The role of grain-size ratio in the mobility of mixed granular beds

The main goal of the study was to understand the effects of grain-size distribution on the stability of beds in the sand-silt range, which is a critical subject for the understanding of geomorphological processes in aquatic environments. Although theoretical models can explain the mobilization of a mixed bed, there is a clear lack in knowledge regarding the stabilizing effect of non-cohesive fine material. To connect existing findings, we analysed bed stability in relation to grain-size distribution in laboratory experiments. Erosion experiments in an annular flume were conducted using beds of different size compositions of spherical glass beads, i.e. a) the grain-size ratio RD = D50,coarse/D50,fine (the relative size of coarse and fine grains; D50 = 39-367 μm) and b) the amount of fines. Several glass-bead combinations with unimodal and bimodal grain-size distributions (RD = 3.9, 5.8, and 9.4) and varying fine fractions (10-40% dry weight) were subjected to increasing flow speeds (0.01-0.19 m s−1). Using acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV) and optical backscatter, the flow profile in the vicinity of the bed surface, the changes in bed morphology, and the suspended sediment concentration (SSC) were measured. A new method was developed to evaluate the bed-level changes detected by the ADV as a proxy for the bed mobility. We found different modes of bed mobility depending on the grain-size ratio. For low grain-size ratios, an increase in the fine fraction (to 40%) led to increased bed-level changes during the experiment and the mobilization of the mixed bed at the highest flow speed. For high ratios an increase in fine fraction (to 40%) led to a decrease of bed-level changes and the beds remained stable, i.e. no bed forms developed even at the highest flow speed. Therefore, increasing the amount of fine particles can lead to different modes of behaviour depending on the grain-size ratio. For a bimodal sediment bed with spherical grains under unidirectional flow conditions, the grain-size ratio can be used to estimate the bed mobility, i.e. to evaluate if a bed is likely to mobilize at flow speeds of up to 0.19 m s−1. Hence, for the stability of a non-cohesive, mixed bed in the sand-silt range, the grain-size ratio plays a fundamental role, while the amount of fine grains is a secondary factor.