The incipient motion of sediment is very important in exploring the mechanism of scouring induced by the dam break. The Shields diagram remains the most widely used criterion for incipient motion of sediment. However the engineer is faced with problems when predicting inception of sediment transport, mainly because the shear velocity cannot be directly determined, and this implicit nature makes applications rather inconvenient. This study aims at developing an empirical formulation of the Shields diagram for incipient motion of sediment, the formula shows that it is approximately equal to Eq.(5) and Eq.(6) for very large and small Re*c, respectively. Comparison between present model with other formulas and experimental data shows that the authors’ formula fits experimental data best and the formula structure also can be acceptable. Finally, the model was applied in the scouring prevention of Tandjiashan barrier lake downstream Channel.
