Author(s): Frederique Larrarte; Christophe Chevalier

Linked Author(s): Frédérique Larrarte

Keywords: Erosion; Measurements; Field studies; Low cost

Abstract: Water erosion is a natural phenomenon that can have a strong influence on the stability of civil engineering structures. The PumpET (Pump Erosion Test) aims to be a field device dedicated to the measurement of erodibility, defined as the capacity of river sediments in place to be eroded by various water flows. Its basic principle is the suction of water downstream of a centimetric submerged test channel placed on a sediment bed. Pumping steps are imposed in order to create a flow in the measurement chamber whose decreasing section aims at accelerating the flow in order to erode the sediment. The erosive phenomenon is triggered when the critical constraint for the movement of the grains in the test zone is reached. A camera record what happens in the measurement chamber that is lighted by 2 laser sheets. For this purpose, the spatial and temporal evolution of the deformation (in mm) of the sediment surface enclosed in the measurement section will be followed. Turbidimetric measurements could be considered, but their implementation requires taking into account the mass and bulk of the sensors. During the erodibility test, the sediment could be recovered for laboratory analysis such as grain size distribution and organic fraction. After a review of some of the many existing erodimeters, we will present the main steps in the development of the PumpET prototype, the difficulties overcome, the results of the first experimental campaigns and the already planned improvements.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/978-90-833476-1-5_iahr40wc-p0148-cd

Year: 2023