Flow Structure of Partly Vegetated Open-Channel Flows with Eelgrass.

Aquatic vegetation can influence the transport of sediment and contaminants by changing the mean velocity and turbulent flow structure in channels. It is important to understand the hydraulics of the flows over vegetation in order to manage fluvial processes. Experiments in an open-channel flume with natural vegetation were carried out to study the influence of vegetation on the flows. In a half channel with two different densities of vegetation, the flow velocity, Reynolds stresses, and turbulence intensities were measured using an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV). We obtained velocity profiles in the lateral direction, Reynolds stresses in the vertical direction, and the flow transition between the vegetated and non-vegetated zones in different flow regimes. The results show that the streamwise velocity in the vegetated zone with higher density is almost entirely blocked. Reynolds stress distribution distinguishes with two different regions: inside and above the vegetation canopies. The turbulence intensities increase with increasing Reynolds number. The coherent vortices dominate the vertical transport of momentum and are advected clockwise between the vegetated zone and non-vegetated zone by secondary currents (a relatively minor flow superimposed on the primary flow, with significantly different speed and direction), generated by the anisotropy of the turbulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]