NUMERICAL MODELLING AND THE DESIGN OF

SEDIMENT CONTROL STRUCTURES

Ed Atkinson
Overseas Development Unit

Sediment Measurement and Control, and Design of I r r i g a t i o n Canals

Pakistan Workshop, Irrigation & Power Department, Lahore
22 - 25 October 1989
Sponsored by : ODA, London and Irrigation & Power Dept, Lahore

NUMERICAL MODELLING AND THE DESIGN OF SEDIMENT CONTROL STRUCTURES

Edmund Atkinson
Overseas D e v e l o p n t Unit
EIydraulics Research Limited
Wallingford
Oxon OX10 8BA
United Kingdom

ABSTRACT
The paper discusses t h e advantages and disadvantages of using numerical
models t o simulate hydrau1.i~p h e n m n a , i n p a r t i c u l a r when they are ccsnpared
t o physical models. When ithe s p e c i f i c application of modelling i s t h e
design of s e d h e n t control structures, it appears that t h e advantages of
numerical modelling then d ~ m i n a t e . The paper o u t l i n e s t h e d e v e l o p n t of
numerical models t o a i d t h e design of (i)s l u i c e d s e t t l i n g basins, and (ii)
intakes and t h e i r sediment excluders. A d i f f e r e n t approach i s required f o r
each application but i n both cases very good agreement is found between t h e
numerical model's predictions and f i e l d o r laboratory observations. The
paper concludes that numer.ica1 m d e l l i n g techniques w i l l b e c m mre
widespread i n t h e f i e l d of design simulations f o r sediment control
structures.

1.

INTRODUCTION
Numerical modelling techniques are challenging physical modelling a s
t h e established methc~di n m y areas of hydraulics. Potentially,
numerical modelling i s very a t t r a c t i v e because:
(i)
(ii)

it overcames t h e problems of s c a l e e f f e c t s f r m which physical

models o f t e n suffer; and
t h e l a r g e tirne and cost involved in constructing and running a
physical mdel can be avoided. (This advantage i s especially
relevant i n western countries where labour c o s t s are high.)

The p o t e n t i a l advantalges of numerical models are not always r e a l i s e d

because :
n-ical
m 3 e l l i n g can introduce i t s own inaccuracies e i t h e r
due t o defic.iencies i n t h e n u m r i c a l mthods o r i n t h e
a s s q t i o n s used in forming a model;
ccmputer run t k s o r m r y requirements can be large, s o
(ii)
making t h e c o s t s prohibitive; and
c o s t s f o r new numerical methods are high.
(iii) devel-nt
(i)

For t h e s e reasons numerical models are not universally applied t o a l l

hydraulic modelling problems. The purpose of this paper is t o o u t l i n e
t h e use of numerical mdels i n sediment control, and mre p a r t i c u l a r l y

the use of mdels to aid the design of intake structures and settling
basins.

2.

THE USE OF NUMERICAL MODELS I N SEDIMENT CONTROL

Sediment control i s an application s u i t e d t o n m r i c a l imdelling

because t h e g e o m t r i e s of t h e flow boundaries are t y p i ~ ~ a l q
l yu i t e
simple, f o r example a s t r a i g h t s e t t l i n g basin, and because t h e flow can
Physical m d e l l i n g ,
usually be considered a s steady o r quasi-steady.
on t h e other hand, is e s p e c i a l l y d i f f i c u l t because it i s not possible
t o s a t i s f y t h e s c a l i n g laws i n a mobile bed rnodel unless t h e f l u i d in
t h e rnodel has properties which are very d i f f e r e n t from those of water,
Y a l i n (1971).
Hydraulics Research i s a t present developing three n m r i c a l mdels f o r
use i n sediment control; two simulate t h e m v m t of water and
sediment in s e t t l i n g basins (one m d e l s t h e deposition of sediment, t h e
second rrrodels s l u i c i n g conditions). Both rnodels can a l s o be applied t o
s l u i c e channels o r "sluicing pockets" a t intakes, where t h e channel
being sluiced i s s i t e d upstream of a set of s l u i c e gates a t a diversion
s t r u c t u r e . This sediment control method has o f t e n been c a l l e d "still
pond regulation". The t h i r d n m r i c a l mdel simulates t h e flow of
water and s e d k m t in t h e v i c i n i t y of an intake s t r u c t u r e , and so can
be used t o predict t h e proportion of t h e r i v e r sediment load which
would be abstracted by t h e intake.

