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Estimation of Longitudinal Dispersion Coefficient in Ice-Covered Rivers

Article  in  Journal of Hydraulic Engineering · April 2018

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0001475

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 Estimation of Longitudinal Dispersion Coefficient in
Ice-Covered Rivers
Ya Zhong 1; Wenxin Huai 2; Yufei Wang 3; and Gang Chen 4

Abstract: Flow structure and dispersion characteristics change significantly in ice-covered channels and rivers, and the longitudinal
dispersion coefficient is an important parameter for water pollution control and environmental protection. Considering the secondary flow
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in ice-covered channels and based on the Shiono and Knight method (SKM), the lateral distribution of the depth-averaged velocity in
ice-covered channels is solved in this study by adopting a power series. The result agrees well with the original analytical solution and
experimental data. The longitudinal dispersion coefficient caused by nonuniform distribution of transverse velocity is derived using Fischer’s
triple integral formula, and the longitudinal dispersion coefficient formula in a rectangular experimental ice-covered channel is obtained
by regression analysis, which coincides with the experimental results. The computational formula of longitudinal dispersion coefficient
in natural ice-covered rivers is obtained by logarithm linear regression of the longitudinal dispersion coefficient in an experimental
ice-covered channel based on the mapping relationship between the data obtained from experiments and natural rivers. The measured data
and the corresponding dispersion formula in natural ice-covered rivers show a mean error rate of 28.4%, which verifies the correctness and the
rationality of the proposed formula. The proposed formula can be used to estimate pollutant transport in broad and shallow ice-covered
channels and natural ice-covered rivers. The comparison with ice-free rivers shows that the longitudinal dispersion coefficient of ice-covered
rivers is considerably smaller than that of ice-free rivers. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0001475. © 2018 American Society of Civil
Engineers.
Author keywords: Ice-covered channel; Natural river; Longitudinal dispersion coefficient; Secondary flow; Power series.

Introduction distribution of velocity in the vertical and transverse directions.

Contaminant spills are common and significant in ice-covered
rivers. Elevated levels of some heavy metals (e.g., lead, iron,
copper, and cadmium) and organochlorines (e.g., PCBs and DDTs)
have been observed in the ice sampled in the Siberian seas, north
of Svalbard, and Baffin Bay (Pfirman et al. 1995). At present, oil
exploration and production are increasing in Arctic regions. Oil
pollution may be transported to ice margins by prevailing seawater
currents. The microbial communities in Arctic sea ice are highly
affected by oil contamination (Brakstad et al. 2008). Therefore,
the flow characteristics of ice-covered rivers should be studied.
However, the research on contaminant transportation and longitu-
dinal dispersion in ice-covered rivers is lacking.
Longitudinal dispersion represents the transmission of pollutants
in the longitudinal direction and is usually caused by nonuniform
1
Master’s Degree Candidate, State Key Laboratory of Water Resources
and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan Univ., Wuhan 430072,
China.
2
Professor, State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower
Engineering Science, Wuhan Univ., Wuhan 430072, China (corresponding
author). Email: wxhuai@whu.edu.cn
3
Master’s Degree Candidate, State Key Laboratory of Water Resources
and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan Univ., Wuhan 430072,
China.
4
Ph.D. Candidate, State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources
and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai Univ., Nanjing 210098, China;
Engineer, Planning Dept., Yunnan Survey and Design Institute of Water
Conservancy and Hydropower, Kunming 650021, China.
Note. This manuscript was submitted on May 11, 2017; approved on
December 18, 2017; published online on April 6, 2018. Discussion period
open until September 6, 2018; separate discussions must be submitted
for individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Hydraulic En-
gineering, © ASCE, ISSN 0733-9429.
The longitudinal dispersion coefficient is an important indicator
of pollutant discharge and water environmental protection. Taylor
(1954) analyzed the dispersion of laminar flow in a circular tube
and extended it to the turbulent flow in a circular tube, and he
was the first to propose the concept of longitudinal dispersion
coefficient.
The width–depth ratio is usually large in wide and shallow
rivers. This characteristic indicates that the longitudinal dispersion
coefficient caused by the nonuniform distribution of transverse
velocity is considerably larger than that caused by the nonuniform
distribution of vertical velocity in the same river. According to
Schwab and Rehmann (2015), the relative importance of transverse
and vertical variations in velocity is effectively measured by the
ratio of the transverse and vertical mixing times. The results sup-
port the usual practice of considering only transverse variations in
computing dispersion coefficients and suggest that vertical varia-
tions can be neglected. Fischer et al. (1979) proposed the longitu-
dinal dispersion coefficient formula caused by the nonuniform
distribution of transverse velocity by applying Taylor’s method
Z Z Z
1 B y 1 y
DL ¼ − u 0 ðyÞhðyÞ u 0 ðyÞhðyÞdydydy
A 0 0 Ey ðyÞhðyÞ 0
ð1Þ
where A = cross-sectional area; B = river width; u 0 = deviation
of the time-averaged velocity from the depth-averaged velocity;
h = local water depth; Ey = local transverse mixing coefficient;
and y = transverse coordinate.
The triple integral of the velocity distribution in the lateral
direction should be solved to obtain the longitudinal dispersion co-
efficient shown in Eq. (1). Few depth-averaged velocity distributions
in the transverse direction can be integrated three times, thus,

