Estimating sediment load in rivers is one of the most crucial aspects of sediment transport studies and river engineering. Therefore, developing innovative and creative methods that enhance the speed and accuracy of calculations while evaluating different sediment load estimation approaches is of great importance. Given the numerous methods available for estimating sediment load in rivers and the high computational demand of these methods, the need for a comprehensive computational software to improve both accuracy and efficiency is strongly felt.
Sediment transport in alluvial channels has been widely studied, and various relationships have been proposed based on laboratory and field data. Different sediment transport equations yield varied results, which are not always reliable. Estimating the amount of sediment that a given flow can carry is a fundamental topic in sediment research, with significant applications in engineering projects such as:
- Water storage planning and design,
- Riverbed morphology and channel evolution studies,
- Annual sediment load estimation for river intakes,
- Design and maintenance of stable irrigation canals,
- Coastal protection, and
- Dredging operations.
Compared to other branches of hydraulics, progress in sediment transport studies has been relatively slow due to the complex interactions among numerous flow and sediment parameters. The mutual influence of these parameters makes it challenging to formulate an accurate sediment transport model. Therefore, there is a critical need to introduce a mathematical model that considers all these parameters and their variations in both the longitudinal and transverse directions of the river.
To address this challenge, a user-friendly software has been developed to evaluate:
- 56 equations for bed load estimation,
- 15 equations for suspended load estimation, and
- 21 equations for total load estimation.
Additionally, the software incorporates a quasi-2D Shiono & Knight Model (SKM) to analyze velocity distribution across the river width, enabling transverse sediment transport analysis.
This innovative solution plays a crucial role in identifying reliable equations that provide accurate field-measured sediment transport predictions. The software also enhances estimation accuracy by:
- Calculating calibration coefficients,
- Deriving new sediment transport equations,
- Refining existing relationships, and
- Utilizing Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) for predictive modeling.
These capabilities significantly improve sediment discharge estimations in rivers.
STE Software #
The Sediment Transport Estimator (STE) is an engineering software designed to perform hydraulic and sediment transport calculations.
Since accuracy has always been a major concern for hydraulic engineers in estimating river sediment load, and considering the high computational demand of hydraulic calculations—due to the variety of sediment transport equations, multiple influencing parameters, and the repetitive nature of calculations—there is a clear need for a software that:
- Utilizes sediment transport formulas,
- Features a user-friendly interface,
- Minimizes potential errors from repeated data entry and calculations,
- Eliminates rounding errors and simplification assumptions, and
- Enhances final calculation accuracy.
With the power of computers and advanced software, we can efficiently solve the Shiono & Knight Model (SKM), which is derived from the depth-integrated Navier-Stokes equations for steady flow conditions. This allows us to compute lateral velocity distribution across the river width and model sediment transport rates using various estimation methods.
The STE software offers unique features for:
- Importing raw and measured data,
- Calculating river hydraulic parameters,
- Performing sediment grain size analyses,
- Classifying input data,
- Conducting sediment transport calculations,
- Extracting precise conclusions from computed results, and
- Enhancing calculation accuracy using calibration coefficients and custom equations.
This software is designed to reduce computation time, increase accuracy, and assist engineers in focusing more on hypothesis testing rather than spending excessive time on calculations.
This software is capable of estimating sediment load using two approaches:
- Hydraulic methods
- Hydrologic methods (including statistical approaches and sediment rating curves)
At the beginning of creating a new project or reloading an existing project, the following screen appears, prompting the user to select their preferred calculation method.
