Turbulence Characteristics in Mild and Steep Entrance Slopes of Pool-Riffle Sequences

Abstract

This study investigates the distributions of velocity and Reynolds stress in an artificial pool-riffle sequence for two entrance slopes of 5° and 20° in a laboratory and compares the results with a similar pool-riffle sequence in a gravel-bed river in central Iran. Quadrant analysis is applied to find out the contributions of different events on turbulent flow structures. At an entrance slope of 5°, the velocity distribution follows an exponential trend without flow separation, but for the entrance slope of 20°, the velocity distribution indicates a S-shaped pattern with flow separation. Variation of entrance slope does not influence the convex form of Reynolds stress (RS) distribution, but it influences the location of the maximum value of RS and the flow separation zone length. The results reveal that outward and ejection are the dominant events for both field and laboratory settings. The sweep displays a decreasing trend from near the bed toward the water surface, however, the outward contribution indicates an increasing trend from the bed toward the water surface. The agreement between laboratory and field results in velocity and Reynolds stress will help the river engineers to better manage complex fluvial processes. Bursting process events depend on the aspect ratio for the same entrance pool slope. The agreement in the results of velocity and Reynolds stress distributions and the dominant events of bursting process in the laboratory and field are encouraging for better restoration of rivers and decreasing the cost of projects.

Keywords

• bursting
• gravel-bed rivers
• pool riffle slopes
• turbulent flow