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9/29/2018 GEOL342 - Sedimentation and Stratigraphy

GEOL 342 Sedimentation and


Stratigraphy

Fall Semester 2017

Clastic transport and fluid flow

Transport: Weathered rock is transported from source areas to depositional sites by


three kinds of processes:

Direct fluid flows of air, water, and glacial ice


Wet, gravity-driven mass wasting,
Dry, gravity-driven mass wasting,

Fluid-driven Transport:

Hydraulics - the properties of fluid flow

Fluid plays an important role in most models of sediment transport. Thus knowledge of
hydraulics, the science of fluid flow, is essential to sedimentation and stratigraphy.
Fluids resist forces that tend to change their volume, but readily alter their shape in
response to external forces. The ability of a fluid to entrain particles is dependent on:

Density
Velocity
Viscosity (resistance to shearing)
Grain size

The first two are straightforward.

Density: Mass per unit volume. Typically measured in Kg/m3 or the equivalent g/cm3.
Examples:

seawater = 1.03 g/cm3


freshwater = 1.0 g/cm3
glacial ice = 0.9 g/cm3
air < 0.001 g/cm3

Velocity: Distance traveled per unit time.

Viscosity: the constant of proportionality between shear stress


Simulation of viscous (below)
and shear rate. Stated simply, a more viscous fluid resists and non-viscous (above)
deformation more strongly than a less viscous. All fluids will deform fluid from Wikipedia

when stressed. The more they are stressed, the more they are
deformed. For most fluids, this relationship is directly proportional
and can be written as follows:
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τ = μ*du/dy

Where τ is shear stress, du/dy is shear rate, and μ is viscosity. Fluids


of this type are called Newtonian fluids. Viscosity can be described
as internal friction. Units of this force are in Poise (P) (=1 g * cm-1
* s-1). The names Poiseuille and the shortened Poise are from the
French physician, Jean Louis Poiseuille (1799 - 1869).

Examples of the viscosities of common substances at 20 deg. C:

Water 1.002 x 10-2 Poise


Air ~1.7 x 10-5 P
Natural gas 1.0 x 10-5 P
Glacial ice 1.0 x 1011 P
Mantle rock 1.0 x 1020 P

Viscosity is temperature dependent (compare honey that has been


heated on a stove with honey coming from a refrigerator.) This table
demonstrates the change of water viscosity with temperature:

Temperature (deg. C) Viscosity cP


0 1.792
20 1.002
40 0.656
60 0.469
80 0.357
100 0.284

Scaling issue -
boundary layers:

When a fluid flows around


an object (or an object
moves through a fluid) the
region directly adjacent to
the object - the boundary
layer - is dominated by
viscous and electrostatic
forces that make it tend to
adhere to the object. The
thickness of this layer
varies with:

Viscosity
Veocity

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The presence of this


boundary layer has
important consequences for
sediment transport.

Flow conditions: Although fluid flow is describable


by the continuous variables given above, it typically
falls into one of two discrete states:

Laminar flow: Fluid particles move uniformly


in subparallel sheets or filaments.
Characteristic of slow moving or very viscous
material (E.G. glacial ice)

Turbulent flow: Fluid particles move in


random haphazard pattern. Characteristic of
high velocity material. High erosive effect
(E.G. surface winds)

The image of cigarette smoke (right) shows the


abrupt transition between these states.

Laminar and turbulent flow from


Physics and Chemistry for IG and A level

Numeric descriptors of flow:


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Relationships of velocity, density, viscosity and flow state are numerically described using
two dimensionless numbers:

Reynolds Number
Froude Number

Reynolds Number:

Named for British physicist Sir Osborne Reynolds, describes the relative
strength of inertial and viscous forces in a moving fluid by giving their
dimensionless ratio:

inertial forces/viscous forces

As it happens, this relationship also describes the relationships between the


transition from laminar to turbulent flow such that:

Velocity (higher velocity --> turbulent)


Viscosity (higher viscosity --> laminar)
The roughness of the flow boundary (rougher --> turbulent)
the confinement of the flow (more confined --> turbulent)

Reynolds Number = Re = 2rVρ/μ

Where:

r is the hydraulic radius ((2A/P) where A = cross-sectional area and P =


wetted perimeter)
V is the flow velocity (m/s)
ρ is the fluid density (kg/m3)
μ is viscocity (kg/(m.s)).

