Noise simulations require finding the paths between multiple receiver and source points. In the current approach, only 3D polylines can be used as input to describe the terrain. These 3D polylines are semi-automatically generated, based on the principle of describing the terrain profile with as few height lines as possible. In order to propose a more efficient, standardised and economic modelling approach, a partnership between RIVM/RWS and the 3D Geoinformation Group at TU Delft was launched in 2017, aiming to generate these height lines automatically from the available datasets, namely AHN3, BAG, and BGT, which are publicly available via PDOK for free. However, it was then proposed to prove that the paths between receiver and source points can be directly generated from a TIN without creating the height lines. The following report provides proof of concept to the hypothesis: ‘Using a TIN directly allows automated 3D noise modelling according to the guidelines of CNOSSOS-EU’. A code was written to generate the paths between receiver and source points using an LoD2 TIN. The paths were then checked visually and were fed to test_Cnossos software to prove their validity. Finally, noise maps were generated and compared to noise maps generated with the current method.

In 2017, the ‘Kustpact’, a Dutch national agreement, was signed to develop the Dutch coast without damaging its ecosystem nor its aesthetics. Consequently, the formation and protection of coastal dunes have become a focal point for research and development. For this reason, based on the idea of Performance-Based Design (PBD), this Master thesis aims to investigate the impact of certain geometric design parameters of beach house configurations on wind turbulence for the purpose of widening the dunes. A parametric design space was set up to easily automate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations for different purposes throughout this study. The sediment mobility estimation was the objective function for all simulations conducted. It is based on the difference of transport rate between two lines from the beginning of the plateau to the foot of the dunes. To simplify the parametric model, a Sensitivity Analysis (SA) was conducted to statistically identify the most influential parameters in the model. Afterward, the filtered parameters from the SA are used to build a surrogate model to detect the trends that result from combining the most influential parameters. Finally, a Surrogate-Based Optimisation (SBO) is conducted based on the former surrogate and using a Genetic Algorithm (GA). Three generations were run and used to increase the accuracy of the surrogate and predict an optimum solution for widening the dunes. The study concludes on a list of design criteria to respect in order to widen the dunes mainly pertaining to the consistent position of the configuration relative to the dunes, the important overlap between houses and the larger wind-facing direction of the configuration.