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The Journal contains scientific and technical material of broader interest in the areas of theoretical, experimental and computational hydraulics and fluid mechanics in various fields of application (rivers, coasts, environment, structures and industrial flows). This may also include results of field studies and interdisciplinary studies. Further included is publication of state-of-the-art papers, information which is suitable for the end-user (design and consultancy) and forum articles. Discussions to papers and technical notes are welcomed. The scope of the Journal covers the fields in which IAHR is active.
The Journal of Hydraulic Research has been published (currently six issues per year) since 1964 by IAHR and is distributed to all IAHR Members as part of the Membership Subscription, together with the IAHR HydroLink newsletter. JHR is published in print and electronic format. Abstracts are available on-line from 1996,and Full papers from 2001.

Abstract of Papers - JHR Volume 47 Issue 3

RESEARCH PAPERS Large eddy simulation of sediment transport in open-channel flow
by PATRYK WIDERA, ERIK TOORMAN and CHRIS LACOR
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is used to investigate the 3D-transport of sediment suspension in an open channel flow at a Reynolds number based on the frictional velocity.An Eulerian model was employed to represent the fluid and the sediment phases. The subgrid-scale fluid stresses were modeled with the Smagorinsky model, whereas subgrid-scale sediment fluxes were based on a gradient approach. To avoid tuning constants, a dynamic procedure was applied. A two-way coupling between sediment and fluid improved the computational description of sediment transport. Sediment concentration profiles and the statistics of sediment fluxes are presented and compared with the Rouse profile and the RANS solution. The results obtained agree well with the theory and with measurements. The LES results also indicate that the assumption of a constant Schmidt number, as is mostly assumed in RANS simulations is erroneous.
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Semi-implicit modeling of 2D rapidly varied flows with transitions
by ANDREA BALZANO, ELISABETTA TORRICELLI
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
Effective extension of a finite difference model for the solution of the shallow water equations to handle rapidly varied, transcritical flows is presented, based on a semi-implicit, nondirectional, operator splitting formulation on a staggered grid. Accuracy is preserved for smooth flows using the explicit, fully conservative, MOSQUITO scheme for momentum advection. Implicit formulation of 2D gravity wave propagation results in an elliptic problem which is efficiently solved by the preconditioned conjugate gradient method. Supercritical flows, steep fronts and hydraulic jumps are treated using flux limiters in the advection step only. The model is not subjected to spurious flows occurring in still water nor to inconsistencies with fundamental properties of 1D steady flows affecting a number of existing models. Strict mass conservation and accurate wetting and drying makes it feasible using the computed results for stable scalar transport computations. Numerical solutions to test problems mainly representative of flood wave flows and to laboratory tests of dam break flows are presented.
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Leak detection in pipelines by inverse backward transient analysis
by HAMID SHAMLOO and ALI HAGHIGHI
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
A new method of leak detection in pipelines is introduced based on the inverse transient analysis. The transient state can be initiated in pipes by closing the downstream end valve. The time history of pressure fluctuations is measured at the valve location as a downstream boundary condition. The duration of valve closure is considered long enough to minimize effects of the friction factor and of aterhammer. The numerical modeling of transient analysis in time domain uses the backward Method Of Characteristics (MOC).An inverse problem is applied for leak detection by defining the least-squares criterion objective function. The leak areas at characteristic nodes are considered as decision variables. Leak parameters are determined using the Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) method. To eliminate undesirable noisy and uncertainties due to the valve modeling, a method independent of valve type, closure duration and valve operation was considered. Finally, numerical examples are solved based on this method.
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Stream power criterion and design of sand bed channels at incipient motion
by ACHANTA RAMAKRISHNA RAO and GOPU SREENIVASULU
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
The critical stream power criterion may be used to describe the incipient motion of cohesionless particles of plane sediment beds. The governing equation relating “critical stream power” to “shear Reynolds number” is developed by using the present experimental data as well as the data from several other sources. Simultaneously, a resistance equation, relating the “particle Reynolds number” to the “shear Reynolds number” is developed for plane sediment beds in wide channels with little or no transport. By making use of these relations, a procedure is developed to design plane sediment beds such that any two of the four design variables, including particle size, energy/friction slope, flow depth, and discharge per unit width in the channel should be known to predict the remaining two variables. Finally, a straightforward design procedure using design tables/design curves and analytical methods is presented to solve six possible design problems.
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How fast and how far do variable boundary conditions affect river morphodynamics?
by GIACOMO FASOLATO, PAOLO RONCO and GIAMPAOLO DI SILVIO
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
The analytical solution of an one-dimensional morphodynamic model of a river reach with nonuniform grain size material under unsteady flow conditions is discussed. The model Harmonic River assumes an instantaneous propagation of the water flow along the river reach, a sinusoidal variation of the boundary conditions at both ends in time, as well as of the channel width in space, by accounting for two grain size classes of solid material. Apart from the instantaneous propagation of water flow, all information regarding the boundary conditions are conveyed along the river reach by three waves. Except for extremely low Froude numbers which may occur typically for dammed rivers, and for extremely long wave period (geological time scales), both the second and third waves may be neglected as virtually all information is transmitted by the first wave into the downstream direction. Moreover, the dominant boundary conditions affecting the river reach are represented by both the sediment transport rate and the sediment transport composition.
