Laboratory facilities provide useful tool to understand the behavior and the evolution of alluvial rivers. Microscale models (2 meters long), despite the loose of scaling parameters (as the Reynolds number) are able to reproduce complex patterns like meandering or braiding. Short durations (2-4 hours) and low fluxes allow to perform many runs in order to reach reliable and reproducible results.
On the left, a experimental braided river of 2mx1m. The alluvial bed is made of sand beads (D=0.5 mm).
IPGP, laboratoire de St Maur des fosses.
© Patrick Meunier
