See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233199064

Local scour at open-channel junctions

Article in Journal of Hydraulic Research August 2010
DOI: 10.1080/00221686.2010.492107

CITATIONS

READS

13

80

2 authors, including:
Aidin Jabbari
Queen's University
8 PUBLICATIONS 25 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE

All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate,

letting you access and read them immediately.

Available from: Aidin Jabbari

Retrieved on: 02 November 2016

This article was downloaded by: ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"]

On: 06 August 2015, At: 07:21
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: 5 Howick
Place, London, SW1P 1WG

Journal of Hydraulic Research

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tjhr20

Local scour at open-channel junctions

a

S. Mahmood Borghei & Aidin Jabbari Sahebari

a

Department of Civil Engineering , Sharif University of Technology , Tehran, Iran

Water Resources Engineering , Sharif University of Technology , Tehran, Iran E-mail:

Published online: 08 Sep 2010.

To cite this article: S. Mahmood Borghei & Aidin Jabbari Sahebari (2010) Local scour at open-channel junctions, Journal of
Hydraulic Research, 48:4, 538-542
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2010.492107

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the Content) contained
in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no
representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of
the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,
and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied
upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall
not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other
liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or
arising out of the use of the Content.
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic
reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any
form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://
www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Journal of Hydraulic Research Vol. 48, No. 4 (2010), pp. 538542

doi:10.1080/00221686.2010.492107
# 2010 International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research

Technical note

Local scour at open-channel junctions

Downloaded by ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"] at 07:21 06 August 2015

S. MAHMOOD BORGHEI (IAHR Member), Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Sharif University
of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
Email: mahmood@sharif.edu (author for correspondence)
AIDIN JABBARI SAHEBARI, MS Graduate, Water Resources Engineering, Sharif University of Technology,
Tehran, Iran.
Email: jabbaria@uregina.ca
ABSTRACT
High bed-shear stress resulting from secondary ows and velocity increase at a channel junction cause local erosion and deposition in natural rivers and
earth-lined channels. Herein, the scour patterns at the junction of two loose bed channels were studied under clear-water conditions. The main dimensionless variables are the angle between the two approach ow branches, the discharge and width ratios of the tributary to the downstream channel
branches, and the ratio of the mean downstream velocity to the threshold velocity. The results indicate that the position of the maximum scour
depth temporally moves to the outer wall and upstream to the main channel, as affected by the dimensionless variables. The effects of these variables
are given in graphs and are expressed with a formula for maximum scour depth.

Keywords: Channel junction, experimentation, river hydraulics, scour, tributary ow

1

affected by the branch discharge ratio and the branch angle,

e.g. the larger the discharge ratio or the branch angle, the
larger is the ow separation geometry. Maximum scour occurs
at high velocity and turbulence, while sedimentation bars form
downstream of the scour hole and the separation zone.
Weber et al. (2001) presented an experimental study on the 3D
velocity and turbulence features along with water surface mappings of the ow eld at a 908 channel junction. They found
that longitudinal near-bed velocity contours are distinctly different from the near-surface patterns, with higher velocity occurring
near the bed.
Rhoads and Sukhodolov (2001) studied the characteristics of
the cross-stream velocity eld for three stream conuences.
Their observations suggest that their leading characteristics in
the upstream portion of conuence are the opposing orientation
of velocity vectors on each side of the conuence. Mosely (1976)
investigated the effects of junction angle, branch discharges and
total sediment load on the scour hole depth using a small model
under live-bed conditions. Borghei and Nazari (2004) demonstrated with a 908 junction model that the scour depth increases
with the discharge ratio of the tributary to the main branch and
decreases with the sediment size and the tributary channel width.

Introduction

Local scour at a river junction is an important feature with a

complex three-dimensional (3D) ow pattern. The variables
affecting the ow conditions and the scour characteristics
include the branch discharges, river geometry, junction angle,
ow velocity and sediment characteristics.
Investigations were carried out to study the complicated junction ow characteristics, while only few works are available on
conuence scour. Studies include the ow characteristics at a
channel junction (Taylor 1944, Best and Reid 1984, Hager
1989, Paola 1997, Hsu et al. 1998, Rhoads and Kenworthy
1998), ow depth along the branches (Hager 1989, Gurram
1993, Gurram et al. 1997, Hsu et al. 1998), shear layer along
mixing interface (Bradbrook et al. 2000, Sukhodolov and
Rhoads 2001, Rhoads and Sukhodolov 2004) and sediment
transport at river junctions (Mosely 1976, Ashmore and Parker
1983, Best 1988).
According to Best (1987) six hydraulic zones exist at channel
junctions, including stagnation zone, ow deection, separation,
maximum velocity, ow recovery and shear layers between combining ows (Fig. 1). Dimensions and locations of these are

Revision received 4 May 2010/Open for discussion until 28 February 2011.

