We attempted to generate the highest incision rates as possible in this sediment simulation. By increasing the flow rate and making the channel as narrow as possible, the water will flow extremely rapidly. However, the channel continues to widen as the canyon walls collapse. This is especially true along the edge of the outside of a curve of the channel, as the walls are exerting a normal force on the water causing it to accelerate towards the inside of the curve. This causes the most rapid rates of erosion along this channel. This is also where the water is traveling fastest, and the water becomes deepest. Along the inner banks of the channel, sediment is deposited, and the flow rate is much slower. These areas become much shallower and the river is not incising significantly in these regions.
Additionally, in order to generate the fastest possible flow rate, we increased the slope by piling large amounts of sand directly on the source of water. This allowed the source to be much higher, and the river to begin with much more gravitational potential energy which would be converted into the maximum possible kinetic energy as the stream flowed from above to below.
