An empirical formula development to predict suspended sediment load for Khour Al-Zubair port, South of Iraq

Abstract A new formula for determining the suspended sediment load in Khour Al-Zubair port has been proposed using dimensional analysis. Six cross-sections have been identified in Khour Al-Zubair port at Basrah province, South of Iraq for the purpose of conducting field measurements during the two tidal periods (Neap and Spring). The study involved taking field measurements of the hydraulic and fluid properties, and sediment sampling by section every 2 h to get effective parameters used for developing empirical formula. These parameters include the density of sediment (ρ s), mean velocity (V), hydraulic radius (R h), fall velocity of the particle (W s), median grain size (d 50), the salinity of water (S), water level (W L), the width of the estuary (B), specific gravity (G s), maximum flow depth (D max), and kinematics viscosity (ν). The formula was developed using the statistical analysis using the SPSS program and dimensional analysis method. A good agreement between the loads computed by the suggested formula and the observed data has been attained based on the correlation coefficient value (R = 0.97). The results showed that the average total suspended sediment loads by using the proposed formula is 1288285.464 tons/year.