Thesis (M.Sc. (Civil Engineering)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Engineering, 1992.

Cette thèse a pour objet le développement d’un modèle de transport sédimentaire avec la méthode SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics). Si les modèles couramment proposés dans la littérature reposent sur un solveur hydrodynamique couplé à des lois semi-empiriques qui modélisent le transport sédimentaire, une approche différente est proposée ici. Dans le modèle proposé dans ce travail, la dynamique du sédiment est également résolue. Celui-ci est assimilé à un milieu continu dont la loi de comportement rend compte de la nature granulaire.Pour ce faire, le modèle élastique-viscoplastique d’Ulrich (2013) a été implémenté dans un code SPH préexistant programmé en langage Cuda, et amélioré du point de vue physico-numérique. Le comportement mécanique du sédiment dépend donc d’une contrainte de rupture déterminée conformément au critère de Drucker-Prager. Dans les zones du matériau où la rupture n’a pas eu lieu, les contraintes de cisaillement sont calculées selon la loi de Hooke généralisée. Dans les zones où la contrainte de rupture a été dépassée, le matériau est assimilé à un fluide rhéofluidifiant. Numériquement, la transition entre les deux états est opérée à l’aide d’une fonction de raccord qui dépend notamment du l’amplitude du taux de déformation et des propriétés granulaires du sédiment.L’eau et le sédiment sont modélisées comme deux phases immiscibles, dans le cadre d’une formulation SPH multi-phase. Pour ce faire, le modèle de Hu et Adams (2006) a été adapté aux modèles de conditions limites semi-analytiques (Ferrand, 2013). Enfin, un schéma d’intégration implicite des forces visqueuses a été développé dans ce contexte, afin d’améliorer les performances du solveur lors de modélisation d’écoulement à bas Reynolds.Plusieurs cas tests sont proposés pour valider le modèle multiphasique, le schéma implicite et le modèle élastique-viscoplastique. De manière générale, les résultats sont en bon accord avec les données expérimentales et analytiques. Le modèle permet de représenter des écoulements multi-fluide avec une bonne précision, même en présence de grand rapport de densité entre les phases. Il en va de même pour les écoulements de fluide non-newtonien et les écoulements à bas Reynolds, pour lesquels le schéma implicite conduit à des résultats très satisfaisants. Enfin, le modèle élastique-viscoplastique a été appliqué à divers cas d’écoulements granulaires, dans le cas d’un matériau sec et saturé, ainsi qu’à des cas d’érosion et d’affouillement. Là encore, les résultats sont globalement en bon accord avec l’expérience / This thesis presents the development and application of a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) model to bed-load transport. While state of the art simulation methods commonly rely on a fluid dynamics solver coupled to semi-empirical relationships to model the sediment transport, a completely different approach is investigated in this work. The sediment is treated as a continuum whose behaviour law takes account for its granular nature. citepos{ulrich2013smoothed} elastic-viscoplastic model is thus implemented in an in-house code based on the Cuda language, and improved on physical and numerical aspects. The sediment behaviour depends on a yield stress determined according to Drucker-Prager's criterion. In unyielded regions, the shear stresses are calculated in line with the linear elastic theory. In yielded regions, a shear thinning rheological law is used and the transitions between solid and liquid states are ensured by a blending function driven by the strain rate magnitude and sediment granular properties. Water and sediment are modelled as two immiscible phases in the frame of a multi-phase SPH model with semi-analytical wall boundary conditions cite{ferrand2013unified}. An implicit viscous forces integration scheme is also developed to improve the code performance as for low-Reynolds flows.The multi-phase model, as well as the implicit viscous forces integration scheme, were validated on analytical test cases and good agreement was obtained. The multi-phase formulation has also proven its capability to handle flows involving high density ratio, while the implicit viscous forces integration scheme was successfully applied to the simulation of a non-Newtonian flow. The elastic-viscoplastic model was tested on dry and submerged granular flow problems. The model was able to correctly capture the liquid and solid states of the granular material, as well as the failure and the regime transitions. It was also applied to bed-load transport problems for which a good agreement with the experiment was generally found

