MIKE 21 & MIKE 3 Flow Model FM

Mud Transport Module

Short Description
 MIKE213_MT_FM_ShortDescription.docx / AJS/HKH/ULU / 2017-10-03

DHI headquarters
Agern Allé 5
DK-2970 Hørsholm
Denmark
+45 4516 9200 Telephone
+45 4516 9333 Support
+45 4516 9292 Telefax
mike@[Link]
[Link]

© DHI
Application Areas

MIKE 21 & MIKE 3 Flow Model FM – With the FM series it is possible to combine and run
the modules dynamically. If the morphological
Mud Transport Module changes within the area of interest are within the
This document describes the Mud Transport Module same order of magnitude as the variation in the
(MT) under the comprehensive modelling system for water depth, then it is possible to take the
two- and three-dimensional flows, the Flexible Mesh morphological impact on the hydrodynamics into
series, developed by DHI. consideration. This option for dynamic feedback
between update of seabed and flow may be relevant
The MT module includes a state-of-the-art mud to apply in shallow areas, for example, where long
transport model that simulates the erosion, transport, term effects are being considered. Furthermore, it
settling and deposition of cohesive sediment in may be relevant in shallow areas where capital or
marine, brackish and freshwater areas. The module considerable maintenance dredging is planned and
also takes into account fine-grained non-cohesive similarly at sites where disposal of the dredged
material. material takes place.

Example of spreading of dredged material in Øresund,

Denmark

The MT module is an add-on module to MIKE 21 &

MIKE 3 Flow Model FM. It requires a coupling to the
hydrodynamic solver and to the transport solver for
passive components (Advection Dispersion module). Example of sediment plume from a river near Malmö,
Sweden
The hydrodynamic basis is obtained with the MIKE
21 or MIKE 3 FM HD module. The influence of
waves on the erosion/deposition patterns can be
included by applying the Spectral Wave module,
MIKE 21 FM SW.

1
 MIKE 21 & MIKE 3 Flow Model FM

Application Areas The MT module has many application areas and

The MT module is used in a variety of cases where some of the most frequently used are listed below:
the erosion, dispersion, and deposition of cohesive
sediments are of interest. Fine-grained sediment  Dispersion of dredged material
may cause impacts in different ways. In suspension,  Optimisation of dredging operations
the fines may shadow areas over a time span, which  Siltation of harbours
can be critical for the survival of light-depending  Siltation in access channels
benthic fauna and flora. The fine-grained sediment  Cohesive sediment dynamics and morphology
may deposit in areas where deposition is unwanted,  Dispersion of river plumes
for instance in harbour inlets.  Erosion of fine-grained material under
combined waves and currents
Furthermore, pollutants such as heavy metals and
 Sediment laden gravity flows and turbidity
TBT are prone to adhere to the cohesive sediment. If
currents
polluted sediment is deposited in ecologically
 Studies of dynamics of contaminated sediments
sensitive areas it may heavily affect local flora and
fauna and water quality in general.

Example of muddy estuary. Caravelas, Brazil

Computational Features
The main features of the MIKE 21 & MIKE 3 Flow
Model FM Mud Transport module are:

Example of resuspension in the nearshore zone.  Multiple sediment fractions

Caravelas, Brazil. Assessment of resuspension may be  Multiple bed layers
relevant in, for example, dredging projects to identify  Flocculation
sources and levels of background turbidity
 Hindered settling
The estimation of siltation rates is an area where the  Inclusion of non-cohesive sediments
MT module often is applied and also an important  Bed shear stress from combined currents and
aspect to consider when designing new approach waves
channels or deepening existing channels to allow  Waves included as wave database or 2D time
access for larger vessels to the ports. Simulations of series
fine-grained sediment dynamics may contribute to  Consolidation
optimise the design with regard to navigation and  Morphological update of bed
manoeuvrability on one hand and minimising the  Tracking of sediment spills
need for maintenance dredging on the other.

2 Mud Transport Module - © DHI

Model Equations

The bed interaction/update and the settling velocity

terms are handled in the MT module.
The sedimentological effects on the fluid density and
viscosity (concentrated near-bed suspensions) are
not considered as part of the mud process module.
Instead they are provided as separate sub-modules
as they are only relevant for higher suspended
sediment concentrations (SSC).

