2004/01/01 by Graeme Smart, Jochen Aberle, Maurice Duncan +2 · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Engineering · Environmental Science · #Hydraulic flow and structures #Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes #Soil erosion and sediment transport
paper · doi:10.1080/00221686.2004.9728388
crossref issued 2004/01/01 · crossref published 2004/01/01 · crossref published-print 2004/01/01 · openalex publication_date 2004/01/01 · crossref published-online 2012/03/26 · crossref created 2012/03/26 · crossref deposited 2022/01/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Techniques for measurement and analysis of the physical roughness of alluvial beds are introduced and evaluated. Precise digital elevation models (DEMs) of bed surfaces are developed using laser-scanning technology. Hydraulic roughness is represented by the standard deviation of local bed surface heights, which can be measured by physical profiling, analysis of DEMs or by a simple sand-spreading technique. Results from grain size analyses are compared with these different surface roughness determination techniques. At low relative depths the blocking of flow area by roughness elements is shown to be related to the standard deviation of local bed surface heights. A directional standard deviation is suggested for beds with structural polarization and an inclination index is introduced to identify bed imbrication.