments such as nitrogen, phosphor and so on are discharged into the lake, which
leads to the growth of algae, the decreasement of transparency, the odour of waterbody that effecting
severely on water supply, tourism, agriculture and other aspects concerning with the functions of
the lake, which directly restricts the development of society and economy at Bosten Lake basin.
Eutrophication has been described as a very important environment pollution problem in water
pollution area in recent two or three decades because it has the characters of rapid development,
difficult to be controlled, slowly to recover and great harmness. So it arises the attention step by step
and becomes one hotspot of water pollution area. For comprehending the trend of eutrophication
at Bosten Lake, in this paper the author sets up the ecological model of eutrophication and tries to
find out how the lake eutrophication develops at Bosten Lake under different development aims.

2 ECOLOGICAL MODEL OF EUTROPHICATION

2.1 Model setup

According to Jørgensen’s study at Glumsoe Lake in Danmark in the 1970s, this paper sets up the
simplified ecological model of eutrophication. Jørgensen’s model divides phosphor at lakes into
phosphor of phytoplankton, ORG–P, dissolvable abiophosphor. Total phosphor includes organic
phosphor and inorganic phosphor, that is grain phosphor and dissolvable phosphor. Nitrogen system
in the water body can be divided into nitrogen of phytoplankton, grain nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen,
nitrite nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen. Total nitrogen includes organic nitrogen and three kinds of inor-
ganic nitrogen, namely grain nitrogen and dissolvable nitrogen (Zhang 1996; Dai & Wang 1990;
Huang 2001; Jin 2001).

2.2 Model solution

Based on the cycle of energy and substance of ecological system at lake, ecological dynamics model
of lake eutrophication has been set up. Therefore in this paper the author resolves these sets of

637
differential equations using system dynamics model. In order to simplify the model, the subsystems
of zooplankton subsystem and fish subsystem are ignored because the quantities of which are very
small. System dynamics model is shown in Figure 1. The air temperature is shown in Table 1.
The model finds the answer taking four steps longer – kuta method which has a lot of advantages
such as good stability, high calculate precision, etc.

2.3 Results
In order to solving this model, time step is day. Thus we can get the process of phytoplankton biology
quantity, total nitrogen, and total phosphor in one year. The simulation results of phytoplankton
biology quantity are shown in Figure 2. From Figure 2, we get the result that phytoplankton biology

Q3
NS Q2 P1
KD N2 N1 Q1
QQ P2 PS
BB PSR
SN P3
NSR SNR

N3 K6 K4

NMA PMA
LUL f
ND N4 UP
NMI UN S AA
PMI
T PER PE
NDR KP UPMA
KN UNMA
V P4
DD SA K5
Q4
T LOOKUP
UA
UAM NN PI
NCR PIR
RA MA DMU
NC N
RAM
PD NR
CA PC
PCR PDR
CAR

Figure 1. Ecological dynamics model of eutrophication in lakes.

Table 1. Perennial average air temperature at the monitored station in each month in Hejing.

Month 1 2 3 4 5 6
Air temperature (◦ C) −11.7 −5.7 5.1 12.6 15.1 22.8
Month 7 8 9 10 11 12
Air temperature (◦ C) 23.5 22.6 17.2 9.2 −0.5 −8.8

Figure 2. Simulation result of phytoplankton biology quantity.

638
quantity changes greatly: the quantity is large in high air temperature month (for instance in June),
while it is small in low air temperature month (for instance in January).
Total nitrogen of the lake simulation result is shown in Figure 3. From Figure 3 we can draw
the conclusion that the relationship among the total nitrogen, dissolvable nitrogen and nitrogen in
phytoplankton is very close, while gray nitrogen, nitrogen on the top of sediments can be ignored
for their concentrations are very low. Total phosphor of the lake simulate result is shown in Figure 4.
From Figure 4 we can draw the conclusion that the relationship among total phosphor, dissolvable
phosphor and phosphor in phytoplankton is very close, while gray phosphor, phosphor in the water
of sediments’ gap and changeable phosphor on the top of sediments can be ignored for their
concentrations are very low.

2.4 Model simplification

Based on above analysis, the model can be simplified considering only five subsystem as follows:
phytoplankton subsystem, dissolvable nitrogen subsystem, nitrogen subsystem in phytoplankton,
dissolvable phosphor subsystem, and phosphor subsystem in phytoplankton. Therefore there are
left five differential equations which match with each other. The consequence of solving these
equations is shown as follows:

Figure 3. Simulation result of total nitrogen in lake.

Figure 4. The simulation result of total phosphor at lake.

639
 Table 2. The result of parameter selection.

Parameter (µA )max (rA )max mA sA

Gridding area [1, 3] [0.01, 0.25] [0.01, 0.03] [0.01, 0.06]

Initial space step 0.5 0.03 0.01 0.01
Value 2.5/day 0.01/day 0.01/day 0.01/day
Parameter KN KP (UN )max (UP)max
Gridding area [0.2, 0.4] [0.02, 0.04] [0.008, 0.015] [0.001, 0.005]
Space step 0.02 0.01 0.001 0.001
Value 0.4 mg/L 0.039 mg/L 0.008/day 0.00235/day

Following the above consequence each equation can be solved turn by turn. Given the initial
value, biology quantity of phytoplankton, total nitrogen and total phosphor in various stages can
be solved.

2.5 Definition of parameters in the model

There are eight parameters needed to be defined: (µA )max , rA , mA , sA , KN , KP , (UN )max , (UP)max .
Since they match with each other, these five differential equations can not be solved. So reciprocal
of object function cannot be calculated by the method of fastest drop. So in this paper the author
solves the model by the method of gridding. The basic idea of gridding method is: first grids in the
calculation zone, then calculates the value on the grid according to the consequence, from which
select the minimum value, takes the grid point as the result of the first iteration, then adds points
near the grid point, grids again, the best point is the result of the second iteration, continues so on
until the distance of the grid is less than the given precision.The object function is the minimization
of the square sum between calculation value and actual value. The result of parameter selection is
shown in Table 2.

3 PLANE TWO-DIMENSIONAL WATER QUALITY EUTROPHICATION

ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS MODEL IN LAKES

3.1 Model setup

When setting up the plane two-dimensional water quality eutrophication ecological dynamics
model, three water quality factors of TN, TP and phytoplankton (algae) are selected to set up
inter-coupling ecological dynamics model. The plane two-dimensional water quality convection
diffusion equations are listed as follows:
a. CA Subsystem model of phytoplankton

640
Figure 5. Distribution chart of the concentration of algae in the end of June in 1996.

b. Nc subsystem model of nitrogen in phytoplankton

c. Ns subsystem model of dissolvable nitrogen

d. Pc subsystem model of phosphor in phytoplankton

e. Pc subsystem model of dissolvable phosphor

3.2 Model solution

Five water quality parameters are needed to solve the model. The solving consequence is corres-
ponding with that in 1.2, which is: solving the concentration of algae first; then the concentration of
nitrogen and phosphor; while these equations should be according to the consequence mentioned
before in each time stage. Limited by the length, details about solution are ignored.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Through solving the model, at the end of June in 1996 the concentration of algae is shown in
Figure 5. We can conclude that distribution of concentration field is basically corresponding with

641
the monitored water quality results, which shows that the answer of the plane two-dimensional
water quality eutrophication ecological dynamics model is relatively credible.

REFERENCES

Dai Shugu, Wang Yongyan. 1990. Apply in environmental chemistry of ecological model. Environmental
chemistry, 9(2):73–84.
Huang Yuyao. 2001. Inland waters pollution ecology – Principle and apply. Science Press.
Jin Xiangcan. 2001. Lake eutrophication control and manage technology, Chemical Industry Press.
Zhang Yongze. 1996. Improved research on lake ecological dynamics model. Chengdu Technology University
Journal. 2:1–7.

642
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The research of water environment capacities in lake – taking

Bosten Lake as an example

Pan Junfeng & Wang Yumin

Xian University of Technology, Xian, Shaanxi, China

ABSTRACT: By combining the two-dimensional flow-quality model, according to the principle

of adding, the water environment capacities of subregion are calculated. Taking Bosten Lake as
an example, the water environment capacities of CODMn , BOD5 , TN, TP and salinity are achieved
under the environment protect aim of 2010, which supplies the technical accordance for water
pollution protection in Bosten basin.

1 INTRODUCTION

In China, Bosten Lake in Xinjiang is the biggest freshwater lake, which lies in Bayinguoleng
Mongolia autonomous and it is the lowest region in desert oasis – YanQi basin. The area of the lake
is 968 km2 (at water level 1047.5 m), the average water depth of the lake is 7.38 m, which is not only
the end-result of Kaidu river and the surface water of YanQi basin, but also the upreaches of Kongque
river. Bosten Lake has a lot of functions including regulating the water resources of Kaidu river,
irrigating, supplying industrial and domestic water, ecological environment protection in the basin
and removing water to middle-lower reaches of Talimu river. Serious water environment problems
exist at Bosten Lake, for example the salty pollution accelerates due to agriculture water drained
into lake without any treatment, water level drops, water area shrinks, ecological environment
deteriorates, lake eutrophication, serious organic pollution, biology diversity destroyed. In this
paper, the author sets up the model of water environment capacity at lake, supplies the accordance
for local government so as to assure the sustainable development in Bosten Lake basin.

2 TWO-DIMENSIONAL FLOW-QUALITY MODEL

2.1 Model setup

Since the water depth is shallow relatively (average water depth is 8 m), the flow and the convection-
diffusion of pollutants in lake may be considered as two-dimensional shallow water subject, which
is expressed as follows (Feng Min-quan, 2003):

643
z is water level; H is water depth; u, v is the vertical average flow velocity in x, y direction;
" = 2ω sin ψ is Coriolis coefficient, reflecting the effect of prejudicial power earth rotation, ω
is the velocity of earth rotation, which is 2π/(24 ∗ 3600) radian/sec, ψ is the latitude; ρa is the
concentration of air; ρw is the concentration of water; w, w1 , w2 is the wind velocity and the wind
velocity in x, y direction, c is water quality concentration, unit is mg/l; f (C) = kHc, S is the fountain
and collection.

2.2 Model solution

First splits the region into grids of 59 × 49, transfers the irregular region on physical plane into
regular region on calculation plane by coordinate transform, then the flow field and concentration
field may be achieved by solving the model.

2.2.1 Decision of k values

In this paper, the author determines the pollutant coefficient by zero-dimensional dynamic water
quality model. The zero-dimensional dynamic water quality in lake is expressed as follows:

The solution of the equation is:

The initial concentrations C0 (the concentration in 1991) are shown in Table 1.

According to the data in Table 1, taking the object function as the minimization of square sum
between calculation value and actual value, factors which make the object function minimize is the
solution of k values.

ci,j is the calculation value of the jth pollutant in the ith year; ci,j
m
is the actual value of the jth
pollutant in the ith year.
After calculating the k values of pollutants are shown in Table 2.

Table 1. C0 values of pollutants.

BOD5 CODcr TN TP MR
C0 (mg/l) 0.53 6.29 0.78 0.018 1638.9
∗ according data, CODMn = 0.2521* CODcr.

Table 2. k values of pollutants.

BOD5 CODcr TN TP MR
k (1/a) 1.191 0.264 0.497 1.377 0.007

644
2.2.2 Wind direction, wind speed in different month
Known from literature, wind direction and wind speed operate important factors on flowfield,
in-out flow and concentration flow act almost no effect on flow field, while wind speed and wind
direction are different in each month, so the water environment capacities are calculated taking
month as calculation unit in this paper, the wind direction and wind speed are shown as Table 3.

2.2.3 Calculation results of pollutant concentration

The concentrations of BOD5 , CODMn , TN, TP, MR in January and June are shown from Fig. 1 to
Fig. 10.
Resulting from Fig. 1 to Fig. 10, the distribution of concentration is accordant with the con-
centration observed, so the simulation of model is effective, which is introduced to achieve the
environmental capacities of BOD5 , CODMn , TN, TP and salinity.

Table 3. The wind direction, wind speed in different month (unit: m/s).

Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Wind direction E E E SW ENE NW ENE E SW SW SW SW
Wind speed 1.2 1.4 2.6 2.9 2.8 2.3 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.9

Figure 1. BOD5 distribution in January. Figure 2. BOD5 distribution in June.

Figure 3. CODMn distribution in January. Figure 4. CODMn distribution in June.

645
Figure 5. TN distribution in January. Figure 6. TN distribution in June.

Figure 7. TP distribution in January. Figure 8. TP distribution in June.

Figure 9. MR distribution in January. Figure 10. MR distribution in June.

646
3 MODEL OF WATER ENVIRONMENT CAPACITY

3.1 Water quality protection aim

Standards must be decided before studying the water environment capacity, Bosten Lake is divided
into 4 regions according to the water body function, which is shown in Figure 11.According to“Water
Environment Protection Programming in Bosten Lake basin”, the water quality protection aim and
execution standard at Bosten Lake in 2010 is expressed in Table 4.
TN, TP, BOD5 , CODMn , MR are selected as the environment protection indexes system, water
quality indexes standard in 2010 are shown in Table 5 (Liu & Li 1999).

3.2 Water environment capacity model

The water environment capacity includes storage capacity and self-purify capacity. According to the
pollutant concentration at grid point calculated, water environment capacities at grids are calculated
by models as follows, by adding all the water environment capacities, the water environment
capacities at lake are achieved (Su & Liu 1992; Si et al. 2000; Yang & Yang 2002; Zhang &
Liu 1991).

Figure 11. The division of water function at Bosten Lake.

Table 4. The water quality protection aim and execution

standard of Bosten Lake in 2010.

Region Actual status (1996) 2010

B-1 III II
B-2 III II
B-3 III II
B-4 IV III

Table 5. The water qualities standard in Bosten Lake (unit: mg/l).

TN TP BOD5 CODMn MR

B-1 0.4 0.025 3 4 1000

B-2 0.4 0.025 3 4 1000
B-3 0.4 0.025 3 4 1000
B-4 0.4 0.05 4 6 1000

647
3.2.1 Storage capacity
The pollutant quantity conversation is expressed as equation (7),

Qin is inflow quantity, Cin is inflow concentration, C0 is the background concentration, Vi is the
capacity of grid; making C(i,j) = Cs(i,j) in equation (7), equation (8) is achieved.

In equation (8), m, n is the grid number in x, y direction; CS(i,j) is the water quality standard in
each zone.

3.2.2 Self-purify capacity

The model calculates the concentration C under the initial value C0 , as initial concentration Cx of
C = Cs cannot be calculated, but according to the principle of purify coefficient, we can achieve:

then

3.2.3 Total environment capacity

WEC = WEC1 + WEC2

Table 6. Environment capacities of BOD5 , CODMn , TN, TP, salinity in the whole year.

Water level Inflow BOD5 CODMn TN TP Salinity

frequency (%) frequency (%) (unit: 104 t) (unit: t) (unit: t) (unit: t) (unit: 104 t)

25 25 1.985 6251.23 613.33 1239.85 44.703

50 1.973 6248.41 613.33 1238.95 44.670
75 1.955 6243.9 613.33 1237.5 44.617
90 1.950 6242.86 613.33 1237.17 44.604
50 25 1.803 5724.9 561.37 1105.6 41.882
50 1.792 5722.18 561.37 1104.71 41.850
75 1.774 5717.83 561.37 1103.28 41.799
90 1.769 5716.82 561.37 1102.95 41.787
75 25 1.652 5283.71 517.8 993.55 39.486
50 1.640 5281.08 517.8 992.67 39.456
75 1.622 5276.88 517.8 991.26 39.407
90 1.618 5275.91 517.8 990.94 39.396
90 25 1.433 4643.34 454.41 836.4 35.921
50 1.422 4640.86 454.41 835.53 35.892
75 1.404 4636.9 454.41 834.15 35.847
90 1.400 4635.98 454.41 833.83 35.837

648
4 CONCLUSION

Through water environment model we can calculate the water environment capacity in each month
and the whole year. Limited by the length of this paper, only environment capacities of BOD5 ,
CODMn , TN, TP, salinity in the whole year are listed in Table 6.
According to the research result achieved by China Environmental Science Research Institute,
in 2010 the permitted loaded quantity of TN, CODMn , salinity is 650.71 t, 5664.48t, 41.585 × 104 t,
which is basically accordant with the calculation result in Table 6.So the model for environment
capacity in lake is effective. We can concluded from Table 6 that the water environment capacity
is effected by water level primarily, water environment capacity at different frequency water level
differs greatly, while inflow under at frequency has almost nothing to do with water environment
capacities.

REFERENCES

Feng Min-quan, Zhou Xiao-de et al. 2003. Two-dimensionalal plane water flow and water quality distribution
in Bosten Lake, Journal of Hydrodynamics, Ser.B, 5: 91–97.
Liu Wenxiang, Li Xijun, 1999. Study of water environment capacity in lake Bosten in Xinjiang, research of
environmental science. 12(1): 35–38.
Su junying, Liu shukun. 1992. Taihu water environment capacity research, Hydraulic Journal, 11: 22–36.
Si Quanyin, Ran Xinquan, Zhou Xiaode 2000. Regional water pollution control and ecological environment
protection research Beijing: Chinese environmental science Press.
Yang Wenlong, Yang changliang. 2002. Dianchi water environment capacity model research and calculation
results, Yunnan environmental science. 21(3): 20–23.
Zhang Yongliang, Liu Piezhe. 1991. Water environment capacity manual, Beijing: Tsinghua University Press.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Grey relational assessment of water quality and space diversity

analysis of pollution for coastal zone of Bohai Bay

Guoqiang Jiang, Jianhua Tao & Hongli Wang

Department of Mechanics Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

ABSTRACT: In present study, multilevel grey relational assessment model and space diversity
analysis model of water pollution have been set up for coastal zone of Bohai Bay. The status of
water quality for the coastal zone of Bohai Bay are assessed from 1995 to 2002 using multilevel
grey relational assessment model, and the space diversity characteristics of water pollution are
identified and quantified using space diversity analysis model.

1 INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the economy has developed rapidly around the coastal zone of Bohai Bay. As a
result, a large amount of wastewater discharged into Bohai Bay. Due to the continuous increase
in the pollution loads and its poor self-purifying capacity of the receiving waters, the ecological
environment of Bohai Bay has threatened and damaged. In order to improve the water quality,
restore the ecological environment and provide more decision information for the coastal zone
management. It is necessary to improve the precise of aquatic environment assessment and analyze
the space diversity characteristics of pollution (Arthur J. Hanson, 1998), (Jian Hua Tao, 2002).

2 METHOD OF APPROACH

2.1 The multilevel grey relational assessment model

The multilevel grey relational assessment model is the based on the grey relational degree analysis
among grey factors, grey relational degree can be used to show the similarity degree between
sample series and criterion series or reference series (Shi Xiaoxin, 1997), (Xia Jun, 1997). In this
way, it can provide the more rational assessment results, so this assessment model is suitable for
effects contrast and strategies selection in coastal aquatic environment restoration and management
projects. In addition, the model takes on the principal component analysis approach, which based
on monitor information, to distribute weight for the integrated evaluation in further condensed
level. It can conquer the subjectivity and simplicity on weight distribution owing to researcher
distributes weight or use mean weight value.

2.2 Space diversity analysis model of water pollution

The space diversity analysis model deals with the correlation matrix of sample series, extracts
principal factors, analyzes the correlation between principal factors and sample series (Harman,
1976), (Krijnen, 1996), and then performs Ward hierarchical cluster analysis (Anderberg, 1973),
which is based on the factor score of sample series to principal factor, to identify and quantify the
space diversity characteristics of water pollution.

651
 Sample and reference
series input

Calculate correlation coefficient between Normalization of sample and

sample and reference series reference series

Single-factor
Calculate correlation matrix
Calculate correlation degree between evaluation
sample and reference series

Principal component Output result of single-factor

Grey integrated analysis evaluation
correlation evaluation Calculate correlation variance degree

Output result of grey integrated Weight distribution and amend

correlation evaluation
Grey hypotaxis degree analysis

Output weight

Grey integrated evaluation

Output result of grey integrated

evaluation

Figure 1. Framework and function of multilevel grey relational assessment model.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 The integrated water quality assessment for the coastal zone of Bohai Bay
The study area in this paper lies in the west of 118◦ 03 36 of Bohai Bay offshore area. Twenty-two
water quality monitoring stations are set up here. Base on water quality monitoring data and use
multilevel grey correlation assessment model, we give single water quality indicators assessment
result in the coastal zone of Bohai Bay from 1995 to 2002 (shown in figure 3). It can be seen from
the figure that diaphaneity of water here is poor, and water quality level focus on 3.5–4.0. It also
can be seen that assessment result of inorganic nitrogen focus on 3.0–4.0, and nitrogen pollution
is serious relatively. Concentration of reactive phosphate exceeded the criterion in some years.

3.2 Space diversity analysis of Water pollution in the coastal zone of Bohai Bay
Twenty-two monitoring stations of 2002.8 have been acted as investigation unit to aquatic environ-
ment. Each monitoring station represents the different aquatic environment investigation unit, and
the ten water quality indicators of them compose a 22 × 10 original data matrix. The water sample
matrix is the base of carrying out space diversity analysis to aquatic environment. Base on these
water sample data, we can get the correlation coefficient matrix of the ten water quality indica-
tors and all the characteristic roots, eigenvectors, variance contribution rate PT and accumulative
variance contribution rate PCT.
The accumulative variance contribution rate of the first three factors is greater than 85%, which
means that maximize the variance in the original data that is explained by the first three factors,
so we can extract the three principal factor from original data, calculate the factor loading matrix,
and then perform an orthogonal rotation of factor loading matrix using a generalized orthomax
criterion.
The orthogonal rotation of factor loading matrix (shown in Table 1) describes the relation between
the principal factors and water quality indicators, and then ten water quality indicators are merged
into three principal factors. The cumulative percent of the total variance of first principal factors is
55.56%, which is dominated principal factor. The Salinity, NH3 -N, NO3 -N, NO2 -N, P, Hg and COD
constitute the first principal factor. The cumulative percent of the total variance of second principal

652
 Sample series input

Sample series

Normalization of sample series

Calculate correlation coefficient

matrix of sample series
Correlation coefficient Principal factor score Score of principal
matrix coefficient factor

Principal factor analysis the correlation coefficient

matrix and calculate principal factor loading matrix
Ward hierarchical
cluster analysis

Judge whether principal yes

factor loading matrix meet Principal factor loading
simple structure rule matrix

no
Rotated principal factor loading
matrix

Figure 2. Framework and function of space diversity analysis model.

4.5 Diaphaneity DO N P OIL COD pH

4
3.5
3
water qualit

2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
year
Figure 3. Scope of study area and location of
monitoring station. Figure 4. Single water quality indicators Assessment.

Table 1. Principal factor loading matrix after varimax orthogonal rotation.

Principal factors
Water quality
indicators 1 2 3

Salinity −.8111 .0152 −.3539

DO .0107 .9437 −.0089
NH3 -N .8246 −.2853 −.1553
NO3 -N .8819 −.3341 .1631
NO2 -N .9435 −.0859 .1859
P .9167 −.2896 −.1668
Oil .2491 .0649 .9219
Hg −.7575 −.3057 −.1027
COD .8418 .2268 .4115
PH −.3456 .6873 .5233

653
 Table 2. Principal factors score of twenty-two water quality monitoring stations.

Principal factors
Monitoring
stations 1 2 3

1 .854 1.904 .531

2 1.692 −1.325 −.123
3 1.291 −.372 −1.266
4 .874 −1.145 1.042
5 1.299 −.348 .235
6 1.072 .151 −.767
7 −.008 .309 .047
8 .244 −.123 .169
9 −.374 −.183 −.0936
10 −.207 1.813 −.489
11 −.125 1.879 −.980
12 −1.120 −.962 −.533
13 −1.220 −.433 .580
14 −1.219 −.153 −.637
15 −1.427 −.942 .489
16 −1.390 −1.109 −.548
17 1.539 −.864 −.629
18 −.453 −.918 .510
19 .252 .675 2.933
20 −.273 .660 1.704
21 −.394 1.081 −1.233
22 −.906 .403 −.100

Table 3. Cluster analysis to the monitoring stations.

Category Monitoring stations

A 12, 13, 15, 16, 18

B 7, 8, 9, 14, 22
C 19, 20
D 1, 10, 11, 21
E 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 17

factors is 22.36%, the DO and PH compose the second principal factor. The cumulative percent of
the total variance of third principal factors is 22.36%, the Oil makes up the third principal factor.
Farther, the principal factor scores of twenty-two water quality monitoring stations are calculated
(shown in Table 2), the principal factor scores can describe the degree and distribution of water
pollution. The investigation region which are covered by twenty-two water quality monitoring
stations is divided into five subregions of water pollution using Ward cluster analysis (shown in
Table 3).
In order to obtain water quality integrated assessment result, principal factor analysis has been
adopted to gain weights of each water quality indicators objectively(shown in figure 5). The figure 5
shows the concept that the more serious the pollution is, the more importance should be given.
Thereby utilizing grey identification model, we can identify grey integrated assessment result.
Figure 6 reflects change of water quality of near ten years in the coastal zone of Bohai Bay. From
1995 to 1999, water quality level is between 2.5 and 3.0, and water quality is poor relatively. After
1999, with the carrying out of partial sewage control measure and raising of environment protect
consciousness, water quality has got some improvement.

654
 0.25
Diaphaneity DO N P OIL COD pH

0.2
3

0.15 2.5
Weights

water quality level

2
0.1 1.5

1
0.05
0.5
0 0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
year year

Figure 5. Weight compare of indicators from 1995 Figure 6. Integrated water quality trend of the
to 2002. coastal zone of Bohai Bay from 1995 to 2002.

The subregion A comprises 12,13,15,16,18 five aquatic environment unit, the appears high value
in the negative axis of first principal factor, the water pollution characteristic presents that NH3 -N,
NO3 -N, NO2 -N, P, Hg and COD are main pollutants. The subregion B comprises 7,8,9,14,22
five aquatic environment unit, a majority of aquatic environment units appear low values in all
principal factors, it indicates that the water quality is good in the subregion B. The subregion C
comprises 19,20 two aquatic environment units, all aquatic environment units appear low values
in third principal factor, and all aquatic environment units appear low values in first and second
principal factors, the main pollutant is Oil. The subregion D comprises 1,10,11,21 four aquatic
environment units, all aquatic environment units appear high values in the positive axis of second
principal factor, it shows that the status of DO and PH are poor. The subregion E comprises
2,3,4,5,6,17 six aquatic environment units, a majority of aquatic environment units appear high
values in first principal factor, some aquatic environment units appear high values in second and
third principal factor, it shows that the pollution of this subregion are serious for all water quality
indicator.

4 CONCLUSIONS

1. Using multilevel grey relational assessment model to analysis the water quality in the coastal
zone of Bohai Bay. The results show the diaphaneity, inorganic nitrogen and reactive phosphate
are main pollutants, their concentrations over Class III of Sea Water Quality Standard.
2. Twenty-two water quality monitoring stations are served as aquatic environment investigation
unit. Space diversity analysis model is used to perform hierarchical cluster analysis to them.
According to hierarchical cluster analysis results, the coastal zone of Bohai Bay can be divided
into five subregions, each subregion embodies the different water pollution characteristics, this
information is help to find the causes of water pollution and make rational aquatic environment
restoration policy.

REFERENCES

Shi Xiaoxin and Xia Jun, Grey-mode identification model for water environmental quality assessment and its
application, China Environmental Science,Vol.17, No.2,1997, pp127–130.
Xia Jun And Hu Baoqing, A grey system model for predication trend change of urban waste water load, J.
Environmental Hydrology, No.5, 1997, pp1–10.
Arthur J.Hanson, sustainable development and the oceans, Ocean & Coastal Management, 1998(39),
pp167–177.

655
Jian Hua Tao, The eco-hydrodynamic environmental character of Bohai Bay, Second international workshop
on coastal eutrophication proceedings,2002, pp15–24.
Anderberg, Michael R., Cluster Analysis for Applications, Academic Press, New York, 1973.
Harman, Harry H., Modern Factor Analysis, 3rd. ed. revised, University of Chicago Press, 1976.
Krijnen, Wim P., Algorithms for unweighted least-squares factor analysis, Computational Statistics and Data
Analysis, Vol.21,No.2, 1996, pp133–147.

656
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Application of 2-D vertical model in temperature forecast of

Nuo Zha Du reservoir

Zhang Xian’e, Zhou Xiaode & Zang Lin

Xian University of Technology, Xian, Shaanxi, China

ABSTRACT: It is essential for water environment planning and protection that water quality is
predicted before larger scale hydroelectric engineering construction. Water temperature is founda-
tion of water quality prediction in reservoir. On the basis of 2-D hydrodynamic model, combined
with special hydrology, water environment, and meteorology condition, 2-D vertical flow and water
temperature model was set up, σ coordinate transformation was made along the vertical direction
so as to the variable area be changed into the regular one, and to the tracks of free surface and irregu-
lar topography boundary was followed. At last the model was used to forecast water temperature
distribution of typical year in Nuozhadu reservoir.

1 INTRODUCTION

The mathematical model to predict water temperature of reservoir has 1-D, 2-D and 3-D. In 1961,
J. M. Raphael first put forward quantitative calculate method which was based on hydrodynamics
and took into account thermal energy benefit-cost caused by convection current isolation, evapo-
ration, conduction. This method was first applied to some reservoirs in Colombia River, and the
result was very satisfied. In 1970s, the atmosphere of research on reservoir water temperature was
hot. The representative models were WIT and WRE, the former was introduced to our country in
1980s. Then many researches gradually enriched and modified it, making vertical one-dimension
model being perfected. Luo et al. (1997) made some researches on 2-D vertical turbulent flow
and water temperature and water quality coupled model about reservoir. Deng et al. (2003) made
some researches on the prediction of water temperature in Zipingpu reservoir. They introduced k-ε
buoyancy model to the description of water flow movement, and made model by coupled hydro-
dynamics equation with water temperature and water quality equation, and took account of the
inter-effects of water flow movement and water temperature and water quality distribution. Jiang
(2000) made the researches on river 2-D vertical unsteady flow water temperature and pollutant
distribution prediction model, considering the width variation of the river channel and the free
water surface variation in flood period, which suited to the simulation of non-constant questions.
In this paper a kind of new hydrodynamics model (Cao et al. 1994) and water temperature coupled
model were adopted, avoiding complicated k-ε equation and considering fluctuation of free water
surface.

2 MATHEMATICAL MODEL

Nuozhadu reservoir cross-section shape “V”, that are typical narrow deep river reservoir. It is
stratified reservoir according to index criteria method. Taking into account the effect of laterally
width on flow field and heat transmission, 2-D laterally averaged vertical hydrodynamics model
and water temperature were adopted to simulate water temperature distribution of reservoir area.

657
2.1 Hydrodynamics model
Since longitudinal dimension size is far larger than the width and depth of the water surface, the
resistance of two sides is the same, and the slippage is very small. The equation in the orthogonal
coordinate is as follows:

Continuity equation

Water level equation

Momentum equation

The variables are: u, w: x and z direction components of transverse mean velocity respectively,
B: river width, ξ: water lever, h: distance from river bed to base level, ρ: water density, ux , uξ :
coefficients of turbulent diffusion in x and z directions respectively.

2.2 Water temperature model

where, the variables are: σT : temperature Prandtl number, T : temperature, CP : water specific heat,
ϕz : solar radial flux through z plane.

2.3 State equation

Density difference of water body caused by the temperature variation, which lead to buoyancy flow
in vertical direction and alter flow field structure which also has an effect on the distribution of
water temperature and water quality. As to water body in normal condition, the effect of pressure
on density can be neglected.

where β: constant pressure coefficient of swelling, ρs , Ts : density and temperature in reference

state.

2.4 Boundary condition and initial condition

(1) Temperature boundary
Water body heat energy originate from the heat exchange in water-vapour interface which
also cause the reservoir stratify. Water surface boundary conditions reflect the heat exchange
between water surface and atmosphere, which can be described as:

658
 where the variables are: DZ : coefficient of heat diffusion, ϕn : water body’ net absorbent heat,
mainly includes radiation, evaporation and conduction. Heat flux through water surface is as
follows:

where ϕsn : net absorbed solar short wave radiation, ϕan : atmospheric long wave radiation, ϕbr :
water body long wave reflect radiation, ϕe : the loss of water surface evaporation. ϕc : heat
conduct flux.
(2) Hydrodynamics boundary
– Free surface:

where, the variables are: τwx : component of shear stress caused by wind in x direction, ρa :
air density, w: wind speed, uw : component of wind speed in x direction.
– River bottom:

– Up and down boundary:

When water lever hydrograph is available,

(3) Initialization condition

3 COORDINATE TRANSFORMATION OF GOVERNING EQUATION

The water depth vary with time and space, calculation area is variable. Through σ transformation
in vertical direction, calculation area can be regular area.

when Z = ξ, Z ∗ = 1; When Z = −h, Z ∗ = 0.

When calculated area converted into 0→1,we can let calculation trace free surface move-
ment, and fit free surface and boundary in bottom, but the equation needs alter. After coordinate
transformation, the new hydrodynamic equations are as follows:

659
Water temperature equation be changed:

4 RESULTS AND ANALYSES

The normal storage level of Nuozhadu reservoir is 812.0 m, and its backwater length is 210.0 km,
date-site elevation is 587.42 m. Coordinate transformation was adopted, to make calculation area
into rectangular area, and reservoir mesh is divided into 210 × 100 rectangular units. Nuozhadu
reservoir is still in the period of environment evaluation, according to the elementary design, the
elevation of water intake base plate of power station is 742.5 m. The reservoir water flows into
downstream through the power station intake.
Temperature monthly distribution in normal year were analyzed:
(1) In Figs 1, 2, 3, 4 the regime of water temperature distribution of January, May, September,
November were showed. From water temperature monthly distribution graph, we can see
water temperature trended homothermal in January, and the vertical temperature difference
was about 2◦ C. In May, temperature rose, inflow water temperature was low, at the same time,
surface heat flux increased gradually, upper water temperature increased greatly, but the bottom
one remained about 12◦ C. Water temperature gradient appeared in all vertical section, formed
obvious water temperature stratification. September was high temperature period, inflow water
temperature and air temperature reached the highest, but water temperature in bottom still
remained fixed. A big thermocline layer appeared between bottom low temperature layer and
homothermal layer. November was low temperature period, air temperature fell swift, but inflow
temperature was high, water body began to drop through diffuse heat to air, cold water sank
which made surface thermocline disappear, so the temperature difference diminished slightly
in vertical section.
(2) Figure 5 Compares discharge water temperature and inflow temperature after the reservoir was
built with dam site water temperature and air temperature before the reservoir was built every
month in normal years. The results showed that dam site water temperature and air temperature
change were the same by and large before the reservoir was built. And after the reservoir was
built the temperature hysteretic phenomenon was obviously, from March to September, the
discharge water temperature was lower than the natural condition. From October to February
of the next year, the discharge water temperature was higher than the natural condition.
In this paper, Nuozhadu Reservoir is under construction, Xinanjiang reservoir was chosen ana-
logy reservoir. Water temperature laws of simulation are identical for the distribution of Xinanjiang
reservoir. The results are verified and conclusions are reasonable.

660
Figure 1. Temperature equivalent curve in January. Figure 2. Temperature equivalent curve in May.

Figure 3. Temperature equivalent curve in Figure 4. Temperature equivalent curve in

September. November.

26
temperature value

24 inflow temperature
22
20 dam site temperature
(°C)

18 before construct
16
14 air temperature
12
discharge temperature
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
month

Figure 5. Outflow, discharge, dam site water temperature and air temperature.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, a averaged width 2-dimensional vertical water temperature model was developed,
and been applied to water temperature prediction in Nuozhadu Reservoir, and the results showed
that the reservoir took on stratified condition all the year round.

661
 Variable area could be regular area through σ transformation in vertical direction, which
accurately fitted free surface and undulate bottom boundary in reservoir.
Because water temperature before dam was in a state of stratification, the site of intake was
the key factor to decide discharge water temperature. And there was temperature lag in discharge
water temperature, and it have a great impact on water environment such as rare fish, irrigation
and domestic water.

REFERENCES

Cao Z.D. & Wang Y.H. 1994. Hydrodynamic sediment numerical simulation. Tianjin. Tianjin University Press.
Deng Y. & Li J. et al. 2003. Water temperature prediction research in Zipingpu reservoir. Water Resources and
Hydropower Engineering, (9): 50–52.
Jiang C.B. & Zhang Q.H. et al. 2000. A 2-D unsteady flow model for predicting water temperature and pollutant
in vertical cross section of river. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (9): 20–24.
Luo W.S. & Zhou Z.J. 1997. Vertical two-dimensional coupled model of turbulence-temperature-water quantity
reservoirs. International Journal Hydroelectric Energy, 15: 1–7.

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5 Water quality modelling

5.1 Water quality models

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Calibrating steady-state river water quality models with field data

C.C.K. Liu
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

ABSTRACT: In this study, a formula that separates the time-varying effect from observed dis-
solved oxygen (DO) data was derived. This formula calculates the steady-state DO profile along
a biologically active river by “filtering” out the time-varying effect from field-measured diurnal
DO curves along the river. As a result, both the model and the data used for its calibration are
completely in a steady-state mode, so that model parameters which represent relevant transport
and transformation processes can be determined properly.

1 INTRODUCTION

In river water quality modeling, parameters representing transport and transformation processes
must be estimated by intelligent interpretation of field- and laboratory-measured data. Once a range
of parameter values is estimated, the model with these values is solved to give the calculated water
quality conditions in the river, such as the DO downstream from wastewater inputs. The model is
considered calibrated when the calculated values are reasonably close to the observed ones. After
successful calibration, the model is subjected to a test with field data from an independent intensive
water quality survey conducted on the same river reaches. This is necessary to verify the model’s
predictive ability.
Steady-state models are popular tools for river water quality analysis and waste-load allocation.
A steady-state river water quality model calculates the spatial changes of DO along a river. However,
because the observed DO shows diurnal variation in a biologically active river, a serious problem
would occur in the calibration and verification of the model. Ignoring this problem has resulted in
many unsatisfactory river water quality modeling analyses. This research was undertaken to derive
a formula which filters out the time-varying component of the field-measured diurnal DO data and
thus allow reasonable model calibration.

2 MATHEMATICAL DERIVATION

A typical one-dimensional river water quality model takes the following form:

where
D(x, t) = DO deficit (g/m3 ), or D(x, t) = Cs −DO, where Cs is the DO saturation level
U = flow velocity (m/s)
E = dispersion coefficient (m2 /s)
L = in-stream biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (g/m3 )
R = rate of plant respiration (g/m3 /s), a constant

665
P(t) = rate of plant photosynthesis (g/m3 /s), a function of time only
k1 = rate constant of BOD deoxygenation (1/s)
k2 = rate constant of stream reaeration (1/s)

In a steady-state river, parameters of U , E, and L are functions of longitudinal distance x only.

The rate of plant photosynthesis shows diurnal variation and can be approximated by a sine curve
(O’Connor & DiToro, 1970) or:

where
Pm = maximum rate of plant photosynthesis
Tp = period of photosynthetic activity
φ = phase shift of photosynthetic activity
Equation 1 is a linear equation; therefore, it is possible to separate D into two components or:

where
Ds (x) = steady-state component of D
Dτ (x) = time-variable component of D
By separating DO into two components, Equation 1 becomes:

and

In a free-flowing river, advection is the dominant hydraulic transport process and therefore
dispersion can be removed, such that Equation 4b becomes:

It is noted that Equation 4c is the basic form of the popular sag equation derived by Streeter
and Phelps (1925). Satisfactory application of Equation 4c requires accurate determination of
parameters k1 , k2 , and U .
In a typical diurnal DO curve, two equilibrium points exist. At the nighttime equilibrium when
plant photosynthetic action is ceased and DO deficit is at its maximum or Dτ (t) = Dτmax , Equation
4a becomes:

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At the daytime equilibrium when plant photosynthetic action is the most active or P(t) = Pm and
the DO deficit is at its minimum or Dτ (t) = Dτmin , Equation 3a becomes:

DO maximum (Dmax ) and minimum (Dmin ) in a field-measured diurnal DO curve can be

expressed as:

and

The rate of plant respiration is relatively constant in a natural water body and has a simple relation
with the maximum rate of photosynthesis (Ruttner, 1963)

For a balanced ecosystem, the oxygen production by plant photosynthesis equals the oxygen
consumption by plant respiration or:

where
a = time of sunrise (h)
T = period of photosynthetic activity (h)
Thus, the constant C can be determined by the following equation:

On a typical summer day when a = 6 h and T = 12 h, Equation 9 gives a C value of about 0.3.
For a stream whose plant life consists of mainly algae, the C value would be close to 0.1 (Rutter,
1963).
Equations 6 and 9 can be solved simultaneously to yield:

Equation 10 determines the steady-state DO deficit in a biologically active river.

3 APPLICATION

An intensive water quality survey was conducted during July 17–21, 1978, for a 15-mile stretch of
the Canandaigua Outlet in central New York (Fig. 1). Diurnal DO variations were measured at 10
stream stations. Figure 2 shows the measured diurnal DO variation at two stations. Station 2, which

667
Figure 1. DO sampling stations in the Canandaigua Outlet survey.

is located just below a large wastewater treatment plant, had very poor in-stream water quality:
the DO was completely depleted in the early morning. At station 5, where the effect of wastewater
inputs was diminished, the DO was consistently higher than 5 g/m3 and was supersaturated in the
afternoon hours.
Equation 10 was applied to calculate the steady-state DO profile along the Canandaigua Outlet
(Table 1 and Fig. 3). The bars in Figure 3a show maximum, minimum, and average DO. The
calculated steady-state DO profile was used, along with other data collected during the intensive
water quality survey, in the calibration of a steady-state river model. The Canandaigua Outlet river
model was later used in a waste-assimilative capacity analysis and waste-load allocation (Liu and
Fok, 1983).

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 (a) Station 2 (b) Station 5

Figure 2. Observed diurnal DO curves at two stations in the Canandaigua Outlet survey.

Table 1. Determination of steady-state DO at stations in the Canandaigua Outlet survey.

Daily maximum DO Daily minimum DO Steady-state DO

Mileage
point* DO Temp. Dmin DO Temp. Dmax Ds Ave. temp. DOs
Station (km) (g/m3 ) (◦ C) (g/m3 ) (g/m3 ) (◦ C) (g/m3 ) (g/m3 ) (◦ C) (g/m3 )

1. Rt. 5 on Feeder 24.1 9.6 26 −1.5 6.6 22 2.1 1.92 23.0 6.658
Canal
2. Phelps Road 22.9 1.4 23 7.2 0.0 19 9.4 8.74 22.0 0.004
3. Castle Road 20.5 1.4 26 6.7 0.0 20.5 9.1 8.38 23.6 0.096
4. Chapin Bridge 17.8 8.2 25 0.1 0.9 23 7.7 5.42 23.3 3.118
5. Littleville 13.4 9.8 25 −1.5 5.3 22 3.4 2.83 23.2 5.721
6. Shortsville 11.3 11.9 26 −3.8 5.2 23 3.4 3.52 24.0 4.898
7. Manchester 8.9 11.4 26.5 −3.4 3.4 24 5.0 4.52 23.9 3.918
8. Rt. 96 Bridge 8.1 7.6 26 0.5 0.9 23.5 7.6 5.47 23.6 3.008
9. Port Gibson Road 4.1 14.9 26 −6.8 2.1 24 6.3 2.37 24.7 5.938
10. Clifton Spring 0 15.0 26 −6.9 2.5 23 6.1 2.20 24.3 6.166

* Mileage point is distance from Clifton Spring.

Note: Ds = steady-state DO deficit; DOs = steady-state DO.

4 CONCLUDING REMARKS

DO variations in a biologically active river are caused by a number of transport and transformation
processes, including advection, waste deoxygenation, reaeration, photosynthesis, and respiration.
Time variation of DO in a heavily polluted river reach is caused by waste deoxygenation, reaeration,
and photosynthesis/respiration. Therefore, the diurnal variation curve observed for a polluted river
is rather irregular (Fig. 3a). On the other hand, in a relatively clean river, diurnal DO variation
can be represented by a sine curve (Fig. 3b) A formula was derived by this study to separate the
time variation from an observed DO diurnal curve. The steady state DO profile thus derived allows
rational calibration of a steady-state river model for a polluted river, as both the calculated and
observed DO profiles are in a steady state. Because the primary production of a water body is

669
 (a) Observed DO (b) Steady-state DO profile

Figure 3. Determination of steady-state DO profile along the Canandaigua Outlet.

related to the time variation of DO (Chapra, 1997), the results derived by this study are also useful
for the study of the river primary productivity.

REFERENCES

Chapra, S.C. 1997. Surface water quality analysis. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Liu, C.C.K. & Fok, Y.S. 1983. Stream waste assimilative capacity analysis using reaeration coefficients
measured by tracer techniques. Water Resources Bulletin 19(3): 439–445.
O’Connor, D.J. & DiToro, D.M. 1970. Photosynthesis and oxygen balance in streams. ASCE Journal of the
Sanitary Engineering Division 96(SA2): 547–571.
Ruttner, F. 1963. Fundamentals of limnology. Canada: University of Toronto Press.
Streeter, H.W. & Phelps, E.B. 1925. A study of the pollution and natural purification of the Ohio River: III.
Factors concerned in the phenomena of oxidation and reaearation. Health Bulletin No. 146, U.S. Public
Health Service, Washington, D.C.

670
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Design of a river water quality modeling software for Turkish rivers

A. Erturk, A. Ekdal & A. Tanik

Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department,
Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey

A. Kucukballi
Uludag University, Engineering and Architecture Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department,
Gorukle, Bursa, Turkey

ABSTRACT: In this study, a water quality modeling software to serve for the special needs of river
water quality modeling studies in Turkey has been designed. The paper includes the preliminary
steps of developing the river water quality modeling software for Turkey. WASP5 has been selected
as the general transport model and necessary modifications are made and planned to make it more
compatible for Turkish rivers. Also a new 1D hydrodynamic modeling software is developed for
flow simulations on steep rivers. The study can be regarded as the initial step of developing a
water quality modeling software system, which is designed and optimized for the rivers of Turkey.
However, the ideas put forth for domestic rivers will be useful and applicable for rivers of other
countries with similar river properties and water quality problems.

1 INTRODUCTION

Turkey, forming a bridge between Europe and Middle East is a mountainous country rich in rivers
and streams. The country exhibits a significant ecological diversity that varies over short distances.
The European part, the Thrace Peninsula is topographically quite heterogeneous where as, the
Anatolian Peninsula consists of an inner high plateau with mountain ranges along the north and
south coasts. The plateau extends from west to Aegean coast, with many river valleys. The East
Anatolia is higher and comparatively more mountainous, the level of plateau itself reaching over
1700 m in the farther east part. From this plateau, the particularly high volcano mountains rise over
300 m. In the farther east, 5172 m high Agri Mountain (the highest mountain of Turkey) is situated.
Southern mountain range (Taurus) at the east curves round in an arc towards the South East Taurus
Mountain, embracing the outer plateau Fertile Crescent which is the northern extenuation of Syrian
Desert. In South Anatolia, the coastline is very steep. Throughout most of the Northern Anatolia,
the coast plunges steeply into the Black Sea. In the eastern part of the Black Sea region, mountain
range is high, continuous and close to the sea, rising at many points to over 3000 m. The west wards
of northern mountain range spread out, the general level of northern range falls off and the highest
peaks are set well back from the Coast. Several rivers cut their way onto the plateau (Tan 1995).
The shaded relief map of the country is shown in Figure 1.
The country has been divided to 26 river watersheds as shown in Figure 2. Because of the
topographical and geomorphologic properties, many rivers have reaches with high slopes. The
country faces severe deforestation and soil erosion problem, which in turn cause adverse effects on
water quality and utilization of water resources. Most of the Turkish rivers are very dynamic, and
there are significant spatial and temporal changes regarding both the hydrodynamic characteristics
such as flow rate, depth and flow velocity, and the water quality.
Mathematical modeling, which forms an integral part of the decision-making process for water
resources management, has been used since late 60 s as a tool in environmental science. Models

671
Figure 1. Shaded relief map of Turkey (GTOPO30 1996).

BULGARIA
BLACK SEA
GEORGIA
01
GREECE 02
ISTANBUL 13
MARMARA
SEA 22 23 ARMENIA
02 24
02 14

03 ANKARA
AEGEAN SEA

12
04
15
IRAN
05 11 21 VAN 25
IZMIR TUZ
LAKE
LAKE
06
18
07 16 26
10
20
09
08
IRAQ
17 19
SYRIA N
0 50 100 KM
MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Figure 2. The river watersheds of Turkey.

and simulations allow rapid evaluation of pollution in terms of cause and effect relationship. The
main advantage is that they enable current analysis of different future scenarios.
This article includes the initial steps of designing the river water quality modeling software for
Turkey to act as a valuable tool in water quality management studies aiming sustainability. However,
the same ideas will be useful and applicable for other rivers/countries with similar river properties
and water quality problems.

2 MODELING APPROACH

There are two strategies for developing mathematical modeling software. One is to develop a new
software with completely new sub-models, and the other is to modify existing modeling software
for specific needs. In this study, the second strategy has been considered. It has advantages, such
as building the model on an older but known, verified and reliable model.
There are many river water quality modeling software developed for general or specific applica-
tions. Most of them include several algorithms for dealing with specific situations. Some models
are found more successful than the others, regarding individual case studies. A detailed literature
survey was carried out to find applicable mathematical models, which could than be modified to
meet the specific properties of Turkish rivers. Following selection criteria have been used:
• The model should be applicable to rivers with highly unsteady conditions. The water quality
sub-models must be dynamic, and the computational network must be able to deal with dynamic
in-pool conditions; such as transient advection and dispersion or model segment volumes.

672
• The modeling software must be distributed with its source code to allow modifications, which
will be carried out in the project.
• The base model should be reliable and applied to other, preferably similar, river systems of the
world.
According to these criteria, WASP transport model has been selected as convenient to be applied
for the initial steps of the study. Version 5 (Ambrose et al. 1993) of the model meets these criteria.
WASP5 includes two water quality modules, EUTRO for conventional pollutants and nutrients,
and TOXI for toxic organic compounds. Both sub-models have been studied intensively and were
found to be appropriate for water quality studies in Turkey. Some modifications on WASP trans-
port routines were planned to make it fully compatible with some specific properties of Turkish
rivers. Besides, WASP has linkage possibilities to several hydrodynamic codes such as DYNHYD,
RIVMOD or EFDC.

3 TRANSPORT MODELING

According to the data analyses fulfilled within this and other studies conducted on Turkish rivers,
it has been found that they are usually shallow and their width are quite narrow compared to their
length. Many rivers in Turkey have usually high flow velocities and have irregular shapes with
curves and bottom irregularities. Based on these conditions, most of the Turkish rivers are expected
to be well-mixed laterally and vertically. Therefore, a one dimensional general transport and water
quality model as given in Equation 1 will be valid in most cases.

Equation 1 is the one dimensional advection dispersion equation where, C is the concentration for
any pollutant, Ax is the cross section area, Vc is the velocity, Sc is the external pollutant load and
x is the distance. This equation states that the concentration changes of any substance along the
stream depend on advection, dispersion, and the processes and mechanisms for this substance in
the aquatic media. Since Ax , Vc and Sc vary along river reaches (x direction), Equation 1 must be
solved using some advanced numerical methods such as the finite differences or finite elements.
WASP uses the finite difference method to solve the advection-dispersion equation. In WASP,
water and pollutant transport is assumed to occur through six flow fields: advection in water
column, pore water flows in the sediment bed, three sediment transport fields via particulate solids
settling/resuspension, and precipitation/evaporation.

3.1 Hydrodynamic simulations

There are three options provided by WASP for characterizing the advection through the water
column. The flows can be entered as net or gross flow time functions via model segments. The
third option is using a hydrodynamic model linkage. DYNHYD, RIVMOD supplied with WASP5
are appropriate for 1D river simulations. Both models, however, cause problems when applied to
rivers with high slopes. Numerical experiments carried out in this study have shown that the node-
link numerical scheme used by DYNHYD causes numerical instabilities and RIVMOD causes often
convergence problems when applied to rivers with high slope and supercritical flow conditions.
Other 1D hydrodynamic codes cause similar problems or they are not linked with WASP. As a
result, in this study, a new 1D hydrodynamic code was developed to fix these problems. The full
St.Vernands equations (Equation 2 and 3) were selected as the basis of the hydrodynamic model.

673
Equation 2 (continuity) and 3 (momentum conservation) are the one dimensional St. Vernands
equations where, Q is the flow rate, A is the cross section area, U is the velocity, g is the gravitational
acceleration, y is the water depth, Ix is bed slope in flow direction and If is the friction energy slope.
This equation states that the concentration changes of any substance along the stream depend on
advection, dispersion, and the processes and mechanisms for this substance in the aquatic media.
Since Ax , Vc and Sc vary along river reaches (x direction), Equation 1 must be solved using some
advanced numerical methods such as the finite differences or finite elements.
The hydrodynamic model solves Equations 2 and 3 using an explicit finite difference numerical
scheme. The explicit scheme is fairly unstable, but this problem has been overcome by incorporation
of a water mass balance condition when discretizing the continuity equation (Equation 2). This
approach has been explained by Olsen (2003) in detail.
So far, an experimental prototype of the hydrodynamic model code has been developed. The
code has several subroutines for both: linkage with original WASP and linkage with the modified
future version of WASP, which will be developed in subsequent studies. The prototype can only
simulate one branched systems. The hydrodynamic model, however, will support stream networks,
which consists of an unlimited number of reaches and branches.

3.2 Sediment transport

Turkey has severe soil erosion and deforestation problems, which result in high sediment loads
transported into rivers. The average erosion rate in Turkey is very high 0.5 mm top soil loss every
year, which is 6 times more than of North America, 17 times of Europe and 22 times of Africa (Gurer
2003). Significant sediment transport affects three important parameters: roughness coefficient,
amount of suspended solids transported by the river (suspended load), and transport of sediment
particles rolling, sliding and jumping along the river bed (bed load).
The roughness coefficient, which is very important for hydrodynamic simulation can be deter-
mined using many approaches such as velocity distribution, Manning’s formula, resistance of bed
forms, empirical and graphical analyses, Einstein’s approach, Engelund and Hansen’s approach,
Richardson and Simons’ approach, Yang’s approach and Senturk’s approach. Various formulas and
approaches for calculating the sedimentation velocity, bed load and suspended load have been pro-
posed by many researches as well (Simons & Senturk 1992, Yang 1996). The most important point
about these sediment transport related sub-models is that none of them is universally valid for all
river applications, and may produce results up to one or two orders of difference (Ozaydin 2003).
Senturk’s approach has been developed for calculating the variable resistance of rivers with move-
able beds and seems to be one of the most general applicable models for Turkish rivers (Darama
2003). The method was developed based on various engineering/scientific work and field studies
on Turkish rivers in late 70’s (Senturk 1977). Therefore, Senturk’s method will be the first method
for calculating the flow and bed form resistance, which will be incorporated into the hydrodynamic
modeling software developed in this study. However, since Turkish rivers have different charac-
teristics and variations along the main flow direction, other known flow resistance and sediment
transport sub-models will be incorporated to hydrodynamic model code as well, to give the user
more flexible possibilities in sediment transport modeling. A new model linkage will be constructed
between sediment transport sub-model results obtained from hydrodynamic simulations and related
WASP sediment transport flow fields (flow fields 3, 4 and 5).
Due to the lack of a reliable and consistent method for flow resistance and sediment transport
calculations, related modules of the river water quality modeling software designed in this study
will be under continuous development and enhancement. Till now, subroutines for various sediment
transport and flow resistance calculation methods have been developed. Their incorporation into
the hydrodynamic model code and validation requires a lot of coding work, which will be the
concern of successive studies.

674
3.3 Modifications on WASP5 transport module
WASP5 was developed under the old FORTRAN 77 programming language using an old version of
Lahey FORTRAN compiler. The original code contains many compiler specific commands related
to model user interface, which are not supported by the standard FORTRAN language. Therefore,
the program could not be recompiled on other compilers. Another inconveniency of the program
was that it supported fixed numbers of model segments, segment interfaces and time breaks in time
functions. However, the model must be recompiled for each system exceeding these fixed array
dimension limits. So far, all the non-standard codes used for model user interface development
have been removed from the original model code and the code has been converted to the newer
Fortran 90&95 standard, which supports the dynamic memory allocation, and therefore eliminates
recompilation needs for large river systems. The new code has been tested with the example WASP
input files supplied by CEAM (Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling) and several other input
files. Identical results were obtained by original and modified versions of WASP5.
Another important modification is planned for adapting WASP to Turkish rivers. WASP assumes
constant segment interface areas as exchange fields during the entire simulation. In most of the
Turkish rivers however, this assumption is not valid because of the significant water level changes
up to one order of magnitude during a hydrological year. The hydrodynamic model code contains
subroutines for calculation and output of river cross-section areas, which will be sent to WASP
program modified for this study via the new model linkage.

4 MODELING OF WATER QUALITY KINETICS

Turkish rivers face three major pollution problems; namely, nutrient and organic matter pollution
and related hypoxia/anoxia, toxic organic pollution arising from especially the use of pesticides,
and heavy metals. Many river reaches are heavily polluted by wastewater discharges from organized
industrial districts, municipal wastewaters, and agricultural runoffs containing nutrients and other
agrochemicals. Some river reaches receive secondary treatment effluents, which have on the same
order or even more flow rate than the river itself.
Streeter-Phelps model and QUAL2E (Brown & Barnwell 1987) and its modifications have been
used frequently in water quality modeling studies for organic matter/nutrient pollution in Turkey.
Streeter-Phelps model is a simple model with many limitations. QUAL2E and WASP/EUTRO
are widely used and reliable models, however they may cause model calibration problems when
applied to highly polluted rivers, where linear water quality kinetics are not always valid. This
problem was faced during the modeling studies on Nilufer Creek (Kucukballi 2003), a large branch
in watershed no 3 (Figure 2). EUTRO water quality sub-model is valid for most of the river reaches
in Turkey. In reaches, that are highly polluted by municipal wastewater discharges, where EUTRO
may cause model calibration and validation problems, River Water Quality Model No. 1 (Reichert
et al. 2001) will be used. This sub-model will be incorporated into WASP5 transport modeling
system.
WASP is supplied with a toxic organics sub-model called TOXI, which is based on EXAMS
model developed by United States Environmental Protection Agency (Burns & Cline 1982,
Burns & Cline 1985). A modified version of TOXI has been applied for modeling the mercury in
aquatic ecosystems. Results of a literature survey done on the applications of TOXI to many river
systems over the world indicated that it seems to be applicable to most of the Turkish rivers directly
or with minor modifications.
Many rivers in Turkey have reaches with severe heavy metal pollution. Most of the geochemical
models have capability of simulating the heavy metals, but they are reliable unfortunately for diluted
systems with low heavy metal concentrations compared to some river reaches in Turkey. Therefore,
a study on the applicability of aquatic chemical sub-models in high ionic strength media has been
initiated but not completed yet. The result of that study will be useful for heavy metal sub-model
development for the water quality modeling software designed in this study.

675
5 CONCLUSIONS

This study can be regarded as an initial step of developing a water quality modeling software
system designed and optimized for Turkish rivers that inherit certain regional characteristics as
briefly defined in the introduction section.
The methodology of modeling can be useful and applicable to rivers of other countries bearing
similar river properties such as high sloped mountainous rivers facing sediment problems and/or
highly polluted reaches.
A new 1D hydrodynamic modeling software is developed as an initial prototype, and decisions
concerning the changes on the advection-dispersion code that will be based on WASP5 are realized.
Besides, an experimental code has been developed for the modified version of WASP5.
It is important to note that subsequent studies must be conducted till the final design and
development of river water quality modeling software is completed. This article fulfills the initial
methodology of modeling approach, which covers the essential preliminary steps referred in the
paper. Such approaches are quite significant in the sense that they act as a guide to be followed in
similar modeling efforts in future.

REFERENCES

Ambrose, R.B. Wool, T. & Martin, J.L. 1993. WASP5, User’s manual. US Environmental Protection Agency,
Environmental Research Laboratory, Athens, Georgia, GA, EPA/600/3-87-039.
Brown, C.L. & Barnwell, T.O. 1987. The Enhanced stream water quality models QUAL2E and QUAL2E-
UNCAS: Documentation and user Manual. US Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Research
Laboratory, Athens Georgia, EPA/600/3-87/007.
Darama, Y. 2003. Flow resistance in streams. Lecture notes Chapter 5 in post-graduate course in sediment
transport technology, Genaral Directorate of Turkish State Hydraulic Works & UNESCO.
GTOPO30. 1996. Global topographic data of the world compiled in 1996. http://edcdaac.usgs.gov/
gtopo30/gtopo30.asp
Gurer, I. 2003. Erosion by water and sediment yield of a watershed. Lecture notes Chapter 4 in post-graduate
course in sediment transport technology, General Directorate of Turkish State Hydraulic Works & UNESCO.
Kucukballi, A. 2003. Determining the water quality in Nilufer Creek Watershed and investigation on some
parameters with QUAL2E model. M.Sc. Thesis, Uludag University, Institute of Science and Technology,
Bursa, Turkey (in Turkish).
Ozaydin, V. 2003. Problems related to open channels and channel design, Lecture notes Chapter 2 in post-
graduate course in sediment transport technology, Genaral Directorate of Turkish State Hydraulic Works &
UNESCO.
Olsen, N.R.B. 2003. Hydroinformstics, fluvial hydraulics and Limnology, 3rd edition, Department of Hydraulic
and Environmental Engineering, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, ISBN: 82-7598-
046-1
Reichert, P. Borchardt, D. Henze, M. Rauch, W. Shanahan, P. Somlyody, L. & Vanrolleghem, P.A. 2001. River
Water Quality Model No. 1, IWA Scientific & Technical Report No. 12, ISBN: 1900222825.
Senturk, F. 1977 Comparison of the formulas for determination of flow resistance of streams with moveable
bed and derivation of a new flow resistance formula. General Directorate of Turkish State Hydraulic Works,
Publication no. PR-638 (in Turkish).
Simons, D.B.& Senturk F. 1992. Sediment transport technology water and sediment dynamics, Water Resources
Publications.
Tan, A.B. 1995. Turkey: country report to the FAO international technical conference on plant genetic resource.
Leipzig 1996.
Yang, C.T. 1996. Sediment transport theory and practice, McGraw-Hill Civil Engineering Series.

676
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Simulation of water quality in networks of estuary

Z.Y. Mao, J.L. Wang & J.M. Ma

Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: A numerical method is presented for simulation of longitudinal distribution of CL−

in tidal-affected channel networks with strongly-mixing characteristics. By using the ELM method,
the convection-diffusion equation is spitted into the diffusion and convection terms. For convection
terms, the implicit characteristics method with accurate time-line interpolation is adopted. At
bifurcation, the three-dimensional equation is used together with Patankar’ power function. The
validation indicates that the proposed method is feasible and effective.

1 INTRODUCTION

Salt-water intrusion seriously affects the water quality of inland river. For the estuary with strong
tide, the tidal current mixes with fresh-water, making the hydrodynamic features complex. Just as
Huang (1995) pointed out that instead of forming steady saltwater wedge, there is a density gradient
in the longitudinal direction rather than in vertical direction. It is complicated to determine correctly
the longitudinal distribution of salt concentration influenced by both runoff upstream and tide
downstream, both are unsteady and in opposite directions. The flow field influences significantly
the longitudinal distribution of the salt. Usually simplified equations of continuity and momentum
used in flood routing have been applied for. Simplified methods generally have less accuracy and
lack desired generality. In addition, Mao (2003) found that upstream wave motions such as those
produced in the vicinity of tributary inflows cannot be accounted for by most simplified methods.
Various analytic solutions for longitudinal distribution of salinity have been proposed in order
to unravel the complicated mixing phenomena. Those analytic methods are simple in calculation,
but only suitable for the quasi-steady cases with rectangular cross-sectional shape. William (1997)
indicated that different from forming underwater sill, for narrow tidal-affected networks saltwater
intrusion may be treated as 1-D problem due to strongly mixing. In the solution of longitudinal
distribution of salinity, the numerical difficulty often occurs when advection transport is relative
strong. Mao (1997) pointed out that most of numerical procedures produce inherently non-physical
effects such as serious numerical diffusion and parasitic oscillations. In addition, although the
assumption of equal concentration at river-branch has been used, it produced much numerical
error, especially for streams with large difference concentration intersecting.

2 GOVERNING EQUATIONS

The following one-dimensional equations will be used in this model development, including
equations of continuity, momentum, salinity conservation and state equation, i.e.

677
in where x = distance; t = time; B = water-surface width; z = water level; A = cross-sectional area;
Q = discharge; n = Manning roughness; g = acceleration due to gravity; dC = depth to centroid
of flow area; ρ = cross-sectional average density.; C = cross-sectional average salt concentration
(ppm); V = mean velocity of flow; E = longitudinal dispersion coefficient.

3 VELOCITY-FIELD SIMULATION

A weighted implicit finite-difference scheme is used in this study to solve velocity field. As Fig. 1
shows, any variable f (x, t) and its derivatives are discretized as

where θ = temporal weighting factor; β = spatial weighting factor. Eqs.(1) and (2), on substituting
Eq.(5), can be written symbolically as followings, where z and Q are increments; coefficients
Hi , Bi , Ci , Di , Gi , Hi , Bi , Ci , Di and Gi are functions of known discharge and water level at jt.
The term ∂ρ/∂x is calculated by previous time-step value.
The resulting system of equations is solved using double-sweep method. A variety of internal
and outer boundaries encountered in tidal-affected networks have been discussed in details by
Mao et al. (2003).

4 LONGITUDINAL DISTRIBUTION OF SALINITY

The spatial-time-grid characteristics with space-line interpolation has been used widely, Fig. 2.
However recently the seriously numerical damping produced inherernly leads to derivation of time-
line interpolation method. According to the scheme concept the implicit scheme can be developed

t β∆x (1−β) ∆x
(j+1)∆t P
(1− θ)∆t
∆t + +
θ∆t C C
j∆t
∆x
i∆x (i+1)∆x x
D R E A R' C B
Figure 1. A weighted implicit finite-difference
scheme. Figure 2. Space-line interpolation scheme.

678
as follows. As Fig. 3 shows, the method of characteristics applied to salinity conservation Eq. (3)
and integration along the characteristic line PR result in

With first-degree Lagrangian polynomial, the intermediates and ξ may be written to be:

The second term of right-hand side of Eq. (8) can be rewritten as

By parabolical interpolating polynomial, each term of right-hand of Eq. (12) can be calculated as

With first-order forward difference scheme, the first-order derivatives can be calculated to be

in which e represents C, E and A respectively. With second-order central difference scheme, the
second-order derivatives can be calculated to be:

i−2 i−1 i i+1

tj+1 P
j+1
ξ∆t +
C
R
tj j

+
C
tj−1 j−1

R'
tj−2 j−2
xi−2 xi−1 xi xi+1

Figure 3. Time-line interpolation scheme.

679
 N
y
W n

w P e
x

s E

Figure 4. Control volume at bifurcation.

With two boundary conditions, a system of two (N-1) linear equations involving 2N unknowns
results. The resulting system of equations is solved using the Newton’s iteration method.
The equation for 3-D advection-diffusion process at the branch can be expressed as

in which u, v and w=velocity component in x, y and z respectively; Jx = ρCu − E∂C/∂x,

Jy = ρCv − E∂C/∂y, Jz = ρCw − E∂C/∂z. Using symbol t and b for “top” and “bottom” sur-
face respectively along z direction (water depth), integration of Eq. (13) within control volume,
shade part in Fig. 4, results in

The first term at the left-hand side of Eq. (14) can be expressed implicitly to be

whereVP (= x × y × z) is the control volume known when water lever known. Using Gauss
formula, the second term at the left-hand side of Eq. (14) can be transformed to be

Combination of Eq. (15) with (16) results in

Similarly, integration of continuity equation over control volume results in

680
 Yingyang
gate

rus ter
*
21

ion
int awa
Dongjiang 3

Se
gate
4
Hongqi 5 YUBEI PLAIN
gate 6
7
Xinsanjiang
8* R
gate Huangjia di un
gate rec of
Mahai
9
11 *
12 13 16 tio f
n
Dazhai 17
gate 10 15
Sangpendian 14 18 CAOE RIVER
20
19 21
22
23
Wujiadu 24
XIAOSHAO PLAIN Tangjiao ship lock 25*
Baiguan
26
P4 P6
N Caoe Daku ship lock
P2 27
A1 A2 29* 28
W E 31 Gaoba
P5 32 30
B i−1 i P1 A P3 * measurement taken 33
Shangpu gate
3 S 34*

Figure 5. River networks sketch. Figure 6. Sketch of CARO river.

Combining Eqs. (17) with (18), and application of power function proposed by Patankar (1980)
yields

j+1
where CP = variable nearby P; subscript k = e, n, w, s, t, b respectively.
For the networks shown in Fig. 5, using one-dimensional model for the stream between junctions,
and three-dimensional model for the bifurcation. Usually only the variables at external boundaries
are known. By relating Ck nearby P with either external known boundaries or variables at next
bifurcation, the bifurcation equations can therefore be established, which only consist of water-
quality variables at bifurcations, eliminating all the intermediate unknowns between bifurcations.
As indicated in Fig. 5, the concentrations at node A1 , A2 and A3 , adjacent to P1 can be expressed
in terms of the concentrations at both ends of the reach, i.e.

Substituting Eq. (20) into Eq. (19) results in relationship of unknowns for adjacent bifurcation

After each bifurcational condition is solved, the intermediate unknowns can be easily determined
accordingly.

5 MODEL TEST

The numerical model presented was examined by field data of tidal reach, CAOE River, downstream
of the Hang-Yong canal with total length of 65km, Fig. 6. At the upstream boundary of numerical
simulation, i.e. at Yingyang, both the variation of tidal level with time z(x = 0) = f1 (t) and the
variation of chlorinity CL− with tidal level C(0, t) = f2 (z) were given. Downstream the runoff-
curve at Shangpu Gate was known (Zhejiang estuary institute, 2002) Fig. 7 gives comparison of
both measured tidal level and chlorinity with calculations at three cross sections. It is obvious that
the comparison between field data and prediction is reasonable.

681
Figure 7. Comparison of simulation with measurement.

6 CONCLUSION

A numerical method for simulation of water quality in tidal-affected networks is proposed. By using
the Eulerian-Lagrangian combined method, the convection-diffusion equation is spitted into the
diffusion terms and convection terms. For convection term, the implicit method of characteristics
using time-line interpolation with high accuracy is adopted. While for the diffusion term the
conventional finite-difference method is used. At bifurcation, the three-dimensional convection-
diffusion equation is integrated within the junction control volume. The power function proposed
by Patankar is used to describe the interpolation distribution of the variables, resulting in a new
difference equation. The validation with field data indicates that an accurate simulation of routing
phenomenon can be achieved.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The project is supported by NSFC (Grant No. 50378049).

REFERENCES

Huang, S. & Lu, Q.M. 1995. Estuarine Dynamics. Water and Power Press (in Chinese).
Mao, Z.Y., Ma, J.M., She, Y.T. et al. 2003. Numerical simulation of unsteady flow in tidal waterway. The
Ocean Engineering. 21(4): 86–90 (in Chinese).
Mao, Z.Y. & Dong, Z.N. 1997. A new approach to the numerical simulation of mass transport. Journal of
Hydrodynamics. Ser.B. 9(2): 70–77.
Patankar, S.V. 1980. Numerical HeatTransfer and Fluid Flow. Hemisphere publishing corporation and McGraw
hill book company.
William, H.M. & Donald, W.P. 1997. Salinity control in Mississippi river under drought flows. Journal of
Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering. 123(1). ASCE. 34–40.
Zhejiang estuary institute. 2002. Feasibility Report on the CAOE Canal Engineering.

682
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Establishing and applying water quality model of Suzhou Creek

Xu Zuxin & Liao Zhenliang

School of Environ Sci & Eng, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

ABSTRACT: As a seriously polluted tidal river, Suzhou Creek was always “blackness and stink”
before 1999. Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project was launched in 1998, There were many works
in it, and the planning investment of the Project Stage I was 8.65 billion yuan (about 1.05 billion
US dollar). It is of importance to predict effectiveness of these works and to optimize the Project.
In this study, a water quality model of Suzhou Creek is established by using data from the Third
Trial Low Flow Augmentation on Suzhou Creek in 1999 and other monitoring results. Based on
it, Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project Stage I is optimized and adjusted. By implementing the
Project Stage I, the “blackness and stink” phenomenon of mainstream was eliminated by the end
of 2000, the ecological system was improved step by step, so the targets of Stage I have been met.
In the same time, the actual investment of the Project Stage I is reduced to 6.99 billion yuan.

1 INTRODUCTION

Suzhou Creek is a main tributary of Huangpu River in Shanghai, China. The water body of Suzhou
Creek was seriously polluted before 1999. It was worse than Class V of National Surface Water
Quality Standard. The water body was always “blackness and stink”.
With the economy and society development in Shanghai, there is more and more concern over
the problem of water environment of Suzhou Creek. Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project was
launched in 1998. It was the No. 1 project in water environmental improving plan of the municipal
government. There were many works in it.
It is of importance to predict effectiveness of these works and to optimize the Project. So establish-
ing water quality model of Suzhou Creek is necessary. Based on the model, different measures can be
simulated. By contrasting calculated results, the optimal plan and advance optimal water diversion
project can be submitted, thus scientific decision in Suzhou Creek rehabilitation can be made.
Shanghai City launched a study named “Study on the Key Measures for Improving Water Quality
of Suzhou Creek” in 1999. In this study, a water quality model of Suzhou Creek is developed. By
employing the model, Suzhou Creek Project Stage I is optimized.

2 WATER QUALITY MODELING OF SUZHOU CREEK

2.1 Choice of model

After comparing several water quality model softwares, USEPA’s WASP is chosen as the framework.
WASP is a generalized modeling framework for modeling contaminant fate and transport in surface
waters and is supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) Center
for Exposure Assessment Modeling (CEAM) in Athens, Georgia (WU et al., 1995).

2.2 The index variables of study

The most important series of variables which needed to be studied are the BOD, DO and NH3 -N
series. Because of the very serious pollution, COD must also be considered. So the four index
variables are chosen: CODCr , NH3 -N, DO and BOD5 .

683
 1 19
19

0
0
19
189

70
65
188

71
187

6
18
0

61
19
0 57

66
0
10

3
8 9 0

72
62
7

39
6 18
5

195
4 79
3

40
34
15 78 0

58
37
16

80
0 0 52 53 81

29
50 0

12
82

26
49

0
41

196
11

35
2 25
85

83
38
27
84
248

13
0
74

42
246 244
249

247 63

197

68
31
0

76
1 25 24 20

59
125 126

21

22
0
20 233 232

43
1 87 235 230 229

32
238

0
228

0
64

0
60
0 44

207
55

132

198
116

23
121

22
7 0
13 204 2

20
6 216 20
13

33

54
7
209

5
22

21
90
0

0
199

5
89 223 2
21 219 21
88 167
214 0
211

162
129

212
174

175
133

142
117

0
139
92
127

8
16

1
13

14

177
122

16
4

8
14
118

16
91 145

15
134

150 157

1
0

169
146
130

0
95 97 6
94 16 149 154 155 15

179
5

17

0
93 96

183
0
153
123

131

171
148
124

0
135

105
119

104 152

180
107 109
110 159 84
147

106 1

172
166
111 256
25 255
253 4

0
2 252
15
10 112
8

Figure 1. Segmentation for Wasp model of Suzhou Creek River network.

2.3 The calibration and verification of water quality model

2.3.1 The calibration and verification data
The calibration and verification data is mainly from the Third Trial Low Flow Augmentation on
Suzhou Creek in 1999.

2.3.2 Schematization
The scope is: north to the Yunzaobang Creek, south to the Dianpu River, east to the Huangpu River,
west to the Xidaying Creek. There are 369 segments totally (see Figure 1).

2.3.3 The parameters needed to be calibrated

The parameters needed to be calibrated include the longitudinal dispersion coefficient Ex , CODCr
decaying rate KC , the nitrification rate Kn , CBOD deoxygenation rate K1 , the sediment oxygen
demand SOD, and the re-aeration rate K2 . These parameters were measured in the lab of Shanghai
Academy of Environment Science firstly (Yan, 2002; Liu, 2002), then some theoretical and practical
equations were applied to give their scopes. These results constitute the basis of calibration. Then
these parameters are calibrated by using model.

2.3.4 Other inputs

• Time step .
• The time step is 3600 seconds.
• Flow.
• The option of flow is read from a formatted file created by hydrodynamic model.
• Boundary conditions.
• The boundary conditions are the simultaneous monitoring data and routine monitoring data.
• Pollution loads.
For mainstream, the pollution loads are calculated from flow, concentration and time that pump-
ing to the stream. For river network, the pollution loads are got from the City Water Pollution

684
 Table 1. The calibrated values in the model and the comparison with lab values.

Ex Kc Kn K1 K2 SOD
(m2 /s) (day−1 ) (day−1 ) (day−1 ) (day−1 ) (g/m2 /day)

Lab values 5–35 – 0.11–1.49 0.05–1.48 – 0.5–7.5

Model values 13 0–0.25 0.03 0.1 0.2 0.3–10

40
COD(mg/L)

30
20
10
0
0.0 1.3 2.5 3.8 5.0 6.3 7.5 8.8 10.0
Time (day)
Where Calculated Measured

Figure 2. COD verification results in Huacao (1999.8.12 0:00-8.22 0:00).

3
2.5
DO(mg/L)

2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0.0 1.3 2.5 3.8 5.0 6.3 7.5 8.8 10.0
Time (day)
Where Calculated Measured

Figure 3. DO verification results in Huacao (1999.8.12 0:00-8.22 0:00).

Sources Survey GIS System (Xu et al., 2002). The pollution source points are integrated into loads
according to their source, direction, position, etc. The number of pollution loads is 88.

2.3.5 The results

➔ The values of main parameters and comparison with lab values (see Table 1).
➔ The calculated results.

The calibration results are omitted, and COD and DO verification results of one section named
Huacao are shown in Figures 2, 3.

3 INTRODUCTION OF SUZHOU CREEK REHABILITATION PROJECT

The main targets of Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project are: to basically eliminate the “blackness
and stink” phenomena of Suzhou Creek in 2000, to recover the ecological environment of Suzhou
Creek in 2010 (Xu et al., 2002).
To meet these targets, a series of works are planned and applied. The major works of them are:
pollution sources interception, gates construction in tributary, low flow augmentation, sediment
dredging, re-aeration, wastewater treatment plant, etc.
Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project began in 1998 formally. The total investment will surpass
10 billion yuan RMB (almost 1 billion US dollar). According to time sequence, this project can
be divided into several stages. The first stage is from 1998 to 2002. The second stage is from

685
2003 to 2005. By model computing and analyzing, Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project Stage I
is optimized and adjusted. After the first stage of the Project, the “blackness and stink” of the
mainstream is eliminated, the water quality is improved to a great extent.

4 OPTIMIZATION OF SUZHOU CREEK REHABILITATION PROJECT STAGE I

4.1 Calculation and optimization of pollution interception accordingly

The specific targets of stage I are: the “blackness and stink” of Suzhou Creek being eliminated
by the end of 2000, the color distinction of the confluence point between Suzhou Creek and
Huangpu River being smoothed away, the mainstream’s main water quality index meeting recreation
water quality standard by the end of 2002. To meet these targets, the main measure is wastewater
interception. So the wastewater interception computing project is designed.
The model computing results indicates that the pollution is still serous in the middle Suzhou
Creek area according to the planning project (The interception wastewater amount is 22% of the
total amount of the middle Suzhou Creek area). So the interception project must be regulated.
The regulated interception wastewater amount is 85% of the total amount of this area. The model
computing results indicates that the predicted water quality will be improved to a great extent under
the condition of low flow augmentation (See Figures 4, 5, 6, 7). The targets of Stage I can be met.
This is proved in practice.
From the comparison results of the model computing above, it can be known that just depending
on interception with flow augmentation, the project’s target can be met. So based on it, Suzhou

40
CODCr /mg•L-1

30

20

10

0
Zhejiang Road Wuning Road Huacao
Bridge Bridge
Base condition Plan interception Regulate interception

Figure 4. CODCr calculated result of interception.

16
BOD5/mg•L-1

12

0
Zhejiang Road Wuning Road Huacao
Bridge Bridge
Base condition Plan interception regulate interception

Figure 5. BOD5 calculated result of interception.

686
Creek Rehabilitation Project Stage I is optimized and adjusted:
• Adding the amount of pollution interception.
• The interception wastewater amount adds from 22% to 85% of the total amount of the middle
Suzhou Creek area.
• Suspending the pump station and gate’s constructing in the river mouth.
• Suspending sediment dredging.
• According to the results of model computing, the sediment dredging can be delayed too. Only
the upstream reaches are dredged in Stage I.
• Suspending other works.
Other suspending works included Dongdayin pump station, Mudugang pump station, Dongjiao-
jing pump station, Taopuhe pump station, etc.

4.2 Calculation of re-aeration

By wastewater interception and low flow augmentation, the water quality of Suzhou Creek can
be improved to a great extent, but it cannot ensure the dissolved oxygen concentrate in some
serous pollution segments meeting the requirement in any time. Setting re-aeration device in these
segments and aerating oxygen to water is an effective measure to improve the dissolved oxygen
concentrate in the water. With DO value’s improving, other pollution indexes can be improved to
some extent accordingly.
By model computing, the result of re-aeration in Suzhou Creek can be simulated. It is found
that re-aeration can improve DO concentration effectively. Figure 8 is the most serious pollution
section’s computing result.
In Stage I, an aeration ship was built in Suzhou Creek to do engineering test. It was an important
auxiliary measure to eliminate the “blackness and stink” of water body.

12
NH3-N/mg•L-1

0
Zhejiang Road Wuning Road Huacao
Bridge Bridge
Base condition Plan interception Regulate interception

Figure 6. NH3 -N calculated result of interception.

3
DO/mg•L-1

0
Zhejiang Road Wuning Road Huacao
Bridge Bridge
Base condition Plan interception Regulate interception

Figure 7. DO calculated result of interception.

687
 8.0
6.0

mg/L
4.0
2.0
0.0
0.0 3.3 6.7 10.0 13.3 16.7 20.0 23.3 26.7
Time(day)
Base value Aeration

Figure 8. DO in Wuning Road Bridge of re-aeration.

4.3 The effect of Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project Stage I

After five years’ effort, the targets of Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project Stage I have been
achieved:
(1) The year average values of main water quality indexes of Suzhou Creek mainstream have met
the state sights water standard fundamentally.
(2) The ecology system of Suzhou Creek has restored step by step
With the improving of water quality, the ecology system has become better synchronously.
The species of aquatic organisms (attached aquatic micro-animal, benthos and fish) has
increased remarkably. The toxicity of water in Suzhou Creek has also decreased remarkably.
(3) Investment reduced
Through engineering optimization and adjustment, the actual investment of Suzhou Creek
Rehabilitation Project Stage I reduced 1.6 billion yuan RMB in contrast with planning (in it,
the reduction through model analysis and optimization surpass 1.0 billion).

5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

A complex, large scale and dynamic water quality model which is calibrated and verified with long
time monitoring data is employed to calculate and analysis Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project.
Based on it, Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project Stage I is optimized and adjusted. The targets
of Stage I have been met, the “blackness and stink” was eliminated by the end of 2000, and the
investment of Stage I was reduced.

REFERENCES

LIU Likun. 2002. Study of the water quality model coefficient of Suzhou Creek. Master Thesis of Tongji
University, Shanghai, China: Tongji University (in Chinese).
WU-Seng Lung and Catherine E. Larson. 1995. Water quality modeling of upper Mississippi river and lake
Pepin. Journal of Environmental Engineering. 121(10): 691–699.
YAN Zhongchun. 2002. Study on the longitudinal dispersion coefficient of Suzhou Creek. Master Thesis of
Tongji University, Shanghai, China: Tongji University (in Chinese).
XU Zuxin, LIAO Zhenliang and LIU Dongsheng. 2002. Water quality modeling of Suzhou Creek. Journal of
hydrodynamics, Ser. B. 14(2): 83–90.

688
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Study on upstream water quality boundary and local pollution

loads of Suzhou Creek based on mathematical model

Xu Zu-xin & Liao Zhen-liang

School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai

Zhang Jin-ping
Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center, Shanghai

ABSTRACT: Water quality of Suzhou Creek is affected by both water quality of upstream
boundary and local pollution loads. USGS’s FEQ and USEPA’s WASP are employed to develop
hydrodynamic and water quality models of Suzhou Creek respectively. Data from the Third Trial
Low Flow Augmentation on Suzhou Creek in 1999 and other monitoring results are used to cali-
brate and verify the models. Based on mathematical model, the impacts of upstream boundary and
local pollution loads are analyzed, and the most water quality improving degree of Suzhou Creek
when upstream boundary being better and tributary meeting Class V of National Surface Water
Quality Standard is predicted. The results indicate: the changing of upstream boundary has impacts
on both upstream and downstream segments of Suzhou Creek, but to upstream, this kind of impact
is bigger; if the tributaries meet Class V of National Surface Water Quality Standard, the water
quality improving of downstream is bigger than upstream; both reducing local pollution loads and
improving upper boundaries are necessary for Suzhou Creek to meet Class V of National Surface
Water Quality Standard.

1 INTRODUCTION

Suzhou Creek originates from Guajingkou of Taihu Lake, passing Suzhou City of Jiangsu Province,
crossing Shanghai City, and finally pouring into Huangpu River in Waibaidu. It is 125 km long,
53.1 km in Shanghai City. The average width is 70 m∼80 m at high tide time. The average flow is
6.0 m3 /s. The flow is controlled by tide.
For a long term, Suzhou Creek was seriously polluted. In 1998, the Suzhou Creek Environment
Rehabilitation Project was launched formally. After five years’ effort, the water quality of Suzhou

Figure 1. The Suzhou Creek.

689
Creek has been improved to a great extent. The “black and stink” phenomenon has been eliminated
basically. But the water quality of Suzhou Creek is not stable because the following two reasons:
(1) the water quality of upstream boundary is not well, even it appears bad tendency; (2) the tribu-
taries of Suzhou Creek still accepted a lot of pollution sources, the water quality of tributaries are
very bad.
In this study, a set of hydrodynamic and water quality models of Suzhou Creek is developed.
Based on it, the impacts of upstream boundary and local pollution of Suzhou Creek are studied, and
the most water quality improving degree of Suzhou Creek when upstream boundary being better
and tributary meeting Class V of National Surface Water Quality Standard is predicted.

2 MODELING SUZHOU CREEK

2.1 Hydrodynamic modeling

An open model of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) named FEQ (Full EQuation Model) is employed
to develop hydrodynamic model of Suzhou Creek. The monitoring data of the Third Trial Low Flow
Augmentation on Suzhou Creek in 1999 is used to calibrate and verify the hydrodynamic model.
The results indicated that the calculated values confirmed the measured values. Some calibration
results are shown in figures 2, 3.

2.2 Water quality modeling of Suzhou Creek

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)’s WASP model is employed to establish
water quality model of Suzhou Creek by using data from the Third Trial Low Flow Augmentation
on Suzhou Creek in 1999 and other monitoring results (WU et al., 1995). The results indicated that

2
H/m

0
6-1 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-7
Date (in 1999)
Measured Calculated

Figure 2. Calibration results of water level H near Beixinjing.

80

40
Q/(m3/s)

-40

-80
6-1 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-7
Date (in 1999)
Measured Calculated

Figure 3. Calibration results of flow Q near Beixinjing.

690
the calculated values confirmed the measured values (Xu, et al., 2002). Some calibration results
are shown in figures 4, 5.

3 THE ANALYSIS ON THE IMPACT OF UPSTREAM BOUNDARY

According to the water quality monitoring result, the water quality of upstream boundary is not
well, and appears bad tendency from 1999 to 2003. To predict the impact of changing of upstream
boundary on mainstream, under the condition of keeping pollution loads nowadays (in 2003), the
unchanging, the improving one class of National Surface Water Quality Standard, the worsening one
class of National Surface Water Quality Standard of upstream boundary are calculated respectively.
The computing conditions of upstream boundary are shown in table 1. The calculated results are
shown in figures 6, 7, 8, 9.
The calculated results indicate:
• The changing of upstream boundary has impacts on both upstream and downstream segments
of Suzhou Creek, but to upstream, this kind of impact is bigger. If the average value of the two
sections named Huangdu and Huacao is used to represent the upstream, when water quality of
upstream boundary improves one class than nowadays, CODCr decreases by 19%, the BOD5
decreases by 27%, NH3 —N decreases by 44%. DO increases by 71%. When water quality

80
CODCr(mg/L)

60
40
20
0
0.0 1.3 2.5 3.8 5.0 6.3 7.5
Time/day
Calculated Measured

Figure 4. Calibration results of CODCr near Beixinjing (1999. 6.1–6.8).

3
DO(mg/L)

0
0.0 1.3 2.5 3.8 5.0 6.3 7.5
Time/day
Calculated Measured

Figure 5. Calibration results of DO near Beixinjing (1999. 6.1–6.8).

Table 1. The values of upstream boundary in computing unit: mg/L.

Better Worse

Changing ratios Changing ratios

Values in 2003 Values (%) Values (%)

CODCr 21 15 −29 35 +67

BOD5 5.0 3.5 −30 8.0 +60
NH3 —N 4.6 2.0 −57 6.5 +41
DO 3.2 5.5 +72 2.0 −38

691
 40

CODCr(mg/L) 30

20

10

0
Huangdu Huacao Beixinjing Wuning Changhua Zhejiang
Section
Unchanging Better Worse

Figure 6. Calculated results of CODCr under different upstream conditions.

12

9
BOD(mg/L)

0
Huangdu Huacao Beixinjing Wuning Changhua Zhejiang
Section
Unchanging Better Worse

Figure 7. Calculated results of BOD5 under different upstream conditions.

6
NH3-N(mg/L)

0
Huangdu Huacao Beixinjing Wuning Changhua Zhejiang
Section
Unchanging Better Worse

Figure 8. Calculated results of NH3 —N under different upstream conditions.

of upstream boundary worsens one class than nowadays, CODCr increases by 47%, BOD5
increases by 35%, NH3 —N increases by 25%, DO decreases by 45%. If the average value of
the four sections named Beixinjing, Wuning Road Bridge, Changhua Road Bridge and Zhejiang
Road Bridge is used to represent the downstream, when water quality of upstream boundary
improves one class than nowadays, CODCr decreases by 3%, the BOD5 decreases by 7%, NH3 —
N decreases by 8%. DO increases by 35%. When water quality of upstream boundary worsens

692
 8

6
DO(mg/L)
4

0
Huangdu Huacao Beixinjing Wuning Changhua Zhejiang
Section
Unchanging Better Worse

Figure 9. Calculated results of DO under different upstream conditions.

30
CODCr(mg/L)

20

10

0
Huangdu Huacao Beixinjing Wuning Changhua Zhejiang
Section
Condition 1 Condition 2 Condition 3

Figure 10. Calculated results of CODCr under the condition of better tributary and upstream boundaries.

one class than nowadays, CODCr increases by 6%, BOD5 increases by 2%, NH3 —N increases
by 6%, DO decreases by 20%.
• As for water quality indexes, DO is more sensitive to this kind of changing. When water quality
of upstream boundary improves one class, the average value of DO of all monitoring sections
increases by 49%. When water quality of upstream boundary worsens one class, the average
value of DO of all monitoring sections decreases by 28%.

4 ANALYSIS ON THE IMPACTS OF LOCAL POLLUTION AND THE IMPACTS OF

LOCAL POLLUTION ADDING UPSTREAM BOUNDARY

The local pollution affects Suzhou Creek through tributaries. To Suzhou Creek, the tributaries are
also boundaries. So, to know the impacts of local pollution, studying the tributary boundaries of
Suzhou Creek is a useful way. In water quality model, the relationship of boundaries is linear. So,
the impacts of tributary boundaries and upstream boundary can be added.
After the pollution sources along Suzhou Creek are intercepted, the water quality of tributaries
can meet Class V of National Surface Water Quality Standard. If the condition of tributaries meeting
Class V accompanying with upstream boundaries improving one Class, the computing results can
reflect the most extent of water quality of Suzhou Creek in three to five years.
Three conditions are computed: base condition (nowadays), tributaries meeting Class V, and
tributaries meeting Class V accompanying with upstream boundaries improving one class. We
named them condition 1, condition 2 and condition 3. The results are shown in figures 10, 11, 12, 13.

693
 9

BOD5(mg/L)
6

0
Huangdu Huacao Beixinjing Wuning Changhua Zhejiang
Section
Condition 1 Condition 2 Condition 3

Figure 11. Calculated results of BOD5 under the condition of better tributary and upstream boundaries.

6
NH3-N(mg/L)

0
Huangdu Huacao Beixinjing Wuning Changhua Zhejiang
Section
Condition 1 Condition 2 Condition 3

Figure 12. Calculated results of NH3 —N under the condition of better tributary and upstream boundaries.

6
DO(mg/L)

0
Huangdu Huacao Beixinjing Wuning Changhua Zhejiang
Section
Condition 1 Condition 2 Condition 3

Figure 13. Calculated results of DO under the condition of better tributary and upstream boundaries.

The following results can be inferred:

• The local pollution has more impact on downstream than on upstream. If all tributaries meet Class
V, it has little impact to Huangdu section. The reason is that the tributaries upper than Huangdu
meet Class V already, and water in downstream cannot reflow here. All other sections have been
improved. To downstream, this kind of improving is bigger than upstream. The improving extents

694
 are: CODCr decreasing by 5%∼18%, BOD5 decreasing by 6%∼14%, NH3—N decreasing by
17%∼46%, DO increasing by 17%∼162%.
• Based on tributaries meeting Class V, when the water quality of upstream boundary improving
one class, the water quality indexes can improve more. The improving extent are: the average
value of CODCr decreasing by 21%, the average value of BOD5 decreasing by 24%, the average
value of NH3 —N decreasing by 51%, the average value of DO increasing by 131%.
• Under the condition of upstream boundary improving and tributaries meeting Class V, in the sec-
tion named Wuning Road Bridge which is the worst monitoring results for years, the water quality
improving extent is CODCr decreasing by 4.53 mg/L, being 17.33 mg/L, NH3 —N decreasing by
2.25 mg/L, being 2.27 mg/L, BOD5 decreasing by 1.64 mg/L, being 5.88 mg/L, DO increasing
by 1.13 mg/L, being 1.68 mg/L. It has already accessed Class V as a whole.
• For the purpose of water quality of Suzhou Creek meeting Class V of National Surface Water
Quality Standard, both reducing local pollution loads and improving upper boundaries are
necessary.

5 CONCLUSIONS

• The changing of upstream boundary has impacts on both upstream and downstream segments
of Suzhou Creek. But for upstream, this kind of impact is bigger. DO is more sensitive to this
kind of changing.
• Reducing local pollution can improve water quality of downstream more than upstream.
• For the purpose of water quality of Suzhou Creek meeting Class V of National Surface Water
Quality Standard, both reducing local pollution loads and improving upper boundaries are
necessary.

REFERENCES

WU-Seng Lung and Catherine E. Larson. 1995. Water quality modeling of upper Mississippi river and lake
Pepin. Journal of Environmental Engineering. 121 (10): 691–699.
XU Zuxin, LIAO Zhenliang and LIU Dongsheng. 2002. Water quality modeling of Suzhou Creek. Journal of
hydrodynamics, Ser. B. 14 (2): 83–90.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Linking watershed and receiving water models for water quality

simulations of Tseng-Wen Reservoir, Taiwan

Ming-Han Hsieh, Jan-Tai Kuo & Hung-Chieh Chen

Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

Wen-Cheng Liu
Department of Civil Engineering, National United University, Miao-Li, Taiwan

Wu-Seng Lung
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT: Eutrophication has been one of the serious water quality problems for Taiwan’s
reservoirs. The water quality of a reservoir is closely related to its watershed development. The
fate and transport of pollutants in a watershed is a key for water quality studies in the reservoir.
The Tseng-Wen Reservoir, located in southern Taiwan, features the largest storage volume of
impoundments in the island. The watershed of the Tseng-Wen Reservoir has significant agricultural
activities such as cultivation of tea, mustard, and betel palm. Fertilizer use for these crops in the
watershed is very popular, thereby generating significant nutrient loads to the reservoir. This study
uses a watershed model, BASINS, to simulate the flows and nutrient loads from watershed, which
drives the CE-QUAL-W2 model for water quality simulations of the reservoir. The watershed
model results are compared with data measured at the Dapu Check Dam, located in the main stem
of the Tseng-Wen Creek. The model results show that significant nutrient and sediment loads are
generated form the watershed during storm periods. Both watershed and reservoir models offer a
very useful tool for water quality management in the Tseng-Wen Reservoir.

1 INTRODUCTION

There are about 40 reservoirs in Taiwan with total storage volume of 22.43 × 108 m3 . Summer
eutrophication is common in reservoirs due to the type of land use and human activities in the
watershed. The Tseng-Wen Reservoir was completed in 1973 with the construction of an earth
dam, located at the downstream of Tseng-Wen Creek in southern Taiwan. As a multiple purpose
impoundment, it supports a power plant of 50,000 KW. The watershed area is 481 km2 . It is the
largest (in terms of storage capacity) reservoir in Taiwan with a maximum water surface area of
17.14 km2 and an initial design storage volume of about 712.7 × 106 m3 . The annual rainfall of
Tseng-Wen Reservoir’s watershed is 2,915.8 mm. The average height and slope of the watershed is
about 963 m and 54.4%, respectively.
The primary land use is forest; accounting for 74.19% of the total watershed area. The most
common crops in watershed are betel palm, tea, and mustard. Figure 1 shows the Carlson Trophic
State Index (CTSI) of Tseng-Wen Reservoir, indicating that the water quality condition is very
close to eutrophic. CTSI is a water quality index invented by Carlson (1977). CTSI is calculated by
three variables considered secchi depth, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll a. If the value of CTSI
is greater than 50, it means the water quality in the water body is eutrophic (well-nourished). If
the value of CTSI is smaller than 40, the water quality is oligotrophic (poorly nourished); between
40 and 50, it is mesotrophic (moderately nourished).

697
Figure 1. CTSI variation of Tseng-Wen Reservoir from 1993 to 2002.

2 WATERSHED SIMULATION MODEL

The Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Non-point Sources (BASINS) is a multi-
purpose environmental analysis system for use by regional, state, and local agencies in performing
watershed- and water-quality-based studies (Lahlou et al. 1998). It was developed by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (Office of Science and Technology, Office of Water). BASINS
is a surface water quality assessment tool incorporating Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
into mathematical water quality models.
GIS organizes spatial information so that it can be displayed as maps, tables, or graphics. Through
the use of GIS, BASINS has the flexibility to display and integrate a wide range of information
(e.g., land use, point source discharges, and water supply withdrawals) at a scale chosen by the user.
BASINS is a integrated model that includes a number of sub-models, such as HSPF, QUAL2E,
SWAT, and etc. The HSPF model in BASINS is used to simulate the non-point source pollution
in watershed. The HSPF code in BASINS contains three modules: PERLND – to simulate runoff
and water quality constituents from pervious land areas in the watershed; IMPLND – to simulate
impervious land area runoff and water quality; and RCHRES – to simulate the movement of runoff
water and its associated water quality constituents in stream channels and mixed reservoirs. These
three modules simulate the hydrologic/hydraulic and water quality components of the watershed.
Tsihrintzis et al. (1996) used the HSPF model to simulate discharge, nutrient and groundwater
transport in south Florida and discussed the influence on agricultural land urbanization. Fontaine &
Jacomino (1997) used the HSPF model to simulate contaminated sediment transport in White Oak
Creek Catchments and provided a case study of sensitivity analysis. Carrubba (2000) used NPSM to
simulate the White River basin in Indiana, the Albemarle-Pamlico river basin in Virginia and North
Carolina, and the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.
Claudia et al. (2002) employed the NPSM model to predict discharge and sediment concentrations
at the Ohio watershed.

3 FIELD DATA FOR SIMULATION

The water quality data, collected by Southern Taiwan Water Resources Office of Water Resources
Agency were used to calibrate the BASINS model.

3.1 Meteorology data

The meteorology data of precipitation (in/hr), potential surface evaporation (in/hr), air tempera-
ture (◦ ), wind speed (Mph), solar radiation (Ly/hr), dewpoint temperature (◦ ), cloud cover (tenths),

698
Figure 2. The watershed of Tseng-Wen Reservoir.

potential evapotranspiration (in/hr) were collected and they were used to support the modeling
analysis. BASINS requires hourly meteorological data input.

3.2 Watershed data

The Tseng-Wen Creek is the main tributary of the reservoir. There are nine other smaller creeks
flowing into the reservoir. Figure 2 shows the relationship between branch and sub-watershed
division.

3.3 Hydrologic data and water quality data

There is a check dam located on the Tseng-Wen Creek called Dapu Check Dam (see Figure 2). The
monitoring data at the check dam include water flow rates and nutrients (phosphorus, chlorophyll a,
ammonium nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen). This study also collected the inflow and water quality
data in the Tseng-Wen Reservoir.

4 WATERSHED SIMULATION RESULTS

In order to simulate non-point source pollution in the watershed, the available data were collected
at Dapu Check Dam and in the Tseng-Wen Reservoir to calibrate the parameters. The simulation
sequence includes flow, sediment, and nutrients.

4.1 Flow simulation

The inflow records measured in this study for Dapu Check Dam cover only half of 2001 (January to
June) and the year of 2002 due to equipment damage by typhoons. All the available data collected
at the check dam and the reservoir inflow (measured by the Reservoir Administration) from 1999 to
2002 were used in this modeling analysis. The simulation results are presented in Figure 3, showing
a close match with the field data. Because the simulation is continues for four years, not a single
event, in order to show the difference between simulation result and field data, we added up the
water quantity simulation value of each year and compared with the field data. The error between
model results and field data is shown in Table 1. Over the 4-year period, the mean absolute error is
about 7.975% per year which indicates the flow model is applicable.

699
 2500 0

Inflow of Tseng-Wen Reservoir (CMS)

2000 200
rainfall

field data

Rainfall (mm)
1500 400
simulation

1000 600

500 800

0 1000
1999/1/1 1999/5/1 1999/9/1 2000/1/1 2000/5/1 2000/9/1 2001/1/1 2001/5/1 2001/9/1
Day

600 0

500 200
Inflow of Tseng-Wen Reservoir (CMS)

rainfall
400 field data 400

Rainfall (mm)
simulation
300 600

200 800

100 1000

0 1200
2002/1/1 2002/3/1 2002/5/1 2002/7/1 2002/9/1 2002/11/1
Day

Figure 3. Inflow calibration (up) and validation (down) of Tseng-Wen Reservoir.

Table 1. Tseng-Wen Reservoir inflow simulation result.

Item Inflow of Tseng-Wen Reservoir Inflow volume error

Year Field data (m3 ) Simulation (m3 ) Absolute Error (%)

1999 847,429,949 786,953,871 7.1

2000 757,091,033 665,953,315 12.0
2001 1,405,588,058 1,285,663,527 8.5
2002 564,770,051 592,119,642 4.3

4.2 Sediment simulation

Because it is difficult to collect the sediment data during storms, data from only three events were
obtained at the Dapu Check Dam. Both the data from these three storms and the data on the deposit
volume of reservoir were used to calibrate and validate the sediment model. While BASINS can
only simulate the suspended load, the reservoir deposition contains both suspended and bed load. In
general, the bed loads account for about 10–40% of sediment in Taiwan. In this study, a fraction of
20%, considered reasonable for this particularly reservoir, was used. Table 2 shows the comparison
of simulation results and field data. The maximum error of sediment simulation reaches 31.6%
which shows a good approximation to field data.

700
 Table 2. Comparison of sediment simulation result and field data.

Item Deposit volume of Tseng-Wen Reservoir per year Error

Field data (ton) Simulation (ton) Simulation (ton) Percentage

Year (suspended & bed load) (suspended load) (1.2 × suspended load) (%)

1999 1,101,658.9 1,208,525.1 1,450,230.1 −31.6

2000 908,509.2 693,989.9 832,787.9 8.3
2001 8,855,204.8 6,010,477.0 7,212,572.4 18.5
2002 – 725,346.6 870,415.9 –

14000 0

12000 200
Simulation
Total Phosphorus(kg)

10000 400
rainfall(field data)

Rainfall(mm)
8000 600

6000 800

4000 1000

2000 1200

0 1400
1998/7/24 1999/2/9 1999/8/28 2000/3/15 2000/10/1 2001/4/19 2001/11/5 2002/5/24 2002/12/10 2003/6/28
Day

Figure 4. Daily total phosphorus simulation.

Table 3. Non-point source loadings to Tseng-Wen Reservoir.

Year TP(kg) TN(kg)

1999 11,836.4 241,450.2

2000 7,325.6 216,823.3
2001 34,997.0 706,421.2
2002 6,547.8 165,004.9
Annual average 15,176.7 332,424.9

4.3 Nutrients simulation

Three measurements of nutrients were conducted at the Dapu Check Dam during storms from
1999 to 2002. We used the PQUAL module to simulate the nutrient concentrations. Since most
of the nutrients are brought into the reservoir during wet seasons, the PQUAL module was used
to simulate the nutrients. The simulation results are shown in Figure 4. Table 3 lists the non-point
source loadings of TN and TP through the model simulation. The simulation results show that the
non-point source pollution during storm period are much bigger than usual time.

4.4 Reservoir simulation

Watershed water flow, sediment, and nutrient outputs from the watershed model were used to drive
the CE-QUAL-W2 model applied to the Tseng-Wen Reservoir. The model results are shown in
Figure 5, mimicking the field data quite well.

701
 20.00
simulation
field data
16.00
Chlorophyll a (µg/L)

12.00

8.00

4.00

0.00
1998/7/24 1999/2/9 1999/8/28 2000/3/15 2000/10/1 2001/4/19 2001/11/5 2002/5/24 2002/12/10 2003/6/28
Time

Figure 5. The results of chlorophyll a simulation in the reservoir.

5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

This study presents the application of a watershed model and a receiving water model for a reservoir
in a tropical climate. Model results show that the majority of nutrient loads from the watershed is
generated during storms. Watershed model results are in reasonable agreement with the field data
collected at the Dapu Check Dam. The non-point loads calculated by BASINS were used to drive
the CE-QUAL-W2 model. The calculated chlorophyll a levels are in a close agreement with the
field data for the Tseng-Wen Reservoir.

REFERENCES

Bicknell, B.R., Imhoff, J.C., Kittle, J.L. Jr., Donigian, A.S., Jobes, T.H. and Johanson, R.C. 2001. Hydrological
Simulation Program – FORTRAN, User’s Manual for Version 12. U.S. EPA, National Exposure Research
Laboratory, Athens, GA.
Carlson, R.E. 1977. Trophic State Index for Lake Limnol. Oceanography and Marine Biology 22:361–369.
Carrubba, L. 2000. Hydrologic Modeling at the Watershed Scale Using NPSM. Journal of the American Water
Resource Association 36(6):1237–1246.
Claudia, J.K., Ward, A.D., Christy, A.D. and Bair, E.S. 2002. Application of the BASINS Database and NPSM
Model on a Small Ohio Watershed. Journal of the American Water Resource Association 38(1):289–300.
Donigian, A.S. Jr., Imhoff, J.C., Bicknell, B.R. and Kittle, J.L. 1984. Application Guide for Hydrological
Simulation Program – Fortran (HSPF), prepared for U.S. EPA, EPA-600/3-84-065, Environmental Research
Laboratory, Athens, GA.
Kuo, J.T., Lung, W.S., Yang, C.P., Liu, W.C., Yang, M.D. and Tang, T.S. 2004. Eutrophication Modeling of
Reservoir in Taiwan. submitted to Environmental Modeling and Software.
Lahlou M., Shoemaker L., Choudhury S., Elmer R., Hu A., Manguerra H. and Parker A. 1998. Better Assess-
ment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Source(BASINS): User’s Manual for Version 2.0, U.S. EPA,
Office of Water, EPA-823-B-98-006.
Lumb, A.M., McCammon, R.B. and Kittle, J.L. Jr. 1994. Users Manual for an Expert System (HSPEXP) for
Calibration of the Hydrological Simulation Program – FORTRAN. Water-Resources Investigations Report
94-4168, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.
Fontaine, T.A. and Jacomino, V.M. 1997. Sensitivity Analysis of Simulated Contaminated Sediment Transport.
Journal of the American Water Resource Association 33(2):313–326.
Tsihrintzis, V.A., Fuentes, H.R. and Gadipudi, R.K. 1996. Modeling Prevention Alternatives for Non-point
Source Pollution at a Well-Field in Florida. Water Resources Bulletin 32(2):317–331.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Biodegradability evaluation and prediction of organic pollutants in

natural river water

G.H. Lu & C. Wang

College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing,
Jiangsu Province, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: The biodegradability of substituted aromatic compounds was determined using

the bacteria from the Songhua River as an inoculum by BOD technique. The results showed that
the biodegradable order of various group is: –COOH>–OH>–CH3 ≈–OCH3 >–NH2 >–Cl>–NO2 .
Besides, most substituted phenols, benzoic acids and a few anilines can be rapidly degraded by
microorganism, these compounds under low concentration produce less effect to water envir-
onment; while chloro-, amine- and nitro- substituted benzenes is non-rapidly degradable, they
belong to prior monitored pollutants because of their more harm to environment. The quantitative
structure-biodegradability relationships (QSBRs) were developed by the linear regression method
and artificial neural network approach. The structure parameters and group contribution of com-
pounds were used as independent variables, respectively. It has been shown that nonlinear (ANN)
method is able to predict the biodegradability more accurately than the linear approach.

1 INTRODUCTION

Substituted aromatic compounds are widely used industrial chemicals, and consequently have a
high potential for environmental pollution. They have been reported to be present in the Songhua
River of Jilin Province, China. The presence of many of these chemicals in natural waters is a
serious public health problem. Biodegradation is an important mechanism for removing them from
ecosystem. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the relatively simple method of determination
and the information obtained is very useful for most cases. So the parameter is used to determine
the ultimate degradability, which is demanded in most of the standard tests. However, gathering
this information is labor intensive, time consuming, and expensive due to the large number of these
chemicals. Therefore, it is necessary to develop correlation and predictive techniques in order to
estimate biodegradability. The quantitative structure-biodegradability relationships (QSBRs) have
been used to predict the fate of organic chemicals.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 Determination of biodegradability

Organic and inorganic chemicals were of analytical and reagent grade, respectively. Water samples
were gathered from Jilin section in the Songhua River (Jilin Province, China). There are no large
industry enterprises and new pollutant sources in the vicinity of this section. The pollutants from the
upper reaches of the river have been admixed equably, and the concentration of most substituted
benzenes is ug/L level (Lang, 1993). In the course of experiment, the temperature of the water
samples ranged between 15◦ C and 20◦ C; the concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO) ranged
between 7.8 and 9.0 mg/L; and the pH ranged between 6.8 and 7.0. The bacteria counts were
determined by standard plate count techniques (Wang, 1988) and are about 1200–3000 CFU/ml.
The composition of the medium contained: beef extract, 3 g; peptone, 10 g; agar, 20 g; distilled

703
water, 1 L. The pH of the culture medium was adjusted to 7.4–7.6, then the culture was sterilized
for 20 min at 121◦ C. 1 ml diluted water sample was cultivated in 15 ml of the above medium at
31◦ C for 24 hr, the number of colony was enumerated as the bacteria counts.
The added concentration of chemicals was approximately 2 mg/L on the basis of their theoretical
oxygen demand (ThOD) and residual DO of at least 1 mg/L at the final day (Vaishnav, 1987).
The test chemical was added to 250 ml biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) bottles. The bottles
were then filled to capacity with the water sample, sealed and incubated at 20 ± 1◦ C. There were two
replicates for each chemical and each control (inoculum only), respectively. The DO concentrations
were determined by the iodometric titration method (Du, 1994). The test result was expressed as
BOD% by comparing the measured BOD5 with ThOD, which is calculated from the molecular
formula of the test compound (see Table 1).

2.2 Calculation of molecular descriptors

EHOMO , Hf and MW of the organic compounds studied were calculated by the quantum chemical
method MOPAC program. Each molecule was geometry optimized using the AM1 Hamiltonian
in MOPAC 6.0. EHOMO is the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital, and is related to
ionization potential (Liu, 1991). The heat of formation (Hf ) of a compound is a measure of its
stability. MW is the molecular weight, and can reflect the size of a molecular.

2.3 Statistical analysis

The linear regression analyses were performed using the SPSS statistical package (ver. 10.0, SPSS
Company, Chicago, IL, USA).

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Experimental results

The results in Table 1 showed that the biodegradable order of various group is: –COOH>–OH>
CH3 >–OCH3 >–NH2 >–Cl>–NO2 . Besides, the sum and relative position of groups influence
their biodegradability. Among the studied compounds in this paper, 15 of them belong to read-
ily biodegradable chemical, account for 32%, mainly including phenol, diphenols, benzoic acids,
and partial methyl, methoxy substituted benzenes; 23 of them belong to biodegradable chemical,
account for 49%, mainly including aniline, methylanilines, and partial substituted phenols and
benzoic acids; 9 of them belong to non-readily biodegradable chemical, account for 19%, mainly
including polychlorophenols, chloroanilines and nitroanilines. This result showed that most sub-
stituted phenols, benzoic acids and a few anilines can be rapidly degraded by microorganism,
these compounds under low concentration produce less effect to water environment; while chloro-,
amine- and nitro- substituted benzenes is non-rapidly degradable, they belong to prior monitored
pollutants because of their more harm to environment.

3.2 Regression analysis

There is extensive literature on QSBR models by using linear and nonlinear methods. Tabak and
Govind (1993) determined the first-order biodegradation rate constant of 26 organic compounds and
developed QSBRs using linear and nonlinear group contribution method. A training set, consisting
of 18 compounds comprised of eight chemical groups, was used to obtain the group contributions
toward the first-order biodegradation kinetic constant by using the linear method and using for
training the neural network. A testing set consisted of eight additional compounds. It was shown
that the nonlinear group contribution method using a three-layer neural network is able to predict
the biodegradation kinetics more accurately than the linear group contribution method.
Guo and Xu (1998) developed the correlation between narcosis toxicity and molecular structure
using n-octanol/water partition coefficient log P, log2 P and Van der Waals volume V , V 2 , and

704
Table 1. Experimental and predicted BOD% of 47 substituted benzenes.

BOD%
MW −Hf −EHOMO
No. Compound g·M−1 kJ·M−1 eV Exp. Pre.1 Pre.2 Pre.3 Pre.4

Training set
1 Phenol 94.1 93.9 9.1 69.8 67.6 64.3 68.3 78.1
2 Catechol 110.1 277.5 8.9 65.1 69.0 57.6 68.3 70.2
3 Resorcinol 110.1 279.5 9.1 68.6 71.9 61.8 68.3 68.0
4 3-chlorophenol 128.6 121.5 9.3 31.7 42.2 32.5 40.6 34.0
5 4-chlorophenol 128.6 122.6 9.1 44.0 39.0 20.1 40.6 52.2
6 2-Methylphenol 108.1 123.2 9.0 69.0 55.9 57.2 53.3 68.4
7 3-Methylphenol 108.1 124.9 9.0 54.0 56.4 58.0 53.3 57.0
8 4-Methylphenol 108.1 124.6 8.9 62.9 54.2 51.5 53.3 50.5
9 2-Nitrophenol 139.1 66.1 10.0 36.0 36.1 37.2 34.6 34.2
10 3-Nitrophenol 139.1 75.1 10.0 37.0 37.4 30.5 34.6 38.3
11 4-Nitrophenol 139.1 81.8 10.8 50.3 50.8 44.9 34.6 47.2
12 4-Methoxyphenol 124.1 248.3 8.6 45.9 49.1 45.9 53.3 50.5
13 2,4-Dichlorophenol 163.0 138.7 9.2 19.1 10.5 0 12.8 1.03
14 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol 197.5 160.3 9.4 −17.0 −16.4 0 −14.9 0
15 2-Aminophenol 109.1 97.5 8.4 31.0 42.1 21.0 41.9 27.1
16 4-Aminophenol 109.1 96.0 8.3 8.0 40.5 16.8 41.9 26.8
17 2,3-Dimethylphenol 122.1 107.2 8.9 44.0 40.1 24.1 38.2 43.9
18 2,4-Dimethylphenol 122.2 150.8 8.9 9.0 44.2 21.0 38.2 10.4
19 Benzoic acid 122.2 284.3 10.1 86.3 77.7 87.2 76.8 90.2
20 2-Hydroxylbenzoic acid 138.1 470.1 9.5 64.9 73.5 67.1 76.8 64.0
21 2-Aminobenzoic acid 137.1 296.0 8.8 62.7 44.5 57.2 50.4 61.5
22 3-Aminobenzoic acid 137.1 289.1 8.9 56.2 45.3 55.7 50.4 60.8
23 4-Aminobenzoic acid 137.1 297.3 8.9 78.0 44.7 57.3 50.4 77.7
24 3-nitrobenzoic acid 167.1 261.6 11.0 42.0 47.7 42.3 43.1 41.7
25 4-nitrobenzoic acid 167.1 259.4 10.9 50.2 46.3 38.3 43.1 50.5
26 Phthalic acid 166.1 631.2 10.5 78.4 81.0 67.4 85.2 89.5
27 Isophthalic acid 166.1 656.1 10.5 60.7 84.5 67.5 85.2 60.0
28 2-Chlorobenzoic acid 156.6 288.9 9.9 55.5 43.6 48.5 49.0 49.7
29 3-Chlorobenzoic acid 156.6 310.7 9.9 45.3 46.4 54.4 49.0 48.6
30 4-Chlorobenzoic acid 156.6 312.2 10.0 65.0 47.9 55.0 49.0 63.8
31 2-Methoxybenzoic acid 152.2 422.1 9.7 55.8 58.6 65.9 61.7 62.9
32 4-Methoxybenzoic acid 152.2 446.1 9.5 71.5 58.0 66.4 61.7 72.8
33 3-Methylbenzoic acid 136.2 316.9 9.8 52.9 63.0 61.5 61.7 46.8
34 Aniline 93.1 −85.8 8.5 55.0 39.4 58.7 41.9 52.6
35 2-Methylaniline 107.2 −55.2 8.4 41.0 28.5 38.2 26.9 39.0
36 4-Methylaniline 107.2 −53.4 8.4 46.0 27.5 33.8 26.9 44.5
37 2-Nitroaniline 138.1 −86.8 9.1 −5.0 6.4 2.9 8.3 0
38 3-Nitroaniline 138.1 −100.5 9.3 −6.0 7.9 7.0 8.3 0
39 2-Chloroaniline 127.5 −54.9 8.6 −10.0 12.8 4.0 14.2 0
40 3-Chloroaniline 127.5 −55.2 8.7 19.0 14.3 6.6 14.2 13.9
Test set
41 2-Chlorophenol 128.6 111.6 9.2 38.0 38.8 23.7 40.5 22.5
42 3-Aminophenol 109.1 100.8 8.6 46.0 45.8 33.1 40.9 35.6
43 4-Hydroxylbenzoic acid 138.1 472.2 9.6 63.0 75.9 67.1 76.8 65.6
44 2-nitrobenzoic acid 167.1 240.7 10.9 43.2 44.5 31.9 43.1 26.8
45 Terephthalic acid 166.1 653.8 10.4 72.0 83.0 67.5 85.2 78.5
46 3-methylaniline 107.2 −58.1 8.5 50.0 28.4 38.2 26.9 52.3
47 4-Nitroaniline 138.1 −90.2 9.3 −9.0 9.40 7.3 8.2 0

705
 100 y=0.729x + 12.5
100 y=0.808x + 5.56
R2 = 0.708
R2 = 0.908
Pre. BOD%

Pre. BOD%
60 60

20 20

-20 20 60 100 -20 20 60 100

-20 -20
Exp. BOD% Exp. BOD%

Figure 1. Plot of predicted BOD% by Eq. (1) vs. Figure 2. Plot of the predicted BOD% by ANN(1)
experimental BOD%. vs. experimental BOD%.

topogical index Am3 by the multivariance regression analysis and artificial neural network (ANN)
method. The root-mean-square (RMS) of the regression analysis method is 0.159, which of ANN
is 0.0885 for the training set; while their RMS are 0.207 and 0.131 for the test set.
The quantitative structure-biodegradability relationships were developed by the linear regression
method and neural network approach, respectively. 47 compounds are randomly divided into two
sets. Of these, 40 compounds are included in the training set and 7 compounds in the test set.
The linear regression analysis was performed using structure parameters and group contribu-
tion of compounds, respectively. By the multiple linear regression analysis, two equations were
developed:

where R2 = square of the correlation coefficient; S = standard error; F = test value; P =significant
level; and n = number of compounds. It should be noted that hydroxyl group is not included in
Equation (2), because its contribution to biodegradability be close to zero.

3.3 Artificial neural network

On the basis of above work, QSBR model were developed for the biodegradability of 47 organic
chemicals by artificial neural network approach. A three-layer neural network was used in this study.
ANN (1) was developed with three input nodes (MW , Hf and EHOMO ), six hidden layer nodes and
one output node (BOD%) in this paper. ANN (2) was developed with nine input nodes ([COOH],
[OH], [CH3 /CH3 O], [NH2 ], [Cl], [NO2 ]) and three relative position of groups (i.e. ortho-, meta- and
para-), ten hidden layer nodes and one output node (BOD%). These two neural network models
were trained by using a backpropagation algorithm, which used a gradient search technique to
minimize a cost function equal to the mean square difference between the desired and actual net
outputs. RMS of ANN model are 0.104 when using the structural parameters as input nodes and
0.062 using the group numbers as input nodes, respectively.

3.4 Prediction results

The predicted values of the regression analysis method and neural network approach have been
calculated and presented in Table 1. In which, Exp. is the experimental BOD%, Pre.1 is the predicted
value calculated from Equation 1, Pre.2 from ANN (1), Pre.3 from Equation 2, and Pre.4 from
ANN (2). The plots of the experimental values versus the predicted values are shown in Figure 1–4.

706
 100 y=0.962x + 2.16
100 y=0.745x + 11.8
R2 = 0.933
R2 = 0.721

Pre. BOD%
Pre. BOD%

60 60

20 20

-20 20 60 100 -20 20 60 100

-20 -20
Exp. BOD% Exp. BOD%

Figure 3. Plot of predicted BOD% by Eq. 2 vs. Figure 4. Plot of the predicted BOD% by
experimental BOD%. ANN(2) vs. experimental BOD%.

The correlation coefficient of the experimental values versus the predicted values is 0.841, 0.953,
0.849 and 0.966, respectively.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The biodegradability of substituted aromatic hydrocarbons in the natural water was determined
by BOD technique. The results showed that most substituted phenols, benzoic acids and a few
anilines can be rapidly degraded by the bacteria in natural waters; while chloro-, amine- and
nitro- substituted benzenes is non-rapidly degradable, consequently, they belong to prior monitored
pollutants. Linear and nonlinear methods have been presented for predicting the biodegradability
of substituted aromatic compounds. The nonlinear method (ANN) has been compared to the linear
regression method. It was shown that neural network method was able to predict the biodegradability
more accurately than the linear approach, whilst the group contribution method was a little bit better
than the free energy relationship method using structure parameters as variables.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Support for this research was provided by the National “973” Great Foundation Research Item of
China (2002CB412303) and the Science Innovation Foundation of Hohai University (2003410543).

REFERENCES

Du, C.J. & Chu, D.S. 1994. Water quality analysis base in environmental monitoring. Haerbin: Science and
technology press of Heilongjiang, P.R.China.
Guo, M. & Xu, L. 1998. Quantitative structure-activity relationship for toxicity of phenols using regression
analysis and neural network. Journal of Environmental Science 18(1): 122–126.
Lang, P.Z., Long, F.S., Yuan, X. et al. 1993. Study on pollution of toxic organic compounds in the middle
reaches of the Songhua River (Shaokou∼Songhuajiang Village section). Advance of Environmental Science
1: 47–56.
Liu, C.Q. 1991. Quantum biology and application. Beijing: Higher Education Press, P.R. China.
Tabak, H.H. & Govind, R. 1993. Prediction of biodegradation kinetics using a nonlinear group contribution
method. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 12: 251–260.
Vaishnav, D.D., Boethling, R.S. & Babeu, L. 1987. Quantitative structure-biodegradability relationships for
alcohols, ketones and alicyclic compounds. Chemosphere 16: 695–703.
Wang, J.L. 1988. Environmental Microbiology. Beijing: Higher Education Press, P.R.China.

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5.2 Non-point source pollution
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Estimation of total nitrogen export in the East River (Dongjiang)

Basin I. Export coefficient method

X.B. Ma, L. Fok & A. Koenig

Department of Civil Engineering, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong, China

Y. Xue
Pearl River Valley Water Resources Protection Bureau, Guangdong, China

ABSTRACT: Since the East River is the major source of potable water supply for Hong Kong,
concerns have been raised on the increasing water quality deterioration in the East River Basin
(ERB). In this study, the export coefficient method is employed to estimate the total nitrogen
(TN) export from the basin. The export coefficients are selected based on land cover and literature
review, with the results verified by water quality sampling data in the basin. Sewage discharges
were additionally considered. The results indicate that in 1998, TN export was 56,400 tons, of
which 43,000 tons are from non-point sources, with an overall export coefficient of 1.64 t/km2 · yr,
which is higher than that from the Changjiang and Yellow River basins.

1 INTRODUCTION

The East River lies between 22◦ 34 and 25◦ 12 latitude north and 113◦ 24 and 115◦ 53 longitude east.
The total length of the river is 562 km, of which 435 km lies within Guangdong Province. The water-
shed area is 34,438 km2 , 90% of which lies within Guangdong province. The basin lies in the mon-
soon climatic zone with the wettest month in June and driest month in January. The annual runoff
is about 32.4 billion m3 . The soils in this area are mainly paddy soil and latosol. In terms of topo-
graphy, it is high in the northeast and low in the southwest. In 1998 the population within Guangdong
Province was 8.68 million of which about 5.78 million was agricultural. The economic development
is spatially uneven, but on the whole, the outputs of the primary, secondary and tertiary sector were
16 billion, 113 billion and 93 billion RMB respectively (by ratio 7:51:42) (WRPD, 2000).
Since the East River is the major source of potable water supply for Hong Kong, concerns
have been raised on the increasing water quality deterioration in the East River. Besides point
source pollutants from sewage and industrial effluents, non-point source pollutants are gaining
increasing attention. But till now, no statistical data have been collected on the annual “nonpoint
source” discharges (Ho and Hui, 2001). Many studies (Johnes, 1996; Rast and Lee, 1983) have
demonstrated that land uses have a dominant influence on nutrient export, the value of which is
usually quantified as nutrient export coefficient. In this paper, the export coefficient method is
employed to estimate the TN export from land uses in the ERB.

2 METHODOLOGY

2.1 Data used

Land use is derived from NOAA satellite images from the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications
of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Liu et al., 1999; Liu et al., 2003; Zhuang et al., 1997) and
processed by ArcMap. Monthly water quality data of NO2 -N, NO3 -N, NH4 -N from 10 sampling

711
 Background Information:
climate, soil, topographical and
economic data, etc.

Export coefficient
Water quality and
selection
stream flow data

M2, M3 Nutrient export Sewage

from land use discharges
M1
Measured
river loads Calculated river loads

No
Accuracy of +/ 10%
Yes

Finalize the export

coefficients

Figure 1. Procedure to select most suitable export coefficients.

sites along the mainstream of the East River and the corresponding runoff data from three gauging
stations at Longchuang, Heyuan and Boluo (the other sites being interpolated according to drainage
areas) in 1998 are used. Population data (Guangdong Yearbook, 1999) is processed by ArcMap to
match the drainage basin boundaries.

2.2 Selection of the export coefficients

The selection of export coefficients is critical when the export coefficient model is to be employed
to quantify the nutrient loss from land uses. In this study, the following procedure (Fig. 1) is
employed to determine appropriate export coefficients. In order to minimize the effects from
sewage and industrial discharges, data from six water quality monitoring stations in the upper and
middle reaches of the East River where few population centers and industries exist are used to
obtain the most suitable export coefficients, namely Longchuan (I1), Dongyuan Xiantang (D4),
Heyan Linjiang (D8), Jiangkou (D26), Huizhou Ruhu (D11) and Huizhou Jiantan (D15) (Fig. 2).
These were then applied to for the whole Basin.
First, nitrogen export coefficients were selected from reported export coefficients taking into
consideration the background information about climate, soil, topography and economy. Then the
general export coefficient model (M1) is used to quantify the nitrogen load from land use. Together
with the estimated sewage discharges, the calculated river load can be obtained. The flow-weighted
average concentration method (M2) and the average concentration method (M3) are then used
to determine the actual river loads (equal to the average of the results from M1 and M2). Then
the difference between the calculated results and those based on measurement will be compared.
If acceptable, the selected export coefficients will be finalized; otherwise, the procedure will be
repeated until the most suitable export coefficients are obtained.

2.3 TN exports from East River Basin

After the export coefficients are finalized, the TN exports from different land uses can be esti-
mated using the export coefficient model. Sewage discharge is estimated as per capita nitrogen

712
Figure 2. Water quality sampling stations and their corresponding drainage areas along the mainstream of
the East River.

contribution times urban population, while the industrial discharges are neglected due to data
scarcity. According to a survey conducted in Huizhou City (Huizhou Yearbook, 1999), the daily
per capita TN discharge of the urban population is 12 g (taking into consideration wastewater treat-
ment). Then the TN exports are the sum of those from land uses and sewage discharges. Since the
rural population is not sewered, its discharge was not separately considered.

3 RESULTS

3.1 Export coefficients

Calculated TN river load: In light of the background information and documented export coeffi-
cient values (Novotny and Olem, 1994; Frink, 1991; Ramos, 1998; Pieterse et al., 2003; Li et al.,
2003), the initial nitrogen export coefficients selected for the study area were: 2.8 t/km2 · yr for
agricultural land, 1.2 t/km2 · yr for pasture (grassland), 1.0 t/km2 · yr for scrublands, 0.7 t/km2 · yr
for forests and 4.9 t/km2 · yr for developed areas. The water quality sampling stations and their cor-
responding drainage areas (overlaps exist) are shown in Fig. 2, and the land use patterns in the each
drainage areas, the corresponding population and the calculated river loads of TN are compiled in
Table 1.
TN river load based on measured data: The water quality is reported as dissolved inorganic
nitrogen (DIN) (sum of measured NO3 -N, NO2 -N and NH4 -N) instead of total nitrogen (TN). To
estimate TN, a ratio of 1.45 of TN to DIN was used based on Shen et al. (2003) and de Wit (2000).
The stream flows are compiled in Table 2. DIN concentrations and the corresponding DIN and TN
loads by the M1 and M2 methods are summarized in Table 3.
Since the difference between the calculated TN river loads (Lc) (see Table 1) and the actual TN
river loads using the measured data (Lm) (see Table 3) should be within ±10% (100[Lc-Lm]/Lm),
the export coefficients should be adjusted to meet this requirement. Iterations were used to find
the best-fit export coefficients, which are listed in Table 4.

713
 Table 1. Land use patterns in each drainage areas and the corresponding population.

Developed Total
Agriculture Forest Grass Scrublands area Water area Urban Calculated
Population river loads
Station (km2 ) (capita) (Lc ) (ton/yr)

I1 234.50 5958.99 170.45 1299.59 5.91 29.56 7,699 199,050 6,400

D4 339.40 7915.01 231.71 1494.67 18.49 33.72 10,033 402,456 8,400
D8 820.76 12075.26 462.54 1992.86 50.19 348.38 15,750 853,893 13,500
D26 1052.91 14195.39 621.94 2579.68 59.23 376.84 18,886 1,127,406 16,500
D11 1752.58 14945.06 628.63 2723.74 81.74 425.25 20,557 1,284,603 19,200
D15 2657.33 17561.96 710.70 3455.74 297.39 483.88 25,167 2,210,093 25,500

Table 2. Stream flow along the mainstream of the East River.

Monthly stream flow (million m3 )

Station Drainage
ID area (km2 ) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Annual

I1 7699.00 458.01 681.52 1264.20 780.19 838.34 883.87 725.85 487.47 406.94 380.33 430.27 294.63 7631.62
D4 10033.00 652.40 942.10 1620.81 1157.15 1234.76 1365.99 1191.89 847.91 587.65 528.80 556.17 442.33 11127.96
D8 15750.00 1138.32 1593.56 2512.34 2099.52 2225.75 2571.26 2356.99 1749.00 1039.39 899.94 870.91 811.56 19868.54
D26 18886.00 1165.10 1617.65 2556.37 2171.86 2339.74 2787.88 2464.96 1808.60 1108.91 922.57 892.21 834.82 20670.66
D11 20557.00 1225.40 1671.87 2655.47 2334.70 2596.35 3275.51 2708.02 1942.76 1265.43 973.52 940.16 887.17 22476.35
D15 25167.00 1391.75 1821.46 2928.86 2783.96 3304.32 4620.81 3378.58 2312.87 1697.22 1114.09 1072.44 1031.60 27457.95
D16 25325.00 1483.83 1904.26 3080.16 3032.64 3696.19 5365.44 3749.76 2517.70 1936.22 1191.89 1145.66 1111.54 30215.29
Table 3. DIN concentration and river loads and corresponding TN river loads based on measured data.

DIN Concentrations (mg/l) DIN Loads (ton/yr) TN Loads (ton/yr)

Ave F-W-Ave Ave F-W-Ave Measured
Ave F-W-Ave Conc Conc Conc Conc River Loads
ID Jan Jun Oct Conc Conc Load Load Load Load (Lm )(ton/yr)

I1 0.512 0.562 0.512 0.529 0.54 4035 4103 5850 5950 5900
D4 0.552 0.622 0.502 0.559 0.58 6217 6445 9014 9345 9200
D8 0.552 0.612 0.522 0.562 0.58 11166 11516 16191 16698 16,400
D26 0.562 0.612 0.512 0.562 0.58 11617 12012 16845 17418 17,100
D11 0.547 0.847 0.512 0.635 0.72 14280 16189 20706 23474 22,100
D15 0.673 1.069 1.017 0.920 0.98 25252 27006 36616 39159 37,900

Note: Measured river loads are the average of the results of the average concentration and flow-weighted
average concentration method.

Table 4. Export coefficients for the upper and middle reaches of the East River Basin.

Classifications Agricultural Pasture Developed

of land use land Shrublands (grassland) Forests area

Export coefficients 4.10 0.80 0.90 0.45 6.00

(ton/yr)
TN River Loads (ton/yr)

40000 15
10
difference (%)
30000
5 Lc
20000 0 Lm
-5 Difference
10000
-10
0 -15
I1 D4 D8 D26 D11 D15
Station ID

Figure 3. Best-fit of actually measured TN river loads and loads calculated using export coefficient method.

3.2 Land use classification and TN export from different land uses
Available land use data in the East River Basin from the year 2000 were processed employing
Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques and classified according to Chinese land use
classification standards. Because no land use map was available for 1998, we assume that there
was little land use change between 1998 and 2000. After appropriate land use reclassification, the
TN exports were estimated (Table 5) using the export coefficients in Table 4. It was found that
totally about 43,000 tons TN were exported as a result of different land uses.

3.3 TN export from sewage discharges

In 1991, there were 7.24 million people living within the watershed, of which 6.81 million lived
within the Guangdong part. In 1998, the population of the Guangdong part increased to 8.68 million
(WRPD, 2000), of which about 2.89 million or 33.3% were urban population. Assuming the same
percentage in the Jiangxi part in 1998, the whole basin had 3.07 million urban population in 1998,
hence the TN from direct sewage discharge was about 13,447 tons.

715
 Table 5. Land use pattern in the East River Basin and the TN export.

Land uses Area Land uses Area TN export

(Chinese standards) (km2 ) Reclassification (km2 ) % of area (ton/yr) % of TN

Irrigated farmland 3,162 Farmland 4,797 14 19,668 46

Non-irrigated farmland 1,635
Forest 21,968 Forest 21,968 64 9,886 23
Scrubland 316
Sparse forest 2,659 Scrubland 4,426 13 3,541 8
Other forest 1,451
H-covered grassland 706 Grassland 841 2 757 2
M-covered grassland 135
River 250
Reservoir 630 Waters 885 3
Bottomland 5
Urban 1,024
Other developed 115 Developed area 1,521 4 9,126 22
Rural 382
Total 34,438 34,438 100 42,978 100

4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

For the different land uses of farmland, forests, grassland, urban settlements and scrubland, the
best values of the TN export coefficients according to the best-fit method were determined as 4.10,
0.45, 0.9, 6.0 and 0.80 t/km2 · yr respectively. The selected export coefficients are near the upper
limits of documented ranges of those reported in Europe and most of the USA, but lower than
those from Hong Kong. Due to neglect of animal operations, some deviations exist. But the high
export coefficients coincide with the extensive agricultural activities (2–3 crop rotations), rapid
urban development, high rainfall volumes and high population density in the ERB.
TN export from land use in the whole River Basin was about 43,000 tons in 1998, and from
sewage discharge about 13,400 tons, which amounts to a total of about 56,400 tons. This results
in an overall basin export coefficient of 1.64 t/km2 · yr, which is higher than the values in the
Yangtze and Yellow River Basins, given as 1.58 (Shen et al., 2003) and 0.41 t/km2 · yr (Hao, 2003)
respectively.
For waters downstream of Heyuan City and Huizhou City (D8 and D15 in Fig. 2), the field
data estimate showed higher values than those calculated with the export coefficient method.
This is thought to reflect the point source contribution from industries. Due to scarcity of data,
industrial discharges are not included in this study. Contributions from animal operations could
also be significant, but if the operations are not highly concentrated, the contribution will already
be included in the TN export from land use.

REFERENCES

de Wit, M., 2000. Modeling nutrient fluxes from source to river load: a macroscopic analysis applied to the
Rhine and Elbe basins. Hydrobiologia 410, 123–130.
Frink, C.R., 1991. Estimating nutrient exports to estuaries. Journal of Environmental Quality 20, 717–724.
Hao, F.H., 2003. Distributed simulation of nonpoint source pollution on watershed scale. Bonding in Beijing
(PhD dissertation, Beijing Normal University)(in Chinese).
Ho, K.C. and Hui, K.C.C., 2001. Chemical contamination of the East River (Dongjiang) and its implication
on sustainable development in the Pear River Delta. Environment International 26, 303–308.

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Johnes, P.J., 1996. Evaluation and management of the impact of land use change on the nitrogen and phosphorus
load delivered to surface waters: the export coefficient modeling approach. Journal of Hydrology 183,
323–349.
Li, H.E., Lee, J.H.W., Koenig, A. and Jayawardena, A.W., 2003. Nutrient load estimation of nonpoint source
pollution for Hong Kong region, Diffuse Pollution Conference Dublin 2003. IWA, Dublin, pp. 6, 88–93.
Liu, J.Y., Zhuang, D.F., Luo, D. and Xiao, X., 2003. Land-cover classification of China: Integrated analysis of
AVHRR Imagery and Geo-physical data, International Journal of Remote sensing 24 (12), 2485–2500.
Liu, J.Y., Zhuang, D.F. and Liu M.L., 1999. Research activities on land-use/cover change in the past ten years
in China using space technology, Chinese Geographical Sciences 9(4), 330–334.
Novotny, V. and Olem, H., 1994. Water quality: prevention, identification, and management of diffuse pollution.
Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, USA.
Pieterse, N.M., Bleuten, W. and Jorgensen, S.E., 2003. Contribution of point sources and diffuse sources to
nitrogen and phosphorus loads in lowland river tributaries. Journal of Hydrology 271, 213–225.
Ramos, G.O., 1998. Total phosphorus and total nitrogen mass balances for Lago De Cidra, Central Puerto
Rico. Third International Symposium on Tropical Hydrology, San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 12–16.
Rast, W. and Lee, F., 1983. Nutrient loading estimates for lakes, Amer. Soc. Civil. Engr. Div 109, 502–505.
Shen, Z., Liu, Q., Zhang, S., Miao, H. and Zhang, P., 2003. A nitrogen budget of the Changjiang River
catchment, Ambio 32, 65–69.
Water Resources Protection Department (WRPD), 2000. Water quality compliance-with-standards planning
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Estimation of total nitrogen export in the East River (Dongjiang)

Basin II. Source apportionment and distribution using
GIS approach

L. Fok, A. Koenig & P.J.F. Yeh

Department of Civil Engineering, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

ABSTRACT: The East River, locally known as Dongjiang, is the major source of potable water
supply for Hong Kong. Recently, because of the rapid economic development in the basin, concerns
have been raised regarding the water quality in the river. In this study, total nitrogen (TN) export
from the basin is estimated based on land use dependent export coefficients and socio-economical
data using a raster-based GIS framework. The export coefficients for different land use classes,
population and farm animals are selected based on literature review; the results are verified with
water quality sampling data in the basin. It is estimated that TN export is 67,000 t/a, of which 26%
are from non-point sources from the land surface. The estimated average yield of the East River
basin is 21 kg/ha · a.

1 INTRODUCTION

The East River Basin is bounded by latitude 22◦ 34 and 25◦ 12 N, and longitude 113◦ 24 and
115◦ 53 E (Figure 1a). The river originates in Jiangxi Province and flows to the southeast entering
Guangdong Province, via Longchuan, Heyuan, Zijin, Huizhou, Boluo, and Dongguan counties and
empties itself into the Shizi Ocean. The drainage area of the river is 32,026 km2 , 90% of which lies
within Guangdong. The study basin is influenced by a sub-tropical monsoonal climate with humid,
hot summers and dry, cool winters (Domros & Peng, 1988). The annual runoff is 32.4 billion m3 .
The major soils in this area are paddy soil and latosol (Guangdong Soil Survey Office, 1993).
Around 8 million people living within the watershed. The spatial distribution of economic activ-
ities is highly uneven, with major developments concentrated in the lower reach areas such as
Dongguan and Shenzhen. These areas, together with a few other cities located in the proximity of
the Pearl River Delta, have been experiencing double-digit annual GDP growth rates in the end
of 1990s.
More than 80% of the potable water supply of Hong Kong came from the East River. Public
concerns regarding the effects of industrialization, urbanization as well as the related anthropogenic
activities to the river’s water quality and quantity have been raised. Nevertheless, the water quality of
the East River remains to be a very sensitive issue to the Guangdong government, and consequently,
official long-term monitoring data is rarely published (Ho & Hui, 2001). Recently, a number of
academic studies have been undertaken in this respect (Hills et al., 1998; Ho & Hui, 2000; Zhu
et al., 2002; Ho et al., 2003). It was found out that organic pollution (BOD5 , COD, NH3 -N), mainly
originating from domestic and agricultural discharges, is quite common in the lower reaches of the
river. Among these pollutants, nitrogen species also serve as nutrients, and the increase level of
which may cause algae bloom in the coastal waters.
The present paper estimates the annual average nitrogen exports of the East River Basin by
employing a raster-based GIS analysis using literature derived land use dependent emission coeffi-
cients together with socio-economical data obtained from statistical yearbooks. The output of this

719
 (a)

(c) (b)

Figure 1. (a) Location of the East River Basin; (b) Location of the monitoring stations and the respective
watersheds; (c) Average monthly discharge at Boluo (D15) adopted from GRDC.

proposed method includes a source apportionment as well as the spatial distribution of nitrogen
emission.

2 METHODOLOGY

Available water quality data on NO2 -N, NO3 -N, NH4 -N concentrations (from 11 sampling sites,
Figure 1b) from January, June and October 1998 is used (Pearl River Water Resources Comis-
sion, 2000). Due to the lack of instantaneous discharge measurement along with these water
quality observations, the volume weighted mean concentration of total inorganic nitrogen (TIN =
NO2 -N + NO3 -N + NH4 -N) for each station is calculated using the average runoff data at Boluo
(from Global Runoff Data Center, Figure 1c) and the annual observed load is computed using this
mean. Since the current method is applied to predict total nitrogen (TN = TIN + total organic N)
loading, a constant TN:TIN ratio of 1.6, as observed in the Changjiang River (Shen et al., 2003),
is assumed.
A land use map of year 2000 for the basin obtained from the Chinese Academy of Science
(Liu J.Y. et al., 2003) is post-processed and generalized. GTOPO30 DEM is used for watershed
delineation. Population and farm animal statistics is obtained from statistical yearbooks (China
Statistical Bureau, 2000/1/2).
Estimation of nitrogen load is done for every 1 km2 grid within the basin. Total load (t/a) for the
East River is the summation of the yield (t/km2 · a) from different sources for all grids within the
watershed:

where L: total load (t/a); NPS: non point source, which is the summation of atmospheric
deposition (direct input into lakes and rivers); and surface diffuse load (land use dependent);

720
 Table 1. Typical export coefficient selected from literature survey, units in kg/ha · a except for n.

Land use Woodland & grassland Farmland Urban & rural Atmospheric deposition

n 42 91 53 27
Mean 3.9 16.4 10.9 15
Median 2.95 11.9 7.9 13.1
Std. deviation 3.13 15.7 9.4 9.9
Value adopted 2 20 8 15
Reference value 8* 15* 5* 36**, 18.9***

* Estimated by Pearl River Water Resources Commission (2000).

** From Huang et al. (1994); Dinghu Shan forest, Guangdong.
*** According to average precipitation 2210 mm and 0.85 mg N/L in Hong Kong (Tanner, 1999).

NAPOP: point source from urban population (non agricultural population); APOP: diffuse source
from rural population (agricultural population); FA: diffuse source from farm animals (hogs, cattle
and poultry).
NPS is estimated by the land use specific export coefficient approach (Johnes, 1996; Johnes
et al., 1996; Liden et al., 1999; Azzellino et al., 2003). In this study, the nitrogen export is estimated
based on five generalized land cover classes shown below:

NPS i,j : non point source load for grid (i, j) (t/km2 · a); θx : export coefficient (kg/ha · a) for wood-
land & grassland (subscript f); farmland (a); urban area (u); rural area (r); and water body (w, from
atmospheric deposition); ax,i,j : area of the respective land use in grid (i, j) (km2 ). NPS is therefore
the sum of loss or export of N for each land surface diffuse nutrient source. Land surface retention
is assumed to be “lumped” into the export coefficients.
Nitrogen export estimated for the NPS is solely dependent upon the values of selected export
coefficients. Due to the lack of locally derived export coefficients, an extensive literature survey
is conducted and the typical values are adopted (USEPA, 1980; Frink, 1991; Huang et al., 1994;
Johnes et al., 1996; McDowell, 1998; Ramos, 1998; de Wit & Bendoricchio, 2001; USEPA, 2001;
Liu, W.Y. et al., 2003; Pieterse et al., 2003, see Table 1).
The contribution from population (NAPOP & APOP) is estimated by multiplying the number
of urban and rural population in each grid with an average emission coefficient of 12 g/capita · day
(Soil and Fertilizer Research Institute of China, 1962). The urban population for each grid is
obtained by combining the per-county non-agricultural population statistics and the urban built-up
land cover map. The per-county population is allocated onto the per county urban built-up area
from the land use map for each grid (i, j) in the basin. Similarly, the 1 km rural population grid is
obtained by allocating per-county agricultural population onto the rural residential land use map.
There are a few assumptions needed to be made using this indirect estimation for the nitrogen
export from population. Firstly, it is common in Guangdong that people illegally live in the urban
areas and they are not registered with the local authority. It is therefore assumed that there are more
people living in each county in addition to the record in the statistical yearbooks. A factor of 2 is
taken here for the per-county non-agricultural population. Furthermore, as NAPOP is considered
to be coming from urban areas (most likely to be sewered), it is treated as a point source and a
standard mechanical loss of 10% is applied (Johnes, 1996). Whereas APOP is considered to be
originated from the non-sewered rural areas. It is therefore a diffused source, and a retention factor
of 80% is applied on the estimated total output. The equations for NAPOP and APOP are shown
below:

721
where NAPOP: load from urban population; APOP: load from rural population (t/km2 · a);
NPi,j : non agricultural population allocated to grid (i, j); APi,j : agricultural population allocated
to grid (i, j).
The output from farm animals (FA) is the summation of the loads from hogs, cattle and poultry.
Average per animal output of N is obtained from literature (Dong, 1998; Ding, 2000; Hooda et al.,
2000; Xu et al., 2002). Averaged emission coefficients of 10.7, 53.2 and 0.8 kg N/head · a is adopted
here for hogs, cattle and poultry respectively. FA is treated as a diffused source and the same 80%
retention coefficient as assumed for APOP would be applied for this item:

where FA: load exported by farm animals (t/km2 ·a); ANx,i,j : animal count for hog (subscript h),
cattle (c) and poultry (p) allocated to grid (i, j); εx : respective emission coefficient.

3 RESULTS

Table 2 shows the comparison between measured and calculated load for the 11 stations. The
observed and estimated load is plotted in Figure 2. Station D27, Xihucun is neglected here because
it is an anomaly (the difference, %, is almost 70%). It is observed that the loads have a good match
(r2 0.92), although overestimation is observed in general. Some discrepancy in the concentration
plot is also noted, where underestimation occurs in high concentrations and overestimation is
sighted in lower concentrations. The relative contribution of non-point source load (NPS, plotted
as circles) is always less than half of the total estimated load.
The estimated total nitrogen load for the whole basin is 67 000 t/a, whereas the average yield
is 21 kg/ha · a. It is however unevenly distributed as shown in Figure 3a. It is observed that the
major source of nitrogen comes from the cities (1) on the middle reach like Heyuan, Huizhou &
Boluo; (2) on the floodplain near Dongguan; and (3) in the highly developed area of Shenzhen. It
is estimated that 70% of the nitrogen load originated from 20% of the drainage area (Figure 3b).

Table 2. Measured and estimated nitrogen load and yield for the 11 stations, East River Basin.

Measured Estimated
Area Q* %∗∗
SID Location km2 mm/a t/a kg/ha·a t/a kg/ha·a %

I1 Longchuan upstream 7 227 844.6 5 271 7.3 7 356 10.2 −39.6

D3 Longchuan downstream 7 700 826.7 6 012 7.8 8 903 11.6 −48.1
D4 Heyuan upstream 9 484 874.7 7 658 8.1 10 171 10.7 −32.8
D7 Xinfengjiang reservoir 5 378 1056.0 4 152 7.7 5 407 10.1 −30.2
D8 Heyuan downstream 15 170 968.3 13 560 8.9 17 320 11.4 −27.7
D26 Qiuxiangjiang confluence 18 338 874.7 14 779 8.1 22 294 12.2 −50.8
D11 Huizhou upstream 20 195 1073.8 24 409 12.1 25 793 12.8 −5.7
D27 Xihucun 655 940.0 10 573 161.5 3 293 50.3 68.9
D14 Xizhijiang outlet 3 726 1081.6 13 598 36.5 8 675 23.3 36.2
D15 Huizhou downstream 24 167 943.0 36 012 14.9 36 866 15.3 −2.4
D17 Boluo downstream 24 552 940.0 40 323 16.4 38 164 15.5 5.4
Whole basin 32 033 1008.1 67 214 21.0

* Spatial distribution of discharge (Q) is obtained from the official discharge record for 12 streamflow
stations in the East River Basin, 1969–1978.
** % = 100 · (measured load – estimated load)/measured load.

722
On average, 26% of the total nitrogen load came from non point sources (surface wash load and
atmospheric deposition), 34% from urban population, 7% from diffuse input of rural agricultural
population and 33% from diffuse input of farm animals (Figure 3c).

4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The overall specific nitrogen export coefficient of 21 kg/ha · a is higher than that estimated in the
Yangtze River Basin (16 kg/ha · a from Shen et al., 2003). This may be due to the higher rainfall
volume, intensive agricultural activities (2–3 crop rotations) as well as a higher population density.
Station D27 (Xihucun) at the southernmost part of the basin has very high observed concentration
and is outside the prediction range of the present model. It may be caused by nitrogen producing
industries whose effects have not been accounted for in the present survey due to insufficient data.
It is also important to note that the scarcity of data in terms of temporal and composition coverage
(TIN only without TN) together with the lack of associated instantaneous discharge record could
add uncertainties to the model. Nevertheless the current method of nitrogen load estimation could
provide insights into the relative magnitude of different sources based on limited amount of data.
Moreover the raster-based GIS approach provides information on the spatial distribution of nitrogen
export such that the load from any given river reaches could be obtained.

Figure 2. Scatter plot between observed and estimated load and concentration.

723
 (b)

(a)

(c)

Figure 3. (a) Distribution of total nitrogen export per unit area; (b) Cumulative load versus drainage area;
(c) Source apportionment of total load in the East River Basin.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Processes of nutrient load and transportation in a flooding river

H. Nagabayashi, Y. Ogawa & J. Yuda

Department of Civil Engineering, College Engineering, Nihon University, Koriyama, Japan

A. Mano
Department of Civil Engineering, College Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

ABSTRACT: For the water quality management in wide area of a river course, quantitative
evaluation for the processes of sediment transport and nutrient load is very important. Present
study is focus on the contamination load in a flooding river. The investigation performed by the
observation of seven times of a flood in Abukumagawa River. And, the processes of nutrient load
and transportation were evaluated by the numerical model based on a mass loading rate and the
channel network system using kinematic-wave method.

1 INTRODUCTION

Point source of discharging from houses and factories is one of the main factors of pollution load
in a river basin; these loads are accumulated in the riverbed near the source. While in a flood, the
bed materials are transported to down stream with muddy streams, and emission load are increased
enormously by discharging from tributaries and land runoff. Thus, the characteristics of nutrient
load in a flood are quite different from ordinary conditions. This study attempted to evaluate nutrient
transport quantitatively in a flood.
The following were addressed in this study: (1) discuss the relationship of suspended load and
nutrient load in a flood based on seven times of foods; (2) evaluate the load factor of organic
and inorganic nutrient in a flood; (3) examine the material transport using mass loading rate L-Q
equations and Kinematick wave method.

2 OUTLINE OF ABUKUMAGAWA RIVER AND THE OBSERVATION

The Abukumagawa River, with its origin at Asahidake (1835 m) in Fukushima prefecture, runs
north through the center of the basin and flow into the Pacific Ocean at Miyagi prefecture(Fig. 1).
Area of the river basin is 5,400 km2 and the length is 239 km which ranks in the sixth longest river
in JAPAN.
The flood observation had been conducted in seven time form 1996 to 2002 (Nagabayashi et al
1998, 2000, 2001). The measuring points were usually placed on the main channel at Akutsu
and Iwanuma, which located 150 km and 5 km upstream form the river mouth respectively. These
observation points were selected near the flow measuring station of the Ministry of Construction.
The river water was collected by a bucket which collects surface water or a collector with a
depth device (Nagabayshi, 2000). The contamination was examined for suspended solids SS (g/l),
and inorganic component of nitrogen and phosphorus and particulate and dissolved rate of nutrient
according to the waterworks test: T-N (mg/l); total phosphorus T-P (mg/l); biochemical oxygen
demand BOD (mg/l); nitric acid NO3 -N; nitrous acid NO2 -N; ammonia NH4 -N. Particulate and
dissolved rate of nutrient also tested using glass filter.

727
 OBSERVATION POINT
1 Iwanuma
2 Yahata
3 Fushiguro
4 Fukushima
5 Nihonmatsu
6 Motomiya
7 Akutsu
8 Sukagawa
9 Shirakawa
MAIN TRIBUTARIES
a Shiroishi river
b Surikami river
c Matsu river
d Ara river
e Yui river
f Sugita river
g Adatara river
h Gohyaku river
I Fujita river
j Ouse river
k Shakadou river
l Yashiro river
m Otakine river
n Utsushi river
o Hirose river

Figure 1. Outline of the Abukumagawa Basin and Measuring Points.

3000

2000
Q(m3/s)

1000

0
0 50 100 150
Time (hr)

Sep. 1996 Aug. 1998 July 2000 Aug. 2001

Sep. 2001 July 2002 Oct. 2002

Figure 2. Profile of a flood at Akutsu measuring point, 150 km upstream from the river mouth.

3 DISCUSSION

3.1 Flow characteristics and nutrient load

Discharge profiles of floods at Akutsu measuring point (No. 7) were shown in figure 2. These
profiles are arranged the origin of rising period in each flood: Sep. 1996, Aug. 1998, July 2000,
Aug. 2000, Aug. 2001, July 2002, and Oct. 2002. The discharge of Aug. 1998 and Sep. 2002 are
enormous one, especially, the flood in Aug. 1998 was caused by a record breaking rainfall on the
east side of Nasu Mountains of more than 1200 mm over six days. And, the others are middle class
flood which the flow covered on the floodplain at Akutsu measuring point.
Relation between flow discharge and suspended solids during a flood shows in figure 3. The
solid line in the figure was obtained by middle class flood in Sep. 1996 (Nagabayashi, 1998, 2000).
Raising period of middle class were plotted around this regression line whereas a flood in large
discharge; Aug. 1998, July 2002, and Oct. 2002 was recognized lower SS concentration than the line.
Figure 4 shows the relation of nutrient concentration T-N (mg/l) between SS (g/l) and T-P (mg/l)
between SS (g/l) at Atuktsu. The solid line in the figure was obtained by the measurement of
spatially arranged observation points in 1996. The relation shows in equation (1) and (2).

728
 2
SS = 0.0104Q0.637

SS(g/l)
1

0
0 1000 2000
Q(m3/s)
Sep. '96 Aug. '98 July '00 Aug. '01
Sep. '01 July '02 Oct '02

Figure 3. Comparison of the relationship between suspended solid SS and flood discharge at Akutsu.

9 3
T-N(mg/l)

T-P(mg/l)
6 2

3 1

0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
SS (g/l) SS (g/l)
Sep.'96 Aug.'98 July '00 Aug.'01
Sep '01 July '02 Oct '02

Figure 4. Comparison of the relationship between nutrient concentration and suspended solid at Akutsu.

In the case of large flood, Aug. 1998 and Sep. 2002 indicate less concentration compared than the
regression lines. Nutrient concentrations of a middle class flood recognized as the same tendencies
with the regression equations, but in case of large flood indicate less contamination.

3.2 Sediment transport and the nutrient conditions in a flood

Nutrient loads in a flood in time progress is very important to discuss the substance transportation,
figure 5 shows the profiles of histogram of suspended solid in a flood: July 2002 and Oct. 2002.
The flood in July 2002 is the largest peak discharge and the Oct. 2002 is the third flood in the
measurements. Diameter of suspended solid distributed from 8 micron meter to 400 micron meter.
A peak diameter of the histogram is about 30 micron meter. There are two peaks distribution in
rising period of Oct. 2002 and that of larger peak is about 300 micron meter. In comparing two
floods, it is recognized that the distribution of suspended solid is strongly affected by the load
conditions from tributaries and land runoff.
The comparisons between total nutrients (T-N, T-P) and dissolved rate (DTN, DTP) with time
progress were shown in figure 6: (a) Sep. 2001, (b) July 2002, and (c) Oct. 2002. The flood
discharge in Sep. 2001 is middle class, and July 2002 and Oct 2002 are larger one. The difference
of total between the dissolved rate is particulate rate; July 2002 indicates special distributions that
the dissolved rate is dominate component.
Figure 7 shows the inorganic nutrients ratio according to the time progress in a flood: Nitric
acid NO3 -N, Nitrous acid NO2 -N, and Ammonia NH4 -N. And this figure also shows the ratio of
particulate and dissolved. Nitric acid hold high amount of dissolved rate during in a flood, whereas
nitrous acid and ammonia show high particulate rate.

729
 20
20 Rising period 10/1 22:00
(a) Raising period Rising period 7/10 23:00 16
16
12

n (%)
n (%)
12
8 8
4 4
0 0
1 10 100 1000 1 10 100 1000
D (µ m) D (µ m)
20
Peak 7/11 10:00 20
(b) The peak 16 Peak 10/2 4:00
16
12
n (%)

n (%)
12
8 8
4 4
0 0
1 10 100 1000 1 10 100 1000
D (µ m) D (µ m)
20 20
(c) Decreasing Decreasing 7/11 16:00 Decreasing 10/2 13:00
16 16
period
12 12
n (%)

n (%)
8 8
4 4
01 0
10 100 1000 1 10 100 1000
D (µ m) D (µ m)

Figure 5. Distribution of suspended solid of a flood. Left figure is a flood in July 2002 and the right figure
indicate a flood Oct. 2002.

3000 5.0 3000 1.5

4.0

T-P(mg/l)
T-N(mg/l)
Q(m3/s)

Q(m /s)

2000 2000 1.0

3.0
3

2.0 0.5
1000 1000
1.0
0 0.0 0 0.0
(a) 9/11 9/12 9/11 9/12
3000 5.0 3000 1.5
4.0
T-N(mg/l)
Q(m3/s)

T-P(mg/l)
2000 2000 1.0
Q(m /s)

3.0
3

2.0
1000 1000 0.5
1.0
0 0.0 0 0.0
(b) 7/10 7/11 7/10 7/11

3000 5.0 3000 1.5

4.0
T-N(mg/l)

T-P(mg/l)
Q(m3/s)

Q(m /s)

2000 2000 1.0

3.0
3

2.0
1000 1000 0.5
1.0

(c) 0 0.0 0 0.0

10/1 10/2 10/1 10/2

Figure 6. Comparisons of nutrient distributions of total value and dissolved rate in a flood. (a) Sep. 2001, (b)
July 2002 and (c) Oct. 2002.

3.3 Discussion of substance transportation using mass loading rate and

Kinematics wave method
In the above, there are many relationships recognized the flow discharge between suspended solid
and the nutrient in a flooding river. Dissolved rate of nitrate acid is dominant in the whole volume;
however nitrous acid and ammonia are dominant in particulate rate which transported by adsorbed
in suspended solid.

730
 4.0 4.0 4.0

norIganic N.(mg/l)
Inorganic N.(mg/l)
Inorganic N.(mg/l)
3.0 3.0 3.0

2.0 2.0 2.0

1.0 1.0 1.0

0.0 0.0 0.0

11:00

14:00

17:00

20:00

23:00

2:00

5:00

8:00

17:00

20:00

23:00

2:00

5:00

10:00

13:00

16:00

19:00

19:00

22:00

1:00

4:00

7:00

10:00

13:00

16:00
NH4-N NO2-N NO3-N NH4-N NO2-N NO3-N NH4-N NO2-N NO3-N

0.6 0.6 0.6

NH4-N(mg/l)

NH4-N(mg/l)

NH4-N(mg/l)
0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0 0.0

11:00

14:00

17:00

20:00

23:00

2:00

5:00

8:00

17:00

20:00
23:00

2:00

5:00
10:00

13:00
16:00

19:00

19:00

22:00

1:00

4:00

7:00

10:00

13:00

16:00
2.5 2.5 2.5
2.0 2.0 2.0
NO3-N(mg/l)

NO3-N(mg/l)
NO3-N(mg/l)

1.5 1.5 1.5

1.0 1.0 1.0
0.5 0.5 0.5
0.0 0.0 0.0
11:00

14:00

17:00

20:00

23:00

2:00

5:00

8:00

17:00

20:00
23:00

2:00

5:00
10:00

13:00
16:00

19:00

19:00

22:00

1:00

4:00

7:00

10:00

13:00

16:00
0.20 0.20 0.20
NO2-N(mg/l)

NO2-N(mg/l)

0.15
NO2-N(mg/l)
0.15 0.15

0.10 0.10 0.10

0.05 0.05 0.05

0.00 0.00 0.00

11:00

14:00

17:00

20:00

23:00

2:00

5:00

8:00

17:00
20:00
23:00
2:00
5:00
10:00
13:00
16:00
19:00

19:00

22:00

1:00

4:00

7:00

10:00

13:00

16:00
Dissolved Particulate Dissolved Particulate Dissolved Particulate

(a) Sep. 2001 (b) July 2002 (c) Oct. 2002

Figure 7. Comparison of inorganic nitrogen and particulate rate and dissolved at Akutsu.

The relationship between substance load L and the flow discharges Q, which called L-Q equation,
is easy to treat the equation and to superimpose from tributaries load.

where L: substances load (g/sec) and Q: flow discharge (m3 /sec).

Figure 8 shows the relations of nutrient loads between flow discharges in a flood at the Akutu
measuring point. Solid lines in the figures are regression equations: line No. 1 shows mean value
of the load, No. 2 is the highest slop, and No. 3 is the lowest. Total nitrogen and total phosphorus
are widely distributed, it supposed strongly affected by the organic ingredient. Whereas, inorganic
nitrogen and phosphorus are indicate higher correlation.
Here after, we discuss nutrient transports from shirakawa to Akutsu using L-Q equations and
the Kinematic wave method. The distance of these points is apart from about sixty kilometers
and there are six tributaries joined at the main channel. Main inflows staying upstream of Akutsu
are Shirakawa which is main channel and tributaries of Yashirogawa River and Shakadougawa
River. In discussing the estimation for a flood, three types L-Q equations in the above were tested.
Concentrations of a small tributary are used mean slope equation.
Figure 9 shows the estimation result of nutrients distributions in time progress at Akutsu point
in Aug. 2001. Profiles of nutrient loads are also show in the figure: Shirakwa and tributaries of
Yashirogawa River and Syakadogawa River.

731
 10000 10000 10000

LNO2-N(g/sec)
LNH4-N(g/sec)
1000 1000
LT-N(g/sec)

1000

100 100

100 10 10
10 100 3
1000 10000 10 100 3
1000 10000 10 100 3
1000 10000
Q(m /s) Q(m /s) Q(m /s)

10000 10000 100000

LPO4-P(g/sec)
LNO3-N(g/sec)

10000
LT-P(g/sec)
1000

1000

100 1000

100 10 100
10 100 3
1000 10000 10 100 3
1000 10000 10 100 3
1000 10000
Q(m /s) Q(m /s) Q(m /s)

Sep. 1996 Aug. 1998 Aug. 2001 Sep. 2001 July 2002
Oct. 2002 Correlation (Whole data) Correlataion (High) Correlation (Low)

Figure 8. Interrelation of nutrient loads between flow discharges at Akutsu measuring point.

4 0.5 100 0.2 15

0.4 80 12

FNO2-N (g/sec)
FNH4-N (g/sec)
NH4-N (mg/l)

3
NO2-N (mg/l)
T-N (mg/l)

0.3 60 9
2 0.1
0.2 40 6
1
0.1 20 3

0 0.0 0 0.0 0
8/22 8/23 8/24 8/22 8/23 8/24 8/22 8/23 8/24

3 400 2 2 250
FNO3-N (g/sec)

300 1.5 200

NO3-N (mg/l)

1.5
PO4-P (mg/l)

2
T-P (mg/l)

150
200 1 1
1 100
100 0.5 0.5
50
0 0 0 0 0
8/22 8/23 8/24 8/22 8/23 8/24 8/22 8/23 8/24

Akutu(Obsevation) Akutu(Culculation) C-Shirakawa C-Yashirogawa River C-Syakadougawa River

Figure 9. Estimation for nitrogen distributions with time decay at Akutsu in Aug. 2001.

In the estimation, flow discharges were obtained by the channel network system (Nagabayashi,
2001), and nutrients were transport by an average velocity of the flood. In the estimation, nitrogen
of Shirakawa and Yshirogawa River used higher amount of loads and Shakadougawa River was
a small slope, whereas phosphorus indicate that the former was middle and the latter was large.
Finally, authors are recognize the possibility to make an estimation for a nutrient transportation in
a flood.

4 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Material transport during a flood was investigated by field observations and simple model exam-
inations. The nutrient load in time progress of a flood is available to estimate, if the appropriate

732
mass loading rate was selected in river course. But, the characteristics of dissolved matter and
particulate of nutrients in a flood are quite different in inorganic nitrogen, so, it is very important
to estimate these elements in the next analysis.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

In conducting this investigation, the authors received cooperation from the Fukushima River and
Road Office of Ministry of Construction. The portion of this research is supported by the financial
assistance of Interdisciplinary Global Joint Research Grant for Nihon University for 2001 and
2002, and Technology to Promote Multidisciplinary Research Projects at Nihon University, College
Engineering (Head Investigator: Prof. Motohisa Onozawa).

REFERENCES

Nagabayashi, H., Mano, A. & Kobayashi, N., 1998. Nutrient Characteristics of a flood in Abukumagawa River,
4th Symposium on the River Hydroulics and Environment, pp.231–236, (In Japanese).
Ajima, T. & Nagabayashi, H., 2000. Investigation of Nutritive Condition of Bed Material in Abkumagawa
River, Tohoku Journal of Natural Disaster Science, pp.81–85, (In Japanese).
Nagabayashi, H., Kobayshi, N. & Mano, A., 2000. The Mechanism of Nutrient Load and Material
Transportation of Flooding River, 12th Cong, APD-IHR, pp.161–169, Bangkok, Thailand.

733
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5.3 Field studies
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Field observation of salinity intrusion into Nagatsura-ura Lagoon

H. Tanaka
Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Japan

M. Takasaki
Department of Biotechnology, Ishinomaki Senshu University, Japan

H.S. Lee
Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

H. Yamaji
Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Japan

ABSTRACT: Nagatsura-ura Lagoon located in northeast of Japan has 1.41 km2 area. It is con-
nected with the sea through a small channel of 2 m deep and 1.4 km long. The lagoon has been
utilized for aquaculture of oyster for these several decades, and is now one of the biggest industries
in this area. In the recent years, however, death of oyster in summer due to anoxic water in the bot-
tom layer is a deep concern. To investigate the hydrodynamic behavior in the lagoon, measurement
of water quality and water level variation are carried during the period of summer in 2002.

1 INTRODUCTION

Semi-enclosed sea area has been used for aquaculture in many places due to its calm condition.
In the Nagatsura-ura Lagoon in Japan, cultivation of oyster has been carried out since 1950, and
is now one of the major industries in this area. In the recent years, however, water pollution is a
problem with the increase of the production he aquaculture, especially in the deeper portion of
the lagoon. Due to that reason, there is a plan to install a facility for improving water quality in
the lagoon. It should be noted that the efficiency of a water quality improvement facility is much
dependent on flow structure in the lagoon area. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify thoroughly the
flow structure, especially for the period when temperature stratification is predominant. In this
paper, results of detailed observation of water quality and water level variation in the lagoon area
are reported.

2 STUDY AREA AND FIELD OBSERVATION

Nagatsura-ura Lagoon is located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan as seen in Fig. 1. It has 8.0 km
long perimeter, with 1.4 km2 area. Although there are several small rivers pours to the lagoon,
the discharge from the catchment area is negligibly small. Thus, the flow in the lagoon is mostly
governed by tidal current through an inlet connecting the sea and the lagoon. The tidal inlet has
a length of 1.7 km and the depth of 2 m, while the maximum water depth in the lagoon is 10 m,
as illustrated in Fig. 1. Culturing of oyster has been carried out in the deeper area using floating
structures as seen Photo 1.
Measurements were carried out using Chlorotec (ALEC Electronics Co., Ltd.) to measure water
depth, water temperature, salinity, turbidity, and chlorophyll-a. Anoxic water can be observed only
during summer due to very strong stratification in the lagoon. Therefore, field observation of water

737
 N

SENDAI r
ive
miR
t aka Oppa Bay
Ki

JAPAN

water level gague

1

2
3
4
5
6 4m
7
8m 8
9 6m

10
0 1km 10 m

Figure 1. Location map of Nagatsura-ura Lagoon. Photo 1. Aerial photograph.

quality was carried out in the mid-summer on July 25th, 2002 along the measuring line seen in
Fig. 1. Since there is a deep fairway in the lagoon for navigation purpose and to enhance seawater
exchange, the measuring line in Fig. 1 is located exactly along the fairway. Furthermore, water
level variation was measured at the station shown in Fig. 1.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Water quality variation

Figure 2 illustrates water level variation in the lagoon, along with estimated tidal level at the
Ayukawa Port. Further, the observation period is also shown in Fig. 2.
One of the important features in the water level variation in Nagatsura-ura Lagoon is that it
cannot be lowered as tide during the low tide. Similar behavior has already been observed at a
small river in Japan by one of the authors (Tanaka et al., 2000). This is caused by predominance of
bottom friction along the tidal inlet during low tide. Between two measurements shown in Fig. 1,
Period (A) corresponds to slack water condition, while Period (B) corresponds to very strong flood
tide condition.
Examples of measured water quality profile are shown in Figs 3 and 4 for Periods (A) and (B),
respectively. Figure 3(a) is obtained at St. 10 that is located at the deepest point with the depth of
10 m. It is seen that the temperature shows linear reduction from the water surface. Salinity also
shows linear profile from the surface to the depth of 5m, and the deeper portion has uniform profile
occupied by seawater. In contrast to these quantities, turbidity and chlorophyll a show distinctly
different profile with the peak around z = 7 m. Figure 3(b) shows profiles of water quality at St. 1
located at the entrance to the lagoon. All of the quantity show almost uniform profile due to strong
mixture in the cross-section.
During the measurement of Period (B), the fundamental characteristics of the profile are same
as Period (A) in Fig. 3, although slight increase in temperature can be seen near the surface. At
St. 1 the profile is more uniform as compared with Fig. 3(b).

738
 100
80 Period (B) Tidal level
Water level
60
40

Water level (cm)

20
0
Period (A)
-20
-40
-60
-80
-100
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Time (hour)

Figure 2. Time-variation of water level.

0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60
0 0
1
2 Temperature (deg.) Temperature (deg.)

3 Salanity (PSU) Salanity (PSU)

4 Turbidity (ppm) Turbidity (ppm)

Depth (m)

Depth (m)

5 Chlorophyll-a (µg/l) Chlorophyll-a (µg/l)

1
6
7
8
9 09:49 09:26
10
11 2
(a) St. No.10 (b) St. No.1

Figure 3. Profile during Period (A).

0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60
0 0
1
2 Temperature (deg.) Temperature (deg.)

3 Salanity (PSU) Salanity (PSU)

4 Turbidity (ppm) Turbidity (ppm)
Depth (m)

Depth (m)

5
Chlorophyll-a (µg/l) 1 Chlorophyll-a (µg/l)
6
7
8
9 16:47 16:01
10
11 2
(a) St. No.10 (b) St. No.1

Figure 4. Profile during Period (B).

739
 More comprehensive figure can be obtained by drawing longitudinal profile as well as vertical
one, as seen in Figs 5 and 6, in which the abscissa denotes the number of measuring station shown
in Fig. 1. It is seen in Fig. 5(a) that the contour lines are almost parallel except the shallow area on
the left hand side. On the left hand side in Fig. 6(a), increase in water temperature can be seen near
the surface due to solar radiation. The water flowing to the lagoon has uniform profile, and it is
observed that inflowing seawater intrudes into the intermediate layer at z = 2 m, without affecting
to the water body beneath this elevation.
Intrusion into the intermediate layer can be confirmed in Fig. 6(b) also. It is noted that the salinity
of intruding water is about 17 psu, while the bottom water in the lagoon is salt water with higher
salinity and the surface water has lower salinity. Due to this density stratification in the lagoon,

(deg) (deg)

(a) Temperature (a) Temperature

(psu) (psu)

(b) Salinity (b) Salinity

(ppm) (ppm)

(c) turbidity (c) turbidity

(µg/l) (µg/l)

(d) chlorophyll-a (d) chlorophyll-a

Figure 5. Water quality profile (Period (A)). Figure 6. Water quality profile (Period (B)).

740
inflowing water intrudes into the middle layer. It is supposed that the intermediate salinity of the
intruding water is attributed to effluent discharge from Kitakami River (see Fig. 1). Thus, it will
be necessary to carry our further investigation not only in the lagoon, but also in the whole Oppa
Bay area.
The geometry of the present study area is similar to that in Lake Ogawara in Japan, although the
size and the depth of the lake are much different each other. Lake Oagawara is one of the largest
brackish lakes in Japan with the maximum water depth of 26 m, and is connected with sea area
by a shallow river channel of 5 km long. Nagao and Ishikawa (1998) and Nagao (1999) carried
out detailed measurements of salinity intrusion into Lake Ogawara, and observed an occasional
bottom layer intrusion of salt water during the period of high tide. Compared with Lake Ogawara,
intruding seawater has lower salinity in our study area due to Kitakami River, resulting in intrusion
into middle layer. Thus, it is expected that the water quality in Nagatsura-ura Lagoon is highly
influenced by fresh water discharge from Kitakami River.
Contour lines for turbidity also show the same behavior of middle layer intrusion as shown in
Fig. 6(c). In Fig. 5(c), it is seen that turbidity in the lagoon above z = 5 m is very low, and Fig. 6(c)
indicates intrusion of water with high turbidity through the shallow channel on the left hand side
of the figure.

1.5
in the lagoon
tide (Ayukawa Port)
1
water level (m)

0.5

-0.5
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Oct.

1.5
in the lagoon
tide (Ayukawa Port)
1
water level (m)

0.5

-0.5
27 28 29 30 31 Nov 1 2 3

Figure 7. Water level variation in Nagatsura-ura Lagoon (Oct. & Nov. 2002).

741
 Kitakami River river discharge

mixture
tidal current

Oppa Bay

tidal discharge increase

due to wave set-up

Nagatsura-ura
Lagoon

stratification

Figure 8. Factors controlling lagoon water quality.

Contour lines for chlorophyll-a also show the same behavior of middle layer intrusion (Fig. 6(d)).
Due to distinct difference of chlorophyll-a inside and outside of the lagoon, intruding process can
be clearly visualized.

3.2 Water level variation

Water level variation measured in the lagoon is shown in Fig. 7, together with estimated tidal
variation at Ayukawa Port located 30 km south of the study area. Although the water level in the
lagoon shows time-variation in response to tide, there is a distinct difference between these two
water levels. One of the important features is that the water level in the lagoon cannot be lowered
during low tide as compared with tide, due to shallow water depth along the tidal inlet as already
seen in Fig. 2. This indicates that the tidal prism, which represents water volume exchanges between
the lagoon and the sea, is not so much as that estimated from tidal variation in the sea.
Another interesting feature can be characterized by water level rise in the lagoon above tidal
level on October 21 and 22. In particular, the water level rise above the tide attained to about 30 cm
on October 21. This is wave set-up, induced by wave breaking under storm condition. Similar
phenomenon has already been reported at river entrances elsewhere, such as Nanakita River mouth
(Tanaka et al., 2000), Natsui River mouth (Tanaka et al., 2000), Shiribetsu River mouth (Tanaka
and Lee 2003), and Nagase River mouth (Narita et al., 2002). Water level rise due to wave set-up
causes increase in tidal prism beyond supposed one due to tidal variation, which can be frequent
impacts on lagoon environment.
Considering the results of the field observation described above, the factors controlling
hydrodynamics in the lagoon can be schematically summarized in Fig. 8.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The followings are the main conclusions obtained in the present study on Nagatsura-ura Lagoon
in Japan.
(1) It is found that sea water intruding into Nagatsura-ura Lagoon was mixed completely in vertical
direction. This is due to strong turbulent mixture in the shallow channel connecting the lagoon
and the sea.
(2) The salinity of inflowing water was around 17 psu, due to mixture of seawater and fresh water
discharge from Kitakami River. Inside the lagoon, the surface water had less salinity, while

742
 bottom layer had higher salinity. Due to this vertical profile of salinity in the lagoon, intrusion
in to the middle layer occurred. Thus, it can be concluded that the hydrodynamic behavior in
the lagoon primarily affected by the discharge of Kitakami River.
(3) The water level in the lagoon cannot be so much lowered as compared with tidal level outside
the lagoon. Meanwhile, water level rise occurs in the lagoon due to storm waves, resulting in
increase in tidal discharge.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to express their grateful thanks to Mr. Koichiro Kanno, Yamanishi Co., Ltd.
for his assistance during the course of the field observation. Their appreciation is extended to the
students of Ishinomaki Senshu University and to the Fishery Association of Kahoku Town for their
cooperation.

REFERENCES

Nagao, M. and Ishikawa, T. 1998. A field study on an inclined plume in Lake Ogawara in Japan, Proceedings
of the 10th Congress of the Asia and Pacific Division of IAHR, Vol.2, pp.440–447.
Nagao, M. 1999. Study on saline inclined plume in Lake Ogawara, Dr. Eng. Dissertation, Department of Civil
Engineering, Tohoku University, 228p.
Narita, M., Ishikawa, T. and Takahashi, A. 2002. Characteristics of the river mouth on the Takase River,
Proceedings of Coastal Engineering, JSCE, 49, pp.526–530 (in Japanese).
Tanaka, H., Nagabayashi, H. and Yamauchi, K. 2000. Observation of wave set-up height in a river mouth,
Proceedings of 27th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, pp.3458–3471.
Tanaka, H. and Lee, H.S. 2003. Influence of jetty construction on morphology and wave set-up at a river
mouth, Coastal Engineering Journal, Vol.45, No.4, pp.659–683.

743
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Measurements of ocean current in the vicinity of Yunlin Offshore

Industrial Park

Ming-Hsiung Hsu
Senior Engineer, Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory, Tainan, Taiwan

Jin-Li Yu
Associate researcher, Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory, Tainan, Taiwan

Ta-Kang Liu
Assistant researcher, Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory, Tainan, Taiwan

Ruey-Chy Kao
Deputy Director and Associate researcher, Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory,
Tainan, Taiwan

Hwung-Hweng Hwung
Professor, Department of Hydraulic and Ocean Engineering of National Cheng Kung University,
Tainan, Taiwan

ABSTRACT: The goal of this study is to understand the long-term characteristics of the ocean
current in the vicinity of Yunlin Offshore Industrial Park (YOIP). Results of the 10-year measure-
ments show that ocean currents are composed of tidal current, mean current, and wind-driven
current. The average amplitude of tidal current is about 60∼100 cm/s. Mean currents appear to be
10∼17 cm/s southward during the winter and 3∼8 cm/s northeastward during the summer. How-
ever, the seasonal pattern of ocean current has changed after the construction of the Mai-Liao
Industrial Harbor. The mean currents increase to 15 cm/s northeastward during the whole year. In
addition, the direction of mean current between surface and bottom layer can be 20◦ ∼40◦ off due
to the influence of northeast monsoon. Upon the invasion of a tropical typhoon, the wind-driven
current velocity increases and its maximum can reach approximately 90 cm/s.

1 INTRODUCTION

The measurement of ocean current is part of the environmental impact assessment during the
development of the Yunlin Offshore Industrial Park (YOIP). The objective of the measurement is
to understand the characteristics of the ocean current in the vicinity of YOIP. The monitoring of
the ocean current can let the authority of YOIP to foresee any possible impact during the develop-
ment. The ocean current measurements in YOPI have commenced since 1991. Several observation
stations were established to monitor the currents near the shore within water depths of 5 m to 20 m.
The measuring locations were relocated during different stages of the development. Ocean currents
were observed in 5 locations in the recent years. In order to study the long-term characteristics of
ocean current, station YLCW became a permanent one since 1993 to collect data throughout the
whole year. Measurements of other stations are set at an interval of at least 15 days. The stations of
current measurement, tide station and weather station are shown in Figure 1. The current stations
are YLCH, YLCG, YLCW, YLW5, and YLCB, respectively. The tide station and weather station
locates at MZ and HN, respectively.

745
 2640000
YLCH

2635000
YLCG
HN
2630000 5 MZ
YLCW

2625000
YLW5

2620000
YLCB

2615000

2610000
145000 155000 165000 175000

Figure 1. Map of the vicinity of YOIP. Locations of monitoring stations are shown as solid dots. The solid
star, MZ, is the location of tide station. The solid triangle, HN, is the weather station.

Table 1. The specification of Valeport model 308 ocean current.

Sensor Type Range Accuracy

Speed Impeller 0.03 to 5.0 m/s <1.5% of reading

Direction Flux gate compass 0◦ ∼360◦ ±2◦

Table 2. The specification of Nortek AS ADP.

Sensor Type Range Accuracy

Speed Acoustic ±10 m/s 1% of reading

Direction Flux gate compass 0◦ ∼360◦ ±2◦

2 METHOD

Current meters were used to measure ocean currents. The deployment of the meter was done by
dropping the meter into the ocean with an anchor mounted on the bottom and a buoy floating on the
surface. The instruments used over the years include ENDECO 174 SSM, RCM-4, and DNC-2M.
In recent years there are two types of instrument used in this study: the Valeport 308 current meter
and the Nortek AS ADP profile current meter. The former is suspended at about 3 meters below
the surface and the latter is deployed on the sea bed. All the instruments can record both of speed
and direction once every 5 minutes. The specifications of two kinds of instruments are presented
in Table 1 and Table 2 respectively.

3 DISCUSSION

3.1 Ocean current overview in the vicinity of YOIP

Results of the 10-year measurements [1∼6] show that ocean currents are composed of tidal current,
mean current, and wind-driven current. In winter the highest velocity during each investigation is

746
 10
Wind(m/s)

5
0
-5
3 -10
Water level(m)

2
1

140
0
60 120 -2 -1

120

100
current(cm/s)
Long-shore

80
60 120 -120 -60 0

60

40
current(cm/s)
Cross-shore

20
-120 -60 0

0
-20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
07/14 07/16 07/18 07/20 07/22 07/24 07/26 07/28 07/30 -20

Figure 2. The time series of wind, tide, along-shore current Figure 3. The vector of current at
and cross-shore current at station YLCW during non-northeastern station YLCW. (unit: km).
monsoon.

approximate 170 cm/s, which is over 3 knots. In summer the highest velocity is up to 140 cm/s.
Ocean currents are dominated by tidal current with an average amplitude about 60∼100 cm/s. The
main part of tidal current is semi-diurnal tide, which rises and ebbs twice a day. The currents
go northeastward on the rises and southwestward on the ebbs. The directions of currents are
approximately parallel to the coastline. In addition, the currents also contain mean currents which
exhibits a seasonal fluctuation. The results from station YLCW show that mean currents appear
to be 10∼17 cm/s southward during northeastern monsoon and 3∼8 cm/s northeastward during
non-northeastern monsoon. The northeastern monsoon is from the end of September to March of
next year and the non-northeastern monsoon is from April to September.

3.1.1 Ocean current conditions in non-northeastern monsoon

The conditions of ocean currents during non-northeastern monsoon can be understood by using the
data of station YLCW observed during Jul. 14 to Jul. 30, 1998. Figure 2 shows that the currents
roughly change twice each day. It can be observed that the maximum velocity during a rising ride
is higher than the one during a ebbing tide. Figure 2 also shows that the wind at HN mainly blow
south-southwest and southwest with an average velocity of 5 m/s. Figure 3 shows the cumulative
vector of current. The vector moves northeastward with a displacement of 140 km. Because the
variation of low-frequency current is not significant in the space, the vector could be considered
as a possible track of suspended particles.

3.1.2 Ocean current conditions in northeastern monsoon

Figure 4 shows a typical example of current conditions during the northeastern monsoon. The
currents were observed at Station YLCW during Dec. 18, 1998 to Jan. 11 of the next year. Strong
northeast winds with velocity of over 10 m/s were recorded during Dec. 22 to Dec. 25, 1998, as
shown in Figure 4. The maximum velocity can reach up to 20 m/s. Because the wind-driven currents
were due to the strong north wind, the southern currents are larger than the northern ones during
this period of time.
Besides, another stronger northeast wind blew during Jan. 1 to Jan. 7, 1999. The wind-driven
currents were over 40 cm/s. The southern currents are also larger than the northern ones. Figure 5
shows that the cumulative current vector goes southeastward. It indicated that the variation of
currents was related to tide as well as wind.

747
 5
Water level (m) Wind(m/s)

0
2 3 -15 -10 -5
80 160 -2 -1 0 1

20

0
-20 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
current(cm/s) current(cm/s)
Long-shore

-40
80 160 -160 -80 0

-60

-80
Cross-shore

-100
-160 -80 0

-120

12/18 12/21 12/24 12/27 12/30 01/02 01/05 01/08 01/11 -140

Figure 4. The time series of wind, tide, along-shore current and Figure 5. The vector of current at
cross-shore current at station YLCW in northeastern monsoon. station YLCW. (unit: km).
The occurrence percentage of

60
velocity over one knot(%)

48.3
50 45 43.9 43.4
40.4 40.1 41.1
40 36.3 34.8 34.5

30
1993 1995 1997 1999 2001

Figure 6. Yearly statistic of the current velocities at station YLCW.

3.2 The influence on currents after the construction of the port

StationYLCW locates at about 2 kilometers to the south of Mai-Liao Industrial Harbor. The average
depth is 15 meters. During the development of the YOIP, the construction of harbor breakwater
started from the inland area toward the ocean. The southern breakwater project began in July 1996
and completed in May 2000, extending to a depth of 19 meters offshore. The western breakwater
project began in April of 1995 and completed in 2001, extending to a depth of 23 meters offshore.
Both the southern and western breakwaters enclosed the harbor and have influence on the surround-
ing ocean current conditions. In fact, the structure affected the currents at station YLCW gradually
during different phases of construction. The followings section will discuss the changes of ocean
currents according to different parameters.

3.2.1 Statistics of ocean currents

Figure 6 shows the results of yearly statistics at station YLCW from 1993 to 2002. The occurrence
percentage of velocity over one knot (50 cm/s) on surface layer lies between 34.5% to 48.3% with
an average of 41%. It can be seen that the value has dropped significantly from 43.4% in 1999
to 36.3% in 2000. The major portion of the current directions is shown in Figure 7 to go north-
northeast during rising tides and south-southwest during ebbing tides. The breakwater structure
affected the current directions and made them go south-southeast on the ebbs.

3.2.2 Mean current

Figure 8 shows the mean currents of each observation at station YLCW from 1993 to 2002. The
directions of mean currents go southward during northeastern monsoon and northward during

748
Figure 7. Yearly statistic of current directions at YLCW.

749
 25 360

Direction (deg.)
Velocity (cm/s)
20 270
15
180
10
5 90
0 0
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

Figure 8. The fluctuation of mean current at station YLCW from 1993 to 2002.

Table 3. The mean current with a one-meter depth interval at station YLCW.

The depth over 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

seabed (m)
Speed of mean 14.8 16.4 17.4 18.1 18.7 19.1 19.3 19.4 19.4 18.2 12.9 9.3
current (cm/s)
Direction of mean 37.2 39.4 40.6 41.4 41.9 42.0 41.8 41.6 41.0 43.4 64.9 82.8
current (deg.)

15 15

12 12
depth(m)

9 9
depth(m)

6 6

3 3

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25
0 90 180 270 360
speed of mean current(cm/s)
direction of mean current(deg.)

Figure 9. Vertical profile of mean flow at station YLCW.

non-northeastern monsoon before 1999. However, the seasonal pattern of ocean current has changed
after the construction of the harbor. After winter of 1999, the mean currents of station YLCW
increased to approximately 15 cm/s northeastward during the whole year.

3.2.3 The vertical distribution of currents at station YLCW

The change of seasonal pattern of ocean current became very obvious since 1999. In order to
characterize the vertical profile of current in the ocean, Acoustic Doppler Profiler (ADP) was
deployed at station YLCW in Sep. 28 to Oct. 16, 2000. The mean currents were calculated from
the observed data at a one-meter depth interval and the results were shown in Table 3. The vertical
velocity profile of mean flow was shown in Figure 9. The range of mean currents is from 9.3 cm/s
to 19.4 cm/s. This fluctuation appeared to be very significant between surface and bottom layer.
The mean currents varied from 14.8 cm/s to 18.2 cm/s gradually from a depth of 2 m to 11 m and the
directions were centered around 37.2◦ to 43.4◦ . Because the current measurements were observed
in winter, the strong northeast wind induced the southwest wind-driven current. It seemed apparent
that the clockwise change of mean flow direction in upper layer was due to the southwestward
wind-driven current. For the water layers close to the surface, the wind-driven current became
larger. This could explain why the layer of 12 m depth above seabed is 64.9◦ (about 20◦ off with
bottom layer) and the layer of 13 m depth above seabed is 82.8◦ (about 40◦ off with bottom layer).

750
 Table 4. The max. wind velocity of typhoon and wind-driven current.

Typhoon The time Wind max. Wind-driven

name invasion Station speed (m/s) current (cm/s)

YANNI Sep. 28, 1998 YLCG >10 45

YANNI Sep. 28, 1998 YLCH >10 64
ZEB Oct. 15∼16, 1998 YLCW 21.0 80
BILIS Aug. 22∼23, 2000 YLCB 20.5 20
BILIS Aug. 22∼23, 2000 YLCH 20.5 50
BILIS Aug. 22∼23, 2000 YLW5 20.5 40
CHEBI Jun. 22∼24, 2001 YLCW 17.8 55
UTOR Jul. 3, 2001 YLCW 12 50
TORAJI Jul. 29∼30, 2001 YLCW 15.7 40
NARI Sep. 15∼19, 2001 YLCW 14.2 40
LEKIMA Sep. 25∼27, 2001 YLCH 17.5 90

3.3 The wind-driven currents due to typhoon over the years

There are usually several typhoons passing Taiwan every year, typically in summer and autumn.
Upon the intrusion of a typhoon, very large wind-driven current is occasionally produced due to
strong wind speed that usually lasts for more than one day. There were eight typhoons, including
YANNI, ZEB, BILIS, CHEBI, UTOR, TORAJI, NARI, and LEKIMA, hitting the land area or
passing through the vicinity of ocean area where the current meters was located during 1998 to
2002. Current meters recorded the current conditions while the typhoon was passing.
The wind-driven currents were obtained by using a method of low-pass filter. The time series
of current was transformed to the data in frequency domain by the Fast Fourier Transform method
(FFT). The tide current frequency was cut off and then the data were retransformed to the time
domain. The time of cut off period was 36 hours. Thus the component of tide current would no
longer exist in the time series data. The leftover was the sub-tidal current that related to the wind
and others. According to this methodology, the results of largest wind-current during each typhoon
invasion are listed in Table 4.

4 CONCLUSION

The ocean currents are composed of tidal current, mean current, and wind-driven current. The aver-
age amplitude of tidal currents is about 60∼100 cm/s. The wind-driven currents sometimes exceed
40 cm/s during northeastern monsoon. Two types of mean flow pattern existed in the vicinity of
YOIP: one appeared during northeast monsoon and the other during non-northeast monsoon. The
mean current appears to be 10∼17 cm/s southward during northeastern monsoon and 3∼8 cm/s
northeastward during non-northeastern monsoon. However, the seasonal mean flow pattern has
been changed due to the construction of Mai-Liao Harbor and the change was significant after
winter of 1999.
The mean currents increased to approximately 15 cm/s northeastward during the whole year. At
station YLCW the direction of mean current between surface and bottom layer can be 20◦ ∼40◦ off
due to the influence of northeast monsoon.
There were several typhoons attack Taiwan during 1998∼2001. Upon the invasion of the
typhoons, the wind-driven currents velocity increase and the maximum can reach up to
approximately 90 cm/s.

751
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Industrial Development Bureau of Ministry of EconomicAffairs is greatly appreciated for providing

financial support to this study.

REFERENCES

Sen Jan, H.H. Hwung, F. Chang. 1997. Currents at Taishi Offshore and Their Prediction. Proc. 19th Conf. on
ocean Engineering in R.O.C. Nov. 1997, pp. 423∼430.
T.H.L. of N.C.K.U. 1996. Field Investigation and Numerical Analysis for the Integrated Reclamation of
Industrial District on Outer-bank of YUNLIN. Bulletin 190, part 1, vol. 2.
T.H.L. of N.C.K.U. 1997. Field Investigation and Numerical Analysis for the Integrated Reclamation of
Industrial District on Outer-bank of YUNLIN. Bulletin 202, part 1, vol. 2.
T.H.L. of N.C.K.U. 1998. Field Investigation and Numerical Analysis for the Integrated Reclamation of
Industrial District on Outer-bank of YUNLIN. Bulletin 214, part 1, vol. 2.
T.H.L. of N.C.K.U. 1999. Field Investigation and Numerical Analysis for the Integrated Reclamation of
Industrial District on Outer-bank of YUNLIN. Bulletin 226, part 1, vol. 2.
T.H.L. of N.C.K.U. 2000. Field Investigation and Numerical Analysis for the Integrated Reclamation of
Industrial District on Outer-bank of YUNLIN. Bulletin 248, part 1, vol. 2.

752
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

An analysis of water circulation in the basin by

stable isotopes

Takanori Kumekawa
Utsunomiya Technical High School, Utsunomiya, Japan

Masahiko Hasebe
University of Utsunomiya, Utsunomiya, Japan

Hiroyuki Ii
University of Wakayama, Wakayama, Japan

ABSTRACT: This study has been carried out for investigation of hydrologic cycle in the basin.
Analysis or making clear of the process of water flow in the basin is difficult, because water
path is very complex and influenced by many factors. River water is analyzed in the basin based
on the information such as dissolved ions and stable isotopes in the river water. From result of
water quality and quantitative observation, river water is impacted by land use and soil layers,
especially it is thought that water quality is representative as human activity. It is difficult that
estimation of underground water influences on river, it can be got useful information by stable
isotopes, dissolved ion and discharge in river. It is be able to make clear hydrologic cycle in the
basin. The information will be effective in analysis on the basin control for water sustainable
development.

1 INTRODUCTION

It is said a century of water for the 21st century. Water demand and safety have become an important
problem. In Japan, on river environment, interest of a citizen is rising for healing or gracefulness
and it is expected that river is imminent to human life. But, in actuality, a lot of rivers have various
kinds of problems such as water pollution. It is natural to get safety for a disaster of floods to a
river, but a new viewpoint in quality of river environment is bought. Furthermore, improvement
of service for a citizen and convenience which is assisted sensitivity of senses of closeness will be
demanded (Ishii, 1995).
Until now, a lot of studies (Takahashi & Kawada, 1998) on hydrologic cycle have been carried
out. But, they are mainly a quantitative study or quality of river. Hydrologic cycle process in
the basin is very complex and uncertainly, water path in the domain is difficult to make clear.
Because, water quality changes in a short section and discharge too. Furthermore, it is hard to get
the information of soil layer under ground (Hasebe et al., 1998).
In this study, it is analyzed by same information such as water quality, water quantities, soil
layer and land use. By comparing and relating this information, from a view of all over the domain,
it is made clear that the relation between land use and water quality, soil layer distribution. And
hydrologic water in the basin is becoming clear by quantitative of discharge and water quality. In
this study, it is used stable isotopes. It is thought that stable isotopes hold a past history when and
where it is rainfall. Therefore, data of stable isotopes indicate to the upper reach information, it is
effective information of catchment area.

753
2 TARGET CATCHMENT AREA AND ANALYSIS METHOD

2.1 Location
In this study, it is used two basins; one is Ishikawa river basin near Osaka city and other is Yuda
river basin which is about 300 km far from Tokyo in north-northwest (Kumekawa et al., 1997).
Yuda river basin’s catchment area is 583 km2 and yearly rainfall is about 1700 mm. Ishikawa river’s
catchment area is 220 km2 and yearly rainfall is about 1650 mm. The feature of Ishikawa river basin
is that elevation distribution is from 20 m to 2000 m and a town area is developing at the down
stream. But, Yuda river basin is much difference of elevation (from 300 m to 1500 m over sea level),
a few people and cold, land use is agriculture and forest area mainly.

2.2 Analysis methods

(1) Water quality analysis
Target analysis items are pH, EC, T, ORP, BOD, COD, SS, SO2− − + −
4 , Cl , Na , NO3 , Mg
2+

and Ca2+ . EC, pH, ORP and T (water temperature) are measured by handy type measuring
instruments. BOD, COD are by titration, SS is measured weight after dried and filtration.
Dissolved ions are analyzed by ion chromatography. Stable isotopes are analyzed by a mass
spectrometer. Observation stable isotopes are as follows:
An oxygen isotope (δ 18 O), A hydrogen isotope (δ D)
(2) Water quantities analysis
Discharge is separated three components that are overflow, interflow and underground flow. In
this study, it is used Filter Separation AR method (Hino & Hasebe, 1985).
(3) An observation period
It is observation from August, 1997 to June, 2000 at Ishikawa river basin and from march, 1998
to 1999 at Yuda river basin.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Water quality of Ishikawa river basin

BOD changes by range of from 5 mg/l to 9 mg/l in ten years, it is comparatively good as the
water in Yamato river basin (Ishikawa river is a branch river of Yamato river). It is shown Cl−
concentration for one example as dissolved ions in Fig. 1. It is shown a tendency of increase of ion

Figure 1. The relation between land use and Cl− concentration of Ishikawa basin.

754
concentration according to the downstream. In this basin, population increases at middle reaches
and the downstream, a residential area is increasing. But preparation rate of domestic sewage is still
low; it is processed facility partly and flowed out into a river. As it is thought that Cl− concentration
reflects human activity and there is few breeding of pig in this basin, it is thought that there is
2−
influenced by the land use, especially a residential area. NO− +
3 , SO4 and Ca2 concentration are not
shown in this time, NO− 3 concentration is 0.5 mg/l at the upper stream and 5 mg/l at the downstream.
As there is a rice field and a dry crop approach a river from middle reaches to the downstream, it is
thought naturally that the manure which is used at these fields influence to a river. In addition, it is
thought that influence of the soil stratum contributes to increase of ion concentration. Actually, SO2−4
concentration is high in the upper stream, as for this, it is guessed that influence of underground
water flow though the soil stratum. Ca+ 2 concentration is high in middle reaches. As it is thought
that the supply of Ca+ 2 from the atmosphere is very small (Kumekawa et al., 2000), it is guessed
that it is added mainly from the soil stratum. As a result, it is shown the relation between land use
and water quality in Fig. 2.

3.2 Water quality of Yuda river basin

In this area, it is snowfall in winter. Maximum depth of snow is about 200 cm and a thaw begins in
early March and finishes in end of May usually. It is wet snow and is easy to melt. There is much
forest and rice filed on the riverside.
It is shown seasonal EC change in Fig. 3. From this Figure, when discharge becomes is big
in snow melting, EC tends to decrease. Seasonal variation is found definitely. Other ions which
are not shown indicate similar tendency, too. In addition, it is thought that ion concentrations of
river water are diluted by melting snow water, because ion concentrations of the snow are low. It is
thought that ion concentrations become high result in August so that discharge decrease.
Above mentioned, it is remarkable a dilution effect by melting snow water in melting snow period
as a characteristic of water at a snow covered area.

3.3 Discharge
River water is composed several components. From the relation between rainfall as an input and
discharge as an output, it is separated three components such as surface flow, subsurface flow and
groundwater flow by Filter AR method. In Ishikawa river basin, underground flow is estimated
from 10% to 20% of discharge and rate of runoff is from 0.3 to 0.6. But, in Yuda river basin, rate
of runoff varies from 0.8 to 1.2. This reason is thought that as main runoff is snowmelt water in
spring, discharge is larger than rainfall.

Figure 2. The relation between land use and water quality at Ishikawa basin.

755
Figure 3. The relation between EC and discharge at Figure 4. The relation between δ D and δ 18 O atYuda
Yuda basin. basin.

Figure 5. The relation between δ D and elevation at Yuda Figure 6. Seasonal change of δ 18 O at
basin. Ishikawa basin.

3.4 The hydrologic characteristics by stable isotopes

As for the isotope element, an atomic number is the same, but it is a different atom of weight. For
example, 16 O and 18 O exits in Oxygen, and the ratio of isotope existence is the next expression
(Sakai & Matsuhisa, 1996)

where Rsample is ratio of sampling water’s isotope and Rstandard is ratio of standard water’s
isotope.
Figure 4 shows the relation between δ D and δ 18 O and Fig. 5 shows the relation between δ D
and elevation at sampling point in Yuda river basin. Generally it known the linear relation between
δ D and δ 18 O, three kind of relation line is put in Fig. 4. This relation is called Meteoric water line
(Daansgaad, 1964) and an intercept is d value in this figure. Average of d value is 17.5 in Japan
and in the world with 10 (Grag, 1961; Nakai & Shine, 1987). It is that d value of the snowfall and
snow melting period is near to 30, one of August is close to 20. It is indicated that the origin of
river water is rainfall or snowfall (Kubohara et al., 2000). Furthermore, from the relation elevation
above the sea level and δ D, it can be estimated the hillside as a source of supply of a river.
It is shown seasonal change of δ 18 O in Fig. 6. The rate of an oxygen isotope is deference in each
season; especially it is large in autumn. As for this reason, it is supported that it is influence of
rain by air mass from the south and north in autumn. Figure 7 shows the rate of δ 18 O every river

756
Figure 7. Distribution of δ 18 O each river at Ishikawa basin.

Figure 8. Estimated catchment areas by stable isotope.

in Ishikawa river basin. From this figure, it is guessed that there are two catchment areas shown
Fig. 8 in this basin.
3.5 Impact to hydrologic cycle by a stable isotope
It is investigated impact to hydrologic cycle using a stable isotope. As d value is not only indication
of the character of the basin but also saving of rainfall information, it is thought effective method
using d value. It is examined it by next expression.

where A is degree of winter’s influence and B is degree of summer’s influence, d value is observation
value at measurement date.

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 Table 1. Observation of d value at Yuda basin.

Date d value

November 4, 1999 −12.2

May 1, 2000 −9.1
June 26, 2000 −8.5
August 12, 2000 −4.5

The reason why it is divided two seasons, it is mainly influence by Okhotsk air mass in winter
and Ogasawara air mass in summer.
Table 1 shows d value now, in expression (2), if d1 = −12.2 and d2 = −4.5 used, then degree of
seasonal influence is A = 0.59, B = 0.41 at 1st, May, A = 0.51, B = 0.49 at 26th, June. This result
indicates that influence of winter about 60% in May and 50% in even end of June. Discharge in
Spring becomes a peak from the end of April to the beginning of May, but a snow line retreats than
halfway up a mountain in May and snow is hardly left at end of June. It is thought that a snowfall
and melting snow of the winter season flow into a river. That is to say, all the thaw water of spring
does not flow out and it can be estimated that it flows out slowly after infiltrating underground. It
is obtained useful information about long-term influence of discharge by stable isotope element.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In this study, it is examined hydrologic cycle by stable isotopes elements etc. Obtained main
conclusions are as follows.
(1) From result of water quality observation, it is good relation between land use and water quality.
Therefore, by combined many obtained observation’s results such as dissolved ions, it can be
obtained more information on basin and made clear the characteristics of the basin.
(2) It can be made a basin hydrologic cycle clear by using stable isotopes. In this study, it is
estimated catchment areas in the basin and impact to hydrologic cycle. It is thought that stable
isotopes are an effective method in analysis of water cycle in the basin.
As a further problem, it is carried out continuously observation of a basin and it is necessary to
examine influence and a role of the underground water which impacts to the water formation.

REFERENCES

K. ISHII. 1995. Earth management guide, Tokyo: Sosei Company.

Y. TAKAHASI & N. KAWADA (eds). 1998. Hydrologic cycle and environment of domestic basin, Tokyo:
Iwanami Publisher.
M.HINO & M. HASEBE. 1985. Analysis of hydrological runoff process, Tokyo: Morikita Publisher.
M. HASEBE & T. HIRATA. & H. II, Y. SAKAMOTO & N. EGUSA & T. KUMEKAWA & K. NISHIYAMA &
N. SAITO & N. NAMATAME. 1998. A study on investigation of water cycle process in the Ishikawa river,
Proceeding of hydraulics, Vol. 42: 307–312.
H. SAKAI & Y. MATSUHISA. 1996. Stable Isotope geochemistry,Tokyo:Tokyo University Press.
DANSGAARD W. 1964. Stable isotopes in precipitation, Tellns, 16: 436–468.
GRAG H. 1961. Isotopic variations in meteoric water, Science,133: 1702–1703.
T. KUMEKAWA & M. HASEBE & H. SUENAGA. 1997. An analysis of snowmelt water by heat budget
model taking in the planting cover distribution, Proceeding of hydraulics, Vol. 41: 259–264.
T. KUBOHARA & H.II, T. KUMEKAWA & M. HASEBE (2000): Water chemistry of snow river, spring and
hot spring in the Wagagawa basin, Proceeding of hydraulics, Vol. 44: pp1161–1167, JSEC.
N. NAKAI & I. SHIINE (1987): Significance of hydrologic cycle with stable isotopes, Study on comparative
potamology: pp197–202.
T. KUMEKAWA & M. HASEBE & T. KURIYAMA (2000): The characteristic of the distribution of acidic
fallout in Tochigi Prefecture, Proceeding of hydraulics, Vol. 44: 1137–1142.

758
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine, China: Impacts of acid mine

drainage on downstream aquatic ecosystem

Chuxia Lin
College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China,
School of Environmental Science and Management, Southern Cross University, Lismore,
NSW 2480 Australia

Xiaoli Tong
College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China

ABSTRACT: Minespoils in the Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine, South China contain substantial
amounts of metal sulfides, which have oxidized to generate sulfuric acid. Acid mine drainage from
this mine site has caused the degradation of the downstream aquatic ecosystems. Investigations show
that macroinvertebrates were absent to a distance at least 25 km downstream of the mud retaining
dam even when pH rose to above 6. This is in contrast with a tributary (not affected by acid mine
drainage) where 28 macroinvertebrate taxa were found. The first group of macroinvertebrates was
found to occur in the affected stream at about 30 km downstream of the mud retaining dam.

1 INTRODUCTION

Sulfide minerals are frequently associated with the formations where metal ores occur (Alpers &
Blowes 1994, Kittrick et al. 1982). Mining, particularly open-pit mining induces oxidation of
sulfide minerals, producing sulfuric acid (Bengsonb & Thompson 1998, Williams 2001). Acid
generating soils (minesite acid sulfate soils) in sulfidic mined areas, waste rock piles and tailings
could be extremely acidic and contain substantial amounts of heavy metals in water-soluble forms
(Lin et al. 2003). Therefore, natural colonization of vegetation in these areas is impeded and this
further causes soil erosion. The water discharging from a mine site to the adjacent rivers could
result in damage of the downstream ecosystems (Morin & Hutt 1997, Cherry et al. 2001). We
present here an example of acid mine drainage and its off-site environmental impacts in a southern
China mine site.

2 STUDY SITE AND RESEARCH METHODS

2.1 Study site

The investigated site, the Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine and the surrounding area, is located in
the northern Guangdong Province, South China (24◦ 31 37 N; 13◦ 42 49 E) (Fig. 1). The area
experiences a humid subtropical climate. A range of metal ores (mainly iron and copper ores)
were extensively mined by the state-run Guangdong Dabaoshan Mining Corp. since 1950s. In
recent years, some small private-owned companies are also intermittently involved in the mining
operations in the area. In the southern part of the Mt. Dabaoshan, a dam wall was constructed across
a major valley to intercept the floodwater and retain the mud being translocated from the waste
rock/soil piles on the top of the mountain. As a result of severe soil erosion, the siltation of the mud
retaining impoundment has been very rapid and this has markedly reduced its capacity to retain
the floodwater from the catchment. Currently, the water level in the mud retaining impoundment is

759
 Railways
Roads
Creeks
River

Figure 1. Map showing the Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine and its surrounding area.

higher than the elevation of the dam top and the mine water overflows continuously into a tributary
of the Wenjiang River all the year round.

2.2 Field methods

Soil samples were collected from the surface layer (<20 cm) of the selected mined pits (11 samples)
and waste soil/rock piles (9 samples). The quality of mine water and the water of the receiving
stream were tested in the field using a portable water quality tester, including pH, EC and DO. Water
samples were also collected from some selected sites for laboratory analysis. The measurements of
water quality were conducted during two selected occasions: one in a day after a non-rainy period
and another during a heavy rainfall event.
In order to assess the ecological impacts by acid mine drainage, macroinvertebrates were inves-
tigated in the reach immediately downstream of the mine water discharging point and an adjacent
tributary that is not affected by the mine water. The sampling was done according to the US EPA
RBPs (Plafkin et al. 1989). Riffle, pool and shore-line rooted areas were thoroughly sampled by
dip netting. Each sample was taken from an area of 1 m2 with a hand net (mesh size 0.5 mm) using
the kick method (Frost et al. 1970). Macroinvertebrates were sorted and preserved in 80% alcohol.

760
2.3 Laboratory methods
After collection, the soil samples were oven-dried at 60◦ C for 1 day and then ground to pass a
2 mm sieve. The ground soil samples were used for analyses of the following chemical parameters:
(a) inorganic reduced sulfur (Sullivan et al. 2000); (b) total actual acidity (TAA), 1 M KCl- and
water-extractable acidity (Lin et al. 2002); (c) concentrations of Al and various heavy metals in
water and 1 M HCl extracts (by atomic adsorption spectrophotometry).
A selected sample collected from a mine pit (Sample K2002/5) was used for simulating acid mine
drainage from the soil. 5 g of the soil sample was successively extracted with 25 mL of deionized
water for 30 times and then pH in each extract was measured using a pH meter.
The macroinvertebrates (except for Oligochaeta, Chironomidae and some others) were identified
to the lowest practical taxonomic level and counted.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Soil characteristics

Table 1 shows that the mine pit soils had a mean inorganic reduced S of 6.63%, which is much
higher than that of the waste pile soils, suggesting that the mine pits are the likely major sources
of acid to sustain the acid drainage in the area. However, although the mean inorganic reduced S
of the waste pile soils was only 0.69%, they contained sufficient amounts of water-extractable and
total actual acidity. The presence of large amounts of actual acids in both mine pit soils and waste
pile soils reflects the long-term exposure of the soils to air, causing significant oxidation of sulfide
minerals.
The concentrations of different forms of heavy metals and Al in various soils can be seen from
Table 2. The concentrations of water-extractable Cu in the soils were very high and this is possibly
related to the enrichment of copper sulfide and the extremely low pHs in these soils.

3.2 Acid drainage

It can be seen from Fig. 2 that the acid contained in 5 g of the soil had a capacity to acidify 750 mL
of deionized water to a pH < 3.9. Field measurements show that the mine water upstream of the
mud retaining impoundment had a pH < 3.16; the water in the impoundment had a pH of 3.36; at
about 3.5 km downstream of the mud retaining dam, there is a tributary that is not affected by the
acidic mine water; the water pH about 15 m upstream of the confluence was 3.78 and the tributary
had a pH of 5.27; after mixture, the water pH at about 150 m downstream of the confluence was
4.39; at about 16 km downstream of the mud retaining dam, the water pH remained as low as
4.66 and at about 25 km downstream of the mud retaining dam, the water pH was 6.29; further
downstream, water pH was 7.36 at 30 km, 7.40 at 40 km and 7.42 at 50 km (Fig. 3).
Comparison between the mining-affected stream water (MSW) and the non mining-affected
stream water (NMSW) at about 3.5 km downstream of the mud retaining dam during a day

Table 1. Inorganic reduced S, total actual acidity and water-extractable acidity of the
various mine soils.

Soil type IRS (%) TAA (mmol/kg) WEA (mmol/kg)

Mine pit soil (n = 11) M 6.63 152 16.9

R 2.36–25.50 69–233 5.2–25.2
Waste pile soil (n = 9) M 0.69 99 6.7
R 0.26–3.55 35–292 0–19.3

M: mean; R: range; IRS: inorganic reduced sulfur; TAA: total actual acidity; WEA:
water-extractable acidity.

761
 Table 2. Concentrations (mg/kg) of the water-extractable and the HCl-extractable Al and
heavy metals in representative soil samples.

Sample K2002/5 Sample P2003/1

Mine pit soil Waste soil

Parameter H2 O HCl H2 O HCl

pH 2.96 – 2.97 –
Pb 0.003 47.49 0.390 –
Fe 22.000 336067.00 1.760 –
Mn 1.279 220.87 0.560 –
Zn 0.763 249.62 1.470 –
Cu 10.790 1710.19 6.320 –
Cd 0.005 0.91 0.250 –
As 0.022 1260.89 – –
Co 0.029 54.53 – –
Al 9.986 40090.00 – –

Figure 2. Change in pH in the extract during the successive extraction of 5 g of the red mud with 25 mL of
deionized water for 30 times.

River dam Occurrence of macrobenthos

8
7
6
Occurrence of mayflies
5 Occurrence of odonata
pH

4
3 Confluence with a high pH (5.27) tributary
Mine 2
water 1 Mud retaining Impoundment
0
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Distance (km)

Figure 3. Changes in water pH and macroinvertebrates from the headwater to a distance about 50 km
downstream of the mud retaining dam.

after a non-rainy period shows that the concentrations of Pb, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn and Cd were 11
times, 12 times, 224 times, 6.6 times, 3.7 times and 10 times higher in the NSW than in the
NMSW, respectively (Table 3). Except for Cd, the concentrations of all metals investigated in the
mining-affected stream water exceeded over the China national standards for integrated wastewater

762
 Table 3. Chemical characteristics of mining- and non mining-affected water, as opposed
to the China national standards for integrated wastewater discharges.

Parameter MFW MSW NMSW National standards

pH 2.15 3.78 5.27 6–9

Acidity (mmol/L) – 14.07 0.59 –
Pb (mg/L) 1.82 2.67 0.24 1.00
Mn (mg/L) – 20.50 1.63 2.00
Fe (mg/L) 216.79 51.63 0.23 –
Cu (mg/L) 32.63 1.64 0.25 0.50
Zn (mg/L) 73.23 2.83 0.76 2.00
Cd (mg/L) 0.87 0.10 0.01 0.10

MFW: mining-affected flood water.

MSW: mining-affected stream water.
NMSW: non mining-affected stream water.

Table 4. Macroinvertebrates found at various sampling spots along the acid mine-affected stream and a
tributary not affected by acid mine drainage.

Distance downstream of
the mud retaining dam Macroinvertebrate taxa

3.5 km Nil
16 km Nil
16 km (tributary not Alainites sp., Baetis sp., Baetiellasp sp., Nigrobaetis sp., Cinygmina sp.,
affected by acidic Epeorus sp., Serratella sp., Habrophlebia sp., Choroterpes sp., Iron sp.,
mine water) Chimarra sp., Glossosoma sp., Hydropsyche sp., Lepidostoma sp.,
Protohermes sp., Lamelligomphus sp., Megalogomphus sp., Philoganga sp.,
Anisopleura sp., Tabanus sp., Tipulus sp., Chironomidae., Paraplea sp.,
Aphelocheirus sp., Zaitzevia sp., Stenocolus sp., Psepheninae., Gyrinidae,
25 km Nil
30 km Odonata found on emergent macrophyte, but nothing found on substrate
40 km Mayfly (Labiobaetis sp.) , Gastropoda and fish found on emergent
macrophyte; benthos including Oligochaeta
50 km Gastropoda, dragonfly and shrimp found on emergent macrophyte; benthos
including Oligochaeta

discharges (GB8978-1966) (China Environmental Protection Administration 1996). The situation

was much worse during flooding than during non-flooding. Table 3 also shows that during a heavy
rainfall event, the floodwater had a pH of 2.15 and contained 1.82 mg/L of Pb, 216.79 mg/L of Fe,
32.63 mg/L of Cu, 73.23 mg/L of Zn and 0.87 mg/L of Cd.

3.3 Investigations on macroinvertebrates

Macroinvertebrates were not found in the mine water and the affected river reach up to about
3.5 km downstream of the mud retaining dam (Table 4). However, in a tributary (joining at 16 km
downstream of the mud retaining dam) that is not affected by acid mine drainage, twenty-eight taxa
were found, with mayflies and caddisflies being the dominant groups. Other macroinvertebrates
included alderflies, dragonflies and aquatic beetles etc. It is interesting to note that at 25 km
downstream of the mud retaining dam, the water pH was already elevated to 6.29, but there were
no macroinvertebrates found at this location. This observation supports what has been found by
other workers that aquatic biota could be affected by mine waters even when the acidic mine water
was diluted to neutral pH (e.g. Cherry et al. 2001).

763
 At about 30 km downstream of the mud retaining dam, odonata and shrimps were found to occur
in association with the emergent plants. Further downstream, mayflies, gastropoda and fishes were
found on emergent macrophyte and some macrobenthos such as oligochaeta also occurred.

4 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Discharge of acidic mine water in the Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine has caused severe ecological
degradation in the downstream aquatic system. This is attributable to the improper management
of minespoils in the mined areas. There is an urgent need to develop practical strategies and
cost-effective techniques for remediating this degraded area in order to mininmizing its off-site
environmental impacts. The siltation of the mud retaining impoundment and the resultant reduction
of its water holding capacity is a major problem triggering acid mine drainage in the Guangdong
Dabaoshan Mine. Stabilization of the soils that have been translocated from the waste rock/soil
piles on the top of the mountain and filled the valley upstream of the mud retaining impoundment
by re-vegetation will assist in reducing the siltation rate of the impoundment and consequently the
volume of water entering the impoundment from upstream. Because acid neutralizing materials
will need to be added into the soils to create appropriate soil conditions for plant growth, the added
acid neutralizing materials will also raise the pH of the discharging water. The establishment of
a vegetation cover using pioneer grass species with a dense root system may form an oxygen-
consuming topsoil layer, which can prevent oxygen from penetrating into subsoil layer containing
sulfide minerals.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The project was supported partly by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30270279
and 30170121) and Southern Cross University, Australia.

REFERENCES

Alpers C N & Blowes D W (eds.) 1994. Environmental geochemistry of sulfide oxidation. American Chemical
Society, Columbus, 752 p.
Bengsonb S A & Thompson T L 1998. Reclamation of acidic copper mine tailings using municipal biosolids.
In: Proceedings of the 25th Anniversary and 15th National Meeting of the American Society for Surface
Mining Reclamation – Mining Gateway to the future. St Louis, Missouri, ASSMR, pp. 85–91.
China Environmental Protection Administration 1996. National standards of the People’s Republic of China –
standards for integrative waste water discharges.
Cherry D S et al. 2001. An integrative assessment of watershed impacted by abandoned mined land discharges.
Environmental Pollution, 111: 377–388.
Frost S, Huni A & Kershaw W E 1970. Evaluation of a kicking technique for sampling stream bottom fauna.
Can. J. Zool. 49:167–173.
Plafkin J L, Barbour M T, Porter K D, Gross S K & Hughes R M 1989. Rapid bioassessment protocols for use
in streams and rivers. Benthic macroinvertebrates and fish. EPA/444/4-89/001. Office of Water Regulations
and Standards, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. 162 p.
Kittrick J A et al. (eds) 1982. Acid sulfate weathering. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, 234 p.
Lin C & Lin J 2003. Heavy metals in a sulfidic minespoil: Fractions and column leaching. Pedosphere, 13(1):
75–80.
Lin C et al. 2002. Acid sulfate soils in Australia and China. Science Press, Beijing, 232 p.
Morin K A & Hutt N M 1997. Environmental geochemistry of minesite drainage: practical theory and case
studies. MDAG Publishing, Vancouver, 350 p.
Sullivan L A et al. 2000. A modified chromium-reducible sulfur method for reduced inorganic sulfur : optimum
reaction time for acid sulfate soil. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 38: 729–734.
Williams D J 2001. Mine waste management and landform design. Learning Guide, The University of
Queensland.

764
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Impacts of land drainage on water quality in an Australian estuarine

waterway: Chemical and biochemical processes

C. Lin
Centre for Coastal Management, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW Australia
College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China

M. Wood
Richmond River County Council, Lismore, NSW Australia

ABSTRACT: Field and laboratory work was conducted to investigate the major chemical and
biochemical processes that contribute to the discharge of acidified and deoxygenated water in an
estuarine waterway following the drainage of sulfidic coastal wetlands. It appears that transforma-
tion of retained acid to soluble acid through biological iron reduction, export of Fe2+ from the soil
to the drains and oxidation of Fe2+ in the waterway are responsible for the continuous acidic flows
of several months duration in the investigated tidal creek. Although oxidation of Fe2+ contributes to
deoxygenation of floodwater, other reduced substances formed in association with organic matter
decomposition during land inundation are also involved in the processes.

1 INTRODUCTION

In eastern Australia, coastal wetland soils frequently contain metal sulfides, predominantly pyrite
(Lin et al., 2002). Since the European settlement in the 19th Century, extensive areas of sulfidic
coastal floodplains have been drained, primarily for cattle grazing and sugarcane cropping, which
induced the oxidation of sulfides to produce sulfuric acid and created acid sulfate soils (ASS). In
many cases, ASS acts as an acid source to coastal ecosystems (Easton, 1989; Corfield, 2000). Land
drainage also reduces the duration of flood inundation in the floodplains, which could result in
increased organic debris due to intensified water stress on wetland vegetation during dry seasons.
The impacts of organic matter decomposition on water deoxygenation during the following flood
events are also of great concern. In this article, the chemical and biochemical characteristics of
the soil and water in a drained floodplain system were investigated. The objective is to understand
the major chemical and biochemical processes that contribute to the discharge of acidified and
deoxygenated water in this estuarine waterway.

2 STUDY SITE

The study site, Rocky Mouth Creek floodplain, is located in the northern NSW coast, eastern
Australia (see Fig. 1). Rocky Mouth Creek is a distributary of the Richmond River and it drains
a sub-catchment of about 65 km2 . The floodplain system has been progressively drained for cattle
grazing and sugarcane growing since early 1900s. During the 1960s, the creek was straightened
by a constructed cut-off at the location approximately 3.5 km upstream of its confluence with the
main channel of the Richmond River. The natural channel section of the creek was blocked by a
dike and a floodgate system was installed in a constructed channel section to prevent tidal water
from flowing into backswamps upstream of the floodgate system.

765
Figure 1. Location map of the Rocky Mouth Creek floodplain showing the sampling sites.

3 RESEARCH METHODS

3.1 Field methods

Five soil cores were collected to a depth ranging from 1 m to 1.5 m in two major backswamps. Soil
samples were taken and sealed in plastic bags and transported to the laboratory for oven-drying
within two hours of sampling. The pH, DO and EC in backswamp surface water, drain water and
creek water were measured in the field using a water quality meter. A DO and pH transect along
the Rocky Mouth Creek upstream of the floodgate was also established on June 5, 2001.

3.2 Water monitoring

A submersible multi-parameter water quality data logger was installed under the floodgate structure.
Water level, temperature, pH, EC, DO and turbidity at this point were monitored at 15-minute
intervals.

3.3 Laboratory simulation experiment

A bulk soil sample with growing grass was collected in duplicate from the study site. The sample
was placed in a plastic bucket and subject to inundation with deionized water for about one month
to simulate extended flooding. DO, pH, Fe, tannin and sulfate in the “floodwater” were monitored.

3.4 Soil sample pretreatment and analytical methods

Soil samples were oven-dried at 60◦ C and then ground to <2 mm. Titratable acidity in 1:5
(soil:water) and 1:5 (soil:1 M NH4 Cl) extracts was measured by titrating an aliquot of the extract

766
 CRS (%) Acidity (mmol/kg)
(a) 0 1 2 (b) 0 200 400 600
0 0
0.2
0.2
0.4
Depth (m)

Depth (m)
0.6 0.4
Soluble acidity
0.8 0.6
1 NH4Cl extractable
0.8
1.2 BS1 Total actual acidity
1.4 HW1 1
1.6 HW2 1.2

Figure 2. Vertical variations of (a) chromium reducible sulfur (CRS) contents along three soil profiles and
(b) various forms of acidity along Profile BS1.

Table 1. Chemical and biochemical characteristics of various water samples.

Creek water Creek water Drain water

Parameter 1:5 soil extract (near floodgate) (head water) (Canal 1)

EC (dS/m) 0.52 0.96 1.25 0.63

pH 3.79 3.72 3.35 3.25
TA (mmol/L) 1.16 0.41 0.83 0.97
DO (mg/L) – 5.60 3.60 0.00
Al (mg/L) 3.90 1.49 2.35 0.79
Mn (mg/L) 0.56 0.75 1.03 0.39
Fe (mg/L) 6.30 0.72 3.13 11.19

to pH 5.5 with a standardized NaOH solution. Total actual acidity (Lin et al., 2000) and chromium
reducible sulfur (Sullivan et al., 2000) were also measured.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 2a shows the vertical variation of CRS along three selected soil profiles. The depth of the
sulfidic layer varies from about 0.5 m to 0.9 m below the land surface. This is similar to what have
been found in many other NSW coastal floodplains (Lin and Melville, 1993; Lin et al., 1998). Prior
to artificial drainage, the floodwater was probably retained in the backswamps by the levees, which
could effectively limit oxidation of sulfides. Following the construction of flood mitigation works,
the floodwater is rapidly removed from the backswamps through the drainage systems within a
few days while tidal inundation of land during dry periods is prevented due to floodgate closure.
Under such conditions, the level of the water table in the floodplains can be lowered to below the
upper boundary of sulfidic layer during dry seasons, particularly during extended dry spells. This
allows the oxidation of sulfides to occur, and subsequently the oxidation products (sulfuric acid and
ferrous sulfate) to react with other soil components. Part of the soluble acid can be permanently
removed by reactions with carbonates and silicates, while a further part of soluble acid can be
retained through cation exchange, protonation of variably charged particles and formation of basic
sulfate minerals. Any remaining soluble acid becomes available for transfer into drains, primarily
via the movement of ground water.
Figure 2b gives a comparison of various acidity fractions along Profile BS1. It is clear from the
Figure that only a very small proportion (<2%) of total actual acidity was in water-soluble forms.
The mean titratable acidity (TA) of the topsoil (top 0.5 m) in Profile BS1 was around 1.16 mmol/L,
which is only slightly greater than that in the adjacent drain water (0.97 mmol/L, refer to Table 1).

767
 7
6.5
Daily average pH

6
5.5
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
5/05/1998 11/11/1998 20/05/1999 26/11/1999 3/06/2000
Month/Day/Year

Figure 3. Variation of daily average water pH in Rocky Mouth Creek at the water quality monitoring station
during the period from May 1998 to July 2000.

Clearly, the amounts of water-soluble acid stored in the soils of the Rocky Mouth Creek floodplain
are far from sufficient to maintain the long-lasting acid tidal flows as shown in Figure 3, where
there are alternating low and high pH tidal flows of several months during the period from May
1998 to July 2000.
These results suggest that transformation of retained acid to water-soluble acid must have taken
place to sustain soil soluble acidity and thereby acid flow in the creek. A possible mechanism
through which the retained acid is converted to water-soluble acid is biological iron reduction, as
expressed by the following chemical equations:

These reactions consume H+ and raise soil pH, which could lead to the release of retained acids,
e.g. hydrolysis of jarosite

If Fe2+ produced in Equations (1) and (2) is removed from the soils with draining water, then the
location of acid regeneration through Fe2+ oxidation will shift to waterways and cause acid flows in
the creek while Equation (3) type reaction continues to supply H+ for the processes in Equations (1)
and (2) to take place. This assumption is supported by the fact that the drain water sample (Canal 1)
contained no DO, which suggests the consumption of DO by Fe2+ oxidation. The DO in the water
sample near the floodgate was 5.6 mg/L, corresponding to a much lower Fe reading (0.72 mg/L).
The maintenance of zero DO in the drain water prevents further Fe2+ oxidation from occurring
before the drain water discharges into the creek and is mixed with the high DO creek water. This
explains the occurrence of extremely high Fe concentration in the drain water. Fe concentration
decreased in the creek water due to its oxidation and subsequent precipitation as iron hydroxide,
which simultaneously acidifies creek water. The DO transect established on June 5, 2001 (Fig. 4)
shows that DO tended to increase downstream and this corresponds very well with the increasing
pH downstream. This may reflect the decreasing rate of DO consumption downstream as a result
of decreasing concentration of Fe2+ in the creek water.
In addition to continuous acidic flows of several months, it has also been frequently recorded
that pH suddenly drops following heavy rainfalls during the periods between two continuous acidic
flows. Figure 5 shows an example of such events. During the period January 6–25, 2000, pH rapidly
dropped from near 7 to about 4.5 following a heavy rainfall event (>200 mm) from January 11
to 15. Similarly, DO concentration also dropped from above 13 mg/L to 0 mg/L during the same

768
 (a)
7 Floodgate pH (surface)
6 Head water
5 pH (-1m)
pH 4
3
2
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

(b)
7
DO (mg/L)

Floodgate DO (surface) Head water

6
5 DO (-1m)
4
3
2
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Distance (m) upstream of the floodgate

Figure 4. pH and DO transects along the Rocky Mouth Creek upstream of the floodgate, established using
data collected on 05/06/2001.

150 7.5 15
Rainfall (mm)

(a) 6.5

DO (mg/L)
100 10 (c)
pH

5.5
50 5
4.5 (b)
0 3.5 0
6-Jan-00 22-Jan-00 6-Jan-00 22-Jan-00 6-Jan-00 22-Jan-00

Figure 5. During and following (a) a heavy rainfall event, changes in (b) pH and (c) DO of the creek water
at the water quality monitoring station.

Figure 6. Changes in (a) pH, (b) tannin, (c) sulfate, (d) DO and (e) DO consuming capacity from actual
measurement and predicted from Fe concentration during the experiment.

period. It is possible that the DO depletion is related to the oxidation of Fe2+ , which acidifies the
floodwater. However, considering that it requires at least 90 mg of Fe2+ to bring the DO of 1 litre
of floodwater from 13 mg/L to 0. Previous results of floodwaters on several occasions show that Fe
concentration ranged from 1.99 to 11.87 mg/L (Collins, personal communication) and this is not
necessary that all the soluble Fe is in a Fe2+ form. Therefore, it appears that Fe2+ is not a only or
even the major DO consumer in this event.

769
 The results from laboratory simulation experiment show that the “floodwater” had a much higher
pH (>5) than the soil pH (3.9) (Fig. 6a). At most after 25 h of inundation, the DO of the “floodwater”
dropped from about 7 mg/L to about 1 mg/L and after 97 h, no DO was detected (Fig. 6d). The
increase in tannin concentration with time indicates the continued decomposition of the organic
matter (Fig. 6b). It is interesting to note that after 72 h of inundation, sulfate concentration of
the floodwater tended to decrease over time (Fig. 6c) and H2 S gas was detected above the water
surface. This suggests that H2 S might accumulate in the “floodwater” by sulfate reduction or from
fermentation of amino acid. The dissolved H2 S can act as a DO consuming agent when it is in
contact with oxygenated water. There was a trend that the DO consuming capacity (DOCC) of the
“floodwater” increased until the last day of the monitoring. Before 279 h, the DOCC was in good
agreement with the maximum DO consuming capacity of soluble Fe (assuming that the soluble
Fe was completely in Fe2+ form) (Fig. 6e). However, after 279 h, there was increasing difference
between the DOCC and the maximum DO consuming capacity of soluble Fe. This suggests that
other DO consuming agents, e.g. some volatile reduced organic matter may be involved in the DO
consumption.

5 CONCLUSION

Continuous acidic flows of several months duration intermittently occur in Rocky Mouth Creek.
It is likely that this is mainly caused by the oxidation of Fe2+ and the subsequent hydrolysis of
Fe3+ , which acidifies the creek water. Fe2+ is produced as a result of biological iron reduction and
exported to the creek with draining water from the adjacent acid sulfate soils. This process drives
the conversion of retained acid to water-soluble acid, which provides the H+ that enhances iron
reduction. The acid sulfate soils in the study area contain considerable amounts of retained acid
that has been accumulated in the soils due to sulfide oxidation following the construction of flood
mitigation works.
A marked drop in the creek water pH also occurs following heavy rainfall events during high pH
(>6)-dominated flow periods. This is frequently accompanied by a drop in DO in the creek water.
Although the acidification and deoxygenation in the creek water may be related to the oxidation of
Fe2+ contained in the discharging water from the inundated acid sulfate floodplain, it appears that
other DO-consuming substances also play important roles in the process. It is still unclear what
these materials are and how they operate in terms of DO consumption. Further research is needed
to fill the knowledge gap that clearly exists in the interplay of physical, chemical and biological
drivers in the coastal floodplain environment.

REFERENCES

Corfield, J.L. 2000 The effects of acid sulfate run-off on a subtidal estuarine macrobenthic community in the
Richmond River, NSW, Australia. Journal of Marine Science, 57, 1517–1523.
Easton, C. 1989 The trouble with the Tweed. Fishing World, 3, 58–59.
Lin, C. & Melville, M.D. 1993 Control of soil acidification by fluvial sedimentation in an estuarine floodplain,
eastern Australia. Sedimentary Geology, 85, 271–284.
Lin, C., Melville, M.D., Islam, M.M., Wilson, B.P., Yang, X. & van Oploo, P. 1998 Chemical controls on acid
discharges from acid sulfate soils under sugarcane cropping in an eastern Australian estuarine floodplain.
Environmental Pollution, 103(2–3), 269–276.
Lin, C., Melville, M.D. & Sullivan, L.A. 2002 Acid sulfate soils in Australia and China. Beijing: Science Press.
Lin, C., O’Brien, K., Lancaster, G., Sullivan, L. A. & McConchie, D. 2000 An improved analytical procedure
for determination of actual acidity in acid sulfate soils. The Science of the Total Environment, 262, 57–61.
Sullivan, L.A., Bush, R.T. & McConchie, D. 2000 A modified chromium reducible sulfur method for reduced
inorganic sulfur: optimum reaction time in acid sulfate soil. Australian Journal of Soil Research 38: 729–734.

770
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Fluctuation of nearshore water quality during a tidal cycle in

Yunlin County

Ping Chen
Senior Engineer, Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory, Tainan, Taiwan

Ta-Kang Liu
Assistant Researcher, Tainan Hydraulics Laborator, Tainan, Taiwan

Jin-Li Yu
Associate Researcher, Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory, Tainan, Taiwan

Ruey-Chy Kao
Deputy Director and Associate researcher, Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory, Tainan, Taiwan

Hwung-Hweng Hwung
Professor, Department of Hydraulic and Ocean Engineering of National Cheng Kung University, Tainan,
Taiwan

ABSTRACT: The nearshore water quality between Zhuoshui River and Santiaolun fishing port
was investigated on September 3, 1999. Four sets of water samples was taken with equal time span
during an entire tidal cycle. The results showed that nearshore water exhibited a mixing pattern
from two different sources, namely, fresh inland water and salty marine water. It is noted that the
salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO) in the studied area increase from the estuary to the ocean;
while other parameters such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5 ), coliform groups, ammonia
nitrogen (NH3 –N), and heavy metals (copper, lead and zinc), mostly originated from livestock
industry and domestic wastewaters, appear to decrease toward the ocean. Generally speaking, non-
tidal influenced area has the greatest fluctuation in water quality. Due to the discharge from inland
sources, poor water quality is generally observed in tidal flat area. Besides, during the low slack
tide, the ammonia nitrogen from all the stations along Jjiuhuwei River to its estuary exceed Taiwan
EPA’s marine water quality standard. This area can reach 10-m bathymetric depth that corresponds
to about 4.5 km offshore. It is also indicated that in this area, water samples taken from four different
tidal states at the same monitoring stations exhibits a great variation in water quality. For example,
the maximum to minimum ratios of ammonia nitrogen, coliform groups, and zinc in one sampling
point can reach 114, 944, and 23, respectively. It is also hoped that the results accumulated from
this investigation can offer a great help to verify the related numerical models.

1 INTRODUCTION

The nearshore water body, particularly in estuarine area, is an important interface for transporting
inland substances into the ocean. This area is a very productive ecosystem due to the abundant
organic matters and nutrients in estuary. Estuarine water quality can be significantly affected by
the tidal cycles due to the discharge of pollutants from waterways to coastal area during ebb tides
(Gyung & Soung, 2000).
Yunlin Offshore Industrial Park (YOIP) is the largest industrial park in Taiwan. The north and
south side of YOIP is bordered with estuary of Zhuoshui River and Santiaolun fishing port, respec-
tively, while several creeks discharge into the waterways on the east side of YOIP. To assess the

771
environmental impact of the discharge from YOIP, it is necessary to establish the background water
quality information prior to construction and during its operation.
These information should include the long-term trends and temporal heterogeneity of water
quality in varying coastal, estuarine, and tidal flat areas. This study was to investigate the fluctuation
of water quality, from the upstream waterway to nearshore area, during a tidal cycle around the
YOIP. The information was very helpful for the assessment of the impact of YOIP to the coastal
water body.

2 SITE INFORMATION AND METHOD

2.1 Study area

The study areas, including major rivers and waterways of non-tidal influenced area to estuary,
separation waterway, and tidal flat areas to 10-m bathymetric depth offshore, were shown in Figure 1.
The sampling stations were located within this area, including Zhuoshui River, Shicuoliao Creek,
Xinhuwei River, Yuocailiao Creek, Magongcuo Creek, Jiuhuwei River and Lincuoliao Creek.

2.2 Methods
The nearshore water quality investigation between Zhuoshui River and Santiaolun fishing port was
conducted by taking 4 sets of water samples with equal time span during an entire tidal cycle on
September 3, 1999.

2643000 T1 T1 10
-T1-05
T1-02

YLCH

2638000 T2
T2-10
T2-05
T2-02 3
E1.. Zhuoshui River
R1 R2

T3 T3-10
T3-05
T3-02 Mai-Liao tidal gage station
26.00
2633000 E2a E2..
R3
T4
E3a R4 25.50
E3. Shicuoliao Creek
YLRC 4 25.00
T5 YLRA E4.
T5-05 7 6
T5-10 5
YLCW T5-02 24.50
8
2628000 9 Xinhuwei River
T6 T6-10
T6-05
T6-02 10 E6. R5 TAIWAN
11 E5. R6 24.00

12
R7
Yulin CouZty
YuocailiaoCreek R8 23.50

T7 T7-10 13
T7-05
T7-02
19
YLW5 18 Taisi fishing port 23.00

2623000 T8-10
YLRB17 16 Tai-Si tidal gage station
R10
T8 T8-05
T8-0221 20 15 14 2.502
Magongcuo Creek
E7.
E8. R9 22.00
T9-10
T9-05
T9-02 23 22
T9
E9. Jiuhuwei River 21.50

2618000 24E10. R13 R11

T10-10
YLCB
Lincuoliao Creek R12 21.00
T10 T10-05
T10-02 Santiaolun fishing port
119.00 119.50 120.00 120.50 121.00 121.50 122.00 122.50 123.00

E11.
Potseliao fishing prot
2613000 Po-Tse-Liao tidal gage station

Niutiaowan River
2608000
Non-tidal influenced station
Estuarine station
E12.
Jianshan Creek
Tidal flat station
2603000
Sea station
Beigang River

0 5000 10000 meter

2598000
156000 161000 166000 171000 176000 181000 186000 191000 196000

Figure 1. The area of nearshore water quality investigation on Yunlin County,Taiwan.

772
 The sampling was done during four different tidal states in the following orders: ebb tide, low
slack tide, flood tide, and then high slack tide. Water samples were taken within 1.5 hours for each
tidal state (Figure 2). The sampling time stared at (1) 06:20 AM, (2) 09:35 AM, (3) 12:50 PM, (4)
16:05 PM, for each tidal state, respectively.
The pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), conductivity, salinity, turbidity, and temperature were measured
in situ. The rest of water quality parameters, including biological oxygen demand (BOD5 ), sus-
pended solid (SS), coliform group, ammonia-nitrogen (NH3 –N), grease and oil, heavy metals such
as copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and chromium (Cr), were analyzed in the Tainan Hydraulics
Laboratory (THL).
The ocean current meter was used to observe the currents in coastal area and Mai-Liao separation
waterway. In additions, the tidal information was also collected in Mai-Liao, Tai-Si, and Po-
Tse-Liao tidal gage stations.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Fluctuations of water quality during an entire tidal cycle

3.1.1 pH, salinity, and ammonia-nitrogen
In the tidal flat area, the fluctuations of pH was relatively high than those shown in the other areas
(Figure 3). In the estuaries and the tidal flat areas, the lowest and highest mean pH was observed
during the low slack tide and high slack tide, respectively. In the ocean area, significant low pH
(pH < 7.5) appeared during ebb tide and high slack tide. Station T3-05 had the lowest pH value of
7.18 (Figure 4) and relatively high water temperature during ebb tide. However, the salinity in this
station seems to fall in a normal range. The station was located at about 300 meters from a thermal

2.0
Mai-Liao
September 3, 1999
1.5 Tai-Si
Tidal Elevation(m)

1.0 Po-Tse-Liao

0.5 ebb tide

low slack tide

0.0
00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 00:00 flood tide
-0.5
high slack tide
-1.0

-1.5 Time(hr:min)

Figure 2. Water quality sampling time and frequency.

9.0 8.37 ebb tide

8.36 9.0 flood tide
8.18 Max 8.26
7.96 8.11 8.14 8.22
8.11 min
8.0 8.13
7.87 7.86
avg 8.0
pH

7.83 7.91
pH

7.40
7.58 7.53 7.98 Max
7.0 7.22 7.18 7.66
6.94 7.0 7.33 min
7.10
avg
6.0 6.0

NT ET TF O NT ET TF O
9.0 low slack tide
9.0 high slack tide
8.02 8.18 8.24 8.29 Max 8.17 8.28 8.22
8.44
8.0 8.10 min
7.81 8.09 8.08
7.71 8.0
pH

7.43
avg 7.95
pH

7.83 7.54
Max
7.0 7.55 7.76
7.0 min
6.94 7.08 7.28 7.40
7.11 avg
6.0
6.0
NT ET TF O NT ET TF O

Figure 3. Fluctuations of pH value during different tidal states (NT = Non-tidal influenced area,
ET = Estuarine area, TF = Tidal flat area, O = Oceanic area).

773
 7 .89.52 3
low slack tide
8.22
ebb tide

8 . 184. 18 3. 3 6 8.18
8.37

pH
7 .778.1
.2782
8.4 7.62 7.58
7.77
8.36
8.3 7.75 Salinity(psu)
7.68 8.15
8.2 8 . 3 2 8 .83. 33 18 . 1 18 . 0 4 8 . 0 1 33.0
8.06
8.1 8 . 3 1 8 . 32704. 87 0. 5 2 8 . 0 7 30.0
7.22 7.73
8 7.24 27.0
8 .807.91. 972 2. 9 8 24.0
7.9 77. 8. 966
7.817.66
7 . 972. 9 3 7.40 21.0
7.8 8 . 0 48 .1 5 8 . 0 9 7 . 4 7
7.83 18.0
7.73
7.7 8 .82.802. 02 0
8 . 2 18 . 1 3 15.0
7.64
7.6 8 . 189. 0 2 12.0
8.21
8 .81. 41 5
7.5 9.0

6.0
7.4
8.14
3.0
7.3
0.0
7.2

Figure 5. The distribution of salinity during

Figure 4. The distribution of pH during ebb tide. low slack tide.

discharge outlet of Mai-Liao power plant. It is noted that the plant use cooling water to dissipate
excess heat and sulfur dioxide. The low values of pH were due to the acidic discharge from a flue
gas desulfurization (FGD) process.
Due to the mixing of inland freshwater and salty seawater, estuarin waters exhibits a huge
fluctuation in salanity than other areas. Stations in non-tidal influenced and ocean areas showed
less fluctuations. By analyzing the salinity distribution during the entire tidal cycle, it was found that
the coastal water in the region between Xinhuwei River and Jiuhuwei River estuary has a salinity of
less than 20 psu during the low slack tide (Figure 5). Besides, estuarine water of Yuocailiao Creek
has salinity close to 26 psu.
If salinity less than 30 psu representing area under the influence of inland freshwater, then
the region within 5-m bathymetric depth near Zhuoshui River estuary, corresponding to 5∼6 km
offshore, is subject to the influence of freshwater. Besides, the freshwater influenced area was
about 4 km from the estuary of Jiuhuwei River that has a salinity of less than 30 psu. During high
slack tide, the salinity from the estuaries of Jiuhuwei River to Xinhuwei River could exceed 30 psu,
which is close to the salinity observed at 10-m bathymetric depth.
The current meter showed that the ocean current was in southwestern direction during ebb tide
and the opposite toward the land during flood tide in this study area (Chen et al. 2000). Besides, the
NH3 –N along Shicuoliao Creek to Jiuhuwei River during the low slack tide, including the area from
non-tidal influenced area to estuary and tidal flat area, all exceeded national water quality standards
of 0.3 mg/L (Figure 6). The concentration was also found to increase toward to the upstream side.
These results indicated that freshwater input has a major contribution to the ammonium fluctuation
in the study area.
During low slack tide, the area along Xinhuwei River toYuocailiao Creek, within 5-m bathymetric
depth, has NH3 –N that did not conform to the criteria. At the same tidal span, the water within
10-m bathymetric depth around the estuary of Jiuhuwei River, corresponding to 4.5 km offshore,
also fail to conform to the criteria.
During high slack tide (Figure 6), the estuary of Yuocailiao Creek and tidal flat area of Xin-Xing
district can meet the criteria due to the dilution of marine water. Although the NH3 -N concentration
in tidal flat area between Magongcuo Creek and Jiuhuwei River was diluted by the marine water, it
was still slightly higher due to the influences from Magongcuo Creek and Jiuhuwei River. Besides,
the area in north and middle section of Mai-Liao separation waterway did not conform to the criteria.

774
 low slack tide high slack tide
NH3-N(mg/L) NH3-N(mg/L)
10.0 7.5
9.5
7.0
9.0
8.5 6.5
8.0 6.0
7.5
5.5
7.0
6.5 5.0
6.0 4.5
5.5 4.0
5.0
4.5 3.5
4.0 3.0
3.5 2.5
3.0
2.0
2.5
2.0 1.5
1.5 1.0
1.0
0.5
0.5
0.0 0.0

Figure 6. The distribution of NH3 -N during low slack tide (left) and high slack tide (right).

100

ebb tide
10
low slack tide
NH3-N(mg/L)

flood tide
1 high slack tide

0.1

0.01
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Q(m3/s)

Figure 7. The correlation between NH3 –N and flow rate at non-tidal influenced stations.

3.2 Variations of flow rate at non-tidal influenced stations

In the non-tidal influenced area, the NH3 –N (Figure 7), BOD5 , and coliform group appeared neg-
atively correlated with the flow rate at the same tidal conditions. Cu and Zn were also negatively
related to the flow rate while the DO exhibited a positive correlation with flow rate. These obser-
vations indicated that the inland originated contaminants such as organics or heavy metal were
influenced by flow rate of the river.

3.3 The fluctuations of water quality at the same station

It was observed that in this area, 4 sets of water samples at the same station exhibited a different
variation during the studied tidal cycle.
(1) Non-tidal influenced area
For example, the maximum to minimum ratios for turbidity and SS in one sampling station could
range from 1.2 to 3.1 for station R10 and station R7, respectively. For parameteres related to the
quality of livestock and domestic wastewaters, the maximum to minimum ratios could range
from 1.5 (station R2) to 4.4 (station R3) for BOD5 , 1.2 (station R12) to 4.2 (station R9) for NH3 –
N, and 1.7 (station R13) to 50 (station R8) for coliform groups. As for heavy metals, zinc at Lin-
cuoliao Creek had the greatest variation; the maximum to minimum ratio was almost up to 16.
(2) Estuary
The maximum to minimum ratio of salinity in one sampling station could range from 1.0 to
35.2 for station E10 and station E2a, respectively. The ratio for turbidity and SS could range

775
 100 1e+8

1e+7

Coliform G.(CFU/100 mL)

10
1e+6
NH3-N(mg/L)

1 1e+5
maximum
1e+4
90th
0.1 1e+3
75th
mean
median 1e+2
0.01 25th
10th
1e+1

0.001 minimum 1e+0

NT ET TF NT ET TF

Figure 8. Fluctuation of NH3 -N and coliform groups for nearshore water body during a tidal cycle.
(NT = Non-Tidal area, ET = Estuarine area, TF = Tidal Flat area, O = Oceanic area).

from 1.2 to 14.9 for station E3 and station E7, respectively. As for other parameters, the ratio
ranges from 1.1 (station E10) to 6.3 (station E12) for BOD5 , 1.5 (station E3) to 62.8 (station
E4) for NH3 –N, and 2.7 (station E2) to 550 (station E10) for coliform groups. For heavy metals,
zinc at Xinhuwei River had the great variations; the ratio could reach 23 at station E8.
(3) Tidal flat area
The maximum to minimum ratio of salinity in one sampling station could range from 1.0 to 3.8
for station 12 and station 16, respectively. The ratio for turbidity and SS could range from reach
1.7 to 19.1 for station 13 and station 23, respectively. As for other parameters, the ratios can
range from 1.0 (station 22) to 5.3 (station 4) for BOD5 , 1.5 (station 13) to 114 (station 6) for
NH3 –N, and 3.0 (station 22) to 944 (station 4) for coliform groups. As for heavy metals, zinc
at Lincuoliao Creek had the greatest variation, the maximum to minimum ratio could almost
reach to 23.
(4) Ocean area
The pH had the greatest variation near discharge outlet of Mai-Liao power plant. Due to the
practice of FGD process, the acidic thermal discharge significantly lowered the pH of marine
water at the outlet. Stations near the south of Zhuoshui River had greatest variation in turbidity
and SS. The maximum to minimum ratios could reach 68 (station T2-02) and 48 (station T2-
02), respectively, during low slack tide. The maximum to minimum ratios could range from
1.1 (station T2-10) to 4.4 (station T6-02) for BOD5 , and 1.1 (station T8-10) to 85.7 (station
T7-05) for NH3 –N. The highest maximum to minimun ratio for coliform groups could reach
860 at station T2-02 during low slack tide. As for heavy metals, the concentrations were low
and there was no significant variation during the study.
The nearshore water body showed a mixing pattern from two different sources, i.e., fresh river
water and salty marine water. It was noted that the salinity, pH and DO in the studied area increased
from the estuary to the ocean (Chen et al. 2001). One the other hand, other parameters such as
BOD5 , coliform groups and NH3 –N (Figure 8), and heavy metals of Cu and Zn, most possibly
originated from livestock and domestic wastewaters, appeared to decrease from river to the offshore.
This indicated that the varying concentration of the pollutants along the waterway to the ocean was
determined by the mixing extent between fresh river water and seawater.

4 CONCLUSIONS

During this study, it was observed that the estuaris and tidal flat areas are subject to tidal influences
and exhibits a great variation in water quality. Besides, poor water quality was generally observed
in tidal flat area due to the discharge from inland origins. During the low slack tide, the NH3 –N
from all stations along Jiuhuwei River, including the area from non-tidal influenced area to estuary,

776
exceeded national water quality standards. The area that does not conform to the criteria can reach
10-m bathymetric depth offshore, i.e., about 4.5 km from the estuary of Jiuhuwei River. It was also
noted that in this area, the water quality at the same sampling station exhibits a great fluctuation
during an entire tidal cycle. For example, the maximum to minimum ratios of ammonia nitrogen,
coliform groups, and zinc in one sampling station can reach up to 114, 944, and 23, respectively.
Water quality in the study area can be significantly affected by the tidal cycles due to the
discharge of pollutants from waterways to coastal area during ebb tides. If the tidal conditions
were not considered during sampling, there will be great variations in monitoring data for samples
taken at different time and location. Therefore, the marine water investigation should be planned
carefully to include tidal conditions. Finally, the authors hoped that the results gathered from this
investigation can be utilized to verify the related numerical models.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to acknowledge the kind support received from Sinotech Engineering consulants,
Ltd. Funding was provided by Industrial Development Bureau of Ministry of Economic Affairs.
We thank all the participants for water sampling and analysis.

REFERENCES

Chen, P., Ye, Z. Q., Kao, T. Y. & Yu, J. L. 2000. Variations of water quality in separation waterway of Yulin
Industrial Park, The 2000 conference of environmental analytical chemistry: 48–48–1.
Chen, P., Kao, T. Y., Yu, J. L. & Kao. R. Q. 2001. The coastal water quality in ChangYun area after the
installation of Chang-Ping and Yun-Lin offshore industrial park. Conference of the investigation, planning,
design and construction of coastal industrial parks: 254–271.
Gyung, S. P. & Soung Y. P. 2000. Long-term trends and temporal heterogeneity of water quality in tidally
mixed estuarine waters, Marine Pollution Bulletin 40(12): 1201–1209.

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5.4 Impact assessment
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Potential impact of northern flow diversion on Qiantang Estuary

environment

Aiju You
Hohai University, Nanjing China, & Zhejiang Institute of Hydraulics and Estuary, Hangzhou, China

Zengcui Han & Yingbiao Shi

Zhejiang institute of Hydraulics and Estuary, Hangzhou, China

ABSTRACT: In order to meet future water requirements of the estuarine area of Qiantang River,
several water diversion projects were raised. A statistically based model and a numerical model have
been developed to study river course deposition and salt-water intrusion caused by Northern Flow
Diversion Scheme. The results provide scientific basis for further water exploitation in Qiantang
River and estuarine environment protection.

1 INTRODUCTION

The drainage area of the Qiantang River is 55,558 km2 with averaged annual runoff 442.5 × 108 m3
and 347.6 × 108 m3 at Wenyan cross section. The total length is 668 km, in which the length of its
estuary is 282 km from the tidal limit to its outlet into the East China Sea. The estuary is divided
into three reaches: The upper river flow dominated reach from the tidal limit Lucipu to Wenyan,
78 km long; the transition reach (estuarine reach) from Wenyan to Ganpu, 122 km long; and the
lower tidal flow dominated reach Hangzhou Bay from Ganpu to Lucaogang, 82 km long (figure 1).

Shanghai
Jiaxing

Zhapu

Yanguan Ganpu Hangzhou Bay

Qibao
Hangzhou Andong
Cixi
Wenyan
Fuyang

Shaoxing
Tonglu
Ninbo

Lucipu

Reclamatiom area

Figure 1. Sketch of the estuarine reach of Qiantang Estuary.

781
 The estuarine areas are among the most flourish and the principal revenue collecting districts
in China. Rapidly developing economy along with river network pollution and improvement of
people’s living standard leads to a large increase in water demands. The gap between water require-
ments and water supplied by local water sources is becoming larger and Qiantang River seems to
be a complement.
In recent years, many schemes of flow diversion were put forward including Northern Flow
Diversion (NFD, to meet domestic water requirement of Hangzhou and Jiaxing city). These projects
would reduce the runoff of Qiantang River substantially and impact the environment of the estuary
in different degree. Therefore, studies should be carried out to determine the capacities of the water
resources of Qiantang River, and to evaluate potential impact caused by alternatives, which utilize
the water resources to benefit all user groups within the basins.
A statistically based model and a numerical model have been developed to study river
course deposition and salt-water intrusion caused by Northern Flow Diversion (NFD) scheme,
with projected water demands 11.03 × 108 m3 and 16.8 × 108 m3 respectively in year 2010
and 2020.

2 IMPACT OF NFD ON EVOLUTION IN QIANTANG ESTUARINE REACH

On the contrary to most of estuaries, sediment transported to Qiantang Estuary is mainly brought
by tide from open sea not carried by runoff from upstream. The bed material of Qiantang Estuary is
composed of fine silt (d50 = 0.02∼0.04 mm) easily to be scoured in flood season and deposited in
dry season, so the river regime changes regularly with the variation of runoff. If the upper stream
runoff is diverted, which will destroy current balance between runoff and tide, the estuary would
regulated by itself and get to a new balance.
Since 1953, more than three charts (1:50,000 scale) in the estuarine reach were surveyed yearly
recorded the macroscopic changes of the river course. Annual surveys normally carry out in April
(before flood season), July (after flood season) and November (after large tide season), when
necessary, the river administration added survey times. Data analysis showed that deposited or
eroded volume below mean tidal level of the reach from Zhakou to Yanguan during 3 to 5 months
could reach 1.0∼2.0 × 108 m3 , about the 1/3 to 1/2 of the averaged total volume. Furthermore, river
volume difference between two continuous surveys has good relationship with averaged runoff over
the time interval (figure 2), thus provide the basis to predict river volume caused by the changes
of runoff.

7.0
6.5
River Course Volume(×108m3)

6.0
5.5
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500
Discharge(m3/s)

Figure 2. Correlation curve of averaged discharge and river course volume.

782
2.1 Multivariate correlation analysis of estuarine erosion or deposition
Erosion or deposition of the estuarine reach would lead to the variation of the stage-discharge
relation. If the river course were severely deposited, even moderate flood could cause very high
water stage, therefore, the safety of the estuarine area especially Hangzhou city is threatened.
Studies testify that flood stage along Hangzhou city is mainly dominated by the discharge
capacity of the reach from Zhakou to Yanguan, which has been completely regulated in 1970’s.
So, data after 1980 were adopted to set up the multi-regression with the independent variable
is the volume difference VT −t,T between two serial surveys and dependent variable are averaged
runoff Qt over the time interval and the initial volume VT −t , see formula (1).

where T = survey time; and t = time interval of two serial surveys.

Formula (1) reflects key factors affecting estuarine erosion and deposition, and the coefficient
of multiple correlations is 0.94.

2.2 Impact of NFD on erosion or deposition of Qiantang estuarine reach

Taking the daily runoff from year 1961 to 2000 of Wenyan station as the initial comparing,
formula (2) used to calculate river volume series after the flow diversion.

Count the maximum, minimum, average volume and the occurrence times of river volume less
than 3.0 × 108 m3 . See table 1.
From table 1:
1. The estuarine reach would be silt up after NFD. The degree of silt in dry season is larger than
that in flood season because the percentage of diverted flow is larger in dry season. In projected
year 2020, the maximum volume would reduce 0.06 × 108 m3 , the average volume would reduce
0.12 × 108 m3 , the minimum volume would reduce 0.24 × 108 m3 .
2. The occurrence times of volume less than 3 × 108 m3 would increase 2 and 1 times by year 2010
and 2020. Accordingly, frequency of occurrences of high stage would be increased.

3 IMPACT OF NFD ON SALT-WATER INTRUSION

Salinity of tidal or river flow dominated reach is relatively stable compared to estuarine reach.
Several key water intakes of Hangzhou city are allocated along the estuarine reach, including
Zhakou, Shanhusha and Xiaolishan, see figure 3. These water intakes are greatly influenced by
runoff and tide for their salinity change significantly daily, monthly and yearly. In the neap tide and
dry season from middle November to early March, the estuarine reach is aggravated and salinity
is low; in the rainy season from late March to early July, the estuarine reach is eroded with large

Table 1. Statistical variable of river volume before and after NFD.

Average Maximum Minimum Deposit caused by NFD (108 m3 )

Before or Projected volume volume volume Volume
after NFD year (108 m3 ) (108 m3 ) (108 m3 ) less than Average Maximum Minimum

Before NFD 2010 4.57 6.48 2.71 2 – – –

2020 4.55 6.46 2.67 4 – – –
After NFD 2010 4.51 6.44 2.59 4 +0.06 +0.03 +0.11
2020 4.43 6.40 2.44 5 +0.12 +0.06 +0.23

* “+”deposition; “−”erosion.

783
 Hangzhou City

West Lake

Scale Zhakou
0 1 2km

Qianjiang Bridge
Shanhusha
Xiaoshan

Xiaolishan
Yangpu Dongjiangzui

Wenjiayan
Lishan intake
Fuyang City
Meichi
Lishan

Figure 3. Location of water intakes along Qiantang Estuarine Reach.

runoff and salinity is also low; in spring season from middle July to early November when the
runoff reducing, the estuarine reach silt up gradually and the salinity is high. During dry year
1978 to 1979, water intakes of Hangzhou city were influenced by salt-water intrusion seriously and
could not withdraw qualified water for 134 days; about 15∼25 days were severely influenced by
salt-water intrusion from year 1989 to 1996.
The government of Hangzhou city has paid special attention to deal with salt-water intrusion
and taken some effective measures. Since 1970’s, prediction of the demanded minimum discharge
of Fuchun Reservoir against salt-water intrusion in spring season was carried out.
Besides, a regulation reservoir with 1.8 × 106 m3 capacity was built at Shanhusha in 1996. But
with the increasing water demands, to move the domestic water intakes of Hangzhou city upstream
seems urgent, and Xin’anjiang Reservoir is among one of the compared sites.

3.1 One dimension numerical model of salt-water intrusion

Qiantang Estuary is a typical macro-tidal one with the ratio of average annual runoff to average
annual volume of flood tide is 0.02. Salt-water and fresh water are intimately blended over the
whole cross-section, thus can be described by a set of one-dimension equations (3).

784
 5.0

Variation of salt-water intrusion

4.5
distance(km) 4.0 3.4m
3.5 1.7m

3.0

2.5

2.0
1.5

1.0
150 250 350 450 550 650
3/s)
Discharge(m

Figure 4. Variation of salt-water intrusion distance with discharge.

where Z = water stage; Q = discharge; A = cross-section area; S = salinity; ρ = salt-water density;

E = dispersion coefficient.
The model was verified by several sets of salinity data observed in different years.

3.2 Impact of NFD on salt-water intrusion distance

The above model has been applied to study the change of salt-water intrusion distance before or
after NFD with tide range at Qibao fixed at 1.7 m, 3.4 m, representing neap tide season and spring
season, and runoff ranging from 150∼600 m3 /s. The salt-water intrusion distance before and after
NFD were compared, and the increased distance after water diversion changes with discharge
showed in figure 4.
From figure 4, salt-water intrusion distance would increase 2.0∼4.5 km with different discharge
under different tide condition after NFD. The larger tidal range is, the more saltwater intrusion
distance increased; and the less discharge is, the larger salt-water intrusion distance increased
because the percentage of diverted water quantity is relatively higher as compared to that of high
flow condition. Therefore, special attention should be paid to salt-water intrusion caused by NFD
in dry season. Furthermore, the difference of the distance increment of tidal range 1.7 m and 3.4 m
become closer with the increase of discharge.

3.3 Impact of NFD on non-domestic water intakes

The model compared continuous overproof time, total overproof time, average salinity and max-
imum salinity of three water intakes before and after NFD. The results listed in table 2 with the
initial runoff before NFD is 350 m3 /s.
1. Though statistical variables of Xiaolishan and Wenyan intakes changed a little, they still have
good water diversion conditions after NFD with the designated tidal range.
2. When tidal range at Qibao station is 1.7 m, water intake at Shanhusha has good water diversion
conditions. When tidal range is 2.7 m, continuous overproof time increased 1.5 days and water
diversion conditions dropped seriously. When tidal range is 3.4 m, water diversion condition is
bad even before NFD. After NFD, it becomes worse.
The difference of the compared variables before and after NFD would increase if reduce initial
runoff, similarly, the difference would decrease if increase initial runoff.

785
Table 2. Statistical variable of salinity before and after NFD.

Tidal Before NFD After NFD

range
(m) Statistical variable Shanhusha Xiaolishan Wenyan Shanhusha Xiaolishan Wenyan

1.7 Continuous overproof 0 0 0 0.2 0 0

time (day)
Total overproof time (day) 0 0 0 0.4 0 0
Average salinity (mg/l) 17.3 6.8 6.7 37.9 7.2 7
Maximum salinity (mg/l) 152.9 13 11.3 335.4 22.5 16.1
2.7 Continuous overproof 0.5 0.1 0 2 0.2 0.2
time (day)
Total overproof time (day) 4.5 0.3 0 6.6 0.9 0.5
Average salinity (mg/l) 140.7 24.7 19.6 224.5 44 34.6
Maximum salinity (mg/l) 1272.5 354.9 258.1 1715 579.7 439.8
3.4 Continuous overproof 5.5 0.2 0.1 6.1 0.4 0.3
time (day)
Total overproof time (day) 7.9 1.5 0.6 9 3.5 2.4
Average salinity (mg/l) 359.3 56.4 38.2 508.3 108.1 77.8
Maximum salinity (mg/l) 2364.4 685.4 402.4 2826.3 1128.8 727

4 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

4.1 Conclusions
1. Based on observed data, a multi-variant correlation equation is developed to analysis estuarine
evolution caused by NFD. A 1-D numerical model of salt-water intrusion suitable for macro-tidal
estuary was set up to predict the impact of NFD on salinity intrusion and water intake conditions
of non-domestic water intakes.
2. NFD will lead to silt up in estuarine reach in some degree. The average volume of the studied
river course will reduce 0.12 × 108 m3 , and the minimum volume will reduce 0.23 × 108 m3 in
2020 demand year. Besides, the occurrence times of the volume less than 3.0 × 108 m3 would
increase 1∼2 times.
3. Salt-water intrusion distance would increase 2.0∼4.5 km with different discharge under different
tide condition after NFD. The larger tidal range and the lower discharge are, the more salt-water
intrusion distance increased.
NFD influence water intake conditions of non-domestic water intakes along the estuarine reach
in some degree. However, Xiaolishan and Wenjiayan intakes still keep in good conditions after
NFD with varying tidal range of Qibao. When the tidal range of Qibao is less than 1.7 m, water
intake at Shanhusha has good diversion condition, but the condition was destroyed if the tidal range
is up to 2.7 m after NFD.

4.2 Suggestions
1. The NFD dose influence the environment of Qiantang estuarine reach in some degree based
on the above conclusions. Based on fluvial faces analysis, the reducing of estuarine runoff
would inevitably break the current balance of the estuary and adjust to a new face by silting up.
However, some impacts provoked by NFD could be made up by some measures, and it seems
that the most effective and practical way is to optimize the schedule of upstream reservoirs, such
as Xin’anjiang Reservoir.
2. The water of NFD in demand year 2020 is 4.8% of the average annual runoff of Qiantang Estuary,
so impacts brought by it is acceptable. But if all flow diversions were carried out, the influence

786
 would add up and approach or exceed the bearing capacity of the Estuary. So, it must be cautious
to proof the necessity of any flow diversion schemes.
3. It is necessary to reinforce on river survey for Qiantang Estuary is still under regulating and
knowledge about river evolution is limited. Except for the normal three times chart, to intensify
monitoring of representative cross-section is needed. Besides, to get more systematical data of
water quality and salinity in time serial is also very required both for research and practice to
gain a better understand about the estuarine environment.

REFERENCES

Han, Z.C., Pan, C.H. & Shi, Y.B. 2002. Impact of human activities on salt-water intrusion in estuaries. Advances
in Water Science (3): 333–339.
Han, Z.C., Fu, N.P. & Shi, Y.B. 2002. Effect ofYear-to-year Reservoir on Estuarine Fluvial Process – Regard the
Effect of Xin’anjiang Reservoir on Qiantang Estuary as Example. Journal of Sediment Research (2): 29–34.
Chen, J.Y. & Chen, Sh.L. 2002. Estuarine and Coastal Environment Changes and Resource Sustainable
Utilization. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology (2): 1–7.
Huang, W.R. & Spaulding, M. 2002. Modelling residence-time response to freshwater input in Apalachicola
Bay, Florida, USA. Hydrol. Process, (16).

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A prototype spatial expert system for evaluation and mitigation of

groundwater contamination: The case of arsenic in Bangladesh

S. Shams1,2 , S. Langaas1 & P. Bhattacharya1

1 Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
2 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

ABSTRACT: A number of large aquifers in various parts of the world have been identified with
problems from arsenic contamination. Especially, groundwater has been the major source of safe
drinking water in Bangladesh. The paper focuses on the development of a Spatial Expert System
(based on a case study area) comprising GIS and Expert system for presenting and assessing the
breadth of the arsenic problem in Bangladesh. The system is designed taking into considerations
of the geophysical characteristics, socio-economic condition and behavioral pattern of the people
living in the study area. The system is aimed to assist planners and policy makers at the district level
to make an assessment about the extent and magnitude of the arsenic problem based on estimated
exposed population and degree of contamination. In addition, the system will enable to select
possible options and give recommendation based on user’s responses.

1 INTRODUCTION

A number of large aquifers in various parts of the world have been identified with problems
from arsenic contamination. Countries like Argentina, Mexico, south-western parts of USA, Tai-
wan, Vietnam and northern China are affected with arsenic contamination. Arsenic concentrations
ranging from 10–720 µg/L was found in Carcarana River Basin and concentrations ranging from
4–5280 µg/L was found in groundwater in La Pampa Province of Argentina (Nicoli and Merino
2001, Smedley et al. 1998). The Lagunera Region of north central Mexico estimated with a pop-
ulation of 400,000 have been exposed to arsenic concentration >50 µg/L (Del Razo et al. 1990).
Problems of arsenic have been identified subsequently in aquifers of north-east Taiwan (Hsu et al.
1997). Preliminary results from Hanoi, Vietnam indicate that there is a significant arsenic problem
in shallow tubewells in the city, particularly in the south (Berg et al. 2000). Arsenic occurrence
has been found at high concentrations in excess of the Chinese national standard of 50 µg/L in
groundwater from Inner Mongolia as well as Xinjiang and Shanxi Provinces (Wang and Huang
1994; Niu et al. 1997). Arsenic associated with geothermal waters has been reported in several
areas, including hot springs from parts of the USA, Japan, Chile, New Zealand and France (Welch
et al. 1988; Criaud and Fouillac 1989). The most noteworthy occurrence has been identified in parts
of West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh. However, the indications are that the degree of contami-
nation is not as severe in West Bengal as in the worst affected districts of Bangladesh (Dhar et al.
1997). Localised groundwater arsenic problems have been reported from an increasing number of
countries and many new cases are likely to be discovered.
Since the 1970s, groundwater has been the major source of safe drinking water in Bangladesh.
Groundwater abstracted from shallow aquifers at depth <60 m by hand tubewells has received
acceptance in rural areas for drinking purposes. After Bangladesh achieved success in providing
safe drinking water to nearly 95% of its population through tubewells (BRAC 2000), the detection
of arsenic in the groundwater from different parts of the country has raised a major public health
concern. The presence of arsenic in groundwater that posses a serious threat to public health
has kept as many as 60–75 million people at serious risk from arsenic poisoning (Mukherjee

789
and Bhattacharya 2001). Water samples collected from the arsenic infected areas of the country
showed that 28% of the affected people had more than 100 to 1500% arsenic in their urine (normal
level: 0.005–0.04 mg/day), 47% had 8 to 20% in their nails (normal level: 0.043–1.08 mg/kg), and
98% had 100 to 15000% more than normal level of arsenic in their skin (normal level: 0.466–
0.896 mg/kg) (Marimuthu 2001; Chowdhury 2000; Karim 2000; Samanta et al. 1999; Arnold
et al. 1990). The number of patient seriously affected by arsenic from drinking water has now
risen to thousands. Therefore an urgent approach is needed to encounter the problem of arsenic
contamination.
Flow of information is a pre-requisite for proper understanding of any problem. Geographic
Information System (GIS) and Expert Systems have been often very useful in handling information
on environmental problems. The development of solutions for the arsenic problem and the allocation
of resources for mitigation are information-oriented activities. The present paper focuses on the
development of a Spatial Expert System comprising GIS and Expert System for presenting and
assessing the breadth of the arsenic problem in Bangladesh.

2 STUDY AREA

The prototype Spatial Expert System was developed based on a case study area in Chatrajitpur
Union of Shibganj thana in the village named Chatrajitpur of Chapai Nawabganj district. Chapai
Nawabganj district is situated on the north-west part of Bangladesh, bordering the state of West
Bengal, India in the west, Rajshahi district on south-east and Noagaon district towards north east.
The knowledge base of the prototype was developed based on the survey carried out on a random
basis in 67 households out of an estimated 163 households in the village of Chatrajitpur.
The surface geology of the study area comprises of mainly alluvial sand of the active Ganges
floodplain in the south and alluvial silt and clay in the north. The north-eastern part of the fault-
bounded Barind Tract has been uplifted by some 50 m relative to the neighbouring Holocene
alluvium (Ahmed and Burgess 1995). The aquifer soil is mostly stratified and formed by alluvial
deposits of sand and silt, having occasional lenses of clay. Groundwater is the most important
source of water supply in the study area. The depth of aquifer varies from 0 to 54 m below ground
surface. The hydrographs for the district Chapai Nawabganj piezo meters show a large seasonal
fluctuation with water levels ranging from around 1 m below the ground level at the end of the
monsoon period to around 7 m below ground level during dry season (BGS and DPHE 2001). The
seasonal fluctuation is therefore around 6 m. Groundwater is mainly abstracted by installation of
wells for the development of water supply systems. Most drinking water supplies are abstracted
with suction hand pumps but as groundwater levels have a tendency to be deeper, a greater portion
of water (around 20%) is abstracted with Tara (A direct action hand pump which gives discharge
both at upward and downward strike, capable of withdrawing water up to 15 deep below the ground
level) pumps (DPHE/BGS/MML 1999).

3 METHODOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPATIAL EXPERT SYSTEM

The methodology consists of identification of tubewells in the study area on household basis.
The tubewells were tested for arsenic contamination. The relevant information such as location of
tubewell, year of construction, ownership, depth of well, type of well was recorded. The locations
of tubewells were identified using GPS (Global Positioning System) equipment conducted by BGS.
The samples for arsenic contamination were measured by Field test kit and lab analysis through
spectrophotometer. The arsenic contaminated tubewells were analyzed by surface interpolation
provided from Spatial Analysis extension of GIS ArcView to generate a vulnerability map of
the study area. The Spline interpolator is used to interpolate sample points that fits a minimum-
curvature surface through the input points. It fits a mathematical function to a specified number of
nearest input points, while passing through the sample points. Thus GIS ArcView produces final

790
product in the form of maps (showing extent of arsenic contamination) or statistical reports (such as
a table listing the number of population exposed to arsenic contamination). The vulnerability map
generated by the analysis of GIS ArcView shows estimated population of 71,413 are exposed to
high risk zone, 140,298 are exposed to Medium risk zone and 199,957 are exposed to low risk zone
as shown in the Fig. 1 below. This Spatial analysis assists in identifying the area where mitigation
options are needed.
Instant Tea was used to recommend the alternative options for safe drinking water in the study
area. There are wide ranges of options available for arsenic-free safe water, which can be divided
into two categories: Short term options and Long term options.The choice of the options depends on
the urgency of the problem, affordability and feasibility. The pilot prototype was developed taking
into consideration of those two options using the algorithm approach presented in Fig. 2. Instant
Tea is an Expert System that represents expertise in symbolic or numerical forms of modularised
conditional rules that are easily modified and expanded (Ajward et al. 1999). They are designed so
as to replicate the problem-solving techniques of an expert in a narrow area of specialism, where
reasoning is applied rather than calculation (Beerel 1987).
Instant Tea is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) application and Delivery applet for
producing and delivery of fuzzy knowledge bases on the Web. The entire system is implemented in
Java (tm) to allow delivery of expert advice over the Web anywhere and anytime. The Delivery applet
conducts user consultations by applying knowledge bases created by the IDE. During consultations,
a user points and clicks on the browser to answer system generated questions. Based on the extent
of different queries such as type of options, hydrology, cost analysis and user friendliness, it will
give recommendation for alternative safe water options as a potential mitigation measures. The
advantage of using this module is each browser window is facilitated with an Explain button. It
explains the different technical terms and recommendations related to the queries. During execution
of Instant Tea, a window will open with system generated questions and the user has to answer

Figure 1. Arsenic vulnerability map of the Study Area.

791
 Screening of Tubewell for Arsenic
No

Tubewell has to be screened

Yes

No
Arsenic contamination > 0.05 mg/l Monitoring required for every 6 months

Yes
Mitigation Measures

IF IF
Availability of Pond there is enough rainfall
AND Availability of water all the year round AND Cost > = 1800 Tk
AND Pond not being used for fish cultivation AND Cost < 2000 Tk
AND Community involvement required THEN Option is Rain
AND indigenous technology Water Harvesting
AND cost > = 300 Tk AND Cost < 900 Tk
THEN option is Pond Sand Filter

IF
Availability of water all the year round
AND Community involvement required IF
AND indigenous technology System is Portable
AND cost > = 900 Tk AND Cost < 2000 Tk AND Technology is
THEN option is Dugwell indigenous
AND Cost < 300 Tk
THEN option is Three
IF Pitcher Filter
No community involvement required
Long Term Options

Short Term Options

AND Sludge disposal is required

AND Cost > = 2000 Tk AND Cost < 5000 Tk
THEN Option is NZ-South Asia Arsenic
Removal (Iron oxyhydroxide)

IF
IF System is Portable
Availability of deep aquifer AND Technology is
AND Community involvement required indigenous
AND Cost > = 900 TK AND Cost < 2000 Tk AND Cost > = 900 Tk
THEN option is Deep Tubewell AND Cost < 2000 Tk
THEN option is Shafi Filter

IF
Very dense area
AND Community involvement required
AND cost > = 5000 Tk
THEN option is Piped Water Supply
IF
System is Portable
IF AND Technology is
Community involvement is required indigenous
AND Sludge disposal is required AND Cost > = 300 Tk
AND Cost > = 900 Tk AND Cost < 2000 Tk AND Cost < 900 Tk
AND Technology not indigenous
THEN Option is BTU
THEN option is SIDKO Plant

Figure 2. Flowchart showing algorithm for Expert System.

792
those questions. This will enable the system to recommend the type of option that is feasible in the
study area.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The prototype Spatial Expert System facilitates to identify the potential area exposed to arsenic
contamination and assist decision makers particularly DPHE engineers to select suitable options
based on user’s responses. The knowledge base of the system is designed taking into considerations
of the geophysical characteristics, socio-economic condition and behavioral pattern of the people
living in the study area. That is why some options like BTU, Shafi Filter though has not been able
to remove arsenic to the designed expected level yet they have been considered as a short term
options as people of the study area are already habituated with those options.
The advantage of this proposed system is that the knowledge base is easy to build and any
updated information or modifications can be quickly incorporated into the knowledge base. Thus
the Expert System can be updated with new and low cost arsenic remediation options such as
autoatteneuation, use of geological materials as natural adsorbents for arsenic, artificial recharge
to the aquifers following aeration; and bacterial iron oxidation (Bhattacharya et al. 2002). The
selection of suitable options which is based on Instant Tea, being platform independent and Internet
friendly can be accessed from anywhere via Internet through any browser. So a user with limited
computer knowledge can easily handle. All the modules of the Expert System are simple with just
point and click buttons, which follows one after another maintaining a sequence. This eliminates
confusion and complexity arising from too many buttons. The system would be more effective
to forecast the exact number of exposed population exposed to arsenic contamination if each and
every tubewell with spatial distribution were entered into the database. By utilising the efficiency
of this system, less time and money need to be spent in identification of severely contaminated
area. Rather, more resources can be allocated to the alternative options that are feasible in the study
area. Thus the developed system could be a common platform for bringing the stake holders, policy
makers/public health engineers and researchers/scientists working in the field of arsenic.

