Interaction between a rough bed and an adjacent smooth bed in open-channel flow

Experiments are conducted in an open-channel flow where half of the section is smooth and the other half consists of an array of cubes, which are either submerged or emergent. A shear layer featuring large-scale Kelvin–Helmholtz structures develops between the two subsections. The flows are first analysed in the framework of the double-averaging method (averaging of the flow both in time and space). Double averaging could be performed thanks to an experimental set-up (three-dimensional, two-component telecentric scanning particle image velocimetry) that allows to measure the velocity field in a large volume, including the interstices between the cubes. A momentum balance performed on the smooth subsection indicates that the loss of momentum towards the rough subsection has the same order of magnitude than the momentum loss through bed friction. This lateral momentum flux occurs nearly exclusively through turbulent shear stress, whereas secondary currents plays a minor role and dispersive shear stress is negligible. A pattern recognition technique is then applied to investigate statistically the large-scale Kelvin–Helmholtz structures that develop in the shear layer. The structures appear to be coherent over the water depth and to be strongly inclined in the vertical, the top part being ahead. The educed coherent structure is responsible by itself for the shape of the velocity profile across the shear layer and for a large part of the turbulence (up to 60 % for the turbulent shear stress). Finally, a coupling is identified between the passage of the Kelvin–Helmholtz structures and the instantaneous wake flow around the cubes at the interface

Experimental Study of the Impact of Biogenic Macrorugosities on Transport Properties in Benthic Boundary Layers

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Lateral bed-roughness variation in shallow open-channel flow with very low submergence

Quantifying turbulent fluxes and secondary structures in shallow channel flows is important for predicting momentum and mass transfer in rivers as well as channel capacity and associated water levels. Here, we focus on the flow over a lateral bed-roughness variation with very low relative submergence of the roughness elements, h∕k ={3, 2, 1.5}, where h is the flow depth and k is the roughness height. Measurements were performed in a 1.1 m wide and 26 m long glass flume whose bed was fitted with cubes arranged in two regular side-by-side patterns with frontal densities λf = 0.2 and 0.4 to create a rough-to-rougher variation. Measurements were performed using stereoscopic PIV in two orthogonal planes, in a vertical transverse plane spanning the two roughness types, and in a longitudinal one at the interface between the roughness types. The results show that the bulk velocity difference between the two sides of the channel increases with decreasing h/k. Also, contrary to what is observed at high relative submergence with smooth-to-rough transitions, higher bulk velocities occur on the side with higher roughness. This difference is increasing as the flow becomes shallower and is shown to be due to increasing effective depths ratios, leading to increasingly lower friction factor ratios with lower friction factors on the high-velocity but rougher side. Although increasing streamwise momentum transfer at the interface is needed as h/k decreases, the turbulent and secondary circulation transfer of momentum is increasingly inhibited. A globally-driven secondary-circulation at h∕k = 3 ceases for lower h/k and roughness-scale circulation becomes dominant. Also, even the increased global shear does not lead to large-scale Kelvin Helmholtz instabilities structures. However, the relative importance of the roughness difference on the flow is augmented as the flow becomes shallower and momentum transfer due to lateral dispersive stresses increases

Effect of a canopy patch made of streamwise-oriented plates on turbulence in an open-channel flow

The paper examines the flow through a highly porous canopy patch made of streamwise-oriented thin plates arranged in a staggered configuration and placed in a rough-bed open channel. This patch geometry contrasts with the patches made of bluff bodies, which are nearly exclusively used in the literature. Particle Image Velocimetry was used to measure the flow upstream, within and downstream of the patch. The canopy patch has the effect of drastically reducing the turbulence level of the incoming flow, especially the turbulence shear stress, which is reduced by 85%. Spectral analysis of the velocity shows that the reduction in turbulent kinetic energy occurs at all length scales. Yet, at the entrance of the patch, the energy from the smallest scales up to the scale of the water surface increases. This suggests a spectral shortcut mechanism by which the large-scale structures of the incoming flow are disintegrated by the group of plates instead of decaying through the energy cascade. The increased small-scale turbulent energy then dissipates through the patch

Low relative-submergence effects in a rough-bed open-channel flow

Multi-plane stereoscopic PIV measurements were performed in an open-channel flume fitted with cubes to investigate very low submergence ratios, h/k = {1.5, 2, 3}, where h is the water depth and k the roughness height. The spatial standard deviation of the mean flow components reveals that the extent of the roughness sublayer increases drastically with the decrease in h/k to span the entire water column for the lowest h/k investigated. Despite this, the logarithmic law is still observed on the double-averaged velocity profiles for all h/k, first with a fixed von Kármán constant κ and, second, via the indicator function where κ is a free parameter. Also, the longitudinal and vertical normal stresses indicate a universal boundary layer behaviour independent of h/k. The results suggest that the logarithmic and wake-defect laws can still be applied at such low h/k. However, the lateral normal stress depends on h/k in the range investigated as well as on the geometry of the roughness pattern

Effect of near‐bed turbulence on chronic detachment of epilithic biofilm: Experimental and modeling approaches.