ISSN 0022-1686 print/ISSN 1814-2079 online
http://www.informaworld.com
538

Journal of Hydraulic Research Vol. 48, No. 4 (2010)

Downloaded by ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"] at 07:21 06 August 2015

Figure 1 Flow characteristics in open-channel junction (Best 1987)

Despite the number of existing studies concerning the ow

patterns and the morphology of river conuences, additional
knowledge is required on local scour under clear-water conditions. The objectives of this research are to present the temporal
patterns of local scour, the associated ow conditions and the
maximum scour hole dimensions using an experimental model.
2
2.1

Test setup

Test variables

Besides the three junction angles u (50o, 70o and 90o), test variables include b Bb/Bd 0.5 and 1.0, which is the ratio of



Vc
hd
= 5.75 log 5.53
,
uc
d50

(1)

where hd is the tailwater ow depth and u c the shear velocity

computed from Melville (1997) as
1.4
if 0.1 mm , d50 , 1 mm (2)
uc = 0.0115 + 0.0125d50

using u c (m/s) and d50 (mm). To conrm the validity of Eq. (1),
the threshold velocity without the tributary branch was checked
in the main channel. The results indicated that sediment is
entrained if V . 0.95Vc, if Vc is determined from Eq. (1). Note
that the threshold denition is different among researchers (e.g.
Henderson 1966 or Paintal 1971).
All tests lasted up to 48 h and the measurement of bed surface
elevation was taken at 15 min, 45 min, 24 h and 48 h from test
start. Preliminary tests lasted up to 72 h and with more time intervals, resulting in the 48 h test duration and the intervals stated
above. The bed topography was measured by a digital depth
meter of +0.01 mm accuracy using a 5 cm square grid. The
location of reference depth hd was not inuenced by the conuence ow (Fig. 2).
The minimum Reynolds number R VD/y , where D is the
hydraulic diameter and y the kinematic uid viscosity was
12,458 for the downstream branch ow to minimize the effect
of viscosity. Also the ow depth was larger than the minimum
required for elimination of surface tension effects (Novak and
Cabelka 1981). The test results indicate that the ow depth
downstream of the junction decreases with increasing u, Qbd
and V/Vc, in agreement with Taylor (1944), Gurram et al.
(1997) or Weber et al. (2001). Only the results for u 508 are
presented here, while the results from all three test angles are
considered in Section 4.

3
3.1

Figure 2 Experimental test zone

539

tributary branch width Bb to main channel width Bd, Qbd

0.25, 0.50 and 0.8 corresponding ratio of branch to downstream discharges and V/Vc 0.5 and 0.8, with V the ow
velocity downstream of main channel and Vc the downstream
branch threshold velocity for a constant downstream discharge
Qd 7.5 l/s. Subscripts b, d and bd indicate branch, downstream and the ratio of branch to downstream values,
respectively.
For scour observations, the tests should be conducted under
clear-water conditions, i.e. V , Vc but larger than the entrainment velocity for scour initiation, corresponding typically to V
. 0.5Vc with (Melville and Sutherland 1988)

Experimental details

The experimental tests were performed in a main ume 12 m

long, 0.4 m wide and 0.66 m high and a branch ume 3 m
long, 0.4 m wide and 0.66 m high of angle u. All tests were conducted under clear-water condition, i.e. no suspended or bed load
was added. The loose bed was extended by 2.5 m into the main
and tributary branches, where the rst 0.5 m were covered by
coarse sediment of size between 5 to 15d50, where d50 is the
mean sediment diameter (Fig. 2). The non-cohesive bed material
was silica sediment with d50 0.97 mm. To eliminate the effect
of materials non-uniformity (Melville 1997), the selected bed
material was uniform with sg (d84/d16)0.5 1.13. The
origin of the coordinate system was located at the upstream junction corner (Fig. 2), on the undisturbed bed surface, so the positive axes x and y were oriented towards the downstream and the
outer wall of the main channel, respectively.
2.2

Local scour at open-channel junctions

Results
Discharge ratio

The results for Qbd 0.25, 0.5, and 0.8 with constant V/Vc
0.5 are shown in Fig. 3, indicating that the maximum scour
depth moves to the outer wall with time. For higher Qbd

Downloaded by ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"] at 07:21 06 August 2015

540

S.M. Borghei et al.