REFERENCES

Ahmed, K.M. & Burgess, W.G. 1995. Bils and the Barind aquifer, Bangladesh. Chapter 8, In A.G. Brown
(Eds.), Geomorphology and Groundwater (pp. 143–155). New York: Wiley.
Ajward, M.H., Basri, H. & Fatimah. 1999. Development of an expert geographic information system for
siting of sanitary landfills for municipal solid waste, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Proceedings of the World
Engineering Congress-Towards the Engineering Vision: Global Challenges & Issues, pp. 154.
Arnold, H.L., Odman, R.B. & James, W.D. 1990. In: Disease of the skin clinical dermatology. W.B. Saunders
Co., Philadelphia, USA: 121–122.
Beerel, A.C. 1987. Expert Systems: strategic implications and applications. West Sussex: Ellis Horwood
Limited.
Berg, M., Tran, H.C., Nguyen, T.C., Pham, H.V., Giger, W. & Schertenleib, R. 2000. Arsenic contamination
in sediment and groundwater of the Red River delta, Vietnam – a potential health crisis. 26th WEDC
Conference, “Water, Sanitation, Hygiene: Challenges of the Millennium”, Dhaka: 5–9 November, 2000.
BGS & DPHE. 2001. Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in Bangladesh, Kinniburg, D.G. & Smedley. P.L.
(Eds.), Volume 2: Final Report. British Geological Survey Report WC/00/19.
Bhattacharaya, P., Jacks, G., Frisbie, S.H., Smith, E., Naidu, R. & Sarkar, B. 2002. Arsenic in the Environment:
A Global Perspective. Mercel Dekker, Inc.
BRAC 2000. Combating a deadly menace. Early experiences with a community-based arsenic mitigation
project in Bangladesh. Dhaka: BRAC.
Chowdhury, Q.I. 2000. Rural Bangladeshis at risk of arsenic poisoning. In Q.I. Chowdhury (Eds.), Bangladesh
State of Arsenic 2000 (pp. 11–14). Dhaka: Forum of Environmental Journalist of Bangladesh (FEJB).

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Criud, A. & Foulliac, C. 1989. The distribution of arsenic (III) and arsenic (V) in geochemical waters:
Examples from the Massif Central of France, the Island of Dominica in the Leeward Islands of the
Caribbean, the Valles Caldera of New Mexico, USA, and south-west Bulgaria. Chemical Geology 76:
259–269.
Del Razo, L.M., Arellano, M.A. & Cebrian, M.E. 1990. The oxidation states of arsenic in well-water from a
chronic arsenicism area of northern Mexico. Environmental Pollution 64: 143–153.
Dhar, R.K., Biswas, B.K., Samanta, G., Mandal, B.K., Chakraborti, D., Roy, S., Jafar, A., Islam, A., Ara, G.,
Kabir, S., Khan, A.W., Ahmed, S.A. & Hadi, S.A. 1997. Groundwater arsenic calamity in Bangladesh.
Current Science 73: 48–59.
DPHE/BGS/MML 1999. Groundwater Studies for Arsenic Contamination in Bangladesh. Phase I; Rapid
Investigation Phase. Six Volumes. British Geological Survey and Mott MacDonald Ltd (UK).
Hsu, K.H., Froines, J.R. & Chen, C.J. 1997. Studies of arsenic ingestion from drinking water in northern
Taiwan: Chemical speciation and urinary metabolies. In C.O. Abernathy, R.L. Calderon & W.R. Chappell,
(Eds.). Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects (pp. 190–209). London: Chapman & Hall.
Karim, Md. M. 2000. Arsenic in groundwater and health problem in Bangladesh. Wat Res 34 (1): 304–310.
Marimuthu, P. 2001. Arsenic Contamination in West Bengal and Bangladesh: Statistical Errors. Environmental
Health Perspective. Volume 109, Number 2, February 2001. (http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2001/109-
2/correspondence.html)
Mukherjee, A.B. & Bhattacharya, P. 2001. Arsenic in groundwater in the Bengal Delta Plain: slow poisoning
in Bangladesh. Environ Rev 9(3):189–200.
Nicolli, H.B. & Merino, M.H. 2001. High contents of F, As and Se in groundwater of the Carcarana river basin,
Argentine Pampean Plain. Environmental Geology (in press).
Niu, S., Cao, S. & Shen, E. 1997. The status of arsenic poisoning in China. In C.O. Abernathy, R.L. Calderon
and W.R. Chappell (Eds.), Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects (pp. 18–83). London: Chapman & Hall.
Samanta, G., Mandal, B.K., Chowdhury, T.R., Biswas, B.K., Chowdhury, U.K., Basu, G.K. Chanda, C.R.,
Lodh, D., Saha, K.C. & Charraborti, D. 1999. Arsenic in groundwater and sufferings of people in eight
districts of West Bengal, India. In Proc on 5th Int Conf on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements. July
11–15,1999, Vienna, Austria, Edited by W.W. Wenzel, D.C. Adriano, B. Alloway, H.E. Doner, C. Keller,
N.W. Lepp, M. Mench, R. Naidu, G.M. Pierzynski, Vol I: 256–257.
Smedley, P.L., Noco, I.H.B., Barros, A.J. & Tullio, J.O. 1998. Origin and mobility of arsenic in groundwater
from the Pampean Plain, Argentina. In: Arehart, G.B. and Huston, J.R. (eds). Proceedings of the 9th
International Symposium onWater-Rock Interaction (pp. 275–278). WRI-9, Taupo, New Zealand, 30 March-
3 April 1998. Balkema, Rotterdam.
Wang, L. & Huang, J. 1994. Chronic arsenism from drinking water in some areas of Xinjiang, China. In
J.O. Nriagu (Eds.), Arsenic in Environment, Part II: Human Health and Ecosystem Effects (pp. 159–172).
New York: John Wiley.
Welch, A.H., Lico, M.S. & Hughes, J.L. 1988. Arsenic in groundwater of the Western United States. Ground
Water 26: 333–347.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Research on the water environment carrying capacity of river and

reservoir – A case study of Wanjiazhai reservoir in Yellow River

K.Q. Chen
Department of Water Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research,
Beijing, China

H. Qian
North China Electric Power University, Baoding, China

G.B. Li
Department of Water Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research,
Beijing, China

P.Y. Xu
North China Electric Power University, Baoding, China

ABSTRACT: Water resource shortage and water environment pollution have been seemed as the
main factor which restricts social and economic development. Research on the water environment
carrying capacity became imperative. In this article, a new connotation of the water environment
carrying capacity is developed based on the analysis of concept and characteristic of the water
environment carrying capacity. A new appraising system and indicator system together with a new
model are also constructed. Finally, a case study, Wanjiazhai reservoir and the upper reaches in
Yellow River, have been appraised and analyzed.
For many years the water resources in China remained at an average of 2810 billion cubic
meters, ranking the 6th place in the world with an average of only 2200 cubic meters per-head, only
a quarter of the global average for water-use. Moreover the temporal-spatial distribution of water
resources was quite uneven. Therefore, along with the growth population and the economy the
disparity between water supply and demand become even more serious. It is estimated that the total
population will get to 1.6 billion in the year of 2030, and the per capita water resource occupancy
volume will drop to 1700 m3 , which will come near the international alert line. In addition to the
shortage of water resource, the situation of water environment pollution is also worrying us.
For over 700 main rivers of China, the water quality evaluation of 1.14 × 105 km long rivers
shows that the type I water has 4.9%, the type II water 24.0%, the type III water 29.8%, the type
IV water 16.1%, the type V water 8.1% and worse than the type V water 17.1% based on the data
of year 2000 by the State Water Quality Monitoring Net and the Surface Water Quality Standard
(GB 3838-88).

1 PROGRESS ON RESEARCH OF WATER ENVIRONMENT CARRYING CAPACITY

1.1 Carrying capacity

The word carrying capacity was early evolved in bionomics study, when its application scope
was limited to the bionomics field. With the appearance of such phenomena as global degrada-
tion, environmental pollution and population inflation, anthropologists and biologists developed
the concept of carrying capacity, and applied it in anthrop-ecology. With the increase of global
population and the increasing degradation of land areas, mankind faced increasingly serious food

795
supplies crisis. So, scientists brought forward the concept of land carrying capacity. After the
industrial revolution, mankind began to exploit and destroy nature without restraint. At the same
time, science and technology developed rapidly, and technology renovation and invention emerged
continuously, which offered mankind much convenience for rebuilding and conquering nature.
With the development of the global economy, problems of environmental pollution and resource
shortage gradually became distinct. When time came to the 60’s of 20th century, more and more
people woke up to the environmental degradation due to industrialization. During the period 1940
to 1990, the amount of fresh water taken out from rivers, lakes, reservoirs and other water resources
increased by 4 times, but the fresh water supply was reduced rapidly due to its bad quality destroyed
by all kinds of pollutants from rivers, lakes and groundwater.
All these problems promoted new evaluation of global resources, so the concept of resource car-
rying capacity, such as water resource carrying capacity, emerged as required by the time. Resource
carrying capacity is also usually regarded as base sustaining system. It means one country’s or area’s
supporting ability aimed at basic survival and development according to its resource quantity and
quality per capita.
When mankind faces the condition of water resource shortage, the situation of environment
pollution is still very severe. This situation makes the value of resource utilization decreased,
which intensified the contradiction of water resource shortage and while on the other hand, the
continual pollution of atmosphere, water body, soil and solid waste severely threaten the survival
of mankind. Therefore, concepts such as self-purification capacity of water body, environment
content, environment capacity, regional environment carrying capacity were brought forward little
by little. In China, the concept of environment carrying capacity emerged in the “Meizhou Gulf
Plan”. Owing to the importance of water, the study of water environment carrying capacity shows
more essentiality than other kind of environmental carrying capacity.

1.2 Water environment carrying capacity

Water is what mankind lives on, and water environment is the basic requirement for mankind’s
survival and development. The bulk of the water environment carrying capacity (WECC) is a
deciding factor which mostly determines the speed and size of mankind’s development. As a result,
WECC attracts much attention and is widely applied all over the world.
WECC is a new cognition for an environmental value with the development of social economy
and the advancement of science and technology. Correlative study of WECC is mainly centralized
in China at present, little was found at overseas. Study on water resources carrying capacity began
the 1980s in China, the concept of WECC was not brought forward until 1990, which was developed
independently as a research direction of environmental science. However, ecological factors were
little involved in the study of WECC.
With the development of the economy in recent years, the use of water resource increased
year by year. Meanwhile the amount of wastewater discharge also increased because the ability
of wastewater treatment cannot keep up with the polluted water release. As a result, rivers and
lakes were severely polluted. In 2001, Wang Shucheng, who is the minister of Water Resource
Department, made an academic presentation about WECC at the 70th anniversary of the Chinese
Hydraulic Engineering Society. Since then, the research on WECC has been a hot direction. At
present, WECC is what mankind needs to think about has been recognized for the sake of sustainable
development and coexisting between the mankind and nature.

2 DISCUSSION ON THE THEORY OF WECC AND A NEW INDICATOR SYSTEM

2.1 Concept of WECC

Water is a kind of matter on which mankind lives, and the water environment is a water body
transferring, depositing and supplying a water resource, which is still the base for mankind’s survival

796
and development. In the paper, WECC refers to the water-system’s capability of accommodating,
keeping maintainable intension of social economy activity and keeping population at a definite life
level while it keeps its normal ability of self-adjusting and self-maintaining.

2.2 Connotation of WECC

According to analysis of the concept and character of WECC, it comprises of three aspects of
meaning, the first one is where the water environment ecosystem keeps a state of a benign cir-
cle and sustainable development under a definite water environment standard at some historical
moment; the second one is where the water environment ecosystem can endure some quantity of
population holding definite life level while satisfying the first condition.; the third one is where the
water environment ecosystem can support economic development of a given speed and size while
satisfying the above two conditions.

2.3 Indicator system of WECC

WECC is an important foundation to harmonize with sustainable development of water basin among
economy, society and environment. The key to study of WECC is the establishment of indicator
system for appraisal. Table 1 sums up the indicator system for appraisal of WECC. From Table 1,
it can been seen that WECC can been divided three parts i.e. water environmental ecology carrying
capacity, water environmental population carrying capacity and water environmental economy
carrying capacity.
In the calculation of indicator system for appraisal of WECC, the mathematics model of a
logarithm function i.e. y = a + b log x, where a & b are parameter, has been adopted. According to
indicator value legalized by international and “basic standard for the level of fairly comfortable life”
issued by China government, and referring to the practical situation of development of economy
and population in China, ten indications are selected and calculating standard for appraising the
indicator of WECC can be also confirmed as follows (Table 2).
When x is the worst, y is 0; when x is the passing value, y is 0.6; and when x is the best, y is 1.
Then the calculated models is as follows (Table 3).

Table 1. Indicator system for appraisal of WECC.

Type Indicator

Water environmental ecology Total amount of water resources

carrying capacity
Water environmental population
carrying capacity
Water environmental economy
carrying capacity
Total discharge of pollutants
Biodiversity
Ratio of waste water to runoff
Water resource amount transferred from outside
Rate of use for water resources
Water resources per capital
Population
Rate of population increase
Average GDP per capita
Rate of increase for GDP per capita
GDP
Net income per capita for peasants
Engel’s co-efficient
Rate of recycled water-use for industries
Rate of legal-discharge standards for industrial wastewater
Rate of treatment for urban sewage
Investment proportion of water pollution control

797
Table 2. The calculating standard for appraising the indicator of WECC.

The Passing The The Passing The

Index worst value best Index worst value best

Ratio of waste 1 0.04 Rate of use for water 40 10

water to runoff resources (%)
Water resources 20 1700 Average GDP per 100 3000
per capital (m3 ) capita (US dollar)
Rate of increase for 1 10 Rate of legal-discharge 30 100
GDP per capita (%) standards for industrial
waste-water (%)
Rate of recycled 30 100 Rate of treatment for 20 100
water-use for industries (%) urban sewage (%)
Engel’s co-efficient 0.4 0.2 Net income per capita 1200 2500
for peasants (RMB ¥)

Table 3. The calculating model for appraising the indicator of WECC.

Indicator Model

Ratio of waste water to runoff y = −0.43 log x

Rate of use for water resources y = 0.34 − 0.66 log x
Water resources per capital y = −0.97 + 0.48 log x
Average GDP per capita y = −0.82 + 0.41 log x
Rate of increase for GDP per capita y = 1.40 + 0.40 log x
Rate of legal-discharge standards for industrial wastewater y = 1.00 + 1.91 log x
Rate of recycled water-use for industries y = 1.00 + 1.91log x
Rate of treatment for urban sewage y = 1.00 + 1.43 log x
Engel’s co-efficient y = 0.07 − 1.32 log x
Net income per capita for peasants y = −3.26 + 1.26 log x

3 A CASE STUDY – WECC OF WANJIAZHAI RESERVOIR AND

THE UPPER REACHES IN YELLOW RIVER

3.1 Water environment status of Wanjiazhai reservoir

Wanjiazhai reservoir is located in the gorge from Tuoketou to Longkou, which lies in the northern
part of middle reaches of the Yellow River. Left bank of the reservoir is the Pianguan county of
Shanxi Province and the right bank is the Zhungeer county of Inner Mongolia Municipality. The
Wanjiazhai reservoir’s water comes from Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, the Inner Mongol and so on.
After the project building up, 7 water quality monitoring survey in 4 years of the Wanjiazhai reservoir
shows that the water can not come up to the III level standard of water quality which environmental
impact and appraisal required. The reason is that the water quality entered the reservoir most is V
and under V level standard. The goal of water supply cannot be been achieveed.

3.2 Calculating degree of carrying capacity

According to a comparison of the waste water quantity entering the Yellow River from Qinghai,
Gansu and Ningxia provinces in 2001, the proportion of influence to water quality among the three
provinces is 5:2:3, therefore, we adopt an average value when calculating their synthesis value. The
average value is 0.5, 0.2 and 0.3 respectively.

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 Table 4. The calculating model for appraising the indicator of WECC.

Indicator Model

Ratio of waste water to runoff y = 0.53

Rate of use for water resources y = 0.49
Water resources per capital y = 0.46
Average GDP per capita y = 0.37
Rate of increase for GDP per capita y = 0.99
Rate of legal-discharge standards for industrial wastewater y = 0.66
Rate of recycled water-use for industries y = 0.88
Rate of treatment for urban sewage y = 0.31
Engel’s co-efficient y = 0.62
Net income per capita for peasants y = 0.83

Table 5. Synthetically calculate of WECC.

Number Proportion Synthesis numerical

Branch of carrying capacity value (Ei) (Wi) value of WECC(|E|)
 1/2
3
Water environmental ecology 0.51 0.4 |E| = i=1 (Wi ∗ Ei)2
Water environmental population 0.59 0.3
Water environmental economy 0.64 0.3 0.33

Table 6. Classification of WECC.

Range of value r 0–0.2 0.2–0.5 0.5–0.8 0.8–1

Degree Worst Bad General Good

Status of water environment Collapse Frailness General Good

The calculation results of each indicator are as shown in Table 4.

The calculation results of sub-WECC are as shown in Table 5.

3.3 Analysis of WECC of Wanjiazhai reservoir and the upper reaches in Yellow River
The value of WECC should be between 0 and 1, with the size of the value reflecting good or bad of
regional water environment carrying capacity. The bigger the value is, the better the regional water
environment carrying capacity is, and it can endure larger pressure having bigger flexibility, and
vice versa. The WECC can be divided into 4 grades or categories sections to differentiate good or
bad of WECC (Table 6).
The value of WECC of Wanjiazhai reservoir and the upper reaches inYellow River is 0.33, which
is in the bad category and is frail for water environment.
Through the above analysis, the condition of WECC of Wanjiazhai reservoir and the upper
reaches of the Yellow River proved to be very bad. However, in contrast, the social economic
development is in a high level. Therefore the safety of the water environment is sacrificed on one
hand and a great deal of input entered, on the other hand, which comprise of high-tech personnel,
capital, assets from outside, etc.
The three provinces located on the upper reaches of the Yellow River are western provinces
of exploitive plan. So we can judge that the high-level social economic development is built on
sacrificing the safety of the water environment, which will directly endanger the safety of the

799
environment in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and even influence the economic
development and social stability of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.

4 CONCLUSION

WECC refers to the water-system’s capability of accommodating, keeping maintainable intension

of social economy activity and keeping population at a definite life level while it keeps its normal
ability of self-adjusting and self-maintaining.
WECC can been divided three parts i.e. water environmental ecology carrying capacity, water
environmental population carrying capacity and water environmental economy carrying capacity.
Ten indications are selected for calculating and appraising of WECC. A case study of Wanjiazhai
reservoir has been conducted. The results showed that the value of WECC is 0.33, which is in the
bad category and is frail for water environment.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research is sponsored by the project of Ministry of Science and Technology, China Institute
of Water Resources and Hydropower Research and Wanjiazhai Water Project Company.

REFERENCES

Carey, D.I. 1993. Development based on carrying capacity. Global Environmental Change, 3(2): 140–148.
Mayers, N. 1993. Population, Environment, and Development. Environmental conservation, 20(3): 205–215.
Seidl, I. & Tisdell, C.A. 1999. Carrying capacity reconsidered: from Malthus’ population theory to cultural
carrying capacity. Ecological economics, 31: 335–348.
Wang, S.C. 2002. Resource-oriented water management: towards harmonious coexistence between man and
nature. Beijing: China WaterPower Press.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Analysis of effect of south-to-north water transfer project on

aquatic ecosystems of Haihe River basin

Pei Yuansheng, Wang Jianhua & Luo Lin

Department of Water Resources, Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research,
Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: A method of correlation analysis for quantitative analysis of effects of changes in

water cycle in a river basin on an aquatic ecosystem is developed in this paper and applied for the
correlation analysis and evaluation of the current situation of the Haihe River basin. The analysis
indicates that over-development and over-utilization of water resources have altered the natural
water cycle and resulted in an overall degradation of the aquatic ecosystems in Haihe River basin.
The quantitative simulation of with South-to-North Water Transfer Project and without South-to-
North Water transfer Project in the future shows that Haihe River basin will be in a difficult position
in considering both economic development and ecological protection in the future in case without
South-to-North Water Transfer Project. In contrast, in case of implementation of water transfer
from the south to the north, the economic development may be sustained and the condition of the
water cycle may be improved by the available water resources in the river basin. Therefore, the
trend of degradation of the aquatic ecosystems may be overall checked, except increase in flows
into the sea.

1 PRESENT CONDITION OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS IN THE HAIHE RIVER BASIN

As a river basin suffering the most serious shortage of water supply in China, Haihe River basin
has normal annual water resources of 37.2 cubic kilometers, only 305 cubic meters per capita on
the average. Because of serious scarcity of water resources, the regional economic development
has been restricted and the aquatic ecosystems overall degraded. According to the master plan of
the South-to-North Water Transfer Project, the water supplies from the project for the Haihe River
basin are 6.06 cubic kilometers in the target year 2010 and 9.57 cubic kilometers in the target year
2030 respectively based on the alternative of low capacity, and 6.93 cubic kilometers and 10.33
cubic kilometers based on the alternative of high capacity. Such huge amount of water transfer
necessarily exerts great influences on the water cycle and the aquatic ecosystems in the Haihe
River basin. The related analyses are made in this paper.

1.1 Serious water pollution

The water pollution is very serious as the proportion of the polluted river reaches to the total river
reaches is as high as 75 per cents, and groundwater in two thirds of all the wells can not be up to
the standard for potable water use.

1.2 Drying-up and obstructive function of rivers

Resulting from considerable increases in water uses, the river dry up and the functions of the rivers
degraded. The Haihe River basin is described as ‘almost all the rivers dried up and almost all the
waters were polluted’. This is considered as one of the most serious problems in the river basin.

801
1.3 Sharp decrease in flow to sea and ecological degradation of estuary
According the statistics, as compared with the 1950s, the average annual flow to the sea from the
river basin had decreased by 72 percent and the flood carrying capacity of the key flood channels had
decreased by 40 per cent by the 1990s. The fishes of economic values have basically disappeared
in the estuary by now.

1.4 Considerable reduction in wetlands and disappearance of biodiversity

The areas of shallow lakes were more than 10,000 square kilometers in total in the 1950s. By now,
except Baiyangdian Lake and some reservoirs located on the original lakes or low-lying lands,
most of the shallow lakes have disappeared or degraded as only about 2,000 square kilometers of
wetlands in total even the areas of the large and medium reservoirs numbered in.

1.5 Serious groundwater overdraft

The accumulative depletion of the groundwater in the Haihe River basin reaches 89.6 cubic kilo-
meters, including 47.1 cubic kilometers of the shallow groundwater storage and 42.5 cubic kilo-
meters of deep groundwater storage. The groundwater overdraft has induced ground surface
subsidence, ground vent/collapse and sea-water encroachment.

1.6 Serious water and soil losses

Although the value of the annual precipitation is not very high, torrential rains often occur in
the Haihe River basin. High surface gradient, porous soils, low vegetation cover degree and land
reclamation on the steep slopes are common in the mountain areas. As a result, the serious water
and soil losses occur in the mountain areas.

1.7 Environment pollution and health impairment resulting from sewage irrigation
Owing to scarcity of water resources, a considerable part of the sewage/wastewater discharged in
the Haihe River basin is reused for irrigation without any treatment, resulting in damages to the
environment and the health.

2 CORRELATION ANALYSIS OF WATER CYCLE WITH AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS IN

THE HAIHE RIVER BASIN

The water cycle is naturally and closely correlated with the aquatic ecosystems in a river basin. The
natural water cycle shaped by the nature for millions upon millions of years creates a characteristic
stable aquatic ecosystem in an area. The large-scale water resources and utilization by human beings
in recent decades have altered the natural water cycle, thus making the stable aquatic ecosystem
unstable and the aquatic ecosystem degraded overall in some areas, with the Haihe River basin as
a typical case. The South-to-North Water Transfer Project may additionally supply large quantities
of water for the Haihe River basin, thus increasing flux of the water cycle and influencing the
ecosystems in the river basin to a certain extent although not aimed mainly at the ecological water
use. In order to evaluate the impacts of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project on the aquatic
ecosystems in the Haihe River basin, it is necessary to study in the first place the natural correlation
of the water cycle with the aquatic ecosystems in the river basin.

2.1 Approach to correlation analysis of water cycle with aquatic ecosystems

A closed unit is bounded on the horizontal directions by the boundaries of the river basin and on the
vertical directions by the upper confining strata of the deep groundwater as the lower boundaries

802
and the ground surfaces as the upper boundaries. First of all, water inflows into the unit, changes
in water storages and water consumptions in a year period in the unit are analyzed to make the
transformation interrelations between various water quantities in the process of the water cycle
clear. Then, the relations of driving the components of the aquatic ecosystems by the various water
quantities are analyzed to identify the present conditions of the aquatic ecosystems and evaluate
the future situation of the aquatic ecosystems. The process of the water cycle can be expressed by
a water balance equation as follows:

where Twe is the total water inflow into the unit, Tws is the total change in water storages in the
unit and Twc is the total water consumption in the unit.
In the water balance equation, the water inflows into the unit comprise the local water resources
formed by precipitations, surface water quantities diverted from other river basins and groundwater
exploited from the deep aquifers. The total change in water storages is the water quantity increment
(or the decrement) stored in the unit in the year, including changes of the reservoir storages and
the shallow groundwater storages. The total water consumption indicates all the water quantities
discharged in various forms from the unit, including mainly the flows into the sea in the horizontal
direction from the unit and the evaporations in the vertical direction from the unit. The water
consumptions may be classified into socioeconomic water consumptions and non-socioeconomic
water consumptions in accordance with properties of the consumptions. The socioeconomic water
consumptions indicate the water quantities artificially supplied for and consumed by the national
economic development and human beings lives, including consumptive water uses by agriculture,
industry, urban residents and rural residents. The non-socioeconomic water consumptions may be
regarded as the consumptive water uses by the aquatic ecosystems, including flows into the sea to
maintain the aquatic ecosystems of the estuary, consumptive water uses by the aquatic ecosystems
in water systems, and the consumptive water uses by the aquatic ecosystems on lands as well. The
consumptive water uses by the aquatic ecosystems in water systems include evaporations from
the water surfaces of the natural stream channels, lakes, wetlands and the rivers/lakes in the urban
areas. The consumptive water uses by the aquatic ecosystems on the lands indicate the evaporations
from the groundwater in the plain areas and valleys and basins in the mountain areas.
By applying the above equation, the entire process and the state of the water cycle in the river basin
as a unit may be described. Moreover, because of the close relation of almost each component in the
water cycle with the aquatic ecosystems, the conditions of the aquatic ecosystems in the river basin
may be reflected through the analysis of the each component in the water cycle. Three problems of
the aquatic ecosystems may be analyzed and evaluated by the budgets in the equation. Groundwater
overdraft: The problem refers to the exploitation of the deep groundwater, included in the inflow
into the unit, and the change in the shallow groundwater storage. On the average over years, in
case of over exploitation of the deep groundwater and/or minus change in the shallow groundwater
storage, the aquatic ecosystems are damaged, and the conditions may become worse, and ultimately
ground surface subsidence and/or sea-water encroachment may occur. Decreases in consumptive
water uses by the aquatic ecosystems in water systems and on lands: In case the requirements of the
consumptive water uses by the aquatic ecosystems in water systems and on lands, especially those
by the former, are not met, a series of ecological problems, such as drying-up of rivers, shrinking
of lakes, disappearance of wetlands and desertification, may be suffered. Reduction in flows into
the sea: In case the requirements of the aquatic ecosystems of the estuary for the flows into the sea
are not met, higher salt concentration than usual, slow rise of temperature, disappearance of loose
bottom materials may occur, resulting in depletion of the off-shore fishery resource because of the
adverse impacts on spawning and growing of fishes.
From the above analyses, it is concluded that the interrelations between the budgets of the water
cycle in a river basin may directly influence the conditions of aquatic ecosystems in the river basin.
Therefore, the conditions of the aquatic ecosystems may be evaluated in the light of the states of the
water cycle, and the future conditions of the aquatic ecosystems in the river basin may be predicted

803
through the analysis and prediction of the states of the water cycle under the different options of
water resources development and utilization, and then the options of water resources development
and utilization may be readjusted from the point of view of the aquatic ecosystems in the river basin
to coordinate the regional water resources development and utilization and the aquatic ecosystems.
This is the methodology of and approach to analyses of correlation relation of water cycle with
aquatic ecosystems.

2.2 Correlation analysis and evaluation of present condition of water cycle with
aquatic ecosystems in the Haihe River basin
In accordance with the above analyses of the physical model of the correlation of the water cycle
with the aquatic ecosystems, the corresponding mathematical model of the correlation the water
cycle with the aquatic ecosystems in the river basin is formulated. Based on the data in the Water
Resources Bulletin 1994–1999 and Plan of Water Resources Development in Haihe River basin,
each component in the water balance equation of the unit is calculated to evaluate the present
conditions of the aquatic ecosystems as shown in Table 1.
It can be seen from Table 1 when the inflows decrease, the water consumptions decrease and
the changes in the water storages appear minus, indicating the national economic development
supported by depletions of the storages of the surface water and groundwater in a dry year. In
addition, significant negative correlation is found between the local water resources plus the diver-
sions from other river basins and the deep groundwater exploitation plus the shallow groundwater
overdraft, and the higher the former, the lower the latter, indicating the deep and shallow ground-
water exploitations as a major measure adopted to meet the regional water demands in case of
shortages of the local water resources plus the diversions from other river basins. By reviewing the
components of the water consumptions in a dry year, it is found that, even though the total water
consumption decreases considerably, the socioeconomic water consumption changes slightly under
the condition of certain level of the national economic development, while the non-socioeconomic
water consumption decreases considerably, presenting the significant positive correlation with the
total water consumption. This indicates that, in case of less precipitation and scarce water resources,
the socioeconomic water use is not considerably reduced but maintained by means of overdrafts of
the deep and shallow groundwater and occupation of the non-socioeconomic water consumption,
and the decrease in the total water consumption is shifted almost completely on to the decrease

Table 1. Base data and calculation results of water cycle in Haihe River basin 1994–1999.

Particular 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Mean

Precipitation (mm) 577 609 599 366 551 385 490

Inflow into Local water resources 42.66 44.05 52.23 21.21 35.39 19.25 35.80
unit (km3 ) Diversion 5.73 5.23 5.50 5.64 5.11 5.37 5.43
Deep groundwater 5.40 6.38 5.78 6.12 6.37 7.15 6.20
Total 53.79 55.65 63.51 32.96 46.87 31.76 47.42
Change in Reservoir 2.90 1.07 0.88 −4.50 1.02 −2.38 −0.17
storage (km3 ) Groundwater 1.04 0.40 4.60 −3.19 −0.70 −7.50 −0.89
Total 3.94 1.47 5.48 −7.69 0.32 −9.88 −1.06
Water Socioeconomic 28.14 27.20 28.45 29.10 28.10 28.57 28.26
consumption Non-socio- Water system 0.26 0.25 0.25 0.29 0.27 0.29 0.27
(km3 ) economic Land 11.19 15.92 11.97 9.86 12.77 11.01 12.12
To sea 10.27 10.81 17.39 1.40 5.41 1.77 7.84
Subtotal 21.72 26.98 29.58 11.56 18.45 13.06 20.23
Total 49.86 54.18 58.03 40.65 46.55 41.63 48.48

Source: Water Resources Bulletin 1994–1999 and Plan of Water Resources Development in Haihe River basin.

804
in the non-socioeconomic water consumption. Comparing the socioeconomic water consumptions
with the flows into the sea, the significant positive correlation can be found between the two. The
regression equation between the non-socioeconomic water consumptions and the flows into the sea
is expressed as follows:

where x is the non-socioeconomic water consumption in 0.1 cubic kilometers, and y is the flow to
the sea in 0.1 cubic kilometers.

3 PREDICTION OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS IN THE HAIHE RIVER BASIN UNDER

DIFFERENT SCENARIOS

According to the above introduced approach to the correlation analysis of the water cycle with the
aquatic ecosystems and the case study on the evaluation of the present conditions of the aquatic
ecosystems, the scenarios of the aquatic ecosystems in the different periods in the future can be
predicted based on the variations of the budgets in the water cycle in the river basin in the same
periods by defining and calculating the input and output variables in the water balance equation
and defining the constraint conditions of the states.

3.1 Designed scenarios

For analyses of the scenarios, the aquatic ecosystems are predicted for four alternatives of water
resources allocation under two conditions as described as follows:
(1) Prediction of aquatic ecosystems without the South-to-North Water Transfer Project
Two scenarios are included as (i) continuing the current pattern of the water resources devel-
opment and utilization, such as maintaining the diversions from other river basins and over
exploitations of the deep and shallow groundwater to meet the socioeconomic water demand;
and (ii) developing and using the water resources with the focus on the ecological protection,
such as stopping over exploitations of the deep and shallow groundwater and restoring the
ecological areas of water systems like lakes and wetlands.
(2) Prediction of aquatic ecosystems with the South-to-North Water Transfer Project
Two scenarios are included corresponding to two alternatives of high water transfer and low
water transfer. In both scenarios, the water resources are developed and utilized with the
focus on ecological protection, such as stopping over exploitations of the deep and shallow
groundwater and restoring the ecological areas of water systems like lakes and wetlands.

3.2 Prediction and analysis of aquatic ecosystems in different scenarios

The above input variables and the overall constraint conditions in the different scenarios are inserted
into the model for calculation of the four alternatives under the conditions with and without the
South-to-North Water Transfer Project respectively in the target years 2010 and 2030. The results
of the calculation are shown in Table 2.
Based on the calculation results shown in Table 2, the conditions of the aquatic ecosystems in
the different scenarios are predicted for the target years 2010 and 2030 as described as follows:
Scenario I: Without the South-to-North Water Transfer Project and continuing the current pattern
of the water resources development and utilization
Even though the socioeconomic water consumptions increase by 1.62 cubic kilometers and
3.82 cubic kilometers by the target years 2010 and 2030 respectively, the water demands of the
further economic development living condition improvement may not still be fully met. Moreover,
the morbid states of the aquatic ecosystems in water systems still remain and the aquatic ecosystems

805
Table 2. Water cycles in Haihe River basin under different scenarios in target years 2010 and 2030 (unit in km3 ).

Without South-to-North With South-to-North Water

Water Transfer Project Transfer Project

With groundwater Without ground Low water High water

Particular overdraft water overdraft transfer transfer

2010 2030 2010 2030 2010 2030 2010 2030

Inflow Local water resources 35.80 35.80 35.80 35.80 35.80 35.80 35.80 35.80
into unit Diversion 4.10 4.10 4.10 4.10 9.94 13.45 10.82 14.20
Deep groundwater 6.20 6.20 2.20 2.20 2.20 2.20 2.20 2.20
Total 46.10 46.10 42.10 42.10 47.94 51.45 48.82 52.20
Change Reservoir 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
in storage Groundwater −0.89 −0.89 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10
Total −0.89 −0.89 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10
Water Socioeconomic 29.88 32.08 25.69 27.78 29.07 33.15 29.67 33.68
consumption Non-socio- Water system 0.27 0.27 0.64 0.64 0.64 1.32 0.64 1.32
economic Land 11.89 11.25 11.00 10.29 11.68 10.86 11.75 10.91
To sea 4.95 3.39 3.67 2.29 5.45 5.02 5.66 5.19
Subtotal 17.11 14.91 15.31 13.22 17.77 17.20 18.05 17.42
Total 46.99 46.99 41.00 41.00 45.84 50.35 47.72 51.10

on lands may not be improvement. The flow to the sea is further reduced by 2.53 cubic kilometers
by the target year 2010 and by 40.9 cubic kilometers by the target year 2030. Especially, in case the
scale of the groundwater overdraft continues, the shallow groundwater may be exhausted in eighty
years and the deep groundwater may be fully drained away in ten years, thus leading necessarily
to irrecoverable ecological disaster even collapse of the regional ecosystems. The socioeconomic
development is not sustainable.
Scenario II: Without the South-to-North Water Transfer Project and with the focus on the ecological
protection
The set objectives of the environment protection may be basically achieved as the groundwater
overdraft stopped and the aquatic ecosystems in water systems fairly improved. However, the flow
to sea may further decreases and the aquatic ecosystems of the estuary may not be improved.
Moreover, the socioeconomic water consumptions are only 25.69 cubic kilometers and 27.78 cubic
kilometers in the target years 2020 and 2030, 2.57 cubic kilometers and 0.48 cubic kilometers
lower, respectively, than the water consumption averaged during the period from 1994 to 1999. The
decreases in the socioeconomic water consumptions may result in economic losses. The regional
socioeconomic development is greatly restricted, even retrogresses. This scenario is considered
as a typical alternative to sacrifice economic development for ecological improvement, which is
inconsistent with the phases of the socioeconomic development.
Scenario III: With the alternative of low water transfer by the S-to-N Water Transfer Project
The aquatic ecosystems in water systems are to be restored to a great extent because water consump-
tions by the aquatic ecosystems in water systems may increase to as high as 0.64 cubic kilometers
and 1.32 cubic kilometers in the target years 2010 and 2030 respectively. However, in this sce-
nario, the aquatic ecosystems on lands may not be significantly improved and the flow to the sea
may not be increased as compared with the condition without the South-to-North Water Transfer
Project because the inflow to the sea is to be 2.03 cubic kilometers and 2.46 cubic kilometers lower
respectively than that averaged during the period from 1994 to 1999. The socioeconomic water
consumption may reach 29.10 cubic kilometers by the target year 2010 and 33.20 cubic kilometers
by the target year 2030, 0.70 cubic kilometers and 5.00 cubic kilometers higher than that averaged
during the period from 1994 to 1999, 0.03 cubic kilometers and 1.10 cubic kilometers than that

806
in the scenario I, and 3.30 cubic kilometers and 5.40 cubic kilometers than that in the scenario II.
The commissioning of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project may greatly alleviate the severe
situations of the shortage of the water supplies for the socioeconomic development and scarcities
of water resources in the Haihe River basin.
Scenario IV: With the alternative of high water transfer by the S-to-N Water Transfer Project
The water consumptions of the aquatic ecosystems in water systems may reach 0.64 cubic
kilometers and 1.32 cubic kilometers by the target years 2010 and 2030 respectively to attain the
objectives of the significant improvement of the aquatic ecosystems in water systems. The flow
to the sea is 5.66 cubic kilometers in the target year 2010 and 5.19 cubic kilometers in the target
year 2030, that is, 1.82 cubic kilometers and 2.29 cubic kilometers lower respectively than that
averaged during the period from 1994 to 1999 because of shift to the socioeconomic water uses
although increased somewhat as compared with that in the scenario II and the scenario III. The
flow to the sea may not be increased and the aquatic ecosystems on lands may not be significantly
improved in this scenario as compared with the condition without the South-to-North Water Transfer
Project. The socioeconomic water consumptions in the target years 2010 and 2030 are increased by
1.40 cubic kilometers and 5.50 cubic kilometers respectively as compared with the average annual
socioeconomic water consumption during the period from 1994 to 1999, by 0.21 cubic kilometers
and 1.70 cubic kilometers compared with those in the scenario I, and by 4.00 cubic kilometers
and 6.00 cubic kilometers compared with those in the scenario II. The above study results indicate
only 6.8 per cent and 3.4 per cent of the rates of the deficits of the water supplies for the Haihe
River basin in the target years 2010 and 2030 in this scenario. The regional socioeconomic water
demands may be basically met by the South-to-North Water Transfer Project.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Under the condition without the South-to-North Water Transfer Project, the Haihe River basin
will undoubtedly be in a difficult position in choosing the socioeconomic development and the
ecological protection in the coming thirty year period. As a result, the goal of the sustainable may
not be attained. Under the condition with the South-to-North Water Transfer Project, significant
changes in the process of the water cycle may occur in the river basin, thus improving the aquatic
ecosystems correlated with the water cycle. Such serious ecological problems as ground surface
subsidence and sea-water encroachment may be basically checked, the minimum base flows in
most rivers and areas of lakes and wetlands may be maintained in most cases, and the biodiversities
may be gradually restored. Moreover, the socioeconomic development may be ensured. However,
because of the restricted scale and the targets of the water supplies by the South-to-North Water
Transfer Project, the flows to the sea are only maintained at the current level without improvement,
and the general trend of degradation of the aquatic ecosystems of the estuary may not be checked.

REFERENCE

Hao, Wang., Dayong. Qin., Jianhua. Wang., Lin. Luo. & Yuansheng. Pei. Rational Water Resources Allocation
in Huang-Huai-Haihe River Basin. Beijing: Science Publish.

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 6 Ecohydraulics

6.1 Algal blooms/eutrophication

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Predicting Phaeocystis globosa bloom in Dutch coastal waters

Q. Chen & A.E. Mynett

WL | Delft Hydraulics, MH Delft, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT: Under European Commission project harmful algal bloom expert system (HABES),
a rule based model has been developed in the Dutch pilot study for modelling Phaeocystis globosa
(P. globosa) blooms in the Dutch coastal waters (Noordwijk 10) of the North Sea. The model uses
decision trees to qualitatively predict bloom timing (bloom or not bloom in a certain week) and
uses nonlinear piecewise regression to predict bloom intensity (cell concentrations) on the basis of
available meteorological data. A multi-variable regression model was also set up to predict bloom
duration if it is forecasted to take place. The constructed model clearly indicates that the joint effects
of mean water column irradiance of mixing depth (Im ), temperature (T ) and dissolved inorganic
phosphorus (DIP) determine bloom timing and intensity. The bloom duration depends on the bloom
timing (starting day), starting intensity and temperature. Irradiance is seen to act just as one of the
triggers to P. globosa bloom. As long as it is higher than the threshold, extra irradiance plays little
role in bloom intensity or duration. River discharge from the Rhine does not have instant effect
on the bloom. The threshold values of Im , T and DIP independently found by the model are in
accordance with those discovered by other researchers through laboratory experiments. The model
was tested by an independent dataset from the same area, and the model results agree well with the
real observations both qualitatively and quantitatively. The developed rule-based model is sensible
to be physically interpreted from ecological aspects and is applicable in practice.

1 INTRODUCTION

The North Sea is a semi-enclosed shelf sea with a densely populated and very industrialised hin-
terland. In the last 20–50 years, the increase of nutrients discharged by the rivers has led to
eutrophication of the coastal zones. Spring phytoplankton blooms occur regularly in Dutch coastal
waters that are dominated by diatoms and Phaeocystis globosa. The bloom of P. globosa (defined
as cell number ≥1 million/l) is usually non-toxic, but it is harmful. It causes serious economical
loss due to the damage of the recreation and massive mussel mortality.
A number of studies have been carried out to investigate the changes of the Dutch coastal
ecosystems and to forecast possible P. globosa blooms through monitoring and modelling programs.
Under European Commission project harmful algal bloom expert system (HABES), fuzzy logic
models have been developed (Chen and Mynett, 2003; Chen, 2004) in the Dutch pilot study by
combining limited data with empirical knowledge, where chlorophyll a (Chla) concentration was
used as the bloom indicator. However, the use of Chla as indicator is seen to be quite rough in this
case after examining the obtained P. globosa data later, meanwhile the objectives of the pilot study
are to model the bloom timing, intensity and duration of the specific species P. globosa. Therefore,
a model based on decision trees and piecewise regression is developed in the Dutch pilot study.
The decision trees qualitatively predict bloom timing (bloom or not bloom in a certain day) and
the nonlinear piecewise regressions predict bloom intensity (cell concentrations) on the basis of
available meteorological data.

811
Figure 1. Map of the Dutch coastal waters, showing the locations of the monitoring locations.

2 MATERIALS

The pilot study area Noordwijk10 (Fig. 1) is about 10 km off the Dutch coast near the village
Noordwijk. The water depth at the location is approximately 18 m. The water is usually well mixed.
Weak stratification mainly due to salinity difference appears only temporarily (de Kok et al., 2001),
with the mixing layer depth of about 7.5 m. The yearly averaged percentage of freshwater from
River Rhine is around 10%, which means the river inflow may have certain influence on this area.
Ten years (1990–1999) data from three different sources have been collected. The first is meteoro-
logical data that contains daily information of irradiance (E0 ), air temperature, and wind speed and
wind direction. The second is hourly data of river discharge at station Maasluis that is located at
the river outlet. The last is water quality data that have different sampling frequencies. In spring
and summer (April∼August), sampling was performed every week (sometimes more frequently
during bloom); in winter it is generally every month. The water quality data contains 28 parameters,
including water temperature (WT), pH, suspended solid (SS), salinity (Sal), attenuation coefficient
3−
(kd ), NH+ − −
4 , NO2 , NO3 , PO4 , SiO2 , chlorophyll a concentration, P. globosa cell concentrations.
Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) is calculated as a summary of NH+ − −
4 , NO2 and NO3 . Accord-
ing to Peperzak (2002), the surface photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, I0 ) is calculated by
0.45*E0 . Because of the variation of sampling frequency, only the data from March to September
of each year are used in the study. After eliminating the records with missing data, there are finally
261 records left. Data from 1995∼1997 (81 records) are used for independent model testing and
the others (180) are used for model construction.

3 METHODS

According to the modelling objectives, different methods are applied in this study. The first step
is to develop a method to estimate underwater light climate since it is observed to be an important
factor in the study area by field measurements and laboratory experiments (Peperzak, 2002). Basic
statistical analysis was performed to understand the annual and seasonal dynamics of the system
and to obtain preliminary relations between driving factors and P. globosa development. Decision
trees and piecewise regression are used to model bloom timing and intensity respectively. The
bloom duration is modelled through a multi-variable regression on the basis of bloom timing and
intensity. The following sections are to describe these methods.

812
3.1 Estimation of water column irradiance
According to Lambert’s Law, the incident irradiance at depth z is given by:

in which I0 is the incident irradiance at surface (i.e. PAR), Kd is attenuation coefficient (m−1 ).
The mean water column irradiance in photic zone is then computed by

where Zp is the depth of photic zone (m), which is define as the depth of the 1% I0 . Therefore, Zp
is given by

If the photic depth Zp is larger than water depth Zw , then Zp = Zw . However, de Kok, et al. (2001)
pointed out that weak stratification appears temporarily in the study area in spring and early summer
with mixing depth Zm of 7.5 m. It is suggested to use this depth to compute the mean water column
irradiance. Since I0 can be easily obtained from E0 , the problem then comes to estimation of
attenuation coefficient Kd . A linear regression function was set up in this study to estimate Kd from
SS, salinity and Chla:

3.2 Decision trees

Decision tree is a kind of model technique which can provide qualitative discrete outputs of a
system under certain conditions represented by parameters. It splits parameters’ domain into sub-
domains, and the system output for each sub-domain is learned through historical records. When
new condition comes up, the system output is predicted by looking up which sub-domain it belongs
to. A split point is a node and the corresponding output is a leaf. A node can be further split, and the
whole procedure results in a tree-like modelling structure. Therefore, the key issue for constructing
a decision trees model is to find the right attribute(s) and optimal splits of the parameters’ domain.
The splitting criterion is to have maximum entropy gains:

where Gain(S, A) is the entropy gain of samples S split on attribute A, E(S) is the entropy of the
samples S, Sv is samples belonging to subset v, and E(Sv ) is its entropy. The computation of entropy
is given by

in which pi is the proportion that samples enter into subset i. However, it is obviously seen that
the computation load increases rapidly with the division and the number of attributes. In addition,
overfitting may appear due to relentless splitting. Therefore, the constructed tree needs to be pruned
to prevent these problems.

813
3.3 Piecewise regression
The idea of piecewise regression is similar to decision trees except that at each leaf there is a multi-
variable linear regression function instead of discrete constant output. Therefore, it can predict
continuous numerical outputs. Due to the split of parameter domain, the multi-regression function
at each leaf is usually seen to have few variables even totally there are many parameters. Although
the regression function at each leaf is linear, the function on the whole domain is non-linear. The
splitting criterion in piecewise regression is to have maximum standard deviation reduction, which
is given by:

where SDR(S, A) is the standard deviation reduction of samples S split on attribute A, SD(S) is the
standard deviation of samples S, Sv is samples belonging to subset v, and SD(Sv ) is its standard
deviation. Taking the same procedure as in decision trees to split the parameters’ space, and setting
up multi-variable regression at each leaf, a piecewise regression model is then constructed. To
prevent possible overfitting from relentless division and to increase interpretability, the constructed
model must be pruned, for example by replacing a node with a leaf. At the final stage, smoothing
process is performed to compensate the sharp discontinuities that will inevitably occur between
adjacent linear models at the leaves of the pruned tree, in particular for the model constructed from
a small number of records.

3.4 Multi-variate regression

During the basic analysis of the data, it is observed that bloom duration is related to the bloom
timing and the starting intensity. Other affecting factors may include irradiance, river inflow and
temperature. Since information of irradiance, river inflow and temperature can be easily obtained
from meteorological station (weekly weather forecast), and bloom timing and intensity can be
predicted by the models, it is possible to set up a multi-variate regression model to predict bloom
duration, which is given by:

where BloomDur: bloom duration; StartDay: the day that bloom starts; StartCon: the concentration
of bloom when it starts; MeanI : weekly mean instant irradiance at surface; MeanQ: weekly mean
discharge from Maasluis; MeanAirT : weekly mean air temperature; a, b, c, d, e, f : coefficients of
the regression function.
By examining the regression coefficients, the irrelevant parameters can be eliminated and the
regression will become simpler. The positive coefficient indicates that the factor has positive
relation with the model output and so does the negative coefficient to negative relation. Therefore,
the multi-variable regression can not only predict bloom duration, but also provide information of
important factors and their relations.

4 RESULTS

Intermediate results showed that the contribution from phytoplankton is considerably small com-
paring to the other two factors and it is usually more difficult to obtain Chla data than SS and
Sal. However, under HABES project, there is a Smartbouy installed in NW10 which can instantly
provide hourly data of SS and Sal. Therefore, it will be practically more useful if the Chla item can

814
be eliminated without significant adverse effects on the results. Therefore, a regression function is
obtained with R2 = 0.38:

To model the bloom timing, 9 parameters are used that are listed below (t ∼
= 7 days)
Model inputs: DayNo (Julian day number at t);
WKIm (weekly mean water column irradiance at t);
WKAirT (weekly mean air temperature at t);
ThreeDayWindSpd (three days mean wind speed);
ThreeDayWindDir (three days mean wind direction);
DIN (dissolved inorganic nitrogen at t − t);
DIP (dissolved inorganic phosphorus at t − t);
SiO2 (silicon concentration at t − t);
WKQ (weekly mean discharge at Maasluis at t − t)
Model output: Bloom (“Y” or “N” at t).
The reason that air temperature is used instead of water temperature consists in the practical
application perspective as air temperature is more easily obtained from meteorological forecast.
The constructed model is given in Table 1. Regarding the capture of bloom timing, it is presented
in Table 2. Except 1993, the model successfully captured the bloom timing.
However, the decision tree model can only answer if bloom will appear or not in a certain day, but
it can not provide the intensity if the answer is ‘Yes’. To model the intensity, which is also requested
when modelling the bloom duration, the piecewise nonlinear regression model is constructed.
Except the inputs used in the decision tree model, water temperature (WT) is added as an input
parameter. The output is numerical attribute BloomInt (bloom intensity) instead of discrete values.
The constructed model is given in Table 3, and the evaluation of model performance is presented
in Table 4.
Finally, a multi-variable regression was set up through least square error method to model the
bloom duration as long as it appears. The regression function is:

with the R2 = 0.83. However, it is observed during the model construction that irradiance does
not have significant effect on the bloom duration provided it is higher than the threshold (102.13),
which is usually the case in bloom season. Therefore, a final regression model was made without
irradiance item, which is given by equation 11, with the R2 = 0.83. The regression outputs and real
observation are presented in Fig. 2.

5 DISCUSSION

Five rules are constructed from the data in the decision tree model, which shows notably good
performance in predicting bloom timing. Except the low error rates, 7.8% for training data and
12% for testing data, and exact capture of bloom timing (Table 2), several remarks can be made
from the model trees:
1. The model is compact. Although 9 parameters are provided, only 3 (irradiance, air temperature
and DIP) are needed by the model. These data are easily obtained from meteorological forecast,
therefore the model is applicable in practice.

815
 Table 1. Decision trees model to predicting attribute ‘Bloom’.

Rule 1 Rule 2 Rule 3 Rule 4 Rule 5 Default

WKIm ≤ 159.56 WKIm > 159.56 WKIm > 159.56 DIP > 0.2 WKAirT > 13.3 Bloom = N
DIP > 0.2 DIP > 0.2 DIP ≤ 0.2 WKAirT > 11.7 Bloom = N
Bloom = N WKAitT ≤ 11.7 WKAirT ≥ 11.7 Bloom = N
Bloom =Y WKAirT ≤ 13.3
Bloom =Y

Table 2. Evaluation of model performance on capturing bloom timing.

Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Capture bloom timing Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Table 3. Piecewise regression to predicting attribute ‘BloomInt’.

if then

Rule 1 WKIm ≤ 102.13 BloomInt = 0

Rule 2 WKIm > 102.13 BloomInt = 4.6293 − 0.34*WT + 0.18*WKAirT − 0.03*SiO2 − 0.28*DIP
WT > 13.08 +0.005DIN + 0.0006WKIm
Rule 3 WKIm > 102.13 BloomInt = 8.8816 − 0.123*SiO2 − 0.15*WKAirT − 0.12*WT − 0.32*DIP
WT ≤ 13.08 +0.005*DIN + 0.0006*WKIm

Table 4. Comparison between model outputs and observations of bloom intensity.

Number of cases MSE CoD Correlation ρ

Training data 180 2.11 0.52 0.72

Testing data 81 2.20 0.45 0.70

75
Observed bloom duration (days)

65

55

45

35

25 Regression
95% confid.
15
15 25 35 45 55 65 75
Predicted bloom durations (days)

Figure 2. Regression and observation of bloom duration.

2. The model has good interpretability. Rule 1: before bloom starts, irradiance is limited; Rule 2:
bloom starts in spring and early summer when irradiance is higher than certain threshold and
DIP is above minimum requirement; Rule 3: bloom duration, DIP is depleted; Rule 4: bloom
terminates; Rule 5: late summer, post bloom termination.

816
3. The threshold of DIP (0.2 u mol/l) for P. globosa bloom initiation that the model found without
any predefined interference is consistent with that independently discovered through laboratory
experiments.
In the nonlinear piecewise regression model for predicting bloom intensity, three linear func-
tions were constructed. From the quantitative evaluations in Table 4, the model gives acceptable
performance. As long as the rules are concerned, some important points are discussed following:
1. All these rules can have ecological interpretations. Rule 1: the phase before P. globosa initiates,
irradiance is limited; Rule 2: the phase P. globosa initiates and develops towards to bloom;
Rule 3: the phase P. globosa dies and degrades.
2. The irradiance threshold (102.13 Wh/m2 day−1 ) founded by model is consistent with that
independently identified by laboratory experiment and field measurements (100 Wh/m2 day−1 ).
3. However, as long as the irradiance is above the threshold, the effect from irradiance on bloom
intensity is comparatively small, or even negligible.
4. Temperature is also identified as an important factor, which is consistent to the conclusions from
Peperzak (2002). However, the requirement of water temperature is found to be 13.1◦ C that is a
little lower than the value (14◦ C) given by Peperzak (2002) by experiment.
The multi-variate regression model for predicting bloom duration (if it happens) is very compar-
able with the field data (R2 = 0.83), which is also shown in Fig. 2. From the regression function,
negative relations between duration and bloom start day, duration and starting peak were found.
The river inflow during this period also has negative effects on P. globosa duration. However, it is
not significant. Irradiance is seen to have little effect on the bloom duration.
In general, all the three sub-models, decision tree, piecewise regression and multi-variable
regression, suggested that the joint effects of irradiance, temperature and DIP are the key issue
to the bloom and duration of P. globosa while DIN is not a limiting factor in the ecosystem. The
developed models in the pilot study are sensible to be interpreted from ecological aspects and
applicable in practice.

REFERENCES

Chen, Q., Mynett, A.E., 2003. Integration of data mining techniques with heuristic knowledge in a fuzzy logic
modelling of eutrophication in Taihu Lake. Ecological Modelling, 162: 55–67
Chen, Q., 2004. Cellular Automata and Artificial Intelligence in Ecohydraulics Modelling, Taylor & Francis
Group plc, London UK, ISBN: 90 5809 696 3
De Kok, J.M., De Valk, C., Van Kester, J.H.Th.M., De Goede, E., Uittenbogaard, R.E., 2001. Salinity and
temperature stratification in the Rhine plume. Estuaries, Coastal and Shelf Science, 53: 467–475
Peperzak, L., 2002. The Wax and Wane of Phaeocystis globosa Blooms. PhD dissertation, University of
Groningen

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Methodologies to assess the effects of human interventions and

pollution control measures in the Hong Kong coastal waters

F.J. Los, J.A.G. van Gils, A.N. Blauw, D.K. Vatvani, A.J. Nolte & L. Postma
Delft Hydraulics, Delft, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT: The Hong Kong coastal waters are a characteristic example of a water body under
significant human pressure. The government has recognised this fact, and is in the process of
implementing pollution control measures. In order to assess the expected effects of such measures
beforehand, the government makes use of modelling techniques. However, these models are mostly
used with cyclical tidal forcing and seasonal meteorological and hydrological forcing. This allows
the water quality effects assessment on a seasonal scale. Relevant water quality effects however,
sometimes occur on smaller temporal scales. To assess such phenomena, additional features need
to be added to the modelling tools, including high frequency forcing, modelling of individual algae
species and fuzzy logic approaches to noxious algae blooms. These techniques are discussed in the
paper and the first results are presented.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Hong Kong coastal waters are a characteristic example of a water body under significant
human pressure. The government has recognised this fact, and is in the process of implementing
pollution control measures. In order to assess the expected effects of such measures beforehand,
the government makes use of modelling techniques.
In 1996, the Delft3D modelling suite was acquired by the Hong Kong government, replacing an
existing system which dated back to the mid-1980’s. Dedicated models were set up for the Hong
Kong marine waters and transferred to the Hong Kong government. Since that time, these models
as well as many others set up within the Delft3D system have supported EIA and design studies
for the Hong Kong waters.
These models are driven by cyclical tides (including spring-neap cycles) and seasonally averaged
meteorological forcing. This approach offers sufficient perspective to assess the water quality effects
on larger spatial and temporal scales. Relevant water quality effects however, sometimes occur on
smaller spatial and temporal scales: short and local episodes with low concentrations of dissolved
oxygen and blooms of (noxious) algae. To assess such phenomena, additional features need to be
added to the modelling tools. These include high resolution modelling, high frequency forcing,
modelling of individual algae species and fuzzy logic approaches to noxious algae blooms.

2 METHODS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

2.1 Domain decomposition

Domain decomposition is a technique in which a model domain is subdivided into several smaller
domains, which are called sub-domains. Domain decomposition allows for local grid refinement,
both in horizontal direction and in vertical direction. Grid refinement means that in one sub-domain
smaller mesh sizes (fine grid) are used than in other sub-domains (coarse grid). In case of vertical
grid refinement a 3D sub-domain with several layers can be coupled to a 2D (depth-averaged)
sub-domain with a single layer.

819
Figure 1. Multi domain computational grid used in the Hong Kong coastal waters and the Pearl River Delta.

Domain decomposition techniques are widely recognised as a flexible and effective way to
increase the model grid resolution and therefore the modelling accuracy locally. Concerning effi-
ciency, application of domain decomposition methods may lead to a reduction in computation time,
especially when the method is also able to exploit the facilities of parallel computers. Moreover, the
subdivision of one (large) domain into several (much smaller) sub-domains leads to a more efficient
usage of the memory. Flexibility is e.g. illustrated by the possibility of using locally refined grids
and/or different models (e.g. 2D or 3D) in different sub-domains.
The Delft3D suite features this technique since 1999 (Hummel and de Goede, 2000). Since
then, it has been applied in the day-to-day modelling practice all over the world. A recent example
for the Hong Kong waters is the so-called “HATS model” (see Figure 1). This model was developed
in the framework of the Environmental and Engineering Feasibility Assessment Studies in relation
to the way forward of the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (CDM et al., 2003).
Meanwhile, the feature to combine domains with different dimensionality is planned to be used as
the basis for the Development of a Pearl River Delta Water Quality Model. This model will consist
of a 1D domain representing the branched river network of the Pearl Delta in the Guangdong
province of the P.R. of China, coupled to one or more 3D domains representing the estuary as well
as the wider branches with significant salt intrusion.

820
Figure 2. Typical result of the calculated phytoplankton species distribution in the Dutch coastal waters
(Callantsoog, 30 km off-shore).

2.2 Modelling individual algae species

Phytoplankton plays a very important role in the marine aquatic ecosystem. Usually, it consists of a
diverse population of different species, each with different characteristics. Some of the species are
considered harmful, because of a toxic effect on other aquatic organisms or humans, or because they
form dense floating layers which invoke oxygen deficiency of the water underneath. Furthermore,
individual species have the ability to adapt to the environmental conditions by having a variable
chlorophyll-α content and variable light and nutrients dependency.
In cases where algae are dominating the water quality or in cases where certain problem species
are of interest, advanced techniques offer the possibility to model the species composition and
the variability of the species characteristics. Delft3D offers such a technique in its ECO module.
It is based on the BLOOM-II software (van der Molen et al., 1994). Most other phytoplankton
models represent the algae biomass by linear growth and decay equations. Delft3D-ECO uses an
optimisation technique: given the environmental conditions and the range of available algae species
and their characteristics, an optimal solution is found which maximises either the biomass or the
primary production. The approach has been used for decades in lakes, reservoirs and inland waters.
Applications to coastal waters on 2Dh models are about 10 years old. Only recently, fully 3D models
are being implemented. A validation of this approach is provided by (Los et al., in preparation).
A tentative application to the Hong Kong coastal waters has shown that the calculation of phyto-
plankton concentrations in areas where the growth is limited by the availability of light is extremely
sensitive to the vertical resolution of the 3D model. It should be noted that Domain decomposition
offers possibilities to create zones with increased vertical resolution in such areas.

2.3 High frequency forcing of mathematical models

To assess short and local episodes with low concentrations of dissolved oxygen and algae blooms,
mathematical models should be forced with high-frequency forcing hydrodynamics input. To realise
this, the hydrodynamic models should be forced with high frequency meteorological and hydro-
logical input data: wind, radiation, rainfall, fresh water inflow, etc. Only limited experience with
this kind of modelling exists for the Hong Kong coastal waters.
In the Dutch coastal waters, a 3D model with high frequency forcing has been set-up as a part
of the impact assessment for “Flyland”, a plan to build an airport on an artificial island in front
of the coast. Figure 3 shows a typical result for the surface salinity on a station 20 km off-shore,
which is affected by the River Rhine outflow (average discharge 2200 m3 /s). The results clearly

821
Figure 3. Sample result of the calculated salinity in the Dutch coastal waters, under influence of the Rhine
River plume.

show a highly variable salinity, driven not so much by seasonal changes but by meteorological and
hydrological events.
Since the distribution of low salinity waters also affects the occurrence of stratification and the
distribution of river-borne nutrients, it is obvious that this high frequency approach offers much
better preconditions to assess short and local episodes with low concentrations of dissolved oxygen
and algae blooms.
In a situation where algae growth is limited by the availability of light, the concentration of sus-
pended particular matter (SPM) is an important parameter controlling the phytoplankton biomass.
Fluctuations in the concentration of SPM on time scales of days to weeks may spark algae blooms,
which would not be observed under average conditions without such fluctuations.
The relevance of this phenomenon has been investigated for the Dutch coastal waters. Since
detailed models for the concentration of SPM in the Dutch coastal waters are not yet available, the
effect of random fluctuations of the concentration of SPM was studied. Figure 4 shows a typical
distribution of SPM over the year. Where the model was originally using a seasonally varying
concentration of SPM in the form of a cosine function (“base” in the figure), random fluctuations
have been added. Figure 4 also shows the statistics of the available long term field data, which
demonstrates that the random fluctuations are within the range covered by the field data.
The simulations for the North Sea indicate that SPM fluctuations on sub-seasonal time scales
result in an earlier spring bloom (2–6 weeks) with higher biomass than simulations without such
fluctuations (Figure 4 shows a typical example). The results agree with the field data better than
the simulations without SPM fluctuations. Due to the fluctuations, there will always be a moment
at which SPM is sufficiently below average to start the onset of the spring bloom. Evidently, the
exact timing of the bloom can not be simulated without a deterministic high frequency SPM model.

2.4 Fuzzy logic techniques to assess noxious algae blooms

Fuzzy logic is a modelling technique that is based on knowledge rules rather than mathematical
expressions. This technique is especially useful in situations when processes are too complex or
not sufficiently understood to allow for detailed deterministic modelling, but expert knowledge is
available to make coarse predictions. Fuzzy logic models for several harmful algal species have
been developed in the EU Research Project HABES (Harmful Algal Blooms Expert System), in
cooperation between different European research institutes (HABES, 2004). The relatively simple
fuzzy logic models, summarizing complex phenomena involved in harmful algal bloom formation
into simple knowledge rules, can often predict harmful algae events rather well. For example the
development of blooms of the blue-green alga Nodularia spumigena could be simulated accurately
based on measurements of water temperature, wind speed and the N/P ratio after the spring phyto-
plankton bloom. Harmful blooms of Karenia mikimotoi and Dinophysis acuminata in an Irish bay
could be predicted just based on the time of the year and the wind conditions. Nuisance foam on

822
 Walcheren 02 Suspend matter

Mean Median
[g/m3]
120 Base Random 1
100
80
60
40
20
0
j f m a m j j a s o n d

Walcheren 02 Chlorophyll
3]
[mg/m Mean Median
35
Base Random 1
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
j f m a m j j a s o n d

Figure 4. Simulated and observed concentrations of suspended matter (top) and chlorophyll-α (bottom). (fat
line: model results without random SPM fluctuations, thin line model results with random SPM fluctuations,
squares, circles, ranges: long term field data).

1996
9

8
logarithm of Phaeocystis cells/L

0
j j m m a m j j a s o n d
date

Figure 5. Predicted (black) versus observed (white) bloom period of Phaeocystis off Noordwijk in the Dutch
coastal waters.

823
Dutch beaches could be simulated rather well based on information on wind speed and direction,
solar irradiance, water temperature and yearly averaged salinity (see Figure 5). The simple set-up
of the fuzzy logic models makes them especially suitable as rapid assessment tools.

3 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The use of state-of-the-art 3D hydrodynamics and water quality models in the Hong Kong coastal
waters contributes to a balanced use of the marine water resources: such models provide good
quantitative assessments of the impacts of interventions in the marine environment. However, these
models are mostly used with cyclical tidal forcing and seasonal meteorological and hydrological
forcing. This limits their ability to assess water quality effects on small temporal scales: short
episodes of low dissolved oxygen and blooms of (harmful algae). This paper has indicated that
possibilities exists to force the models in such a way that these events can be modelled.
Furthermore, this paper has discussed the possibility to achieve local grid refinement, horizontal
or vertical, by domain decomposition techniques. Such a locally horizontally refined grid allows
high resolution in areas affected by point discharges of pollutants which show strong spatial con-
centration gradients. A local vertical grid resolution can help to accurately model phytoplankton
biomass in areas of light limitation, for which a high vertical resolution is crucial.
Finally, this paper describes the capabilities of the Delft3D-ECO module to simulate the compe-
tition between different phytoplankton species and the variability of algae characteristics. This can
increase the accuracy of such models and enhance the capabilities to assess harmful algae blooms.
The paper also demonstrates the assessment of harmful algae blooms by fuzzy logic techniques.
It is expected that the joint application of deterministic modelling and fuzzy logic offers the best
perspectives towards the assessment of harmful algae blooms.
The developments described in this paper are all ready for use in a operational context in
order to further improve the impact assessment of interventions in the marine environment of
the Hong Kong coastal waters.

REFERENCES

CDM International Inc. and WL | Delft Hydraulics, 2003. Environmental and Engineering Feasibility Assess-
ment Studies in relation to the way forward of the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme, Annex A – Set-up
of the Hydrodynamic Model and Annex B – Set-up of the Water Quality Model. Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region of The People’s Republic of China, Agreement No. CE 42/2001.
HABES, 2004. Final Report. (http://www.habes.net/about/HABES-final-report.pdf ).
Hummel S., E.D. de Goede, 2000. Domain decomposition with grid refinement for shallow water modelling.
In Proceedings of the Hydroinformatics 2000 Conference, Cedar Rapids, IA, USA, July 2000.
Los, F.J. et al. A 3D ecological model for the Dutch coastal waters. In preparation.
Molen, D.T. van der, F.J. Los, L. van Ballegooijen, M.P. van der Vat, 1994. Mathematical modelling as a tool
for management in eutrophication control of shallow lakes. Hydrobiologia 275/276, 479–492.

824
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Influence of sea currents to chlorophyll-a distribution of

enclosed bay in Sanriku coastal area

H. Sato, K. Takahashi, M. Nomura & M. Sawamoto

Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

ABSTRACT: Distribution of chlorophyll-a and time series Dissolved Oxygen (DO) variation
are surveyed in a season of stratification. It is observed that chlorophyll semi-maximum layer
disappeared by seawater exchange. To find factors of seawater exchange, outer sea current condition
was watched by NOAA/AVHRR Data and tidal level difference data. As a result, it was suggested
that the Tsugaru warm current (TWC) effects the seawater exchange and disappearance of the
chlorophyll-a semi-maximum layer.

1 INTRODUCTION

In an enclosed bay, fish and shellfish are farmed because the wave condition is calm in the inner bay.
However water quality tends to deteriorate because seawater is hard to be exchanged. Especially
shellfish die in red tide and blue tide. In addition if the algae generates poisonous blooms in the
bay, shellfish take on the poison as shellfish poison. Therefore it is important to understand and to
predict the water quality structure in an enclosed bay.
It is investigated by the previous studies that the ocean current outside a bay has influenced
the water quality structure in an enclosed bay. In Shizugawa bay in Japan, a sudden seawater
temperature change phenomenon was observed. Nagao et al. (1993) studied that this phenomenon
is caused by Oyashio (a cold current).
In Ohfunato bay in the Sanriku coastal area of Japan, the development and disappearance of
anoxic water is linked between cold water derived Oyashio and the freshwater of typhoon. The
relativity between sea level distribution and atmospheric pressure distribution is also investigated.
Finally therefore between sea level distribution and anoxic water disappearance was studied (Hibino
et al. 1999 and Hibino et al. 2004). It has also been analyzed that seawater exchange caused by
the difference of density between inner and outer bay give stronger effects of seawater exchange
than that of tidal effects (Okada et al. 2000). On the other hand, Nagao et al. (1992) discussed
the prediction methods of seawater exchange using sea surface temperature derived from satellite
digital data, meteorology and tidal level data.
In this paper, water quality structures and time series DO variation are reported in Ohfunato bay.
The phenomenon of chlorophyll-a semi-maximum layer disappearance is observed. In addition,
from NOAA/AVHRR data and tidal difference data, it is suggested that the Tsugaru warm current
(TWC) effects seawater exchange and the disappearance of the chlorophyll-a semi-maximum layer.

2 STUDY AREA AND METHODOLOGY

2.1 Study area

The study area of Ohfunato bay is located in Sanriku coastal area (Fig. 1). The bay area size is
7.89 km2 . Although the bay mouth length was 0.7 km, it becomes narrowed to 0.2 km by construc-
tion of the tsunami breakwater. In the bay, there are oyster and a kind of seaweed farming. Therefore
this area takes many human affects and eutrophication occurs easily.

825
 St.A

N
(Depth:24m)

St.12

St.11
St.2
St.3 St.10
St.1 St.5 St.6 St.7
St.4
St.8
St.B
St.9
(Depth:34m)

1,000m

Figure 1. Ohfunato bay. St.1–St.12 are vertical survey points. St.A and St.B are mooring DO measuring
points.

Table 1. Date and time of observation.

Date Ebb tide Flood tide

2003/07/28 5:30–9:00 10:30–12:50

2003/08/29 6:20–9:40 12:40–15:00
2003/09/14 6:20–9:10 12:30–15:00
2003/09/30 7:10–9:50 13:00–15:20
2003/10/17 7:10–9:10 12:10–14:00
2003/11/17 8:20–10:10 12:40–14:20

On the other hand, three currents meet in the Sanriku sea off Ohfunato bay. Because these currents
have different seawater temperature and salinity, the density is varied by their ocean currents pattern
change in this area. Therefore this study area is suitable to observe the effect of outer seawater on
an inner bay.

2.2 Methodology
The surveys have done 6 times between July and November in 2003 (Table 1).
At St.1 to St.12, CTD and Chlorophyll-a have been observed between the sea surface and sea
bottom continuously. Meanwhile using water bottle, the water was sampled at the depth of upper,
middle and bottom layer at each station. Upper water is sampled at the depth of 1 m from sea surface.
The water of middle and bottom layer are at the depth of D/2 m (middle layer) and (D − 1) m (bottom
layer) from the bed of the sea each station (where D is the depth of each station). Sampled water
was filtered by 0.45 µm membrane paper and nutrients were analyzed.
At the St.A and St.B, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) was measured at 10 minutes intervals during one
month at the depth of upper, middle and bottom layer. Measuring depth are 1 m, 12 m, 23 m from
the sea surface at St.A and 1 m, 17 m, 33 m from the sea surface at St.B.

3 WATER QUALITY STRUCTURE IN OHFUNATO BAY

3.1 Time series variation of Dissolved Oxygen

Figure 2 shows tidal level and variation of DO. The tidal level data is derived from Japan Meteoro-
logical Agency (JMA) web site <http://www.data.kishou.go.jp/marine/tide/genbo/index.php>.

826
 (T.P=0 cm)
Tidal level

St.A
DO (mg/l)

St.B
DO (mg/l)

9/1 9/5 9/10 9/15 9/20 9/25

Figure 2. Time series variations of tidal level and Dissolved Oxygen (DO).

St.5 St.12
Depth (m)

DO (mg/l) DO (mg/l)

Figure 3. Vertical distribution at St.5 and St.12 (14th September, ebb tide).

At St.A, the DO range of the upper and bottom layer are larger than that of the middle layer,
maximum range is 2–3 mg/l. In 12th September, DO increases to 7 mg/l rapidly at St.A because it
was spring tide between 10th and 13th September, the tide strongly effects the DO variation.
The DO in outer seawater is 6.75–7.00 mg/l for all depths (Fig. 3). Therefore it was suggested
that seawater exchange occurred at the depth of the bottom layer at this time.

827
 (a) 29th August (b) 14th September

Figure 4. σt distribution (kg/m3 ).

(a) 29th August (b) 14th September

Figure 5. Chlorophyll-a distribution (mg/m3 ).

On the other hand, on 26th September, DO increases rapidly at the bottom layer. Tokachi-oki
earthquake occurred on this day. Therefore the influence of a tsunami is suggested. The height of
this tsunami is 0.2 m in Ohfunato. At this time, DO at the bottom layer is the same as DO at the
middle. Therefore it was suggested that stratification was broken completely due to the tsunami.

3.2 An effect of seawater exchange

Then, an effect of seawater exchange is discussed. Density stratification is formed in two cases in
the inner bay (Fig. 4).
In August, chlorophyll-a semi-maximum layer is observed at the depth of 10–20 m. However the
layer disappeared on 14th September (Fig. 5). In August, density (σt ) in outer seawater is smaller
than that of the depth of 10–20 m in the inner bay. Whereas, in September, σt are the same value at
the depth of 10–20 m in the inner bay and in the outer seawater.
From time series DO data, it is suggested seawater exchange occurred on 12th September, and
seawater exchange effects the disappearance phenomenon of chlorophyll-a semi-maximum layer.

4 DENSITY VARIATION AND OCEAN CURRENT OBSERVATION IN

SANRIKU SEA OFF OHFUNATO BAY

Figure 6 shows the ocean current in the Sanriku sea off Ohfunato bay. These current patterns change
depending on season. Salinity, temperature and σt at the depth of 17 m in the outer bay are shown
as Table 2.
Salinity and σt are higher in September than in August. Therefore it is suggested Kuroshio or
TWC effects σt variation.
Next, to observe current patterns in the Sanriku sea, sea surface temperature (SST) derived from
Japan Image Database (JAIDAS) are shown in Figure 7. Tsushima current changes the name to

828
 N
Hakodate

Tsugaru straight Tsugaru warm current (TWC)

(From Kuroshio)
Higher Temperature
Higher Salinity
Shimokita
Tsushima current
(From Kuroshio) Fukaura
Higher Temperature Ofunato bay Oyashio (cold)
Higher Salinity Lower Temperature
Lower Salinity

Kuroshio warm
Higher Temperature
Higher Salinity

Figure 6. Ocean currents in Sanriku sea off.

Table 2. Variation salinity, temperature and σt at the depth of 17 m

(St.12) in the outer seawater.

Date Salinity (PSU) Temperature (◦ C) σt (kg/m3 )

07/28 32.80 15.12 24.26

08/29 33.24 18.16 23.89
09/14 33.60 18.06 24.19
09/30 33.55 17.98 24.17
10/17 33.65 17.14 24.45
11/17 33.60 15.47 24.79

(a) 10th August (b) 16th September

15 16 17 18 19 20

Figure 7. SST Distribution in Eastern Japan derived from NOAA/AVHRR (◦ C).

829
Figure 8. Monthly average tidal level difference in 2003 (Fukaura-Hakodate and Shimokita-Ohfunato).

“TWC” after crossing over Tsugaru straight. This crossing over is more active in autumn. From
Figure 7, the crossing over is observed.
To understand the crossing over quantitatively, monthly average of tidal level differences are
shown in Figure 8. Tidal level data is derived from JMA web site <http://www.data.kishou.go.
jp/marine/tide/genbo/index.php>.
Because tidal level difference between Fukaura and Hakodate increase from July to October, it is
suggested that the flow volume passing Tsugaru straight in September is higher than that in August.
Also, tidal difference between Shimokita and Ohfunato increase to October from July. Therefore it
can be suggested that there is an increment in flow volume of TWC.

5 CONCLUSIONS

From this study it can be concluded that:

– At the depth of bottom layer, the DO fluctuates based on internal tide. Especially, the range
is larger in spring tide. From time series of DO data, it was suggested that seawater exchange
occurred in the middle of September.
– DO data was affected by tsunami. After tsunami, stratification did not form again.
– Seawater exchange effects to the chlorophyll-a semi-maximum layer. From DO data, SST distri-
bution from NOAA and monthly tidal level difference, it was observed thatTWC effect increasing
salinity in the Sanriku Sea. Therefore to predict chlorophyll-a distribution, observation of ocean
current is very important.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This study was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research by Prof. Masaki
Sawamoto, Tohoku University and Grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science
and Technology to promote multidisciplinary research projects on “Study of ecological life cycles
in local cities and middle grade mountain areas and the information and communication technol-
ogy indispensable for their support” by Prof. Motohisa Onozawa at Nihon University, College of
Engineering, Japan.

REFERENCES

Nagao, M., Hashimoto, N., Imamura, F. and Shuto, N. 1992. Possibility of the Bay Water Exchange Prediction
with Satellite Data. Proceedings of coastal engineering, JSCE, 39(2): 921–924 (in Japanese).

830
Nagao, M., Imamura, F., Zhang, X., Watanabe, K. and Shuto, N. 1993. Observation of Sudden Changes
of water temperature in a Stratified Sea. Proceedings of coastal engineering, JSCE, 40(2): 991–995 (in
Japanese).
Hibino, T., Toyota, M., Nishimori, D., Hosokawa, Y. and Tsuruya, H. 1999. Consequence of Sea level Distribu-
tion for an Estuary Environment along Japanese Coastal Waters. Report of the Port and Harbour Research
Institute 38(3): 91–124 (in Japanese).
Okada, T., Nakayama, K., Hibino, T. and Hosokawa, Y. 2000. A Quantitative Evaluation of the Influence
of External Waters on the Water Environment of Ohfunato Bay, Japan. Report of the Port and Harbour
Research Institute 39(2): 73–98 (in Japanese).
Hibino, T., Tsuruya, H. and Itabashi, N. 2004. Seasonal Variation Characteristics of Water Structure
and Quantitative Analysis of Seawater Exchange in Ohfunato Bay. Journal of hydraulic coastal and
environmental engineering. No.761/II-67: 69–80 (in Japanese).

831
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A vertical stability theory and model for red tide forecasting

Ken T.M. Wong & Joseph H.W. Lee

Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

ABSTRACT: A mathematical model has been developed to forecast algal blooms and red tides.
The theory accounts for algal growth, decay, settling and vertical turbulent mixing, and gives a
quick assessment of the likelihood of red tide occurrence. Moreover, with a nutrient competition
consideration, the type of bloom (caused by motile or non-motile species) can be classified. The
method requires only simple estimates of hydrographic and water quality parameters: tidal current,
wind, water transparency, density gradient and nutrient concentration. The model predictions are
in good agreement with 13 algal blooms and red tides recorded at two real time coastal observing
stations in Hong Kong during 2000–2003.

1 INTRODUCTION

Solar-radiation and inorganic nutrient are the primary energy and material sources for autotrophic
phytoplankton growth and sustainability. The supply of light and nutrient and the successful utilisa-
tion of these sources determine primarily the success of an algal species. In nature, solar-radiation
is always received from the surface while nutrients normally come from material regeneration at the
sea bed. Vertical processes hence play an important role in the formation of algal blooms (Cullen
and MacIntyre 1998). It has also been generally observed that a calm water body seems to have
higher chance of red tide occurrence. There has however been very few quantitative studies on
conditions governing red tide formation. The previous studies (e.g. Riley et al. 1949; Sverdrup
1953) are limited in that a framework to determine the model parameters is lacking. In addition,
all the models assume the phytoplankton are purely sinking. In reality, many harmful algal bloom
(HAB) species can swim.
We present herein a simple vertical stability theory for field application. The theory considers
the stability of the quasi-steady vertical profile of phytoplankton in a water column. It is shown
that certain water stability conditions are necessary for blooms of both non-motile and motile
species. A nutrient-stability criteria is developed to distinguish the two types of blooms. A model is
developed to predict whether blooms would occur at a given location with minimal measurements.

2 THEORY

Our model is based on the approach of Riley et al. (1949) to study whether the phytoplankton will
tend to bloom, maintain a steady state or die off due to different water column stability and growth
status. We outline herein only the essential results; details can be found in Wong (2004).

2.1 Condition of bloom formation by non-motile species

Consider a water column of phytoplankton under turbulent diffusion, sinking and phytoplank-
ton growth/mortality (Fig. 1). The advective diffusion equation for the vertical distribution of
phyto-plankton biomass C is:

833
 irradiance

net growth depth of

rate = µ surface euphotic zone l
euphotic zone

turbulent
simplified sinking diffusivity E
growth velocity v
function non-productive
loss lower segment
rate = d
depth (z)
depth z

Figure 1. Left: Simplified algal dynamics model for a water Column; Right: Algal concentration profile
under steady state.

The water column is simplified as one consisting of the upper photic zone of thickness l and net
phytoplankton growth rate µ(k = µ), and a lower segment extending from l to ∞ with mortality
rate d(k = −d) (Fig. 1). The concentration profiles for the two segments are represented by C1
and C2 respectively. For a constant diffusivity E, sinking speed v and reaction (growth) rate k, the
general solution for µ > v2 /4E can be obtained to within a constant:

 
where a = v/2E, b = v2 /4E 2 + d/E, β = µ/E − v2 /4E 2 , and K is an arbitrary constant which
must be positive in order to have C1 > 0 at z = 0. The solution satisfies the following boundary
conditions: (i) finite C2 as z approaches ∞; (ii) zero mass flux across the sea surface, vC1 −E ∂C
∂z
1
=0
at z = 0; and (iii) continuity of concentration and mass flux at z = l, across the two segments.
Since only positive concentration can exist, there is a limited range for β and l. For positive C,
a sin βz + β cos βz must be greater than 0 for 0 < z < l. A steady state canonly exist if 0 < βl < π.
For βl > π, a steady state phytoplankton condition cannot exist. Since β = µ/E − v2 /4E 2 , a large
β suggests the overriding of sinking loss by growth production. βl > π can thus be interpreted to
mean a condition of large growth rate and photic zone that the increase in biomass is out of control –
i.e. an algal bloom! Noting that 4µ2 l 2  π2 v2 in most cases, the following stability criterion for
non-motile species can be obtained (Wong 2004):

2.2 Condition of bloom formation by motile species

In general, most non-motile phytoplankton species (e.g. marine diatoms) have higher growth rate
and nutrient assimilation efficiency than motile algae (e.g. dinoflagellates). Under similar favorable
environmental condition, non-motile species would tend to out-compete the motile counterpart.
However, due to their active motility in depth regulation, motile species have certain advantage in
nutrient and light harvesting (Cullen and MacIntyre 1998). Therefore, depth regulation and layer
formation would be the primary factors for success of a motile species as observed in many blooms
(e.g. Watanabe et al. 1994).

834
 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00

0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2 2
Depth (m)

3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
0 10 20 30 40
Chlorophyll
Fluorescence (µg/L)
Depth (m)
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
06:00 12:00
0 0
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
18:00 24:00
0 0
1 1
2 2

3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5
6 6 6 6
7 7 7 7
8 8 8 8
0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60
Chlorophyll
Fluorescence (µg/L)

Figure 2. Observed algal concentration profiles during blooms of dinoflagellates (top) and diatoms (bottom).

Depth regulation by vertical migration – Consider a water column of phytoplankton concentration

C. Due to the cells’ motility, the phytoplankton may appear bounded by a “productive zone”
of depth l within which the algal cells migrate up and down to carry out photosynthesis and
nutrient assimilation (Fig. 2). If we consider vertical migration (ascending at speed v) and turbulent
diffusion, the solution for the phytoplankton concentration C can be obtained in terms of the Peclet

number Pe = vl/E, C/Ca = Pe e−Pez /(1 − e−Pe ), where z  = z/l is the dimensionless depth, and Ca
is the average concentration in the region. Pe is the sole parameter in determining whether the cells
could aggregate in a thin layer or would be diffused evenly by turbulent mixing (typical observed
profiles shown in Fig. 2). It can be shown that depth regulation and aggregation to a thin dense
layer becomes possible only when Pe > 10. For migration period of time T , depth of the photic
zone l will be vT . Therefore, the necessary condition for a motile species to bloom is

It can be shown that this bound on the diffusivity does not differ much from the value obtained
for the non-motile ones. However, in reality, algal blooms of motile and non-motile species rarely
happen together.
Species competition between motile and non-motile species-Assuming nutrient N is supplied solely
from material regeneration from sea bed and transported up the photic zone by diffusion (Fig. 1).
A balance of algal uptake of nutrient and nutrient supply by turbulent diffusion then gives the
criteria for which motile species become more competitive in nutrient and light harvesting:

835
 60 Aug2000 - Chlorophyll-a

(instrument value)
50 Bottom
Middle
40
Reading
Surface
30 S.Mounted
20
10
0
17-Aug 19-Aug 21-Aug 23-Aug 25-Aug

31 Aug2000 - temp Surface

Middle
Temperature (°C)

Bottom
29 Air

27

25

23
17-Aug 19-Aug 21-Aug 23-Aug 25-Aug

3 Aug2000 - Predicted Tidal Level

Tidal Level (m C.D.)

0
17-Aug 19-Aug 21-Aug 23-Aug 25-Aug

Aug2000 - Wind speed at 3m height

6
Wind Speed (m/s)

5
4
3
2
1
0
17-Aug 19-Aug 21-Aug 23-Aug 25-Aug

Date Time Secchi Salinity (ppt) TIN (␮g/L)

Depth
(m) S (1m) M (4m) B (7m) S (1m) M (4m) B (7m)
15-Aug-00 10:00 4.8 28.9 30.2 30.2 191 80 102

Figure 3. Observed algal dynamics during a diatom bloom in August 2000, Lamma Island.

where CN is the algal biomass in terms of algal nutrient (nitrogen, phosphate or any other limit-
ing nutrient), and N0 = concentration at z = l. If the value of E is reduced to such a level that
µ becomes less than the typical motile species growth rate µ , then clearly the motile species
would have competition advantage in utilizing the bottom nutrient without relying on vertical
diffusive transport. Together with the criteria in equation (3), it can be shown that the nutrient

836
 0.01 Blooms unlikely

0.001
Diffusivity E (m2/s)

Blooms likely

0.0001
Blooms caused by
motile species

Blooms caused by
non-motile
0.00001
0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01
4µ l2/π2

Figure 4. Comparison of bloom occurrence with prediction using stability criteria.

availability criterion is:

3 COMPARISON OF MODEL PREDICTION WITH FIELD DATA

The theory is tested using the field data of five diatom blooms observed in Lamma Island and
five blooms caused by the motile species in Kat O. The model parameters (e.g. µ, µ , l, E) are
derived from the continuous field measurements during or before the bloom events. Details on
the estimation of the model parameters can be found in Wong (2004). Figure 3 shows the related
telemetry and water quality data during a diatom bloom event.
The average vertical turbulent diffusivity can be estimated as Eo = 0.067 u∗ h, where u∗ = shear
velocity and h = depth. The damping of the vertical diffusivity under density stratification is
related to the gradient Richardson number Ri = (g/ρ)(∂ρ/∂z)/(∂u/∂z)2 ; the well-validated Munk
and Anderson equation is used (Odd and Rodger 1978). A bulk Richardson number is used for field
application, with Ri = (ρ/z)(gH 2 /4ρU 2 ) where U is maximum depth averaged tidal velocity of
the day, and H is the mean water depth. Based on results of 3D hydrodynamic models (EFDC and
Delft3D), the tidal current for the Kat O and Lamma Island stations can be estimated from the tidal
range and average wind speed. Figures. 4 and 5 show the values of estimated vertical diffusivity
E against the stability criteria 4µl 2 /π2 and competition threshold µ l 2 CN /2N0 respectively. It can
be seen both the predicted bloom threshold and the bloom type distinction are supported by the
field data.

4 CONCLUDING REMARKS

A simple mathematical model has been developed to provide a quick assessment of the likelihood
of red tide occurrence. The model predictions are well-supported by field observations. The model

837
 0.001 Non-motile species

Diffusivity E (m2/s)

Motile species

0.0001

Blooms caused
by motile species

Blooms caused
by non-motile

0.00001
0.00001 0.0001 0.001

µ'l2CN/2N0

Figure 5. Comparison of blooming of motile and non-motile species with prediction using competition
threshold.

is able to elucidate many features of Hong Kong red tides. For example, the occurrence of spring
dinoflagellate blooms at Kat O and summer diatom blooms at Lamma Island is mainly due to the
difference in turbulence and light availability at the two locations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work is supported by a Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) Central Allocation Group
Research Project (HKU 2/98C and 1/02C)

REFERENCES

Cullen, J.J. and MacIntyre, J.G. (1998) “Behaviour, physiology and the niche of depth-regulating” In Physi-
ological ecology of harmful algal blooms, Anderson DM, Cembella AD, Hallegraeff GM (eds). Berlin:
Springer, 559–579.
Odd, N.V.M. and Rodger, J.G. (1978) “Vertical mixing in stratified tidal flows”, J. Hydraul. Div. Am. Soc. Civ.
Engrs.; Vol. 104: Mar., No.HY3 337–351.
Riley, G.A., Stommel, H. and Bumpus, D.F. (1949) “Quantitative ecology of the plankton of the western North
Atlantic”, Bulletin of the Bingham Oceanographic Collection Yale University; Vol. 12: 1–169.
Sverdrup, H.U. (1953) “On conditions for the vernal blooming of phytoplankton”, ICSE Journal of Marine
Science; Vol. 18: 287–295.
Watanabe, M., Kohata, K. and Kimura, T. (1998) “Diel vertical migration and nocturnal uptake of nutrients
by Chattonella antiqua under stable stratification”, Limnol. Oceanogr.; Vol. 36:3 593–602.
Wong, K.T.M. (2004) Red tides and algal blooms in subtropical Hong Kong waters: field observation and
Lagrangian modelling, PhD thesis, The University of Hong Kong.

838
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Phytoplankton-data assimilation in a coupled eco-hydrodynamic

model of the Mediterranean Sea

E. Bournaski
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, BULGARIA, visiting researcher in OGS, Trieste, ITALY

G. Crispi & A. Crise

Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale – OGS,Trieste, ITALY

ABSTRACT: A lower trophic dynamics of the Mediterranean Sea, described using an aggregated
model based on inorganic nitrogen, phytoplankton, zooplankton and detritus (NPZD model), is
coupled with a GFDL-MOM based hydrodynamic model of the sea. The coupled model is driven
by realistic time variable wind (monthly mean) and buoyancy forcing, taking into account the irradi-
ance and light attenuation. A data-assimilation approach based on nudging (Newtonian relaxation)
for introducing the available phytoplankton data on the sea surface from satellite observations
(Nimbus-7 CZCS images as analyzed at the Goddard Space Center) or from ECNYM model data
is presented and discussed. On the basis of comparison with Mediterranean-Sea observations and
model calculations of ecological parameters an evaluation of the nudging with different time-
relaxation parameters is done. The work contributes to development of a more precise and reliable
eco-hydrodynamic model of the Mediterranean Sea.

1 INTRODUCTION

Data assimilation has raised new interest in the last year in the context of the oceanographic sciences.
The swift increment of the attention paid to data assimilation in oceanography is due to the coming
age of operational services for the marine environment which is going to dramatically increase
the demand for accurate, timely and reliable estimates of the space and time distribution both for
physical and in a near future for biochemical fields. Data assimilation combines information derived
from measurements with knowledge on the rules that govern the evolution of the system of interest
through a formalization and implementation in numerical models. It improves the predictive power
of the models, and this is a familiar application in the context of meteorological forecasting. The
importance of ocean data assimilation has been recognized by several international programmes
as JGOFS, GOOS and CLIVAR.
Many techniques have been developed for the assimilation of physical data into models of
atmosphere and ocean physics, however it is not the same for bio-data assimilation into ecological
marine models. The applicability of these techniques to oceanic ecosystem models is by no mean
automatic. Some difficulties are unique to biochemical data assimilation systems. Examples are the
extremely irregular distribution of measurements in space and time, the relatively poor knowledge
of the functional forms of the biological processes of most the ecosystems and the coarse spatial
resolution compared to the typical spatial scales in the ocean, plus the poor data coverage in
the open ocean. Thus it is obvious that biochemical data assimilation requires approaches and
solutions that in many cases may not be deducted from atmospheric or physical data assimilation
systems. Recent review of data-assimilation techniques applied in ecosystem models can be found
in (Srokosz, 1998; Schartau, 2001). To be possible to apply data assimilation it is necessary to have
good measurements of the biology to assimilate into the ecosystem model. Such measurements

839
exist at limited number of sites, or for particular experiments but these may not be representative
of what is happening at the global ocean basin.
A MOM-based model was used by Derber & Rosati (1989) and coupled with a global oceanic
data assimilation system for inserting sea surface temperature. MOM and a data assimilation system
(ODA, e.g. Ocean Data Assimilation) is used to assimilate temperature profiles in a global ocean
dynamical model driven by realistic air-sea forcing functions by (Masina & Malfetti, 2001). The
present bio-assimilation research was prompted by the newly available ocean colour data and their
potential use for data assimilation to improve both the models and their predictive capabilities.

2 COUPLED ECO-HYDRODYNAMIC MODEL OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA:

MOM-NPZD MODEL

The Mediterranean Sea with a volume of 3.8·106 km3 , Figure 1, is a semi-enclosed basin connected
to the Atlantic Ocean by the narrow and shallow Straits of Gibraltar (width ∼13 km, sill depth
∼300 m). It is composed of two similar size basins, western and eastern, connected by the Strait
of Sicily (width ∼35 km, sill depth ∼250 m).
We study the dynamic of the Mediterranean oligotrophic ecosystem through it coupling with
the Mediterranean basin circulation as simulated by a general circulation model (GCM) driven by
climatological forcing. The GCM used is the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory modu-
lar ocean model (GFDL-MOM) (Pacanowski et al., 1991; Pacanowski, 1995). MOM is a finite
difference version of the primitive equations governing ocean circulation.
The GFDL-MOM model is widely used for general circulation analysis of the Mediterranean
Sea, the Black Sea, the Arabian Sea, etc. (Roussenov et al., 1995; Stanev et al., 1997; Staneva &
Stanev, 2002; Kawamaya & Oschlies, 2003).
As described by Bryan (1969), these equations consist of the hydrostatic, Boussinesq Navier-
Stokes equations along with a nonlinear equation of state which couples the two active tracers,
temperature and salinity, to the fluid velocity. Boussinesq approximation (replacing density by its
vertically averaged value) is justified because of the relatively small variations in density within
the ocean. The surface displacements in the ocean are relatively small compared to interface
displacements between layers within the fluid, and rigid-lid approximation is used. Their affect on
the solution is represented as a pressure against the rigid lid at the ocean surface.
Thus the hydrodynamics are based on fully 3-D primitive equations in a spherical coordinate
system with the UNESCO equation of state for the sea water. Details can be found in (Roussenov
et al., 1995). In particular the simulations reported here adopt a General Circulation Model for the
Mediterranean Sea plus a buffer zone representing the Atlantic inflow/outflow.

Figure 1. Schematic geography of the Mediterranean Sea and its sub-basins.

840
 The aim of the ecological model is to give the space and time evolution of inorganic nitrogen
NO− 3 , N, of phytoplankton, P, of zooplankton, Z, and of detritus, D. This coupled with physics
scheme is able to describe both the physical dynamics and the primary trophic cycles.
The biochemical tracers participating in the ecological model are described by a similar to
the fifth of primitive equations (advection-diffusion equation) modified with source-sink term of
tracer T :

where ū is velocity, KH and KV are the horizontal and vertical constant turbulent diffusion
coefficients. and αT is the relaxation parameter.
The last term in (1) is a source-minus-sink (sms) term, which describes the biological interactions,
and for each biochemical tracer presented as a time gradient is the following (Crispi et al., 1998):

The parameters are as follow:

Parameter Value

η – zooplankton efficiency 0.75

α – degradation fraction 0.33
γ – zooplankton growth 1.157 × 10−5 s−1
δ – zooplankton mortality 1.736 × 10−6 s−1
kp – grazing half-saturation 1.0 mgatNm−3

The hydrodynamic model is integrated throughout all the Mediterranean basin and the Atlantic
box, with a horizontal spatial discretization of ¼ degree and with a vertical resolution of 31
levels. On the same grid the equations describing nitrogen and phosphorus uptake, and grazing
and remineralization processes, eqs. (1) plus (2)–(5) respectively, are integrated. The vertical levels
(layers) are unevenly spaced down to 4000 m. The equations with relevant boundary conditions are
solved by a high order finite difference method on the irregular numerical grid (U and T cells and
horizontal spatial discretization of ¼ degree and with 31 vertical levels). The time step is 2400 sec
(40 min).
Air-sea physical parameterizations account for the heat budget at the air-sea interface in the sense
of Roussenov et al. (1995). Monthly mean wind velocity is taken from the National Meteorological
Centre (NMC), monthly mean cloud cover from Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set
(COADS).
The MOM-NPZD code is written in Fortran 77 and was setup on the UNIX-based parallel-
processor computers in OGS, Trieste, Italy. The model is driven by realistic time variable wind
(monthly mean) and buoyancy forcing, taking into account the irradiance and light attenuation.
This monthly varying climatological forcing, called a “perpetual year” forcing, is suitable for
study of seasonal variability of the Mediterranean basin circulations. Even though this forcing is

841
Figure 2. Calculated N, P, Z, and D values of all the Mediterranean Sea for 9 year integration period.

unrealistic because of the large synoptic and interannual variability of the atmospheric parame-
ters in the Mediterranean area, this may define the fundamental characteristics of the seasonal
eco-hydrodynamic circulation of the basin.
Short- and large-integrate time runs were implemented including restarts of the code from
previous calculation output, and validation and calibration of the NPZD model against reliable in
situ and CZCS satellite data of the Mediterranean Sea were done. Starting from the initial condition
the MOM-NPDZ eco-model reaches its seasonal cycle (spin-up time) in about 3–4 years. This time
seems enough to reproduce a seasonal cycle in the upper layers. Figure 2 shows the double precision
calculations of N, P, Z, and D in the Mediterranean Sea for 9 year integration time.
The results exhibit a quasi-repeating seasonal cycle of N, P, Z and D in the Mediterranean Sea
and all sub-basins. The model simulations also lead to some interpretations of the trophic regimes
and gradients and suggest a possible explanation for the different ecosystem responses in the
Mediterranean sub-basins.

3 PHYTOPLANKTON-DATA ASSIMILATION BY MOM-NPZD MODEL

A preliminary analysis on techniques used in ecosystem model data assimilation shows that
Newtonian relaxation, nudging, optimal interpolation, and modified Kalman filter are the most
popular. Also satellite images (CZCS) with high content of information and good spatial coverage
(chlorophyll a concentration) suggest a Newtonian relaxation (nudging) for phytoplankton data as
a promising approach for hindcasting.
Nudging with different time-relaxation parameter was tried for the phytoplankton P at the first
computational layer according to the following formula:

where the forecast parameter P is advanced in discrete time steps t, Pk = P(tk )tk = kt, subscript
o stands for observations (assimilated data), γ is the relaxation parameter, day−1 .
Model data of the Phytoplankton time and space evolution obtained from ECHYM (ECo-
HYdrodynamic model of the Mediterranean) (Crispi et al., 2002) were used in the data assimilation
process, Eq. (6). Before data-assimilation experiments a reference run for the Mediterranean Sea
was carried out for several years integration period (without data assimilation) and the results
(ECHYM) were assumed as the truth (Crispi et al., 2002). Transformed in nitrogen units these
Phytoplankton data P0 as a ‘perpetual year’ were introduced in the first layer of the numerical grid
(10 m at the sea surface) at each time step according to Eq. (6).

842
 Table 1. Values of γ and the relaxation time during the
process of Phyto-data assimilation.

Value of γ in Eq. (7.17) γ 5γ 10 γ

relaxation time rests 5 days 1 day 0.5 day

Figure 3. Comparisons of calculated N, P, Z and D values of all Mediterranean without and with Phytoplankton
data assimilation in the first layer with 5, 1, and 0.5 days relaxation time.

Three different values of γ were used: equal to the α terms in Eq. (1) (α is used also for
the relaxation of surface salinity boundary condition to the climatological monthly mean values
with relaxation time of 5 days), or 5 and 10 times the α value. Having in mind the correlation
γ = secday/rests the following values of the relaxation time period were used, Table 1.
A time window for the assimilation experiments was selected from the beginning of the fourth to
the end of the fifth year of the simulation. The comparisons of calculated biomass concentrations
in µmolN/m3 with and without data assimilation can be seen in Figures 3.
The comparison shows an increase of the calculated biomass because of the phytoplankton
assimilation. The results from simultaneous assimilation compared with the reference calculation
produce differences in the bio-chemical averaged values in the Mediterranean Sea and its sub-basins.

4 CONCLUSION

The combination of numerical modelling with bio-data-assimilation technique better defines the
oceanic biochemical state and its dynamics than numerical modelling alone. Even a simplified

843
tropho-dynamic model coupled with open sea hydrodynamics can satisfactory reproduce the main
Mediterranean basin scale features and their seasonal evolution.
A phytoplankton-data assimilation scheme based on nudging with Newtonian relaxation was
defined and implemented into the MOM-NPZD model of the Mediterranean Sea. Three different
time-relaxation parameter were tested. The phytoplankton-data assimilation on the first layer results
in better space and time distribution of all biochemical state parameters N, P, Z and D. For the same
model, better assimilation schemes extract and redistribute more information from the same data.
A simple nudging scheme with an appropriate Newtonian relaxation parameter is a promising
data assimilation scheme for eco-hydrodynamic models, and can be recommended for practice.
This research shows that the implementation of bio-data assimilation into the MOM-NPZD
model contributes to development of a more precise and reliable eco-hydrodynamic model of the
Mediterranean Sea.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the work by NATO Linkage Grant EST.CLG
974997 titled “Data assimilation schemes for coupled eco-hydrodynamic models”, and NATO-
CNR Outreach Fellowship for Physics. The first author also undertook part of this work with the
support of the “ICTP Programme for Training and Research in Italian Laboratories, Trieste, Italy”.
The authors wish to thank Valentina Mosetti and Isabella Tomini for computer management and
help during the work.
The figures are prepared using the public domain packages Grace and GrADS.

REFERENCES

Bryan K. (1969). A numerical method for the study of the circulation of the world ocean. Journal of
Computational Physics, 4, 347–376.
Crispi G., Crise, A. and C. Solidoro (1998). Three-dimensional oligotrophic ecosystem models driven by
physical forcing; the Mediterranean Sea case. Env. Mod. Soft., 13, 483–490.
Crispi G., Crise A. and C. Solidoro (2002). Coupled Mediterranean ecomodel of the phosphorus and nitrogen
cycles., J. Marine Systems, 33–34, Pages 497–521.
Derber J. and A. Rosati, (1989). A Global Ocean Data Assimilation System., J.Phys.Oceanogr., Vol.19,
pp.1333–47.
Kawamaya M. and A. Oschlies (2003). An Eddy-Permitting, Coupled Ecosystem-Circulation Model of the
Arabian Sea: Comparision with Observations. - J. Marine Systems, 20, pp.221–257.
Masina S. and P. Malfetti (2001). Modular Ocean Model with Data Assimilation on the Origin 2000. Earth
Sciences, (www.cineca.it/editions/ssc2001/273.pdf )
Pacanowski R., Dixon K. and A. Rosati (1991, 1993). The G.F.D.L. Modular Ocean Model Users Guide
version 1, GFDL Ocean Group Technical Report No. 2, NOAA/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory,
Princeton, NJ.
Pacanowski R. (1995). MOM 2 Documentation User’s Guide and Reference Manual., Version 1.0, GFDL
Ocean Group Technical Report No. 3.
Roussenov V., Stanev, E., Artale V. and N. Pinardi (1995). A seasonal model of the Mediterranean Sea general
circulation. - J. Geophys. Res., 100(C7), 13515–13538.
Schartau M. (2001). Data-assimilation Studies of Marine, Nitrogen Based Ecosystme Models in the
North Atlantic Ocean., PhD thesis, Kiel, Germany, 2001 (http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/Publications/
Sch2001x_abstract.html)
Srokosz M. (1998). Data assimilation into Oceanic Ecosystme Models: a Critical Review, Some Comparisons,
and Recommendations.
Stanev E.V., Staneva J.V. and V.M. Roussenov (1997). On the Black Sea water mass formation. Model
sensitivity study to atmospheric forcing and parameterization of physical processes. J. Mar. Sys.13, 245–272.
Staneva J.V. and E.V. Stanev (2002). Water mass formation in the Black Sea during 1991–1995. J. Mar. Sys.,
32, 199–218.

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6.2 Ecohydraulics – I
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Environmental aspects of the hydraulic design of the twin rivers

diversion for Terminal 5, Heathrow Airport

P.B. Clark, D.K. Palmer, P. Joyce & R.V. Pether

Black & Veatch Consulting

ABSTRACT: To facilitate the development of the new Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow Airport,
two river channels have been diverted around the perimeter of the airport. Although the rivers are
a relatively small element of the multi-billion pound project, the timing of their diversion has a
critical importance in the planning of the whole project. Moreover, the requirements for these works
have placed great emphasis on the environmental aspects of the new channels and the design has
been driven by the need to maintain and enhance the biodiversity and the continuity of habitats.
This paper discusses the hydraulic design of the new channels and the approaches adopted both
for providing environmental improvements and for dealing with uncertainties in the estimation of
channel resistance due to the environmental enhancements and the effect of potential maintenance
practices.

1 INTRODUCTION

The new Terminal 5 (T5) at Heathrow Airport is being constructed by BAA on the site of the old
Perryoaks sludge treatment works at the western end of the airport between the two main runways
(see Figure 1). Two rivers, the Duke of Northumberland’s River (DoNR) and the Longford River
(LR) ran through the middle of the proposed development site. The Twin Rivers, as they are referred
to informally, take off from the River Colne north of the airport, run beneath the north and south
runways in long submerged culverts and in open channels across the Perryoaks’ site.
The DoNR was constructed in 16th century, during the reign of Henry VIII, for the purposes of
supplying water to Syon House, a large country mansion on the banks of the River Thames. The LR
was constructed on the orders of Charles I in 1638 to bring water to the royal palace of Hampton
Court and the fountains in Bushy Park, a service it provides to this day. As such both watercourses
are man-made canals built for the purpose of water supply rather than naturally occurring rivers.
The LR is owned by The Crown and is managed and operated by the Royal Parks Agency (RPA)
whilst the DoNR is owned and managed by the UK Environment Agency (EA), the national agency
with responsibility for all rivers in England and Wales. The EA and RPA were major stakeholders
in the scheme to divert the Twin Rivers.

2 OPTIONS FOR DIVERSION

A large number of options for dealing with the two rivers were considered as part of a detailed
appraisal including placing both rivers entirely in culverts beneath the T5 development and an
option that combined both rivers in a single channel around the western perimeter of the airport.
The preferred option was for the rivers to be kept separate but to run side by side around the
western perimeter of the airport. This option, referred to as the Twin Rivers Diversion (TRD),
had the benefits of providing open channels over more than 90% of the route and the facility for
significant environmental enhancement. The alignment of the diverted rivers was directly over the
existing Western Perimeter Road (WPR), which had to be realigned eastwards towards the airfield

847
 New settling
basins

North runway
Welcome
Original
Roundabout
culverts under
runways

Original parallel
Parallel
open channels
channels of
across Perryoaks
diverted rivers
site

New terminal
building

Inverted siphons South runway

under perimeter Existing
road channels

Figure 1. The Twin Rivers Diversion, General Arrangement.

to accommodate the new river channels. Of crucial importance for the planning approval process
was the fact that the TRD was the preferred option of the EA and RPA.
The TRD forms part of an integrated western corridor around the airport, which includes the
realigned WPR and a fully landscaped corridor that provides a transition from the rural environment
of the Colne Valley to the urban environment that is T5.

3 HYDRAULIC DESIGN CRITERIA

In terms of flow capacity, both rivers are small – little more than streams. The DoNR has a design
flood capacity of 3.0 m3 /s and the Longford only 1.5 m3 /s. However the slopes of the diverted
watercourses are very flat – the DoNR has a gradient of only 1 in 6 000 and the Longford 1 in
10 000. Thus the cross-sectional areas are relatively large and the velocities very low. Further, the
environmental requirements involve the inclusion of obstructions in the bed to provide a variety
of ecological habitats and extensive areas of vegetation along the banks of the channels. Thus
potentially the roughness can be high, reducing the velocities even further.
The hydraulic criteria initially laid down for the new rivers were:-
– The scheme must be able to convey safely flood flows up to 3.0 m3 /s in the DoNR and 1.5 m3 /s
in the Longford.
– The scheme must be able to provide minimum flows of 0.45 m3 /s and 0.25 m3 /s to the DoNR
and Longford respectively, provided there is adequate flow in the Colne.
– The rating curves for the existing rivers, both up and downstream from the diversion, should not
be materially changed.

848
 Recorded Data on DoNR at Bath Rd Bridge (DoN1 site)
24.5

24.23

24

TOB = 23.71 (NRA Survey, August '94, Section 01.006 )

Level (mAOD)

23.54
23.5

23

22.5

22
0 0.5 1 1.5 1.68 2 2.5 3
Discharge (Cumecs) Peak Flow

Winter Rating Curve Summer Rating Curve Recorded Winter Data (Oct-Mar) Recorded Summer Data (Apr-Sept) TOB

Manning's 'n' Values

Summer Rating Curve: Naturalised sections = 0.200, Concrete sections = 0.150
Winter Rating Curve: Naturalised sections = 0.070, Concrete sections = 0.050

Figure 2. Variation of capacity of DoNR with seasonal growth.

4 HYDRAULIC DESIGN

The requirement for the new channels was that they should provide both hydraulic and (a minimum
of) environmental equivalence to the pre-T5 rivers. In practice the need to achieve, and then better,
environmental equivalence was relatively simple. The new, diverted channels are almost double the
length of open channel and further measures, described later, ensure that the new rivers far exceed
the goal of environmental equivalence.
Achieving hydraulic equivalence, however, is not so easy and is immediately affected by the
change from culverts to open-channel. It is a function of the relative conveyances of the original
and new water courses which, in turn, are also functions of their roughnesses. With a well-vegetated
channel the roughness and conveyance are strongly affected by seasonal changes and even with a
concrete-lined channel, as is the case with original Longford river across the Perryoaks’ site, weed
and algal growth within the water body can significantly increase the hydraulic resistance.
Figure 2 above shows the variation of resistance as measured at one point on the original
DoNR system. The resistance is expressed in terms of the Manning’s ‘n’ factor and was calcu-
lated by calibrating a steady-state backwater model (HEC-RAS) of the river for each set of flow and
level measurements made over an eighteen month period. Data points are distinguished between
‘summer’ – April to September – and ‘winter’ – October to March. It can be seen that there is a
clear distinction between the winter data, closely represented by a Manning’s n of 0.070, and the
summer data which shows a much more variable roughness as the vegetation grows in the spring
and recedes in the autumn but reaches a peak roughness for the ‘natural’ sections of the channel
with an n value of about 0.20. Interestingly, even the roughness of the concrete-lined sections of
the original channels appeared to be increased during the summer period, reflecting the sediment
deposition and the in-channel weed and algal growth.
These values of roughness are high and reflect the degree of vegetation growth both along the
river banks and in the channel itself – the photographs below show how the vegetation growth
varies seasonally at one location on the DoNR: similar changes can be observed over much of the
two channels. But they also reflect the relative lack of maintenance and how the environmental
emphasis of the EA, in particular, has changed maintenance practices on English rivers. This has
implications on flood levels.

849
Winter conditions. Summer conditions.

This relaxed maintenance regime has particular consequences on these rivers. Firstly, as noted
earlier, both ‘rivers’ are, in reality, man-made canals. Continuing vegetation growth reduces veloci-
ties and causes more sedimentation. This in turn diverts more flow back into the main river Colne,
further reducing velocities in the canals and increasing the blockage effects. There is no natural
equilibrium as is the case on a true river and if no maintenance is carried out the channels will
both eventually block completely. Secondly, as can be seen from Figure 2, the flood capacity of the
two channels changes radically with the time of year. During the winter months the ‘design’ floods
could have been passed in both rivers but during the summer months the increased roughness due
to the vegetation growth would have reduced the capacities of the channels to about half that value.
The operators of the TRD will need to make decisions on the levels of maintenance they wish
to implement and this will be a balance between environmental and utility considerations. If the
requirement to pass the designated flood flow at all times is paramount then the level of maintenance
during the summer months must keep the channels in a condition equivalent to that experienced
in winter: this applies not only to the diverted channels but to the existing channels upstream and
downstream of the airport. To this effect a bespoke management body has been established that
is responsible for the day-to-day management of the TRD. This body is known as the Twin Rivers
Management Committee (TRMC) and is made up of equal representation of Heathrow Airport
Limited, the airport operating arm of BAA, the RPA and the EA. The TRMC will, amongst other
things, ensure that a decisions affecting hydraulic capacity are balanced against the environmental
issues, such as the extent of vegetal growth.

5 ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

Because of the constrained width of corridor within which the rivers have been diverted, it was
not possible to construct them as trapezoidal sections with fully vegetated banks. Where space
permitted sloping earth banks were provided on at least one side. A berm was typically included
just below normal water level thus providing potential habitats for a range of plants, all native to the
Colne Valley, from those fully submerged through marginal species to grasses and ‘dry’ species.
In a number of areas, however, the channels had to be constructed as rectangular concrete sections
but even in such unprepossessing cases environmental enhancements were possible. Roughened
concrete surfaces have been formed to provide a key for organic growth in the wet/dry zone of
varying river levels. The channel floor is formed with ‘as-dug’ terrace gravel over an impermeable
bed of London clay. Both the gravels and clay were ‘won’ from the principal site, thus saving
many thousands of pounds and, most crucially, maximising the use of naturally occurring, local
materials in the man-made channels. Pre-planted coir rolls and hazel hurdles provide habitat for
small mammals along the naturalised banks. In-channel enhancements, comprising varied methods
such as gabion boxes containing stones, wood and other habitat-forming materials, maximise the
ecological value of the vertical sided channels. The enhancements have been positioned within the
concrete channels in such a way as to create a degree of sinuosity in the flows, variations in velocity

850
In-channel enhancements, pre-filling. The LR, with vegetated enhancements.

and local head losses that further enhance the river bio-diversity. Anchored, recycled tree trunks
provide habitat for fisheries and macro-invertebrates whilst the gravel enhancements provide the
infrastructure for 36 species of native river plants, a total of over 84 000 plants in 8 0002 pallets. The
use of pre-planted pallets ensured that the plants had been established for at least two seasons before
being installed on site, thereby minimising the risk of stock failure and ensuring the vegetation of
the new rivers much sooner than they would otherwise have been. The photographs show details
of some of the in-channel enhancements.
The estimation of the resistance caused by the inclusion of such environmental measures was
difficult. Where physical obstructions such as gabions were included detailed analysis of blockage
effects could be made and included as a reduced waterway area. With varying roughness around the
perimeter of each section, the combined roughness of each section was calculated and included as a
weighted Manning’s n value. Transition losses where the positioning of such obstructions changed
were also estimated for each such case and included as local losses at the appropriate locations.
However, any such assessment of the conveyances of the channels must be subject to potential
uncertainties and the design of the environmental enhancements was conceived on the basis that if
the overall resistance was underestimated then it would be possible to remove and modify some of
the obstructions in the future.
As part of the process of diverting the Twin Rivers a number of ecological operations were
carried out in order to preserve as much of the ecological value of the old rivers and to ‘kick-start’
the ecology of the new, diverted rivers. As well as the translocation of a colony of water voles, all
aquatic plants native to the Colne valley were taken from the old rivers for propagation and use
within the pre-planted pallets. Over 1 200 freshwater duck and swan mussels were hand picked
from the bed of the old rivers and were transferred to the new channels. Over 75 m3 of river bed
silts and gravels, rich in macro-invertebrates and fish larvae, were transferred from the old rivers
to ‘seed’ the new channels. A total off seven fish captures yielded over 30 000 from the two, 1 km
long old rivers including pike, dace, perch, roach, chub, stickle backs, gudgeon and bullheads.
These fish were released into the River Colne, north of the airport and upstream of the TRD, and
allowed to re-colonise the new diverted rivers in their own time. The fact that many species have
already been found to have re-colonised the new channels is a testament to the detailed design and
the success of the ecological translocation process.

6 CONCLUSIONS

Key to the success of this sub-project of the main T5 scheme has been the way in which BAA and
its suppliers formed the design and construction team, which was co-located at Heathrow. This
team has worked in partnership with the key stakeholders, the Environment Agency, the Royal

851
Parks Agency and the local planning authority. By working in this way the team have created an
integrated river, road and landscape corridor that not only enhances the ecological value of the
rivers and the western perimeter of the airport but, by keeping the Western Perimeter road open
throughout, has ensured no significant impact on Heathrow Airport and the local communities.
The construction has spanned two winters and one summer and was completed within budget and
three weeks ahead of schedule. This latter was critical to the overall T5 scheme as it allowed early
removal of the existing watercourses.
The hydraulic design has been a compromise between the conveyance and environmental require-
ments for the channel and the establishment of the TRMC will help ensure that this compromise
will continue throughout the management of the Twin Rivers, particularly with regard to the main-
tenance regimes that are put in place. But the project has shown how environmental benefits
and enhancements can be integrated into a potentially sterile watercourse and how engineers and
environmental experts can work in a closely knit team to develop solutions acceptable to both.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors grateful acknowledge the permission of BAA to publish this paper and the data and
photographs included.

852
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Flow patterns in the wake of model mussel long-lines

D.R. Plew, R.I. Nokes & M.J. Davidson

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

ABSTRACT: Experiments were performed on very rough circular cylinders to model aspects of
the wake behind mussel long-lines. Results of PTV analysis are presented comparing flow structures
behind smooth cylinders and very rough cylinders (ε/D = 0.1) at Re ∼1600. Single cylinder results
show the surface roughness results in a larger near wake region (where downstream velocities are
negative), and alters the spread of turbulent kinetic energy in the wake. The wake behind single rows
of rough cylinders behave similarly to those of smooth cylinders, with the overall flow structure
dominated by the spacing of the cylinders.

1 INTRODUCTION

Perna canaliculus or green-lipped mussels are commercially grown in New Zealand using a sus-
pended long-line system. Spat-impregnated crop rope is suspended vertically over the upper
10–15 m of the water column from a row of surface buoys. With a typical 110 m length long-
line supporting 3 to 5 km of crop rope, which can reach diameters in excess of 0.2 m as the mussels
mature, the structure presents a significant obstacle to flow (Fig. 1). Large mussel farms may have
several hundred long-lines, and have been shown to cause significant loss of energy from currents
and waves (Plew et al., 2004). An understanding of the flow through the farm structures is key to
predicting what physical and biological effects a large farm may have.
The mussel droppers resemble a double array of closely spaced rough cylinders. There are
a number of parameters that may influence the drag on the long-line, including the large-scale
factors such as the orientation of the structure to the flow, the length and depth of long-line, and
the gap between the bottom of the droppers and the bed. However the drag of the long-line is
also controlled by the roughness and diameter of the crop-encrusted hanging ropes (droppers) and
the spacing between the droppers. Many studies comparing drag on smooth and rough cylinders
have been published for single cylinders (e.g. Fage & Warsap 1929; Achenbach 1971; Miller 1977;
Güven et al., 1980; Achenbach & Heinecke 1981) and for arrays of cylinders (a summary of several
studies is given in Zadravkovich 2003). However there are a number of features of mussel long-lines

Figure 1. Details of a mussel long-line.

853
that are unique, in particular the extreme roughness of the mussel droppers. The motivation for
this research is to determine if mussel long-lines could be satisfactorily modelled using arrays of
smooth or roughened cylinders. Here we focus on the impact of large surface roughness on the
wake behind individual cylinders and single rows of cylinders.
The diameter of mussel droppers changes as the mussels mature, and there is often considerable
variation in crop maturity between long-lines in the same farm. A typical average diameter is
0.14 m. With typical peak tidal velocities within the farm in the range 0.05 to 0.1 m/s (Plew et al.,
2004), dropper Reynolds numbers will be in the range of 2000 to 12,000. This is a moderate
Reynolds number in that, for a smooth cylinder, the wake would be turbulent but not the boundary
layer.
Small surface roughness has been demonstrated to cause significant alteration to the wake
and drag characteristics of individual circular cylinders. The most significant is the promotion
of turbulence in the cylinder boundary layer at lower Reynolds numbers. This effect has been
demonstrated for cylinder roughness ratios ε/D up to 0.03 (Achenbach & Heinecke 1981). Mussel
droppers resemble circular cylinders with extreme surface irregularities, the size of which changes
as the crop matures. If the length of the mussel shell is used to characterise the dropper roughness, the
roughness ratio approaches ε/D ∼ 0.5. We note that for cylinders with surface roughness, the change
in drag coefficient associated with the onset of turbulence in the boundary layer is progressively
smaller and occurs at lower Reynolds number for increasing surface roughness. In comparison,
sharp edged bluff bodies such as triangular cylinders or square cylinders oriented with a diagonal
parallel to the flow show little variation of drag coefficient over Reynolds numbers applicable to
mussel droppers (Lindsey 1938). It is likely therefore that the drag coefficient of a mussel dropper
will be nearly constant over the range of interest. Also, due to the complex three-dimensional
arrangement of the mussels, the dropper is porous rather than solid. Alridge et al. (1978) found
that a perforated cylinder with an open area ratio of 60% had a drag coefficient 20% than a solid
cylinder. Vortex shedding was also weaker behind the perforated cylinder. The wake of a mussel
dropper may combine aspects of both roughness and porosity.
For grids or single rows of cylinders aligned across the flow, considerable spatial variation, in
the form of pairing of the jets emerging from between cylinders, occurs when the open-area ratio is
less than 0.57 (Morgan 1960, Bradshaw 1965). For an infinite array of equally spaced cylinders, an
open-area ratio of 0.57 occurs at a cylinder spacing of S/D = 2.33, where S is the distance between
cylinder centres, and D the cylinder diameter.
The results of experiments presented here compare the wake of a single smooth cylinder to
the wake of a very rough (ε/D = 0.1) cylinder, and compare the wake behind single rows of
rough cylinders at two spacings, illustrating the spatial variability behind closely spaced cylin-
ders. This roughness is less than that estimated for mussel droppers, but allows an assessment of
the influence of large roughness ratios without introducing the complexity of porosity. The addi-
tion of a second row of cylinders, resembling the configuration of many mussel long-lines, is not
investigated here.

2 METHODOLOGY

Cylinders were towed through water seeded with fine pliolite resin particles (180–250 µm) in a
tank of length 6 m, width 1.5 m, and depth 1.0 m. Smooth cylinders of 40 mm diameter were made
from PVC pipe, and rough cylinders made by coating wooden cylinders with 4 mm stones, giving
a relative roughness of ε/D = 0.10. A cylinder length to diameter ratio of 40 was used. Cylinders
were attached to a Perspex “boat” through which the motion of particles, illuminated by a 10 mm
thick light sheet, were recorded using digital video. Reynolds numbers were limited to the range
1000 to 7000 by the trolley speed and camera frame capture rate. Experiments were repeated to
enable sufficient temporal averaging. A Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV) system developed
at the University of Canterbury (Nokes et al., 2004) was used to identify and track particles, and to
calculate velocity and turbulence fields. Distances are measured with respect to cylinder centres,

854
and non-dimensionalised by cylinder diameter D. Velocities are non-dimensionalised by the towing
velocity U0 .

3 RESULTS

3.1 Single smooth and rough cylinders

The addition of surface roughness influences both the mean velocity and turbulence fields. In the
mean velocity field, the near wake (defined as the area behind the cylinder where velocities in the
x-direction are negative) is increased in length (Fig. 2). The recovery of velocities is also more
gradual behind the rough cylinder.
Turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) has been calculated from the two-dimensional velocity fluc-
tuations in the x (u ) and y (v ) directions:

Out of plane velocities are not measured by the PTV system, so are not included in the cal-
culations. The TKE calculated in this manner is dominated by the large periodic vortices shed from
alternate sides of the cylinder. Non-dimensionalised turbulent kinetic energies (TKE/U02 ) behind a
smooth and rough cylinder are shown in Figure 3.
Surface roughness (ε/D = 0.1) has little influence on the magnitude of the peak TKE in the
cylinder wake (0.142 for the smooth cylinder, and 0.141 for the rough cylinder). However the loca-
tion of this peak is shifted downstream (x-direction) from 2.6 D behind the smooth cylinder to 2.9
D behind the rough cylinder. The surface roughness also increases the lateral spread perpendicular
to the mean flow (y-direction) of TKE in the cylinder wake.
3.2 Multiple rough cylinders
Measurements were made using a close cylinder spacing of S/D = 1.88 and a wide cylinder spacing
S/D = 3.76. These spacings are either side of the value for open area ratio Morgan (1960) found
for the onset of spatial instability behind grids.

Figure 2. Centreline average velocity (U ) behind smooth and rough cylinder at Re 2500.

855
Figure 3. TKE contours over velocity vector field for single smooth and rough cylinders at Re 1450.

3.2.1 Wide spacing

Wakes behind adjacent cylinders are essentially identical (with the exception of cylinders at the end
of arrays). The peak TKE of 0.26 occurs at a distance x/D = 2.44 behind the cylinder. This peak is
both higher and closer to the cylinder than measured behind the single cylinder (Fig. 3). The wake
is symmetrical, and jetting between the cylinders is aligned in the downstream direction.

3.2.2 Close spacing

At the close cylinder spacing, the wakes behind adjacent cylinders are not similar. Strong jets are
formed between cylinders as the flow accelerates through the narrow opening. These jets are not
aligned in the downstream direction, but have a significant cross-stream component. In Figure 5,
the jets can be seen to diverge around the cylinder in the centre of the image, with an elongated
near wake region forming behind the central cylinder. Peak TKE is not located on the centreline
behind this cylinder, rather peaks are seen in-line with the gaps between cylinders. However larger
peak TKE values are seen behind adjacent cylinders where the near wake is compressed. Overall,

856
Figure 4. Mean velocity vectors (top) and TKE (bottom) behind rough cylinder at S/D = 3.73, Re 1650.

Figure 5. Mean velocity vectors field (top) and TKE (bottom) behind rough cylinders at S/D = 1.86, Re 1630.

857
the mean flow structure is similar to that behind smooth cylinders at similar Reynolds numbers
shown by Bradshaw (1965).

4 CONCLUSIONS

The flow patterns behind the closely spaced array of rough cylinders are similar in structure to
those observed behind smooth cylinders at similar Reynolds numbers e.g. Bradshaw (1965). This
indicates that while the increased surface roughness may alter the details of the flow field, the
overall flow structure is dominated by spacing of the cylinders.

REFERENCES

Achenbach, E. 1971. Influence of surface roughness on the cross-flow around a circular cylinder. Journal of
Fluid Mechanics 46(2): 321–335.
Achenbach, E. and Heinecke, E. 1981. “On vortex shedding from smooth and rough cylinders in the range of
Reynolds numbers 6 × 103 to 5 × 106 .” Journal of Fluid Mechanics 109: 239–251.
Alridge, T.R., Piper, B.S. and Hunt, J.C.R. 1978. The drag coefficient of finite-aspect-ratio perforated circular
cylinders. Journal of Industrial Aerodynamics 3: 251–257.
Bradshaw, P. 1965. The effect of wind-tunnel screens on nominally two-dimensional boundary layers. Journal
of Fluid Mechanics 22(4): 679–687.
Fage, A. and Warsap, J.H. 1929. “The effects of turbulence and surface roughness on the drag of a circular
cylinder.” British Aeronautical Research Council (A.R.C.) Reports and Memoranda No. 1283.
Güven, O., Farell, C. and Patel, V.C. 1980. “Surface-roughness effects on the mean flow past circular cylinders.”
Journal of Fluid Mechanics 98(4): 673–701.
Lindsey, W.F. 1937. Drag of cylinders of simple shapes. NACA Report 619.
Miller, B.L. 1977. “The hydrodynamic drag of roughened circular cylinders.” Naval Architect 2: 55–70.
Morgan, P.G. 1960. Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society 64: 359.
Nokes, R.I., Blacket, S.A. and Davidson, M.J. (in prep.). Design, performance and application of a generalised,
optimisation-based particle tracking velocity system.
Plew, D.R., Stevens C.S., Spigel, R.H. and Harstein, N.D. 2004 (in press). Hydrodynamic implications of large
offshore aquaculture structures. Journal of Oceanic Engineering, Special Issue on Open OceanAquaculture.
Zadravkovich, M.M. 2003. Flow around circular cylinders, Vol 2: Applications, Oxford University Press,
New York.

858
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Gradually varied flow through semi-rigid vegetation

B.Y.F. Tam & C.W. Li

Department of Civil & Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HKSAR, China

ABSTRACT: An experimental investigation on the hydrodynamics of vegetation under gradu-

ally varied flow has been conducted in this study. Physical vegetation models made of rubber
rods were mounted in the laboratory open channel under 3 different pre-selected flow rates. The
longitudinal water surface (head loss) and velocity profiles have been measured. A theoretical
equation based on momentum balance has been derived to relate the water surface profile with
the resistant force offered by the vegetation. The equation is then used to determine the mean drag
coefficient (Cd ) of the vegetation. It has been found that the value of Cd increases with rod den-
sity, which can be explained by the blockage effect of the rods. The semi-rigid vegetation vibrates
transversely under current, which however contributes not apparently to the drag force on the
vegetation.

1 INTRODUCTION

An increase in awareness of the importance of the ecological and environmental effects of aquatic
vegetation has spurred additional studies. Certain concerns have been raised about the importance
of the natural development of wetlands and restoration of river basins. The presence of vegetation
in aquatic environments is certain to provide stabilization for banks and channels by preventing
soil erosion and absorption of wave energy, owing to the interference of vegetation together with
the bottom surface effect (Coops et al. 1996). The growth of vegetation in the flow channel can
also improve habitat, aesthetics and water quality. However, vegetation is a kind of flow resistance.
Increasing the understanding of channel flow behavior in the presence of vegetation is necessary,
so that a more accurate estimation of flow and dispersion phenomena can be achieved. Such better
estimation will be useful for water resources and water quality management.
The hydraulic resistance of vegetation is always represented by Manning’s n or drag coefficient,
Cd . Chow (1959) stated a list of n values which can give an overview for design reference. Vegetation
grown in different geological backgrounds, however, own different plant density, patterns and
degree of flexibility. Those of the plant features will influence the hydraulic resistance. Nepf (1999)
discussed the drag phenomenon in emergent rigid vegetation and found that Cd is a function of
plant density. Stone & Shen (2002) also investigated the hydraulic resistance of rigid vegetation and,
in general, stated that the stem layer velocity is more appropriate in estimating Cd and concluded
that Cd should be around 1.05 for cylindrical roughness. Most studies have focused on flexible
vegetation in order to obtain a more precise prediction of the flow characteristics recently. Artificial
vegetation or natural plants were employed in the empirical study of hydraulic behavior of vegetation
(Järvelä 2002, Stephan & Gutknecht 2002, Wilson et al. 2003). Although a great deal of research
on vegetation has been completed, the hydraulic resistance, especially for flexible vegetation, is not
completely understood due to its vibrating and deflecting characteristics.
In addition, most of the previous work (Righetti & Armanini 2002, Stone & Shen 2002, Wilson
et al. 2003, Wu et al. 1999) deals with uniform flow through vegetation. The main reason for using
this investigation method is to make the interpretation of data easier and the method of analysis
simpler. Nevertheless, in reality, a uniform flow condition seldom occurs, and the flow is of a grad-
ually varied type. The work described in this paper, therefore, presents the hydraulic characteristics

859
of emergent vegetation under gradually varied flow. A theoretical model for calculating the drag
coefficient of vegetation under gradually varied flow condition is also proposed.

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The drag force, Fd , of a flow pass through an object is governed by:

where ρ = fluid density; A0 = projected area of the object along the flow direction; Cd = associated
drag coefficient; and U = flow velocity.
In the presence of a large number or rods, a plant density, λ, (Eq. 2) is added to Equation 1,

where D = rod (stem) diameter; and s = spacing between rods. The total drag force on the emerging
rods in a fluid volume of unit length can be described by Equation 3.

where A = flow cross-sectional area.

In the subsequent analysis, vegetation is assumed to be the only source of energy dissipation along
the channel flow. For an open channel flow through emergent vegetation, over a small longitudinal
distance, x, there is a decline in the hydraulic head, h. If the slope of head loss is much greater
than the bottom slope, the momentum balance equation can be simplified to:

where B = channel breadth; g = acceleration due to gravity; h = water depth; and Q = flow rate.
Expressing U by Q/(hB) and integrating Equation 4 both sides between the limits of initial flow
depth, H0 to h with respect to distance x, a drag coefficient formula corresponding to gradually
varied flow through emergent vegetation is developed as:


where Fr = Froude number = U/ (gh). By measuring the water surface profile, the above equation
can be used to determine the value of Cd .

3 EXPERIMENT

The results of a set of laboratory experiments (Fig. 1) were used to verify the theoretical expression.
Two 2.4 m long physical vegetation models, each composed of eight hundreds 150 mm long black
rubber rods, were used to simulate the semi-rigid vegetation. The models composed of either 6 mm
or 8 mm diameter rods. The rods were erected on a 10 mm thick PVC plate and arranged in a
square grid with spacing of 30 mm. The models were then mounted separately in a laboratory open

860
 Perforated plate UVP Vegetation model
transducers

5.5m 2.4m

Channel slope = 1:1000

Figure 1. Experimental set up.

600

500

400
U (mm/s)

300
Height = 125mm
200
Height = 100mm
Height = 75mm
100 Height = 50mm
Height = 25mm
0
-200 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200
x (mm)

Figure 2. Longitudinal velocity profile for 6 mm diameter rod model, Q = 40 m3 /hr.

channel of length 12.5 m, width 0.31 m and with a default bed slope of 1:1000. The experiments
were carried out at 3 different flow rates, i.e. 30, 35 & 40 m3 /hr. A mechanical point gauge was
used to trace the water surface profiles while an Ultrasonic Velocity Profiling monitor (UVP) with
5 transducers measured the longitudinal velocity as well as the turbulence intensity. Those trans-
ducers were mounted 25, 50, 75, 100 & 125 mm above the channel bed in order to measure the
velocity at different flow depths. Since the UVP has a limited sampling distance, transducers had to
be moved to portray the complete longitudinal velocity profile for each test. A total of 500 sampling
profiles over time were obtained for every single transducer which implied 2500 measurements
covering the five flow depths.

4 RESULTS & DISCUSSION

Figure 2 shows the velocity profile of a 6 mm diameter rod vegetation model under the flow rate of
40 m3 /hr. The velocity increased along with the longitudinal distance. An oscillatory time-averaged
velocity profile was observed in the upstream region. This was because the vibrating vegetation
obstructed the UVP measurement and interfered the sampling quality. As the internal energy was
dissipated by the rods, the hydraulic head reduced continuously and the flow velocity increased. The
measured flow rate based on the flow velocity, in general, was slightly greater than the volumetric
flow rate measured in the supplying pipe. This may be due to the erection of rods affecting the flow
uniformity.
The experimental results on the water level profiles for the 6 mm and 8 mm diameter rod models
are shown in Figures 3 & 4 respectively. The best-fit curve for every case in Figures 3 & 4 is given
by Equation 5 and the corresponding parameters in the theoretical model where the Cd can be

861
 0.18
0.16
0.14
0.12
0.1
h (m)

0.08 Measurement: Q=30m3/hr

Best-fit curve: Q=30m3/hr
0.06 Measurement: Q=35m3/hr
0.04 Best-fit curve: Q=35m3/hr
Measurement: Q=40m3/hr
0.02 Best-fit curve: Q=40m3/hr
0
-0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
x (m)

Figure 3. Water level profiles for flow through 6 mm diameter semi-rigid vegetation.

0.2
0.18
0.16
0.14
0.12
h (m)

0.1 Measurement: Q=30m3/hr

0.08 Best-fit curve: Q=30m3/hr
0.06 Measurement: Q=35m3/hr
Best-fit curve: Q=35m3/hr
0.04 Measurement: Q=40m3/hr
0.02 Best-fit curve: Q=40m3/hr
0
-0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
x (m)

Figure 4. Water level profiles for flow through 8 mm diameter semi-rigid vegetation.

obtained are discussed in this section later. There was an unexpected overflow condition occurred
in the upstream vegetation model causing some lack of fit for the best-fit curve especially for the
8 mm diameter rod model at flow rates of 35 and 40 m3 /hr.
According to the theoretical expression, Equation 5 can be expressed as,

where

The term, k, contains the mean drag coefficient, Cd , as shown in Equation 8. As the drag coefficient
should be constant for a homogenous vegetation density, a straight line can be obtained when Ph
is plotted against x. By measuring the slope of the line of Ph against x, the drag coefficient Cd ,
corresponding to each flow condition can be obtained. The experimental results give values of Cd
for 6 mm and 8 mm diameter rod vegetation models of around 1.205 and 1.43 respectively.
The value of Cd with regard to each flow condition is plotted in Figure 7 together with separated
experimental results conducted with 5 mm and 9 mm diameter rigid vegetation under the same

862
 0.006
Q=30m3/hr
0.005 Q=35m3/hr
Q=40m3/hr
Q=30m3/hr; S=-8.93E-4
0.004 Q=35m3/hr; S=-1.21E-3

Ph (m3)
Q=40m3/hr; S=-1.57E-3
0.003

0.002

0.001

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
x (m)

Figure 5. Variation of h3 against x with 6 mm diameter rod vegetation.

0.008
Q=30m3/hr
0.007 Q=35m3/hr
Q=40m3/hr
0.006
Q=30m3/hr; S=-1.35E-3
0.005 Q=35m3/hr; S=-1.96E-3
Ph (m3)

Q=40m3/hr; S=-2.64E-3
0.004
0.003
0.002
0.001
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
x (m)

Figure 6. Variation of h3 against x with 8 mm diameter rod vegetation.

1.6

1.4

1.2

1
Cd

0.8

0.6

0.4
Rigid vegetation
0.2 Semi-rigid vegetation
0
0.01 0.1 1
λd

Figure 7. Variation of drag coefficient against rod density.

conditions. The semi-rigid vegetation was observed to be vibrating in a transverse direction during
the experiments. Figure 7 shows the value of drag coefficient only varies with the plant density
and does not show any significant difference between the cases of rigid and semi-rigid vegetation.
Thus, this study suggests that the vibrating mechanism contributes little effect on the drag force.

863
 The drag coefficients obtain in this study are greater than the averaged Cd values obtained by
Stone & Shen (2002). The main difference can be attributed to that in the present work the averaged
velocity over the channel cross-section was used as the characteristic velocity for drag force, while
in Stone & Shen (2002) the maximum depth-averaged velocity at a constriction section of the rod
layer was used as the characteristic velocity. Also the pattern of the rod placement is different for
both studies. However, both studies confirm that Cd increases with increasing rod density, λ. These
results are not in conformance with those previously reported by Nepf (1999). One explanation
to this trend is that when the rod density is high, the flow cross-sectional area in the channel is
significantly reduced and the flow behavior is changed. The flow velocity will then be increased
if the discharge is kept constant. Consequently, the drag coefficient (Cd ) evaluated based on the
average velocity (Q/A) will be increased. This blockage effect is consistent with that reported by
Takeda & Kato (1992).

5 CONCLUSIONS

Experiments were conducted to investigate the hydraulic behavior of semi-rigid vegetation under
sub-critical gradually varied flow conditions. A theoretical relationship between the longitudinal
head loss profile and resistant force offered by the vegetation has been derived and verified by the
experiments. Based on the derived equation, the values of Cd were obtained. The results show that
Cd increases with rod density, which can be explained by the blocking effect of the rods. Unlike
very flexible vegetation, the rigidity of semi-rigid vegetation exerts little influence on the drag
force although the rods are vibrating under current.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work was supported by a grant from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Spe-
cial Administrative Region (Project No. 5048/99E) and a grant from the Hong Kong Polytechnic
University (Project No. G-T649).

REFERENCES

Chow, V.T. 1959. Open-channel Hydraulics, NY, McGraw-Hill.

Coops, H., Geilen, N., Verheij, H.J., Boeters, R. & Van der Velde, G. 1996. “Interactions between waves, bank
erosion and emergent vegetation: an experimental study in a wave tank.” Aquatic Botany: 53, 187–198.
Järvelä, J. 2002. “Flow resistance of flexible and stiff vegetation: a flume study with natural plants.”
J. Hydrology, 269: 44–54.
Nepf, H.M. 1999. “Drag, turbulence, and diffusion in flow through emergent vegetation.” Water Resour. Res.,
35(2): 479–489.
Righetti, M. & Armanini, A. 2002. “Flow resistance in open channel flows with sparsely distributed bushes.”
J. Hydrology, 269: 55–64.
Serra, T., Fernando, H.J.S. & Rodríguez, R.V. 2004. “Effects of emergent vegetation on lateral diffusion in
wetlands.” Water Res., 38: 139–147.
Stephan, U. & Gutknecht, D. 2002. “Hydraulic resistance of submerged flexible vegetation.” J. Hydrology.,
269: 27–43.
Stone, B.M. & Shen, H.T. 2002. “Hydraulic resistance of flow in channels with cylindrical roughness.”
J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE, 128(5): 500–506.
Takeda, K. & Kato, M. 1992. “Wind tunnel blockage effects on drag coefficient and wind-induced vibration.”
J. Wind Engrg. & Industrial Aerodynamic, 42: 897–908.
Wilson, C.A.M.E., Stoesser, T., Bates, P.D. & Pinzen, A.B. 2003. “Open channel flow through different forms
of submerged flexible vegetation.” J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE, 129(11): 847–853.
Wu, F.C., Shen, H.W. & Chou, Y.J. 1999. “Variation of roughness coefficients for unsubmerged and submerged
vegetation.” J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE, 125(9): 934–942.

864
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Effects of vegetation and litter on flow

K.B.S.N. Jinadasa
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Japan

N. Tanaka, K. Yutani & W. Seki

Faculty of Engineering, Saitama University, Japan

ABSTRACT: This paper examines how vegetation type and shoot density, and presence of litter
affects the frictional losses in wetland ecosystems. Two plant species to represent two different types
of roughness were considered: Phragmites australis (stem-type roughness and litter) and Typha
angustifolia (stem-type roughness and leaves-type litter). Water flume experiments were conducted
to determine roughness characteristics and field experiments were conducted to observe collapsing
rate of selected species. The decomposition rates were found to be different for P. australis and
T. angustifolia and hence the roughness characteristics were found to vary seasonally exhibiting
different trends. It was found that the presence of litter increased the friction factor considerably.
The results of the experimental study were used to perform numerical analysis to investigate the
effect on detention time of a free water surface constructed wetland. The detention time varied
seasonally with P. australis whereas the variation was minor with T. angustifolia.

1 INTRODUCTION

Vegetation resistance in wetland ecosystems is considered important because it provides protec-

tion to riverbanks and reduces bed erosion. Although the presence of vegetation could lower the
flow capacity, vegetation has fundamental ecological functions in ecosystems such as water quality
improvement and erosion control (Järvelä, 2002; Stephan et al., 2002). The degree of vegetation
resistance varies in relation to many parameters such as vegetation type and density, water depth,
presence of litter, seasonal foliage development and their decomposition, etc. Most of the stud-
ies conducted so far have investigated the vegetation resistance under different flow conditions
(Kouwen, 2000; Struve, 2003), however only a few have studied the effect of litter on vegetation
resistance. Therefore, this study focuses on how type and density of vegetation, presence of litter
and flow depth influence the friction losses and detention time of free water surface constructed
wetland.
This study aims to improve the reliability of the determination of flow resistance in highly
frictional environments. Further, Manning’s n was calculated for different water depths and different
litter resistances. It also attempts to identify and functionalize the most appropriate parameter for
representing resistance depending on the vegetation type in the presence of litter. Decomposition
and collapsing rates of Phragmites australis and Typha angustifolia were found to play a major role
in determining litter formation and its resistance (Aseada et al., 2002). Therefore, the collapsing
process was investigated simultaneously as roughness characteristics cannot be defined without
understanding the underlying process.
Drag caused by the presence of vegetative stems and litter increases flow resistance – this is
specially pronounced in shallow channels (Chen, 1976). This was found to be more prominent in free
water surface constructed wetlands (Jadhav & Buchberger, 1995), because vegetation resistance
and presence of litter could affect detention time. Detention time is an important parameter in

865
Table 1. Summary of experimental conditions.

Stem Litter Range of

Density direction Water depth Velocity Reynolds no.
(SD) Series (Fig. 2) Q (cm3 /sec) (h) (cm) (U ) (cm/sec) (=Uh/ν) Slope (i)

50 SD50 Case 1 2529–18245 2.24–8.53 22.59–42.77 3,600–26,400

50 SD50 Case 2 1848–18716 3.56–10.51 10.37–35.61 2,600–27,100 1/1000
50 SD50 Case 3 2129–19007 2.59–9.06 16.46–41.97 3,000–27,500
200 SD200 Case 1 1371–18090 1.86–9.99 14.72–36.21 1,900–26,200
200 SD200 Case 2 1421–18454 4.12–12.02 6.90–30.70 2,000–26,700 1/1000
200 SD200 Case 3 1513–18271 2.97–12.07 10.17–30.28 2,100–26,400
200 SD200(II) Case 1 1620–18349 2.64–10.74 12.29–34.17 2,200–25,700
200 SD200(II) Case 2 1323–18116 4.78–13.88 5.53–26.11 1,800–25,400 1/10000
200 SD200(II) Case 3 1851–18116 3.27–12.25 11.31–29.58 2,500–25,400

Kinematic viscosity of water: ν = 0.01386 (cm2 /s) at 8◦ C and ν = 0.01428 (cm2 /s) at 7◦ C.

Figure 1. Experimental set-up in the water flume.

determination of pollutant and removal efficiencies of constructed wetlands. The results obtained
from the experimental study were used to perform numerical analysis to investigate the effect on
detention time of a free water surface constructed wetland for different water depths and seasonal
variations. In this study, the modified continuity equation (porosity by stem and litter included)
and 2-dimensional momentum equation (drag force due to stem and litter is included) were used to
investigate the effect of vegetation resistance on the detention time of a constructed wetland, which
was 20 m long and 2 m wide.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

Field experiments were carried out in Shibakawa pond (35◦ 51 N, 139◦ 42 E), Japan to investigate the
collapsing rate of T.angustifolia. Collapsing rate of T. angustifolia was investigated by observing the
amount of dead leaves in a selected quadrant (1 m × 1 m). The observations were taken from October
2002 to March 2004. Laboratory experiments were carried out in a water flume to investigate
roughness characteristics in absence and presence of litter. P. australis (stem-type roughness and
litter) and T. angustifolia (stem-type roughness and leaves-type litter) plants were mounted in the
flume and the experiments were conducted for different stem densities. Stem densities were selected
with a range of 50∼200 considering their natural habitat. The experimental conditions are shown
in Table 1. The plants covered a 5.4 m long section on the midway of the 15 m long section designed
for the experiments (Fig. 1). Flow was fed from a constant headwater tank and the flow rate was
controlled by a valve system. The flow rate was measured using a triangular weir. Litter was also
mounted in the vegetated zone (Fig. 2) with different orientations (Case 1: no litter (FD1 ), Case 2:
cross direction (FD2 ) and Case 3: stream direction (FD3 )) and the effect of litter was investigated
by calculating the energy head loss (hf ) followed by friction factor f and Manning’s n.

866
 FD3

FD1 FD2

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3

No litter (stem type) With litter: cross direction With litter: streamwise direction Natural condition
Roughness: FD1 Roughness: FD2 Roughness: FD3 Roughness: FD1+ FD4+ FD3

Figure 2. Litter arrangements in the roughness analysis.

2.1 Quantification of flow resistance

Using a force-equilibrium equation for uniform flow in flow-wise direction of a wide vegetated
reach, the average boundary shear stress τ0 can be expressed as (Petrik & Bosmajian, 1975),

where FD is the drag force absorbed by vegetation; a is bed horizontal area covered by vegetation;
Cd is the drag coefficient; The parameter A is closely related to the one-side area of leaves and stems.
The boundary shear if there exist a litter-mat on the bed as shown in Fig. 2, can be expressed as,

where U∗ is the friction velocity; f is the friction factor (subscripts 1, 2, 3, represent the roughness
type as shown in Fig. 2). Substituting eq. (3) to eq. (2),

Where Cd-total is total drag force coefficient, therefore,

Then Cd-total is a function of f and A (stem density, water depth, litter amount). As to the Darcy-
Weisbach friction factor, by using eqs (6) and (7) we can evaluate both Manning’s n and friction
factor f (Fathi-Maghadam and Kouwen, 1997).

where L is vegetation length; R is hydraulic radius; g is acceleration due to gravity.

867
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Collapsing rate (m/day) was explored for P. australis and T. angustifolia. The collapsing rate
of P. australis has already been investigated by Hocking (1989) and modeled by Aseada et al.
(2002). However for T. angustifolia there was no clear explanation given in previous studies about
the collapsing rate. Therefore, an initial attempt was taken to investigate the collapsing rate of
T. angustifolia at Shibakawa pond and results are shown in Figure 3. It can be seen that after around
8 months Typha. leaves collapsed totally. The water depth of Shibakawa pond was about 0.3 m.
The collapsing rate should change according to water depth because the decomposition rate in air
and water is quite different. Figure 4 shows the collapsing rate with different layer settings and
calculation was carried out considering the collapsing of each layer. Water depth was considered
as h and shoot height was taken as hs .
Collapsing rate can be evaluated by the following equation

The constant β has to be evaluated from experimental results for further investigation of this process.
From Figure 3, it was found that β is around −0.018 after calibration. Then followed by calculation
for remaining biomass amount using following equation.

Then the correlation of collapsing rate and water depth was plotted (Fig. 5). The optimum collapsing
rate was found for a water depth of 0.3 m. Variation of the biomass under the water surface with
time was plotted and shown in Figure 6. The collapsing rate was finally compared with the results
of P. australis (Fig. 7). It can be observed that the collapsing duration is quite different in case of
T. angustifolia and P. australis. T. angustifolia has collapsed within 8 months whereas for P. australis

100% dead leaf measured by sample

Ratio of standing dead remaining in air

dead leaf measured by picture

4/9 Calibration
80% 12/18
5/9
7/8
60%
6/12
40% 5/30
7/29
9/11
20% 8/21

0%
-30 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
12/1 Julian day

Figure 3. Seasonal change of the ratio of standing dead remaining above water surface.

Layer i
1
collapsing rate 2
hs 3 Btotal = Total Biomass

in
Bwater = Below water surface
Biomass
h

i = imax

0.6 m

Figure 4. Illustration of litter collapsing calculation of T. angustifolia.

868
it took around 2 years to collapse totally. This can be presumed to be mainly due to the different
type of roughness they are made of P. australis was mainly considered as a stem type configuration
and T. angustifolia was mainly considered as a leaf type configuration.
Flow resistance due to vegetation and litter was investigated with P. australis for two different
stem densities (50 and 200) based on the conditions outlined in Table 1. All the observations
were duplicated and averaged. Manning’s n was calculated for each case and has been plotted in
Figure 8. Manning’s n was found to decrease with increasing water depth in the presence of litter

Collapsing speed (m/day) 0.002

0.0016

0.0012

0.0008

0.0004

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Depth (m)

Figure 5. Correlation of collapsing speed and water depth.

600
depth 0.1m
depth 0.2m
500 depth 0.3m
Biomass (g/m2)

depth 0.4m
400 depth 0.5m
depth 0.6m
300

200

100

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Elapsed day

Figure 6. Variation of below water biomass of Typha leaves (initial hs = 0.6 m).
Remaining ratio (%)

P. australis [Asaeda et al. (2002)]

T. angustifolia

Time/(Yrs)

Figure 7. Comparison of collapsing rate.

869
 1
SD=50, Case 1
SD=50, Case 2
SD=50, Case 3
SD=200, Case 1
SD=200, Case 2

Manning's n
SD=200, Case 3
0.1 SD=200(II), Case 1
SD=200(II), Case 2
SD=200(II), Case 3

0.01
0.01 0.1 1
Depth (m)

Figure 8. Variation of Manning’s n with different stem densities (Table 1) and different water depths.

8
P. australis r = 1.2
P. australis r = 0.4
6 P. australis r = 1.0
Drag coefficient

T. angustifolia r=1
T. angustifolia r=0.25
4
Litter(biomass)
r=
Live(biomass)
2

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Flow depth (cm)

Figure 9. Variation of drag coefficient with flow depth and seasonally.

(i.e. SD200(II) case 2), whereas in absence of litter the trend was not the same (Fig. 8). This could be
due to the presence of litter-induced higher energy losses, which result in an increase in the friction
factor and Manning’s n. This finding was more pronounced at lower water depths. Orientation of
litter was also found to affect the resistance significantly (Fig. 8). Seasonal variation of roughness
characteristics was functionalized by using the ratio (r) between amount of litter and live biomass.
The Seasonal variation of roughness in presence of litter was calculated and the results are presented
in Figure 9. The drag coefficient did not vary significantly for T. angustifolia with water depths in
different seasons and varied around 1.2 throughout the period at varying water depths. Therefore, it
can be presumed that the resistance caused by T. angustifolia litter could affect the drag coefficient
only marginally. However, the drag increased drastically for P. australis at lower water depths and
it had an identifiable variation with different seasons.
Figure 10 shows the variation of detention time seasonally for these species. As there is little
effect on the drag coefficient seasonally for T. angustifolia, it can be seen that detention time did
not change seasonally for each water depth. However, supporting the results from Figure 9, it
can be seen that the detention time was found to be at a maximum in August and lower in April.

870
 6.0
P. australis h=0.1 m P. australis h=0.2 m
5.0
P. australis h=0.3 m T angustifolia h=0.1 m
T. angustifolia h=0.2 m Typha angustifolia h=0.3 m
Detention time (days)
4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month

Figure 10. Seasonal changes of detention time.

This is important in designing constructed wetlands as the removal efficiency could be affected by
the detention time and subsequent water quality deterioration could occur. All chemical reactions
slow as temperature drops and this is true for the processes occurring in constructed wetlands.
Ice has unpredictable effects on constructed wetlands, particularly those of the free water surface
type. In snowy climates, if sufficient snow accumulates around plants etc., then the freezing of the
water underneath is inhibited significantly. However, in this study the effect of ice formation and
subsequent impacts is not further discussed.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The effect of litter was considerably high in shallow water depths and with increasing water depths
it was found that there was no considerable change in the friction factor in the case of stem type
litter. Although the collapsing rate was different for T. angustifolia and P. australis, there was no
identifiable variation in drag coefficient seasonally in case of T. angustifolia. Detention time was
found to vary seasonally in case of P. australis suggesting that operating conditions of free water
surface constructed wetlands might need to change accordingly. This study addresses the need
of free water surface flow modeling in presence of vegetation and litter in wetlands. Without the
understanding of frictional resistance caused by vegetation and litter, numerical analyses have only
a limited scope in reproducing the correct design values in such highly frictional environments.

REFERENCES

Asaeda, T., Nam, H., Hiez, P., Tanaka, N. & Karunaratne, S. 2002. Seasonal fluctuations in live and dead
biomass of Phragmites australis as described by a growth and decomposition model: implications of duration
of aerobic conditions for litter mineralization and sedimentation. Aquatic Botany 73: 223–239.
Chen, C.I. 1976. Flow resistance in broad shallow grassed channels. Journal of the Hydraulics Division ASCE
102(3): 307–322.
Fathi-Maghadam, M. & Kouwen, N. 1997. Nonrigid, nonsubmerged, vegetative roughness on flood-plains.
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 123(1): 51–57.
Hocking, P.J. 1989. Seasonal dynamics of production, and nutrient accumulation and cycling by Phragmites
australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex Steudel in a nutrient-enriched swamp in inland Australia. I whole plants. Australian
Journal of Marine Freshwater Research 40: 421–444.

871
Jadhav, R.S. & Buchberger, S.G. 1995. Effects of vegetation on flow through free water surface wetlands.
Ecological Engineering 5(4): 481–496.
Järvelä, 2002. Flow resistance of flexible and stiff vegetation: a flume study with natural plants. Journal of
Hydrology 269(1–2): 44–54.
Kouwen, N. & Fathi-Moghadam, M. 2000. Friction factors for coniferous trees along rivers. Journal of
Hydraulic Engineering 126(10): 732–740.
Petryk, S. & Bosmajian, G.B. 1975. Analysis of flow through vegetation. Journal of the Hydraulics Division
ASCE 101(7): 871–884.
Stephan, U. & Gutknecht, D. 2002. Hydraulic resistance of submerged flexible vegetation. Journal of
Hydrology 269(1–2): 27–43.
Struve, J., Falconer, R.A. & Wu, Y. 2003. Influence of model mangrove trees on the hydrodynamics in a flume,
Estuarine. Coastal and Shelf Science 58: 1–9.

872
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Recognition of wetlands hydraulics as a tool for their

protection and restoration

T. Okruszko & S. Ignar

Warsaw Agricultural University, Department of Hydraulic Structures and Environmental Restoration,
Warsaw, Poland

ABSTRACT: In the paper results of hydraulic modeling of two riparian wetlands are analyzed in
the context of identification of ecological characteristics needed for decision making in deriving
the water management plans. Two characteristic describing the flooding phenomena, essential for
preservation of river fed wetlands, has been chosen, namely flood extend and frequency of flooding.
They were calculated using 1-D, unsteady state hydraulic models identified for two river valleys
in the north-east part of Poland. Both valleys are habitat of the riparian wetlands of the medium
size (about 20,000 ha) The Lower Biebrza River valley was modeled with the use of HEC-RES
package and the Upper Narew River valley modeled with the use of the CCHE1D model (version
3.0). Both commercial packages were identified and verified using extensive set of topological and
hydrological data. Analyzed characteristics have been calculated with the use of these models. As
a result of this exercise, main constrains in using the hydraulic models of riparian wetlands were
found.

1 INTRODUCTION

Intensification of water resources use in the river basin due to the economical and social develop-
ment brings the new challenges in environmental hydraulics. As the shortage of water endangers
wetland ecosystems the environmental flow should be maintained in order to protect or restore
such ecosystems. It means also that in the catchment area, wetlands become one of many water
users of the hydrological system, which should be supplied with the water. In most of the countries
the River Basin Management Plans are derived in order to analyze and compare the water needs of
particular water users. The question is how to asses the magnitude of the environmental flows and
which characteristic of such flows might be used in the decision process about water allocation.
The best management alternative is chosen with the help of different decisions criteria, describ-
ing the consequences of water deficit. One of the widely applied methods is use of the mathematical
criteria – reliability, resistance or vulnerability proposed by Hasimoto et al. (1982). In order to use
these criteria in the multi-objective optimization process number of mathematical indices was pro-
posed by Fiering (1982), Duckstein & Plate (1985). The time guarantee, volume guarantee, average
water deficit, average time of the deficit belongs to the most often used indices for describing the
difference between the required and actual state of the water systems elements. Recently Loucks
(2000) proposed to use the system characteristics which can describe the social, economical and
ecological values of the particular elements of the system. Having the system characteristics and
indices of difference between the optimum state and actual values, it is possible to calculate the
criteria of reliability, resistance and vulnerability in the sustainability context.
The ecological characteristics, which describe the status of riparian wetlands, are mostly con-
nected to the phenomena of flooding. According to the two main ecological concepts of the “river
continuum” (Vannote et al. 1980) and “flood pulse” (Junk et al. 1989) riparian wetlands should
be inundated in order to gain the biochemical input for plants development and bring some inver-
tebrates and fishes on the floodplains for the recruitment and spawning. There are a very few works

873
describing the characteristics of flooding phenomena needed for their protection. In the most cases,
there is a postulate of not changing the historical conditions of high flow phenomena, what is a
very difficult requirement to meet in the conditions of growing pressure for use of water resources.
However, according to the works of Oswit (1991) or Hooijer (1996) the most important flood
characteristics for plant communities’ development are: flooding area, average depth of flooding
and flooding frequency.
Hydraulic models seem to be the most appropriate tool for obtaining this type of characteristics
for the riparian wetlands, as it is possible to derive the water stage characteristics for the whole
floodplain area assuming the known inflow characteristic in the particular cross-section (e.g. gauge
station data) for the particular flood.
The mathematical model of rivers water flow is formalized in the equations of unsteady one
dimensional open channel flow, based of the St. Venant hypotheses. Assuming river flow as ‘one-
dimensional situation’ during flood propagation is significant simplification. Overland floodplain
flow is far more complex and difficult to describe completely than channel flow, but its mathematical
representation in models is much simpler. As the river stage is rising, water disperses laterally from
the channel, inundating the floodplain and filling storage areas. As the water depth on floodplain
increases, the valley begins to convey water downstream, generally along a shorter path than that
of the main channel. When the river stage is falling, the water moves toward the channel from the
overbank storage, supplementing the flow in the main channel. This channel/floodplain problem
has been addressed in many different ways (Watanabe & Fukuoka 2002, Willems et al. 2002).
In this paper two-dimensional flow field is approximated by a one-dimensional representation.
This simplification is possible because the primary direction of flow is oriented along the channel.
Overbank flow is approximated as flow through a separate channel and all floodplain area below
river bank has no conveyance, only storage.
Having this basic assumptions two case studies were calculated in order to check model’s abil-
ity for calculation of the basic ecological characteristic – flood extend (Biebrza Wetlands) and
frequency of flooding (the Upper Narew valley).

2 BIEBRZA WETLANDS

Compared to the rest of the country, Nort-East part of Poland is reach in relatively natural habi-
tats. Biebrza Wetlands belongs to this category. Supported by 7000 km2 catchment, the Biebrza
River feds riparian wetlands in its middle and lower course. The area of wetlands approximates
to 150,000 ha. The inundation of the valley occurs almost every year and lasts from few weeks
to few months. It is caused by snowmelt or combined snowmelt and rainfall phenomena. Water
which inflows into lower basin of Biebrza valley, is accumulated here due to the small longitudinal
slopes of the basins as well as due to the fact that syncline like widening of the Valley is closed
downstream by the moraine formation. The Biebrza valley plays the role of a large reservoir for
surface water and shallow groundwater (Okruszko & Byczkowski 2000).
In this case study, in order to simulate flow in the lower Biebrza Basin, UNET (One-Dimensional
Unsteady Flow Through a Full Network of Open Channels) was applied (Barkau 1982). This
program is a component of computer software HEC-RAS (River Analysis System), (HEC 2000).
It is a one-dimensional unsteady open-channel flow model that can simulate flow in single reaches
or complex networks of interconnected channels when flow conditions are subcritical. The model
simulates the Lower Biebrza River as a single channel starting from Osowiec Gauge (BD1) and
terminating at BD17- Burzyn gauge (Fig. 1). Drainage ditches network, old rivers-beds and spreads
existing in this area were not taken into account, due to lack of their geometric and topographic data.
The Wissa River is treated as a point lateral inflow and is described by flow hydrograph in Czachy
gauge. The geometry of cross-sections was obtained as a combination of measurements of a river
channel and a floodplain. The river beds were measured by manual sounding, the neighborhoods
of river banks was leveled and points situated in floodplain were calculated from Digital Elevation
Model. The total length of the meandering river was equal to 41.2 km; the length of the floodplain

874
 Figure 2. The flood extend modeled using
Figure 1. The topology and boundary condition HEC-RAS and the RS data. (Chormański, J.
of the model of the Biebrza Lower Basin. 2003).

was about 24 km. The upstream boundary condition was described by a flow hydrograph at cross-
section BD1 (Fig. 1) and it was a sum of discharges at Przechody and Osowiec gauges. The single
valued rating curve at Burzyn cross-section was used as a downstream boundary condition.
The Lower Biebrza River hydraulic model was calibrated for hydrologic data from flood period
25.02 – 17.06.1999. During the calibration and verification of the model the calculated and meas-
ured discharges and stages in Burzyn gauge cross-section were compared. A model mean square
error is 0.04 m for water stage and 10.4 m3 /s for discharge comparing the computed results and the
data from the gauge station. The detailed information on calibration and validation process can be
found in work of Swiatek et al. (2002).
The hydrological data of flood of 2002, which took place from 1.04 to 2.06 was used in order
to calculate the flood extend at peak flow and compare it with the RS data and results of chemical
analysis (Chormanski 2003).
The satellite images of the Landsat 5 TM and the Landsat 7 ETM+ captured during maximum
of floods in period from 1999 to 2002 were rectified and processed for identification of inundated
areas. The processing of Landsat bands was done in ER Mapper. It included the calculation of ratio
7/4, the Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Principal Component Analysis
(PCA). The results of these rationing and transformations were stored in new bands, and, then,
were classified by using maximum likelihood classifier. The error matrix was created on the basis
of 796 points, which represented different cover types, were registered in the field by using the
GPS receiver. The high overall accuracy equal to 95% was obtained for flood in 2002. The post-
classification analyses, included water chemistry analysis, allow determination of different water
source areas: flooded by river and inundated by seepage and snow-melt water.
Results of the study are shown at Fig. 2. There is a good match of calculated and inundated
area, as recognized by satellite image in the upper part of the valley. In the lower course there

875
is a significant difference. However, if the chemical analysis is included, which allows for the
distinction between the river water flooding the floodplain and groundwater which inundates the
remaining part, again a good match between the model results and measured extend can be found.
Hydraulic models allows to obtain the inundation data for the single flood event, what enables to
calculate the inundation characteristics as average or probable area of flood having the historical
flood records.

3 NAREW

The area of the catchment of the Upper Narew covers approximately 7300 km2 , the rivers’ hydro-
logical regime is typical of those for the lowland rivers. It is characterized by a single spring flood
caused by snow melting, and quite a balanced summer runoff. Raised water stages in summer occur
occasionally. Given the morphological conditions and economical development of the region, three
reaches of the Upper Narew river valley can be distinguished.
The first, analyzed reach extends from the Siemianówka reservoir to the narrowing of the valley
in the vicinity of the Suraz settlement. It is a relatively narrow valley, which is flooded for a short
time every year. The groundwater feeding occurs only at the edge of the river valley. Its nature is
typical of marshy meadows becoming dry-ground forests. The biodiversity of this area is caused
by a rich surface water network; coexistence of natural meadows, bushes and small forests with the
extensive farming. The valley forms a breeding ground for 3 species threatened with worldwide
extinction and is one of the ten most important refuges in Poland for at least 22 bird species.
The model simulates the Narew River as a single channel starting from Bondary gauge and
terminating at Suraz gauge (Fig. 3). The geometry of this river segment is described by 36 cross-
sections. Drainage ditches network, old rivers-beds and spreads existing in this area were not taken
into account, due to the lack of their geometric and topographic data. The geometry of cross-
sections combines both: a river bed and a floodplain. The river-beds were measured by manual
sounding, the neighborhood of river banks was leveled and coordinates of points situated on the
floodplain were calculated with the use of the Digital Elevation Model.
The upstream boundary condition is described by a flow hydrograph at Bondary (Fig. 3). The
Orlanka and Narewka Rivers are considered as a point lateral inflow located at 18.9 km and 58.25 km
upstream of Suraż and are described by flow hydrographs in Chraboly and Narewka gauges. The
single valued rating curve at Suraz cross-section is used as a downstream boundary condition.
Value of subcatchment inflow is uniform distributed along the river between Bondary and Suraz.
The time delay value t was selected using numerical experiments and was set for 24 hours.
The CCHE1D model (version 3.0) developed by the National Center for Computational Hydro-
science and Engineering of The University of Mississippi was used for the discharge and state
calculations. The CCHE1D model simulates unsteady flow in channel networks using the dynamic

Bondary – upstream boundary condition: flow hydrograph Q(t)

catchment: flow hydrograph Qdif(t)
Uniform lateral inflow from differ

Lateral inflow from Narewka:

flow hydrograph QN(t)

Lateral inflow from Orlanka:

flow hydrograph QO(t)

Suraz–downstream boundary condition:

rating curve

Figure 3. Topological scheme and boundary conditions.

876
Figure 4. The frequency of flooding in the Upper Narew River valley.

wave model, taking into account the difference between the flows in the main channel and flood
plains of a compound channel.
The historical data of flow discharges were used for the model parameters calibration and model
performance validation. The ever highest recorded flood of 1979 was used for the model calibration;
four other flood events of years 1978, 1980 and 1981 were used in validation process. In order to
evaluate the model performance, the most commonly employed error measures, such as the root
mean square error and the square correlation coefficient, were computed. The numerical model
satisfactorily simulated the measured data. The average root mean square error was equal to 14%
and square correlation coefficient was equal to 0.94. The details on model calibration and validation
can be found in work of Okruszko et al. (2004).
The historical data of flood events from 1966 to 1991 were used for calculation of yearly frequency
of valley inundation (Fig. 4). Frequency equal to 100% means that particular area of the valley is
flooded every year. These results were compared with the wetland plants communities’ distribution
showing a good match.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Those simple exercises, with the use the 1D hydraulic model show its ability for providing the
basic ecological characteristics of riparian wetlands useful for the decision making process on
water distribution in the river basin. There are however some important constrains in using them
for this purpose.
Inundation of some of the river valleys is composed by the river flooding and groundwater
exfiltration. Due to the different origin of the water and different chemical properties it shapes
the different habitat for the wetland ecosystems. The hydraulic study should clearly recognize the
source of water which is modeled.
The validation of the model, using the gauge station data is not enough for the model which
should provide the information on the floodplain scale. Remote Sensing technology could be partly
helpful in validation of the overbank flow situation, the most accurate info is given by chemical
transects, but it is quite expensive and time consuming method.
Modeling of the inflow from the subcatchment, as well as modeling of low flow conditions
has been identified as the most important source of errors in the study aiming on time series
characteristics. Non-continues simulation i.e. aiming on flood events only should be carefully
examined for the rigorous of the statistical reasoning about the calculated results.
The study on floodplain natural plants friction coefficient is much needed for improving the
model results in the future.

REFERENCES

Barkau 1982. Simulation of the July 1981 flood along the Salt River. Report for CE695BV, Special Prolems
in Hydraulics. Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO.
Chormański, J. 2003. Methodology for recognition of flood extend in the Lower Biebrza River valley. PhD
thesis. Warsaw Agricultural University.

877
Demissie, M., Lian, Y. & Bhowmik, N. 2000. Application of hydraulic models for the analysis of the interaction
of the Illinois River and its floodplain. Illinois State Water Survey Contract.
Report 651, Champaign, ILHEC, 2000 – HEC, 2000 - HEC-RAS River Analysis System User’s Manual. US
Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources Hydrologic Engineering Center.
Duckstein, L. & Plate E.J. 1985. A system framework for hydrologic reliabilty with application to the design
of structures. In Scientific procedures applied to the planning, design and management of water resources
systems; Proc. intern. symp., Hamburg, August 1983. IAHS Publ. 147.
Fiering, M.B. 1982. Alternative indices of resilience. Water Resources Research 18 (1): 33–39.
Hashimoto, T., Stedinger, J.R. & Loucks, D.P. 1982. Reliability, resiliency and vulnerability criteria for water
resources system performance evaluation. Water Resources Research 18: 14–20.
Hooijer, A. 1996. Floodplain hydrology: An ecologically oriented study of the Shannon Callows, Ireland.
Thesis, Virje Universiteit Amsterdam: 221.
Junk, W.J., Bayley, P.B. & Sparks R.E. 1989. The flood pulse concept in river-floodplain systems. In Dodge,
D.P. (ed.), Large river; Proc. intern. sym., Journal of Canadian Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 11 (Special
Issue): 106–127.
Loucks, D.P. 2000. Sustainable water resources management. Water International 25(1): 3–10.
Okruszko T. & Byczkowski A., 2000 Establishing water management rules for wetland protection: Biebrza
Wetlands case. Proceedings of the 11th International Peat Congress, Quebec, 1, pp. 237–242.
Okruszko, T., Mirosław-Swiatek, D., Kubrak, J. & Kardel, I. 2004. Recognition of hydraulic conditions
in the Upper Narew river system and their influence on the regional development. In Hydroscience and
Engineering (ICHE-2004); CD Proc. 6th Int. Conf., Brisbane, 30 May – 3 June 2004.
Oswit, J. 1991. Roślinność i siedliska zabagnionych dolin rzecznych na tle warunków wodnych. Roczniki Nauk
Rolniczych, 221. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN: 229.
Swiatek, D., Okruszko, T. & Chormanski, J. 2002. Surface Water System Analysis. In Mioduszewski, W. &
Querner, E. (eds.), Hydrological system analysis of the valley of Biebrza River. Falenty: Wydawnictwa
IMUZ: 39–80.
Vannote, R.L., Minshall, G.W., Cummins, K.W., Sedell, J.R. & Cushing, C.E. 1980. The river continuum
concept. Journal of Canadian Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 37, str 130–137.
Watanabe, A. & Fukuoka, S. 2002. Analysis on the flood flow storage in compound meandering channels by
using unsteady two-dimensional numerical model. River Flow 2002. Proceedings of the International Con-
ference on Fluvial Hydraulics, D. Bousmar & Y. Zech, Editors Swets & Zeitlinger, Lisse, the Netherlands,
ISBN 90 5809 509 6.
Weiming, W. &Vieira, D.A. 2001. One-Dimensional Channel Network Model CCHE1DVersion 3.0 –Technical
Manual. Technical Report No. NCCHE-TR-2002-1. National Center for Computational Hydroscience and
Engineering of the University of Mississippi.
Werner, M., Ververs, M., Haselen, van C., Pakes, U., Daamen, K. & Muerlebach, 2000. A comparison of
methods for generating cross sections for flood modeling using detailed floodplain elevation models. In
Advances in Flood Research; Proc. European Conf., Potsdam, 1–3 November 2000: 73–86.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Hydrodynamic observations around a caged finfish aquaculture site

D. Neil Hartsteina , Brad De Youngb , & M. Robin Andersona

a Science,Oceans and Environmental Branch, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, St John’s,
Newfoundland, Canada.
b School of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John’s, A1B
Canada.

ABSTRACT: In this paper observations are used from a finfish farm in Newfoundland, Canada
to investigate the effect of the farm on currents, oxygen content and stratification. Transects were
made in and around the farm to measure oxygen, salinity, depth, temperature and currents. Two
Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) were moored at each end of the farm to provide velocity
time series data. A strong undercurrent and re-circulating zone were observed at the downstream
end of the farm due to attenuation within the farm forcing water beneath the cages. Oxygen
measurements indicate a reduction in oxygen content within farm cages and decreasing oxygen
downstream through the farm as a result of oxygen depleted water recycling within the farm.

1 INTRODUCTION

Finfish operations in near-shore coastal areas have been growing world wide in recent years. The
reason for this growth include the depletion of wild fish stocks, the rapid growth of profitable
species in coastal systems and the development of relatively cheap containment and harvesting
facilities. Such growth has induced an increasing interest and concern for their potential impact on
the coastal marine environment.
Finfish farming in Canada has been the focus of a number of studies. These focus mainly on
the effect of farm debris (faeces and uneaten food) on the surrounding seabed sediment, benthic
community structure and nutrient changes (e.g. Hargrave et al., 1997; Pohle et al., 2001; Wildash
et al., 1999; Tlusty et al., 2000). Internationally, studies have also had similar emphasis (e.g. Hall et
al., 1990; Mazzola et al., 1999; Holmer, 1999; Holmer et al., 2001; Sara et al., 2004). Emphasis has
also been placed on developing models to predict the distribution and effect of fish farm discharges
(e.g. Gowen et al., 1989). These authors describe a simple model for predicting carbon deposition
(sediment accumulation) rates from finfish farms based on current meter records and the production
of the site. Although this type of model is a useful start it does not include any of the physical and
biological parameters which determine the final fate of organic material. Others studies e.g. Ross
et al. (1993) Gowen et al. (1994), Silvert and Sowles (1996), Nath et al. (2000) have attempted
to add biological and physical parameters and/or attempt to manage fish farm impacts using GIS
technology. Perhaps the most sophisticated model to date has been developed by Cromey et al.
(2002) which combines a series of particle tracking, re-suspension, benthic and grid generation
modules to calculate the effect and distribution of farm discharges. While the “particle tracking”
module does have a turbulence, settling velocity and linear current component no calculation for the
hydrodynamic effect of the farm is made. One of the key factors in determining the accumulation
of sediment within a lease is water movement. Water masses leaving the farm determine the finfish
ecosystem interaction. Understanding the hydrodynamic interaction with the farm is therefore key
to understanding the potential ecological effects of individual farms.
Currently, there is little work in the refereed literature describing the influence of aquaculture
farm sites on the hydrodynamics. Several recent studies have attempted to model the forces and

879
 Newfoundland

Pools Cove
Study Area

Fortune Bay

St John’s

0 100km
Scale

Figure 1. Location of study site, in Pools Cove, Newfoundland, Canada.

N
30
m
ADCP Transect
CTD profiles
x ADCP Mooring

10
x
m 50
m

x
10
m
Ci
ng
30 Is
m la
nd
s

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of farm site indicating locations of ADCP moorings, ADCP transects and CTD
profiles. Bathymetric contours in meters.

geometry changes of finfish net structures exposed to waves and currents (Fredriksson et al.,
1999a&b, 2000; Lander et al., 2001; Lader & Enerhaug 2004). In addition two studies examining
hydrodynamic effects in and around mussel farms suggests that suspended aquaculture lines can
significantly reduce current speeds (Grant & Bacher 2001; Plew et al., 2004). Plew et al., 2004
found that the average current was reduced within a large offshore mussel farm by between 36–
63%. In addition a mooredADP (Acoustic Doppler Profiler) recorded a strong undercurrent beneath
the farm. Subsequently, the farm influence on hydrodynamics appears to potentially play a large
part in determining the initial fate of mussel farm discharges. The present study aims to present
likely hydrodynamic effects of finfish farms, including modification to currents, stratification and
oxygen based on observations from a salmon farm in southern Newfoundland.

2 STUDY AREA

One of the largest potential areas for aquaculture development in Newfoundland is Fortune Bay
(Figure 1). Fortune Bay is a basin intermediate in scale between typical fjords and ocean basins,

880
is 137 km long and 40 km wide with a mean depth of 120 m and a maximum of 526 m (Hay & De
Young, 1989).
The farm site chosen in this study is located west of the Sing Islands 6 km south of the settlement
of Pools Cove (Figures 1 & 2). The water depth at the farm site ranges from 28–35 m and the farm
is comprised of nine circular cages each with a diameter of 28.5 m and a depth of 20 m. Cages
are stabilised flotation in the form of 50 cm thick piping and are anchored to the seabed using 1
tonne concrete blocks. At the time of the study each cage contained 40,000 fish with an average
weight of 2.5 kg.

3 METHODS

3.1 Current meters

Two RDI 600 kHz (workhorse sentinel) Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) were moored
on the seabed at southern and northern ends of the farm and programmed to record current speed
and direction in 3 dimensions (2 m bins) at 20 second intervals from the 21st to the 24th of June
2004. Boat mounted measurements were taken using an RDI 300 KhZ Acoustic Doppler Current
Profiler operated in bottom tracking mode (Figure 2).

3.2 Oxygen measurements

Dissolved oxygen (expressed as percent saturation) and temperature measurements were recorded
using a YSI 55 oxygen probe at each of the nine farm cages on the 21st and 23rd of June. The
oxygen probe was lowered to a depth of 5 m and left for a period of three minutes before the
percent saturation and temperature were recorded. Within each cage this was repeated three times
and additional measurements were taken outside the northern and southern most cages at a distance
of 1 m and 20 m respectively.

3.3 CTD
Temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen (expressed as percent saturation) and fluorescence
profiles (Figure 2) were taken at the farm site on the 21st and 23rd of June 2005 using a XR-420-
CDT (Richard Brancker Research Ltd). Water density and conductivity were calculated from the
measured conductivity and temperature.

4 RESULTS

4.1 Currents
Velocity measurements from the ADCP moored at the southern end of the farm indicate near surface
currents >10 cm/s with an average heading of 42◦ (Figures 3 & 4). Below 4 m, currents velocity was
comparatively slower with averages <2.0 cm/s−1 and an average heading of 138◦ . In contrast the
ADCP mounted 25 m at the northern end of the farm didn’t record stronger near surface currents in
the upper 4 m than the rest of the water column. Current speeds in the upper 20 m of the water column
were on average 2.1 cm/s−1 SD (standard deviation) ±4.8 cm/s−1 with a variable heading (Figure 3
& 4). Below 20 m of depth, stronger currents were observed with maximum velocities >25 cm/s−1
and average velocities ranging from 4.8 ± SD 4.6 cm/s−1 to 12.4 ± SD 10 cm/s−1 (Figures 3 and
4). Unlike the upper 20 m of the water column the current direction is relatively consistent with an
average heading of (151◦ ).
The boat mounted ADCP gave poor velocity measurements near the cages. We suspect this
is due to acoustic reflection from the mussel long-lines, and difficulty with bottom tracking in
the presence of anchor lines and several deep pockets at the northern end of the farm where the

881
 South ADCP South ADCP
0 0

10 10

Depth (m)
Depth (m)

20 20

30 30
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
NS (cm1 s) EW (cm1 s)

North ADCP North ADCP

0 0

10 10

Depth (m)
Depth (m)

20 20

30 30

-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30

NS (cm1 s) EW (cm1 s)

Figure 3. Moored ADCP results, indicating average speed and standard deviation from the northern and
southern ends of the Pools Cove farm.
10cm/s1

South ADCP average speed South ADCP average direction

0cm/s1

350°

300

250

200

150

100

50

0°
5

10 10
Depth (m)
Depth (m)

20 20

20 40 60 20 40 60
Hours Hours
40cm/s1

North ADCP average speed North ADCP average direction

0cm/s1

350°

300

250

200

150

100
30

20

10

50

0°

10 10
Depth (m)

Depth (m)

20 20

30 30
20 40 60 20 40 60
Hours Hours

Figure 4. Current speed and direction data over time from the moored ADCP 25 m from each end of the
farm site.

882
 % Saturation with Distance Through the Farm at 5m Depth
S N
x
100 x x
x
x x

80 x

% Saturation
x x x
x x
x
x
60
x Average DO values
40 Standard deviation

20 Cages
0
0 100 200 300
Distance through farm (m)

Figure 5. Oxygen saturation over distance through the farm. Dotted line represents those readings collected
within the cages.

ADCP failed to record any current at all. Successful transects were those taken 200 m north and
south of the farm (Figure 2). Speed and direction were averaged across the length of each transect
(approximately 350 m). At the north side of the farm average velocities were:
– 0–4 m depth, 12.8 cm/s−1 heading 36◦
– 4–18 m depth 1.7 cm/s−1 heading 183◦
At the south side of the farm average velocities were:
– 0–4 m depth, 13.6 cm/s−1 heading 15◦
– 4–18 m depth, 1.4 cm/s−1 heading 178◦
Surface currents directions coincided with wind records recorded at the near by Environment
Canada wind station at Sagona Island. Average wind velocities through the study period were
21 km/h.

4.2 Oxygen
Oxygen measurements from the YSI 55 oxygen probe show that there is a reduction in oxygen
content inside the nine farm cages sampled compared to those samples taken outside the farm site.
Cages sampled at the southern end of the farm had oxygen contents >85% saturation (Figure 5).
In comparison oxygen contents at those cages sampled at the northern end of the farm were
somewhat lower with measurements ranging from 64.8% ± SD 2.5 to 78% ± SD 2.1. Measurements
taken directly outside the northern most cage (1 m) also showed low % oxygen saturation values
(62.3 ± 2.3), however those samples taken 30 m north of the cage indicate values close to 100%.
Oxygen saturation measurements taken outside the southern most cage and all samples taken
outside the farm using the CTD all indicated oxygen saturation of close to 100%.

4.3 CTD
A transect of temperature, salinity, and oxygen starting south of the farm extending 700 m north
(Figure 2) shows some change in structure. Temperature decreased with depth from 9.8 at the
surface to approximately 3.2 close to the seabed and temperatures were on average a few 1/10th’s
of a degree higher inside the farm . In contrast salinity increased with depth particularly through the
upper portion of the water column. Dissolved oxygen concentrations showed a marked decrease
inside the farm <80% compared to those readings collected outside (around 100%).

5 DISCUSSION

Boat mounted ADCP velocity measurements indicate surface flow (0–4 m) from the north coincid-
ing with the dominant wind direction and a weaker subsurface flow (4–35) from the south. Moored
ADCP measurements from the southern end of the farm indicate a similar flow pattern. However,

883
moored ADCP measurements from the northern end of the farm found a strong undercurrent (20–
35 m) coinciding with the base of the fish cages and extending to the seabed. In addition above this
undercurrent random velocities were observed, perhaps indicating turbulence.
A previous study Plew et al. (2004) examining current flow within a mussel aquaculture site
observed an undercurrent beneath the dropper lines of the farm and a re-circulating zone down-
stream in the upper portion of the water column. These authors suggest that as the farm forms a
porous barrier to the flow, current is attenuated from the resultant drag and subsequently forced
beneath the farm structure. We propose a similar mechanism to explain the strong undercurrent
observed downstream at our study site. Such current also has an important implication in the trans-
port of farm debris. Currently, models predicting the deposition of farm waste utilise an average
velocity across the entire farm site (Cromey et al., 2002). We propose that to accurately model
the deposition of the farm debris some quantification of the undercurrent identified in this study,
possible downstream re circulation and attenuation within the cages must be made.
Oxygen content was observed to decreased inside the farm with lower measurements recorded
at the downstream end of the farm. A recent study examining the effects of oxygen depletion
on adult salmon have indicated that when DO concentrations are kept below 80% saturation, the
fish demonstrated lack of appetite, reduced growth and feed utilisation (RFRogaland Research,
http://www.rf.no, 2004). Subsequently, oxygen values within the studied farm could be considered
low and potentially dangerous to the health of the fish.
In relation to the both hydrodynamic implications and oxygen content within the farm orientation
of the farm to the current is critical. During this study the farm was orientated parallel to the current
hence, maximising potential drag as water is recycled through each cage and likely maximising
any undercurrent. In addition such orientation decreases the amount of available oxygen to the fish
as oxygen depleted water is recycled down stream through each of the nine cages. Hence, aligning
the farm perpendicular to the current would likely optimise the oxygen supply and decrease drag
resulting in reduced undercurrent and turbulence.
This study describes observations in current flow and water column properties through a finfish
farm in southern Newfoundland. A strong undercurrent was observed at the downstream end of the
farm, possibly from a reduction of flow through the cages, forcing water beneath them. Oxygen
measurements indicate a reduction in oxygen content within the farm cages and decreasing oxygen
with distance downstream through the farm.
While the present study indicates that there is modification of hydrodynamics and water column
properties resulting from an influence of the farm structure there is much research to be undertaken.
That is the effect inside the actual cage itself is not understood and the strength of current observed
beneath the farm needs quantification. Further repetitive experiments to measure the flow beneath
and particularly within the farm cages would begin to answer some of the questions in this regard.
Ultimately a greater understanding of the hydrodynamics will be useful in determining the initial
fate of farm debris to the seabed and leading to an improvement in the models currently used for
the farm site selection process.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Authors would like to thank T, Nichol and B Whalen for assistance in the field. Thanks are
also owed to Craig Stevens for advice and comments on the manuscript.

REFERENCES

Cromey, C.J., Nickell, T.D. & Black, K.D. 2002. DEPOMOD-modelling the deposition and biological effects
of waste solids from marine cage farms. Aquaculture, 214, 211–239.
Fredriksson, D.W., Muller, E., Swift, M.R., Tsukrov, I. & Celikkol, B. 1999a. Offshore Grid Mooring/Net Pen
System: Design and Physical Model Testing. OMAE99-3064. In: Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engin-
eering ’99. Proceedings of the 18th International Conference. St. John’s, Newfoundland Canada: ASME.

884
Fredriksson, D.W., Muller, E., Swift, M.R. & Celikkol, B. 1999b. Physical Model Tests of a Gravity-Type
Fish Cage with a Single Point, High Tension Mooring. OMAE99-3066, In: Offshore Mechanics and Arctic
Engineering ’99. Proceedings of the 18th International Conference. St. John’s, Newfoundland Canada:
ASME.
Gowen, R.J., Bradbury, N.B. & Brown, J.R. 1989. The use of simple models in assessing two of the interac-
tions between fish farming and the marine environment, p.135–155. In: R. Billard and N. de Pauw (eds).
Aquaculture- A Technology in Progress. European Aquaculture Society, Bredene, Belgium.
Gowen, R.J., Smith, D. & Silvert, W. 1994. Modelling the spatial distribution and loading of organic fish farm
waste to the seabed. In: Hargrave, B.T. (Ed), Modeling benthic impacts of organic enrichment from marine
aquaculture. Canadian Technical Report Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 1949, 19–30.
Grant, J. & Bacher, C. 2001. A numerical model of flow modification induced by suspension aquaculture in
Chinese Bay, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 58, 1003–1011.
Hall, O.J., Anderson, L.G., Holby, O., Kollberg, S. & Samuelsson, M. 1990. Chemical fluxes and mass balances
in a marine fish cage farm. I. Carbon. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 61, 61–73.
Hargrave, B.T., Phillips, G.A., Doucette, L.I., While, M.J., Milligan, T.G., Wildish, D.J. & Cranston, R.E. 1997.
Assessing benthic impacts of organic enrichment from marine aquaculture. Water, Air and Soil Pollution,
99, 641–650.
Hay, A.E. & De Young, B. 1989. An oceanographic flip-flop: Deep waster exchange in Fourtune Bay,
Newfoundland. Journal of Geophysical Research. 94, (C1) 843–853.
Hiemstra, L. 2002, Aquaculture association of Canada. World Aquaculture, 32, (1), 56–57.
Holmer, M. 1999. The effect of oxygen depletion on anaerobic organic matter degradation in marine sediments.
Estuarine and Coastal Shelf Science, 48, 383–390.
Holmer, M., Lassus, P., Stewart, J.E. & Wildish, D.J. 2001. ICES Symposium on Environmental Effects of
Mariculture. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 58: 363–368.
Lader, P.F., Fredheim, A. & Lien, E. 2001. Modelling of net structures exposed to 3D waves and current.
Proceedings of Open Ocean Aquaculture IV Symposium, St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada.
Lader, P.F. & Enerhaug, B. 2004. Experimental investigation of forces and geometry of a net cage in uniform
flow. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering Special Issue on Open Ocean Aquaculture. In press.
Mazzola, A., Mirto, S. & Danovaro, R. 1999. Initial fish-farm impact on Meiofaunal assemblages in coastal
sediments of the western Mediterranean. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 38, 1126–1133.
Nath, S.S., Bolte, J.P., Ross, L.G. &Aguilar-Manjarrez, J. 2000. Application of geographic information systems
(GIS) for spatial decision support in aquaculture. Aquaculture Engineering. 23, 233–278.
Plew, D., Stevens, C., Spigel, R. & Hartstein, N.D. 2004. “Hydrodynamic Implications of Large Offshore
Mussel Farms” IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering Special Issue on Open Ocean Aquaculture. In press.
Pohle, G., Frost, B. & Findlay, R. 2001. Assessment of regional benthic impact of salmon mariculture within
the Letang Inlet, Bay of Fundy. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 58, 417–426.
Ross, A.H., Gurney, W.S., Heath, M.R., Hay, S.J. & Henderson, E.W. 1993a. A strategic simulation model of
a fjord ecosystem. Limnology and Oceanography. 38, 128–153.
Sara, G., Scilipoti, D., Mazzola, A. & Modica, A. 2004. Effects of fish farming waste to sedimentary and
particulate organic matter in a southern Mediterranean area (Gulf of Castellammare, Sicily): a multiple
stable isotope study. Aquaculture, 234, 199–213.
Silvert, W. & Sowles, J.W. 1996. Modeling environmental impacts of marine finfish aquaculture. Journal of
Applied Lchthyol, 12, 75–81.
Tlusty, M.F., Pepper, V.A. & Anderson, M.R. 2000. Realising the potential for frontier regions in aquaculture
– the Newfoundland Salmonid Experience. World Aquaculture Magazine, 31, 54–64.
Wildish, D.J., Akagi, H.M., Hamilton, N. & Hargrave, B.T. 1999. A Recommended Methods for Monitoring
Sediments to Detect Organic Enrichment from Mariculture in the Bay of Fundy. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish.
Aquat. Sci. 2286: iii–31.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical analysis on the topographical change around

artificial reefs

M. Minami
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hachinohe National College of Technology,
Hachinohe, Japan

A. Mano
Disaster Control Research Center, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

ABSTRACT: From views of environment and seascape, artificial reefs are replacing detached
breakwaters as coastal protection structures. Since the responses of the bottom shear stress, which
is the major force to transport the sea bottom sediment, to the bottom water particle velocity are
different for steady currents and for oscillatory currents the decomposition of currents into two
modes is necessary. The bottom shear stress was evaluated by the decomposed velocities together
with the friction factor. The sediment flux is evaluated by Einstein and Brown (1950) that is proved
to be consistent with Madsen and Grant (1976). The topographical change was computed by the
sediment flux and budget equations. The simulated results were verified through the comparison
with the experimental ones in the hydraulic laboratory. This method was also applied to the actual
field facing Japan Sea and quantitatively reproduced the measured local scour at the offshore region
of the reef opening. This application shows that one-storm waves with the duration of 24 hours can
produce significant scour of the maximum depth, 3 m.

1 INTRODUCTION

Artificial reefs are replacing detached breakwaters as coastal protection structures. According to the
analysis of the bottom sounding, it is known that a local scour will occur in an opening or offshore
after artificial reefs construction. The design manuals of the reefs give detailed descriptions on the
alignment and dimensions to get required decrease in the shadow zone for incident wave. Although
closer alignment leads larger decrease of wave height, it increases the risk of local scour at the
openings of the reefs and often causes structural collapse. The manuals give scarce descriptions on
the scour prevention.
Thus the purpose of this study is to develop the numerical method to quantitatively simulate the
topographical change around the reefs and to add the knowledge on the local scour.

2 NUMERICAL CALCULATION OF WATER ELEVATION AND BOTTOM VELOCITY

2.1 Experimental set-up

It is validated that the fully nonlinear Boussinesq equation can express the deformations in a
shallow sea region. Wei et al. (1995) showed effectiveness of the model on a shoaling phenomena
and developed “FUNWAVE”. At first, this study examines the applicability of this model to the
wave deformation around artificial reefs. It was accompanied by rapid depth-sounding change the
perimeter of the opening. The “FUNWAVE” treated the energy dissipation due to wave breaking
to use eddy viscosity dissipative. We tried to check the quantity that controls the occurrence of
energy dissipation. Figure 1 shows the experimental setup and model configuration of artificial

887
Figure 1. Experimental setup and shape of the artificial reef model.

6
Surface elevation  (cm)

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
-2
Time t (s)
-4
Experiment Computation
-6

Figure 2. Comparison in the wave levels at center of opening.

reefs. The experiments were conducted in a 6.2 m long and 80 cm wide flume. The wave elevation
was measured using capacitance-type wave gauge, and the bottom velocity was measured using
3-Dimensional Acoustic Doppler velocity meter (3-ADV). The 3-ADV probe was located above
5 mm flume bottom.

2.2 Validation on the wave fields

Comparison between computation and measurement in water level at center of opening is shown in
Fig. 2. According to contact observation, the start time of breaking at the opening was delayed due
to deep water. The experimental result is shown by thin line. After the five cycles, the water surface
behaved like a step. When water level got positive, the surface increased very rapidly. Towards the
negative elevation, the change was gentle.
The computation could not show the step, but reproduce the wave shape as a whole and the peak
and trough levels.
Bottom velocities at the center of the opening are shown in Fig. 3. The oscillation level gradually
changed to the minus, the offshore direction, and became steady after 7 cycles. The change of the
oscillation level comes from the mass transport near the surface. As the compensation, the mean
flow near the bottom directs offshore direction. The computation follows the trend and reproduces
the oscillation amplitude of the measurement.
To correct the coefficient about the quantity that controls the occurrence of energy dissipation,
it was able to calculate the wave field around the opening of artificial reefs.

888
 20
Experiment Computation
Bottom velocity Ub (cm/s)

10

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
-10

-20
Time t (s)
-30

Figure 3. Comparison of bottom velocities at the center of the opening.

vw
v
uw uW1

vc
uw

uc
uW2 uw

uc u

(a) Decomposition of the botton velocity (b) Composition of the bottom shear stress and
the direction of sediment transport

Figure 4. Bottom shear stress.

3 COMPUTATION OF TOPOGRAPHY CHANGE

3.1 Evaluation of shear stress and sediment transport rate

The topography change is computed by plane-two-dimensional distribution of temporal changing
sediment transport rate that is the function of the bottom shear stress. Although the shear stress is
functions of the bottom velocity, the functional relationships are different depending on whether
the current is steady or oscillatory. It requires different treatments for the two modes of currents.
Especially the appearance of strong steady currents near the structures insists the treatment. There-
fore we here developed a new method. We decomposed the computed velocity after taking phase
average over several cycles of constant oscillation. The schematic relationship is shown in the
topograph of Fig. 4(a). The phase-averaged velocity is decomposed to the steady current uc and the
oscillatory current uw (t). Each component gives the corresponding bottom shear stress by using
the friction factor by Tanaka et al. (1994) for the coexisting fields.
For the steady current,

889
For the oscillatory current,

The composition of the shear stress is done by,

as shown in Fig. 4(b). The sediment transport is done in the direction of the composed shear stress
that is different from that of the bottom velocity, because transformations from the velocity to the
shear stress have different magnifications in the two current modes.
The sediment transport rate was calculated by using the Einstein-Brown formula (1950). When
it is integrate over the half period of a wave, it is shown that the formula is consistent with the
Madsen Grant formula (1976) for sheet flow. The process of the composition requires the use of the
sediment transport formula applicable to the temporally changing phenomena. Topography change
was computed during one wave period by using the conservation law of sand.

3.2 Validation on the topography changes

The topography change dh for the experimental condition was computed for 4 cases. Case 1
considers only the steady component, Case 2 the steady and sinusoidally oscillating components
without taking account of the critical Shiels number, Case 3 with taking account of the number,
0.05, and Case 4 the actual oscillatory component with other conditions same as Case 3.
When we consider only the steady current, the topography change with smaller amount occurs
near the opening with erosion in the offshore side and deposition in the opening.

15

10

5
Deposition dh (mm)

Onshore distance
X (cm)
0
-200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100

-5
Experiment
Case1(Steady)
Case2(St.+Wa.) -10
Case3(Ste.+Wa.(ψc=0.05))
Case4(St.+No.-Wa.(ψc=0.05))

-15

Figure 5. Comparison between the topography changes along the centerline of the opening.

890
 Ignoring the threshold of sediment movement initiation with the critical Shields number gives
over estimate on the deposition and erosion. Case 4, tracing the actual oscillatory component gives
the best agreement with the measurement.

4 APPLICATION TO THE FIELD

4.1 Outline of the field

The questionnaire research to the ministry and prefectures in Japan finds 26 construction sites of
the artificial reefs. Among them we selected T site that locates at the North coast of Chugoku
district and faces the Japan Sea, because frequent bathymetry data is available and enables the
analysis on topography changes.
Figure 6 shows the bathymetry chart. Two artificial reefs of length 400 m with the opening
of 100 m were constructed in 1990 and yearly sounding survey conducted from 1995 shows the
maximum erosion of 2.5 m depth off the opening at the distance of 0.75 times opening width.
High waves appear in wintertime in this area. For the most frequent waves observed in the nearest
observatory, that is about 15 km apart from T site, the direction is NNW, the significant wave height
is 5.9 m and the period is 7.1 s. The maximum significant waves in the one year while the maximum
scouring appeared were N in the wave direction, 6.5 m in the significant wave height, and 11.0 s
in the wave period. This wave direction almost agrees with the on-offshore direction of this coast.
The sand of the beach has the median diameter of the sand, 0.17 mm and sorting factor, 1.3.

4.2 Analysis of the topographical change

We computed topographical change for four cases on the wave conditions that were determined as
for the maximum significant wave. Since the scouring requires not only the wave height but also
some duration of the wave action, we selected two combination of the significant wave height and
the duration; 6.0 m and 14 hours for Case 1, 2, and 3, and 5.5 m and 20 hours for Case 4. The wave
height is about 92% of the maximum. Since the scouring position is sensitive to the wave direction,
we selected three wave directions of N, NNW, and NNNW for Case 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The
initial bottom shapes were assumed as shown in Fig. 6.

Figure 6. Bathymetry of T site in 1995 and the artificial reefs.

891
 4
Case1 (wave direction is N, H = 6.0m)
3 Case2 (wave direction is NNW, H = 6.0m)
Case3 (wave direction is NNNW, H = 6.0m)
Case4 (wave direction is NNNW, H = 5.5m)
2
Deposition (m)

1
Reef
0

-1

-2
field
-3

-4
200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Off-shore distance X (m)

Figure 7. Deposition and erosion distribution along the centerline of the opening.

The sea bottom change along the centerline of the opening is compared in Fig. 7. The maximum
scouring depth and the position is plotted in the figure by filled oval. It is shown that in the
computations the position of the maximum scouring moves significantly according to the wave
direction and the scouring depth strongly depend on the wave height. Case 3 is most close to the
field bottom change.
Thus the computation indicates that one storm can make significant scouring at the distant place
off the opening by depending on the wave height, duration and direction.

5 CONCLUSION

The major results in this study are shown as follows;

(1) We propose a method to evaluate the bottom shear stress and sediment transport rate by
decomposing the bottom velocity into steady and oscillatory currents.
(2) This method reproduces the deposition and erosion distribution near the opening of artificial
reefs obtained by the experiments.
(3) Application to the field of this method shows one storm can produce the significant erosion of
2.5 m depths off the opening.

REFERENCES

Brown, C.B., 1950, Engineering Hydraulics, edited by H. Rouse, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
Jonsson, I.G., 1966, Wave boundary layer and friction factors, Proc. of 10th Conf. on Coastal Eng.: pp.127–148.
Madsen, O.S. & Grant, W.D., 1976, Sediment transport in the coastal environment, Rep. No. 209, Ralph M.
Parsons Laboratory, M.I.T.
Tanaka, H. and Aung Thu, 1994, Full-range equation of friction coefficient and phase difference in a wave-
current boundary layer, Coastal Engineering, 22,: pp.237–254.
Wei, G. Kirby, J.T., S.T. & Subramanya, R., 1995, A fully nonlinear Boussinesq model for surface
waves.Part1.Highly nonlinear unsteady waves, J.F.M.

892
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Bottom current characteristics near the openings of artificial reefs

K. Osanai & M. Minami

Hachinohe National College of Technology, Hachinohe, Japan

A. Mano
Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

ABSTRACT: Artificial reefs are now adopted in many cases for beach protection facilities, mainly
because of seascape viewpoint. They are not seen from land but have a function of energy dissipa-
tion by forced wave breaking on the broad submerged top deck of the structures. Narrower opening
between the reefs leads more effective dissipation but produces a new problem of local scour due to
the concentration of return flow. The purpose of this study is to know the influence of narrowing the
reef gap on the bottom current velocity. We conducted numerical analysis by using the fully non-
linear Boussinesq equations derived by Wei et al. (1995) and taking account of the energy dissipation
due to wave breaking. This method was applied to the actual field in Japan Sea. Three ratios of open-
ing width, W to the top deck length of the artificial reef, Lr ; Lr /W = 3, 4, and 5 are examined. The
return flow velocity at the opening was 1.9 and 1.8 times of that evaluated from the mass transport for
Lr /W = 3 and 5, respectively. Increase of return flow velocity is quantitatively shown for narrowing
the gap. Moreover, the circulation pattern inside the reefs is changed by the width of the gap.

1 INTRODUCTION

Instead of the conventional detached breakwater, the artificial reefs are used for the coastal pro-
tection facilities. These facilities are preferred from the landscape viewpoint. The analysis for the
topographies surveyed before and after the construction shows that significant erosion generated
at the center of opening or the offshore for the construction of a couple of artificial reefs.
The topographical change is especially remarkable at the center of the opening. Narrower opening
diminishes much wave energy but generates higher return flow at the opening and causes larger
scouring. Thus the balance of both effects is important.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relation between the opening width and bottom
velocity of the return flow. To evaluate the fields of surface elevation and bottom velocity around the
artificial reefs, we used the computer program FUNWAVE based on the fully nonlinear Boussinesq
model by Wei et al. (1995). Three ratios of the opening width to the dike length were examined.

2 COMPUTATION OF WAVE FIELD

2.1 Model equations for two dimensional propagation

The fully nonlinear Boussinesq model, FUNWAVE includes the energy dissipation due to wave
breaking by introducing eddy viscosity in analogy to the “roller” model by Schaffer et al. (1993).
We firstly examined various parameters on breaking and then applied the model to the actual
field facing Sea of Japan. The continuity and momentum equations are shown as follows:

893
Figure 1. Experimental setup and shape of the artificial reef model.

Table 1. Experimental conditions.

Incident wave height (H ) 8.8 cm Period (T ) 0.9 s

Water depth (D) 25 cm Wave steepness (H /L) 0.08

where η = the surface elevation, h = the water depth, g = gravity acceleration, and −→
uα = the hori-
zontal velocity at z = zα , indicating a certain depth. zα = −0.531 h is recommended based on the
linear dispersion properties in intermediate water depth. Subscript t denotes time derivative.

2.2 Outline of the experimental setup

The form of tank and artificial reefs are shown in Fig. 1. The experiments were conducted in a
6.2 m long and 80 cm wide flume. The wave surface was measured using capacitance-type wave
gages, and the bottom velocity was measured using a 3-Dimensional Acoustic Doppler velocity
meter (3-ADV). The 3-ADV probe was set 5mm above the flume bottom. The wave condition is
shown at Table 1.

2.3 Comparison of surface elevations

Figure 2 shows the comparison of surface elevation at the opening. Wei et al. define eddy viscosity as

where δ = a mixing length coefficient, B = the value of control the occurrence

 of energy dissipation.

(I ) (I )
The quantity B concern with ηt . The value of ηt varies between 0.35 gh and 0.65 gh. We
calculated the
 surface elevation with changing this parameter. To use the parameter for wave
braking 0.15 gh, the computation is agreement with the experimental results. The FUNWAVE

894
 6

Surface elevation 2
η (cm)
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
-2
Time t (s)
-4
Experiment Computation
-6

Figure 2. Comparison of the surface elevation at the center of opening.

30
Experiment Computation
20
Bottom velocity Ub(cm/s)

Time t (s)
10

0
0 5 10 15 20
-10

-20

-30

Figure 3. Comparison of bottom velocities at the center of the opening.

can be reproducing the water elevate property. It becomes 0.8 times at the highest water and becomes
1.03 times at the lowest at peak.

2.4 Comparison of bottom velocities

Figure 3 shows the comparison between the experiments with calculation in an opening. The
calculation can be reproducing bottom velocity property. In this area, the flow direction is offshore,
it is not related to the wave direction. The average of amplitude of velocity agreed approximately,
and the occurrence time of peak can be reproduced.
Photograph 1 shows the wave-breaking situation in the center of opening. Compare the reef crown
with the opening; wave breaking in the opening is late. Vertical direction in center of opening has
an influence to wave direction.

3 OPENING WIDTH AND BOTTOM VELOCITY

3.1 Numerical conditions

We applied the model to the coast facing Japan Sea. Two artificial reefs of the ratio Lr /W = 4 were
constructed on the coast.

895
Photograph 1. Wave-breaking situation at the opening.

Figure 4. The cross-sectional specification.

The computational area was on-offshore 1400 m times long-shore 1000 m. The grid size was
x = y = 4 m. Surface elevations and the bottom velocities at 350 × 250 grids were computed
by time series.
Observed waves near the site have the wave height of =2 m and the period of =6 s in the annual
mean values. The incident wave height in the computation was changed in the range from 2.0 m
to 4.0 m with the pitch of 0.5 m. The ratio was set as =3, 4 and 5, and the total of 15 cases were
examined.
The reef crown was 2.0 m, and the topographical slope was 1/100 and depth of water at offshore
boundary was 10 m. Figure 4 shows the cross-sectional specification.

3.2 The result of surface elevations for H = 3 m and Lr /W = 4

Surface elevations at offshore and at center of opening are shown in Fig. 5. As shown thin line,
the surface elevation at incident boundary change like as sin wave. This figure is the result of
calculation as H = 3 m and Lr /W = 4. The thick line shows the surface elevation at the center of
opening. The wave height reduced two thirds of the incident wave height. The maximum bottom
velocity and the mean bottom velocity are evaluated for ten cycles of steady oscillation as shown
in Fig. 5.

3.3 The mean bottom velocity distribution around the opening

The mean bottom velocity distribution is shown in Fig. 6. In this figure, although the waves
propagate from left to right, the mean bottom velocity generated towards the offshore. There are

896
 2
Steady oscillation

Surface elevation
η (m) 0
0 2 4 6 8 10

-1

offshore opening Time t (s)

-2

Figure 5. The surface elevation for H = 3 m and Lr /W = 4.

800 Wave direction →

700
Long-shore distance y(m)

600

500

1m/s
400

300

200
1300

1200

1100

1000

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

Off-offshore distance x (m)

Figure 6. The mean bottom velocity distribution for H = 3 m and Lr /W = 4.

many directions because the influences of the strong current from the center of opening. The similar
distributions were obtained in the 14 cases.

3.4 The mean bottom velocity

We nondimensionalize the mean bottom velocity ubave−cal by the mass transportation velocity. The
equation is written as below.

where k = wave number, z = the position of water particle, and L = wave length.
The dimensionless mean bottom velocity is smaller than one for all cases. The velocity for case
of =5 becomes close to one. The case of =4 becomes close to 0.89 to 0.93. The case of Lr /W = 3
becomes close to 0.84 to 0.89.

897
 1.00
Lr/W=3
0.96 Lr/W=4
ubave-cal / ubave-the Lr/W=5
0.92

0.88

0.84
0.038 0.039 0.040
H
T g(h+H)

Figure 7. The return flow velocity.

Narrower opening diminishes much wave energy but generates higher return flow at the opening
and causes larger scouring. Thus the balance of both effects is important. The narrow opening
width gives return flow velocity close to that estimated from the mass transport.

4 CONCLUSION

The main results obtained by this research are listed below.

1) Wave field around artificial reefs thathas an opening was computed using FUNWAVE. To use
the parameter for wave braking 0.15 gh, the computation is agreement with the experimental
results. The highest surface elevation is 0.8 times of an experiment value. The lowest surface is
1.03 times of an experiment value.
2) Narrower opening diminishes much wave energy but generates higher return flow at the opening
and causes larger scouring. Thus the balance of both effects is important. The narrower an
opening width gives return flow velocity close to the estimation from the mass transport.

REFERENCES

GE Wei, James T. Kirby, Stephan T. Grilli, and Ravishankar Subramanya, 1995, A fully nonlinear Boussinesq
model for surface waves, Part1. Highly nonlinear unsteady waves, J. Fluid Mech. Vol.294: pp.71–92.
Nwogu O., 1993, Alternative form of Boussinesq equations for near shore wave propagation, J. Waterway,
Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, Vol.119, No 6: pp.618–638.
Schaffer, H. A., Madsen, P. A. and Deigaard, R. A., 1993, A Boussinesq model for waves breaking in shallow
water, Coastal Engineering, 20: pp.185–202.

898
6.3 Ecohydraulics – II
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Growth and interspecific competition of filamentous and

non-filamentous periphyton on flat channel bed

Y. Toda
Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

Y. Akamatsu & S. Ikeda

Tokyo Institute of Technology, O-okayama, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT: Laboratory experiments on the growth of periphyton were conducted in 4 juxtaposed

laboratory channels to identify the effects of hydraulic conditions on the growth of periphyton. The
environmental conditions, such as light, water temperature and concentrations of nutrients, were
controlled to be exactly the same in all 4 channels, but each channel was subjected to different
hydraulic conditions. Filament-type periphyton proved to be dominant for the case where the bed
slope is large. This condition also induced a larger specific growth of periphyton. A numerical
simulation model is presented to describe the growth and interspecific competition of filamentous
and non-filamentous periphyton, in which the effects of hydraulic conditions on the periphyton
growth is taken into account via the turbulent diffusion of substrate in the periphyton biofilm. The
model predicts the temporal increase of periphyton biomass fairly well.

1 INTRODUCTION

In shallow gravel rivers, solar radiation can reach to river bed, and periphyton usually grows on the
surface of stones on the channel bed. It is known that primary production of periphyton supplies
organic materials and oxygen to ecosystems in gravel-bed rivers, and, therefore, the characteristics
of the growth of periphyton must be understood in order to know the base of gravel-river ecosystems.
Large spatial variations of periphyton biomass are often observed in reaches of natural streams
where light, concentrations of nutrients and water temperature are all relatively invariant (e.g. Fisher
et al. 1982). While the differences in substrata, densities of grazing invertebrates and localized
inflow of nutrients may be possible causes for inducing such spatial variation of biomass, the
spatial heterogeneity of hydraulic conditions could also be one of the major factors controlling the
periphyton biomass.
In the present study, laboratory experiments and numerical simulation on the growth of periphy-
ton were performed to identify the effects of hydraulic conditions on the growth and interspecific
competition of periphyton communities.

2 LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS

2.1 Methods of the laboratory experiments

Figure 1 illustrates a plan view and an elevation view of the experimental facility. The facility was
composed of 4 juxtaposed channels, each of which had a different channel bed slope. Since the
upstream and downstream ends of the 4 channels were all connected to the same upper tank and
lower tank, the water quality and the water temperature were exactly the same for all 4 channels.
The hydraulic conditions in the experiments are summarized in Table 1. A net was placed at the

901
 P D C
D C E

B A A
B P

E 1.1m 3m 3m
Growth area

(a) Plan view (b) Elevation view

A: Upper tank B: Lower tank C: Channels D: Lamp E: Net P: Pomp

Figure 1. Schematic view of the experimental flume used.

Table 1. Experimental conditions.

Channel No. Bed slope U (cm/s) H (cm/s) Fr = U /(gH )½ Re = UH /v

1 1/500 9 3.5 0.15 3200

2 1/285 13 2.7 0.25 3500
3 1/138 51 1.8 1.2 9200
4 1/68 71 1.5 1.9 11000

downstream end of each channel to catch the periphyton detached from the channel bed. The mesh
opening diameter of the net was chosen to be 150 µm in accordance with the experiments on the
detachment of bio-films by Ohashi et al. (1991). 8 incandescent lamps were placed above the
channels to provide light for photosynthesis. The channel bed of the growth area was composed of
15 separated flat plates, and the dimensions of each plate were 20 cm long and 19.8 cm wide. Each
plate can be picked up from the bottom for the measurement of chlorophyll-a.
The concentrations of nutrients, NH4 –N, NO2 –N, NO3 –N, T–N, PO4 –P and T–P, were measured
at intervals of 3 to 8 days as part of the monitoring of water quality. The concentrations of nutrients
were quantified by using colorimetric methods (Ministry of Health and Welfare in Japan Eds.
1993). Whenever the concentration of T–N or T–P became much smaller than the reference values
(3.0 mg/l for T–N and 0.1 mg/l for T–P), an adequate dose of KNO3 in the case of nitrogen deficit
or K2 HPO4 in the case of phosphorus deficit was added to the water.
Periphyton biomass was measured at intervals of 3 to 6 days for the first 20 days, and after
that the measurement was performed every week. On each measurement day, an acrylic plate
placed at the bottom of the channel was removed, and the periphyton growing on it was detached
with a tooth brush. The amount of periphyton was quantified in terms of chlorophyll-a by using
spectrophotometer (SCOR/UNESCO 1975). The species composition of periphyton was measured
both at an early stage (day 5) and a late stage (day 34).

2.2 Results of the experiments

Figure 2(a) shows the temporal variation of the amount of chlorophyll-a. The periphyton biomass
increased exponentially in the early growth stage, and after that the growth rate decreased with
time. The amount of chlorophyll-a in the channels 3 and 4 increased much more rapidly than seen
in channels 1 and 2, and the final amounts of chlorophyll-a in channel 3 and channel 4 were about
10 times larger than those in channels 1 and 2. Since the illumination, the water temperature and
the water quality were all the same among the 4 channels, the difference in growth patterns can
be inferred to be induced by the difference in the hydraulic conditions between the 4 channels. In
particular, and the specific growth of periphyton is seen to be larger where the channel bed slope
is steeper.

902
 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Day 5 92 8
600 Channel 1
Channel 1 Day 34 77 23
Amount of periphyton

500 Channel 2
Day 5 85 15
Channel 3
(mg.chl.a/m2)

400 Channel 4 Channel 2

Day 34 79 21
300
Day 5 66 34
200 Channel 3
100 Day 34 18 82
Day 5 53 47
0 Channel 4
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (day) Day 34 5 95
Non-filamentous
Filamentous
(a) Growth of periphyton (b) Species transion of periphyton

Figure 2. Growth and species transition of periphyton communities in the laboratory flume.

Species of periphyton can be crudely classified into the following 2 types in terms of their body
form; one is the non-filamentous periphyton, colonies of which form bio-films of periphyton on
the bed surface. The other one is the filamentous periphyton, each filament of which attaches to the
bottom independently, so that the flow of the surrounding water induces a wavy pattern of motion
of filament mats. The temporal variation of species transition of these 2 types is summarized in
Figure 2(b). The fraction of filamentous periphyton increased with time in all channels. Comparing
the species compositions between channels, the fraction of filamentous periphyton is seen to be
much larger in channels 3 and 4 than in channels 1 and 2.

3 NUMERICAL SIMULATION

3.1 Numerical simulation model

3.1.1 Governing equation for growth of periphyton
The schematic view of the periphyton biofilm and the definition of the symbols used are illustrated
in Figure 3. The amount of periphyton biomass per unit area, Mi , is defined by the integration of
the local algal density from bottom to the top of the periphyton biofilm;

in which Mi is the amount of periphyton biomass per unit area, ρi is the algal density at each
elevation inside the biofilm, Yi is the height of each periphyton biofilm, Ai is the occupied ratio
of periphyton at each elevation inside the biofilm, and ρi0 is the reference value of algal density
for the case that each periphyton grows solely. The subscript “i” is the index distinguishing the
filamentous or the non-filamentous periphyton (represented by “f ” or “u”, respectively).
Temporal increase of the algal biomass is given by

in which Pi , Ci , Ri and Di are the amounts of primary production, immigration, respiration and
detachment of periphyton per unit area per unit time, respectively.

903
 filamentous non-filamentous an element of channel bed

Mf filamentous
modeling
Mu
Yf Af Au
Yu
z
ntous
non-filamentous

Figure 3. Schematic illustration of the modeling of periphyton biofilm.

3.1.2 Modeling of production, respiration, immigration and detachment

The amounts of primary production and respiration are modeled by the integration of the local
primary production rate and the respiration rate from bottom to the top of the biofilm;

in which pi and ri is the local primary production and respiration rates inside the periphyton biofilm,
respectively. While the functional profiles of pi and ri are expected to be depend on the kind of
periphyton, the following Monod type functions were used in the present model;

in which µ1i and µ2i are the maximum rates of primary production and respiration, respectively,
I is the solar illumination, N is the concentration of inorganic nutrient, DO is the concentration
of dissolved oxygen, Ici , Nci and DOci are the Michael constant for solar illumination, nutrient
concentration and dissolved oxygen, respectively.
The amount of immigration of periphyton per unit time is assumed to be

in which Aci is the parameter for immigration and ci is the immigration rate. The parameter Aci
is regarded to represent the dependence of immigration on the flow conditions and the surface
conditions of the substrate, the value of which may approach to 1 for the case that flow and surface
conditions are suitable for the immigration, and it may approach to 0 for the case that the flow
and surface conditions prohibits the immigration. While the details of the immigration process of
periphyton have not been understood sufficiently, the following functional relations are employed
for simplicity;

in which δs is the thickness of viscous sublayer.

The amount of detachment of periphyton is given by

in which di is the rate of detachment, and the value of di is assumed to be constant for simplicity.

904
 Table 2. Parameters used in the present numerical simulations.

Parameter Value Parameter Value

µ1u , µ1f 2.0, 4.0 (day−1 ) ρu , ρf 1.0, 0.2 (g/cm3 )

µ2u , µ2f 1.0 (day−1 ) Ncu , Ncf 0.13 (mg/1)
c u , cf 0.01 (g/cm2 /day) Icu , Icf 20 (W/m2 )
du , df 0.01 (day−1 ) DOcu , DOcf 5.0 (mg/1)

600
Exp. (Channel 3)
amount of periphyton

500
Comp. (Case1)
(mg.chl.a/m2)

400

300

200

100

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
time (day)

Figure 4. Comparison of the periphyton biomass between the numerical simulation and the laboratory
experiment.

3.1.3 Solar radiation and nutrient diffusion inside the biofilm

The decay of solar radiation inside the biofilm is calculated by Lambert-Beer’s law and the con-
centrations of inorganic nutrient and dissolved oxygen in periphyton biofilm are determined by the
diffusion equations taking into account the nutrient and oxygen use by photosynthesis and respira-
tion. The diffusivity in the diffusion equation are estimated from the diffusivity of fluid momentum
(Rotta 1950).

3.2 Computational conditions

A test case, termed Case1, was performed under the experimental conditions of the channel 3; the
frictional velocity U∗ = 4.64 (cm/s), the solar radiation at the top of periphyton biofilm I0 = 200
(W/m2 ), and the nutrient concentration in the flowing water N0 = 0.1 (mg/l). A series of numerical
tests for detecting the effect of hydraulic conditions on the algal growth was conducted under 3
different friction velocities (Case 2: U∗ = 1.0 (cm/s), Case 3: U∗ = 2.0 (cm/s), and Case 4: U∗ = 5.0
(cm/s), and the nutrient concentrations and the solar illumination at the top of periphyton biofilm
are the same as Case 1. The time step is 2.4 hr. and the period of the simulation is 60 days. The
values of the parameters used in the present simulation are summarized in Table 2.

3.3 Results of the simulation

Figure 4 illustrates the comparison of the temporal variation of the periphyton biomass in Case1 and
that in the laboratory experiment (channel 3). The numerical simulation tends to underestimates
the periphyton biomass. This underestimation is probably due to the value of the physiological
parameters, and the quantitative measurement on the physiological parameters of periphyton is
needed to obtain more quantitative agreement. However, the rapid growth about day 20∼day 40
and the reduced growth after about day 50 can be represented by the present computation, and
therefore the present model can predict overall pattern of the growth of periphyton fairly well.

905
 400 1.0
amount of periphyton

U*=5.0cm/s U*=5.0cm/s
300
(mg.chl.a/m2)
0.75

Mf/(Mu+Mf)
U*=2.0cm/s U*=2.0cm/s
200 0.5

100 0.25
U*=1.0cm/s
0 U*=1.0cm/s
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
time (day) time (day)
(a) Periphyton biomass (b) Degree of dominance of filamentous periphyton

Figure 5. The results of the computations on growth and interspecific competition under the different hydraulic
conditions.

The temporal variations of periphyton biomass under the different hydraulic conditions are
depicted in Figure 5(a). It was found that the rapid growth of periphyton biomass occurs earlier and
the specific growth is larger as the friction velocity increases. The dominant degrees of filament-
ous periphyton under the different hydraulic conditions are shown in Figure 5 (b). It was found
that the dominant degree of the filamentous periphyton increase with time, and the filamentous
periphyton becomes more predominant for the case that the friction velocity is larger. These results
qualitatively agree with the results of the experiments, and the present calculation can represents
the characteristics of the periphyton growth and the interspecific competition.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The results of numerical simulations performed herein have revealed the following;
1) The present computational model can predicts the qualitative characteristics of the growth and
the interspecific competition of periphyton well.
2) Large primary production and the intense predominance of filamentous periphyton occur for
the case that friction velocity is large.

REFERENCES

DeAngelis, D. L., Loreau, M., Neergaard, D., Mulholland, P. J. & Marzolf, E. R. 1995. Modelling nutrient-
periphyton dynamics in streams: the importance of transient storage zones, Ecological Modelling, 80,
149–160.
Fisher, S. G., Gray, L. J., Grimm, N. B. & Busch, D. E. 1982. Temporal succession in a desert stream ecosystem
following flash flooding. Ecological Monograph, 52, 93–110.
Hoagland, K. D., Roemer, S. E. & Rosowski, J. R. 1982. Colonization and community structure of two
periphyton assemblages, with emphasis on the Diatoms (Bacillariophycese), American Journal of Botany,
69, 188–213.
Ministry of Health and Welfare in Japan Eds. 1993. Standard Method of Analysis for Drinking Water, Japanese
Water Work Association press. (in Japanese)
Ohashi, M., Harada, H. & Momoi, S. 1991. Development of denitrifying biofilm attached to the surface of
a flat substratum. Proceedings of Environmental and Sanitary Engineering Research in Japan, 27, 45–54.
(in Japanese)
Rotta, J. 1950. Das in Wandnahe gultige Beschwindigkeitsgesetz turbulenter Stromungen, Ingenieur Arch,
18 Band.
SCOR/UNESCO 1975. Determination of photosynthetic pigments in sea water. Monograph of Oceanographic
Methodology, 1, 1–65.

906
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Oncomelania’s environmental property and its control

Da-Mei Li & Xiao-Li Fu

Department of hydraulics, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

ABSTRACT: Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease mostly found in areas along the ChangJiang
River of China. The disease is spread solely through an intermediary named oncomelania, so
its spread of schistosomiasis can be controlled by properly designing water intakes that prevent
oncomelania from entering farming land or residential areas. This paper reports a successful design
process and a new oncomelania-free intake device. The design of the new intake is based on a sound
research program in which extensive experimental studies were carried out to gain knowledge of
oncomelania eco-hydraulic behavior and detailed flow field information through CFD simulation.

1 INTRODUCTION

Schistosomiasis is a major parasitic disease in China and is mostly found in the areas along the
Yangtze River. It was been estimated that about 13 provinces and 373 counties covering an area of
about 3480 km2 are threatened by the disease.
In this paper, a new oncomelania-free intake system is proposed to eliminate the disadvantages
associated with the previous approaches. Systematic research and extensive and combined experi-
mental and numerical study led to the development of this intake system. A detailed experimental
program was designed first to gain deep understanding of the eco-hydraulic behavior of oncome-
lania. Then, a three-dimensional CFD simulation was carried out to gain understanding of the flow
field in the intake. A laboratory intake prototype was finally designed based on the experimental
and computational results and was tested extensively to check the effectiveness.

2 ONCOMELANIA BEHAVIOR STUDY

2.1 Size and density

Oncomelania is roughly in the form of circular cross-sectioned cone (Figure 1) with length hs and
diameter ds . In this study, an attempt was made to measure the length, diameter, volume and density
of oncomelania. Measurement of 200 randomly sampled oncomelanias, showed that the length hs
ranged from 0.5 mm to 9.78 mm; and that the diameter-to-length ratio (ds /hs ) ranged from 1:1.2 to
1:3.2.

Figure 1. Typical oncomelania shape.

907
 The volume was measured by collecting oncomelanias with similar length and diameter into the
same group and the results were compared to the calculation assuming the cone shape.
Oncomelania density was also measured using precision electronic scale. Firstly, all oncome-
lanias were divided into nine groups according to their sizes. The total mass and volume of each
group were then measured so that the density could be calculated. The measurement results are the
following formula:

where ρ is the density of water, a = 0.03, b = 0.06, c = 1.07.

2.2 Sinking behavior in still water

An extensive experiment was carried out to study the sinking behavior in still water. The experiment
apparatus consisted of three plexiglass cylinders with diameter of 10 cm and heights of 3 m, 2 m,
1 m, respectively. Regular drinking water was used for the experiment. More than 200 randomly
sampled oncomelanias with different size and shapes were put into each cylinder. The sinking time
was the time oncomelania took to reach the bottom of the cylinders and was measured using an
electronic clock.
The sinking velocity may be divided into two terms (ωc = ω1 + ω2 ) based on the analysis of
forces on oncomelania. The first term is related to the free-fall behavior in the vertical direction
and is mainly caused by the resultant force of gravity, buoyancy and drag. This velocity can be
expressed as:

where CD is the drag coefficient ranging from 0.48∼0.72. The second velocity term is the axial
force component of the gravity and buoyancy and can be expressed as:

where mo is the shape factor and was experimentally determined to be 1.0∼6.5.

2.3 Sensitivity to water depth in still water

It was observed that all oncomelanias sank to the bottom of the cylinder. However, the ‘desire’ to
crawl back to the water surface differs considerably with different water depths and temperature.
Therefore, study was carried out to determine oncomelania sensitivity to water depth under still
water condition. For this purpose, the same three cylinders were used with water depth fixed at
2.90 m(#1), 1.70 m(#2), and 0.85 m(#3), respectively. More than 200 oncomelanias were used for
each cylinder while 10 oncomelanias were dropped to the bottom for each test. Selected observations
with representative different tests are recorded in Table 1.
The above sensitivity to the depth (or pressure) was influenced strongly by the water tempera-
ture and increased with temperature. This suggests that oncomelania can sustain higher-pressure
environment under colder condition. It may be due to the fact that oncomelania is less capable of
crawling when the temperature is low.

908
 Table 1. Oncomelania’s sensitivity to water depth and temperature in still water.

Temperature (◦ C)
Item Depth 12 16 18 22 25

Starting time of first 0.85 148 42 38 17 8

oncomelania (min) 1.70 60 37 32 12 7
2.90 56 35 21 11 6
Maximum crawling 0.85 0.06 0.30 0.35 0.50 0.47
velocity (m/h) 1.70 0.12 0.40 0.41 0.55 0.72
2.90 0.22 0.46 0.47 0.62 0.87
Time taken for the last 0.85 8.5 10 2.4 1.0 1.0
oncomelania to stick to wall (h) 1.70 7.7 3.2 2.0 1.0 1.0
2.90 6.0 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0
Time taken for the last 0.85 750 400 199 96 54
oncomelania to leave water (h) 1.70 250 170 132 50 12
2.90 29 17 14 7 4.5

Figure 2. Sketch of circular channel.

2.4 Sinking behavior and sensitivity to flowing water velocity

In recent years, several studies were done to investigate the oncomelania behavior using straight
channel flumes (Ying 1992). However, most rivers and irrigation channels are not straight in reality.
Therefore, a curved circular flume study was carried out in this project to gain more understanding.
In this project, a circular open channel was designed. The experimental apparatus is shown in
Figure 2. The mean diameter of the channel was 1.0 m and the depth was 0.5 m. A variable diameter
rotor was used to control the flow velocity in the channel from 0.0 to 6.0 m/s. The rotating speed
was kept under 102 RPM so that the influence of centrifugal force was negligible. The above design
was aimed to simulate the flow near the banks of natural rivers and open channels.
The sinking behavior study was carried out at water depth of 24.5 cm. Each oncomelania was
released at selected radial locations and the time it took to reach the bottom and the horizontal
traveling distance were measured and analyzed. At each radial location, three groups of oncomela-
nias were selected representing small, medium, and large sizes. More than 150 experiments were
carried out for each group and the final results were averaged. The relation can be expressed as:

where de is the equivalent diameter of a sphere, U* is the frictional velocity, and the constant k0
was determined to be 2.0–2.3.
Similar to the study of sensitivity to the water depth in still water, experiment was also carried
out to study the crawling behavior of oncomelania after it reached the channel bottom. After a large
number of tests, three distinct crawling behaviors were identified as described below.

909
 Figure 3. Sketch of the oncomelania-free Figure 4. Perspective view of the model.
intake prototype (1) water tank; (2) pres-
sure conduit (3) piezometer.

(a) Predicted velocity contours on the middle (b) Predicted flow pattern on the middle
cross section cross section

Figure 5. CFD results of the flow.

It is noteworthy that the two velocity limits mentioned above, U1 and U2 , were average values;
and certainly different for individual oncomelania, U1 and U2 were also influenced by the water
temperature. In general, U1 and U2 had higher values for stronger oncomelania and at higher
temperature.

3 MODEL DESIGN AND SIMULATION

Based on eco-hydraulic behavior study, preliminary designs of the oncomelania-free intake devices
were developed (Figure 3). As it was found that the oncomelania behavior was closely correlated
to the flow pressure and velocity, it was decided that three-dimensional CFD simulation would also
be carried out in order to gain detailed understanding of the flow field within the intake.
One set of CFD results associated with one geometry and specified flow conditions are presented
below to shed some light on the flow field information. In this study, the particular geometry as
shown in Figure 4. About 79,000 grid points were generated to cover the pressure conduit and two
short sections of the upstream and downstream pipes. The upstream pipe had a flow velocity of
1.0 m/s specified as the inflow boundary condition that was about the average of the velocity range
designed. At this flow velocity, the inlet Reynolds number in the upstream pipe was about 2100 so
it was assumed that the flow was turbulent while the k-ε turbulence model was used to model the
turbulence. Since the computed solution was quite symmetric about the flow direction, only results
on the symmetric cross section were plotted and is shown in Figure 5.

4 FINAL TEST IN FARMLAND

In order to verify the validity of the model, a field test was made from April 1999 to July 2000 in a
small irrigation channel in Hanchuan County, Hubei, with discharge Q = 0.15 m3 /s, over irrigation
area of 700 ha.

910
 Source of water with escaping channels for
oncomelania oncomelania

to irrigation area

Downstream pipe
front pond upstream pipe pressure conduit

Figure 6. Sketch of the prototype.

4.1 Sketch of the prototype

The upstream of the prototype is source of water with oncomelania, and the downstream is
oncomelania-free irrigation area. The sketch of the prototype is shown in Figure 6.
The prototype contained a front pond, a pressure conduit with 12 ‘escaping’channels for oncome-
lania, an upstream pipe and a downstream pipe. The front pond was 2.5 m long, 2.0 m wide and
3.5 m deep. The pressure conduit was 3.0 m long, 2.5 m wide and 2.0 m deep, the ‘escaping’ chan-
nels were 0.1 m in diameter and 1.5 m long. The up- and downstream pipes were 0.2 m in diameter
and 5 m long. The channels and pipes were steel pipes, and the front pond and the pressure conduit
were of concrete.

4.2 Observation results

The concrete prototype was built on April 2, 1999 in open water. The April 1999 to July 2003 tests
consisted of 2 parts: natural flow observation and manually throwing of oncomelania into the flow.
The results were as follows.
(1) Natural flow observation. There were about 3 oncomelanias per cubic meter in the upstream
water source based on a vast amount of field observation data. In the test observation: no
oncomelania was found at the out gate of the downstream pipe from April 1999 to April 2000,
because oncomelanias were too few be found in the natural flow.
(2) Manually throwing oncomelania’s observation. On April 2003, 300 oncomelanias were thrown
into the pressure conduit. After 9 days, 15 oncomelanias were found in the ‘escaping’ channels.
From that time on, a few oncomelanias were found in the channels every day, a total of 112
oncomelanias were collected from the channels up to May 11, 2000. After that, none crawled
out from the channels. It is worth mentioning that no oncomelanias were found at the out
gate of downstream pipe throughout the experiment. Also, the final test in farmland was very
disappointing. When the pressure conduit was opened on July 30, 2000, it was found that all
the other 188 oncomelanias in the conduit died.

5 CONCLUSIONS

An extensive study was carried out to gain understanding of the eco-hydraulic behaviors of
oncomelania. The following conclusions were drawn from this study:
(1) Oncomelania’s crawling behavior was highly related to the water depth or water pressure. If
water depth was more than 1.0 m, the possibility of crawling up to the surface increased with
the depth. When water depth was less than 1.0 m, the crawling path of oncomelania was quite
random and the speed was also very low.

911
(2) Sensitivity to the depth (or pressure) was influenced strongly by the water temperature. Higher
temperature makes oncomelania more sensitive to depth. This suggests that oncomelania can
sustain higher-pressure environment under colder condition.
(3) If the water flow velocity was small (less than U1 = 5 cm/s), oncomelania reached the channel
bottom and stayed in the water freely.
(4) If the flow velocity exceeded 7 cm/s but was less than U2 = 50 cm/s, those oncomelanias who
reached the bottom would will roll along the bottom wall. The horizontal travel speed was
proportional to the water flow velocity. However, rolling oncomelanias tended to attach or
stick to the wall if they had the chance to be near vertical walls.
(5) If water flow velocity continued to increase beyond U2 = 50 cm/s, oncomelania continued to
roll along the bottom and most were incapable of sticking to the wall even if they hit vertical
walls. No oncomelanias could stick to vertical walls once the flow velocity exceeded 1.5 m/s.
(6) The study results were verified by a small-scale irrigation-engineering project, but must be
verified by a bigger-scale engineering project.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No.
50379041).

REFERENCES

Lai, Y.G., Larry, W., Patel, V.C, 2000. U2RANS: A Comprehensive Hydraulic Flow Simulation Code – Its
Development and Applications. In Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Hydro-Informatics, Iowa City, IA Iowa: Iowa
University, July, 2000.
Li, Caibao, 1986. Research report of schistosomiasis control, Journal of Yangtze Academy of Science, 4:
pp: 163–164. (in Chinese)
Li, Damei, 1994. Oncomelania’s hydraulic transport. Resources and Environment in the Yangtze, 8(1):
pp: 112–117. (in Chinese)
Li, Damei, 1999. Oncomelania’s eco-hydraulic property and its utilization, Journal of Hydrodynamics, Ser. B,
11(1): pp: 33–40. (in Chinese)
Xu, Z.F, 1986. Hydraulics (I), Higher Education Press, Beijing, china: pp: 13–58. (in Chinese)
Yang, Xiangxiang, 1996. Research Report of Schistosomiasis control, Wuhan Publishing House, Wuhan,
China: pp: 3–11. (in Chinese)
Ying, Changming, 1992. Research Report of Schistosomiasis Control, Hubei Sci. & technol. Press, Wuhan,
China: pp: 1–8. (in Chinese)

912
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The distribution of Chironomids by flow mechanisms

S.H. Lee1 , K.S. Lee2 , T.W. Kim2 , J.P. Park1 & T.S. Chon3
1 Pukyong National University, Pusan, Korea
2 Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
3 Pusan National University, Pusan, Korea

ABSTRACT: The distribution characteristics of chironomids that are used as water quality indi-
cator were investigated in circulation open channel from the point of view of ecohydraulics. The
velocity measurements were performed using an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter. Under different
flow conditions, organic matters and chironomids were injected into the channel. Using the meas-
ured velocity data, the flow mechanisms and the turbulent shear stresses were analyzed. Organic
matters and some chironomids were distributed in the region where the velocity was slower and
the turbulent shear stresses were lower. Some chironomids left their initial habitats and moved to
other places. The movement has relationship with the flow mechanism. Some chironomids were
distributed around the habitat structure of a hemisphere. The secondary flow has affected the
deposition of the organic matters and the distribution of chironomids.

1 INTRODUCTION

Benthic macroinvertebrates are found in lakes, streams, marshes and puddles. Benthic macroinver-
tebrates have been widely used for the biological assessment of water quality in aquatic systems.
There are several reasons why benthic macroinvertebrates are used as water quality indicators. The
reasons are as follows. They are sensitive to changes in the ecosystem. Many live in an aquatic
ecosystem for over a year. They cannot easily escape changes in the water quality. They can be col-
lected very easily from most aquatic systems with inexpensive or homemade equipment. Benthic
macroinvertebrates found in and around a body of water. Flow mechanisms are critically import-
ant to the habitat and the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in rivers. Hence an accurate
representation of the flow mechanisms is a prerequisite to the understanding about the habitat of
the macroinvertebrates. The chironomids, often occurring with diverse species and high densities,
account for at least 50% of the total species richness of benthic macroinvertebrates community.
Chironomids, ‘non-biting midges’ (Diptera; Chironomidae) are the most widely distributed and
the most abundant insect in freshwater. The chironomids have ability to thrive under a variety
of conditions, great reproductive capacity and brief life cycle. Thus chironomids can be predom-
inant in virtually all aquatic habitats. Such characteristics have made chironomids an ecologically
important group of aquatic insects [1,2].
In the past experimental investigations, the three velocity components, the six turbulent stress
components and the sediment movement were measured [3–6]. They investigated the flow structure,
the mechanism of secondary flows, turbulent characteristics, and sediment movement. The previous
experimental studies have mainly investigated the flow mechanisms in a laboratory channel. Many
such hydraulic researches have not been related with living things.
We expanded the research on flow mechanisms to a study on the distribution of benthic macroin-
vertebrates in circulation open channel. We collected and used living chironomids, sediment and
the organic matter from natural rivers. The objective of this study is to examine the structure of the
flow and turbulence in circulation open channel and find out how chironomids are distributed and
inhabited according to velocity, secondary flows and turbulent characteristics.

913
Figure 1. Circulation channel configuration and setup of ADV system (unit: cm).

2 EXPERIMENTAL INSTALLATION AND EXPERIMENTS

Laboratory experiments were conducted in an open channel in which water is circulated. The
channel is 29 cm wide and 30 cm deep. It consists of a 120 cm long straight reach, followed by
a 180◦ bend with radius of curvature, R = 40 cm (Figure 1). A hemisphere with the diameter of
13 mm and the height of 65 mm was mounted on the bed. It was used as a simple habitat structure
for the habitat of chironomids in the laboratory channel. Observations were made at the water
depth of 20 cm. The velocity measurements were carried out using an ADV made by the Nortex
As Company. The sampling frequency was 25 Hz and the data acquisition time was 25 sec. All the
measurements were carried out under quasi-uniform flow conditions. Samples (water, sediment,
organisms and chironomids) were collected at Daechon River in Pusan. Experiments with the differ-
ent conditions performed for the study of distribution of chironomids and the organic matter by flow
mechanisms.

3 FLOW MECHANISMS AND TURBULENT SHEAR STRESSES:

EXPERIMENTS AND RESULTS

For the experiment without the hemisphere, measurements were made at 4 sections, along the
straight reach with a spacing of 40 cm from the outlet of the bend, i.e., the section A in Figure 1.
Even though the secondary flow is weak compared to the primary flow, they redistribute the
velocity, affect the boundary shear stress and sediment transport, and shape the bottom of rivers
[7,8]. Hence, an accurate representation of the secondary flows is essential for an understanding
of 3-D flow structures. Figure 2 shows the secondary flow vectors on the measured sections. The
secondary flow has the direction to the outer wall at the outlet to the bend (Figure 2a). The figure
shows the growth and decay of the secondary motions through the straight channel in circulation
open channel. The secondary flow is developed weakly at the section C. Then, the direction of
the secondary flow is reversed at the inlet to the bend, i.e., the section D (Figure 2d). For the
experiment with the hemisphere, measurements were made at 11 sections, around the hemisphere.
Figure 3 presents contours of the longitudinal velocity around the hemisphere. The broken lines of

914
Figure 2. Secondary flow vectors.

Figure 3. Contours of primary velocity (y − z plane).

Figure 3(b, d and e) have negative values of the longitudinal velocity components. In other words,
the measured velocity data shows the stagnant regions around the hemisphere. A faster flow region
occurred near the outer wall.
The distribution of boundary shear stress is important since it is related to scour and transport
of sediment and the habitats of chironomids. Figure 4 shows the distribution of the normalized
turbulent shear stress, −ρuy uz /ρu∗2 , where the denominator means the bed shear stress τ = ρu∗2 .
The sign of −ρuy uz /ρu∗2 has positive values in the region of the outer wall, whereas it has negative
values (i.e., the broken lines) in the opposite region. This implies that there exists momentum
transport from the outer wall toward the inner wall. A higher turbulent shearing area is located
around the bottom in the upstream region of the hemisphere. Another strong turbulent shearing
area is located in the region of 5 cm height above the bed in the downstream region of the hemisphere.
The higher turbulent shear stresses occurred near the outer wall than the inner wall.
915
 (a) 9.0 cm upstream from (b) 6.5 cm upstream from (c) the center of hemisphere
the center of hemisphere the center of hemisphere

(d) 6.5 cm downstream from (e) 9.5 cm downstream from

the center of hemisphere the center of hemisphere

Figure 4. Turbulent shear stresses (y − z plane).

4 DISTRIBUTION OF CHIRONOMIDS AND ORGANIC MATTER:

EXPERIMENTS AND RESULTS

4.1 Without habitat structure

The organic matter of 5 L was injected into the position A when the mean velocity was about
10 cm/s. After 5 minutes, the organic matter was piled on the bed in the straight reach. Then,
486 chironomids were injected into the same position. After 3 hours, they were distributed near
the inner wall at the inlet and outlet to the bend (Figure 5). The laboratory channel is symmetric.
Thus, we can assume that the direction of secondary flow at the inlet to the bend (section D in
Figure 1) is almost the same as that in the section F. It was observed that the secondary flow had the
direction toward the inner wall from the outer. The distribution of chironomids at the section F may
probably be due to the secondary flows. Some chironomids were distributed near the inner wall of
the section E at the outlet to the bend. This may also be due the secondary flow. The secondary
flow near to the bottom has the direction toward the inner wall (Figure 4a).

4.2 With habitat structure

The organic matter of 1 L was injected into the position D and the position F, respectively, when the
mean velocity was zero. Thereafter, the mean velocity was increased to 10 cm/s and after 41 hours,
the organic matter was almost uniformly piled on the bed of the straight reach in the channel. Then,
250 chironomids were injected into the position D and the position F of the channel, respectively,
at a depth of 10 cm, when the mean velocity was 10 cm/s. Figure 6 showed the distribution of the
organic matter and chironomids after 6 days.
The distribution of chironomids and the organic matter was similar to the result of the case
2, around the hemisphere. Some chironomids were distributed near the inner wall around the
hemisphere, in which the slower velocity and the smaller turbulent shear stresses occurred. Some
were distributed around the outer wall at the inlet to the bend. This may be due to the slower primary
velocity on the inlet to the bend. A noticeable feature was that chironomids were distributed near the
inner wall at the inlet to the bend. This may probably be due to the secondary flow. The secondary
circulations were observed toward the inner wall from the outer (Figure 2d).

916
Figure 5. Distribution of chironomids without habitat structure (After 3 hours).

Figure 6. Distribution of chironomids with habitat structure (After 6 days, unit: cm).

5 CONCLUSIONS

This paper examined the structure of the flow and turbulent shear stresses in circulation open
channel and their relationship to the distribution of chironomids and the organic matter. It was
found from the experimental results that the velocity, turbulent shear stresses and secondary flows
have influenced on the distribution of chironomids and the organic matter.
The experiment with the hemisphere shows the following. Some chironomids were distributed
on the area near to the inner wall around the downstream region of the hemisphere. The faster
flow velocity and the high turbulent shear stresses existed around the outer wall and the organic
matter and the bottom sediment eroded on the region near to the outer wall. The scoured region
could not be the habitat for the chironomids. Some chironomids existed around the upstream and
the downstream regions of the hemisphere. The measured velocity data shows the stagnant regions
around the hemisphere. This may be the reason for chironomids to live on the regions. Some
chironomids were noticeably distributed on the region near to the inner wall at the inlet to the bend.
Although the primary velocity was relatively fast on that area, the secondary current was very
strong near the bottom and had the direction to the inner wall. The chironomids seemed to move to
region near to the inner wall from the secondary flow.

REFERENCES

[1] Armitage, P.D., Cranston, P.S. & Pinder, L.C.V. 1995. The Chironomidae. Chapman and Hall.
[2] Yoon, I.B. & Chun, D.J. 1992. Systematics of the genus chironomus (diptera: chironomidae) in Korea. Entomol.
Res. Bull., 18: 1–14.
[3] Shiono, K. & Muto, Y. 1998. Complex mechanisms in compound meandering channel with overbank flow. J.
Fluid Mech., 326: 221–261.
[4] Tominaga, A. & Nezu, I. 1991. Turbulent structure in compound open channel flows. Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, 117(1): 21–41.

917
[5] Blanckaert, K. & Graf, W.H. 2001. Mean flow and turbulence in open-channel bend. Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, 127(10): 835–847.
[6] Shamloo, H., Rajaratnam, N. & Katopodis, C. 2002. Hydraulics of simple habitat structures. J. Hydr. Res.,
39(4): 351–366.
[7] Fischer, H.B. 1967. The mechanics of dispersion in natural streams. Journal of the Hydraulics Division,
93(HY6): 187–216.
[8] Blanckaert, K. 2002. Secondary currents measured in sharp open-channel bends. Proceedings of the
International Conference of Fluvial Hydraulics, River Flow, 1: 117–125.

918
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Japanese firefly habitat assessment based on hydrological simulation

S. Matsumoto
Graduate Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Japan

S. Kazama
Associate professor, Department of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Japan

M. Sawamoto
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Japan

ABSTRACT: The relation between firefly habitat and the environment factors in the Natori River
basin is investigated. We prepared digital information maps composed of geographic data and
hydrological simulation results. 7 points of firefly habitat were detected by some interviews and
field surveys in the basin and sample data were collected from the maps. The habitat has the
specific conditions for firefly habitat. We made the distribution map of habitat suitability in the
whole Natori River basin and found regions scoring high habitat suitability. The result of field survey
in the regions verified the estimation. And then, quantification theory was applied for numerical
analysis of each data. As a result, it was confirmed that hydrological simulation improves accuracy
of the estimation.

1 INTRODUCTION

Environmental problems have been discussed globally and loss of biodiversity is one of the most
critical problems. Because human race cannot live in an environment that only a few species can live,
it is very important to save species from distinction and conserve biodiversity. For formulation and
implementation of environment conservation policies, quantitative evaluation is required. Since the
distribution of creatures spreads widely, digital data such as DEM and satellite image are effective
for the evaluation (Hirzel et al, 2002).
We analyze Japanese firefly (especially Luciola lateralis and Luciola cruciata) habitat with the
digital data and hydrological simulation. Based on the results, the habitat distribution of Japanese
firefly was estimated (Kazama et al, 2004). In Japan, firefly is thought to be a symbol of good
waterside environment because Japanese firefly changes their location from waterside soil to under-
water, and to waterside grass as they develop from spawn to larvae, and to adult stage in that order,
if one of the three conditions is damaged, the specie cannot live in the area.
Kazama et al (2004) has reported that hydrological simulation could be an effective tool for
estimation of the creature. The purpose of this paper is to confirm the suggestion and to analyze
the weight of each data quantitatively.

2 STUDY AREA

The study area is the Natori River basin located in Miyagi Prefecture, Northeast district, Japan
(Fig. 1). The basin area is 939 km2 . Western area of the basin is mountainous and mainly covered
with forest. Eastern area is flat and covered with urbanized area and paddy field. In interme-
diate area, terrain and land use is mixed. Average annual precipitation is 1600 mm including
winter snow.

919
 : Firefly habitat

0 20km

Figure 1. Shape of the Natori River basin and location of firefly habitat sampling points.

3 DATA SET

For quantification of variable environmental information, we used a digital map, digital geographic
data, and meteorological data that the Japanese government prepared. Hydrological simulation
based on the dataset was made to express hydrological condition.

3.1 Geographic data

Geographical Survey Institute, Japan (GSI) supplies some digital map on its web site. Spatial
resolution of elevation data is 50 m and provided pitch data, which were created by taking the
steepest gradient into the surrounding eight grid squares. Land use data consisting of 11 categories
with 100 m grid provide urbanization ratio data, which are obtained by dividing the number of
urban-related grid squares by 81, the sum of all surrounding grid squares. Catchment area, which
is the number of cells that inclines to the object cell are generated from pitch data. In case that
elevation is the same as the surrounding cells, or that the cells to inflow the object cell cannot be
found, catchment area of the cell is one cell size, or 2500 m2 .
The Ministry of Environment, Japan provided Integrated Biodiversity Information System on
its web site. In this dataset, we used categorized vegetation data with 1 km resolution that were
phytosociologically classified into 10 categories.

3.2 Hydrological data

Hydrological simulation requires meteorological data as input data. The Japan Meteorological
Agency (JMA) distributes hourly some data, such as temperature or rainfall in 1300 measuring
points nationwide and the Natori River basin contains three measuring points.
A general distributed hydrological model was used in the basin. The resolution of data was unified
into 250 m. The model is composed of precipitation, evapotranspiration, surface flow, and snowmelt
in hydrological processes. This model expresses surface flow by a kinematic wave model, river

920
 Table 1. Firefly habitat conditions extracted from prepared data.

Habitat condition

Geographic factor
Pitch <0.15
Urbanization ratio <0.06
Land use Paddy field, agricultural field, or forest
Vegetation type Beech, carnelian, or crops
Hydrological factor
Simulated water depth <500 mm
Simulated water velocity <1.0 m/s
Catchment area <5000 m2

channel flow by a dynamic wave model and snowmelt by the degree-day method. Evapotranspiration
process was improved by Tada’s estimation [1996] using remote sensing data. Distribution of
precipitation was obtained with weighted average method from data in three observation points.
Some parameters, such as coefficient of roughness, are estimated by calibration of river discharge
at three gauging stations.
As a result of this simulation, maximum water depths and velocities data were provided for
throughout the entire basin. In cells without river channel, water depths and velocities are pseudo
values, but simulated values are highly related to actual water amount and dynamics. Therefore,
the simulated values could be used as indexes correlating with actual hydrological condition.

4 FIRE FLY HABITAT ESTIMATION

The prepared digital data was used for feature extraction from the firefly habitat. Field survey was
made to find some firefly habitat sample. Referring the habitats points to the dataset quantified
the environment of the points. The firefly habitat condition was determined stochastically by using
the quantified environment.

4.1 Factor extraction

We searched for firefly habitats from the middle stream area to the upstream area. Residential
interviews were effective to detect the habitats because it was easy to determine where fireflies
live. In all, we found 7 habitat points and determined 250-square-meter surrounding every point
as habitat (Fig. 1).
We extract all prepared data in every habitat points and make frequency distribution graphs for all
data. In every graph, we accumulate frequency number from the highest to determine the threshold
and significant habitat criteria for all conditions. The thresholds are determined to be 75% of the
accumulated number of total sample numbers. A proper level of significance is not discussed here
in detail because the sample number is too small. Accordingly, we determine a significant habitat
condition range from frequency distribution shape (Table 1).

4.2 Results
Minami has reported firefly life and its local environments [1963]. This report provides confirma-
tion of the habitat condition extracted from the digital data shown in Table 1. Using the obtained
condition, we estimated firefly habitat distribution in the whole study area. Consequently, an area
satisfying all conditions has 7 points. A firefly habitat distribution map estimated by corresponding
number is shown in Figure 2.
Although there are many areas having seven points for the habitat condition, 6 certain scale
regions within them are found without previous field surveys. These habitats that were obtained by

921
Figure 2. Distribution of estimated Japanese firefly habitat.

Table 2. Partial correlation coefficients obtained from Hayashi’s Quantification

Method Type II.

Partial correlation coefficient Range

Geographic factor
Pitch 0.76036 0.51645
Urbanization ratio 0.76739 0.75636
Land use 0.73313 0.60733
Vegetation type 0.75174 0.63461
Hydrological factor
Simulated water depth 0.78240 0.48545
Simulated water velocity 0.77432 0.47851
Catchment area 0.62989 0.51887

this method were confirmed by field surveys at all 6 regions. This result indicates that this method
is suitable for firefly habitat estimation.

5 STATISTIC ANALYSIS

To analyze numerically a weight of each data, we applied Hayashi’s Quantification Method Type
II [1952]. This method is discrimination analysis for categorical data.

5.1 Methods
The external criterion is obtained from explanation variables. The external criterion is qualitative
and the explanation variables are qualitative data and categorized continuous data. The effect that
each explanation variable provides with the external criterion is related to the partial correlation
coefficient and the range of the variable. A range is a difference of maximum and minimum category
score in each data. Category score and sample score are calculated. Equation 1 calculates sample
score and distinguishes the external criterion.

where S = sample score; C0 = constant; aij = indicator of category j in data i; and Cij = category
score of category j in data i. aij is equal to 1 if category j in data i is present in a cell and 0 otherwise.

922
 Table 3. Category score of digital geographic data.

Explanation variables Category Score

Vegetation type Beech class natural plant −0.52171

Beech class alternate plant −0.44938
Bush japonica class natural plant −0.35055
Bush japonica class alternate plant 0.11291
Riverside/wetland/swampland/sand dune plant −0.39463
Plantation/cultivated area 0.11096
Others −0.37349
Pitch <0.05 0.03937
0.05–0.10 0.04543
0.10–0.15 0.04972
0.15–0.20 −0.43016
0.20–0.25 −0.42196
0.25–0.30 −0.41645
0.30–0.35 −0.43629
0.35–0.40 −0.46673
0.40–0.45 −0.46238
0.45< −0.45004
Urbanization ratio <0.02 0.17710
0.02–0.04 0.17730
0.04–0.06 0.17599
0.06–0.08 −0.49597
0.08–0.10 −0.50458
0.10–0.12 −0.57906
0.12–0.14 −0.51866
0.14–0.16 −0.50856
0.16–0.18 −0.50578
0.18–0.20 −0.50136
0.20–0.22 −0.47459
0.22–0.24 −0.49687
0.24–0.26 −0.48750
0.26< −0.47608
Land use Paddy field 0.14578
Other field 0.13185
Forest 0.13359
Barren land −0.45701
Building area −0.40356
Traffic-use area −0.37977
Others −0.39500
Land water area −0.41264
Golf course −0.46155

5.2 Application to firefly habitat analysis

In this paper, the external criterion is presence or absence of firefly and explanation variables are
the prepared dataset. Continuous data such as pitch, urbanized rate, simulated water depth and
velocity were categorized. Because the firefly existence data, which express presence or absence
in a cell, is not prepared for all cells, areas scoring 1 to 3 points in Figure 3, which are 5% from
the lowest, are used as the absence data. And we set the areas with 7 points, which are 10% from
the highest, as the presence data.
As a result of the quantification, we obtained the partial correlation coefficients, the ranges
and category scores for all data (Tables 2, 3 and 4). Most critical factor in geographic data was
urbanization ratio. Partial correlation coefficients of simulated hydrological value had the largest

923
 Table 4. Category score of hydrological data.

Explanation variables Category Score

Simulated water <100 0.07881

depth (mm) 100–500 0.06506
500–1000 −0.39200
1000–10000 −0.36066
10000< −0.40665
Simulated water <1.0 0.07186
velocity (m/s) 1.0–2.0 −0.39137
2.0–3.0 −0.34402
3.0–4.0 −0.33979
4.0–5.0 −0.36790
5.0< −0.33708
Catchment area (m2 ) 2500 0.01812
5000 0.02178
7500 −0.43621
10000 −0.40047
12500 −0.43026
15000 −0.40837
17500 −0.45681
20000 −0.44769
22500 −0.49709
25000< −0.41394

value though their range were not so large value. This result means that hydrological data are
as important as geographic data and that hydrological simulation is an effective tool for Japanese
firefly habitat estimation. Obtained category score and sample score are shown in Tables 3 and 4. C0
was calculated as 0.46. Sample score was obtained from assignation of the category scores and C0 in
Equation 1. If calculated sample score is plus, the cell is decided as presence and absence otherwise.
Category score of Beech class plant in vegetation data was a large minus value while Minami
[1963] has reported that the plants were generally suitable for firefly habitation. This inconsistency
is supposed to be occurred by reason that, in the study area, the plants is left only in high mountainous
area. Score of river-related category in vegetation and land use are minus. Reason of this mismatch
is that large river channel is unsuitable for firefly habitat because of too large velocity and depth.

6 CONCLUSIONS

We estimated the firefly habitat using digital geographic data with hydrological simulation. Result of
statistic analysis quantified the effect that each data gave to Japanese firefly habitation. Especially,
urbanization ratio and simulated hydrological data were critical for firefly. This result confirmed
that hydrological simulation improved accuracy of the estimation.
In Japan, firefly existence is considered to be one of important barometers in water environment.
Obtained habitat conditions can detect suitable areas while identifying insufficient conditions for
habitat development. In future, adaptation of this method to other waterside creatures will be useful
for quantitative environmental assessment.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was supported by the Foundation of River and Watershed Environment Management
grant. We are grateful to Mr. Y. Asaoka and Mr. K. Tsuchida for provision of computer programs.
We wish to thank Hydro-Environment System Laboratory members for field surveys.

924
REFERENCES

Hirzel, A.H., Hausser, J., Chessel, D. and Perrin, N. 2002. Ecological-niche factor analysis: how to compute
habitat-suitability maps without absence data? Ecology 83: 2027–2036.
Hayasi, C. 1952. On the prediction of phenomena from qualitative data from the mathematico-statistical point
of view. Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics 3: 69–98.
Kazama, S., Matsumoto, S. and Sawamoto, M. 2004. The firefly habitat estimation based on geographical
information system with hydrological simulation. Ecological Modeling (submitted).
Minami, K. 1963. The firefly studies. Ohta Bibliopole (in Japanese).
Tada, T., Kazama, S. and Sawamoto, M. 1996. Estimation of evapotranspiration distribution in Tohoku region.
Proceedings of International Conference on Water Resources and Environment Resources 1: 627–634.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Study on the method of determining down stream minimal

ecological flow in the river

Lanfen Liu & Hongwu Tan

China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: In China, the notion that the changed hydrographic conditions by large scale
hydraulic structures and hydropower stations construction will strongly affect the river ecological
system downstream is gradually accepted by the common people. For sustainable water resource
utilization, the exploitation objective of water diversion and hydropower projects should at least
fulfill the fundamental need of the river ecological system so as not to result in the severe degrada-
tion, especially during the low flow of the river. Thus, how to determine the downstream minimal
ecological flow in the river is an urgent task. In this paper, the authors examined the available
methods for determining the downstream minimal ecological flow. The Dalong Water Conser-
vancy Engineering in Ningyuan River in Hainan Province was chosen to be a case study. In the
example, different methods were applied to calculate the downstream minimal ecological flow, and
the results were analyzed and the operational minimal discharging flow was determined. This study
result provided scientific basis for the operational plan designed for the Dalong Reservoir.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the 20th Century, the human being has exerted excessive influence on rivers on the Earth, more
than 45000 big dams and more than 800000 small dams were built in most rivers in the world
(McCully P. 1996), and about 10000 km3 water is retained, which is five times of all the runoff
volume on the Earth (Chao B. F., 1995). At the same time, more and more adverse effects on
the river systems had been revealed, such as the extinction or degradation of endangered fishes
or migration fishes, the disappearance or degradation of wetland and habitats, and the withering
of vegetation on river bank. The adverse effects differ greatly in the different purposes of water
resource development, depending on the water ratio between the diverged water to the natural runoff
flow of the river. Compared with the water diversion project, the hydropower station imposes lighter
impact on the downstream ecological system due to electric production must discharge water into
the down stream river. But, some hydroelectric stations can form cut off flow river reach, the
adverse ecological effects cannot be restored (Lanfen Liu, 2002). In dry and half dry area, the
adverse effects are even more serious, they happened not only in the water but also on the land.
For example, in the Talimu River in Xinjiang Province, the water was taken out of the river and
caused severe ecological degradation: the flow in the lower reach set off, the groundwater level
descended, the vegetation withered, the ecological environment was destroyed heavily (Ranghui
Wang, Yudong Song, etc., 2000).
The general mechanism has already been known. The operation of the hydraulic and hydropower
engineering changed the downstream hydrographic conditions, and the changed hydrographic con-
ditions further affected the ecological conditions (Ziyun Fang, Jiaxiang Zou, Yiming Wu, 1994).
However, the quantitative relationship between the ecological condition and the hydrological con-
dition is so complicated that it still remains almost unknown. On the other hand, due to fast
industrialization, urbanization and population explosion, the competence in water use between the
human being and the environment is getting more and more intense. Due to the deficiency in the
river ecology and the strong attraction by the immediate interest, the river ecological conditions

927
worsen. The instream flow decreased fast (Ling Liu, Zeng Chuan, etc., 2002). From this angle, to
keep a healthy river ecology system, the downstream minimal ecological flow must be fulfilled
in the operational plan of hydroelectric stations or reservoirs. Thus the key question is how to
determine the minimal ecological flow.

2 METHODS FOR DETERMINING THE DOWNSTREAM MINIMAL

ECOLOGICAL FLOW

In some developed countries, the method about how to determine the minimal ecological flow
has been successfully applied (Boon P. J., Callow P., Petts G. L., 1992). While in China, the
minimal ecological flow concept has just been introduced recently. The river continuum concept
has been adopted and the river is regarded as an ecological system, the structure and function
stability is affected by the river hydrographic and hydraulic conditions. However, just as any other
newborn things, the minimal ecological flow concept has still different meanings, such as ecologic
environmental flow, ecological flow, and environmental flow, therefore the method for determining
the minimal ecological flow has not been unified (Shubing Cui, 2001). In the paper, the river
ecological flow is defined as the water flow to safeguard the stability of natural river ecological
system and the minimal ecological flow is the minimal water flow needed to keep the downstream
river ecology system from destroying.
At present, the method for determining the minimal ecological flow can be divided into three
kinds as follows.

2.1 Historic flow methods

During such category, Tennant method (Tennant D. L., 1976) is applied extensively. The recom-
mended value of ecological flow was gained by empirical relationships and observations, and is
presented in Table 1. There, the minimal ecological flow was calculated according to 10% of the
average flow of the high and low water period.
In Japan, the minimal ecological flow was calculated according to collecting area of river basin.
General, the minimal ecological flow is 0.67 cm/s for 100 km2 collecting area of river basin.

2.2 Hydraulic parameter methods

The wetted perimeter of the river has close relationship with the organism primary productivity in
the river. To find a stay point in the relation curve of wetted perimeter and flow, the flow at this
point is determined as the minimal ecological flow keeping the fundamental ecological function
(Collings, M. 1972). The minimal ecological flow was defined as 20% of wetted perimeter for river
average flow.

Table 1. Tennant method recommend values.

Recommended values (10∼3 month) Recommended values (4∼9 month)
Flow descriptive (Percentage of average flow) (Percentage of average flow)

Maximum 200 200

Optimum flow range 60∼100 60∼100
Best 40 60
Very good 30 50
Good 20 40
Middle or poor 10 30
Poor or minimum 10 10
Very poor 0∼10 0∼10

928
 2.3 Habitat methods
This kind of method is an expansion to the wetted perimeter method, more hydraulically parameters
were considered. By choosing certain indicating species, the relationship of ecological requirement
of those species and the hydraulic parameters can thus be determined. The IFIM (in stream flow
incremental methodology) method is one kind of the methods. It was applied extensively in U.S. and
Australia (Ken D. Bovee, Berton L. Lamb, etc, 1998). In this method, hydrographic, hydrochemistry
parameters and hydrobiology information are combined to determine minimal ecological flow in
river. Doubtlessly, this method reveals much more information of the complicated relationship
between the ecological condition and the hydraulic condition of the river. But more background
data were required.
In a word, from method 1 to method 3, the more the background data it required, the more
information you can acquired, and, therefore, the more accurately the decision can be made.
Actually, there maybe is not any ideal method. In reality, the right method could only depend on the
situation of the ecological environment, the features of the engineer and water body, availability of
necessary data, and so on.

3 THE CASE STUDY

3.1 General situation of Dalong Reservoir

Dalong Reservoir will be situated in Ningyuan River down stream in Sanya City, Hainan Province.
The distance from the dam to the estuary is 16.8 km. The river length of the Ningyuan River is
83.5 km, the water drop is 1101 m, the average slope is 4.62‰, the runoff volume is 6.75 × 108 m3
per year. In the upper reach, a water diversion project was built in 1984, the maximum diverging
flow is 3.9 m3 /s the actual runoff at the dam site is 5.74 × 108 m3 per year. The Longtan River is
one of the two affluent and flows into Ningyuan River at 5 km down stream from the Dalong Dam,
which average annual flow is 3.0 m3 /s. The Baogu Dam is an overflow dam and was built at down
stream 2.5 km from the Delong Dam early in 1960s, its function is irrigation, and the diverging
flow is 1.0 m3 /s.
The main function of Dalong Reservoir is flood control, water supply, irrigation and hydropower.
The normal storage level is 70 m, and the reservoir capacity is 1.48 × 108 m3 .The water supply
capacity is 1.98 × 108 m3 for cities every year, irrigation channel water volume is 1.98 × 108 m3
every year, the power generation energy is 5100 kW.

3.2 Applied methods

In the example, different methods were applied to calculate the downstream minimal ecological
flow.
(1) Hydrological method
The calculating formula is as follows.

where, Qec = the minimal ecological flow, m3 /s; Q347 = the 347th flow of daily flow series in
descending order in a year or the 95% duration flow in a year, m3 /s; Q10% = 10% the average
annual flow that is calculated with the remaining nine monthly flows by removing the least three
monthly flows in a year, m3 /s.
(2) The Tennant flow method
The calculating formula is
Qec = 10%Q.
in which Q is the average flow of the dry season and wet season.

929
 Table 2. The calculated results in the example.

Applied methods Calculated values (m3 /s) Applied material

1 Hydrological method 2.30 1980 is chosen as the the typical

normal year in the 40-year series
(1959∼1998) for Ningyuan River.
2 Tennant method 0.58 (dry season) 40-years series.
3.05 (wet season)
1.82 (average)
3 The driest monthly flow in 1.24 The latest 10 years in 40-year
the latest 10 years method series.
4 90% duration driest monthly 1.40 The 40-years series.
flow method

(3) The driest monthly flow in the latest 10 years and the 90% duration driest monthly flow method
Both methods are a simplified version of the 7Q10 method. The U.S. EPA defines 7Q10 as the,
“seven-day, consecutive low flow with a ten year return frequency;[or] the lowest stream flow
for seven consecutive days that would be expected to occur once in ten years,” (U.S. EPA, 1997).
The 7Q10 statistic is regularly used as a representative low streamflow value for point-source
pollution purpose. In China, considering the strict requirement of 7Q10 method, the flow is
defined as the driest monthly flow in the latest 10 years or the 90% duration driest monthly flow
(NSDC, 1983). This method is the recommended method by the water resource government.

3.3 Results
The minimal ecological flows calculated are shown in Table 2.

3.4 Result analysis

Through the results, the calculated results by the simplified 7Q10 method are smaller than that by
the hydrological method and the Tennant method (in average flow). In fact, the 7Q10 method is well
known as the minimal environmental flow, while the Tennant method was recognized as the minimal
ecological method. Since the above methods are actually certain kinds of hydrological method,
the difference among them indicates the fact that the minimal environmental flow differs from
the minimal ecological flow and the minimal environmental flow cannot satisfy basic ecological
requirement.
The result by Tennant Method was used as the criterion for the downstream minimal ecological
flow of Dalong Reservoir. According to the results, the minimal ecological flow in dry season
should be 0.58 m3 /s, in the wet season, the flow should be 3.05 m3 /s. However, the final decision
about the minimum discharging flow is made according to the 90% duration driest monthly flow
method, the minimum discharging flow of the Dalong Dam is set to be 1.4 m3 /s, which is higher
than the flow in dry season and lower than the flow in wet season calculated by the Tennant method.
This final result is actually a negotiation between the economical interest and the ecological value.
And the geographical condition compensates the ecological loss to the maximum extent. For the
river down the convergence inlet of the Longtan river, when considering the collecting flow of the
Longtan River and industrial and agricultural receding water flow, the actual flow in the downstream
is 2.97 m3 /s in low water season and 7.07 m3 /s in wet season. For the river reach down the Longtan
river inlet, the actual flow can meet the minimum ecological flow well. The only pity is the river
segment between the inlet and the dam. In this segment, the instream flow in wet season cannot
meet the minimal ecological flow requirement. Because of the short length and the economical
consideration, this flow is a tolerable result although it is not an ideal one. The detailed analysis
for the actual flow in the river down the Longtan river inlet is shown in Table 3.

930
 Table 3. The actual flow in the river down the Longtan river inlet.

Water flow (m3 /s)

Source of confluence Wet season Dry season Basis for calculate

Longtan river confluence 5.05 0.95 Hydrographic series, average flow

is 3.0 m3 /s.
Agricultural drainage 0.45 0.45 20% of used water flow, 1431 × 104 m3 /a.
City and industrial effluents 0.17 0.17 50% of used water flow, 550×104 m3 /a.
Discharging ecological flow 1.40 1.40 90% guarantee rate of dry season
from the dam average flow
Total 7.07 2.97

4 SUMMARY

(1) When dams are built, setting a minimal ecological flow in the operation plan of a reservoir is
an important way to protect the downstream river ecological system. Although the scientific
basis is not sound enough because of the inadequate knowledge about the complicated river
ecological system, this is not the excuse for no action and the efforts to protect the ecological
system should always be awarded. This study result has been adopted to design the operation
plan of the Dalong Reservoir and at least provide some scientific basis to the protection action.
(2) There are many calculation methods of determined minimal ecological flow. Because field
data and information are often scarce in China, historic flow methods maybe are a reasonable
alternative for more advanced methods such as the IFIM method. Among the historic methods,
the Tennant Method should be at least used as a reference for it’s dependability and simplicity.
(3) The minimal ecological flow is different from the minimal environment flow. For the former,
a few objectives are considered such as ecological requirement, water quality, hydrographic,
aquatic environment, underground water, estuarine ecology, etc. For the latter, water quality is
the only objective. Generally, the minimal ecological flow is larger than the minimal environment
flow in rivers.
(4) The final minimal discharging flow of the dam is usually different from the minimal ecological
flow calculated. When Setting the discharging flow of the dam, the minimal ecological flow
calculated is only one of the factors. Other factors may include affluent collecting flow, water
resource development in down stream regime, social economy, etc. The final decision must
consider both needs of the economical interest and the ecological value and often is a negotiation.

REFERENCES

Chao, B. F., 1995. Anthropological impact on global geodynamics due to reservoir water impoundment.
Geophysical Research Letters. 22: 3529–3532.
Collings, M., 1972. A methodology for determining in stream flow requirements for fish, in “Proc. of in stream
flow methodology workshop ”, pp. 72–86, Washington Dept of Ecology, Olympia.
Ken, D. Bovee, Berton L. Lamb, etc., 1998. Stream Habitat Analysis using the In stream Flow Incremental
Methodology, USGS/BRD/ITR-1998-0004.
Lanfen Liu., 2002. Impacts of hydropower development on river basin environment, Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, No.8: p121–128.
Ling Liu, Zeng Chuan, Guangbai Cui, etc., 2002. Quantitative study of ecological environment flow in inland
rivers. Lakes Science, Vol.14, No.1.
McCully, P., 1996. Silenced Rivers. The ecology and politics of large dams. London: Zed Books.
National Standard Department of China (NSDC), 1983.Technology principle and method about formulated
standards for discharge of pollutant(GB3839-83).
Boon, P. J., Callow, P., Petts, G. L., 1992. River conservation and management, John Wiley & Sons.

931
Ranghui Wang, Yudong Song, Zili Pan, etc., 2000. 3S Technology is applied to ecological environment dynamic
study in Talimu River down stream, Journal of Nanjing Forestry University. 24(4).
Shubing Cui., 2001. Approach some questions about ecological environment flow in rivers,
http://www.cws.net.cn/CWR_Journal/200108/30.html.
Tennant, D. L., 1976. Instream flow regimens for fish, wildlife, recreation and related environmental resources,
Fisheries, 1.
United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1997. “Terms of Environment: Glossary, Abbreviations, and
Acronyms.” EPA Office of Communications, Education, and Media Relations. Revised December 1997.
Ziyun Fang, Jiaxiang Zou, Yiming Wu., 1994.Environment Hydraulics Introduction, China Environment
Science Publishing House.

932
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Freshwater invertebrate community structure in a small urban river

Masahiro Tamai, Tomochika Fujisawa & Naoki Uenoyama

Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Japan

ABSTRACT: It is recognized that elimination of morphological heterogeneity of river habitats

causes serious damages on stream biotic communities. It has become important to consider how
to produce a suitable ecosystem for fully-controlled or heavily modified rivers where the heteroge-
neity or dynamic hydraulic phenomena to make the heterogeneity has already lost. The Sumiyoshi
River, one of urban rivers in Japan, has entirely lost natural geographical features by soil erosion
control works; nevertheless aquatic invertebrate community in the river seems to be in a relatively
good condition. The purpose of this study is to investigate a relationship between aquatic inver-
tebrate community structures and hydraulic characteristics in the Sumiyoshi River by using some
community structure indices and the principle component analysis of the community structure. It
is indicated that a variety of micro habitats that accidentally occur in the monotonous river channel
support the abundance of aquatic invertebrate genera.

1 INTRODUCTION

There have been a lot of preceding researches dealing with effects of human activities on natural
river ecosystems (e.g. Sponsellerr et al. 2001). It is recognized that modifications of a river such
as construction of dams or modifications of the drainage area such as change of land use strongly
influence stream biotic community. Particularly elimination of morphological heterogeneity of
river habitats or decrease of dynamic hydraulic phenomena that give disturbances to make the
heterogeneity is substantial. Little knowledge of biological communities of rivers heavily modified
by human activities have been accumulated so far because of indifference of river biologists to the
heavily modified rivers. However recent challenges to river ecosystem restoration increase a need
for the knowledge. It is important to consider how biotic communities of the heavily modified
rivers develop, how different they are from those of natural rivers and what they should be like.
This research is aimed to examine community structures of invertebrates in such a heavily modified
river and to consider how to regenerate suitable ecosystems for the river.

2 METHOD

2.1 Study site

The Sumiyoshi River is one of small urban rivers which have their sources in the Mt. Rokko, Hyogo
Pref., Japan. It flows through an urbanized area located on the south-facing slope of the mount
in Kobe City. The drainage area of the river is about 11 km2 ; the length of the main river channel
is about 4 km; the averaged slope is about 1/80. The water quality is relatively good because the
drainage area is fully equipped with the sewage system. It is well known in Japan that people in the
Kobe City area suffered for disasters of debris flows which occurred in slopes of Mt. Rokko and
a great deal of effort has gone into soil erosion control works. Therefore natural geomorphologic
features of the river have been entirely destroyed because of constructions of a lot of erosion control
structures such as dams and drops.

933
 The study reach is about 2.4 km long and in the urbanized area of the Kobe City. The slope of
river bed in the reach is about 1/90. 7 study sections were selected from the reach on the basis of
shapes of cross-sections and bed slopes. Downstream 6 sections of 7 have composite cross-sections
and trapezoidal main channels with concrete revetments. At the uppermost section, the river flows
through riparian woods which grow up on sediment kept by a erosion control dam. And there are
some small riffle-pool sequences in the section. This section has some characteristics observed in
natural rivers. Details of characteristics of the sections are shown in Table 1.

2.2 Sampling
For each of the sections, 5 different habitat types (head-sized stone bed, pebble bed, sand bed, sand
and litter bed with vegetation, and stone-faced bed) were selected depending on bed conditions at
most because of lack of riffle-pool structures commonly seen in natural rivers. A patch containing
only one habitat type is the smallest unit of invertebrate community and is referred to the micro
habitat in this study. Invertebrates were sampled at three sampling points randomly selected in the
micro habitat to make replicas. Water quality and hydraulic variables were measured at each of the
sampling point. Total number of the sampling points was about 70 because not all the habitat types
were provided in each of the sections.
NO2 , PO4 and COD were measured by water test kits (SHIBATA, Simple Pack) for each of the
study sections; pH and DO by a pH meter (YSI Co., Model 15) and a DO meter (YSI Co., Model
660) respectively at each of the sampling points.
Averaged velocity for 60s was measured 1cm above stream bed by an electromagnetic current
meter (KENEK Co., VP200LG) at each of the sampling points. Water depth was also measured at
each of the points.
Invertebrates were sampled at each of the points according to the method proposed by Karr (Karr
1999). A quadrat of about 0.09 m2 is placed on the stream bed and a Surber sampler was set at the
downstream of the quadrat. Invertebrates were collected by disturbing and sweeping bed materials.
Collected invertebrate were preserved in 85% ethanol in the field. They were sorted and identified
to the possible lowest taxonomic classification, which was usually genus, in the laboratory. Then
numbers of individuals were counted for each of the genera. The genera are grouped according to
the Functional Feeding Group (FFG) and the habit group (HG) (Merrit 1996).