3.

SETTLING BASIN MODELS

S e t t l i n g basins have recently been designed using s e t t l i n g velocity

c r i t e r i a , f o r example t h e method due t o Camp (1946) i s widely used.
These methods can be used t o make a prediction of t h e s e t t l i n g , but not
t h e sluicing, performance of basins. Also, a s they are not based on a
ccanplete representation of t h e flow and sediment mvement, they do not
account f o r f a c t o r s such a s t h e changing t r a p e f f i c i e n c y of t h e basin
a s it f i l l s .
The p r i n c i p a l questions t o be answered a t t h e design stage are:
What w i l l be t h e s i z e range and concentration of sediment
passing i n t o t h e canal and how w i l l they vary with both t h e

dimasions of t h e basin, and t h e r i s e i n bed l e v e l s a s t h e

basin f i l l s ?
How often w i l l it be necessary t o sluice, and f o r how long?
Two rnodels have been developed t o answer t h e s e and r e l a t e d questions.

Deposition wdel
The performance of a s e t t l i n g basin during t h e deposition phase i s
predicted using t h e rnodel described by Atkinson (1986a) . The b a s i c
s t r u c t u r e of t h e mdel i s s i m i l a r t o t h e m n y one-dimensional r i v e r
rnodels t h a t are available and includes t h e key a s s q t i o n that t h e
water flow and sediment t r a n s p o r t ccanputations can be d.e-coupled,
Figure 1. However, t h e rnodel a l s o includes t h e e f f e c t s of turbulent
diffusion of sediment t o and from t h e bed. The turbulent diffusion
equation i s solved a n a l y t i c a l l y by assuming a uniform velocity p r o f i l e ,
and then t h e l o c a l distance s c a l e i s t r a n s f o m d t o correct f o r t h e

e r r o r introduced by that a s s m p t i o n . This procedure g r e a t l y reduces t h e

ccmputational time coinpared with a similar mdel described by Kerssens
(1979).
Recent d e v e l o p n t s t o t h e mdel include t h e simulation of graded
sediments. The r a t e of deposition f o r each of t e n equal s i z e f r a c t i o n s
i s computed f o r each section i n t h e basin, hence t h e s i z e grading of
t h e bed m a t e r i a l in t'he basin i s predicted. Also, t h e additional
turbulence produced by t h e e n t r y conditions t o a basin o r a gradual
expansion down a basin can now be simulated. Finally, silt deposition
i s now simulated by t h e &elf t h e calculations are s i m i l a r t o those
f o r sand deposition but are undertaken separately.
The deposition mdel has been v e r i f i e d with f i e l d data c o l l e c t e d a t
s l u i c e d s e t t l i n g basins i n China and Java, and in a s l u i c e channel a t
an intake i n Thailand.

China A data set on t h e Yanqwu s e t t l i n g basin is reported by Ning e t

a1 (1983) Sediment concentration was not reported s o t h e observed
deposition p a t t e r n and t h a t predicted by t h e n u m r i c a l mdel were
cc~npared, Figure 2. Agreemnt between prediction and observation i s
very good.

