Fluid Physics of Sediment Transport and Flow Around Hydraulic Structures

Understanding the fluid physics that governs sediment transport and flow around hydraulic structures remains one of the enduring challenges of fluid dynamics. The interaction between fluid flow, sediment particles, and solid boundaries gives rise to strongly coupled phenomena - vortex formation, sediment entrainment, local scour, erosion, deposition, wake development, and energy dissipation - that are difficult to predict under varying flow conditions.Recent advances have sharpened our view of these processes: controlled laboratory experiments, aided by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry (ADV), now resolve flow and sediment dynamics at high resolution, while Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS), Large Eddy Simulation (LES), and Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) expose flow fields that are hard to probe experimentally. Yet the physical mechanisms linking near-bed turbulence to sediment motion and scour remain incompletely understood.The goal of this Research Topic is to advance the fundamental physical understanding of the coupling between turbulence, sediment dynamics, and flow around hydraulic structures.Specific objectives include:• resolving the turbulence and coherent flow structures that drive sediment entrainment, transport, and deposition• characterising flow–structure interaction and the mechanics of local scour at hydraulic structures• clarifying near-bed and multiphase flow dynamics under varying flow conditions• relating instantaneous flow structure to bedform development and morphodynamic evolutionBy achieving these goals, this collection aims to connect high-resolution measurement, first-principles simulation, and data-driven inference, deepening physical understanding of sediment-laden flows around hydraulic structures.This Research Topic welcomes contributions that advance the physical understanding of turbulence-sediment-structure coupling. Themes of interest include, but are not limited to:• Turbulence and coherent flow structures in sediment-laden flows• Sediment entrainment, transport, and deposition• Flow-structure interaction and local scour at hydraulic structures• Near-bed and multiphase flow dynamics• Bedform development and morphodynamic evolutionWe invite Original Research, Review, Methods, Mini Review, and Perspective articles. Contributions may be experimental, theoretical, computational (RANS/LES/DNS), or data-driven; in all cases the emphasis must be on physical insight into the mechanisms governing sediment-laden flows, rather than on predictive performance alone. Topic editors: Balraj Singh, Parveen Sihag, Bimlesh Kumar, Edyta Nartowska, Abbas Parsaie Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84059/fluid-physics-of-sediment-transport-and-flow-around-hydraulic-structures