Analyzing the boundary conditions of the innovative technique of agitation dredging, the Tiamat

Sedimentation is a common issue in navigating through channels, berths and anchorages of many ports and harbors. In order to address this issue, maintenance dredging can be done in three different ways; relocating of the sediments, keeping the sediments in place, or dredging with nature and using the natural currents to remove sediment. Trailing...

Feasibility Study of Implementing a Central Suction-WID System in a Tide-Dominated Channel

The feasibility of installing a suction system, which consists of a pump and pipeline for transporting sediment from the sediment trap to the reallocation site to complement the water injection dredging (WID) method is accessed in this thesis. The combination of a suction system and a water injection dredger is called central suction-WID system....

Laboratory study on the efficiency of water injection dredging: An analysis on the influence of different dredge settings on the density current and production rate

The Port of Rotterdam experiences large amounts of siltation from the upstream rivers in its basins and canals every year. Furthermore, container vessels increase in size every decade and therefore require a larger navigational depth. These two factors cause the yearly amount of dredged material to increase. Currently, mainly trailing suction...

Rheological and plate’s hydrodynamic resistance in fluid mud measurements for the nautical bottom applications: An experimental study for sailing through fluid mud applications

When a ship reaches the shore, the water depth reduces and thus the under-keel clearance also reduces. The ship keel clearance influences the maneuverability of the sailing ship.<br/><br/>In this thesis project, the link between the fluid mud rheology and its density is first investigated. The exponential relation reformulated between the...

Suspended sediment behaviour of a reallocation pilot study in the port of Rotterdam: Gaining insight into the sediment dynamics of a reallocation pilot study, by using model hindcasts and measurements

The port of Rotterdam is located within the Rhine-Meuse estuary where a substantial amount of fine sediment transport takes place. Therefore, the port of Rotterdam is subject to significant siltation, requiring maintenance dredging to guarantee a sufficient nautical depth of fairways and harbour basins. To optimise the dredging strategy in the...

Seismic analysis of fluid mud: Detection of shear parameters in fluid mud and the relation between seismic velocities and yield stresses

In this research, a new measuring method to detect shear parameters in fluid mud is proposed, namely using shear waves, or S-waves opposed to the conventional pressure waves, or P-waves. Currently, detecting fluid mud is done by the use of P-waves. This paper shows that conventional P-waves velocity measurements are unsuitable for linking...

Suspended Sediment Modelling in the Port of Rotterdam

This Master thesis presents an improved model for the transport of fine suspended sediment (SPM) in the Rhine region of fresh water influence (ROFI) and in the Port of Rotterdam. It is known that the transport of SPM in the Rotterdam harbor depends on marine as well as fluvial processes. SPM transport inside the harbor has been modelled in the...

Using reflected seismic waves to estimate rheological properties of the fluid-mud layer for port applications

Current Port of Rotterdam procedure is to define the nautical depth based on the density of a fluid-mud layer, that settles at the bottom of the port. Rheological parameters could be an improved indicator for nautical depth and decrease the frequency and cost of dredging. I investigate the use of reflected seismic waves to derive in situ...