Hydraulic Engineering, Stream Restoration, and River Mechanics
IntroductionThe Hydraulic Engineering, Stream Restoration, and River Mechanics track encompasses a broad range of topics related to fluvial systems, hydraulic systems and infrastructure, river engineering, fluid mechanics, environmental hydraulics, and restoration of aquatic systems. Students in this focus area can design a graduate program to match their individual goals and interests, whether they be related to traditional areas of hydraulic engineering or interdisciplinary focus areas such as stream restoration and environmental hydraulics. Graduate studies in Hydraulic Engineering, Stream Restoration, and River Mechanics typically consider issues like the following:
ResearchThe program maintains broad research activities. Specific areas of emphasis are: open channel flow; diffusion and sediment transport in open channels; mudflows and debris flows; sediment yield from watersheds; salinity in rivers; properties of alluvial bed forms; meandering and braiding in rivers; stream restoration and rehabilitation; multi-scale linkages between sedimentation processes and aquatic biota; hydraulic and geomorphic influences on water quality; two-phase flow including sediment transport in large rivers; studies of spillways; energy dissipators; diversion structures; channel stabilization; scour around bridge piers; abutment scour; sediment ejection and exclusion structures; design and operation of water conveyance systems; design of stable channels, control of water losses; long-term response of river and environmental systems; hydrodynamics; hydraulic machinery; cavitation; instrumentation; radar and GIS-based surface runoff modeling; and geosciences.
FacultyThe following faculty members are part of Colorado State's Hydraulic Engineering Program:
Facilities and ResourcesThe Hydraulic Engineering, Stream Restoration, and River Mechanics Program has numerous available resources that enhance graduate studies and research. Most graduate students in this program have desks in Daryl B. Simon Building at the Engineering Research Center. In this facility, students have access to state-of-the-art computing facilities for numerical modeling and data analysis. Additional computing resources are available from Engineering Network Services, who maintain several computer laboratories in the Engineering building as well as centralized networks and grids on workstations that are capable of processing very computationally intensive procedures.  World-class experimental facilities are also available to students in this program. The indoor research facility at the Engineering Research Center houses a hydraulic laboratory 280 ft x 120 ft in size. Permanent laboratory features include numerous tilting and non-tilting flumes of different discharge capabilities. An 8 ft wide x 4 ft deep x 200 ft long automatic tilting flume with discharge capacity of more than 100 cfs is available. Another 100 ft x 20 ft river basin flume allows meander, erosion, and control structure studies. The laboratory also contains a large local scour study flume and several other tilting flumes. A 100-acre outdoor laboratory adjoins these facilities. It allows large-scale model and full-scale prototype hydraulic studies. The outdoor laboratory features a concrete flume 4 ft deep x 20 ft wide x 180 ft long with a recessed section 8 ft deep. The laboratory also houses a 3 ft diameter pipe that is 825 ft long, with variable slope arrangement.  A nearby 70 ft x 192 ft building houses the hydromachinery laboratory. This facility allows students to undertake highly specialized engineering investigations to study theoretical and applied problems of turbines and hydromachinery. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Horsetooth Reservoir can be utilized as a water supply for both the indoor and outdoor laboratories. The reservoir provides a static head of over 200 ft and discharges up to approximately 125 cfs. Large stationary and mobile pumps are available to recirculate water at any desirable discharge and head. These facilities provide a unique opportunity to study problems requiring large discharges, large heads, and high Reynolds numbers. In addition, the laboratory is in close proximity to lined supply channels, steep mountain streams, flat sand channel streams of the plains, and large storage reservoirs. These facilities make possible hydraulic studies in prototype scale situations and are especially helpful in certain types of model, geomorphic, sedimentation, and environmental studies, and many applied engineering problems. The Rainfall Erosion Facility offers a controlled environment to study erosion processes at a variety of scales.
CoursesThe courses that students take in this program are selected
to match the specific interests and needs of each student.
The final choice of courses is made by the student with
the approval of the advisor and thesis committee.
Core courses required at the masters or doctoral level
are listed below. Typically, students take courses
in hydraulics, hydrology, water resources planning and management,
and geosciences. Students also commonly take courses
in areas such as watershed science, stream ecology, fisheries,
geographic information systems, statistics, and ecosystem
science.
Required coursesMS requirement: CE612 Open Channel Flow CE716 Erosion and Sedimentation OR CE502 Fluid Mechanics CE612 Open Channel Flow CE716 Erosion and Sedimentation Plus three of the following courses: CE502 Fluid Mechanics CE514 Hydraulic Structures/Systems CE604 Turbulence CE613 Stream Rehabilitation Design CE717 River Mechanics
Partial list of elective coursesBZ470 Freshwater Biology
PhD Qualifying ExamThe PhD Qualifying exam in the Hydraulic Engineering, Stream Restoration, and River Mechanics program relates to the student’s course work and is an oral examination administered by the student’s PhD thesis committee.
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College of Engineering
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Colorado State University
Campus Delivery 1372
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1372
Ph: (970) 491-5048, Fax: (970) 491-7727
