Bank-Attached Vanes for Bank Erosion Control and Restoration of River Meanders

Abstract

The effectiveness of a novel approach of using vanes, installed at a low angle and attached to the bank, for bank protection and for the restoration of river meanders has been investigated in a laboratory study. Experiments were carried out in a large-scale meandering mobile-bed channel with graded sediment. The bed topography, three-dimensional flow pattern, and turbulence characteristics in the meandering channel with or without structures are analyzed. When a single or an array of such vanes is installed, the scour hole at the base of the outer bank is infilled and the thalweg is relocated toward the center of the river. The structures induce a secondary flow cell near the outer bank which counteracts the main spiral flow in the bend. In contrast to common spurs and bendway weirs, large-scale horizontal vortices are not generated behind the structures. Vanes which grade to the bed from bankfull level at the bank show better performance than low level ones, whereas multiple structures show positive effects as far downstream as the crossover section.