Mangrove trees play a prominent role in coastal tropic and subtropical regions, providing habitat for many organisms and protecting shorelines against storm surges, high winds, erosion, and tsunamis. The motivation of this proposal is to understand the complex interaction of mangrove roots during tidal flow conditions using simplified physical models. In this dissertation, the mangrove roots were modeled with a circular array of cylinders with different porosities and spacing ratios. In addition, we modeled the flexibility of the roots by attaching rigid cylinders to hinge connectors. The models were tested in a water tunnel for a range of Reynolds number from 2200 to 11000. Additionally, we performed 2D flow visualization for different root models in a flowing soap film setup. We measured drag force and the instantanous streamwise velocity downstream of the models. Furthermore, we investigated the fluid dynamics downstream of the models using a 2-D time-resolved particle image velocimetry (PIV), and flow visualization. The result was analyzed to present time-averaged and time-resolved flow parameters including the velocity distribution, vorticity, streamline, Reynolds shear stress and turbulent kinetic energy. We found that the frequency of the vortex shedding increases as the diameter of the small cylinders decreases while the patch diameter is constant, therefore increasing the Strouhal number, St=fD/U By comparing the change of Strouhal numbers with a single solid cylinder, we introduced a new length scale, the “effective diameter”. In addition, the effective diameter of the patch decreases as the porosity increases. In addition, patch drag decreases linearly as the spacing ratio increases. For flexible cylinders, we found that a decrease in stiffness increases both patch drag and the wake deficit behind the patch in a similar fashion as increasing the blockage of the patch. The average drag coefficient decreased with increasing Reynolds number and with increasing porosity. We found that the Reynolds stress (−u′v′) peak is not only shifted in the vortex structure because of shear layer interference, but also the intensity was weakened by increasing the porosity, which causes a weakening of the buckling of vorticity layers leading to a decline in vortex strength as well as increase in wake elongation. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Devido ao processo de urbanização sem planejamento adequado, as cidades costeiras sofrem com as inundações e erosão das praias com a elevação do nível do mar e ação de ondas. Entre as estruturas mais utilizadas para proteção de praias destacam-se os quebra-mares segmentados. Para estudar e prever as respostas praiais à presença destas estruturas, podem ser empregados modelos numéricos, capazes de calcular os processos complexos deste ambiente. Este trabalho teve como objetivo o estudo da resposta hidrodinâmica e sedimentar de uma praia com a implantação de quebra-mares segmentados. O modelo hidrodinâmico utilizado é o MIKE21FM acoplado ao modelo de ondas SW e sedimentos ST e SM. Primeiramente, foram impostas condições hidrodinâmicas simplificadas e diferentes arranjos de quebra-mares segmentados. As áreas erodidas e acrescidas após a implantação da obra foram comparadas e priorizou-se minimizar a área erodida. Em seguida, foram considerados os cenários de condições hidrodinâmicas variadas com uma das estruturas. Os resultados são apresentados em termos de altura significativa e potência de onda para 18 casos de condições hidrodinâmicas constantes, as quais foram feitas variar em nível e características da onda. Para a condição hidrodinâmica mais crítica, obteve-se uma redução de 0,4m da altura significativa média e 2kW/m da potência média da onda. Através desses resultados é possível aquilatar a proteção da região da praia da ação das ondas após a implantação da estrutura. Além disso, foram feitas duas simulações com 3 a 4 meses de evolução do fundo em condições hidrodinâmicas reais, com o intuito de apresentar qualitativamente as áreas de erosão e acreção do fundo da praia. Resultados mostraram que a deriva litorânea local tem direção sudeste, para a Ponta da Praia. Foi observada sedimentação no tardoz dos segmentos e na região de sombra e erosão nas áreas entre segmentos e a frente destes. Com isso, este trabalho colabora com o gerenciamento costeiro na região de Santos, apresentando o início de uma pesquisa para uma possível solução para os problemas de inundação e erosão da região da Ponta da Praia. / Erosion and flooding are common problems faced by coastal cities as a