Zoning of avalanche risk areas is one important task of land-use planning in alpine areas. The lack of records, due to the low frequency of these events, makes it di cult to implement a statistical analysis. Simulations made with physical and mathematical models can improve the knowledge of the dynamics of these events. In this thesis three di different mathematical and numerical models, based on the rheological theory of Savage and Hutter for granular flows, are introduced. A one dimensional model with variable width, written in a curvilinear coordinate system, has been developed. New rheological hypotheses have been introduced in order to describe the frictional interaction with vertical sides. The model has been tested against experimental data, relevant to cases with constant width, collected in the literature. The results give a first confirmation of the rheology, but a campaign of laboratory experiments is necessary in order to verify the model in cases with variable width. The two-dimensional model, implemented at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been developed. It was originally written in an horizontal coordinate system, assuming a linear stress tensor distribution and the constancy of the velocity along the vertical instead of along the normal to the bottom direction. The model has been improved by defining a rotated absolute coordinate system, which best fits the sliding surface. This modification corrected the initial delay shown in the simulations of the original model, with respect to the experimental data reported by Gray et al.(1993) in literature. An experimental campaign has been carried out in order to calibrate the two-dimensional model. A two-axial moving system, carrying a laser distance sensor, has been added to the double slope chute of the Hydraulic Laboratory of the University of Trento, in order to automatically scan the final deposits. Alternative choices of the structure of the stress tensor have been tested against experimental data. The two-dimensional model cannot still be applied to real cases. The severe distortion of the mesh, due to strong planimetric gradients of velocity, causes the crash of the model in presence of complex topographies. We focused our attention on meshless methods in order to solve this type of problems. In meshless methods, the computational nodes, which discretize the fluid domain, are not bound by topological relations, as in finite difference and nite element methods. This make them suitable to problems characterized by mass separations, strong deformations and discontinuities. The Moving Least Square Particle Hydrodynamics (MLSPH) method, created by Dilts (1999, 2000), has been applied to the one-dimensional model developed at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of Trento. In the MLPSH model the equations of motion are written in weak form and the field variables of the problem are approximated by means of the Moving Least Square Approximants (MLSA) (Lancaster and Salkauskas (19)). The one-dimensional MLSPH model showed a strong increase of the computational time with respect to its original version, not compensated by a significant improve of performances. Nevertheless, the extension to the two-dimensional case, where more strict constraints are imposed by the mesh, looks promising. The avalanche site of Lavina Granda, in Vigolana range, has been equipped in order to measure the dynamic parameters of real avalanches. We set up three sections for velocity measurements, one section for flowing depth measurement, two graduated poles to estimate snow cover depth in the initiation zone. Wooden tracers were spread over the catchment in order to evaluate avalanche activity. During the winter season 2002-2003 no avalanche activity affected the channel. On summer 2003 a debris flow ran down along the channel. Its flowing velocity was measured and its paths were identified by means of the wooden tracers. During the winter 2003-2004 three granular avalanches and one powder avalanche took place in the channel. The final deposit of the first granular avalanche has been mapped through a detailed topographical survey. A quick topographical survey has been tested in order to evaluate the geometrical modifications of the sliding surface, due to the passage of the avalanches.

