An Assessment of Applicability of Bed Load Formulae in Gravel-Bed Rivers Based on Bed Load Sampling

Abstract

Bed load plays an important role in maintaining balance and stabilize river geometry. The transportation of bed load particles significantly contributes to river bed changes. The selection of bed load formula for defining bed load transport rate is an important aspect of catchment planning. The aim of this research, first, is to investigate the applicability of eight bed load transport formulae including DuBoys (1979), Einstein-Brown (1950), Rottner (1950), Cheng (2002), Shield (1936), Schoklisch (1935), Engelund-Fredsoe (1976) and Madsen (1991) based on collected bed load data from Yangyang River in the South Korea. We, then, will select the most appropriate formula for calculating bed load transport rate and simulating bed level variation in the Yangyang mountains river reach belonging to the South Korea. The results indicated that the bed load formulae proposed by Schoklisch (1935), Engelund-Fredsoe (1976) and Madsen (1991) may reasonably predict bed load transport rates in the range of observed particles. In general, the applicability of bed load transport formulae in gravel-bed rivers is the main dependency on the hydraulic conditions of the survey area as well as sediment parameters.