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Parameterization of NHS phenomena in a salt-wedge estuary

I am Cem Bingol a PhD student from Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE). I have a BSc in Civil Engineering from Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey, and an MSc in Coastal Engineering from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. For my MSc thesis, I worked on the calibration of third-generation wave models. After my MSc, I wanted to work on hydrodynamics in coastal regions for my PhD. Therefore, this project was extremely intriguing for me. Furthermore, being part of SALTISolution program, in general, is a great opportunity because numerous universities, Rijkswaterstaat, Deltares, consultancy companies, and industrial partners work together with the intention of applying new knowledge to real life situations in near future.

I am part of the Fluid & Flows group from Department of Applied Physics at TUE. I am working together with Herman Clercx and Matias Duran Matute. The Fluid & Flows group focuses on fundamental questions in fluid dynamics with an integrated approach. My research spans two of the major research themes of the group: turbulence and environmental fluid mechanics.

The different projects within the SALTISolution program focus on different time and length scales to understand the flow dynamics and predict the salt intrusion in Rhine-Meuse estuary. My project focuses on the smallest length scales and the shortest time scales to better understand the turbulence and non-hydrostatic phenomena. The final aim of my project is to quantify and parameterize the effect of non-hydrostatic phenomena (instabilities, internal waves, and subsequent turbulent mixing) at the interface of salt and fresh water by using high-resolution numerical simulation (DNS/LES) to improve the operational models. I initiated my investigations with direct numerical simulation (DNS) of (oscillating) gravity currents. However, high Reynolds numbers that are present in environmental flows cannot be handled with DNS by using present computational facilities. Thus, the objective is to continue with large-eddy simulation (LES), because higher Reynolds numbers can be simulated using LES.

After a literature survey on gravity currents and computational tools (DNS/LES) to simulate them, I have performed 2D DNS of density-driven gravity currents of the classic lock-exchange setup (Figure 2) and compared the results with previous studies. The next step concerns implementation of an oscillatory forcing to mimic the tides and simulate an oscillating salt wedge, extending the simulations to 3D turbulent DNS and LES.

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