water

Article
On Ripples—A Boundary Layer-Theoretical Definition
Ulrich Zanke 1,2, * and Aron Roland 3

1 Z & P—Prof. Zanke and Partner, Ackerstr. 21, D-30826 Garbsen, Hannover, Germany
2 TU Darmstadt, D-64289 Darmstadt, Germany
3 BGS-ITE, Pfungstaedter Straße 20, D-64297 Darmstadt, Germany; a.roland@bgsite.de
* Correspondence: zanke@aol.com

Abstract: Once the first initial ripples have developed, they form according to the actual flow forces
and sediment properties. In this paper, a semianalytical approach to determine the length of the
developed ripples is presented. The theory assumes initial disturbances at the bed surface and
corresponding flow separations resulting from an individual respective boundary layer. What causes
the initial rhythmic perturbations is not the subject of this paper. Based on boundary layer theory,
this approach explains a possible physical background for the existence and length of developed
ripples in cohesion-free sediments. At the same time, the approach provides a distinction from dunes:
ripples are sand waves affected by a viscous sublayer, and dunes are sand waves where this is not
the case. Applications to Earth, Mars, and Titan are shown.

Keywords: sediment transport; ripples; dunes; bed forms; Mars; Titan

1. Introduction



During the transport of granular sediment, a wavy bed forms under certain combi-


nations of flow and sediment, independent of material and nature of the fluid. On the
Citation: Zanke, U.; Roland, A. On windward side, these bed forms have a slowly rising bed. At a certain position, the ac-
Ripples—A Boundary
cretion of sediment ends and a trough develops. Here, the flow stalls and a roller with
Layer-Theoretical Definition. Water
horizontal axis is formed (Figure 1). Beginning from the reattachment point, a new bound-
2021, 13, 892. https://doi.org/
ary layer develops (e.g., Plate 1966 [1]). These sedimentary waves appear in two main
10.3390/w13070892
forms, the ripples and the dunes. The most striking difference is that ripples are small
and in the subaqueous case, if the water depth is greater than about three ripple heights,
Academic Editor: Sameh Kantoush
they are independent of the water depth. According to phenomenological surveys, ripple
Received: 26 January 2021
lengths on earth are L <≈ 0.6 m (e.g., Yalin 1964 [2], Allen 1968 [3], Kennedy 1969 [4],
Accepted: 13 March 2021
Fredsoe 1982 [5], Ashley 1990 [6]). Dunes, on the other hand, are dependent on water
Published: 24 March 2021 depth, both in terms of length and height.
The subject of this paper is the distinction between ripples and dunes in cohesion-free
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral sediments and a theory of their evolved dimensions after they have emerged. For this
with regard to jurisdictional claims in purpose, a semianalytical approach based on boundary layer theory is developed.
published maps and institutional affil-
iations.

Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// Figure 1. Definitions of dimensions and and characteristic parts of ripples with highlighted devel-
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ oping boundary layer (H = ripple height, L = ripple length, h1 = water depth at reattachment point,
4.0/). h2 = water depth at the crest).

Water 2021, 13, 892. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13070892 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water

Water 2021, 13, 892 2 of 19

2. A Brief Description of the State of Research on the Distinction of Ripples

and Dunes
Over decades, based on observations, various diagrams have been developed on the
demarcation of the areas of ripples and dunes respectively. Some of these diagrams are
dimensional and apply to typical conditions on earth, i.e., sand and water. Examples are
criteria in v − d coordinates v = f (d) e.g., Zanke 1976 [7], Southard & Boguchwal 1990 [8]
with v = average velocity and d = sediment grain diameter and the associated type of
bedform. Other diagrams are dimensionless and therefore more generally. Basis of the
dimensionless representations are the dimensionless quantities

v? d
Re? = (1)
ν
? v ?2
τ = 0 (2)
ρ gd

and their combination

Re?2
D ?3 = (3)
τ?
where v? = shear velocity, ν = fluid viscosity, ρ0 = (ρs − ρ)/ρ = relative density, ρ =
fluid density and ρs = sediment density. Obviously, ripples and dunes can be graphically
represented as a function of all these three variables by two-dimensional expressions.
The respective third variable is sometimes added as a parameter:
τ ? = f ( Re? ) e.g., Chabert & Chauvin1963 [9].
D ? = f ( Re? ) e.g., Bonnefille & Pernecker 1966 [10], Vollmers & Giese 1970 [11],
Wieprecht 2001 [12].
τ ? & = & f ( D ? ) e.g., v.d. Berg & v.Gelder [13].
This way, the graphical results of the according graphs look quite different although
they express widely the same. Burr et al., 2013 [14] showed that the results of bed shape
stability (i.e., discrimination of ripple and dune areas) from Southard and Boguchwal
1990 and v.d. Berg and v.Gelder 1993 [13] express almost the same. A similar result was
presented by Kleinhans 2005 [15]. Transferring the results of Southard and Boguchwal
1990 [8] to water depths around h ≈ 1 m as in the Zanke 1976 [7] graph and considering
that in Figure 2, dm is used instead of d50 , the blue curve in Figure 2 results. From the above,
it is clear that there is widely agreement regarding the demarcation between ripples and
dunes. However, the question of “why” is open.

