Venuleo, Sara
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Investigating river-restoration-effects on riverbed-stability by physical modelling
This study shows how experimental results provide fundamental insights in the challenge of river revitalisation, and thus represent a powerful tool to guide engineers’ actions. Results concerns a study case, namely the “Wiese Vital” project, a restoration project in Basel area (Switzerland), with the objectives of safeguarding Basel's drinking water supply while revitalizing its watercourse and providing flood protection. The planned revitalisation measures involve the reconstruction of the Wiese riverbed, the introduction of structures to improve its morphological variability and the replenishment of fine sediment to improve the spawning habitat of native fishes. The new Wiese riverbed will consist of a coarser sediment layer, about 1.2 meters deep, overlaying a layer of finer sediments, meant to protect the underlaying aquifer from undesirable water infiltrations and thus to ensure Basel's drinking water supply safety. The stability of the coarser layer was investigated using a physical model in scale 1 to 20, built in the hydraulic hall of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. Experiments investigated the stability of the coarse protective layer in presence and in absences of revitalization measures: with and without “ecological” structures and before and after the addition of fine sediments. Results revealed that wrong placement of “ecological” structures can cause local erosion and threaten the stability of the riverbed. Moreover, they provided useful insights on the response of a coarser riverbed to the input of fine sediments.
Physikalische Modellierung des Geschiebetransports für «WieseVital»
Das Revitalisierungsprojekt «WieseVital» (BS) sieht den Einbau einer grobkörnigen Schutzschicht über die gesamte Gewässersohle sowie punktuell eingebrachtes, feinkörniges Laichsubstrat vor. Um die Interaktion der beiden Kornfraktionen, insbesondere den Einfluss der Feinsedimente auf die grobkörnige Schutzschicht zu beurteilen, wurde an der Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW) ein physikalisches Wasserbaumodell im Massstab 1:20 nachgebaut. Unter Beachtung von Skalierungseffekten und den abgeleiteten Rand- und Übertragungsbedingungen, konnten wertvolle Grundlagen und Hinweise für den Bau und den Betrieb des geplanten Flussabschnitts gewonnen werden. Das eingebrachte feinkörnige Laichsubstrat verteilt und vermischt sich bis zur Vermischungstiefe, die durch «kinetische Siebung» (z. B. beim HQ100) deutlich erhöht werden kann. Im Allgemeinen erleichtern die Feinsedimente den Bewegungsbeginn der grobkörnigen Schutzschicht, ohne allerdings ihre Stabilität zu gefährden. Ergänzend können erhöhte Kolkbildungen an geplanten ökologischen Einbauten durch lokale Sohlsicherungsmassnahmen begrenzt werden. Im späteren Betrieb kann das Modell von Wilcock & Crowe für die Abschätzung der gesamten Geschiebefracht angewendet werden, falls die raumzeitliche Verteilung der notwendigen Gewässersohleneigenschaften bekannt ist.
Parameterization and results of SWE for gravity currents are sensitive to the definition of depth
Rigorously derived shallow water equations (SWEs) are applied to results of large eddy simulation (LES) of a continuously fed gravity current in order to assess (1) sensitivity of current depth results to its definition; (2) coefficients in depth-averaged continuity and momentum equation due to the nonuniformity of density and velocity profiles; and (3) sensitivity of entrainment coefficient to definition of current depth. It is shown that using different definitions of the current depth may produce significantly different numerical results. The coefficients due to nonuniformity in the continuity equation are very close to unity, whereas the coefficients in the momentum flux and the pressure term in the momentum equation are different from unity by a margin that is very sensitive to the definition of current depth. The entrainment coefficient is more sensitive to the selected parameterization than to the definition of the current depth.
Microbially induced calcite precipitation effect on soil thermal conductivity
Efficiency of energy piles is strongly affected by soil saturation conditions: low water contents considerably decrease their performance thus limiting the possibility to extend their application to arid environments. This paper investigates the microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) technique as a potential means of enhancing the soil–pile heat exchange rates by improving the thermal properties of soil. The study puts the focus on measuring the thermal conductivity of untreated and treaded sand at various degrees of saturation. Experimental results clearly show a significant improvement of the thermal conductivity of soil especially for low degrees of saturation. This enhancement is attributed to the mineralised calcite crystals acting as ‘thermal bridges’ between the soil grains, offering a larger surface area for heat exchange compared with the untreated material in which exchanges occur through smaller contact points.
