CLASTIC TRANSPORT AND

FLUID FLOW
CHAPTER 3

Chapter-3 Clastic transport

and fluid flow

Weathered rock and minerals fragments

are transported from source areas to

depositional sites (where they are subject
to additional transport and redeposition)
by three kinds of processes:
1- dry (non-fluid assisted), gravity-driven
mass wasting processes such as rock
fall and rock slides;

 2- wet (fluid assisted), gravity-driven mass

wasting processes (sediment gravity

flows) such as grain flows, mudflows,
debris flows, and some slumps; and
3- processes that involve direct fluid flows

of air, water, and ice.

 Mass wasting
Fluid flow
Reynolds Number
Froud Number
Entrainment, transport and

deposition of clasts
Transport

Mass Wasting
Mass wasting processes are important

mechanisms of sediemnt transport.

Although they move the soil and rock
debris only short distances downslope ,
these processes play a crucial role in
sediment transport by getting the products
of weathering into the longer-distance
sediment transport system.

Mass Wasting
In dry mass-wasting processes, fluid plays

either a minor role or no role at all.

In rock or talus falls, clasts of any size
simply fall freely.
Downslope movement of bodies of rocks
or sediment in slumps or slides glide
downslope en masse without significant
internal folding or faulting. Fluids near the
base provides lubrication and promotes
failure along slippage surface.

ReynoldsNumber
Re=2rVp/
SirOsborneReynoldsaddressedtheproblem

ofhowlaminarflowchangestoturbulentflow.
Thetransitionfromlaminartoturbulentflow
occursasvelocityincreases,viscosity
decrease,theroughnessoftheflowboundary
increases,and/ortheflowbecomesless
narrowlyconfined.

Froud Number

The Froud Number is the ratio between fluid

inertial forces and fluid gravitational forces.
It compares the tendency of a moving fluid (and a
particle borne by that fluid) to continue moving
with the gravitational forces that act to stop that
motion.
The force of inertia express the distance traveled
by a discrete portion of the fluid before it comes
to rest.
Like reynolds Numbers, Froud numbers are
dimensionless.

Froud Number
Fr =
fluid inertial forces
.

gravitational forces in flow

Deposition: What forces control

the settling of particles?
As soon as a particle is lifted above the

surface of a bed, it begins to sink back

again.
The distance that it travels depend on the
drag force of the current, and the settling
velocity of the Particle.
The velocity at which a clast settles
througha fluid is calculated using
STOKES LAW of settling

Stokes Law of settling

The gravitational force pulling the particle

down versus the drag force of the fluid

resisting this sinking.
The particle will be initially accelerate due
to gravity, but soon the gravitational and
drag forces reach equilibrium, resulting in
a constant Terminal Fall Velocity.

 The drag force exerted by a fluid on a

falling grain is proportional to the fluid

density (F), the diameter (d) of the grain
(in centimeters), the drag coefficient (C D)
and the fall velocity (V).
Drag force= CD

(d2/4) (F V2/2)

Drag force
Upward force due to buoyancy of the fluid

is: Fupward = 4/3 (d/2)3 Fg

Downward forces due to gravity:

Fg = 4/3 (d/2)3 sg, where ps is the density

of the particle.

Drag force= Fg - Fupward

Drag force= Fg - Fupward

CD (d2/4) (pF V2/2)= 4/3 (d/2)3 sg - 4/3 (d/2)3 Fg

V2= 4gd (s- F)

3 C D F
For low laminar flow at low concentrations of particle and low
Reynolds numbers, CD is equal to 24/Re.
V = 1/18 ([ s- F] g d2 /u) - Stokes Law of settling
V-velocity, g-gravity, u-viscocity, even the differnce in density (s- F)
is constant for a given situation. It can be substitute for C
C = ( s- F)g
18u
Stokes law reduces to V=CD2

Stokes law reduces to V=CD2

When density and viscosity are constant,

settling velocity increases with the

diameter of the particle.
Larger grains fall faster.

Settling velocity decreases with higher

viscosities and increases with denser

particles. C = (s- F)g
18u

Implications of the Stokes

Law

High density minerals settle more rapidly

than low density minerals.

Slow-moving, highly viscous fluids such as
mudflows and density currents can
transport coarser-grained materials than
less viscuos fluids such as rivers and the
wind, despite the normally higher velocity
of these less viscous fluids.

 Lower temperatures will increas viscosity

decreasing the fall velocity.

Because of turbulence, coarser particles
fall more slowly than predicted.
Non-spherical flakes such as mica will
settle more slowly than spheres with the
same density.
Angular grains will generate small
turbulent eddies that retard settling
velocity.

Hydraulic equivalency
The term

refers to clasts that settle at

identical velocities despite substantial
differences in size, shape, angularity, and
density.

ie. Sediment mixes of fine grained, silt-size

magnetite, fine sand-size biotite flakes, and
medium sand-size quartz.