Application of the Chaos Theory, the Reconstructed Phase Space and Correlation Dimensions in the Suspended Load Transport Patterns as Affected by a Dam: The Case of the Karaj River

The sediment load of a river is one of the major parameters in designing a dam, as it not only affect configuration and construction on its upstream, but also due to its negative consequences resulting from sediment dredging and some environmental issues that arise in its downstream. Therefore, elucidation of sediment transport mechanisms is of utmost importance. As several independent and nonlinear factors affect this phenomenon, its randomness has been accepted by many hydrologists as an axiom. The chaos theory states that many complex systems with random behavior are limited only by the number of parameters, and their behavior is predictable in a short term. The dynamics of sediment transport, and also the influence of a dam on its patterns are studied in this project benefitting from the chaos theory, and the reconstructed phase space and correlation dimensions methods. Results indicate that the sediment time series have low-dimensional chaos, and in a period as short as 10 days, a dam affects the dynamics and converts a chaotic phenomenon in to random ones. However, due to the created information and disconnection that takes place in a chaotic system in longer times, i.e. one month, the above mentioned transformation disappears an the system resumes a chaotic behavior.