SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN CHANNELS: EFFECT OF INFILTRATION

Abstract

Sediment transport in channel is of practical importance in agricultural practice as it provides an opportunity to optimize the nutrient delivery to crops and optimization of water to be supplied to the field, so determination of sediment transport capacity, water discharge rate and prediction of bed forms is of prime significance. To study the sediment transport in irrigation channel, the effect of infiltration was considered because the effect of infiltration in irrigation channel is dominant due to its unsaturated state. Sediment transport capacity, water flow rate, bed profiles, aggradation are to be computed experimentally on unsaturated and saturated sand. On comparing these results for unsaturated and saturated sand. effect of infiltration was determined and laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effect of infiltration on sediment transport in channel. Experiments were conducted on saturated and unsaturated sand to measure sediment transport capacity, water flow rate and bed profiles with and without injection of sediment and the results are compared and effect of infiltration is concluded. These results are useful in the study of sediment transport in channel emphasizing on the effect of infiltration on sediment transport rate under non uniform flow conditions and also provide basic data on aggradation.