Water Resources
Group
Research activities
of the Water Resources Group are focused on achieving
excellence in the following two areas:
In
the area of Urban Stormwater Management,
extensive research has been carried out on the effect
of urbanization on the flood peak changes. In addition
to the degree of urbanization, the studies showed that
the actual extent of increase in the flood peak is also
dependent on both the physiographic properties of the
basin, and the hydrometeorologic characteristics of
the rainstorms at the basin location. For the purpose
of developing computer models of drainage basins in
Singapore, field measurement programmes have been implemented
to collect data on both quantity and quality aspects
of storm runoff from selected basins.
With the availability
of field data, the models can be calibrated for the
Singapore conditions. These models will be useful for
water resources and flood alleviation studies. The group
is also planning to carry out studies on improving stormwater
quality and reduction of flood peak by applying on-site
stormwater management methods, such as the use of porous
pavements, infiltration trenches and detention ponds.
Both laboratory and field experiments will be conducted
to evaluate the efficacy of these systems and to come
out with design guidelines for the systems.
In
the area of Sediment Transport and Coastal Management,
the main focuses are placed on the scouring and protection
of hydraulic structures, and coastal sediment and pollutant
transport.
Extensive research
activities have been conducted by the group in developing
quantitative relationships for the engineering estimation
of local scour depth around hydraulic structures. These
include jet scour below culvert outlets and sluice gates,
abutment and pier scour at bridges in prismatic and
two-stage channels, and scour at quay wall due to ship’s
propellers. The effectiveness of counter-measures to
reduce the scour depth using ripraps and sacrificial
piles for bridge piers are being examined.
There is an ambitious
on-going project to link a group of offshore islands
to form an island conglomerate to house the petroleum
and chemical industries in Singapore. The staff members
in the Group were actively involved during the planning
stages of the project, in carrying out both physical
and mathematical model studies. Studies on the feasibility
of enhancing the process of land reclamation making
use of the natural hydraulic and sedimentation conditions
in the project area are being planned. For coastal protection,
the effectiveness of deploying both rubble mound and
membrane flexible breakwaters is being examined. A research
project is also currently underway to look into the
clearing of sand plugs from coastal drain outlets.
In addition, the group
also investigates actively various aspects of pollutant
transport in the coastal zone. Studies include numerical
modeling of the mixing processes induced by tidal flows,
turbulent transport of pollutants under wave environment
and entrainment of wastewater discharges in the coastal
areas. Special attention has focused on the transport
of oil spills in the sea such as natural dispersion
due to turbulence and wave-induced advection of oil
patches. To analyze the impact of oil spills, computer
models are being developed to perform expert modeling
on oil spill response as well as stochastic impact assessment
on oil-shoreline contacts.
Fundamental studies
are also being carried out on the evolution of ocean
waves as they propagate shoreward. Of interest is the
role of topographic variation and wave non-linearity
in development of the wave spectrum.
Staff
Members List
Selected
Research Project List
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