Settling Mechanism for Ternary-Type Geocontainers Dumped from a Bevel

Abstract

Geocontainers have been increasingly used in various estuarine and coastal engineering projects. However, it is difficult to determine the horizontal settling distances of geocontainers when they are dumped into deep water. Three new types of geocontainers were proposed on the basis of a unitary geocontainer. Type-selection and parameter-screening experiments were conducted in a flume to determine the optimal type of geocontainer and its optimal parameter combination. Based on the optimal parameter combination, a regularity experiment was conducted under 25 different water depth and flow velocity conditions to determine the settling mechanism of the optimal type of geocontainer. Last, empirical formulas were proposed for evaluating the drag and lift coefficients, and the horizontal settling trajectories of the optimal type of geocontainer were calculated. The results of these experiments confirm the ternary-type geocontainer as the optimal type of geocontainer, and the standard deviation of the settling distances was smallest when the dimensions were D × B = 16 × 12 cm. The filling ratio φ was 78.54%, the sliding distance L was 5 cm, and the bevel angle α was 40°.