On dispersion of settling particles from an elevated source in an open-channel flow

Longitudinal dispersion of suspended particles with settling velocity in a turbulent shear flow over a rough-bed surface is investigated numerically when the settling particles are released from an elevated continuous line-source. A combined scheme of central and four-point upwind differences is used to solve the steady turbulent convection–diffusion equation and the alternating direction implicit (ADI) method is adopted for the unsteady equation. It is shown how the mixing of settling particles is influenced by the ‘log-wake law’ velocity and the corresponding eddy diffusivity when the initial distribution of concentration is regarded as a line-source. The concentration profiles for the steady-state conditions agree well with the existing experimental data and some other numerical results when the settling velocity is zero. The behaviours of iso-concentration lines in the vertical plane for different releasing heights are studied in terms of the relative importance of convection, eddy diffusion and settling velocity.