This comprehensive mathematical model can help to understand flow of large braided rivers like Brahmaputra, providing valuable insights to field engineers to design sustainable hydraulic structures like Spurs, Revetment and other river bank protection measures.

Prediction

Predicting river flow variations across depth is crucial for flood and erosion control, agriculture and water supply intake design, and zero head energy production, say sources from IIT Guwahati.

However, existing models provide only average velocity, underestimating undercurrents at different depths, say IIT Guwahati researchers.

In braided rivers, the presence of sandbars further complicates accurate three-dimensional velocity computation.

Model

Speaking about the BRAHMA-2D model, Prof Arup Kr Sarma, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Guwahati, said their mathematical model combines highly complex mathematical modelling with challenging field-based research on large braided rivers.

With this quasi-3D river flow model, we can understand how fast the water moves at different depths inside a river and its circulation around a structure like a spur installed for prevent river bank erosion, said Prof Arup of IIT Guwahati.

Integration

BRAHMA-2D integrates a two-dimensional model of water movement with a theory about entropy, a measure of disorder or randomness, say sources from IIT Guwahati.

The research also delves into how features like river banks, spurs, and sandbars affect the way water moves.

Specifically, it observes a dip phenomenon near spurs where the flow of water underneath increases, a phenomenon absent in points away from these structures.

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The award ceremony took place on 21st December 2023 at the Hydro-2023 conference hosted at NIT, Warangal. The paper has been co-authored by Prof Arup Kr Sarma and his former research scholar Dr Anupal Barua.

Validation

The model was successfully validated on the Brahmaputra River near Majuli Island, the second largest freshwater river Island in the world, prone to river bank erosion, say sources from IIT Guwahati.

Application

Dr Anupal Baruah, at present working as post-doctoral fellow at the University of Alabama, USA, highlighted the model’s successful application with the river survey data.

It uses GPS Echo-Sounder for depth and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, along with current meters for velocity measurement.

He emphasized, “During my research at IIT Guwahati field measurements near the spurs revealed a strong agreement with our model results.

The versatile model has further helped to design bioengineering methods for controlling river bank erosion, say sources from IIT Guwahati.

It has also been applied to understand habitat suitability of aquatic species, especially endangered species, based on the availability of required depth and flow velocity.

This breakthrough can now be applied to compute the vertical velocity profile at any desired location, say sources from IIT Guwahati.

IIT Guwahati

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, established in 1994, completed 25 years of glorious existence in 2019.

At present, the Institute has eleven departments, nine interdisciplinary academic centres and five schools covering all the major engineering, science, healthcare, management, and humanities disciplines.

It offers BTech, BDes, BSc(Hons), MA, MDes, MTech, MSc, MS(R), MBA and PhD programmes. The institute offers a residential campus to 439 faculty members and more than 8,600 students at present.

The Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi NCR noticed due to increasing pollution in the city to put forward the revised schedule of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) IV. Due to this notice, all schools in Delhi NCR may need to stop conducting physical Classes for 6 to 9 and Class 11 and conduct classes in an online mode.

This notice further declares that all public, municipal, and private offices would work at 50% strength and the rest of the employees would work from home. Also, the central government may have to make appropriate decisions about allowing work from home for all the employees in the central government offices.

The GRAP IV document then further states, “NCR state govts and GNC’I’D decide on discontinuing physical classes even for classes VI-IX, class XI and conduct lessons in an online mode. NClt State governments, CNCTD to decide on allowing public, municipal, and private offices to work on 50% strength and the rest to work from home.” the official GRAP notification read.

“‘Children, the elderly, and those with respiratory, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular or other chronic diseases to avoid outdoor activities and stay indoors, as much as possible,’ reads the GRAP IV notice.

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Conclusion:

As Delhi NCR battles alarming pollution levels, implementing GRAP IV could lead to significant shifts in daily routines, including transitioning schools to online learning and reducing in-office attendance. These steps are essential to safeguard public health and improve air quality in the region. Residents must follow guidelines and support these emergency measures to mitigate the impact of pollution collectively.