Author(s): P. Van Steeg; S. A. H. Van Schijndel
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: In Europe, the European Commission (EC) funded HYDRALAB network brings together large and unique experimental infrastructures in hydraulic research to work collaboratively. This coordination of available resources at20 European institutes and universities enables scientists to progress beyond state-of-the-art in hydraulic research. To guarantee a judicious long-term research program, the HYDRALAB consortium has initiated a fundamental discussion on the position of laboratory experiments in the hydraulic research methodology, leading to a new strategy to optimize the use of experimental facilities. The HYDRALAB network was founded in 1997 and has been cooperating within EC framework projects since (HYDRALAB I, 1997-2000; HYDRALAB II, 2000-2004). This paper describes the results that have been obtained during HYDRALAB III (from 2006-2010) and how this has contributed to the above-described discussion. Within Transnational Access, a program within HYDRALAB that aims at bringing innovative and skilled researchers from across Europe to the cutting edge of research in unique experimental facilities, a broad range of hydraulic topics have been studied including work on waves, structures, sediment erosion, oceanography, ship dynamics, ice engineering and effects on hydraulics of plant growth. Within the Joint Research Activities, which aim at improving the coherence of experimental, numerical and physical modelling techniques and instrumentation, new experimental instrumentation and new methodologies were developed. Within the Networking Activities, several‘next generation’experimental researchers have participated and improved their expertise and knowledge. Guidelines on significant aspects of experimental modeling such as on waves, breakwaters, ecology, sediments and composite modeling have been written and published. Additionally, the results of HYDRALAB III have been used to give a new impetus to the discussion of and the role and value of laboratory experiments.
Year: 2010