© ASCE 04018026-1 J. Hydraul. Eng.

J. Hydraul. Eng., 2018, 144(6): 04018026

 solving the triple integral directly is difficult. Many researchers use
other methods to deal with the problem. Chen and Zhu (2005) de-
rived a velocity formula based on the maximum entropy principle
and used this method to determine the longitudinal dispersion co-
efficient in open channels with trapezoidal cross sections. Seo and
Baek (2004) considered the beta distribution equation as the most
appropriate model for explaining the complex behavior of the trans-
verse velocity structure of irregular natural streams among many
tests. Zeng and Huai (2014) compared the empirical equations com-
monly used with measured data and found that most of the equations
underestimate longitudinal dispersion coefficients; they established
a new empirical formula for longitudinal dispersion coefficients
with high accuracy based on regression analysis on measured data.
With free water surface frozen into ice cover in northern cold
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areas in winter, the appearance of ice cover increases the wetted
perimeter and resistance of the cross section, as well as significantly
changes the flow structure and hydraulic condition. Experimental
and field observations and many research analyses have shown that
velocity profiles of ice-covered channel flows exhibit an indepen-
dent two-layer vertical structure separated at the plane of maximum
velocity or zero shear stress (Chen et al. 2015). Chen et al. (2016a)
developed an analytical model to predict the stage discharge rela-
tionship for flow in rectangular ice-covered channels by using the
method of Guo and Julien (2005) and found that the widely used
assumption that the mean velocities in bed and ice subsections are
equal is only theoretically valid for symmetric channels. Teal et al.
(1994) estimated the vertical velocity distribution in ice-covered
channels on the basis of a two-power law. Yang (2015) studied
the transverse velocity distribution in an ice-covered channel and
presented a determination method of comprehensive resistance co-
efficient caused by the combined effect of ice-cover resistance and
riverbed resistance. Wang et al. (2013) analyzed the longitudinal
dispersion produced by vertical shear in ice-covered rivers on the
basis of the logarithmic law of velocity distribution, and the results
showed that the hydraulic slope, the flow depth, and the ratio of
Manning roughness coefficients are the main factors that influence
the longitudinal dispersion. Chen et al. (2016b) simplified the triple
integral in Fischer’s formula and consequently proposed a longi-
tudinal dispersion coefficient formula caused by the nonuniform
distribution of transverse velocity in ice-covered rivers, which is
consistent with field tracer tests in natural ice-covered rivers.
The transverse distribution of the depth-averaged velocity must
be obtained to derive the longitudinal dispersion coefficient. Huai
et al. (2008, 2009a, c, 2012) proposed the solutions of transverse
velocity in open channel with suspended vegetation, submerged
and emerged rigid vegetation, submerged flexible vegetation, and
in a compound channel with partial vegetation based on the Shiono
and Knight method (SKM) (Shiono and Knight 1991), and the re-
sults agree well with experimental data. Therefore, SKM can be
adopted to solve the transverse velocity distribution in various sit-
uations. Wang and Huai (2016) and Zhang et al. (2017) used the
Fourier series and power series, respectively, to solve the transverse
velocity distribution and obtain the triple integral of the longitudi-
nal dispersion coefficient. They avoided the complicated computa-
tional problem by using the derivative and integral properties of the
Fourier series and power series. In the current study, the power
series is adopted to solve the distribution of depth-averaged veloc-
ity in ice-covered channels and consequently reduce computational
difficulty and obey physical mechanism.
Given the lack of an authoritative formula, secondary flow is
often ignored in computations. However, secondary flow shows
significant influence on transverse velocity distribution, and it af-
fects the precision of longitudinal dispersion coefficients. Secondary
flow is often defined as a small disturbance on a primary flow.
© ASCE 04018026-2
J. Hydraul. Eng., 2018, 144(6): 04018026
The secondary flow coefficient is used to represent the magnitude
of secondary flow. Ervine et al. (2000) summarized an empirical for-
mula of secondary flow coefficient using numerous measured data,
and the findings indicated the secondary flow coefficient K < 0.5%