Java Fish (1987) reports a ccmprehensive set of data c o l l e c t e d by

Hydraulics Research a t t h e Karangtalun s e t t l i n g basin. Figure 3
presents predicted and observed sediment concentrations entering t h e
canal a t t h e downstream end of t h e basin. Again agreement is good, but
t h e observed s e h n t concentrations a f t e r t h e 10th February s l u i c i n g
showed considerable s ; c a t t e r , possibly due t o t h e s e h n t concentration
v a r i a t i o n s associatedl with r i v e r floods

Thailand The Mae Tang diversion s t r u c t u r e i n northern Thailand was

m n i t o r e d by Hydraulics Research during 1985 (Atkinson, 1986b) . An
intensive set of masurements which enabled ccglrparison with t h e
numerical model was made in a s l u i c e channel a t t h e diversion i n
concentrations i n
September 1985. The observed and predicted .S-t
t h e s l u i c e channel are compared i n Figure 4, agreement is again very
good.
No "calibration" of t.he numerical model was undertaken f o r any of t h e s e
ccmparisons. "Calibr:ationWi s t h e a d j u s t m n t of q i r i c a l f a c t o r s
within a mdel t o cause it t o agree with a l i m i t e d d a t a set, ("proving"
t h e model might then be claimxi by showing good agreemnt with a w i d e r

data s e t ) .
SluicingmDdel
A second m d e l has been developed t o describe t h e s l u i c i n g phase of

s e t t l i n g basin operation. The mdel a s s m s t h a t during s l u i c i n g

erosion occurs f r m t h e downstream face of t h e s e h n t deposit;
s l u i c i n g can then be m d e l l e d a s t h e erosion of a series of wedges of
bed material. F i e l d observations during s l u i c i n g support this
assumption, see f o r example Ning e t a 1 (1983). The sediment t r a n s p o r t

r a t e over the downstream face of each wedge is computed from bed

f r i c t i o n and s e h n t . transport equations. The time taken t o erode t h e
wedge can then be c i l c u l a t e d ran t h e volume of t h e wedge, t h e density

of deposited sediment and t h e sediment transport r a t e . S d n g t h e

t h e f o r each wedge y i e l d s t h e the required t o f l u s h tlie basin.
The d e l has been successfully t e s t e d with d a t a ran tlie t h r e e sites
mentioned:
Site
S e t t l i n g basin
i n Java

) 1st s l u i c i n g
) 2nd s l u i c i n g

Observed
s l u i c i n g the
(hs)
1.3
0.6

Predicted
s l u i c i n g the
(hs)
1.6
2 .O

S e t t l i n g basin
i n China
Sluicing channel
i n Thailand
This good agreement between a numerical d e l and f i e l d measurements
has again been achieved without t h e a i d of any mdel ca:libration.

4.

MODEL FOR SIMULATING SEDIMENT CONTROL AT INTAKES

Both t h e design and s i t i n g of an intake e f f e c t t h e q u a n t i t i e s of

S-t
t h a t it a b s t r a c t s . For example, an intake loci2ted on t h e
outside of a r i v e r bend w i l l a b s t r a c t a r e l a t i v e l y low sediment
concentration, t h i s i s due t o t h e lower sediment concentration and
higher m n t u m of t h e near surface flow. Its mmntum causes it t o
m v e towards t h e outer p a r t of a bend. S i t i n g intakes on bends, o r
a r t i f i c i a l l y inducing curvature i n t h e approach flow t o an intake are
thus w e l l established methods of sediment control. However, t h e
b e n e f i t s are l a r g e only when mst of t h e sediment transported i n t h e
r i v e r i s m v i n g close t o t h e bed. I f t h e sediment i s w e l l d i s t r i b u t e d
then t h e r e m y be l i t t l e benefit ram t h e c o s t of a l a r g e s t r u c t u r e
designed t o introduce flow curvature a t a diversion.
A second w e l l t r i e d method of c o n t r o l l i n g sediment a t i:ntakes i s t o
separate t h e near bed flow, carrying i t s high sediment lconcentrations
away ran t h e canal intake. A t y p i c a l s t r u c t u r e of t h i , s type, a tunnel

type sediment excluder, i s shown i n Figure 5.

