Numerical Modelling of Multi-Scale Coastal Aeolian Processes
I am Geert Campmans, Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering working on the Aeolian Processes Sector Plan position. The title of my research is ‘Numerical Modelling of Multi-Scale Coastal Aeolian Processes’.
Background
Before I became an Assistant Professor, I studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Twente, where I specialised in fluid dynamics and numerical methods. After my graduation, I investigated the dynamics of offshore sand waves by modelling sediment transport under influence of tidal currents, waves, and wind at the seabed of shelf seas, such as the North Sea, for my PhD.
My research aims to gain a deeper understanding on the processes that affect coastal dunes. Together with PhD candidates, I model the processes that affect the growth of coastal dunes. In the Shaping the Beach project, Joost Kranenborg investigates how hydrodynamic processes of waves running up the beach transport sediment between the nearshore and the most seaward zone of the beach. In the ShoreScape project, Paran Pourteimouri investigates how buildings affect the airflow and wind-driven sediment transport on the beach and in the dunes, using computational fluid dynamics. And in the Sector Plan created PhD position, the effect of moisture on wind-driven sediment transport will be investigated by Xiuqi Wang, starting by modelling on the scale of individual sand grains and subsequently upscaling the gained knowledge towards larger scales that are important to the larger scale Aeolian sediment transport issues in coastal problems.
In the years to come
I hope to gain insight in sediment transport across the underwater and above water interface at the shoreline in the upcoming years, as this plays a crucial role in sand availability for the self-repairing capacity of coastal dunes. Understanding this underwater and above water interface involves modelling and validation through experimental tests at various space and timescales. The different scales at play make coastal dunes both extremely fascinating to investigate, but also complex. The building blocks of the dunes typically have a diameter of about 150 while the dunes themselves are frequently over 10 metres high. Understanding the physics of the system of dune development requires a mix of different modelling strategies, each suitable for its own time and spatial relevant scales.
This figure shows a simulation of sediment grains being transported by the wind. This is an example of modelling wind-driven sediment at the grain scale; upscaling methods towards bulk sediment transport equations are essential to translate knowledge at the grain scale towards understanding the formation of coastal dunes. The background colour shows the wind speed, the colour of the particles shows the sediment diameter and the tails behind the particles indicate their trajectory.
The large-scale behaviour of dunes plays a fundamental role in the safety of coastal environments, yet the behaviour of the large-scale system is dependent on the processes of all the smaller scales. The upscaling of physical insight of the smaller scales towards the large-scale behaviour of the system will be a major challenge in the years to come. What does one sand grain tell us about the coastal safety of the future?
Education
Apart from my research on Multi-scale Coastal Aeolian Processes, I also teach in various courses at the UT. I teach and coordinate the MSc-course Long waves and Tidal Morphodynamics, the BSc-course Introduction to Programming in Engineering and I am one of the teachers in the Minor Multi-Functional Flood Defence, on the topic of Building with Nature. Furthermore, I supervise both BSc and MSc students in their graduation projects.
Collaborations
The research projects that are currently ongoing are in collaboration with other universities, the government and parties from industries that are interested in the behaviour of the coastal system. In future research projects I strive to collaborate with both national and international partners to investigate and connect processes at various scales to gain a better understanding of the range of scales relevant in coastal dune behaviour.