Author(s): Z. Nourmohammadi; B. Firoozabadi; R. Rasoulian; H. Afshin
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Density current; Experimental; Velocity profile; Inlet gate height; Froude number
Abstract: In order to study the hydraulic characteristics of a sediment-laden density current, several two-dimensional experiments were conducted and kaolin was used as a suspended material. The densimetric Froude number, or the bulk Richardson number which is reciprocal of the square of the densimetric Froude number, is one of the important dimensionless numbers in density currents. Even though several of two-dimensional experimental studies have been performed on sediment-laden density currents, the effect of the inlet Froude number on the distribution of velocity profiles and the concentration of these currents has not been investigated in previous studies. The reason for the significance of this effect is that changes in the inlet Froude number can impact the hydrodynamics of the turbidity current. Experimental results show that with an increase in the inlet Froude number of turbidity current, the current experiences an increase in height and also a decrease in concentration and velocity. This increase in the densimetric Froude number can itself be due to a decrease in the inlet concentration of the current or a decrease in the inlet height of the sluice gate. Also, it is observed that variations in the concentration of the inlet current have a more profound effect on the characteristics of the turbidity current in comparison with variations in the inlet gate height.
Year: 2009