Author(s): R. O. Tinoco; E. A. Cowen

Linked Author(s): Edwin Cowen

Keywords: No Keywords

Abstract: Previous studies have shown the effects of plant morphology and population density, under homogeneous conditions, on flow through aquatic vegetation. This study focuses on the effects of canopy heterogeneity on the flow, using an optical approach to quantify the obstructed frontal area a (1/m) as a function of elevation, longitudinal, and lateral location a (x, y, z), in an attempt to recreate conditions often found in lakes and rivers. Different distributions of live, flexible plants are tested in a wide open-channel laboratory flume. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to analyze the velocity field and turbulent fluctuations at several sections within the heterogeneous canopy, to address the variations between regions along the flume due to changes in plant density both in the longitudinal and span-wise directions. The study is motivated by the low-speed flows typical of lakes. Due to the low speed of the flows considered, different approaches are used to calculate dissipation and production from the available data, to compare with existing works on both real and model vegetation.

DOI:

Year: 2009