Experimental and Numerical Study of the Flow Structure

around Two Partially Buried Objects on a Deformed Bed

Yovanni A. Cataño-Lopera1; Blake J. Landry2; Jorge D. Abad3; and Marcelo H. García, M.ASCE4

Abstract: The flow characteristics around two partially buried objects, a short cylinder (SC) and a truncated cone (TC) were examined
experimentally and numerically. Experiments were conducted in a large tilting flume with vertical walls made of acrylic plastic and steel floor
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covered by a 24-m long sand pit. For each experiment, the object was placed on a flat sandy bed, the flume was filled to a water depth of
41 cm, and a steady unidirectional current was established at high Reynolds numbers while sinking of the object was tracked over time.
Velocity records were taken with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) probe at the final stage of burial and scour hole evolution. The flow
structure around each object was further investigated using a model that solves the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations
coupled with a κ-ε turbulence closure model, and results were compared to the experimental measurements. Measurements and numerical
simulations allowed identification of regions of high and low velocity and turbulent kinetic energy accounting for zones of potential sediment
erosion and deposition that dictate the burial of the object. The κ-ε turbulence closure model was shown to reproduce the experimental mean
flow velocity and turbulent kinetic energy with acceptable accuracy. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0000619. © 2013 American
Society of Civil Engineers.
CE Database subject headings: Experimentation; Numerical analysis; Scour; Sediment transport; Turbulent flow; Flow rates; Cylinders.
Author keywords: ADV; CFD; Experiments; Object burial; Short cylinder; Scour hole; Sediment transport; Truncated cones; Turbulent
flows.

Introduction A significant number of experimental investigations have been

To adequately predict scouring and burial of three-dimensional
(3D) objects placed on river and marine floors, the properties of
the flow field around the object and the morphologic characteristics
of the bed must be adequately described. Under unidirectional
flows, several investigations have focused on the flow field around
surface mounted obstacles: cubes, rectangular prisms, pyramids
(Schofield and Logan 1990; Hussein and Martinuzzi 1996;
Martinuzzi and Tropea 1993; Martinuzzi and AbuOmar 2003),
and spherical bodies (Thomschke 1971; Bagnold 1974; Willets
and Murray 1981). However, few investigations have been dedi-
cated to 3D objects on a movable bed subjected to scouring, either
under steady currents or oscillatory flows.
1
Hydrodynamic Modeler, H2MHILL Inc., Boston, MA 02108;
formerly, Visiting Research Associate, Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems
Laboratory, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 205 N. Mathews
Ave., Urbana, IL 61801 (corresponding author). E-mail: yovanni100@
yahoo.com
2
Research Associate, Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems Laboratory, Univ. of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 205 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801.
E-mail: blandry2@illinois.edu
3 have been used include those of Song and Chiew (2001), García
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Univ. of Pittsburgh, 3700 O’Hara St., Benedum 943, Pittsburgh,
PA 15261. E-mail: jabad@pitt.edu
4
Chester and Helen Siess Professor, Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems
Laboratory, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 205 N. Mathews
Ave., Urbana, IL 61801. E-mail: mhgarcia@illinois.edu
Note. This manuscript was submitted on November 15, 2010; approved
on July 12, 2012; published online on February 15, 2013. Discussion per-
iod open until August 1, 2013; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Hydraulic Engineer-
ing, Vol. 139, No. 3, March 1, 2013. © ASCE, ISSN 0733-9429/2013/3-
269-283/$25.00.
made on the scour and burial of two-dimensional (2D) objects such
as pipelines in the field (Sumer and Fredsøe 2002) and in the labo-
ratory (Cevik and Yuksel 1999) under shoaling waves. Investiga-
tions dealing with 3D objects on the sea floor were carried out by
McCarthy and Sabol (2000), Mayer et al. (2007), Traykovski et al.
(2007), and Guyonic et al. (2007), and in laboratory conditions
under oscillatory flows by Voropayev et al. (2003) and Cataño-
Lopera et al. (2007), among others. Truelsen et al. (2005) studied
the scour and self-burial of mounted spheres under both steady
currents and wave conditions. Testik et al. (2005) investigated
the flow field around short cylinders of different aspect ratios
resting on a fixed bed, using particle image velocimetry (PIV)
and streak photography, under steady and oscillatory flows.
The use of acoustic technology has increased over the last de-
cade to measure the flow field around objects. Acoustic Doppler
velocity profiler (ADVP) measurements were conducted to inves-
tigate the mean velocity components and turbulent Reynolds
stresses around a circular pier at equilibrium scour conditions
by Graf and Istiarto (2002). More recently, detailed ADV measure-
ments have been used by Raikar and Dey (2008) to characterize the
flow field around a vertical square cylinder at intermediate and final
stages of scour hole evolution. Other studies in which ADVs
et al. (2005), and Abad and García (2009) in the laboratory, and
those of Nikora and Goring (2000) and Strom and Papanicolaou
(2007) in natural streams. However, to date, no extensive experi-
mental investigations have been performed with velocity measure-
ments around partially buried objects such as truncated cones and
short cylinders on a movable bed.
Likewise, the development of numerical schemes and the use of
computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models to investigate the scour
mechanisms around 2D and 3D objects are rapidly increasing.
Early efforts have focused on the hydrodynamics of the flow

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J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.

