Sediment Transport Modeling Review—Current and Future Developments

Abstract

The use of computational models for solving sediment transport and fate problems is relatively recent compared with the use of physical models. Several considerations govern the choice between physical and computational models; namely, the nature of the problem that needs to be solved, the available resources, and the overall cost associated with the problem solution. In some specific problems, a combination of physical and computational models can be used to obtain a better understanding of the processes under investigation de Vries 1973 . Using computational hydrodynamic/sediment transport models, in general, involves the numerical solution of one or more of the governing differential equations of continuity, momentum, and energy of fluid, along with the differential equation for sediment continuity. An advantage of computational models is that they can be adapted to different physical domains more easily than physical models, which are typically constructed to represent site-specific conditions. Another advantage of computational models is that they are not subject to distortion effects of physical models when a solution can be obtained for the same flow conditions identical Reynolds and Froude numbers, same length scale in the three directions, etc. as those present in the field. With the rapid developments in numerical methods for fluid mechanics, computational modeling has become an attractive tool for studying flow/sediment transport and associated pollutant fate processes in such different environments as rivers, lakes, and coastal areas. Representative processes in these environments include bed aggradation and degradation, bank failure, local scour around structures, formation of river bends, fining, coarsening and armoring of streambeds, transport of point source and nonpoint