Experiments on the Mechanics of Sediment Suspension

Abstract

Fluid Turbulence as a Medium of Lateral Transport: For many decades the problem of sediment transportation has claimed the attention of the hydraulic engineer, particularly in connection with river regulation, irrigation, and the protection of arable land. Laboratory and field investigations of this problem have dealt primarily with the movement of rock debris along the bed of a stream, and only in recent years has the study of suspended matter come into prominence. Yet while research on bed load has remained essentially empirical, the close relationship between fluid turbulence and sediment suspension has permitted the analysis of the suspended load of streams to proceed along more rational lines.