Abstract

Efficiency coefficient of suspended load motion is defined as a ratio of the suspended power to water turbulent energy, which is one of the most important factors to reveal the laws of sediment transport. In this paper, firstly, the typical presenting energy methods used in sediment transport have been briefly reviewed. According to Bagnold’s energy methods and balance equation for turbulent energy of sediment laden flow, the expression of the efficiency coefficient has been derived out. By means of 70 runs test data, the variation of the suspended power with concentration has been analyzed preliminarily, as well as the relationship between sediment transporting capacity and efficiency coefficient of suspended load motion has been established, which can reveal the laws of sediment transport of sediment laden flow with various concentration progressively. The researched results above have the important significance for not only enriching the subject of river mechanics, but also planning and designing of harnessing engineering in river channel.

Keywords: sediment transport, efficiency coefficient, suspension, concentration