Comparing different methods of bed shear stress estimates in simple and complex flow fields

Abstract Bed shear stress is a fundamental variable in river studies to link flow conditions to sediment transport. It is, however, difficult to estimate this variable accurately, particularly in complex flow fields. This study compares shear stress estimated from the log profile, drag, Reynolds and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) approaches in a laboratory flume in a simple boundary layer, over plexiglas and over sand, and in a complex flow field around deflectors. Results show that in a simple boundary layer, the log profile estimate is always the highest. Over plexiglas, the TKE estimate was the second largest with a value 30 per cent less than the log estimate. However, over sand, the TKE estimate did not show the expected increase in shear stress. In a simple boundary layer, the Reynolds shear stress seems the most appropriate method, particularly the extrapolated value at the bed obtained from a turbulent profile. In a complex flow field around deflectors, the TKE method provided the best estimate of shear stress as it is not affected by local streamline variations and it takes into account the increased streamwise turbulent fluctuations close to the deflectors. It is suggested that when single‐point measurements are used to estimate shear stress, the instrument should be positioned close to 0·1 of the flow depth, which corresponds to the peak value height in profiles of Reynolds and TKE shear stress. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.