Representing plants as rigid cylinders in experiments and models

摘要: Abstract Simulating the morphological adaptation of water systems often requires including effects plants on and sediment dynamics. Physical numerical models need representing vegetation in a schematic easily-quantifiable way despite variety sizes, shapes flexibility real plants. Common approaches represent as rigid cylinders, but ability these schematizations to reproduce morphodynamic processes has never been analyzed systematically. This work focuses consequences cylinders laboratory tests simulations. New experiments show that flow resistance decreases for increasing element Reynolds numbers both cylinders. Cylinders river banks can qualitatively channel width bank-related processes. A comparative review simulations shows Baptist's method sums contribution bed shear stress drag, underestimates erosion within sparse rivers overestimates mean velocity experiments. is due assuming uniform among an overestimation role submergence ratio.