In the first step of hydraulic calculations, users need to select and activate the sediment transport methods they want to analyze. For this purpose, the following user interface has been designed and displayed:
This panel allows users to choose specific methods for sediment transport estimation.
Method Type Options #
There are eight selection modes available:
- All Methods – Selects all available methods.
- Bed Load Only – Includes only bed load estimation methods.
- Suspended Load Only – Includes only suspended load estimation methods.
- Total Load Only – Includes only total load estimation methods.
- Bed and Suspended Load – Includes both bed load and suspended load estimation methods.
- Bed and Total Load – Includes both bed load and total load estimation methods.
- Suspended and Total Load – Includes both suspended load and total load estimation methods.
- Select Manually – Allows users to manually choose specific methods.
Featured Methods #
Some coded methods in STE provide additional sediment-related information beyond discharge estimation. These methods require more input parameters than standard methods and may have different computational procedures.
In STE, such methods are classified as Featured Methods. Users can enable these methods by activating the Featured Methods checkbox, located next to the Method Type selection.
List of Featured Methods #
| Method Name | Additional Required Parameters | Advantages | Estimated Sediment Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modified Einstein (SEMEP 2009) | Measured suspended load discharge, d₅₀ particle size of suspended load, and d₅₀ & d₆₅ of bed material | Provides wash load discharge and bed material load discharge separately | Bed Load, Suspended Load, Total Load |
| Calibrated Wilcock (2001) | Measured bed load discharge | Separates gravel and sand fractions of bed load | Bed Load |
By offering customizable method selection and advanced featured methods, STE ensures greater flexibility and accuracy in hydraulic sediment transport calculations.
Bed Load Methods #
The STE software is equipped with 56 bed load calculation methods, of which 14 of the 56 methods are capable of calculating bed sediment load using Size Fractions for rivers with non-uniform grain size distributions.
The details of these methods are as follows:
| Method Name | Uses Size Fractions? | Grain Sizes Used | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEYER-PETER AND MULLER – Manning (1948) | ✘ | d90, da | In the calculation of the ratio of bed roughness to particle roughness, Manning’s equation has been used. |
| MEYER-PETER AND MULLER – Chezy (1948) | ✔ | d50, d90 | In the calculation of the ratio of bed roughness to particle roughness, Chezy’s equation has been used. |
| MEYER-PETER AND MULLER – Translated by Sheppard (1960) | ✘ | d90, da | This equation has been modified by USBR. |
| EINSTEIN-Main (1950) | ✔ | d65, da | Einstein’s main equation of 1950 |
| EINSTEIN-Empirical (1950) | ✘ | d50, d65 | The empirical form of Einstein’s equation (Brown/Julien) |
| MODIFIED EINSTEIN SEMEP | ✘ | d50bm, d65bm, d50sl | The diameters d65 and d50, which pertain to bed material, can be adjusted according to the sediment settings of the software, but the d50 diameter related to suspended load will be obtained from the suspended load grain size distribution; if this value is unknown (i.e., zero), it will be calculated using the Van Rijn equation. |
| BAGNOLD (1966) | ✘ | da | |
| TOFFALETI (1967) | ✔ | d65, da | |
| VAN RIJN – Shear Velocity (1984) | ✘ | d50, d90 | Van Rijn’s shear velocity form: In this equation, the bed load discharge is calculated using the shear velocity and the critical shear velocity. |
| VAN RIJN – Mobility Parameter (1984) | ✘ | d50 | Van Rijn’s stress form: In this equation, the bed load discharge is calculated using the shear stress and the critical shear stress. |
| SAMAGA ET AL (1986) | ✔ | d50, d65, da | |
| DU BOYS (1879) | ✘ | d50, d90 | |
| SHIELDS (1936) | ✘ | d50 | |
| SCHOKLITSCH (1950) | ✔ | d50 | |
| ENGELUND AND FREDSOE (1976) | ✘ | d50 | This equation requires the particle repose angle parameter. |
