Experiment study on sediment incipience in backward-facing step flow

Flow over a backward-facing step was studied to investigate the effect of large-scale vortex structures on sediment incipience. The transient flow velocity field at the downstream of the backward-facing step was obtained using the technique of Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV). The optical amplification technique was employed to measure the instantaneous flow velocities near the bed and the instantaneous bed shear stress was given. The experimental observations revealed a new insight into the oscillation of the large-scale structure and the three-dimensional characteristics of the flow. In particular, very high turbulence intensity, instantaneous horizontal velocity near the bed and the bed shear stress near the reattachment point were observed. The sediment incipient probability obtained from the sequent images of sediment particles near the bed indicates that the critical instantaneous shear stress of the sediment incipience is independent of flow conditions.