Sewer sediment transport studies using an environmentally controlled annular flume

Abstract

This paper provides an overview and some preliminary results of a collaborative project recently completed at WL Delft Hydraulics. It describes tests in an annular flume, in which sediment deposits were formed under carefully controlled and monitored environmental conditions. The deposits were then subjected to a series of time steps in which the rotational speed of the flume’s top and bottom plates was increased, progressively increasing the bed shear stress. The sediment deposits were formed using three different types of sediment. An artificial organic sediment, together with a uniformly sized sand were selected as surrogate sewer sediments. The deposits in the remaining experiments were real in-sewer sediments, from catchments in the UK (Dundee) and The Netherlands (Loenen). During the erosion tests, total and volatile suspended solids concentration, particle size distribution of the eroded sediment, and COD and DO levels were recorded. The bed surface topography was also measured so that the influence of the deposit formation condition on bedforms could also be examined. Where bed consolidation times were least 24 hours a biologically active surficial layer was observed to develop at the sediment/water interface. The initial deposit conditions (temperature and deposit duration) were both found to have a significant impact on the subsequent erosion of the deposit.