AGORA: Hydraulic Instrumentation 41

SEDIMENT SAMPLING IN SAND-BED RIVERS:

METHODS AND INSTRUMENTS

Peters J. J.
Consulting engineer - Prof. Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Prof. Université Catholique de Louvain
44, Rue Philippe de Champagne, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tel +32 2 512 8006, Fax +32 2 502 4644, e-mail jjpeters@skynet.be

Abstract: Understanding the sediment transport processes in sand-bed rivers is a prerequisite

for the morphological studies and modelling, and requires sampling of the sand fraction on
and close to the riverbed. A limited number of devices are available for these kinds of
measurements. This paper discusses the Bed Load Transport Meter Arnhem (BTMA) and the
Delft Bottle (DB12), from their original design to the present one. Changes made by the
manufacturer for easing the production of the samplers sometimes resulted in less efficiency
and even erroneous measurements. Thanks to the feedback from users, improvements have
been implemented to both instruments.
Keywords: sediment, samplers, bedload, suspended load, design

1. INTRODUCTION
Sediment measurements are difficult to perform in the field, especially bedload sampling,
which is seldom measured, usually only calculated. The discrepancies between measured and
calculated values are generally high and a most common reaction is to blame the
measurements instead of the formulas.
Sediment measuring devices and methods are said to be unreliable. Literature about this issue
is scarce. Some countries, such as the USA and China, have developed since long an array of
samplers, equipment and methods for routine use in their national hydrometric networks or
for specific engineering projects. In some other countries, only the suspended sediment is
surveyed, with primitive equipment such as simple vertical bottles, or using indirect methods,
such as light absorption.
For the standards, the practitioner must rely on a few ISO’s only (see references). WMO
published an operational manual on sediment measurements (Long Yuqian, 1989). In 1964,
Hubbell wrote the first comprehensive overview of bedload apparatus and techniques. Since
then, little attempts were made to develop new, original instruments or techniques for
measuring bedload and those who need to collect bedload data have difficulties to find clear
guidelines for setting up sediment surveys. The aim of this paper is to discuss the BTMA and
the Delft Bottle, sand sampling equipment that is existing since long but not frequently
utilised, though it is in our view quite useful for collecting sediment data in engineering
projects with morphological aspects.

2. PRINCIPLES FOR MEASURING SEDIMENT TRANSPORT RATES

No one single instrument allows the direct determination of sediment transport rates for the
entire range of sediment sizes. The sediment transport rate – the discharge of solids expressed
in volume or weight per unit time – can be measured directly or indirectly.
42 XXX IAHR Congress AUTh, Thessaloniki, Greece

Direct measurement is done with samplers. The “transport-rate-samplers” catch the quantity –
either volume or weight – of solids passing through a given cross-section during the sampling
time. The solid discharge is then obtained directly. The “velocity-concentration-samplers”
take a water volume, usually over a short period of time. The concentration of solids is
determined in a sediment laboratory and multiplied with the flow velocity measured in the
same sampling point to obtain the solid discharge. The solid particles are therefore supposed
moving with the same speed as the flow.
Indirect measurement methods are based on indicators, parameters that are closely correlated
with the sediment concentration (e.g., with the absorption or the scatter of light, with acoustic
waves, with laser, etc). The ADCP (Broad-Band Acoustic Current Profiler) – a modern
technology in flow measurements using the Doppler effect on ultrasonic signals – may
provide some qualitative information on the sediment concentration, however not yet
quantitative data. The indirect techniques are not discussed in this paper, only direct
measurements with samplers.
The selection of methods and equipment for sediment transport measurements is crucial,
especially to know which equipment is best suited for collecting a particular information
relevant for the engineering problem. Figure 1 defines different kind of sediment load and
transport. Starting on the left side: the total sediment load is divided according to its origin in
a bed material load and a wash load; on the right side, the total sediment load is separated
according to its transport mode, in the bed load and the suspended load.

