Flume Controls
Water Discharge can be controlled using the pump shown in figure 1.2, which also shows the flow rate and the time on the screen. Slope can be controlled by changing the topography or inclining the table more or less. Sediment Discharge is at the outlet of the plug. The slope can change the profile. The drainage plug can control the base level by pulling It high or lower. Four different grain colors represent different grain sizes with the same densities. From biggest to smallest It goes yellow, white, black, and red (figure 1.1). The red wasn't as prominent because it's so small that It would be shielded from the larger grains because of their high porosity instead of being transported
Figure 1.1
Figure 1.2
Videos
We were not able to produce a classic single-threaded meandering channel in our experiment without manipulation during the experiment. I don't think Its possible to create a well defined meandering river with the controls we had at our disposal In this flume. A big part of a meandering river Is bank stability and that can come from vegetation which we don't have.
Analysis
Smaller floods have more variations in channel size, quantity, and topography. It also created more meandering/braided streams. The big floods had fewer variations and focus more on the main channel wiping out most of the topography. We saw overbank flows and that contributed to new channel developments through avulsions or chute dissection. Bankfull flows were also present when there was higher discharges. Through flows contributed to the base flow of many river channels we created. Hyporehic flows made the biggest difference in the beginning because the flume wasn't fully saturated but after that, It helped with through flow and creating new channels. A role that the recession limb flow played was that when discharge decreased It created more distinct channels and braided more than before.