 around objects mounted on a flat immobile bed, whereas more
recent investigations have been extended to the study of the
flow structure over scoured regions around a variety of objects.
Over time, the numerical models have become more sophisticated
to deal with more complex flow domains, and the availability of
experimental data has increased.
In the case of 2D objects, Liang and Cheng (1999, 2005) re-
ported numerical simulations of local scour and lee-wake scouring
of offshore pipelines. Li and Cheng (2001) and Liang and Cheng
(2005) conducted numerical simulations of the scour under off-
shore pipelines under steady currents. Salaheldin et al. (2004) used
the commercial software FLUENT to simulate the flow field
around circular piers on a scoured bed using Reynolds-averaged
Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a κ-ε turbulence closure
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model and validated their model with flume data from Ahmed
and Rajaratnam (1998). Other RANS-based studies of the flow
around piers, such as that of Roulund et al. (2005), which used
a κ-ω turbulence closure model, investigated the steady and
unsteady features of the flow field. Modeling the evolution of
the scour hole has also been attempted by other researchers with
relative success in reproducing the main scour pattern characteris-
tics, including the studies of Wei et al. (1997), Olsen and Kjellesvig
(1998), Chen (2002), Nagata et al. (2005), and Zhao et al. (2010).
Richardson and Panchang (1998) used RANS with the renormal-
ization group theory (RNG) model as a turbulence closure scheme
to simulate the flow within a scour hole at the base of a cylindrical
bridge pier using the software FLOW-3D and compared their
results with the laboratory observations of Melville and Raudkivi
(1977), obtaining acceptable agreement. Other numerical tech-
niques have been explored in recent years, especially those dedi-
cated to the unsteadiness associated with the coherent flow
structures around obstacles. Unsteady RANS (URANS), along
with a κ-ω turbulence closure scheme, was used by Chrisohoides
et al. (2003) to study the vortices induced by a vertical bridge abut-
ment on a flat bed. Koken and Constantinescu (2008) used large
eddy simulations (LES) to characterize the flow around a vertical
spur dike in a straight channel with equilibrium scour conditions
and showed that large-scale bimodal oscillations of the primary
necklace vortex are the mechanism mainly responsible for the am-
plification of the turbulence inside the scour hole. More recently,
Kirkil and Constantinescu (2010) studied the unsteady dynamics of
coherent structures around an in-stream vertical cylinder of rectan-
gular section. Other techniques, such as detached eddy simulations
(DES), have successfully captured the broad range of eddies asso-
ciated with the vortex shedding in the wake of a bridge abutment on
a flat bed, as shown by Paik and Sotiropoulos (2005). Paik et al.
(2007) used DES to study the bimodal dynamics of the horseshoe
vortex (HV) at the base of a wing-body junction. Although these
simulations reproduced the main characteristics of the flow field
observed in the experiments reported by Devenport and Simpson
(1990) fairly well, the model was unable to accurately reproduce
the location of the HV system. The model results placed the HV too
far upstream of the object compared to the experimentally observed
case. The location of the HV seems to be influenced by whether or
not random fluctuations are added to the inflow of the numerical
domain.
Rodi (1997) compared several κ-ε based RANS and LES mod-
els with laboratory observations of the flow around a free rectan-
gular cylinder and a surface-mounted cube from Martinuzzi and
Tropea (1993). Both RANS- and LES-based models have been
shown to reproduce the experimental length of the vortex shedding
in the wake of the object with accuracy. However, the variation
in the amplitude of shedding is not well captured when using
the standard κ-ε closure scheme. The simulations conducted by
270 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH 2013
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.
Rodi (1997) of the flow around a surface-mounted cube using
any of the κ-ε formulations underpredicted the upstream separation
and downstream reattachment lengths.
Numerical modeling of conditions similar to those of the experi-
ments documented by Testik et al. (2005) and Traykovski et al.
(2007) were conducted by Smith and Foster (2007) and Hatton
et al. (2007), respectively. Hatton et al. (2007) investigated the flow
field around a 10% partially buried short cylinder on an immobile
flat bed and compared the results to the field observations of
Traykovski et al. (2007). Smith and Foster (2005) used FLOW-
3D to simulate the scouring underneath pipelines under oscillatory
flows using both RANS and LES approaches. The numerical
results were in reasonably good agreement with the experimental
observations. Jenkins et al. (2007) and Imman and Jenkins (2002)
presented a comprehensive literature review of numerical investi-
gations dealing with simulated partially buried objects on the sea
floor.
The present study advances the understanding of the hydrody-
namics around partially buried objects through combined experi-
mental and numerical investigations. An ADV probe was used
to characterize the mean and turbulent characteristics of the flow
around a partially buried object on a scoured bed under unidirec-
tional flow. The numerical simulations were validated against the
experimental results and showed fair agreement. The numerical
simulations allowed further exploration of the flow field, particu-
larly in areas closer to both the object and bed that were not directly
accessible through velocity measurements. The flow field was not
only modified by the object, but also by the shape and size of
the scour pattern defined by holes, ridges, and the surrounding
small-scale ripples. These results highlight the importance of the
mean flow characteristics and turbulent intensities on the mobility
of sediments around the object, which impact the extent and
development of the scour hole. This study may be used to predict
the behavior of mantalike and cylinderlike sea antitank mines
placed in the continental shelf and objects resting on river beds.
The present findings will allow further development of mathemati-
cal models of the local scour and burial mechanisms of 3D objects.
Furthermore, this experimental data set is of importance for vali-
dation of present and future computer models dealing with the
complex interplay of fluid, sediment, and object resting on a river
or ocean floor.
Experimental Setup and Test Conditions
The flume used in this study was 49 m long, 1.8 m wide, and 1.2 m
deep, with a steel floor and acrylic plastic sidewalls. The 31-cm-
deep sand pit spanned 24 m and covered the entire width of the
flume. The sediment was a well-sorted size distribution of silica
sand with median diameter of d50 ¼ 0.25 mm, internal angle of
repose of φ ¼ 32.5°, and sediment porosity of λp ¼ 0.3. The
longitudinal slope of the flume was set to zero, and the steady flow
was set to a depth of h ¼ 41 cm above the sandy bed. The object
was placed at the center of the flume at a distance of 13 m from the
origin of the sand pit, adequate for flow development.
The experimental truncated cone (TC) was made of a combina-
tion of foam and concrete, to reproduce a specific gravity similar to
prototype manta mines with γ c ¼ 2.0 and center of mass set nearer
the base, whereas the short cylinder (SC) was made of concrete and
had a specific gravity of 2.3.
The water temperature was measured for each experiment, and
corrections to water viscosity and density were made accordingly.
Before running each experiment, the object was gently placed over
an initial flat bed. Next, to prevent the scouring of the bed around
 the object, the water level was raised slowly 41 cm above the sand
bed. The initial burial depth was estimated to be Bdo ¼ 0.2 and
0.3 cm for the TC and SC, respectively.
A 3D SonTek 10 MHz ADV probe was employed to measure
the underlying velocity field. The instrument consisted of a sound
transmitter, three sound receivers, and a signal processing module
(Sontek Inc. 2001). Scattering of the signal occurred within a finite
water volume of approximately 0.1 cm3 and located approximately
5 cm below the tip of probe (García et al. 2005). The user sampling
rate was set to 25 Hz and the ADV velocity range was set to
30 cm=s, based on past experimental investigations (Sontek Inc.
2001; Voulgaris and Trowbridge 1998). Velocity measurements
were recorded during 2 min in regions away from the object
and during 3 min in regions near the object characterized by
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relatively higher shear stresses and flow reversals.
The ADV was attached to two Velmex BiSlide frame assemblies
that enabled vertical (z-axis) and transversal (y-axis) displace-
ments. The frame assemblies were mounted on a movable carriage
allowing for motion along the longitudinal (x-axis) direction of the
flume. Figs. 1(a and b) depict the spatial locations of the recorded
velocity profiles with respect to the object and flow direction for the
SC and TC, respectively. In the case of the SC, a total of 72 velocity
profiles were taken with ADV, whereas in the case of the TC, a total
of 65 velocity profiles were recorded. In each case, an additional
velocity profile, located 2 m upstream of the object at y ¼ 0 cm,
was recorded to characterize the approaching velocity field with
average velocities of U ¼ 21.8 and 19.4 cm=s for the SC and
TC, respectively.
Each vertical velocity profile was composed of 12 velocity point
records, with the lowest point taken at approximately 1.7 cm above
the local bed level at equilibrium morphodynamic conditions
(EMC). In this paper, EMC refers to the final stages of scour evo-
lution in which, on average, sediment entrainment and deposition,
triggered by localized near-bed turbulent bursting phenomena, are
in equilibrium, and any further object burial is negligible. A Canon
electro-optical system (EOS) 20D digital single-lens reflex (SLR)
camera was used to capture intermediate and final configurations of
the scour region around the object. The ADV probe was also used
to monitor the burial of the specimen over time. On average, burial
equilibrium conditions were attained after approximately 90 min
from the start of the run. On the presumption of flow symmetry
around the object, velocities were recorded on a single side of the
specimen, starting from the center, as shown in Figs. 1(a and b).
The shape of the scour pattern around the object assured the sym-
metric condition presumption was correct. Once the bed configu-
ration and the object reached equilibrium conditions, velocity
measurements around the object were taken.
Bathymetry in the vicinity of the objects was recorded using two
optical methods. A Keyence laser displacement sensor (model
LB-301) with a spot diameter of 1.2 × 2.5 mm, maximum response
frequency of 915 Hz, and vertical resolution of 50 μm was em-
ployed to acquire detailed measurements of the final configuration
of the bottom topography around the SC and TC. Figs. 2(a and b)
show the recorded bathymetries at EMC for the SC and TC, respec-
tively. The laser sensor was temporarily attached to the same frame
as the ADV, after the water in the tank was slowly drained to avoid
disturbing the bed morphology. Laser scans were performed with
grid resolution of 0.5 × 1 cm in the transverse and longitudinal
directions, respectively.
A list containing the dimensionless flow parameters used in the
present study is shown in Table 1. All listed parameters were cal-
culated using the approaching depth-averaged flow velocity U
measured approximately 2 m upstream of the object. The Reynolds
number was computed as R ¼ Uh=v, where v is the water viscosity
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J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.
that was corrected by temperature T for each experiment, 18.5 and
19.1°C in the SC and TC cases, respectively. The object Reynolds
number was calculated in the SC case as Rd ¼ UD=v, where D is
the cylinder diameter, whereas in the TC case was calculated as
Rd ¼ UDm =v, where Dm is the average between top and bottom
diameters of the cone. The Shields parameter was computed using
the formula θ ¼ u2
=½ðγ s − 1Þgd50 , where γ s is the specific gravity
of the sediment, g is the acceleration attributable to gravity, and the
shear velocity u
is calculated after curve fitting of the velocity pro-
file measured 2 m upstream of the object by using the expression
uðzÞ ¼ ðu
=kv Þ lnðz=zo Þ, where kv ¼ 0.41 is the von Kármán con-
stant and zo is the roughness length. The total bed shear stress is
related to the shear velocity that depends on the total roughness
length zo , which is the summation of the components attributable
to skin friction zos , form drag zof , and near-bed sediment transport
zot . For simplicity, only skin friction height, estimated as
zos ¼ 2.5d50 , is considered for the computation of u
in Table 1.
Other variables are defined in the “Notation” section.
The critical Shields parameter, above which sediment was en-
trained into suspension because of the action of the flow, was ap-
proximately θcr ¼ 0.041, as estimated from the Shields diagram
(García 2008). The Froude numbers associated pffiffiffiffiffi with the meanpflow
ffiffiffiffiffiffi
and the object are calculated using F ¼ U= gh and Fd ¼ U= gD,
respectively. The Strouhal number was computed as Sh ¼ D=UT s ,
where T s is the period of the vortex shedding oscillation. Fast
Fourier transform (FFT) analysis of the ADV velocity signals per-
mitted identifying not a fully periodic but rather an aperiodic vortex
shedding downstream in the wake of the object for which the
Strouhal number was computed to be 0.41 and 0.36 for the SC
and TC, respectively (Table 1). These values are comparable to
experimental values in the case of a short cylinder under a unidi-
rectional current (Testik et al. 2005) and to those obtained using
CFD modeling using a LES turbulent closure scheme (Smith
and Foster 2007).
ADV Data Quality Analysis
To define whether or not the recorded velocity time series are of
adequate quality to describe mean flow velocities and turbulent
parameters, the velocity signals acquired with the ADV system
were analyzed. The first step was to determine if the length of
the signal was long enough to compute the statistical moments as-
sociated with the flow (García et al. 2005; Abad and García 2009).
A running mean analysis for each recorded time series was per-
formed to verify that flow velocities are computed within a 95%
confidence interval. For the case of x-direction velocities (u),
the convergence time within a 95% confidence level is generally
several tens of seconds. In the case of the vertical (w) and transverse
(v) components, the convergence time is typically much longer
than in the x-direction (Abad and García 2009). The analysis re-
vealed that for most cases, the convergence times are smaller than
the total signal sample time (e.g., of at least 160 s for each position),
demonstrating that the recorded signals are all adequate for mean
and turbulent flow characterization. The analysis also revealed that
the length of the recorded signals was less demanding for the TC
than for the SC, because shear and turbulent intensities are in
general larger in the latter case. The flow distortions induced by
the sharp edges of the SC, as the cylinder rests perpendicular to
the current, are more intense than those generated by TC.
The second step, to define the quality of the measured data,
demands filtering of the recorded velocity signals. The filtering
process involves despiking of aliased points within the signal
(Goring and Nikora 2002) and removing points of low correlation
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Fig. 1. Schematic plan view of the location of vertical velocity measurements around (a) SC; (b) TC; note: dimensions are in cm

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J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.

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Fig. 2. (Color) Laser scan image of the scour pattern at equilibrium conditions around (a) the SC; (b) the TC; note: object dimensions and flow
characteristics are presented in Table 1

Table 1. Summary of Object and Flow Properties by García et al. (2005) by means of the parameter F ¼ LS f R =U c,
Variable/parameter Short cylinder Truncated cone where Ls is an energy containing length scale, fR at 25 Hz is sam-
pling frequency of the ADV, and U c is the convective velocity.
h (cm) 41 41
In the experiments, global values of F ¼ 45.8 and 51.8 were cal-
Uðcm=sÞ 21.8 19.4
u
ðcm=sÞ 1.4 1.5
culated for both the SC and TC after setting Ls equal to the mean
Red 21,520 28,579 water depth of 41 cm and U c ¼ 21.8 and 19.4 cm=s, respectively.
Re 86,081 76,209.3 The value F > 20 implies that the ADV, a priori, describes turbu-
Sh 0.41 0.36 lent flow characteristics with good accuracy (García et al. 2005;
Fd 0.19 0.16 Abad and García 2009), as long as the filtered signals are also
F 0.11 0.10 of good quality. The value of F was further investigated locally
F 45.8 51.8 as a requirement for turbulence representation. In the latter case,
θ 0.049 0.053 the convective velocity was assumed to be U c ¼ u 0 , the local aver-
θcr 0.041 0.041 age longitudinal velocity (García et al. 2005). Because a SonTek
hc (cm) — 10
ADV probe with fR ¼ 25 Hz with a sampling time between
Lc 20 —
Dbc (cm) — 20 160 and 120 s was used, F was larger than 20 for most velocity
Dtc (cm) — 10 records.
Bdo (cm) 0.3 0.2 In the case of mean flow characterization, past studies have
D (cm) 20 — shown that mean ADV velocities are typically accurate within
Bd =D, Bd =hc 0.15 0.05 1% (Voulgaris and Trowbridge 1998; Abad and García 2009).
γc 2.3 2.0 As recommended by García et al. (2005), an additional step con-
ks (mm) 0.3 0.3 sisted in removing the noise from the recorded signals to further
d50 (mm) 0.25 0.25 assure that the velocity signals were of enough quality to properly
T (°C) 18.5 19.1 describe mean and turbulent flow characteristics. Henceforth, the
σdg 1.28 1.28
contribution of noise to the signal was removed by integrating
φ 32.5° 32.5°
λp 0.3 0.3 the average value of the power spectrum at the noise plateau
across the range of frequencies (f) defined by 0 < f ≤ fR =2 follow-
ing the methodology proposed by Voulgaris and Trowbridge
(1998). In addition, an inverse Fast Fourier transform of the cor-
coefficient (COR) and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) (Sontek Inc. rected power spectrum was performed to estimate the autocorrela-
2001). The threshold values of COR ¼ 70 dB and SNR ¼ 15 dB tion function, convective velocity, length, and time scales (García
are recommended by the manufacturer of the ADV (Sontek Inc. et al. 2005).
2001), and should not be taken as universal but rather as guidelines
for analysis, because the value of COR depends on the local flow
conditions (Strom and Papanicolaou 2007). A low COR value is Numerical Model Setup
not necessarily indicative of a low quality point, but could be
the result of sampling a flow with strong local fluctuations asso- The numerical simulations of the flow field around the two objects
ciated with higher turbulence intensities. In this study, the majority were performed with the three-dimensional and nonhydrostatic
of the velocity records are characterized by SNR > 15 dB, largely model FLOW-3D (Flow Science Inc. 2009), which solves the tran-
because of the presence of a large quantity of fine particles within sient 3D Navier—Stokes and continuity equations. The model
the flow, whereas most velocity records exhibit COR values greater resolves fluid—fluid and fluid—air interfaces with a nonboundary
than 60. fitted rectangular grid and volume of fluid (VOF) approach that
Next, for turbulent flow description, dependence of bad resolves the grid cells into separate fractional fluid components
data points was investigated following the procedure proposed containing the fraction of fluid and nonfluid fraction in the cell

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J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.

 (Hirt and Nichols 1981). The fluid fraction function Ff is defined
to be equal to 1.0 in the fluid and 0.0 outside fluid, i.e., in the
void (Flow Science Inc. 2009). Similarly, a fractional area-volume
obstacle representation (FAVOR) approach is used to parameterize
the flow within cells, which contain fluid-obstacle boundaries. The
FAVOR approach uses three-dimensional quadratic equations to
define complex obstacle geometries. These geometries are speci-
fied separately from the numerical mesh (Richardson and Panchang
1998). Details on the κ-ε turbulent closure scheme used in this
study are presented in Smith and Foster (2007). Wilcox (2000)
provides the closure equations for the turbulent kinetic energy (k)
and the dissipation rate of turbulent energy (ε) with standard co-
efficients. Additional applications of FLOW-3D in morphodynamic
settings are described in Abad et al. (2008).
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The numerical setup consists of the measured bathymetry,
which includes the sand bed and the object at equilibrium
conditions embedded in a Eulerian rectangular structured mesh.
Figs. 2(a and b) show the recorded bathymetries at EMC for the
SC and TC, respectively. The mesh consisted of cells of variable
size, transitioning from finer cells in the object vicinity to linearly
increasing coarser cells toward the boundary of the domain.
Initially, two mesh sizes were tested. The first mesh consisted of
0.5-cm-sided regular cubic cells spanning approximately five ob-
ject diameters around the object in the streamwise x-direction, three
diameters in the transverse y-direction, and two diameters in the
vertical z-direction. A second mesh consisted of 0.3-cm-sided regu-
lar cubic cells covering a similar spatial domain. In both cases, the
cell sizes increased linearly toward the edges of the flow domain.
The finer mesh spacing in the vicinity of the object was found
necessary to better resolve the complex flow. For both objects, the
coarser and finer grids used a total of 2,730,000 and 4,080,000
cells, respectively. The simulations showed that the mean flow
structure, mean velocities, and turbulent kinetic energy were in
better agreement with the experimental data for the finer mesh
cases. The analysis presented subsequently corresponds to the case
of simulations conducted with the finer mesh.
The boundary conditions (BC) were set in the following manner.
A free-surface boundary condition was imposed at the top of the
domain for a mean water depth of 41 cm, measured from the initial
bed level. In FLOW-3D, free surfaces are modeled with the VOF
technique (Hirt and Nichols 1981). A symmetry boundary condi-
tion was imposed at the lateral boundaries of the model domain.
The bottom of the domain was set to a nonslip boundary condition
and consisted of the measured bathymetry for which a roughness
length of κs ¼ 0.254 mm, equivalent to the mean grain size of the
sand bed, was used. This roughness length was also set for the
bathymetric region corresponding to the object because the con-
crete surface of the two objects had a mean roughness length of
0.3 mm. A continuative BC was specified at the downstream
end of the computational domain where the specific experimental
flow characteristics are unknown. In this type of boundary condi-
tion, the gradients of all flow parameters in the direction normal to
the flow are set to zero (Flow Science Inc. 2009). A uniform flow
field with mean velocity equal to the mean flow velocity was set as
initial conditions (IC). Streamwise velocities and turbulent inten-
sities obtained from a preliminary run of a fully developed flow
over a flat bed were set at the inflow boundary. The other BCs
in the preliminary run were set similar to the aforementioned
description, using uniform mean velocity profiles of 21.80 and
19.38 cm=s as upstream BC for the SC and TC, respectively.
The total simulation time, including the preliminary runs, was
near 80 s, much longer than the flow-through period of approxi-
mately 6 s. Analysis of contour plots of velocity and turbulent
kinetic energy (TKE) showed negligible variations after 70 s,
274 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH 2013
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.
indicating that a statistically steady state was attained. Therefore,
mean flow values of velocity and TKE were computed between 70
and 80 s.
The simulations considered clear water conditions in which
interaction of sediment particles with the flow coherent structures
is neglected, and no morphodynamic changes are considered. This
assumption is supported by the findings of studies that showed
the influence of sediment particles on the flow turbulence in the
vicinity of the object and within the scour hole is negligible for
low sediment concentrations (Kirkil et al. 2008). Low sediment
concentrations are characteristic at EMC, during which the ADV
measurements were conducted and were corroborated by visual
inspection. The FLOW-3D model uses a variable time step to
preserve numerical stability at all times using the Courant number
criterion. Each simulation was performed using eight cores on one
dual quad-core Intel Xeon E5354 and took approximately 300 h of
wall-clock time.
Analysis of the Flow Field Structure around the
Objects
Average Flow Velocities
Fig. 3 shows contour plots of measured and modeled dimensionless
mean flow streamwise velocities along the center plane of each
object on the xz plane. The vectors in the left frames represent
the resultant of the three measured velocity components, and their
tails represent the measurement location. Mean dimensionless
velocities (U nd , V nd , W nd ) are computed by dividing each time
averaged velocity component by the mean streamwise velocity U
(Table 1), as
U nd ¼ ū=U; V nd ¼ v̄=U; W nd ¼ w̄=U ð1Þ
where in the case of the experiments, ū ¼ ð1=NÞΣNi¼1 ui is the time
averaged velocity in the streamwise direction; and N = total number
of instantaneous ADV measurements.
Experiments and numerical simulations identified several simi-
larities and differences of the flow structure around the two objects.
Fig. 3 exhibits contours of measured (left frames) and simulated
(right frames) dimensionless streamwise velocities along the center
plane of the objects. Fig. 3 shows that U nd exceeds by approxi-
mately 30 and 50% the average velocity U immediately above
the SC and TC, respectively. Conversely, significant flow deceler-
ation and reversal occurs upstream and downstream of the object.
The numerical results shown in the right frames of Fig. 3 reveal a
smoother transition between contour zones when compared to the
experimental frames because of the much larger density of velocity
points offered by the numerical mesh. For both objects, the most
significant distortion of the longitudinal velocity occurs along the
center plane and decays in the transverse direction. Recirculation
zones, indicated by the reversal of the velocity vectors, emerge
immediately downstream (front) and upstream (back) of the object.
Sediment transported from the back of the object deposits along
the downstream recirculation zone that is formed as the flow passes
the object. Although the experimental measurements reveal regions
of flow deceleration downstream of both obstacles as shown on
the left frames of Fig. 3, there are regions that lack velocity mea-
surements very close to the bottom. The numerical simulations,
however, overestimate the size of the downstream recirculation
zones. Accumulation of sediment forming the ridge downstream
of the object helps stabilize the object and prevents it from rolling
backward into the scour hole. The combination of vertical and
lateral recirculation zones, along with vortex structures around
 the object, are responsible for the accumulation of sediment that
forms the central sand ridge [Figs. 2(a and b)]. This sand ridge ex-
tends for approximately one and two object diameters downstream
of the TC and SC, respectively [Figs. 2(a and b)].
The center of the recirculation zone is located near the bed
and on the upstream face of the scour hole (right frames in
Fig. 3). A region of accelerated flow atop the object, characterized
by low pressure that in turn originates a lift force that competes
against the weight of the object, is shown in Fig. 3. This
region, shown in the numerical results frames, is also evidenced
by the larger vectors nearer the top of the object on the left
frames, particularly in the case of the TC. For both objects,
a good qualitative agreement between measured and modeled
dimensionless velocities is observed away from the solid
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boundaries.
At the final stages of scour hole evolution, recirculating flow
velocities within the scour hole are no longer energetic enough
to induce significant additional erosion. However, at this stage,
near-bed instantaneous velocities may induce bed shear stresses
larger than the local critical shear stress, leading to local entrain-
ment of sediment into suspension.
Contour plots of dimensionless vertical velocities, W nd , not
shown here for simplicity, indicate that the most significant distor-
tion in the vertical velocity occurs along y ¼ 0 cm and decays
away from the object’s center plane. Fig. 3 also reveals that the
RANS κ-ε turbulence model can reproduce the main experimental
mean flow structures from a qualitative standpoint. Nevertheless,
to assess the ability of the model to reproduce measured velocities,
a direct comparison of pointwise velocity profiles was conducted.
Fig. 4 shows a comparison between profiles of measured and
Fig. 3. (Color) Measured (left frames) and simulated (right frames) dimensionless mean streamwise velocities along y ðcmÞ ¼ 0 for the SC (top) and
TC (bottom); arrows in left frames indicate mean flow velocity
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J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.
modeled pointwise streamwise dimensionless velocities at selected
locations in Figs. 1(a and b). Mean and RMS errors between mea-
sured and modeled velocities at several representative locations
around each object were tabulated, although are not shown here
for simplicity. The locations chosen for analysis are mainly along
transects y ¼ 0 cm and x ¼ 0 cm, characterized by the most
dramatic flow distortions exhibited in Fig. 3. The analysis shows
that mean and RMS errors of streamwise velocities fall within 20%,
whereas errors are larger for the vertical velocities and largest for
the transversal velocities. The best agreement, between model and
experimental values, occurs upstream of the object and outside of
the scour hole. In the vicinity of the object, discrepancies increase
toward the solid boundaries, e.g., at locations P69 and P26 in the
SC case, and at P55, P44, and P03 in the TC case (Fig. 4). Better
agreement in streamwise velocities is observed in both object cases
for z > 5 cm. An 8% difference is observed in the measured and
modeled streamwise velocities at location P01 in the SC case. In the
region above 5 cm off the bed, the maximum differences are
observed at the free surface. In the SC case, the measured and
modeled velocities differ by 12% near the free surface at location
P26. The differences observed at the free surface could be attrib-
utable to the mesh resolution. The largest percent mean and RMS
errors are for the transversal velocity (V nd ), attributable mostly to
the fact that such velocities are very small relative to streamwise
velocities, and therefore induce larger relative errors. Furthermore,
errors are larger downstream of the object because of well docu-
mented difficulties of RANS-based models to reproduce separated
flows (Rodi 1997; Smith and Foster 2007).
As previously noted, relatively high differences between
measured and modeled velocities are observed near the bottom.
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Fig. 4. Comparison between measured and modeled profiles of mean local average velocity (u 0 ) along y ¼ 0 cm for SC (left) and TC (right); filled
and open symbols correspond to measured and modeled values, respectively

The discrepancy could be attributable to the bottom roughness
height used in the simulations, which may not account accurately
for the experimental conditions. As previously stated, the bottom
roughness height used in the numerical simulations was 0.254 mm,
equivalent to the mean grain size of the sand bed. Further inves-
tigations should be dedicated to using the bottom roughness as
a tuning parameter to improve the match between modeled
and recorded velocities, particularly in the near bed region. Never-
theless, this is beyond the scope of the present work, because one
of the main goals of the study was to evaluate the ability of the
hydrodynamic model to reproduce the main flow structure features
revealed by the experimental observations.
Average Flow Turbulent Characteristics
The temporal evolution and final configuration of the tandem
system, consisting of object and scour hole, are not solely deter-
mined by the mean flow configuration, but also by the turbulent
flow structure. Turbulence is known for directly affecting and being

276 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH 2013

J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.

 modulated by sediment entrained into suspension (Abad and
García 2009). Although the mean flow may dictate general burial
and scour characteristics around the object through the mean
flow-sediment interactions, turbulent fluctuations may be more
responsible for the events that dictate sediment entrainment and re-
suspension in the vicinity of boundaries, in particular those regions
of fluid-object-sediment interaction (Kirkil et al. 2008). Because of
the experimental conditions of the present study, in which point
velocity measurements were taken around each object at distinctive
times, instantaneous snapshots of the flow field are not available to
describe instantaneous flow field evolution (e.g., vortex cores).
Techniques that allow such analysis include PIV and streak photog-
raphy (Testik et al. 2005). In this paper, however, the mean flow
field turbulence characterization is performed in terms of time-
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averaged signal values. This section analyzes the turbulent structure
around each object and its implications on the final configuration
of the surrounding scour hole.
TKE
Fig. 5 shows the measured and modeled normalized TKE along
the center plane y ¼ 0 cm of the two objects. The experimental
TKE was calculated as
1 f
TKE ¼ ðu 0 2 þ v 0 2 þ w 0 2 Þ − R ðNLx þ NLy þ NLz Þ ð2Þ
2 2
where u 0 , v 0 , and w 0 = mean of the velocity fluctuations in
the streamwise, transverse, and vertical directions, respectively;
and NLx , NLy , and NLz = noise levels in the three directions
(García et al. 2005; Abad and García 2009). The normalized
Fig. 5. (Color) Measured (left frames) and κ-ε simulated (right frames) mean dimensionless TKE field along transect y ðcmÞ ¼ 0 for the SC (top) and
the TC (bottom); arrows in left frames indicate mean flow velocity
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J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.
turbulent kinetic energy TKE_ND is obtained by dividing Eq. (2)
by one half of the square of the mean bottom shear velocity u
,
or equivalently,
TKE
TKE ND ¼ ð3Þ
0.5u2

Production of turbulent kinetic energy is generated by shear and
intensifies across the shear layers between the outer flow and the
recirculation zones in the front and back of the objects. Fig. 5 shows
the contours of TKE in a vertical xz-plane and illustrates areas of
higher TKE residing within the scour hole and along the central
sand ridge. Fig. 5 also shows that the streamwise extension of
higher simulated TKE (right column) is in qualitative agreement
with the measurements (left column) for both objects; yet, compar-
ing the two cases, the vertical extension is larger in the TC case.
This can be attributed to the blunter shape of the TC compared to
the SC. Conversely, contour plots of TKE in a horizontal xy-plane,
not shown here, reveal that turbulence energy production is higher
in the SC induced by its sharp edges as opposed to the smooth side
faces of the TC. A second region of high TKE develops inside the
scour hole upstream of the obstacle, though of lesser strength as
compared to the downstream side. Upstream of the object, ripples
are large enough to affect the flow and induce relatively high levels
of TKE at their crests, which interact with the turbulent structures
(e.g., vortex cores) upstream of the object. Regions of high TKE
extend downstream for approximately 5D in the SC case and
6Dm in the TC case. As the flow passes the object, energy is ex-
tracted from the mean flow, and high levels of TKE intensity are
induced primarily by the alternate shedding of large vortices in the
 near wake. The TKE is enhanced by the process of time averaging
of the flow field, which results in large variations of the velocity and
thus turbulent kinetic energy at certain locations. The vortex struc-
tures generated atop and along edges of the object are convected
downstream by the mean flow and gradually lose coherency as the
vortices increase in size and their circulation decreases. Eventually,
several diameters downstream of the object, TKE levels recover
to the far-field characteristic levels, where the disturbance by the
object is negligible. The best agreement between modeled and
measured TKE occurs upstream of the object, as in the case of
streamwise velocities.
Vortex Structures
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The flow structure around 3D obstacles resting freely upon a
deformed bed is more complex than the flow passing around a
short cylinder on a flat bed. In the present case, diverse 3D vortex
structures of various scales generated by the object, scour hole, and
surrounding bedforms coexist. Here, attention is focused on the
average turbulent characteristics of the flow.
The complete 3D vortex structure is difficult to discern with the
vorticity field, because the vorticity not only includes the rotational
field components, but also signals from the boundary generated
shear (Smith and Foster 2007). Regions of high boundary shear
generate from the sides and top of the object and the surrounding
scour hole. The Q-criterion (Dubief and Delcayre 2000) is used to
show instantaneous snapshots of the 3D coherent structures around
the two objects in Fig. 6(a) (left frames) at EMC stages. The main
coherent structures are the HV core located within the scour hole,
and the small vortex tubes formed past the crest of the surrounding
ripples. The HV is primarily responsible for mobilizing sediment
near the bed and promoting the formation and growth of the scour
hole upstream of the object. Notice an arch vortex (AV) detaching
from the top of the object, though relatively less coherent than
HV. Contours of the y-component of the vorticity are displayed
in the right frames of Fig. 6(a). Fig. 6(b) shows contours of the
y-component of the vorticity along transect y ¼ 26 cm. Regions
of higher vorticity coincide with the location of the vortex tubes
forming past the crests of far-field ripples shown in the left frames
of Fig. 6(a).
The HV originates upstream of the object and helps form the
scour hole by entraining sediment as it moves up and down and
sheds sediment toward the edges and downstream of the obstacle.
This coherent structure mostly persists within the scour hole in
the back and sides of the object. At a distance of approximately
a half object diameter downstream of the object, the structure loses
coherence and dissipates as it interacts with the mean flow. Observe
that the y-component of the vorticity signature shown in Fig. 6(a)
extends for approximately the same distance downstream of the
two objects, yet the vertical extension is larger in the case of
the TC than in the SC. This agrees with the vertical distribution
of TKE shown in Fig. 5. Observe also that the vortex tubes atop
the crests of the upstream ripples exhibit larger coherence upstream
of the object than in its close vicinity. These structures recover their
coherence once turbulent eddies detached from the object are no
longer energetic enough to disrupt the ripple-generated vortices.
The resulting interaction of vorticity regions generated by object
and ripples give rise to a more complex flow structure when com-
pared to the simpler case of an object lying on a flat bed (Smith
and Foster 2005, 2007; Hatton et al. 2007; Testik et al. 2005). Note
that upstream of the object several other vortical features are ob-
served. A streak of high vorticity, resulting from the upstream
boundary layer (BL) interacts with the main HV within the scour
278 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH 2013
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.
hole. This HV does not have sufficient energy to continue scouring
at the equilibrium stage.
Coherent vortex structures detach from the sides of the object,
with higher intensity in the case of the SC than in the TC case, as
shown in the left frames in Fig. 6(a). The κ-ε model overpredicts
the length of the recirculation zone, because it is unable to predict
the vortex shedding periodic motion because of its inability to re-
solve fluid exchange in the near wake of the object (Rodi 1997;
Smith and Foster 2007). As displayed in Fig. 6(a), the length of
the upstream separation zone extends for approximately one object
diameter, but is still located within the scour hole. Smith and Foster
(2007) showed that the length of the separation zone upstream
of the object tends to constant values of approximately four and
five object diameters for κ-ε and LES turbulence models, respec-
tively. In the present study, simulations of the two objects on a flat
immobile bed revealed a length of the upstream separation zone
extending between two and three object diameters. The recircula-
tion length, defined as the distance between the center of the object
and the location where velocity path lines converge in the horizon-
tal xy-plane along y ¼ 0 cm, is approximately four times the diam-
eter of the object, which is consistent with the observations of
Testik et al. (2005) and Smith and Foster (2007). The latter study
showed that for object Reynolds numbers larger than 1,500, both
the upstream separation length and the downstream recirculation
length reached asymptotic constant values.
Notice in Fig. 6(a) (left frames) that both HV and AV are not
completely symmetrical. The longitudinal extensions of the HV
are slightly more elongated on the right side of the SC, because
the cylinder is not completely perpendicular to the direction of flow
propagation. As a result, the deposition and scour patterns are not
fully symmetrical [Fig. 2(a)]. Likewise, the scour and deposition
patterns around the TC are slightly asymmetrical, though to a lesser
extent than in the case of the SC [Fig. 2(b)].
Wall Shear Stress Distribution
The presence of the object substantially deforms the approaching
flow, causing it to accelerate and increase the bottom shear stresses
near the object compared to the far flow field. The relation between
the flow strength and the shape of the object influences the amount
of sediment entrained into suspension and the manner in which the
sediment is shed away from its vicinity. If the instantaneous bed
shear stresses are higher than the critical bed shear stresses needed
to entrain sediment from the bottom, scouring of the bed occurs
provided that the incoming bed load rate is less than the entrain-
ment rate. This ultimately leads to the burial of the object, given the
removal of sediment is large enough to deplete the span shoulder.
Fig. 7 shows the mean Shields parameter around the SC and TC
(left frames: object on a flat bed; right frames: object on the scoured
bed) simulated with the κ-ε model. Observe that at initial condi-
tions, i.e., object on a flat bed, the Shields parameter θ is more than
twice the critical Shields parameter θcr ð¼ 0.041Þ at the lateral
sides of the object. Here, 0.041 was calculated for a flat bed; how-
ever, in reality it should be adjusted for gravitational effects because
of a variable bathymetry (Kirkil et al. 2008). Note that the shear
stress is higher at the edges of the SC than in the case of the
TC. At equilibrium scour conditions (right frames in Fig. 7), the
Shields parameter is generally smaller than the critical value,
i.e., ranging from 0.01–0.04. However, the local Shields parameter
remains slightly larger than the critical Shields value at several
locations, such as at the top of both objects and crests of far field
ripples, by approximately 70 and 30%, respectively (Fig. 7). In the
latter case, this leads to continuous sediment transport at the ripple
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Eng Periodicals 09 on 02/28/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 6. (Color) Simulated coherent structures around the two objects (a) left frames: instantaneous three-dimensional coherent structures around SC
(top) and TC (bottom) visualized using the Q-criterion (Q ¼ 1.0); right frames: mean y component of vorticity signatures along y ¼ 0 cm for the SC
(top) and TC (bottom); (b) mean y component of vorticity signatures along transect y ðcmÞ ¼ 26 in the far field for SC (top) and TC (bottom)

crest, inducing ripple migration away from the object. In FLOW-
3D, the shear velocity, u
, is solved iteratively at no-slip boundaries
with the combined smooth and rough logarithmic law of the wall
equation. As previously stated, velocity and bathymetry mea-
surements were conducted once the scouring process in the
vicinity of the object ceased, as indicated by visual inspections.
Even though the scouring around the object and its sinking have
ceased, ripples in the far field maintained a very regular two-
dimensional structure and steady migration rates on the order
of 1 cm= min.
The unsteadiness of the flow field, though not captured in the
current κ-ε model simulations, can induce shear velocities in excess
of two to three times mean values, leading to local erosion within
the scour and deposition regions, as in the cases of flow around
short cylinders (Smith and Foster 2007) and vertical cylinders
(Kirkil et al. 2008). Modeling relying on the computation of a time-
averaged shear stress, as in this study, generally results in under-
prediction of the scour hole downstream of the object, particularly
for higher Reynolds numbers (Li and Cheng 2001; Sumer et al.
1988). Fig. 7 shows that at flat bed conditions, i.e., at the beginning

