INGEGNERIA CIVILE E ARCHITETTURA (DICAR)Environmental EngineeringAcademic Year 2022/2023

9794490 - HYDRAULICS OF NATURAL SYSTEMS

Teacher: Vincenza Cinzia SANTORO

Expected Learning Outcomes

Students will gain knowledge of advanced mathematical tools and of lab and field experimental results for studying the motion of fluids in the different contexts in which they exist in nature. The focus is, in particular, on fluvial hydraulics, on debris flows and on maritime hydraulics, both in fixed and movable bed conditions

Course Structure

The course will be held in english. Class lessons are held; for each topic, problems relating to practical engineering applications are solved by the students, under the guide and with the assistance of the teacher.

Required Prerequisites

Basic hydraulics knowledge is requested, with particular reference to general fluid kinematics and dynamics, and to uniform and steady open channel flow.

Attendance of Lessons

Class attendance is strongly recommended, coherently with the proposed educational model, aiming to promote a gradual learning, the active participation of students in class and the communication between the teacher and the students.

Detailed Course Content

A list of main topics follows.

The river system. Uniform, steady and unsteady open channel flow. Incipient motion and sediment transport. Resistance to flow in movable-bed channels. Water-sediment interaction: fluvial morphodynamics. Debris and mud flow. Principles of oceanography. Regular waves and their transformations. Irregular waves. Short-term and long-term statistical analysis. Wave design parameters. Surf zone hydrodynamics. Coastal processes.

Textbook Information

1. Armanini, A. Principi di Idraulica fluviale - Editoriale BIOS, 1999 (in Italian) or Armanini, A. Principles of River Hydraulics- Springer, 2018 (in English)

2. US Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Engineering Manual, EM 1110-2-1100, 2002

http://www.publications.usace.army.mil/USACEPublications/EngineerManuals/tabid/16439/u43544q/636F617374616C20656E67696E656572696E67206D616E75616C/Default.aspx

For consultation:

3. Ferro, V. La sistemazione dei bacini idrografici – Mc-Graw-Hill, 2002

4. US Army Corps of Engineers Channel Stability Assessment for Flood Control Projects, EM 1110-2-1418, 1994

http://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/Publications/EngineerManuals/EM_1110-2-1418.pdf

5. U.S. Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration River Engineering for Highway Encroachments, FHWA NHI 01-004

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/engineering/hydraulics/pubs/nhi01004.pdf

Course Planning

	Subjects	Text References
1	Open channel uniform flow. Average shear stress. Stage-discharge relationship in a compound section. Composite sections.
2	Steady flow profiles and their integration. Variable discharge steady flow.Application problems.
3	Unsteady open channel flow: the kinematic model, the diffusive model, hydrological models.
4	Shields theory for incipient motion.	1 - 4 - 5
5	Sediment transport mechanisms. Sediment load. Wash load and bed material load.	1 - 5
6	Bed load. Einstein Theory; Du Boys Theory; other formulae.	1 - 4 - 5
7	Suspended load.	1 - 5
8	Total load.	1 - 6
9	Resistance to flow in mobile-bed channels.	1 - 4 - 5
10	Bed forms; classification.Grain roughness and bed forms roughness.	1 - 4 - 5
11	Mathematical models for river bed evolution: Exner equation, bed forms migration, water-sediment coupling.	1
12	Debris and mud flows: origin, evolution and classification.Reological models for debris flows.Software for numerical modelling.	4
13	Regular gravity waves.Irrotational flow.Inviscid fluid.Euler equation.Laplace equation.	2
14	Progressive, regressive and stationary waves. Wave celerity.	2
15	The dispersive relation. Progressive and stationary waves kinematics. Pressure distribution in progressive and stationary waves.	2
16	Wave energy and power. Group celerity.	2
17	Shoaling. Refraction. The wave ray.	2
18	Breaking. Diffraction. Reflection.	2
19	Surf zone hydrodynamics.	2
20	Irregular waves. Wave train analysis; zero-crossing methods.The significant wave.Probability distribution for a sea-state short-term analysis.	2
21	The spectral analysis. The significant height in shallow waters. Fetch and sea states.Parametric spectrum models. Directional spectra.The SMB method.	2
22	Criteria for choosing the design wave (long-term analysis).	2
23	Coastal sediment transport and shoreline evolution.	2

Learning Assessment

Learning Assessment Procedures

The final examination is made up with a written and an oral test.

Two in progress written tests will be held, each of them covering approximately 50% of the course content, consisting of 10 questions for each test; every question will have a maximum score equal to 3. If a student will pass both tests (each with a minimum score of 15/30), he/she will have the possibility of access the final oral exam straight.

Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises

Uniform, steady and unsteady flow in compound and composite open channels. Steady flow profiles in natural streams. Bridge piers effects on the open channel flow and on movable river bed. Incipient motion criteria. Most used formulae to compute bed load and suspended load. Resistance to flow in natural streams. Reological models for debris and mud flows. Linear theory of the monochromatic wave: the velocity potential, wave celerity, pressure and velocity. Shoaling, refraction, breaking. Short-term analysis of wave motion. Design wave computation. One-line models for shoreline evolution.

Versione in italiano