Head:
Address:
Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT)
Institute for Water and Environment
- Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management -
Kaiserstrasse 12
76131 Karlsruhe
Phone: +49 (0)721 - 608-44418
Email: wasserbau∂iwu.kit.edu
Visiting address:
The challenges facing water managers and engineers nowadays are manifold, complex, and require cross disciplinary approaches. These challenges include the safety of hydraulic natural and built systems, ageing infrastructures, pollution, guarantee of energy and food security, sustainable development and safety of urban environment, ecological feedbacks and an uncertain future.
Our group develops research towards engineering solutions for the design, the planning and the implementation of sustainable water infrastructures prepared for global change. We investigate the mechanics of flowing water and its interaction with key elements of a river basin such as sediments, dissolved matter, gases, living organisms and people. More specifically, the group is committed to develop research on four main topics: sustainable and secure water for supply, food and energy; adaptive and multi-functional hydraulic systems; healthy rivers; and geophysical processes in rivers and lakes.
One of the early press releases following the devastating flood in the Ahr Valley in 2021 stated: “Such an event could not have been predicted!” But is that really true?
Historical flood markers along our rivers suggest otherwise. If we have improved knowledge about flood risks, why do we still experience billions in damages and even fatalities, as seen in the Neckar catchment area and Bavaria in June 2024?
In his lecture, Dr.-Ing. Peter Oberle explored the possibilities and limitations of sustainable flood protection and precautionary measures.
Link to the presentation
On 26.-27.09.2024, Frank Seidel and Daniel Beetz represented IWU-WB at the Workshop for Model Design, Measurement Techniques and Analysis Methods in Experimental Hydraulics, organized by the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW) and hosted by the BOKU University, Vienna.
Daniel Beetz gave a talk about practical experiences and theoretical backgrounds on Surface-PIV technique, and Frank Seidel contributed to the session about tips and tricks in hydraulics labs.
They enjoyed the open and honest discussions about issues and achievements in the daily work of labs all over the German-speaking region. Another highlight was a tour through the new hydraulics lab of the BOKU University, enabling model discharges up to 10 m³/s and 1:1 real-scale experiments
On 11.-13.09.2024, Katharina Stickl and Daniel Beetz represented IWU-WB at the 23rd Meeting of Young Professionals of German-speaking Institutes for Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management which was hosted by the Institute for Water Management and Eco-Technologies at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences this year.
After a welcome barbecue and lab tour on the first evening, the second day provided versatile insights into the work of other YP’s during different talks and gave space for inspiring discussions. Katharina Stickl contributed a talk about Investigations on the low water corridor at the Rhine and Daniel Beetz about Surface flow pattern and bed morphology interaction in the vicinity of hydraulic structures. On the third day, the meeting ended by an excursion to the Pretzien Weir and the Magdeburg Waterway Intersection.
We would like to thank this year’s organizing committee for the great meeting and all participants for the motivating and enriching discussions.
Mário Franca was hosted in the podcast from the KIT Climate and Environment Center (KIT-ZKU) where he discussed our research on the transport of plastics in rivers.
Our research on the transport of plastics in rivers was mentioned in the newsletter 2-2024 from the KIT Climate and Environment Center (KIT-ZKU).
The 12th International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics, River Flow 2024, was hosted by Liverpool John Moores University from 2–6 September.
Mário J. Franca and Luiz Oliveira represented IWU-WB at the conference. Luiz delivered an oral presentation on the paper titled “Hydrodynamics of an Asymmetrical Compound Channel with Nature-Based Vegetation Distribution”, co-authored by Johannes Janzen, Frederik Folke, Florian Wittmann, Nils P. Huber, Mário J. Franca, and Carlo Gualtieri.
Additionally, Mário J. Franca presented orally the paper “Linking Coarse Sediment Morphometry and Transport: Insights from Field Data and Curvature Flow Attrition”, which results from a research collaboration with Alessandro Cattapan, the lead author, alongside Michael McClain and Paolo Paron, from IHE Delft.
Before the start of the conference, Mário led a master class titled “Mechanics of Plastic Transport in Rivers”, in collaboration with Kryss Waldschlager (Wageningen University and Research) and Daniel Valero (Imperial College London).
