Maintenance Dredging in Ports and Waterways
A framework for making smart, sustainable, and circular strategies quantifiable
A. Sepehri (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
M. van Koningsveld – Promotor (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
Alex Kirichek – Copromotor (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
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Abstract
Ports are vital nodes in global supply chains, yet their accessibility is constantly challenged by natural sedimentation processes. Maintenance dredging is essential to ensure safe and efficient navigation, but decision-making in this domain has traditionally been driven by cost and time considerations alone.
This dissertation introduces a novel framework that makes three increasingly important value dimensions - smartness, sustainability, and circularity - measurable and operational. By combining data-driven analysis, physics-based modeling, and system-oriented methods, the research translates these concepts into quantitative indicators that can support real-world decision-making.
Through applications such as analyzing seagoing-dredging interactions, quantifying emissions across dredging operations, and evaluating sediment reuse strategies, this work demonstrates how port authorities and contractors can better understand trade-offs and align their objectives. The proposed event-based approach enhances transparency and enables comparison across different operational scales.
By bridging the gap between conceptual ambitions and practical tools, this dissertation provides a foundation for more informed, efficient, and environmentally responsible port maintenance strategies.