Note: The numerator shows inertial forces, or the tendency of discrete particles
of fluid to resist changes in velocity and continue to move uniformly in the same
direction. The denominator - viscosity, or resistivity to shearing or deformation.
The transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurs between Re of 500
and 2000. Typically, we see:

Environment: Re: Flow:


Slow flow and unconfined fluids moving across open
surfaces (surface runoff sheet flow, slow streams, <500 laminar
continental ice sheets)
500-2000 transitional
Rapid constricted flow (Fast streams, turbidity currents) >2000 turbulent

Ultimately, the
Rain on windshield from BetterPhoto.com
Reynolds number
addresses the
behavior of the
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boundary layer.
Consider the
familiar example
of raindrops on
the windshield of
a moving car:

At low
speed,
raindrops
roll downhill
on the
windshield
under the
influence of
gravity. They
can do this
because the
vehicle is
operating at a low Reynolds number so its boundary layer is thick enough
completely to encompass the raindrops.
At higher speeds (and higher Reynolds numbers), the raindrops begin to
move upward because the boundary layer has become thin enough that
the drops are poking out of it and being blown by the surrounding medium.
At very high speeds (don't try this at home) the drops move in random
directions because the bondary layer is now so thin that the currents of the
surrounding medium are channelled through minor irregularities of the
windshield's topography (scratches, half-cleaned birdshit stains, etc.)

Viscous forces tend to resist fluid motion, keeping flow smooth, while inertial
forces generate disordered (turbulent) motions. As such high inertial flows (Re>
5000) tend to be turbulent, and viscous flows (Re< 500) tend to be laminar.
Unconfined fluids moving across open surfaces (windstorms, surface runoff
sheet flow, very slow-moving streams, and continental ice sheets) have
Re<500-2000 and exhibit laminar flow. Fast-moving streams and turbidity
currents have Re >2000.

Why does a sedimentologist care? Because turbulent flow carries much


greater erosive force than laminar flow.

Froude Number: Raft caught on standing wave from AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Elucidated by British physicist


William Froude, a mathematical
representation of the ratio
between fluid inertial forces and
fluid gravitational forces. This
describes the tendency of a
moving fluid to continue moving
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despite the gravitational forces


that act to stop its motion.

Fr = flow velocity/(acceleration
of gravity * force of inertia)

Fr = V/√(gD)

Where:

V=velocity
D=depth of flow
g=gravitational constant.

Consequences:

Fr < 1 results in tranquil


flow. The velocity of
gravity waves is greater
than the flow velocity (i.e.
waves can move
upstream).
Fr > 1 results in rapid
flow. The velocity of
gravity waves is less than
the flow velocity,so no
waves propagate upstream.

Gravity waves? Throw a stone into a standing body of water and watch the
waves move out in concentric paths. This is a gravity wave; now throw a stone
into moving water. if you can see the gravity wave move upstream then it is
faster than the velocity of the stream. Thus Fr <1 otherwise known as tranquil
flow, which is typical of most bodies of flowing water. If, however, Fr >1 then
the velocity of the stream is faster than the gravity wave and rapid flow occurs.

Why does a sedimentologist care? Because Froude numbers are important


to understanding the ripples and other sedimentary structures that form at
the base of rapidly moving streams.

Particle Transport

Particle motion in flowing fluid: We care about hydraulics because of flowing fluids'
ability to transport sediment. Why, however, does this actually happen?