Figure 1: Definition sketch (according to ISO 4365, 1985)

2.1. WASH LOAD
Wash load is composed of very fine sediment particles moving almost as fast as the water.
The wash load discharge is obtained by multiplying the sediment concentration with the flow
velocity taken at the sampling point. Wash load sampling is not discussed in this paper, as it is
usually not relevant for morphological studies in sand-bed rivers.

2.2. BED MATERIAL LOAD

Equipment for determining suspended sediment concentration in water sample
“Concentration” samplers are designed to catch suspended sediment containing bed material
load and wash load. The inertia of the particles larger than silt requires an isokinetic sampling,
i.e. the flow entering the sampler having the same speed as the surrounding flow velocity.
Series of samplers were conceived, their size, shape and weight adapted to specific field
conditions. The Federal Interagency Sedimentation Project (FISP, sponsored by US official
agencies, among which U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey and U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation) proposes a long list of sediment equipment. It offers various devices:
AGORA: Hydraulic Instrumentation 43

isokinetic suspended load samplers, hand-held or cable-suspended, depth-integrated or point

samplers, bottle-samplers, collapsible-bag samplers, etc., and continues developing new ones.
Most of the FISP samplers have a fixed-volume, glass or plastic container, usually half-litre-
size for the small samplers, one-litre-size for the larger ones.
The collapsible-bag samplers were conceived to avoid the disturbing influence produced by
the air escaping from the container during filling. The Nanjing Automation Institute of Water
Conservancy and Hydrology, Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, has designed a series of
these samplers. In the ANX3 series, the heaviest ANX3-750, weighing 750 Kg, was designed
for use in large depths and strong currents.
Samplers for determining transport rates of sand in suspension
A direct determination of the transport rate of suspended sand can be obtained by capturing
the solid particles entering a sampler while letting the water passing through and escaping
from the sampler body, the same principle as applied on most bedload samplers. The Delft
Bottle (DB-12) was designed before 1940 in the Hydraulic Laboratory of Delft (the
Netherlands) for measuring suspended sand transport on the Dutch rivers. The instrument has
a chamber built as a labyrinth in which the flow loses velocity, so that the particles coarser
than 50 to 60 microns are trapped, while the finer ones escape. The sampler body has a
profiled shape so that a pressure difference between the nozzle entrance and the exhaust
openings equalises almost the head loss in the chamber for a large range of velocities. The
sampler has two nozzles, one of 1.9 cm² for the higher velocities and one of 3.8 cm² for the
smaller ones. If the transport rate for the particles finer than about 50 µm is needed, another
sampler is required. The isokinetic Delft Bottle has a significant advantage over the other
suspended sediment samplers as it “filters” large volumes of water. It integrates the sediment
concentration over larger times and yields larger sediment catches, giving a good
representative average value of the suspended bed-material transport-rate.
Bedload samplers
Bedload is defined as “the sediment in almost continuous contact with the bed, carried forward by
rolling, sliding or hopping” (ISO 772, 1977). Bedload samplers are designed to capture those bed-
material particles only rolling or gliding over the riverbed in a thin layer above the bottom. The
early trap-type bedload samplers are generally unsatisfactory and the pressure-difference-type is
better suited. The selection of size and shape of the bedload sampler depends on the bedload
particle’s sizes: box-shape for very coarse material such as rocks, cobbles and pebbles (not
discussed in this paper), pressure-difference for gravel and sand. The Bedload Transport Meter
Arnhem (BTMA), designed in 1936 for use in the Dutch rivers, is capable of measuring the
discharge of particles as small as medium sand. It was calibrated in laboratory conditions, in ETH
Zurich, by Meyer-Peter and Müller (1937) who concluded at an efficiency of 70 % (Meyer-Peter
& Müller, 1937). The sampler is quite large, and an alternative version was designed in the
U.S.A.: the Helley-Smith (Edwards & Glysson, 1988). It is distributed in several versions by the
FISP as the US BL-84. The US BL-84 and the BTMA can be used for collecting bedload data for
sediment with average size D50 of less than 0.3 mm, though FISP says it should be avoided for
sediment with average size D50 of less than 0.5 mm.