for straight compound flows, and 2% < K < 5% for meandering
compound flows at least at the apex cross section. The computational
results by Chen et al. (2010) indicated that the value of K is roughly
0.5% in the straight channel with vegetation. Ignoring the secondary
flow can bring a significant error for analytical solution for com-
pound channel flows with vegetated floodplains and depth-averaged
velocity and bed shear stress in compound channels with emergent
and submerged vegetation (Huai et al. 2009b; Liu et al. 2013).
A large volume of measured data shows that laboratory condi-
tions are simple and idealized. By contrast, many uncertain factors
are present in natural rivers, and longitudinal dispersion coefficients
derived under experimental conditions are considerably smaller
than those based on natural rivers. Deng et al. (2001) proposed a
logarithmic linear relationship between the longitudinal dispersion
coefficients in experimental flumes and natural rivers, that is, two
longitudinal dispersion coefficients maintain a linear relationship
after taking the logarithm. By using this relationship, the longitu-
dinal dispersion coefficients in an experimental flume can be ex-
tended to natural rivers with a high accuracy.
The transverse distribution of depth-averaged velocity in ice-
covered channels is derived in this study based on SKM and con-
sidering the secondary flow using the power series. A comparison
with experimental data is also in Part of “Velocity in Rectangular
Ice-Covered Channel.” The formula for the longitudinal dispersion
coefficient of ice-covered channels is derived by regression analysis
using Fischer’s formula. The longitudinal dispersion coefficient of
ice-covered channels is compared with the experimental longitudi-
nal dispersion coefficient in Part of “Longitudinal Dispersion in
Rectangular Ice-Covered Channel.” A formula for the longitudinal
dispersion coefficient of natural ice-covered rivers is derived
through the logarithmic linear relationship. The formula is verified
by field tracer tests in natural ice-covered rivers in Part of “Lon-
gitudinal Dispersion in Natural Ice-Covered Rivers.” A comparison
between the derived equation of the longitudinal dispersion coef-
ficient of ice-covered rivers in this work and similar equations
obtained for ice-free rivers is described in the Discussion section.
Velocity in Rectangular Ice-Covered Channel
The transverse distribution of depth-averaged velocity must be
solved to obtain the formula of longitudinal dispersion coefficient
caused by nonuniform distribution of the transverse velocity. The
velocity distribution equation can be obtained from the momentum
equation of Shiono and Knight (1991)
    1=2 
1 1 1=2 ∂ 1 ∂u
ρgHS0 − ρfu2d 1 þ 2 þ ρλH 2 f ud d
8 s ∂y 8 ∂y
∂
¼ fHðρū · v̄Þd g ð2Þ
∂y
where ρ = density of the water; S0 = longitudinal bed slope; g =
acceleration due to gravity; H = water depth of the rectangular ice-
covered channel; f = comprehensive friction factor; s = channel
side slope (1∶s = horizontal distance: vertical distance); ud =
depth-averaged velocity in ice-covered channel; λ = lateral dimen-
sionless eddy viscosity; x, y, and z = streamwise, lateral, and
vertical coordinates, respectively; ū and v̄ = mean velocity compo-
nents that correspond to x and y; and ðÞd = depth-averaged value.
As for the secondary flow term, Ervine et al. (2000) primarily
proposed the empirical secondary flow coefficient K by assuming
J. Hydraul. Eng.
 u ¼ k1 ud , v ¼ k2 ud , thus, ðū · v̄Þd ¼ k1 k2 u2d ¼ Ku2d , where K is system in the center of a channel and half of the cross section is
the product of k1 and k2 . Assuming that K is constant, we obtain considered because of the symmetry of the channel. Assuming
η ¼ ½ð2yÞ=B, η ∈ ½0; 1 and substituting it into Eq. (4), the final
∂Hðū · v̄Þd ∂u2 equation for the transverse velocity distribution is obtained
¼ HK d ð3Þ
∂y ∂y rffiffiffi
2λH2 f ∂ 2 u2 2HK ∂u2 f 2
Substituting Eq. (3) into Eq. (2) obtains the ordinary differential − − u þ gHS0 ¼ 0 ð6Þ
B2 8 ∂η2 B ∂η 8
equation of the lateral distribution of the depth-averaged velocities
ud in rectangular ice-covered channels Owing to the derivative and integral properties of the power
rffiffiffi series, we assume u ¼ a0 þ a1 η þ a2 η2 þ a3 η3 þ · · · , and substi-
1 2 f ∂ 2 u2d ∂u2d 1 2
λH − HK − fu þ gHS0 ¼ 0 ð4Þ tute it into Eq. (6). Given that the coefficients before the power
2 8 ∂y2 ∂y 8 d series are equal on both sides of the equation, we obtain
The analytical solution can be expressed as 2ba0 a1 þca20 −gHS0
2a − a21
a2 ¼
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ud ¼ ðA1 eγ 1 y þ A2 eγ2 y þ ωd Þ1=2 ð5Þ 2a0

pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi Pi−1 Pi−2
where γ 1 ¼ ½1=ðλHÞð8=fÞ1=2 fK þ K 2 þ ½ðλfÞ=4ðf=8Þ1=2 g; ði−1Þb aj ai−1−j þc aj ai−2−j Pi−1
γ 2 ¼ ½ð2KÞ=ðλHÞð8=fÞ1=2 − γ 1 ; and ωd ¼ ½ðgHS0 Þ=ðf=8Þ
j¼0
iði−1Þa
j¼0
− j¼1 aj ai−j
ai ¼ ð7Þ
Although Eq. (5) is the exact analytical solution for the trans- 2a0
verse velocity distribution of ice-covered channels, it is difficult to pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
use for the triple integral in the formula for longitudinal dispersion where a ¼ f½ð2λH2 Þ=B2  ðfd =8Þg; b ¼ ½ð2HKÞ=B; and
coefficients. A form of velocity distribution (e.g., power series) that c ¼ ðf=8Þ
is convenient for integration is required. Establishing a coordinate From Eq. (7), we obtain

 
 a 
γ ¼ lim  i 
i→∞ ai−1
 P Pi−2 
 ði−1Þb i−1 aa þc aa Pi−1 
 j¼0 j i−1−j j¼0 j i−2−j
− a a 
 Pi−2 iði−1Þa
Pi−3
j¼1 j i−j 
¼ lim  
i→∞ ði−2Þb aa þc aa Pi−2 
 j¼0 j i−2−j
ði−1Þði−2Þa
j¼0 j i−3−j
− a a
j¼1 j i−1−j


ði − 1Þði − 2Þaðiði − 1Þba2i−1;max þ cði − 1Þa2i−2;max − iði − 1Þ2 aa2i;max Þ

≤ lim
i→∞ iði − 1Þaðði − 1Þði − 2Þba2 2 2 2
i−2;max þ cði − 2Þai−3;max − ði − 1Þði − 2Þ aai−1;max Þ

iði − 1Þði − 2Þb þ ði − 1Þði − 2Þc − iði − 1Þ2 ði − 2Þa

< lim ¼1 ð8Þ
i→∞ iði − 1Þði − 2Þb þ iði − 2Þc − iði − 1Þði − 2Þ2 a

The convergence radius of the power series is R ¼ 1=γ ≥ 1,
such that the power series has an absolute convergence in con-
vergence region of [−1, 1]. With the boundary conditions
P (1):
η ¼ 0; ∂u=∂y ¼ 0 ⇒ a1 ¼ 0, (2): η ¼ 1; u ¼ 0 ⇒ ∞ a
i¼o i ¼ 0,
the coefficient value in Eq. (7) can be obtained. The number of
terms of the power series depends on the required accuracy of the
solution and computational difficulty in practical application; 6–10
terms are sufficient in general, whereas more terms are needed in
rivers with great width–depth ratio.
The analytical solution is compared with the numerical analysis
by conducting experiments in a rectangular glass flume with a
length of 20 m and a width of 1 m at the State Key Laboratory of
Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science of Wuhan
University. The straight flume features a 15-m-long ice-covered re-
gion simulating with cystosepiment and a 15-m-long plastic plate in
the flume bottom, and a tailgate at the end of the flume was used
to control the upstream water depth constant as shown in Figs. 1
and 2. Velocity data were collected over a cross section located
9 m from the inlet of the ice-covered channel in a region of fully
developed flow. Two cases are considered, in which the water
depths are 0.15 and 0.185 m in a straight ice-covered channel,
the longitudinal bed slope equals 0.001, the dimensionless eddy
viscosity equals 0.067, the Manning roughness equals 0.01, and the
secondary flow coefficient equals 0.0025. Combining a down-
looking configuration and an up-looking configuration, we employ
a three-dimensional (3D) acoustic Doppler velocimeter (micro
ADV) manufactured by Son Tek to measure the velocity accurately;
the intrinsic error of the equipment is 0.25 cm=s, and its maximal
sampling frequency is 50 Hz. Given the sampling time of 120 s,
6,000 samples are obtained every time. Powdery tracer was used
in the velocity measuring, so the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was
mostly kept at 40 or above, and the correlation (COR) was higher
than 80% as shown in Fig. 3.
The comparison among the original analytical solution, the
power series analytical solution, and experimental data is conducted
as shown in Fig. 4, and four (i ¼ 3), six (i ¼ 5), and 10 (i ¼ 9)
terms are adopted, respectively. The velocity distribution with the
secondary flow ignored (K ¼ 0) is approximately 30% smaller than
that with the secondary flow considered (K ¼ 0.0025). I Ignoring
the secondary flow can result in significant errors in the analytical
solution of depth-averaged velocity and then cause errors in the lon-
gitudinal dispersion coefficients of ice-covered rivers. The results
also show that the power series-based analytical solution agrees
well with the original analytical solution and experimental data,
so the method and values in this work can be used in subsequent
analyses.