Table 1. Characteristics of study sections.

Section L(m) S Features of channels and flood beds

I 694 1/100 Sand and gravel bed studded with small sand bars covered by
vegetation. There are 4 low drop structures with consolidation by
stone-faced bed at intervals of a few hundred meters in the section. Head
sized stones are scattered just downstream of each of the drop structure.
II 225 1/70 Similar to the section I
III 83 1/25 The section III consists of a sequence of pool-type drop structures
made of concrete. Shoot and pool flow. A little sand and litter are
deposited on a part of concrete channel beds.
IV 224 1/50 Similar to the section I. Intervals between low drop structures are
shorter than those of the section I. Density of sand bars with
vegetation is higher than the section I.
V 530 1/85 Similar to the section I. Rate of sand bed habitat increases.
VI 500 1/100 Located just downstream of an erosion control dam. Widths of main
channel and floodway are maxima through the study reach.
The floodway is used as a small park. Braided streams
and sand bars with vegetation develop.
VII 130 1/100 Located between two erosion control dams. Riparian woods develop
on sand bars. The stream meanders and has riffle-pool structure.

L(m): lengths of the study sections; S: slopes of river beds of the sections.

934
2.3 Data analysis
Invertebrate community indices such as individual numbers, numbers of genera and the Shannon’s
diversity index which represent community features of invertebrates were calculated for each of
the micro habitats and for each of the sections. Let Sj be total numbers of genera of jth sample,
nij individual number of ith genus in the jth sample, Nj total individual number of the jth sample,
which is obtained by summing nij over i = 1 toSi , then the Shannon’s diversity index Hj is defined
as follow:

The principle component analysis (PCA) was applied to numbers of individuals belonging to
each of the taxa, to the FFGs and to the HGs in order to examine patterns of macroinvertebrates
community structure. Logarithmically (Log10(x + 1)) transformed relative abundances of 10 taxa,
5 FFGs and 6 HGs, each of which accounted for more than 1% of total abundances of all samples
were used as variables.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Water quality and hydraulic variables

CODs were 4 mg/L in section I, 2 mg/L in sections V and VI and 0 mg/L in the other sections. PO4
and NO2 were less than the detectable minimum values of the kits except the section I, in which
they were 0.02 mg/L and 0.2 mg/L respectively. The water quality was relatively good over the
study reach. The other measured variables are listed in Table 2. Variations of water quality variables
were less than those of hydraulic variables such as depth and velocity through the study reach. The
hydraulic variables as well as substratum conditions chiefly characterized the micro habitats.

3.2 Invertebrates community

5745 individuals of invertebrates were collected in the study reach and sorted into 34 taxa. Table 3
lists the taxa for which ten or more individuals could be collected in each of the study sections and
their FFGs and HGs.
Longitudinal variations of normalized individual number (NID), normalized genera number
(NGN) and the Shannon’s diversity index (SDI) are shown in Fig. 1. The NID and the NGN are
obtained by dividing total individual number and total genera number sampled in each of the
sections by those in the whole study reach. The NGN gradually decrease as one goes downstream
while the NID and the Shannon’s index is almost constant with the exception of the section III. All
the indices of the section III are much smaller than those of the other section. This is caused by the

Table 2. Hydraulic and water quality variables.

M SD NSD

Depth(m) 13.5 9.40 0.70

Velocity(m/s) 0.34 0.26 0.75
Temperature(◦ C) 8.2 1.1 0.13
pH 8.2 0.23 0.028
DO(mg/l) 11.3 0.49 0.043
DO(%) 95.3 3.2 0.033

M: value averaged over sampling points; SD: standard deviation; NSD is standard
deviation normalized by mean value.

935
 Table 3. Collected taxa, HG and FFG.

Taxa HG FFG Taxa HG FFG

Baetis Sw CG Goera Cg Sc
Baetiela Sw CG Apataniidae Cg, Cm, Sp Sc, CG
Epeoru Cg CG Perlodidae Cg Pr
Cincticostella Cg CG, (Sc), ((Sh)) Neoperla Cg Pr
Acerella Cg CG Amphinemura Sp Sh
Ephemera Bu CG Psephenidae Cg Sc
Cheumatopsyce Cg <NS> CF Elmidae Cg, ((Cm)) CG, Sc
Hydropsyche Cg <NS> CF Simuliidae Cg CF
Rhyacophila Cg P Tipulidae Bu Sh
Goerides Cm, Sp, Cg Sh Asellus Sp Sh, CG
Gumage Sp Sh

HG means the habit groups (Sw: swimmers; Cg: clingers; Bu: burrowers; NS: netspiners; Cm: climbers; Sp:
sprawlers). FFG means the functional feeding group (CG: collector-gatherers; Sc: scrapers; Pr: predators;
Sh: shredders; CF: collector-filterers). ( ): some; (( )): few; <NS>: net-spinners included.

1 2.5 0.6
H
H G
0.8 H H 2 0.5
RELATIVE ABUNDANCE

H J
H
J J
0.4
NID, NGN

0.6 J 1.5
J
SDI

J
0.3 E C
0.4 1
H E G
C
B 0.2 E
0.2 0.5 C C
G
B B
B J
B B 0.1 C
E E
0 B 0 E
G G
I II III IV V VI VII 0 G G
E
STUDY SECTIONS I II III IV V VI VII
STUDY SECTIONS
Figure 1. Normalized individual number (NID,

); normalized number of genera (NGN, ◦); the Figure 2. Relative abundance of genera belonging to
Shannon’s diversity index (SDI, ). the Sh. (◦: Goerodes, : Amphinemura,
: Gumaga).

bed conditions of the section shown in Table 1. As suggested by many researchers (e.g. Toyoshima
et al. 1996), the stone-faced bed is too monotonous for many invertebrate genera to shelter from
high velocity stream or to obtain food resources. Therefore only a few genera that have specialized
functions to inhabit the stone-faced bed are observed in the study reach.
Figures 2–4 depict longitudinal changes of relative abundance of genera belonging to each of the
FFGs. The relative abundance is defined by a ratio of individual number of each of the FFGs to the
total individual number. The relative abundance of shredders gradually decreases as ones proceeds
downstream with the exception of the section III. This indicates that supply of coarse particulate
organic matters (CPOM) by upstream riparian vegetation is substantial for food resources of the
shredders although small vegetated bars scatter over the study reach and may supply CPOM. In
contrast, relative abundance of the scrapers increases in the downstream direction. Vannote (1980)
suggested that the scrapers become abundant in midstream where conditions of sunlight, current
velocity and water depth are suitable for production of microalgae. Because none of these conditions
significantly changes over the study reach, longitudinal variation of the relative abundance of the
scrapers may be controlled by abundance of the other FFGs. The predators roughly decrease in
the downstream direction. This means that food resources, which support the predators, are most
abundant in the uppermost section.

936
 0.5 0.6
E
RELATIVE ABUNDANCE

0.5

RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
0.4 C
E
0.4
0.3
C
E 0.3 C
E C C
0.2 E
0.2
C
C E
0.1 C
E 0.1 C
E E
C
0 E
C C E E 0 E C C
E
I II III IV V VI VII I II III IV V VI VII
STUDY SECTIONS STUDY SECTIONS

Figure 3. Relative abundance of genera belonging Figure 4. Relative abundance of genera belonging to
to the Sc. (◦: Psephenidae, : Goera). the Pr. (◦: Perlodidae, : Neoperla).

Table 4. Correlation of each of the HGs or of each of the FFGs with PCs.
PCA axis PCA axis

HG 1 2 FFG 1 2

Sw −.292 .380 CG .286 .715

Cg .762 .494 CF .442 .483
Cm .823 −.328 Sc .441 −.124
NS .378 .850 Sh .627 −.661
Bu .233 .047 Pr .832 .062
Sp .817 −.401

The PCA was applied to ‘grouped’ individual numbers in order to investigate the relationship
between the invertebrate community structures and the micro habitats. Each of the genera is classi-
fied to one of the HGs and to one of the FFGs as shown in Table 3. The grouped individual number
is obtained by summing individual numbers over all genera that are categorized as the same HG or
the same FFG for each of the micro habitat.
First two principle components (PC1 and PC2) extracted by the PCA from the grouped individual
number of the HGs accounted for 37% and 24% of the total variance. Table 4 shows correlation
coefficients between each of the HGs and the principle components. All the HGs but the swim-
mers have positive loadings on the PC1. Significantly high loadings are calculated for climbers,
sprawlers, and clingers which crawl on the bed materials, while negative loading for swimmers.
The axis seems to represent difference in a function of movement in stream. The PC2, which is posi-
tively correlated with net-spinners, clingers and swimmers capable of living in habitats exposed to
high stream velocity and negatively for sprawlers and climbers. The axis also represents a gradient
from erosional environment to depositional one.
First two axis extracted from the FFGs accounted for 31% and 24% of the total variance. Table 4
shows coefficients of correlation between each of the FFGs and the principal components. All the
variables of the FFGs have positive correlation coefficients. Members at higher position in the
trophic web have high loadings on the PC1. The predators are at the top position and the collector-
gatherer and the collector-filterer at the lowest in invertebrates communities in this study. The
collector-gatherers and the collector-filterers which usually feed on FPOM have positive loadings
on the PC2; the shredders and the scrapers which feed on CPOM supplied by riparian woods or
produced in stream have negative loadings on it. Rempel et al.(2000) also indicates that distribution

937
Figure 5. Scatter plot for Habit group by PCA. Figure 6. Scatter plot for FFG by PCA. The lines
The lines from centroid of the PCs in each habitat from centroid of the PCs in each habitat groups to each
groups to each sample points are drawn. : pebble, sample points are drawn. : pebble, ◦: vegetation,
:
◦: vegetation,
: stone, : stone-faced, ♦: sand. stone, : stone-faced, ♦: sand.

of the shredders is closely related to the CPOM. The axis seems to show coarseness of food resources
invertebrates can use.
Figure 5 depicts distribution of the community structures in the micro habitats on the axes
obtained by the HGs. The community structures represented by the HGs are clearly distinguished
by the habitat types. This indicates that the HGs are directly related to the habitat types or to the
micro habitats in this study. Fig. 6 indicates that the community structures by the FFGs are also
related to the habitat type but domains occupied by micro habitats of the same habitat type rather
overlapped each other. This means that genera that inhabit the same habitat type may use different
food resources or that genera that use the same food resources can inhabit different habitat types.

4 CONCLUSION

The invertebrate community structure in the Sumiyoshi River was examined in relation to hydraulic
characteristics of the micro habitats using the community structure indices, the HG, the FFG, the
principle component analysis and etc. The observed invertebrate community was much richer than
expected. It is indicated that a variety of micro habitats that accidentally occur in the monotonous
river channel support the abundance of aquatic invertebrate genera and that in spite of a small
urban or heavily modified river, the Sumiyoshi River has longitudinal variation of the invertebrate
community structure stated by the River Continuum Concept.

REFERENCES

Karr, J.K. 1999, Defining and measuring river health, Freshwater Biology 41:221–234.
Merrit R.W. & Cummins K.W. 1996, An introduction of the aquatic insects of north america, 3rd edn., Kendall
Hunt.
Rempel, L., Richardson, J.S. & Healey, M.C. 2000, Macro-invertebrate community structure along gradients
of hydraulic and sedimentary conditions in a large gravel-bed river, Freshwater Biology 45: 57–73.
Sponsellerr, R.A., Benfield E.F. & Vallet, H.M. 2001, Relationships between land use, spatial scale and stream
macro-invertebrate communities, Freshwater Biology 46: 1409–1424.
Toyoshima, T., Nakano, S. Inoue, M. Ono, Y. & Kurashige Y. 1996, Fish population responses to stream habitat
improvement in a concrete-lined channel, Japanese Journal of Ecology 46: 9–20.

938
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A study on physical feature of river channel which supporting the

diversity of species of fishes

Kazuya Kawamura
Taisei Construction Company, Japan

Kengo Sunada
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and
Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Japan

ABSTRACT: In this study, quantitative analysis on the relation between the diversity of physical
circumstances of river channel and the diversity of species of fishes has been carried out. The
authors looked into the physical factor of river channel influencing the diversity of fish species,
in addition to the results until now. The diversity of species of fishes was assessed by using the
Simpson’s diversity index. On the other hand, the diversity of physical circumstances of river
channel was expressed by standard deviations of the channel hydraulic variables, such as water
depth and flow velocity.
The results of this examination showed that the diversity of species of fishes was secured in the
area which the diversity of species of the young fishes was rich. And, as for the rate of the area of
the shoreline, it found that “riffle and pool” is important in the present study.

1 INTRODUCTION

In recent year, various researches and studies for preserving biodiversity have carried out. In Japan,
a “New Biodiversity National Strategy” was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers establishing the
National Council for earth environment preservation in March 2002. That decision makes the
biodiversity preservation a matter of high priority in the government official agenda.
The existing study on the river ecology for freshwater fishes has conducted series of investigation
into selected fish habitat that is considered hospitable for key species of fishes. A number of major
results have been obtained from each investigation point.
It seems that the fish habitat that is used by different fish species for different activities such as
spawning, nursing, shelter and feeding, is only known, but efforts have yet to be made to preserve
the habitat mixture for a large variety of fish. The food demand and competition among various
use and development of the river water and related resources are growing and that has a strong
implication on the river ecology and fish habitat in the major rivers in Japan. Therefore, the study
pays a special attention to this key point, namely, to preserve fishery resources through preserving
its important habitat. The existing captured fishes data, the geographical feature data of river
channel and hydrological data from the key stretches of the main rivers in Japan, namely the Fuji
River, the Tenryu River, the Ota River and the Shinano River were analyzed and the diversity of
species of fishes and physical diversity of river channel were expressed quantitatively, aiming at
getting to know their correlation.
For the present study, the authors selected the key river stretches whose length is between 300
to 1000 meters for conducting investigation and proper evaluation (hereinafter called investigation
areas). In some cases the investigation areas are coincided with size of the defined fishing areas,
which are most suitable area extension when considering habitat of various fishes.

939
Table 1. The outline of investigation area and fish data for evaluation in this study.

Distance Form Number of Number of

Name of of the of species of total of
investigation investigation River captured captured
River name Sign area area (km) Slope bed fishes fishes (N)

Fuji River F1 Horai Bridge 0.5 1/247 Bb 15 364

F2 Nanbu Bridge 0.5 1/236 Bb 15 470
F3 Fuji Bridge 1.0 1/722 Bb 11 1245
F4 Shingen Bridge 1.1 1/141 Bb 10 371
Tenryu River T1 Iida city 0.9 1/99 Bb 19 1080
T2 Minami Oshima 0.8 1/192 Bb 14 447
T3 Tazawa River 0.5 1/190 Bb 23 774
T4 Amano Naka Bridge 0.3 1/210 Bb 19 699
T5 Sakato Bridge 0.3 1/125 Bb 12 571
T6 Kokaji Bridge 0.3 1/355 Bb 16 287
T7 Tenryu Bridge 0.3 1/173 Bb 18 548
T8 Kitanoshiro Bridge 0.3 1/163 Bb 18 536
T9 Ina city 0.3 1/262 Bb 15 531
T10 Ohizumi River 0.3 1/262 Bb 16 411
T11 Kakinoki pool 0.4 1/250 Bb 15 346
T12 Yokogawa River 0.5 1/240 Bb-Bc 12 295
Ota River O1 Higashino 0.4 1/620 Bb 23 445
O2 Takase gate 0.5 1/620 Bb 23 402
O3 Kumura 0.6 1/620 Bb 20 497
O4 Kyoei Bridge 0.3 1/890 Bb 18 282
O5 Huti Bank 0.3 1/150 Bb 9 234
O6 Doi Bridge 0.4 1/100 Aa-Bb 15 267
Shinano River S1 Umagoe 0.3 1/2075 Bc 19 235
S2 Nagaoka Bridge 0.3 1/1600 Bb-Bc 18 401
S3 Uekatagai 0.5 1/520 Bb 15 267
S4 Sakae Bridge 0.3 1/285 Bb 12 895

2 CALCULATING OF THE DIVERSITY OF SPECIES OF FISHES

2.1 The outline of the river and investigation area for evaluation in this study
The present study focused on four main rivers in Japan, including the Fuji River, the Tenryu River,
the Ota River and the Shinano River. And 26 key investigation areas were selected along the four
rivers, including 4 areas in the Fuji River, 12 in the Tenryu River, 6 in the Ota River, and 4 areas in
the Shinano River. The outlines of the investigation areas – river name, sign, distance (km), slope,
Form of river channel, number of fish species and number of the captured fishes (N), area shown
in Table 1.

2.2 About the fishery data

In this study, the fishery data is used as basic data for calculating the diversity of fish species. These
fishery data called “National Census of the River and Waterside” is the results of the fundamental
investigation about the living biota in the river, carried out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure
and Transport in the main rivers in Japan. The investigation is conducted every five years or so,
since each year the investigation focuses on one selected item such as “Fish and Shell”, “Plant”,
“Bird” and “Amphibian, Reptile and Mammal”. The available data is from the previous two rounds
of investigation carried out in each of the four selected river. It also includes information on fish
catch condition, and is thought highly reliable.

940
 1.0
The diversity of the species of fishes
(Simpson's Index : 1-D) 0.8

0.6

0.4
the captured fishes in total
0.2 an adult fishes
a young fishes
0.0
F1 F2 F3 F4 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 T10 T11 T12 O1 O2 O3 O4 O5 O6 S1 S2 S3 S4
Sign ; The places of fish data (26 key stations, Fuji river, Tenryu river, Ota river, Shinano river)

Figure 1. The results of calculating of Simpson’s Index (1-D) in this study.

The most recent fishery data used data used in this study is from 1998 survey in the Fuji River,
2002 in the Tenryu River, 2000 in the Ota River 2000, 1997 in the Shinano. The data also allow a
closer analysis into the growth situation (juvenile fish) from the measurement of the length of the
captured fishes carried out in the present study. Thereby, evaluation of whether each investigation
area corresponds to growth stage of various habitat fishes was also tried.
In effect, “diversity of fishes in each investigation area” was evaluated through using the clas-
sification method of the diversity of fish species in this study. The “Index of Simpson’s Diversity
(1-D)” was found useful in the field of mathematical ecology as a quantitative index showing the
diversity of species of fishes was adopted. The diversity calculation results for evaluation is shown
in Fig. 1.

2.3 About Simpson’s Index (1-D)

Assuming that the number of species of the captured fishes in each investigation area is “i”, “n” is
shown the number of catch of each fish species, and “N” shows total of the number of fish catch
at each investigation area.
This is expressed with “0< =1-D=1” (D = ni (ni − 1)/N(N − 1).
<

As a result, if 1-D is close to “1”, the area is considered to consist of by various fish species,
and if it is close to 0, it means the absence of fish diversity.

2.4 The considerations of this result

The study’s results show the fish inhabitants in the investigation areas of the each river. It can be
estimated that habitat situation in the whole varies. However some areas, for example, area F3 in
the Fuji River and S4 in the Shinano River, “fish species is remarkably less diverse and the result of
an index is also low. It is concluded that the difference of physical conditions of the river channels”
in the investigation area explains the different level in fish diversity. This finding necessitates a
closer look at the physical conditions of the selected rivers.
In the following part, “The Diversity of Physical Circumstances of River Channel” is discussed.

3 THE DIVERSITY OF PHYSICAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF RIVER CHANNEL

3.1 The calculation result

In this study, the cross section data collected in each river and the flow data (95 days, 185 days,
275 days and 355 days-discharge were adopted as a representation of annual flows) were used
as the basic data for calculating the physical circumstances of river channel. Here for example,
95 days-discharge means the flow discharge which daily discharge data of 95 days in a year
exceed.

941
 .034 .034 .034

38

36
Elevation (m)

34

32

120 140 160 180 200 220 240

Station (m)

Figure 2. An example of calculating result of water depth (m) and flow velocity (m/s) distribution in the cross
section.

Legend Depth Velocity

Discharge
(m) (m/s)
95days
355days
Elevation
1.5 378
(m) and flow velocity (m/s) in the cross

The elevation of point (m) where water

The standard deviation of water depth

depth becomes most deep within the

1.2 376

target cross section

0.9 374
section

0.6 372

0.3 370

0.0 368
143.8 144.0 144.2 144.4 144.6 144.8 145.0 145.2
The cross section of river channel contained in the object for evaluation
(investigation area ; km)

Figure 3. The diversity of physical circumstances of river channel. (Investigation area: sign T1).

First of all, a detailed hydraulic calculation was performed using this basic information. That was
followed by the standard deviation as a “distribution in the cross section of the water depth (m)
and the flow velocity (m/s)” in the direction of stream was calculated, to come up with index of the
diversity of physical circumstances of river channel (Fig. 2).
Figure 3 from analysis of investigation area T1 in the Tenryu River, and Fig. 4 from area O4 in
the Ota River show the correlation between the diversity of species of fishes and the diversity of
physical circumstances of river channel.
Consideration is focused on the results of the two cases of “95 days-discharge” and “355 days-
discharge” as typical flow stages in each river. In order to know the meaning of the standard deviation
of the water depth and flow velocity in the each cross section, the distributions of elevation of the
lowest riverbed in each cross section were also shown in the Figures.

942
 1.5 45

depth (m) becomes most deep within the

(m) and flow velocity (m/s) in the cross
The standard deviation of water depth

The elevation of point where water

1.2 43

target cross section

0.9 41
section

0.6 39

0.3 37

0.0 35
26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 26.6
The cross section of river channel contained in the object for evaluation
(Investigation Area ; km)

Figure 4. The diversity of physical circumstances of river channel. (Investigation area: sign O4).

3.2 Consideration of the diversity of physical circumstances of river channel

The main conclusion from the Figures 2, 3 and 4 is described as follows. From the standard deviation
of water depth (m) and flow velocity (m/s) in each cross section in the selected investigation area
of river channel, the structure which can be judged as “riffle and pool” was shown.
Although the standard deviation of water depth in case of “pool” in a cross section is large, the
flow velocity is low. That explains that the range of the distribution of the water depth from shallow
place to deep place in a cross section is large. On the other hand, although the standard deviation
of flow velocity in case of “riffle” in a cross section is large, the water depth is low. That means
that range of the distribution of the flow velocity from fast-flowing place to slow-flowing place in
a cross section is large.
These results approve the existing qualitative understanding that habitat of various fishes is
formed in an area where the physical circumstances of river channel are various. However, the
results of this study shows also that habitat of various fishes is possibly formed in the area where
physical circumstances of river channel are not various such as “riffle and pool” in a channel. On
this point, characteristics of the river shoreline required for young fishes are discussed in the next
section.

4 EVALUATION OF SHORELINE AREA

The authors conducted the investigation other factor influencing diversity of fish species, as shown
in Fig. 5. This figure clearly shows the correlation between the “diversity of the juvenile fishes”,
and the “diversity of total fish species”. From this Figure, there is a correlation in each area of River
channel between the distribution of the diversity of the all fishes and the diversity of young fishes.
That means that in order to preserve the diversity of fish species, the shoreline area required as
living space of the young fishes in their growth stage are considered to be extremely useful criteria
for its evaluation.
Fundamentally, the shoreline area is understood from a viewpoint of hydrodynamics as the areas
where “the water depth is shallow” and “the flow velocity is low”. After preliminarily defining the
shore-line areas, the actual measurement of water depth and flow velocity of the identified shoreline
areas in actual river was conducted, and detail about the ecology of young fishes was studied.
As a result, the authors designated the place where the water depth is 10 cm or less and the flow
velocity is 20 cm/s or less as the shoreline areas.

943
 1.0
The divesity of the species of total fishes
(Simpson's 1-D). (26 key points) 0.8

0.6

R2 = 0.6021
0.4

0.2

0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
The calculating results of diversity of the species of young fishes (Simpson's 1-D)
(26 key point)

Figure 5. The relation between the diversity of the total fishes and young fishes in each investi-
gation area.
young fishes in each river (Simpson's Index)
The results of the diversity of the species of

1.0
Fuji River
Tenryu River
0.8
Ota River

0.6 Shinano River

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 3 6 9 12 15
The range of surface area that the domain set up as a water edge area (%)

Figure 6. The relation between the diversity of young fishes and the range of surface area as the
shoreline area in each river.

Next, the correlation between the superficial area of a shoreline and calculation results of the
diversity of young fishes in the investigation areas was investigated. The result is shown in Fig. 6.
From this figure, it can be seen that the diversity of non-adult fishes tended to become low when
the shoreline region was only 1%–2% of the investigation area in each river, and the tendency for
diversity to become high when it was 5%–6%.
On the other hand, when the shoreline region becomes larger than 8%–9%, the diversity tends
to decrease.
In summary, for maintaining habitat for the crowded fishes inhabiting in the investigation areas
it is recommended that it is important to secure the superficial area as a shoreline area. The authors
are of opinion that these results become a basis for considering on the preservation of the fish
habitat of fishes while planning and implementing river development in Japan. From this point on,
the study would conduct further investigation in the section of river channel where there is larger
water edge or shoreline areas or no shoreline area to further evaluate the fish diversity in those
areas.

944
5 CONCLUSION

The key findings of the present study can be summarized as follows.

The riffle and the pool as structure of riverbed were able to be judged from the distribution of
the standard deviation of “the water depth and the flow velocity” in a cross section.
Habitation of various fish species is limited in the area where structure of riverbed is complicated.
On the other hand, it was able to show also in the area where structure of riverbed is not
complicated that habitation of highly diverse fish species is possible.
As a foundation for supporting the analysis of fish diversity, the superficial width of the shoreline
area (depth of water of 10 cm or less, and the flow velocity 20 cm/s or less) in each investigation
area was conducted. Consequently, it was found that when the shoreline area was maintained for
about 5 to 6%, the tendency for the diversity of fishes becomes high.
Part of this research was supported by the Fund for River Maintenance 2003, the Foundation of
River & Watershed Environment Management. The authors wish to express their deep appreciation
to the generous support.

REFERENCES

Kengo Sunada, Kazuya Kawamura. 2003. Fundamental Study on the Relation Between the Physical Diversity
of River Channel and the Diversity of Kinds of Fishes. The Collection of River Technical Papers, The 9th,
2003/06, pp. 415–420
Co-operative Associations Japan Fisheries Resource Conservation Association. 1996. Fisheries Preservation
Functional Quantification Enterprises: “The Judgment Standard and Examples” for judging the influence
Circumstances Affects a River and Fisheries
E.P. Odum (writer), Jiro Mishima (translator).1991. Fundamentals of Ecology: Baifukan Publishing company

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Evaluation of weight of parameter for spawning of Ayu, Plecoglossus

altivelis, and prediction of spawn density per unit area

Takayuki Nagaya
Chief Engineer, CTI Engineering Co., Ltd., Daimyo, Fukuoka, Japan

Kouki Onitsuka
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engrg., Kyushu Institute of Tech., Kita-Kyushu, Japan

Makoto Higashino & Tohru Takami

Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engrg., Oita National College of Tech., Oita, Japan

Noriharu Otsuka
Manager, Nobeoka Work Office, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Nobeoka, Japan

Juichiro Akiyama
Professor, Department of Civil Engrg., Kyushu Institute of Tech., Kita-Kyushu, Japan

Kazuya Matsumoto
Graduate Student, Kyushu Institute of Tech., Kita-Kyushu, Japan

ABSTRACT: Hydraulic structures such as a dam, weir and water gate affect on the flow depth,
velocity, bed shape, water quality and so on, so that the hydraulic structures may affect on the
water environment for plants and aquatic lives in and around rivers. Therefore, before construction
of such hydraulic structures, it is necessary to conduct the environmental assessment. However,
the accuracy of the environmental assessment is not so high at present, because it is not clear that
what is the most effective parameter on the water environment. In this study, the most effective
parameters for spawning of ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis, were selected from the several values such
as water temperature, velocity, flow depth, channel slope, BOD, COD, pH, SS and so on, by making
use of a principal component regression analysis on the basis of the field data obtained from the
Gokase River, Japan. It was found that the most effective parameters for spawning of ayu are water
temperature, velocity, flow depth and SS in the case of the Gokase River.

1 INTRODUCTION

Ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis, inhabits in Japan, Korean peninsula and the east of the continent of
China. They lay eggs at the lower reach of the river in autumn and drift downstream to the sea as
soon as hatching. After about half year, they migrate to the upper and middle reach of the river and
feed on algae adhering on rocks. In autumn, mature ayu spawn and then die.
Ayu is one of the most important fish for fishery in Japan so that it is important to conduct the
environmental assessment before construction of the hydraulic structures in the river. It is necessary
to make clear what is the most effective parameter on spawning of ayu, when the environmental
assessment is conducted. Hara (1990) regarded the bulk mean velocity, flow depth, diameter of the
sand at the spawning site and water temperature as the parameter of spawning of ayu. Sugishita
(1995) regarded the water temperature and DO as the parameter. It is also pointed out that the SS,
COD, BOD affect on the habitat of ayu. As the above mentioned, it is not clear what is the most
effective parameter for spawning of ayu. In this study, the most effective parameters for spawning of

947
ayu were selected from the several values such as water temperature, velocity, flow depth, incline,
BOD, COD, pH, SS and so on, by making use of a principal component regression analysis.

2 PREVIOUS STUDIES

Figure 1 shows ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis. Ayu has a distinctive shape of dorsal fin. The lifetime of
ayu is only one year. There are three types of ayu in Japan, i.e., normal type, landlocked type in the
Lake Biwa and subspecies in Ryukyu Islands. The properties of each type are somewhat different.
The ayu of the normal type feeds on algae adhering on rocks. The body length of full growth
ayu is about 15–30 cm. It is known that ayu lays eggs at the lower reach of the river in the case of
the normal type. Table 1 shows the results of previous studies on the parameters which may affect
on the spawning of ayu. Ishida & Ichijo (1990) pointed out that flow depth and sand diameter of
the spawning ground are the parameters of the spawning of ayu. Hara (1990) pointed out that the
velocity and water temperature also affect on the spawning of ayu. On the other hand, it is known
that the ayu cannot inhabits in the condition that the DO is larger than 7 mg/L and also BOD is
larger than 2 mg/L. As mentioned the above, each researcher used each parameter so that what is
the most effective parameter for spawning of ayu is not investigated.

Figure 1. Ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis in autumn.

Table 1. Preference value of each parameter in past research.

Bulk mean Diameter of

velocity (m/s) Flow depth (m) sand (mm) Temperature (◦ C)

Ishida & – 0.2–0.25 Below 10 –

Itijou
Hara 0.5 0.1–0.2 5–25 Around 18
Ishida 0.2–1.2 0.1–0.6 Below 5 –
Akazaki – – – 10–16
Gokase 0.5–1.6 0.15–0.7 Below 5 Below 15
River

948
3 TARGET RIVER

Figure 2 shows the lower reach of the Gokase River. The Gokase River is located at the middle part
of Kyushu Island in Japan and flows into the Pacific Ocean. The length and watershed catchment
area are 106 Km and 1820 Km2 , respectively. The Gokase River has three rapid, i.e., Hyakken,
Misu and Agata rapid. The ayu lays eggs in autumn on the ground in those rapid.
Several data of the Gokase River such as bulk mean velocity, flow depth, channel slope, water
temperature, pH, DO, BOD, COD, SS and spawn density were obtained. The water quantity data
such as the bulk mean velocity, flow depth, channel slope, water temperature and spawn density
were measured in the rapid. In contrast, the water quality data such as pH, DO, BOD, COD and
SS were measured in the observation station where is a little far away from the rapid, so that the
water quality data at the rapid were obtained with complementing data at the observation station.
Table 2 shows the mean value of all data.

Figure 2. Gokase River in Kyushu Island.

Table 2. A parameter name and each average

value.

Parameter Average

Velocity 0.66 [m/s]

Depth 0.24 [m]
Slope 0.0017 [m]
Temperature 13.30 [◦ C]
pH 7.52
DO 10.35 [mg/L]
BOD 0.55 [mg/L]
COD 0.68 [mg/L]
SS 0.97 [mg/L]
Spawn density 6.68 [piece/cm2 ]

949
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Correlation coefficient of explanatory variable

A multiple regression analysis is one of the well known analysis method to analyze the relationship
between the criterion variable and some explanatory variables. If the explanatory variable has a
multicollinearity tendency, it is difficult to use the multiple regression analysis. Therefore, it is
necessary to confirm whether the explanatory variable has a multicollinearity tendency or not
before using the multiple regression analysis. The correlation coefficient rij between the variables
si and sj is defined as follows:

Suffix i and j obeys the Einstein’s convention. Figure 3 shows the correlation coefficients between
each variable such as bulk mean velocity, flow depth, channel slope, water temperature, pH, DO,
BOD, COD and SS. The white mark denotes positive value and black one denotes negative value.
The size of the mark denotes the absolute value of the correlation coefficient rij . Of course, the
correlation coefficient between same variable becomes to unit value (=1.0). It was found that the
absolute values of the correlation coefficients between flow velocity and water depth and between
each water quality variables are quite high, so that it is difficult to use the multiple regression
analysis upon those data.

4.2 Principal component regression analysis

A principal component regression analysis is very useful to analyze the relationship between
the criterion variable and some explanatory variables, even if some explanatory values have a
multicollinearity tendency. The principal component regression analysis consists of two steps. In
the first step, the principal component analysis is conducted with the original data. In the second
step, the multiple regression analysis is conducted on the factor loading principal component.

rij
pH
1.0
DO 0.5
BOD 0
-0.5
COD
-1.0
SS

temp.

velocity
depth

slope

Figure 3. Correlation coefficients between each variable.

950
 Figures 4(a)–(c) shows the relationship between the factor loading of the first and second
principal components, the first and third principal components and second and third principal
components. The explanatory variables which take high score in the factor loading of the first
principal component are water temperature, pH, DO, BOD. It is supposed that the factor loading
of the first principal component concern with the quality of water. Further, it is supposed that the
factor loading of the second principal component concern with the physics of water, under the
same consideration. On the other hand, the meaning of the third principal component is not clear.
Table 3 shows the eigen value, proportion and cumulative proportion of the first, second and third
principal component. The value of the cumulative proportion of the second principal component is
0.833, so that the spawn density will be predicted with a 17% error when only those data is used.
The multiple regression analysis is conducted with the factor loading principal component.
Figure 5 shows the score of the first and second principal components. The absolute value of the
score of the first principal component is high at the Hyakken and downstream of Agata, so that
the water quantity affects on the spawn density there. In contrast, the absolute value of the score

1 1
Depth Factor loading of third principal component
Factor loading of second principal component

Velocity Slope Egg density

per unit aria

0.5 Egg density 0.5

COD pH
per unit aria DO
Slope SS Depth
Temp. BOD
0 0 COD
BOD
SS DO Velocity Temp
pH -0.5
-0.5

-1
-1
-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1
(a) Factor loading of first principal component (b) Factor loading of first principal component
1
Factor loading of third principal component

Slope

0.5 Egg density

SS per unit aria
pH DO
COD BOD Depth
0
Temp.
Velocity

-0.5

-1
-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1
(c) Factor loading of second principal component

Figure 4. (a) Relationship between factor loading of the first and second principal components. (b) Rela-
tionship between factor loading of the first and third principal components. (c) Relationship between factor
loading of the second and third principal components.

951
 Table 3. Eigen value, proportion and cumulative proportion of each
principal component.

First principal Second principal Third principal

component component component

Eigen value 5.41 2.09 0.979

Proportion 0.601 0.232 0.109
Cumulative 0.601 0.833 0.942
Proportion

4
Score of second principal component

2
Middlestream Downstream
Hyakken of Misu of Agata

0 Upstream
of Misu
Upstream
of Agata

-2

Downstream
of Misu
-4
-4 -2 0 2 4
Score of first principal component

Figure 5. Score of the first and second principal components.

Table 4. Result of a principal component regression analysis.

Partial regression Standard partial Partial correlation

coefficient regression coefficient coefficient

First principal component 0.759 0.306 0.368

Second principal component 1.50 0.375 0.425
Third principal component 2.10 0.359 0.411

of the second principal component is high at the downstream of Misu, so that the water quality
affects on the spawn density there. Table 4 shows the partial regression coefficient, standard partial
regression coefficient and partial correlation coefficient calculated from the principal component
regression analysis. The standard regression coefficient (RPC) is obtained from the sum of cross
products between the partial regression coefficient and the eigenvector. Table 5 shows the standard
regression coefficient (RPC) and the ranking of each parameter. The ranking of each parameter
depends on the absolute value of RPC and the value of RPC means the coefficient of each parameter
in the following equation.

952
 Table 5. Standard regression coefficient (RPC)
and a ranking of each parameter.

Explanatory variable RPC Ranking

Depth 0.282 1
Velocity 0.277 2
SS −0.164 3
Temperature 0.147 4
DO 0.0847 5
BOD 0.0847 6
COD 0.0841 7
pH 0.0821 8
Slope 0.0228 9

18
Spawn number per 1m2 calculated from Eqs.(2) and (3)

14

10

2 prediction value : Eq.(2)

prediction value : Eq.(3)

-2
-2 2 6 10 14 18
Spawn number per 1m2 obtained from field survey

Figure 6. Relationship between the field data and prediction value of the spawn density calculated from
Eqs.(2) and (3).

Therefore, the spawn density of ayu in the Gokase River is predicted from Eq.(2). In which suffix *
denotes the standard value. The suffix 1 to 9 denotes the value of flow depth, bulk mean velocity,
SS, water temperature, DO, BOD, COD, pH, bed slope, respectively.

4.3 Prediction of spawn density of ayu at Gokase River

The spawn density of ayu at the Gokase River can be predicted from Eq.(2). However, it is not easy
to obtain all data on the right hand side of Eq.(2). It is not so necessary for practical use to predict
the spawn density with high accuracy. The simple equation is suggested as follows:

Figure 6 shows the relationship between the field data and prediction value of the spawn density
calculated from Eqs.(2) and (3). The prediction value calculated from simple equation, i.e., Eq.(3),
is relatively good as compared with Eq.(2). It can be said that Eq.(3) in very useful to predict the
spawn density of ayu in the Gokase River.

953
5 CONCLUSIONS

In this study, the most effective parameters for spawning of ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis, were
selected from the several values such as water temperature, velocity, flow depth, channel slope,
BOD, COD, pH, SS and so on, by making use of a principal component regression analysis on the
basis of the field data obtained from the Gokase River, Japan. It was found that the most effective
parameters for spawning of ayu are water temperature, velocity, flow depth and SS in the case of
the Gokase River. A new equation which can predict the spawn density of ayu at the Gokase River
is suggested such as Eq.(3). However, Eq.(3) is useful only for the Gokase River. The standard
equation, which is useful for almost Japanese rivers, will be suggested near future.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are thankful to M. Suda, H. Kudoh, M. Kai and S. Tsuchida who belong to Nobeoka
Gokasegawa Gyokyo. The authors are also thankful to T. Shimizu, N. Toyokuni, Y. Shiraisi,
H. Tsurusaki, Y. Tagami, K. Nishie, H. Kai, J. Miyagi, A, Kono, Y. Kono, Y. Satoh, H. Isechi,
T. Tsunematsu, D. Kiuchi and M. Takeda.

REFERENCES

Akazaki, M., 1990, “Fishway in Miyazaki prefecture”, Proc. of the Int. Symposium on Fishways, ’90 in Gifu,
Japan, 45–52.
Hara, N., 1990, “Artificial spawning channel for Ayu fish at Lake Biwa”, Proc. Int. Sympsium. on Fishways,
’90 in Gifu, Japan, 75–80.
Ishida, R. and Ichijo, E., 1990, “Artificial river for spawning of ayu”, Proc. of the Int. Symposium on Fishways,
’90 in Gifu, Japan, 81–84.
Sugishita, T., Ono, K. and Mitura, H., 1995, “Evaluation of the hatching efficiency of Ayu in the incubation
channels”, Proc. of the Int. Symposium on Fishways, ’95 in Gifu, Japan, 24–26.

954
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Estimation of the inhabiting possible ground of Raptorial birds in

Saitama Prefecture

S. Tanaka
Toyo University, Saitama, Japan

T. Hatta
INA, Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

G. Uehara
Obayasi, Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT: Due to Raptorial birds being located at the high order of the ecosystem, they may
be utilized as the barometer which expresses the quality of the natural environment. At present
in Japan, the maintenance procedure of the nesting environment for the development must be
considered, if their nesting is confirmed at a site of planned for development. The authors reported
that suitable ground for the Raptorial birds nesting could be extracted by the satellite remote
sensing in APD/20001) and 20022) . This time, the research area was a local city suitable for raptors
in which there was a comparatively small amount of human activity. Here, the Arakawa river basin
of Saitama Prefect. which adjoins the metropolitan area is chosen as the research area, and the
appropriate natural environment for Raptorial birds is extracted by the application of the remote
sensing technique. Saitama Prefecture is a mountainous area, village-vicinity mountain, rural area,
urban area, as it falls below the Arakawa river basin. Therefore, the research results give important
suggestions for nature conservation in the metropolitan areas that remain.

1 OUTLINE OF THE RESEARCH AREA

1.1 Kanto district

Figure 1 is Landsat image (7, 4, 3) of Kanto district and Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Chiba
Prefecture are shown. Saitama Prefecture. is located 35 degrees 50 minutes N latitude, 139 degrees
40 minute east longitudes, and its adjacent Prefectures are 130 km to 40 km from Tokyo.
It mainly includes the Arakawa river basin. Population is 7 million persons. It is located NW of
Tokyo, and the natural environment condition is characteristic by the development difference from
east to west. It is a rapidly developing with the advanced economic growth of Japan as commuter
area in the 50 km from the capital city since 1960. It is the zone where the rate of population growth
is very big too.

1.2 Satellite image of Saitama Prefecture

Figure 2 has added the Arakawa river in the image of Saitama Prefecture. The Arakawa river
crosses Saitama Prefecture from the water source in the west to the east, and it flows into Tokyo
Bay. Artifact, forest, plant are well shown. Difference degree of the development and difference
in the natural environment are clear for east and west. Remarkable regions of the development
difference are middle class and lower current area in Arakawa river. At the elevation, it shows
shifting to the flatland division in the east from the mountainous region area in the west. Especially,

955
Figure 1. Kanto district in Japan.

Figure 2. Saitama Prefecture and Arakawa river basin, using Landsat satellite image.

authors notice to 50 km–70 km area from Tokyo. The abnormal estate development was settled
after a bubble economy collapse 1990 in this area. However, the development is slowly progressing
from 50 km to 70 km zone without consider the ecosystem.

2 PREDICTION OF RAPTORIAL BIRDS HABITAT

Cluster classification (ISODATA) is used for the analysis. Preparation of the database groups is
shown in figure 3. They have been composed of six layers of land use classification database,
vitality of the plant, elevation, drainage network database, direction distribution diagram of an
inclination, temperature distribution database. These layers are the important factors which are
related to the inhabiting of suitable area of Raptorial birds as confirms by a information from the
field observation. Individual layer is made by following procedures.

956
Figure 3. Schema of six database layers.

2.1 Land use classification

It is classified into lawn, farm, bare field, waters (river, pond), building, road and forest using
Maximum Likelihood Estimation. Division by the forest phase by the tree type is not carried out.

2.2 Vitality index of the vegetation

The vegetation vitality index is calculated in following equations:

where TM4 = near infrared band of landsat; TM3 = visible band.

2.3 Digital elevation

The digital elevation model 50 m × 50 m grid of Geographical Survey Inst3) . has been interpolated
in order to make agreement with the 30 m × 30 m grid of the Landsat satellite.

2.4 Drainage network

The drainage network database was made in order to incorporate the relationship between nesting
place and water field and bait field in this estimation model. The drainage network can be extracted
from digital elevation model (DEM), because the water flows for the largest gradient. Using 8
points in the circumference of 9 × 9 square grids, the river basin is obtained, when the vector of the
largest gradient is chased one after another. The number of the sum total of the frequency which
passes some grid point shows rivers and rills. It is judged with lakes and marshes, when the water
does not flow. Passing frequency has shown degree of richness of quantity of water. So it is regarded
as indirectly showing the difficulty of the acquisition of a food.

2.5 Inclining degree of the slope

The inclining degree of 8 points in the circumference of 9 × 9 square grid is calculated, and this
angle is divided into four classes, and score is given to each class. The class with a big inclination
becomes a low score, because it is not suitable for the raptors.

957
2.6 Temperature distribution
The temperature distribution was obtained using Landsat satellite TM6.

3 ESTIMATION OF POSSIBLE INHABITING GROUND

Figure 4 shows cluster classification (ISODATA) result using six databases. It shows to the envi-
ronment which is suitable as a habitat, as it goes from the warm color to cold color. The western
district shows that there is enough area are suitable for raptorial birds but that the eastern district
which is close to Tokyo, Hear is little suitable habitat. This agrees with the observed situation of
Raptorial birds, The inhabiting by raptors becomes a possibility for regions 50∼70 km from Tokyo.
The region of Figure 5 is remarkable. Recently, the report of raptor inhabiting has been made
in this region, and the estimation figures agree with the fact. However, it is a severe environment
for the Raptorial birds to live and the forest does not have the sufficient area for the inhabiting.
Estimation figure of the inhabiting possible ground by this technique seems to have good agreement
with this fact. It becomes a worthwhile material for new coexistence plan in 50∼70 km zone in the

Figure 4. Estimation of possible inhabiting ground for raptorial birds.

Figure 5. Region which should consider the symbiosis with the nature for the next generation. The grey line
is a new construction plan of the road.

958
metropolitan area. However, confirmed raptorial numbers are slight, and the possible coexistence
plan between humans and raptors is necessary.

4 CONCLUSIONS

1. Estimates of the possible habitat area of Raptorial birds agrees well with the habitat the actuality
of observed habitation areas.
2. 50 km∼70 km zone in the metropolitan area is the zone which should seek the symbiosis between
human and nature. Therefore, precious information for the new coexistence plan is offered.
3. As an element necessary of the suitable habitat area for Raptorial birds, the following are used:
Vegetation, vitality of the plant, altitude, river basin, slope inclination, temperature. In the future,
the authors will study which element works best in this model.

REFERENCES

S. Tanaka, T. Hatta and K. Ogihara: Evaluation of the habitat distribution image of raptorial birds by remote
sensing., 13th APD-IAHR, 2002.
T. Hatta, S. Tanaka and K. Ogihara: Effective utilization of satellite remote sensing for the habitat investigation
of raptore., 12th APD-IAHR, 2000.
Digital elevation model, Geographical Survey Inst. in Japan.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The proposed assessment criteria with habitat evaluation applied to

ecotechnological works for upland river regulation in Taiwan

Yi-Ching Chen
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Engineering, Da-Yeh University, Taiwan

Chon-Han Ho
Graduate student in Master Degree, Dept. of Environmental Engineering, Da-Yeh Univ., Taiwan

ABSTRACT: The concept of ‘ecotechnology’ is proposed and applied more popularly today.
Nevertheless, the misunderstanding concepts and improper facilities were carried out everywhere.
In fact, a near-nature river environment should be created through ecological concept to provide
engineering goals and recreation purposes, as well as preserve habitat. Virtually, the biological con-
dition is a result of habitat incorporated with variations of those control factors such as hydrology,
water quality, vegetation and morphology, etc. The biological diversity is always affected sensitively
by degradation of habitat suitability. The hydraulic constructions in river by regulation works can
always impede the interflow of nutrient flow within surrounding habitat. It is necessary to setup
an assessment for evaluating the habitat quality under the alternation of engineering works. A two-
stage procedure is proposed in this study. For qualitative evaluation those basic rules of ecological
concepts should be followed through apparent observations to judge the suitable habitat provided by
ecotechnological facilities. In quantitative evaluation usable habitat concepts as well as suitability
is incorporated with flow patterns and hydraulic conditions generated by ecotechnological designs
to judge the quality of habitat.

1 INTRODUCTION

On traditional hydraulic engineering the major studies of physical river environment, such as solid
constructions, channel stabilizations, bank erosion, etc., have been enhanced to protect human
benefits. However, in reality ecosystem is always sacrificed under conflicts between human socio-
economic developments and conservations. Fortunately, the concepts of ecological engineering
were introduced in 1960’s (Mitsch & Jørgensen, 1989) and sustainable ecotechnology have been
widely applied ever after.
What is actually ecological engineering performing? It is always misunderstood that so called
‘landscape engineering’ or ‘amenity embankment’ could represent ecotechnological works. Also,
people thought that removal of concrete structure is only way to improve eco-efficiency. Is it true?
There should be a proper tool to assess the functions of engineering works whether to be suitable
by eco-definition. In this paper, a possible way through habitat evaluation will be discussed for
ecotechnology applied for upland river regulation works. The framework of assessment criteria is
proposed and proper usable habitat indices are considered.

2 HEALTHY RIVER HABITAT

2.1 River habitat

There are two major parts of river aqua-ecosystem, i.e. biological environment including diverse
biota serving producers, consumers, and decomposer, the other part called physic-chemical

961
Figure 1. The analogy between human and river health.

environment served as habitat including air, sunlight, water-body, soil, and chemical materials
to support the nutrition cycle. River habitat is a connected corridor which is such a belt space
of biological environment with connecting flood plane, channel, water-body and riparian green
zone laterally and along stream longitudinally. This corridor could serve as migrating channel of
aqua-biota, amphibian as well as riparian small mammals.
The concept of ‘near-nature’ is conducted more popular to mimic the nature characteristics of
river under regulation works. There are such conditions for ecotechnological constructions to create
irregular bank lines, different channel widths, erosion and deposition in nature, riffles and pools,
and adaptable biota. The multiform and dynamic habitat could actually support the flourishing life
of diverse biota.

2.2 River health

Over the past centuries, human have changed river dramatically to threaten river health. As a result,
societal well-being is also threatened because goods and services, e.g. supply of potable water, soil
fertility, clean air, biodiversity, energy transfers, and nutrient cycling, which is critical to human
society from river are being depleted. The health of regional environments really depends upon
maintaining ecological services from healthy ecosystems (Karr, 1999; Norris & Thoms, 1999).
A picture shown as Fig. 1 demonstrates the analogy between human and river health. We may
expect doctor to diagnose probable source of human health problem when certain indicators are not
normal. The same is true for assessing river health (Madock, 1999). Also, some kinds of concept
like V-O-R (vigor, organization, and resilience) are applied to assess health of human as well as
ecosystem (Costanza, 1992). In brief, a healthy ecosystem with diverse interacting biota integrity
should possess a vigorous production power and tenacious resilience to face impairs of stressor.
Good indicators for river health should fulfill three categories: early warning that signify impend-
ing decline in health; compliance that reveal deviations from acceptable limits; and diagnoses that
show the causes of deviations (Boulton, 1999).

3 ASSESSMENTS OF RIVER ECO-ENVIRONMENT

3.1 Assessment goals

The goals of assessment can be reached through environmental indicators which are measurement
of environment quality as strategy of management and planning. The advantage is that abstract
object and unreachable observation can be quantified to assess through those indicators. Specified
information has to be analyzed statistically and shown by environmental indices. Thenceforth, the
indices, either qualitative or quantitative, are always used for comparing, scoring, and judging in
the process of evaluating biological condition as well as habitat. Suitable physical habitat composed

962
by instream, riparian, and floodplain environments can always support the growth and development
of healthy biota. Also, the diagnosis of physical habitat quality is more easy and considerate.

3.2 Habitat indices

Early in 1960’s basic theory of biological assessment was initially established, however, more sys-
tematic and more complete biological criteria were developed until 1990’s (Davis, 1994). However,
the biological indices can only present the outer appearance of impairment induced by environ-
mental impacts. It may not be clear what the actual causes are. It would be more convenient to
investigate by another route such as physical habitat. The importance of physical habitat in deter-
mining the condition of river aqua-ecosystem is implicit in its definition, because without a suitable
living space a given species is unlikely to exist at that particular location.
What physical habitat means is that a specific space can be utilized by a biota at specific
time. The relationship of co-evolution between biota and habitat may conduct for a long time.
Interactions are more complex and reliant for each other. The most discussed habitat control factors
are flow regime, water quality, morphology, substrate, riparian vegetation, and human interruption
(Muhar & Jungwirth, 1998). They will be discussed in below:
(1) Flow regime: ‘Instream flow’ is defined as the proper flow condition in accumulating aqua-
biota for feeding, breeding or resting within a section of river. It can be represented by water
depth and velocity or discharge.
(2) Water quality: It is a common index for pollution degree. Healthy biota needs good quality of
water environment.
(3) Morphology: Flow patterns such as sinuosity, riffle and pool can create diversity of eco-
environment. Aqua-biota will seek the proper pattern for habitat in its life stages.
(4) Substrate: Proper substrate can provide cover and shield. Rocks, gravels, sands, or silt are
suitable for different kind of fish or benthos.
(5) Riparian vegetation: Riparian tree or reed can be proper habitat of breeding or resting for aqua-
biota and amphibian. Besides, tree shadow can adjust water temperature and falling leaves can
be part sources of food.
(6) Human interruption: Improper land use and recreation activity can always deteriorate eco-
environment. Too many unnecessary plans or facilities may not be good for habitat preserved.
Suitability is a concept to evaluate habitat quality. Habitat unit (HU), a multiplication of habitat
suitability index (HSI) of control factor and its referring area, is often applied to evaluate the
potential variance of biota due to environment impacts or varying combination of land use. Those
are basic cores of habitat evaluation procedure (HEP) which for each target species in pre-action
and several post-action scenarios. More details of habitat indices, such as suitability index, will be
discussed later.

4 EVALUATION INDICES

An approach to apply a value systematically to a habitat was developed by USFWS (1980) called
HEP, the technique is designed to provide a consistent means of assessing project development
impacts by:
(1) assigning a quantitative index value for existing habitat conditions.
(2) determining the difference between index values of existing conditions and conditions that will
result from a proposed project.
(3) demonstrating, in habitat-value units gained or lost, the beneficial or adverse impacts
anticipated as a result of projected development.
Investigators can select appropriate endpoint species by choosing a specified geographical area,
and use the habitat requirements of these target species to generate a sub-listing of environmental

963
variables that must be analyzed or quantified. After these environmental variables are measured or
evaluated in field studies as well as laboratory experiments, the habitat information can be applied
to interactive program. For aqua-ecosystem including floodplain, riparian, and instream environ-
ments, those variables, such as flow regime, water quality, morphology, substrate, vegetation, and
human interruption, must be discussed.
Also a model PHABSIM (physical habitat simulation system) developed by NERC in 1978 could
be used for hydraulic calculations and habitat analyses (Waddle, 2001). Those impact factors men-
tioned above can be included in model and a simulation can be reached to find out the disadvantages
for concerned species through the alternation of weighted usable area (WUA) of habitat.
The output of HEP reports each habitat type in terms of its habitat suitability index (HSI) which
is defined as ratio of concerned habitat condition to optimum habitat condition upon the study area
and scaled from 0.0 to 1.0. These HSIs are computed for each of the target species under specified
control factor and, as a weighted mean, for the total area being evaluated (USFWS, 1981).

5 ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK

5.1 Upland river regulations

According to the manual of soil and water conservation a river regulation plan is necessary by
applying solid works to improve unstable channel for erosion, scouring, slide, sedimentation and
turbulence. Sabo dams, groundsills and bank revetments are most applied in upland river regulation
engineering works. However, those strong and solid structures do always impede the longitudinal
migrating corridor of aqua-biota as well as traversable bio-pathway connecting instream and ripar-
ian zone. Concerning environment conservation ecotechnology could be very good examples to
construct a near-natural river. The original biota should be kept under a proper and healthy habitat.
On the other hand, the natural stability of river can persist under its hydrological characteristics. It
means that a proper ecotechnological works should be applied to sustain the eco-function in habitat
as normal while engineering goals still can be reached as well.
There is an assessment framework proposed here to guide how to verify those regulation
works being suitable for habitat through their functions. Two-tier procedure with qualitative and
quantitative assessments is suggested as shown in Fig. 2. Details will be discussed later.

Figure 2. Two-tier procedure for habitat assessment.

964
5.2 Tier-one assessment
Through qualitative assessment the principles of ecological engineering should be followed, e.g.
(1) avoiding intercepting hydrological cycle within watershed.
(2) sustaining sinuosity of stream channel.
(3) protecting the original vegetation for covering.
(4) building a riparian green belt through re-vegetation as ecotone.
(5) keeping the original substrate for habitat.
(6) avoiding hard pavement for channel bed.
(7) keeping permeability for channel and bank.
(8) reducing the works of digging and filling.
(9) designing the proper height and slope of bank revetments by considering traverse pathway of
amphibian and small mammals.
(10) creating diversified flow patterns as runs, glides, riffles and pools for breeding, hatching and
feeding.
Those are common requirements of proper quality in habitat for all kinds of aqua-biota. So called
‘Five near-natural ecotechnological rules’ in Taiwan with works of coarsening finished surface,
minimizing sizes of traversing structures, flattening slope gradients, naturalizing construction
materials, and maintaining permeability, could be adopted. Such as the groundsills can be designed
with step-ladder type (as shown in Fig. 3a) of mild-slope, coarsen finished surface, flatten slope
gradient, so as the rock-mason revetment (as shown in Fig. 3b) can provide highly permeability
and coarsening finished surface.
A fast evaluation table is formulated in tier-one stage to assess the eco-functions whether obeying
principles or not with pure apparent observations. No complicated calculation or measurements
are needed. It is designed for preliminary evaluation even common folks can do.

5.3 Tier-two assessment

Moreover, a quantitative assessment is conducted through multimetric indices, such as HSI. A
target species (dominant biota) is decided for representing the sensitivity of habitat. The specified
curves determined by experiments or investigations have to be setup in advance for those control
factors of habitat.
Weighted usable area (WUA) is most common to evaluate the quality of habitat. WUA is a
quantitative evaluation developed for suitable habitat of fish by IFIM (Stalnaker et al., 1995) and
applied in PHABSIM. The assemble suitable habitat is evaluated by WUA as shown in equation (1)
below:

Figure 3. Examples of ecotechnological works: (a) Step-ladder type groundsill; (b) Rock-mason revetment.

965
where F[] is combined suitability factor (CSF); and f () is suitability function for velocity, depth
and substrate; and Ai is area of concerning river block. A modified index for usable habitat (UHI) is
formulated for each cross-section of channel as equation (2) to represent sectional habitat quality:

where WUW is weighted usable width for suitability of specified control factors X and segment
width w of referring section in equation (3):

An integrated usable habitat index (IUHI) is formulated as equation (4) to represent the habitat
quality of the longitudinal river reach.

where L is the reach length for referred section. These indices are actually the represented quality
of suitable and usable habitat ratio to the whole river reach.

6 SUMMARY

People have no right to interrupt biota and their habitat through engineering works only benefited
to human. Therefore, ecotechnology is proposed and applied more popularly today due to the
human self-consciousness. To avoid the misunderstanding concepts and improper facilities were
carried out in the name of ‘ecological engineering’, it is necessary to setup assessment criteria for
evaluating the habitat quality under the near-natural reconstruction for engineering, recreation, and
conservation purposes.
Those knowledge concerning aqua-habitat assessment includes ecology, biology, hydrology,
morphology, statistics, etc., which is broad and specialized. A proper method like habitat evaluation
would proceed to assess the resulted conditions from proposed river regulation projects. Besides the
basic principles of ecological engineering should be followed, selected habitat suitability indices
such as HSI and the induced indices UHI and IUHI are proposed to apply for convenience to
practical assessments on habitat quality. More practical assessments on upland river regulation in
Taiwan will be conducted after the establishing of frameworks and specified habitat indices.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This paper is part result of research project under contract NSC92-2313-B-212-009 from National
Science Council (Taiwan). Funds support is appreciated.

REFERENCES

Boulton, A.J. 1999. An overview of river health assessment: philosophies, practice, problems and prognosis,
Freshwater Biology, 41(2), pp.469–479.
Costanza, R. 1992. Toward an operational definition of health, In: R. Costanza, B. Norton & B. Haskell eds.
Ecosystem Health: New Goal for Environmental Management, Island Press, pp.239–256.

966
Davis, W.S. 1994. Biological assessment and criteria: building on the past, in Biological assessment and
criteria-tools for water resource planning and decision making, Chapter 3, ed. Davis W.S. & Simon T.P.,
Lewis Publishers.
Karr, J.R. 1999. Defining and measuring river health, Freshwater Biology, 41(2), pp.221–234.
Ladson, A.R. 2000. A multi-component indicator of stream condition for waterway managers: balancing
scientific rigour with the need for utility, PhD. Thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
The University of Melbourne.
Madock, I. 1999. The importance of physical habitat assessment for evaluating river health, Freshwater Biology,
41(2), pp.373–392.
Mitsch, W.J. & S.E. Jørgensen 1989. Ecological engineering-an introduction to ecotechnology, John Wiley &
Sons.
Muhar, S. & M. Jungwirth 1998. Habitat integrity of running waters assessment criteria and their biological
relevance, Hydrobiologia, 386, pp.195–202.
Norris, R.H. & M.C. Thoms 1999. What is river health, Freshwater Biology, 41(2), pp.197–209.
Norton, B.G. 1991. Toward unity among Environmentalists, New York, Oxford University Press.
Stalnaker, C., B.L. Lamb, J. Henriksen, K.D. Bovee, & J. Bartholow 1995. The Instream Flow Incremental
Methodology – A Primer for IFIM, National Biological Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Biological
Report 29.
USFWS 1980. Habitat evaluation procedures, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services Manual
102, Washington, DC.
USFWS 1981. Standard for the development of habitat suitability index models, Ecological Services Manual
103, Washington, DC.
Waddle, T.J. 2001. PHABSIM forWindows: User’s Manual and Exercises, U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins,
CO, 288 p.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Comprehensive assessment index system of ecological riparian zone

Xia Jihong, Wu Wei & Yan Zhongmin

College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT: Riparian zone is the interface between stream and land, and its ecological character
has enormous effects on the stream and the land. In order to protect the stream and the land, it is
necessary to construct a comprehensive assessment index system, which can provide a coherent
criterion for management. The comprehensive assessment of ecological riparian zone includes the
assessment for stability, landscape, ecological health, and ecological safety of riparian zone. There
are many factors affecting the ecology of riparian zone so that the comprehensive assessment index
system includes many indexes. The system has four layers: object, sub-object, rule and indicator.

1 INTRODUCTION

Riparian zone encompasses the stream channel between the low and high water marks and that
portion of the terrestrial landscape from the high water mark toward the uplands, where vegetation
may be influenced by elevated water tables or flooding (Naimain & Decamps 1997). It is the
interface between land ecosystem and water ecosystem, which possesses many specific physical
and chemical attributes, biotic properties and energy and material flow processes. Because of its
biodiversity, biotic sensitivity and biotic corridors, its is regarded as genetic bank and has great
influence on both the land ecosystem and the water ecosystem. So it is important to remain its
ecological stability, ecological health and ecological safety.
Many researches on riparian zone have been done, which have almost focused on qualitative
study (Nilsson et al. 2000, Naimain & Decamps 1997, Zhang 2001). However, there are few
quantitative studies so that there are few standard and criteria of protecting and managing riparian
zone. Riparian comprehensive assessment is a quantitative study, which identifies the influential
factors and determines the value of each factor. These values can provide the management standard
of riparian zone. In order to do so, it is important to choose the indexes and construct assessment
index system. This paper will discuss the factors which affect the ecology of riparian zone, and
present how to establish the comprehensive assessment index system of ecological riparian zone.

2 CHARACTERISTICS OF ECOLOGICAL RIPARIAN ZONE

Based on the structure stability, ecological riparian zone is an opening ecotone which can keep
dynamic balance among biology, cooperate very well with its adjacent ecosystems and maintain
sustainable development of society and economy. As many other ecotones, riparian zone is excep-
tionally rich in biodiversity and can display a greater variation in characteristics than either of its
adjacent systems (Naimain & Decamps 1997). It has many unique characteristics:
• Structural stability: Firstly, the structure of ecological riparian zone is stable. This stability may
ensure the ecological functions of riparian zone can be normally performed. If the structure is
not stable, the riparian zone ecosystem may be damaged or even be destroyed.
• Landscape suitability: Landscapes of ecological riparian zone are suitable and comfortable. It
can provide residents the elegancy environments and provide residents the platform to touch the
stream.

969
• Ecological health: Ecological riparian zone is healthy. Within the system, the material flow,
energy flow and information flow remain dynamic balance.
• Ecological safety: Because of its self-regulating ability and resistibility, ecological riparian can
resist the disturbance from the external systems when it is disturbed by the external systems.
Hence, ecological riparian zone is safe. It will not be damaged by external disturbance and give
no disturbance to the external environments.
According to these characteristics, the comprehensive assessment includes structure stability
assessment, landscape suitability assessment, ecological health assessment and ecological safety
assessment. There are many influential factors on these assessments. So on the base of hydrologic
information, geometric information, economic information, the main influential factors should be
qualitatively determined. According to the principles of choosing indexes, assessment indexes are
selected. Secondly, values of indexes should be determined by use of assessment models. These
values can reflect the state and development of riparian zone.

3 PRINCIPLES OF CHOOSING INDEXES

Assessment indexes are the base of comprehensive assessment of riparian zone. The rationality
and efficiency of assessment depends on whether these indexes are reasonable or not. Riparian
zone is a complex three-dimensional ecosystem, which is a transitional area between downstream
and upstream in lengthwise direction, is a ecotone between land and stream in crosswise direction,
and is interface between air and groundwater in vertical direction. So, its ecological status may be
affected by many factors. It is unnecessary to use all of the factors as indexes and only the main
factors should be selected as the indexes. Choosing indexes should abide by some basic principles
as follows.
• Objective: Indexes should be consistent with the objective of assessment so that the results of
assessment can surely reflect the status of riparian zone.
• Priority: There are many factors affecting the riparian zone, and only the primary factors
among these factors are considered. Hence, according to the theory of ecology, hydraulics,
soil mechanics, major indexes corresponding to the primary factors should be chosen.
• Feasibility: Indexes should have clear meanings and be easily expressed and quantified.
• Compatibility: Indexes should be explain different scales of the problem. They should be suit for
not only the large scale problems, but also the local scale problems. What’s more, these indexes
should be compatible with the social and economic indexes.

4 ASSESSMENT INDEXES

On the base of the principles mentioned above, assessment index system is a hierarchy structure,
which includes four layers: objective layer, sub-objective layer, rule layer and indicator layer. Com-
prehensive assessment of ecological riparian is the objective layer. The assessments for stability,
landscape suitability, ecological health and ecological safety are the sub-objective layer. All kinds
of classified features and all kinds of indexes are respective rule layer and indicator layer.

4.1 Assessment indexes of stability

Stability is affected by many factors such as stream, vegetative, soil, geometric, groundwater,
hydrologic and natural factors. These factors can be divided into four classes: soil factors, hydrologic
factors, vegetative factors, and natural factors. Accordingly, as shown Table 1, the assessment
indexes should be selected from the four aspects and include soil indexes, slope indexes, nature
indexes and vegetable indexes.

970
Table 1. Assessment indexes of stability.

Sub-objective layer Rule layer Indictor layer

Structural Soil Soil classification, Soil particle size, Edaphic thickness,

stability Soil porosity, Soil cohesion, Soil permeability coefficient,
assessment Internal friction angle, Slide direction
Slope Slope classification, Slope direction, Slope angle, Slope
nature height, Maximum discharge, Maximum water level,
Rainfall, Soil erosion, Length of water toward upland
Vegetation Vegetative classification, Percentage of vegetation

Table 2. Assessment indexes of landscape suitability.

Sub-objective layer Rule layer Indictor layer

Landscape Heterogeneity Area, Perimeter, Number of unit, Fractal dimension Diversity,

suitability stability Contagion, Isolation, Fragmentation, Eveness Vegetation covering
assessment nature ratio, Percentage of cultivated land, Vegetation submergence degree
Elegancy Scenic spot richness, Value of scenic spot, Elegant value of
building, Diversity of topography and geomorphic
Service Service of hydraulic engineering, Richness of entertainment devices

Table 3. Assessment indexes of ecological health of riparian zone.

Sub-objective layer Rule layer Indictor layer

Ecological Biocommunity Biomass, Complexity of biocommunity, Age structure of

health feature organism, Bodily form of organism, Distribution of species, Born
assessment ratio, Dead ratio, Key invasive species, Ratio of invasive species
Physical and Soil classification, Soil organism content, pH value
chemical feature
Functional Intensity of intercepting pollution, Intensity of root, Intensity of
feature retarding flow, Intensity of regulating microclimate

4.2 Assessment indexes of landscape suitability

Riparian zone has many kinds of landscapes, and mainly includes rare vegetation landscape, forest
landscape, economic plants landscape and building landscape. Each type is made of different
mosaics of which size, shape and location are very heterogeneous. Studies on landscape suitability
assessment analyzes whether these kinds of landscape can be accommodable for human living
and cooperate with environment. What’s more, the heterogeneity, stability, nature, elegancy and
service of every mosaic are mainly analyzed. So the assessment indexes include heterogeneity
index, stability index, nature index, elegancy index and service index (seen in Table 2).

4.3 Assessment indexes of ecological health of riparian zone

Ecological health assessment of riparian zone is the objective of choosing assessment indexes.
The assessment should deal with biocommunity factors, physical chemical factors and functional
factors. Biocommunity factors are related to the scale of assessment. Under the consideration of the
scale, biocommunity indexes mainly include biomass, biocommunity complexity and age structure
of organism. Physical chemical factors include soil physical chemical factors and biotic physical
chemical factors. But only the soil physical chemical factors are considered. So physical chemical
indexes only include soil classification, soil organic matter content and pH value. Functional
indexes mainly include pollution interception, intensity of root, ability of regulating microclimate.
All the indexes are shown in Table 3.

971
 Table 4. Assessment indexes of ecological safety of riparian zone.

Sub-objective layer Rule layer Indictor layer

Ecological Invading species feature Invading species kinds, Invading frequency, Predacity
safety Pollution feature Pollution classification, Point pollution degree,
assessment No-point pollution degree
Water quality Eutrophication grade, Content of BOD, Content of COD
Natural disaster Earthquake frequency, Earthquake grade,
Flood frequency, Flood grade
Jamming feature Riparian utilization ratio, Degradation degree
Socio-economic feature Population, GDP

4.4 Assessment indexes of ecological safety of riparian zone

When ecological riparian zone is disturbed by the disturbance from other ecosystems or human
and the disturbance is within the range of its bearing ability, it can be protected safe because of its
resistance and self-adjusting ability. Ecological safety assessment analyzes whether the disturbance
is within the range of bearing capacity of riparian ecosystem. The safety is usually affected by
invading species, pollution, water quality, natural disaster, jamming and socio-economic factors.
So the indexes include invading species feature, pollution feature, water quality, natural disaster,
jamming and socio-economic feature. All the indexes are shown in Table 4.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Ecological riparian zone has such unique characteristics as structural stability, landscape suitability,
ecological health and ecological safety. Accordingly, the comprehensive assessment of ecological
riparian includes stability assessment, landscape suitability assessment, ecological health assess-
ment and ecological safety assessment. There are many factors affecting the ecology of riparian
zone so that the comprehensive assessment indexes include many indicators. The index system has
four layers: object layer, sub-object layer, rule layer and factor layer.

REFERENCES

Bi Xiaoli & Hong Wei. 2000. Advances of composite evaluation in ecological environment. System Sciences
and Comprehensive Studies in Agriculture 17(2):122–124, 126.
Costanz R. 1992. Toward an operational definition of health. In:Costanza R, Norton B, Haskell B. Ecosystem
health-new goals for environmental management. Washington DC: Island Press.
Callow P. 1995. Ecological health-a critical analysis of concepts. In: Rapport D.J., Callow P., Gauder C.
Evaluating and Monitoring the Health of Large-scale Ecosystems. New York: Springer-Verlag,.
Gurnell A. M. & Edwards P. J., et al. 1999. A conceptual model for alpine proglacial river channel evolution
under changing climatic conditions. Elsevier Science 38:223–242.
Nilsson Christer & Berggrea Kajsa. 2000. Alterations of Riparian Ecosystems Caused by River Regulation.
Bioscience 50(9):783–793.
Robert J. Naiman & Henri Decamps. 1997. The Ecology of Interfaces: Riparian Zones. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst.,
28:621–658.
Xiao Feng-jin & Ouyang Hua. 2002. Ecosystem health and its evolution indicator and method. Journal of
Natural Resources 17(2):203–209.
Yan Chuanhai 1999. Landscape Ecological Evaluation of the Lower Huaihe Valley. Ecologic Science
18(2):46–52.
Zhang Jian Chun 2001 Riparian Functions and Its Management. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
15(6):143–146.

972
7 Shallow water flow
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Turbulence in shallow re-circulating flows

R.A. Delatolla, S. Babartutsi & V.H. Chu

Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

ABSTRACT: Velocity measurements were conducted of a re-circulating flow in a large flume on

a smooth bed for three different water depths. The experimental results show that the horizontal
turbulence of the flow as well as the reattachment length and the re-circulating flow rate are affected
by the bed-friction effect in a similar manner as previous experiments conducted in a small flume
of roughened bed. However, the velocity profile in the wake region is different from the flow on
the roughen bed. This conclusion is consistent with the recent tracer studies of the flow in the same
large flume by Liu (2004). The present velocity measurements and the tracer measurements of Liu
(2004) have provided a complementary set of data for the development of Large Eddy Simulation
model of shallow turbulent flow.

1 INTRODUCTION

The transport of pollutants, particulates, salinity, heat and/or moisture across natural streams of
shallow depth is dependent on vertical and horizontal turbulence of very different length scales.
The vertical turbulence is not directly significant in the transport process because its length scale,
limited by the depth of the flow, is small compared with the width of the flow. The horizontal
turbulence, with a length scale comparable to the width of the flow, can be effective in the transport
process. However, whether or not the horizontal turbulence can be maintained, by the energy supply
from the mean flow, is determined by the frictional energy dissipation (Chu, Wu and Khayat 1991).
Babarutsi, Ganoulis and Chu (BGC 1989) and Babarutsi and Chu (BC 1991) studied experi-
mentally the role of the bed-friction in a re-circulating flow produced by sudden widening of the
width of the flow in a shallow open-channel. In this previous series of the experiments, the flume
width was small. The channel bed had to be artificially roughened to produce the desirable effect
of the friction on the horizontal turbulence. The present series of experiments was conducted in
a significantly wider flume. The width of the new flume was 141 cm, which was 2.35 times wider
than the flume used in the previous experiments by BGC. The horizontal to vertical length scale
of the flow in the present experiments is large and is much closer to the condition of the flow in
the natural streams. With the new flume, it is now possible to conduct experiments without the
artificial bed roughness to cover the same range of the friction effect as in the previous experiments.
Liu (2004) has conducted a number of tracer studies of the re-circulating flow in the new flume
to cover the entire range of friction effect. The results obtained for the velocity field of the same
flows are presented in this paper.

2 EXPERIMENTS

The re-circulating flow experiments were conducted in a wide flume that is 1.42 m wide, 0.15 m
deep, and 7.00 m long. The flow entering the flume was blocked off on one side creating a sudden
lateral expansion in the width of the flow. The expansion is 0.705 m from a flow width of 0.705 m
to 1.41 m.

975
 Table 1. Test conditions and results.

U0 h h/cf L q
Test m/s m cf S m m L/d m2 /s q/U0 d

1 0.1432 0.015 0.00864 0.2031 1.74 2.20 3.12 0.00102 0.0101

2 0.2319 0.030 0.00637 0.0748 4.71 3.45 4.89 0.00848 0.0519
3 0.1901 0.060 0.00563 0.0331 10.7 4.43 6.28 0.01584 0.1182

Velocity measurements were carried out using a hot-wire probe (model 55R11) connected to a
constant temperature anemometer (model Dantec 10N90). The probe was located at 1 cm below the
free surface. The output voltage of the anemometer was adjusted for ambient temperature changes
in the water and converted to velocity data through the application of a calibration function. The
velocity, at each sampling location, was recorded in 4 intervals of 30 s, resulting in a total of
2 minutes of velocity data. The sampling rate was 2000 samples/s resulting in a total of 60000 data
points per 30 s interval. The mean and Root Mean Square (RMS) of the data was produced for
each sampling interval. The results obtained in the four intervals at each sampling location were
averaged to produce the mean and RMS value presented in this paper.
To determine the length of the re-circulating zone, L, flow visualization was performed for each
test prior to the velocity measurements. The movement of the dye, which was introduced at mid-
depth, was recorded using a digital camera and analyzed to determine the stagnation point and thus
the point of the reattachment. The reattachment length was also determined before each test with
the use of confetti on the water surface and dye from a syringe. The lengths of the re-circulating
flow by the two methods were the same.
A total of three tests were conducted. Table 1 summarizes the test conditions and the results.
The experiments were conducted on a channel with a hydrodynamically smooth bed. The friction
coefficient for the open channel flow was evaluated using the formula

where cf = friction coefficient; Re = U0 h/ν = Reynolds number; and h = water depth; and
ks = sand-grain roughness. The bed-friction number, which characterizes the friction effect on
the horizontal turbulence, is

where d = sudden increase in the width of the channel expansion, which is 70.5 cm in the present
experimental arrangement.
The re-circulating flow rate per unit depth, q, which is the reverse-flow rate at the 1/2 L section,
was obtained from integration of the reverse-flow velocity profiles at the 1/2 L section within the
re-circulating zone of each profile. A best-fit fourth order quadratic was fitted to the reverse-flow
velocity profile (such that R2 = 1) in order to integrate the reverse profiles.
The mean and RMS of the velocity profiles, normalized by the velocity at the inlet, are shown in
Figures 1, 2, and 3. The hot-wire anemometer is not capable of detecting changes in the direction
of flow. The portion of the velocity profile that is identified as the reverse-flow was therefore
reconstructed as the mirror image of the velocity profile in the same manner as reported in BGC.
The forward flow velocities were, in turn, joined with the mirror image of the reverse flow velocities
to produce the velocity profiles shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3.

976
 U
U0

U
U0

Figure 1. Mean and RMS velocity profiles of test 1.

U
U0

U
U0

Figure 2. Mean and RMS velocity profiles of test 2.

977
 U
U0

U
U0

Figure 3. Mean and RMS velocity profiles of test 3.

The obvious bed-friction effect is on the reattachment length, L, which was 2.20, 3.45, and
4.425 m for tests 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The dimensionless L/d values, are as follows:

for the bed-friction number S = 0.203, 0.0748, 0.0331 and tests 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The
reattachment lengths reduce as the bed-friction number increases.
Based on the velocity profiles given in Figures 1, 2, and 3, the re-circulating flow rate per unit
depth, q, is obtained from integration of the reverse-flow profiles. The dimensionless values are

for tests 1, 2, and 3 with the bed-friction number S = 0.203, 0.0748, 0.0331, respectively. Figures 4
and 5 show these experimental results obtained for the length of the re-circulating zone and the
re-circulating flow rate compared with the previous results obtained by BGC. It is clear that the
friction effect on the overall characteristic of the re-circulating zone is consistent with the previ-
ous observations in the smaller flume. However, the velocity profiles in the wake region of the
re-circulating zone are different. The mean velocity in the wake is smaller than the velocity of
the flow in main channel. This sheltering effect is more significant in the present experiment on
a smooth bed than the flow of the experiment by BGC on the roughened bed. The different in the
velocity profile has a profound effect on the tracer distribution as pointed out by Liu (2004) in
her tracer studies of the same re-circulating flow in the same range of friction effect. To study fur-
ther how the bottom roughness affects the horizontal turbulence and the lateral exchange process,
Large Eddy Simulations (LES) are conducted for the re-circulating flow on a smooth bed and on

978
Figure 4. Length of the re-circulating region.

Figure 5. Re-circulating flow rate.

the roughened bed. The LES model is based on a model developed by Babarutsi, Nassiri and Chu
(2004). The details of the model are provided in the section below.

3 LARGE EDDY SIMULATION

The LES were carried out using a two-dimensional grid on the horizontal plane using a modified
Smagorinsky model proposed by Babarutsi, Nassiri and Chu (2004). The modified model is based
on a quasi-two-dimensional model for mesh size large compared with the depth of the flow ( >> h)
and a pseudo-three-dimensional model for mesh size small compared with the depth of the flow
( << h). The general formula for the transition between these two limiting cases is given by the
four-third-power interpolation formula:

According to this formula, depending on the size of the grid, the sub-grid viscosity
would be vSG = vSD + v2D if  >> h, or vSG = vP3D if  << h. The 2D version of the

979
Smagorinsky viscosity is


in which CS = Smagorinsky parameter and  = x 2 + y2 = mesh size; ũ and ṽ, are the com-
ponents of the velocity on the x and y plane. The sub-depth-scale viscosity is proportional to the
shear velocity ũ∗ and the water depth h:

√
where u∗ = τb /ρ is the friction velocity. If the mesh size were large compared with the water depth
(i.e., if x, y >> h), the total sub-depth and sub-grid viscosity is the sum of the sub-depth-scale
component given by Eq. (5) and the 2D component by Eq. (4): vSG = vSD + v2D . However, if the
mesh size were significantly smaller than the depth of the water (i.e., if x, y << h), the sub-grid
viscosity will be given by the quasi-three-dimensional model:

A series of numerical simulations of the shallow re-circulating turbulence flow in the channel
expansion are currently conducted to compare the friction effect between the flows on the smooth
and the roughen beds. The value of the Smagorinsky coefficient Cs = 0.075 was selected for the
simulations.

4 CONCLUSION

Velocity measurements were conducted in re-circulating flows generated in a large flume of smooth
bed. These velocity data are different from the data obtained previously by BGC in a smaller flume
on a roughened bed. The sheltering effect on the velocity in the wake is stronger in the flow on
smooth bed than the effect on the same flow on roughened bed. This result is consistent with the
tracer studies of the same flow by Liu (2004). Together with the tracer-study data, the velocity data
will provide the database needed for the development of LES model for shallow turbulent flows.
The numerical results of some of the LES will be presented in the Symposium.

REFERENCES

Babarutsi, S. and Chu, V.H. (1991). Dye-concentration distribution in a shallow re-circulating flow.
J. Hydraulic Engineering. 117(5): 643–659.
Babarutsi, S., Ganoulis, J. and Chu, V.H. (1989). “Experimental Investigation of Shallow Re-circulating
Flows.” J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE, 115(7): 904–924.
Babarutsi, S., Nassiri, M. and Chu, V.H. (2004). Horizontal turbulence simulation in shallow re-circulating
Flows. J. Hydr. Engineering (tentatively accepted).
Chu, V.H., Liu, F. and Altai, W. (2004) “Friction and confinement effects on a shallow re-circulating flow,”
J. Envon. Engrg. and Sci., (accepted for publication).
Chu, V.H., Wu, J.-H. and Khayat, R.E. (1991) “Stability of transverse shear flow in shallow open channel,”
J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE, 117(10): 1370–1388.
Liu, F. (2004). Re-circulating Flow by Video Imaging Method. M.Eng. Thesis. Dept of Civil Engineering and
Applied Mechanics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

980
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Computations of 2D shallow mixing layers in open channel flows

using a modified depth-averaged model

Ichiro Kimura
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Matsue National College of Technology, Matsue, Japan

Takashi Hosoda
Dept. of Civil Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

ABSTRACT: This paper describes computations of turbulence structures in a 2D shallow mixing

layer by a modified 2D numerical model. The model is a depth-averaged plane 2D type with simple
0-equation turbulence model. The constitutive equation contains 2nd order non-linear terms which
coefficients are tuned considering the distribution of turbulent intensities in a simple shear flow.
Eddy viscosity coefficient is tuned as a function of the strain and rotation parameters to satisfy
the realizability. The model is applied to the 2D shallow mixing layer and the model performance
is examined through the comparison of numerical and experimental results. The numerical results
show that the accuracy of prediction of turbulence structures by the present model is much improved
compared with the previous model.

1 INTRODUCTION

The clarification of 2D plane mixing shear layer in an open channel flow is important for various
environmental problems. The flow in a mixing shear layer is characterized by vortex formations
due to the K-H instabilities. Therefore, it is necessary to predict precisely not only the time-mean
flow patterns but also the turbulent features, such as turbulent intensities and Reynolds stresses
for quantitative prediction of mass transport around a mixing layer. In previous many works, 3D
computational methods with refined turbulence models have been developed mainly in mechanical
engineering fields. In shallow open channels, since the dominant flow pattern has basically plane
2D structure, the plane 2D depth-averaged model is applicable to some extent. In this paper, the
depth-averaged 2D open channel flow equations with a refined 0-equation type expression for
Reynolds stresses are applied to the plane shallow mixing layer. The computations are performed
under the conditions of the laboratory tests by Chu & Babarutsi (1988) and the applicability of the
model is examined through the comparison between numerical and experimental results.

2 COMPUTATIONAL METHOD

2.1 Basic equations

Dominant equations of the present model are depth averaged ones composed of a continuity equation
and momentum equations described as

981
where h = depth; (u, v) ‘=’ depth-averaged velocity; (M , N ) = discharge flux (M = hu, N = hv);
−ui uj = depth-averaged Reynolds stress tensors (u1 = u , u2 = v ); (τbx , τby ) = bottom shear-
stress; ν = molecular dynamic viscosity; θ = bottom slope of main channel; and β = momentum
coefficient (1.0 for turbulent flow, 1.2 for laminar flow).
Components of the bottom shear-stress vector are evaluated by

where f = friction factor related to local Reynolds number Re ≡ uh/ν, evaluated as follows:

where κ = 0.4, AS = 5.5.

2.2 Constitutive equation of the Reynolds stress

The following linear constitutive equation has been used in usual 0-equation models.

where k = depth-averaged turbulent kinetic energy. Neze & Nakagawa (1993) proposed an
empirical formula for vertical distribution of k as

where z = direction perpendicular to the bottom bed. The depth-averaged turbulent kinetic energy
becomes the following formula when eq.(7) is integrated from the bottom to the surface.

The non-linear constitutive equation with 2nd order terms is described as

where νt is an eddy viscosity coefficient and C1 –C3 are model coefficients. C1 –C3 are tuned as the
following functions of the strain and rotation parameters considering the distributions turbulence
intensities in a simple shear flow.

982
λp in the above equation is a constant and will be discussed later.

2.3 Eddy viscosity coefficient

In the depth-averaged 0-equation models, the following formula has been commonly used for the
eddy viscosity coefficient.

where the friction velocity u∗ is given as

In previous many works, α is set to be an constant and α = 0.1∼0.3 has been used. However,
realizability conditions, such as non-negative conditions of turbulent intensities, are locally failed
by the models with constant α. In order to avid this irrational feature, we tune α as not a constant
but a function of the strain and rotation parameters as

The tuning of the function type α[M] is performed in the similar process of the non-linear k-ε
model by Kimura & Hosoda (2003). The realizability inequality in 2D flows are

(16a) and (16b) mean non-negativity of turbulence intensities and Schwartz inequality, respectively.
Kimura & Hosoda (2003) assumed that the complex turbulent flows are decomposed into simple
shear flows and singular points and derived conditions to satisfy the realizability in each case. They
pointed out that the conditions for a simple shear flow becomes more limitative than that in singular
points. Therefore, we consider only a simple shear flow to derive the constraint for α[M].
The Reynolds stresses with 2nd order non-linear terms in a simple shear flow, where the relation
S = " = M holds, are described as

Though non-negative condition for equation (17a) is always satisfied, equation (17b) requires

983
On the other hand, Schwarz inequality (16b) for (17) yields the following constraint.

λp is determined through the comparison with the standard k-ε model as follows. First, the com-
parison of equation (12) and another expressions of the strain and rotation parameters with k and
ε yields

When the eddy viscosity coefficient in the standard k-ε model and in (13) are assumed to be
equivalent, ε can be described as

λp can be determined from equations (8), (20) and (21) as

When Cµ = 0.09, γk = 2.07 and α = 0.2 are used, λp becomes 1.07.

Figure 1 shows the plots of constraints (18) and (19). α(M) should be given lower than those
lines to satisfy the realizability. This figure indicates that the Schwarz inequality imposes severer
constraint for α(M) than the non-negative condition.
Kimura & Hosoda (2003) pointed out that the eddy viscosity should not affected by the strain and
rotation parameters in the range of log-law. They also showed that the value of M takes 2∼5 when
the Reynolds number is within the range of 103 to 105 under the log-law type velocity profile.
Therefore, α(M) should be tuned lower than the line of the Schwarz inequality and constant in
shadowed area. In order to satisfy those conditions, we adopted the following function.

The plot of (23) is shown together with the constraints in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Realizability conditions and α-M relation.

984
3 COMPUTATIONS OF 2D MIXING SHEAR LAYER

3.1 Computational conditions

We applied the present model to the flow in the laboratory tests by Chu & Babarutsi (1988) and
numerical and experimental results were compared. The schematic diagram of the flow field and
the hydraulic parameters are shown in Figure 2 and Table 1, respectively. The experiments were
performed in a 61 cm wide, 13 cm deep and 7 m long rectangular flume. A splitter plate was placed
at the upstream region of the channel along the centerline.
The range between x = −5 m and x = +5 m is assigned as the computational domain (the ori-
gin locates at the edge of the splitter plate.). The numerical grid at −1 m < x < 2 m is shown in
Figure 3. The preliminary computation only for the split region (x < 0) is performed using the
periodic boundary condition to obtain the well-developed velocity profile, which is used for the
inlet boundary condition. The 0-gradient condition is used for all physical quantities at the down-
stream boundary. As the initial conditions, the velocity profile at the upstream boundary and the
average depth (=5 cm) are given for the whole computational domain. The slope is varied to adjust
the computational depth at the origin to the experimental result at every 10 sec. The two different
0-equation models, the present non-linear model and a linear model νt = αhu∗ (α = 0.2 = const.),
are used and results are compared.

3.2 Results and discussions

Figure 4 shows the snapshots of velocity vectors in the linear and non-linear models. The vortex
shedding can be reproduced only by the non-linear model. Figure 5 shows the time-mean distribution
of α[M] in the computation by the non-linear model. The value of α[M] becomes lower than 0.2
along the mixing layer. We can also find that the mixing layer shifts toward the low-velocity side in
the downstream region. Figure 6 shows the time-mean velocity profiles in cross-sections. The results
by the two models are unexpectedly very similar. Figure 5 shows the time-mean distributions of

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the flow field.

Table 1. Hydraulic parameters.

U1 U2 B1 B2 h (depth)
(cm/s) (cm/s) (cm) (cm) (cm)

9.6 36.0 30.5 30.5 5.0

Figure 3. Numerical grid at −1 m < x < +2 m.

985
Figure 4. Snapshots of flow patterns (left: linear model, right: present non-linear model).

Figure 5. Time-mean distribution of α[M].

40 40 40
x=1cm x=50cm x=100cm
30 30 30
u(cm/s)

u(cm/s)

u(cm/s)
20 20 20
Cal. Cal. Cal.
10 Exp. 10 10
Exp. Exp.
0 0 0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
y(cm) y(cm) y(cm)

40 40
x=150cm x=200cm
30 30
u(cm/s)

u(cm/s)

20 20
Cal. Cal.
10 10
Exp.
(a) Linear model.
Exp.
0 0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
y(cm) y(cm)

40 40 40
x=1cm x=50cm x=100cm
30 30 30
u(cm/s)

u(cm/s)

u(cm/s)

20 20 20
Cal. Cal. Cal.
10 Exp. 10 Exp. 10 Exp.
0 0 0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
y(cm) y(cm) y(cm)

40 40
x=150cm x=200cm
30 30
u(cm/s)

u(cm/s)

20 20
Cal. Cal.
10 Exp. 10 Exp. (b) Non-linear model.
0 0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
y(cm) y(cm)

Figure 6. Comparison of time-averaged velocity profiles.

RMS of turbulence intensity in the longitudinal direction u by the linear and non-linear models. The
directly simulated component and the total component are shown separately in the computational
results in the figure. This figure clearly shows that the linear model considerably underestimates
the peak value of u along the mixing layer. The non-linear model can well predict the peak value
though the position of the peak is too close to the centerline compared with the experiment. It
should be noted that the directly simulated component is dominant near the mixing layer while the
component originated from the Reynolds stress becomes larger as the distance from the mixing
layer increases.

986
 5 8 8
x=1cm x=50cm x=100cm Exp.
RMS u'(cm/s)

RMS u'(cm/s)

RMS u'(cm/s)
4 Exp. Exp.
Large Scale 6 Large Scale 6 Large Scale
3 Total
Total 4 Total 4
2
1 2 2
0 0 0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
y(cm) y(cm) y(cm)

8 8
x=150cm Exp. Exp. Large Scale Total
RMS u'(cm/s)

RMS u'(cm/s)
6 Large Scale 6 x=200cm
4 Total
4
2 2 (a) Linear model.
0 0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
y(cm) y(cm)

5 8 8
Exp.
RMS u'(cm/s)

RMS u'(cm/s)

RMS u'(cm/s)
4 Exp. x=1cm x=50cm x=100cm Exp.
6 Large Scale 6
Large Scale Large Scale
3 Total
Total 4 4 Total
2
1 2 2
0 0 0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
y(cm) y(cm) y(cm)

8 8
Exp. Exp. Large Scale Total
RMS u'(cm/s)

RMS u'(cm/s)

x=150cm
6 Large Scale 6
x=200cm
4 Total 4
2 2 (b) Non-linear model.
0 0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
y(cm) y(cm)

Figure 7. Comparison of turbulence intensity in the longitudinal direction u (RMS).

4 CONCLUDING REMARKS

A modified non-linear turbulence model for depth-averaged shallow flow equations was developed
in this paper. The model is simple 0-equation type including the 2nd order non-linear terms. The
realizability conditions were considered to tune the eddy viscosity coefficient. The model was
applied to the flow with a 2D mixing shear layer. The advantage of the present model was clearly
demonstrated in the computations of turbulence intensities.

REFERENCES

Chu, Vi. H. and Babarutsi, S. 1988. Confinement and bed-friction effects in shallow turbulent mixing layeres,
J. Hydraulic Eng., ASCE, 114(10): 1257–1274.
Gatski, T.B. and Speziale, C.G. 1993. On explicit algebraic stress models for complex turbulent flows, J. Fluid
Mech., 254: 59–78.
Kimura, I. and Hosoda, T. 2003. A non-linear k-ε model with realizability for prediction of flows around bluff
bodies, Int. J. Numer. Meth. Fluids, 42: 813–837.
Nezu, I. and Nakagawa, H. 1993. Turbulence in open channel flows, IAHR Monograph, Rotterdam Belkema.
Yoshizawa, A. 1984. Statistical analysis of the deviation of the Reynolds stress from its eddy viscosity
representation, Physics of Fluids, 27: 1377–1387.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Weakly nonlinear spatial stability analysis of shallow

water flows

M.S. Ghidaoui
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

A.A. Kolyshkin
Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia

ABSTRACT: Several aspects of shallow flows are discussed in the paper. The one-dimensional
momentum equation for shallow wake is solved analytically. Reasonable agreement is found
between the model predictions and the results of numerical simulations in terms of the spread
of the wake. Methods of weakly nonlinear theory are used in order to study the development of
instability in shallow water for the case where the flow is assumed to be slightly non-parallel. An
amplitude evolution equation for the most unstable mode is derived.

1 INTRODUCTION

Shallow turbulent flows such as shallow mixing layers, shallow jets and shallow wakes are
widespread in nature and engineering. Such flows occur in compound and composite chan-
nels, rivers, estuaries, coastal regions and in the atmosphere. Shallow flows are known to be
predominantly two-dimensional since the limited water depth prevents the development of three-
dimensional structures. In a recent review Jirka (2001) considered different methods of analysis
of two-dimensional coherent structures in shallow water. Linear stability analysis is often used
by researchers since two-dimensional coherent structures widely observed in practice are believed
to appear as a result of flow instability. Several authors (Chu et al. 1991, Chen & Jirka 1997,
Ghidaoui & Kolyshkin 2003) considered different aspects of the stability problem of flows in
shallow water. In all the above mentioned studies the base flows are assumed to be parallel. It is
well-known, however, that the width of shallow mixing layer and the width of shallow wake is not
constant and is slowly changing with respect to the longitudinal coordinate. Therefore there is a
need to investigate the effect of non-parallelism of base shallow flow on the stability characteristics
of two-dimensional coherent structures.
Several aspects of shallow flows are discussed in the present paper. First, one-dimensional
momentum equation for shallow wake is solved analytically using the far-wake approximation.
Following Schlichting (1979), we use the constant eddy viscosity model to derive the velocity
distribution in the far-wake. The model predictions are compared with the results of numerical
simulation. Reasonable agreement is found in terms of the spread rate of the wake. Second, the
methods of weakly nonlinear theory are used to analyze the structure of the most unstable mode.
The basic approach used in the paper takes into account slow streamwise evolution of the base
flow. An asymptotic scheme is developed where the locally parallel stability results appear as
the leading-order approximation. The analysis is based on the WKB approach and has already
been applied to spatial stability studies of slowly diverging shear flows in deep water (Huerre &
Rossi 1998).

989
2 PLANE WAKE IN SHALLOW WATER

Consider the streamwise momentum equation for the shallow wake of the form:

where U is the velocity, P is the pressure, h is water depth, νT is the eddy viscosity, cf is the
friction coefficient and x and y are the longitudinal and transverse coordinates, respectively. Intro-
ducing the velocity defect u = U0 − U , where U0 is the free-stream velocity and using the far-wake
approximation (u << U0 ) we rewrite (1) in the form (see Ingram & Chu (1987)):

Integrating equation (2) across the wake from −∞ to ∞ we get

∞
Introducing the momentum integral by the formula M = ρU0 −∞ u dy, equation (3) can be written
as dM /dx = −(cf /h) M whose solution is M = M0 exp(−cf x/h). This solution was obtained in the
paper by Ingram & Chu (1987). It shows that M decays exponentially with x because of the bottom
friction.
Consider the case of constant eddy viscosity. In this case equation (2) has the form

The boundary conditions are

The solution of the problem (4), (5) for the case of wake in deep water (cf = 0) is given in Schlichting
(1979) and has the form

where the constant

√ C depends on the shape of a bluff body and η is the similarity variable in the
form η = y U0 /νT x.
It can easily be verified by direct substitution that the function

is a solution of the problem (4), (5). Equation (7) shows that (under the constant eddy viscosity
assumption) the velocity defect in shallow far-wake is self-similar. This can be seen as follows.

990
 1.6

1.4

1.2

1
b/D

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
2 2.5 3 3.5 4
x/D
UB SB VS UB SB VS

Figure 1. Wake half-width versus the dimensionless distance from the cylinder for the three experimental
cases: VS (CY14), UB (CY43) and SB (CY57).

√
If we define the velocity defect at the centerline by uc = u(x, 0) = C exp(−cf x/h)/ x, then it follows
2
from (7) that u/uc = exp(−η /4) is a function of η only. Using self-similarity of the velocity defect
in the far-wake one can introduce a similarity variable ξ = y/b(x), where √ b(x) is the half-width of
the wake. Comparing ξ with η one can see that b(x) should grow as x (as in the case of wake
in deep water). In order to test this assertion we computed b(x) for the three cases representing
different flow regimes. These three cases correspond to the three experimental cases reported by
Chen & Jirka (1995) and are labeled as follows: CY14 – vortex street (VS), CY 43 – unsteady
bubble (UB) and CY57 – steady bubble (SB). The BGK model (Ghidaoui & Kolyshkin 2003) is
used for calculations.
The results of the calculations are shown in Fig. 1 where the actual values of b(x)/D, rep-
resented by squares,
√ diamonds and triangles are shown together with the best fit curves of the
form b = a + d x/D (solid and dashed lines). Due to a limited size of the computational domain
we cannot calculate b(x) for large values of x. However, the calculated values of b(x) show a
reasonable agreement with the proposed square root function √ for all three cases CY14, CY43
and CY57. The best fit √ functions are b/D = 0.505 + 0.043 x/D for vortex street case √ (VS),
b/D = −2.130 + 1.712 x/D for unsteady bubble case (UB) and b/D = −3.859 + 2.694 x/D
for steady bubble case (SB). Note that a self-similarity behavior for deep wakes is observed at
sufficiently large distances from the obstacle, namely, for x/D > 50 while in experiments reported
by Balachandar et al. (2000) self-similarity of shallow wakes was observed at distances x/D > 2.5
which is consistent with the results presented here.

3 WEAKLY NONLINEAR ANALYSIS OF SHALLOW FLOWS

Consider the streamwise evolution of a shallow flow. The basic assumption here is that the instability
wavelength λ is much smaller than the length scale L associated with streamwise inhomogeneities
of the base flow. Thus, a small parameter ε = λ/L << 1 can be used to measure non-parallelism of

991
the flow. Introducing a slow streamwise coordinate X = εx, decomposing the total stream function
of the flow into basic (ψ0 (y, X )) and fluctuating (ψ(x, y, t)) components, linearizing the shallow
water equations in the neighborhood of the base flow and keeping only the terms of order ε we
obtain

where U = ∂ψ0 /∂y, V = −(∂ψ0 /∂x), cf is the friction coefficient and h is water depth.
The perturbation ψ(x, y, t) is then decomposed into a fast varying phase function θ (X )/ε and a
slowly varying amplitude function ϕ(y, X ):

The function ϕ( y, X ) is expanded in a power series in ε as follows

Substituting (9) and (10) into (8) and collecting the terms that do not contain ε we obtain a linearized
stability equation of the form

where

Here primes are used to denote the derivatives with respect to y and θX = k(X , ω).
Equation (11) is the modified Rayleigh equation which appears in stability studies of shallow
flows under parallel flow approximation. Note that the coordinate X appears in (11) as a parameter.
Assuming that ϕ1 ( y, X ) = A(X )(y, X, ω), where A(X ) is an unknown complex amplitude and
(y, X , ω) is a normalized eigenfunction of the linear stability problem and collecting the terms of
order ε we obtain:

The left-hand side of the last formula is exactly the same as the left-hand side of (11) (if ϕ1 is
replaced by ϕ2 ). Therefore, in accordance with Fredholm’s alternative (Zwillinger 1998), the last
equation has a solution if and only if its right-hand side is orthogonal to all eigenfunctions of the

992
corresponding adjoint problem. The solvability condition yields an amplitude evolution equation
for A(X ) in the form

where

˜ is an eigenfunction of the adjoint operator La .

and 
Thus, the function ψ(x, y, t) is represented in the form

Formula (13) provides the link between local parallel approximations and takes into account slow
streamwise evolution of the base flow. It is convenient to rewrite (13) in terms of the original variable
x (we keep the same notation for all the quantities which appear on the right-hand side of (13)):

It follows from (14) that each of the three terms on the right-hand side of (14) contain information
related to the amplitude and phase of the perturbation (see Crighton & Gaster (1976)). In addition,
the growth rate and phase speed of the perturbation at any given station x downstream are differ-
ent for different choices of the perturbed quantities and even depend on the cross-stream location
where these quantities are evaluated. Following Crighton & Gaster (1976) one can define a local
wavenumber k̄ (whose real and imaginary parts can be interpreted as the local phase speed and
local spatial growth rate) for any flow variable Q in the form

It follows from (15) that in order to make a meaningful comparison between experimental data
and theory one needs to choose a particular flow quantity Q (for example, longitudinal velocity
or pressure), measure it at a particular point (x, y) and evaluate the right-hand side of (15) at the
same point. Finally, using the weakly nonlinear model one can calculate the right-hand side of (15)
and compare the results with experimental data. This means that in order to test the validity of the
proposed model detailed experimental data are needed. To the authors’ knowledge, such detailed
experimental data are not available in the literature. An alternative option is to use numerical
solution of full nonlinear two-dimensional shallow water equations.

993
4 CONCLUSIONS

The present paper deals with the analysis of flows in shallow water. The one-dimensional momentum
equation for shallow wake is solved analytically under the far-wake approximation. Wake half-
width based on the proposed model is found in a reasonable agreement with the results of numerical
simulations. Methods of weakly nonlinear theory are used to derive an amplitude evolution equation
which takes into account non-parallel effects.

REFERENCES

Balachandar, R., Ramachandran, S. & Tachie, M.F. 2000. Characteristics of shallow turbulent near wakes at
low Reynolds numbers. Journal of Fluids Engineering 122: 302–308
Chen, D. & Jirka, G.H. 1995. Experimental study of plane turbulent wake in a shallow water layer. Fluid
Dynamics Research 16: 11–41
Chen, D. & Jirka, G.H. 1997. Absolute and convective instabilities of plane turbulent wakes in a shallow water
layer. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 338: 157–172
Chu, V.H., Wu, J.H. & Khayat, R.E. 1991. Stability of transverse shear flows in shallow open channel. Journal
of Hydraulic Engineering 117: 1370–1388
Crighton, D.G. & Gaster, M.G. 1976. Stability of slowly diverging jet flow. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 77:
397–413
Ghidaoui, M.S. & Kolyshkin, A.A. 2003. Stability analysis of shallow wake flows. Journal of Fluid Mechanics
494: 355–377
Ghidaoui, M.S. & Kolyshkin, A.A. 2003. On coherent structures in shallow flows. In G.H. Jirka and
W.S.J Uijttewaal (eds.), Proceedings of the international symposium on shallow flows, Delft University
of Technology Delft, The Netherlands
Huerre, P. & Rossi, M. 1998. Hydrodynamic instabilities in open flows. In C. Godreche and P. Manneville
(eds.), Hydrodynamics and nonlinear instabilities Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Ingram, R.G. & Chu V.H. 1987. Flow around islands in Rupert Bay: An investigation of the bottom friction
effect. Journal of Geophysical Research 92: 14521–14533
Jirka, G.H. 2001. Large scale flow structures and mixing processes in shallow flows. Journal of Hydraulic
Research 39: 567–573
Zwillinger, D. 1998. Handbook of differential equations New York: Academic Press

994
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Shallow re-circulating flow in a cavity

W. Altai, C. Pinilla & V.H. Chu

Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University,
Montreal, Canada

ABSTRACT: Experiments were conducted in a square basin that was attached on the side of a wide
open-channel flow, to collect data needed for the development of Large Eddy Simulation (LES)
model of turbulent flow in shallow waters. Dye was introduced to the square basin as tracer during
the experiment. Its concentration was monitored by a video camera and was correlated with the
light intensity of the video images using an imaging method developed at McGill University. The
turbulence motion of the entire flow field is captured simultaneously and instantaneously across
the basin so that the images of turbulent motion can be compared with the results of the LES.
Seven experiments of shallow depths were conducted covering a range of water depths varying
from 1.8 cm to 9 cm. The dye-concentration buildup to a quasi-steady state for the case of steady
dye injection. The results are provided as an overall measure of the turbulent exchange rate between
the main flow and the re-circulating flow in the basin, and as a compliment to the series of the
previous data obtained for the retention time.

1 INTRODUCTION

Shallow re-circulating flows are observed in bays and harbors, and behind obstacles such as sand
bars and spur dikes, when coastal currents are separated from the rugged coast (Schmidt, 1990).
Pollutants and sediments drawn into the re-circulating region are likely to be trapped there because
the velocity and turbulent intensity in the region are low compared with the current along the coast.
The deposition of particulate and flocculent matters in the region is directly related to the time avail-
able for the deposition and hence the rate of the mass exchanged with the current. The interaction
of the shallow re-circulating flow with the current has been the subject of a series of experimental
studies (Altai 1997 and 2001). In the present experimental investigation, the re-circulating flow was
produced in a square basin opened on one side to an open-channel main flow as shown in Figure 1.
Dye was introduced to the basin as tracer. The motion of the dye was monitored by a video camera
during the experiments. Figure 2 shows an image of the re-circulating flow in the basin as outline by
the dye concentration pattern. It also shows the location of the dye source, the general circulation
induced by the entrainment of fluid into the mixing layer, and the division of the flow as the eddies
impinged on the downstream edge of the basin. The concentration of the dye was determined by
correlating the dye concentration with the pixel intensity of the video images using an accurate
imaging method developed at McGill University (Zhang and Chu 2003, Liu 2004).

2 EXPERIMENT

Seven experiments of depths equal to 1.8 cm, 3.0 cm, 6 cm, and 9 cm were conducted. The 6-cm-
depth test is repeated for a slightly different velocity in the main flow. The 9-cm test is repeated for a
very different velocity to study the effect of the velocity. All test are conducted in a 7 m long and 141
wide main channel flow. Water enters the main channel proceeding by a smooth contraction of the
flow from the stilling basin. The square basin is located along the side of the main flow immediately

995
Figure 1. Square basin opened to the flow exchange with the main open-channel flow and the overhead
camera for video imaging of the re-circulating flow in the basin.

qe
qe
mixing layer ce
qoco

core

outer
region

Figure 2. Impingement of eddies on the downstream edge of the basin and the re-circulation of eddies around
the basin. A steady dye source of flow rate, qo , and concentration, co , is shown entering the flow as a dot
located at the upper right hand corner of the figure.

downstream of the stilling basin. The dimensions of the square basin are 89 cm × 89. During the
experiments, dye was introduced at a steady rate, qo , through a small tubing located at the upstream
edge of the basin near the mixing layer. The dye is first drawn into the mixing layer and then circu-
lates around the basin. Eddies are produced by shear in the mixing layers and subsequently carried
downstream along the mixing layer. The movement of the eddy is delineated by the dye concentra-
tion pattern. The process is highly unsteady. As the eddy impinges onto the downstream edge of the
basin, it enters the basin and leaves the basin alternatively and nearly periodically as shown in the
sequence of the dye-concentration images in Figure 3. The eddy circulates around the outer region
of the basin. A core in the center of the region is clearly visible as the concentration in the core is

996
Figure 3. Sequence of concentration images obtained at 5 seconds interval. In this test of 2.3 cm water depth,
the dye of initial concentration of 1 g/l is introduced at a steady rate of 1.62 cm3 /s and at position located at
the upper left-hand corner of each figure, starting at a time t = 17 s.

Table 1. Conditions and results of the experiments.

Depth (cm) Velocity (cm/s) Re qo (cm3 /s) Cave (g/m3 ) $

1.8 15.5 2795 0.60 4.10 17.0

2.3 19.5 4480 1.62 7.00 17.3
3.0 25.6 7677 1.28 3.50 18.7
6.0 a 29.0 17382 1.28 2.36 28.6
6.0 b 20.7 12414 1.28 3.13 27.1
9.0 a 8.7 7827 1.62 4.50 19.4
9.0 b 21.6 19404 0.94 1.40 25.8

L = 89 cm, co = 1 g/l.

generally lower. Accurate concentration data of the unsteady flow are captured by the video for the
development of LES model of turbulent flow. Huge amount of data are obtained over a short period
of experiment. Only a small fraction of the results are analyzed and presented in this paper. Table 1
summarizes the conditions of the experiments and some of the results obtained from the experiment.

3 ZERO-DIMENSIONAL MODEL

The zero-dimension model provides some of the parameters that characterize the overall exchange
of the re-circulating flow in the basin with the flow in the main channel. For a steady inflow of

997
dye at a constant rate qo co , the dye concentration in the basin increases with time. The rate of this
increase is determined by the mass balance equation

where qe ce , is the mass flux leaving the basin. As shown in Figure 2, qe is the total entrainment
flow rate into the mixing layer. It is also the outflow at the end of the mixing layer and the outflow
from the basin. The total mass in the basin is cave L2 h, where cave is the average of the concentration
over the basin, L the dimension of the basin and h the depth of the flow. The difference in the mass
fluxes between the inflow and the outflow causes the total mass to change. Equation 1 is re-written
into the form

to give the following simplified solution

This is obtained by assuming that the concentration of the outflow changes in proportional to the
average concentration in the basin (i.e., the ratio cave /ce stays constant with time). There are two
parameters in this simplified solution. They are

The average dye concentration in the basin increases with time due to the steady inflow of the dye
into the basin. The rate of this increase diminishes as the concentration approaches the quasi-steady
state given by Equation 4. Altai and Chu (1997, 2001) has obtained data for the retention time, τ,
from a series of experimental investigations. A core region and an outer region characterize the
re-circulating flow according to Altai and Chu. The retention time obtained in the outer region is
generally shorter than the retention time in the core.
The present series of the experiment is to provide the information regarding the basin-averaged
concentration of the quasi-steady state, Cave . Figure 4 is a dimensionless plot the experimental data
obtained for the quasi-steady state. The dilution parameter $ is defined based on the basin-averaged
quasi-steady state concentration Cave as follows:

The data of this parameter falls into the range of two values of $ ≈ 17 and $ ≈ 27. The dilu-
tion is higher for those tests conducted at Reynolds number greater than the value of about
Re = Uo h/ν = 10000. We do not yet have a good explanation of this rather large change of the
$ value at this time. A series of Large Eddy Simulation of the turbulent flow is currently con-
ducted to study the turbulent exchange process between the re-circulating flow in the basin and the
flow in the main channel. One data point obtained from this numerical simulation corresponding
to the flow of 1.8-cm depth is shown as a solid symbol in the figure. Figure 5 shows the dye
concentration distribution at time t = 40 s and 275 s obtained from this same simulation.

998
 35
6.0a
30 6.0b
25
9.0b
9.0a
20 2.3

15 3.0
1.8
10

0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000
Re

Figure 4. Dilution parameter obtained from the experiment and the comparison of this with the LES.

t = 40 s t = 275 s

Figure 5. Dye concentration distribution in the basin obtained by LES for the flow of 1.8-cm depth at two
different times.

4 LARGE EDDY SIMULATION

The LES were carried out using a two-dimensional grid on the horizontal plane using a modified
Smagorinsky model proposed by Babarutsi, Nassiri and Chu (2004). The modified model is based
on a quasi-two-dimensional model for mesh size large compared with the depth of the flow ( >> h)
and a pseudo-three-dimensional model for mesh size small compared with the depth of the flow
( << h). The general formula for the transition between these two limiting cases is given by the
four-third-power interpolation formula:

According to this formula, depending on the size of the grid, the sub-grid viscosity would be
vSG = vSD + v2D if  >> h, or vSG = vP3D if  << h. The 2D version of the Smagorinsky viscosity is

999
 
in which CS = Smagorinsky parameter and  = x 2 + y2 = mesh size; ũ and ṽ, are the com-
ponents of the velocity on the x and y plane. The sub-depth-scale viscosity is proportional to the
shear velocity ũ∗ and the water depth h:

√
where u∗ = τb /ρ is the friction velocity. If the mesh size were large compared with the water depth
(i.e., if x, y >> h), the total sub-depth and sub-grid viscosity is the sum of the sub-depth-scale
component given by Eq. (5) and the 2D component by Eq. (4): vSG = vSD + v2D . However, if the
mesh size were significantly smaller than the depth of the water (i.e., if x, y << h), the sub-grid
viscosity will be given by the quasi-three-dimensional model:

The value of the Smagorinsky coefficient Cs = 0.075 was selected for the simulations.

5 CONCLUSION

A series of tracer studies were conducted in a square basin to study the turbulence exchange process
between the re-circulating flow in the basin and the flow in the main channel. Dye concentration in
the basin was measured accurately using a video imaging method developed at McGill University.
The turbulence motion of the entire flow field is captured simultaneously and instantaneously
across the basin. The data obtained from the imaging of the turbulent motion is currently employed
for the development of LES model.

REFERENCES

Altai, W. and Chu, V.H. 2001. Re-circulating flow in a shallow basin. Proc. 29th IAHR Congress, Theme D,
Vol. 1, pp. 52–57.
Altai, W. and Chu, V.H. 1997. Rentention time of a recirculating flow. Proc. 27th IAHR Congress, San Francisco,
Theme B, Vol. 1, Theme B, pp. 9–14.
Babarutsi, S., Nassiri, M. and Chu, V.H. 2004. Horizontal turbulence simulation in shallow re-circulating
Flows. J. Hydr. Engineering (tentatively accepted).
Chu, V.H., Liu, F. and Altai, W. 2004. Friction and confinement effects on shallow re-criculating flows. To
appear in J. of Envir. Eng. and Sci.
Liu, F. 2004. Re-circulating Flow by Video Imaging Method. M.Eng. thesis, Department of Civil Engineering
and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Zhang, J.-B. and Chu, V.H. 2003. Shallow turbulent flows by video imaging method. J. Engineering Mechanics,
ASCE. 129: 1164–1172.

1000
8 Waves and coastal processes

8.1 Waves/coastal processes – I

This page intentionally left blank
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Wave induced pressures and forces on parallel submarine

pipelines at low KC numbers

P.L. Vijayakumari, V. Sundar & K. Murali

Department of Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India

ABSTRACT: An experimental investigation on the wave induced pressures and forces on twin
tandem submarine pipelines near a rigid sloping boundary have been carried out. Two pipes of
identical dimensions were subjected to regular waves with its crest parallel to the pipeline axis. The
pipes were kept at four different horizontal clear spacing (w) and at three clear vertical spacing (e)
from the sloping bed. The circumferential variation of dynamic pressures on the test pipe due to
interference of neighboring pipe has been reported as a function of scattering parameter (ka). The
forces obtained by integration of the instantaneous pressures were expressed as maximum force
coefficients and correlated with Keulegen-Carpenter number (KC) or period parameter. The effect
of the vertical and horizontal gap ratio on the forces have been studied and reported. The details of
the experimental model, analysis and interpretation of the results are discussed in this paper.

1 INTRODUCTION

The diminishing natural resources of the earth have turned the attention of mankind towards the
exploration and exploitation of the natural resources of the ocean. The huge capacity of the ocean
has been utilized to function it as a source of water and a sink for the discharge of drainage water and
effluent from land. These developmental activities have necessitated the introduction of submarine
conveyance systems, of which pipelines are commonly used. Usually pipelines may be resting on
the seabed or lie buried beneath it. Also if two pipelines are to be laid side by side, the interaction
between them alters the flow conditions in their vicinity. Hence a detailed investigation has been
carried out to determine the interference effect between the pipes and the seabed and also the
proximity of the free surface on the wave-induced pressures and forces on parallel pipelines.
Wilson et al. (1970) carried out experiments to understand the effect of horizontal spacing and
vertical spacing from the ground plane on the forces on pipelines due to steady currents. Pranesh
and Somanatha (1984) with their experimental studies on wave forces on twin parallel pipelines
near a horizontal plane boundary concluded that the inertia coefficient increases with a decrease
in e/D for a single pipe, “e” is the gap between the bed and the pipe. Zdravkovich (1985) measured
drag and lift forces on circular cylinders by varying the gap between the cylinder and the wall (G),
thickness of the boundary layer and Reynolds number. Yüksel and Narayanan (1994) measured the
forces on pipelines placed over a bed of slope1:10. Cokgor and Avci (2003) studied the forces on
a cylinder, on the bed or partly buried in presence and absence of a neighboring cylinder.
Hence, a detailed study is undertaken to find the variation of dynamic pressures due to waves
on a test pipe due to the presence of a neighboring pipe of the same dimension on its leeward side
near a sloping rigid bed to investigate their interference effects as well as the proximity of the bed
on the forces on the pipeline.

2 EXPERIMENTAL SET UP

The experimental investigation was carried out in a 72.5 m long, 2 m wide wave flume in a constant
water depth of 1.0 m, in the Department of Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology

1003
 Sloping bed Wave probes
Test Pipe Energy absorbers
2700mm wave maker

d=1000
Leeside Pipe 72500mm

DETAILS OF THE WAVE FLUME WITH THE SECOND PIPE ON THE LEESIDE OF THE TEST PIPE

θ=90°
P2 Leeward Pipe
1

w
P

P3
Test Pipe
90
θ=180° θ=0° ?
P8 P4 180 0
D

270 e
P7 P5
P6 Second Pipe Leeside
θ=270°

Figure 1. Experimental set up.

Madras, India. A computer controlled wave maker operating either in piston or in hinged mode is
installed at one end of the flume. It is capable of generating regular or random waves. A sloping rigid
bed with a slope of 1:10 was fabricated and erected in the other end of the flume. The slope started
from a distance of 40.3 m from the wave maker. Two pipes each of diameter, D = 0.315 m and length
of 1.99 m were used for the tests. One of the pipes, being the test pipe was housed with eight pressure
transducers around its circumference each with measuring range of 20 kN/m2 , to record the dynamic
pressures. The water depth at the test location was 0.827 m. The experiments were conducted for
w/D = 1, 2, 3 and 4 (w, being the horizontal clear spacing between the test pipe and the neighboring
pipe on its leeside). The pipelines were placed normal to wave direction near a bed with a slope 1:10
and subjected to the action of regular waves. The tests covered a range of wave period, T of 1.0 to
2.0 secs with an increment of 0.2 sec. For each of the wave period, at least three wave heights, H were
employed for the tests. A Data Acquisition System simultaneously acquired the time histories of
dynamic pressures around the test pipe and wave elevations in phase with the cylinder axis. For each
of the above said test condition, the tests were repeated for three different vertical gap ratios, h/D
(where, “h” is the vertical clear distance between the pipe and the still water level). Both pipes had
the same h/D ratio for each of the tests. The details of the test setup are projected in Fig. 1. The details
of the experimental setup, data collection, analysis, result and discussion are presented in this paper.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Wave induced pressures

The time histories of the pressures were analyzed for peak shoreward pressures, pc which was
normalized by dividing it with γH (γ is the specific weight of water, H the maximum wave height
measured at the center of the test pipe, respectively). The circumferential variations of normalized
peak shoreward pressures around the test pipe for different scattering parameter, “ka” for a particular
h/D = 1.38 (e/D = 0.25), average H/d of 0.093 for the different w/D in presence of a pipe on its
leeside are shown in Fig. 2. The pressure sensed by the leeside pressure port, θ = 180◦ is found to be
maximum. This is due to the building up of pressure in between the pipes due to multiple reflection
and turbulence created by convex curved surfaces of both pipes. This phenomenon is dominant for

1004
 ka=0.202 ka=0.233 ka=0.276
ka=0.342 ka=0.448 ka=0.636

0.7 0.7
w/D=1 w/D=2
0.6 0.6

0.5 0.5

0.4 0.4
pc/γH

0.3 0.3

0.2 0.2

0.1 0.1

0 0
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360 0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360

0.7 0.7
0.6 w/D=3 0.6 w/D=4
0.5 0.5
0.4 0.4
pc/γH

0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2
0.1 0.1
0 0
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360 0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360
Theta Theta

Figure 2. Effect of ka on the circumferential variation of dynamic pressure for different w/D, h/D =
1.38(e/D = 0.25) and H/d = 0.093.

the lesser spacing between the pipes. The intensity of peak pressure slightly reduces for w/D = 3
and 4 due to the widening of the gap between the pipes. The trend in the circumferential variation
of pressures is similar for all ka values tested. Further, the pressures are found to decrease with an
increase in ka as pressures exerted due to long period waves are higher. Similar results were observed
for the other two e/D. For a particular w/D = 1 and for an average H/d = 0.093, the effect of e/D on
the pressure variation on the pipeline is brought out for different ka in Fig. 3. For e/D = 0.25, and
0.50 that is, for the pipes closer to the sloping bed, the pressure distribution is found to be nearly
symmetrical. The pressure port facing the leeside pipe (θ = 180◦ ) exhibits maximum pressure,
which is mainly due to reflection of waves from the beach slope being dominant. For e/D = 0.75,
the location of the maximum pressure shift towards the pressure port closer to the free surface
(θ = 90◦ ). This is due to the fact that as the vertical gap increases, the flow asymmetry reduces and
the pipe come closer to the free surface thereby, leading to an increase in the pressures. In such a
situation, the free surface dictates the pressures on the pipe rather than the proximity of the slope.

3.2 Wave induced forces

The wave induced forces were obtained by integrating the instantaneous dynamic pressures meas-
ured over the segmental lengths which is then resolved along and perpendicular to the wave
direction to obtain the maximum horizontal (FH )max and vertical (Fv )max forces. The wave forces
were normalized by dividing it by γDH/2. The dimensionless forces [Fx = FHmax /(γDH/2) and
Fy = FVmax /(γDH/2)] are reported as a function of wave steepness at the test section as shown in
Fig. 4.The wave steepness (H/L) for the given test conditions vary from 0.019 to 0.034.
The corresponding d/L is 0.2 and 0.53. The non-dimensional horizontal force initially increases
and then decreases with an increase in H/L, whereas, the vertical force shows an increasing trend
with an increase in H/L up to H/L = 0.03 and thereafter, decreases due to the water depth transition

1005
 ka=0.202 ka=0.233 ka=0.276
ka=0.342 ka=0.448 ka=0.636

0.7 0.7
h/D=1.38(e/D=0.25) h/D=1.13(e/D=50)
0.6 0.6
0.5 0.5
0.4
pc/γH

0.4
0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2
0.1 0.1
0 0
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360 0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360

0.7
h/D=0.88(e/D=0.75)
0.6
0.5
0.4
pc/γH

0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360
Theta

Figure 3. Effect of ka on the circumferential variation of dynamic pressure for W/D = 1 and different e/D.

Fx Fy
0.7 0.7
0.6 0.6
F*max/(0.5γDH)

0.5 0.5
0.4 0.4
0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2
0.1 e/D=0.25 0.1 e/D=0.5
0 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
0.7
0.6
F*max/(0.5γDH)

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1 e/D=0.75
0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
H/L

Figure 4. Variation of non-dimensional horizontal and vertical force with wave steepness for w/D = 1.

from intermediate to deep-waters. The horizontal force is about five times the vertical force up to
H/L < 0.03, beyond, which, the difference between the two components becomes less.
The dimensionless forces were later expressed as the force coefficients, with the horizontal
component CHmax as FHmax /0.5ρDu2max and the vertical component, CVmax as FVmax /0.5ρDu2max , in
which, umax is the maximum horizontal particle velocity at the center of the test pipe. As most of
the present experimental data falls in the Stokes second order region, the kinematics of the wave is
calculated by using the Stokes second order theory.

1006
 CHmax CVmax

1000 1000
e/D=0.25 e/D=0.5
CHmax or CVmax

100 100

10 10

1 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

1000
e/D=0.75
CHmax or CVmax

100

10

1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
KC

Figure 5. Variation of force coefficients with KC number for w/D = 1.

h/D=1.38(e/D=0.25) h/D=1.13(e/D=0.5) h/D=0.88(e/D=0.75)

1000 1000

100 100
CHmax

CVmax

10 10

w/D=2 w/D=2
1 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
1000 1000

100 100
CVmax
CHmax

10 10

w/D=1 w/D=1
1 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Figure 6. Effect of h/D on the variation of force coefficient with KC number.

The KC number for the present study varied from 0.04 to 1.17. The variations of CHmax and CVmax
as a function of KC for w/D = 1, H/d = 0.093 and for the three e/D tested are shown in Fig. 5. Both
the force coefficients are found to decrease with an increase in KC number. For all the three
e/D tested, the CHmax is found to be higher than CVmax , the difference increases with increasing
values of KC.
The superposition of the results on the variation of the force coefficients for the three h/D (e/D)
is shown in Fig. 6. Both the force coefficients are found to decrease with an increase in e/D, as
the umax is greater for higher e/D. The effect of w/D on the variation of CHmax and CVmax with

1007
 w/D=4 w/D=3 w/D=2 w/D=1

1000 1000
h/D=1.38(e/D=0.25) h/D=1.38(e/D=0.25)
100 100
CHmax

CVmax
10 10

1 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
KC KC

Figure 7. Effect of w/D on the variation of force coefficient with KC number.

KC number h/D = 1.38 is shown in Fig. 7. The effect of w/D on the force coefficients become
predominant with increasing values of KC number.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The port facing the leeside pipe (θ = 180◦ ) experiences maximum pressure for e/D up to 0.50. For
e/D = 0.75, the maximum pressure is recorded by the port closer to the free surface (θ = 90◦ ). The
pressures are found to decrease with an increase in ka as pressures exerted due to long period waves
are higher. The non-dimensional horizontal force (force per unit static head due to wave height) is
about five times the vertical force for intermediate water depths, whereas for deep-waters the ratio
becomes quite small within the tested range of wave steepness of 0.019 to 0.034.The horizontal
and vertical maximum force coefficient, CHmax and CVmax defined in terms of maximum horizontal
particle velocity decreases gradually with increasing KC number. For low values of KC up to 0.4
CHmax and CVmax decreases with decreasing value of h/D from 1.38 to 0.88 for the same w/D. Both
the force coefficients increase with an increase in h/D (decrease in e/D). Also the effect of w/D on
the vertical force coefficients is predominant than on the horizontal force coefficient.

REFERENCES

Chevalier, C., Lambert, E. & Belorgey, M. (2000). “Wave forces on submarine Pipelines in the Coastal Zone”,
Proceedings of the Tenth (2000) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, Seattle, USA,
28 May–2 June, Vol. 3, pp. 267–281.
Cokgor, S. & Avci, I. (2001). “Hydrodynamic Forces on Partly Buried Tandem, Twin Pipelines in Current”,
Ocean Engineering 28(2001) 1349–1360.
Pranesh, M.R. & Somanatha, Gg.A. (1984) “Wave Forces on Parallel Pipelines”, Proc. Pacific Congress on
Marine Technology (PACOM-84), 24–27 April, Honolulu, U.S.A, pp. OST 6/19 TO OST 6/25.
Subbiah, K., Cheong, H.F. & Jothishankar, N. (1990). “Random Wave Forces on Horizontal Cylinders”, Ocean
Engineering, 1990, Vol. 17 No. 5. pp. 447–462.
Wilson, F.J., Duke, U., Caldwell, H.M. & Usaf. (1970). “Force and Stability Measurements on Models of
Submerged Pipelines”, Offshore Technology Conference, 6200 North Central Expressway Dallas, Texas
75206, Paper No. OTC 1224.
Yuksel, Y. & Narayanan, R. (1994). “Wave Forces on Horizontal Cylinder Resting on Sloping Bottom”,
Proceedings of the Fourth International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, Osaka, Japan, April
10–15, 1994.
Zdravkovich, M.M. (1985). “Forces on circular cylinder near a plane wall”, Applied Ocean Research, 1985,
Vol. 7, No. 4 197.

1008
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Multi-layer modeling of nonlinear short waves

S.C. Hsiao, Y.H. Chang & H.H. Hwung

Department of Hydraulics & Ocean Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

ABSTRACT: The multi-layer model developed by Lynett & Liu (2004 a,b) is used for simulating
the evolution of deep water waves on sloping bottoms. Two slopes are tested and compared with
experimental data. The overall comparisons between the multi-layer model and the experiments
are quite good, indicating that the multi-layer model is adequate for both linear and nonlinear
deep-water waves.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Boussinesq-type equation models for studying water wave propagation in one and two horizon-
tal dimensions has made remarkable advance in the past decade. This depth-integrated modeling
approach employed a polynomial approximation of the vertical profile of the velocity field, thereby
reducing the dimensions of a three dimensional problem by one. The conventional Boussinesq
equations (Peregrine, 1967) and the generalized Boussinesq equations of Wu (1981), which made
use of a quadratic polynomial approximation for the vertical flow distribution, have two major
constraints: (1) The depth-averaged model poorly describes the frequency dispersion of wave
propagation in intermediate depths, and (2) the weakly nonlinear assumption limits the largest
wave height that can accurately be modeled. These constraints are consistent with the fundamental
assumption of the Boussinesq equations, which states that the leading order frequency disper-
sion and nonlinear effects are of the same order and are weak, i.e., O(µ20 ) = O(ε0 ) << 1, where
µ0 = wavenumber times depth (kh) and ε0 = amplitude over depth (a/h). The frequency disper-
sive properties of the conventional Boussinesq equations have been improved by modifying the
dispersive terms (Madsen & Sorensen, 1992) or using a reference velocity at a specified depth
(Nwogu, 1993). These techniques yield a set of equations whose linear dispersion relation can be
adjusted such that the resulting intermediate-depth dispersion characteristics are close to those of
linear Stokes wave theory. Liu (1994) and Wei et al. (1995) extended Nwogu’s approach to highly
nonlinear waves, developing models that not only can be applied to intermediate water depth but
also are capable of simulating wave propagation with strong nonlinear interaction, i.e. ε0 = O(1).
In general, these model equations contain accurate linear frequency dispersion properties to kh ≈ 3
(e.g. Nwogu, 1993).
Further enhancing the deep water accuracy of the depth-integrated approach is the so-called high-
order Boussinesq-type equations. While the model equations described in the previous paragraph
use a quadratic polynomial approximation for the vertical flow distribution, these high-order models
use fourth and higher order polynomial approximations. An example of a high-order Boussinesq-
type model is that of Gobbi et al. (2000), who used a fourth-order polynomial to develop a model
with excellent linear frequency dispersive properties up to kh ≈ 6. Additional high-order advances
have been made, such as those of Madsen et al. (2002) and Agnon et al. (1999).
Lynett & Liu (2004 a,b) developed a different approach to obtain a high-order, depth-integrated
model. Instead of employing a high-order polynomial approximation for the vertical distribution
of the flow field, N quadratic polynomials are used, matched at an interface that divides the water
column into N layers. This approach leads to a set of model equations without the high-order
spatial derivatives associated with high-order polynomial approximations. Similar in concept to

1009
the method of Madsen et al. (2002), the basic idea of the multi-layer derivation is to trade fewer
unknowns and higher spatial derivatives for more unknowns and lower spatial derivatives.
To validate these new high-order Boussinesq-type models, such as the multi-layer model, high
quality experiments examining the evolution of nonlinear deep water waves are essential. Existing
experimental studies (e.g., Melville, 1982, 1983; Su et al. 1982 a,b; Tulin & Waseda, 1999) have
concluded that the wave flume scale and the capability of wave generator play a crucial role in
successful experiments for the long time evolution of nonlinear wave trains. Tainan Hydraulics
Laboratory (THL) has constructed a large wave tank of 200 m × 2 m × 2 m equipped with a pro-
grammable, high resolution wave generator. In this large tank, we have conducted a series of
experiments for nonlinear monochromatic over two sloping bottoms with initial kh values being
deep water gange. The experimental data are used to test the multi-layer model. The agreement
between the numerical results and the experimental data are quite good.

2 FORMULATION

The multi-layer model is derived through piecewise integration of the primitive equations of motion.
The complete derivation can be found in Lynett & Liu (2004 b); only the variable definitions
and final equations are given here. As shown in Figure 1, ς  (x , y , t  ) denotes the free surface
displacement of a wave train propagating in the water depth h (x , y , t  ). The boundaries between
layers are given as ηn (x , y , t  ). The system will be divided into N layers, where the upper and lower
boundaries are given by η0 = ς  and ηN = −h , respectively. All of the other boundaries will be
constructed as ηn = αn h + βn ς  , where αn and βn are arbitrary and are defined by user. Note that
both h and ς  are functions of time, and therefore so is ςn . Each of the N layers has a characteristic
thickness, dn , as defined by Figure 1. Utilizing the layer thicknesses dn as the vertical length scales
in the corresponding layers, h0 as the characteristic  water depth, the characteristic length of the
wave l0 = 1/k as the horizontal length scale, l0 / gh0 as the time scale, and the characteristic wave

Figure 1. N -Layer problem setup.

1010
amplitude a0 as the sale of wave motion, the final dimensionless multi-layer model equations are
given as:
The integrated equation of continuity is

The momentum equation becomes

And the matching equations are given as

where

Note that un represents the horizontal velocity components in the different layers.
The numerical model employed here is identical to that described in Lynett & Liu (2004 a), which
has its foundations in the high-order model presented by Wei & Kirby (1995). The numerical time-
marching scheme is a fourth-order, implicit predictor-corrector method. The spatial derivatives are

1011
finite differenced to fourth-order accuracy. No filtering or other artificial numerical dissipation
is utilized. Furthermore, the breaking scheme employed here is similar to Kennedy et al. (2000)
with slight modifications in coefficients (Lynett, 2002). As the equation form of the presented
multi-layer model is identical to the O(µ2 ) Boussinesq-type equations, the numerical details, such
as convergence criteria, are identical to those given in Wei et al. (1995) and Lynett & Liu (2004 a).
For all of the numerical simulations presented in this paper, the lateral boundaries are modeled as
absorbing boundaries through the use of sponge layers.
The detailed numerical schemes can be found in Lynett (2002). In addition, a new scheme for
internal generation of waves was developed and incorporated into the multi-layer Boussinesq model.
This new method combines the concepts from the line source and Wei et al.’s finite source width
ideas. It greatly simplifies the coding of the internal source function in the multi-layer models. This
new internal source function can accurately generate the desired waves up to the kh values where
the multi-layer dispersion relation is correct. The details are omitted here due to the page limitation
and the readers can refer to Hsiao et al. (2004).

3 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

As wave propagates over a sloping bottom, its profile becomes asymmetric and unstable and even-
tually results in wave breaking. The main purpose of this paper is to study the characteristics of
nonlinear short waves transformation over sloping bottoms. The experiments were conducted in
Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory of National Cheng Kung University of Taiwan. The tank is approx-
imately 200 m long, 2 m wide and 2 m deep, and all the experiments presented in this paper were
conducted with a constant water depth of 1.5 m. Figure 2 shows the schematic diagram of the

Figure 2. Experimental setup.

Figure 3. Comparisons between experimental data and numerical results from case of 1/10 slope (solid line,
numerical results; dashed-dotted line, experimental data).

1012
experimental setup used in this study. Total 70 wave gauges are placed along the tank to measure
the surface fluctuations. Two different slopes of 1:10 and 1:25 were built at the end of the tank
and tested with regular wave conditions. Waves were generated with a piston-type wave maker.
The input signal for both cases has amplitude of 4.6 cm and wave period of 1.4 sec. The associated
nonlinearity a/h and dispersivity kh are 0.037 and 3.09, respectively.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The numerical results of slope 1:10 and 1:25 for the free surface fluctuations using two-layer model
compared with experimental data are shown in Figure 3 and 4, respectively. As can be seen in both
figures, the present model predicts the surface elevation and phase speed reasonably well. It is
noted that the waveforms of experimental data and numerical results become slightly unstable after
x =192 m where breaking event occurs. It is in part due to the effect of run-up and run-down leading

Figure 4. Comparisons between experimental data and numerical results from case of 1/25 slope (solid line,
numerical results; dashed-dotted line, experimental data).

Figure 5. Comparisons between experimental data and numerical results from case of 1/10 slope.

1013
Figure 6. Comparisons between experimental data and numerical results from case of 1/25 slope.

to complicated flow fields in the last few gauges. To further investigate the shoaling effect, it is
also desirable to see the evolution of wave height on the sloping bottom. The results of slopes 1:10
and 1:25 are shown in Figure 5 and 6, respectively. It is clear that the numerical solutions match
the experimental data quite well. It is also seen that the maximum wave height and its location of
occurrence for slope 1/10 (Fig. 5) agrees pretty well with experimental data. However, for slope
1/25 case, the maximum wave height is under-predicted by current model, suggesting that the
empirical coefficients of breaking model used in this paper may be the function of bottom slope. In
fact, the coefficients used in this paper is different from those used in Lynett & Liu (2004 b) where
they obtained the breaking model coefficients based on agreement with long wave experimental
data. However, our experimental conditions in the constant water depth region are basically in
the short wave range (kh = 3.09). Therefore, the coefficients need to be parameterized for current
experimental data. In other words, the breaking model coefficients are not universal. By using
newly obtained coefficients, overall agreements in these two testing cases are encouraging. It is
also indicated that the current multi-layer model can predict short wave evolution quite well. More
experiments for different slopes are needed to examine the relations between model coefficients
and slopes. It is ongoing at THL and more results will be presented in the conference.

REFERENCES

Agnon, Y., Madsen, P. A., and Schaffer, H. 1999 A new approach to high order Boussinesq models. J. Fluid
Mech. 399, 319–333.
Gobbi, M. F., Kirby, J. T., and Wei, G. 2000 A fully nonlinear Boussinesq model for surface waves. Part II.
Extension to O(kh)4 J. Fluid Mech. 405, 182–210.
Hsiao, S. C., Lynett P., Liu P. L. F., and Hwung H. H. 2004 Numerical simulations of nonlinear short waves
using a multi-layer model. Submitted to Journal of Engineering Mechanics.
Hwung, H. H. and Chiang, W. S. 2004 Long time evolution of nonlinear wave trains in deep water. Prepared
for submission to Physics of fluids.
Kennedy, A. B., Chen, Q., Kirby, J. T., and Dalrymple, R. A. 2000 Boussinesq modeling of wave transforma-
tion, breaking and runup. I: One dimension, Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering,
126, 39–47.
Lynett, P. 2002 A multi-layer approach to modeling nonlinear, dispersive waves from deep water to the shore.
PhD thesis, Cornell University.
Lynett, P., and Liu, P. L. -F. 2004a A multi-layer approach to wave modeling. Proc R. Soc. Lond. A. In press.
Lynett, P., and Liu, P. L. -F. 2004b Linear analysis of the N-layer, depth-integrated model Coastal Engineering.
In press.

1014
Madsen, P. A., Bingham, H. B., and Liu, H. 2002 A new Boussinesq method for fully nonlinear waves from
shallow to deep water. J. Fluid Mech. 462, 1–30.
Madsen, P. A., and Sorensen, O. R. 1992 A new form of the Boussinesq equations with improved linear
dispersion characteristics. Part II: A slowly varying bathymetry. Coast. Engng. 18, 183–204.
Melville, W. K. 1982 The instability and breaking of deep-water waves. J. Fluid Mech. 115, 165–185.
Melville, W. K. 1983 Wave modulation and breakdown. J. Fluid Mech. 128, 489–506.
Nwogu, O. 1993 Alternative form of Boussinesq equations for nearshore wave propagation. Journal of
Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engng. 119(6), 618–638.
Peregrine, D. H. 1967 Long waves on a beach. J. Fluid Mech. 27, 815–827.
Su, M. Y. 1982 Three-dimensional deep-water waves. Part 1. Experimental measurement of skew and
symmetric wave patterns. J. Fluid Mech. 124, 73–108.
Su, M. Y., Bergin, M., Marler, P., and Myrick R. 1982 Experiments on nonlinear instabilities and evolution of
steep gravity-wave trains. J. Fluid Mech. 124, 45–72.
Tulin, M. P., and Waseda, T. 1999 Laboratory observations of wave group evolution, including breaking effects.
J. Fluid Mech. 378, 197–232.
Wei, G., and Kirby, J. T. 1995 A time-dependent numerical code for extended Boussinesq equations. Journal
of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engng., 120, 251–261.
Wei, G., Kirby, J. T., Grilli, S. T., and Subramanya, R. 1995 A fully nonlinear Boussinesq model for surface
waves. Part I. Highly nonlinear unsteady waves. J Fluid Mech. 294, 71–92.
Wu, T. Y. 1981 Long waves in ocean and coastal waters. J. Engng. Mech. Div. ASCE 107, 501–522.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Control of substance transport due to plural submerged asymmetrical

roughness in wave fields

H. Oshikawa & T. Komatsu

Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

M. Hashida
Nippon Bunri University, Oita, Japan

ABSTRACT: Directional characteristics of wave-induced residual current and control of littoral

sand drift depending on an angle of plural submerged asymmetrical roughness (we call the sub-
merged asymmetrical roughness BaNK block) to a wave direction were experimentally investigated.
Firstly, the distribution of residual velocity on the fixed bed with the bended BaNK blocks was meas-
ured in a 3-dimensional wave field. Secondly, the deformation of movable bed due to the effect of
the blocks was measured in other fields. As a result, the direction of wave-induced residual current
could be arbitrarily changed by setting blocks with an angle. Furthermore, it was demonstrated
that the BaNK blocks are able to control littoral sand drift in a 3-dimensional wave field with
movable bed.

1 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this research work was to develop an effective method to prevent beach erosion
and to keep fairways. Sandy coasts have been disappearing all over the world, and beach erosion
has become more serious with the rise of sea levels. Shoaling of fairway has also been becom-
ing more and more of an issue. Countermeasures against these problems must be implemented
without delay.
Komatsu et al. (2001) proposed an effective method called Beach and Navigation Keeper (BaNK)
System. It is a method to control sediment transport by residual currents produced by plural
submerged asymmetrical roughness in wave fields. In this study, we call this current a wave-
induced residual current. The system is illustrated in Figure 1. In their study, it was demonstrated
that residual currents in the direction of incident waves were generated by BaNK block set in the
bottom of the vertical 2-dimensional wave tank.
In this study, the efficiency of the system is discussed from experimental results in 3-dimensional
wave fields. Waves in the ocean are not 2-dimensional but 3-dimensional. Furthermore, one of the

Direction of wave advance

Average over Momentum produced in fluid
one wave cycle
Residual resistance
Fluid motion

Resistance

The time when a The time when a Wave-induced residual current

wave trough passes wave crest passes produced on the bottom

Figure 1. Generation mechanism of wave-induced residual currents.

1017
advantages of this system is an ability to control sediment transport arbitrarily by creating residual
currents in arbitrary direction and magnitude.

2 EXPERIMENTS AND DISCUSSION

2.1 Two experiments

Two kinds of experiments were performed. The purpose of Experiment-A was to investigate direc-
tional properties of wave-induced residual currents. That of Experiment-B was to confirm the
ability of wave-induced residual current to control littoral sand drift in movable beds.

2.2 Measurements of velocity distribution in a wave field (Exp.-A)

In a 3-dimensional wave field with BaNK blocks, velocity distributions were measured. The wave
tank with a wave generator, shown in Figure 2, is 15 m wide and 40 m long. Quarter spheres
whose radius was 2.0 cm were attached as BaNK blocks on a thin stainless steel plate. The plate
(120 × 120 × 0.2 cm) was set on the bottom of the tank with angles of attack (θ). Five cases of
experiments were performed (Case-1: θ = 0◦ , Case-2: θ = 15◦ , Case-3: θ = 30◦ , Case-4: θ = 50◦ ,
Case-5: θ = 70◦ ). The number of the roughness was 100 (= 10 × 10). Those were positioned in a
grid pattern whose intervals were 6.0 cm. The wave height, period and water depth (h) were 5.0 cm,
1.0 sec and 30.0 cm, respectively. Three components of velocity on the plate were measured by an
Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV). A coordinate system and the definition of an angle of attack
(θ) are shown in Figure 2b. A picture of the stainless plate and ADV is shown in Figure 3. The data
obtained for 120 sec was digitalized at a sampling frequency of 20 Hz.
Plane distributions of the velocity were measured at z = 2, 15 cm. The origin of z-axis is on the
plate (see Figure 2a)). At z = 2 cm, measurements were performed in all five cases. At z = 15 cm,

(a) (b) Wave direction

19.5 6.5 x
z
maker
Wave

x Setting area of the blocks

x (shaded region)
y y=0
y
θ
wave absorber

x
Wave maker

120

(Exp.-A)
x=0

6.0

~~
15 y O’
@ O

(Exp.-B)

40 120 6.0
(unit: cm) (unit: cm)

Figure 2. Experimental apparatus (a) overall figure, (b) detailed figure.

Supporting device
Stainless plate with for a probe of ADV
asymmetrical roughness

Probe of ADV
Attached asymmetrical
roughness

Figure 3. A picture when the experiments were performed.

1018
those were done in only θ = 0◦ . Horizontal measuring points were intersections of lines (x = −36,
−24, −12, 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 cm) and lines (y = −48, −36, −24, −12, 0, 12, 24, 36, 48 cm).
Vertical distributions of the velocity were measured at the origin O and O , which was a point
(x = 0, y = 3 cm) near O as shown in Figure 2b. The measurements were performed at 9 levels
(z = 0.1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15 cm) for both O and O . Mean values of O and O were calculated as
a representative vertical distribution of residual current.
A residual current is produced corresponding to a set angle of BaNK blocks. As examples of
the results, plane distributions of horizontal residual currents (U) at z = 2 cm, which is the height
of the roughness, are shown in Figure 4. Each figure is bended with θ. There are BaNK blocks
in shaded square regions. The velocities are normalized by aσ. a is the amplitude of the incident
waves and σ is the angular frequency. In each case, the residual currents expand over the block-set
region and are bended depending on θ.
The bending effect of the block arrangement is quantitatively investigated by estimating a main
direction of horizontal residual current. In order to obtain the main direction, nine points at z = 2 cm
are selected as representative points. Those are intersections of lines (x = 0, 12, 24 cm) and lines
(y = −12, 0, 12 cm). Mean vector (Uα ) over nine points is calculated in each case. The main direction
(ϕ) is an angle of a vector (Uϕ ) to the incidental direction of wave at z = 2 cm. Uϕ is obtained by
averaging selected vectors whose magnitude is larger than the half of Uα . ϕ is also shown in Figure 4.
Horizontal residual currents can be produced in an arbitrary direction. The relationship θ and
ϕ are shown in Figure 5. In the figure, the relationship between the angles of attack and those of

60

60
)

40
40 cm
x( U/aσ=0.2
20
60
)
cm

20
0
x(

40
-2

0
0
-4

20 -20
x (cm)

0 -40
60
40

-20 60
20

40
-40 20
0
y(

0
cm

-2

60 40 20 0 -20 -40 -60 y( -

cm 20 -4
0
)

y (cm) ) 0 -
-4

60
0
-6
0

wave wave wave

ϕ=0.8° Case-1 ϕ=54.7° Case-3 ϕ=51.2° Case-4

Figure 4. Plane distribution of horizontal residual currents at z = 2 cm.

ϕ (°)
90 From this study
80 Oshikawa et al. (2003)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
-10
θ (°)

Figure 5. Relationship between θ and ϕ. The quoted experimental case from Oshikawa et al. (2003) is Case-4,
in which KC = 3.5 and Re = 24000.

1019
residual hydrodynamic force produced by a quarter sphere roughness are shown as a reference,
which is an experimental result by Oshikawa et al. (2003). That is the case4 in their study and the
condition is KC = 3.5 and Re = 2.4 × 104 . KC is Keulegan-Carpenter number and Re is Reynolds
number. In Oshikawa et al. (2003), the representative velocity and length in the KC and Re are
the maximum cross-sectional averaged one and the diameter of the quarter-sphere roughness,
respectively. In this study, KC equals 2.1 and Re equals 3.4 × 103 at the height of the roughness if
the waves are assumed to be small amplitude waves and the representative length is the diameter
of the quarter-sphere roughness. From Figure 5, angles of residual currents and those of residual
hydrodynamic forces are almost the same and monotonically increasing with θ. It means that the
BaNK system is able to control residual currents in an arbitrary direction.
Wave-induced vertical circulating currents are produced corresponding to a set angle of BaNK
blocks. As examples of the results, vertical distributions of horizontal residual currents (Uϕ ) in the
main direction at the origin (averaging of O and O ) are shown in Figure 6. The velocities (Uϕ )
of the abscissa are normalized by aσ. The ordinate (z) is normalized by h. In Case-1, ϕ (= 0.8◦ )
is ignored and in-line component of the residual current is figured. In each case, bended onshore
residual currents are produced near the height of the blocks, and the contrary directional ones are
done in the middle and upper region. The heights of the turning point of the flow direction are
from z/h = 0.2 to 0.3, which corresponds to the results of vertical 2-dimensional experiments by
Komatsu et al. (2001). These behaviors can be understood in a plane distribution of horizontal
residual currents at the middle height (z = 15 cm) in Case-1 (see Figure 7). Compensated offshore
currents due to the onshore currents near the bottom are confirmed. There are some inconsistent
things in Figure 7 with that of Figure 4. For example, it is rather asymmetrical for a line of y = 0,
because z = 15 cm is far from source of residual current, that is bottom roughness.

2.3 Control of littoral sand drift by the BaNK system (Exp.-B)

Effects of the BaNK system were demonstrated by experimental works in a model semi-enclosed
beach like a seaside park. The model beach was set in the wave tank shown in Figure 2a. Three cases

0.
0.5 0.
0.5 0.
0.5
Case-1 Case-3 Case-4
0.4 0.4 0.4
block height block height block height
0.3 0.3 0.3
z/h

z/h

z/h

0.2 0.2 0.2

0.1 0.1 0.1
0 0 0
-0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
Uϕ /aσ Uϕ /aσ Uϕ /aσ

Figure 6. Vertical distribution of main directional horizontal residual currents at the origin.

60
40 : U/aσ = 0.2
x (cm)

20
0
-20
wave direction
-40
60 40 20 0 -20 -40 -60
y (cm)

Figure 7. Horizontal residual currents in the middle height (z = 15 cm, Case-1).

1020
of experiments were performed in a same wave condition. The wave height, period and water depth
were 5.0 cm, 1.0 sec and 30.0 cm, respectively. The regular waves were made for four hours in each
case. Initial conditions of the beach were the same, in which the beach had a uniform slope (1/10)
and medium grain size of sands equaled 0.23 mm. Case-1 without blocks was a reference. In Case-2
and Case-3, 10 units of asymmetrical bottom roughness were set in the beach of uniform slope
with the different arrangement like Figure 8. Each unit consisted of quarter ellipsoid-roughness
of 18 pieces. The height of the roughness was 2.3 cm, and the horizontal maximum lengths were
3.4 cm and 4.8 cm in x and y directions, respectively. Those were positioned in a grid pattern whose
intervals were 6.7 cm.
Central region of the shoreline in Case-1 retreats because of the erosion by direct incident waves,
while both sides of the shoreline progress. Figure 9 shows bottom topographies in each case, and
Figure 10 shows the transformation of bottom topography from the initial one. There are the
BaNK blocks in black areas. In Figure 10a, the regions of (150 < x < 260, y < 90), (150 < x < 250,
y > 320) and (200 < x < 400, 140 < y < 250) are eroded. Those of (250 < x < 330, 0 < y < 140)

zz 6.7
0.3 x sand 2.3
0.5 25
3.8

0.83 6.7

initial shoreline
initial shoreline
initial shoreline

1.5
1.5

BaNK blocks
wave

2.34
y
50
blocks
BaNK

0.83 @ 0 x
@
4.0
4.0 2.0
2.0
@ 2.0
(unit : m) Case-1 Case-2 Case-3

Figure 8. Sketch of the model beach and pattern to set BaNK blocks in Exp.-B.

Figure 9. Bottom topography after the experiments (a) Case-1, (b) Case-2, (c) Case-3.

Figure 10. Transform of bottom topography from the initial one (a) Case-1, (b) Case-2, (c) Case-3.

1021
and (250 < x < 330, y > 250) are deposited. Arrows in Figure 10a mean the direction and the
quantity of movement of sand. Especially, the erosion of the region (200 < x < 400, 140 < y < 250)
is severe and lots of sand are transported to the both sides.
The BaNK system can control the sediment transport and the transformation of bottom topog-
raphy in wave fields. Controls of the sedimentation, shown in arrows in Figure 10a, were tried with
the system in Case-2 and Case-3. From Figure 9b in Case-2 and Figure 9c in Case-3, the retreats of
the shoreline in the central regions are controlled by the BaNK blocks and the shorelines are much
smoother than those in Case-1. Furthermore, it is apparent from Figure 10 that the deposition in
both sides is also controlled and that the deposition thickness and the areas in Case-2 and Case-3
are smaller than those in Case-1.
Erosion in the central region in Case-3 is controlled well compared with that in Case-2 due to
the BaNK blocks in the center. In the central region in Figure 9, the slope in the foreshore in Case-3
are slightly smaller than that in Case-2 because of the block set in the center. Furthermore, from
Figure 10, the erosion in the central region in Case-3 is smaller than that in Case-2.

3 CONCLUSIONS

This experimental study yielded the following results;

1. A horizontal residual current almost corresponds to a horizontal residual hydrodynamic force
when plural submerged asymmetrical roughness is set in an oscillatory flow.
2. Horizontal residual currents can be produced in an arbitrary direction by setting plural submerged
asymmetrical roughness with an appropriate angle.
3. Vertical circulating currents are produced even if BaNK blocks are set with any angle, because
the compensated offshore currents in middle depth are generated by the onshore residual bottom
currents.
4. The BaNK system can control the sediment transport and the transformation of bottom
topography in wave fields.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors express appreciation to Kazuo Fujita, Takuya Shibata and Tetsuro Shibata for their
help in performing the experiments.

REFERENCES

Komatsu, T., Saita, T., Kohashi, N., Adachi, T. & Shibata, T. 2001. CONTROL OF SEDIMENT TRANSPORT
BY BANK BLOCKS WITH DIRECTIONAL RESISTANCE PROPERTIES. XXIX IAHR Congress Proc.
Theme E, Beijing: 340–346.
Oshikawa, H., Komatsu, T. & Shibata, T. 2003. AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON RESISTANCE PROP-
ERTIES OF AN ASYMMETRICAL BOTTOM ROUGHNESS IN OSCILLATORY FLOWS. XXX IAHR
Congress Proc. Theme A, Thessaloniki: 611–618.

1022
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Experiments on evolution of surface gravity waves from deep to

shallow waters

C.T. Hsu & Y.K. Law

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,
Hong Kong, China

ABSTRACT: The understanding of the evolution of surface gravity wave in the coastal region is
very important for management and control of environments, including beach erosion, sediment
transport, and pollutant dispersion, as well as the design of coastal structures to minimize their
environmental impact. The dynamics of wave evolution may include the transmission, diffraction,
reflection, absorption and dissipation of the wave energy. In this study, the evolution of surface
gravity waves from deep to shallow waters over a continuous ramp was explored experimentally in
a water tank. Monochromatic surface gravity water waves were generated at the tank upstream end
of deep water region to propagate over a continuous subsurface ramp to a shallow water region, and
are absorbed by a beach at the downstream end. A capacitance wave height gauge was utilized to
measure the surface displacement of the waves along the tank. The wave height data were analyzed
by using Fast Fourier Transfer (FFT) for time variations and Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) for
spatial variations. These transforms enable the separation of incident and reflected waves. The
wave reflection coefficients, the decay rate, as well as the wave number along propagation distance
are then determined. The experimental results of wave number are compared with those obtained
from the theoretical dispersion relation; they are in good agreement in waters of constant depth,
but defer greatly in the ramp region.

1 INTRODUCTION

Wave reflection from beaches and man-made coastal structures affects the hydrodynamics and
the sediment transport in front of the reflector. Therefore, it is very important to understand the
reflection coefficients accurately for engineering practice. For this reason, it is desirable to separate
the waves into the incident and reflected waves so that the reflection coefficient can be related to
incident wave and structure properties under difference bathymetry variations.
Attempts had been made to address the wave reflection problem for more than fifty years.
Isaacson (1991) proposed to use an array of fixed wave height gauges to estimate reflection coef-
ficients. Frigaard & Brosen (1995) applied two theoretical phase shifts and amplification to digital
filters to efficiently separate reflected wave from wave field in real time. Baquerizo et al. (1997)
presented a method using root-mean-square wave height and set-up at three gauges to estimate the
cross variations of wave reflection for random waves over a sloping bottom. Recently, Chang &
Hsu (2003) proposed a method for separating incident and reflected waves to account for normally
incident linear waves propagating over a sloping bed with arbitrary 2-D bathymetry.
One of the objectives of this paper is to demonstrate that the effective separation of incident and
reflected waves can be achieved by a single gauge measure with the implement of the Hilbert-Huang
transform method (Huang et al. 1998, 1999). The evolution of the waves, in terms of the energy
decay of wave energy and the change in phase angle, is also obtain experimentally to delineate the
dynamic of wave transformation in the swash zone.

1023
2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS

Consider surface gravity waves that propagate from deep to shallow waters toward a beach as shown
in Figure 1. The waves was absorbed and reflected from the beach and the bottom boundary. The
fundamental mode of the surface waves can be described as:

where ai is the amplitude of the incident waves, ar is the amplitude of reflected wave, k is the wave
number and θr is the phase difference between incident and reflected waves. For a small amplitude
surface gravity wave, the wave frequency ω and wave number k to the first approximation satisfy
the dispersion relation:

where g is the gravitational acceleration, h is the water depth. From this experiment, the wave
frequency ω is presumably constant and the variables, ai , ar , k and h, are slowly varying functions
of x.
The wave energy and phase angle can be deduced by the procedure of Fast Fourier Transform
(FFT). The results are as follows:

when ar << ai , Eq. (4) can be simplified to:

Since ar , ai and θr are slowly varying function of x, Eq. (3) contains two intrinsic modes: one at a
length scale of π/k and the other at the length scale of bathymetry variations. They can be separated
by Hilbert-Huang Transform (Huang et al. 1998, 1999). The results of the intrinsic mode functions
In (x) are:

Wave height
gauge Computer

LVDT
Deep-water
h(x) Reflection wave
region Shallow water
hr(x)
Wave region

Wave-
maker
plate Wave
x=0 x =0.8m Solid ramp x=2m Solid platform x=4m
absorber

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental setup.

1024
From Eq. (6) and using Hilbert transform, we obtain the phase angle θH and amplitude AH as:

The differentiation of Eq. (8) leads to:

where dθr /dx is small and is neglected. The amplitudes of incident wave and reflected wave are
then obtained by solving Eqs. (7) and (9) for ai and ar .

3 EXPERIMENTS

Experiments to study the wave evolution were conducted in a wave tank located in the Energy and
Environmental Lab of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology. The wave tank is 6.5 m long, 0.4 m wide, and a nominal water depth of
0.3 m high (see Figure 1). A flap-type wave-maker was installed at the inlet end of the tank and
a wave-absorbing beach at the outlet end. A continuous ramp with a solid constraint varying from
the tank bottom to a height of 0.2 m in a distance of 1.2 m is installed at the middle of the tank.
The height and slope of the ramp are given in Figure 2. The ramp was continued with a horizontal
solid platform to maintain the same height until reaching the beach. The setup forms a deep water
region in the upstream and a shallow water region at the downstream of the ramp. Hence, when the
water depth in the upstream is 27.5 cm, the water depth in the shallow water region is 7.5 cm.
Monochromatic surface gravity water waves with frequency of 1.42 Hz were generated by the
wave-maker. The waves established in the deep water region propagate over the ramp to in the
shallow water region and then dissipate at the beach. A part of the incident waves is reflected back
to deep water region by the ramp and the beach.
To delineate the evolution of the wave field, a capacitance wave height gauge was utilized to
measure the surface displacement of the waves along the tank at an interval of 2.0 cm. Here, for
each experimental run 201 data files of different x were recorded to cover a distance of 4 m. The
time varying data were analyzed by using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to obtain the frequency ω,
the wave energy a2m and the phase difference θm relative to wave maker oscillation. Their spatial
variations are analyzed by Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) to obtain the intrinsic mode functions
In (x). By using these transforms, we can extract directly from the experimental data the variations
of the wave amplitudes of incident and reflected waves. The variations of wave number along the
propagation distance are also determined experimentally.

0.5 dhr 0.5

dx
0.4 0.4
hr
hr 0.3 0.3 dhr
(m) 0.2 0.2 dx

0.1 0.1

0 0
0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
x(m)

Figure 2. Solid ramp profile and slope.

1025
4 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

4.1 Fast Fourier Transform

Using the data from the wave height gauge and the linear displacement transducer, the wave energy
a2m and the phase angle θm at different x can be obtained; they are shown in Figures 3 and 4. In
general, the result shown in Figures 3 and 4 are consistent with those described by Eqs (3) and (4).
From the data of Figure 4, a five-points least-mean-square average method is used to obtain the
wave number k. The variations of k along the x direction are shown in Figure 5. For comparison, the
wave number k can be calculated from Eq. (2) and is shown as dash line in Figure 5. The best-fit
experimental wave numbers are plotted as solid line in Figure 5. General speaking, they are in
good agreement in the deep water and shallow water regions, but with significant difference in the
transition (ramp) region. This difference might be due to the over-simplified dispersion relation
given by Eq. (2).

4.2 Hilbert-Huang Transform

By applying the empirical mode decomposition of Hilbert-Huang Transform to the wave energy
data a2m shown in Figure 3, the intrinsic mode functions I1 (x) and I2 (x) can be obtained. The
characteristics of I1 (x) and I2 (x) are shown in Figure 6; they are basically consistent with that
described by Eqs (6) and (7) respectively.

350 7

300 6
250 5

am2 200
θm 4
(mm2) 150
2π 3
100
2
50
1
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
0
x(m) 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
x(m)
Figure 3. Wave energy a2m at wave frequency of
1.42 Hz and water deep of 27.5 cm at deep water Figure 4. Variation of phase angle along x
region. direction.

4
1.85 (Theory) and
3.5 (Experiment)
3
2.5
k 1.39 (Experiment)
Wave number
2π 2
(cycles/m) 1.5

1
0.5 1.34 (Theory)
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
x(m)

Figure 5. Variation of wave number along x direction.

1026
 The phase angle θH and amplitude AH of I1 (x) are then obtained by the application of Hilbert-
Huang Transform and the results are shown in Figures 7 and 8. From the results of I2 (x) given in
Figure 6 and the result of AH given in Figure 8, the amplitude of the incident and reflected waves,
ai and ar , can be calculated from Eqs (11) and (12). They are shown in Figure 9.
Finally, the wave number k = dθH /2dx is calculated from Eq. (10) based on the data shown
Figure 7; the results are shown at Figure 10. In general, they are in good agreement with the

50

I1(x) 0

-50
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

300
250
200
I2(x) 150
100
50
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
x(m)

Figure 6. IMF I1 (x) and I2 (x).

14 50
12 45
40
10
35
θH 8
AH 30
2π 6 25
(mm2)
(cycles/m) 4 20
15
2
10
0 5
-2 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
x(m) x(m)

Figure 7. Variation of phase angle θH in I1 (x). Figure 8. Variation of amplitude AH in I1 (x).

15

ai(x) 10
(mm) 5 4

0 3.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 3
2.5 1.87 (Experiment)
2 1.34 (Theory)
k
1.5 2π 2
ar(x) 1.5
1
(mm) 1.85 (Theory)
0.5 1
0.5 1.27 (Experiment)
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
0
x(m) 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
x(m)
Figure 9. Wave amplitude ai and reflection wave
amplitude ar . Figure 10. Wave number along x direction.

1027
theoretical predictions in the deep water and shallow water regions, but with significant difference
in the transition (ramp) region.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, the wave surface displacements along the tank wave were measured by using a
capacitance wave height gauge and analyzed by using FFT and HHT methods to separate the incident
and reflected waves propagating over water of variable depth. The variations of wave energy as
attributed from the incident and reflected waves were determined experimentally. The experimental
results of wave number are compared with those obtained from the theoretical dispersion relation.
They are in good agreement in the deep water and shallow water zones, but with significant
difference in the transition (ramp) region.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work was supported under the Grant, HKUST6254/02E, by the Research Grant Council of
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.

REFERENCES

Baquerizo, A., Lasoda, M.A., Smith, J.M. & Kobayashi, J.N. 1997. Cross-shore variation of wave reflection
from beaches. J. Waterway, Port, Coastal Ocean Engineering 123: 274–279.
Chang, H.K. & Hsu, T.W. 2003. A two-point method for estimating wave reflection over a sloping beach.
Ocean Engineering 30: 1833–1847.
Frigaard, P. & Brosen, M. 1995. A time domain method for separating incident and reflected irregular waves.
Coastal Engineering 24: 205–215.
Huang, N.E., Shen, Z. & Long, S.R. 1998. The empirical mode decomposition and the Hilbert spectrum for
nonlinear and non-stationary time series analysis. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A. 454: 899–995
Huang, N.E., Shen, Z. & Long, S.R. 1999. A new view of nonlinear water waves; the Hilbert spectrum. Ann
Rev Fluid Mech. 34: 417–457.
Isaacson, M. 1991. Measurement of regular wave reflection. J. Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering
117 (6): 553–569.

1028
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Hydrodynamic characteristics of chambered breakwaters in

regular waves

Ramakrishnan Balaji
Research Scholar

Vallam Sundar
Professor and Head, Department of Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India

ABSTRACT: Slotted wave screen formed by equally spaced circular intercepting elements on
the seaward side of an impermeable wall were considered for the present study, to investigate its
hydrodynamic characteristics through an experimental investigation. The effects of different screen
porosity on the reflection characteristics, wave oscillation inside the chamber and on the dynamic
pressures on the wall of the chambered breakwater are discussed in this paper. The details of the
model, hydrodynamic testing facility, experimental setup, procedure and analysis of results along
with the interpretation of results are presented and discussed in this paper.

NOTATIONS

B overall width of wave chamber(s)

D diameter of the pipes
d water depth
e distance between centers of pipe elements
H wave height
Hc wave height inside the chamber
Hi incident wave height
Kr reflection coefficient
(Kr )red percentage reduction in Kr
L wavelength
P porosity = s/e
pc peak pressure
pred percentage reduction in pc
s clear spacing between the pipe elements
T wave period
z pressure port measured negative below still water level
DCB Double Chamber Breakwater
SCB Single Chamber Breakwater.

1 INTRODUCTION

Introducing one or more porous structures on the seaward side of a vertical impermeable wall, called
as chambered breakwaters, leads to a reduction in the reflection of the incident waves from the struc-
ture. In addition, it also reduces the dynamic forces exerted on the vertical wall due to the waves. A
few researchers studied the effect of the spacing between seaward side porous wall and the imper-
meable wall on the reflection of waves in the past [Sawaragi and Iwata (1978), Fugazza and Natale

1029
 P = 5.9% P = 8.6% P = 13.5% P = 23.8%

Vertical wall
Wave
0.7m 0.7m 0.7m 0.7m
direction

SCB 1 SCB 2 SCB 3 SCB 4

5.9% 23.8% 8.6% 23.8% 13.5% 23.8% 23.8% 23.8%

Vertical wall

Wave
0.7m 0.7m 0.7m 0.7m
direction
2m 2m 2m 2m

DCB 1 DCB 2 DCB 3 DCB 4

Figure 1. Notations of the tested models.

(1992) and McConnell et al. (1996)]. Wave screen is one such type of porous structures that could be
effectively used as wave absorbers as stated by Bergmann and Oumeraci (1999) in their studies. In
this study, a slotted wave screen formed by horizontally spaced circular elements was considered and
its porosity was varied to understand its hydrodynamic behavior. The hydrodynamic performance
characteristics of SCB and DCB models are briefly presented and discussed in this paper.

2 EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES

2.1 Test models

The slotted screen model used in the present study basically consists of a series of horizontal 160 mm
diameter pipes over a width of 1.98 m. The height of the screen did not permit overtopping. For
the SCB models, a vertical wall was fixed rigidly at a distance of 0.7 m on the leeward side of the
slotted screen. Four different SCB models were arrived by varying the porosity of wave screens. In
the case of DCB models, a wave screen of a constant porosity of 23.8% (largest porosity adopted
for the SCB models) was fixed at a distance of 2 m on the seaward side of the vertical wall and
in between the two, another screen of different porosity (23.8, 13.5, 8.6 and 5.9%) was employed.
The schematic views of the different models tested as well as their definitions are shown in Fig. 1.
The breakwater model was positioned at a distance of 30 m from the wave maker in a 72.5 m
long, 2 m wide and 2.7 m deep wave flume in Department of Ocean Engineering at Indian Institute
of Technology Madras, India. The tests were carried out in a constant water depth of 0.95 m. A
typical sectional view of position of the DCB model in the flume is shown in Fig. 2 in which, the
vertical wall model, chamber 1 and chamber 2 are also indicated.

2.2 Instrumentation
Three wave gauges positioned as per the guidelines of Mansard and Funke (1980) in front of the
model registered the composite wave elevation, from which incident and reflected components,
were derived. In addition, two wave gauges were fixed to register the wave elevation inside the

1030
 Wave gauges Wave paddle
W6 W5 W4 W3W2W1

Wave
Screen
2.7m Leeward side Seaward side

0.95

Chamber 2 30.0m
Absorber 2.0m
Chamber 1 Perforated wave absorber
72.5m
Note: All dimensions are in meters W1, W2...W6 are Wave gauges

Figure 2. Cross sectional view of a typical DCB model in the wave flume.

Wave elevation (m)

Wave elevation (m)

0.15 0.15
Wave elevation inside the chamber 1 Wave elevation on the seaward side

0.00 0.00

-0.15 -0.15
10 20 30 40 50 60 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (s) Time (s)
Wave elevation (m)

0.03
Meters of water

0.15 Pressure Transducer (at z/d=-0.37)

Wave elevation inside the chamber 2

0.00 0.00

-0.15 -0.03
10 20 30 40 50 60 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (s) Time (s)

Figure 3. Typical time histories obtained from wave probes and pressure transducer (H = 0.15 m and
T = 1.6 sec).

chambers. Four equally spaced pressure transducers registered the dynamic pressures on the vertical
wall fixed along its depth. The pressure transducers used for the present experiments were of
inductance types with a maximum measuring range of 20 kN/m2 .

2.3 Experimental details

The models were subjected to the action of regular waves with periods ranging from 1 to 2 sec at
an interval of 0.2 sec. The wave periods were chosen such that B/L for the SCB and DCB models
ranged from 0.13 to 0.45 and 0.38 to 1.28, respectively. For each of the wave period, three different
wave heights (0.09, 0.12, 0.15 and 0.18 m) were adopted for the tests. Typical time series obtained
from the different sensors are projected in Fig. 3.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Oscillations inside chamber

The variations of Hc /Hi with B/L for the DCB models are shown in Fig. 4. Since the seaward
screen is of a constant porosity of 23.8%, the effect of the porosity just on its immediate seaward
side, referred to as mid screen porosity are discussed. It is observed from the figure that the Hc /Hi
increases with an increase in mid screen porosity, as the free flow of the reflected component
waves from the impermeable wall re-enters into the chamber 1. The variation of Hc /Hi also reveals
that the wave elevations are less than the incident wave heights for all the tested wave conditions.

1031
 1.5 1.5
DCB 1 DCB 2 Chamber 1
1.2 1.2 Chamber 2

0.9 0.9

0.6 0.6

0.3 0.3

0.0 0.0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Hc/Hi

1.5 1.5
DCB 3 DCB 4
1.2 1.2

0.9 0.9

0.6 0.6

0.3 0.3

0.0 0.0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
B/L

Figure 4. Comparison of dimensionless wave elevation inside the chambers 1 and 2 of DCB models.

It is clear from the figure that the wave elevations inside the chamber 2 are higher for all the DCB
models and wave characteristics, compared to that from the chamber 1, due to the strong reflective
nature of the impermeable wall.

3.2 Reflection characteristics

A comparison of Kr for the DCB and the corresponding SCB models along with the reflection
coefficients the impermeable wall is shown in Fig. 5. It is clear from the figure that the provision
of an additional seaward side screen even with a constant porosity of 23.8%, along with the SCB
models exhibits significant reduction in Kr . Though, the porosity of both the wave screens are same
for the DCB4 model, there is a significant reduction in Kr , which is certainly due to the provision of
additional screen (or chamber), which significantly increases the wave attenuation. The reduction
in Kr , (Kr )red due to the additional screen in DCB, was calculated as follows;

where (Kr )D and (Kr )s are reflection coefficients of DCB and SCB models, respectively. The
variations of (Kr )red with d/L for all the DCB models compared to the corresponding SCB models
are shown in Fig. 6. It is observed from the figure that the (Kr )red varies between 15 to 65% for all
the DCB models compared to that for the SCB. When compared to impermeable wall, all the DCB
models exhibit a (Kr )red greater than 50% for the entire range of d/L of 0.185 to 0.608.

3.3 Dynamic pressures

A comparison of pressures, pc /Hi exerted on the wall in the presence of the SCB and DCB along
with that in their absence for a typical wave condition (d/L = 0.256 and Hi /d = 0.158) shown in

1032
 1.0 1.0
Vertical wall
0.8 0.8 DCB 1
DCB 2
0.6 0.6
DCB 3
0.4 0.4 DCB 4
SCB 1
0.2 0.2
SCB 2
0.0 0.0 SCB 3
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
SCB 4
Kr

1.0 1.0

0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

d/L

Figure 5. Comparison of DCB and SCB models with respect to Kr .

80 80
DCB 1 DCB 2
60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
[Kr]red (%)

80 80
DCB 3 DCB 4
60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
d/L

Figure 6. Variation of [Kr ]red for the DCB models compared to corresponding SCB models.

Fig. 7 reveals that the additional wave screen significantly reduces the dynamic pressures exerted
on the impermeable wall. The pred is found to range between 10 and 80% for all the DCB models.
In addition, when compared to the pressures on the impermeable wall in the absence of chambers,
the DCB models exhibit an excellent reduction in the dynamic pressures for the entire d/L range.

1033
 0.0 0.0
DCB 1
0.2 0.2 DCB 2
DCB 3
0.4 0.4 DCB 4
SCB 1
0.6 0.6
SCB 2
SCB 3
z/d (-)

0.8 0.8
0.0 0.3 0.6 0.0 0.3 0.6 SCB 4

0.0 0.0

0.2 0.2

0.4 0.4

0.6 0.6

0.8 0.8
0.0 0.3 0.6 0.0 0.3 0.6

pc/Hi

Figure 7. Typical comparison of DCB and SCB models with respect to pressure.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The single and double chamber wave screen models are found to be very effective in reducing the
reflection from vertical wall. The maximum reduction is obtained for DCB1 model for the tested
d/L range of 0.18 to 0.61. Both SCB and DCB models attenuate the incident waves significantly
and maximum damping was obtained for SCB1 and DCB1 models. The dynamic pressure exerted
on the vertical wall is very well reduced with the use of seaward side wave screens, which enables
economic design.

REFERENCES

Bergmann, H. and Oumeraci, H., 1999. Hydraulic performance of perforated structures. Proceedings of
Coastal and Port Structures’99, Capetown, pp. 1340–1349.
Fugazza, M. and Natale, L., 1992. Hydraulic design of perforated breakwaters, Journal of Water ways, Port,
Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, Vol.118, No.1, pp. 1–14.
Mansard, E.P.D. and Funke, E.R., 1980. The measurement of incident and reflected spectra using a least squares
method, Proceedings of 17th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Sydney, pp. 154–172.
McConnell, K.J., Allsop, N.W.H. and Ethelston, D.M., 1996. Wave reflections from coastal structures: Devel-
opment and application of new approaches, Reproduced HR Wallingford Report from a paper to the 10th
Congress of the Asia and Pacific Division of IAHR, 26–29 August, Landkawi Island, Malaysia, pp. 1–8.
Sawaragi, T. and Iwata, K., 1978. Wave attenuation of a vertical breakwater with two air chambers, Coastal
Engineering in Japan, Vol.21. pp. 63–74.

1034
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical wave modeling based on curvilinear element meshes

V. Berkhahn
Institute for Computer Science in Civil Engineering, University of Hannover, Germany

S. Mai
Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic and Coastal Engineering, University of Hannover, Germany

ABSTRACT: The results of numerical wave simulations are strongly influenced by the type and the
resolution of the computational mesh representing the bathymetry. Especially in coastal areas best
results in wave hindcast are acquired using curvilinear meshes as revealed by an analysis of wave
propagation in the estuary of the river Ems at the German North Sea Coast. An innovative method
to generate curvilinear as well as rectangular meshes is based on approximation of the bathymetry
using an adapted b-splines technique. This approach fits free form surfaces to measurements. Its
requirements are outlined putting emphasis on the mathematical formulation.

1 INTRODUCTION

Numerical simulations in coastal hydrodynamics based on the methods of finite differences require
regular element meshes of bathymetry. Traditionally these meshes are created by interpolation
techniques like triangulation or kriging. Alternatively meshes may be created by the approximation
of the bathymetry with free form surfaces, e.g. b-spline surfaces (Berkhahn 2002). The latter
technique is especially favorable when using curvilinear finite element meshes. The type and the
resolution of the computational meshes strongly influences the results of numerical simulations
as modeling of wave propagation within the estuary of the river Ems at the German North Sea
coast reveals. Within a focus area in the Ems estuary nested models are set-up to analyze the effect
of different bathymetric meshes. At three locations within the focus area the wave parameter and
spectra are evaluated.

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF B-SPLINE SURFACES

The generation of bathymetric meshes is carried out applying the b-spline technique widely used
in computer aided geometric design and re-engineering of surfaces. A point on a b-spline surface
is defined by

In equation (1) all expressions in bold face indicate a point in the three-dimensional Euclidian
space E 3 . On the left hand side of this equation b(u, v) denotes a point on the b-spline surface in
dependence of the two parameters u and v. The first expression dij in the double sum describes
a regular grid of N + 1 control points in u parameter direction and M + 1 control points in v
parameter direction. Often these control points are called de Boor points. The shape functions in u
and v parameter directions are called b-spline functions NiK(u) and NjL (v), where the upper indices
K and L indicate the degree of the b-spline functions.

1035
 The parameters ui and ui+1 denote the lower and upper bounds of the ith parameter interval. All
bounds of the parameter intervals are gathered in the knot vector u

In order to ensure the property of local modeling possibility, the influence of the control points
with respect to the shape of the surface has to be restricted to a specified parameter range. Therefore
the b-spline functions of degree 0 are defined as follows

The b-spline functions of higher degree are given with the recursive formula

The b-spline function Nir of degree r is based on the b-spline functions Nir−1 and Ni+1
r−1
which
ensures the important property of local modeling possibility

The equation (1) has to be an affine combination. This requirement is fulfilled only within the
interval

which leads to the restriction for the parameters u and v in equation (1).

3 BATHYMETRY APPROXIMATION

The boundary control points of the regular control point grid dij in equation (1) are generated within
the meshing tool HydroMesh (Göbel 2004) by means of b-spline curves. The interior control points
are generated with the Coons interpolation method. In the case of the Ems estuary this leads to the
control grid indicated in Figure 1. After this editing process the control point grid is generated in the
plane z = 0.0 and the realistic z-coordinates of all control points are still unknown. The adaptation
of this initial control grid is performed with an efficient iteration algorithm (Berkhahn & Mai
2004) and yields to the three-dimensional distribution of the adapted control point grid illustrated
in Figure 1.

4 MESH GENERATION

Since the approximating b-spline surface is based on a regular de Boor point grid it is very easy
to generate a regular quadrilateral element mesh. The element nodes nij are generated in the uv-
parameter space of the b-spline surface with equal parameters distances u and v. With equation
(1) the element nodes nij are determined in the three-dimensional Euclidian space E 3

1036
Figure 1. Control points grid of the Ems estuary created with HydroMesh; initial control point grid in the
xy-plane (left) and adapted control point grid in the E 3 space (right).

Figure 2. Orthogonal element mesh with size 50 × 40 (left) and curvilinear element mesh with size 20 × 80
(right) created with HydroMesh.

The methods of free form surface modeling are implemented into the tool HydroMesh (Göbel
2004). This tool is used to create various rectangular and curvilinear bathymetric meshes of different
resolutions within the focus area. Examples of these meshes are given in Figure 2. The element
mesh size is set to 50 × 40, 100 × 80, 200 × 160 and 400 × 320 for rectangular meshes and to
20 × 80, 40 × 160, 80 × 320 and 160 × 640 for curvilinear meshes.

5 WAVE MODEL

For the different computational meshes wave simulations are carried out using the phase-averaged
model SWAN (Booij et al. 1999, Ris et al. 1999) in its stationary mode. The basis of SWAN
operated in the stationary mode is the action balance equation

The first and the second term on the left hand side represent the propagation of action in geo-
graphical space (with propagation velocities cx an cy in x- and y-space). The third term describes
the frequency shift due to variations in depths (with propagation velocity cσ in σ-space). The fourth
term models the depth-induced refraction (with propagation velocity cθ in θ-space). The right hand

1037
side of the action balance equation is the source respectively sink term of energy density repre-
senting the effects of generation, dissipation and nonlinear wave-wave interactions. Equation (8)
is discretized in σ-, θ-space as well as in x-, y-space using the computational mesh derived by
b-spline surfaces.
The incoming wave conditions at the northern boundary of these models are derived via nesting
into a coarse large scale model for boundary conditions of water levels from 3 m to 5 m above
mean sea level and wind speeds from 8 m/s to 32 m/s with directions from 0◦ to 360◦ . Figure 3
exemplifies this approach presenting also a comparison of modeling results calculated with a fine

Figure 3. Wave propagation in the estuary of the river Ems: coarse model (left) and nested models with
different mesh types (right); water level 3 m a. mean sea level (msl), wind 24 m/s, 300◦ .
Significant wave height [m]

1.75 1.5 0.9

rectangular mesh
1.5 50 x 40 1.25
100 x 80 0.85
200 x 160
1.25 400 x 320 1 0.8

1 0.75 0.75
L1 L2 L3
0.75 0.5 0.7
0 90 180 270 360 0 90 180 270 360 0 90 180 270 360
Wind direction [˚] Wind direction [˚] Wind direction [˚]
4.6 4 3.2
Mean wave period [s]

4.2 3.6 3.1

3.8 3.2 3

3.4 2.8 2.9

L1 L2 L3
3 2.4 2.8
0 90 180 270 360 0 90 180 270 360 0 90 180 270 360
Wind direction [˚] Wind direction [˚] Wind direction [˚]

Figure 4. Significant wave height Hs and mean wave period T0,1 at three different locations (L1–L3) within
the estuary of the river Ems calculated using rectangular meshes of different resolution; water level 3 m a. msl,
wind speed 24 m/s.

1038
rectangular and a fine curvilinear mesh respectively. Although the wave field is comparable for
both mesh types differences in significant wave heights are found in the direct vicinity of the deeper
shipping channels, e.g. near location L2.

6 RESULTS

The evaluation of significant wave height and mean wave period at the locations L1–L3, as given
in Figures 4 and 5, reveals an overestimation of these parameters for coarse meshes.
Significant wave height [m]

1.75 1.5 0.9

curvilinear mesh
1.5 20 x 80 1.25 0.85
40 x 160
80 x 320
1.25 160 x 640 1 0.8

1 0.75 0.75
L1 L2 L3
0.75 0.5 0.7
0 90 180 270 360 0 90 180 270 360 0 90 180 270 360
Wind direction [˚] Wind direction [˚] Wind direction [˚]
4.75 4 3.15
Mean wave period [s]

4.25 3.6 3.05

3.75 3.2 2.95

3.25 2.8 2.85

L1 L2 L3
2.75 2.4 2.75
0 90 180 270 360 0 90 180 270 360 0 90 180 270 360
Wind direction [˚] Wind direction [˚] Wind direction [˚]

Figure 5. Significant wave height Hs and mean wave period T0,1 at three different locations (L1–L3) within
the estuary of the river Ems calculated using curvilinear meshes of different resolution; water level 3 m a. msl,
wind speed 24 m/s.

1.6 1.2 0.4

rectangular mesh
1.2 50 x 40 0.9 0.3
S(f) [m2/Hz]

100 x 80
200 x 160
0.8 400 x 320 0.6 0.2

0.4 0.3 0.1

L1 L2 L3
0 0 0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
f [Hz] f [Hz] f [Hz]
1.6 1.2 0.4
curvilinear mesh
20 x 80 0.9
1.2 0.3
S(f) [m2/Hz]

40 x 160
80 x 320
0.8 160 x 640 0.6 0.2

0.4 0.3 0.1

L1 L2 L3
0 0 0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
f [Hz] f [Hz] f [Hz]

Figure 6. Wave spectra at three different locations (L1–L3) within the estuary of the river Ems calculated
using rectangular (top) and curvilinear meshes (bottom) of different resolution; water level 3 m a. msl, wind
24 m/s, 300◦ .

1039
 The amount of overestimation increases with distance from the model boundaries (Mai &
Berkhahn 2003). Models with rectangular computational meshes seem to be more sensitive to
resolution than curvilinear meshes as results of modeling based on curvilinear meshes converge
much faster with increasing resolution. The differences in the characteristic wave parameters relate
to differences in the wave spectra (Berkhahn & Mai 2004) as given in Figure 6. Especially for
frequencies lower than the peak frequency an overshoot in spectral density S(f) is found when
using coarse computational curvilinear meshes.

7 CONCLUSION

The type of computational meshes as well as its resolution strongly influence the results of phase-
averaged wave modeling. The model results converge faster when using curvilinear element meshes
instead of rectangular meshes. For curvilinear meshing the theory of b-spline approximation, as
realized in the tool HydroMesh, turned out to be very feasible.

REFERENCES

Berkhahn, V. 2002. Mesh generation for hydrodynamic simulations. Fundamentals and applications of com-
puter science in civil engineering – state of the art in Germany; Proc. symp., University of Science and
Technology, Building and Housing Research Center, Teheran, Iran,19–20 May 2002: 277–295.
Berkhahn, V. & Mai, S. 2004. Meshing bathymetries for numerical wave modeling. In S.-H. Liong, K.-K.
Phoon & V. Babovic (eds), Hydroinformatics; Proc. of the 6th int. conf., Singapore, 21–24 June 2004:
47–54. Singapore: World Scientific.
Booij, N., Ris, R.C. & Holthuijsen, L.H.A. 1999. Third-Generation Wave Model for Coastal Regions, 1. Model
Description and Validation. Journal of Geophys. Res. 104: 7649–7666.
Göbel, M. 2004. Meshing Tool HydroMesh. In Projektionisten GmbH (ed.), http://www.HydroMesh.com.
Mai, S. & Berkhahn, V. 2003. Generation of regular meshes for numerical wave modelling. In J. Ganoulis &
P. Prinos (ed.), Water engineering and research in a learning society: modern developments and traditional
concepts; Intern. Association of Hydraulics Engineering and Research, Proc. of the XXX int. congr.,
Thessaloniki, Greece, 24–29 August 2003: D223–D230.
Ris, R.C., Holthuijsen, L.H. & Booij, N. 1999. A third-generation wave model for coastal regions, 2.
Verification. Journal of Geophys. Res. 104: 7667–7681.

1040
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Water surface fluctuations inside the perforated circular caisson of a

seawater intake well

K. Vijayalakshmi, S. Neelamani, R. Sundaravadivelu & K. Murali

Research Scholar, Associate Professor, Professor, Assistant Professor
Department of Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India

ABSTRACT: Sea is a source of seawater, which is very essential for various coastal-based indus-
tries like thermal power plants, desalination plants and coastal aquaculture activities. A good
seawater intake structure should supply seawater continuously with minimum technical problems
and cost of the structure should be minimum so that huge source of seawater is accessible to small
scale to large-scale industry. An experimental investigation is carried out in the Department of
Ocean Engineering in a wave flume of 2 m wide 2.7 m in depth and 72.5 m in length to determine
the effect of porosity of a seawater intake caisson on wave induced water surface fluctuations around
the intake well. The experimental investigation was carried out for both regular and random waves
in a constant water depth of 0.7 m by varying the porosity of outer caisson (0.4 m OD) from 1.31
to 19.95%. It is recommended that porosity range of 5 to 20% can be used, since the water surface
fluctuation stabilizes at this porosity range.

1 INTRODUCTION

The intake for seawater is one of the very important coastal structures. The most common type
of seawater intake structure used all around the world is submarine pipeline system. It consists of
submarine pipeline with an intake well at its seaward end and a sump at the land ward side. Since
most of the submarine pipeline system is laid directly on natural seabed, which is very vulnerable for
dynamic action of waves and currents especially in a surf zone. It is reported by offshore industry
all over the world that the installation of submarine pipeline system is very difficult and very
expensive in the surf zone. Recently the open sea type seawater intake, consist of pile supported
approach trestle joining an intake pump house at the seaward end has received more attention. The
maintenance of this system is very easy, since structural component of this system is exposed to
air. In this system the following are the problems:
1. The suction pipe needs protection from direct gravity waves attack
2. Significant amount of sediment accompanies, with the seawater, if seawater is drawn from surf
zone.
3. Frequent priming of pump is required, since there is significant change in water surface
fluctuation.
To understand and overcome above problem, a physical model study has been carried out in the
Department of Ocean Engineering to determine the effect of porosity on water surface fluctuation
at a few points around the vicinity of seawater intake caisson. The magnitude of this water surface
fluctuation is also important in the selection of the deck elevation.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Literatures on the present problem are scare. Neelamani et al (2000) have experimentally investi-
gated the water surface fluctuations around the vicinity of the perforated square caisson by varying

1041
 Table 1. Flume dimensions and wave characteristics.

Parameter Dimensions

Flume length 72.5 m

Flume width 2m
Flume depth 2.7 m
Water depth 0.7 m
Type of wave generator Flap type
Wave used in this study Regular and Random
Incident wave height, H 0.05 m to 0.20 m
Wave period, T 1 to 2 sec
Diameter of the inner cylinder 0.05 m
Diameter of the outer caisson, D 0.4 m
Porosity of outer caisson, P 0%, 1.31%, 2.63%, 4.72%
9.98%, 14.7% and 19.95%

Table 2. Different ranges of normalised parameters.

Parameter Dimensions

Regular waves:
Incident wave steepness, Hi /L 0.01 to 0.07
Relative water depth, d/L 0.15 to 0.45
Scattering parameter, Dc /L 0.08 to 0.26
Relative wave height, Hi /d 0.04 to 0.20
Random waves:
Incident wave steepness, Hs /Lp 0.01 to 0.07
Relative water depth, d/Lp 0.15 to 0.45
Scattering parameter, Dc /Lp 0.08 to 0.26
Relative wave height, Hs /d 0.04 to 0.20

Where Hs is significant wave height generated and Lp is

wavelength corresponding to peak period.

the porosity of outer caisson from 4.24% to 14.6%. Neelamani et al (2002) have studied the effect
of porosity on water surface fluctuation inside the perforated square caisson by experimental inves-
tigation varying the porosity of outer caisson from 1.62% to 16.94%. Darwiche et al (1996) have
theoretically investigated on the forces and water surface fluctuations around a circular seawater
intake caisson surrounding an inner vertical cylinder.

3 EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP, PROCEDURE

The experimental investigations were carried out in the wave flume of the Department of Ocean
Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India. The dimensions of the flume
and the characteristics of the waves used for the study are given in Table 1.
The range of significant wave heights and peak periods used for random waves are from 0.05
to 0.15 m and 1 to 2 sec respectively. PM spectrum is used for generation of random waves. The
different ranges of the normalized hydrodynamic parameters obtained are given in Table 2.
Figure 1 shows the definition sketch of present experimental investigation. Porosity of the outer
caisson is obtained by drilling 3.175 cm diameter hole, uniformly on the outer surface of the caisson.
The inner cylinder is fabricated using PVC pipe and outer caisson is made out of PVC plate. One
wave probe is fixed at 10 m in front of model to measure incident wave height. Three more wave
probes are used in the study, one to measure wave run-up on the caisson, one wave probe was kept in

1042
 Wave maker

Wave
absorber
2.7m

SWL
Wave probe
4 2
0.7m (incident wave)
7 5 1

Force balance (six component)

Flume bed

72.5m

Figure 1. Perforated square caisson encircling a vertical cylinder.

between caisson (facing the wave maker) and vertical cylinder to measure water surface fluctuation
inside the perforated circular caisson, the results of this measurement is discussed elaborately in
this paper and one wave probe is kept in-line with the structure so as to separate out drag and inertia
forces acting on the perforated circular caisson. The model was located at a distance of 47.5 m
from the wave generator and a rubble beach to dissipate wave energy is located at the tail end of the
wave flume. The whole model is fixed on the six-component force balance to measure the in-line
wave forces. Tests were carried out for different combination of porosities of the outer caisson, wave
period and wave height for regular waves and random waves. At first, experimental investigations
were carried out on non-perforated caisson to measure in-line wave forces on the circular caisson,
then the porosity of the outer caisson is varied from 1.31% to 20% and the corresponding in-line
wave forces and water surface fluctuation inside the circular caisson are measured. In the present
paper results of in-line wave forces are not included and details of wave forces are available in
Vijayalakshmi et al (2003).

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

This study was focused on the influences of various input parameters, viz., wave height, period
and porosity on water surface fluctuations inside the circular caisson for both regular and random
waves. The time series for incident wave height and water surface fluctuations inside the caisson
are analyzed. For this analysis, DHI wave synthesizer software package WS4 was used.

4.1 Regular waves

4.1.1 Effect of porosity on the water surface fluctuations inside the perforated circular caisson
The effect of porosity (%) on water surface fluctuation ratio, Hf /Hi (where Hf is wave height inside
the perforated circular caisson and Hi is the incident wave height) inside the perforated circular
caisson for two different values of scattering parameter, Dc /L = 0.107 & Dc /L = 0.258 and for
different relative wave heights, Hi /d is shown in Figures 2(a) & (b) respectively. From Figure 2(a)
it is seen that, the increase in porosity increases the water surface fluctuations inside the perforated
circular caisson up to 5% and then it remains constant up to 20% irrespective of increase in porosity.
For higher Dc /L (Figure 2(b)), the water surface fluctuations inside the circular caisson are reduced
much when compared to lower Dc /L for all porosities and Hi /d. This means that less amount of
waves only will be transmitted through the holes of the outer caisson when short period waves act
on the porous structure. It is also observed from these plots that even for maximum porosity the

1043
 1 1
Hi/d=0.071-0.075 Dc/L=0.258
Hi/d=0.107-0.111
0.8 0.8
Hi/d=0.134-0.145

0.6 0.6
Hf/Hi

Hf/Hi
0.4 0.4
Dc/L=0.107
Hi/d=0.100-0.103
0.2 0.2
Hi/d=0.143-0.148
Hi/d=0.190-0.199
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Porosity(%) Porosity(%)

Figure 2. (a) & (b) Effect of porosity on normalised water surface fluctuation inside the perforated circular
caisson for Dc /L = 0.107 & Dc /L = 0.258 and for different Hi /d.

1 1
Dc/L=0.258 P=1.31%
P=2.63%
0.8 0.8
P=4.72% Dc/L=0.087
P=9.98% P=1.31%
0.6 P=14.7% 0.6 P=2.63%
Hf/Hi

Hf/Hi

P=19.95% P=4.72%
P=9.98%
0.4 0.4
P=14.7%
P=19.95%
0.2 0.2

0 0
0.05 0.1 0.15 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
Hi/d Hi/d

Figure 3. (a) & (b) Effect of Hi /d on normalised water surface fluctuation inside the perforated circular
caisson for Dc /L = 0.258 & Dc /L = 0.087 and for different porosities.

water surface fluctuations are restricted to be less than the incident wave height. The value of Hf /Hi
for porosity of 5% to 20% for different Hi /d ranges from 0.81 to 0.91.

4.1.2 Effect of relative wave height on water surface fluctuations inside the
perforated circular caisson
The effect of relative wave height, Hi /d on water surface fluctuation ratio, Hf /Hi inside the per-
forated circular caisson for a particular Dc /L = 0.258 and for different porosities P is shown in
Figure 3(a). In general variation of relative wave height, Hi /d has little influence on the variations
of normalised water surface fluctuations inside the perforated circular caisson for 1.31 < P < 4.72%.
For higher porosities the ratio reduces from 0.54 to 0.27. Figure 3(b) shows a similar plot for a
higher Dc /L = 0.087. The fluctuations did not change much with an increase in Hi /d. Higher Dc /L
(short waves) results in minimum fluctuations, especially for higher porosities. The reason for this
trend is increased energy dissipation of steeper waves. For the purpose of practical application and
for proposing a simple formula, these fluctuations can be considered as negligible.

1044
 P=1.31% P=2.63% P=4.72% P=1.31% P=2.63% P=4.72%
P=9.98% P=14.7% P=19.95% P=9.98% P=14.7% P=19.95%
1 1
Hi/d=0.071-0.114 Hi/d=0.133-0.227

0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

Hf/Hi
Hf/Hi

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Dc/L Dc/L

Figure 4. (a) & (b). Effect of scattering parameter Dc /L on normalised water surface fluctuation inside the
perforated circular caisson for Hi /d = 0.071–0.114 & Hi /d = 0.133–0.227 and for different porosities.

4.1.3 Effect of scattering parameter on water surface fluctuations inside the perforated
circular caisson
The effect of wave period and porosity on normalised water surface fluctuations, Hf /Hi inside
the perforated circular caisson for the range of relative wave height, Hi /d = 0.071–0.114 and for
different porosity is shown in Figure 4(a). Increase in scattering parameter, Dc /L in general reduces
the water surface fluctuations inside the perforated circular caisson. It is observed that the long
waves (smaller Dc /L) induces more water surface fluctuations than short waves (higher Dc /L),
since short waves looses its energy during its interaction with perforated circular caisson. It is
observed that normalised water surface fluctuation is less than 1.0 even for the maximum porosity
of 20% for the range of Hi /d and Dc /L under study. A similar plot is shown in Figure 4(b) for
Hi /d = 0.133–0.227.
The effect of porosity (%) on water surface fluctuation ratio, (Hf )S /(Hi )S (where (Hf )S is sig-
nificant wave height inside the perforated circular caisson and (Hi )S is incident significant wave
height) inside the perforated circular caisson for a typical scattering parameter, Dc /LP = 0.112 and
for different relative wave heights, (Hi )S /d is shown in Figure 5. Increase in porosity increases
the water surface fluctuations inside the perforated circular caisson up 5% porosity. It is observed
that at porosity range of 5 to 20%, water surface fluctuations get stabilized with (Hf )s /(Hi )s of
about 0.8. In order to restrict the water surface fluctuation less than the incident wave height, it is
recommended to select the porosity of circular caisson less than 20%. A similar trend was obtained
for the variation of water surface fluctuation ratio for regular waves.

4.2 Random waves

4.2.1 Effect of porosity on the water surface fluctuations inside the perforated circular caisson
4.2.2 Effect of relative wave height on water surface fluctuations inside the perforated
circular caisson
The effect of relative wave height, (Hi )s /d on water surface fluctuation ratio, (Hf )s /(Hi )s inside
the perforated circular caisson for a typical scattering parameter Dc /LP = 0.117 and for different
porosities is shown in Figure 6. In general the increase in relative wave height, (Hi )s /d reduces the
normalised water surface fluctuation inside the perforated circular caisson. Higher Dc /LP (short
waves) results in a minimum fluctuation, especially for higher relative wave heights, (Hi )s /d, similar
to regular waves results.

1045
 1

0.8

0.6

(Hf)s/(Hi)s
0.4
Dc/Lp=0.112
(Hi)s/d=0.086-0.124
0.2
(Hi)s/d=0.122-0.188
(Hi)s/d=0.140-0.228
0
0 5 10 15 20
Porosity (%)

Figure 5. Effect of porosity on normalised water surface fluctuations inside the perforated circular caisson
for Dc /Lp = 0.112 and for different (Hi )s /d.

P=1.31% P=2.63% P=14.7%

P=4.72% P=9.98% P=19.95%
1
Dc/Lp= 0.117

0.8
(Hf)s /(Hi)s

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.05 0.10 0.15
(Hi)s /d

Figure 6. Effect of (Hi )s /d on normalised water surface fluctuations inside the perforated circular caisson for
Dc /Lp = 0.117 and for different porosities.

4.2.3 Effect of scattering parameter on water surface fluctuations inside the perforated
circular caisson
The effect of scattering parameter, Dc /LP on normalised water surface fluctuation ratio, (Hf )s /(Hi )s
inside the perforated circular caisson for the range of relative wave height, (Hi )s /d = 0.060–0.130
and for different porosity, is shown in Figure 7. Increase in scattering parameter, Dc /LP reduces
the normalised water surface fluctuations inside the perforated circular caisson. It is observed that
the long waves (smaller Dc /LP ) induces more water surface fluctuations than short waves (higher
Dc /LP ), since short waves looses its energy during its interaction with perforated circular caisson.
It is observed that vertical water surface fluctuation is maximum at Dc /LP = 0.08. To restrict the
water surface fluctuations less than the incident wave height, (Hi )s , the caisson porosity should be
less than 20% for the range of (Hi )s /d and Dc /LP studied.

1046
 P=1.31% P=2.63% P=14.7%
P=4.72% P=9.98% P=19.95%
1
(Hi)s/d=0.06-0.13

0.8

0.6

(Hf)s/(Hi)s
0.4

0.2

0
0 1.0 0.2 0.3
Dc /Lp

Figure 7. Effect of Dc /LP & proposity no normalised water surface fluctuations for (Hi )s /d = 0.06–0.13.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Experimental investigations were carried out on a perforated seawater intake caisson consisting of
an inner circular cylinder and an outer perforated circular caisson. The water surface fluctuations
inside the perforated circular caisson were measured for both regular and random waves by varying
the porosity of outer caisson. The influence of porosity of outer caisson on relative wave height
and scattering parameter on normalised water surface fluctuations inside the circular caisson were
analyzed.
The salient important conclusions of this study are:

1. The porosity (from 5 to 20%) and Hi /d (from 0.111 to 0.227) do not significantly influence the
wave height ratio inside the caisson. An increase in caisson porosity increases the water surface
fluctuation ratio up to 5%. The water surface fluctuation is about 0.8 to 0.9 for porosity in the
range of 5 to 20%.
2. Increase in relative wave height causes only a slight reduction in the normalised water surface
fluctuations. This slight change is due to increased energy dissipation of steeper waves.
3. In general an increase in scattering parameter reduces the water surface fluctuation ratio inside
the perforated caisson for all porosities.

REFERENCES

Darwiche, M.K.M., Williams, A.N. and Wang, H.K. 1996. Wave interaction with semi-porous cylindrical
breakwater. Journal of Waterways, Harbors and Coastal Engineering, ASCE 120(4), 382–403.
Isaacson, M.de St. Q. 1978. “Vertical Cylinders of Arbitrary Sections in Waves”, J. of Waterways, Harbours
and Coastal Engineering Division, ASCE, Vol. 104, WW4, 309–324.
Losada, I.J., Dalrymple, R.A. and Losada, M.A. 1993. “Water Waves on Crown Breakwaters”, J. of Waterway,
Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering 119(4), 367–380.
MacCamy, R.C. and Fuchs, R.A. 1954. “Wave Forces on Piles: a Diffraction Theory”, Beach erosion board,
Washington, DC., Tech. Memo. No. 69.
Morison, J.R., O’Brien, M.P., Johnson, J.W. and Schaaf, S.A. 1950. “The force exerted by surface waves on
piles”, Petroleum Transactions A.I.M.E. 189, 149–154.

1047
Neelamani, S., Koether, G., Schuettrumpf, H., Muttray, M. and Oumeraci, H. 2000. Wave Forces On And
Water Surface Fluctuations Around a Vertical Cylinder Encircled by a Perforated Square Caisson, Ocean
Engineering, Vol. 27, pp. 775–800.
Neelamani, S., Uday Bhaskar, N. and Vijayalakshmi, K. 2002. Wave Forces on a Seawater Intake Caisson.
Ocean Engineering, Vol. 29, pp. 1247–1263.
Sarpkaya, T. 1986. “In-line and Transverse Forces on Smooth and Rough Cylinders in Oscillatory Flow at
High Reynolds Numbers”, Naval Postgraduate School Report NPS 69-86-003, July 4.
Sarpkaya, T. and Isaacson, M. 1981. “Mechanics of Wave Forces on Offshore Structures”, Von Nostrand
Reinhold Company, New York.
Sundaravadivelu, R., Sundar, V. and Surya Rao, T. 1999. Wave Forces and Moments on an Intake Well. Ocean
Engineering, 26, 363–380.
Vijayalakshmi, K., Neelamani, S. and Sundaravadivelu, R. 2003. “Wave Loads on a Perforated Circular
Seawater intake Caisson”, International Conference on Coastal and Ocean Technology, December 10–12,
COT-2003, 529–538.

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8.2 Waves/coastal processes – II
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Energy partitioning in breaking internal waves on slopes

S.K. Venayagamoorthy & O.B. Fringer

Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

ABSTRACT: The present study focuses on large-eddy simulations (LES) of the interaction of a
nonlinear first-mode internal wave field with a sloped coastal shelf break to obtain an understanding
of the partitioning of the internal wave energy over the course of the interaction process. Some
energy is dissipated as a result of the instabilities associated with breaking, while the remaining
energy is either reflected back away from the shelf or transmitted onto the shelf. We employ an
analysis of the distribution of the energy flux across the shelf break and compute the percentage
of energy that is transmitted onto the shelf as a ratio of the total incoming energy flux. For a fixed
bottom slope, we vary both the frequency and the amplitude of the incoming internal wave to vary
the incident energy flux. We find that the transmitted energy flux is a strong function of both the
steepness of the incoming wave field as well as the ratio of slope angle to wave characteristic angle.

1 INTRODUCTION

A significant amount of turbulence and diapycnal mixing that occurs within the ocean is generated
via the interaction of internal waves with topographic features. Specifically, when an internal wave
in a continuously stratified fluid encounters topography in which the slope matches the angle of the
internal wave group velocity vector, breaking occurs as a result of focusing of internal wave energy
along the slope. This problem has been studied via direct numerical simulation by Slinn & Riley
(1998a, b) and Javam et al. (1999). These authors have found that the most significant effect of the
breaking process is the development of a nonlinear bolus that moves up the slope, mixing fluid and
dissipating energy in the process. At the field scale, Legg & Adcroft (2003) studied the interaction
of the internal tide with concave and convex slopes, and showed that both slope types induce a
similar amount of turbulence and mixing as well as the generation of the upslope-propagating
bolus. Field scale measurements (Sandstrom & Oakey 1995, Stanton & Ostrovsky 1998, Carter
et al. 2004) associate enhanced turbulence levels with internal solitary waves. For example, Carter
et al. (2004), have observed waves of elevation with large amplitudes from microstructure mea-
surements taken on the continental shelf in Monterey Bay. Their measurements show that the
turbulent kinetic energy within these solitary waves is elevated compared to the background level,
suggesting that this turbulence can contribute significantly to diapycnal mixing. It is likely that
these waves are formed as a result of the interaction of the internal tide with topography such as
the shelf break.
In this paper, we present results from numerical simulations of the interaction of a nonlinear first-
mode internal wave field with a sloped coastal shelf. Our emphasis is to obtain an understanding of
the partitioning of the internal wave energy over the course of the interaction process. The numerical
method is briefly discussed in the next section followed by a discussion on the energy flux budget
and structure of the solitary boluses that occur on the shelf.

2 NUMERICAL METHOD AND PROBLEM CONFIGURATION

We employ the LES code developed by Fringer & Street (2003) to perform highly resolved two-
dimensional simulations in the domain shown in Figure 1, which is a setup of the companion

1051
Figure 1. Schematic of the laboratory setup that forms the domain for the present simulations. The buoyancy
frequency is fixed at N = 0.57 rad/s, corresponding to a density difference of ρ = 2% over the depth. Lines
(a) and (b) represent the transects used to compute the energy flux in Section 3.2.

laboratory-scale experiments for this project. This code employs the method of Zang et al. (1994)
to solve the Navier-Stokes and scalar transport equations using a finite volume formulation on
a generalized curvilinear coordinate nonstaggered grid with a rigid lid. Momentum is advanced
with the projection method and the viscous terms are advanced semi-implicitly using approximate
factorization. Advection of momentum is computed with the QUICK scheme and scalar transport
is computed with the SHARP formulation. A bulk of the computation involves solution of the
pressure with a multigrid Poisson solver.
We force the left boundary of the domain shown in Figure 1 with a first mode baroclinic wave
given by

where U0 is the velocity amplitude of the forcing; m is the vertical wavenumber corresponding to
a mode-1 baroclinic wave given by m = π/D; ω is the forcing frequency; and U is the cross-shore
velocity component. Boundary conditions are free-slip on the walls. The grid size is 258 × 66, with
a maximum Courant number of 0.2.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

We carried out a series of simulations spanning forcing frequencies corresponding to subscritical

to supercritical slopes and velocity amplitudes ranging from 1 cm s−1 to 4 cm s−1 in order to assess
the energy partitions for a wide range of wave and topographic steepnesses.

3.1 Density contours

Figure 2 depicts the density contours (isopycnals) for the critical case (γ /c = 1) obtained by for-
cing the left boundary of the domain shown in Figure 1 with equation (1) with a frequency of
ω = 0.33 rad s−1 and a maximum velocity of 4 cm s−1 . The figure shows the results at eight points
in time normalized by the wave period T = 2π/ω for the right half of the domain starting at x = 2 m.
The sequence clearly depicts the formation of solitary boluses that propagate upslope onto the shelf.
These waves are clearly large-scale features with amplitudes of the order of half the depth of the
water column and are consistent with the measurements of large-amplitude internal waves by
Petruncio et al. (1998). These solitary waves that form on the shelf can be considered analogous
to the internal solitary waves of elevation observed by Carter et al. (2004) in Monterey bay. The
passage of these boluses displace isopycnals locally and can provide significant bursts of turbulent
kinetic energy that can be used for diapycnal mixing.

3.2 Energy flux

To calculate the transfer of energy across the shelf break, the depth-integrated horizontal energy flux,

1052
 t/T = 3.4 t/T = 3.7

t/T = 4.0 t/T = 4.4

t/T = 4.7 t/T = 5.0

t/T = 5.3 t/T = 5.6

Figure 2. Density contours of a breaking internal wave on a critical slope, showing how the solitary bolus
propagates onshore as a result of the interaction process. Contours of density are plotted every 0.2%.

in units of W m−1 , is computed at various locations in the domain shown in Figure 1. Figure 3
shows the depth-integrated energy flux as a function of time at two locations, 0.5 m and 3.2 m
downstream of the forcing boundary, representing cross sections off and on the shelf, respectively,
as shown in Figure 1. Results are shown for three different ratios of slope angle to beam propa-
gation angle, i.e. γ /c = 0.75, 1, and 1.25, depicting subcritical, critical and supercritical slopes,
respectively. Also shown in this Figure is the cumulative (time-integrated) horizontal energy flux,
denoted by

in units of J m−1 . Figure 3 (a), (b) and (c) show the incident wave energy fluxes for the three
cases while Figure 3 (d), (e) and (f) show the corresponding energy fluxes on the shelf location.
All the fluxes have been normalized by the linear theory estimate of energy flux of an incoming
internal wave,

where ρ0 is the reference density, ω = 0.33 rad s−1 , û = 4 cm s−1 , d is the offshore depth, m = π/d
is the vertical wavenumber, and k is the horizontal wavenumber that is readily obtained from the
dispersion relation for internal waves.
The higher peaks in the incident energy fluxes in Figure 3 (a), (b) and (c), signify interaction of
incident wave with reflected wave off the slope. The intermittent peaks in the energy fluxes on the
shelf signify the passage of the boluses. For the subcritical case (γ /c = 0.75), the incoming wave

1053
 γ/c = 0.75 γ/c = 1 γ/c = 1.25
5 5 5

4 (a) 4 (b) 4 (c)

x = 0.5 m
Energy flux 3 3 3

2 2 2

1 1 1

0 0 0
0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6
t/T

5 5 5

(d) (e) (f)

x = 3.2 m 4 4 4
Energy flux

3 3 3

2 ET/EI = 1% 2 ET/EI = 6% 2 ET/EI = 10%

1 1 1

0 0 0
0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6
t/T t/T t/T

Figure 3. Normalized energy fluxes and cumulative energy fluxes as function of time t/T at (a) x = 0.5 m,
γ /c = 0.75; (b) x = 0.5 m, γ /c = 1; (c) x = 0.5 m, γ /c = 1.25; (d) x = 3.2 m, γ /c = 0.75; (e) x = 3.2 m, γ /c = 1;
(f) x = 3.2 m, γ /c = 1.25; solid lines: depth integrated energy flux; dashed lines: cumulative energy flux.

propagates at a steeper angle with respect to the slope angle and hence the waves take longer to
reach the slope, with a large proportion of the energy flux being reflected back. For the critical
case, a significant proportion of the energy is focused along the sloping boundary. However,
our calculations show that the cumulative energy flux on the shelf is about six percent of the
corresponding incident energy flux at the left boundary. The formation of the boluses occur much
earlier on the shelf for the supercritical case (γ /c = 1.25) since the waves for this case propagate
at shallower angles than the slope angle. The supercritical case exhibits the optimal transfer of
energy flux with values of up to ten percent of the incident energy flux. These calculations show
that the interaction of these first mode baroclinic waves with near critical topography can provide
a significant amount of energy for mixing in coastal waters.
The maximum energy flux as a function of the wave steepness ka on the shelf at 3.2 m from the
forcing boundary is shown in Figure 4. The incident wave is critical for all the cases shown and
the energy flux has been normalized by the linearized energy flux for a critical wave with velocity
amplitude of 1 cm s−1 . The energy flux increases monotonically with wave steepness.

3.3 Structure of solitary bore

The solitary bores observed on the shelf have large onshore velocities contained within their
cores as shown in Figure 5. The velocity profiles (section A–A) indicate that there is sufficiently
high shear in these bores to possibly create growing small wavelength Kelvin-Helmholtz type
instabilities on the interfaces as noted by Moum et al. (2003). This can possibly explain the gen-
eration mechanism for the high turbulence inferred from microstructure measurements on the
continental shelves. The magnitude of the velocity vectors are significantly higher than those in
the surrounding fluid outside the core of the bolus. These highly energetic intermittent bores are

1054
 102
On shelf at x = 3.2 m

Normalized maximum energy flux

101

100
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
wave steepness (ka)

Figure 4. Maximum energy flux at x = 3.2 m, as a function of wave steepness for critical slope.

A
0
u
w
z (m)

-0.1

-0.2
-0.05 0 0.05
A t/T = 4.4
velocity (ms-1)

direction of wave propagation Section A–A

Figure 5. Velocity vectors superimposed on the density contours to show the amplification of onshore veloci-
ties at bolus locations. This figure corresponds to the plot at t/T = 4.4 shown in Figure 2. The magnitude of
the single horizontal velocity vector in the right hand center of the figure is 10 cm s−1 . Waves propagate from
left to right. Section A–A depicts the horizontal and vertical velocity profiles.

strong candidates for transporting nutrients and entraining sediment from deep waters onto coastal
shelves.

4 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK

We have presented LES results of internal waves interacting with a sloped coastal shelf break.
The energy flux calculations show that the solitary bores formed as a result of the interaction of an
incoming wave with the slope are very energetic, especially for critical and supercritical slopes with
up to ten percent of the incident wave energy flux transmitted onshore. These solitary bores can be
a source of significant energy for diapycnal mixing on the coastal shelves. Further work is required
to understand the mechanism through which these bores interact with the surrounding fluid as well
as with each other. However, it is important to extend our calculations to three-dimensions in order
to understand the turbulent dynamics associated with these highly nonlinear waves.

1055
REFERENCES

Carter, G. S., Gregg, M. C., & Lien, R-C. 2004. Internal waves, solitary waves, and mixing on the Monterey
Bay shelf. Continental Shelf Research. submitted.
Fringer, O. B., & Street, R. L. 2003. The dynamics of breaking progressive interfacial waves. J. Fluid Mech.,
494, 319–353.
Javam, A., Imberger, J., & Armfield, S. W. 1999. Numerical study of internal wave reflection from sloping
boundaries. J. Fluid Mech., 396, 183–201.
Legg, S., & Adcroft, A. 2003. Internal wave breaking at concave and convex continental slopes. J. Phys.
Oceanogr., 33, 2224–2246.
Moum, J. N., Farmer, D. M., Smyth, W. D., Armi, L., & Vagle, S. 2003. Structure and generation of turbulence
at interfaces strained by internal solitary waves propagating shoreward over the continental shelf. J. Phys.
Oceanogr., 33, 2093–2112.
Petruncio, E. T., Rosenfeld, L. K., & Paduan, J. D. 1998. Observations of the internal tide in Monterey Canyon.
J. Phys. Oceanogr., 28, 1873–1903.
Sandstrom, H., & Oakey, N. S. 1995. Dissipation in internal tides and solitary waves. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 25,
604–614.
Slinn, D. N., & Riley, J. J. 1998a. Turbulent dynamics of a critically reflecting internal gravity wave. Theor.
Comp. Fluid Dyn., 11, 281–303.
Slinn, D. N., & Riley, J. J. 1998b. A model for the simulation of turbulent boundary layers in an incompressible
stratified flow. J. Comput. Phys., 144, 550–602.
Stanton, T. P., & Ostrovsky, L. A. 1998. Observations of highly nonlinear interal solitons over the continental
shelf. Geophys. Res. Lett., 25, 2695–2698.
Zang, Y., Street, R. L., & Kose® , J. R. 1994. A non-staggered grid, fractional step method for time-dependent
incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in curvilinear coordinates. J. Comput. Phys., 114, 18–33.

1056
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Effect of porosity of brushwood fences on wave transmission

Selim M. Sayah
Research Associate, Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology,
Lausanne, Switzerland

Jean-Louis Boillat
Senior Research Associate, Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology,
Lausanne, Switzerland

Anton Schleiss
Professor, Director, Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology,
Lausanne, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: Shore protection in lakes is an issue of great importance in Switzerland where

several lakes suffer from beach erosion. It is mainly due to wave impact during major wind events.
Brushwood fences, commonly used in shallow regions as soft and porous structures, provide
efficient protection against wave-induced erosion. However, the scientific bases for their design
are not well known. The proposed experimental study evaluates the impact of brushwood fences
on wave transmission. It is described by the transmission coefficient KT , defined by the ratio of
the transmitted and incident wave heights. Tests prove the efficiency of brushwood fences in wave
damping. The latter depends mainly on the porosity of the structure and the ratio between wave and
structure heights. Hence, an optimal design of such soft protection measures has to include both
the hydrodynamic conditions of a site as well as their material and geometrical properties.

1 INTRODUCTION

Shore erosion in lakes and well-adapted shore protection techniques are topics where further sys-
tematic investigations are necessary. The approach used in seas and oceans in this field is not
always applicable to shallow lakes, where soft protection measures are generally more convenient.
Unfortunately, the scientific bases for the design of such techniques are almost nonexistent. Thus,
the actual practice in sea shore protection leads to substantial measures applied to lakes, which
could be detrimental for the coastal natural aspect (Ostendorp et al. 1995).
Since 1985, in Lake Biel in Switzerland, pioneer soft protection measures have been developed
to protect reed bed and thwart bank erosion. They consist mainly of brushwood fences, wooden
piles both used as groins or breakwaters, gravel embankment and reed plantations used as a soil
shore consolidation agent (Iseli et al. 1995). Although the latter protection measures are being used
widely, there is still no appropriate scientific basis for their design that may optimise the effect
against bank erosion (Sayah et al. 2004).
Brushwood fences are most commonly used in lakes to provide reliable, soft and cheap shore
protection. They are mainly efficient for shallow regions where hydrodynamic forces generated
by wind and currents are not very significant. The fences are mainly composed of two elements.
The first one, related to the structural stability of the measure, is defined by two parallel rows of
wooden piles (average spacing of piles equals 0.6 m). Between the two rows, wooden branches,
often called “fascines”, are inserted in a cylindrical and bundled manner. This porous middle
element is responsible for the dissipation of incident waves (average porosity of fascines varies

1057
between 10% and 80%).The present paper describes the effect of the porosity of brushwood fences
on wave transmission on the basis of theoretical and physical investigations.

2 WAVE TRANSMISSION THROUGH POROUS MEDIA

Wave attack on permeable structures such as brushwood fences and the response of the latter to
hydrodynamic loading are very strongly related to the phenomena of flow through porous media.
However, there is no specific formulation covering the effect of porosity on the interaction of
brushwood fences and waves.
Therefore, many research efforts have analysed the effect of permeable breakwaters on incident
waves. For instance, Losada et al. (1995) highlighted the effect of a porous media on wave induced-
flow and showed the importance of the transition and transmission regions within the structure. The
porosity of a vertical permeable structure has later been studied by Requejo et al. (2002). While
using different gravel granulometry, hence different porosity, they studied the effectiveness of the
structure on wave action.
Mai et al. (1999), have examined on the basis of a full scaled prototype model the transmission
of waves through brushwood fences. Authors analysed the effect of the water level variation on the
transmission coefficient of brushwood fences as well as the variations of the transmitted mean wave
period. They have mainly demonstrated that the wave damping of a brushwood fence decreases
significantly when the water level is above its crest height.
The interaction of brushwood fences of different porosity with different hydrodynamic conditions
is, however, not completely understood. Ting et al. (2004) analyzed the effect of porosity of
submerged breakwater on wave transmission and they fixed relative values for the energy loss. The
different theoretical aspects that have to be considered for a porous structure design are introduced.
In analogy with breakwaters, the interaction of brushwood fences and waves depends mainly on
wave transmission and reflection. Wave dissipation is characterized by the ability of the structure to
damp wave action. Thus, it is directly related to wave transmission, reflection, and characteristics
of the structure. Wave overtopping and breaking depend on water depth and wave height. The
well-know expression for energy dissipation is given by:

where KD is the dissipation coefficient of a porous structure, KR the reflection coefficient and KR
the transmission coefficient.
The reflection and transmission coefficients are determined as follows:

where HR , HT , and Hi are the reflected, transmitted, and incident wave heights, respectively. In fact,
in analogy with breakwaters, when an incident wave hits the brushwood fences, its energy will be
decomposed by reflection, dissipation, and transmission. In order to prevent a high impact on the
shore, the transmission should be prevented as much as possible. However, since brushwood fences
are always permeable, they are not able to stop totally the wave transmission. The wave damping at
brushwood fences is thoughtfully described, as for breakwater, by the three variables as following
(d’Angremond et al. 1996):

1058
where Rc is the freeboard of the structure, Hs the significative wave height, α the structure slope,
and Tp the spectral peak wave period.
Thus, the transmission coefficient KT of the permeable structure is defined by the equation:

where βi are constants related to the characteristics of the structure.

3 EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP AND TESTING PROCEDURE

Physical tests are conducted in a wave tank of 10 m length, 6 m width, and with a height of 1.3 m.
A pneumatic wavemaker generates harmonic unidirectional waves. The geometry of the lake bed
slopes, where the protection measures are implemented, represents a typical nearshore region of
the lake.
Prototype fences are mainly constructed, as described before, with tree branches (called
“fascines”), packed between two parallel wooden pile rows (Fig. 1a). For the physical modelling,
piles are made of plastic sticks mounted on a plate (C in Fig. 1b, Fig 1c).
As shown in Figures 3b-A-B, c the fascines are built by placing a geotextile around a very high
porous media. It is assumed that the whole porosity of the fascine is approximately the same as
that of the geotextile.
The physical model is implemented in the wave tank were incident, reflected and transmitted
waves are measured. Different configurations of fascines (h = 0.07 m, 0.1 m, and 0.125 m, each
for porosity p = 16%, 36%, and 62%) are tested for a wide range of wave heights (varying approx-
imately between 0.05 m and 0.1 m) and wave periods (varying approximately between 0.5 s to 2 s).
In this first stage of the study, tests are performed with a fixed bed. For each configuration four
water levels are investigated (varying between d = 0.035 m and d = 0.15 m).

4 EXPERIMENTAL TESTS ANALYSIS

Transmission coefficients are calculated according to Equation 2b. Figure 2 shows KT in function
of the relative height of the structure (h/Hi ). The water depth d for every height and porosity is given
by the value of the freeboard of the structure denoted as Rc expressed in function of its height h.

Figure 1. (a) Typical brushwood fences constructed in Lake Biel in Switzerland (b) 1:10 down-scaled physical
model of the brushwood fences (c) Schematic cross section of the physical model with the corresponding
parameters.

1059
1060

Figure 2. Transmission coefficient of brushwood fences for three different porosities (p = 16, 36, and 62 %) and three different structure heights (h = 0.7, 1, and 1.25 m).
 1.0 1.0
0.9 0.9
0.8 0.8
0.7 0.7
0.6 0.6
KT

KT
0.5 0.5
0.4 0.4
0.3 porosity=16% (A)
0.3 porosity=16% (B)
0.2 porosity=36% (A) 0.2 porosity=36% (B)
0.1 porosity=62% (A) 0.1 porosity=62% (B)
0.0 0.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
(a) h/Hi (b) h/Hi

Figure 3. Effect of porosity of brushwood fences on wave transmission for two different water level
conditions: (a) A: Rc > 0 (b) B: −0.4 h ≤ Rc ≤ 0).

The effect of porosity of the brushwood fences on the transmission coefficient is investigated for
every height. Tests show that the height of the structure has a relatively small effect on the wave
transmission when the freeboard is constant. This can be clearly shown by comparing Figures 1a, d
and g where the average of KT equals 0.8 for the highest water levels and equals 0.4 for the lowest
ones independently of the structure height.
Hence, it appears that for a same structure height, the effects of porosity and water depth are most
significant for the transmission effect. Figure 2 shows clearly that when the water depth increases,
KT increases as well. However the latter does not increase proportionally to d (expressed as a
function of Rc and h). This effect can be seen very clearly in almost every case. When the structure
in not submerged (Rc > 0), the comparison between the average values of KT for Rc = +0.5 h and
Rc = 0, respectively, confirms this. For p = 16%, p = 36%, and p = 62%, KT is multiplied by 1.62,
1.28 and 1.22, respectively, when the water depth d is doubled. This indicates that with increase
in water depth, waves are better transmitted, however not by the same ratio. This ratio depends on
the porosity of the structure. For low porosities, waves are better transmitted when the water depth
increases.
When the structure is totally submerged (Rc = −0.4 h or −0.2 h), Figure 2 shows that KT increases
very rapidly. For p = 16%, 36%, and 62%, KT is multiplied by 1.4, 1.5 and 1.3, respectively, when
the water depth d is multiplied by an average of 1.3. This leads to the conclusion that the efficiency
of brushwood fences decreases rapidly when the structure is totally submerged. The effect of the
porosity in such conditions is less significant.
Furthermore, the transmission coefficient seems to be influenced significantly by the water
depth, and the porosity. Using Least Squares Fitting Method (Bevington 1992), a direct relationship
depending on relative structure, h/Hi , is considered between the porosity and corresponding wave
transmission. Results given in Figure 3 show that, disregarding the effect of the structure height,
when the porosity increases 46%, the transmission coefficient does not increase proportionally. For
the interval A (Rc > 0), KT increases in average by almost 30%, and for interval B (−0.4 h ≤ Rc ≤ 0),
KT increases in average by almost 25%. This result implies that the effect of the variation of porosity
is slightly higher when the brushwood fenced emerges than when it is completely submerged. It
also implies that the variation is not directly proportional to the variation of KT .
In addition, Figure 3 shows that the variation of wave heights has larger influence on KT when
the structure is submerged. This can be seen by comparing the average slopes of trends in Figures
3a and b, equal to 0.023 and 0.013 respectively.

5 COMPARISON OF RESULTS WITH THEORY

The aim of this section is to validate a relationship between the porosity of the brushwood fences
on one hand and the relative freeboard and transmission coefficient on the other. The relationship

1061
is based on Equations 3c and 4. Since the structure is always vertical, the following applies:

Furthermore, it is possible to replace the second term of the expression of KT by a term called
w that depends on the porosity, because the term relative to the structure width b/Hs is constant.
It includes as well a term relative to water depth since Rc = h − d. The expression of KT can
consequently be written as follows:

Since the term w in Equation 6 is not directly related to the structure height, it is probable that
this term is influenced dominantly by its porosity and its water depth. A detailed analysis using
least square method based on results showed in Figure 3 proves that w varies linearly with porosity
w = a · p + b. The relationship between w and the porosity p can hence be given as follows:

for intervals A and B, correlation factors are 0.96 and 0.94, respectively.

6 CONCLUSION

The wave transmission through porous media like brushwood fences was investigated using down-
scaled physical models. In order to evaluate the influence of the porosity of the structure on its
corresponding damping effect, a modified empirical formula for permeable and impermeable
breakwaters is considered. The transmitted wave height appears to decrease linearly when the
porosity increases for a defined interval of the structure’s relative freeboard. Therefore, using such
soft shore protection measures for shallow regions in lakes appears to be a promising solution
against wave-induced shore erosion.

REFERENCES

Bevington, P. R., and Robinson, D. K. 1992. Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences.
Boston: WCB/McGraw-Hill.
d’Angremond, K., Meer, J. W. v. d., and Jong, R. J. d. Wave Transmission at Low-crested Structures. 25th
International Conference on Coastal Engineering. Kobe, Japan.
Iseli, C., and Wherli, M. (1995). Zehn Jahre Schilf- und Uferschutzmassnahmen am Bielersee. VBS
Schriftenreihe, 4.
Losada, I. J., Losada, M. A., and Martin, F. L. 1995. Experimental Study of Wave-Induced Flow in Porous
Structure. Coastal Engineering 26: 77–98.
Mai, S., Lieberman, N. v., and Zimmermann, C. 1999. Interaction of Foreland Structures with Waves. XXVIII-
IHAR Conference, Graz.
Ostendorp, W., Iseli, C., Krauss, M., Krumscheid-Plankert, P., Moret, J. -L., Rollier, M., and Schanz, F.
1995. Lake shore deterioration, reed management and bank restoration in some Central European lakes.
Ecological Engineering 5: 51–75.
Requejo, S., Vidal, C., and Losada, I. J. 2002. Modelling of Wave Loads and Hydraulic Performance of
Vertical Permeable Structures. Coastal Engineering 46: 249–276.
Sayah, S. M., Boillat, J. -L., and Schleiss, A. 2004. The Use of Soft Shore Protection Measures in Shallow
Lakes: Research Methodology and Case Study. Limnologica 34(1–2): 65–74.
Ting, C. -L., Lin, M. -C., and Cheng, C. -Y. 2004. Porosity Effects on non-Breaking Surface Waves over
Permeable Submerged Breakwaters. Coastal Engineering 50: 213–224.

1062
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Experimental study of damage caused by prolonged irregular wave

impact on gently sloping sea dikes

T. Takahashi, T. Abe, H. Konno & S. Arai

Tohoku Institute of Technology, Sendai, Japan

ABSTRACT: The damage processes and sediment transport on the front face of a gently sloping
sea dike under attack by severe irregular waves are examined experimentally. Sand transfer from
the front faces of the dikes is found to differ depending on the dike location, and a relationship
between dike damage and scouring of the front face of the dike is shown. Damage is found to
proceed from the removal of sand from the slope, to foundation damage, piping of backfilling
stones, and finally subsidence of the armor blocks.

1 INTRODUCTION

Recently, gently sloping sea dikes have been constructed in many areas of Japan as amenity-oriented
seawalls. Although being comparatively new structures, there have been reports of damage to
these dikes. Considerable knowledge regarding the process and cause of damage to dikes has been
obtained through the regular wave experiments of Maeno et al. (1990), Uda et al. (1991), Takahashi
et al. (1996), Noguchi et al. (2000), and others. However, the result of irregular wave impact has
been suggested to differ considerably from the results obtained by experiment and calculation
for beach profile changes due to regular wave impact (Otsuka et al., 1984; Kubo et al., 1992).
The present authors (Takahashi et al., 2001) have carried out an experimentally examination of
beach profile change and dike damage due to irregular and regular wave impacts, and found that
damage progressed under regular wave regimes, but not under irregular wave regimes. To further
investigate the situation with irregular waves, the present study involved experimental evaluation
of the damage processes and sediment transport on the front face of a gently sloping sea dike under
attack by severe irregular waves using the largest significant wave height possible in the wave tank
employed.

2 EXPERIMENTAL

The wave tank, with dimensions of 20.0 m in length, 0.7 m in depth and 0.6 m in width, was divided
into two equal length-wise sections. The wave tank was equipped with a piston-type wavemaker
with reflected wave absorption control. A beach topography with a 1/20 gradient was constructed
from fine sand (median grain size d50 = 0.15 mm, specific gravity = 2.60), and gently sloping sea
dikes with slopes of 1/3, 1/4 and 1/5 were then constructed at the shoreline and on the offshore
side of the beach topography (Fig. 1). The dikes were constituted of porous armor blocks (void
ratio of 15%) with a 20 mm-thick permeable gravel layer for landward slope protection (grain size
d = 2.5–4.75 mm). The model scale was 1/40.
Irregular waves were assumed to have a Bretschneider-Mitsuyasu type spectrum. The water depth
was a uniform 0.4 m, the significant wave period T of irregular waves was 1.34 s, the significant
wave height H was 13.0 cm, and the deep-water significant wave steepness H0 /L0 , where L0 is the
deep-water wavelength, was 0.051. Otsuka et al. classified the beach profiles under irregular wave

1063
regimes according to patterns using the index of Horikawa and Sunamura et al. (1975) for regular
waves, as given by

where β is the initial gradient and C is a constant.

Otsuka et al. showed that the shoreline process varies according to C, where C < 5 represents
accumulation, C > 13 represents erosion, and 5 < C < 13 represents an intermediate process. In
the present experiments, the wave condition was classified as erosional, with C ∼ = 16.5. Table 1 lists
the experimental conditions in detail. Incident and reflected waves were measured by the method
of Goda (1976), beach topography was measured using a sand plane instrument at the center of
each side of the tank at 1–30 cm intervals, and the dike and near-shoreline were recorded by sketch
and photograph.
The dikes located at two positions, defined in terms of the horizontal distance between the
shoreline and the end of the slope lt , with landward positive. One dike was located at lt /L0 = −0.2
(offshore, lt = −63.0 cm), and the other at lt /L0 = 0.0 (shoreline, lt = 0.0 cm). Figure 2 shows the

Figure 1. Configuration of beach model in the experiment.

Table 1. Experimental conditions.

No T1/3 (sec) H1/3 (cm) Slopes of sea dike &t (cm) (&t /L0 ) Wave condition

A-0 – –
A-1 1/3
A-2 1/4 −63.0 Erosion
A-3 1.34 13.0 1/5 −0.2 type
A-4 1/3
A-5 1/4 0.0
A-6 1/5 0.0

Figure 2. Locations of dikes in the experiment.

1064
location of the dikes. Irregular waves were applied continuously for 24 h, and the beach profiles
and dike damage were measured after 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 24 h. The embedded length of the
foundation was determined according to a guidebook for the design of gently sloping sea dikes
(Ministry of Construction, 1989), with final design lengths of 5.0 and 2.5 cm for the offshore and
shoreline dikes, respectively.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Beach profile

Figure 3 shows the change in the beach profile over time (t) in the experiments. Horikawa et al.
(1973) classified the beach profile into three types depending on erosion and accumulation on the
shoreline. The present experiments are classified as type 1, erosion of the shoreline and accumula-
tion of sand offshore. The position of the sand bar and the point of most frequent breaking tended
to move offshore with time during the experiment.

3.2 Change in beach profile with dike slope

Figure 4 shows the change in beach profile after t/T ∼ = 64,000 (∼24 h) with respect to the slope of
the sea dike for the shoreline and offshore dikes. For the shoreline dike, the sand bar is of almost
the same size and occurs in almost the same location (X /L0 ∼ = 1.6; distance from shore X ) in every
case. The beach profiles near the initial shoreline differ slightly depending on the slope of the dike.
However, the beach profiles are almost identical offshore from X /L0 ∼ = −0.2. For the offshore dike,
the variation in the beach profile between dike slopes is slightly larger, but no obvious systematic
difference in the beach profile can be recognized between dike slopes.

Figure 3. Change in beach profile. Arrows indicate the most frequent position of breaking.

Figure 4. Change in beach profile with dike slope. Arrows indicate the most frequent position of breaking.

1065
Figure 5. Change in beach profile with position of the dike. Arrows indicate the most frequent position of
breaking.

Figure 6. Change in sand volume under wave action for dikes of slope.

3.3 Change in beach profile with dike location

Figure 5 shows the change in beach profile with respect to the position of the dike. After 8 h, the
beach profile are similar regardless of dike position for a dike of slope 1/5, with a bar developing at
X /L0 ∼= −1.3. After 24 h, the beach profiles are more different depending on the dike position for
a slope of 1/3. In the case of a shoreline dike, the sand remained on the dike. However, the scouring
depth in front of the offshore dike was greater than that for the beach slope, with stones backfilling
into the dike piped accompanied by subsidence of the armor blocks. The scouring depth in front of
the dike tends to increase with duration of wave action for the offshore dike.

3.4 Change in sand volume on the dike

Figure 6 shows the change in sand volume on the dike per unit width. In the case of shoreline
dikes, sand accumulated on the dikes up to t/T ∼ = 21,000 (∼8 h), but then was gradually eroded
back to the initial sand volumes or further removed by t/T ∼ = 64,000 (∼24 h). This is due to the
temporary transfer of sand eroded from in front of the dike onto the dike face by wave action,
followed by removal of the sand on the dike face. In the case of offshore dikes, sand on the dike
was gradually eroded by wave generation and disappeared completely by t/T ∼ = 10,000–30,000.
Figure 4(b) indicates that the eroded sand was transferred offshore out to the sand bar rather than
into the region immediately in front of the foundation.

1066
Figure 7. Relationship between damage to dike and duration of wave action.

Figure 8. Plot of hmax /H0 vs. t/T .

3.5 Dike damage

Figure 7 shows the relationship between damage and the duration time of wave action. For offshore
dikes, damage progresses from removal of sand on the dike face or minor foundation damage to
both, followed by major foundation damage. The 1/3 slope dike subsequently suffered complete
foundation damage, with piping of backfilling stones and subsidence of the armor blocks. This

1067
damage process agrees well with the result of experiments for regular waves. With increasing dike
slope angle, dike damage occurs earlier and is more severe. It is considered that the reflected
waves rebounding from the offshore dikes are stronger than in the shoreline case, and this process
strengthens with increasing slope angle. In the case of shoreline dikes, dike damage did not occur
within the time limits of these experiments. It seems to originate for the sand accumulated on the
dikes by the small wave after wave breaking. But it is necessary to examine further.

3.6 Scouring of the front face of the dike

Scouring of the front face of the dike was defined in terms of hmax , the maximum scouring from the
initial topography, with accumulation defined as a negative value. Figure 8 shows the relationship
between hmax /H0 and t/T with respect to the position and slope of the dikes. In the case of shoreline
dikes, hmax /H0 displays to accumulation or erosion from the wave generation to t/T ∼ = 30,000 in
all cases, with erosion eventually reaching hmax /H0 = 0.2 at t/T ∼ = 64,000. In the case of offshore
dikes, as the slope increases, hmax /H0 also increases, reaching 0.7 at t/T ∼ = 64,000. The values
of hmax /H0 were smaller for shoreline dikes than for offshore dikes. Thus, there appears to be a
relationship between hmax /H0 and dike damage.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Damage processes and sediment transport on the front face of a gently sloping sea dike under
severe irregular wave attack was investigated experimentally. Although performed under limited
conditions, the experiments provide the following results.
(1) Sand transfer from the front faces of the dikes was found to differ depending on the dike
location. In the case of offshore dikes, sand on the dike was gradually eroded and disappeared
completely at t/T ∼= 10,000–30,000. In the case of shoreline dikes, sand eroded from the front
face of the dike was temporality moved onto the dike face and then gradually eroded, with the
initial topography restored or sand from the top of the dike removed by t/T ∼ = 60,000 (∼20 h).
(2) The relationship between dike damage and the relative maximum scouring of the front face of
the dike was estimated from the results of the experiments. For offshore dikes, as the slope angle
increases, hmax /H0 also increases and dike damage occurs earlier. For shoreline dikes, hmax /H0
was smaller, and dike damage did not occur within the limits of the present experiments.
(3) Damage was found to proceed in the following order: (1) removal of sand from the slope, (2)
damage to foundations, (3) piping of backfilling stones, and finally (4) subsidence of the armor
blocks. This damage process agrees well with the results of experiments for regular waves.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors express their thanks to Messrs. Y. Mori, T. Yamanaka and Y. Hatsuse, graduate students
of Tohoku Institute of Technology, for their assistance in the experiments.

REFERENCES

Goda, Y., Suzuki, Y., Kishira, Y. and Kikuchi, O. 1976. Estimation of incident and reflected waves in random
wave experiments, Technical Note of The Port and Harbor Research Institute, Ministry of Transport, 248:
1–24 (in Japanese).
Horikawa, K., Sunamura, T. and Kitou, H. 1973. A study on beach transformation due to waves, Proc. 20th
Japanese Conf. on Coastal Eng., JSCE, 356–363 (in Japanese).
Horikawa, K., Sunamura, T., Kondo, K. and Okada, S. 1975. A study on two-dimensional shoreline
transformation due to waves, Proc. 22nd Japanese Conf. on Coastal Eng., JSCE, 329–334 (in Japanese).

1068
Kubo, Y., Kotake, T., Yokoki, H., Isobe, M. and Watanabe, A. 1992. Numerical simulation of wave field,
nearshore current and beach transformation using the time-dependent mild slope equation for irregular
waves, Proc. 39th Japanese Conf. on Coastal Eng., JSCE, 201–205 (in Japanese).
Maeno, Y., Yamamoto, M. and Endo, T. 1990. Sucking of backfill sand under gentle-slope seawall with armor
units, Proc. 37th Japanese Conf. on Coastal Eng., JSCE, 499–503 (in Japanese).
Noguchi, K., Tanaka, S., Torii, K. and Sato, S. 2000. Large-scale physical model test of the deformation of
gentle slope revetment, Proc. 47th Japanese Conf. on Coastal Eng., JSCE, 756–760 (in Japanese).
Otsuka, Y., Mimura, N. and Watanabe, A. 1984. Two-dimensional beach transformation due to irregular waves.
Proc. 31st Japanese Conf. on Coastal Eng., JSCE, 321–325 (in Japanese).
Takahashi, T., Numata, A. and Takahashi, S. 1996. Experimental study on the process of damage of gentle-slope
sea dike attacked by high waves, Proc. 43rd Japanese Conf. on Coastal Eng., JSCE, 841–845 (in Japanese).
Takahashi, T. and Numata, A. 2001. Comparison of the beach profile changes front of gentle-slope sea dike
for regular and irregular waves, Proc. of Civil Engineering in the Ocean, 17: 451–456 (in Japanese).
Ministry of Construction, River Bureau, section supervision, 1989. The guide book of the design of gently
sloping sea dikes, National Coast Association (in Japanese).
Uda, T., Kosuge, S. and Yanagisawa, O. 1991. National survey on actual situation on the stability of gently
sloping revetment, Proc. 38th Japanese Conf. on Coastal Eng., JSCE, 651–655 (in Japanese).

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© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Studies on the evolution of bichromatic wave trains

Hwung-Hweng Hwung
Professor, Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C

Wen-Son Chiang
Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory, NCKU, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C

Chun-Hua Lin & Kai-Cheng Hu

Department of Hydraulic and Ocean Engineering, NCKU, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C

ABSTRACT: Numerical and physical experiments on bichromatic wave trains were conducted
in deep water. The evolution of wave train and spectra was investigated in this paper. The results
showed that the evolution of bichromatic wave trains strongly depended on the wave steepness and
frequency difference. The evolution of wave trains including breaking and non-breaking types were
analyzed for different combination of wave steepness and frequency difference. For non-breaking
case, the periodic modulation and demodulation of wave train were observed in numerical and
experimental results. For breaking case, the amplitude of lower sideband frequency was selectively
amplified through the breaking process, which could be qualitatively simulated in the model result
by an additional proper damping function. The analyzed result on the long wave induced by wave
trains illustrated that the long wave was weakly evolved in the breaking process of deep water wave.

1 INTRODUCTION

Previously studies showed that nonlinear effects dominate the evolution of wave trains to a con-
siderable extent. Based on the linear perturbation analysis, Benjamin and Feir (1967) proved that
the traveling nonlinear wave is unstable to modulational perturbation, which was well known as
sideband instability. They predicted theoretically the initially exponential growth of sidebands
which was verified by the experimental measurements (Lake et al., 1977, Melville, 1982, Tulin
and Waseda, 1999). Yuen and Lake (1975) showed that the sideband instability was also produced
by the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLS). Lo and Mei (1985) numerically solved the fourth
order NLS. The asymmetric evolution of a pair of unstable sidebands was obtained. Trulsen et al.
(1990) showed numerically the frequency downshift during the evolution of unstable wave train.
Due to the limitation of experimental facility, the experimental studies on long time evolution of
nonlinear wave trains have been lagged behind the numerical simulation.
The long time evolution of unstable bichromatic wave trains was investigated numerically and
experimentally. In particular, the near recurrence of wave trains, the evolution of wave spectra and
long wave induced by the bichromatic wave trains were discussed in this paper, respectively.

2 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP AND DATA ANALYSIS

The experiments were carried out in a super wave flume at Taiwan Hydraulics Laboratory. The tank
is 300 m long, 5.0 m wide and 5.2 m deep. Figure 1 showed the schematic diagram of experimental
setup. A programmable, high resolution wave maker was located at one end of the tank with
an effective wave-absorbing beach at the opposite end. The evolution of surface wave trains were
recorded as they propagating through the tank, total 66 capacitance-type wave gauges, were installed

1071
 1:7
5.2m

wave
1:10 maker
beach wave gauges @ 3m wave gauges @ 6m

46.1m 142m 82m 16m

Figure 1. Experimental setup and configuration of the wave tank.

at 15 m to 240 m downstream from the wave maker. The data acquisition was PC based Multi-Nodes-
Data-Acquisition-System (MNDAS) developed by THL. The time series of water surface elevation
were acquired simultaneously by 25 Hz data rate and stored for further processes. The time interval
between two successive measurements was about 35 min.
The experiments were performed by computer-generated wave forms, which were given by
equation (1) as inputs to the wave-maker servo-system. In order to minimize the transient wave
front from initial wave generation, a ramp function was used into the wavemaking system during
the starting and ending of waveboard motion.

where η is surface elevation, a1 and a2 are amplitudes of the imposed wave components, ω1 and
ω2 are angular frequency, t is time. The piston stroke was related to the desired wave amplitude by
linear theory.
The spectra were obtained by discrete Fourier transform with the Hanning window. Typically, it
was calculated for a frequency range from 0 to 12.5 Hz and a resolution bandwidth of 0.012 Hz.
From the spectrum, the amplitudes of wave modes could be calculated as the square root of total
energy of spectral peaks.

3 MATHEMATICAL MODEL AND NUMERICAL SCHEME

Considered the irrotational flow of an incompressible and inviscid fluid with a free surface and
based on the assumptions of slowly varying wave train and weak nonlinearity, Trulsen and Stansberg
(2001) derived the spatial domain model of fourth order Nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Follow-
ing the transformation proposed by Lo and Mei (1985), a normalized spatial domain model of
fourth order Nonlinear Schrödinger equation in moving coordinate system can be expressed in
equation (2). In which, the physical variables were normalized according to the equation (3).

where x and z are the horizontal and vertical coordinate system, k is the wave number of carrier
wave, ς̄ is the mean water level, B is the amplitude of surface displacement, B∗ is the complex

1072
conjugate of B and S is a source/sink term. The equation (4) is the governing equation and boundary
conditions of the potential of the mean current (φ̄) induced by wave train, equation (5) is the moving
coordinate transforms, η and ξ are the variables of space and time in moving coordinate system,
and Cg is linear group velocity.
Equation (2) is a conservative form. In order to simulate the breaking effect, a dissipation term
had to be included in the equation. The damping function (Kato and Oikawa, 1995) illustrated in
equation (6) was applied to equation (2), which is including the breaking dissipation.

where β is a constant between 0 and 1, which describes the rate of energy dissipation of the high
frequency part. H{ } is Hilbert transform.
The numerical scheme combined with the pseudo spectra method and split step method for time
integration was used to solve the evolution equation, which was also proposed in Lo and Mei (1985).
In the numerical scheme, the evolution equation was divided into the linear and nonlinear parts.
The nonlinear part was integrated by the finite difference method with two time steps in frequency
domain. The linear dispersive part has exact solution form. Finally, the solution was obtained by
solving alternately the linear part and nonlinear part to obtain the envelope of surface displacement
at each time step. Whereby, the surface displacement could be calculated in the model.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The experimental and numerical results of two wave trains were discussed in the following, which
indicated the typical evolution of wave trains for breaking and non-breaking type, respectively.
In addition, the spatial evolution of dimensionless amplitudes of wave components was also
investigated.

4.1 Evolution of wave train for non-breaking type

The evolution of wave train along the wave tank with both waves of amplitude 5 cm and periods
of 1.5 s and 1.7 s was shown in Fig. 2. The initially generated wave train resembled a linear super-
position of two imposed waves in the wave flume. The evolution over a short distance revealed
that the envelope steepening at the front of wave train without noticeable increase of amplitude. In
the consecutive stage, the energy focused into the center of the wave group due to the combined
effects of nonlinearity and dispersion. The corresponding amplitude spectrum indicated the growths
of the sidebands frequencies (2ω1 − ω2 , 2ω2 − ω1 ) and the bounded long wave (ω2 − ω1 ). As the
wave train further evolved, the modulation became stronger until a maximum modulation had been
reached, that accompanied with the energy spread to higher discrete frequencies. However, the
growth of the bounded long wave was limited. Then, the envelope leaned backward and followed
by nearly recovering the initial wave train. At further stage, the modulation and demodulation
process repeated cyclically until the end of wave tank. The comparison between the numerical and
experimental results showed that the surface elevation and phase of wave train matched well at the
initial stage, which indicated that the dispersion characteristics of the wave train were well simu-
lated. Then, the simulated wave train showed phase ahead the measured data which was reasoned
to the energy spread out the high wave number modes as shown in Fig. 3, and then violated the
narrow-band constrain of the numerical model. The phase difference was developing downstream
along the wave tank, however, the surface amplitude showed consistent until the further down-
stream. This result was more evidently illustrated in the evolution of dimensionless amplitudes
shown in Fig. 4. In which the almost complete recurrence was also observed.

1073
 ch27 kcx=199 ch39 kcx=256
ch26 kcx=194 ch38 kcx=251
ch25 kcx=190 ch37 kcx=246
ch24 kcx=185 ch36 kcx=242
ch23 kcx=180 ch35 kcx=237
surface elevation(m)

surface elevation(m)
ch22 kcx=176 ch34 kcx=232
ch21 kcx=171 ch33 kcx=227
ch20 kcx=166 ch32 kcx=223
ch19 kcx=161 ch31 kcx=218
ch18 kcx=157 ch30 kcx=213
ch17 kcx=152 ch29 kcx=209
0.2 ch16 kcx=143 0.2 ch28 kcx=204
0.0 0.0
−0.2 −0.2
0 5 10 15 20 25 0 5 10 15 20 25
time(sec) time(sec)

Figure 2. The comparison of surface elevations of initially bichromatic wave train along the wave tank
between the numerical simulation (thin line) and experimental measurement (thick line). The time axis was
shifted according to the linear group velocity in deep water. The wave condition is a1 = 5 cm, a2 = 5 cm,
T1 = 1.5 s and T2 = 1.7 s.

350

300

250

200
kx

150

100

50

0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2
frequency(Hz)

1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6

amplitude in log scale (cm)

Figure 3. The snapshot of amplitude contours plotted as a function of frequency and fetch for bichromatic
wave train with a1 = 5 cm, a2 = 5 cm, T1 = 1.5 s and T2 = 1.7 s.

4.2 Evolution of wave train for breaking type

The modulation of wave train for larger wave steepness and smaller frequency difference were
more dramatic as shown in Fig. 5. The increasing wave amplitude was developing at the front of the
grouping wave until a higher wave which was large enough to initiate wave breaking. At kx = 79,
a local extreme wave was observed with local wave steepness (ka), 0.33. Meanwhile, breaking
events were visible between kx = 73 and kx = 109 according to the video record of the experiment.
This result demonstrated that the breaking limit in a modulated wave train was much lower than
the criterion of Stokes’ wave. After a series of wave breaking, the wave train demodulated and
separated into a larger leading group and a smaller trailing group. Before the wave breaking,

1074
 1.0

0.8

0.6
a/a0
0.4

0.2

0.0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
kcx
B11F1

Figure 4. The evolution of dimensionless amplitudes vs. fetch for bichromatic wave train with a1 = a2 = 5 cm,
T1 = 1.5 s and T2 = 1.7 s. Circle (dark solid line): ω1 , cross (light solid line): ω2 , triangle (light dash line):
2ω1 − ω2 , diamond (dark dash line): 2ω2 − ω1 .

ch12 kcx=67 ch24 kcx=118

ch11 kcx=61 ch23 kcx=115

ch10 kcx=55 ch22 kcx=112

ch9 kcx=49 ch21 kcx=109

ch8 kcx=43 ch20 kcx=106
surface elevation(m)

surface elevation(m)

ch7 kcx=37 ch19 kcx=103

ch6 kcx=31 ch18 kcx=100

ch5 kcx=25 ch17 kcx=97

ch4 kcx=19 ch16 kcx=91
ch3 kcx=16 ch15 kcx=85
ch2 kcx=16 ch14 kcx=79

0.2 ch1 kcx=15 0.2 ch13 kcx=73

0.0 0.0
−0.2 −0.2
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
time(sec) time(sec)

Figure 5. The comparison of surface elevations of initially bichromatic wave train along the wave tank
between the numerical simulation (thin line) and experimental measurement (thick line). The time axis was
shifted according to the linear group velocity in deep water. The wave condition is a1 = 10 cm, a2 = 10 cm,
T1 = 1.9 s and T2 = 2.1 s.

the surface elevation and phase of simulated wave train were consistent with the measured results.
Noticeable difference between the numerical and experimental results was obtained at post breaking
stage. However, the comparison of the dimensionless amplitude exhibited the qualitatively match
as illustrated in Fig. 7. The selective amplification of the lower sideband through the wave breaking
was observed. It was speculated that the peak of spectrum will evolve gradually to the lower
frequency through a series of wave breaking.

4.3 Long wave induced by wave trains

In Fig. 3, almost complete recurrence of the long wave component (ω2 − ω1 ) seemed to be attained
and the periods in space were nearly identical. For larger wave condition showed in Fig. 6, the

1075
 200

150
kx

100

50

0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2

frequency(Hz)

1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

amplitude in log scale (cm)
Figure 6. The snapshot of amplitude contours plotted as a function of frequency and fetch for wave train with
a1 = 10 cm, a2 = 10 cm, T1 = 1.9 s and T2 = 2.1 s.

1.0

0.8

0.6
a/a0
0.4

0.2

0.0
0 50 100 150 200 250
kcx

Figure 7. The evolution of dimensionless amplitudes vs. fetch for bichromatic wave train with a1 = 10 cm,
a2 = 10 cm, T1 = 1.9 s and T2 = 2.1 s. Circle: ω1 , circle (dark solid line): ω1 , cross (light solid line): ω2 ,
triangle (light dash line): 2ω1 − ω2 , diamond (dark dash line): 2ω2 − ω1 .

simple periodicity of the long wave was appeared again despite the wave breaking. Meanwhile, the
long wave energy indicated no evidently increasing after the wave breaking. It could be concluded
that the long wave was not evidently evolved in the breaking process.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The evolution of bichromatic wave trains was strongly depended on the wave steepness and fre-
quency difference between the imposed two wave components. For non-breaking case, the wave
trains evolved modulation and demodulation periodically both in the numerical result and the experi-
mental data. In addition, a proper dissipation function was included in the evolution equation to

1076
simulate the breaking effect. Whereby, the selective amplification of the lower sideband through
the wave breaking was qualitatively simulated by the numerical model.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to express gratefully thanks for the supporting from the program for
promoting university academic excellence by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, Grant No.
A-91-E-FA09-7-3.

REFERENCES

Benjamin, T. B. & Feir, J. E. (1967), “The disintegration of wave trains on deep water. Part 1. Theory.”,
J . Fluid Mech., Vol. 27, pp. 417–430.
Lake, B. M., Yuen, H. C., Rungaldier, H. & Ferguson, W. E. (1977), “Nonlinear deep-water waves: theory and
experiment. Pat 2. Evolution of a continuous train.”, J. Fluid Mech., Vol. 83, part 1, pp. 49–74.
Lo, E. & Mei, C. C. (1985), “A numerical study of water-wave modulation based on a higher-order nonlinear
Schrödinger equation”, J. Fluid Mech., Vol. 150, pp. 395–416.
Melville, W. K. (1982), “The instability and breaking of deep-water waves.”, J. Fluid Mech., Vol. 115,
pp. 165–185.
Tulin, M. P. & Waseda, T. (1999), “Laboratory observations of wave group evolution, including breaking
effects.”, J. Fluid Mech., Vol. 378, pp. 197–232.
Trulsen K. & Dysthe, K. (1990), “Frequency downshift through self modulation and breaking”, Water Wave
Kinematics, pp. 561–572, Kluwer Academic.
Trulsen, K. & Stansberg, C. T. (2001), “Spatial evolution of water surface waves: numerical simulation and
experiment of bichromatic waves”, Proc. of eleventh ISOPE, pp. 71–77.
Kato, Y. & Oikawa, M. (1995), “Wave number downshift in modulated wavetrain through a nonlinear damping
effect”, J. of the Phys. Soc. of Japan, Vol. 64, No. 12, pp. 4660–4669.

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© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Transformation of ship waves on a sloping coast

K.T. Dam, K. Tanimoto, N.B. Thuy & Y. Akagawa

Saitama University, Saitama, Japan

ABSTRACT: The characteristics of shoaling, refraction, and breaking are understood fairly well
for ordinary wind waves and ocean swells. However, it has been not much investigated how ship
waves are propagated by shoaling, refraction, and breaking on a coast. In present paper, the
transformation of ship waves on a sloping coast with straight, parallel depth contours is discussed
on the basis of simulated results by a 2-D numerical model. Based on numerical results, an applicable
analytical formula to predict maximum wave height on the slope is introduced. In the proposed
formula, the maximum wave height is the product of relative shoaling coefficient, relative refraction
coefficient, relative damping coefficient, and the reference wave height defined at an appropriate
distance from the sailing line. The maximum wave height estimated by the proposed method agrees
well with numerical simulation results.

1 INTRODUCTION

Waves generated by navigating ships contain a massive amount of energy that can seriously damage
the marine environment, degradation of coastal structures, and being responsible for nuisance or
damage to beach users as well as other floating bodies. Recently, ship waves are in particular
attentions of not only environmental managers, coastal and port authorities, but also naval architects
as well as shipbuilders. So far, many investigations have been done with the aim to predict the
characteristics of these waves as a function of ship hull geometry, ship speed, water depth, and the
distance from the sailing line.
Havelock (1908) extended the work of Kelvin (1877) to show that the decay of ship waves
is proportional to y−n , where y is the distance from the sailing line and n is a constant value.
Havelock predicted that in sub-critical speed, the divergent waves decay have an exponent of
n = 0.33. Sorensen (1969) used model test to show that the bow wave data generally similar to
this predicted rate of decay. This approach is more practical for coastal engineering purposes and
results only in an additional constant in the equation. For super-critical ship speed, Kofoed-Hansen
et al. (1999) suggested that the value of n = 0.55 can be used. Furthermore, based on experimental
result, Whittaker et al. (2001) proposed the lowest value of n = 0.2 for shallow water.
However, the transformation due to shoaling, refraction, and breaking must be considered in
addition to damping by the distance, when ship waves propagate on a sloping coast. Especially,
the wakes generated by ships operating at critical and super-critical speeds, with wave heights
noticeable higher, wave periods longer, and associated with shoaling and breaking, are being much
more serious and complicated. To investigate how like and how different in propagation between
ship waves and ordinary wind waves, in the present study, the transformation of ship waves on a
coast is discussed on the basis of simulated results. The effect of shoaling, refraction, and breaking
is evaluated to estimate the maximum height of ship waves. It was initially verified that, although
ship waves are nonlinear and unsteady, the finite amplitude wave theory and the Snell’s law can
be applied to predict the maximum wave height, which is generated by a defined ship travels on a
sloping coast.

1079
2 METHOD AND RESULTS OF NUMERICAL SOLUTION

2.1 Numerical method

The simulation method is used to solve numerically Boussinesq-type equations (Madsen & Sørensen
1992) with a moving ship boundary (Tanimoto et al. 2000). In the coordinate system Oxy, where
the origin O lies on the immobilized water-plane, the x-axis points in the direction of ship’s forward
motion, the y-axis pointing toward the shore, the governing equations are written as:

Herein, ζ(x, y, t) is the water surface elevation, Qx (x, y, t) and Qy (x, y, t) the depth-integrated
velocity components in x and y directions, respectively, t the time, h (x, y) the still water depth, D
(x, y, t) is the total depth (D = ζ + h), g is the gravitational acceleration, and β is the correction
factor of the dispersion term (β = 1/15).
To simulate surf zone hydrodynamics, energy dissipation due to wave breaking is modeled
by introducing two additional eddy viscosity terms (Rbx and Rby ) into the momentum equations
(Kennedy et al. 2000), these momentums mixing terms are given as:

The eddy viscosity ν is defined as:

where δb is a mixing length coefficient with an empirical value of 1.2. The quantity B that controls
the occurrence of energy dissipation is smoothly varied from 0 to 1.0 to avoid an impulsive start
of breaking (Schäffer et al. 1993).
The equations are solved by implicit finite difference techniques with the variables defined on
a space staggered rectangular grid. The Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) algorithm is used in
the solution to avoid the necessity for iteration. By using the ADI method, the system of implicit
finite difference equations is reduced to a tridiagonal system of equations for each grid line in the
model, and then will be solved by the Double Sweep algorithms, a very fast and accurate form of
Gauss elimination.

1080
 700m 400m

15m 1/50 1.0m

Figure 1. Cross section of computational channel.

x (m)
3500

Constant Slope

3000

2500

2000

y (m)

-700 0 700

Figure 2. Top view of wave crests.

The ship considered in the present study is measured 82 m in length, 14.6 m in width, and the
draft is 5.88 m. The ship, as shown in the Figure 1, is steadily traveling on an open coast with
straight and parallel contours. Computational grid size in both x and y-directions are 2.5 m. The
channel length is 4000 m from the ship start position. The ship is assumed to start from rest and
accelerate uniformly to a final velocity. Since the main interest in the present study is the wave
propagation far from the ship, therefore, a slender ship theory (Chen & Sharma 1995) is assumed
to give the boundary conditions at the ship location.
The most important parameter for the characterization of ship waves in shallow water is depth
Froude number. The depth Froude number (Fh ) is defined as the ration of ship speed to the wave
propagation speed in shallow water. In the present study, ship speed is ranged from 7.28 m/sec to
14.45 m/sec, the corresponding depth Froude numbers (Fh ) from 0.6 to 1.2, respectively.

2.2 Numerical results and discussions

Figure 2 shows the top view of simulated waves crests for the case of critical ship speed (Fh = 1.0).
In the figure, the darker (bigger) spot the higher elevation of wave crest. In constant water depth,
the distance between waves crests increases with distance from the sailing line. In the slope side,
however, this tendency is not occurred due to shoaling and refraction effects. On sloping coast,
the effect of wave refraction is clearly observed in the wave pattern. It may cause the decrease
in the wave height as the water depth becomes shallow. Besides, the effect of wave shoaling
increases the wave height.
The largest and most energetic waves are produced at approximately Fh = 0.95. Wave heights
are sharply increased when Fh from 0.8 to 0.95. However the decay rate of near-critical wave
differs greatly from the decay rate of super-critical wave. It can be seen from these results that the
maximum wave height on the sloping coast is not only dependent upon its transverse distance from

1081
 x(m)
800

600

400

200
Snell' law
Flow vector
Crest wave ray
0
0 200 400 600 y(m)

Figure 3. Wave rays on sloping coast.

the sailing line (due to wave decay) and interaction between the divergent and transverse waves,
but also due to shoaling and refraction.
In constant water depth, the dominant directions of propagation are mostly alike. Meanwhile,
on sloping coast, these directions (or tan β) are apparently changed according to the distance from
the sailing line. The inclination (dx/dy) of wave direction on the slope can be formulated as a
function of y.
With y = 100 m value as a reference level, based on the Snell’s law, the value of tan β at a certain
position is given by:

In which, C is wave celerity at the optional position of y, C1 and β1 is the reference wave celerity
and wave angle at the reference location of y = 100 m.
Figure 3 illustrates the plotted wave rays on the slope that obtained from three different methods.
The dash-dot curve is the wave ray obtained from Snell’s law. The continuously dark curved line
is the wave ray created from flow vectors. And the dashed curve is the wave ray that constructed
from wave crest lines. As shown in the figure, these methods give almost the same result. In other
words, on a gently sloping coast, ship waves refracted as same as the way the ordinary waves did.
Therefore, the Snell’s law can be applied for ship waves and the relative refraction coefficient Kr
is given by:

3 ANALYTICAL SOLUTION FOR MAXIMUM WAVE HEIGHT

3.1 Analytical formula for maximum wave height

To predict maximum wave height on slope, an analytical formula is proposed as follows:

1082
 In which, Ks , Kr , Kd are the relative shoaling, refraction, and damping coefficients, respectively.
H1 is reference maximum wave height at y = 100 m. The relative refraction coefficient Kr can be
obtained from the Equation 8, on the basis of the Snell’s law. To compute the relative shoaling
coefficient Kr , the finite amplitude wave theory (Goda 1985) is used, as follows:

where:

In which, g (m/s2 ) is the acceleration of gravity; h (m) is still water depth at y; T1 , H1 are
reference wave period and reference maximum wave height at y = 100 m.
Finally, the relative damping coefficient can be obtained from the following formula:

In the present study, we found that the value of n = 0.2 gives best agreement of the model
evaluated based on analytical results.

3.2 Comparison between analytical formula and simulation results

Figure 4 presents the comparison between numerical simulation and analytical solution results for
three cases: Fh = 0.8, Fh = 1.0 and Fh = 1.2. In sub-critical speed (Fh = 0.8), the wave height grad-
ually decreases until slope end, this scenario is caused by combined interaction between shoaling
and damping effects. On the other hand, in critical and super-critical regimes, the maximum wave
height on slope reduces by the damping and refraction at first, then increases by shoaling, and
finally markedly decreased after break. The relative maximum wave height from simulated result
(circle mark) agrees well with the one calculated by analytical formula (thickly solid line), except
in very shallow water depth. In the figure, the straight thin line indicated limited breaking wave
height due to limitation of water depth, which is proposed by Goda (1985).

3.3 Reference value of maximum wave height, wave period, and angle of wave direction
Reference components of maximum wave height (Fh = 1.0, at x = 2000 m, y = 100 m) are presented
in Figure 5. These reference components can be formulated as a function of Fh . The approximate
exponential functions (which are displayed as the solid curves) are shown in the figure.

1083
 Analytical Breaker limit
Simulated
1.5

1.0

Hmax/H1
0.5

0.0

Hmax/H1 1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

1.5
Hmax/H1

1.0

0.5

0.0
0 2 4 6
y/100

Figure 4. Simulated and analytical results.

Simulated Best-fit line

3.0
2.0 Fh ≤ 0.89: H1 = 0.0004e9.871Fh
H1 (m)

1.0 Fh ≥ 0.89: H1 = 6.4636e1.0531Fh

0.0
0 0.5 1 1.5
10
8
Fh ≤ 0.95: T1 = 0.7264e2.697Fh
T1 (s)

6
Fh ≥ 0.95: T1 = 18.022e0.6729Fh
4
2
0 0.5 1 1.5
80
β1 (˚)

60 Fh ≤ 0.80: β1 = 48.003e0.473Fh
40 Fh ≥ 0.80: β1 = 256.9e1.6108Fh
20
0 0.5 1 1.5
Fh

Figure 5. Reference components of maximum wave height.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Linear wave theory provides a good prediction of shoaling and refraction of ship waves. To estimate
the maximum wave height on a sloping coast at a given distance from the sailing line; the proposed
analytical formula (Eq. 9) can be applied. For shallow water depth, to compute the relative damping
coefficient, the value of n = 0.2 is suggested. The relative shoaling coefficient is calculated by using

1084
the finite amplitude wave theory, and to calculate the relative refraction coefficient, the Snell’s law
is used.
The reference values of maximum wave components, such as: maximum wave height, wave
period, and incidence angle can be formulated as a function of depth Froude number. However, to
generalize the proposed formula, further investigations including lab data and field data for various
ships geometric conditions (e.g. ship length, ship draft) are essentially needed.

REFERENCES

Chen, X.-N. & Sharma, S.D. 1995. A slender ship moving at a near-critical speed in a shallow channel. J. Fluid
Mechanics 291: 263–285.
Goda, Y. 1985. Random Seas and Design of Maritime Structures. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Express:
41–86.
Havelock, T.H. 1908. The propagation of groups of waves in dispersive media, with application to waves on
water produced by a traveling disturbance. Proc. of the Royal Society of London LXXXI: 398–430.
Kennedy, A.B., Chen, Q., Kirby, J. T. & Dalrymple, R. A. 2000. Boussinesq modeling of wave transformation,
breaking and runup. I: One dimension. J. Waterway of Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering 126: 39–47.
Kofoed-Hansen, H., Jensen, T., Kirkegaard, J. & Fuchs, J. 1999. Prediction of wake wash from high-speed
craft in coastal areas. Hydrodynamics of High Speed Craft. The Royal Institution of Navel Architects,
London: 1–10.
Madsen, P.A. & Sørensen, O.R. 1992. A new form of Boussinesq equations with improved linear dispersion
characteristics – Part 2: A slowly-varying bathymetry. Coastal Engineering 18: 183–204.
Schäffer, H. A., Madsen, P. A. & Deigaard, R. 1993. A Boussinesq model for waves breaking in shallow water.
Coastal Engineering 20: 185–202.
Sorensen, R.M. 1969. Waves generated by model ship hull. J. Waterways, Harbours Division, Proc. of the
American Society of Civil Engineering 95 (No. WW4): 513–538.
Tanimoto, K., Kobayashi, H. & Ca, V.T. 2000. Ship waves in a shallow and narrow channel. Proc. of 27th
Conference on Coastal Engineering 2: 1141–1154.
Whittaker, T.J.T., Doyle, R. & Elsaesser, B. 2001. An experimental investigation of the physical character-
istics of fast ferry wash. In V. Bertram (Editor), HIPER’01 2nd International Euro Conference on High
Performance Marine Vehicles, Hamburg: 480–491.

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8.3 Case studies/modelling
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Improved air–sea interaction formulas for the modelling of

environmental hydraulics

S.A. Hsu
Coastal Studies Institute, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

ABSTRACT: In environmental hydraulics and water–environment–health interaction studies,

meteorological and oceanographic forcing play important roles. Recent advances in air–sea
interaction studies are reviewed and summarized. Specifically, this presentation will discuss para-
meterization of stability length and aerodynamic roughness and estimation of friction velocity,
latent heat flux and evaporation, and storm surge and shoaling depth. Improved formulas are
provided for better modeling of environmental hydraulics.

1 INTRODUCTION

The fluxes of momentum, heat, moisture, gas and particulate matters at the air–water interface
play important roles in environmental hydraulics and water–environment–health interactions. For
example, in low wind speeds before the onset of wave breaking, the exchange of air bubbles
is limited. If this situation persists for a long period of time, algal blooms may develop, ultimately
affecting the water quality. On the other hand, during typhoon/hurricane conditions, the storm
surge may affect the sewerage outflow at a greater depth than normal because of shoaling. Also,
in the area on the right-hand side of the storm track (in the Northern Hemisphere), runoff may be
blocked due to the surge, thus increasing the flood potential and salt water intrusion.
Recent advances in air–sea interaction applied to the modeling of environmental hydraulics are
reviewed. This paper will also summarize topics related to air–water–health interactions including
the parameterization of stability length, determination of friction velocity, and the estimation of
shoaling depth due to tropical storms.

2 PARAMETERIZATION OF STABILITY LENGTH

In the atmospheric boundary layer the buoyancy length scale, L, also known as the Obukhov
(or Monin-Obukhov) length, is a fundamental parameter that characterizes the “stability” of the
surface layer (see, e.g., Hsu, 1988). L describes the relative importance between the buoyancy
effect (or thermal turbulence) and the wind shear (or mechanical turbulence). According to Hsu
and Blanchard (2004), L can be parameterized as follows:
For unstable conditions (i.e., when Tsea > Tair ),

For stable conditions (Tair > Tsea ),

1089
 According to Hsu (1998 and 1999a),

where Tair and Tsea stand for the air and sea-surface temperatures, respectively; Uz is the wind
speed at height z, and B is the Bowen ratio.

3 PARAMETERIZATION OF THE ROUGHNESS LENGTH

The roughness parameter Z0 can be computed based on the formula provided in Taylor and Yelland
(2001) that

and, for deep water waves,

where Hs and Lp are the significant wave height and peak wavelength for the combined sea and
swell spectrum; and Tp is its corresponding wave period.

4 ESTIMATION OF THE FRICTION VELOCITY

The friction velocity (u∗ ) can be obtained as follows:

where U10 is the wind speed at 10 m and Cd is the drag coefficient.

According to Amorocho and DeVries (1980), the WAMDI Group (1988), and Hsu (2003a), one
may classify the air–sea interaction into three broad categories based on wave breaking conditions.
They are:
In light winds, U10 < 7.5 m/s, prior to the onset of wave breakers,

Both thermal and mechanical turbulence are important.

In moderate winds, 7.5 ≤ U10 ≤ 20 m/s, the range after the onset but before the saturation of
wave breakers,

Mechanical turbulence is more important than thermal effects.

In strong winds, U10 ≥ 20 m/s, after the saturation of wave breakers,

Mechanical turbulence dominates.

1090
5 ESTIMATING THE LATENT HEAT FLUX (OR EVAPORATION)

With the parameter of the Bowen ratio supplied by Hsu (1998 and 1999) as shown in Eq. (3), the
latent heat flux (Hlatent ) can be estimated that

where Hsensible is the sensible heat flux, ρ (= 1.2 kg m−3 ) is the air density, Cp (= 1004 J kg−1 K−1 )
is the specific heat at constant pressure for dry air, CT (= 1.1 × 10−3 ) is the transfer coefficient for
the heat, (Tsea – Tair ) in K and U10 in m s−1 .
Since a latent heat flux of 1 W m−2 is equivalent to an evaporation rate of 3.56 × 10−3 cm day−1 ,
Eq. (10) can be used to estimate the evaporation rate.

6 ESTIMATING STORM SURGE AND SHOALING DEPTH

In order to estimate typhoon/hurricane – generated maximum significant wave height (Hs max ),
storm surge (S), and shoaling depth (Dshoaling ), the following formulas are useful operationally,
provided the storm’s minimum (or central) pressure near the sea surface, P0 in millibars, is known
(Hsu, 2002 and 2003b).

from Taylor and Yelland (2001) and

From Eq. (5)

From Hsu et al. (2000) and under hurricane conditions, Hs /gT2p = 0.0068. Thus, from Eq. (11)
we have

7 SOME EXAMPLES

Examples of the application of the foregoing formulas have been provided in the open literature.
They cannot be included here due to restrictions in the copyright law, however, the reader may refer
to Hsu (1998, 1999, 2003a, and 2003b), Hsu et al. (2000), and Hsu and Blanchard (2004).

1091
 A further example is provided in Fig. 1. According to Anthes (1982, p. 22 and Fig. 2.8),

where U10γ is the sustained wind speed at 10 m at a distance away from the storm center, and U10 max
is the maximum sustained wind speed at 10 m at the radius of maximum wind, R.
According to Hsu et al. (2004), for operational applications,

Figure 1. Satellite data (visible channel from NOAA-16) received and processed at the Earth Scan Lab,
Louisiana State University, during Hurricane Lili (2002) in the Gulf of Mexico. The solid line represents the
storm track. Data from NDBC buoys 42001 and 42003 are employed as examples.

1092
where P0 is the minimal sea-level or central pressure of the hurricane, Pγ is the pressure at a point
located at a distance from the storm center, and ln is the natural logarithm.

where U10 max is based on Eq. (11). A verification of this method is provided in Fig. 1. During
Hurricane Lili in 2002, the U.S. National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) had two buoys, #42001 located
near R, and #42003 located due east along 26◦ N, approximately 280 km from 42001. The wind
speed measurement was 10 m for both buoys. From the NDBC website (http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/)
we have at 20Z 2 October 2002 at #42001, P0 = 956.1 mb. Substituting this P0 in Eq. (11),
U10 max = 47.5 m/s, in excellent agreement with the measured value of 47.2 m/s. Therefore Eq. (11)
is further verified. At the same time, Pγ = 1011.1 mb was measured at #42003. Substituting this
Pγ into Eq. (17), we obtain

The measured U10γ at 42003 was 9.2 m/s. Since the difference between 8.8 and 9.2 is approximately
4%, we conclude that Eq. (11) and (17) can be used for nowcasting using the pressure measurements
Pγ and P0 which are available via official “Advisory” during a hurricane or typhoon.
Equation (12) was verified in Hsu (2003a). Figure 1 provides further verification that dur-
ing 20 and 21Z on October 2, 2002 at NDBC buoy #42001 near the radius of maximum
wind, P0 = 956.1 mb, U10 = 47.2 m/s, Hs max = 11.2 m, and Tp = 12.9 second. Substituting P0 into
Eq. (12), we have Hs max = 0.2(1013 − 956.1) = 11.38 m which is in excellent agreement with the
measured Hs max . Furthermore, under hurricane/typhoon conditions the wave steepness Hs /gT2p is
approximately 0.0068 (see Hsu et al., 2003). Applying the measurements during Hurricane Lili,
we see that

which is also in excellent agreement with that of 0.0068.

On the basis of these examples, we have great confidence that Eq. (14) should be very useful
for environmental hydraulics, particularly during typhoon/hurricane conditions.

8 CONCLUDING REMARKS

Although all formulas presented in this paper are based on open literature, they may need some
verification before being applied to site-specific conditions. For example, the storm surge equation
(13) is for an open coast before shoaling. It needs to be adjusted for flooding at the coast due
to different storm speeds and local bathymetry. Application examples and results of the above
formulations can be found in Hsu (1997) for heat flux estimation, Hsu (1999b) for storm surge
application, and Hsu (2003a) for atmospheric stability, roughness length, and friction velocity
calculations. Some examples will be presented in the conference.

REFERENCES

Anthes, R. A., 1982. Tropical Cyclones, Their Evolution, Structure and Effects. Meteorological Monograph
Number 41. Boston, MA. American Meteorological Society.

