An experimental study into the influence of aquatic plant motion characteristics on the generation of a fluvial turbulent flow field

Abstract:

Aquatic vegetation has a determining effect on flow and consequently sediment transport as it generates both skin friction and form drag. The measurement of flow above the vegetation canopy has received much attention and there is now a good process understanding of mean and turbulent flow, although, much of this research has focused on rigid vegetation with relatively simple morphology. However, vegetation immersed in a flow experiences several forces (buoyancy; drag; virtual mass; Basset; and Saffman) which are counteracted by the properties of the vegetation (flexural rigidity; modulus of elasticity; the plant area exposed to the flow and; the packing density of the stems). The ratio of these forces determines the plant motion characteristics which are generally classified as either i) erect with no movement; ii) gently swaying; iii) strong, coherent swaying or; iv) prone.

Here we report on an investigation into the influence of plant motion on the turbulence structure in the mixing zone as vortices in this region have been shown to account for the majority of the momentum transport between the canopy and the open flow. We report on a series of flume experiments where flow over a canopy of surrogate aquatic vegetation was measured using PIV at a spatial resolution of ~1mm² and at a temporal resolution of 100 Hz. This provided whole flow field measurements for all three components of flow over the vegetation canopy. Plant motion characteristics were altered by modifying the flow Reynolds number through both velocity and depth. The influences of plant stem length were also assessed. The measured flows were analysed by standard Reynolds decomposition approaches and Eulerian and Lagrangian coherent flow structure identification methods. Kelvin-Helmholtz and Görtler-type vortices were identified within the canopy shear layer that are generated close to the canopy top and evolve downstream into span-wise roller vortices, which expand with both distance and time. When there was no plant movement or gentle swaying, the results support existing canopy layer theory. However, when the canopy showed strong, coherent swaying, the flow pattern was far more complex. The implications of these flow structures on form drag and the dependency of the bulk drag coefficient on Reynolds number are discussed.