Bifurcation is one of the fundamental building blocks of a braided network; it is the process that determines the distribution of flow and sediments along the downstream branches. Braiding is a complex and highly dynamical system, whose evolution is at present predictable only on a short time scale; in this context bifurcations are the crucial process that control the adjustment of braiding intensity, being one of the main causes of the system continuous evolution. A complete description of river bifurcations is still lacking in the literature, though their importance for the onset of braiding is clearly recognized. Moreover, the physical quantitative description of river bifurcation appears as one of the main limitation of the most effective predictive models available at present, i.e. the branches or object-based models. In the first part of the work the attention has been focused on the quantitative description of the evolution of a single laterally unconstrained channel until the occurrence of the first bifurcation. The analyses has been carried out performing four different sets of experimental runs with both uniform and graded sediments. An objective criterion for the occurrence of the bifurcation has been established, using the data provided by the Fourier analysis of the evolving bank profiles; the procedure enabled to characterise the morphodynamic sequence leading to flow and channel bifurcation and to point out the importance of the mutual interactions between the bed deformation and the planimetric configuration of the channel. Along with the characterisation of the onset of bifurcations, it is crucial to investigate their further evolution, that has been pursued starting from the theoretical findings of Bolla Pittaluga et al. (2003), concerning their possible equilibrium configurations. Two sets of experiments has been carried out on a “Y-shaped†symmetrical configuration, in which the upstream channel diverge into two branches. The experimental results show the existence of an unbalanced configuration, when the Shields stress reaches relatively low values and the width to depth ratio is large enough. This asymmetrical configuration is characterised by different values of water and sediment discharges in the downstream branches and by a different bed elevation at their inlet, the channel carrying the lowest discharge showing a higher elevation. Experimental runs characterised by the presence of migrating alternate bars displayed an oscillating behaviour, generally leading to a more unbalanced configuration and, in some cases, to the abandonment of one of the branches. Experimental findings can be interpreted in the light of the morphodynamic influence theory (Zolezzi & Seminara, 2001): the distance of the flow from the resonant value of the aspect ratio seems to be a good parameter to represent such phenomenon. The dynamics of river bifurcation were also analysed in the field. Two field campaign were performed on the Ridanna Creek, Italy and on the Sunwapta River, Canada, joining an international research group. The detailed and repeated measurements allowed to point out the common features showed by the bifurcations, namely the unbalanced water distribution, the difference in bed elevation and the lateral shift of the main flow toward the external bank of the main downstream channel. The monitoring activity on the Ridanna Creek provided also the description of the planimetric and altimetric configurations of the study reach, employing both traditional survey techniques and digital photogrammetry together with the complete characterisation of morphological and hydraulic patterns. Moreover, the analysis of the long term evolution of the network pointed out the existence of three regions in the braided reach, with different morphological features and highlighted the crucial role of bifurcations in controlling braiding evolution. Theoretical analysis, laboratory and field investigations have allowed a much deeper insight in the bifurcation process, giving a quantitative detailed description of the phenomenon. The investigation now provides a suitable description of the bifurcation process that can readily be implemented in predictive models for braiding evolution, for which the adoption of physically based nodal point conditions would be highly desirable and represent the main sought outcome of the present analysis.

Ecosystems contribute to human wellbeing though the provisioning of goods and services, also known as ecosystem services (ES). However not all ecosystems provide ES to the same extent and depending on physical characteristics of the ecosystems or their location within the city, ES flow differently. The consideration of ecosystems and ES in the planning practice can play an important role in coping with urban challenges, aside to their potential to ameliorate quality of life. Urban planning represents one of the tools administrations have to influence the distribution of ecosystems and ES in a city, and to determine the benefits they provide and, more specifically, to re-determine the number, the location and type of beneficiaries reached. Inclusion of the ES concept in the planning practice can lead to strategic the creation or restoration of Green Urban Infrastructures in a city to maximize the provisioning of a specific ES. Despite the awareness of advantages coming from the application of the ES concept in the planning, there is limited evidence about the application in the planning practice. Goal of this work of this work is to contribute to mainstream ES knowledge into practice. Towards the achievement of this goal, it is crucial to understand the extent to which the ES concept is currently included in urban planning, and to identify the type of information that can most effectively support decision-makers and planners in adopting ES knowledge, and specifically Ecosystem-based measures in their “everyday†urban planning. The work is organized in four specific objectives: i) to provide an overview of the current state of the art related to inclusion of Ecosystem-based measures in urban planning and discuss, and use it identify and discuss the main shortcoming and propose possible solutions. ii)0 to develop an approach to estimate the cooling capacity provided by Green Urban Infrastructures to support urban planning. iii) to test the application of ES assessments in two case studies. iv) to develop guidance to support equitable distribution of ES in cities. The ES concept represents a tool to understand the underlying links between ecosystems, benefits provided and human wellbeing: if effectively used and mainstreamed in the planning practice, can be one of the keys for more livable and equitable cities

