River hydraulics

Research Activities

The studies within this line are mostly related to numerical modelling of river flows towards flood hazard assessment, through scenario modelling or retrospective analysis of past events for which hydrodynamic properties are known. Depending on the characteristics of a river environment, one-dimensional or two-dimensional modelling approaches can be adopted, possibly including river morphological processes. The results of numerical simulations are used to interpret the dynamics of an event, to predict hazard levels for the assigned return period and as input for damage and risk assessment.


This line also includes field analysis of river bridge vulnerability due to local patrol processes and associated mitigation strategies. Structural countermeasures can be designed and constructed to reduce the risk of patrol. From a non-structural point of view, instead, a bridge safety factor can be determined based on the loads on the structure and management procedures can be activated (alarm problems, traffic interruption). Monitoring data is crucial both for the evaluation of the countermeasure performance and for the real-time determination of the safety margins of the bridge.