consequence of urbanization process without previous planning, with the sea level rise and the wave action. In order to mitigate these problems, shoreline protection structures are constructed along the coastlines, such as segmented breakwaters. Numerical models are tools frequently used in these studies because of its capacity of calculating the complex processes on a coastal environment. This study aim is to present a study based on the hydrodynamic and sediment transport response of a curved beach to the presence of segmented emerged breakwaters. The numerical model used is the MIKE21FM coupled with wave spectral and sediment transport modules. Firstly, constant boundary conditions were applied for the period of one year in order to understand the response of the beach to five different designs of coastal breakwaters. One of these structures were chosen to continue the study based on the area and length of the beach eroded and accreted. Secondly, eighteen different scenarios of wave and water level were applied to the selected structure and the protection of wave action were compared and analyzed. To the most critical hydrodynamic condition, the structure reduced 0,4 m of the mean significant wave height and 2 kW/m of the mean wave power. Finally, two real hydrodynamic conditions were applied and the sediment transport was qualitatively analyzed. Results show that the littoral drift in the studied area is directed to the southeast end of the beach, straight to the Ponta da Praia, without the spur breakwater, the sediment would end inside the navigation channel. Besides that, it shows the sedimentation and erosion patterns at the beach generated by the presence of the breakwater. The sediment is accumulated at the shadow area and at the lee, whereas the erosion is located at the front of the breakwaters and between the segments, as expected. Therefore, this study collaborates with the management of Santos, by presenting herewith a possible solution for the inundation and erosion problems of this area.

Todos os cursos de água carream sedimentos com maior ou menor intensidade, sendo responsáveis pela redução da calha de rios e volume de reservatórios. O assoreamento dos reservatórios reduz sua vida útil, comprometendo os sistemas de geração de energia, de navegação, de irrigação, gerando problemas de ordem ambiental. Neste contexto, subsídios ao processo de gerenciamento dos reservatórios pela predição do assoreamento, tornam-se necessários. O reservatório Represa Velha, situado na bacia hidrográfica do Mogi Guaçu, foi escolhido para estudo de caso pela disponibilidade de dados batimétricos, de vazão e de sedimentos. Com os recursos da dinâmica dos fluidos computacional (DFC), é utilizado o programa MIKE 21C. A solução das equações hidrodinâmicas (Saint-Venant 2D) integradas na vertical, tiveram como condição de contorno a vazão constante em cada período da medição, na entrada do reservatório, e a altura de água constante, para cada dado de vazão, no canal de saída. A calibração do modelo numérico foi feita para os dados temporais de vazão, concentração de sedimentos e batimetrias do reservatório. Com dados da primeira batimetria e campanhas batimétricas sucessivas, foi realizada a comparação entre os resultados obtidos pela simulação numérica e aqueles medidos em campo. As dificuldades e limitações encontradas neste processo são comentadas. / All rivers transport sediments with bigger or smaller intensity, being responsible for the reduction of their channel and volume of reservoirs. The sedimentation of reservoirs reduces their useful life, compromising energy generation systems, navigation, irrigation, and generating problems of environmental order. In this context, subsidies to the process of reservoirs management for the prediction of sedimentation become necessary. The reservoir Represa Velha, located in the Mogi Guaçu\'s watershed, was chosen as a case study because of its available data of bathymetry, flow and sediment discharge. With the resources of computational fluids dynamics (CFD), the program MIKE 21C was used. In the solution of the problem are used the hydrodynamic equations (Saint-Venant 2D) integrated in the vertical. The boundary conditions are the constant flow, in each period of the measurement, at the entrance of the reservoir, and the constant water level, for each flow measured, at the exit channel. The calibration of the numeric model was developed with data from previews work, of flow, sediment concentration and reservoir bathymetry. The numerical data were compared with the measured sedimentation. The difficulties and limitations found in this process are commented on.

