OVERVIEW

The course of Morphodynamics and Sediment Transport is part of Area 08- Ingegneria Civile e Architettura,  Macrosettore 08/A - Ingegneria delle infrastrutture e del territorio, Settore concorsuale 08/A1 - Idraulica, idrologia , costruzioni idrauliche e marittime, SSD - Idraulica

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course of Morphodynamics and Sediment Transport aims at providing interpretative and predictive tools related to the mechanics of sediment transport and its implications on the morphodynamics of rivers and coastal regions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES (FURTHER INFO)

The course is useful in order to:

- design flood and coastal protection works and assess their environmental impact;

- design navigation canals;

- design hydraulic works for energetic and irrigational utilizations;

- design fluvial restoration works;

- plan dredging activities of ports and navigation channels;

- contribute to the redaction of Water Basin Plans.

TEACHING METHODS

The course consists of lectures complemented by numerical exercises partly performed during the class, partly left to the student to be completed at home and submitted in partial fulfillment of the final exam. If possible, field trips will also be made.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Part one: Mechanics of Sediment Transport

- Phenomenological introduction

- Characteristics of sediments

- Types of transport of incoherent sediments

- Incipient transport and bedload transport

- Incipient transport and transport in suspension

- Introduction on incipient gravitational transport on steep slopes

Part two: Flows over mobile beds

- Formulation of the mathematical problem of fluvial and coastal morphodynamics in 1D

- Morphodynamic equilibrium in channels: equilibrium bed profile in straight and meandering channels, local scouring at bridge piers and bridge aprons

- Bedforms: the formation of ripples, dunes, antidunes and bars, beach cusps, sand waves and tidal ridges

- Introduction to the morphodynamics of estuaries and lagoons

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Seminara. Lecture notes of Fluvial Hydraulics.(In Italian)

Seminara e M. Tubino, 2003, Trasporto solido fluviale. Manuale di Ingegneria Civile Cremonese, ESAC, Roma, cap. XIV. (In Italian)

Garcia, Ed., 2007, Sedimentation Engineering: Processes, Management, Modeling, and Practice. ASCE Manual and Reports on Engineering Practice No. 110. 1st Edition

Manuale di Morfodinamica by Seminara G. and Bolla Pittaluga M. (in Italian)

Principles of River Engineering - The non-tidal alluvial river, Jansen et al. (in English)

Powerpoint of lectures

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

PAOLO BLONDEAUX (President)

GIOVANNI SEMINARA

PAOLO BLONDEAUX (President)

GIOVANNI SEMINARA (President)

LESSONS

Class schedule

MORPHODYNAMICS AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam includes only an oral examination which is aimed at ascertaining the degree of knowledge of the topics described during the lectures. Usually, the students will be asked three questions on relatively large subjects, leaving the details to the following discussion.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

If necessary, during the examination, the student will also be asked to solve simple problems to test the operational capabilities acquired.

Exam schedule