3. DISCUSSION OF EXPERIENCES WITH THE SAMPLERS

Sediment transport is by essence variable in time and space, mainly because the turbulence and
the sediment transport capacity of the flow fluctuate constantly. Moreover, the actual observed
transport is the result of the transport capacity and of the availability of the sediment. Local
sediment transport rates are linked to the river’s morphology, which governs the spatial
distribution of turbulence and power of the flow in the cross-sections. The variability of the
sediment transport rates is usually the highest close to the riverbed, because of turbulence.
44 XXX IAHR Congress AUTh, Thessaloniki, Greece

Measuring sediment discharge requires a sampling strategy that should be based on the best
possible knowledge about the spatial and temporal variability of the sediment transport.
Sampling time should therefore be largest when the variability is highest. Bedload is best
determined by collecting the weight or volume of sediment that is passing a section in a given
time, the largest possible. However, because of the risk for clogging, the time must be limited
and sampling repeated several times.
Bedload
The original BTMA (see Hubbell, 1964, Figure 10) was designed to create the least possible
disturbance of the flow. A rigid rectangular entrance is connected to the basket of 0.2-mm mesh
by a flexible neck, the system hanging in a large frame (Figure 2). When lowered to the bed,
this frame lands first, then the basket and finally the sampler’s mouthpiece. The second version
of the sampler had an original leaf spring system. Because of its weight and dimensions, it has
to be handled from a davit. The frame is hanged with the tail lower than the front supports, so
that it reaches the bed first. This version was used in the Congo River (Peters & Goldberg,
1989), in water depths and with flow velocities much larger than those for which the BTMA
was designed, by adding lead weight to the support front plates and tail (Figure 3).

Figure 2: BTMA 2nd version (van Til, 1956) Figure 3: BTMA, with lead weight (Congo 1971)

In the seventies, the design was improved by

replacing the 3-point suspension-cable with a
system shown on Figure 4. When the frame
is placed on the riverbed and the cable further
released, the mouthpiece lands slowly on the
bed; the rotating V-shape arms are finally
reposing on the frame, so that drag exerted
on the sampler by the flow will reduce to a
minimum. During measurements on the main
rivers of Bangladesh, the front supports were
sometimes found covered with lots of
sediment, suggesting that they could have
been scooping the bed. The manufacturer
adapted the design, shaping these supports
like skis.
Figure 4: BTMA sampler 3rd version
AGORA: Hydraulic Instrumentation 45

Figure 5: BTMA 4th version, modified frame of the BTMA (Eijkelkamp, 2001)

Other changes were recommended to and implemented by the manufacturer for new BTMA
samplers delivered to Mexico in 2001. The design of the tap closing the end of the basket
needs still improvement because it is difficult to recover the sample completely.
Near-Bed Load
For morphological studies in sand-bed rivers, it is important to determine the strong gradient
of sand transport rates close to the riverbed. The Delft Bottle placed on a frame (DB-2) is well
suited for this purpose, as it can sample at precise altitudes in the first half a meter above the
bottom. The original frame design was robust, allowing an easy and precise positioning of the
intake nozzle in seven positions, every 5 cm between 0.05 and 0.35 m from the bottom
(Figure 5). The equipment was procured in its original version in 1958 for the Congo River
and used intensively from 1968 till 1988. A new version of the Delft Bottle sampler was
acquired in the early eighties. The manufacturer Van Essen had meanwhile changed the
design of the frame (Figure 6), reducing the number of nozzle positions to five, now at 0.10,
0.20, 0.30, 0.40 and 0.50 m from the bed. Extending sampling over 0.50 m from the bottom
was a significant improvement. However, a nozzle position at 0.05 m was missing for
determining the gradient close to the bed. The system for fitting the bottle to the frame was
less precise and wrong operation made possible errors on the nozzle positioning. At one
occasion, the observed error amounted to 3 cm in elevation, so that the lowest sample was
taken occasionally at 2 cm from the bottom while the sampler body placed in its theoretical
0.05 m position for the nozzle, producing a significant error in the determination of the
vertical distribution of near-bed sand transport. A similar error was found in Bangladesh on
the Jamuna-Brahmapoutra River, using the same version of the Delft Bottle sampler (Figure
8). The present manufacturer Eijkelkamp took into account these – and other – shortcomings
and delivered in 2001 a new version of the sampler for a project in Mexico (Figure 9).

Figure 6: DB2 sampler 1st version (van Til, 1956) Figure 7: DB2 2nd version
46 XXX IAHR Congress AUTh, Thessaloniki, Greece

Figure 8: DB2 2nd version (on Brahmapoutra) Figure 9: DB2 3rd version (Eijkelkamp, 2001)

Contacts between the users and the manufacturer continue to improve further this quite
valuable instrument.
Suspended load for sand fraction
The design of the Delft Bottle for measuring the suspended sand transport was also changed
since its conception. It is less well balanced, though this has little effect on the sampling
(Figures 10 & 11). The reason for the new design is to have one same sampler-body that can
be fitted either on the frame or suspended from a cable.
Strategy for sand transport measurements
Information about sand gauging strategies is lacking and measurements are usually executed
by technicians, without a prior assessment by the engineer of the optimal procedure for
collecting the sediment data. Field data are needed because of the poor reliability of sediment
transport formula, in general. However, field data collected with a wrong sampling strategy
are evenly bad. It is therefore important to have those engineers involved in morphological
studies participating closely in the setup of the measurement campaign. A preliminary
campaign to study and identify the relevant sediment transport processes is crucial, and needs
to be performed before the data collection. Sediment data are not only for feeding models,
rather to understand the processes and field investigation in sand-bed rivers may help solving
engineering problems even without any modelling (Peters & Wens, 1991).
From the experiences discussed, it can be concluded that there is a need for setting up clear
guidelines for the design of samplers and for their use under various field conditions.
AGORA: Hydraulic Instrumentation 47

Figure 10: DB1 1st version (Congo, 1968) Figure 11: DB1 present design (Mexico, 2002)

4. CONCLUSIONS
Our experience about sand transport measurements in relation to morphological aspects of
engineering projects confirmed the usefulness of transport-rate samplers such as the BTMA
and the Delft Bottle. This experience over more than 30 years shows how the manufacturers
changed the sampler’s design, sometimes improving the instrument, sometimes creating
difficulties for its use. A feedback from the users to the manufacturer is crucial to avoid the
production of unsuited instruments.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The experience on which this paper relies was gathered in several projects in Africa, Asia and
Latin America: the Project for Improving Navigation Conditions in the Inner Congo River
Delta (supported by the Belgian Cooperation from 1967 till 1988), in the
Brahmapoutra/Ganges/Meghna Delta in Bangladesh (Flood Action Plan, River Survey Project
N° 24,1991-1998, co-financed by the European Commission, COAID Directorate), and in the
Grijalva-Mezcalapa River in Mexico (Project for Modernising the Monitoring Network of the
Hydrological Cycle, co-funded by the World Bank with technical Assistance of the World
Meteorological Organisation, sediment component starting in 1998).
The excellent collaboration with M. A.G. Eijkelkamp, Managing Director and A. Eijkelkamp,
of Eijkelkamp Agriresearch Equipment for revising the design of the BTMA and DB12
samplers is acknowledged.
48 XXX IAHR Congress AUTh, Thessaloniki, Greece

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DVWK 303, 1991. Measurements of suspended solids, Guidelines for water management.
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Hubbell, D.W., 1964. Apparatus and techniques for measuring bedload, U.S. Geological
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ISO 772, 1996. Hydrometric determinations – Vocabulary and symbols
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