Rheology of Bedload Transport

Research output: Contribution to book/Conference proceedings/Anthology/ReportChapter in book/Anthology/ReportContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Pascale Aussillous - , Aix-Marseille Université (Author)
  • Bernhard Vowinckel - , Technical University of Braunschweig (Author)
  • Élisabeth Guazzelli - , Université Paris Cité (Author)
  • Franco Tapia - , Aix-Marseille Université (Author)
  • Eckart Meiburg - , University of California at Santa Barbara (Author)

Abstract

Most sediment-laden flows in nature are produced by strong local gradients in terms of a hillslope or a pressure gradient. Describing such complex flows from an engineering perspective (e.g., using macroscopic sediment transport models) requires in-depth knowledge of the rheology of the sheared sediment beds and the fluid-sediment mixture. In this chapter, we review a previously derived macroscopic model that relies on a two-phase flow approach for the fluid and the sediment phase, respectively, as a promising avenue to predict such a complex flow. We apply this model to data generated by means of highly resolved direct numerical simulations of a sediment bed sheared by a pressure-driven viscous flow. We show that the rheology obtained in the numerical results obeys the scaling that has previously been derived for neutrally buoyant particles in rheometer cells. A two-phase flow model based on these scaling relations is therefore able to reproduce the simulation results of sheared sediment beds with high accuracy. Finally, we provide a list of open issues for future research that will be key to improving our understanding of sediment bed rheology: the roles of higher particle inertia, transient behavior of sheared sediment beds, and cohesion.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationParticulate Gravity Currents: Theory, Experiments, and Environmental Applications
PublisherAmerican Geophysical Union
Chapter12
Number of pages9
ISBN (electronic)9781394216727
ISBN (print)9781394216697
Publication statusPublished - 2026
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

SeriesGeophysical Monograph Series
Volume291
ISSN0065-8448

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0001-9150-3700/work/219977212
ORCID /0000-0001-6853-7750/work/220701971

Keywords

Keywords

  • Rheology, Sediment transport, Suspension