Example of modelled physical processes

Model Equations
The governing equations behind the MT module are
essentially based on Mehta et al. (1989). The impact
of waves is introduced through the bed shear stress.
The cohesive sediment transport module or mud
transport (MT) module deals with the movement of
mud in a fluid and the interaction between the mud
and the bed.
The transport of the mud is generally described by
the following equation (e.g. Teisson, 1991):
Mud plains in Loire River, France
i i i i i
c uc vc wc w s c
    
t x y z z Settling velocity
The settling velocity of the suspended sediment may
i  i 
   Tx c     Ty c     Tz c 
i be specified as a constant value. Flocculation is
i
  S

x  i   i   i  described as a relationship with the suspended
 Tx x  y   Ty y  z   Tz z  sediment concentration as given in Burt (1986).
Hindered settling can be applied if the suspended
The transport of the cohesive sediment is handled sediment concentration exceeds a certain level. To
by a transport solver for passive components (AD- distinguish between three different settling regimes,
module). The settling velocity ws is a two boundaries are defined, cfloc and chindered, being
sedimentological process and as such it is described the concentrations where flocculation and hindered
ws C i
separately with the extra term z using an settling begins, respectively.
operator splitting technique. Constant settling velocity
Below a certain suspended sediment concentration
the flocculation may be negligible and a constant
Symbol list settling velocity can be applied:
t time
ws  k c  c floc
x, y, z Cartesian co-ordinates
u, v, w flow velocity components where ws is the settling velocity and k is the
constant.
Dv vertical turbulent (eddy) diffusion
coefficient Flocculation
ci the i’th scalar component (defined as the After reaching cfloc, the sediment will begin to
mass concentration) flocculate. Burt (1986) found the following
relationship:
wsi: fall velocity

Tx i turbulent Schmidt number  c 
Tx ws  k    c floc  c  chindered
anisotropic eddy viscosity

 sediment 
Si source term
In which k is a constant, sediment is the sediment
density, and  is a coefficient termed settling index.

3
 MIKE 21 & MIKE 3 Flow Model FM

n
Hindered settling  
After a relatively high sediment concentration S  E  b  1 b  c
(chindered) is reached, the settling columns of flocs
E
  ce 
begin to interfere and hereby reducing the settling
velocity. Formulations given by Richardson and Zaki Where E is the erodibility (kg m -2 s-1), n is the power
(1954) and Winterwerp (1999) are implemented. of erosion, b is the bed shear stress (N m -2) and ce
is the critical shear stress for erosion (N m -2).
SE is the erosion rate (kg m-2 s-1).

Deposition Soft bed

For a soft, partly consolidated bed the erosion rate
The deposition is described as (Krone, 1962):
can be written as (Parchure and Mehta, 1985):
SD  ws cb pD
   b  c  
SE  E  e  b  c
where ws is the settling velocity of the suspended  
sediment (m s-1), cb is the suspended sediment  
concentration near the bed, and pd is an expression
of the probability of deposition: Consolidation
When long term simulations are performed

pd  1  b consolidation of deposited sediment may be an
 cd important process. If several bed layers are used a
transition rate (Ti) can be applied. This will cause
In the three-dimensional model, cb is simply equal to sediment from the top layers to be transferred to the
the sediment concentration in the water cell just subsequently lower layers.
above the sediment bed.
In the two-dimensional model, two different
approaches are available for computing cb. If the
Rouse profile is applied, the near bed sediment
concentration is related to the depth averaged
sediment concentration by multiplying with a
constant centroid height:

cb  c  (centroid height)
Teeter (1986) related the near bed concentrations to
the Peclet number (Pe), the bed fluxes, and the
depth averaged suspended sediment
concentrations. In this case, the near bed sediment
concentration is described as:

  Pe 
cb  c  1   

  1.25  4.75 pd 
2.5
 

where Pe is the Peclet number:
ws h
Pe 
Dz
where h is the water depth, Dz is the eddy diffusivity,
both computed by the hydrodynamic model. The MT module is a tool for estuary sediment
management in complex estuaries like San Francisco bay,
California, USA
Erosion
Erosion features the following two modes.
Hard bed
For a consolidated bed the erosion rate can be
written as (Partheniades, 1965):

