Accounting for Rough Bed Friction Factors of Mud Beds as a Result of Biological Activity in Erosion Experiments

The average bed shear stress and bed friction factor of samples with any roughness was derived from the head loss between upstream and downstream of a test section in an erosion tunnel. The method was validated in both hydraulically smooth (plexiglass; Reynolds number less than 25,000) and rough regimes (calibrated particles with known roughness). As a first step toward using this method on natural sediment, this method was tested with experimental mesocosms assembled from field collected materials (sieved sediments; diatoms). Bed shear stress measurement precision was high enough in the experiments to detect a positive significant relationship between bed friction factor and core roughness. The observed bed friction factor increase could be related to diatom growth but not to diatoms biomass.