Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.S. in Engineering Science

Department

Mechanical Engineering

First Advisor

Yan Ding

Second Advisor

Yan Ding

Third Advisor

Yafei Jia

Relational Format

dissertation/thesis

Abstract

During storm events in rivers and watersheds, the peak runoff may creates excess erosion and deposition in channels or river reaches and cause changes in flow characteristics and fluvial geomorphology. Severe sediment erosion such as in-stream sever bed and bank erosion or gullying can threaten the stability of in-stream hydraulic structures, river banks, levees, and underground utilities. On the other hand, large amounts of sediment deposition can significantly reduce the flow capacity of channel or reservoir and increases further possibility of flooding. Therefore, sediment control is generally required for rivers and watersheds conservation purposes to maintain stable flow systems in channels and river reaches. This study proposes an innovative optimization procedure to control sediment in alluvial rivers during extreme events based on the integration of sediment transport model with optimization approach. The aim of this study is to develop a decision making method which to minimize morphological changes in alluvial networks due to extreme events (e.g. floods and dam removals) under operational constraints so that the optimal sediment control can be achieved. The developed model combines an optimization module with a well-established one-dimensional model (CCHE1D) for simulating open channel flows and sediment transport in alluvial rivers. An adjoint sensitivity model for CCHE1D and an optimization algorithm are developed to search for the best solution of the optimal control action. The developed model will be applied to control morphological changes by diverting both sediment and water during flood or dam removal. It is believed that the developed tool will facilitate planning and management of sediment control.

Concentration/Emphasis

Emphasis: Computational Hydroscience

Included in

Engineering Commons

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.