Supervisors: Adina Moraru, Knut Alfredsen
Project: World of Wild Waters (WoWW)
Advanced topographic-modelling methods such as LiDAR or Drone photogrammetry provide high-resolution digital elevation data, which contributes to an increasing hydrodynamic modelling reliability, provides more accurate information and facilitates decision-making.
The aim of this master thesis is to compare two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations on steep rivers based on LiDAR input data carried out in at least two different software (e.g. HEC-RAS 2D versus Iber2D, Telemac-Mascaret, Flood Modeller-TUFLOW, REEF3D, ANUGA, Gerris, etc.)
in order to determine their suitability to identify the most sensitive parametres during changing environmental conditions.
Figures show: Left) 2D water depth (DWM) (a) and depth-averaged flow velocity (b) based on 3D LiDAR point cloud (from Mandlburger et al., 2015); Right) comparison of flood areas simulated with different models for the same return period (from Pinos & Timbe, 2019).
The research focus will be on identifying critical parametres in steep rivers and defining the performance of hydrodynamic models by contrasting numerical simulations and documented observations in low, normal and extreme (i.e. flooding) flow conditions.
The outcome of this comparison will contribute to highlight the importance of detailed geographic data in hydraulic modelling as well as the limitations of state-of-the-art fluid solvers.
The candidate is expected to have knowledge on hydrodynamics and be willing to master a new hydraulic modelling package if not previously familiar with it.