CLASTIC TRANSPORT AND FLUID FLOW

CHAPTER 3

ChapterChapter-3 Clastic transport and fluid flow

 Weathered

rock and minerals fragments are transported from source areas to depositional sites (where they are subject to additional transport and redeposition) by three kinds of processes: 1- dry (non-fluid assisted), gravity-driven (nongravitymass wasting processes such as rock fall and rock slides;

 2-

wet (fluid assisted), gravity-driven mass gravitywasting processes (sediment gravity flows) such as grain flows, mudflows, debris flows, and some slumps; and processes that involve direct fluid flows of air, water, and ice.

 3-

 Mass

wasting  Fluid flow  Reynolds Number  Froud Number  Entrainment, transport and deposition of clasts  Transport

Mass Wasting
 Mass

wasting processes are important mechanisms of sediemnt transport.  Although they move the soil and rock debris only short distances downslope , these processes play a crucial role in sediment transport by getting the products of weathering into the longer-distance longersediment transport system.

Mass Wasting
 In

dry mass-wasting processes, fluid plays masseither a minor role or no role at all.  In rock or talus falls, clasts of any size simply fall freely.  Downslope movement of bodies of rocks or sediment in slumps or slides glide downslope en masse without significant internal folding or faulting. Fluids near the base provides lubrication and promotes failure along slippage surface.

Reynolds Number
 Re=

2rVp/Q  Sir Osborne Reynolds addressed the problem of how laminar flow changes to turbulent flow.  The transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurs as velocity increases, viscosity decrease, the roughness of the flow boundary increases, and/or the flow becomes less narrowly confined.

Froud Number
 

The Froud Number is the ratio between fluid inertial forces and fluid gravitational forces. It compares the tendency of a moving fluid (and a particle borne by that fluid) to continue moving with the gravitational forces that act to stop that motion. The force of inertia express the distance traveled by a discrete portion of the fluid before it comes to rest. Like reynolds Numbers, Froud numbers are dimensionless.

Froud Number
Fr = fluid inertial forces . gravitational forces in flow

Deposition: What forces control the settling of particles?

 As

soon as a particle is lifted above the surface of a bed, it begins to sink back again.  The distance that it travels depend on the drag force of the current, and the settling velocity of the Particle. Particle.  The velocity at which a clast settles througha fluid is calculated using STOKES LAW of settling

Stokes Law of settling

 The

gravitational force pulling the particle down versus the drag force of the fluid resisting this sinking.  The particle will be initially accelerate due to gravity, but soon the gravitational and drag forces reach equilibrium, resulting in a constant Terminal Fall Velocity. Terminal Velocity.

 The

drag force exerted by a fluid on a falling grain is proportional to the fluid density (VF), the diameter (d) of the grain (V (in centimeters), the drag coefficient (CD) and the fall velocity (V). force= CD (d2/4) (VF V2/2) (V

 Drag

Drag force
force due to buoyancy of the fluid is: Fupward = 4/3 (d/2)3 VFg  Downward forces due to gravity:
 Upward


Fg = 4/3 (d/2)3 V sg, where ps is the density of the particle.

 Drag

force= Fg - Fupward

Drag force= Fg - Fupward



CD

(d2/4) (pF V2/2)= 4/3

(d/2)3 Vsg - 4/3

(d/2)3 VFg

       

V2= 4gd (Vs- VF) 3 CD VF For low laminar flow at low concentrations of particle and low Reynolds numbers, CD is equal to 24/Re. V = 1/18 ([V s- V F] g d2 /u) - Stokes Law of settling ([V V-velocity, g-gravity, u-viscocity, even the differnce in density (Vs- V gu(V F) is constant for a given situation. It can be substitute for C C = (V s- V F)g 18u Stokes law reduces to V=CD2

Stokes law reduces to V=CD2

 When

density and viscosity are constant, settling velocity increases with the diameter of the particle.  Larger grains fall faster.
 Settling

velocity decreases with higher viscosities and increases with denser particles. C = (Vs- VF)g
18u

Implications of the Stokes Law

 High

density minerals settle more rapidly than low density minerals.  Slow-moving, highly viscous fluids such as Slowmudflows and density currents can transport coarser-grained materials than coarserless viscuos fluids such as rivers and the wind, despite the normally higher velocity of these less viscous fluids.

 Lower

temperatures will increas viscosity decreasing the fall velocity.  Because of turbulence, coarser particles fall more slowly than predicted.  Non-spherical flakes such as mica will Nonsettle more slowly than spheres with the same density.  Angular grains will generate small turbulent eddies that retard settling velocity.

Hydraulic equivalency
 The

term refers to clasts that settle at identical velocities despite substantial differences in size, shape, angularity, and density.


ie. Sediment mixes of fine grained, silt-size siltmagnetite, fine sand-size biotite flakes, and sandmedium sand-size quartz. sand-