Semi- or fully automatic drainage regulation as a mean to recharge groundwater
Climatic change is decreasing water availability, all over the world. Regions which never faced water scarcity need to adapt their practises to face more frequent and severe droughts periods. Among others, agriculture is one of the sectors that will face the consequences of water scarcity. Indeed, while water availability decreases, the use of water for irrigation purposes becomes questionable. In many regions in Europe, cultivated areas have a sub-surface drainage system, which ensures that crops do not face water stress due to excessive soil water content. These drainage systems convey the water infiltrating during rainfall events to surface channels, reducing the natural water table recharge. Introducing drainage regulations units in existing drainage systems represent a mean to increase the soil water retention and, consequently, a mean to increase the natural water table recharge while decreasing the need of irrigation and while helping to reduce peak flow during intense rainfall events. Moreover, controlled drainage management can reduce the amount of Nitrogen and Plant Protection Products (PPP) discharged into surface waters. Given its environmental benefits, drainage water management is today an official conservation practice in the USA and the Conservation Practice Standard 554 (code 554) has been published by the United States Department of Agriculture to inform, advice and guide potential users of this practise. Drainage control units can be simple structures retrofitted in existing drainage networks outlets. They can consist of sliding weir systems or of a flashboard with adjustable height and they can be operated manually or automatically. In the present study an automatic drainage control unit has been developed and operated in a laboratory prototype. The objective of our experiment was understanding which technical and practical difficulties are faced in the use of a drainage control unit and thus which issues hinder its spread among farmers. Particular attention was given to possible issues associated with sedimentation.
Continuously-fed gravity currents propagating over a finite porous substrate
We present the results of laboratory investigations of continuously-fed density currents that propagate first over a smooth horizontal bed and then over a porous substrate of limited length. Inflow discharge, initial excess density, and substrate porosities are varied. Density measurements, acquired through an image analysis technique, are performed above the porous layer simultaneously with quasi-instantaneous vertical velocity profiles. After a first phase in which the current sinks into the substrate, freshwater entrainment from the bed begins and, gradually, a mixing layer forms at the interface between the surface flow and the porous bed. Shear-driven and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities rule the dynamics of this mixing layer. The porous boundary effects are observed in the vertical distributions of both density and velocity, especially in the near-bed region. Here, larger flow velocities are recorded over porous substrates. We argue that these are due to the presence of a longitudinal pressure gradient, which in turn is a consequence of the current mass loss. Its presence over the porous substrate is proved by the current interface longitudinal slope. However, other effects of the presence of the porous substrate, such as the relaxation of the no-slip boundary condition and the bed-normal momentum exchange, also affect the velocity field. The turbulent structure changes significantly over the porous substrate: while streamwise turbulence decreases, shear and bed-normal Reynolds stresses increase in large part of the current depth. Buoyancy instabilities further enhance the bed-normal momentum flux and, in the near-bed region, contribute to turbulent kinetic energy generation together with shear.
Machbarkeit von smarten Drainagen in bindigen Böden
Smarte Drainagen, die temporär Wasser zurückhalten, können eine weitere Möglichkeit zur Anpassung an den Klimawandel sein. Sie reduzieren u. a. die Spitzen von Hochwasser und können bei ausbleibenden Niederschlägen zur Linderung der Trockenheit beitragen. Mithilfe von physikalischen Modellversuchen wurden Grenzen und aber auch die grundsätzliche Machbarkeit für Geländesituationen aufgezeigt, die in der Nordwestschweiz und Südbaden typisch sind.
Depth-averaged momentum equation for gravity currents with varying density. Coefficient in pressure term
Gravity currents are often modelled by means of shallow water equations (SWEs). In these models, simplifications such as the consideration of a constant layer-averaged density are common. This note presents the complete and general derivation of a 2D depth-averaged momentum equation for gravity currents with density and velocity varying in the bed-normal direction. Special attention is given to the pressure term which is evaluated for constant, linear and exponential density profile. The shape of the density profile has implications for the momentum balance: the assumption of constant density leads to an overestimation of the driving force due to pressure gradient by a factor of 33% for linear density profile and up to 50% for an exponential profile. It also leads to an overestimation of celerity in numerical models based on traditional SWEs by factor of 22% and around 40% for linear end exponential density profiles respectively.