The biomass dynamics of epilithic biofilm, a collective term for a complex microorganism community that grows on gravel bed rivers, was investigated by coupling experimental and numerical approaches focusing on epilithic biofilm‐flow interactions. The experiment was conducted during 65 days in an artificial rough open‐channel flow, where filtered river water circulated at a constant discharge. To characterize the effect of near‐bed turbulence on the chronic detachment process in the dynamics of epilithic biofilm, local hydrodynamic conditions were measured by laser Doppler anemometry and turbulent boundary layer parameters inferred from double‐averaged quantities. Numerical simulations of the EB biomass dynamics were performed using three different models of chronic detachment based upon three different descriptors for the flow conditions: Discharge Q, friction velocity u*, and roughness Reynolds number k+. Comparisons of numerical simulation results with experimental data revealed chronic detachment to be better simulated by taking the roughness Reynolds number as the external physical variable forcing chronic detachment. Indeed, the loss of epilithic matter through the chronic detachment process is related not only to hydrodynamic conditions, but also to change in bottom roughness. This suggests that changes in the behavior and dimensions of river bed roughness must be considered when checking the dynamics of epilithic biofilm in running waters

Experimental Study of the Interaction Bewteen a Turbulent Flow and a River Biofilm Growing on Macrorugosities

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Velocity profiles in a real vegetated channel

Most of the studies regarding vegetation effects on velocity profiles are based on laboratory experiments. The main focus of this paper is to show how the laboratory knowledge established for submerged vegetation applies to real-scale systems affected by vegetation growth (mainly Ranunculus fluitans). To do so, experiments are conducted at two gage stations of an operational irrigation system. The analysis of first- and second-order fluctuations of velocities is based on field measurements performed by micro-acoustic doppler velocimeter during 8 months, completed with flow measurement campaigns in different seasons. The Reynolds stresses are used to determine shear velocities and deflected plant heights. Then, the modified log–wake law (MLWL), initially derived from laboratory flume experiments, is applied with a unique parametrisation for the whole set of velocity profiles. The MLWL, along with a lateral distribution function, is used to calculate the discharge and to show the influence of vegetation height on the stage–discharge relationships

Long-Range Chromosome Organization in E. coli: A Site-Specific System Isolates the Ter Macrodomain

The organization of the Escherichia coli chromosome into a ring composed of four macrodomains and two less-structured regions influences the segregation of sister chromatids and the mobility of chromosomal DNA. The structuring of the terminus region (Ter) into a macrodomain relies on the interaction of the protein MatP with a 13-bp target called matS repeated 23 times in the 800-kb-long domain. Here, by using a new method that allows the transposition of any chromosomal segment at a defined position on the genetic map, we reveal a site-specific system that restricts to the Ter region a constraining process that reduces DNA mobility and delays loci segregation. Remarkably, the constraining process is regulated during the cell cycle and occurs only when the Ter MD is associated with the division machinery at mid-cell. The change of DNA properties does not rely on the presence of a trans-acting mechanism but rather involves a cis-effect acting at a long distance from the Ter region. Two specific 12-bp sequences located in the flanking Left and Right macrodomains and a newly identified protein designated YfbV conserved with MatP through evolution are required to impede the spreading of the constraining process to the rest of the chromosome. Our results unravel a site-specific system required to restrict to the Ter region the consequences of anchoring the Ter MD to the division machinery

Multiple star systems in the Orion nebula

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final fersion is available from EDP Sciences via the DOI in this record.This work presents an interferometric study of the massive-binary fraction in the Orion Trapezium cluster with the recently comissioned GRAVITY instrument. We observed a total of 16 stars of mainly OB spectral type. We find three previously unknown companions for θ1 Ori B, θ2 Ori B, and θ2 Ori C. We determined a separation for the previously suspected companion of NU Ori. We confirm four companions for θ1 Ori A, θ1 Ori C, θ1 Ori D, and θ2 Ori A, all with substantially improved astrometry and photometric mass estimates. We refined the orbit of the eccentric high-mass binary θ1 Ori C and we are able to derive a new orbit for θ1 Ori D. We find a system mass of 21.7 M⊙ and a period of 53 days. Together with other previously detected companions seen in spectroscopy or direct imaging, eleven of the 16 high-mass stars are multiple systems. We obtain a total number of 22 companions with separations up to 600 AU. The companion fraction of the early B and O stars in our sample is about two, significantly higher than in earlier studies of mostly OB associations. The separation distribution hints toward a bimodality. Such a bimodality has been previously found in A stars, but rarely in OB binaries, which up to this point have been assumed to be mostly compact with a tail of wider companions. We also do not find a substantial population of equal-mass binaries. The observed distribution of mass ratios declines steeply with mass, and like the direct star counts, indicates that our companions follow a standard power law initial mass function. Again, this is in contrast to earlier findings of flat mass ratio distributions in OB associations. We excluded collision as a dominant formation mechanism but find no clear preference for core accretion or competitive accretion.Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant AgreementFCT-PortugalERC Starting Gran