IPENZ Transactions, Vol. 24, No.

1/GEN, 1997

Aspects of flow in meandering channels

Guinevere Nalder1 BSc, MSc, GradIPENZ
This paper describes some of the distinctive features of flow in meandering channels. It reviews some equations derived for meander length in relation to discharge and flow rate, and some models for three-dimensional flow in curved channels. It then introduces a curvilinear version of the de Saint-Venant equations which leads to a new equation for long waves in curved channels. Keywords: long waves - curved channels - meandering channels
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Engineering Hydrologist, Hydro Investigation Group, DesignPower NZ Ltd, Wellington. Present address: Department of Mathematics, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92-019, Auckland This paper, originally presented at the 1995 IPENZ Conference, was received in revised form on 4 July 1996.

1. Introduction
One of literatures earliest references to engineering and meandering rivers is found in Herodotus (c. -450) where he described the actions of Queen Nitocris of Babylon1 she changed the course of the Euphrates which flows through Babylon. Its course was originally straight but by cutting channels further upstream, she made it wind about with so many twists and turns that now it actually passes a certain Assyrian village called Andericca three separate times The purpose of both excavation and the diversion of the river was to cause the frequent bends to reduce the speed of the current and prevent a direct voyage downstream to the city. Years later Cyrus was able to divert the slowed river and capture the city while Nitocriss son Belshazzar held one of historys most unsuccessful parties. The term meander comes from the name of a particularly sinuous river in northwest Turkey. This river prompted one of Ambrose Bierces diabolical definitions.2 Meander: the word is the ancient name of a river about one hundred and fifty miles south of Troy which turned and twisted in the effort to get out of hearing when the Greeks and Trojans boasted of their prowess. The various taniwha in New Zealand rivers are said to always inhabit bends, never straight reaches. The three-dimensional flow in meanders could lead to a higher incidence of drownings on bends which could be attributed to the predations of a taniwha.

2. Meander dimensions and discharge

Although it is obvious that all rivers meander, it may be less obvious that there are consistent underlying relationships between different meander dimensions and discharges. These may be obscured by the random effects of geology and landscape.

2.1

Relationships between meander dimensions and discharge

Beginning with Jefferson,3 a succession of researchers have published equations relating different meander dimensions to each other. As an example of this, Table 1 lists six different equations relating meander length () to channel width (Ws ) converted to SI units where necessary. It should be noted that only three of the equations satisfy equation (10-87) in Henderson section 10.7:4 /Ws = 7 to 11. Although no two authors develop exactly the same equations, the equations are sufficiently similar to indicate an underlying common pattern. The important relationship appears to be, not that specified by Henderson, but

Ws
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TABLE 1: Equations of meander length v. channel width Equation = 0.77 Ws = 12.6 Ws = 10.8Ws101 = 16 Ws = 10.0 Ws1.02 = 9.76 Ws1.019 = 4.3 Ws1.12 Reference Jefferson3 Carlston6 (Jeffersons data) Leopold and Wolman7 Carlston6 Zeller8 Dury9 Williams5

All the papers referred to in Table 1 include equations for other dimensional relationships. Williams,5 for example, produced a set of 40 equations from a combination of new and previously published data.

2.2

Meander dimensions and flow rates

As rivers and streams experience a variety of flows throughout the year, researchers are faced with a variety of possible flow variables. Which flow regime actually controls the meander pattern (i.e. is the dominant discharge) remains a matter of debate. Table 2 lists a set of equations of meander length () v. discharge (Q) for a variety of dominant discharges, again where necessary converted to SI units. TABLE 2: Equations of meander length v. discharge Equation = 8.9 Qm0.5 = 4.86 Q0.5 = 4.5 Q0.5 = 5.9 Q0.5 = 1.1 Q0.52 = 31.0 Q 500.5 = 7.0 Q0.467 Discharge type mean annual maximum not specified not specified roughly mean annual fifty year flood not defined Reference Carlston6 (Jefferson data) Inglis10 (Jefferson data) Inglis10 Inglis11 Carlston6 Zeller8 Ackers and Charlton12

Whichever discharge is assumed, the underlying relationship appears to be:

Q 0.5
This relation agrees with Hendersons4 equation (10-91)

Ws Q 0.5
as we have demonstrated that:

Ws
These equations are of background rather than immediate engineering interest. Engineers will probably find the usual hydrological analyses more useful in river engineering.

