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Full-Text Articles in Physics

River Meandering Dynamics, Boyd F. Edwards, D. H. Smith Mar 2002

River Meandering Dynamics, Boyd F. Edwards, D. H. Smith

All Physics Faculty Publications

The Ikeda, Parker, and Sawai river meandering model is reexamined using a physical approach employing an explicit equation of motion. For periodic river shapes as seen from above, a cross-stream surface elevation gradient creates a velocity shear that is responsible for the decay of small-wavelength meander bends, whereas secondary currents in the plane perpendicular to the downstream direction are responsible for the growth of large-wavelength bends. A decay length D=H/2Cf involving the river depth H and the friction coefficient Cf sets the scale for meandering, giving the downstream distance required for the fluid velocity profile to recover from …


Single-Particle Model For A Granular Ratchet, Albert J. Bae, Welles Antonio Martinez Morgado, J. J. P. Veerman, Giovani L. Vasconcelos Jan 2002

Single-Particle Model For A Granular Ratchet, Albert J. Bae, Welles Antonio Martinez Morgado, J. J. P. Veerman, Giovani L. Vasconcelos

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

A simple model for a granular ratchet corresponding to a single grain bouncing off a vertically vibrating sawtooth-shaped base is studied. Depending on the model parameters, horizontal transport is observed in both the preferred and unfavoured directions. A phase diagram is presented indicating the regions in parameter space where the different regimes (no current, normal current, and current reversal) occur.