© ASCE 04018026-3 J. Hydraul. Eng.

J. Hydraul. Eng., 2018, 144(6): 04018026

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Fig. 1. Flume with full ice cover.

B2 U 2
DL ¼ − I ð11Þ
2εHu

or the dimensionless form

   
DL −1 U 2 B 2
¼ I ð12Þ
Hu 2ε u H

where the dimensionless triple integral is I¼

∫ 10 u 0 0 ∫ η0 ∫ η0 u 0 0 dηdηdη, which can be obtained by the power
series as
Z 1
Z η
Z η
I¼ u00 u 0 0 dηdηdη
0 0 0

1 X
∞ X
∞
ai aj
¼
U2 i¼0 j¼0
ði þ 1Þði þ 2Þði þ j þ 3Þ

1X ∞
ai 1 X∞
aj
− −
U i¼0 ði þ 1Þði þ 2Þði þ 3Þ 2U j¼0 j þ 1

1X ∞
aj 1X∞
aj 1
þ − þ
U j¼0 ðj þ 1Þðj þ 2Þ U j¼0 ðj þ 1Þðj þ 2Þðj þ 3Þ 6
ð13Þ
Fig. 2. Flume with full ice cover.

If the dimensionless triple integral form is obtained, then the

Longitudinal Dispersion in Rectangular Ice-Covered longitudinal dispersion coefficient can be easily obtained. How-
Channel ever, the dimensionless triple integral presents a complex formula
and is different for every river. Thus, a power law is developed to
Given that the transverse velocity distributionPin an ice-covered represent the dimensionless triple integral via the computation of
channel represented by the power series is u ¼ ∞ i¼0 ai η , the aver-
i
the values of I for representative ranges of input variables. For sim-
aged velocity in an ice-covered channel is U ¼ ð1=2Þ∫ 1−1 udη ¼
P
plicity, the relationship between the value of the dimensionless tri-
∞
i¼0 ½ai =ði þ 1Þ. After coordinate transformation, the longitudinal
ple integral and the width–depth ratio B=H is assumed as
dispersion coefficient is obtained with u 0 ¼ u − U I ¼ αðB=HÞβ (Deng et al. 2001), where α and β are the regression
 3 Z Z ηZ η coefficients, accordingly
2 B 1
DL ¼ − u0 u 0 dηdηdη ð9Þ    
BEy 2 0 0 0 −α U 2 B 2þβ
DL ¼ Hu ð14Þ
Assuming a dimensionless velocity u 0 0 ¼ ðu − UÞ=U, the 2ε u H
longitudinal dispersion coefficient changes into
  Z Z Z For the convenience of regression analysis, Eq. (14) is trans-
2 B 3 2 1 00 η η 00
DL ¼ − U u u dηdηdη ð10Þ formed, and the logarithm of both sides of the equation is consid-
BEy 2 0 0 0 ered, consequently
With transverse mixing coefficient Ey ¼ εRu , ε ¼ 0.15     
R ≈ H=2 in an ice-covered 2εDL u 2 B
(Fischer et al. 1979), hydraulic radius
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi log ¼ logð−αÞ þ ð2 þ βÞ log ð15Þ
channel, and friction velocity u ¼ gRS0, we obtain Hu U H

© ASCE 04018026-4 J. Hydraul. Eng.

J. Hydraul. Eng., 2018, 144(6): 04018026

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Fig. 3. ADV data test interface.

Fig. 4. Transverse velocity distribution in rectangular ice-covered channels: (a) H ¼ 0.15 m; and (b) H ¼ 0.185 m.

