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Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Dynamics of microplastics bedload transport in turbulent open channel flows over smooth and rough beds
ClearIncipient Motion of Exposed Microplastics in an Open-Channel Flow
Researchers experimentally determined the conditions needed to initiate microplastic movement in open-channel water flows, finding that standard sediment transport thresholds do not apply to microplastics and proposing a new predictive formula that reduces error from 55.6% to 12.3%.
Plastic drift : Mapping the course of microplastic transport in turbulent riverine flows.
Researchers conducted laboratory experiments tracking the 3D trajectories of 24 negatively buoyant microplastic particles spanning a range of sizes, shapes, and densities in turbulent open channel flow, generating 720 trajectories to evaluate how well conventional sediment transport models apply to microplastics. Results revealed that the inherent variability in microplastic physical properties challenges direct application of sediment transport concepts to microplastic fate prediction in rivers.
Bedload transport rates of microplastics on natural sediments under open channel flow: The role of exposure in acceleration
Researchers developed a new model for predicting how microplastics are transported as bedload in rivers, combining computational fluid dynamics with laboratory experiments. They found that exposed microplastics on the sediment surface move at higher transport rates than natural sediment particles of similar size, potentially spreading contamination over wider areas. The model provides a practical tool for engineers assessing how microplastic pollution disperses through waterway systems.
Continuous Near-Bed Movements of Microplastics in Open Channel Flows: Statistical Analysis
Particle tracking velocimetry experiments in a laboratory flume showed that near-bed microplastic transport in open channels follows a normal streamwise velocity distribution, with transport behavior varying significantly by particle type and hydraulic conditions.
Investigating Microplastic Resuspension in Environmental flows: Experimental and Numerical Approaches
Researchers used combined experimental and numerical approaches to investigate the resuspension of microplastics from sediment beds in riverine flows, finding that turbulence intensity during high-flow events plays a key role in detaching MP particles embedded in multi-density granular sediment beds.
Flume experiments on transport and deposition behavior of microplastics in sediment bed environments
Researchers ran 42 flume experiments with three model sediments and spherical microplastics of varying size and density, finding that deposition depth is governed by sediment porosity and the grain-to-particle diameter ratio, while transport is primarily controlled by particle density and initial placement, providing data to improve MP mass balance models.
Investigation of the Sheltering Effects on the Mobilization of Microplastics in Open-Channel Flow
Researchers investigated how bed grain sheltering affects microplastic mobilization in open-channel flow, developing improved formulas for predicting the critical shear stress needed to move microplastic particles of various materials and densities.
Response of microplastic particles to turbulent flow: An experimental study
Using controlled flume experiments, researchers studied how turbulent flow conditions affect the transport and settling behavior of microplastic particles with varied shapes and densities, finding that turbulence intensity and particle morphology interacted to determine suspension and deposition patterns.
Settling velocity of microplastics in turbulent open-channel flow
Researchers studied how microplastic particles settle in turbulent river-like flow conditions compared to still water and developed a new formula to predict their behavior. They found that turbulence altered settling velocities by as much as 26% depending on particle properties, with larger, heavier particles being less influenced by water turbulence. The findings are important for building better models of how microplastics are transported and distributed in rivers and other flowing waterways.
Microplastic and natural sediment in bed load saltation: Material does not dictate the fate
Researchers investigated how microplastics move as bed load in river flows and found that transport behavior in saltation was governed primarily by particle size, shape, and density rather than material composition, suggesting that microplastics follow similar transport mechanics as natural sediment.
Numerical simulation and experimental study of microplastic transport under open channel shear flow: Roles of particle physical properties and flow velocities
Laboratory flume experiments and Lattice Boltzmann Method simulations showed that horizontal microplastic transport velocity increases with flow velocity while vertical velocity decreases, with particle density and concentration influencing transport behavior in open channel shear flow.
Evidence of Microplastic Size Impact on Mobility and Transport in the Marine Environment: A Review and Synthesis of Recent Research
This review synthesized evidence on how microplastic particle size affects transport and dispersal in the marine environment, finding that size critically influences turbulent entrainment, settling velocity, and resuspension, analogous to well-established natural sediment transport dynamics.