4 Mud Transport Module - © DHI

Solution Technique

Solution Technique
The solution of the transport equations is closely
linked to the solution of the hydrodynamic
conditions.
The spatial discretisation of the primitive equations is
performed using a cell-centred finite volume method.
The spatial domain is discretised by subdivision of
the continuum into non-overlapping elements/cells.
In the horizontal plane an unstructured grid is used
while in the vertical domain in the 3D model a
structured mesh is used. In the 2D model the
elements can be triangles or quadrilateral elements. Principle of 3D mesh
In the 3D model the elements can be prisms or
bricks whose horizontal faces are triangles and Validation
quadrilateral elements, respectively.
The model engine is well proven in numerous
The time integration is performed using an explicit studies throughout the world:
scheme.
The Rio Grande estuary, Brazil
Model Input In 2001, the model was applied for a 3D study in the
The generic nature of cohesive sediment dynamics Rio Grande estuary (Brazil). The study focused on a
reveals a numerical model that will always call for number of hydrodynamic issues related to changing
tremendous field work or calibration due to the Rio Grande Port layout. In addition the possible
measurements performed. The following input changes in sedimentation patterns and dredging
parameters have to be given: requirements were investigated.

 Settling velocity
 Critical shear stress for erosion
 Critical shear stress for deposition
 Erosion coefficients
 Power of erosion
 Suspended sediment
 Concentration at open boundaries
 Dispersion coefficients
 Thickness of bed layers or estimate of total
amount of active sediment in the system
 Transition coefficients between bed layers
 Dry density of bed layers

Model Output
The main output possibilities are listed below:

 Suspended sediment concentrations in space

and time
 Sediment in bed layers given as masses or
heights
 Net sedimentation rates SSC in surface layer (kg/m3), Rio Grande, Brazil
 Computed bed shear stress
 Computed settling velocities
 Updated bathymetry

5
 MIKE 21 & MIKE 3 Flow Model FM

Graadyb tidal inlet (Skallingen), Denmark

Instantaneous erosion (kg/m2/s), Rio Grande, Brazil

The figure below shows the most common

calibration parameter, which is the suspended
sediment concentration (SSC). The results are
reasonable given the large uncertainties connected
with mud transport modelling.

Bathymetry and computational mesh for the Graadyb tidal

inlet, Denmark

A comparison between measured and simulated

SSC time series is shown below. The overall
comparison is excellent.

Suspended sediment concentrations, Rio Grande, Brazil

The Graadyb tidal inlet, Denmark

The MT module has also been used in the Graadyb
tidal inlet located in the Danish part of the Wadden Comparison between measured and simulated suspended
Sea. In this area, the highest tidal range reaches 1.7 sediment concentrations, Graadyb tidal inlet, Denmark
m at springs, but the storm surge in the area can be
as high as 2-4 metres.
The maximum current in the navigation channel
leading to the harbour of Esbjerg is in the range of 1-
2 m/s. The depth in the channel is 10-12 m at mean
sea level.

6 Mud Transport Module - © DHI

Graphical User Interface

Graphical user interface of the MIKE 21 Flow Model FM, Mud Transport Module, including an example of the Online
Help System

Graphical User Interface

The MIKE 21 & MIKE 3 Flow Model FM, Mud
Transport Module is operated through a fully
Windows integrated Graphical User Interface (GUI).
Support is provided at each stage by an Online Help
System.

The common MIKE Zero shell provides entries for

common data file editors, plotting facilities and a
toolbox for/utilities as the Mesh Generator and Data
Viewer.

Overview of the common MIKE Zero utilities

7
 MIKE 21 & MIKE 3 Flow Model FM

Parallelisation Support
The computational engines of the MIKE 21/3 FM News about new features, applications, papers,
series are available in versions that have been updates, patches, etc. are available here:
parallelised using both shared memory as well as
[Link]/Download/[Link]
distributed memory architecture. The latter approach
allows for domain decomposition. The result is much For further information on MIKE 21 & MIKE 3 Flow
faster simulations on systems with many cores. Model FM software, please contact your local DHI
office or the support centre:
MIKE Powered by DHI Client Care
Agern Allé 5
DK-2970 Hørsholm
Denmark
Tel: +45 4516 9333
Fax: +45 4516 9292
mike@[Link]
[Link]