By calculating the longitudinal dispersion coefficients in ice- depth is assumed to be 1 m, and the flume widths are from 10 to
covered channels for different width–depth ratios B=H whereas 100 m. The Manning roughness is 0.01, the bed slope is 0.001, and
the same other parameters (e.g., the bed slope, Manning roughness, the gravitational acceleration is 9.8 m=s2 . The calculated results are
and water depth), the values of α and β can be obtained. The water shown in Fig. 5.

© ASCE 04018026-5 J. Hydraul. Eng.

J. Hydraul. Eng., 2018, 144(6): 04018026

 where C = Rhodamine concentration; t1 ¼ x1 =u; t2 ¼ x2 =u; and τ
is an integration variable. In each case, we repeated the experiment
procedure five times to avoid contingencies.
The results of the experimental data and calculated values are
shown in Table 1. Overall, the measured data are smaller than the
calculated data. In comparison with the calculated value using
Eq. (16), the measured data showed a maximal error of −15%
and an averaged error of −9% for Case 1 and a maximal error
of −14% and an averaged error of −2% for Case 2. This outcome
indicates that the formula can be used to estimate longitudinal
dispersion coefficients under idealized conditions in rectangular
ice-covered channels.
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Longitudinal Dispersion in Natural Ice-Covered

Rivers

The experimental conditions are generally idealized with a single

Fig. 5. Regression curve of the longitudinal dispersion coefficient.
Following Eq. (15), the regression curve is obtained in Fig. 5, in
which the correlation coefficient is 0.99, logð−αÞ ¼ −2.46, and
2 þ β ¼ 1.92. The values of α and β are obtained, as well as the
longitudinal dispersion coefficient in an ice-covered channel
 2  1.92
U B
DL ¼ 0.011 Hu ð16Þ
u H arithmic relationship between the formula derived from the experi-
The longitudinal dispersion coefficient formula is verified by
conducting an experiment in the State Key Laboratory of Water
Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science in Wuhan Univer-
sity. In the experiment, the channel bed slope is 0.001, the Manning
roughness is 0.01, the flume width is 1 m, the water depths are
0.15 and 0.185 m, and the acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m=s2 .
Rhodamine was used as a tracer, and a solution of Rhodamine
was prepared in advance. The solution was poured uniformly and
rapidly along the entire channel width at the cross section 7 m away
from the inlet of the ice-covered channel. The concentrations of
Rhodamine were measured at two cross sections, that is, 3 and
6 m downstream from the pouring point with fluorescence detectors
(YSI Rhodamine Probe) as shown in Fig. 1. In addition, the two
fluorescence detectors were connected to one computer and started
measuring simultaneously when the input of Rhodamine solution
was finished. After the measurement, the temporal concentration
curves of the two sections were used to calculate the longitudinal
dispersion coefficient using the routing procedure, which uses the
temporal concentration curve at an upstream site (x1 ) to predict and
match the one at the downstream site (x2 ) (Fischer 1968; Fischer
et al. 1979; Guymer 2002; Huai et al. 2017)
Z ∞ 
Cðx1 ; tÞ ðx − x1 − uðt − τ ÞÞ2
Cðx2 ; tÞ ¼ ffi exp − 2
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi udτ
−∞ 4πDL ðt2 − t1 Þ 4DL ðt2 − t1 Þ
ð17Þ
influencing factor. Thus, the computational longitudinal dispersion
coefficients based on the experimental data are much smaller than
those in natural rivers. The differences between observed and pre-
dicted dispersion coefficients are mainly attributed to the effects of
dead zones, bends, islands, and other irregular features that are not
explicitly involved in experiments, and that the secondary flow is
highly complicated in natural rivers. These complexities of the geo-
graphical and flow features significantly influence the definitions
and varieties of hydraulic elements, such as water depth and veloc-
ity, thereby causing multiple errors (Deng et al. 2001). Wang and
Huai (2016) proposed a new revised method by establishing a log-
ments and the actual solution in natural rivers
D1 D
ln ¼ ϕ ln 2 þ ϕ0 ð18Þ
Hu Hu
where D1 = measured longitudinal dispersion coefficient in natural
rivers; D2 = derived longitudinal dispersion coefficient; and ϕ and
ϕ0 = undetermined coefficients.
The undetermined coefficients can be obtained using numerous
measured data of natural rivers and the corresponding calculated
values, and the longitudinal dispersion coefficient formula in natu-
ral rivers can be obtained from the relationship between the mea-
sured and calculated values. Wang and Huai (2016) obtained the
relationship between the longitudinal dispersion coefficient in a
natural open channel and the calculated values derived by experi-
ments through collecting a large amount of measured data
DR D
ln ¼ 0.58 ln 2 þ 4.32 ð19Þ
Hu Hu
where DR = longitudinal dispersion coefficient formula in natural
rivers.
Considering the lack of research on ice-covered rivers, espe-
cially the longitudinal dispersion coefficient of ice-covered rivers,
obtaining the relationship between the measured and calculated val-
ues in ice-covered rivers is difficult. So, Eq. (19) is applied to obtain
the longitudinal dispersion coefficient formula in ice-covered rivers

