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River Engineering
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:01:14
Abstract
The lecture addresses the fundamentals of river engineering to quantitatively describe the flow of water, transport of sediment and wood, and morphological changes such as erosion and deposition processes associated with river structures. In addition, design guidelines for river engineering structures are introduced.
Objective
At the end of the course, the students will be able to: - recall and describe the fundamentals of transport processes in rivers, - apply different calculation approaches and methods to tackle river engineering problems and tasks such as the discharge capacity of a river, scour estimation, or sediment budget of a river, - design and dimension river engineering works needed to influence the processes in watercourses, and - determine the interaction between flow (discharge), sediment transport, wood transport and the resulting channel evolution.
Content
The first part of the lecture introduces the fundamentals of river engineering, such as methods to determine and calculate the river discharge, or sampling methods to characterize the bed material. In addition, the transport processes of sediment (bedload and suspended load) and wood in rivers will be examined, including the principles of incipient motion, and initiation of erosion or deposition processes. In the second part of the lecture, the methods will be explained to quantify the bed load budget and the morphological changes (erosion, deposition) in river systems. Specifically, natural channel formation processes, different bed forms and plan forms of rivers (straight, meandering, braided) are examined. The last part of the lecture focuses on the design of river engineering structures, including examples from an ongoing flood and river revitalization project at the Alpine Rhine in Austria and Switzerland.
Resources
Lecture Notes
Handouts and powerpoint presentations shown in the lecture can be downloaded via Moodle.
Literature
1. «Flussbau» lecture notes of fall semester 2021 by Dr. Gian Reto Bezzola (available only in German at VAW teaching assistance) 2. Erosion and Sedimentation; Pierre Y. Julien 3. River Mechanics; Pierre Y. Julien
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- MSC
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- session examination
- Mode
- written 75 minutes
- Aids
- No aids allowed, except for a simple, non-programmable calculator.
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise | River Engineering |
|
2 h weekly |
Offered In
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River Systems (Remark: partly in German. Note: Students taking both of the modules LAND and RIVER must take the course 101-1250-00 Wildbach- und Hangverbau as replacment for for Fluival Systems that is listed in both modules.)
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Elective Modules (For all majors.)
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EM: River Systems (Elective Module for Majors "Environmental Technologies", "Resource Management", " Urban Water Management" and "Water Resources Management". Remark: partly in German. Note: Students taking both of the modules LAND and RIVER must take the course 101-1250-00 Wildbach- und Hangverbau as replacment for for Fluival Systems that is listed in both modules.)
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Electives (The entire course programs of ETH Zurich and Universitiy Zurich are open to the students to individual selection. The students have themselves to check whether they meet the admission requirements for a course.)
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