Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2020
Laboratory experiments are conducted to examine the evolution of and sedimentation from a particle-bearing jet advancing along a horizontal or downward-sloping boundary underlying a uniform-density ambient fluid. The jet front advances along the bottom while exhibiting a self-similar profile. As the jet propagates downstream, particles settle out, resulting in a teardrop-shaped sediment bed whose geometric parameters are measured non-intrusively using a light attenuation technique. The bed shape is well represented by the theory that assumes a Gaussian radial profile of velocity within the jet and accounts for the bedload transport of particles after they settle. In particular, the bed length is given by $l_0 = (1.8 \pm 0.4) [M_0/(g^\prime d_p)]^{1/2}$, in which $M_0$ is the source momentum flux, $g^\prime$ is the reduced gravity of the particles and $d_p$ is the particle diameter. The corresponding scale for the sediment depth captures the anticipated order of magnitude for the maximum depth of deposit, but the measurements indicate additional dependence upon $M_0$, suggesting that the morphology of the bed non-negligibly influences particle settling.