A Study of Drag Coefficient Related with Vegetation Based on the Flume Experiment

This study is focused on the effects of ecological factors (diameter and flexibility) and vegetation community composition on the drag coefficient related with vegetation. The single leafy shrub and three mixed communities (including shrub-grass, shrub-reed and reed-grass community) were studied. The flow velocity and water level were measured and used to calculate the drag coefficient based on the Bernoulli’s equation, Darcy drag formula and the expression for the drag coefficient related with Darcy drag factor. The trend of the drag coefficient in the vertical direction was analyzed against flow depth, diameter, diameter Reynolds number, flow depth Reynolds number and relative roughness height in different discharges. The results show that beside the dense leafy shrubs community, the vertical trend of the drag coefficient among other cases against flow depth, diameter, diameter Reynolds number, flow depth Reynolds number and relative roughness height can be approximately expressed by power law functions under different flow discharges. Moreover, in a mixed community with two plants with distinctly different ecological factors, the one with the most distinct variations of ecological factors determines the vertical trend of the drag coefficient; the other one only affects the magnitude of the drag coefficient. Furthermore, if the ecological factors of the vegetation in the vertical direction are kept almost not changed, the drag coefficient can be approximately regarded as a constant.