Figure 2. Bed forms as expression of the sedimentological and hydraulic parameters for the sand-
water system, modified after Zanke (1976) [7]. For comparison, the limiting curve of the areas of the
ripples and the dunes of Southard and Boguchwal 1990 [8] is shown in blue color.
Water 2021, 13, 892 3 of 19

Yalin 1985 [16], based on an evaluation of data from different researchers investigated
the length of developed ripples and derived a dimensionless representation which applies
to various combinations of liquid and sediment. The result is shown with Figure 3. As long
as approximately X ≈< 3 results Y = 1/X or

L 1 Ld
∼ ? or L? = = const. (4)
d Re ν

Figure 3. Prediction for ripple lengths according to Yalin [16] based on measurement results of
different authors.

As soon as the values at the abscissa rise above about 3, another, still unknown, effect
occurs. As a consequence, the ripple lengths deviate from the previously valid trend and
increase exponentially.
The most recent data analysis on the delineation of ripples and dunes and on ripple
lengths was presented by Lapotre, Lamb and McElroy 2017 [17]. Figure 4 shows their
division into ripples and dunes as a function of
√
χ = Re? τ ? = Re?2 D ?−3/2 . (5)

The parameter χ is introduced by Lapotre et al. as “Yalin Number”. It corresponds

q to√ the pa-
?
rameter originally introduced by Yalin in 1985 with Figure 3 where X = 3.38 Red τ ? =
Re? D ?−3/4 . Therefore,
 2
X
χ= . (6)
3.38
For comparison purposes, the graphic averaging curve of Yalin’s Figure 3 is included in
Figure 4 as a red line. It can be seen that the dimensionless ripple length, L? , strongly
increases when χ > 4. Before this background, Lapotre et al. defined a transitional
stage between ripples and dunes (in light blue on the figure). By adjusting to the data,
Lapotre et al. developed an empirical function for the ripple lengths:

v? L
L? = = 2504χ1/3 . (7)
ν
Water 2021, 13, 892 4 of 19

Figure 4. Bed forms and ripple lengths as result of a data evaluation after Lapotre et al., 2017. Green:
ripples, magenta: dunes, blue addressed as an intermediate stage. The red line shows the mean
course of the data from Yalin 1985 (Figure 3).

3. Data Used for Comparison Purposes

For comparison with measured ripple dimensions, in this paper the same data set
was used as that for the investigations by Lapotre et al., 2017 (Figure 4). These 473
data (from Barton and Lin [18], Vanoni and Brooks [19], Stein [20], Guy et al. [21],
Williams [22], Alexander [23], Bishop [24], Mantz [25], Grazer [26], Gabel [27], Baas [28],
Venditti et al. [29]) were provided by M. Lapotre and were supplemented here with further
39 data sets from Kühlborn 1993 [30].

4. Semi Analytical Approach to Length and Domain of Ripples

4.1. Theory
As soon as initial ripples have formed, they start to grow. However, this growth is
limited, as the observation shows. Yalin 1985 [16] represents the fully developed ripple
length by a dimensionless diagram (Figure 3) and defines ripples up to X ≈ 9 . . . 10.
In contrast, Lapotre et al., 2017 interpret the sand waves in the 4 < χ < 9 range as a
transition between ripples and dunes. The position of χ = 4 in Figure 4 corresponds to
X ≈ 6.7 in Figure 3. A discrepancy is obviously in the range of χ < 1, as the Yalin curve in
the Lapotre diagram of Figure 4 shows.
In the following it is shown how the formation of ripples can be described with
instabilities of the viscous boundary layer as principally shown in Figure 5 for a developing
boundary layer at a plane plate. Behind each embryonic ripple crest a new boundary
layer starts and develops like that demonstrated in the figure. This boundary layer is
initially laminar, i.e., viscous. Sooner or later, depending on the roughness of the bed,
the flow velocity and the degree of disturbance of the outer flow, it switches to a turbulent
boundary layer.
As the shear stress along a developing viscous boundary layer over a flat bed decreases
along the path, sediment is retained and forms a rising bed. Sediment accumulation only
ends when the shear stress along the path at each position is sufficient to transport the
incoming sediment load further. This is shown schematically in Figure 6. The simultaneous
growth of a windward slope (=stoss side) breaks off as soon as the boundary layer turns
into a turbulent boundary layer. In Figure 6 this is illustrated too. The initially viscous
sublayer switches into a turbulent boundary layer when a critical Reynolds number is
exceeded. At that position, a sudden increase of bed shear stress occurs. As a consequence
of this abrupt increase in shear stress, the sediment transport rate also increases abruptly.
Water 2021, 13, 892 5 of 19

This transport imbalance leads to local erosion, which results in a ripple trough and this
way determines the ripple length. The sediment transport on the stoss side is strongly
influenced by sweeps and burst from the outer flow. The possible effect of this is not
investigated here.