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Sediment management by jets and turbidity currents with application to a reservoir for flood and pollution control in Chicago, Illinois
by OCTAVIO E. SEQUEIROS, MARIANO I. CANTERO and MARCELO H. GARCIA
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
Management of fine sediments presents an important engineering and environmental problem. The active dredging of large volumes of sediments from harbors and reservoirs involves the use of expensive equipments with large operational costs. In several situations, however, passive systems can afford an efficient and low operational cost alternative. This work assesses the feasibility of eroding fine bed sediment by jet discharges and the subsequent transport in suspension by an ensuing turbidity current.A calibrated numerical model is applied to study the flow transport capacity under field conditions. Results show that large amounts of sediment can be eroded from the bed in the near-field region of the jet discharge, and that part of this eroded sediment can be transported in suspension further downstream by turbidity currents. The flow transport capacity depends strongly on the initial conditions of the jet discharge. This work has implications on sediment management by passive methods and presents a simple setting that could result in resource savings by reducing operational costs.
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Experimental and numerical investigations of dike-break induced flows
by SEBASTIAN ROGER, BENJAMIN J. DEWALS, SEBASTIEN ERPICUM, DIRK SCHWANENBERG, HOLGER SCHÜTTRUMPF, JÜRGEN KÖNGETER and MICHEL PIROTTON
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
Experimental model data are compared with numerical computations of dike-break induced flows, focusing on the final steady state. An idealized scale model was designed reproducing the specific boundary conditions of dike breaks. Discharges, water level, and depth profiles of horizontal velocities were recorded and validated by numerical modeling. The latter was performed by two different models solving the two-dimensional depth-averaged shallow water equations, namely a total variation diminishing Runge–Kutta discontinuous Galerkin finite element method, and a finite volume scheme involving a flux vector splitting approach. The results confirmed convergence and general applicability of both methods for dike-break problems. As regards their accuracy, the basic flow pattern was satisfactorily reproduced yet with differences compared to the measurements. Hence, additional simulations by the finite volume model were performed considering various turbulence closures, wall-roughnesses as well as nonuniform Boussinesq coefficients.
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Bed erosion in steep open channels
by ROMAN B. WEICHERT, GIAN RETO BEZZOLA and HANS-ERWIN MINOR
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
A new model is proposed to predict the bed topography in steep open channels once the bed stability is exceeded. Existing relationships describe bed stability by defining an entrainment state, usually expressed by a threshold shear stress or a discharge. The approach proposed herein focuses the self-stabilization potential of the channel bed at discharges larger than the entrainment value for which there is no sediment supply from upstream. Flume experiments carried out at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, indicated that the self-stabilization potential occurs in various geomorphologic scales. These scales are associated with typical features of the channel bed morphology. As the self-stabilization process is always combined with erosion, the novel approach interrelates the product of water discharge and channel gradient with the channel bed degradations associated with the different geomorphologic scales.
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A reliability-based assessment of bridge pier scour in non-uniform sediments
by MOHAMMAD MUZZAMMIL and NADEEM A. SIDDIQUI
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
The available scour equations for bridge pier are mostly deterministic in nature, which do not consider uncertainties of various scouring parameters adequately. A reliability-based assessment of bridge pier scour depth is of paramount importance in examining the relationship between safety factor and reliability, which are considered to be key parameters for decision-making in bridge foundation design. A methodology for the reliability assessment of bridge pier scour in non-uniform sediments are presented using the First Order Reliability Method (FORM). To study the influence of various random variables on the pier reliability against the scouring, a sensitivity analysis was carried out. To achieve a desirable safety level in the design of pier foundation, reliability-based safety factors are also proposed. The influence of the correlation among the random variables on the pier reliability was also assessed.
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Discussions Experimental analysis of the impact of dry avalanches on structure and implication for debris flows
by BARBARA ZANUTTIGH and ALBERTO LAMBERTI, Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 2006, 44(4), 522–534.
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
Discusser: a) ARONNE ARMANINI b) Reply by the Authors
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Direct measurement of vegetation resistance in prototype scale
by A. ARMANINI, M. RIGHETTI and P. GRISENTI, Journal of Hydraulic Research, 43 (5), 481–487.
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
Discussers: a) INGO SCHNAUDER and CATHERINE A.M.E. WILSON b) Reply by the Authors
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Steady flow regime for free overfall spillways: Influence of the ascending branch of the spillway crest
by A. MOÑINO, M.A. LOSADA and J. RIERA, Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 45 (3), 2007, 388–399.
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
Discusser: a) BIDYA S. PANI b) Reply by the Authors
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Prediction of alluvial river bed variation by SDAR model
by F. BAHADORI, A. ARDESHIR and A. TAHERSHAMSI, Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 2006, 44(5), 654–662.
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
Discusser: a) TEW-FIK MAHDI b) Reply by the Authors
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A Boussinesq-type model for flow over trapezoidal profile weirs
by YEBEGAESHET T. ZERIHUN and JOHN D. FENTON, Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 2007, 45(4), 519–528.
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
Discusser: a) OSCAR CASTRO-ORGAZ, b) Reply by the Authors
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Gradually expanding hydraulic jump in a trapezoidal channel
by M.H. OMID, M. ESMAEELI VARAKI and R. NARAYANAN, Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 2007, 45(4), 512–518.
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
Discussers: a) JIAN-MIN ZHANG, WEI-LIN XU, PENG-ZHI LIN and WEI WANG b) Reply by the Authors
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BOOK REVIEW The Rock Manual: The use of rock in hydraulic engineering (2nd ed.)
by CIRIA, CUR, CETMEF, CIRIA, London, ISBN 0-86017-683-5, 1270 pp, 240 STG, 2007
Vol: 47 / Issue: 3
Book reviewer: Constantine Memos
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