Niguse and Lisa are conducting their PhD and MSc research, respectively, using modified experimental setups at the tilting flume in the Kraijenhoff van de Leur Laboratory for Water and Sediment Dynamics.
Their research focuses on investigating turbulence characteristics and bank erosion processes in a sinuous bend channel. Three different channel bends, constructed in the existing flume from polystyrene, have been integrated into the existing flume. The polystyrene was cut using an electric wire to required mold, glued to the desired size and shape, and its surface sanded with 0.4mm sand size to achieve the desired Manning roughness/Chezy coefficient.
The channel bends are 1m, 2m, and 4m in length with a width of 60cm, and another straight channel is used as a baseline. To prevent the polystyrenes from floating due water pressure, it is clamped with a wood frame at every meter, as show below.
The experiment consists of two parts:
- Investigating the flow characteristics (turbulence and shear stress) on the channel bank (wall) by varying the bends and flow amount/depth.
- Constructing soil blocks in each setup to study the role of soil moisture/matric suction in the bank erosion.
The equipment used includes a side-looking ADV, stilling wells, a point gauge, moisture sensors, and transducers.
Environmental Fluid Mechanics 