Figure 5. Development of the boundary layer along a flat plate with laminar-turbulent changeover
(top) and local shear stress on the plate (bottom).

Figure 6. Principle sketch of the development of a ripple starting from initial disturbances on a
flat bed. The stoss-side develops from a flat bed in a feedback process with the boundary layer.
Sediment is retained and, at the same time, the local shear stress increases until transport is balanced
at each location.

According to the relevant literature (e.g., Schlichting 1965 [31], Schlichting and Gersten
2005 [32]) the relatively sudden switch from laminar to turbulent boundary layer occurs at
a Reynolds number formed with the running length from the beginning of the boundary
layer, x = λcrit :
v∞ λcrit
Recrit = = au (8)
ν
with au ≈ 3 × 105 . . . 106 . The value of au clearly depends on the degree of turbulence
of the outer flow velocity, v∞ . In case of strong external turbulence, au is smaller than
3 × 105 but can be much larger in case of a very low degree of disturbance of the external
flow [31,32]. In the present case, the turbulence is particularly increased at the beginning
of the developing boundary layer, i.e., at the reattachment point. With the local resistance
coefficient of the viscous boundary layer [31,32]
 v x − 1
∞ 2
c f = 0.664 . (9)
ν
 2
v?
With also c f = 2 v∞ , at the position x = λcrit yields
Water 2021, 13, 892 6 of 19

2 − 1
v?
 
v∞ λcrit 2
cf = 2 = 0.664 . (10)
v∞ ν

This can be transformed into

v? λcrit
= 0.577 a3/4
u . (11)
ν
An adaptation to available 512 ripple data results in

au = 7.82 × 104 (12)

This value is lower than the values obtained from wind tunnel tests of about au = 3 × 105 .
However, there is consensus that the external turbulence has a considerable influence
on the turn over to a turbulent boundary layer [31,32]. In the boundary layer along the
windward slope of the ripple, this is the case to a considerable extent. The corresponding
critical value of
v? λcrit
= 2700. (13)
ν
is therefore quite realistic. The distance λcrit corresponds to the length of the windward
slope, LS . With Figure 7 can be approximated

( L − LS ) tan α = LS tan β (14)

or
LS 1
= tan β
(15)
L +1
tan α
and
1
tan β = L
. (16)
H − tan ϕ

Figure 7. Definitions of the parameters used here to describe the ripple geometry.

Recent in-depth investigations of the flow over two-dimensional sand waves have
been carried out by Dey et al., 2020a [33], Dey et al., 2020b [34] based on experiments and
by Zhao 2021 [35] based on numerical modelling. These investigations largely agree with
respect to the angle α and confirm earlier investigations (e.g., Schlichting [31]) at an angle
of about 9◦ to 10◦ . For a mean slope of H/L = 1/11, an angle of repose of ϕ = 30◦ , and a
separation angle of α = 9o , the windward slope λcrit = LS ≈ 0.6 L. This ratio is not very
sensitive to a variation of the angles in the natural environment. Thus one obtains for the
ripple length
v? L 0.577 3/4
L? = ≈ a = 4500. (17)
ν 0.6 u
and in a different notation
√
L L? 4500 4500 τ ?
= ? ≈ = . (18)
d Re Re? χ
Water 2021, 13, 892 7 of 19

According to Equation (18) all measurement results for the dimensionless ripple
lengths would have to coincide on the level L? = 4500 or Ld = 4500 Re? . These are the light
blue arithmetic crosses in Figure 8. Although the general trend of measured L/d∼1/Re?
agrees with the theory, there is a shift for the mass of the data and a deviating trend for the
data marked by the red ellipse. The reason for this is obviously an effect that overlays the
boundary layer effect. This is discussed in the following.

