Sediment Transport

This textbook discusses the fundamental principles of sediment transport in the geophysical context of rivers. It is intended as both a course textbook and as a guide for the practical engineer. It begins begin by describing phenomena such as bed load and suspension transport from a classical perspective. Concepts from turbulent flow regime are introduced to address the limitations of the classical approach to various aspects of sediment transport.This textbook discusses the fundamental principles of sediment transport in the geophysical context of rivers and is intended as both a course textbook and as a guide for the practical engineer. We begin by describing phenomena such as bed load and suspension transport from a classical perspective by applying the mean wall shear stress approach while additionally incorporating a statistical description of the inherent wall shear stress fluctuations. Concepts from turbulent flow regime are introduced to address the limitations of the classical approach to various aspects of sediment transport, such as for example, the Newtonian description of dense suspensions, or the description of the self-organization processes for developing bed forms, or the prediction of transport in very rough bed conditions. In this context coherent structures and flow separation mechanisms are developed as important new elements, which allow using topological rules for the formulation of transport especially for developing bed forms. Since the most up-to-date research findings in the field are presented, this book serves as both a support in the formulation of academic research programs, and as a practical text for engineers seeking to simulate complex problems or special aspects of sediment transport. This book will therefore be of interest and of use to both students and to the professional scientist.