Empirical, numerical, and soft modelling approaches for non-cohesive sediment transport

Abstract

This paper reviews the modelling approaches and outstanding issues with regard to non-cohesive sediment transport which has been experimentally and numerically studied for many decades owing to its importance to hydraulic structures, morphology and related areas. About 311 papers are reviewed that included laboratory experiments, field observations, and analytical and numerical modelling studies. The reviewed papers cover the period 1938-2020. Of 311, 95 papers are included in this paper. The modeling approaches include empirical, physics-based, spatially averaged, and soft methods. The empirical models have oversimplified the process while the physics-based models are indispensable when the detailed analysis is required. On the other hand, when the objective is to obtain cumulative sediment loads, it would be advantageous to employ the spatial averaging modelling and/or the soft computing methods due to less computational burden and data requirements. The outstanding issues are related to the particle fall velocity, particle velocity, incipient motion, and transport function that require further experimental investigations especially for unsteady non-uniform transport processes.