Flow interaction of meandering river with floodplains

A series of laboratory test results are presented concerning the boundary s hear stress, shear force, and discharge characteristics of compound meander ing river sections composed of a rectangular main channel and one or two fl oodplains disposed off to its sides. Five dimensionless parameters are used to form equations representing the total shear force percentage carried by floodplains. A set of smooth and rough sections is studied with an aspect ratio varying from 2 to 5. Apparent shear forces on the assumed vertical, d iagonal, and horizontal interface plains are found to be different from zer o, at low depths of flow and change sign with an increase in depth over the floodplain. A variable-inclined interface is proposed for which apparent s hear force is calculated as zero. Equations are presented giving proportion of discharge carried by the main channel and floodplain. The equations agr ee well with experimental and river discharge data. Using the variable-incl ined interface, the error between the measured and calculated discharges fo r the meandering compound sections is found to be the minimum when compared with that using other interfaces.