Numerical Modeling of Bed Deformation in Laboratory Channels

A depth-average model using a finite-volume method with boundary-fitted grids has been developed to calculate bed deformation in alluvial channels. The model system consists of an unsteady hydrodynamic module, a sediment transport module and a bed-deformation module. The hydrodynamic module is based on the two-dimensional shallow water equations. The sediment transport module is comprised of semiempirical models of suspended load and nonequilibrium bedload. The bed-deformation module is based on the mass balance for sediment. The secondary flow transport effects are taken into account by adjusting the dimensionless diffusivity coefficient in the depth-average version of the k–ε turbulence model. A quasi-three-dimensional flow approach is used to simulate the effect of secondary flows due to channel curvature on bed-load transport. The effects of bed slope on the rate and direction of bed-load transport are also taken into account. The developed model has been validated by computing the scour hole and the deposition dune produced by a jet discharged into a shallow pool with movable bed. Two further applications of the model are presented in which the bed deformation is calculated in curved alluvial channels under steady- and unsteady-flow conditions. The predictions are compared with data from laboratory measurements. Generally good agreement is obtained.