3. Three-dimensional flow
Flow in a meander is helicoidal and may be resolved into a primary downstream component and a secondary transverse component. Entering the curve, the primary flow acts as a free vortex with the zone of maximum velocity near the inner bank and a superelevated surface, the higher water level being on the concave (outside) bank. The secondary circulation develops further into the bend, and this breaks down the free vortex, causing the high-velocity zone to move towards the outer bank.13 The flow can now be described as a forced vortex.14 In some rivers, experimenters have discovered a second smaller cell rotating counter to the main cell, against the outer bank.15 Toebes and Sooky16 have suggested that this cell is a relict of a previous 43

upstream cell, but this is unlikely, as measurements by Bathurst et al.15 showed that this extra secondary cell can develop even when the curve is approached by a long straight. These extra outer bank cells probably result from interaction of the main cell and the steep bank and contribute to the erosion of the outer bank. In a meandering river, sediment is eroded by the secondary flow and the normal downstream shear stress, particularly on the bed, and then transported by the primary flow to give the familiar point bar and pool pattern found in standard tests (e.g. Henderson fig. 10-25.)4 The literature contains a variety of models for three-dimensional flow in curved channels, particularly for the steady case. Some of these are rather complex. Most of the models are two-dimensional. The three-dimensional structure is simplified by assuming that the primary velocity can be regarded either as depth-averaged (e.g. Jin and Steffler17) or as having a power law vertical velocity distribution. The most common power law is logarithmic (e.g. Kalkwijk and de Vriend18) although a parabolic law has also been suggested.19 Some of these twodimensional models also include estimations of shear stress to predict bed topography (e.g. Nelson and Smith20). Odgaard21,22 allowed for varying radii of curvature and, in a later pair of papers,23,24 attempted to predict meander migration. A three-dimensional model has been developed by Yeh and Kennedy,25,26 using a hybrid integral/differential method. By integrating the flux of the moment of momentum equation they obtained a secondary rotational flow, and by differentiating the differential continuity and momentum equations obtained depth-averaged primary and secondary translational flow.

4. Unsteady flow and long waves

There has been very little interest shown in allowing for curvature when dealing with unsteady flow and long waves in meandering channels. Unsteady flow is traditionally described by the de Saint-Venant equations,27 which are the equations of continuity and momentum conservation. In these, all channels are treated as straight and of mid-stream length. Curvature is allowed for by adjusting roughness values at the position of the bends. The equation for long wave speed is c = (gA/B) where A = cross-sectional area B = width at water surface measured horizontally. This is obtained by the method of characteristics from the de Saint-Venant equations.27 As all allowance for curvature has been concentrated in the friction slope, the engineer is using an expression which completely ignores curvature.

4.1

Curvilinear wave speed

A paper by Fenton and Nalder28 describes the derivation of a formula for long wave speed which incorporates curvature directly. This derivation avoids the complications of the three-dimensional velocity distribution by using discharge (Q) and area (A) as variables, leading to a one-dimensional model. The curvilinear coordinate system used is described in Figure 1, and the derivation integrates the integral forms of the de Saint-Venant equations over the curved control volume of Figure 2 with the cross-section of Figure 3. In Figure 3, nm is the offset of the centre of the surface width from the reference line and is the distance of the centre of mass from the reference line. Thus the two factors nm and reflect the curvature, the asymmetry of the cross-section and the superelevation. The derivation assumes that (nm)2<<1 and ()2 <<1. The reference line coincides with the talweg. This is not as arbitrary as it may seem. The conventional long wave equation carries an implied reference line at the position corresponding to the depth A/B, but, as the channel is treated as straight, the significance of this implied reference line is lost in use. This derivation assumes that curvature of the talweg is the best approximation to curvature of the flow. 44

FIGURE 1: Orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system and important dimensions for deriving curvilinear wave speed.

FIGURE 2: Element of river channel showing control surface.

FIGURE 3: Physical dimensions of river cross-section.

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4.2 Continuity equation

The integral form of the continuity equation (Streeter and Wylie, section 3.3)29 is: /t.cvdV + u.dS = qs, where t is time q is the net inflow from groundwater, etc. per unit length, dS is a vector representing an area element of the control surface, with direction normal to and directed outwards from the control surface, u.dS is the component of velocity normal to the surface at any point time dS ds is the elemental area of the control surface. dV is (1-n)ds dn dz, the volume of the control volume. Integrating leads to A/t (1 - nm) + Q/s = q, where Q is the inflow from upstream, A is the cross-sectional area, q is the inflow from groundwater, rainfall etc.

