Literature Review of Dredging Physical Models

This U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, special report presents a review of dredging physical model studies with the goal of understanding the most current state of dredging physical modeling, understanding conditions of similitude used in past studies, and determining whether the flow field around a dredging operation has been quantified. Historical physical modeling efforts have focused on the improvement of performance and efficiency. All dredging physical models in the last 20 years have been cutterhead dredges, although approximately one-third of the dredging performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is done by hopper dredges with dragheads. Identified research gaps include simplified draghead and cutterhead shapes, improper sediment scaling, and the lack of flow-field quantification around dredging operations. Quantifying the flow field around dredging operations is the most pressing research gap due to entrainment concerns from regulatory agencies.