Threshold of sediment motion

The threshold of sediment motion refers to methods

developed for predicting the transition between a
sediment bed being at rest, and being transported by fluid
drag.
Some researchers look at the problem as describing the
probability distribution function that sediment within a
population will move. Most often the viewpoint that
transport is defined by a critical threshold is used.
The threshold has been defined as a critical value of shear
stress (τcr or u*cr); or a critical value for velocity (ucr) where
below the threshold (τ cr > τ b; or ucr > u) the flow can not
move the sediment; but above the threshold it does.
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 Definitions
• first motion or incipient motion: point at which
only the most vulnerable particles on the bed
are moved.
• Feeble motion: the point where there is low,
but consistent transport.
• General motion: where the entire bed is
moving; or where sediment flux rates exceed
some criteria.

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 Why study threshold of sed. motion

Accurate estimate of the onset of sediment motion is

required, in order :
• To prevent erosion of channel bed
• To predict the risks of scouring below foundations
(e.g. bridge pier foundations) and
• To select rock armour material.

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 Forces acting on a sediment particle
For an open channel flow with a movable bed, the forces acting on
each sediment particle are
• the gravity force ρsgvs,
• the buoyancy force Fb = ρgvs
• the drag force CdAsV*V/2,
• the lift force CLAsV*V/2,
• the reaction forces of the surrounding grains,
where vs is the volume of the particle, As is a characteristic
particle cross-sectional area, Cd and
CL are the drag and lift coefficients, respectively, and V is a
characteristic velocity next to the channel bed.
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The gravity force and the buoyancy force act both in
the vertical direction while the drag force acts in the
flow direction and the lift force in the direction
perpendicular to the flow direction. The inter-
granular forces are related to the grain disposition
and packing.

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 Dimensional analysis

The relevant parameters for the analysis of sediment

transport threshold are: the bed shear stress τo, the
sediment density ρs, the fluid density ρ, the grain
diameter ds, the gravity acceleration g and the fluid
viscosity µ
f1(τo, ρ, ρs, µ, g, ds)=0
In dimensionless terms, it yields
  o  s d s u* 
f2   , , 0
 gd s   
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The first term is a form of Froude number. The
second is the relative density (also called specific
gravity). The last term is a Reynolds number defined
in terms of the grain size and shear velocity. It is
often denoted as Re* and called the shear Reynolds
number or particle Reynolds number.

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 Experimental observations
Particle movement occurs when the moments of the
destabilizing forces (i.e. drag, lift and buoyancy), with respect to
the point of contact, become larger than the stabilizing moment
of the weight force. Cohesive forces are important when the
bed consists of appreciable amounts of clay and silt particles.
The driving forces are strongly related to local near bed
velocities. In turbulent flow conditions, velocities are fluctuating
in space and time and with randomness in particle shape and
size, the problem of initiation of motion can be viewed either as
a deterministic phenomenon or as a stochastic process as well.

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Experimental observations highlighted the importance of the
stability parameter τ* which is a ratio b/w destabilizing and
stabilizing forces o
* 
 ( s  1) gd s

A critical value of the stability parameter may be defined at

the inception of bed motion: i.e.
τ* =(τ*)c. Shields showed that (τ*)c is primarily a function of
the shear Reynolds number u* ds /ν
τ* > (τ*)c Bed load motion
The stability parameter τ* is commonly called the Shields
parameter after A.F. Shields who introduced it first (Shields,
1936). It is a dimensionless parameter. Note that the Shields
parameter is sometimes denoted by θ.
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 Shield’s Diagram
For a given fluid and sediment properties (ρ,μ and s)
and given bed shear stress τo, the Shields parameter
τ* decreases with increasing sediment size: i.e. τ*
œ1/ds. Hence, for given flow conditions, sediment
motion may occur for small particle sizes while no
particle motion occurs for large grain sizes.
It is worth noting also that, for sediment particles in
water, the Shields diagram exhibits different trends
corresponding to different turbulent flow regimes:

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 It is worth noting also that, the Shields diagram exhibits
different trends corresponding to different turbulent flow
regimes
the smooth Re* ≤ 5 (τ*)c ≥ 0.035
turbulent flow
the transition 5 ≤ Re* ≤ 70 0.03 ≤ (τ*)c ≤0.04
regime
the fully rough Re*≥ 70 0.04 <(τ*)c ≤0.06
turbulent flow

For fully rough turbulent flows, the critical Shields parameter

(τ*)c is nearly constant, and the critical bed shear stress for bed
load motion becomes linearly proportional to the sediment size:
(τo)c œ ds

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• On the Shields diagram, the Shields parameter and the particle Reynolds
number are both related to the shear velocity and the particle size.
Some researchers proposed a modified diagram: τ* as a function of a
particle parameter d*
1/ 3
 Re 2

d*   *

 * 
Discussion about Shield Criter
• The particle size distribution has an effect when the size range is wide
because the fine particles will be shielded by the larger particles. After
an initial erosion of the fine particles, the coarser particles will form an
armour layer preventing further erosion. This process is called bed
armouring
• On steep channels , the bed slope assists in destabilizing the particles
and bed motion occurs at lower bed shear stresses than in flat channels.
At the limit, when the bed slope becomes larger than the repose angle
grains roll even in the absence of flow: i.e. the bed slope is unstable.

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• When bed forms (e.g. ripples and dunes) develop, the critical
bed shear stress for initiation of bed motion becomes different
from that for a flat bed. Indeed, the bed shear stress above a
bed form includes a skin friction component plus a form drag
component which is related to the non-uniform pressure
distribution in the flow surrounding the bed form
• A related effect is the existence of seepage through the
sediment bed. When the seepage pressure forces exerted on
the sediment particles become larger than the submerged
weight, the grains will be subjected to some motion. This
process is called bed fluidization.

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Useful Relations

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Shield diagram

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Problem

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Rough turbulent flow

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Smooth turbulent flow

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Transition flow

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Velocity distribution

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