4.2. Consideration of the Effect of Sediment Suspension

Starting with very small Re? numbers, the ripples become shorter with increasing
Re? numbers for a given grain size, as long as X < 3 . . . 4 (Figure 3). In this respect,
the theory worked out so far (Equation (18)) agrees with the measured trend as long as
about χ < 3 . . . 4. However, there is a parallel shift between the green measured data and
the light blue arithmetic crosses in Figure 8.
Furthermore, some deviations from the trend in Equation (18) are particularly evident
in the values marked by the red ellipse. The respective data are from Grazer 1982 [26].
While most of the measured data concern sand, driven by water at the temperature range
of 10◦ < T < 20◦ , the extreme data from Grazer are characterized by particularly very
fine and light sediment driven by sucrose-water mixtures. The particle Reynolds numbers
are here in the range of 0.03 < Re? < 0.33 and the ratio between shear velocity and
settling velocity, v? /w, which is characteristic of the suspension, is 10 to 100 times the other
measured data. The data point on the far left for example is marked by d = 0.02 mm,
ρ0 = 1.17, ν = 1.05 10−5 m2 /s, Re? = 0.03, i.e., very fine sediment and a thick liquid. Grazer
reports that the ripples are caused by bed load transport, which, however, accounts for less
than 5% of the total load in his experiments. The ratio of v? /w (the reciprocal of the Rouse
number), which describes the degree of suspension, is up to v? /w = 620 in these data.
Different effects are connected with high suspension over ripples. Already in 1940
Vanoni [36] stated that the velocity profiles are changed by high concentrations of sus-
pended matter near the bed. He attributed this to a damping of the turbulent velocity
fluctuations. Vanoni explicitly states: “Suspended sediment in a flow tends to reduce
appreciably the turbulent transfer of momentum and hence the resistance to flow, allowing
the sediment-laden water to flow more rapidly than a comparable clear water flow. This
effect increases with the total sediment load and with a decrease in the grain size of the
sediment”. In addition, various later studies (e.g., Toorman et al. [37] and others) describe
a reduction in wall friction with simultaneous thickening of the viscous boundary layer as
an effect of an increased concentration of suspended matter near the bed. However, in case
of ripples, these effects, namely reduction of shear stress and thickening of the viscous
boundary layer, are superimposed by another effect:
In the case of pure bed load, sediments eroded along the windward slope are com-
pletely deposited on the leeward slope. This is absolutely necessary for a migration of the
ripples without volume loss. However, this is only partially the case with sediments that
move in suspension. The more sediments are transported in suspension, the smaller the
proportion that is deposited on the lee side and thus contributes to the preservation of the
ripple length. Consequently, high values of v/w and thus also of v? /w lead to a shortening
of the ripples up to their complete washing out.
Empirically, with adaptation to the available ripple data, the suspension effect can be
described by
4500
L? = (19)
S
with
S = 1 + (v? /w)1/4 . (20)
Equation (19) can also be expressed by

L 4500
= ? (21)
d Re × S
Water 2021, 13, 892 8 of 19

or
L 1 4500
×√ = . (22)
d τ ? χ ×S
The settling velocity needed in Equation (20) can be determined from Zanke 1977 [38]
q 
12 ν ? 3
w= 1 + (0.21 D ) (2.7 − 2.3 SF ) − 1 . (23)
d (2.7 − SF )

where SF is the shape factor after McNown and Malaika 1950 [39]. For sand from natural
waters SF ≈ 0.7 and then
11 ν p 
w= 1 + 0.01 D ?3 − 1 . (24)
d
The effect of S has provided a good approximation and is shown in Figure 8 with the
calculated results in magenta color.

Figure 8. Comparison of the measured data (green), Equation (18) (blue) and Equation (22) (magenta).
The difference of the two equations describes the individual effects of suspension (Note: In the range
of χ > 9, according to Lapotre et al., 2017, bed forms are dunes.) For data source, see Section 3.

4.3. Consideration of the Effect of Acceleration of the Boundary Layer Flow

4.3.1. Acceleration-Related Maintenance of Viscous Boundary Layer
The Equations (19)–(22) satisfy the measurement data up to Yalin numbers of χ ≈ 1.
In the direction of larger χ the ripple lengths leave the trend L/d∼1/Re? and increase, first
slowly and from about χ = 4 rapidly. Regarding Nikuradse’s commonly known findings
on roughness effects, one would expect the end of the ripples to be at Re? >≈ 5 if they
were based on a viscous boundary layer. Obviously, another effect seems to prevent this.
This is possible in principle with accelerated flow, and such an effect is actually present on
the windward slopes. In accelerated flows the transition to turbulence is delayed. With this
respect, research on relaminarization of turbulent flows is of interest. For the case of
relaminarization of an accelerated, turbulent boundary layer, the literature specifies as a
limiting factor:
ν dv∞
K= 2 > 2 × 10−6 . . . 3.5 × 10−6 (25)
v∞ dx
(e.g., Launder 1964 [40], Schlichting & Gersten 2005 [32]). K is the critical level up to
which the relaminarization of a previously turbulent boundary layer is possible due to an
acceleration of the flow. It is v∞ the flow velocity at the boundary layer edge.
Water 2021, 13, 892 9 of 19

We postulate that K is also decisive with respect to maintaining a viscous boundary

layer by retarding the laminar-turbulent transition. In addition, we assume that K also
characterizes to a large extent the end of the maintenance of an existing viscous boundary
layer. Presumably, maintenance of the existing laminarity is associated with slightly smaller
K values than for the suppression of existing turbulence.
In case of ripples, acceleration takes place beginning at the reattachment point up to
the crest from v ≈ 0 to v∞ . Strictly speaking, only the mean velocity at the reattachment
point is zero. This may have an influence on the effective value of the acceleration. This
∆ v∞
question is not investigated here. If we simplify dv ∞ v∞
dx ≈ ∆ x = λcrit then ripples can exist
as long as
ν
> 2 × 10−6 . . . 3 × 10−6 (26)
v∞ λcrit
or
v∞ λcrit
< 3.3 × 105 . . . 5 × 105 . (27)
ν
Equation (10) can be converted to
 ? 1/3
v∞ 2/3 v λcrit
= 3 (28)
v? ν

