Studying online (if an online offering is shown below)
There are now 2 possible online modes for units:
Units with modes Online timetabled and Online flexible are available for any student to self-enrol and study online.
Click on an offering mode for more details.
Unit Overview
- Description
The aim of this unit is to gain a quantitative knowledge of the fluid mechanics of environmental systems, including atmospheric and aquatic systems (from wetlands and rivers to coastal and oceanic systems). Topics covered include:
1.Solving the equations that govern environmental flows: the physical laws governing fluid motion, exact solutions and scaling approaches, impacts of turbulence, waves, living roughness, rotation and density stratification.
2.Turbulence in the environment: basic statistical descriptions of turbulent flows, the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations, the concept of eddy viscosity, application to using turbulence in hydraulic jumps to control erosion.
3.Environmental boundary layers: Predicting vertical structure of the mean and turbulent flow in atmospheric and aquatic boundary layers, impacts of living roughness on the near-bed flow, application to design of a living stream.
4.Environmental transport processes: molecular versus turbulent diffusion, the process of shear dispersion, predicting concentration fields in turbulent environmental flows, application to nutrient dynamics in the Swan River.
5.Flow and mixing in density-stratified environments: mixing across density interfaces, mixing efficiency in stratified flows, quantifying transport in estuaries and the ocean, application to predicting vertical mixing in a salt-wedge estuary.
- Credit
- 6 points
- Offering
(see Timetable) Availability Location Mode Semester 1 UWA (Perth) Face to face - Outcomes
Students are able to (1) predict flow fields in environmental systems by generating solutions to the equations that govern the mean flow; (2) articulate and quantify the impacts of turbulence, waves, living roughness, rotation and density stratification on environmental flows; (3) characterise turbulence in environmental flows and its impact on the mean flow, instantaneous flow properties and mixing; (4) predict the vertical structure of the mean and turbulent flow in atmospheric and aquatic boundary layers, including the impact of large-scale roughness on the near-bed flow; (5) distinguish between molecular diffusion, turbulent diffusion and shear dispersion and apply these concepts to determine concentration fields of dissolved and particulate species in environmental flows; (6) quantify the extent to which density stratification can control flow and mixing in environmental systems; and (7) design a laboratory investigation addressing an important problem in environmental fluid mechanics.
- Assessment
Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) a series of case studies focusing on industry-relevant challenges in environmental fluid mechanics and (2) a visual portfolio of fluid mechanics phenomena in environmental systems. Further information is available in the unit outline.
Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Dr Marco Ghisalberti
- Unit rules
- Contact hours
- lectures: 2 per week
practical sessions: 2 per week
laboratories: two 3-hour sessions per semester - Note
- This unit is also available to students in the Master of Ocean Leadership with the approval of the Course Coordinator. Students must have prior knowledge of hydraulics or fluid mechanics.
- Recommended
reading -
Fischer, H. B. et al. Mixing in Inland and Coastal Waters: Academic Press 1979
Fox, R. W., McDonald, A. T. and Pritchard, P. J. Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, 6th edn: Wiley 2004
Gerhart, P. M., Gross, R. J. and Hochstein, J. I. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics, 2nd edn: Addison-Wesley Publication 1993
Kundu, P. K. and Cohen, I. M. Fluid Mechanics, 3rd edn: Elsevier Academic Press 2004
Munson, B. R., Young, D. F. and Okiishi, T. H. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics: Wiley 2002
Tennekes, H. and Lumley, J. A First Course in Turbulence: MIT Press 1972
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Visit the Essential Textbooks website to see if any textbooks are required for this Unit. The website is updated regularly so content may change. Students are recommended to purchase Essential Textbooks, but a limited number of copies of all Essential Textbooks are held in the Library in print, and as an ebook where possible. Recommended readings for the unit can be accessed in Unit Readings directly through the Learning Management System (LMS).
- Contact hours provide an indication of the type and extent of in-class activities this unit may contain. The total amount of student work (including contact hours, assessment time, and self-study) will approximate 150 hours per 6 credit points.
Face to face
Predominantly face-to-face. On campus attendance required to complete this unit. May have accompanying resources online.
Online flexible
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit is asynchronous delivery, with NO requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online timetabled
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit includes some synchronous components, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online Restricted
Not available for self-enrolment. Students access this mode by contacting their student office through AskUWA. 100% Online Unit.
NO campus face-to-face attendance. All study and assessment requirements are online only. Unit includes some timetabled activities, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times. In exceptional cases (noted in the Handbook) students may be required to participate in face-to-face laboratory classes when a return to UWA’s Crawley campus becomes possible in order to be awarded a final grade.
External
No attendance or regular contact is required, and all study requirements are completed either via correspondence and/or online submission.
Off-campus
Regular attendance is not required, but student attends the institution face to face on an agreed schedule for purposes of supervision and/or instruction.
Multi-mode
Multiple modes of delivery. Unit includes a mix of online and on-campus study requirements. On campus attendance for some activities is required to complete this unit.