Water
Resources Engineering Group Laboratory
Department
of Civil Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi
The
Water Resources Engineering Laboratory in the Department of Civil Engineering,
IIT Delhi, serves as a hub for hands-on learning for advanced research and
innovation for Undergraduate and Postgraduate students in water resources. The
lab provides a strong foundation in hydrologic measurement, hydrological
process, water distribution, pumps, turbines, hydraulics, sediment transport,
open channel flows, groundwater flow, and water quality, remote sensing and GIS
equipping students with practical skills essential for real-world water
management challenges. It offers diverse physical experiments and computational
simulations, enabling students to understand and analyse complex water-related
processes.
Beyond
teaching, the lab is a platform for research and innovation, integrating remote
sensing, hydrological and hydraulic modelling, machine learning, and climate
change studies to explore sustainable water management solutions. With a focus
on experiential learning, the lab fosters critical thinking and problem-solving
skills among students, preparing them for careers in water resources
engineering. Through structured coursework, guided projects, and
interdisciplinary collaboration, the lab ensures that students are
well-equipped with both theoretical knowledge and practical expertise while
also contributing to advancements in research and technology in water
resources.
List of experiments
Hydraulics:
·
Rectangular Weir’s Coefficient of discharge: To
determine the coefficient of discharge (Cd) of rectangular weir in an open
channel flow.
·
Manning's roughness coefficient: To determine
Manning's roughness coefficient for an open channel at uniform depth.
·
friction factor (f) and pipe roughness coefficient: To
determine friction factor (f) and pipe roughness coefficient for water flow at
different diameter pipelines.
·
Siphon spillway: To determine the coefficient of
discharge (Cd) of a siphon spillway in an open channel flow.
·
Chezy’s constant
(c) and friction factor (f): To determine the value of Chezy’s
constant (c) and friction factor (f) for an open channel.
·
Pressure losses: To determine and compare the pressure
losses across expansions, bends, and elbows in a pipeline system.
·
Belanger momentum equation: To determine the energy
losses in a hydraulic jump and to verify the Belanger momentum equation.
·
Propeller turbine: To understand the working principle
of propeller turbine by obtaining the performance characteristics for different
flow rates.
·
Pelton turbine: To investigate the operational
principles of a Pelton turbine by evaluating its performance characteristics
under varying flow rates.
·
Investigating water hammer pressure
Advanced
Hydraulics:
·
Determination of the Specific Gravity of Iron ore/Fly
ash.
·
Determining pH values of the Iron ore/Fly ash slurry
at different solid concentrations.
·
Development of PSD (Particle size distribution) curve
for the Iron ore/Fly ash sample.
·
Experimental estimation of the static settled
concentration of iron ore/fly ash slurry.
·
Experimental study of the rheological behavior of iron
ore/fly ash slurry.
·
Determination of friction factor
and pipe roughness in a pipeline system.
·
Modelling of multiphase (slurry) flow using CFD Ansys
fluent.
Water
quality:
·
To determine the concentration of a known chemical
substance in a solution.
·
Determination of water quality parameters
·
Determination of wastewater characteristics
Hydrology:
·
Water Budget Equation: To understand the relation
between rainfall and runoff using the water budget equation for simple
catchment.
·
TRMM GPM MATLAB: The aim is to equip students with
computational tools for analyzing and modelling hydrological processes using
statistical and probabilistic approaches.
·
QGIS: This lab experiment aims to get familiar with
QGIS software and delineate a watershed for a given outlet using digital
elevation model.
·
Factors affecting hydrograph: To understand various
factors affecting the shape of the hydrograph.
·
Hec-HMS: The aim was to enable the modelling of
watershed hydrology by simulating runoff and generating hydrograph.
·
Hec-RAS: The aim is to simulate one-dimensional and
two-dimensional flood inundation modelling using Hec-RAS.
·
Infiltration: This experiment aims to determine the
infiltration rate of water into soil using a double-ring infiltrometer.
·
Ground Water Flow: This experiment aims to find the
permeability of an aquifer.
Remote
Sensing:
·
Geomorphological analysis of a river basin
·
Satellite image interpretation
·
Aerial photo interpretation
·
Stereoscopic 3D visualization
·
Image processing
·
Image classification
·
LULC Mapping
·
NDVI modelling
·
Integrated use of remote sensing and GIS
Glimpse
of laboratories being conducted
Prof.
