Abstract:Hydraulic engineering is usually based on theoretical analysis and/or numerical modelling simulation. As the dynamic behaviour of sediment movement under unsteady flow is still unclear, and field measurement is comparatively difficult during a large flood, prior investigations through flume experiments are required. A series of flume experiments, conducted using different inflow hydrographs without sediment supply from upstream, was carried out to investigate the sediment transport process under unsteady flow conditions.A series of triangular hydrographs were performed in the experiments. The results indicate that a temporal lag was found between the flow hydrograph peak and the sediment hydrograph peak because large size sand dunes lasted for a short period in the falling limb of the flow hydrograph. The temporal lag was found to be about equal to 6-15% of the flow hydrograph duration. Owing to the temporal lag, the total bedload yield in the rising period was less than that in the falling period. Furthermore, the measured total bedload yield in the unsteady flow experiments was larger than the predicted value, which was estimated by using the results obtained from the equivalent steady flow experiment. The peak bedload transport rate for unsteady flow conditions was also larger than the predicted value. The ratios of the measured to the predicted quantities mentioned above were found to be constant values for different shapes of hydrographs. It is, therefore, expected that the analytical results of sediment transport from equivalent steady flow can be a good reference for sediment transport under unsteady flow conditions.

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