Understanding the Hydrodynamic Principle in River Engineering

Water is continuously in motion around the Earth and constantly changing its physical form. This course will help you understand the hydrological cycle, an endless circulation of water between land, seas and the atmosphere. Designed through the lens of engineering and scientific principles, this course covers the concepts of hydrodynamics and mass conservation and will focus on developing mathematical models to solve river engineering problems. You will also be exposed to the principles of modelling as they are used for providing analytical solutions to river flow challenges. Mathematical derivations of important fluid characteristics are explained and some solved examples are given. 

This civil engineering course goes on to cover the modelling of river systems in a laboratory, including proper scaling. You will also investigate the theory of turbulent structures and the complex process of energy dissipations. The other areas explored include river flow analysis in hydrodynamics, sediment transport and the nutrient transport mechanism in natural environments like a stream. Included in this course will be derivations for the continuity equations in three dimensions, the specific energy concept, channel transactions and the hydraulic jump alongside the calculation of specific energy through non-rectangular channels.

Continuing from this, the course will cover the critical flow concept and continuity equations for open channel flow. A series of problems with solutions will be presented to give you the confidence to understand the velocity field topics and the effects of water depth variations. The equations of these sections will be derived using the fundamental law of mass conservation. Following this, you will examine linear momentum equations as they are used in river flow simulations. You will also discuss fluid flow, open channels’ geometry and how contraction and expansion zones differ. Illustrations of the HEC-RAS river models will be given, covering continuity, specific energy, specific force and critical flow. If you are in engineering or environmental studies or have a desire to help save our natural resources, this course is for you. Why wait? Start this course today and learn the exciting principles of hydrodynamics.