Measurements and Modeling of Pore-Pressure Gradients in the Swash Zone Under Large-Scale Laboratory Bichromatic Waves

Abstract

The present work presents physical laboratory measurements of surface elevation and pore water pressures in a fine sand bed under bichromatic waves in a large-scale laboratory experiment. This was done at three cross-shore locations in the swash zone, with pressures being measured at different depths in the bed. The measurements show that the pore pressure signal decays and shifts with increased depth. These measurements are used to validate a practical model, based on the theory of Yamamoto et al. (1978, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112078003006) and Guest and Hay (2017, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JC012257). The model corresponds well with the measurements (nRMSE < 0.2 and R² > 0.95 for most probes) and shows that a frequency-based model can reproduce the pressures in the bed, despite the bed being exposed during dry periods. Furthermore, the model provides the opportunity to calculate pressure gradients, both throughout the bed and at the bed surface. These modeled pressure gradients at the bed surface show that the vertical pressure gradient can have an important impact on the Shields parameter, thereby influencing sediment transport.