The Deformation and Shear Vortex Width of Flexible Vegetation Roots in an Artificial Floating Bed Channel

Abstract

As an ecological measure to deal with river water quality problems, artificial floating islands have been widely used all over the world, but the research on root deformation and shear vortex width under the action of artificial floating islands is rare. In this paper, the relationship between the deformation of vegetation roots and parameters of vegetation roots under different hydrodynamic conditions is experimentally studied. The results show that the Cauchy number (Ca) value gradually increases with the increase of velocity, and that the smaller the diameter is, the greater the Ca value is. The value of the buoyancy number (B) will increase with the increase of root length and will decrease with the increase of root diameter. The corresponding deformation formula of flexible root systems under hydrodynamic conditions is obtained, and has high simulation accuracy. Based on theoretical analysis and machine learning, a formula for the shear vortex width of flexible vegetation is established, δ=0.361+0.0738lelαCdf. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for hydrodynamic and solute transport in artificial floating island channels.