Bank Erosion of the Illinois River

Bhowmik, Nani G.; Schicht, Richard, J.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/77802 Copy

Description

Title

Bank Erosion of the Illinois River

Author(s)

• Bhowmik, Nani G.
• Schicht, Richard, J.

Issue Date

1980

Keyword(s)

• Bank erosion
• bank stability
• bank protection
• hydraulics
• resistance
• Illinois River
• velocity
• waves (water)
• barges
• tractive forces
• shear stress
• particle size

Abstract

Banks of the Illinois River have been eroding because of natural and man-made acts. In many places the erosion is very severe, in other places the banks are stable. The bank erosion of the river was investigated in detail and the results are presented in this report. Field inspection of the river from Joliet to Grafton was made. Extensive bed and bank material samples were collected and grain size distributions were determined. Plan views of 20 selected reaches were developed and the bank slopes at these reaches were determined. Hydraulic parameters were either computed or estimated, and the stability of the banks at all 20 locations was tested following accepted methods and in hydraulics. The stability analysis was done for discharges with and without additional Lake Michigan diversions for three typical water years. In general, the silty, sandy, and clayey materials of these severely eroded banks should be stable against the action of tractive force and flow velocity. However, preliminary computations indicated that the banks are unstable as far as the wind-generated wave action is . It is suspected that river traffic-generated wave action also has a similar effect. A monitoring program is outlined, and a future research project related to the wave action on the banks is suggested.

Publisher

Illinois State Water Survey

Series/Report Name or Number

Report of Investigation (Illinois State Water Survey) RI-092

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/77802

Copyright and License Information

Copyright, University of Illinois Board of Trustees. All rights reserved. This document is a product of the Illinois State Water Survey, and has been selected and made available by the Illinois State Water Survey and the University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It is intended for research and educational use, and proper attribution is requested.

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