with which one yields

3/4
v? λcrit

v∞ λcrit
= 0.577 . (29)
ν ν
This results in the criterion for estimating the acceleration-related limit of maintenance of
the viscous boundary layer and thus the conditions for the length of the ripples stoss side:

v? λcrit
< 7.9 × 103 . . . 1.1 × 104 . (30)
ν
After considering λcrit ≈ 0.6 L (Figure 7) finally follows for the limit of the existence of
ripples  ? 
v L
= L?lim < 1.34 × 104 . . . 1.83 × 104 . (31)
ν lim
As mentioned above, the critical value up to which laminarity can be maintained is
most likely somewhat higher in the case of avoiding turbulence than in the case of com-
pletely damping existing turbulence. It is important to note that the laminar reference
Equation (10) is valid for flat plate boundary layers without acceleration. Nevertheless, it
proves to be representative here as Pschernig 2017 [41] lined out, based on measurements.
The c f values measured by Pschernig after relaminarization were somewhat higher than
those after Equation (10), so that the calculated values of Equation (31) could well be
determined somewhat higher.
Based on a comparison with the measured data, we assume that the limit of ripple
existence is phenomenologically well described due to the discontinuity in the wave lengths
at the blue-magenta boundary in Figures 9 and 10 by
   
L 30, 000 L 30, 000
L?lim ≈ 30, 000 or ≈ or √ ≈ (32)
d lim Re? d τ ? lim χ

Figure 9 shows the latest at χ >≈ 4; the effect of acceleration dominates and ends at
χ >≈ 8 . . . 9 (blue data points). This can explain the transition range defined by Lapotre et al.
(Figure 4).
Water 2021, 13, 892 10 of 19

4.3.2. Solution Proposal for the Calculation of the Effect of Boundary Layer Acceleration
From the comparison with the measured values an approximate empirical function
for the acceleration-related value of au in Equation (8), results:
 3/4
au,acc 1
A= = (33)
au (1 − χ/9)1.35

Here A is the acceleration-related factor in respect to L? . With Equations (19) and (33) results

A
L? = 4500 × . (34)
S
and the same physics in a different notation reads

L 4500 A L 4500 A
= or √ = (35)
d Re? S d τ? χ S

which is shown in Figures 9 and 10 with the red symbols as “calculated” results.

Figure 9. Comparison of the measured data and Equation (34) (red). For data source, see Section 3.

Figure 10. Comparison of the measured data and Equation (35) (red). For data source, see Section 3.

5. Reflections on the Limits of the Ripple Domain

5.1. Upper Limit
Literature: With regard to the interconnections in Equation (3) it is understandable
that ripple criteria have also been developed on the basis of Re? as well as on the basis of
D ? . e.g., Chabert and Chauvin 1963 [9], Bonnefille and Pernecker 1966 [10], Vollmers and
Giese 1970 [11], and Wieprecht 2001 [12] describe the upper boundary of the ripple domain
by a critical Reynolds number with a variation of about 10 < Re? < 20. For example,
Wieprecht mentions 7 < D ? < 18, while after v.d. Berg and v.Gelder about 3 < D ? < 18 is
Water 2021, 13, 892 11 of 19

appropriate. Duran 2019 [42], based on evaluations of the results of a numerical channel
with coupled hydromechanics and sediment transport, estimated Re? ≈ 20 . . . 25 as a limit.
This paper: With the theory presented, due to the effects of flow acceleration at the
windward slopes of the ripples, these are limited with L? ≈ 30,000. It is worth mentioning
that in the numerical channel of Duran et al. the upper limit of the ripple range is at
L? ≈ . . .15,000 . . . 20,000. The data recorded by these authors show ripples up to about
L? ≈ 25,000. This confirms the order of L? resulting from our theoretical approach.
From Figures 9 and 10 it can be seen that this fairly corresponds well to χ ≈ 9, which
thus provides an explanation for the limit established by Lapotre et al., 2017. With the
definition of χ from Equation (5) and χ = 9, the following results for limiting Re? and
D ? are  2/3
? 9 ? 9
Re = √ and D = . (36)
τ ? τ?
Thus ripples exist in the range of e.g., 0.05 < τ ? < 1 at about 40 > Re? > 9 and 30 >
D ? ∗ > 4.3. Based on χ = 8 as a boundary results 36 > Re? > 8 and 29 > D ? ∗ > 4.
Figure 11 shows an evaluation of the Re? numbers in the case of ripples from an excerpt of
the data set. The effect of boundary layer acceleration proposed in this paper can explain
the existence of ripples up to Reynolds numbers in the range of 30 or even 40. Such values
occur when the Yalin number χ → 9, while the shear stress is only slightly above the critical
value. This result is in good agreement with the data analyses of Lapotre et al., 2017 (their
Figure 2C). At the same time, L? ≈ 30,000.
Based on the considerations about the effect of flow acceleration on windward slopes,
it can also be understood why the ripple formation, although dominated by the viscous
boundary layer, does not end at Re? ≈ 5, as would be expected according to Nikuradse.

