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For the STM experiment the water-soil flume (33m x 2.4m x 2.5m) of Deltares is filled with real PoR fluid mud of different dilutions and strengths. An object is pulled through this fluid mud at different speeds and the resistance force is measured. The measurements are used to validate the non-Newtonian flow behavior of a 3D CFD model for sailing through mud. With this knowledge and the CFD simulations sailing through mud it can be investigated how to apply sailing through mud in a safe manner. By applying sailing through mud maintenance dredging can be postponed or the mud could be conditioned instead of removed from a port. This could lead to a big decrease in maintenance dredging greenhouse gas emissions and costs.
In the WID experiment the bottom 0.5m of the water-soil flume (33m x 2.4m x 2.5m) of Deltares is filled with undiluted bed mud from the PoR. The rest of the water-soil flume is filled with water. A jetbar mimicking a WID dredge is pulled over this bed injecting water via jets. The penetration depth is measured as well as the vertical density and velocity profile of the WID density current. Different WID tests are performed with different WID settings. It is the first time that WID experiments are performed at this big scale. With the experimental results WID processes can be optimized and understood better so that it can be applied more often and in a better fashion. As WID is a more efficient dredging method than most other dredging methods applying WID results in lower greenhouse gas emissions and costs.
Work package 3 : Data science for optimizing dredging
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