Modeling free surface flows

Physical processes studied

River and navigation canal flows with a particular focus on flood and inondation dynamics.

Lake and estuary circulation dynamics, taking into account density gradients (related to differences in salinity and/or temperature).

Tracer and pollutant transport and dispersion in nearshore environments (for example, algae and oil spill drift).

Medium term research objectives

Numerical simulation of free surface flows: Improving the accuracy of 2D/3D convection schemes, Lagrangian methods for complex flows, and high resolution prediction of 3D turbulence at the free surface.

Coupling models: Lateral coupling between 1D and 2D shallow water equation models, between Navier-Stokes and SWE models, as well as hydro-sedimentary and river-groundwater coupling.

Uncertainty, data assimilation, reduced models

Nicole Goutal (nicole.goutal@edf.fr)