Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze the correlation between physical stream characteristics and bed materials in natural rivers. Accordingly, four natural rivers were selected reference streams, they were Nam river, Sumjin River, Naesung River and Han River. Grain size distributions of bed materials were gravels, cobbles and boulders in Han river and Nam river, were sand, gravels, cobbles and boulders in Sumjin river and were sand in Naesung river. Four reference streams were divided into each two reference reaches (straight and bend) by plan and profile characteristics of naturally meandering stream. Therefore various reference reaches were chosen in the aspect of physical stream characteristics and grain size distributions. The results investigated and analyzed are as follows. The streams that grain sizes distributions of river bed materials were coarse were stable because they had variety of bed slope without sediment deposition, and then the riffles frequency and the physical characteristics were various. Also, velocitydepth regime were various in four kinds, and the response parts for water level change were small, so that channel flow status were stable and excellent condition. On the other hand, sand river that grain sizes distributions of river bed materials were fine had not the variety of parameters as velocity-depth regimes, sediment deposition, channel flow status and riffles frequency, so that the physical stream characteristics were not various.
