Caracterización experimental y numérica de la rugosidad de fondo en la confluencia del Río Tarqui con el Río Yanuncay

Abstract

In the analysis of natural watercourses, bottom roughness is a fundamental parameter in river hydraulics due to its influence on flow resistance, velocity distribution, and sediment transport. The confluence of the Tarqui and Yanuncay rivers in Cuenca has a limited number of studies focused on its bottom roughness, despite being located in an urban area with a high level of traffic. This study focuses on the experimental and numerical characterization of the bottom roughness of this confluence, which is crucial for a correct hydraulic modeling of the riverbed and a more precise prediction of its behavior. Flow rate and velocity data obtained through the application of the LSPIV technique at the control points of this project has been used, evaluating different methods for roughness calculation. Numerical modeling is conducted using the IBER 2D software, a two-dimensional model used due to its ability to represent the spatial variability of the flow and the interaction between bed conditions and surface velocities. The performance of the model is validated by the high degree of correlation between the experimental and numerical results at the confluence, where variable values were observed as a consequence of its morphology. Additionally, the roughness calculation method that best represents the site conditions and its behavior in different circumstances has been determined. The results demonstrate that photometric analysis of the riverbed material is effective for estimating bottom roughness and developing more reliable and accurate numerical models in confluence areas.