Trapping efficiency of reservoirs (SR 212)

This report describes a study undertaken by Hydraulics Research to investigate the factors which affect the trapping efficiency of reservoirs. A numerical reservoir sedimentation model is used to investigate the effect of altering variables which represent the reservoir geometry, flow and sediment conditions. The critical factors in determining reservoir trapping efficiency are the discharge, mean depth, width and shear velocity, and the sediment fall velocity. The trapping efficiency of a reservoir is dependent on the mean depth to length ratio.