Methods of predicting river response include the use of both physical and mathematical models. Engineers have long used small-scale hydraulic models to assist them in anticipating the effect of altering conditions in a stretch of river. With proper awareness of the scale effects that exist, the results of hydraulic model testing can be extremely useful for this purpose. A more recent and perhaps more elegant method of predicting short-and long-term changes in rivers involves the use of mathematical models. To study a transient phenomenon in natural alluvial channels, the equations of motion and continuity for sediment-laden water and the continuity equation for sediment can be used. These equations are powerful analytical tools for the study of unsteady flow problems. However, because of mathematical difficulties, practical solutions are usually obtained by numerical analysis using iteration procedures and digital computers.
Physical Models
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© 1988 Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc.
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Lagasse, P.F. (1988). Alluvial systems modeling . In: General Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30844-X_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30844-X_4
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