Figure 11. Re? at the upper limit of the ripple domain from the data set used and from two data-based
diagrams from the literature (Chabert and Chauvin 1963 and Wieprecht 2001) as an example. For
data source, see Section 3.

5.2. On the Lower Limit Particle Size of Ripple Existence

The question of a lower limit of ripple existence, related to grain size, e.g., arises when
comparing different representations of the range of ripples. For example, according to
Figure 2 (Zanke 1976), ripples do not occur in the silt-water system. On the other hand,
the investigations of e.g., Grazer 1982 [26] show ripples even at d ≈ 0.02 mm.
Zanke’s observations (Figure 2) are based on a natural sediment from the area where
the freshwater of the Eider in Northern Germany flows into the salty North Sea. As a result
of the brackish water, silt with a cohesive effect on the fine sands is generated. Therefore,
Water 2021, 13, 892 12 of 19

depending on the grain size and the amount of cohesive parts, these sediments do not
develop ripples.
The experiments of Grazer, however, are explicitly based on noncohesive sediments.
From this it can be concluded that cohesion can limit the existence of ripples in
fine sediments.

5.3. The Transition Range

Lapotre et al., 2017 defined a transition between ripples and dunes with 4 < χ < 9
(Figure 4). Here we come to the conclusion that this range is dominated by the effect of
flow acceleration on the turnover from viscous to turbulent boundary layer. This means
that the bed forms in this range are ripples which are characterized by the acceleration
effects of the viscous boundary layer. At χ ≈ 4 in our view of the problem there is no real
limit but the change in the dominance of two different effects.
In contrast, there is a real limit of the ripple domain at L? ≈ 30,000, which corresponds
quite well with χ = 9 and thus confirms each other. This can be drawn from Figure 12.

Figure 12. Representation of the domain boundaries in the τ ? − Re? -plane. Ripples exist in the green
and blue areas. In the green area the ripples are dominated by the Reynolds number v? d/ν and are
modulated by the degree of suspension concentration. The area marked blue is dominated by the
effect of boundary layer acceleration. For data source, see Section 3.

6. An Alternative Presentation of Data only by Boundary Layer Effects

In the previous sections, the data were plotted as measured and the boundary layer
theoretical solution was adjusted for the effect of the suspension, Equations (19)–(22).
Alternatively, the measured data can be adjusted for this effect as in Figures 13 and 14.
This means that the original data here are adjusted for the effect (S) caused by the suspen-
sion. The ordinate L? S thus represents the mathematically adjusted effective value for L? .
Thus, the data take a course as it would be expected without the effect of the suspension.
Then, for small values of χ (i.e., with insignificant influence of acceleration), a course is
obtained which corresponds to the purely boundary layer theory based Equation (18) (line
184 revised manuscript version). The y-values of the data in these Figures are therefore
correspondingly higher as the reduction of ripple length due to suspension is eliminated.
This procedure allows the boundary layer effects to be represented in an isolated form.
Water 2021, 13, 892 13 of 19

Figure 13. Dimensionless length of ripples and dunes, L? , as well as their subdivision according to
boundary layer instabilities. The data are adjusted for the suspension effect. The ripples, dominated
by the acceleration effect are colored in blue. Red curve: Equation (34). For data source, see Section 2.

Figure 14. Relative length of ripples and dunes, L/d, as well as their subdivision according to
boundary layer instabilities. The data are adjusted for the suspension effect. The ripples, dominated
by the acceleration effect, are colored in blue. Red curve: Equation (35), Black line: Equation (35) with
A = 1. For data source, see Section 3.

7. Examples of Ripple Domain and Length on Earth, Mars, and Titan

Ripples can obviously occur wherever fluid flows over granular media. In addition
to the Earth, sand waves have been observed for various planets such as Mars or Venus,
as well as for the dwarf planet Pluto and Saturn’s moon Titan, although liquid and sediment
are very different. On Earth, knowledge about ripples and dunes is both a practical and
scientific issue, as they affect sediment transport and through their roughness effect have
an impact on water levels in the subaqueous case.
Sand detected on Titan consists of granular, frozen ammonium sulfate and the atmo-
sphere is mainly of methane and nitrogen. Some examples of data, relevant for sediment
motion, are summarized in Table 1. These are at first the relative density, the gravity, and
the fluid viscosity. A special case with a light weight sediment as used in physical hydraulic
models with movable bed is added. In the literature, the relevant data of other planets
sometimes differ slightly from each other and should be understood as approximate values.
On the one hand, this is related to the status of the explorations and on the other hand
it is due to different locations and seasons. The data on gravity acceleration also vary
slightly. For example, Almeida et al., 2008 [43] name for Mars in case of wind driven
Water 2021, 13, 892 14 of 19