| YALIN (1963) | ✘ | d50 | |
| ASHIDA AND MICHIUE (1972) | ✔ | d50 | |
| KISI (1935) | ✘ | d50, da | This equation is not capable of using Size Fractions values, but for rivers with non-uniform grain size distributions, it provides different equations. |
| PARKER ET AL (1982) | ✘ | d50 | |
| NEILSEN (1992) | ✘ | d50 | |
| SUBSTRATE LAYER PROPERTIES- VAN RIJN (1984) | ✘ | d50 | |
| SUBSTRATE LAYER PROPERTIES- NIELSEN (1984) | ✘ | d50 | |
| MISRI ET AL (1984) | ✔ | d50, d65, da | |
| WONG AND PARKER (2006) | ✘ | d50, d90 | |
| ACKERS AND WHITE (1973) | ✘ | d35 | |
| YANG (1984) | ✘ | d50 | |
| ROTTNER (1959) | ✘ | d50 | |
| BATHURST (2006) | ✘ | d50bm, d50bl, d84bl | The diameters d50 and d84, which pertain to the bed load grain size distribution, can be adjusted according to the sediment settings of the software; however, the d50 diameter related to bed material will be obtained from the bed material grain size distribution, and if this value is unknown (i.e., zero), the d90 diameter from the selected grain size distribution in the settings will be used. |
| ENGELUND AND HANSEN (1967) | ✘ | d50 | |
| CHANG ET AL (1965) | ✘ | d50 | |
| PARKER (1990) | ✔ | da | |
| PARKER AND KLINGEMAN (1982) | ✔ | d50, da | |
| WILCOCK AND CROWE (2003) | ✔ | da | |
| HABIBI AND SIVAKUMAR (1994) | ✘ | d50, d90 | |
| CALIBRATED WILCOCK (2001) | ✘ | d65 | Presentation of bed load discharge (differentiated between sand and gravel) |
| ARMANINI ET AL BALLISTIC | ✘ | da | |
| SMART AND JAEGGI (1983) | ✘ | d35, d50, d90 | |
| PARKER (1979) | ✘ | d50 | |
| SUSZKA AND GRAF (1978) | ✘ | d50 | |
| FRIJLINK (1952) | ✘ | d50, d90 | |
| CHIEN (1954) | ✘ | d50, d90 | |
| WILSON (1966) | ✘ | d50, d90 | |
| FERNANDEZ LUQUE AND VAN BEEK (1976) | ✘ | d50, d90 | |
| MADSEN (1991) | ✘ | d50 | This equation requires the particle repose angle parameter. |
| NINO AND GRACIA (1998) | ✘ | d50 | This equation requires the particle repose angle parameter. |
| WANG ET AL (2008) | ✔ | d65, da | |
| LAJEUNESSE ET AL (2010) | ✘ | d50 | |
| KALINSKE (1947) | ✘ | d50 | |
| PAINTAL (1971) | ✘ | d50 | |
| CHENG (2002) | ✘ | d50 | |
| HANES (1986) | ✘ | d50 | |
| DONAT (1929) | ✘ | d50 | |
| BAREKYAN (1962) | ✘ | d50 | |
| DOU (1964) | ✘ | d50 | |
| WU ET AL (2000) | ✔ | d50, da | |
| PATEL AND RANGA RAJU (1996) | ✔ | d16, d50, d65, d84, da |
Suspended Load Methods #
The STE software is equipped with 15 methods for calculating suspended sediment load, of which 4 methods are capable of calculating suspended sediment load using size fractions for rivers with non-uniform grain size distribution.
The details of these methods are as follows:
| Method Name | Calculation using Size Fractions | Grain Sizes Used | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EINSTEIN-Main (1950) | ✔ | d65, da | Einstein’s main equation of 1950 |
| EINSTEIN-Empirical (1950) | ✘ | d50, d65 | Empirical form of Einstein’s equation (Brown/Julien) |
| MODIFIED EINSTEIN SEMEP | ✘ | d50bm, d65bm, d50sl | Modified Einstein [SEMEP] – The d65 and d50 diameters pertaining to bed material can be adjusted according to the sediment settings of the software; however, the d50 for suspended load is taken from the suspended load grain size distribution. If this value is unknown (i.e., zero), it is calculated using the Van Rijn equation. |
| BAGNOLD (1966) | ✘ | da | |
| CELIK AND RODI (1991) | ✘ | d50 | |
| TOFFALETI (1967) | ✔ | d65, da | |
| VAN RIJN (1984) | ✘ | d16, d50, d84, d90 | |
| SAMAGA ET AL (1986) | ✔ | d50, da | |
| WIUFF (1985) | ✘ | d50 | |
| LANE AND KALINSKE (1941) | ✘ | d50, d65, d90 | |
| BROOKS (1963) | ✘ | d50, d65 |
Total Load Methods #
The STE software is equipped with 21 methods for calculating total sediment load, of which 4 methods are capable of calculating total sediment load using size fractions for rivers with non-uniform grain size distribution.
Seven of these methods obtain the total load discharge indirectly by summing the bed load and suspended load computed by the same method, while the remaining methods calculate this value directly.
