Figure 12. Flow separation in tidal meander bends according to Leeder &
Bridges (1975). The normalized radius of curvature (\(\frac{R}{W_{Y}}\))
is plotted as a function of Froude number (Fr) for distinct
tidal flow depth (\(Y\)) and velocity (\(U\)) at the apex of the studied
meander bend. The parameter \(W_{Y}\) represents the effective bend
width corresponding to different water depths (\(Y\)), whereasFr is calculated for different water depths \(Y\) and the
corresponding uniform flow velocities \(U\), the latter being
approximated by the depth-averaged velocity (DAV). Colors
denote varying normalized water depths, computed as the ratio between
instantaneous water depths and the maximum water depth (\(Y_{\max}\))
observed during the entire monitoring timespan. Filled dots denote
below-bankfull water stages (\(Y\)<\(Y_{B}\), where \(Y_{B}\)is the bankfull depth), whereas empty squares highlight above-bankfull
stages (\(Y\)>\(Y_{B}\)). Original data points from Leeder
and Bridges (1975) are also reported using gray markers, along with
their empirical line separating bends with and without flow separation.