Helicoidal flow is the cork-screw-like flow of
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...
in a
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ban ...
. It is one example of a
secondary flow.
Helicoidal flow is a contributing factor to the formation of
slip-off slopes and
river cliffs in a meandering section of the river. The helicoidal motion of the flow aids the processes of
hydraulic action and
corrasion
Corrasion is a geomorphological term for the process of mechanical erosion of the earth's surface caused when materials are transported across it by running water, waves, glaciers, wind or gravitational movement downslope. An example is the wear ...
on the outside of the meander, and sweeps sediment across the floor of the meander towards the inside of the meander, forming
point bar deposits.
[
]
See also
*
Laminar flow
*
Turbulent flow
*
Baer's law
*
Secondary flow in river bends
References
Bibliography
Journal of Geophysical Research, Volume 107 (2002)
Rivers
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