High-concentration flows are complex phenomena typical of Alpine mountain areas. Essentially, they are free-surface flows with intense sediment transport, often caused by intense rainfall events and involving large volumes of solid material. Because of the amount of sediments moved, the intense erosion and deposition processes typically observed and the quite unexpected character, these phenomena represent a serious hazard in populated mountain areas, where reliable and effective hazard-management and -protection strategies are required. In mountain-hazard management, high-concentration flows modelling represents a key factor, since it allows to evaluate impacts of possible hazard scenarios and the effectiveness of possible protection and mitigation measures. However, the intrinsic phenomenon complexity makes high-concentration flow modelling and hazard assessment quite challenging. In this thesis, some of the effects of high-concentration flow complexity on modelling are experienced directly and suitable solutions are proposed, to make the phenomenon description more reliable and straightforward. Among very different modelling approaches present in the literature, this work embraced the quasi-two phase, mobile-bed approach proposed in Armanini et al. (2009b) and in Rosatti and Begnudelli (2013a), which is implemented in the TRENT2D model. TRENT2D is a quite sophisticated model that solves a system of Partial Differential Equations over a Cartesian mesh by means of a finite-volume method with Godunov-type fluxes. By means of TRENT2D, the back-analysis of a couple of real debris-flow events occurred in Italy was first performed. These applications revealed clearly some troublesome "complexity issues", i.e. modelling issues generated by phenomenon complexity that may affect hazard assessment. Because of the public importance of the subject, four of the "complexity issues" identified were then faced directly. According to the purpose of this thesis, possible solutions to the issues were proposed, to ensure a proper description of the flow behaviour and possibly limit intricacy in the model use. The first complexity issue is "operational" and regards the use of the TRENT2D model and, more in general, the amount of work necessary to perform a complete hazard-assessment job about high-concentration flows. Because of the phenomenon complexity and the sophisticated character of the model, the operational chain necessary to assess hazard by means of TRENT2D appears quite demanding. The large efforts required in terms of handwork, computational charge and resources may divert the user attention from the physical meaning of the hazard-assessment process, possibly leading to inaccurate results. To overcome this issue, a possible solution is proposed, based on the use of a loosely-coupled Service Oriented Architecture approach. The aim is to develop a unique, user-friendly working environment able to support high-quality, cost-effective hazard assessment and, in perspective, the possible development of a Decision Support System for mountain hazard. The second complexity issue is "geometrical" and "numerical" and concerns morphology representation. Because of the strong interaction between high-concentration flows and bed morphology, these phenomena require bed morphology to be described with the right level of detail, especially where heterogeneity is outstanding. This is typically the case of urbanised mountain areas, with their characteristic terrain shapes, buildings, infrastructures, embankments and mitigation structures. A believable representation of these geometrical constraints may be fulfilled acting on the computational mesh used to solve model equations, preferably avoiding regular Cartesian meshes. In this work, a new version of the TRENT2D model is developed, based on the use of Delaunay, triangular unstructured meshes. To reach second order accuracy, a MUSCL-Hancock approach is considered, with gradient computation performed by means of the multidimensional method proposed in Barth and Jespersen (1989) for Euler equations. The effects of different gradient limiters are also evaluated, aiming at a proper description of the flow dynamics in heterogeneous morphology contexts. The third complexity issue is both "geometrical" and "mathematical". It concerns the effects of artificial structures, i.e. artificial geometrical constraints, on the flow dynamics. Among different structures aimed expressly at controlling the high-concentration flow behaviour, attention was paid to sluice gates, which can be used in channels and hydropower reservoirs to control sediment routing. In the literature, the effects of sluice gates have been studied especially with reference to clear water flows over fixed beds, while knowledge about the influence on high-concentration flows over mobile beds is still limited. Here, a rough, bread new mathematical description is proposed, in order to take into account the 3D morphodynamics effects caused by sluice gates in high-concentration flow modelling. The last complexity issue is pretty "numerical" and arises from the challenge of numerical models to comply with the phenomenon complexity. Generally speaking, reliable numerical models are expected to catch the main characteristics of the physical processes at both a general and a local spatial scale, although with a certain level of approximation, depending on the numerical scheme. Sometimes it may be hard to close the gap between the local phenomenon complexity and its numerical representation, leading to non-physical numerical results that could affect hazard assessment. In this work, a particular numerical issue is investigated, which was identified through a thorough analysis of TRENT2D model results. In particular, it was observed that the direction of the numerical mixture-mass flux is occasionally opposite to the direction of numerical solid-mass flux, despite the isokinetic approach which the model is based on. This incoherence was studied with a rigorous method, trying to fix the source of the problem. However, the question turned out to be quite tricky, due to the sophisticated character of the model. These four, deliberately heterogeneous, "complexity issues" allow to perceive clearly the size of complexity effects on high-concentration modelling. Furthermore, they give the measure of how much diffcult is reaching the right level of detail in describing and modelling high-concentration flows. The research of solutions that are accurate and as much simple as possible was not straightforward and required a quite large effort. Nonetheless, possible solutions were found in the end for three of the four "complexity issues", therefore the goal of the thesis can be considered as achieved.