Journal of Hydraulic Research Vol. 48, No. 4 (2010)

Figure 3 Bed contour variation with time (from top 15 min, 45 min, 24 h to 48 h at bottom), u 508, V/Vc 0.5, b 1 for (a) Qbd 0.25,
(b) Qbd 0.5 and (c) Qbd 0.8

values, changes take a longer time with a deeper hole, namely

51 mm for Qbd 0.8 and 16 mm for Qbd 0.25. The positions
of the maximum scour hole depth and the maximum sediment
deposition height move with time up- and downstream of the
main branch, respectively. This was observed by Rhoads and
Kenworthy (1998) as well, stating that conuent branch ows
deect one another and the degree of deection depends on
their momentum ratio. Therefore, the deection of velocity
cores results in a shift of both the mixing interface and the
scour hole towards the banks for low momentum. In addition,
towards the downstream direction, the stronger helical ow
cell corresponding to the branch of high momentum shifts into
the less extensive cell overriding it. As the momentum ratio
changes, the mixing interface and the scour hole move towards
the weaker cell and the corresponding stream banks,
respectively.
Streamwise sections of the temporal scour depth development
hs are given in Fig. 4. Special bed features in Figs 3 and 4 are generated by the complicated interaction between the scoured bed
and converging ow. Re-deposition of scoured sediments downstream of the scour holes and the formation of a scour hole
beyond the deposition bar is a prominent characteristic. Comparing the equilibrium conditions, the number of scour holes
appears to increase with Qbd, following the growth and extension
of secondary ows with Qbd that causes more scouring holes in
the main branch.

Figure 4 Bed proles hs(x) along maximum scour depth for u 508,
V/Vc 0.8, Qbd 0.8, b 1

3.2

Non-dimensional velocity

To investigate the effect of V/Vc on the scour pattern, the same

experiments as for V/Vc 0.5 were run for V/Vc 0.8. The
results indicate that the scour patterns are similar, except for
only one scour hole forms then in the main channel. Also,
80% of the measured nal scour depth hsmax forms within the
rst 15 min. The maximum sediment deposition height occurring
during the rst 15 min decreases gradually due to higher velocity
near the water surface. The locations of maximum scour hole
depth for various Qbd and V/Vc are shown in Fig. 5. By increasing V/Vc, the maximum scour hole depth moves to the outer wall
and upstream of the main branch.

Downloaded by ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"] at 07:21 06 August 2015

Journal of Hydraulic Research Vol. 48, No. 4 (2010)

Local scour at open-channel junctions

Figure 5 Location of the maximum scour depth after 48 h for various

Qbd and V/Vc (u 508, b 1)

3.3

Width ratio

By reducing the tributary branch width, its discharge per unit

width increases for the same Qbd. Without changing the ow
depth, the tributary ow velocity increases and causes more
scour in the maximum velocity zone (Figs 5 and 6). Also, by
reducing the tributary channel width, the maximum scour
depth moves to the inner wall.
3.4

541

Figure 7 Position of maximum scour hole depth after 48 h

3.5

Maximum scour hole depth

One of the main concerns for design engineers is the maximum

scour depth, which is affected by many parameters. From the
present data and using the trial-and-error methodology, the
non-dimensional maximum scouring depth is

hsmax 2.094
1.237
= 0.461 (sin u)2.393 Q0.338
bd (V /Vc )
hd
b

(3)

Junction angle

This angle is one of the main parameters in junction hydraulics.

Similar results as for u 508 were reached for 708 and 908. The
maximum (subscript max) scour holes hsmax and its position are
shown in Figs 6 and 7, respectively. By increasing u, the scour
hole depth increases and moves towards the inner wall. For u
908, the maximum scour hole depth is almost at the foot of
the inner wall. The general effects among Qbd, V/Vc and b are
also presented.

where hsmax is the maximum scour depth at the end of each test
run and hd the downstream ow depth. Figure 8 compares the
measured versus the calculated hsmax/hd within +10%. The
junction angle is one of the main effects. Most of the previous
studies have considered it as the major inuence (Best 1988,
Ashmore and Parker 1983), as is also reected in Eq. (3).

Figure 6 Maximum scour hole depth hsmax (cm) versus u (8) for
various V/Vc and b, Qbd 0.8

Figure 8 Measured versus from Eq. (3) calculated maximum nondimensional scour hole depths hsmax/hd

542

Downloaded by ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"] at 07:21 06 August 2015

S.M. Borghei et al.

