Model testing of submerged vanes in strongly curved narrow channel bends

Abstract

This paper reports on a laboratory study that examines the effectiveness of submerged vanes for the control of erosion in strongly curved narrow channel bends. All previous researches on submerged vanes were performed in either straight or weakly curved channels that were hydraulically "wide". Submerged vanes are thin rectangular-shaped low-profile foils, typically set at small angles to the main current and arranged in either single or multiple parallel arrays in the longitudinal direction. When installed in a channel bend they induce a helicoidal vortex that interacts with and weakens the centrifugally induced secondary current. The latter effect leads to reduced local erosion near the bend's outer bank. Physical model testing was performed to determine the effects of several parameters affecting submerged vane performance, including submerged vane height H, length L, angle to main flow direction α, vane streamwise spacing δs, vane transverse spacing from outer bank δn, and bend angle φ. Submerged vanes effectively stabilize channel bend erosion by reducing the scour depth at the outer bank, generating positive transverse bed slope at the outer bank, and by reducing the net sediment loss through the channel. In general, an increase in vane height tends to shift the thalweg away from the outer bank; an increase in vane length tends to reduce the general erosion through the channel.Key words: submerged vanes, riverbank stabilization, bottom vanes, narrow channels, bank protection, bank stabilization, channel bends.