1093
Amorocho, J. & DeVries, J. J. 1980. A new evaluation of the wind stress coefficient over water surfaces. J.
Geophys. Res. 85(C1): 433–442.
Hsu, S. A. 1988. Coastal Meteorology. San Diego, CA. Academic Press.
Hsu, S. A. 1997. Effects of cold air outbreaks on evaporation and heat loss from three regions in the Gulf of
Mexico. Gulf of Mexico Science. 1997(2):71–76.
Hsu, S. A. 1998. A relationship between the Bowen ratio and sea-air temperature difference under unstable
conditions at sea. J. Phys. Oceanogr 28:2222–2226.
Hsu, S. A. 1999a. On the estimation of overwater Bowen ratio from sea-air temperature difference. J. Phys.
Oceanogr. 29:1372–1373.
Hsu, S. A. 1999b. Effects of wave dynamics on the wind setup in deep water. In The Wind-Driven Air-Sea
Interface, (M. L. Banner, Ed.), School of Mathematics, The University of New South Wales, Sydney,
Australia, 57–64.
Hsu, S. A. 2002. Coastal Meteorology. In Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, 3rd Ed. V.
3:155–173.
Hsu, S. A. 2003a. Estimating overwater friction velocity and exponent of the power-law wind profile from
gust factor during storms. J. Waterways, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Eng. 129(4):174–177.
Hsu, S. A. 2003b. Nowcasting the wind speed during a hurricane at sea. Mariners Weather Log. 47(1):10–11.
Hsu, S. A., Martin, M. F., Jr. & Blanchard, B. W. 2000. An evaluation of the USACE’s deepwater wave
prediction techniques under hurricane conditions during Georges in 1998. J. Coastal Res. 16(3):823–829.
Hsu, S. A. & Blanchard, B. W. 2004. On the estimation of overwater buoyancy length from routine
measurements. Env. Fluid Mech., in press.
Taylor, P. K. & Yelland, M. J. 2001. The dependence of sea surface roughness on the height and steepness of
the waves. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 31:572–590.
The WAMDI Group. 1988. The WAM model – a third generation ocean wave prediction model. J. Phys.
Oceanogr. 18:1775–1810.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Shoreline change due to highly oblique waves in Lake Inawashiro

Y. Fujita & H. Tanaka

Department of Civil Engineering, Nihon University, Japan

ABSTRACT: Lake Inawashiro is a clear and relatively deep lake with the fourth largest surface area
in Japan. Its water quality is dominated by the acidic Nagase River, which has the greatest flowrate
of all the rivers supplying the lake. A prevailing west wind (seasonal wind) blows throughout the
entire surrounding region from autumn to winter; it is, therefore, no surprise that the coastline of
the lake shows marked changes due to the wave action generated by the wind. The authors have
previously observed the processes of shoreline changes by examining old maps, aerial photographs
and other records of the shore around, and east, of the mouth of the Nagase (there is construction
along part of the shoreline). We then compared these with records of actual flood events of the
Nagase. This research focused on the characteristics of the changes that occurred over a distance
of 2 km of natural coastline from the Nagase mouth to Shida Beach. The field observations of
the coastline were somewhat short, for 2 years. The Nagase expels a large volume of sediment
in flood events. These observations were carried out by longitudinal profile surveys and GPS
surveys between 2002 and 2004. The results showed a constant process of shoreline recession and
accretion. The relationship between cross-sectional volume changes and littoral transport volumes
indicated a mean alongshore sediment transport rate of 1.36 m. This is close to the value observed
for Japanese lakes. Comparison with a topographic map published by the Geographical Survey
Institute, combined with GPS survey data, indicated that the central part of the shore in the study
area was an erosion zone.

1 INTRODUCTION

Several studies have been conducted on shoreline change in a lake. These studies described interest-
ing characteristics, and are effective for understanding basic processes of sand movement, because
the external forces acting on lake shoreline is relatively simplified compared with those on coastal
shores. In addition, these studies are useful for investigating similarity law of coastal sediment,
because the scale of topographical change and external forces are smaller in a lake than those
encountered along seashore, but much larger than laboratory flume. In this study, the process of
longshore sediment transport around the mouth of Nagase River, which is located to northeast of
the Lake Inawashiro, is investigated based on aerial photographs and field measurement data.

2 LAKE INAWASHIRO AND THE SURVEYED AREA

Figure 1 shows the area of Lake Inawashiro and the Nagase River mouth surrounding the area under
survey. The area of the long, oval Lake Inawashiro is 104 km2 , its shoreline is 54 km long, and its
total volume is 3.86 billion m3 . It is the fourth largest lake in Japan and boasts very clear water. The
lake is used for regulation of the supply to dams and as a water reservoir. It is regularly used for
recreation by visitors from inside and outside the prefecture. Supply to Lake Inawashiro is mainly
by 11 rivers. The most important of these is the Nagase River, with a length of 25.5 km, a basin
area of 291 km2 , and the largest flowrate of all. It supplies relatively large volumes of sediment
during floods.

1095
Figure 1. Lake Inawasiro and target area.

A seasonal westerly wind blows from autumn to winter in the surrounding area, creating condi-
tions conducive to wave action that affects the coastline. The region under survey was approximately
2 km long and included the mouth of the Nagase River and the area from there eastward, to Shida
Beach. Coastline morphology was determined only by naturally occurring phenomena. The pro-
cesses affecting the same coastline over a longer time period were previously observed using
coastline maps, aerial photographs and other historical materials and described at the 13th IAHR-
APD (August 2002, Singapore). The field study was conducted over a rather short period; from
October 2002 to June 2004. The survey was performed by placing points on the land near the shore-
line; the longitudinal survey was taken in 2002 and 2003. Longitudinal survey results were only
obtained at three locations because, although each measurement section were placed at other loca-
tions, observations were lost because of damage by waves, erosion of the shore or other problems
associated with securing each measurement section. A GPS survey was taken with GPS instruments
from 2003 to 2004.

3 SHORT-TERM GEOGRAPHICAL CHANGE IN THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF

THE RIVER MOUTH OBSERVED BY SURVEY

3.1 Shoreline change around the Nagase River mouth

Figure 2 shows the change in shorelines around the mouth of Nagase River based on field surveying.
Figure 2 shows that sediment supplied from Nagase River be transported in the eastern direction.
According to meteorological measurements, wind from WNW direction is predominant in this
area. For this reason, sediment deposited at the river mouth has been transported to the east due to
the high waves during winter. Furthermore, it is noted that the waves attack the shore with highly
oblique wave incidence. In this regard, wave conditions are most unlike those found along coastal
shores in general. Due to these wave conditions, remarkably active shoreline changes are occurring
in the eastern area of the river mouth.

3.2 Change in cross-shore profile

Field measurement of beach profile has been carried out in the vicinity to the river mouth to
understand the process of longshore sediment transport. Figure 3 shows longitudinal profiles along
Sections 3, 13 and 17. Erosion of the coast can be seen along Section 17, whereas accumulation is
remarkable along Section 13.
From the longitudinal profiles in each measurement section the area change, A(m2 ), in the
longitudinal profile and the change of the shoreline y(m) are calculated. In Figure 4, the relation

1096
Figure 2. Shoreline change from 2002 to 2003.

Figure 3. Cross-shore profile.

Figure 4. Relation between area change and change of shoreline.

1097
between A and y are shown as

This regression coefficient is equal to the depth for sediment movement, which in case is 1.36 m.
The depths in another lakes, 1.34 m in Lake Hinuma, 0.89 m in Lake Kasumiga-Ura, are similar
to Lake Inawashiro. On the other hand, the depth at the coast, 6.1 m in Ishinomaki Bay, is bigger
than the depth in lakes. Therefore, the scale for the lake of the land change and external forces are
smaller in comparison with coastal beaches.

3.3 Change in shoreline

Figures 5 and 6 show the survey area; from the mouth of the Nagase River eastward along the
lakeshore to Shida Beach. The figures show the results of the GPS survey at the survey points,
which was taken from August 2003 to July 2004. From these results, some processes associated with
changes in the shape of sandbars and the elongation or recession of sand spits can be recognized,
but no dramatic changes occurred during the period of observation. As can be seen in photographs 1
and 2, however, there were some minor alterations in the geography near the trees in the center area.
During the two years of observations, the beach changed into a sand flat under slow sedimentation
process (after erosion had occurred) in a natural beach-forming process under the waves generated
by the prevailing west wind from autumn to winter. The line of this lake’s shore runs nearly in the
same direction as the west wind here (see Figure 7).
Consequently, the surf impinges on the shore at quite a high angle at approximately a right angle
to the shoreline. Since the waves approach at a high “slant” to the beach, the entrained sediment
is transported eastward along the coast. The water levels during the 2003 to 2004 observation
period ranged between 0.56–0.86 m and 0.76–1.08 m, respectively, implying that discrepancies in
the horizontal can be neglected. The next item to be addressed was that the central region, was
eroded despite being partly overgrown with reeds. It is that this is a continuation of an erosion
process that was recently noted during periodic surveys for revision of the map.

Figure 5. GPS survey results (Aug to Nov 2003).

1098
Figure 6. GPS survey results (April to Nov 2003).
August, 2003 September, 2003 October, 2003 November, 2003

N N N N
NNW40% NNE NNW40% NNE NNW40% NNE NNW40% NNE
NW NE NW NE NW NE NW NE
20% 20% 20% 20%
WNW ENE WNW ENE WNW ENE WNW ENE
W E W E W E W E
0% 0% 0% 0%
WSW ESE WSW ESE WSW ESE WSW ESE
SW SE SW SE SW SE SW SE
SSW SSE SSW SSE SSW SSE SSW SSE
S S S S

Figure 7. Wind rose at Nagase River mouth (Aug to Nov 2003).

Photo 1. Geography of wooded portion of west lakeshore (Aug 7 2003).

1099
Photo 2. Geography of wooded portion of west lakeshore (June 13 2004).

4 CONCLUSIONS

Short-term field observations of the shore of Lake Inawashiro from the mouth of the Nagase River
eastward to Shida Beach were carried out from 2002 to 2004. The results of the survey are as follows:
(1) The sediment transport rate was calculated as 1.36 m by determining the change in area in the
longitudinal profile (A) relative to the change of the shoreline (y) during the 2002 to 2003
survey. This is consistent with the values usually observed in Japan.
(2) GPS survey results revealed that, certainly for, but not necessarily restricted to, the section
lakeshore under study, was primarily influenced by the west wind that prevailed from autumn
to winter. This wind has caused noticeable erosion and sediment transport since the last map
correction survey was conducted. At present, this region is an erosion region.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors express their deep appreciation for the great amount of assistance they received from
senior-year students of the Civil Engineering Department, Nihon University during our 2002 to
2003 field observations. They were also assisted by Mr. Takashi Nagaki, currently a research
student in the Civil Engineering Department, in analysis of the data and other tasks. This project
was supported by a grant from the Gakujutsu Frontier Suishin Jigyo Kenkyu. The authors express
their deep appreciation for this grant.

REFERENCES

Yutaka Fujita & Hitoshi Tanaka (2002): Shoreline Change Around The Mouth of Nagase River in Lake
Inawashiro, Proceedings of the 13th IAHR-APD Congress, pp. 853–858.
Uda Takaaki,Yamamoto Koji & Hatanaka Tatsuya (1992): Characteristics of Changes of Shape of Oyasawahana
Sand Spit from 1983 to 1990, Coastal Engineering Journal, Vol. 39, pp. 386–390 (in Japanese).
Uda Takaaki, Akaho Shunsaku & Ohya Yasuro: Characteristics of Wind-blown Sand, according to Observa-
tions of Topographical Changes of Lake Shores, Proc. 35th Coastal Engineering Society, pp. 477–481 (in
Japanese).

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Monitoring of long-term shoreline evolution on Sendai Coast

H.W. Kang & H. Tanaka

Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

ABSTRACT: Topographic change on Sendai Coast has been being surveyed since 1996 until now.
This long-term data set enables us to extract factors governing shoreline change due to longshore
and cross-shore sediment movements using Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) method. Rela-
tion between extracted factors by EOF method and longshore sediment transport are investigated.
Furthermore, using those factors, a movement of long-term beach profile is investigated using
contour line data for various elevations.

1 INTRODUCTION

Severe beach erosion is now a big concern on Sendai Coast, located in the northeast area of Japan.
Incident waves from the southeast cause longshore sediment movement to the north along the
coast. Therefore, it is conjectured that long-term topographic change in this area is more affected
by longshore sediment transport than by cross-shore sediment transport.
It is necessary to clarify long-term trend of beach evolution in this area to make a plan for beach
protection. Hence, to understand the complex characteristic of topography change on Sendai Coast,
survey of beach topography has been being carried out twice in a month. In general, topographic
change by surveyed data includes both effects due to longshore sediment movement and cross-shore
sediment movement. For this reason, it is necessary to separate an effect caused by longshore and
cross-shore sediment transports from surveyed data to understand complex topographic change on
the coast. Using EOF method, it is possible to divide shoreline variation into components induced
by longshore and cross-shore sediment transports.
EOF analysis has widely been used in various fields of study. Among them, coastal morphology
researchers have used this method to identify patterns in measured data. Winant et al. (1975)
investigated the relation between eigenfunctions and characteristics of topography change, such
as bar, berm and terras. And the usefulness of the eigenfunctional representation was confirmed
as a concise method of representation beach profile changes (Aubrey, 1978). Uda and Hashimoto
(1982) proposed a new model to analyze beach profile changes due to longshore and on-offshore
sand transports using EOF.
In this study, using surveyed data during these seven years, detailed study on topographic change
on Sendai Coast is performed. It is shown that the first component describes the topography
change of shoreline caused by cross-shore sediment transport, and the second component describes
shoreline change due to longshore sediment transport as reported by Tanaka and Mori (2001).
Furthermore, a relationship between longshore sediment transport and the second component in
EOF method is investigated using contour line data for T.P. −0.5 m, T.P. +0.0 m, T.P. +0.5 m and
T.P. +1.0 m where T.P. denotes elevation based on MSL in Tokyo Bay.

2 STUDY SITE AND FIELD SURVEYING

Figure 1 shows the study area located on the northeast coast of Japan, spanning from the southern
part of Sendai Port to Natori River with total length about 12 km. It is considered as an independent

1101
 Sendai Port

SENDAI
œ3
œ2
œ1
Nanakita River œ4
œ5

JAPAN œ6

œ7
N
Teizan Canal
œ8
œ9
œ 10

œ 11

œ 12
0 1km
Natori River
œ 13

Sendai Bay
œ 14

Figure 1. Study area and survey stations.

sediment transport area because of being bounded by the breakwater at Sendai Port and the jetties
at the Natori River mouth. There are Nanakita River mouth and offshore breakwaters about 2 km
and 6 km from Sendai Port in the study area, respectively. These also affect sediment movement in
this area. The numbers in Figure 1 denote the survey stations of beach profile. Survey has been
being carried out twice a month since 1996.

3 TOPOGRAPHIC FLUCTUATIONS

Figure 2 shows shoreline fluctuations defined in terms of T.P. −0.5 m, T.P. +0.0 m, T.P. +0.5 m, and
T.P. +1.0 m at station 1, 4, 7, 8, 10 and 13.
Stations 1 and 4 in Figures 2(a) and 2(b) respectively show a wide variation partly due to
frequent morphology change at the Nanakita River mouth. The shoreline at Station 4 advances
toward offshore about 2.9 m/year, whereas Station 1 shows a retreat about 3.0 m/year.
Station 8 also shows big fluctuation as seen in Figure 2, due to gentle slope caused by the
influence of detached breakwaters. However, it is comparatively stable in comparison with other
stations. The rate of yearly change is about −0.4 m for T.P. +0.0 m data at this station.
Beach slope at Stations 7 and 13 is steep, resulting in less fluctuation as shown in Figure
2(b). The shoreline at these stations shows continuous retreat with the speed of 2.1 m/year and
1.0 m/year respectively. Figure 3 shows the rate of shoreline change, a, obtained from measured
data by applying a least square method, in which the positive and negative value mean advancement
and retreat of shoreline, respectively. Longshore sediment is transported from the south to the
north due to incident waves from the southeast. Thus, deposition occurs on Stations 9, 10 and
11 because the offshore breakwaters interrupt longshore sediment transport. Further, deposition
can be seen at Station 4, indicating blockage of longshore sediment transport by sand terrace at
the Nanakita River mouth. Moreover, sediment deposition can be observed at Station 3 caused by
the effect breakwater at Sendai Port. On the contrary, erosion occurs at others station as shown in
Figure 3.

4 METHOD OF APPROACH

EOF analysis can be applied to analyze shoreline change data to determine their fluctuation
characteristics through spatial and temporal eigenfunctions.

1102
Figure 2. Topographic fluctuations.

T.P. -0.5m T.P. +0.0m T.P. +0.5m T.P. +1.0m

5
a[m/year]

-5

1000
3 21 4 5
œ œœ 6 8 9 10 13 14
0 œ œ 7 11 12 œ
y (m)

œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

-1000

-2000
-10000 -5000 0
x (m)

Figure 3. The rate of shoreline change, a(m/year).

The topographic change can be expressed in terms of superposition of eigenfunction as follows:

where y(x, t) = y (x, t) − ȳ(x) (y (x, t): the survey data, ȳ(x): the mean shoreline position), nx denotes
the number of survey station, and Cn (t) and en (x) are the temporal and spatial eigenfunctions,
respectively. To obtain eigenfunction, the correlation matrix A is calculated as follows:

1103
 0.6
T.P.-0.5m T.P.+0.5m
T.P.+0.0m T.P.+1.0m
0.4

e1 (x) 0.2

0
1000
3 21 4
œ œœ œ 5 14
y (m)

6 7 8 9 10 13
0 œ
œ œ
11 12 œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ

-1000
-10000 -5000 0
x (m)

Figure 4. First spatial eigenfunction.

T.P. -0.5(m) T.P. +0.0(m) T.P. +0.5(m) T.P. +1.0(m)

40 40
20 20
C1 (t) (m)

C1 (t) (m)

0 0
-20 -20
-40 -40
-60 -60
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
time (year) time (year)

Figure 5. First temporal eigenfunction.

where nt denotes the number of surveyed times. The eigenvalues and eigenfunction, spatial and
temporal function, are obtained by the correlation matrix A.

5 RESULTS OF EIGENFUNCTION ANALYSIS

5.1 First component

The contributions of first component are 38.8%, 38.7%, 41.8%, and 37.86% for
T.P. −0.5 m, T.P. +0.0 m, T.P +0.5 m and T.P. +1.0 m, respectively. Figure 4 shows that the first
spatial eigenfunctions, e1 (x), is positive value everywhere along of the coast for all elevations.
Therefore, the sign of the first temporal eigenfunction determines the form of topographic changes
whether erosion or deposition.
Figure 5 shows the variation of first temporal eigenfunction for T.P. −0.5 m, T.P. +0.0 m,
T.P +0.5 m and T.P. +1.0 m, respectively. It shows a similar behavior at T.P. +0.0 m, T.P +0.5 m
and T.P. +1.0 m. The other hand, it shows an opposite behavior at T.P. −0.5 m with the other levels.
When the first temporal eigenfunction, C1 (t), has positive value, it means that deposition occurs
everywhere along of the coast because first eigenfunction has positive value (C1 (t)e1 (x) > 0). On the
other hand, when the first temporal eigenfunction has negative value, erosion occurs everywhere.
Thus, this component can express beach erosion due to high waves and deposition caused by waves
with calm condition.

1104
 T.P.-0.5m T.P.+0.0m T.P.+0.5m T.P.+1.0m
1
0.5

e2(x)
0
-0.5
-1
a(m/year)
3
0
-3
1000
3 21 4 5 14
y (m)

œ œœ œ 6 7 8 9 10 12 13
0 œ œ œ
11 œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ

-1000
-10000 -5000 0
x (m)

Figure 6. Second spatial eigenfunction.

T.P. -0.5(m) T.P. +0.0(m) T.P. +0.5(m) T.P. +1.0(m)

40 40
20 20
C2 (t) (m)

C2 (t) (m)

0 0
-20 -20
-40 -40
-60 -60
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Time (year) Time (year)

Figure 7. Second temporal eigenfunction.

5.2 Second component

The second components for T.P. −0.5 m, T.P. +0.0 m, T.P. +0.5 m and T.P. +1.0 m have the contribu-
tion ratio of 15.2%, 17.8%, 14.9% and 16.2%, respectively. As seen in Figure 6, the second spatial
eignefunction, e2 (x), has a similar shape to the rate of shoreline change, a, in Figure 3, although it
has an opposite sign.
The second component becomes a positive value in part of where the second spatial eigenfunction
has a negative value at Stations 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11, when the second temporal eigenfunction C2 (t) has
negative value. It means that deposition occurs at these stations. On the contrary, this component
has a negative value in the part where second spatial eigenfunction has a positive value at Stations
2, 1, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13 and 14, indicating occurrence of erosion at these stations. This behavior
corresponds to phenomenon caused by longshore sediment transport moving from the south to the
north.
Figure 7 shows the variations of second temporal eigenfunction for each contour lines. The
variation of second temporal eigenfunction tends to decrease for T.P. +0.0 m, T.P. +0.5 m and T.P.
+1.0 m. On the other hand, it tends to increase for T.P. −0.5 m as seen in Figure 7. However, Spatial
eigenfunctions have similar behavior at all levels. So, T.P. −0.5 m and the other levels are showing
the opposite behavior.
On the contrary, Stations 1 and 4 in Figure 8 show remarkable variation because of the Nanakita
River mouth morphology change. At the other stations, however, the variations of second component
(broken line) by EOF analysis display similar tendency with the rate of change shoreline position
(solid line) described shoreline change for long-term.

1105
 surveyed data second component rate of change surveyed data second component rate of change
120
Station 4 Station 1
100
100
80
80
60
60
40
40
20
20

260
Station 8 Station 7
Cross-shore distance (m)

Cross-shore distance (m)

100
240
80
220
60
200
40
180
20
160

180 100
Station 10 Station 13
160 80

140 60

120 40

100 20

80 0
1998 2000 2002 2004 1998 2000 2002 2004
Time (year) Time (year)

Figure 8. Second component of shoreline change.

T.P.-0.5m T.P.+0.0m T.P.+0.5m T.P.+1.0m T.P.-0.5m T.P.+0.0m T.P.+0.5m T.P.+1.0m

70 Station 7
130 Station 10

60 120
Cross-shore Distance (m)
C2(t)e2(x),

50 110

40 100

30 90

20 80
1998 2000 2002 2004 1998 2000 2002 2004
Time (year) Time (year)

Figure 9. Second component shoreline change for each elevation.

Therefore, the second component explains long-term shoreline change at each station. As a
result, it is concluded that the second component describes shoreline change due to longshore
sediment transport.
Using second component, the change of contour lines with different elevations due to longshore
sediment transport is investigated as seen in Figure 9. Figure 9(left hand side) where erosion occurs
on station shows that the position of T.P. −0.5 m advances inch by inch toward offshore, however,
the positions of the other levels (T.P. +0.0 m, T.P. +0.5 m and T.P. +1.0 m) retreat inch by inch
toward land. On the other hand, Figure 9 (right hand side) where deposition occurs on station
shows that the position of T.P. −0.5 m gradually retreats toward land, however, the positions of the
other levels gradually advance toward offshore.

1106
6 CONCLUSIONS

Long-term surveyed data of shoreline position on Sendai Coast is separated into changes caused by
longshore and cross-shore sediment transports using EOF method. It is found that the first compo-
nent corresponds to change due to cross-shore sediment movement, whereas the second component
describes topographic change caused by longshore sediment transport. According to the analysis
of contour lines with different elevations, the movement of T.P.−0.5 m and that of the other levels
such as T.P. +0.0 m, T.P. +0.5 m and T.P. +1.0 m show the opposite behavior each other.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was partially supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (No. 14350262)
by the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS).

REFERENCES

Aubrey, D.G. 1978. Seasonal patens of onshore/offshore sediment movement, Journal of Geophysical Research,
84(10): 6347–6354.
Hashimoto, H. and Uda, T. 1981. An analysis of beach profile changes by empirical eigenfunction, Proceeding
of Japan Society of Civil Engineers, No. 305: 59–71 (in Japanese).
Hashimoto, H. and Uda, T. 1982. Description of beach changes using an empirical predictive model of beach
profile changes, Proceedings of 18th ICCE: 1405–1418.
Tanaka, H. and Mori, T. 2001. Separation of shoreline change caused by cross-shore and longshore sediment
transports, Proceedings of Coastal Dynamics ’01: 192–201.
Winant, D.C., Inman, D.L. and Nordstrom, C.E. 1975. Description of seasonal beach changes using empirical
eigenfunction, Journal of Geophysical Research, 80(15): 1979–1986.

1107
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Shoreline change in Yuriage Fishing Port due to breakwater extension

S. Pornpinatepong
Department of Civil Engineering, Prince Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand

H. Tanaka, K. Watanabe & P. Srivihok

Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

ABSTRACT: Yuriage Fishing Port is situated at the Natori River mouth in Miyagi Prefecture.
It is composed of two jetties along with a breakwater in between these two. The breakwater was
designed to allow navigation at the southern end, with a gap at the northern end. Regular observation
proved that the beach next to the northern jetty had reached equilibrium. Due to some navigational
problems in the port, the harbor authority decided to close the northern gap in 2003. The study was
carried out by monitoring the shoreline change in response to the extension of the breakwater and
analyzing a series of aerial photographs, together with measured wave data in the area. Preliminary
studies had revealed that the northern beach of the port gradually changed. The sand moved to
the north and accumulated at the northern jetty, whereas the other side of the beach was eroded
significantly. It was found that the diffraction of waves through the gap and the navigation channel
were the major factors controlling the beach changes. A new equilibrium of the shoreline was
established after closing the gap.

1 INTRODUCTION

Yuriage Fishing Port is situated on the downstream of Natori River on the East Coast of Japan
as seen in Figure 1. The port was constructed in the 1990s. Recently, a new entrance for ships

› Natori River Idoura Lagoon

JAPAN

Masuda River Fishing Port

Hiroura Lagoon

0 1(km)

Figure 1. Location map of Yuriage Port.

1109
has been constructed in order to improve the access to the fishing port. Thus, the new route is
separated from the old river mouth by an embankment. Details of the construction of the new
route and the hydrodynamic changes in the mouth of Natori River affected by this construc-
tion have been reported by the authors (Watanabe et al., 2002). The new port is composed of
northern and southern jetties and a breakwater perpendicular to these two jetties. As an effect
of an additional construction of an extension of the breakwater, distinct change of the shoreline
inside the port has been observed. This report shows the shoreline changes by a series of aerial
photographs, and describes the possible cause of the changes by analyzing the wave data in the
study area.

2 OUTLINE OF STUDY AREA

Figure 1 shows the geography aroundYuriage Fishing Port and Natori River mouth. In 2001, the port
was separated from the Natori River mouth by a newly constructed channel which was connected
to Masuda River which flows south of the Natori River. A second construction, started in 2002,
extended the breakwater so that it was connected to the northern jetty to be a single structure.
Photo 1 shows the construction in progress. Photo 1(a) shows the port before the breakwater
extension. In this photo, it can be seen that the new river embankment constructed on the upstream
of the northern jetty separated Yuriage Fishing Port from the Natori River mouth. The con-
struction progressed as seen in Photos 1(b) and 1(c). Photo 1(d) shows the completion of the
extension.

new embankment

(a) June 24, 2002 (b) January 27, 2003

(c) April 19, 2003 (d) December 3, 2003

Photo 1. Progress of breakwater extension.

1110
3 CONSEQUENCE OF SHORELINE CHANGE INSIDE YURIAGE FISHING PORT

Aerial photographs have been being taken in the area along the Natori River and around the Yuriage
Port to Sendai Port once every two months. The objective is to monitor the shoreline changes around
Sendai Port. A series of photographs thus obtained is used to clarify consequence of shoreline
changes in Yuriage Port.
Photo 2 shows the aerial photographs taken from January to November in 2003. In Photo 2(a),
the construction of the breakwater extension has just started. The shoreline (C) is sandy, whereas
the shoreline (D) is immovable due to concrete covering the beach surface. In Photo 2(a), the

(B)
(A)

(D)
(C)

(a) January 9, 2003 (b) March 5, 2003

(c) May 9, 2003 (d) July 12, 2003

(e) September 4, 2003 (f ) November 2, 2003

Photo 2. Consequence of shoreline change in Yuriage Port.

1111
 January 9, 2003
March 5, 2003
May 9, 2003
July 12, 2003
September 4, 2003
November 2, 2003

0 200m

Figure 2. Shoreline change in Yuriage Port.

shoreline (C) was almost parallel to (D). Photo 2(b), however, shows a change has occurred along
the shoreline (C). The northern-half shoreline has advanced, whereas the southern-half shoreline
has slightly retreated. Photo 2(c) reveals a further significant change of shoreline (C). Photo 2(d)
shows the completion of the breakwater extension, and no significant change at (C) can be seen,
compared with those from Photo 2(b) to Photo 2(c). No further change at (C) can be observed in
Photos 2(e) and 2(f ) as well.
Figure 2 shows the movements of shoreline (C) from Photo 2(a) to Photo 2(f ). It is seen in
Figure 2 that the shoreline (C) became stable already in early July.

4 MECHANISM OF SHORELINE CHANGE

The change of the shoreline shown above was not observed before the extension of the breakwater.
Therefore, it is expected that the change is attributed to the change in wave propagation within
the port in response to the extension. Characteristics of the wave propagation before and after the
construction are shown in Photos 3 and 4.
Photo 3 clearly shows propagation of diffracted waves into the port. The diffraction of waves can
be recognized not only through the still-existing navigation channel (A) between the southern jetty
and the breakwater, but also through the ever-existed gap (B) between the northern jetty and the
breakwater. The diffraction of waves through gap (A) and (B) generate transport of sediment toward
south and north respectively. Before closing the northern gap, it is assumed that the wave energy due
to diffracted waves through these two gaps had been balanced, and therefore they did not cause any
shoreline change inside the port. Once, however, the northern gap had been closed by the extension
of the breakwater, it prevented the propagation of waves that generated southward sediment trans-
port. It is concluded that this caused the significant shoreline change seen in Photo 2 and Figure 2.
The ray of the diffracted waves forms an arc-shape in Photo 4. It is seen in the photo that the
current shoreline shape is almost parallel to the ray of diffracted waves, indicating no net transport
of sediment in the longshore direction.
Figure 3 shows the characteristics of waves during the period when the aerial photographs in
Photo 2 have been taken. The wave data was measured at the point with 20 m depth off Sendai Port.

1112
 (B)

(A)

Photo 3. Wave diffraction before closing the gap.

Photo 4. Wave diffraction after closing the gap.

The dots in Figure 3 correspond to the dates when the aerial photographs in Photo 2 were taken
in January, March and May. It is found in the figure that high waves attacked this area between
Photo 2(a) and Photo 2(b), during which a significant change of the shoreline was observed.
Furthermore, another high wave propagation can be identified in between Photo 2(b) and Photo 2(c)
during which a further significant change was monitored. Thus, particular wave groups that caused
such a significant change of the shoreline inside Yuriage Port can be identified.
It is reported that in the area around Yuriage Port, the transport of sediment moving northwards
is predominant, which resulted in the advancement of the shoreline of 5 m per year in the southern
area of Yuriage Port. On the contrary, in the northern area of the Natori River mouth, recession of
the shoreline about 1 m per year is observed (Kang and Tanaka 2004). Another field study observed

1113
 6
Photo(a) Photo(b) Photo(c)
5

4
H0(m)

0
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May

Figure 3. Characteristic of deep water waves during January to May, 2003.

active movements of the sediment in the area (Tanaka et al., 1995). According to their report, the
sediment movement can be observed even at 18 m depth outside Yuriage Port. In spite of this field
observation result, further significant shoreline change will not occur in Yuriage Port along the
coastline (C) due to less amount of sediment supply into the port.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Through the analysis of the shoreline change inside Yuriage Port in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, the
following conclusions are obtained.
(1) A significant shoreline change inside the port was observed between January and May in 2003.
The shoreline has reached its equilibrium shape in July, 2003.
(2) The reason of the change can be attributed to the extension of the breakwater constructed
during that period. The construction changed the propagation pattern of diffracted waves,
which eventually affected the sediment movements inside the port.
(3) By analyzing wave data in the study area, the storm waves that caused the significant shoreline
change in the port can be successfully identified.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research has been conducted during the first author’s stay at Tohoku University as a short-term
visiting researcher supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). A part of this
study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from JSPS (No.14350262). The
authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to these supports.

REFERENCES

Kang, H. and Tanaka, H. Study on relationship between temporal functions in EOF analysis and wave
characteristics, Tohoku Journal of Natural Disaster Science, Vol.40, pp.235–240, 2004.
Tanaka, S., Yamamoto, K., Kamoda, Y., Yanagimachi, T., Onomatsu, T. and Goto, H. (1995). Study on
mechanism of sediment transport in southern area of Sendai Coast, Proceedings of Coastal Engineering,
JSCE, Vol.42, pp.666–670. (in Japanese)
Watanabe, K., Tanaka, H. and Tsukiyama, T. Morphological change at the Natori River mouth caused by
reduction of tidal compartment, Proceedings of XXX IAHR Congress, Theme A, pp.547–553, 2003.

1114
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Modelling headland equilibrium bays with rotating DLA clusters

Ankit Bhagatwala & K. Murali

Department of Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

ABSTRACT: A novel approach to modelling of Headland Equilibrium Bay configurations is con-

sidered. Fractal formation resulting from Rotating DLA Clusters is investigated. Several empirical
relationships have been developed in the past for predicting the static/dynamic equilibrium bay
shapes and had limited success. In the present work, the bay formation is assumed to be resulting
from the nature’s behaviour, and in the limit of static equilibrium, is a function of wave direction
only. It is proposed that in the long term, the bay formation is a pure natural process. Hence, by
using DLA clusters, an element of nature is being injected into the modelling of headland bays
at the same time retaining crucial parameters such as the maximum indentation ratio and wave
approach angle. A remarkable similarity has been observed between the shape of the Rotating
DLA cluster and the equilibrium bay shapes observed from natural headlands. The present work
aims to research into these relationships.

1 INTRODUCTION

The concept of Headland control has long been recognized as essential for effective control of beach
erosion and to develop existing beaches, having evolved from nature’s behavior, an equilibrium bay
is always formed between two headlands which act as fixed boundary conditions for that stretch
of the coast. A number of laboratory studies have been carried out on bay development between
headlands and their equilibrium shapes, field and laboratory. There have been some numerical
and analytical studies also. Yasso (1965) showed equivalence of headland bays to logarithmic
spirals through measurements of prototype bays. Le Blond (1972) showed that the shoreline takes
a logarithmic spiral shape in the shadow zone of the up-coast headland by deriving littoral drift
equations, though the author could not explain the same. Later Le Blond (1979) confirmed this
result by calculating the time of arrival of waves diffracting around the headland as shallow water
waves break simultaneously along the periphery and set in a sculpturing sediment movement. In
sculpting the bays, the wave crest approach angle to the control line of headlands β as shown in
Figure 1 and the distance between headlands R0 play a major role in the formation of the final bay
configuration, which is characterized by the maximum indentation ratio (y0 /R0 ) and the logarithmic
spiral constant α1 for the bays as functions of β.
From a reanalysis of experimental data obtained for equilibrium bays sculpted between headlands
(Hsu et al., 1987 and Hsu et al., 1989), it was found that logarithmic spiral shape was assumed for
a part of the curved periphery of the bay only, namely the up-coast part, deviating over the down-
coast part where it becomes straight or parallel to the wave front. New parabolic relationships were
derived based on experimental and field data (Hsu et al., 1989; Hsu & Evans, 1989; Tan & Chiew,
1994), in which plan shape of the complete bay is defined in terms of the radius to the periphery
from the up-coast headland control point – where diffraction takes place. Another mathematical
study by Tsuchiya (1991) resulted in closed form solutions for the dynamic/static equilibrium bay
forms.
An attempt is made here to model Headland Equilibrium Bay configurations in a novel way as a
fractal formation resulting from Rotating DLA Clusters. The nature of the fractal and its application
to the present problem is explained in the subsequent sections.

1115
 O’

Ro R ORTHOGONAL

WAVE CREST LINE 

O POSSIBLE HEADLAND
POSITIONS

θ = (β + φ)
y
ZONE OF BEACH POSSIBLY
NOT PRESENT
O - UP-COAST CONTROL POINT
O’ - DOWN-COAST CONTROL POINT

Figure 1. Definition sketch of variables employed in solution of headland equilibrium bays.

2 DLA CLUSTERS

Fractal growth via adsorption in the plane and in two dimensional Euclidean space is considered.
The characteristic property of such processes is that the fractal growth is not described by known
equations but statistical models are used. One of the well known process of irreversible adsorption
is the Diffusion Limited Aggregation (DLA) [1–4]. In the simplest case, this is a cluster formation
where randomly moving particles are sequentially and irreversibly deposited on the cluster surface.
As a result of such clusterization a DLA fractal is formed. The fractal properties of growing DLA
clusters have been extensively studied in literature [1, 2]. The interest in this model is due to
its application in description of various natural phenomena. However an interesting variation of
this model, namely the DLA cluster under rotation and its application has not been extensively
investigated. The present work uses this model to study its application to prediction of equilibrium
shoreline configurations resulting out of headlands as fixed conditions along natural coastlines.

3 SIMULATION OF ROTATING DLA CLUSTERS

The DLA fractal growth in two dimensional space on a squared lattice is simulated. The size of
the simulation box was equal to 1500 × 1500 lattice sites. A diffusing particle starts at a randomly
chosen point on the circle of radius 1.5Rcl centred at the origin of the coordinate system where the
cluster origin is placed. Here Rcl is the maximal distance from the cluster origin to the occupied
sites. The particle diffuses freely inside a circle of radius 2Rcl and with rejecting walls till it is
added to the growing cluster, hence the name “Diffusion Limited”. This happens when the particle
visits a lattice site which is the neighbour to one of the occupied sites. At this time a new diffusing
particle begins its random walk. A snapshot of a static DLA cluster is presented in Figure 2.
To model the rotation of the DLA cluster a constant angular velocity was added to the diffusive
motion of a particle. That is, to the random displacement vector of the particle on the lattice, a
constant displacement vector tangential to the circle centred at the origin of the coordinate system
and with the radius which is equal to the current distance of diffusing particle from this origin, is
added. The angular velocity was kept constant during a simulation. A value of ω = 1 corresponds to
rotation of the particle on the angle dψ at each time step, where dψ is chosen in such a way that the
particle located at the maximal possible distance from the cluster origin could not jump over one
lattice site. Each cluster grows until Rcl < Rs where Rs is maximal size of the lattice, Rs = 1500, or
until its mass (M) is less than 30000 occupied sites. The angular velocity is measured in radian per
Monte Carlo step. Then limits of Rs and M are fixed based on practical computing aspects only.
There exists no limit for this variable as such.
Figure 3 shows a rotating DLA cluster with angular velocity ω = 0.5E-3. It can be clearly seen
how the cluster has changed upon rotation. At ω = 0, the cluster is isotropic (Figure 2). As rotation

1116
 Figure 2. Static DLA cluster (ω = 0). Figure 3. DLA cluster with ω = 0.5E-3.

0.0
103 0.5E-03
3.0E-03
7.5E-03

102
M

101

100
100 101 102
R

Figure 4. Mass vs. Radius dependence for usual DLA clusters.

is introduced, two “arms” tend to become more pronounced and finally only one of the arms begins
to dominate and the cluster practically degenerates into a “tail”. It is this tail that is being focussed
on in the present study.
The fractal dimension of DLA- aggregates is calculated by analysing the cluster mass as a
function of its radius M ∝ RDf , where M is the number of occupied sites within a circle of radius
R, and Df is the fractal dimension of the DLA-cluster. This relationship is presented in a log-log
plot (Figure 4) for the static and rotating DLA clusters. As it follows from numerical simulations,
the fractal dimension decreases with increase in angular velocity.

4 APPLICATION TO PREDICTION OF HEADLAND BAY SIMULATIONS

For this purpose we concentrate on the tail of the rotating DLA cluster. The starting point is taken as
the point where the branches meet. All branches except the longest branch i.e., the tail are ignored
(Figure 5). To simplify the visualization and further discussions, only the main stem of the tail
is considered, all the side nodes are eliminated. It is proposed that the line extending from the
starting point (origin) of the resulting figure to its end point corresponds to the line between the
up-coast and down-coast control points of the headland bay. The maximum indentation is taken by

1117
 Figure 5. The cluster with only main stem of Figure 6. Bay shape from Vishakhapatnam, India
the tail. (82◦ 14.5 E, 17◦ 37 N ).

considering the longest of the perpendiculars dropped from the curve to the line joining the starting
and end points. A similar procedure is followed for the bay shape obtained from hydrographic chart
data. A comparison of the two shapes is shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6.
The parameter  is introduced where

 = 70 − 10000 ω, so that,
ω = (70 − )/10000

The function f(x) is defined such that f(x) is the maximum indentation ratio of the Rotating DLA
cluster when the angular velocity is x. The maximum indentation ratios of various bays along the
Indian coastline are plotted against the wave crest approach angle β. For the cluster, the maximum
indentation ratio f((70 − )/1000) is plotted against . The plots are then superposed. For reference
the data from the bay equation proposed by Hsu et al (1989) are also plotted in Figure 6. A good
correlation is observed between the shapes obtained from the numerical simulations of the rotating
DLA clusters and the shapes of equilibrium bays observed in nature. The trend of variation of
indentation ratios with wave crest approach angles for the natural bays also correlates well with
the variation of indentation ratios of the clusters with the corresponding angular velocities.

5 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK

The bay shapes predicted using Rotating DLA clusters compares to a good degree with that of
natural bays. For such predictions it is proposed that the static equilibrium bay shape is governed
only by the angle of wave incidence β. In this study, the parameter θ of the Rotating DLA cluster
is considered analogous to β. It is observed that, though with limited studies: β ≡ . It is thus
demonstrated that natural bay shapes can be predicted to a good degree by Rotating DLA clusters.
There are also PDE (Partial Differential Equations) models for predicting bay shapes. The gov-
erning equations of these models are solved by Monte-Carlo methods. Since this is the method

1118
 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Rotating DLA cluster

-0.1
Field Data
Hsu et al.
Maximum Indentation ratio

-0.2

-0.3

-0.4

-0.5

-0.6
Wave Approach angle (β) and Cluster Parameter (ψ)

Figure 7. Comparison of maximum indentation ratios as predicted by theory (Hsu et al, 1989) and Rotating
DLA clusters with those observed in nature (Along the Indian coast).

used in Rotating DLA clusters also, it is worth examining whether there is a correlation between
the two models. The authors are currently engaged in this research.

REFERENCES

Andrievsky, D., Loskutov, A., Ivanov, V., Vasiliev, K., Ryabov, A. (2000) Fractal Growth of Rotating DLA
cluster, Macrom.Symp., v.160, p-239–248.
Hsu, J.R.C. et al. (1987). New Characteristics of Equilibrium Bays. Proc. Inst. Of Civil Engineers, London,
England, Vol.87 (pt.2), 557–570.
Hsu, J.R., Silvester, R. and Xia, Y.M. (1989). Static Equilibrium Bays: New Relationships. Journal of
Waterways, Port, Coast and Ocean Engineering, ASCE, 115(3), 285–295.
Hsu, J.R.C. et al. (1987). “New characteristics of equilibrium shaped bays”. Proc. 8th Australian conf. on
Coastal and Ocean Engineering, 140–144.
Gouyet., J.-F. (1996). Physics and Fractal Structures, Springer-Verlag Berlin, Masson, Paris.
Jothishankar, N., Cheong, H.F. and Murali, K., (1998) “Headland Equilibrium Bays: A Comparative Analysis”,
11th IAHR Congress, Yogakarta, Indonesia.
Le Blond, P.H. (1979). “An explanation of the logarithmic spiral plan shape headland-bay beaches”.
J. Sedimentary petrology, 49(4), 1093–1100.
Le Blond, P.H. (1972). “On the formation of spiral beaches”. Proc. 17th Int. Conf. on Coastal Engrg., ASCE,
Vol.2, 1331–1345.
Tsuchiya, Y. (1994). “Formation of stable sandy beaches and beach erosion control: A methodology for beach
erosion control using headlands and its applications”. Bull. Disas. Prev. Res. Inst., Kyoto University, Vol.44
(pt.3), No.383, Oct., 17–51.
Yasso, W.E. (1965). “Plan geometry of headland bay beaches”. Journal of Geology, Vol.73, 702–714.

1119
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Beach deformation and erosion measures in Misawa Coast, Japan

Mikio Sasaki & Takahiro Takeuchi

School of Civil Engineering, Hachinohe Institute of Technology, Hachinohe, Japan

Yutaka Fujita
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Nippon University, Koriyama, Japan

Kenichi Ogasawara
River and erosion Control Infrastructure Division, Towada Public Works Office, Aomori Prefecture,
Towada, Japan

ABSTRACT: Field observations of the shoreline with GPS were carried out once a month in
Misawa coast. Using the results of the shoreline observations and the aerial photograph analysis,
the beach deformation after the constructing artificial headlands was shown, and the characteristics
of the geographical bottom changes are investigated, and the effect of the countermeasures with
the artificial headlands for the beach erosion was shown. The beach erosion still continues. Then,
the erosion measures are important on the north side beach of the Misawa coast.

1 INTRODUCTION

To prevent the beach erosion, Aomori Prefecture has been constructing artificial headlands in the
north of the Misawa coast since 1991. Misawa coast faces Pacific Ocean, and it is long sands,
and the length is about 40 km. In the coast, the dominant direction of the littoral transport is
north, and the dominant incident waves are from southeast. Since 1971, Misawa fishery port has
been constructed in the middle of the Misawa coast. After the constructing, the beach erosion was
severely caused in the north side beach of the fishery port. Now, the beach deformation has spread
to the entire Misawa coast. Aomori Prefecture had used several coastal structures like the coast
embankment, the wave-absorbing block, etc. to prevent the beach erosion. However, all the erosion
measures that used such a coast structure failed. The reason is that those erosion measures were
the countermeasure to not the alongshore coastal sediments but the on/off shore sand drifts. This
coast needs to take the countermeasure for the beach erosion due to the coastal sediment moving
alongshore.
Since 1991, Aomori Prefecture has been constructing artificial headlands in the north coast to
prevent the beach erosion. They are planning to construct 13 artificial headlands in the north side
coast of the Misawa coast and 4 headlands in the Yokomichi coast. Yokomichi coast is in the south
of the Misawa coast. The construction of the artificial headlands is still on the way.
Sasaki et al. 2000 showed the beach deformation before and after the construction of artificial
headlands from 1987 to 1999, and suggested that the effects of the countermeasures using a group
of headlands for the beach erosion are admitted in the Misawa coast. In addition, Sasaki, Takeuchi
and Fujita 2002 have been showing the change characteristics of the shoreline from 1999 to 2001
by using GPS. They have shown that GPS is effective to the measurement of the shoreline, and that
the shoreline changes at a cycle of a year, advances in May to July, and retreats in winter, and that
the retreat of the shoreline is larger in 2000 than in other year, 1999 and 2000, and that the poison
of the mean shoreline changes within 40 m.
The construction of the artificial headlands is still on the way. The aim of the construction
of the headlands is to get stable beaches between artificial headlands. The plan of the headland

1121
construction requires enormous amount of coast and long years. Then, it is very important to
investigate the beach deformation and to clarify the change characteristics. In the present study, the
beach deformation was observed first, and using the results of the observations for the deformation,
the characteristics of the geographical bottom changes were investigated.

2 STUDY METHOD

Field observations of the shoreline using the measurement machine, GPS were carried out once
a month in Misawa coast. At the same time, the geographical bottom changes in long term were
obtained by using the aerial photographs. Using the results of the shoreline observations and the
aerial photograph analysis, the beach deformation after the constructing artificial headlands was
shown, and the characteristics of the geographical bottom changes are investigated, and the effect
of the countermeasures using the artificial headlands for the beach erosion was shown.
To get the characteristics of the seasonal shoreline changes, field observations for the shoreline
were carried out once a month with GPS along the shore of about 13 km. The measurement machine,
GPS is the same one shown by Sasaki et al 2002.

3 BEACH DEFORMATION

Figure 1 shows Misawa Fishery port and the coast in the south where width is wide and the coast
on north side where sands disappear. The photograph is taken from the south here toward the north.
As mentioned above, the dominant incident waves come from southeast. Then, coastal sands move
from the south to the north along the shore. As for the beach drifting toward from the south to the
north, the movement was interrupted since the constructing the fishery port, sand collected in the
south of the fishery port, the width of sand broadened. The shoreline change like this extends it
to the south side coast within 3 km range or more. On the other hand, sand can do nothing but be
supplied from the land in the north coast of the fishery port so that the wave may make the coastal
sand drift toward the north. Thus, the width of sand narrows and sands have disappeared completely
finally in the north side coast of the fishery port. The beach geographical features change by the
construction of the fishery port extends it to the north side coast within 10 km range or more.
Figure 2 shows the south side of Misawa Fishery port within 4 km range. As shown in the figure,
the width of beach broadens, it extends the large range in the south coast of Misawa fishery port,
and the influence of the fishery port construction appears clearly.

Figure 1. Misawa Coast around Misawa Fishery Figure 2. Misawa Coast in the south of Misawa
Port. Fishery Port.

1122
 Figure 3 shows five artificial headlands from B1 to B5 in the north side cost of the fishery port.
It is planned that a total of 13 artificial headlands from B1 to B13 are set up in the coast from
the fishery port to the north side to prevent the beach erosion. Finally, the length of the headland
will be constructed with 200 m. The installation interval is 1 km.The artificial headland B1 was
constructed first at the shore from the fishery port to 2 km north in 1992, and only it became the
length of 200 m in 2002. Other headlands except B5 are still 100 m in length. The headland B5
became the length of 150 m in 2003. Each artificial headland is constructed as follows.

Artificial headlands Constructed year

B1 (L = 100 m) 1992
B5 (L = 100 m) 1993 dx = 4 km
B9 (L = 100 m) 1994 dx = 4 km
B3 (L = 100 m) 1995 dx = 2 km
B7 (L = 100 m) 1996 dx = 2 km
B2 (L = 100 m) 1997 dx = 1 km
B4 (L = 100 m) 1998 dx = 1 km
B6 (L = 100 m) 1999 dx = 1 km
B8 (L = 100 m) 1999 dx = 1 km
B10 (L = 100 m) 2000 dx = 1 km
B11 (L = 100 m) 2000 dx = 1 km
B12 (L = 100 m) 2001 dx = 1 km
B13 (L = 100 m) 2001 dx = 1 km
B1 (L = 200 m) 2002
B5 (L = 150 m) 2003

where, L means the length of the artificial headland and dx means the installation interval. When
construction of artificial headland was planed, the beach erosion was extreme around of the B1
headland, and the erosion measures in the coast in this location were taken first. That is, the beach
erosion was severe in a coast near the fishery port, and the measures were required in the north side
coast in Misawa Fishery port. Therefore, the construction of the artificial headland started from
B1, and, next is the order of B5. At the beginning of the construction, the erosion measures in the
coast from B1 to B9 had to be made early, and the B9 headland was constructed next because the
erosion measures are executed from the lower part side of the beach drifting.
Figure 3 is showing that there are sands in the coast in the south of the B1 headland. However,
there were no sands in this coast at the construction of the headland. Then, one can see that sands
have recovered in the south cost of the B1 headland. As shown in the lower part in the figure, the mild
slope embankment is set up in 150 m south from the B1 headland. In the past, Aomori Prefecture
tried to prevent the beach erosion by using such an embankment. However, sands disappeared
rapidly in such an embankment far from sands’ recovering. Moreover, the north side beach of the
embankment was greatly eroded. Thus, the vicious circulation of inviting the situation from which
the north side beach of the embankment was eroded severe, and setting up the concrete embankment
in addition on the north side beach to prevent the beach erosion was repeated.
Figure 4 shows the coast from B3 headland to B7 headland. As shown in the figure, there is
an embankment in the coast between B3 and B4 headland. The embankment was constructed by
Agriculture and Forestry Public Works Office to prevent the beach erosion. However, the beach
was eroded greatly, and the shoreline retreated remarkably, and only the embankment was left in
the sea. Thus, such a coastal levee is not useful for the prevention of the beach erosion in Misawa
coast. After such a beach erosion happens, the B3 and B4 headlands are constructed. Badly, the
embankment leaving in the sea makes reflected waves. This coastal levee has a bad influence for
the stabilization of the beach by the artificial headlands.

1123
Figure 3. Misawa Coast in the north of the Figure 4. Artificial headlands from B3 to B7 in the
headland B1. north coast of the Fishery port.

Figure 5. Artificial headlands from B6 to B9 in Figure 6. Artificial headlands from B10 to B13 in
the north coast of the fishery port. the north of Misawa coast.

Figure 5 shows the coast from B6 to B9 headland. Because the advancement of the shoreline in
the south coast of the headland is large in the coast, the shoreline in the north coast of the headland
seems to be relatively backward. However, the shoreline of the north side beach almost occupies
the same position as described later.
Figure 6 shows the coast from B10 to B13 headland. The B13 headland is the last one on the
edge of the north. The coast between the B13 headland and the jetty of Takase river is a range to
receive the influence of the jetty. The width of sand is widely steady in this coast.
Figure 7 is showing a mean shoreline in 2003 in the coast between B2 and B4 headlands, where the
mean shoreline is defined as the averaged value of the shoreline over the coast between headlands.
Figure 7(a) shows the mean shoreline of the coast between B2 and B3 headlands in 2003. As shown
in the figure, the shoreline retreats gradually from February through May, but it advances greatly
in June, and retreats in August. After that, it exists at the same position through November, though
it advances in December. The advancement of shoreline in June is the same tendency shown by
Sasaki, Takeuchi and Fujita 2000, 2002. Figure 7(b) shows the mean shoreline of the coast between
B3 and B4 headlands in a year in 2003. From the figure, the shoreline advances gradually from
March to June, after that, retreats slowly from August to November. That is, the shoreline advances
from spring to summer, and retreats in autumn.

1124
Figure 7a. Mean shoreline, Y, in the coast Figure 7b. Mean shoreline, Y, in the coast between
between B2 and B3 headland. B3 and B4 headlands.

Figure 8a. Mean shoreline change, ‡™Y, in the Figure 8b. Mean shoreline change, ‡™Y, in the coast
coast between B8 and B9 headlands. between B9 and B10 headlands.

Figure 8 shows the relative mean shoreline based on the mean shoreline of May in 1999 for 5
years from 1999 to 2003. In Figure 8(a), the relative mean shoreline of the south side coast of the
B9 headland is shown and in Figure 8(b), the shoreline of the north side coast of the B9 headland
is plotted.
As shown in Figure 8(a), the shoreline advances in June and July, and retreats in November and
December or around these months. The figure shows that the shoreline retreats gradually from
1999 to 2002, however, it is at almost the same position in 2003. Generally, the shoreline doesn’t
do a one-sided retreat, and not do one-sided advancement. The mean shoreline changes within the
range of 50 m.
Figure 8(b) shows the relative mean shoreline of the north side coast of the B9 headland. As
shown in the figure, the shoreline advances in May, June and July except July in 2002, and changes
greatly in June and July in 2002, however the shoreline is almost at the same position in 2002
and 2003. From the figure, the shoreline changes within of 50 m except June and July in 2003.
Generally, the shoreline doesn’t retreat and doesn’t advance constantly. In Figure 5, the shoreline
seemed to advance greatly in the south coast of the headland, and to have happened a big retreat in
the north side coast of the headland. However, Figure 8 shows that it is not true that the shoreline
in the north side coast retreats. It means that the shoreline of the north coast of the headland is
almost at the same position, and the shoreline of the south coast of the headland advances greatly
although the shoreline in the north side coast of the headland seems to retreat remarkably. A big
advancement of the south coast occurred soon after making the structure. The advancement of the
shoreline in the south side coast means that sands have recovered.

1125
4 SHORELINE CHANGE

Figure 9(a) shows the shorelines in 2000 and 2003 obtained from the aerial photographs. As shown
in the figure, there is no difference between these two shorelines. Then, it means that there is no big
shoreline change for 2 or 3 years. Figure 9(b) shows the advancement of the shoreline in 2003 for
3 years from 2000. As shown in Figure (b), the shoreline advancement is small except the coastal
structures, and is in the range from −40 m to 50 m. The shoreline changes within the range means
that the shoreline change is in the fluctuation band of nature.
Figure 10(a) shows the shorelines in 1987 and 2003 given by the aerial photograph analysis.
These shorelines show the one before and after the construction of the artificial headlands. At that
time in 1987, the beach erosion was severe, and the erosion measures required the emergency. Year
by year, it was time when the shoreline was getting backward. The horizontal axis in the figure is a
distance taken from the north to the south, and Misawa fishery port is located in about 20 km point.
Then, the right side in the figure corresponds to the south coast of the fishery port, and the left side
of the figure corresponds to the north coast of the fishery port. The retreat of the shoreline in 2003
means that the beach erosion in the north coast of the fishery port continued while the artificial
headlands were constructing. From the figure, the shoreline has recovered to near the shoreline
in 1987 in a range from 9 km to 18 km in the north coast of the fishery port. This recovering of
the shoreline is due to the construction of the artificial headlands from the B1 to B9 headlands.
As shown in the figure, the retreat of the shoreline in a range from 2 km to 9 km is large. From
Figure 10(b), the distance of the retreat becomes from 50 m to 100 m. This retreat distance means
the beach erosion due to the influence of the Misawa fishery port, because the construction of the
artificial headlands, B10 at 8 km, B11 at 7 km, B12 at 6 km and B13 at 5 km were several years

Figure 9a. Comparison of shorelines in 2000 and Figure 9b. Advancement of shoreline in 2003.10.7
2003. form 2000.8.12.

Figure 10a. Comparison of shorelines before and

after the construction of the headlands in 1987 and Figure 10b. Advancement of shoreline in 2003.10.7
2003. from 1987.10.04.

1126
later than the construction of the B9 headland at 9 km. The advancement of the shoreline shown in
Figure 10(b) except the point of the coastal structures suggests that the shoreline in the south side
coast of the fishery port has recovered to the shoreline in 1987 in the south coast of the fishery
port, and that the shoreline in the north side coast from 9 km to 18 km has recovered to a point
near the shoreline in 1987. The recovering of the shoreline in the north side coast shows that the
construction of the artificial headland is effective in the Misawa coast.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In the present study, a measurement machine, GPS, was used to observe the shoreline. The observing
the shoreline along shore of about 13 km was carried out once a month for five years from 1999.
The aerial photograph analysis was used in the present study to investigate the shoreline changes
in long term for several years. The following conclusions were obtained.
(1) The effect of the countermeasures using a group of artificial headlands to prevent the beach
erosion is shown clear in Misawa coast.
(2) The beach erosion is still advanced, and the measures to prevent the beach erosion are hurried
up on the north side of Misawa coast. The artificial headland method is effective in this coast.
(3) The mean shoreline changes within of 50 m in the coast in the south and the north of the
artificial headland, and repeats the advancement and the retreat in the range.

REFERENCES

Mikio Sasaki, Takahiro Takeuchi &Yutaka Fujita. 2000. Characteristics of shoreline changes around headlands
in Misawa coast, Japan. Proc. 12th Congress of the APD-IAHR, Bangkok, Thailand, 13–16 November,
491–499.
Mikio Sasaki, Takahiro Takeuchi & Yutaka Fujita. 2002. Shoreline changes in Misawa coast, Japan. Pro. 13th
IAHR-APD Congress, Singapore, 6–8 August, 842–846.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Use of old maps for studying historical shoreline change in Japan

H. Tanaka
Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Japan

H. Matsutomi
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Akita University, Japan

N. Izumi
Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Japan

ABSTRACT: The purpose of the present study is to show effectiveness of old maps more than
hundred years ago for investigating shoreline change in Japan. Because of inevitable errors in
making old maps by use of inadvanced surveying technique, such study areas are chosen that had
experienced remarkable shoreline change, exceeding possible surveying errors. In an old map of
the Natori River mouth, significant convex shape of the shoreline can be observed, indicating
sufficient sediment supply from the river basin. Another old map also confirmed active sediment
movement due to waves at the down-drift end on Nobiru Coast.

1 INTRODUCTION

There have been numerous studies on shoreline change for various coastal area around the world.
For detecting change in shoreline position in the relevant area, aerial photographs or topographical
maps issued by a mapping authority have been widely utilized. In Japan, Geographical Survey
Institute (GSI) is responsible for publication of aerial photographs and topographical maps. How-
ever, even oldest maps issued by GSI are limited to years only several decades ago. It should be here
noted that, besides these authorized maps based on modern surveying system, there are historical
maps as well, although there might be anxiety for inaccuracy in the map caused by inadvanced
surveying technique in the past.
In the present study, this kind of old maps are collected and analyzed to detect historical shoreline
shape in Japan more than hundred years ago.

2 STUDY AREA

When we use old maps for scientific purposes, anxiety may arise that they may be accompanied
with innegligible errors inevitable due to less advanced technique for surveying at that time. Due to
this reason, areas with considerable morphology change, much exceeding survey error, are chosen
in the present study to examine the applicability of old maps for studying shoreline change. Thus,
two locations are used as a study area: (i) river mouth area with plenty of sediment discharge and
(ii) down-drift end of coast bounded by a headland. In the present investigation, the Natori River
mouth on Sendai Coast and Nobiru Coast facing Ishinomaki Bay are selected as study areas which
satisfies above features, respectively.
The maps of these areas are shown in Figures 1 and 2. Natori River has catchment area of
938.9 km2 and the length of 55.0 km. In the Natori River basin, there are two dams called Ohkura
and Kamafusa constructed in 1961 and 1970, respectively. Further, there are breakwaters for

1129
 N

Natori River Idoura Lagoon

Miyagi Pref.

Nobiru Coast

Fishing Port
Masuda River
Natori River mouth Hiroura Lagoon

0 1(km)

Figure 1. Map of Natori River mouth.

Kitakami River
Naruse River
Ishinomaki Industrial Port

Nobiru Coast

Figure 2. Map of Nobiru Coast.

keeping navigation channel and jetties in the river mouth area. In the past, however, the river mouth
morphology used to be free of these artificial influences more than hundred years ago.
Figure 2 indicates the coast from the Old Kitakami River mouth, Naruse River mouth to Nobiru
Coast. In the recent years, erosion of the beach is severe after construction of the breakwater at
Ishinomaki Industrial Port (Mochizuki et al., 1990, Takahashi and Tanaka, 2004).

3 OLD MAP OF NATORI RIVER MOUTH

Figure 3 shows a part of an old map covering the Natori River mouth drawn in 1853, while Figure 4
is the latest version of a map issued by GSI in 1996. As described earlier, the current morphology is

1130
 Figure 3. Map of Natori River mouth in 1853 (Sendai Figure 4. Map of Natori River mouth in
City Museum, 1995). 1996.

Topographical map

Fig.3 Aerial photograph

1868 1912 1926 1989 2004

Edo Era Meiji Era Taisho Era Showa Era Heisei Era

Figure 5. Issue of topographical maps and aerial photographs by Geographical Survey Institute.

much influenced by human intervention, such as construction of river mouth jetties and breakwaters.
These structures caused interruption of longshore sediment movement from the south to the north,
resulting in shoreline advancement and recession on the up-drift and down-drift sides respectively.
As compared with the recent morphology seen in Figure 4, the distinct difference observed in
Figure 3 is the convex shape of the shoreline around the river mouth, indicating sufficient sediment
supply from the river basin in the past.
As seen in the current morphology in Figure 1, there are Idoura Lagoon and Hiroura Lagoon
on the right-hand and left-hand sides of the river mouth, respectively, which indicates remarkable
migration of opening of the mouth in the past before the construction of the jetties, due to change in
the direction of longshore sediment movement. The location of the river opening during the period
of Figure 3 is almost same as present one seen in Figure 1.
Figure 5 indicates the period when regularly issued geographical maps and aerial photographs
by GSI are available. In addition, the year of the map shown in Figure 3 is also given. Figure 5

1131
 (a)

(b)

Natori River

(c)
Abukuma River

Figure 6. Old map of Sendai Coast published in 1853 (Sendai City Museum, 1995).

clearly indicates the effectiveness of old map in Figure 3, which enables us to obtain significantly
old geographical information of the relevant area when human interventions were nonexistent.
Figure 6 illustrates whole of the old map from which Figure 3 is taken for the Natori River mouth.
The map consists of three portions, covering (a) southern Sanriku Coast, (b) Ishinomaki Coast and
(c) Sendai Coast. It is noted that convex shaped shoreline, indicating plenty of sediment supply
through a river mouth, is noticeable not only at the Natori River mouth, but also at the Abukuma
River mouth which is located 15 km south from the Natori. It is confirmed that the shoreline was
almost straight around the Abukuma River mouth after 1907, according to the study of Sawamoto
and Shuto (1988).
Although thorough examination of accuracy of the map is unfinished, it is highly expected that
the map has sufficient accuracy judging from the shoreline shape of the rocky coast in Southern
Sanriku area and Matsushima area where distinct erosion cannot occur.
Further checking of the accuracy will be possible by using squared lines in Figure 6, showing
grids with about 4 km spacing.

1132
 Naruse
River

Miyato Island

Figure 7. Old map of Sendai Bay area published in 1645 (Sendai City Museum, 1986).

4 OLD MAP OF NOBIRU COAST

Another old map is shown in Figure 7 for the area of Nobiru Coast. It is a part of an old map drawn
in 1645. Although it is too much deformed to be used for scientific purposes, an interesting fact is
that Miyato Island was separated from the mainland. As indicated by the dotted line in Figure 7, it
can be confirmed that there was a navigation route at that time in between Miyato Island and the
mainland. Figure 8 is the result of analysis of morphological map in the recent years by Inoue et al.
(2002). It is seen in Figure 8 that the Miyato Island has already attached the mainland in 1876.
Old maps thus enable us to obtain morphological information that cannot be obtained from those
issued by mapping authorities in the recent years.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Old maps are collected to study historical morphology change at the mouth of Natori River and
along Nobiru Coast. The conclusions obtained in the present study are summarized as follows.
(1) An old map issued in 1853 shows remarkable convex shape at the Natori River mouth, indi-
cating much more sediment supply from the river basin as compared with the present. Similar
morphology can be observed at the mouth of Abukuma River which is located 15 km south of
the Natori River mouth.
(2) In the old map around Nobiru Coast, it is confirmed that an island, which is now connected to
the mainland, was separated. It is thus concluded that old maps are highly useful for studying
historical morphology change.

1133
 Naruse River

0 1km

1876
1901
1912
Miyato Island 1939

Figure 8. Shoreline change on Nobiru Coast (Inoue et al., 2002).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to express their grateful thanks to financial support, Grant-in-Aid for
Scientific Research (No.15656119) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

REFERENCES

Inoue, K., Tanaka, H. and Izumi, N. 2002. Quantitative evaluation of the long-term sediment transport rate
around Nobiru Coast in the western part of Ishinomaki Bay. Proceedings of Coastal Engineering, JSCE,
49: 516–520. (in Japanese)
Mochizuki, M., Uda, T., Ohtagui, M. and Ohtani, Y. 1990. Study on beach evolution in the southern area of
Sendai Coast. Proceedings of Coastal Engineering, JSCE, 37: 369–373. (in Japanese)
Sawamoto, M. and Shuto, N. 1988. Topography Change Due to Floods and Recovery Process at the Abukuma
Rivermouth. Coastal Engineering in Japan, 30(2): 99–117.
Sendai City Museum 1986. The Catalogue of Sendai Museum. Sendai City Museum, 129. (in Japanese)
Sendai City Museum 1995. Environment in Sendai. Histriography, 5: 143. (in Japanese)
Takahashi, T. and Tanaka, H. 2004. Analysis of bathymetric data on Ishinomaki Coast. Tohoku Journal of
Natural Disaster Science, 40: 241–246. (in Japanese)

1134
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Study on morphological variations and seawater exchange in a

mangrove-fringed river mouth

Y. Nihei & T. Nakamura

Department of Civil Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan

ABSTRACT: To investigate the morphological features and seawater exchange in a mangrove

area, we have performed a long-term monitoring for the sill morphology and tidal exchanges at
the mouth of the Fukido River located in the Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan. The observed results
for the sill topography indicate that the sill height increased rapidly in the two episodic events in
which the propagation of high ocean wave and flood flow of inflow rivers occurred. The comparison
of the discharges before and after the episodic events shows that the river discharge after the event
with relatively higher sill height was smaller than that before the event with lower sill height. This
fact demonstrates that the tidal exchanges at the river mouth are appreciably influenced by the
variations of the bottom topography in the sill.

1 INTRODUCTION

Mangrove forests with complicated-shaped roots in tropical and sub-tropical coasts are generally
located next to nearshore zone. The tide circulations cause the exchange of seawater and substances
between a mangrove area and nearshore zone, and play an important role on a rich ecosystem of
mangrove area (Wolanski et al., 1992; 2001). The tidal exchange in a mangrove estuary is known
to be appreciably influenced by the morphological features of river mouth that a vast inter-tidal flat,
referred to be here as sill, often exists between the nearshore zone and mangrove area. However,
we have poor information on the morphological change of sills and tidal exchange because studies
on these processes in mangrove estuaries are few compared to those of temperate estuaries.
To clarify the morphological features and seawater exchange in a mangrove area, in the present
study, we have performed field measurements at the mouth of the Fukido River of the Ishigaki
Island, Okinawa, Japan. Here we have done a long-term monitoring for the temporal and spatial
variations of the sill morphology. We also measured the discharges at the river mouth and then
examined the relationship between the sill topography and the river discharge.

2 OUTLINE OF FIELD MEASUREMENTS

The field site chosen for this study was the mouth of the Fukido River located in the north-west part
of the Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan. The Fukido River has a mangrove-fringed estuarine section
with the area of 0.2 km2 . In this region, the area in the swamp with densely vegetated mangrove trees
is about ten times as large as that in the main channel, named creek. In the mouth of the Fukido River,
as shown in typical riverine-forest type mangroves (Lugo and Snedaker, 1974), there exists a vast
sill which is exposed at low tides. The mangrove area is usually separated with the nearshore zone at
low tides due to the exposed sill, and therefore the temporal variations of the water elevation in the
creek was appreciably distorted in this field site (Nihei et al., 2002). In the present study, we have
conducted a long-term monitoring of the sill morphology and the measurement for river discharge.
To monitor the spatial variations of the sill morphology, we made 7 surveys of the leveling over
the sill from June in 2002 to December in 2003. We selected the domain of the surveys, enclosed

1135
with the dashed line in Fig. 1, in which Stn.C1 is situated at the boundary between the nearshore
zone and mangrove area. To display the situations of the sill, Fig. 2 represents the photographs taken
at high and low tides, indicating that the sill inundated at the high tide was partially exposed at the
low tides. To continuously measure temporal variations of the sill height, we use time sequences of
water elevation observed in the creek. The water elevation in the creek at a low tide becomes almost
constant due to the exposed sill as shown in Fig. 3. We may think of the water elevation at a low tide,
referred to be here as WELT, as the sill height. We therefore have deployed the memory-type pressure
gauge for the measurement of the water elevation at Stn.C1 from June 29, 2002 to the present.
For the measurement of the river discharge at the mouth of the Fukido River, we deployed the
moored buoy with a current meter at Stn.C1 from September 24 to December 5, 2002. The observed
current data in the surface layer can be translated into the river discharge with the numerical

N nearshore zone Ishigaki Is.

II’
II
II I’
II II

‡U
Stn.C1 II
‡U
creek
(a) high tide (10:54am)

II

‡U
II
‡U
100m swamp
(b) low tide (:38pm)

Figure 1. Field site and locations of measuring Figure 2. Situations of the sill at high and low
stations. tides. (Dec. 4, 2002).

creek (Stn.C1)
outer sea (Ishigaki Harbor)
WELT
water elevation [m]
2.0

1.0

creek 0
nearshore zone sill
-1.0
0 12 0 12 0
Aug.19, 2002 Aug.20 Aug.21
Figure 3. Schematic view of a spatial distribution
of water elevation between creek and nearshore Figure 4. An example of water elevation in the
zone at a low tide. creek (Stn.C1) and the outer sea (Ishigaki Harbor).

1136
simulation using the shallow-water flow model, recently presented by the authors (Nihei
et al., 2004).

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Temporal variations of water elevation at low tides

To indicate the fundamental variations of the water elevation in the creek, an example of the time
series of the water elevations in the creek (Stn.C1) and outer sea is shown in Fig. 4. The measuring
station of the outer sea is located at the Ishigaki Harbor. We choose the mean sea level at the Ishigaki
Harbor as the reference plane of the water elevation. At high tides, the water elevations in the creek
and outer sea were almost in agreement. On the other hand, at low tides, the water elevation in the
creek was higher than that in the outer sea, and became almost constant. As illustrated in the above,
the difference of the water elevations between the creek and outer sea occurs due to the vast sill
exposed at low tides.
Since the water elevation at low tides (WELT) is approximately constant as depicted with crosses
in Fig. 4, we can obtain a WELT in each tide. Figure 5(a) displays the time history of the WELTs
from June to December in 2002. The WELTs at the beginning and end of the period shown in
Fig. 5(a) were about −0.25 m and −0.15 m, respectively. The WELT therefore increased about
10cm during this period. It is noteworthy that the rapid increases in the WELTs of about 10 cm
appeared in the two episodic events: the events 1 and 2 as depicted with arrows in Fig. 5(a), occurred
on 7 September and 30 October, respectively. The WELTs after the event 2 decreased slowly and
approached to those before the event 2.
To examine the fundamental mechanism of the rapid increases of the WELTs, Fig. 5(b) illustrates
the time sequences of the significant wave height and the daily precipitation which are generally
related with topographic deformation of river mouth. We use here the wave height observed at the
Ishigaki Harbor and the precipitation measured at Ibaruma, located near the Fukido River, by the

WELT [m] 1 2
0.05

-0.05

-0.15

-0.25

-0.35
June 29 Aug. 8 Sep.12 Oct.24 Dec.2
2002
(a) water elevation at low tides (WELT)

precipitation significant wave

[mm/day] height [m]

50 6
significant
100 wave height 4
precipitation
150 2
200 0
June 29 Aug. 8 Sep.12 Oct.24 Dec.2
2002
(b) precipitation and significant wave height

Figure 5. Time series of WELTs and driving forces.

1137
 z [m] June Sep. Dec.
2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

-2.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 [m]
Distance from Stn.I
(a) LineI - I

z [m] Sep. Dec.

2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

-2.0
0 20 40 60 80 [m]
Distance from Stn.II
(b) LineII - II

Figure 6. Bottom topography z surveyed in 2002. Figure 7. Bathymetry map in September, 2002.

Meteorological Agency. The comparison of Figs. 5(a) and 5(b) represents that in the event 1, the
significant wave height propagating from offshore exceeded 3 m due to the approach of the typhoon
no.0216 to the Yaeyama Islands. From the results, we can find that, in the event 1, the sediment
depositions on the sill may be caused by the propagation of the higher ocean wave. On the other
hand, in the event 2, the daily precipitation reached to about 200 mm. In the event 2, therefore, the
flood flow of inflow rivers may supply a large amount of sediments into the river mouth. These
facts indicate that the WELTs may increase intermittently through the propagation of high ocean
wave and the hydrologic event of inflow rivers.

3.2 Spatial distribution of sill topography

To investigate the spatial variations of the sill topography, Fig. 6 reveals the bottom topography
surveyed in June, September and December in 2002 along the lines I-I’ and II-II’ as depicted in
Fig. 1. The transverse axis in the figure means the horizontal distance from the reference points
which correspond to Stns.I and II in the lines I-I’and II-II’, respectively. Such as the water elevation,
the mean sea level at the Ishigaki Harbor is adopted as the reference plane of the bed level. Since
the survey along the line II-II’ was not conducted in June, the only results surveyed in September
and December are shown here. In the line I-I’, the overall bed levels in September and December
were rather higher and more smoothly than that in June. In the line II-II’, the increase and decrease
of the bed level were exhibited in the central and western parts, respectively. Figure 7 indicates
the contour of the bottom topography surveyed in September, 2002. The contour lines were almost
normal to the main flow direction in the creek.
To compare the bottom topography among June, September and December in 2002, Fig. 8
displays the differences of the bed level z over the region enclosed with the dashed line in Fig. 7.
The values of z in Figs. 8(a) and (b) are defined as z|Sep. − z|June and z|Dec. − z|Sep. , respectively,
where z|June , z|Sep. and z|Dec. represent the bed levels in June, September and December, respectively.
The positive and negative values of z mean the deposition and erosion, respectively. It is found
from Fig. 8(a) that the positive z was observed in the whole region except the central region. This
indicates that the deposition process on the sill was dominant from June to September, in 2002,

1138
 ∆z >5cm ∆z <-5cm

Contour interval:5cm
N 0 0
N 0 -5
5 0
10 -5
0
-1
-10
5
10
10 15
5 10
-5 -5 -10
0
-1 10 5
0
-1
-10 10
10

25m 25m

(a) z Sep.  z June (b) z Dec.  z Sep.

Figure 8. Contour of the differences of bed level z.

former latter
obs.
fitting curve
Qmax [m3/s] Qmax [m3/s]
15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Hmax[m] ∆H [m]
(a) flood tide

Qmax [m3/s] Qmax [m3/s]

15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Hmax[m] ∆H [m]
(b) ebb tide

Figure 9. Influences of the sill height on the maximum discharge in each flood and ebb tide Qmax .

giving qualitatively agreements with the results of the WELTs as illustrated in Fig. 5. In Fig. 8(b),
although the negative and positive values of z appeared in the region, the spatially-averaged
z was almost zero, corresponding to the result that there was no appreciable differences of the
WELTs between September and December. From these results, therefore, we can confirm that the
temporal variations of the WELTs give qualitatively agreements with the tendency of the erosion
and deposition processes on the sill.

1139
3.3 Influence of variations of sill height on river discharge
The river discharge is evaluated with the numerical simulation in which the observed results for
surface velocity are assimilated. The river discharge obtained here is used to examine the relation-
ship between the river discharge and the sill topography. Figure 9 indicates the variations of the
maximum discharge in each tide, Qmax , with the tidal range in the creek, H , and the high water
level Hmax . Qmax , H and Hmax are calculated in each flood and ebb tide. The observational period
of the river discharge included the event 2 in which the rapid increase of the sill height occurred
as shown in Fig. 5. In the figures, therefore, the observed results are separately displayed in the
former and latter of the observational periods, which correspond to before and after the event 2,
respectively. The correlation between Qmax and H in the former period was almost same as that in
the latter period, while there appeared the appreciable difference of the correlations between Qmax
and Hmax in two periods. Since H is the difference of the water elevation in high and low tides,
the effects of the sill height are included in H through the WELTs. On the other hand, Hmax is
not directly related with the sill height. These facts demonstrate that the variations of the sill height
have a significant influence on the discharge at the river mouth.

4 CONCLUSIONS

We have done the field measurements of the sill morphology and the river discharge in the Fukido
River mouth, Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan. The main conclusions in the present study are as
follows:
(1) We succeeded to measure the rapid increases of the sill morphology using the WELTs observed
with the memory-type pressure gauge. The spatially-averaged height of the sill rapidly increased
due to the propagation of higher ocean wave from offshore and flooding event of inflow rivers.
(2) The relationship between the maximum discharge in each tide, Qmax and the tidal range in
the creek, H had a better correlation than that between Qmax and the high water level Hmax .
This fact indicates that the tidal exchanges at the river mouth are closely related with the sill
topography.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to express their deep thanks to Prof. Nishimura, Mr. Tsunashima, Dr. Sato
and Mr. Yamasaki, Department of Civil Eng., Tokyo University of Science, for their help in
conducting field observations and performing data analysis in the present study.

REFERENCES

Wolanski, E., Mazada, Y. and Ridd, P. (1992): Mangrove hydrodynamics in Tropical mangrove ecosystems
(eds. Robertson, A.I. and Alongi, D.M.), American Geophysical Union, pp.43–62.
Wolanski, E., Mazada, Y., Furukawa, K., Ridd, P., Kitheka, J., Spagnol, S. and Stieglitz, T. (2001): Water
circulation in mangroves, and its implications for biodiversity (ed. Wolanski, E.), CRC Press, pp.53–76.
Lugo, A.E. and Snedaker, S.C. (1974): The ecology of mangroves, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics,
Vol.5, pp.39–64.
Nihei, Y., Nadaoka, K., Aoki, Y. Wakaki, K., Yai, H. and Furukawa, K. (2002): An intensive field survey of
physical environments in a mangrove forest, ISOPE2002, Vol.2, pp.357–361.
Nihei, Y., Kimuzu, A. and SATO, K.: Evaluation of river velocity and discharge with a new assimilated method,
IAHR-APD 2004 (submitted).

1140
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Estimation of water depth at a river mouth using water level

variations – Application to Lake Jusan

K. Watanabe & H. Tanaka

Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Japan

M. Sasaki
Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Hachinohe Institute of Technology, Japan

ABSTRACT: Morphology of sand spit at a river mouth is affected by combined forces, such
as tidal current, sea waves and river discharge, etc. Topographical change at a river mouth can
be remarkable dependent on time-variation of these forces. However, in order to obtain frequent
topography data at a river mouth, it is necessary to consume a great amount of time and cost. Thus,
if it is possible to estimate river mouth topography information from water level variation data,
it will be practically effective for river mouth management. In the previous study of the authors,
an estimation method of water depth at a river entrance is proposed (Watanabe and Tanaka, 2003).
However, applicability of this method should be examined for various types of rivers. In the
present study, river mouth topography is estimated from water level data at Lake Jusan, Japan. It
is confirmed that the estimation method yields good estimation for the water depth at the throat
section of the river mouth.

1 INTRODUCTION

Sand spit at a river mouth is influenced by various external forces, for instance, ocean waves, river
discharge and tidal current, etc. Sometimes, an extreme topographical change may occur such as
river mouth closure, which causes difficulty of flood control during a big flood. Due to this reason,
it is of practical importance to understand river mouth topographical change.
However, there are many cases that have not sufficed topographical information at a river
entrance. If there is a method that enables to obtains river mouth topographical information by
using some method, it will be practically useful for river mouth management, such as keeping a
navigation channel and preparedness against natural disaster.
An estimation method of water depth at a river entrance is proposed by the authors and applied
to hypothetical data from a numerical model (Watanabe and Tanaka, 2003). Furthermore, the
estimation method has been applied to the Natori River mouth, Japan (Watanabe and Tanaka, 2004).
However, further applications to other rivers are necessary to make comprehensive examination on
its practical applicability.
In the present study, the estimation method of the authors is applied to Lake Jusan in Aomori
Prefecture, Japan.

2 STUDY AREA

A map of study area is shown Fig. 1 and Photo 1. Iwaki River is the first class River flowing in Lake
Jusan as seen in Fig. 1. Iwaki River has catchment area of 2540 km2 , with the length of 102 km.
The Iwaki River originates near the border between Aomori and Akita Prefectures and pours to the
Sea of Japan.

1141
 ›

0 1 km

Jusanko

Toriya River

Iwaki River
Yamada River

Figure 1. Study area.

0 300 m

Photo 1. Aerial photograph of “Mitoguchi” at the mouth of Lake Jusan.

The local residents call river mouth of Lake Jusan “Mitoguchi”. In the downstream of Lake
Jusan, there had been flood damage before construction of jetties. However, after completion of
construction jetties at the River mouth of Lake Jusan, this area has not been suffering severe damage
by flood (Sasaki et al., 1990).

3 DATA SET USED IN THE PRESENT ANALYSIS

The measured water level and tidal data are shown in Figs. 2 and 3 for January and February,
respectively. Water level data in Lake Jusan was downloaded from the website of the Ministry of
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Government of Japan. Furthermore, the tidal data at Fukanuma
Port was downloaded from the website of the Japan MeteorologicalAgency, whereas field surveying

1142
 January, 2003

0.6 Jusanko
Fukauara
(a)
0.4
 (m)

0.2

-0.2
10 20 30
Date

Figure 2. Measured water level and tidal data in January 2003.

February, 2003

0.6 Jusanko
Fukaura
(b)
0.4
 (m)

0.2

-0.2
10 20 30
Date

Figure 3. Measured water level and tidal data in February 2003.

of the river entrance has been carried out in February 2003. Time interval of water level observation
is 1 hr, and the water level data is measured up to the accuracy of mm. According to the investigation
that used hypothetical water level data, it has been shown that the accuracy of this model is
influenced the interval and significant figure (Watanabe and Tanaka, 2003). Thus, it is concluded
that the interval and the accuracy of the data used herein is satisfactory.
However, the water level on the side of Lake Jusan is consistently higher than tidal variation
during this period. Therefore, the reciprocating property of tide-induced flow at the river entrance
cannot be explained. For this reason, the tidal data at Fukaura Port is corrected by adding 20 cm to
the raw data.
It is noted that the shorter the tidal period is, the more the phase difference between tide and
water level becomes (Watanabe and Tanaka, 2003). Due to this reason, the data with semi-diurnal
tide property is selected for the application of the estimation method. Moreover, the data when
the river discharge due to flood cannot be neglected is removed, using upstream discharge data at
Shigeta and Goshogawara’s stations. Finally, the data respectively indicated by (a) and (b) in Figs. 2
and 3 are used in the present analysis.

4 METHOD OF ESTIMATION

Water depth estimation method using water level variations is as follows. When we neglect
the fresh water discharge through a river, the corresponding governing equations are given by

1143
 Table 1. Calculation conditions.
AR (tidal area) 18,060,000 m2
L (channel length) 620 m
B (channel width) 187 m
Ken (entrance loss coefficient) 0.3
Kex (exit loss coefficient) 1.0
n (Manning’s coefficient of roughness) 0.035

Eqs. (1) and (2), equations of motion and continuity, respectively (Keulegan, 1967).

where ηo is the tidal elevation, ηP is the water level in the river mouth, R is the hydraulic radius,
U is the velocity, and Ac is the cross-sectional area of the river mouth. Here, the shape of river
mouth cross-section is assumed to be rectangular. Field observation inside and outside of a river
mouth enables us to obtain time-variation of ηO and ηR . Other notations used in Eqs. (1) and (2)
are summarized in Table 1, along with the values used in the estimation.
Thus, it is now possible to calculate the water depth h, contained in R and Ac in Eqs. (1) and (2),
using measured water level variation inside and outside of a river mouth. Substituting Eq. (2) into
Eq. (1), Eqs. (3) and (4) can be derived.

Estimating α using the measured water level variations, the water depth h can be obtained from
Eq. (4).

5 RESULTS OF ESTIMATION

In the present estimation method of water depth, water level difference is utilized. Thus, out of the
whole of the data during the period (a) and (b) in Figs. 2 and 3, the data with bigger water level
difference is selected in order to obtain the coefficient α, as seen in Fig. 4. From α = 4.0 × 108 s2 /m
shown in Fig. 4, the water depth of h = 2.6 m can be obtained, whereas average of the measured
water depth is h = 3.4 m.
Figure 5 shows detailed comparison between estimation and measurement at each cross-section.
The open circles are measured cross-sectional area, and the dotted and solid lines indicate the esti-
mated and the average of the measured depth, respectively. From Fig. 5, it is seen that the estimated
depth is slightly smaller than the measurement. One of the reasons of the difference can be Man-
ning’s coefficient of roughness. Although n = 0.035 is used in the present calculation as indicated
in Table 1 based on the estimation for the river bed, it can be higher due to concrete blocks covering
the surface of the jetties. Further investigations are required for estimating accurate roughness
coefficient for the cross-section consists of sandy bed and side-wall covered with concrete blocks.

1144
 0.2

0.15  = 4.0 108 s2/m

ηO-ηR (m)

0.1

0.05 (a)
(b)

0
0 2×10-10 4×10-10
(dηR/dt) |dηR/dt|(m2/s2)

Figure 4. Evaluation of coefficient α.

2
h (m)

No.16
caluculated

3
No.15 measured
(average)
measured
No.14 No.17
4
No.18

0 200 400
distance (m)

Figure 5. Comparison of measured and calculated water depth.

6 CONCLUSIONS

According to the investigation using hypothetical water level data, it has been shown that the
accuracy of this model is influenced the interval and significant figure (Watanabe and Tanaka,
2003). The interval of the used data in this study is 1 hr, and a significant figure is cm. However,
the accuracy of this data is worse as compared with that at the Natori River.
One of the reasons of the difference can be Manning’s coefficient of roughness. Further investi-
gations are required for estimating accurate roughness coefficient for the cross-section consists of
sandy bed and side-wall covered with concrete blocks.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to express their grateful thanks to the Aomori Office of River and National
Highway, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for their kind offer of the field data used

1145
in this study. A part of this study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from
JSPS (No.14350262).

REFERENCES

Keulegan, G.H. 1967. Tidal Flow in Entrances, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Committee on Tidal Hydraulics,
Tech. Bull. No. 14, 102p.
Sasaki, M., Muraoka, K., Atsumi, M. and Komatsu, Y. 1990. History of Mitoguchi channel blockage and
its stability condition, Proceedings of 37th Conference on Coastal Engineering, JSCE, pp.344–348 (in
Japanese).
Watanabe, K. and Tanaka, H. 2003. Accuracy of an estimation method of water depth at a river mouth using
water level variation, Proceedings of International Conference on Estuaries and Coasts, pp.146–152.
Watanabe, K. and Tanaka, H. 2004. Use of water level variation for estimating water depth at a river entrance,
Proceedings of Ninth international Symposium on River Sedimentation, 2004 (in press).

1146
9 Impact of reclamation
This page intentionally left blank
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Impact of reclamation in Isahaya Bay on water environment in

Ariake Sea, Japan

S. Yano & T. Saita

Department of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

H. Nishinokubi
Faculty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan

T. Komatsu
Department of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

ABSTRACT: In order to clarify an impact of reclamation in Isahaya Bay on tidal current in Ariake
Sea, Japan, we tried a comparison between tidal current before and after constructing the Isahaya
sea-dike. Field observations of tidal current by three mooring electromagnetic current meters were
carried out in 1993 and 2003 at same observation points. As a result of this research, it was clear
that M2 constituent of tidal current decreased locally in the very important area for tidal exchange
between the northern and southern parts of the Ariake Sea.

1 INTRODUCTION

Ariake Sea, which is famous for a macrotidal estuary (tidal range is more than 5 m at the head
of the bay in a spring tide) and has the widest tidal flat (surface area is 207 km2 ) in Japan, is
located in the western side of Kyushu Island, Japan. Isahaya Bay is a northwestern branch of the
Ariake Sea as shown in Figure 1. Surface area of the Ariake Sea and the Isahaya Bay are 1700 and
75 km2 , respectively. Reclamation project in the Isahaya Bay was started from 1986 by Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan in order to develop fine farmland and keep off
flood in the lowland in the rear of the Isahaya Bay. In this project, a sea-dike 7 km long was
constructed in 1997. The Isahaya sea-dyke make a regulating reservoir (20 km2 ) and reclamed
land, which have 36 km2 area, namely just 2.1% of the total area of the Ariake Sea, to keep water
level −1 m for flood control and to desalinate water in 1997. However, after the construction of the
Isahaya sea-dyke water environment changed drastically. Firstly, occurrence and scale of time and
space of red tide and oxygen depression increase. Secondly, fish catches of seashell, such as clam
(Ruditapes philippinarum) and fan-mussel (Atrina pectinata), dramatically decreased after 1990.
Thirdly, cultured laver, that is principal fishery product in the Ariake Sea, was damaged by large
scale red tide by diatom bloom (Rhizosolenia imbricata) in winter, fiscal year 2000.
Several reasons have been suggested and discussed by many researchers, fishermen and the
public, for instance, construction of dams at upstream of several rivers, increase of nutrient load
due to increase of population in the hinterland, construction of big port and long breakwater, and so
on. However, because of lack of basic data by field measurements before constructing the Isahaya
sea-dyke, such as current, water quality, sediment etc. many trials by field observations and also
numerical simulations have not clarified the main reason of drastic change in theAriake Sea, yet. For
instance, it is generally considered that principal reasons for decrease of tide in the Ariake Sea are
i) inner effect: decrease of co-oscillating tide by topographic change due to reclamation in Isahaya
Bay, ii) outer effect: decrease of tide in the outer ocean and iii) water depth effect: decrease of
tide by sea level rise. Unoki (2003) showed analytically by using a simple model that contribution

1149
 Oura (tide station)

P62 (depth: 32m)

Isahaya Bay
dike
regulating P61 (depth: 15m)
reservoir
Shimabara
Peninsula

Hayasaki Strait
0 10 20km

Figure 1. Location of Ariake Sea and Isahaya Bay and observation points.

of each effect is as follows: i) inner effect is approximately 50%, ii) outer effect is more than
40% and iii) water depth effect is less than 10%, respectively. On the other hand, results of 3-D
numerical simulation of tidal current by Nadaoka & Hanada (2002) showed that i) 40–50%, ii)
50–60% and iii) insignificant, and results of depth-averaged numerical simulation of tidal current
by Tsukamoto & Yanagi (2003) showed that i) 16%, ii) 86% and iii) −4.7%, which means increase
of tide.
Regarding tidal current Odamaki et al. (2003) compared observation result in 1973 with that in
2001. However, because observation was carried out in short-term (for 15 days) and there was a
difference of river discharge due to different observation season, variation of tidal current was not
clarified. In addition, observation points in 2001 were not same as ones in 1973.
Nishinokubi & Yamaguchi (1996) has carried out long-term measurements of tidal current at
many points for more than one month between 1992 and 1994. In 2003, we attempted exactly the
same observation with that in 1993 to compare a structure of tidal current before construction of
the Isahaya sea-dike to that after it. In other word, the present field observations were performed
under the same condition as observation in 1993 in order to erase an effect of those differences to
the extent possible.

2 FIELD OBSERVATION

2.1 Details of field observations

In 1993, Nishinokubi & Yamaguchi (1996) carried out a field observation of tidal current at two
points, P61 (32◦ 51 58 N, 130◦ 20 58 E, mean depth: 15 m) and P62 (32◦ 51 23 N, 130◦ 21 54 E,
mean depth: 32 m) as shown in Figure 1 in the period from 12 Oct. to 12 Nov. In this research,
we attempted exactly the same observation with that in 1993 to compare tidal current before
construction of the Isahaya sea-dike to that after it. In other word, we selected exactly the same
equipments, locations, period and season in order to erase an effect of those differences. In 2003,

1150
 Sta. P61 100 m Sta. P62 200 m

Thermometer 1m Thermometer 1m

Salinometer
Current meter 5m and Thermometer Current meter 5m

Salinometer 20m
Current meter
and Thermometer ADCP

3m

Figure 2. Observation systems (Left: P61, Right: P62).

Table 1. Comparison of weather condition during observation period.

Shimabara Total precipitation Mean wind speed Max. wind speed

In 1993 67 mm 3.1 m/s 9 m/s

In 2003 182 mm 3.1 m/s 8 m/s
Kurume
In 1993 72 mm
In 2003 94 mm

we carried out a field observation of tidal current at same points in 1993, P61 and P62, in the
center part of Ariake Sea for 34 days from 8 Oct. to 10 Nov. Three electromagnetic current meters
(ACM-16M and ACM-8M, Alec Electronics Co. Ltd.) were moored at three positions as shown
in Figure 2. First one was moored at 5 m below water surface at P61. Others were moored at 5 m
and 20 m below water surface at P62. These three positions are called P61-5m, P62-5m and P62-
20m, respectively. The northward-southward (N-S, northward is positive) and eastward-westward
(E-W, eastward is positive) velocity components of tidal current were recorded at 10 minutes
intervals.
Also one Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, ADCP (Workhorse ADCP 1200 kHz,
RD-Instruments Co. Ltd.) was installed on sea bottom at P61 to confirm an effect of mooring
system tilt due to strong current in the present observation in 2003. The ADCP setup was as
follows: vertical bin size: 1 m, interval: 10 min. In addition, to measure temporal variation of ver-
tical profiles of water temperature and salinity several conductivity and temperature data loggers
(Compact-CT, Alec Elec. Co. Ltd.) were also moored, although the results is not discussed in this
paper. Temperature and salinity were recorded at 10 minutes intervals.

2.2 Weather and tide condition

Weather conditions at Shimabara City located at the western side of center part of the Ariake Sea
and Kurume City located at the northern side during each observation period are shown in Table 1.
There is no significant difference between both total precipitation and wind speed. Figure 3 shows
time series of tidal level at tide station in Oura (see Fig. 1) in both observation periods. Root mean
squared fluctuation of tidal level from mean water surface in 1993 and 2003 are 1.27 m and 1.24 m,
respectively. As is generally known, the actual tidal amplitude of tidal constituent related to moon
motion changes by the factor f due to the lunar nodical cycle (18.6 year). Thus, it is necessary to
consider that the decrease tendency of actual tide is affected by f . The factors f of principal tidal
constituents in 1993 and 2003 are shown in Table 2.

1151
 8

Tidal level (m)

6
4
2
0
93/10/12 93/10/22 93/11/1
8
Tidal level (m)

6
4
2
0
03/10/8 03/10/18 03/10/28

Figure 3. Comparison of observed tide level at tide station Oura (Top: in 1993, Bottom: in 2003).

Table 2. Comparison of the factor f .

Year 1993 2003

M2 1.016 0.977
K1 0.962 1.080
O1 0.940 1.127

3 COMPARISON BETWEEN TIDAL CURRENT BEFORE AND

AFTER CONSTRUCTION OF THE ISAHAYA SEA-DIKE

3.1 Comparison between data of electromagnetic current meter and ADCP

It is necessary to consider the temporal tilt variation of the system when data collected by moored
system is analyzed. Figure 4 shows comparison between tidal current velocity by moored elec-
tromagnetic current meter at P61-5m and ADCP. Tidal current velocity by ADCP was selected in
a layer located at 5 m below water surface, which temporally changed by tide. Since correlation
coefficient is 0.92 for a linear regression, we can consider that the moored current meter measured
in the layer almost 5 m below water surface.

3.2 Effect of the Isahaya sea-dyke on tidal current and water environment in the Ariake Sea
Harmonic constants of four principal constituents are calculated from the collected velocity data by
moored electromagnetic current meter as shown in Table 3. In this calculation, amplitude for each
component (N-S and E-W component) of tidal velocity given by harmonic analysis was divided by
the factor f to erase the effect. Especially, M2 constituent, which is the most principal constituent
in the Ariake Sea, decreased drastically. Figures 5 and 6 show comparison between M2 tidal ellipse
in 1993 and 2003. Comparisons of major axes at P61-5m, P62-5m and P62-20m in 2003 to those in
1993 show decrease of 10.4%, 27.8% and 26.7%, respectively. It seems to be large even if decrease
of tidal range due to recent sea level rising was considered.
Surface area of the Isahaya Bay closed by the Isahaya sea-dyke makes up 4.9% of the total area
of the northern Ariake Sea divided by the cross section including points P61 and P62. Recently,
Komatsu et al. (2003) have confirmed from a field observation by shipboard ADCP along the
section that tidal current in the vicinity of Shimabara Peninsula is much stronger than other area.
It is considered that ebb/flood flow of sea water consisting of tidal prism in the Isahaya Bay
concentrates in this area. Thus, it appears to be the strongest proof that the decrease of tidal prism

1152
 150
Ua = 1.1127Um

Velocity measured by ADCP: Ua

r = 0.9162

100

(cm/s)
50

0
0 50 100 150
Velocity measured by electromagnetic
current meter: Um (cm/s)

Figure 4. Comparison between observation results by electromagnetic current meter and ADCP at P61. Solid
line is Ua = Um.
Table 3. Harmonic constants. (only amplitude) [unit: cm/s].

Point P1-5m P2-5m P2-20m

In 1993 N-S E-W N-S E-W N-S E-W

M2 61.9 38.1 40.4 34.3 63.3 38.9
S2 29.7 17.3 16.7 14.2 29.2 21.9
K1 6.3 3.2 2.9 2.3 6.4 3.9
O1 8.8 2.2 4.0 2.4 4.9 3.7
In 2003 N-S E-W N-S E-W N-S E-W
M2 56.3 27.4 29.7 21.7 48.9 18.6
S2 33.4 17.3 18.9 12.1 30.7 14.0
K1 5.7 1.6 3.6 3.4 6.4 1.7
O1 5.0 1.0 3.0 1.6 4.1 1.9

100
1993
2003
N- S Velocity (cm/s)

50

-50

-100
-100 -50 0 50 100
E-W Velocity (cm/s)

Figure 5. Comparison of M2 tidal ellipse at P61-5m.

in the Isahaya Bay due to construction of the Isahaya sea-dyke has caused the drastic decrease of
tidal current in this area.
On the other hand, Komatsu et al. (2003) pointed out that the lateral distribution of tidal current
velocity on the cross section plays a very important role for tidal exchange between the northern
and southern area in the Ariake Sea, because longitudinal dispersion (shear dispersion) is caused

1153
 100 100 1993
1993
2003 2003

N-S Velocity (cm/s)

N-SVelocity (cm/s) 50
50

0 0

-50 -50

-100 -100
-100 -50 0 50 100 -100 -50 0 50 100
E-W Velocity (cm/s) E-W Velocity (cm/s)

Figure 6. Comparison of M2 tidal ellipse at P62 (Left: P62-5m, Right: P62-20m).

by the existence of strong shear. The results obtained from observations in the present research
and Komatsu et al. suggest that the Isahaya sea-dyke has drastically changed the structure of mass
transport in the northern Ariake Sea.

4 CONCLUSIONS

As a result of this research, we can conclude that the reclamation in the Isahaya Bay locally
changed a spatial structure of tidal current in the area pointed out by Komatsu et al. (2003) as a
very important area for tidal exchange between the northern and southern parts of the Ariake Sea.
Thus, it suggests that deceptively small reclamation can raise large impact on water environment
by a local concentrated effect.

REFERENCES

Komatsu, T., Adachi, T., Kanno, S., Yano, S., Kohashi, N. & Fujita, K. 2003. Field Observation of Current and
Mass Transport in Ariake Sea. Proc. of Coastal Engineering, JSCE 50: 936–940. [in Japanese]
Odamaki, M., Ooniwa, Y. & Shibata, N. 2003. Comparative Tidal Current Observation in Ariake Bay with the
Previous Results. Report of Hydrographic and Oceanographic Researches 39: 33–61. [in Japanese]
Nadaoka, K. & Hanada, G. 2002. Recent Decrease in Tidal Motion and Influence of Isahaya Bay Sea-Dyke.
Proc. of Coastal Engineering, JSCE 49: 401–405. [in Japanese]
Nishinokubi, H. & Yamaguchi, Y. 1996. Characteristics of Current in Shimabara Bay and Tachibana Bay.
Report on the Effect of Volcanic Activity of Mt. Unzen on Fisheries: 10–65. [in Japanese]
Tsukamoto, H. & Yanagi, T. 2002. Tide and Tidal Current in Ariake Sea. Umi to Sora 78(1): 31–38. [in
Japanese]
Unoki, S. 2003. The Results of Re-examining the Recent Decay of Tide in Ariake Bay, Based on Smoothed
Data of Observations. Oceanography in Japan 12(3): 307–313. [in Japanese]

1154
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Impact of large-scale reclamation on environmental hydrodynamics

in Sansha Bay

Zheng Jin-Hai & Wang Yi-Gang

Research Institute of Coastal and Ocean Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

ABSTRACT: A two dimensional numerical model of tidal flow is developed and the engineering
sedimentation method is used to study the possible impact of a large-scale reclamation in the Sansha
Bay upon the tidal flow and the sediment siltation intensity in the vicinity sea area. There are totally
four cases are considered, whose reclamation areas are 28, 36, 43 and 64 km2 respectively. The case
with the smallest reclamation area is recommended. For the recommended case, the diversion ratio
of main branch channels has small changes, although the total tidal discharge would decrease 5%–
8%, indicating that the change of the situation of shoals and channels would be small; the annual
siltation intensity and the final deposition thickness is smaller than 0.070 m in the concerning
navigation channels and port areas.

1 INTRODUCTION

The coastal reclamation is a valid path to meet the demand of land resources. However, when
the project of coastal reclamation is constructed, the circumjacent landform and conditions of
tidal flow and sediment transport will be changed accordingly, and the sum of sediment siltation
in the neighboring water area will increase unconventionally. A large-scale reclamation will be
constructed in the Sansha Bay, Fujian Province (Fig. 1). The possible impact of the reclamation
project on the environmental hydrodynamics in the Sansha Bay draws great attention of relevant
departments.
The Sansha Bay is located in the north-east coastal area in Fujian Province, which has a coastal
line of 450 km long and a water area of 570 km2 in total, and consists of the Inner Sanduao Bay, the
Lumen Port, the Baima Port, the Yantian Port, the Dongwu Sea, the Guanjing Sea and the Fuding
Sea. As shown in Fig. 1, the Sansha Bay is a half-enclosed bay with a complex coastal topography,
and there is only a narrow gap of 3km width connecting with the East China Sea, therefore small
parts of waves from the East China Sea would propagate into the inner area of the Sansha Bay.
As a result, the predominant hydrodynamics in this area is tidal motion. The tide in the Sansha
Bay is the irregular semi-tide. The pluri-ennial average tidal range at the Sanduao tidal station is
5.35 m. The tidal flow is a to-and-fro motion with the direction consistent with the orientation of
the waterway. According to the analysis of the field data, the sediment in this water area originates
from the streams emptying into the Sansha Bay, and the primary mode of the sediment transport in
the neighboring water area is the suspended load with the median diameter from 0.007 to 0.029 mm
(Lu, 2003).
A two dimensional numerical model is developed of depth-integrated tidal flow with the flood-
ebb land boundary and the engineering sedimentation method is used to carry out the research
on the possible impact. There are totally four cases of the coastal reclamation project in the
present study. The tidal flat of 28, 36, 43 and 64 km2 will be enclosed for these four cases
respectively.

1155
 50000
Saiqi
¡ ø Locations of hydrometric measurements
45000 ¡ ñ Locations of measured water level

40000
Sanyu

35000
Zhangwan xbs
Port
30000 C2
Reclamation
Project
Baima
Port
25000 C3 12
B G

13
C
C1 C4 F
10 Sandu
11

20000 sdd
9

A Is.
7
6

D 8
Ningde
15000
E Hongjiang
3
Qingshan
4
10000 Is.
5

1
5000
2

Dongchong Is.
0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000 55000

Figure 1. Sketch map of Sansha Bay and location of reclamation project.

2 DESCRIPTION OF NUMERICAL MODEL

2.1 Governing equations

The numerical model can be described by a group of 2-D depth-integrated equations of mass
conservation and momentum of tidal motion.
The depth-integrated equation of mass conservation can be written as:

where ς is water surface elevation; D = h + ς is the total water depth, in which h is the still water
depth; U and V are the velocity components in the x and y directions, respectively; t is time.
The momentum equations for the tidal motion can be expressed as:

where f is the Coriolis parameter; g is the acceleration due to gravity; AH is the depth mean eddy
viscosity coefficient; n is the Manning coefficient.

1156
 Measured data
tidal level (m)
Modeled data
8

0
8/5/03 10:00 8/7/03 10:00 8/9/03 10:00 8/11/03 10:00 8/13/03 10:00
time(m/d/yy hh: mm)

Figure 2. Comparisons of measured and modeled data of water level at Sandudao station.

2.2 Numerical scheme

The Double-Sweep-Implicit method (Yen et al., 1999), which employs a space-staggered grid with
the velocities located at the edge of the grid cell and the other main variables the center of the cell, is
used here to improve the computational stability and accuracy. The left-hand side of the momentum
equations is rewritten in the Lagrangian form and the convection term in the momentum equations
is discretized by the Eulerian-Lagrangian method instead of the explicit upwind finite differences.
The improved DSI finite differential equations are written as:

where η∗ is an intermediate tidal level value; δx and δy are differential operators; TRx and TRy are
turbulence terms in the x- and y-directions respectively.
The finite-difference equations, which are a tri-diagonal matrix, can be resolved by TDMA
method. Since there are a large area of tidal flat, a moving boundary treatment is considered so that
the flooding mass flux can be provided by the surface gradient at the water-land boundary when the
water elevation at the seaward front is higher than the basement level at the adjacent landward grid.

2.3 Model verifications

The computational domain is illustrated in Fig. 1. The length in the south–northward direction is
50 km and that in the west–eastward direction 55 km. The region is divided into a 250 m × 250 m
mesh system. The lateral boundary conditions are set to be zero of the flow normal to the shore-
line. At both the upstream and the offshore open boundaries the measured tidal data of Saiqi and
Dongchong stations are imposed.
For the verification of the present model, the tidal level data at the Sandudao Station and the
Xiabaishi station, and the synchronous hydrometric measurements at seven points (Fig. 1) from
Aug., 5 to 13 are employed. Comparisons of the field survey data and computations (Figs. 2 and 3)
demonstrate that a satisfactory agreement is obtained. Comparisons at other points have been
described by Zheng et al. (2003) in detail. The time step is set to be 36 s. The depth mean eddy

1157
velocity (m/s) Measured data Modeled data direction (º) Measured data Modeled data
1.0 360
300
0.5
240
0.0 180
120
-0.5
60
-1.0 0
8/5/03 10:00 8/7/03 10:00 8/9/03 10:00 8/11/03 10:00 8/13/03 10:00 8/5/03 10:00 8/7/03 10:00 8/9/03 10:00 8/11/03 10:00 8/13/03 10:00
time(m/d/yy hh: mm) time(m/d/yy hh: mm)

Figure 3. Comparisons of measured and modeled data of velocity at point A.

viscosity coefficient is taken as 50 m1/2 /s. The Manning coefficient is determined to be 0.012.
Results indicate that the present model is efficient and capable of simulating tidal motions in the
Sansha Bay.

3 COMPUTATIONS AND ANALYSIS

3.1 Changes of velocity field

On the natural status, the tidal flow from the Sanduao Waterway (section 6 in Fig. 1) is divided into
two branches. One runs into the Ningde Waterway nearby the project (section 9 in Fig. 1), and the
other runs into the northern of the Sandudao Island (section 10 in Fig. 1). After the completion of
the reclamation project, the tidal flow running into the Ningde Waterway will turn its direction into
the northern of the Sandudao Island owing to the obstruct from the project. As a result, the flow
velocity will become greater in this area. On the other hand, since the flood tide into the Ningde
Waterway will decrease, the ebb tide from the Ningde Waterway to the Sanduao Waterway will
become smaller. In order to study the change of flow velocity quantitively, 55 calculating points
are set within the concerning water area. It is found that the smaller the distance from the project
the larger its impact. For the depth-averaged velocity, the decreasing amplitude in the Ningde
Waterway is 21.6∼57.2%, that in the Sanduao Waterway 8.0∼35.9%, and that in the Qingshan
Waterway (section 3 in Fig. 1) 7.0∼13.7%. It should be pointed out that the averaged velocity in
the ebb tide is always larger than that in the flood tide no matter what kind of tide is concerned,
which is very important to decrease the sediment siltation. Computations show that changes of the
flow direction are less than 10 degree generally even after the completion of the reclamation project,
which demonstrates that the project has little influence on the flow regimes and the navigational
conditions.

3.2 Changes of tidal discharge and diversion ratio

To study the influence of the reclamation project on the tidal discharge and the diversion ratio
through flow branches, 13 sections are taken into account. Table 1 shows changes of the tidal
charge and the diversion ratio in these sections, which is divided into four groups.
It is clear that the smaller the distance from the project the larger the impact of the project
on the tidal discharge and the diversion ratio in these branches. From Table 1, it is found that
the reclamation-induced decreases of the sum of the flood tidal discharge in the spring tide
through section 9 to 13 for case 1 to case 4 are 1.359 × 108 m3 , 1.777 × 108 m3 , 1.966 × 108 m3 and
3.123 × 108 m3 , respectively, account for 5.1%, 6.7%, 7.5% and 11.5% of the total tidal discharge
in the Sansha Bay, and that of the ebb tide are 1.321 × 108 m3 , 1.726 × 108 m3 , 1.910 × 108 m3 ,
3.032 × 108 m3 , account for 5.3%, 6.9%, 7.6% and 12.1% of the total tidal discharge in the
Sansha Bay.
Table 1 shows that the diversion ratios of branch channels (section 9 to 13) have small changes,
although the total tidal discharge would decrease 5%–8%, indicating that the change of the situation
of shoals and channels would be small.

1158
Table 1. Changes of tidal charge (TC: ×108 m3 ) and diversion ratio (DR:%) in spring tide.

Natural Status Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4

TC DR TC DR TC DR TC DR TC DR

Flood tide S1 9.096 36.8 8.795 36.5 8.700 36.4 8.669 36.4 8.454 36.3
S2 15.621 63.2 15.300 63.5 15.200 63.6 15.146 63.6 14.836 63.7
Ebb tide S1 9.757 41.8 9.504 41.8 9.425 41.8 9.390 41.8 9.178 41.8
S2 13.585 58.2 13.233 58.2 13.123 58.2 13.075 58.2 12.778 58.2
Flood tide S3 3.912 17.0 3.635 16.3 3.556 16.1 3.540 16.1 3.400 15.9
S4 11.873 51.6 11.351 50.9 11.241 50.9 11.148 50.7 10.627 49.7
S5 7.225 31.4 7.315 32.8 7.288 33.0 7.300 33.2 7.356 34.4
Ebb tide S3 4.547 21.4 4.153 20.2 4.110 20.2 4.051 20.0 3.737 19.0
S4 9.986 47.0 9.600 46.7 9.462 46.5 9.398 46.4 9.047 46.0
S5 6.714 31.6 6.804 33.1 6.776 33.3 6.805 33.6 6.883 35.0
Flood tide S6 3.282 28.2 2.519 24.1 2.221 22.0 2.124 21.4 1.419 15.9
S7 7.238 62.2 6.868 65.7 6.824 67.6 6.760 68.4 6.523 73.1
S8 1.117 9.6 1.066 10.2 1.050 10.4 1.042 10.5 0.982 11.0
Ebb tide S6 3.033 29.6 2.311 25.4 2.223 25.4 2.112 24.6 1.500 19.7
S7 6.190 60.4 5.822 64.0 5.600 64.0 5.555 64.7 5.253 69.0
S8 1.025 10.0 0.964 10.6 0.928 10.6 0.919 10.7 0.860 11.3
Flood tide S9 1.904 22.5 0.980 13.8 1.083 16.2 0.955 14.8 0.112 2.1
S10 1.117 13.2 1.201 16.9 0.789 11.8 0.799 12.3 0.908 17.0
S11 2.167 25.6 1.826 25.7 1.725 25.8 1.683 25.9 1.511 28.3
S12 1.811 21.4 1.740 24.5 1.685 25.2 1.683 25.9 1.559 29.2
S13 1.464 17.3 1.357 19.1 1.404 21.0 1.377 21.2 1.250 23.4
Ebb tide S9 1.457 18.8 0.630 9.8 0.753 12.5 0.666 11.4 0.113 2.4
S10 1.310 16.9 1.344 20.9 1.096 18.2 1.075 18.4 1.024 21.7
S11 2.046 26.4 1.710 26.6 1.566 26.0 1.518 26.0 1.250 26.5
S12 1.627 21.0 1.517 23.6 1.446 24.0 1.431 24.4 1.288 27.3
S13 1.310 16.9 1.228 19.1 1.163 19.3 1.150 19.7 1.043 22.1

3.3 Annual siltation intensity

The annual siltation intensity is calculated by using the Liu’s Formula in the following form (Liu &
Zhang, 1993):

where p is the annual siltation intensity (m/a); ω is the settling velocity of sediment (m/s); s is the
average sediment concentration (kg/m3 ); t is the time (s); γd is the dry density of sediment (kg/m3 );
V1 and V2 are the averaged velocities over semi-tide before and after the completion of the recla-
mation project respectively (m/s); θ is the angle between the tidal flow and the channel; k1 = 0.35
and k2 = 0.13 are the siltation constant of the transversal and longitudinal currents respectively.
On the basis of the analysis of the field data (Lu, 2003), the relevant parameters are determined
as follows: (1) The average sediment concentrations of flood tide and ebb tide in the neap tide
are 0.017 kg/m3 and 0.023 kg/m3 ; those in the median tide 0.024 kg/m3 and 0.028 kg/m3 ; those in
the spring tide 0.033 kg/m3 and 0.042 kg/m3 . (2) The settling velocity of sediment is 0.0004 m/s.
0.183
(3) The dry density of sediment γd = 1750d50 kg/m3 . (4) The median diameter d50 is 0.014 mm.
Figure 4 shows the reclamation-induced annual siltation intensity for Case 1. It is clear that the
smaller the distance from the project the larger the annual siltation intensity. Nearby the reclamation
project, the annual siltation intensity is greater than 0.082 m/a. The annual siltation intensity is

1159
 50000
Saiqi

45000

40000
Sanyu

35000
Zhangwan
Port
30000 Reclamation
Project
Baima
Port
25000 12

C1
Sandu
20000 Is.
Ningde
15000
Hongjiang
Qingshan
10000 Is.

5000

Dongchong Is.
0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000 55000

Figure 4. Annual siltation intensity due to the large-scale reclamation project.

smaller than 0.070 m and 1.9 m in the concerning navigation channels and port areas such as the
Sanduao Waterway and the Chengao Port, which lies in the south of the Sanduao Island.
For case 2, the annual siltation intensity is smaller than 0.080 m in concerning navigation channels
and port areas. For case 3, the annual siltation intensity is smaller than 0.090 m in these areas. For
case 4, the annual siltation intensity is smaller than 0.120 m in these areas.

4 CONCLUSIONS

When the project of coastal reclamation is constructed, the circumjacent landform and conditions
of tidal flow and sediment transport will be changed accordingly, and the sum of sediment siltation
in the neighboring sea area will increase unconventionally.
A two dimensional numerical model is developed of depth-integrated tidal flow with the flood-
ebb land boundary and the engineering sedimentation method is used to carry out the research on
the possible impact. Verifications demonstrated that the present model is efficient and capable of
simulating tidal motions in the Sansha Bay.
The reclamation-induced changes of the tidal discharge, the diversion ratio, the flow velocity,
the annual siltation intensity, the final deposition thickness and the balance duration are computed.
Computations show that changes of the tidal discharge, the diversion ratio, the velocity field and
the annual siltation intensity would increase with the increase of the reclamation area. For the
case with the enclosed tidal flat of 28 km2 , the diversion ratio of main branch channels has small
changes, although the total tidal discharge would decrease 5%–8%, indicating that the change of
the situation of shoals and channels would be small. In the Sanduao Waterway, the annual siltation
intensity is smaller than 0.070 m/a for this case. The reclamation project with area of 28 km2 is

1160
recommended because its impact on the environmental hydrodynamics is relative small comparing
with other three cases.

REFERENCES

Liu, J.G. & Zhang, J.C. 1993. Calculating method of deposition of navigation and basin in silty coasts. Journal
of Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (4): 301–320 (in Chinese).
Lu, C.S. 2003. Hydrometric Measurements for Tiejiwan Reclamation Project. Research report, Reconnaissance
Bureau of Water Resources, Ningde, Fujian (in Chinese).
Wang, Y.G., Lin, X. & Feng, W.B. 2000. A simple method for calculating long-term deposition rate after
construction of warping bank in estuary. Journal of Hohai University 28(6): 100–102 (in Chinese).
Wang, Y.G., Lin, X. & Wu, Z. 2000. A method for calculating depositional rate after warping the bank in silty
estuary. The Ocean Engineering 18(3): 67–70 (in Chinese).
Yan,Y.X., Zhu,Y.L. & Xue, H.C. 1999, Hydrodynamics for the Formation and development of radial sandbanks,
Science in China (Ser.D) 42(1): 13–21.
Zheng, J.H., Wang, Y.G. & Huo, G. 2003, Research on Impact of Tiejiwan Reclamation Project upon Tidal Flow
and Sediment Siltation. Research report, Research Institute of Coastal and Engineering, Hohai University,
Nanjing (in Chinese).

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Impact of reclamation and HATS Stage I on Victoria Harbour,

Hong Kong

C.P. Kuang & J.H.W. Lee

Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

ABSTRACT: A calibrated three-dimensional hydrodynamic model (Delft3D) for the Pearl River
Estuary is used to study the changes in tidal circulation and flushing in Victoria Harbour due to the
existing reclamation and the maximum possible Central and Wan Chai reclamation. Compared to
the situation in 1975, the numerical solutions show the following key changes after reclamation:
(i) The peak flow at all cross sections along Victoria Harbour decreases by about 8–17% with a
average value 11.5% in the existing reclamation. (ii) The peak velocity in the eastern harbour near
Lei Yue Mun decreases after existing reclamation because of the reduction of flow, but it increases
in the central and western harbour due to drastic reduction in harbour width. (iii) There is a clear
two-layer vertical salinity distribution in wet season due to the runoff from the Pearl River, but
a quite uniform vertical salinity structure in dry season. (iv) Flushing time in Victoria Harbour
will increase by about 30% in dry season and 50% in wet season after reclamation due to the
flow reduction. In present coastline, the flushing time ranges about 1.5–2.5 days in wet season
and 5–7 days in dry season. The flushing rate and flow discharge in the harbour will be practically
unchanged after further maximum possible Central and Wai Chai reclamation. The depth-averaged
concentration caused by Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (HATS) Stage I discharge can typically
reduce to 0.3% within 5 km from discharge point. The average dilution at the western approach
section of the Victoria Harbour is around 450.

1 INTRODUCTION

The large scale reclamation in Hong Kong was adopted to create land for urban development. By
2003, about 3200 hectares have been reclaimed in Hong Kong. Among these, 661 hectares are
existing and committed reclamation areas in Victoria Harbour between Stonecutters island and
Lei Yue Mun (Fig. 1). At present, Hong Kong is entering the final phase of reclamation projects
in the Victoria Harbour. On the Hong Kong Island, just two more projects are outstanding – the
Central Reclamation Phase III (CRIII) and the Wan Chai Development Phase II (WDII). On the
Kowloon peninsula side, reclamation is planned for the South East Kowloon Development (SEKD)
around the old Kai Tak airport. In recent years, the remaining two reclamations on the Hong Kong
Island have been the focus of considerable public debate. Hong Kong government has taken the
initiative to review again the reclamation plans and the reclamation area of CRIII has been reduced
to 18 hectares from the originally planned 32 hectares (Fig. 1). It is of interest to study the effect
of the drastic changes in coastal configuration and debated proposed reclamation plan on tidal
currents and water quality in the harbour. The several earlier related studies (Binnie and Partners
1989; Lee et al 1995) are limited to 2D hydrodynamic modeling; no quantitative information on
the self-purification capacity has been reported. In this study, this 3D hydrodynamic model with
uniform 10 layers in vertical direction is used to study the changes in tidal circulation and flushing
in Victoria Harbour due to both existing reclamation and further Central and Wan Chai reclamation,
and the impact of Stage I of Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (HATS) discharge.

1163
 Tsing KOWLOON
Yi

Lei Yue Mun

Stonecutters
Island

VICTORIA
HARBOUR
CRIII
Wan Chai
Central HONG KONG ISLAND
Natural coastline
Present coastline
Proposed coastline

Figure 1. Existing and proposed large scale reclamation in Victoria Harbour (shaded part: proposed
reclamation – further maximum possible reclamation in Central and Wan Chai area).

2 HYDRODYNAMIC MODELLING OF HONG KONG WATERS

A calibrated three-dimensional hydrodynamic model (Delft3D) for the Pearl River Estuary is used
for this study. In this model, the shallow water equations with hydrostatic pressure assumption are
adopted. The vertical direction, σ coordinate (dimensionless depth) is used. The turbulent viscosity
is obtained from a standard two-equation k–ε turbulence model. The transport of tracer/salinity
is modeled by a conservative transport equation. The details of governing equations, numerical
schemes, boundary conditions and grid have been given in Kuang and Lee (2004) and the model
parameters are chosen from the model calibration and validation (Delft hydraulics 1998). In here, we
only emphasize that the grid size of 45 m to 75 m around Victoria Harbour is refined in a 230 × 160
boundary-fitted orthogonal grid for the Pearl River Estuary Model. A time step of t = 1 min
corresponding to a Courant number of 0.28 to 10 is adopted. A uniform 10-layer model is chosen
to give accurate vertical structure and flow patterns. The model is run from a hot start, which is the
result of running for one month from a cold start. The computed flow and concentration fields are
analyzed for a 10 day period and the tidal conditions are astronomical tides of year 2003 started
from 3rd August at 0 hour and 3rd January at 0 hour for wet season and dry season respectively.

3 NUMERICAL RESULTS

3.1 Flow patterns under the coastline of year 1975

Figure 1 shows the large scale reclamation in Hong Kong mainly along the two sides of Victoria
Harbour. Its effect extends to the surrounding water bodies. The area shown in Fig. 2 is chosen to
analyze the flow patterns. The tides in Hong Kong waters are mixed and mainly semidiurnal. The
range of spring tide and neap tide is from 0.8 to 2.5 m. The computed water level and depth average
x-velocity at point P3 (position shown in Fig. 2) for wet season (Fig. 3) indicates the velocity field
is approximately 90◦ out of phase with the tidal elevation in Victoria Harbour. In the wet season,
the flow pattern in Hong Kong waters is heavily influenced by the Pearl River with significant
vertical stratification. The currents in Hong Kong waters are mainly from Pearl River Estuary
through Ma Wan Channel to Victoria Harbour and Lamma Channel during ebb (Fig. 4a – ebb flow
at 3 hours after high water), and from SE to NW through Victoria Harbour and Lamma Channel
to Ma Wan Channel, then northern to Pearl River during flood. The tidal flow in Victoria Harbour
is mainly from the west to east direction during ebb and in the opposite direction during flood. In

1164
 MaWan
825000 Stonecutters
Tsing Island
Yi
S1 S2 Lowloon Water level 0.6
2.5

nd
la
820000 S6 Velocity 0.5

Is
P0
an
S3 (Lei YueMun)
0.4
nt
P1 P2
La

P3 2
P4 0.3

Water level (m)

815000 S7

Velocity (m/s)
Hong Kong Island 0.2
Y (m)

1.5
S5 0.1
S4
810000 0
1 -0.1
Lamma Island -0.2
805000 0.5 -0.3
Lema Channel -0.4
0 -0.5
820000 830000 840000 48 72 96
X (m) T (hours)

Figure 2. Positions of main points and sections to be Figure 3. Computed water level and depth average
analyzed. x-direction velocity at point P3 in wet season.

(a) 2.0 m/s Ebb (b) 2.0 m/s Ebb

Wet season Surface Wet season Surface

Figure 4. Computed surface peak ebb flow in wet season with the coastline of year (a) 1975 and (b) 2003.

the main tidal stream, peak velocities of the west-east ebb flow are found to be about 0.20 m/s near
Stonecutters island, 0.60 m/s in central harbour, and increase to about 1.1 m/s at Lei Yue Mun. The
east-west flood flow is similar, with a smaller peak flood velocities. The average ratio of peak flow
rate through section S1 (Kap Shui Mun Channel) and section S2 (Rambler Channel) is about 92%
and 8% respectively during ebb, and about 98% and 2% during flood. The average ratio of peak
flow rate through section S3 to Victoria Harbour, section S4 (West Lamma Channel) and section
S5 (East Lamma Channel) is about 19%, 45% and 36% respectively during ebb, and about 14%,
32% and 54% respectively during flood. In dry season, Hong Kong waters are much less than
influenced by the Pearl River. The horizontal flow is mainly similar to that in the wet season with
quite uniform vertical salinity distribution.

3.2 Tidal circulation and flushing in Victoria Harbour after large reclamation and
impact region of HATS Stage I
Figure 4b shows the computed surface ebb flow field with the coastline of year 2003. The flow
is qualitatively similar to that before reclamation, but there is a notable decrease of about 8–17%
with a mean value of 11.5% in peak discharge along the harbour channel (Fig. 5). This leads to
a decrease in tidal velocity in the eastern harbour near Lei Yue Mun (section S6), but an increase
in tidal velocity in the central and western parts of the harbour due to significant reduction in
width after large reclamation (Fig. 6). For example, depth average peak velocity decreases around

1165
 1975 1975
8000 Section S3 2003 8000 Section S6 2003
Proposed Proposed
6000 6000

4000 4000

2000 2000
Q (m3/s)

Q (m3/s)
0 0

-2000 -2000

-4000 -4000

-6000 -6000

-8000 -8000
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50
T (hours) T (hours)

Figure 5. Comparison of time variation of flow rate across section S3 and S6 in wet season with different
coastlines (T = 0 at 0:00 of the 5th of August, 2003).

0.5 1975 1975

Point P3 Point P4
2003 2003
Proposed Proposed
Velocity magnitude (m/s)

Velocity magnitude (m/s)

0.5

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50
T (hours) T (hours)

Figure 6. Comparison of time variation of depth average velocity magnitude at point P3 and P4 in wet season
with different coastlines (T = 0 at 0:00 of the 5th of August, 2003).

9.6% at point P4 and increases 19% at point P3, both will slightly increase by less than 1% after
proposed reclamation (maximum possible Central and Wai Chai reclamation). Similarly, the flow
will increase about by 0.5% after proposed reclamation. In wet season, the average ratio of peak
flow rate through S1and S2 is about 90% and 10% respectively during ebb, and about 98% and
2% respectively during flood. The average ratio of peak flow rate through S3, S4 and S5 is about
17%, 46% and 37% respectively during ebb, and about 12%, 31% and 57% respectively from S3,
S4 and S5 during flood. It indicates the relative ratio of flow rate through Victoria Harbour also
decreases about 2% after large reclamation.
Figure 7 is the vertical profiles of horizontal velocity magnitude, salinity, vertical turbulent vis-
cosity and eddy diffusivity at different points along the central line of Victoria Harbour at 3 hours
after high water (HW + 3 hr) in wet season. It shows the strong vertical mixing in the lower region
below the free surface (the relative depth z/H ≤ 0.8). It indicates a clear two-layer vertical structure
in wet season due to the runoff from the Pearl River and the significant damping in turbulence
at around z/H = 0.7 corresponding to the sharp change of salinity. In contrast, the distribution of
salinity in vertical direction is quite uniform in dry season due to very low runoff.

1166
 P4 P3 P2 P4 P3 P2
1.0 1.0

Relative depth (z/H)

Relative depth (z/H)
0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 29.0 30.0 31.0 32.0 33.0
Velocity magnitude (m/s) Salinity (ppt)

1.0 1.0
Relative depth (z/H)

Relative depth (z/H)

0.8 0.8
0.6 0.6
0.4 0.4
0.2 0.2
0.0 0.0
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
Turbulent viscosity (m2/s) Eddy diffusivity (m2/s)

Figure 7. Computed vertical profiles of horizontal velocity magnitude, salinity, vertical turbulent viscosity
and eddy diffusivity at different points along the central line of Victoria Harbour at HW + 3hr in wet season
with the coastline of year 2003.

The flushing time is used to represent the self-purification capacity due to tidal exchanges and
dispersion. It can be determined by performing a numerical tracer experiment. The region between
section S6 and S7 is first dyed with a numerical tracer at unit concentration; the advective–diffusion
transport of the tracer is then solved using the computed 3D tidal current field. The flushing time
can be obtained by the least square fitting of the numerical results of a tracer mass removal process
using a double-exponential decay curve (Choi 2002, Kuang and Lee 2004). The flushing times in the
wet and dry seasons are 1.10 and 4.85 days respectively with the 1975 coastline; the corresponding
values for the 2003 coastline are 1.67 and 6.25 days respectively, 1.65 and 6.16 days respectively for
further Central and Wan Chai reclamation. After large reclamation, the self-cleansing capacity of
Victoria Harbour decreases by 30–50%. Further Central and Wan Chai reclamation will practically
not change the flushing time in the harbour. In present coastline, the flushing time in Victoria
Harbour ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 days in wet season and from 5 to 7 days in dry season.
It is also interesting to study the impact region caused by the HATS (Harbour Area Treatment
Scheme) Stage I discharge. The HATS Stage I uses a 23.6 km long deep tunnel conveyance system
to convey sewage collected from the northeastern areas of Hong Kong Island and the whole urban
area of Kowloon to a sewage treatment works at Stonecutters Island where the sewage receives
chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT). After treatment, the effluent is disposed via a
1.7 km submarine outfall in the western approach of the Victoria Harbour. In present stage, HATS
Stage I discharges about 1.4 million tonnes (16.2 m3 /s) of treated sewage each day into the ocean
around point P0. The sewage discharge is modeled as continuous tracer source with a unit concen-
tration and vertically well mixed. The advective–diffusion transport of the tracer is solved using
the computed 3D tidal current field. Figure 8 shows tracer transport and dispersion at high and low
water levels after discharge continues for 9 days in wet season. The computed tracer concentra-
tion fields generally show the depth average concentration caused by HATS Stage I discharge can
reduce to 0.3% (i.e. approximately dilution of 300) within 5 km from discharge point. The distance
between discharge point (P0) and the western approach section (S3) of the Victoria Harbour is
about 6 km. The average dilution at S3 is around 450.

1167
Figure 8. Surface tracer concentration field in wet season after HATS Stage I running 9 days at (a) HW
and (b) LW.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The effect of existing large scale reclamation and maximum possible Central and Wan Chai reclam-
ation on tidal circulation in Victoria Harbour has been computed by the 3D hydrodynamic model
Delft3D. The reclamation results in a 8–17% decrease in tidal flow; peak velocities are reduced in
the eastern harbour near Lei Yue Mun, but increased in the central and western parts of the harbour
due to the drastic reduction in harbour width. The reclamation results in a 30–50% reduction
in the flushing rate or self-purification capacity. Further Central and Wan Chai reclamation will
practically not cause further changes in tidal flow and the flushing capacity in Victoria Harbour.
Generally, the dilution 300 is achieved within 5 km from HATS Stage I discharge point.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This study is supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (Central Allocation Vote
HKU 1/02C).

REFERENCES

Binnie and Partners (Hong Kong) 1989. Final report on hydraulic and water quality studies inVictoria Harbour,
Hong Kong Government, Vol.1.
Choi, D.K.W. 2002. Environmental management of mariculture in Hong Kong, Ph.D. Thesis, The University
of Hong Kong, 2002.
Delft Hydraulics 1998. Upgrading of the water quality and hydraulic mathematical models: Final model
calibration and validation report, Technical Services Division, Civil Engineering Office, Hong Kong
Government.
Kuang, C.P. and Lee, J.H.W. 2004. Effect of reclamation on hydrodynamic circulation and flushing in Victoria
Harbour, Hong Kong, Proceedings of the Tenth Asian Congress of Fluid Mechanics (CD-ROM), Peradeniya,
Sri Lanka.
Lee, J.H.W., Yang, Z.F., Cheung Y.K. and Lo S.H. 1995. Effect of large scale reclamation on tidal circulation in
Victoria harbour, Hong Kong, Proc. 6th Asian Congress of Fluid Mechanics, Singapore, Vol.1, pp. 388–391.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Impact on the silt coast environment of tidal flat reclamation in

Jiangsu – Take the coastal salt marsh as an example

Chen Jun
College of Traffic and Ocean Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT: The reclamation of the silt coast is a large-scale human activity. The central part of
Jiangsu coast belongs to progressive silt coast and it will provide a lot of land resource naturally.
Since the beginning of reclamation activity, there has been the history of more than 200 years up to
now. It is the large-scale development period in this 50 years and the gross of the reclamation area is
about 2463.4 Km2 . Usually, the area of every reclamation in Jiangsu is from several Km2 to several
hundreds Km2 and the length of the new outside sea bank is from several Km to several hundreds
Km. Reclamation engineering usually can push the new outside sea bank more than ten Kms before
the actual coastline. By all means reclamation engineering would destroy the coastal resources and
environment system in some degree and cause a series of environment factors adjusting. In this
paper, ten satellite photographs from 1979 to 2001 are studied to contrast and analyze the distribution
area and development speed of the coastal salt marshes in different period. It discusses the influence
factors and basic laws of the coastal salt marshes along the progressive coast in Jiangsu province.
At the same time, it also discusses the recover and rebuilding processes of the coastal salt marshes
after the tidal flat where salt marsh developed was reclaimed.

1 PREFACE

It has long development history along the coastal tidal flat in Jiangsu Province. There are three times
large-scale development. The first is the defending-sea bank built by Fanzhongyan in North-Song
dynasty. The second is the reclamation area (2667 km2 ) along the Huanghai Highroad, which was
built by Zhangjian in Qing dynasty. The third is the reclamation and cultivate after liberation. The
speed and scale of the reclamation is the largest in the history. It has reclaimed 5333 km2 wasteland
inside the old sea bank and built 1216 km new sea bank and cultivated 2463.44 km2 tidal flat. The
main reclamation process is showed in Figure 1.
The central coastal tidal flat is the huge store land resource in Jiangsu Province. Reclamation is the
most universal type of the tidal flat using which has important action on the economy development
and society advancement. But reclamation has its own limit. In recent years, the cultivate speed
and scale become large more and more. When gaining the land resource and economy, we also

1200 1126.49

1000

800

600 525.61

316.24 348.51
400
146.59
200

0
50 ages 60 ages 70 ages 80 ages 90 ages

Figure 1. Statistics of reclamation area in certain times along the coastal tidal flat in Jiangsu Province.

1169
Figure 2. Study Area.

destroy the coastal environment and influence the coastal evolvement. In this paper, it discusses
the changes of the coastal salt marsh before cultivate and after cultivate.

2 STUDY AREA

It takes the coast salt marsh between the Wanggang Gate and the Sanchang Gate in the center of
the Jiangsu coast for an example (Figure 2). This coast belongs to progressive silt coast and is
controlled by South-Yellow Sea eddy tide system spreading from north to south. There are a lot of
kind coast salt marsh developing along the coast.

3 MAIN CONCLUSION

3.1 Inning will change the coast salt marsh ecology sequence type outside the sea bank
There are all kinds of salt marsh vegetation developing along the coast. They are Imperata cylindrical
var.major community, Zoysia macrostachys community, Suaeda salsa community and Spartina
angelica community form land to sea respectively. The land borderline is the zone where the
special storm tide can arrive before building the sea bank and it is the zone where the sea bank
occupied after building the sea bank.
In these 50 years, the cultivate altitude becomes lower. The cultivate altitude is higher than
average high tide level before 60 ages. The cultivate altitude is average high tide level in 80 ages
and 90 ages. So the coast salt marsh occupies a lot of the reclamation space. According to the
statistic data, the salt marsh area occupies about 63.41% of the reclamation area. It means that
cultivate was performed in the salt marsh.
At the same time, the structure of the coast salt marsh in the reclamation area changed obviously.
The vegetation community is mainly Imperata cylindrical var.major which occupies about 42.2%

1170
Table 1. Vegetation distribution when cultivated in Jiangsu coast.

The percent (%) and the area (km2 ) in the reclamation area

Imperata
cylindrical Suaeda Phragmites Spartina Naked
Inning var.major salsa australis angelica tidal flat
area
Inning time (km2 ) % Area % Area % Area % Area % Area

50 ages 1126.5 42.2 475.6 33.7 379.6 23.0 259.1 0 0 1.1 12.4
60 ages 146.6 31.2 45.7 8.6 12.6 4.1 6.0 0 0 56.1 82.3
70 ages 525.6 28.0 147.2 28.3 148.7 4.4 23.1 0 0 39.3 206.6
80 ages 316.2 13.0 41.1 18.8 59.5 18.0 56.9 0.4 1.3 49.8 157.5
From 1990 to 1994 78.4 17.9 14.0 28.0 21.9 6.4 5.0 19.8 15.5 27.9 21.9
From 1995 to 1999 270.1 25.8 69.7 24.1 65.1 20.5 55.4 11.7 31.6 17.9 48.3
Total 2463.4 793.3 687.4 405.5 48.4 529

Figure 3. The coast salt marsh ecology sequence after inning.

of the reclamation area in 50 ages. The second was the Phragmites australis and Suaeda salsa,
33.7% and 23.0%. The percent of the Imperata cylindrical var.major became few in 80 ages and
90 ages than 50 ages and 60 ages. But the Spartina angelica became more and more (Table 1). The
Jiangsu coast lose Imperata cylindrical var.major and Zoysia macrostachys 793 km2 , Suaeda salsa
687 km2 , Phragmites australis 405 km2 for inning in these 50 years.
So cultivate breaks into part of the coast salt marsh development area and changes the coast salt
marsh ecology sequence type outside the sea bank to some extent. It mainly behaves the losing of
the salt marsh vegetation in the high tidal zone. For example, there is only Spartina angelica and
naked tidal flat outside the sea bank built in the 80 ages because the resume time is short (Figure 3).
There is integrate coast salt marsh ecology sequence outside the sea bank built in the 50 and 60
ages because the resume time is long (Figure 4).

3.2 Inning will quicken the spread speed of the coast salt marsh outside the sea bank
3.2.1 The nature spread of the salt marsh and the advance of the tidal flat is synchronous
The tidal flat is usually advanced to the sea in the progressive coast. As the pioneer vegetation,
the coast salt marsh is also spread to the sea. Limited by the ecology position of the salt marsh
vegetation, they usually have their own spread nature borderline which is the edge of the salt marsh.
In this edge, salt marsh can spread to the sea. But when arrived this edge, they will stop there and
the salt marsh can not live.

1171
Figure 4. The coast salt marsh ecology sequence before inning.

Table 2. Nature spread of the salt marsh between the Chuandong Gate and the Dongtai Gate.

The coast between the Chuandong

Gate and the Dongtai Gate In the 1979 In the 1985 In the 1988 In the 1995

Salt marsh area (km2 ) 20.06 32.33 35.81 49.13

According sea bank length (km) 15.92 15.92 15.92 15.92
Average breadth (km) 1.29 2.03 2.25 3.09
Spread speed (km/a) 0.123 0.073 0.120
Year increase rate (P) 8.28% 3.47% 4.62%

We can use this formula to calculate the yearly increase rate of the salt marsh area:

In this formula, A (km2 ) is the salt marsh area in some year. B (km2 ) is the salt marsh area after n
years. P (%) is the yearly increase rate of the salt marsh.
Take the salt marsh between the Chuandong Gate and the Dongtai Gate as an example, we
discuss the spread speed of the salt marsh in 1979, 1985, 1988, 1993 and 1995 respectively. In this
time span, there is no cultivating activity. The Dongchuan reclamation area was enclosed in 1998.
According to the formula, we can know the distributing area, the average breadth, the spread speed
and the yearly increase rate of the salt marsh in the different years (Table 2).
According to this data, the progressive rate of the flat between Chuandong Gate and the Dongtai
Gate is 0.282 km/a from 1976 to 1985 and 0.126 km/a from 1985 to 1997. Compared with the
nature spread speed of the salt marsh in this coast, the yearly increase rate of the salt marsh is
quick when the progressive of the tidal flat is quick and the year increase rate of the salt marsh is
slow when the progressive of the tidal flat is slow. So, the nature spread process of the salt marsh
represents the progressive process of the tidal flat. Although the evolvement speed of the salt marsh
vegetation is not the same as the progressive speed, they are synchronous in a long time.

3.2.2 Spread speed of the salt marsh quickens after inning

Cultivating along the coast is corresponded to the coast progressive. So the spread speed of the salt
marsh must quicken after cultivating. We discuss the development of the salt marsh between the
Wanggang Gate and the Dongtai Gate in 1979, 1988 and 1995. Through calculating the distance
from the sea bank to the salt marsh edge, we know that the salt marsh edge is progressive to the sea.
But the distance is different (Table 3). The coast between the Chuandong Gate and the Dongtai Gate
was not enclosed before 1995 and the salt marsh edge was progressive 2750 m in this 16 years. The

1172
Table 3. Distance between the salt marsh edge and the sea bank built in 1979.

Distance in
In the 1979 In the 1988 In the 1995 Inning this 16 years

The coast between Zhugang Gate 2690 m 4840 m 6690 m Yes 4000 m
to Chuandonggang Gate
The coast between Chuandonggang 2630 m 4070 m 5380 m No 2750 m
Gate to Dongtai Gate

Table 4. Comparison of the salt marsh area before inning and after inning (km2 ).
Salt marsh Salt marsh area
Reclamation area of the
Reclamation name Inning time area reclamation Before inning After inning

Zhuchuan Reclamation Area 1990.11–1991.1 36.6693 27.314 31.49 (in 1988) 9.192 (in 1995)
Dongchuan Reclamation Area 1998.7–1998.8 60.827 48.662 63.94 (in 1997) 15.179 (in 1999)
Badou Reclamation Area 1995 27.997 19.598 28.55 (in 1988) 8.185 (in 1995)
Sancangpian Reclamation Area 1996.10–1997.3 34.463 29.82 60.66 (in 1995) 7.822 (in 1998)

Zhuchuan reclamation area between the Zhugang Gate and the Chuandong Gate was enclosed in
1990 and the salt marsh edge was progressive 4000 m in this 16 years. So, we can see that the spread
speed of the salt marsh in the coast where was enclosed is quick than where was not enclosed.

3.3 Confirming the feasible cultivating scale

3.3.1 The cultivating style that the salt marsh outside the sea bank cannot resume
If the nature salt marsh outside the old sea bank is all enclosed in the reclamation area and there
are not any nature salt marshes left, the resume of the salt marsh is impossible in nature. So this
cultivating method is not good and will destroy the ecology balance of the tidal flat.
The Wangzhu Reclamation Area belongs to this style. It was enclosed in 1981 and its area is
47.995 km2 . The area of Imperata cylindrical var.major is 11.999 km2 , 5% of the whole reclamation
area. The area of Phragmites australis is 3.333 km2 , 6.9%. The area of Suaeda salsa is 14.399 km2 ,
30%. So, the area of the salt marsh in the reclamation area is about 29.73 km2 . The nature salt
marsh area before cultivating was about 30.15 km2 , which means that almost all the nature salt
marsh was enclosed. Until 1988, there were no nature salt marshes developing outside the sea
bank. Therefore, this kind of cultivating will destroy the coast salt marsh seriously and will cause
the salt marsh vegetation can not resume in a long time.

3.3.2 The cultivating style that the salt marsh outside the sea bank can resume
If the cultivating area is little than the nature distributing area of the salt marsh and there are some
nature salt marsh developing outside the new sea bank, the resume of the salt marsh is possible in
nature. So this cultivating method is better than that discussed before and it will cause the ecology
balance of the tidal flat.
The Zhuchuan Reclamation Area, Dongchuan Reclamation Area, Badou Reclamation Area and
Sanchangpian Reclamation Area belonged to this style. The coast salt marsh area becomes smaller
after cultivating (Table 4). For example, the salt marsh area before the new sea bank is only 12.89%
of the former area in Sanchangpian Reclamation Area. The salt marsh area before the new sea bank
is only 23.77% of the former area in Dongchuan Reclamation Area. The reason is that a lot of
nature salt marsh is enclosed in the new sea bank. But, because the certain area of the salt marsh
is kept down, the coast salt marsh can also progress to the sea.

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Table 5. Reserve area of the salt marsh before the new sea bank (km2 ).

Planning inning area 1 5 10 15 20 30

n = 10 Reserve area 1.23 6.17 12.35 18.52 24.69 37.04

n = 20 Reserve area 0.71 3.55 7.09 10.64 14.18 21.28
n = 30 Reserve area 0.45 2.23 4.46 6.70 8.93 13.39

3.3.3 The nature resumptive time and the reserve area of the salt marsh
From the above study, we know that the resumptive speed of the salt marsh outside the new sea bank
after cultivating is correlated to the reserve area of the salt marsh in the progressive coast. If the
progressive speed of tidal flat is same, the resumptive speed of the salt marsh is quick on condition
that the reserve area is large and the resumptive speed of the salt marsh is slow on condition that
the reserve area is little.

So we can use this formula to calculate the reserve area of the salt marsh in different coast. N (km2 )
is the reserve area of the salt marsh. M (km2 ) is the planning inning area next time. P (%) is the
nature increase rate of the salt marsh every year. N is the ecology resume time (year).
If the inning coast is between the Wanggang Gate and the Liangduo Gate, the progressing speed
of the coast is 0.235 km/a and the increasing rate of the salt marsh is 6.1% every year. According
to the inning experience these years in Jiangsu Province, the ecology resume time is 10 years.
According to this formula, we can calculate the reserve area of the salt marsh (Table 5). We can
see, if the inning is performed every 10 years, the reserve area is larger than the planning inning
area though the inning area is only 1 km2 . More than 60% reclamation area is larger than 1 km2
from 1950. So, the nature resume of the salt marsh is impossible according to this inning scale.
The resolve way is prolonging the ecology resumptive time. If the ecology resumptive time is 20
years or 30 years, the nature resume of the salt marsh is possible.

4 MAIN RESULT

1. If the tidal flat progressed fast, the coast salt marsh extended fast. They had better relativity.
2. In order to realize the continuance using, the inning must pay attention to the ecology protection.
The inning scale and frequency should fit to the nature resume speed of the salt marsh. If keeping
the inning status of Jiangsu, the salt marsh can not resume in 10 years. The ecology time should
be 30 years.
3. The resume speed of the salt marsh related to the reserve area of the salt marsh before the new
sea bank. If there were large space for the resume of the salt marsh, the salt marsh would resume
naturally.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Science and Technical Innovation Foundation of Hohai University (Grant No. 2003410543)
supported this study.

REFERENCES

Agriculture Resource Development Bureau of Jiangsu Province. Coast Reclamation Area in Jiangsu Province.
pp. 1–4, Beijing: Ocean Publishing Company. 1999.12
Ren MeiE etc., Integrate investigation Report of coast zone and tidal flat resource in Jiangsu Province.
pp. 336–350. Beijing: Ocean Publishing Company. 1985.2

1174
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Subsurface injection of RO-treated waste water at a reclaimed

land site

Lloyd H.C. Chua, K.C. Wong, N. Mzila, S.K. Tan, T.T. Lim, J.H. Tay &
Lawrence C.C. Koe
Division of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

James O. Leckie
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California

ABSTRACT: This paper presents field experimental results where reverse osmosis treated waste
water (RO) was injected into the subsurface at a field site located on reclaimed land, in the eastern
part of Singapore. The reclaimed land comprises a sandfill constructed by the hydraulic filling
(to depths of 10 m–15 m) of sand dredged from the seabed. The sands contain mainly quartz and
carbonate minerals (1.63% as C). About 40 m3 of RO was injected over a period of 21 hrs. Elec-
trical conductivity and pH, both measured in the field, were observed to decrease and increase,
respectively, during the injection. Differences in the breakthrough times of the RO at the sampling
ports suggest the existence of stratifications within the sand layer. Samples collected during the
experiment were analyzed in the laboratory for major cations and alkalinity. Carbonate dissolution
and ion exchange were identified as the dominant geochemical processes during the recharge of
RO. In addition, high levels of the exchangeable sodium ratio (>15%) indicate the potential for the
swelling of clay material.

1 INTRODUCTION

To increase the land area in Singapore, shallow coastal areas around the island have gradually
been reclaimed since the 1960s. As the reclaimed lands are filled with granular material of high
porosity, artificial aquifers with fill depths ranging from 10 to 15 m are created, which provide a
potential for the sub-surface storage and recovery of water. Therefore site characterization studies
are currently being carried out at one of the reclaimed land sites, at Changi, to study the hydraulic
and geochemical characteristics of such artificial aquifers in the field.
The Changi land reclamation project involved the reclamation of more than 2000 hectares of
land, carried out in four phases over a period of seven years. The fill material consists of sand
dredged from the seabed, from two offshore islands near Singapore. This paper reports the results
of field experiments conducted to better understand the geochemical transformations when high
grade water is used to recharge the aquifer as processes such as ion exchange and precipitation etc.,
may give rise to clogging and have a detrimental impact on the hydraulic performance of the aquifer.

2 SITE CHARACTERISTICS

A 500 m × 500 m experimental field site was set up at the reclaimed land. Land reclamation works
for this part of the reclaimed land were completed in 2000. The present study commenced after
completion of soil consolidation works, removal of surcharge material and sand densification. The
ground surface is at elevation +3.77 m (MSL). Drilling contractors were engaged to install two

1175
 Fully screened
CMT
wells

1m
FS-1
ML-2
FS-2
1.5m
1m

1.5m
ML-1

Figure 1. Relative location of fully-screened wells and multilevel samplers at Corner 2 of the experimental site.

4 G.S.

Medium-loose sand
2
Elev.b.g.s.(m, MSL)

Silty sand
0
Medium sand
-2

-4 Loose sand
Original Seabed
-6 Clay/sand layers

-8 Marine clay

-10
0 5 10 15 20 0 1 2 3 4 5
qc(MPa) R f% Stratigraphy

Figure 2. CPT results from Corner 2 of experimental area.

fully-screened wells and piezometers, collect soil samples and carry out cone penetration tests
(CPT) at each of the four corners of the experimental field site. Cone penetration tests were also
performed at the center of the field site. The screened wells were installed by the rotary wash
method, with groundwater used as the drilling fluid. The screens used are I.D. 100 mm Boode
B.V. (Netherlands) lengthwise slotted, PVC screens with a slot size of 0.4 mm. A 125 mm (OD)
steel casing was advanced during drilling. When the desired depth was reached, the PVC screened
wells were inserted into the steel casing. The annulus between the screen and the casing was filled
with surface sand before the casing was extracted. Gravel packs were not used. In addition, three
multilevel monitoring wells (CMT, ML1 and ML2) were installed close to the fully-screened wells
at one corner (designated as Corner 2) of the experimental site. The CMT has 7 sampling ports,
while ML1 and ML2 have 15 sampling ports each. The relative locations of the fully-screened
wells and the multilevel wells are shown in Figure 1.
Sieve analyses were performed on the soil samples obtained from various depths at Corner 2.
More than 90% of the fill material is made up of fine-medium sand (particle size <2.0 mm). The
silt content is generally less than 2% and the coarse sand and shell contents are not more than 10%.
It was found that the fine content in the sands decrease with depth. This is presumably caused by the
separation of the particles during hydraulic filling. The average specific gravity is estimated to be
2.67. The sand is classified as a poorly graded sand (SP) in accordance with the Unified Soil Classi-
fication System (USCS). The values of the mean particle size, d50 (mm), uniformity coefficient, Cu ,
and the coefficient of gradation, Cg , for a composite sample (i.e., a composite of all depth-discrete
soil samples) obtained from Corner 2 are 0.42 ± 0.10, 2.78 ± 0.73 and 0.91 ± 0.12, respectively.
Results from a CPT obtained at Corner 2 are shown in Figure 2. Soil classification is based
on the methodology of Lunne et al. (1997). The results show a shallow silty sand zone underlain
by a zone of compacted sand. Those sediments are, in turn, underlain by a loose sand layer in

1176
 1
Na Cl
0 Na+Mg Cl+HCO3

Elevation (m,MSL)
-1 Na+Mg+Ca Cl+HCO3+SO4
Na+Mg+Ca+K
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
400 300 200 100 0 100 200 300 400
Cations (meq/L) Anions (meq/L)

Figure 3. Major anion and cation analysis of groundwater collected from CMT.

the deeper portion of the sand fill. The loose sand layer is consistent with reclamation works
by hydraulic filling and the upper medium sand zone is attributed to sand densification works
(Choa et al. (1997)).
Figure 3 shows the concentration profiles of major anions and cations analyzed in the laboratory
on the groundwater samples obtained from the CMT, prior to injection of RO. The ion balance was
within 7% for this particular analysis. The results show that the geochemistry of the groundwater
is dominated by Na and Cl, reflective of the saline origin of the groundwater in the sandfill. The
organic carbon content (foc ), total carbon and cation exchange capacity (CEC) are 0.28%, 1.63%
and 2.7 meq/100 g respectively.
Mineralogy study on the sand using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the primary
minerals present in the sand to be quartz and calcite. Quartz is detrital in origin while calcite is
a common biogenic component of marine sediments, and is a common test (shell) material from
microfossil groups. Visual verification of these minerals was obtained from scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) images of the sand particles.

3 FIELD EXPERIMENTS

The experiment was conducted by injecting slugs of reverse osmosis treated waste water (RO), to
study geochemical transformations during injection and the relative permeability of the different
zones within the fill material. The RO used is high grade water produced after treated waste water
has been purified using microfiltration and reverse osmosis.
In total, about 40 m3 of RO was injected into FS-1 (Figure 1) into the top 5 m of the saturated zone
at Corner 2. The bottom 2 m of the screened well was packed off, as the salinity of the groundwater
at this depth is considerably higher than that of the groundwater in the upper portions of the aquifer.
The amount of RO injected is approximately six pore volumes, assuming an influence zone, 2 m in
diameter with a thickness of 5 m, having a void ratio of 0.4. Sampling was carried out from the CMT,
located 1 m away, at regular intervals. In addition, samples were also collected from two different
depths in FS-1. The samples were tested for electrical conductivity (EC), temperature and pH in the
field and brought back to the laboratory for further analyses. The RO was injected initially on 3 Sep
2003, and subsequently on 4 Sep 2003 and 5 Sep 2003. The interval between the 1st and 2nd, and
2nd and 3rd injections were 16 hrs and 9 hrs, respectively. The injection schedule is given in Table 1.
The injections were carried out at a constant rate of 30 L/min. The expected arrival time of RO
at the CMT is about 210 min. The flow rate was monitored using a flow meter and confirmed by
level measurements in the RO supply tank. CMT ports 1–5 lie within the injection zone while ports
6 and 7 are outside the injection zone. For the CMT ports that lie within the injection zone, port
1 is located within the lower permeability, silty sand layer and the other ports are located within
the more permeable zone. The relative location of the CMT sampling ports and the change in EC

1177
recorded at selected sampling ports are shown in Figure 4. Results for sampling ports 5 and 6 are
similar to the results for sampling port 4, and are not plotted.
The data are presented in a continuous sequence, i.e. the first recorded EC value after the
commencement of tracer injection is plotted directly after the last recorded EC reading, prior to the
cessation of injection, on the previous day. Some spiking in the measured EC values is observed
in Figure 4, corresponding to the samples collected at the start of the 2nd injection (EC #2 and
less significantly, EC #3). The spiking is likely to be caused by background flow (the background
gradient is estimated to be 0.001). In spite of this discrepancy, the EC of the later samples match
up well with the previous day’s EC measurements, allowing a clear trend to be established. The
samples collected during the spiking period were excluded from further analyses. Figure 4 shows
that the RO arrival time at sampling ports 2, 3 and 4 agree the expected arrival time of 210 mins.
Similar arrival times were obtained for sampling ports 5 and 6. The EC of samples collected from
sampling port 1 (located in the silty sand layer) shows an unusual trend. The installation of the
CMT by rotary drilling is complicated by the presence of cohesive material. This technique works
well in unconsolidated media, because the material collapses onto the CMT when the casing, used
to support the sand media during the installation process, is removed. The presence of a silty sand

Table 1. RO injection schedule.

Injection times
1st injection 2nd injection 3rd injection
Flow Duration Vol. Interval Duration Vol. Interval Duration Vol. Total vol.
(L/min) (hrs) (m3 ) (hr) (hrs) (m3 ) (hr) (hrs) (m3 ) injected (m3 )

30 5.5 9.9 16 6.25 11.25 9 9.5 17.1 38.25

6 36
9
5 34
8
EC #2(mS/cm)

EC #7(mS/cm)
EC #1(mS/cm)

4 7 #1 32
6 30
3
5 End of 1st
28 End of 2nd
2 injection
4 #2 injection
26
1 3
0 360 720 1080 1440 0 360 720 1080 1440
Time (min) Time (min)

2 CMT port Stratification

2 2 1m Medium sand
1
1.8 #1 Silty sand
Elevation (m, MSL)

1.5 0
EC #4 (mS/cm)

EC #3(mS/cm)

#2 Coarse sand
1.6 -1
#3 Medium sand
1 -2
1.4 1 P.V. #4
-3
#3 #5 Loose sand
1.2 0.5 #4 -4
-5 #6
#7 Sand/clay
1 0 -6
0 360 720 1080 1440 Injection zone
Time (min) Packed-off

Figure 4. Variation of EC during injection. Ground elevation is at elev. +3.77 (m, MSL). Original seabed
elevation is at elev. −6.3 (m, MSL). The 1st pore volume (arrival time = 210 mins) is indicated by a dashed
vertical line.

1178
layer obviously impedes this process, with the possibility of the formation of an annulus of more
permeable material, surrounding the CMT, at port 1. This would then give rise to preferential
flow paths around port 1 of the CMT, and hence the possibility of getting erroneous results during
sampling. Finally, although sampling port 7 is situated furthest away from the injection zone, and
lies in a highly saline zone (EC approximately 32 mS/cm), a decrease in E.C. is observed during
injection. The E.C. however recovers to the previous day’s initial E.C. value, presumably as a result
of steep concentration gradients developed at the deeper portions of the aquifer during injection.

4 GEOCHEMISTRY

A geochemical analysis was conducted on the samples collected during the experiment. The vari-
ation of EC and pH with time, obtained from a representative sampling port (sampling port 4,
located in the loose sand layer) is shown in Figure 5. The decrease in EC, as the groundwater is
displaced by RO during injection is accompanied by an increase in pH, presumably a result of
carbonate mineral dissolution.
The samples collected from the CMT during RO injection were analyzed for the major cations
(K+ , Mg2+ , Na+ and Ca2+ ) and alkalinity. Bicarbonate and carbonate concentrations were calcu-
lated from alkalinity and pH measurements. In addition, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide,
Pco2 , was calculated from the solubility product of carbonic acid. In the calculations, the mass
action constants were corrected for temperature using the van’t Hoff equation and activities were
corrected for ionic strength, I , using the Davies equation. Because a complete chemical analysis
was not performed, I was calculated using the relation:

where the brackets represent molal concentrations. The results for the computations of Pco2 are
shown in Figure 5. The increase in pH with a corresponding decrease in Pco2 , gives further indication
of calcite dissolution according to:

These observations are supported by laboratory batch experiments conducted using RO with the
surface sand from the reclamation site. The soil-water slurries were made by adding 50 g of aquifer
sand to 500 mL of RO in 1L bottles and continuously mixed for 7 days. The net increases in
Mg2+ , Ca2+ and Na+ were balanced by a proportionate increase in HCO− −
3 and Cl , indicating the

-2.6 2 8.9
pH
1.8 8.8
-2.8
EC (mS/cm)

1.6 8.7
PCO2

pH

-3
1.4 8.6
-3.2 EC
1.2 8.5 PCO2

-3.4 1 8.4
0 360 720 1080 1440
Time (min)

Figure 5. Breakthrough of RO measured at sampling ports of CMT and changes in pH and PCO2 during
injection.

1179
 0.89 0.11

(Ca+Mg)/Total Cation
0.88 0.1

Na/Total Cation
0.87 0.09 (Na)/Total Cations

(Ca+Mg)/Total Cations

0.86 0.08

0.85 0.07
0 360 720 1080 1440
Time (min)

Figure 6. Decrease in (Ca + Mg)/total cations accompanied by a concomitant increase in Na/total cations.

40 24 0.025

22
35 0.02
20
I
ESR (%)

SAR

30 18 0.015
I

ESR
16
25 0.01
14

20 12 0.005
0 360 720 1080 1440
Time (min)

Figure 7. Variation of I , ESR and SAR during RO injection.

dissolution of carbonate minerals. The solubility index:

is approximated to be 0.54 from the batch experiments, indicating oversaturation with respect to
calcite.
An inspection of the data for Ca2+ concentration showed a decrease rather than an increase
in Ca2+ as one might expect from calcite dissolution (Eqn. 2). The possibility of ion exchange
was therefore investigated. The proportions of Na+ and Ca2+ + Mg2+ (in meq/L) are compared in
Figure 6. The increase in Na+ and the concomitant decrease in Ca2+ + Mg2+ gives strong indication
of ion exchange given by:

Additional soil samples obtained from the subsurface indicated the presence of clay pockets, pro-
viding confirmation of the possibility for ion exchange to occur. The data was further analyzed to
obtain the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) using the relation:

where mi is the concentration of i in mmol/L. This is plotted in Figure 7. The figure shows that the
SAR remains high (>10) even after the end of injection, by which time I has reached fresh water

1180
levels (i.e. I ≈ 0.015). The corresponding exchangeable sodium ratio, ESR = 0.0158*SAR remains
above the critical value of 15%. The high ESR values give an indication of the possible swelling of
clay, which may lead to a decrease in the hydraulic conductivity in the sandfill.

5 CONCLUSION

Results from the field experiment show that carbonate dissolution and possibly, ion exchange to
be the dominant geochemical processes that may be expected with subsurface storage of RO. RO
contains very little dissolved ions and is therefore considered to be aggressive. Further analysis
of the clays in the subsurface and laboratory column experiments are planned to quantify these
processes further, as part of an overall study to characterize the site for storage of water.

REFERENCES

Appelo, C.A.J. and Postma, D. 1993. Geochemistry, Groundwater and Pollution. Rotterdam: A. A. Balkema.
Choa, V., Bo, M. W., Arulrajah, A. and Na, Y. M. 1997. Overview of Densification of Granular Soil by Deep
Compaction Methods. Int. Conf. on Ground Improvement Techniques, 7–8 May, 1997, Macau.
Lunne, T., Robertson, P. K. and Powell, J.J.M. 1997. Cone Penetration Testing in Geotechnical Practice.
London: Blackie Academic & Professional.

1181
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The dispersion characteristics of sand under water

T. Yamamoto, M. Takezawa & Y. Maeno

Department of Civil Engineering, College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT: The dispersion and sedimentation of sand dumped into water from a discharge pipe
were studied experimentally as an investigation of the conditions of sea reclamation works. Model
tests were conducted using three sizes of discharge pipes and four grades of sand. The relationship
between the volume density, diffusion width and settling distance in still water was found to follow
a turbulent diffusion equation, while the settling velocity could be related to the apparent volume
density of the sand plume by an equation of motion in a fluid. The model tests demonstrated that
the settling velocity of sand plumes is determined by the grain size and volume density.

1 INTRODUCTION

Coastal ocean areas are being increasingly reclaimed to secure more usable land area for develop-
ment such as offshore airports and marine parks. Two commonly used methods of dumping sand
in reclamation zones include dumping from hopper barges directly into the area, and the use of
drag-suction dredgers to continuously dump a sand slurry from drag-heads lowered into the sea.
Construction management requires an estimate of the total amount of sand needed for completion
of the project reclamation, for which knowledge of the sedimentation process and the range of the
affected area are necessary in order to assess environmental impact. Although the dispersion of
sand when dumped into still water in a water tank has been examined through a number of model
tests [1][2], modeling experiments comparing different flow regimes are rare. In the present study,
the dispersion of dumped sand is estimated experimentally for three model systems: discharge of
sand from a pipe with running water, discharge of sand from a pipe with a jet flow of water, and
dumping of sand into still water.

2 EXPERIMENT

An experimental steel water tank has a length of 2 m, a width of 1.3 m, a depth of 1.8 m, as shown
in Figure 1. A ditch-shaped steel sheet is installed at the bottom of the water tank. The diameter of
the stainless steel discharge pipe is 35 mm, 50 mm, 75 mm, and can be angled by hand at the water
tank top. The running equipment of the discharge pipe is able to run at an angle at fixed speed. The
measurement of jet flow velocity used the propeller anemometer.
The sand species used in the experiment are standard sand, 0.3∼0.6 mm, 0.6∼1.2 mm, and
1.2∼2.5 mm, as listed in Table 1. The corresponding grain size ranges are shown in Figure 2.
Dumped sand was examined under two conditions: still water, and jet flow for three discharge pipe
diameters.

3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Sedimentation of sand dumped into still water

Sand was dumped at rate of 98∼1470 mN/sec from discharge pipes of 35 mm, 50 mm, 75 mm
diameter, and the process of the sand sinking to the bottom of the water from the pipe exit was

1183
 7.5 200 7.5

L 7.5×7.5×0.5

7.5
over flow

19
10
20

15 170 15

76
glass

139.5

170
L 7.5×7.5×0.5

47 40 16 40 47

56
18

19
unit : cm
L 7.5×7.5×0.5

Section

10
15
45

18
24
tank surface

10
water surface

3.5, 5.0, 7.5

unit : cm

Figure 1. Experiment water tank and discharge pipe.

Table 1. Property of sand.

Standard sand (0.3 mm) 0.3∼0.6 mm 0.6∼1.2 mm 1.2∼2.5 mm

Specific gravity 2.63 2.37 2.04 1.95

Void fraction (%) 39.8 42.6 52.0 58.5
Median grain size (mm) 0.17 0.42 0.86 1.70

100
.2mm
mm

mm

90
.6

.5
percentage passing (%)

80
mm~1
mm~0

mm~2
.3mm

70
d = 0.6
d = 0.3

d = 1.2
d=0

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0.05 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 10.0
grain size (mm)

Figure 2. Grain size distribution curve of sand.

1184
 7

mm
0.3
d=
6

settling velocity ratio w1/w0

5

m
m
.6
4 ~0
m
3m m
0.
= .2m
3 d
m ~1
0 .6m
d=
2 mm
2.5 diameter

m m~ grain size
(mm)
(mm) 35 50 75
1.2
d= 0.3
1 Eq. ( 3 ) 0.3~0.6
C0=0.3 0.6~1.2
k=0.043 1.2~2.5
0
0 5 10 15 20
volume density Nv (%)

Figure 3. Settling velocity of sand in still water.

observed. The sedimentation time of sand at the head was measured. The settling velocity is the
fastest when sand leaves the pipe, and the sand disperses horizontally as it settles to the bottom,
where the settling velocity is slow. The volume density of sand NV is given by

where, W = Ws/Aw1 , Ws is the dumped sand quantity, A is the cross section of the pipe, w1 is
the settling velocity of sand γs is the unit weight of sand, λ is the void of wet sand. The volume
density of sand, which is given by equation (1), is the volume density of sand on the settling way.
The movement equation of sand sedimentation under water can be expressed with equation (2):

where, M is mass of sand, M is apparent mass, g is gravitational acceleration, F is resistance of

water, and w1 is the settling velocity of sand. Finally, assuming that it is acceleration of dw1 /dt = 0,
the settling velocity w1 can derived from equation (2) as follows.

where, cD is shape factor, ρ is unit weight of water, k is diffusion coefficient, and h is sedimentation
depth. Figure 3 shows the relation between the settling velocity ratio w1 /w0 and the volume density
of sand, where, w0 is the settling velocity of single grain of sand. The settling velocity tends to
increase when the volume density becomes high. Clear difference in settling velocity with respect
to 0.6∼2.5 mm sand was found. Especially, as for settling velocity of standard sand, the difference
with single-grain sand was clear. The straight line in a Figure 3 is calculated by the equation (3).
The calculation values are mostly in agreement with an experiment values.
The horizontal dispersion width of sand tends to expand before reaching the bottom of the water
tank when the settling velocity is low and the volume density of sand is thin. And the dispersion
width of sand on the sedimentation path is inversely proportionally the settling velocity. The basic

1185
 1
Eq. (6)
k=0.043

sand density C/C0

0.5

W1 W1
=3 =5
W1 W W0
=1 0
W0
0
0 0.5 1
horizontal diffusion width R/z

Figure 4. Density distribution of sand in still water.

equation of turbulent diffusion is given by

where, c is the temporal mean sand density, u, v and w are mean velocities of x, y, and z direction,
εx , εy and εz are turbulent diffusion coefficient, and w0 is settling velocity of single grain sand.
Under conditions of no fluid movement and considering only the vertical density distribution of
sand, equation (4) becomes

Solving equation (5) providing the density distribution of sand c/c0 and horizontal diffusion width
R/z, we obtain

where, R is level diffusion width, and z is sedimentation depth. Figure 4 shows the relation between
c/c0 and R/z for k = 0.043 using settling velocity as a parameter.

3.2 Sedimentation of a sand slug dumped into still water

The sedimentation of a slug of sand was examined by filling various sizes of cylinders with sand,
and releasing the sand into still water at once. The cylinder dimensions are listed in Table 2. The
sand initially sank rapidly as a single unit, then began to disperse from the bulk with depth, finally
sinking more slowly near the bottom of the tank. The standard sand (0.3 mm) did not disperse well,
whereas the 1.2∼2.5 mm sand dispersed easily.
Figure 5 shows the relationship between sedimentation distance of the slug and the size of the
slug. Considering the specific gravity of the sand, the diameter of sand slug and the void fraction of
the sand, the sedimentation distance hs which sand slug begins to disperse increases with increasing
d2 and decreasing λ. The regression curve shown in Figure 5 is given by

1186
 Table 2. Sand mold size.

Mold number Diameter (cm) Height (cm) Volume (cm3 )

No. 1 2.61 4.10 21.92

No. 2 3.85 5.30 61.67
No. 3 5.14 6.05 125.47
No. 4 8.30 8.10 438.04

1.0
sedmentation distance of mass hs/h

0.5
Eq. (7)

symbol rain size (mm)

0.3
0.3~0.6
0.6~1.2
1.2~2.5
0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
the size of mass (γs−1)d2 / λH

Figure 5. Relation between sedimentation distance and the size of sand mass.

3.3 Sedimentation of sand dumped in a jet flow of water

Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the jet flow. Where U0 is the central velocity at the exit
of the discharge pipe, R is the expanse radius of a jet flow from the central axis, Z is the vertical
distance from the exit of discharge pipe, Uc is central velocity of a jet flow at vertical distance Z,
and D is the diameter of the discharge pipe. Here, R was confirmed to be 0.24Z. The change of
central velocity in the jet flow is given by UC /U0 = 6.2/(z/D) based on the experimental results for
the jet flow. As a result, relation between central velocity of a jet flow and the expanse radius of a
jet flow is given by equation (8).

The curve in Figure 7 is shown computation of equation (8). Therefore, central velocity of a jet
flow is inversely proportional to the expanse radius of a jet flow . The experiment results are in
approximate agreement with the curve.
The relationship between wu and Nv is shown in Figure 8. The volume density of sand in a jet
flow is given by equation (9). This equation is the same for that of still water.

where, Wu = Ws/Awu is the weight of sand dumped in one second, and wu is the measured settling
velocity of sand. Figure 8 shows the relation between the settling velocity ratio with single-grain
sand and the volume density of sand. Measured settling velocity tends to increase when the volume

1187
 1.20
diameter
35mm
1.00 50mm
75mm

central velocity Uc/Uo

D 0.80

0.60
Uo

0.40
Z

0.20
d2
Eq. (8)
R 0.00
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00
Uc expanse radius R/D

Figure 7. Relationship between central

Figure 6. Schematic diagram of the jet flow. velocity and expanse radius in a jet flow.

12

10
settling velocity ratio wu/wo

4
diameter
grain size (mm) 35 50 75
(mm)

2 0.3
0.3~0.6
0.6~1.2
1.2~2.5
0
0 5 10 15 20
volume density Nv (%)

Figure 8. Settling velocity measured in a jet flow.

density of sand is increased. The difference with settling velocity by grain size could not be found
except the standard sand. In addition, the settling velocity of the measurement increases, when the
exit velocity of discharge pipe becomes high.
3.4 Critical velocity of sand in a water jet flow
The critical velocity is the central velocity of the jet flow at the point where the accumulated sand
begins to move as a bulk plume. Measurements of the critical velocity were made for various
displacements of the tank bottom (0∼33 cm). The critical velocity shown in Table 3 represents
the central velocity in the jet flow obtained from equation (2). The vertical velocity measured
at a floor height of 1 cm on the accumulation sand surface when the sand began to move was
15 cm/s, corresponding to approximately half the critical velocity. The flow near the surface of the
accumulation of sand on the tank floor may affect both the vertical and horizontal velocities. The
critical velocity was not affected by grain size. The eroded well in the middle of the accumulation
of sand due to the jet flow was approximately 33 cm in diameter, agreeing well with the expansion
radius (2R = 34.6 cm) of the jet flow at the tank bottom.

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 Table 3. Critical velocity.

Grain size (mm) Velocity (cm/s)

Standard sand (0.3) 30.9

0.3∼0.6 28.5
0.6∼1.2 28.1
1.2∼2.5 30.1

4 CONCLUSIONS

A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the settling characteristic of sand dumped by
different delivery systems. The settling velocity of sand is proportional to the volume density of
sand. As in still water, the settling velocity of sand tends to be influenced by the volume density of
sand. The relationship between the density, diffusion range and sedimentation distance of sand in
still water was verified using a turbulent diffusion equation. The critical velocity of accumulation
sand, 28 cm/sec∼31 cm/sec, is not affected greatly by grain size. The horizontal dispersion width
of sand in the sedimentation process is in inversely proportional to the settling velocity. Field data
confirmed the modeling results for the dispersion of sand expelled from the discharge pipe of a
suction dredger.

REFERENCES

Tawatchai, T. Gravitational Convection, Thesis No.336,Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, 1970

Tamai, M. Study on initial stage of diffusion process of turbidity in direct dumping of soil, Journal of Hydraulic,
Coastal and Environmental Engineering, JSCE, No.515. pp. 77–86, 1995

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This page intentionally left blank
Keynote lectures
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Water in a changing climate∗

Jorg Imberger
Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia, Nedland, Australia

1 WATER THE MEDIUM OF LIFE

Water is the most ubiquitous substance on earth. The chemical structure of water, made up of
hydrogen and oxygen atoms is intrinsically simple, well studied and universally accepted. Water is
subtle in its many manifestations, occurs in three phases, liquid, ice and gas (Fig. 1) and fulfils an
enormous array of functions in our world.
Water enters every aspect of human, animal and plant life. It would not be an exaggeration to say
that water forms the medium for life, whether it is in the form of sap providing food for a plant, in
a glass of water that quenches our thirst or provides the environment for a plankton cell suspended
in water and photosynthesising dissolved CO2 , using the carbon atom to build its structure. As we
will see below, nature uses two main building materials to construct the life as we know it. It uses
carbon, in organic and inorganic form, to build structural support for all organisms; the structures
are in three forms, structural elements, tubular arrays and membranes. Distinct from man made
structures that are typically inert made of concrete, steel or ceramics, nature’s carbon structures
are nested, flexible and alive. Every component of nature’s structures, be it a micro-organism, a
plant or a human, has structures within the structure and itself exists within a larger structure. By
comparison structures made by humans usually only have one length scale. In nature the tubular
elements provide additional rigidity, but the main purpose of the tubular elements is to allow a
water solution, the second major building material, to transport building materials to building sites
and remove debris to reprocessing units. The transport may be both around the carbon structures or
through the tubular elements. By making some of the tubular elements porous, nature is further able
to separate debris into components and ship these components off to different processing plants.
In this way nature uses water to build every form of life.
From a fundamental point of view water provides three major functions depending on the scale
of motion, relative to the cycle that the motion is servicing; transportation, dispersion and mixing.
Transport occurs at the largest scales of motion and facilitates building materials and whole struc-
tures to be transported from one place to another within the ecosystem. This transport can be forced
by the application of pressure in a confined space, making the water flow; this is called advection.
Alternatively, water can be made to change its density and together with gravity this may cause the
heavier water to sink and the lighter water to rise or if the water is contained in a finite domain,
gravity may cause water to flow over large horizontal distance; this type of flow is called natural
convection. When such natural convection takes place in domains that are much longer than they
are deep, as is the case in the ocean and in most lakes we refer to the configuration as the “long
box problem” and the flow as “thermohaline circulation”. Further, in oceans the earth’s rotation
modifies the long box convection so that the flow may often be constrained to huge currents that
can transport material over thousands of kilometres; the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic ocean that
separates from Cape Hatteras and takes warm equatorial water all the way to northern Europe is
an example of such a current (see Fig. 2).

∗ From: Jorg Imberger (2005), ‘Water in a Changing Climate,’ in: Marnie Leybourne and Andrea Gaynor (eds), Water:
Histories, Cultures, Ecologies (in print, 2005). ©UWA press, 2005. Reprinted with permission.

1199
Figure 1. Lago Argentino, showing water in its three phases.

Figure 2. Gulf Stream temperature signature as seen from Modis Satellite.

Dispersion occurs when the motion is at the scale of the ecological cycle either on the outside or
the inside of the cycle or organism. When water is constrained in a microscopic tube or circulated
around an organism, water transports dissolved and particulate materials, heat, kinetic energy
and momentum again by advection or convection; examples abound, blood flow in arteries, sap in

1200
trees, water filtration by filter feeders, etc. Such transport is usually called dispersion as it disperses
material over a volume comparable to the ecological cycle.
Mixing occurs when dispersion combines with molecular diffusion to homogenize the building
materials. For example, oxygen is mixed into our blood, harmful materials are removed in our
kidneys or nutrients are made accessible around a plankton cell in a lake. Viewed slightly differently
a building and reprocessing site, just as those that man establishes, can only use certain materials
and then only at the right concentrations in order to function correctly. Water, as it conveys materials
around in the tubular carbon structures, dilutes materials through a series of mechanisms, from
molecular diffusion, to shear dispersion, to turbulent diffusion to mixing by kinematic chaos in
order to bring constituent concentrations to levels where they can be assimilated by the particular
ecological process.
The last type of motion is very slow viscous flow where a water solution is forced through
a membrane; a membrane is basically a sieve made of a carbon lattice. Particles or molecules
larger than the sieve pores cannot pass through the membrane and so are separated. Separation
may thus be viewed as the reverse of mixing and takes place when water solutions are forced
through carbon membranes in order to separate solute materials into their individual components.
Combined, mixing and separation allow solutions to be blended to the composition needed by the
next process in any cycle.
Put simply, nature uses the ability of water to act as a medium in which transport, dispersion,
mixing and separation can take place to construct carbon structures in such a way that the correct
access of building materials is achieved, a sort of on-time scheduling system. Rarely does nature
leave an inventory sitting idle! These carbon structures are constructed by organisms that produce
carbon dioxide and consume oxygen as they metabolize food. Glucose (C6 H12 O6 ) is a typical food
and a metabolic reaction can be represented by:

C6 H12 O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2 O + Energy

As part of a symbiosis a plant and green bacteria produce oxygen and consume carbon dioxide
during daylight hours when photosynthesis. In this process energy from the sun is used to convert
carbon dioxide to glucose. The overall reaction for this complicated multi-step photosynthesis
reaction may be simplified to:

Energy + 6CO2 + 12H2 O + hν → C6 H12 O6 + 6O2 + 6H2 O

Superficially, animals and plants make food for each other, the sun is the source of energy for the
plants and the energy released when animals metabolize food provides the energy for movement
and temperature control. Water is the facilitator for these reactions.
There is one further action provided by motion in the water column. Flow invariably involves
gradients of velocity known as small scale shear. Such shear may be set up when water moves
through a small vessel, such a membrane in an organism or water seeping through a soil matrix
or may be generated by large scale turbulent flows. Large scale flows have the property that large
scales eddies cascade energy to ever smaller scales eddies until viscosity prevents a further decrease
in scale. Typically, in a lake, estuary, river or oceans these smallest scale are around 1 mm or smaller.
Thus both the small scale constricted flows and the large scale eddying motions produce small scale
shear at a scale of a millimetre or even smaller. This means that particles such as plankton or blood
cells being transported by the mean flow are tumbled or aligned depending on the small scale shear
in a way that is conducive to their life action; for instance small algal particles may form flocs,
aided by the small scale shear, in their need to aggregate in order to control their buoyancy and
rise to the water surface where they can harness light. Put simply, the large scale motions move the
materials to the site and the small scale motions arrange them ready to used for construction.
So we see water has many physical functions in both the natural and human world and really
forms, together with carbon, the most important construction material, in the natural world. Depend-
ing on the scale of the motion, relative to the scale of the cycle, water acts to transport, disperse,
mix, separate and arrange the building materials of life throughout most of nature’s life cycles.

1201
 Due to this omnipresence water has attained a central place in our life. It is seen as essential
for quenching our thirst, watering our crops and gardens, conveying our construction materials
and providing the medium for all aquatic life, from simple planktonic plants to large fish such
as whales. Nature uses water to convey food, remove waste, for cooling ourselves when we go
for a swim, cleaning ourselves when we wash and cleansing our souls when we observe, in a
moment of reflection, the many nuances that light and water form when they interact; such displays
can range from the spectrum a rainbow, to the sunset lighting up the water in the clouds, to the
intricate reflections of a restless water surface, to the force conveyed by a raging river in flood or
a wave breaking on the beach. Through these many manifestations, people associate water with
force, cleanliness, with renewal and with happiness. Religions, cultures and whole societies have
incorporated water into the mainstream; water plays a central role in our existence.

2 THE EARTH’S HEAT BUDGET

Water is the mechanism for the earth’s thermostat. In Fig. 3 we show the current thermal budget of
the earth. The numbers are all in watts per square meter of the earth and take into account the fact
that the sun’s radiation strikes only half of the earth at any particular time and further that the earth’s
surface near the equator receives the full force of the sun, but near the pole where the surface is
parallel to the sun’s rays the earth receives little or no direct sunlight. Two major points follow from
Fig. 3. First, water in the form of clouds controls the direct reflection (107 watts per meter square)
of the sun’s radiation and so controls the amount of incoming radiation (heating) that reaches the
earth; the degree of cloud cover is thus critical to the temperature of the earth. This also explains
why clouds are so critical when modelling the earth’s response to climate change scenarios.
Second, in order to be in overall thermal equilibrium, the atmosphere must radiate back into outer
space, 235 watts per square meter in the form of long wave radiation. Simple physics tells us that
this would require the outer atmosphere to be at a temperature of around −19◦ C, too cold to sustain,
on earth, our present way of life. As it is, the earth has an average surface temperature of about

Figure 3. Water is used in the atmosphere to control the environmental temperature at the surface of the earth.
(Reproduced from Kiehl and Trenberth (1997)).

1202
14◦ C. This difference is brought about by the differential absorption properties of the atmosphere
to electromagnetic radiation. As can be seen from Fig. 3 short wave radiation, mostly visible light
coming from the sun, can penetrate the atmosphere; 168 watts per square meter reaching the earth
and only 67 watts per square meter being absorbed by the water in the air. By contrast the long
wave radiation given off by the clouds and the earth does not penetrate and is mostly absorbed by
the water vapour and the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, heating the clouds (water vapour and
water droplets) which then re-radiate long wave energy, but now downwards as well as upwards.
The net effect, as shown in Fig. 3, is a cycle of heat (324 watts per square meters) set up between
the atmosphere and the earth’s surface, constantly heating the air near the surface of the earth thus
maintaining a blanket of warm air around the earth that is about 5 km thick.
The heat released by condensation heats the air and the water vapour in the atmosphere. Picture
a large cloud, containing enough water to release 10 mm of rain over an area of 10 km × 10 km.
Such a cloud contains 106 cubic meters of water. Given the latent heat of vaporization of water
is about 2 × 109 Joules per cubic meter, such a rain event would release about 2 × 1015 Joules
into the atmosphere at the altitude where the rain forms. This may be compared to the Hiroshima
atom bomb that released approximately 6 × 1013 Joules over the city. The exchanges of heat in the
atmosphere due to the formation of clouds is thus very considerable and is estimated to be around
78 watts per square meter (Fig. 3). However, the air would only increase in temperature by about
0.1◦ C due to this heating because the volume of air involved is so large. Clearly the heat in the air,
originally coming from the hot sun, is now stored at a temperature close to ambient air temperature
and the radiation from such a body of moist air is very long, similar to that being radiated by the
earth’s surface. Thus, any heat lost by radiation from the earth’s surface, from the water vapour in
the clouds (78 watts per square meter) or by warm air carried aloft by thermals (24 watts per square
meter) is all radiated up and down as long wave radiation.
The atmosphere is thus heated, on average, from below constantly transporting heat upwards
as shown in Fig. 3. The gradient of temperature through the lower 10 km of atmosphere is just
sufficient to support a heat flux from the earth’s surface to the upper atmosphere equal to the flux
that is radiated back into outer space from the outer layers of the atmosphere. The temperature
at the outer levels of the atmosphere adjust so that the two fluxes match and are equal to the net
incoming short wave radiation from the sun. The water vapour in the atmosphere has thus two very
important roles. First, the clouds reflect 22% of the incoming radiation back into space. Increasing
cloud cover would lead to a greater reflection and thus a cooler earth’s surface. Second, increased
water vapour would mean greater absorption of the long wave radiation coming from the earth’s
surface and thus lead to a warming of the atmosphere. There is thus a competitive effect when water
vapour levels change in the atmosphere; such competition is the norm in nature and provides, as
we shall see later, the stability and robustness of the environment that we live in.
The so-called greenhouse effect of anthropogenic hydrocarbon emissions is closely tied to the
differential absorption of electromagnetic radiation describes above. What occurs is the hydro-
carbons again have a differential wavelength effect; the short wave solar radiation can penetrate
these gases and reach the earth’s surface, however, the radiation emitted by the water vapour in
the clouds and by the earth’s surface is long and cannot penetrate the atmosphere, laden with
hydrocarbons, to the same extent. This causes a further slight warming of the atmosphere adjacent
to the earth’s surface. By itself this is insignificant, however, this small increase leads to an increase
in evaporation, sending more water vapour into the atmosphere setting up a positive feedback with
the warming that greatly magnifies the impact. It is well documented that the pan evaporation
around the globe has been steadily rising over the last 50 years; the earth is becoming more and
more like a moist glasshouse.
The main conclusion that may be derived from this brief excursion into how nature uses water
is that there exist many atmospheric feedback mechanisms, both positive and negative, that nature
uses to regulate the earth’s temperature. These involve the reflectivity of water, its differential
absorption of electromagnetic radiation, its ability to store and release heat by changing phase and
its ability to transport heat over the earth’s surface in the form of water vapour. These feedback
mechanisms consist of cycles that have scales from millimetres to thousands of kilometres and

1203
time scale from seconds to thousands of years; the atmosphere gains robustness to thermal change
from a continuous spectrum of competing and supporting cycles.

3 HYDROLOGIC CYCLE: THE CARBON SOLAR STEAM ENGINE

Water being a fluid is seldom stationary. Even in a lake that appears stagnant, or is covered by ice,
water is forever moving. This is the nature of a fluid as distinct from a solid. Water can only be
stationary if there is no force acting on it. Given that the earth is rotating and the sun heats the water
differentially, water is rarely stationary. Further, even when the water domain is very small, such
as in a pore of a leaf where water could be expected to be stationary relative to the leaf, water is not
stationary. Here and in many other analogous situations, water moves driven by surface tension that
exists at the interface between water and air, or indeed at interfaces between water and any other
fluid. Further, water has the property that it can exist in three different phases at temperature and
pressure conditions found on the earth’s surface. Heating energizes water molecules in the fluid
phase and with increasing temperature more and more have enough energy to break the fluid bonds
and escape through the water-air interface; evaporation from a lake surface, transpiration from a
leaf or simple heating in a kettle are examples of this phase change. The water molecules, once
freed, can co-exist as water vapour with the molecules that make up the air. The reverse is also a very
common occurrence. When a mixture of water vapour and air is cooled below a certain temperature,
as is the case when moist air rises over a mountain range, water molecules will aggregate onto small
seeding particles and form colonies that quickly turn into droplets; the process being once again
aided by the small scale shear discussed above. This is called condensation. An important point to
note is that evaporation requires heat and condensation release the heat back into the air. This is the
principle of all cooling systems, both those built by humans and those found in nature. In nature
the heat is supplied by the sun that warms the surface layers of lakes and oceans and maintains a
certain intensity of evaporation from the water surface. However, the water vapour is often then
carried aloft where it is cooled, forming water, which we experience as rain, hail or snow and, as
explained in the previous section, releasing heat at great height.
This steam engine is entirely energized by the energy from the sun. As a percentage of the
total freshwater on earth, the water in the atmosphere is a very small fraction (∼0.03%) and is
unimportant as a water store, but as a transport mechanism as water vapour it is very important for
the following reasons:

(1) The evaporation and transpiration allow the earth to sweat, cooling the earth’s surface and taking
the heat from the earth’s surface aloft to higher altitudes where it can be lost by radiation.
(2) Once aloft the water vapour is distributed by winds over the surface of the earth, making rain,
snow and hail available in practically all land masses, not only over water bodies where it is
mainly formed.
(3) By taking some of the moisture both northwards and southwards, the water returns to earth as
snow and ice, falling in areas where it is cold enough to remain as ice. The huge quantities
of water stored in the ice caps affect the circulation in the Atlantic and other oceans as well
as determining the water level in the world’s oceans. Not only do the ice caps store water, but
the ice caps also store heat (coldness) thus giving the earth a huge thermal inertia that helps to
dampen the temperature fluctuations that we would otherwise experience on the surface of the
earth.
(4) By spreading the water vapour over the continental land masses, the water formed mostly over
the oceans, falls to the ground where most of it is immediately evaporated from water left on the
ground or intercepted by vegetation. Most of the water taken up by plant tissues is transpired
from the vegetation as the plants sweats to regulate their temperature. This sweating has once
again a dual purpose. As the plants open the pores in their leaves to vent the water vapour,
they allow in CO2 , that is captured and then used as a source of carbon in the photosynthesis

1204
 processes that turns some of the gaseous carbon into glucose and then to the carbon tubular
structure that form the plant.
(5) A small percentage of the rain (often as low as 0.01%) penetrates the soil matrix and makes
its way down into, what are called, aquifers. Aquifers are storage zones in the soil or rock
of the earth’s surface. There are three major classes of aquifers. First, very near the surface,
there is a layer of soil that contains water, but the soil pores are only partially filled with
water, the remainder containing water vapour and air. This is called the vadose zone. Second,
immediately underneath there is an aquifer that is saturated, but the upper water surface within
the soil matrix is at atmospheric pressure. This is called the unconfined aquifer. Third, going
deeper yet, water can percolate through rock fissures into underlying sandy soils that, over
time, fill with water. Depending on where the water enters these strata and how impermeable
the overlying rock is, this water can actually be under pressure relative to the local elevation
of the earth’s surface. The vadose zone and the unconfined aquifers serve to keep the earth’s
vegetation alive, feed wetlands and rivers with water during periods of low or no rain. These
aquifers introduce a time delay and ensure a broader spatial distribution of the rainwater that
helps the vegetation to bridge dry summers or drier areas (a form of delayed irrigation). The
aquifers also act as water treatment plants, cleansing the water as it percolates through the soil
matrix, both by physical filtration and by bacterial induced transformations. By contrast, the
deep confined aquifers can act as conduits, often transmitting water over hundreds of kilometers
allowing it to be used by nature for wetlands, marine freshwater plumes, estuarine and lagoonal
communities remotely from where the rain occured. This water can commonly be thousands of
years old.
(6) Lakes, wetlands and rivers all play an enormously diverse role even though they contain only
about 0.3% of the worlds fresh water. They are nature’s terrestrial water treatment plants.
Water runs off from the land either as surface runoff or through the soil strata as groundwater
into small rivulets, then creeks, then streams and then finally large rivers. The path to the
ocean can often be punctuated by long holding periods in lakes and wetlands depending on
the terrain, leading to a residence time of months to many years before the water reaches the
ocean. During this time the water is cycled through soil matrices, plant tissues and animal
guts, leading to a constant reworking of the chemicals carried by the water. One only needs to
look through a microscope to realize the frenzy of activity that goes on a scale smaller than
can be perceived by the naked eye. There is an unimaginable army of workers, from bacteria,
with a scale of a few microns to zooplankton that have scales up to a few millimetres, working
away to break down chemicals that are both in a dissolved and particulate form in the water in
order to make them palatable for the workers downstream, both physically and downstream in
terms of material cycling. In particular the tiny microbes in the water break down the carbon
debris that terrestrial vegetation leaves behind such as leaves, branches and seeds. This carbon,
originally derived from CO2 via the photosynthesis process, where the sun’s energy is used to
bind CO2 into solid structures, is transformed by three groups of processes in increasing order
of time. First, most of the carbon is converted back to CO2 in a relatively fast cycling set of
processes, via first breaking the particulate carbon into dissolved organic carbon (a series of
long chain molecules that often colour the water yellow brown). Second, some of the carbon
is incorporated into the inorganic carbon loop in the water body used to regulate the seasonal
CO2 content of the water. Third, over very long time scales, a small amount of the carbon is
bound into stable hydrocarbons such as natural gas, oil or coal. All processes take place in water
bodies, such as lakes and wetlands, that are hospitable to the microbes that perform the various
functions.

The ocean is the largest store of water in the hydrologic cycle containing (97.3% of the earth’s
total water store), but unfortunately for humans it is contaminated with salt, making it not suitable
for consumption by humans or most terrestrial fauna and flora. However, the oceans serve as the last
in the chain of water treatment plants. Any material that is not reworked by the time the water enters
the ocean at an estuary mouth or through submerged groundwater fissures forms food for a new

1205
world of life in the oceans. Here, things used to be broken down to harmless substances that could
either be laid to rest in the ocean floor or vented back to the atmosphere. This turned the oceans into
a sustainable evaporation basin, where water is stored for cleaning for a mean time of about 4000
years, after which it is totally purified through evaporation. In the spirit of multipurpose design,
nature also uses the ocean to redistribute the thermal energy the water captures near the equator to
the poles of the earth where it is used to melt the ice that forms there. Perhaps most importantly,
nature uses the deep ocean water to store huge amounts of carbon, short term as dissolved CO2
and more long term as carbonate and bi-carbonate ions, ready to be released into the atmosphere
when the earth needs warming.
The hydrologic cycle, shown in Fig. 4 may thus be viewed as a steam engine fuelled by the
sun’s energy. The engine is composed of millions of nested cycles, each deriving benefit from their
spatial and temporal neighbours, and the purpose of which is to build carbon structures that create
an environment for their own benefit. We saw much the same strategy already when describing
some of the cycles in the atmosphere. Nature consists of cycles with nested time scales, groups
of which almost completely recycling their own building materials, but spill out varying fractions
of substances that become incorporated into other groups of cycles where they very often act as
controls. In the present case the carbon that was sequestered in the water bodies helped control the
earth’s temperature that in turn fed back to the rate of sequestering. We see yet again that nature is
an endless series of intertwined chemical and biological cycles with a continuous spectrum of time
and scales, some competing, some supporting each other and others acting as positive or negative
feedback mechanisms for adjacent cycles; water provides the medium for the cycles.

Figure 4. The hydrologic cycle.

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4 NATURAL CLIMATE VARIABILITY

Climate variability is the result of natural cycles that are, in turn, the result of the fluctuations
in the global hydrologic cycle; the climate and short-term fluctuations of the climate, known as
the weather, are really the environment the hydrologic processes create. When viewed in this
way, climate is the result of a huge number of interacting cycles, each with huge fluxes of water,
carbon and other building materials, the net sum of which is a very small fraction of the individual
fluxes. The climate is thus the result of subtracting very large quantities that nearly cancel. It is
therefore easily understood that even minute changes in any of these cycles, can lead to very large
changes in the net flux and hence the factor determining the climate. Such a system would be, most
likely, unstable were it is not for the mitigating influence of both positive and negative feed back
mechanisms. These start up when cycles shift and start creating larger, than normal, net fluxes.
These feedback cycles or loops are the result of previous fluctuations and often remain dormant in
the background until called into action by a surplus of a building material resulting from one of the
cycles increasing its activity. A very simple example of this is the idea that global warming will be
mitigated by the increased vegetation growth fostered by the increase temperatures, humidity and
CO2 . The idea is that increased vegetation growth will fix more CO2 and so the earth will become
stable again, at a slightly higher temperature, a more moist atmosphere and a much greener land
cover. This is at the heart of the difficulty in predicting the world’s climate; it is the net result of
existing and dormant processes, the active cycles cycling very large fluxes of material, but most of
which is cancelled by a feedback cycle.
It is therefore instructive to see whether we learn from past climate changes, known as climate
variability. However, for this search to be fruitful we must go back many hundreds of thousands of
years, recently made possible by advances in the field of paleoclimatology; the science that uses
debris, used as proxies, left by previous life locked in the sediments of lakes or by information kept
in the ice. Figure 5 shows ocean water levels reconstructed in such a way. It is clear from these
data that, at least during the last half millions years or so, the ocean level has fluctuated by almost

Figure 5. Sea level changes over four glacial cycles. Reproduced from Alverson et al. (2001). The different
lines represent different reconstructions. Note the slow decline and relatively fast increase in sea level, the
so-called saw-tooth structure.

1207
120 m over this time period; the major sea levels falls were punctuated by quite severe fluctuations
of smaller periods, but not in a systematic way. However, the data in Fig. 5 do tend to suggest that
rising sea level usually took place relatively rapidly over about 10 to 15 thousand years and once
set in train this rise appears to continue until some change sets in, halting the rise at a level similar
to what the sea level is today. The volume of water involved in a 120 m rise is enormous and there
is only one store for this water, the ice caps and ice sheets; the atmosphere can simply not hold
enough water vapour to account for such a change. The rising sea level thus implies a continued
melting of the ice that makes up the ice caps and ice sheets. By contrast the lowering of sea level
is seen to be punctuated by a non monotonic decline with quite substantial rises and falls adding
up to a fall of 120 m over about 90 thousand years. As seen in Fig. 5 sea level had been rising very
rapidly over the last 15 thousand years and was probably on the way down before anthropogenic
influences set in.
Many explanations have been advanced for the sea level changes depicted in Fig. 5, most relying
on some sort of triggering by the various intensity fluctuations in the sun’s radiation. (see Kiehl &
Trenberth, 1997; Alverson et al., 2001 for an excellent summary). Recently, Gildor & Tziperman
(2001) and Gildor (2004) have put forward an elegantly simple box model with processes that are
successful in explaining the periodicity of the documented water level changes associated with
glaciation/deglaciation of the earth. The value of this model is perhaps not in its absolute accuracy,
but that it illustrates once again that climate is the sum of many cycles each with feedback loops.
Consider a longitudinal north south section of the earth’s ocean and atmosphere through the
Atlantic Ocean close to 30◦ West. This section has a length of approximately 20,000 km (half the
perimeter of the earth), has an ocean about 5 km deep near the equator, with the bottom surfacing
at the northern extreme, but remaining submerged in the south even during the lowest sea levels.
Above this section is an atmosphere, approximately 5 to 10 km thick, able to hold both water vapour
and greenhouse gases.
As discussed above, due to the spherical nature of the earth, the sun’s radiation per square meter
of the earth’s surface is maximum at the equator and zero at the poles where the earth’s surface is
parallel to the sun’s rays. By contrast, cooling due to long wave back radiation is unaffected by this
orientation change and is, to first approximation neglecting cloud cover variations, roughly equal
everywhere. This means there is a net heat gain near the equator and a net heat loss near the poles
and the ocean forms a “long box”, as discussed above, containing a thermohaline circulation that
takes surface waters to the poles with the return flow taking place in the deep abyss of the ocean
basin. Further, we must remember that even though the sun’s rays can penetrate the water-laden
atmosphere, they are attenuated in the top 50 or so meters of the ocean surface, differentially
heating the surface water near the equator; the warm surface water at the equator then moves
northward along the ocean surface to the poles, its path being constrained by the earth’s rotation
to flow in large meandering ocean currents, the best known being the Gulf Stream, that leaves the
US mainland at Cape Hatteras (see Fig. 2) and flows north east ward as a strong current all the
way to continental northern Europe. As this warm water moves north it is progressively cooled by
the differential surface heating-cooling discussed above, and ultimately becomes cold enough to
sink, in the north, to the bottom of the ocean where it return southward towards the equator. In the
north this water is not only cooled, but also becomes a little saltier, due to some of the fresh water
leaving the ocean water to become ice, accelerating sinking into the abyss. However, once again
there is a competing cycle, the water vapour that is generated in the equatorial regions travels north
and falls as rain on the ocean surface imparting a positive buoyancy to the sea water. The strength
of this northern rainfall is a strong function of the earth’s temperature. The strength of the long
box circulation is thus a function of a very large number of competing cycles, some strengthening
the current others acting to shut it down. Most importantly, the current itself transports a huge
amount of heat northward, so fluctuations of the current have themselves a strong influence on
these various cycles setting up yet a further strong feedback loop.
On the way north, surface waters absorb atmospheric CO2 , part of which is carried as dissolved
gas and part of which is used to manufacture plankton. As the northward moving surface water
cools, it gains density and begins to sink into the ocean abyss, taking the dissolved CO2 and the

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particulate carbon to great depth. The increased pressure and colder temperatures allow potentially
more gas to be dissolved. The particles of carbon are food for families of bacteria that first reduce
the plankton particles to dissolved organic carbon and then back to CO2 , the enhanced solubility
means that the CO2 released by bacteria consuming the DOC can all be stored in the water. This
is done through a series of cycles called ecological redox cycles where bacteria first metabolise
oxygen to respire CO2 , first from dissolved oxygen, then as this is depleted oxygen from metal
oxides to precipitate metal ions, then from nitrates and sulphides and finally from CO2 itself to
produce methane. This biological pump, as it is known, takes carbon in the surface waters to depth.
Collectively these cycles are known as the short term carbon cycling. Some of this carbon is in
the dissolved gaseous form and some binds with inorganic ions such as Ca to form precipitates
of limestone, skeletal matter etc, forming a counterpart inorganic store to the freshwater organic
hydrocarbon store. The inorganic buffer depends on the acidity, a high pH (alkaline, low CO2 ) leads
to precipitation of carbonates. Lowering the pH (increasing the CO2 content) sequesters carbon
into inorganic temporary bicarbonate stores. Once in the bicarbonate form most is returned to CO2
in any weathering process with slightly acidic environments (high CO2 concentrations forming a
further positive feedback cycle) and the remainder is captured by geological plate movements that
take these deposits deep into the depth of the earth where high pressure transforms the deposits
into rock, in the process releasing much of the carbon in the carbonate as CO2 that escapes back
into the atmosphere via volcanoes; once again a cycle within cycles shedding a fraction of its cycle
flux to another cycle.
Let us start our discussion about the glaciation/deglaciation cycle at the high water phase (see
Fig. 5). As discussed above, at the equator the surface ocean water experiences a net heat gain and
at the poles there is net cooling. It is important to keep in focus that surface heating has a stratifying
effect that stabilizes the water column at the equator whereas surface cooling sets up an unstable
convection that drives the water to depth at the poles; the water here is unstable, highly turbulent
and sinking to great depth. Since the ocean is very much longer in horizontal scale than it is deep,
our long box has a small aspect ratio (5:20,000). During the cooling phase the circulation is driven
predominantly by the ever increasing coldness of the waters at the poles. As the water cycles past
the poles on its way to depth, a small fraction of the water turns to ice leaving behind slightly saltier
water and also releasing some heat; these have opposing effects on the density of the ocean water.
The cooling is further reinforced by the increasing ice sheet area reflecting the little sun that does
reach the northern latitudes, by clearing the atmosphere of greenhouse gases through the removal of
atmospheric CO2 to the deep abyss and by decreasing evaporation as glaciation encroaches lowering
the greenhouse water vapour content in the atmosphere. Countering this progressive cooling is a
decrease in evaporation and thus snowfall in the polar regions starving the poles of ice. These
competing effects leading to an intermittent increase of ice cover and lowering of the water level
that tends to continue for approximately 90,000 years.
It is important to recognize that the reduction of greenhouse gases during glaciation relies on
the ocean holding these gases and their chemical and biological by-products at depth with the
cold water that is continually flowing southward underneath the warmer surface waters. However,
with time, as the ocean is cycled through this “filling box” the vertical water column stability
will gradually decrease, increasing the vertical gas flux to the surface, venting more CO2 into
the atmosphere. As the CO2 and other greenhouse gases are vented back into the atmosphere, the
greenhouse effect kicks in and this warming complements that due to the reduced polar snowfalls.
Sea level rises, the ice caps retreat and the long box circulation strengthens increasing the transport
of heat to the poles, but now the thermohaline circulation is predominantly driven by the heating
at the lower latitudes, rather than by the cooling at the poles. Once again the associated albedo
change associated with the loss of ice cover and the increased evaporation are positive feedback
mechanisms, strengthening the heating as it progresses. The efficiency of the oceanic transport of
heat supported by these positive feedback cycles causes the sustained sea level rise noted in Fig. 5
leading to a full sea level recovery in a mere 15,000 years or so.
As the warming continues, the melting of the ice sheets, leads to large ice bergs breaking off
and moving south along windows in the pole-ward moving thermohaline circulation, continually

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making the surface waters in the northern latitudes less dense due to the introduction of freshwater,
but more dense due to the associated cooling. The buoyancy impact of the freshwater is greater
and progressively weakens the long box circulation as the light surface water has difficulty sinking
even though it is colder. There comes a time when the long box circulation becomes intermittent
causing a collapse of the north and southward transport of heat. This negative feedback is, however,
mitigated by the warming increasing evaporation that in turn increases rainfall, much of which falls
as snow in the high latitudes. This builds up more snow and ice at the poles serving as a cooling
agent, negating the melting that is reinforcing the warming in the first place. The warming phase,
similar to the cooling phase, is again the result of a delicate balance between ice melting increasing
the rate of warming and ice melting shutting down the warming.
Gildor & Tziperman (2001) showed that a simpler version of this picture of interlocking cycles
may be used to explain the observed 100,000 year period. Given that so many cycles are involved
they further postulate, in agreement with most other authors, that the whole periodicity is phase
locked to the fluctuations in the sun’s intensity. These fluctuations are caused by variation of the
eccentricity of the earth orbit around the sun, the tilting of the earth axis, and precession of the axis,
and are called the Milankovitch oscillation after the Serbian mathematician who first discovered
these geometric variations. Once again we may observe the elegance of the interacting multitude of
hydrologic cycles, some reinforcing each other, others opposing each other, all acting at different
time and space scales; the net sum determines our climatic environment which in turn modulates
the conditions for the weather that we experience.

5 ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change is the change in the climate that is not part of the natural fluctuations described
above, but rather is caused by the venting of the carbon previously sequestered by nature in the
form of natural gas, oil and coal. There are many concerns about climate change, but we shall
confine our comments on how climate change may affect the hydrologic cycles that we depend on
for our water supply, both on long time scales of the climate and short time scales of the weather.
Looking at Fig. 5 we see that over the last 1000 years we had reached the peak of a warming phase
and had commenced on the cooling phase. In the last 100 years or so we have introduced a new flux
path of CO2 into the atmosphere, by burning the hydrocarbon stores that had been accumulating
over millions of years. The extra fluxes have now approached those traditionally associated with
increase mixing from the deep ocean. How the anthropogenic CO2 flux will impact the greenhouse
question is made complicated by the associated oceanic pH increases that will follow; depending
on the status of the inorganic carbon cycle it may lead to an amplification or a damping of the
anthropogenic flux. Given this, there are now two clear scenarios. First, the anthropogenic extra
flux gives the deep ocean flux a boost and we go into an ice age more quickly than we would
otherwise. Alternatively, the extra anthropogenic flux causes an increase in heating that melts the
ice at the poles faster than melted water can shut down the long box circulation and the snow that
falls at the poles increasingly falls as rain. Under this scenario we will have broken through the
negative feedback mechanisms that have held back the complete ice cap melting and the earth will
settle to a new equilibrium, warmer and more moist. From this simple explanation it is clear why it
is so difficult to capture climate change with models; slight perturbations in the model assumption
or process descriptions lead to large changes with time in systems that are a balance of intrinsically
unstable cycles held in equilibrium by opposing effects.
Currently, the earth is warming and certainly short term predictions of a few 10’s of years are for a
warmer earth. This will have two major effects on our local hydrologic cycles and weather patterns.
First, as warming proceeds, the net water deficit distribution, which is the difference between
rainfall and evaporation potential, will change geographically. The Hadley Centre model runs
predict that by 2070 this deficit will have changed as shown in Fig. 6; deficit changes range from
zero to 50 mm per annum. These changes look small, but when we consider that the earth’s landscape
has been completely compartmentalized by humans, then, for instance, a 50 mm reduction over the

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Figure 6. Predictions for changes in moisture content due to climate change (Hadley Centre).

great Amazon Basin of Brazil will wipe out not only this rainforest, but all the world’s rainforest
as this is the last major remaining such forest. The fact that an equal area will become equally
more moist in Africa is not relevant as most of this area is not free to revegetate. Further, humans
are not prepared to wait thousands of years that would be required for such revegetation to take
place. The predicted climate change will combine with the human compartmentalisation to wipe
out the habit that currently remains for nature. We will see an end to nature and the only thing
that will remain will be the man made gardens, be they irrigated agriculture or lawns around
the house.
The second major effect will be an increase level of variability in the weather. Just as the water
that is heated in a pot on the stove moves every more restlessly as we continue heating, the oceans
and the atmosphere will become increasing more turbulent in the broader sense. Disasters in the
form of floods, drought, hurricanes and cyclones may be expected to become more prevalent in
different parts of the earth. On the other hand, since the high latitudes are expected to warm more
than the low latitudes, the meridional temperature gradients in the atmosphere will be weaker and
hence the jet stream and mid latitude weather system. Combined, these opposing effects will have
a strong influence of local weather conditions, some areas becoming more benign and other less
hospitable.
Together, these two anticipated climate change impacts will require a very large refurbishment
and extension to the world’s infrastructure of agricultural production, roads, bridges, telecommu-
nications and water supply and sanitation; in brief infrastructure costs may be expected to rise
significantly in the next 50 years.

6 LOCAL WATER BUDGETS

So far most of our discussion has been at the near global scale and processes extending over
thousands of years. Embedded in the large global cycles are miniature local hydrologic cycles, the
excess from each contributing to the global cycles. By cycle at the local scale we mean again a
sequence of changes for water as it cycles through a physical structure. These local cycles extend
from minute water cycles occurring, say, on each leaf of a tree or each blade of grass in a large field to
what has been termed hill-slope hydrologic cycles to finally river basin scales where the cumulative
effect of all cycle contributing to a large river are aggregated. Just as in any branch of fluid mechanics
it is not always clear whether greatest progress towards understanding the aggregated functioning
of a domain can be achieved by assembling models of each of the fundamental building blocks and

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then aggregating their effect. Often it is more advantageous to average over small scale, fast cycling
processes, and seek causal relationships between average inputs and average outputs. For instance
if we are interested in predicting the annual discharge from a large river from the rainfall in the
catchment it maybe easier to seek a direct relationship, rather than try to describe each sub path,
rainwater may take in its journey to the river. Predicting at these local scales and understanding the
averaging rules is at the forefront of modern hydrology. Three main questions arise at these scales.
First, how much water does a catchment yield, both in the form of surface runoff in rivers and
recharge into ground water basins lying underneath. An allied question is how can we predict the
impact on this water yield, of changes in the net water impinging on the catchment (rainfall minus
evaporation potential) due to climate change and land use changes. A new field called “Prediction
in Ungauged Catchments” has recently emerged with the objective of addressing the averaging
questions. Second, what is the feedback of the land cover on the atmospheric circulation and
ultimately climate change. Third, human impact is predominantly at this local scale and therefore it
is most important that we understand how local units in the hydrologic cycle change their cleansing
roles when impacted. How do we gain an idea of the cumulative impact of local small incursions
into nature’s functioning of the hydrologic cycle. This last set of questions is central to the notion
of: “Death by a thousand cuts”.

7 EVOLUTION BRINGING HARMONY TO NATURE’S CYCLES

In order to illustrate the wonderful harmony, between the carbon cycle of life and the hydrologic
cycle of water, that Nature has established by evolution, over millions of years let us examine in
a little more detail the functioning of a lake. This harmony is not just beautiful and elegant in its
own right, but Nature’s animals and plants work tirelessly with one overriding objective, to create
an environment conducive for their own lives. Moreover, all cycles work in tandem, sometimes
competing and sometime supporting, but never one dominating so as to overwhelm the functioning
of the planet. Nature intrinsically relies on the diversity of cycles for environmental robustness
and stability. By examining this harmony we may also learn a great deal about why our present
behaviour is so destructive.
A lake or reservoir is often described in the biological literature as “standing waters”. Nothing
could be further from the truth. Water in a lake is constantly moving, sometimes very slowly and
sometime faster. This is of utmost importance because the motion supports niches for its plants and
creatures and the diversity in a lake is the direct results of the physical diversity provided by this
motion. The water in a lake comes either from direct rainfall, river inflow or subsurface ground
water springs. The inflowing water will have properties that vary greatly from season to season or
even from one rainfall event to the next. The outflow is again via a natural river or some type of
off-take structure in the case of a reservoir; the only difference between a lake and a reservoir is
that lakes tend to retain the water for many years and are also usually quite old so that everything
is in equilibrium, whereas reservoirs have short residence times, from months to a few years and
are usually only tens of years old, the oldest being found in the mountains of Sri Lanka which were
build over a two thousand years ago.
Once in the lake the water is again heated at the surface by the sun’s radiation and cooling takes
place through the surface by back radiation, conduction between the air and water and latent heat
of heating (evaporation) and cooling (condensation). Surface heating and cold inflows once again
set up a stratified water column. The intensity of stratification varies seasonally and diurnally
depending on whether the rate of gain of stability due to solar heating is greater or less than the
rate of loss of stability due to surface cooling and wind mixing.
We can order processes in a lake according to their energy content. To be specific, consider the
natural Lake Kinneret, Israel. This lake has a surface area of about 168 square kilometers, has a
maximum depth of around 40 m and has existed as a lake for thousands of years. To first order
in energy content we have the seasonal heating starting in January when the temperature of the

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Figure 7. Schematic of the functioning of a lake, an example of ecological harmony.

lake is uniform and around 14◦ C and peaking in June or July when the surface temperature is
around 30◦ C, but the temperature of the bottom waters is still around 14◦ C. Cooling commences
sometime in August or September, but the lake does not fully mix until around December. The
heat exchange between the atmosphere and the lake water is enormous, close to 1019 Joules or 105
Hiroshima bombs over the year. Nature does things on a grand scale! Next comes the mechanical
energy residing in the stratification. The energy contained in this stable stratification, that is the
energy that would be required to mix the water, is about 1013 Joules making the lake very resistant
to mixing by winds even though these winds are quite severe. This stratification remains in the lake
for nearly 9 months, peaking in the summer months; the bottom water temperature does not change
much more than a few tenths of degrees, providing evidence that there is little mixing vertically in
the water column despite diurnal winds peaking at 12 m/s. This stratification, however, acts as a
spring mass system and similar to that observed on the water surface these winds generate waves
on the density interfaces. These waves can be enormous, up to 20 m in Lake Kinneret, because it is
the density difference between the warm and cold that counteracts the momentum imparted by the
wind and not the difference of density between water and air which is what counts at the surface;
analogous waves in the ocean can reach amplitudes of up to 1000 meters! These waves are called
basin scale internal waves as they adjust their motion to the shape of the lake basin. Such waves
are also strongly influenced by the earth’s rotation and it is possible to observe an infinite set of
what are called modes of oscillation. Such waves ring nearly all the time, have low frequencies and
constantly slosh the water around in the basin. These waves may be likened to the base instruments
in an orchestra, low frequency waves setting the backdrop to the symphony. They have energy at
around 106 Joules, are large enough to be very noticeable, yet subtle enough not to cause much
mixing in the lake. In many lakes, as in Lake Kinneret, the natural frequency of these basin scale
waves is very close to the frequency with which the wind blows across the surface of the lake

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(approximately 24 hrs) and this may lead to resonance with the wind allowing the waves to build to
ever larger amplitudes until damped by turbulence. This turbulence also mixes the water and this
mixing changes the stratification of the water column, in turn changing the natural frequency of the
basin scale internal waves; the waves are detuned by this mixing until the sun’s heating once again
strengthens the stratification; in Lake Kinneret this cycle is repeated a number of times as summer
progresses.
At third order are high frequency waves that arise when basin scale waves shoal or are intercepted
by boundaries or when the velocity shear associated with the basin scale waves becomes strong
enough to trigger instabilities. These high frequency waves travel around the lake at will, reflecting
from boundaries and dissipating as they go. In our analogy these waves take the part of violins in
our orchestra, they have distinct narrow band of frequencies. Their energy content is about 100
times less that contained in the basin scale waves.
Fourth, slight differences in surface heat capture, interaction of basin scale waves with irregular
basins and inflows with densities other than the surface water of the lake all lead to weak gyre
like motions that constantly circulate the water in the lake predominantly in horizontal patterns,
allowing the biota to communicate with life at the perimeter of the lake. These motions have a very
low frequency and low energy level, analogous in our orchestra to say a very low frequency organ
playing in the background.
Fifth, yet at a lower energy level, turbulence is generated by a great variety of mechanisms, all
contributing to two basic generation mechanisms; shear instabilities and convective instabilities.
In the first the instability is energized by the shear associated with the compound motion and the
second is when heavier water is somehow stacked above lighter water leading to a gravitational
instability. Turbulence is what mixes the water column, bringing nutrient to the surface where
the plankton, soaking up the sun, can use them. Conversely, mixing also takes oxygen and other
chemicals to the bottom, controlling the bottom chemical factory. Turbulence is high frequency
analogous to cymbals in an orchestra.
A lake is thus made up of two factories. The surface warm waters support a biological factory that
gains its energy from the sun and its nutrients from the waters below. The deeper waters are often
oxygen depleted with various redox ecological cycles waiting to be triggered, together this forms a
nutrient factory where food for the surface layer is manufactured, recycled and reprocessed. A lake
or a wetland also acts to bury carbon debris that falls to the lake bottom from the surface ecological
factory. This burying can be purely by chemical through the formation of bicarbonates or it can
be by physical burial of organic carbon by sediments entering the lake with the river waters. Such
buried organic compounds may then, over millions of years, be changed to oil, gas and coal. Clearly
once again nature has arranged literally millions of ecological cycles is such a way that they can take
advantage of the transport and mixing provided by the physical cycles which themselves are ordered
in a continuous spectrum of length and time scale, from millimetres and fractions of a second to
kilometers and days. The importance of this interplay of cycles is three fold. First, the flux in each
cycle is continuous within the cycle, but material is spun off to the neighbouring (in space and time)
cycles that then use this as their main flux. In this way nature builds a continuum of interacting
cycles. Second, many of nature’s cycle free wheel, not adding much to a current situation, they
often idle with no apparent purpose, in reserve to become active when the environment changes
in order to soak up material surpluses in the event that cycles go out of balance. Evolution has
creating new species and processes over millions of years as the rhythm of the earth changed
as described above, moving in and out of glacial periods. Evolution allowed active organisms
to develop when the opportunity and need arose only to be left idle when the rhym of the earth
changed, ready to bring stability to the earth’s environment when the imbalance threatened to return.
Third, motion in the lake gives rise to a huge gradient of environments throughout the lake basin
where different biological species or chemical processes can gain advantage and out compete other
cycles or processes. By embedding the biological and chemical world in a water medium, Nature has
ensured a welcome home for its many plants and creatures, each in turn spending most of their lives
cleaning house.

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8 SOME QUESTIONS NEEDING URGENT ANSWERS

Above I have tried to provide the reader with a brief digest of the complexity of the hydrologic
cycles, the close coupling between the spectrum of water and myriad of life cycles. I have attempted
to highlight how evolution has led to a continuum of cycles, spatial scale and temporal scales as a
result of the fluctuations resulting from the rhythm of the earth over the last few million years and
how Nature has taken care of its creations by ensuring a diverse habitat where they can find shelter
and stimulation. This resulting continuity of processes (cycles), space and time scales have given
the earth a robustness to change that has ensured a relatively stable environment. The gift that is
nature lies not so much in the diversity, although that is what we see and admire, but rather in the
remarkable fact that this diversity is in a feedback loop of its own. When left to its own devices
nature is such that temporal fluctuations and geological patchiness in the environment, lead to
greater diversity that in turn foster more fluctuations and greater patchiness that in turn leads to
more diversity. In this way Nature, through evolution, has made diversity continuous in temporal
and spatial scale as well in function. Hence, even genetic mistakes are exploited to advantage in that
they provide a pool for evolution to fill niches that are needed to dampen environmental changes
that may otherwise lead to genetic chaos. The changes in the hydrologic cycles we are currently
noticing have their origins in our early development. In our terminology the essence of evolution
is based on the observation that a cycle, be it chemical, biological or human, that can better master
its environment has an advantage over all other cycles in that environment. Nature, however, has
arranged it so that when a cycle becomes dominant it invariably produces some by-product that
energizes a controlling cycle that then dampens the original expansion, in the end leading to some
sort of equilibrium. If we observe that Australian Aborigines had, as their world view, the objective
of maintaining the status quo then it is easy to see why other than humans, the colonial invaders,
who made change the foundation of their world view were able to displace the aborigines in a
matter of 100 years, even though they had existed in harmony with nature, as just one more set of
cycles, for over 40,000 years. When viewed in this broader context, the domination of Aborigines
by the white invaders had little to do with the environment as Diamond (1999) asserts, but rather
more to the non-aggressive world views held by the aborigines. This observation leads one, quite
naturally, to what I believe, are some of the most pressing questions that we confront with respect
to the future of water on this planet:

(1) In the last 100 years, technology has developed its own feedback loop, and is now advancing
faster than every, energized by its own results. This has given us the confidence to displace much
of nature and turn it into a garden or an agricultural field. In this process we often forget the
regulation of our environment that nature had provided in the past. Coupled with the enormous
reach technology now has, there is a real danger that biological and chemical diversity will
decrease as we lose more and more cycles, established by evolution over millions of years.
Many examples already exist, but one suffices. Animals larger than a few centimetres are no
longer functioning in their own cycles, but rather only exist in artificial environments, on farms,
in gardens or in zoos. The reason for this is that the temporal scales of such animals is measured
in years and the evolutionary time scales in hundreds of years. By contrast bacteria, viruses and
fungi, equally essential to the stability of our hydrologic cycles have a temporal scale measure
in minutes and an evolutionary time scales of maybe months.
Probably the most important challenge facing the science of water is to determine what cycles
are critical to the stability of the spectrum of hydrologic cycles. Can we rely on bacteria, viruses
and fungi only to stabilize the environment of our planet?
(2) We have shown that over the last one thousand years the earth was beginning a new cooling
phase of the one hundred thousand year glaciation cycle. It appears that in the last 100 years
anthropogenic CO2 input to the atmosphere have offset the traditional cooling due to the pro-
gressive capture of the CO2 in the deep ocean, the weakening of the oceanic heat pumps and the
increased snowfall and associated increased gross albedo due to increased evaporation at the

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 equator. Evidence suggests that the ice caps do not seem to be growing and the polar regions
are actually warming faster than the mean turning off these traditional feedback cycles. If the
ice caps actually start receding the only feedback mechanism will be the deep CO2 storage.
However, this could also be weakened as the polar waters heat and the volume of water plunging
to depth decreases. This could have catastrophic implications. As the plunging water begins
to warm, the stability of the water column at the equator will be decreased raising the possi-
bility that the deep CO2 will be vented, not on the cooling phase of the cycle, but rather on
the heating phase. If such a scenario occurred then the earth would heat dramatically. Global
circulation models are poor guides to such a scenario as the CO2 capture and release is only
poorly modelled, even in the most sophisticated of such models.
Will the earth go into a new heating phase, so-called “runaway greenhouse” in the next 100
years or will it return to its cooling phase?
(3) Over the last 200 years humans have partitioned the earth’s surface into urban developments,
agriculture and a few nature reserves. Everything on earth is now maintained by humans to
yield a desired objective. Even nature reserves are carefully managed with controlled burning,
disease control and in some cases even reforestation. Natural diversity can no longer migrate
from one location to the next in response to a shift in local climate. As discussed above the
present climate change scenarios predict a major decrease in moisture over the Brazilian forests
almost surely changing this ecosystem from a rainforest to a more arid system. This will cause
a massive extinction of species on a scale not possible to prevent.
What is the impact of the predicted soil moisture changes on the biodiversity store of the earth?
(4) As the predicted hydrologic cycle changes start to eventuate, we will look to technology to try to
overcome local water shortages and use energy inefficient technologies, such as pumping and
desalination rather than moving our infrastructure to locations with increased rainfall. Given
that our water needs are now so enormous this could set up a new increased energy use and a
further positive feedback for the heating global heating cycle.
What water related infrastructure changes are required in response to predicted global
hydrologic cycle changes?
(5) Given that water used by humans roughly tracks GDP and given the worlds GDP is increasing
exponentially there is a high probability that the world will simply run out of potable water.
Predicted climate change will help in this as the moisture content will generally increase, but
there does not seem to exist a global inventory of water availability in the face of predicted
climate change. When added to the already acute water shortage with about 1.5 billion people
not having access to safe drinking water and about 2.5 billion people not having access to safe
sanitation, the shortage of water could become acute by 2050. Water could easily become the
same constraint that oil is currently.
What will be the availability of water by the year 2050? Should we not accelerate research on
nuclear fusion in order to be able to use desalination on a large scale?
(6) In a way that is reminiscent of a pot of water coming to the boil, as the earth warms we may
expect convective activity to increase. There is evidence already that storms, droughts, floods
and other natural disasters have become more frequent and more severe.
What will be the expected increased risk in natural disasters and the associated cost?

9 THE RELEVANCE OF SCIENCE

Nature works by having millions of interlocking cycles, each cycling biological, chemical and
physical materials and each cycling fluxes that are larger than the amount they shed to neighbouring
cycles. In the past, when Nature was left to its own devices, evolution produced new biological
species if a certain cycle started to accumulate excess material. Further, the whole purpose of
this complicated engine of cycles was to control the environment in order to maintain the engine;
nature was a truly sustainable engine, relying only on the inexhaustible energy of the sun for
its continued functioning. As physical conditions changed, cycles shifted their importance and

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provided a negative feedback to the change, thus mitigating the change. The large number of cycles
and the more diversity of length and time scales the better the regulation robustness that keeps
the temperature on the earth within a sustainable range; the glaciation swings being the largest
excursions. Nature used these swings of the past to evolve new cycles that can be called into play
when deviations ocurred in the future.
Humans have progressively interrupting the cycles in this complex engine, removing the thermo-
stat controlling mechanisms. We seem to have progressed beyond the point where the earth is any
longer self healing. We have gone beyond the point both materially, through the destruction of so
many of nature’s cycles, and we have gone beyond culturally in that our actions are now so strongly
rooted in our confidence that we, as humans, can engineer the world to our own objectives, that it
does not seem likely that we have the patience or restraint necessary to allow the earth to heal itself;
this would simply take too much of a cultural change. This leaves us in the position that was decried
in the 1950’s as cultural suicide. Our behaviour over the last 200 years has put us into a position on
this earth where we are now totally dependent on the scientists finding solutions for our survival
and the engineers implementing these solutions. In future science and engineering will be needed
to regulate everything on this planet. Any nation that does not realize this will be economically
relegated to the end of the queue. If collectively the world does not realize this then life, as we know
it, is doomed. This does not mean that human life will cease, only that life enriched by the culture
of nature will no longer exist! We will become totally dependent on ourselves for our reference.

10 THE HUMAN RESPONSE

In conclusion let us briefly examine the human’s response to this uncertainty about the future
of our planet. As we have seen, some signs are definitive and some point to global uncertainty.
On the definitive side, nature has lost, as a self sustainable group of cycles, most of the upper
part of the food chain and most of the natural environment has been contained in enclaves too
small to sustain diversity and too static to allow rejuvenation. The uncertainty indicators point to
potentially enormous physical, cultural and social upheavals as we move towards 2050 brought
about by possible substantial changes to the global, regional and local hydrologic cycles.
In order to assess our willingness to face these challenges consider the UK and Australia as two
countries with very different challenges, different population densities, different stages of their
ecological evolution and with different economic bases. The cultural inheritance is similar, but the
recent cultural change has been very different. The only significant similarity is that both countries
have experienced, over the last 30 years, a staggering increase in the Gross Domestic Product, close
to a 5 fold increase. By the popular perception both countries should thus be in a financial position
to care for their environment. Perhaps even more importantly both countries possess a population
whose education levels are among the highest in the world and so, if any country has a chance, these
two countries should have policies that would foster at least a prudent, if not alarmist, response
to these potential threats to the world. Australia spends approximately £80 M and the UK £168 M
on what may loosely be called fundamental hydrological research. By contrast Australia’s recent
expenditure on 6 Collins Class submarines, that fulfil no useful purpose as there is no perceived
enemy for these vessels, was approximately £2,316 M. The recent purchase by the UK Government
of 232 Eurofighters was £12,992 M, an enormous amount of money given that again it is difficult
to identify an enemy that would match the specifications of such a fighter. It is clear from these
simple examples that we fear ourselves much more than we do the pending potential disasters
facing nature and humanity.
Why is there such a lack of focus on the pending environmental challenge? With increased
availability of information and with increased consumption humans are developing an increasing
fear from freedom. Among the many manifestations of this trend is the strong increase for calls of
accountability in allocating research grants to scientists, coupled with the requirement that most
large research grants are now only given to groups, rather than individuals. This lack of trust is
founded in the fear that scientist may act irresponsibly with the money given to them for their

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research. This has changed science from times when advances were made in large, bold steps,
mostly by individuals to now when science is advanced by huge numbers of workers all digesting
small pieces of information and an objective conceived by consensus. By analogy with the above
discussions on trophic cycle interruptions it is almost as we have also sent to extinction the top
of the discovery chain, the independent university thinker, and are left with millions of microbes
beavering away at discovery. This type of science it is driven by the consumption feedback cycle
and so advances along the lines of human consumption and will thus always yield solutions that
are in the interests of further consumption rather in the interests of the longterm security of Nature.

REFERENCES

Alverson, K.D., Bradley, R.S. & Pedersen, T.F. 2001. Paleoclimate, Global Change and the Future. IGBP
Science No. 3. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany.
Diamond, J. 1999. Guns, germs, and steel. W.W. Norton & Company, New York.
Gildor, H. 2004. Glacial-interglacial CO2 variations. Manuscript in preparation.
Gildor, H. & Tziperman, E. 2001. A sea-ice climate-switch mechanism for the 100 kyr glacial cycles.
J. Geophys. Res., 106: 9117–9133.
Kiehl, J.T. & Trenberth, K.E. 1997. Earth’s annual global mean energy budget, Bull. Am. Met. Soc. 78, 197–208.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Sustainable utilization of water resources and

hydropower resources in China

Changkuan Zhang
China Hydraulic Engineering Society, Beijing, China
Hohai University, Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT: China is one of the countries in the world that suffers most frequently from floods
and droughts due to its specific geographical, topographic, and climatic conditions. China is facing
some serious water problems: floods, droughts, water pollution and low utilization efficiency of
hydropower resources. Engineering, non-engineering and management measures are being applied
to solve the Chinese water problems. The sustainable utilization of water resources and hydropower
resources is a new mode of development not to satisfy the contemporary demand but to avoid
damages to the profit of our offspring. It is different from the traditional mode of hydropower
development and utilization for sole economic benefit. The new concept of sustainable utilization
of water resources and hydropower resources will push the development of Chinese water science
toward the direction of sustainable development and ecological water conservancy.

1 IMPORTANCE OF WATER IN CHINA

1.1 Frequent flood, drought and waterlogging hazards in China

China, as affected by its specific geographic, climatic, and topographic conditions, is one of the
countries which are suffering from frequent flood, waterlogging and drought hazards. The flood and
drought hazards occur almost every year in China, but the damage level varies from year to year.
According to China’s statistical data for 1950–1990, the mean annual area affected by floods was
7.804 × 106 ha, the area seriously damaged by floods was 4.308 × 106 ha,the flood-induced direct
economic losses hit 2 × 1010 RMB yuan, and the death toll reached 5,500 persons per year; the mean
annual area of farm land affected by droughts was 1.9592 × 107 ha, the area destroyed by droughts
was 7.689 × 106 ha, the reduction in food production was 1.0113 × 107 t, and 4.9212 × 107 persons
per year experienced droughts (Zhang, 1997). Take the well-developed Jiangsu Province, China as
an example, during the period of 1950 to 2000, there were 15 years suffering only from floods,
10 years only from droughts and 9 years both from floods and droughts. Totally, near 90% years
endured flood and draught hazards (Zhai, 1999).

1.2 Water scarcity in China

The mean annual precipitation in China is 6.1889 × 1012 m3 , of which 55% is evaporated and
transpired. Its mean annual water resources are 2.812 × 1012 m3 , ranking sixth in the world, but
the water resources per capita are less than 2200 m3 , even lower than 1/4 of the world’s average.
China is one of 13 water-scarce countries. Apart from small per capita volume, water resources
distribution in China is seriously uneven in term of time scale. The consecutive 4-month runoff in
the region on the south of the Yangtze River accounts for about 60% of the yearly runoff, but in the
region of the north of the Yangtze River, this proportion is higher than 80%. In the Haihe Plain, this
proportion is even as high as 90%. The spatial distribution of China’s water resources is also very
uneven. The area on the south of the Yangtze River accounts for 36.5% of the nation’s total with
80.9% of the nation’s total water resources. By the contrast, the northwest of China accounts for

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about 1/3 of the nation’s total land area with only 3.6% of the nation’s total water resources (Shen &
Su, 1998; Liu & He, 2001; Liu, 2004). Water resources are increasingly becoming a constraint to
the sustainable development of socio-economy in China.

1.3 Rich hydropower resources

The deposit for China’s hydropower resources is 5.9222 × 1012 kw · h/a, of which 1.9233 ×
1012 kw · h/a can be exploited technically, and 1.26 × 1012 kw · h/a can be done economically (Zhao,
Zhu & Zhou, 2000). However, the hydropower resources exploited only account for 9.7% of the tech-
nical volume and 14.8% of the economic volume, far below the exploitation level of the developed
countries. China’s hydropower resources are mainly distributed throughout the southwestern China
where coal and oil resources are scarce. Therefore, further exploiting the hydropower resources in
this region will benefit its economic development and the improvement of the people’s quality of life.

2 WATER ISSUES IN CHINA

Starting from the period of Dayu harnessing floods, China has a long history of more than 5,000
years in water conservancy construction. After P.R. China founded, the China’s water conservancy
construction entered into a new stage of development, which had obtained great achievements
attracting worldwide attention. However, China is still facing many critical water issues that need
to be solved.

2.1 New characteristics in floods and droughts

There were some tendencies worthy of note in big and extreme river floods in the past half a century:
The first, the frequency of big and extreme flood occurrence increased in the Yangtze River
Basin, the Huaihe River basin, the region on the south of the Huaihe River, the Songhua River
basin and the Liao River basin, but in the main courses of the Yellow River and the Haihe River, no
big or extreme floods have occurred in the past 40–50 years, and consecutive droughts have lasted
about 20 years.
Secondly, the occurrence of a small peak discharge with a dramatically high corresponding water
level took place from time to time. For instance, the peak discharge of the 1996 flood at Huayuankou
cross-section on the Yellow River was only 7,600 m3 /s, a normal value, but the corresponding water
level was as high as 94.73 m. It is 0.74 m higher than the water level of 93.99 m corresponding to
the peak discharge of 15,300 m3 /s, which occurred in 1982. Here gives another example. The peak
discharge of the 1998 flood at Chenglinji on the Yangtze River was only 36,800 m3 /s, while the
corresponding water level hit 35.94 m. It was 1.49 m higher than the water level of 34.45 m, which
corresponded the 1954 flood’s peak discharge, 44,500 m3 /s.
Thirdly, despite some regions of China the flood scale resulting from the same amount and
process of precipitation has an increasing trend with time. Take the extreme flood that occurred in
1991 in the Taihu Lake basin as an example, the rainfall was lower than that of the year 1954, but
the water level of the Taihu Lake was 0.16 m higher than that of the year 1954.
Finally, China’s sea level has apparently been rising. In the past one hundred years, China’s
sea level has increased 14 cm, particularly in the coastal areas of Tianjin, Jiangsu, Shanghai and
Guangdong, the incremental rise in the sea level is over 20 cm.

2.2 Imbalance between water resources available and socio-economic development

At present, the yearly water supply capacity in China is some 5.8 × 1011 m3 , a 30.9% increase
from the year 1980. However, from 1980, urban domestic water use has greatly increased to 4
times the amount in 1980 and industrial water use 2.5 times the amount in 1980. The increased
rate of water supply capacity is far lower than that of water demand, thus, insufficient water supply
constrains China’s socio-economic development. According to the incomplete statistics, the losses

1220
in industrial output value caused by water shortage is as high as 2 × 1011 RMB yuan, and reduction
in food production is more than 2 × 1010 kg (Shen & Su, 1998).
Due to limited available water resources in some regions of China, when the water used for domes-
tic and industrial purposes increases, the water quantity for agricultural and ecological purposes
correspondingly declines. The functions of many reservoirs have to be transformed from irriga-
tion water supply to municipal water supply. This seriously affects the development of agricultural
production. Nowadays, water for ecological use still cannot be guaranteed in some regions in China.
Over a long period of time, China’s water use efficiency is low and water is seriously wasted. The
irrigation water use efficiency is only 0.45, compared to 0.7 in developed countries. Compared to
the industrial water reuse rate in developed countries, i.e. 70–80%, the rate in China of 30–40% is
very low. The water losses from pipeline networks and water utensils are over 20% in most Chinese
cities (Liu, 2004).

2.3 Water pollution to be controlled effectively

The main sources of water pollution in China are industrial wastewater, agro-chemicals, domestic
wastewater and different types of solid and gaseous wastes. Recently, greater efforts have been
made to control water pollution, as China pays more and more attention to water environment
problems. Water pollution has been alleviated to some extent but more efforts are required to control
water pollution effectively. According to the 2003 Bulletin of China’s Environmental Status, the
total industrial and urban domestic wastewater in 2003 hit 4.6 × 1010 t, a 4.7% increase compared
with year 2002, of which industrial wastewater increased by 2.5% and urban domestic wastewater
increased by 6.6%. China’s 7 big rivers have been polluted to a varying extent, and among 407
key river observation cross-sections, only 38.1% of them can meet the water quality Grade I to III,
32.2% Grade IV & V, and 29.7% worse than Grade V. According to relevant statistical data, the
economic losses caused by water pollution reached 4.17 × 1010 RMB yuan.

2.4 Serious ecological environment problems caused by water pollution

Ecological environment is crucial for human survival and development, while water is an import-
ant and irreplaceable substance in the ecological environment. No water, no life. Relevant studies
indicate that water resources have played an apparent role in maintaining the quality of ecological
environment (Shen, 2000; Liu, 2004). The degree of water resources exploitation should be
moderate and the ecological water requirements for different water bodies should be ensured to
meet the needs of ecological environment construction. But in recent years, as the contradiction
between water supply and demand is becoming increasingly acute, only water requirements for
various human activities have been considered when water resources being developed and utilized.
The environmental water requirements for sustaining healthy ecosystem have not received enough
attention, therefore ecological water requirements cannot be guaranteed. This will result in a series
of ecological and environmental issues, including river and lake shrinking, river drying up, water
functions degrading, wetland disappearing, land desertification, degradation of forest and grass-
land, loss of water and soil, salinization and alkalinization of irrigated area, decrease of biodiversity,
deterioration of groundwater quality, serious impairment to the ecosystem of natural grasslands, etc.

3 SOLUTIONS TO CHINA’S WATER ISSUES

3.1 Engineering measures

It is demonstrated that most water conservancy projects built in the past have played an evident role
in China’s socio-economic development, and some of them having significant roles. To mitigate
the water issues, which China has been facing, China decided to construct the Three Gorges Dam
Project, the Xiaolangdi Multipurpose Dam Project and the South-North Water Transfer Project in
as early as the last century.

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 The catchment area of the Three Gorges Dam Project is 56% of the total of the Yangtze River
basin and the primary function is to regulate the floods from the upstream reach to control the
floods in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, especially in Jiujiang reach, its flood
prevention standards can be improved from defending 50-year floods to 100-year ones. In addition,
the project has other functions including providing hydropower, improving the navigating condition
and supplying water to irrigation. The catchment area of the Xiaolangdi Multipurpose Dam Project
accounts for 93% of the total of the Yellow River basin, and it was aimed to improve the standards
of preventing floods and ice floods, and to alleviate the sedimentation problem by regulating water
and sediment in the lower reach of the Yellow River. The goal of China’s South-North Transfer
Project is to divert water from water-richer the Yangtze River basin to water-scarce the northern
China to effectively mitigate the water crisis in a long-term run. Apart from these three huge water
conservancy projects, China has built a few water conservancy projects in the Taihu Lake basin
with an aim to improve water quality, such as Wangyuhe Project. It is revealed that these projects
apparently benefit the improvement of the water quality of the Taihu Lake.
Currently China is planning to construct a few dams in the southwest of China to adequately
utilize the hydropower resources without impairment to the ecological environment. By doing so,
the electricity requirements for the regional socio-economic development can be met and the extra
electricity can also be transmitted to the coastal regions in the Eastern China.

3.2 Non-engineering measures

China has already recognized that attaching importance to the construction but neglecting the
management of water conservancy projects cannot make full use of their functions in the resolution
of water issues. Therefore, the conjunctive use of engineering and non-engineering measures is
essential to achieve better effects.
China has implemented flood prevention work from as early as 1950’s. Flood forecasting played
an important role in defending the year 1954 extreme flood, and later on the further research work
on flood forecasting and regulating, drought forecasting and water resources forecasting has been
carried out. China’s national control system of flood and drought prevention, currently being built,
is aimed to combine the hydrological forecasting theories and experiences obtained by Chinese
hydrologists in the past and contemporary high technologies to further improve the precision of
flood forecasting and increase the length of forecasting period. It is expected that this system will
be beneficial to the resolution of China’s water issues by the full use of existing water conservancy
projects, the reduction in the losses induced by flood and drought hazards and the enhancement in
the utilization efficiencies of water and hydropower resources.
Flood insurance is a system providing insurance for the property owners, who probably suffer
from losses induced by floods. Flood insurance cannot reduce flood disaster losses, but it is a
non-engineering measure to partly or fully reimburse the insurance buyers for physical property
damage resulting from flooding. China is currently considering promoting flood insurance system.
Water price is an important means for rationally allocating water resources. China is setting the
price for the water supply by water conservancy projects based on national economic policies, local
water resources status and the principles of ‘compensating cost, rationalizing profits, and equitably
sharing burden’. The analyses on year 2001’s water price in the 88 typical irrigation districts of the
Yellow River basin, water use per hectare, evaporation, precipitation, water supply cost and income
per capita and the estimation of the price elasticity coefficient of average water resources demand
indicate that the water price in the Yellow River basin increases 10% year on year with a 5.71%
yearly decrease in water consumption.

3.3 Management measures

The enactment of China’s Water Law, Flood Control Law, Soil and Water Conservation Law and
Water Pollution Prevention Law undoubtedly provides a solid foundation for harnessing water
resources, but some articles cannot be directly implemented; they can only be put into effect by
means of the Administrative Law, Regulation and Rules of China’s State Council, and the Local

1222
Law, Regulation and Rules. The implementation of the water permit system aims to change the
sectional water management approach into integrated water management, which fully integrates
the exploitation, utilization, protection, allocation and saving of water resources. China’s Flood
Control Regulations request that the administrative heads of people’s governments at all levels
shall assume overall responsibility for the work of flood control, with different departments and
individuals responsible for part of the work under a centralized command. All the flood control
work shall obey the principles of ‘safety first; be ready for floods at any time; be flood prevention-
oriented; full effort in rescue’. During flood periods, all departments and individuals concerned
shall unite to fight floods, and the benefits of all departments shall submit to the overall ones.
In the implementation of Soil and Water Conservation Law, effective measures for soil and water
conservation should be taken according to the requirements for soil and water conservation to
prevent the loss of soil and water and the deterioration of ecological environment. According to
China’s Water Pollution Prevention Law, the planning for pollution control should be conducted
by every watershed, the total amount of pollutants discharged should be controlled, and a pollutant
discharge permit system should be established. The reform to the water resources management
system aims to transform the functions of public organizations. Therefore, the core of the water
resources management system, compatible with the socialist marketing economic mechanism,
is to correctly define the government’s functions and fully use them. The transformation of the
government functions is crucial to the reform of water resources management system.
To ensure the sustainable use of water and hydropower resources, the associated technologies
and investment are required, and water management organizations at national, river basin and
city levels also need to be established. With regard to individual water conservancy projects, the
corresponding management organizations should be established depending on major investors.
Through the effective integration of the economy, society and environment in each river basin,
the coordination and balance among these three elements can be achieved. Their benefits can be
taken into account together, and water and hydropower resources can be effectively and efficiently
managed on the basis of standardized decision-making approach, relying on science and technology
and adhering to the following development principles: coordinated development among water
resources, socio-economy, nature and society; consistency between short- and long-term targets;
coordination between sectional and overall benefits and the combination of engineering and non-
engineering measures.

4 PROBLEMS TO BE FURTHER STUDIED

4.1 Harmonious coexistence between human and nature

The notion – harmonious coexistence between human and nature is an inevitable outcome of, and
also the essential demand for, the rapid development of socio-economy. To coordinate the coexis-
tence of human and nature, the development and utilization of water resources shall comply with
the ecological and economic laws. The degree of water resources exploitation should be controlled
under the capacity of water resources renewing. Effective water use is closely linked to environmen-
tal protection. Therefore, water resources utilization is consistent with water resources protection.
According to the concept of harmonious coexistence between human and nature, the following
in-depth studies are needed to realize the sustainable development and utilization of China’s water
resources.
Firstly, providing outlets for floods. Floods disasters have both natural and social nature. To
make way-out for floods, flood passage should not be encroached when urban development is being
planned, construction of river embankments should be site-specific and well planned, the construc-
tion of flood storage districts should be enhanced and flood storage districts should be utilized scien-
tifically. Since flooding water is an important component of water resources, it can be developed and
utilized. Effective flooding water management approach, compatible with China’s socio-economic
conditions, should be developed to ensure the rational allocation of flooding water resources, the
maintenance of healthy ecological environment, and the sustainable use of water resources.

1223
 Secondly, making full use of the self-recovery capacity of the nature to control soil and water
loss. The ecosystem of the nature is self-balanced. It is disclosed that the ecological system of
the nature can be self-recovered without human-induced disturbance. The ecological harness-
ing measures, based on the self-recovery capacity of the nature, such as returning farmland into
forest/grass, closing mountain for afforestation, forbidding grazing and deforestation, are cur-
rently being adopted to abate soil and water loss in China and achieve the sustainable development
and utilization of water resources.
Finally, promoting green economy and strictly managing pollutant discharge permit to solve
water pollution problems. Green economy places an emphasis on an integral ecological chain
formed in production-consumption system, and spreads this thought to any part of the whole
economic structure. To solve water pollution issues, pollutant discharge permit system should be
managed strictly based on the theories of resource property. According to the trade rule for pollutant
discharge permit, a series of measures compatible with marketing economy can be employed to
improve the carrying capacity of water environment.

4.2 Relationships between dams and the associated ecological environments

The development of hydropower resources is one of the most important measures to take in order
to solve the energy shortage problems in China. But more and more people have recognized that
dam construction can cause some serious ecological damages (Bing, 2003; Sha, 2004). Recently,
many scientists in the fields of water resources, hydropower utilization and ecology have focused
on the dam induced ecological problems, which are summarized as follows:
The first, the problem that should be mentioned is the displacement caused by dam construction.
It involves many fields, such as the society, economy, water resources, ecology, and therefore has
always been addressed as a big and complex system-engineering project. It has influenced and
readjusted the survival rights and living rights of local residents, and in turn has been termed as
a worldwide difficult problem. In order to solve this kind of problem, China has implemented
much beneficial work. For example, about 1.1 million immigrants have been involved in the Three
Gorges project of China. To properly arrange these reservoir immigrants, the Chinese government
has adopted many effective measures, including enacting the developmental immigrant policy,
establishing the special institutes, and founding the Chongqing city, which is directly adminis-
tered under the Central Government. Now the immigrant work in China has achieved some initial
successes, but it is clear that there is a long way to go.
Secondly, the dam influence should be addressed on sediments and the river corridor. After the
dams having been constructed, the ecosystem of the downstream reach has been changed from a
natural system to a semi-natural system. As a consequence, many hydrological characteristics and
downstream ecological functions are altered significantly. For example, the change in downstream
flow rate will result in the disappearance of bank habitats. Because dams block migratory passage
of aquatic living organisms, they affect the food-chain structure of the river ecosystem. The dams
will also cause the disappearance of torrents to make the river temperature field relatively stable.
This will seriously influence some aquatic species, whose propagate and maturation depends on
the variations of river temperature. Furthermore, dams will also lead to sediment deposit in the
reservoirs. This process will change the hydrological and ecological characteristics of the river
corridors and outfalls greatly. It is one of the most important ecological problems in the field of
hydropower utilization and has attracted more and more attention in China as well as all over the
world.
The third problem that should be stressed is the impacts of dams on fish. Generally, there are
two main measures to take in order to solve the fish spawning migration problem after dams have
been constructed. The engineering method includes building fish ladders and fish paths to help fish
migrate, and the method is the artificial breeding for the migratory fish. For example, because of
the construction of the Gezhou Dam in China, the artificial breeding method to help the migratory
spawning of Chinese sturgeon has been used, and this method has been confirmed as effective
afterwards.

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 The fourth problem that cannot be forgotten is the dams’ impacts on the cultural relics and
natural landscapes. China is a famous country with a splendid ancient civilization. There are a lot
of cultural and historical relics in China. But after dams have been constructed, the submergence
of reservoir regions will damage the cultural relics and natural landscapes somewhat. This problem
has been paid more and more attention. Many scientists are focusing on how to rescue our cultural
relics and reduce their damages resulting from dam construction.
The last problem that should be noted is the geologic disasters from dam construction. The con-
struction of dam may trigger the geological disasters, such as earthquake, bank collapse, landslide,
and so on.
Actually, the dams constructed in different rivers with different environments will cause vary-
ing ecological problems. Therefore, these problems should be analyzed, studied and solved
site-specifically so as to provide scientific strategies for the sustainable utilization of water and
hydropower resources.

4.3 Ecological restoration

According to the theories of water cycle and ecology, the structure and functions of an impaired
ecosystem can be restored in terms of realizations of high productivity, rich biodiversity and
stability, and improving the sustainable use of water resources (Sheng, 2002).
Since river ecosystem is a three-dimensional space composed of river meandering morphology,
geometry-varying cross-sections and vegetation on both riversides, river ecological restoration is
a sophisticated three-dimensional project, and should be implemented in an integrated way.
Restoring river morphology aims to return the channelized rivers into ones with nearly natural
meandering morphology. The reconstruction of nearly natural river courses and the river flows with
varying velocity result in the formation of shoals, pools, riffles and benefit biodiversity.
Restoring river cross-sections aim to rehabilitate the riverbeds by removing concrete or cement
covers from riverbeds and construct ecology-friendly river embankments by replacing concreted
banks with vegetated ones. The restoration of river cross-sections provides new habitats for aquatic
living organisms and beautiful river scene for local residents. Restoring disappeared river vege-
tation and wetland aims to return river vegetation, making floodplains flooded on a regular basis
and recover wetland landscape by using biological and ecological engineering technologies and
methods. The vegetation on both sides of riverbanks benefits the restoration of the degraded river
ecosystem and the improvement and protection of biodiversity.

REFERENCES

Bing, F.S. 2003. Consideration on the development of China’s Hydropower Resources. China Electric Power.
36(9): 21–26.
Liu, C.M. & He, X.W. 2001. Water Issues Strategy in 21st Century of China. Beijing: Science.
Liu, Q., Yang, Y.D. & Jiang, Z.X. 2004. Study on the Water Resources Carrying Capacity based on Sustainable
Development. China Water Resources. 3: 11–14.
Liu, T. 2004. Water resources status and sustainable utilization strategy study in China. Ecological Economy
S1: 49–51.
Sha, Y.Q. 2004. Concerns of Hydropower Countries – the Arguments and Considerations on the Development
of Hydropower Resources of China. China Electrical Power Enterprise Management. 7: 8–11.
Shen, G.J. 2000. Environmental Hydraulics Mode with the Type of Ecological Economy. China Hydraulics.
5: 15–16.
Shen, Z.R. & Su, R.Q. 1988. Tactics on the Agricultural Water Crisis of China. Beijing: China Agricultural
Science and Technology.
Sheng, L.X. 2002. An Introduction To Environmental Ecology. Beijing: Higher Education.
Zhai, H.H. 1999. Flood Prevention and Drought Control Handbook in Jiangsu Province of China. Nanjing:
Jiangsu Water Resources Bureau.
Zhang, H.L. 1997. Flood and Drought Disasters in China. Beijing: China Hydraulics and Hydropower.
Zhao, C.H., Zhu, Z.H. & Zhou, D.Z. 2000. Rivers and Dams in the World. Beijing: China Hydraulics and
Hydropower.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Ecosystem management for sustainability in the Changjiang

(Yangtze) river catchment

Masataka Watanabe
National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

ABSTRACT: The Changjiang river catchment suffer from serious environmental degradation
caused by economic development which begun from early 1980s. In order to conduct sound
management and decision making for sustainable development, the catchment-wide ecosystem
assessment emphasizing in ecosystem services is essential. Decision support system for integrated
catchment management with policy options had been developed and trade-off between ecosystem
services could provide scientific information which is very effective to the sustainability in the
Changjiang river catchment.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Changjiang river is the largest out-flowing river in China. It embraces an area of 1.81 × 106 km2 ,
with its main stream being 6.38 × 103 km long, the river runs through 18 provinces, metropolises
and autonomous regions. Its middle and lower reaches stretch from east to west through the sub-
tropics in the central and northern parts, where the annual precipitation is averaged 1.05 × 103 mm.
The average annual runoff of the Changjiang river to the East China Sea is about 9.79 × 1011 m3 .
Human population of 1990 was approximately 3.78 × 108 , of which 3.18 × 108 was the rural popu-
lation and the rural population was accounted for 84% of total population of 1990. The Changjiang
river catchment consists of about 85% of plateaus, mountains and hilly areas, 11% of plain and
4% of rivers and lakes. Land use and land cover of the catchment are as follows: arable lands 23.2
million ha (13.4%), forests 47.7 million ha (26.4%), grasslands 31.3 million ha (17.3%), water
areas 7.5 million ha (4%), unused lands 19.8 million ha (11%), others 50.3 million ha (27.9%) and
provides 40% of the national crop production (Zhang et al., 2003). Natural ecosystems in the upper
and middle reaches of the Changjiang river catchment are well known for it rich species, various
habitats and enormous productivity.
The Changjiang river catchment suffer from serious degradation such as deforestation, grassland
degradation, soil erosion, loss of lakes and wetlands due to land cover/land use change caused by
economic reform and development which begun from early 1980s.
Degradation of the environment has become increasingly obvious in this basin, thus the
environmental protection in the Changjiang river basin is very urgent (Shen et al., 2003).
The decline of key ecosystem services (such as water and soil retention functions) in the catch-
ment will result serious disaster such as the floods and soil erosion. Therefore, it is absolutely
necessary to carry out integrated ecosystem assessment for successful implementation of the devel-
opment strategy. Under this situation, Integrated Ecosystem Assessment for Western Development
of China has launched as a sub-global asessment in Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) and
one of the study area is upper and middle reaches of the Changjiang river catchment. In order to
conduct sound management and decision making for sustainable development in the Changjiang
river catchment, the catchment-wide ecosystem assessment emphasizing in ecosystem services
is essential and decision support system for integrated catchment management with options of
innovative environmental technologies should be developed. The objective of decision support sys-
tem mainly focus on answering the following questions, (1) What are the major pressures to the

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 Table 1. Crop land change (104 ha).

1980 1990 Change

Crop land 2379.4 2297.2 −82.2

Paddy field 1374.9 1358.1 −16.8
Dry field 1003.4 939.1 −64.2

ecosystem, (2) What are the major impacts on the ecosystem services such as provisioning service
(suppling capacities of water, food, timber, etc), regulating/supporting service (carbon sequestra-
tion capacity, flood control capacity, etc) and cultural service (biodiversity etc), (3) What kind
of policy and technological options can be implemented in order to achieve sustainability in the
catchment ecosystem.

2 PRESSURE

2.1 Crop land change in the Changjiang river catchment

The crear trend of land use change in the entire China is found that forest decreased and crop land
and grass land increased by using Landsat satellite data (Liu, J. 2004). This trend is true for long
time of period in the Changjiang river catchment. However, crop land change between 1980 and
1990 in the Changjiang river catchment investigated by using county level agricultural statistical
data from National Resources and Environmental Data Center, China indicated that crop land
decreased during 1980–1990 in which probably dry field and paddy field were converted to urban
area (Table 1).

2.2 Nutrients input from urban and industrial area

One of the biggest environmental loads such as nutrients supply exists in Chongqing, the industrial
city in the upstream of the Three Gorges Dam and this causes enormous environmental problems in
the middle and lower reaches of the river. However, it is difficult to obtain the pollution load from
Chongqing simply because of no measured data available. Input-output tables originated by Leontief
(1966) are useful tools for projection and analysis of emission structure of environmental load.
Leontief (1970) has expanded the framework of input-output table to analyses of environmental
issue. Since then this approach has been mainly developed especially in the area of energy policy
and utilized as a tools of life cycle assessment widely to analyze emission structures of GHGs and
air toxic (Gay et al., 1993; Lave et al., 1995; Lenzen, 1998; Nansai et al., 2003).
Okadera et al. (2004) have developed a methodology for estimating water demand and water
pollutants (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous) based on an inter-industry analysis model, and
applied it to the city of Chongqing. The total water demand in Chongqing (2000), as the result
from this study, is 5.5 billion m3 (Fig. 4). The total water duty in Chongqing was 5.6 billion m3
in 2000 (MWR, 2001), which approaches the result for water demand. The breakdown of total of
water demand is 35% for agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishery (abbr.: Agr.), 49% for industry
(abbr.: Ind.), 2% for the construction & service sector (abbr.: Con. & Ser.) and 14% for households.
On the other hand, the total wastewater was 3.1 billion m3 , of which 64% was discharged by
industry, 21% by agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishery and 13% by households (Fig. 5). In
addition, daily life wastewater in 2000 was 440 million m3 (CEYCC, 2001) which approaches the
bottom line, 410 million m3 of wastewater from households. In the reported statistics, industrial
wastewater (CEYCC, 2001) was 800 million m3 which is out of line with our result of 2 billion m3 .
However this result is reliable because the reported value includes only one third of the real number
of industrial enterprises.
It is estimated that of the total pollutant discharge into the water, carbon contributes 190,000 tons,
nitrogen 50,000 tons and phosphorous 10,000 tons (Fig. 6). More than half of the water pollutants are
discharged from industry, TOC (47%), T-N (53%) and T-P (59%), after that, those from household

1230
are large, (26%), T-N (26%) and T-P (21%). Water pollutants from agriculture, livestock, forestry
and fishery are moderate because they are absorbed into the soil, crops and air.

2.3 Nitrogen input from agricultural field in the Changjiang river catchment
Nitrogen (N) is a key element in intensive agricultural systems relying on high inputs of N to
achieve sufficient yields (Høyås et al., 1997). Considering the agricultural N cycle, there is often a
substantial deviation between inputs of N and outputs. The surplus of N deposited in the agricultural
soil or transformed into waterbodies through runoff and leaching, which induced a considerable
changes in ecosystem structure of aquatic environment and costal environment, leading to an
enhanced eutrophication and frequent harmful algal blooms in large river basin and coastal waters
(Zhang et al., 1999).
It is crucial to understand the mechanisms controlling watershed scale N budget and to estimate
N inputs, outputs and budgets covering the entire agricultural fields of Changjiang river basin.
Xiang et al. (2004) used county level agricultural statistical data of 1980 and 1990 (from National
Resources and Environmental Data Center, China) to calculate the N budgets of the Changjiang
river basin.
The inputs of N in agricultural systems include atmospheric deposition, chemical fertilizer,
agricultural biological N fixation, manure, N from crop residue combustion and N from crop residue
used as fertilizer. The outputs of N in agricultural systems include crop harvest, denitrification losses
and NH3 volatilization. N budget was estimated from the difference between all inputs/outputs and
surplus of N in the budgets are considered as either stored in agricultural soil or transported to
waterbodies through runoff and leaching.

2.3.1 N inputs
(1) Atmospheric deposition
The atmospheric wet deposition N to the Changjiang river basin was estimated by multiplying the
inorganic N concentrations data in precipitation by the cultivated land area within the basin. Due
to the lack of N concentrations data in precipitation in, 1985s (Shen, 1996) data was substitute the
1980s data and data from Xing and Zhu (2002) was used for 1990 in which mean concentrations
of NH4 and NO3 in the precipitation were obtained.
(2) Nitrogenous fertilizers
Globally, the use of inorganic fertilizer is the single largest source of N (Galloway and Cowling,
2002). This is also true in the China, especially in the agricultural characterized region such as
Changjiang river basin. We obtained data on chemical N fertilizer use of the 1980 and 1990 from
the China’s county level agricultural statistical database.
(3) N fixation
Symbiotic N fixation by leguminous crops in Changjiang river basin, only soybean and peanut
were taken into account. In quantifying non-symbiotic N fixation we considered the N fixation in
the paddy field and upland. We multiplied the area of symbiotic and non-symbiotic crops by the
rate of N fixation specific to each crop type.
(4) Recycling N
Concerning recycling N of agroecosystems on Changjiang river basin, we considered N accumu-
lation in human and animal excreta, N fertilizer from crop residue and N from combustion of crop
residue as recycling N, in which the former two are commonly used as manure in the rural areas in
China include Changjiang river basin.

Based on the results of the Xing and Yan (1999), about 40% of animal and human excrement
were used as manure applied into crop fields.
Because the Changjiang river basin is a large agricultural and developing region, many kinds of
crops residues are used as fertilizer into soil, but the data on crop residues are not directly available,

1231
 Table 2. N budgets for agricultural field in the Changjiang river basin (1980 and 1990).

1980 amount 1990 amount

(×109 g N) (×109 g N)

Input
Atmospheric deposition 0.24 0.50
Chemical fertilizer 2.58 5.63
Biological fixation 0.62 0.64
Recycling N 4.56 6.21
Subtotal 8.00 12.98
Output
Crop harvest 2.59 3.34
Denitrification 0.93 1.84
NH3 volatilization 0.89 1.67
Subtotal 4.41 6.85
Budget = (N storage in farmland + N transport to waterbodies) 3.59 6.13
Fertilizer N use efficiency = (Crop N/Chemical fertilizer N) 1.0 0.59

therefore, we using straw seed ratio, percentage of residues returned to soil and N content in crop
residues, indirectly estimated the crop residue N used as fertilizer.
According to the type of crops and the use of crop residue in China, about 38% of the average
fraction of crop residues were utilized as the fertilizer returned to soil, the rest of the crop resides,
about 62% were burnt partly in farm and partly in kitchens as cooking fuel. On the basis of the straw
seed ratio, percentage of residues burned for fuel and the conversion coefficient for estimating NOx
flux from burning crop residues, we calculated the N from crop residues combustion.
From the estimate of N inputs to the agricultural fields of the Changjiang river basin for the
period 1980–1990, we can see the total N inputs was approximately 12.98 × 109 g N in 1990,
which was a 1.6-fold increase over 1980 levels. The main source of total inputs was recycling
N, which increased from 4.56 Tg N in 1980 to 6.21 Tg N in 1990. In recycling N, the amount of
manure N, including excreta N of humans and animals and N from crop residue used as fertilizer,
was 4.2 Tg N in 1980 and increased to 5.8 Tg N in 1990. The second largest input was chemical
fertilizer application, the total amount of N fertilizer application was about 2.58 Tg N in 1980 and
5.63 Tg N in 1990, obviously, the amounts of total fertilizer was increasing trend.

2.3.2 N outputs
(a) Crop harvest
Crop harvest is the most important form of N removed from the agricultural system. By using
yields of major crops from the China’s county level agricultural statistical database and the data
about N contents in the crops, the N in the harvested crops was estimated.
(b) Denitrification in farmland
Because the denitrification is depend on many elements such as the fertilizer type and its application
season, temperature and rainfall etc, therefore, it is extraordinarily difficult to estimate denitrifi-
cation at the scale of Changjiang river basin. N losses due to denitrification were calculated using
data from the China’s county level agricultural statistical database and the conversion factors for
N losses through denitrification.
(c) NH3 Volatilization
N is also lost from the agricultural area via the volatilization of fertilizers and human and animal
wastes. IPCC recommended default value as the conversion factor for the human/ animal wastes and
averaged value revised from Xing and Zhu (2000) as the conversion coefficients for the fertilizers
in paddy field and upland were used.

1232
 Estimates of total N outputs were 4.47 Tg N and 7.43 Tg N in 1980 and 1990 respectively.
Concerning the fraction of N output from the agricultural fields, the crop harvest were the main
pathway of N output from agricultural fields and the total crop production increased from around
2.59 Tg N in 1980 to 3.34 Tg N in 1990.

2.3.3 Crop production and fertilizer use efficiency

The N fertilizer use efficiency of the agroecosystem is defined as the ratio between the amount of
crop N and fertilizer N applied (Fixen and West, 2002).
During 1980 to 1990 the crop production increased from 2.59 Tg N to 3.34 Tg N, while chemical
fertilizer N increased from 2.58 Tg N to 5.63 Tg N, but the fertilizer N use efficiency was decreased
from 1.0 to 0.59, indicating that the fertilizer use efficiency had already reached to saturation in
1980 and excess input of fertilizer was either stored in the soil or run-off to water-bodies which
increased from 3.59 Tg N in 1980 to 6.13 Tg N in 1990.

2.4 Water cycle change due to dam construction and water transport from south to north
The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) is located at Sandouping inYichang City area, 38 km upstream of the
existing Gezhouba dam. It is within the Xiling Gorge, the last of the famous three gorges. The project
involves a concrete gravity dam of maximum height 175 m with a crest level of El. 185 m. The
crest length is 2335 m. There will be two separate powerhouses one on each bank, with the spillway
in the middle. The water control structures will permit the passage of flows up to 113,000 m3 /s. In
total, the two powerhouses will contain 26 generating units each with a rated capacity of 700 MW,
for a total installed capacity of 18,200 MW. Annual generation will be 84.7 TWh. The dam includes
navigation facilities which will permit the passage of 10,000 ton ships with an overall annual traffic
capability of 50 million tons. At normal pool level El. 175 m, the dam will create a reservoir with a
total storage of 39.3 billion m3 of which the flood control storage is 22.15 billion m3 . The reservoir
will stretch 580 km upstream from the damsite, have a surface area of about 1084 km2 and an
approximate width of about 1100 m which is about twice the natural width of the river. The mean
depth is about 70 m and the maximum depth near the dam is about 170 m. The major favorable
impacts are disaster prevention such as flooding and displacement of coal fired generation.
Besides the resettlement problems, there are other problems like impacts on sediment transport,
local climate change, terrestrial flora and fauna, natural landscape, historic relics and cultural
heritage etc. However, water cycle change and water quality such as eutrophication are the major
problem and the impacts should be investigated.
The water resources, unevenly distributed in China, are affluent in the south and scarce in the
north. The runoffs in the Yangtze Valley and the areas south of it cover 80% while the farmlands
cover less than 40% both of the nation’s totals. By contrast, the runoffs and farmland in the northern
Huanghe, Huaihe and Haihe river basins cover 6.5% and 40% respectively of the nation’s totals. The
water scarcity in Northwest China, North China and Henan and Shandong provinces has become
the constraint of national economic development and eco-system improvement. Water transfers
from the Yangtze take such 3 routes as the West Route, the Middle Route and the East Route.
The Middle Route plans to divert water from the Danjiangkou Reservoir (built in 1974) on the
Hanjiang River, a major left-bank tributary of the middle Yangtze and the first stage will divert
9–13 km3 /yr or 25–35% of Han flows at Danjiangkou. Again, the problem of pollution would arise,
but it is estimated that up to 20 billion cubic meters of water could be transferred using this method.
Moreover, the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River would help the middle line transfer program
after the dam’s completion in 2009. The water will be transferred through a newly built diversion
channel with a maximum design capacity of 800 m3 /s.

3 DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR CATCHMENT ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

It is important to predict the effects of these pressure on ecosystem in the catchment level and
to provide policy alternatives for catchment ecosystem management. It should be constituting of

1233
Figure 1. Simulation results (Yucheng station, China/Corn, 2002).

comprehensive system approach to combine technological sub-model, societal system sub-models

and scientific sub-models which are found to be effective to design and evaluate policy recom-
mendations for sustainable catchment management. In particure, scientific sub-model consists of
integrated catchment model to estimate the spatial and temporal distributions of water cycle, heat
cycle, carbon cycle, nutrients cycles, sediment transport as well as agricultural productivities in
order to evaluate the condition of ecosystem services. It is necessary to provide monitoring system
as well as GIS database.
To retrieve biophysical and ecological parameters in a large river basin, remote sensing data, such
as satellite bi-directional reflectance observations plays most important role. We have established
two MODIS data receiving stations both in Fukang and Beijing in China, in order to quantify
catchment scale structural and functional attributes of ecosystems (e.g., LAI, FPAR, albedo) using
maximal information from the satellite instrument. To build confidence in the simulated results,
we have established 5 flux towers at Yucheng (Irrigated field), Taoyuan (Paddy Field), Haibei
(Grassland), Fukang (desertified land) and Qianyanzhou various ecosystems help us to generate a
consistent database of field-derived estimates that can be used for calibrating and evaluating future
model results (Fig. 1). Our method has an important tie to field investigations at ground truth
stations (Watanabe et al. 2004).
Evaluation system for integrated catchment management is developed to present scientific base
for approaching to sustainability management in catchment from a viewpoint of reforming envi-
ronmental infrastructure and technological practices by showing the following procedures; (1) To
specify framework of designing policy scenarios and planning options for integrated catchment-
wide management. (2) To prepare data-base in the manner of GIS for calculation, accounting, and
summing up of catchment-wide material flow and direct/indirect environmental loads. (3) To model
simultaneously discharging or loading of water, energy and C, N, P. (4) To evaluate performance
of policy and expected innovative technological practices using sustainability indices. Decision
support system has been developed and applied to the Changjiang river catchment (Watanabe
et al., 2004).

1234
4 TRADE-OFF BETWEEN PROVISIONING SERVICE AND SUPPORTING/
REGULATING SERVICE

Provisioning service is recognized as goods such as food, drinking water, wood which have market
value and supporting/regulating services are related with basic environmental foundation such
as water purification capacity, soil forming capacity, water holding capacity and etc. In the
traditional concept of development, provisioning service had been obtained at the expense of
supporting/regulating services, however it is recognized that supporting/regulating services have
equivalent economical value which could be evaluated in terms of dollars or other economical
measure. There are several trade-off cases in the Changjiang river catchment as follows.

4.1 Deforestation and agriculture production in Jialingjiang

The Jialingjiang catchment is one of the main sources of sediments in the Changjiang river due to
high population density, violent deforestation and rapid landuse change.
In order to evaluate the effect of land use change on sediment loads from the catchment, a
sub-catchment based distributed hydrologic model has been developed to simulate sediment loads
under different scenarios and applied it to the whole Jialingjiang River catchment (160,000 km2 )
locating in the upper region of the Changjiang basin with the verification of the simulated results
using the observed daily stream flow rates and sediment loads of 1987 (Fig. 2). As the scenario
to evaluate the effect of land use change on sediment loads from the Jialingjiang catchment, the
effect of recovery of forest area from farmlands with steep slope were examined, which is one of
main policies decided by Chinese government for the flood protection, to the mitigation of flood
peak and decrease in sediment loads. As the threshold of steep slope value, four grade, 25◦ , 20◦ ,
15◦ , and 10◦ were set up. The results show that the detected farmlands with the slope value over
25◦ , 20◦ , 15◦ , and 10◦ covered 0.6%, 1.5%, 3.2% and 6.3% of the whole Jialingjiang catchment,
respectively. Also, these corresponded to 1.6%, 3.8%, 8.2%, and 16% of the total area of farmlands
in the catchment, respectively. As for the effect of the recovery of forest area from farmlands with
steep slope, the clear difference in the runoff characteristics simulated with among the original
condition and the four grades of forest area recovery scenario could not be found. However, the
volume of sediment erosion was simulated to decrease in proportion to the decrease of the threshold
value to prove the forest area recovery to be effective for the protection of sediment production. As
compared with that (106.5 × 109 kg) at the original condition, the simulated annual total sediment
loads from the whole cacthment showed the decreases of 4.9%, 9.5%, 17%, and 22% in each case
of the recovery of forest area from the farmlands with steep slope over 25◦ , 20◦ , 15◦ and 10◦ ,
respectively.

4.2 Sedimentation in Donting lake and decrease in flood control capacity

Donting lake is a part of flood plane and it used to have large flood control capacity. However,
due to sedimentation in Donting lake (approximately 60–100 million tons/year) and active land
reclamation, Donting lake lost two third of its lake surface and volume during 70 years between
1930–2000 (Kameyama et al., 2004; Fig. 3). Most of the landuse change can be found in crop
land increase where used to be a part of lake and once flood occurs this area would be damaged
seriously.

4.3 Water demand increase and salinity intrusion into the Changjiang river
The oceanographic structure in the East China Sea is strongly influenced by the complicated com-
bination of the following four water masses, (1) Changjiang river diluted water, (2) Kuroshio water,
(3) Yellow sea water and (4) continental coastal diluted water. It was found that the distributions of
salinity and nutrients in the Changjiang river estuary are strongly controlled by this oceanographic
structure. Long term simulation was conducted by using the numerical model which contained
the daily data of fresh water and sediment fluxes from the Changjiang river, daily distributions of

1235
Figure 2. Simulation of sediment load and effects of scenario for forest recovery.

Figure 3. Change in Donting lake volume (a) Donting lake in 1930’s (b) Donting lake observed by MODIS
satellite in 2001.12.26.

1236
precipitation on the sea surface in the East China Sea obtained from TRMM satellite-data, daily
distributions of wind stress and meteorological data obtained from GCM model (ECMWF). Sim-
ulation results compared with field observation data (obtained in the continental shelf of the East
China Sea (124◦ ∼128◦ E, 29.5◦ ∼32.0◦ N) in June 2002) indicated excellent agreement and the
oceanographic structure in the East China Sea composed with different water masses were well
reproduced by this numerical model. By using this model results as boundary condition, salinity
intrusion was simulated. It was estimated that the water resources demand along the Changjiang
river will increase due to the economical development and south to north water transport project.
Based on the scenario of water demand increase (3,000 m3 /s), significant salinity intrusion to
approximately 100 km upstream of the Changjiang river mouth is predicted during the winter
period (January–March).

5 CONCLUSION

The use of ecosystem services often involves diverse actors with different values and competing
objectives. The need to make choices between different ecosystem services, between specific
ecosystem services and biodiversity, or between ecosystems services and human well-being is
an inherent part of the decisions that ecosystem users and managers face. Trade-offs between
ecosystem services may also be reflected temporally, through decisions of reaping benefits of
ecosystem services now or reserving them for future us, or spatially, through use of an ecosystem
service in location effecting the condition of an ecosystem services in another location.
Faced with potential conflicts among objectives and users of ecosystem services, policy makers
need accurate, objective information to assist in their decision making process. The information
needs to be presented in such a way that allows them to weigh up the implications and likely
consequences of choosing between various options. There must be some means of assessing the
magnitude or severity of the impacts or tradeoffs of those decisions.
This decision support system based on scientific strength could fulfill those requirement.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Connecting human and system health in the assessment, design and

operation of water distribution systems

B.W. Karney
Civil Engineering Department, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

ABSTRACT: Although it is obvious that a great many of the decisions and a significant part of
the planning and design of water distribution systems is implicitly motivated by considerations
of human health, a “health mindset” or framework is seldom explicitly adopted by engineers
and planners. Health considerations are generally made visible in system design and operation
as constraints originating through these external considerations, but these lead to chemical and
hydraulic standards that are implemented in system design and operation. This is essentially a
translation or even a distancing process: human health considerations are converted into explicit,
quantitative, and measurable concepts such as disinfectant residuals, residence time, maximum
levels of specific substances, the limited presence of certain known pathogenic organisms, and a
minimum achievement of certain hydraulic goals. This paper argues that this approach, while both
understandable and probably historically inevitable, misses the richness and possibilities of a health
framework for a wider range of system evaluations, considerations and trade-offs. In particular, this
paper adopts in a preliminary way a more general yet demanding framework of human health and
uses this perspective to reflect on, to evaluate, and to promote a more general concept of a healthy
water distribution system. Moreover, the paper argues why a breakdown in a healthy system will
so frequently result in stresses experienced by humans. In this way, the paper briefly reviews the
concept of human health, of system health, and provides some specific examples where there is a
significant interaction between the two.

1 INTRODUCTION

To someone who has given the matter only casual thought, definitions often appear both trivial and
obvious. From the time we were young we have learned an increasingly sophisticated system of
classification, practicing distinctions continually until they become comfortable and acceptable,
and probably unquestionable. Yet learning that dogs can be three-legged and that wolves are not
dogs, or that neither a whale nor a starfish are really fish, requires a subtle and flexible set of rules
that are often beyond simple articulation.
Interestingly then, when examined closely, many definitions turn out to be quite elusive, having
a “difficult to articulate” property, an aspect that causes them to become vague and amorphous at
the fringes of their intended or usual boundaries. Mathematics has long wrestled with specifying
a consistent and concise definition for the concept of a set, biologists sometimes still argue about
as basic a boundary as that between life and non-life, and who now is brave enough to try and
make exact distinctions between various shades of color, particularly in disagreements between
individuals of different culture? Extreme post-modernists would perhaps abandon the whole exer-
cise as futile, and yet the amazing thing is that a great deal of highly valuable communication is still
possible between diverse individuals, and agreements and correspondences are a common enough
occurrence to make even something as ambitious as an international conference both possible and
rewarding. So even if the fabric of definitions does fragment a bit over time, needing the occasional
patch or mending job, the overall exercise can bring both insight and satisfaction.

1239
 The current paper explores the elusive and difficult concept of health, applying this concept
both to the humans that use the water supplied via a water distribution system, and to the system
itself. The goal is to progress by analogy, reflecting that our human health is dependent on a variety
of complex but interdependent systems that may or may not be present in the organization of a
water utility. But more than this, the paper argues that we neglect the health of the system that
brings us water to our peril, and that such neglect can threaten the very purpose for creating such
an expensive and elaborate system in the first place.

