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Review of “River Training and Sediment Management with Submerged Vanes”

by A. Jacob Odgaard“River Training and Sediment Management with Submerged
Vanes”ASCE Press$75.00: ASCE Press...

Article  in  Journal of Hydraulic Engineering · January 2010

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0000159

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 BOOK REVIEWS

ratory model studies are presented in the third chapter to validate

Review of “River Training and Sediment the concept of submerged vanes and their conceived ability to
Management with Submerged create secondary currents and redistribute sediment deposition for
Vanes” by A. Jacob Odgaard a given channel cross section. Though most of these results have
ASCE Press, Reston, VA; 2009; 171 pp. Price: $75.00.
previously appeared in various journal and report publications
共some of them not as easily accessible兲, they have been summa-
rized here in a very effective way and all the figures have been
R. Ryan Radspinner redrawn and rendered of much higher quality. Design examples
Baker Environmental Hydraulics Laboratory, Dept. of Civil and Environ- with sample calculations are included in the fourth chapter for
mental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061. E-mail: various scenarios including bank protection, river bed stabiliza-
rrspin@vt.edu
tion, sediment control at water intake, and channel alignment
stabilization. These examples take into account channel charac-
Panayiotis Diplas teristics and design hydraulic conditions to properly size and
Baker Environmental Hydraulics Laboratory, Dept. of Civil and Environ- space submerged vanes. In the fifth chapter, field installations of
mental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061. E-mail:
submerged vanes at twelve sites located around the world are
pdiplas@vt.edu
reviewed. Several of these projects have previously been pub-
lished in journals or technical reports, though some of the inter-
Channel stabilization and restoration efforts have increased dra-
national case studies are difficult to get a hold of. Summary tables
matically across the nation during recent decades with over $1B
at the beginning of the chapter allow for quick comparison of
spent on these endeavors every year since 1990 共Bernhardt et al. project objectives, channel characteristics, and associated vane
2005兲. It is estimated however, that at least 50% of these projects designs. This section includes several illustrations, sketches, and
fail 共O’Neil and Fitch 1992兲 and others may not perform to origi- photos to aid the reader in better understanding field conditions.
nal expectations. This is due to the complex physical processes The sixth and final chapter is a summary of the most successful to
governing interaction of turbulence in the water column with date design guidelines; these are based on the laboratory and field
sediments in the stream and bank. Consequently, stream restora- studies presented earlier in the manual. Other aspects, such as
tion today is more of an art than a science and relies heavily on an vane materials and limitations in the use of this type of structure
analog method that emphasizes a prescribed design approach are discussed as well. The author stresses that the guidelines are
rather than the application of physically based hydraulic engineer- only typical and will need to be adjusted based on conditions
ing principles to attain performance-based criteria 共Slate et al. encountered at each site.
2007兲.
The use of in-stream, low-flow structures as channel stabiliza-
tion measures has become a preferred solution of federal, state,
and local governmental agencies 共Johnson et al. 2002兲. These
measures have gained acceptance because of their potential to
enhance aquatic habitat while directing flow away from the banks
and dissipating flow energy 共Kauffman et al. 1997兲. Despite their
potential for success, these structures suffer from a lack of proven
engineering design criteria, which if available, would certainly
reduce the risk of failure, increase cost-effectiveness and expand
their use.
Odgaard attempts to end this uncertainty for one such structure
in his recent publication, River Training and Sediment Manage-
ment with Submerged Vanes. The author recognizes that while
there are several existing publications demonstrating the viability
of submerged vanes, readily available design guidelines are still
lacking.
The book is divided into six chapters. In the first chapter some
background information about the vanes, together with possible
problems that they can be used to mitigate, is provided. It is
pointed out that though the idea was originally proposed in 1947
by Potapov and Pyshkin, systematic laboratory research and de-
velopment efforts toward the improvement of vane design to ren-
der it a more effective flow and sediment control measure didn’t
start until about 35 years later 共Odgaard and Kennedy 1983兲.
Soon after that field testing followed. The theory and develop-
ment of submerged vanes is discussed in the second chapter in the
context of bank erosion and bed scour prevention, water intake Fig. 1. Diagram of vane installations on East Nishnabotna River,
sediment protection, and shoaling prevention. Results from labo- Iowa

90 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / JANUARY 2010

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 Odgaard has researched the use of submerged vanes for over
25 years. Together with Kennedy and their students, they pursued
a systematic theoretical and experimental investigation of the role
of submerged vanes on river training and sediment management
at the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research of the University of
Iowa 共Odgaard and Kennedy 1983兲. If the recollection of the
second reviewer is correct, the interest of a forward-thinking Iowa
Department of Transportation engineer on the new technology
facilitated the first field installation of the submerged vanes at the
East Nishnabotna River in Iowa in 1985. A sketch of the river
section, indicating the submerged vane system layout and the
bridge crossing is shown in Fig. 1 共from Odgaard and Mosconi
1987, Fig. 5-2 in the book兲. Though the vanes used there were at
the very early design stage in terms of shape, size, material, spac-
ing, and installation procedures, they proved to be very effective
in protecting bank erosion and arresting lateral stream migration
in the vicinity of the bridge crossing. For his work on submerged
vane research and development, Odgaard received the ASCE Hy-
draulic Structures Medal in 2001.
This manual represents a first attempt to create a submerged
vanes design guidebook that can be used by practicing hydraulic
engineers and researchers. The author presents the material in an
orderly and logical manner. The information is communicated in
an effective way and lends itself useful for practical applications.
The author is uniquely qualified to write such a document. This
manual is a useful addition to the literature on in-stream flow
JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / JANUARY 2010 / 91
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structures and will go a long way in assisting hydraulic engineers
in the proper use of submerged vanes.
References
Bernhardt, E. S., et al. 共2005兲. “Synthesizing U.S. river restoration ef-
forts.” Science, 308, 636–637.
Johnson, P. A., Tereska, R. L., and Brown, E. R. 共2002兲. “Using technical
adaptive management to improve design guidelines for urban instream
structures.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 38共4兲, 1143–1152.
Kauffman, J. B., Beschta, R. L., Otting, N., and Lytjen, D. 共1997兲. “An
ecological perspective of riparian and stream restoration in the west-
ern United States.” Fisheries, 22共5兲, 12–24..
O’Neil, J., and Fitch L. 共1992兲. “Performance audit of in-stream habitat
structures constructed during the period, 1982–1990, in southwestern
Alberta.” Abstracts for American Fisheries Society Meeting, 4.
Odgaard, A. J., and Kennedy, J. F. 共1983兲. “River-bend bank protection
by submerged vanes.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 109共8兲, 1161–1173.
Odgaard, A. J., and Mosconi, C. E. 共1987兲. “Streambank protection by
submerged vanes.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 113共4兲, 520–536..
Potapov, M. V., and Pyshkin, B. A. 共1947兲. “Metod poperechnoy tsirku-
lyatsii I ego primenenie v gidrotekhnike.” Izd. Ak. Nayk. 1947, SSSR,
Moscow, Leningrad, the Soviet Union 共in Russian兲.
Slate, L. O., Shields, F. D., Jr., Schwartz, J. S., Carpenter, D. D., and
Freeman, G. E. 共2007兲. “Engineering design standards and liability for
stream channel restoration.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 133共10兲, 1099–1102.