An examination of point-particle Lagrangian simulations for assessing time-resolved hydroacoustic particle flux measurements in sediment-laden flows

Fromant, Guillaume; Thorne, Peter D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4261-0937; Hurther, David. 2024 An examination of point-particle Lagrangian simulations for assessing time-resolved hydroacoustic particle flux measurements in sediment-laden flows. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 155 (4). 2817-2835. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025766

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/10.0025766

Abstract/Summary

Accurate modelling and prediction of sediment transport in aquatic environments is essential for sustainable coastal and riverine management. Current capabilities rely on physical process-based numerical models and fine-scale sedi�ment flux measurements. High-resolution hydroacoustic instrumentation has emerged as a promising tool for such measurements. However, challenges arise due to the inherent complexity of ultrasound scattering processes. This study introduces a numerical modelling using a point-particle approach to simulate the echoes backscattered by such instrumentation in sediment-laden flow conditions. The model considers geometric, statistical, particle cloud, and flow-induced effects on sediment velocity, concentration, and flux estimates using an acoustic concentration and velocity profiler as a reference. The model performance is assessed here under unidirectional constant flow condi�tions in terms of velocity, concentration, and time-resolved sediment flux estimates for a large range of the particles’ advection speed and sampled volume sizes. Application to the estimation of the measurement accuracy of sediment flux in these flows is also considered, with a final error on the flux seen to be partially controlled by the residence time of particles within the sampled volumes. The proposed model provides insights into scattering processes and offers a tool for investigating robust sediment flux estimation techniques in various flow conditions.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025766
ISSN:	0001-4966
Date made live:	10 Jun 2024 17:04 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537553

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025766

ISSN:

0001-4966

Date made live:

10 Jun 2024 17:04 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537553