2 Laboratory Facility,
Equipment, and Experiment
Design
As part of the CIRP, a physical model facility was created to address
research and field problems of tidal inlets (Seabergh 1999). The model and
appurtenances necessary to study inlet problems are discussed in this chapter.
Idealized Inlet Facility
An idealized inlet was designed to fit in a 46-m- (150-ft-) wide by 99-m-
(325-ft-) long concrete basin with 0.6-m- (2-ft-) high walls. The approach was to
design an inlet with simplified bathymetry and relatively steep beach slopes so
additional features (such as an ebb shoal) could easily be added. Plans included
using fine sand as both a tracer and as a fully mobile bed that could be placed
over the concrete bottom in a thick veneer. A 1:50 undistorted scale was
assumed to determine reasonable inlet dimensions to model; however, other
scales can easily be assumed to accommodate studies of specific processes with
the simplified bathymetry.
Figure 2 shows the facility and basin area. The Idealized Inlet Facility is
connected to a large sump (not shown, volume of 1.98 H 106 L (523,000 gal)) for
water exchange. Tides may be produced in the ocean of the facility to drive tidal
currents into and out of the inlet bay. A constant inflow is introduced from the
sump into the ocean of the facility, while a rolling gate either reduces or
increases flow area over an exit pipe into the sump, which causes ocean rise or
fall, respectively. The rolling gate is regulated by a controller connected to a
feedback loop comparing actual to desired water level. The two cylinders in
Figure 2 are storage tanks each holding 182,000 L (48,000 gal) water. The tanks
can be activated to simulate a much larger bay area by storing flood tide water
and releasing it back to the bay to flow to the ocean during ebb flow. Pumps and
control valves associated with this procedure are located adjacent to the storage
tanks.
A steady-state flow may also be established for simulating ebbing or flooding
currents. The piping system appears in Figures 2 and 3. Water is either collected
(flood flow) or distributed (ebb flow) through a system of manifolds in the bay
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Chapter 2 Laboratory Facility, Equipment, and Experiment Design
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