4.3

Momentum equation
/tcvudV = uu.dS = F

The streamwise component of the momentum equation (Streeter and Wylie, section 3.3)29 is:

where F is the forced acting on the fluid in the control volume, including both pressure and friction forces. The s component of this is: /tcvudV = uu.dS = Fs which becomes: (1-)Q/t - Q/A.(-nm). A/t + 2Q/A.(1-(-nm)). Q/s + (gA/B + Q2/A2[2(-nm)-1]).A/s-gAS0 - Q2/A2. (-nm). /s + Sf gA (1-) - quq = 0 where S0 is the bed slope, Sf is the friction slope, uq is the velocity of groundwater, etc. inflow. and nm are asymmetry parameters defined in Figure 3. The momentum equation can be simplified by replacing A/t by q - Q/s, as in the mass conservation equation to first order, A/t = q - Q/s. This simplification gives: (1-).Q/t + [Q/A.(2-3(-nm)]. Q/s + (gA/B + Q2/A2[2(-nm)-1]). A/s - Q2/A.(-nm). /s - gASo + SfgA(1-) + (Q/A. (-nm)-uq) = 0. It may also be argued that, as the friction slope is an estimate, a curvature correction is rather pointless.

4.4

Speed of long waves

Using the method of characteristics in the conventional manner gives a formula for long waves: c = [(gA/B)](1 + 0.5nm + 0.5), i.e. the straight channel case with a correction for curvilinearity.

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4.5

Use of the new formula

Table 3 summarises a hand calculation for flow at 15 cross-sections of the Wairoa River, using flood levels measured in October 1990. The results illustrate some interesting aspects of the new formula. TABLE 3: Long waves in the Wairoa River. Section 2 3 4 6 8 9 12 13 14 16 18 20 21 23 26 Curvature 0.002 0.002 0.004 0.003 0.012 -0.005 0.011 -0.011 -0.006 -0.006 0.008 0.004 -0.002 -0.007 0.003 (m) 53.7 20.5 57.9 5.2 24.3 -29.6 39.2 -4.3 -35.0 -52.4 32.6 20.03 -13.5 -19.1 26.9 nm (m) 56.0 27.4 51.8 9.0 22.5 -61.0 45.0 -10.5 -35.5 -52.0 48.0 37.0 -6.8 -24.0 32.0 csc(ms-1) 7.78 8.49 9.08 8.11 9.47 9.20 9.08 8.30 9.50 8.28 10.96 9.48 11.44 9.65 9.41 ccc(ms-1) 8.63 8.90 11.07 8.28 12.13 11.28 13.28 9.06 11.21 10.88 14.49 10.56 11.67 11.11 10.25 % incr. 10.97 4.79 21.94 2.13 28.08 22.65 46.31 8.14 21.15 31.32 32.34 11.46 2.03 15.09 8.84

The smallest correction for curvilinearity is 2% for sections 6 and 21. Here the talweg is approximately midway across an approximately symmetrical cross-section, so the correction reflects primarily the superelevation. Sections 12 and 18 show the highest corrections (46% and 32%, respectively), but also illustrate the danger of ignoring the assumptions of the derivation. Both of these cross-sections are strogly asymmetrical, but the water level was such that neither the assumption (nm)2<<1 nor ()2<<1 applies. Consequently the results overestimate badly. Although section 12 leads to a questionably large result, it is still of interest to compare it with section 13. These two sections each have the same radius of curvature, but the difference in correction can be put down to the difference in cross-section shape.

5.

Summary

Channel meandering is not a random process; there are underlying mathematical relationships between planimetric variables and between them and discharges. Flow through a meander is helicoidal, and a complete description of the velocity distribution requires a three-dimensional model which includes bed shear. Although a lot of work has been done on velocity distribution in meandering flows, there has been very little interest in unsteady flow and long waves. The practice has been to treat the all open channels as straight. Recasting the de Saint-Venant equations into curvilinear coordinates leads to an expression for long wave celerity which includes curvature. Application to field data indicates that the correction for curvature can range from low values(e.g. 2%) for incised, approximately symmetrical cross-sections, to higher values (e.g. 28%) for asymmetrical cross-sections.

6. Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank Hawkes Bay Regional Council for the Wairoa River flood data used in this paper and to acknowledge the support provided by the Hydro Investigations Group, DesignPower NZ Ltd.

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7.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

References

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