Sedimentation in vegetated rivers

Dimensional analysis and numerical modeling are combined to obtain a simple expression for estimating the capacity of vegetated open channels to transport suspended sediment under equilibrium conditions. The numerical model consists of a two-equation closure scheme of the k-ε type, with parameters calibrated using laboratory observations in an open channel with simulated vegetation. A simple power-type expression is found to provide a very good collapse of all the experimental data involving the Rouse number, the relative submergence, the particle Reynolds number and the dimensionless plant density as independent variables.