4.1 B d e f d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e ~
The purpose of t h e mdel i s t o enable t h e designers of (an intake t o
test a set of proposed designs, i n each case predicting t h e sediment
concentration abstracted by t h e intake.
The d e l uses a computational f l u i d dynamics carputer code t o solve
t h e Navier-Stokes equations f o r t h e region close t o an intake.
Typically a short r i v e r reach both upstream and downstream of t h e
intake i s simulated, together with t h e intake and a short section of
canal. The code p r e d i c t s t h e flow f i e l d in this region and then
"traces" t h e sediment concentrations through t h e flow f i e l d . Hence t h e
sediment concentrations entering t h e intake can be predicted.
Turbulence and i t s e f f e c t s are simulated using t h e k-E two equation
turbulence mdel; this turbulence d e l has been widely applied i n flow
simulations i n c i v i l engineering and other f i e l d s .

Both t h e s e d i m n t concentration p r o f i l e and t h e velocity p r o f i l e have

t o be specified a t t h e upstream boundary, these can e i t h e r be measured
a t t h e site of t h e intake, o r predicted using standard mthods.
A d e t a i l e d description of t h e numerical d e l i s given i n Atkinson

(1989) .

4.2

Laboratay and field verificatitn

A carparison between predictions of t h e d e l and t h e results obtained

from a laboratory study (Indlekoffer et a l , 1975) are shown i n Figure

6. The laboratory study was c a r r i e d out using p l a s t i c beads of
dhreter 1-3mn i n a small flume of width 0.25m and a depth ranging from
0.07 t o 0.15rn. The purpose of t h e study was t o examine t h e e f f e c t s of
a divide wall i n reducing t h e quantity of bedload that would e n t e r a
branch channel. Figure 6 shows both t h e predicted s e d i m n t abstraction
with a simple 90' branch and t h e predicted reduction i n sediment
abstraction produced by adding a projection and then a divide w a l l t o
t h e s t r u c t u r e . Figure 6 a l s o shows t h e data masured i n t h e
experiments. A g r e m e n . t between prediction and masurements i s good,
p a r t i c u l a r l y a s t h e c q u t a t i o n a l d e l was again not c a l i b r a t e d .
The d e l has a l s o been applied t o predict t h e p e r f o m n c e of t h e
Narora sediment excluder, India, which i s shown i n Figure 5. F i e l d
data a t t h e excluder i.s presented i n S h m et al (date not known).
The m a s u r e d p e r f o m c e r a t i o , defined a s t h e r a t i o of sediment
concentration i n t h e canal t o that i n t h e r i v e r , was 0.96. Predicted
performance r a t i o was 0.93, a very encouraging r e s u l t . (A physical
d e l study had predicked a performance r a t i o of 0.08. )
The numerical Iuodel i s t o be compared with a mre d e t a i l e d set of f i e l d
d a t a which i s a t present being collected a t two intakes i n t h e
Philippines. However, t h e i n i t i a l r e s u l t s reported here suggest t h a t
t h e new approach w i l l be capable of providing performance predictions
a t intakes at a f r a c t i o n of t h e cost of physical mdel studies.
5.

CONCLUSIONS
Numerical d e l s now enjoy widespread use i n r m y areas of hydraulics
due t o e i t h e r t h e i r superior accuracy o r lower cost when compared t o
equivalent physical d e l s . The t r e n d seems c e r t a i n t o continue a s new
numerical d e l l i n g techniques are developed and computers becom rnore
powerful.
I n t h e f i e l d of sediment control t h r e e numerical m d e l s are being
developed by hydraulic:^ Research; they s h l a t e (i)deposition i n
s e t t l i n g basins, (ii)s l u i c i n g i n s e t t l i n g basins, and (iii)water and
sedinaent flow a t intakes. The paper has described t h e physical b a s i s
f o r each mdel and has presented comparisons between t h e m d e l s r
predictions and f i e l d o r laboratory observations. I n each case t h e
agrement between preciiction and observation has been very encouraging,
no "calibration" was used. It appears t h a t t h e t r e n d of increased use
of numerical models i n hydraulics generally w i l l a l s o be reflected i n
t h e p a r t i c u l a r f i e l d of sediment control.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper was prepared i n t h e s e d h e n t c o n t r o l sectiorl o f t h e Overseas
U n i t of Hydraulics Research, headed by D r K Sanmuganathan. The work
described w a s supported by t h e Overseas D e v e l o p n t Administration of
t h e B r i t i s h Foreign and C m n w e a l t h O f f i c e .
REFERENCES

