Experimental assessment of velocity and bed shear stress in the main channel of a meandering compound channel with one-sided blocks in floodplain

•The flow behaviors in the main channel of a meandering compound channel with one-sided blocks in floodplain were assessed experimentally.•In the channels with one-sided block, the discharge is highest at the bending apex with maximal extension of blocked floodplain.•The maximum longitudinal velocity in the main channel in the section with maximal extension of the blocks in the floodplain is greater than the section with minimal extension of blocks in the floodplain.•The maximum shear stress on the bed at the apex section for all channels occurs near the convex side and the bed shear stress at all sections decreases with decreasing relative depth and in the section with minimal extension of blocks floodplain and cross-over sections.