A Área Portuária do Maranhão constitui-se no segundo maior complexo portuário da América Latina e um dos maiores do mundo em termos de movimentação de carga, com mais de 85 milhões de toneladas movimentadas em 2006, isto é mais de 15% da movimentação portuária anual do país. Tendo em vista a grande quantidade de informações disponíveis da região de estudo, o principal objetivo deste trabalho é caracterizar amplamente a circulação de correntes de maré e o transporte de sedimentos associado na área portuária do Maranhão através de modelação numérica com utilização do software MIKE 21 - módulos HD e ST. Os resultados obtidos no modelo hidrodinâmico permitiram verificar a eficiência do modelo em representar as características recirculatórias na área do PDM. De forma similar, o modelo de transporte de areia representou com fidelidade a evolução dos fundos e as taxas de sedimentação da área de estudo. Por fim, ressalta-se a importância de um trabalho como este em âmbito nacional, posto que é singular o acompanhamento detalhado da implantação de um grande complexo portuário, contribuindo para a redução do empirismo adotado nos projetos e operações portuárias. / Maranhão Harbour Area is the second biggest port complex in cargo handling of Latin America and one of the greatest of the world, with more than 85 million tons loading rate in 2006, which is more than 15% of the annual cargo handling of the country. Considering the great amount of available information of the study region, the main purpose of this work is to describe the tidal currents circulation and corresponding sediment transport in the Maranhão Harbour Area through numerical model applying the software MIKE 21 - HD and ST. The hydrodynamic model results permitted to check the accuracy of the model in reproducing the currents recirculation patterns in the area of PDM. The model of the sand transport reproduced with accuracy the bottom evolution and sedimentation rates. At last, it is important to emphasize this research in the national context, because is unique such continuous detailed Harbour Complex project improvement, contributing to reduce the simple empirical project and operation procedure.

Devido ao processo de urbanização sem planejamento adequado, as cidades costeiras sofrem com as inundações e erosão das praias com a elevação do nível do mar e ação de ondas. Entre as estruturas mais utilizadas para proteção de praias destacam-se os quebra-mares segmentados. Para estudar e prever as respostas praiais à presença destas estruturas, podem ser empregados modelos numéricos, capazes de calcular os processos complexos deste ambiente. Este trabalho teve como objetivo o estudo da resposta hidrodinâmica e sedimentar de uma praia com a implantação de quebra-mares segmentados. O modelo hidrodinâmico utilizado é o MIKE21FM acoplado ao modelo de ondas SW e sedimentos ST e SM. Primeiramente, foram impostas condições hidrodinâmicas simplificadas e diferentes arranjos de quebra-mares segmentados. As áreas erodidas e acrescidas após a implantação da obra foram comparadas e priorizou-se minimizar a área erodida. Em seguida, foram considerados os cenários de condições hidrodinâmicas variadas com uma das estruturas. Os resultados são apresentados em termos de altura significativa e potência de onda para 18 casos de condições hidrodinâmicas constantes, as quais foram feitas variar em nível e características da onda. Para a condição hidrodinâmica mais crítica, obteve-se uma redução de 0,4m da altura significativa média e 2kW/m da potência média da onda. Através desses resultados é possível aquilatar a proteção da região da praia da ação das ondas após a implantação da estrutura. Além disso, foram feitas duas simulações com 3 a 4 meses de evolução do fundo em condições hidrodinâmicas reais, com o intuito de apresentar qualitativamente as áreas de erosão e acreção do fundo da praia. Resultados mostraram que a deriva litorânea local tem direção sudeste, para a Ponta da Praia. Foi observada sedimentação no tardoz dos segmentos e na região de sombra e erosão nas áreas entre segmentos e a frente destes. Com isso, este trabalho colabora com o gerenciamento costeiro na região de Santos, apresentando o início de uma pesquisa para uma possível solução para os problemas de inundação e erosão da região da Ponta da Praia. / Erosion and flooding are common problems faced by coastal cities as a consequence of urbanization process without previous planning, with the sea level rise and the wave action. In order to mitigate these problems, shoreline protection structures are constructed along the coastlines, such as segmented breakwaters. Numerical models are tools frequently used in these studies because of its capacity of calculating the complex processes on a coastal environment. This study aim is to present a study based on the hydrodynamic and sediment transport response of a curved beach to the presence of segmented emerged breakwaters. The numerical model used is the MIKE21FM coupled with wave spectral and sediment transport modules. Firstly, constant boundary conditions were applied for the period of one year in order to understand the response of the beach to five different designs of coastal breakwaters. One of these structures were chosen to continue the study based on the area and length of the beach eroded and accreted. Secondly, eighteen different scenarios of wave and water level were applied to the selected structure and the protection of wave action were compared and analyzed. To the most critical hydrodynamic condition, the structure reduced 0,4 m of the mean significant wave height and 2 kW/m of the mean wave power. Finally, two real hydrodynamic conditions were applied and the sediment transport was qualitatively analyzed. Results show that the littoral drift in the studied area is directed to the southeast end of the beach, straight to the Ponta da Praia, without the spur breakwater, the sediment would end inside the navigation channel. Besides that, it shows the sedimentation and erosion patterns at the beach generated by the presence of the breakwater. The sediment is accumulated at the shadow area and at the lee, whereas the erosion is located at the front of the breakwaters and between the segments, as expected. Therefore, this study collaborates with the management of Santos, by presenting herewith a possible solution for the inundation and erosion problems of this area.

