Fugro Flood Defense is a young and dynamic team in which we work closely with parties from the flood protection sector. We design, assess, and construct dikes and other hydraulic structures. With smart innovations, we aim to do this as safely and efficiently as possible.
During dredging activities, where underwater sand is excavated near a shoreline, the sand transport along the slope can accelerate to such an extent that an unstable situation arises, resulting in the collapse of the bank. This mechanism is called Retrogressive Breach Failure (RBF).
An RBF can have major consequences, such as the failure of dikes or damage to gas pipelines, houses, roads, etc. To manage these risks, Fugro performs model calculations based on subsurface data to simulate the dredging activities and determine the boundary conditions for safe execution.
In the current approach, model calculations for the RBF mechanism are made using a deterministic model. This means that a specific initial condition for the subsurface with constant values is assumed. However, in reality there is a lot of uncertainty about the composition of the subsurface. Therefore, in this assignment you will focus on developing a probabilistic model calculation. This involves combining subsurface statistics with model calculations to determine the probability of an RBF event.
In this assignment, you will first conduct a literature review to understand the models for RBF. Then, using Python, you will us an RBF-model to generate probabilistic results. Finally, you will perform a sensitivity analysis on several cases to assess the implications of the new model. Your own input and ideas are, of course, very welcome at every step of the process.
Source: Mastbergen, D. R., Beinssen, K., & Nédélec, Y. (2019). Watching the Beach Steadily Disappearing: The Evolution of Understanding of Retrogressive Breach Failures. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 7(10), 368.
Supervision
Are you interested in this assignment? Contact the Master thesis coordinator:
