Effect of Purity of Water on Riverbank Erosion Under Variable Operating Conditions

In this paper the behavior of a particle on a riverbank is analyzed for pure water and two different types of saline water using a recent analytical model called the Truncated Pyramid Model. The particle is subjected to a number of forces, e.g., capillary cohesion and gravitational pull. It is influenced by the arrangement of other particles surrounding it. The cohesive force has always been considered as a significant factor in determination of the threshold condition where the particle is about to escape from the riverbank. This limiting velocity of the particle is termed as the escape velocity. The escape velocity is strongly related to other parameters like the volumetric rate of erosion, entrainment rate etc. Here it is shown that the escape velocity changes significantly as the inter-particle distance and the volume of the liquid bridge between the particles change. There are remarkable differences between the results obtained for pure and saline water.