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J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Eng Periodicals 09 on 02/28/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 7. (Color) Modeled mean Shields parameter around the object (a-SC, b-TC) on a flat bed (left) and deformed beds (right) at stationary flow
conditions
of the run, there is a significant difference in Shields stress between
regions exposed to potential sediment deposition in the SC and TC
cases. The Shields parameter can easily exceed the critical Shields
parameter in almost 80 and 60% at the lateral edges for the SC and
TC, respectively.
Observe also in Fig. 7 the regions of very small shear stresses
approximately one diameter upstream and over a larger region
downstream of the object. This is in agreement with the model ob-
servations by Smith and Foster (2007) for short cylinders of similar
aspect ratio as the one used in the present study. Initially, sediment
tends to deposit in these low shear regions, but as scour and
deposition around the object progress over time, the location of
such regions do not necessarily coincide with the scour and dep-
ositional patterns indicated at the beginning of the experiment
under flat bed conditions. This difference can be attributed to
the complex interaction between the evolving bed topography, the
incoming flow, and the surrounding ripples not present at the
beginning of the run. The scour and deposition regions around
the object, both upstream and downstream, coincide with the re-
gions in which the incoming flow is highly disturbed because of
the blockage of the object. This is in accordance with the previous
discussion regarding the extension of the vortex shedding and its
influence on the sediment transport.
Conclusions
• A set of ADV velocity measurements were conducted around
two 3D objects, a short cylinder and a truncated cone, on a
scoured bed at equilibrium morphodynamic conditions under
unidirectional flows.
• Simulations of the flow structure around the partially buried
3D objects were performed for high Reynolds numbers using
280 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH 2013
J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.
a RANS κ-ε turbulence model. Simulations with a dense
computational mesh in the vicinity of the object generate results
in fair agreement with measured average velocities and turbulent
kinetic energy. The model overestimates the recirculation length
because it fails to adequately solve flow separation. However,
the mean flow features and flow velocities away from the
obstacle are well reproduced.
• The experiments and RANS simulations show that the accelera-
tion near the sides of the object attributable to the obstruction
and adverse pressure gradients induced by the object increases
the level of turbulence and bed shear stresses compared to the
far field values. This in turn leads to scouring of the bed and
subsequent sinking of the object. Under similar flow conditions,
the flow field around the truncated cone is less energetic and
therefore induces smaller shear stresses than in the case of
the short cylinder lying horizontally on the floor. Smaller shear
stresses are associated with a smaller sediment transport capa-
city of the flow resulting in less sediment entrainment, leading
ultimately to less burial of the object.
• Regions of high turbulent kinetic energy generated downstream
and atop the objects are observed in both experiments and nu-
merical simulations. Regions of higher TKE intensities extend
for several diameters downstream of the object. On the upstream
side of the object, relatively high values of TKE are observed,
yet are smaller in magnitude when compared to their down-
stream counterparts.
• The numerical simulations identified two main coherent struc-
tures near the base of the objects at equilibrium morphodynamic
conditions: a necklace horseshoe vortex embedded within the
scour hole, and an arch vortex detaching from the top of the
object. The turbulent kinetic energy associated with both obsta-
cles is much higher than that associated with the approaching
boundary layer flow.
 • The numerical study used standard values of turbulence para-
meters in the commercial fluid dynamics model. Further study
of turbulence parameter sensitivity and the effect of bottom
roughness are needed to improve the agreement between numer-
ical and experimental results.
• Bedforms surrounding the object modify the turbulent shear
stresses considerably. Significant differences are observed be-
tween the object mounted on the flat bed and the partially buried
object. In the case of flat bed, maximum shear stresses appear
close to the lateral edges of the object. Higher shear stresses are
observed in the case of the short cylinder than in the truncated
cone case. As a result, the extent and depth of the scour is larger
at equilibrium conditions for the short cylinder case.
• Comparison of the flow structures around the short cylinder and
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truncated cone in the flat bed mounted and partially buried
cases suggests that at the beginning of the experiment, when
the object is mounted on a flat bed, TKE levels are much higher
near the bed level when compared to the case at EMC. This can
be attributed to the fact that at the mature equilibrium condition,
mean and turbulent intensities are in equilibrium with the en-
trainment and deposition sediment rates.
• Sand ridges, formed by the supply of sediment scoured from
behind and along the sides of the object, extend downstream
along the center plane of the object for approximately 2Lc in
the case of the short cylinder, and approximately 2Dm in the
case of the truncated cone. This turns out to be a self-protecting
mechanism against further sinking.
Acknowledgments
The writers are thankful for the financial support of the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Coastal Geosciences Pro-
gram of the U.S. Office of Naval Research, Grant N00014-01-1-
0337. The writers thank David Waterman and Dr. Talia Tokyay
for their valuable comments and suggestions on the manuscript.
Gratitude is also extended to Dr. Carlos M. García for his input
during ADV data quality analysis. The participation of Dr. Jorge
D. Abad was possible because of startup funding from the Depart-
ment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of
Pittsburgh. The writers would like to thank the anonymous re-
viewers and the journal’s associated editor for their positive
feedback and suggestions, which were very helpful to improve
the manuscript.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
Bdo = initial burial depth;
D = diameter of the SC;
Dm = mean diameter of the TC;
d50 = median sediment size;
F = parameter describing accuracy of ADV
measurements;
F = Froude number associated to mean flow;
Fd = Froude number associated to the object;
Ff = fluid fraction function as defined in FLOW-3D;
fR = user defined ADV sampling frequency;
g = acceleration attributable to gravity;
h = average water depth;
hc = height of the TC;
k = turbulent kinetic energy TKE;
ks = surface mean roughness height of the object and
sandbed;
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J. Hydraul. Eng. 2013.139:269-283.
kv = von Kármán constant;
Lc = length of the short cylinder;
Ls = energy containing length scale;
NLx , NLy , and NLz = noise levels in the three spatial directions;
R = Reynolds number;
Rd = object Reynolds number;
Sh = Strouhal number;
T = water temperature;
T s = period of the vortex shedding oscillation;
TKE ND = normalized TKE;
U = mean flow velocity of the current;
U nd , V nd , W nd = dimensionless velocities;
u
= bed shear velocity;
u 0 = local average longitudinal velocity;
u, v, w = instantaneous velocities in the three spatial
coordinates;
u 0 , v 0 , w 0 = turbulent velocity fluctuations around the mean in the
three spatial coordinates;
ū, v̄, w̄ = mean flow velocities in the three spatial coordinates;
x, y, z = spatial coordinates;
zo = total roughness length;
zof = form drag;
zos = skin friction;
zot = near-bed sediment transport;
γ c = specific gravity of object;
γ s = specific gravity of sediment;
ε = dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy;
θ = Shields parameter;
θcr = critical Shields shear stress;
λp = sediment porosity;
ν = kinematic viscosity of fluid; and
φ = internal angle of repose of the sand.
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