sediment motion ρ = 0.02 kg/m3 and ρs = 3200 kg/m3 while after Lapotre et al. 2017 [44]
0.002 kg/m3 < ρ < 0.02 kg/m3 and ρs = 2900 kg/m3 .
Figure 15 shows for some examples that the domain of the ripples is on the one
hand limited by the beginning of sediment motion and is on the other hand limited by
L? ≈ 30,000.
According to many observations, the beginning of the ripple formation is slightly
above the critical value for the beginning of motion according to Shields 1936 [45]. The point
of intersection of these two limits coincides with about 20 < Re? < 30, which also agrees
with observations. With exceeding the critical conditions for the beginning of the movement
(here v?c ) comparatively long ripples develop. With increasing v? , the length decreases and
achieves a minimum value at χ ≈ 4. Then the lengths increase until the limit of the ripple
domain at L? ≈ 30,000 is being reached. This coincides approximately with χ ≈ 9. For
larger grain sizes, the beginning of the movement may coincide with χ >= 4. Then the
ripple length does not decrease after exceeding v?c but immediately increases with v? . Thus
the limiting factors are summarized as follows:
1. Critical shear stress. Ripples only develop when τ >≈ τc and L? ≈< 30,000 which
coincides with χ ≈ 9.
2. Re? > 20. . . 40. If the theoretical length would be L? = 30,000, but the actual shear
stress is still subcritical, so no ripples can emerge. This happens when Re? > 20 . . . 40
(Figures 12–15).
In many natural waters on Earth the beginning of the ripple development is influenced
by cohesive sediment components. In Figures 15 and 16, the black dashed curve in the
case of sand-water shows the beginning of sediment movement in natural sand mixtures
with cohesive components typical for rivers. This curve is based on the curve developed
by Hjulström 1935 [46]. Finally, Figure 17 shows the results of Equation (35) for the ripple
length vs. sediment particle diameter, d. As you can see, in case of the earth Equation (35)
is in good agreement with the observations with a maximum of L ≈ 0.6 . . . 0.8 m. On Mars
and Titan, however, depending on the constellation of ρ0 , g, ν, d, several meters of length
are possible. This is also in accordance with respective observations (e.g., [44]).

Figure 15. Ripple domain, example for the case Earth-sand-water.

On both Mars and Titan, the subaqueous ripples can become larger than on Earth
and can grow to some meters in length. For Titan, Perron et al., 2006 [47] report seasons
with significant temperature variability. The viscosity of liquids and “air” therefore varies
with the summer and winter seasons. Based on the example data of Table 1 and using
Equation (35), the ranges of existence and ripple lengths are calculated and displayed on
Figure 16. The figure on the top right shows the calculated ripple characteristic in case of
hydraulic models with polystyrene sediment in water.
Water 2021, 13, 892 15 of 19

Table 1. Some characteristic data of planets with respect to ripples.

Planet g (m/s2 ) ρ0 ν (m2 /s)

Earth (Sand-Water) 9.81 1.65 1 × 10−6
Earth (Polystyrene-Water) 9.81 0.03 1 × 10−6
Mars (liquid fluid) * 3.78 1.04 4 × 10−5
Titan (liquid fluid) * 1.35 0.85 5 × 10−6
Earth (Sand-Air) 9.81 2160 1.5 × 10−5
Mars (Sand-Air) ** 3.78 1.45 × 105 5.4 × 10−4
Mars (Sand-Air) *** 3.78 1.45 × 106 5.4 × 10−3
Titan (Sand-Air) **** 1.35 188 1.5 × 10−5
* Taken from Lapotre et al., 2017 [17]. ** Taken from Lapotre et al., 2016 [44] for ρ air = 0.02 kg/m3 . *** Taken from
Lapotre et al., 2016 [44] for ρ air = 0.002 kg/m3 . **** Taken from Charnay et al., 2015 [48] and from Risbeth et al.,
2000 [49].

Typical here are grain sizes of some millimeters. From the figure it can be seen that the
ripples in hydraulic models with movable bed can develop lengths of about 0.8 m < L <
1.3 m. Thus, “sand” waves considered as dunes in such models may actually be ripples.
Note that with respect to the results shown in Figures 15–17 in case of wind action,
saltation-impact related v?c , τc? are used (here taken as 0.5 τc,drag
? ). With drag only, the do-
main of ripples begins with correspondingly higher values of vc,drag ≈ 1.4 ∗ v?c,impact .
?

Figure 16. Predicted length of ripples on Earth, Mars, and Titan based on the theory presented here, assuming a completely
cohesion-free sediment. Upper row: Earth with sand-water and sand-air (left) and polystyrene-water (right). The dashed
curve in the sand-water case shows the effect of sediments with some parts of cohesives on the beginning of motion,
analogous to the well-known Hjulström curve. Lower row: Mars (martian sands driven by highly concentrated brines, left)
and Titan (ice grains driven by liquid methane flows (right).
Water 2021, 13, 892 16 of 19

In the case of distant planets, the existence and characteristics of ripples indirectly
provides information about the fluid flows and winds there. Furthermore, it is important for
the approach developed here to show that it also provides plausible results for completely
different conditions of viscosity, gravity, and densities.

