{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/116281"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/116281","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Effect of plastics on sediment mobility in rivers and coastal areas","abstract":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-15 without embargo terms","abstract_html":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-15 without embargo terms","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Andrade Ramos, Juan Martin"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Civil Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Tinoco, Rafael Omar"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-08","date_published":"2022-08","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:56Z","subjects":["Microplastics","plastics","sediment transport","threshold of motion","suspended sediment concentration","PIV","shear-driven flows","uprush","swash zone","turbulence tank","Odell Kovasznay flume"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2022 Juan Andrade Ramos"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116281","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Tinoco, Rafael Omar"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Andrade Ramos, Juan Martin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2022-08","2022-07-21"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Civil Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Microplastics","plastics","sediment transport","threshold of motion","suspended sediment concentration","PIV","shear-driven flows","uprush","swash zone","turbulence tank","Odell Kovasznay flume"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2022 Juan Andrade Ramos"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116281"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-15 without embargo terms","The student, Juan Andrade Ramos, accepted the attached license on 2022-07-21 at 10:57.","The student, Juan Andrade Ramos, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2022-07-21 at 11:18.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2022-07-21 at 15:28.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #18409 on 2022-11-15 at 18:21:58","Plastic pollution is an increasing problem in most waterways around the world. In addition to its adverse effect on ecosystems and the health of organisms through all trophic levels, plastic embedded in the substrate can also alter sediment dynamics, resulting in plastic-sediment-flow feedbacks that can determine the capture and release of plastic material from the substrate under various flow conditions. The main objective of this study is to investigate the interaction between sediment and plastic particles in rivers and beaches, to understand whether the presence of plastic particles in the bed enhance or diminish sediment mobility, and how to characterize such interactions as a function of plastics, flow, and sediment properties. The effect of plastics on sediment mobility in rivers and coastal areas was studied in a turbulence tank (turbulent flow with minimum or absent mean shear) and an Odell-Kovasnay type recirculating flume (unidirectional flow). The sediment bed was composed of crushed walnut shells as light-weight sediment mixed with two different plastic particles at various concentrations. Flow hydrodynamics were measured using Two-dimensional Particle Image Velocimetry (2D PIV) to quantify spatial velocity distribution, turbulent kinetic energy, Reynolds stresses, turbulent production, and shear velocities above the sediment bed. Time lapse photographs were used to estimate the suspended sediment concentration (SSC), bed load, bed thickness variation, and percentage of exposed plastic for all the mixtures. Data showed a similar effect of plastic particles on both the turbulence tank and the recirculating flume. The density and size of plastic particles embedded in the sediment play an important role in the plastic mobility, which affects SSC, bed load, bedform formation, and armoring in streams. The heavier plastic particles led to armoring on the sediment bed after getting exposed, which protects the bed from further erosion, while the lighter plastic particles enhanced the bed load and bed thickness variation until they get buried due to bedform formation. SSC does not seem to be influenced by the presence of heavier plastic particles, but lighter plastics seemingly damp SSC at lower velocities, until reaching a critical value at which SSC is boosted by the presence of plastics. Further research, focused on a wider range of velocities and a broader range of particle sizes, shapes, and densities, is still needed to provide a better understanding of the role of embedded plastic on sediment dynamics."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Effect of plastics on sediment mobility in rivers and coastal areas"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Tinoco, Rafael Omar"],"dc:creator":["Andrade Ramos, Juan Martin"],"dc:date":["2022-08","2022-07-21"],"dc:description":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-15 without embargo terms","The student, Juan Andrade Ramos, accepted the attached license on 2022-07-21 at 10:57.","The student, Juan Andrade Ramos, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2022-07-21 at 11:18.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2022-07-21 at 15:28.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #18409 on 2022-11-15 at 18:21:58","Plastic pollution is an increasing problem in most waterways around the world. In addition to its adverse effect on ecosystems and the health of organisms through all trophic levels, plastic embedded in the substrate can also alter sediment dynamics, resulting in plastic-sediment-flow feedbacks that can determine the capture and release of plastic material from the substrate under various flow conditions. The main objective of this study is to investigate the interaction between sediment and plastic particles in rivers and beaches, to understand whether the presence of plastic particles in the bed enhance or diminish sediment mobility, and how to characterize such interactions as a function of plastics, flow, and sediment properties. The effect of plastics on sediment mobility in rivers and coastal areas was studied in a turbulence tank (turbulent flow with minimum or absent mean shear) and an Odell-Kovasnay type recirculating flume (unidirectional flow). The sediment bed was composed of crushed walnut shells as light-weight sediment mixed with two different plastic particles at various concentrations. Flow hydrodynamics were measured using Two-dimensional Particle Image Velocimetry (2D PIV) to quantify spatial velocity distribution, turbulent kinetic energy, Reynolds stresses, turbulent production, and shear velocities above the sediment bed. Time lapse photographs were used to estimate the suspended sediment concentration (SSC), bed load, bed thickness variation, and percentage of exposed plastic for all the mixtures. Data showed a similar effect of plastic particles on both the turbulence tank and the recirculating flume. The density and size of plastic particles embedded in the sediment play an important role in the plastic mobility, which affects SSC, bed load, bedform formation, and armoring in streams. The heavier plastic particles led to armoring on the sediment bed after getting exposed, which protects the bed from further erosion, while the lighter plastic particles enhanced the bed load and bed thickness variation until they get buried due to bedform formation. SSC does not seem to be influenced by the presence of heavier plastic particles, but lighter plastics seemingly damp SSC at lower velocities, until reaching a critical value at which SSC is boosted by the presence of plastics. Further research, focused on a wider range of velocities and a broader range of particle sizes, shapes, and densities, is still needed to provide a better understanding of the role of embedded plastic on sediment dynamics."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116281"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2022 Juan Andrade Ramos"],"dc:subject":["Microplastics","plastics","sediment transport","threshold of motion","suspended sediment concentration","PIV","shear-driven flows","uprush","swash zone","turbulence tank","Odell Kovasznay flume"],"dc:title":["Effect of plastics on sediment mobility in rivers and coastal areas"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Civil Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:56Z"}