Research on River Engineering, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

River engineering is one of the most important subjects in hydraulic engineering. The main scientific fields that are fundamental to understanding the basic principles of river engineering include hydrology, hydraulics, and geomorphology. Through the use of hydrologic rainfall–runoff models, the river inflows originating from rainfall-induced overland flow can be calculated. In the case of intense storms, the extreme situation of flood routing in rivers should be addressed. Flood routing can be calculated by means of both hydrologic and hydraulic models. Hydraulic models are based on water mass and momentum conservation equations, which are hyperbolic-type partial differential equations and are solved using numeric methods (e.g., finite difference schemes). Soil erosion products from the surrounding basins are transported by the overland flow into rivers and constitute the so-called wash load that is transported in the rivers in suspension. The riverbed can be eroded by the river flow or suspended sediment can be deposited on the riverbed. Therefore, the geomorphology of the riverbed is severely affected by the phenomenon of sediment transport. Numerous computational models for bed load and total load have been developed in the past. In order to account for sediment transport in rivers, the sediment continuity equation should be added to water mass and momentum conservation equations. Sediment transport is mainly influenced by unsteady turbulent flows, which constitute the normal physical condition in rivers. Vegetation on river banks is also a physical element that influences river flow. Especially in reservoirs and lakes, the hydraulic and geomorphologic conditions are different from those dominating in rivers. In general, hydraulic structures (e.g., dams) modify the hydraulic and geomorphologic regimes in rivers.

Prof. Dr. Vlassios Hrissanthou
Dr. Mike Spiliotis
Dr. Konstantinos Kaffas
Topic Editors