Microplastic and natural sediment in bed load saltation: material does not dictate the fate
This study compared the transport of microplastics and natural sediment in river flows and found that despite similar particle sizes, microplastics behave differently due to their lower density and different surface properties. The findings suggest that microplastic transport cannot be fully predicted using models designed for natural sediment. Better transport models are needed to understand how microplastics move through river systems to the ocean.
Plastic drift : Mapping the course of microplastic transport in turbulent riverine flows.
Researchers investigated the transport dynamics of 24 negatively buoyant microplastic particles across a spectrum of sizes, shapes, and densities using a 3D particle tracking system in turbulent open channel flow, generating 720 trajectories. They found that particle shape was the dominant determinant of transport behavior, with fibers tending to remain near the water surface at lower forward velocities while spheres stayed closer to the bed with higher forward velocities.
Transport and accumulation of plastic particles on the varying sediment bed cover: Open-channel flow experiment
Researchers conducted open-channel flow experiments to study how various plastic particles of differing shape, size, density, and flexibility are transported and retained across sediment beds of varying grain size, finding that friction-driven retention zones consistently form at boundaries between finer and coarser sediments, offering a mechanism to explain the patchy distribution of microplastics in seafloor sediments.
Impact of the Reynolds Numbers on the Velocity of Floating Microplastics in Open Channels
Researchers experimentally tracked the motion of nearly spherical polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene microplastics in open channel flow using video analysis, establishing quantitative relationships among Reynolds number, MP density, and floating velocity to better predict horizontal transport behavior.
Modeling microplastic deposition in sandy streams with moving bedforms
Researchers developed a coupled model combining improved mechanistic colloid attachment predictions with a bedform transport model to quantify microplastic deposition in sandy streams with moving dune bedforms, running numerical simulations to assess how streambed characteristics, flow conditions, and particle properties interact to control microplastic retention. The model addressed the poor predictive power of classical colloid filtration theory for microplastics by incorporating bedform dynamics into deposition calculations.
Experimental investigation on the nearshore transport of buoyant microplastic particles
Researchers measured nearshore transport of buoyant microplastic particles and found they travel at near-fluid velocity before wave breaking but accelerate in the surf zone, with lighter particles transported faster, and developed an empirical formula for predicting cross-shore microplastic transport velocities.
Improving predictions of microplastic incipient motion through shields parameter modifications
Researchers developed modifications to the Shields parameter to better predict the incipient motion of microplastics in aquatic sediment environments, addressing how the irregular shapes and densities of MP particles deviate from assumptions built for conventional sediment transport models.
Computational Analysis of Microplastics Hydrodynamics in Laboratory Experiment
Researchers conducted computational simulations of microplastic hydrodynamics in an open channel using OpenFOAM with turbulent flow modelling, validating the simulation against laboratory experimental results and examining how particle properties influence settling behaviour.
Mapping Microplastic Movement: A Phase Diagram to Predict Nonbuoyant Microplastic Modes of Transport at the Particle Scale
Researchers tracked 24 different types of nonbuoyant microplastic particles in turbulent open channel flow to understand how they are transported in aquatic environments. They found that microplastics move similarly to natural sediments through rolling, saltation, and suspension, but particle shape strongly influences transport behavior, with fibers staying closer to the water surface than spheres. The study introduces a new phase diagram for predicting microplastic transport modes based on flow conditions and particle properties.
A new model for the terminal settling velocity of microplastics
A new empirical model for the terminal settling velocity of microplastics was developed and validated using 1,343 experimental measurements covering a range of particle shapes and materials. The model improves predictions of microplastic sedimentation rates, which are critical for understanding how plastic particles are transported and deposited in water bodies.
Sensitivity analysis of a one-dimensional microplastic transport model in turbulent rivers: Intrinsic properties and hydrodynamics
Researchers developed a one-dimensional mechanistic model for microplastic vertical transport in the Ergene River, Turkey, and conducted sensitivity analysis to identify the most influential parameters. Both MP physical properties (density, shape, size) and river hydrodynamics (discharge, turbulence) significantly affected model outputs, informing which measurements are most critical for accurate MP transport prediction.
Transport dynamics of microplastics from land to sea: the role of particle properties and stream morphology.
Researchers measured how particle properties including size, density, and polymer type interact with stream morphology to determine microplastic transport distances in 15 streams. Both plastic characteristics and stream structure independently influenced how far microplastics travel before settling, with implications for estimating fluxes to the ocean.