Newcastle University > Undergraduate > Find a Degree > Module

• Offered for Year: 2021/22

• Module Leader(s): Dr Paul Quinn
• Lecturer: Dr Caspar Hewett

• Owning School: Engineering
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Aims

To inspire students and to demonstrate the exciting opportunities for engineers in the water resources engineering sector. To provide an understanding of hydrological processes and applications in water resources engineering. To place water resources engineering in the context of national and international civil engineering practice.

The module begins by demonstrating the relevance of water to civil engineering with examples of major national and international engineering projects concerned with water resources, flood management and hydrological systems. It introduces the use of modelling for quantification of the water cycle and then proceeds through a variety of hydrological and water resources engineering topics, including flood routing, reservoir design and control, flood and drought occurrence, unsteady flow, groundwater flows, water supply systems, urban drainage and river engineering. It concludes with an integrative overview. Wherever possible, theoretical development is supported by practical example and case studies.

Outline Of Syllabus

Lecture outline:

*Introduction. Water resources, hydrology, floods and river catchment systems in engineering and the context of a nation’s requirements; national and international case studies.
*Quantification of the water cycle through mathematical modelling; types of models.
*Hydrological flood routing: predicting the movement of flood waves along rivers.
*Reservoir flood routing and spillway design: ensuring that a dam does not fail by being overtopped.
*Flood and drought frequency: determining relative occurrence from available hydrological records.
*Reservoir design: calculating the size of a reservoir to ensure a reliable water supply in the future.
* Reservoir operation: derivation of operating rules to ensure that water is supplied with a specified long-term reliability.
*Unsteady flow: the relevant physics based equations; flood simulation and mapping.
*Groundwater flows: borehole equations and drawdown; designing a well to provide a sustainable water yield.
*Water supply systems: sources and networks; pipe size and pipe network design to deliver water from reservoirs and into urban systems.
*Urban drainage and storm sewer networks: designing drainage systems to minimize flood risk.
*River engineering: sediment transport and river morphology; river training; working with Nature to stabilize rivers and ensure the safety of populations and infrastructure in river corridors.
*Integrative overview: integrated river basin management.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

To impart the basic qualitative and quantitative understanding represented by the knowledge outcomes via a mix of self learning and formal teaching, including lecture presentations and discussions/tutorials with active student participation. Tow practical laboratory sessions will be used to reinforce the theory taught in lectures.

Students are expected to organise their own revision timetable and may allocate a different time ratio for Independent study and Revision from the suggestion given here.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

To assess the student’s grasp of the basic qualitative and quantitative understanding represented by the knowledge outcomes via written coursework (based on computational exercises) The written exercises provide training in the preparation of design reports (likely to be a feature of subsequent employment)

Reading Lists

• CEG3503's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• CEG3503's Timetable