Conclusions

For local scour under clear-water conditions in a river conuence, the important non-dimensional variables are the junction
angle, width and discharge ratio of tributary to the main branches
and the ratio of mean downstream velocity to threshold velocity.
Figures 3 7 show the effects of these parameters, as well as of
time, on the scour hole depth and its positions. Equation (3)
reects the effect of these variables on the maximum scour
depth. Note that for a more general conclusion these responsible
factors for the scouring pattern, its location and the scour hole
depth need to be considered under more detailed investigations
with an improved experimental set-up.

Notation
channel width
grain size
median grain size
ow depth
scour depth
discharge
Reynolds number
critical shear velocity
ow velocity downstream of the main channel
velocity at threshold condition
ratio of tributary branch width Bb to main channel width
Bd (Bb/Bd)
u junction angle
sg sediment non-uniformity
B
d
d50
h
hs
Q
R
u c
V
Vc
b

Subscripts
b

bd
d

max
u

tributary
tributary to downstream
downstream of main
maximum
upstream

References
Ashmore, P.E., Parker, G. (1983). Conuence scour in coarse
braided streams. Water Resour. Res. 19(2), 392402.
Best, J.L. (1987). Flow dynamics at river channel conuences:
Implications for sediment transport and bed morphology.
Recent Development in Fluvial Sedimentology 39, 2735,
F.G. Ethridge, R.M. Flores, M.D. Harvey, eds. Spec. Publ.
Soc. Econ. Paleont. Miner, Tulsa.
Best, J.L. (1988). Sediment transport and bed morphology at
river channel conuences. Sedimentology 35(3), 481498.

Journal of Hydraulic Research Vol. 48, No. 4 (2010)

Best, J.L., Reid, I. (1984). Separation zone at open channel

junctions. J. Hydraulic Engng. 110(11), 15881594.
Borghei, S.M., Nazari, A. (2004). Scouring prole at channel
junction. Proc. Intl. Conf. Hydraulics of Dams and River
Structures Tehran, Iran, 327332. Balkema, Leiden, NL.
Bradbrook, K.F., Lane, S.N., Richards, K.S., Biron, P.M., Roy,
A.G. (2000). Large eddy simulation of periodic ow characteristics at river channel conuences. J. Hydraulic Res.
38(3), 207215.
Gurram, S.K. (1993). Transitional ow in channel junctions.
J. Hydraulic Res. 31(5), 601604.
Gurram, S.K., Karki, K.S., Hager, W.H. (1997). Subcritical
junction ow. J. Hydraulic Engng. 123(5), 447455.
Hager, W.H. (1989). Transitional ow in channel junctions.
J. Hydraulic Engng. 115(2), 243259.
Henderson, F.M. (1966). Open channel ow, New York,
MacMillan.
Hsu, C.C., Lee, W.J., Chang, C.H. (1998). Subcritical openchannel junction ow. J. Hydraulic Engng. 124(8), 847855.
Melville, B.W. (1997). Pier and abutment scour: Integrated
approach. J. Hydraulic Engng. 123(2), 125136.
Melville, B.W., Sutherland, A.J. (1988). Design method for
local scour at bridge piers. J. Hydraulic Engng. 114(10),
12101226.
Mosely, M.P. (1976). An experimental study of channel conuences. J. Geol. 84(5), 535562.
Novak, P., Cabelka, J. (1981). Models in hydraulic engineering:
Physical principles and design applications. Pitman, London.
Paintal, A. (1971). Concept of critical shear stress in loose
boundary open channels. J. Hydraulic Res. 9(1), 91113.
Paola, C. (1997). When streams collide. Nature 387(6630),
232233.
Rhoads, B.L., Kenworthy, S.T. (1998). Time-averaged ow
structure in the central region of a stream conuence. Earth
Surface Process and Landforms 23(2), 171191.
Rhoads, B.L., Sukhodolov, A.N. (2001). Field investigation of
three-dimensional ow structure at stream conuences 1:
Thermal mixing and time-averaged velocities. Water Resour.
Res. 37(9), 23932410.
Rhoads, B.L., Sukhodolov, A.N. (2004). Spatial and temporal
structure of shear layer turbulence at a stream conuence.
Water
Resour.
Res.
40(6),
W06304,
10.1029/
2003WR002811.
Sukhodolov, A., Rhoads, B.L. (2001). Field investigation of
three-dimensional ow structure at stream conuences 2:
Turbulence. Water Resour. Res. 37(9), 24112424.
Taylor, E.H. (1944). Flow characteristics at rectangular openchannel junctions. Trans. ASCE 109, 893902.
Weber, L.J., Shumate, E.D., Mawer, N. (2001). Experiments on
ow at a 908 open-channel junction. J. Hydraulic Engng.
127(5), 340350.