Thesis supervisor: Sándor Baranya
Location of studies (in Hungarian): BME Vízépítési és Vízgazdálkodási Tanszék Abbreviation of location of studies: BMEVV
Description of the research topic:
Riverine sediment transport plays a major role in different uses of the river, such as the protection of riverine habitat, fluvial navigation, drinking water supply or flood conveyance. Despite the importance of the sediment transport there is a lack of knowledge due to the complexity of the phenomenon, moreover, no generally applicable sediment monitoring and prediction methods are available. On the other hand, due to the rapid development of the measurement instruments as well as the computational capacity of PCs new investigation tools are available which provide the basis of this research. The PhD candidate shall develop and test a novel suspended sediment monitoring methodology combining different measurement techniques. The novel method will enable the analysis of fine sediment transport in a more accurate and detailed manner supporting a better understanding of the spatially and temporally complex behavior. The method to be developed will utilize the following measurement techniques: i) Isokinetic, physical sediment sampling; ii) Optical Backscatter Sensor (OBS); iii) acoustic sensors (Acoustic Backscatter Sensor – ABS, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler – ADCP). Besides the field data collection the candidate has to assess different laboratory methods as well, considering the conventional physical processes (filtering, drying, weighing) and laser diffraction based methods. For the latter, the sensitivity on the physical parameters of the sediment shall be taken into account. The research will be strongly connected to a study site in the upper-Hungarian Danube reach, where a sediment monitoring station is to be set up within a project led by the host department. Furthermore, the investigation will be performed via the example of smaller river, if possible, which shows different hydrological and sediment characteristics compared to the Danube River. As complementary research tool, the 3D computational simulation of the suspended sediment transport will also be implemented. The numerical model will be parameterized and validated against the field data, and will be built on the field information in this sense. However, exploiting the capabilities of the numerical tool, i.e. any hydrological condition can be simulated, the planning of the monitoring campaigns can also be supported leading to an interconnection of the two analysis tools. The candidate will test (and improve if needed) freely available, academic software in his/her research.
It is expected that the candidate is familiar with the different field measurement methods and able to apply numerical hydrodynamic models. Besides the research activities the PhD candidate shall participate in lectures or field courses. It is strongly recommended that the PhD candidate applies for a half year long visiting research at one of the international research partners of the host department.
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