Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Flows in Rivers

Dear Colleagues,

Turbulence governs many of the most consequential processes in rivers: momentum exchange, mixing and dispersion, sediment transport, bank erosion, local scour around infrastructure, and habitat-forming hydraulics. As rivers face growing pressures from flood risk, climate-driven hydrologic change, navigation demands, and restoration objectives, there is an increasing need for numerical tools that can resolve or faithfully represent turbulent flow physics across complex bathymetry, mobile beds, vegetation, ice cover, and hydraulic structures.

This Special Issue, “Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Flows in Rivers,” invites original research articles and reviews that advance modelling capability, credibility, and practical applicability. We welcome contributions spanning RANS, URANS, LES, hybrid approaches, and emerging high-fidelity methods, including robust turbulence closures, near-bed and free-surface treatments, morphodynamic coupling, and multiphase or sediment-laden turbulence. Studies that emphasize verification, validation, and uncertainty quantifications supported by laboratory experiments, field measurements (e.g., ADCP/ADV, tracer studies), and benchmark test cases are strongly encouraged.

Interdisciplinary work linking CFD with data assimilation, remote sensing, machine learning surrogates, and high-performance computing is also of interest, particularly where it enables faster decision-making for design and operations. By bringing together academia and industry practitioners, this Special Issue aims to deliver transferable insights, reproducible workflows, and actionable guidance for engineering and river science applications.

Dr. Hossein Kheirkhah Gildeh
Guest Editor

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