An Experimental Study on the Transport of Sediment in Sewer Pipes with a Permanent Deposit

Journal article, 1992

An experimental study of the transport of sediment in a part-full pipe was carried out in a concrete pipe. The experiments were confined to bedload transport. The purpose of this study was to analyze the flow conditions that characterize the stream traction in pipe channels and their relationship to flow resistance and sediment transport rate. Three procedures used in this kind of experimental study were tested and found valid: 1) the vertical velocity distribution near the sediment bed can be described by the velocity-defect law, 2) the side wall elimination procedure can be used to compute the hydraulic radius of the sediment bed, and 3) the critical shear stress of the sediment particles can be obtained by using Shields' diagram. A relationship to estimate bedload transport, based on dimensional analysis, was proposed. This was expressed in terms of both flow and particle parameters as well as geometric factors. Further experimental work is recommended before this relationship can be fully incorporated in a simulation model for the analysis of storm sewers.