DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: On the Morphodynamics of a Wide Class of Large‐Scale Meandering Rivers: Insights Gained by Coupling LES With Sediment‐Dynamics

Abstract

Abstract In meandering rivers, interactions between flow, sediment transport, and bed topography affect diverse processes, including bedform development and channel migration. Predicting how these interactions affect the spatial patterns and magnitudes of bed deformation in meandering rivers is essential for various river engineering and geoscience problems. Computational fluid dynamics simulations can predict river morphodynamics at fine temporal and spatial scales but have traditionally been challenged by the large scale of natural rivers. We conducted coupled large‐eddy simulation and bed morphodynamics simulations to create a unique database of hydro‐morphodynamic data sets for 42 meandering rivers with a variety of planform shapes and large‐scale geometrical features that mimic natural meanders. For each simulated river, the database includes (a) bed morphology, (b) three‐dimensional mean velocity field, and (c) bed shear stress distribution under bankfull flow conditions. The calculated morphodynamics results at dynamic equilibrium revealed the formation of scour and deposition patterns near the outer and inner banks, respectively, while the location of point bars and scour regions around the apexes of the meander bends is found to vary as a function of the radius of curvature of the bends to the width ratio. A new mechanism is proposed that explains this seemingly paradoxicalmore » finding. The high‐fidelity simulation results generated in this work provide researchers and scientists with a rich numerical database for morphodynamics and bed shear stress distributions in large‐scale meandering rivers to enable systematic investigation of the underlying phenomena and support a range of river engineering applications.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4];  [5]
  1. Civil Engineering Department Stony Brook University Stony Brook NY USA
  2. Department of Environmental Sciences University of Virginia Charlottesville VA USA
  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Hanyang University Seoul South Korea
  4. State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics Institute of Mechanics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
  5. Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond VA USA
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Water Power Technologies Office; National Science Foundation Hydrology and Geomorphology and Land-use Dynamics Program
OSTI Identifier:
1959244
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1959248; OSTI ID: 1960221
Grant/Contract Number:  
EE0009450; EAR-0120914; EAR-1823530
Resource Type:
Published Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems Journal Volume: 15 Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 1942-2466
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; large-eddy simulation; morphodynamics; meandering river; sediment transport; turbulence

Citation Formats

Khosronejad, Ali, Limaye, Ajay B., Zhang, Zexia, Kang, Seokkoo, Yang, Xiaolei, and Sotiropoulos, Fotis. On the Morphodynamics of a Wide Class of Large‐Scale Meandering Rivers: Insights Gained by Coupling LES With Sediment‐Dynamics. United States: N. p., 2023. Web. doi:10.1029/2022MS003257.
Khosronejad, Ali, Limaye, Ajay B., Zhang, Zexia, Kang, Seokkoo, Yang, Xiaolei, & Sotiropoulos, Fotis. On the Morphodynamics of a Wide Class of Large‐Scale Meandering Rivers: Insights Gained by Coupling LES With Sediment‐Dynamics. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022MS003257
Khosronejad, Ali, Limaye, Ajay B., Zhang, Zexia, Kang, Seokkoo, Yang, Xiaolei, and Sotiropoulos, Fotis. Wed . "On the Morphodynamics of a Wide Class of Large‐Scale Meandering Rivers: Insights Gained by Coupling LES With Sediment‐Dynamics". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022MS003257.
@article{osti_1959244,
title = {On the Morphodynamics of a Wide Class of Large‐Scale Meandering Rivers: Insights Gained by Coupling LES With Sediment‐Dynamics},
author = {Khosronejad, Ali and Limaye, Ajay B. and Zhang, Zexia and Kang, Seokkoo and Yang, Xiaolei and Sotiropoulos, Fotis},
abstractNote = {Abstract In meandering rivers, interactions between flow, sediment transport, and bed topography affect diverse processes, including bedform development and channel migration. Predicting how these interactions affect the spatial patterns and magnitudes of bed deformation in meandering rivers is essential for various river engineering and geoscience problems. Computational fluid dynamics simulations can predict river morphodynamics at fine temporal and spatial scales but have traditionally been challenged by the large scale of natural rivers. We conducted coupled large‐eddy simulation and bed morphodynamics simulations to create a unique database of hydro‐morphodynamic data sets for 42 meandering rivers with a variety of planform shapes and large‐scale geometrical features that mimic natural meanders. For each simulated river, the database includes (a) bed morphology, (b) three‐dimensional mean velocity field, and (c) bed shear stress distribution under bankfull flow conditions. The calculated morphodynamics results at dynamic equilibrium revealed the formation of scour and deposition patterns near the outer and inner banks, respectively, while the location of point bars and scour regions around the apexes of the meander bends is found to vary as a function of the radius of curvature of the bends to the width ratio. A new mechanism is proposed that explains this seemingly paradoxical finding. The high‐fidelity simulation results generated in this work provide researchers and scientists with a rich numerical database for morphodynamics and bed shear stress distributions in large‐scale meandering rivers to enable systematic investigation of the underlying phenomena and support a range of river engineering applications.},
doi = {10.1029/2022MS003257},
journal = {Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems},
number = 3,
volume = 15,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2023},
month = {Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2023}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022MS003257