2 PRELIMINARY HEALTH CONCEPTS

Living as we all have in our bodies for our entire life has no doubt given each of us an intuitive
concept of health that probably involves ideas such as “feeling well, being generally free from pain,
and having no obvious diseases.” The World Health Organization states that health involves “the
state of complete physical, mental and social well-being” and others have informally stated that
health gives us a “rewarding and not too painful experience.” However, on reflection such a set
of attributes is obviously simplistic: some of the worst and most dangerous diseases can progress
silently without obvious symptoms until they are devastatingly lethal. Moreover, if one searches
for the mere presence of latent disease in any of us, a whole catalogue of pathogenic organisms are
probably resident within all of us at all times. Perhaps more controversially, pain turns out to be
one of our most powerful feedback mechanisms, sometimes warning us to make adjustments now
before more dire effects occur. The pain of a burn is not only a strong incentive to take our hand out
of the fire, and to be quick about it, but a pretty memorable lesson to be more careful with fire next
time. Thus, dealing with the pain as a problem, and not the symptom of one, can be hazardous and
trade an early warning signal for a full-blown problem. Turning off an alarm may well silence an
annoyance, but it might also be the wrong action if the building is indeed on fire. As individuals,
some of our most memorable, powerful and in the long-run useful lessons from life can in fact be
the most painful in the short-run.
The relationship that exists between microorganisms and our health is a particularly complex
one. Countless trillions of bacteria coexist within us, being present in astronomical numbers on
our skin and in our digestive system, forming a countless number of beneficial tasks, as well as
occasionally causing disease. As Bryson (2004) so nicely summarizes:
Bacteria, never forget, got along for billions of years without us. We couldn’t survive a
day without them. They process our wastes and make them usable again; without their
diligent munching nothing would rot. They purify our water and keep our soils productive.
Bacteria synthesize vitamins in our gut, convert the things we eat into useful sugars and
polysaccharides, and go to war on alien microbes that slip down our gullet.
This perspective is helpful to remember in the context of water distribution system design and
operation. The goal of achieving chemically pure water, even waters supplied with a latent defense
mechanism against further penetration by “foreign” powers, is perhaps an understandable and
readily communicated simplification. Perhaps it is also a natural limit of an approach seeking
the lowest common denominator between bacterial susceptibilities amongst people. Thus, the
apparently uncontested goal of producing chemically pure and uncontaminated water is ultimately
a contradiction in terms. If we are to be healthy, the bacterial populations that share our bodies must
also be healthy, a requirement that may well cut across current water quality standards. Ironically,
it has turned out that any attempt to achieve a sterile environment free from threats and biological
attacks, not only fails to make us healthy, but even makes us both weak and vulnerable (Dubos,
1959). Clearly the role of bacteria in a distribution system, for instance in biofilms (see LeChevalier
et al, 1998), is a complex one, but the issue of whether or not such organisms can or do play any
kind of beneficial role is rarely considered.
So, the concepts of health are not to be defined and realized through simple and neat func-
tional forms. Rather the concept requires a kind of dynamic balance between the internal response

1240
mechanisms that are bodies and minds can bring to bear on a stimulating and challenging envir-
onment, where the threats challenge us to respond, but don’t overwhelm our system through the
speed, duration, or intensity of the required response. This requires a more complex assessment of
demands and challenges that typically arises when we discuss drinking water standards; what we
need is to take into account the overall resources and requirements of the system, including the range
of individuals using it, while all the while considering the nature of the environmental or external
challenges imposed upon us. Thus, biologically, health necessarily involves conditions favourable
to the organism as a whole and the ability to mount an active defense against homeostatic processes.
Of course, none of this will be easy. Health concepts have an individual adaptability and mutabil-
ity that complicates assessments and defies many simple-minded generalizations. But the reality
is that we make such assessments every day, in almost every activity. What we demand from a
sport or recreational activity is to be able to come to a rapid and personal evaluation of benefits
and costs, and then to make up our own mind. What we don’t want is hidden faults and difficulties
and surprises when they suddenly arise. And in this respect water professionals may at times need
to be more direct and honest, not making categorical and sometimes unsubstantiated claims that
a certain water is fit to drink, but rather to state clearly and directly that as with any other human
actions there are risks, but then to find clever ways of comparing the risk of participation in an
open utility, with the risk of not doing so.
In this regard, it is worthwhile and interesting to comment on the importance of stability in the
environment in which health is assessed. Sudden changes in environmental stress are a well-known
trigger of deteriorated health and in our various defense mechanisms to respond to challenges. In
an analogous way, sudden changes in water systems often cause physical, chemical and biological
disturbances in the system itself. Transient events, whether red water events or the possibility of
intrusion, are physical changes often triggered by sudden changes in system operation, in the same
way that disease is often triggered but sudden changes in environmental or external loads. An older,
though still relevant, passage in Dubos (1959) has a wonderful double meaning in this context:
Fitness to the total environment being essential for health in the Hippocratic view, it follows
that disease almost inevitably ensues when changes in conditions are too rapid and too violent
to allow adaptive mechanisms to come into play. Time and time again Hippocrates comes
back to the dangers entailed in sudden changes of any sort.

3 HEALTHY SYSTEM CONCEPTS

Having set the stage, a few connections between systems and organisms are immediately obvious.
From this perspective, the concepts of a healthy system can also be viewed as a logical extension
of the concept of the health of an organism. This thought leads to a set of reflections that have
considerable value.
3.1 An enfolded whole
Bill Vanderburg (2000), in his profound reflection on technology and its impact on our lives, speaks
of biological systems as being “enfolded” in the sense that each part of the system contains a kernel
of the whole. Biologically, each cell contains the same DNA coding that is responsible for creating
the structure of the whole organism.
No mechanical system is enfolded in this sense, since the parts come into being from separate
and distinct processes with independent instructions. And yet, perhaps at the level of organizational
control, the human parts of the system would likely benefit from a greater degree of enfolding. If the
work crews that maintain valves, that repair pipes, and that respond to leaks were consistently valued
for their contribution to the whole system if they knew the key parts they play in contributing to the
health of a whole community, might they not do their tasks with greater pride, care and diligence?
If the politicians that set municipal budgets, and the voters that gave them their mandates, had
something as direct as a nerve connection to know when the system was languishing, would as
many short-sighted decisions be made?

1241
 Few of us want to live meaningless lives, and a community contribution through a job well
done, that is understood and valued by both superiors and by the community served, is a notion of
enfolding that appears ideal. But the degree of this cooperation that is required for the survival of
any complex multi-celled organism is an inspiration and concrete example that perhaps makes this
goal as tangible as it is immediate.

3.2 Multi-objective thinking

Health is too large a concept to be forced into a single mold or evaluated with a single index. No
one would be foolish enough to think that the only requirement of an annual physical is to take a
person’s pulse, or to feel that the only ingredient necessary for health is taking vitamin pills. Healthy
organisms must balance the needs for rest and exercise, for sleep and wakefulness, and for periods
of eating with times for digestion. Nesse and Williams (1994) brilliantly make the point that our
defense and immune systems are compromises reacting to a variety of functional requirements. For
instance, they argue that we could not easily be better adapted to certain challenges without making
us more vulnerable to yet other attacks or demands. As one example of many, if your legs were
stronger and less liable to break if we fall, we might be slower and less agile, and more inclined to
be caught and eaten!
Yet in the water distribution context we seem to more readily forget these inherit compromises. A
water distribution is also a set of pragmatic tradeoffs between different threats that sometimes push
us as designers in difference directions. An obvious example is the choice of pipe diameter; the
larger the diameter, the better our protection from fires in the system, but the longer the residence
time and the more vulnerable the water is to biological invasion (Filion, Adams and Karney, this
conference, explore these issues in more detail). We cannot have it both ways, any more than the
person whom rides a bike can ensure the improvement in the vital capacity of their lungs will more
than offset the chance they will be hit by a passing truck. Individuals require the freedom to make
their own assessments of risk and payoff, and the public forum has evolved to make such choices.
In the water distribution system context, it is important to start to present the data and framework
to make such tradeoffs visible and meaningful.

3.3 Smart systems

If one reflects in any detail about the configuration of health systems perhaps the most amazing
aspect of them is how clever they appear. The interconnections between structural support, main-
tenance or long-term connections, adaptability and response, is remarkable. As in water systems,
single components seldom serve one purpose alone, but biological systems have taken this design
framework to levels far beyond our simple designs. It is reflections on issues such as this that has
perhaps so profoundly motivated areas of design non is “biomimicy” that seeks to use nature not
only as a model for human design, but also as a measure and mentor (see Benyus, 1997).
In this context, consider what Nesse and Williams say about bones, but as water engineers we
might perhaps think also of the possibility of pipes:
The body’s simplest structures reveal exquisite designs unmatched by any human creations.
Take bones. Their tubular form maximizes strength and flexibility while minimizing weight.
Pound for pound, they are stronger than solid steel bars. Specific bones are masterfully shaped
to serve their functions – thick at the vulnerable ends, studded with surface protrusions where
they increase muscle leverage, and grooved to provide safe pathways for delicate nerves and
arteries. The thickness of individual bones increases wherever strength is needed. Wherever
they bend, more bone is deposited. Even the hollow space inside the bones is useful: it
provides a safe nursery for new blood cells.
It is interesting to imagine the systems we might create were we to think of pipes as conduits of not
only water, but as adaptive and responsive, and effective corridors of information and connection.

1242
4 SOME DIRECT CONNECTIONS

Having considered some perhaps less obvious connections, it is worthwhile to develop some more
direct interactions between system and human health. There are perhaps endless ways of trying to
make these connections, ones focusing on specific systems and functions. A few obvious examples
are included in the following discussion.

4.1 System aging

One of the obvious connections between pipe systems and human systems is at the level of the
circulation system. As both pipes and arteries age, there is a strong tendency toward a deposition on
the conduit wall, leading to higher losses (and thus higher blood and system pressures), a tendency
to leak or bleed, and an increased load of the pump (or heart). Moreover, as human exercise can be
a way of resisting deposition, of removing blocks and restrictions, so system flushing can work in
a similar way in water networks.
In the human health case, there is an obvious tendency for systems to bruise or bleed more
easily, and this must be countered by greater vigilance to avoid undue stresses, so in the water
distribution case, older systems must be operated more carefully or they are liable to leak or break.
A greater need with aging for more nutrient support in the form of vitamins and supplements could
perhaps be compared to a need for greater injections of chlorine and more thorough treatment as
a distribution system ages (Clark and Grayman, 1998). (It is perhaps prudent to leave off direct
comparison to changes in mental processes with aging, and the creation of rigidity and stubbornness
that sometimes characterizes utility decision-making!)

4.2 Pumping capacity

A heart is a highly sophisticated biological system for maintaining flow and pressure in our circu-
lation system. As anyone with a recent heart attack might attest, its role and function is forgotten
to our peril. Remarkably, water distribution system pumps are commonly neglected and taken for
granted in much the same way, with scheduled maintenance and diagnostics often neglected under
the spectre of short term budget pressures, as we often fail to get adequate exercise under analogous
circumstances. Without proper attention and considerations, pumps and hearts are both liable to
fail or complain exactly when their service is required the most, which is pretty much all the time.
It is not difficult to make connections to larger issues such as stress tests in humans and an inverse
transient calibration of a water distribution system. Or, to show that borrowings can go in either
direction, it is interesting to point out that a heart by-pass operation is really nothing more that
what municipal engineers have been practicing for years – a way of “looping” the pipe network to
increase flexibility and decrease losses.
There is an additional and interesting connection here that is worth mentioning as well. The power
supply for the human heart is actually fed by the heart itself, as the heart muscle is supplied with
blood for its own purposes through the coronary artery. If this artery become blocked or clogged,
the heart is starved for power and unable to continue its own proper function, with sometimes-
disastrous consequences. In a similar way, if the power to a working pump is cut, the resulting
power failure event can have repercussions that are profoundly important to the system as a whole.
Is it possible that surge protection systems would get better recognition from decision makers if
the analogy with a heart attack were more commonly applied? Regardless of the answer to this
question, what is clear is that we tend to take both pumping stations and our own hearts for granted
until we receive sometimes-forceful reminders of the crucial roles they play in system performance.

4.3 System assessment

Our bodies maintain a phenomenal set of transducers and relays that are constantly assessing system
status, and passing this information back to “central command.” The delicacy of our nerves, eyes,

1243
sense of smell and taste, sense of touch and hearing, transmit a bewildering array of signals
throughout the body. This information is tied-in directly to functions of decision support, memory,
motor control and action; it is not simply stored and immediately forgotten, nor stored in irretrievable
files in arcane formats (as too much SCADA system data is!). Modern SCADA design could learn
many lessons from the elegance and flexibility of such a support and assessment system, and
perhaps interface design might eventually benefit from a set of read-outs that are oriented mostly
to our eyes. Important signals in our body tend to get our attention in a great many ways, and many
of these are compelling and virtually irresistible.

4.4 Systems thinking

What is needed progressively more in this framework is the connection between system operation,
system behaviour and likely health effects. Only in this way can there begin to be a set of links
that move backward from a desired health outcome, to the kind of investment needed in system
hydraulics or infrastructure to influence this outcome.
For example, it is progressively accepted that hydraulic transients are capable of generating
significant negative pressures in water systems and that these pressures have the potential to cause
intrusion of contaminated water from the environment into a pipe (Fernandes and Karney, 2004). A
recent paper by McInnis (2004) expands the consideration of these transient intrusion events from
their purely hydraulic aspects to take the first steps toward developing a risk-based framework for
comparing the relative risk-reduction achieved by alternative transient-intrusion mitigation strat-
egies. The alternative strategies considered by McInnis include a variety of combinations of changes
to system operation and surge controls, measure aimed at reducing the potential for contaminant
intrusion from the soil–groundwater environment near the pipe. A reference groundwater contam-
ination is assumed, and intrusion volumes and time-varying pathogen concentrations are computed
respectively using hydraulic transient and water quality models. Risk-based measures should be
evolved in many areas to provide quantitative assessments of the relative reduction in the risk of
receptor infection or illness achieved by alternative mitigation strategies or investments. It is exactly
this kind of thinking and ground work research that is called for by making the link between system
health and human health explicit.

4.5 System connections

That the link between system and human health exists is something that few argue. That the link is
perhaps more profound than we usually consider may also be fairly readily acknowledged. However,
the extent, and human misery associated with this connection is quite difficult to over-estimate.
An interesting and rather disturbing case has currently being traced through in Canada, and the
core scenario is worth relating; since the specifics are a subject of a court challenge, the details have
been shifted to the ground of a possible connection, rather than an established set of facts. However,
the issue at hand is that infrastructure repair work may well have caused interior pipes in an older
house to begin leaking, as result of shock waves from nearby blasting in the subsurface. These
initial disruptions may have caused some structural damage and thus requiring expensive repair.
However, of far greater importance in this case is the fact that the new moist environment behind the
walls may have allowed a dangerous and highly toxic micro-organism to rapidly grow and multiply,
causing severe illness and significant personal suffering to those in the house. Moreover, the repair
costs for the damages with this change now escalate considerably, since removing the “bug” from
the house requires either a huge expense or partial demolition of the structure.
We should be thankful that such cases appear to be rare. But how rare they are depends greatly on
how accurately we can diagnose, or are event alert to, the sometimes-tortuous chain of events that
connects cause and effect. The point here is that linked events will interest us more, and concern us
more deeply, if we think of health more in general, and not simply reassure ourselves with simple
lines of legal responsibility. The issue in intervention is surely to be able to tie in what we do
as engineers, designers and operators to what are the human (both economic and health) impacts

1244
or consequences of these actions. Eventually, we must also look beyond the specific systems
in question, and realize that healthy cities, healthy communities, and healthy environments are
inextricably linked.

5 CONCLUSION

When faced with complex challenges it is easy and understandable that we seek ways of simplifying
the problem into something more manageable and tractable. But clearly there are dangers in this,
since the original problem and challenges can be lost and substituted from what is of less value. In
the case of water distribution systems, we have often thought of these as collections of individual
pipes and forgotten our nobler calling as key contributors and maintainers of the health-care system
of society. But health-care systems require both intellectual and emotional engagement as well as
a delicate set of balances, one that requires not just technical skill, but a great deal of wisdom to
engage and adjust. We as engineers have shown ourselves equal to many of the technical challenges
of the past, but new requirements and demands face us daily, and it is perhaps time to question
not simply our tools and the problems they endeavor to solve, but also the framework we adopt
and the places we return to for inspiration. In this context, the delicate and marvelous health and
support systems that comprise our own bodies deserve our attention and regard, and perhaps also
our imitation.

REFERENCES

Clark R. and Grayman W. (1998). “Modeling Water Quality in Drinking Water Distribution Systems”, American
Water Works Association, Denver.
Benyus, Janine M. (1997). Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Quill, William Morrow and Company,
New York.
Dubos, Rene (1959). Mirage of Health: Utopias, Progress and Biological Change, Anchor Books, Doubleday
and Company, Garden City, New York.
Fernandes C. V. S. and Karney B. W. (2004). “Modeling the Advection Equation Under Water Hammer
Conditions”, Urban Water Journal, Special Issue on transients (in press).
Filion, Yves, Karney, Bryan W. and Adams, Barry J. (2004). “Multiobjective Design of Water Networks with
Random Loads”, this conference.
LeChevalier M. W., Cawthon C. and Lee R. G. (1998). “Inactivation of Biofilm Bacteria”, Appl. Environ.
Microbial, 54, 2492–2499.
McInnis D. M. (2004). “A relative risk framework for evaluating pathogen intrusion in distribution systems.
Urban Water Journal, Special Issue on transients (in press).
Nesse, Randolph M. and Williams, George C. (1994). Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian
Medicine.” Vintage Books, Random House, New York.
Vanderburg, Willem H. (2000). The Labyrinth of Technology, University of Toronto Press, Toronto.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Sewer sediments and processes

J.-L. Bertrand-Krajewski
INSA de Lyon, Villeurbanne, France

ABSTRACT: Sewer sediments, which appear in almost all sewer systems, create many problems:
reduction of hydraulic transport capacity, premature overflows, source of pollutants during storm
events, possible sewer degradation. In-sewer processes, which may occur under aerobic, anoxic and
anaerobic conditions, have a significant influence on the dissolved and particulate pollutants trans-
ported along sewer systems: removal of easily biodegradable compounds under aerobic conditions,
hydrogen sulphide production under anaerobic conditions which may lead to corrosion of concrete
sewer. In-sewer processes closely interact with sewer sediments. In the first section, some aspects
related to sewer sediments (transport, accumulation, bed load sediment traps and flushing gates)
are presented, including scientific and operational questions, examples of results, and remaining
questions and difficulties. In the second section, in-sewer processes are briefly introduced. Some
key references are given for more information.

1 INTRODUCTION

Traditionally, sewer systems are considered simply as transport systems for wastewater and
stormwater, towards either a wastewater treatment plant or receiving waters through CSO (com-
bined sewer overflow) and SSO (separate stormwater outfall) structures. Even if sewer sediments
and pipe corrosion linked to hydrogen sulphide generation were recognised as significant problems
since the early beginning of modern sewer systems in the middle of the 19th century, they were
considered more as operational problems rather than as scientific questions. In the early 1980s,
the above approach regarding both sewer sediments and sewer processes changed dramatically.
In order to provide both better scientific knowledge and answers to unsolved operational problems,
many research programmes have been launched in this period, mainly in Europe. They led progres-
sively to the concept of the sewer as a physical, chemical and biological reactor. An international
synthesis of the results obtained during the last 25 years has been published very recently in the
IWA Scientific and Technical Report series (Ashley et al. 2004).
In the limited frame of this paper, some aspects only will be briefly introduced and described.
The first section will be devoted to sewer sediments, the second one to sewer processes. Both
will (i) introduce scientific and operational questions and objectives, (ii) give some examples of
results, and (iii) present remaining questions and difficulties. However, the two sections are not
independent: links and interactions between sediments and processes will be indicated in the text.

2 SEWER SEDIMENTS

Sewer sediments create many problems: reduction of hydraulic transport capacity, premature
overflows, source of pollutants during storm events, possible sewer degradation. The scientific ques-
tions concern mainly: (i) the characterization of sewer sediments (physical, chemical, biological),
(ii) measurement, analysis and modelling of sediment accumulation, erosion and transport, and
(iii) sediment treatment and disposal. The operational questions concern: (i) the design of self

1247
cleansing sewers, (ii) the identification of sediment accumulation locations in sewer systems,
(iii) the management of sewer sediments and their interception, and (iv) their treatment and reuse.
In the following paragraphs, information is given about types and transport of sewer solids, sediment
accumulation, bed load sediment traps and flushing devices.

2.1 Types and transport of sewer solids

In combined sewers, many types of solids are present. They have various origins: domestic waste-
water (solids from kitchen, showers/baths, toilets, cleaning, etc.), industrial and trade effluents,
solids transported by surface runoff from aerosols, roofs, streets, highways, parking lots, gardens
and any other surface connected to the sewer system, solids from construction activities, etc. They
have different characteristics and transport behaviours (see Figure 1). The finest solids, which never
settle under normal sewer conditions, are named wash-load and their transport is usually simulated
as transport of dissolved substances with the advection-dispersion equation. Solids transported in
suspension have a median diameter ranging from 30 to 40 µm: if the energy provided by the flow
decreases, they may settle and contribute to the sewer sediments accumulation. Solids transported
as bed load are usually larger, with typical median diameter from 200 up to 1500 µm, which
corresponds to the mean diameter of sewer sediments. If the energy of the flow is not sufficient,
bed load sediments are no longer transported and contribute to the sewer sediments deposited on
the pipe invert. In case of higher flows and velocities, during dry weather peaks and storm events,
sewer sediments may be eroded and transported downstream. The three above modes of transport
are similar to those found e.g. in rivers and open channels, usually with non-uniform and wide
grain size distributions. In reality, they are not easily distinguished and represent different aspects
of a continuum. Many models, usually derived from river hydraulics, have been applied to simulate
solid transport in sewer systems. But there is no yet any international consensus about the most
appropriate models. For suspended load transport, concentration profiles are usually described
by means of equations derived from the models of Rouse (1937) and Coleman (1982). The most
recent developments have been made e.g. by Mark (1995), Ristenpart (1995), Skipworth (1996)
and Verbanck (2000). The suspended transport capacity remains very uncertain, and is usually
modelled by site-specific empirical calibrated models. Very frequently, approaches are derived
from the Ackers & White (1973) model, with specific adaptations like e.g. in Coghlan et al. (1993),
Wotherspoon (1994) or Ackers et al. (1996). Regarding bed load transport, many various equations
and models have also been applied, most of them being derived from traditional river models e.g.
Meyer-Peter & Müller (1948) or Ackers & White (1973). Among recent works, one may quote e.g.
Arthur et al. (1996), Lin & Le Guennec (1996) and De Sutter et al. (2003). The questions regarding
the cohesion properties of sewer sediments, the critical shear stresses for erosion and deposition and

wash-load

suspension

bed load

organic erosion accumulation

layer
sediments

Figure 1. Types of sewer solids and modes of transport.

1248
their variation according to time, physical and chemical conditions (e.g. Beyer 1989, Williams &
Williams 1989, Tait et al. 2003) still need research efforts before general, widely applicable and
transposable models will be proposed and validated.
More recently, the presence of an organic layer of very fine and organic solids deposited in depres-
sions at the surface of the sediments, also named near-bed-solids (NBS), has been confirmed (Arthur
et al. 1996, Chebbo et al. 2002, Oms et al. 2002). NBS appear mainly in the upstream reaches
of sewer systems, in rather flat locations (slopes <0.05%) with low flow velocities (<0.15 m/s)
and very low shear stresses (<0.03 N/m2 ). They constitute very important reservoirs of organic
and polluted solids which are very easily scoured during flow peaks, and especially during storm
events: their contribution to COD/BOD pollutant loads discharged during storm events may be
very significant. Biofilm growing on pipe walls is also important in sewers (see e.g. Michelbach
et al. 1992), especially for biochemical processes (Hvitved-Jacobsen 2002). It is regularly detached
(Reiff 1992) during peak flows, mainly transported as suspended load, and contributes to the TSS
and pollutants loads.
All above types of solids are the vector of many pollutants: organic matter (COD, BOD), nutrients,
heavy metals, hydrocarbons, micropollutants, etc. For heavy metals and most of the micropollutants,
the finer the solids, the higher the pollutant concentration expressed in mg/dry kg of solids. During
storm events, sewer sediments are partly eroded and it has been observed in many sewer systems
that deposits are major contributors to the pollutant loads transported in suspension (e.g. Dauber &
Novak 1983, Gromaire et al. 2001).

2.2 Sediment accumulation

Resulting from successive cycles of deposition and erosion, sediment accumulation is a very
general process, observed in almost all sewer systems, even in those which have been designed
to be theoretically self-cleansing. This is linked to the very different types and sources of solids
entering into the sewer systems and to the highly variable intermittent hydraulic and transport
conditions occurring in sewers. Due to the great variety of conditions, it is not possible to evaluate
a priori the accumulation rate in any particular sewer reach. However, Ashley et al. (1992) reported
accumulation rates between 30 and 500 g/m/day from observation in various European sewers.
Bachoc (1992) carried out a detailed analysis of the conditions which lead to deposition in sewers.
The main explanatory factor is the bed shear stress (and not velocities or slopes as usually used in
traditional design rules for self-cleansing sewers): deposition happens when the bed shear stress
is below a critical value which depends on solids characteristics (diameter, density, etc.). Other
factors play also a significant role at very local scale: house connections, strong variations of
slopes, enlargements, direction changes, manholes, etc. (Gérard & Chocat 1998).
Long term observations have been carried out in some experimental reaches (e.g. Pisano &
Queiroz 1977, 1984; Laplace 1991). It appears that deposition occurs mainly during dry weather
periods and decreasing flows at the end of storm events (Bachoc 1992, Ashley & Crabtree 1992,
Chebbo et al. 1995). The main factors are (i) the nature of solids, (ii) the geometry, physical
state and topography of sewers, (iii) the nature of the upstream sewer network including the type
and distribution of inputs, and (iv) the flow conditions (mainly bed shear stress, but also local
turbulences linked to geometry).
More recently, a new experiment has been carried out in Lyon, France, in a 1.8 m height egg-
shape man-entry sewer (Bardin & Bertrand-Krajewski, 2004). Similarly to measurements carried
earlier out in Marseille, France by Laplace (1991), the 380 m long sewer reach has been cleansed
and the sediment accumulation has been measured manually weekly at 5 m intervals during 35
months with a measuring rod. But the sediments observed in Lyon are finer than in Marseille: the
median diameter is respectively 200 µm and 1000–2000 µm. The longitudinal sediment profile
is represented on Figure 2. It confirms that the accumulation is more significant at the upstream
extremity, and that the overall mean slope is increasing with time. A more detailed analysis reveals
that local geometry and flow conditions strongly affect the sediment accumulation. The sediment
profile is very complex, and almost all irregularities coincide with lateral house connections and

1249
 164.8
Sediment profile on 06 June 2000
164.7 Pipe invert profile
Sediment profile on 04 June 2002
NGF altitude (m)

164.6

164.5

164.4

164.3
0

120

160

200

220

240

260

360

380
20

60

80
40

140

180
100

280

300

320

340
Distance x from upstream (m)

Figure 2. Changes in the sediment profile in the Lacassagne sewer in Lyon, France during 24 months.

16
04 June 2002 : change
14 05 June 2000 in the flow regime 21 May 2003
12
Volume (m3)

10

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Time (days)

Figure 3. Accumulation of sediments in the Lacassagne sewer in Lyon, France during 35 months.

junctions, street inlets, manholes, gullies, etc. Based on the measurements, the total volume of
accumulated sediments has been calculated: its evolution over a period of 35 months is represented
on Figure 3.
A comparative study of modelling approaches with various levels of complexity is now carried
out, ranging from very simple conceptual models (limited storage model) to elaborated mechanistic
models (based on Meyer-Peter & Müller equations). As an example, the results obtained with a
model of an intermediate level of complexity based on the Velikanov transport model are given on
Figure 4.
The uneven pipe invert has been accounted for, but not all local elements (gullies, house con-
nections, manholes, etc.). Consequently, the observed complexity of the simulated profile is not
reproduced by the model. Nevertheless, the general trend is well simulated after two years. The
difference between the simulation and the observation can be considered as the influence of local
elements. It appears also that model results become better for longer simulation periods. This could
be explain by the fact that, during the first months, the accumulation mainly compensates defects
and troughs along the pipe invert, which is not well accounted for in the model; after some months,
the sediment profile starts to be smoother, and the accumulation is then better reproduced by the
model. However, this model needs local calibration and can not be transposed to any other sewer
reach without appropriate in situ measurements: additionally to the parameters which need to be

1250
 164.7
Measured profile
NGF altitude (m)

164.6 Simulated profile

164.5 Pipe invert

164.4
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41
Measurement point

Figure 4. Modelling of the sediment profile in the Lacassagne sewer in Lyon, France after 24 months.

Figure 5. 3D scheme of a bed load sediment trap.

calibrated, model inputs (upstream flow, solids flux, concentration and characteristics like settling
velocities) are key variables which need specific and local measurement campaigns.

2.3 Bed load sediment traps

In order to intercept sewer solids transported as bed load, many sewer systems are equipped with
typically parallelepipedic grit chambers, which are located at the pipe invert and widen as the
sewer enters the chambers. Such grit chambers are not fully satisfactory: low selectivity, settling
of fine organic particles, anaerobic conditions leading to septicity, odours or hydrogen sulphide
problems, scouring of trapped solids during storm events. Bed load sediment traps (BLST) are then
an interesting alternative to grit chambers, as shown initially by Laplace (1991) and Lin (1993).
BLST are sumps in the sewer inverts, with a width equal to the upstream sewer pipe width. They are
covered with plates and a transverse open slot of approx. 300 mm between the two plates allows the
heaviest bed load solids to fall into the trap (Figure 5). Contrary to traditional grit chambers, BLST
are not based on the settling of bed load and suspended solids, but on the selective interception
of coarse and mineral solids transported near the invert. Based on experiments carried out on
both reduced and full scale traps (Bertrand-Krajewski et al. 1996, Laplace & Felouzis 1997),

1251
Figure 6. Modelling of the filling dynamics of a bed load sediment trap in Marseille, France (from Laplace
et al. 2001).

the following conclusions can be drawn regarding BLST (Laplace et al. 1998): (i) they intercept
70–80% of the bed load solids transported along the sewer, (ii) they are really selective compared
to traditional grit chambers, (iii) all solids trapped remain trapped and can not be scoured during
peak flows. Contrary to usual grit chambers, the accumulation rate in BLST does not decrease
with time and filling level but remains rather constant during dry weather (Figure 6). During storm
events, significant increase of the accumulation rate may be observed. Even if BLST or other types
of traps as those used in the UK are proven to be efficient, their design, modelling and simulation
(Fraser et al. 1998, Schmitt et al. 1999, Laplace et al. 2001, Ashley et al. 2003) are not yet fully
established and further research will be necessary.
Located at the upstream extremity of a sewer reach were sediments usually accumulate, BLST
are efficient and prevent any downstream accumulation. They can also be used jointly with flushing
gates presented in the next paragraph.

2.4 Flushing devices

In order to cleanse sewers, many devices have been developed since the early beginning of sewer
systems in the middle of the 19th century (see e.g. Bertrand-Krajewski 2003). Among all existing
devices, flushing devices are probably the most interesting ones. The basic concept consists to
generate transient waves (i.e. flushes) which, during their rapid propagation, erode the deposits and
transport them downstream, preferably to a sewer reach where the transport capacity is sufficient
to avoid any later deposition or to a BLST which will intercept the solids scoured. Many types
of flushing devices exist: tipping buckets, fixed reservoirs, siphons, etc. Among the most recent
devices, the Hydrass gate (Sikora 1989) is a tipping gate installed in a sewer pipe. The water
transported in the pipe is stored behind the gate (storage phase) until the water level reaches a
value that leads to the quasi instantaneous rotation and opening of the gate. This rotation is due to
the change of the momentum depending on the upstream water level. At that moment, the gate is
opened (see Figure 7) and the stored volume is rapidly discharged, which creates a flush (flushing
phase). The flush duration is approximately 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the upstream pipe and flow
conditions. After the flush, the gate automatically rotates in the reverse direction to block the flow
and another storage phase starts. Hydrass gates, which have been installed in several sewer systems
in France and Germany, have been progressively improved and modified according to operational
constraints. Models and simulations have also contributed to the knowledge of their behaviour,
especially its downstream efficiency and the solid transport capacity of the flushes. (e.g. Gendreau
et al. 1993). The most recent modelling developments have been made by Bertrand-Krajewski et al.
(2004). By associating calibrated weir and orifice hydraulic formulas on one hand and the Barré
de Saint-Venant equations solved for dry bed and fast transient flows on the other hand, it has

1252
Figure 7. Hydrass gate during flushes. From left to right: 3D view, view from downstream, lateral view.

1.00 0.40
h (m) (a) Q(m3/s) (b)
0.30
0.80
0.20
0.60
0.10

0.40 0.00
0 40 80 120 160 0 120 240 360
t (s) t (s)

Figure 8. Modelling results and measured values of (a) the water level upstream the gate, and (b) the flow
rate 50 m downstream the gate, for a full scale Hydrass gate in a 1.8 m height man entry sewer in Lyon, France
(from Bertrand-Krajewski et al. 2004).

been possible to accurately simulate the hydraulic behaviour of a Hydrass gate (Figure 8). The next
phase will consist to couple this hydraulic model with a solid erosion and transport model including
non equilibrium conditions in order to simulate the scouring of the sediment by the Hydrass gate.
As for the hydraulic model, laboratory tests and full scale experiments will be used jointly.

3 SEWER PROCESSES

As bacteria and micro-organisms are present in wastewater, biochemical processes naturally occur in
sewers. If not properly controlled, these biochemical processes may have several negative impacts:
(i) corrosion of pipes and manholes caused by hydrogen sulphide generation, (ii) odour problems
from anaerobic transformation of organic matter, (iii) contamination of sewer atmosphere with
toxic gas, (iv) operational problems for downstream wastewater treatment plants. But, if they are
controlled, they may contribute to a better joint operation of sewer systems and treatment plants.
Under aerobic conditions, the easily biodegradable organic compounds are removed by the
active heterotrophic biomass naturally present in wastewater, while less biodegradable particles of
biomass are created. In other words, the wastewater treatment starts in the sewers, and not only
in the downstream treatment plant. Fundamentally, the involved processes are similar to those
occurring in treatment plants. As an example, the main processes related to the BOD5 (Biological
Oxygen Demand in five days) in sewers are represented in Figure 9. Interactions between the sewer
solids and the other phases appear clearly. It has been observed in some long sewerage systems
with enough oxygen inputs that the removal of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) or Chemical

1253
 re-aeration

oxygen
biofilm

dispersion
hydrolysis/ floculation
dissolved degradation particulate
BOD5 BOD5 suspension
degradation
erosion / accumulation charriage
sediment sediment
oxygen BOD5
demand interstitial water erosion accumulation
organic
BOD5 layer consolidation

sediments

Figure 9. Processes related to BOD5 in sewers (adapted from Garsdal et al. 1995).

Figure 10. Wastewater flows and subsystems for processes within and related to sewers (adapted from
Hvitved-Jacobsen, 2002).

Oxygen Demand (COD) was comparable to the removal observed in conventional primary settling
tanks of wastewater treatment plants, i.e. a removal rate of approximately 30%.
Under anaerobic conditions, the biochemical processes are different and may lead to the gener-
ation of sulphides, but also preserve and even produce easily biodegradable substances that enhance
denitrification and phosphorus removal in downstream wastewater treatment plants.
Under anoxic conditions, which may be observed e.g. in long pressure mains, easily biodegrad-
able organic compounds are removed (but at a slower rate compared to aerobic conditions) and
hydrogen sulphide is not generated.
As shown schematically in Figure 10, sewer processes take place in a complex context including
five phases: the suspended water phase, the biofilm, the sewer sediments, the sewer atmosphere
and the sewer walls, and by exchange of substances at the interfaces (Hvitved-Jacobsen, 2002).
The in-sewer processes may occur under aerobic, anoxic or anaerobic conditions, depending on the
electron acceptors which are present in the sewer system: oxygen is used for aerobic respiration
and BOD degradation, nitrate is used for denitrification, organic compounds are used for fermen-
tation, sulphate is used for sulphate reduction and carbon dioxide is used for methanogenesis. The
in-sewer processes also affect other parts of the urban systems, such as the urban atmosphere with
malodorous substances, receiving waters via overflows or the performance of wastewater treatment
plants. It appears from the figure that sewer systems, treatments plants and receiving waters can

1254
not be considered separately: a global optimisation is now envisaged (see e.g. Mourato et al. 2002)
and should be accounted for in building new systems or in rehabilitating old systems.
During the last decade, many studies regarding sewer processes under aerobic, anaerobic and
anoxic conditions have been carried out in various countries, e.g. Bjerre et al. (1998) in Germany,
Huisman (2001) in Switzerland, Almeida (1999) and Hvitved-Jacobsen et al. (2002) in Portugal.
Based on laboratory and full scale experiments, a new generation of models has been developed,
with a unified formalism similar to those previously adopted for the modelling of wastewater
treatment plants: for aerobic conditions by Vollertsen & Hvitved-Jacobsen (1998), for anaerobic
conditions by Tanaka (1998) and for anoxic conditions by Abdul-Talib (2002).

4 CONCLUSION

During the last 25 years, research programmes carried out on sewer solids and in-sewer processes
aspects have significantly contributed to increase our understanding of the phenomena and our
modelling capacities. As both aspects are strongly inter-related, unified modelling approaches
have been established. However, despite this significant progress, a large fraction of our knowl-
edge remains empirical and site specific, especially regarding solid transport, which hinder the
transferability and the generalisation of results and models. Continued research efforts will be
necessary in the future to reach more unified and consensual knowledge and modelling concepts
which will allow greater prediction capacities and less site specific calibration requirements.

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1 Water resource management
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A new paradigm of river basin management – A case history study of

Saigawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

N. Tamai
Department of Civil Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

M. Yamamoto & T. Fukumoto

Civil Engineering Bureau, Ishikawa Prefecture, Kanazawa, Japan

ABSTRACT: The fundamental policy of the master plan of Saigawa was discussed in an advisory
committee. It is the first case of this kind in Japan. Committee members include not only experts of
river engineering and city planning but also ecologists and representatives of citizens. The authors
introduced a new coordinate “conservation of local history and tradition” as a higher hierarchy to
unify conventional three functions in river law. This paper describes a new paradigm of river basin
management for all stakeholders’ approach. In the latter part of the paper proves how satisfactory
this new paradigm is to settle down conflicts in the master plan of Saigawa.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 New policy for a master plan of basin management

In the River Law amended in 1997 a master plan of major rivers should be composed of two
phases. In a basic phase fundamental policy of the master plan is determined and then in an action
phase an execution plan for projects to cover the near future is determined. In order to settle the
discussion on the fundamental policy of the master plan, we need to 1) analyze natural, social, and
historical characteristics of the basin, 2) determine the target level of safety in the master plan,
3) determine the fundamental design flood, 4) determine the design flood for river management
facilities, 5) determine the policy of water resources plan, and 6) establish the policy for assessment
of environmental impacts of projects executed in the master plan. The execution plan of the master
plan determines basic design of actual projects to be executed for about 30 years of immediate
future. In this stage voices of general citizens should be taken into consideration through public
hearings or review committees.

1.2 Uniqueness of the committee for the fundamental policy of the master plan of Saigawa
The river law does not require the involvement of technical experts and general citizens during
discussions of the fundamental policy of the master plan. But the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture
organized an advisory committee in which the first author of this paper served as the chairman to
propose the guidelines of the fundamental policy of the master plan of Saigawa. It is the first case of
this kind in Japan. Committee members include not only experts of river engineering, city planning,
and irrigation engineering but also ecologists, a writer, a curator, a chief editor of a newspaper. The
committee also includes people from an inland fishery corporative, a forest association, and the
business world.
This paper presents a new paradigm of river basin management which is necessary for successful
negotiation and consensus building among all stakeholders towards the fundamental policy of the
master plan for Saigawa.

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2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SAIGAWA AND THE CITY OF KANAZAWA

Saigawa flows through the central part of the City of Kanazawa, the capital city of Ishikawa
Prefecture which faces the Japan Sea Coast. Kanazawa has been a major city of Hokuriku Region
since Toshiie Maeda was nominated a feudal lord of this region in 1583 by Hideyoshi Toyotomi
who was an actual ruler of Japan at that time as the chief adviser to the Emperor. Maeda family
stayed as a lord until the end of Edo Era (1867) under the Taikoon, namely, Tokugawa Family.
Kanazawa was not bombed during the World War II. Therefore, the city of Kanazawa is famous
not only for a traditional physical structure of an old town but also for well-preserved traditional
ways of life and culture.
Tatsumi aqueduct was constructed in 1632 by the third Lord of Maeda family. The aqueduct is
about 10 km long and still alive though the intake from Saigawa was moved to upstream direction
twice due to degradation of river bed near the intake. The aqueduct was constructed originally to
provide water to the castle for fire fighting use. Afterwards the aqueduct has also provided water to
Kenroku Garden that is one of the best three Japanese gardens and for irrigation purpose. One of
conflicts of existing projects with local people is submergence of the intake of Tatsumi aqueduct
by a multiple purpose dam project for a comprehensive development plan of Saigawa.

3 SHORT HISTORY OF FLOOD DAMAGES IN THE CITY OF KANAZAWA AND

EXISTING TRAINING WORKS

Citizens of Kanazawa were suffered from severe floods caused by Saigawa several times in the
modern age, namely, in 1896, 1922, 1933, 1952, and 1953. Especially the flood of August 3, 1922
washed away the Saigawa Bridge which was re-constructed by reinforced concrete in 1919. After
this flood a steel-truss type bridge was constructed with no pier in a river course. This truss bridge
is still existing and becomes a landmark of the city.
In recent years in 1961 Muroto No. 2 typhoon caused severe inundation of 1,000 houses and
inundation of 500 houses in the central part of the city of Kanazawa. In July 1974 a torrential
rainfall by a front in Fushimi River basin caused large-scale flood damage. In recent years we are
still suffered from inundation by insufficient drain capacity of rain water.
Large-scale river training works started after the flood of 1961. Rehabilitation works to recover
from flood damages started in 1961 and finished in 1966. Saigawa dam was completed in 1965
according to a primary plan of comprehensive development project. River training works in Asano
River which flows eastern side of the city of Kanazawa started as a secondary plan to secure
sufficient safety for Kanazawa. In this stage the Uchikawa dam and the Asano River diversion
channel to Saigawa were completed in 1974. The diversion channel conveys 250 m3/s from theAsano
River to Saigawa. In Saigawa system the reference point of flood control project is Saigawa Bridge
where the design peak discharge in the secondary plan was 1,600 m3/s. But the actual conveyance
at the reference point is 1,230 m3/s and the peak discharge reduction was planned in upstream areas.

4 FLOOD DAMAGE MITIGATION

4.1 The design peak discharge

The design peak discharge is selected from statistical analysis on existing records of precipitation
which caused large discharge in Kanazawa city. Probability of exceedance of two-day precipitation
is selected to be 1/100 for the safety level of the Master Plan. Major factors considered are impor-
tance of the river and Kanazawa. The reference point for flood protection is Saigawa Bridge and a
schematic location map for the reference point and existing facilities is given in Figure 1.
In order to determine a model rainfall the record of precipitation since 1956 was utilized. During
this period more than two rainfall gages are available in Saigawa basin. Although the record at
Kanazawa weather station is longer than this period, the period when the more rainfall gages are
available is desirable to know spatial distribution of rainfall well. 33 relatively large samples are

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 Asanogawa
Saigawa Bridge Diversion Tunnel

Japan Sea
Saigawa Saigawa Dam

Reference Point
Uchikawa Dam

Figure 1. Present arrangement of facilities in Saigawa and the reference point.

Sept. 21, 1998 Sept. 22, 1998

Basin-average
precipitation
0
20

(mm)
40

500

400
Discharge (m3/s)

300

200

100

Figure 2. Comparison of a simulated hydrograph with observation (The top half shows a hyetograph. A solid
line in the bottom half shows a simulated result and dots show observed discharge).

chosen to discuss probability distribution for basin-average precipitation for two days between
the year of 1956 and 2001. Probabilistic distributions tested are Gumbel distribution, generalized
extreme value distribution, and square root exponential-type distribution of maximum. Finally
Gumbel distribution is adopted because the estimated error by a re-sampling for increase of available
data set in future was minimum. The basin average for two-day precipitation in the master plan is
314 mm for the probability of exceedance is 1%. Intensity of hydrographs of samples is amplified
to the level that the total amount of precipitation amounts to 314 mm.
The catchment area of Saigawa is 256.3 km2 at the reference point. As for runoff analysis a
storage function method is utilized which was developed by the Public Works Research Institute of
Japan. In a storage function method an empirical relationship is used for storage capacity of a river
basin. Initial loss of rainfall, Rsa , that causes soil moisture content full is determined by a try and
error method for each event of rainfall. An example of verification of the runoff model is shown
in Figure 2. The average value for the initial loss in verification series is 100 mm. Considering
that the standard value for the initial loss in mountain region in Japan is 100 mm, the initial loss
of Saigawa basin is set to 100 mm to compute the design peak discharge. The fundamental design
flood is computed to be 1,750 m3 /s for the probability of exceedance is 1%.

4.2 Design discharge for a river course and flood control alternatives
Runoff analysis was performed for 24 two-day rainfall events which also satisfy constraints for
short-term rainfall events within arrival time of floods to the reference point. The simulations were
performed to know the flood discharge in a river channel at the reference point under the influence
of existing facilities. Two existing reservoirs can reduce the peak flow to 1,460 m3/s at the reference
point but this discharge is bigger than the conveyance at the reference point.
Under this situation we need to consider certain countermeasures to reduce the flood peak
in upstream area or to increase the conveyance of a channel near the reference point. Major

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Table 1. Major alternatives analyzed in the committee for the fundamental policy of Saigawa.

Channel improvements Reservoir Retarding basin Diversion tunnel

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6

Key factor Set back of Dredging and Capacity of Capacity of A bypass A tunnel
of a project the main cut down of 5 million (m3 ) 5 million (m3 ) tunnel plus under the
levee floodplain training works city
Cost* 55.3 22.1 15.3 80.6 96 200
Required 50 20 10 *** *** ***
period**
Crucial Large and long inconvenience Submergence Land Large and long
points to citizens’ life, loss of of a historical acquisition, inconvenience to
recreational parks, facility disposal of citizens’ life
introduction of more excavated
concrete, loss of landscape soil

(Remark) (1) * Cost is in billion yen. (2) ** Period is in years. (3) *** stands for unpredictable long time.

countermeasures discussed in the committee are summarized in Table 1. It is easily understood

that all alternatives listed in Table 1 can accomplish the same goal from the standpoint of flood
control. From technical point of view there is no preference among six alternatives.
Is it possible to select the most preferable project from economical point of view? The answer is
“no” because economical consideration is a necessary condition but not a sufficient condition to
solve crucial points described in Table 1. The committee excluded the projects No. 4 to No. 6 due to
large cost and long required time but could not proceed further. It is also pointed out that alternatives
shown in Table 1 are concerned only with flood control. We need comprehensive discussion and
consideration on other points, for instance, environmental impacts before to reach a final decision.

5 CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW IN A NEW MASTER PLAN

Conservation flow was considered based on the concept of the minimum flow to sustain minimum
requirement for fishes, good riparian landscape, and water quality standard. In case of fish Ayu
(Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis) is considered. For instance, required conditions for a spawning
field for ayu is 30 cm in water depth and 60 cm/s in velocity. Then in each segment along Saigawa
we can compute the minimum flow discharge to provide the required hydraulic conditions. A
minimum discharge in each segment for fish, landscape, and water quality are computed and an
envelope for all items is used to determine the minimum flow for a segment. In the downstream
reach the magnitude of the conservation flow resulted in 1.19 m3/s.
Saigawa also provides water to famous five aqueducts which flow through the center of the city
of Kanazawa. These aqueducts were originally developed for irrigation in 17th or 18th century but
in modern times these turned to be water for municipal uses, for example, fire fighting, melting
snow piled on streets, sprinkle the lane with water, water for gardening, and so on. Nagamachi
area is famous for preserved samurai houses of Edo era which have direct link with aqueducts.
Nagamachi area is designated as a scenic zone by the city government of Kanazawa. The landscape
of this area is shown in Figure 3.
The committee recommended to preserve the existing landscape and to provide Saigawa water
to these traditional aqueducts. The water is allocated as environmental flow for communities to
preserve historical and cultural assets and landscape of scenic zones in the city. Water right of
environmental flow is given to the city of Kanazawa and the amount is determined 1.67 m3 /s for
five historic aqueducts in total.

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Figure 3. Oonosho aqueduct in Nagamachi area.

6 A NEW PARADIGM VITAL FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS’ APPROACH TO THE

FUNDAMENTAL POLICY OF THE MASTER PLAN

6.1 Technical dilemma in all stakeholders’ approach

River planning needs to fulfill three social functions, namely, flood damage mitigation, water use,
and riparian environment. These functions correspond to three major objectives of River Law in
Japan amended in 1997. In the implementation phase of projects in a master plan, we may have
several alternatives to achieve goals of a project. Therefore, the fundamental policy of the master
plan needs to give judging criteria to select a most desirable project for river planning. As are
shown in Table 1 the committee discussed six alternatives for flood damage mitigation. But we had
difficulty in reaching unanimous consensus. Comprehensive discussions based on flood damage
mitigation, water use, and riparian environment did not contribute much to solve the problem partly
because the three functions listed in the River Law are rather independent. The situation indicates
that a new coordinate is required as superior concept in hierarchy of consensus building.

6.2 A new coordinate introduced for consensus building – local history and tradition
A new coordinate is sought for a guiding concept to unify discussion on flood damage mitigation,
water use, and riparian environment. A hint was found in former part of the series of committee
meetings. All committee members explained their desire, experience, and memory related with
Saigawa at the first meeting. Their common wish is that the master plan should create a river
proper to Kanazawa or create riparian landscape proper to Kanazawa. The first author of the paper
summarized wishes of committee members as “conservation of local history and tradition”. This
new coordinate (paradigm) is introduced to check all crucial items in the discussion proposed in
three functions whether they are appropriate or not from the standpoint of conservation of local
history and tradition (See Table 2).
The committee approved to introduce the new coordinate into discussion and to put it as a judging
criterion for each project and evaluation of environmental impacts of every project which will be
executed in the master plan.

6.3 How conflicts are solved under a new paradigm

Introduction of this new coordinate axis clarified the structure and framework of the fundamental
policy of the master plan of Saigawa. The committee agreed that the discussion in the committee
would be guided along the concept shown in Table 2.
At first it was concluded that a large scale set back of a levee-alignment at the central part of
the city would most probably destroy the riparian landscape and traditional atmosphere of riparian
zones. Therefore, the project No. 2 (Table 1) should be avoided to conserve the local history

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 Table 2. A new coordinate introduced for consensus building.

New coordinate to unify three coordinates Conservation of local history and tradition

Coordinates indicated in the River Law Flood damage Water use Riparian
as functions of a river planning mitigation environment

Table 3. Typical conflicts in discussion and consensus decided by a new paradigm.

Conflicts Decision

Set back of levee vs. storage facility
Conservation of historical assets
(Tatsumi aqueduct)
Conservation of environment
Construction of a storage facility in the upstream. A large-scale
levee construction works was declined to avoid the loss of
history and tradition of Kanazawa.
Movement of the location of a planned storage facility.
Reduction of storage capacity to reduce environmental impacts.
Conservation of good habitats considering geophysical
characteristics of each segment of the river. Off site mitigation for
endangered species in affected areas of storage facility, if any.

and tradition of Kanazawa at the central downtown of the city. Then from the standpoint of flood
damage mitigation and enhancement of environmental flow the project No. 3 (Table 1) to construct
a new storage facility was selected as a recommendation to Ishikawa Prefecture Government among
possible alternatives.
The final conclusion of the committee is to put one condition to a real project No. 3 (Table 1)
concerning design and implementation. The committee requested a revised design plan to conserve
local history and tradition. The most important point is the conservation and protection of the intake
of Tatsumi aqueduct.
The similar discussion was done for all items covered by the committee including environmental
flow, riparian environment, and the affected area by construction of a new storage facility. In
Table 3 typical conflicts and decisions are summarized. The committee reached consensus through
the discussion guided by a new principle “conservation of local history and tradition”.

7 CONCLUDING REMARKS

Four coordinate axes, that is, flood control, water supply, conservation of river environment, and
conservation of local history and tradition, form a new paradigm of river basin management.
The key factor is the new coordinate axis, that is, conservation of local history and tradition
for evaluation/selection of alternatives to reach to consensus among all stakeholders. This new
paradigm proved that all stakeholders’ approach was possible in the fundamental policy of the
master plan of Saigawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.

REFERENCES

Committee on Hydraulics (ed.), 1999. Formulae in Hydraulic Engineering, Japan Society of Civil
Engineers, 1999.
Japan River Association (ed.), 1997. River Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport
(supervised): Design Manual for River & Sabo Works, Sankaido Publisher.
Committee on the fundamental policy of the master plan of Saigawa, 2003. The Guidelines for the Fundamental
Policy of the Master Plan of Saigawa, 2003, http://www.pref.ishikawa.jp/kasen/saigawa/teigen.pdf

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Effects of alternative irrigation management models on the water

delivery performance in Vietnam

T.C. Trung, A.D. Gupta, R. Clemente & M.S. Babel

Water Engineering and Management Program, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes the water delivery performance associated with three alternative
models for managing small-scale irrigation projects in Vietnam. The first model is a common model
established by the state agency and farmer organizations and the other two are newly established
models. Of the two newly established models, one is a joint management between the quasi-state
and farmer organizations while the other is made up by the farmer organizations. The measurement
was applied to three selected irrigation projects run by respective management models during
2003 spring crop. The delivery performance at tertiary turnout level of the study projects has been
assessed in spatial and temporal variability performance. The average values of the water delivery
performance at tertiary turnout level show the adequacy in the delivery performance according to
the scheduled amount in all projects. However, the most differences in water delivery in the study
projects are reliability and equity. Both reliability and equity are very low in the project managed
by the common model, but these are higher in the projects run by the newly established models. Of
the projects run by the newly established models, water distribution equity is better in project run
by the farmer organizations while the water delivery reliability is better in the project managed by
quasi-state and farmer organizations.

1 INTRODUCTION

The most prominent feature of irrigation management in Vietnam is the joint management between
state agency and farmer organizations, in which state agency is involved in the main physical
facilities while farmer organizations undertake the tertiary canals. The salient characteristic of this
joint management model is the orientation towards administrative procedures of irrigation service.
Therefore, there are less problems of management of schemes serving irrigation for areas within a
commune, the lowest level under national, provincial and district levels in the administrative sys-
tem. However, this administration-based irrigation provision does not function well for schemes
which serve for several communes.
The government has promoted management transfer of small-scale schemes to the farmer orga-
nizations since the 1990s. Nevertheless, the result of management transfer is modest with an
irrigation area managed by farmer organizations of about 0.6 million hectares, which account for
20 percent of irrigated land (Tiep 2003). A major cultivated area of remaining 2.4 million hectares,
covering 80 percent is still under the common model of joint management of the state agency and
farmer organizations. It is notable that management transfer is mostly applied to commune-based
schemes, although this has been adopted in a lesser degree in inter-commune schemes. Currently,
new models for managing inter-commune schemes have been established in a limited number in
several provinces. The objective of this study is to assess the effects of alternative models for
management of such a kind of inter-commune projects in term of water delivery performance.

2 STUDY MANAGEMENT MODELS AND IRRIGATION PROJECTS

Three alternative models for managing inter-commune schemes are analyzed. The first model
is a joint management between the Irrigation Management Company (IMC) and Agricultural

1267
Cooperatives (ACs), in which IMC is a state agency and ACs are member-based organizations
with voluntary participation of the farmers. This model is prevailing throughout the country. The
analysis of this model is based on the N22A project, which is a secondary canal having com-
mand area of 191 hectares of the North Nghean irrigation system. This is a large system having a
command area of about 30,000 hectares in Nghean province.
The second model is a joint management between the Irrigation Management Board (IMB) and
ACs. The characteristics of this model are analyzed based on the Ngoila project, a storage rerservoir
with command area of 392 hectares in Tuyenquang province. Previously, Ngoila project was jointly
managed by IMC and ACs, but the situation has been changed due to the irrigation insitutional
reform conducted in 1996, in which the IMC was disbanded and was replaced by the IMB. The
IMB differs from IMC in that it is jointly made up by government irrigation staffs, local authorities
and farmer representatives. The government irrigation staffs are officers who have been retained
after the disbandment of the IMC, local authorities include chairmen of the communes and farmer
representatives are heads of the involved ACs. With this view, IMB is considered as quasi-state
organization.
The third model is the Water User Cooperative (WUC), a collective organization established
with voluntary participation of the farmers. The insitutional analysis of this model is based on the
N4B project, another secondary canal with a command area of 230 hectares of the North Nghean
irrigation system. As a result of the management transfer undertaken in 1996, the management of
N4B project was handed over by the IMC to the WUC.
In these selected projects, the irrigation provisions are mainly for paddy production, whereby
land is cultivated by individual farmers. Water supply flow is continuous in the main system and is
rational at the tertiary level.

3 METHODS

3.1 Water delivery performance

The ratio of the actual delivered volume of water to the intended volume of water to be delivered
is defined as the water delivery performance (WDP). According to Molden and Gates (1990), the
relationship between the actual and intended as the majour sate variables defined in terms of water
volume can be written as:

where Wa is actual delivered volume of water and Wi is intended volume. High values of
delivery performance ratio reveal water shortage, while low values refer to loss water. The WDP is
equal to 1 if actual supply matches the targeted supply.
With an acceptable error, actual delivered water during crop season was determined from dis-
charge measurement of the existing canal structures. These include culvert of Ngoila reservoir,
two turnouts at head of N22A and N4B secondary canals and 30 turnouts at tertiary canals in each
project. All these are categorized as circular and square orifices. The physical measurements of
discharges actually flowing through the selected turnouts were not feasible on daily bases due to
time and financial constraints. Thus to substitute the daily discharge measurements, the turnout cal-
ibration technique was used as an alternative for computation of daily discharges of the turnouts.
The data needed to compute the discharge include water levels at upstream and downstream of
the culvert and turnouts and their gate openings, which were recorded twice daily for the whole
cropping season.
The intended water volume was calculated from the irrigation water requirement during crop
season. Evapotranspiration was estimated using real time climatic data from the meteorological
stations near by the project areas. The data were processed using the CROWAT program (FAO 1996).

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3.2 Adequacy
Adequacy of the supply can be defined as the ability of an irrigation project to meet the required
amount of water. The average delivery performance ratio can be used to indicate how adequacy the
project could deliver the intended water.

Where a is a measure of the project adequacy and X (d) is the average WDP along a course over dif-
ferent time periods. A value equal to unity means that on the average, the project is able to deliver the
intended amount. Values less than one reveal inadequate portion of the intended for the direct users
(insufficient according the schedule). Values above unity demonstrate that the selected sub-level is
adequate, but show that the water may be inadequate for other users in the other evaluation levels.

3.3 Equity
The spatial variability performance indicator reflects the uniformity aspect of water delivery. It
measures equity performance. The spatial variability performance indicator defines the variability
in the WDP over the time period of interest. The coefficient of variation (CV) is used to indicate
the degree of this variability.

Where e is the spatial variability of water delivery performance over the time period of interest and
dt is the temporal average value of the WDP at the tertiary turnout.

3.4 Reliability
Reliability of water delivery in an irrigation project refers to temporal variablity. The variation in the
WDP at any locationof the delivery system and over time periods is infact the temporal variability
performance indicator. The coefficient of variation is used to evaluate the temporal variability
performance.

Where r is the temporal variability of water delivery performance over a course and ds is the spatial
average value of the WDP during the irrigation pereiod. The indicator r is a reliability performance
measure and the closer the value of this indicator comes to zero, the more reliable the water delivery
becomes over time.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Operation performance indicators presented in the previous section are used in this study to demon-
strate the delivery performance in different irrigation projects, which run by alternative management
models. The delivery performance values are calculated on the basis of observation in 2003 spring
crop season. WDP is assessed at two levels, the project and tertiary levels.

4.1 Project level

The delivery performance at project level is assessed in term of the delivery schedule performance.
The decade variation of WDP at the headworks of the study projects is depicted in Figure 1.
This figure can be used as a tool to assess the delivery performance at the project level. The value
of WDP was below 1 during January and April in all projects. This means that the most important

1269
 2.00
1.80
1.60
WDP 1.40
1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1
Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Decade
N22A Ngoila N4B

Figure 1. Variation of the WDP of the study projects during 2003 spring season.

1.60
1.40
1.20
WDP

1.00
0.80
0.60
Jan Feb Mar April May
Month

N22A Ngoila N4B

Figure 2. Spatial average value of the water delivery performance during the months.

months for the water delivery are January and April. January is the time for land preparation and
April is the time when crop is in flowering stage. In the last decade of January, the deficiency in water
delivery is highest in N22A project (WDP = 0.74), followed by the N4B project (WDP = 0.82) and
it is lowest in Ngoila project (WDP = 0.86). In the middle decade of April the levels of deficiency
in water delivery in N22A, N4B and Ngoila projects are reflected by the values of WDP equal to
0.65, 0.85 and 0.93, respectively. On the other hand, during February, March and May the values
of WDP for all projects are more than 1.15, meaning that these projects received at least 15 percent
more than the intended volume.

4.2 Tertiary level

The delivery performance at tertiary level is assessed in term of the operation performance. The
specific WDPs vary per tertiary and per month for each study project. A distinct correlation, either
spatial or temporal, between these values could not be obtained. Therefore the average values and
spatial and temporal variables of the WDP at tertiary turnout level are used to assess the performance
of the study projects.
Figure 2 shows the spatial average value of the WDP during the 2003 spring crop in the three
study projects. For the overall assessment, the average values depict an adequate delivery of the
scheduled water. In Ngoila project, the average value of WDP is about 1.0 in January and April
and higher than 1.16 in remaining months, meaning that this project received sufficient water in
January and April and received at least 16 percent more than the intended volume. In N22A and
N4B projects, the remarkable diversification of WDP incurred in January and April. Just in January
in the projects N22A and N4B the average values of the WDP are 0.86 and 0.94, respectively. This
means that projects N22A and N4B received at least 14 and 6 percent, respectively less than the

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 1.6
1.4
1.2

WDP
1
0.8
0.6
0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative location (%)

N22A Ngoila N4B

Figure 3. Temporal average value of the water delivery performance tertiary turnouts.

Table 1. The values of the delivery performance indica-

tors at tertiary turnouts of the study projects.

Indicator N22A Ngoila N4B

Adequacy (a) 1.05 1.14 1.09

Equity (e) 0.11 0.08 0.05
Reliability (r) 0.21 0.09 0.16

intended volume. On the other hand, during February, March and May the WDP for these two
projects are more than 1.17, meaning that these projects received at least 17 percent more than the
intended volume.
Figure 3 indicates the temporal average value of the water delivery performance at the tertiary
turnouts. This figure reveals the equity performance in the water delivery system at the tertiary
turnout level. An interesting observation is that the WDP is reduced along the canal in all three
schemes under study. The average values of WDP reveal that the water was delivered relatively
higher than intended value to the head end turnouts while it was less than the intended to the tail end
tertiary turnouts. However the reducing trend of WDP along the inter-commune canal is different
by project. The values of WDP are reduced gradually along the canal N4B while these decrease
very fast along canal N22A. The average values of WDP of the most upstream turnout are 1.27,
1.25 and 1.16 in Ngoila, N22A and N4B projects, respectively. On the other hand, the average
values of the most downstream turnout are 0.91, 0.96 and 1.0 in N22A, Ngoila and N4B projects,
respectively.
It is interesting to compare the average values and their variations to assess whether the water
delivery corresponds with their objectives. The summarized values of the indicators (Table 1) give
a clear picture of the delivery system’s adequacy, equity and reliability performance at the tertiary
turnout level in three study projects.
The most adequate delivery of water according to the schedule was in Ngoila (a = 1.14) com-
paring to the value of this indicator in N22A, which is equal to 1.05. The values of the equity
performance indicator reveal that the most equitable delivery was in N4B project with e equals to
0.05 and the most inequity delivery was in N22A project with e equals to 0.22. The values of r show
that the water was delivered reliable in the irrigation projects. The best delivery was the Ngoila,
with respect to the delivery performance (r = 0.09), but the worst delivery was the N22A project,
(r = 0.21).

5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The ability of the irrigation projects run by different management models to supply water according
to the intended supply has been evaluated using WDP at project level. The results obtained for the

1271
study projects reveal the ability of the projects to supply the water with respect to the amount of
intended water, but show unreliable performance.
The delivery performance at tertiary turnout level of the study projects has been assessed in
spatial and temporal variability performance. The average values of the WDP at tertiary turnout
level show the adequacy in the delivery performance according to the scheduled amount in all
projects. However, the most differences in water delivery in the study projects are reliability and
equity. Both reliability and equity are very high in the projects run by the newly established models,
but these are low in the project jointly managed by the IMC and ACs. Of the projects run by the
newly established models, water distribution equity is better in projects managed by the WUC and
ACs while the water delivery reliability is better in the projects managed by the IMB and ACs.
Although, this difference in the delivery performance is highly influenced by the water supply
from upstream, it is mainly a result of farmers’interventions. Therefore, the inter-commune projects
should be managed by model jointly made up by IMB and ACs or by model of WUC and ACs.
Selection of either of these two models is in accordance with the specific situations, but preference
should be given to the farmer organizations. The goal should be the establishment of institutions
that recognize both administration and hydraulic boundaries, and capable of managing both.

REFERENCES

Tiep N.X. 1998. Irrigation management at grass root level in Vietnam. In the second national workshop on
participatory irrigation management; Proc., 13–15 April 1998. Thanhhoa, Vietnam.
FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) 1996. CROPWAT software package (Rome, Italy).
Molden D.J. & Gates T.K. 1990. Performance meausres for evaluation of irrigation water delivery systems.
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Enginerring, ASCE 116 (6): 804–823.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Control of Three Gorges Project and the sustainable development

Dai Huichao∗
Hohai University, Nanjing, China,
China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Corporation, Yichang, China

Wang Rushu
China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, Yichang, Hubei, China

ABSTRACT: The Three Gorges Project (TGP) on the Yangtze River (YR) is the largest water
resources project in the world. Possessing comprehensive utilization benefits mainly for flood con-
trol, power generation and navigation improvement, TGP will be a vital important and backbone
project in harnessing and developing of theYR. After completion the reservoir will have a total stor-
age capacity of 39.3 billion m3 , among which 22.15 billion m3 for flood control. The flood control
standard in Jingjiang reaches of theYangtze could be raised from less than 10-year frequency to 100-
year frequency. TGP will improve an environment for living and further development in this densely
populated and economically developed area. Sustainable Development is the basic policy of China.
TGP will make greatest contribution to energy and economic sustainable development of China as
well as environmental protection to the YR. TGP is an ecological and environmental project.

1 A BRIEFING OF TGP

1.1 Main objectives of TGP

TGP is a vital important and backbone project in harnessing and developing of the YR. The main
development objectives are: Protect the middle and lower reach area of the YR from the flood
calamity. Supply a large amount of clean electricity power mainly to the East China, Central China
and small parts to east of Chongqing municipality. Improve the navigation condition from Yichang
to Chongqing of the YR.

1.1.1 Flood control

The Project is primarily aimed at flood control, the reservoir will have a total storage capacity
of 39.3 billion m3 , among which 22.15 billion m3 for flood control. The flood control standard
in Jingjiang reaches of the Yangtze could be raised from less than 10-year frequency to 100-year
frequency. In case a flood like 1870 happened, large amount of losses of lives can be avoided.
TGP will improve an environment for living and further development in this densely populated and
economically developed area where there are many cities and towns with 15 million populations
and about 1.53 million ha fertilized farmland. Meanwhile there will be several other benefits from
the regulation of the reservoir, such as the prevention and cure of schistosomiasis, extension of life
span of Dongting Lake due to less deposition of sediments.
The plain and lake region in the middle and lower basin cover an area of 126,000 km2 , having
more than 6 million ha of farmland and a population of 75 million. It has been one of the China’s
major bases for producing commodity grain, cotton, and edible oil, and is also an economically
developed area. As the ground elevation is commonly several to more than 10 m lower than the

∗ The author was born in August 1965, Professor, Senior Engineer, of China Yangtze Three Gorges Project
Development Corporation, Ph.D.

1273
YR’s flood level, this area has been suffering from the most concentrated, frequent, and severe
floods and water logging disasters. The historical record showed that 214 floods occurred in the
region about 2,100 years from the Han Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty (185BC–1911) averaged
once every 10 years. The last century in 1931, 1935, 1954, and 1998, occurred four severe flood
disasters, 145,500 and 142,000 people were killed, 3.4 and 1.5 million ha of farmland inundated
in 1931’s and 1935’s floods. Even in 1954 when a great victory was achieved in fighting against
the flood, more than 33,000 people still lost their lives, 3.2 million ha farmland was inundated and
the Beijing-Guangzhou railway was suspended about 100 days. In Aug. 1998, we met the whole
YR basin flood, more than 6 million people and army joined the fighting against the flood, the
Wuhan and Shashi city safety was protected. However, 1,526 people was still killed and 240,000 ha
farmland inundated. In addition, they have caused not only huge property damages and life losses,
but also serious destruction of the ecosystem and environment.
Presently the flood prevention standard in the reaches has been much improved from a 10 year
to 20 year flood frequency, however, in case of a 100 year or over flood, such as 1870, both the
northern and the southern main dikes would surely be burst. After such flood swept the broad plain
region in middle and lower reaches, a destructive disaster could be incurred, the ecosystems and
the environment would be severely disturbed, which can hardly be recovered in a short time.

1.1.2 Power generation

The project will install 26 of 700 MW units, with a total installed capacity of 18,200 MW and an
annually output of 84.68 billion kWh, its clean hydropower would replace 50 million t of raw coal
to be burnt annually for thermal power plant, reduce about 100 million t of CO2 , 2 million t of
SO2 , 10 thousand t of CO, 370 thousand t of NOX emissions and large amount of waste water and
waste solids as well. These will not only be beneficial to increase annual power generation income,
but also improve the environment of middle and east China, especially for prevention of acid rain
damage and greenhouse affection.

1.1.3 Navigation improvement

The reservoir would improve navigation condition from Yichang up to Chongqing and fleets of
10,000 t towboats would be able to pass through Shanghai up to Chongqing port. The annual one-
way downward passage capacity would be increased from the present 10 million t up to 50 million
t and the transportation cost would be decreased by 35–37%.

1.1.4 Others
Improve the local climate, enhance the water quality below the dam during the dry season, supply
the clean water for inter-basin water transfer from South to North. Moreover, the operation of the
project would ease the salt water intrusion in estuary region. The increase of water surface area
will promote the aquatic culture and tourism in the coming reservoir.

1.2 Layout of TGP

The project is composed of the dam, two power plants and the navigation facilities. The dam,
of a concrete gravity type, is totally 2,309.47 m long at dam axis, with a maximum height of
181 m. The spillway dam is located in the middle of the river course, on both sides of which are
the intake dam sections and the non-overflow dam sections. The powerhouses, of a dam-toe type,
the left one and the right one, are installed with 14 and 12 sets of 700 MW turbine generating
units respectively, 18,200 MW in total. On the right bank, space is preserved for future expansion
of 6 generating units. The navigation structures are located on the left bank, consisting of the
permanent shiplock of double-way and five-step flights and a shiplift of one-stage vertical hoisting
type. During the construction period, a one-way one-step temporary shiplock is provided for the
navigation in conjunction with the open diversion channel during construction.

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1.3 Construction of TGP
The principle of “one-stage development, once completion, staged storage and continuous reset-
tlement” is adopted for the construction of the TGP, which has a total duration of 17 years divided
into 3 stages: Stage I, from 1993 to 1997, is for the construction preparation and the Phase-I works,
which is marked by the river closure of the Grand Channel; Stage II, from 1998 to 2003, is marked
by the power generation of the first batch of generating units and the opening to traffic of the
permanent shiplock; Stage III, from 2004 to 2009, is to realize the power generation of all units
and the completion of the project construction.
Since the commencement in 1993, the Project has experienced 11 years’ construction. With the
concern from the Central Committee and the State Council and under the leadership of the Three
Gorges Project Construction Committee of the State Council and the support from all the people
and all the sectors, the project progresses smoothly through the common efforts of all the construc-
tors of the project, with the progress within the master schedule, the quality meeting the design
requirements, the investment controlled within the budget and significant breakthroughs made on
some technical difficulties and new records set up in hydropower construction.
The Three Gorges reservoir resettlement, following development-oriented resettlement policies
and schedule requirements for reservoir impoundment, will be implemented step by step according
to resettlement planning.
Based on the price at the end of May 1993, the total static cost of TGP is 90.09 billion RMBYuan,
among which 50.09 billion for the project, 40 billion for the inundation treatment and resettlement.
Take the escalation and interests during the construction period into account, the total dynamic cost
of TGP is 180 billion RMB Yuan by rough estimate, account to $22 billion US Dollars. Up to the
end of 2003, a sum of 100.5 billion Yuan has been paid for TGP, among which 36.30 billion Yuan
for project, 30.40 billion for resettlement, 32.70 billion Yuan for inflation and interests.

2 FLOOD CONTROL OF TGP

2.1 Flood control to the YR

The completed reservoir will have a total storage capacity of 39.3 billion m3 , among which 22.15
billion m3 for flood control. The flood control standard in Jingjiang reaches of the Yangtze could be
raised from less than 10-year frequency to 100-year frequency. In case a flood like 1870 happened,
large amount of losses of lives could be avoided. (Table 1 Water level and capacity of TGP reservoir).
After completion of TGP, the middle and lower reach flood control ability of the YR could
be highly raised, the flood control situation of the Jingjiang reach would be basically improved.
A destructive disaster of large amount losses of lives and property by peak flood could be avoided,
the impacts to economy and society and deterioration to human existence environment could be
mitigated and reduced.

1275
 Table 1. Water level and capacity of TGP reservoir.

Water level Total capacity Flood control capacity

Items (m) (Billion m3 ) (Billion m3 ) Notes

Initial storage 135 12.40 – June 10, 2003

Initial storage 139 14.22 – Nov. 5, 2003
Initial storage 140 14.70 – DCL Initial
FCL 145 17.15 0 Flood control level
DCL 155 22.84 5.69 Dead control level
NPL 156 23.46 6.31 NPL initial
NPL 175 39.30 22.15 Normal pool level
CFL 180.4 43.80 26.65 Check flood level

However, the flood capacity of TGP is still insufficient. In addition, a large amount of flood
volume from 800,000 km2 catchment area in the middle and lower reach will be poured into the
YR, the flood control situation is still severe. In case of 1954 peak flood, the middle and lower reach
will be suffered in a higher water level. According to compensatory regulation by Jingjiang and
Chenglinji, still have 39.8 billion and 33.6 billion m3 extra flood volume respectively. Hence the
YR’s flood control should be depended on comprehensive measures, such as reinforce the dikes,
maintain the diversion projects, construct and tighten up the management of water resources and
water and soil conservation works in the upper YR, etc.

2.2 Flood control to Jingjiang region

The completed TGP could keep the YR water level at Shashi not exceed 44.5 m–45 m during 100
year or less flood, no need to utilize the Jingjiang diversion works, in case of 1000 year flood or 1870,
could control the discharge at Zhicheng not exceed 80,000 m3 /s by reservoir regulation, coordinated
with the Jingjiang diversion works, could ensure the safety of both side of Jingjiang River, avoid the
destructive disaster owing to the outburst of Jingjiang dikes and death of large amount of people.

2.3 Flood control to Dongting Lake region

In case of 1931, 1935, 1954, 1998 flood, TGP could reduce diversion discharge and land inun-
dation around the Chenglingji region of Dongting Lake. For example as 1954 flood, by Jingjiang
compensatory regulation, it could reduce 4 billion m3 of diversion discharge around Chenglingji
region, by Chenglingji compensatory regulation, it could reduce 10.2 billion m3 .

2.4 Flood control to Wuhan region

Because of effectively control the flood of upstream YR, it could avoid the flood threaten to Wuhan
owing to the outburst of Jingjiang dikes. Except the original diversion discharge, Wuhan could
increase 22.15 billion m3 of flood control capacity from TGP reservoir, it would raise the flexi-
bility of flood control regulation, and ensure Wuhan safety. In case of 1998 flood, by Chenglingji
compensatory regulation at TGP, the Hankou water level would lower 0.5 m.

3 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Policies of China

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present generations without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (21st Century Agenda·on
UN Environment & Development Conference June 1962).This is also the important policy of
China. The Chinese Government has issued China’s Agenda 21 – White Paper on China’s

1276
Population, Environment and Development in the 21st Century, which is a guiding document
designed to effectively balance protection of environment and natural resources with sustainable
economic growth, China has always tried to protect the environment in national social and economic
development.

3.2 Sustainable development

China is a developing country with a population of 1.292 billion in 2003, a large country in energy
consumption. The annual electricity output is 1910.7 billion kWh, the generation per capita is
just 1478.86 kWh, only 1/4 of the world’s average. To ensure appropriate growth and sustainable
development in national economy, the following corresponding strategic measures are to be taken:
(1) Sustainable development
(2) Control of population growth
(3) Energy savings and an increase in the efficiency of energy utilization
(4) Development and utilization of energy resources that cause less or no pollution.
The success of a balanced development in such a large country like China will not only benefit
the 1.3 billion Chinese people, but also contribute markedly to a globally sustainable development.
Hence the Chinese government has always actively involved itself in global environment protection
and development with a high sense of historical responsibility.

4 FLOOD CONTROL OF TGP AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

4.1 Flood control benefits

With a total flood capacity of 22.15 billion m3 , TGP could raise the flood standard in Jingjiang
reaches of the YR from less than 10-year frequency to 100-year frequency. In case a flood like
1870 happened, coordinated with Jingjiang diversion works, large amount of losses of lives could
be avoided.
TGP could protect the vast, rich and populous Central China plain from flood, ensure the
safety of people’s lives and property. Protecting people’s existence condition is also protecting the
human right.

4.2 Improve ecological environment

Existence and development are the two major themes for development of the whole human society.
Mankind has lived and evolved around the YR basin since these hundreds of million years, the
ecology and environment has been broken progressively, the top priority task now is to readjust the
old balance and establish a new ecological balance.
Being the project measures, TGP possessing comprehensive utilization benefits mainly for flood
control, power generation and navigation improvement, it is the most effective way for human beings
to improve ecological environment.
The world is a whole, ecology and environment have no national boundary; prevent ecology and
environment deterioration should be depending on the efforts of whole mankind. TGP would make
greatest contribution to China and the world, beneficial the global environmental protection.

4.3 Flood control of TGP and the sustainable development

Nature resources and environment are the unalienable material foundation to the existence and
development of human beings, therefore we should try to achieve and maintain sustainable develop-
ment, meet the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their needs. We should seek the best way to achieve the balance between human beings and
the nature, let them live in harmony, persist in People-oriented.
TGP could effectively control the YR floods, provide clean power resources and improve the
navigation. Essentially it is a great and important ecological project to remedy the ecological

1277
balances of the YR damaged during its natural development. Being an effective project measures,
it would accelerate the economy, society, resources and environment mutual coordination and
sustainable development in the YR basin as well as the Chinese economy rapid development. TGP
is an ecological and environmental project.
The YR, the longest river in China and the third largest in the world, will certainly bring more
benefits and fortunes to the mankind.

5 ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGY IMPACT

The main conclusions of the “Environmental Impact Statement of TGP” (EIS) prepared in Decem-
ber, 1991 indicate that the TGP will exert both positive and negative impacts on environment and
ecological system. The positive impacts will be put mainly in the middle and lower reaches of
the Yangtze and the negative impacts will concentrate on the reservoir area. Most of the negative
impacts can be alleviated by taking suitable measures.
The total storage capacity of the TGP reservoir is 39.3 billion m3 , only accounting for 8.7% of
the yearly runoff at the dam site, and its effective capacity 16.5 billion m3 , accounting for 3.6%.
Therefore, the reservoir is of a seasonal regulation one with low run-off regulation capability. After
regulation of TGP reservoir, both the annual runoff downstream and the inflow into the sea remains
unchanged. Therefore, the influence of the TGP on the hydrological regime downstream from the
dam to the estuary will not be significant.
Major environmental benefits of TGP are to improve the flood control standards in the middle
and lower stream of theYangtze, greatly reducing the flooding losses by a large degree and avoiding
environmental degradation caused by flooding, thus providing safety living and development envi-
ronment condition for the people in the Jianghan Plain and the Dongting Lake regions; to supply a
great amount of clean power. Compared with the same output thermal power plants, it will signif-
icantly reduce the release of harmful gas and waste water and solids; to improve the local climate
beneficial to the development of fishery in the reservoir and improvement of the water quality in
the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze as well as at the estuary during the dry season.
The main negative impacts are the reservoir inundation and resettlement which need effective
measures to be taken for mitigation. The construction of the TGP will promote the social, economic
and environmental inter-coordination and sustainability development in the Yangtze Basin. After
the impoundment of the reservoir, higher water level and wider channel would change the scenery
of the canyon to a certain extent. The rapids and dangerous shoals will be eliminated. Therefore, the
Three Gorges tourist zone and some scenic spots on other tributaries upstream shall be developed
in conjunction with the significant structures of the Three Gorges Project. Some historic relics and
underground ancient tombs will be inundated and measures shall be taken by in-situ protection
or replica in other places. The underground relics in the inundation area shall be unearthed and
rescued based on the investigation. Protection shall be enhanced to the Chinese sturgeon, a class
I state protection rare aquatic life, including the protection of the spawning site downstream of
Gezhouba Project and researches and studies on the artificial reproduction and plantation.
Since the commencement of the TGP construction, great attention has been paid to the environ-
mental protection. The strategy of simultaneous implementation of project construction and envi-
ronmental protection allows for effective control of the soil erosion, water quality degradation and
noise pollution that may be caused by the construction of the Project. The green area on the construc-
tion site increases year by year. The dam area witnesses both the significant dam and the beautiful
production and living, being “to construct a class I project and develop a class I environment”.
The environmental protection during the resettlement is the key of the environmental protection
of the TGP. The environmental protection during resettlement shall be enhanced to prevent from
new soil erosion. The reservoir itself would not produce pollutants but the river sections in vicinity
of cities will form riparian pollution zones due to slowing down of flow after impoundment of
reservoir, therefore, more efforts shall be made to strengthen the wastewater control.

1278
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Mitigation of stream temperature change with reservoir

management

K. Yoshida, H. Tanji, H. Somura & K. Higuchi

National Institute for Rural Engineering, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

O. Toda
Graduate School of University Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT: The Mekong is a large international river and many reservoir construction projects
are planned in the tributaries. Such human activity raises or lowers natural stream-water temperature
and, unfortunately, change of water temperature is often undesirable. Control of water temperature
therefore becomes a prerequisite for maximum utilization of water resources. Reservoirs often
provide a means for exercising such controls. In this study, to evaluate artificial effects on the
downstream environment, changes in river water temperature by dam construction were estimated.
Then, the mitigation effect of adopting surface intake on the dam site was examined

1 INTRODUCTION

The Mekong is a large international river. It flows through 6 countries (China, Myanmar, Thailand,
Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) often presenting conflicts of water resource utilization between
upstream and downstream areas. After the establishment of the MRC (Mekong River Committee),
dam constructions in the main stream was prohibited, but many dam construction projects are
planned in the tributaries, especially in Laos. Laos is blessed with good topographical condition
for hydroelectric power sites and recently switched its economic policy from forest resources
exportation to electric power exportation. Usually, the generation of electricity by dams is regarded
as non-consumptive water use (as opposed to irrigation by dams, which is regarded as consumptive
use), and at the same time fish ways are constructed to compensate for cutting off upstream and
downstream habitats. In view of water volume, electricity is regarded as non-consumptive use, and
thus fish ways are regarded as successfully satisfying the ecological need for a connection between
the upstream and downstream habitats.
However, what about heat environmental change in the downstream? Temperature is perhaps an
important parameter in stream-water quality. Human activity raises or lowers natural stream-water
temperature due to impoundments, industrial use, irrigation and global warming (Bartholow 1989,
LeBlanc 1997). Water temperature affects nearly every physical property related to water quality
management and, unfortunately, change of water temperature is often undesirable.
Previously, stream temperature increased by solar energy (solar radiation, convection, conduc-
tion) under non-dam conditions as flowing to downstream, and especially decreased by the release of
cool water from dams (Delay 1966, Bashar 1993). Control of water temperature therefore becomes
a prerequisite for maximum utilization of water resources. Reservoirs often provide a means for
exercising such controls.
In this study, to evaluate artificial effects on the downstream environment, changes in river water
temperature by dam construction were estimated. Then, the mitigation effect of adopting surface
intake on the dam site was examined.

1279
Figure 1. Nam Ngum River Basin.

2 STUDY AREA

The Nam Ngum River Basin was selected as the study area. Nam Ngum River is a large tributary
of the Mekong River, having a length of 420 km and a drainage basin of 16,400 km2 . It flows
through Vientiane (the capital of Laos) and has a large dam (Nam Ngum), shown in Figure 1. The
Nam Ngum Dam is located just upstream of the confluence of the Nam Ngum and Nam Lik rivers
and has an 8,280 km2 catchment area. The Nam Ngum Dam has a height of 75 m, a capacity of
9 × 109 m3 and a depth of 30 m (Hori 2000). In this study, discharge data from two gauge stations
on the Nam Ngum River (Naluang, Pakkagnoung) and one gauge station (Hinheup) on the Nam
Lik River were used. Stream temperature was evaluated for cases with and without a dam, and with
surface intake.

3 RUNOFF MODEL

In this study we employed TOPMODEL to calculate runoff discharge from each separated grid
(1km resolution). TOPMODEL, proposed by Beven and Kirkdy (1979), is based on the contributing
area concept in hill slope hydrology (shown in Figure 2). This model is based on the exponential
transmissivity assumption that leads to a topographic index ln(a/To /tanb). To is lateral transmissivity
under saturated conditions, and a is upstream catchment area draining across a unit length, and b is
local gradient of the ground surface. This model combines lumped and distributed characteristics
using a topographic index, so many improved models have been applied to the Mekong River basin
(Ao 1999, Nawarathna 2001).
The average saturation deficit D(t) is distributed to the local saturation deficit S(i,t) at grid cell
i, according to the magnitude of local topographic index relative to its average λ as follows:

where m is the decay factor of lateral transmissivity with respect to saturation deficit in meters.
Rainfall on grid cell i is first input to the root zone. Storage in the root zone Srz(i,t) changes as
follows:

where R is precipitation and E is evapotranspiration.

1280
Figure 2. TOPMODEL structure.

7000
with dam
6000
without dam
Discharge(m3/s)

5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1997/1/1
1997/2/1
1997/3/1
1997/4/1
1997/5/1
1997/6/1
1997/7/1
1997/8/1
1997/9/1
1997/10/1
1997/11/1
1997/12/1
Figure 3. Hydrograph at Pakkagnoung station in 1997.

The excess of root zone storage Srz(i,t) is input to the unsaturated zone and its storage Suz(i,t)
is calculated using Eq.(3).

where Srmax is the maximum height of the root zone tank.

Overland flow from grid cell i, qof(i,t) can be estimated as follows:

Groundwater discharge is considered semi-steady depending on the saturation deficit. The

hydraulic gradient is assumed parallel to the ground surface. Groundwater discharge from grid
cell i is determined from Eq.(5):

The discharge from grid cell i to the stream is the summation of qof(i,t) and qb(i,t).
Figure 3 shows calculated hydrograph in 1997 at the Pakkagnoung station in each case of with
and without a dam. In the with dam case, base flow in dry season increase and flood peak in rainy
season is cut. In assessment based on water volume, this indicates improvement of water utilization
by dam construction.

1281
4 STREAM TEMPERATURE ANALYSIS

In this study, SSTEMP (Stream Segment Temperature Model, Bartholow 1989) was employed
for calculating stream temperature changes. SSTEMP solves the one-dimensional heat advection-
dispersion equation and includes the heat exchange with the atmosphere. When applied to an open
channel of constant cross section and flow, the heat transport equation takes the form

where T is water temperature, x is distance, t is time, DL is a dispersion coefficient in x direction,

S is a source or sink term which includes heat transfer with the surrounding environment, A is
cross sectional area, W is surface width, Q is flow rate. For numerical test, dispersion DL of 15–
200 m2 /s were applied, but increases of did not change model simulation results because of the
relatively high velocity of flow and the low longitudinal temperature gradient along the modeled
stream, indicating that the system was advection dominant. Therefore DL was set equal to zero in
the model.
Equation(6) can be used to predict water temperatures in steady flow streams that are well mixed
and have no significant transverse temperature gradients, the main variation is in the flow direction
(Bashar 1993). Stream cross sectional area A and width W are a function of stream flow rate Q, ρ
is the density of water, and Cp is the specific heat of water.
The source or sink term S expresses the heat transfer rate with the surrounding environment:

with

where Sa is the net heat exchange rate between the water and the air, Sb is the net heat exchange
between the water and the streambed, Hs is the net short-wave (solar) radiation, Hl is the net
long-wave radiation, He is the evaporative heat transfer, Hvc is the convective heat transfer.
In general terms, SSTEMP calculates the heat gained or lost from a parcel of water as it passes
through a stream segment. This is accomplished by simulating the various heat flux processes
that determine that temperature change. These physical processes include convection, conduction,
evaporation, as well as long wave radiation (heat to or from the air), direct solar radiation (short
wave), and radiation back from the water. First, solar radiation and interception by shading are
calculated. To calculate solar radiation, SSTEMP computes the radiation at the outer edge of the
earth’s atmosphere. This radiation is passed through the attenuating effects of the atmosphere and
finally reflects off the water surface depending on the angle of the sun. Next sunrise and sunset
time are computed by factoring in local east and west side topography. Thus the local topography
results in a percentage decrease in the level plain daylight hours. From this local sunrise/sunset,
SSTEMP computes the percentage of light that is filtered out by the vegetation.
SSTEMP requires inputs describing the average stream geometry, as well as (steady-state)
hydrology and meteorology, and stream shading. SSTEMP optionally estimates the combined
topographic and vegetative shade as well as solar radiation penetrating the water. Vegetation data
was estimated using Global Map Vegetation data along the stream (shown in Figure 4 ). The model
then predicts the mean daily water temperatures at specified distances downstream. It also estimates
the daily maximum and minimum temperatures.
To apply the model, the Nam Ngum River Basin was schematized and three analyses were
conducted: with a dam, without a dam, and with surface intake. The Nam Ngum Dam releases

1282
Figure 4. Vegetation shade along the main stream.

36
Temp(with-dam)
34
Temp(without-dam)
Temperature(°C)

32 Temp(surface intake)
30
28
26
24
22
20
1997/10/1
1997/11/1
1997/12/1
1997/1/1
1997/2/1
1997/3/1
1997/4/1
1997/5/1
1997/6/1
1997/7/1
1997/8/1
1997/9/1

Figure 5. Stream temperature changes in each case.

about 300 m3 /s discharge for electricity and the release water temperature is about 23◦ C (Hori
2000). In the surface intake case, we estimated that 20% of 300 m3 /s was taken from the surface
of the reservoir.
Figure 5 shows the result of temporal mean stream temperature change at Pakkagnoung in
1997. And Figure 6 shows spatial distribution of monthly averaged stream temperature affected
area in (a)April (dry season) and (b)September (rainy season). In Figure 5, the added vertical
axis on the right shows the discharge at Pakkagnoung in each case. Generally, when the river
keeps natural stream condition (in the case without the dam), the stream temperature is strongly
affected by the mean air temperature. In the dry season (Jan.–June), the total discharge is small
so that the percentages of dam release discharge, which usually has a low temperature, increases.
Thus, stream temperature in the case with the dam is about 5◦ C cooler than in the one without
the dam.
In the rainy season (July–Oct.), the total discharge was so large that the stream temperature was
not as sensitive to the dam-released cool discharge. Thus, stream temperature did not differ greatly
between the two cases during the flood period (beginning of September). Even in the rainy season,
however, stream temperature decreases under conditions with the dam when the percentage of
dam-released cool discharge increased. In the surface intake case, the stream temperature is about
2◦ C warmer than in the case with the dam. Ecological knowledge leads to appropriate stream
temperature and the required conditions for the river can be managed by the adoption of surface
intake.

1283
Figure 6. Spatial distribution of stream temperature affected area (monthly mean difference between with-dam
and without dam cases).

5 CONCLUSION

In this study we examined stream temperature change by dam release water management. For
detailed assessment, not only water volume but also water temperature should be considered.
Stream temperature is an especially important parameter for evaluating any artificially induced
impact on the environment and ecosystem. The results show that dam construction provides cooler
stream temperature and can be controlled by appropriate surface intake from the reservoir. Dam
management strongly affects the downstream environment; so more detailed monitoring is essential
for estimating the impact of artificial activity and is now being measured in the field since June
2003. In this study, an open source, steady-state model (SSTEMP), was applied directly to discharge
data to calculate stream temperature change. For further improvement, therefore, surface flow and
temperature should be solved dynamically at the same time during the physical process.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was partially supported by two Grant-in-Aids: Revolutionary Researches 2002 of
the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, and CREST of the Japan Science and
Technology Corporation.

REFERENCES

Ao, T., Ishihira, H. and Takeuchi, K. (1999): Study of Distributed Runoff Simulation Model Based On Block
Type Topmodel and Muskingum-Cunge Method, Annu. J. of Hydr. Eng., 43, 7–12.
Bartholow, J. M. (1989): Stream temperature investigation: Field and analytical methods. Instream Flow
Information Paper No.13, US Fish Wildlife Service Biological Report 89(17).
Bashar, A. S. and Stefan, H. G. (1993): Stream Temperature Dynamics (Measurements and Modeling), Water.
Res. Res., 29(7), 2299–2312.
Beven, K. J. and Kirkby, M. J. (1979): A physically based, variable contributing area model of hydrology.
Hydrological Science Bulletin, 24(1), 43–69.
Delay, W. and Seaders, J. (1966): Predicting temperature in rivers and reservoirs, J. Sanit. Eng. Div, ASCE, 92,
115–134.
Hori, H. (2000): The Mekong – Environment and Development–, The United Nations University.
LeBlanc, R. T., Brown, R. D. and FitzGibbon, J. E. (1979): Modeling the effects of land use change on the
water temperature in unregulated urban stream., Journal of Environmental Management, 49(4),445–469.
Nawarathna, N. B., Ao, T. Q., Kazama, S., Sawamoto, M. and Takeuchi, K. (2001): Influence of Human
Activity on the BTOPMC Model Runoff Simulations in Large-scale Watersheds. XXIX IAHR Congress
Proceedings, Theme a, 93–99.

1284
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Integrated watershed modeling using Finite Element Method and

GIS approach

A. Jha, T.I. Eldho∗

Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai, India

Reena Jana
Centre for Studies in Resources Engineering, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India

Anupam K. Singh
Institute of Water Resources Management and Rural Engineering (IWK), University of Karlsruhe,
Kaiser Karlsruhe, Germany

ABSTRACT: Watershed is a hydrological unit that can be used as a physical biological unit and
socio-economic-political unit for planning and management of natural resources. For the appropri-
ate management of a watershed, it is essential to calculate the runoff from the particular watershed
for the given rainfall. Hence watershed modeling is very important in watershed management.
Due to the complexity of the hydrological processes in any of the watersheds, watershed model-
ing requires advanced computational techniques and data management tools like Finite Element
Methods (FEM) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In this study, the features of FEM are
being added with GIS, which takes into account of the spatial variation of the data of the watershed
considered. These two tools have been integrated here for watershed modeling to give more effi-
cient tool in the watershed modeling. The developed model is applied to a watershed for the runoff
simulation. The runoff calculated is compared with other models and found to be satisfactory.

1 INTRODUCTION

Watershed is a topographically delineated area that is drained by a stream and a basic hydrological
unit with prominent physical and biological features, which can be treated as a unit having interface
between hydrology, climatology and ecology. In arid or semi-arid regions, if watersheds are properly
managed for water and soil conservation, and preservation of biomass, any climatic failures can
be managed and water security can be assured. For the appropriate management of a watershed,
it is essential to calculate the runoff from the particular watershed for the given rainfall. Hence
watershed modeling is very important in watershed management.
Due to the complexities of the hydrological processes, watershed modeling requires advanced
computational techniques and data management tools like Finite Element Method (FEM) and
Geographic Information Systems (GIS). With the flexibility in the computer coding and modeling
irregular boundaries, FEM is popularly used to solve the complex watershed problems. In the
present study, the features of finite elements are being added with GIS, which takes into account of
the spatial variation of the data of the watershed considered. These two important tools have been
integrated using Graphical User Interface with Visual Basic programming for watershed modeling
to give more efficient tool. The GIS package developed at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),
Bombay ‘GRAM++’ is used as the GIS tool in the present study.

∗ (Corresponding Author, email: eldho@civil.iitb.ac.in)

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 In the watershed modeling, initially the overland flow is simulated using the mass balance
approach combined with GIS. GIS gives the information related to sub-watersheds, length and
elevation of the main stream. These data combined with the water balance equation is used in the
overland flow calculations. The channel flow is simulated using the continuity and momentum
equations. A one-dimensional finite element model is developed for the channel flow based on the
kinematic wave model. Finally both the overland flow model and channel flow model are coupled
together to find out the runoff. The developed model is applied to a watershed for the runoff
simulation.

2 FORMULATION FOR OVERLAND FLOW

The overland flow consists of the precipitated water in excess of the infiltration capacity. This
water flows in the direction of the slope on the ground in the form of uniform thin sheet flow. The
overland flow can be calculated using the mass balance equation given below:

where P is the excess rainfall which is the inflow for the catchment i.e., rainfall minus the infiltration,
q is the overland flow per unit length of stream from the catchment into the stream element assumed
to be perpendicular to the length of the element. V is the change in the detention storage, taken
as positive for the increment and negative for the decrement, t is the time step and L is the total
length of the stream element. Here, equation (1) is solved iteratively in the time domain where
outflow from one time step serves as the inflow for the next and written as:

where Ac is the area of the catchment, d is the depth of the overland flow. The variables with
subscript shows the value at the time t and time t + t i.e., at the beginning and end of the time
step for one process. Rao and Rao (1988) had given the equation for overland flow as

where S is the slope of the watershed, which is equal to the friction slope and n is the Manning’s
roughness coefficient, applicable to the overland flow. If P is expressed in mm/hr, d in mm, L in
meters and Ac in sq.m., then equation (3) can be expressed as

An iterative type of solution is done for the equation (5) to give the depth at different time steps.

3 FEM FORMULATION FOR CHANNEL FLOW

In the present study kinematic wave analogy (Chow, 1988) is used to solve the channel flow. The
present form of equations derived from the continuity and momentum equations (Ross et al., 1979)
can be written as,

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where Q = (1/n) AR2/3 Sf1/2 = KS is the discharge in the channel (cumecs); n is the Manning’s
coefficient, S is slope of the channel section, K is conveyance, A is the area of flow in the channel
(sq.m); R is the hydraulic radius, q is the lateral inflow (overland flow) per unit length of flow plane
(sq.m/s); x is the distance in the direction of flow (m); t is the time (s); So is the bed slope and Sf
is the friction slope. The area of cross section of the channel A can be written as W.H, where W is
the width of the channel and H is the depth of the water in the channel where as slope S can be
written as dH/dx. Hence the equation (6) can be simplified as:

The unknown variable (H ) in the equation (8) is approximated using FEM as (Reddy, 1993):

where n is the number of nodes (n = 2, for linear element) per element, and Ni are shape functions.
For the linear line element, equation (9) can be written as:

If L is length of the element and x is the distance from one node, then interpolation functions N1
and N2 can be written as: 1 − x/L and x/L respectively. Here FEM based on Galerkin’s formulation
is used. Considering a partial differential equation L(H ) and applying Glerkin’s FEM,

where L is the differential equation in H, [N ]T is the transpose of the interpolation function.

Substituting the equation (11) for L(H ), equation (8) can be rewritten as:

Integration by parts is performed for each term of equation (12) and can be written as:

•
where H = dH /dt. In the present model, the time derivative is approximated using Finite Difference
(FD) scheme. The time derivative can be written in the following form:

where f = f (H ) is function of variables H . Equation (14) can be written in the FD form as

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The FD scheme can be explicit or implicit in nature. Here an implicit scheme is used (Reddy, 1993)
in which weighted average of f is taken at time t and time t + t.

where θ0 = 1 − θ1 . Here θ1 is taken as 0.5. For this value, system becomes unconditionally stable
(Reddy, 1993). Equation (13) can be written in parts after evaluation of integrals as:

Now substituting the above equations (17) and (18) in the equation (13) and rearranging the terms
and using θ0 , θ1 = 0.5, will give the following element matrix,

The equation (19) gives the element matrix. Now all the element matrices are assembled according
to their nodal position into one big matrix, known as global matrix. The boundary conditions are
applied and the systems of equations are solved to get the unknowns.

4 CASE STUDY – BADI-KANJAWANI WATERSHED

Badi-Kanjawani watershed lies between 22◦ 50 N 74◦ 20 E and 22◦ 30 N 74◦ 50 E in the Jhabua
district, in Madhya Pradesh state, India. It forms an area of approximately 15.5 sq. km and it is
a part of larger Jhabua watershed, which forms an area of approximately 1200 sq. km, having
an undulating and hilly physiography. Figure 1 shows the watershed boundary and its drainage

Figure 1. Watershed boundary and drainage for the Badi-Kanjawani watershed.

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 Rainfall Data
1600

Rainfall in mm
1400 Jhabua
1200 Thandla
1000
800 Paplawad
600 Jhobat
400 Alirajpur
200

1965
1967
1969
1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
2000
Year

Figure 2. Yearly variation of rainfall for various stations, in and around Jhabua district.

pattern. Most of the watershed area is well drained giving further chance of quick water flow as
runoff. The hilly pattern and drainage has adverse impact on soil moisture regime and conditions
of the soil. The long-term analysis of rainfall pattern (Figure 2) shows that there occur a large
number of dry spells of long duration to affect crop adversely. The average annual rainfall in the
area varies from 620 mm to 1310 mm. More than 80% of rain occurs during the monsoon months
of June–September with high intensity and short duration. Large portion of the rain goes as runoff
casing soil erosion and siltation in the watershed.

5 INTEGRATED GIS AND FEM MODELLING

Here the FEM model described in the earlier section is integrated with the GIS package GRAM++
(developed in IIT Bombay, www.alumni.iitb.ac.in/ news/gisSoftware.htm) for the watershed mod-
eling of the area under study. The topo-sheet of the study area is used for the digitization of the
watershed boundary based on the drainage and the contours in the region and around the region.
The contours from the topo-sheet at 20 m interval were interpolated to 2 m interval. After cleaning
and slivering the contours, streams and watershed boundary, using the options available in the GIS
package, a digital elevation model (DEM) for the study area is created. Figure 3 shows the overland
boundaries of the watershed. The raster files divide the image file in the small grids/pixels with
size of 20 m. These pixels contain the information such as the elevation values of the points on the
grounds.
From the drainage lines (Figure 1), the main streams of the watershed have been chosen. Three
drainage lines have been identified as the main streams of the Badi-Kanjawani watershed. On the
watershed, some points have been identified as the node points for the Finite Element modeling
of the watershed. Figure 4 shows the main streams and the node points in the watershed. The
numbering of the node points is done on the basis of the stream on which it lies. The streams have
been numbered as stream 1, stream 2 and the Main Stream.
The procedures for the watershed modeling are as follows:

1. Each pixel or cell in the raster map of overland boundary contains a particular number, which
indicated the overland number of the cell in which it lies. Now all the cells in the watershed can
be grouped depending upon their overland number. The total number of cells in a group can be
multiplied with the area for each cell to give the total area of each overland region.
2. The raster map of the stream contains the details of the elements in the stream and their number.
The length can also be obtained with their respective element numbers for the FEM modeling,
by using the same technique used in first step.
3. From the raster map for the stream node, elevation for each node point on the stream is found
to calculate slope of the elements in the discretized stream element.
4. After calculating length, slope and area for each overland region and using the formulation for
the overland flow, the overland discharge per unit length of the stream can be obtained and
stored in a file.

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Figure 3. Vector layout (GRAM++ GIS) showing the watersheds and overland boundary.

Figure 4. Vector layout showing the channel and node points.

5. For any element of the stream, there lie two overland boundaries on two sides of the element.
The programs add these two overland files and generate a single file for overland flow to the
element. These files will help during FEM modeling of the watershed.
6. Using the discharge as input parameters for the element of the FEM model and using FEM
formulation, the head at each node with the time steps can be calculated.

6 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The developed model has been used for the rainfall-runoff simulation of Badi-Kanjawani watershed.
For the rainfall-runoff simulation, an hourly rainfall of eight hours for a single storm has been
considered from the available rainfall data (due to lack of practical hourly data) as shown in Figure 5.
For the modeling, firstly the overland discharge files were generated from the information obtained
from the GRAM++ GIS, like the area of the overland, their slope and the length of the stream
element adjoining the overland. This gives the discharge of the overland in the units of volume
per unit length of the stream element. The overland flows are the inputs to the channel flow and
the hydrograph for each node in the watershed is generated. Figure 6 shows the generated runoff
hydrograph at various nodes using the model. As can be seen in Figure 6, for the node points down
the stream, there is increase in the peak time and peak values. The increase in the peak time is
due to the increase in the travel time for the water, whereas the increase in the peak is due to the
inclusion of the overland flow. For the main stream at nodes 41 and 51, two different streams are
joining which causes increase in peak of the hydrograph at that location. Due to non-availability of

1290
 20
18
16 Hourly Rainfall

Rainfall (mm)
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Time (hrs)

Figure 5. Hourly rainfall data used for the simulation of hydrograph.

9
8
7
Discharge (m3/s)

MAIN STREAM
6 node 32
5 node 33
4 node 41
3 node 42
2 node 51
1 node 52
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36
Time (hrs)

Figure 6. Hydrograph for the nodes on main stream.

the observed runoff data, the developed model is tested with the standard SCS-CN method for the
watershed. A comparison between the present model and the SCS-CN model showed satisfactory
results.

7 CONCLUDING REMARKS

Due to the complexity of the hydrological processes in any of the watersheds, watershed modeling
requires advanced computational techniques and data management tools like FEM and GIS. With
the flexibility in the computer coding and modeling irregular boundaries, FEM is popularly used
to solve the complex watershed problems. In this paper, the features of FEM are being added with
GIS, which takes into account of the spatial variation of the data of the watershed considered.
These two important tools have been integrated in this study for watershed modeling to give more
efficiency. The developed model is used in the rainfall-runoff simulation of an ungauged watershed.
The model predicts satisfactory results with respect to the available data for the watershed.

REFERENCES

Chow, V.T. 1988. Open Channel Hydraulics. New York: McGraw Hill.
Rao, B.V., & Rao, E.P. 1988. Surface runoff modeling of watersheds. Proceedings of International Seminar of
Hydrology of Extremes, Roorkee, India, 145.
Reddy, J.N. 1993. An Introduction to the Finite Element Method. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Ross, B.B., Contractor, D.N., & Shanholtz, V.O. 1979. A finite element model of overland and channel flow
for assessing the hydrologic impact of land-use change. Journal of Hydrology, Amsterdam, 41, 11–30.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Sustainable development of the source area for the Eastern Route

Project of South-to-North water diversion in China

Yu Qian, Yuchao Zhang, Xin Jiang, Rong Wang, Xiaodong Zhu & Genfa Lu
State Key Laboratory on Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing University, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: The Chinese government has started the ambitious South-to-North Water Diversion
Project. Eastern Route Project (ERP), one of the three water diversion routes, will divert water
from the lower reach of the Changjiang River north to supply water for the eastern Huang-Huai-
Hai Plain. The source area, in Jiangsu Province, is relatively developed and the water quality
is not satisfactory. It is critical to coordinate the relationship of economic development and water
resources conservation, and get sustainable development, through scientific planning. The actuality
and developing objectives for the source area are introduced. The main contents and measures
to guarantee regional sustainable development in the ecological planning are discussed. Finally,
administration and public participation measures aimed to fulfill both the objectives made in the
ecological planning and in the economic plan are detailed.

1 INTRODUCTION

China is quite short of water resources, and the distribution of the existing water resources varies
in time and space. Southern China, mainly south of the Changjiang River plain has more than 80%
of river runoff, while the cropland is less than 40%; the total area of Huang, Huai, Hai plains and
Northern inland is about half that of the whole nation, and the cropland is up to 45%, population is
36%, But the water resource is only 12% of the total amount (Zhang, 1999). It is easy to think of
diverting water south to north to make the water distribution balanced. But it is hard to make the
decision to start the project because the ecological effect is too difficult to evaluate.
In 2000, the Chinese government finally started the ambitious South-to-North Water Diversion
Project (SNWDP) as a result of 50 years of investigation and research, to divert water from the
Changjiang River valley to the reaches ofYellow River, Huaihe River and Haihe River so as to ensure
the water supply for farming, industry and life there. The project will have three water diversion
routes, namely the Western Route Project (WRP), Middle Route Project (MRP) and Eastern Route
Project (ERP), to divert water from the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Changjiang River
respectively (Fan, 2003).
Eastern Route Project (ERP) will divert water from the lower reach of the Changjiang River
north to supply water for the eastern Huang-Huai-Hai Plain with the termination in Tianjin City
by raising water in stages through the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The water quantities to be
diverted in three stages are respectively 8.9 billion m3 , 10.6 billion m3 and 14.8 billion m3 (Dou,
2003).
There will be two diversion source spots, Sanjiangying inYangzhou City and Gaogang in Taizhou
City, Jiangsu Province. The diversion channel will be 1156 km in total length from Changjiang to
the Tianjin trunk route, including a 646 km section south of Huanghe. There will be 740 km of
subsidiary routes including 665 km in the south of Huanghe 90% of the diversion channel will
make use of the existing river channels (Dou, 2003). Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal will be the
trunk diversion channel. Some subsidiary diversion routes will be added to partial diversion channel
sections.

1293
Figure 1. Scope of the National Ecological Reservation and the river system.

ERP is quite different from the other two routes in that the source area is relatively developed
and the water quality of some important diversion channels can not meet their functional stan-
dards, especially for the indicators such as DO, COD, BOD and NH3 -N (Yangzhou Environmental
Quality Report, 2003). In 2001, Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, the main source area, applied
to construct the National Ecological Reservation of the Source Area for the Eastern Route Project
(NERDAERP) of the South-to-North Water Diversion (Fig. 1) to guarantee the source area water
quality. On the other hand, Yangzhou region is developing rapidly and shouldn’t be restricted to the
original economy level. So it is critical to coordinate the relationship of economic development and
water resources conservation, and get sustainable development, through detailed baseline survey
and scientific planning.

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2 BASE LINE SURVEY

2.1 Water resources and river system

There is comparatively a lot of water in the lower reach of the Changjiang River, with a mean
annual volume of 956 million m3 entering the sea, and more than 600 billion m3 even in an extreme
dry year. Sanjiangying, the primary source spot, has broad surface water with 3,000 m in breadth,
25 m in height, and 30,000 m3 /s at the average runoff. Therefore, ERP will have enough water to
be pumped north (Dou, 2003).
But the river system (Fig. 1) is quite complex in this area. Actually, there are two systems, the
Changjiang river system and the Huaihe river system, interacting frequently in variable hydrological
situation. The New Tongyang Canal is the boundary of the two systems, while the north part belongs
to the Huaihe river system, including the Sanyang River, and the Beichengzi River, etc., and the
south part belongs to the Changjiang river system, including the Grand Canal, Gaoshui River,
Yinjiang River, and the Jiajiang River.
Since more than 10% of the land in this area is below the flood level, there is advanced water
conservancy to avoid effects from flood, typhoon, and tide. Jiangdu Pumping Station is one of the
most important infrastructures and will act as the main pumping system in ERP (Li, 2003).

2.2 Social and economic level

The region is relatively middling in terms of development in China. In 2002, GDP per person of this
area is 12,368 Yuan, and an annual increase of 9.27%, which is a little higher than the average rate
of the nation, but lower than the average in Jiangsu Province. The proportion of the three industry
is 12.92:47.56:39.52, showing that agriculture is relatively undeveloped, its modernization level is
low, and following processing is too simple and small scaled. Furthermore, the secondary industry
and the tertiary industry are not so satisfactory because of the low economic gross (Yangzhou’s
Eco-city Development Plan, 2002).

2.3 Water pollution sources

The water pollutants in NERDAERP are mainly discharged by industrial point sources, domestic
sewage, agricultural wastewater, and shipping which are moving sources.
In 2002, the total industrial effluent was 90.12 million tons, 98.06% of which met discharge
standard regulated by the nation, while domestic sewage discharged in the whole year was up
to 108 million tons, larger than industrial effluent (Yangzhou Environmental Quality Report,
2003).
As to nonpoint source, which contributed about half of the water pollution loading, this was
mainly produced by planting, stockbreeding, and aquiculture. The region was long famous for its
farming products, and meanwhile, large amounts of the nutrients N, P was poured into the surface
water, leading to eutrophication.
This area is also an important freshwater shipping area in China. Water diversion trunks are
also waterways for transportation. There are dozens of docks and shipyards along the rivers. It is
estimated that about 644,000 boats come and go in a year, and lead to 569.4 tons of COD and 41.1
tons of oil (Yangzhou Environmental Quality Report, 2003).

2.4 Surface water quality

All the diversion waterways in NERDAERP, including two big rivers (Changjiang and Jiajiang),
three lakes (Gaoyou Lake, Shaobo Lake, and Baoying Lake), seven rivers (Grand Canal, Mangdao
River, Gaoshui River, Beichengzi River, New Tongyang Canal, Sanyang River and Yinjiang River),
and one channel (Jiaojia Channel), are evaluated with the quality based on routine monitoring in
2002, according to National Surface Water Quality Standard (GB/T3838-2002). The evaluation
results are listed in Table 1.

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Table 1. Surface water quality in the reservation area.*

Water function Indicators not meet

Waterway Monitor section classification Water quality standard

Changjiang Sima Gate II Almost II DO, CODMn

Yinjiang River Outfall II Almost II DO
Jiajiang Dongfeng Gate III III None
Quqiao Ferry III III None
Grand Canal Jiangdu Reach III III DO
Gaoyou Reach III III None
Baoying Reach III III None
Mangdao River Jiangdu Gate III Nearly III DO,CODMn ,BOD,NH3 -N
Gaoshui River Gaoshui Reach III Nearly III DO,CODMn , NH3 -N,oil
New Tongyang Canal Jiangdu Gate III Almost II CODMn
Xindu Bridge III Almost II DO
Sanyang River Jiangdu Reach III Nearly III DO, COD
Gaoyou Reach III Nearly III DO, COD,BOD
Beichengzi River Caozhuang Bridge III Nearly III DO, COD, NH3 -N
Yinjiang River Gaogang Gate III III None
Haiyang Bridge III III None
Liaojia Channel Huohang Ferry III III None
Gaoyou Lake / III Almost III COD
Shaobo Lake / III Nearly III COD, NH3 -N
Baoying Lake / III Nearly III N, P, CODMn ,BOD5

*From Yangzhou Environmental Quality Report, 2003.

3 OBJECTIVES

3.1 Water quality objective

The quality of source water should be controlled strictly to meet Grade III standards of the nation’s
surface water criterion, which is the limit for drinking water sources. So the water quality of all
the conveyance channels in the National Ecological Conservation should meet grade III standards,
and for assurance, the quality of source water (Changjiang, Jiajiang, and Yinjiang River) should
meet the grade II values.

3.2 Social and economic objective

According to Yangzhou Eco-city Development Plan, the economy in this area will develop rapidly
and urbanization will be ineluctable, for Instance, the annual growth rate of GDP would be around
10%, which means, GDP per person will reach 28,000Yuan (RMB) in 2010 and 58,000Yuan (RMB)
in 2020. Furthermore, in the Plan of Shorelands of Changjiang in Jiangsu Province, the north shore
of the Changjiang River, including Yangzhou, Taizhou, and Nantong, will be a prioritying area for
developing industry and increasing economic strength, following the fast development of Southern
Jiangsu.

3.3 Final objective

It is obvious that above-mentioned objectives are quite difficult to coordinate. A series of measures,
designed in the plan of NERDAERP, should be taken to ensure that both objectives be fulfilled and
sustainable development could come into force in this area.

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4 PLANNED MEASURES

4.1 Pollution control and aquasystem retrieve

In order to avoid people’s worry about the water quality and guarantee that the conveyed water
qualified as drinking water source, aquatic pollution in the source area should be controlled strictly
and some destroyed aquatic ecosystem should be retrieved.
At first, the discharge amount of industrial wastewater should be reduced systematically by
proposing cleaner production techniques, implementing pollution permits, and in extreme is clos-
ing or displacing those primary pollution factories whose aerobic organic pollution couldn’t be
eliminated efficiently.
Second, advanced agricultural techniques such as mechanized agriculture, intensive agriculture,
and precise irrigation should be applied in this area to reduce non-point source wastewater con-
taining pesticides and fertilizers (Lin, 2003). Domestic, cultivation and livestock wastes in the
countryside should be collected, deharmed, and reused as organic fertilizer. Aquiculture in lakes
should be kept to a certain scale, not to exceed the purification capability.
Furthermore, wetlands along the main derivation channels and the three lakes should be recovered
to improve the cycle of stream and substances between land and water systems, and reduce land-
based pollutants pouring into the aquatic ecosystem.
Finally, reconstructing ecological corridors would prevent soil erosion, aggregate suspended
solids, absorb superfluous N, P nutrients, and abate non-point source pollution.

4.2 Adjusting industry structure and expanding ecoindustry

Industry structure, or type and producing pattern in the reservation area should be adjusted to
coordinate with the ecological environment. Concrete measures include advocating agricultural
industrialization to optimize the primary industry, upgrading the traditional industry into state-of-
the-art one so as to improve the secondary industry, and emphasize modern tourism, commerce,
transportation, realty, finance and telecommunication to accelerate the tertiary industry.
Inducing ecology and circular economy principles into the production procedure and ecoindustry-
park construction is the most effective method to reduce, reuse, and recycle pollutants.

4.3 Optimizing city and town system and restricting population growth
In the process of urbanization, a scientifically planned town system is essential for sustainable
development in NERDAERP. The system should have at least four levels, including central city,
secondary cities, key towns, and other organized towns, with the population of 1 million, 200 ∼ 500
thousand, 50 ∼ 80 thousand, and 10 ∼ 20 thousand respectively.
As population concentrates to cities and towns, the government should stress landscape design
and infrastructure construction, so as to make cities and towns perfect for inhabitation, all kinds of
wastes properly treated, and environmental quality improved.

4.4 Improving administration and public participation system

The success of NERDAERP lies mainly on whether the administration and public participation
system could maintain all the planned measures and the projects be implemented.
On the basis of ecosystem management theory, the ecological reservation shouldn’t be con-
strained by districts or sectors. In contrast, an independent leading group should be organized to
coordinate particular affairs, especially when transboundary affairs happen. A series of regulations
should be enacted to ensure that all the activities in NERDAERP be controlled (Huang, 2003).
Another task for the leading group is to construct an environmental monitoring and alert center in
the source area, and to observe, forecast, and control the water quality (Chen, 2003).

1297
 Disseminating ecology and environmental protection knowledge to public, proposing a green
lifestyle, and adopting community condominium in regular management are all sound methods to
promote public participation and get high efficient supervision.

5 CONCLUSION

The dilemma of NERDAERP is typical in China. To construct an ecological reservation is the only
way to guarantee the source area water quality, while economic growth is also the most important
aim for the people and government of this area. Several measures have been advanced to improve
the aquatic ecosystem status at the same time of developing economy. If these measures took effect,
both the source area and the arrival area benefit. If not, the whole nation suffers.

REFERENCES

Chen, Y. 2003. Ecological monitor of source area of Eastern Route Project of South-to-North Water Diversion.
Environmental Monitor Management and Technology. 15(5):38–40
Dou, Y. 2003. Eastern Route Project — Make water flow to higher area. South-to-North Water Transfers and
Water Science & Technology. 1(supp.):22–23
Fan, J. 2003. Water resources and South-to-North Water Diversion Project. Shanxi Architecture. 29(3):267–268
Huang, H. 2003. Improving the management of Eastern Route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project in
Jiangsu. J. of Yangzhou University. 6(2):60–64
Li, Y. 2003. Water resources characters of source area for Eastern Route of South-to-North Water Diversion
Project. Huaihe Treatment. 2003(2):9–10
Liu,Y. 2003. Development strategy for saving agriculture water in Jiangsu. China RuralWater and Hydropower.
2003(11):5–7
Zhang, X. 1999. South-to-North Water Diversion Project: Supporting China’s Sustainable Development.
Beijing: China Water Power Press.
Environmental Quality Report of Yangzhou. Yangzhou EPB. 2003
Plan of Shorelands of Changjiang in Jiangsu Province. Jiangsu Provincial Government. 2003
Yangzhou’s Eco-city Development Plan. Yangzhou Municipal Government. 2002

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Case studies of management measures of urban water environment

Z.Y. Dong
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture at Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China

P.L. Su
Faculty of Forestry at Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, China

ABSTRACT: Urbanization in China has entered the stage of rapid development. Considerable
characteristics of speed-up of urbanization course are urban population explosion and increase in
impervious area of ground surface, which make urban resources be in great demand and urban
environment deteriorated, especially urban water environment issues. Through investigations of
case studies, this paper presents various measures to control water pollution. Except for continuing
construction of drainage networks and building and extending sewage treatment plants, these
control measures also include diluting sewage with clear water, dredging polluted channel, water
quality monitoring, controlling pollution sources, harnessing surrounding environment and various
management measures etc.

1 INTRODUCTION

A city has become local center for economy, culture, politics and science in the process of human
social development. World population increasingly concentrates cities and urban scale gets greater
and greater. Urbanization in China has entered the stage of rapid development. Currently, the
level of urbanization in China is 31%, till 2010 the level will be 45%. It is expected that the level
will reach 60% or so till 2020. Considerable characteristics of speed-up of urbanization course
are urban population explosion and increase in impervious area of ground surface, which make
urban resources be in great demand and urban environment deteriorated, especially urban water
environment issues (Dong 2004). Dense urban population generate an amount of wastes, plus most
of urban areas turned into impervious surface from original pervious one, which shorten response
time of rainfall-runoff and increase runoff coefficient, thus resulting in serious point-source and
non-point source pollutions and further deteriorating urban water environment.
Hangzhou is one of seven ancient capitals in China, a well-known picturesque city with a lot of
scenery and historical relics, which enjoys exceptional advantages in either tourism and economic
development or cultural and scientific communication. Merit and demerit of urban environment
directly affects figure and development of Hangzhou. With development of urbanization, water
environment in Hangzhou city likewise experienced deterioration like other cities. Rivers, canal and
other receiving waters in the urban district were polluted severely, which made the available water
resources be in greater demand. In addition, groundwater overdraft due to shortage of water resulted
in surface subsidence. Urban water environment is the basis of urban sustainable development.
In order to keep Hangzhou sustainable development, energetically controlling water pollution and
improving urban water environment had become the task that brooked no delay.

2 WEST LAKE

An area of the renowned West Lake scenic areas is 49 km2 , in which water surface of West
Lake is 5.7 km2 . Protection of West Lake and its surrounding scenic areas was the focal point

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Table 1. Historical record of major campaigns of dredging sludge in the West Lake.

A.D. Dredge of sludge in the West Lake

822 Bai Juyi presided to dredge West Lake sludge and to embank dike, i.e. presently
Bai dike
1089 Su Shi leaded to dredge and embanked long levee through the West Lake from
north to south, i.e. presently Su dike
1508 Yang Mengying dredged the West Lake, which occupied farmland 232 ha
1724 Li Wei excavated access to lake at Jinshagang and Chishanbu
1800 Ruan Yuan dredged the lake and used the sludge to embank the revered
Mr Ruan Mound
1917 West Lake Engineering Bureau firstly used machinery to conduct dredge
1045–1049 Hangzhou Engineering Bureau dredged sludge 10 thousand m3
1952–1959 Hangzhou City Government organized large-scale dredging, which lasted
8 years and dredged sludge 7.21 million m3
1981–1992 Dredged sludge 2.36 million m3 , dredged wastes 586 tons
1999 The last dredging in the 20 century, removed sludge 2.6 million m3

of environmental protection in Hangzhou. Some comprehensive control measures were taken to

prevent West Lake waters from pollution.
The polluted factories around West Lake were moved away or stopped so as to eliminate industrial
pollution sources; West Lake was surrounded by underground sewage conduits to collect domestic
sewage discharged from restaurants, hotels and enterprises nearby so as to thoroughly solve the
problems of sewage discharge; banks and quays at West Lake were repaired and maintained to
not only block rainfall-runoff pollution, but also landscape scenic spots around the lake; water
diversion works that diverted part of Qiantang River to West Lake at Zhakou crossed over Yuhuang
and Jiuyao hills with the pipeline 3.1 km long and daily discharge 0.3 million tons (3.5 m3/s); in
that case, water in the West Lake can be replaced monthly, and also overflows from the lake can be
used to flush Middle River, East River and urban reach of Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal so as to
improve the water quality of these rivers; both boats and full-time workers were employed to get
wastes out of the lake every day.
More trees, flowers and weeds were planted around the lake to increase capacity of soil and water
conservation; pleasure boats with diesel were rebuilt into the ones with battery, thus eliminating
oily spots and black smoke on the lake surface, lowering noise of motor boats; complete sets of
dredger equipment were employed to remove 30–60 thousand m3 sludge in the lake yearly and
increased twice as much as water storage; variety and quantity of fish and aquatic plant were
adjusted to enhance biological purification.
Historically, from Tang dynasty (A.D.618–907) to Qing dynasty (A.D.1644–1911), major
campaigns of dredging sludge in the West Lake are described in Table 1.
Through the above-mentioned measures, eutrophication level of West Lake waters was gradually
lowered. According to monitoring of water quality, algae were decreased to 190 million per liter
from 730 million per liter. Transparency of the lake water increased to 0.6 m from less than 0.4 m.

3 HANGZHOU REACH OF BEIJING-HANGZHOU GRAND CANAL

The renowned Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which was built B.C.485, is 1,800 km long, flows
through Hai, Yellow, Huai, Yangtze and Qiantang Rivers. Hangzhou reach of the Grand Canal is
30 km long, urban district of which is 18 km long. This beautiful canal in the past had to swallowed
400 thousand tons domestic sewage and industrial wastewater. Water level of the Grand Canal in
the river network system of Hangzhou is lowest. Pollution sources of the Grand Canal were mainly
originated from polluted channels in the urban district. Means of both flushing sewage with clear

1300
water and collecting sewage were carried out to improve water quality of the Grand Canal. On the
one hand, water from West Lake was diverted into the urban district channel to achieve the effect
of sewage removal; on the other hand, sewage-collecting conduits were buried to control pollution
source of the canal. In fact, sewage collecting is the basis because of the lowest water level of canal.

4 URBAN CHANNEL

Hangzhou is an ancient city with more than 2200 years. River networks are densely distributed in
the city. 750 rivers totally reached 6,900 km long. Just in the urban district, there are 50 rivers under
Qiantang River, Grand Canal and Tiaoxi River, respectively. As rapid development of economy,
population increase and urban surface change, rivers in the urban district once lost original function
such as navigation. Industrial wastewater and domestic sewage from enterprises and residents
around the rivers were directly discharged into urban channels due to delay in construction of
urban drainage networks, which resulted in water quality deterioration in Middle, East Rivers and
urban reach of the Grand Canal. As the saying goes, running water never gets stale. In order to
make the urban river water flow, Qiantang River and West Lake were fully used to activate urban
rivers so as to achieve the goal of flushing and removal of sewage. Polluted channels in Hangzhou
can be divided into eastern and western parts based on characteristics of river networks. Eastern
and western polluted channels were diverted Qiantang River and West Lake, respectively.

4.1 Water diversion to western polluted channels

There are Guxin, Xixi, Yanshan and Yuhangtang Rivers etc. in the western Hangzhou. Water
diversion played a certain role in protecting and improving water quality in West Lake. However, in
the past, water diversion from West Lake directly discharged into the Grand Canal at Zuojia after
entered Guxin River, which did not fully play the part of water diversion. Except for Guxin channel,
there was no water in the other channels. Black and stinking water in these polluted channels got
more and more serious due to additional various sewage and wastes discharge. In order to improve
river water environment, channel water distributions were divided into two steps: the first step
was to close the gate at Zuojia bridge in Guxin river not to allow water diversion directly enter
the Grand Canal, and to close the gate at Dasuo bridge not to directly enter Yuhangtang river, so
as to divert overflow from West Lake into Guxin, Xixi, Fengjiaqiao and Yanshan rivers as well
as Qingshui lake; the second step was to add pump station and build conveying channel to divert
water from West Lake into Zhedahuxiao and Yanshan rivers and then entered Yuhangtang river.
The water distribution works improved not only water quality of several urban polluted channels
in the western Hangzhou, but also part of the Grand Canal. According to monitoring, water quality
at Qinfeng Bidge in the canal was considerably improved. In the meantime of river distribution,
polluted channel dredging and sewage collecting were carried out.

4.2 Water diversion to eastern polluted channels

Xinkai River, 4.6 km long, is main urban river in the eastern Hangzhou. There were 44 enterprises
and more than 500 households around the river. Pollution load of Xinkai River far exceeded itself
self-purification capacity, whose waters were polluted seriously. The major controlled measures:
buildings within harnessing were demolished; sewage collecting engineering, that is, a sewage
collecting conduit parallel to Xinkai river was buried, and inverted siphon conduit was rehabilitated,
discharge of sewage into channels was stopped; desilting and dredging; greening, 2 ha green land
was cultivated; clear water from Qiantang river was diverted into polluted channels in the eastern
Hangzhou through two-way pumping station.

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5 DRAINAGE NETWORKS

There are 5 districts with 163 communities in Hangzhou. Combined sewerage system was adopted
for 70 communities, accounting for 43% of the whole drainage networks, which distributed in
the old city proper. So it was necessary to transform into separated sewerage system to lighten the
burden on sewage conduits. Sibao Sewage Treatment Plant that was built in 1987, is of 600 thousand
capacity of daily sewage treatment, which effectively reduced pollution of municipal sewage on
urban channels since went into operation. However, the sewage treatment plant did not “eat full”
because of the relative lag of urban sewage network construction. In that case, domestic sewage
did not enter the main sewage conduits and had to directly discharge into nearby channels, thus
polluting the channels. In addition, main sewage conduits used to be blocked due to artificial factors
such as construction slurry, wastes and oily sediment from hotels. To control sewage is firstly to
control the sources. Investigations of sewage discharge distribution were conducted so as to make a
preparation for separated sewerage system and sewage collecting. For areas located in Shangtang,
Xiangjisi, Daguan and Shaoxing roads with sewage network, Hangzhou Bureau of Environmental
Protection urged local enterprises that discharged sewage to finish sewage collecting, and factory
quarter was asked to carry out separated sewerage system. In order to speed up the pace of sewage
collecting and sewerage connection, environmental protection agency provided funding aids and
awards for the enterprises that finished sewage network connection. Total effluent charge was not
levied for the enterprises that did not discharge wastewater into municipal sewerage networks until
achieved the State Discharge Standard.

6 MANAGEMENT MEASURES

After the first national conference on environmental protection of China in 1973, the legal sys-
tem, planning and management have been strengthened. Comprehensive control measures were
carried out to radically enhance environmental quality. Overall urban planning was revised and
implemented. All kinds of urban function quarters were classified. The special planning, stan-
dards, laws, regulations, and rules on environmental protection were formulated and promulgated.
In addition, the local laws and regulations on environmental protection such as “Management
Rules of River Channel in Hangzhou” were improved. Either Governmental Working Report or the
People’s Representative Resolutions or single items of plan, economy, urban construction, industry
and commerce embodied the basic spirit of environmental protection. Administratively, all levels
of management agencies were established. The unreasonable industrial layout in the city proper
was adjusted. 49 factories and residential communities located within the West Lake scenic areas
were moved away. Total sewage discharge charge and declaration of dynamic sewage discharge
were conducted. Pollution control facilities were checked.
Environmental propagation and education were carried out. A large-scale propagation and edu-
cation of environmental protection were organized such as “Protection of Mother River”, “Global
Environmental Day of the Fifth June”, “Establishment of State Model City of Environmental Protec-
tion”, “Green Campaign of 21st Century”, “Competition with Award for Environmental Protection
Knowledge”, “Control White Pollution”, “A Trip to Qiantang River for Environmental Protection”,
“Campaign of 1999’ Sewage Discharge up to Standard” etc. A variety of special editions or special
topics of environmental protection were set up in the news media. Computer drawing competition of
environmental protection was launched. Short courses of teachers on environmental protection were
run. “Summer Camp of Environmental Protection in Community”, “Environmental Protection Day
of Family on Weekends” etc. were developed. Large-scale public advertisements of environmental
protection were made to intensify citizen’s awareness of environmental protection. “Selected Read-
ings of Hangzhou Environmental Laws and Regulations”, “Education of Environment” etc were
published. Campaign of establishment of “Green Hotels and Restaurants” was developed. Good
general mood such as social morality, environmental protection awareness, and public surveillance
have been formed. Report of illegal activities on environment was rewardingly encouraged, public

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denouncing phones and mailboxes were set up and the phone of report to the mayor is open and the
number is 12345. Various news media were fully used to denounce illegal activity of environment
by public opinions.

7 CONCLUDING REMARKS

After the above-mentioned comprehensive control measures, the face of water environment in
Hangzhou was radically changed: clear water flows and fishes can be seen in the urban channels;
bird’s song can be heard in a clump of trees along the urban river banks; channels and canal densely
distributed in Hangzhou city proper are turned into beautiful scenery lines and the West Lake is
getting more beautiful, which have become the optimal places where Hangzhou citizens conduct
leisure, entertainments and physical exercises. More tourists are currently attracted to enjoy the
beautiful scenery!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Academic Leader Foundation for the Young and Middle
Ages of Zhejiang Provincial Higher Education and Zhejiang Provincial “151” Talent Engineering
Foundation for the financial supports of the research.

REFERENCE

Dong, Z.Y. 2004. Environmental Hydraulics, Key Textbook of Zhejiang Provincial Higher Education
(in Chinese).

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Water resources system simulation based on object-oriented

technology

Gan Hong, You Jinjun, Wang Lin & Huang Shouxin

China Institute of Water Resource and Hydropower Research, Beijing

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a modeling technique for water system simulation to the macro-
scopic realistic process, which is an integrated application of the conceptual simulation method and
object-oriented technology (OOT) programming technique. In this simulation model, a river basin
is described as an aggregation of abstracted objects representing natural and man-made objects.
Through these two kinds of objects and their mutual relations, the complicated process of move-
ment and transformation of different water flow is simulated. Combined with OOT, these objects
and their relations are characterized with respective attributes and functions, and the processes
occurring in the networks are realized in computation.

1 INTRODUCTION

Nowadays more and more issues are related to the water cycle due to intensive human activities, and
this trend will continue or even escalate in some areas along with social development. Man-made
impact on natural hydrological process has been increasing the complexity of the integrated system
and largely changing the natural water cycle by exploitation, drainage, and influence of underlying
surface. Therefore, traditional hydrological model can not accurately analyze the mutual relation-
ship between natural water resources and artificial water cycle caused by intensive anthropogenic
influences. However, sustainable development presses for rational water resources exploitation
as well as a high rate of waste water treatment to improve both efficiency of water utilization and
environmental protection. This calls for a new conception to take the coupling process formed
by natural hydrological cycle and man-made water cycle into account as a whole. On the other
hand, modern sophisticated water system models need all-side and detailed data information that
is unavailable in some areas. Hence corresponding water resources system modelling with new
conceptions and techniques is required, which can simulate the reality of the complicated process
of water movement and transformation integrally but macroscopically. In this kind of model dif-
ferent simulated consequences are available with various controllable parameters to approach the
condition wanted, thus rational suggestions for decision-making pertinent to water issues under dif-
ferent preconditions can be provided. To realize the complicated coupling water resources system
simulation entirely and accurately, it is important to put forward an appropriate framework which
can reflect the main processes existing in reality with various elements defined by corresponding
parameters, and powerful technique to solve the bulky model constructed based on the simulative
conception.
Currently more researchers are engaged in this field, and have made some progress. Regarding
the conceptual description of a whole basin, organizing principles are established that transform
the external data model into functional descriptions and representations of real world entities as
well as define the relationships between and among them (Hughes, 1991). A decision support
system (DSS) based on object-oriented programming (OOP) is developed and applied to solve
flood control problem, in which reservoirs and related waterways are represented by predefined
objects (Kazumasa, I. et al, 1996). A prototype spatial decision support system (SDSS), which

1305
combines GIS and DSS, is put forward to simulate the river basin, by extracting a collection of
spatial objects which represent the river basins’ physical entities, and thematic objects (Daene, C.
et al, 1997). More integrated software like MIKE BASIN, WATERWARE (Fedra, K. et al, 2002),
AQUARIUS (Diaz, et al, 2000), give a solution for water system planning and management with
required data information. Similarly, this kind of software is constructed based on the general
conceptual description theoretically and OOT framework technically, consists of interconnected
components representing the major elements in river basin.
This paper provides a modelling technique for water system simulation according to the macro-
scopic realistic process. Several layers of network composed of the main elements in water systems,
including natural runoff, water supply, drainage and recycle of sewage, inter-basin diversion, are
presented to describe these movements and mutual conversions under the constraints of water bal-
ance. In the networks, a river basin or administrative region is conceptually modelled as an aggregate
of normalized objects representing physical entities. Such generalized objects represent integrated
water users or projects with selected major attributes and functions. Specific water moves along
with possible way described in respective network and corresponding water conversions take place
in different objects. Besides, all water balance relations are checked in the simulation process.
Therefore, through this system, a complete simulative process can be given with prepared basic
data information and predefined controllable parameters.
An example about simulation of the Haihe Basin of North China is presented which demonstrates
the establishment and application of this model.

2 CONCEPTUAL WATER SYSTEM

2.1 Major system elements

Water resources system is multiplex and complicated. Various aspects related to this system should
be taken into consideration in water resources planning or management of a river basin. The basic
method to describe the process and relations existing in the system is simulation. Traditionally,
simulation of the whole or part of a basin is based on recognition of the studied area. In this way,
the major process and considerable relations can be formalized into the simulation model. However,
a specific simulation model can not represent general characteristics of average water resources
system, thus it is difficult to reapply this kind of model in other areas. Hence, it is a new research
direction to study flexible and transplantable general model to solve usual issues in water resources
system.
Conceptualization is the foremost step to construct a computer model, which constitutes a set
of mathematical concepts used to represent an explicit form of the conceptual model. The purpose
of conceptual system design is to combine the available data and parameters with the abstracted
elements to express respective attributes and process.
In this paper, a framework of the conceptual system is put forward. Fundamentally, there are
two kinds of basic elements in this conceptualized water system network. One is nodes, including
water projects, calculating units and control nodes. The other is linkages line through which water
moves between different nodes. Based on the availability of information in the studied area, the
calculating units are aggregates of water users, water treatment plants and combined information
about small-scale water projects which are not listed separately in the network. Generally, the
calculating unit is the overlapped area of a natural basin and administrative region. In this way, the
natural hydrological characteristics are similar in a calculating and it is convenient to collect data.
The links are also divided into several kinds in terms of types of the water flow. There are several
links representing natural rivers, drainage of sewage, route of water supply and discharge from the
separately listed water projects respectively.
Based on the classification, the conceptual water system consists of calculating units, major
water projects, control nodes and various links. With these abstracted elements a network of water
system is delineated. The major elements and their relations are described in Figure 1.

1306
 Natural river

Extraction node Reservoir

Discharge
Sewage route
outlet

Calculating
unit Calculating
Inter-basin unit
diversion
Sewage
Reclamation Treatment plant
Calculating
unit
Control node

Figure 1. Conceptualized network of water system.

Figure 2. Framework of water movement in conceptualized water system.

1307
2.2 Conceptual framework
Based on the macroscopic process occurring in water system, a framework describing the major
movement and conversion of different phrases is provided in Figure 2. There are natural water cycle
and artificial process caused by human activities.
In this framework, both water users and local catchment belong to specific calculating unit.
Water users include urban and rural domestic demand, industry, agriculture and ecosystem. Differ-
ent users’ demand is sufficed with respective eligible water source. Local cathchment represents
combined small-scale projects of water exploitation in calculating units.
Under this framework, the major movements occurring in the water system are described based
on main hydraulic relation. With suitable computer programming technique, the process could be
simulated in a model.

3 MODELING REALIZATION WITH OOT

OOT is a new technique for computer modeling and programming. Based on the conception
of OOT, the basic elements in the conceptualized water system can be naturally described as
object. According to the systematic framework, we define four basic classes to represent the major
elements, including calculating units, catchment node, canals and outlets. There are two kinds of
catchment node, one for control and the other for water projects. For each class, there is definition
of attributes and methods to represent its realistic characteristics and relevant water movement.
Through the instantiation of the classes, a river basin is delineated with a certain number of
objects. Using the instantiated objects, the complete process demonstrated in Table 1 is simulated
based on the water movement and conversion in each object and their relations.
Since the conceptualized simulation model accords with the modern programming thought –
object-oriented technique (OOT), the extracted objects from the water system are designed with
their attributes and methods. Based on the design, C++, an object-oriented programming (OOP)
language, is applied to construct the model. This simulation model is general and feasible for
both river basin and administrative region. It can assist the planners to handle long term macro-
planning of a water resources system in accordance with different water utilization level and natural

Table 1. Attributes and methods of major objects.

Class name Attribute Method

Calculating units −basic properties +creation of relations()

−network relations
−proportion for water allocation
−ratio of sewage treatment
−local available water resources
−water demand
Node of water projects −basic properties
−network relations
−rule lines for operation
−natural inflow
Links −basic properties
−nodes of both sides
−discharge capacity
−coefficient of water loss
Outlets −basic properties
−network relations
−discharge to outlets
−sewage to outlets
+allocation of various()
+calculation of sewage()
+discharge of local catchment()
+calculation water loss()
+calculation of actual inflow()
+calculation of water supply()
+calculation of discharge()
+calculation of water loss()
+calculation of passed water()
+creation of relations()
+calculation of discharge()
+calculation of sewage()

1308
hydrological condition. In addition, with the technique of dynamic memory allocation the model
can handle the complex system with multiple water resources, hierarchical networks formed by
uncertain nodes and linkages, and mass data information.
Through the individual objects, the model provides comprehensive results of simulation, includ-
ing the detailed course of water allocation, composition of water supply, situation of major water
projects and rivers’ control section. These comprehensive results are useful for further high-level
scenario analysis and assessment. With long-term simulation, the risk of water supply and general
changing tendency of studied area under a certain level of development can be analyzed. Therefore,
the model is able to work as an assistant tool for decision-making of general planning.

4 CASE STUDY

4.1 Background of Haihe Basin

The Haihe River Basin is located in north-China, covers an area of 320,041 km2 , including 60%
mountain area, and 40% plain areas. The total population is about 120 million, most concentrated
in the plain area, including megapolis like Beijing and Tianjin. The annual average precipitation is
much lower than the national average (539 mm), of which less than 30% is converted into surface
water and ground water resources. Generally, total estimated surface water resources are 22 bil-
lion m3 annually and average groundwater resources are approximately 28 billion m3 , with an over-
lap of 12.8 billion m3 , which makes the total volume of water resources of the basin 37.2 billion m3 .

4.2 Simulation and results

Based on the availability of hydrological and social-economical data, the basin can be subdivided
into 61 calculating units, over 50 nodes, mainly large-scale water exploitation projects, and hundreds
of links. With 45-year long-term hydrological data and projection of water demand in 2030 level
year, the analytical results of water demand and supply balance are simulated by the model.
Using the model, two scenarios (with or without the south to north water transfer project) are
simulated. By comparison, the results show that the local water resources are insufficient in future,
and inter-basin diversion is necessary for demand and supply balance in 2030 accompanying the
rapid increase of water demand. Table 2 gives the calculated results concisely, including the water
deficit, composition of water supply, and discharge to the sea, where there is South to North water
transfer project in scenario 2.
Through the model, the long-term simulative results are calculated in an acceptably short time,
including natural water cycle, water allocation, sewage disposal and reclamation, and behavior
of major projects in the studied basin. The results under specific condition can be worked out
quickly by adjusting controllable parameters of model. Furthermore, both the summarized results
and the detailed information in concrete objects can be checked conveniently. It verifies feasibility

Table 2. Major results of simulating Haihe River Basin system in 2030 planning year (billon m3 annual
average).

Supply and demand Composition of supply

Scen. Dem. Spl. Def. Surf. GW Div. from YR S-N Project Recl. Other Dis. to sea

1 53.15 43.98 9.18 13.37 25.78 3.87 0.00 0.63 0.32 4.47
2 53.15 51.83 1.32 12.65 23.54 3.89 10.49 0.74 0.54 12.19

(Interpretation of abbr.: Scen. for scenario, Dem. for demand, Def. for deficit, Surf. for surface water, GW
for groundwater, Div. from YR for diversion water from yellow river, S-N Project for South to North water
transfer project, Recl. for sewage reclamation, Dis. for discharge.)

1309
and flexibility of the conception of systematic simulation and high performance of the simulation
model based on OOT.

5 CONCLUSION

In this paper we give a prototype of water system simulation, which is a conjunctive application
of conceptual method and OOT. It can integrate a river basin visual representation and logical
representation into an operational framework, in which analysis can be made based on the abstracted
objects in the studied river basin. The application proved that the conceptual simulation model is
effective for large-scale water system analysis.
This simulation system is still under development. It is necessary to enhance generality and flexi-
bility of the model to adapt different condition. One aspect is to improve the conceptual framework
to be compatible for more water related process. The other is to provide more and better interface
to contain submodels to analyze some separate process if required data information is available.

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Jolma, A. A Decision Support System for Real-Time Operation of a River System, Tsakiris, G. & Santos, M.A.
Advances in Water Resources Technology and Management. A.A. Balkema, WRA. Rotterdam. pp. 141–146.
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Diaz, Gustavo, E., Brown, Thomas, C. & Oli Sveinsson. 2000. AQUARIUS: A Modeling System for River
Basin Water Allocation,General Technical Report, RM-GTR-299. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky, Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station.
Fedra, K. 2002. GIS and simulation models for Water Resources Management: A case study of the Kelantan
River, Malaysia. GIS Development, 6/8, pp. 39–43.
Fedra, K. Jamieson. 2002. D.G. An object-oriented approach to model integration: a river basin information
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Gan Hong, Li Lingyue, Yin Mingwan. 2000. Analysis of Rational Distribution of Water Resources, China
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Projects, Journal of China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Vol.1, No.2.
Gustavo, E., Diaz, Thomas, C., Brown. 1997. AQUARIUS: A General Model for Efficient Water Allocation in
River Basins, ThemeA: Managing Water: Coping with Scarcity andAbundance pp. 405–410, Proceedings of
27th Congress of the International Association for Hydraulic Research, August 10–15, 1997, San Francisco,
CA, published by the American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.
Hughes, J.G. 1991. Object-oriented Databases, New York: Prentice Hall.
John Wiley, Sons. 1994. Object Analysis and Design: Description of Methods, edited by Andrew T.F. Hutt of
Object Management Group (OMG).
Kazumasa Ito, Toshiharu Kojiri, Tomoharu Hori, Yutaka Shimizu. 1996. Decision Support System of Reservoir
Operation with Object-Oriented Programming and Multi-Media Technology, International Conference on
Water Resources & Environment Research: Towards the 21st Century, Vol. II, pp. 103–110.
Li Lingyue, Gan Hong. 2002. Remark on the Relationship Between Water Resources Rational Allocation,
Carrying Capacity and Sustainable Development, Advances in Water Science, Vol.11 No.3, pp.313–319.
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Using WATERGEM for Taiwan water policy decision making

Y.-F. Wang & J.-C. Hsu

Water resources Agency, Taipei, Taiwan

ABSTRACT: In Taiwan, the traditional water policy requests that all new water projects must sat-
isfy water demand-use balance and minimized investment. Such a decision-making process results
an engineering benefit-cost model for water resource planning. Engineering activities are most
frequently chosen as the optimal project. Unfortunately, Taiwan is a small island with limited water
resources. The highly economic development increases water scarcity. This Taiwan water policy
decision-making process shall be modified to achieve water resource sustainable. This research
applies the WATERGEM macro economic model for evaluating non-engineering project benefit-
cost and establishes a new water decision-making process. Analysis of the water conservation fee
allocation identified the efficiency of this new decision-making process. This study shows that the
new water policy decision-making process by applying WATERGEM is successful.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Setting the scene

Sustainable Development is a philosophy proposed for solving growth limitation. This concept
was initiated in 1972 Stockholm Declaration (UNEP, 1972) and clearly defined in 1992 the UN
World Summit. There are 27 principles drawn up by Rio Declaration on Environment and Devel-
opment. “The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and
environmental needs of present and future generations” becomes the core spirit of Agenda 21
(UN, 1992).
Water is an essential substance for life and kind of recyclable and renewable natural resource.
Due to the uneven distribution of freshwater both in time and space, the growing population and
economic activities, water scarcity is a serious crisis for many countries including Taiwan. As
pointed out by Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) in 2002: No Water, No Future
(Cheng, 2003, NCSD, 2002) and by World Water Development Report (WWDR): By the middle
of this century, at worst 7 billion people in sixty countries will be water-scarce (WWDR, 2003).
Obviously, water resources sustainable development is the key issue that lies at the heart of our
survival.
In Taiwan, the traditional water policy decision-making process only considers water demand-
use balance and minimized investment. Since the economic value of non-engineering projects is
difficult to be quantified. Engineering projects are most frequently chosen as the optimal project.
Unfortunately, Taiwan is a small island with limited water resources (Fig. 1). There are little
opportunities for constructing new reservoirs or large river intakes. Today, Taiwan’s policy in water
is modified to enhance the management of demand and supply under the principle of preserving
environment and ecology. The new decision-making process should be derived to satisfy the request
of new water resource policy.
This research establishes the mathematical model of current engineering benefit-cost model
and applies the WATERGEM macro economic model for quantifying non-engineering project
benefit-cost. A new decision-making process is proposed by combining these two models.

1311
 Runoff of North Region Runoff of Middle Region
(year average flow of 155 hundred million) (year average flow of 164 hundred million)
50 50

(hundred million tons)

(hundred million tons)

40 40

Runoff
Runoff

30 30
20 20
10 May ~Oct. Rich Season May ~Oct. Rich Season
63% 10 78%
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 0
1 3 5 7 9 11
Month Month

Runoff of South Region Runoff of East Region

(year average of 167 hundred million) (year average flow of 159 hundred million)
50 50

(hundred million tons)

(hundred million tons)

40 40

Runoff 30
Runoff

30 May ~Oct. Rich Season

20 91% 20

10 10 May ~Oct. Rich Season

76%
0 0
1 3 5 7 9 11 1 3 5 7 9 11
Month Month

Figure 1. Uneven distribution of surface water runoff in time and space in Taiwan.

1.2 Literature review

Facing the challenges of water resources sustainable development, many countries have been chang-
ing their water policy and decision-making process. In Japan, the sustainable principles have been
outlined in the framework of Annual Budget (MLIT, 2003). River Law was also modified in 1977
to satisfy the requests of eco-environment protection, flood control and integrated water resource
management. WaterAgency Law was proposed in 2003 which established a public participation pro-
cess (TIER, 1995, IDI & JRA, 2001, Omachi, 2004, IDI, 2003). In Singapore, four taps (Catchment
water, Johor water, NeWater, Seawater desalination) policy is suggested. Integrated water resource
management becomes the decision-making principle of water policy (Wee, 2003, Wang, 2003). In
France, the sustainable water policy was included in Water Act in 1992 (Piégay, 2002). There are
six Master Water Management Plans (SDAGE) applied to promote the water utilization, pollution
control and catchment conservation based on the public participation and integration management
decision-making process.
In Taiwan, researches on water policy decision-making are rare and always recognized as the
responsibility of water authority. Most of them concerned about planning decision support system
for specified topics in technical level, such as flood control, draught rescue, river basins conserva-
tion or reservoirs management (Delf & WRA, 2002, NCU, 2002, SINOTECH, 2002a,b, SysTec,
1998, TIER, 2003).

2 CURRENT ENGINEERING BENEFIT-COST MODEL

Reviewing Taiwan Water Resource Master Planning Programmes for northern, central, southern
and eastern region (SINOTECH, 1999a,b, GTINT, 1998, 1999a,b), this study derives the objective

1312
function of current water resource planning model as:

where W(Xi) is benefit of selling Water, C(Xi) is cost of construction for Project Xi. The constraint
equations are described as following:

s(Xi,tj) is water supply ability at time tj for specified project Xi. S(Xi,tj) is water supply ability at
time tj with all project Xi.

D(tj) is water demand at time tj, T(tj) is domestic water demand at time tj, I(tj) is industrial water
demand at time tj, A(tj)is agriculture water demand at time tj and O(tj) is others water demand at
time tj.

where Tp(tj) is tap water demand at time tj and Tm(tj) is non-tap water demand at time tj. We can
obtain their values using

po(tj) is regional population at time tj, dv(tj) is tap water popularization rate at time tj, Wpcd(tj) is
domestic water demand per day per capital at time tj and le(tj) is tap water leakage rate at time tj.

Wpad(tj) is industrial water demand per day per area at time tj, Ai(tj) is Area of Industry usage at
time tj and Da(tj) is Average operation days of industry per year at time tj.

3 WATERGEM MACRO ECONOMIC MODEL

In this research, the WATERGEM macro economic model (Fig. 2) which is developed by TIER is
applied to quantify the social-economical value of water resource projects. This model consists of
two databases and economic model. The databases include water resources database and enterprises
investment-production database. The economic model is designed as kinds of computable general
equilibrium model which be able to consider the water demands of various enterprises. The general
equilibrium model assumes that all the investment and production behaviors of enterprises depend
on the maximized profit and minimized cost. Using WATERGEM model, water is treated as one of
the production materials. There are more than ten economic indices resulted from model simulation
could be offered for the decision-making.

1313
 Other Policies
DataBase
Water Resource Other Resources
Water Policy DataBase DataBase

GIS Economic Model

System
Computable General Global Prediction
Equilibrium Model Model

Other Economic Model

Water Demand Prediction

Management Enterprise Impact

Figure 2. Framework of WATERGEM.

4 NEW WATER POLICY DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Combing the current engineering benefit-cost model and WATERGEM model illustrated before.
This study derives a new water policy decision-making process. The objective function of this new
process can be shown as:

where w1, w2 are weighting factors, f(Xi,Yk) is the object function of current engineering benefit-
cost model, g(Xi,Yk) is resulted indices of WATERGEM, Xi is engineering water resources project
and Yk is non-engineering water resources project.

W(Xi,Yk) is direct incomes from engineering project Xi and non-engineering projectYk. C(Xi,Yk)
is direct expenditure from engineering project Xi and non-engineering project Yk.

Notes that w21, w22 are weighting factors. TI(Xi,Yk) is total investment induced by engineering
project Xi and non-engineering project Yk and NGDP(Xi,Yk) is impact of NGDP induced by
engineering project Xi and non-engineering project Yk. The constraint equation is also shown as:

1314
Table 1. Prediction on Water Conservation Fee Income on northern taiwan.

Water user Fee rate Income (NT$) Case 1 Case 2 Case 3

Domestic water 3% 481,434,731

5% 819,308,950

10% 1,565,727,126

Hydraulic power 3% 426,187,042

5% 707,040,798

10% 1,451,356,469

Others Water right fee 222,236,275



Summation (NT$) 1,130,479,572 1,749,066,130 3,239,459,164

Table 2. Effects on macro-economics for difference allocation of Water Conservation Fee in northern
Taiwan. (Unit: %)

For government income For tree growing, public All for local residence
only works, local residence income income
Macro economic
index Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 1 Case 2 Case 3

Good price 0.004 0.007 0.012 −0.022 −0.034 −0.062 0.004 0.007 0.012
GDP −0.001 −0.001 −0.002 −0.026 −0.039 −0.073 −0.001 −0.001 −0.002
GDP (actual) −0.005 −0.008 −0.015 −0.004 −0.006 −0.011 −0.005 −0.008 −0.015
Import −0.003 −0.006 −0.012 −0.034 −0.052 0.095 −0.003 −0.006 −0.012
Investment −0.022 −0.031 −0.056 0.250 0.389 0.725 −0.022 −0.031 −0.056
Consumption 0.001 0.001 0.001 −0.091 −0.141 −0.263 0.001 0.001 0.001
Export −0.005 −0.007 −0.015 0.036 0.056 0.102 −0.005 −0.007 −0.015
Expenditure of 0.001 0.001 0.001 −0.091 −0.141 −0.263 0.001 0.001 0.001
government

Since the units of current engineering benefit-cost model and WATERGEM are different. We
should use non-dimensional forms of these two models. The weighting factors are obtained by
political negotiation or public participation process.

5 CASE STUDY ON WATER CONSERVATION FEE

In order to verify the developed new water policy decision-making process, this research considers
the non-engineering Water Conservation Fee project as testing example. Since Water Conservation
Fee is one kind of non-engineering project. We substitute w1 = 0 and w2 = 1 into equation (11).
According three kinds of fee rate (3%, 5%, 10%) and three kinds of allocation (For government
income only; For tree growing, public works and local residence income; For local residence income
only), there are nine projects considered in the case study. That means k = 1 to 9 for Yk.
The simulated results show that if we allocate Water Conservation Fee income to tree grow-
ing, public works and local residence income, the impact of macro-economic would be positive.
Otherwise allocations result negative impact on macro-economic.

6 CONCLUSION

In this research, a new water policy decision-making process is established. The new process
combining the current engineering benefit-cost and WATERGEM model could quantify the value

1315
of engineering or non-engineering water resources development projects. Applying the new process
to Water Conservation Fee project in northern Taiwan, it results that proper allocation of Water
Conservation Fee could reduce the negative impact on macro economic.

REFERENCES

Cheng, S.-H. 2003. Without Water: Future is Fuzzy, Sustainable Taiwan-Dialogue with Earth, National
Commission of Sustainable Development & Environmental Protection Agency (Taiwan), pp.109–118.
Delf Hydraulics (Delf) & Water Resources Agency (WRA) 2002. The Development of Decision Support
System for Water Resources in Taiwan (2/5), Research report of Water Resources Agency, MOEA/WRB/ST-
910045V2.
GTINT 1998. Taiwan Water Resource Master Planning Programme for Northern Taiwan(I), Research report
of Water resources Bureau, 87EC2B370011.
GTINT 1999a. Taiwan Water Resource Master Planning Programme for Central Taiwan, Research Report of
Water Resources Bureau.
GTINT 1999b. Taiwan Water Resource Master Planning Programme for Northern Taiwan (II), Research report
of Water resources Bureau.
Infrastructure Development Institute-Japan (IDI) 2003. Brief on Water Agency Law.
Infrastructure Development Institute-Japan (IDI) & Japan River Association (JRA) 2001. Rivers in Japan,
under supervision of River Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
National Central University 2002. Planning on Transmission Framework of Decision Support System, Research
report of Water Resources Agency, MOEA/WRB–ST-910009.
National Commission of Sustainable Development (NCSD) 2002. Report on attending UNCSD, pp.25–53,
83–96, 137–140, 190–194, 200–249.
Omachi, T. 2004. Creation of a River Environment Reflecting the Characteristics of Communities – A New
Program for River Improvement, pp.4–6.
Piégay, H., Dupont, P. & Faby, J.A. 2002. Questions of water resources management. Feedback on
the implementation of the French SAGE and SDAGE plans (1992–2001), Water Policy, Vol.4, No.3,
pp.239–262.
SINOTECH 1999a. Taiwan Water Resource Master Planning Programme for Eastern Taiwan, Research report
of Water Resource Bureau, 88EC2B370013.
SINOTECH 1999a. Taiwan Water Resource Master Planning Programme for Southern Taiwan, Research report
of Water Resource Bureau, 88EC2B370015.
SINOTECH 2002a. Establishment of Decision Support System for Draught Disaster (2/3), Research report of
Water Resources Agency, MOEA/WRB/ST-910021V2.
SINOTECH 2002b. Decision Supporting System for Groundwater Management in Taiwan (2/4), Research
report of Water Resources Agency, MOEA/WRB/ST-910051V2.
SysTec 1998. A Decision Support System for Reservoir and Watershed Water Quality Management, Research
report of Water Resources Bureau, 87EC2B370047.
Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) 1995. Comparison of Japan and Taiwan Water related laws,
Research report of Research Committee of Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) 2003. The Economic Model of Water Resources (4/4), Research
report of Water Resources Agency, MOEA/WRA/ST–920022V4.
The United Nations (UN) 1992. Agenda 21: Programme of Action for Sustainable Development: RIO
Declaration on Environment and Development: Statement of Forest Principles, pp.9–15.
United Nationals Environment Programme (UNEP) 1972. Declaration of the United Nations Conference on
the Human Environment.
Wang, Y.-F. 2003. Report on attending APO International Symposium on Water resources and Green
Productivity, Water Resources Agency, pp.32–35.
Wee, O.-K. 2003. Singapore’s Experience in Water Reclamation – The NEWater Initiative, International
Symposium on Water Resources Management and Green Productivity, 7–9 October 2003.
World Water Development Report (WWDR) 2003. Water for People, Water for Life, pp.10.

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2 Water distribution and management
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Multiobjective design of water networks with random loads

Y.R. Filion, B.W. Karney & B.J. Adams

University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT: Water distribution system design is usually concerned with choosing an economical
system that can satisfy a few conservative demand scenarios (e.g., greater of peak-hour or peak-
day + fire at the end of the design life) and still provide residual pressures above an acceptable level.
The presumption is that conservatism in design will prevent most if not all hydraulic failures in a
system. Despite this, a number of unusual loads can “coalesce” unexpectedly in real systems and
cause them to fail sometimes dramatically and sometimes not. In this regard, a multiobjective model
is formulated in this paper that balances the long-standing concerns of cost with the objectives of
hydraulic reliability and water quality vulnerability. Unlike most optimization models in which
demands are set to their end-of-life levels, the proposed multiobjective framework assumes that
demand loads vary randomly throughout the design life of a system. A tentative vulnerability index
is developed to quantify the socio-economic damages incurred in a system that experiences a water
quality failure. The multiobjective framework points to the constant trade-off that an engineer must
make between the objectives of cost, hydraulic and water quality performance in design.

1 INTRODUCTION

Well established in the research literature is the notion that water distribution systems are subjected
to a range of loads throughout their service life. Water demands are the most important loads to
consider in system design. The randomness of water demand is a result of variations in local climate
(i.e., temperature, rainfall, change of seasons), socio-cultural patterns, population growth, etc. that
occur on hourly, daily, seasonal and annual bases. However, some loads such as a reduction in
pipe capacity and pipe breaks originate within the system and are difficult to estimate accurately
given the complexity of their underlying processes (i.e., corrosion, scaling, wear, fatigue and in
human behaviour). Whatever their cause or nature, loads brought to bear on water networks elicit
a physical response from them and at times can cause them to fail or under perform in some way.
A typical example is a fire flow loading combined with a peak-day demand loading that depresses
residual pressures in a system below an acceptable level.
Thus far, water distribution design approaches have been developed with simplicity of application
in mind and to allow for a system design that is robust and will fail infrequently. The aim to make the
analysis as simple as possible is reflected in the fact that only a few loading conditions are chosen
in distribution system design, typically the greater of peak-hour demand or peak-day demand and
a chosen fire flow. Once this criterion is met, the design problem is one of choosing an economical
set of pipe sizes that will produce acceptable pressures in a network and stave off system failure
when subjected to these critical loading conditions. It has been noted that these least-cost solutions
typically “produce” systems with the smallest possible diameters (to minimize cost) and pressures
marginally above an acceptable level when subjected to design loads. An unexpected increase in
demand above that anticipated in design can degrade system performance and require unplanned
and costly upgrades (Walski 2001).
With recent concerns about difficult-to-predict external threats to water distribution systems
such as terrorism attacks (Haimes et al. 1998) and long-term changes in climate (AWWA 1997),
there is a reasonable chance that reliability and failure considerations will become more prominent

1319
in practical water network design. The design philosophy will mandate that systems be designed
to be safe when they inevitably fail rather than be made safe from failure, even though failure is
impossible to prevent. This new regime of design will require that systems be analyzed under a
more comprehensive set of loading scenarios, that load and performance variables (i.e., demand,
residual pressure and disinfectant concentration) be treated as random variables, and that system
failure and the consequences of failure be clearly defined.
The objectives of this paper are to: (i) formulate a multiobjective evaluation scheme to design a
water distribution system subjected to random demand loads; (ii) discuss the possible implemen-
tation of the scheme and the concerns surrounding the trade-off between its economic, hydraulic
and water quality objectives in design.

2 PREVIOUS WORK

The research literature already has a number of important multiobjective evaluation models to
design, rehabilitate and operate water distribution systems. Todini (2000) presented a multiobjective
design model that balances pipe construction costs against hydraulic reliability in water networks.
In this solution, water demands were treated as known values and fixed to their end-of-life levels.
Reliability was determined with a resilience index that measures the surplus energy at system nodes
above a minimum required threshold (Todini 2000). The study demonstrated the tension between
pipe costs and hydraulic reliability in the simple systems considered.
Prasad and Park (2004) extended the resilience index of Todini (2000) to balance pipe costs
with system reliability while considering pipe connectivity and redundancy. The authors only
considered two discrete loading scenarios, namely baseline demand and baseline demand + single
pipe break. The results of the study reaffirmed the existence of a cost-reliability Pareto front.
In a similar study, Tolson et al. (2004) presented a multiobjective design model that balances
pipe costs with hydraulic reliability. The First-Order Reliability Method (FORM) and Monte Carlo
Simulation (MCS) were used to estimate hydraulic reliability. Specific demand scenarios (peak-
hour + fire-loading) and pipe roughness (end of the design life) were treated as normal random
variables. A clear Pareto trade-off front between pipe cost and hydraulic reliability was evident.
A multiobjective rehabilitation study was undertaken by Halhal et al. (1997). The work sought
to identify a number of rehabilitation schemes that would balance rehabilitation costs with future
benefits achieved in a rehabilitated system. Benefits included: (i) improvements in pressure defi-
ciencies; (ii) improvements in structural integrity of pipes and reduction in future pipe repair
costs; (iii) improved ability to provide uninterrupted service with more flexible pipe configuration;
(iv) improvements in water quality as estimated with pipe C factor. The case studies showed the clear
tension between rehabilitation costs and future benefits achieved after rehabilitation intervention.
Lastly, Ko et al. (1997) presented a multiobjective scheme to operate a water distribution system
by controlling its pumping and reservoir operations. The study sought to balance pumping energy
costs with the number of changes in pump state (start-up and shut-down) as well as the reliable
operation of reservoir storage. The results showed a distinctive trade-off between pumping costs
and pump activity.

3 MULTIOBJECTIVE DESIGN PROBLEM

A multiobjective framework is presented to balance pipe costs, hydraulic reliability and water
quality vulnerability in the design of a water network subjected to random demand loads.

3.1 Hydraulic reliability

The performance of an engineered system can be defined in terms of a set of loads imposed on it and
its ability to resist those loads. Both the loads and resistance depend on a set of random variables

1320
in the engineered system. Here, the load is taken to be the residual pressure head observed at a
critical node in the system Hc (X) that is determined by the set of random demand loads X that
impinge on the system. Tolson et al. (2004) have explored alternative ways of defining load in a
distribution system and have discussed their advantages and disadvantages. The resistance is the
minimum allowable residual pressure head H min in the system. Thus, the performance of a water
network is defined as:

where G1 (X) = hydraulic performance function. The limit state surface (G1 (X) = 0) separates all
combinations of X that produce unacceptable pressure heads (G1 (X) < 0) from those that produce
acceptable pressure heads (G1 (X) > 0). With MCS and FORM it is possible to carry out a number
of independent extended period simulation runs and in each run count the number of time steps
a distribution network is in failure (unacceptable pressure head at critical node) and estimate a
probability of hydraulic failure:

The probability of hydraulic failure PF describes the average likelihood of failure over a fixed
period of time and thus assumes the dimension probability/time period. The hydraulic reliability
of a network is calculated as the complement of PF , or α = 1 − PF .

3.2 Water quality vulnerability

The water quality load is the level of disinfectant level Sc (X) measured at a critical node in a system,
while water quality resistance is the minimum and maximum acceptable levels of disinfectant con-
centration S min and S max stipulated in legal regulations or otherwise. The water quality performance
is defined as:

where G2 (X) = water quality performance function. A water quality failure occurs when the dis-
infectant level Sc (X) falls below the acceptable minimum level S min or when the disinfectant level
rises above the maximum acceptable level S max , as indicated in Fig. 1.
With MCS or FORM it is possible to determine a probability density function (pdf ) of disinfectant
level fS (s) at a critical system node, as indicated in Fig. 1. It is also possible to determine a water
quality damage function that simply maps different levels of unacceptable disinfectant levels (S1 ,
S2 , S3 and S4 in Fig. 1) to the costs incurred by different parties (i.e., users, system owners) when
these unacceptable levels are encountered at the critical node in the system.

Unacceptable WQ Acceptable WQ Unacceptable WQ

PDF of
WQ Damage
Disinfectant
Probability density

function ($)
level fS(s)

S1 S2 S3 Smin Sma S4 S
Disinfectant level

Figure 1. Probability density function of disinfectant level and water quality damage function.

1321
 Once the pdf of disinfectant level and the water quality damage function are defined, the water
quality vulnerability of the system is computed as an expected damage cost. This is done by
“weighting” the damage cost D(s) with the likelihood of encountering the disinfectant level that
produces that cost or, fS (s) · ds, over the range of unacceptable disinfectant levels or, 0 to S min
and S max to ∞ (or highest possible disinfectant level). Mathematically, this means integrating the
product of the disinfectant level pdf and the water quality damage function over the unacceptable
ranges of disinfectant levels 0 to S min and S max to ∞, such that:

where a = dummy variable of integration; D(s) = water quality damage function defined over range
0 to ∞. The vulnerability index ν determines the average cost of supplying unacceptable water
quality over the design life of a water distribution network. It has the dimension cost/time period.
While the idea of a water quality damage function is easy to understand, the task of “constructing”
such a function from empirical data is daunting. Considering only a few of the factors necessary to
“build” such a function illustrates the complexity of the endeavour. For example, a low disinfectant
level (below S min ) in potable water can produce a number of scenarios, ranging from bad odour and
taste to full pathogenic reactivation. Pathogen reactivation can itself induce a number of different
physiological responses that can range from light gastro-intestinal troubles to permanent kidney
and liver damage. On the other hand, a high disinfectant level (above S max ) carries with it the
longer term risks of different cancers caused by over chlorination and the presence of disinfection
by-products. Attributing costs to adverse health effects opens a whole other dimension of complex-
ity. For example, how does one measure the cost of life-long debilitating injuries and intangibles
such as pain, loss of independence and dignity, and a reduced ability to engage in normal social
intercourse? While the tangible costs of hospitalization, extended health care, legal proceedings,
etc. are easier to determine they are likely time-consuming to collect and difficult to aggregate into
averages. Clearly, a great deal more thinking and research is needed here before damage functions
can be incorporated into design and optimization.

3.3 Multiobjective formulation

A multiobjective framework is developed to determine a set of pipe diameters that balances the com-
peting objectives of pipe cost, hydraulic reliability and water quality vulnerability while satisfying
the conservation laws that governs the performance of a water network and pipe size availability
constraints. The model is formulated as:
Objectives:

Constraints:

where f1 , f2 , f3 = pipe cost, hydraulic reliability and water quality vulnerability of selected network
design; np = number of pipes; Ci (·) = cost of pipe i with diameter Di . Note that the topology of
the network is fixed by the layout of buildings and roads. G(·) = set of equations that describe
continuity at network nodes and the conservation of energy around network loops. Incidentally,
the constraints in (6) are satisfied externally to the multiobjective solution by a hydraulic network

1322
model; H = set of pressure heads at nodes; X = set of random demand loads that impinge on a
system throughout its design life; DV = set of pipe diameters selected for a particular network
design; A = set of commercially-available pipe diameters.
Solution methods such as the standard genetic algorithm (SGA) and the nondominated sorting
genetic algorithm (NSGA) have been proposed to solve design problems similar to the one in
(5)–(7) (Tolson et al. 2004; Prasad and Park 2004). Techniques like MCS and FORM can be
used to determine the hydraulic reliability and water quality vulnerability of candidate designs in
the multiobjective solution. In the case of MCS, a number of independent extended period runs
spanning the design life of a candidate system can be run with appropriate hydraulic and water
quality time steps. In each extended period run, the candidate system is subjected to random
demand loads (i.e., fire flow, domestic demand) to determine its long-term performance as well as
its hydraulic reliability and water quality vulnerability. The average reliability and vulnerability of
a network can then be calculated over all independent extended period runs.

3.4 Trade-off implications in design

The multiobjective problem in (5)–(7) presents some important trade-off decisions engineers must
routinely deal with in design, albeit, not as explicitly as is presented here. The engineers’s desire
is to find a least-cost design that has both a high hydraulic reliability and a low water quality
vulnerability. Clearly, the schematic trade-off curves in Fig. 2 that typify the relationship between
cost, hydraulic reliability and water quality vulnerability indicate that this desire can never be fully
satisfied. For example, point A in Fig. 2 illustrates that selecting small pipe sizes will provide an
economical design with a short residence time and help maintain high disinfectant levels above a
regulated threshold. This in turn will reduce the system’s vulnerability to water quality failures.
However, selecting small pipes will limit the hydraulic capacity of the system and induce significant
energy losses, especially when demands are high. With a limited hydraulic capacity, the system will
often provide insufficient pressure at key nodes and render a low hydraulic reliability. Conversely,
point B in Fig. 2 makes clear that choosing a system with large pipe sizes is apt to produce a costly
system with a high hydraulic reliability but also with a high water quality vulnerability. While the
situation is reversed from that in A, the tension between the competing objectives of hydraulic
reliability and water quality vulnerability remains.
The example shows that an engineer is forced to choose a design that balances all three competing
objectives of cost, hydraulic reliability and water quality vulnerability in a satisfactory way. Unfor-
tunately, determining what constitutes a satisfactory balance between these objectives is beyond
the ken of multiobjective modeling and can only be determined with deliberations of values made
by a political body responsible for a system’s operation in collaboration with a concerned citizenry
and a complement of experts acting in an advisory capacity.

Water quality
vulnerability
B B B
Pipe cost ($)

Hydraulic
reliability

A A

Hydraulic reliability/WQ Vulnerability

Figure 2. Cost-reliability and cost-vulnerability Pareto-frontiers that highlight the design trade-off between
hydraulic reliability and water quality vulnerability.

1323
4 SUMMARY

Most water networks are subjected to a host of random loads throughout their service life that cause
them to fail in one way or another, sometimes with catastrophic consequences and sometimes
not. In addition to usual cost concerns, water distribution design ideally should be conducted
both with the randomness of loading and the prospect of failure in mind. In this regard, a multi-
objective framework that balances the competing objectives of pipe cost, hydraulic reliability and
water quality vulnerability was presented in this paper. A tentative water quality vulnerability
index was presented in the form of an expected damage measure similar to what has been used
in hydrological engineering work. While there remains many outstanding research issues, the
preliminary multiobjective framework points to the constant and irresolvable tension between the
hydraulic and water quality performance of a water network frequently encountered in design.

REFERENCES

AWWA Public Advisory Forum 1997. Climate Change and Water Resources. Journal of American Water Works
Association 89(11): 107–110.
Haimes, Y.Y., Matalas, N.C., Lambert, J.H., Jackson, B.A., Fellows, J.F.R. 1998. Reducing Vulnerability of
Water Supply Systems to Attack. Journal of Infrastructure Systems 4(4): 164–177.
Halhal, D., Walters, G.A., Ouazar, D., Savic, D.A. 1997. Water network rehabilitation with structured messy
genetic algorithm. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 123(3): 137–146.
Ko, S.K., Oh, H.O., Fontane, D.J. 1997. Multiobjective Analysis of Service-Water-Transmission Systems.
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 123(2): 78–83.
Prasad, T.D., Park, N.S. 2004. Multiobjective Genetic Algorithms for Design of Water Distribution Networks.
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 130(1): 73–82.
Todini, E. 2000. Looped water distribution network design using a resilience index based heuristic approach.
Urban Water 2: 115–122.
Tolson, B.A., Maier, H.R., Simpson, A.R., Lence, B.J. 2004. Genetic Algorithms for Reliability-Based
Optimization of Water Distribution Systems. Journal of the Water Resources Planning and Management
130(1): 63–72.
Walski, T.M. 2001. The Wrong Paradigm – Why Water Distribution Optimization Doesn’t Work. Journal of
Water Resources Planning and Management 127(4): 203–205.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Chance-constrained stochastic optimization applied to reservoir

operation

A.B. Celeste, K. Suzuki & A. Kadota

Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan

ABSTRACT: This paper deals with the application of an optimization model based on chance-
constrained stochastic programming to the operation of a reservoir with multiple purposes. The
model can handle the uncertainties of the inflows into the system by assuring that the constraints are
not violated within pre-defined probabilities. The usefulness of the technique is investigated in a
case study of the reservoir that supplies the city of Matsuyama, Japan. The model shows to be suit-
able for determining operating policies when the randomness of inflows is taken into consideration.

1 INTRODUCTION

Reservoir operation plays a crucial role in the economic development of regions where water
is scarce, demands are constantly increasing, and multiple uses are involved. The operation is
concerned with the allocation of stored water to various purposes in face of uncertain future inflow
to the reservoir.
Mathematical methods of optimization are tools frequently used in order to provide a better
operation of existing reservoirs by finding optimal policies for the allocation of the available water
(Yeh, 1985). However, most of the optimization models applied in the literature are deterministic,
i.e., they do not consider the uncertainties of some variables such as future inflows. Deterministic
models usually take the expected values of inflows as input or employ several synthetic inflow
scenarios to find an optimal policy for each scenario (scenario optimization). Models that use the
expected values of inflows may occasionally lead to unreliable results and thus have a major impact
on the system operation and performance.
Philbrick & Kitanidis (1999) discuss major limitations of deterministic optimization applied
to reservoir operation. They state that deterministic methods produce nearly optimal policies
only if the systems are “certainty equivalents”, i.e., their performance is measured by quadratic
functions, their dynamics are linear, there are no inequality constraints, and uncertain inputs are
independent and normally distributed. Most reservoir systems do not have the characteristics of
certainty equivalence. When systems are not certainty equivalent deterministic optimization give
poor solutions.
The randomness of the inflows can be taken into account by means of stochastic optimization
techniques, e.g., Stochastic Dynamic Programming, Stochastic Programming with Recourse, etc.
(Birge & Louveaux, 1997). Stochastic optimization does not require certainty equivalence and
incorporate stochastic inflow models directly into the optimization problem. Nevertheless, these
approaches are not usually suitable to be applied to large-scale systems since the optimization
models required by them are typically complex and difficult to be solved. One procedure which
is appropriate for large-scale systems while also including stochastic components is the so-called
chance-constrained stochastic programming. In this technique, the decision variables are found by
ensuring that the constraints will hold with certain probabilities.
This paper deals with the application of a chance-constrained optimization model to determine the
optimal monthly operation of a multipurpose reservoir. The model is compared with its deterministic
counterpart and with simulations using standard operating policies.

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2 CHANCE-CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION

Chance-constrained stochastic programming was first applied to reservoir operation by ReVelle

et al. (1969). For that they introduced the concept of linear decision rules which was further
explored and detailed in other studies (ReVelle & Kirby, 1970; Eastman & ReVelle, 1973). Chance
constraints and linear decision rules were also investigated by Loucks & Dorfman (1975) and
Houck (1979). Fiering et al. (1998) used chance-constrained optimization in a model developed
for the operation of a system subject to power generation and irrigation.
The objective of stochastic programming with probabilistic constraints is to find the decision
variables ensuring that a set of constraints will hold within given probabilities. Suppose the follow-
ing linearly constrained optimization problem where the inequality constraint contains a random
vector ξ:

where x = [x1 , . . . , xn ]T is the vector of decision variables; f is the objective function that returns a
scalar value ( f (x) : n → ); A is a matrix; Pr{ } denotes probability; and β is a vector of values
representing the minimum probabilities that Ax will be less than or equal to ξ.
The above constraint is a probabilistic constraint and can be changed into a deterministic equiva-
lent by means of the cumulative distribution function of each random variable ξi composing ξ
(Figure 1). The constraint is similar to

Figure 1. f is the probability density function and F is the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of ξ.
According to the CDF, the chance constraint Pr{Ax ≤ ξ} ≥ β ≡ Pr{ξ ≤ Ax} ≤ 1 − β is equivalent to the
deterministic constraint Ax ≤ ξ(1−β) .

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which implies that

An analogous to the above expression is

where ξ(1−β) is the (1−β)-quantile of the random variable ξ. Actually, if ξ = [ξ1 , . . . , ξn ]T

(1−β ) (1−β )
and β = [β1 , . . . , βn ]T then ξ(1−β) = [ξ1 1 , . . . , ξ (1−βn ) ]T so that ξi i is the (1-βi )-quantile of
ξi (i = 1, . . . , n).

3 DETERMINISTIC OPTIMIZATION MODEL FOR RESERVOIR OPERATION

Without loss of generality, this paper assumes that the principal objective of the reservoir operation
is water supply (urban, industrial, agricultural, etc.). The goal is then to find the release rule that
results in the minimum water deficit for all time intervals. Another aim is to keep the storage high
whenever possible, i.e., every time there exist alternative optimal solutions for the releases. The
objective function Z of the optimization model can be thus written as follows:

where t is the time index; N is the operating horizon; R(t) and D(t) are, respectively, the release and
demand of water during period t; S(t) is the reservoir storage at the end of time interval t; Smax (t)
is the maximum reservoir storage at time t (reservoir capacity or flood control level for period t);
and βR and βS are exponential coefficients indicating greater penalties to greater deviations from
targets.
Release and storage at each period are related to inflow and spill through the mass balance
(continuity) equation for the system,

in which S0 is the initial reservoir storage; I (t) is the inflow during time t; and Sp(t) is the spill that
eventually might occur during time t.
The physical limitations of the system define intervals which the decision variables must
belong to:

where Rmin (t) and Rmax (t) are, respectively, the minimum and maximum values of releases at time
t (defined by minimum downstream flow requirements, capacity of treatment plants, etc.); Smin (t)
is the minimum reservoir storage at time t (dead storage, minimum level allowed for recreation,
fishery, etc.); and Spmax is a maximum value attributed to the volume of spillage.
In the deterministic model described by equations 5–9, the inflows I (t) must be known for all
N time intervals. The next section implements the stochastic formulation where the uncertainties
of the inflows can be taken into account.

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4 CHANCE-CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION MODEL FOR RESERVOIR OPERATION

In the chance-constrained model the inflow is explicitly considered a random variable and denoted
by Ĩ (t). The model is formulated by replacing the continuity equation 6 and constraint 8 from the
general deterministic model with the following probabilistic constraints:

where βd is the minimum probability that S(t) will be greater than or equal to Smin (t); and βc is the
minimum probability that S(t) will be less than or equal to Smax (t).
From the continuity equation 6 the reservoir storage at any time t can be expressed as

The above equation is used to find the deterministic equivalents of the chance constraints 10
and 11. Expression 10 thus becomes

which rearranging gives

Constraint 14 is analogous to

Inequality 15 is thus the deterministic equivalent of the probabilistic constraint 10. In a similar
way, the deterministic equivalent of constraint 11 can be found to be

Adding constraints 15 and 16 and rearranging yields

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 The inequality above has to be obeyed when the values of βd and βc are selected otherwise the
problem becomes unfeasible. Inequality 17 expresses that the greater the capacity of the reservoir
to accumulate water the greater the values that can be chosen for the probabilities βd and βc . This
means that when the capacity of the reservoir is large the model can become more reliable since
the probabilities can assume higher values, which is an appropriate feature since large-capacity
reservoirs make it more difficult for the storage to be outside the region defined by constraint 8.
This limitation on the range of probabilities that can be assigned to the chance constraints is also
pointed out by Loucks et al. (1981).

5 CASE STUDY

This section presents a case study of the application of the chance-constrained model discussed
so far to the operation of the reservoir that supplies the city of Matsuyama, capital of Ehime
Prefecture, located in Shikoku Island, Japan. The reservoir is used for city supply and irrigation.
The objective of the operation is to find the best allocation of water for these two purposes that
meet their respective demands to the greatest extent possible. The deterministic equivalent of the
general chance-constrained optimization model for the reservoir becomes as follows:

subject to

where RC (t) and RI (t) are, respectively, the releases for city supply and irrigation; DC (t) and DI (t)
are, respectively, the demands for city supply and irrigation; Rmax C and Rmax
I are, respectively, the
total capacity of the treatment plants and the capacity of the irrigation system; Sdead and Smax are,
respectively, the dead storage and capacity of the reservoir; and the other variables are as defined
previously.

6 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

For comparison purposes, four different tests were performed: (I) Simulation based on a release rule
where water, if available, should be liberated whenever possible; (II) Deterministic optimization
using model 5–9 and assuming all inflows to be known ( perfect forecast); (III) Deterministic
optimization using model 5–9 and the average monthly inflows as input; (IV) Chance-constrained
model 18–23.

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 7,000,000 7,000,000
(a) (b)

Volume of water (m3)

6,000,000
Volume of water (m3)
6,000,000
5,000,000 5,000,000

4,000,000 4,000,000

3,000,000 3,000,000

2,000,000 2,000,000

1,000,000 1,000,000

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Time (months) Time (months)

Release Demand Release Demand

7,000,000 7,000,000
(c) (d)
Volume of water (m3)

Volume of water (m3)

6,000,000 6,000,000

5,000,000 5,000,000

4,000,000 4,000,000

3,000,000 3,000,000

2,000,000 2,000,000

1,000,000 1,000,000

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Time (months) Time (months)
Release Demand Release Demand

Figure 2. Results from approaches (a) I, (b) II, (c) III and (d) IV.

The reservoir was assumed to be full in the beginning of the year and was allowed to empty
at the end of the year if necessary since the objective was only to compare the different methods
(this can be avoided by, for example, adding one term in the objective function to penalize great
differences between the reservoir storage and a desired target at the end of the year). It is to be
noticed that in case of models II, III and IV all releases are found in advance. In theory, at each
month, the correspondent amount found by the model should be released. However, for models III
and IV, the constraints may sometimes be violated when the inflows do not occur as “predicted”.
In those situations, the releases were adjusted accordingly.
Figure 2 shows some results regarding the allocation for city supply for the worst year of the
historical series (year with lowest annual inflow). The result from simulation (Figure 2a) shows that
there is a great shortage in the last months of the year. The deterministic optimization approach
under perfect forecast (Figure 2b) gives a better allocation policy which tries to alleviate the critical
shortage that can happen in the end of the year by decreasing the releases in the earlier months
and thus saving water in the reservoir for the future. However, this ideal policy could be found
only if the inflows were accurately forecasted, which is not always the case. If the average inflow
scenario is assumed to occur, the final outcome would be as shown in Figure 2c, which does not
differ considerably from the simulation result and again a critical shortage would take place in
month 8. The chance-constrained model produces the result in Figure 2d where, as in model II, the
releases are also reduced in the beginning of the year keeping water in the reservoir and making
the upcoming shortage not so severe.

7 CONCLUSIONS

A stochastic optimization model based on probabilistic constraints was developed and applied to
the operation of a multipurpose reservoir. Such stochastic approach is suitable for reservoir systems
taking the randomness of inflows into account.
The model showed to be useful for determining operating policies particularly for the case when
inflows were highly uncertain and could not be estimated accurately. The results from such models

1330
might be more reasonable than those from deterministic models that take the expected inflow values
as input.

REFERENCES

Birge, J.R. & Louveaux, F. 1997. Introduction to Stochastic Programming. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Eastman, J. & ReVelle, C. 1973. Linear decision rule in reservoir management and design, 3, Direct capacity
determination and intraseasonal constraints. Water Resour. Res. 9(1): 29–43.
Houck, M.H. 1979. A chance constrained optimization model for reservoir design and operation. Water Resour.
Res. 15(5): 1011–1016.
Loucks, D.P. & Dorfman, P.J. 1975. An evaluation of some linear decision rules in chance-constrained models
for reservoir planning and operation. Water Resour. Res. 11(6): 777–782.
Loucks, D.P. et al. 1981. Water Resource Systems Planning and Analysis. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Philbrick, C.R., Jr. & Kitanidis, P.K. 1999. Limitations of deterministic optimization applied to reservoir
operations. J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng. 125(3): 135–142.
ReVelle, C. & Kirby, W. 1970. Linear decision rule in reservoir management and design, 2, Perfomance
optimization. Water Resour. Res. 6(4): 1033–1044.
ReVelle, C. et al. 1969. The linear decision rule in reservoir management and design, 1, Development of the
stochastic model. Water Resour. Res. 5(4): 767–777.
Yeh, W.W-G. 1985. Reservoir management and operations models: A state-of-the-art review. Water Resour.
Res. 21(12): 1797–1818.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A study on the application of pressure management and continuous

monitoring for controlling and reducing water mains leakage in a
pilot area in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

J.W.M. Lai1 & K.C. Luk

MWH, Hong Kong

Shane O’Brien & Mike Tomkins

MWH, Australia

Robin Spittle
MWH, New Zealand

Samuel K.S. Lai & Philip W.H. Au

Water Supplies Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

ABSTRACT: The Water Supplies Department (WSD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China has progressively implemented small-scale
pilot pressure management (PM) and continuous monitoring (CM) schemes in various parts of the
HKSAR to control and to reduce water mains leakage since 1997. The successful implementation
of these pilot schemes indicates that the PM and CM approach is an efficient means to control
and to reduce water mains leakage and network modeling is a powerful water distribution system
performance assessment tool useful for facilitating detailed design of PM and CM schemes. This
paper presents the techniques and technologies adopted in the design of the PM and CM pilot
schemes and the feasibility of setting up a pilot Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
scheme for remote monitoring and control of the fresh water distribution systems in the pilot area,
namely the North Point and Shau Kei Wan fresh water supply zone.

1 INTRODUCTION

Over the years, the WSD has been following an active leakage control policy by which water mains
leakage is routinely and systematically identified and located for speedy repair. With a view to
combating the water leakage problem in the HKSAR, a study on “Effective Leakage Reduction
and Control for the Supply and Distribution Systems Operated by the Water Supplies Department”
was completed in 1997. The study recommended three approaches to control and to reduce water
mains leakage. They were the rehabilitation/replacement of aged water mains particularly the
galvanized iron pipes, the CM of water pressure and flow in small water supply areas for showing
up early signs of water mains leakage for focused detection and remedial action and the leakage
reduction by PM.
Due to the fact that PM and CM schemes are relatively easy to implement when compared
with pipe rehabilitation/replacement and are found to be cost-effective, the WSD has progressively
implemented small-scale PM and CM schemes in various parts of the HKSAR to control and to
reduce water mains leakage since 1997. As at July 2004, a total of 20 small-scale PM and CM

1 MWH Hong Kong Ltd., 1911 Windsor House, 311 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Email address:
janice.lai@mwhglobal.com

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schemes have been set up successfully. To formulate the future leakage management program for the
HKSAR, the potential for larger PM and CM schemes was reviewed and the North Point and Shau
Kei Wan fresh water supply zone was chosen as a pilot area for study. Calibrated network models
on the fresh water distribution systems in the pilot area was constructed to facilitate identification
and detailed design of the PM and CM schemes. Based on the PM and CM schemes identified, the
feasibility of setting up a pilot Distribution SCADA system for remote monitoring and control of
the fresh water distribution systems in the pilot area was also investigated.

2 WATER LEAKAGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

2.1 Overview
For the reason that the terrain and topography in the HKSAR vary considerably, the operating water
pressure in the fresh water distribution systems in some areas is usually higher than that required for
meeting the customers’ needs. It may vary from 45 m to 60 m above the minimum requirement of
15 m to 30 m. This excessive operating water pressure coupled with the age of the water mains have
resulted in a relatively high rate of water mains leakage. The long-term solution to combat the water
mains leakage problem is to rehabilitate/replace the aged water mains. However, in the short-term
active leakage control, PM and CM also play an important role in controlling and reducing water
mains leakage.

2.2 Potential for implementation of PM and CM schemes in the HKSAR

A preliminary review on the potential of implementing of PM and CM schemes in the HKSAR
was undertaken for assessing the scope of PM and CM schemes for further study. The results
indicated that the main burst frequency among the major water supply zones had an average of
0.16 bursts/km of water mains/annum while the Minimum Night Flow (MNF) ranged from 5 to
35 litres/property/hour with an average of 14 litres/property/hour. It was found that many supply
zones with relatively high main burst frequency and MNF had significant lengths of water mains
under unnecessarily high operating water pressure. Based on this finding, it was considered that
there was considerable scope for reducing water mains leakage through wider implementation of
PM and CM schemes in the HKSAR.

3 DESIGN OF PM AND CM SCHEMES FOR THE PILOT AREA USING NETWORK

MODELS

3.1 Network modeling of the fresh water distribution systems in the pilot area
To allow successful implementation of the proposed PM and CM schemes in the pilot area, it was
considered important to ensure that the performance of the fresh water distribution systems and
the water supply service to the customers would not be jeopardized by the reduction of operating
water pressure. To achieve this objective, network models on the fresh water distribution sys-
tems in the pilot area were constructed and calibrated for simulating as accurately as possible the
actual characteristics of the systems using H2 ONET, a water modeling software developed by the
MWH Soft.
In constructing the network models, a very important task was to accurately allocate the water
consumption data derived from the water billing records to the nodes of the models. With more than
100,000 water accounts in the pilot area that were not geo-referenced, a special computer program
was developed to expedite the water consumption allocation process. It involved the linking of the
addresses of the water billing accounts with the database of the Land Information Centre and the
automatic assigning of the water consumption data to the nodes of the models.

1334
 Another very important task was to collect sufficient and accurate flow and pressure field data
for model calibration. The purpose was to ensure that the calibrated models would be a true
representation of the fresh water distribution systems in the pilot area and could be used to simulate
as accurate as possible the actual characteristics of the systems. The challenge encountered in the
calibration process was the sudden and frequent drops in water pressure recorded during field
monitoring. It was believed that the pressure spikes were caused by the operation modes of the
ground level sump tanks and roof storage tanks of high-rise buildings. Given such unpredictable
circumstances, it was not possible for the models to simulate accurately those sudden and abrupt
changes. The pressure spikes had also limited the extent by which the water pressure in the fresh
water distribution systems could be reduced. In spite of the above, generally speaking the calibrated
network models were capable of simulating the hydraulic performance of the fresh water distribution
systems in the pilot area with reasonable accuracy.

3.2 Design of District Metering Areas for continuous monitoring

Before undertaking any assessment on the suitability of implementing PM and CM, the pilot
area was first reconfigured into smaller and more manageable areas called District Metering Areas
(DMAs). The actual flow (not the modeled flow) into and out of the DMAs and the actual operating
water pressure at the strategic locations would need to be recorded continuously before and after
the implementation of any PM and CM scheme. The data acquired could be used to confirm the
PM and CM design and cost-effectiveness, to record the MNF to be used for focused water mains
leakage detection and remedial action, to identify target areas for future water leakage reduction
initiatives and to establish water mains leakage at a local level.
By means of the calibrated network models constructed for the pilot area, the characteristics
of the fresh water distribution systems during peak and low consumption periods were assessed
to identify areas for the setting up of DMAs and to highlight the critical water pressure locations
and potential areas for PM implementation. It was considered important to derive the low and high
critical water pressure points in the systems and to use them to determine the extent of PM areas
and DMAs by network analysis.
The main challenge in the design of the PM and CM schemes was the large drop in elevation from
the service reservoir to the extremities of the water distribution system, resulting in unnecessarily
excessive operating water pressures throughout the supply zone. An example was the North Point
low level fresh water supply zone. In this zone, 13 DMAs were proposed to be set up for CM. To
ensure that the operating water pressure at the critical water pressure locations would comply with
the minimum design requirement of 40 m, an optimal number of monitoring points was proposed
near the boundaries of the DMAs for monitoring the pressure and flow to the DMAs. The minimum
design requirement of 40 m was assumed for the purpose of the study and would be reviewed when
the DMAs were implemented. The monitoring points were designed to be located away from the
main roads as far as practicable to minimize traffic impact during construction.

3.3 Design of PM areas for reducing operating water pressure

After the DMAs were determined, an assessment on the suitability of implementing PM in each
DMA from the hydraulic and the cost-effectiveness perspectives was conducted. The calibrated
network models were used to determine the drop in operating water pressure that could be sustained
in the fresh water distribution systems in the pilot area. The Burst and Background Estimates
concept was used to estimate the pressure-dependant component of water losses and consumption.
The Fixed and Variable Area Discharge concept was used to estimate the water leakage reduction.
The assessment indicated that 6 DMAs were worthwhile for PM implementation. Table 1 indicates
the estimated operating water pressure in the North Point low level fresh water supply zone before
and after the implementation of PM by network analysis.
Two different types of pressure reducing valves (PRVs), namely fixed head PRV and flow-
modulated PRV, were considered for installation in the PM areas. The fixed head PRV was not

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 Table 1. Estimated operating water pressure in the North Point low level fresh water supply zone.

Before pressure management After pressure management

Pressure at Types of pressure Pressure at

PM Average zonal critical pressure reducing Average zonal critical pressure
area pressure (m) location (m) valve used pressure (m) location (m)

1 58.2 47.5 Flow modulated 52.4 40.0

2 60.8 46.1 Flow modulated 57.5 40.0
3 59.2 58.1 Flow modulated 45.5 40.0
4 56.0 58.0 Flow modulated 44.1 40.0
5 63.3 55.2 Flow modulated 48.6 40.0
6 71.1 62.6 Flow modulated 48.1 40.0

recommended because there would be large variations in the operating water pressure across the
DMAs, particularly at the inlet and at the critical water pressure locations during peak flow and the
use of this type of PRV would severely limit the pressure reduction potential of the PM areas. Flow-
modulated PRV, on the other hand, was recommended because it could automatically modulate the
pressure to cope with the large variations in operating water pressure throughout the PMA and
optimize pressure reduction.

4 DISTRIBUTION SCADA SCHEME FOR REMOTE MONITORING AND CONTROL OF

THE FRESH WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

4.1 Objectives
In view of the large number of monitoring equipment that need to be installed in the fresh water
distribution systems and the huge amount of data that need to be collected, stored, analyzed and pro-
cessed for reporting under the water leakage management initiatives, a feasibility study on the estab-
lishment of a Distribution SCADA scheme for remote monitoring and control of the PM and CM
schemes in the pilot area was conducted. The objectives of the Distribution SCADA scheme were:
– to provide a tool for continuous monitoring of the fresh water supply service provided to the
WSD’s customers;
– to deliver a cost-effective and efficient water leakage reduction program through the management
of the operating water pressure of the fresh water distribution systems;
– to provide information on the performance of the fresh water distribution systems (particularly
the minimum night flow), to facilitate long-term asset management as well as to facilitate
prioritization of the leakage reduction and water mains rehabilitation/replacement programs; and
– to provide information for water leakage performance reporting and for international bench-
marking.
Achievement of these objectives would require efficient collection of performance data, effective
processing of data and timely control of the water distribution system components through a reliable
communications network. To this end, the feasibility of setting up a pilot Distribution SCADA
system in the pilot area was conducted with a view to reviewing the performance and cost-benefit
of the proposed Distribution SCADA system before deciding the way forward for the other areas
in the HKSAR.

4.2 Existing WSD’s SCADA system

The existing WSD’s SCADA system, developed some 15 years ago, solely covers the treatment
works and the raw water, fresh water and sea water pumping stations and service reservoirs all over

1336
the HKSAR. It consists of approximately 90 PCs, 310 Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) and has about
24,000 Input/Output. Communication between the RTUs and the Master Terminal Units (MTUs)
is via leased telephone circuits. Two main types of RTUs have been used along with three Human
Machine Interface (HMI) programmes. The SCADA system is very similar to that used by water
utilities throughout the world. It is well maintained, well documented and in good working condition.
However, a review indicated that there were some areas where improvements could be made. The
identified issues included different SCADA softwares, inadequate long-term trending/data storage
capacity, low communication link flexibility and speed, difficulty in undertaking what-if modeling,
unable to integrate video with data transmission and lack of other advanced management support
features.

4.3 Options for distribution SCADA system

Three main options for the Distribution SCADA system were investigated. They were:
– Extend from the existing WSD’s SCADA system.
– Use a proprietary pressure management/data logging/alarming system.
– Develop a new standalone Distribution SCADA system using conventional SCADA equipment.
Cost analysis indicated that the estimated capital cost of the above three options was similar.
Though there were three communication options (i.e. leased direct circuit, general packet radio
service and public switched telephone network) available in the market, they could be used together
with any one of the Distribution SCADA options under consideration. Therefore, it was considered
that the choice of the preferred option would depend mainly on the advantages and disadvantages
of the options.
It was considered that the first option of extending the existing WSD’s SCADA system to
include the Distribution SCADA requirements would only result in slightly lower capital cost than
installing a standalone Distribution SCADA system using the same communication links for the
RTUs. Integration would reduce the expenditure on control centres, PCs and SCADA software.
However, at the same time it would increase the loading on the existing SCADA systems and could
not address any of the known issues associated with the existing SCADA system. Therefore, it was
likely that an attempt to integrate the distribution requirements into the existing SCADA would
result in a slow and cumbersome SCADA, which was frustrating to use.
The second option of using a proprietary pressure management/data logging /alarming system
was easier to install, but would be more costly, in terms of the initial financial outlays and the routine
operation and maintenance expenditure, than a new Distribution SCADA system. In addition, it
offered less functionality and would be more difficult to implement new features when required.
For a small-scale PM and CM scheme, it was considered that a proprietary system would likely
offer an easier and lower-cost alternative. However, if the PM and CM schemes were to be extended
all over the HKSAR, then there were few reasons to use such a system.
The third option of developing a new standalone Distribution SCADA system using conven-
tional SCADA equipment and using an open architecture was proposed. Once fully proven and
operational, considerations could then be given to migrate the existing WSD’s SCADA system over
to the new system. One long-term option was to establish a new Distribution SCADA system for
the management and control of the PM and CM schemes and then extend it to the remaining part of
the fresh water distribution systems before migrating the existing WSD’s SCADA system over to the
new system. This would give a good opportunity to address the known issues associated with the
existing WSD’s SCADA system and to develop a new system designed for the future. Upgrading
the software would be lower in cost than simple purchase, thereby reducing the overall cost of the
system to be developed. It was likely that the cost of this option would be less than the combined
cost of developing a standalone Distribution SCADA system and to deal with the current issues
of the existing WSD’s SCADA system separately. This assumed that the combined SCADA would
retain as much of the current system’s RTUs, communication links and the general architecture as
practicable. A further advantage of this option was that it allowed the new Distribution SCADA

1337
system to be implemented progressively and proven before committing the existing WSD’s SCADA
system to it. This would cause minimum disruption to the SCADA system and the data it generated.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Effective management of water mains leakage is crucial to the improvement in the efficiency
of water supply. Traditionally, this has been done by regular leakage detection surveys. With the
development of advanced technologies and information systems, the PM and CM approach has now
become a cost-effective approach for leakage management. Network modeling is also a powerful
tool for facilitating detailed design of the PM and CM schemes.
A broad assessment of the fresh water distribution systems in the HKSAR indicated that there was
considerable scope to implement cost-effective PM and CM schemes in the HKSAR for reducing
water mains leakage and pipe bursts through reduction in the excessive operating water pressure. The
pilot PM and CM schemes to be implemented in the pilot area would provide valuable information
for reviewing the performance and cost-benefit of the larger PM and CM schemes before deciding
the way forward for the long-term PM and CM program for the HKSAR.
Efficient collection and analysis of the water distribution system performance data was con-
sidered critical to the success of large-scale implementation of PM and CM schemes. As such, a
pilot Distribution SCADA system was proposed to be set up in the pilot area for reviewing the
performance and cost-benefit of the system before deciding the way forward for the other areas in
the HKSAR.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors wish to thank the Director of Water Supplies of the Government of the HKSAR for
permission to publish this paper. It must be noted that the views expressed are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect in any way the official views or policy of the Government of the
HKSAR.

1338
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Available water model based on sustainable use of water

resources in Beijing

Zhang Xin & Liu Zhuangtian

College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

Yang Zhongshan & Xu Xiaowei

Beijing Hydrologic Center, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: A dynamic integrated model is developed to forecast available water in a phase

of surface and ground water exploitation and utilization completed in water shortage region. A
sustainable-development concept of water resources is quantified by a sustainable rule in the model.
Available water is based on water balance equation, in which variables are considered well both
natural and artificial factors and used Principal ComponentsAnalysis (PCA) and regression. Results
show that application of the model to Beijing can forecast water supply accurately in hydrologic
frequencies at a certain time period compared with other methods.

1 INTRODUCTION

Available water or water supply in a given region is generally forecast for future as though it were a
stable amount or an array according to different hydrologic frequencies in a time period, especially
in evaluation and forecast of water resources carrying capacity. Actually, it is a random variable in
a certain range, varying not only with natural factors, such as precipitation, runoff, evaporation and
so on, but also artificial factors of water demand, water allocation, reuse ratio of sewage disposal
and the level of water development, especially in the year before the planning year. It is essential
to develop a dynamic water-availability model in order to forecast water supply accurately based
on sustainable utilization of water resources.

2 CHARACTERISTICS OF AVAILABLE WATER

2.1 Definition of available water

Water resources in a given region are a relatively stable amount; however, available water is a
dynamic variable that is powerfully influenced by natural and artificial factors. The latter is sus-
tainable water supply based on water resources development coordinating with social economy and
technology at present and in foreseeable future, and also based on water resources firstly meet min-
imum water demand of environment. Available water is regional, dynamic, random, increasable,
sustainable, foreseeable and relatively limited.

2.2 Three phases of available water development

The development and utilization of water resources in Beijing, like other water shortage cities,
underwent roughly the following three phases (Zhang 2001):
Phase I: WD < WI
where WD = water demand; WI = available water when surface water development was
completed.

1339
 In initial stage of water resources development in Beijing in the early of 1950s, water demand
is much less than available water (WD WI ), because of economic underdevelopment. Water
resources were relatively abundant and surface water was mainly developed (Qu & Fan 2000).
Water supply depended on water demand. Social and economic development was not constrained
by water resources.
Phase II: WI ≤ WD < WII
where WII = available water when both surface and ground water development was completed.
Water demand increased with social and economic development. Water works, especially dis-
tribution projects, such as canals, tunnels and pipelines, relatively lagged. Water demand just
depended on water supply. However, water resources in that phase were still relatively abundant.
Surface and ground water was exploited at same time (Zhang 2001).
Phase III: WD ≥ WII
At the beginning of the phase, water supply and demand was just balance, mostly depended
on water-saving and efficient water use. Water resources, however, are still sustainable if water is
exploited in order, i.e. the speed of socioeconomic development, industrial scale and population
controlled by available water. It is unsustainable if water exploitation is larger than available water.
In this case, the water consumption or water supply is not available water according to the definition
in the paper. The model can control and solve the situation.

3 MODEL DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Basic equation

A principal equation is formulated based on a water balance equation and restrained by a sustainable
utilization rule. It is a recursion formula with time period. At any time period (t), water availability
can be expressed as follows.

where WS = surface water; WG = groundwater; WO = overlap of surface and ground water;

WT = interbasin water transferred artificially from other basin; WR = water reuse after disposal
of industrial and domestic sewage; WE = water for environment consumption; ±w = allowing
over groundwater exploitation (+) and obligatory groundwater recharge (−); and superscript t is
calculation time period (year).

3.2 Function of variables

All variables, except WT , in the equation above are functions that vary with two or more than
two factors, taking into account natural and artificial factors. Most variable functions are formu-
lated using Principal Components Analysis (PCA). PCA, incidentally, is statistical technique that
is used for transforming a function from high dimension into low dimension based on original
multidimensional array.
(1) Surface water
Surface water WS (UP ) is a function of annual precipitation. A regression function is

where UP = annual precipitation; f = precipitation frequency.

1340
(2) Groundwater

is a function whose value determines the value of the following variables. Where T t = water
table and P t = annual precipitation in the calculation year (t); UG,I
t−1
= groundwater consumption
by industry, UG,D = groundwater consumption by agriculture, UG,A
t−1 t−1
= groundwater consump-
tion by domestic use in the last time period (t − 1); X1G = integrated factor of groundwater (1st
PC) obtained by Principal Components Analysis method.
Groundwater consumption the year before the planning year influences powerfully ground-
water supply in the planning year or calculation year.
(3) Overlap of surface and ground water

where UG = total groundwater.

(4) Interbasin water transferred artificially from other basin
WT = 0.3; 0.4; 0.4; 1.4 billion m3 respectively in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (Beijing
Government & Ministry of Water Resources 2001).
(5) Water reuse after disposal of industrial and domestic sewage

where ks = sewage ratio; ks = 0.025 n – 49.276; n = No. of the calculation year; kS = sewage
disposal ratio, and kS = 0.352 n/ (2015 – n), for Beijing , ks = 90% (n > 2007)
(6) Water for environment consumption

(7) Sustainable utilization rule

In the model, water supply meets environment demand before artificial use. When water
supply is less than total water demand, it meets domestic demand first; the rest is reallocated
for industrial and agricultural use in proportion in the calculation year, and then computes
again until balance by repeated loop. There is large difference of precipitation between high
and low flow year, therefore over exploitation is allowed in hydrologic frequencies of less than
50%, and recharge symmetrically in frequencies of larger than 50%.

4 APPLICATION

4.1 Case study area

Beijing is among the biggest cities with serious water shortage, the amount of water resources
per capita is less than 300 m3 , 1/8 as much as per capita in China, and 1/30 in the world. Water
resources have become an important factor that restricts Beijing’s economic development (Zhang
2001).
To forecast available water in the planning year of 2010, it is important to choose a suitable pre-
cipitation of a series representation year as the design one, modeling the precipitation from present

1341
Figure 1. Amount of available water in frequencies in 2010.

Table 1. Comparison of available water between the model and the report in 2010. (billion m3 )

Frequencies 50% 75% 95% Notes

Model application I 3.75 3.42 2.88 Exclusive of sewage water reuse

Model application II 4.00 3.67 3.13 including sewage water reuse of 0.25
Report∗ 4.09 3.75 3.40
∗ From the report of Beijing Government & Ministry of Water Resources, 2001.

to 2009, before a planning year. The precipitation from 1982 to 1988 has a good representation for
that of 2003∼2009, of which average precipitation is 560.2 mm, closes to average of the last 30-year
precipitation (558.8 mm) and less than average of perennial one (584.7 mm). Also, it is essential to
take into account water supply and demand and planning data updated, allowing for optimal water
allocations, sewage disposal and reuse ratio, water for environment and interbasin-water supply
based on the early of 21st century planning of Beijing.

4.2 Comparison of results

The solution can be obtained by means of the computer model is show in Figure 1.
The results show that the amount of over exploitation and recharge is limited by the model; and
available water varies considerably with hydrologic frequency. The model is desirable and practical,
compared with the report on ‘sustainable utilization planning of Water Resources in Beijing in the
early of the 21st century’ (Beijing Government & Ministry of Water Resources 2001). The detail
is shown in Table 1.

1342
5 CONCLUSIONS

The following conclusions are drawn from the model results:

1) The model fully considers the available water influenced by both natural and artificial factors.
2) The principle of the model is basic and clear, and each variable including intermediate variable
in the balance equation has definite physical meaning.
3) The data for forecast is available, although the program developed is complicated. The model
can determine available water or water supply in any time period.
4) The model makes the concept of water sustainability quantified. Water supply and demand
balance at any time period (any year) is based on sustainable rule.
5) There is limitation to the model that the variable functions are established based on historic data
in Phase III, i.e. water supply is close to the maximum or even larger than available water. We
hope future expansion study of the model will improve it.

REFERENCES

Beijing Government & Ministry of Water Resources. 2001. Sustainable utilization planning of water resources
in Beijing in the early of the 21st century. Beijing: Beijing water resources bureau.
Liu, Zeyi. 2001. Scientific calculation technique and Matlab, Beijing: Science Press.
Qu, Xiaoguang & Fan Shengyue. 2000. Water resources capacity and developing strategies in Heihe river
basin, Journal of Desert Research, 20(1): 1–8.
Wang, Jianhua, Jiang Dong, Gu Dingfa, et al. 1999. Study on Forecast of Water Resources Carrying Capacity
Based on SD Model in Dry Region and City, Geography and Territorial Research, 15(2): 18–22.
Zhang, Xin. 2001. Beijing’s Development Restricted by Water Resources, XXIX IAHR Congress Proceedings;
Beijing, 16–21 September 2001. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Multiobjective optimization for water supply system management

L.J. Cui
School of Engineering, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

ABSTRACT: Many engineering optimization problems have multiple objectives in nature. They
require the simultaneous optimization of multiple, often competing objectives. It is possible to
use a single-criterion formulation by imposing constraints on the other criteria, or by incorporat-
ing multiple criteria into a single objective function using weighting factors. However, a priori a
compromise between the criteria considered has to be defined in this case. The most recent devel-
opment in the field of optimization has yielded a rigorous technique for multiobjective problems.
This paper presents a genetic-algorithm-based approach for solving multiple objective optimization
water resources problems. The concept of Pareto optimal set, crowding tournament, and elitism
are incorporated in the MGA formulation. The application of the MGA is then demonstrated using
Sydney water supply headwork system as a case study.

1 INTRODUCTION

Many large scale water resources problems usually have multiple objectives in nature, which require
the simultaneous consideration of several competing and sometimes non-commensurable criteria
(or objectives), such as trade-offs between economic, environmental and social objectives. Tradi-
tionally, only one primary objective was considered by imposing constraints on the other objectives,
or by incorporating multiple objectives into a single objective function using weighting factors.
However, it is necessary in this case to define a priori a compromise between the criteria con-
sidered. Water resources systems create special problems which make the application of classical
optimization methodologies quite difficult. This difficulty arises mainly due to the following rea-
sons: (1) usually there are a large number of non-commensurable or conflicting objectives to be
optimised; (2) there is virtually a very large element of uncertainty and risk in all water resources
decisions due to hydrologic uncertainty and inability to predict the future with reasonable accuracy
(Haimes et al 1975).
Buras (2001) pointed out that one of the unresolved issues in water resources is the inclusion of
multiobjective optimization (MO) in the formulation and resolution of problems arising when devel-
oping large-scale water resources systems. When all objectives are considered, the different criteria
have to be evaluated separately and each decision needs to be assessed according to these problem
criteria. However, perhaps one of the major reasons for the relative scarcity of MO formulation
and considerations in the literature, not necessarily limited to water resources systems, is that until
recently, almost all the optimization techniques developed involved only a single objective function.
Although single objective decision models are efficient for some decision making process, there are
many situations where decisions are more complex and have multiple objectives. For a multiobjec-
tive problem, there is usually no single solution for which all objectives are optimal. There exists a
set of alterative solutions for which holds that there are no other solutions that are superior when all
objectives are simultaneously considered. These solutions are known as the Pareto optimal solution
set. Hence, optimizing a multiple problem is comprised of finding Pareto optimal solutions.
Over the course of the last decades, genetic algorithms (GAs) have proved their usefulness in
various domains of application. GAs are well suited to searching intractably large, poorly under-
stood problem spaces. Since a GA is a multi-start, parallel search algorithm and deals with a pool of
solutions at a time, it can be readily adapted to solve multi-objective problems. When dealing with

1345
a multiobjective problem, the general procedure of a single-objective GA operations and offspring
generation remains unchanged, whereas certain modifications are required for GA to find solutions
on the trade-off surface of the multiple objectives. The first implementation of a multiobjective
optimization algorithm dates back to the mid-1980s (Schaffer 1985). Since then, research interests
in this field have been remained strong. However, very few studies have been reported to apply
multiobjective GA to real-world engineering problems, e.g. water resources problems.
The present study is aimed to introduce a genetic-algorithm-based approach for MO optimization.
It first describes the Sydney water supply system and its associated optimization problem. The
principles of the multi-objective genetic algorithm (MGA) are then discussed. It is followed by
a case study demonstrating the application of the MGA to Sydney system. This work restricts to
a two-objective problem because it brings out the essential features of MO problem. Finally, the
results and discussions are presented and conclusions are drawn.

2 PROBLEM DESCRIPTION

2.1 Description of the headworks system

The case study considers the Sydney water supply headworks system which presently serves a
population of over four million people. Average annual consumption in 2000 is assumed to be
about 571000 ML and is expected to grow to about 725000 ML by 2040. A schematic of the
Sydney water headworks system is presented in Figure 1 – the dashed arcs represent streams while
the solid arcs represent conduits. Cross-hatched nodes represent reservoirs while nodes labeled
with “D” represent demand.
The headworks system serves two principal demand zones: Sydney and Illawarra. It is assumed
that 90% of the population resides in the Sydney zone with the remaining 10% residing in the
Illawarra zone. Each of these zones has three demand categories: indoor domestic, outdoor domestic
and commercial. The water supply is drawn from four catchments: Upper Nepean, Warragamba,
Shoalhaven and Woronora. Warragamba reservoir accounts for approximately 80% of the total
system storage and receives 74% of the average annual. It delivers water to the Sydney by gravity
to Prospect reservoir – the major distribution reservoir in the system.
Fours reservoirs regulate the Upper Nepean catchment – Cataract, Cordeaux, Avon and Nepean.
The latter three can release water to the Sydney zone through natural river channels to a diversion
weir at Pheasants Nest from where it is diverted by tunnel to Broughtons Pass weir and hence
to Prospect reservoir. Water from Avon reservoir is mainly used to supply the Illawarra zone.

P aci f i c O cean
B u r r i er War r agamba
W . Re e f Pumping Stn inf low
Inflow
L. Ya r r u n g a P enr ith
Du m m y Weir War r agamba
Res
La k e Ya r r u n g a
Re s
W' b ee
R el ease S ydney
Commer cial
Wor onor a
Fi t z r o y Fa l l s Fi t z r o y F al l s Res
In f l o w Re s . P r os pect
Br oughton P as s
P h easan t s N est Weir
Wi n g ecar r i b ee Wei r
R es Wor onor a S ydney
I nf low s O utdoor

C o r deaux
Wingecarribee Catar act Catar act
Res
inflow Res I nf low s
Avon S ydney
N ep ean
R es I ndoor
R es
I l l aw ar r a
Ne p e a n Ju n ct i o n Cor deaux
I n f l o ws Avon Inflows I nf low s

I l l a w ar r a
Indoor I l l aw ar r a I l l aw ar r a D es al D es alination
Outdoor C o m m er ci al junction plant

Figure 1. WATHNET schematic of Sydney headworks system (from Kuczera 1997).

1346
At Lake Yarrunga on the Shoalhaven River, water is lifted 612 m to Fitzroy Falls reservoir using
two pumping stations. From Fitzroy Falls reservoir water is transferred to Wingecarribee reservoir
by canals and a pumping station, where it is stored and distributed either to Nepean or Warragamba
reservoirs. Operation of a water supply system in such conditions represents an ongoing challenge
to the Sydney water authority to provide a reliable water supply at minimum cost.

2.2 Problem formulation and solution technique

The objective of the optimization problem is to minimize the expected operating costs to meet
demand corresponding to a projected population scenario, including the cost of pumping from the
Shoalhaven system and the cost of imposing restrictions on outdoor water use. This problem has
been solved using the single GA model developed by Cui and Kuczera (2003), where all the costs
were lumped into a single objective function, and the ‘best’ solution was identified corresponding
to the minimum cost of the objective function. In the context of MO analysis, the following two
objectives are established in order to do trade-off analysis between them.

where objF is the expected annual operating cost. The subscript t represents the simulation year,
simyrs is the maximum simulation years, namely 50 years; i is the replicate number; rep is the
maximum number of replicates for Monte Carlo simulation. CR is the cost of imposing restrictions
on outdoor water use. The cost is incurred only if Warragamba storage falls below the restriction
trigger level. CF is the cost of pumping from the Shoalhaven. The WATHNET (Kuczera 1997)
simulation model is used to perform Monte Carlo analysis to evaluate the objective function for a
given set of decision variables proposed by the MGA.

3 MULTIOBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION APPROACH USING GENETIC ALGORITHMS

In general, MO genetic algorithm optimization approaches provides a representative set of solutions

and considers that there is no single solution that is optimum with respect to all objectives. This set
of solutions is identified using the Pareto dominance concept (Goldberg 1989) – a given solution
xi dominates another one xk if and only if:
1. Solution xi is not worse than solution xk in any of the objectives;
2. Solution xi is strictly better than solution xk in at least one of the objectives.
The solutions that are not dominated by any other are called Pareto-optimal or nondominated
solutions. The ultimate goal of MO analysis using a genetic algorithm is therefore to identify
the solutions with good spread with respect to all objectives that approximate the true Pareto-optimal
solutions.
There are many different types of multiobjective genetic algorithms. Readers are referred to
Coello (1999) for more detailed review. It is until lately that water resource optimization has started
to benefit from the use of GA-based multiobective analysis. Cieniawski et al (1995) and Ritzel et al
(1994) were among the earlier applications of MO optimization using genetic algorithms approaches
in water resources management. Savic et al (1997) used the MOGA for pump scheduling in water
supply systems and two objectives considered are minimization of energy and maintenance costs.
More recently, Reed et al (2000) developed guidelines for competent MO genetic algorithm and
applied them to a groundwater monitoring problem. Halhal et al (1997) developed a multiobjective
GA approach for large water network rehabilitation problems. Liong et al (2004) applied NSGA-II
on a Chaliyar river basin system with two objective functions and several constraints.

1347
 The principle of the MGA is outlined below.
1. Randomly generate an initial population p, where p = m × n, and m is the population members
and n the number of decision variables ranging between 0 and 1.
2. Calculate each objective function value for each population member.
3. Apply non-dominated sorting to rank the whole population.
4. A tournament selection with dominance is used to generate the new strings for the next generation.
5. A one-point crossover is performed with predefined probability Pcr . Mutations are carried out
with given probability Pmu on a bit-by-bit basis in the strings. An inversion is then performed
based on a given probability Piv .
6. Evaluate each objective function of the each population member.
7. Apply elitism and non-dominated sorting to rank the new population and determine the Pareto
optimal solutions.
8. Steps 2 to 7 are repeated until stopping criteria are satisfied.
The procedure described above is basically similar to the one for the single GA. Nondominated
ranking method; crowding tournament and an elitism strategy are extensions to the MGA. Non-
dominated ranking was first implemented based on the original suggestion (Goldberg 1989) as
much as possible by Srinivas and Deb (1994) in the NSGA and then by Deb et al (2000) in the
NSGA-II. The ranking process is composed of an elimination rule. For each generation of the
MGA, all individuals are first considered and the set of non-dominated solutions are identified
in the current population. These individuals are eliminated temporarily from the population and
assigned rank 1. As these solutions are removed, a new so-called front of non-dominated solutions is
now present in the remainder of the original population. This second front is extracted and assigned
rank 2. This process continues until the entire population is suitably ranked.
In this study, the crowded tournament (Deb and Reddy 2003) is adopted to help achieve diversity
preservation. It begins with randomly selecting two individuals from the population. The two
selected solutions i and j are then pitted against each other in a tournament, the solution i will be
the winner if it satisfies one of the following conditions:
1. The solution i has the better rank, i.e. Ri < Rj
2. If rank i = rank j, but di > dj , while d is the Euclidian distance in a k-dimensional space.
In brief, the one with a lower rank wins the tournament and is selected for reproduction. If,
however, the two solutions have the same rank, crowding distance (Deb and Goldberg 1989) is
required to decide the winner, the one with a larger crowding distance d is chosen. This procedure
is repeated until the predefined population size is reached.
Elitism is the process of preserving previous nondominated solutions from one generation to
the next. In this study, a new elitist strategy is introduced and implemented as follows. An extra
population called Elite-Pop is created first to store the Pareto optimal solutions after each genera-
tion. At each generation, solutions ranked 1 are copied into the Elite-Pop. For each new generation,
each nondominated solution will be inserted into the Elite-Pop only if it is not the same as any
solution stored in the current Elite-Pop (duplicate check). After checking all nondominated solu-
tions from the new generation are, the solutions the Elite-Pop are ranked and dominated solutions
are removed. Therefore, only nondominated solutions are stored. In this way, all Pareto optimal
solutions appearing in the searching process are preserved.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Streamflow/climate and demand data files are required to run the WATHNET simulation model.
Using the generated climate data, three demand scenarios were created for the population expected
in the years 2000, 2020 and 2040. To demonstrate the MGA application, only 500 replicates
of streamflow and demand each 50 years long accounting for climate variability were used for
WATHNET to do Monte Carlo simulation.

1348
 As with a single GA, the MGA also requires parameters tuning, such as population size (Npop ),
probability of crossover (Pcr ), and probability of mutation (Pmu ) and inversion (Piv ). The parameter
used for this study are: Pmu = 1/Npop , Pcr = 0.9, and Piv = 0.7. The MGA terminates if the number
of generations is equal to 20.
The MGA run was performed with Npop = 80 on the two objectives described in section 2.
Figure 2 shows the tradeoff between the two costs obtained using the MGA for three different
population scenarios. Cost 1 represents the objective function value for imposing restrictions on
outdoor water use. Cost 2 is the value for pumping from the Shoalhaven system. The Pareto front
generated by the MGA depicts that two objectives functions are well distributed along the Pareto
optimal front. The total trade-off increases with the increase of the demand due to population
growth. Instead of producing a single result, the MGA can detect a set of solutions on the Pareto
front in a single run. By providing a trade-off curve between different objectives and alternative
solutions corresponding to the points on the curve, the decision-maker has the opportunity choose
his preferred solution along the Pareto front. However, how to select the best solution on the Pareto
optimal front found by the MGA is another important issue, which is beyond the scope of this paper.
Figure 3 show the results with Npop ranging from 60 to 160. It is clear that large population
size such as 160 leads to much better nondominated solutions in the final population and provide
sufficient coverage of the front. As seen in this figure, increasing the population size can greatly
improve the MGA performance, whereas small population such as 60 will not provide sufficient
information for the MGA to search the Pareto optimal results. Therefore, population size is an
important factor for improving the MGA’s ability to identify the final solutions along the Pareto
front. Overall, the MGA approach developed in this study is effective in terms of identifying the
final solutions which are close to the Pareto-optimal solutions.
1000

800 year 2040

600 year 2020

cost 2

year 2000
400

200

0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
cost 1

Figure 2. Pareto optimal solutions obtained from the MGA for different population scenarios ($/1000).

p160
cost 2 ($/1000)

p120
p100
p80
p60

0 2000 4000 6000 8000

cost 1($/1000)

Figure 3. Pareto front generated for different population sizes ($/1000).

1349
5 CONCLUSIONS

In this study, a genetic-algorithm-based approach for multi-objective optimization is developed.

The population-based search characteristics and multiple-solution handling ability of GAs are well
suited for multi-objective optimization analysis. The MGA algorithm is basically similar to the one
for the single GA. Nondominated ranking method, crowding tournament and an elitism strategy
are extensions to the MGA developed in this study. The approach was evaluated using Sydney
water supply system. It was shown that the MGA is able to identify a set of Pareto solutions in a
single run and to produce a well-spread set of optimal solutions on the Pareto front. The knowledge
of such a diverse set of Pareto solutions will not only enable a decision-maker make a better and
more confident choice of a solution, but will also allow the decision-maker to examine important
insights about the problem, which may not be possible to obtain by any other methods. It was also
concluded that the MGA performs more satisfactorily using a large number of population size.
To better visualize the results, this work was restricted to a case study with only two objectives.
Further work will involve application of the MGA to optimization water resources problems with
more objectives.

REFERENCES

Buras, N., 2001. Water resources – unresolved issues, J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 127(6), 353.
Cieniawski, S. E., Eheart, J. W. & Ranjithan, S., 1995. Using genetic algorithms to solve a multiobjective
groundwater monitoring problem. Water Resources Research, 31(2), 399–409.
Coello, C. A., 1999. An updated survey of evolutionary multiobjective optimization techniques: state of the
art and future trends, In 1999 Congress on Evolutionary Computation, IEEE Service Center, Washington,
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replicate compression, J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 129(5), 380–387.
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for multi-objective optimization: NSGA-II, KanGAL report 200001, Indian Institute of Technology, India.
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messy genetic algorithm, J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., Vol. 123, No. 3, pp. 137–146.
Kuczera, G., 1997. WATHNET-generalized water supply headworks simulation using network linear
programming, Version 3, School of Engineering, University of Newcastle.
Liong S. Y., Tariq, A. & Lee, K. S., 2004. Application of evolutionary algorithm in reservoir operations. J. of
the Institute of Engineers, Singapore. 44 (1), 39–54.
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Savic, D. A., Walters, G. A. & Schwab, M., 1997. Multiobjective genetic algorithms for pump scheduling in
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Evolutionary Computation, 2(3), 221–248.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A multi-objective dynamic model for water resources

management

J.Z. Qian, J.Q. Wang & R.Z. Li

School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China

W.P. Wang
Shandong Water Conservancy Research Institute, Jinan, Shandong, China

ABSTRACT: A unique and important application of a comprehensive and practical multi-

objective dynamic model for water resources management is presented which goes far beyond
traditional frameworks. The model is established under the conditions of multiple water sources,
multiple water works and multiple users. The method for adjusting plan index is presented by fore-
casting the water supplied and demanded in a rolling monthly twin-screw and optimizing regulation
water resources in time. The sub-models of allocating water resource among enterprises are put
forward according to the water saving level and importance for using water of the enterprise. And
the sub-models of evaluation are put forward according to reduction of gross industrial production
value and the yield of main irrigated grain during the months being short of water. The model is
applied in Gaomi city, Shandong province, China. The results show that the model and method are
feasible and practicable.

1 INTRODUCTION

At present, ineffective and inefficient management for water resources are the main problems in
China (Zeng, et al, 2001; Gao, 1999). Traditional approaches for water resources management
are mainly centered on the data statistic and report forms. For example, water resource annals
system, used water data and charts system. In recent years, many workers have studied how to
optimize planning index of using water and water resource systems, including water quantity,
supply project, water transport and project allotted, sub-areas and department of water function,
irrigation, etc (Liu, et al, 1998; Gan, 1995). However, it is still a key problem need to be solved
such as how to redistribute water resource, how to adjust water quantity among users, how to make
different supply schemes for sustainable use of water resources in the areas that are short of water,
especially in years with low precipitation. Therefore, a multi-objective dynamic model for water
resources management is presented in this paper.

2 A MUTI-OBJECTIVE DYNAMIC MANAGEMENT MODEL

The modeling framework of the management procedure relates to four aspects to be discussed in
detail below.

2.1 Forming an objective function of water resources management

For those regions being short of water resources, the minimal loss of water quantity is chosen as
the objective function. The objective function is expressed:

1351
where RVt is the reservoir sluice quantity at the time t; RVt+1 is the reservoir sluice quantity at the
time t + 1; GVt is the groundwater reservoir sluice quantity at the time t; GVt+1 is the groundwater
reservoir sluice quantity at the time t + 1; ZWmi is the shortage of water in industries; ZWma is
the shortage of water in agriculture; ZWdn is the water quantity outflow; λi (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) is the
weight.

2.2 Main restrictive conditions

2.2.1 Quantity balance equation of reservoir water

where RV1 is the reservoir sluice quantity at the end of the last period; RV0 is the reservoir sluice
quantity at the beginning of next period; Wr is the water from reservoir naturally; Wup is the water
from upward position; Wl is the water supplied to residents; Wi is the water supplied to industry;
Wq is the water losted; We is the water evaporation from reservoir.

2.2.2 Water quantity balance equation of river-net node

where Wn is the flux of nodes; NWup is the water from upward position; NWd0 is the water supplied
to backward position.

2.2.3 Water quantity balance equation of area where water was consumed greatly

where ZWS is the local surface water resource; NWup is the water from upward position; DGz is the
groundwater quantity exploited; ZWmi is the shortage of water for industries; ZWma is the shortage
of water for agriculture; Wdl is the demand for living; Wd is the demand for industries; Wd is the
demand for agriculture; ZWdn is the water quantity outflow.

2.2.4 Water quantity balance equation of groundwater

where GV 1 is the groundwater reservoir sluice quantity at the end of last period. GV 0 is the
Groundwater reservoir sluice quantity at the beginning of next period. Gr is the Water quantity
seeped from irrigation. Gp is the Water quantity seeped from rainfall. Gf is the Water quantity
seeped and supplied from river. Gi is the Water seeped along sides. Gd is the Groundwater exploited.
Ge is the Vaporize quantity from diving. Go is the Groundwater outflow along sides.
The above variables can be calculated in followings:

where P is the precipitation; α is the osmotic coefficent of rainfall; F is the study area.

where β is the osmotic coefficent of irrigation; I is the irrigated water quantity

where η is the lateral osmotic coefficent along river; L is the length of river.

1352
where γ is the revised osmotic cofficent; φ is the validity cofficent of water used; S is the flux of
trench.
Other parameters: Generally, when the depth of groundwater is more than 4 m, evaporation of
groundwater can be neglected. Or the evaporation is a function of the depth of groundwater.

2.3 Submodel (1)

In the year of low precipitation, especially in the very low year and the continual low rainfall year,
the limited water resources had to be redistributed among all industries and corporations in the city
being short of water. At present, traditional method for distribution is adopted by reducing the same
degree to every user. This measure is simple and easy to apply, but it is not scientific. When water
shortage is serious, firstly water should be supplied to the pivotal industries, secondly according
to water saving level, water is redistributed (Wang, 1992).
(1) Ration saving water and ration using water for all industries and corporations.
Based on saving water index, advanced index system saving water is built. Water consumed
per ten throusand yuan in different industries is W1 , W2 , W3 . . . W15 .
(2) The principle and method of water allotted among industries.
Water quantity is redistributed by the difference between the using water level of industries and
the advanced index saving water. And the higher level saving water is, the less water is reduced;

Otherwise, the more water is reduced. Suppose: Q is the total water demanded in all industries, Q

is the total water allotted in industry in fact. For lacking water, Q is less than Q, the water resource
need to be redistributed. As the lacking water quantity for saving water, α is written:

where Wi is demand water quantity per ten thousand for the No. i industry; Wi is the advanced
industry demand water quantity per thousand for No. i industry; Pi is the weight of using water for
the No. i industry. The more important for water used, the less value of Pi .
The water quantity should be saved by the No. i industry Qi

The water quantity was consumed by the No. i industry Qi

where Yi is the total production value of industry.

(3) The method of distributing water among enterprises in the same industry.
Suppose: Wij is the consumed water at per 10,000-Yuan production value by the No. j enterprise
in the No. i industry; Qij is the water quantity should be saved by the No. j enterprise in the No. i
industry. So

Qij is the water quantity consumed by the No. j enterprise. So

1353
2.4 Submodel (2)
When water is not enough, water cannot be supplied abundantly to both city and agriculture,
according to water law, water should be used by living firstly, then industry and finally agriculture.
Especially in recent years, with the development of society and economy, water was consumed
increasingly. Many reservoirs begin to supply water into city from agriculture. So the demands for
agriculture need to be assessed scientifically.

2.4.1 Division of crop growing period

Wheat-growing period can be divided into four phases. And corn-growing period also can be
divided four phrases. To different phases, water demands are different.

2.4.2 The relation between yield and lack of water

Based on the model about the effect on yield owing to lack of water put forward by Marvin E.
Jensen (Chen, et al, 1995), the following formula can be drawn:

where ym is the maximum yield on the condition of abundant water; ya is the actual crop yield;
Wi is the water quantity irrigated in the No. i period; Wmi is the maximum water quantity irrigated
in the No. i phrase when water is abundant; n is the number of phrases; λi is the sensitivity exponent
of crop depending on water. is the symbol of continual multiply.

3 ANALYSIS OF EXAMPLES

3.1 General conditions and concept model for study area

Gaomi city belongs to Shandong Province, in North China. Most areas in Gaomi city are plains.
The average precipitation every year from 1960 to 1997 is 586.3 mm. According to the data, the
lowest precipitation is 392.3 mm. During 1980s, there appeared seven or eight years at drought in
this region. The problem of water resources being short is rather serious. Especially from April to
June every year, serious shortage of water appears due to irrigation. So scientifically managing
water resources is necessary for this city.
According to demand of the model of multi-objective dynamic management model, a concept
model of water resources need to be established. Gaomi city can be divided into six sections (Ma,
et al, 1987). Water is supplied from the following two methods: surface water system including
local reservoirs and outer water resources, groundwater fields.
Water resources used in city and industry are divided into 15 units, which contains 47 enterprises.
Agricultural water resources are divided into the water demand for human and livestock, the water
demand for village and small town industries, the water demand for fruit trees and woods and the
water demand for crop (it is also divided into wheat, corn, cotton, vegetable, etc). Water is supplied
on the following order: for living, for industry, and for agriculture. The order is ranked according
to importance. The more important industries should be supplied water firstly. Agriculture water
demand includes vegetable and main crop water demand etc., select and divide period, the object
was simulated by the model about monthly water demand quantity from 1960 to 1997 for 38 years.
In allusion to the three continual drought years from 1986 to 1989, a balance simulation about
water resource demand and supply is done based on the model, the result is practicable.

3.2 Simulated result of a long series balance between demand and supply
In 1997, the rainfall in Gaomi city is 475 mm, and it is slightly lower, however the rainfall from
May to July is very little, 59 mm. Compared with the average value of years in the same period,

1354
it is reduced by 221 mm. So the year 1997 can be recognized as a typical year. Based on data,
a multi-objective dynamic management model of water resources system is built for Gaomi city
from 1960 to 1997 (Table 1).
In the period of 38 years total water demand quantity is 127.6 × 108 m3 , water supply quantity
is 79.7 × 108 m3 . So there is a 47.5 × 108 m3 shortage of water. In Table 1, the shortage of water
for the living and industries is rather serious. And the living and industries water supply guarantee
ratio for the whole city is only 64.1%. This means that it is necessary to find new water sources
or alter the traditional model of supplied water, such as reducing water for irrigation in Wangwu
irrigated zone. In addition, the guarantee ratios of water supply for agriculture in other irrigated
zones are lower. The average water supply guarantee ratio in the whole city is 61.5%, while it is
less than 50% in the South mountain area.
The balance between water supply and demand is simulated by multi-object dynamic manage-
ment model of water resources system (Table 2).
From Table 2, in the 38 years, the water supply from surface water is the 27.15 × 108 m3 , and
that exploited from groundwater is total 51.02 × 108 m3 , water supply from ocean that is desalted
and sewage that is threatened is 1.52 × 108 m3 . From these figure, groundwater is the most primary
water resource recharged by precipitation. However, groundwater resource is limited, increasing

Table 1. Water resource simulated result of status quo in Gaomi city from 1960 to 1997.

Water demand Water supply Shortage water Monthly guarantee Yearly guarantee
(×106 m3 ) (×106 m3 ) (×106 m3 ) ratio(%) ratio(%)
Zone ①&② ③ ①&② ③ ①&② ③ ② ③ ② ③

1 1301.5 0.0 817.2 0.0 484.3 0.0 64.1 / 64.1 /

2 355.3 1463.1 303.1 592.5 52.2 870.6 85.3 51.8 85.3 46.9
3 277.8 1418.8 273.9 1195.3 3.9 223.6 98.6 92.3 98.6 85.5
4 451.4 2197.8 450.8 923.7 0.6 1274.1 99.9 61.9 99.9 55.4
5 743.3 3043.7 734.0 1528.8 9.2 1363.1 98.8 59.6 98.8 54.7
6 221.9 1289.5 221.9 775.5 0.0 514.0 100.0 64.8 100.0 62.1
Sum 3351.2 9413.0 2801.0 5015.8 550.2 4245.3 90.8 66.7 90.8 61.5

*①stands for living; ②stands for industries; ③stands for agriculture; 1 is the urban zone; 2 is the south
mountain area; 3 is Wangwu irrigated zone; 4 is Xiashan irrigated zone; 5 is Northwell irrigated zone; 6 is
Wangdang irrigated zone.

Table 2. Balance between water supply and demand in 2010, Gaomi city.

Water demand Water supply

(×106 m3 ) (×106 m3 )
Zone ①&② ③ ④*** ⑤ ⑥ Balance

1 1301.5 0.0 535.1 282.1 0.0 −484.3

2 355.3 1463.1 479.8 415.8 0.0 −922.8
3 277.8 1418.8 290.2 1179.0 0.0 −227.4
4 451.4 2197.8 1010.7 363.8 0.0 −1274.7
5 743.3 3043.7 359.2 1903.6 151.9 −1372.4
6 221.9 1289.5 39.7 957.8 0.0 −514.0
Sum 3351.2 9413.0 2714.7 5102.1 151.9 −4795.5

***④ stands for supply from surface water; ⑤ stands for supply from groundwater; ⑥ stands for supply
from other sources. Others are the same as Table 1.

1355
exploitation is difficult in Gaomi city. So it will be an effective way to deal with water resource
problems by saving water.

4 CONCLUSIONS

(1) A unique and important application of a comprehensive and practical multi-objective dynamic
model for water resources management is presented which goes far beyond traditional
frameworks.
(2) The method for adjusting plan index of using water is devised, by forecasting the water supplied
and demanded in a rolling monthly twin-screw and optimizing regulation of water resources
in time.
(3) The model is applied in Gaomi, Shandong province, China. The results show that the model
and method are feasible and practicable.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (40202027) and (50379003)
and Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation (No. 91079). The authors are grateful to the anonymous
reviewer for their help.

REFERENCES

Chen, Y. X. & Kang, S. Z. 1995. Theory of Non-sufficiency Irrigation. Beijing: Water Conservancy and
Electricity Publishing House.
Gan, H. 1995. General Water Resource System Optimize Model of Datum Driving. Collection of Water
Resource System Program and Experience at Tempering. Beijing: China science and technology publishing
house.
Gao, Z. Q. 1999. Exploitative Utilization and Protection of Natural Resource. Xiamen: Xiamen university
Publishing house.
Liu, A. Y., Alan, C. & Shujie, Y. 1998. A multi-objective and multi-design evaluation procedure for
environmental protection forestry. Environmental and Resource Economics 12: 225–240.
Ma, W. X. & Yan, H. Y., 1987. Simulating Technology of Water Resource System. Beijing: Water Conservancy
and Electric Power Publishing House.
Wang, W. P. 1992. Analysis of Saving level, potential and invest of city industries water demand. Journal of
water economy, (1): 16–21.
Zeng, S. Y. & Fu, G. W. 2001. Analysis on china’s water management Problems and Adoption of Integrated
Water management Pattern. Advance in Water Science, 12(1): 81–86.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A new macroscopic model of multi-source water distribution network

Liao Zhenliang & Yu Guoping

School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

ABSTRACT: A new macroscopic model of network is developed according to the inner rela-
tionship between pressure of monitors and working conditions of water supply pump stations.
The solution of the parameters of the model is presented. This macroscopic model can not only
overcome the shortcoming of static microscopic model in real time tracking, but can also avoid
the defect of macroscopic model, which is based on time series analytical method, in reflecting
the whole network. Because the model directly reflects the relationship between unknown vari-
ables and known monitoring data, the issue of deficiency in known information can be resolved to
some extent. This macroscopic model is then employed to design working condition points of the
pump stations. Based on the macroscopic model, a cost model of water supply can be established.
Under the condition of flow constraints, the optimal working conditions of pumping stations can
be searched by means of Reduced Gradient Method. The availability of this macroscopic model is
verified by a model established in Fuzhou City, the capital of Fujian province of southeast China.

1 INTRODUCTION

There are two kinds of hydraulic model of water distribution network: microscopic model and
macroscopic model. Microscopic model describes a network’s characteristic with hydraulic equa-
tions according to the structure of the network. However, microscopic model method usually cannot
meet people’s requests due to the following reasons: (1) The nodes’ flow is difficult to measure;
(2) The friction coefficients of pipelines usually are unknown, and the errors of experience values
often are a little big; (3) The monitoring data are not sufficient in network, so the feedback infor-
mation is not enough, and the network model’s corrections and adjustments can only be obtained
in some extent; (4) Networks are often very complex and there are usually many constraints.
Many researchers, including Shamir (1974), Gofman (1981), Walski (1983), Ormsbee and
Wood (1986), Behave (1988), Ormsbee (1989), developed many methods to modify and calibrate
microscopic model.
With the development of water supply technology and the application of remote monitoring
technology, monitoring meters can be combined with communication system, so the consecutive
monitoring can be achieved through computer. Macroscopic model method was derived by Robert
(1975). It is a method that establishing the experience relation model of the major variables based
on running records of network in accordance with time. The “black box” theory is applied in
macroscopic model. The network’s complex structure study is avoided. Only some known input
and output data, such as pump stations’ flow and pressure and monitoring points’ pressure, are
applied to establish the model.
There are important meanings in developing macroscopic model of water distribution network.
Many researchers put many studies in this domain. For example, Chen (1986), Wang (1988), Jiang
and Han (1990), etc. But there is a defect in macroscopic model based on time series analytical
method, that is, the whole network is difficult to reflect.
It is sure that there are inner relationships among monitoring data. According to the inner
relationship between pressure of monitors and working conditions of water supply pump stations,
a new macroscopic model of network is developed in this paper.

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1.1 Establishing macroscopic model of water distribution network
In normal condition, the major factors to affect the network’s status are pressure of water supply
pump station and flow of every node. The pressure and flow of pump stations can reflect the
working condition of water source directly. Because the monitoring points are scattered in all parts
of the network, the pressure of monitoring points can reflect working condition of else parts of the
whole network approximately. So, the changing of network state can be reflected by all monitoring
information: pressure and flow of pump stations, pressure of monitoring points.
The following relationship was verified by Wu (1995) through experiment:

where Hj = pressure of node j; hk = pressure of monitoring point k; Ql = flow of pump station l;

n = flow expectation, value often is in 1.75∼2.0; ajk = the changing rate of Hj to hk ; bjl = the
changing rate of Hj to Qln .
So the water distribution network state estimating model can be expressed as

where Cj , Ajk , Bjl = coefficient constants; p = the number of pump stations; m = the number of
monitoring points in a network.
If the water supply pump stations are regarded as nodes of network, a relationship model
among pressure of pump stations, pressure of monitoring points and flow of pump stations can be
established, i.e., the pressure of pump stations can be expressed as

In one monitoring time, there are one group of data [H1 H2 · · · Hp ] and [h1 h2 · · · hm Q1 Q2 Qp ].
It can be presumed that there are s groups of monitoring data.

1358

m
p
Hir = Cr + k=1 Ark hik + l=1 Brl Qil (i = 1, 2, · · ·, s). Employing the s equations, the
(Cr , Ar1 , Ar2 , · · · , Arm , Br1 , Br2 , · · · , Brp ) can be solved by Least Square Multiplication Method.
So, the macroscopic model that expressed by equation (3) can be established.

1.2 A case of developing this kind of macroscopic model

One year can be divided into several periods according to seasons and climate. In a same period, the
consumed water amount in a same hour of everyday can be seen a constant value approximately.
So, for one same hour of everyday in a same period, using monitoring data of previous years, one
model can be established. For the 24 hours of everyday, 24 models can be established one by one.
For a whole year, similar models can be established in each period. Thus, the whole year water
supply models can be established.
A case is Fuzhou City, the capital of Fujian province of southeast China. It is difficult to establish
microscopic model because the network of this city is complex and old. By employing the method
above, a macroscopic model of this city was developed.
Because water supply plants are very small, three major plants were considered: Xinxi plant,
300,000 tons capacity per day, Bei plant, 150,000 tons capacity per day, and Dongnan plant, 150,000
tons capacity per day. Data of seven monitoring points are used. To develop the model, coefficients
of the below expression must be calculated.

For example, the 21st hour of everyday in the period from March 19 to April 20 in 1996 is chosen
to develop the model of this hour. The monitoring data are used to verify the model calculation
results, as Figures 1, 2 and 3.

0.6
Pressure: Mpa

0.4

0.2 Measured
Calculated
0
19-Mar

22-Mar

25-Mar

28-Mar

31-Mar

3-Apr

6-Apr

9-Apr

12-Apr

15-Apr

18-Apr

Figure 1. The pressure of pump station of Xinxi Plant in 21st hour.

0.6
Pressure: Mpa

0.4

0.2 Measured
Calculated
0
19-Mar

22-Mar

25-Mar

28-Mar

31-Mar

3-Apr

6-Apr

9-Apr

12-Apr

15-Apr

18-Apr

Figure 2. The pressure of pump station of Bei Plant in 21st hour.

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 0.6
Pressure: Mpa

0.4

0.2 Measured
Calculated
0
19-Mar

22-Mar

25-Mar

28-Mar

31-Mar

3-Apr

6-Apr

9-Apr

12-Apr

15-Apr

18-Apr
Figure 3. The pressure of pump station of Dongnan Plant in 21st hour.

2 APPLICATION OF THE MACROSCOPIC MODEL

One application of computing model of water distribution network is to design working condition
points of pump stations. Combining this macroscopic model with water supply cost mathematical
model, optimal working condition points of pump stations can be derived.

2.1 The cost model of water supply

The cost model of water supply is

where f = water supply cost per hour; K(i) = the cost of lifting one m3 water per meter of pump
station i; p = the number of pump stations.
If the costs of lifting one m water per meter of all pump stations are the same, then

where M = objective function.

The total flow of a network in one period is unchanged. To assure the validity of the solution
of the macroscopic model, the flow of every pump station must be limited in the scope when
macroscopic model is established, so the constraints of Q(i) are

where Qsum = the total flow of all pump stations; Qmin (i), Qmax (i) = the minimum and maximum
flow of the ith pump station.

2.2 The optimal working condition

The pressure of pump stations can be derived from flow of pump stations and pressure of monitoring
points.

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 Table 1. The comparison between optimal working condition and actual running working condition.

Xinxi plant Bei plant Dongnan plant

QA (L/s) 2953.6 1972.2 2013.9

HA (m) 0.45 0.38 0.41
MA = QA × HA 1329.12 749.45 825.70
QO (L/s) 2945.1 1920.9 2073.8
HO (m) 0.45 0.37 0.36
MO = QO × HO 1325.30 710.73 746.57
MA − MO 3.82 38.72 79.13


(MA − MO ) 121.67



(MA − MO )/ MA 4.2%

Where QA = Actual flow; HA = Actual head; MA = Actual value of objective function; QO = Optimal
flow; HO = Optimal head; Mo = Optimal value of objective function.

in which

Let n = 2, and put equation (6) to the objective function (5), a three cubed nonlinear planning
problem come to being

The constraints are

Because the macroscopic model is based on certain scope of flow, the constraints of flow should
be in this scope. When the flow is far away from this scope, the result may be wrong.
Reduced Gradient Method is employed to solve the nonlinear problem (omitted here).

2.3 The case of solve optimal working condition points of pump stations
For the case of Fuzhou City above, the results of optimal working condition points of pump stations
calculated by the method above is in Table 1.
From Table 1, we can see that the values of the optimal objective function are smaller. It meets
the aim of optimization. The same results can be obtained from the calculations of else days.

3 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

A new macroscopic model about the relationship among pressure and flow of pump stations of
multi-sources and pressure of monitoring points are presented. The principle of this macroscopic

1361
model is based on experiment. The case of Fuzhou City indicates that the thinking and method of
the macroscopic model is feasible and available.
Combining this macroscopic model with water supply cost mathematical model, Optimal work-
ing condition points of pump stations of multi-source water distribution system can be designed.
The case of Fuzhou City proves that the values of the optimal objective function are smaller than
the values of Actual objective function.

REFERENCES

Andrzej Bargiela & Graham D. Hainsworth. 1989. Pressure and flow uncertainty in water systems. J. Water
Resour. Plng. And Mgnt. 115(2),212–229.
Chen Yuechun. 1986. Optimal Control of a Water Distribution System with Microcomputer. China Water &
Wastewater. 2(3),12–15. (in Chinese)
Gofman E. & Rodeh M. 1981. Loop Equations with Unknown Pipe Characteristics. J.Hydraul.Div.
109(9),1047–1060.
Jiang Naichang & Han Dehong. 1990. Analytical Macroscopic Model of Water Distribution Network. Water &
Wastewater Engineering. 16(1),2–8. (in Chinese)
Ormsbee L.E. & Wood D.J. 1986. Explicit Pipe Network Calibration. J. Water Resour. Plng. And Mgnt.
112(2),166–182.
Ormsbee L.E. 1989. Implicit Network Calibration. J. Water Resour. Plng. And Mgnt. 115(2),243–257.
Ormsbee L.E. & Srinivasa Lingireddy. 1997. Calibrating hydraulic network models. Journal AWWA 89(2),
42–50.
Pramod R. Bhave. 1988. Calibrating Water Distribution Network Models. J. Environmental Engineering.
114(1),120–136.
Robert Demoyer J.R. & Lawrence B. Horwitz. 1975. Macroscopic Distribution System Modeling. J. AWWA.
64(7),377–380.
Thomas M. Walski. 1983. Technique for Calibration Network Models J. Water Resour. Plng. and Mgnt.
109(4),360–372.
Shamir U. 1994. Optimal Design and Operation of Water Distribution Systems. Water Resour. Res. 10(1),
27–36.
Wang Xunjian et al. 1988. “The Study of Macroscope Distribution System Modeling.” China Water &
Wastewater. 4(3),33–36. (in Chinese)
Wu Xuewei et al. 1995. Simultaneous Experiment on the Operating Status of Water Distribution Network.
Water & Wastewater Engineering. 21(5),44–47. (in Chinese)

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3 Hydraulic transients
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Investigation of transient leak detection using a 2D transient

flow model

W. Nixon & M.S. Ghidaoui

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

ABSTRACT: Leakage from water and sewerage pipelines is a major problem worldwide. Recently,
methods to detect leaks using fluid transients have been developed and tested using laboratory data.
Wang et al. (2002) have derived a method based on the damping rates of different Fourier modes
of head versus time traces; hereafter referred to as the damping rate method. This method neglects
unsteady friction, assumes a small magnitude, impulsive transient, and was experimentally verified
for small values of Reynolds number only. These assumptions are highly restrictive, and would
be difficult to satisfy in practice. This paper investigates the accuracy of the damping rate method
under (i) transients generated by flow perturbations of different magnitudes and different time
scales, and (ii) different Reynolds number. This involves performing numerical experiments with
a quasi-two-dimensional (2D) transient flow model. It is found that the accuracy of the damping
rate method provides good results, even for large Reynolds number, provided the timescale of the
initial transient disturbance is short, or the magnitude of transient perturbations are small.

1 INTRODUCTION

Leakage from pipelines is a major problem for many cities worldwide, including Hong Kong.
According to studies conducted in 38 cities in the Asia-Pacific region, the average unaccounted for
water loss was around 36% (Rao & Sridharan 1996). This leads to significant extra expenditure on
water purchasing, treatment, and pumping.
An equally important problem is leakage from pressurized sewerage systems, as this leads to the
added problem of environmental damage. To minimize the impact of sewerage leaks, and to reduce
the extra expenditure due to leakage from water supply systems, an efficient and accurate method
of leak detection is essential.
Commonly used leakage detection techniques range from sophisticated, computer based
methods, to simple, visual inspection of pipelines. The most common methods currently used
in distribution networks are visual inspection of pipeline damage, or steady-state mass balance
techniques, performed as part of a periodic water audit. While these methods are fairly simple
and cheap to perform, they have the disadvantage of being time-consuming, inaccurate, and often
cannot detect small leaks, due to the large errors inherent in flow measurement techniques.
The idea of using transients for detecting and locating leaks is attractive for many reasons. In
theory, because a single transient wave can travel throughout an entire network, it can effectively
“sample” the conditions of the whole network as it passes through. While much more research is
needed before these methods can be fully utilized, the use of transients in leak detection has shown
much potential in simple cases. The advantages of transient methods are that they are inexpensive
compared to some other methods, and should provide a high level of accuracy, if used properly.
Transient-based leak detection methods use the fact that a leak in the pipeline affects the transient
head response. Leaks in a pipeline also cause energy loss, so a transient in a pipeline containing
leaks will die away at a greater rate than in a leak-free pipeline.
Brunone (1999) presented a leak detection method designed specifically for outfall pipes, which
uses a transient initiated by opening an upstream valve. This method has the advantage that it does

1365
not require complex analysis procedures, but it is only suitable for outfall pipes or very similar
applications.
Mpesha et al. (2001) presented a method based on an oscillatory transient, which involves
transforming the head versus time data into the frequency domain. This method can be used for
many different situations, including simple branched and parallel pipe networks, but is highly
dependent on the accuracy of the pipe friction value used, which may limit its practical accuracy.
Also, inducing a purely oscillatory transient may be difficult in the real world.
Wang et al. (2002) presented the damping rate method, a novel method involving the analysis
of the leak-induced damping in a pipeline to locate a leak. The advantages of this method are
that it is straightforward to use, and based on simple theory. Under some conditions, this method
should give accurate results with only a small amount of data. While the method is currently only
applicable to single pipeline cases (i.e. not complex pipe networks), it is hoped that the method
may be adapted to more practical cases. For these reasons, this leak detection method was chosen
as the subject of this paper.

1.1 The damping rate method

The foundation of the method proposed by Wang et al. (2002) is that any pressure versus time
trace can be broken down, period by period, into a Fourier series. From these series, the damping,
over time, of the amplitude of each mode can be evaluated separately, and split into frictional and
leak-induced damping components.
The derivation of the leak detection formulae at the basis of this method involves the inclusion of
a leak into the one-dimensional (1D), quasi-steady waterhammer equations. Linearisation of these
equations leads to a boundary value, partial differential equation, which is solved to yield a Fourier
sine series with respect to the longitudinal coordinate, x. The damping rate method derivation
involves three main assumptions:
– Assumption 1 – the transient perturbations have a small magnitude;
– Assumption 2 – the heads at the upstream and downstream ends of the pipeline are constant for
all time;
– Assumption 3 – the flow is perturbed at t = 0, and then left unperturbed, so the transient can be
dissipated by friction, and by the leak;
– Assumption 4 – the quasi-steady Darcy Weisbach friction model is used.
Throughout the remainder of this paper, these assumptions will be referred to as the first, second,
third and fourth assumptions respectively. The combination of the second and third assumptions
requires that as the transient dies away, the flow returns to its initial state.
It is found from the derivation that the damping due to pipe friction, R, is mode-independent,
meaning that friction damps each Fourier mode at the same rate. This is a result of the fourth
assumption. The damping due to a leak, RnL , however, is mode-dependent, meaning that different
modes are damped at different rates by the leak. It is shown by Wang et al. (2002) that by finding
the damping rate R + RnL from a system containing a leak, and subtracting R, the damping rate of
the same system without a leak, RnL can be obtained for different Fourier modes. From the ratios
of different RnL values, the location of the leak can be found. More details of the derivation and
application of the method can be found in Wang et al. (2002).
In this paper, systematic tests are performed regarding the accuracy of the leak location formulae,
derived by Wang et al. (2002), under a range of conditions, using a 2D transient flow model. The
purpose of this paper is to systematically “stretch” each of these assumptions, to determine the
robustness of the Wang et al. leak detection method. It is hoped that some of these assumptions
can be violated, and yet still enable good results to be obtained. This will show that this method is
adaptable, and, with some improvements, may potentially be widely applicable to practical cases.
To perform numerical experiments to test the three main assumptions made by Wang et al. a
2D flow model is used, which means that unsteady friction is taken into account. Although the
Wang et al. method was derived under quasi-steady friction conditions, Kolyshkin et al. (unpubl.)

1366
 15
Leak
10 No leak

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

-5

-10

-15

Figure 1. Plot of the leak and leak-free wallshear versus t ∗ = L/a for the Re = 600,000, full valve closure case.

showed that the method is still applicable, and should show good results, with unsteady friction
included. It should be noted that, with unsteady friction considered, the mode-independence of the
frictional damping rate R, obtained by Wang et al. (2002) in the derivation, no longer holds. This
observation was made from simulations run with the 2D flow model, in which it was found that,
even in a leak-free pipe, the damping rates for different modes were significantly different.
Also, the values of R and RnL become dependent on the eddy viscosity, while the RnL /R1L ratios
remain independent (Kolyshkin et al. unpubl.). Kolyshkin et al. also show that the derivation of the
damping rate method, due to the implicit decoupling of the 1D transient equation, is only valid for
leaks with small Cd AL values. As shall be seen in the results, however, the method still provides
reasonable results, under some conditions, stated in the conclusion.
Implicitly, because the damping rate method is based on a comparison between data with a
leak, and data from the same situation without a leak, whether the friction is considered steady or
unsteady is unlikely to have a significant effect on the quality of the leak detection results, as long
as the friction from the leak and leak-free cases are of comparable magnitude. The method involves
finding the modal damping rates of a system with a leak, R + RnL , and subtracting the leak-free
damping rate, R, which is purely due to friction. This means that as long as the frictional damping
rate (R) is similar in both sets of data, then the method should provide good results, regardless of
whether R is due to steady or unsteady friction. It is unlikely that the presence of a small leak will have
a large effect on the frictional dissipation of a system; in fact, the damping rate method is founded
on this assumption. Figure 1 shows a comparison of the leak and leak-free wallshear, measured at
x∗ = 0.75, from the 2D model, for the Re = 600,000 full valve closure case. It can be seen in this plot
that the wallshear for the two cases is very similar for the first few cycles, but becomes significantly
different as time progresses. As a result, the method is expected to work best if only data from the
first few wave cycles is used. For the investigations in this paper, the first six wave cycles are used.
The above discussion may be interpreted to mean that unsteady friction is unimportant in the
damping rate method. However, this method relies on the data sets from both the leak and leak-
free cases to have very similar frictional dissipation values. In practice, field data will need to be
compared to leak-free simulation data. Therefore, accurate modeling of the frictional dissipation
of the field data, where unsteady friction will likely be highly significant, is paramount.

2 LEAK DETECTION SIMULATIONS

To test the validity of the damping rate method under conditions where unsteady friction is import-
ant, a 2D transient flow model was used. For details of the 2D model, see Zhao & Ghidaoui (2003).
The leak was represented in the same way as that presented in Wang et al. (2002).

1367
 A number of scenarios were simulated, with Reynolds number (Re) being the only varied param-
eter. The length of the pipe was set to 1500 m, and the pipe diameter used was 0.3 m, to replicate
realistic practical conditions. The boundary conditions at each end of the pipe were constant head
reservoirs, with valves, able to be opened or closed. Steady flow velocities of 0.033 m/s; 0.5 m/s;
1.0 m/s; and 2 m/s were used to give Reynolds numbers of 10,000; 150,000; 300,000; and 600,000,
respectively. Although a Reynolds number of less than around 100,000 is unrealistic in real-life,
the purpose here is to investigate the accuracy of the damping rate method under a wide range of
Reynolds numbers. Also, most laboratory experiments are conducted for small Reynolds numbers,
and it is important to see if results similar to published experimental results can be reproduced by
the 2D model.
Three methods of initiating the transient were used. The first method was the instantaneous,
full closure of a downstream valve. This method is the simplest method of transient initiation, and
the most commonly used in laboratory and numerical experimental cases. However, this method
violates two of the four main assumptions used to derive the damping rate method. Firstly, the
induced head magnitudes are not small. By adding a fictitious pipe reflection about the valve, the
constant head boundary conditions can be satisfied. However, assumption three is still violated,
because the flow does not return to its initial state when the transient dies away.
The second method was to induce an impulse head increase, of time length 1.5 s, and the same
magnitude as the head induced by a sudden valve closure, at the midpoint of the pipe. To apply
a similar transient in a real-life situation, a side-discharge valve could be installed, and rapidly
closed. This method satisfies both the constant head boundary conditions, and the third assumption
is also satisfied, because the time length of the impulse is short, at 1 L/a, where L = the pipe length
and a = the pipe wavespeed. However, because the applied head perturbation is large, the first
assumption is violated.
The third initiation method is an impulsive full valve closure and opening motion. The entire
valve motion was completed in 1 s, or 0.667 L/a, so the induced head was approximately the same
as that induced by a sudden valve closure. This initiation method violates the first assumption
because of the large perturbation magnitudes, and the second assumption, because the head at
the downstream pipe end is not constant during the period of valve motion. However, the third
assumption is satisfied, due to the short timescale of the valve motion.
From the leak detection results obtained from these three transient initiation methods, it will be
possible to determine which of the three main assumptions are most important for accuracy of the
damping rate method.
In all the simulated cases a leak of size Cd AL = 7.07 × 10−5 m2 , or 0.001 A; where Cd = the
discharge coefficient through the leak; AL = the leak area; and A = the pipe area; was located at
xL∗ = 0.25 from the upstream end; where x∗ = x/L; x = the longitudinal coordinate, and L = the pipe
length. In all the cases, the head trace obtained from x∗ = 0.75 from the upstream end was used to
calculate the damping rates. To calculate the leak locations, the ratio of the leak-induced damping
of the nth mode to the leak-induced damping of the 1st mode, RnL /R1L , was always used.
For these simulations, six wave-cycles were used to calculate the damping rates. It was found
during preliminary investigations that using more wave-cycles did not significantly affect the
damping rate values obtained. Also, for very low velocity flows, such as the simulated 0.033 m/s
flow, even a full valve closure results in a small magnitude transient. In these cases, the transient
perturbation magnitude becomes very small after around six wave-cycles, and the transient waves
become difficult to distinguish.

3 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

3.1 Full, sudden closure of a downstream valve

This method shows reasonable accuracy for the Re = 10,000 case, but the accuracy decreases dra-
matically with increasing Reynolds number. The mean leak location value calculated from the
Re = 10,000 case was 0.2604, and the Re = 300,000 case gave a mean value of 0.1809, compared

1368
with a real value of xL∗ = 0.25. The Re = 600,000 case gave such poor results that the R3L /R1L value
did not even provide a valid solution for the leak location.
For a comparison, TransAM, a commercial 1D, quasi-steady transient flow model, was used to
obtain leak location values for the Re ≥ 150,000 cases. These results showed the same poor accuracy
at high Reynolds numbers as the 2D unsteady friction model. The Re = 300,000 case gave a mean
leak location value of 0.1722, while the Re = 600,000 case gave a mean value of 0.1335.
The fact that the 2D model did not even provide a solution from the R3L /R1L ratio, while the
quasi-steady 1D model did, does not automatically show that the 1D model is better overall. Firstly,
the 1D model results are still very poor, with an almost 50% difference from the true location. In
fact, a slight deviation from the R3L /R1L value obtained from the 1D model would also have been
unable to be solved for the leak location. In addition, for the Re = 150,000 and 300,000 cases, the
results obtained from the 1D model were actually slightly worse than the 2D model results.
The fact that both the quasi-steady TransAM results and the unsteady 2D model results show
increasingly poor accuracy as Reynolds number increases suggest that the trend is due to the
violation of the three main assumptions, not unsteady friction. The reason the results get increasingly
worse with increasing Reynolds number is because as Reynolds number increases, so does the
degree of violation of the three assumptions.
As the flow velocity increases, so does the head perturbation magnitude induced by a full valve
closure. This increases the degree of violation of the first assumption, in that the transient head
magnitude increases as Reynolds number increases. Also, this increases the degree of violation of
the second assumption, in that the variation of head at the downstream pipe end increases as the
induced head magnitude increases. Finally, the degree of violation of the third assumption also
increases with Reynolds number, since for large Re, the final zero-flow state is very different from
the initial steady flow state. The degree of departure between the final and initial state increases
with Reynolds number.
It should be noted that only modes n = 3 and n = 5 were used to calculate the leak locations in this
case, and in the sudden midpipe impulse case. This is because it has been observed, in these cases,
that the amplitudes of the 2nd and 4th modes are relatively small compared to the amplitudes of the
odd modes, regardless of whether unsteady friction is included. This means that the relative error
will be much larger for these modes than for the odd modes. In some cases, the error magnitude is
comparable to the actual mode amplitude. For this reason, it is considered unwise to use the 2nd and
4th modes to calculate the leak location, in the case of a sudden impulse or sudden, full valve closure.
Overall, these results show that significantly violating all three of the main assumptions made in
the derivation of the damping rate method leads to poor overall results, for high Reynolds number
flows. Also, the accuracy of the method decreases as the degree of violation of the three main
assumptions increases.

3.2 Impulse head increase at pipe midpoint

The results using the midpipe head impulse were much more accurate than the sudden valve closure
results, even for high Reynolds number flows. The mean value of the calculated leak location was
within 0.001 of the true value, of xL∗ = 0.25, for all cases. The worst calculated value was 0.2477,
from the R3L /R1L ratio in the Re = 600,000 case.
Because the induced head magnitudes were the same as in the sudden valve closure case, we
can conclude that the violation of the first assumption alone does not lead to poor results. In other
words, if the transient initiation method is an impulse head increase in the midpipe region, then the
induced head magnitude does not affect the accuracy of the damping rate method.

3.3 Downstream valve-induced impulse

The quality of the results obtained from the downstream valve-induced impulse scenarios was
only slightly worse than those obtained using the midpipe head impulse. Once again, very good
accuracy was shown for the obtained leak locations, even for large Reynolds number. The mean

1369
calculated leak location values ranged from 0.2487, from the Re = 10,000 case, to 0.2534, from
the Re = 300,000 case, compared to the real value of xL∗ = 0.25. The poorest result obtained overall
was from the R2L /R1L ratio in the Re = 300,000 case, which gave a value of 0.2605, which is still
only a difference of 0.0105 from the real value.
Note that in this case, the 2nd, 3rd and 5th modes were used to calculate leak location results.
Unlike the sudden valve closure and midpipe head impulse cases, the 2nd mode amplitude is large
in this case, larger than the 1st mode amplitude, in fact.

3.4 Discussion of results

In each of these transient scenarios, different combinations of the three main assumptions made by
Wang et al. (2002) were violated. Because of the relationship between Reynolds number, and the
degree of violation of these assumptions, the different Reynolds number flow cases also show the
effect of increasing the extent of violation of the assumptions.
The fact that the only transient initiation method which shows poor results is the full valve
closure leads to the conclusion that the most significant of the three main assumptions is that
the flow perturbation has a short timescale, and that after the initial perturbation, the flow is left
unperturbed. The actual assumption made in the Wang et al. (2002) derivation is that the initial flow
perturbation is instantaneous. However, for a transient flow, this can be interpreted as meaning that
the initial perturbation must have a time length of less than the time taken for a wave to travel from
the point of perturbation to the nearest boundary and back again. If this is the case, then the initial
wavefront only “feels” the perturbation once. This means that the head and flow characteristics
carried by this wavefront, throughout the transient, will be the same as if the initial perturbation
was instantaneous. This time length can be represented as βL/a, where βL = twice the distance
from the point of perturbation to the nearest boundary. Thus, the transient response, and damping
characteristics, from an impulsive perturbation, with a time length of less than βL/a, is effectively
the same as the response for an instantaneous perturbation.
As mentioned in Section 1.1, the assumption of an instantaneous initial perturbation, in com-
bination with the constant head boundary conditions assumption, shows that the final flow state
reached by the flow, after the transient perturbations die away, should be the same as the initial state.
This condition is satisfied in the midpipe head impulse and downstream valve-induced impulse
transient scenarios. In the sudden valve closure scenario, however, the final flow state is of zero
flow, which is fundamentally different from the initial state. Moreover, the difference in flow state
between the initial and final states increases as Reynolds number increases. This explains the trend
of decreasing accuracy with increasing Reynolds number, seen in the full valve closure scenario.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, a 2D transient flow model was used to perform numerical experiments with the
damping rate leak detection method. This method was applied to flows with Reynolds numbers
from 10,000 to 600,000 were used, with transients induced by three different methods. Although
the results presented here are only preliminary, it is possible to provide some initial insight into the
damping rate leak detection method, and the underlying issue of unsteady friction in transient leak
detection methods as a whole. The key findings are as follows:
(i) The damping rate method appears to work well for large amplitude transients provided the
timescale of transient initiation is kept small. In summary, impulse-type transients work well,
full valve closures do not.
(ii) The similarity of leak-detection results using unsteady and quasi-steady friction models, implies
that unsteady friction is not a critical factor when only computational data is used. However,
in practice, field data must be compared with leak-free computational model data, and the
similarity of the frictional dissipation in the two data sets is of paramount importance. In this
case, unsteady friction is expected to be significant.

1370
 The damping rate method is only valid for a simple, single pipeline case, and the transient must
be induced in a rapid, impulsive manner. This means it is not widely viable in a practical sense.
However, the simplicity of the method, and the good results shown in these limited cases, mean
that the damping rate method is promising and should be further explored.

REFERENCES

Brunone, B. 1999. Transient test-based technique for leak detection in outfall pipes Journal of Water Resources
Planning and Management 125: 302–306
Kolyshkin, A.A., Nixon W., & Ghidaoui, M.S. unpubl. Leak Detection in a Pipeline using Transient Methods
Mpesha, W., Gassman, S.L., & Chaudhry, M.H. 2001. Leak detection in pipes by frequency response method.
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 127: 134–147
Rao, P.V. & Sridharan, K. 1996. Inverse transient analysis of pipe networks. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
122: 278–288
Wang, X.J., Lambert, M.F., Simpson, A.R., Liggett, J.A., & Vitkovsky, J.P. 2002. Leak detection in pipelines
using the damping of fluid transients. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 128: 697–711
Zhao, M., & Ghidaoui, M.S. 2003. Efficient quasi-two-dimensional model for water hammer problems.
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 129: 1007–1013

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Simulation of transient flow in building drainage networks∗

Z.Y. Mao, J.L. Wang & X. Zhao

Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: A numerical model of transient flow, based upon the solution of the St. Venant
equations, using characteristics with accurate time-line interpolation scheme is developed. It pro-
vides depth and velocity estimations at any point in drainage system. Various system boundaries
encountered and modeling techniques have been discussed. The presented model was validated by
full-scale model experiments and it was consequently clarified that numerical model is capable of
predicting flow characteristics in realistic drainage networks.

1 INTRODUCTION

The flow within building drainage networks belongs to transient, partially-filled pipe flow, depend-
ing upon both the usage pattern of the appliances connected to the system and the wave action that
modifies any inflow as it propagates through the networks. Accurately modeling of this wave atten-
uation, Fig. 1, will be advantageous so that its effects upon solid transport, drain capacity, maximum
flow depth, pressure transients, mass or surge oscillations and maintenance can be predicted. The
traditional design methodology is fundamentally a steady uniform flow method, by simplistic sum-
mation of discharges from all the connected appliances. As Swaffield and Galowin (1992) and
Mao (1993) pointed out that with summation methods it is impossible to study the wave action or
local flow depth variations, backflow effects in the vicinity of pipe junctions. The methods will
also inevitably lead to oversized drainage, which in turn leads to increased maintenance due to the
enhanced probability of solid deposition. The current trend towards water conservation will make
it even more important to estimate accurately the flow attenuation. Application of volume-reduced
appliance will reduce flash-flow through building drainage systems, leading to failure due to solid
deposition and subsequent blockage.
A full time-dependent simulation method allows any defined usage pattern to be utilized with any
individual appliance discharge profile. It is also possible to adjust the pipe gradients and diameters
within system to ensure that self-cleansing velocities are maintained, and the onset of full bore flow
is avoided. In addition the capacity of the system to accept additional appliances can be determined
as well as the effect upon system operation of changes in appliance discharge profiles.
As Fig. 2 shows, the distinctive characteristics of transient flows in the drainage systems con-
tribute to the selection of numerical analysis method: duration of the appliance discharge and the
time taken for the ensuing waves to traverse the network is relatively short compared to river surges;
density of fittings, junctions and stack connections, as well as the presence of moving boundaries.
These considerations dictate both the use of numerical techniques requiring small computational
time steps and the choice of a method that will allow the representation of system complicated
boundary conditions. In this paper, a numerical model of transient flow, based upon the solution
of the St. Venant equations, using specified-time-interval characteristics method with accurate
time-line interpolation scheme is developed, which provides depth and velocity estimations at any
point in the system.

∗ Project supported by NSFC (Grant No. 50378049).

1373
 Level-invent junction

Top-entry junction

dh c2 dh
C B Entry to networks

dh h2 h2 dh
c1 c1
D A
h1 h1
Exit

Figure 1. Wave attenuation. Figure 2. Schematic of a building drainage network.

2 GOVERNING EQUATIONS

The St. Venant equations, in terms of flow depth and mean velocity, are used in the development
of one-dimensional transient-flow model for building drainage pipe-flow

in which t = time; x = distance along the pipe; h, A and T = depth, cross-sectional area, and
surface width of flow respectively; V = mean velocity, considered positive when flow occurs in the
downstream direction; Sf = friction slope; S0 = pipe slope.
A variety of numerical methods have been proposed to solve numerically above equations. Among
them the method of characteristics (MOC) with specified time interval numerical scheme (STI)
has been known to have many physically and theoretically appealing features for transient flow
analysis. As Fig. 3 shows, traditionally, space-line interpolative schemes has been used widely,
however, Mao (1995) found that seriously artificial numerical damping and dispersion are pro-
duced inherently in the solution procedure, making the wave front seriously flatten, especially
in a region of backwater or draw-down profile frequently encountered in the system, resulting
in seriously rounding errors and progressive collapse of the flow depth profiles over time. The
reach-back time-line interpolation has been recommended since it generates a smaller numerical
error. As Fig. 4 shows, by projecting the characteristic lines back beyond the present time level
tj+1 until intersecting the adjacent time lines at some time in the past, the interpolations are carried
out in time rather than in space line. A first-order approximation leads to the following set of
algebraic equations:

1374
 i-1 i i+1
n=0
tj+1 m=0 P j+1
t P
tj
1
m=1 F H G W n=1
tj j
C C
A C
C
(Fr<1)
tj1 m=2 D n=2
j-1
ξ∆t
tj ∆t
ξ'∆t n=3
A R C S B tj2 j-2
m=3 B C
(Fr>1)
C n=4
h hC tj3 m=4 j-3
hA S' η∆t
hP η'∆t S n=5
hR tj4 m=5 j-4
∆x ∆x E
hS
xi1 xi xi
1
x

Figure 3. Space-line interpolation scheme. Figure 4. Time-line interpolation.

From the property of the C+ and C− with first-degree Lagrangian polynomial, the interpolation
algorithm can be developed as follows:

where f represents the variables of interest h, V, C. By simultaneous solution of Eq. (7) for h, V and
C, the VR , hR and CR for the C+ can be obtained. Similarly, solution of Eq. (8) gives intermediate
values VS , hS and CS for C− of sub-critical flow. The expression for C− of supercritical flow can
also be derived by similar procedure.
Referring to Fig. 4, from Eqs. (4) and (7), time interval of the intersection point R falling may
be found by solution of the following equation:

at the boundary node of the time interval:

The signs of FRB and FRD are then compared to determine the time interval (tB , tD ). Similarly,
the time interval (tC , tE ) can also be determined in a similar way. Thus a systematic application and
solution of the characteristic equations commencing with a known initial flow condition at time
zero, usually taken as some low steady base-flow, will yield flow depth and velocity along a pipe
over any time range. The stability and error analysis have been presented in details by She & Mao
(2003). The size of the time step, t, is governed by the Courant stability criteria,

1375
 Qb
hydraulic
critical
jump backwater depth

Qm
Qd
supercritical subcritical junction supercritical
flow flow flow

Figure 5. Flow regime surrounding junctions.

3 ANALYSIS OF SYSTEM BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

The flow in the building drainage networks possesses all of the characteristics of classical open
channel hydraulics. The supercritical flow regime is the normal phenomenon. The subcritical flows
occur naturally in shallow gradient or very rough pipes or are forced into existence immediately
upstream of flow restrictions, such as pipe junctions, Fig. 5. The boundary conditions can be
modeled by solving available C+ or C− equation with appropriate flow describing equations.
Generally it is more efficient to deal with one floor at a time, storing the accumulated discharge to
the stack in a data file that may be used later as an input in the simulation of a multi-storey system
served by a lower level collection network.
At the upstream boundary, such as any appliance or vertical stack to collection drain, in general,
the flow may be subcritical, critical, or supercritical, and the boundary condition may be given as a
discharge hydrograph. For subcritical or critical inflow, the inflow profile is solved together with C−
characteristics, or critical equation. For the supercritical flow case no characteristic exists, thus it is
necessary to define flow entry depth in terms of some known relationship and the known appliance
discharge. When exit conditions are subcritical, a stage-discharge relationship would generally
exist, and solved together with the positive characteristic. For supercritical exit flow, the forward and
backward characteristics are solved simultaneously to calculate the depth and velocity at the end of
the pipe. At the free-outfall boundary condition critical flow should be maintained, and the exit depth
was calculated by simultaneously solving the positive characteristic with the critical flow equation.
Accurate simulation of junction conditions is an essential part of any partially filled pipe network
model and is of particular importance in building drainage networks due to the relatively small pipe
diameter and the short runs between boundaries such as junctions, entries and exits. Any junction
model which does not reflect with some accuracy the true physical conditions within the pipe
networks will nullify the effect of using complex equations to route the unsteady flow through the
straight pipe sections. The model used to describe the flow regime surrounding a junction is shown
in Fig. 5. The flow in both pipes leading to the junction is supercritical. The effect of the junction
is to impede the flow and cause a subcritical backwater profile to develop. Therefore only the C+
equations exists at the final node and the numerical model requires supplementary information
linking at the junction. This unsteady junction problem may be handled if the appropriate junction
depth can be estimated by empirical measurements of junction depth versus steady flow rate.
The results of the steady-state flow tests showed that the depth upstream of the junction was
essentially the same in both the main and branch pipes. Mao (1996) conducted detailed tests and
the experimental results yields the following empirical relationships linking depth to the combined
throughflow

1376
 Approaching unsteady Hydraulic jump
supercritical flow Initial Critical depth
supercritical flow
Vw

V1 V2
Approaching Backwater profile
supercritical flow

C+ C+ C+ C+

R R R R
C−
S' S' C− S' S' C−
Fr<1

Figure 6. Simulation of moving hydraulic jump.

