ORIGINAL ARTICLE Tracking the hydrodynamic behavior of fine sediment using particle image velocimetry Masoumeh MoayeriKashani 1 • S. H. Lai 1 • S. Ibrahim 1 • N. M. N. Sulaiman 2 • F. Y. Teo 3 Received: 8 March 2015 / Accepted: 29 December 2015 / Published online: 11 April 2016 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 Abstract Siltation, or sediment pollution, is a cause for water pollution by fine particles, which are categorized as clay and silt. With the increasing concentration and accu- mulation of suspended sediments ( \ 63 lm) siltation occurs, which is most often caused by soil erosion or sediment spill. The high rate of suspended particles causes the ecological degradation of water ecosystems. Thus, studying the hydrodynamic behavior of fine sediments is essential. Directly evaluating fine particle suspension and deposition can be expensive and limiting. The aim of this study is to present a novel, direct view of the hydrody- namic behavior of fine sediment in retention structures with different hydraulic features using particle image velocimetry (PIV). The setup is designed to identify fine particle displacement by capturing images with a charge- coupled device camera and Nd-YAG laser lighting. The results were obtained from a designed sediment basin, to which water with 15 % fine soil ( \ 63 lm) concentration was added and which was subsequently seeded with fluo- rescent polymer particles (20–50 lm). New knowledge of a direct map of the hydraulic behavior of fine sediment is presented. According to the results, the flow rate modifies the velocity and direction of fine particles, while at the bottom of the basin towards the outlet, the re-suspension rate increases at a higher flow rate. Keywords Fine particles Á Siltation Á Hydraulic behavior Á Retention structures Á PIV Á CCD camera Introduction Urbanization, forestry and agriculture influence the quality and quantity of soils, sediments and pollutants in retention structure ponds (Pratap et al. 2014; Sharip and Zakaria 2007). Retention structures are constructed to prevent runoff and to acquire rainwater during high precipitation events as large volumes of water flow over a range of urban surfaces. Flood control is essential in urban drainage sys- tems (Persson 2000), while municipal and industrial water utilization programs are part of government agendas. This water management technique significantly alters both the quantity and quality of water entering a drainage basin (Spencer et al. 2011). Turbidity is a principal physical characteristic of water quality that is observed optically due to light absorbed and scattered by particles and molecules rather than transmitted in straight lines through a water sample (Council 1999; Longe and Balogun 2010; Male- oszewski et al. 2006). Soil transported in the forms of sedimentation and sil- tation during runoff causes turbid water and fine sediments, and has an effective role in producing particle suspensions in water bodies (Al-Mutairi et al. 2004; Gupta and Larson 1979; YemenWater 2013). Small particles, as cohesive and non-cohesive fine sediments, affect water quality as well as engineering structures like channels and ponds (Sargaonkar & S. H. Lai laish@um.edu.my Masoumeh MoayeriKashani masoumeh.mk@gmail.com 1 Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3 Research, Development and Innovation Division, National Water Services Commission, 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia 123 Environ Earth Sci (2016) 75:676 DOI 10.1007/s12665-015-5227-4