The Shields parameter of a flow of bed shear stress over grains of diameter and density is
The threshold of motion of the grains is the bed shear stress, or the value of the Shields parameter, at which they begin to move.
示例
Example 20.11 (What the river moves)
In the river deep on a slope of , . For grains of , , just above their threshold of : they move. For grains of , , half the threshold: they stay. The river moves its bed up to coarse gravel; for sand of , , nearly forty times the threshold of .