The SEAWOLF Flume: Sediment Erosion Actuated by Wave Oscillations and Linear Flow

Sandia National Laboratories has previously developed a unidirectional High Shear Stress Sediment Erosion flume for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal Hydraulics Laboratory. The flow regime for this flume has limited applicability to wave-dominated environments. A significant design modification to the existing flume allows oscillatory flow to be superimposed upon a unidirectional current. The new flume simulates highshear stress erosion processes experienced in coastal waters where wave forcing dominates the system. Flow velocity measurements, and erosion experiments with known sediment samples were performed with the new flume. Also, preliminary computational flow models closely simulate experimental results and allow for a detailed assessment of the induced shear stresses at the sediment surface.