D. R. Kaushal demonstrating the Hydraulic Jump Experiment to the students,
explaining the transition between flow regimes, energy dissipation, and the
practical significance of hydraulic jumps in engineering applications. |
Prof.
Dhanya C. T. guiding students through the Double Rink Infiltrometer
Experiment, demonstrating how to measure soil infiltration rates and understand water movement through different soil types. |
Prof. A.
K. Keshari and the team site visit for the selection of the site of the Ganga
canal for drinking water supply. |
Prof.
B. R. Chahar conducting a field visit of IGNP and Sirhind canal along
with SE & Executive Engineer of IGNP to evaluate the canal breach problem
and identify potential solutions. |
Prof.
Sumeda Chakma and his students conducting 2D Sand tank experiment to
investigate the transport behaviour of cadmium in
groundwater under varying conditions, aiming to understand its fate and
mobility for potential environmental and remediation applications. |
Prof. Saumava Dey, demonstrating the Artificial Rainfall Simulator
to students, exploring the impact of varying rainfall intensities on runoff
and infiltration. |
Prof.
Gaurav Talukdar explaining the working principles of a Pelton Turbine to
students, demonstrating how high-velocity water jets drive the turbine and
generate mechanical power in hydropower applications. |
Prof.
Manabendra Saharia teaching
students programming concepts and the application of machine learning
techniques in hydrological and water resources modeling. |
Prof.
Rohith A. N. teaching students the fundamentals of hydrological modelling,
explaining the model philosophy and demonstrating computational tools for
simulating watershed hydrology and water resources management. |
Faculty
Members (9)
Prof A.K. Keshari |
Areas of
Interest: Hydrological and Environmental Modelling, Sustainable Development,
Remote Sensing and GIS, FEM, Waste Management and Sewerage System, Policy
Analysis and Risk Assessment, Snow and Avalanche E-mail akeshari[at]civil.iitd.ac.in |
Prof.
Bhagu Ram Chahar |
Area of Research
Interests: Seepage, Drainage, Canal Design E-mail: chahar[at]civil.iitd.ac.in |
Prof.
C T Dhanya |
Areas of
Interest: Hydroclimatological Modelling,
Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos Theory, Stochastic Hydrology, Optimisation in
Water Resource Systems, Data Mining in Hydrology, Water Resources
Management E-mail: dhanya[at]civil.iitd.ac.in
|
Prof. D. R. Kaushal |
Areas of Interest:
Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering, Fluid Mechanics, Sediment
Transport, Hydraulic Structures, Multiphase Flows, Slurry Pipeline and Flume,
Computational Fluid Dynamics, Flow Instrumentation E-mail: kaushal[at]civil.iitd.ac.in |
Prof.
Sumedha Chakma |
Areas of
Interest: Settlement in Landfills, Gas Generation from Landfills, GIS
Based Landfill Management, Bioreactor Landfill, Infiltration Characteristics
of Different Vegetation and Landuse, Watershed
Management, Water Contamination and Remediation, Open Channel Hydraulics,
Contaminant Hydrology E-mail: chakma[at]civil.iitd.ac.in |
Prof.
Manabendra Saharia |
Areas of
Interest: Flood Forecasting, Land Surface Modeling,
Radar and Satellite Precipitation, Statistics, and Machine Learning, Human
Computation E-mail: msaharia[at]civil.iitd.ac.in |
Prof. Saumava Dey |
Areas of Interest:
Computational Hydraulics, Groundwater Hydrology, Surface Water Hydrology,
Hydrological Process Modeling, Geostatistical Modeling E-mail: saumavadey[at]civil.iitd.ac.in |
Prof.
A.N. Rohith |
Areas of Interest:
Urban Stormwater Infrastructure Design, Flood Adaptation, Watershed
Modelling, Climate Change Impact Assessment, Forecast Informed Decision
Making, Hydroclimatic Extremes E-mail: anrohith[at]civil.iitd.ac.in |
Prof. Gaurav Talukdar |
Areas of
Interest: Agro-Hydrology, Riverine Ecosystem,
Optimization approaches, Hydroclimatic Extremes, Agricultural risk assessment
and damage estimation, Mathematical Modeling, WEF
nexus, Remote sensing and land use change studies E-mail: gtalukdar@iitd.ac.in |