CSDMS 2016 annual meeting poster NickRichmond

From CSDMS
Presentation provided during SEN - CSDMS annual meeting 2016

Investigating Sediment Mobilization in Dammed Fluvial Systems Using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics

Nick Richmond, University of Maine Orono Maine, United States. Nicholas.richmond@maine.edu
Lynn Kaluzienski, University of Maine Orono Maine, United States. Lynn.kaluzienski@maine.edu
Samuel Roy, University of Maine Orono Maine, United States. Sgroy27@gmail.com
Peter Koons, University of Maine Orono Maine, United States. Peter.koons@maine.edu

CSDMS2016 poster NickRichmond.png

Abstract:

When dams are removed, the resulting sediment mobilization alters downstream fluvial dynamics and disrupts critical zone processes. Most methods used to model fluvial hydrodynamics are restricted to one or two dimensions, which limits description of small-scale motion and nuanced flow regimes that contribute to sediment advection. Smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) provides solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations and allows interactions between weakly-compressible fluids and solid structures to be resolved in three-dimensional space. By adapting smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations to fluvial systems, the sediment mobilization potential associated with dam removal can be investigated for dammed fluvial systems in Maine’s Penobscot River. By rendering natural environments as boundary conditions using LiDAR coupled with bathymetric data, SPH simulations can be calibrated with observed fluvial hydrodynamics in the Penobscot River. Incorporating sediment advection, periodic boundary conditions, and buoyant incompressible solids into the SPH framework provides detailed solutions which will be used to simulate the acute impacts of dam removal on the Penobscot River’s hydrodynamics and biological habitats.


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