Documentation
The MIKE 21 & MIKE 3 Flow Model FM models are
provided with comprehensive user guides, online
help, scientific documentation, application examples
and step-by-step training examples.
Example of MIKE 21 HD FM speed-up using a HPC
Cluster with distributed memory architecture (purple)

Hardware and Operating System

Requirements
The MIKE Zero Modules support Microsoft Windows
7 Professional Service Pack 1 (64 bit), Windows 10
Pro (64 bit), Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard (64
bit) and Windows Server 2016 Standard (64 bit).
Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0 (or higher) is required
for network license management. An internet
browser is also required for accessing the web-
based documentation and online help.
The recommended minimum hardware requirements
for executing the MIKE Zero modules are:

Processor: 3 GHz PC (or higher)

Memory (RAM): 2 GB (or higher)
Hard disk: 40 GB (or higher)
Monitor: SVGA, resolution 1024x768
Graphics card: 64 MB RAM (256 MB RAM or
(GUI and visualisation) higher is recommended)

8 Mud Transport Module - © DHI

References

References References on applications

Burt, N., 1986. Field settling velocities of estuary Edelvang, K., Lund-Hansen, L.C., Christiansen, C.,
muds. In: Estuarine Cohesive Sediment Dynamics, Petersen, O.S., Uhrenholdt, T., Laima, M. and
edited by Mehta, A.J. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Berastegui, D.A., 2002. Modelling of suspended
Heidelberg, NewYork, Tokyo, 126–150. matter transport from the Oder River. Journal of
Coastal Research 18 (1), 62–74.
Krone, R.B., 1962. Flume Studies of the Transport of
Sediment in Estuarine Shoaling Processes. Final Lumborg, U., Andersen, T.J. and Pejrup, M., 2006.
Report to San Francisco District U. S. Army Corps of The effect of Hydrobia ulvae and microphytobenthos
Engineers, Washington D.C. on cohesive sediment dynamics on an intertidal
mudflat described by means of numerical modelling.
Mehta, A.J., Hayter, E.J., Parker, W.R., Krone, R.B. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 68 (1-2), 208–
and Teeter, A.M., 1989. Cohesive sediment 220.
transport. I: Process description. Journal of
Hydraulic Engineering – ASCE 115 (8), 1076–1093. Lumborg, U. and Pejrup, M., 2005. Modelling of
cohesive sediment transport in a tidal lagoon – An
Parchure, T.M. and Mehta, A.J., 1985. Erosion of annual budget. Marine Geology 218 (1-4), 1–16.
soft cohesive sediment deposits. Journal of
Hydraulic Engineering – ASCE 111 (10), 1308– Petersen, O. and Vested, H.J., 2002. Description of
1326. vertical exchange processes in numerical mud
transport modelling. In: Fine Sediment Dynamics in
Partheniades, E., 1965. Erosion and deposition of the Marine Environment, edited by Winterwerp, J.C.
cohesive soils. Journal of the hydraulics division and Kranenburg, C. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 375–391.
Proceedings of the ASCE 91 (HY1), 105–139.
Petersen, O., Vested, H.J., Manning, A.J., Christie,
Richardson, J.F and Zaki, W.N., 1954. M. and Dyer, K., 2002. Numerical modelling of mud
Sedimentation and fluidization, Part I, Transactions transport processes in the Tamar Estuary. In: Fine
of the institution Chemical Engineers 32, 35–53. Sediment Dynamics in the Marine Environment,
Teeter, A.M., 1986. Vertical transport in fine-grained edited by Winterwerp, J.C. and Kranenburg, C.
suspension and newly deposited sediment. In: Elsevier, Amsterdam, 643–654.
Estuarine Cohesive Sediment Dynamics, edited by Valeur, J.R., 2004. Sediment investigations
Mehta, A.J. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, connected with the building of the Øresund bridge
NewYork, Tokyo, 170–191. and tunnel. Danish Journal of Geography 104 (2),
Teisson, C., 1991. Cohesive suspended sediment 1–12.
transport: feasibility and limitations of numerical
modelling. Journal of Hydraulic Research 29 (6),
755–769.
Winterwerp, J.C., 1999. “Flocculation and settling
velocity”, TU delft. pp 10-17.

9
 MIKE 21 & MIKE 3 Flow Model FM

10 Mud Transport Module - © DHI