Author(s): Stefan Haun; Maria Ponce; Naung Naung Htun; Silke Wieprecht
Linked Author(s): Silke Wieprecht, Maria del Rosario Ponce Guzman, Stefan Haun
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Due to the wide range of parameters that affect the erosion behavior of cohesive sediments, knowledge of ongoing processes and the interactions between them is still very limited. Adding to cohesive sediment mixtures microplastic particles (MPs) will change the structure of the sediment matrix and subsequently the erosion behavior. In the present study, the influence of MP inclusions on the erosion behavior of artificially produced cohesive sediment mixtures was studied by using data from erosion tests. The artificially produced sediment samples differ in the amount of clay, the type of clay mineral, and the water content. The physical properties of the added MPs, like the polymer type, and the number of particles were varied to investigate changes in erosion behavior in detail. The findings of this study show that the impact of MPs on sediment erosion is strongly dependent on the composition of the sediment itself (especially the amount and type of clay and the water content), but also on the characteristics of the MPs. For cases with a low clay content and only kaolinite as a clay mineral, the highest critical bed shear stresses were measured when microplastic pellets were present in the sediment mixture. For all other samples, the presence of MPs is causing a stochastic erosion behavior, which results in a reduced bed strength and an increasing erosion volume.
Year: 2024