Linking the explicit probability of entrainment of instrumented particles to flow hydrodynamics

Obtaining a better understanding of the underlying dynamics of the interaction of turbulent flows and the bed surface that contains them, leading to the transport of coarse particles in fluvial, coastal, and aeolian environments, is considered as one of the fundamental objectives and the most complex problems in Earth surface dynamics and engineering. Recent technological advancements have made it possible to directly assess sediment entrainment rather than monitoring surrogate flow metrics, which could be related indirectly to sediment entrainment. In this work, a novel and low-cost instrumented particle, 7 cm in diameter, is used to directly assess the incipient entrainment of a coarse particle resting on a bed surface. The particle has inertial measurement units (IMUs) embedded within its waterproof shell, enabling it to track the particle's motions and quantify its inertial dynamics. The sensors of the instrumented particle are calibrated using simple and easy-to-validate theoretically physical motions to estimate the uncertainties in their readings, which are reduced using an inertial sensor fusion process. A series of well-designed laboratory flume incipient motion experiments are performed to assess the entrainment of the instrumented particle for a range of flowrates near the threshold of motion. The readings of the instrumented particle are used to derive metrics that are related to the probability of its incipient entrainment. The flow velocity measurements are obtained for the experiment runs, and the derived metrics are explicitly linked to the flow hydrodynamics responsible for the entrainment. The framework presented in this work can be used for a range of similar applications of low-cost instrumented particles, spanning the interface of sensing and instrumentation in engineering (i.e., infrastructure and environmental monitoring) and geosciences (e.g., habitat assessment).

Automated summary

By using a novel and low-cost instrumented particle, it is possible to directly assess the motion of stationary particles and study the probability of particle transport in fluid environments. This approach can be applied to a range of similar low-cost instrumented particle applications, spanning the fields of engineering (such as infrastructure and environmental monitoring) and geosciences (such as habitat assessment).