On the mechanisms of the saltating motion of bedload

Saltation of sediment particles is an important pattern of bedload transport. Based on force analysis for sediment particles, a Lagrangian model was proposed for the saltating motion of bedload in river flows, which was then solved with numerical method. Simulation results on the saltating trajectories neglecting particle rotation and turbulence effects compare fairly well with experimental observations. The mean values of the saltation parameters (saltation height, length and velocity) also agree well with the previous experimental data. Based on the numerical results, regression equations for the dimensionless saltation height, length and velocity were presented. Using the numerically achieved characteristics of the sediment saltation, we also obtained mathematical expression for the sediment transport rate. The studies in this paper are significant for its contribution to mechanism of the bedload motion and the computation of sediment transport rate.