Flood flow characteristics and bed load transport in non-vegetated compound straight channels

Abstract

Floods are the most common natural disasters in Malaysia and have damaged structures, infrastructures, crops and even causes fatalities. It may also lead to erosion and sedimentation in rivers and this will result to complex river behaviour. A hydraulic laboratory experimental study was carried out. Also, flood flow and sediment transport in straight compound channels involving flow resistance, distribution of depth-averaged velocity, stream-wise vorticity patterns, channel bed morphology and bed load transport rate in non-vegetated compound straight mobile bed channels were investigated. The finding showed that the Darcy Weisbach friction factor f increased by 40% and 54% for floodplain and main channel, respectively when relative flood flow depth increase from 0.30 to 0.50. The small bed load transport rates of 0.09 g/s and 0.03 g/s for shallow and deep overbank flows, respectively were measured due to effect of very gentle or mild channel bed slope which was fixed at a gradient of 0.1%.