The measurement of topography is a key aspect of geomorphology research, and the prevalence of high resolution topographic data predominantly from Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) in the past decade has facilitated a revolution in the quantitative study of planetary surface processes. From this increased quality of data, many techniques have been developed to quantify processes occurring at diverse spatial and temporal scales; from the flow of material down a hill-slope to the uplift and subsequent erosion of mountain ranges. Such insights have identified signatures of processes imprinted on landscapes. These include physical processes such as wildfires and landslides, biological processes such as animal burrowing and tree throw, in addition to tectonic uplift and large scale sediment transport. These signatures are observed in both the morphology of hill-slopes and their connection to the channel network, thereby allowing measures of topography to provide quantitative measures of the rates of processes shaping the Earth’s surface. This thesis is concerned with the development and application of reproducible topographic analysis techniques, to yield new insights into hill-slope sediment transport and to provide accurate metrics for quantifying hill-slope properties, including hill-slope length (LH) and relief (R). The measurement of hill-slope length can be performed through the inversion of drainage density, or the analysis of slope-area plots. However, in Chapter 3 I present a method which quantifies the length of hill-slopes through the generation of hill-slope flow paths. The flow path method is shown to be the most reliable of these methods, and is able to provide measurements of the properties of individual hill-slopes, rather than the basin or landscape averaged techniques commonly employed. The topographic predictions of the LH-R relationship of the nonlinear sediment flux law, stating that the rate of sediment transport is nonlinearly dependent on hill-slope gradient, are also tested and contrasted with the predictions of a linear sediment flux law. This provides the first purely topography based test of a sediment flux law. Through the fitting of a prediction of the nonlinear flux derived model to these measurements of hill-slope length and relief, the critical gradient of each landscape, a key parameter in the nonlinear sediment flux law, is also constrained. A nondimensional framework for erosion rate and relief, which allows the comparison of hill-slopes with differing properties in order to identify landscape transience is presented in Chapter 4. This analysis technique builds upon the work performed in Chapter 3, utilizing similar measurements of hill-slope properties, including hill-slope length and relief. The software produced alongside this chapter is shown to reproduce the results of previous studies which have employed this technique. The method is employed on a new landscape in Coweeta, North Carolina where subtle evidence of topographic decay is presented, consistent with models of Miocene topographic rejuvenation in this location. A detailed sensitivity analysis of the technique is performed, highlighting the need for careful parameterization of any analysis, to ensure meaningful results. This method is also employed to estimate an average critical gradient for each landscape, presenting more evidence building upon the evidence presented in Chapter 3 that a broad range of critical gradients exist for any given landscape. The work presented in Chapter 5 attempts to constrain the limits of the geomorphic analyses presented in the previous chapters, when they are applied to low resolution topographic data. A series of topographic datasets are generated at resolutions ranging from 1 to 30 meters upon which topographic analyses are performed. I test two common channel extraction algorithms and find that a simple geometric method, which identifies tangential curvature thresholds in the landscape, provides a more accurate representation of the channel network in low resolution topographic data than a process based method which identifies the topographic signature of channel initiation. The measurement of curvature is also evaluated, and alongside the estimation of diffusivity, is shown to be sensitive to data resolution, however landscape properties also exhibit a strong control on these measurements, where the larger scale curvature signal of Gabilan Mesa, California is more robust than the sharp ridgelines of Santa Cruz Island, California. Finally, the techniques developed in Chapter 3 to measure hill-slope length and relief are tested and are shown to be robust at grid sizes up to 30 meters, with the caveat that an accurate channel network can be constrained.

