Author(s): Caian Huang; Chih Ted Yang; Chenjuan Jiang
Linked Author(s): Caian Huang
Keywords: Lluvial channel; Sediment transport; Flow intensity; Stream power; General equation
Abstract: So far, more than 100 sediment transport equations have been proposed by using methods of semi-theory or empirical approach, but none of these equations has been accepted as a generalized equation because their application are only limited to certain flow and sediment conditions. Selecting an appropriate flow intensity parameter is a fundamental problem to construct a sediment transport equation. After analyzing various measures of flow intensity such as shear stress, velocity, and stream power, it is found that flow intensity can be expressed as a unified form which can summarize various existing flow intensity. Based on this unified flow intensity, a generalized sediment transport formula is derived. It is presented that many of the previous formulas are only some special cases of the present generalized formula when the coefficient and exponents take certain values. More researches are needed in determination the constant and exponents in the generalized sediment transport formula.
Year: 2013