Characteristics of Water and Sediment Distribution in the Lotus-root-shape Compound Channels

In this paper, the distribution characteristics of water and sediment distribution in the lotus-root-shape compound channels are analyzed and compared by the data from flume experiments. The flow velocity of plain to channel, still increase with the increment of the depth, and their differences are large at the lower depth, but close at the higher one. The averaged sediment concentration of flood plain is smaller than that of main channel in the lotus-root-shape compound channels. The sediment concentration of plain is larger than a single channel because of the effects of momentum transfer between channels and plain. The ratio of the sediment concentration between plain and cross-section goes up with the sediment load. With the increment of water depth or the decrement of sediment load, the sediment concentration of channel and plain always debase, and the amplitude decreases alone the river. The mean sediment concentration in vertical direction reduces gradually from the center zone of channel to two sides of plain. The vertical distribution of sediment concentration doesn’t obey Rouse-law. The relative sediment concentration goes up with the increase of the relative velocity and depth.