Channel deformation around non-submerged spur dikes with different alignment angles under ice cover

Abstract This study explores how the ice cover on water surfaces affects the deformation of the channel bed around non-submerged spur dikes. Laboratory experiments have been conducted by using two types of model ice cover with different roughness coefficients and three sands with different median grain sizes. The effects of various layout angles of non-submerged spur dikes on the maximum scour depth and scour patterns around spur dikes have been evaluated. Results showed that the dike orientation angle is the critical factor influencing the maximum scour depth. The presence of an ice cover and its roughness coefficient dramatically affect the channel bed deformation around spur dikes. The combined effect of the dike orientation angle, ice cover roughness, and flow Froude number resulted in different scour patterns. For instance, the upstream length of scour holes decreases by approximately 60% when the dike angle changes from 90º to 60º, while an increase in flow rate by about 50% leads to a 20% increase in the downstream length of scour holes. Equations have been derived to determine the maximum scour depth around spur dikes, considering the effects of ice cover, bed material and the dike layout angles.