The gravitational granular flows (e.g. debris flows or snow avalanches) are catastrophic and destructive phenomena affecting many areas in the world, and especially the mountain areas of Europe. Proper design criteria are required in order to improve protection structures and prevention strategies. Due to their complex nature, these phenomena present many aspects still unsolved in the research field. This research addresses some aspects of the mechanics of dry granular flows: a 1D depth integrated model has been developed, based on a two phase approach. The system of equations consists of three partial differential equations, derived from the mass balances for the solid and fluid phase and from the momentum balance for the solid phase, and two rheological relations determined through experimental tests and particle numerical simulations. The experimental investigation hes been conducted in a laboratory channel, by recording through high speed cameras the motion of polystyrene spherical particles. Within this research, it has been developed an ad hoc optical method to analyze and process the images recorded, with the aim of defining the main flow characteristics. From a numerical point of view, a path conservative finite volume scheme has been adopted to solve the system of equations previously described: the numerical solution is compared to the experimental results for different configurations, in order to verify the effectiveness of the mode

Molteplici studi, portati a termine di recente in Europa ed oltreoceano, hanno focalizzato l’attenzione sulle problematiche indotte dal trasporto merci in ambito urbano e contribuito ad identificarne possibili soluzioni (city logistics). Le aree urbane, dovrebbero idealmente essere luoghi ove abitare, svolgere attività economiche, sociali e ricreative. Esse possono vedere compromessa la loro predisposizione a tali scopi anche a causa del crescente traffico delle merci, il cui trasporto è effettuato principalmente su gomma, per via delle brevi distanze da coprire e delle carenze infrastrutturali. I veicoli commerciali, ad eccezione di quelli di ultima generazione, incidono negativamente sulla qualità dell’ambiente urbano, generando inquinamento atmosferico e acustico. La politica del “just in time”, che prevede l’assenza di magazzini di stoccaggio delle merci, incrementa i movimenti commerciali. Nella presente tesi vengono trattati alcuni aspetti logistici di regolamentazione della sosta e degli accessi per i mezzi di trasporto merci, in grado di rendere più efficiente la distribuzione dei beni, mitigando le problematiche indotte dal traffico e, quindi, salvaguardando la qualità di vita nei centri cittadini.

The research focuses on the implementation and validation of advanced direct and indirect methods of investigation for the structural and mechanical characterisation of bimrocks. In particular, a non conventional in situ shear test has been develop in order to evaluate the strength parameters of bimrocks by properly taking into account the influence of blocks. Also, a geostatistical approach has been introduced for the investigation of block morphological and spatial properties from digital images, by means of a variographic analysis of the block Indicator Variable.

No description available.

The research project concerns the restoration of military real estate, starting from the procedures in progress in Italy related to dismission, with particular emphasis for Piacenza and the case study of Caserme Bixio and Nicolai (Comparto Nord/San Sisto-Cittadella). The work is aimed at defining the relationship between urban planning and rehabilitation of dismissed military areas, in order to create a synergic effort capable to face the transformation of these sites and their integration into the urban tissue. The results obtained from the various recordings performed in Italy and in USA during the preparation of this thesis may help to find a new possible scenario for the Comparto Nord and its historic buildings.

In the past decades, hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) process was the subject of study by many researchers worldwide. This phenomenon was widely studied in order to understand the reason of its negative effects on hydraulic machinery such as pumps,turbines, valves, etc. Many efforts were made in order to better understand mechanisms of HC process with the main aim of preventing its generation and trying to avoid severe physical damage such as erosions, vibrations and noises. In recent years, in order to cope with a decrease in available water resources worldwide, an increasing demand of water by population in developing/developed countries and more restrictive environmental legislations on water quality, HC was increasingly used as a novel energy-efficient technique in the field of wastewaters treatment. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate on the effectiveness of a modified swirling-jet device called Ecowirl reactor, patented by Econovation GmbH, Germany and produced and commercialized by Officine Parisi s.r.l., Italy. Experimental studies were carried out in order to evaluate the effects of different operative conditions and parameters such as reactor geometry, flow rate, flow velocity, pressure, medium pH, medium concentration and medium temperature on (i) the degradation of a toxic and carcinogenic pollutant dye (Rhodamine B, RhB) in waste dye aqueous solutions and on (ii) the improvement of activated sludge solubilisation and aerobic sludge biodegradability in the field of biological wastewater treatments. In order to better understand the fluid dynamics into Ecowirl reactor, it was modelled. The model based on previous experimental data was implemented in a Computational Fluid Dynamics software (ANSYS, 16.2).