A Unified Sediment Transport Model for Inlet Application

Robust and reliable formulas for predicting bed load and suspended load were developed for application in the nearshore zone where waves and currents may transport sediment separately or in combination. Also, a routine was included to determine the sediment transport in the swash zone, both in the longshore and cross-shore directions. An important objective of the development was to arrive at general sediment transport formulas suitable for a wide range of hydrodynamic, sedimentologic, and morphologic conditions that prevail around coastal inlets. Thus, the formulas yield transport rates under waves and currents, including the effects of breaking waves, wave asymmetry, and phase lag between fluid and sediment velocity for varying bed conditions. Different components of the formulas were previously validated with a large data set on transport under waves and currents, and in the present paper additional comparisons are provided for the complete formulas using data on longshore and cross-shore sediment transport from the laboratory and the field, encompassing the offshore, surf, and swash zones. The predictive capability of the new formulas is the overall highest among a number of existing formulas that were investigated. The complete set of formulas presented in the paper is collectively denoted the Lund-CIRP model.