The details of these methods are as follows:
| Method Name | Calculation using Size Fractions | Grain Sizes Used | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EINSTEIN-Main (1950) | ✔ | d65, da | This method is an indirect method; for estimating sediment load using this method, the suspended load and bed load must first be calculated using this method, and then in the total load calculations section, the sediment load is computed using this relation. |
| EINSTEIN-Empirical (1950) | ✘ | d50, d65 | This method is an indirect method; for estimating sediment load using this method, the suspended load and bed load must first be calculated using this method, and then in the total load calculations section, the sediment load is computed using this relation. |
| MODIFIED EINSTEIN SEMEP | ✘ | d50bm, d65bm, d50sl | Modified Einstein SEMEP: The d65 and d50 diameters pertaining to bed material can be adjusted according to the software’s sediment settings; however, the d50 for suspended load is taken from the suspended load grain size distribution. If this value is unknown (i.e., zero), it is calculated using the Van Rijn equation. |
| BAGNOLD (1966) | ✘ | – | This method is an indirect method; for estimating sediment load using this method, the suspended load and bed load must first be calculated using this method, and then in the total load calculations section, the sediment load is computed using this relation. |
| TOFFALETI (1967) | ✔ | – | This method is an indirect method; for estimating sediment load using this method, the suspended load and bed load must first be calculated using this method, and then in the total load calculations section, the sediment load is computed using this relation. |
| VAN RIJN (1984) | ✘ | – | This method is an indirect method; for estimating sediment load using this method, the suspended load and bed load must first be calculated using this method, and then in the total load calculations section, the sediment load is computed using this relation. |
| SAMAGA ET AL (1986) | ✔ | – | This method is an indirect method; for estimating sediment load using this method, the suspended load and bed load must first be calculated using this method, and then in the total load calculations section, the sediment load is computed using this relation. |
| CHANG ET AL (1965) | ✘ | – | This method is an indirect method; for estimating sediment load using this method, the suspended load and bed load must first be calculated using this method, and then in the total load calculations section, the sediment load is computed using this relation. |
| HABIBI AND SIVAKUMAR (1994) | ✘ | – | This method is an indirect method; for estimating sediment load using this method, the suspended load and bed load must first be calculated using this method, and then in the total load calculations section, the sediment load is computed using this relation. |
| YANG (1973-1984) | ✘ | d50 | |
| ACKERS AND WHITE (1973) | ✘ | d35 | |
| ENGELUND AND HANSEN (1967) | ✘ | d50 | |
| LAURSEN (1958) | ✔ | d50 | |
| BISHOP ET AL (1965) | ✘ | d35, d50 | |
| GRAF AND ACAROGLU (1968) | ✘ | d35, d50 | |
| BROWNLIE (1981) | ✘ | d50 | |
| KARIM AND KENNEDY (1990) | ✘ | d50 | |
| YANG AND SIMOES (2005) | ✘ | d50 | |
| MOLINAS AND WU (2001) | ✘ | d50 | |
| YANG AND LIM (2003) | ✘ | d50, d90 | |
| SINNAKAUDAN ET AL (2006) | ✘ | d50 |
Automatic Method Selection Based on Grain Size Distribution #
One of the key features of STE is the automatic selection of sediment transport estimation methods based on grain size distribution.
This feature allows users to quickly analyze all their sediment data and series in terms of grain size range and automatically match the most suitable estimation methods based on their valid grain size range. As a result, users can focus only on recommended methods for their study river.
How It Works #
Users can select measured grain size distributions from the river and define an acceptable percentage (i.e., the minimum percentage of grain size data that should fall within the valid range of a method). STE then performs the calculations and activates the methods that satisfy this condition.
The results of the selection process are fully customizable, allowing users to manually modify and refine the chosen methods.
User Interface for Automatic Method Selection #
By clicking the “Automatic” button in the method selection page, the following interface appears:
Controls Section #
- Selected River: Choose the target river.
- Sediment Part: Select the sediment category (bed material, bed load, or suspended load).
Upon selection, the system displays all available grain size series in the Unselected Series list. Users can transfer relevant series to the Selected Series list for further processing.
Note: To use this feature, the river grain size distribution data must be defined in advance.
Grain Size Range & Acceptable Percentage #
The Diameters Range in Selected Series section displays the D35, D50, D84, D90, and DA values for the selected data.
Users must define an Acceptable Percentage (default: 70%), which determines the minimum percentage of data that must fall within the method’s valid range for activation.
For example:
If 70% or more of the selected data falls within the valid range of the Meyer-Peter Müller method, it will be activated automatically.
Selection Modes #
Users can choose between two selection modes for automatic method activation:
- Reset All Selections for this Range
- Clears all previously activated methods.
- Activates only methods that meet the acceptable percentage criterion within the selected range.
- Add Methods in this Range to the Selected Methods
- Keeps previously activated methods (manual or automatic selections).
- Adds new methods that meet the acceptable percentage criterion for the current range.
Transport Type Selection & Results Display #
After selecting the sediment transport type, clicking OK runs the calculations and displays the results in the following table:
| Column Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Method Name | Name of the evaluated sediment transport method. |
| Percentage | Percentage of data that falls within the valid range for this method. |
| Acceptable Percentage | The defined threshold for activating a method. |
| Activate Status | Indicates whether the method has been activated or not. |
Users can finalize their selection using:
- Accept: Saves the activated methods and returns to the method selection page.
- Try Again: Saves the activated methods but keeps the user in the automatic selection interface for further adjustments.
This system optimizes method selection, ensuring that only relevant and scientifically valid approaches are used for each study river.