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

An Experimental Study of Longitudinal Incisional Grooves in a Mixed Bedrock–Alluvial Channel
journal, February 2020

  • Inoue, Takuya; Nelson, Jonathan M.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 56, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1029/2019WR025410

Large-eddy simulation of a hydrokinetic turbine mounted on an erodible bed
journal, December 2017


Simulation of Curved Open Channel Flows by 3D Hydrodynamic Model
journal, July 1998


Data‐Driven Prediction of Turbulent Flow Statistics Past Bridge Piers in Large‐Scale Rivers Using Convolutional Neural Networks
journal, January 2022

  • Zhang, Zexia; Flora, Kevin; Kang, Seokkoo
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 58, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1029/2021wr030163

Flow phenomena and mechanisms in a field-scale experimental meandering channel with a pool-riffle sequence: Insights gained via numerical simulation
journal, January 2011

  • Kang, Seokkoo; Sotiropoulos, Fotis
  • Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 116, Issue F3
  • DOI: 10.1029/2010jf001814

Numerical modeling of 3D turbulent free surface flow in natural waterways
journal, May 2012


Large-eddy simulation of a mildly curved open-channel flow
journal, July 2009


A hybrid Cartesian/immersed boundary method for simulating flows with 3D, geometrically complex, moving bodies
journal, August 2005


Curvilinear immersed boundary method for simulating coupled flow and bed morphodynamic interactions due to sediment transport phenomena
journal, July 2011


Numerical simulation of large dunes in meandering streams and rivers with in-stream rock structures
journal, July 2015


Free–forced interactions in developing meanders and suppression of free bars
journal, May 1990


Large-eddy simulation of the Mississippi River under base-flow condition: hydrodynamics of a natural diffluence-confluence region
journal, December 2018


Secondary current effects on cohesive river bank erosion
journal, December 2007

  • Papanicolaou, Athanasios N.; Elhakeem, Mohamed; Hilldale, Robert
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 43, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1029/2006WR005763

A comparative study of rigid-lid and level-set methods for LES of open-channel flows: morphodynamics
journal, July 2019

  • Khosronejad, Ali; Arabi, Mahsa Ghazian; Angelidis, Dionysios
  • Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 20, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10652-019-09703-y

High-fidelity numerical modeling of the Upper Mississippi River under extreme flood condition
journal, December 2016


Three-dimensional flow structure and channel change in an asymmetrical compound meander loop, Embarras River, Illinois
journal, January 2003

  • Frothingham, Kelly M.; Rhoads, Bruce L.
  • Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, Vol. 28, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1002/esp.471

Process–form linkages in meander morphodynamics: Bridging theoretical modeling and real world complexity
journal, August 2012

  • Güneralp, İnci; Marston, Richard A.
  • Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment, Vol. 36, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1177/0309133312451989

Fully coupled free‐surface flow and sediment transport modelling of flash floods in a desert stream in the Mojave Desert, California
journal, August 2019

  • Khosronejad, Ali; Kang, Seokkoo; Flora, Kevin
  • Hydrological Processes, Vol. 33, Issue 21
  • DOI: 10.1002/hyp.13527

Numerical and experimental investigation of flow and scour around a circular pile
journal, June 2005


Simulation-Based Approach for Stream Restoration Structure Design: Model Development and Validation
journal, September 2014


Initial stages of erosion and bed form development in a turbulent flow around a cylindrical pier
journal, July 2011

  • Escauriaza, Cristian; Sotiropoulos, Fotis
  • Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 116, Issue F3
  • DOI: 10.1029/2010JF001749

Uncertainty quantification of large-eddy simulation results of riverine flows: a field and numerical study
journal, August 2022


Curvilinear immersed boundary method for simulating fluid structure interaction with complex 3D rigid bodies
journal, August 2008

  • Borazjani, Iman; Ge, Liang; Sotiropoulos, Fotis
  • Journal of Computational Physics, Vol. 227, Issue 16
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jcp.2008.04.028

