Development of a New Simulation Method for Suspended Sediment Transport in a Tidal River

A one dimensional simulation model of suspended sediment transport in a tidal river was developed with erosion, deposition, and thickening processes of sediments, and inflow from tributaries. This model uses the explicit leapfrog method and its lower end boundary of the river is extended into the sea to close the boundary for calculation. Laboratory experiments were performed to determine erosional and depositional rates of sediments and to study the sediment thickening process in the river under various concentrations of chlorinity and suspended solids. Numerical simulation results with the parameter values obtained experimentally did not show good agreement with observed data. Modifying the parameter values according to physical phenomena was necessary to obtain good agreement in between. After the modification, computation results during a fortnightly cycle explain satisfactorily the sediment transport phenomena in this river.