Laserfiche WebLink
<br />the relationship between 100-year event yield and t~le average annual yield were identified in the <br />literature but none could be transferred directly to the Range Wash basin. As a result, it was <br />necessary to undertake an iterative process to determine the event specific sediment yields <br />from the 1 DO-year event. The process began with the estimation of the equilibrium sediment <br />transport down the alluvial fan surface for various recurrence inte,rvals. These values were then <br />integrated to establish an average annual sediment yield based on the fan's ability to deliver <br />sediment. This yield estimate was compared to the PSIA elltimale of average ,mnual sediment <br />yield. When both estimates matched, the individual event yield was assumed to be correct and <br />was used for future analyses and ultimately for dike sizing. The following paral1raph describes <br />this process in greater detai/. <br /> <br />The HEC-6 computer program was used to simulate sediment transport thmugh the entire <br />fan/dike system. Yang's formulation of sediment transport equations presented in HEC-6 was <br />used to compute transport capacity. An article published in the Journal of Hydraulic <br />Engineering (Comparisons of Selected Bed-Material Load Formulas, Yang and Wan; ASCE <br />117(8)973-989) compares several sediment transport Elquations for various sediment <br />concentrations, slopes and Froude numbers. For conditions similar to those encountered <br />along the dike (steep slopes and Froude numbers nea.r one), Yang's formulation was <br />dlltermined to provide the best results when compared to measured results. Yang's <br />methodology is commonly accepted, as demonstratEld by its incllJsion in HEC-6, and appears <br />to be the most appropriate formulation for application on Ran~le Wash (See "Yang paper' <br />Section in Design Notebook.) <br /> <br />The process of establishing the event specific yield required several key assumptions which <br />had to be tested. A critical assumption was the determination of material size distributions for <br />both the inflowing sediment load generated in the basin above the apex and the fan surface <br />materials. Eight surface samples were taken on the alluvial fan to '9stimate the particle sizes to <br />be used as the bed material distribution in the transport model. This particle size distribution <br />cOIJld not be used as inflow to the system since no fine materials were found on the aI/uvial fan <br />surface and yet the upstream watershed providllS an abundclnt source of fine particles which <br />are washed through the system. To estimate the fine particle portion of the total sediment load, <br />samples from the val/ey floor further downstream in the Las Vegas Wash system were used. <br />(See the "Particle Size Distribution" Section.) <br /> <br />Critical assumptions were evaluated during this calibration and integration process to <br />detl3rmine their sensitivity and reasonableness. These variables included the roughness <br />coefficient, the inflow sediment volume estimate, the temperature 01 the inflow, and the particle <br />size distribution of the inflowing materials. The results of the sensitivity analysis indicate that the <br />estimate of average annual yield as a function of Elach !lpecific yield was relatively insensitive to <br />minor changes in variables with the exception of the percentsge of fine particles in the inflow. <br />The final percentage of fine particles, those less than 0.064 millimeters, was 40% and compared <br />favorably with particle size distribution of materials farther downstream in the Las VElgas Valley. <br /> <br />The description of channel cross section geometry in HEC-6 requires a fixed channel bank. <br />The channel bed may move vertically (scour and deposition), but nIl lateral changes in cross- <br />section are possible. The Dawdy/FEMA assumption (Flood FreqUE3ncy Estimates on Alluvial <br />Fans, ASCE Journal of the Hydraulics Division, 10~;(11), 1407-1413) for alluvial fan flooding was <br />used in this study. This assumption establishes a channel geometry on an alluvial fan which is <br />a function of discharge (See "Fan Geometry" Section). Because HEC-6 does not allow for <br />iateral changes in the channel cross-section, it was necessary to run the fan model with a <br />constant cross section. Therefore, a series of constant discharges and fixed cross sections <br />were modeled to establish alluvial fan flow characteristics and E\quilibrium sediment transport. <br />For the 100-year peak example see the Design Noteboo~ "Fan Equilibrium" Section. The model <br />