Figure 7. Comparison of observed and predicted results.

1377
where depth ratio Rh = hj /hn , discharge ratio RQ = QB /(QM + QB ), hn = normal depth of combined
flow rate, hj = depth just upstream of the junction; a, b, c = empirical coefficients. Solution of
Eq. (12) with C+ equations for all the joining pipes, together with the approximation that the
depths of flow in both pipes immediately upstream of the junction are identical, allows the solution
to proceed. Downstream the combining flows is general revert to a supercritical condition, therefore
a critical depth section must exist immediately downstream of the junction.
Under unsteady flow conditions the hydraulic jump must be treated as a moving boundary within
the computational domain. As Fig. 6 indicates, there are five available equations, including C+ , C−
supercritical characteristics upstream of the jump, a C− subcritical characteristic on its downstream
face, together with the continuity of flow and momentum equation across the jump itself. Solution
of these five equations at each time step allows the determination of velocity of traveling jump and
the flow conditions both upstream and downstream of the jump.

4 MODEL VALIDATION

In order to validate the numerical model presented, the laboratory rig was set up for the transient
pipe-flow test. Tests were carried out with junction geometry of 90-degree at slopes of 1/100. The
entry flows of both main and branch pipes for transient flow were discharged from pressure tank
installed at the upper ends of both pipes. Fig 7 shows the comparisons of simulated and measured
profiles of depth versus time. The agreement between both peak depths and the occurrence time is
noteworthy. The results presented also emphasize the importance of wave attenuation in determining
the surge capacity of any connected pipe.

5 CONCLUSIONS

A numerical model by means of STI method with time-line interpolation was presented for simu-
lating transient flow in building drainage networks. The model was validated by full-scale model
experiments and it was consequently clarified that the presented time-dependent predictive method
is capable of predicting flow characteristics in realistic drainage networks. The most important
point is that it clearly demonstrates flows encountered in building drainage networks are pre-
dictable by established techniques, thereby dispensing with the current empirically based design
methodologies.

REFERENCES

Swaffield, J.A. & Galowin, L.S. 1992. The engineered design of building drainage systems. Cambridge.
Ashgate,
Mao, Z.Y. 1993 Partially filled unsteady flow analysis in the region of pipe junctions Ph.D. thesis. Heriot-Watt
University, Scotland. UK.
Mao, Z.Y. 1995. A new approach to the simulation of unsteady sub-critical flow, Journal of Hydrodynamics,
Ser.B, 7(3): 84–93.
Mao, Z.Y. 1996. A mathematical model of unsteady flow in the multistory drainage network. Journal of
Hydrodynamics, Ser.A, 11(2)2: 127–132. (in Chinese).
She, Y.T. & Mao, Z.Y. 2003. Flow simulation of urban sewer networks. Tsinghua science and technology. 8(6):
719–725.
Mao, Z.Y. 1996. Comprehensive study of combining flow conditions at pipe junctions, Journal of
Hydrodynamics, Ser.B, 8(1): 76–84.

1378
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Case study: Computed and measured transient pressures at

Çatalan power plant

B. Selek
General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works, Sixth Regional Directorate, Adana, Turkey

M.S. Kirkgöz
Dept. of Civil Engrg., Çukurova Univ., Adana, Turkey

Z. Selek
Dept. of Environmental Engrg., Çukurova Univ., Adana, Turkey

ABSTRACT: A study is carried out to compare the computational results of the transient pres-
sures with field measurements at the downstream end of a penstock of the Çatalan power plant in
Turkey. The governing equations of the water hammer, the conservation of mass and conservation
of momentum are solved by the method of characteristics using fixed-grid and variable-grid com-
putational schemes. Prototype data are collected during the closure of the wicket gates of a Francis
turbine from the test procedures of load rejection, emergency shut down, and quick stop. The general
agreement between the theoretical and experimental results for the transient pressures just upstream
of the turbine is found quite reasonable. The comparison of the theoretical and experimental results
shows that the variable grid method of characteristics can be used for the design of penstocks.

1 INTRODUCTION

When the rate of change of discharge is appreciable in the penstock of a turbine plant, significant
pressures of a transient nature are developed, this phenomenon is known as “water hammer”. The
present study is concerned with the comparison of the theoretical and the turbine test results of the
transient pressures developed in the penstock of Çatalan power plant in Turkey.
Çatalan Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant is built on the Seyhan River about 80 km north of
the Mediterranean coast of Adana province (Fig. 1). One of the main functions of the Çatalan Dam
is power production and the construction of the dam and power plant was completed and started
operation in 1997. The power plant consists of three Francis turbines. After the completion of the
structure and installation of the turbine and generator units, several routine tests were applied to the
various parts of the plant by the engineers from the manufacturer Preussag Noell GmbH, Geneva.
The test program also included the turbine tests that cause water hammer pressures in the penstock
developed from the turbine gate adjustment.
The aim of this study is to compare the computational penstock transient pressures with the
experimental results obtained from one of the Francis turbines at the Çatalan power plant, and to
see how successful the numerical solution methods are for the present case.

2 BACKGROUND

2.1 Geometry
Çatalan dam is a zoned earth dam, and it has a structural height of 82 m. The crest and spillway
elevations are 130 m and 110 m respectively. The power plant has three Francis turbines; each

1379
Figure 1. Location map of the Çatalan dam and power plant.

119.00 m

10 10 10 m
105.26 m 240 m

220 97.43 m
m
1 2 3
4 10 20 m 64.10 m
61.00 m
5

6 7

Figure 2. Schematic layout of the penstock of Çatalan hydroelectric power plant.

Table 1. Details of penstock properties for Çatalan power plant.

Pipe No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Diameter, D (m) 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 4.5

Wall thickness (mm) 26 24 30 24 26 26 30
Wave speed, C (m/s) 823 800 864 800 823 823 921

having 56.3 MW installed capacity. The three Francis units have their individual steel penstocks.
Each penstock consists of seven pipes having different wall thickness and/or pipe diameters, with
a total length of 520 m. The schematic layout of a penstock is seen in Figure 2 and the various
properties of it are given in Table 1.
1380
 1.30
1.20 ϕ = 33°
1.10
28°
1.00
0.90 23.6°
Q11=Q/(Dr2Hn1/2)

0.80
19.7°
0.70
0.60 15.6°

0.50 11.7°

0.40
7.7°
0.30
0.20 4°
0.10
ϕ = 0°
0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180
n11 = n Dr/Hn1/2

Figure 3. Characteristics of the Francis Turbine.

2.2 Turbine tests

 
The characteristics of the Francis turbines, the unit discharge Q11 = Q/ D2r Hn1/2 (Dr = runner
diameter) versus unit speed n11 = nDr /Hn1/2 (Hn = net head) for different wicket gate openings ϕ,
are given in Figure 3.
After the installation of the Francis turbines at Çatalan power station, three prototype tests (load
rejection, emergency shut down and quick stop) were conducted on Unit No.3.
Some test data for the turbine, and upstream and downstream boundary conditions of the penstock
are: Turbine output (P) = 52.8 MW, rotational speed of the turbine (n) = 166.7 rpm, runner diameter
(Dr ) = 3.87 m, initial wicket gate opening (ϕ0 ) = 22.5◦ , steady-state flow rate (Q0 ) = 106 m3 /s,
reservoir head (Hre ) = 119.00 m, pressure head at downstream end of penstock (p/γ ) = 54.40 m,
elevation head at downstream end of penstock (z) = 61.00 m, tailwater head (Htw ) = 64.10 m and
net head for turbine (Hn ) = 53.60 m.
From the prototype tests, among other things, the variations of wicket gate opening (ϕ), current
frequency (f), and penstock pressure head (p/γ ) just upstream of the turbine were recorded for a
period of tc between the steady-state flow conditions and the total closure of wicket gates. The
current frequency, f(Hz), is related to the turbine speed, n(rpm), by n = 60 f/p where the number of
pairs of pole pieces p = 18. For all tests, the initial opening of wicket gates was ϕ0 = 22.5◦ , which
corresponds to 82% of full opening.

3 ANALYSIS

The water hammer phenomenon in pipes is an unsteady flow and the governing equations are
the conservation of mass and the conservation of momentum. These nonlinear partial differential
equations can be solved by the “method of characteristics (MOC)” that leads to the numerical
solutions of the problem. Detailed description of the derivation and solution methods of the water
hammer equations may be found in Wylie & Streeter (1984), Chaudhry (1987), and Wylie &
Streeter (1993). In the present application of the MOC to the water hammer analysis, two different
numerical schemes were employed: fixed-grid method of characteristics and variable-grid method
of characteristics. These are briefly described below.
When the flow velocity, V(x,t), in the pipe is ignored, then, from the slopes of characteristic lines
a fixed time step for the computations is determined as t = x/C, and a rectangular fixed-grid

1381
 t
P1 K+ K- PN+1
P
∆t

i-1 i+1
∆t

1 ∆x 2 ∆x i-1 ∆x i ∆x i+1 ∆x N ∆x N+1 x

Figure 4. Simple fixed-grid characteristics.

characteristics system is resulted (x = distance along the pipe measured from the upstream end of
the pipeline, t = time, and C = speed of the pressure wave). According to the FGMOC, the grid
of characteristics can be constructed using simple fixed-grid system, or fixed-grid system with
space-line interpolation.
For a single uniform pipeline, the pipeline length, L, is divided into N equal reaches, so that
x = L/N. The solution to the water hammer problem in x, t plane can be carried out at the
intersections of the parallel characteristic lines K+ and K− (Fig. 4). The characteristic equations
between the points i − 1 and P, and between i + 1 and P may be written as

in which H(x,t) = piezometric head, D = diameter of the pipe, λ = Darcy-Weisbach friction factor,
and g = gravitational acceleration. Referring to the rectangular grid system x and t are known at
each intersection, and Eqs. 1 and 2 are used to determine the variables HP and VP at the pipe
sections from i = 2 to N for one time increment t.
When the pipeline consists of pipes in series, a series junction is a junction of two pipes, which
have different diameters and wall thicknesses. In that case the total length of the pipeline is divided
into equal reaches, x, so that the grid points coincide with the existing junctions.
For series pipes, rectangular fixed-grid system may be improved by modifying the characteristic
lines using space-line interpolation (Wiggert & Sundquist 1977; Ghidaoui et al. 1998) in which
Courant stability condition for the numerical scheme must be satisfied for all x intervals. Accord-
ing to the Courant condition, Courant number Cr(=Ct/x) ≤ 1, and the computational time step
must be selected such that  t ≤ x/C.
In the Variable-Grid Method of Characteristics (VGMOC), the flow velocity V(x,t) is not ignored,
the time step of the computations may vary at every intersection point of the characteristic lines, and
consequently the grid system is no longer rectangular. At the pipe junctions, a special treatment for
the computation is necessary. The detailed explanations of computational algorithm herein applied
to the junction of two pipes in series were given in Selek et al. (2004).
For the upstream boundary condition, constant reservoir level was assumed. At the downstream
end of the pipeline the flow characteristics of the turbine were used (Parmakian 1963). The flow
rate (Q), which is controlled by the wicket gates of a Francis turbine, depends on the net head
(Hn ), rotational speed of the turbine (n), and wicket gate opening (ϕ). The turbine characteristics,
representing the relationship between these parameters for steady-state test conditions, may be
assumed to be used for determining the flow rate during the transient state as well (Chaudhry
1987). Therefore, the penstock downstream boundary condition for the Francis turbine is expressed
as Q = VPN+1 A = f (Hn , n, ϕ).

1382
4 COMPUTED AND MEASURED RESULTS

Computer programs based on the numerical models described earlier are developed. The numerical
results for the penstock transient pressure head just upstream of the turbine are compared with the
experimental results.
In the computations, the minor loss coefficient for the penstock entrance is taken as K = 0.05.
Darcy-Weisbach friction factor is determined from the steady state flow conditions of the reservoir-
conduit system and found as λ = 0.025 which is assumed to be valid for the transient state as well.
The length of the equal reaches for the computations along the penstock is taken as x = 10 m that
seems the most appropriate for the present penstock conditions. To satisfy the Courant stability
criterion, the time step of the computations for the fixed-grid characteristics scheme, the minimum
value of x/C is chosen, that is t = 10/921 = 0.011 s.
The theoretical and experimental results for the three turbine tests, load rejection, emergency
shut down, and quick stop, are presented in Figures 5–7 where the histories of the computed and
measured transient pressure heads just upstream of the turbine are plotted. The closure times for
these cases are tc = 19.0 s, 15.5 s, and 14.5 s respectively. The figures also include the variations of
the measured wicket gate opening (%) and current frequency, f(Hz).
The computed results in Figures 5–7 are obtained using the three computational schemes, namely,
simple FGMOC, FGMOC with space-line interpolation, and VGMOC. The maximum value of the
measured transient pressure head in the figures is 98.1 m which is almost equal to the design value
of 100 m for the penstocks of Çatalan project. As may be seen from Figures 5–7, the general
agreement between the computational results of the three schemes and measured pressure histories
is reasonably good. Among the three schemes VGMOC seems to produce the best theoretical results
and gives almost the same maximum values as the measured pressures during the transient-state
conditions. As may be expected, the differences between the computed and measured water hammer
pressures are the greatest for the FGMOC, which is based on the simplest method of analysis
presented herein. The computational results in Figures 5–7 show that the pressure damping after
the complete closure is not adequately prescribed in the theoretical approach.
The comparison of the theoretical and test results of the present case study shows that the
VGMOC is quite successful in predicting the transient pressures resulted from the Francis turbine

100
Wicket gate opening
Current frequency, f(Hz)
Wicket gate opening(%)

80 Current frequency

60

40

20

0
Measured
90 Computed-Simple FGMOC
Pressure head, p/γ (m)

Computed-FGMOC with interpolation

80
Computed-VGMOC
70

60

50
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Time, t(s)

Figure 5. Computed and measured pressure head histories for load rejection (tc = 19.0 s).

1383
 100
Wicket gate opening
Current frequency, f(Hz)
Wicket gate opening (%)
80 Current frequency

60

40

20

0
Measured
90
Pressure head, p/γ (m)

Computed-Simple FGMOC
80 Computed-FGMOC with interpolation
Computed-VGMOC
70

60

50
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Time, t(s)

Figure 6. Computed and measured pressure head histories for emergency shut down (tc = 15.5 s).

100
Current frequency, f(Hz)
Wicket gate opening (%)

Wicket gate opening

80 Current frequency

60

40

20

0
Measured
90
Pressure head, p/γ (m)

Computed-Simple FGMOC

80 Computed-FGMOC with interpolation

Computed-VGMOC
70

60

50
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Time, t(s)

Figure 7. Computed and measured pressure head histories for quick stop (tc = 14.5 s).

operations, and this numerical scheme can be suggested as an appropriate method for the design
penstocks.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The governing equations of water hammer, the conservation of mass and the conservation of
momentum, are solved by the method of characteristics. The computational schemes, simple fixed-
grid system, fixed-grid system with space-line interpolation, and variable-grid system are used for

1384
the numerical solution. These computational schemes are applied to predict the transient behavior of
the penstock flow of Çatalan power plant in Turkey. Computational results of the transient pressure
just upstream of the turbine are compared with the prototype test results. From the comparison of
theoretical and experimental results, it is seen that the general patterns of the computed transient
pressure histories agree reasonably well with the measured prototype data. Regarding the maximum
transient pressure in the history, the variable-grid method of characteristics produces the nearest
values to the experimental findings, and therefore, this method of analysis can be used for practical
applications in predicting the penstock transient pressures from a prescribed turbine operation.

REFERENCES

Chaudhry, M.H. 1987. Applied Hydraulic Transients. New York, N.Y: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.
Ghidaoui, M.S., Karney, B.W. & McInnis, D.A. 1998. Energy estimates for discretization errors in water
hammer problems. J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE 124(4): 384–393.
Parmakian, J. 1963. Waterhammer Analysis. New York, N.Y: Dover Publications.
Selek, B., Kirkgöz, M.S. & Selek Z. 2004. Comparison of computed water hammer pressures with test results
for the Çatalan power plant in Turkey. Can. J. Civ. Eng., 31(1): 78–85.
Wiggert, D.C. & Sundquist, M.J. 1977. Fixed-grid characteristics for pipeline transients. J. Hydr. Div., ASCE
103(12): 1403–1416.
Wylie, E.B. & Streter, V.L. 1984. Fluid Transients. Ann Arbor, Michigan: FEB Press.
Wylie, E.B. & Streter, V.L. 1993. Fluid Transients in Systems. Eaglewood Cliffs., N.J: Prentice-Hall.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Study on propagation of pressure surge in steel pipe network

Y. Kono, T. Moriya & Y. Sugai

Tohoku-Gakuin University, Miyagi, Japan

M. Watanabe
The University of Okayama, Okayama, Japan

M. Shimada
The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT: The steady state condition of velocity variation in pipe network is analyzed by the
Hardy Cross method. The instantaneous velocity at the closing valve is measured by the installed
electro-magnetic flow meter and velocities at each pipe in pipe network are measured by the
ultrasonic Doppler flow meters. The experimental results and analytical results are compared and
discussed in detail. The continuity equation and momentum equation of water hammer are dealt
with one-dimensional unsteady flow and they are analyzed by the method of characteristics and
Joukowsky equation. The experimental pipe network which is 60.21 m long in straight and 12.14 m
in height is used for this study and 30 transducers are located to each corner of pipes and the
pressure of waterhammer is measured simultaneously at each 1/10,000 s. The experimental results
and the analytical results are also compared in detail.

1 INTRODUCTION

The velocity variation of simple pipe line is calculated by Bernoulli equation and the friction factor
is given by Moody diagram. However, this value given by calculation is too high. The steady state
condition of velocity in pipe network is analyzed by the Hardy Cross method. The Hazen-Williams
equation is used for K value. The instantaneous velocity at the closing valve is measured by the
installed electro-magnetic flow meter and velocities at each pipe in pipe network are measured by the
ultrasonic Doppler flow meters. The friction factor f = 0.0002 is suitable in this pipeline as the result
of analysis and experiment. The continuity equation and momentum equation of waterhammer are
dealt with one-dimensional unsteady flow and they are analyzed by the method of characteristics.
The Joukowsky equation is also used to discuss the superposition of waterhammer waves. It is
found that the highest peak is controlled by the peaks of both lines and duration time is controlled
by longer line.

2 STEADY STATE VELOCITY IN PIPE NETWORK

2.1 Velocity analysis in simple pipe

In order to find the friction factor, f, from Moody diagram the Reynolds number is calculated
by using parameters of steel pipe materials. In case of velocity 1.0 m/s at the end of pipeline
Reynold’s number becomes 5,192. The diameter of the pipe, 0.0525 m and coefficient of roughness,
e/D = 0.049 and coefficient of kinetic viscosity 0.1011 cm2 /s are used. The friction factor becomes
0.071. This value is too high to calculate the single pipeline velocity. We use 0.02 for the value
of friction factor to calculate the headloss and velocity variation in pipeline. As the result, the

1387
velocity at L5 = 34.7 m becomes v5 = 1.57 m/s in straight line, the velocity at L7 = 45.1 m becomes
v5 = 1.71 m/s in short round line and the velocity at L5 = 57.1 m becomes v5 = 1.84 m/s in long
round line.

2.2 Theoretical approach to pipeline network by Hardy Cross method

The analysis is keep calculating until the convergence of the error of flow rate, the equation (2.4).

2.3 Steady state velocity experiment

Figure 2.1 shows the ultrasonic flow meter which measures the velocity of each pipe in pipe network.
Principal of the ultrasonic flow meter is that the ultrasonic wave is generated and emitted from
outside of the pipe and received the ultrasonic by detector. The velocity in pipe is given by Doppler
effect of the ultrasonic wave. The ultrasonic wave emitter and detector are attached to the location
of pipe to measure the velocity by two belts at both sides. The ultrasonic emitter and detector are
connected to the transfer unit. As soon as power is on the most effective distance between the emitter
and detector is shown on a display. The distance is fixed again according to the number shown.
The velocity in transfer unit is set to zero when the pipe is filled with water. It is decided that the

Upper tank
Ultrasonic detector
E F G

5.7 m 7m
H I 9m
D J
Steel pipe
C 27 m K L 9m
57.1 m M

B N O 9m
P Q
A
Change unit 5.7 m
Shut off valve 7m
(display)
To the lower tank

Figure 2.1. Ultrasonic flow meter. Figure 2.2. Location of flow meter.

1388
upstream is positive. It is ready to measure the velocity. The velocity is measured at 17 locations in
the pipe network as the figure 2.2. The velocity at each pipe in seven patterns is taken by ultrasonic
flow meter during steady state velocity experiment as shown in Table 2.1. It has been impossible
to measure the velocity by the ultrasonic flow meter until all pipeline is replaced by steel pipes
because the PVC lining pipes made the ultrasonic wave not to penetrate into the center of pipes.
The electro-magnetic flow meter is installed at the end of pipe network and the instantaneous
velocity is measured just before the steady state velocity experiment. The instantaneous velocity
at the end of line is also measured by measuring bucket. In this velocity experiment the velocity is
measured continuously at each pipe one by one by ultrasonic flow meters.

2.4 Result of velocity analysis and experiment in single pipe

Figures 2.3 to 2.5 show results of steady state velocity experiments and result of Hardy Cross
method when we set the velocity 1.0 m/s at the end of the line. Figure 2.3 shows that velocity at
each measuring location (A to E) at each pipe in a case of a single straight line (S-1).
The maximum velocity is 0.947 m/s at location A and the minimum velocity is 0.935 m/s at a
location E. The error from out-flow to in-flow is 0.012 m/s. The velocity at the end of line after the
sudden closing valve is measured as 0.997 m/s.
This is measured by a measuring bucket and the electro-magnetic flow meter. The difference
between 0.997 m/s and 0.947 m/s, velocity at a location A before the closing valve is 0.05 m/s.

Table 1. Flow pattern.

1. Single pipe (straight) Pattern S-1

2. Single pipe (short round) Pattern S-2
3. Single pipe (long round) Pattern S-3
4. Double pipe (short round) Pattern D-1
5. Double pipe (long round) Pattern D-2
6. Triple pipe (three lines) Pattern T-1
7. All pipe (full pipe line) Pattern A-1

Upper tank
Unit; (m/s)

[Result of analysis f=0.0002]

[V5=1.059] E Result of experiment
V=0.935

[V4=1.052] D
V=0.943

[V3=1.029] C

[V2=1.015] B
V=0.927

V=0.947 A
[V1=1.00]
Shut off valve

[V=0.963]
V=0.997

Figure 2.3. Velocity experiment in S-1.

1389
 Upper tank Upper tank
Result of experiment Unit;(m/s)
[Result of analysis Hardy Cross]
E V=0.365 E V=0.464 V=0.207
[V=0.435] [V=0.524] [V=0.104]
V=0.982 V=0.973
[V=0.982] [V=0.973] F G
F H
D V=0.363 D V=0.254
H [V=0.433] V=0.233 I
V=0.563 V=0.506 [V=0.317] J [V=0.203]
[V=0.501] [V=0.446]
C V=0.019
C [V=0.285] K [V=0.035] V=0.236
V=0.572 K V=0.385 L
[V=0.433] V=0.488 V=0.241 [V=0.232]
[V=0.501] [V=0.446] M
B V=0.371 [V=0.299] N V=-0.027
N B
V=0.567 [V=0.433] [V=0.003] V=0.185
[V=0.501] V=0.500 V=0.282 O
A [V=0.446] P Q [V=0.175]
P V=0.354
V=0.968 A
[V=0.968] [V=0.428] V=0.477 V=0.182
V=0.963 [V=0.512] [V=0.209]
Shut off valve [V=0.963]
Shut off valve
[V=0.977]
[V=0.984]
V=1.003 V=1.001

Figure 2.4. Result of velocity analysis and Figure 2.5. Result velocity analysis and
experiment in D-1. experiment in A-1.

The difference between 0.997 m/s of measuring bucket and 0.963 m/s of the electro-magnetic
flow meter is 0.034 m/s. Those differences occurred mainly because the measuring methods are
different among the ultrasonic Doppler flow meter, the measuring bucket and the electro-magnetic
flow meter. The difference between 0.963 m/s of the electro-magnetic flow meter and 0.947 m/s of
velocity at a location A is 0.016 m/s. As result of velocity study the friction factor in this line is very
small as 0.0002. The head loss becomes as 0.01 m. Those results of calculation using f = 0.0002
are shown as figures 2.4 and 2.5 with result of experiment.

2.5 Result of velocity analysis and experiment in pipe network

Figures 2.4 and 2.5 show results of velocity analysis and experiments in parallel lines. Figure 2.4
shows the result of velocity analysis and experiments in parallel short round double lines (D-1).
The maximum velocity is 0.572 m/s at a location C and the minimum velocity is 0.563 m/s at a
location D and the maximum error is 0.009 m/s in straight line. The maximum velocity is 0.385 m/s
at a location K and the minimum velocity is 0.354 m/s at a location P and the maximum error is
0.031 m/s in short round line. Figure 2.5 shows the result of velocity analysis and experiments in all
pipe network (A-1). The maximum velocity is 0.506 m/s at a location D and the minimum velocity
is 0.488 m/s at a location C and the maximum error is 0.018 m/s in straight line. The maximum
velocity is 0.282 m/s at a location N and the minimum velocity is 0.233 m/s at a location H and the
maximum error is 0.049 m/s in short round line. The velocity at a location J which is the connection
from short round line to long round line is very small as 0.019 m/s and the velocity at a location
M is also very small as −0.027 m/s. The velocities are one order smaller than other velocities. The
directions of velocities are from short round line to long round line as the result of experiment,
however it is different from analysis.

3 WATERHAMMER IN PIPE NETWORK

3.1 Governing equation of waterhammer

The equation of motion and the equation of continuity for waterhammer analysis are (3.1) and (3.2).
They are solved by the method of characteristics.

1390
 Two boundary conditions are as follows:
1. The upstream boundary condition is water level of the upper tank.
2. The instantaneous velocity changes linearly with closing the high speed valve. This is downstream
boundary condition.
The superposition of waterhammer pressure in the different pipes is considered by using
Joukowsky equation as the equation (3.3).

H; waterhammer pressure [m], a; Propagation speed [m/s], g; Gravitational acceleration

[9.81m/s2 ], v; Flow velocity[1.0 m/s].
It is possible to measure the waterhammer pressure at the same position of the laboratory
equipment in pipe network.

3.2 Experimental apparatus of waterhammer in pipe network

Numerical models for the same system as the experimental apparatus have been developed which
has height of upper tank, 12.14 m, diameter of pipe, 0.05 m and length of pipeline, 60.21 m, as
shown on figure 3.1. Water flow down from the upper tank through the pipeline and it is connected
to pipe network at flat area. The velocity of flow is controlled by the valve which is connected
at the end of line just before the lower tank. The velocity is adjusted to 1.0 m/s by this velocity
control valve. The high speed closing valve is connected 2.5 m before the velocity control valve.
Figure 3.1 shows the bird’s eye of pipe network which is located at flat area of pipeline and it is
showing locations of pressure transducers numbered from CH-1 to CH-30 and closing valves from
1 to 30 just before the transducer pick-ups. The closing valves are set to both sides of each pipe to
control the direction of flow as single straight line to close valves at 9 and 30 and long round single
line to close 4, 11, 15, 23, 28, and 3 and so on.
Waterhammer is occurred by closing the high speed closing valve located at the downstream of
the pipeline. Pressure are picked up by pressure transducers at each location and amplified and
stored in a computer in every 1/10,000 second in 30 channels at the same time.

3.3 Result of waterhammer analysis and experiment in simple pipe

Figure 3.2 shows the result of waterhammer experiment in simple straight line at initial velocity
1.0013 m/s. The negative pressure of waterhammer wave reaches the evaporation point (−10 m)
and the vaporization starts from this point. The two-phase flow of liquid and vapor mixture occurs
at this point.
Figure 3.3 shows the results of analysis and experiment in simple pipeline at the end of line.
The result of analysis shows that the highest value is 155 m in head at the peak of sudden pressure
raise. The result of experiment gives the good values like the result of analysis, however it has the
extremely high peak at very early time, 0.03 s and very low value at about 0.08 s.

1391
Figure 3.1. Pipe network and waterhammer measuring equipments.

Head CH1
Head CH2 Theory
Head CH3
Head CH4
Head CH5
Head CH6
Head CH7

Figure 3.2. Result of waterhammer experiment Figure 3.3. Result of waterhammer analysis and
in simple pipe (S-1). experiment in simple pipe (S-1).

1392
 Head CH1
Theory
Head CH2
Head CH3
Head CH4
Head CH5
Head CH6
Head CH7

Figure 3.4. Waterhammer pressure (D-1). Figure 3.5. Waterhammer at the end of line (D-1).

3.4 Result of waterhammer experiment in pipe network

Figure 3.4 shows the experimental result of waterhammer under the condition of double parallel
lines with short round line and straight line (D-1). Figure 3.5 shows that the comparison between
the result of experiment at the end of line (CH1) and the result of analysis by Joukowsky equation.
The result of analysis is given by considering superposition of waterhammer between the result of
single straight line and single short round line.

4 CONCLUSIONS

As result of velocity study the friction factor in this line is very small as 0.0002. The head loss
becomes 0.01 m. Those results of calculation using f = 0.0002 give resemble values with result of
experiment.
The velocity at a location J which is the connection from short round line to long round line
is very small as 0.019 m/s and the velocity at a location M is also very small as 0.027 m/s. The
velocities are one order smaller than other velocities. The directions of velocities are from short
round line to long round line as the result of experiment, however it is different from analysis.
The result of experiment in waterhammer gives the good values like the result of analysis in
simple pipeline, however it has the extremely high peak at very early time, about 0.03 s and very
low value at about 0.08 s.
It is found that the highest peak is controlled by the peaks of both line and duration time is
controlled by longer line. At the end of peak the superposition of waves occurs as negative wave
subtract from peak of the wave in longer line.

REFERENCES

Bergant A. et al 1992. Interface model for transient cavitating flow in pipelines, Unsteady Flow and Fluid
Transients: 333–342. Rotterdam: A. A Balkema.
Kono, Y. et al 1996. Experimental study on dynamic fracture of pipes by waterhammer and quasi-static fracture
by water pressure, JSCE: 55–60.
Shimada, M. et al 2004. Numerical accuracy – manual vs automatic assessment, BHR Group 2004 Pressure
Surges: 511–525.
Watanabe, M. & Kono, Y. 1993. Waterhammer analysis of two phase flow in pipelines by numerical method,
AMJS of Applied Mathematics: 59–60.
Wylie, E. B. & Streeter, V. L. 1978. Fluid transients, McGraw Hill.

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4 Urban stormwater management;
urban drainage modelling

4.1 Urban stormwater management – I

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Analytical probabilistic models for urban stormwater erosion

potential

J.A. Harris
Dillon Consulting Ltd., Toronto, Canada

B.J. Adams
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

ABSTRACT: Analytical probabilistic models for urban drainage systems analysis have under-
gone development at the University of Toronto for over two decades. Towards the prediction of
the erosion potential of urban stormwater runoff, a new set of analytical probabilistic models is
developed. The marginal probability distributions for the duration of a hydrograph in which the
critical channel velocity is exceeded (termed exceedance duration) is computed using derived prob-
ability distribution theory. Exceedance duration and peak channel velocity are two random variables
upon which erosion potential is functionally dependent. Reasonable agreement exists between the
derived marginal probability distributions for exceedance duration and continuous SWMM simu-
lations at low return periods. It is these events of lower magnitude and higher frequency that are
the most significant to erosion potential.

1 URBAN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

1.1 Introduction
Rapidly expanding urban areas into previously undeveloped lands require extensive drainage infra-
structure. In order to mitigate the effects of urbanization, the behaviour of increased stormwater
runoff (peak flow rates and durations) and how this relates to erosion potential must first be
understood. Stormwater modeling predicts catchment loads on receiving waters such as runoff
rates and volumes, and pollutant concentrations and masses from existing or planned urban areas.
An analytical probabilistic stormwater model for predicting stormwater erosion potential based on
peak channel velocity and critical velocity exceedance duration is advanced in this paper.

1.2 The effect of urbanization on erosion

Increased urban stormwater discharges into receiving channels tend to increase the occurrence of
downstream flooding and the erosion of the beds and banks of channels that result from higher
flow rates over longer durations, as well as many other significant water quality problems. Erosion
control emerges as one of the key issues of stormwater management.
In an active channel, dry weather flow and runoff from frequent rainfall events of moderate
magnitude are conveyed, while larger storm flows spill onto the floodplain. Increased peak flow
rates and runoff volumes disrupt this dynamic balance. Urbanization substantially increases the
occurrence of mid-bankfull flows (those which only partially fill the active channel) and it is thought
that these frequent flow events perform the most work in shaping (i.e., eroding) the channel (MOE
1999). Leopold et al. (1964) generated an erosive work curve that indicates the greatest quantity of
material is transported by events with relatively high frequency rather than by the extreme events.
MacRae (1997) further stresses that an erosion control philosophy that does not address these high

1397
frequency events may not adequately meet the intended purpose as a large contribution to the
erosion of channels is from relatively frequent events of moderate magnitude (Leopold et al. 1964)
as opposed to infrequent events of high magnitude.
Researchers have recommended using tractive force/permissible velocity analysis at the sub-
watershed planning level (MMM Ltd. 1994) for predicting erosion potential. Assuming uniform
material, the erodibility of a downstream channel can be expressed by the mean particle size that is
subjected to a tractive force whereby the mean particle size corresponds to a mean velocity, above
which erosion will occur – the critical velocity (Cooke & Doornkamp 1990). The erosion potential
can then be calculated as the product of the peak channel velocity and the exceedance duration. This
paper advances the development of the joint probability distribution of peak channel velocity, up ,
and the duration of a streamflow event over which the critical velocity is exceeded, d, by deriving
the marginal probability distribution of d. Further research effort is required before the joint PDF
of these variables is established.

2 DERIVED PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION THEORY

The practice of urban drainage modeling has seen a shift from the design storm approach, whereby a
modeled catchment is subjected to a hypothetical storm of a certain return period and the hydrologic
response analyzed, to continuous simulation modeling as it is generally accepted that in the design
of storage facilities and water quality control structures, long-term performance is more critical
than single, design event performance (Adams & Papa 2000). Nonetheless, the computational
burden of continuous simulation, particularly with short time-steps, may be prohibitive to the
practicing engineer. Typical criteria for erosion control for a single development in the Province
of Ontario, Canada, is to design a storage facility that will detain runoff from a single 25 mm
storm event over 24 hours. It is thought that this simple approach may actually underestimate the
required erosion control since receiving stream conditions (such as stratigraphy, channel slope and
cross-section) are not taken into consideration and that the use of a single event to represent erosion
potential may be misleading since erosion is a highly discontinuous but ongoing process resulting
from a continuum of flow events (MOE 1999). Requiring considerably less computational effort
is analytical probabilistic modeling using derived probability distribution theory. This alternative
modeling methodology, to be employed at the planning or screening level of subwatershed analysis,
returns simple mathematical relationships for system performance statistics such as runoff rates
and volumes. Analytical models developed herein are planning level models intended to predict
the erosion potential associated with existing and proposed urban developments.
The fundamental principle behind this research is the derivation of a random variable’s prob-
ability distribution based on the probability distribution of another variable on which the former
is functionally dependent. The derivation is possible because the inherent randomness of the inde-
pendent variable is imparted to the dependent variable (Benjamin & Cornell 1970). The probability
density function (PDF) of the duration of a runoff event that a critical discharge rate is exceeded, d,
is derived from the PDFs of rainfall event volume, v, and duration, t, the two random variables upon
which d is functionally dependent. To illustrate the derivation of the PDF of a dependent variable, a
one-variable transformation is first described. The dependent variable, Y , and independent variable,
X , are functionally related by Y = g(X ). The inverse of this function solves for the independent
variable, X = g −1 (Y ). The cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the dependent variable Y is
simply the probability that Y is less than some value y that is equal to the probability that X is less
than the corresponding value x = g −1 (y). The known CDF of X is used to obtain this probability
as follows:

1398
 Extending the theory to include more than one independent variable, a random variable, Z,
may be functionally dependent upon two independent variables X and Y such that Z = g(X , Y ).
Similar to the case with one independent variable, the CDF of Z, i.e., the probability that Z ≤ z
describes the probability that X and Y lie in a region where g(x, y) ≤ z. Mathematically this is
described by:

where Rz is the region in the x-y plane where g(x, y) ≤ z. Assuming independence, the joint PDF
of x and y is simply the product of their marginal distributions. The probability of the occur-
rence of x and y falling in the region RZ , is the volume beneath their joint PDF, fX ,Y (x, y), and
above RZ .

2.1 Stormwater modeling

Derived probability distribution theory has played an important role in water resources and hydro-
logical applications. A pioneer in this area of research, Eagleson (1972) used the functional
relationship of the kinematic wave theory of hydrograph generation to derive the peak stream-
flow probability distribution, offering a method to calculate flood frequency in the absence of
streamflow records. More recently, using the joint PDFs of meteorological inputs (rainfall event
volume, duration, intensity and inter-event time), probability distributions of event runoff volume
and peak discharge rate were developed by Guo (1998) using SWMM-type hydrology (Huber &
Dickinson 1988) and triangular runoff hydrographs as illustrated in Figure 1. Adams & Papa (2000)
provide a more detailed account of the evolution of derived probability distribution and its role in
water resources and hydrology.
The exceedance duration, d, the length of time that the runoff discharge rate is greater than a
critical discharge, Qc , is determined by the similar triangles of Figure 1. That is,

where Qp = peak discharge rate; Qc = critical flow rate; t = storm event duration; and
tc = catchment time of concentration.
This relationship implies that d is functionally dependent on t and Qp which is in turn functionally
dependent on t and v (storm event volume). Exponential PDFs have been used extensively by

Qp
Discharge d (exceedance duration)
Rate Qc
Runoff Volume
½Qp (t +tc )

t tc Time

Figure 1. Triangular Hydrograph.

1399
hydrological researchers to describe meteorological parameters (e.g., Adams & Papa 2000) and are
also adopted in this paper. The rainfall volume and duration PDFs used to derive the exceedance
probability are as follows:

where v̄ and t̄ = mean rainfall event volume and duration, respectively, derived from historical
rainfall records.

3 EXCEEDANCE DURATION PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION

The impulse probability, P[d = 0], of zero exceedance duration results from those storm events
where the peak discharge rate is less than the critical rate, and can be found by integrating the
joint PDF of v and t over the regions where Qp ≤ Qc . Because the random variables are considered
statistically independent, the joint PDF of v and t is simply the product of their marginal PDFs (i.e.,
fV ,T (v, t) = ζ λ exp(−ζ v − λt)). The remaining portion of the CDF for d must incorporate those
areas in the v-t plane where Qp > Qc (i.e., the critical discharge is exceeded) and d ≤ do , where do
is an arbitrary exceedance duration value greater than zero. (See Harris & Adams 2004) for a full
derivation of the analytical model for d with a full description of the integration regions over which
the joint PDF of v and t is integrated for several catchment types.) In order to return closed-form
expressions, of greater use in a planning/screening level analysis, the regions of integration are
linearized without significant loss of accuracy.
The integration regions are determined from two sets of conditions: Qc < 2hfc or Qc ≥ 2hfc and
Qc < 2hSdd /tc or Qc ≥ 2hSdd /tc (see Harris & Adams (2004) for the definition of the catchment
types and the parameters that define them). Four possible combinations of these conditions result
in four catchment types; the conditions that hold true for a particular catchment are based on the
characteristics of that catchment. Due to space limitations, the results from only one catchment type
are presented here. The exceedance duration impulse probability for Type IV catchments (Qc ≥ 2hfc
and Qc ≥ 2hSdd /tc ) is as follows:

For do > 0, the probability that d is between zero and do is:

1400
 When the impulse probability for Type IV catchments (Equation 6) is added to the above
expression, the probability that d ≤ do is given by:

The PDF of d for a catchment with Type IV characteristics is determined by taking the derivative
of its CDF as follows:

4 COMPARISON WITH CONTINUOUS SWMM SIMULATION RESULTS

The validity of the derived analytical model for predicting the probability distribution of exceedance
duration is verified by comparing the model to SWMM simulation results. A continuous simulation
model was chosen to compare results with the analytical model in the absence of field data. The
33-year historical rainfall record at Toronto, Canada was used as input to the SWMM RAIN Module.
Runoff quantities were then simulated using the RUNOFF Module and the simulated flow series
were subjected to frequency analysis. A comparison of the annual duration that a critical discharge
rate is exceeded and the analytical model results is shown in Figure 2.
The exceedance derivation predicted by the analytical model is consistently greater than that
based on the SWMM simulations for lower return periods which makes the analytical model
estimates conservative. The linearized integration regions used in determining the cumulative
probability density function may account for part of the discrepancies between the models. To
some extent, linearization decreases the area of the integration regions as the non-linear portion is
shaved off and the smaller integration regions underestimate the exceedance duration CDF. Similar
results were found for other catchment types (Harris & Adams 2004).
Notwithstanding the above difference, there is a reasonable agreement between the analytical
model and an equivalent continuous simulation model, SWMM, for lower return period or higher
frequency events. This is consistent with the concept behind the analytical probabilistic models

50
Analytical Model Results

40 SWMM Simulation Results

Exceedance Duration (h)
Critical Discharge

30

20

10

0
1 10 100
Return Period (yrs)

Figure 2. Analytical and SWMM simulation model comparison.

1401
developed with single-parameter exponential marginal PDFs for meteorological statistics which
are largely influenced by the large number of small and medium magnitude rainfall events. It is
thought that it is these events of smaller magnitude and higher frequency that do the most work in
forming a water channel and are therefore most significant from an erosion standpoint.

5 CONCLUSIONS

At the planning or screening level of urban development, analytical modeling using derived prob-
ability distribution theory is a viable alternative to continuous simulation, offering considerably
less computational effort. Using the probability density functions (PDFs) of meteorological inputs
(rainfall volume, duration, intensity and interevent time) screening level analytical models of urban
drainage system quantity and quality control have been developed through research efforts at the
University of Toronto.
Contributing to this research area, new probabilistic models are developed herein for predicting
the erosion potential of urban stormwater runoff. Erosion potential is the product of peak channel
velocity and the duration that a critical velocity is exceeded (termed exceedance duration). The
joint PDF of these two random variables indicates the erosion potential from existing or proposed
developments with relative ease that is not offered by continuous simulation. The marginal dis-
tribution for exceedance duration is developed, and future research will address the derivation of
the joint probability density function with which the erosion potential of urban runoff may be
readily computed. A method for predicting erosion potential can be very useful when developing a
watershed or subwatershed plan at the screening or planning level. The closed-form mathematical
solutions are easy to use, requiring few input parameters, making them attractive to the practicing
engineer when compared to the computational burden often presented by the more conventional
continuous simulation approach.

REFERENCES

Adams, B.J. & Papa, F. 2000. Urban Stormwater Management Planning with Analytical Probabilistic Models.
New York: John Wiley and Son, Inc.
Benjamin, J.R. & Cornell, C.A. 1970. Probability, Statistics and Decision for Civil Engineers. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Cooke, R.U. & Doornkamp, J.C. 1990. Geomorphology in Environmental Management. Oxford: Clarendon
Press.
Eagleson, P.S. 1972. Dynamics of flood frequency. Water Resources Research 8(4): 878–897.
Guo, Y. 1998. Development of analytical probabilistic urban stormwater models. Ph.D. dissertation. Toronto:
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto.
Harris, J.A. & Adams, B.J. 2004. Probabilistic assessment of urban runoff erosion potential. Canadian Journal
of Civil Engineering (under review).
Huber, W.C. & Dickinson, R.E. 1988. Storm Water Management Model, Version 4: User’s Manual, Athens,
GA: US Environmental Protection Agency.
Leopold, L.B., Wolman, M.G. & Miller, J.P. 1964. Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology. San Francisco:
W.H. Freeman and Co.
MacRae, C.R. 1997. Experience from morphological research on Canadian streams: is control of the two-
year frequency runoff event the best basis for stream protection? In Effects of Watershed Development &
Management on Aquatic Systems; Proc. Engineering Foundation, Snowbird, Utah: ASCE.
Marshall Macklin Monaghan Limited (MMM Ltd.). 1994. Stormwater Management Practices Planning and
Design Manual, Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy.
Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE). 1999. Stormwater Management Planning and Design Manual,
Draft Final Report. Toronto: Queen’s Printers.

1402
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Hydraulic model test of inundation water intrusion in

underground space

K. Toda & K. Inoue

Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

T. Nakai
Hanshin Expressway Public Corporation, Osaka, Japan

R. Oyagi
Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT: A hydraulic model test of water intrusion in underground space is conducted by

use of the undistorted hydraulic model with 1/30 scale. The studied underground space is the
complex one comprising a shopping mall, parking lots and a subway station. Inundation process
there is studied in detail and evacuation possibility is examined based on the depth and velocity
of inundation flow. It is found that if the inundation flow invades the studied underground space,
the inundation area expands rapidly and the water depth rises very quickly. The studied space also
becomes very dangerous by the difficulty of evacuation.

1 INTRODUCTION

Recent urban floods such as Fukuoka flood in Japan in 1999 and Seoul flood in Korea in 2001
have induced inundation into underground space and have caused heavy damages. Therefore, it is
very significant to study the inundation flow behavior in underground space from the hydraulic and
disaster preventive aspects. This paper treats a hydraulic model test of inundation in the multiple
storied underground spaces. Through the experiments, inundation flow behaviors in the under-
ground space including stairs are studied in detail. Also, evacuation possibility from underground
space in flooding and necessity of suitable evacuation system are discussed.

2 STUDIED AREA AND EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

2.1 Studied area

The underground space studied, Kyoto Oike underground space, is located in the central area of
Kyoto, Japan. The Kamo River runs in the near east side (see Figure 1). This underground space
is a multiple storied one, which comprises a shopping mall, a subway station concourse and a
parking lot on the first basement floor (B1F), a parking lot on the second basement floor (B2F)
and a subway platform on the third basement floor (B3F) (see Figure 2). The horizontal area of
both B1F and B2F is about 650 m × 40 m with the ceiling height of 3.5 m, while the area of B3F
is about 100 m × 8 m with the ceiling height of 2.7 m.
On the ground, there exist two car entrances and twenty-five stair entrances to the underground
on B1F. The parking lot on B2F is connected with the ground through the two car entrances at the
east side and connected with the parking lot on B1F by the two car passing routes at the west side.
On both B1F and B2F, there is a step in the center, and the east side is 1.5 m lower than the west
side. The subway platform on B3F is only connected with the subway concourse on B1F.

1403
Figure 1. Location of Kyoto Oike underground space.

Figure 2. Structure of Kyoto Oike underground space.

Photo 1. Hydraulic model of underground.

2.2 Experimental setup

A hydraulic model of the underground space is furnished which is made of acryl (see Photo 1).
The model is undistorted with the scale of 1/30. The model has three basement floors, but the
second basement part is horizontally shifted slightly for the flow configuration observation and

1404
Figure 3. Experimental setup.

Table 1. Inflow condition.

No of stairs Inflow starting time Inflow discharge [m3 /s]

1 0 1.58
15 + 16 6 min 18 sec 14.08
3 10 min 03 sec 1.32
5 10 min 14 sec 2.13
4 10 min 30 sec 1.88
2 10 min 47 sec 2.63
18 + 19 11 min 25 sec 0.38
6 11 min 53 sec 1.31
17 12 min 42 sec 2.00
7 14 min 09 sec 1.08
9 23 min 06 sec 1.10
10 24 min 01 sec 0.54
8 24 min 28 sec 0.94
11 27 min 18 sec 0.67
Total 31.63

measurement. The water is provided from the head tank to each entrance on the ground. The
condition is assumed that an inundation flow caused by overflow of the Kamo River invades the
underground space nearby. The inundation water from each entrance disperses in the underground
space and flows out to the subway railway. The drained water is collected in another low-lying tank
and it is pumped up to the head tank (see Figure 3). Water depth is measured by using an ultra-sonic
level meter and flow is visualized by a tracer method with video cameras.

3 EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES

3.1 Experimental condition

Froude model law can be applied to this hydraulic model study, and hydraulic quantities in the
model are converted to those of the prototype according to the law. In this paper, the hydraulic
quantities are all expressed by the prototype scale.
Ishigaki et al. (2003) studied the inundation flow configuration by use of 1/100 scaled hydraulic
model of Kyoto City central area under the condition that the discharge of 100 m3 /s overflows from
the Kamo River at the upstream site of Oike Bridge, and obtained the inflow discharge to each
underground entrance as shown in Table 1. This overflow may occur by the heavy rainfall of return
period of 100 years in the Kamo River basin. This inflow condition is applied as the boundary
condition of the underground inundation experiment here.

1405
Figure 4. Entrances to underground and depth measurement points.

Figure 5. Water depth changes.

3.2 Experimental results

The water depths were measured at many local points shown in Figure 4. The temporal changes
of water depth are shown in Figure 5. In this figure, A, B, C, D, E express the points of A4, B4,
C3, D3, E1 in Figure 4, respectively. The inundating water disperses in the shopping mall and the

1406
Figure 6. Inundation water depth distribution.

subway concourse on B1F, where the water depth rises. The water on B1F immediately flows down
through the wicket to the subway platform on B3F in less than 20 min. Doors for passengers are
furnished in the subway platform that are only open when a subway arrives. If all the doors are
kept closed in inundating, the platform is submerged in about 20 min. While, the inundation water
also invades B2F parking lot independently of B1F, and as time goes on, the water depth continues
to rise because there are no outlets below.
Figure 6 shows the distribution of inundation water depth on each basement floor at t = 30,
60, and 90 min. It is found that the whole B2F is inundated 2–3 m deep within 90 min. after the
occurrence of inundation on the ground.
It was found that if the inundation flow invades the studied underground space, the inundation
area expands rapidly and the water depth rises very quickly. In the next chapter, the evacuation
possibility in this underground space against water intrusion is studied in detail.

4 DIFFICULTY OF EVACUATION

It is significant to know the possibility of evacuation through stairs connecting the underground
and the ground in inundation. For five different types of stairs of 1/30 scaled underground model
as shown in Figure 7, the water depth (h) and the flow velocity (u) were measured by point
gauges and by video camera, respectively. Measurements were conducted by changing inflow

1407
Figure 7. Studied stairs.

discharge systematically. Takedomi et al. (2001) point out that u2 h = 1.5 m3 /s2 is the critical line
for evacuation on foot through stairs against water intrusion. The experimental results are plotted
in Figure 8. Here, q is the inflow discharge per unit width. When q is 0.60 m3 /s/m, it corresponds
to the inflow discharge under the condition of hq = 0.5 m (hq : inundation depth on the ground). In
this condition, one cannot evacuate on foot from underground space. Also, Kamei (1984) points
out that in flooding, children, female adults and male adults cannot walk in a horizontal plane when
hq exceeds 0.2 m, 0.5 m, and 0.7 m, respectively.
By use of these criteria, the evacuation possibility is discussed for the condition of 100 m3 /s
overflow from the Kamo River. Figure 9 shows the temporal change of water depths each 5 min.
after inundation water intrusion starts. In 10 min. the car entrances in the east edge on B2F are
already in danger condition and the water depth exceeds 0.2 m in the east side on both B1F and
B2F. In 15 min. six stairs to the ground cannot be used for evacuation on B1F, and the water depth
exceeds 0.5 m on B2F. Furthermore, in 20 min. the depth in the half area on B1F and B2F is over
0.5 m and the depth on B3F exceeds 1 m. Unless people staying in underground go out to the
ground promptly within 20 min. after the water intrusion starts, they may have much danger of
being drowned and losing their lives.
Therefore, it is an urgent task to make the evacuation route map for underground inundation.
Also, it is very important to develop the information transmission system that can inform people
in the underground of the meteorological information, the river information and the condition on
the ground promptly.

1408
Figure 8. Evacuation possibility at stairs. Figure 9. Evacuation possibility.

5 CONCLUDING REMARKS

The inundation in underground is much more dangerous than that on the ground. Therefore, suitable
non-structural countermeasures should be taken for easy and safe evacuation as well as structural
countermeasures against inundation water intrusion into underground spaces.
This study was partially supported by Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and
Technology (Head: Prof. Kawata, Y., Kyoto University), from the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology in Japan. The authors are grateful for Mr. Toshiyuki Nishikori,
graduate student of Kyoto University, for his kind help.

REFERENCES

Ishigaki,T., Toda, K. and Inoue, K. 2003. Hydraulic model tests of inundation in urban area with
underground space, XXX IAHR Congress, Theme B, pp. 487–493.
Kamei, I. 1984. For Typhoon, natural and man-made disasters, Culture Magazine of Misawa Home Co. Ltd.
(in Japanese).
Takedomi, K. et al. 2001. An experimental study on the danger to walkers caused by inundation flow over
stairs into underground space, Proc. of the 56th annual conference on JSCE, (CD-ROM) (in Japanese).

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Hydraulic model test and calculation of flood in urban area

with underground space

T. Ishigaki, H. Nakagawa & Y. Baba

Ujigawa Hydraulics Laboratory, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Japan

ABSTRACT: In Japan, severe urban floods occurred in recent years, for instance, in 1999, 2000
and 2003. One of problems to resolve urgently is an inundation in underground space. Such urban
floods have been investigated by using numerical models, however, there are not enough data to
use for the verification of these models. The objectives of this study are to get precise data for
the improvement of numerical models and to investigate the behavior of flood flow in an urban
area with underground space. In order to achieve the objectives, hydraulic model tests by using a
city model with 1/100 scale have been performed, and a two dimensional shallow flow model with
unstructured mesh is applied and verified it with experimental data.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the central district of large cities, a number of buildings stand close together on the ground surface,
under which underground space facilities such as underground mall and subway are developed.
Populations and properties are densely concentrated there. If this area is attacked by overland flood
flow, the flow would extend to underground space and the damage would be serious. Therefore,
it is very significant to study the inundation flow behavior in urban area with underground space
from the hydraulic and disaster preventive aspects.
A process of inundation is usually dealt with by using a two-dimensional numerical model.
Xanthopoulos & Koutitas (1976) were the first researchers who dealt with a flood flow. Iwasa &
Inoue (1982) calculated an inundation flow with a kind of dynamic wave model. After them, some
Japanese researchers (Nakagawa 1989, Fukuoka et al. 1994, Suetsugi et al. 1998, Toda et al. 1999)
have investigated the flood flow by using numerical methods. Fukuoka et al. (1994) also used a
hydraulic model to verify their model. However, there has been no model that includes an under-
ground space before. In view of this situation, hydraulic and numerical model studies are executed
here. A part of the experimental results in this paper have been published by Ishigaki et al. (2003).

2 METHODS OF INVESTIGATION

2.1 Hydraulic model test

To decide a studied site, the following factors have been considered; the distance between under-
ground space and the nearest river, the configuration of watershed, which is a plane or hollow place,
and the arrangement of streets, which is square, radial or random. The city center area of Kyoto
has been chosen as the site because of the simplicity of its boundary conditions. There are two
underground spaces adjacent to the Kamo river in this area as shown in Figure 1. The arrangement
of streets is squares and the area is plane. These conditions make the calculation and construction
in the model easy.
The Froude model is composed of streets and blocks as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The block,
which is shaped by the outline from houses and buildings, is set on a plane base surrounded by
side channels. The slope of base is 1/200 according to the mean slope of the site. To measure

1411
 Figure 2. Urban flood model of Kyoto.

Figure 1. Site of investigation in Kyoto, Japan. Figure 3. Streets and blocks on the model.

the discharge into underground space, 48 holes are installed on the base as shown in Figure 4.
Discharges at the downstream ends through all holes and 14 streets are measured by using weirs
or buckets. Flow depth is measured with an ultrasonic level meter at eight points in Figure 4. Flow
is visualized by a dye-tracer method with nine video cameras. Overflow discharge from the side
channel is controlled with a PC.

2.2 Numerical simulation

The basic equations used to calculate an inundation process on the ground in urban areas are
depth-averaged horizontal two-dimensional momentum and continuity equations:

where M (=uh) and N (=vh) = x and y components of flow flux; u and v = x and y components
of the mean velocity; g = gravitational acceleration; H (=h + zb ) = surface elevation of the flow;
h = flow depth; zb = bed elevation; ρw = density of the flow, and τbx and τby = x and y components
of the resistance to flow, respectively given by:

where n = Manning’s roughness coefficient.

1412
Figure 4. Measuring points of discharge and Figure 5. Unstructured mesh used for two-dimensional
water depth. shallow flow model.

Table 1. Conditions of experiments.

Case Inundation into building block Inundation into underground space Model surface

END Non Non Dry

EYD Non Yes Dry
EFND Yes* Non Dry
EFYD Yes* Yes Dry

* Flood flow inundates to the block through slits on the wall, 2 cm × 0.3 cm at each 10 cm.

Inundation areas and depth were calculated by a two-dimensional model that incorporated with
the finite volume method and unstructured meshes. Figure 5 shows unstructured meshes used in
calculation where the intrusion of flooding water into underground space was considered. An arrow
drawn in the figure indicates a flooding point and the flooding discharge from the Kamo River
was 1 litter/s (100 m3 /s in prototype). The time step, t, was 0.001 sec and Manning’s roughness
coefficient, n, was 0.01 (m-s) in the calculation.
Conditions of the experiments here are listed on Table 1. There were two simple cases, END and
EYD, in which flood ran through streets only. Another two were complex cases, EFND and EFYD,
in which floods also inundated into building blocks through the slits installed on the wall of block.
The slits were rectangular of 2 cm by 0.3 cm and set on the bottom of all walls at each 10 cm. The
opening rate to the area figured with inundation depth and wall length varied from 0.2 to 0.05 in
the experiments with inundation depth. On the other hand, the walls were dealt as porous plates
with the opening rate of 0.1 in the calculations.

1413
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Results in the simple cases

Figure 6 shows inundation area in the case of END at 1, 2, 3 and 5 minutes from the beginning
of overflow. There was no intrusion of inundation water into underground space in this case. The
inundation area spread out rapidly to the south and slowly to the west. Experimental and calculated
results are in comparatively good agreement but calculated inundation area is rather larger than the
experimental one. One of the reasons may be a lack of horizontal viscous term in the basic equations.
Figure 7 is the results of case EYD that inundation water can intrude into an underground space.
By comparing with experimental results in Figures 6 and 7, inundation area in case EYD is rather

Figure 6. Measured and calculated inundation area in case END (no intrusion into underground spaces).

Figure 7. Measured and calculated inundation area in case EYD (intrusion into underground spaces).

1414
small than that of no intrusion case END. Therefore, in the calculation of inundation in urban area
with underground space, careful treatment is found to be necessary in order to evaluate the inunda-
tion area precisely. Calculated inundation area in this case is also larger than the experimental one
due to the same reason as the former case. Another reason may be in the applicability of a step flow
formula to the unit width discharge into an underground space. The formula is expressed as follows:

where discharge coefficient taking the value of 1.0. This discrepancy is also observed in Figure 8
that shows the distributions of floodwater volume. The calculated volume of intrusion into the two
underground spaces, Oike and Shijo U.S., are larger than the experimental results.
Figure 9 shows the variation of measured and calculated water depth at points E1, E2 and E5 in
case END. The calculated arrival time of the forefront of the flood flow is earlier than the measured
one, though calculated water depths agree fairly well with observed ones. Figure 10 shows the
water depth in case EYD. Calculated results agree fairly well with experimental ones at points E1
and E2, but there is discrepancy at point E5. It can be considered that this discrepancy comes from
the complexity of flow running through the complicated net of streets.

Figure 8. Measured and calculated volume of floodwater intruded into two underground spaces, Oike U.S.
and Shijo U.S. and street-end.

Figure 9. Measured and calculated water depth Figure 10. Measured and calculated water depth
in case END. in case EYD.

1415
Figure 11. Measured and calculated inundation areas at 3 minutes from the beginning in case EFND.

3.2 Results in the complex cases

Figure 11 is the results of inundation areas in case EFND. Inundation area in case EFYD is smaller
than that. In these two cases, floodwater flowed into building blocks. This figure shows experimental
and calculated results at 3 minutes from the beginning of overflow. Calculated areas are larger than
measured ones in both cases. This implies the needs of more appropriate treatment in evaluating
the porosity of block’s wall.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Precise data have been acquired in the model tests and used for the verification of 2D shallow flow
model with unstructured mesh. It is found in the model tests that huge amount of flood discharge
invades into underground space. The numerical model has enough accuracy to simulate an urban
flood without underground space. However, some improvements are required for calculating an
urban flood with underground space.

REFERENCES

Fukuoka, S., Kawashima, M., Matsunaga, N. & Maeuchi, H. 1994. Flooding Water Over a Crowded Urban
District, Jour. of Hydraulic, Coastal and Environmental Eng., JSCE, No.491/II-27: 51–60. (in Japanese)
Ishigaki, T., Toda, K. & Inoue K. 2003. Hydraulic model tests of inundation in urban area with underground
space, Proc. of 30th IAHR Congress, Greece, B: 487–493.
Iwasa, Y. & Inoue, K. 1982. Mathematical Simulation of Channel and Overland Flood Flows in View of Flood
Disaster Engineering, Jour. of Natural Disaster Science, Vol.4, No.1: 1–30.
Nakagawa, H. 1989. Study on risk evaluation of flood and sediment inundation disaster, Doctoral Thesis,
Kyoto University, Japan. (in Japanese)
Suetsugi, T. & Kuriki, M. 1998. Research on Application for Flood Disaster Prevention and Simulation of
Flooding Flow by Means of New Flood Simulation Model, Jour. of Hydraulic, Coastal and Environmental
Eng., JSCE, No.593/II-43: 41–50. (in Japanese)
Toda, K., Inoue, K. & Murase, S. 1999. Numerical simulation of inundation flow due to heavy rainfall in urban
area, Proc. of ’99 International Symposium on Flood Control, Beijing, China: 566–574.
Xanthopoulos, Th. & Koutitas, Ch. 1976. Numerical Simulation of a Two Dimensional Flood Wave Propagation
Due to Dam Failure, Jour. of Hydraulic Research, Vol.14, No.2: 321–330.

1416
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Coupled numerical model of flood inundation-groundwater flows

K. Kawasaki
Department of Civil Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

N. Piamsa-nga & K. Nakatsuji

Department of Civil Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Japan

ABSTRACT: In this study, a coupled model of a depth-averaged two dimensional inundation

model and a three-dimensional groundwater flow model ‘MODFLOW-2000’ is developed to com-
prehend flood inundation-induced groundwater systems. The validity of the model is confirmed
by comparing the numerical results with the theoretical ones for a falling head permeability test.
Moreover, the application of the model to the northern area of Bangkok, Thailand reveals the
infiltration of inundation water into aquifers has an effect on groundwater systems.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Chao Phraya River Basin in Thailand, which is a study area in this work, has serious problems
concerning the water environment. In this area that belongs to a tropical monsoon climate, flood
inundations frequently occurs in rainy seasons from April to October with about 85% of annual
precipitation. The term of flood inundations is, in general, from two to four months because of a
flat land and a long-term rainy season. In particular, food inundations in 1983 and 1995 caused
severe damages of rice crop farming and infrastructures in the urban areas. Furthermore, long-term
flood inundations may affect groundwater flow systems in the Chao Phraya River Basin. However,
the relationship between inundation water and groundwater has not been examined sufficiently.
In this study, a flood inundation-groundwater coupled model is developed in order to examine
groundwater systems induced by flood inundations. The validity of the model is confirmed by
comparing the numerical results with a theoretical formula for a falling head permeability test. Flood
inundation-groundwater interaction in the northern area of Bangkok, Thailand is also discussed
based on the computed results by the coupled model.

2 COUPLED MODEL OF FLOOD INUNDATION-GROUNDWATER FLOW

Many inundation flow models and groundwater flow models have been developed to understand
each phenomenon, but the interaction between flood inundation and groundwater flows has not
been so far taken into consideration sufficiently. Thus, it is thought that the existing models are
not adequate to the evaluation of the water environment concerning flood inundation-groundwater
flows in the Chao Phraya River Basin.
A coupled numerical model, which is able to analyze both flood inundation flow and groundwater
flow, is developed and presented in this paper. The model consists of two flow models, namely, a
depth-averaged two-dimensional flood inundation flow model and a three-dimensional groundwater
flow model ‘MODFFLOW-2000’ developed by U.S. Geological Survey (2000). The details of each
model and the treatment of linking between the two flow models are described in the following
sections.

1417
2.1 Three-dimensional groundwater flow model ‘MODFLOW-2000’
A MODFLOW-2000 (MODular three-dimensional finite-difference ground-water FLOW model),
developed by U.S. Geological Survey (2000), is a three-dimensional groundwater flow model
using a finite difference approximation. The model is used to simulate steady and unsteady flows
of groundwater in an irregularly shaped flow system in which aquifer layers can be confined, uncon-
fined, or the combination of confined and unconfined. External stresses, such as well, recharge,
evapotranspiration, drainage, leakage from riverbeds, can be taken into account.
The partial-differential equation of groundwater flow used in the MODFLOW-2000 is derived
from the Darcy’s law and the balance of in-out flow, as shown in Equation 1.

where, Kxx , Kyy , Kzz are hydraulic conductivities along the x, y, and z coordinate axes, h is poten-
tiometric head, W is a volumetric flux per unit volume representing sources or sinks of water, with
W < 0.0 for flow out of the groundwater system and W > 0.0 for flow in, SS is the specific storage
of porous materials, and t is time.

2.2 Depth-averaged two-dimensional inundation flow model

The governing equations of a depth-averaged two-dimensional inundation flow model are comprised
of the continuity equation (Equation 2) and the momentum equations in the respective directions
of x and y (Equations 3 and 4).

where, H is water depth, U and V are depth-averaged velocity components in the respective
directions of x and y, M = UH and N = VH are flow fluxes in the x- and y-directions respectively,
n is Manning’s roughness coefficient, and zb is land level.
The finite difference method is adopted to approximate the governing equations with partial-
difference forms. The difference approximation of the momentum equations uses a time-marching
difference scheme in time, a first-order upwind difference scheme in the advection term, and a
central difference scheme in the pressure and friction terms. In terms of the approximation of the
continuity equation, the time-marching scheme in time and the central difference scheme in space
are employed. A Leap Frog method is also used to compute the inundation flow with stability and
little numerical diffusion. In the Leap Frog method, the water depth at the time step (n + 3) is
evaluated using the flow fluxes M and N in the respective directions of x and y at the time step
(n + 2) and the water depth H at the time step (n + 1).

2.3 Treatment of linking between flood inundation and groundwater flow models
Linking between the two models is significant to take into consideration the reciprocal effects of
inundation and groundwater flows precisely. In other words, the coupled model needs to compute
not only the inundation and groundwater flows but also the interaction between them. The flow
chart of the coupled numerical model is shown in Figure 1. First of all, groundwater and inundation

1418
 START

Read initial conditions

Compute groundwater flow under initial conditions

Compute inundation flow under initial conditions

Groundwater flow model

Select model

Compute piezometric
Inundation flow model head
Compute inundation water
depth and flow fluxes
Output data

Output data
Correct inundation depth

END

Figure 1. Flow chart of the coupled model.

flows are separately computed under the initial conditions. Next, linking between the two models
is treated as follows; groundwater levels are first computed with the help of the surface water level
obtained from the inundation flow computation so that the interaction between inundation and
groundwater flows can be expressed. The infiltration quantity of inundation water is also calculated
simultaneously, and consequently the new inundation water depth, taking the infiltration effect into
consideration, is estimated.
The time-marching flow analysis with the inundation-groundwater interaction is conducted by
repeating the above-mentioned process at each time step under suitable boundary conditions. It is
thought that groundwater flow phenomena are, in general, slower in time response in comparison
with flood inundation ones. It would not, thus, be necessary that groundwater flow should be
computed with the same time step interval as the inundation flow computation. In the present study,
as shown in Figure 1, the inundation flow is computed repeatedly with a shorter time step interval
after one time step computation of the groundwater flow. This means that the total computational
time can become much shorter by adjusting the linking time interval between the two models.

3 VERIFICATION OF THE COUPLED MODEL

3.1 Computational conditions

The validity of the coupled model, especially the infiltration effect of surface water into underground
is examined here by comparing with the theoretical formula of a falling head permeability test.
The falling head permeability test is one of the indoor experiments that are conducted to determine
hydraulic conductivity in soil sample by measuring the temporal change of water in a standpipe.
The test is, in general, applied to sand or silt-sand sample with comparatively low permeability,
namely hydraulic conductivity K = 10−4 ∼10−8 m/s.
The theoretical formula of the falling head permeability test is applied to a geographical config-
uration system shown in Figure 2, and consequently Equation 5 is derived with the notations being
described in Figure 2.

1419
 h1 at t =t1

h2 at t =t2

Infiltration

Aquifer

Hydraulic conductivity: K
Cross section: A

Total outflow: Q

Figure 2. Sketch of falling head permeability test.

The coupled model is also applied to the same geographical configuration system as the falling
head permeability test. The computed results regarding the time variation of surface water depth are
compared with the theory, and are expected to satisfy Equation 5 if the linking computation between
inundation and groundwater flows is performed with appropriate accuracy. As mentioned before,
the adjustment of the linking time interval between inundation and groundwater computations can
reduce total computation time, and the setting of the linking time interval is also examined. The
computational conditions are shown in Table 1, and the computational domain with gross area A
of 6250000 m2 was subdivided into meshes sized 50 m × 50 m in square. The total computation
time was up to three days (=259200 s). The thickness of an aquifer L was set at 50 m and the initial
water depth h1 was kept constant at 10 m throughout all cases.

3.2 Results and discussions

Figure 3 shows the time variation of surface water depth, in which a circle symbol and a solid line
indicates the theoretical and computed results respectively. The difference of Case 1 and Case 2 is
only the value of hydraulic conductivity, as shown in Table 1. Comparing with these two figures,
the incline of the surface water depth in Case 1 is faster than that in Case 2 because the hydraulic
conductivity in Case 1 is larger. The computed values in both Case 1 and Case 2 are found to
be in good agreement with the theoretical ones. It can be, therefore, said that the coupled model
can simulate the interaction between the flood inundation and groundwater flows with appropriate
accuracy. The setting of linking time interval is discussed by comparison of Case 1, Case 3 and
Case 4, as seen in Figure 4. There is no apparent difference between Case 1 and Case 3 in spite of
different linking time interval, and the computed results also correspond with the theoretical ones.
However, the numerical result in Case 4 with the linking time interval of 120 minutes shows the

1420
 Table 1. Computational conditions.

Run Linking time interval [min] Hydraulic conductivity K [m/s]

Case 1 60 10−6
Case 2 60 10−8
Case 3 30 10−6
Case 4 120 10−6

10.00 10.0000
9.99 : Theory 9.9999 : Theory
Water Depth [m]

Water Depth [m]

: Cal. 9.9998 : Cal.
9.98 9.9997
9.97 9.9996
9.96 9.9995
Case 1 9.9994 Case 2
9.95 9.9993
9.94 9.9992
0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000
Time [s] Time [s]

Figure 3. Time variation of surface water depth.

10.00
Water Depth [m]

9.99
9.98
: Theory
9.97 : Cal. (Case1)
9.96 : Cal. (Case3)
9.95 : Cal. (Case4)
9.94
0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000
Time [s]

Figure 4. Comparison of the numerical results with different linking time intervals.

saw-shaped time variation of surface water depth, and there is a little gap between the computed
and theoretical results. This implies that the setting of unsuitable linking time interval may make the
computations unstable, and we should be careful about the setting of linking time interval between
the inundation and groundwater flow simulations.

4 APPLICATION TO NORTHERN AREA OF BANGKOK IN THAILAND

4.1 Computational conditions

The coupled model is applied to the northern area (Pathum Thani∼Nonthaburi) of Bangkok, Thai-
land as shown in Figure 5. The land surface with east-west 17 km and north-south 20 km was
divided into square meshes sized 100 m × 100 m and was clarified into four land uses, namely (a)
underdeveloped or paddy fields, (b) urban area, (c) lakes, marshes or rivers, and (d) roads or rail-
roads. The roughness coefficients were set in the range of 0.025 to 0.067 according to the land use
(Xanthopoulous & Koutitas, 1976). Since the detailed field data, such as the altitude, the thickness
of aquifers, the initial head distribution and so on, could not be procured, it was assumed that the
structure of underground consists of two aquifers with hydraulic conductivity K = 1.5 × 10−3 m/s
and the specific storage SS = 0.001 and one confining layer with K = 4.5 × 10−8 m/s between
them. The initial level of the groundwater was set at 0 m. In terms of the boundary conditions at the

1421
Figure 5. Computational area.

Figure 6. Time variation of inundation depth (unit: m).

upstream and downstream ends of the river, the respective discharges of inflow and outflow were
3000 m3 /s and 100 m3 /s so that flood inundation occurs easily. The time step intervals were 0.5 s
and 1 h in the inundation and groundwater flow computations respectively, while the linking time
interval was set at 1 h.

4.2 Results and discussions

Figure 6 shows the time variation of the computed inundation water depth in the northern area
of Bangkok. The flood inundation begins to take place from the upper area of the river, and the
inundation area gradually spreads downstream under the effect of inflow at the upstream end of the
river. It is also revealed that railroads with 2.0 m in height along the river are useful as banks, which
prevent from flood inundations. The model is also able to express the control of flood inundations
due to banks. As seen in Figures 7 and 8 that present the time variations of head distribution in
the respective first and second aquifers, the infiltration from the riverbed has a great effect on the
groundwater system since it is confirmed that the head variations spread from the riverbed. These
figures also indicate that the head distribution varies temporally and spatially with the change of
flood inundation depth. As compared Figure 7 with Figure 8, the influence of the flood inundation

1422
Figure 7. Time variation of head in the first aquifer (unit: m).

Figure 8. Time variation of head in the second aquifer (unit: m).

on the second aquifer is extremely small because of the existence of the confining layer between
the two aquifers.
From the above-mentioned, flood inundations would have an effect on groundwater system and
it is inferred that comprehensive study on flood inundation and groundwater issues is important to
manage the water environment in the Chao Phraya River Basin.

5 CONCLUDING REMARKS

In this study, a coupled model was developed to examine flood inundation-induced groundwater
systems. The validity of the model was confirmed by comparing the numerical results with the
theoretical ones for the falling head permeability test. Moreover, the application of the model to the
northern area of Bangkok, Thailand revealed the infiltration of inundation water into aquifers has an
influence on groundwater systems. It is, therefore, thought that flood inundation and groundwater
issues in the Chao Phraya River Basin should be discussed comprehensively to manage the water
environment. In the future, the coupled model will be utilized to study the relationship between
inundation water and groundwater in the Chao Phraya River Basin, Thailand based on the field data.

REFERENCES

Harbaugh, A.W., Banta, E.R., Hill, M.C. & McDonald M.G. 2000. MODFLOW-2000, The U.S. Geological
Survey Modular Ground Water Model, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 00–92: 121.
Xanthopoulous, Th. & Koutitas, Ch. 1976. Numerical Simulation of a Two Dimensional Flood Wave
Propagation Due to Dam Failure, J. Hydraulic Research, 14(2), 321–330.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Stormwater modelling for the South East Kowloon Development –

A case study

K.C. Luk∗ & D.D. McLearie

MWH Hong Kong Ltd.

R.J. Armstrong & B.R. Poole

MWH U.K. Ltd.

ABSTRACT: Reclamation in Hong Kong is a sensitive issue. It has been, however, one of the
conventional approaches to provide land for development for Hong Kong. After relocating the Hong
Kong International Airport to Chek Lap Kok in July 1998, the old Kai Tak Airport site, together
with the planned reclamation, could provide substantial land for urban development and renewal.
Drainage is one of the important infrastructures to support the development. Since drainage culverts
would need to be extended from their existing outfalls to the future seafront, a comprehensive
hydraulic modelling study was required to support the design and to assess the drainage impacts
before and after development. Presented in this paper is a case study of applying the Hydroworks
computer model to simulate the drainage impacts as a result of the development in South East
Kowloon. It was found that, with the provision of one of the world’s largest box culvert systems
(18 cell of 5 m × 5 m box culvert at outfall) and other overland flood relief measures, the drainage
impacts to the hinterland could be kept to an acceptable level. The performance indicators for flood
risk evaluations included water levels at strategic locations, hydraulic profiles, flood volumes and
flood risk maps.

1 INTRODUCTION

After relocating the Hong Kong InternationalAirport to Chek Lap Kok in July 1998, it was originally
envisaged that the old Kai Tak Airport site, together with reclamation at Kai Tak Nullah, Kwun
Tong Typhoon Shelter and Kowloon Bay, could provide substantial land for urban development and
renewal. In the original planning framework, it was contemplated that a mix of public and private
housing would be provided, including commercial, office and hotel areas, an integrated open space
network, pedestrian priority circulation system and waterfront promenades. The total population
originally planned to be accommodated in the entire South East Kowloon Development (SEKD)
was about 260,000.
The Hong Kong Government is currently reviewing the SEKD plan in the light of the January
2004 judgement of the Court of Final Appeal regarding the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance,
with a “no-reclamation” scenario as a starting point. This paper presents a superseded but interesting
scheme as a case study to demonstrate a comprehensive hydraulic modelling exercise that was
carried out to support the drainage impact assessment and design of an extensive box culvert
system for a massive land development in SEKD.
Parts of the existing drainage system would be reconstructed and existing outfalls would be
extended to the future seafront. The original preliminary layout plan covered about 20 existing

∗ Corresponding Author – MWH Hong Kong Ltd. 1911 Windsor House, 311 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong
Kong. Email address: ken.luk@mwhglobal.com

1425
Figure 1. Major drainage system in SEKD.

drains currently discharging into Kowloon Bay and the Kai Tak Approach Channel. These include
the following major systems as shown in Figure 1.
Stormwater drainage systems would need to be diverted and extended through the proposed new
reclamation area to the harbour. Due to the significance of some of the existing drainage, e.g. Kai
Tak Nullah (Culvert R) with an approximate width of 30 m; Jordan Valley system comprising 7 no.
culverts, each about 4.1 m × 3.8 m (Culvert S), etc., the required extension of the drainage through
the new reclamation would be a major constraint to the planning and land use.
The extension of existing culverts or channels should be designed to the Hong Kong Govern-
ment’s Stormwater Drainage Manual’s standards. Additionally, in accordance with the requirements
of WBTC No. 18/95, improvements would be made to the existing system so that the project would
not cause an unacceptable increase to the risk of flooding in any areas.

2 METHODOLOGY

A comprehensive hydraulic analysis using Hydroworks was carried out to evaluate the drainage
impact as a result of the development and reclamation. Although the original scheme is obsolete,
this paper shows an extensive hydraulic modelling exercise carried out to support the design of a
major box culvert system to meet the challenge of a massive land development in Hong Kong.

2.1 Modelling considerations

One interesting yet difficult aspect of this study is the interfacing with a Drainage Master Plan
(DMP) Study for the hinterland. The SEKD area is the downstream portion of the East Kowloon
Drainage Catchment, which is under review by another Consultant. Concurrent with SEKD, the
DMP consultant recommend drainage improvement works in the hinterland. Hydraulic constraints
will be removed to reduce the risk of flooding in the upper catchment, enabling flow to discharge
more efficiently and resulting in greater peak flows through the downstream drainage system. There-
fore, Hydroworks models were constructed for the SEKD, taking into account the latest development
of the DMP drainage models and including the recommended drainage improvement works.
Another important modelling consideration is the small amount of head available due to the
flat gradient of the hydraulic system. This is a major contributing factor to the large size of the
box culverts. Appropriate values for expanding and converging transitions, culvert junctions and

1426
Table 1. Comparison of water level – 1in 200 year rainfall + 1 in 10 year tide event.

Extg + Diff. Extg + Extg + Diff. Diff

Extg SEKD (A) FAI FAI + SEKD (B) (C)
Grd (mPD) (mPD) (m) (mPD) (mPD) (m) (m)
level
Location (mPD) (1) (2) (3) = 2 − 1 (4) (5) (6) = 5 − 4 (7) = 5 − 1

Culvert V1 5.49 5.184 4.130 −1.054 5.233 4.573 −0.660 −0.611

Culvert V2 5.84 5.982 4.449 −1.533 5.369 4.858 −0.511 −1.124
Culvert V4 6.43 5.910 4.973 −0.937 5.946 5.465 −0.481 −0.445
Culvert R 5.78 4.969 4.386 −0.583 5.515 4.858 −0.657 −0.111

outfalls were allowed in the model to represent the hydraulic losses. It should be recognized that
these factors could be reduced by good design detailing.

2.2 Key indicators for flooding risk

The fundamental requirement for the design of the SEKD drainage system is that it will not cause
any unacceptable flooding risk in the hinterland. Towards this end, a comparison was made of the
following key indicators predicted by the SEKD models before and after the SEKD development.
The four key indicators are: (1) Water levels at the boundary; (2) Hydraulic Grade Lines; (3) Flood
Volumes; and (4) Flood Extents and Flood Depths.

3 MODELLING RESULTS

Culvert R, as shaded in Figure 1,which passes through the North Apron Area of the old Kai Tak
Airport, is used as an example to illustrate the modelling results.

3.1 Water levels at boundary nodes

As shown in Figure 1, Culvert R comprises four upstream boundary nodes, namely V1, V2, V4 and
R. Comparison of water level is made at these four boundary nodes, and the results are presented
in Table 1.
Column (1) gives water levels predicted for the existing condition during one of the 200 year
design rainstorm events. As defined in DSD Stormwater Drainage Manual, a 200 year event is the
higher of (a) 200 year rain combined with 10 year tide, and (b) 10 year rain combined with 200 year
tide. Column (2) indicates the situation after the SEKD and the net effect is shown in Column (3).
Column (4) shows the water level after the completion of the drainage improvements recom-
mended under the Drainage Master Plan (DMP) Study, FAI means “Final All Improvement”.
Column (5) indicates the ultimate situation when the SEKD is in place and the DMP drainage
improvement works are completed and Column (6) shows the effect after SEKD when DMP is
completed. Column (7) indicates the net effect of both DMP and SEKD as compared to the existing
condition.
It can be seen that, after the SEKD, predicted water levels at the boundary nodes will generally
reduce due to the enlargement of existing box culverts and removal of drainage bottlenecks in the
North Apron Area of the old Kai Tak Airport.

3.2 Hydraulic profiles

Comparing water levels at the boundary may not adequately reflect the drainage impact because
the water levels along the drainage system vary due to a number of factors, such as drainage
improvement at certain locations. Therefore, plots of the Hydraulic Grade Lines (HGLs) along the
main culverts were also produced.

1427
Figure 2. Hydraulic grade lines at Culvert R.

These HGLs show the maximum water levels from the hinterland to the future SEKD develop-
ment area along the alignment of the box culverts. From the HGLs, one can observe the effect of
the drainage improvement to the hinterland as well as the downstream drainage system. Drainage
bottlenecks, if any, can also be checked out from the HGL. It is useful to identify the areas where
drainage improvement can be effectively carried out. The HGL plots for Culvert R are presented
in Figure 2.
The following points are observed from the HGLs:
– Considering pairwise comparison, i.e. “Existing” vs. “Existing + SEKD” and “Existing + FAI”
vs. “Existing + FAI + SEKD”, the hydraulic grade lines after SEKD development are generally
lower than the ones without SEKD development. This is because drainage improvement will be
carried out in the North Apron area and the hydraulic gradient will be slackened where drainage
bottlenecks are relieved.
– After the DMP FAI, the runoff is transferred more efficiently to the downstream portion of the
hinterland and subsequently to SEKD. This results in a higher hydraulic grade line after the FAI
as compared with the existing case.

3.3 Flood volume

In order to quantify the drainage impact and identify the locations where flooding might occur, a
comparison of flood volume was made. Flood Volumes were taken from the Hydroworks output files
and were plotted on plan, and a comparison was made to see the difference before and after SEKD.

3.3.1 Node-by-node comparison

The main purpose of comparing flood volume node-by-node is to show that the SEKD will not
cause any adverse impact. The production of the comparison graphs were greatly enhanced by the
MWH in-house graphic presentation software “Data Manager” (DM), which reads in Hydroworks
output files and does comparisons automatically. The DM enhances the graphical presentation
capability of Hydroworks and facilitates the interpretation of the modelling results.
Figure 3 shows the change in flood volume at each model node after both the FAI and SEKD while
Figure 4 indicates the change after the FAI only. It can be seen that the two maps have very similar
pattern, and that due to the enlargement of the drainage system in the NorthApron area, the flood vol-
ume at the nodes near the boundary of the NorthApron area has been greatly reduced after the SEKD.
The modelling results shows that the SEKD will improve the situation. This comparison has been
considered as a clear and concise way to show the overall impact before and after the FAI and SEKD.

1428
Figure 3. Flood volume map for Case 1: “Existing” vs. “Existing + FAI + SEKD”.

Figure 4. Flood volume map for Case 2: “Existing” vs. “Existing + FAI”.

Table 2. Total flood volume for catchment III.

Total flood volume (m3 )
Case 200 yr rain + 10 yr tide

Existing 151,760
Existing + SEKD 105,176
Existing + FAI 43,635
Existing + FAI + SEKD 20,009

3.3.2 Total flood volume

It can be seen from Table 2 that the total flood volume is drastically reduced after the FAI, e.g. from
151,760 m3 to 43,635 m3 . The SEKD further reduces the flood volume, both before and after the
FAI is in place.

1429
Figure 5. Comparison of modelled flood depth and flood extent before and after SEKD and FAI.

3.4 Flood maps

The main purpose of constructing a flood map for this project is to compare the flooding risk
before and after the SEKD. For this purpose, a simplified approach has been adopted to compare the
flooding risk on identified low-lying areas surrounding SEKD. It should be noted that this approach
is not meant to provide a precise estimation of the flood extent and flood depth within the hinterland.
An assessment of flood extent is carried out using the modelled flood volumes determined from
Hydroworks. The modelled floodwater was then spread over the low-lying areas. From this, the
flood extent and the maximum depth of flooding was determined. Figure 5 show a comparison
before and after SEKD development and the DMP drainage improvement works.
It should be noted that the flood depth estimated by the model has inherent simplification and
may lead to over-estimation of the real situation. In reality, the floodwater will spread around and
find its way to drain downhill according to the topography and a major portion of the floodwater
will be temporarily stored in the pathways. Hence the real maximum flood depth at low points will
be less than the depth indicated by the model. The modelled flood depth results should only be
treated as indicative comparisons of the effect of the SEKD development and cannot be used as
representation of the real flooding situation.

4 FURTHER MITIGATION MEASURES

Due to raised ground levels after SEKD, the floodwater under extreme events, which in the past
had been able to overflow to the sea, would be trapped behind the new reclamation. In order to
mitigate the impact on the existing overland flow from the hinterland, further mitigation measures
are recommended. They included peripheral intercepting channels to collect the overland flow;
properly graded formation and road layouts to ensure overland flow generally drains towards the
new seafront; more gullies at closer spacing for further interception of overland flow and large
openings with grating covers beside culvert roof slabs along the identified flow routes. The openings
will be located as near to the hinterland as possible to provide an immediate and alternative relief
route to surface flooding and additional measures will protect important facilities such as railways,
road tunnels, depressed areas and underground structures. For example, a raised road profile at the
entrance or exit of a road tunnel will ensure that the floodwater cannot drain into the tunnel.

5 CONCLUSION

Based on a comprehensive assessment of the water levels at boundary nodes, HGLs, flood volumes
as well as flood extent/depth and its location, it has been demonstrated by the modelling results

1430
that the flooding risk in the North Apron area would be greatly reduced after the DMP drainage
improvement. The SEKD would make further improvement as the drainage bottlenecks in the North
Apron area would be removed.
After the SEKD, modelled flood volume and flood extent in the North Apron area would be
reduced. As demonstrated in the catchment comprising the North Apron area, the SEKD has a
positive effect on the hinterland drainage system as it removes and upgrades the existing drainage
system within the North Apron area, including the Kai Tak Nullah, so that it could handle more
flows being brought downstream due to the final all-improvement works.
Further measures have been recommended to mitigate the impact on the existing overland flow
from the hinterland, which might arise due to increased ground levels within SEKD.
Similar approaches have been adopted in other catchments of the SEKD with a view to
minimizing the drainage impacts.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors wish to thank the then Director of Territory Development of the Government of the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for permission to publish this paper. It must be noted
that the views expressed are those of authors and do not necessarily reflect in any way the official
views or policy of the Government of the HKSAR.

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4.2 Urban stormwater management – II
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Implications for site drainage systems of reduced water

use in buildings

M. Escarameia & C.S. Lauchlan

HR Wallingford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

ABSTRACT: Water conservation is a central issue in achieving environmental sustainability while

not jeopardising human health. In order to reduce or prevent further rise in consumption, water
saving practices and techniques have been encouraged in recent years. A performance analysis was
carried out to investigate possible implications of this on site sewers. The methodology involved
the comparison of current and future water use scenarios for UK conditions and included: determi-
nation of typical volumes and discharge flow rates from house appliances; generation of outflow
hydrographs for common household types; assessment of design criteria for transport of gross
solids in pipes; and hydraulic modelling of small sewer networks with a variety of house types,
occupancy levels, pipe diameter and gradients. The study showed that the increased future use of
water efficient appliances will only have a minimal effect on the drainage system performance.
This conclusion does however depend upon which mechanism is dominant for solids transport in
pipes and therefore it is particularly important to recognise the role of maintenance in keeping a
satisfactory performance of the site sewers.

1 INTRODUCTION

Water consumption in many northern European countries is relatively high (for example, in the
UK it is around 150 l/head/day and is predicted to rise in the near future, mainly as a result of an
increase in single occupancy households, as well as in shower ownership and frequency of use).
Pressure on existing water resources and predicted future demand on these resources, coupled with
a shifting emphasis towards design for sustainability are driving the increasing use of water efficient
appliances in domestic and commercial buildings. However, the environmental and economic case
for reduced water usage is often made on the basis of little information on the performance,
and hence public health implications, it may have on sewer systems. In the UK, as in many other
countries, public water supply is clearly the greatest user of the available water resources (Howarth,
2001) and therefore households represent the single greatest potential for further savings in water
consumption.
Modified practices in water usage can however have an impact on the performance of the sewer
system, particularly in its upper reaches which are those most critically affected by variations in the
flow volumes and therefore most at risk of inadequately coping with the trend towards low water
usage (LWU). The flow processes in the upper reaches of sewer pipe networks are quite complex
(and still not fully understood) due to the following factors: (1) the flows from house appliance
discharges are intermittent; (2) the flow hydrograph resulting from house appliance discharges is
modified as it passes down the sewer; (3) the flow is affected by the transport of solids, mainly
gross solids, which due to the variety of shapes, density and type of material, have various ways
in which they can be transported and deposited by flow in pipes. Davies, Xu and Butler (Davies
et al., 1996a and b) first suggested that gross solids deposition for any particular solid type can be
based on critical hydraulic parameters. The present study was based on this finding and an analysis
procedure was formulated to investigate possible consequences of LWU on the sewer system.

1435
 The work described in this paper was commissioned by the UK Department of Trade and Industry
and counted on input from several industrial and academic organisations. The study, which is
described in detail in Lauchlan et al (2003) had the following objectives:
• To determine the implications of the trend towards low water usage in buildings on design criteria
for the site drainage system and produce an industry guidance document;
• To increase the confidence base among stakeholders in decisions regarding the adoption of low
water usage systems and procedures.
The analysis procedure that was developed took into account the current knowledge of gross
solids transport in house-sewer connections and used numerical hydraulic modelling to simulate
flow conditions in small drainage networks.

2 METHODOLOGY

In order to establish possible differences in sewer performance between current practices and future
reduction in water use it was necessary to establish corresponding scenarios. These and the various
work stages are described below.

2.1 Literature review of water usage appliances

In the first stage of the study a literature review of water using appliances (baths, showers, WCs,
taps, washing machines and dishwashers) was carried out including LWU appliances, defined as
“water using devices that minimise the amount of water required to perform their specific task”.
This review and limited field tests identified appliance discharge characteristics (flow rates and
volumes, usage frequency) for two different cases (see Table 1):
(1) Conventional Use, which refers to households circa 1985–1995;
(2) Future Use, which refers to beyond 2010 (and before 2025).

Table 1. Summary of discharge characteristics of conventional and low water use appliances.

Conventional use Low water use

(Households circa 1985–1995) (beyond 2010)

Appliance Volume (l) Flowrate (l/s) Volume (l) Flowrate (l/s)

WC 9–6 0.8–2.0 6–3 1.2

(8) (0.8) (4) (1.2)
Shower* 25–300 0.025–0.5 15–40 0.025–1.3
(150) (0.5) (30) (0.5)
Bath* 80–230 0.5–1.3 40–230 1.3
(180) (0.5) (40) (1.3)
Wash Basin 6 0.3–0.6 3 0.15–0.6
Taps (6) (0.5) (3) (0.15)
Kitchen sink* 22.5 0.5–1.3 20 1.2
(22.5) (0.5) (20) (1.2)
Washing Machine 25–150 0.6–0.7 25 0.7
(80) (0.7) (25) (0.7)
Dishwasher* 4–30 0.2–0.7 13 0.2
(25) (0.7) (13) (0.2)
Drainage siphon NA NA 18 3.8
(18) (3.8)

* The assumed frequency of use of these appliances was also changed for the future scenario: Showers –
increased by 35% with a corresponding decrease for baths; Kitchen Sink – decreased by 50%; Dishwashers –
increased by 100%.

1436
 Table 2. Typical household and appliance types.

Type Appliance Occupancy (no. of people) Typical house

1 1B, 1WC, 1WB, 1KS 1, 2 2 bedroom terraced house/flat

2a 1B, 1WC, 1WB, 1KS, 1WM 1, 4 2 bedroom terrace house/flat
2b 1B, 2WC, 2WB, 1KS, 1WM 1, 4 2 bedroom terrace house/flat
3a 1B, 1WC, 1WB, 1KS, 1WM, 1S 2, 4 Semi-detached house
3b 1B, 2WC, 2WB, 1KS, 1WM, 1S 2, 4 Semi-detached house
4a 1B, 1WC, 1WB, 1KS, 1WM, 1S, 1DW 2, 5 Semi-detached house
4b 1B, 2WC, 2WB, 1KS, 1WM, 1S, 1DW 2, 5 Semi-detached house
5 2B, 3WC, 3WB, 1KS, 1WM, 1S, 1DW 2, 5 Detached house
6 1KS, 1WC 1, 4 Water recycling scenario
7 Siphonic system 2, 5 Uses 4a

Key: B = bath, WC = toilet, WB = wash basin, KS = kitchen sink, WM = washing machine, S = shower,
DW = dishwasher.

For the UK, the key areas for likely changes in the frequency of use in the future are: the increased
number of dishwashers and associated decrease in kitchen sink use, and substitution of baths for
showers (i.e. decrease in bath use. Note that in the UK baths correspond to 15% of the water used
in the home, whereas shower use corresponds to only 5%).

2.2 Modelling of water discharges from household appliances

The second stage of the project dealt with the determination of likely outflow hydrographs for a
variety of common household types – this is described in detail in Lauchlan and Dixon (2003). The
discharge hydrographs were determined using Monte Carlo simulation techniques. This technique
uses random numbers to index cumulative probability distribution functions made up from the
appliance frequency of use data, thus generating time series of appliance discharge events that have
similar statistical properties to the parent data set. A limitation of the method is that it assumes
independence between events in the series, which is not always the case in the present study. An
existing stochastic model previously developed by Butler and by Dixon (which was used to estimate
water discharge volumes from domestic houses) was modified to produce discharge rates at sub-
hourly time intervals (rather than the hourly intervals used in the original model). To simulate
domestic appliance discharges a total of 10 different types of house were defined (see Table 2).
The siphonic system mentioned as Type 7 is based on the concept of WISA drainage siphons.
The system works by collecting 14–18 litres of wastewater discharged from the appliance(s) and,
once filled, the collected wastewater is emptied by the principle of siphoning.
A number of verification runs were performed to validate the modified model: checking the
model at hourly intervals for a different set of appliance data; checking rounding errors for the
conversion of hourly data to sub-hourly intervals; and checking the effect of different model run
lengths. It was concluded that stochastic modelling of household discharges using a Monte Carlo
technique can produce statistically valid time series. The results of the simulations were used as
inflow hydrographs for the next stage of the study: the numerical hydraulic modelling of small
drainage networks.

2.3 Hydraulic network modelling

The present study used hydraulic modelling as a surrogate for the more complex flow/gross solids
transport that occurs in site sewers, as this is not sufficiently understood at present to allow net-
work simulations.The Infoworks CS pipeflow modelling system was chosen as the method for
analysing the effect of changing flow volumes on the pipe networks. In InfoWorks CS stormwater
or wastewater networks are modelled as a collection of subcatchment areas that drain to nodes

1437
 Table 3. Summary of networks created and house types applied to each network.

Network Length of pipe: house to Length of pipe: House type applied to

number connection node (m) node to node (m) the networks (see Table 2)

1 5 5 1, 2a, 2b, 6, 7
2 5 7.5 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 6, 7
3 10 12.5 5, 6, 7

(manholes or grade breaks) which are joined by links (conduits, pumps, etc.). The Network Mod-
elling component of the project was conducted in two stages. Firstly, the ability of InfoWorks CS
to simulate short, intermittent flows was assessed. This involved comparing the results of model
simulations with results of experimental tests of wave attenuation in pipes previously carried out at
HR Wallingford (Ackers and Harrison, 1963) and with some limited field tests in a detached four
bedroom house. The results from the field tests were also taken into account in the determination
of the typical appliance discharge rates shown in Table 1.
Comparisons were performed using input hydrographs both with and without a baseflow com-
ponent, and the adequacy of the minimum time step in InfoWorks CS (15 s) was also investigated.
Comparison was made between the peak flow depths and the time to peak at five different locations
along a pipe. Generally there was a reasonable agreement between the experimental and model
results for the peak depth of flow at the observation points, with a greater difference in the peak
for the shortest input hydrographs, as would be expected. In these cases the model input had to
be modified significantly to account for the time step limitations. However, in all cases the flow
wave volume was conserved in the model. The greatest difference in results lay in the time to peak
values. Due to the 15 s time step limitation, the results of the model could only be calculated at
15 s intervals. This limitation should be considered when interpreting any model results. For the
present range of flow conditions, the minimum required baseflow depth before instability occurred
was found to be around 0.01m; however this did not appear to significantly affect the flow depth
values until the depth reduced close to the minimum value. For any network models initial tests
should be performed to minimise this value.
The second stage involved the use of InfoWorks CS to model different pipe networks using the
results of the stochastic modelling as input. The variables tested included the length of pipe between
input flows, the pipe diameter, and the pipe slope. Table 3 gives the characteristics of the networks
studied, each consisting of 10 houses connected in pairs along a collector pipe (with pipe diameters
of 100 mm and 150 mm, at gradients varying between 1:150 and 1:40, which are typical gradients
for UK site sewer pipes).

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

From each simulation (for both conventional and future scenarios) the peak flow depth and peak
flow velocity values were obtained in order to be compared to the specified gross solids transport
criteria. A literature review of the current knowledge base indicated that suitable design criteria
were: an absolute flow depth of 0.03 m or a relative flow depth of 0.1 × pipe diameter, with flow
velocities of 0.2 m/s.
The data for the two different diameter pipes were analysed separately. These peak velocity
and depth values were the maximum values obtained for each of the simulations, which therefore
represent the maximum flow depth or velocity that occurred over any 24-hour period. The peak
flow depth and flow velocity data sets were each analysed as a daily maximum series. This involved
arranging the peak depths or velocities in decreasing order of magnitude and then ranking each
of the values. The probability of exceedence, P(X), was then calculated for each value, X, using
the Weibull formula (see, for example, Shaw, 1988). Two levels of probability of exceedence were

1438
 Comparison of Probability vs depth for Node 5 (Conventional Scenario)
(150mm dia, slope 1:100)
0.035

0.03
30mm - absolute depth deposition limit
0.025
Depth (m)

0.02

0.015
relative depth deposition limit - 15mm
0.01

0.005

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Probability
Network 1 Network 2 Network 3

Figure 1. Probability of exceedence for flow depth.

Comparison of Probability vs Velocity for Node 5 (Conventional Scenario)

(150mm dia, slope 1:100)
0.7

0.6

0.5
Velocity (m/s)

0.4

0.3

0.2
0.2 m/s deposition limit
0.1

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Probability

Network 1 Network 2 Network 3

Figure 2. Probability of exceedence for flow velocity.

considered: 20% and 80% representing infrequent and frequent events, respectively. Two illustrative
examples of these probability distributions are given in Figures 1 and 2. These show results for the
“conventional” scenario using a pipe diameter of 150 mm and a pipe gradient of 1 in 100.
Sensitivity analysis was performed on the effect of individual appliances and on the time scale.
The presence of a bath does directly influence the flow depths and flow velocities in the pipe network,
which would be expected as the large wave volume will have limited attenuation. With regard to
time scale, in order to assess if there was any effect on the results using different simulation lengths,
runs were performed over a 5-day period. This involved generating both the 5-day stochastic input

1439
data as well as the InfoWorks CS simulations. The comparison between 5-day and 1-day simulations
showed that the flow depth and velocity were consistently higher in the 5-day simulation. However,
for the great majority of nodes, the differences in velocity or depth were within 10% for all cases.

3.1 Results for the conventional scenario

The bath is the appliance that more directly influences the flow depths and velocities in the pipe
system. This is due to the high volumes of discharge compared with other appliances.
Networks with pipe diameter of 100 mm satisfied the criteria for all the pipe gradients considered.
However, the 150 mm diameter pipe required a minimum gradient steeper than 1/100. These find-
ings are consistent with the recommendations in the UK guidance document “Sewers for Adoption”.

3.2 Results for the future scenario

As expected, future scenario conditions result in lower flow depths and velocities for both pipe
diameters under all gradients tested. For frequent events results were found to be approximately
10% lower than for the conventional scenario in terms of velocity and less than 5% in terms of depth.
The pipe gradients needed for self-cleansing conditions were found to be similar to those required
for the “conventional” scenario. This is due to a smaller spread of the results, with the minimum
values being closer to the average values than in the “conventional” case. This behaviour may be
linked with the increase in the frequency of use of appliances such as dishwashers and showers and
a corresponding decrease in the frequency of use and discharge volumes of high volume appliances
such as baths.
An analysis of a water-recycling scenario whereby all water within the property is recycled except
for water used in the kitchen sink and WC(s) indicated that this scenario would not comply with
the minimum flow velocity criterion for solids transport for frequent events. Infrequent events can
satisfy the criterion for 100 mm diameter pipes and for 150 mm diameter pipes at 1:60 gradient.

3.3 General conclusions

Overall, the study showed that in future, with the increased use of water efficient appliances, there
will be only a minimal effect on the drainage system. This conclusion does however depend upon
which mechanism is dominant for solids transport in pipes. It is therefore particularly important
to recognise the role of maintenance in keeping a satisfactory performance of the site sewers. The
use of siphonic systems should be considered as a safety measure against site sewer malfunction
in estates where water recycling is fully implemented.

REFERENCES

Ackers P. and Harrison A.J.M. 1963. The Attenuation of Flood Waves in Part-Full Pipes. Hydraulics Research
Station, Report No. INT 31, Wallingford, United Kingdom.
Davies J.W., Butler D. and Xu Y.L. 1996a. Gross solids movement in sewers: laboratory studies as a basis for
a model. Water and Environmental Management, 10(1), 52–58.
Davies J.W., Xu Y.L. and Butler D. 1996b. Laboratory study and computer model development related to gross
solids movement in combined sewers. Water Science and Technology, 33(9), 39–47.
Howarth D. 2001. Water conservation: an overview of research and practise. Presentation at the 1st
WATERSAVE Network Meeting, London, June 2001.
Lauchlan C.S., Escarameia M. and Kellagher R.B.B. 2003. Implications for site drainage design of low water
usage in domestic buildings. HR Wallingford Report SR632, October 2003.
Lauchlan C.S. and Dixon A. 2003. Modelling of water discharges for houses with conventional and low water
use appliances. Proc. of Int. Conf. on Computing and Control for the Water Industry 15–17 September
2003, London. Advances in Water Supply Management, C. Maksimovic, D. Butler and F. Memon (ed),
AA Balkema Publishers.
Shaw E.M. 1988. Hydrology in practice. Van Nostrand Reinhold (International) Co. Ltd., London, ISBN
0-278-00061-4.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The development of a comprehensive flood prevention strategy

for Hong Kong

S.K. Chui, John K.Y. Leung & Henry C.K. Chu

Drainage Services Department, HKSAR

ABSTRACT: During the rainy season, flooding can happen in Hong Kong not only over flood-
plains in the rural part but also at the older parts of the urban areas. A comprehensive flood
prevention strategy has been progressively developed through a series of strategy studies in which
considerations were given to the prevailing flooding problems, long-term development needs, socio-
economic conditions, management issues, and legal constraints. One of the major components of
the strategy is a set of flood protection standards for the planning and design of stormwater drainage
systems. Other components include land use management with the support of legislation, struc-
tural measures for long-term improvements, non-structural measures as short-term provisions, and
planned preventive approach of maintenance. Apart from typical river training and on-line capacity
improvement, dedicated options including pumping schemes to protect building groups on rural
floodplains, and stormwater diversion and attenuation to minimize excavation works in densely
populated urban areas have also been developed. In this paper, the various phases of development
of the flood prevention strategy are presented. The staged implementation of the strategy and the
achievements secured are also discussed. Technical details about the various flood control strategy
studies and the dedicated drainage improvement options are also given. With the comprehensive
flood prevention strategy in place, there is no doubt that the drainage system in Hong Kong is being
planned to meet future demands and that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administra-
tive Region is well on its way to providing good flood protection standards for the benefits of the
community.

1 INTRODUCTION

Hong Kong is used to experience remarkable extremes in storm rainfall, and is in the track of
tropical cyclones and subject to the associated tidal surges. The annual average rainfall is about
2200 mm, one of the highest among the cities in the Pacific Rim. During the rainy season, flooding
affects not only floodplains in the rural part but also at places in the urban areas. In the rural part,
the flooding situation has become a matter of concern since intensive development started to take
place over the floodplains in close proximity to watercourses to meet the increasing demand for
building land. In the urban areas, flooding is mainly attributable to aging of the drainage systems
and expansion of the built-up areas to the upstream of the existing urban areas.

2 DEVELOPMENT OF THE FLOOD PREVENTION STRATEGY

As the general standards of living improve, public expectation on the level of service and protection
against flooding has increased. In September 1989, the Drainage Services Department (DSD) was
established to take up the overall responsibility of providing an efficient approach to resolving
both the flooding and sewage problems in Hong Kong. Since then, a number of studies have been
completed with a view to drawing up a flood prevention strategy applicable to local situations. The

1441
technique of computational modelling was used to analyze the hydraulic performance and flooding
behaviour in the various flood prone areas.

2.1 Drainage studies

In 1990, the “Territorial Land Drainage and Flood Control Strategy Study – Phase I” was completed.
The study gave due consideration to the need for establishment of contemporary flood protection
standards, as well as, land use management with the support of legislation, use of non-structural
measures as short-term provisions in parallel with conventional long-term structural measures, and
planned preventive approach of maintenance. Based on the recommendation of the Study, a flood
prevention strategy was developed calling for an appropriate balance among existing land use,
long-term development needs, socio-economic conditions, management issues, legal constraints
and environmental objectives.
In 1993, the “Territorial Land Drainage and Flood Control Strategy Study – Phase II” was
completed. The study provided more concrete plans and tools needed to make the strategy effective
in five most flood prone rural basins in the New Territories. The principal output from the study was
a Basin Management Plan for each basin. This Plan provided a rational framework for managing
the drainage systems, implementing structural and non-structural flood loss mitigation measures,
enhancing land use management, and responding to requests for development.
In 1994, the first Drainage Master Plan (DMP) study was completed with recommended solu-
tions for the drainage problems in West Kowloon. The study area was a densely populated old urban
district of premier economical importance which has been a local business area and a renowned
shopping area for both the local people and the tourists. Since then, seven more DMP studies have
progressively been completed for most flood prone areas in the rural and urban parts of Hong Kong.
These DMP studies comprehensively examined the adequacy of the drainage systems and developed
short-term and long-term drainage improvement measures to meet the required flood protection
standards and the future needs. Apart from conventional on-line capacity improvement, propos-
als have been made on the use of innovative drainage improvement options such as stormwater
pumping, underground stormwater storage tanks and stormwater diversion tunnels, which can
attenuate and reduce the peak flow to be conveyed through the drainage system, thereby minimiz-
ing the extent of works for upgrading stormwater drains in heavily trafficked areas. Implementation
of the drainage improvement measures has been in progress subsequent to the completion of the
DMP studies.

2.2 Computational models

Mathematical floodplain and river hydraulic models using computer software MIKE 11 were
developed under the various Strategy Studies and DMP Studies to analyze the flooding behaviour
in rural areas. For urban areas, the HydroWorks programme suite was used. The models were
calibrated and verified using actual hydrometric data as collected during the studies.
The purpose of computer simulation was to carry out flood analyses to identify deficiencies in the
drainage systems and to rectify them in a systematic approach. The flood analysis was performed for
both existing and planned development conditions. The existing condition represents the expected
state of the catchment and drainage network at the beginning of the Studies. The planned condition
includes all committed catchment developments and drainage works. Computer simulation was
also used to carry out preliminary design of drainage improvement works as proposed under the
various studies. The flood analysis was carried out for a full range of frequency events using a
synthetic rainfall profile.
The performance of the drainage systems has been assessed for eight return periods: 1, 2, 5,
10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 years. For each return period, the following two cases of rainfall and tide
combinations were simulated:
Case I a T-year sea level in conjunction with a X-year rainfall
Case II a X-year sea level in conjunction with a T-year rainfall

1442
Figure 1. Synthetic design rainfall profile.

Table 1. Flood protection standard.

Stormwater facilities Return period (years)

Urban drainage trunk systems 200

Urban drainage branch systems 50
Main rivers and rural drainage channels 50
Flood protection bunds for village flood pumping schemes 200
Village drainage 10
Intensively used agricultural land 2–5
Fallow or disused land Flooding accepted

where T is the concerned flood return period, and

X = 10, when T = 50, 100 or 200
X = 2, when T = 2, 5 or 10

3 FLOOD PREVENTION STRATEGY

Following the framework set out in the various studies completed between 1990 and 2000, an
effective flood prevention strategy has been progressively and systematically formulated. Major
components of the strategy include a new set of flood protection standards, long term struc-
tural measures, short term improvement and management measures, land use management and
legislation, and planned preventive approach to maintenance.

3.1 Flood protection standards

There are different standards for various elements of the drainage systems. This is compatible
with the general practice adopted worldwide. Factors such as land use development scenarios,
socio-economic needs, consequences of flooding, and benefit-cost of flood mitigation measures
have been considered in developing the flood protection standards for the planning and design of
stormwater drainage systems. All new stormwater facilities have to be designed to withstand a
severe flood event which will occur about once within the period stated in Table 1.
Nevertheless, it is recognised that it will not be always possible or practical to upgrade the
existing drainage systems, especially those within the old urban areas, to the current standards.
Under these special circumstances, a pragmatic approach is necessary in order to determine the
best possible flood protection levels that can be achieved having regard to the constraints imposed
by the existing highly intensive development.

1443
Table 2. Innovative drainage improvement options.

Options Benefits

Stormwater pumping
Underground stormwater storage
Stormwater tunnel
Interception of stormwater from low-lying areas for discharge to the
sea outfall
Interception and temporary storage of stormwater to attenuate the peak
flow to be conveyed through the existing drainage system of which
the capacity is inadequate
Interception of stormwater from upland areas for discharge directly into
the sea outfall to optimise the peak flow to be conveyed through the
existing drainage system of which the capacity is inadequate

3.2 Long-term structural measures

To achieve the flood protection standards and to prevent risk of recurrent flooding, a comprehensive
programme of flood prevention projects is already in hand as long-term structural measures. The
projects mainly comprise river training works, village flood pumping schemes and upgrading of
urban stormwater drainage systems.
In the rural areas, large-scale river training works have been implemented to mitigate regional
flooding problem due to inadequacy of the original river network. Further river training works are
also implemented at the tributaries to resolve local flooding problems, as well as to provide the
drainage infrastructures to support sustainable development. Village flood pumping schemes are
provided for flood prone villages which are so low-lying in topography that the floodwater cannot
be drained effectively by gravity. These schemes involve the construction of a bund around the
village and a pumping station for pumping stormwater from within the bunded area to an outside
drainage channel.
In the urban areas, the stormwater drainage systems were built many years ago and there is a need
to upgrade the flood protection level to the current flood protection standard. However, conventional
drainage improvement works involving road opening works for the installation of new stormwater
drains of larger size are always subject to constraints due to the presence of congested underground
utilities, road traffic and public concern over the nuisances and inconveniences resulting from
the construction activities. In this regard, innovative drainage improvement options are adopted to
overcome such constraints (Table 2).
With the construction of an underground storage tank having a capacity of 100,000 cu. m and
a 1.5 km long stormwater diversion tunnel in West Kowloon, the extent and scale of stormwater
drainage improvement works within heavily trafficked roads have substantially been reduced. The
underground storage tank in West Kowloon is a complex and sophisticated stormwater detention
scheme. Under normal condition, the stormwater will pass through an overflow weir system and
be discharged into the existing drainage system at the downstream. Under heavy rainfall condition,
the excessive stormwater runoff will spill over the weir system into the storage tank. Apart from
the stormwater diversion tunnel in West Kowloon, planning and design of three other tunnels, total
length of 16 km, are currently underway.

3.3 Short term improvement and management measures

While the completion of the long-term improvement measures always take time to achieve, local
drainage improvements measures are implemented as short-term provisions to provide interim
relief to some of the flooding problems. These short-term provisions usually include upgrading
of drainage inlets and outlets, removal of flow obstructing structures and construction of local
drainage. The effectiveness of the local drainage improvement measures is particularly apparent
when flood damage during times of small rainfall events is concerned.

1444
 Management measures are also provided to alleviate the flood damage. At locations where
flooding may cause high risks to the general public, flood warning systems are installed to monitor
the flooding situations and alert the local residents about the arrival of floodwater. When floodwater
reaches a predetermined alert level, warnings will be disseminated through local flood sirens or
automatic telephone calls. There is also a list of flooding blackspots compiled by Government
to facilitate the deployment of resources to carry out immediate relief measures when adverse
weather occurs. This list is updated annually to accord the latest change in flooding risk as the
short-term or long-term flood mitigation measures are completed. A television announcement is
broadcast from time to time soliciting for the support of the public to keep the drainage system from
blockage. Publicity pamphlets about flooding are also sent to every household within the flood prone
villages.

3.4 Land use management and legislation

3.4.1 Land use management
In the past, spontaneous development in the rural areas has occurred, usually with no regard to
the adverse impact induced to the drainage systems. The filling of fishponds and low lying areas
within the flood plains to form large paved storage yards has increased surface runoff and altered
the drainage paths. To address this problem, land use management measures are now in place
to ensure that the current flooding situation will not deteriorate due to further development and
urbanisation over the floodplains in the rural areas. Development control is enforced through the
Outline Zoning Plans (OZPs), the Town Planning Ordinance and the Drainage Impact Assessment
requirements. All development requiring a change in the land use specified in the OZPs or other
Government development plans will need to seek approval from the Town Planning Board. If the
project will significantly affect the drainage situation, private developers or the proponents of
public projects, such as reclamation and highway projects, will need to conduct a Drainage Impact
Assessment to demonstrate that, with their proposed mitigation measures, the flooding risk to
the area concerned would not be increased. These control measures are a significant element in
determining the need, scope and timing for structural drainage measures to be implemented, and in
permitting developments on the floodplain in a proper and controlled manner whilst the long-term
structural measures are being implemented.

3.4.2 Legislation
In the rural areas, many of the natural watercourses lie within private land. Lack of maintenance to
them in the past has been one of the causes for flooding. As they lie within private land, Government
experienced difficulties in obtaining the necessary consent from landowners to gain access and to
carry out maintenance works to these watercourses. To overcome this problem, the Land Drainage
Ordinance was enacted in 1994 empowering the Government to carry out maintenance, remove
obstructions such as unauthorised structures encroaching upon the river channels, and to gain
access into private land for maintaining these designated main watercourses. Maintenance works
under the Land Drainage Ordinance are on-going and there has been a definite improvement in the
overall situation.

3.5 Planned preventive approach to maintenance

3.5.1 Preventive maintenance
The drainage systems will not continue to function properly without a well-planned, on-going
preventive maintenance programme of inspection, desilting and repair. This forms a vital part of
flood hazard management. The Government ensures that those problematic road gullies, stormwater
intakes, drains and watercourses are inspected on a regular basis especially before and during the
rainy season. Extensive closed circuit television surveys have been employed for existing drains
where man-entry inspections are not possible. Timely repairs to the drains will be carried out
before major problems arise. Regular desilting and dredging of river channels are conducted so

1445
that their flood carrying capacities would not be adversely affected by sediment washed down
from the upstream areas. A special programme of inspecting flood control installations including
flood water pumping stations and flood warning systems, is conducted regularly to ensure that they
would be fully operational in times of rainstorm. Coordinated efforts amongst relevant Government
departments are in place to keep the streets clean in order to prevent rubbish from blocking road
side gullies and catchpits.
Computer models developed under the various Strategy Studies and DMP Studies have been
continuously upgraded so as to provide quantitative information on the risk of flooding, impacts of
development and the performance of various flood loss mitigation options. A computerised system
has also been used to keep inventory of the stormwater drainage system. All these technological
developments will serve as a useful management tool to identify deficiencies, and to derive action
plans and maintenance schedules for the drainage systems, thereby reducing flood hazards.

3.5.2 Flood hazard management

Flooding will continue to be a problem until the long-term measures have been completed. More-
over, flooding may take place due to extreme situation as the rainfall intensity could exceed the
designed capacity of the drainage system or a fallen tree trunk could cause obstruction to the
flow. It is inevitable that flooding risks will still remain even after all the measures have been
implemented.
The Government has contingency plans in place to manage flood hazards. DSD has set up a
24-hour hotline in order that direct labour force and contractors would be timely deployed to deal
with flooding complaints. We have publicized our performance pledge and every effort is made
to ensure that complaints received in the morning are investigated on the same day or the next
morning for those received after 1 pm. Complaints received are recorded by the computerised
Drainage Complaints Information System so that data could be timely retrieved and analysed.
Emergency and flooding problems outside office hours are also handled by the Emergency and
Storm Damage Organisation. An Emergency Control Centre overseen by senior professionals will
be activated when the situation warrants in order to coordinate emergency clearance of blocked
drains and watercourses, to handle the large number of complaints and reports of flooding, and
to disseminate information within the Government and to the public. Crucial hydraulic struc-
tures, such as the facilities within the flood pumping station and the inflatable dams at major
channels constructed for stormwater quality improvement, are closely monitored by teleme-
try and video surveillance for visual monitoring of important electrical, mechanical and civil
components.
Water levels of major rivers and channels are now being real-time monitored. Rainfall, tide levels
and water levels data are automatically collected at the sites and continuously sent back to the
monitoring centre by telemetry. With this real-time flood data, officers under the Flood Monitoring
and Reporting System can quickly analyse the flooding situation and, when necessary, alert the
Emergency Control Centre and other emergency departments to prepare for rescue, evacuation and
opening of flood shelters.

4 CONCLUSION

Hong Kong has a comprehensive strategy in place to tackle the flooding problem. The strategy
consists of long-term structural measures, short-term improvement and management measures,
land use management and legislation, and a planned preventive approach to maintenance. Many
of the long-term measures are well under-way and regional flooding locations have substantially
been removed. With the comprehensive flood prevention strategy, the drainage system is being
progressively improved and good flood protection standards will be provided and maintained for
the benefits of the community.

1446
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors wish to thank the Director of Drainage Services of the Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region for permission to publish this paper. However, the views expressed
are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect in any way the official views on policy of
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.
The authors also wish to thank the support from their colleagues in the preparation work of the
paper. They are particularly in debt to Mr. K. M. Tsang, Chief Engineer of Land Drainage Division
of DSD for his advice on the paper.

REFERENCES

DSD, 1990. Territorial Land Drainage and Flood Control Strategy Study – Phase I, by Mott MacDonald as
consultants to Drainage Services Department, Hong Kong.
DSD, 1993. Territorial Land Drainage and Flood Control Strategy Study – Phase II, by Binnie Maunsell as
consultants to Drainage Services Department, Hong Kong.
DSD, 2000. Stormwater Drainage Manual – Planning, Design and Management, 3rd Edition, Drainage Services
Department, Hong Kong.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Rehabilitation priority of urban sewer systems considering storm

water management and inflow/infiltration

J.H. Lee, D.J. Jo & J.H. Kim

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea

M.J. Park
Department of Civil Engineering, Hanseo University, Seosan, Chungnam, Korea

ABSTRACT: The objective of rehabilitation of sewer pipe systems is to improve their function
and to solve the problem of Inflow/Infiltration (I/I) and combined sewer overflows (CSOs). This
rehabilitation effort, however, has not been particularly successful, due not only to lack of data
on the condition of the existing sewer pipe systems but also due to unsystematic practices in
the field. Three modules are developed in this study to solve the above problems: urban drainage
management, I/I computation, and rehabilitation priority modules. The urban drainage management
module computes the insufficient carrying capacity of pipes and the amount of CSO caught by the
intercepting sewers. The I/I computation module computes I/I of each pipe in a drainage district
according to various defect factors. The rehabilitation priority module determines the optimal
rehabilitation cost and priority by using genetic algorithms (GAs). The modules developed in this
study can be used to overcome the problems with unsystematic practices and can be used as a
decision making tool in practice for urban sewer systems.

1 INTRODUCTION

Sewer pipe systems have been rehabilitated to improve their function and solve the problem with
Inflow/Infiltration (I/I) and combined sewer overflows (CSOs). In particular the I/I problem, which
develops because of sewer defects, is the main factor in lowering the carrying capacity of sewers
and waste treatment efficiency. A general I/I survey in a drainage district is executed by sampling
water quality and quantity while considering the constraints of time and cost. In addition, sewer
rehabilitation methods in a drainage district use a numerical weighting method, a quantitative
approach, to determine the priority order among selecting areas for rehabilitation by analyzing the
results of the water quantity and quality surveys and the severity/degree of defects in the sewer.
deMonsabert (1997) developed a benders decomposition model to select an optimal solu-
tion within budgetary constraints. The model was limited to a current-year repair budget cycle.
deMonsabert (1999) developed an optimization model that analyzed the costs and benefits of reduc-
ing the amount of I/I through selected rehabilitation methods derived following closed-circuit TV
inspections over a 20-year planning cycle. An integer program was formulated to optimize a sewer
rehabilitation schedule and determine value costs of repairs and I/I treatment. Chung et al (2001)
distributed total I/I in some area into each sewer by using A (present rehabilitation), B (future
rehabilitation) and C (maintenance) grades of sewer defects. However, in deMonsabert’s study, it
was limited to low practicability by the assumption that I/I of each pipe was obtained. In Jung
et al’s study, the grades of sewer defects were distributed by an indistinct standard and did not
reflect regional characteristics and engineers’ opinions. In an effort to improve the practicability,
this study reflects regional characteristics and engineers’ opinions about the grades of sewer defects
by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and computes I/I of unobserved pipes.

1449
 It is the purpose of this study to develop an optimal rehabilitation model for urban sewer systems
to overcome the problems with unsystematic practices. The developed model provides a decision
making tool on the priorities for rehabilitation practices.
The I/I computation module developed in this study distributes the observed I/I to all upstream
pipes according to various defects in the pipes observed in field monitoring. AHP is used in the dis-
tribution of I/I to each pipe. The optimal rehabilitation cost is estimated considering various factors
including the lowered operational cost of sewage treatment plants that is induced by the reduction
of I/I due to the rehabilitation. Genetic algorithm (GA) is used for the optimization technique.
The rehabilitation priority is determined for each sub area and is decided based on the ratio of I/I
elimination to the rehabilitation cost and the ratio of CSO elimination to the rehabilitation cost.

2 METHODOLOGIES

2.1 Analytic hierarchy process (AHP)

AHP is a well-known and useful method to obtain priorities among various alternatives in multiple
criteria decision making problems. In AHP, a decision maker is asked to estimate pairwise com-
parison ratios with respect to the strength of preference between the subjects of comparison. Thus
AHP is deeply related to human judgment (L.G.Vargas, 1990).
AHP consists of three parts: a hierarchy structure, a matrix of pairwise comparison ratios and a
method for calculating priorities. Since relative measurements about pairwise comparison ratios are
based on human intuition, AHP can reflect a decision maker’s attitude in actual decision problems.
In AHP, priorities among alternatives are calculated from a pairwise comparison matrix by the
eigenvector (EV) method. One of the features of the EV method is its ability to obtain the consistency
index (CI), which is a numerical measure of the disparity between the EV method and the given
matrix. Thus, if the value of CI is rather large, it is recommended that the given pairwise comparison
ratios should be readjusted by the decision maker. The other methods have been proposed are the
least square (LS) and least logarithmic square (LLS) methods which are based on regression
analysis. The sum of the squared deviations can be regarded as a kind of CI.
The I/I computation model developed in this study uses AHP in the distribution of I/I to
each pipe.

2.2 Illinois Urban Drainage Area Simulator (ILLUDAS)

The Illinois Urban Drainage Area Simulator (ILLUDAS), developed by Stall and Terstriep (1974),
uses storm rainfall and physical basin parameters to predict storm runoff from both paved
and grassed areas. ILLUDAS utilizes the directly connected paved area concept of the RRL
(Road Research Laboratory) method but also recognizes and reproduces runoff from grassed and
nonconnected paved areas.
ILLUDAS uses an observed or specific temporal rainfall pattern uniformly distributed over
the basin as the primary input. The basin is divided into sub-basins, one for each design point in the
basin. Paved-area and grassed-area hydrographs are produced from each sub-basin by applying the
rainfall pattern to the appropriate contributing areas. These hydrographs are combined and routed
downstream from one design point to the next until the outlet is reached. Pipe sizes are determined
at each design point. Detention storage can be included as part of the design in any sub-basin.
In this study, ILLUDAS was used to predict the carrying capacity of pipes and to compute the
amount of CSO caught by the intercepting sewers.

2.3 Genetic Algorithm

GAs are search techniques developed by Holland (1975) that use the mechanics of natural selection
to search through a decision space for optimal solutions (Goldberg, 1989). GAs have been shown
to be valuable tools for solving complex optimization problems in a broad spectrum of fields.

1450
 GAs consist of three basic operations: (1) selection, (2) crossover (mating), and (3) mutation. In
using GAs, several vectors (strings) are formed. These strings are evaluated on their performance
(or “fitness”) with respect to some objective function(s). Strings having high fitness values enter
the mating population and strings with low fitness value are killed off in a selection tournament.
GAs are used to estimate the optimal rehabilitation cost in this study.

3 MODEL FORMULATION

3.1 Urban drainage management model

This model has two functions. It computes the insufficient carrying capacity of pipes and the
amount of CSO caught by the intercepting sewers. In the first case, the rainfall intensity of each
pipe’s design is applied in the model. But in the second case, the rainfall applied to compute CSOs
differs with the general storm rainfall to predict the storm runoff. The amount of CSO is computed
by application of average rainfall interevent period and event depth.
The procedure of CSO computation has the following four steps.
Step 1. Estimation of average rainfall interevent period.
Step 2. Estimation of average rainfall event depth.
Step 3. Estimation of frequency for rainfall interevent period.
Step 4. Distribution of average rainfall event depth.
The function for rainfall interevent period is formulated with its mean value as,

in which, f (t) = frequency for rainfall interevent period, Ti ; and Tm = average rainfall interevent
period.
The function of distribution can also be applied to the distribution of rainfall event depth as,

in which, D = rainfall event depth; and Dm = average rainfall event depth (James C.Y., 2002).

3.2 I/I computation model

The I/I survey in a drainage district is executed by sampling water quality and quantity while
considering the constraints of time and cost. The I/I computation model developed in this study
distributes the observed I/I to all upstream pipes according to 17 sewer defects in each pipe. Each
defect has an individual weight which is estimated by application of AHP.
The procedure of the model has three steps.
Step 1. Research about the pairwise comparison of defects is performed by engineers.
Step 2. Weight of each defect is estimated (AHP).
It is formulated as,

in which, i is the line and j is the row in pairwise comparison matrix; n is the number of defects;
and a is the kind of defect.
Step 3. Distributing I/I to each pipe.

1451
 I/I of nth pipe, yn is estimated as,

in which, pn is the probability about defect number of the nth pipe; y is the entire I/I of all pipes;
and xn is the probability about defect weight.

3.3 Rehabilitation priority model

The model estimates the optimal rehabilitation cost and priority. GAs are used for the optimization
technique and they have one objective function and two constraints in cases, which either consider
or don’t consider budget constraints, including the cost of the sewage treatment plant.
Objective function:

in which, Csi is sewer rehabilitation cost; Cti is cost of sewage treatment plant; Cti is replacement
cost of pipe with insufficient carrying capacity; Cnmi is maintenance cost; Cdtci is total replace-
ment cost of circular pipe excavation; Cnpli is partial replacement lining cost; Cdtri is total replace-
ment cost of culvert pipe excavation; Cnri is removal cost of projection pipe; CdpCi is partial
replacement cost of circular pipe excavation; Ctvi is CCTV cost; Cdpri is partial replacement cost
of culvert pipe excavation; Ciii is waste treatment cost; Cntli is total replacement lining cost; and i
is the nth pipe.
Constraints:

The rehabilitation priority is estimated according to II/C and CSO/C, in which, II/C is the ratio
of I/I elimination to the rehabilitation cost and CSO/C is the ratio of CSO elimination to the
rehabilitation cost.

4 APPLICATION AND RESULTS

The model was applied to a drainage area in Seoul, South Korea. The total drainage area is
582.4 Km2 , which consists of 22 sub areas. The rehabilitation priority and cost are determined
for all 22 sub areas.
The urban drainage management model computes the insufficient carrying capacity of pipes and
the amount of CSO caught by the intercepting sewers. The results are shown in Table 1.
In these results, the number of pipes with insufficient carrying capacity was 123, of total length
4,978.4 m. Priority for rehabilitation was given to these pipes. In addition, the amount of CSO
was computed according to the present designed capacity of intercepting sewers and the greatest
amount of CSO was 4,998.14 m3 in v-sub area. The I/I computation model computes I/I of each
pipe according to the defect weight estimated by application of AHP. The defect weight and I/I of
each sub area are shown in Tables 2 and 3.
The defect of highest weight was the connection part and the second defect was sewer sinking
and other pipes through sewer pipe passage. The weight of defect was higher, amount of I/I in the
pipe was more and I/I of sub areas were distributed according to the weight of pipes. In the results,
the greatest amount of I/I was 7,407 m3 /day in q-sub area.

1452
 Table 1. Pipes with insufficient carrying capacity and the amount of CSO.

Pipe with insufficient Pipe with insufficient

carrying capacity carrying capacity

Sub Number Number Length of Amount of Sub Number Number Length of Amount of
area of pipe of pipe pipe (m) CSO (m3 ) area of pipe of pipe pipe (m) CSO (m3 )

a 225 11 347.8 919.17 1 23 1 22.4 91.26

b 29 0 0.0 132.08 m 107 1 46.0 678.96
c 544 0 0.0 2,766.16 n 67 1 44.1 356.87
d 308 14 651.9 1,937.02 o 3 0 0.0 16.84
e 10 0 0.0 52.53 p 10 1 130.2 484.28
f 85 1 52.3 277.93 q 924 42 1,623.1 3,105.82
g 43 1 26.8 232.45 r 115 5 375.8 538.85
h 38 2 105.2 197.70 s 39 0 0.0 147.76
i 81 5 217.6 495.72 t 78 5 117.1 256.58
j 159 3 105.2 967.52 u 88 0 0.0 947.16
k 12 0 0.0 99.92 v 614 30 1,112.9 4,998.14
SUM 3,602 123 4,978.4 19,700.72

Table 2. Weight of each defect.

Grade Grade

Defect A B C Defect A B C

Breakage of a manhole cover 12.0 10.0 – Bent sewer 15.0 10.0 5.0
Breakage of a manhole connection 22.2 16.7 8.9 Sewer sinking 24.7 16.5 8.2
Projection pipe 15.0 5.0 1.0 Sewer grade 10.4 10.0 5.0
Joining part 14.7 6.1 3.7 Other pipe through 24.7 12.9 6.4
Connection part 26.9 20.2 6.7 sewer pipe passage
Inflow 23.5 – – Waste oil 10.3 7.8 4.1
Outflow 18.7 – – Mortar 10.3 7.8 4.1
Corrosion 15.0 10.0 5.0 Sediment 10.0 5.0 3.0
Sewer breakage/cracks – 20.0 15.0 Others 15.0 10.0 5.0

Table 3. I/I distributed to each sub area.

Sub area I/I (m3 /day) Sub area I/I (m3 /day) Sub area I/I (m3 /day) Sub area I/I (m3 /day)

a 1,417.60 g 562.40 m 1,320.00 s 154.40

b 137.60
c 3,193.60
d 2,266.40
e 0.00
f 42.40
h 385.60
i 1,198.40
j 1,661.60
k 325.60
l 383.20
n 904.00 t 352.80
o 0.00 u 1,124.80
p 469.60 v 2,028.00
q 7,407.20
r 851.20

The rehabilitation priority model estimated the optimal rehabilitation cost and priority in two
cases. Table 4 shows the results in each case; cost 1 is the replacement cost of pipes with insufficient
carrying capacity and cost 2 is the rehabilitation cost of the sewer system computed according to
defects of each sub area.
In case 1 (budget constraint was not considering), the cost to replace pipes with insufficient
carrying capacity was 3,395 million won and the rehabilitation cost according to defects was 37,562

1453
Table 4. Optimal rehabilitation cost and priority.

Case 1 Case 2

II/C CSO/C Priority Priority

Sub (m3 /d·won) (m3 /d·won) Rehabi- Priority of Rehabi- Priority of
area Cost 1 Cost 2 (×107 ) (×107 ) litation of II/C CSO/C litation of II/C CSO/C

a 284,330,220 2,544,894,000 5.57 2.71  15 6 × ✦ ✦

b 0 397,824,600 3.46 0.89  19 16 × ✦ ✦

c 385,634,800 5,534,726,000 5.77 1.06  14 15 × ✦ ✦

d 371,580,200 4,169,273,000 5.44 2.62  16 7  9 4

e 0 105,735,000 0.00 0.00  21 19  ✦ ✦

f 33,924,800 851,372,200 0.50 0.05  20 18 × ✦ ✦

g 17,614,800 461,792,800 12.18 2.52  5 8  3 5

h 68,502,000 324,777,600 11.87 3.17  6 5  4 3
i 148,072,400 841,740,200 14.24 4.21  3 3  1 1
j 61,518,800 2,023,864,000 8.21 1.45  11 12  7 7
k 0 233,517,200 13.94 1.21  4 13  2 8
l 11,858,000 226,718,800 16.90 12.23  2 1 × ✦ ✦
m 28,271,600 1,466,898,00 9.00 2.14  9 9 × ✦ ✦

n 8,747,200 787,494,300 11.48 3.46  7 4  5 2

o 0 0 0.00 0.00  22 19  ✦ ✦
p 84,812,000 219,412,200 21.40 0.00  1 19 × ✦ ✦

q 1,027,538,000 9,026,218,000 8.21 6.79  12 2 × ✦ ✦

r 270,704,000 944,301,300 9.01 1.76  8 10 × ✦ ✦

s 0 370,051,100 4.17 1.08  17 14  10 9

t 89,041,400 507,171,100 6.96 1.75  13 11  8 6
u 0 1,297,971,000 8.67 0.00  10 19  6 ✦

v 502,856,200 5,226,037,000 3.88 0.46  18 17  11 10

million won. In the results, the highest priority rehabilitation area was p-sub area according to II/C
and was l-sub area according to CSO/C. In case 2 (considering budget limited to 20,000 million
won), the optimal rehabilitation cost was 19,700 million won and the highest priority rehabilitation
area was the same i-sub area according to II/C and CSO/C.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The rehabilitation priority module estimates the optimal rehabilitation cost and determines the
priority for the rehabilitation of sewer systems. In addition, when including budget constraints in
the decision making process, the budget can be distributed properly for each rehabilitation area. It
provides engineers with a decision making tool for fixing priority and improves the practicability
in rehabilitation practices.
This study was limited to a short-term rehabilitation model. Further studies are needed to develop
a long-term model. Such a long-term model should allow city planners and decision makers to
develop a long-term capital improvement plan for rehabilitation. In order to apply the model,
however, a long-term forecasting model for the deterioration state of sewer systems should be
readily available, which is in another avenue for research effort.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This study was supported by Korea Ministry of Construction and Transportation in 2004 through
the Urban Flood Disaster Management Research Center.

1454
REFERENCES

Chung, Chul Kwon (2001). Optimization of sewer rehabilitation in a subcatchment area by genetic algorithm.
Korean Society of Civil Engineers, 21, 295–304.
deMonsabert, S. and Thornton, P. (1997). A benders decomposition model for sewer rehabilitation planning
for infiltration and inflow planning. Water Environment Research. 69, 162–167.
deMonsabert, S., Ong, C. and Thornton, P. (1999). An integer programming for optimizing sanitary sewer
rehabilitation over a planning horizon. Water Environment Research. 74(7), 1292–1297.
Goldberg, D. (1990). Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization and Machine Learning. Addison-Welsley,
Reading, MA.
James, C.Y. Guo (2002). Overflow risk analysis for stormwater quality control basins. Journal of Hydrologic
Engineering, 7(6), 428–434.
Vargas, L.G. (1990). An overview of the analytic hierarchy process and its applications. European Journal of
Operational Research, 48, 2–8.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Inundation analysis of urban areas by using GIS – Application to

the Tokai Heavy Rain Flood

H. Kiyomiya
Yokohama City, Yokohama, Japan

A. Mano
Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

T. Katada
Gunma University, Kiryu, Japan

ABSTRACT: A numerical method to construct automatically the mesh coincident with road
networks has been developed, which enables the exposition of inundation caused by levee breach
as well as local rainwater through taking into account of sewage systems to be modeled. This
method was applied to 2000 Tokai Heavy Rain Flood and validated through the comparison with
the data obtained by the questionnaire survey. The pumping effect of the sewage system in this
inundation is also discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION

Continuous concentration of population and property in urban areas ever increases disaster vul-
nerability. The 2000 Tokai Heavy Rain Flood caused damage to property estimated at about 850
billion Yen at Nagoya City with a population of two million and the surrounding communities in
Aich Prefecture. About the half of the damage was due to demolish of automobiles. The water
which inundated spilled from levee failure as well as local rainwater expanded the inundation, and
sank cars and the lower floors of houses in the area.
To get a good understanding on the complex mechanisms of urban inundation disasters we
have developed a numerical model that takes account of levee failure and drainage by sewage
systems. The mesh coincident with road networks, MCRN is our important inclusion, because the
subsurface sewage networks are mainly constructed under the surface road networks. Different
behavior between roads and residential areas in rainfall infiltration and water spread also requires
this mesh.

2 MESH COINCIDENT WITH ROAD NETWORKS

Although there are many advantages in MCRN, the construction of the mesh mainly done by
handwork was exhausting and time consuming especially if we consider wide area. Many countries
are recently developing Geographical Information System, GIS that contains the database on the
positions of roads and residential areas, and on the information connecting these. This has the
potential to develop MCRN through a computer program.
The Geographical Survey Institute in Japan has developed Digital Map 2500 which has the same
spatial resolution as the topographic map of a scale 1:2500 and contains vector data on the centerlines
of roads and rivers, and on the polygons enclosing residential areas for all cities and towns. The
MCRN used in our inundation analysis is composed by a set of polygons of residential areas, roads

1457
Figure 1. Hourly rainfall intensity and cumulative rainfall at West Public Work Office of Nagoya City. The
elapsed time in the abscissa originates at 12:00, September 11.

and crossings. By using the map, we have developed a method to construct automatically MCRN
in the following steps:
(1) Input arcs indicating residential area boundaries and connect them to form closed polygons.
Then simplify each of the polygons by reducing nodes of the sides into such a quadrilateral,
pentagon, hexagon, etc. This procedure eases the correlating process between roads and sides
of residential areas because the map expresses curved sides by a number of short straight lines.
(2) Input centerlines of road segments. Then find the adjacent residential areas and the correspond-
ing sides for each segment. This is realized by comparing the distances between the middle
points of the road centerline and the sides, and by selecting the minimum distance. Through
this correspondence, all the connectivity among the adjacent roads and residential areas is
completed.
(3) Compute the polygons of crossings from the sides of residential areas and complete the
connectivity among the joining roads.
Thus the objective area is covered by polygons of residential areas, roads, and crossings the
connectivity of which is known. This method is applied to the 2000 Tokai Heavy Rain flood.

3 APPLICATION FOR THE TOKAI HEAVY RAIN FLOOD

3.1 Flood outline

The stationary front stimulated by typhoon 14 brought heavy rainfall reaching 567 mm in total at
Nagoya City on September 11 to 12, 2000. Figure 1 shows the hourly rainfall and cumulative rainfall
observed at Nagoya. The rain caused record-breaking floods in the Shonai river passing through the
city and breached or spilled over a dozen levees of the major and minor rivers. Tsujimoto (2001)
reports the damage of more than 63,000 houses inundated and ten people killed in Aich Prefecture.
The discharge split from the Shonai river through the spill-weir and exceeded the flow capacity
of the branch of the Shin River. Spilled water breached the left levee of the Shin river over 100 meter
length and inundated the adjacent urban area where low land stretches along the river. Although
there exists a drain system for rainfall in this area, the operation was stopped because of high stage
of the river. Thus the inundation was grown by the river water inflow at the breaching as well as
the rainfall collection in the area.

3.2 Computational method

The object of the analysis is the inundated area along the Shin river. The residential area polygons
in Figure 2(a) and the road network in Figure 2(b) are used to produce the MCRN. Superimposition

1458
Figure 2. The residential area polygons along the Shin river and road network.

the Shonai R.
the Shin R.

Pump Manhole Sewage channel

Figure 3. The sewage system with pumping stations, manholes, and sewage channels.

of 10-meter mesh Digital Elevation Map gives the polygons elevation attribute. The register chart
and book on the sewage system relates the road and sewage networks major channels which were
taken into account as shown in Figure 3. The two networks are connected by manholes mainly
installed at crossings.
The water surface elevation on the ground is computed at the center of polygons by using the
continuity equation and discharges at the sides. The discharge on the ground is computed at the
midpoints of the polygon sides by the Manning formula. The Manning roughness factor n employed
is 0.043 for roads and 0.067 for residential areas. The discharge between the residential area and

1459
 unit(m)

Figure 4. Topography of the area shown by 10 m-mesh DEM. The central and broad rivers are the Shin and
Shonai rivers respectively. (b) Shows the sampling positions for comparison of inundation depth.

√
road is modified by the reduction coefficient β = 1 − λ with the occupation ratio of houses λ
after Inoue (1999).
The discharge at the breach point is computed by using the Honma (1940) spilling formula and
the observed data on water stage at the Shin River.
The water surface elevation in the manholes is computed by using the continuity equation and
the discharges from/to the ground surface and sewage channels. The discharge from/to the ground
surface is evaluated by the Honma formula. It contains flow out from the manholes to the ground
surface. The discharge in the sewage channel is computed by using the Manning formula. If the
depth is less than the diameter of the channel, then the hydraulic characteristic relationship between
the dimensionless depth and discharge is used. The roughness coefficient was 0.012.

3.3 Data collection

Questionnaire survey in this area were conducted in October, 2000 by Katada et al. (2001). 9743
questionnaires were distributed and the 32% collected. The question articles are on the times when
the inundation started under the floor, spilled over the floor, reached the highest, and disappeared.
The answer shows more than 59% of the households in this area suffered inundation over the floor,
which were caused by the levee breach. Significant inundation under the floor also occurred even
before the breach due to the insufficient drainage. Each time in the answer of the questionnaire was
averaged in each residential area and set in GIS format for the comparison with our computational
results.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Validation of the computation

The objective area bounded by the Shin River and Shonai River has depressions along the Shin
River which collect the rainwater fallen in the area as shown in Figure 4(a) The residential areas
for the inundation depth comparison are sampled as shown in Figure 4(b). The inundation depth
for each residential area was obtained by taking the average of all the answers of the questionnaire
in the area.
Figure 5 shows the temporal changes of the inundation depth at position Nos 2 and 8, obtained
from the questionnaire survey and computation. The computation considers pumping of the dis-
charge, 30 m3/s in the actual operation. Due to the heavy rainfall after 5 hours, the inundation
depth increases despite the pumping. It reached about the steady state after 10 hours, however the
levee breach at 15.5 h increased the depth rapidly. The computation at both positions reproduces

1460
 2 1.6
Inundation depth (m) No.2 Position No.8 Position

Inundation depth (m)

1.5 1.2

1 0.8

0.5 Computed 0.4 With pump

Observed Observed
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Time (h) Time (h)

Figure 5. Temporal changes of the inundation depth at No. 2 on the left and No. 8 on the right. The origin of
the time is same as Figure 1.

unit(m)

Figure 6. Computed inundation depth distributions at 3 h without pumping on the left and with the pumping
of 30 m3 /s on the right.

the observed depth. The maximum depth at the lower land at position No. 2 is deeper than that of
position No. 8.

4.2 Effect of pumping

The effect of the pumping is examined here. Figure 6 compares the inundation depth distributions
at 3 h of the computations without and with the pumping of 30 m3/s. The effect is obvious for the

1461
 3 2
No.3 Position No.8 Position
Inundation depth (m) 2.5 1.6

Inundation depth (m)

2
1.2
1.5
0.8
1

0.5 with pump 0.4 With pump

without pump
Without pump
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 0 5 10 15 20
Time (h) Time (h)

Figure 7. The effect of pumping.

earlier stage of inundation due to the local rainwater. 1 to 1.5 m reduction of the depth was obtained
at the depressed region by the pumping.
However, rapid increase of the inundation depth after the levee breach diminishes the effect of
the pumping. For example, at No. 3 Position in Figure 7, one meter gain in the inundated depth
by the pumping decreases to a few tens of centimeters at the final depth. This is due to the large
volume of breached water.

5 CONCLUSION

We have proposed the method to construct automatically the mesh coincident with road networks
by using the GIS data. The mesh enables the connection with the sewage network. This method was
applied to the 2000 TOKAI HEAVY RAIN FLOOD and solved the inundation caused by the levee
breach as well as the local rainwater collection. The computed inundation depth was validated
by the observed data obtained by the questionnaire survey. The pumping by the sewage system
is shown to be effective in the initial stage of the rainwater collecting inundation, however less
effective in the latter stage after the levee breach and in the reduction of the maximum inundation
depth.

REFERENCES

Honma, H., 1940. Discharge coefficients on low spill weir, Proc. JSCE, Vol. 26, No. 6 &9.
Inoue, K., Kawaike, K., & Hayashi, H., 1999. Inundation flow modeling, Annual Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, JSCE, Vol. 43: 533–538.
Katada, T., & Kuwasawa N., 2001. The actual situation of flooding due to heavy rainfall disaster around Nagoya
City by the questionnaire survey, River Technology, Vol. 7: 41–46.
Tsujimoto, T. ed., 2001. Survey and research on the disaster due to 2000 September Tokai Heavy rainfall,
Report on the National Science Foundation #12800012: 1–6.

1462
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Variability of combined sewer overflow emissions measured

by means of online techniques

M. Hochedlinger, G. Gruber & H. Kainz

Institute of Urban Water Management and Landscape Water Engineering, University of
Technology Graz, Austria

ABSTRACT: In the course of an interuniversity research project entitled “Innovative Technology

for Integrated Water Quality Measurement (IMW)” an online-measurement station in Graz (Austria)
was constructed at a combined sewer overflow. The main aim of this sewer measurement station,
which has been in operation since October 2002, is the online acquisition of spill loads into the Mur
watercourse. The core of the station is an UV-VIS spectrometer installed in a swimming pontoon
which is directly situated in the waste water media. The main focus has been to the validation of the
pollutant concentrations measured by this spectrometer by means of three 24 hours measurement
campaigns. On the basis of measured concentrations and flows loads, mean dry weather and rain
weather concentrations have been calculated and compared with results of other research projects.

1 INTRODUCTION

The historical development of municipal drainage systems has led to a separate design and operation
of the three main components of the system: sewer system, wastewater treatment plant and receiving
water. However, the drainage of sewage results in effects and interactions which affect the total
system. Consequently, this should not be seen from the point of view of each individual subsystem
alone (Rauch et al. 1999). The recognition of this matter brings important issues that have to be dealt
with in the future planning and operation of urban wastewater systems. The aspect of integration
is the most important, meaning that pollution emissions should be considered in an integrated
manner, instead of focusing solely on parts of the system. So far, only a few research studies have
been published which have directly quantified the wastewater concentrations in sewer systems by
means of online techniques (Gruber et al. 2004).
It is evident that combined sewer overflows are substantial contributors to the total emissions into
surface water bodies. The emitted pollution loads result not only from dry weather flow and surface
runoff but also from the remobilisation of sewer deposits and sewer slime during storm water events.
Resuspended deposits often cause of main part of the total pollution, but the processes which lead
to remobilisation (Bertrand Krajewski et al. 1998) and prior to formation of sewer sediments are
highly complex and can only be described with limited accuracy by deterministic models.
One reason for the remaining problems with regard to a dynamic description of these processes is
the lack of dynamic data with sufficient quality for model calibration and validation. Since a lot of
time and manpower has to be invested to quantify the emitted loads, they are often not measured but
calculated based on flow simulation models and typical concentration values taken from literature.
While sewer flow simulation models have already been developed to a high standard, the same does
not hold for load quantification models.
Scheer & Schilling (2003) give an overview regarding online measurements in sewer systems
and describe the possibilities and particular difficulties of measuring combined sewage quality in
sewers.
Macke et al. (2002) compare several German studies on the potential pollution load of sewer
networks of different topography. It has been shown that the transported loads are smaller in

1463
steeper networks since deposition is smaller during dry weather. However, it is difficult to transfer
the results of individual studies to other areas because of the interaction between the complex
processes already mentioned, like the formation and remobilisation of sewer deposits especially
during flow conditions which are likely to create backwater.

2 ONLINE SEWER MEASUREMENTS

2.1 Sewer monitoring station

Figure 1 shows the ground plan and the geometrical boundary conditions of the selected CSO R05
in Graz with the inflow, the outflow and the overflow channel. The main collector crosses right
through the chamber, which complicates access into the chamber since the passage height below
the collector is only 70 cm. During the installation of the monitoring station some adaptations had
to be made. Three core drillings through the cut-off wall of the bridge into the CSO chamber were
realized to enable installation of the required cables and hoses. An additional manhole above the
overflow channel was built in order to provide continuous and secure access to the chamber (Gruber
et al. 2003).
A radar system measuring level and surface velocity is used for flow measurement. In the case of
overflow events, waste water samples are taken by an automatic sampler for comparative analysis.
For measuring the outflow of the chamber, a flow meter is installed in the overflow channel installed.
Some probes are arranged in the measurement container on the surface.
Additionally, the precipitation in this catchment area are measured by automatic recording rain
gauges, one equipped with tipping bucket and a second one using the weighing principle.
The catchment of this CSO in Graz serves a population of 13,000 inhabitants and has a total
catchment area of 351 ha. The overflow channel of the CSO discharges in the river Mur, which at
Graz has an average flow of 117 m3 /s.

Figure 1. Layout and instrumentation of the sewer monitoring station in Graz (Gruber et al. 2004).

1464
2.2 UV-VIS spectrometer
The submersible spectrometer is in a swimming pontoon with the measurement window (“optical
path”) directly situated in the waste water media of the sewer. The absorbance of the light in the
measurement window is compared with a reference absorbance which is not influenced by the
waste water (Langergraber et al. 2004). Due to analysis of the difference between reference and
measurement signal, ageing of the optical systems can be compensated for. A Xenon lamp is
used as a light source. Either specific wavelength (e.g. 254 nm for organic substances) or defined
wavelength ranges are analyzed.
Figure 2 shows exemplary absorbance spectra and the resultant equivalence values for CODtot
and TSS of the Graz monitoring station. Additionally, typical absorbance ranges of the specific
substance groups are illustrated. The measured absorbance spectra is a sum of many part absorbance
spectra, which is caused by single substances or effects of scattering and turbidity (Winkler &
Fleischmann 2004).
In the lower UV-range up to 250 nm, the influence of nitrate and nitrite is the dominating factor.
Perkampus (1992) shows the influence of single substances for specific wavelengths. Organic
substances occur in the waste water normally as a heterogeneous mixture of different organic
compounds. Indeed, there are also organic compounds which have no absorbance in the UV range.
Measured absorbencies are calculated in equivalence values (Ceq ) using statistical calibrations
models. For the calculation following equation is used.

The number n of used wavelength λi is dependent on the measuring system and the specific situation
(waste water matrix). The weighing factor ai of the wavelength is determined in comparison with
in the lab analyzed values. The constant offset K can be used for the specific wastewater matrix
adjustment over all single wavelengths. As the spectrometer measurement is based on the company’s
default calibration (global calibration), every calibration has to be adapted to the wastewater matrix.
Every calibration model is a compromise between generality and robustness. Normally with
the increasing number of wavelengths used, particularities in the calibration data can be better
reproduced and, therefore, minor deviations between calculated equivalence values and lab values
can be determined. On the other hand, with a large number of wavelengths the probability of a

Figure 2. Example of absorbance spectra in UV-VIS range and the wavelength classification.

1465
Figure 3. Comparisons of lab vs. spectrometer values of CODtot (left) and TSS (right).

major changing of the weighing factor for a different wastewater matrix increases. If, in this research
project, the original calibration model is retained, significant differences between equivalence and
lab values result.
Currently, the spectrometer in Graz measures SAC254 , SAC436 , CODtot,eq , CODsol,eq , TSSeq ,
NO3 -Neq (Gruber et al. 2003).

3 VALIDATION OF SPECTROMETER VALUES

The spectrometers calibration has been improved to a new local calibration based on three 24
hours measurement campaigns. In the course of these three 24 hours measurement campaigns, a
dry weather sample was taken every hour by an automatic sampler and manually in the chamber
by scooping. At the same time, the UV-VIS probe in the pontoon measured directly in the waste
water media and the recorded spectra (“fingerprints”) were stored for further analyses. The waste
water samples of automatic and manual sampling were also first analyzed in the field and then
after transport to the lab with a second UV-VIS probe. Afterwards, the samples were analysed
in the lab according to the standard. Two imported consolidated findings have been found after
analysis of the measurements. The suction of the peristaltic pump of the automatic sampler causes
no loss of solids. That means no adulterated values concerning a loss of, e.g., particular COD.
Furthermore, the measurement plausibility of the two UV-VIS probes has been corroborated as
nearly no differences have been measured. The transport has not influenced the samples because
of low temperatures and the transport time of approx. 20 min.
Figure 3 shows the results of the comparison between the lab values and the spectrometer values
of the chamber of CODtot and TSS of the 3rd measurement campaign. The diagram clearly displays
that the global calibration does not fit for the CODtot for the waste water matrix in Graz. An
improved local calibration has been developed due to a high offset of 84.37 mg/l and a factor of
0.62. Figure 4 delineates the differences between local and global calibration of CODtot,eq . An
unadapted calibration inevitably leads to wrong values. A quite good correlation between lab and
spectrometer values has been ascertained for the TSS parameter with an offset of only 12.82 mg/l.

4 RESULTS

4.1 Pollution load calculation

Different methods are used to calculate concentrations for dry weather and rain weather (Schulz
1995). Storm weather loads result from the superposition of dry weather and rain weather load. The
storm load is calculated with the equation 2 of the two components method (Macke et al. 2002).

1466
Figure 4. Spectrometer values of CODtot,eq with the global and an improved local calibration.

where CRW is the rainwater concentration; CSW is the storm water concentration; CDW is the dry
weather concentration, VQSW is the storm water flow volume and VQDW is the dry weather flow
volume.
The concentration of dry weather part during storm events can not be measured individually. So
for calculations of this dry weather part during storm events, data from rainless flow days has to
be used. Generally for comparison of different pollution rates, mean pollution concentrations are
applied from online measurement values in this research project. In this paper, with equation 3
the flow or load weighted mean values calculated from the quotient of load sum and flow sum are
quantified thus.

The pollution load of each parameter is calculable with the simultaneous superposition of flow and
concentration curves and a linear assumed concentration characteristic between two wastewater
samples. With this method the temporal load characteristic for dry weather as well for storm
weather is calculated. To eliminate the dry weather part for storm weather load, equation 2 is used.

4.2 Rain weather concentrations

The German standard A 128E (1992) is based on results of Geiger (1984) and Krauth (1979).
This standard gives an average rain weather concentration for COD of 107 mg/l. The use of
higher concentrations leads after the calculation of A 128E (1992) to higher spill loads under
same conditions.
Macke et al. (2002) shows an average concentration of rainwater for COD in the range of
200–300 mg/l for sewer systems with low slopes. In this project, the calculation of this COD con-
centration (table 1) over the period between October 2002 and May 2004 resulted in 298 mg/l
for global calibration and 288 mg/l for the local calibration. These values present the same
concentration range compared with Macke et al. (2002) for sewer systems with high slopes.

1467
 Table 1. Characteristics comparison of combined sewer catchments of different research projects.

Research project Graz Stuttgart∗ Munich∗∗ Braunschweig∗∗∗

Catchment area A [ha] 351 31.4 540 636

Average sewer slope IS [%] 1.6 1–3 0.6 0.3
Average flow time tf [min] ∼75 ∼7 10–50 127
Average dry weather flow [l/s] 58.3 ∼4 78 484
Av. DW concentration COD CDW [mg/l] 850 443 440 679
Av. RW concentration COD CRW [mg/l] 288 – 163 288
∗ Krauth 1970; ∗∗ Geiger 1984; ∗∗∗ Macke et al. 2002, Schulz 1995.

5 CONCLUSION

For an integrated view of the system sewer, wastewater treatment plant and watercourse more
qualitative information will be needed about the complex flow processes in sewers while storm
events. Validation of measured values is most important to obtain reliable data and the resulting
calculations. A comparison of average rain weather COD concentrations with other research projects
showed similar high values of about 300 mg/l for sewer systems with high slopes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors wish to acknowledge the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water
Management, the government of Lower Austria, the government of Styria, the city of Graz, the city
of Vienna and Entsorgungsbetrieben Simmering GmbH for their financial support.

REFERENCES

Standard ATV-A 128E (1992). Dimensioning and Design of Stormwater Structures in Combined Sewer, St.
Augustin.
Bertrand Krajewski, J.-L., Chebbo, G. & Saget, A. (1998). Distribution of pollutant mass vs. volume in
stormwater discharges and the first flush phenomenon, Water Research, Vol. 32, pp. 2341–2356.
Geiger, W.F. (1984). Mischwasserabfluss und dessen Beschaffenheit – ein Beitrag zur Kanalnetzplanung,
Berichte aus Wassergütewirtschaft und Gesundheitsingenieurwesen, Vol. 50, University of Technology
Munich, in German.
Gruber, G., Pressl, A., Winkler, S. & Ecker, M. (2003). Innovative Messtechnik in der Wasserwirtschaft,
Quantifizierung von Schmutzfrachten im Bereich von Mischwasserentlastungen in Österreich, in German
(Quantification of Pollution Loads at CSOs in Austria), Wiener Mitteilungen, Vol. 182, pp. R1–14.
Gruber, G., Winkler, S. & Pressl, A. (2004). Quantification of pollution loads from CSO’s into surface water
bodies by means of online techniques, Proceedings of AutMoNet – 2nd International IWA Conference on
Automation in Water Quality Monitoring, Vienna, 19–20 April 2004, Austria.
Langergraber, G., Fleischmann, N., Hofstaedter & Weingartner, A. (2004). Monitoring of a paper mill
wastewater treatment plant using UV/VIS spectroscopy, Water Science and Technology, Vol. 49, No.1,
pp. 9–14.
Krauth, K. (1979). Der Regenabfluss und seine Behandlung im Mischverfahren, Stuttgarter Berichte zur
Siedlungswasserwirtschaft, Vol. 66, in German.
Macke, E., Hartmann, A. and von Koerber, N. (2002). Zur Schmutzfracht von Regenwasser in großen, flach
verlegten Mischwassernetzen. In German (The Pollution Load of Stormwater in Large Horizontal Combined
Sewer Systems) KA-Abwasser, Abfall, 49, 1, pp. 40–48.
Perkampus, H. (1992). UV VIS atlas of organic compounds, VCH publishing, ISBN 1 56801 268 0.
Rauch, W., Brøndholt Nielsen, H., Hauger, M. & Mikkelsen, P.S. (1999). Urban Drainage Management – An
integrated assessment of options, Proceedings of 8th International Conference on Urban Storm Drainage,
Sydney, 30. August 3–September 3 1999, Australia.

1468
Scheer, M. & Schilling, W. (2003). Einsatz von Online-Messgeräten zur Beurteilung der Mischwasserqualität
im Kanal. In German (Use of Online Measurement Equipment to Assess the Quality of Combined Sewage
in Sewers), KA-Abwasser, Abfall, 50, 5, pp. 585–595.
Schulz, O. (1995). Gebietsspezifische Schmutzfrachtpotenziale flach verlegter und vorentlasteter
Mischwassernetze, Mitteilungen des Leichtweiß-Institutes für Wasserbau der TU Braunschweig, Vol. 137,
in German.
Winkler, S. & Fleischmann, N. (2004). Konzept des IMW-Wasserqualitätsmessnetzes, Innovative Messtechnik
in der Wasserwirtschaft, Schriftenreihe zur Wasserwirtschaft TU Graz, Vol. 42, C1-C23, in German.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical analysis model of inundation due to river water and

interior runoff

Makoto Takeda & Naoki Matsuo

Dept. of Civil Engineering, Chubu University, Japan

Hiroshi Kogiso
Construction Environment Institute, Japan

ABSTRACT: As the rain in an urban area flows into road and sewer and is discharged into the river
by pump, the hydraulic numerical analysis model of inundation water in road and sewerage system
is very important for detail examination of inundation flow. In this study, the inundation flow model
with sewer system combined analysis model for the water phenomena in sea and river is developed
to examine measures on inundation due to river water and interior runoff. The Tokai heavy rain
event is treated in this analysis. In the numerical analysis, the river flow and seawater behaviour
are computed in detail, the computed water elevations are in good agreement with observed data.
Moreover, suitable distribution of inundation water depth is obtained in the inundation states of
the urban area. From these results, the validity of the numerical analysis model proposed here is
shown. Moreover, it is found that the sewer water spread out more quickly than overland flood flow
on inundation due to river water.

1 INTRODUCTION

The serious water disaster due to tokai heavy rain occurred in August 11–12, 2000. The main
affected areas are Nagoya city and the area near the Tokai district located at the centre part of
Japan. The maximum rainfall of 93 mm/hour and the total rainfall of 567 mm were observed at
Nagoya meteorological observatory. Warning for flood control was announced in Aichi prefecture
due to the record heavy rainfall. Maximum water elevation in the past in the Shin River and the
Tenpaku River are recorded. A dam break occurred on the left side at 16 km upstream point from
the mouth of the Shin river. Moreover, the inundation due to interior runoff occurred all over the
place in Nagoya city. The weakness of the city to water disaster is shown obviously from this event.
As mentions above, water disasters due to not only river water but also interior runoff have
increased in Japan recently, and the measures to mitigate inundation due to interior runoff are
more important. In this study, the numerical analysis model, which considers the sewer system, is
developed to examine measures on inundation due to interior runoff, because the rainfall in urban
area flows into sewer and is discharged to the rivers by pump. In the numerical analysis, the river
flow is also computed in detail for examination on inundation due to river water, because river flow
becomes the boundary condition of the analysis. Moreover, as suitable observatory does not exist
at the downstream boundary in the river, the analysis model proposed here treated the behaviour
of sea water. The flow dynamics in the sea, river, urban area and sewer system are simultaneously
simulated and the results are discussed.

2 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS MODEL

The inundation flow model proposed here analyzed the flow dynamics in sea, river, urban area and
sewer system simultaneously. The each model is shown on the following pages.

1471
2.1 Sea area
The plane 2D Model based on shallow water equation is used for analysis in sea area.

where u, v: flow velocity in x, y direction respectively, h: water depth, M , N : flux in x, y direction

respectively (M = uh, N = vh), H : water level, τbx , τby : component of shear stress at water bot-
tom in x, y direction respectively, g: gravity acceleration, εx , εy : eddy viscosity in x, y direction,
respectively, f : coriolis parameter, x, y: axis of plane, t: time.
Shear stress at bottom is presented by using of water density (ρ) and roughness coefficient of
Manning (n).

2.2 Rivers
The continuity and momentum equation denoted below are used for analysis in rivers.

where A: area of cross section, Q: discharge, q: lateral inflow discharge, u : water velocity (=Q/A),
h: water depth, θ: bed slope, R: hydraulics radius, x: axis of downstream, t: time.

2.3 Urban area

The method with unstructured grid system of Inoue et al (1999) is used. Flux (M , N ) and water
depth (h) are set at center of side and grid, respectively. The algebraic equations expanded by finite
volume method are as follows

1472
 M,N M,N
u,v y
y l

x
x
Figure 2. Control volume of momentum
Figure 1. Arrangement of physical quantities. equation.

where m: number of side surrounding the grid A: area of grid, Ml  , Nl  : flux at the centre of side l 
in x, y direction, respectively, (x)l  , (y)l  are difference of x, y coordinate value at the both side
of l  (l  means the side around grid), ul , vl : flow velocity of x, y coordinate at the centre of side l
respectively, (∇H )x , (∇H )y: gradient of water surface in x, y coordinate at the centre of side l, h̃:
water depth analyzed by h at the centre of side, M 1, M 2 or N 1, N 2: advection terms presented by
below equations.

where Acv : area of control volume in Fig. 2, m : number of side surrounding the control volume,
M̃ , Ñ : flux analysed by M , N at the centre of grid. The analysis of eq. (11) or eq. (12) use the flux
of upstream.

2.4 Sewer system

This analysis model treats the behaviour of inundation water in sewer pipe and manhole. The
interaction between overland and sewer system on inundation water is taken into consideration in
the manhole model. The model on sewer pipe flow use eq. (6) and eq. (7) as the governing equation
and the slot model for pipe flow. Slot width is analyzed by B = gAS /C 2 (g is gravity acceleration,
AS is area of cross section, C is wave velocity, 20 m/sec).
The water level at manhole is computed by the continuity equation as follows.

where Am : area of manhole, H : water level of manhole, Q: net inflow discharge
 from sewer pipe,
Qin : inflow discharge from overland, Qout : outflow discharge of pump (µLh gh: µ is discharge
coefficient, L is circumference of manhole, h is water depth).

2.5 Numerical analysis method

The numerical analysis methods except the one for the urban area are denoted here. Finite volume
method is used as numerical simulation method. In the 1-D analysis for river and sewer pipe and
2-D analysis for sea region, forward deference scheme is used on time terms, DONOR scheme is
used on advection terms and the center scheme is used on other terms.
1473
 Shin River Yada River
Hori River
Syounai
River Shinhori River

Nakagawa
Canal

Nagoya Port

Ise Bay

(A) Sea area

Hirata P.
Fukutoku P. (C) Rivers
Hirata S.
Jyouhoku P.

Fukutoku S.

Nakamura P. Meiekimae P.
Gongendori S.
Iwatsuka P. Tsuyuhashi P.
Bitoubashi S.
Uchide P.
Yanagijima S.
Tamafune S.
Shinohara P. Shiratoribashi P.
Kousu S. Hachiken P.
Touchi P. Nankou S. Elevation(m)
~ 0.0
Kouhoku P. Chitose P. 0.0 ~ 1.0
Ishin S. 1.0 ~ 2.0
Meikou P. 2.0 ~ 3.0
Ote P. 3.0
Houjin P.

: Manhole : Storage facility : Pump

(B) Urban area (D) Ground elevation

Figure 3. Analysis regions.

3 ANALYSIS ON TOKAI HEAVY RAIN

3.1 Analysis condition

Figure 3 indicates analysis region. The Shounai River from 0.0 km to 32.7 km, the Shin River from
0.0 km to 21.6 km, the Nakagawa Canal from 0.0 km to 7.9 km, the Hori River from 0.0 km to
15.3 km (value is distance from mouth of river) and the Yada River from 0.0 km to 3.6 km, the Hatta
River from 0.0 km to 3.6 km, the Shinhori River from 0.0 km to 5.9 km (value is distance from
joint point) are treated as the river analysis region. Sewer pipe, pump station and storage facilities
treated here are indicated in Fig. 3(B). Moreover, because sewer pipe and manhole data in left side

1474
 Water level (T.P.;m)
11
(B) Touchi
4 Water level (T.P.;m) 9
(A) Biwajima
3
7
2

1 5

0 3
-1
9/10 9/11 9/12 9/13 1
Time(day)
9/10 9/11 9/12 Time(day)
Observed data Analysis result

Figure 4. Temporal change of water level.

area of the Shounai River are not available, the pump station and storage facility located in this
area are set at near the manholes.
The period of analysis is from 0 h September 10 to 1 h September 13, 2000. The observed
discharge or the water level at upstream of river, tidal elevation at open boundary of sea area and
rainfall in overland grid are set. Moreover, it is considered that dam crest level becomes T.P. + 4.0 m
in 3 h September 12 as dam break condition occurred in the Shin River.

3.2 Results of analysis

Figure 4(A) and (B) show observed water level and analyzed water level at Biwajima and Touchi in
the Shounai River, respectively. Though the analysis results are in good agreement with observed
ones, the water level of the analysis data shown change more quickly than the observed ones during
the flood. It is thought that the numerical model does not take the strict roughness coefficient
and effect of bridge into consideration as the reason. From the distribution of flow velocity in the
sea part, it is found that inflow from the Syounai River and the Shin River sufficiently affects
behaviour of water in Nagoya port. From the states of inflow and outflow due to tidal change and
the temporal change of tidal elevation represented in Fig. 4(A), it is found that the modeling of
interaction between sea and rivers is appropriate.
By comparison of between the distribution of observed maximum inundation water depth and the
distribution of analyzed maximum inundation water depth, though the area of analyzed maximum
inundation water depth expands more than the observed one, it is found that the state of both
inundation is similar. Moreover, it is found that the water depth of Nagoya station becomes high
as in the real situation.The validity of this numerical analysis model is shown from these results.

4 EFFECT OF SEWER SYSTEM

The effect of the sewer system is evaluated by analysis of inundation due to tokai heavy rain and
dam break at the left bank of the Syounai River.

4.1 Effect of sewer system on tokai heavy rain flooding

The both analysis with sewer system (case I) and without sewer system (case II) are executed.
Figure 5 shows the distribution of inundation area. The area where the inundation depth is about
2 m locates near the dam break point of the Shin River and the area where the inundation depth
is 1 m locates not only near the dam break point but also surrounding the Nagoya station. The
difference of analysis results with case I and case II is not appeared on area of large inundation

1475
 Inundation area (km2)
25

20
Case I Case II
15

10

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Inundation water depth(m)

Figure 5. Distribution of inundation area.

Inundation
Water Depth(m)

Figure 6. Hydraulic states of inundation and sewer pipe.

water depth. Therefore, it is thought that the scale of tokai heavy rain is larger than the scale of
the sewer system. The inundation shown by case I is less than that of case II. Thus, the smaller
inundation area shown by case I is due to the effect of sewer system.

4.2 Effect of sewer system on inundation due to river water

The effect of the sewer system on inundation due to river water is evaluated. The analysis condition
(the condition based on 3.1 analysis condition without rainfall and added dam break condition
that left bank at 11.2 km point breaks in 3 h September 12) is used in this examination. Figure 6
shows the hydraulic states of inundation and sewer pipe. In the Figure 6(B), the open channel flow
is indicated by a red color and the pipe flow is indicated by a black color. Moreover, sewer pipe

1476
without water is not drawn in this figure. It is found that the inundation is caused by not only the
dam break in the Shin River but also dam break in the Syounai River. The inundation flow expands
from the break point to south area because ground elevation is lower more around area. Moreover,
water in the sewer pipe expands more quickly than overland water.

5 CONCLUSION

The numerical simulation model for comprehensive analysis, which combined analysis of water
behaviour in sea, river and urban area (overland and sewer system), is developed. Moreover,
analysis of water behaviour due to tokai heavy rain is executed, the validity of this model is shown
by results of analysis of water level and inundation states due to dam break in the Shin River and
the danger of inundation due to interior runoff at Nagoya station is illustrated. Finally, the effect
of sewer system on inundation due to interior runoff and river water is discussed. From analysis
results, it is found that water in sewer pipe expand more quickly than overland water and this
analysis model is able to be applied to inundation due to both interior runoff and river water.

REFERENCES

Inoue, K., Kawaike, K. & Toda, K. 1999. Modeling of Inundation flow analysis using unstructured meshes.
The Annuals of the Disaster prevention research institute, Kyoto University, No.42, B-2, pp.339–353 (in
Japanese).
Iwasa,Y., Inoue,K. & Mizutori, M. 1980. Hydraulic analysis of overland flood flows by means of numer-
ical method. The Annuals of the Disasater prevention research institute, Kyoto University, No.23, B-2,
pp.305–317 (in Japanese).
Takeda, M., Matsuo, N., Yamanaka, T., Yamaguchi, Y. & Nakamura, M. 2003. Analysis of flood of the Shounai
River due to the heavy rain in Tokai district. Annual journal of Hydraulic engineering, JSCE, No.47,
pp.901–906 (in Japanese).
Takeda, M., Matsuo, N. & Nakajima, D. 2003. Study on overland flood flow analysis using unstructured grid.
Annual journal of Hydraulic engineering, JSCE, No.47, pp.895–900 (in Japanese).

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Field investigation of urban rainfall-runoff pollution

Z.Y. Dong & M.E. Wang

Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture at Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China

ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes characteristics of urban rainfall-runoff pollution, including

variations of pollutant concentration with runoff, and correlation between pollution load and runoff.
Comparison between early runoff pollution load and the whole runoff process is made. Water quality
of rain outfall is continually monitored. And the other rain outfalls in the urban areas are randomly
sampled so as to analyze variation of rainfall-runoff pollution with space. In order to compare with
runoff pollution of old urban areas, pollution status of new built district is observed.

1 INTRODUCTION

One of considerable characteristics of speed-up of urbanization course is that a great change of

ground surface cover occurs, i.e. large parts of areas from original pervious surface turn into
impervious one, which will make storage area considerably decrease so as to shorten response time
of rainfall-runoff, and enormously increase runoff coefficient. Another considerable characteris-
tics are urban population explosion, which especially exhibits remarkable increase of pollutant,
thus resulting in considerable increase of non-point source pollution and making urban water
environment worse.
Usually, according to pollutant source, pollution can be divided into two cases: point source and
non-point source pollutions. The point source pollution arose from urban domestic sewage and
industrial wastewater, and the non-point source pollution from rainfall-runoff, which can be also
divided into urban and agricultural non-point source pollutions. People thought before that water
environment pollution arose from point source pollution, and considered so long as we first take
industrial wastewater and domestic sewage into advanced treatment and then discharge them into
waters, we can basically solve the water pollution problems. Practice shows, however, such an action
can only partially solve the problems, water pollution problems are still severe. Urban non-point
source pollution primarily resulted from various domestic refuses, industrial wastes, heavy metal,
insecticide, automobile, street dusts and acid rain as well as harmful and toxic substances. These
pollutants ordinarily suspend in atmosphere or scatter on the streets and buildings, which flow with
runoff when raining, and converge into waters thus making waters polluted. In comparison with
point source pollution, non-point source pollution has a lot of considerable characteristics such as
random of occurrence, uncertainty of both variety of pollution source and discharge point, violent
variation of pollution load with time and space, difficulty in monitoring and control etc. This paper
aims at preliminarily studying urban non-point source pollution.

2 WATER QUALITY ANALYSIS OF SUCCESSIVE SAMPLING OF RAIN OUTFALL

The authors observed water quality of rain outfall of certain city in April 2002. Rain started from
10:15 am, rain intensity is from light rain to moderate rain. Runoff was formed after 30 minitutes of
rainfall; rain duration was about 5.5 hours. Results of water quality analysis are shown in Figs 1∼3.
Variation of pH value with runoff process is shown in Fig. 1. It follows from Fig. 1 that pH value

1479
 7.1 1000
7

SS(mg/L)
pH

6.9 500
6.8
6.7 0
0:00 4:48 9:36 14:24 19:12 0:00 4:48 9:36 14:24 19:12
time time

Figure 1. Variation of pH value with runoff process. Figure 2. Variation of suspended solid with runoff
process.

800
BOD5, COD(mg/L)

BOD5 COD
600

400

200

0
0:00 4:48 9:36 14:24 19:12
time

Figure 3. Variations of COD and BOD5 with runoff process.

Table 1. Status of land use type in the new student apartment area.

Land use type Area (m2 ) Accounting for percentage (%)

Meadow 4439 24.5

Concrete surface 6985 38.6
Building 6675 36.9

first lowers, which turns from alkalinity into acidity, and then gradually rises with rainfall-runoff
process. There is a minimum value in the whole variation process. Figure 2 describes suspended
solid (SS) hydrograph. Peak value of SS occurs in the runoff process. Erosion and transport of
rainfall-runoff on surface sedimentation was in the early rainfall-runoff more than in the late
rainfall-runoff. Variations of COD and BOD5 concentrations with runoff are shown in Fig. 3.
Under the role of rainfall-runoff, organic pollutants on the surface were discharged into receiving
waters through rain sewer. Concentration of chemical oxygen demand is higher than that of 5-day
biochemical oxygen demand, and both exhibit peak value and an identical phase. Ratio of BOD5
to COD is 0.15∼0.30, which shows biodegradability of water quality of rainfall-runoff lowers.

3 OBSERVATION OF RAINFALL-RUNOFF POLLUTION IN NEW

RESIDENTIAL AREAS

In order to compare with rainfall-runoff pollution of old urban areas, we investigated a part of
new urban areas. Taking a new student apartment area, Mengxicun, for example, the catchment
is relatively dependant. Types of land use are shown in Table 1, in which pervious area accounts
for 24.5% and impervious area for 75.5%. Mengxicun catchment is a life district. The environ-
mental sanitation work did well. Clearance rate was high. Sampling time was on 29th May 2002.
Rain started 13:45 pm, at first rainfall quantity is lighter, it was not able to form surface runoff.
Rain did not increase until 14:30 pm and formed surface runoff. After this, it rained alternatively

1480
 Table 2. Partial analytical results of water samples
in Mengxicun.

Sampling time SS (mg/L) pH

15:05 51 7.16
15:25 61 7.23
15:45 87 7.21
16:05 95 7.23
16:25 109 7.09

Table 3. Randomly sampling of water quality from rain outfall in urban areas.

Sampling Sampling SS COD Type of

place time (mg/L) pH BOD5 (mg/L) (mg/L) land use

Chaohui 15:26 77 7.1 0 0 Residential

Gangjian 16:08 288 7.1 44 108 Market
Daoxiang 16:35 239 6.8 80 176 Residential
Mianfen 17:05 359 7.3 2 10 Industrial
S.Road(A) 14:40 746 7.4 90 328 Industrial
S.Road(B) 15:40 1082 7.8 120 452 Industrial
Daguan 15:10 1003 7.7 170 520 Residential

between heavy and light. Water samples were taken per 20 minutes at rain outfall of Mengxicun
catchment.
Analytical results of water samples are listed in Table 2. The results showed that rainfall-runoff
pollution in Mengxicun catchment was mild. Value of pH was basically stable. Concentrations of
COD and BOD5 were nearly zero, which showed there was no organic pollutant accumulation on
the surface. Suspended solid, however, increased with time during the period of early rainfall.

4 RANDOMLY SAMPLING OF RAIN OUTFALL IN URBAN AREAS

In order to investigate status of urban rainfall-runoff pollution, we randomly take a water sample
at some rain outfall to analyze water quality. Analytical results of randomly sampling taken from
Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and Shangtang River where rain outfalls distribute, as shown in Table 3.
Acquired data, to some extent, reflected status of urban non-point source pollution. Catchments
discharged into Beijing-Hangzhou Canal are mainly residential area, polluted level from rainfall-
runoff was not high, but water quality still exceed China State Primary Standard for Discharge.
Concentration of suspended solid exceeded that of domestic sewage. Catchments of Shangtang
River are primarily industrial and traffic areas. Pollution was severe, both COD and BOD5 indices
were high, SS reached 3∼5 times as much as ordinary domestic sewage.

5 VARIATION OF POLLUTANT CONCENTRATION WITH RUNOFF

Figures 4, 5 and 6 show discharge hydrograph, pollution load (NH3 −N, BOD5 ) graph (Wen et al
1986) at rain outfall in a certain shopping area, respectively. Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10 show discharge
hydrograph, variations of total solid (TS) and suspended solid (SS), COD and BOD5 , as well as
NH3 −N with time (Wu 1987). It follows from these figures that discharge hydrograph steeply

1481
 0.4
discharge (m3/s) 0.2 0.3

NH3-N(g/s)
0.15
0.2
0.1
0.05 0.1

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10
time time

Figure 4. Discharge hydrograph. Figure 5. NH3 −N hydrograph.

3.5
20
3
2.5 15

discharge (L/s)
BOD5(g/s)

2
1.5 10
1
5
0.5
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 0 5 10 15 20
time time

Figure 6. BOD5 hydrograph. Figure 7. Discharge hydrograph.

400 200
TS and SS (mg/L)

BOD5, COD (mg/L)

COD BOD5
300 150
TS SS
200 100

100 50

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
time time

Figure 8. Variation of TS and SS with time. Figure 9. Variation of COD and BOD5 with time.

1
NH3-N(mg/L)

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0 5 10 15 20
time

Figure 10. Variation of NH3 −N with time.

floods and falls, tendency towards variations in pollutant concentration is basically similar to
variation in discharge. Peak values of various pollutant concentrations almost occur simultaneously,
which are prior to runoff peak value.
For resolvable pollutants such as ammonia nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen, the extent of variation
in the concentration is smaller. Concentrations of COD and BOD5 vary with discharge fluctuation.

1482
 Table 4. Gradation of surface substance on the street of various function areas.
Granular diameter Residential area Industrial area Commercial area
(mm) (%) (%) (%)

>2.0 7.8 5.7 27.0

1.0∼2.0 4.6 3.7 17.6
<1.0 87.6 90.6 55.4

Table 5. Pollutant loads in a storm runoff process.

Various pollutant loads of storm runoff (kg)

Runoff Runoff
process duration (h) TS SS COD BOD5 NH3 −N

Early runoff 1.5 295.2 177.9 83.64 52.33 0.672

Whole runoff 5.0 385.9 224.9 127.50 75.30 1.622
Early/whole (%) 76.5 79.1 65.6 69.5 41.4

Notes: Early/whole denotes pollutant load percentage of early runoff in the whole runoff process.

During flooding, runoff violently erodes, and is of a considerable transport role, which make
COD and BOD5 concentrations increase; during falling, sedimentation is prevailing, which make
COD and BOD5 concentrations decrease. Irresolvable pollutants (TS, SS) are directly proportional
to rainfall-runoff. Discrepancy between resolvable and irresolvable pollutants in concentration
variations is distinct. Polluted source of urban runoff is mainly surface substances on the streets,
in which major substance is fine granule (see Table 4).
Concentrations of both total solid and suspended solid in urban rainfall-runoff are greater than
that in urban domestic sewage, but organic pollutant concentration is less than urban domestic
sewage.

6 HIGH CONCENTRATION OF POLLUTANT IN THE EARLY STORM RUNOFF

Pollutant loads in the process of storm runoff on catchments of certain Aquatic Products Company
are described in Table 5. Data described in Table 5 are pollutant loads in the early runoff of single
storm. It follows from the Table that loads of early storm runoff in comparison with whole storm
runoff process, TS, SS account for over 70%, COD, BOD5 for over 60%, NH3 −N for over 40%,
respectively.

7 CONCLUSIONS

Through field monitoring and sampling analysis, we can draw some conclusions as follows:
(1) Total solid (TS), suspended solid (SS) of urban rainfall-runoff are more than urban domestic
sewage, whereas organic pollutant concentration is less than urban domestic sewage; (2) Variation
of pollutant concentration is similar to runoff varying tendency. Peak values of various pollutant
concentrations occur simultaneously, and are prior to runoff peak. Pollutant load is linearly correl-
ated to runoff amount, and is higher in the early rainfall-runoff; (3) Pollutants of rainfall-runoff
in a new setup life area are primarily suspended solid, if environmental sanitation kept well in
the area.

1483
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank the Academic Leader Foundation for the Young and Middle
Ages of Zhejiang Provincial Higher Education and Zhejiang Provincial “151” Talent Engineering
Foundation for the financial supports of the research.

REFERENCES

Wen, Z.R., Su, Y.S. & Liu, X.J. 1986. Study of urban storm runoff pollution of water network city in Suzhou.
Environment Science. No.6, 2∼6 (in Chinese).
Wu, L.Z. 1987. Preliminary analysis of urban runoff pollution property in Hangzhou. Shanghai Environment
Science. No.6, 34∼36 (in Chinese).

1484
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical analysis of inundation process in urban area with an

underground space

M. Sekine
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Waseda University, Japan

N. Kawakami
Graduate School, Waseda University, Japan

ABSTRACT: Inundation process in underground space as well as on a ground surface in urban

area was studied numerically. Simplified numerical model was developed on the basis of the
information about the actual road network, drainage network and underground space in the area
around Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, Japan. A series of numerical computation were conducted in order
to understand the process of inundation and the magnitude of damage expected there. As the results,
the characteristics of the drainage system in this area and the weak points of it were quantitatively
understood. The surface area whose ground elevation is much lower than its surround and the
underground space are most likely to have a serious damage if there happens to be the rainfall
whose intensity exceeds the designed one.

1 INTRODUCTION

The environment in urban area grows worse than before recently. Especially in summer season in
Tokyo, relatively heavy rainfalls occur in several times a year, which are expected to arise from
so-called “heat-island phenomenon”. In the present study, the highly urbanized area of downtown
Shinjuku, Tokyo was the object to be investigated. Entire area there are consist of either a building
or a paved road, and no vacant land are there. If the rainfall event occurs, the supplied water flows
either on the paved roads or in the drainage pipes only. The relatively lower spots on the road
network or the underground space, e.g. the underground shopping mall, a subway station and the
basement of an individual building there, are more dangerous to be inundated. Actual damage was
reported in 1999 that the life of one person was lost there. Therefore, the process of inundation and
the magnitude of damage expected there have to be evaluated right now, and the results are made
open to the passers-by or the inhabitants. Considering the above, the simplified numerical model
was developed, the details of which are explained in the next section. As the results of numerical
experiments, the characteristics of the drainage system in this area were almost made clear. It was
also expected that the underground shopping mall which locates next to the Shinjuku Station is the
most likely to be inundated.

2 SUMMARY OF THE NUMERICAL MODEL

2.1 Detailed information about the area and rainfall

In the present study, the highly urbanized area of downtown Shinjuku, Tokyo is the area to be inves-
tigated. Figure 1(a) denotes the summary of this area, which is almost 1 km square. In Figures 1(b)
and 1(c), the road network and the drainage network are shown, and are almost precise in compar-
ison with the actual ones. The bold lines in Figure 1(a) represent the boundary of this area, and
are set along the relatively higher zone or a median strip of road. This study area has a shape of

1485
 underground space

(a) (b) (c)

under-pass Inflow through

(d) an entrance gate
stairs on road
No.2
stairs
stairs stairs
No.1
No.1 No.2
Entrance gate to
the underground space
stairs
stairs
No.3
No.3
stairs
stairs
No.4
No.4
stairs
stairs No.5
stairs No.5 stairs
No.6 No.6 y
x
B1F B2F

Figure 1. Summary of the numerical model. (a) Area to be analyzed, (b) road network, (c) drainage network,
and (d) the structure of the underground space.

depressed ground, and the lowest points locate in “area No. 1” (which is called the “under-pass”)
and in “area No. 2” in Figure 1(a). Rainwater tends to flow down and converge to the area of point
1 and 2. In the “area No. 1”, the road named “Yasukuni St.” has a crossing with the underpass
of railroad (Yamanote Line of Japan Railways), and there exists a valley-like topography. Large-
scale underground shopping mall exists in the middle of this study area, as is in Figure 1(a). The
important issue is that the main entrance gate to the underground space locates in the area of this
“under-pass”. If the depth of water in the area of “under-pass” is larger than 1.5 m, the inundated
water on road is expected to flow into the underground space. Figure 1(d) shows the structure of this
underground space, which is a “double-decker”. The first basement (B1F) is the shopping arcade,
and the second one (B2F) is the parking space. The arrows shown in Figure 1(d) denote the stairs
connecting the floors each other. The only one arrow with “inflow” corresponds to the entrance
gate explain above. The solid lines drawn in the outline of this space are either the partition walls
between each store or pillars.
The actual rainfall data, which was measured on July 21, 1999 in Tokyo, was adopted to evaluate
the state of inundation in the present study. It is shown in Figure 2. As a reference, the value
50 mm/h is the designed intensity for the drainage system there in Tokyo. Therefore this rainfall
event is classified as a localized torrential rain.

1486
 200

re (mm/h)
100

0
15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00
Time

Figure 2. Temporal variation of rainfall intensity.

(a) Storage tank (b) hc h

Qex Road (ground surface)

Control volume
ht
ho
Ao L
Lij zs a,
i j D
Qij Bij
zt Drainage pipe

Node on drainage pipe Storage pipe Qin

Figure 3. Schematic diagram. (a) The definition of control volume for the computation of flow depth on road
and that in drainage pipe: open circles denote the computational points on road, and the closed circles are the
one in drainage pipe. (b) The treatment of water exchange in strorage tank.

2.2 Numerical model

Numerical model is constituted by several sub-models on (1) the surface flow on roads, (2) the
flow in the drainage pipes, and (3) the water exchange in a “storage tank” (or street inlet) along
the side of roads, which works as a buffer between a water on road and that in pipe. The details of
each sub-model are explained below.
Surface flow model is summarized first. The computational nodes were placed on the crossings
of roads, as is seen in Figure 1(b). The control volume was set around each nodes, the test section
which corresponds to the border line of this volume was placed in the middle of the adjacent nodes
(see Figure 3(a)). Diffusion wave approximation was introduced to evaluate the water discharge
Qij across the test section in Figure 3 (a). That is,

in which n = Manning’s roughness coefficient, Rij = hydraulic radius, iij = gradient of road,
hij = the difference of flow depth between adjacent points i and j, and hij = the averaged depth.
And the flow depth at each nodes was calculated on the basis of a volume conservation equation
for each control volume. In this computation, the flow discharge into a “storage tank” and the
stairs connecting to the underground space are evaluated if needed. In this study area, there is no
vacant space, and only the roads and buildings are there. The rainwater which was supplied to a
road area was only considered here, while the water to the space which was almost occupied by
the buildings was not taken into account. The rainwater onto a building is temporarily stored in
the own facilities and is discharged to sewer pipe a few hours later. This means that the effect of
neglecting the water in building area is not so important to evaluate the state of inundation against

1487
the localized torrential rain. As a reference, the geometric conditions of the road network, e.g. the
altitude of crossing, the road width, the distance between the adjacent nodes, were all evaluated by
digitizing a detailed road map before this computation.
The analysis of the flow in the drainage pipes is explained. Actual drainage network was repro-
duced numerically, and the computational nodes were placed on the junctions of drainage pipes,
as is seen in Figure 1(c). The difference between an actual network and the reproduced one is only
on the shape of drainage pipe. The square pipe with the same area of cross section was adopted for
simplicity in this analysis instead of actual circular pipe. Basic idea of this analysis is same as that
described above for the surface flow on roads (see Figure 6). So-called “slot model” (Chaudhry,
1979) and diffusion wave approximation were adopted here.
The effect of “storage tank” was taken into account hydraulically as follows. Figure 3(b) is the
schematic diagram. As we have studied in the class of Hydraulics, the depth in strorage tank ho can
be evaluated by following relations:

in which f = frictional factor, fe = coefficient of energe loss at the entrance of the pipe. Qex in
Equation (2) is the overtopping discharge into the storage tank. Such tanks are placed along the
both side of a road every 20 m in this study area. The tank is connected to the drainage pipe by a
circular pipe of 0.2 m in diameter, while the upper edge of it are left open to the air, even though
the metal mesh screen covers on it. The number of the tanks in each control volume in Figure 3(a)
was determined as the ratio of total length of roads in a control volume to the interval of 20 m.
This means that the number is not necessarily an integer. The tank in the study area is the cylinder
whose diameter is 50 cm and height is 80 cm.
Final explanation is on the analysis of the flow in underground space. As is seen in Figure 1(d),
the underground space has two floors, and the first basement is a shopping space with a lot of
partition walls and the second basement is a parking space. In this analysis, each space was covered
by the computational grid network. The mesh size was 8 m in both x and y direction in Figure 1(d)
and is same as the unit size of individual stores there. The flow analysis is, of course, the two-
dimensional one. The boundary condition is as follows; the velocity components on the solid walls
are vanished in both normal and tangential directions to the wall. The analysis of flow along the
stairs, on the other hand, was one-dimensional one.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Inundation process on road and drainage network

Inundation process on roads is discussed by referring to the computational results. Figure 4 denotes
the spatial distribution of water depth on roads, which are called “hazard maps” here, at a given
time. One can easily understand that the following two restricted areas only have the problem that
the depth can take the seriously large value of 50 cm or more. Such areas are (1) the area around
“under-pass” (“area No. 1”), (2) the area between (b) and (c) along the “valley-like” street in
Figure 5 (“area No. 2”). The topography around there can be called “open-book type”. In Figure 5,
the temporal variation of both the flow depth on roads and the relative depth in drainage pipes which
is normalized by its diameter were shown. One can see from Figure 5 that the flow depth around the
“under-pass” was expected to exceed the limited value of 1.5 m. This means that the water on roads
starts to flow into the underground space about 40 minutes after the beginning of rainfall. Another
important matter is that the flow depth in drainage pipe exceeds to the diameter of the pipe for some
period in the “area No. 2” in Figure 5. This means that the pressure-driven pipe flow arises locally
there. As a results of this analysis, the characteristics of inundation against a localized torrential

1488
 16:00 (60 min.) 16:30 (90 min.) 16:30 (90 min.)

over 70cm
60 - 70cm
50 - 60cm
40 - 50cm
30 - 40cm
20 - 30cm
10 - 20cm
- 10cm

Figure 4. The spatial distribution of water depth on roads (Hazard map) at a given time. The number in
parenthesis means the time just after the beginning of rainfall.

0.4 1.00
0.562 m valley-like street 0.817 m
0.3 0.75

Raio of flow depth in pipe to the diameter

0.2 0.50
Inundation depth on road (m)

0.1 0.25
0.0 0.00
(C)
0.4 (B)
1.00
0.220 m 0.635 m 0.75
0.3
Flow depth (A) 0.50
0.2
on roads
0.1 0.25
0.0 0.00
0.4 1.00
0.342 m 0.220 m
0.3 0.75
Flow depth
0.2 in drainage pipes 0.50
0.1 0.25
0.0 0.00
15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00
Time Time
Flow depth at Point 1 (m)

2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00
Time

Figure 5. Temporal variation of flow depth. The heavy line means a flow depth on road at a given point, while
the light one is the relative depth normalized by the diameter of pipe. The number in each figure denotes the
diameter.

rain in this study area are summarized as follows: (1) the rainwater supplied in this area converges
to the above mentioned two lower places (“area No. 1 and 2”), (2) the convergence of the rainwater
to the “area No. 1” can cause the inundation in underground space, (3) the water flowing into the
drainage pipes in the study area is finally led to the main drainage pipe along the lines (a)-(b)-(c)
in Figure 5, (4) there is a relatively higher risk in the basement of buildings in “area No. 2” because
the water on road surface and in drainage pipe are both led toward this lower area.

3.2 Inundation process in the underground space

As was discussed above, it was understood that the water on road flows into the underground space
from the connection gate in “area No. 1” if we really have the rainfall in Figure 2. Therefore, the
information is needed on the inundation process in the underground space. Figure 6 (a) shows the
time series of contour map of water depth on both floor of the first and second basement. The water
supply from the road is only from the entrance gate as is described in Figure 1 (d). Figure 6 (b)

1489
 (a)
B1F B2F B1F

A 0.0 0.1 0.2

B2F
1 hour

B 0.0 0.025 0.05

m C 0.0 0.05 0.1
m - unit
0.165 A 0.015 B

(b)
2 hours

45

40
0.181 A 0.030 B
35

30
3 hours

x/∆ 25

20

0.197 A 0.051 C 15
45 15 cm/s
40 10
35
30 5
4 hours

25
20 0
15 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
10
0.190 A 5 0.081 C y/∆
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Figure 6. Inundation process in underground space. (a) Contour map of flow depth at a given time. Time
written in the left side row is the one after the beginning of inundation in this space. The capital letter at
bottom-right corner in each figure corresponds to the one in legend, and the number at bottom-left corner
means the maximum depth in meter. (b) Velocity vector on the first basement (B1F) at 1 hour. The floor in the
gray-colored portion was inundated.
denotes a velocity vector map on the first basement 1 hour after the beginning of the moment that
the water started flowing into this space at about.15:45. The followings are found from Figure 6:
(1) velocity vector took a maximum value around its migrating front of water, and was 30 cm/s
or more, (2) the flow made a complicated pattern which was caused by partition walls or pillars,
(3) the maximum flow depth on the first basement was expected to be about 0.2 m, (4) the water
was not be able to reach the second basement rapidly, and therefore the water kept staying on the
first basement for relatively long period. The water depth of 0.2 m is large enough that we can not
open the door against a water. The flow may prevents children or the person of advanced years
from escaping such a circumstance.
According to the further investigation (Sekine & Kawakami, 2003), it was realized that the state
of inundation can be made more preferable if some structural changes are made, for example, in
the width or the location of the stairs between B1F and B2F, or in the configuration of floor so as
to store some amount of water temporally.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Numerical model of the inundation process in highly urbanized area was developed in the present
study. The model was made to have a simple structure as much as possible which enable us to

1490
predict the state of inundation so easily. Numerical computation was conducted to evaluate the
state of damage expected in the area of downtown Shinjuku, Tokyo against the actual rainfall.
It was found from this analysis that there are two local areas which have a risk of inundation.
The inundation process in underground space was also understood for some extent. Manning’s
roughness coefficient is the model parameter to be set. But there is no useful measured data either
in a scale model or in an actual urban area. Therefore we have a problem to test the model or to
determine the exact value of the parameter. This model was expected to work fairly well, but more
detailed verification is needed in future with reliable data.

REFERENCES

Chaudhry, M.H. 1979. Applied Hydraulic Transients. Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Sekine, M. & Kawakami, N. 2003. Numerical simulation of inundation process in urban area with underground
space. Annual Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, JSCE, 47: 889–894 (in Japanese).

1491
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Inundation flow analysis due to heavy rainfall applied to the

Isahaya low-lying area

K. Kawaike, H. Maruyama & M. Noguchi

Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan

S. Yoshimoto
Sanki Construction Co. Ltd., Fukuoka, Japan

ABSTRACT: In this study, a numerical simulation model using irregular-shaped computational

meshes is developed and applied to the Isahaya low-lying area, Japan, which has been suffering
from inundation disasters due to heavy rainfall. A numerical simulation using the observed rainfall
data of 1999 is conducted, and good agreement between the simulation result and actual inundated
area is obtained. Furthermore, hypothetical pump stations and extension of existing pump capacity
are assumed, and the relationship between their additional pump capacity and inundated area is
calculated.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Objectives of this study

Recently in Japan, flood disasters due to heavy rainfall occur frequently in highly urbanized area,
which bring severe damage. As the countermeasures against this kind of inundation disasters, dams,
pump stations, diversion channels, retarding ponds and underground regulating ponds are under
construction all around the urban areas. On the other hand, non-structural countermeasures are also
adopted. As an example, “hazard maps” for flood disasters are published from many local govern-
ments in Japan, which predicts dangerous areas for flood disasters by using numerical simulation
and includes evacuation information. Therefore, an accurate simulation model for inundation flow
analysis becomes more and more necessary as one of the countermeasures against this kind of
disasters.
In this study, a simulation model, which can simulate inundation flow analysis due to heavy
rainfall considering the effects of land use, streets, small channels and hillside areas, is proposed.
Then this model is applied to the Isahaya low-lying area in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, which has
been suffering from frequent flood disasters due to heavy rainfall. From the results of the simulation,
it is found out that this model can appropriately reproduce the inundated area of the disaster in 1999.

1.2 Isahaya low-lying area

Isahaya City is located in the western part of Japan as shown in Figure 1. This city has a low-lying
area facing Isahaya Bay, so it has been suffering from frequent inundation disasters due to heavy
rainfall.
In 1957, the Hommyo River, which runs through the center of the Isahaya City, overflowed due
to heavy rainfall and a large amount of driftwood, and caused a severe flood disaster. Most of the
low-lying area was inundated and more than 500 people were killed in this disaster.
In 1999, heavy rainfall attacked the Isahaya City. The temporal change of rainfall intensity
observed at Isahaya City every 10 minutes is shown in Figure 2. The maximum rainfall intensity

1493
 Mt. Gokaharadake

Hommyo River
Tokyo
Isahaya Bay

Isahaya City 0 3km

Municipal Office

Figure 1. Location of Isahaya city.

rainfall intensity [mm/10min]

25

20

15

10

0
0:00 6:00 12:00 18:00
July 23, 1999

Figure 2. Rainfall intensity observed at Isahaya city.

Hommyo River Isahaya Bay

Hanzou River

Figure 3. Inundated area observed in 1999.

was 95 mm per hour, and total rainfall amounted to 347 mm. This heavy rainfall caused an
inundation disaster and large part of the low-lying area was inundated as shown in Figure 3.
Now in the Isahaya City, as the countermeasures against inundation disasters, various kinds
of facilities are planned or constructed. Furthermore, in case these flood control facilities are of

1494
Figure 4. Hazard map published from the Isahaya city.

hillside area flood-prone area

h
q h
M, N, u, v

z
y

x
x

Figure 5. Treatment of hillside and flood-prone area.

no effect, “hazard maps” with information about potential inundation water depth and evacuation
system are distributed to the citizens. Figure 4 is the “hazard map” for flood disasters of the
Hommyo River published from the Isahaya City.

2 METHOD OF ANALYSYS

2.1 Governing equations

In this study, the computational area is divided into two parts: hillside area and flood-prone area,
as shown in Figure 5.
In the hillside areas with steep slopes, runoff analysis using the kinematic wave method inte-
grating surface and subsurface flow (Tachikawa, 1997) is applied. The governing equations used
here are as follows:

1495
where h is substantial water depth on the slope, q is discharge per unit width on the slope, b is slope
width, θ is slope gradient, r is rainfall intensity, k is hydraulic conductivity, γ is effective porosity,
n is Manning’s roughness coefficient, D is superficial A-layer depth and m is constant value of 5/3.
The obtained runoff discharge at the downstream end of each slope is given to the flood-prone area
as the boundary condition.
In the flood-prone area, two-dimensional inundation flow analysis, based on irregular-shaped
meshes called as “the unstructured mesh model” (Kawaike, 2000), is conducted. The governing
equations used here are as follows:

where h is water depth, M , N are x and y-directional discharge per unit width, respectively, u, v are
x and y-directional flow velocity, respectively, H is water stage (= h + zb , zb is ground elevation)
and g is gravity acceleration. The reason for using unstructured meshes is that they are easy to
express the boundary of river channels, streets and paddy fields etc. and that the effects of those
factors on the behavior of inundation water can be expressed in a relatively simple way (Inoue,
2000).

2.2 Application to the Isahaya low-lying area

Figure 6 shows the steep slopes of hillside area and the computational unstructured meshes of
flood-prone area used in this study. The computational area is about 48 km2 .
The number of the steep slopes used in the hillside area is 567, and the values of the parameters
used here are: k is 0.002, γ is 0.15, n is 0.03 and D is 0.5 m.
The number of the computational meshes used in the flood-prone area is 5,429 and these compu-
tational meshes are divided into four categories depending on their land use: urban areas, channels,
streets and cultivated areas, as shown in Figure 7. The elevation of the channel meshes is assumed
to be 3-meters lower than that of the adjacent meshes, and the values of roughness coefficient of
these four categories are 0.067, 0.020, 0.043 and 0.025 (Xanthopoulos, 1976), respectively.
The drainage of inundation water from several pump stations is also considered. In this study, it
is assumed that the flood behavior of the Hommyo River can be neglected because all the sluice
gates facing to the river are supposed to be closed during the flood so that floodwater would not
invade into the urban area.
The rainfall intensity per 10 minutes observed at Isahaya City in 1999, as shown in Figure 2,
is uniformly given to the whole computational area. The computational time step t is set to be
0.01 s for both the hillside and the flood-prone areas.

1496
Figure 6. Slopes and computational meshes.

Figure 7. Mesh categories of four types.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Reproduction of the inundated area at the disaster of 1999

Figure 8 shows the comparison between the actual inundated area and the simulation result. The
actual inundated area is that observed at the disaster of 1999 shown in Figure 3. The simulation
result is the inundated area more than 0.1 m water depth obtained from 24-hour simulation.
From this figure, the center part of the study area has a good agreement between the actual
inundated area and the simulation result because streets and channels in these areas are considered
in detail. But the inundated areas around the bending part of the Hommyo River (western part of the
study area) and on the right bank side of the downstream part (eastern part of the study area) are not
well expressed by the simulation. The reason assumed here is that the rainfall spatial distribution
is inappropriate, that drainage system by the sewerage is not fully considered or that the storage
of inundation water due to more detailed water channels or paddy fields are not considered in the
computation.

1497
 actual inundated area in 1999
inundated area more than 0.1m

Figure 8. Comparison between the actual inundated area and the simulation result.

Figure 9. Assumed pump stations.

3.2 Estimation of effects of additional pump capacity

As the countermeasures against inundation disaster, it is planned to construct some pump stations
in the Isahaya low-lying area. In this section, using the numerical simulation proposed in this paper,
the effects of additional pump capacity are estimated.
From the simulation results of the previous section, three zones of A, B and C shown in Figure 9
are separately picked out because they have a good agreement with the actual inundated area
observed in 1999. Settling hypothetical pump stations and extension of existing pump capacity,
shown in Figure 9, are assumed here. The relationship between this additional pump capacity and
inundated areas more than 0.1 m-depth of A, B and C zone are separately computed and shown in

1498
 Inundated area [km2]
1.2
Inundated area [km2]
1.0 1.0

0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0
0.0 40.0 80.0 120.0 160.0 200.0 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0
Additional pump capacity [m3/s] Additional pump capacity [m3/s]
(a) A zone (b) B zone

inundated area [km2]

0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0
Additional pump capacity [m3/s]
(c) C zone

Figure 10. Relationship between additional pump capacity and inundated area.

Figure 10 (a), (b) and (c), respectively. The vertical axis denotes the inundated area of each zone,
and the horizontal one denotes the total additional pump capacity from the existing one.
As for the A zone, about 20% of the total area is urbanized, which is located in lower area. So
even if pump capacity of 200 m3 /s is added to this zone, the area with more than 1 m-depth remains.
Therefore, additional countermeasures for urban area are necessary in this zone.
Most of the B zone is flat area, so the inundated area is spreading shallowly and widely, and is
decreasing discontinuously depending on the additional pump capacity. Reinforcement of pump
capacity or embankment could protect the urbanized area from inundation, which is about 10% of
the B zone.
The C zone is one of the most frequent damaged areas due to heavy rainfall in the Isahaya City.
If pump capacity of 100 m3 /s is added to this zone, inundated area decreases from 0.24 km2 to
0.12 km2 . The urban area is about 10% of the C zone and located in relatively higher area, so even
the pump capacity less than 100 m3 /s could be expected to bring good effects.
In any zone, additional pump capacity of 100 m3 /s enables to reduce the inundated area more
than 0.1 m-depth by half. But even additional pump capacity of more than that does not make
so significant difference. And of course, the larger pump capacity is added, the more it costs. In
this way, this simulation results will help decide how much money can be spent on flood control
facilities or how large inundation water depth can be tolerated.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In this study, a simulation method of Isahaya low-lying area is proposed. Using this simulation
model, the dangerous areas for heavy rainfall can be designated, and the effects of newly planned
flood-control facilities can be estimated. The points to be refined are considering the water level
of the Hommyo River and the spatial distribution of rainfall.

1499
REFERENCES

Inoue, K., Kawaike, K. & Toda, K. 2000. Numerical simulation models on inundation flow in urban area, Jour.
of Hydroscience and Hydraulic Engineering, JSCE, Vol.18, No.1: 119–126.
Kawaike, K., Inoue, K. & Toda, K. 2000. Inundation flow modeling in urban area based on the unstructured
meshes, Hydrosoft 2000, Hydraulic Engineering Software, VIII, WIT Press: 457–466.
Tachikawa, Y., Haraguchi, A., Shiiba, M. & Takasao, T. 1997. Development of a distributed rainfall-
runoff model based on a tin-based topographic modeling, Jour. of Hydraulic, coastal and environmental
engineering, JSCE, Vol.565/II-39: 1–10. (in Japanese)
Xanthopoulos, Th. & Koutitas, Ch. 1976. Numerical simulation of a two dimensional flood wave propagation
due to dam failure, Jour. Hydraulic Research, Vol.14, No.2: 321–330.

1500
4.3 Urban stormwater management – III
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Energy losses at surcharged combining junction manholes

Can-Hua Zhao
Ph.D Candidate, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

David Z. Zhu
Professor, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

N. Rajaratnam
Emeritus Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton

ABSTRACT: In sewer design it is important to estimate head losses associated with manholes,
especially in surcharge flow. Combing junction manholes with two inflows and one outflow
were studied theoretically and experimentally. A one-dimensional analysis on surcharge flow was
developed based on momentum and energy principles to estimate the head loss in the junction
manhole. Effects of junction angles, flow ratios and pipe size ratios on head losses in surcharged
junction manholes were studied. The present experiment on a 25.8◦ junction confirmed the capabil-
ity of the derived equations to predict submergence depth and head loss coefficient. The prediction
for head loss coefficient also compared reasonably well with a previous experimental study on 90◦
junction manholes.

1 INTRODUCTION

Urban sewer systems consist of tree-shaped sets of pipelines and numerous junctions where man-
holes are required to provide a connection point and access for inspection and maintenance. While
the hydraulics of flow in a single pipe is reasonably well understood, our knowledge about flow
phenomena associated with sewer manholes is very limited and existing analytical and design
procedures are incomplete. Sewer systems are designed to operate in open-channel flow regime
and energy losses in manholes are usually not significant. However, once the sewer system is
surcharged (pressurized flow), head losses through a junction become important. In a combining
junction manhole with several inlet pipes, interaction and mixing of inflows result in consider-
able energy losses; increase the complexity of flow phenomena; and make the manhole prone to
surcharge which may be accompanied by serious problems, such as blown-off of manhole covers,
flooding and fountains. In 1998 a T-junction manhole in Edworthy Sewer Trunk, Calgary was blown
out and a huge fountain flooded the road (Zhao et al. 2004).
Currently, sewer junction design and construction are based on a limited number of studies on
surcharge flow. For ease of construction, 90◦ T junctions are typically used and little attention is
paid to optimize the flow behavior in the junction other than benching. Effects of benching on
head losses in straight-through and 90◦ bend manholes were investigated by Marsalek (1984) and
Marsalek & Breck (1988). They found that the manhole head loss could be reduced significantly
when flow guidance is provided by benching. Pedersen & Mark (1990) applied a submerged jet
theory for the flow in surcharged straight-through manholes to determine the head loss. A recent
experimental study on head losses in straight-through manholes was conducted by Sakakibari et al.
(1997). Right-angle junctions with more than one inflow were investigated by Wang (1998). In their
experiments, a couple of combinations of pipe sizes were tested. Previous studies mostly focused
on 90◦ junctions. Small-angle junctions are expected to be favorable in mitigating the water level in
surcharged manholes and reducing energy losses as inflows could merge more smoothly. Besides,

1503
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of flow regimes: (a) Regime I; (b) Regime II; (c) Regime III.

these studies were confined in one surcharge flow regime that both inlet and outlet pipes are
pressurized.
Zhao et al. (2004) observed three regimes in a 25.8◦ model junction (Fig. 1): (I) free flow
across the junction; (II) surcharged flow with a free-surface outflow; and (III) surcharged flow
with both inlet and outlet pipes pressurized. Surcharge flows in Regime II and III appear to be
dominated by different mechanisms of mixing and energy dissipation. A one-dimensional (1-D)
model was developed for Regime II flow based on the momentum principle, which predicted well
the water level in the surcharged junction. In the present study, energy losses in Regime III flow in
junction manholes with two inflows and one outflow are investigated further based on theoretical
analysis and experiments. Effects of flow ratios, merging angles and pipe sizes on head losses in
the surcharged junction with Regime III flow will be evaluated.

2 THEORETICAL ANALYSIS

Assuming a hydrostatic pressure distribution, uniform flows, uniform water depth in the junction
chamber, momentum equation can be applied in the direction of the main flow Q1 over the control
volume shown in Figure 2:

where Q1 is the main inflow straightly through the junction; Q2 is the lateral inflow; Q3 is the total
outflow; Ai is the cross-sectional area of inlet and outlet conduits (i = 1, 2, 3); ρ is water density;
Px is the x component of pressure forces acting over the control volume; δ is the average entry
angle of the lateral flow which can be expressed as δ = σθ with θ being the junction angle and σ
the correction factor. It is expected that σ ≤ 1 (Hager 1987).
In Regime III flow, the outlet pipe is pressurized. Let the pressure head over section 3 be p3 /(ρg)
(Fig. 2) and, following the approach of Zhao et al. (2004), one can obtain the net pressure force
and relationship for the submergence as

where hm is the mean submergence depth over the outlet pipe (diameter of D); Qi∗ = Qi /(gDA2i )1/2 ;
and g is the gravitational acceleration.
The continuity equation and the energy equation for the junction are respectively

1504
Figure 2. Control volume for a junction manhole: (a) side view; (b) plan view.

where Hi is the energy head at each section and HL is the head loss. By referring the datum to the
invert of the outlet pipe,

The head loss coefficient K is introduced as

where V3 is the full-flow velocity in the outlet pipe, i.e. V3 = Q3 /A3 .

After some algebraic manipulations using Eqs. (3∼8),

It is clear that the validity of Eq. (9) is only dependent on that of Eq. (3). In the following,
experiments and discussion are carried out to evaluate the two equations for Regime III flow.

3 EXPERIMENTS

Zhao et al. (2004) conducted an experimental study of a 25.8◦ junction using a Plexiglas model
manhole. Their study focused on the identification of flow regimes and analysis of Regime II flow.
In this study, submergence depth and energy losses in Regime III flow in the surcharged junction
were investigated using the same experimental setup.
As shown in Figure 3, the model junction consists of one circular pipe (D = 0.1524 m) straight
across the chamber and a lateral rectangular duct of 0.1186 × 0.1354 m (width × height). The
bottom slopes of the inlet pipe, inlet duct and outlet pipe are, respectively, 0.1737, 0.0715, and
0.0645. The chamber base has a half-benching channel. Inflows were supplied by a constant-head
tank and flow rates were measured by two in-line magnetic flow meters. All tested flows were
Regime III flow and ranged in 16∼42 L/s for Q1 and 4∼20 L/s for Q2 . A point gauge was used
to read water surface levels at the inlet (hu ), center (hc ) and outlet (hd ) in the chamber. Three
manometers were installed on the outlet pipe at 2D, 4D, and 6D from the exit respectively. In
the discussion of this paper, average values of multi-readings from the manometer at 4D were
used as the pressure head p3 /(ρg). When comparing the measurement of (hm − p3 /(ρg)) with the
momentum equation, Eq. (3), the average of hu , hd and hc was taken as hm . On the other hand, in the
calculation of energy heads at the inlet sections with Eq. (6), hm = hu should be used. According
to the fluctuation of the water surface in the chamber and the root mean squared errors of p3 /(ρg),

1505
Figure 3. Schematic diagram of the model junction (all dimensions are in meters.): (a) side view; (b) plan view.

0.5
3 Eq.(9)
Measurement
2.5 0.4
(hm-p3/ρg)/D (measurement)

2 0.3
K
1.5
1:1 0.2
1
0.1
0.5

0
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
(hm-p3/ρg)/D (prediction) Q2/Q3

Figure 4. Comparison of predicted and measured Figure 5. Comparison of predicted and

(hm − p3 /(ρg))/D. measured K.

the estimated uncertainty is ±15% in the measured value of (hm − p3 /(ρg))/D and ±30% in the
energy loss coefficient K.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The measurements of (hm − p3 /(ρg)) and K are compared with Eqs. (3) and (9) in Figures 4 and 5
respectively. Based on the geometry of the model junction and its small angle, σ = 1 was assumed,
i.e. δ = 25.8◦ . Overall, good agreements in the pattern of (hm − p3 /(ρg)) and K are shown; though,
the theoretical prediction appears to slightly overpredict these values.
Eq. (9) indicates that the head loss coefficient is a third-order polynomial function of flow ratios
(Q1 /Q3 and Q2 /Q3 ). This is consistent with the statement of Wang et al. (1998) who presented a
fitted polynomial for measurements on 90◦ junctions. In Figure 6, measurements of Wang et al.
(1998) on a 90◦ T junction with two inflows and one outflow are compared with Eq. (9) where
σ = 8/9 was assumed based on Hager (1987). As shown, Eq. (9) predict the head loss coefficient
well and K is much larger than that for the 25.8◦ junction. As indicated by Eq. (9), larger junction
angles result in larger K values, i.e. more head losses. Figure 7 shows the effect of junction angles
predicted by Eq. (9) assuming A1 = A2 = A3 . With the increase of Q2 /Q3 , K becomes more and
more sensitive to the junction angle. When Q2 /Q3 > 0.5, K in a 90◦ junction is more than twice of
that in a 45◦ junction.
Figure 8 shows the effect of pipe size ratio (A2 /A3 ) on the energy loss coefficient under the
condition of A1 = A3 and δ = 45◦ . When A2 < A3 , a smaller A2 /A3 could result in much more energy

1506
 1.8
1.6 Wang et al. (1998)
1.4 Eq.(9)
1.2
1
0.8

K
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Q2/Q3

Figure 6. Energy loss coefficient in 90◦ junction manhole.

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2
90°
1
K

0.8
60°
0.6
45°
0.4
30°
0.2

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Q2/Q3

Figure 7. Effects of junction angles on K.

2.5
(1): A2/A3 = 0.5;
(2): A2/A3 = 0.6;
2
(3): A2/A3 = 1;
(4): A2/A3 = 2.
1.5 (1)
K

(2)
1
(4)
0.5
(3)

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Q2/Q3

Figure 8. Effect of lateral pipe size on K.

1507
losses, especially at a larger lateral flow. This is reasonable since the pipe size ratio represents the
proportion of jet velocities of inflows.
For a 90◦ bend, Q2 /Q3 = 1 and Eq. (9) gives K = 1.65 assuming σ = 8/9 (K = 2 for σ = 1).
Marsalek & Greck (1988) presented K of 0.88∼1.73 for 90◦ bend manholes dependent on common
benching designs (no benching, half benching and full benching).
Notice that when Q2 /Q3 = 0 (straight-through flow), Eq. (9) gives K = 0. This is a result of
simplifications in the 1-D model. Previous researches indicated some head losses in surcharged
straight-through manholes. Wang’s measurement gave K = 0.015 for Q2 /Q3 = 0. In addition, Eq. (9)
is unable to involve effects of manhole geometry and benching. Though, benching is believed to
be able to reduce head losses in manhole flows and some studies showed the dependence of the
head loss coefficient on the manhole size (Pedersen & Mark 1990).

5 CONCLUSIONS

A 1-D analysis based on energy and momentum principles was carried out in this study for a com-
bining sewer junction with two inflows and one outflow. A theoretical tool was developed to predict
the submergence depth and the energy loss coefficient in surcharged junction manholes of Regime
III flow. Experiments were conducted in a 25.8◦ model junction. The prediction compared well
with measurements in the variation pattern but slightly overestimated the values. Good agreements
were shown in the comparison of the prediction and measurements of the head loss coefficient by
a previous study on a 90◦ junction. The 1-D model is believed to have the capability to provide a
good estimation of the head loss coefficient for designers and engineers.
As predicted by the theoretical model, the energy loss coefficient is dependent on flow ratio as
a third-order polynomial. The junction angle plays an important role on energy losses. A previous
study showed the head loss coefficient of up to 1.5 in a 90◦ junction but in the present 25.8◦ junction
the coefficient was less than 0.3. The ratio of pipe sizes could have considerable effect on head
loss coefficient as well. A large lateral inflow in a smaller pipe (comparing to the main pipe) could
produce a jet of higher velocity and result in a significant increase of head losses.

REFERENCES

Hager, W.H. 1987. Discussion of “Separation zone at open-channel junctions,” by J.L. Best & I. Reid. Journal
of hydraulic Engineering, ASCE 113(4): 539–543.
Marsalek, J. 1984. Head losses at sewer junction manholes. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE 110(8):
1150–1154.
Marsalek, J. & Greck, B.J. 1988. Head losses at manholes at 90◦ bend. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering
15: 851–858.
Pedersen, F.B. & Mark, O. 1990. Head losses in storm sewer manholes: submerged jet theory. Journal of
Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE 116(11): 1317–1328.
Sakakibari, T., Tanaka, S. & Imaida, T. 1997. Energy loss at surcharged manholes – model experiment. Water
Science and Technology 36(8–9): 65–70.
Wang, K.H., Cleveland, T.G., Towsley, C. & Umrigar D. 1998. Head loss at manholes in surcharged sewer
systems. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 34(6): 1391–1400.
Zhao, C.H., Zhu, D.Z. & Rajaratnam, N. 2004. Supercritical sewer flows at a combining junction: a case
study of Edworthy Trunk Junction, Calgary, Alberta. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science,
National Research Council. Accepted in Mar.2004.

1508
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Prediction of storm tank performance using Computational

Fluid Dynamics

S. Lau, V. Stovin, I. Guymer & A. Saul

Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The University of Sheffield, UK

ABSTRACT: CFD has been employed to predict the retention time of neutrally buoyant particles
in rectangular storm tanks under steady state conditions. Using 2-D width averaged models and
the RNG k-ε turbulence model as the numerical solver, the flow field was predicted qualitatively
in agreement with Clements (1966) and Kluck (1997). A discrete phase model was applied to
mimic dye tracing. It was found that the computed retention times may be roughly estimated using
a uniform flow assumption, with a deviation of less than 10%. The hydraulic performance of
storm tanks was evaluated using a short-circuiting parameter, S, (Persson, 2000). A phenomenon
was observed showing that tanks with a low length to depth ratio were subjected to more serious
short-circuiting problems.

1 INTRODUCTION

Storm tanks have been an integral part of the sewerage treatment process since the early 20th century.
However, intermittent discharges from existing storm tanks are believed to be a major influencing
factor in downstream river and coastal water quality. The underlying cause of the problem in storm
tanks is yet to be fully understood. UK Water Industry Research Limited (UKWIR) conducted a
review project of the current UK design criteria of storm tank (Ref. no.: WW17), in which the
retention periods continue to be based on the Ministry of Housing Royal Commission (1970). One
of the components of the project was to employ CFD as the tool to compute the retention time of
neutrally buoyant particles in a range of rectangular storm tanks under steady state conditions, i.e.
flow rate does not vary with time. This paper reports the results of the CFD analysis.
It was unfortunate that no suitable field data or literature was available to carry out precise
quantitative analysis of the CFD results. Clements (1966) and Kluck (1997), who measured the flow
velocity in rectangular storm tanks under turbulent conditions, may provide alternative validation
sources.
The performance of the storm tanks was evaluated using a comparative parameter, nominal
detention time, for brevity denoted as tn , and a short-circuiting parameter, denoted as S, (Persson,
2000). The nominal detention time is the travel time under ideal uniform flow conditions and may
be defined as the ratio of volume of water in the tank over discharge. This theoretical time was
compared with the computed travel time, which was assumed to be equal to the arithmetic mean
of the individual particle residence times.

2 MODEL CONFIGURATION

2.1 Geometry of the storm tank model

The tanks to be investigated are shown in Figure 1; a wide rectangular tank that is composed of a
flat base, a full-width inlet and outlet weir. Strong three dimensional effects would not be expected
with this configuration. Therefore, uniform flow conditions across the width were assumed.

1509
 Inlet depth (= outlet depth) (H)
[50, 100, 200mm] Free surface
Inlet

Outlet
Wall depth
(D) [3, 4m]
y
x y
Length (L)
z
x [10, 20, 30m]

Figure 1. Layout of the tank to be modeled (Left – Isometric view of the original geometry; Right – Simplified
2D section.).

To reduce computational efforts as well as to improve solution convergence, 2-D width aver-
aged models were generated. The geometry of the tank models was further simplified and used a
rectangular domain with two vertical planes representing the inlet and outlet at the top corners.
A range of storm tanks was chosen, based on typical storm tank dimensions inYorkshire, UK. Six
tank models were created and their dimensions are the combination of length (L) 10 m, 20 m and
30 m and depth (D) 3 m and 4 m. The six tanks were tested with three flow rates and the magnitude
of the flow rate was calculated according to Equation 1 given the flow depth above the outlet weir
(H) 50 mm, 100 mm, and 200 mm.

where q = discharge per unit width (m3/s/m); Cd = 0.6; g = 9.81 m/s2 and H = flow depth above
weir (m).
The simulations were undertaken using the Gambit (version 2) software for generation of the
domains, and the Fluent (version 5) CFD software for numerical computation. To obtain solutions
within a reasonable computation time, the maximum number of cells meshed was less than 500,000.
For the same reasons, a structured quadrilateral mesh was used.

2.2 Numerical models

Detailed description of the numerical models used and the computational process can be found in
the Fluent Manual (Fluent, 1998) and Versteeg and Malalasekera (1995).

2.2.1 RNG k-ε turbulence model

The numerical model for solving the flow field was chosen according to the type of flow dominated
in the storm tank. Using the Reynolds number equation for rectangular open channels and assuming
a length to width ratio of 2.6 (based on typical storm tank dimensions in Yorkshire, UK), the lowest
Reynolds number calculated, which is about 6,800, is greater than the threshold value 500 for
which turbulent flow generally occurs in open channel. Therefore, based on the research group’s
experience and the Fluent Manual recommendation (Fluent, 1998) the RNG k-ε turbulence model
was chosen, by which a wider class of flow can be more accurately modeled compared with the
standard k-ε turbulence model.
Boundary conditions were defined as follows: the inlet was defined as a velocity inlet, using a
uniform velocity profile and 5% turbulence intensity; the outlet was defined as a pressure outlet;
and a friction-free symmetry ‘rigid lid’ approximation was adopted to mimic the free water surface.

1510
A roughness height of 0.001 m was specified for the wall boundaries representing the base and
walls of the tank.
One limitation of the k-ε turbulence model that is only valid in the turbulence governed regime;
a ‘standard wall function’ approach was adopted to deal with the viscous dominated region near
the wall. In all simulations ‘Second Order Upwind’ was adopted to discretize all convection terms;
‘Standard’ and ‘SIMPLE’ was selected for the pressure and the pressure-velocity coupling respect-
ively. Detailed description of the discretization schemes can be found in the Fluent Manual (Fluent,
1998).

2.2.2 Discrete phase model

Stovin and Saul (1998) and Adamsson et al. (2003) successfully predicted the results of sedimenta-
tion efficiency in hydraulic structures using a stochastic discrete phase model, also called particle
tracking. With some manipulation of model output, it is possible to generate temporal concentra-
tion distributions using the same technique. In this instance the option to implement random eddy
lifetimes was selected. 60,000 particles were injected in order to obtain a good representation of
the statistical characteristics of the travel time distribution.
The simulated neutrally buoyant particles were assumed to have the same density as water,
998.2 kg/m3 , and a particle diameter of 1 µm (based on the recommendation of Grimm (2004)).
Additional boundary conditions are required to be specified in order to determine the fate of
particle at the boundaries. Two boundary types were used, ‘reflect’ was set at all walls and ‘escape’
at the inlet and outlet. Particles were released uniformly and instantaneously over the inlet plane.
The tracking process was terminated once it reached an ‘escape’ boundary.

3 RESULTS

3.1 Flow field

Figure 2 presents the flow field of a rectangular sedimentation tank with a length to depth ratio of
nine, as measured by Clements (1966). It clearly shows a large recirculation just after the inlet wall
and two relatively small eddies at the bottom corners.
In the computational flow field results two typical flow field patterns were observed, as shown
in figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 shows the flow profile of the tank model (L20 m, D3 m, H100 mm). The

Median Line

Limit of Eddy

Figure 2. Flow profile of a rectangular storm tank measured by Clements (1966).

0
Depth (m)

-1 0.2 m/s

-2

-3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Length (m)

Figure 3. X-velocity profile of a ‘typical’ tank (L20, D3, H100) at 2 m intervals (flow direction – left to right).

1511
 0

-1
Depth (m)

0.2 m/s
-2

-3

-4
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Length (m)

Figure 4. X-velocity profile of a ‘short’ tank (L10, D4, H200) at 1 m intervals (flow direction – left to right).

30000
Number of particles per 10 seconds

short tank
25000 typical tank (This data set was scaled
up by 40 for better resolution)

20000

15000

10000

5000

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Time (s)

Figure 5. Comparison of the retention distribution curves of a ‘typical’ tank and a ‘short’ tank.

main qualitative features of the flow field, i.e. the presence of a recirculation zone and a uniform
flow region, are in good agreement with figure 2. However, a different hydraulic condition is
evident in figure 4, which relates to the L10 m, D4 m, H200 mm configuration. The recirculation
zone in figure 4 occupies nearly the entire storage tank, leaving only a small effective volume for
the incoming water. The mixing of incoming water in this situation is not significant and uniform
flow conditions do not prevail. The velocity of water near the surface remains high throughout the
entire tank length compared with that in figure 3.
For the convenience of discussion in the later section, the six rectangular tanks are categorized
into two types of tank based on the flow patterns found, here called ‘typical’ and ‘short’ tank,
which ‘short’ tank corresponds to the tanks of 10 m length and ‘typical’ tank corresponds to the
others.

3.2 Retention time

Since the discrete phase model totally relies on the flow field data, two distinct retention distri-
bution curve types were anticipated. The model outputs are presented in figure 5. The curve that
corresponds to the ‘short’ tank comprises two peaks and a long tail. The first spike illustrates
serious ‘short-circuiting’ in which a substantial fraction of the particles propagate straight through

1512
the upper layer of the tank without undertaking significant vertical mixing. The successive peak
and the long tail correspond to the particles which have dispersed in the recirculation zone. The
distribution curve of the ‘typical’ tank showed a curve rising rapidly and decreasing exponentially.
This is indicative of better mixing.
One of the advantages of using the discrete phase model is that full recovery of particles occurs.
In field work erroneous estimation of travel time and other dispersion coefficients usually occurs
when the information of the tail of the distribution curve is not captured or inaccurately measured
(Wallis, 1994). Without losing any important information, the mean retention time was assumed
equal to the mean value of all the residence times of individual particles.

4 DISCUSSION

4.1 Storm tank performance

Comparing the computed mean travel times to the theoretical times of the corresponding discharges,
the actual time is within approximately ±10% of the theoretical time (not shown). Although the
assumption of uniform flow conditions may predict the actual time, other unseen problems, such
as short-circuiting, recirculation, dead zones etc., which are believed to contribute to the poor
performance of storm tanks, cannot be assessed by this simple approximation.
The performance of the tanks tested in three different flow rates was examined using a short-
circuiting parameter, S, used by Persson (2000), in which the quotient was defined as the ratio of t16
and the nominal retention time, tn , where t16 is the time for passage of the 16th percentile through
the outlet. A low value of S indicates short-circuiting. Figure 6 shows that the magnitude of short-
circuiting parameter increases as the length to full depth ratio decreases. In addition, for the ‘typical’
tanks (L/(H + D) > 4) the short-circuiting problem was more severe at higher discharges, whereas
the reverse was found for the ‘short’ tanks. One can imagine that the short-circuiting problem in
the ‘short’ tanks would be especially serious if the design retention time was obtained on the basis
of uniform flow assumption. For instance, according to figure 6 the first 16% of particles were
retained for less than 10% of the nominal time in the tank under the range of discharge conditions.
This might result in reducing the water treatment capability of a storm tank as a consequence.

0.7
Short-circuiting parameter, S (t16/tn)

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3 Discharge head = 50mm

Discharge head = 100mm
Discharge head = 200mm
0.2

0.1

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Length to full depth ratio, L/(H+D)

Figure 6. Variation of short circuiting parameter, S, with length to full depth ratio.

1513
Although the six tanks have the same geometrical shape, i.e. rectangular, the length to full depth
ratio was found to be a key determining factor for short-circuiting.

4.2 Possible numerical errors

The solutions obtained are believed to be close to a grid-independent solution. With an increase of
25% in the grid spacing the computational results of retention time differ by less than 1%.
It was unfortunate that without field data available a firm conclusion of the accuracy of the
prediction in terms of flow field and travel time cannot be drawn. Another relevant validation data
that may be used is the work of Kluck (1997), who compared the flow field in a scale model to that
in 2-D width averaged CFD model. Similar flow features (not shown) to those illustrated in figure 3,
such as the recirculation beyond the inlet weir and the uniform flow region after the recirculation
zone, were qualitatively reproduced. However, he commented that the length of the recirculation in
the streamwise direction should be around 7–9 times of the inlet wall (D). According to this rule all
simulations produced appear to have under-predicted the recirculation length and hence the area of
the recirculation zone. The effects of the under-prediction on the overall mean travel time require
further investigation and field data to be verified.

5 CONCLUSION

• Six rectangular storm tanks were tested with three different discharges. In total 18 simulations
were conducted.
• Among the six tanks two characteristic flow patterns were observed. Severe short-circuiting
existed in the ‘short’ tanks, whereas the ‘typical’ tanks exhibited the more common mixing
effects.
• The simulation results showed that the mean retention time may be predicted using uniform flow
estimation, with a deviation of less than 10%. However, other features, like short-circuiting,
flow through curve etc., are not possible to be seen using this simple approximation.
• It was found that short-circuiting parameter, S, is directly proportional to the length to full depth
ratio. In addition, the short-circuiting problem was more severe in the ‘typical’ tanks under high
discharge conditions, whereas the reverse was found for the ‘short’ tanks.
• The RNG k-ε turbulence model can predict flow field qualitatively in agreement with Clements
(1966) and Kluck (1997), however the volume of the recirculation zone might be under-predicted.

REFERENCES

Adamsson, Å., Stovin, V. and Bergdahl, L. 2003. Bed shear stress boundary condition for storage tank
sedimentation, Journal of Environmental Engineering, Vol. 129, No. 7, 651–658.
Clements, M.S. 1966. Velocity variations in rectangular sedimentation tanks, Inst. of Civil Eng. Proc., Vol. 34,
171–200.
Fluent. 1998. Fluent 5 User’s Guide, Fluent Europe, Sheffield, UK.
Grimm, J. 2004. An evaluation of alternative methodologies for the numerical simulation of solute transport.
PhD thesis, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Kluck, J. 1997. The design of optimally functioning storm water settling tanks. PhD Thesis, DUT, Delft, The
Netherlands.
MHLG. 1970. Ministry of Housing and Local Government. Technical committee on storm overflows and the
disposal of storm sewerage. Final report, HMSO, London.
Persson, J. 2000. The hydraulic performance of ponds of various layouts. Urban Water, Vol. 2, 243–250.
Stovin, V.R. and Saul, A.J. 1998.A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) particle tracking approach to efficiency
prediction, Water and Science Technology, Vol. 37, No. 1, 285–293.
Versteeg, H.K. and Malalasekera, W. 1995. An introduction to computational fluid dynamics – The finite volume
method. Longman, UK.
Wallis, S.G. 1994. Simulation of solute transport in open channel flow. In Beven, K.J., Chatwin, P.C. and
Millbank, J.H. (ed.), Mixing and transport in the environment. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

1514
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Outlet depth of sewerage pipe

D.H. Yoo
Ajou University, Department of Civil Engineering, Suwon, Korea

J.T. Lee
Kyong-Gi University, Department of Civil Engineering, Seoul, Korea

ABSTRACT: One of the important aspects of sewerage pipe hydraulics is the determination of
outlet depth related with critical depth and normal depth. The methods of estimating critical depth
and normal depth are developed primarily to obtain explicit equations for engineering design. The
flow condition at outlet is determined by Froude number. When the flow is sub-critical, the water
depth at outlet becomes the critical depth. On the other hand when the flow is super-critical, the
water depth at outlet becomes almost the same as the normal depth which is computed by the
present new methods.

1 INTRODUCTION

For proper protection of infrastructure of cities and citizens against flood, good design of drainage
and/or sewerage pipes is one of the essential items to be considered. The flow in sewerage pipe is
generally open channel flow which has a free surface and a pressure conduit flow in sewerage pipe
rarely occurs, which is confined by solid wall in every side. In the present study the open channel
flow in circular sewerage pipe is primarily investigated.
Critical depth is the major factor to determine the flow characteristics of any open channel flow.
The water depth at outlet is determined by the condition of flow depth in comparison with the
critical depth. The function of critical depth is developed by the condition of minimum specific
energy, which is very complex to obtain its solution. For simple estimation of its solution and easier
design an approximate explicit equation has been developed.
Normal depth is the major factor for the design of open channel flow, and the flow of sewerage
pipe is not exceptional in this aspect. Cross-sectional area and hydraulic radius of circular pipe are
expressed by power laws for easier manipulation, and explicit equation of normal depth of circular
pipe flow has been developed by employing non-dimensional physical numbers.
Laboratory experiments have been conducted in two laboratory pipes, and the water depth at
outlet was primarily measured on the condition of free fall. Two flow conditions were devised:
sub-critical and super-critical. Then outlet depths were compared with the normal depths and the
critical depths with checking the flow condition of sub-critical and super-critical.

2 CRITICAL DEPTH

For the circular pipe as shown in Fig. 1,

1515
Figure 1. Cross section of circular pipe.

where A is the cross-sectional area of water flow, D is the pipe diameter, θ is the angle between
two 00 connected to the contact point of 00 and water from the center of the circle, bs is the surface
width, and h is the water depth.
For the estimation of critical depth, the section factor Z derived by obtaining minimum specific
energy is often proposed as follows:

Replacing eqs. (1), (2), (3) into eq. (4) produces:

All variables of eq. (5) can be expressed by using t(=h/D). Then from eq. (5), we obtain

√
where tc = hc /D and hc is the critical depth and Ft = Q/D2 gD. Equation (16) is very complex,
but it is found that t is a function of only FD . The approximate equation of tc is as follows:

The approximate solutions given by eq. (7) or eq. (8) are compared with the exact solutions given
by eq. (6) as shown in Fig. 2.
The second order polynomial is even found to give almost exact solutions when FT is bigger
than 0.72 the approximate equation of second order polynomial slightly under-estimates the critical
water depth more or less than 5%.

3 FRICTION FACTOR

The use of Manning (Hagen) equation, which is based on the concept of rough turbulent flow is a
wide practice in hydraulic engineering design, not because it is accurate but because it is simple
and the field condition is too complex even in an artificial channel. In recent years, however, many

1516
 approximate
1
second order

0.8 third oder

0.6

tc
tc = -0.961TD2 + 1.685TD + 0.135
0.4
tc = 1.3TD3 - 2.48TD2 + 2.14TD+ 0.11

0.2

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
T

Figure 2. Comparison of critical water depth of circular pipe between exact solutions and approximate
solutions.

suggestions are found that the open channel flows are generally smooth turbulent even in steep
slope natural channels. Bray (1979) found that for mountain small streams the friction factor is
better related to Reynolds number than to relative roughness. Noori (1984) has shown a very good
relation of friction factor to Reynolds number for steep slope river flow. These results indicate the
natural river flow may also be smooth turbulent even when it has strong current on steep slope.
Based on the concept of smooth turbulent flow, the friction factor defined by τ = ρCV 2 is
expressed by:

where τ is the cross-sectional mean shear stress, ρ is the water density, C is the friction factor,
V is the cross-sectional mean velocity, RH = VH /υ, H is the hydraulic radius, υ is the kinematic
viscosity, α and β are constants.

4 NORMAL DEPTH

For the circular pipe the cross-sectional area is computed by eq. (1), and the hydraulic radius H
and wetted parameter are computed by:

1517
 Table 1. Parameters of power laws of cross section area and hydraulic radius.

Type h/D a b ξ η

I 0.00∼0.30 1.15 1.45 0.53 0.93

II 0.30∼0.60 0.97 1.31 0.40 0.70
III 0.60∼1.00 0.81 0.93 0.278 0

smooth slope(i=0.001) quick slope(i=0.005, 0.01)

0.05 0.045

0.045 0.04
0.04
0.035

Outlet depth (m)

0.035
Outlet depth

0.03
0.03
0.025
0.025
0.02 0.02

0.015 0.015

0.01 0.01
0.005
0.005
0
0 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.05 0
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035 0.04 0.045
(a) Critical depth (b) Normal depth(m)

Figure 3. Measured outlet depth in comparison with critical depths (a) sub-critical and normal depths (b)
super-critical.

For the development of explicit equation of normal depth H and A are expressed by power laws
respectively as follows:

Optimum values of the parameters are determined by regression analysis, and they are presented
in Table 1. In the section range — the hydraulic radius gradually reduces where h/D is bigger than
about 0.8. In this case solutions cannot be obtained if the parameter η were given by negative value.
Therefore the curve of H is made horizontal when h/D ranges from 0.6 to 1.0 with enduring some
error incurred. In the range of 0.65 < h/D < 0.95 the hydraulic radius is slightly under-estimated,
which in the range of h/D > 0.95 it is slightly over-estimated as shown in Fig. 3.
Using Chezy equation the discharge is expressed by:

Applying eq. (1) and (11) to eq. (14) produces:

where S = νh/Q, T = (Qgi)1/5 /ν, γ = aξ α 1/λ SD σ/λ , δ = −5/λ, aξ = (a2+β ξ 1−β )−1/λ , SD = νD/Q,
σ = −5 + (η + 2b) −β(1 + η − b), λ = (η + 2b) − β(η − b). All variables of the left side of eq. (15)
are given and in the non-dimensional variable S, υ and Q are known. Therefore the normal depth
h is explicitly computed.

1518
5 OUTLET DEPTH

When the flow has a free fall, the flow depth at outlet can be pre-determined. When the flow is
sub-critical, the outlet depth is known to become the critical depth. When the flow is super-critical,
the outlet depth becomes almost the normal depth. Laboratory experiments have been conducted
to measure the outlet depth in two circular pipes.
When the pipe slope is 0.001, the flows of both pipes become sub-critical, i.e., the normal depth
is bigger than the critical depth. In this case the outlet depths are found almost the same as the
critical depths as shown in Fig. 3(a). The critical depths are computed by using eq. (7).
On the other hand when the slope is 0.005 or 0.01, the flows of both pipes become super-critical,
i.e., the normal depth is smaller than the critical depth. In this case the outlet depths are found
almost the same as the normal depths as shown in Fig. 3(b). The normal depths are computed by
using eq. (15).

6 CONCLUSIONS

Several major aspects of sewerage hydraulics are investigated by conducting laboratory experiments
as well as theoretical derivation. Explicit approximate equations of critical depth and normal depth
have been developed based on the concept of smooth turbulent flow. When the pipe flow has a free
fall the outlet depth is found to become the critical depth on the condition of sub-critical flow. On
the other hand the outlet depth is found to become almost the same as the normal depth on the
condition of super-critical flow.
In the present analysis the flow at inlet was not sufficiently investigated, yet. Wave generations
are found near inlet depending on the condition of flow depth, discharge and possibly pipe slope.
Various flow conditions seem to be carefully checked to see if any factor influenced the generation
of waves from the inlet of manhole and their sizes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The present study has been conducted by the financial support of Korea Ministry of Construction
and Transport through Urban Flood Disaster Management Research Center in 2004.

REFERENCES

Bazin, H.E. (1865). “Recherches experimentales sur lecoulement de leau dans les canaux Decouvert”,
Memories presentes par diver savants al Academie des Sciences, paris, Vol. 19.
Bray, D.I. (1979). “Estimating average velocity in gravel-bed rivers.” J. Hydraulics Div., ASCE, Vol. 105,
No. 9, pp. 1103–1121.
Gaguillet, E. and Kutter, W.R. (1869). “An investigation to establish a new general formula for uniform
flow of water in canals and rivers.” Zeitschrift des Oesterreichischen Ingenieur und Architekten Vereines,
Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 129–147.
Manning, R. (1890). “On the flow of water in open channels and pipes.” Transactions, Inst. Civil Engrg. of
Irland, Vol. 20, pp. 161–207.
Noori, B.M.A. (1984). “Form drag resistance of two dimensional stepped steep open channels.” Proc. 1st
Int. Conf. on Hydraulic Design in Water Resources Eng., Channels and Channel Control Structures,
K.V.H. Smith, ed., Springer, pp. 133–147.
Prandtl, L. (1925). “Bericht ber Untersuchungen zur ausgebildeten Turbulenz.” Z. Angew. Math. Mech., Vol. 5,
No. 2, p. 136.
Varwick, F. (1945). “Zur Fliess formel fur offene Kunstliche Gerinne”, Theses inedited, Dresden University.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Toilets and their impacts on water environment in Jiangsu Province,

China – Sample survey in Xiaguan district of Nanjing city and
Dapu town of Yixing city

L.L. Liu, X. Qian, G.F. Lu, L.M. Gao, W.Y. Liu, G. Gu & H.H. Yin
School of Environment, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse,
Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: Toilets have a direct influence upon the water quality. A study of basic survey on
toilets was investigated in Xiaguan district of Nanjing city and Dapu town of Yixing city where
were considered as two typical samples of cities and countries in Jiangsu Province. Traditional
toilets have serious deficiency in design, usage and management, which waste fresh water and
produce organic pollutants to water environment. A system of Sustainable Administration of Water
Resource (SAWR) based on utilization of Bio-toilet was recommended to construct. Bio-toilet,
which can make a good cycle of zoology by reusing the feces and urine, could be used as a kind of
key technology.

1 INTRODUCTION

Jiangsu Province, located at the downstream of the Changjiang River, is rich in water resource and
has the biggest proportion of water area in China. However, with rapid development in industry and
booming of population, the problem of water pollution is increasingly serious in Jiangsu Province.
The water quality of rivers and lakes has been deteriorated, which caused shortage of clean water
in Jiangsu Province.
Toilets are important sanitary facilities in both cities and countries, and also a laconic method
to evaluate the civilized degree. Toilets have a direct influence upon the water quality. The content
of N, P of feces and its sullage from toilets is very surprising. Feces and Urine from toilets are two
main factors leading to the water pollution, especially to eutrophication of water resource by the
large amount of emission of N, P.
In order to further understand the contaminative contribution of toilets in Jiangsu Province, the
authors investigated toilets at two typical places in Jiangsu Province in 2003: (1) Xiaguan district
of Nanjing city (located by the Changjiang River); (2) Dapu town of Yixing city (located by the
Taihu Lake). We found that the traditional toilets in Jiangsu Province had serious deficiency in
design, usage and management, which wasted fresh water and produced organic pollutants to
water environment. The disposal ways of Feces and sullage were not satisfied. Feces and urine
were treated as human waste instead of resource. The function of management was getting behind.
Typical toilets were watched in both Xiaguan and Dapu.
We recommended a system of Sustainable Administration of Water Resource (SAWR) based
on utilization of Bio-toilet in the future. Bio-toilet, which can make a good cycle of zoology by
reusing the feces and urine, could be used as a kind of key technology. However, there are still lots
of problems to be solved.

2 TOILET AND WATER POLLUTION

With the development of economy and the improvement of people’s living condition, water quality
was deteriorated and eutrophication of water resource appeared.

1521
 N urine
Industry
NH3-N
P feces
city and town
TP K
country other
COD COD sewage
Agriculture
0% 50% 100% and others 0% 50% 100%

Figure 1. The proportion of pollution sources in the Figure 2. The character of polluted water coming
watershed of Taihu lake. from living.

Pollution source from living in cities and countries is an important source polluting the water
source and water environment, especially in the emission of N, P, which can lead to eutrophication
of water resource. For example, in the watershed of Taihu Lake, the proportion of pollution source
from living in cities and countries is 38% (NH3 –N), 56% (TP) and 40% (COD), shown in Figure 1.
Datum came from the tenth“five year” planning for preventing the water pollution of theTaihu lake.
We noticed that, according to the character of polluted water coming from living (Song, X.T.
2003), the content of N, P, K and COD of feces and urine from toilets is very high, the proportion
of pollution source is 97% (N), 62% (P), 94% (K), 59% (COD), shown in Figure 2.
We can conclude from above that toilets have a direct influence upon the water quality. Feces and
urine from toilets are two main factors leading to the water pollution, especially to eutrophication
of water resource by the large amount of emission of N, P.

3 INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS

In order to further understand the contaminative contribution of toilets and assess the possibility
of construction of sustainable water resource management in Jiangsu Province, the authors investi-
gated toilets at two typical places in Jiangsu Province in 2003: 1) Xiaguan District of Nanjing City
(located by the Changjiang River); 2) Dapu Town of Yixing City (located by the Taihu Lake).

3.1 Survey in city (Xiaguan district of Nanjing city)

3.1.1 Classification of public toilets
The total number of public toilet is 113 in Xiaguan district. Except for the new or backout toilets,
we investigated 108 public toilets. Public toilets in Xiaguan district could be divided into four types.
Class 1–3 is flushing toilet and Class 4 is dry toilet. The proportion from class 1 to class 4 is 6%,
33%, 56% and 5%. Flushing toilets occupied 95% of the total public toilets.
The water consumption of toilets was very surprising in Xiaguan district in Nanjing city. A
toilet flushing with big water tanks washed out one time each 10–15 minutes. Water fee of toilets
each month were from several yuan to 1300 yuan and the sum were 60 thousand yuan (water
fee/m3 = 2 yuan). It means that 30 thousand m3 of water contributed to public toilets in this district
each month.

3.1.2 Disposal function of feces and its sullage

Feces of the public toilet were collected with vacuum equipments. The frequency depended on the
location of the toilet. There were three main functions for disposal: Transporting to feces collection
places, then the feces were bought or directly taken away by peasants or other persons who needed
it. However, it was not common for peasants to use feces as fertilizer. Instead, they often used
chemical fertilizer which seemed easier for using, so feces were not disposed immediately. If the
feces could not completely disposed by the ways above, they had to be buried with common rubbish
or directly be plunged into the Changjiang River.

1522
 A: First tank
Toilet B: Second tank
C: Third tank
Sullage
A

C Sewage
Sampling place pipeline
of city

Figure 3. Feces sewage-disposal flow of flushing toilet.

Table 1. The value of determination of public toilets in Xiaguan.

Sample determination

Class CODCr (mg/L) BOD5 (mg /L) NH3 —N (mg /L) TP (mg /L)

1 673.6 97.9 221 21.9

2 848.0 162 118 15.2
3 1619.2 397 205 26.5
Standard∗ 150 100 25.0 —
(CJ3082-1999) (500) (300) (35.0)
∗ Thewater quality of Sewage Entering into sewer in the city. The values in brackets is the level if there is
no sewage-disposal industry.

Feces sewage-disposal flow of public toilets for class 1–3 was almost similar in city. Finally, the
sewage of toilets flowed into sewage pipeline of city after being disposed by septic tank (shown in
Fig. 3).
We can conclude that the disposal function of feces and urine is not perfect at present. In China,
feces and urine were valuable and main fertilizer for farmers before. But now, in Nanjing city, feces
and urine are not treated as a main fertilizer. Instead, they are “human waste” and need treatment.
On the other hand, they haven’t been treated as resource. It is no any use for a long run disposal. The
most important problem is that they can pollute water resource, increase the trend of eutrophication
of water resource.

3.1.3 Determination of typical toilets

Three typical toilets were chosen from class 1–3 in Xiaguan district for further investigating the
contaminative situation of toilets. Sampling place is shown in Figure 3. We couldn’t determine the
sample in class 4 because it was difficult to get the sample. The results are shown in Table 1.
We can see from the table that CODCr , NH3 —N from toilets were seriously over standard before
they flowed into the pipeline of city sewage. BOD5 was partly over the given standard. It could be
lead to pollution and eutraphication of water resource. The results we determined were made by
chance. In fact, the water quality of toilet is not continuous, so it is very difficult to estimate the
influence of toilet pollution.
The sanitation condition for toilet septic tank could not be watched in time for administration and
supervision. Administrators throw the drug for killing the maggot by accident. It can be concluded
that administration and supervision for toilets were not perfect at present.

1523
3.2 Survey in country (Dapu town of Yixing city)
The purpose of this investigation is to know the actuality of toilets in rural area, to review the
contaminative situation of water environment polluted by toilets. Toilets and related problems were
reviewed by the method of questionnaire survey (530 questionnaires were provided and 525 was
returned as useful questionnaires) and visiting on the spot. Datum of percentage in following text
came from the questionnaires.

3.2.1 Classification of toilets

There were mainly 4 types of toilets in Dapu town. 1) Flushing toilet (45.8%) .2) Dry toilet outside
(29.7%). 3) Closestool (10.2%). 4) Public toilet (2.5%). Flushing toilet was the most common type
in rural area, and dry toilet was the second. Public toilets were very few used.
There was another special phenomenon, 4.3% of family use both flushing toilet and dry toilet
for saving water fee.

3.2.2 Disposal of feces and its sullage

There were two main ways to dispose feces from toilets. 1) Collected by simple septic tank to
compost. (flushing toilet, dry toilet & public toilet) 2) Plunging into river directly. (closestool)
There was no perfect sewage pipeline in Dapu. The feature of flushing toilet was clean inside
but simple in disposing feces and its sullage, which flowed into river or soil directly or indirectly.
Sullage in country family toilet had several function to dispose, 41.8% of Sullage was directly put
into nearby river, which polluted the water environment inevitably. 33.8% of Sullage was entered
into sewer, and then flowed into river and filter to soil.
In fact, by using flushing toilet in rural area, feces and its sullage are stored in a simple septic
tank and flow into river or soil, which can be a certain menace to water environment.

3.2.3 Determination of typical toilets

Four typical family flushing toilets were chosen for investigation and determination, shown in
Table 2. We can see from the table, the content of N, P is very surprising beside the family location
in the country. The content of NH3 —N almost reaches the standard 4, the content of TP highly over
the standard 5. Some rivers have become swamp.

4 BIO-TOILET AND SUSTAINABLE ADMINISTRATION OF WATER RESOURCE

Traditional toilets have serious deficiency in design, usage and management, which waste lots of
fresh water and produce organic pollutants to water environment. Feces and urine are treated as
human waste instead of resource. We considered that a system of Sustainable Administration of
Water Resource (SAWR) based on utilization of Bio-toilet should be built in Jiangsu.

Table 2. The value of determination of typical family toilets in Dapu.

Sample determination

Toilet CODCr (mg /L) BOD5 (mg /L) NH3 –N (mg /L) TP (mg /L)

1 344 68 11.5 0.25

2 409 130 94.8 45.6
3 563 181 123.4 11.4
4∗ 17 2.9 1.49 1.40
5 465 219 73.9 9.76
Standard 4∗∗ 30 6 1.5 0.3
Standard 5∗∗ 40 10 2.0 0.4
∗ Surface water. ∗∗ Standard of surface water (GB3838-2002).

1524
4.1 Bio-toilet
Bio-toilet, which was developed in Japan, can be a key support of technology for recycling the
system of SAWR based on recycling organic waste. Bio-toilet is a new type of toilet using sawdust
as the matrix. It can compost human discharge efficiently under aerobic condition and needn’t
waste flushing water. The output of Bio-toilet is dry, sanitary, and weights far less than the original
matter (Tatsuo, O. & Roman, E.R. 2002). It can save large amount of clean water and realize the
system of SAWR.
Tadahayu Ishikawa, a professor of Tokyo institute of technology, provided a new idea with his
companies about the method of improving environment. While considering the water pollution, a
possible framework for recycling organic waste in Metro Manila is considered, in which Bio-toilet
is placed as the weight reduction rate of organic system by using the Bio-toilet as a key facility
(Ishikawa, T. et al. 2002).

4.2 Sustainable administration of water resource

A system of SAWR should be constructed in Jiangsu. In order to control the pollution and improve
the water environment, there is a proposal to introduce sustainable sanitation system (Ishikawa, T.
et al. 2002 & Funamizu, N. 2003). Our recommendation is as follows.
SAWR based on utilization of Bio-toilets means a fine circle according to the principle of
zoology, which uses less water resource, recycle the feces as resources, improve the recycling use
of organic waste, the difference of water cycle between traditional toilet and Bio-toilet is shown in
Figure 4.
The key point are recycling organic matter of “human waste” and saving valuable water
resources. Bio-toilet can be used instead of traditional toilet system that wastes large amount
of fresh water. With the technology we can re-draw the whole sanitation system. It can also apply
for living waste and animal discharge, which are also the source of eutrophication of water resource.
The great advantages of the system are no water used and the feces and urine can be full
composted. The final output of the system is future organic fertilizer which is dry, clean and odor-
free, easy to collect, transport and use. Industries for manage can be built for this system to collect
and further dispose feces and other organic waste, checkout the quality of production.
In this circle, the advanced measures of planning and administration should apply to dispose
the production. Lots of benefits of economy and environment will be attained. This system will
be a great help to reduce the needs of natural resources and the emission of pollutants to water
environment.

4.3 Problems to be solved

Bio-toilet is a new key and has many benefits for use. However, it is difficult to build a system of
SWAR based on recycling organic waste at present in Jiangsu, for there are still lots of problems
to be solved.

Now Water supply Future Water Supply

Toilet Bio-toilet
Reservoir Reservoir
Other sewage Other sewage

Treatment Treatment
Feces & Urine Feces & Urine

Pollutants Soil or river

Compost Farmland Soil or river

Figure 4. The difference of water cycle between traditional toilet and Bio-toilet.

1525
 The cost and applicability of Bio-toilet should be analyzed and studied furthermore. We should
care for the problem if the pubic can afford the cost of Bio-toilet. As for the consciousness, it is
impossible to change the custom of going to toilet in a short time.
The using of this Bio-toilet in Jiangsu should be studied in detail. As for the technology, matrix
filled in Bio-toilet can be used with other waste. Except for the Bio-toilet itself, we should build the
projects related the feces disposal with this system, and there are a series of problems according to
the principle of system planning. Relative policy and mechanism are also necessities in this SAWR
system.
We recommend that the system of SAWR based on utilization of Bio-toilet can be demonstrated
in some special areas. With the practice of the system, we can gain more valuable experience
related with this system. With the mature of the system and the improvement of management, we
will prevent the contamination from water pollution in the future.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Toilets have a direct influence upon the water quality. Feces and urine from toilets are two main
factors leading to the water pollution, especially to eutrophication of water resource by the large
amount of emission of N, P.
Traditional toilets in Jiangsu Province have serious deficiency in design, usage and management,
which waste fresh water and produce organic pollutants to water environment.
In Xiaguan, public flushing toilets waste a large amount of clean water. The disposal way of feces
and urine is not satisfied. Feces and urine in China were valuable and main fertilizer for farmland
before. But now, feces and urine are not treated as a main fertilizer. Instead, they are “human waste”
needed treatment particularly. The most important problem is that it can pollute water resource and
increase the trend of eutrophication of water resource. The results of the typical investigation show
that CODCr , NH3 —N of discharge from public flushing toilets seriously exceeded the national
standard of the water quality of Sewage Entering into sewer in the city. It is very difficult to
estimate the influence on toilet pollution.
In Dapu, there is still no perfect sewage system nowadays. Only a small part of feces and urine
were used as fertilizer. Most of them are simply filtered or discharged directly from each house
into the rivers, lakes or surface soil. The results of determination of water sample from the river by
resident area in Dapu shows that the content of NH3 —N almost reaches the standard 4, the content
of TP highly over the standard 5. Some rivers have become swamp.
So, a system of SAWR based on utilization of Bio-toilet is urgently needed. Bio-toilet, which
can make a good cycle of zoology by reusing the feces and urine, could be used as a kind of key
technology. But there are still lots of problems to be solved, such as the cost and applicability of
Bio-toilet, consciousness of the public, the related projects, relative policy and mechanism etc. The
SAWR system can be demonstrated in some special areas for gaining more valuable experience.

REFERENCES

Funamizu, N. 2003. Development of Sustainable Sanitation. Proc. The International Symposium on Sustainable
sanitation, Nanjing University:5.
Ishikawa, T. et al. 2002. A Preliminary Study for Improvement of Water Environment in Metro Manila by
On-site Treatment of Organic Waste. Proc. The International Symposium on Biomass Waste Treatment
Using Sawdust as an Artificial Soil Matrix.
Song, X.T. 2003. Contrasting of eco-san systems development in domestic and foreign countries. Water Supply
and drainage 29(10):63.
Tatsuo, O. & Roman, E.R. 2002. Metro Manila: In Search of a Sustainable Future:268–272. University of the
Philippines Press:Philippines.

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5 Flood forecasting and prevention
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A study of the effects of tidal variations on the

return period of floods

Hin-Fatt Cheong & Guan-Tiong Lim

School of Design & Environment, National University of Singapore, Singapore

ABSTRACT: This study aims to study the effects of tidal variations on the return period of an
event when the water level in a river exceeds a prescribed elevation at a selected location through
the use of a numerical flow routing model which accounts for the backwater effects of the changing
tidal level and which also takes into consideration the statistics related to the tidal excursions above
certain prescribed levels and the durations of such excursions. The Singapore River system is the
subject of this study and it is found that the effects of the statistical variations of the tides is to
increase the return period for the flow which causes flooding.

1 INTRODUCTION

Flooding of rivers in coastal areas depends on both the storm events in the upper reaches of the
river and tidal levels at the river mouth when the storm occurs. Tayfun (1979) looked into coastal
flooding from the joint occurrence of a rare event such as a hurricane and the tide. Approximate
analytical solutions were obtained for simple tidal models. Alternatively, rainfall events which
result in flooding during the high tide may not cause a flood at all when the tide is low. Hence the
probability of the water level in the river reaching a particular level depends on the probabilities of
the upstream flood stage and its occurrence relative to the phase of the tide.

2 METHODOLOGY

The river system undertaken for this study is the Singapore River, which stretches from Kim Seng
Road to its mouth at the Marina Bay. The width of the river varies from 53 m at the upstream end
to about 185 m at the mouth over a distance of 3.5 km. The river was divided into 10 reaches giving
11 computational points with each reach having approximately similar cross-sectional geometries.
Due to the insufficiency of information on the physical attributes of the river bed terrain, the average
Manning “n” value adopted was 0.030 and the average bed slope was 1 in 5000. Figure 1 gives the
outline of the river system.
The time series for the tidal elevation was generated by using the harmonic equation with 12 major
tidal constituents, namely the M2 , S2 , N2 , K2 , D2 , L2 and the T1 , K1 , O1 , P1 , Q1 and J1 . The harmonic
equation is given by

where Hn and gn are the amplitude and phase lag of the nth harmonic constituent, σn is its frequency,
Vn is the equilibrium tide at t = 0 and fn and un are the nodal corrections. Tidal data for a span of
21 years from 1980 to 2000 was generated and formed the fundamental set of data on which the
numerical flow simulation was based.

1529
Figure 1. Map of Singapore River system.

The term flooding is defined as an event which occurs when the computed stage under the
combined rainfall event and the tidal influence at any pre-selected monitoring location along the
river registers a surcharge. In this study, the selected location was at Riverside Bridge near a string of
hotels. The inflow hydrograph arising from a rainfall event is assumed to be independent of the tidal
event. This means that the inflow hydrograph can occur at any tidal phase. On the other hand, care
must be taken to ensure that the inflow hydrograph is introduced into the river system at a location
where the tidal effects are minimal. This location was ascertained by running a numerical tidal
model with no river inflow and looking for the part of the river where the maximum oscillatory
motion of the water is very small. This was found to be at around Kim Seng Bridge where the
maximum velocity arising from the tides alone was of the order of several mm/sec.
A numerical flow routing model which accounts for the backwater effects of the changing tidal
level was used. The numerical routing model used was DWOPER (Dynamic Wave Operational)
[Fread (1978)]. It is based on an implicit finite difference solution of the complete one-dimensional
St Venant equations for unsteady flow. Where the time of concentration (tC ) of the river system is
very small compared to the tidal period, the flood wave can travel through the river system while
the tide level is more or less unchanged. This allows for the determination of the critical flood curve
as shown in Figure 2. This curve is obtained by routing the flow hydrograph with a peak discharge
Q for a given tidal level H and determine the stage registered at the monitoring location. This is
repeated for different Q until a suitable combination of the peak discharge and the tide level which
just causes a surcharge occurs. This gives a point on the critical flood curve. The other points are
similarly obtained for other tidal levels. The probability of flooding is determined from the critical
curve assuming that the rainstorm and the tidal conditions are independent events.

1530
 CRITICAL FLOODING CURVE FOR Tc<<T
3500

3000

2500
Tidal Elevation

2000

1500

1000

500

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Discharge m3/sec

Figure 2. Critical flooding curve (Tc T).

where the time of concentration of the river system is not small compared to the tidal period, a
series of critical flood curves can be derived by considering the excursion level (ζ) and duration of
the tidal excursion (τ) above the given tidal level as shown in Figure 2. It is noted that for a given
tidal time series, the duration for which the tidal elevation is above H0 is the duration of an H0 -level
excursion and this is denoted by τ. During this tidal excursion, the tide level rises to a maximum
elevation ζ and then starts to drop, falling across H0 at the end of the excursion. There are many
H0 -level tidal excursions in a long tidal time series. Extending the model described earlier, the
probability of flooding can be written as shown in Eq. 3.

The conditional probabilities as well as p(H) were derived from the generated tidal time series.
This tedious procedure is best done with the computer. Along with the critical curves and the
distribution of Q, the probability of flooding can be calculated.

2.1 Determination of P(Q > QC )

The upstream inflow hydrograph with a maximum flow of Q is derived from the rational formula for
runoff as given by Q = KAh/tc which is assumed to be applicable for the urban catchment through
which the river system flows. The dimensionless runoff coefficient K is conservatively taken as
1.0, the catchment area A is estimated at 14 × (106 ) m2 and the rainfall intensity I equals h/tC with
h as the rainfall depth. The Drainage Department indicated that the 230 m3 /sec flow represents a
flow with a return period of 5 years. With the IDF curves for the watershed, one calculates that the
time of concentration tC corresponds to about 84 minutes or 1.4 hours. Table 1 shows the flows
with a times of concentration of 1.4 hrs based on the IDF curves.
The probability distribution of the rainfall intensity I for storms of a specified duration tn is
found to follow the extreme value Fisher Tippett Type I (FTTI) distribution [Gumbel (1958)]. IT is
the rainfall intensity of a rainfall event with a return period of T years and a time of concentration

1531
 CRITICAL FLOODING CURVES FOR Tc>T

TAU = 6 hrs TAU = 8 hrs

3300

3200
Tidal Elevation

3100

3000

2900

2800

2700
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Discharge m3/sec

Figure 3. Critical flood curve for different excursion durations (Tide level H0 = 2.5 m).

Table 1. Derived flow of various return periods for tC of 1.4 hrs.

Return period T (yrs) 2 5 10 20 50

Flow (m3 /sec) 190 230 260 290 320

tC , then the probability distribution function FIT (iT ) of IT is given by

The runoff flow QT having the same return period as the rainfall intensity iT from which it is
estimated is also assumed to have an extreme value distribution which is also FTTI as given by

The IDF curves for the watershed gives estimated values of α = 183.8 m3 /s and β = 36.1 m3 /s
for a time of concentration of 1.4 hours. Eq. 5 allows for the determination of P(Q > QC ) when qT
is set equal to QC .

2.2 Conditional probabilities

Associated with each H0 -level tidal excursion is the duration (τ) and the maximum elevation (ζ)
reached during the excursion. This set of data pairs (τ, ζ) can be grouped according to various
ranges of τ. Table 2 gives the frequency distribution of the number of excursions for various ranges
of excursion intervals for a prescribed tidal level H0 = 2.5 m. The tabulation is used to determine
P(τ/H)dτ. For example, there were 327 excursions with 7.833 < τ < 8.167. The total number of
H0 -excursions counted for the generated time series was 14073. This gave P(τ/H)dτ = 0.0232 for
H0 = 2.5. Each of the 327 observed excursions was associated with an excursion elevation ζ and
these were used to determine P[ζ/(τ ∩ H )]dζ in the 4th column of Table 3.
The procedure for computing the probability of a flooding for the case of H0 = 2.5 and for
an excursion interval of 7.833 < τ < 8.167 (τ = 8 hrs) is illustrated in Table 3. This involves the

1532
 Table 2. Frequency distribution of H0 -level (H0 = 2.5 m) excursions of various durations τ.

τ 4.33 4.67 5.00 5.33 5.67 6.00 6.33 6.67 7.00 7.33 7.67
Number 0 46 47 187 486 1348 2465 4119 2106 983 608
τ 8.00 8.33 8.67 9.00 15.00 15.33 15.67 16.00 16.33 16.67 17.00
Number 327 176 94 46 12 55 185 319 283 176 5

Table 3. Example of statistics obtained for selected H0 = 2.5 m and τ = 8 hrs (7.833 < τ < 8.167).

Excursion QC
level (ζ) m (m3 /s) P(Q > QC ) P[ζ/(τ ∩ H )]dζ P(τ/H)dτ P(H)dH Prob

2.825 110 0.9995 0.0030 0.0232 0.1376 9.59E-06

2.875 100 0.9999 0.0091 0.0232 0.1376 2.91E-05
2.925 100 0.9999 0.0091 0.0232 0.1376 2.91E-05
2.975 100 0.9000 0.1341 0.0232 0.1376 4.29E-04
3.025 10 1.0000 0.1555 0.0232 0.1376 4.97E-04
3.075 10 1.0000 0.1555 0.0232 0.1376 4.97E-04
3.125 10 1.0000 0.2195 0.0232 0.1376 7.02E-04
3.175 10 1.0000 0.1341 0.0232 0.1376 4.29E-04
3.225 10 1.0000 0.0915 0.0232 0.1376 2.93E-04
3.275 10 1.0000 0.0884 0.0232 0.1376 2.93E-04
Total 0.00319

Table 4. Surcharge probabilities obtained for H0 -level (H0 = 2.5 m) excursions of various durations τ.

τ 5.00 5.33 5.67 6.00 6.33 6.67 7.00

Prob 4.39E−04 1.51 E−04 4.58 E−03 1.31 E−02 2.41 E−02 4.03E−02 2.04E−02
τ 7.33 7.67 8.00 8.33 8.67 9.00 15.00
Prob 9.61E−03 5.94E−03 3.19E−03 1.71E−03 9.19E−04 4.50E−04 1.07E−04
τ 15.33 15.67 16.00 16.33 16.67
Prob 5.37E−04 1.81E−03 2.88E−03 1.41E−04 2.767E−03 Total 0.1371

Table 5. Probability of surcharge at monitoring point for various tidal levels H0 .

H0 1.60 1.90 2.20 2.50 2.70 2.90 3.10 3.40 Total

Prob 0.0110 0.0741 0.1058 0.1371 0.1396 0.1641 0.0791 0.0164 0.7244

following steps: (1) Fix a tidal level H0 (H0 = 2.5), (2) For this H0 , choose an excursion interval τ
(here we have 7.833 < τ < 8.167) and select an excursion level ζ. This is the tidal phase during which
the flow hydrograph with a peak Q is routed using DWOPER. Run DWOPER again for various
Q until surcharge just occurs at monitoring location. When this occurs, Q = QC and constitutes a
point on the critical curve for given τ and H0 . Compute P(Q ≥ QC ) using Eq 5. (3) Repeat step 2
for the range of excursion amplitudes ζ within the interval τ. The last column in Table 3 represents
the first summation in Eq. 3. Similar tabulations are obtained for H0 = 2.5 and various τ values.
The results are shown in Table 4.
The entire procedure is repeated for various tidal levels H0 . The results so obtained are sum-
marized in Table 5. The probability that surcharge will occur at the monitoring location is 0.7244
giving a return period of 1.38 years. A rainfall event with a Q of 100 m3 /s is estimated from Eq. 5 to
give a return period of 1 year. Thus, the effect of the tidal variations is to prolong the return period
of the flood event.

1533
3 CONCLUSION

The effects of the statistical characteristics of tides on the return period of flooding was demonstrated
in this study of the Singapore River system. A numerical flow routing model which accounts for
backwater effects due to tidal variations was used to rout the flow through the river. The flow
routing took into consideration the statistics related to the tidal excursions above certain prescribed
levels and the durations of such an excursions. As the flow hydrograph arising from a rainfall event
was assumed to occur independently at any tidal level, the routing analyses were carried out for all
tidal levels. It was shown that the effects of the statistical variations of the tides was to increase the
return period for the flow which causes flooding.

REFERENCES

Fread D.L., “Operational Dynamic Wave Model”, National Weather Service, April 1978.
Tayfun M.A., “Joint Occurrences in coastal flooding”, Journal of the Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean
Division, Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 105, No. WW2, May 1979.
Gumbel E.J., Statistics of Extremes, Columbia University Press, New York, 1958.

1534
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Real-time simulation of flooding in the lower Illinois River

with UNET model

Yanqing Lian & Misganaw Demissie

Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, USA

ABSTRACT: The Illinois River is one of the major tributaries of the Mississippi River. Floodplains
in the lower portion of the Illinois River from Peoria to Grafton have been claimed for farming
through the construction of levee and drainage districts (LDDs). Levee heights have been a concern
of the LDDs because the current heights reportedly provide protection only at flood magnitudes of
20- to 50-year return intervals. Because floods have produced significant damages, it is important
to develop management plans for flood preventions for the lower Illinois River.
The one-dimensional unsteady state flow model UNET was used as a tool in providing flood stage
and flow information both for developing management strategies and for decision-support under
real-time flooding conditions. To use the model to simulate flood propagation in a real-time mode,
a Windows-based interface has been developed that allows the user to download real-time stage
and flow data from several Web sites, create the input database for the UNET model, execute the
UNET model, and display model outputs. The interface program lets the user introduce parameters
to simulate actual and hypothetical levee failures due to overtopping and piping on selected LDDs.
Simulated water surface elevations for alternative management options can be compared in graphs
and table formats. Stage profiles from all simulations can be plotted together with levee heights on
both sides of the river to display locations of potential levee failures.
This program was tested by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Water
Resources on the Lower Illinois River. Because the interface program was designed to run the
generic UNET model, it can be applied to any large river system as long as the required input stage
and flow data for the UNET model are available.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Illinois River has been the focus of intensive study for more than 100 years, largely because
of alterations caused by Lake Michigan diversions, wastewater effluents from the Chicago
metropolitan area, and silting of backwater lakes and Peoria Lake, which significantly affected
the ecosystems. Flood levels rose with construction of new levees in the 1920s, which removed
about 200,000 acres of floodplain area. Seven major locks and dams built in the 1930s as part of
the Illinois Waterway maintain water depth for navigation.
Since 1995, several Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) projects, sponsored by the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources, Office of Water Resources, have focused on unsteady flow
modeling of the lower Illinois River from Peoria to Grafton. The one-dimensional unsteady flow
UNET model was calibrated, verified, and used to simulate water surface elevations along the
Illinois River for existing conditions and for managed LDD storage options – using LDDs as
temporary storages to reduce the flood peak in the Illinois River (Akanbi, et al., 1999). The Lower
Illinois River UNET model was recalibrated and validated whenever the channel geometry data
were updated. This calibrated UNET model then was used to study the impact of various LDDs
along the Illinois River on flood peak reduction in the river with placement of potential spillways
of certain sizes at selected locations (Akanbi, et al., 1999). Study results have shown that there is
clearly an optimal width for a fixed depth or an optimal depth for a fixed width spillway to achieve

1535
maximum reduction of peak flood stage in the river (Lian, et al., 2003). However, this maximum
reduction of peak flood stage only can be achieved when opening the spillways to divert flow to
the storage area slightly before the arrival of the flood peak so the entire storage is used effectively
(Demissie, et al., 2001).
Real floods are dynamic and often unpredictable, which ultimately makes best management of
LDDs very complicated (USACOE, 1994, 1998). The Illinois Department of Natural Resources,
Office of Water Resources needed a tool that can provide stage information under different
management options for LDDs in a real-time mode. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) col-
lects real-time flows from the tributaries to the Illinois River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACOE) collects stage data from several gaging stations along the Illinois River. Those real-time
flow and stage data are reported on the USGS and USACOE Web sites. The National Weather Ser-
vice (NWS) also reports six-day forecasted flood stages at several locations on the Illinois River
and the Mississippi River. All those data made it possible for the authors to simulate real-time
floods with the UNET model. Most importantly, the numerical model can be used to study likely
scenarios of controlled levee breaching at selected LDDs in order to protect important downstream
infrastructures.

2 THE LOWER ILLINOIS RIVER UNET MODEL

The hydraulic model used to evaluate different floodplain management alternatives for the Illinois
River was based on the UNET – one-dimensional unsteady flow model supported by the USACOE’s
Hydraulic Engineering Center (HEC, 1997). Output from the UNET model includes time-series
stages and discharges at selected locations and water surface profiles along the study reach. These
values can be used to evaluate changes in flood elevations and discharges for different floodplain
management alternatives.
The UNET model solves the one-dimensional full dynamic wave Saint-Venant equations given
in Equations 1 and 2:

and

where x is distance along the channel, t is time, Q is flow, A is cross-sectional area, h is elevation of
water surface, S is storage volume per unit length in the direction of flow, Sf is frictional slope, Vl
is lateral inflow velocity, g is gravitational acceleration, and ql is lateral inflow per unit distance.
The UNET model is capable of simulating flood propagation in dendritic river systems with
bridges, and navigation locks and dams. It allows use of flow or stage hydrographs, combined
stage and flow hydrographs, or critical upstream boundaries. Six types of downstream boundary
conditions can be used: flow hydrographs, stage hydrographs, combined flow and stage hydro-
graphs, rating curves, the Manning’s equation, and pumping stations. The model has two options
for simulating levee breaching, simple failure and embankment failure. Simple failure applies to
the simple spillway concept in which the available storage area receives the flow from the channel
by a linear routing factor. Embankment failure simulates levee breaching by overtopping or by
piping.
The Lower Illinois River and Pool 26 of the Mississippi River UNET model consists of 13
reaches: 9 reaches for the Lower Illinois River and 4 reaches for Pool 26. The Lower Illinois River
main stem from Peoria L&D to Grafton is 254 kilometers (km) long, and Pool 26 of the Mississippi
River main stem is about 64 km long. Tributaries of the Illinois River, for which the channel

1536
 138

WATER SURFACE ELEVATION 137

m-msl

136

NO FAILURE
135 0.61-METER
1.22-METER
1.83-METER

134
0 5 10 15 20
DAYS

Figure 1. Computed water surface elevation hydrographs at Thompson Lake LDD with and without levee
breaching (based on 50-yr design hydrographs).

142
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION

140

138
(m-msl)

136

No Levee Failure
134 0.61-m Deep Opening
Left Levee
Right Levee
132
0 50 100 150 200 250
DISTANCE FROM RIVER MOUTH, km

Figure 2. Water surface elevation profiles with and without levee breaching at Thompson Lake LDD.

geometry data were not available, were treated as lateral point flow, and nearby watersheds were
considered as uniform lateral inflow sources. Twenty-four LDDs along the Lower Illinois River
from Peoria to Grafton protect about 169,289 acres of agricultural land. The LDDs are treated as
pure storage without conveying flow in the model. The Lower Illinois River UNET model was
calibrated by matching computed flood hydrographs at USACOE gages on the Illinois River with
observed flood stage records for 1979 and 1985. Accuracy of the calibrated parameters then was
verified by simulating the 1973, 1974, 1982, and 1983 floods.
The calibrated UNET model was used to evaluate the impacts of different floodplain management
alternatives on flood elevations. One example is to use LDD as temporal flood storage to reduce
flood peaks in the river. Figure 1 shows the change in flood elevations in the Illinois River with an
opening inflow section 305 meters (m) wide at three different depths (0.61 m, 1.22 m, and 1.83 m) on
a levee at Thompson Lake LDD. Figure 2 compares the maximum water surface elevation profiles

1537
 Start Project

Download Data Prepare Files Run UNET Display

Forecasted Stage

Real-Time Floods
Real-Time Stage

WSE Profile with

Levee Failure

Stage & Flow

Hydrographs
Forecasted
Boundary
Condition
& Flow

& Flow

Floods
Option

Levee
Simple Levee

Levee Failure
Complicated

DSS DSS
Failure

Database Database
Levee Overtopping?

Yes

No
End
LDD Management Operations

Figure 3. Structure of a windows-based interface for the UNET model to simulate real-time floods.

along the river under existing conditions and under managed LDD storage options at Thomson
Lake LDD. Levee elevations in Figure 2 shows the locations and magnitudes of levee overtopping.
The UNET model is capable of simulating levee failures due to overtopping or piping. Levees
also could be breached to reduce the flood stage and protect major cities downstream.

