Introduction to the Physics of Cohesive Sediment Dynamics in the Marine Environment

577 Pages·2004·56.979 MB·English

by  Van Kesteren, W. G. M.;Winterwerp, J. C

DEVELOPMENTS IN SEDIMENTOLOGY 56
INTRODUCTION TO THE
PHYSICS OF COHESIVE
SEDIMENT IN THE MARINE
ENVIRONMENT
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DEVELOPMENTS IN SEDIMENTOLOGY 56
INTRODUCTION TO THE
PHYSICS OF COHESIVE
SEDIMENT IN THE MARINE
ENVIRONMENT
JOHAN C. WiNTERWERP AND WALTHER G.M. VAN KESTEREN
WL / DELFT HYDRAULICS & DELFT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, DELFT, THE NETHERLANDS
SERIES EDITOR: T. VAN LOON
2004
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Mud! Mud! Glorious mud
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.
So, follow me, follow, down to the hollow,
And there let us wallow in glorious mud
the Hippo song
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vii
PREFACE
A comprehensive study of cohesive sediment requires a multi-disciplinary
approach. The behaviour of cohesive sediment is determined by physical,
biological and chemical aspects. Furthermore, there is a wide range of societal
issues related to cohesive sediments, such as siltation in navigational channels,
water quality problems, sustainable management of estuaries and wetlands,
stability of continental slopes, etc.
In the last decade, substantial progress has been made in understanding the
processes governing cohesive sediment behaviour. These developments have
been reported in an overwhelming number of papers and congress proceedings,
which are published in a wide variety of journals and books. However, there is
no journal exclusively dedicated to cohesive sediment, nor is there a specialised
book which summarises the recent work. The best introduction to the physical
aspects of cohesive sediment is still found in the proceedings of the 1984-
workshop on cohesive sediment edited by A.J. Mehta (1986). For engineering
applications a handy introduction is provided by Whitehouse et al. (2000).
In the present book, we have therefore undertaken the task of summarising the
recent progress made in understanding the physical processes of cohesive
sediment in the marine environment. The book contains overviews of classical
and recent literature and of new developments, which have not yet been
published. We treat the physical processes in the water column, in the bed and
at the water-bed interface. This is done from both a hydrodynamic and from a
soil mechanical point of view, and we try to integrate these approaches where
relevant. Moreover, we give some attention to biological and chemical effects,
as they may (largely) affect the behaviour of cohesive sediment in the natural
environment.
This book is written for all graduate students, scientists and engineers who
want to study the physical behaviour of cohesive sediment in depth and at a
fundamental level. As such the book does not contain, but a few, recipes for
direct engineering applications. However, we do give examples and some
numerical elaboration of the concepts and formulations derived in this book.
Yet we feel that this book can contribute to sound managerial and engineering
decisions through a better understanding of the underlying physics. We also
hope that this book will stimulate and guide other scientists in further research
on cohesive sediment, as many questions are still unsolved.
This book could not have been written without the financial and other support
by WL | Delft Hydraulics, Delft University of Technology, the University of
viii cohesive sediment in the marine environment
Florida, the Netherlands Science Foundation, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and Nutech. We are very grateful to Prof. A.M. Mehta and Prof. J.A.
Battjes for their review of almost the entire book, their constructive comments
and suggestions and their encouragement. Individual chapters of the book were
also reviewed by Dr. R.B. Kirby (Appendix C), Prof. F. Molenkamp (Chapter 8
& Appendix D), Mr. M. Sas (Appendix C), Dr. G.A. Sills (Chapter 5 & 7) and
Dr. J. Widdows (Chapter 10). Isolated sections of the book were reviewed by
Mr. G. de Boer, Mr. J.M. Cornelisse, Mr. W. Eysink, Mr. C. Kuijper, Dr. L.
Merckelbach, Mr. J. Smit, dr. E.A. Toorman and Mr. A. Wijdeveld.
Delft, June 2004
Johan C. Winterwerp Walther G.M. van Kesteren
WL [ Delft Hydraulics WL [ Delft Hydraulics
Delft University of Technology
ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction 1
2. Boundary layer flow 5
2.1 Hydrodynamics and mass balance 5
2.1.1 The mean water movement 5
2.1.2 The mass balance for suspended sediment 8
2.1.3 The k-eturbulence model 10
2.2 The boundary layer 14
2.2.1 The structure of the boundary layer 14
2.2.2 Coherent structures in the boundary layer 20
2.3 The effect of surface waves 24
3. The nature of cohesive sediment 29
3.1 The composition of cohesive sediment 30
3.1.1 Granular composition of cohesive sediment 3 0
3.1.2 Mineral composition of cohesive sediment 35
3.1.3 Organic composition of cohesive sediment 41
3.2 Skeleton fabric composition of cohesive sediment 44
3.2.1 Inter-particle forces 44
3.2.2 Pore size distribution 50
3.3 Geotechnical classification of cohesive sediment 52
3.3.1 Geotechnical parameters 52
3.3.2 Application to in-situ conditions 58
3.4 Cohesive sediment in the marine environment 72
3.4.1 Phenomenological classification of cohesive sediment 72
3.4.2 Mud content of sand-mud mixtures 78
3.4.3 Fluid mud 82
4. Flocculation processes 87
4.1 Introduction 88
4.2 Fractal structure of mud floes 93
4.3 Flocculation model 96
4.3.1 Number equation for floes 96
4.3.2 Aggregation processes 99
4.3.3 Floe break-up processes 100
4.3.4 Eulerian flocculation model 103