Wave-Current induced mine burial due to sediment scour
The purpose of this research is to understand the behavior of U.S Navy mines placed in shallow waters through a series of experiments based on a large-scale model. Using concrete cylinders as laboratory mines burial processes in the presence of waves and currents are studied for different conditions. In order to help in the predictive capabilities of mine movement, the process responsible for the removal of granular material on sea bottoms, known as scour, will be studied. We will be using a long water channel having a length 161feet, a 6feet width and a piston-type wave maker to generate waves with different frequencies and amplitudes. The wave-current channel is located in the Hydrosystems Laboratory of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. Model mines are going to be placed on a movable sandy bed and their burial depths are going to be measured as a function of time, along with the velocity profiles of the flow responsible for the scouring around the mines. Once the experiments are conducted, we will be comparing a) maximum burial depths among different frequencies and amplitudes and b) differences between burial patterns present in waves alone and those observed under the action of waves combined with currents. The role that sand ripples and larger bedforms play in the mine burial process will be also elucidated through the laboratory observations.
School:
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Department:
Civil Engineering
Research Advisor:
Marcelo Garcia
Department of Research Advisor:
Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering
Year of Publication:
2002