Table 1. Calculated and measured longitudinal dispersion coefficients

B H U S0 u Eq. (16) Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4 Test 5 Average
Cases (m) (m) (m=s) (‰) (m=s) (m2 =s) (difference %) (difference %) (difference %) (difference %) (difference %) (difference %)
1 1 0.15 0.16 1 0.027 0.065 0.063 (−3) 0.055 (−15) 0.064 (−2) 0.058 (−11) 0.055 (−15) 0.059 (−9)
2 1 0.185 0.18 1 0.030 0.058 0.056 (−3) 0.062 (7) 0.050 (−14) 0.064 (−10) 0.055 (5) 0.057 (−2)

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J. Hydraul. Eng., 2018, 144(6): 04018026

 Table 2. Comparison of the longitudinal dispersion coefficient in ice-covered rivers
DL (m2 =s) Difference (%) DL (m2 =s) Difference (%)
Cases B (m) H (m) U (m=s) S0 (‰) u (cm=s) Tests (m2 =s) (Chen) (Chen) [Eq. (20)] [Eq. (20)]
1 105 0.65 0.48 1.26 6.33 982 2,283 132 723 26
2 128 0.94 0.35 0.82 6.15 736 1,286 75 601 18
3 60 0.9 0.24 0.81 5.98 163 143 12 168 3
4 116 1.44 0.31 0.79 7.47 829 445 46 431 48
5 142 1 0.32 0.93 6.75 1,136 1,132 1 595 47

 1.16  1.12 Table 3. Calculating results of ice-covered river and ice-free river
U B
DL ¼ 5.62 Hu ð20Þ
u H Q (m3 =s) B (m) H o (m) H i (m) Uo (m=s) U i (m=s)
21 100 0.41 0.54 0.50 0.38
Numerous sets of field tracer dye tests in many reaches of ice-
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22 100 0.46 0.61 0.54 0.41

covered rivers were conducted by the Alberta Research Council 30 100 0.51 0.68 0.58 0.44
from 1989 to 1993. In these tests, river width ranged from 60 to 35 100 0.57 0.75 0.62 0.47
408 m, and the average depth was between 0.6 and 4.5 m. Average 41 100 0.62 0.82 0.66 0.50
velocities varied within the range of 0.3–1.0 m=s. Beltaos (1998) 48 100 0.68 0.90 0.70 0.53
reported these tests and proposed a method to estimate the longi-
tudinal dispersion coefficient. Consequently, several typical test
reaches are chosen for the validation of the longitudinal dispersion The averaged velocities in ice-covered rivers fall within
coefficients in ice-covered rivers in Eq. (20) in this study. Further- 0.35–0.53 m=s, which coincides with the result of Beltaos (1998).
more, Chen’s (2016b) results of longitudinal dispersion coefficient With the same flow rate, the averaged velocity in the ice-covered
in an ice-covered river, which is further developed by the simpli- river is approximately 25% smaller than that in the ice-free river. As
fication of Fischer’s triple integral equation, is introduced as shown a result of the decreased velocity, the water depth in the ice-covered
in Table 2. river shows an increase of about 30% in comparison with that in an
Table 2 shows that compared with the formula of Chen et al. open-water river when the bed and ice boundary show the same
(2016b), Eq. (20) is satisfactory in three cases, about the same in roughness. Ice cover induces additional resistance and reduces the
one case, and much worse in one case. Generally, Chen’s result is hydraulic radius by approximately one-half when the flow depth
larger than the measured data, whereas the result of Eq. (20) is
remains constant. The averaged velocity with ice cover is smaller
smaller than the latter. Chen’s solution results in an error within
than that without ice cover.
132% with the tracer test values in ice-covered rivers, whereas
Three different longitudinal dispersion coefficients with differ-
the proposed solution in this paper obtains an error within 48%.
ent flow rates were obtained and compared (Fig. 6). With the
Moreover, the mean error rate in the current study (28.4%) is con-
increase of flow rate in the same river, both the longitudinal dis-
siderably smaller than that in the work of Chen (53.2%). The pro-
persion coefficients in the ice-covered river and ice-free river
posed solution agrees well with the measured data of tracer tests,
(Deng et al. 2001) gradually increased, while Fischer’s dispersion
and the proposed longitudinal dispersion coefficient formula can
be applied to the estimation of longitudinal dispersion coefficients coefficient decreased slightly. Generally, the longitudinal disper-
of natural ice-covered rivers. Measured data for the longitudinal sion coefficients of ice-covered rivers are considerably smaller than
dispersion coefficients of ice-covered rivers are lacking. The lon- those of ice-free rivers; the presence of ice cover reduces the lon-
gitudinal dispersion coefficient formula presented in this work re- gitudinal dispersion capacity of rivers.
quires further validation by available field data in future research.

