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Momentum Attraction by Flood Plains in Compound Channel

Abstract

Most natural rivers have flood plains that extend laterally away from the main river channel at a gentle gradient or in a series of terraces. In certain cases multistage channels are deliberately formed in order to increase conveyance capacity in times of flood and to have recreational land available at other times of the year [1]. Two-stage channels thus consist typically of a main river channel in which there is some discharge all of the time and flood plains, which are dry for most of the time yet perform a vital function in times of flood. Since flood alleviation schemes are the focus of much engineering work, the prediction of the conveyance capacity, velocity distribution and boundary shear stress distribution in such channels is clearly important. The boundary shear stress distribution is a prerequisite for studies on bank protection and sediment transport. The prediction of these parameters in two stage or compound channels is complicated by the lateral exchange of momentum that takes place in the shear layer that forms between the generally faster moving water in the main river channel and the slower moving water on the flood plain. The superposition of high lateral shear on bed-generated turbulence and longitudinal secondary flow structures is an intriguing problem in fluid mechanics. In the context of river channels with flood plains, the problem is usually further complicated even for moderately straight channels by the complex geometry of the cross-section and the heterogeneous nature of the boundary roughness [2].

Mehdi Behdarvandi Askar, and M Fathi Moghadam

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