A Cyclic Sediment Transport Approach to Create a Synthetic Aquifer with Multiscale Heterogeneity

A new approach has been developed to create a realistic looking fluvial deposit through the cyclic flux of sediment-laden water. Empirical sediment transport equations were first studied to determine whether they could be used to design a sediment transport schedule. It was found that the scour, transport, and deposition of sediments were difficult to predict with traditional empirical relationships due to the uniqueness of the flume used in the study. The flumes used in studies where empirical relationships have been developed were much longer than the flume used in this experimental study. Instead, unique empirical relationships based on the flow conditions observed for suspension (flume entrance) and scour (erosion) of many classes of sands were obtained under plain bed conditions. It has been found that this new approach works well in a quasi-two-dimensional flume and that the hypothesized sediment distribution of the interfingering type with inter- and intra-layer heterogeneity (i.e., multiscale heterogeneity) can be created through this approach.