Discussion

To evaluate the influence of ice cover on the dispersion process, a

corresponding comparison was conducted between the longitudinal
dispersion coefficients of ice-free rivers (Fischer 1967; Deng et al.
2001) and ice-covered rivers [Eq. (20)]. In the results of Beltaos
(1998) shown in Table 2, the width–depth ratio is approximately
60–160, and the averaged velocity in ice-covered rivers is about
0.2–0.5 m=s. During the comparison process, the bed slope was
kept at 0.001, the bed roughness and ice roughness were both
kept at 0.035, and the river width was kept at 100 m. The averaged
velocities in the formulas are difficult to obtain directly. Thus,
Chezy’s formula was adopted to calculate the averaged velocities
approximately. Varying flow rates resulted in different velocities
and different water depths in ice-covered and ice-free rivers. The
calculation results are shown in Table 3. In this table, Q is the flow
rate; B is the river width; Ho and H i represent the water depths in
open-water rivers and ice-covered rivers, respectively; and U o and
Fig. 6. Comparison of longitudinal dispersion coefficients in ice-
U i represent the averaged velocities in open-water rivers and ice-
covered river and ice-free river.
covered rivers, respectively.

© ASCE 04018026-7 J. Hydraul. Eng.

J. Hydraul. Eng., 2018, 144(6): 04018026

 Conclusion
In natural rivers, the width–depth ratio is usually large. The longi-
tudinal dispersion coefficient caused by the nonuniform transverse
velocity distribution is much greater than that caused by the non-
uniform vertical velocity distribution, and the precise transverse
velocity distribution is needed to obtain the longitudinal dispersion
coefficient. Obtaining the triple integral of discrete velocity is dif-
ficult given the existing distribution of the velocity in ice-covered
channel. In this study, based on Shiono’s method in solving the
depth-averaged velocity and considering the secondary flow, the
transverse velocity distribution and the longitudinal dispersion co-
efficient in an ice-covered channel are derived using the power
series, and they are in good agreement with the corresponding ex-
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perimental data. The analytical averaged velocity with secondary
flow ignored (K ¼ 0) is approximately 25% smaller than that with
secondary flow considered (K ¼ 0.0025), as shown in the current
work. The flow is complex and changeable in natural ice-covered
rivers, and hydraulic elements, including water depth, bed slope,
and secondary flow, are affected by numerous uncertain factors.
The longitudinal dispersion coefficients in idealized laboratory ex-
periments are remarkably smaller than those of natural rivers;
nevertheless, they follow the same longitudinal dispersion rule.
Considering the lack of research on the longitudinal dispersion
coefficient of ice-covered rivers, the longitudinal dispersion coef-
ficient formula in an ice-covered river is derived using the relation-
ship between the longitudinal dispersion coefficient in natural open
channels and that derived by experiments. Furthermore, the pro-
posed formula is validated by the measured data of tracer tests.
The proposed longitudinal dispersion coefficient formula in ice-
covered rivers presents a good accuracy and can therefore be used
for further research on the characteristics of pollutant transport in
ice-covered rivers. The averaged velocity in ice-covered rivers is
approximately 25% smaller than that in open-water rivers. The
water depth in ice-covered rivers shows an increase of about 30%
in comparison with that in open-water rivers when the bed and
ice boundary show the same roughness in the same river. The lon-
gitudinal dispersion coefficients of ice-covered rivers are consider-
ably smaller than those of open-water rivers because the presence
of ice cover reduces the longitudinal dispersion capacity of rivers.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the Natural Science
Foundation of China (Nos. 51439007, 11172218, and 11372232).
Special thanks to the chief editor, associate editor, and anonymous
reviewers for their very helpful comments and suggestions on this
paper.
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