Local scour at open-channel junctions

High bed-shear stress resulting from secondary flows and velocity increase at a channel junction cause local erosion and deposition in natural rivers and earth-lined channels. Herein, the scour patterns at the junction of two loose bed channels were studied under clear-water conditions. The main dimensionless variables are the angle between the two approach flow branches, the discharge and width ratios of the tributary to the downstream channel branches, and the ratio of the mean downstream velocity to the threshold velocity. The results indicate that the position of the maximum scour depth temporally moves to the outer wall and upstream to the main channel, as affected by the dimensionless variables. The effects of these variables are given in graphs and are expressed with a formula for maximum scour depth.