Planform geometry and channel migration of confined meandering rivers on the Canadian prairies
journal, March 2010


Numerical simulations of bedrock valley evolution by meandering rivers with variable bank material
journal, April 2014

  • Limaye, Ajay B. S.; Lamb, Michael P.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Vol. 119, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1002/2013JF002997

Computational and experimental investigation of scour past laboratory models of stream restoration rock structures
journal, April 2013


Geology, Geography, and Humans Battle for Dominance over the Delivery of Fluvial Sediment to the Coastal Ocean
journal, January 2007

  • Syvitski, James P. M.; Milliman, John D.
  • The Journal of Geology, Vol. 115, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1086/509246

Turbulence-driven secondary flows and formation of sand ridges
journal, September 1993


Dynamic meandering in response to upstream perturbations and floodplain formation
journal, January 2016


Analysis of the role of turbulence in curved open-channel flow at different water depths by means of experiments, LES and RANS
journal, January 2010


Simulation-based optimization of in–stream structures design: bendway weirs
journal, April 2016

  • Khosronejad, A.; Diplas, P.; Sotiropoulos, F.
  • Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 17, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10652-016-9452-5

Flood Prediction Using Machine Learning Models: Literature Review
journal, October 2018

  • Mosavi, Amir; Ozturk, Pinar; Chau, Kwok-wing
  • Water, Vol. 10, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.3390/w10111536

Numerical Calculation of Bed Deformation in a Range of Resonant Wavenum ber of Meandering Channel
journal, January 1992

  • Shimizu, Yasuyuki; Tubino, Marco; Watanabe, Yasuharu
  • PROCEEDINGS OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING, Vol. 36
  • DOI: 10.2208/prohe.36.15

Evaluation of 1D and 2D numerical models for predicting river flood inundation
journal, November 2002


Sufficient conditions for river meandering: A simulation approach
journal, November 1984


Flow directionality of pristine meandering rivers is embedded in the skewing of high-amplitude bends and neck cutoffs
journal, November 2019

  • Guo, Xingyan; Chen, Dong; Parker, Gary
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 116, Issue 47
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1910874116

Large eddy simulation of turbulence and solute transport in a forested headwater stream
journal, January 2016

  • Khosronejad, A.; Hansen, A. T.; Kozarek, J. L.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Vol. 121, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1002/2014jf003423

Experimental and computational investigation of local scour around bridge piers
journal, March 2012


On the genesis and evolution of barchan dunes: Hydrodynamics
journal, August 2020

  • Khosronejad, Ali; Kang, Seokkoo; Farhadzadeh, Ali
  • Physics of Fluids, Vol. 32, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1063/5.0015515

Calculation of primary and secondary flow and boundary shear stresses in a meandering channel
journal, February 2010


Large-eddy simulation of flash flood propagation and sediment transport in a dry-bed desert stream
journal, December 2020

  • Khosronejad, Ali; Flora, Kevin; Zhang, Zexia
  • International Journal of Sediment Research, Vol. 35, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.ijsrc.2020.02.002

Numerical simulation of bar and bank erosion in a vegetated floodplain: A case study in the Otofuke River
journal, July 2016


Modeling floods in a dense urban area using 2D shallow water equations
journal, July 2006


Comparative Hydrodynamic Study of Rigid-Lid and Level-Set Methods for LES of Open-Channel Flow
journal, January 2019


Urban fluvial flood modelling using a two-dimensional diffusion-wave treatment, part 1: mesh resolution effects
journal, January 2006

  • Yu, D.; Lane, S. N.
  • Hydrological Processes, Vol. 20, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1002/hyp.5935

Hierarchy of models for meandering rivers and related morphodynamic processes: HIERARCHY OF MODELS FOR MEANDERING RIVERS
journal, February 2007

  • Camporeale, C.; Perona, P.; Porporato, A.
  • Reviews of Geophysics, Vol. 45, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1029/2005RG000185

Influence of Channel Aspect Ratio and Curvature on Flow, Secondary Circulation, and Bed Shear Stress in a Rectangular Channel Bend
journal, December 2012


Experiments in a high-amplitude Kinoshita meandering channel: 1. Implications of bend orientation on mean and turbulent flow structure
journal, February 2009

  • Abad, Jorge D.; Garcia, Marcelo H.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 45, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1029/2008WR007016

Empirical analysis of the planform curvature-migration relation of meandering rivers
journal, September 2009

  • Güneralp, İnci; Rhoads, Bruce L.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 45, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1029/2008WR007533

Solving shallow-water systems in 2D domains using Finite Volume methods and multimedia SSE instructions
journal, November 2008