Thesis. 1977. Sc.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil Engineering. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Vita. / Bibliography : leaves 209-217. / Sc.D.

Nas últimas décadas, a praia de Massaguaçu vem sofrendo processos erosivos intensos, cujos segmentos possuem taxas de recuo acentuadas, denominadas Zonas de Erosão Acentuada (ZEAs). Partindo deste problema este trabalho se propôs a entender a dinâmica sedimentar do arco praial de Massaguaçu e das possíveis causas de formação e manutenção das ZEAs. A coleta de dados se baseou no levantamento batimétrico e do clima de ondas, bem como no levantamento sonográfico de varredura lateral e na coleta de amostras de sedimento de superfície da antepraia de Massaguaçu. Para processar os dados se optou pela aplicação da modelagem numérica utilizando o modelo SWAN (propagação de ondas em águas profundas) e o modelo SMC (módulos OLUCA, COPLA e EROS, que trabalham, respectivamente, com propagação de ondas em águas rasas, simulação de correntes e simulação de transporte sedimentar). Para a formulação da discussão foram selecionados os 6 (seis) casos que apresentaram as condições de ondas mais representativas. Tais casos mostraram que a dinâmica sedimentar e os processos costeiros responsáveis pela formação e manutenção das ZEAs são controlados por dois padrões distintos de ondas incidentes. O primeiro padrão está relacionado às ondas vindas de NE - E, que geram correntes longitudinais para o sul. Suas correntes longitudinais e transversais à costa são de baixa intensidade resultando em um transporte sedimentar e em variações da morfologia praial menos intensos, além de formar células de circulação em vórtices. O segundo padrão, por sua vez, está relacionado às ondas oriundas SSE - SE - ESSE, cujas correntes litorâneas longitudinais rumam ao norte. Tais correntes longitudinais e transversais à costa, apresentam uma intensidade maior, portanto o transporte sedimentar e as variações da morfologia ao longo do arco praial são maiores bem como as células de circulação em vórtices. Partindo desses resultados, percebeu-se que as ZEAs em Massaguaçu estão ligadas a um possível aumento na frequência e na intensidade das tempestades ao longo das últimas décadas e até o presente momento, não há mecanismos naturais que revertam esta retração da linha de costa. / Over the past decades in Massaguaçu beach has happening a strong erosion process with segments that have higher retreat rates, commonly termed as Erosional Hot Spots (EHSs). This research aims the understanding of the sedimentary dynamics along the Massaguaçu embayment and also the possible causes of the formation and maintenance of the EHSs. The methodology was separately on two steps. At first we collected bathymetry, wave and side-scan sonar data, and samples of the surface sediments from the shoreface of Massaguaçu beach. Later, to analyze majority data, we chose to use numerical modeling based on the SWAN model (propagation of waves in deep water) and SMC model (modules OLUCA, COPLA and EROS, that work respectively with the propagation of waves in shallow water, the simulation of currents and finally the simulation of sediment transport). After modeling, we were able to select the 6 (six) most representative wave conditions cases. Those results show that the control of the sediment dynamics and the coastal processes responsible for the formation and the maintenance of ZEA are based on the characteristics of the incident waves. On trying to explain that process, it was possible to recognize two distinct patterns. The first pattern observed is associated with the NE - E waves, generating longshore currents to the south. In this case, both the longshore and the crosshore currents are less intense, forming cells circulation in vortex, resulting in minor variations in sediment transport and beach morphology. The second pattern is related with the SSE - SE - ESE waves, generating longshore currents to the north. In this case both the longshore and the crosshore currents are more intense, although still with occurrence of forming cells circulation in vortex, resulting in a larger sediment transport and morphological changes along the beach. Finally, what we have seem was that the ZEAs in Massaguaçu are possibly linked to a potential increment on storms frequency and intensity over the past decades and unfortunately, at present, there is still no mechanism to recover this natural retreat of the coastline.