Research Theme

Turbulence and Bulk Transport Laws

We derive universal, physics-based transport laws that link microscale turbulence dynamics to bulk sediment transport, enabling predictive models for scour, deposition, and channel resilience.

Sediment Transport Turbulence Theory Scour & Deposition

Why bulk transport laws matter

Predicting scour and deposition remains one of the most consequential challenges in river engineering, infrastructure design, and climate adaptation. Failures in bulk transport models directly translate into vulnerability of bridges, channels, and coastal systems.

Existing models often rely on empirical correlations with limited physical grounding, obscuring the link between sediment physics, turbulence structure, and observations.

Our objective is to replace empirical tuning with universal transport laws derived from turbulence dynamics.

A first-principles derivation of transport laws

Starting from the governing physics, we derive a predictive framework based on:

Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE) balance equations
Shear stress and momentum budgets

These components anchor sediment transport in measurable turbulence quantities, rather than fitted coefficients.

⚙️ Co-spectral turbulence budgets

Link energy-containing eddies to suspended sediment concentration using co-spectral budget models.

📊 Universal scaling

The resulting formulation collapses five orders of magnitude of historical laboratory and field data onto a single predictive curve.

🌉 Climate-resilient engineering

Enables physically grounded design of resilient scouring and deposition systems under changing flow regimes.

Bridging scales: from turbulence to infrastructure

This framework explicitly connects microscale turbulence dynamics—eddy energetics, shear production, and dissipation—to bulk sediment transport laws used in engineering practice.

The result is a predictive, interpretable bridge between turbulence theory and real-world sediment transport observations.

What this framework enables

Universal prediction of scour and deposition across flow regimes
Reduced uncertainty in sediment transport modeling for climate adaptation
Physically interpretable transport laws rooted in turbulence budgets
Scalable application from laboratory channels to natural rivers

Representative Publications

Li, S., Bragg, A. D., & Katul, G. A co-spectral budget model links turbulent eddies to suspended sediment concentration in channel flows. Water Resources Research, 58(3), e2021WR031045.
Li, S., Bragg, A. D., & Katul, G. Reduced sediment settling in turbulent flows due to Basset history and virtual mass effects. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(22), e2023GL105810.