Background
Culverts are used to safely transport water through obstacles such as road or railway embankments, and form an important part of infrastructure flood protection. Culverts can operate under different complex flow conditions, and further research is needed to improve capacity and reduce construction costs. This project/thesis will focus on the hydraulic effects of the culvert inlet design, and is part of a PhD-project at the institute (2021 – 2024).
Main objectives
The main objectives are:
- To investigate how to optimize inlet designs to improved hydraulic performance
- To investigate how inlet blockage affects the hydraulic performance of optimized inlets
The thesis can focus either or both of the above. The work will be based either on scale model experiments in the Hydraulic Laboratory, or CFD simulations using OpenFOAM.
The project will focus on culverts, but is also relevant for hydropower intakes and similar structures. It is also possible to combine this topic with the effects of inlet blockage.
Tasks
- Scale model experiments:
- Rebuilding of existing scale model to include improved inlets of different designs.
- Creating a test procedure, including calibration of instruments
- Conducting tests under both inlet and outlet control conditions
- Data analysis and estimation of uncertainty and errors.
For scale model experiments, preparations will include the theory of culvert hydraulics and scaling of free surface hydraulic models.
- CFD simulation
- Create a 3D model for use in OpenFOAM
- Model stability and precision
- Verification against previous test results
- Simulation using improved inlet designs
- Data analysis and estimation of uncertainty and errors
- Create a 3D model for use in OpenFOAM
For CFD simulation, preparations will include the theory of culvert hydraulics and the CFD framework used by OpenFOAM.
Suited/Relevant for
- Anyone that likes a practical oriented master and/or is interested in CFD simulations
- Anyone that is interested in flood protection and stormwater management
- Anyone that is interested in hydraulic design
- The project/thesis has transfer value to hydropower in relation to intake solutions, hydraulic design and capacity analysis
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration and NTNU have started a PhD project on culvert hydraulics, with support from the Research Council of Norway. One of the main goals of the project is to develop improved inlets, which increase the water flow capacity without increasing the pipe size. The use of smaller pipes means that less material is used in production, which in turn means that the CO2 accounts for the culvert are changed. This master's thesis deals with the life cycle analysis of culverts with and without funnel-shaped inlets, with a focus on CO2 emissions.
Prerequisites
Students should have a good knowledge of methods for life cycle analysis and industrial ecology, and basic knowledge of fluid mechanics.
Task description
The task is to compare CO2 emissions associated with the production, transport, installation and operation of culverts with and without improved inlets. It will include:
- Literature study
o Use of culverts for drainage and flood protection
o Conventional and funnel-shaped culverts
o Methods for life cycle analyzes
o Sources of necessary data
Calculation of CO2 emissions for the different phases of the life cycle of culverts, based on different designs and material choices.The task can be adapted within the description, e.g. by taking as a starting point a case study of an existing road section, choice of material, effect of specific design parameters on the life cycle accounts, comparison of different methods for life cycle analyzes or the like.