Overflow Tests on Grass-Covered Embankments at the Living Lab Hedwige-Prosperpolder: An Overview

In regions with a temperate climate, a well-maintained grass sod on a clay layer is considered a reliable protection for dams and dikes. In the Living Lab Hedwige-Prosperpolder, on the left bank of the Scheldt river straddling the border between Belgium and the Netherlands, a series of 27 overflow tests with a purpose-built overflow generator...

Methodology for the energetic characterisation of rain erosion on wind turbine blades using meteorological data: A case study for The Netherlands

Rain erosion on the leading edge of wind turbine blades is an intricate engineering challenge for the wind industry. Based on an energetic approach, this work proposes a methodology to characterise the erosion capacity of the raindrop impacts onto the leading edge blades. This methodology can be used with meteorological data from public...

Seasonal Variations in Flocculation and Erosion Affecting the Large-Scale Suspended Sediment Distribution in the Scheldt Estuary: The Importance of Biotic Effects

Many estuaries exhibit seasonality in the estuary-scale distribution of suspended particulate matter (SPM). This SPM distribution depends on various factors, including freshwater discharge, salinity intrusion, erodibility, and the ability of cohesive SPM to flocculate into larger aggregates. Various authors indicate that biotic factors, such...

On the Impact of Salt Marsh Pioneer Species-Assemblages on the Emergence of Intertidal Channel Networks

Tidal marshes play an important role in climate change mitigation through natural coastal protection. The effectiveness of the natural coastal defense by tidal marshes is closely related to their channel network which is in turn greatly influenced by their vegetation cover and shape. Previous research suggests a dual effect of vegetation on...

Detachment of dilatant soil due to high hydraulic shear stresses explained

When soil surfaces are exposed to high shear stresses induced by high-velocity water flows, they erode. Erosion consists of the detachment, entrainment and transport of soil particles. When exposed to high shear stresses the process of soil detachment is no longer given by the pick-up of individual particles but by the continuous shear failure...

Prospective challenges in the experimentation of the rain erosion on the leading edge of wind turbine blades

Developments in the wind industry reveal intricate engineering challenges, one of them being the erosion on the leading edge of the wind turbine blades. In this review work, the main issues for the wind industry in the experimentation with respect to erosion are examined. After a historical and general overview of erosion, this review focuses...

Coastal erosion and beach nourishment in Scania as issues in Swedish coastal policy

This paper discusses the dynamics of coastal policy change in Sweden, using erosion and beach nourishments as an example. The Multiple Stream Model is a theoretical model on agenda setting and policy change developed by the political scientist John Kingdon (1984, 2003). This paper applies Kingdon’s model in describing and explaining coastal...

A conceptual framework for shear flow–induced erosion of soft cohesive sediment beds

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for erosion of cohesive sediment beds. We focus on cohesive beds, distinguishing between floc erosion, surface erosion, and mass erosion. By (our) definition, surface erosion is a drained soil mechanical process, whereas mass erosion occurs under undrained conditions. The eroding shear stress is modeled...

Experimental investigation on breaching of embankments

Breaching of embankments has recently drawn more and more attention due to its importance in the development of early warning systems for embankment failures, in the evacuation plans of people at risk, in the design method of embankments based on a risk-approach, etc. The erosion process observed during embankment breaching tests in the...

Jet scour

This paper discusses scour without bed protection, such as propeller scour, two-dimensional horizontal, three-dimensional horizontal scour generated by free jets downstream of gates and outlets, two-dimensional vertical and three-dimensional vertical scour. The flow velocities in two- and three-dimensional propeller and free jets are briefly...

A stochastic formulation for erosion of cohesive sediments

The linear formulation for erosion E = M(?b??c), often applied in engineering applications, has two properties, which do not always comply with field and laboratory observations, they are as follows: (1) The erosion rate is zero below the critical bed shear stress ?c and increases linearly with bed shear stress ?b, when exceeding the critical...

Benthic community-mediated sediment dynamics

We assessed the influence of benthic communities on sediment properties in large defaunation experiments in replicated 16 m2 plots on a tidal flat in the Westerschelde estuary (SW Netherlands). We compared microphytobenthos and benthic macrofauna recovery and recolonisation between control and defaunated sediments during 8 mo following the...

Coastal Protection and Dune Management in the Netherlands

Because dunes protect a large part of The Netherlands against coastal flooding and inundation, it is vital to guarantee the strength of these natural sea defenses. Besides sea defense, dunes have other functions. Sandy shorelines and dunes are frequently eroded. A legal framework has been developed that guarantees the required safety-level of...