3 REAL-TIME SIMULATION OF FLOODING

Stage and flow information for flood peak reduction in the Illinois River under different management
options in a real-time mode is very useful in providing critical information to decision-makers during
floods. The UNET model is capable of simulating flood propagation in the river if the flow and
stage information are available. The challenge for real-time simulation of flooding boils down to
acquiring input flow and stage data for the UNET model, creating a database, simulating different
options, and analyzing and displaying the results for use in decision-making in a timely manner.
For flood-fighting, decision-makers need to know flood stages at specific locations, the arrival
time of flood peak, locations of potential levee breaches, and the extent of flood stage reduction
if a LDD upstream of a major city were breached to store flood flows and reduce the flood stage
to save the city. Without using a numerical model, practitioners must rely on measured stages at
gaged locations and paper charts to interpolate the stages. The linear flood stage slope assumption
for such practices is often incorrect.
The UNET model can provide all this information more reliably and accurately. However, prepar-
ing input data for the UNET model often has been time-consuming and tedious. This study took
advantage of the real-time stages and flows reported on various Web sites and developed an interface
program that can collect data from those Web sites, prepare an input Data Storage System (DSS) for
the UNET model, execute the UNET program, and display simulated results as graphs and tables.
The interface was designed to execute the generic UNET program without changing UNET model

1538
Figure 4. UNET model interface program for simulation of real-time floods.

structure and functionalities. Thus, the results preserve model credibility and accuracy. Shown in
Figure 3 are some major components in the Windows-based interface for simulating floods in a
real-time mode based on the UNET model (Lian, et al., 2001), and Figure 4 is a screen capture from
the interface program. As shown in Figure 3, the real-time simulation starts with obtaining the real-
time flow and stage data required for the boundary condition file of UNET from USGS, USACOE,
and NWS Web sites. Downloaded data are converted into a DSS file as input for the UNET model.
The simulation period starts a few days before the current time to ensure the model has stabil-
ized. All these steps can be completed within minutes. The UNET simulation is performed for the
existing condition by default. Users also can simulate simple and embankment failure for selected
LDDs by raising levee heights or breaching levees. The output for each simulation can be saved
separately to different DSS files for comparison of flood stage changes under different scenarios.
The visualization tool in the program can display multiple input and output stage and discharge
hydrographs and water surface elevation profiles along the river. Locations of potential overtopping
and the magnitudes of overtopping can be identified by plotting existing levee profiles together
with simulated water surface elevation profiles.
Even though the program was developed based on the Illinois River, it can be used to for real-
time flood or forecasted flood simulations for any river system as long as a UNET model can be
developed and real-time and forecasted flood stage and flow data are available.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Floods are dynamic and unpredictable. Simulating flood propagation in a real-time mode is crucial
but challenging for decision-makers. This paper introduces a tool based on the UNET model
for such practices. The Windows-based interface has the capability to download real-time and
historical stage and discharge data from the USGS, the USACOE and the NWS Web sites. The
interface program executes the UNET model using existing geometry and boundary condition files
and post-processes data from the output DSS file to visualize stage and discharge hydrographs and
stage profiles for existing levee systems on both sides of the Illinois River. Each real-time flooding
event is simulated based on the UNET model using real-time stage and discharge data downloaded
interactively from the USGS and USACOE Web sites. The interface allows the user to select the
levee failure option (simple overtopping or piping failure) and modify the parameters, thus enabling
the model to simulate levee failure during a flooding event. The interface can display simulated
results in graph and table formats. The user also can analyze changes by comparing stage profiles

1539
from two separate simulations (for example, existing levee conditions and the levee failure option).
A table associated with the simulations displays the differences at every river cross section.
This interface prepares an input file for the UNET model and post-processes output from the
DSS database without changing functionality and capability of the UNET core model, thereby
maintaining UNET model accuracy and reliability. This program was developed for simulations of
real-time flooding on the Lower Illinois River, and the gaging station information database only
includes gages related to the Illinois River UNET model. However, the user can develop a UNET
model and similar databases for other rivers.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was supported by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDWR) Office of Water
Resources (OWR). Mr. Gary Clark, Director of OWR, provided information and many helpful
suggestions during the project. Views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor or the Illinois State Water Survey.

REFERENCES

Akanbi, A.A., Y. Lian, and T.W. Soong. 1999. An Analysis on Managed Flood Storage Options for Selected
Levees along the Lower Illinois River for Enhancing Flood Protection. Report No 4: Flood Storage
Reservoirs and Flooding on the Lower Illinois River. Illinois State Water Survey Contract Report 645,
Champaign, IL.
Demissie, M., Y. Lian, and N. Bhowmik. 2001. Application of Hydraulic Model for the Analysis of Interaction
of the Illinois River and its Flood Plains. In the Proceeding of the World Water and Environmental Resource
Congress, May 20–24, 2001 in Orlando, Florida, CD-ROM.
Hydrologic Engineering Center. 1997. UNET Version 3.2. One-dimensional Unsteady Flow Through a Full
Network of Open Channels. Water Resources Support Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, Hydraulic
Engineering Center (HEC). Davis, CA.
Lian, Y., M. Demissie, and K. Andrew, 2001. Management Strategies for Flood Protection in the Lower Illinois
River, Phase II: Real-Time Simulation of Flooding with UNET Model. Illinois State Water Survey Contract
Report 2001–16, Champaign, IL.
Lian, Y., M. Demissie, H. Choi, and A. Blanco. 2003. Optimal Spillway Dimensions for flood Stage Reduction
in the Lower Illinois River with the UNET Model. In the Proceeding of the World Water and Environmental
Resource Congress, May 21–25, 2003 in Philadelphia, PA, CD-ROM.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 1994. The Great Flood of 1993, Post-Flood Report. Upper Mississippi River
and Lower Missouri River Basins; Appendix C. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, St. Louis,
Missouri.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 1998. Mississippi Basin Modeling System Development and Application. U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Hydrologic Engineering Center, PR-36, Davis, California.

1540
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Impacts of Tongguan’s elevation on the flood defense in the lower

Weihe River

Li Changzhi1 , Wang Zhao-yin1,2 & Wu Baosheng1

1 Dept. of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
2 International Research & Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: The Weihe River is the largest tributary of theYellow River, which empties itself into
the Yellow River at Tongguan. The lower Weihe River is in the backwater region of the Sanmenxia
Reservoir, the first large-scale hydro-project in the Yellow River. Severe sedimentation occurred
in the lower Weihe River since the impoundment of Sanmenxia Reservoir in 1960. The so called
Tongguan’s elevation is the stage of discharge 1000 m3 /s at the Tongguan hydrologic station, which
is actually the datum plane of the bed profile of the Weihe River. By analyzing the sedimentation
and erosion in different periods, this paper studied the impacts of the Tongguan’s elevation on the
flood stages in the lower Weihe River. The sedimentation in the lower Weihe River is closely related
to rising of Tongguan’s elevation, which has been propagating upstream in a series of retrogressive
waves at a rate of about 10 km per year. Erosion took place in the main channel and sedimentation
occurred on floodplain during the descending periods of Tongguan’s elevation. In the lower Weihe
River, the water stage has being changed with Tongguan’s elevation. The scenario of 2-m fall in
Tongguan’s elevation is studied of the influence on flood stage reduction in the lower Weihe River.
If Tongguan’s elevation is reduced by 2 m, the stages of mid- and small-scale floods will be lowered,
but the stage of over bank floods will be not much changed. The bankfull discharge will increase,
hence, mid- and small-scale floods can be kept within the channel. However, the risk of a large
flood is still high because the stage will be slightly higher if an over-bank flood occurs. Therefore,
a powerful flood defense system is still necessary to mitigate flood disasters.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Weihe River, the largest tributary of the Yellow River, originates from the Niaoshu Mountain
in Gansu Province of China, flows eastward through Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, passes Baoji,
Xianyang, and Xi’an, and finally pours itself into the Yellow River at Tongguan, as shown in Fig. 1.
The river is 818 km long and has a drainage area of 134,800 km2 . The lower reach is from Xianyang
to the confluence, which is 208 km long with an average slope of about 0.032%. The stream channel
is about 1000 m wide during dry seasons and swells to 6000 m during flood seasons. The distance
between levees is 2–4 km. The river is meandering but it is unstable, and the fluvial process is
dynamic (Shaanxi Weihe River Planning Group, 2002).
Carrying a heavy sediment load and being located in the backwater region of the Sanmenxia
Reservoir, the Weihe River has been silting up at a high rate since the impoundment of the reservoir
in 1960. Up to 2001, the sedimentation volume had reached 1.3 billion m3 . Consequently, some
morphological changes have occurred in this river, such as stream channel blockage, river gradient
reduction, channel shrinkage, flood drainage capacity reduction, and a rising flood stage. These
have brought a great flood threat to the lower Weihe River (Tang and Lei, 2000). Several floods, with
recurrence periods of only 2–3 years, occurred in August–October, 2003, which caused serious
losses. The main reason for the “low-flood, high disasters” is sedimentation, which is in turn a
consequence of the rising elevation at Tongguan.

1541
Figure 1. Map of the Wei and Yellow Rivers, showing the locations of Sanmenxia Dam and Tongguan
hydrological station.

330 16

Cumulate sedimentation (108m3)

Period 1 Period2 Period3 Period4 Period 5 Period 6
329 14
Tong-guan elevation (m)

12
328
10
327
8
326
6
325 Tong-guan elevation 4
324 Cumulate sedimentation 2
323 0
1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Year

Figure 2. Tongguan’s elevation and sedimentation in the lower Weihe River.

Tongguan’s elevation is defined as the stage of flood discharge 1000 m3 /s at Tongguan hydrologic
station, which is essentially the datum of the Weihe River. Some scientists and engineers have
urgently appealed for Tongguan’s elevation to be controlled in order to mitigate flood disasters.
This paper presents a study of the impacts of Tongguan’s elevation on the flood stage in the lower
Weihe River.

2 TONGGUAN’S ELEVATION AND SEDIMENTATION IN THE LOWER WEIHE RIVER

Since the impoundment of Sammenxia Reservoir in Sept. 15, 1960, Tongguan’s elevation has been
rising and varying with the operation mode of the reservoir, the inflow of water and sediment from
theYellow River and the Weihe River, and the erosion and sedimentation taking place in the reservoir.
Sanmenxia Dam has been reconstructed twice to enable outlet structures to have a higher capacity
for releasing sediments, and the reservoir’s operation mode has also been changed to achieve a
balance between sediment inflow and outflow (Long and Chien, 1986; Wu, 1997). These measures
were effective and the sedimentation volume in the reservoir was reduced in the 1970s and the
1980s. Figure 2 presents Tongguan’s elevation and the accumulative sedimentation in the reservoir

1542
 3.0
2.5 'I' (a) 1960-1969
Vs/106m3/ (km.a) 2.0

Vs/106m3/ (km.a)
1.5 0.4 'I' (b) 1970-1975
1.0 0.2
0.5 0.0
0.0 -0.2
-0.5 Huaxian '1'
Lintong Xianyang -0.4 Huanxian Lintong Xiangyang
-1.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

0.6 'II'

Vs/106m3/ (km.a)
'II' 1976-1980 0.2 (d) 1981-1985
Vs/ 06m3/ (km.a)

(c)
0.4
'I' 0.0
0.2
0.0 -0.2
-0.2 '1' -0.4 Huanxian '1' Lintong Xiangyang
Huaxian Lintong Xianyang
-0.4 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

1.2 'III'
1.0 (e) 0.4 (f)
'III'
Vs/ 06m3/ (km.a)

Vs/106m3/ (km.a)
1986-1995 'IV' 1996-2001
0.8
0.6 0.2
0.4 'II'
0.2 0.0
0.0 '2'
-0.2 -0.2 Huanxian Lintong Xiangyang
Huaxian Lintong Xianyang
-0.4
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
No. of cross section (W Y No.)

Figure 3. Retrogressive sedimentation/erosion in the lower Weihe River.

varying with time from 1960 to 2001. There are 6 periods in response to the impoundment, recon-
struction of the dam and changes of operation schemes of the reservoir, 1960–1969, 1970–1975,
1976–1980, 1981–1985, 1986–1995 and 1996–2001, of which there are 3 ascending periods, 2
descending periods and 1 dynamical equilibrium period (Wu B. S., 2003). Comparison of the two
curves in this figure shows that the sedimentation in the lower Weihe River is closely related to
Tongguan’s elevation. Accelerated sedimentation occurred as Tongguan’s elevation rose and erosion
took place as the elevation fell.

3 RETROGRESSIVE SEDIMENTATION/EROSION IN THE LOWER WEIHE RIVER

Sedimentation and erosion have been propagating upstream in a series of retrogressive waves.
Figure 3 (a, b, c, d, e, f) show the distribution of the rate of sedimentation per river length
during these periods. In these figures, the number in the horizontal axis represents the number
of the measurement cross section (WY∗ 1–37) in the lower Weihe River. In the period 1960–1969
(Fig. 3a), Tongguan’s elevation rose abruptly from 323 m to 328.5 m. As a result, sedimentation
occurred in the reach around Huaxian station with a rate of 2.5 million tons per km per year. It is
marked with “I”, which indicates that sedimentation is corresponding to the first ascending period
of Tongguan’s elevation. In the period 1970–1975 (Fig. 3b), the sedimentation moved upward to
the reach between Huaxian and Lintong but the rate of sedimentation has reduced to 0.30 million
tons per km per year. In the meantime the first erosion wave appeared at the river mouth, which
is corresponding to the first descending period of Tongguan’s elevation and marked with “I”. In
1976–1980 (Fig. 3c), the first sedimentation wave had moved upstream to Lintong and the first
erosion wave had moved to Huaxia station but the peaks have evidently reduced. And the second

∗ WY stands for cross section in sedimentation reach of the lower Weihe River.

1543
Figure 4. Erosion and sedimentation at WY10 within the 1st and 2nd descending periods in the lower Weihe
River.

sedimentation wave appeared in the reach between the mouth and Huaxian station, which is marked
“II” indicating the second ascending period of Tongguan’s elevation. Figure 3 (d, e, f) present the
movement of sedimentation/erosion wave in the following years. It is illustrated that ascending and
descending of Tongguan’s elevation generated sedimentation and erosion waves and propagated
retrogressively. According to the distances between the river sections, it is computed that the waves
retrogressed at a speed about 10 km per year.

4 SEDIMENTATION AND EROSION IN PERIODS OF TONGGUAN’S ELEVATION

DESCENDING

As mentioned above, retrogressive erosion occurred in the lower Weihe River as Tongguan’s ele-
vation fell. The retrogressive erosion propagated upstreamward from Tongguan like a wave at a
rate of about 10 km per year (Wang et al., 2003). The sedimentation and erosion have affected
the flood stage. Figure 4 presents the transverse bed profiles of WY10 measured in two periods
(1969.11–1975.10 and 1979.11–1985.10), during which Tongguan’s elevation fell from 328.65 m
to 326.04 m and from 327.62 m to 326.64 m. This figure shows the original cross sections in 1969
and 1979 when the elevation began to fall, and the bed profiles in 1975 and 1985 denote the final
bed elevation. Comparison of the bed profiles shows clearly that the river channel has been eroded
but sedimentation has occurred on the floodplain during the two periods.

5 FLOOD STAGE

5.1 Flood stage change in the past decades

Sedimentation caused flood stage rise and escalating flood risks in the lower Weihe River. Figure 5
shows the stage change at Huaxian hydrological station for discharges of 250 m3 /s and 3000–
5000 m3 /s. The stage change is defined as the difference between the present flood stage and the
mean stage with the same discharge in 1950s. For a discharge 250 m3 /s, the flow is confined in
the main channel and the stage rise reflects only the sedimentation and shrinkage of the main
channel. And for the flood discharge in the range 3000–5000 m3 /s, the stage rise is mainly due to
sedimentation on the floodplain. Figure 5 shows that during the ascending periods of Tongguan’s
elevation in the 1960s, both the flood stage and the low flow stage sharply increased by about 4 m
and 3 m because of sedimentation and channel reshaping. However, during the descending periods
(1970–1975 and 1980–1985), erosion occurred in the channel and the flood stage is reduced about
1–2 m due to erosion in the main channel. In the mid of the 1990s the enhanced floodplain had been
not flooded for several years and invasive and ruderal vegetation had developed, which increased
the flow resistance greatly. As a result the flood stage rise has increased sharply from 3–4 m to 6 m.

1544
 7
250m^3/s

Flood discharge rise (m)

6
3000-5000m^3/s
5

0
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Year

Figure 5. Flood stage rise due to sedimentation at Huxian station for discharges 250 m3 /s and 3000–5000 m3 /s.

Table 1. Computed bank-full discharge.

Bank full discharge(m3 /s)

Section No. Present 5 years 10 years 15 years

WY10 (Huaxian) 1800 2872 3085 3239

WY17 (Weinan) 1650 2104 2309 2555
WY26 (Lintong) 3244 3772 3824 3915

At present the low flow stage is 4 m higher than that before the impoundment of Sanmenxia
Reservoir and the flood stage is now 6 m higher, which poses a great flood risk to the river basin.

5.2 Possible flood stage change for the scenario of Tongguan’s Elevation reduction
Various measures have being studied to descend the Tongguan’s elevation by 2 m in order to mit-
igate flood disasters and control sedimentation in the lower Weihe River. According to (1) the
relationship between Tongguan’s elevation and sedimentation in the lower Weihe River, and (2) the
sedimentation and erosion during the periods in which Tongguan’s elevation descends, the flood
defense situation has been studied with the assumption of Tongguan’s elevation descending by 2 m
from 328.5 m to 326.5 m in 15 years. In this study, the following additional assumptions are made:
(1) the retrogressive erosion propagates upstream from Tongguan like a wave at a rate of about
10 km per year; (2) there will be no large change in the inflow of water and sediment from the
upper reaches of the river; (3) the main channel will be scoured as Tongguan’s elevation falls; (4)
sedimentation occurs on the floodplain.
The distances from Tongguan to WY10, WY17 and WY26 are 77.28, 112.04 and 156.03 km
(Cheng et al., 1999), respectively. If Tongguan’s elevation slowly falls, according to the speed of
retrogressive erosion, the erosion wave will reach Huaxian (WY10) in 5 years, Weinan (WY17)
in 10 years, and Lintong (WY26) in 15 years. In the study the three cross sections were chosen to
compute the flood stage for various discharges.
The basic slope of the river channel is from the 2002 Annual Report for Flood Defense of
the Water Conservancy Department, Shaanxi province (Department of Hydraulic Engineering,
Shaanxi Province, 2002). The change of slope was computed according to retrogressive erosion.
The parameters of the section area, wet perimeter, and hydraulic diameter were then determined
with an assumed water stage. Moreover, the roughness coefficient was obtained directly from the
same report as slope.

5.2.1 Increase of bankfull discharge

Table 1 presents the computed bankfull discharge at WY10, WY17 and WY26 in 5, 10 and 15 years
and shows that the bankfull discharges increase year and year. Compared with the value at present,

1545
 347
10 Yr 15Yr 5500 7050 8650 10800
345 5Yr

Water stage (m)

343 Present
3500
341 2500 Present
5 Year
339 10 Year
1000
(a) WY10 15 Year
337 Bankfull discharge
250
335
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000
Discharge (m3/s)

352
7050 8650
10Yr 5500
350 15Yr
Water stage (m)

5Yr
348 Present 10800
3500
2500
346 Present
5 Year
344 1000 10 Year
(b) WY17
15 Year
342 Bankfull discharge
250
340
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000
Discharge (m3/s)

362
10Yr 15Yr 10800
5500 7050 8650
360 5Yr
Water stage (m)

358 Present
3500 Present
356 2500 5 Year
10 Year
(c) WY26 15 Year
354 1000
Bankfull discharge
250
352
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000
Discharge (m3/s)

Figure 6. Water stage change at typical river sections.

the bankfull discharges at the three sections will increase 1072, 454 and 528 m3 /s in 5 years, 1285,
659 and 580 m3 /s in 10 years and 1439, 905 and 671 m3 /s in 15 years. Obviously, the increment
of the bankfull discharge decreases upstream of the lower Weihe River, because the retrogressive
erosion reduces with increasing distance from Tongguan.

5.2.2 Water stage variation

The computed results show that the low flow stage will be greatly lowered but the flood stage will
rise. Figure 6 (a, b, c) present the stage variation at the three cross sections in the coming 15 years
as a result of the falling of Tongguan’s elevation and sedimentation on the floodplain.
The following results are drawn from the computation:
(1) Both bankfull discharge and its corresponding water stage will increase in the coming 15 years.
(2) In case of same discharge, the stage will be lowered if it is lower than the bankfull stage.
(3) If water flow is over bank flow, the stage will be higher than that at present. The difference at
present and in 15 years reaches its maximum near a discharge of 5500 m3 /s, which is just a little
more than bank full discharge.

1546
(4) A comparison of a, b, and c in Fig. 6 indicates the following trend: in the situation of small
discharge, the water stage at WY10 falls lower than that at WY17, and WY17 falls the most.
This also indicates that the retrogressive erosion wave has a less important influence on the river
channel evolution from Tongguan to the upper Weihe River.
The change of bankfull discharge is the same as the water stage. Closer to Tongguan, there is a
greater discharge increase. In the situation of over bank flow, the rise of water stage is the same as
the variation in bankfull discharge (WY17 is the most) because the key factor affecting the water
stage is not the elevation at Tongguan, but the sedimentation on the floodplain.
Therefore, the situation of flood defense for large floods is still serious even if Tongguan’s
elevation is decreased by 2 meters. However, the lower Weihe River has experienced over 40 years
adjustment since the construction of Sanmenxia Reservoir and great changes have taken place. The
increase of bankfull discharge is very important to the flood defense in the lower Weihe River, for
small and mid-scale floods will no longer over flow the banks, which is quite helpful to mitigate
the flood hazards.

6 CONCLUSIONS

Elevation is the datum of the bed profile of the Weighed River. Ascending and descending in
Tongguan’s elevation cause sedimentation and erosion and flood stage variation in the Weighed
River. The following conclusions have been obtained from the study:
(1) The sedimentation in the lower Weihe River is closely related with the change of Tongguan’s
elevation. In the past decades, sedimentation occurred both in main channel and on the floodplain
as Tongguan’s elevation rose and erosion in main channel took place as the elevation fell.
(2) Sedimentation and erosion have been propagating upstream in a series of retrogressive waves at
a rate of about 10 km per year.
(3) Erosion often occurs in the main channel of Weihe River as the Tongguan’s elevation falls. In
the meantime, however, slight sedimentation may occur on floodplain.
(4) Flood stage is affected by Tongguan’s elevation. Now, the low flow stage is 4 m higher than that
before the impoundment of Sanmenxia Reservoir and the flood stage is 6 m higher, which poses
a great flood risk to the lower Weihe River.
(5) If Tongguan’s elevation falls by 2 m, the stages of mid- and small-scale floods will be lowered.
The bankfull discharge will increase, thence mid- and small-scale floods can be kept within the
channel. However, the risk of a large flood is still high because sedimentation on the flood plain
may cause the stage rise if over-bank floods occur. Therefore, the flood defense system should be
reinforced and engineering measures are still necessary to mitigate flood disasters in the lower
Weihe River.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50221903 &
No.50279024).

REFERENCES

Cheng, L.Y., Liu, S.M., Xiao, J.F., et al. Experimental Research on Hydrology and Sediment of the Sanmenxia
Reservoir [M]. Zhengzhou, the Yellow River Hydraulics Press, 1999: 12–13. (In Chinese)
Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Shaanxi Province. Integrated Control and Plan for the Weihe River
Basin, Shaanxi province- Plan for Flood Defense [R]. October, 2002. (In Chinese)
Long, Y.C., Chien, N. Erosion and Transportation of Sediment in the Yellow River Basin [J]. International
Journal of Sediment Research. 1986, Vol. 1(1), Beijing, China: 2–28.

1547
Shaanxi Weihe River Planning Group, 2002. Report on Weihe River Integrated Control and Planning, Shaanxi
province[R]. December, 2002. (In Chinese)
Tang, X.H., Lei, W.Q. Analysis on Effect and Sedimentation in the Lower Weihe River. [D]. Shaanxi Adminis-
trative Management Bureaus of Sanmenxia Reservoir, Shaanxi Bureaus of Sanmenxia Reservoir Division
of Shaanxi Association for Hydraulics (Edit). Paper Election of Academic Workshop for Flood Defense and
River Control in the Sanmenxia Reservoir, Shaanxi province. Zhengzhou: Yellow River Hydraulic Press,
2000: 74–80. (In Chinese)
Wang, Z.Y., Li, C.Z. Research on Effect of Tongguan’s Elevation on Sedimentation in the Lower Weihe River
[R], December, 2003. (In Chinese)
Wu, B.S. Regulation of Sediment in the Sanmenxia Reservoir [A]. Essays on River Mechanics, Colorado State
University, 1997: 199–209.
Wu, B.S. Analysis on Effect of Operation Method of Sanmenxia Reservoir on Tongguan’s elevation [R].
December, 2003. (In Chinese)

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Application of appropriate modeling to assess flood risk

Y. Huang & J.L. de Kok

Group Water Engineering and Management, Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of
Twente, The Netherlands

A. Mynett
Dept. Hydroinformatics, IHE, Delft, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT: Ideally the design of a Decision Support System (DSS) for integrated river-basin
management depends on data availability, model uncertainty, and the functionality required by
the end-users. A hybrid approach combining physically-based deterministic models and statistical
approaches, known as appropriate modeling, is developed. This approach investigates system
performance through a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques, based on concepts
for model appropriateness and uncertainty analysis. This paper describes a general procedure for
appropriate modeling to support flood risk assessment. The systematic approach facilitates risk
assessment and supports the search for appropriate hydraulic models, as shown in the paper.

1 INTRODUCTION

A recurring problem in the design of a Decision Support System (DSS) for integrated river basin
management is how to find a balance between model complexity, whilst fulfilling the functional
requirements with respect to uncertainty of the predicted outcomes on the functions relevant for
decision makers. This type of problem has been addressed in 14th century by William of Ockham
(1287–1324), as the famous Ockham Razor “Do not multiply entities beyond necessity”. At present
models and data are usually selected in an ad-hoc manner, depending on the preferences of the
designers and practical considerations such as data availability. The aim of appropriate modeling is
to identify models and data that ensure internal consistency of the DSS, thereby providing guidelines
for a systematic design procedure. During the design of an integrated DSS a distinction can be made
between a qualitative and a quantitative phase (Miser and Quade, 1985; De Kok, et al., 2002).
The qualitative analysis results in a conceptual framework of analysis, which links measures to
objectives based on relevant processes, variables, and parameters. During the quantitative analysis
models and data are collected to quantify the system relationships. The systematic selection of
models should be based on insight in process model uncertainty and sensitivity. Traditionally,
process modeling is based on comparison of the performance (Wood, et al., 1998). More recent
analyses examine model uncertainty (Hanna, et al., 2001), model sensitivity (Klepper, 1997), model
complexity (Elert, et al., 1999), or the correlation between complexity and uncertainty (Snowling,
et al., 2001). Few of these studies, however, focus on integrated model networks, pertaining to
different scientific disciplines.
A case example demonstrates how appropriate modeling can take place. Because a methodology
and the supporting tools for integrated river-basin management were not available, the German Fed-
eral Institute of Hydrology initiated a project to develop a generic tool for sustainable management
of the Elbe River and its floodplains. After the August 2002 flood catastrophe flood risk became a
key issue for the project. Functions addressed include water quality, shipping, flood safety, and the
ecology of the floodplains and main channel. Flood risk assessment can be event-based, statistical,

1549
 Feedback
Problem/Objective

Nature availability
Qualitative Study
Data & model
Decision maker

Modeler System formulating

Development
• Models formulating
• System integration
Quantitative Study

Uncertainty analysis

Interaction Inadequate

Figure 1. Schematization of appropriate modeling for DSS.

or a combination of these. The aim here is to demonstrate which hydraulic model is appropriate for
which approach.
Appropriate modeling (AM) can be defined as the implementation of a hybrid approach comb-
ing deterministic modeling and statistic analysis, which aims at developing an integrated system
fulfilling functionally required by problems addressed in river-basin management.
Figure 1 illustrates the schematization of appropriate modeling which involves interactive and
iterative qualitative study and quantitative study processes. Qualitative study identifies the rele-
vant models and leads to a conceptual DSS based on data availability. Quantitative study aims at
developing models based on the concepts given in the qualitative study, and investigates system per-
formance through uncertainty analysis. Both processes involve communication between modeler
and decision makers (or end users), which results AM an interactive and iterative procedure.
AM severs not only to develop the system with relevant physical process which are represented
by different mathematical models, but also helps to choose model among alternatives. For example
in general for inundation computation a 2-dimensional (2D) hydraulic model is needed. However
a full 2D requires large computational loads, as well as detailed Digital Elevation Model (DEM),
which are often difficult to collect at medium river scale. A simplified alternative might be of better
choice in term of less demanding but similar performance.

2 FLOOD RISK ASSESSMENT – THE QUALITATIVE STUDY

A framework of flood risk assessment is developed through qualitative study. In the phase of qual-
itative study, two model components – hydraulic models and flood risk models, are identified. As
it is known flood risk can be assessed through either risk-analysis based approach, or the losses
associated with flood events (Huang, et al., 2004). Implementation of these two concepts formu-
lates the statistical risk model and event-based damage model, respectively. In addition to flood
damage function including stage∼damage curves where damage is calculated as percentage of the
total damage, and potential damage as the maximum monetary damage of each land use, different
hydrology and hydraulic inputs are required for both risk models. The main inputs for the statis-
tical risk model are flood exceedance probability, which in general can be satisfied by statistical
parameters such flood frequency, and a stage∼discharge relationship which can be obtained from
a 1-dimensional (1D) steady flow hydraulic model. The event-based flood damage requires an
inundation depth of the flooded area. Due to the more than one velocity component occurring at

1550
 DEM Landuse Hydrology Hydraulic Economy

HEC6 SOBEK1D2D/LISFLOO
Measure: Dike break

Velocity
Statistical risk Velocity distribution

Uncertainty Analysis
Inundation depth
Expected Damage
Event-based damage

Risk Map Damage Map

Risk Variability Damage Variability

Figure 2. System diagram of flood risk and damage assessment.

floodplain, and the flood wave propagation at main channel of the river, a 2D hydrodynamic com-
putation is in general needed for the event-based damage model. When the models are determined
conceptually, a data inventory for each module is accordingly obtained.
Based on conceptual analysis and data availability, an integrated framework coupling hydraulic
models with flood risk models is developed (Figure 2). The system consists of two available
hydraulic models – a steady flow model, and a hydrodynamic model.

2.1 Hydraulic models

Among a number of available hydraulic models the steady flow model HEC6 (HEC6 User’s Manual,
1993). The rating curve coefficients obtained through regression fitting, are embedded in the
statistical risk model. SOBEK2D is a two dimensional hydrodynamic model which provides maps
of inundation depth and flow velocity (Verwey, 2001).
Many studies have shown that more complex model not always performs better (Snowling, et al.,
2001). As an alternative for, the LISFLOOD-FP (Bates, et al., 2000), has been examined. These
two hydrodynamic models can both be used in the event-based damage approach, but they are
different in terms of complexity. SOBEK2D solves the full 2D Navier-Stokes equations, while
LISFLOOD-FP simplifies the full 2D equations into a 1D kinematics routing in the river channel,
and a mass-balanced quasi-2D approach in the floodplain. It was developed with the aim to reduce
the large computational loads compared to a full 2D hydrodynamic model.

2.2 Risk models

The statistical risk model utilizes the standard definition where risk is defined as the product of
the probability of failure of the flood defenses (for example failure of dikes such as overtopping
or breach), and the consequences of failure – direct and indirect damage. It provides the Expected
Annual Damage (EAD) of the studied area (Stedinger, 1997). The event-based approach takes
inundation depth and velocity associated with a flood event as input, and calculates the direct
economic losses at the flooding area.

1551
Figure 3. Expected damage (%) for situation with and without the presence of dikes.

Figure 4. Scatter plot of flood damage (Euro/m2 ) of situations with (x-axis) and without dike break (y-axis).

3 RESULTS

A 20 km section near the town of Sandau is chosen to test the flood risk assessment methodology.
For the hydrodynamic modeling two boundaries are introduced: discharge at upstream of Tanger-
munde (388.2 km) and rating curve at downstream of Havelberg EP (422.5 km). 6–10 m (based on
1 : 10,000 topographic map TK10) digital elevation models are used for both hydraulic and flood
risk computation. 100 m resolution CORINE land use map is used (CORINE, 2000). The perform-
ance of the developed flood risk assessment has been studied through uncertainty analysis. The
following cases have been set up to study:

– Dike presence/absence using the statistical risk model. Implemented as a DEM with the dike
(original map) and a DEM without the dike (Figure 3);
– A dike break using event-based damage model. Implemented as an artificial dike break at one
location in the hydraulic model setup (Figure 4);
– Model comparison, i.e. the difference of hydrodynamic models, SOBEK2D and LISFLOOD-FP,
using event-based model. In the modeling in order to show the flood damage an artificial dike
break is applied at the same location in both models (Figure 5).

1552
Figure 5. Probability density function of the percentage damage for SOBEK2D and LISFLOOD-FP

Figure 3 shows a scatter plot of the uncertainty distribution of expected damage associated with
scenarios of the DEM with and without a dike. Obviously, the expected damage is always higher
when there is no dike protection. The difference, however, is very significant, caused by significant
different dike heights at each side of the river, designed with a 10-year and 100-year return period
for overtopping. The uncertainty analysis shows a clear significance of dike protection, as well as
the dike heights difference.
Figure 4 shows a scatter plot of the flood damage distribution for the existing situation without
dike break and the case of an artificial dike break. The result shows that damage is always higher
when dike break happens, indicated by the damage is located at the situation of with a dike break.
However, this result only shows a local risk assessment. Flood damage are calculated at the area
where flooding occurs by breaking the dike. The purpose of an intentional dike break is to reduce
downstream damage. Therefore, a larger area, including the target area which should be protected,
shall be included in the modeling.
Figure 5 presents the probability density function of flood risk results obtained with SOBEK2D
and LISFLOOD-FP. For the spatial average of percentage damage, mean values and standard
deviation for SOBEK2D are 0.3974 and 0.0321, respectively. They are 0.3031 and 0.0501 for
LISFLOOD-FP. As there are no observations to compare the damage variability for the studied area,
it is difficult to tell which one is more accurate. However, the result shows a significant difference
between two models: SOBEK2D gives a higher flood damage (higher mean value), and smaller
variations (smaller standard deviation) comparing to that of LISFLOOD-FP. The difference might
be due to the simplification of the floodplain modeling in LISFLOOD-FP. It shows that SOBEK2D
provides a more conservative assessment of the flood risk.

4 CONCLUSIONS

A systematical method of appropriate modeling is developed and tested. As a case study of the
appropriate modeling for river basin management, an integrated risk/damage assessment modeling
system is developed. Particularly the uncertainty analysis involved in the quantitative study helps not
only to improve the models, but also to present the effects of flood defense measures. Uncertainty
propagation of different models indicates how to use the results in a later stage. For example,
SOBEK2D shows a more conservative result comparing that from the LISFLOOD-FP.
The combination of a hydrodynamic model and a statistical model improves the flood risk
assessment. The statistical risk model can be used for a long term plan which provides a static risk
map based on the elevations and land use without involving dynamics. The event-based damage

1553
model can serve as impact assessment for short term operations such as evacuation planning or
developing and implementation of a retention basin. To obtain a global impact risk assessment,
downstream of the flooded area will be included.
Future efforts shall be made to quantify parameters recognized as important in qualitative study.
For example, in the flood risk assessment, velocity is found to contribute significantly to the flood
damage in particular for steep areas. However, the quantitative relationship between flow velocity
and flood damage needs to be investigated further prior to any large scale modeling.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work has been carried out partly for the project Elbe_DSS funded by the German Ministry of
Science & Education (BMBF), under the coordination of the German Federal Institute of Hydrology
(BfG) in Berlin and Koblenz, Germany. They are thanked for kind permission to use the result and
data. Thanks are also given to the support from model providers: Delft Hydraulics has provided
the model of SOBEK and assistance during the running of the model. Dr. Horritt from Bristol
university UK, provided the model LISFLOOD-FP and help on the using of the model. The author
also would like to thank particularly Jery R. Stedinger and D.P. Loucks for their valuable and
thoughtful suggestions during the preparation of this paper.

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Gusev, Y.M., Habets, F., Irannejad, P., Koster, R., Mitchel, K., Nasonova, O.N., Noilhan, J., Schaake, J.,
Schlosser, A., Shao, Y., Shmakin, A.B., Verseghy, D., Warrach, K., Wetzel, P., Xue, Y.K., Yang, Z.L. and
Zeng, Q.C., 1998. The project for intercomparison of Land-surface parameterisation schemes (PILPS)
phase 2©.
Verwey, A., 2001. Latest developments in Floodplain Modelling – 1D/2D integration. Conference on hydraulic
in civil Engineering, Hobart 28–30 Nov 2001. Institution of Engineers, Australia.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Effect of stem-breaking caused by flood on the transition of wetland

vegetation in old river trace

N. Tanaka
Saitama University, Saitama, Saitama, Japan

Y. Kitakami, T. Ogawa & T. Asaeda

Grad. Sch. of Sci. and Eng., Saitama University, Saitama, Saitama, Japan

ABSTRACT: Competition between wetland species, Phragmites australis, and upland species,
Miscanthus sacchariflorus, in a river-wetland rehabilitation site was analyzed in relation to flood
discharge, flood interval, their stem-breaking moment and sediment accumulation flux. River flow
was analyzed by two-dimensional depth-averaged Reynolds equation to solve the moment acting
on the stems. If stem breaking occurs every year, survival for the two species is difficult. However,
if the interval is 2–5 years, they can survive, but the superiority of M . sacchariflorus on P. australis
is decreased. The analysis indicates that stem-breaking of both species due to floods every 2–5
years can delay the transition from wetland to upland species. Sediment accumulation accelerates
the competitive superiority of M. sacchariflorus.

1 INTRODUCTION

The present study was conducted in a natural wetland in the old meandering river trace, branch ofAra
river (35◦ N 58 , 139◦ E 30 ), Japan. Aridification is gradually progressing due to the erosion of the
river bed of the mainAra river and also due to land-use alterations in the surrounding area. Therefore,
the simulation was carried out under artificial flooding conditions, with the intention of evaluating
the effect of rehabilitation on the old river. Though flooding has the potential to maintain the wetland
in its natural condition, it may also accelerate sedimentation and change the vegetation from aquatic
species to land vegetation. Therefore, it is important to clarify the transition of wetland vegetation in
relation to the damage caused by flood characteristics, flood discharge and the interval of flooding.
Phragmites australis cover most of the Kamiike Pond – one of the three ponds existing in the
old river trace. The pond is situated in the driest area in the wetland where Miscanthus sacchari-
florus cover most of the landward area. However they have already begun to invade the area near
the P. australis habitat. The transition from P. australis to M. sacchariflorus could occur due to
progressive drying of the wetland. Therefore, to elucidate the effect of flooding at the river-wetland
rehabilitation site, this study focuses on two representative and dominant species, P. australis and
M. sacchariflorus. The competition of the two species under flood damage condition was analyzed
by the breaking strength of their stems, by moment on stems in flood conditions and by growth
dynamic analyses of the two species. The effects of flood were examined by considering the extent
of ‘stem breaking’ and sediment accumulation in their habitat.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 River flow analysis

River flow was analyzed by continuity equation (eq.(1)) and two-dimensional depth averaged
Reynolds equation (eqs.(2) and (3)). Porosity inside the vegetated area was considered in the

1555
continuity equation. The drag force due to vegetation was also included in the momentum equation.
These equations are,

where, λ is the porosity, t is the time, J is the Jacobian, (u, v) is depth-averaged velocity in x, y
direction, respectively, (U , V ) is contravariant velocity component of (u, v), (Qx , Qy ) is the discharge
flux, (τx , τy ) is wall shear stress, (fx , fy ) is the drag force per unit area in x, y direction, respectively,
−u2 , −u v , −v 2 is depth-averaged Reynolds stress, g is the gravitational acceleration, h is the
water depth, ρ is the fluid density, Zs is the water level from datum.
The depth-averaged Reynolds stress was calculated from the depth averaged turbulent energy
equation by Nezu & Nakagawa (1993). Wall-shear stress was derived by Manning law. The drag
forces were formulated as,

where, mt (=50 stems/m2 ) is the stem density of the wetland vegetation, Dt (=0.008 m) is the
diameter of the stem, Cd (=1.0) is the drag-force coefficient.
As the wetland exists in the meandering part of old Ara river, orthogonal coordinate system was
used in the model (Fig. 1). The length of river channel was around 5000 m and the river width varies
between 30 m and 100 m. 10 grids, 50 grids were used for transverse and stream-wise direction,

Shimoike Pond a
Nakaike Pond

Kamiike Pond b
Point B

Point A

Kamiike Pond
M.sacchariflorus
P.australis

Figure 1. Grid generation for the analysis of old river trace in Ara river. a. simulated region, b. Kamiike pond,
c. vegetation.

1556
respectively. Water discharge capacity was about 100 m3 /s. The upstream discharge conditions were
varied from 10 to 50 m3 /s (assumed values) for the analyses. The downstream boundary condition
was given as water depth and discharge relation in uniform flow. Manning roughness coefficient
was set at 0.032. The conditions were set to calculate the water depth, velocity and the moment
acting on a stem in each section. From the river-sectional area and the vegetation, we focus on
the two points, Point-A (400 m from upstream boundary) and Point-B (1300 m from upstream
boundary). At Point-A, far-side from Kamiike Pond, the vegetation is gradually changed from P.
australis to M. saccariflorus, from center to river bank (Fig. 1c). At Point-B, P. australis covers
almost all the section except for the habitat of M. saccariflorus on the bank.

2.2 Field observation

Field observation was conducted to investigate the productivity of the two species. The plant
characteristics, shoot density, shoot height and diameter was measured. The breaking strength was
measured by push-pull gauge (AIKOH 9550A) as the same method with Coops et al. (1996).

2.3 Growth dynamic analysis

After harvesting aboveground and belowground parts for both species, their biomasses were meas-
ured. For formulating the model of M. sacchariflorus, the experiments that cut aerial organ were
conducted at another site, Minuma (35◦ N 52 , 139◦ E 43 ), because we could not do destructive
sampling at the rehabilitation site.
The scheme applied to the growth of M. sacchariflorus was essentially the same as the
model developed for P. australis (Asaeda & Karunaratne, 2000) with necessary modification for
M . sacchariflorus. Biomasses per square meter of five organs (shoots, rhizomes, new rhizomes,
roots and flowers) were separately formulated to account for the material gains and losses of each
organ, and the inter-organ translocation, i.e., photosynthetic production, respiration, mortality and
material flows to form new shoots, to stock reserves in rhizomes and to flower. Characteristics of
each process were introduced mathematically into each term of the formulation.
The phenology of M. sacchariflorus is similar to P. australis. Therefore, the similar formulation
was employed after slight modification for M. sacchariflorus to emphasize its species-specific
characteristics: mainly, light interception rates in mono and mixed cultures, effects of water level
and characteristics of energy translocation between organs. All parameters were fixed for each
species and only the specific parameters in this study are listed in Table 1 (For common parameters,
see Asaeda & Karunaratne (2000)).

Table 1. Parameters used in the model.

Value

Parameter Notation M. sacchariflorus P. australis Dimension

Maximum specific net daily photosynthesis Pm 38* 30* gCO2 m−2 d−1
rate at 20
Half saturation constant of age for shoot Kage 200** 125**** d
photosynthesis
Half saturation constant of water level effect for Kwater 1*** 0.75*** m
shoot photosynthesis
Water level at maximum growth wm 0.3*** −0.3*** m

*: Calibrated, **: Calibrated based on Mutoh et al. (1968), ***: Calibrated based on Yamasaki &
Tange (1981), ****: Asaeda & Karunaratne (2000).

1557
 Photosynthesis was calculated as the function of nutrient availability, water deficiency, radiation
inside the canopy, leaf age and leaf area which was slightly modified the equation of Asaeda &
Karunaratne (2000) and given by,

where Pm is the maximum specific net daily photosynthesis rate of the plant top layer at 20◦ C in the
absence of light and nutrient limitations, θ is the arrhenius constant, IPAR (i) is the photosynthetically
active radiation (PAR) in the i-th layer taken from the plant top to the ground in 1-cm increments,
Kco is the conversion constant of carbon dioxide to ash-free dry weight, KNP is the constant showing
nutrient availability for growth, Agesht is the number of days from the start of shoot growth and
KPAR and Kage are the half-saturation coefficients of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and
age, respectively, Klevel is the function that expresses the effects of water deficiency on the plant’s
productivity, Kwater , wm express the constant for water deficiency characteristics according to the
water level, wl .
Mutual shading of each species in the mixed culture sums up the extinction coefficient of each
species’ component in the Lambert-Beer law (Tanaka et al., 2002, 2004 (in press)).

3 RESULTS

3.1 Measurement of the breaking strength of P. australis and M. sacchariflorus

The breaking strength and the moment of P. australis and M. sacchariflorus were found to be 16.3 N
(2 Nm)−19.9 N (2.5 Nm) and 18.2 N (2.3 Nm)−52.1 N (6.5 Nm) from June to November for the
average 8 mm diameter stem, respectively. It shows that stems of M. sacchariflorus are stronger
compared to P. australis in all seasons with the same diameter. Although their breaking moment
becomes larger with the season, their elasticity found to be decreased. Maximum strength were set
as 2.5 Nm and 6.5 Nm for calculating the breaking moment of P. australis and M. sacchariflorus,
respectively.

3.2 River flow analysis and the two species’ stem-breaking pattern
The simulated moments were compared with above breaking moment at Point-A (high velocity and
moment) and Point-B (low velocity and moment). Three breaking patterns of shoots in different
moment conditions are shown in Figure 2. Compared with the vegetated area of both species, there
exist three pattern of their breaking, that is; (1) Both species are not broken (CASE1), (2) Only
P. australis is broken (CASE2), (3) Both species are broken (CASE3). We can assume that CASE1
affects competition a little from the point of stem damage. Therefore, in this study we focus on
CASE2 and CASE3.

3.3 Validation of the growth model including the effect of stem breaking
Figure 3 shows simulated results for the aboveground biomasses of the two species in cross stream
direction compared with the observed data. By including the effects of water level, Klevel (eq.(6)),
the simulation agrees well within reasonable limits.
Figure 4 shows the simulated seasonal variation of M. sacchariflorus compared with the observed
data at Minuma during 2001 to 2002. Because of the damage occurred during summer (190 Julian
day), their growth is limited in the next growing season. For the two years, a good fit between

1558
breaking moment (Nm)
6.50 (M. sacchariflorus)
2.50 (P. australis)
0

a
M. sacchariflorus (estimation)
5000 M. sacchariflorus (simulation included water effect)
M. sacchariflorus (simulation excluded water effect)
P. australis (estimation)

Aboveground biomass (g/m2)

4000 P. australis (simulation included water effect)
P. australis (simulation excluded water effect)
b
3000

2000
c

1000

0
0 5 10 15 20
0 500 m Distance from open water (m)

Figure 2. Comparison of simulated moment by Figure 3. Aboveground biomass of the two species in
drag force and breaking moment of P. australis cross stream direction at Kamiike Pond.
and M. sacchariflorus. a. 10 m3 /s, b. 20 m3 /s,
c. 30 m3 /s.

4000
Aboveground biomass obs. (Minuma, 2001–2002)
3500 Belowground biomass obs. (Minuma, 2001–2002)
Aboveground biomass simu.
3000 Belowground biomass simu.
Biomass (g/m2)

2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Julian day

Figure 4. Model validation of the growth dynamic model of M. sacchariflorus including the effect of stem
breaking.

simulated and experimental results of aboveground and belowground dynamics could be observed.
P australis model including the effect of cutting was already validated by Yutani et al. (2004).

4 DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Competition between P. australis and M. sacchariflorus

Using growth dynamic models, long term competition between P. australis and M. sacchariflorus
were analyzed. Figure 5 shows the effect of interval of flood on the growth of the two species in
CASE3. If the flood interval is 5 years (Fig. 5c), the flood affects little on their growth. If floods
break their stems every year (Fig. 5a), both species get extensively damaged. In case of 2-year’s
interval (Fig. 5b), the biomasses are not diminished but decreased and saturated to small biomasses.

1559
 2000
2000 M. sacchariflorus M. sacchariflorus
P. australis P. australis
1500 1500

1000 a 1000
a
500
500
0
0

Saturated aboveground biomass (g/m2)

flood
Aboveground biomass (g/m2)

2000 2000
b
1500
1500
1000
1000
500 b

0 500
flood
0
2000 flood
2000
c
1500
1500
1000

500 1000 c

0 500
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Julian day
0
0 5 10 2 4 6 8 10
year Interval of stem breaking (year)

Figure 5. Long term competitive analyses with Figure 6. Long term competitive analyses with dif-
different time interval for competitive stand. a. one ferent time interval for competitive stand. a. one year
year interval, b. two year interval, c. five year interval, b. two year interval, c. five year interval.
interval.

Figure 6 shows the relationship between flood interval and the saturated biomass in case of
monospecific stands in CASE3 (Fig. 6a), competitive stands in CASE3 (Fig. 6b) and competitive
stands in CASE2 (Fig. 6c). The line and break line shows the biomass without breaking of
M . sacchariflorus and P. australis, respectively. Figure 6a shows that their saturated biomass
decrement is small when the flood interval is larger than 5 years.
If there is no stem-breaking, M. sacchariflorus is superior to P. australis, however, the biomass of
P. australis with breaking condition becomes larger than that with no breaking condition (Fig. 6b).
This is because stem-breaking affects M. sacchariflorus more than P. australis, as the initial
growth, especially shoot height of M. sacchariflorus, in spring is not good in next year of stem-
breaking event. In CASE2, the stem-breaking is occurred only in P. australis so the superiority of
M.sacchariflorus becomes quite large (Fig. 6c). The 2–5 years flood interval in CASE3 decreases
the biomass of M. sacchariflorus and increases the biomass of P. australis in competitive stands.
This discharge condition can delay the transition from aquatic vegetation to upland vegetation.

4.2 Effect of sand accumulation

The average sand deposition flux is 0.01 m/year for the last 30 years at Kamiike pond. If the flood fre-
quency to the site is increased, sand deposition speed may become larger due to the presence of stem
and litters. Erosion speed is assumed very low because the wetland soil is cohesive. Then, the effect
of sediment accumulation was calculated by using the model assuming that the sand deposition

1560
 20

Year for transition (year)

18
16
14
12
10
8
6
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10
Deposition speed (m/year)

Figure 7. Relationship between sand deposition speed and year for transition from P. australis to
M. sacchariflorus.

speed from 0 to 0.1 m/year. Figure 7 shows the relation between sand deposition speed and the year
for transition from P. australis to M. sacchariflorus. M. sacchariflorus became superior by the accu-
mulation. This corresponds to the low flow velocity that does not cause the breaking of their stems.

5 CONCLUSION

The stem breaking in every year has caused severe decrement in biomass of P. australis and
M . sacchariflorus. It is noted that a 2-year interval breaking is more severe for M. sacchariflorus
and that more than 5 year interval of breaking has a little impact on their productivity and com-
petition. M. sacchariflorus becomes more superior to P. australis by increasing the sediment
accumulation flux.
This study indicates that the combination of three methods – (1) river simulation, (2) breaking
strength measurement and (3) growth dynamic analysis – is a powerful tool to evaluate the flood
damage on river vegetation and their transition from the point of discharge and flood interval.
However, more physiological base studies are needed to elucidate the re-growth characteristics of
both species for different patterns of flood damage in relation to their seasonal foliage development
for full understanding the transition mechanism.

REFERENCES

Asaeda, T. & Karunaratne, S. 2000. Dynamic modeling of the growth of Phragmites australis, Model
description, Aquat. Bot. 67, 301–318.
Coops, H. & van der Velde, G. 1996. Effects of waves on helophyte stands: mechanical characteristics of stems
of Phragmites australis and Scirpus lacustris, Aquat. Bot. 53, 175–185.
Mutoh, N., Yoshida, K. Yokoi, Y., Kumura, M. & Hogetsu, K. 1968. Studies on the production processes and
net production of Miscanthus Sacchariflorus community, Jap. J. Bot. 20, 67–92.
Nezu, I. & Nakagawa, H. 1993. Turbulence in open channel flows, IAHR Monograph Balkema, Rotterdam,
53–56.
Tanaka, N., Asaeda, T., Tanimoto, K. & Hasegawa, A. 2002. An analysis of the growth of Typha angustifolia
and Typha latifolia, J. of Hydroscience and Hydraulic Eng. 20(2), 197–206.
Tanaka, N., Asaeda, T., Hasegawa, A. & Tanimoto, K. 2004. Modelling of the long-term competition between
Typha angustifolia and Typha latifolia in shallow water – Effects of eutrophication, latitude and initial
advantage of belowground organs, Aquat. Bot. 79, 295–310.
Yamasaki, S. & Tange, I. 1981. Growth responses of Zizania latifolia, Phragmites australis, Miscanthus
sacchariflorus to varying inundation, Aquat. Bot. 10, 229–239.
Yutani, Y., Asaeda, T., Tanaka, N. & Karunaratne, S. 2004. Evaluation of the recovering process of Phragmites
australis after cutting by the dynamic regrowth model and the validation by the observation(in Japanese
with English abstract), Ecol. Civil Eng. 6(2), 177–190.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Flood simulation coupled with remotely sensed data of

land use and land cover

L.L. Ren, R. An, H.M. Jiang, F. Yuan & M.R. Wang

Key Laboratory of Water Resources Development of Ministry of Education, Hohai University, Nanjing,
Jiangsu, China

ABSTRACT: On the platform of digital basin, the grid information with a spatial resolution of one
kilometer about land use and land cover obtained by remote sensing technique is spatially matched
with digital elevation data with a resolution of 30 seconds of latitude or longitude. The ratio of the
impervious area to the subcatchment area, denoted by IMP, a parameter in the Xin’anjiang model, is
extracted directly. The soil free water storage capacity, denoted by SM, another sensitive parameter
of the Xin’anjiang model, can also be obtained indirectly by the ratio of forest-land area to the
subcatchment area. A case study of 24 flood events in the Baohe River, the upper tributary of the
Hanjiang River, by use of the semi-distributed hydrological model, shows that the Nash-Sutcliffe
coefficients of 15 flood events improve obviously, and the relative errors of peak discharge of 22
flood events decrease markedly. Also the effect of SM on the peak discharge is greater than that on
the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient.

1 INTRODUCTION

Recently distributed hydrological model has become a hot and crucial topic in hydrological research.
Land use/cover has a significant influence upon the mechanism of runoff production (Bronstert
et al. 2002). To research into hydrological response induced by land use, it is necessary to build a
model that can describe the spatial variability of model input, parameters, and hydrological pro-
cesses. Remotely sensed data can play an important role in the determination of model parameters.
Moreover, partial parameters can be transplanted from gauged basins to ungauged ones with the
help of remote sensing data.
On the digital basin platform, grid-based digital elevation data may be spatially matched with
one-kilometer raster land use/cover data obtained by remote sensing techniques. Then the ratio of
impervious area to subcatchment area, denoted by IMP, a parameter in the Xin’anjiang model, can
be extracted directly from the above land use/cover data. Soil free water storage capacity, SM, a
sensitive parameter of the Xin’anjiang model, may be obtained by the relation between SM and
the ratio of forest land area to a subcatchment area. A case study of 24 flood events in the Baohe
catchment, the upper tributary of the Hanjiang River, will show that constructing the relationship
between model parameters and land surface characteristics is an effective way to reduce errors in
flood forecasting. The Hanjiang River is one of the largest tributaries in the Yangtze River, and is
a source for the middle section of the water transfer route from south to north in China. It is likely
that this research could also be helpful in the operation of China’s water supply system, for the
middle route of the great water-transfer project.

2 ESTABLISHMENT OF DIGITAL DRAINAGE NETWORK

Grid-based digital elevation data covering the Hanjiang River Basin were downloaded from the
Internet through the National Geophysical Data Center of America, viz. Global Land One-kilometer

1563
Base Elevation (abbrev. to GLOBE) data with a spatial resolution of 30 seconds of latitude or
longitude. The Digital Elevation Drainage Network Model (abbrev. to DEDNM) (Martz & Gar-
brecht 1992) was used to determine grid-based flow vector, automatic delineation of watershed
divides, and generation and numbering of the river network and subcatchments, and to establish the
topological river network structure, in which the critical source area, also called the contributing
area threshold for channel network delineation, was taken as 50 km2 , and the minimum source
channel length was taken as 6 km. The program scans each cell in the DEM, and determines the
direction of the steepest downward slope to an adjacent cell. This method is termed the D8 (deter-
ministic eight-neighbours) method by Fairfield & Leymarie (1991). The final result is a new raster
array containing flow vectors for all grid cells.

3 EXTRACTION OF LAND USE/COVER DATA

Grid-based data, with each cell representing one-kilometer squared of land use/cover in China
were derived by interpretation of Landsat TM images according to the present situation of land
use/cover, including 25 layers of coverage (Liu et al. 2002). Each coverage refers to the spatial
distribution of one type of land use/cover. The value within any squared grid cell of any given
coverage is the percentage of real area occupied by the specified type of land use/cover in the
square kilometer corresponding to the grid element. The percentage was checked against local
socioeconomic statistical data (Liu et al. 2002). According to the objectives of the study, nine
layers of coverage were selected, viz. wood land, shrubbery land, sparse timberland, other forest
land, rivers and open channels, lakes, reservoirs and ponds, urban area, other area for construction.

3.1 Spatial matching

Due to non-identity of the spatial resolutions of the GLOBE DEM data (30 seconds) and the raster-
based land use/cover data (one kilometer), land use/cover data must be matched spatially with digital
basin information derived from the GLOBE data, so that they have the same scales. At first, the
coverage of the upstream channel network of the Huangjiagang station in the Hanjiang River Basin
were extracted from a raster-based one-kilometer dataset of land use/cover in China. Secondly,
these raster-based cells of land use/cover, which control water flow over the whole Hanjiang River
Basin, were taken as the points. Thirdly, on the basis of the controlling points acquired above, the
raster-based mesh data of land use/cover were rectified by ERDAS IMAGINE software to bring
them into agreement with the digital river network produced by DEDNM from the GLOBE DEM
data. Fourthly, this integrated, gridded data in nine layers of selected coverage could be obtained
within the same spatial range as the channel network coverage extracted in the first step. Finally,
on the basis of the controlling points taken in the second step, the raster-based land use/cover data
in 9 layers of selected coverage may be rectified with the aid of ERDAS IMAGINE software, so
as to serve for the following determination of parameters of the Xin’anjiang model.

3.2 Computation of ratios of impervious area and forest-land area

The ratio of impervious area, IMP, may be derived directly from remotely sensed data by summing
the areas of rivers, open channels, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, urban area, and other area for construc-
tion within a subcatchment, divided by the subcatchment area. The ratio of forest-land area, F,
is determined by summing the areas of shrubbery land, woodland, sparse timberland, other forest
land, divided by the subcatchment area.

4 DEVELOPMENT OF HYDROLOGICAL MODEL

The Xin’anjiang model developed by Zhao (1992) is characterized by the concept of runoff for-
mation as a dependent variable of repletion of storage, i.e. runoff is not produced until the soil

1564
moisture content of the aeration zone reaches field capacity, and thereafter runoff equals the rain-
fall excess without further loss. The Xin’anjiang model is a rainfall-runoff model, applicable to
humid or semi-humid regions. The Xin’anjiang model is applied to runoff generation over each
subcatchment generated by the DEDNM. Then, the Muskingum method is used for stream-flow
routing with the aid of the topological structure of subcatchments and river network, also produced
by the DEDNM (Ren & Liu 2000, Ren et al. 2003).

4.1 Catchment data

The Baohe River is the first tributary of the Hanjiang River in the Shaanxi Province. It lies from
33◦ 12 through 34◦ 30 north latitude, from 106◦ 30 to 107◦ 30 east longitude. The topography
within the catchment is complex. The altitude ranges from 470 to 3408 meters above sea level.
The mean value of annual precipitation over the Baohe catchment is about 830 mm. The Madao
hydrological station controls 3415 km2 of the Baohe River catchment. Figure 1 shows the river
network and twenty-two subcatchments generated by the DEDNM, accompanied by the spatial
location of thirteen rain-gauge stations within the Baohe catchment.
The following data measured within the Baohe catchment from 1980 to 1985 are used for the
simulation of daily runoff and hourly discharge (flood hydrograph): precipitation at 13 rain-gauge
stations, pan evaporation at Jiangkou station in the middle of the catchment, and discharge at Madao
station, at the outlet of the catchment. It should be remarked that the intermediate computational
values of state variables in the daily mode will be taken as the initial values in the hourly mode for
simulation of the flood hydrograph.

4.2 Model algorithms

Two algorithms are adopted in this study. One is called the lumped subcatchment algorithm, the other
the semi-distributed algorithm. The former assumes that the inputs to the Xin’anjiang model such
as precipitation are different among the 22 subcatchments, while the parameters of the Xin’anjiang
model are identical for all subcatchments. It is true that there is no rain-gauge station in some
subcatchments. In these situations, precipitation data measured at the closest rain-gauge station are
transplanted as the input of that subcatchment. Pan evaporation data at Jiangkou station are used
for over 22 subcatchments.

Figure 1. River network and 22 subcatchments generated by DEDNM, accompanied by the spatial distribu-
tion of 13 rain-gauge stations denoted by dots within the Baohe catchment.

1565
 The latter algorithm differs from the former in two parameters. One is IMP, and the other refers
to SM. In the daily mode, the value of the parameter SM is identical in all the subcatchments, while
the value of the parameter IMP is determined by the formula (1). The quantity of IMP is different
for each of the 22 subcatchments. In the hourly mode, IMP and SM are both different within the
22 subcatchments. The method used to compute SM will be described in the following section.

4.3 Parameter calibration

The methodology of all parameters’ calibration in the two model algorithms is alike in either the
daily or hourly mode, excepting the parameters of IMP and SM.

4.3.1 Lumped subcatchment algorithm

Twenty-four pieces of flood events from 1980 to 1985 were selected for calibration. They consist
of different orders of floods, the maximum peak magnitude of flood discharge being 5810 m3 /sec,
the minimum peak value of flood discharge being 211 m3 /sec. They also include flood events
with double peaks or compound peaks (more than two peaks). In fact, the parameters in the daily
mode should first be optimized by the objective method (Zhao 1992). Then, the intermediate result
computed in the daily mode at the specific date is taken as the initial value in the hourly mode, where
the time step is one hour. In actual operation of the hourly mode, there are three parameters of the
Xin’anjiang model that must be calibrated: SM, KI (the outflow coefficient of free water storage to
interflow), and CI (the recession constant of the interflow storage) (Zhao 1992). Other parameters
could be determined with reference to the value of parameters calibrated in the daily mode.

4.3.2 Semi-distributed algorithm

The determination of the parameter SM will be stated in this section for the 24 pieces of flood events
with a time interval of one hour, since other parameters are calibrated as above. A comparison will
be made in the subsequent section between the two algorithms in the hourly mode, when two
parameters, SM and IMP, are different within 22 subcatchments in the semi-distributed algorithm,
while other parameters are in keeping with those in the lumped algorithm.
Interflow, as one runoff component, results from soil subsurface. Soil texture depends mainly
on the status of the vegetation in the soil. There is a good relation between SM and the ratio of
forest-land area [9,10]. Under the condition of similar soil permeability, the larger the ratio of
forest-land area, the richer the humus in soil, the bigger soil porosity, the more subsurface runoff,
the fatter the flood hydrograph, and the greater the value of SM; conversely, the smaller the ratio of
land cover, especially in the area of soil erosion, the less the free water storage, the more surface
flow, the sharper and the thinner the hydrograph, the more flash floods, and the smaller the quantity
of SM.
The linear regression equation was established on the basis of seven sample data sets from the
Yangtze River Basin (Jing 2002, Wang 2003), in addition to the sample point from the Baohe
catchment. Therefore, the value of SM may be computed for each subcatchment according to the
regression equation, SM = 40.5 ∗ F − 6.8, in which F is the ratio of forest-land area, computed by
the formula (2) in the previous section. The value of SM is taken as 23 mm if F is close to zero.
That situation occurred only for the eighth subcatchment of the 22 subcatchments within the Baohe
catchment.

5 RESULT ANALYSIS

The two algorithms provide very close results in the daily mode, due to the small ratio of impervious
area to the total area of the Baohe catchment, and the long time step of 24 hours, as well as the
value of SM being unchanged throughout 22 subcatchments. There is less difference with respect
to the Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (Nash & Sutcliffe 1970) and runoff error in each
year or during the whole computational period from 1980 to 1985.

1566
Figure 2. Hourly discharge hydrograph of No. 8404 flood event at Madao station in 1984.

Figure 2 shows the hourly discharge hydrograph of the No. 8404 flood event with compound
peaks in April of 1984. It can be seen from Figure 2 that the hydrograph computed by the semi-
distributed algorithm is closer to the observed hydrograph than that by the lumped algorithm,
especially at peak discharge and at the time when the peak appears. And the Nash-Sutcliffe coeffi-
cient computed by the semi-distributed algorithm is 0.93, while the coefficient by the lumped one
is 0.87.
Table 1 has shown a satisfactory result in the hourly mode in that the semi-distributed algorithm
performs better than the lumped one. Obviously, the semi-distributed algorithm produces a higher
coefficient of Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency than the lumped algorithm for most flood events.
There is a significant improvement upon the lower value of flood peak discharge computed by
the lumped algorithm. Specifically, the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficients of 15 pieces of flood events
increase, those of 5 events do not change, and those of 4 events decrease. The relative errors of 22
pieces of flood peaks decrease remarkably, those of 4 peaks barely change, and those of 4 peaks
become large. To summarize, different values of SM given to different subcatchments make a notable
impact on the simulation of a flood hydrograph. That sufficiently justifies the sensitivity of the
parameter SM. The sensitivity of SM to flood peak discharge is larger than that to the Nash-Sutcliffe
coefficient. This conclusion is in agreement with the physical meaning of the parameter SM.

6 CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

On the basis of land use/cover information interpreted from remotely sensed data, IMP and SM
can be determined directly or indirectly over each subcatchment. Thus their physical meanings are
so clear that they may be extended from gauged catchments to ungauged catchments according to
surface characteristics over the catchments. Summarily speaking, the semi-distributed algorithm
performs better than the lumped one, as different values of SM and IMP are set over 22 subcatch-
ments within the Baohe catchment. The method remarked above has proven to be an effective way
of improving the accuracy of flood forecasting. Because land use/cover has temporal variability, it
is necessary to obtain land use/cover information from multiple years.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was supported jointly by National Key Basic Research Development Program, Ministry
of Science and Technology, China, under Grant 2001CB309404, and the National Natural Science
Foundation of China under Grant No. 40171016. Thank Prof. Jiyuan Liu for use of the grid-based
one-kilometer dataset of land use/cover in China.

1567
Table 1. Comparison between the result computed by the lumped subcatchment algorithm and that by the
semi-distributed one with respect to the Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient and the relative error of
flood peak discharge for 24 flood events.

Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient Relative error of flood peak discharge (%)

Flood peak Lumped Semidistributed Improvement Lumped Semidistributed

Discharge algorithm algorithm (%) algorithm algorithm Improvement
No. (m3 /s) [1] [2] [2]–[1] [3] [4] |[3]|–|[4]|

8002 3090 0.76 0.78 2 −36.16 −27.62 8.54

8003 575 0.71 0.75 4 7.80 0.62 7.18
595 −15.58 −13.24 2.34
8004 693 0.87 0.88 1 −18.80 0.06 18.74
8005 710 0.88 0.86 −2 −30.50 −23.85 6.65
8101 568 0.84 0.91 7 −0.07 −0.07 0.0
8102 1550 0.80 0.81 1 −0.60 0.17 0.43
3200 −21.06 −13.26 7.8
8103 3490 0.67 0.67 0 −6.24 −0.14 6.1
5810 −45.83 −43.79 2.04
8104 1110 0.84 0.88 4 −16.78 −3.24 13.54
1260 −33.53 −12.99 20.54
8201 516 0.70 0.70 0 0.49 0.36 0.13
8202 607 0.78 0.71 −7 0.74 0.51 0.23
8203 289 0.88 0.86 −2 −14.29 0.33 13.96
8301 540 0.94 0.94 0 0.69 13.06 −12.37
8302 787 0.70 0.72 2 −18.06 −9.02 9.04
8303 883 0.74 0.77 3 −19.86 −18.20 1.66
8304 1700 0.74 0.74 0 −28.14 −28.79 −0.65
8305 722 0.85 0.85 0 0.21 0.76 −0.55
8306 882 0.80 0.83 3 −33.49 −19.20 14.29
8307 782 0.91 0.94 3 −14.60 −0.58 14.02
8401 592 0.76 0.83 7 −19.62 −9.84 9.78
8402 292 0.60 0.66 6 −17.46 −14.57 2.89
8403 558 0.67 0.69 2 −14.22 −19.02 −4.80
8404 602 0.87 0.93 6 −12.67 0.35 12.32
663 −31.89 −17.27 14.62
8504 211 0.91 0.85 −6 0.04 3.95 −3.91
8505 367 0.61 0.66 5 −7.52 2.84 4.68
374 0.44 −1.07 −0.63

Note: (1) The negative relative error of flood peak discharge means that the computed value is smaller than the
observed one. (2) The negative value in two columns of “Improvement”, expressed by italic numeral, means
that the error increases, viz. the accuracy decreases, as the result computed by the semi-distributed algorithm
is compared with that by the lumped one.

REFERENCES

Bronstert, A., Niehoff, D. & Bürger, G. 2002. Effects of climate and land-use change on storm runoff generation:
present knowledge and modeling capabilities. Hydrological Processes 16(2): 509–529.
Fairfield, J. & Leymarie, P. 1991. Drainage networks from grid digital elevation models. Water Resources
Researches 27(4): 29–61.
Jing, L.Y. 2002. Real-time flood forecasting in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River based on GIS, M. Eng.
Thesis, Program in Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, P.R. China (in Chinese).
Liu, J.Y., Zhuang, D.F., Zhuang, D.F. & Zhang, Z.X. 2002. Establishment of land-use spatial-temporal database
and its relative studies in China. Geo-information Science 4(3): 3–7 (in Chinese).

1568
Martz, W. & Garbrecht, J. 1992. Numerical definition of drainage network and subcatchment areas from digital
elevation models. Computers & Geosciences 18(6): 747–761.
Nash, J.E. & Sutcliffe, J.V. 1970. River flow forecasting through conceptual models, Parts I-a discussion of
principles. Journal of Hydrology 10: 282–290.
Ren, L.L. & Liu, X.R. 2000. Hydrological processes modeling based on digital basin. Journal of Natural
Disasters 9(4): 45–52 (in Chinese).
Ren, L.L., Li, C.H. & Wang, M.R. 2003. Application of radar-measured rain data in hydrological processes
modeling during the intensified observation period of HUBEX. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences 20(2):
205–211.
Wang, M.R. 2003. Application of multi-sources information in hydrological model on the platform of digital
basin. M. Eng. Thesis, Program in Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, P.R. China
(in Chinese).
Zhao, R.J. 1992. The Xin’anjiang model applied in China. Journal of Hydrology 135: 371–381.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Impact of land use change on watershed flood in Jingluowei

River basin

Huang Guoru, Rui Xiaofang & Shipeng

College of Water Resources and Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT: The land use change will lead to change rainfall-runoff relationship. Plenty of flood
events at 1960s and 1980s in the Jingluowei basin are analyzed to assess the impact of land use
change on the watershed flood with the Xinanjiang model, a famous watershed hydrological model
applied widely in China. By comparing two groups of parameters of the Xinanjiang model at 1960s
and 1980s, the both have scarcely any remarkable difference at almost same simulation precision.
Otherwise, the two groups of relation curves P + W0 ∼ R and W0 ∼ α at 1960s and 1980s have also
no remarkable separate phenomena. Therefore, the impact of present land use change on watershed
flood in the Jinluowei River basin is not remarkable, and the effect of land use change on large
flood may been not considered in analyzing design flood.

1 INTRODUCTION

In hydrology, human activity primarily is to point mankind be engaged in to construct water conser-
vancy project, convert land use and produce and work activity of influencing climate condition. As
the watershed flood is the synthesized result of watershed climate condition (precipitation character)
and watershed underlying surface condition, while human activity may convert climate condition
and watershed underlying surface condition, therefore, human activity must influence on more or
less the watershed rainfall-runoff process. It is that the impact of the watershed underlying surface
condition change on the watershed flood is only studied in this paper, and emphasis on the impact
of land use change on the watershed flood.
In tradition, the method of analyzing the impact of land use change on the watershed rainfall-
runoff process is mainly contrastive experimentation watershed method. The main difficulty of
quantitative analysis with the method is the representative problem of the experimentation water-
shed. In addition, as there are many complicated nonlinear effort, the conclusion gained from a
point in the experimentation watershed how to be generalized to the whole watershed is also very
difficult. Analyzing the impact of land use change on the watershed flood with the watershed
hydrological model is very important method with hydrology envelopment. Since land use change
must influence on the parameters, so much as initial condition of the watershed hydrological
model, the impact degree and magnitude of land use change on watershed flood may be assessed
by analyzing parameters and initial condition of the watershed hydrological model before and after
land use change. Jams (1965) first used a variant of the Stanford watershed model to assess the
magnitude of flood of a given return period related to the percentage of the catchment which had
been urbanized and the percentage of the channels that had been improved. Bultot et al. (1990)
simulated the land use changes and impacts on the water balance according to IRMB conceptual
hydrological model. Loorup et al. (1998) applied NAM model to assess the effect of land use
change on watershed runoff.
A famous watershed hydrological model, Xinanjiang model was adopted for this study. The
model was proved especially suitable for rainfall-runoff simulation in humid and semi-humid
region and applied widely in China (Zhao et al., 1980, Zhao, 1992).

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2 STUDY AREA

Jingluowei basin is originated from wushu mountain at Weiyuan county, Gansu province, China.
Its main channel length is 818 km, and the basin area is about 135000 km2 , it is made up of Weihe,
Jinghe and Beiluohe River. Weihe basin is main river of Jingluowei basin, its area is 89579 km2 .
There are many tributary rivers at right side of the main river, and they are all originated from the
Qinglin mountain crest with well vegetation condition. Jinghe basin is the largest subbasin, its area
is 45421 km2 , the vegetation condition is general thin expect for some region. The Jingluowei basin
is one of most plenty of rainfall region at theYellow River Basin, main rainfall region lies at the lower
of Weihe basin, and annual rainfall is from 600 mm to 800 mm. From its topography, physiognomy,
vegetation and rainfall quantity, the Jingluowei basin is general the semi-humid and semiarid region.
It has been demonstrated that the Xinanjiang watershed model is applicable at the Jingluowei basin.
Based on representative principle and observation condition, the six hydrologic stations and
eighty-two flood events at 1960s and 1980s are selected at this study. The basin controlling area is
from 59.8 km2 to 4715 km2 , rainfall is from 1.37 mm to 222.1 mm, almost including all large and
moderate flood events.

3 METHOD

3.1 Xinanjiang hydrological model

As previously stated, the impact of land use change on flood may be judged based on if watershed
hydrological model parameters have changed with years.
Xinanjiang model has been successfully and widely applied in China, and many experience have
been obtained. Its capability to incorporate soil moisture characteristics, reliable evapotranspiration
routine, regional distribution of parameters renders it an efficient tool for assessment of regional
hydrological effects. Xinanjiang model is made up of four parts, evapotranspiration calculation,
runoff field calculation, water source dividing and concentration calculation (Zhao et al., 1980,
1992, 1995).
The model parameters mainly include four types based on model structure. Evapotranspiration
parameters are separately WUM , WLM and C. K is evapotranspiration capacity transforming coef-
ficient, which is the ratio of watershed evapotranspiration capacity and actual water evaporation,
and the parameter controls the watershed water balance, therefore, it has very important effort in
the model. WUM and WLM are separately the water storage capacity of upper layer and lower
layer, WUM is about 20 mm and WLM is about 60–90 mm to based on watershed soil condition. C
is evapotranspiration coefficient of the deep layer. Runoff field parameters include mainly WM, B
and IMP. WM is storage water capacity of watershed, an index of basin arid degree, and is made up
of upper, lower and deep layer water storage capacity about 120–180 mm. B is soil water storage
capacity curve exponent about 0.2–0.4, and it shows un-uniformity of storage water capacity dis-
tribution for the watershed. IMP is the ratio of impervious area and basin area, about 0.05. Water
source dividing parameters are SM , EX , KSS and KG. SM is free water storage capacity, and it has
very important controlling effect to surface runoff. EX is free water distribution exponent about
1–1.5. KSS and KG are separately the outflow coefficient of free water storage reservoir on inter-
flow and groundwater runoff, the sum of two parameters denotes outflowing speed of free water
from soil. Concentration parameters are KKSS, KKG, CS and L. KKSS and KKG are separately the
decreasing coefficient of interflow reservoir and groundwater runoff reservoir. CS is decreasing
coefficient of river net and L is delaying period, they are controlled by the watershed topography
and physiognomy.

3.2 The impact of Land use change on watershed flood

According to Zhao et al. (1980, 1992, 1995), seven model parameters, K, EX , SM , KSS, KKSS,
CS and L, are more sensitive to catchment discharges and determined through calibration. Based

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Table 1. Xinanjiang model parameters and modeling precision at the Weihe basin.

Site Qingduzheng Laoyukou Qianyang Yaoxinzhuang Liujiahe Zhidan

Years 1960s 1980s 1960s 1980s 1960s 1980s 1960s 1980s 1960s 1980s 1960s 1980s

Model Parameters
K 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.85 1.0 1.0 1 1 1 1 1 1
WM (mm) 180 180 1180 180 180 180 180 180 180 180 180 180
WUM (mm) 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 19
WLM (mm) 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 79 80 80 80 78
B 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.10 0.30 0.38 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30
C 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15
SM (mm) 35 35 35 39 50 50 7.6 7.4 47.5 13.8 17.0 5.8
EX 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4
KI 0.7 0.5 0.72 0.44 0.30 0.33 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
KG 0.2 0.3 0.18 0.3 0.50 0.42 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
CS 0.5 0.67 0.70 0.71 0.74 0.75 0.274 0.213 0.200 0.698 0.247 0.230
CI 0.690 0.747 0.832 0.800 0.929 0.904 0.975 0.921 0.965 0.977 0.950 0.950
CG 0.938 0.966 0.991 0.976 0.992 0.994 0.999 0.985 0.990 0.994 0.985 0.985
KE (h) 2.2 1.34 1.0 1.4 1.4 1.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
XE 0.45 0.48 0.45 0.48 0.46 0.46 0.45 0.40 0.45 0.45 0.40 0.41
L (h) 2 1.7 1.5 1.6 1 0.7 1.6 0.9 7.5 1.0 1.0 1.2
Precision
Relatively 3.5 8.4 3.8 2.1 6.0 4.8 7.52 5.40 8.45 7.29 8.65 5.48
error of
runoff (%)
Error of peak 8.5 12.5 5.0 4.35 7.9 6.0 9.79 11.69 12.41 1.51 25.20 25.18
discharge (%)
Time error of 5 3.4 0.75 2.2 1.89 4.5 0.6 0.6 2.0 1.3 1.2 1.0
peak
discharge(h)
Efficiency 0.697 0.842 0.906 0.930 0.760 0.696 0.716 0.736 0.648 0.905 0.750 0.728
coefficient
Runoff coefficient 0.70 0.69 0.68 0.76 0.32 0.23 0.24 0.21 0.08 0.25 0.20 0.28
Flood numbers 6 20 6 10 11 8 5 14 2 4 6 5

model structure, the calibration process is usually accomplished from runoff field to concentration
process respectively. The combination of automatic and manual method is adapted in the calibration
parameters, and the calibration criterias are the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient (NSC) of flood events
and relatively error of peak discharge.
Two groups of rainfall-runoff data at 1960s and 1980s were analyzed to assess the impact of land
use change on the watershed flood. Table 1 was the average result of flood events for six stations,
Qingduzheng, Laoyukou, Qianyang, Yaoxinzhuang, Liujiahe and Zhidan. By comparing the two
group of parameters of Xinanjiang Watershed hydrological model, the two had both scarcely any
remarkable difference at same simulation accuracy. For example, as Qingduzheng station, only
four parameters had little change (KG: from 0.2 to 0.3, CS: from 0.5 to 0.67, CI: from 0.69 to
0.747, L: from 2 to 1.7) at all seven sensitive parameters, others had no any change. Analogous
results may be obtained from other stations (Table 1).
Besides above the Xinanjiang model method, the experiential hydrologic relation curve was
used at this study. The two kind of correlation curves P + W0 ∼ R and W0 ∼ α at 1960s and 1980s
had also no remarkable separate phenomena, where, P was observed rainfall, W0 was initial water
storage simulated by Xinanjiang model, R was observed runoff, α was the ratio of rainfall and
runoff (Fig. 1, 2).

1573
 P+Wo(mm)
400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0 R(mm)
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
1960s 1980s

Figure 1. Relation curve of rainfall and runoff at the Weihe basin.

Wo(mm)
200

180

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 a
1960s 1980s

Figure 2. Relation curve of iniital water storage and runoff.

1574
 Therefore, the impact of present land use change on watershed large and moderate flood at the
Jinluowei River basin was not very remarkable.

4 CONCLUSION

The watershed flood was mainly controlled by the precipitation character and watershed underlying
surface condition, and land use change may influence on more or less the watershed rainfall-runoff
process. The watershed hydrological model was applied at this study to assess the effect of land use
change on large and moderate flood. Eighty-two flood events at 1960s and 1980s in the Jingluowei
basin were analyzed to assess the impact of by the Xinanjiang model. The two groups parameters for
1960s and 1980s had both scarcely any remarkable difference at almost same simulation precision.
The two group correlation curves had also no remarkable separate phenomena. Therefore, the
impact of present land use change on watershed flood of Jinluowei River basin was not remarkable.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (50309002), and
this support is gratefully acknowledged.

REFERENCES

Bultot, F., G. L. Dupriez and D. Gellens, Simulation of land use change and impacts on the water balance – a
case study for Belgium, Journal of Hydrology, 1990, 114, 327–348.
James, L. D., Using a digital computer to estimate the effects of urban development on flood peaks, Water
resources research, 1965, 1, 223–234.
Lorup, J. K., J. C. Refsgaard and D. Mazvimavi, Assessing the effect of land use change on catchment runoff
by combined use of statistical tests and hydrological modeling: Case studies from Zimbabwe, Journal of
Hydrology, 1998, 205, 147–163.
Zhao, R. J., Y. L. Zhuang, L. R. Fang, X. R. Liu and Q. S. Zhang, The Xinanjiang model, in: Hydrological
forecasting proceeding Oxford symposium, 1980, IAHS 129, 351–356.
Zhao, R. J., The Xinanjiang model applied in China, Journal of Hydrology, 1992, 135, 371–381.
Zhao, R. J., Liu, X. R. The Xinanjiang model, in: Computer models of watershed hydrology, Edited by
Singh V P, Water resources publications, 1995, 215–232.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Simple method for flood inundation area predicting

Yi-Ru Chung
Graduate Student, Dept. of Harbor and River Engrg., Nat’l Taiwan Ocean Univ., Keelung, Taiwan, ROC

Kwan Tun Lee

Director of Computer Center and Professor of Harbor and River Engrg., Nat’l Taiwan Ocean
Univ., Keelung, Taiwan, ROC

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study is to develop a simple method for flood warning systems
to predict the temporal flood inundation extent during flood. To avoid time-consuming and numer-
ical instability, a quasi-steady non-uniform channel routing model was adopted to estimate temporal
stages varied along the study channel reach, in which the temporal discharges of each channel
segment were estimated by using a topographic runoff model. Consequently, once the bankfull
depth was exceeded in a given channel segment, water might flow into adjacent floodplain cells.
The inundation extent determination was conducted on a 40 m resolution digital elevation data set.
The adjacent floodplain cells were checked based on a radial searching algorithm and designated
as inundated if their elevations were lower than the channel water stage. The analytical procedure
was applied to the Keelung River watershed in northern Taiwan. The results show that the deviation
between the predicted and field investigations inundation extents was acceptable.

1 INTRODUCTION

Taiwan Island is located between Japan and the Philippines in the Western Pacific with a total
area of 36,000 km2 . Three hundred eighty-five typhoons and over one thousand storms occurred
in Taiwan from 1897 to 2003. Flood warning systems usually provided great help in reducing life
and property losses. Continued improvement in flooding warning systems is necessary to flood
mitigation work. A flood warning system usually consists of a weather forecasting system and a
hydrological routing model. The most popular approach to modeling flood wave propagation is
one-dimensional finite-difference modeling. Numerical solutions for kinematic-wave approxima-
tion, diffusion-wave modeling, and dynamic-wave modeling are widely applied to obtain channel
cross-sectional averaged velocities and water depths. Two-dimensional finite difference and finite
element models were developed to simulate floodwater overspread on a floodplain. More recently,
a timesaving alternative to predict inundation extent is by using the digital elevation model (DEM)
technique (Noman et al., 2001; Tate et al., 2002), which provides a simple and efficient way for
practical engineering applications.
Although some flood forecasting systems use the dynamic-wave routing model linked with a 2D
inundation model, it requires more computation time to conduct the simulation. This may not be
suitable for a flood warning system, which needs to provide real-time inundation extent prediction.
Numerical instability is another unsolved problem involved in choosing an adequate computational
time interval for a fast rising flood. Moreover, in conducting a 2D inundation model, different
roughness coefficients are assigned for each of cells. The spatial-distribution of the roughness
coefficient in the inundation region is, however, unknown. Therefore, a simple and efficient way
to delineate the inundation extent for supporting hazard mitigation work decisions is required.
The objective of this study is to develop a simple analytical procedure to predict the real-time
inundation extent for flood warning systems. We chose a quasi-steady non-uniform flow routing

1577
model instead of the unsteady flow routing model to estimate the temporal water stage to avoid
the numerical instability problem. The temporal discharge of each channel segment was estimated
using a topographic runoff model. The inundation extent was then determined by comparing the
estimated water stages and the elevations of the adjacent floodplain cells using a radial searching
algorithm. The inundation extent data from a severe storm in the Keelung River basin were used
to verify the applicability of the proposed analytical procedure.

2 REAL-TIME WATER STAGE ESTIMATING PROCEDURE

The HEC-RAS model developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (HEC, 2002) was adopted in
this study to simulate the quasi-steady non-uniform channel flow. Since the temporal discharge of
each channel segment was required to perform the channel flow routing, we applied a topographic
runoff model to estimate the spatial variability temporal discharges.

2.1 Topographical runoff model

The topographic runoff model has the potential to derive the watershed hydrological response
using only the information obtainable from topographic maps or remote sensing, possibly
linked with geographic information systems (GIS) and digital elevation models. A significant
advancement in modeling runoff based on watershed topographic characteristics was initiated by
Rodriguez-Iturbe & Valdes (1979), who developed the geomorphologic instantaneous unit hydro-
graph model (GIUH). The GIUH model is applied in flash flood warning systems for flood peak
estimation in the U.S. (Carpenter et al., 1999). Based on the Strahler ordering scheme, a watershed
of order  can be divided into different states. The resultant instantaneous unit hydrograph can be
expressed as (Rodriguez-Iturbe & Valdes, 1979)

in which u(t) is the instantaneous unit hydrograph; fxj (t) is the travel-time probability density
function in state xj with a mean value of Txj ; W is the runoff travel path space; P(w) is the
probability of a specified runoff path w; and ∗ denotes a convolution integral. Instead of using
empirical travel time equations, Lee & Yen (1997) applied kinematic-wave theory to estimate the
mean travel times on overland areas and channels of each order. Consequently, the kinematic wave
based GIUH model can be applied to ungauged watersheds for rainfall-runoff simulation.

2.2 Quasi-steady non-uniform channel-flow routing model

This study adopted the HEC-RAS model (HEC, 2002) developed by the Hydrologic Engineering
Center for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the quasi-steady non-uniform channel flow simu-
lation. Although the unsteady flow simulation component is capable of simulating one-dimensional
unsteady flow through a full network of open channels, numerical instability usually exists when
selecting an inadequate routing time interval while routing a fast rising flood in a channel reach.
An alternative is to apply a quasi-steady flow approach using the HEC-RAS model steady-flow
water surface profiles module. The water surface profiles are computed from one cross section to
the next by solving the energy equation with an iterative procedure called the standard step method.
The energy equation is written as follows:

1578
where Y, Z, V, and α are the water depth, channel bed elevation, average velocity, and velocity
weighting coefficient, respectively. Subscripts 1 and 2 refer to the downstream and upstream cross
sections. The energy head loss, he , is comprised of friction losses and contraction or expansion
losses between the upstream and downstream cross sections. Once the boundary conditions are
given, the water stages and average velocities for each of the sections can be estimated.

3 REAL-TIME INUNDATION EXTENT PREDICTION MODEL

The inundation extent generated using sophisticated hydraulic models usually requires lots of infor-
mation and computing time. A simpler and more efficient approach, which considers the suitability
for real-time operations, requiring less information and can shorten the analytical process, is neces-
sary. The proposed model is conducted on a raster digital elevation data set and matched with the
water stage along the channel reach simulated using a one-dimensional quasi-steady channel flow
routing model.
The channel reach is first subdivided into several segments by designating a number of target
locations. These target locations can be either gauged or ungauged points. The temporal discharge
from the upstream control watershed of the target location can then be estimated using the GIUH
model if real-time rainfall data can be received. After obtaining the temporal discharge from each
target location, the water surface profile in the channel segment can be computed using the steady-
flow analysis module of the HEC-RAS model. The georeferenced data for each cross-section are
required to perform the quasi-steady flow routing. Manning’s roughness coefficient for each cross
section must be calibrated in advance using previous storm records. The downstream boundary
condition of the channel segment is required because the quasi-steady flow routing algorithm is
based on a standard step method. The type of the downstream boundary condition can be the rating
curve, the slope for the normal depth, the known water surface, and the critical depth.

3.1 Inundated cells searching algorithm

The proposed inundation extent delineating algorithm simply compares the water stage in the
channel cell and the elevation of the adjacent floodplain cells. The geographic coordinate and the
heights of the left and right banks at each cross section are required. These data are transferred
into the raster digital elevation data set. If the water stage of a channel cell is higher than the
embankment height, this channel cell will result in overflow. The next step is to search the adjacent
floodplain cells to determine if those cells are inundated. Once the bankfull depth is exceeded the
elevation of the adjacent floodplain cell, the adjacent floodplain cell is defined as an inundated cell.
As shown in Figure 1, the channel-flow direction is classified into a straight flow direction and an
oblique flow direction on the raster data set. Figures 1(a) and 1(b) show the radial searching algo-
rithm if the overbank-flow direction is determined radial from the channel cells. Figures 1(c) to 1(h)
show the subsequent searching states, in which the post- and un-searched cells are demonstrated.
Only the raster elevation data set is required when conducting the proposed algorithm for inundation
extent delineation. The proposed algorithm alleviates selecting the spatial variability of the friction
coefficients on floodplain, which was considered the major uncertainty in the simulation results.

4 EXAMPLES OF MODEL APPLICATIONS FOR INUNDATION SIMULATION

The Keelung River is one of the three major rivers in northern Taiwan. The watershed size is
503 km2 , and the length of the main stream is 86.4 km. The mean slopes are 1/250 upstream,
1/4900 midstream, and 1/6700 downstream. The downstream area of the watershed is the Taipei
metropolis. Levees were built at a 200-yr protection level from the river outlet of Kuang-Tu to the
Na-Hu Bridge for Taipei metropolis. The Na-Hu Bridge to Ba-Tu Bridge levees were built at a
10-yr protection level for the midstream areas. As shown in Figure 2, three rainfall gauging stations

1579
 (a) straight channel flow (b) oblique channel flow
direction direction

(c) searching from 1st channel cell (d) searching from 2nd channel cell (c) searching from 3rd channel cell

(c) searching from 4th channel cell (d) searching from 5th channel cell (h) searching from 6th channel cell

Figure 1. Radial searching algorithm. (a) and (b) are the flow paths of the radial searching algorithm. From
(c) to (h) show the floodplain cells searching process according to the channel-flow direction.

automatic flow gauging station

rainfall gauging station

target location

TL5 TL6 TL7

Keelung River basin boundary

TL3 TL4 study watershed boundary

TL1 TL2
channel network

TL1 Na-Hu Bridge

TL4 Wu-Tu gauging station
TL7 Jui-Fang gauging station

Figure 2. Map of the Keelung River Basin.

and three automatic flow gauging stations exist in the watershed. Rainfall records from the past
30-yr show that the average annual rainfall depth is 3947 mm.
During 16–19 September 2001, typhoon Nari brought 903 mm of rainfall within 72 hours causing
6640 acres flooding in the downstream watershed including Taipei City. The maximum measured

1580
 Time (hr) Time (hr) Time (hr)
0 40 80 120 160 0 40 80 120 160 0 40 80 120 160

ie (mm/hr)

ie (mm/hr)

ie (mm/hr)
0 0 0
20 20 20
40 40 40
60 Wu-Tu (TL4) 60 TL5 60 Jen-Shou Bridge (TL7)
80 Sep. 16, 2001 80 Sep. 16, 2001 80 Sep. 16, 2001
o Recorded Simulated o Recorded
2500 Simulated 2500 2500 Simulated

2000 2000 2000

Q (cms)
Q (cms)

1500

Q (cms)
1500 1500

1000 1000 1000

500 500 500

0 0 0
0 40 80 120 160 0 40 80 120 160 0 40 80 120 160
Time (hr) Time (hr) Time (hr)
(a) TL4 (Wu-Tu gauging station) (b) TL5 (c) TL7 (Jui-Fang gauging station)

Figure 3. Simulated hydrographs of typhoon Nari at the target locations No. 3, 5, and 7.

simulated inundation area

recorded inundation area

study watershed boundary

TL5 TL7 channel network

TL3 TL6
target location
TL4
TL1 TL2

Figure 4. Simulated inundation extent of typhoon Nari at 2:00 on 17 Sep. 2001.

discharge at Wu-Tu was 2050 m3 /s, which corresponded to an 80-yr return period. In this study,
we focused on analyzing the inundation extent along the channel reach between Jui-Fang and
the Na-Hu Bridge (see Fig. 2). Cross-sectional data were collected for the study channel reach.
The HEC-RAS unsteady-flow routing model was performed to obtain the Manning’s roughness
coefficients for each channel section. Flow hydrographs of previous storm events at Jui-Fang and
Wu-Tu were used as the upstream and downstream boundary conditions, respectively. Fifteen high
water marks along the study channel reach were used as auxiliary data to calibrate the Manning’s
roughness coefficients at different channel sections.
Seven target locations were assigned to the channel reach from Jui-Fang (upstream) to the Na-Hu
Bridge (downstream) to separate the 33 km of channel reach into six segments for the quasi-steady
flow routing. As shown in Figure 2, TL1 is the Na-Hu Bridge, TL4 is the Wu-Tu flow gauging
station, and TL7 is the Jui-Fang flow gauging station. The temporal discharge from each target
location was estimated using the GIUH model while the real-time rainfall data were received
through electronic transmission systems from the three rainfall gauging stations. The quasi-steady
channel flow routings in the six channel segments were performed using the HEC-RAS model, to
obtain the water stage for each cross section. The inundation extent was then determined using the
inundation delineation algorithms proposed in this study.
The simulated hydrographs for typhoon Nari at TL4, TL5, and TL7 are shown in Figure 3. Since
TL4 is the Wu-Tu gauging station and TL7 is the Jui-Fang gauging station, the Figures also show

1581
the measured discharge hydrographs. The simulated hydrographs using the GIUH model show
good agreement with the recorded hydrographs. The temporal inundation extent in the basin was
estimated using the algorithm provided by this study. Figure 4 shows the simulated inundation
extent from typhoon Nari at 2:00 on 17 September 2001. At that time, the water stage measured
at the Wu-Tu gauging station (TL4) reached the highest value. The dashed lines in Figure 4 are
the postflood investigation data for the inundation extent boundary measured by the 10th River
Management Bureau (ROC). The deviation between the estimated and measured inundation extents
was considered acceptable for this typhoon.

5 CONCLUSION

We adopted a simpler approach to delineate flooded area for the flood warning system instead of
using a time-consuming numerical algorithm for inundation extent simulation. The GIUH model
associated with a quasi-steady non-uniform channel flow routing technique demonstrated that
a precise, numerically stable approximation could be generated for channel-flow routing during
floods. While the channel segment water stage is estimated, the radial searching algorithm provides
simpler inundation delineation for floodplains. The analytical procedure proposed in this study
should be limited to midsize watersheds, in which the IUH hydrologic modeling can be applied
directly. The proposed analytical procedure should be used with caution while the channel storage
effect acts to attenuate the flood wave in a large watershed.

REFERENCES

Carpenter, T. M., Sperfslage, J. A., Georgakakos, K. P., Sweeney, T. & Fread, D. L. 1999. Nation threshold
runoff estimation utilizing GIS in support of operational flash flood warning systems. J. Hydrol. 224: 21–44.
Hydrologic Engineering Center 2002. HEC-RAS River Analysis System, Version 3.1 – User’s Manual.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Lee, K. T. & Yen, B. C. 1997. Geomorphology and kinematic-wave based Hydrograph derivation. J. Hydraul.
Engrg., ASCE 123(1): 73–80.
Noman, N. S., Nelson, E. J. & Zundel, A. K. 2001. Review of automated floodplain delineation from digital
terrain models. J. Water Resour. Planning & Management 127(6): 394–402.
Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. & Valdes, J. B. 1979. The geomorphologic structure of hydrologic response, Water Resour.
Res. 15(6): 1409–1420.
Tate, E. C., Maidment, D. R., Olivera, F. & Anderson, D. J. 2002. Creating a terrain model for floodplain
mapping. J. Hydrol. Engrg., ASCE 7(2): 100–108.

1582
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Hydraulic modelling study for evaluation of the bridge induced

hydro-morphological changes of the Dhaleswari River: A case
study for a Bangladeshi River

M. Mahboob-ul-Kabir, Sarwat Jahan, Jalaluddin Md. Abdul Hye &

Ahmed Abdullah Noor
Institute of Water Modelling, Dhaka, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT: It is an utmost requirement to predict the impact of the construction of a bridge on

the hydro-morphology of a river. Roads and Highways Department of Bangladesh has carried out
a design work for construction of a bridge having length of 521.23 m over the Dhaleswari River,
a distributary of the Brahmaputra–Jamuna River at Elasin in Bangladesh. A hydraulic modelling
study has been carried out by the Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) to evaluate the bridge induced
hydro-morphological changes of the Dhaleswari. In addition, the hydraulic design parameters for
the road bridge are also determined to support the design of the bridge. The modelling software used
for the study are the MIKE 11 and MIKE 21C developed by DHI Water & Environment, Denmark.
The present paper deals with the evaluation of bridge induced hydro-morphological changes of
the river.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Dhaleswari is one of the main distributaries of the mighty Brahmaputra–Jamuna River, one of
the largest rivers of the world. The hydrology and morphology of the Dhaleswari is highly influenced
by a number of spill channels of the Jamuna as well as the highly dynamic intensity of shifting
of the offtake of the Dhaleswari. The proposed 12 spanned 521.23 m long Elasin Bridge would be
located on this river approximately 5.0 km downstream of the confluence of southern Dhaleswari
spill and the Makar khal on the Tangail-Aricha highway. Study area is shown in Figure 1. The
location of the proposed bridge is just at the junction of the two meandering bends.
In the upstream of the bridge site the river is strongly influenced by location of the spill channels
that affect the stability of the river near the project site. Due to the changing tendency of the river
plan-form, high bank erosion is observed at a location approximately 600 m upstream on the right
bank and at 200 m downstream on the left bank from the proposed bridge site.
The construction of the bridge has necessitated to provide the hydraulic design parameters
for the design of the bridge as well as to evaluate the post-project implications on the hydrology
and morphology of the Dhaleswari surrounding the bridge site. The present paper deals with the
evaluation of the impact of the bridge on the hydro-morphology of the Dhaleswari River.

2 APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

Approaches and methods used in this study are based on the existing hydraulic data and information,
necessary additional field data collected by the state-of-the-art hydrographic survey and analysis
of all these data with the help of rational method and state-of-the-art mathematical modelling
technology.

1583
Figure 1. Study area.

The model as mentioned above consists of a suit of one-dimensional and two-dimensional model
developed for the 25 km reach from the offtake to the Jamuna of the Dhaleswari. The data used in
developing the model corresponds to the field survey and measurements in November–December
2002 carried out by IWM. The boundary conditions for different hydrological events have been
derived from the results of the existing North Central Region Model (BWDB 2002). Necessary
hydrodynamic calibration has been done but morphological calibration cannot be done due to data
limitation.
The software used for developing this model was one-dimensional MIKE 11 (Danish Hydraulic
Institute 2000) and two-dimensional MIKE 21C (Danish Hydraulic Institute 1996).

1584
 The bridge location and alignment has been decided by analysing required criteria of selec-
tion like: control section like behaviour, morphological developments, flow distribution and flow
direction across the river section extracted from the model results.
In obtaining the length of the bridge, design hydraulic variables and general scour of the bridge,
mathematical morphological modelling has been applied because of the very dynamic flow condi-
tion varying year to year of the Dhaleswari River. Before the advent of the mathematical modelling
of unsteady flow, regime equations although only applicable for irrigation canals of well main-
tained straight profiles would be popularly used for rivers. The present method uses trial runs of
models to compute the bridge-induced hydro-morphology incorporating the bridge into the model
for different hydrological events. The hydraulic design variables of the proposed Elasin Bridge
have been obtained on the basis of the findings of the baseline condition (without the bridge) and
“with bridge” condition.
River training work has been devised on the basis of results obtained from the modelling of the
meander bends looking at the velocity and bank erosion criteria according to Bank Protection Pilot
Project FAP 21 (WARPO 2001) design manuals.
Impact of the bridge on flood phase has been computed by comparing flood hydrographs in the
upstream of the bridge obtained from the model results of the base line condition and with bridge
condition.

3 DESIGN HYDROLOGY

The design hydrology for the study corresponds to 1 in 100 year flood event for short-term evaluation
and 10 year simulations for long-term evaluation.
Although the Dhaleswari in 1960s would carry maximum flow to the tune of 5000 cumecs, the
present configuration with closing of the northern offtake (upstream of the Jamuna bridge) has so
far registered maximum to the tune of 3400 cumec in 1998 (RHD 2003). By analysing the river
system and using the maximum head water condition at the present offtake the probable design
peak flow for Elasin Bridge has been computed to be 3443 cumec being the 1 in 100 year event,
corresponding to 1988 water level hydrograph at the offtake from the Jamuna. Instead of selecting
a peak figure for design hydrological event, the full hydrograph has been obtained by analysing the
data of the river systems computed with the help of the model.
The long-term hydrological event corresponds to evIn addition, impact has also been evaluated
for long-term development for 10 year hydrological events from the design flood events as applied
for the study for baseline and autonomous development as well as “with bridge” conditions for
predicting the short-term development and long-term development are as follows.

4 EVALUATION OF BRIDGE INDUCED IMPACTS

Bridge induced impacts have been evaluated in the contexts of the changes of the followings:
• Channel migration
• Bank erosion
• Bed degradation
• Flooding
• Flow speed

4.1 Impact on channel migration

The bridge does not have any appreciable impact on the channel migration both for short-term
event and long-term event. Maximum 20 to 30 m migration has been computed near the bridge site
at Bend C for short term as well as long-term event both for baseline and “with bridge” condition.

1585
Figure 2. Channel alignment at the initial and end of the 5th year event near the bridge.

At Bend E appreciable change has been occurred. Figure 2 presents the migration of the channel
for “with bridge” condition.

4.2 Impact on bank erosion

Upstream and downstream from the bridge axis has high tendencies to shift. The bridge point of
the Dhaleswari River works as the point of inflection by which the upstream and downstream bend.
It is seen that the bridge does not directly induce the bank erosion along these locations.
Although a nominal bank erosion is observed at the bridge site for all kind of hydrologic events
within the ranges possible but a considerable amount of erosion is observed on both the banks at few
locations upstream and downstream of the bridge for with and without bridge condition. For without
bridge condition on the left bank the maximum erosion has been computed to be approximately
215 m about 2.5 km upstream of the bridge and 300 m at about 4.5 km downstream of the bridge. On
the right bank no considerable erosion is observed upstream but about 4.5 km downstream around
700 m erosion has been observed. The erosion persists for with bridge condition also but the left
bank downstream erosion has been reduced by 200 m due to the bridge. Figures 3a and 3b present
the left and right bank respectively for without and with bridge condition.

4.3 Bed degradation

At the bridge axis, the bed level degradation is observed approximately in the order of 1 to 2 metres
for short-term event which reaches upto 4.00 m for longer-term event. This magnitude has been
computed comparing the initial cross sectional profile and that for peak and end of the monsoon.
For 1 in 100 year event the maximum degradation has been computed to be 2 m (Figure 4), which
has been filled up by 1 m at the end of monsoon.
Figure 4 presents the bed level corresponding to longer-term event near the bridge axis for with
and without bridge condition at different stages of simulation. The maximum bed degradation for
with bridge condition at the peak and at the end of 5 year has been computed to be approximately
4.00 m. For without bridge condition it is a bit higher than with bridge condition. So, it is seen that
without bridge condition governs the bed degradation. The same amount of maximum degradation
is found for nine year simulation. But at one stage of the simulation the bed degradation ceased
and it begins to upgrade. At the end of the ninth year monsoon the bed level comes at 0.6 mPWD,
which is higher than the minimum bed level of nine year simulation by 0.62 m. So, it can be said that
the bed reaches to its dynamic equilibrium within nine year period and then it begins to upgrade.

1586
 300

275

250 Bend A & B Bend C & D

225
Without Bridge With Bridge
Bank Erosion in meter 200

175

150

125

100
Bridge Line
75

50

25

0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
Dist. in meter

Figure 3a. Left bank erosion for without and “with bridge” condition.

750
700
650
600
550
Bend A & B Without Bridge With Bridge Bend C & D
Bank Erosion in meter

500
450
400
350
300
250
Bridge Line
200
150
100
50
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
Dist. in meter

Figure 3b. Right bank erosion for without and “with bridge” condition.

4.4 Impact on flooding

4.4.1 Impact on flood level
The maximum flood level at the bridge site for 1 in 100 year flood event for without bridge condition
has been computed to be 12.25 mPWD which has been increased to 12.40 mPWD for with bridge
condition.

4.4.2 Backwater effect

The constriction due to piers has added the backwater effect to the river at the upstream from the
bridge for all flood events in the order of approximately 5 to 35 cm. Due to backwater effect,
the sediment transport capacity of the river immediate upstream of the bridge gets retarded and
accumulated at the upstream. Consequently the water surface level gets higher making higher
slope. This ultimately increases the velocity in the downstream of the bridge. Figure 5 shows the
longitudinal water surface profiles for 1 in 100 year flood event (presented for peak and averaged

1587
 12

10
Bed level mPWD

BL: Initial
6
BL: end of 5 year run without
bridge
4 BL: end of 9 year run without
bridge using hot start

BL: min of 9 year run

2
BL: end of 5 year run with
bridge
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Distance m

Figure 4. Bed degradation for different hydrological events.

Figure 5. Backwater effect due to the bridge.

along the cross section from 1.8 km upstream to 1.5 km downstream of the bridge) indicating the
backwater effect.

4.5 Impact on flow speed

Impact of the bridge on the flow speed has been presented in Figure 6. It is seen that the bridge
does not have any appreciable impact on the flow speed and direction near the bridge site. An
appreciable change in speed has been observed at the mid section at Bend D and on the right bank
at Bend E.

5 CONCLUSIONS

A hydraulic model study of the Dhaleswari River, a distributary of the Brahmaputra–Jamuna,

has been carried out in connection with the design of a road bridge on the Dhaleswari River at
Elasin. A two-dimensional morphological model of the concerned reach of the Dhaleswari has been
developed. Necessary boundary conditions have been derived from the existing one-dimensional
NCRM. The modelling software used for the study are MIKE 11 and MIKE 21C of DHI Water &
Environment, Denmark. The design of the bridge has been evaluated in respect of the changes

1588
Figure 6. Impact of the bridge on the flow speed for 1 in 100 year flood.

of the hydro-morphological characteristics of channel migration, bank erosion, bed degradation,

flooding situation, flow speed and distribution.
The developed model has been calibrated hydrodynamically, but morphological calibration
cannot be done due to data limitation.

REFERENCES

Bangladesh Water Development Board. 2002. Updating and Validation of General and Six Regional Models,
Validation Report: 2000–01, Volume V.
Danish Hydraulic Institute. 1996. MIKE 21C Curvilinear, Version 1.0, Users Guide and Scientific
Documentation.
DHI Water & Environment. 2000. MIKE 11 A Modelling System for Rivers and Channels. User Guide
Volume I & II.
Roads & Highways Department. 2003. Hydrological and Hydro-morphological Study. Construction of the
Proposed Elasin Bridge over the Dhaleswari on the Aricha-Dawlatpur-Tangail-Nagarpur Highway, Final
Report, Volume I.
Water Resources Planning Organisation. Bank Protection Pilot Project FAP 21 Flood Action Plan. 2001.
Guidelines and Design Manual for Standardized Bank Protection Structures.

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 6 Open channel flow

6.1 Open channel flow – I

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

3-D velocity measurements in transition region from straight to

meandering open-channel flow with floodplains

I. Nezu
Professor, Dept. of Civil Eng., Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

M. Sanjou
Research Associate, Dept. of Civil Eng., Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

H. Wakamoto
Osaka Prefectural Government, Osaka, Japan

T. Doi
Graduate Student, Dept. of Civil Eng., Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

ABSTRACT: In the present study, we highlighted a transition region from the straight to meander-
ing compound free-surface flows, in which coherent structures of horizontal vortices may be
changed due to the space-time variations of streamwise velocity. So, 3-D velocity measurements
were conducted by using 3-D electromagnetic velocimetry. The bed-shear stress, secondary cur-
rents, and Reynolds stress distributions were investigated in meandering compound open-channel
flows.

1 INTRODUCTION

At high discharge stages in actual rivers, there are two-stage flows that consist of the inbank and
overbank regions. These compound open-channel flows have significant differences in streamwise
velocity between the main-channel and floodplains, and thus the transverse momentum exchanges
are promoted strongly near the junction region. Furthermore, large-scale horizontal vortices are
generated near the junction due to an inflectional instability of the spanwise distribution of velocity,
and they have significant influences on hydrodynamic characteristics in such two-stage free-surface
flows. Therefore, a lot of experimental and numerical studies have been conducted in straight
compound open-channel flows. For example, Tominaga & Nezu (1991) have conducted some tur-
bulence measurements in compound open-channel flows with a laser Doppler anemometer (LDA),
and they revealed the distributions of streamwise velocity and secondary currents. Sofialidis &
Prinos (1999) have developed a non-linear and low-Reynolds-number type turbulence model to
compute compound open-channel flows.
Fukuoka et al. (1997) conducted 3-D measurements in a large-scale two-stage laboratory flume
with meandering zone, and they examined the growth and decay processes of secondary currents.
Shiono & Muto (1998) have conducted some turbulence measurements in a meandering compound
open-channel flow with LDA, and they revealed the distributions of secondary currents, primary
velocity and turbulence in the fully-developed bend region. However, detailed information about the
channel-transition effects from the straight to meandering sections is not yet available in meandering
compound open-channel flows.
In the present study, we highlighted the transition region from the straight to meandering
compound open-channel flows, in which turbulence characteristics are changed significantly,
and conducted turbulence measurements in these complex flows by using 3-D electromagnetic

1593
velocimetry (EMV). As the results, some significant findings were obtained about bed-shear stress,
secondary currents and momentum exchanges.

2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

2.1 Experimental setup

Figure 1 shows the coordinate system in the present study. The streamwise flow shape of the main-
channel is defined as a sine curve, i.e., the sine-generated curve. Velocity measurements were
conducted at five sections, whose streamwise positions are given as a function of φ, in which φ is
a phase angle of the sine curve (Fig. 1). y and z are the vertical and spanwise directions; y = 0 is
on the main-channel bottom-bed and z = 0 at the left-side bank of the floodplain. z  is the spanwise
coordinate across the main-channel, and z  = 0 is at the junction position between the main-channel
and left-side floodplain. 3-D components of velocities were measured by two sets of EMV using the
I-type and L-type 4 mm diameter probes. In this study, U , V and W are the time-averaged velocity
components in the streamwise (x), vertical (y) and spanwise (z) directions, respectively. u, v and w
are the corresponding turbulent fluctuations.

2.2 Hydraulic condition

We measured one hydraulic case of the meandering overbank flow. Table 1 shows the hydraulic
condition, in which D is the floodplain height, Bm , Bf 1 and Bf 2 are the main-channel, left-side
floodplain and right-side floodplain widths, respectively. H is the main-channel depth, s is the
of the main-channel, Um is the bulk-mean velocity and Fr is the Froude number, i.e.,
sinuosity √
Fr ≡ Um / gH .

φ = 0° φ = 90° φ = 180° φ = 270° φ = 360°

Flow
x
0 H
Bf1 D 0
0 0
Bm
z' 0 z'
0
z'
1m
0
z' z'
Bf2
z'

z 0
y
2m

Figure 1. Coordinate system.

Table 1. Hydraulic condition.

D (cm) Bm (cm) Bf 1 (cm) Bf 2 (cm) H (cm) H/D s Um (cm/s) Fr

5.0 20.0 20.0 60.0 7.0 1.4 1.09 25.0 0.3

1594
3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

3.1 Profiles of secondary currents

Figure 2 shows the distributions of secondary currents at the typical straight and bend sections of
φ = 0◦ , 90◦ , 180◦ , 270◦ and 360◦ . At the straight section of φ = 0◦ , there are small downward flows
which generate the velocity-dip phenomena in the main-channel center of z  /Bm = 0.5. At φ = 90◦
which is the cross section between both the inbank and overbank flows, a strong eddy structure is
observed and it may be generated by high-speed overbank flows. Of particular significance is that
the inbank secondary flows are convected toward the overbank region. At φ = 180◦ , which is the
apex section of bend, there is a counter clockwise eddy which has the same rotating direction as that
of φ = 90◦ . This direction is contrary to that of secondary currents generated by centrifugal force
observed in bend channels with no overbank flow. It is therefore considered that these properties of
secondary currents are peculiar to the meandering compound open-channel flows. At the cross sec-
tion of φ = 270◦ , there is also secondary flow which has counter rotation to that observed at φ = 90◦ ,
and it is found that this eddy developed in the streamwise direction and became largest at φ = 360◦ .

3.2 Distributions of vertical velocity component

Figure 3 shows the spanwise profiles of vertical velocity component V (z  ) at the floodplain height
of y/D = 1.0 in the case of φ = 180◦ , 270◦ and 360◦ . The values of V are normalized by Um . This

Left-side Floodplain Main-channel Right-side Floodplain

(a) φ = 0° 1.6 0.6Umax

1.4
1.2
1.0
y / D 0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

(b) φ = 90° 1.6 0.6Umax

1.4
1.2
1.0
y / D 0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

(c) φ = 180° 1.6 0.6Umax

1.4
1.2
1.0
y / D 0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

(d) φ = 270° 0.6Umax

1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
y / D 0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

(e) φ = 360° 1.6 0.6Umax

1.4
1.2
1.0
y / D 0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
z' Bm

Figure 2. Secondary currents.

1595
 0.3
(a) φ = 180°
inside outside
0.2
0.1
0.0
V Um
-0.1
-0.2 present
-0.3 Shiono & Muto
-0.4
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
z' Bm

0.3 (b) φ = 270°

0.2
0.1
0.0
V Um
-0.1
-0.2 present
-0.3 Shiono & Muto
-0.4
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
z' Bm

0.3 (c) φ = 360°

outside inside
0.2
0.1
0.0
V Um
-0.1
-0.2 present
-0.3 Shiono & Muto
-0.4
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
z' Bm

Figure 3. Distributions of vertical velocity.

Figure includes the results of fully-developed meandering compound flows measured by Shiono
& Muto (1998). It is found from Figure 3 (a) and (c) that down flows (V < 0) appear in the inside
of bend, i.e., z  /Bm = 1.0 for φ = 360◦ , whereas upward flows appear in the outside of bend for
z  /Bm = 1.0 for φ = 180◦ and z /Bm = 0.0 for φ = 360◦ . These properties are due to secondary
currents shown in Fig. 2. At φ = 180◦ , the present data near the inside of bend, i.e., z  /Bm = 0.0 are
smaller than the data of Shiono & Muto. This is because the effects of straight main-channel flow
may be convected yet in the downstream. At φ = 360◦ , the negative region is observed near the inside
of bend, which are consisted with fully-developed meandering data of Shiono & Muto. At φ = 270◦ ,
the vertical velocity V becomes negative value near the z  /Bm = 0.3 due to the secondary currents.

3.3 Distributions of depth-averaged velocity

Figures 4 (a) and (b) show the horizontal distributions of depth-averaged primary velocity, in which
U m and U f are the depth-averaged velocities of inbank and overbank regions, respectively. These
values are normalized by the maximum value, U m,max and U f ,max , at φ = 0◦ phase. This figure also
indicates the results of the fully-developed meandering compound open-channel flow measured
by Fukuoka et al. (1997). In the inbank of y/D ≤ 1.0, the present data becomes largest near the
main-channel center at the straight section of φ = 0◦ . At the cross section of φ = 90◦ , the maximum
velocity region is observed near the boundary between main-channel and left-side floodplain. This
may be because the high-speed fluid at the upstream straight section inrushed into the inbank. At
the apex bend section of φ = 180◦ and 360◦ , the streamwise velocity is larger in the inside than in
the outside of the bend. This property was also obtained by Fukuoka et al. (1997).

1596
 (a) Inbank flow (y/D  1.0)

φ = 0° φ = 90° φ = 180° φ = 270° φ = 360°

Um /Um,max (φ = 0°) Flow

Left-Floodplain Bf1

Main-channel Bm

Right-Floodplain Bf2

1.0

(b) Overbank flow (y / D  1.0)

φ = 0° φ = 90° φ = 180° φ = 270° φ = 360°

Uf /Uf,max (φ = 0°)
Flow

Left-Floodplain Bf1

Main-channel Bm

Right-Floodplain Bf2

present data (H / D =1.4)

1.0
Fukuoka et al. (H / D =1.45)

Figure 4. Distributions of depth-averaged velocity.

In the overbank of y/D > 1.0, the velocity gradient ∂U/∂z becomes larger in the main-channel
at φ = 90◦ . At the apex bend section of 360◦ , the streamwise velocity is larger in the main-channel
than over floodplains. The distributions in fully-developed meandering case are almost same
between φ = 0◦ and φ = 360◦ , i.e., due to the cyclic condition, whereas some significance dif-
ferences are observed between φ = 0◦ and φ = 360◦ in the present straight-meandering data due to
the channel-transition effects.

3.4 Bed-shear stress

Figure 5 shows the spanwise distributions of bed-shear stress τw ≡ ρU∗2 at the straight channel
section, i.e., φ = 0◦ , and at the meandering section, φ = 90◦ . U∗ is the friction velocity and it was
evaluated from the following log-law.

1597
 (a) φ = 0° (b) φ = 90°
τw/τw(φ = 0°) τw/τw(φ = 0°)
2.0 2.0 FPL MC FPR

1.5 1.5

1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5
junction

0.0 0.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0
z / Bm z / Bm

Figure 5. Spanwise distributions of bed-shear stress.

(a) φ = 0° (b) φ = 90°

uw U2 uw U2
* *
2.0 2.0
Main-channel region Over-bank region
1.0 1.0

0.0 0.0

-1.0 -1.0
left-side junction (z' / B = 0.05) left-side junction (z' / B = 0.05)
-2.0 -2.0
right-side junction (z' / B = 0.95) y/D right-side junction (z' / B = 0.95) y/D
-3.0 -3.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4

Figure 6. Distributions of spanwise Reynolds stress.

in which κ and A are the von Karman constant and the integral constant. In this study, we used
the values of open-channel flows proposed by Nezu & Rodi (1986), i.e., κ = 0.412 and A = 5.29.
The bed-shear stress was normalized by the spanwise-averaged value τw (φ = 0◦ ) at φ = 0◦ . In
Figure 5, FPL , MC and FPR mean the left-side floodplain, main-channel and right-side floodplain,
respectively. At the straight section of φ = 0◦ , the value of τw is, of course, larger in the main-
channel than on the floodplains, and these data coincide well with many previous studies, e.g.,
Tominaga & Nezu (1991)’s data. On the other hand, in the bend region (φ = 90◦ ), the value of
left-side floodplain became larger than that of the main-channel. This is because the inbank flows
run upon the left-side floodplains as seen in Figure 2 (b).

3.5 Distributions of Reynolds stress

Figure 6 shows the vertical profiles of the spanwise Reynolds stress – uw at the left-side junction
of z  /B = 0.05 and at the right-side junction of z /B = 0.95 in the case of both straight φ = 0◦ and
cross φ = 90◦ sections. These values are normalized by the friction velocity U∗ . At the φ = 0◦
section, the value of – uw becomes larger near both of the junctions in the overbank region. This
suggests that there are a pair of counter-rotating horizontal eddies as observed by Ikeda & Kuga
(1997) and Nadaoka & Yagi (1998) in compound channels with both floodplains. At the φ = 90◦
section, – uw becomes smaller than that of φ = 0◦ in the overbank region and thus it is suggested
that the structure of horizontal eddies may be changed at the bend section.

1598
4 CONCLUSIONS

In this study, turbulence measurements for 3-D velocity components were conducted in compound
open-channel flows including the transition section from the straight to meandering channels. The
main findings are as follows:
1. At the cross section of inbank flow and overbank flow, secondary currents are generated due to
the strong vortex-stretching effects. These currents develop in the downstream direction along
the bend, and consequently, the eddy diameter becomes almost equal to the main-channel width.
2. The secondary currents observed in meandering compound open-channel flows have counter
rotation to those observed in meandering rectangular that are caused by the centrifugal force.
3. At the meandering section, the primary velocity becomes larger near the inside than the outside
of bend. This is because the secondary currents transport high-speed fluid from the outside
toward inside region.
4. The bed-shear stress was evaluated from the log-law. It is larger in main-channel than on flood-
plains at the straight section. In contrast, at the bending section, the bed-shear stress in the
main-channel becomes larger in the inside than in the outside of the bending channel.
5. The typical distribution of spanwise Reynolds stress at the straight section was also observed.
This means the existence of a pair of horizontal vortices. The distributions of spanwise Reynolds
stress are quite different between the straight and meandering sections, and it is suggested that
the structure of horizontal eddies is significantly influenced by the transition from the straight
to meandering channels.

REFERENCES

Fukuoka, S., Ohgushi, H., Kimura, D. and Hirao, S. (1997): Hydraulic characteristics of the flood flow in a
compound meandering channel, J. of Hydraulic, Coastal and Envir. Eng., JSCE, No.579/II-41, pp.83–92,
(in Japanese).
Ikeda, S. and Kuga, T. (1997): Laboratory study on large horizontal vortices in compound open channel flow,
J. of Hydraulic, Coastal and Envir. Eng., JSCE, No.558/II-38, pp.91–102, (in Japanese).
Nadaoka, K. and Yagi, H. (1998): Shallow-water turbulence modeling and horizontal large eddy computation
of river flow, J. of Hydraulic Eng., ASCE, Vol.124, No.5, pp.493–500.
Nezu, I. and Rodi, W. (1986): Open-channel flow measurements with a laser Doppler anemometers, J. of
Hydraulic Eng., ASCE, Vol.112, pp.335–355.
Shiono, K. and Muto, Y. (1998): Complex flow mechanisms in compound meandering channels with overbank
flow, J. of Fluid Mech., Vol.376, pp.221–261.
Sofialidis, D. and Prinos, P. (1999): Numerical study of momentum exchange in compound open channel flow,
J. of Hydraulic Eng., ASCE, Vol.125, pp.152–165.
Tominaga, A. and Nezu, I. (1991): Turbulent structures in compound open-channel flow, J. of Hydraulic Eng.,
ASCE, Vol.117, pp.21–41.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

LES numerical calculation of a groin in open-channel flow

Masashi Yano
Ph.D. student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

Iehisa Nezu
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Earth Resources Engineering, Kyoto University

ABSTRACT: In this study, a numerical calculation in and around a groin in open-channel flow
was carried out by LES (large eddy simulation). The hydraulic condition was as follows: the Froude
number was set to 0.27 and the aspect ratio of groin (streamwise length of the groin/spanwise length
of the groin) was set to 2.0. For free-surface condition, the VOF (Volume of Fluid) method was
adopted. For comparison with the present calculation, PIV measurements were conducted on the
same hydraulic condition. The computational results were in good agreements with the experimental
ones. In the present study, the coherent horizontal vortices appeared along the interface between the
main-channel and the groin, and were coincident with the results obtained by PIV measurements.
The velocity and turbulence properties were compared with these experimental data.

1 INTRODUCTION

Recently, the groin hydraulics have highlighted great public and civilian attentions from a point
of view not only in river engineering but also in water environment, because the groin water front
offers a comfortable environment to aquatic animals and plants as well as human beings in eco-
systems. At present, some artificially-made groins have been constructed in rivers for purposes
of the maintenance of river environment. Therefore, it is quite important to investigate such groin
hydraulics.
One of the most important fluid phenomena in and around the groin flow is a generation of
coherent vortex caused by the Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) instability between the main-channel and
the groin. Rockwell & Knisely (1980, 1982) conducted turbulence measurements in vertical cavity
flow by using a hot-film anemometer and flow visualizations. As the results, they found that
the collision point of coherent vortices at downstream cavity wall was changed periodically. On
the other hand, Kimura & Hosoda (1997) conducted the depth-averaged numerical calculations
using the 0-equation model in side-cavity flow and suggested a relation between the coherent
vortex and water fluctuations. Nezu & Onitsuka (2002a & b) have measured turbulent structures
in side-cavity using LDA and PIV, respectively. They clarified that when the aspect ratio of side-
cavity increased, the unsteadiness of the flow and the instability in side-cavity became lager due
to an appearance of reattachment property. Onitsuka et al. (2003) have tried to calculate 3-D flow
structures in side-cavity by LES. They reproduced 3-D structure of the mean flow and turbulence
characteristics.
As mentioned above, a lot of experimental and numerical investigations on turbulent structures
in groins have been conducted. However, in 3-D numerical calculation of side-cavity flow, there
are little investigations including the effects of water surface fluctuations. In the side-cavity flow,
the water surface fluctuations may play an important role on coherent vortices and seiche wave
motions. Because various coherent vortices are generated in the interface between the main-channel
and side-cavity, an LES is very suitable to reproduce incorporated with instantaneous 3-D turbulent

1601
structure. Therefore, in this study, some numerical calculations by LES water surface fluctuations
were conducted.

2 NUMERICAL METHOD

The filtered continuity equation and Navier-Stokes equation are described by:

in which, the over bar − denotes the filtered value, ui is the velocity component in the i direction
( i = 1,2 and 3). x1 is the streamwise, x2 is the vertical and x3 is the spanwise directions. p is the
filtered pressure, Fi is the gravitational term, and k = ui uj /2 is the turbulent kinetic energy in the
SGS (sub-grid scale). The SGS stress tensor τij is given by:

in which vt is the SGS eddy viscosity. In this study, vt was calculated by the following one-equation
model.

in which,

Cv , σk and Cε are the model constants and they were chosen Cv = 0.1, σk = 0.5 and Cε = 1.0 that
were used by Onitsuka et al. (2003).
The 5th-order upwind differentiation scheme was used for the spatial convection term. On the
other hand, the second-order central differentiation scheme was used for the other spatial terms.
For the time differentiation, the second-order Adams-Bashforth method was adopted. The Poisson
equation for solving the pressure was calculated by using the conjugate residual method.

1602
 Table 1. Hydraulic condition.

L Bw B H Umax
(cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm/sec) Fr

Calculation (LES) 20.0 10.0 20.0 3.0 14.4 0.27

Experiment (PIV) 20.0 10.0 20.0 3.0 14.6 0.27

For water surface condition, the VOF method (Hirt & Nichols, 1981) was adopted in this study.
Then, the transport equation of a scalar value φ on water surface condition is given by

To calculate (11), a donor accepter method was used.

3 HYDRAULIC CONDITION

The hydraulic condition in the present calculation is indicated in Table 1, together with that
 of PIV
measurements. H is the time-averaged flow depth, B is the channel width, Fr≡Umax / gh is the
Froude number and Umax is the maximum velocity in the main channel flow. L is the streamwise
length of groin, Bw is the spanwise length of groin and the groin aspect ratio of L/Bw was fixed to 2.0.
x, y and z are the streamwise, vertical and spanwise coordinates, respectively. The, u , v and w
are the turbulence intensities in the x, y and z directions and U , V and W are the corresponding
time-averaged velocity components. The number of computational grids in the groin was chosen as
80, 30 and 40 in the x, y and z directions, respectively. The streamwise length of the upstream reach
from the groin was L, whereas that of the downstream reach from the groin was 2L. The boundary
conditions are as follows: the non-slip at the side and bed walls and the cyclic boundary conditions
at the entrance and exit of the calculating volume. The turbulence statistics were calculated during
30,000 time steps after 600,000 time steps.

4 RESULTS

4.1 Velocity profiles

4.1.1 Time-averaged velocity
Figures 1(a) and (b) show the time-averaged horizontal velocity vectors at half depth (y/H = 0.5).
(a) is the experimental results, whereas (b) is the calculated ones. A horizontal large-scale vortex is
observed clearly in both calculation and experiment. The patterns of the horizontal vortex obtained
from the calculation are very similar to those obtained from the experiment. A generation of
secondary vortex is observed at x/Bw ≈ 0.3 and z/Bw ≈ 0.3, which is in good agreement with PIV
measurements.
Figure 2 shows the variations of the velocity profiles of U /Umax in the downstream direction
(x/L = 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, 1.5 and 1.8). The solid curves are the calculation results by LES and
the plots are the measured data obtained by PIV. Although there are some discrepancies near the
interface between the groin and main-channel, the LES results are in good agreement with PIV
data. Of particular significance is the reproduction of a reverse flow in groin, which simulates a
large-scale vortex as seen in Fig. 1.

4.1.2 Instantaneous velocity

Figures 3(a) and (b) show the instantaneous velocity vector (u, w), at half depth y/H = 0.5, which
were obtained from PIV measurements and LES calculations. Along the interface between the

1603
 (a) Experiment (PIV) (b) Calculation (LES)
2.0 2.0
Experiment (PIV) Umax Calculation (LES) Umax

1.5 1.5
z/Bw

z/Bw
1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw

Figure 1. Time-averaged vectors (U /Umax , W /Umax ).

x/Bw=0.3 0.6 0.9 1.2 1.5 1.8

2.0
Calculation (LES)
Experiment (PIV)
1.5
z/Bw

1.0

0.5

0.0
-2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
U/Umax

Figure 2. Velocity distributions in the spanwise direction.

main-channel and groin, coherent vortices are generated periodically due to the K-H instability.
Such important processes of vortex generation were simulated reasonably by the present LES. The
collision points of the large-scale coherent vortex to PIV the downstream wall of the groin were
fluctuated periodically, the phenomena of which were observed by Knisely & Rockwell (1982).
The results obtained from both LES and PIV show that coherent vortices are developed in the
downstream direction and play an important role on turbulent mixing phenomena between the
main-channel and groin.

4.2 Water surface profiles

4.2.1 Time-averaged water-depth profiles
Figure 4 shows the contour lines of the time-averaged water depth h normalized by the initially
space-averaged water depth H . The variations of h/H were not observed significantly because
the present Froude number was relatively low. However, it should be noted that some water-level
increases occur around the downstream corner, whereas some decreases occur around the upstream
corner. These phenomena may be caused by the interaction between the main-channel flow and
groin, in which coherent vortices collided with the downstream corner wall.

4.2.2 RMS values of the water surface fluctuations

Figure 5 shows the contour lines of the RMS values h of the water surface fluctuations normalized
by H . Although no existing measured data of the water surface fluctuations are available at present,

1604
 (a) Experiment (PIV)
t=0.00 (sec) t=0.33 (sec) t=0.66 (sec)
2.0 2.0 2.0
Experiment (PIV) Umax Experiment (PIV) Umax Experiment (PIV) Umax

1.5 1.5 1.5

z/Bw

z/Bw

z/Bw
1.0 1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw

(b) Calculation (LES)

t=0.00 (sec) t=0.33 (sec) t=0.66 (sec)
2.0 z 2.0 z U 2.0
Calculation (LES) Umax Calculation (LES) max
Calculation (LES) Umax

1.5 1.5 1.5

z/Bw

z/Bw

z/Bw
1.0 1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw

Figure 3. Instantaneous velocity vectors (u/Umax , w/Umax ).

2.0
Calculation (LES) h H

1.01
1.5 1.00
z/Bw

1.0

0.99
0.5
1.02

0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw

Figure 4. Time-averaged flow-depth contours.

the present LES involved with VOF can predict such properties. Of particular significance is
that minimum zones of water-surface fluctuations appear in the middle of groin, which infers a
possibility of seiche wave fluctuations.

4.3 Turbulence characteristics

Figures 6(a), (b) and Figs. 7(a), (b) show the contour lines of the streamwise and spanwise turbulence
intensities u and w at the half depth y/H = 0.5, respectively. The values of u /Umax and w /Umax
increase in the downstream direction along the interface, in which coherent horizontal vortices
were generated as seen in Fig. 3. These patterns of u /Umax and w /Umax obtained from the LES

1605
 2.0
Calculation (LES) h ' H xh10' 3 H

1.5
4.0
0.04 4.0
0.04
3.0

z/Bw
0.03
1.0
0.05
5.0

6.0
0.06 2.0
0.02
0.5
5.0
0.05
6.0
0.06

0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw

Figure 5. RMS values of the water surface fluctuations.

(a) Experiment (PIV) (b) Calculation (LES)

2.0 2.0
u'/Umax u'/Umax

1.5 1.5
0.08 0.10
0.12
z/Bw

z/Bw
0.12
1.0 1.0 0.08
0.10 0.04 0.06

0.5 0.5
0.06 0.04
0.06
0.02

0.0 0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw

Figure 6. Streamwise turbulence intensity (u /Umax ).

(a) Experiment (PIV) (b) Calculation (LES)

2.0 2.0
w'/Umax
w'/Umax

1.5 0.06
1.5
0.08
0.08
z/Bw

0.10
z/Bw

1.0 0.12 1.0 0.10

0.04
0.06
0.5 0.5
0.04 0.02

0.0 0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw

Figure 7. Spanwise turbulence intensity (w  /Umax ).

calculation are coincident with those obtained from PIV measurements. The maximum value of
u /Umax appears at the upstream region of the interface, whereas that of w /Umax appears at the
downstream region of the interface.
Figures 8 (a) and (b) show the contour lines of the spanwise Reynolds stress −uw at half depth
2
normalized by Umax , which were obtained from the experiment and calculation. The values of
−uw/Umax were multiplied by 103 in Fig. 8. It can be seen that the spanwise thickness of the shear
2

layer increases in the downstream direction about both of experiment and calculation.

1606
 (a) Experiment (PIV) (b) Calculation (LES)
2.0 2.0
2 2
uw/U max uw/U max

1.5 1.5
2.00 2.00
4.00
z/Bw
8.00

z/Bw
6.00
1.0 4.00
1.0 8.00 6.00

0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw

2 × 103 ).
Figure 8. Reynolds stress (−uw/Umax

(a) Experiment (PIV) (b) Calculation (LES)

2.0 2.0
2
2
k Umax x 103 k Umax x 103

1.5 1.5
9.00

z/Bw
21.00
z/Bw

1.0 1.0 15.00

9.00
15.00

0.5 0.5
3.00
3.00

0.0 0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw

2 × 103 ).
Figure 9. Turbulent kinetic energy (k/Umax

Figures 9(a) and (b) show the contour lines of the kinetic turbulent energy k, which is defined
as follow:

2
The values of k were normalized by Umax . The maximum value of k for both the calculation and
experiment appears a little downstream position from that of the Reynolds stress. This suggests
that the turbulent energy generation is larger than its dissipation in upstream groin and turbulent
energy is convected downstream.

5 CONCLUSIONS

(1) A horizontal large-scale vortex is observed clearly in both the LES calculation and PIV meas-
urements. The patterns of the horizontal vortex obtained from the calculation were similar to
those obtained from the measurements.
(2) At the interface between the main-channel and groin, coherent vortices were generated Peri-
odically, due to the K-H instability. The present LES can simulate, such important phenomena
reasonably.
(3) Some water-level increases appear around the downstream corner, whereas, some decreases
appear around the upstream corner.

1607
(4) The values of turbulence characteristics increase in the downstream direction along the inter-
face, in which coherent horizontal vortices were generated by the K-H instability. These patterns
of turbulence obtained from the present LES are similar to those obtained from the experiment.

REFERENCES

Hirt, C.W. and Nichols, B.D. (1981): Volume of Fluid (VOF) method for the dynamics of free boundaries,
J. of Comput. Phys., 39, 201–225.
Kimura, I. and Hosoda, T.: Fundamental properties of flows in open channels with dead zone, J. of Hydraulic
Eng., vol. 123, pp. 98–107, 1997.
Knisely, C. and Rockwell, D. (1982): Self sustained low frequency components in an impinging shear layer,
J. Fluid Mech., Vol. 116, pp. 157–186.
Nezu, I. and Onitsuka, K. (2002a): LDA measurements of side-cavity open-channel flow; Wando models in
rivers, Fluid Modeling & Turbulence Measurements (eds. Ninokata et al), World Scientific, pp. 169–176.
Nezu, I. and Onitsuka, K. (2002b): PIV measurements of side-cavity open-channel flow; Wando models in
rivers, Journal of Visualization, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 77–84.
Onitsuka, K., Ura, M., Akiyama, J. and Nezu, I. (2003): Investigation on 3-D structure in side-cavity open-
channel flow by LES, Proc. of 3rd Int. Symp. on Turbulence and Shear Flow Phenomena, Sendai, Japan,
Vol. 1, pp. 437–442.
Rockwell, D. and Knisely, C. (1980): Observations of the three dimensional nature of unstable flow past a
cavity, Phys. Fluid, Vol. 23, pp. 425–431.

1608
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Investigation of generation mechanism of secondary flows in the

open-channel flow using DNS data

S.-U. Choi
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea

Y. Joung
Department of Civil Engineering, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea

ABSTRACT: The present paper investigates the mechanism how the secondary flows generate
in the turbulent open-channel flow. For this, a DNS is performed for the flows at low Reynolds
numbers of 2770 and 4160 (based on the bulk velocity and water depth). Using the DNS data,
detailed mean flow and turbulence structures are given. In the time-averaged velocity fields, the
inner secondary flows at the upper edge of the channel are observed as in Broglia et al. (2003) and the
simulated vortical structure appears to be different from that of the duct flow. The Reynolds number
impact is also investigated. The surface normal distributions of the Reynolds stress components are
provided and discussed. It is shown that the secondary flows affect the Reynolds stress distribution
significantly. Through the quadrant analysis, it is shown that sweep events are dominant near the
bottom and free surface due to the secondary flows. It is also attempted to demonstrate the flow
pattern of the secondary flows using the conditional quadrant analysis.

1 INTRODUCTION

Secondary flows observed in a straight open-channel are generated by the anisotropy of turbulence.
These flows are Prandtl’s secondary flows of the second kind. Although the secondary flows are
of about 2–5% of the bulk streamwise velocity in magnitude, they affect the mean flow, turbulent
structures, and transport of passive scalars such as suspended sediment (Demuren, 1990). Since the
secondary flows in open-channel flows are important in engineering practices, laboratory studies
or numerical simulations have been performed (Nezu and Rodi, 1985; Tominaga et al., 1989;
Cokljat and Younis, 1995; Shi et al., 1999). Previous studies revealed that the secondary flows
in the open-channel are comprised of two large vortices, namely the free-surface vortex and the
bottom vortex.
Recently, Broglia et al. (2003) performed LES of turbulent flows at the bulk Reynolds numbers
of 5571, 9844, and 17130 (based on bulk streamwise velocity and water depth) in an open-channel
with sidewalls. In the simulated results, Broglia et al. could observe both outer and inner secondary
flows. They found that the inner secondary flows convect fluid from the free surface towards the
corner surrounded by the outer secondary flows which convect fluid from the sidewall to the free
surface. Specifically, Broglia et al. revealed that the inner secondary flows affect directly the
distribution of shear stress at the sidewall.
The purpose of the present study was to demonstrate the generating mechanism of the secondary
flows in turbulent open-channel flows. In order to do this, we performed DNS of turbulent flows
at bulk Reynolds numbers of 2770 and 4160 in a channel with a width to depth ratio of unity.
Using the DNS data, detailed distributions of the Reynolds stresses are provided and discussed. A
quadrant analysis was carried out to explain the pattern of the secondary flows. The impact of the
Reynolds number is also discussed on the generation of both outer and inner secondary flows.

1609
 0.02 UB 0.02 UB
1.0 1.0

.2
1.0
0.9 0.9
free surface
0.8 0.8

1.2
0.8

0.8
wall
0.7 0.7
H=1

1.0
0.6 0.6

0.5

z/H

z/H
0.5

0.4
z, w 0.4
1.
0.4
2

H=1

0.6
0.3 0.3

x, u 0.2 0.2

0.4
1.0
1.0 0.1
0.1
0.6 0.8

0 .2
0.6 0.8
0.6
L = 2 0.0
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.4 0.2
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
y/H y/H
y, v (a) Case1 (b) Case2

Figure 1. Schematic diagram. Figure 2. Time-averaged velocity field.

Table 1. Grid properties used in DNS.

Grid spacing (in wall unit)

Number of grids y + z +
Simulation ReB Reτ (x, y, and z) x+ (min–max) (min–max)

Case 1 2770 198 64 × 96 × 96 19.50 0.62–3.46 0.62–3.46

Case 2 4160 292 64 × 96 × 96 28.67 0.91–5.10 0.91–5.10

2 APPLICATIONS

The Navier-Stokes equations are solved using the fully-implicit velocity decoupling procedure in a
channel of 2πH × H × H in the streamwise, transverse, and surface-normal directions, respectively
(see Figure 1). Details of the numerical schemes are descried in Joung et al. (2004b). The domain
in the streamwise direction is long enough to maintain the longest turbulent structure as pointed
out by Broglia et al. (2003). The mesh properties and flow conditions are given in Table 1. All grid
points in the streamwise directions are uniformly distributed, whereas a non-uniform grid is used in
both transverse and surface-normal directions. In the computation, the maximum increment for the
time is tmax = 0.001H/uτ , and the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) number is fixed unity. Mean
and the second order statistics are obtained by averaging the flow fields in time until a statistically
steady state is reached.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Mean flow fields

Figures 2(a) and (b) show the mean velocity field for Case 1 and Case 2, respectively. In the
figures, the contour maps of mean streamwise velocity are presented together with the velocity
vectors of secondary flows normalized by the bulk streamwise velocity. It appears that the secondary
flows are generated at both upper and lower corners. It is also noticeable that the inner secondary
flows at the upper corner are generated in both cases. Near the lower corner, two counter-rotating
secondary flows are observed and they are similar to those observed in turbulent square duct flows
(Joung et al., 2004a). Near the upper corner, two counter-rotating vortices are also observed.

1610
 12 0.5
y/H
0.500 0.0
8 0.236
0.038
-0.5
u2

uv
4
-1.0

0 -1.5
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
z/H z/H
(a) u2 b) uv

0.5 2.0

1.6
0.0
1.2
uw

-0.5

v2
0.8
-1.0 0.4

-1.5 0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
z/ H z/H
(c) uw d) v2
2.0 0.15
1.6 0.10
0.05
1.2
vw

0.00
w2

0.8 -0.05
-0.10
0.4
-0.15
0.0 -0.20
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
z/H z/H
(e) w2 (f ) vw

Figure 3. Surface-normal distributions of Reynolds stresses (Case 2).

However, they are different from those at the lower corner in that the bottom vortices are symmetric
to the corner bisector but the free surface vortices are not. It is seen in Case 1 that the size and the
magnitude of the inner secondary flows are larger than those of the outer secondary flows, which
is contrary to Case 2. This implies that the Reynolds number affects the size of the vortex and the
magnitude of the inner secondary flow vectors.

3.2 Reynolds stresses

Figure 3 presents the surface-normal distributions of the Reynolds stress estimated at three planes
(y/H = 0.038, 0.236, and 0.5) using the DNS data. Through DNS, Joung et al. (2004a) showed
that the secondary flows are generated in the vicinity of the wall where the coherent structures
are dominant and the pattern of secondary flows is determined by the directional tendencies of
these coherent structures. Therefore, in the present paper, the surface-normal distributions of the
Reynolds stress are analyzed in relation with the characteristics of the coherent structures. In
Figure 3(a), the surface normal distributions of the Reynolds stress component u2 are provided.
At the middle plane (y/H = 0.5), the Reynolds stress component shows the maximum at a point
close to the bottom. Then, u2 decreases with the distance from the wall, nearly uniform in the
middle region, and it increases slightly near the free surface. At the plane at y/H = 0.236, it is
seen that the peak of u2 also occurs near the bottom but the peak value appears to be smaller than
that at the middle plane. Then, it decreases with the distance from the bottom and shows nearly
uniform value, which is larger than the one at the middle plane, however. The rate of increase of
u2 near the free surface is observed to be greater than that at the middle plane. At the plane close

1611
to the wall (y/H = 0.038), u2 increases with the distance from the bottom, showing the maximum
value at about z/H = 0.7. Thereafter, it decreases shortly, and it increases near the free surface. The
increasing rate of u2 is larger than that at other planes. This is due to the effect of the secondary
flows generated in the free surface region, which will be discussed with the distribution of v 2 .
Note also that u2 is larger along the boundaries such as the bottom and the sidewall except for the
lower edge, suggesting that the coherent structure is dominant in these regions. Figure 3(b) shows
the surface normal distributions of the Reynolds stress component u v  . At the middle plane, the
Reynolds stress component is zero due to symmetry. At the plane at y/H = 0.236, u v  is positive
due to the bottom vortex towards the center of the channel. Then, it decreases continuously up
to z/H = 0.7, and increases shortly. Thereafter, u v falls in the free surface region, showing the
minimum value. This is due to the outer secondary flows, which transfer low momentum fluids
near the wall to the center of the channel. On the whole, u v is negative except for the region close
to the bottom. At the plane close to the wall, u v  shows the negative value in the entire region.
That is, u v decreases continuously up to z/H = 0.85, which is due to the sweep events induced
by the inner secondary flows. Thereafter, u v increases shortly, and it decreases rapidly in the free
surface region. The rate of decrease of u v  at the plane at y/H = 0.038 in the free surface region
appears to be less than that at y/H = 0.236. This is explained by the fact that the size of the inner
secondary flows is less than the size of the outer secondary flows in Case 2. The surface normal
distributions of the Reynolds stress component u w  are given in Figure 3(c). Both profiles at the
planes at y/H = 0.236 and 0.5 show negative Reynolds stress in the region close to the bottom,
which is related with bottom vortex. It is known that the Reynolds stress component u w  changes
linearly at the middle plane, which is not exactly true in the present DNS data. This seems to be
resulted from the sidewall effect due to low Reynolds number of the flow. The Reynolds stress
component is positive for z/H < 0.6 at the plane at y/H = 0.038, showing two peaks. The positive
Reynolds stress occurs in the region where the clockwise-rotating vortices are made (see Figure 2).
The first peak closer to the bottom and the second peak correspond to the region where upward
sweeps (u > 0, w > 0) and downward ejections (u < 0, w < 0) are dominant, respectively. This
component of the Reynolds stress is negative near the free surface, i.e., z/H < 0.8, which is caused
by the downward sweeps (u > 0, w < 0) due to inner secondary flows. Figure 3(d) shows the
distributions of the Reynolds stress component v2 at three different planes. At the middle plane,
it is seen that the Reynolds stress component increases rapidly with the distance from the bottom,
showing a peak at about z/H = 0.15. Then, v 2 decreases continuously up to z/H = 0.9, and it
increases rapidly in the region close to the free surface. At the plane at y/H = 0.236, v 2 shows a
relatively uniform profile after a sharp increase at the bottom, then it shows a slight decrease and
a steep increase in the region close to the wall unlike the distribution at the middle plane. At the
plane close to the wall (y/H = 0.038), it is seen that v2 is small and uniform compared with the
profiles at the other planes. It is observed that the increase of v 2 near the free surface becomes
smaller as it is close to the sidewall. This is contrary to the case of u2 . It is because both outer
and inner secondary flows contribute to redistributing turbulence near the boundaries (Broglia
et al., 2003). The surface-normal distributions of the Reynolds stress component w 2 are given in
Figure 3(e). At the middle plane, it is seen that w2 rapidly increases, showing the peak at about
z/H = 0.2. Then, w2 decreases gradually, and it is zero at the free surface due to the boundary
condition. At the planes at y/H = 0.236 and 0.038, the Reynolds stress profiles are of a parabolic
shape and the magnitude is larger than that at the middle plane for z/H > 0.3. It is also noticed that
the rate of decrease of w2 is steeper than that at the middle plane. This is because the inner and
outer secondary flows contribute to redistributing turbulence kinetic energy in the vicinity of the
boundary. Figure 3(f) shows the surface-normal distributions of the Reynolds stress component
v w . It appears that the Reynolds stress component is zero due to symmetry at the middle plane. At
the plane at y/H = 0.236, the Reynolds stress is negative and positive for z/H < 0.6 and z/H > 0.6,
respectively. At the plane at y/H = 0.038, the Reynolds stress component shows the negative peak
near the bottom and the positive peak near the free surface. The absolute values of these peaks are

1612
observed to be larger than those at the plane at y/H = 0.236. The negative peak near the bottom
is resulted from strong upward sweeps (u > 0, v < 0, and w > 0) and relatively weak downward
ejections (u < 0, v > 0, and w < 0), which take place consecutively with the distance from the
bottom. Similarly, near the free surface, strong downward sweeps (u > 0, v < 0, and w < 0) and
relatively weak upward ejections (u < 0, v > 0, and w > 0), which occur consecutively with the
distance from the free surface, make the positive peak.

3.3 Quadrant analysis

As discussed, the secondary flows are generated near the upper and lower corners of the chan-
nel, and they affect mean flows and turbulence structures significantly. The secondary flows are
generated in the regions where the coherent structures are dominant, and their pattern is deter-
mined by the directional tendencies of the coherent structures. In order to verify the mechanism
by which the secondary flows are generated, a quadrant analysis is performed. The contributions
of the ejection and sweep events to the production of Reynolds stresses are investigated. In the
following discussion, at the left sidewall, Q2 (ejections) events with negative u and positive v are
bursting phenomena ejecting the low-momentum fluid at the wall into the high-speed core of the
flow. On the contrary, Q4 (sweeps) events with positive u and negative v  are associated with an
invasion of high-momentum fluid towards the wall. In Figure 4, the contributions of each event to
the production of primary Reynolds shear stress (u v ) are presented near the sidewall (y+ ≈ 15).
In both cases, it is seen that u v is negative for almost entire length of the sidewall. This is because
the absolute values of Q2 and Q4 events are larger than those by Q1 and Q3 events. Near the
bottom, sweep (Q4) events are dominant for z/H < 0.24 in Case 1 and for z/H < 0.15 in Case 2,
respectively. This is related to the generation of secondary flows inrushing towards the lower corner
of channel. Near the free surface, sweep (Q4) events are dominant for z/H > 0.9 in Case 1 and for
z/H > 0.95 in Case 2, respectively. The regions correspond to the upper parts of inner secondary
vortex towards the sidewall. In the remaining region, the productions of the Reynolds stress by
ejections (Q2) are larger than those by sweeps, which is related to the generation of secondary
flows ejecting towards the center of channel. In order to investigate the patterns of mean secondary
flows, the conditional quadrant analysis is performed. That is, the directional tendencies (upward
or downward) of sweeps and ejections are investigated near the sidewall (y+ ≈ 15) as shown in
Figure 5. It is seen in Figure 5(a) that the production of the Reynolds stress by the upward sweeps
(u > 0, v < 0, and w > 0) is largest for z/H < 0.25 and the production by downward ejections
(u < 0, v > 0, and w < 0) is dominant for 0.25 < z/H < 0.6. This leads to positive u w  for lower
corner region near the sidewall, i.e., for z/H < 0.6. The results indicate that the clockwise rotating
vortices are generated in this region as seen in Figure 2(a). It is also seen in the figure that the
upward ejections (u < 0, v > 0, and w  > 0) and the downward sweeps (u > 0, v < 0, and w < 0)
are dominant for 0.6 < z/H < 0.9 and for z/H > 0.9, respectively. These results in negative u w for
upper corner region near the sidewall. This makes the counterclockwise-rotating inner secondary
flows generated in this region. In Figure 5(b), it is seen that the upward sweeps and the downward
ejections are dominant for z/H < 0.15 and for 0.15 < z/H < 0.4, respectively. This generates the

0.5 0.5
total Q3
Q1 Q4
Q2
0.0 0.0
uv/ uτ2

uv/uτ2

-0.5 -0.5

-1.0 -1.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
z/H z/H
(a) Case 1 (b) Case 2

Figure 4. Productions of Reynolds stress (u v ) by quadrant analysis.

1613
 0.5 0.5
upward ejections
downward ejections
uv/uτ2

uv/uτ2
upward sweeps
0.0 downward sweeps 0.0

-0.5 -0.5
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
z/H z/H
(a) Case 1 (b) Case 2

Figure 5. Productions of Reynolds stress (u v ) by conditional quadrant analysis.

clockwise rotating vortex for z/H < 0.4. The range of generating vortex indicates the size of the
secondary flows, which is apparently smaller than the size in Case 1. For 0.4 < z/H < 0.8, the pro-
ductions by upward and downward ejections are at a similar level for 0.4 < z/H < 0.8 because the
directional tendencies of the ejection events are weak. Thus, relatively weak vortices are seen in this
region as seen in Figure 2(b). It is also seen that the productions by upward ejections and downward
sweeps are larger for 0.8 < z/H < 0.95 and for z/H > 0.95, respectively. This generates the inner
secondary flows rotating in the counterclockwise direction, the range of which is smaller than that
in Case 1. The flow direction seen in the secondary flow vectors in Figure 2 is opposite to the results
by the conditional quadrant analysis, i.e., the ejection events are heading at the opposite direction.
This inconsistency seems to come from the influences of the productions of the other events.

4 CONCLUSIONS

This paper presented a DNS of turbulent flows in an open-channel with sidewalls. The fully-implicit
velocity decoupling procedures proposed by Kim et al. (2002) were employed for the numerical
analysis. Two flow scenarios at low Reynolds numbers such as 2770 and 4160, based on the
bulk velocity and water depth, were simulated in a channel of the depth-to-width ratio of unity.
Using the DNS data, mean flow and turbulence structures were provided. In the time-averaged
velocity fields, both outer and inner secondary flows were observed as predicted by Broglia et al.
(2003). At the lower part of the channel, two counter-rotating vortices symmetric to the corner
bisector were generated. However, at the upper part, the inner secondary flows at the upper edge
are counter-rotating to the outer secondary flows away from the sidewall. The difference between
the vortical structures of the lower and upper parts of the channel is mainly due to the free surface
boundary. It was shown that the Reynolds number affects the size of the vortex and the magnitude
of the secondary flow vectors. The surface-normal distributions of the Reynolds stress components
were investigated in detail. It was shown that the secondary flows affect the Reynolds stresses
significantly. Through the quadrant analysis, it was shown that sweep events are dominant near the
bottom, which is due to the secondary flows inrushing towards the lower corner of the channel. Near
the free surface, sweep events were also shown to be dominant due to the inner secondary flows.
Furthermore, the conditional quadrant analysis near the sidewall revealed that upward sweeps and
downward ejections are dominant in the bottom region, resulting in the clockwise-rotating vortex,
and that upward ejections and downward sweeps are dominant in the free surface region, yielding
the counterclockwise-rotating vortex.

REFERENCES

Broglia, R., Pascarelli, A. and Piomelli, U. 2003. Large-eddy simulation of ducts with a free surface. Journal
of Fluid Mechanics, 484: 223–253.
Cokljat, D. and Younis, B.A. 1995. Second-order closure study of open-channel flows. Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, ASCE, 121(2): 94–107.

1614
Demuren, A.O. 1990. Calculation of turbulence-driven secondary motion in ducts with arbitrary cross-section.
AIAA paper 90–0245.
Huser, A. and Biringen, S. 1993. Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow in a square duct. Journal of
Fluid Mechanics, 257: 65–95.
Joung, Y., Choi, S.-U., and Choi, J.-I. 2004a. Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow in a square duct:
an analysis of secondary flows. Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE, submitted.
Joung, Y., Choi, S.-U. and Choi, J.-I. 2004b. Direct numerical simulation of low Reynolds number turbulent
flow in an open-channel with side walls. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Hydro-Science
and Engineering, Brisbane, Australia.
Kim, K., Baek, S.-J. and Sung, H.J. 2002. An implicit velocity decoupling procedure for the incompressible
Navier-Stokes equations. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 38: 125–138.
Nezu, I. and Rodi, W. 1985. Experimental study on secondary currents in open channel flow. Proceeding of
21st IAHR Congress, Melbourne, 2: 115–119.
Shi, J., Thomas, T.G. and Williams, J.J.R. 1999. Large-eddy simulation in a rectangular open channel. Journal
of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 37(3): 345–361.
Tominaga, A., Nezu, I., Ezaki, K. and Nakagawa, H. 1989. Three-dimensional turbulent structure in straight
open channel flows. Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 27(1): 149–173.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Hydrodynamic and concentration properties in permeable side-cavity

open-channel flow by digital visualization technique

Iehisa Nezu
Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

Masashi Yano
Ph.D. student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Kyoto University

Yoji Mitsunari
Graduate student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Kyoto University

ABSTRACT: Measurements of instantaneous velocity and dye concentration in and around side-
cavity that consisted of permeable walls were conducted by PIV and digital visualization technique.
Measurements of flow properties were conducted by PIV. On the other hand, LIF technique was
used to measure the dye concentration. The permeable flow from walls inside of the side-cavity
was divided into 4 kinds of patterns, i.e., the patterns from the (1) upstream wall, (2) the side wall,
(3) the downstream wall and (4) all walls. In this study, the effects of permeable flow to flow
patterns and dye concentration properties were examined.

1 INTRODUCTION

Various cavity flows have been studied because of their fundamental and applied geometrical shapes.
For example, vertical cavity flows are modeled as a trench and step ones, whereas side-cavity flows
are modeled as groyne and wando fields in rivers.
Langendoen et al. (1994) conducted some experiments of side-cavity flows as a harbor model
with a tidal condition and found a relation between the velocity and water temperature. Kantardgi
(1996) measured the properties of velocity distributions and saline concentration around the groyne.
Debler & Armfield (1997) carried out some experiments about outflow process of saline water from
the trapezoidal vertical cavity. As the results, it was found that the saline water exchange changed
when the specific gravity, the cavity shape, Froude number and the cavity aspect ratio were varied.
Uijttewaal et al. (2001) conducted some experiments in side-cavity open-channel flows using
visualization techniques and analyzed flow patterns and the concentration distribution.
Kimura & Hosoda (1997) carried out some numerical calculations in side-cavity flows using
depth-averaged 2-D flow equations with 0-equation turbulence model, and found the relation
between instantaneous velocity and water fluctuation properties. Nezu & Onitsuka (2002a) con-
ducted LDA measurements of side-cavity open-channel flows as a basic study of wando models in
rivers, and found that large-scale vortices due to the shear instability were generated in side-cavity
and these vortices were influenced by the cavity aspect ratio significantly.
However, these side-wall boundary conditions were solid and non-permeable ones. The import-
ance of permeable flow effects on water quality has recently been pointed out from field observations
in the Kiso River and the Yodo River, Japan. In laboratory experiments, an LIF technique has
recently been highlighted to measure the flow and water quality. For example, Chen & Jirka (1999)
have conducted some LIF measurements of plane jet bounded in shallow water flows and analyzed
mean and turbulent properties.

1617
 Constant
Head Tank Valve Porous
L Plate Side-Cavity
Box Flow

Pump Over Bw
up flow Laser Light Sheet
H

y Cylindrical 2W Argon
B AOM Laser
Lens
DV CCD
x z Camera Camera
RS-232C
Rhodamine B
or tracer
Monitor
Laser Disc
Recorder Computer

Figure 1. Experimental setup.

Therefore, in this study, the effects of permeable flow on hydrodynamic and concentration prop-
erties in side-cavity open-channel flows were examined using digital visualization techniques. The
velocity and concentration distributions were measured with PIV and LIF techniques, respectively.

2 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

The experiments were conducted in a 10 m long and B = 20 cm wide tilting flume. Three side-cavity
boxes were installed 7 m downstream of the flume entrance (Fig. 1). L is the streamwise length
of the side-cavity, and Bw is its spanwise length. In this study, L = 20 cm and Bw = 10 cm were
chosen, and consequently the aspect ratio was L/Bw = 2.0.
2W Argon-ion laser beam was guided through an optic fiber cable and illuminated the flow
horizontally from the side wall as 2 mm thickness laser light sheet (LLS). CCD camera and DV
camera were placed below the flume. For PIV measurements of instantaneous velocity, digital
images of tracers were taken in 30 Hz using CCD camera cooperated with the AOM that generates
a pulse LLS. The PIV system was the same present as used by Nezu & Onitsuka (2002b).
On the other hand, for measurements of instantaneous dye concentration, digital images of dye
were taken by DV camera. Dye tracer was uniformly mixed in a constant heat tank of permeable
discharge (Fig. 1). The rhodamine B was used as dye and calibrated by known concentration of
dye, the color of which is changed by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The sampling frequency of
the DV camera was 30 Hz. The measurement elevation was at half depth for both velocity and dye
measurements. The permeable discharge containing dye from the constant head tank to three side-
cavity boxes was adjusted by valves. The Permeable flows through porous plates were introduced
into the side-cavity (Fig. 1).
x, y and z are the streamwise, vertical and spanwise directions, respectively. The instant-
aneous velocity the dye components and concentration were defined as ũ ≡ U + u,  w≡W +w
and c̃ ≡ C + c. The capital and small letters denote the time-averaged and fluctuating values.

3 HYDRAULIC CONDITIONS
√
The Froude number Fr ≡ Umax / gH in main channel flow was set to 0.27, in which H is the
time-averaged water depth (H = 3.0 cm), and Umax is the maximum velocity (Umax = 14.6 cm/sec).
The Reynolds number Re ≡ Umax H /v was then 4400.

1618
 Table 1. Permeable discharge. (Main channel discharge q = Q/B = 40.7 cm2 /sec, Water depth H = 3.0 cm)
(Froude number Fr = 0.27, Reynolds number Re = 4400).

Four kinds of permeable flows were introduced uniformly through the porous plates into the
side-cavity. These flows were (1) from the upstream permeable wall (case U), (2) from the side
permeable wall (case S), (3) from the downstream permeable wall (case D) and (4) from all walls
(case USD). Non-permeable flow experiment (case USD0) was also conducted for comparison.
Table 1 shows the permeable discharge, in which Qu , Qs and Qd are the discharge from the upstream,
side and downstream porous walls, respectively. Q and B are the main-channel discharge and flume
width. The permeable discharge were set to 8%, 5%, 2.5%, 1.3% and 0.7% of the main-channel
discharge, respectively.

4 RESULTS

4.1 Time-averaged velocity and concentration distribution

4.1.1 Time-averaged velocity
Figure 2 shows the time-averaged velocity vectors (U , W ) normalized by the maximum velocity
Umax at the inlet (x = 0). The results of the case U1, S1, D1, USD1 and USD0 were shown in Fig. 2.
Similar results were obtained from the other cases. The gray and black bars in Fig. 2 indicate the
permeable and non-permeable walls. In all cases, a large-scale vortex was seen clearly inside of the
side-cavity. As compared with the non-permeable case USD0, the vortex center was changed with
an increase of the permeable discharge. In the case U1 and D1, the vortex center was moved slightly
to the perpendicular direction against the permeable wall because the fluid in the side-cavity was
pushed out by the permeable flow. On the other hand, in the case S1, the vortex center was moved
to the downstream direction in spite of the different direction of permeable flow. This is because
the permeable flow through the porous plate was shifted to upstream direction by the return flow
of vortex and pushed then the vortex to the downstream. In the all-wall permeable case USD1, the
vortex center was moved to the main-channel and downstream directions. It should be noted that
the velocity around large-scale vortex is larger than the velocity at the upstream in side cavity.

4.1.2 Time-series of dye concentration in side cavity

Figure 3 shows the time-series of dye concentration Ctime (t) in the side cavity. Ctime (t) is the
space-averaged value that is defined by

Ctime (t) is the normalized by C0 that is the initial dye concentration. The values of Ctime (t) increase
rapidly in the beginning of the permeable flows, and change more gradually with progress of time.
The concentration gradients became larger with an increase of the permeable discharge. In all cases,
the values of Ctime (t) attained almost constant at t = 150 sec. Therefore, the time-averaged values
in the followings were averaged from t = 180 sec to 300 sec.

4.1.3 Time-averaged dye concentration

Figure 4 shows an example of visualized photographs of the instantaneous concentration distribution
(c/Cmax ) at t = 300 sec in the case U1. The white and black color regions indicate the high and

1619
 Permeable flow from upstream wall Permeable flow from side wall Permeable flow from downstream wall Permeable flow from all walls
2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
USD0 Umax U1 Umax S1 Umax D1 Umax USD1 Umax

1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

z/Bw

1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw

Figure 2. Time averaged velocity vector (U/Umax , W/Umax ) Gray and black bars indicate the permeable and
non-permeable walls, respectively.

Permeable flow from upstream wall Permeable flow from side wall Permeable flow from downstream wall Permeable flow from all walls
1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00

0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75

Ctime(t)/C0

0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

S1
U1 S2 D1 USD1
0.25 U2 0.25 S3 0.25 D2 0.25
USD2
U3 S4 D3 USD3
U4 S5 D4 USD4
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
0 30 60 90 120 150 0 30 60 90 120 150 0 30 60 90 120 150 0 30 60 90 120 150
t (sec) t (sec)
t (sec) t (sec)

Figure 3. Time-series of concentration (Ctime (t)/C0 ).

Flow case U1
z/Bw
Permeable flow

x/Bw

Figure 4. Instantaneous concentration (c/Cmax ).

low concentrations, respectively. From this motion picture, the behaviors of concentration motions
were observed clearly. The coherent vortex is seen to be generated by the K-H instability along the
interface between the main-channel and side-cavity.
Figure 5 shows the time-averaged dye concentration in and around the side cavity. In this figure,
the dye concentration C(x, z) is normalized by Cmax that is the maximum dye concentration in
each case. In all cases, high concentration regions were observed upstream inside of the side
cavity, in spite of the differences in permeable flow patterns. On the other hand, low concentration
regions were observed near the large-scale vortex which appeared in the side-cavity. This low
concentration region is in agreement with the high velocity region. In contrast, high concentration
region corresponds to the low velocity region, which appears at upstream inside of the side-cavity.
These concentration patterns are due to the fact that dye is convected quickly by high velocity
fluid.

1620
 Permeable flow from upstream wall Permeable flow from side wall Permeable flow from downstream wall Permeable flow from all walls
2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
U1 C/C max
S1 C/C max
D1 C/C max
USD1 C/Cmax
1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
0.10 0.10 0.10
z/Bw

0.30 0.10
0.30
1.0 1.0 1.0 0.50 1.0 0.30

0.50
0.50 0.50

0.70
0.5 0.70
0.30
0.5 0.5 0.70 0.5
0.70
0.90

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw

Figure 5. Time-averaged concentration patterns (C/Cmax ).

Permeable flow from upstream wall Permeable flow from side wall Permeable flow from downstream wall Permeable flow from all walls
2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
U1 C/C =0.5 S1 C/Cmax=0.5 D1 C/C =0.5 USD1 C/C =0.5
max S2 max max
U2 D2 USD2
1.5 U3 1.5 S3 1.5 D3 1.5 USD3
U4 S4 D4 USD4
S5
z/Bw

1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw

Figure 6. Isolines of C/Cmax = 0.5 as a function of permeable discharge.

Permeable flow from upstream wall Permeable flow from side wall Permeable flow from downstream wall Permeable flow from all walls
2.0 2 3 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2 3
USD0 -uwU max×10 2
-uwU max×10
3
S1
2
-uwU max×10
3
D1 -uwU
2
×10
3
USD1 -uwU ×10
U1 max max

1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

3.0 7.0 5.0

z/Bw

3.0 7.0 11
1.0 7.0 9.0 1.0 5.0 1.0 1.0
3.0 9.0 1.0 1.0 3.0 5.0 1.0 1.0 3.0
1.0 1.0 5.0

-1.0

0.5 1.0
0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw

2 × 103 ).
Figure 7. Reynolds stress (−uw/Umax

Figure 6 shows the lines of C/Cmax = 0.5 as a functions of permeable discharge for each case.
It is recognized that there is a high concentration region at the upstream in side-cavity. As the
permeable discharge decreases this high concentration region becomes smaller.

4.2 Momentum and mass exchange properties

4.2.1 Reynolds stress
Figure 7 shows the spanwise Reynolds stress distribution −uw/Umax 2
× 103 . In all cases, the
maximum value of −uw/Umax was observed along the interface between the main-channel and
2

side-cavity. In this interface region, the momentum exchange occures violently. This high shear
layer is correlated with the K-H instability, as pointed out by Kimura & Hosoda (1997) and Nezu &
Onitsuka (2002a&b). However, the effect of the permeable flows on the patterns of the Reynolds
stress −uw/Umax 2
was relatively small. This suggests that the permeable flow may not significantly
influence momentum exchange in the interface region.

4.2.2 RMS values of the concentration fluctuations

Figure 8 shows the RMS values c of the concentration fluctuations. The value of c is normalized

by the maximum cmax . In all cases, large values of c /cmax

were observed in the interface region and
the collision region between large-scale vortex and permeable flow. This suggests that coherent

1621
 Permeable flow from upstream wall Permeable flow from side wall Permeable flow from downstream wall Permeable flow from all walls
2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
U1 c'/c'max S1 0.10
c'/c' max
D1 c'/c'max USD1 c'/c'max 0.10

1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

0.10 0.10
0.10

0.30
z/Bw

1.0 1.0 1.0 0.70

1.0
0.70
0.30 0.50 0.50
0.50
0.70 0.50

0.5 0.5 0.70 0.5 0.30 0.5

0.30
0.30
0.50
0.90 0.10
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw

Figure 8. RMS values of the concentration fluctuations (c /cmax

 ).

Permeable flow from upstream wall Permeable flow from side wall Permeable flow from downstream wall Permeable flow from all walls
2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
U1 S1 D1
c'/c'max=0.5 c'/c'max=0.5 c'/c'max=0.5 USD1 c'/c'max=0.5
U2 S2 D2 USD2
U3 S3 D3
1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 USD3
U4 S4 D4 USD4
S5
z/Bw

1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

0.5
0

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5

0 0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw x/Bw

Figure 9. RMS values of the concentration fluctuations (c /cmax

 ).

vortex induces large mass exchange near the interface. On the other hand, in the collision region, the
permeable flow with high concentration collides to the large-scale vortex with low concentration
fluid and consequently the concentration fluctuations will become largest there.
Figure 9 shows the contour lines of c /cmax

= 0.5 for each case. It is seen that there are some
active mixing regions around the interface and collision point. In the case U, the high RMS value
region was observed at the upstream side-cavity, whereas, the RMS value was small around the
interface region as compared with the collision region, because the dye stayed in the upstream
side-cavity and was not transported to the interface region significantly. In the case D, the interface
and collision regions have the high RMS value. In the case S and USD, these regions also have
the high RMS value. The high RMS regions became smaller with a decrease of the permeable
discharge.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In this study, some experiments about hydrodynamic and mass-exchange properties were conducted
in and around the side-cavity open-channel flows with permeable walls. The main results obtained
from the present experiments are as follows:
(1) A large-scale vortex was generated along the downstream in the side-cavity. The velocity in
the large-scale vortex was larger than the velocity at the upstream inside of the side-cavity.
(2) High concentration regions were observed upstream inside of the side-cavity. On the other
hand, low concentration regions were observed in the large-scale vortex. This is because dye
the transported by high velocity fluid and stayed in low velocity fluid.
(3) The maximum region of the Reynolds stress appeared at the interface between the main-
channel and side-cavity, because the coherent vortex was generated by K-H instability. The
K-H instability was also observed in visualized photos.
(4) The large RMS value region of the concentration fluctuations was observed in both the interface
region and the collision region between large-scale vortex and permeable flow.

1622
REFERENCES

Chen, D. and Jirka, G.H. (1999): LIF study of plane jet bounded in shallow water layer, J. Hydraulic Eng.,
ASCE, vol. 125, pp. 817–826.
Debler, W. and Armfield, S.W. (1997): The purging of saline water from rectangular and trapezoidal cavities
by an overflow of turbulent sweet water, J. Hydraulic Res., IAHR, vol. 35, pp. 43–62.
Kantardgi, I. (1996): Groin area water exchange, J. Hydraulic Res., IAHR, vol. 34, pp. 161–172.
Kimura, I. and Hosoda, T. (1997): Fundamental properties of flows in open channel with dead zone, J. Hydraulic
Eng., ASCE, vol. 123, pp. 98–107.
Langendoen, E.J., Kranenburg, C. and Booij, R. (1994): Flow patterns and exchange of matter in tidal harbours,
J. Hydraulic Eng., ASCE, vol. 32, pp. 259–270.
Nezu, I. and Onitsuka, K. (2002a): LDA measurements of side-cavity open-channel flow; Wando models in
rivers, Fluid Modeling & Turbulence Measurements (eds. Ninokata et al.), World Scientific, pp. 169–176.
Nezu, I. and Onitsuka, K. (2002b): PIV measurements of side-cavity open-channel flow; Wando models in
rivers, Journal of Visualization, vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 77–84.
Uijttewaal, W.S., Lehmann, D. and Mazijk, A.V. (2001): Exchange processes between a river and its groyne
fields: model experiments, J. Hydraulic Eng., ASCE, vol. 127, pp. 928–936.

1623
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Discrete vortex simulation of horizontal vortices and effect on

environment in compound straight open-channel flow

M. Sanjou
Research Associate, Dept. of Civil Eng., Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

I. Nezu
Professor, Dept. of Civil Eng., Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

A. Kamiya
Graduate Student, Dept. of Civil Eng., Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

ABSTRACT: In the present study, an unsteady numerical model was developed on the basis
of a discrete vortex method, and the originating and developing processes of horizontal vortices
were reproduced in compound open-channel flows. In particular, the calculation vertical region
was divided into some layers, and quasi three-dimensional unsteady simulation was conducted.
In comparison with PIV data, it was recognized that the present model was able to calculate
reasonably the streamwise velocity profiles, Reynolds stress distributions and the periodicity of
horizontal vortices.

1 INTRODUCTION

In compound open-channel flows, there are some large-scale horizontal vortices that promote
mass and momentum exchanges between the main-channel and floodplains. Hydrodynamic
characteristics of these horizontal eddies have been investigated by many researchers by using
flow visualization techniques. Recently, with the development of turbulence modelings, a lot
of numerical simulations have also been conducted about such horizontal vortices. For example,
Nadaoka &Yagi (1998) developed the depth-averaged two-dimensional LES model and reproduced
the eddy merging process. In almost of previous numerical studies, finite differential schemes were
generally used.
However, the finite differential scheme usually needs a lot of calculation grids, and thus, it is
fairly difficult to calculate the complicated boundary-flow fields such as meandering rivers and
multi-phase flows. On the other hand, the discrete vortex method (DVM) is also known as one of the
most useful calculation scheme as well as the finite differential schemes. In the DVM, the calculated
fields consist of small eddy elements, and therefore, the DVM does not need the calculation grid and
is applicable simply to the complex flow fields. For example, Ojima & Kamemoto (2000) developed
a new method for introducing a nascent vortex on the wall, and showed various calculation examples
in fluid engineering, e.g., heat transfer around a circular cylinder and flow around a swimming
fish. Recently, some DVM simulations were also conducted in wall turbulence. Bernard and Dimas
(2001) calculated a mushroom-shaped vortex in turbulent boundary layer, and these calculated
results of mean velocity and fluctuation components were in good agreement with the DNS data.
Therefore, in the present study, an unsteady numerical model was developed on the basis of
the DVM, and the originating and developing processes of horizontal vortices were reproduced
in compound open-channel flows. In particular, the calculation vertical region was divided into
some layers, and quasi three-dimensional unsteady simulation was conducted. It was found that the
present model was able to calculate reasonably the streamwise velocity profiles, Reynolds stress
distributions and the periodicity of horizontal vortices.

1625
 B
Flow

h y,V calculation layers

H

D Floodplain

0 z,W
x,U

Figure 1. Coordinate system.

eddy element
Umc
Ufp

Main-channel Floodplain
Shear-layers d

Figure 2. Velocity shear region and eddy elements.

2 NUMERICAL MODELING

2.1 Basic equations

Figure 1 shows the calculation region, in which, x, y and z are the streamwise, vertical and spanwise
directions, and U , V and W are the corresponding mean velocity components, respectively. u, v and
w are the corresponding turbulent fluctuations. The present numerical simulation was conducted
simultaneously in the five calculation layers placed over the floodplain, as indicated in Fig. 1.
Figure 2 shows the initial condition, in which δ means the width of velocity shear layer between
the main-channel and floodplain. The flow velocity is composed of the eddy-induced velocity
and the background velocity. The eddy-induced velocity was calculated by the Biot-Svart law as
mentioned later. The background velocity consists of three parts, i.e., the main-channel region, the
floodplain region and their junction part. The main-channel and floodplain background velocities,
Umc (y) and Ufp (y), were evaluated from the log-law, in which the corresponding friction velocities
were the same as the measured values at the centers of the main-channel and floodplain, respectively.
The junction velocity was given by the linear interpolation. Small eddy elements were placed in
the streamwise direction near the junction region between the main-channel and floodplain. The
spanwise position of eddy elements was given by the measurement results.
In the present calculation, the stick method developed by Beale & Majda (1982) was used
as the DVM algorithm. In this method, the eddy element has a tube-shaped structure shown in

1626
Fig. 2, in which r and l are the radius and vertical length of each eddy element, respectively. The
above-mentioned shear-layer width δ is given by the element diameter, i.e., δ = 2r.
The induced velocity of an eddy element i by the other eddy elements j is calculated by the
Biot-Savart law, and described by

in which ωt and Rt are the vorticity and the position of the eddy element j at the time t. Therefore,
the new position Rt+t
i at t + t is calculated by

in which n is the number of the eddy elements in the calculation region. The distribution of vorticity
ω is calculated by the vorticity equation without the viscous term, which is described by

The renewal radius r and length l of eddy element are calculated by Kelvin’s theorem in the
following forms of (4) and (5),

and

In the present model, the viscous effect was considered by the core spreading method. This
method is based on the Navier-Stokes equation for viscous diffusion of an isolated 2-D vortex
filaments and then the increment of radius rit+t is given by

in which a = 2.242.

2.2 Calculation case

Table 1 shows the present calculation case. For comparison with experiments, this case was also
measured with PIV by Nezu et al. (2004). In Table 1, H is the main-channel depth, D is the
floodplain height, B is the whole channel width and Bm is the main-channel √width (Fig. 1). Um
is the balk mean velocity, Re ≡ Um H /ν is the Reynolds number and Fr ≡ Um / gH is the Froude
number.

1627
 Table 1. Calculation case
H (cm) D (cm) B (cm) Bm /B Um (cm/s) Re Fr

7.2 5.0 40 0.5 9.6 7000 0.11

z Flow
B
0.2 t = 0.0s
Main-channel

0.0
y = 1.2 Floodplain
D
-0.2
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 x
B
z
B Flow

0.2 t = 3.0s
Main-channel

0.0
y Floodplain
D = 1.2
-0.2
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 x
B
z
B Flow

0.2 t = 6.0s
Main-channel

0.0
y Floodplain
D = 1.2
-0.2
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 x
B
z
B Flow

0.2 t = 9.0s
Main-channel

0.0
y Floodplain
D = 1.2
-0.2
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 x
B

Figure 3. Development of small eddy elements.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Time-variations of eddy elements in the vortex developing stage

Figure 3 shows the horizontal-space distributions of eddy elements at y/D = 1.2 from the initial
time t = 0.0 s to 9.0 s at every 3.0 seconds. At the initial time of t = 0.0 s, the eddy elements align
in the streamwise direction and any large-scale coherent structure is not observed yet. At t = 3.0 s,
the distributions of eddy elements are somewhat disturbed, because the velocity of each element

1628
 y y
=1.1 =1.2
z/B D 0.5cm/s z/B D 0.5cm/s

0.2 0.2
Main-channel Main-channel

0.0 0.0

Floodplain Floodplain

-0.2 -0.2
0.0 0.1 0.2 x/B 0.0 0.1 0.2 x/B

Figure 4. Instantaneous velocity vectors at fully-developed stages.

wˆ (cm/s) UmT/H
0.01
y/D = 1.2, z/B = 0 calculated
2 measured

0.00 1

Floodplain bed

t(s) 0 y/ D
-0.01
0.0 3.0 1.0 1.5

Figure 5. Time-variation of spanwise velocity. Figure 6. Period of horizontal vortex.

is induced by the mutual interaction with the other elements, i.e., due to Eq. (1). Furthermore, at
t = 9.0 s, some vortex clusters composed of several eddy elements are observed as a results of such
interactions.

3.2 Large-scale horizontal vortex

Figure 4 shows an example of the instantaneous velocity vectors at the elevations of y/D = 1.1 and
1.2 in the fully-developed flow stage. The developed large-scale horizontal eddies are observed
near the junction region, the patterns of which are in good agreement with the measured PIV data of
Nezu et al. (2004). From Figs 3 and 4, it is found that these horizontal vortices are the vortex cluster
composed of some eddy elements. This property was also observed at the other elevations, and
thus the present simulation model can reproduce the developing processes of large-scale horizontal
vortex reasonably.

3.3 Periodical property of horizontal vortex

Figure 5 shows the time-variation of instantaneous spanwise velocity component ŵ(t) at the junction
of z/B = 0 between the main-channel and floodplain in the fully-developed stage. It is recognized
that the spanwise velocity component has a periodical time-variation property due to the streamwise
convection of horizontal vortices.

1629
 Floodplain Main-channel Floodplain Main-channel
U/ U U/ U
calculated calculated
2.0 2.0 measured
measured

1.0 1.0

y/D = 1.1 0.0 y/D = 1.2

0.0 z /B z/B
-0.2 0.0 0.2 -0.2 0.0 0.2

Figure 7. Spanwise profiles of streamwise velocity.

uw / uwmax Floodplain uw / uwmax Floodplain Main-channel

Main-channel

1.5 1.5
calculated
calculated
measured
measured
1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0

y/D = 1.1 y/D = 1.2

z/B -0.5 z/B
-0.5
-0.3 0.0 0.3 -0.3 0.0 0.3

Figure 8. Distributions of spanwise Reynolds stress.

Figure 6 shows the predicted convection period T of horizontal eddy, which was evaluated from
the time-variation profiles of the spanwise velocity. These values of T are normalized by the bulk-
mean velocity Um and the main-channel depth H . The measured PIV data was also included in
Fig. 6. It should be noted that the vortex period T is almost constant in the vertical direction, and thus
this implied that the large-scale horizontal vortex is almost two-dimensional in the whole depth.

3.4 Spanwise profiles of primary velocity

Figure 7 shows the spanwise distributions of the streamwise velocity U (z) at the elevations of
y/D = 1.1 and 1.2. The measured values are also included for comparison. U is the spanwise-
averaged velocity. The present calculated values are in good agreement with the measured one,
and consequently the present DVM is very useful to reproduce the velocity shear structure which
governs the generation mechanism of horizontal vortices in compound open-channel flows.

3.5 Distributions of Reynolds stress

Figures 8 shows the distributions of the spanwise Reynolds stress −uw at y/D = 1.1 and 1.2 in the
fully-developed time stage. It is well known that a horizontal vortex promotes greatly the mass

1630
 and momentum exchange between the main-channel and floodplains, and consequently, there is
a local increase of −uw near the junction between them. It is surely recognized from Fig. 8 that
the present model can reproduce this property reasonably at both elevations of y/D = 1.1 and 1.2.
That is to say, the Reynolds stress has a maximum value near the junction about both measured and
calculated data. However, there are some discrepancies between the calculated and measured data.
This may be because the present model considers only the large-scale horizontal vortex, but does
not introduce the other turbulent fluctuations due to the bottom-wall shear and secondary currents
observed in laboratory. This aspect is a next step to be improved.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In this study, the DVM calculations were conducted in order to reproduce the developing process
and the periodical property of horizontal coherent vortex in compound open-channel flows. Main
findings are as follows:
(1) The developing process of large-scale horizontal vortices was simulated reasonably by the present
DVM algorithm reasonably. Several eddy elements assemble and become a vortex cluster which
corresponds to horizontal vortex.
(2) The present model was able to reproduce the spanwise profiles of streamwise velocity and the
periodicity of horizontal vortex.
(3) The calculated results of the spanwise Reynolds stress coincide with those of PIV measurements.
The maximum value of Reynolds stress was observed near the junction due to the horizontal
vortex.

REFERENCES

Beale, J.T. and Majda, A. (1982): Vortex Methods–1, “Convergence in three dimensions”, Math. Comp.,
Vol. 39, pp. 1–27.
Bernard, P. and Dimas, A. (2001): Vortex method modeling of complex, turbulent engineering flows, Proc of
the 2nd int. conference on vortex methods, Istanbul, Turkey, pp. 41–54.
Nadaoka, K. and Yagi, H. (1998): Shallow-water turbulence modeling and horizontal large eddy computation
of river flow, J. of Hydraulic Eng., ASCE, Vol. 124, No. 5, pp. 493–500.
Nezu, I., Sanjou, M. and Goto, K. (2004): Experimental study on 3-D structure of coherent horizontal vortices
in compound open-channel flows by using dual-layer PIV system, Ann. J. of Hydraulic Eng., JSCE, Vol. 48,
pp. 535–540 (in Japanese).
Ojima, A. and Kamemoto, K. (2000): Numerical simulation of unsteady flow around three dimensional bluff
bodies by an advanced vortex method, Int. Journal, JSME, B43-2, pp. 127–135.

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6.2 Open channel flow – II
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

An investigation on the flow resistance of a mountain river

M. Habibi
Assoc. Prof., Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute, Tehran, Iran

Y. Guo
Assist. Prof., Dept. of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT: In this paper, the Manning’s roughness coefficient of a mountain river is investigated
using accurately measured hydraulic, geometric and bed material data of Yasi (2001) from a typical
reach of a coarse gravel bed river in the south-west of Iran. The selected reach is a part of a perennial,
wide, braided river with bed material including coarse gravel, cobbles and small boulders and
relative submergence, d/D84 , varying between 3 and 15. The main purpose of the study is to
specify the limitation in the applicability of selected resistance formulas and to recommend the
most appropriate equation. Based on measured data, a best-fit Manning-Strickler-type formula is
suggested for estimating Manning’s coefficient and mean flow velocity of natural coarse-bed rivers
under similar conditions.

1 SELECTED FLOW RESISTANCE EQUATIONS

The problem of flow resistance concerns the prediction of mean flow velocity in terms of those
channel and flow properties which act as resistance or energy dissipaters to the flow. Manning’s
(1890) equation is the most commonly used flow resistance equation, linking mean velocity, V and
flow resistance in open channels:

where R = hydraulic radius, Sf = friction slope, and n = a roughness coefficient which is a charac-
teristic of flow resistance. A number of empirical methods for estimating n, that are more adoptable
to coarse-bed rivers, are selected herein for applicability analysis and summarized in Table 1. Using
the definition of shear velocity U∗ = (gRSf )1/2 ; g = acceleration due to gravity, Manning equation
can be written as:

Another well-established flow resistance equation is Darcy-Weisbach formula which was origi-
nally developed from momentum equation for use in pipe flow and was later modified for flow in
natural channels:

here f is a dimensionless parameter called Darcy-Weisbach friction factor commonly used in head
loss calculations. Using the definition of U∗ in Darcy-Weisbach equation yields:

1635
Table 1. Selected resistance equations for estimating Manning’s coefficient, n.

Name Equation No.

1/6
Strickler (1923) n = D50 /21.1 (6)
1/6
Meyer-Peter & Muller (1948) n= D90 /26 (7)
1/6
Lane & Carlson (1953) n= D75 /38.5 (8)
Jarrett (1984) n= 0.47S0.38
f R −0.16 (9)
1/6
Ugarte & Madrid (1994) n = [0.183 + log(1.746S0.1581
f /Fr0.2631 )] (D84 /g1/2 ) (10)
Karim (1995) n = 0.037 D0.126
50 (f/fo )
0.465 (11)

Di = characteristic size of bed material which is larger than i% of particles (in meters); fo = friction factor
due to grain roughness only; f/fo = a coefficient incorporating the role of bed configuration in bed resistance;
and Fr = Froude number.

Table 2. Size characteristics of bed material in the study reach of Fahlian River (Yasi 2001).

Size Characteristics size (mm)

Size range Std. dev. No. of
classification (mm) (Sd )∗ samples D10 D35 D50 D65 D84 D90

Gravel – Cobbles 5–340 0.37 200 22 45 60 82 140 185

∗S = Log(D84 /D50 ).
d

when Equation 4 is compared to Equation 2, the following expression is obtained which illustrates
that roughness coefficient n and friction factor f are consistent and interchangeable, provided that
the flow is fully turbulent and hydraulically rough:

2 DESCRIPTION OF COLLECTED DATA

Fahlian River, located in the South-West of Iran, is a perennial, wide-braided river with a catchment
area of 2775 km2 . A typical reach was selected by Yasi (2001) upstream of the river, near a stream
gauging station. The test reach was 110 m long, nearly straight, and had an average bed slope of
0.4%. The bed material included coarse gravel, cobbles and small boulders with no vegetation
on the bed and banks. An armored surface layer was developed with D84 of 140 mm. Table 2
summarizes bed material information in the study reach.
Field data are collected for 13 discharges ranging from very low to flood flows and presented
in Table 3. According to this table the measured mean velocities (V) range from 1.16 to 3.57 m/s
representing a sequence of flow events. Mean hydraulic data in the study reach, including hydraulic
parameters necessary for calculating mean velocity and Manning’s coefficient from the selected
equations, are tabulated in Table 4. According to this table the type of flow is subcritical in the
wide range of river flows; the relative submergence (d/D84 ) varies between 3 and 15 indicating
intermediate to small scale roughness (d/D84 > 1); the width to depth ratio (W/d) is more than 40
representing a hydraulically wide channel; and the particle Reynolds number Re*, calculated based
on equivalent roughness height = D84 and kinematic viscosity of flow = 10−6 m2 /s, is determined
to be more than 15000 indicating a fully rough flow.

1636
Table 3. Measured flow characteristics of Fahlian River, Iran (Yasi 2001).

No. Q (m3 /s) V (m/s) A (m2 ) W (m) d (m) dmax (m) R (m) Sf (%)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)

1 24.15 1.16 20.84 41.02 0.51 1.21 0.51 0.26

2 29.15 1.27 22.96 43.24 0.53 1.26 0.53 0.26
3 34.27 1.32 26.05 43.42 0.60 1.32 0.56 0.25
4 52.78 1.44 36.63 52.78 0.69 1.54 0.69 0.32
5 79.85 1.78 44.76 54.25 0.82 1.69 0.82 0.37
6 80.45 1.76 45.68 54.32 0.84 1.70 0.83 0.38
7 83.91 1.79 46.91 54.42 0.86 1.73 0.85 0.39
8 85.37 1.79 47.71 54.59 0.87 1.74 0.86 0.40
9 97.69 1.87 52.11 55.26 0.94 1.82 0.93 0.41
10 106.30 1.89 56.29 55.84 1.01 1.90 1.00 0.41
11 136.80 2.00 68.46 57.53 1.19 2.11 1.18 0.42
12 343.00 2.67 128.60 96.70 1.33 2.95 1.31 0.54
13 1260.00 3.57 352.80 174.10 1.98 4.48 1.95 0.57

Q = flow discharge; A = flow cross section area; W = flow width; d = flow depth; and dmax = maximum flow
depth.

Table 4. Calculated flow characteristics of Fahlian River, Iran.

No. W/d d/D84 U∗ (m/s) n f V/U∗ Re∗ Fr U∗ /w

(1) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18)

1 80.43 3.63 0.114 0.028 0.077 10.17 15964 0.52 0.123

2 81.58 3.79 0.116 0.026 0.067 10.93 16274 0.56 0.125
3 72.37 4.28 0.117 0.026 0.063 11.27 16404 0.54 0.126
4 76.49 4.96 0.147 0.031 0.083 9.79 20600 0.55 0.158
5 66.16 5.89 0.172 0.030 0.075 10.32 24148 0.63 0.185
6 64.67 6.01 0.176 0.032 0.080 10.01 24621 0.61 0.189
7 63.28 6.16 0.180 0.031 0.082 9.93 25242 0.62 0.194
8 62.75 6.24 0.184 0.032 0.085 9.75 25713 0.61 0.197
9 58.79 6.74 0.193 0.033 0.086 9.67 27071 0.62 0.208
10 55.29 7.20 0.201 0.034 0.090 9.43 28072 0.60 0.216
11 48.34 8.50 0.220 0.036 0.097 9.07 30863 0.59 0.237
12 72.71 9.50 0.263 0.033 0.078 10.14 36873 0.74 0.283
13 87.93 14.15 0.330 0.033 0.068 10.81 46220 0.81 0.355
AVG 68.52 6.70 0.186 0.031 0.079 10.10 26005 0.61 0.200
STD 11.34 2.82 0.061 0.003 0.009 0.67 8557 0.08 0.066

∗ AVG = average; STD = standard deviation; and w = fall velocity of sediment particle with size D50 .

3 DATA ANALYSIS

Values of Manning’s coefficient n and friction factor f computed from using measured parameters
are tabulated inTable 4. As seen in this table, the Manning’s n is not constant as suggested by Strickler
(1923) and many other individuals and varies as the depth changes. However, the variation is small
enough to allow an average value of n to be determined for analytical purposes. The average value
of n (=0.031) and its increasing trend were found reasonably consistent with a number of selected
empirical formulas (see Table 5 and Fig. 1). The average value of f based on measured parameters
was found to be 0.079 which is consistent with Bray’s (1972) finding that for gravel-bed rivers the
values of friction factor ‘f ’ range from 0.02 to 0.90.

1637
Table 5. Errors in estimated Manning’s coefficient and mean flow velocity from selected equations.

n V

Equation Min Max AVG MNE SDNE MNE SDNE

Measured 0.026 0.036 0.031 – – – –

Strickler (1923) – – 0.030 8.3 5.4 8.6 5.6
Meyer-Peter & Muller (1948) – – 0.029 9.8 4.7 10.7 5.9
Lane & Carlson (1953) – – 0.018 41.5 5.9 72.4 16.5
Jarrett (1984) 0.053 0.062 0.057 86.2 12.8 46.0 3.9
Ugarte & Madrid (1994) 0.019 0.025 0.022 27.8 2.3 38.7 4.8
Karim (1995) 0.028 0.034 0.030 6.2 4.0 6.2 4.5
Proposed (Equation 14) – – 0.031 7.5 6.6 7.3 5.9

MNE and SDNE are expressed in %.

0.065
0.060
Measured
0.055
Manning's coefficient, n

Karim
0.050
Jarrett
0.045
Ugarte
0.040
Strickler
0.035
MPM
0.030
Lane & Carlson
0.025
Proposed
0.020
0.015
3 6 9 12 15
d/D84

Figure 1. Variation of Manning’s coefficient n with relative submergence d/D84 for Fahlian River.

Using collected data, values of Manning’s n are calculated from selected equations and compared
to the measured values in Table 5 and Figures 1 and 2 (where MPM represents Meyer-Peter &
Muller). In calculating n by equation of Lane & Carlson, D75 = 110 mm is used. In applying
Karim’s equation, fall velocity (w) for D50 = 60 mm was determined to be 0.93 m/s. It should be
mentioned that the mean velocity for the last two data points (the highest flows) were not obtained
from the direct measurement; but calculated from a rating curve with an estimated error of 10%.
Figure 1 shows an increase in the values of ‘n’ with increasing values of relative submergence
d/D84 which may not seem consistent with the previous literature. In fact, values of Manning’s n
obtained at low flows were found less than those at high flows during the flooding period. The
increasing trend of n can be attributed to the role of friction factors other than skin roughness, such
as bed-form development and the corresponding bed load transport, which become more effective
with increasing shear velocity and bed shear stress during flooding periods. The measured data in
Table 3 also indicates an increasing trend for hydraulic radius and slope which results in increasing
bed shear stress. This argument is supported by Karim’s (1995) discussion on the effect of bed-form
development on flow roughness coefficient. Using Karim’s approach, the selected reach of Fahlian
River is found to be in a lower flow regime under bed-form development with bed-form height less
than one-tenth of the flow depth.

1638
 120

100
Normalized error in predicted n
Karim
80
Jarrett
60
Ugarte
40
(%)

Strickler
20
MPM
0
Lane & Carlson
-20
Proposed
-40

-60
3 6 9 12 15
d/D84

Figure 2. Normalized error in the prediction of Manning’s coefficient n versus relative submergence.

To provide a simple scale for comparison purposes, normalized errors in the prediction of n
are calculated for each individual method and plotted on Figure 2. The normalized error in the
prediction of Manning coefficient n (NEn in %) is defined as:

where, nc and nm are calculated and measured values of n, respectively. The mean normalized error
(MNE) and standard deviation of normalized errors (SDNE) of n and mean flow velocity V are
also determined and given in Table 5. The MNE of predicted n is defined as:

where nci and nmi = computed and measured velocities for the ith data point, respectively, and
N = total number of data points.

4 DISCUSSION OF SELECTED RESISTANCE EQUATIONS

The predictions of Karim (1995), Strickler (1923) and Meyer-Peter & Muller (1948), with values
of MNE less than 10%, are found to be in sufficiently good agreement with values of n obtained
from using measured parameters in Manning’s equation. Furthermore, the predictions of Karim’s
equation also follow the increasing trend of n. For values of relative submergence less than 5 the
above equations tend to overestimate n while for d/D84 > 5 underestimation of n is resulted.
Jarrett (1984) equation has overestimated the value of n over the whole flow range by a MNE
of about 86%. The large discrepancy in Jarrett predictions can be attributed to the difference
in the hydraulic and morphologic conditions. Jarrett’s equation is derived from high-gradient
(0.002 < Slope < 0.04), very coarse bed material (92 mm < D84 < 793 mm) natural streams with
stable bed and banks, bank vegetation, average relative submergence of 3.28, and values of n up
to 0.159. These conditions are different from those mentioned for Fahlian River.
Ugarte & Madrid (1994) equation has indicated a continuous underestimation of n by a MNE
value of about 27%. However, this equation has produced the lowest value of SDNE in predicting n

1639
which indicates its high capability for application to similar flow conditions after calibration with
field measurements. Ugarte & Madrid relation confirms the increasing trend of n.
Lane & Carlson (1953) criteria for estimating Manning’s coefficient does not consider the armor-
ing phenomenon and underestimated the value of n by about 40% on the average; its predicted
mean flow velocity is hence 70% overestimated. It should be noted that, compared to the methods
that overestimate the resistance coefficient n, those methods which underestimate n will produce
larger discrepancy in predicting mean flow velocity.
Considering the recent recommendations on using D84 as characteristic bed material size in
computing flow resistance of coarse bed streams, the following Strickler-type equation can be
proposed based on the collected data for Fahlian River:

where D84 is given in meters. Using this equation together with Manning’s formula, the following
Manning-Strickler-type power-law equation yields

The proposed equation presented the best predictability (after Karim) for the collected data (see
Table 5 and Figures 1 and 2).

5 CONCLUSIONS

Average values of roughness coefficient n, and friction factor f for Fahlian River, obtained by
using measured parameters in Manning and Darcy-Weisbach formulas, were found 0.031 and
0.079, respectively. The collected data showed an increase in ‘n’ values with increasing relative
submergence which can be attributed to the bed-form development and corresponding bed load
transport. Using Karim’s (1995) approach, the selected reach of Fahlian River was found to be in
a lower flow regime under bed-form development.
Normalized error analysis showed that the predictions of Karim (1995), Strickler (1923), and
Meyer-Peter & Muller (1948) are in sufficiently good agreement with values of n obtained based on
measurements (less than 10% error in MNE). Jarrett (1984) equation overestimated the value of ‘n’
by about 86%, while the equations of Lane & Carlson (1953) and Ugarte & Madrid (1994) resulted
in underestimations of about 40% and 27%, respectively. The difference between the measured and
predicted values of n may be attributed to the different hydraulic and morphologic conditions and
the existence of bed forms and bars and bed load transport in Fahlian River.
Although a coarse description of roughness height is possible with a characteristic grain diameter
(usually D84 ), because of the irregular nature of coarse bed profiles, the roughness of mountain
streams cannot be described accurately by a single grain diameter. Therefore, it is suggested that
the non-uniformity index, sorting coefficient or standard deviation of bed material should be
also introduced into the roughness estimation equations and their validity should be verified by
the analysis of both experimental and field data. This may result in major improvement in flow
resistance estimation techniques.
A Strickler-type resistance formula was proposed based on the collected data for Fahlian River.
It is likely that any empirical equation will appropriately estimate velocity or resistance for specific
river systems from which it is developed. Therefore, although the proposed formula has produced
satisfactory predictions, it has a limited applicability and is not generally applicable to all flows.
Nevertheless the coefficients in the suggested equations are derived for in-bank to flood flows in
gravel, cobble-bed rivers with 3 < d/D84 < 15 and an average bed slope of 0.4%.
Generally speaking, the proposed equation of Karim (1995), which is capable of considering the
effect of bed-form development on bed roughness, was found more appropriate to flow resistance
of Fahlian River.

1640
REFERENCES

Bray, D.I. 1972. Generalized regime-type analysis of Alberta gravel-bed rivers. Ph.D. thesis, Department of
Civil Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Jarrett, R.D. 1984. Hydraulics of high-gradient streams. J. Hydr. Engng., ASCE, 110 (11), pp. 1519–1539.
Karim, F. 1995. Bed configuration and hydraulic resistance in alluvial-channel flows. J. Hydr. Engrg. ASCE,
121 (1), 15–25.
Lane, E.W. & Carlson, E.J. 1953. Some factors affecting the stability of canals constructed in coarse granular
materials. Proceedings of the Minnesota International Hydraulics Convention, September.
Manning, R. 1890. Flow of water in open channels and pipes. Trans. Inst. Civil Engrs. (Ireland), 20.
Meyer-Peter, E. & Muller, R. 1948. Formulas for bed load transport. Proceedings 2nd Meeting International
Association for Hydraulic research, Paper No. 2, pp. 39–64.
Strickler, A. 1923. Some contributions to the problems of the velocity formula and roughness factor for
rivers, canals and closed conduits. Mitteilungen des Eidgenossischer Amtes fur Wasserwirtschaft, Bern,
Switzerland, No. 16 g.
Ugarte, A. & Madrid, M. 1994. Roughness coefficient in mountain rivers. Proc., Hydr. Engrg. ’94, ASCE,
Reston, Va., 652–656.
Yasi, M. 2001. Mean velocity in coarse-bed rivers. Proc. XXIX IAHR Congress, Beijing, China, Theme D:
Hydraulics of Rivers, Water Works and Machinery, Vol. 1, pp. 124–130.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The effects of bottom settlement, vegetation and macro-roughness

on the erosion stability of the relocated river Inde

P. Kamrath, S. Rubbert & J. Köngeter

Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, RWTH Aachen University,
Aachen, Germany

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the results of research on a river relocation in the Rhenish lignite
mining district of Germany. In the year 2005 the natural riverbed will be intersected and relocated
as the coal mines move forward to the east. During flood events, exceeding critical shear stresses in
the new river bed could cause depth erosion, which would damage or eventually destroy the sealing
layer and therefore flood the pit mine as a worst-case scenario. Hence, the distribution of shear
stresses, bed load transport and initial depth erosion are calculated for different flood events by
means of a 2D depth-averaged hydrodynamic model. Effects of ripple-shaped macro-roughness,
vegetation and continued settlement of the river bottom are investigated. The best protection against
depth erosion is dense vegetation. The macro-roughness reduces mean velocities on the one hand
but increases shear stresses on the other while preventing the development of the vegetation. Locally,
structural operations are needed to stabilize the river bed.

1 INTRODUCTION

The planned riverbed consists of a variable geometry and cross sectional shapes separated in one
main channel and two flood plains. According to modern aspects of river-design a partly meandering
river was chosen where diverse flow patterns are beneficial to the river ecology. The new part of
the river will cover a reach of 12.0 km (Fig. 1). The river Inde has a mean discharge of 4.3 m3 /s. Its
new river bed features a slope of 1.2% and a mean width of 13.70 m.

Figure 1. The relocation of the river Inde.

1643
Figure 2. Sparse vegetation and macro-roughness on flood plains (left) and overview of sections A and B.

The new river bed of the Inde is characterized by a wide bandwidth of different roughness
regions. The main influencing parameters regarding the bed load are the material’s critical shear
stress τc and the mass erosion capacity, respectively. In addition to the bare material’s critical shear
stress the influences of sparse vegetation and macro-roughness caused by the construction method
are important aspects to consider in the model (Fig. 2, left).
As a consequence to the sparse and slowly growing vegetation the shear stresses are computed
for various scenarios. At first, a scenario for the time immediately after flooding the new part of the
river is calculated when bottom settlement has not finished yet and plants are sparse. The second
scenario refers to another point of time in the far future when settlement is finished and vegetation
is dense. Besides forecasting erosion stability for annually repeated floods, the initial bed load for
floods of a hundred-year frequency is investigated, too.

2 THE MODEL

2.1 Simulation of flow characteristics

The flow processes in the river are dominated by a very heterogeneous river geometry and roughness
distribution. To assure the hydromechanical efficiency as well as to get information about the occur-
ring shear stresses at different flood events, the two-dimensional depth averaged model RISMO is
used. RISMO has been developed at the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources
Management at the RWTH Aachen University and has been applied to several two-dimensional
simulations (Rouvé & Schröder 1993).
The numerical model solves the shallow water equations with the finite element method. The
shallow water equations are obtained by vertical integration of the Navier-Stokes equations and the
continuity equation (Kuipers & Vreugdenhill 1973):

where H is the flow depth, Ui are time-averaged horizontal velocities, Vij is the viscous stress tensor,
Tij the turbulent stress tensor, xi are the Cartesian coordinates, S is the water surface elevation, F
the outer force, ρ the density of water and ν the cinematic viscosity. A wet-dry algorithm considers
bank overflow and partly submerged regions. The flow calculation yields the velocity and the depth
of flow for each node for a given discharge and for a set of boundary conditions like the bottom

1644
roughness and outflow water level. The simulation is carried out from downstream to upstream to
use the results from one section as the outflow boundary condition to the next one.
When the flow calculations are completed a decoupled sediment transport module is used to
calculate transport rates. The influences of the macro-roughness and the sparse vegetation are all
included into Manning’s roughness parameter n. The whole reach of the new riverbed is divided
into sections with about 8000 elements each.

2.2 Applied roughness

The open pit mine provides a material as a side product which is used for the new river bed. It consists
of a mixture of gravel, sand and loess with a characteristic diameter dch = 15 mm. Resistance to
flow is typically characterized by a roughness coefficient. The most commonly used equation for
flow resistance is the Manning equation. All other forms of resistance parameters as for example
the Chezy C parameter can be converted into Manning’s coefficient n.
The roughness of the bare material was tested in an earlier physical experiment in order to transfer
the results into the numerical model (Baur et al. 1997) and was determined to be n = 0.019 s/m1/3 .
The estimation of the material’s roughness is very precise, as long as heterogeneous influences are
not considered. However, the flood plains of the new river Inde feature ripple-shaped elements of
macro-roughness and a sparse vegetation layer (Fig. 2, left). The width of the macro-roughness
elements is app. 2.0 m and their height about 0.6 m. In order to take these structures into account,
an approach recommended by van Rijn (1993) is chosen:

In Equation 3 above nR [s/m1/3 ] is the additional Manning roughness resulting from ripples or
dunes, ks [mm] is the equivalent sand roughness parameter, γR [−] is called a presence factor
(γR = 1.0 for ripples and γR = 0.7 for dunes) and R [m] is the height of the structures. Hence, the
resulting Manning’s roughness coefficient for the river Inde is chosen to be n = 0.05 s/m1/3 and
nR = 0.031 s/m1/3 .

2.3 Critical shear stress value

The value of the critical shear stress relies on the degree of fractional ground cover V, which ranges
from zero to one. Vmax = 1 is the maximum percent cover that can be supported in a given environ-
ment. Unfortunately, only few data sets exist to confirm the relationship between the critical shear
stress τc and V . In the absence of better information, a linear relationship is a good approximation
(Tucker 1999):

here, τcs is the critical shear stress for an unvegetated surface and therefore primarily a function of
the grain size, and τcv is the additional critical shear stress under 100% vegetation cover. The bed
load qs depends on the difference of the shear stress τ and the critical shear stress τc .
At present time, the coverage V is about 10%. With τcs = 6 N/m2 as resulting from experiments
in a flume and τcv = 50 N/m2 as the maximum value under full coverage the critical shear stress
immediately after flooding the Inde is assumed to be approximately 11 N/m2 .

2.4 Erosion processes

The rate of erosion is calculated with one of the common sediment transport formulas. It is the
method of Meyer-Peter and Müller (1949) which quantifies the bed load transport capacity:

1645
with
qs transport capacity [kg/m·s] ρF bulk density of material [2650 kg/m3 ]
uτ shear velocity [m/s] dch characteristic particle size [15 mm]
Fr ∗ Particle-Froude number f (τ , dch ) Frc∗ critical Particle-Froude number [−]
Qs effective flow rate [m3 /s] kSt roughness coefficient due to flow [m1/3 /s]
kr Particle roughness [m1/3 /s]
By comparing the rates at two adjacent cross sections the model predicts erosion or deposition
within the element. Dividing the difference of one section’s inflow and outflow by the element
length d yields the change in bottom elevation for each time step:

Therefore, the derivative of the bottom elevation in time is equal to the derivative of the transport
capacity in the x-direction. There are no long-term changes in river morphology predicted by the
numerical model, because there is more demand on the local accuracy of the estimated initial shear
stresses than on long-term prediction.

3 APPLICATION

3.1 Overview
The main intent is to predict depth erosion and the total area with shear stresses exceeding the
critical value. Therefore different vegetation coverage levels and specific times are investigated.
Another aspect is to study the influence of the macro-roughness on the computed shear stress
values and to suggest whether a removal is needed for reasons of flood protection or not. Hence,
the central goal is the minimization of the total area with shear stresses exceeding a critical value.
In this section, the focus is set on sections A and B which will be completed in the next year (Fig. 2,
right).

3.2 Influence of settlement

Especially in the first years after cutting the old river and flooding the new part in the year 2005 any
flood events could produce great damage because there is no protection by any vegetation. Since
the new river bed is being built close to the open pit mine which was refilled with material just a
few years ago, the bottom elevation will change over the next 20 years by between 0.1 m and 0.6 m.
The estimated change of the bottom elevation due to settlement was added to the bottom elevation
at each computational node. A critical shear stress of τc = 11 N/m2 is assumed for both cases, which
corresponds to the initial status of vegetation. Figure 3 shows the computed shear stresses at river
km 5+400 for two different points of time and a discharge of 111.0 m3 /s (left: 2005, right: 2020).
It is obvious that values of shear stresses are minor in the year 2005. Table 1 compares the total
critical area.
During a one-hundred-year flood event the size of the area where erosion is possible increases
by about 50% due to the settlements. It is important that the risk is not higher in the beginning
compared to a later point of time.

3.3 Influence of the macro-roughness

The macro-roughness on the flood plains is caused by the construction method of the new river
bed. A comparison of calculated shear stresses with and without this macro-roughness should help
to decide whether the ripples should better be removed or not. Figure 4 shows the shear stresses at
the same Inde km 1+750 for both cases.

1646
Figure 3. Influence of settlement: Shear stresses at km 5+400 for the year 2005 (left) and 2020 (right).

Table 1. Summation of critical area for section “B” at two different specific times.

Section B 2005 2020

km 3+300 −5+800 m2 m2

Scenario SHQ* 7961.4 13,534.2

HQ100 ** 53,751.3 76,157.1

* Q = 22.35 m3 /s, summer flood, ** Q = 111.00 m3 /s.

Figure 4. Influence of the macro-roughness: Computed shear stresses for removed macro-roughness (left)
and with macro-roughness (right) at km 1+750 .

Figure 4 and Table 2 clearly illustrate the great influence of the macro-roughness on the flood
plains. Although the water depth becomes smaller and velocities are computed higher for the
case without the macro-roughness applied, the calculated shear stresses generally decrease. The
influence of the strong roughness dominates. After virtually removing all ripples, the summated
critical area is diminished to 29.8% for the HQ100 (111.00 m3 /s) case and to 70.9% for the SHQ
(22.35 m3 /s) case.

3.4 Influence of vegetation

The vegetation coverage on the flood plains is central to avoid depth erosion. Thus, when the
relocation of the Inde was planned in the early 1990’s, it was assumed that the flood plains are

1647
 Table 2. Summation of critical area for section “A” for the scenarios
with and without macro-roughness.

Section A
km 0+600 − 3+300 With ripples m2 w/o ripples m2

Scenario SHQ 30,639.2 8924.5

HQ100 99,258.3 69,705.4

Figure 5. Influence of the degree of fractional ground cover on the total area with supercritical shear stresses.

covered by 100% with a dense layer of vegetation after a very short period of time. This prediction
was wrong. The percentage of nutrient substances is very little and flora needs more time to grow
than usual. Therefore it is of great interest to predict the degree of fractional ground cover which
is needed to reduce the total area with supercritical shear stresses by 50%. In Figure 5 the critical
area AEro is plotted against the degree of fractional ground cover V and the critical shear stress τc ,
respectively.
The vertical line at V = 10% (τc = 11 N/m2 ) denotes the present state. The figure shows clearly
that when the plants grow the critical area becomes smaller. The point at which the area is reduced
by 50% differs for every case. But in general a critical shear stress of about 20.0 N/m2 and a degree
of ground cover of about V = 28% is sufficient.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The effects of macro-roughness and slowly growing vegetation were analysed for different flood
scenarios and for specific points of time in the future taking into account the settlement of the
river bottom. It is evident that the best protection against depth erosion is a dense vegetation.
Supporting the growth of flora leads to an increase of the critical shear stress and diminishes the
total endangered area.

1648
Figure 6. Variation of laterally-averaged initial bottom elevation due to HQ100 for sectionA (left) and section B
(right).

Ripple-shaped macro-roughness reduces mean velocities on the one hand but increases shear
stresses and prevents the growth of a homogenous vegetation layer on the other. The flood plains
should be levelled by removing the ripples before the final flooding.
The results confirm that combining erosion safety and conservation of a natural character is a
challenge. A detailed investigation of critical areas and sections endangered by depth erosion is
important to estimate the risk of an uncontrolled flooding of the coal mine.
The simulations reveal that local operations (e.g. bed covering layers or local widening) are
needed to stabilize regions with initial vertical transport rates above 0.1 cm/min (Fig. 6). Finally,
it will be interesting to compare the predicted numerical results with intended measurements after
the flooding in the year 2005.

REFERENCES

Baur, T., Lukowicz, J. von, Köngeter, J. 1997. Numerical Optimization of a Riverbed-Geometry with Special
Regard to Erosion. In J. Watts (ed.), Proc. 3rd int. Conf. on River Flood Hydraulics, November 5–7,
Stellenbosch, South Africa: pp. 285–290
Kuipers, J. & Vreugdenhil, C. B. 1973. Calculations of Two-dimensional Horizontal Flow, Delft Hydraulics
Laboratories, Report no. S163-1
Meyer-Peter, E. & Müller, R. 1949. Eine Formel zur Berechnung des Geschiebetriebes. Schweizerische
Bauzeitung 67(3), Zürich, Switzerland
Rijn, L. C. van 1993: Principles of Sediment Transports in Rivers, Estuaries and Coastal Seas. Amsterdam:
Aqua Publications: 13
Rouvé, G. & Schröder, M. 1993. One-dimensional vs. two-dimensional prediction of compound open channel
flow. Advances in Hydro-Science and Engineering; Proc. of the ICHE-’93, June 7–11, Vol. 1 Washington
DC, USA
Tucker, G. E. & Bras, R. L. 1999. Dynamics of Vegetation and Runoff Erosion. Final Technical Report
USACERL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical simulation of unsteadiness effect in depth-varying

and time-dependent open-channel flow

M. Sanjou
Research Associate, Dept. of Civil Eng., Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

I. Nezu
Professor, Dept. of Civil Eng., Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

ABSTRACT: In unsteady open-channel flows, the bed-shear stress, velocity profiles and turbu-
lence structure vary significantly with time. In particular, the von Karman constant and turbulent
energy have asymmetrical time-variations during floods, that is to say, these variations are larger
in the rising stage than in the falling one. Therefore, a new time-dependent turbulence model was
developed in order to reproduce these asymmetrical variations in this study, and some numerical
calculations were conducted by using the Volume of Fluid method for water surface. The calculated
data were in good agreement with the existing LDA data in the whole depth from the wall to the
water surface.

1 INTRODUCTION

There are time-dependent water depth and discharge in rivers in flood, and it is therefore necessary
to reveal hydrodynamic characteristics in such depth-varying unsteady open-channel flows for
river management and environment. In previous studies, the time variations of bed shear stress,
velocity profiles and turbulence characteristics were measured accurately by using a laser Doppler
anemometer (LDA). For example, Nezu et al. (1997) and Nezu & Onitsuka (2001) conducted
turbulence measurements in time-dependent and depth-varying open-channel flows and found that
the von Karman constant varied with time at high unsteadiness.
To explain these significant properties of unsteadiness effect in open-channel flows, Nezu &
Sanjou (2002) developed 2-D unsteady calculation model and reproduced the time variation of the
von Karman constant found by Nezu & Onitsuka. However, there were some discrepancies between
the calculated and measured values. In particular, we could not reproduce the unsteadiness property
of turbulent energy in which the turbulent energy normalized by the friction velocity becomes larger
in the rising stage than in the falling one. Therefore, a new unsteadiness function was introduced
in the present study to reproduce asymmetrical time-variations of flow characteristics between the
rising and falling stages. The present simulation could explain the time-dependent properties of
the bed shear stress, the von Karman constant and turbulence characteristics, which were in good
agreement with the measured data.

2 BASIC EQUATIONS AND CALCULATION PROCEDURES

2.1 Turbulence modeling

The continuity equation and Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equation are given by

1651
in which,  is the gravity potential function, P is the mean pressure, Ui is the ensemble-averaged
velocity components and ui is the turbulent fluctuations. We consider 2-D open-channel flow, in
which U1 and U2 are the streamwise (x) and vertical (y) velocity components. u1 and u2 are the
corresponding turbulent fluctuations.
The Reynolds stresses −ui uj in (2) are calculated using an anisotropic turbulence model proposed
by Myong & Kasagi (1990), as follows:

C1 and C3 are the model constants. Myong & Kasagi proposed that C1 = 0.8 and C3 = −0.15, and
thus these values were also used in the present calculations. k and ε are the kinetic turbulent energy
and its dissipation, respectively. νt is the eddy viscosity, which is the most important variable in
turbulence simulation.
In the present study, a low-Reynolds-number k–ε model was adopted and the eddy viscosity νt
is given then by

in which, Cµ is the model constant and fµ is the damping function due to the wall, i.e., a low-
Reynolds-number version. Cµ = 0.09 is used in steady flows. However, it is not yet clear whether
the value of Cµ = 0.09 is also applied even to unsteady flows. So, Cµ was corrected by introducing
an unsteadiness function fU , i.e., Cµ ≡ 0.09 fU ·fU is a function of time, and was assumed here by

in which ĥ ≡ h/hb , T ≡ t/Td and h is the time-dependent water depth. The subscripts b and p mean
the base flow stage before the flood and the peak flow stage of maximum water-depth, respectively.
Td is the duration time from the base water depth hb to the peak water depth hp in flood. α in (7) is
an unsteadiness parameter and defined as

in which Vs is the vertical rising velocity of water surface and Um is the bulk-mean velocity. The
parameter α was originally proposed for macro unsteadiness of open-channel flows by Nezu et al.
(1997). m and CT in (7) are the model constants. In the present study, m = 1.35, and CT = 100
for rising stage ∂ ĥ/∂T ≥ 0 and CT = 60 for falling stage ∂ ĥ/∂T < 0 were obtained from the
comparisons with measured data.
In contrast, fµ was proposed here for flood-simulated open-channel flows and given by

1652
where ξ ≡ y/h is the coordinate normalized by the water depth and y+ ≡ yU∗ /ν (wall unit) is the coor-
dinate normalized by the inner variables of the friction velocity U∗ and the kinematic viscosity ν.
Rt ≡ (k 2 /ε)/ν is the Reynolds number based on the turbulence.
In unsteady open-channel flows, the water depth h varies significantly with time, and thus it
is necessary to use a free-boundary algorithm. In the present model, the Volume of Fluid method
(VOF) proposed by Hirt & Nicholds (1981) was adopted.
The streamwise length L in the calculation domain was 20 times the base water depth hb , and
the examined test section was placed at x/L = 0.9. The mesh size, which is the nearest wall, was
set as 0.5 in the wall unit, i.e., y + = 0.5, in order to evaluate the friction velocity U∗ accurately.

2.2 Calculation cases

Table 1 shows the calculation cases, in which κ is the von Karman constant and κ varied with
time at high unsteadiness, as discussed later. In this study, we used a sine curve as a shape of
flood waves. These cases are same as used in LDA measurements of Nezu et al. (1997) and
Nezu & Onitsuka (2001). Only the duration time Td was changed in a wide range systematically,
i.e., Td = 30, 60, 120 s, for series A, in which the Froude and Reynolds numbers of the base flow
were kept constant. These series A were the low-Reynolds-number flows of Reb ≡ Umb hb /ν = 3100,
which were measured by Nezu & Onitsuka (2001). In contrast, the case B60 with Td = 60 s was
the high Reynolds-number flow of Reb = 12600, which was measured by Nezu et al. (1997).

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Time variations of bed-shear stress and water-depth

Figure 1 shows an example of the variations of bed shear stress τw ≡ ρU∗2 against the normalized
time T ≡ t/Td in the case of A60, i.e., α = 0.0034. T = 0.0 is the base flow time before the

Table 1. Hydraulic condition and the predicted values of κ.

Calculated
Td Umb Ump hb hp α
Case References (sec) (cm/s) (cm/s) (cm) (cm) (×10−3 ) κmin κmax

A30 Nezu & Onitsuka (2001) 30 5.2 14.3 6.0 7.9 6.31 0.30 0.46
A60 Nezu & Onitsuka (2001) 60 5.2 16.8 6.0 8.3 3.39 0.34 0.44
A120 Nezu & Onitsuka (2001) 120 5.2 17.5 6.0 8.4 1.75 0.37 0.41
B60 Nezu et al. (1997) 60 30.5 58.3 4.1 6.6 0.95 0.40 0.41

∆h/(hphb)
or τw /τw τw (observed)
2.0 τw /τw τw (calculated)
h (observed)
1.5 h (calculated)
1.0

0.5 ∆h
hphb
0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
T = t /Td

Figure 1. Time-variations of bed shear stress (α = 0.0034).

1653
beginning of flood stage. T = 0.5 is the rising phase. T = 1.0 is the peak flow phase at which
attains the maximum depth. T = 1.5 is the falling phase and T = 2.0 is the time back to the base
flow. U∗ is the friction velocity and it was calculated by the linear distribution of velocity in the
viscous sublayer, i.e., U + ≡ U /U∗ = y+ . These values of τ w are normalized by the time-averaged
value τ w . The calculated curve is in good agreement with the observed data, as seen in Fig. 1.
For a comparison, the time variations of water surface, h/(hp − hb ), in which h(t) ≡ h(t) − hb
is the increment from the base depth, are also included in Fig. 1. The time-dependent flow depth,
h(t), was also measured by an ultrasonic wave gauge by Nezu & Onitsuka (2001). The calculated
curve of h/(hp − hb ) using the VOF coincides well with the measured data.
3.2 Vertical profiles of mean velocity against time
Figure 2 shows the results of U + vs. y+ as a function of time T ≡ t/Td , in the case of A60 (Td = 60 s
and α = 0.0034). The present calculated curves are in good agreement with LDA data in the whole
flow region from the viscous sublayer up to the free surface. It should be noticed that the calcu-
lated curves coincide well with the linear formula of U + = y+ in the viscous sublayer. From these
velocity profiles in the log-law layer of y+ ≥ 30 and y/h < 0.2, we can evaluate the von Karman

+
U +
Rising Stage U Falling Stage
30 30
T=0.0 (Base Depth) U
 1/κ ln y

A T=1.0 (Peak Depth)
25 25
Measured by Nezu & Onitsuka (2001) Measured by Nezu & Onitsuka (2001)
20 calculated 20 calculated
+ +
15 U =y 15
free-
10 surface 10
y/h = 0.2
y/h = 0.2
5 5

0 0
30 30
101 100 101 102 103 101 100 101 102 103

30 30
25 T=0.5 (Middle Rising Stage) T=1.5 (Middle Falling Stage)
25
Measured by Nezu & Onitsuka (2001) Measured by Nezu & Onitsuka (2001)
20 calculated 20 calculated
15 15
10 y/h = 0.2 y/h = 0.2
10
1 1
5 κ = 0.34 5 κ = 0.44
0 0
101 100 101 30 102 103 101 100 101 30 102 103

30 30
T=0.9 (Peak Wall Stress) T=2.0 (Base Depth)
25 25
Measured by Nezu & Onitsuka (2001) Measured by Nezu & Onitsuka (2001)
20 calculated 20 calculated

15 15

10 10
y/h = 0.2 y/h = 0.2
5 5

0 0
30 30
101 100 101 102 103 101 100 101 102 103
+
y+ y

Figure 2. Distributions of streamwise velocity against time (α = 0.0034).

1654
constant κ. It should be noted that the value of κ decreases in the rising stage, while it increases in
the falling stage. These noticeable features were also pointed out in LDA measurements by Nezu
& Onitsuka (2001).

3.3 Time variations of von Karman constant

To further examine the time-variation property of von Karman constatnt κ, Fig. 3 shows the vari-
ations of κ against the time T as a function of unsteadiness parameter α. In the case of α = 0.00095
which was the smallest unsteadiness in the present study, κ does not change significantly during all
stages, i.e., κ is almost universal constant of 0.41. The maximum and minimum calculated values of
κ during floods are indicated in Table 1. However, at larger unsteadiness, the variations of κ cannot
be neglected any longer. That is to say, κ decreases in the rising stage, whereas it increases in the
falling stage. This fact means that the velocity gradient ∂U +/∂y+ = 1/(κy+ ) becomes larger in the
rising stage than in the falling stage and consequently the turbulence generation G + = −uv/U∗2 ·
∂U +/∂y+ will become larger in the rising stage than in the falling stage.
Figure 4 shows the values of κ at the typical rising and falling phases, T = 0.5 and 1.5, respec-
tively, against the unsteadiness parameter α. For comparison, this figure also includes the predicted
curves that were calculated using only the steady value of Cµ = 0.09, i.e., fU = 1.0. Of particular
significance is that κ decreases with an increase of α in the rising phase T = 0.5, although it may
approach a limited value at an extremely high unsteadiness, i.e., α >> 0.01. It is recognized that the
calculation without consideration of unsteadiness function of (7) cannot predict the experimental
data accurately at higher unsteadiness of α ≥ 0.001.

0.5
Value in steady open-channel flow by Nezu & Rodi (1986)
κ κ = 0.412
0.4

0.3 LDA measured values

α = 0.00095 α = 0.00095 (Nezu et al. 1997)
α = 0.0063 α = 0.0018 α = 0.0018 (Nezu & Onitsuka 2001)
0.2 α = 0.0034 α = 0.0034 (Nezu & Onitsuka 2001)
α = 0.0063 (Nezu & Onitsuka 2001)
0.1 Calculated curves
Peak-depth

0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
T ≡ t /Td

Figure 3. Time-variation of von Karman constant κ.

0.5
κ κ = 0.412
0.4

0.3 fU ≡ 1

0.2 : Calculated with fU = 1 T=1.5

T=0.5
: Calculated with variable fU
0.1 : Measured at T=0.5
: Measured at T=1.5
0.0
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
a (103)

Figure 4. Variation of κ against the unsteadiness parameter α.

1655
 (a) A30, α = 0.0063 (LDA-data, T=0.0) (LDA-data, T=1.0)
(calculated, T=0.0) (calculated, T=1.0)
7 (LDA-data, T=0.5) 7 (LDA-data, T=1.5)
T = 0.5 Rising stage Falling stage
(calculated, T=0.5) (calculated, T=1.5)
6 6
(LDA-data, T=1.0) (LDA-data, T=2.0)
k k
T = 1.0 (calculated, T=1.0) T = 1.0 (calculated, T=2.0)
U2 5 U2 5
* *
4 4

3 3

2 T = 0.0 2 T = 2.0
T = 1.5
1 1

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70


y y

(LDA-data, T=0.0) (LDA-data, T=1.0)

(b) A240, α = 0.00095
(calculated, T=0.0) (calculated, T=1.0)
7 (LDA-data, T=0.5) 7 (LDA-data, T=1.5)
Rising stage (calculated, T=0.5) Falling Stage (calculated, T=1.5)
6 (LDA-data, T=1.0) 6 (LDA-data, T=2.0)
k T = 0.5 k T = 2.0
U2 5 (calculated, T=1.0) 2
U 5 (calculated, T=2.0)
* *
4 T = 1.0 4 T = 1.0

3 3

2 2 T = 1.5

1 T = 0.0 1

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70


y y

Figure 5. Distributions of turbulent energy.

3.4 Time variations of turbulent energy

Figure 5 shows the distributions of turbulent energy k/U∗2 in the near-wall region for the rising
and falling stages, in which the results of high unsteadiness flow (α = 0.0063) are compared with
those of low one (α = 0.00095). The normalized turbulent energy becomes larger in the rising
stage T = 0.5 than in the falling stage T = 1.5 at the high unsteadiness. This noticeable property
is considered to be due to the variations of the von Karman constant as mentioned previously. It
should be noted that the present numerical model can reproduce well these unsteadiness properties
of turbulent energy observed by LDA measurements.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In this study, a new unsteadiness function was introduced and some turbulence simulations were
conducted in depth-varying unsteady open-channel flows. As the results, the present model could
reproduce the unsteadiness properties of von Karman constant and turbulent structure.
Main findings are as follows:

1. The friction velocity was evaluated from the theoretical formula in the viscous sublayer. The
distributions of ensemble-averaged mean velocity normalized by this friction velocity coincided
well with LDA data in all phases of the rising and falling stages. Consequently the log-law

1656
 was satisfied even in flood-simulated open-channel flows although the von Karman constant κ
changed with time in the case of high unsteadiness.
2. The von Karman constant at the high unsteadiness decreases in the rising stage, while it increases
in the falling stage. These features became more significant as the unsteadiness parameter α was
larger.
3. The calculated values of turbulent energy were in good agreement with LDA data. The present
model can predict reasonably the unsteadiness property of turbulence characteristics, in which
the turbulent energy becomes larger in the rising stage than in the falling one.

REFERENCES

Hirt, C.W. and Nicholds, B.D. (1981): Volume of fluid method for the dynamics of free boundaries, J. of Comp.
Phys., Vol. 39, pp. 201–225.
Myong, H.K. and Kasagi, N.(1990): A new approach to the improvement of k–ε turbulence model for wall-
bounded shear flow, International Journal, JSME, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 63–72.
Nezu, I. and Rodi, W. (1986): Open-channel flow measurements with a laser Doppler anemometers, J. of
Hydraulic Eng., ASCE, Vol. 112, pp. 335–355.
Nezu, I., Kadota, A. and Nakagawa, H.(1997): Turbulent structure in unsteady depth-varying open-channel
flows, J. of Hydraulic Eng., ASCE, Vol. 123, pp. 752–763.
Nezu, I. and Onitsuka, K. (2001): Turbulent structures in open-channel flows with strong unsteadiness, Proc.
of 2nd Int. Symp. on Turbulence and Shear Flow Phenomena, Stockholm, Vol. 1, pp. 341–346.
Nezu, I. and Sanjou M. (2002): Numerical calculation of near-wall region in unsteady turbulent open-channel
flows, Advances in Hydraulics and Water Engineering (ed. J.J. Guo), World Scientific Pub., Singapore,
Vol. 1, pp. 136–142.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Velocity distribution and discharge intensity of lateral overflow on

mobile bed

B. Rosier, J.L. Boillat & A. Schleiss

Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions – LCH, Swiss Fed. Inst. of Technology – EPFL, Switzerland

ABSTRACT: The protection against natural hazards such as floods and inundations requires
efficient control and management of flow processes along a river course. Lateral side weirs and
fuse plugs on canalized rivers are a feasible and widely used device to cope with this challenge. They
are installed at the bank along the main-channel with the purpose to divert or spill in a controlled
manner water over them into flood planes when the water level exceeds a certain limit. This lateral
loss of water will reduce the sediment transport capacity in the main-channel by decreasing the
bottom shear stress This yields to the formation of sediment deposits which raise the bed level
locally. As a consequence the design discharge to be diverted over the side weir is increased and
consequently sediment transport capacity is further decreased. This interaction between sediment
transport and lateral overflow has to be known in order to avoid such uncontrollable behaviour of
the side weir. Nearly no published work relates these phenomena to each other. By the help of an
experimental setup the physical processes in the main-channel and on the side weir were therefore
analyzed systematically. The processes mentioned above could be confirmed. They are strongly
transient showing a tendency towards an equilibrium state of the river bed. The presence of mobile
bed material forms an important part of these processes. Errors in calculating the diverted discharge
may be in the order of 25%.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the framework of the multidisciplinary flood protection research project DIFUSE (Digues
Fusibles et Submersibles, Fuse plugs and overflow dams at rivers) the effects of a side overflow on
sediment transport in a natural channel were studied.
At the current stage of research, lateral overflow, sediment transport and bed morphology are
almost is treated as a single problem. Due to this lack of knowledge, the particular objectives
of the LCH contribution are to collect experimental data which can be used to conduct a non-
dimensional parameter analysis to predict the hydraulic behaviour of the diverting weir. Combined
with a photogrammetrical approach, the purpose is to determine river bed changes and to find
empirical relationships. Furthermore, the collected data serves as main-input to generate a 3D
numerical model.
In the present paper the process of data acquisition and data treatment of the velocity distribution
is described. Results from 2D velocity measurements on mobile bed are presented and related to
the intensity of diverted discharge.

2 DATA AQUISITION

2.1 Experimental measurements

By the help of an experimental setup (30 m long and 1.5 m wide flume) (Fig. 1, top left), the physical
processes in the main-channel and on the side weir were analyzed systematically to determine the

1659
 0
side weir US UVP
0.3

Channel width [m]

0.6

0.9

1.2
main - channel
1.5
measuring weir
side weir
1.8 evacuation channel

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Channel distance [m]

UVP Probe

30
30

h–[cm]
30

h
30˚
30
30

Figure 1. Top left: General view of the test facility with the main-channel, the lateral side weir, the mobile
bed and the evacuation channel. Top right: Disposition of water level (US) and velocity (UVP) recording.
Bottom: Disposition and configuration of UVP probes on the measuring frame.

Table 1. Characteristic parameters of experiment B02.

No. of weirs Length of weir crest Sill height Flume slope Discharge Test duration
[-] [m] [m] [%] [l/s] [h:min]

1 3.0 0.10 0.2 210 03:21

interaction between lateral overflow and sediment transport, erosion and deposition processes in
the main-channel. As controlled parameters involved the main-channel discharge including flood
hydrographs, channel slope, length of the lateral weir crest, number of weirs and sill height were
studied.
The results of the present paper are based on one experiment (test series B02) from the total
amount of 12 test series performed (Tab. 1).

2.2 Diverted discharge

The diverted discharge was determined using the acquisition device for measuring the water depth.
By the help of an ultrasonic gauge (voltage between 0 and 10 V) water levels along the main-
channel as well as on the sharp-crested weir in the lateral channel were recorded continuously with
a frequency of one measurement per second (Fig. 1, top left). The voltage was transformed into a

1660
distance to a reference level located at the crest of the side weir. The error of the level measurement
is less than 1 mm (average ±0.5 mm). The measured water level above the sharp-crested weir in
the evacuation channel was converted into a discharge using the equation for sharp-crested weirs.

2.3 Velocities
Velocities were measured with an Ultrasonic Doppler Velocity Profiler (Metflow SA, Model
UVP-XW) allowing to obtain instantaneously a 1D-velocity profile over the whole channel depth
(Metflow 2000). For each 1D-profile, 128 data points in time were recorded with a spatial reso-
lution of 128 points over flow depth. Eight probes, each inclined at 30◦ to the vertical, were mounted
on a measuring frame fixed on a traversing beam. Four probes were orientated in the longitudinal
channel direction and four perpendicular to the main-channel axis, thus allowing to constitute a
2D velocity field (Fig. 1, bottom). The used probes had an emitting frequency of 2 MHz. Velocity
profiles were recorded every 30 minutes for 16 cross sections, whereof three were located upstream
of the weir, seven in the array of the weir (every 0.5 m) and six in the downstream section of the
channel (Fig. 1, top left). The velocity measurements were also used to detect the bed level.

3 DATA TREATMENT

For the analysis of the velocities two cross sections upstream and downstream of the weir (x = 2.0 m
and x = 11.0 m, respectively) and in the weir alignment (x = 5.5 m, x = 6.5 m and x = 7.5 m) (Fig. 1,
top right, dashed lines) have been chosen. To analyse the temporal evolution of the flow field two
timesteps at the beginning (t1 = 1.0 h) and at the end of the experiment (t2 = 3.0 h) are taken into
account.
The velocities in stream direction are rather high (up to 1.2 m/s), those perpendicular to the
main current in the order of magnitude smaller (up to 0.25 m/s). Due to the lateral overflow and
local sediment deposits both positive and negative velocities are encountered. For this reason, the
scale of the measurements had to be fixed to allow for good quality recording of high as well as
low records with positive and negative values. The maximum detectable Doppler shift frequency
is limited. This implies that there is a limitation on the maximum velocity that can be measured.
This maximum velocity (vDmax ) can be either distributed two times the positive value (2 + vDmax ),
two times the negative value (2 − vDmax ) or equally (±vDmax ). Due to the reason mentioned above,
the last option (±vDmax ) has been chosen.
A step to reduce the value of the measured velocity was the inclination of the probes (30◦ to the
vertical). Nevertheless, some velocity peaks were still higher than ±vDmax . An interesting effect
of the Doppler measurement device has therefore been revealed. If the measured velocity was
higher than the maximum velocity (vDmax ), the UVP shifts the measured value by minus 2 times
the velocity range to the negative domain of the measurement and vice versa. If the sign of the
velocity is known, the recorded velocity can be corrected by shifting the negative (positive) values
again to the positive (negative) domain (Hersberger 2003). This characteristic has been described
earlier by Rolland (1995) and Hersberger (2002).
After detailed analysis of the obtained velocity profiles the following criteria to shift have been
applied. For the longitudinal velocities the threshold value was set to 75% of vDmax . Values smaller
than the threshold were eliminated. For the lateral velocities almost no shifting has been detected.
Therefore the boundary criteria applied was fixed to 95% of vDmax .
Due to the following reasons the first data point of the velocity profile is located at 360 mm from
the free water surface (Fig. 2). The probe was submerged about 100 mm and the first 11 data points
corresponding to 160 mm water depth did not give reliable values because some influence of the
submerged probe was still present. The origin of the velocity profile was clearly detectable. The
bottom of the mobile bed was obtained from the signal for which the velocity as well as the variance
were close to zero (Hersberger 2002, 2003). Nevertheless this criteria does not always match the
case because local fluctuations mainly close to the bed have been observed. As an additional criteria

1661
Figure 2. Left: Mean velocities in stream direction (left probe out of order). Right: Mean velocities per-
pendicular to stream direction. In grey: t1 = 1.0 h. In black: t2 = 3.0 h. Distance between each profile 0.30 m.
The side weir is located between x = 5.0 and 8.0 m.

1662
the velocity profile has been analysed visually on signal records. The combination of these two
approaches gave very satisfying results.

4 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Corrected longitudinal and lateral velocity profiles for two time steps (t1 = 1.0 h and t2 = 3.0 h) at
different locations along the main-channel are analysed and presented in Figure 2. The left probe
in stream direction has broken-down. Nevertheless, it presents the bed level and therefore has not
been removed.
After one hour experiment time (t1 = 1.0 h), regular and similar to the classical “log” – profile
longitudinal velocity distributions are observed in the upstream reach (x = 2.0 m). Velocities range
from 0.75 to 0.8 m/s. The initial flat bed has already been subject to significant morphological
changes. The lateral flow field at t1 is close to zero whereas minor velocities are measured near
the bottom (up to 0.2 m/s). These might result from local sedimentary deposits or bed forms which
constitute an obstacle for the flow and deviate the current. In the first section in the weir alignment
(x = 5.5 m) a slight influence of the attracting lateral overflow is apparent. The longitudinal velocity
profile features a regular shape and increases towards the overflow (from 0.69 to 0.82 m/s). The
values are marginally greater than at x = 2.0 m. The same behaviour can be stated for the lateral
flow component (0.1 to 0.2 m/s). The bed level is almost horizontal. At x = 6.5 m, the shape of the
profiles in stream direction become somewhat disturbed. Especially the profile near to the weir
experiences a velocity reduction in the reach close to the free water surface. Lateral profiles are
approximately zero with a marginal flow component at the bottom. The bed level undergoes no
significant changes. In the third section in the reach of the weir (x = 7.5 m) the shape of the velocity
profiles becomes more regular. As far as the lateral flow components are concerned, velocities are
in the same order of magnitude than at x = 5.5 m but showing a tendency to be slightly higher. The
bed level increases significantly towards the overflow. Due to the lack of discharge in the main
channel, downstream of the side weir (x = 11.0 m) minor mean velocities are encountered than in
the upstream reach (from 0.45 to 0.6 m/s). Longitudinal profiles in the middle of the channel are
of typical form whereas the profile on the right bank is still influenced by the overflow although
being 3.5 m further downstream. The same behaviour can be stated for the corresponding lateral
profile where even negative values have been recorded. Velocities perpendicular to the weir show
increased values close to the ground. A morphological deposit begins to develop between the
second and third probe which deviates the flow to its left and right. This deposit becomes very
distinctive at t2 .
Two hours later at t2 = 3.0 h, velocities in stream direction are higher than at t1 = 1.0 h (x =
2.0 m). They range from 0.78 to 1.1 m/s. The shape is regular without any greater disturbances.
The maximal value of 1.1 m/s is obtained for the third profile from the left. The ground level has
increased significantly, the cross section in this strip is therefore reduced and the flow over this
sedimentary obstacle is accelerated. This obstacle is also apparent in the lateral velocity profiles
where elevated positive and negative ground velocities are measured thus indicating a deviation
of the flow. The upper part of the profile is nearly constant over flow depth. Further downstream
at x = 5.5 m slightly lower velocities than at t1 are recorded for the longitudinal direction with
some minor distortions which come across near the surface. Lateral velocity profiles are of almost
constant shape and somewhat increased compared to x = 2.0 m. In sections x = 6.5 m and x = 7.5 m
the profiles close to the overflow are reduced whereas the lateral component increases from 0.1
(x = 6.5 m) to 0.22 m/s (x = 7.5 m). Downstream of the side weir at x = 11.0 m almost the same
conditions as at x = 2.0 m are obvious for the stream direction. Perpendicular to the main-channel
axis profiles are of nearly constant character. The profiles are quite regular compared to those at
the beginning. Especially the ones close to the overflow do not represent distinct distortions. This
might allow to conclude that quasi stable conditions have developed throughout time and the whole
system tends towards an equilibrium state.

1663
 The lateral velocity increases from almost zero upstream of the lateral overflow up to 0.2 m/s in
the reach of the overflow thus constituting 26% of the longitudinal velocity. The velocity in stream
direction on the right riverbank close to the weir partially is reduced to less than 80% of the mean
velocity for the entire cross section.
Significant changes of the flow field in longitudinal and lateral direction can be stated. With
elapsing time the longitudinal flow velocity in the reach of the lateral overflow decreases while at
the same time the corresponding lateral velocity towards the side weir increases. These phenomena
are induced by the interaction of the lateral overflow with the mobile bed. The bottom shear stress
is reduced resulting in local sedimentary deposits which are responsible for an increasing diverted
discharge. Previous investigations (Rosier et al. 2004) showed that the diverted discharge amounts
on average to 20% of the total discharge introduced. Compared to a fixed bed, the ratio diverted
discharge/discharge is about 25% higher with a mobile bed. Due to the migration of dunes this
process is strongly transient showing a tendency towards an equilibrium state of the riverbed (in
the tests after 2:55 hours).

5 CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVE

An essential challenge in the field of flood protection is the capability to design and to predict
accurately the behaviour of flood control devices such as fuse plugs and lateral side weirs. In many
cases the behaviour of mobile bed material will form an important part of this process. It has
already been demonstrated that without paying attention to detail, errors in calculating the diverted
discharge can be of the order of 30% (Wormleaton et al. 2004).
Up to now, current research mainly focuses on side overflow, bed load transport or river morph-
ology as a single point of interest. Due to the absence of an overlapping assessment, the interaction
between bed load transport and lateral overflow has been studied experimentally. The investigations
referred to side weir geometry as well as to hydraulic variables. A high influence of the mobile bed
on velocity distribution and the intensity of diverted discharge is revealed. The lateral flow velocity
towards the diversion device amounts up to 26% of the mean stream velocity. The longitudinal flow
velocity close to the lateral overflow might be reduced to less than 80% of the mean velocity for
the entire cross section. A comparison of the ratio diverted discharge/main-channel discharge for
a fixed invert reveals a value being up to 25% higher for a mobile bed.
Based on the examination of the first test series, the remaining experiments will be analysed
according to the same procedure to finally perform a non-dimensional parameter analysis and to
develop empirical relationships for the hydraulic and sedimentary behaviour. In a future step, the
collected data will serve to calibrate a 3D numerical model in order to analyze the observed effects
in detail and to widen the application range from the simplified conditions of the physical model
to more general and natural cases.
A better understanding of the interaction between sediment transport and lateral overflow will
allow to develop and to provide appropriate design criteria for engineers involved in the design of
fuse plugs on rivers in the framework of flood protection projects. This refers to the residual risk
and the optimized geometric alignment of the side weir guaranteeing a sufficient bed load transport
capacity in the main-channel.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the CTI (Commission pour la Technologie et
l’Innovation) for their sustained funding for the research program under grant number 4898.1.

REFERENCES

Hersberger, D.S. 2002. Measurement of 3D flow field in a 90◦ bend with ultrasonic Doppler velocity profiler.
Third International Symposium on Ultrasonic Doppler Methods for Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Engineering.

1664
 PSI Proceedings 02-01, ISSN 1019 – 6447: 59–66. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL),
Lausanne, Switzerland, September 9–11, 2002.
Hersberger, D.S. 2003. Wall roughness effects on flow and scouring in curved channels with gravel bed. In
Schleiss, A. (ed.), Communications du Laboratoire de constructions hydrauliques (LCH) 14. Lausanne:
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).
Metflow 2000. UVP Monitor – Model UVP-XW. Users guide, Metflow SA, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Rolland T. 1995. Développement d’une instrumentation Doppler ultrasonore: Application aux écoulements tur-
bulents. PhD thesis 1281, Laboratory of Hydraulic Research (LRH); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Lausanne (EPFL), 159 pp.
Rosier, B.; Boillat, J.L. & Schleiss, A. 2004. Influence of laterally placed side weirs on bed load transport in
a prismatic channel. 2nd International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics, RiverFlow. Naples, Italy, June
23–25, 2004.
Wormleaton, P.R.; Sellin, R.H.J.; Bryant, T.; Loveless, J.H.; Hey, R.D.& Catmur, S.E. 2004. Flow structures
in a two-stage channel with a mobile bed. Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR 42 (2): 145–162.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Flow resistance in vegetated channels: Characteristics of

natural woody vegetation

Juha Järvelä
Laboratory of Water Resources, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland

ABSTRACT: Flow-vegetation interaction is a complex process. Although significant advances

have been gained, the effects of vegetation on flow resistance are still not fully understood. This lack
of knowledge has led to significant simplifications in practical applications. This paper investigates
the determination of flow resistance caused by natural woody vegetation. Much of the earlier work
on the hydraulic properties of woody vegetation is based on laboratory studies using artificial rigid
vegetation. In this paper, the differences between complex natural and simple artificial plants are
highlighted. Based on knowledge gained from flume studies with living plants, a computational
procedure for determining flow resistance coefficients is discussed. The procedure uses sound
hydraulic principles and measurable characteristics of vegetation that are suitable for describing
complex natural plants.

1 INTRODUCTION

Natural river floodplains and adjacent wetlands grow typically a diverse and heterogeneous com-
bination of herbs, shrubs and trees, which play an essential role in determining water, sediment,
nutrient, and pollutant transport (Nepf and Vivoni 2000). Vegetation is a key factor in the inter-
related system of flow, sediment transport, and geomorphology in rivers (Tsujimoto 1999). Effects
of vegetation on flow are significant and cause difficulties in hydraulic design. It has been gen-
erally agreed that vegetation increases flow resistance, changes backwater profiles, and modifies
sediment transport and deposition (Yen 2002). The net impact of vegetation depends on many
complex interacting factors, including the geomorphic setting of a channel, as well as the physical
properties, extent, species, age, and health of the vegetation (Darby 1999).
In hydraulic analysis, non-submerged and submerged conditions are typically distinguished,
since flow phenomena become more complicated when flow depth exceeds the height of plants
(Stone and Shen 2002). In addition, two types of vegetation are usually defined: rigid (normally
woody or arborescent plants) and flexible (herbaceous plants). To estimate flow resistance caused by
vegetation, an equation or set of equations that will relate resistance to readily defined, measurable
characteristics of the vegetation and the flow is desirable. The equation(s) should be based on
physical laws and be dimensionally homogeneous. However, many of the hydraulic design methods
used currently rely on the professional judgment of an experienced engineer, e.g. in selecting a
roughness coefficient. Theoretical or semi-empirical approaches should provide a better general
understanding of the variation of flow resistance.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the characterization of natural woody plants, and further,
the determination of the flow resistance coefficients in non-submerged condition. For this purpose,
knowledge gained from flume studies with living vegetation is used. Emphasis is placed on assessing
the difference between complex natural and simple artificial plants, as it has been shown that
the simple cylinder-based drag coefficient models offer limited applicability in treating branched
vegetation, even without leaves (Järvelä 2002b, 2004).

1667
2 VEGETATION-INDUCED FLOW RESISTANCE

2.1 Hydraulic considerations

In fluid mechanics, the drag Fd , which acts on a reference area Ap (typically projected area), may
be defined as

where ρ = density of the fluid, Cd = drag coefficient, Ap = reference (projected) area, and
U = average velocity. By equating Equation 1 to the gravitational force and using the two def-
initions u∗ = (ghS)1/2 with u∗ = shear velocity, g = gravitational acceleration, h = flow depth, and
S = energy slope, and U /u∗ = (8/f )1/2 the friction factor f can be formulated as

where Ab = bottom area. The determination of the drag coefficient for plants is, however, difficult,
since streamlining affects the momentum absorbing area. Although the friction factor is preferred
in the present analysis, it can be easily related to Manning’s n with the equation

where hydraulic radius R may replaced by flow depth h for wide channels.

2.2 Flow resistance due to woody vegetation

Li and Shen (1973) studied the effects of tall non-submerged vegetation on flow resistance by
investigating the wake caused by various cylinder set-ups. They identified four factors that need
to be considered in determining the drag coefficient: (1) the effects of open-channel turbulence;
(2) the effect of non-uniform velocity profile; (3) the free surface effects; and (4) the effect of
blockage. Lindner (1982) concluded that, in densely vegetated channels, the first two of these are
of minor importance and can be neglected. Petryk and Bosmajian (1975) presented a model to
estimate Manning’s n as a function of hydraulic radius and vegetation density for non-submerged
rigid vegetation.
A considerable number of flow resistance formulas or models has been developed treating plants
simply as rigid cylinders. Branched and leafy flexible plants are far from this simplification. Vogel
(1994) stated that the major contributor to the drag of most trees is the drag of the leaves, whether
broad or needlelike. He found that reconfiguring or reshaping of the leaves is a critical process
in generating drag. Oplatka’s (1998) experiments on flow resistance of tall flexible willows in a
towing tank showed that with increasing flow velocity the projected plant area perpendicular to
flow rapidly decreases. For example, at the velocity of 1 m/s, the projected area was only about 1/4
of the initial value with no flow. Kouwen and Fathi-Moghadam (2000) used coniferous tree saplings
in flume experiments and large coniferous trees in air experiments to demonstrate that the friction
factor varies greatly with the mean flow velocity caused by bending of the vegetation and with flow
depth caused by an increase in the submerged momentum absorbing area (MAA). Their model for
estimating the friction factor for non-submerged roughness relates friction factor to flow velocity
and a species-specific vegetation index ξ E, which accounts for the effects of shape, flexibility, and
biomass.
The drag of a rigid element is expected to increase in proportion to the square of the velocity
(Equation 1). Recently, Fathi-Moghadam (1996), Werth (1997) and Oplatka (1998) have shown that
this relationship does not hold for flexible trees and bushes. Furthermore, it is often simply assumed
in modelling approaches that a drag coefficient Cd ≈ 1.0 determined for cylinders can be used for

1668
vegetation. It appears that crucial process descriptions are lacking from most current methods or
models, since the domination of laboratory studies using simple artificial roughness has not allowed
for identifying and assessing all important processes and mechanisms that control vegetation-
induced flow resistance. Järvelä’s (2002a) experimental studies revealed that the contribution of
different vegetative roughness types to the total flow resistance depended strongly on the type and
combination of the vegetation and exhibited considerable variability. The most notable finding was
that, when compared to leafless conditions, the presence of leaves increased the friction factor
up to seven-fold. The streamlining of leaves and smaller branches caused a strong dependency on
flow velocity. Several cylinder-based studies show that the element pattern significantly affects
wakes and flow rates (e.g. Li and Shen 1973, Rouvé 1987). However, experiments by Järvelä
(2002a) showed that different spacing for the same number of leafless willows with grasses did
not have a significant effect on the friction factor. Doubling the number of leafless willows also
approximately doubled the f values for the same flow conditions. Fathi-Moghadam and Kouwen
(1997) have reported similar observations for both vegetation distribution and vegetation density.
Because of a lack of information and despite very poor results, the effects of flexibility and depth
on resistance for non-submerged vegetation are universally ignored in practice and in theoretical
analysis (Fathi-Moghadam and Kouwen 1997).

3 DETERMINATION OF FLOW RESISTANCE CAUSED BY LEAFY WOODY

VEGETATION

3.1 Characteristics of natural woody vegetation

The literature review in Section 2 revealed that the effects of the natural characteristics of vegetation
on flow resistance have not been adequately addressed in hydraulic design and modelling. Järvelä’s
(2002a) experiments confirmed this observation for the tests carried out with natural woody vege-
tation in a non-submerged flow. In the experiments, the effect of leaves on the contribution to flow
resistance was of great importance. On the other hand, the pattern of vegetation was only of minor
importance in determining the flow resistance in the case of natural (branched) vegetation. These
points have been raised in some earlier studies, but generally, very little attention has been paid
to them.
Based on the remarks made above, the essential factors to be considered in determining flow
resistance are (1) density of vegetation, and (2) deformation of plants in a flow. Foliated woody
vegetation consists of rigid and flexible elements. Trunks of trees and large branches are typically
rigid but bushes, smaller branches, and leaves bend in a flow. Fathi-Moghadam and Kouwen
(1997) stated that for non-submerged cases, the vegetation density is always a dominant parameter
regardless of tree species or foliage shape and distribution. The density of vegetation can be
quantified using the leaf area index (LAI), which refers to the ratio of the area of the upper
side of the leaves in a canopy projected onto a flat surface to the area of the surface under the
canopy. Subsequently, Järvelä (2004) suggested a characterization of leafy vegetation based on
three dimensionless parameters: (1) leaf area index (LAI), (2) a vegetation parameter χ, and (3) a
species-specific drag coefficient Cdχ (Figure 1). The vegetation parameter χ accounts for the
effects of plant deformation (flexibility and shape) in a flow, and is unique for a particular species.
The use of LAI as a density measure offers notable advantages, as it is widely used in silvicultural,
agricultural, and hydrological sciences. LAI can be measured by ground-based equipment in the
field or by using remote sensing techniques (e.g. Welles and Cohen 1996, Rautiainen et al. 2003,
Szoszkiewicz et al. 2003). In the next section, a computational procedure for determining flow
resistance based on the above characterization is discussed.

3.2 Procedure for determining resistance coefficients

The fundamental properties to be considered in establishing a resistance equation for leafy vege-
tation were concluded to be density of vegetation and deformation of plants. Fathi-Moghadam and

1669
Figure 1. Characterization of natural woody vegetation using three non-dimensional parameters.

Kouwen (1997) proposed a linear relationship between LAI and the friction factor, and Järvelä
(2004) confirmed this relationship for another type of vegetation. Thus, substituting the reference
area Ap with the leaf area Al in Equation 2 and introducing a dimensionless vegetation parameter
α gave (Järvelä 2004)

where Cdχ is a species-specific drag coefficient and α accounts for the deformation effects of plants
in a flow. Based on experimental data (Fathi-Moghadam 1996, Järvelä 2002a), α can be expressed
as a function of velocity α = (U /Uχ )χ . Uχ is used to normalize the relationship and is equal to the
lowest velocity used in determining χ , i.e. typically α ≈ 1, when flow velocity is only a few cm/s.
Inserting the definition of α and LAI into Equation 4 and assuming that canopies have a uniform
distribution of LAI over the height of vegetation H (Kouwen and Fathi-Moghadam 2000) yielded
(Järvelä 2004)

Equation 5 can be used to estimate the friction factor for flow inside leafy woody vegetation,
where h/H ≤ 1 and U ≥ Uχ . The procedure can be applied for any canopy height, density, and
any relative submergence, where total resistance is dominated by vegetation rather than channel
boundary roughness. Further research on minimum acceptable vegetation density is necessary
before exact limits of application can be established. The application of the procedure is limited
to non-submerged flow, i.e. flow-through vegetation. If a specific relationship between LAI
and h/H is known, Equation 5 can be easily adjusted to account for any nonlinearity relation-
ship between the parameters. The study was limited to the condition of relatively low velocity
(U < ∼1 m/s). Järvelä (2004) reanalyzed previously published data to obtain values of Cdχ , χ
and Uχ for different species of woody vegetation. Firstly, f , χ, Uχ and LAI were derived, and
secondly, values of Cdχ were back calculated from these data. The procedure was evaluated
by comparing predicted and measured friction factors. The largest individual discrepancy was
61%, while the mean error was 9% (Järvelä 2004). The procedure can be improved by study-
ing drag coefficients for further species of trees and bushes, and by investigating the vertical
distribution of LAI.

1670
 Practical application of the procedure is relatively straightforward. The computational steps run
as follows:
(i) Estimate parameters χ , Cdχ and Uχ from literature values or compute from field data if
available
(ii) Determine LAI by field measurements or use literature values
(iii) Select a design discharge or depth
(iv) Solve Equation 5 iteratively on condition that the principle of conservation of momentum is
satisfied (for details refer to the test computations in Järvelä (2004)).

4 CONCLUSION

As most current models or methods for determining flow resistance caused by woody vegetation
are based on theory and experiments on rigid cylinders, essential process descriptions, such as the
streamlining or deformation of vegetation in a flow, are lacking from these approaches. Herein,
leafy vegetation was characterized by leaf area index (LAI), a vegetation parameter χ, and a
species-specific drag coefficient Cdχ . The vegetation parameter χ accounts for the effects of plant
deformation (flexibility and shape) in a flow, and is unique for a particular species. LAI has been
shown to be a useful measure to take into consideration the effects of the density of vegetation.
To determine friction factor f or Manning’s n for non-submerged woody vegetation, a proced-
ure based on the measurable characteristics of vegetation and flow was discussed. The procedure
(Equation 5) uses sound hydraulic principles and methods that are currently available but incorp-
orates some adjustments based on the deformation of foliage in a flow. The procedure is a practical
tool in estimating the relationship between plant properties and flow resistance for flows over
floodplains and wetlands with woody vegetation. The benefit of the procedure is that it is based
on the physical laws and characteristics of vegetation, and it is straightforward to apply within a
numerical modelling framework.

NOTATIONS

The following symbols are used in this paper:

Ab [m2 ] bottom area

Al [m2 ] leaf area
Ap [m2 ] projected area
Cd [–] drag coefficient
Cdχ [–] drag coefficient of a leafy bush or tree
f [–] Darcy–Weisbach friction factor
Fd [N] drag
g [m s−2 ] gravitational acceleration
H [m] plant height
h [m] flow depth (bottom to free surface)
LAI [–] leaf area index
n [s m−1/3 ] Manning’s resistance coefficient
R [m] hydraulic radius
S [–] bottom or energy slope for uniform and non-uniform flows, respectively
U [m s−1 ] mean cross-sectional velocity
Uχ [m s−1 ] lowest velocity used in determining χ
u∗ [m s−1 ] shear velocity
α [–] vegetation parameter
χ [–] vegetation parameter
ρ [kg m−3 ] fluid density
ξE [N m−2 ] vegetation index

1671
REFERENCES

Darby, S.E. 1999. Effect of Riparian Vegetation on Flow Resistance and Flood Potential. J. Hydr. Engrg. 125:
443–454.
Fathi-Moghadam, M. 1996. Momentum absorption in non-rigid, non-submerged, tall vegetation along rivers.
University of Waterlo [Doctoral thesis].
Fathi-Moghadam, M. and Kouwen, N. 1997. Nonrigid, nonsubmerged, vegetative roughness on floodplains.
J. Hydr. Engrg. 123(1): 51–57.
Järvelä, J. 2002a. Flow resistance of flexible and stiff vegetation: a flume study with natural plants. Journal of
Hydrology 269(1–2): 44–54.
Järvelä, J. 2002b. Determination of flow resistance of vegetated channel banks and floodplains. In Bousmar, D.
and Zech, Y. (eds), River Flow 2002: 311–318. Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Järvelä, J. 2004. Determination of flow resistance caused by non-submerged woody vegetation. International
Journal of River Basin Management 2(1): 1–10.
Kouwen, N. and Fathi-Moghadam, M. 2000. Friction Factors for Coniferous Trees along Rivers. J. Hydr. Engrg.
126(10): 732–740.
Li, R.-M. and Shen, H.W. 1973. Effect of tall vegetations on flow and sediment. J. Hydr. Div. ASCE 99(5):
793–814.
Lindner, K. 1982. Der Strömungswiderstand von Pflanzenbeständen. Mitteilungen 75. Leichtweiss-Institut
für Wasserbau, Technische Universität Braunschweig [Doctoral thesis].
Nepf, H.M. and Vivoni, E.R. 2000. Flow structure in depth-limited, vegetated flow. J. Geophys. Res. 105(C12):
28547–28557.
Oplatka, M. 1998. Stabilität von Weidenverbauungen an Flussufern. Mitteilungen 156. Versuchsanstalt für
Wasserbau, Hydrologie und Glaziologie, ETH Zürich [Doctoral thesis].
Petryk, S. and Bosmajian, G.B. 1975. Analysis of flow through vegetation. J. Hydr. Div. ASCE 101(7): 871–884.
Rautiainen, M., Stenberg, P., Nilson, T., Kuusk, A. and Smolander, H. 2003. Application of a forest reflectance
model in estimating leaf area index of Scots pine stands using Landsat-7 ETM reflectance data. Can. J.
Remote Sensing 29(3): 314–323.
Rouvé, G. (ed.) 1987. Hydraulische Probleme beim naturnahen Gewässerausbau. Weinheim: Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).
Stone, B.M. and Shen, H.T. 2002. Hydraulic Resistance of Flow in Channels with Cylindrical Roughness.
J. Hydr. Engrg. 128(5): 500–506.
Szoszkiewicz, K., Kaluza, T., Lesny, J. and Chojnicki, B.H. 2003. Remote sensing analysis of the floodplain
vegetation structure within a section of the Middle Vistula River. Towards natural flood reduction strategies,
Proceedings of the EcoFlood conference. Warsaw, 6–13 September 2003.
Tsujimoto, T. 1999. Fluvial processes in streams with vegetation. J. Hydr. Res. 37(6): 789–803.
Vogel, S. 1994. Life in moving fluids: the physical biology of flow. 2nd edition. Princeton: Princeton University
Press.
Welles, J. and Cohen, S. 1996. Canopy Structure Measurement by Gap Fraction Analysis Using Commercial
Instrumentation. Journal of Experimental Botany 47(302): 1335–1342.
Werth, D. 1997. Predicting Resistance and Stability of Vegetation in Floodplains. Utah State University
[Doctoral thesis].
Yen, B.C. 2002. Open Channel Flow Resistance. J. Hydr. Engrg. 128(1): 20–39.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

A study on grain size distribution of bed material using fractal

theory and analysis

Wang Xiekang, Cao Shuyou & Liu Tonghuan

State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics on High Speed flows, Sichuan University,
Chengdu, P.R. China

Lu Wei-Zhen
Department of Building and Construction, City University of Hong Kong,
Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

ABSTRACT: Grain size distribution of bed material is an important characteristic for studying
evolution of natural river channel by means of experimental ways and numerical modeling of
flow and sediment process. In recent years, some new nonlinear tools have become effective
ways to deal with sediment problems in engineering. In this study, the fractal characteristic of
sediment particle has been defined by means of fractal theory based on analyzing the property
of grain size distribution of bed material in the river channel. Furthermore, the fractal property
of sediment particle has been applied to judge the process of armoring and stabilizing in the
armoring experiment of bed material. The relationship between the riverbed roughness and its fractal
dimension is also obtained according to the experimental data. Finally, the relationships between
bed material roughness, fractal dimension, and representative diameter (d50 , d90 ) are discussed
respectively.

1 INTRODUCTION

Grain size distribution of bed material is a preliminary variable for analyzing fluvial process, model
design, riverbed armoring and the other related problems. The spatial variation of bed material grain
size along rivers has been a long-standing interest of fluvial geomorphologists and sedimentologists
in river engineering practice and physical model experiment. Trevor (2003) believed that the pulse
of bedload transport was closely related to the grain size distribution. The property of grain size
distribution depends on watershed characteristics, flow and sediment conditions, and composition
of bed material. The sediment sampling method and analysis method is a key step to reveal such
distributions. Stephen and Michael (1998) reviewed the sediment sampling method for analyzing
grain size variability gravel-bed rivers. Nowadays, there are two parameters for describing grain
size distribution, one is mid-diameter d50 and the other is a kind of parameter , which is used
to describe the uniformity of the bed material. However, these two parameters are not able to
properly describe the change of grain size distribution. Based on analyzing the property of grain
size distribution of bed material in the river, the definition of fractal dimension is introduced,
and two kinds of new methods are put forward, i.e., the stabilization degree of fractal dimension
of coarsening layer and the grain size distribution of bedload transport rate. Based on analysis
of stochastic distribution of non-uniform sediment and simplification of distribution of particles,
fractal characteristics of roughness with armoring riverbed is studied by means of fractal theory.
The relationship between riverbed roughness and its fractal dimension is obtained according to
the experimental data; furthermore, the relationships between bed material roughness, fractal
dimension and representative diameter (d50 , d90 ) are discussed accordingly.

1673
2 FRACTAL PARTICLE CHARACTERISTIC OF GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTION

The term “fractal” was firstly introduced by Mandelbrot (1967). He firstly described the geometry
or characteristic of objects with highly disorder by means of fractal theory. Mandelbrot (1960) found
the change of the price of the cotton with time, that is, the law of daily change was similar to that of
the monthly change. Mandelbrot regarded the figure of self-similarity with characteristic length as
fractal. Fractal dimension is an important parameter for describing fractals, its common definition is

where r is the length, N is number of the figure with length r, D is fractal dimension.
Grain size distribution depends on the condition of flow, sediment and the boundary condition
of river channel. The composition of particle has no structure figure with characteristic length,
and its fractal structure depends on a kind of statistical distribution, i.e., self-similarity. Assuming
particle diameter is r, the number N (r) could be calculated by certain function of r. Comparing
with definition of fractal dimension Eq. (1), the following equation can be deducted:

Assuming G(r) is cumulative gravity. If G(r)/G ∝ r b , we get

From Eq. (2), dN (r) ∝ r b−1 dr, and then

Thus it can be seen that D = 3 − b, and power law is of equal value to fractal distribution.
According to above analysis, if log G(r)/G vs. log r could be presented as a kind of linear
relationship, the phenomena would appear that the grain size distribution has fractal structure with
fractal dimension of D = 3 − b, b is longitudinal distance.

3 ARMORING AND STABILIZING ANALYSIS

3.1 Fractal characteristics of armoring layer

The bed material armoring is a complex process. At moment, there are two types of armoring
model. One is for gravel bed material, and the other is for sand bed material. The armoring charac-
teristics and mechanisms are different in both models. In the first model, once the armoring layer
deformed, the bedload transport becomes zero under the condition of the same oncoming flow dis-
charge; while in the second one, the above processes cannot be found. Researchers often judge the
stabilizing process for the second armoring model according to the variability of bedload transport
rate. For the gravel bed material, once armoring stabilization appearing, the grain size distribution
would be constant. Such stable distribution is useful for analyzing the armoring process. Using the
experimental data in the flume from Liu Yongjun (1992), the particle fractal dimension of armoring
layer is obtained shown in Table 1. After comparing the varying trend of particle fractal dimension
of all sets of experimental data, the degree of armoring stabilization can be determined.

3.2 Fractal dimension for particle size of bedload transport rate during armoring process
Concerning the type of oncoming flow, the sediment and the bed material with the extension
of experimental time, the grain size distribution of armoring layer and bedload transport rate
will change. Due to the initial constant status of the grain size distribution of bed material, the
relationship between the grain size distribution of armoring layer and the bedload transport rate
is closely related. From the above analysis of fractal characteristics of armoring layer, if fractal

1674
 Table 1. Calculation of fractal dimension of armored layer.

No. Equation b Correlation coefficient D = 3 −b Remark

1-1 G(r)/G ∝ r 0.70 0.70 0.90 2.30 Approximated stabilization

1-2 G(r)/G ∝ r0.75 0.75 0.91 2.25
2-1 G(r)/G ∝ r0.74 0.74 0.96 2.26
2-2 G(r)/G ∝ r1.00 1.00 0.93 2.00 Armored stabilization
2-3 G(r)/G ∝ r1.01 1.01 0.96 1.99
3-1 G(r)/G ∝ r1.07 1.07 0.96 1.93
3-2 G(r)/G ∝ r1.06 1.06 0.97 1.94 Armored stabilization
4-1 G(r)/G ∝ r1.09 1.09 0.95 1.91
4-2 G(r)/G ∝ r1.08 1.08 0.97 1.92 Armored stabilization
5-1 G(r)/G ∝ r1.27 1.27 0.94 1.73
5-2 G(r)/G ∝ r1.01 1.01 0.98 1.99 Armored stabilization
5-3 G(r)/G ∝ r1.01 1.02 0.98 1.98
6-1 G(r)/G ∝ r1.10 1.10 0.91 1.90
6-2 G(r)/G ∝ r1.09 1.09 0.93 1.91 Armored stabilization
7-1 G(r)/G ∝ r1.10 1.10 0.92 1.90
7-2 G(r)/G ∝ r1.15 1.15 0.98 1.85 Armored stabilization
7-3 G(r)/G ∝ r1.15 1.15 0.99 1.85

Table 2. Calculation of fractal dimension of bedload transport rate.

No. Equation b D=3−b No. Equation b D=3−b

1-1 G(r)/G ∝ r 2.16 2.16 0.84 4-1 G(r)/G ∝ r 2.00 2.00 1.00
1-2 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.92 1.92 1.08 4-2 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.67 1.67 1.33
1-3 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.90 1.90 1.10 4-3 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.66 1.66 1.34
2-1 G(r)/G ∝ r 2.20 2.20 0.80 5-1 G(r)/G ∝ r 2.10 2.10 0.90
2-2 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.62 1.62 1.38 5-2 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.36 1.36 1.64
2-3 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.60 1.60 1.40 5-3 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.34 1.34 1.66
3-1 G(r)/G ∝ r 2.12 2.12 0.88 6-1 G(r)/G ∝ r 2.20 2.20 0.80
3-2 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.94 1.94 1.06 6-2 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.57 1.57 1.43
3-3 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.91 1.91 1.09 6-3 G(r)/G ∝ r 1.56 1.56 1.44

dimension of grain size distribution in armoring layer become constant, the bedload transport rate
would be constant as well. That is, the judgment of armoring stabilization can be made based on
the fractal dimension of grain size distribution of bedload transport rate.
Using the experimental data from Tang Zhaozhao (1996), the fractal dimensions of bedload
transport rate can be obtained and shown in Table 2. It indicates that, as the extension of the experi-
mental time, the differences of fractal dimension of bedload transport rate become very small. The
method is helpful to judge the degree of armoring stabilization and to compare with different data.

4 FRACTAL DIMENSION OF RIVERBED ROUGHNESS

Due to the complexity of sediment characteristics and its distribution in natural channel, the study
on the particle exposure of bed material of riverbed becomes very difficult. Assuming the uniform
distribution of particle exposure and according to the exposure concept of MERCER, a calculation
method of sediment incipient motion, taking into account the exposure effect and its distribution,
has been proposed by Paintal (1971). Based on the uniform distribution, a relative exposure concept
was defined by Han Qiwei (1982). However, Liu Xinnian (1986) believed that particle exposure is
not uniformly distributed according to observed data. Although particle exposure concept has been
used quite often for describing bed material roughness, a verified particle exposure formula is not

1675
available to date. Another parameter for presenting particle exposure is ks for uniform sediment.
For non-uniform sediment, some representative diameters are normally selected, e.g., d65 , d75 , d90 .
Considering the dependence of bed material roughness on bed material characteristics, the latter
is relative related to flow and sediment condition. Hence, the fractal dimension of bed material
roughness can be used to study particle distribution and relationship between fractal dimension
and roughness coefficient.

4.1 Exposure of particles of bed material

The elevation of riverbed is always uneven, and the degree of particle exposure is also variable.
The function of particle exposure of bed material can be defined from:

where Z(x, y) is the bed elevation function V (x, y) is the second-order structure function of
bed elevation function, x = nδx, y = mδy, δx and δy are the sampling intervals, N and M are
the total numbers of measuring points of bed elevations in directions of x and y respectively. To
simplify Eq. (5), the longitudinal and transverse structure functions have been discussed separately.
Using the relationship in Eq. (5), the following two equations are obtained:

And also can be expressed as

where   is mean value of samples Z(x = 0, y), Z(x, y = 0), and fractal dimension from
Falconer (1990) could be calculated as Dx = 2 − Hx , Dy = 2 − Hy . Then, Eq. (6) can be also
presented as:

Where Ax , Ay are coefficients, βx , βy are the slope angle of log − log plot between
V (x = 0, y), V (x, y = 0) and y, x, respectively. Ax and Ay are longitudinal distances.
The roughness fractal characteristics are presented as:

4.2 Calculation of fractal dimension of riverbed roughness

Considering the difficulty of acquiring the field bed elevation data, a group of experimental flume
data has been used to analyze roughness fractal characteristics. The bed roughness can be described
by means of location of sediment particle. Assuming the shape of all sediment particles is spherical
and the bed roughness is the function of sediment particles. If the distribution of bed material
has several layers, and the sediment particle elevation is related to its diameter Z(di ) = di , and the

1676
longitudinal and transverse variance have relationship of x = y = di , the exposure V (di ) of the
Eq. (6) can be presented as

where N (di ) is the number of sediment particle N (di ) = 6p(di )/(π(rs − r)di3 ), p(di ) is the volume
gravity. Assuming the spherical shape of sediment particle, the Eq. (10) can then be simplified as:

The exposure V (di ) can be calculated using grain size distribution, and roughness fractal
dimension Dx , Dy can be obtained according to the log − log curve between V (di ) and di

where B is the longitudinal distance, D is the roughness fractal dimension.

Analyzing 12 sets of armoring experiment data from Tang Zhaozhao (1996), the calculated
roughness fractal dimension of armoring bed material are shown in Table 3.

4.3 Comparison within roughness n, representative diameter d50 , d90 and fractal dimension D
According to Eq. (12), the term V (di ) ∝ di−D can describe the relation between roughness fractal
characteristics and sediment diameter. Some researchers reckoned that roughness of movable bed
material is in proportion to sediment diameter, the common relationship is as below:

where the unit of d is meter, and there are some related formulas, as follows:

where the unit of d50 , d90 is meter.

Table 3. Roughness n, representative diameter d50 , d90 and fractal dimension D.

n d50 (m) d90 (m) D

0.0315 0.009 0.0198 0.46

0.0303 0.0085 0.0175 0.44
0.034 0.0068 0.0188 0.50
0.036 0.0072 0.0189 0.48
0.0288 0.006 0.015 0.54
0.0297 0.0032 0.0082 0.62
0.0301 0.0038 0.011 0.48
0.0324 0.0035 0.0089 0.44
0.0359 0.0047 0.0089 0.50
0.032 0.0091 0.02 0.48
0.0329 0.0075 0.0175 0.41
0.0323 0.006 0.0161 0.45

1677
 Eqs. (13) and (14) describe the bed roughness by means of the representative diameters, which
strongly depend on the location of sediment particle and has certain limitation in simplification.
Besides, the roughness fractal dimension D can be used to specify the impact of every sediment
particle, therefore the relation between roughness coefficient and roughness fractal dimension can
also be studied. Using the data in Table 3, the relations of roughness coefficient, representative
diameter and roughness fractal dimension are analyzed, and three types of function relationships
have been obtained and listed below:

5 CONCLUSION

According to the analysis of grain size distribution of bed material, it is found that the parameters d50
and  can not properly describe the nature of grain size distribution. However, the fractal dimension
can better express such property and can be helpful to study the processes of armoring and stabilizing
of riverbed. Based on the analysis of particle distribution of bed material, the exposure function
has been found, and the fractal dimension of roughness characteristics can be calculated using
simplified method. Relations within bed material roughness, fractal dimension, and representative
diameter (d50 , d90 ) are also discussed respectively. The preliminary results show that the fractal
characteristic of roughness provides a better option for describing bed material roughness.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was sponsored by the “973 Plan” (Grant No. 2003CB415202) and National Nature
Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50279024). The authors wish to express their appreciation
for the financial support.

REFERENCES

Falconer, K.J. 1990. Fractal geometry-mathematical foundations and application. England: John Whiley &
Sons.
Han Qiwei. 1982. The velocity and laws of sediment incipient motion. J. Sediment 2: 11–26 (In Chinese).
Judith, R.C. and Trevor B.H. 2003. The causes of bedload pulses in a gravel channel: The implications of
bedload grain-size distribution. Earth surface processes and landforms 28: 1411–1428.
Liu Xingnian. 1986. Bed load transport rate of nonuniform sediment and its armoring and stabilization.
Dissertation of Master’ degree. Chengdu University of Science and Technology (In Chinese).
Lu Yongjun and Zhuang Huaqin. 1992. Experiment study on armouring law of width size distribution; Pro-
ceeding of sediment preliminary theory in China, Beijing, Architecture and Industry of China Press (In
Chinese)
Mandelbrot, B.B. 1967. How long is the coast of Britain. Science 155: 636–638.
Ni Jinning, Wang Guoqian and Zhuang Hongwu. 1991. The new application and preliminary theory of two
phase of solid and liquid. Beijing: Science Press (In Chinese).
Stephen, P.R. and Michael, C. 1998. Grain size along two gravel-bed rivers: Statistical variation, spatial pattern
and sedimentary links. Earth surface processes and landforms 23: 345–363.
Paintal, A.S. 1971. A stochastic model of bed loads transport. J.Hyd.Res. 9(4): 527.
Tang Zhaozhao. 1996. Experiment study on transport law of width size distribution of non-uniform sediment.
Dissertation of Doctor’ degree. Sichuan Union University (In Chinese).

