Abstract
FLUIDS flowing through pipes or channels can develop secondary currents. These are defined as currents which occur in the plane normal to the local axis of the primary flow. Their development in straight channels has been ascribed to anisotropic turbulence and the non-uniform distribution of boundary shear stress1–3 but in meander bends they are generally caused by skewing of the flow3–5. Secondary currents distort the distributions of primary isovels and boundary shear stress from those expected in simple flows and, therefore, have important implications for bed and bank erosion and for resistence to flow. We report here measurements of longstream and cross stream velocities carried out across sections of a river perpendicular to the outer banks of several bends using an electromagnetic flow meter.
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The erratum article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1038/270191d0
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BATHURST, J., THORNE, C. & HEY, R. Direct measurements of secondary currents in river bends. Nature 269, 504–506 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269504a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/269504a0
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