IO, Surabaya – The amount of water discharge can affect the flow of river water down a channel, and that in turn can damage buildings along the riverside. Such conditions inspired the lecturers team from the Civil Infrastructure Engineering Department of Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) Surabaya to analyze the fluctuation of water discharge down rivers.
River channel flow is associated with erosion on one side accompanied by sedimentation on the other, resulting in a shift in the river channel, so that it could inflict damage on nearby structures. The team, consisting of three lecturers, namely, Dr. Ir Kuntjoro MT, Ir Ismail Sa’ud MMT and Ir Didik Harijanto CES successfully modeled the movement of the river to precisely determine the vulnerability of riverside buildings.
The team leader, Dr Ir Kuntjoro MT, explained that the river discharge is never constant; this is similar to the record produced by an automatic water recording device, or so-called Automatic Water Level Recorder (AWLR). “Erosion and sedimentation are also caused by changes in river flow; it affects the formation and change of the riverbed,” he explained.
The research was conducted on the Brantas river area, by considering river hydraulics, wet cross-sectional area, water depth and slope of the riverbed; further, sediment transport plays a role in the formation of river geometry balance. “We conducted a propagation analysis of river flow, sediment and Brantas river geometry in Mojokerto,” he added.
In the last decade recorded by the AWLR, according to Kuntjoro, there are changes of fluctuation discharge patterns suspected as a trigger of river flow influence. “The discharge analysis is equipped by river geometry and soil technical data, which is then analyzed by the KUN-QArSHOV theory and Wallingford method,” he added.
Kuntjoro re-explained the analysis can predict the flow of rivers, discharge and sedimentation which later led to a conclusion that the movement of the river is influenced by the magnitude of river’s discharge fluctuations and geometry.
Kuntjoro said the results of this research have been applied to the Sungai Batu construction in Luwuk, Central Sulawesi. This year they will also conduct further research related to early flood detection with the indicators of discharge fluctuation patterns. “In 2018, we will continue the same research to improve previous results,” concluded the hydraulics lecturer.
(ITS)