  • Castro, M. J.; García-Rodríguez, J. A.; González-Vida, J. M.
  • Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, Vol. 221, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cam.2007.10.034

Three-Dimensional Modeling of Sediment Transport in a Narrow 90° Channel Bend
journal, October 2005


Fluvial eco-hydraulics and morphodynamics: New insights and challenges
journal, July 2015


Analysis of Recent Bridge Failures in the United States
journal, August 2003


Flow in meander bends with recirculation at the inner bank
journal, November 2003

  • Ferguson, Robert I.; Parsons, Dan R.; Lane, Stuart N.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 39, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1029/2003WR001965

Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Meander-Belt Evolution, Cretaceous Mcmurray Formation, Alberta Foreland Basin, Canada
journal, October 2017

  • Durkin, Paul R.; Boyd, Ron L.; Hubbard, Stephen M.
  • Journal of Sedimentary Research, Vol. 87, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.2110/jsr.2017.59

Monitoring river morphology & bank erosion using UAV imagery – A case study of the river Buëch, Hautes-Alpes, France
journal, December 2018

  • Hemmelder, Sven; Marra, Wouter; Markies, Henk
  • International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, Vol. 73
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jag.2018.07.016

River Meanders
journal, January 1960


Hydraulic resistance in mixed bedrock-alluvial meandering channels
journal, August 2020


Numerical Study on the Effect of Bank Vegetation on the Hydrodynamics of the American River under Flood Conditions
journal, September 2021


Simulation-based optimization of in-stream structures design: rock vanes
journal, January 2018


Burial of organic carbon and pyrite sulfur in the modern ocean; its geochemical and environmental significance
journal, April 1982


Nonlinear modeling of mean flow redistribution in curved open channels
journal, December 2003

  • Blanckaert, Koen; de Vriend, Huib J.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 39, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1029/2003WR002068

Large-eddy simulation of a curved open-channel flow over topography
journal, July 2010

  • van Balen, W.; Uijttewaal, W. S. J.; Blanckaert, K.
  • Physics of Fluids, Vol. 22, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.3459152

The Inherent Asymmetry of River Meander Planform
journal, January 1983

  • Carson, M. A.; Lapointe, M. F.
  • The Journal of Geology, Vol. 91, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1086/628743

Meander dynamics: A reduced-order nonlinear model without curvature restrictions for flow and bed morphology
journal, June 2013

  • Ottevanger, W.; Blanckaert, K.; J. Uijttewaal, W. S.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Vol. 118, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1002/jgrf.20080

Influence of river meandering dynamics on riparian vegetation pattern formation
journal, January 2006

  • Perucca, E.; Camporeale, C.; Ridolfi, L.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, Issue G1
  • DOI: 10.1029/2005JG000073

High-resolution numerical simulation of turbulence in natural waterways
journal, January 2011


Supplied Sediment Tracking for Bridge Collapse with Large-Scale Channel Migration
journal, July 2020

  • Inoue, Takuya; Mishra, Jagriti; Kato, Kazuo
  • Water, Vol. 12, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.3390/w12071881

On the genesis and evolution of barchan dunes: morphodynamics
journal, February 2017


Three-dimensional numerical flow modeling for estimation of maximum local scour depth
journal, July 1998


Numerical simulation of sand waves in a turbulent open channel flow
journal, July 2014

  • Khosronejad, Ali; Sotiropoulos, Fotis
  • Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 753
  • DOI: 10.1017/jfm.2014.335

High curvatures drive river meandering
journal, February 2019

  • Sylvester, Zoltán; Durkin, Paul; Covault, Jacob A.
  • Geology, Vol. 47, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1130/G45608.1

Evolution of Meander Loops
journal, January 1974


The Character of Channel Migration on the Beatton River, Northeast British Columbia, Canada
journal, January 1975


Bridge Pile Bent Number of Piles and X-Bracing System: Impact on Pushover Capacity as Scour Increases
journal, May 2007


Large-eddy simulation in hydraulics: Quo Vadis?
journal, June 2014


Modeling morphodynamic processes in meandering rivers with spatial width variations
journal, January 2012

  • Zolezzi, G.; Luchi, R.; Tubino, M.
  • Reviews of Geophysics, Vol. 50, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1029/2012RG000392

The theoretical foundations and potential for large-eddy simulation (LES) in fluvial geomorphic and sedimentological research
journal, August 2005


Experiments in a high-amplitude Kinoshita meandering channel: 2. Implications of bend orientation on bed morphodynamics: KINOSHITA CHANNEL, 2
journal, February 2009

  • Abad, Jorge D.; Garcia, Marcelo H.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 45, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1029/2008wr007017