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6.3 Open channel flow – III
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Discharge formula of side-weir with zero height in subcritical

open-channel flows

Kouki Onitsuka
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engrg., Kyushu Institute of Tech., Kita-Kyushu, Japan

Juichiro Akiyama
Professor, Department of Civil Engrg., Kyushu Institute of Tech., Kita-Kyushu, Japan

Tomohiro Tsunematsu
Graduate school of Kyushu Institute of Tech., Kita-Kyushu, Japan

Masatoshi Takeda
Prefectural office of Ehime Prefecture, Matsuyama, Japan

ABSTRACT: Several discharge formulae, which predict the spill discharge per unit width in
open-channel flows with a side-weir, have been suggested as yet. The discharge coefficients in
such formulae were obtained empirically under the condition that the parameters were changed
dependently. In this study, the velocity measurements in subcritical open-channel flows were con-
ducted with an electromagnetic current meter and also the flow depth measurements were conducted
with a point gauge, with changing the inlet Froude number and the ratio between the inlet flow
depth and the length of the side-weir independently. It was found that the direction of the velocity
on the side-weir is almost constant in the vertical direction, but those changes in the streamwise
direction. The relationship between the direction of such velocity and the inlet Froude number and
the ratio between inlet flow depth and the length of the side-weir was made clear. As a result, a new
discharge formula of side-weir in subcritical open-channel flows with zero height was proposed.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the last 50 years, Japanese large cities have been urbanized rapidly. Much rainwater is collected
soon into the rivers after the rain so that the cities are sometimes damaged by a flood. It is difficult
to protect the citizens’ properties and lives perfectly from the floods by the high-level levees.
Because it is almost impossible to construct such high-level levees in all Japanese rivers soon.
Recently, the side-weir, which allows a part of floodwater spill from the river to the large reserved
tank which is located under the ground, attracts a great deal of attention, because many costs
and times are not necessary to construct the side-weir in comparison with those of the high-level
levees. Consequently, it is quite necessary to predict the spill discharge which overflows above the
side-weirs with high accuracy.
De Marchi (1934) has first investigated on a spill discharge formula of the side-weirs in open-
channel flows from a point of view of the hydrodynamics. However, he did not estimate the
discharge coefficients in the spill discharge formula so that his formula was not used at all. After
his study, several researchers have tried to find the discharge coefficients experimentally. Ackers
(1957) pointed out that the discharge coefficient is constant. Sabramanya & Awathy (1972) found
that the parameters of the spill discharge formula of the side-weir are following four ones, i.e.,
(1) the inlet Froude number, (2) the ratio between weir height and inlet flow depth, (3) the ratio
between weir length and channel width and (4) the ratio between inlet flow depth and weir length
from the dimensional analysis. They also supposed that the effects of the ratio between weir length

1681
and channel width and the ratio between inlet flow depth and weir length are weaker than those of
the inlet Froude number and the ratio between weir height and weir length without any verification.
They also obtained the spill discharge formula of the side-weir. Ranga Raju et al. (1979) and
James & Mitri (1982) modified the discharge coefficients on the basis of the their experiments.
The discharge coefficients which were suggested by Sabramanya & Awathy (1972), Ranga Raju
et al. (1979) and James & Mitri (1982) are controlled only by the inlet Froude number. In contrast,
Hager (1987) and Singh et al. (1994) pointed out that not only the inlet Froude number but also the
ratio between the weir height and inlet flow depth may affect on the discharge coefficient. Further,
Borghei et al. (1999) pointed out that the ratio between the weir length and the channel width may
also affected on the discharge coefficient. Therefore, the discharge coefficient which involves the
effects of all four parameters, such as the inlet Froude number, the ratio between weir height and
inlet flow depth, the ratio between weir length and channel width and the ratio between inlet flow
depth and weir length have not been suggested as yet. Because it is quite difficult to change one
parameter under the condition that the other three parameters are kept.
In this study, the experiments were conducted under the condition that the inlet Froude number
and the ratio between inlet flow depth and weir length were changed, respectively, although the
other parameters were kept constant. A new spill discharge formula is proposed on the basis of
both of the theoretical considerations and the experiments in subcritical open-channel flow with
side-weir with zero height.

2 THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Figure 1 shows the outline of a side-weir. In which x, y and z are the streamwise, vertical and
spanwise axis, respectively. L is the length of the side-weir, B is the channel width, h is flow depth
from the top of the side-weir, ϕ is the angle between the overflow direction and main-flow one,
S is the height of side-weir and V is the velocity. Subscripts 1, 2 and w denote characteristics at the
upstream, downstream and above the side-weir sections, respectively. The discharge per unit width
q∗ which spill over the side-weir is calculated by the following equation:

In which Q is the discharge in the main-channel. The velocity Vm and flow depth hw above the
side-weir are derived from the Bernoulli’s equation with condition that the flow above the side-weir
is in critical, as follows:

y Flow x
z
z
V1 B
L

ϕ
critical
depth Vw

h
S

section 1 section 2

Figure 1. Outline of a side-weir.

1682
 
In which g is the acceleration of the gravity, Fr1 ≡ V1 / gh1 is the Froude number. Subscript c
denotes the critical. In contrast, sin ϕ is not derived theoretically. Subramanya & Awasthy (1972)
derived sin ϕ from the assumption that the value of the streamwise velocity component over the
side-weir is the same as that at the inlet as follows:

Substitution of Eqs. (3) and (4) into the Eq. (1), the following equation is obtained:

In which CM is the discharge coefficients. Subramanya & Awasthy (1972) suggested the following
formula under the assumption of Eq. (5):

Subramanya & Awasthy (1972) pointed out that the spill discharge over the side-weir with zero
height is controlled by the Fr1 , h1 /L, B/L and also supposed that the effect of B/L is smaller than
that of Fr1 and h1 /L without any verification. In this study, the velocity measurements in open-
channel flow with side-weir were conducted with an electromagnetic current meter to investigate
on the relationship between sin ϕ and parameters Fr1 and h1 /L.

3 EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION

Figure 2 shows the experimental setup. The channel is made by acrylic. The length, width and
height of the channel are 5.0 m, 0.3 m and 0.4 m, respectively. The slope of the bed sin θ was set as
1/2000. The side-weir is located at 3.0 m from the channel entrance, and its length is 0.1 m.

Control valve Stop valve

Point gauge
Flow
Tail gate

Pump

Controller of
wave gauge
PC Controller of
electromagnetic Reserved tank
current meter

Figure 2. Experimental setup.

1683
 Table 1. Experimental conditions (L/B = 0.25).

Fr1 /(h1 /L) 0.4 0.6 0.8

0.2 ◦ ◦ ◦
0.4 ◦ ◦ ◦
0.6 ◦ ◦ ◦
0.8 ◦ ◦ ×

h1/L=0.6
6.0 Fr 1=0.4

h(cm)
Fr1=0.8
8.0

h(cm)
6.0 h1/L=0.8
Fr1=0.6
5.0
6.0

6.0 h1/L=0.6
Fr1=0.4
5.0
4.0
6.0
h1/L=0.4
Fr1=0.2
5.0
0
0 1.0
0 1.0 z/B
z/B x/L x/L
1.0 0 1.0 0

Figure 3a. Effects of Fr1 on water surface profile Figure 3b. Effects of h1/L on water surface profile
(h1 /L = 0.6). (Fr1 = 0.4).

Table 1 shows experimental conditions. Fr1 is changed from 0.2 to 0.8 and h1 /L is changed from
0.4 to 0.8. On the other hand L/B is fixed as 0.25. The cross symbol in Table 1 denotes that the
experiment was not able to carried out due to limitations of the experimental set-ups, the circle
symbol denotes that experiment succeeded.
The inlet flow discharge Q1 was calculated from the critical depth over the cross-sectional weir
which was located at the channel entrance. A part of water overflows over the side-weir Qw and
the other water flows in the main-channel Q2 . The outlet flow discharge Q2 was measured by the
wave gauge so that the spill discharge Qw was calculated as Q1 –Q2 . The water surface profile was
measured with a digital point gauge in the side-weir section. The streamwise velocity and spanwise
velocity were measured with an electronic current meter under the condition that the sampling time
and sampling frequency were 51.2 s and 20 Hz, respectively. The time averaged streamwise and
spanwise velocity vector U and W were calculated from the instantaneous velocities, respectively.

4 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Effects of Fr1 and h1 /L on spill discharge

Figure 3a shows the effect of the Froude number Fr1 on the water surface profile. The flow depth
above the side-weir (z/B = 1.0) decreases with an increase of the Froude number Fr1 .
Figure 3b shows the effect of the ratio between inlet flow depth and the side-weir length h1 /L.
The flow depth at the downstream edge (x/L = 1.0) over the side-weir (z/B = 1.0) increases with

1684
 0
Fr1 = 0.4

z /B
L/B = 0.25
h1/L = 0.6
0.5
side-weir

y/h1 = 0.75 Um1

0 0.5 1 x/L

0
Fr1 = 0.4
z /B

L/B = 0.25
0.5 h1/L = 0.6
side-weir

y/h1 = 0.50 Um 1

0 0.5 1 x/L

0
Fr1 = 0.4
z /B

L/B = 0.25
0.5 h1/L = 0.6
side-weir

y/h1 = 0.25 Um 1

0 0.5 1 x/L

Figure 4. Variations of velocity vector in vertical direction.

an increase of the ratio h1 /L. It can be said that not only Fr1 but also h1 /L may affect on the spill
discharge over the side-weir.

4.2 Variation of flow characteristics in vertical direction

Figure 4 shows variation of the velocity vector in the vertical direction. The direction ϕ and strength
of the velocity vector over the side-weir (z/B = 1.0) changes rapidly in the streamwise direction.
In contrast, the direction ϕ and strength of the velocity vector do not so change in the vertical
direction.

4.3 Effects of Fr1 and h1 /L on velocity direction over side-weir

Figure 5a shows the effects of the Froude number Fr1 on the direction ϕ and strength of the velocity
vector over the side-weir. It is recognized that the strength of the velocity increases with an decrease
of the Froude number Fr1 .
Figure 5b shows the effects of the ratio between inlet flow depth and the side-weir length h1 /L on
the direction ϕ and strength of the velocity vector over the side-weir. The angle between the spill

1685
 Fr1 = 0.8 h1/L = 0.6 Fr1 = 0.4
L/B = 0.25 h1/L = 0.8 L/B = 0.25
Fr1 = 0.6 z/B = 1.0 z/B = 1.0
y/h1 = 0.5 y/h1 = 0.5
Fr1 = 0.4 h1/L = 0.6

Fr1 = 0.2
h1/L = 0.4

Um1 Um1
0 0.5 1 x/L 0 0.5 1 x/L

Figure 5a. Variations of the velocity vector on the Figure 5b. Variations of the velocity vector on the
side-weir (h1 /L = 0.6). side-weir (Fr1 = 0.4).

1 h1/ L = 0.6

sinw

0.5

log(sinw) = a1 log(x/ L) + log b1

Fr1 = 0.2
Fr1 = 0.4
Fr1 = 0.6
Fr1 = 0.8
0.2
0.1 0.5 x/L 1

Figure 6. Variations of sin ϕ against the streamwise direction.

flow and main-channel ϕ decreases with an increase of h1 /L. Further, the angle ϕ changes rapidly
in the upper area of the side-weir and it changes slowly in the lower area of the side-weir.

4.4 Discharge formula of side-weir with zero height

Figure 6 shows the variations of sin ϕ against the streamwise direction for each Froude number Fr1 .
The value of sin ϕ increases in the streamwise direction in every case. The relationship between
sin ϕ and x/L can be derived by a linear regression analysis as follows:

The values of the gradient a1 do not change so much irrespective of the Froude number Fr1 . The
averaged value of the gradient a1 is calculated as 0.19. The intercept b1 maybe controlled by Fr1 and
h1 /L. Figure 7 shows the variation of the intercept b1 against Fr1 for each h1 /L. The relationship
between b1 and h1 /L can be derived by a linear regression analysis as follows:

The gradient a2 and the intercept b2 maybe controlled only by h1 /L.

1686
 1.5 0.5 1
log a2 = 0.93 log(h1/L) + log 0.44
b1 log b1 = − a2 log(Fr1)+ log b2
a2 b2

h1/L = 0.4

h1/L = 0.6 log b2 = − 0.29 log(h1/L) + log 0.61

h1/L = 0.8
0.5 0.1 0.5
0.1 0.5 Fr1 1 0.3 0.5 h1/L 1

Figure 7. Variation of the intercept b1 against Fr1 . Figure 8. Relationship between a2 , b2 and h1 /L.

1.1
present study Fr1 = 4.0
y/h1

6,000
Subramanya & Awasthy
L/B = 0.25 Qwcal (Subramanya & Awasthy,1972)
h1/L = 0.4 Qwcal
1.05 z/B = 0.5 Qwcal (present study)
h1/L = 0.6 (cc/s)
1.025 h1/L = 0.8
h1/L = 0.8
1 4,000

1.025
h1/L = 0.6
1
1.025 h1/L = 0.4 2,000
1

0.95
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0
x/L 0 2,000 Qw (cc/s) 6,000

Figure 9. Profile of flow depth in side-weir. Figure 10. Relationship between Qw and Qwcal .

Figure 8 shows the relationship between a2 , b2 and h1 /L, as follows:

As a result, the empirical formula is proposed from Eqs. (8)–(11) as follows:

1687
4.5 Predictions of water-surface profile and spill discharge
The water surface profile and the spill discharge over the side-weir can be calculated by equations
(1), (3), (4), (12) and following equation:

In which A is the area of a cross section. Figure 9 shows the water surface profile in side-weir region
calculated by (1), (3), (4), (12) and (13), together with that calculated by Subramanya & Awasthy
(1972)’s formula. The accuracy of the proposed formula (12) is the same as the Subramanya &
Awasthy (1972)’s formula at the lower region. On the other hand, the accuracy of the proposed
formula (12) is better at the upper region.
Figure 10 shows that the spill discharge calculated by the (1), (3), (4), (12) and (13) and also
Subramanya & Awasthy (1972)’s formula. The accuracy of the proposed formula (13) is same
as that of Subramanya & Awasthy (1972)’s formula. However, the present formula (12) includes
the effects of not only the Froude number Fr1 but also the ratio between inlet flow depth and the
side-weir length h1 /L.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The spill discharge over the side-weir was controlled by four parameters such as Fr1 , h1 /L, L/B and
S/h1 . On the other hand, the experiments were conducted in the conditions that these parameters were
changes dependently. This is because it is quite difficult to change such parameters independently.
In this study, the velocity measurements in subcritical open-channel flows were conducted with an
electromagnetic current meter and also the flow depth measurements were conducted with a point
gauge, with changing the inlet Froude number Fr1 and the ratio between the inlet flow depth and
the length $$ the side-weir h1 /L in the condition that the S/h1 = 0 and L/B = 0.25. A new spill
discharge formula of side-weir in subcritical open-channel flows with zero height was suggested as
Eqs. (1), (3), (4), (12) and (13). The experiments will be conducted near future under the condition
that S/h1 and L/B are also changed independently.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are thankful to Mr. K. Matsumoto who supported a construction of the flume.

REFERENCES

Ackers, P. 1957. A theoretical consideration of side-weir a stream water outflows. Proc. of the Institute of Civil
Engineers 6: London.
Borghei, S.M., Jalili, M.R. and Ghodsian, M. 1999. Discharge coefficient for sharp-crested side weir in
subcritical flow, J. Hydraulic Engineering 123: 1051–1056. ASCE.
De Marchi, G. 1934. Essay on the performance of lateral weirs. L’ Energia Elettrica 11: 849–860. Milan, Italy.
Hager, W.H. 1987. Lateral outflow over side weirs, J. Hydraulic Engineering 113: 491–504. ASCE.
James, W. and Mitri, H. 1982. Modeling side-weir diversion structures for stormwater management, Canadian
J. Civil Engineering 9: 197–205.
Ranga Raju, K.G., Prasad, B. and Gupta, S.K. 1979. Side weir in rectangular channel, J. Hydraulics Division
105: 547–554. ASCE.
Singh, R. Manivannan, D. and Satyanarayana, T. 1994. Discharge coefficient of rectangular side weirs,
J. Irrigation and Drainage Engineering 120: 814–819.
Subramanya, A. and Awasthy, S.C. 1972. Spatially varied flow over side-weirs. J. Hydraulics Division 98:
1–10. ASCE.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Computation of free overfall

Yakun Guo
Department of Engineering, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK

Yongming Shen
State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China

ABSTRACT: Free overfall is a classic hydraulics problem which has been extensively studied
over the last several decades. Based on the complex variable function boundary value theory and
substitution of variables the boundary integral equations in physical plane for solving the free
overfall in a rectangular channel are derived. A numerical iterative method has been developed to
solve these boundary integral equations. The water surface profiles, free jet trajectories, bottom
pressure distribution upstream of the brink and the end-depth ratio (the ratio of the brink water depth
to upstream uniform water depth) are calculated for a wide range of bed slopes, bed roughness and
incoming upstream Froude number. The computed results agree well with the experimental data.
The method is also used to compute the sharp-crested weir with steep sloping upstream face and
shows a good agreement with experimental data.

1 INTRODUCTION

Free overfall, a gravity-affected free surface flow, has been extensively studied over the last several
decades by many investigators, partially due to its practical engineering use as a simple flow-
measuring device. The pioneering laboratory experimental work of Rouse (1936) showed that
there was a simple relationship existing for the ratio between the brink water depth (which is
so-called the end depth and can be easily measured) to upstream uniform depth for various upstream
Froude number. For critical flow, i.e. the Froude number of the upstream incoming flow equals
to unity, this ratio (called end-depth ratio (EDR)) is more or less constant and equals to 0.715
in smooth rectangular channels (Rouse, 1936). This finding has been confirmed by many later
laboratory experimental studies.
Since then, many studies have been conducted on free overfall. Delleur et al. (1956) experimented
with different slopes and roughness and found that the EDR was independent of bed roughness, but
correlated with the relative slope. Bauer and Graff ’s (1971) studies also showed that for mild slopes
and small roughness the EDR had a constant value of 0.781. Rajaratnam et al. (1976) extended
the experiments of Delleur et al. to a wide range of bed roughness and found that the EDR did
depend on the bed roughness provided that the bed roughness reached a certain value. However,
they did not provide the method to predict the accuracy of the EDR. More recently, Davis et al.
(1998) experimentally studied the influence of the bed slope and roughness on the EDR.
Theoretical and numerical methods are also used to treat the gravity-affected free surface flows.
Among them complex theory is a widely used method. Such approach, however, can only deal with
the flow with simple geometry. The key point of this method is to seek the solutions of the problem
in either auxiliary or complex plane. For flow with complex geometry the difficulties in seeking
the solutions are due to the nonlinearity of their boundary conditions and the fact that the free
surfaces are not known a priori. As a result, the application of complex theory to treat such flows
with curvilinear solid boundaries is largely limited (Diersch, et al. 1977). In this study, we first
derive the integral equations of free overfall in an auxiliary plane. After taking the Cauchy integral

1689
principal values in the auxiliary plane, the boundary integral equations in the physical plane are
obtained by using the substitution of variables. These boundary integral equations will be solved
using the numerical iterative method developed here. The advantage of expressing the solutions in
physical plane is (i) the solid boundaries are known functions of integral variable; (ii) integration is
performed only along the boundaries of the flow domain, thus the computed nodes can be flexibly
assigned in a similar way to that of FEM and BEM; and (iii) the calculation efficiency is quite high.
Therefore we can effectively treat the gravity-affected free surface flows with complex geometry
(Guo, et al. 1996, 1998).

2 FORMULATION

As shown in Figure 1a, within a Cartesian coordinate system (xCy), assume that the flow be two-
dimensional potential flow with φ = potential function, ψ = stream function, and W = φ + iψ the
complex potential, respectively. Then the complex velocity can be defined as

√
where z = x + iy, i = −1, u = flow velocity and θ = direction of flow velocity. The flow domain
in physical plane can be conformally mapped onto an infinite strip in complex plane (see Fig. 1b).
Without loss of generality, we define stream function ψ = 0 along ABCDE, ψ = q along A GFE,
where q is flow discharge per unit width, and defined φ = 0 at point B.
By transformation

the infinite strip in W -plane is mapped onto the upper half-plane of the auxiliary plane (t-plane),
as shown in Fig. 1c, where π = 3.14159. The real axis of t-plane corresponds to the boundaries of
the flow domain.
Inducing an analytical function

A' G s
y

H H0

he
B
A x F

C  E

D
(a) Physical plane

A’ c G F ξ

A B C D A B C D E F G A’ 
(b) W-plane (c) t-plane

Figure 1. Schematic sketch of free overfall.

1690
where u0 = the velocity at far upstream, then we can get the boundary conditions of W on the real
axis of t-plane as follows

where Im and Re represent the imaginary and real parts of , respectively, α = the bed slope of the
channel, τ(η) = (1/2)ln{2g[h0 − y(η)]/u0 }, h0 = efficient total water head at point C, y = ordinate
of free surface CD and GF, g = gravity acceleration.
The general solution to the above boundary value problem is (Muskhelishvili, 1965)

Using equation (5), we can calculate the velocity and its direction at any point in the flow domain
provided that α and τ are known functions of η in t-plane or φ in W -plane. As aforementioned,
when gravity is present or/and solid boundary is arbitrarily curved it is very difficult to establish
the mapping relationship. In other words, α and τ are unknown functions in t-plane or W -plane.
To avoid the mathematical difficulty in seeking the conformal mapping relation, we turn to the
physical plane (where both α and τ are known functions of (x, y) or stream length along the solid
boundaries and free surfaces) to seek the solution of (5) by means of substitution of variables.
As shown in Figure 1a, take far upstream points B and G as origins of streamline coordinates
along ABCD and A GF, respectively and denote s as arc length of streamline along boundaries.
Differentiating (2) yields

where u(s) = the velocity along boundaries, η(s) = −e−πϕ(s)/q along ABCD and η(s) = e−πϕ(s)/q
along A GF.
Since only the physical properties along boundaries are of interest, the principal values of (5)
at the boundaries are obtained by applying Plemelj’s formula. Using (6), we obtain the explicit
integral equations on physical plane (the first integral term on the right side of (5) is shortened
by finite integration, the second term has been replaced by two finite integration, the direction of
integration is the same as that of the flow velocity).
The velocity on the solid boundary BC is

The inclination of lower nappe of free jet CD and free surface GF is

where

1691
 when s  CD, δ = −1, η1 = η3 = ηC , η2 = η4 = ηD , IF (s) = −IGF (s); when s  GF, δ = 1, η1 = ηG ,
η2 = ηF , η3 = ηF , η4 = ηG , IF (s) = −ICD (s); ηC , ηD , ηF , and ηG being values of η at points C, D,
F and G, respectively.
When there are no waves occurring far upstream, the cross section (BG) can be treated as uniform
(Vanden-Broect, 1997). Under the circumstance of 2-D flow, this cross-section is isopotential. Thus,
the potential functions along flow domain boundaries can be calculated by:

The upstream free surface and the nappes of the free jet are calculated as

when s  GF, (x1 , y1 ) = (xG , yG ) = coordinates of point G; when s  CD, (x1 , y1 ) = (0, 0).
The pressure distribution along the bottom of the channel (BC) can be calculated according to
Bernoulli’s equation (taking x-axis as basic datum):

where p = the pressure at the bottom of the channel, H0 = total water head at cross section BG,
and ρ = water density, and hf (s) = continuous energy loss applied by the friction along the channel
bottom, which can be evaluated as (Guo, et al. 1996):

where R = hydraulic radius; λ = 8 g n2/R1/3 ; n = Manning coefficient. Thus, the efficient total
water head at point C is h0 = H0 − hf (S) with S = length of BC. The above equations (7)–(12) are
the formulations for calculating the free overfall and will be solved numerically by the following
iterative integration method.

3 PROCEDURES OF NUMERICAL ITERATION

(i) Assume the profiles of the free surface GF and CD (both as a horizontal line in the first trial).
Fix the computational nodes along the boundaries of the flow domain according to the variation
of the velocity field, with the nodes being locally densified near the brink.
(ii) Assume h1f (s) = 0, thus, h0 = H0 = yB + H + H ∗ Fr 2/2 with yB , H , and Fr = ordinate at B, water
depth, and Froude number at BG, respectively, upscript 1 is the iteration number. Assume the
velocity values along BC and calculate the velocities on GF and CD using Bernoulli’s equation
from the initially assumed free surfaces. Let the cross section GB be isopotential and calculate
the potential functions on each node in the light of (9). The corresponding values of η are
calculated by (2).
(iii) Put all initial trials and values of η into the right hand side of (7)(8). Then the new values of
velocity along BC and angles of the GF and CD are obtained. Using (10a, b) the new positions
of free surface are computed.

1692
(iv) Calculate the velocity on GF and CD. Then using (9) and (2) to compute the new values of the
potential functions and corresponding values of η.
(v) Use the new values to replace the former old values and repeat the steps (iii) and (iv) until

where ϕDn and ϕFn = potential functions at the points of D and F after the nth iterations; ε1 and
ε2 = the computational errors. Thus, the convergent solution for hf = 0 is obtained.
(vi) Use (12) to compute the energy loss h2f (S) and then get the new value of h0 = H0 − h2f (S), repeat
steps (iii)–(v) until

then the final solution considering the energy loss is obtained. Where ε3 is accuracy.

4 NUMERICAL RESULTS

4.1 Horizontal smooth bed

The numerical iteration method developed here is first used to compute the free overfall with
horizontal smooth bed since the most available experimental data were carried out for this case.
For the horizontal smooth bed, the integrated items IBCW = IBCF = 0 and hf (S) = 0. A number of
runs covering sub-, super- and critical conditions were performed and the numerical results are in
good agreement with the available experimental data. Figure 2 is a typical example showing the
excellent agreement of the computed profiles of the water free surface with experimental results
(Khan and Steffler, 1996) for Fr = 0.95. The computations also reveal that for the same accuracy
the convergent speed for cases with higher Froude number is much faster than that with lower
Froude number. The typical iteration number was from 4 (Fr = 2.93) to 15 (Fr = 0.5) and total
calculation time was from 6 s to 20 s for each case calculation in a 486 PC.
Figure 3 is the computed bottom pressure distribution upstream of the break. It is seen that the
computed results along the channel extremely collapses with the experimental results (Khan and
Steffler, 1996).

1
15

10 0.8

5
0.6
p/(rh0)

0
y (cm)

-5 0.4

-10
0.2
-15 measured this study

-20 measured this study 0

-2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0
-25
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 x/h0
x (cm)
Figure 3. Computed pressure distribution for
Figure 2. Computed free surfaces for Fr = 0.95. Fr = 0.95.

1693
 120
0.8

80

0.6

y (cm)
40
he/hc

0.4 0

measured this study

measured this study
-40
-160 -120 -80 -40 0 40 80 120
0.2
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 x (cm)
ks/hc
Figure 5. Computed flow over sharp crested weir with
Figure 4. Roughness and bed slope effects on EDR. upstream slope of 45◦ .

4.2 Combined effect of bed slope and roughness on end-depth ratio

Delleur et al. (1956) showed that the bed roughness had little effect on the EDR within their
experimental parameters. Rajaratnam et al. (1976) extended the experiments of Delleur et al. to
include a greater range of roughness. They found that for a relative roughness ks /hc being smaller
than 0.1, where ks = Nikuradse’s equivalent sand roughness height and related with the Manning
coefficient by n = 0.0382ks1/6 , hc = critical water depth, the bed roughness did have little effect on
the EDR and the curve of Delleur et al. (1956) could be accurately applied to estimate the EDR.
However, when ks /hc was greater than 0.1, the bed roughness applied a significant effect on the
EDR. To investigate such influence a total number of 43 tests have been performed and the results
are compared with the experimental results of Rajaratnam et al. (1976) (see Fig. 4). It is seen that
the computed results are in good agreement with the experimental one.
Runs are also performed to investigate the effects of bed slope and roughness on the water free
surface and bottom pressure. A good agreement between the computed and experimental results is
achieved though they are not shown here.

4.3 Flow over the weir with sloping upstream face

The trajectory of the free jet discharging from spillways with a sloping upstream face is calculated
with the use of the present method. The computation shows that the modeling results are extremely
in good agreement with the measurements (see Fig. 5). No numerical instability that is found in
previous study occurs in the calculation since the stability of the present numerical iteration has
been ensured provided that the flow discharge is given (Wen and Wu, 1987).

5 CONCLUSION

A simple numerical iterative method for computing the free overfall has been derived in physical
plane based on the complex variable function boundary-value theory and substitution of variables.
Since the numerical integration is carried out only along the boundaries of the flow domain, the
computation speed of this method is very fast. The suitability to the boundaries of the flow domain
of the present method is excellent and the computed mesh nodes can be flexibly assigned along
the boundaries. As a result, the method can be applied to treat the free overfall with curved bed.
The method has also excellent numerical iterative convergence and stability and there are no harsh
terms on the initial trial values.
We apply the method to compute the water free surface profiles, trajectories, pressure distribution
along the channel and the end-depth ratio for both smooth and rough beds with a wide range of

1694
slope and upstream Froude number. The numerical computed results agree well with the available
experimental results.
The present method can only be used to treat the 2-D potential gravity-affected free surface flows.
For real fluid flow or turbulent flow, various current popular turbulence models are recommended.

REFERENCES

Bauer, S.W. & Graff, W.H. 1971. Free overfall as flow measuring device. J. Irrig. and Drain. Div., ASCE 97(1).
Davis, A.C., Ellett, B.G.S. & Jacob, R.P. 1998. Flow measurement in sloping channels with rectangular free
overfall.” J. Hydr. Engeg., ASCE 124(7): 760–763.
Delleur, J.W., Dooge, J.C. & Gent, K.W. 1956. Influence of slope and roughness on the overfall. J. Hydr. Div.,
ASCE 82(4): 1038/30–35.
Diersch, H.J., Schirmer, A. & Busch, K.F. 1977. Analysis of flows with initially unknown discharge. J. Hydr.
Div., ASCE 103(3): 213–232.
Guo, Y.K., Wen, X. & Wu, C.G. 1996. Flow through slit in dam." J. Hydr. Engeg., ASCE 122(11): 662–669;
Discussions (1997): 123(12): 1174–1175.
Guo, Y.K., Wen, X., Wu, C.G. & Fang, D. 1998. Numerical modelling of spillway flow with free drop and
initially unknown discharge. J. Hydr. Res. 36(5): 785–801.
Khan, A.A. & Steffler, P.M. 1996. Modeling overfalls using vertically averaged and momentum equations.
J. Hydr. Engeg., ASCE 122(7): 397–402.
Muskhelishvili, N.I. 1966. Singular Integral Equations (in Chinese, translated from Russian). Shanghai:
Shanghai Science and Technology Press.
Rajaratnam, N., Muralidhar, D. & Beltaos, S. 1976. Roughness effects on rectangular free overfall. J. Hydr.
Div., ASCE 102(5): 599–614.
Rouse, H. 1936. Discharge characteristics of the free overfall. Civ. Engrg., 6(4): 257–260.
Vanden-Broeck, J.-M. 1997. Numerical calculation of the free-surface flow under a sluice gate, J. of Fluid
Mech. 330: 339–347.
Wen, X. & Wu, C.G. 1987. Boundary integral equation – inverse method for free surface gravity flows. Scientia
Sinica, Series A 30(9): 992–1008.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical study of submerged hydraulic jump

Dai Huichao & Wang Lingling

College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT: Underflow energy dissipation is widely used in hydraulic project. In order to keep
as high damping ratio as possible, a submerged jump with low submergence factor should be
formed in stilling pool. It is important to study and quantify this phenomenon so that an accurate
damping ratio can be obtained. The present work aims to study the phenomenon of the submerged
jump generated by abrupt opening of the sluice gate. The whole process from standstill water to
stable submerged hydraulic jump is numerical simulated. In the case, the velocity normal to the
free surface is not zero and thus the free surface is not a streamline. Two-dimensional unsteady N-S
equation is integrated and discreted with the finite volume method. Standard k-ε turbulence model
has been used to predict the characteristics of submerged jump. The VOF method is employed to
track the variation of free surface. Computational results are presented for Froude number is 8.19
and submergence factor is 0.24. The results are compared with available experimental data in terms
of surface profiles, mean velocity, turbulence intensities and shear stresses in the whole domain.
Good agreements are obtained. The accuracy of the model for predicting complicate turbulence
with unsteady free surface is excellent.

1 INTRODUCTION

Underflow energy dissipation is widely used in hydraulic project. In order to keep steady damping
ratio, a submerged jump with low submergence factor should be formed in stilling pool. Flow
regime of submerged jump has been studied extensively in the past decades. For example, Rouse
et al.(1958) studied the turbulence characteristics using an air model despite of the differences
between air and water flows. The study gave out some results that were new at that time. Many
researchers used experimental method to study the submerged jump. With the development of the
Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) and the advance in numerical techniques, it is feasible now for
further study of the internal turbulence structure of the jump nowadays. Long et al. (1990) have pro-
vided valuable experimental data about the turbulence characteristics of jump using LDA method.
They also made numerical simulation with the standard k-ε turbulence model and achieved some
results. However, they used the governing equations for steady flow, and the approach used to track
the free surface was limited to flows with small surface slopes. Wang (2001), Ma (2002) studied the
turbulence characteristics of the submerged jump with numerical method. In the present study, the
attempt is to simulate the unsteady flow process further, which may start from standstill and develop
progressively to a submerged hydraulic jump after the abrupt opening of the sluice gate. In this situ-
ation, the velocity normal to the free surface is not zero and thus the free surface is not a streamline.
Therefore, the unsteady state governing equations are necessary and will be employed in the current
study. The VOF method will be employed to treat the moving free surface of hydraulic jumps.

2 GOVERNING EQUATION

The governing equations are composed by continuity equation and momentum equations:

1697
where, ui (i = 1, 2) stands for the velocity in longitudinal and vertical directions respectively; p is
pressure; γt is turbulent eddy viscosity. Standard k-ε turbulence model are used to make the closure
of γt :

k, ε are the turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation rate of k respectively. The values of model
constants are: cµ = 0.09, σk = 1.0, σε = 1.3, cε1 = 1.43, cε2 = 1.92.

3 NUMERICAL PROCEDURES

The governing equations (1)–(5) presented above are solved numerically using the finite volume
method. Because of the unsteady characteristic of the problem, the free surface varies fast, the
restrictions of time step t such as courant limit, convection and diffusion limit is needed for
numerical stability purpose. Explicit schedule can be used in the discrited equation because of the
small time step. SIMPLE algorithm is employed to solve the control equation (1)–(5). The grid
system is staggered in space (Fig. 1). The variables including p, k, ε are located at the center of
the main cell while the velocity components, u and v, are put at center of u, v cell respectively. Set
i = 1, integral the Eq. (2) on the u-cell CDsn, one can obtain the following discrete form:

where δx , δy are the distances between the nodes; x, y are the dimentions of the control volume
in x, y direction respectively; τ is turbulent shear stress, τi, j = γt (∂ui /∂xj +∂uj /∂xi ); CD, sn, nC, sD

A N B
δy

n C

W w P e E
∆y

s D

S x
∆x

δx

Figure 1. Staggered grid.

1698
denote values on the four surface of u-cell. The center difference scheme is used to calculate the
diffusion terms. Then the equation (6) has the following form:

where, ui, j stands for the velocity at node e shown in Fig. 1, pi,j the pressure at node P · [] is the
convection terms which are treated by combing method of the center difference scheme (α = 0.2)
and upwind difference scheme (α = 0.8).The discritized equation in y direction can also be written
as equation (7).
By means of integrating the continuity equation on the main cell, the discretized equation can
be written as the form of pressure-iteration equation:

where

L is the iteration index of pressure, and n is the time index. βi,j is given on the main node P. In the
cell full of fluid, βi,j = 1.0 and in a cell of solid boundary, βi,j = 0.0. Velocity correction has the
following form:

k and ε equations are solved by explicit scheme, central difference to deal with diffusion and the
convection term is evaluated as a linear combination of centered (α = 0.2) and upwind scheme
(α = 0.8).

4 TRACKING OF THE FREE SURFACE

The high-velocity turbulent flow with free surface is being considered as very complicated flow,
which has not yet been solved quite well by numerical method. Difficulty arises from the simulation
procedure, for example, the free surface line is no longer a streamline, with its shape moving and
varying violently due to the strongly turbulent eddies on the free surface. When the structure’s
boundary or the domain of computation is not regular, the problem will become extremely difficult.
The rigid-lid is not suitable in this case. In the study, the efficient alternative – volume of function
(VOF) method was employed to describe free surface motion and its shape. The definition of the
F(x, y, t) is the ratio of volume of water flowing in the cell to the volume of the cell body. In the
cell full of fluid its value is unity and in a cell with a free surface, F(x, y, t) is between 0 and 1.
The governing equation of F(x, y, t) can be described with a pure advection equation:

1699
 Equation (11) can be discretized explicitly. In order to keep the fluxes only between adjacent
cells and fluid/gas transported out the cell less than the fluid/gas in the original cell. A special
interpolation method is employed to calculate the transport mass on the cell boundary. FA and FD
stand for values of F(x, y, t) in the acceptor cell (downwind cell) and donor cell (upwind cell)
respectively. FAD is the value of F(x, y, t) on the cell boundary between the two cells. The transport
capacity of F(x, y, t) through this boundary is:

 
where: vx = ut, CF = Max (1 − FAD )|vx | − (1 − FD )xD , 0 , u is the velocity on the boundary,
xD is the length of donor cell along the u direction. The transported capacity is less than that in
the donor cell which can be pledged by the ‘min’ sign in equation (12), while the gas transported
across the boundary is less than that in the donor cell be pledged by the ‘max’ sign in the equation .
The flux Fe on the boundary is equal to Fe = Fy. Where y is the length of the boundary.
The fluxes on the other three boundaries can be written similarly. By now, the free surface can be
tracked to the new position by calculation equation (11) that takes the following discrete form:

The height of the free surface can be determined:

where Yib presents the elevation of the channel bottom at the i cell, n is the total number of the cells
in y direction.
The gradient of F(x, y, t) function is the normal direction of free surface. A line vertical to the
normal direction can be drawn in the surface cell that split the cell into two parts and the volume
of the fluid is F(x, y, t) in the cell. The position of the free surface at new time step is obtained.

5 BOUNDARY CONDITION AND INITIAL CONDITION

On the free surface, no momentum fluxes are allowed to cross the free surface. Pressure for a
free surface cell is calculated by linear interpolation between the surface pressure and its neighbor
cell pressure inside the flow domain in a direction perpendicular to the free surface. The normal
gradients for u, v, k and ε in the free surface cell are assigned to be zero. Wall function method is
used to give out the velocity near the solid boundary. On inflow boundary, the distribution of u, v, k,
ε and p should be given while for outflow boundary, the normal gradients for u, v, k, ε are assigned
to be zero. The computation is initiated by assuming stagnant water in the whole computational
domain.

6 CASE STUDY

The numerical model above is employed to simulate the submerged jump described in Fig. 2.
The case was also studied by Long (1991) and Ma (2001). Velocity at the upstream inlet open-
ing boundary is uin = 3.14 m/s, height of the sluice gate is y1 = 0.015 m. Distribution of velocity
and turbulence quantities in the longitudinal direction is taken to be the same as those actually
measured distribution. The other values are: u/uin = 0.99 + 0.02y/y1 , v1 = 0, kin = 1.4 × 10−3 uin
2
,
−5 3 √
εin = 2.2 × 10 uin /y1 . Fr1 = uin / gy1 = 8.19. The conjugate depth of y1 is y2 = 0.166 m, depth
of downstream is yt = 0.206 m, factor of submerge S = (yt − y2 )/y2 = 0.24.

1700
 y
jump length

y2 yt
y1
uin x

Figure 2. Submerged hydraulic jump.

y/y1
10

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
x/y1

Figure 3. Stable velocity vector in the whole domain.

15

10
y/y1

5 simulation result
experimental result

0
0 30 60 90 120
x/y1

Figure 4. Profile of free surface.

20
y/y1
1.0
10

x/y1

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Figure 5. u/uin distributions.

The length of the computational domain is 1.5 m, 64 × 44 uneven grid cells is used in the case,
the grid cells near the inlet boundary and the bottom are finer. After the opening of the sluice gate,
the water rushes in through the opening gate. The free surface goes down near the gate due to the
large velocity and smaller pressure near the gate. After a period of time, it rises. then it goes up
and down repeatedly only with a damping magnitude of rising and falling height. At last when the
discharge going through all cross-sections of the flow domain becomes identical, the whole flow
field reaches a dynamic steady state. Figure 3 shows the stable flow vector field of the jump (the
velocity vectors in both x and y direction have been given selectively i.e. only those representing
the odd numbers have been given in the Figure). Figure 4 shows the profile of the free surface,
Fig. 5 gives out longitude velocity
 distribution in the whole domain. Figures 6 (a), (b) and (c) show
the turbulence intensities u2 , v 2 and shear stress −u v  . All the variables are normalized by y1
and uin . Available experimental measurements are also given in the above figures.
From the comparison, it can be seen there is a general agreement between the computational
results and measurements including free surface profiles as well as velocity except a bit higher cal-
culated concave point. Calculated turbulence intensities and shear stress show slightly discrepancy

1701
 y/y1

0.194
10
(a)
x/y1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

0.125
10
(b)
x/y1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

0.0097
10 (c)

x/y1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

2
(a) u'2 / uin (b) u'2 / uin (c) u'v' / uin

Figure 6. Turbulence intensities and shear stress.


compared
 with the measured data. u2 is under predicted slightly in circulation region, while
v2 , −u v are over predicted in the same region, it also shown the discrepancies near the wall is
a bit larger than that in upper part of the flow.

7 CONCLUSION

Two-dimensional submerged hydraulic jump with submergence factor 0.24 has been studied numer-
ically by means of the standard k-ε turbulence model. The volume of function is employed to track
the variable free surface. The calculated results including surface profiles, time averaged velocity
as well as turbulent measurements are compared with available experimental measurements. It
shows a satisfied agreement between the calculated and measured data except slightly discrepan-
cies in the circulation region. The numerical model appears to be adequate for the simulation of
submerged jump.

REFERENCES

Ma, F., Hou, Y., and Prinos, P. 2001. Numerical calculation of submerged hydraulic jump, J. of Hydraulic
Research, 39(5): 1–11.
Long, D., Steffler, P.M. and Rajaratnam, N. 1990. LDA study of flow structure in submerged hydraulic jumps,
J. of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 28(4): 437–460.
Long, D., Steffler, P.M. and Rajaratnam, N. 1991. A numerical study of submerged hydraulic jumps, J. of
Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 29(3): 293–308.
Lingling Wang and Zhongming Yan. 2002. Numerical simulation of energy dissipator flow field for Shilianghe
reservoir, Advances in water science, 13(3): 363–367.
Rouse, H., Siao, T.T. and Nagaratnam, S. 1958. Turbulence characteristics of the hydraulic jumps, J. Hydr,
Div., 84(1): 1–30.
Rajaratnam, N. 1965. The hydraulic jump as a wall jet, J. Hydr. Div., 94(3): 663–673.

1702
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Length of hydraulic jump on horizontal bed with abrupt rise

Kouki Onitsuka
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engrg., Kyushu Institute of Tech., Kita-Kyushu, Japan

Juichiro Akiyama
Professor, Department of Civil Engrg., Kyushu Institute of Tech., Kita-Kyushu, Japan

Hideto Isechi & Daisuke Kiuchi

Graduate school of Kyushu Institute of Tech., Kita-Kyushu, Japan

ABSTRACT: Relationship between the upstream flow depth and downstream one of a hydraulic
jump with and without abrupt rise is derived from the continuity equation and momentum equation.
On the other hand, such theoretical equations cannot give some information on the streamwise
length of the hydraulic jump. In this study, the length of the hydraulic jump with an abrupt rise
was measured with changing both of the inlet Froude number and the ratio between the inlet flow
depth and the height of abrupt rise by making use of a point gauge. The velocity measurements in
and around the hydraulic jump were also conducted with two-components type of electromagnetic
current meters. It was found that the length of the hydraulic jump with the abrupt rise is affected
both of the inlet Froude number and the ratio between the inlet flow depth and the height of abrupt
rise. As a result, a new formula about the length of the hydraulic jump with abrupt rise is suggested.

1 INTRODUCTION

Almost Japanese rivers are steep. The velocities of the rivers are quite high when the flood occurs.
The backward facing steps were arranged in places until now, so that the flow lost its energy when
the flow drops on the riverbed from the backward facing step. In such a situation, however, aquatic
lives such as fishes, crabs and shrimps cannot migrate there. Recently, the steep channel and pool
were constructed instead of a backward facing step in Japanese rivers. In those rivers, aquatic
lives can migrate there. The incline of the steep region is set to be 1/10, so that the flow belongs to
supercritical one when the flood occurs. After the flow passes through the steep region, the hydraulic
jump occurs in the pool. It is necessary to predict the length of the hydraulic jump to design the pool.
The relationship between toe and tail depths of hydraulic jump on the flat bed is derived semi-
theoretically from the continuity equation and momentum one under the assumption that the
hydrostatic pressure distribution is valid and wall friction is negligible small. It is well known
that the relationship between toe and tail depths is controlled only by the inlet Froude number. In
contrast, the length of the hydraulic jump cannot be derived theoretically. Smetana measured the
length of the hydraulic jump on the flat bed and suggested that the length of the hydraulic jump is
also controlled by the inlet Froude number. Hager et al. (1990) pointed out that the length of the
hydraulic jump is affected by not only Froude number but also the aspect ratio. Chanson & Montes
(1994) investigated on the relationship between shockwave and water surface profile. Ohtsu &
Yasuda (1992) pointed out that the jump type is affected by the Reynolds number in the case that
the Reynolds number is larger than 65,000 and smaller than 120,000. As mentioned the above, the
characteristics of the hydraulic jump on the flat bed are made clear to some extend.
On the other hand, the relationship between toe and tail depths of hydraulic jump with abrupt rise
is also derived semi-theoretically by making use of the same assumption. Forster & Skrinde (1949)
pointed out that the this relationship is not valid when the ratio between the inlet flow depth and

1703
height of the forward facing step is large, due to the hydrostatic pressure distribution is not valid.
Hager & Bretz (1987) measured the length of the hydraulic jump on the horizontal bed with an
abrupt rise. The jump type is classified into A-jump, B-jump, aerated wave and non-aerated wave
by them. In the A-type, the tail of the hydraulic jump is located at the front of the forward facing
step. In the B-type, it is located at the back of the forward facing step. Although they suggested the
formula of the hydraulic jump, the Froude number and the ratio between the inlet flow depth and
height of the forward facing step were not changed systematically.
In this study, the lengths of the hydraulic jumps were measured and the velocity measurements
were conducted with an electromagnetic currentmeter in open-channel flows with the abrupt rise. A
new formula of the length of the hydraulic jump on horizontal bed with the abrupt rise is suggested.

2 THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The relationship between the front and tail depths of the hydraulic jump on the horizontal flat bed
is derived semi-theoretically as follows:


in which h1 and h2 are the flow depths at the toe and tail of the hydraulic jump, Fr1 ≡ Um1/ gh1
is the inlet Froude number, Um is the bulk mean velocity and g is the gravitational acceleration.
Suffixes 1 and 2 denote the hydraulic characteristics at the toe and tail of the hydraulic jump. The
relationship between the flow depth at the toe of the hydraulic jump on the horizontal bed with the
abrupt rise and that at the equilibrium region, where is located at the downstream of the hydraulic
jump, is also derived semi-theoretically as follows:

in which y is the height of the abrupt rise and suffix 3 denotes the hydraulic characteristics
at the equilibrium region. On the other hand, the length of the hydraulic jump Lr is not derived
theoretically but derived experimentally. Smetana proposed an empirical formula which predicts
the length of the hydraulic jump on the horizontal flat bed Lr as follows:

Hager & Bretz (1987) proposed the length of the hydraulic jump on the horizontal bed with the
abrupt rise as follows:

The Froude number Fr1 and the ratio between the inlet flow depth and height of the forward
facing step y/h1 were not changed systematically in their experiments.

3 EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION

The experiments were conducted in a 20 m long, 0.2 m wide and 0.6 m height horizontal flume. The
sluice gate was located at 15 m downstream from the channel entrance. Table 1 shows experimental
condition. The inflow Froude number Fr1 and the ratio between the height of abrupt rise and inlet
flow depth y/h1 were changed systematically, so that 133 cases experiments were conducted. The

1704
Reynolds number Re ≡ h1 Um1 /ν is in the range from 5500 to 118,000 and aspect ratio B/h1 is in
the range from 4.51 to 57.1. In which ν is coefficient of kinematic viscosity. In the table 1, the
numbers indicate a number of times, the triangle symbol denotes that the experiments can not be
conducted by the limitation of the experimental setup and the cross symbol denotes that the flows
do not exist theoretically from Eq. (2). The distance from the sluice gate and the toe of the hydraulic
jump were set to be more than 80 times of the inlet flow depth, because Ohtsu & Yasuda (1992)
investigated that the boundary layer fully develops at the downstream of the sluice gate 50 to 100
times of the inlet flow depth.
x and y are the streamwise and vertical axis, respectively. ũ ≡ U + u and ṽ ≡ V + v are the
instantaneous velocity of x and y directions, respectively. The capital letters such as U and V denote
time averaged velocity and small letters such as u and v denote the velocity fluctuations. u and v
are the turbulence intensity of x and y directions, respectively.
The water surface profiles of in and around the hydraulic jump were measured with a point
gauge. The velocity measurements in and around the hydraulic jump were conducted with an elec-
tromagnetic current meter. The measuring time and frequency were 51.2 s and 20 Hz, respectively.

4 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Form of hydraulic jump

Figure 1 shows the shape of the hydraulic jump and velocity vectors which are constructed by the
streamwise velocity U and vertical velocity V . The positions of x1 , x2 , xh max and x3 which are
judged by the eyes denote the positions of the toe, the tail of the hydraulic jump, the maximum
depth and the equilibrium, respectively. The position of x2 which is judged by the eyes corresponds
to the tail of the roller which is judged from the velocity vector. Therefore, it can be said that the
accuracy of the length of the hydraulic jump which is judged by the eyes is high.
Figure 2 shows the distributions of the turbulence intensity u in the streamwise direction nor-
malized by the friction velocity U∗ . The strength of the turbulence intensity u /U∗ near the free
surface in the range of −40 < x/h1 < −30 is quite high as compared with that in the other region.
This region corresponds to the roller region.
Figure 3 shows the distributions of the turbulence intensities u and v  normalized by the friction
velocity U∗ at the equilibrium region x3 , together with the empirical formula proposed by Nezu &
Rodi (1986) as follows:

1705
 15
F08d20
Fr1 = 7.13 xhmax x3
y ∆y h1 = 1.85
x2
h1
Um1
5
x
1

forward facing step

0
-60 -40 -20 0 20 x / h1 40

Figure 1. The shape of the hydraulic jump and velocity vectors.

15
F08d20 xh max
Fr1 = 7.13 x3
y ∆y/h = 1.85 x2
1
h1 scale of turbulent
intensity u'/Um1
5 x1 0.5

forward facing step

0
-60 -40 -20 0 20 x / h1 40

Figure 2. The turbulence intensity in streamwise direction.

1
F08d20 1
F08d20
u'/U*
0.8
y v'/U* 0.8
h y
at x = x3 = 20∆y at x = x3 = 20∆y
0.6 equilibrium section on the h
equilibrium section on the
forward facing step
0.6
forward facing step
Nezu & Rodi(1986) Nezu & Rodi(1986)
0.4 : uniform flow : uniform flow
0.4
Du = 2.26, Dv = 1.23 Du = 2.26, Dv = 1.23
0.2 λu = 0.88, λv = 0.67 λu = 0.88, λv = 0.67
0.2
u'/U* = Du .exp(-λu.y/h) v' Dv .exp y
= (-λv + λu ).
v'/U* = Dv .exp(-λv.y/h) u' Du h
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 u'/U*, v'/U* 14 0 0.5 1 v'/u' 2

Figure 3. Turbulence intensities at x3 . Figure 4. Ratio between v and u at x3 .

in which Du , Dv , λu and λv are empirical coefficients. In the case of the wall turbulence, the
turbulence intensity decreases monotonously in the vertical direction as indicated by Eqs. (5) and
(6). The turbulence intensities u /U∗ and v /U∗ of the present experiments increase in the vertical
direction near the wall bed. This implies that the turbulence was carried from the upstream.
Figure 4 shows the ratio of the turbulence intensities v /u at the equilibrium region x3 , together
with the empirical formula which is derived from Eqs. (5) and (6). The ratio v  /u is larger than the

1706
 50
at x = x3 = 20∆y F08d20
U
equillibrium section on the
U* forward facing step

30

20

U 1 yU*
10 = ln v + As
U* κ
κ = 0.412, As = 5.29
0
102 103 yU* /v 104

Figure 5. Velocity profile at x3 .

13
∆y
= 1 2 3 4 5
h1
h3
h1
h3 = h2
Forster
& present ∆y/h1
7 ∆y < 0 Skrinde study
1
2
4 3
Theoretical limit
2 4
∆y
h3 = hc or = Fr13 5
h3 < hc h1
1
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 Fr1 17

Figure 6. Relationship between h3 /h1 and Fr1 for each y/h1 .

empirical formula. This maybe caused by the following reason: the water is disturbed by the roller
and disturbed water flows to the equilibrium region, so that the ratio v  /u reaches to the unit value.
Figure 5 shows the velocity profiles at the equilibrium region x3 , together with the log-law:

in which κ = 0.412 and As = 5.29 are the Karman and integral constants, respectively. The friction
velocity U∗ was calculated from Eq. (7). Although, the week wake is seen in Figure 5, the strength
of the wake is small, so that the mean characteristics is in equilibrium at x3 .

4.2 Flow depth at toe and tail of hydraulic jump and equilibrium region
Figure 6 shows the ratio of h3 /h1 against the inlet Froude number Fr1 and the ratio between the
height of abrupt rise and inlet flow depth y/h1 , together with the data of Forster & Skrinde (1949)
and semi-theoretical value which is calculated by Eq. (2). Forster & Skrinde indicated that the
theoretical equation (2) is valid at several inlet Froude number in the condition that the ratio of

1707
 180
3
∆y/h1
1 Lj
Lm 2 Lr
Lm /Lr = 1.5
Lr 3
4 ∆y/h1
120 1
2 5 2
3
90 4
5

1 60
2 4 6 8 10 Fr1 14 2 4 6 8 10 Fr1 14

Figure 7. Relationship between Lm /Lr and Fr1 . Figure 8. Relationship between Lj /Lr and Fr1 .

7
∆y/h1
1 0
6
2
a
a = -0.075 ∆y/h1
3
Lr /(h2-h1)

-0.1
4
5
-0.2
3

2 -0.3

1
2 4 6 8 10 Fr1 14 -0.4
0 1 2 3 4 ∆y/h1 6
Figure 9. Relationship between Lr /(h2 −h1 ) and Fr1
for each y/h1 . Figure 10. Relationship between a and y/h1 .

y/h1 is lower than 2 and also that the values of h3 /h1 is smaller than the theoretical value which
is calculated from Eq. (2) in the condition that the ratio of y/h1 is larger than 3. The values of the
present data agree well with those of Forster & Skrinde (1949) in the same condition. In contrast, the
present data deviates from the theoretical value in the condition of high Froude number, although
the ratio of y/h1 is less than 3.

4.3 Length of hydraulic jump

The length of hydraulic jump is defined as three types such as the roller length Lr , the length from
toe of the hydraulic jump to the position of the maximum flow depth Lm and the length from the
toe of the hydraulic jump to the equilibrium region Lj . Figure 7 shows the ratio of Lm /Lr against the
inlet Froude number Fr1 . Although there are some scatter of the data, the ratio of Lm /Lr is almost
constant as follows:

Figure 8 shows the ratio of Lj /Lr against the inlet Froude number Fr1 . Unfortunately, the formula
of Lj /Lr cannot be established due to the scatter of the data.

1708
 7
b
6

4 b = ∆y/h1 + 2.5

2
0 1 2 3 4 ∆y/h1 6

Figure 11. Relationship between b and y/h1 .

Figure 9 shows ratio of Lr /(h2 −h1 ) against the inlet Froude number Fr1 . The value of Lr /(h2 −h1 )
decreases with an increase of the inlet Froude number Fr1 , so that the relationship between Fr1 and
Lr /(h2 − h1 ) was described as a following equation:

Figures 10 and 11 show the gradient a and intercept b against the ratio of y/h1 . Although there
are some scatters of the data, the following equations can be obtained from the linear regression
analysis:

The length of the roller Lr is calculated from Eqs (9)–(11) and the length of Lm is calculated
from Eqs (8)–(11).

5 CONCLUSIONS

In this study, the length of the hydraulic jump with an abrupt rise was measured with changing
both of the inlet Froude number and the ratio between the inlet flow depth and the height of abrupt
rise by making use of a point gauge. The velocity measurements in and around the hydraulic jump
were also conducted with two-components type of electromagnetic current meters. It was found
that the length of the hydraulic jump with the abrupt rise is affected both of the inlet Froude number
and the ratio between the inlet flow depth and the height of abrupt rise. As a result, a new formula
about the length of the hydraulic jump with the abrupt rise is suggested as Eqs (9)–(11). Further, it
was found that the ratio of h3 /h1 deviate from the theoretical formula (2) in the condition of high
Froude number, although the ratio of y/h1 is less than 3.

REFERENCES

Chanson, H. and Montes, J.S. 1994. Characteristics of undular hydraulic jumps: Experimental apparatus and
flow patterns, J. of Hydraulic Eng. 121(2): 129–144. ASCE.

1709
Forster, J.W. and Skrinde, R.A. 1949. Control of the hydraulic jump by sills, Transactions of ASCE 115:
973–1022. ASCE.
Hager, W.H. and Bretz, N.V. 1987. Hydraulic jump at positive and negative steps, J. of Hydraulic Research
24(4): 237–253. IAHR.
Hager, W.H., Bremen, R. and Kawagoshi, N. 1990. Classical hydraulic jump: length of roller, J. of Hydraulic
Research 28: 591–608. IAHR.
Nezu, I. and Rodi, W. 1986. Open-channel flow measurements with a laser Doppler anemometer, J. Hydraulic
Eng. 112, 335–355, ASCE.
Ohtsu, I. and Yasuda, Y. 1992. Characteristics of supercritical flow below sluice gate, J. of Hydraulic Eng. 120:
332–346. ASCE.
Ohtsu, I., Yasuda, Y. and Gotoh, H. 1998. Hydraulic condition for formation of undular jumps, Ann. J. of
Hydraulic Eng. 42: 673–678. JSCE.
Yasuda, Y., Takahashi, M., Kobayashi, J. and Ohtsu, I. 2002. The effect of aerated inflow on characteristics of
hydraulic jump in a sloping channel, Ann. J. of Hydraulic Eng. 46, 601–606. JSCE.

1710
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Manning’s roughness coefficient for different types of open

channel flows

Jian-Jing He
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing

ABSTRACT: It is clearly that the roughness coefficient needs to be corrected in hydraulic cal-
culations for open channel flow. Based on the concept of type of flow and experimental results,
this paper shows that the roughness coefficient decreases with increasing of the depth of flow in
uniform flow, but increases with increasing of the depth and energy gradient in M1 non-uniform
flow for an open channel. The two-steps method proposed by this paper gives an available method to
determine roughness coefficient in M1 non-uniform flow in which the depth varying with distance
so it is difficult to establish a relationship of roughness coefficient and depth of flow.

1 INTRODUCTION

It is important to select a right roughness coefficient on hydraulic calculation for open channel
flow. Roughness coefficient is not a constant. It varies with not only roughness of wall of channel,
but also some hydraulic factors such as discharge and depth, so it can be called composite hydraulic
drag coefficient (Li 1989; Wang 1991; Cheng et al.1997) and there is necessary to make a research
for characteristics of roughness coefficient. The most studies in the past on roughness coefficient
were to look for the regularities of it varying with discharges or depths, but a few of them considered
the effect of types of flow, uniform flow and non-uniform flow, on roughness coefficient. In fact,
the depths are different with different sections when non-uniform flow occurs in an open channel.
That is say that a discharge should versus many depths at different sections in an open channel. This
is why for scholars and engineers feel very difficult to built a relationship on roughness coefficient
and depths or discharges especially for rivers that controlled by sluice (DePue & Soong 1996; Yang
1991). DePue’s work shown the roughness coefficient should be in error by as much as 23% when
M1 water surface profile performed in an open channel. In terms of the classification of types of
flow, an analysis for 26 sets experimental results and a discussion for characteristics of roughness
coefficient in uniform flow and M1 gradually varied flow are given in this paper and then the two-
steps method proposed by this paper gives an available method to determine roughness coefficient
in M1 gradually varied flow.

2 EXPERIMENTAL FACILITIES AND PROCEDURES

In the present study a tilting flume of 8 m length, 0.3 m width and 0.4 m height was used. The floor
is made out of painted steel and the side walls of smooth glass. A measuring carriage moves along
the flume, equipped with a point gage to measure water surface elevations. This measuring system
has high accuracy. By checking, the error of data in vertical direction was smaller than 0.2 mm
along the flume. During the experiments, the flume was adjusted as mild slope. By controlling
downstream depth, the uniform flow and M1 gradually varied flow can be performed in the flume.
From experimental data of slope, discharge, depth and distance between two measuring sections, we
can calculate the roughness coefficients both for uniform flow and non-uniform flow respectively.

1711
 Table 1. Hydraulic conditions of uniform flow.

Q h v
Run i (m3 /s) (m) (m/s) B/h Re Fr

1 0.001 0.006124 0.0531 0.3844 5.65 14580 0.53

2 0.001 0.009969 0.0723 0.4596 4.15 23735 0.54
3 0.002 0.006021 0.0398 0.5042 7.54 14335 0.81
4 0.002 0.009969 0.0549 0.6052 5.46 23735 0.82
5 0.002 0.011484 0.0597 0.6412 5.02 27342 0.84
6 0.0025 0.006124 0.0378 0.5400 7.94 14580 0.89
7 0.0025 0.010093 0.0517 0.6507 5.80 24030 0.91

Table 2. Hydraulic conditions of non-uniform flow.

Q h1 h2 h3 h4
Run i (m3 /s) (m) (m) (m) (m)

1 0.001 0.006124 0.0671 0.0682 0.0687 –

2 0.001 0.006124 0.0763 0.0778 0.0785 –
3 0.001 0.006124 0.0863 0.0876 0.0885 –
4 0.001 0.006124 0.0952 0.0965 0.0976 –
5 0.001 0.009874 0.1149 0.1163 0.1170 –
6 0.001 0.009874 0.1268 0.1284 0.1293 –
7 0.001 0.009969 0.0831 0.0838 0.0844 –
8 0.001 0.009969 0.0944 0.0955 0.0960 –
9 0.001 0.009969 0.1039 0.1051 0.1059 –
10 0.0025 0.006174 0.0465 0.0478 0.0500 0.0522
11 0.0025 0.006174 0.0604 0.0623 0.0646 0.0669
12 0.0025 0.006174 0.0727 0.0749 0.0774 0.0797
13 0.0025 0.006174 0.0843 0.0865 0.0889 0.0914
14 0.0025 0.006174 0.0957 0.0979 0.1004 0.1030
15 0.0025 0.010000 0.0615 0.0630 0.0649 0.0665
16 0.0025 0.010000 0.0744 0.0761 0.0786 0.0809
17 0.0025 0.010000 0.0850 0.0874 0.0894 0.0919
18 0.0025 0.010000 0.0970 0.0990 0.1014 0.1040
19 0.0025 0.010000 0.1085 0.1106 0.1131 0.1155

Table 1 was experimental data of uniform flow and Table 2 was the experimental data of M1
gradually varied flow. In Table 2, the distance of two measuring sections was 1.4 m for run 1 to 9,
and that was 1 m for run 10 to 19.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Uniform flow

For an open channel, when uniform flows occur in it, the water depth will increase with increasing of
discharge, i.e. with increasing of mean velocity. Figure 1 shows the roughness coefficients decrease
with increasing of mean velocity in uniform flow. This case shows the roughness coefficient is not
a constant in uniform flow. For an open channel, the higher depth is, the less roughness coefficient
is. For different channels, although there are same varying regularity on roughness coefficient in
every channel, i.e. roughness coefficient decreases with increasing of the depth of flow, but the data
gotten from different channels cannot be pointed on a single curve. It is shown in Figure 2. This
result shows that different channels may have special roughness coefficient though the roughness

1712
 0.0105 0.014
i=0.001 n
i=0.002 0.012
n
i=0.0025 0.01 author
author
author
0.008 Dong Zengnan
Scobey
0.0084 0.006
30 40 50 60 70 0 1 2 3
v(cm/s) v(m/s)

Figure 1. Relationship of roughness coefficient Figure 2. Relationship of roughness coefficient

and mean velocity. and mean velocity from different data.

1.8
n/n0 j/i=0.07-0.08
1.6
0.1-0.12
1.4 0.15-0.16
0.18-0.22
1.2
0.23-0.25
1 0.28-0.33
0.38-0.4
0.8
0.48-0.54
0.6 0.59-0.65
0.68-0.69
0.4

0.2

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
h/h0

Figure 3. Relationship of n/n0 vs h/h0 in M1 gradually varied flow.

coefficients have similar varying regularities. This is because they have different size, shape and
wall roughness. The data used in Figure 2 come from author and other two researchers (Dong &
Ding 1989; Scobey 1933).

3.2 Non-uniform flow

The depths are varying with flow direction at different sections in non-uniform flow. In M1 gradually
varied flow, the depths become higher and higher along the flow direction. One discharge is
versus many different depths in different sections. This is different from uniform flow. According
to Manning’s formula, there are different roughness coefficients in calculation for non-uniform
flow. To analyse the characteristics of roughness coefficient of non-uniform flow, comparison
with uniform flow, we define h/h0 as relative depth, where h0 is the depth in uniform flow in
which the discharge is same as the non-uniform flow and h is depths at different sections in non-
uniform flow. Also we can define n/n0 as relative roughness coefficient, where n0 is a roughness
coefficient in uniform flow and n is roughness coefficients at different reaches in non-uniform flow.
In experimental data, the maximum relative roughness coefficient n/n0 is 1.59 and the minimum
n/n0 is 0.524. That is shows in Figure 3. This result shows the roughness coefficient will vary in a
large range in non-uniform flow.

1713
 1.8
n/n0 J/i = 0.30
J/i = 0.39 J/i = 0.24 J/i = 0.2
1.6 J/i = 0.51 J/i = 0.15
1.4 J/i = 0.68
J/i = 0.1
J/i = 0.62
1.2
j/i = 0.07-0.08
1 0.1-0.12
0.15-0.16 J/i = 0.075
0.8 0.18-0.22
0.23-0.25
0.6
0.28-0.33
0.4 0.38-0.4
0.48-0.54
0.2 0.59-0.65
0.68-0.69
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
h/h0

Figure 4. Comparison of calculation results from equation (1) and experimental data.

Considering energy slope J is equal to water surface slope Jp and channel slope i in uniform flow
but they are not equal each other in non-uniform flow, so we also define a new parameter J/i as
relative energy slope. Through analysis to experimental data, a new empirical formula presented
as follows:

where n0 and h0 are roughness coefficient and depth in uniform flow respectively; and i is slope;
n is roughness coefficient of a reach in M1 gradually varied flow; h is the depth of first section of a
reach in M1 gradually varied flow; J is average energy slope of a reach in M1 gradually varied flow.
The comparison of calculation results from equation (1) and experimental data in M1 gradually
varied flow is shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 shows that relative roughness coefficient increases with
increasing of both relative depth and relative energy gradient in M1 gradually varied flow. This
characteristic is different from that in uniform flow. In uniform flow, the roughness coefficient
decreases with increasing of water depth. Figure 4 also shows that the experimental data of M1
gradually varied flow is matched well with equation (1). It shows that equation (1) could be applied
to calculate the roughness coefficient for M1 gradually varied flow.

3.3 Two-steps method

Considering the characteristics of roughness coefficient in uniform flow and non-uniform flow
respectively, we can get obvious varying regularities on roughness coefficient. For an open channel,
the roughness coefficient decreases with increasing of discharge in uniform flow, and it varies
with relative depth and relative energy slope. To determine roughness coefficient in non-uniform
calculation, we can determine the roughness coefficient of uniform flow in which the discharge is
same as the non-uniform flow at first, and then use equation (1) to determine roughness coefficient
of non-uniform flow. This method is called two-steps method. The method gives us a reasonable
way to modify roughness coefficient in calculation for non-uniform flow.

1714
4 CONCLUSIONS

From experimental data and discussion, it can be concluded that:

1. Through study on roughness coefficient of uniform flow and non-uniform flow in a flume, we
can find obvious varying regularities for roughness coefficient.
2. For an open channel, roughness coefficient decreases with increasing of mean velocity in uniform
flow.
3. For an open channel, relative roughness coefficient increases with increasing of relative depth
and relative energy slope in M1 gradually varied flow. The varying regularity can be expressed
by equation (1).
4. Using two-steps method to determine roughness coefficient of non-uniform flow, we can over-
come the difficulties about the fact of depth varying with distance in non-uniform flow, so as we
are unable to establish a relationship between roughness coefficient and depth in non-uniform
flow.
5. This paper presents a study result on M1 gradually varied flow which is one case of non-uniform
flow in open channel. The further study for other cases of non-uniform flow needed to be
performed.

REFERENCES

Cheng, J.H., An, L.H., Wang, H. & Wang, W.M. 1997. An analysis of the bed rourghness in Shandong reaches
of the Yellow River, Shuili Xuebao, No.1, 39–43(in Chinese).
DePue, P.M. & Soong, T.W. 1996. The Effects of water surface profiles on Manning’s roughness
coefficient[A].ln: North American Water and Environment Congress. ASCE.
Dong, Z.N. & Ding, Y. 1989. Turbulence characteristics in smooth open channel flow, Science in China (series
A), No.11, 1208–1218(in Chinese).
Li, L.H. 1998. Analysis of the effect of roughness curve in the use of hydrometric station of single-valued
rating curve, Hydrology, No.3, 58–61(in Chinese).
Li, R. 1989. The effect of hydraulic elements on the value of Manning’s coefficient n, Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, No.12, 62–66(in Chinese)
Scobey, F.C. 1933. The Flow of water in flumes. Technical Bulletin No.393, United States Department of
Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
Wang, D.Q. 1991. A study on channel roughness of rivers and canals in Hunan province, Water Resources and
Hydropower Engineering, No.6, 25–30(in Chinese).
Wan, Z.H. & Hua, J.S. 1990. Roughness of the canals diverting water from the Yellow River, Journal of
Sediment Research, No.1, 47–54(in Chinese).
Yang, Y.D. 1991. Deductive model of roughness variation process and the study on the roughness of the Three
Gorges on the Yangtze River, YangTze River, 22(12), 9–15(in Chinese).

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 7 Hydraulic structures

7.1 Hydraulic structures – I

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

High velocity two-phase flows over stepped chutes: Focus on air

concentration

S. André, J.-L. Boillat & A.J. Schleiss

Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions (LCH), Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne,
Switzerland

ABSTRACT: A promising solution to control overtopping and limit the risk of damage at the toe of
an embankment dam may consist in dissipating a significant part of the flow energy along the chute
by steps. However, flow over steps is highly aerated. In order to design the stepped linings, self-
aeration process has to be accurately assessed for the whole flow regimes. With this aim, an experi-
mental research was conducted at the Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions (LCH-EPFL). The
presented results allow to compare the measured air concentration profiles with existing theoretical
and empirical models as well as to observe the influence of flow regimes on the self-aeration process.

1 INTRODUCTION

Since the eighties, with the development of Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) techniques, the
behaviour of flow over stepped chutes has gained interest in research. Steps are a promising alter-
native to prevent erosion of the downstream slope of overtopped dams and to reduce significantly
the flow energy along the slope.
However, flow over stepped chutes has a complex behaviour characterised by a great turbulence
and self-aeration. The high air concentration transported in the flow has a direct consequence on the
design of the overtopped structure. Indeed, air increases significantly the flow depth and reduces
friction along the slope (Wood 1991).
In order to have a better understanding of the aeration process and of the influence of
macro-roughness, an experimental study was conducted at LCH-EPFL for different stepped macro-
roughness linings (André et al. 2004). Local air concentrations were measured with a double fiber-
optical probe for the three flow regimes, namely the nappe, transition and skimming flows.
In this paper, measured air concentration profiles are presented for a 30◦ chute equipped with
conventional steps and compared with existing theoretical and empirical models. The influence of
flow regimes on the self-aeration process is also highlighted.

2 EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY

2.1 Stepped flume

Experimental tests were conducted in a 4 m high, 8 m long and 0.5 m wide stepped flume. In order
to cover the range of embankment dam slopes, experimental study focused on two inclinations:
θ = 18.6◦ (3H:1V) and θ = 30◦ (1.7H:1V).
The entrance of the flume consists in a jetbox which ensures a homogeneous distribution and a
uniform height of the flow. A stilling basin was fixed at the toe of the stepped flume. More detail
are given in André (2004).
Tests were conducted for unit discharges (qw ) up to 0.28 m2 /s, thus covering the nappe, tran-
sition and skimming flow regimes. Fully developed flow conditions were attained near the
downstream end.

1719
 The results presented herein concern tests conducted in a 30◦ sloping chute (θ). The bottom of
the flume consists of 64 aluminum steps 0.06 m high (hs ) and 0.104 m (ls ) long.

2.2 Instrumentation
Local air concentration c(z), longitudinal velocity of the air water flow and size of air bubbles were
measured with a double fiber-optical probe at different cross sections in the partially and fully
developed aerated regions.
The measuring principle is based on the different refraction indices of the air and the water. Light
is transmitted through two optical fibers connected to the two sapphire tips of the probe located
in the flow. When tips are in contact with clear water no light is reflected, whereas in dry air a
large amount of light is reflected back into the fiber. After conversion, amplification and threshold
(details in Matos et al. 2002, André 2004), the resulting signal gives the development of air and
water phases in the vicinity of the probe tips.
Air concentration or void fraction is determined as the proportion of time that the probe tip is in
contact with air. The maximum error of air concentration value given is about of ±3%.
The cross-correlation of signals of the two tips estimates the time and then the velocity for an air
bubble to flow from the leading tip to the trailing tip. Air-mixture longitudinal velocity is assumed
to be equal to the air bubbles velocity (Cubizolles 1996).
Air bubble chord length is estimated based on the flow velocity value and the duration of the
contact between a bubble and the tips (Cubizolles 1996).

3 INFLUENCE OF FLOW REGIMES ON AIR CONCENTRATION VERTICAL

DISTRIBUTION

3.1 Background
For a given stepped slope, depending on discharge, the aerated flow covered three regimes, namely
the nappe (Figure 1a), transition (Figure 1b) and skimming (Figure 1c) flows which have been
described in details in André et al. (2001, 2002).

(a) NAPPE FLOW (b) TRANSITION FLOW (c) SKIMMING FLOW

Wa
Nappe layer vy
fre
Internal jet es
ur
Sk fac
No developed im e
Air cavity mi
vortices Internal ng
Pool jet lay
er
Vortex
Jet deflection
/Hydraulic Jump
Separation zone

Figure 1. Sketch for nappe, transition and skimming flows on the 30◦ conventional stepped chute.

1720
 In the non aerated region, when the turbulent boundary layer reaches the water surface, the tur-
bulent energy of the vortices is large enough to exceed the surface tension and gravity effects:
natural air entrainment starts at the so called inception point. Downstream, in the partially develop-
ing aerated flow region, the mixture air-water flow depth progressively increases. The free surface
becomes wavy with white appearance and ejection of spray. If the slope of the flume is long enough,
an equilibrium between head loss and gravity is established. This is the fully developed (or uniform)
aerated region.
For the skimming regime, Chanson (2000) proposed a theoretical model to describe this self
aeration process for aerated flow over conventional steps. Air concentration profiles are derived
from the air bubbles advective diffusion model (ADM) at the outer step edge, given by Equation (1):

√
with z the normal axis to the pseudo-bottom, K  = arctan h( 0.1) + [1/(2D )], an integration
constant, with Z90 the mixture flow depth at 90% of air concentration. D , a dimensionless
coefficient, is derived from Equation 2 where C is the mean air concentration:

For the transition flow regime, Chanson & Toombes (2001) suggested an empirical model for C
larger than 0.45. At step outer edge, c(z) is given by Equation (3):

where K3 and λ depend on the mean air concentration and are derived from: K3 = 0.9[1 − exp
(−λ)]−1 and C = K3 − 0.9/λ.

3.2 Experimental air concentration profiles

3.2.1 Skimming flow regime
Air concentration measured at the leading tip of the fiber-optical probe in the developing and
uniform regions are plotted in Figure 2, versus the dimensionless depth H90 = z/Z90 .
Air concentrations at the step outer edge have smooth continuous profiles for the whole depth of
the flow. It can be seen that for all tested discharges, the vertical distribution of c(z) correlates well
with the advective diffusion air bubble model (ADM) of Chanson (2000) given by Equation (1).
The measurements also highlight that for unit discharge qw larger than 0.12 m2 /s, the profiles
are identical. That corresponds when the skimming layer is large compared to the normal step
height ks = hs cos θ, that is when Z90 ≈ 1.3 ks or hc ≈ 2 hs . Then, the mean air concentration for
qw > 0.12 m2 /s remains constant, equal to 0.46, value close to smooth chute mean air concentration.
In Figure 2, the profiles indicate that there is no difference in the shape of air concentration
distributions for the developing and the uniform regions.

3.2.2 Transition flow

For this regime, the layer above the pseudo-bottom is thinner compared to the skimming layer and
more influenced by topographical effects such as the internal jet. Therefore, the amplitudes of the
wavy free surface are larger compared to skimming flow condition.
The vertical distributions of air concentrations at the step corners (Figure 3), in both equilibrium
and developed regions also show continuous and smooth profiles which follow the advective

1721
 1.2
Uniform region (data André 2004):
1.1 C=0.497 – qw=0.081 m2/s
C=0.473 – qw=0.121 m2/s
1
C=0.462 – qw≥0.161 m2/s
Dimensionless depth, H90 (-)

0.9 ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.497

ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.473
0.8 ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.462
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4 Developing region (data André 2004):
C=0.428 – qw=0.081 m2/s
0.3 C=0.392 – qw=0.121 m2/s
C=0.375 – qw≥0.161 m2/s
0.2 ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.428
0.1 ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.392
ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.375
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Air concentration, c(-)

Figure 2. Vertical distribution of air concentration measured in the developing region (empty dots) and in the
equilibrium region (filled dots) for skimming flow on the 30◦ conventional stepped chute – comparison with
the advective diffusion model (Chanson 2000).

1.2
Uniform region (Data André 2004):
1.1 C=0.551 – qw= 0.035 m2/s Rough free
C=0.532 – qw= 0.040 m2/s surface layer
1
C=0.514 – qw= 0.060 m2/s
0.9 ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.551
ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.532 For c<0.7
Dimensionless depth, H90 (-)

0.8 ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.514

0.7
0.6 c (z) = 1.25(1−e−1.25H90)
0.5 Homogeneous flow
0.4 Developing region (Data André 2004):
C=0.497 – qw= 0.040 m2/s
0.3 C=0.472 – qw= 0.060 m2/s
ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.497
0.2 For c<0.7
ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.472
0.1 Chanson & Toombes (2001) model
for C=0.551
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Air concentration, c (-)

Figure 3. Vertical distribution of air concentration measured in the developing region (empty dots) and in the
equilibrium region (filled dots) for transition flow on the 30◦ conventional stepped chute – comparison with
the empirical model proposed by Chanson & Toombes 2001.

diffusive model. However, ADM fits only the data in the portion of the flow where c(z) < 0.7.
For c(z) ≥ 0.7, the measured air concentration is larger than predicted by ADM profiling.
This difference may be attributed to the influence of the waves. In fact, the probe does not
distinguish the measurement of air bubbles transported in the water from air gaps above the free

1722
 1.2
ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.462
1.1
ADM (Equ. 1) for C=0.635
1 Exponential law (Equ. 3) for C=0.635
Exponential law (Equ. 3) for C=0.595
0.9 For C=0.560: ADM profile for c(z)<0.7 + Equ.5 for c(z) ≥0.7

0.8
Dimensionless depth, H90 (-)

0.7
(2)
0.6
(1)
0.5

0.4
c=0.7
0.3 H90=0.25
0.2 C=0.635 − qw =0.01 m2/s − Nappe flow
C=0.595 − qw =0.02 m2/s − Nappe flow
0.1 C=0.560 − qw =0.03 m2/s − End Nappe flow
C=0.462 − qw 0.16 m2/s − Skimming flow
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Air concentration, c(-)

(1) H90 < 0.25 : 1 − tanh2 1.077 −

H90   H90 
 (2) ∀ H90 : 1 − tanh2 1.655 − 
1.334 0.754
H90 0.25 : 0.96[1 − exp (− 2.76H90)]

Figure 4. Vertical distribution of air concentration measured in the equilibrium region for nappe flow on
the 30◦ conventional stepped chute – comparison with the ADM (Chanson 2000) and the empirical model
proposed by Chanson & Toombes 2001.

surface but trapped between two wave crests. In the latter case, the value of c(z) does not char-
acterize the “true” air concentration of the mixture air-water flow which results from the self-
aeration advective-diffusive process.
This behaviours leads to the definition of an homogeneous flow corresponding to the portion of
the fluid which transports the air bubbles. In this layer, the air concentration is limited to roughly
0.7, and the sizes of measured air bubbles are lower than 10 mm.
Above this layer, in the wavy aerated free surface, the air content corresponds to a mixture of
large air bubbles (between 10 mm and 20 mm) and air gaps between two waves. This behaviour is
close to the observations of Killen (1968) or Cain (1978) for smooth chutes.
Therefore, in transition flow regime, for both developing and quasi-uniform aerated regions, the
vertical distribution of the air concentration can be predicted from the following equations:
– In homogeneous flow, for c(z) < 0.7: Equation (1) with the constant K  and D computed from
the mean air concentration
– In the wavy rough free surface layer, for c(z) ≥ 0.7:

Finally, from the Figure 3, it can also be inferred that for the 30◦ conventional stepped chute,
the model proposed by Chanson & Toombes 2001 (Equation 3) for transition regime does not
satisfactorily describe the measured data.

3.2.3 Nappe flow

For this regime, due to the non homogeneous nappe, the broken falling nappe on the horizontal
step face and instabilities such as rollwaves, the notion of homogeneous flow has no sense.

1723
 In Figure 4, the data is plotted versus the dimensionless depth H90 = z/Z90 for two discharges
in nappe flow. Air concentrations do not follow the advective diffusion model, being larger than
the predicted values. That shows that for this regime, as also observed by Fratino et al. (2003),
intense aeration is the result of the plunge nappe breaking close to the step outer edge as opposed
to transition and skimming regimes where the air entrainment process is governed by turbulent
diffusion of the air bubbles trapped at the free-surface.
For nappe flow and for H90 ≥ 0.25, the vertical distribution of the air concentration finally follows
the exponential empirical law (Equation 3) proposed by Chanson & Toombes (2001), though this
relation was basically developed for transition regime.
In the inner layer (H90 < 0.25), the few available data does not allow to conclude about a distinct
profile.
In Figure 4, one discharge at the limit of onset of transition regime (qw = 0.030 m2 /s) and
data for a well-developed skimming flow (qw = 0.12 m2 /s) are also plotted in order to highlight
the.differences in behaviour depending on flow regimes. It can be seen that at the onset of transition
regime (triangles dots), the exponential profile tends toward the ADM profile in the homogeneous
portion of the flow (c(z) < 0.7). Thus, in addition of visual criteria, the change of flow regime
between nappe, transition and skimming flows can be objectively determined by air concentration
profile variation.

4 CONCLUSION

Air concentration were assessed for nappe, transition and skimming flow regimes on a 30◦ con-
ventional stepped chute, using a double fiber-optical probe.
The results indicate that for nappe regime, air is mainly entrained at the plunging point where
the nappe is broken or when hydraulic jump is developed. For transition and skimming regimes,
self aeration is initiated at the free surface when turbulent forces overcome superficial tension and
bubble rise velocity.
Consequently, the shape of the air concentration vertical profiles are influenced by the flow
regime. For nappe flow regime, profiles are predicted by an exponential relationship, Equation 3.
For transition and skimming flows, the homogeneous portion of the aerated flow, that means the
portion of flow which transport air bubbles, is accurately described by the advective diffusive
model, Equation 1. The onset of regimes are then detectable through the development of the air
concentration profiles.

REFERENCES

André, S., Boillat, J.-L. & Schleiss, A. 2001. High velocity two-phase turbulent flow over macro-roughness
stepped chutes: focus on dynamic pressures. In ISEH (eds), Proc. Int. Symposium on Environmental
Hydraulics: CD. Tempe, Arizona, 5–8 December 2001.
André, S., Boillat, J.-L. & Schleiss. A.J. 2002. Efficient surface protection by macro-roughness linings for
overtopped embankment dams. In Llanos et al. (eds), Sweet & Zeitlinger Publishers. Proc. Int. Congress
on Conservation and Rehabilitation of Dams: 407–415. Madrid, Spain, 11–13 November 2002. Rotterdam:
Balkema.
André, S. 2004. High velocity aerated flows over stepped chutes with macro-roughness elements. Ph.D. thesis
no. 2993, Federal Institute of technology, Lausanne, Switzerland.
André, S., Matos, J., Boillat, J.-L. & Schleiss, A.J. 2004. Energy dissipation and hydrodynamic forces of
aerated flow over macro-roughness linings for overtopped embankment dams. In Yazdandoost F. & Attari J.
(eds). Proc. International Conference on Hydraulics of Dams & River Structures, Tehran, Iran, 26–28 April
2004:189–196. Balkema.
Cain, P. 1978. Measurements within self-aerated flow on large spillway. Ph.D. Thesis. Department of Civil
Engineering, University of Christchurch, New Zealand.
Chanson, H. 2000. Characteristics of skimming flow over stepped spillways – Discussion. J. Hydr. Engi-
neering, 126(11): 862–865. By Chamani, M.R. & Rajaratnam, N.

1724
Chanson, H. & Toombes, L. 2001. Experimental investigations of air entrainment in transition and skimming
flows down a chute- Application to embankment overflow stepped spillways. Technical Report CE158.
University of Queensland, Australia.
Cubizolles, G. 1996. Etude stéréologique de la topographie des écoulements diphasiques à haute pression.
Ph.D. thesis, Ecole Centrale Lyon, France (in French).
Fratino, U., Amador, A., Valenzano, B., renna, F., Sánchez-Juny, M. & Dolz, J. 2003. Air inception and
pressure fields over a stepped spillway in transition flow regime. Proc. XXX IAHR Congress on Water
Engineering and Research in a Learning Society: Modern Developments and Traditional Concepts: Theme
D: Experiments on Stepped Spillways, pp. 711–718. Thessaloniki, Greece, 24–29 August 2003.
Killen, J.M. 1968. The surface characteristics of self-aerated flow in steep channels. Ph.D. Thesis, University
of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
Matos, J., Frizell, K.H., André, S. & Frizell, K.W. 2002. On the Performance of Velocity Measurement
Techniques in Air-Water Flows. Proc. Int. ASCE – Hydraulic Measurements & Experimental Methods
2002: CD. Estes Park, Colorado, USA, 07/28-08/01 2002.
Wood, I.R. 1991. Free surface air entrainment on spillways. In Wood I.R. (ed), Hydraulic structures design
manual on air entrainment in free-surface flows: 55–84. Balkema, Rotterdam.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Computational fluid dynamics analysis of three major dam spillway

structures in Australia

D.K.H. Ho, K.M. Riddette & S.M. Donohoo

Worley Pty Ltd, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

ABSTRACT: In Australia, many dams were designed in the past with limited hydrological data.
As such existing spillways are under-sized to cope with the revised probable maximum floods.
These flood levels may generate excessive negative pressure over the spillway crest, impact on
crest structures, and reduce capacity to mitigate flood. As part of the upgrade projects of three
major dams, hydraulic studies of the spillway by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis
were used instead of the traditional physical models. This paper describes the CFD analysis of
these spillways. In order to attain a high confidence level in the analysis, the computed results
were thoroughly validated against published or physical test data. Good agreement was obtained
for practical purpose. Some interesting behaviours will be highlighted. In one study, the computed
water pressure distribution was subsequently used in a series of finite element analysis of the
control gates.

1 INTRODUCTION

In Australia, many dams were designed and constructed in the past with limited hydrological data.
As a result, existing spillways and their associated structures are under-sized to cope with the
revised probable maximum floods, which have been determined from the collection of longer-term
and reliable hydrological information. The increase in flood levels may potentially cause problems
such as the generation of excessive negative pressure over the spillway crest, water impacting on
crest bridges and control gates, and the reduced capacity to mitigate flood discharge. As part of
the upgrade project of three major dams, hydraulic studies by CFD analysis were used instead
of relying on the traditional physical models, which are expensive, time-consuming and have
difficulties associated with scaling effect. Furthermore, the original physical models may have
been decommissioned some time ago.
This paper describes the application of CFD technique on three major dam spillway upgrade
projects namely: Warragamba Dam that is situated to the southwest of Sydney; Wivenhoe Dam
that is situated to the west of Brisbane, and Hume Dam located at the New South Wales/Victoria
state border. It should be noted that this method of analysis was used for the first time for this
type of project in Australia. In order to provide a high level of confidence in the analysis, the
computed results for all three studies were thoroughly validated against published or physical test
data, if available. Good agreement in terms of pressure distribution, free water surface profile and
discharge rate was obtained for practical purpose. The results of these studies enabled engineers to
better understand the flow characteristics and how the flood water interacted with various structural
components in the spillway model. Some interesting behaviours such as the transition of a free
spillway flow to an orifice flow, flood water overtopping the crest bridge and raised gates, and
hydraulic jump at the downstream apron were captured in the analysis. In one study, the computed
water pressure distribution was subsequently used in a series of finite element analyses to investigate
the stability and structural integrity of drum and radial gates as part of the gate strengthening
works.

1727
2 CFD ANALYSIS

The use of CFD analysis for hydraulic application is relatively new in Australia. In fact, it was
not even mentioned in the recent Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD)
publication on the history of dam technology by Cole (2000). In the past, engineers relied on
hydraulic design charts such as those published by the US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) and
on scaled physical model tests for spillway design. However, the published information may not
be applicable to the spillway in question because of the difference in crest profile and head levels.
Physical model can be prohibitive in terms of time and cost. The advance in computer technology in
recent years means CFD analysis on hydraulic structure can be undertaken in a more cost-effective
manner. It should be noted that this technology has been extensively developed in, and widely
accepted by the aerospace, automotive and maritime industries.
The basic theory of CFD analysis can be found in standard text books written on the subject.
Hence, it will not be reviewed in this paper due to space limitation. Basically, the inherent nonlinear
fluid flow behaviour is governed by the Navier-Stoke, continuity and advection equations. Many
codes can model turbulence flow by providing a selection of turbulence models. Variables such
as pressure, velocity, temperature and concentration throughout the flow domain can be solved
in a transient analysis using an implicit and/or explicit algorithm. As in any numerical analysis,
assumptions and idealisations of a problem must be carefully chosen by the engineers. In addition,
practical consideration should be followed such that the analysis can provide useful results with
sufficient accuracy for the given computer resources.

3 WARRAGAMBA DAM

3.1 Background
Completed in 1960, Warragamba Dam is the highest concrete gravity dam (142 m high) in Australia.
It is located to the west of Sydney on the Warragamba River which is a tributary of the Nepean
River. The reservoir holds 2,057 GL of water and it forms a major source of water supply to the
Sydney metropolitan area.
The original design flood was based on a statistical analysis of historical floods, but the estimate
was increased to 20,300 m3 /s after high floods occurred during construction of the dam. This
deficiency was identified in 1984 by the NSW Dam Safety Committee (DSC, 2000). Located at
the centre of the dam crest, the spillway has a central 7.5 m high by 27 m long drum gate flanked
by four 13 m high by 12 m wide radial gates as shown in Figure 1.
The upgrade of the dam has been carried out in stages over the years. An interim increased
spillway capacity was provided by raising the dam abutments by 5.1 m in 1989. An auxiliary
spillway on the right abutment was completed in 2001 to cope with very large floods. However, the

25
20 Scaled model data
Pressure head (m)

15 3D CFD result
10
5
0
-5
-10
-10 -5 0 5 10 15
Distance from crest (m)

Figure 1. Warragamba Dam (left). Pressure distribution comparison at the centre of drum gate bay (right).

1728
impact of the higher flood level on the existing gates at the crest of the existing spillway is still need
to be assessed. Any excessive negative pressure generated over the spillway crest could potentially
create a large enough suction to lift the drum gate out of its chamber. Also, the raised free water
surface is likely to impinge on the radial gates’ arms and trunnions.

3.2 Validation of CFD model

The validation of the analysis technique was conducted incrementally due to the significance of
the upgrade project, and more importantly this type of analysis was carried out for the first time
in Australia. CFD models of 2D and 3D standard ogee spillway were created and a number of
upstream heads was analysed. The computed results from the former model were compared with
the USACE “no pier” data whilst those from the latter model were compared with the USACE
“with piers” data. Half symmetry was utilised in the 3D model to reduce the run time. In general,
good agreement was obtained in terms of discharge rate, crest pressure and upper nappe profile.
This gave confidence in the analysis and further validation was carried with the actual spillway
which has a non-standard ogee profile. This 3D model was created with half a drum gate bay and
a full radial gate bay with one pier in between and half a pier at the edge of the radial bay. The
dam wall, drum gate and radial gate spillways, piers, training walls and the vertical slots for the
stop-logs were included in the model. The computed results were compared with those obtained
from 1:100 scaled physical model tests. Figure 1 shows the negative pressure head generated under
flood condition. It can be observed that the computed pressure distribution at the drum gate bay
centre is in good agreement with the scaled model measurement. Further details of this validation
were reported by Ho et al (2003).

3.3 Drum gate stability

It is probable that under certain high flood levels the negative pressure generated over the drum
gate will be high enough to lift it from its chamber. The CFD analysis was able to quantify this
hydrodynamic pressure over the skin plate (Figure 2). It also allowed the designers to study var-
ious concepts to improve or reduce the pressure distribution on the crest by reshaping the drum
gate/spillway profile or installing different forms of obstacle just upstream of the crest. However,
these concepts were not practicable from the engineering point of view. Traditional stability con-
cepts such as water and/or concrete ballast inside the drum gate, locking or holddown devices, and a
combination of these measures were investigated. A simplified equilibrium consideration was used
to determine the stability of the gate structure. Once the preferred concept was selected, a finite
element (FE) analysis of the drum gate was performed to determine the reaction at the supports,
stresses and deformations throughout the structure to ensure the ultimate and serviceability limit
states were satisfied.

Figure 2. Drum gate – schematic diagram showing the hydrodynamic uplift pressure (left). FE model showing
reactions at the hinges and deformation contour (right).

1729
 135 135 135

125 125 125

115 115 115

RL (m)

RL (m)

RL (m)
105 105 105

95 95 95
Computed flow surface
Pier/bridge profile
85 Spillway profile 85 85
595 600 605 610 Gate profile 595 600 605 610 615 620 625 630 635 640 595 600 605 610 615 620 625 630 635 640
Chainage (m) Chainage (m)
Chainage (m)

Figure 3. Computed flow surface through radial gate bay. Gate is fully raised (left). Gate is in the down
position (middle). Gate is partially raised (right).

Figure 4. Hume Dam – aerial view (left). Spillway discharging water (right).

3.4 Radial gate stability

One of the concerns with the higher flood level was that the water would impact on the radial gates’
arms in the raised position. The location of the free water surface cannot be estimated correctly from
design charts because the spillway profile is a non-standard ogee crest and the upstream head can
be several times the original design head. The free surface profile computed by the CFD analysis
showed how the arms would be impacted upon (Figure 3). The drag and lift forces acting on the
submerged arms were also calculated based on the interaction between the water velocity vectors
and the orientation of the arms. These forces were subsequently applied to a FE model of the radial
gate to assess its structural integrity. Other scenarios such as the gate not able to lift up or partially
open under the extreme flood condition were also analysed. The trajectory of the discharging water
did not interfere with the arms for the given upstream head as shown in Figure 4. However, the
underside of the crest bridge would be impacted upon. The hydrodynamic pressure acting on the
skin plate was computed. Again, this pressure was used in the FE model to assess the structural
behaviour of the gate.

4 HUME DAM

4.1 Background
Completed in 1936, Hume Dam comprises of a 1.6 km long earth embankment and a concrete
gravity spillway 51 m high and 219 m long. It is located on the River Murray near Albury, NSW.
The reservoir holds 3,038 GL of water which is mainly used for irrigation purpose. In 1961, the
spillway crest was raised 1.8 m and 29 vertical lift gates (7.9 m high by 6.1 m wide) were installed
(Figure 4). The spillway has a discharge capacity of 7,900 m3 /s.
Recent hydrological study has indicated the spillway may not have adequate flood capability.
As such the head-discharge characteristic of the spillway was re-evaluated. Although a hydraulic
investigation on a 1:50 scaled model was carried out in the early 1960s, it was for lower upstream
heads. Nevertheless, these results would be useful to validate the CFD model.

1730
 12 Overtopping
(Top of parapet)

Upstream Head (m)

10 Orifice flow
(Underside of bridge)
8 Spillway / weir flow

6 Theoretical weir flow (100% efficiency)

Theoretical orifice flow (100% efficiency)
4 Physical model test results
CFD results
2 Inferred orifice flow (CFD results)
Inferred weir flow only (CFD results)
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Discharge (m3/s per m run)

Figure 5. Head-discharge curve.

4.2 Validation of CFD model

A series of 2D and 3D models was used in the analysis of the spillway. The 2D model assumed the
piers and abutments have no influence on the flow and that the upstream flow would be approaching
the spillway at a right angle to the crest. The 3D model captured the influence of the piers and flow
approach angle on the head-discharge relationship. Both models captured the effect of the overhead
bridge at high flood levels. These two models assumed that all gates were opened. The effect of gate
closure was analysed using a 3D, two half-bay model. A number of upstream heads was analysed
using the models.
Pressure measurements to study spillway cavitation were carried out on a physical model. These
results were used to validate the CFD results. The computed pressure distribution along the cen-
terline of a spillway bay compared well with the measured data. Along the side of the pier, the
computed results under-predicted the pressure but the trend was captured. The pressure immedi-
ately behind the pier did not agree with the measurement because water was not present in this
region in the CFD model. The physical test also indicated that there was a large pressure fluctuation
at this location. Further details were reported by Ho et al (2003).

4.3 Head-discharge relationship

One of the objectives was to determine the discharge, q, when the head was high enough to catch
the bridge underside to create an orifice flow through the bay. The head-discharge (H-q) curve is
shown in Figure 5. At low heads there is good agreement between the computed results and the test
data. At higher heads there is only a slight reduction in discharge for the orifice flow and therefore
the curve does not diverge sharply from the q ≈ Cd H1.5 curve. By considering the “theoretical”
discharge using simplified empirical weir flow and orifice flow equations and assuming 100%
efficiency (i.e. Cd = 1.0), it was shown that the transition was indeed not abrupt. It should be noted
that the discharge coefficient, Cd , can have a wide range depending on the types or geometry of
the orifice. This can be back-figured from the analysis provided the details of the orifice geometry
have been sufficiently modelled. When the head was above the parapet level, the water overtopped
the crest bridge whilst orifice flow continued to take place.

5 WIVENHOE DAM

5.1 Background
The reservoirs provided by the Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine dams are a major source of water
supply to the south-east Queensland region. The Wivenhoe Dam upgrade project is the result of a
significant increase in the estimation of the probable maximum flood since the original design of
the dam. The dam is located on Brisbane River, and has a 59 m high earth and rockfill embankment
with a concrete gravity spillway of 12,000 m3 /s capacity. The reservoir holds 1,150 GL of water
and the spillway is used for water supply and flood control. The dam was completed in 1985. The

1731
Figure 6. Full 3D model of the non-flow region (left). Hydraulic jump occurring at the plunge pool (right).

spillway consists of a 40 m wide channel about 1 km long and up to 40m deep. The discharge is
controlled by five 16.6 m high by 12 m wide radial gates. Water released by the gates flows into
a flip bucket which throws the jet into an unlined pre-excavated plunge pool where most of the
energy is dissipated.
One aspect of the upgrade was to assess the spillway discharge capacity and the flood impact on
the raised gates and bridge structures. Traditionally this would have been analysed using a physical
scaled model. However, the Wivenhoe Alliance responsible for the project, decided to commission
this investigation using 3D CFD models because of the time and cost constraints. It has been
estimated that the cost of the CFD analysis was about 20 to 25% of the cost of physical testing
(Chandler et al, 2003).

5.2 Model validation and downstream behaviour

Details of the modelling and validation are reported by Ho et al (2004). In general, the computed
results agreed reasonably well with the physical test data. The head-discharge characteristics, impact
of flow on the crest bridge and raised radial gates, and the downstream hydraulic behaviour were
computed. The head-discharge relationship exhibited a rather complex transitional flow between
the free spillway and orifice flows.
The analysis was able to handle multiple free surfaces such that jets of water leaving the
flip-bucket were computed. A hydraulic jump occurring over the plunge pool was also captured
(Figure 6). Some interesting recirculation of water inside the plunge pool took place. The computed
pressure distribution in this region was used to assess the post-tensioning requirement for the apron
and plunge pool.

6 CONCLUSIONS

Hydraulic investigations using CFD analysis for three major spillways in Australia have been
successfully conducted. This analysis technique is now a viable and useful tool for engineers
provided sufficient quality control and sound engineering judgment is exercised.

REFERENCES

Chandler, K., Gill, D., Maher, B., Macnish, S. & Roads, G. 2003. Coping with probable maximum flood – an
alliance project delivery for Wivenhoe Dam. Proceedings 43rd ANCOLD conference, Hobart, Tasmania,
24–29 October 2003. pp. 332–349.
Cole, B. ed. 2000. Dam Technology in Australia 1850–1999. ANCOLD.
Ho, D.K.H., Boyes, K.M., Donohoo, S.M. & Cooper, B. 2003. Numerical flow analysis for spillways.
Proceedings 43rd ANCOLD conference, Hobart, Tasmania, 24–29 October 2003. pp. 227–237.
Ho, D.K.H., Riddette, K.M. & Donohoo, S.M. 2004. Analysis of spillway flow by computational fluid dynamics
technique. Proceedings 8th National Conference on Hydraulics in Water Engineering, Gold Coast, Australia
13–16 July 2004.

1732
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Hydraulic experiment of arc-shaped gate on the Qinhuai River

D.Y. Liu & Q.F. Zhang

Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

H.M. Xu
Nanjing Institute of Water Resource Planning and Designing, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

ABSTRACT: The Qinhuai River is an ancient river in the west of Nanjing city, and merges
into the Yangtze River at its north end. In order to improve the urban water environment and
beautify the landscape, a sluice project including two arc-shaped 22 m radius steel gates will be
constructed on the outlet of the Qinhuai River. This type of sluice is the first one in China. To
understand the hydraulic features of this new type of sluice, the physical model test is conducted
and the experiment results are presented in this paper: (1) the discharge capacity of the overflow and
upstream and downstream velocity distribution when the gate is fully closed and blocking the water;
(2) the relationship between the gate flow and the gate opening, and the flow state and velocity
distribution when gate partially closed; (3) the pressure pulsation and its frequency distribution
and power spectrum at the bottom of the gate when it is partially opened.

1 INTRODUCTION

Urban water environment has been a severe issue in developing countries. In China, there is a large
ratio of municipal and industrial wastewater direct discharge, bringing different level contamination
to the surface water and ground water without treatment. Some urban water bodies have even
deteriorated as sources of air pollution. Nowadays, with the public and government getting more and
more aware of this issue, the laws and regulations on urban water protection is issued and enforced
gradually. Besides, all kinds of remediation measures are taken to improve water environment.
Except for chemical and biological treatments, the hydraulic engineering is a long-term and efficient
measure to water pollution prevention and water environment protection under some circumstances.
The Qinhuai River was being famous and splendid in Nanjing’s history. Unfortunately, it was
deteriorated in recent decades. As one part of the Qinhuai River environmental remediation and
renovation engineering project, a sluice with two arc-shaped gates will be built at the location of
250 m south from its outlet to the Yangtze River. This project would not only be used to improve the
urban water environment but also to beautify the city image (see Fig. 1). Actually, the main function
of the project is to raise the water level in dry seasons. It is also used to flush the silt and sullage and
exchange the river water from time to time by lifting the gates even in dry seasons, which makes
the water in the river flowing actively and then benefits the water biological and microbiological
environment. Besides, in flood seasons, the gates are fully opened to release the urban water flows.
The discharge flow would be 30–80 m3 /s in dry seasons up to 600 m3 /s in flood seasons. The sluice
is designed as symmetric double arc-shaped gates, the radius of each arch is 22 m, the net span of
each 40 m, and its height can be adjusted from 5.15 m to 6.65 m by a movable barrier on the top of
the gates. Each gate is supported and hinged on the river-central-pier and the bank-side-pier. The
gates will be lifted up around their pivot joints when they are opening, and the maximum swing
degree from fully closure to fully opening is 60◦ . Therefore, the gate opening is often a bow-shaped
mouth and its size depended on the lifted angle. In other words, in the case of partial gate opening,
the thickness of the water tongue underneath each gate decreases from the middle to both sides.

1733
Figure 1. Landscape of overflow. Gates fully closed.

Figure 2. Sluice chamber profile. USWL/DSWL represents upstream/downstream water level.

Figure 3. The overall layout of physical model.

1734
A 20 m long concrete energy dissipation basin is designed at downstream of the sluice, followed by
a 60 m long rock underlay and a 12 m length of the ending scour prevention slot (see Fig. 2 & Fig. 3).
There are many literatures on sluice flow and weir flows, including numerical modeling and tests,
such as, Chen 2002, Yang 2001 et al. However, this is a new type of gate rarely used in the world
and actually the first case in China. It has own hydraulic features. For instances, when the gate
partially opened, water flows collide with each other because of the arch shape; the uneven water
tongues and complicated sluice flow conditions may cause additional downstream scouring and
damage. Furthermore, the overflow occurs on the top of arc-shaped gates, which is an equivalent
of the overflow on plane-curved weirs. In a word, it is significant to study its flow features and the
effect of the energy dissipator, and eventually to verify the technical feasibility of the project layout
and design. Therefore, a whole physical model is created at Hydraulic Lab of Hohai University and
the experiment conducted under various flow conditions.

2 EXPERIMENT DESIGN AND APPARATUS

2.1 Physical model design and layout

Based on the requirements of Hydraulic Model Experiment Regulations (SL155-95), the Weight
Homologous Relations are applied to scale down the size of prototype project. The geometrical
length scale is αl = 25, and other corresponding scales can be derived as well.
As illustrated in Figure 3, the model is 30 m long in total, including the sluice chamber, upstream
connection section, downstream scour protection section and the extended section approaching the
Yangtze River. The gates and all constructions are made of gray plastic board; its roughness is about
0.008 and equivalent to prototype value of 0.014, which is the average value of concrete surface.
The riverbed is built as a cement and sandy surface. The model measurement and installation error
is controlled below 0.3 mm.

2.2 Water supply and measurement device

The water supply device of the model is a water recycle system, which is consisted of a water
storage, pumps, surge suppressor, water supply pipes and tail water slot etc. There is an electric
control valve at the entrance of the model to regulate the flow coming from the water supply
pipeline. The downstream water level should be depended on the Yangtze River water level, which
can be adjusted in tests by a sluice at the end of the model. The flow, velocity, water level and
pressure pulsation are measured by an automatic data recorder and analysis system. The precision
of flow meter is 0.3% and the error of water level measurement within 0.1 mm.

3 FLOW FEATURES OF DOUBLE ARC-SHAPED SLUICE

Various operation conditions of the sluice are all considered in the tests. Two major experiments
classified by main functions of the sluice are introduced in following sections.

3.1 Water storage and overflow

The sluice would be closed to raise the water level in the Qinhua River during most time of the year.
Under this scenario, the upstream water surface always exceeds the top of the gates and causes
overflows even with the minimum river flow 30 m3 /s. The capacity of the flow passage, the flow
states and velocity distributions around the gates are investigated in the tests.

3.1.1 Overflow capacity

When the gates are fully closed and blocking the upstream coming flow, various upstream water
levels could occur by adjusting the movable barriers on the top of the gates. The relation between the

1735
 Table 1. Flow capacity when sluice closed and 0.8
movable barrier adjusted.
0.6
Flow
H (m) Q (m3 /s) coef. m

H (m)
0.4
0.261 30.0 0.4033
0.359 50.0 0.4167 0.2
0.499 80.0 0.4069
0.572 100.0 0.4144
0
25 45 65 85 105
Q (m3/s)
Figure 4. Overflow capacity and water depth.

Figure 5. Velocity distribution. The gates partially opened.

overflow capacity Q and the water depth above the top of the gates H is measured (see Table 1 and
Fig. 4. Note: all data in this paper have been converted for prototype), and the values of overflow
coefficient m are calculated and listed in Table 1.

3.1.2 Flow state and velocity distribution

When the sluice closed, the water surface at upstream of the gates is quite smooth and no obvious
circulation or reverse flow observed in the tests. The waterfall would be formed when river flow is
greater than 30 m3 /s.
The measured velocity distribution is illustrated in Figure 5, corresponding to the maximum water
level condition (i.e., upstream water level 7.00 m, downstream water level 2.77 m and Q = 80 m3 /s).
The upstream velocities are low and basically distributed uniformly (see cross-section a, b, c in
Fig. 5). After overflow, the downstream velocity is distributed unevenly with maximum value in the
center of each gate, which is more demonstrated with increasing of the discharge flow. However,
the velocity distribution is getting more and more uniform along the distance, and this unevenness
almost disappears at the location of the scour protection slot (cross-section h in Fig. 5) and before
getting into the Yangtze River. In addition, the water level varies with the distance from the gates
to the downstream, the further the higher.

1736
Figure 6. Gate flow and opening angle.

3.2 Sullage flush and water exchange

When the gates are partially opened to flush the sullage and exchange the river water, the capacity of
water passage under the gate, the flow state and velocity distribution are investigated in model tests.

3.2.1 Flow capacity for various gate opening

The flow capacity passing through the sluice depends on the degree of gate opening, which is
expressed as the revolving angle when the gate is lifted up, so called as the gate-opening angle. The
relation between the flow Q and the gate-opening angle is measured and investigated, see Figure 6.
The gate flow coefficient is calculated and its value ranged from 0.4750 to 0.8394, depending on
the gate-opening angle and upstream and downstream flow conditions.

3.2.2 Flow state and velocity distribution

Under a certain hydraulic condition, changing the gate opening will produce different discharge flow
rates. The observation and measurement of upstream and downstream water surface configuration,
water surface slope, and velocity distribution all demonstrate that the flow states under different
gate-opening angles are generally similar, that is, the flow states at upstream of the gates are quite
stable and with smooth surface; while the waves of downstream water surface are getting stronger
with increasing of discharge. The concern on the issue of uneven transverse velocity distribution
exists at downstream under the situation of gate partially opened; however, this unevenness almost
disappears before approaching the scouring protection slot.
For the purpose of downstream scouring prevention, the gate flow should be controlled below
80 m3 /s and the corresponding opening angle less than 1.0◦ to ensure the maximum downstream
velocity after the slot is below 1.0 m/s; if the maximum downstream velocity after the slot needs
to be below 0.5 m/s, then the gate flow has to keep below 30 m3 /s and the corresponding opening
angle less than 0.4◦ .
In addition, the relation between the average of Frude Number at the gate outlet and the discharge
flow from the gate opening is also examined. It is revealed that the Fr Number is less or close to
1.0 (see Table 2 & Fig. 7) and thus it is hardly to form a hydraulic jump. Therefore, the function of
the energy dissipation basin is not so significant under this condition, and more attention should
be paid to the river bed and bank scouring protection under large flow conditions.

3.2.3 Pressure pulsation

The pressure pulse on the gates may cause a series of vibration or resonance issues during the
operation, and thus would increase difficulty and expense of project maintenance (Ye 2004, Jiang
2003). Therefore, four measurement points are set at the bottom of each gate, the pressure pulsation
process with the time and its power spectrum are recorded and analyzed under multiple flow
conditions.

1737
Table 2. The average Fr Number at gate opening
and the discharge flow (upstream water level 5.5 m,
downstream water level 2.77 m).

Q (m3 /s) Velocity (m/s) Depth (m) Average Fr

180 4.78 2.29 1.01

150 4.34 2.31 0.91
120 4.02 2.33 0.84
100 3.75 2.36 0.78
80 3.64 2.43 0.75
30 3.47 2.47 0.71

Figure 7. Gate flow and Fr Number.

The Gauss probability distribution of pulsation pressure is determined and verified by calculation
of the bias coefficient Cs and kurtosis coefficient Ce . Different samples’ analysis indicates that Cs
and Ce are unrelated to the gate opening angle and discharge flow; rather Cs always closes to
zero and Ce around 3.0. Yet the mean value of the pressure pulsation over the time decreases with
increasing of the gate opening, thus more attention should be paid to smaller gate openings. There is
neither obvious periodic pressure pulsation nor dominant frequency existing for power spectrums,
therefore, no concern of sympathetic vibrations caused by pressure pulsation.

4 CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSIONS

Based on the observations and analyses of the experiments, the following conclusions are
summarized:

1) The general layout of the project is reasonable. The configuration of upstream and downstream
connection segments, and the location of the scour protection slot are suitable.
2) In dry seasons, the sluice is closed to raise the water level, and the velocity at upstream river
section is low and its distribution is quite even. Once the flow is greater than 30 m3 /s, the
waterfall can be formed from the top of the gates.
3) In Nanjing region, every April/May to August/September is the rich-water-period, during which
the maximum flow reaches 600 m3 /s. If the gates are fully opened (hung in the air) to release
the flood, the sluice project has not any influence on the river flow. However, it is noticed that
if the gates are partially opened to discharge the flood flow (say, Q = 600 m3 /s), the velocity
distribution underneath the gate is quite uneven. Moreover, there are circulations and reverse
flows observed around gate piers. Therefore, the partial gate opening for flood discharge should
be carefully avoided during future operation.
4) When the gates partially opened to flush the sullage and exchange the river water, firstly, the
flow states are similar with the gate opening change and the corresponding flow variation in the
range of 30–180 m3 /s. The upstream flows are quite stable and smooth; the downstream velocity
distribution is not so even but gradually adjusted to be even with the distance. Secondly, the
gate flow and the corresponding opening angle should be controlled below certain values to
ensure the maximum downstream velocity after the slot below 1.0 m/s or 0.5 m/s. Finally, the
energy dissipation basin is not so efficient under this operation condition, since the Fr Number
is less or close to 1.0 and it is impossible to form a hydraulic jump. Therefore, the protection of
the riverbed and bank should be paid more attention.
5) The pressure measurement and analysis shows there is no concern on the issue of resonance
caused by pressure pulse since no dominant frequency existing for the power spectrum.

1738
REFERENCES

Chen, Q., Dai, G. & Zhu, F. 2002. Three dimensional turbulence numerical simulation of a stepped spillway
overflow. Journal of Hydrodynamics, Ser.B 3 (2002): 70–75. China Ocean Press, Beijing, China.
Jiang, J., et al. 2003. Model analysis and model test for overflow plain gate in Dahua dam. Dam and Safety,
2003.3: 54–56. (in Chinese)
Yan, Z., et al. 2001. Hydraulic calculation of discharge at the lateral gate of Hanyan canal in Ningxia. Journal
of Shanxi Water Power, Vol. 17 No. 1: 47–51. (in Chinese)
Ye, L. & Li, Y. 2004. Analysis of sluice vibration based on the frame structure. Journal of Shanghai University
(Natural Science), Feb. 2004: 96–99. (in Chinese)

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Computational analysis of flow in bottom outlet conduits

M.R. Kavianpour
Assistant Professor, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

A. Aghakouchak
M.Sc. Student, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: In bottom outlet conduits with high pressure and velocity condition, control gates
play an important role to ensure the safe operation of dam. Flow velocity, pressure distribution,
cavitation, vibration of structure and determining of hydrodynamic forces are the main aspects
in the design of such structures. In order to ensure the hydraulic behavior of these structures, it
is necessary to check the behavior of outlet conduits under different gate openings. In this paper,
numerical analysis of flow based on three dimensional Navier-Stokes equations for high pressure
conduits are studied using numerical and physical model studies. The comparison of the results
shows a reasonable agreement between the physical measurements and the numerical computations.

1 INTRODUCTION

In this paper, numerical analysis of flow within outlet conduits is studied using Ansys/Flotran
software. The flow is assumed 3D, steady state, incompressible and turbulent. The governing
equations of continuity and momentum are solved using finite element techniques and the k–ε
model is applied to simulate the turbulence. The physical model studies of Dasht-e-Abbas bottom
outlet are then used to check the validity of the results. The study consists of different gate opening
to check the agreement between the predicted results and those of experimental information.
Computational fluid dynamic is known as a powerful tool to simulate the flow domain in various
hydraulic and geometrical situations. However, with the development of advanced and high speed
computers, it is possible to solve complicated problems of fluid dynamics with complex geometries.
In addition, advanced software programs based on physical and field measurements for various
geometries have made it possible to successfully simulate complicated flow situations. In this
paper, numerical analysis of flow upstream of radial gate within the Dasht-e-Abbas outlet tunnel
at Khuzestan province of Iran have been studied with different gate openings of 10%, 30%, 50%
and 70%. The results are also compared with the experimental results performed on a 1:12 scaled
physical model at Water Research Centre of Iran.

2 GOVERNING EQUATIONS

The governing equations consist of continuity and momentum (Navier-Stokes equations of motion)
equations for x, y and z directions in the following forms (AFEP 2002):

1741
 Table 1. Values of constants in the k–ε model.
Constant Value

C1 1.44
C2 1.92
Cµ 0.09
σk 1.0
σE 1.3

where, SM is the source term, ρ is the fluid density, P is the pressure, t is time, and µ is the cinematic
viscosity of fluid.
The turbulence intensity was also modeled using k–ε model (Launder & Spalding 1974) in the
form of:

The partial differential equations in the turbulence k–ε model can be shown as (AFEP 2002);

where, k is the turbulence kinetic energy, ε is the rate of turbulence energy diffusion, µt is the
turbulence viscosity, and φ head loss due to viscosity. The following constants in the above equations
have been suggested by Launder and Spalding (1974) for the beginning. Table 1 shows values of
constant in the k–ε model.

3 PHYSICAL MODEL

In this study Dasht-e-Abbas outlet tunnel at Khuzestan province of Iran was made of plexy glass
to check the validity of the results. Dasht-e-Abbas bottom outlet consists of a service radial gate
(2.5 m × 2.1 m) and an emergency leaf gate (2.6 m × 1.7 m). The scale of the model was 1:12
and the maximum head was 51 m (WRC 2001). Downstream of the service gate, the flow enters
an open channel to enable the flow aeration downstream of service and emergency gates. A set
of piezometers was fixed on the sidewalls and on the top and bottom of the tunnel to measure
the pressure distribution. The discharge was measured using a sharp-crested weir to calculate the
velocity inside the tunnel. Measurements were repeated for different service gate openings to check
the validity of the model. Figure 1 shows a schematic view of the model and also the positions of
piezometers on the gate surface and on the bed (close to the gate) of Dasht-e-Abbas outlet conduit
can be observed from Figure 2.

1742
Figure 1. A schematic view of Dasht-e-Abbas bottom outlet.

Figure 2. The position of piezometers on the surface of the gate and on the bed of Dasht-e-Abbas outlet
conduit.

4 FLOW ANALYSIS

The flow inside the conduit was modeled by Ansys/Flotran, using FLUID142 mesh, which is a
nonlinear three dimensional elements of having eight nodes (AFEP 2002). In this work different
size of the mesh elements were selected, so that very close to the gate or at high gradient regions,
the size of the elements was reduced to improve the accuracy of the results. The results were then
compared with those of experimental investigation. The boundary conditions consist of the energy
head at the entrance, zero velocity adjacent to the solid walls, and the hydrostatic pressure at the
outlet of the conduit as follows (WRC 2001);

1743
 Table 2. The flow condition within the Dasht-e-Abbas outlet conduit.
Gate opening (%) 10 30 50 70
Discharge (m3 /s) 11.13 29.08 46.1 63.59
Pressure at the entrance (kPa) 481.51 477.62 470.72 460.38
Discharge coefficient 0.821 0.722 0.689 0.703
Entrance velocity (m/s) 1.16 3.02 4.79 6.61
Pressure at the exit (kPa) 1.224 3.671 6.119 8.567
Height of gate opening h (m) 0.25 0.75 1.25 1.75

Table 3. Experimental and numerical results of Dasht-e-Abbas outlet conduit.

Discharge (m3 /s)

Gate opening (%) Numerical results Experimental results Error (%)

10 10.12 11.14 9.2

30 26.7 29.4 9.2
50 44.2 46.8 5.6
70 65.5 66.8 1.9

Table 4. Experimental and numerical results of pressure (m) on the bed and close to the
Dasht-e-Abbas outlet gate.

Piezometer number

Gate opening (%) 28 29 30

10 Experimental 49.74 47.94 38.82

Numerical 41.36 39.22 36.99
Error (%) 16.8 18.2 4.7
30 Experimental 42.48 32.34 14.76
Numerical 39.82 30.08 15.01
Error (%) 6.3 7 1.7
50 Experimental 32.32 20.94 9.6
Numerical 28.23 20.01 10.12
Error (%) 12.7 4.4 5.4
70 Experimental 22.14 14.22 10.92
Numerical 20.13 12.96 11
Error (%) 9.1 8.9 0.7

where, h is the gate opening. Also, the flow is assumed incompressible and turbulent. The flow
downstream of gate was analyzed using VOF technique. This method which is commonly used by
many investigators is powerful in calculating free surface water (Yoneyama 1996).
Table 2 shows the experimental results of the discharge coefficient, mean velocity and pressure
at the entrance and outlet sections (WRC 2001). Table 3 shows a comparison of experimental and
numerical results. The results show that the difference between the experimental and numerical
results is more pronounce for small gate openings. The error reduces from 9.2% for 10% gate
opening to 1.9% for 70% gate opening. The difference for small gate openings can be related to
the hydrostatic pressure assumption, made at the outlet of the conduit. For small gate openings,
this assumption is not valid very close to the gate. Table 4 also shows the pressure head at three

1744
 Gate opening = 10%
60
50

Pressure (m)
40
30
20
Experimental Results
10 Numerical Results
0
27 28 29 30 31
Piezometer number

Figure 3. Numerical and experimental results of pressure on the bed and close to Dasht-e-Abbas outlet gate.

Gate opening = 70%

25

20
Pressure (m)

15

10
Experimental results
5 Numerical results
0
27 28 29 30 31
Piezometer number

Figure 4. Numerical and experimental results of pressure on the bed and close to Dasht-e-Abbas outlet gate.

Gate opening = 10%

1.8
1.6
Cavitation index

1.4
1.2
1
0.8
Experimental results
0.6
0.4 Numerical results
0.2
0
27 28 29 30 31
Piezometer number

Figure 5. Numerical and experimental results of cavitation index on the bed and close to Dasht-e-Abbas
outlet gate.

piezometers placed on the bottom of conduit and very close to the gate. The discrepancy between
the experimental and numerical results lay between 18% for 10% gate opening and 0.7% for 70%
gate opening. Figures 3 and 4 also show the agreements between the experimental and numerical
results, especially for higher gate openings.
The variation of cavitation index on the bed and close to the Dasht-e-Abbas outlet gate can
be observed in Figures 5 and 6. The figures also consist of the experimental results for simi-
lar piezometers. It shows a reasonable agreement between the results, especially for higher gate
openings.

1745
 Gate opening = 70%
1.4
1.2

Cavitation index
1
0.8
0.6 Experimental results
0.4
Numerical results
0.2
0
27 28 29 30 31
Piezometer number

Figure 6. Numerical and experimental results of cavitation index on the bed and close to Dasht-e-Abbas
outlet gate.

5 CONCLUSION REMARKS

A computer program based on k–ε turbulence model was applied to simulate the flow within
bottom outlet conduits. The results were then compared with those of experimental results of
Dasht-e-Abbas irrigation bottom outlet conduit. With different gate openings, the results of pressure
distribution, flow discharge and cavitation index for piezometers of very close to the gate, show
a reasonable agreement between the experimental and numerical analysis, especially at higher
gate openings. The discrepancy between the results for small gate openings is more pronounced.
These information show the capability of the model to predict the flow characteristics within the
bottom outlet conduits. In some extend, it will also help the designers of such structures to avoid
construction and performing of relatively costly physical models investigations.

REFERENCES

ANSYS General Purpose Finite Element Program (AFEP). 2002. Version 6.1, Swanson, Analysis System Inc,
Houston P A, U.S.A.
Launder, B.E., Spalding, D.B. 1974. The Numerical Computation of Turbulent Flow. Computer Methods in
Applied Mechanics and Engineering. Vol. 3, pp. 269–289.
Water Research Center of Iran (WRC). 2001. Hydraulic Model Studies of Dasht-e-Abbas Irrigation Outlet
Tunnel; Final Report.
Yoneyama, N. 1996. Numerical analysis for Free Surface Using VOF Method. Flow Modeling and Turbulence
Measurements, Chen, Shih, Lienau & Kung (Eds), Balkema: Rotterdam.

1746
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Three-dimensional turbulence numerical simulation on the

configuration optimization of aeration device of the free flow
spillway tunnel

Hai-yun Wang, Guang-Qing Dai, Qing Yang & Chao Liu

State Key Hydraulics Lab. of High Speed Flows, Sichuan Univ., Chengdu, China

ABSTRACT: In this paper, the k–ε two-equation turbulence model is used to simulate the three-
dimensional turbulence flow of the free flow spillway tunnel. In order to solve the free water surface
and to handle the complex boundary conditions, the fractional volume of fluid (VOF) model that
is applicable to the solution of the stratified two-phase flow is introduced to the k–ε turbulence
model and the unstructured grid is used for the discretization of the irregular simulation domain.
The pressure-velocity coupling problem was resolved by PISO methods. By these methods, the
turbulence flow field of the free flow spillway tunnel is simulated successfully. Under the conditional
of low Froude number and slight slope of free flow spillway tunnel in order to improve aerated
capacity of the bottom arc section aeration device, a new V-type of aerator, the three dimensional
aerator has been put forward in this paper. Based on a large-scale model experiment, hydraulic
characteristics of the V-type aeration device are analyzed and compared with the test results and
agreed well with each other. The calculated hydraulic parameters (eg: the bottom length of air
chamber, maximum pressure distribution on the slight slope and free surface along spillway tunnel)
are compared with the measured and in good agreement. The model test results show that V-type
aerated characteristics are superior to traditional aerators.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the hydraulic engineering diversion tunnel is often rebuilt to spillway tunnel made up of dragon-
raise-head sector with the form diversion tunnel. The aerators are widely used in flood spillways
and spillway tunnels to prevent the cavitation damage of the structures. The characteristics of the
dragon-raise-head spillway tunnel are high head, large-unit-discharge, low Froude number and
slight slope. Large-discharge and low Froude number imply high depth of water the impact of the
gravitation is notable (Yong-sen Yang 2000). On the condition of slight slope flows the bottom of
air chamber tends to cause backwater flow and obstruct air current. So for this flow condition the
traditional aeration device doesn’t meet the demand of protecting cavitation damage.
In order to study the hydraulic characteristics of the aeration device comprehensively and seek
for an effective aerator to improve the hydraulic characteristic of the free spillway tunnel at high
head, large-unit-discharge, low Froude number and slight slope the method of turbulence numerical
simulation and model test are used to study the free flow spillway tunnel. In the view of research
on configuration optimization of aeration device of the free flow spillway tunnel former scholars
emphasis on two-dimension research i.e. following flows direction variability and ignore the flows
crossing run of vertical water direction (Zhu 2001, Yang 2000, Liu 1996, Yang 1991). Thus three-
dimension variation of the aeration device is more significant to the stability of air chamber and
aerated capacity and effect. The emphasis of simulation is aeration device of arc section bottom.
Through simulation searching a new aeration device protect the downstream soleplate.
In this paper, the fractional volume of fluid (VOF) model of the air-water two phase flow is
introduced to the three-dimensional k–ε two-equation turbulence model and combined with the

1747
geometry reconstruction scheme to solve the free water surface. The unstructured grid is used to
treat the irregular boundary. By these methods, the turbulence flow field of the free flow spillway
tunnel is simulated successfully. The free water surface and the distribution of velocity and pressure
on the free flow spillway tunnel are obtained by the turbulence numerical simulation.

2 MATHEMATICAL MODEL

In order to solve the free surface problem, the VOF model is introduced in the turbulence model.
VOF model, a efficient method to handle with complicated free water surface, was first put forward
by Hirt and Nichols (Hirt 1981). The main idea is: defining function αw and αa to present the volume
fraction of water and air in the computed region.
VOF model involved multiple fluid theories. As for the gas and water two-phase flow field, a
single set of momentum equations is shared by gas and water, and the volume fraction of each
of the fluids in each computed cell is tracked throughout the domain. The tracking of the inter-
face between air and water is accomplished by the solution of a continuity equation with the
following form

where t is time, ui and xi are tensor of velocity and coordinate component respectively.
In VOF model, since water and air have same velocity field and pressure field together, velocity
field of water-air two-phase flow can be described as by a set of equation as a single flow. In this
paper, the standard k–ε turbulence model is used and its continuity equation, momentum equation
and equations for k and ε are given as

where ρ is the density, and µ the molecular viscosity. p is the modified pressure. The parameter µt
is turbulence viscosity, and it can be calculated by the turbulence kinetic energy k and turbulence
dissipation rate ε as follows:

where Cµ is a experimental constant, Cµ = 0.09. The turbulence Prandtl numbers for k and ε are
σk = 1.0, σε = 1.3, respectively, and Cε1 = 1.44 and Cε2 = 1.92 are constants for the ε equation.
G is the generation of turbulent kinetic energy due to the mean velocity gradients. It can be
defined as

1748
 Air inlet

Aeration device
Water inlet

Outlet

Figure 1. Surface meshes and boundary conditions of the spillway tunnel.

The equations of the k–ε model with the VOF method for the stratified two-phase flow are equal
to the equations of the k–ε model of the single-phase flow except for the expression of the density
ρ and the molecular viscosity µ, which are the volume-fraction-averaged properties, that is, they
are functions of volume fraction of water αw , and are not constants. They can be determined by the
presence of air and water in each cell as follows

where, ρw and ρa are the density of water and air. The µw and µa are the molecular viscosity of
water and air, respectively. By the iterating solution of the volume fraction of water αw , the ρ and
µ can be calculated.

3 DISCRETIZATION OF THE SIMULATION DOMAIN

In this paper, the unstructured grid that is high adaptable to the discretization of the complex
domain, is used for the discretization of the aeration device of the free flow spillway tunnel domain.
Unstructured grid method provides more flexibility to use the grid topology that is best for the
specific problem. In three-dimension, hexahedral, tetrahedral, pyramid and wedge cells can be
used. The surface meshes and the boundary conditions of the simulation domain are shown in
Figure 1. The pressure-velocity coupling problem was resolved by PISO methods which make the
iterations convergent faster.
The numerical simulated physical model is designed according to one inland dragon-raise-head
spillway tunnel with high head, large-unit-discharge, low Froude number and slight slope. In order
to compare computed results with experiment results the scale of numerical simulated physical
model is 30. The cross section of the model tunnel is 45 cm width with an area of 1948.5 cm2 .
The water inlet is considered as a velocity inlet boundary. According to the designed maximum
unit discharge Q = 1.744 m3 /sm and the maximum velocity at inlet v = 8 m/s. The outlet and all air
boundaries are given as pressure boundary conditions.

4 COMPUTATIONAL RESULTS AND COMPARISON WITH EXPERIMENT RESULTS

4.1 Aerator configuration optimization

Figure 2(a) shows the schematic diagrams of continuous type aeration device. The distribution of
simulated flow phases shape on the soleplate is displayed in Figure 3(a). The computed results
indicate the outlet of free jet flow diffusion is not sufficient and the distribution of flow phases

1749
 Air shaft

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 2. Schematic diagrams of different aerators.

Figure 3. The distribution of flow phases shape on the bed plate of spillway tunnel (as soon as free jet reach
to the slight slope).

1750
 the bottom length of air chamber (m)
2.00

measured
1.60
computed
1.20

0.80

0.40

0.00
0.000 0.200 0.400 0.600 0.800 1.000 1.200 1.400 1.600 1.800 2.000
unit discharge (m3/s.m)

Figure 4. The relation of air chamber length and unit-discharge.

shape on the bed plate is beeline. The configuration of air chamber in space is two-dimensional.
While the flow phase shape of the soleplate is beeline type the stability of air chamber is bad and
the backwater in the air chamber appears easily (Wang 2003). U-type aeration device can eliminate
backwater in the air chamber (Pang 1993). Figure 2(b) shows the schematic diagrams of continuous
type aeration device, indicates the distribution of simulated flow phases shape on the soleplate of
spillway tunnel. Because mainstream is located in the middle of tunnel the outlet of free jet flow
diffusion is not sufficient.
In order to eliminate backwater three-dimensional in space is important. The three dimensional
aerator means that its deflector is three-dimensional in space instead of two-dimensional as the
traditional continuous aerator is. It is to say that gravitation distribution of free jet nappe alternates
not only in the directions of longitudinal and vertical, but also in the cross direction along vertical
flowing direction. The velocity, jet-trajectory angle and water depth change lineally from the center
to both sides. The range of downstream edge is continuous curvilinear. So the V-type reflector is
raised. Figure 2(c) shows the schematic diagrams of continuous type aeration device. The distribu-
tion of simulated flow phases shape on the soleplate of spillway tunnel is displayed in Figure 3(c).
The results display outlet of free jet flow diffusion is sufficient and the distribution of flow phases
shape on the bed plate is curve. For this type, on the outlet of free jet the three-dimensional flow
diffusion is more sufficiency than the traditional two-dimensional aerator. Therefore the sucked
airflow rate is larger, the length of air chamber is longer. It is mainly because that, the length
of the air chamber is continuously varying along the lateral direction within a range and along
downstream bilateral edge strong turbulent fluctuation further contribute to aerated capacity.
Based on a large-scale model experiment (the scale of experiment model is 30), hydraulic
characteristics of the V-type aeration device are analyzed and compared with the test results and
agreed well with each other. Figure 4 shows the relation of air chamber length and unit-discharge
for V-type aerator. The results indicate computed results accord with measured results.

4.2 Free water surface and pressure field

The free water surface of the tunnel computed and measured is shown in Figure 5. It can be see
that computed water surface is a little higher than that of the measured results, which is perhaps
caused by the fact that fierce turbulence of aerated water flow. But the trendline of the computed
and measured results is consistent preferably.
Figure 6 shows the distribution of computed pressure along the spillway tunnel. Computed results
coincide well with that of the measured, which indicate the simulated methods are feasible and can
be a way of project reference.

1751
Figure 5. Free water surface in the symmetric plane of the spillway tunnel.

8000.00
maximum pressure (pa)

6000.00

4000.00

measured
2000.00 computed

0.00
0.000 0.200 0.400 0.600 0.800 1.000 1.200 1.400 1.600 1.800 2.000
unit discharge (m3/s.m)

Figure 6. The relation of maximum pressure on the soleplate and unit-discharge.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The free flow spillway tunnel is simulated successfully by introducing the k–ε turbulence model
combined with VOF. VOF is an ideal method to simulate hydraulic problem with free water surface.
According to the computed results, it is deduced that the aerated characteristics of V-type reflector
be superior to continuous type aeration device and U-type aeration device. The simulated results
are coincident well with that of the physical model. For V-type reflector, on the outlet of free jet the
three-dimensional flow diffusion is more sufficiency than the traditional two-dimensional aerator.
The length of the air chamber is continuously varying along the lateral direction within a range
and along downstream bilateral edge strong turbulent fluctuation further contributes to aerated
capacity. V-type aerator improves aerated capacity of the bottom arc section aeration device and
protects cavitation damage of the downstream soleplate.

REFERENCES

Yong-sen Yang, Yong-quan Yang and Qing-hong Shuai. 2000. The hydraulic and aeration characteristics of low
Froude number flow over a step aerator. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (2): 27–31.
Chun-ying Zhu, Xiao Ling, Jie Liu and Gang Li. 2001. Study on Aeration for Preventing Cavition damage of
xiaolangdi project free flow spillway tunnel. Water Power 27(2): 23–26.
Yongsen Yang and Yong-quan Yang. 2000. Optimum shape of the Prototype Spillway Chute Aerator. Advances
in Water Science 11(2): 144–147.

1752
Han-sheng Liu and Yong Zhang. 1996. On Reducing Cavition with Aeration Devices. Water Resource and
Water Engineering 7(1): 42–47.
Chun-baoYang and Zheng-quan Wang. 1991. Numerical Investigation of Water Flow behind an Aeration Ramp
in a chute. Hydraulic Science Research (2):151–159.
Hirt, C. W. and Nichols, B. D. 1981. Volume of fluid (VOF) Method for the Dynamics of Free Boundaries,
J. Comput. Phys. 39: 201–225.
Hai-yun Wang, Guang-qing Dai, Yong-quan Yang and Qing Yang. 2003. Experimental study on the
configuration optimization of aeration device of the free flow spillway tunnel. Water Power 29(11): 54–56.
Chang-jun Pang and Ya-zhen Yuan. 1993. Study on the configuration optimization of aeration device of the
Dragon-Raise-Head free flow spillway tunnel. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (6): 61–66.

1753
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Design and construction of 1/100 scaled model of Cine Dam

stepped spillway

M.S. Guney, A. Ozgenc, C. Ozcelik & G. Bombar

˙
Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey

ABSTRACT: The stepped spillways are used to reduce the size of the downstream energy dissipa-
tion basin and the cost of the spillway. With the development of new construction techniques, there
is an increase in the number of the constructed stepped spillways. In Turkey the most important
application of this kind of spillway is that of the Cine Dam which is constructed by using roller com-
pacted concrete technique. In this study, the geometric and hydraulic characteristics of the 1/100
scaled physical model of the original form of the Cine Dam stepped spillway are determined and the
subsequent stages of its construction in the Hydraulic Laboratory of Civil Engineering Department
of Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir, are given. The experimental results obtained with different
discharges are presented and interpreted according to available knowledge about flow over steps.

1 FLOW PATTERNS OVER STEPPED SPILLWAYS

The flow over stepped spillways can be divided into two regimes: nappe flow and skimming flow.
In the nappe flow regime, water proceeds in a series of plunges from one step to other. The coming
flow from each step hits the following steps as a falling jet followed by a hydraulic jump in most
cases. In the skimming flow regime, the water flows down on the stepped face as a coherent stream,
skimming over the steps and cushioned by the recirculating fluid trapped between them. The line
connecting the external edges of the steps forms a pseudo bottom over which the flow passes. Flows
are governed by several parameters such as flow rate, step slope and length and slope of weir.
The onset of skimming flow and the location of the inception point of air entrainment are
determined as follows [Chanson,2000]:

where h is the step height, l is the step length, Li is the distance from the spillway crest to inception
point, ks is the roughness height perpendicular to pseudo bottom, α is chute angle from horizontal,
FK is a Froude number defined as FK = q/(g.sinα.k3s )1/2 ; q and g being unit width discharge and
gravitation acceleration, respectively.
In order to determine the ratio of the dissipated energy, the following formulations (3) and (4)
may be used for the nappe and skimming flows, respectively.

where Hdam is the dam crest head above the downstream toe, Hmax is the maximum head available
(Hmax = Hdam + 1.5dcr ), EC is the kinetic energy correction coefficient, H is the head loss, dcr is
the critical flow depth [Chanson,1994].

1755
2 THE 1/100 SCALED MODEL OF CINE DAM STEPPED SPILLWAY

2.1 General
Cine Dam and Hydro-Electric Plant is located on the Cine River near Izmir, in Turkey. The Cine
Dam with the purpose of flood control, irrigation and energy production is now under construction
in which roller compacted concrete (RRC) technique is used.

2.2 Model characteristics

When dealing with free surface flows, gravity effects are predominant so it is convenient to select
Froude similarity model which considers inertial and gravitational forces together.
Due to the space limitation of the laboratory, the model scale is selected as Lr = 1/100. Some
physical quantities determined according to this scale are given in Table 1.

2.3 Construction of model

Because of the space limitation, the upstream part of 135 m and the downstream part of 415 m from
the axis of the dam are constructed in the Hydraulic Laboratory of Civil Engineering Department
of Dokuz Eylul University (Fig. 1). Although it is known that after the model studies done by DSI
(State Hydraulics Works) some modifications are realized; the model is completed in conformity
with the original project.

Table 1. Some physical quantities for the model and prototype.

Physical quantity Scale Prototype value Model value

Spillway catastrophic flood discharge 1/100,000 3578 m3 /s 0.0358 m3 /s

Spillway design discharge 1/100,000 2970 m3 /s 0.0297 m3 /s
Maximum elevation from talweg 1/100 120 m 120 cm
Energy dissipation basin width 1/100 11.5 m 11.5 cm
Energy dissipation basin length 1/100 41.5 m 41.5 cm
Spillway width 1/100 150 m 150 cm

1. Reservoir 8. Galvanized discharge pipe

2. Aeration hole 9. The pipe of feedback
3. Pumping room 10. Stilling wall
4. Triangular weir 11. Sluice way
5. Dam reservoir
6. Walking platform
7. Stepped spillway and part of dam body 4 10
6 6
3 11 5
7

1 8

2 9

Figure 1. Definition sketch for the Cine Dam stepped spillway model.

1756
Figure 2. Some stages of the model construction.

1757
 First, a polygon is constituted by drawing boundaries of the model and a brick wall is constructed
along its boundaries and then the spillway axis is located. During the model construction a level is
used to fix on the elevations. After plastering the wall a convenient insulating material is used to
ensure the impermeability.
The bottom steps of the spillway are casted one by one into the moulds (Fig. 2a). Considering
the uniformity of the steps at the upper parts, for the sake of practicality, the steps are casted by
thirteen as seen at Figure 2b. At the beginning of construction a horizontal 10 cm concrete layer
is formed (Fig. 2c) and the first steps which surround the basin are settled. The necessitated drain
pipes are placed to collect the seepage along the dam body.
Sluiceway is placed by using a pipe which has a length of 429.8 cm and a diameter of 6.5 cm.
Since the valve of the sluiceway is near the ground, a shaft is mounted for controlling the valve
(Figs. 2 g,h).
In the side walls of the spillway, plexyglass material has been used, they have assembled on the
body of the spillway by screwing and sticking on (Fig. 2i). Some stages of the model construction
are given in Figures 2j,k,l,m,n,o.
The reservoir is divided into two parts with perforated brick wall to prevent the fluctuations of
the water spilling from triangle weir to the reservoir (Figs. 2g,o). To supply the required water for
model, a 30 m3 concrete reservoir is constructed. The convenient pump has been selected taking
into consideration the catastrophic flood discharge of the spillway and the hydraulics features of the
pipe system. After the model is completed, a walking platform is built at both sides of the model,
and so the hydrostatic thrust is also balanced.

3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

The calibration of triangular weir was performed and the following equation was obtained.

2.00 Essery & Horner (1978)

Beitz & Lawless (1992)
Montes (1994)
1.50 dc /h = 1,1 - 0,4 (h/l) Elviro & Mateos (1995) A
Elviro & Mateos (1995) B
± 30% interval Ru et al. (1994)
dc /h

1.00 Horner (1969)

Peyras et al. (1991)
0.50 Kells (1995)
Stephenson (1988)
Equation [1]
0.00 % 30 interval

% 30 interval
0.0 0.51 1.0 1.5 Present study (1/100)
h/l

Figure 3. Onset of skimming flow.

100 Bindo et al (1993) 51,3º

BaCaRa (1991) 51,3º
80 Beitz & Lawless (1992) 49,7º
60 Frizell & Mefford (1991) 26,6º
Li/ks

Sorensen (1985) 52º

40 Horner (1969) 36,4º
Tozzi (1992) 53,1º
20
Zhou (1996) 53,1º
0 Baker (1994) 18,4º
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Present study (1/100) 49.6º
FK Chanson (1994)

Figure 4. Location of the inception point of air entrainment.

1758
 1.00

0.90
∆H/Hmax
Theoretical
Experimental
0.80

0.70
0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00 40.00
Q(m3/s)

Figure 5. Comparison of measured and computed energy losses.

Figure 6. The flow patterns for 5 typical discharges.

1759
 Substituting the values of h = 1.2 m and l = 1.02 m into Equation 1 yields dcr /h = 0.63. Due to
the uncertainty of ±30%, the flow is expected to be in nappe regime if dcr <0.53 m, corresponding
to Q = 180 m3 /s and in skimming regime if dcr >0.98 m, corresponding to Q = 450 m3 /s. The
experimental observations of the onset of skimming flow are plotted in Figure 3.
Using the values of sin α = 0.7619, ks = 0.78 m in Equation 2 the curve shown in Figure 4 is
obtained. The observed inception point of air entrainment locations with relevant literature data
are also presented in the mentioned figure.
Even though the water depths should have been determined accurately from air concentration
measurements, a simple limnimeter was used for the water depth measurements at the downstream,
in order to get an idea about the validity of Equations (3) and (4) and to see the order of magnitude
of head losses. The measured values are plotted in Figure 5.
The experiments have been carried out for different flow rates. The flow patterns for 5 typical
discharges are given at Figure 6. Flow patterns in the case of 1.2 l/s, 3.05 l/s, 16.75 l/s, 24.85 l/s
and 34 l/s model discharges which correspond to 120 m3 /s, 305 m3 /s, 1675 m3 /s, 2485 m3 /s and
3400 m3 /s prototype discharges are shown in Figures 6a,b,c–6d,e,f–6g,h,i–6j,k,l and 6m,n,o respec-
tively. The distances Li from the spillway crest to inception point are measured by using a tape
measure, as shown in the relevant figures.

4 INTERPRETATION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

There is a good conformity between the flow patterns observed during the experiments and those
described in the relevant literature. The experimental value fit into computed one for the onset of
skimming flow. But the characteristics of nappe flow regime are observed until 300 m3 /s during
the experiments. This discrepancy is probably due to the difference in the geometry of the steps
used by Chanson and those used in this study.
As expected, there is a difference between theoretical and experimental Li values because of the
small values of roughness height. The steps disturb the flow and at the inception point the degree of
turbulence is increased and so the air entrainment into the flow is initiated. The roughness height
of the steps is an important parameter for the disturbance. In this study the roughness height is so
small that it can not disturb the flow as the greater ones can. As a result, the spillway behaves like a
common spillway (without steps), where the initiation of self aeration is retarded and the inception
point appears at the downstream of the spillway.
The discrepancy between the experimental and theoretical energy losses is negligible at small
discharges. For the discharges greater than 15 l/s, the observed differences are due to both some
difficulties in exact measuring of water depths and the outflow over the side walls.
The inconveniences revealed in the original project of Cine Dam Spillway led DSI to modify the
basin for preventing the outflow along the side walls.

REFERENCES

Chanson, H. 1994. Hydraulic Design of Stepped Cascades, Channels, Weirs and Spillways. Oxford: Elsevier
Science Inc.
Chanson, H. 2000. A review of accidents and failures of stepped spillways and weirs. Water and Maritime
Engineering Vol. 142, Issue. 4 pp 177–188, Dec.

1760
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Optimizing the hydraulic performance of a stilling basin for

cooling-water discharge: An experimental study

Yun He & Ping Ji

China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: To improve the hydraulic performance of a stilling basin for cooling-water discharge
of a power plant, a scale model was constructed in which various baffle arrangements and scour-
protection measures could be evaluated. The large diffusive angle of the originally designed stilling
basin had resulted in poor flow patterns in the basin, low efficiency of energy dissipation, and
non-uniform effluent out of the basin. Replacing the baffle sills with more appropriate shapes,
positions and heights in the stilling basin effectively diffused the current and raised the efficiency
of energy dissipation and effluent uniformity. Furthermore, a sloped apron distributor and a riprap
groove downstream of the overflow weir were effective measures to protect the downstream area
from scouring.

1 INTRODUCTION

Fluid discharges from thermal power plants are often characterized by large quantities of water and
heat, which may cause serious downstream scouring and negative environmental impacts on the
ambient waters. Diffusive stilling basins with flat bottoms are sometimes employed to dissipate
heat and to diffuse flow current in the basin to lower the unit width discharge and to mitigate local
scouring. We present the results of a hydraulic physical model study on current diffusion, energy
dissipation and scour prevention of a stilling basin. The generating capacity of the subject power
plant is 2 × 600 MW with the cooling water discharge of 40.6 m3 /s, which is led through 4 tunnels
to the stilling basin and discharged into Bohai Bay (IWHR, 2003).

2 MODEL DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

2.1 Model design

An undistorted physical model with length scale Lr = 25 was used in the study. The model design was
based on the Froude similarity rule and similarities of sediment movement (Zuo, 1984, Qian et al.
1983). The experimental conditions were based on the least favorable situation when the receiving
waters are in the periods of slack water and low water level – specifically, that the receiving waters
are at 97% low tidal level and influenced by ambient flow.
If the local downstream area of the stilling basin is scoured by the outflow, the model test should
be designed according to the similarity of sediment scouring. The model sand should be chosen
according to the similarity of sediment incipient velocity (Zhang, 1981). The prototype sediment
(γs = 2.56 t/m3 , d50 = 0.025 mm∼0.035 mm) incipient velocity can be calculated by the following
equation (Wuhan Hydraulic and Hydropower College, 1990), which is suitable for cohesive fine
sediment.

1761
in which Vc is the incipient velocity (m/s), h is the water depth (m), d is the median sediment
size (mm) and γs , γ are the specific densities of sediment and water. The values calculated by the
equation correspond roughly to the field measuring data. It is calculated that the incipient velocity
Vc is 0.5 to 0.6 m/s for the average low tidal level and about 0.5 m/s for the design low tidal level.
Experimental tests on the incipient velocity of the selected model sand show that the velocity of
model sand (bakelite powder) with γs = 1.49 t/m3 and d50 = 0.038 mm is 0.10 to 0.12 m/s, which
meets the requirement of the incipient velocity similarity.
In the model tests on scouring protection, the model stones were selected according to the bed-
load incipient velocity similarity. Model stones were selected so as to correspond to the prototypes
with weights of about 20 kg and 40 kg.

2.2 Experimental setup

A self-flow circulation system was used in the model tests. Water was pumped from an underground
storage basin to a tank, from which it flowed through 4 channels to the stilling basin. The water was
discharged to the ambient waters after flow diffusion and energy dissipation in the stilling basin.
The flow rate was measured by a calibrated triangle weir. The flow pattern in the basin was revealed
by adding KMnO4 solution to the flow, and the surface flow field was quantitatively expressed
by particle image velocimeter (PIV) system. An acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) was used
to measure the cross section velocity distribution. A Pitot tube and a water gauge were used to
measure the velocity and water depth over the overflow weir. The water level of receiving waters
was regulated by an adjustable gate. Sediment was carefully laid in the area of 100 × 100 m with
sufficient depth to show scouring downstream of the overflow weir, and the amounts of scouring
were measured by topographic meter.

3 EXPERIMENTAL TESTS

3.1 Tests on the originally designed stilling basin

The original design consists of a diffusive stilling basin with a flat bottom, and with diffusive
horizontal angles on both sides of 30◦ . The overflow crosses an arc weir to a sloping-apron feed
distributor or to a riprap groove (Fig. 1).
The diffusive angles on both sides of a diffusive stilling basin are normally 7◦ ∼12◦ in order that
the current can be uniformly diffused (China Industrial Standard Committee, 2001). Owing to the
large (i.e. 30◦ ) diffusive angles in the original design, the current entering the basin is unable to
diffuse laterally and uniformly before it reaches the basin end. The main current moves forward
in the middle and two reverse flows appear in both sides. As shown in Figure 2, the velocities in

Weir
Overflow Wing Wall
Wing Wall Weir

Stilling Basin (1) Sloped Apron

Weir
Channels

Stilling Basin (2) Riprap Groove

Plan View
Section A-A

Figure 1. Sketch of stilling basin.

1762
the middle of the basin are large and directly forward while the velocities near both wing walls
are directed backwards. This poorly designed flow pattern brings about lower efficiency of flow
diffusion and energy dissipation. The solid line in Figure 3 shows the discharge for unit width over
the overflow weir, in which the non-uniform lateral velocity distribution will aggravate the scouring
problem downstream of the weir.

3.2 Tests on optimizing the stilling basin

Two optimizing measures were tested for the stilling basin. One measure consisted of laying aux-
iliary energy dissipators in the basin to increase the efficiency and uniformity of current diffusion
(Huadong Hydraulic College, 1982), and the other measure shortened the length of the basin.

3.2.1 Auxiliary energy dissipator

We tested and compared different auxiliary energy dissipators in the stilling basin: guide plate, baffle
block, and bottom sill. The bottom sill was found to effectively diffuse the current and dissipate
the energy, while the guide plate and baffle block showed no significant effects. When the sill is
located in a suitable position and at an optimum height, its effect can be explained as hampering the
current entering the basin which possesses large velocity and high energy. The hampered current
is rolling and turning to the sides in intense turbulence, by which a part of the kinetic energy is
dissipated. The current passing over the bottom sill will be more uniformly diffused and the two
side paths of inverse flow will disappear.
The effect of the bottom sill on the flow pattern is closely related to the shape, size and position
of the sill. Model tests with 14 different conditions (Table 1) showed that the best flow pattern

Reverse Flow

Discharge
Unit Width Discharge

1.2
A
1.0 B
q(m3/m.s)

0.8
Main Current 0.6
0.4 Original Design Condition
Reverse Flow Overflow 0.2 Improved Test Condition 12
Veloctiy Scale: Weir 0.0
1m/s 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Length of Weir L(m)
Figure 2. Flow patterns in the original
designed stilling basin. Figure 3. Distribution of unit width discharge over the weir.

Table 1. Experimental conditions of laying bottom sills in the stilling basin.

Distance of sills to Bottom still

No. of test the inlet x Bottom sill length l height h
conditions (m) (m) (m) Bottom sill shape

1∼3 10, 12.5, 15 12.5, 15 1.1 Rectangle thin sill

4∼5 12.5, 10 13.5 1.5 Rectangle thin sill
6∼9 12.5, 10 12.5 1.5, 1.1 Step thin sill
10∼12 10 Long sill 12.5 1.5, 1.1 Long step sill in middle and
Short sill 1.6, 2.5 1.5 short sills in two sides
13, 14 10 Long sill 12.5 1.7, 1.5, 1.1 Long step sill in middle and
Short sill 2.5, 2.2 1.5 short sills in two sides

1763
Figure 4. The optimal baffle sill style in test condition14 (unit: m).

Overflow
Weir D

Cross Section of
measured Velocity

V (m/s)
10m
Water Depth on the
Baffle Sill 0.6
0.5 C D
Weir h(m)

0.4 A B
0.3
0.2 Original Design Condition
0.1 Improved Test Condition 14
Velocity Scale: 0.1m/s
0.0
5m C 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Length of the Weir L(m)
Figure 5. Cross-section velocity distribution
in test condition 14. Figure 6. Water depth distribution on the weir.

improvement could be achieved when the distance from the inlet x = 3h0 and the height h = 0.5 h0 ,
in which h0 is average water depth. The greatest improvement was provided by the composite sill
shown as Figure 4, in which a long sill was posited in the middle and two short sills were posited
in two sides. Figure 3 shows the comparison of the distribution of discharge for unit width over
the overflow weir between the original design and the improvement test condition 12.

3.2.2 Shortening the basin length

Model tests (Conditions 13 and 14) also were conducted on the shortened stilling basin, which is
15 m shorter than the original design length (50 m), in order to test whether the shortening resulted
in more economical operation. The composite bottom sills shown as Figure 4 were used in testing
the shortened stilling basin. Figure 5 shows cross-section velocity distribution at 2/3 water depth,
5 m before the overflow weir. Figure 6 shows the water depth distribution over the weir. These
figures show clearly that both the velocity and water depth are distributed more uniformly than
they were in the originally designed basin.

4 EXPERIMENTAL TESTS ON SCOURING PROTECTION

At the design low-tide level, the top of the overflow weir is higher than the level of the receiving
waters, and the outflow discharges in a hydraulic drop. Two scenarios are proposed to prevent
scouring: (1) a sloped apron feed distributor which lies immediately below the overflow weir and
is connected by a planar grouted stone apron; and (2) riprap groove lying behind the overflow weir
that is a sheet pile (Fig. 1).
The experimental tests were carried out at the design tide level of 0.62 m, and checked at 97% low
tide level, 0.09 m, with ambient current. The scouring test lasted for 5 hours, which was equivalent
to 55 hours in the prototype, until the scouring pit became stable.

1764
 Water Surface Line
M
Hydraulic Jump

Weir
Stilling Basin Sloped Apron
Feed Distributor

Figure 7. Sketch of outflow from stilling basin.

4.1 Sloped apron feed distributor

4.1.1 Effect of the outflow on the ambient flow
The water surface line on the weir and the slope can be calculated. The theoretical critical water
depth over the weir hk is 0.35 m. The measured water depth along the slope shows that the critical
flow has occurred over the weir and the critical point is at the middle of the weir width (M in
Fig. 7). The measured water depth is the nearly the same as the calculated value. The free surface
line upstream of the critical point is a mild-slope M2 type curve while that downstream is steep-
slope S2 type curve (Tsinghua University, 1982). A hydraulic jump is observed at the end of the
slope (Fig. 7). The flow Froude number before the jump is Fr1 = 7.3 and the water depths before
and after the jump are 0.09 m and 0.92 m respectively. The jump is a submerged jump when the
ambient water is at the design low-tide level. The energy dissipation efficiency can be estimated as:

For the original design, the non-uniformly distributed outflow from the stilling basin forces the
velocity distribution also to be non-uniform at the end of the sloped apron feed distributor. The
measured average velocity at the end of the sloped apron feed distributor was about 0.38 m/s, while
the maximum velocity was 0.77 m/s. For test condition 14 on the shortened stilling basin – although
the average discharge for unit width increases 37% over that of the original design – the outflow
presents a relatively uniform velocity distribution over the weir owing to the appropriate current
diffusion and energy dissipation measures. The effect on the ambient flow of the outflow from the
shortened stilling basin was similar to that from the originally designed basin.

4.1.2 Tests on scouring

Model tests of outflow scouring were undertaken on the original design and the improved stilling
basins. The tests showed local scouring in the area downstream of the end of the apron feed
distributor. For the originally designed stilling basin, two scouring pits with areas of about 12.5 m
(length) × 12.0 m (width) were formed at the two sides, and the maximum scouring depth was
1.1 m relative to the elevation of the apron surface (−1.0 m). For test condition 12, in which the
bottom sills are posited in the stilling basin, the maximum scouring depth decreased to about 40%
that of the originally designed basin. For test condition 14, which compared of the shortened stilling
basin with and without bottom sills, the scouring was much weaker when the sill was present. The
shortened stilling basin with the appropriate bottom sills is therefore acceptable for practice use.

4.2 Riprap groove

The shortened stilling basin uses a sheet-pile structure as its overflow weir. At lower tidal levels, the
exit flow falls abruptly to scour the downstream area. Model tests showed (Fig. 8) severe scouring
in the downstream area when no protection measures were applied for the model test condition 14.
After sufficient running time, the equilibrium scouring pit formed with a width of 15 to 16 m and

1765
 Figure 8. Scouring pit downstream of the weir.

a depth of about 7 m relative to the downstream area elevation (−0.1 m). At 97% low tidal level,
the maximum scouring depth was as great as 7.5 m.
To protect the downstream area of the overflow weir from scouring, we laid a riprap groove with
width of 10 m and thickness of 3 m. The riprap was made of stones of about 40 kg each. Model
tests showed that the scouring depth downstream of the weir was less than 1 m for the designed
condition. Similar results were achieved for the condition with ambient current and in 97% low
tidal level – which shows that the riprap groove is an effective scouring protection measure.

5 CONCLUSION

Experimental model tests were carried out on measures to diffuse the current, to dissipate energy,
and to protect against scouring in the stilling basin of a cooling-water system for a power plant.
Following conclusions can be drawn:
(1) Owing to the large diffusion angle for the originally designed stilling basin, the velocity was not
uniformly distributed, and reverse flows appeared on both sides of the basin. The flow energy
could not be effectively dissipated, and the relatively large current velocities seriously scoured
the area downstream of the overflow weir.
(2) Bottom sills of appropriate height and shape, and placed at appropriate distances from the
inlet, can effectively improve the flow pattern in the basin. The velocities in the basin and on
the overflow weir can be more uniformly distributed. Energy can be dissipated with improved
efficiency. The hydraulic and sediment scouring tests show that the shortened stilling basin with
the bottom sills (test condition 14) is acceptable for practical use.
(3) The sloped apron feed distributor and the riprap groove in the area downstream of the overflow
weir are effective measures for protecting the downstream area from scouring.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The model tests were carried out under supervision of Prof. Huiquan Chen. The authors would like
to express their appreciation to Prof. Chen and other staff in IWHR who contributed to the study.
Special thanks to Prof. Robert H. Meade of USGS and Dr. Cheng Liu of IRTCES for their kindly
help and editorial suggestions on this paper.

1766
REFERENCES

China Industrial Standard Committee. 2001. Sluice design standard (SL265-2001). Beijing: Hydraulic and
Hydropower Publisher (in Chinese).
Huadong Hydraulic College. 1982. Handbook of hydro-structure design, Vol. 6. Beijing: Hydraulic and
Hydropower Publisher (in Chinese).
IWHR (China Institution of Water Resources and Hydropower Research). 2003. Report of experimental study
on the water intake and discharge system of Huanghua Power Plant (in Chinese).
Qian, N. & Wan, Z.H. 1983. Sediment dynamics. Beijing: Science Press (in Chinese).
Tsinghua University. 1982. Hydraulics. Beijing: Renmin Educational Publisher (in Chinese).
Wuhan Hydraulic and Hydropower College. 1990. Fluvial modeling. Beijing: Hydraulic and Hydropower
Publisher (in Chinese).
Zhang, R.J. 1981. River flow and sediment engineering. Beijing: Hydraulic Press (in Chinese).
Zuo, D.Q. 1984. Theories and applications of model test. Beijing: Hydraulics and Power Press (in Chinese).

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Determination of jet length in jet spillways

Ergün Üzücek & Gülru Yildiz

State Hydraulic Works, Ankara, Turkey

ABSTRACT: Problems encountered at the downstream of the flip bucket spillways may threaten
the stability of the appurtenant structures and thus rehabilitation of the dam become very difficult
and uneconomic. Therefore to compass such problems, the determination of the distance of the
water jet traveled pre projecting the energy dissipater is an important phenomena.
In Turkey, in recent years construction of flip bucket spillways are preferred to energy stilling
basins in a large number of dams. Due to some serious problems faced at the downstream of the
discharge channels hydraulic modeling studies of these structures become inevitable. As disin-
tegration of the jet at the lip of the flip bucket in the model is realized weakly compared to the
prototype, the distance of the water jet traveled can not be determined with the results obtained
from the model.
To predict the entire jet distance the graphical solution proposed by Gunko is improved, by
including results of twelve prototype data obtained from flip bucket spillways of some major dams
in Turkey to Gunko’s thirteen case study data achieved from spillway flows.

1 INTRODUCTION

High head dams have been recently constructed throughout the world and in Turkey. In designing
a spillway of a high head dam one of the major concerns that should be taken into account is the
scouring phenomenon expected to occur downstream of the spillway of the dam.
Free overfalls are usually used as spillway options only in connection with arch dams. In other
spillway options water jet is impacted on the river bed by a chute channel and a flip bucket. It
is known that water jet first transports the alluvial material than erodes the rock bed material.
Depending on the location and depth of the resultant scours after the operation of the spillways the
stability of the hydraulic structures nearby may be threatened. Moreover eroded materials removed
from the scour hole may be transported downstream as bed load , or form a mound immediately at
the downstream margin of the scour hole. This mound may limit the depth of scour (Whittaker, J.G.,
Schleiss, A., 1984) and energy of water is dissipated. However, this incident may also raise the
tail water to a level at which the power plant operates under submerged conditions. Therefore it is
essential for the designer to predict the length of the jet trajectory in order to be informed about
the place of the probable scour.
The problems envisaged at the downstream of spillway channels terminating with flip buckets
in recently constructed dams led to take measures that were very costly and difficult from the
construction point of view. Consequently, model studies in predicting scour gained importance.
The degree of air entrainment and the disintegration of the jet occur in a very less extend in
the small scale model compared to the prototype, therefore the measured values do not relate the
real jet length. Equations developed to predict the real jet length in spillways with chute channels
terminating with flip buckets differ, as they do not consider the effective parameters in jet behaviour.
These equations are neglecting the air resistance, air entrainment into the jet and the disintegration
of the jet at the exit of a long chute channel. However in recent years some studies are performed
considering these parameters by a number of researchers.

1769
 Here, for the prediction of the real jet length, the distances travelled by the water jets are
measured during the operation of spillways of four high head dams in Turkey. Then jet lengths of
these spillways are determined using Gunko’s equation and Gunko’s graphical solution giving the
ratio of actual distance travelled to the theoretical jet length plotted against the kinematic flow factor
(Fr2 ) for conditions at the lip of the flip bucket is developed by using the obtained prototype data.

2 DETERMINATION OF DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY JET LENGTH

2.1 Range of jet

In determining the jet length, it is first necessary to predict the jet trajectory. For the situation
shown in figure 1, the kinematic equation of free jets is given as,

Here, θ is the angle between the water jet and the horizantal line, x is the horizantal distance
travelled by the jet, V0 is the velocity at the exit of the flip bucket and g is the gravitational
acceleration. The horizantal travel length Lt of the jet can be expressed as follows (Whittaker, J.G.,
Schleiss, A., 1984),

Where, Lt is the theoretical jet length, θ ’ is the angle of incidance of the jet with the downstream
river bed or water surface and the other parameters in determination of the jet length are expressed
in figure 2.
Assuming no energy loss, the velocity Vo at the exit of the outlet can be determined from equation
as follows,

The equations presented above predict the behaviour of an ideal jet. Effects such as air retardation,
disintegration of the jet in the flight and flow aeration are neglected. A number of researchers have
developed equations to predict jet behaviour considering these effects. In this study only Gunko’s
solution is evaluated and prototype data is added to his model data and his graphical solution is
developed. In the developed solution Gunko’s equation is used in determining the theoretical jet
length.

Figure 1. Jet trajectory.

1770
2.2 Gunko’s solution
In determining the parameters related to the flow at the exit of a flip bucket of a long chute channel
spillway of high-head dams, head losses along the spillway channel have to be taken into account.
So the energy head at the exit and jet distance due to this energy head are then calculated.
Head losses at long channels are effective on the velocity of the jet at exit and namely on the
jet length. Gunko developed coefficient φ characterising unit discharge and spillway length for
the head losses (Figure 3). Velocity at the exit is corrected by multiplying equation (3) with φ
(Gunko, F.G., 1965).
Gunko gives an equation for Lt that encompasses energy losses on the spillway.

The symbols are as defined in figure 2, except

Figure 2. Jet trajectory parameters.

Figure 3. Graphical solution for determination of spillway loss coefficient.

1771
Figure 4. Locations of dams in Turkey.

h difference between lip elevation and bucket lip above invert elevation

where φ can be determined from figure 3.

2.3 Developed Gunko’s solution

Measurements are carried out at Keban, Karakaya, Menzelet and Kılıçkaya dams’ spillways during
their operation, to predict actual jet distances travelled. The locations of these dams are shown in
figure 4.
Jet lengths are measured from the side view photographs taken during the operation of these
spillways. In determining the jet lengths each photograph is scaled considering some distances
known in prototypes. Geodesical measurements are performed mean time at the location where the
photographs are taken. The geodesic measurements are used to check the distances measured from
photographs.
Then, to predict a general function of parameters effecting the jet length; dimentional analysis is
carried out and the function determined from dimensional analysis is given as (Üzücek, E., 1992).

The measured jet lenghts in the prototype and the computed jet lengths are compared by this
function. Hence, the relation between the L/Lt ratio with the parameters determined from the
dimensional analysis can be defined,

In function (8) in order to use Gunko’s experimental data the effect of Z1 /y1 and θ on the jet
length is neglected.
12 prototype data is added to Gunko’s 13 experimental data obtained from tests in which spillway
flow was aerated by maximum 50%; and the relation between L/Lt and Fr2 is investigated. Theor-
etical jet lengthts (Lt ) obtained by evaluating the parameters of 12 prototype data by Gunko’s
proposed analysis are given in table 1. Where (L) represents the measured lengths. Here, the
theoretical jet lengths are greater than the measured prototype values.
The new graphical solution obtainted by using the data given in table 1 and the data of Gunko’s
experimental test is given in figure 5.

1772
 Table 1. The measured and calculated jet lengths of 12 prototype data.

Name of dam q(m2 /s)  Z2 (m) Z3 (m) Fr2 Lt (m) L(m) L/Lt

Keban 6,41 30,00 115,00 23,00 122,01 56,01 22,00 0,39

8,97 30,00 115,00 23,00 110,71 62,72 26,00 0,41
12,82 30,00 115,00 23,00 103,49 72,18 33,00 0,46
15,38 30,00 115,00 23,00 94,17 75,35 39,00 0,52
19,23 30,00 115,00 23,00 87,59 81,20 45,00 0,55
25,64 30,00 115,00 23,00 86,91 93,52 56,00 0,60
32,62 30,00 115,00 23,00 81,49 102,38 63,00 0,62
51,28 30,00 115,00 23,00 77,86 126,69 85,00 0,67
Karakaya 96,30 33,90 104,50 48,50 62,73 180,76 148,00 0,82
57,78 33,90 104,50 51,00 75,76 156,01 120,00 0,77
Kiliçkaya 12,10 40,00 63,50 35,00 76,49 65,68 41,00 0,62
Menzelet 11,11 30,00 81,87 6,00 113,77 54,57 20,00 0,37

1,2

1
GUNKO'S GRAPH

0,8
L/Lt

GUNKO'S DATA
0,6
KEBAN DAM

0,4 KARAKAYA DAM

KILIÇKAYA DAM

0,2 MENZELET DAM

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130
Fr2 DEVELOPED GUNKO'S GRAPH

Figure 5. Gunko’s previous and developed solution.

3 CONCLUSION

Gunko’s graphical solution developed to determine the jet length is re-evaluated. Gunko’s method
is based on experimental observations and gives the relation between L/Lt ratio and Fr2 . Gunko’s
graphical method is developed by including 12 prototype data to his analysis. In the developed
graphical solution to determine the theoretical jet distance travelled, the equation proposed by
Gunko is used.

• From the results obtained with the help of Gunko’s equation and the measured jet lenghths from
prototypes, it can be observed that, the developed graph is inclining for Fr2 greater than 80.
• The decrease of L/Lt ratio for Fr2 greater 80 is due to aeration of the flow realizing more than
50% in the prototype whereas Gunko’s flow was aerated maximum 50% in his model tests.

1773
• Lancester (Lancester, A. 1982) is defined that Gunko’s solution is valid for the conditions,

where δ is the angle of the dip of the bed.

In the developed solution the range defined by Lancester is extended. By developing the Gunko’s
graphical solution and extending the Fr2 range in the solution, the prediction of jet distance travelled
in spillways of highhead dams can be predicted more accurate. The problems encountered at the
downstream of spillways of highhead dams are serious, so the entire prediction of jet length is very
significant.

REFERENCES

Jeffrey, G., Whittaker, andAnton Schleiss, 1984. Scour Related to Energy Dissipators for High Head Structures,
Nr.73 Mitteilungen der Versuchsanstalt Wasserbau, Hydrologie und Glaziologie, Zürich.
Gunko, F.G., Burkov, A.F., Isachenko, N.B., Rubinstein, G.L., Soloviava, A.G. and Yuditsky, G.A., 1965.
“Research on the Hydraulic Regime and Local Scour of River Bed Below Spillways of High-Head Dams”
11th Congress of the I.A.H.R., Leningrad.
Üzücek, E., June 1992. Investigation of parameters effecting the jet length of flip bucket type channels, Gazi
University, Master Thesis, Ankara.
Lencastre, A., April 1982. Flow Under Weir on Scoured Bed. Journal of the Hydraulics Div. A.S.C.E., HY4,
pp 529–543.
Yildiz, D. and Üzücek, E., 1994. The Experience Gained in Turkey on Scours Occurred Downsstream of The
Spillways of High Dams and Protective Measures, ICOLD Congress, Durban.

NOMENCLATURE

q Specific discharge
V Velocity
g Acceleration due to gravity
Fr Froude number
L Actual jet range
Lt Theoretical jet range
R Radius of flip bucket
h Height of flip bucket lip above invert
Zo difference between upstream water level and mid point of jet at exit from flip bucket
Z1 difference between downstream water level and mid point of jet at exit from flip bucket
Z2 difference between upstream water level and lip of the flip bucket
Z3 difference between downstream water level and lip of the flip bucket
S Spillway length
δ Angle of dip of bed
 Angle of flip bucket, and of jet at flip bucket exit
’ Angle of jet at entry point to downstream plunge pool
φ Energy loss coefficient

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Stabilization of the bottom plate of still basin under the action

of jet flow from a flaring gate pier

Yan Genhua, Hu Qulie & Chen Fazhan

Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT: On the basis of model experiments, this paper discussed the flow characters in
stilling basin downstream of a flaring gate pier under an overflow dam, the distribution of hydro-
dynamic load on its basin bottom, the process and mechanism of losing stability of the bottom plate;
deduced also the relations between the stable thickness of the bottom plate and its corresponding
water cushion depth under some assumed conditions, and thus provides a scientific basis for the
design of the subarea thickness of stilling basin bottom plate.

1 INTRODUCTION

The energy dissipator form of “flaring gate pier with a stilling basin” invented firstly in this
country had been adopted in Ankang, Wuqangxi, Geheyan, Dachaoshan, Baise and other high head
hydropower stations in recent thirty years, has shown the advantages of the well effect of energy
dissipation and lower geologic request. However, in this form of dissipating energy, adopted the
stilling basin instead of the water cushion pond and enduring straightly the impinging of jet flow
from the flaring gate pier, under the action of complex flow pattern and hydrodynamic load, the
question of the stability of bottom plate of the stilling basin becomes very conspicuous. There is
no lack of examples of bottom anchor bars were pulled out, ruptured, even the bottom plate was
overturned. In recent years, this condition aroused peoples’ attention and recognition progressively.
This paper relies on the Baise hydroelectric power station of Guangxi province (see Fig. 1).
According to model experiments and synthetic analyses of experimental date, the process and
mechanism of losing stability of the bottom plate are clarified basically, the relations between
stable thickness of the bottom plate, the depth of water cushion under the impact of jet flow, the
flow pattern, and the hydrodynamic load etc. are offered also. Furthermore, in this paper still
pointed out the variation of the uplift forces during the process of the failure of water seal of
divisional seams and losing its stability. All of these will make the design of the thickness of the
bottom plate to be more reasonable and credible.

2 THE FLOW CHARACTER IN STILLING BASIN DOWNSTREAM

OF A FLARING GATE PIER

When the jet from flaring gate pier impinging the water cushion in the stilling basin, the main flow
turned and diffused from downward to upward, accompanied with violent turbulence and a great
amount of air entrainment and then achieved ample energy dissipation adequately. The following
characters can be summed up: (1) The jet flow passing through the flaring gate pier constrict along
vertical direction and diffused rapidly toward downstream side, but its lower part of the jet still
without separation from the dam surface. (2) The co-effect of the centrifugal force and the impact
pressure of the water flow lead to the enhancement of hydrodynamic pressure at ogee bottom of the
flowing area. (3) The jet diffused rapidly as soon as jumped into water, and in downstream water
area initiate a backflow roller like that of a hydraulic jump. (4) The transversal diffusing flow tossed

1775
Figure 1. Layout of the relying project.

toward the middle part after it stroke the end wall and forming a roller with longitudinal axis. (5)
There is a bottom roller with transversal axis upstream of the end sill. Although the above flow
characters are caused by the flaring gate pier and stilling basin[1][2] , but it revealed the differences
in flow patterns as compared with that of the energy dissipation by the form of the trajectory bucket
followed by a water cushion pond.

3 HYDRODYNAMIC PRESSURES ON THE BOTTOM PLATE OF STILLING BASIN

At the composite flow conditions of impulse jet and submerged hydraulic jump, violent turbulence
of the aerated flow accelerated the energy dissipation. The great hydrodynamic load changed to and
fro became an important problem of the stability of the bottom plate of stilling basin. Especially,
when the water seal of the divisional block were destroyed and the bottom pumping and drainage
systems were in failure, the stable condition of the bottom plate will be further deteriorate along
with the uplift forces increased observably.

3.1 Time average hydrodynamic pressure

Under the condition of failure of the water seal of the divisional block and also the subbase pumping
and drainage systems, the time average hydrodynamic pressure obtained from experiments is shown
in Fig. 2. Except the influences of magnitude of water head and flow discharge there are the
distribution rules as follows:
The sill 1# located at the jet impacting area, the time average hydrodynamic pressure being the
greatest, its peak value and position mainly determined by the energy and the trajectory distance
of the flow jet. Under the action of resultant of the hydrodynamic forces on the upper and lower
surface of the bottom plate, if it has enough strength to resist the impact of the jet, the possibility
of occurrence of losing stability firstly will be very little.
The plate 2# is close to the downstream of jet impinging area, where is a low pressure area, in
which the high-velocity jet deflected promptly, and therefore the pressure on its top area is little.
But the hydrodynamic pressure on the lower surface of the block is propagated downward through

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Figure 2. Distribution of hydrodynamic pressures on both the upper and lower surfaces of the bottom plate
of stilling basin.

Figure 3. Root mean square values of pulsating water

pressure on both the upper and lower surfaces of Figure 4. Relations between pulsating pressure
bottom plate of stiling basin. and flow discharge.

the divisional seams and its magnitude is related to the pressures of the surrounding gaps only. It
may be seen from Fig. 3 that the time average hydrodynamic pressure along the bottom plate, its
overall resultant is pointed upward, and so this block will lose its stability most easily.
The plate 3# located at the downstream side of 2# , there is a rather calm water flow in this area
with its hydrodynamic pressure closed to the hydrostatic pressure, with a diminished uplift and
increased stability.

3.2 The flow pulsating pressure

The variation of flow pulsation with time in stilling basin is a steady random process. The root
mean square values of the pulsating pressure obtained in accordance with the above mentioned
conditions are shown in Fig. 3. The relations of the pulsating pressure with flow discharge were
shown in Fig. 4. The pulsating pressure on the bottom plate of stilling basin downstream of a flaring
gate pier has the character as follows:
(1) High water head, large flow discharge, violent flow disturbance, also with large pulsating
pressure. The maximum pulsating pressure is 5.49 m water column under the designed operation

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Figure 5. Diagrammatic sketch of the forces exerted on the bottom plate.

level; it makes about 14% of time average hydrodynamic pressure. After the measuring point
A3, pulsation attenuates along the flow path.
(2) In case of same flow discharge, if the depth of water cushion increased, the impinging action
of the jet on the bottom plate diminished, and the pulsating pressure decreased accordingly.
(3) The pulsating pressure on the lower surface of the bottom plate makes about 20∼30% of the
upper one.
(4) The probability density of the flow pulsating pressure is close to the normal distribution.
(5) The main energy of the flow pulsating pressure concentrate in the range of 20 Hz, the main
frequency at 1–5 Hz.

4 THE STABILITY OF THE BOTTOM PLATE OF STILLING BASIN

4.1 The relationship between the stable thickness of bottom plate of stilling basin
and the depth of water cushion
Under the action of the hydrodynamic pressure P1 and P2 respectively on the upper and lower
surfaces of the bottom plate; and its dead weight G; the binding force between the plate and its
rock foundation also the tensile force of the anchor bar R; lateral force F; horizontal drag force S.
In practical engineering, to keeping the stability of the bottom plate generally depends on its own
dead weight and the pulling forces of the anchor bar, so that depth of water cushion is as follows:

If there is no anchor bar, further simplification can be made:

in which: hB the depth of water cushion; Z difference of the up and downstream water levels; H
the water depth in front of the weir; d is thickness of the bottom plate. Since in model tests take no
consideration about the action of anchor bar in general, and therefore it conforms to the conditions
of Eq. (2).
In Eq. (1) the synthetic coefficient K relates to many factors, it still can not be determined by
computative method. According to the condition of the relying project: Z = 93.9 m. H = 18.5 m,
hB = 27.5 m, and taking K = 0.6 by experience, calculated the required stable thickness of the
bottom plate being 7.3 m approximately and was conformed with that of the model experiments
basically.

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 Figure 7. Distribution of time average hydro-
Figure 6. Distribution of time average hydrodynamic dynamic pressure and uplift on the bottom plate
pressure and uplift on the bottom plate (raised sill). (drop sill).

Figure 8. Distribution of the resultant forces of time average hydrodynamic pressure and uplift on bottom
plate of the stilling basin.

4.2 The process of losing stability and destroy mechanism of the bottom plate
of stilling basin
Under the action of flow jet, inadequate weight and thickness of the bottom plate are the main
causes leading to its lose of stability. In experiments, found that the plate 2# lost stability at first,
followed by 3# and 1# and the 4# and 5# being the last. The degree of difficulty or easiness of losing
stability is consistent basically with the statements about the dynamic action of the plate 2, a vertical
intermittent shaking occurred at first and along with the increasingly intense till floated and turned
over. The experiments also show that the weakening of the extruding action between blocks, the
abrupt increasing of the uplift pressure behind raised sills and etc. And therefore, can not annotate
the stability losing phenomena in accordance with the classical fashion like the block 2.
Although the pulsating pressure account for a small ratio in the hydrodynamic pressure, but
it plays a leading role in respect of inducing vertical shaking of the block, but the upward time
average hydrodynamic pressure has its definitive effect.

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4.3 Effect of raised and drop sills on the stability of bottom plate
The following causes will bring about the occurrence of raised or drop sill type unevenness on the
bottom plate: Unequal settlement of foundation, constructional raised unevenness and floatation
of blocks due to losing stability. The flow pressure produced by the obstruction of the raised blocks
fled into the lower part of the bottom plate and caused the abrupt increase of uplift forces (see
Fig. 6), and that just is the common instance in losing stability of the bottom plate of stilling basin.
The effect of a drop sill to the stability of bottom plate is just opposite to that of the raised sill, the
dropping water mass impinged the bottom plate, changed the local flow pattern and hydrodynamic
pressure of downstream side, the uplift force being reduced (see Fig. 7).
If divided the bottom plate of stilling basin into blocks, and arranged in the form of steps with
their surface elevations lowered one by one along its flow direction (stepped drop series), the uplift
forces will be decreased obviously than that of the bottom plate without drops (see Fig. 8). In
experiments, the drop depth being 0.5∼0.3 m (prototype size), although the pulsating pressure in
the impact area downstream of the drop sill increased somewhat, but its increment will be less than
3% of the corresponding velocity head of the flow jet.

5 CONCLUSION

From experimental studies the main conclusions may be obtained as follows:

(1) The bottom plate loses its stability under the dynamic action of a flow jet. During the shaking
process of the plate block, the pulsating pressure plays an important role; and the time average
hydrodynamic pressure has its definitive effect.
(2) The bottom plate resist the impinge of the flow jet unlike that of the rock foundation, the
position where losing stability at first was not at the jet impacting area, but at a place somewhat
behind it (just like the sill 2# ), herein occurred the maximum uplift forces; the stable conditions
confirmed by the experiments provided the scientific basis to the subdivision and strengthening
in bottom plate design.
(3) According to the experiments, the required minimum thickness of the sill 2# was 8 m
approximately, and it is basically in conformity with the calculating values of formula (2).
(4) The maximum pulsating pressure appeared in the jet impacting area, and its square root mean
value makes about 10∼20% of the time average hydrodynamic pressure; after the water seal
losing its effect, the pulsating pressure at the lower surface of the block makes about 20∼30%
of the upper one; the pulsating pressure increase along with the increase of discharge and
decrease with the thickness of the water cushion.
(5) The raised sill causes the increase of the uplift forces, thus results in the increased possibility
of losing its stability of the bottom plate, while the dropped sill causes the decrease of the uplift
force, and therefore, if make the bottom plate layout in the form of a series of dropped sills, it
is propitious to its stability.

REFERENCES

Cui Li & Zhang Tingfang, 1992.6, Random analysis on the process and mechanism of losing stability of the
bottom plate under flow conditions of impulse jet, Journal of study and development of hydrodynamics,
No. 2, 1996
Zhang Tingfang & Cui Li, 1992.12, Study of the bottom plate stability in water cushion pond under flow
patterns of the energy dissipation by the form of the trajectory bucket conditions, Journal of hydraulic
engineering, No. 12, 1992
Liu Peiqing, 1994.9, Mechanism study of rock running-up in scour hole, Proceeding of release work and
high-velocity flow, 1994.9

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Characteristics of wake flow in long bluff bodies

Wenxue Chen
China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, China

Jianfu Zhao
National Microgravity Laboratory, Institute of Mechanics, China Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Jun Guo & Changhe Li

China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: Vortex shedding is the main characteristics of bluff bodies, which will cause the
bluff bodies to vibrate and sometimes result in the structures failure. In this paper the wake flow
characteristics of 21 bluff bodies with rectangular, rounded and angular profiles and the length-
to-width ratio in the range of 4∼12 were deeply studied by Micro ADV. Two parameters, namely
the relative intensity of the load due to Karman vortices and the large scale vortex intensity,
were introduced to measure the wake flow intensity. Generally, the values of these parameters for
different bluff bodies are consistent with each other. The experiment results showed that the key
factor affecting the wake flow characteristics is the bluff edge, especially the leading edge geometry.
The wake flow in bluff bodies with rounded edge profiles has more regular vortices and becomes
more periodic than that in bluff bodies with rectangular ones. A bluff body with angular edged
profile was witnessed to have not only small wake loading but small hydraulic resistance also.

1 INTRODUCTION

The flow around bluff bodies can result in two instabilities: the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability pre-
senting in the shear layer and the instability causing the large-scale shedding (e.g. Chyu & Rockwell
1996; Houorigan et al. 2001; Nakamura et al. 1991). The factors affecting the flow pattern around
bluff bodies include the leading and trailing edges of the body, length-to-width ratio and the inflow
conditions. For rectangular plates, when the flow approaching angle is zero, flow patterns can be
categorized into three group (Nguyen & Naudascher 1991): (1) With short rectangular profiles, the
flow separates from the leading edges and strong vortices shed alternately into the wake forcing a
Karman vortex street. The oscillating wake is wide and includes the whole sections of the body.
(2) When the length-to-width ratio is between 2 and 6, the vortices that form in the shear layer past
the leading edges and then impinge on the trailing edge. The excitation of the Karman vortex is
weakened. (3) While for the long rectangular profiles, the length-to-width ratio is not smaller than
6, the flow remains attached to the side surfaces and separates from the trailing edges. In this case,
the wake and the Karman vortex street are much narrower.
When the vortex shed alternately from the bodies, the dynamic force acting on the bodies is also
changed alternately, and resulting fluid-induced vibration. Sometimes, the fluid-induced vibration
will cause structure failure. For example, there are a lot of cases of trashrack failures (Symalarao
1989), especially in the pumped storage station, attributable to fluid induced vibrations. Nguyen &
Naudascher (1991) deeply studied trashrack vibration and recommended that for minimizing the
potential of flow-induced vibrations, trashracks and large support beams should be designed where
possible with square-edged long rectangular profiles, preferably in the range of length-to-width
ratio between 8 and 12. In the design guidelines of the trashracks, ICOLD (1996) also pointed out
that bars having a rectangular cross section are the best shape for use as trashrack members. The

1781
 10 15
150 15 130

20
A8 D8

10
10
150

10
30 100 30

10
B8 E8

10 140 10

10
50 60 50
C8 F8

10 100 10
C6

Figure 1. Bluff bodies tested.

length of the bars in flow direction should be at least five to six times of their thickness (width) to
minimize the possibility of vibration.
In this paper, the characteristics of the wake flow in bluff bodies with different kind of leading and
trailing edges and several length-to-width ratios are deeply studied by Micro ADV. Two parameters,
namely the relative intensity of the load due to Karman vortices and the large scale vortex intensity,
are introduced to measure the wake flow intensity. The values of these parameters will provide
some insights on the excitation of vibration.

2 EXPERIMENTAL FACILITIES AND INFLOW CONDITIONS

Experiments were conducted in a water flume of about 1.0 m wide and 0.8 m deep. The water
depth is about 0.5 m. The average approach velocity ranged from 0.14 m/s to 0.80 m/s, and the
intensity of free-stream turbulence, measured 10 cm upstream from the bluff bodies, was between
0.066 and 0.09. The velocity distribution was uniform within 10%. The bluff bodies are made of
perspex. There are 21 bluff bodies were studied in this paper, including rectangular profiles with
length-to-width ratio c/d (here, c is the length of the bluff body in the flow direction, and d is the
width or thickness of the body) of 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14 (denoted as profiles S4, S6, S7, S8, S10,
S12 and S14 respectively), rounded edge profiles with c/d of 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14 (denoted as
profiles R4, R6, R7, R8, R10, R12, R14 respectively), and 7 nearly angular profiles A8, B8, C6,
C8, D8, E8 and F8 as shown in Fig. 1.
Considering that the ordinary trashrack bars are 0.02 m wide and the spacing ratios (bar spacing
s divided by bar width d, s/d) are in the range of 4∼12, and that the flows around bluff bodies do
not interfere with each other when the spacing ratio s/d is not smaller than 4 (Zdravkovich 1988),
thus the bluff bodies were installed at constant spacing ratio, s/d = 10, and the bluff bodies were
designed as 0.02 m wide and 0.6 m high.
The velocity was measured by Micro ADV, manufactured by SonTek. The sampling frequency
is 50 Hz, and sampling time is about 90 seconds. The shedding frequencies are calculated from
the power density spectra of velocity fluctuations measured 0.06 m downstream from the trailing
edges of the bluff bodies.

3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

3.1 Velocity and turbulent intensity distribution

The Karman vortex shedding affects the distribution of velocity and turbulent intensity, as shown
in Fig. 2 (a, b). As the measuring point is away from the centre line of the bluff body, the influence

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 U V
20

16 1

12

8 U 0
4 V
0 -1
-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
y/d

Figure 2(a). Typical velocity distribution on the section of 6 cm downstream from the trailing edge (y denotes
transversal coordinate).

%
30
25 u
20 v
15 w
10
5
0
-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
y/d

Figure 2(b). Typical turbulent intensity distribution on the section of 6 cm downstream from the trailing edge.

%
50
40 u
v
30
20
10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
x/d

Figure 3. Typical turbulent intensity distribution along the centre line downstream from the trailing edge
(x denotes streamline coordinate).

of the vortices becomes weaker. When the distance is great than 2d, the vortex shedding has nearly
no influence on the streamwise velocity. The maximum turbulent intensity lies near the centre line,
and when lateral distance away centre line is greater than 2d, the turbulent intensity tends uniform,
which means that the vortex shedding has no influence on the turbulent intensity. Ohya et al. (1989)
also pointed out that when the gap between two bluff bodies is large than 2 times of the thickness
of the bluff body, the frequency of vortex shedding is the same as that for a single body. Fig. 2
also shows that the vertical component of the turbulent intensity in the affecting area of the vortex
shedding also increases, which means that the flow behind the bluff bodies is three-dimensional.
The distribution of turbulent intensity along the centre line is depicted in Fig. 3. It shows that
the maximum turbulent intensity happens in the range of 3d away from the trailing edge, and when

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Table 1. Strouhal number, relative intensity of the load due to Karman vortices and large scale vortex intensity.

R4 R6 R7 R8 R10 R12 R14 S4 S6 S7 S8

Tu 0.080 0.081 0.073 0.065 0.081 0.085 0.078 0.069 0.073 0.066 0.069
Re 3124 2901 3633 3583 3066 2849 3071 3641 3587 3669 3420
St 0.27 0.26 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.19 0.18 0.16 0.19 0.19 0.19
ε 0.39 0.45 0.62 0.79 0.58 0.51 0.50 0.54 0.50 0.39 0.37
TuL 0.21 0.22 0.20 0.20 0.23 0.25 0.22 0.20 0.18 0.18 0.18

S10 S12 S14 A8 B8 C6 C8 D8 E8 F8

Tu 0.063 0.066 0.061 0.085 0.080 0.077 0.084 0.074 0.074 0.074
Re 3492 3396 3163 3633 3153 3633 2867 3029 3025 3314
St 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.24 0.20 0.27 0.20 0.30 0.33 0.35
ε 0.40 0.46 0.46 0.51 0.33 0.56 0.53 0.64 0.37 0.30
TuL 0.17 0.18 0.18 0.27 0.17 0.22 0.22 0.24 0.20 0.14

Note: ε is the relative intensity of the load due to Karman vortices, its definition refers Eq. 1. TuL is the large
scale vortex intensity, see 3.4.

Table 2. Strouhal number and relative intensity of the load due to Karman vortices measured by Nguyen &
Naudascher (1991).

S4 S4 S5 S5 S6 S6 S8 S8 R10

Tu 0.01 0.045 0.01 0.045 0.01 0.045 0.01 0.045 0.045

St 0.15 0.16 0.20 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.18 – 0.26
ε 0.44 0.27 0.38 0.25 0.34 0.23 0.24 – 0.62

Note: The Reynolds number of the incoming flow was 2300.

the distance downstream from the trailing edge is large than 5d, the turbulent intensity decreases
slowly. Experiment shows that even when the distance downstream from the trailing edges is large
than 12d, the dominant frequency is still the same as that near the trailing edges, which means the
large scale vortex shedding will last for a long time.

3.2 Strouhal number

Although the turbulent intensity of the approach flow is larger than that in the experiments by
Nguyen et al., the Strouhal numbers are nearly the same (see Tables 1 and 2). For the rounded
edge profiles, the Strouhal number is in the range of 0.26∼0.27 when the length-to-width ratio is
between 4 and 10, while c/d = 12 to 14, the Strouhal number is about 0.18∼0.19. That is to say, when
c/d is large than 10, the Strouhal frequency will become smaller and a less periodic vortex wake.
For the rectangular profiles, the Strouhal number is about 0.18∼0.22 when c/d = 5∼10, and about
0.21∼0.23 when c/d = 12∼14. Comparing the two kind profiles, a rounded edge profile usually
characterized by a higher Strouhal frequency and a more periodic vortex wake than rounded edge
profile, when c/d is not more than 10, while the rectangular profile has higher Strouhal frequency
than a rounded edge profile when c/d is large than 12. This result indicates that when the length-
to-width of a rectangular profile is larger than 12, it will have more periodic vortex wake than that
of a rounded edge profile of the same length. If a rectangular profile becomes very long, c/d ≥ 20,
Nguyen & Naudascher (1991) found that the wake frequency becomes dominated and approaches
asymptotically the frequency observed in the wake of a similar profile with a rounded nose.
Comparison of the Strouhal numbers of several angular edge profiles, C6, A8∼F8, shows
that the leading and trailing edges geometry has great influence on the Strouhal number and the
wake characteristics. The Strouhal number of profile A8 is bigger than that of S8, while that for

1784
B8 is nearly the same as that of S8. Thus the leading edge has crucial influence on the wake
characteristics. When the leading and trailing edge of the profile tends to nearly streamlined as
profile E8 and F8, the Strouhal number becomes larger. Considering that the streamlined edges
prevent the flow separating from the profile sides and the vortex will shed from the sharp-edges,
the characteristics length should be selected as the distance between the two sharp-edge points.
Therefore, the Strouhal number of the profile E8 and F8 will be 0.17 and 0.18 respectively, smaller
than that of the rectangular profile S8.

3.3 Relative intensity of the load due to the Karman vortices

For comparing the relative intensity of the load due to the Karman vortices, a parameter ε is
introduced as that by Nguyen:

where σ is the total energy content given by the area of the wake spectrum , and σi represents the
energy content in a frequency bound of 1 Hz around the peak of frequency. The larger the value of
ε, the more periodic due to Karman vortices. It can be inferred from Table 1 that Karman vortices
are the most periodic for profiles R7, R8, R10, C6 and D8, and the least for profiles B8, E8, S8 and
F8. Although the shedding frequencies for profile E8, F8 are larger, energy of the Karman vortices
is smaller, therefore the vibration response of the bluff bodies will be smaller also. Chen & Wu
(2003) deeply studied the vibration response of all the 21 bluff bodies mentioned above, it is found
that the vibration response of the bluff bodies E8 and F8 is nearly the same as that of S8, and has
no vortex-resonant vibration. The reason is that for the nearly streamlined profiles E8 and F8, the
flow does not separate on the profile side surfaces, and the Karman vortices shed from the sharp
edges, the wake and the Karman vortex street is then much narrower than that of the profile S8.
Furthermore, the sharp-leading edges of the profiles E8 and F8 also act as front spoilers and more
or less suppress the periodicity of the vortex shedding by introducing large-scale turbulence into
the shear layers as that in R8, therefore their vibration response will be smaller.
The edge geometry of the bluff bodies, especially the leading edge, has a great influence on
the relative intensity of the load due to the Karman vortices. For the rounded profile, the relative
intensity is larger compared with that of rectangular profile as mentioned by Nguyen & Naudascher
(1991).
Except the edge geometry, several other factors including the turbulent intensity of the approach-
ing flow, the uniformity of the incoming flow can also affect the relative intensity of the load due
to Karman vortices. As for nearly the same incoming flow conditions, ε is a good parameter for
comparing the vibration response of different bluff bodies.

3.4 Large scale vortices

As the vortices shed alternatively from the bluff bodies, the force acting on the bluff bodies change
alternatively also, and resulting in the bluff bodies vibration. Therefore, the intensity of the large
scale vortices can also be a suitable parameter for evaluating the excitation force of the bluff bodies.
There are several methods for extracting large scale structures (coherent structures) from the wake
flow, among these the wavelet packet decomposition method is a very good one. Wickerhauser
(1994) presented an iteration method. Chen et al. (2003) proposed a dual decomposition algorithm
based on Wickerhauser’s method. In this paper this method is also used to extract the coherent
structures from the wake flow of the bluff bodies. The intensity of large scale vortex is the ratio
TuL = VL /U , where VL is the large scale component of the transverse velocity, and U is the mean
velocity of the approach flow. The calculated results are listed in Table 1.
The results show that the edge geometry of the bluff bodies also has a great influence on the
intensity of large scale vortex. For the rounded edge profile mentioned above, TuL is in the range
of 0.2∼0.25, while about 0.18 for the rectangular profile with length-to-width ratio ranged from

1785
6 to 14. For the shorter rectangular edge profile, TuL is larger than that of longer ones. Among the
21 profiles, the smallest intensity of the large scale vortices is F8. This result indicates that the
excitation force for the profile F8 is the smallest.
Table 1 also shows that the values of the two parameters, ε and TuL , are consistent with each
other except that for profile E8, which means that these parameters can be used as criterions for
analyzing the wake flow intensity of bluff bodies, and they can also be used for comparing vibration
response of different bluff bodies.

4 CONCLUSIONS

From this study of wake loading behavior of 21 bluff bodies, the following conclusions can be
drawn:
1. As the spacing ratio between two bluff bodies is larger than 3, the flows around these bluff bodies
do not interfere with each other.
2. Two parameters, namely the relative intensity of the load due to Karman vortices and the large
scale vortex intensity, can be used for measuring the wake loading behavior of bluff bodies, and
can be used for comparing vibration response of different bluff bodies.
3. For the angular edge profile E8 and F8, the Strouhal number will be smaller than that of the
rectangular profile S8, if the characteristic length is chosen as the distance between two separated
sharp points of the bluff bodies.
4. The bluff edges, especially the leading edge, have a crucial influence on the wake flow. Wake
flows for rounded profile are more periodic than that of rectangular profile. Among the 21 bluff
bodies, the best one is profile F8, which not only has small wake loading, but small hydraulic
resistance because of its nearly streamlined profile. This kind of bluff body can be a good one
for using in the situation as trashracks.

REFERENCES

Chen, W., Zhao, J. & Li, C. 2003. A dual decomposition algorithm for turbulent wake flows after blunt bodies
using the wavelet packet method. J. Basic Science and Engineering. 11(4): 405–411.
Chen, W. & Wu, Y. 2003. Experimental study on flow-induced vibration of trashracks of pumped storage
stations – Part3. Beijing: China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research.
Chyu, C.K. & Rockwell, D. 1996. Evolution of patterns of streamwise vorticity in the turbulent near wake of
a circular cylinder. J. Fluid Mechanics. 320: 117–137.
Hourigan, K., Thompson, M.C. & Tan, B.T. 2001. Self-sustained oscillations in flows around long blunt plates.
J. Fluid and Structures. 15: 387–398.
ICOLD Bulletin. 1996. Vibration of hydraulic equipment for dams. 2102.
Nakamura, Y., Ohya, Y. & Tsuruta, H. 1991. Experiments on vortex shedding from flat plates with square
leading and trailing edges. J. Fluid Mechanics. 222: 437–447.
Nguyen, T.D. & Naudascher, E. 1991. Vibration of beams and trashracks in parallel and inclined flows.
J. Hydraulic Engineering. 117(8): 1056–1076.
Ohya, Y., Okajima, A. & Hayashi, M. 1989. Wake interference and vortex shedding, In: N.P. Cheremisinoff
Ed. Encyclopedia of fluid mechanics, Ch10. Gulf publishing.
Syamalarao, B.C. 1989. A review of trashrack failures and related investigations. Water Power and Dam
Construction. 41(1): 28–36.
Wicherhauser, M.V. 1994. Adapted wavelet analysis from theory to software (Chapter 11). Peters,
Wellesley, MA.
Zdravkovich, M.M. 1988. Review of interference-induced oscillations in flow past two circular cylinders in
various arrangements. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 28: 183–200.

1786
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Influence of gas nucleus on scale effect of cavitation

Qing Yang, Guang-qing Dai, Jian-ming Zhang, Hai-yun Wang & Jian-qiang Wu
State Key Hydraulics Laboratory of High Speed Flows, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

ABSTRACT: For the scale effect of cavitation test, this paper mainly analyzes the influence of gas
nucleus on scale effect. The effects of density, distribution and initial radius of gas nucleus on scale
effect are analyzed respectively and the measures necessary for reduction of resulting scale effect
are attained. At the same time, critical pressure is applied to replace cavitation number defined
by vaporization pressure and the relationship between initial dimension of gas nucleus and tensile
strength of liquid to endeavor for eliminating the effects of tensile strength of liquid on scale effect.
In order to eliminate scale effects of cavitation, some problems, required to be paid attention to
during cavitation test, are summarized and provide references for actual test and prepare for further
questing complete and accurate simulation methods.

1 INTRODUCTION

With further exploitation of waterpower resources, some giant hydropower stations will successively
occur such 200-meter high dams as Xiluodu, Xiangjiaba, Wudongde and Hutiaoxia, all of which
urgently require settling with cavitation problems due to high speed flow. Because the forming
mechanism and influential factors are greatly complicated, the initial cavitation number of structures
which is concerned about in engineering design is often attained by model test, however, greater
difference of initial cavitation number is in existence between model and prototype, namely, scale
effect of cavitation, which is accordingly hot topic when initial cavitation is studied. However,
due to numerous influential factors, different scholars have gained different modifier formulas for
scale effect of cavitation. Prof. A. Kelle studied different dimension, water quality and velocity, and
established respective empirical formula (A. Keller, Zhi-mingYang, 1991). According to dynamical
equation of vapor bubble, assuming and simplifying some conditions, and critical conditions of
vapor bubble, Prof. Han-gen Ni (Han-gen Ni, 1999) educed modifier formula for scale effect of
cavitation. Wei-hong Xia (Wei-hong Xia, 1993) et al. also analyzed influence of water quality on
scale effect of cavitation. Ref. (Jing Ren, Jin-shi Chang. 1998), considered that scale effect of
cavitation for turbine sets mainly related with operating water head, diameter of turning wheel,
gas content in liquid and proper characters of flowing medium, etc. This paper makes an attempt
to analyze the influences of gas nucleus’ density, regularities of distribution and initial radius etc.
on scale effect on cavitation, and establishing relation between size of gas nucleus and tensile
strength of liquid, so as to eliminate the influence of tensile strength, attain the initial similarity
ratio between model and prototype and probe into similarity criterions and demands obeyed when
conducting cavitation tests.

2 INFLUENCE OF GAS NUCLEUS’ DISTRIBUTION ON SCALE EFFECT OF

CAVITATION

Cavitation is a process that gas nucleus originates in low-pressure field, develops and crumbles.
This process is related to quantity and dimension of free gas nucleus in initial flow. Quantity and

1787
dimension of free gas nucleus in model and prototype should be kept similar. Therefore, there is,

in which, N (R0 ) is gas nucleus density function (namely, number of gas nucleus with radius R0
in unit volume water sample, subscript p & m are prototype & model), that is to say, number of
gas nucleus around model surface should equal to that in similar volume around prototype surface,
therefore, ratio of gas nucleus’ density in unit volume should be inversely proportional to cube
of geometrical dimension, which is called “λ3 similarity rule” for gas nucleus’ density. Besides
above-mentioned demands, a complete similarity still includes similarity of gas nucleus’ density to
its dimension spectrum, similarity of initial dimension of gas nucleus (namely, ratio between radius
of gas nucleus and characteristic length in model test should be equal to actual specific value).
Applied premise for “λ3 similarity rule” of gas nucleus is that absolute saturation state does not
reach. Once such state reaches, density of gas nucleus is not a key parameter, and λ3 similarity rule
does not require obey, model and prototype automatically achieves similarity. On the basis of the
hypothesis that excessive saturation is due to mutual close neighbor between air bubbles, Gindroa
(1991) educed that saturated density of gas nucleus should meet the following similar relation when
doing model test of hydraulic machine:

where, p, m denote model and prototype, respectively, L denotes characteristic length. If density of
gas nucleus in model is 2 × 106 pcs/m3 , the selected geometrical reduced scale is often λl > 15,
saturation state will occur when density of gas nucleus in prototype reaches 0.034 × 106 pcs/m3 .
In-situ measurement in hydropower station shows that actual density greatly exceeds this value.
Thus, cavitation character in prototype always corresponds with excessive saturation state and such
state of cavitation must be attached importance to when conducting model test. Accordingly, in
order to reduce scale effect of cavitation, enough number of gas nucleuses should be provided in
model test to satisfy excessive saturation character.
Up to the present, the similarity of gas nucleus’ density, similarity of spectrum of dimension
and similarity of initial size of gas nucleus have not achieved. Fortunately, the numerical results
of Raileigh-Plesset Equation show that, once gas nucleus is excited and begins expanding, the
maximum dimension of generated cavitation bubble will have no connection with initial dimension
of gas nucleus. Therefore, in practice, as long as total number of gas nucleus when exceeding some
critical pressure can be assured to satisfy similarity demand (in unit volume), cavitation conditions
in models can reflect actual cavitation conditions.

3 INFLUENCE OF GAS NUCLEUS’ DIMENSION ON SCALE EFFECT OF CAVITATION

If water is regarded as being pure and free of impurity, its tensile strength will be very strong
and may reach 2 × 105 kPa calculated by some theoretical physicists, and in such water body with
high strength, cavitation will rarely occur. However, water in nature always contains all kinds of
impurity such as dissolved gas, aqueous or solid particulates. Toma Number σ calculated from
different tensile strength of water body is unequal. In order to get rid of effect of water quality, it
is advisable to apply critical pressure Pc instead of vapor pressure Pv , then,

1788
 60
Chengdu(I)
50
Nanjing(I)
40
Z (kPa)
30

20

10

0
2 3 4 5 6 7
Gas Content (mg/L)

Figure 1. Graph of relation between tensile strength and gas content.

80
Obernach(I) Berlin(I)
70
Chengdu(I) Nanjing(I)
60
Obernach(II) Chengdu(II)
50 Nanjing(II) Obernach(III)
Z(kPa)

40 Chengdu(III) Nanjing(III)

30

20

10

0
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5
log10 R0 (um)

(•) Test specimen for round pier; (•) Test specimen for gate groover;
(•) Test specimen for projecting body

Figure 2. Graph of relation between tensile strength and initial radius of gas nucleus.

where Z is the effective tensile strength of liquid.

It can be derived from experiment data in Ref. (Wei-hong Xia, 1993) that tensile strength of
water body and gas content in water body have no obvious laws (Seen in Fig. 1), and under the same
gas content, different distribution of gas nucleus’ dimension may cause different tensile strength of
water body. However, it is fortunate that tensile strength of water body is closely relevant with radius
of gas nucleus (here, R0 is larger than initial radius of gas nucleus). In such sites as Obernach, Berlin,
Chengdu, Nanjing, measured initial radius of gas nucleus and tensile strength were analyzed under
different working conditions and their laws are shown in Fig. 2. By means of regression analysis,
the following equation can be attained,

On account of plentiful microorganism and other impurities in nature water body, both content of
gas nucleus and initial radius of gas nucleus are relatively large and tensile strength of nature water

1789
 Table 1. Outcome of Bikou’s orifice plate on subatmospheric hydraulic
model.

Vacuum degree σc,m R0,m Zm σc,p

λl = Dp /Dm (%) (KPa) (um) (KPa) (KPa)

9.17 87.7 4.55 6.1 3.852 4.60

body are considered zero. But in decompression chamber test, tensile strength of water body can’t be
ignored. For example, Ref. (Reconnaissance, Planning, Design & Research Institute Yellow River
Conservancy Commission, 1988) gives the results of decompression model test of orifice plate in
Bikou Reservoir and the results calculated according to Expression (3) and (4), as shown in Table 1.
Prototype observation of orifice plate in Bikou Reservoir shows that evidence of cavitation can
be found when cavitation number of flow σ is equal to 4.65 which accords with σc,p given in Table.

4 GUIDELINES FOLLOWED BY CAVITATION TEST

Except that gas nucleus and tensile strength have effect on scale ratio of cavitation, flow rate,
dimension of test piece and inflow conditions also result in scale effect of cavitation. In order to
eliminate influences of these factors, the following problems should be paid attention to when
conducting cavitation test.
Upon the basis of bubble dynamic and ignoring such factors as water quality and fluctuation
pressure, some empirical values were applied in Ref. (Han-gen Ni, 1999), then modifier formula
of initial cavitation number was attained as follows:

where, subscript p and M denote prototype value and model value, V∞ is velocity of undisturbed
location, λl is size of model, R0 and Rc are initial radius and critical radius of gas nucleus, respec-
tively. Critical radius Rc assumes 17 um according to information analysis. It can be seen from
Expression (5) that initial cavitation number of prototype and model are basically equal if velocity
of prototype is larger than certain value and influence of second item on right can be ignored. Com-
bining with the effect of liquid viscosity, it is generally considered that dependency of cavitation
number in prototype and model is little when Reynolds number of model flow Re is larger than 106 .
By analyzing the results of contrast cavitation tests in China and Deutschland, for test pieces
with better streamline, no matter whether scale ratio of velocity or dimension will not generate
greater scale effect. For instance, suitable small-scale ratio test can be conducted for piers with
better streamline. For body type of test pieces where flow separation easily occurs, such as orifice
plate, flood discharge hole with plug, initial cavitation number of large and small test pieces may
differ some times. Therefore, initial cavitation number of small-scale ratio test pieces can’t be used
as design criteria.
When inflow conditions are similar, for the same body type of orifice plate, Ref. (Li Zhongyi,
Chen Xia, Chen Meifa, 1997) derives that initial cavitation number with of one-stage and multistage
with easy inflow differs 0.3. Hence, test data of one-stage orifice plate can’t be directly applied in
multi-stage orifice plate.

5 CONCLUSIONS

This paper endeavors to consider the influence of scale effect of cavitation from the dimension of
gas nucleus and discuss some problems that should be paid attention to when conducting cavitation

1790
tests. However, cavitation is a complicated process and relate to distribution regularities of gas
nucleus’ dimension, gas nucleus’ composition, fluctuating intensity of flow and viscosity of liquid.
Conventional cavitation test satisfies similarity of cavitation number, but in practice, cavitation
number only is compatibly expressed by similarity criterion of Euler number and can’t generalize
similarity of all cavitation phenomena. Therefore, there has no lineal dependency relationship
between cavitation number and cavitation phenomena and it is necessary to further study and quest
complete and accurate simulation technique.

REFERENCES

Keller A., Zhi-ming Yang. 1991. Final Report Chinese-German Comparative Cavitation Test In Different Test
Facilities on Models of Interest for Hydraulic Civil Engineering, Wuhan China.17–28.
Han-gen Ni. 1999. Correction of Incipient Cavitation Number for Scale Effect, Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, 1999(9): 28–32.
Wei-hong Xia. 1993. Effect of Water Quality on Incipient Cavitation, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering,
1993(11): 48–55.
Jing Ren, Jin-shi Chang. 1998. The Scale Effect of Cavitation in Large Hydraulic Unit, Water Resources and
Hydropow er Engineering, 29(4): 22–25.
Gindroz B. Lois 1991. de similitude dans los essais de cavitation des turbine Francis, These no.914 de I’Ecole
polytechnique Federale de Lausanne.
Reconnaissance, Planning, Design & Research Institute Yellow River Conservancy Commission. 1988. The
Report dissipation Test on Spillway with orifices of BiKou HydrauPower Station, 3, 48.
Zhong-yi Li, Chen Xia, Mei-fa Chen. 1997. Study on hydraulic problems of spillway with orifices reformed
from diversion tunnel, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 1997(2): 1–7.

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7.2 Hydraulic structures – II
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Large eddy simulation of free surface over broad-crested weir

X.J. Cheng
Ph.D, State Key Lab of Hydraulics on High Speed Flows, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

L. Luo & W.Q. Zhao

Prof., State Key Lab of Hydraulics on High Speed Flows, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

ABSTRACT: Large eddy simulation (LES) is gradually applied to solve some problems of
hydraulic phenomena. By introducing the volume of fluid (VOF) free surface model, the k–ε
standard model and large eddy simulation are applied to computing the free surface profile of
flow over a rectangular broad-crested weir respectively. It is found that the free surface profile of
flow over the rectangular broad-crested weir using large eddy simulation is fitted well with the
experimental data. However, there is comparatively great error between the free surface profile
simulated by k–ε standard model and the experimental data. It may be concluded that when the
curvature of flow is bigger, the large eddy simulation to compute the free surface is better than the
k–ε standard model.

1 INTRODUCTION

The place of water-air interface is often needed to determine in hydraulic engineering. The flow
having free surface over broad-crested weir is usual in hydraulic engineering. Its remarkable char-
acteristics are the boundary layer is separated and then large eddies are appeared, the velocity
gradient and pulsing become larger and the interface curvature between air and water is changed
greatly. It is difficult to determine the water-air interface accurately by one-dimensional simula-
tion. People begin to explore and apply gas-liquid two-phase flow theories to simulate water-air
interface in recent years (Cheng 2004). Applying water-gas Volume of fluid (VOF) model and stan-
dard k–ε model, Sarker (1999) computed the water-air interface of flow over broad-crested weir
and compared the numerical results with the experimental data. However, there is comparatively
great error between the experimental data and numerical results. Introducing the VOF model in this
paper, large eddy simulation (LES) and standard k–ε model are applied to computing the water-air
interface of the flow under Sarker’s experimental conditions respectively. It is shown that the free
surface profile simulated by LES agrees more closely with experiment data than by standard k–ε
model. It can be said that using water-gas two-phase flow VOF model and LES to simulate the
water-gas interface having bigger curvature would be better.

2 NUMERICAL METHODS

2.1 VOF model

The VOF model (Hirt 1981) is a surface-tracking technique. The function αw (x, y, z, t) and αa (x,
y, z, t) are denoted as the volume fraction of water and gas respectively in computational cell. In
each control volume, the volume fractions of all phases sum to unity. In each cell, if the αw is equal
to 1, then the cell is full of water. If the αw is equal to 0, then the cell is empty of water. If the αw
lies in between 0 and 1, then the cell contains the interface between water and gas. For the αw , the

1795
controlling equation has the following form:

2.2 Large eddy simulation (LES)

The governing equations employed for LES (Barsamian 1997) are obtained by filtering the time-
dependent Navier-Stokes equations.

where, the superscript “-” represents the larger scale component; ūi is the velocity component in
direction i in the computing time; p̄ is the pressure in the computing time; Re is the Reynolds
number; τij is the subgrid-scale stress defined by

where, S̄ij is the rate-of-strain tensor after filtered. The Smagorinsky subgrid-scale model is used
to calculate eddy viscosity.

where, Cs is the Smagorinsky constant, equal to 0.1;  is the space grid weight.

2.3 Standard k–ε model

Continuity equation, momentum equation, turbulence kinetic energy k equation and turbulence
kinetic dissipation rate ε equation are as following.

where, µt is the turbulence viscosity defined by the turbulence kinetic energy k and turbu-
lence kinetic dissipation rate ε, µt = ρCµ (k 2 /ε). Cµ , σk , σε , C1ε , C2ε are all empirical constants.
Cµ = 0.09, σk = 1.0, σε = 1.3, C1ε = 1.44, C2ε = 1.92. G is the production term of the turbulence
defined by

1796
Figure 1. The vertical section of numerical domain (unit: cm).

After introducing VOF model, the density ρ and viscosity µ in above equations are functions of
volume fraction defined by

where, ρw and ρa are the density of water and gas respectively; µw and µa are the molecule viscosity
of water and gas respectively. Iterative solving the water volume fraction αw , ρ and µ can be solved
by equation (11) and (12).
The finite volume method is adopted to solve the equations. The unstructured mesh is imple-
mented to fit the complex domain shape. To improve the efficiency of this computation, the
Pressure-Implicit with Splitting of Operators (PISO) (Issa 1986) is applied to solving pressure-
velocity coupling equations. A second-order-accurate central-differencing discretization scheme is
available for the momentum equations when using the LES.

3 NUMERICAL DOMAIN

The experiment of physic model and its results are cited from Sarker (1999). The vertical section of
numerical domain is shown in Figure 1. It consisted of a 10.5 cm wide × 334 cm long open channel
with a full-width rectangular broad-crested weir 40 cm long × 10 cm high located in center of the
channel. The flow bed is hydraulically smooth and set horizontal. The flow rate adjusted to the
pump capacity of 4.684 l/s. The inflow boundary is divided into water and air inflow boundaries.
The water inflow boundary is set as velocity-inlet condition. The air inflow boundary is set as
pressure-inlet condition on which atmospheric pressure is assumed. The water inflow velocity is
0.22305 m/s calculated from the inflow depth and the flow rate. The water depth of the outflow
is flexible. The boundary cannot be separated between water and air. So the pressure condition of
outflow is adopted as atmosphere. All of the solid walls are set as the stationary walls of non-slip,
i.e. u = 0 and v = 0. The viscosity layer near to the walls is dealt with the standard wall function.

4 NUMERICAL RESULTS

The free surfaces of numerical domain are simulated by standard k−ε model and LES coupled with
VOF model respectively. In order to compare the results simulated by LES with the experimental
data, the results simulated by LES need to be averaged over the numerical time. Figure 2 and
Figure 3 show the free surface profiles simulated by LES and standard k–ε model respectively
and compared with the experimental data. It can be seen that the free surface profile simulated
by LES over broad-crested weir agrees well with the experimental data. However, differences are
existed between the free surface profile simulated by standard k–ε model and the experimental
data, especially in the regions before and after dropping.
Figure 4 shows the flow lines simulated by LES over broad-crested weir after averaged over time.
There are a series of main vortices in the backflow region under the step of the broad-crested weir.

1797
 0.2

0.16 LES
Vertical coordinate y(m)

Experiment
0.12

0.08

0.04

0
-2.4 -2 -1.6 -1.2 -0.8 -0.4 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2
Longitudinal coordinate x(m)

Figure 2. Comparison between the free surface simulated by LES and experimental data.

0.2

0.16
Standard k-ε
Vertical coordinate y(m)

Experiment
0.12

0.08

0.04

0
-2.4 -2 -1.6 -1.2 -0.8 -0.4 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2
Longitudinal coordinate x(m)

Figure 3. Comparison between the free surface simulated standard k–ε model and experimental data.

Figure 4. Averaged-time flow trace lines simulated by LES on broad-crested weir.

1798
Besides of many stochastic little scale eddies, there are many ordered larger eddies in turbulent
flow. The shape and size of large eddies depend on the domain geometries. There transport of
momentum, mass and energy are induced mostly by large eddies. Small eddies are less dependent
on the geometry, which tend to be more isotropic and responsible for the dissipation of turbulence
kinetic energy.

5 CONCLUSIONS

It is difficult to determine the water-air interface of flow, especially there is complicated boundary
shape in hydraulic engineering. However, numerical simulation is an approach that can provide
detail information about flow field. But the simulation accuracy is always concerned. By means of
the comparisons between the free surface profile simulated by numerical methods and experimental
data, it can be shown that water-gas two phase flow VOF model coupled with LES to simulate water-
gas interface is a higher accuracy numerical method. Aim to those flows that have complicated
boundary shapes and consist of anisotropic large eddies, this method is good for simulation of
water-air interface.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writers acknowledge the support by the national natural science foundation of China (Grant
No. 50079013).

REFERENCES

Barsamian H.R. & Hassan Y.A. 1997. Large eddy simulation of turbulent crossflow in tube bundles. Nuclear
Engineering and Design 172, 103–122.
Cheng Xiangju. 2004. Two-phase flow simulation of aeration on stepped spillway. Progress in Natural Science.
Vol. 14, No. 7, 80–84.
Hirt C.W. & Nichols B.D. 1981. Volume of fluid (VOF) method for the dynamics of free boundaries. J. Comput.
Phys., 201–225.
Issa R.I. 1986. Solution of Implicitly Discretized Fluid Flow Equations by Operator Splitting. J. Comput.
Phys., 62: 40–65.
Sarker M.A. & Rhodes D.G. 1999. 3D free surface model of laboratory channel with rectangular broad-crested
weir. Proceedings 28# IAHR Congress, Gras, Austria.

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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Study on flow structure and discharge over a permeable

rubble mound weir

K. Michioku
Department of Civil Engineering, Kobe University, Japan

S. Maeno
Department of Environmental Design and Civil Engineering, Okayama University, Japan

ABSTRACT: In order to compute discharge over a permeable rubble mound weir, a one-
dimensional analysis and a laboratory experiment were carried out. Assuming a two-layer flow
consisting of a free surface flow over the weir and a turbulent seepage flow in the weir, one-
dimensional momentum and continuity equations were formulated in order to analyze flow structure
and discharge. The shear stress at the two-layer interface was evaluated by considering mass and
momentum exchange between the open channel flow and the seepage flow. The analysis reproduces
longitudinal flow development well, and provides a solution for discharge as a function of relating
hydraulic parameters.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Objective
A conventional weir constructed of concrete, metal, rubber, etc., prevents the longitudinal move-
ment of aquatic life and transportation of physical and chemical substances in water, eventually
having a negative impact on the river environment. On the other hand, a rubble mound weir, which
has a permeable body, is thought to be an environmentally friendly structure. Pores, concavities and
convexities on the granular slope surface allow aquatic animals to crawl and swim up the structure.
Water is aerated and purified by infiltration through the porous body. This study analyzes flow
around the rubble mound weir and provides solutions for water depth, velocity and discharge over
the weir.

1.2 Previous works

Michioku et al. (2002) carried out an analysis on a submerged flow through the rubble mound
weir. The flow system is depicted in (c) in Figure 1. They obtained a solution of discharge as
a function of the weir’s properties such as porosity, geometry of the structure, grain diameter, bed

FLOW
(a)
(b)
(c)

L
(a) overflow , (b) transient , (c) submerged

Figure 1. Flow around a rubble mound weir.

1801
 Table 1. Experimental conditions.

Gravel
Weir Weir mean
length height diameter Porosity Discharge
Case L (cm) W (cm) dm (cm) n Q (l/s) Re × 103 F0

1 4.1 0.38 7.47∼24.1 17∼54 0.11∼0.22

2 10 1.9 0.33 6.23∼25.0 14∼58 0.09∼0.22
3 30 4.1 0.38 11.6∼24.9 27∼60 0.08∼0.13
4 20 1.9 0.33 7.03∼22.4 17∼55 0.05∼0.12
5 4.1 0.38 7.18∼26.5 17∼62 0.10∼0.21
6 10 1.9 0.33 6.94∼25.8 16∼58 0.09∼0.21
7 60 4.1 0.38 18.5∼26.4 42∼58 0.10∼0.13
8 20 1.9 0.33 11.1∼32.0 25∼70 0.07∼0.14

(Re, F0 ): Reynolds and Froude numbers at the upstream cross section.

Photo 1. A side view of the laboratory experiment.

slope, etc. A non-Darcian flow resistance law proposed by Ward (1964) and Arbhabhirama & Dinoy
(1973) was applied for describing the momentum balance of the turbulent seepage flow in the weir.
The solution for discharge was in good agreement with the experimental data for various flow
conditions. Their analysis was, however, limited to a case in which the water surface is submerged
in the rubble mound. To discuss flow conveyance and structural stability against flow during a flood,
it is necessary to investigate the situation in which flow runs over the weir (see (a) in Figure 1).

2 LABORATORY EXPERIMENT

2.1 Experimental setup

A laboratory experiment was carried out in a test flume at Okayama University. Its length, height
and width were 5.0 m × 0.6 m × 0.4 m, respectively. A rectangular rubble mound was installed in
the channel and reinforced with a wire net so that the mound would not collapse due to the flow.
Natural round gravel with two different mean diameters dm was used. The distribution of grain
diameter was approximately uniform in both cases. The experiments were conducted for various
ranges of weir length L, weir height W , Reynolds number Re and Froude number F0 as listed in
Table 1. The channel’s bed slope was fixed as i = 1/400. Other variables are defined in the table. A
side view of the experiment is shown in Photo 1.

2.2 Velocity and discharge

Examples of velocity profiles are shown in Figure 2 for two different lengths of the weir. The
hatched region denotes the rubble mound weir in which fluid velocity could not be measured. Flow
suddenly converges at the upstream shoulder of the weir and the flow is spatially accelerated. Mass
and momentum exchange between the surface water and the porous body produces internal shear
on the top boundary of the weir, where velocity gradient is recognized. A control cross section
appears at the downstream end of the weir, where the flow is drawn down steeply. In the reach

1802
Figure 2. Longitudinal development of velocity profiles.

Case-1 F0=0.153
1 Theory
qU/q
0.8
qs/q, qu/q

qS/q
0.6
0.4 Experiment
0.2 qU/q

0 qS/q
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
x/h0
(a) Case-1 (Q=11.9 l/sec, dm=4.1cm, L=30cm)

Case-5 F0=0.169
1
0.8
qs/q, qu/q

0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
x/h0
(b) Case-5 (Q=16.8 l/sec, dm=4.1cm, L=60cm)

Figure 3. Longitudinal variation of discharges in the upper and lower layers, (qU , qS ).

between x = 0 and L, the flow consists of two layers, i.e. (1) a free surface flow over a permeable
rough bed, and (2) a confined seepage flow through the porous weir. Unit width discharges in the
upper and lower layers defined as qU and qS are computed from the velocity profiles, and they
are plotted as functions of longitudinal distance x in Figure 3. In the figure, x is normalized by a
uniform flow water depth h0 observed in a cross section far upstream, and (qU , qS ) are normalized
by the total discharge q (= qS + qU ). The discharge qS is evaluated by subtracting qU from q. The
solid and dotted curves are theoretical solutions for (qU , qS ) from the analysis discussed later. From
the upstream end to the middle point of the weir, qU increases slightly and qS decreases. This is
caused by the entrainment of fluid from the porous body to the surface water, because flow speed

1803
is much higher in the upper layer than in the lower layer. On the contrary, qU rapidly decreases at
the downstream end of the weir due to the flow being drawn down, while qS shows a rapid increase.

3 THEORETICAL DESCRIPTION OF FLOW DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Flow modeling

Based on the flow properties observed in the experiment, the system is considered to be two-layered,
consisting of a free surface flow over a permeable weir and a confined seepage flow through the
porous weir. A schematic of the theoretical model and a definition of variables are shown in Figure 4.
A one-dimensional equation system is developed for solving the flow. The system is divided into
(i) a rapidly varied flow between the cross sections 0 and I, and (ii) a gradually varied flow between
the cross sections I and II. II is considered a control section where the water depth takes a critical
value determined solely from discharge.

3.2 Rapidly varied flow between 0-I

Rapid variation from the section 0 to I is approximated to be flow conversion from a rectangular
channel with width B0 to a compound cross section, as schematically shown in Figure 5. In the
same manner as in the so-called Hele-Shaw model, flow through the rubble mound weir is modeled
by a narrow channel flow with a width of B1 . Flow continuity and momentum conservation are
formulated with respect to the cross sections
 0 and I. A solution for dimensionless discharge or
Froude number, F0 = U0 / gh0 = Q/(B0 gh30 ), is given as a function water depth ratio, γ1 = h1 /h0 as

Figure 4. Flow system.

Figure 5. Flow configuration and definition of variables.

1804
 In Equation g is gravity acceleration, w = W /h0 is a dimensionless weir height, (δ1 , δ2 ) are
velocity correction factors and ϕ = 0.35. λ = B1 /B0 is the channel width ratio that is related to the
porosity n as n = (B1 /B0 )3/2 ≡ λ3/2 . In addition, the reach length between 0-I, i.e. L, is empirically
formulated based on a dimensional analysis, as

Equations (1) and (2) were verified in the laboratory experiment.

3.3 Analysis of gradually varied flow between I and II

Referring to Figure 4, the continuity equations for the upper and lower layers in the region between
I and II are written as follows:

UU is the average velocity in the upper layer, and UL is the seepage fluid velocity in the weir. UL is
related to apparent velocity US as US = nUL in terms of n. qi is the exchange rate or entrainment
velocity between the upper and lower layers. The total flow rate q is given by

Momentum balances in the two layers are written as follows:

In the equations, τW is wall friction, and (A, P) are the cross section area and wetted perimeter in
the upper layer. Refer to Figure 4 for the other variables. E is the entrainment coefficient in respect
to mass and momentum exchange between the two-layer’s interface. E is generally considered to
be E ≤ 1, because there is a velocity gradient in the interfacial layer. In this study, however, the
magnitude of E is set to be unity or |E| = 1 for analytical simplicity by assuming the velocity to be
uniformly distributed in both layers. Considering the direction of the internal shear stress given by
term (V) in Equation (3) or (IV) in Equation (4), E is defined as

The other distinct feature in the model is that momentum balance in the rubble mound is described
using a non-Darcian resistance law, which is term (V) in Eq. (4). It was found in previous studies
(Ward 1964, Arbhabhirama & Dinoy 1973) that the proportional coefficients C1 and C2 are given
as functions of a porous body’s parameters, as follows:

1805
In the equations, ν is kinematic viscosity, K is a parameter of permeability with a dimension of
square of length. The coefficients in Equation (8), (e, f ), were identified through the authors’
experiment on rubble mound weir (Michioku, K. et al. 2002) to be (e, f ) = (0.0196,41.0).
The combination of Equations (3) through (6) leads to ordinary differential equations for the
apparent velocity US and water depth h, as follows:

The equation system is normalized with length and velocity scales, L0 = h0 and U0 = q/h0 .
Dimensionless forms of Equations (9) and (10) are written as

where dimensionless parameters in the equations are defined as k = K/h20 = e2 (dm/h0 )2 , uS =

US/U0 , η = h/h, ξ = x/h0 , Re = q/ν.

3.4 Solutions for water depth, velocity and discharge

Equations (11) and (12) are numerically integrated with a boundary condition in which

where γ1 and L are given by Equations (1) and (2) as functions of F0 and other related parameters.
For given hydraulic conditions (F0 , Re) and the weir’s parameters (w, n, dm /h0 ), a solution for
normalized water depth, η(ξ), and velocities [uS (ξ), uU (ξ)] are obtained.
As shown in Photo 1 and Figures 2 and 3, a control section appears at the downstream end x = L.
Then, a singular point condition is applied in order to obtain a solution for discharge. Equating the
denominator in Equation (12) to zero, the following equation is reduced:

1806
The dimensionless discharge or Froude number F0 can be determined from a condition in which
the solution for water surface profile η(ξ) satisfies Equation (14) at ξ = L/h0 .

4 DISCUSSION

Figure 6 shows solutions for water surface profile h(x) compared with the experimental data. Note
that there is no solution in a range of x = 0∼L, in which the flow rapidly varies. The theory shows
fairy good agreement with the experiment, although a slight deviation is seen at the downstream
end of the weir, where the assumption of one-dimensional flow structure is no longer valid.
Solutions for streamwise variation of discharges in the upper and lower layers, qU (x) and qL (x),
are compared with the experimental data in Figure 3. In every figure, agreement between the theory
and laboratory data is satisfactory.
The present analysis provides a solution for discharge Q as a function of parameters such as
height and length of the weir, (W , L), the rubble’s mean diameter dm , porosity n, etc. Figure 7 shows
dimensionless discharge F0 plotted against dimensionless weir height w = W/h0 for different weir
lengths L/h0 and grain diameters dm /h0 . The figure shows functional dependencies that discharge
decreases with the height and the length of the weir and increases with rubble diameter. All the
solutions shown in the figure are well correlated with the experimental data.

η=h/h0
0.5
Case-1
0.4
0.3
0.2
F0=0.153
0.1
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
ξ=x/h0
(a) Case-1 (Q=11.9 l/sec, dm=4.1cm, L=30cm)
η=h/h0
0.5
0.4 Case-5
0.3
0.2
0.1 F0=0.169
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
=x/h0
(b) Case-5 (Q=16.8 l/sec, dm=4.1cm, L=60cm)

Figure 6. Solutions for water surface profiles (solid lines) with experimental data (open circles).

0.25 0.25 0.25 Experiment

F0 F0 F0 L/h0=
0.2 dm/h0=0.1 0.2 dm/h0=0.2 0.2 dm/h0=0.3 1.0-2.0
2.0-3.0
0.15 0.15 0.15 3.0-4.0
4.0-
0.1 0.1 0.1 Theory
L/h0=
1
0.05 0.05 0.05
2
0 0 0 3
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 4
w w w

Figure 7. Dimensionless discharge F0 plotted against dimensionless weir height w = W/h0 .

1807
 0.5
0.4 Case-1
FP
0.3
0.2 FI
0.1 FW
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
x/h0
(a) Case-1 (Q=11.9 l/sec, dm=4.1cm, L=30cm)

0.5
0.4 Case-5
0.3 FP
0.2 FI
0.1
FW
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
x/h0
(b) Case-5 (Q=16.8 l/sec, dm=4.1cm, L=60cm)

Figure 8. Flow force components – wall friction internal shear stress and drag force.

It is worthwhile from an engineering point of view to examine flow force against the structure.
Terms (IV) and (V) in Equation (5) respectively correspond to the wall friction FW and internal
shear stress FI acting on the weir’s top surface. Term (V) in Equation (6) is the drag force FP ,
where the first one is a laminar flow component and the second one is a turbulent flow component.
Their solutions are normalized and plotted in Figure 8. The wall friction FW is negligibly small
compared to the other two components. Both of the internal shear FI and the drag force FP become
significant at the downstream end of the weir, which suggests that the weir is most likely to collapse
on the downstream side. This coincides well with the results observed in the authors’ laboratory
experiment (Maeno, S. et al. 2002).

5 CONCLUDING REMARKS

The present analysis provides solutions not only for discharge over a permeable rubble mound weir,
but also for flow force acting on the structure. The results may contribute not only to the design and
construction of water storage facilities, but also to the creation of a desirable river environment for
the inhabiting aquatic life.

REFERENCES

Arbhabhirama, A. and Dinoy, A.A. 1973. Friction factor and Reynold’s number in porous media flow,
J. Hydraulc Division, ASCE, 99(6), 901–911.
Maeno, S. et al. 2002, Hydraulic characteristics of a rubble mound weir and its failure process, Proc. 5th
International Conference on Hydro -Science & -Engineering, CD-ROM.
Michioku, K. et al. 2002. Flow discharge through a permeable rubble mound weir, Proc. 5th International
Conference on Hydro -Science & -Engineering, CD-ROM.
Ward, J.C. 1964. Turbulent flows in porous media, J. Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 90, No. 5, 1–12.

1808
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Numerical simulation of the flow around a rubble mound weir

S. Maeno
Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

K. Michioku
Kobe University, Kobe, Japan

ABSTRACT: Nature-friendly hydraulic structures such as a rubble mound weir have attracted
attention in recent years. Therefore, it is important to establish the analytical model to analyze the
flow around such a weir. The VOF method is used for modeling the flow around a trapezoidal porous
weir and Porous Body Model is employed to describe a porous part of the weir. The treatment of
the resistance force is also examined to express the difference of permeability of a porous weir.
The numerical results show that the proposed numerical method can be applied to the flow around
a porous weir.

1 INTRODUCTION

Weirs are usually made of impermeable materials such as concrete or steel to utilize the water
of river at most. Impermeable weirs interrupt not only the natural flow of the river but also the
ecological continuity. Therefore, the impermeable weirs have caused a negative influence on the
natural environment of the river.
On the other hand, from environmental point of view, a rubble mound weir made of natural stone
is considered to be more advantageous, because it does not disconnect natural river flow even in
low-water discharge condition. In this point of view, we clarified the basic hydraulic characteristics
of the rubble mound weir theoretically and experimentally. Furthermore, we clarified a failure
process of the rubble mound weir noticing the initial movement of gravels of the rubble mound
weir (Maeno et al. 2002, Michioku et al. 2002).
In practical designing of such porous structures, it is required to grasp the hydrodynamic force
acting on rubbles at the downstream slope in advance, where the initial failure occurs. Therefore,
it is important to establish a numerical model to simulate the flow around such a porous weir from
hydraulic engineering viewpoint. The VOF method, which is considered to be useful to express the
free surface flow around hydraulic structure, is used for modeling the flow around a trapezoidal
porous weir. And Porous Body Model is employed to express a porous part of the weir. The treatment
of the resistance force is also examined to describe the difference of permeability in the porous weir.

2 OUTLINE OF THE EXPERIMENT

In the experiment, the flume shown in Figure 1 was used. Its length is 5.0 m, width is 0.4 m and
height is 0.6 m. As shown in Figure 1, a trapezoidal weir composed of natural gravel was installed
at the central part of the channel. To set up the trapezoidal rubble mound weir, two different grain
size gravels were used. As shown in Photo 1, mean grain size of 3.2 cm was used in Case 1 and
mean grain size of 4.8 cm was used in Case 2. Porosities of the rubble mound weirs are similar to
each other. In the experiment hydraulic quantities such as velocities, water depth and pore water
pressures were measured. To evaluate the validity of VOF method, impermeable weir was also used
in the experiment.

1809
 5.0m
1.0m
0.15m 0.6m

1.5m
screen gate

Figure 1. Experimental apparatus.

Photo 1. Rubble mound weirs used in the experiment.

3 THEORETICAL PROCEDURE

3.1 Outline of the VOF method

In this paper, referring to the numerical wave flume developed by Jiang et al. (2000), improvement
of the treatment of resistance term of the porous medium have been studied. Basic equations used
in the calculation are momentum, continuity and transport equation of quantity F(F is fractional
volume of fluid). Standard k–ε model is used as a turbulence model.
Momentum equations:

Continuity equation:

Transport equation of F:

where, x, z: Cartesian coordinate in horizontal and vertical direction, u, w: velocities in x, z direc-

tion, ρ: density of fluid, P = p + 2ρk/3; p: pressure, g: gravity acceleration, F: VOF function, k:
kinetic energy, ε: kinetic energy dissipation rate, νe : summation of molecular viscosity and eddy
viscosity coefficient νt ,Rx ,Rz : resistance force of porous part, γv : porosity, γx , γz : area transmittance
in x, z direction, γv , γx , γz are expressed by using inertia force coefficient CM

λv = γv + (1 − γv )CM , λx = γx + (1 − γx )CM , λz = γz + (1 − γz )CM

1810
νe = ν + νt was calculated by using standard k − ε model.
k-equation:

ε-equation:

νt = Cu (k 2 /ε), νk = νm + νt /σκ , νε = νm + νt /σε ,

Gs = νt {2(∂u/∂x)2 + 2(∂v/∂y)2 + (∂v/∂x + ∂u/∂y)2 }
Various constants in the k–ε model are as follows (Jiang et al. 2000):
Cµ = 0.09, σκ = 1.00, σε = 1.30, C1 = 1.44, C2 = 1.92
Porous resistance term in k–ε equations should be included, but in this paper these terms was
neglected because its effect is not clear at the present stage.

3.2 Treatment of porous resistance term

(1) Porous resistance of the porous body model
To calculate the wave field with free surface, Sakakiyama et al. (1992) applied porous body model
which is usually used to calculate the thermal flow in a nuclear reactor. In the analysis, Forchheimer
type resistance form was used to express the porous resistance because the turbulent field with
high Reynolds number is expected. Then, Sakakiyama et al. induced the equation (7) to express the
porous resistance force. In these equations, turbulent component of flow resistance is approximated
to be propotional to the square of the velocity.

where, δx, δz: grid size in x, z direction, Cd : resistance coefficient.

(2) Resistance composed of laminar and turbulent effect
Forchheimer type resistance form includes both laminar resistance coefficient and turbulent coef-
ficient. Ward (1964) proposed the following equation to treat pressure defect term in the steady
flow condition.

Substitute equation (9) into equations (2) and (3) become,

where, K: intrinsic permeability, C: coefficient of turbulent effect.

3.3 Numerical model

Figure 2 shows the vertical two dimensional model used in the calculation. Computational domain
the flow is limited around the rubble mound weir considering the time and memory consumption
in the calculation. Analytical region 310 cm × 60 cm was divided into 2.5 cm grid in x direction
and 1.25 cm grid in z direction. Gray-colored region shows the trapezoidal weir. In the calculation,
two different weirs were applied, one is a permeable weir and the other is an impermeable weir.

1811
 unit:cm
60 100

100 150 60

Figure 2. Numerical model.

Table 1. Numerical conditions.

Run Q (l/s) Grain size (cm) Porosity Treatment of resistance term

1 29.87 – – –
2 15.09 4.8 0.412 Eqs. (7), (8) (Cd = 0.9)
3 15.09 4.8 0.412 Eqs. (10), (11) (C = 0.2188)
4 15.47 3.2 0.403 Eqs. (7), (8) (Cd = 0.9)
5 15.47 3.2 0.403 Eqs. (10), (11) (C = 0.2222)
6 1.83 4.8 0.412 Eqs. (10), (11) (C = 0.2188)
7 1.33 3.2 0.403 Eqs. (10), (11) (C = 0.2222)

3.4 Numerical conditions

As shown in Figure 2, upstream of the weir was filled with water at the initial stage. Initial velocities
u, w were set to be zero in the whole analytical domain. Bed slope of the flume was introduced by
decomposing the vertical gravity acceleration into x and z direction.
At the upstream boundary, during the first 20 seconds, inflow discharge linearly increased from
zero to the upstream boundary discharge condition. After that constant inflow discharge was applied.
In each time step, mean velocity was calculated by using inflow discharge and water depth of the
upstream boundary. A uniform mean velocity profile was assumed at the upstream boundary. Free
outflow condition was applied at the downstream boundary. Slip flow condition was used at the
surface boundary.
Table 1 shows the numerical conditions used in the calculation. Inflow discharge was basically
set to the experimentally obtained value, which makes easier to compare with the experimental
results. Two types of treatment of the porous resistance term were applied in the calculation. K is
expressed by equation (10). C is given by equation (11) (Arbhabhirama et al. 1973)

where, d: diameter of grain, e, f : experimentally given parameter. In this analysis, (e, f ) =

(0.0196, 41.0) was used referring to Michioku’s experiment conducted under similar flow condition
using similar grain size rubble mound weir (Michioku et al. 2002).
According to equations (7), it is obvious that to application of these equations to different grain
size cases is very difficult because the resistance coefficient Cd is hard to define. Therefore, in this
paper, Cd = 0.9 was used in the calculation because the difference of porosity with the difference
in grain size is not significant.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Impermeable weir

Figure 3 shows the surface profile for Run-1, which is the impermeable weir case with 29.87 (/s)
discharge. Figures 4(a) and (b) show velocity distribution for experimental results and numerical

1812
 (cm)
30 experiment
20 analysis
10
0
-100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 (cm)

Figure 3. Flow profile (Run-1, impermeable weir).

(cm) velocity
Q = 29.87(I/s)
30 100 cm/s
20
10

-100 -75 -50 -25 -0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 (cm)

(a) velocity distribution (experiment)

(cm) Q = 29.87(I/s) velocity

30 100 cm/s
20
10

-100 -75 -50 -25 -0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 (cm)

(b) velocity distribution (numerical result)

30 30
Water depth (cm)

Water depth (cm)

Water depth (cm)

Water depth (cm)

experiment experiment 25 experiment 25 experiment
analysis analysis 23 analysis analysis
20 25 23
21 21
10 20 19 19
17 17
0 15 15 15
0 20 40 0 50 100 0 100 0 100 200
0 cm section (cm/s) 25 cm section (cm/s) 75 cm section (cm/s) 125 cm section (cm/s)

(c) velocity at each cross section

Figure 4. Velocity distribution (Numerical result Run-1, impermeable weir).

(cm)
30 experiment
20 Run-2
Run-3
10
0
-100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 (cm)

Figure 5. Flow profile (Run-2, 3, porous weir, grain size 4.8 cm).

results respectively. Figure 4(c) shows velocity distribution at typical cross section around the weir.
From these figures, it is shown that surface profile of the numerical result shows good agreement
with that of experimental result. As for the velocity distribution, the experimental velocity profile
can be explained well by numerical results. However, numerical velocities around upstream weir
corner at 25 cm cross section are underestimated than that of experimental results. Stepwise arrayed
grid around upstream weir slope due to Cartesian coordinates system is considered to be the major
cause.

4.2 Rubble mound weir with over flow state

Numerically obtained surface profiles for Run-2 and Run-3 where the grain size of 4.8 cm was
used are shown in Figure 5. Figure 6 shows numerical results for Run-2 and Run-3 where the grain

1813
 (cm)
30 experiment
Run-4
20 Run-5
10
0
-100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 (cm)

Figure 6. Flow profile (Run-4, 5, porous weir, grain size 3.2 cm).

velocity
(cm) Q = 15.09(l/s)
30 100 cm/s
20
10

-100 -75 -50 -25 -0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 (cm)

(a) Experiment result

velocity
(cm)
30 Q = 15.09(l/s)
100 cm/s
20
10

-100 -75 -50 -25 -0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 (cm)

(b) Numerical result

Water depth (cm)

Water depth (cm)

Water depth (cm)

experiment experiment

Water depth (cm)

30 experiment 21 21 experiment
analysis analysis analysis analysis
24
20 19 19
21
10 18 17 17
0 15 15 15
0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 50 100 150 200 0 50 100 150 200
0cm section (cm/s) 25cm section (cm/s) 75cm section (cm/s) 125cm section (cm/s)

(c) velocity at each cross section

Figure 7. Velocity distribution (Run-3, permeable weir).

size of 3.2 cm was used are shown with the same manner. Experimental results are also shown in
these figures.
From Figure 5, although the numerically obtained surface profile results from 75 cm section
to 150 cm section is not necessarily the same with the experimental results, surface profile for
upstream of the weir agrees well with the experimental results.
Contrary to this, although in the case of Run-5 good agreement with the experimental results
was observed, in the case of Run-4 numerically obtained water level is slightly smaller than the
experimental results. In the case of Run-4, porous resistance effect is evaluated by Cd which depends
only on the porosity. Therefore, we can not include the effect of the difference of permeability in
the porous medium.
On the other hand, the effect of permeability can be evaluated in the case of Run-5. Therefore,
dam up effect by the rubble mound weir is well explained in the case of Run-5. Figure 7 shows
velocity distribution for Run-3. From this figure, although the size of the numerically obtained
velocities at 0 cm, 25 cm and 75 cm sections becomes smaller than those of the experiment, general
tendency of the velocity profile is well explained. Whereas, numerically obtained velocity becomes
larger than the experimental result at 125 cm section. This is due to the water depth at 125 cm section
evaluated smaller than the experiment.

1814
 Q = 1.83L(l/s) velocity experiment
(cm) 100cm/s
30
20
10

-100 -75 -50 -25 0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 (cm)

Figure 8. Surface profile and velocity distribution (Run-6, porous weir, grain size 4.8 cm).

Q = 1.33L(I/s) velocity experiment

(cm)
30 100cm/s
20
10

-100 -75 -50 -25 0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 (cm)

Figure 9. Surface profile and velocity distribution (Run-6, porous weir, grain size 3.2 cm).

4.3 Rubble mound weir with non-overflow state

Figures 8 and 9 show the numerically obtained surface profile and the experimental results for
Run-6 (grain size is 4.8 cm) and Run 7 (grain size is 3.2 cm) respectively. These figures confirm
that numerical simulation can reproduce the experiment in case of non-over flow state in either
case of gravel size. Velocity distribution shows the gradual increase of porous velocity in the rubble
mound weir.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, authors proposed a numerical simulation model to predict the flow around a porous
weir made of natural stones. In the numerical model, VOF method was used to express the free
surface flow, and the Forchheimer type resistance form is adopted to express the porous medium.
Obtained main results are as follows:
(1) It is clarified that numerical analysis using the VOF method applied to an impermeable trape-
zoidal weir shows in good agreement with the experimentally obtained water surface profile
and velocity distribution.
(2) Proposed numerical method to analyze the flow around the porous medium, in which porous
resistance term is composed of both the laminar and turbulent effects, is useful to express the
flow around a permeable rubble mound weir in the low discharge condition.

REFERENCES

Arbhabhirama, A. & Dinoy, A.A. 1973. Friction factor and Reynolds number in Porous media flow, Jour.
Hydraul. Engrg., ASCE, Vol. 99, HY6, pp.901–911.
Jiang, Q., Takahashi, S., Muranishi, Y. & Isobe, M. 2000. A VOF-FEM Model for the interaction among waves,
soils and structures, Proc. of Coastal Engineering, JSCE, pp. 51–55 (in Japanese).
Maeno, S., Michioku, K., Morinaga, S. & Ohnishi, T. 2002. Hydraulic characteristics of a rubble mound weir
and its failure process, Proc. of 5th ICHE Conference, Theme D (CD-ROM).
Michioku, K., Maeno, S., Furusawa, T. & Haneda, M. 2002. Discharge through a permeable rubble mound
weir, Proc. of 5th ICHE Conference, Theme D (CD-ROM).
Michioku, K., Maeno, S., Furusawa, T. & Haneda, M. 2002. Discharge-water level characteristics in a flow
through a permeable rubble mound weir, Annual Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, JSCE, pp. 487–492.
Sakakiyama, T. & Kajima, R. 1992. Porous body model analysis of nonlinear wave transformation through
permeable breakwaters, Annual repot of Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, pp. 1–47.
Ward, J.C. 1964. Turbulent flow in porousmedia, Jour. Hydraul. Eng., ASCE, Vol.90, HY5, pp. 1–12.

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8. Scour in hydraulic structures
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

3D numerical analysis of local flow and scouring around

cylindrical piles

Haisheng Jin
R&D Center, Nippon Koei Co., Ltd., Inarihara, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

ABSTRACT: A completely 3D numerical model, which solves 3D Reynolds’ equations and a bed
load conservation equation based on a boundary-fitted orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system,
is developed. The model is applied to simulate local flow and scouring around a bridge pier which
consists of 6 cylindrical piles. The basic features of the local flow, as well as the special ones
resulted from interaction of the piles, are captured. The computational maximum scouring depth
and the local bed deformation are consistent with those reported in the literature.

1 INTRODUCTION

Due to dynamic pressure deviation from the hydrostatic pressure and disturbance, etc., free surface
flow past a bridge pier consisted of pile(s), is very much complicated. Furthermore, the complexity
increases with the development of local scouring which is resulted from the local flow at the pile.
Bridge pier may collapse because of the local scouring. The component features of the flow pattern
are the strong downflow in front of the pile, cast-off vortices and wake, boundary layer, horseshoe
vortex and bow wave, etc. (Raudkivi 1990). It is important to estimate the maximum possible scour
depth at the pier for its safe design.
In generally, local scour is evaluated by experimental or empirical method. However, better
prediction may be succeeded through the application of numerical method. Recently, there have
been many achievements on numerical prediction of local scour at bridge pier. Among the others,
Fukuoka et al. (1994) reported a numerical code with hydrostatic approximation to predict the
local scouring. Using a commercial package – Flow-3DTM , John et al. (1998) took 168 hrs by a
desktop SUN WS to simulate the flow lasted only 20 s on a fixed bed. In this study, in order to
evaluate accurately and effectively such kind of phenomenon with strong vertical flow and local
scouring in a natural river, a completely three-dimensional model by solving Reynolds’ equations is
developed. The model is then applied to simulate the local flow and scouring at a bridge pier, which
consists of 6 cylindrical piles with the diameter 10 m each, in a larger river. The model structure,
its application and results are discussed.

2 DESCRIPTION OF THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODEL

The approach flow velocity goes to zero at the front face of cylindrical pile vertical symmetrical
plane. Since the approach velocity decreases from the free surface downward to zero at the bed
according to velocity distribution law, the stagnation pressure, ∼ρU 2 /2, also decreases. This down-
ward pressure gradient drives the downflow. In addition, because of the disturbance by pile, flow
separation occurs. Therefore, a completely three-dimensional (3D) model is the best fit to capture
the strong pressure deviation and the turbulent features.

1819
2.1 The governing equations
For adapting to both the local channel path and hydraulic structure boundaries, numerically gen-
erated boundary-fitted orthogonal curvilinear coordinates (ξ , η) are employed in the horizontal
directions. In vertical direction, sigma transformation (θ ) is used for following the free water
surface and mobile bed. Accordingly, the 3D Reynolds’ equations are re-written as follows.
Continuity equation:

Momentum equation:

where θ = sigma coordinate = (z − Zb )/h, z = vertical coordinate in Cartesian coordinate system,

z = Zb at floor and z = ζ at water surface, h = water depth (= ζ − Zb ); (u∗ , v ∗ , w∗ ) = (ξ , η, θ)
velocity components; p = pressure; f = Coriolis coefficient; (g11 , g22 ) = coordinate transformation
coefficients between Cartesian coordinates (x, y) and orthogonal curvilinear coordinates (ξ , η).
Momentum equations for η and θ directions are similar to the above eq. (2).
σi (i = 1, 2, 3) and τij (i = 1,2,3 and j = 1,2,3) are the effective normal and shear stress which are
closed with the Boussinesq’s approximation, and the turbulent viscosity coefficients are evaluated
by the standard k ∼ ε turbulence model (Rodi 1980). The equations are also re-written to the forms
in curvilinear coordinates and the k-equation is as follows. ε-equation is similar.

where k = turbulence kinetic energy; ε = dissipation rate; G = buoyancy − correction;

P = production of k; •νt = turbulent viscosity ( = cµ k 2 /ε); •σk , cµ = empirical constants.
For evaluating bed deformation as well as local scouring, a bed material conservation equation
is solved.

where (qsξ , qsη ) = (ξ , η) components of sediment transport rate (volume); λ = porosity rate of bed
material. Here, bed load transport is only taken into account in the simulation of bed deformation.
The bed load transport rate is calculated by Ashida-Michiue’s formula (Ashida & Michiue 1971),
based on the hydrodynamics parameters predicted by the above 3D model and local features of bed
material and bed slope.

1820
 w*

j+1
j+1/2 v*
j φ u* φ
u*
j-1/2
v*
j-1
η θ η
ξ i-1/2 i+1/2 ξ
i-1 i i+1
(a) Plane view (ξ,η) (b) Space view (ξ,η,θ)

Figure 1. “Staggered” grid system for 3D model.

2.2 Initial and boundary conditions

At the open boundaries, water surface level or velocity distribution is specified. At the wall and bed
boundaries, wall function law and impenetrable condition are employed, i.e., the velocity normal
to the wall is equal to zero and the tangential component, conforming to the resistance law, is not
zero. At the free surface, kinematic conditions should be satisfied.
Equilibrium sediment supply condition is supposed.
Initial conditions are specified in corresponding to the initial value for boundary conditions.

2.3 Numerical scheme

A ‘staggered’ grid system is adopted, in which the components of vectors are ‘staggered’ each
other and the scalar variables are located at the center (Figure 1). A special finite difference scheme
is used to solve the governing equations for water flow (Jin et al. 1996). The transport equations
of k and ε are solved by a control volume method with power function approximation (Partankar
1980). The bed material conservation equation is also solved by control volume method.
In each time step, the velocity components, water surface level, pressure, turbulent parameters
and bed deformation are solved. The procedure is repeated until final solutions are achieved.

3 APPLICATION AND DISCUSSIONS

The present model is applied to simulate local flow and scouring at a bridge pier in a natural river.
The pier consists of 6 cylindrical piles with diameter 10 m each. The river width is about 2 km
at the site and the computational area is about 16 km long. The initial bed is nearly flat and the
water depth is about 17 m. Local computational meshes around the piles are refined and they are
shown in Figure 2. The grids in plane are about 30,000. A coupling method of 3D model (about
64,000 grids) for the near area with 2D model (Jin 2001) for the whole area is employed. The run
is executed for 5 days under the condition of 100 years recurrence interval flood.
Figure 3 shows the contour of local bed deformation (= Zb |final − Zb |initial ) near the piles. The
bed deformation in the far area is minor. The maximum scour depths at the fore pile ‘A’ and ‘C’
(see Figure 1 for the locations) are 10.62 m and 14.02 m, respectively, and that at the back pile
‘F’ is only about 2 m. For estimating local maximum scour depth at a bridge pier, Colorado State
University (CSU) has suggested an empirical formula as below (Chang 1992).

1821
Figure 2. Local computational grid at cylindrical piles.

Figure 3. Contour of local bed deformation near the piles (the minus = erosion, the plus = deposition).

1822
 14 14
12 12
Scour Depth (m)

Scour Depth (m)

10 10
8 8
6 6
4 4
2 2
0 0
0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120 0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120
Time (hr.) Time (hr.)
(a) At 'Ua' (b) At 'Uc'

10 10

Scour Depth (m)

8
Scour Depth (m)

8
6 6
4 4
2 2
0 0
-2 -2
-4 -4
0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120 0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120
Time (hr.) Time (hr.)
(c) At 'Uf' (d) At 'Df'

Figure 4. Progressing of local scouring at different locations (the plus = erosion, the minus = deposition).

where Zs = maximum scour depth; D = diameter of pier; Fr = Froude number. In this case, pile
diameter is 10 m and water depth at the piles is about 17 m. Velocities at pile ‘A’ and ‘C’ are 2.6 m/s
and 3.1 m/s, respectively. Accordingly, the maximum scour depths at ‘A’ and ‘C’, calculated directly
by eq. (5), will be about 12 m and 13 m, respectively. It could be inferred that the simulated result
in Figure 3 is consistent with that calculated by eq. (5), although they are not equal to each other
because of the effect of flow direction and interaction among the piles. The scour depth is shallow
at the back pile ‘F’ because it is sheltered by the fore piles.
Local scour at the piles is resulted from the breaking of balance on sediment transport because
of interaction between water flow and pile. In generally, erodible bed deforms until it reaches
an equilibrium scour configuration for which the rate of sediment supplied to the scour area is
balanced by the rate of transport out of the area. Therefore, the equilibrium scour depth is reached
gradually. Figure 4 demonstrates the progressing of local scouring at different locations (Figure 2),
in which the scour depth is plus for erosion and minus for deposition. The scouring is quite actively
in the first 10 hrs, then it gradually slows down and the scour depth will approach to the maximum
finally. The scour at the fore pile is greater than that at the back pile. Even in rear side of the fore
pile, bed erosion occurs instead of general deposition at single pile. On the other hand, in rear side
of the back pile ‘F’, about 2 m deposition occurs. In front side of ‘F’, bed erosion as that at single
pile is actively in the first 12 hrs. After that, the erosion slows down and then the scour hole is filled
up gradually. The final scour depth is only about 1.5 m in the front side of ‘F’. These are due to the
interaction among the piles.
Figure 5 demonstrates the computational horizontal velocity vectors near the bed and the water
surface, respectively. The velocity vector, local scouring and contour of dynamic pressure deviation
(pd/ρg, unit: cm) (pd = p − ps ) from the hydrostatic pressure (ps ) in representative longitudinal
profile and cross section are displayed in Figures 6 and 7.
The results in Figures 5 ∼ 7 show that the approach flow and downflow in the front, and wake in
the rear of cylindrical piles are reproduced reasonably. The flow directions near the bed are quite
different from those near the water surface. The separation area near the bed in the front side of the
fore pile ‘A’ is much wider than that near the water surface. Reversal flow to the approach one exists
near the bed (especially near the fore piles ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’). Wake in the rear of the fore pile ‘A’,
‘B’ and ‘C’ occurs, however, that in pile ‘D’ and ‘E’ is not so clear because they are located in the
wake area of pile ‘B’ and ‘C’. Different from the surface wake, convergent flow occurs near bed in
the rear of pile. At a single pile, such kind of flow features, separation in the front and convergence
in the rear, results in scouring in the front and deposition in the rear of the pile. However, even in
the rear of the fore pile ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’, the bed is eroded about 6∼8 m. The local scour depth at
‘D’ and ‘E’ is about 4 m and it is much less than that at ‘B’ and ‘C’ (Figure 3).

1823
 (a) Near the bed (b) Near the surface

Figure 5. Velocity vector with the deformed local bed.

Figure 6. Velocity vector and local scouring.

Figure 7. Contour of dynamic pressure deviation from hydrostatic pressure (unit: cm).

The bow wave in the front and the water surface lowering along the flank of the piles are
reproduced (Figure 6). The water level difference between the front and the flank of the fore pile
reaches to over 0.6 m. On the other hand, that at the back pile ‘F’ is only about 0.2 m because the
approach flow is relatively weak under the sheltering of the fore piles.
Although the basic features are the same as those around a single cylindrical pile, the above
results show that there are special features around the pile group. The fore ones are attacked much
more intensively by the approach flow. The backs are sheltered because the upstream pile reduces
the effective approach velocity. These flow features are consistent with the computed pressure
deviation (Figure 7), etc. The pressure deviation causes not only downflow but also sideward
acceleration of flow past the cylindrical piles, which results in the local scouring.

1824
4 CONCLUSIONS

A completely 3D model, based on boundary-fitted orthogonal curvilinear coordinates and

σ -transformation, is developed. Then the local flow and scouring around a bridge pier consisted of
cylindrical piles in a natural larger river is simulated by the model. The approach flow, bow wave
and downflow in the front and wake in the rear of pile are reproduced, and the special features at
the cylindrical pile group are captured, which can be well explained by the computed results of
dynamic pressure deviation from hydrostatic one, etc. The local scouring can be well predicted by
the present method. The scouring is quite actively in the first stage, then it gradually slows down.
Different from those at a single pile, even in the rear of the fore piles, riverbed is eroded. On the
other hand, the local scour depth at the back piles is much less than that at the fore ones.

REFERENCES

Ashida, K. & Michiue, M. 1971. Studies on bed load transportation for non-uniform sediment and riverbed
variation, Annuals of the Disaster Prevention Res. Inst. 14(B): 259–273. Kyoto University (in Japanese).
Chang, H.H. 1992. Fluvial processes in river engineering. Malabar: Krieger Publishing Company.
Fukuoka, S., Tomita, K., Hotta, T. & Miyagawa, T. 1994. Practical numerical simulation of local scour around
a bridge pier. J. Hydraulic, Coastal and Envir. Eng., II–28(497): 71–79. JSCE (in Japanese).
Jin, H.S. 2001. Numerical simulation of depth-integrated 2D tidal flow. Nippon Koei Technical Bulletin 21:
105–112 (in Japanese).
Jin, H.S., Egashira, S., Zheng, Y. & Yuan, G. 1996. Numerical simulation of flow in ‘T’-shaped tidal river.
Proceedings of the 3rd APCOM: 1715–1720. Seoul.
John, E.R. & Vijay, G.P. 1998. Three-dimensional simulation of scour-inducing flow at bridge piers, Journal
of Hydraulic Engineering, 124(5): 530–540. ASCE.
Patankar, S.V. 1980. Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow. Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.
Raudkivi, A.J. 1990. Loose boundary hydraulics, 245–265. Pergamon Press.
Rodi, W. 1980. Turbulence models and their application in hydraulics, IAHR Publication. DELFT.

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This page intentionally left blank
 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

The use of riprap protection as a countermeasure against

scour downstream of two compound piers

A. Kadota, R. Aragão & K. Suzuki

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ehime University, Ehime, Matsuyama, Japan

V.S. Srinivasan
Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil

ABSTRACT: Surveys at the Shimanto River Bridge site showed that, frequent floods have con-
tributed to scouring a deep hole downstream of this bridge. To prevent further development of this
process, data collection at the bridge site, flume experiments, and the application of a turbulence
model to simulate the flow pattern within and outside the scour hole have been conducted. The
experiments showed that, scouring usually occurs downstream of the piers. Furthermore, the flow
pattern showed that, water flowing over a protection installed between the piers, generates vortices
on the riverbed many times, becoming one of the scouring causes. Based on these observations,
a countermeasure was attempted through experiments taking into account the real shape of the
scour hole. A riprap protection placed downstream of the piers proved to be effective in preventing
further scouring, and in various flow runs, it resulted in the deposition of the bed material inside
the scour hole and thus, decreasing its depth.

1 INTRODUCTION

Over the centuries, people have constructed bridges to shorten distances, facilitating commutation
and transport of goods. While bridges have helped people to save time and money, they also cause
the reduction of river channel cross-section and induce flow disturbance, resulting in an increase in
flow velocity and shear stress around the bridge foundations, and consequently, a scouring process.
Usually two types of scour are identified: local and contraction scouring. Moreover, the enclosure of
flowing water from upstream of the bridge, in conjunction with the portion that passes between the
piers, are responsible for vortices and turbulence past the bridge, which entrains the sediments and
creates a scouring hole. This process can be also named local scour. To prevent scouring at bridge
pier, special river training works are usually applied (Chiew, 1995, Melville & Coleman, 2000).
However, they can also lead to undesirable processes. This has been the case at Shimanto River
Bridge site (Shikoku Island, Kochi Prefecture, Japan) where, data collected at regular intervals has
revealed that a deep scour hole has formed downstream from the bridge piers and is in a progressive
evolution. In order to assess the causes for this scouring, field and laboratory investigations have
been carried out. Based on the data obtained, a feasible countermeasure to prevent further scouring
was considered through the use of riprap protection. The results of these investigations are presented
and discussed herein.

2 SITE DESCRIPTION

The Shimanto River is located in the Shikoku Island, Japan, and flows from Mt. Irazu, in Ehime
Prefecture, to Tosa Bay, in Kochi Prefecture. The drainage basin area is around 2270 km2 of which,
90% is located in mountainous region. The main stream is about 196 km in length. The basin area

1827
Photo 1. Area around Shimanto River Bridge.

is subject to frequent typhoons that cause floods and damages. The annual mean discharge is only
125 m3 /s, but due to typhoons, a peak discharge of 13,000 m3 /s has been registered.

2.1 Shimanto River Bridge

Shimanto River Bridge (Photo 1) is a pillared-truss-iron structure, located in Nakamura City,
9.5 km upstream of the river estuary and is used as a road bridge. It is 508 m in length, is supported
on 13 compound piers, which in turn are formed by joining two cylindrical piers (4 m in diameter
each) through a concrete collar (1 m thick). A concrete block is installed in between the cylinders.
This arrangement is about 12 m long and 4.7 m wide. The span between the compound piers is about
54 m. From the left bank of the river, these piers are identified as P1 to P13. Since the construction
in 1948, Shimanto River Bridge piers have experienced the effect of successive typhoons through
frequent floods. These floods have led to a local scouring at piers P2 to P5 and also a contraction
scour between P6 and P7. Meandering is observed upstream from the bridge and the normal flow
occurs towards the opening between P6 and P7, throughout the year. To prevent the scouring,
countermeasures were implemented through the installation of tetra-pods around the piers and of
concrete blocks between these piers. However, periodic survey at the bridge site reveled that a deep
scour hole has formed downstream of the piers.

3 FIELD INVESTIGATIONS

3.1 Underwater video robot

To determine roughly the grain size and depth of the scour hole, an underwater video robot was used.
It is equipped with video camera, GPS, ruler and other equipment for controlling its movement. The
first recording spot was the area downstream of P7. The second was the area around and inside the
deep scour hole. It was observed that the deep scour hole is enlarging downstream and has reached
almost 10 m in depth. The sediment downstream from P6 and P7 consisted of around 5–10 cm
grains.

3.2 Measurements of riverbed elevation

Data on river channel cross-section were collected during the period 2001–2003, at various sections
upstream and downstream from Shimanto River Bridge. In all, 23 sections were surveyed, being

1828
 Bed elevation
100 (m)
90 3.0

Distance from the right bank (m)

P6 2.0
80 1.0
0.0
70 -1.0
60 -2.0
a b -3.0
50 -4.0
40 -5.0
-6.0
30 -7.0
20 P7 -8.0
-9.0
10 -10.0
0 -11.0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220
X (m)

Figure 1. Contour map of the area around Shimanto River Bridge.

4 sections upstream from the bridge and 19 downstream of it, comprising a stretch of 250 m in
length (Figure 1). The deepest section is located 30 m downstream along the bridge centerline and
is progressing in the direction of the stream. The scour is more intense near P7 than along the
line a–b, the probable reason being the meandering that keeps the flow throughout the year mainly
toward P7 thus contributing to the deformations in the riprap surrounding this pier and the scour
hole shape.

4 FLUME EXPERIMENTS

Although much has been learnt about the scouring downstream of Shimanto River Bridge, its
mechanism is still unclear and needs further investigation. To understand the scouring mechanism
at the bridge, experiments were performed under the live-bed scouring condition in a circulating
flume (20 m long, 0.50 m wide and 0.50 m deep). A test section measuring 1.71 m long, 0.50-m
wide and 0.20 m deep, was installed at 12 m from the water inlet. Two model piers, 2.2 cm in
diameter each, similar to the real ones and scaled 1/200, were used. Acrylic plates were set around
the piers with appropriate roughness elements glued to represent the areas covered by the tetra
pods. A rubber strip was installed between the piers with the role of the concrete block found at the
bridge site section (Figure 1). Two kind of uniform sand with D50 = 0.42 mm and D50 = 1.42 mm
were used. The discharge was varied from 5 to 20 l/s. A total of 18 runs were conducted for 0.42 mm
sand, and 9 runs with 1.42 mm sand. The piers were set in the middle of the test section so that
the sediment from upstream could supply as an additional source, in obtaining the live-bed scour
condition.
By using the conditions stated above, a typical bed variation obtained in experiments using
D50 = 1.42 mm is presented in Figure 2. Scour holes are seen at the relative distance of Z/D = 0,
which are the direct consequences of the flow constriction caused by the piers. As for the coarser sand
(D50 = 1.42 mm), scouring at the base (X /D = −3) was not significant comparing with finer sand
(D50 = 0.42 mm). And, ripples were not observed over the bed for this size different from finer
sand as reported by Simons & Sentürk, (1992). The deepest section occurred downstream of the
piers and along the centerline of the test section and coincides with the downstream face of the
strip located between the piers. The strip must prevent the contraction scour, but contributed to
the scouring past the piers as a result. Furthermore, it was noticed that the deepest point usu-
ally lies at the region where the separated flow converges, which is a site marked with high
turbulence and vortices, that vary in intensity according to the discharge. The insight obtained
at this experiment was helpful in the determination of the size of the riprap material by further
experiments.

1829
 Flow
20

P6
15

a
Z/D

b
10

P7
5

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
X/D

Figure 2. Bed variation (mm) past the piers (Q = 10 l/s, h = 4 cm, U = 0.32 m/s).

0.5 U velocity
(m/s)
0.46
0.4 0.42
0.38
0.34
0.3 0.30
0.26
Y/h

0.22
0.18
0.2 0.15
0.11
0.07
0.03
0.1 -0.01
-0.05
-0.09

-2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

X/D

Figure 3. Velocity profiles over the link.

5 FLOW FIELD MODELING

The scouring process occurring downstream of Shimanto River Bridge is marked by a complex
three-dimensional flow, with the occurrence of vortices and turbulence. To define the scouring
mechanism at this site, the flow field must be known (Dargahi, 1990). Complex turbulent flow
is governed by the equation of continuity (conservation of mass), the Navier-Stokes equation
(conservation of momentum), and the energy equations. Here, a model using those equations, and
supporting turbulent closure through the k-ε model (Rodi, 1980), has been applied for modeling
the flow field around P6 and P7. The geometry used was the same as found during the experiments.
To do so, the river bottom was set as fixed, flat, no-slip, and rough, in which the roughness height
was 1.42 mm. The approaching flow was made steady. The solid surfaces of the model piers were
considered non-slippery. The grid mesh associated with this geometry had the following elements:
164 nodes in the streamwise direction, 20 nodes in depth, and 171 nodes in the lateral direction.
The use of these conditions in the numerical solution of the equations resulted in the velocity
profiles over the strip, presented in Figure 3. This figure shows that flow over the strip is forced to
roll over at the downstream edge of it. As a consequence, vortices are observed (X /D = 1.2). These
vortices act as a vertical jet, impinging the bed more than once and dislodging the sediments. If
this process had occurred over a movable bed, the scouring certainly would take place at X /D = 1.2

1830
 5 7
3
2.2 cm

4 2 6

0.70 m

Figure 4. Schematic view of the riprap layers over the sand bed.

and further downstream. These results further reinforce what was observed during the model
experiments in which, the scour process first occurred just beyond the strip and then, evolved in
the direction of flow.

6 COUNTERMEASURE AGAINST SCOUR

Bridge scour countermeasures are methods designed to protect bridge from scouring. Most of the
countermeasures available now were developed to prevent scour around bridge piers and abutment
(Melville & Coleman, 2000). Few studies have been conducted on scouring downstream of bridge
piers and hence, more studies are needed. Among the methods available to prevent scouring, riprap
is still widely applied due to its effectiveness and economy (Chiew, 1995; Melville & Coleman,
2000).
In the context of the Shimanto Bridge, both rock riprap and artificial riprap could be applied, but
with the second type it was felt that it might interfere with the aquatic life, and the first type became
a better option. The decisive step in using riprap is the estimation of the riprap stone size. Here, the
method proposed by Suzuki (1992) was used, which consists of installing riprap layers of a certain
critical diameter, Dc , working as armor. This method was chosen due to the encouraging results
obtained when it was first applied to prevent local scouring and stabilize the area downstream from
a sill. Subsequent applications by Suzuki et al. (1997) also have yielded good results. Since the
scouring downstream of Shimanto River Bridge are very similar to the one identified by Suzuki
(1992), the application of the method stated above seemed rather suitable for the present study.
The critical diameter of this armor coat, Dc , can be calculated from the following equation:

where, u∗ is the shear velocity; g is the acceleration due to the gravity, τc is a dimensionless critical
shear stress (∼
=0.05), s = ((ρs /ρ)−1), ρs is the density of the gravel; ρ is the water density.
In order to determine an approximate value of Dc , a mold of the real shape of the scour hole
(area shown by dashed lines in Figure 1, scaled to 1/200) was created, with a maximum scour
depth of 5.5 cm. The test section was filled with uniform sand (D50 = 0.42 mm) and this shape was
imprinted on the flat bed of the test section. A discharge of 12.5 l/s, corresponding to a flow of
8000 m3 /s in the river, was released in the flume for 20 min. Using a Pitot tube, flow velocities
were measured at three different water depths (points 1, 2, and 3, in Figure 4), being respectively,
(1) 0.14 m/s, (2) 0.34 m/s, and (3) 0.38 m/s. Based on these data, the Dc was estimated as 1 mm.
Experiments were conducted with discharges of 8 l/s and 10 l/s, considering the area surrounding
by dashed line in Figure 1, and a riprap whose thickness was 3Dc . It was observed that, though
this Dc satisfied the criterion of stability, the upstream and downstream border area of the hole

1831
 U velocity
(m/s)
3 6 0.57
0.5
0.52
0.46
0.40
0.4 0.35
0.29

y/h
0.23
0.3 2 0.18
0.12
0.06
0.01
0.2 -0.05
1 -0.10
-0.16
0.1 -0.22

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8

X(m)

Figure 5. Contour of U velocity along the longitudinal line.

(Figure 4) was considerably eroded. To prevent this problem, sizes of D50 = 2 mm and 3 mm were
tested for two different discharges of 12.5 l/s and 15 l/s and a riprap layer of 3Dc . The results showed
that for Dc = 1 mm, the bed material removed from upstream of the scour hole settled inside it,
causing a deposition of almost 1 cm. However, the outer part of the scour hole was severely eroded.
As for Dc = 2 mm and Q = 12.5 l/s, there were deposition inside the hole and erosion at the outer
area, but a considerable part of the riprap remained, protecting the sand bed. In this case, the scour
hole depth was reduced by almost 1.5 cm. On the other hand, for 15 l/s, there was also reduction
in the hole depth, but part of the riprap at the upstream and downstream area of the hole were
eroded. For Dc = 3 mm and for both 12.5 l/s and 15 l/s, not only the riprap remained undamaged,
but also the scour depth reduced almost of 2.5 cm, protecting the inner and outer part of the hole.
Over all, in terms of preventing the hole from being further scoured, the results showed that the
objective could be achieved by using any of the three diameters tested. However, the use of a value
larger than 1 mm and less than 3 mm, say 2.5 mm, would protect both inner and outer parts of the
scour hole.

7 FLOW FIELD SIMULATION

In order to verify the predictability of the 3-D model mentioned previously, the true shape of the
scour hole (Figures 1 and 4) and the related experimental conditions were modeled. The simulation
was conducted with Q = 12.5 l/s and U = 0.38 m/s. The bed roughness was set equal to Dc = 3 mm.
The other boundary conditions were the same as stated in Section 5. By using the results of the
simulation, the longitudinal flow pattern along the scour depth could be determined (Figure 5).
Comparing the results from the model at points 1, 2, 3 and 6, with those measured (Section 6), it
may be concluded that the observed and calculated velocities are quite close. In other words, the
present model can not only predict the measured values but also, reproduce the variation in flow
velocity at different sites within and outside the scour hole, indicating the appropriate riprap size
that would prevent damaging further scour.

8 APPLICATION OF RIPRAP DOWNSTREAM FROM SHIMANTO RIVER BRIDGE

One of the main objectives in working with the models was to extend the results obtained to the
prototype, keeping in mind the limitations of the experiments and the conditions at the field. The
method described above could be applied to prevent further scouring downstream of Shimanto
River Bridge, but, some additional factors such as the feasibility and the cost should be consi-
dered. Besides, the effective surface area to be covered with riprap (Figure 1) is very large in a
fast stream. Regarding feasibility, the Dc of the rocks to be deposited inside and at the edge of the
scour hole would measure 0.50 m. These sizes have been also used for riprap protection elsewhere

1832
(Melville & Coleman, 2000). However, if the objective is to prevent further scouring inside the
scour hole, 20 cm size stones could be used successfully.

9 CONCLUSIONS

In order to analyze the mechanism involved in the scouring process downstream of Shimanto
River Bridge piers, field investigations, flume experiments, and flow field simulations have been
conducted. The results from both flume experiments and flow simulation show that the existence
of the concrete blocks between the piers is one of the factors that lead to the scouring downstream
of the bridge. To prevent further development of this scour hole, the application of riprap as
a countermeasure was tested in flume experiments and this procedure not only prevent further
scouring, but also induced the deposition of bed material inside the hole. The application of the
3-D flow field model to simulate the experimental condition resulted in a close agreement between
the observed and simulated velocities, proving the usefulness of the model as a valuable tool in the
prediction of flow parameters.

REFERENCES

Chiew, Y.M. 1995. Mechanism of Riprap Failure at Bridge Piers. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE,
121(9): 635–643.
Dargahi, B. 1990. Controlling Mechanism Of Local Scouring. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering. ASCE,
116(10): 1197–1214.
Melville, B.W. and Coleman, S.E., 2000. Bridge Scour. Water Resources Publications, LLC, Colorado, U.S.A.,
pp. 550.
Rodi, W. 1980. Turbulence models and their application in hydraulic, Tech. rep., IAHR, Delft, The Netherlands,
pp. 104.
Simons, D.B. and Sentürk, F. 1992. Sediment Transport Technology, Revised Edition. Littleton, Colorado.
Water Resources Publications. pp. 897.
Suzuki, K. 1992. Reduction of Local Scour Depth by Armor Coat Formation Downstream of Consolidation
Work. Proceedings of the 8th Congress of the APD-IAHR. Vol. B: 453–458.
Suzuki, K., Yamamoto, H. and Tokuyasu, Y. 1997. Multilayered filter protections with different riprap sizes
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 Environmental Hydraulics and Sustainable Water Management – Lee & Lam (eds)
© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1536 546 5

Effect of seepage on scour caused by circular wall jets

S.B. Dugad
Research Scholar, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India

B.S. Pani
Professor of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India

ABSTRACT: The scour caused by circular wall jets has been studied in the past. However, the
effect of seepage through the sand bed has not been included though it is important for many
hydraulic structures. Hence, experimental investigations were undertaken to study the effect of
upward seepage on the scour caused by a circular submerged wall jet for a range of exit hydraulic
gradients. The role of tailwater depth, velocity of jet, particle size of bed material and the time
of scour were also investigated. The maximum scour depth produced by a jet in the presence of
upward seepage is found to be somewhat less than that without seepage. The maximum scour depth
is found to decrease with an increase in the value of exit gradient of seepage, the tailwater depth
and the sand size.

1 INTRODUCTION

Circular jets issuing on the bed of a channel in the vicinity of weirs and hydraulic outlets are of most
common occurrence in the field of hydraulic engineering. Flow of jets on mobile beds can cause
significant scour near the hydraulic structure. In the past many researchers [Rajaratnam & Berry
(1977), Rajaratnam (1982), Lim (1995), Chiew & Lim (1996), Ade & Rajaratnam (1998)] have
studied the scour caused by circular wall jets on sand beds. These investigations were mainly aimed
at determining the maximum scour depth and the geometry of scour hole. Also the seepage flow
through the loose sand bed was not considered in these studies. In order to understand and control
the scour mechanism it is essential to know the incipient condition for movement of sediment
particles in the scour hole. Many a times the difference in water surface elevations across the
hydraulic structure results in seepage of water. An upward flow through the porous sand bed on the
downstrea