Sharif Digital Repository

The present study investigates the turbulence characteristic of turbidity current experimentally. The three-dimensional Acoustic-Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was used to measure the instantaneous velocity and characteristics of the turbulent flow. The experiments were conducted in a three-dimensional channel for different discharge flows, concentrations, and bed slopes. Results are expressed at various distances from the inlet, for all flow rates, slopes and concentrations as the distribution of turbulence energy, Reynolds stress and the turbulent intensity. It was concluded that the maximum turbulence intensity happens in both the interface and near the wall. Also, it was observed that the... 

Motion of turbid density currents laden fine solid particles, released on sloping bed and under still bodies of clear water, are numerically investigated. The equations of mass, momentum and diffusion for unsteady, laminar flow are solved at the same time in the fixed Cartesian directions, on a non-staggered grid using finite volume scheme. The velocity-pressure coupling is handled by SIMPLEC method. Turbidity currents with uniform velocity and concentration enter the channel via a sluice gate into a lighter ambient fluid and move forward down-slope. At the front of this flow, a vortex forms and grows while moving downstream. Comparison of the computed height of turbidity current with the... 

Dense underflows are continuous currents, which move down the slope due to the fact that, their density are heavier than ambient water. In turbidity currents the density differences arises from suspended solids. Vicinity of the wall make density currents and wall jets similar in some sense but Variation of density cause this flows more complex than wall jets. An improved form of 'near-wall' k-ε turbulence model is chosen which preserve all characteristics of both density and wall jet currents and a compression is made between them. Then the outcomes from low Reynolds number k-ε model is compared with v2̄-f model which show similarity. Also results show good agreement with experimental data... 

The effects of an obstacle on the suspended load transport rate of supercritical turbidity currents were investigated experimentally. A Vectrino velocity meter was used to measure velocity and sediment concentration profiles. The effects of important parameters including inlet discharge, mean inlet sediment concentration and obstacle height on suspended load transport rate were investigated. In the upstream velocity profiles, the obstacle generates the reflected and the interface regions in addition to the wall and the jet regions. The average amount of suspended load transport rate downstream of the obstacle decreases to about 92%. This confirms the depositional behaviour of turbidity... 

The development of density or turbidity currents causes serious problems for environmental hydraulics in reservoirs. The stream entered to a reservoir can carry sediments, nutrients and chemicals as density or turbidity currents. The fate of sediment and other substances transported by the current depends on the characteristics of the turbidity current itself, i.e. the velocity of fluid, the amount of mixing with reservoir water and the rates of sediment deposition and resuspension. These are important factors for water quality in reservoirs. A two-dimensional, depth-averaged, finite-volume numerical model is developed to study density currents, driven by non-cohesive sediments. The model... 

Dense underflows are continuous currents, which move down the slope due to the fact that, their density are heavier than ambient water. In turbidity currents the density differences arises from suspended solids. Vicinity of the wall make density currents and wall jets similar in some sense but Variation of density cause this flows more complex than wall jets. An improved form of 'near-wall' k-ε turbulence model is chosen which preserve all characteristics of both density and wall jet currents and a compression is made between them. Then the outcomes from low Reynolds number k-ε model is compared with v̄2 - f model which show similarity. Also results show good agreement with experimental data... 

The structure of turbidity currents released on a sloping bed below fresh water is investigated. Kaolin is used as a suspended material. Laboratory observations indicate that if a dense layer moves through the channel, the current thickness increases due to a hydraulic jump. This phenomenon occurs under special inlet conditions and has a significant effect on the current structure including velocity profile, current height and bed shear stress. Flows with different inlet Froude numbers based on various inlet concentrations behave more distinctly than those based on different inlet opening heights. Laboratory experiments indicate that an increase in the inlet Froude number causes an increase... 

Low density turbidity currents have been investigated in a laboratory flume. An Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was used to measure the velocity. The dimensionless velocity profiles were compared with previous studies to check the accuracy of acoustic measuring techniques for turbidity currents. Successful use of the ADV to measure the current velocity has led to interest in the technique of using acoustic sensors to estimate concentrations. Acoustic backscattering analyses are used for estimating the sediment concentration in turbidity currents. With this approach, concentration measurements can be reasonably well represented by a similarity profile. Using this technique, an accurate... 

Turbidity current is produced when a particle-laden fluid flows under lighter ambient fresh fluid. The streaming of particle-laden fluid is called a turbidity current and this kind of current is an important mechanism for sediment transportation in lakes and oceans. In the present research, the main concentration is on the effect of obstacle with an isosceles right triangular cross section on the behavior of turbidity current. A series of laboratory experiments were carried out with various obstacle heights and different inlet densimetric Froude numbers. In each experiment, velocity profiles upstream and downstream of the obstacle were measured, using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter. Kaolin... 

Turbidity currents are responsible for much of the sedimentation in reservoirs. In order to control these flows, various methods such as placing an obstacle in their path have been proposed. In this study, the effect of inlet sediment concentration and obstacle height on the behaviour of turbidity currents is investigated experimentally. For this purpose, some experiments were carried out with different inlet concentrations and various obstacle heights. Velocity and concentration profiles were measured using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter. To examine the depositional behaviour of turbidity current, suspended sediment flux was calculated using velocity and concentration profiles of the... 

Turbidity currents are one of the more frequently observed types of stratified flows. In these currents, the density difference is created as a result of suspended particles. The interfacial instability of turbidity current is studied experimentally in the present research. Both Kelvin–Helmholtz and (asymmetric) Holmboe instabilities are observed during the experiments; the first one was downstream, and the second one was upstream of the obstacle. Kelvin–Helmholtz instability is observed by approximately zero (phase) speed with respect to the mean flow. With the aim of measuring spectral distribution of velocity fluctuations, the effects of some parameters are studied on interfacial waves;... 

The gravity currents on the inclined boundaries are formed when the inflow fluid has a density difference with the ambient fluid and a tangential component of gravity becomes the driving force. If the density difference arises from the suspended particles, the currents are known as particle-laden density currents, or turbidity currents in which the local density depends on the concentration of particles. A low Reynolds k- Turbulent model is used to simulate three dimensional turbidity currents. Also some laboratory tests were conducted to study the 3D flow resulting from the release of particle laden density currents on a sloping surface in a channel of freshwater via a sluice gate. Kaolin... 

Turbidity currents containing kaolin particles were studied experimentally in a channel and the velocity and concentration profiles were measured using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter. These experiments were performed to investigate the depositional behaviour of turbidity currents. The suspended sediment flux was evaluated by experimental and analytical methods and the results of these two methods were in a good agreement. To evaluate the suspended sediment flux, it was necessary to recognize the suspended sediment zone from the upper shear layer region and near the bed depositional area as well. The method of determination of these areas is discussed. The effects of important parameters...