Whereas ions in solution are simply part of the fluid, clasts must be moved by
mechanical forces. This involves three distinct processes:

Entrainment: Particles picked up into the transport medium (water, air, etc.)
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Transport: Movement within the transport medium


Deposition: Settling out of the transport medium

Entrainment: Clasts are initially mobilized by two


forces:

fluid drag (FD)


fluid lift (FL)

Drag exerts a horizontal force, which


causes particles to roll in the direction
of current flow, whereas lift raises the
particles vertically into the current
(obliquely to current). Lift force is an
example of Bernoulli's principle,
which states that the sum of the
velocity and pressure on an object
in a flow must be constant.
Whenever a flow speeds up, it exerts
less pressure than a slower moving
part of the flow. We are familiar with
this from the airfoil shape of aircraft
wings, deliberately engineered to
create lift (right above). Fluid moving
over a clast also generates lift (right
below).

In flowing streams, FD and FL combine to yield a composite fluid force, FF.

The sediment, itself, is


transported as three
distinct loads:

Dissolved load: The


fraction in solution as
ions.

Suspended load:
That fine portion that

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is kept in constant
suspension by
electrostatic and
viscous interactions
with the surrounding
water. Generally clay
or silt sized particles.

Bed load: That


portion that cannot be
kept in constant
suspension. Generally
sand sized and larger.
The bed load moves in
two manners:
saltation:
bouncing along
the stream bed,
or being repeatedly picked up and put down by FF.
Traction: The remainder that rolls or slides in constant contact with the bed.

There is a relationship
between a stream's
velocity (energy) and the
size clast that it can
transport. Intuitively we
sense that larger clasts
need more energy to be
moved than smaller ones,
but reality is more subtle.
This is shown in the
Hjulstrom diagram, that
gives a zone of sediment
transport in black. The
upper limit is the velocity
at which a clast of a given
size is entrained, the lower
limit is the velocity at which an entrained clast is deposited.

No surprise that the smallest grains are deposited at the lowest flow velocities.
But why are sand sized particles entrained before clay particles? (See if you can
figure it out.)

Above all, larger clasts are entrained at higher velocities. Why?

Stokes' Law:

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Developed by Sir George Gabriel Stokes, An object falling through a fluid experiences
three forces:

The force of gravity (Fg), accelerating it downward


Bouyancy (Fup)
Drag (Fd), pushing it upward.

Terminal fall velocity: The speed with which it falls is the balance of these forces.
Gravity tends to accelerate it downward, however, the laws of fluid dynamics tell us that
the faster the object falls, the more drag it experiences, slowing it down. Eventually it
reaches a settling rate, a point at which drag and bouyancy balance gravitational
acceleration, the terminal fall velocity (Fd).

Essentially, this is expressed as Fd = Fg - Fup

Stokes calculated the fall velocity for small particles, < 0.1 mm diameter. First, consider
the frictional resistance that the fluid offers to movement of a settling sphere:

Fd = Cdπ(d2/4)(ρf V2/2)

where:

Fd = resistance (frictional drag)


Cd = Cd=drag coefficient (constant)
d = particle diameter
ρf is fluid density
V = settling velocity of sphere.

Then consider the force of gravity pulling the sphere downward:

Fg = 4/3 π(d/2)3ρsg

where ρs = density of the sphere and g = acceleration due to gravity.

The bouyant force of the liquid is given by:

Fup = 4/3π(d/2)3ρfg

where ρf = density of the fluid

Substituting these details into the original equation gives us:

Cdπ(d2/4)(ρf V2/2) = 4/3 π(d/2)3ρsg - 4/3π(d/2)3ρfg

This can be simplified into:

V2 = 4gd(ρs - ρf)/3Cdρf

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If the temperature and fluid density are constant and the sphere and fluid densities
known then this equation can be simplified significantly using the Reynolds number
relationship to:

V = Cd2

where C is a constant given by (ρs - ρf)g/18μ. At 20 deg C, in water, with a

sphere density of 2.65 g/cc, C = 3.59 x 104

The punchline: In words, with density and viscosity constant, velocity increases as the
square of grain diameter.

If we rotate the arrangement 90 degrees: With density and viscosity constant, the
velocity required to move a clast through drag increases as the square of grain diameter.

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