Atkinson, E (1986 a ) , A d e l f o r t h e design of s l u i c i n g t y p e s e d h e n t

c o n t r o l structures. Hydraulics Research Technical Note ODTN 18.
Atkinson, E (1986 b ) , The p e r f o m c e of d i v e r s i o n w e i r s c a r r y i n g high
sediment loads: F i n a l r e p o r t on a f i e l d s t u d y in Northern Thailand.
Hydraulics Research Report No OD 86.
Atkinson, E (1989),
devices a t i n t a k e s .

P r e d i c t i n g t h e performance of s e d i m n t c o n t r o l
Hydraulics Research Technical Note ODTN 41.

Camp, T R (1946) , S e h n t a t i o n and t h e design of s e t t l i n g t a n k s .

Paper 2285, TRANS ASCE v01 111.
Fish, I L (1987) , F i e l d measurements a t Karangtalun s l u i c e d s e t t l i n g
basin, Yoguakarta, Indonesia. Hydraulics Research Technical Note No
ODTN 31.
Indlekoffer, H; Robinson, S; and Rouve, G (1975), On t h e t r a n s p o r t of
bed l o a d i n t o channel branches and t h e r e g u l a t i o n of irlcluding
a r t i f i c i a l secondary flow. Paper R2, 9 t h Congress on I r r i g a t i o n and
Drainage, Moscow, ICID, New Delhi, I n d i a .
Kerssens, P J M; P r i n s , A; and Van P i j n (1979), Model f o r suspended
s e d h e n t t r a n s p o r t . J o u r n a l of Hydraulics Division, ASCE, Vol 105, HY
5.
Ning, Q; Bin, Z; Fengquan, X, Zhijun, R; and Zhixiang, W (1983),
Application of experiences obtained from t h e Yangwu i r r i g a t i o n district
i n d e a l i n g with t h e sediment problem of low head d i v e r s i o n works.
Journal of S e d i m n t Research, Beijing, China No 2 .
Shanna, H D; Varshney, D V; and A g r a w a l , A K ( d a t e n o t known), Narora
S i l t Excluder - a f i e l d study of i t s e f f i c i e n c y . I n Proc r e s e a r c h
s e s s i o n o f CBIP, (Hydraulics) New D e l h i , I n d i a .
Y a l i n , M S (1971), Theory of Hydraulic Models.
London, UK.

MacMillan P r e s s Ltd,

FIGURES.

Yes

Fig 1 Computational steps for a standard l-dimensional river

model

-1,

Predicted deposition pattern

915

1
0

50

100

150

200

250

Distance from basin entry (m)

Observed deposition pattern

"'"I
Q1R-

\/F--,
I

915 1

T-\

Concrete bottom of basin

50

100

150

200

Distance from basin entry (m)

'ig 2 Predicted and observed deposition pattern in Yar~gwu

Settling Basin, China

250

eney 'u!seg Bu!lllas

unlelBue~ey40 aauew~ogadpauasqo pue palqpald

c B!d

Sediment concentration entering canal (ppm)

-L

ru

0
0

P
0

VI

=6
Q)
CA

Q)

E
+

0
.+

l00 -

g 200 -

300 -

100

150

Distance downstream from entry to sluice channel (m)

50

200

Measured concentration
entering canal

Predicted
Observed

Fig 5 Plan view of Narora sediment excluder

Fig 6 Comparison between predicted and observed sediment

abstraction to the branch, lndlekoffer et al experiments