Examining the Sediment Trapping Efficiency of Baffles with Different Shapes, Heights, and Angles, located at the Upstream of the Vortex Tube

Abstract

The vortex tube is a structure with a slot along its longitudinal axis on top, which is installed across the width of the channel bed. This tube functions based on the gravitational force of sediment particles and swirling rotational force in the tube. It can transfer particles falling from its top slot to a specific side of the tube (Moazen and Shafai, 2003). Studies have shown the mechanism of this structure in separating the bed load. The current study used barriers with different shapes (square, triangle, and arched), heights and angles at the vortex tube upstream to increase the sediment trapping efficiency. These tests were conducted by changing the Froude number of the channel (flow hydraulic conditions). The results are provided below.

Keywords

• vortex tube
• baffle
• sediment
• froude number
• trapping efficiency