ABSTRACT
Revetment structures in the Yangtze River waterway regulation are usually of impermeable or semi-ecological type, which cannot adapt to nutritional soil conservation measures on a slope surface with fluctuating water levels. Recently, a type of tridimensional network structure of ecological revetment was developed based on the concept of energy dissipation of permeable structures. In this study, a laboratory experiment was carried out in a variable-slope flume for accurately measuring the local flow pattern around a tridimensional network structure using a three-dimensional velocity meter (Vectrino). The results indicated that the vertical flow velocity and turbulence intensity near the bottom of the slope decreased by 75% and 20%, respectively, after the flow passed through the tridimensional network structure, thereby creating a less harmful hydrodynamic environment to prevent soil erosion. Meanwhile, because of the presence of holes on the permeable network structure, water can be more easily exchanged between inside and outside of it with good ecological effect. The results of the study can be used as a reference for the design and application of tridimensional network structures.