Figure 17. Examples of predicted ripple lengths on Earth, Mars, and Titan based on the theory presented here, noncohesive
sediment assumed. (In case of gaseous fluids τc? here taken as τc,impact
? ?
= 0.5 τc,drag ). Right side, red case: Mars air-density
data according to Lapotre et al., 2016 [44] assumed with ρ = 0.02 kg/m3 , green: ρ = 0.002 kg/m3 . Note: Real winds on
Mars have been found to reach v? < 4 m/s.

8. Discussion
To distinguish ripples from dunes, the wavelength of L ≈ 0.6 m is often used in the
literature. In a recent paper, Lapotre et al., 2017 pursue an alternative definition based on
data analysis. They use the Yalin parameter χ and empirically define χ = 4 as the ripple
limit. According to Lapotre et al., dunes exist at χ > 9 and the range of 4 < χ < 9 is
defined as a transition.
In the present work, a definition of ripples based on boundary layer theory was
developed. For its verification and adjustment, 512 measured data from different authors
are available.
The principle of the theory is the fact that an initially viscous boundary layer turns
over to turbulence after a certain flow path. This is also the case on the stoss-side of ripples.
The turnover causes a significant increase in sediment transport rates, which results in local
erosion and thus in a limitation of the ripple length.
The solution of this effect directly describes the ripple lengths in the range of about
0.4 < χ < 4. For χ < 0.4, an increasing influence of the suspension potential was
found and an associated empirical description is presented. For χ > 4, the acceleration
of the flow along the windward slope obviously has an additional influence by pushing
out the position of the turnover to turbulence. With reference to the relevant literature,
we concluded that ripples can exist up to a dimensionless ripple length of L? ≈ 30,000.
With this in mind, we assign the transition region according to Lapotre et al. to ripples
According to our results, the domain of ripples is bounded on the one hand by the on-
set of sediment movement and on the other hand by the dimensionless ripple length
L? =< 30,000. Thereby, with respect to the ripple-dune border, L? = 30,000 and χ = 9 al-
most coincide. Another result is that a minimum of ripple lengths occurs at a Yalin number
of χ ≈ 4.
Exemplary evaluations for ripples on Earth, Mars, and Saturn’s moon Titan are pre-
sented. In the case of Earth, the developed solution reflects the frequently cited maximum
ripple length of about 0.6 m, in both the sand-water and sand-wind cases. The predicted
ripples of other planets, some of which are much longer than those on Earth, are also
consistent with observations.
Water 2021, 13, 892 17 of 19

In light of the fact that the numerical effects of suspension and acceleration are
described empirically, further research is needed with this respect.

9. Conclusions
With the approach presented here, a clear definition of what ripples are can be given.
Accordingly, ripples are characterized by a viscous boundary layer along the windward
slope and its transition into turbulence. If this is not the case, e.g., because due to the grain
size no viscous boundary layer can exist on the windward slope, dunes are formed. Then
other mechanisms are effective, which are not the subject of this paper.

Author Contributions: U.Z.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal Analysis, Investi-

gation, Writing—Original Draft Preparation, Writing—Review and Editing A.R.: Conceptualization,
Formal Analysis, Investigation and Writing—Review and Editing. All authors have read and agreed
to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

Symbols
A Factor of flow acceleration effect on viscous boundary layer, Equation (33) -
au critical Reynolds number v∞ λ/ν für turn from laminar to turbulent boundary layer -
au,acc same as au but in case of accelerated flow -
cf local drag coefficient -
d grain diameter m
dm mean grain diameter (d10 + d20 + . . . d90 )/9 m
d50 Grain size, which is exceeded by 50% of its weight m
D∗ dimensionless grain diameter = (ρ0 g/ν2 )1/3 d = ( Re∗2 /τ ? )1/3 -
g acceleration of gravity m/s2
H height of bed forms m
h mean water depth = h1 + H/2 (Figure 2) m
h1 water depth over the crests of ripples and dunes m
K key parameter describing the ability to relaminarize a viscous boundary layer, Equation (25) -
L length of bed forms m
L? = v? L/ν -
Ls partial length of bed forms with significant skin friction m
Re∗ = v? d/ν, particle Reynolds number -
S factor describing the effect of suspension on ripple length, Equation (20) -
vm depth and time averaged flow velocity m/s
v∞ velocity of the outer
p flow ofp the boundary layer m/s
v? shear velocity = τ/ρ = τ ? ρ0 gd m/s
w settling velocity m/s
α angle of free turbulence ◦
β angle of inclination of the windward slope of ripple and dunes ◦
λcrit critical length after which the boundary layer switches from viscous to turbulent m
ν kinematic viscosity of fluid m2 /s
ρ density of fluid kg/m3
ρs density of sediment kg/m3
ρ0 = (ρs − ρ)/ρ, relative density -
τ = ρghI = v? 2 ρ, shear stress at the bed N/m2
τ? = τ/((ρs − ρ) gd) = v?2 /(ρ0 gd), dimensionless shear stress -
ϕ angle of repose = angle of internal friction of sediment ◦
χ Yalin number as defined by Lapotre et al. [17], Equation (5) -
Water 2021, 13, 892 18 of 19

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