Experimental study on the settling of irregularly shaped sediment particles from the source region of the Yangtze River
Settling plays a pivotal role in sediment transport and morphological evolution of alluvial rivers. Sediment particles in the source regions of large rivers are more likely to feature irregular shapes due to less abrasion than in lower reaches of the rivers. However, the settling of irregularly shap...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Sediment Research |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1001627924001288 |
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| author | Xiaoyong Cheng Zhijing Li Yujiao Liu Zhongwu Jin Yinjun Zhou Yisen Wang Guiqiao Wang Junfeng Han Zhixian Cao |
| author_facet | Xiaoyong Cheng Zhijing Li Yujiao Liu Zhongwu Jin Yinjun Zhou Yisen Wang Guiqiao Wang Junfeng Han Zhixian Cao |
| author_sort | Xiaoyong Cheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Settling plays a pivotal role in sediment transport and morphological evolution of alluvial rivers. Sediment particles in the source regions of large rivers are more likely to feature irregular shapes due to less abrasion than in lower reaches of the rivers. However, the settling of irregularly shaped sediment particles from the source region of a river has to date remained poorly understood. Here, sediment particles were sampled from the Tuotuo River basin in the source region of the Yangtze River. A total of 28 experimental runs were done in a purpose-built settling cylinder to investigate the settling of the sediment particles, with particle Reynolds number, Rep, defined using terminal settling velocity, ranging from 0.22 to 5,939. The results demonstrate that large Rep and irregular particle shape favor unstable settling behavior with wobbling motion and intense velocity fluctuations. An irregular particle experiences larger drag, and, thus, attains a lower terminal velocity than an equivalent sphere, and the shape effect which reduces terminal velocity tends to become significant with increasing Rep and decreasing Corey shape factor. The measured terminal velocities are compared with five empirical formulas. It is shown that the formulas of Dietrich, Haider and Levenspiel, and Wu and Wang are favorable to use (within the range ±20% of the measured data), whereas Zhang's formula and van Rijn's formula may considerably overestimate the terminal velocity, as no shape descriptor is incorporated to account for irregular shape effects. The current study facilitates a new experimental dataset that may be utilized to further investigate sediment settling dynamics. Also, it has direct implications for enhancing the understanding of morpho-dynamics in the source region of the Yangtze River, which may experience significant changes in response to climate change and anthropogenic activities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2724526d68684d64a1bd7af67c61ed95 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1001-6279 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Sediment Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-2724526d68684d64a1bd7af67c61ed952025-01-12T05:24:20ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.International Journal of Sediment Research1001-62792025-02-014016277Experimental study on the settling of irregularly shaped sediment particles from the source region of the Yangtze RiverXiaoyong Cheng0Zhijing Li1Yujiao Liu2Zhongwu Jin3Yinjun Zhou4Yisen Wang5Guiqiao Wang6Junfeng Han7Zhixian Cao8State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaChangjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, ChinaChangjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, ChinaChangjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, ChinaChangjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, ChinaChangjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, ChinaChangjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, ChinaChangjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; Corresponding author.Settling plays a pivotal role in sediment transport and morphological evolution of alluvial rivers. Sediment particles in the source regions of large rivers are more likely to feature irregular shapes due to less abrasion than in lower reaches of the rivers. However, the settling of irregularly shaped sediment particles from the source region of a river has to date remained poorly understood. Here, sediment particles were sampled from the Tuotuo River basin in the source region of the Yangtze River. A total of 28 experimental runs were done in a purpose-built settling cylinder to investigate the settling of the sediment particles, with particle Reynolds number, Rep, defined using terminal settling velocity, ranging from 0.22 to 5,939. The results demonstrate that large Rep and irregular particle shape favor unstable settling behavior with wobbling motion and intense velocity fluctuations. An irregular particle experiences larger drag, and, thus, attains a lower terminal velocity than an equivalent sphere, and the shape effect which reduces terminal velocity tends to become significant with increasing Rep and decreasing Corey shape factor. The measured terminal velocities are compared with five empirical formulas. It is shown that the formulas of Dietrich, Haider and Levenspiel, and Wu and Wang are favorable to use (within the range ±20% of the measured data), whereas Zhang's formula and van Rijn's formula may considerably overestimate the terminal velocity, as no shape descriptor is incorporated to account for irregular shape effects. The current study facilitates a new experimental dataset that may be utilized to further investigate sediment settling dynamics. Also, it has direct implications for enhancing the understanding of morpho-dynamics in the source region of the Yangtze River, which may experience significant changes in response to climate change and anthropogenic activities.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1001627924001288Terminal velocitySettling behaviorParticle Reynolds numberIrregular shapeEmpirical formulas |
| spellingShingle | Xiaoyong Cheng Zhijing Li Yujiao Liu Zhongwu Jin Yinjun Zhou Yisen Wang Guiqiao Wang Junfeng Han Zhixian Cao Experimental study on the settling of irregularly shaped sediment particles from the source region of the Yangtze River International Journal of Sediment Research Terminal velocity Settling behavior Particle Reynolds number Irregular shape Empirical formulas |
| title | Experimental study on the settling of irregularly shaped sediment particles from the source region of the Yangtze River |
| title_full | Experimental study on the settling of irregularly shaped sediment particles from the source region of the Yangtze River |
| title_fullStr | Experimental study on the settling of irregularly shaped sediment particles from the source region of the Yangtze River |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental study on the settling of irregularly shaped sediment particles from the source region of the Yangtze River |
| title_short | Experimental study on the settling of irregularly shaped sediment particles from the source region of the Yangtze River |
| title_sort | experimental study on the settling of irregularly shaped sediment particles from the source region of the yangtze river |
| topic | Terminal velocity Settling behavior Particle Reynolds number Irregular shape Empirical formulas |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1001627924001288 |
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