Hydraulics 101: Intro to Hydraulics for Dam Safety

Fluid Mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. Hydraulic topics include concepts such as pipe flow, dam design, pumps, hydropower, flow measurements, and open channel flow.

The flow of water in an open channel in natural rivers is common, however, the solution to estimate water surface elevations can be a difficult problem when everything is considered, especially with the variability of natural channels, but in many cases the major features can be expressed in terms of only a few variables, whose behavior can be described adequately by a simple theory. The principal forces are those of inertia, gravity and viscosity, each of which plays an important role.

The Webinar stress the fundamentals of hydraulics. The class will stress the importance of these fundamentals and their application to dam safety. The Webinar is broken down into four short sessions: (1) Fluid Flow, (2) Uniform Flow in Open Channels, (3) Specific Energy, and (4) Water Surface Profile

Speaker and Presenter Information

Dr. Miller is a nationally-recognized expert in hydrology, hydraulic engineering, and dam safety. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State University, where he was the head of the Water Resources Group prior to joining AECOM in 2006 as a a Science Practice Leader. He has over 40 years of experience in water resources performing research, consulting and publishing in hydrology, hydraulics, floodplain delineation, dam safety, bridge scour, river mechanics and sediment transport.

Dr. Miller served as Chair of the Energy Power Research Institute (EPRI) Task Committee on Standards for PMP for Dam Safety Analysis, he served on the Task Committee of ASCE that established their National Guidelines for the Hydrologic Safety of Dams and served as Chair of a Task Committee for FERC that established their Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety, he co-authored their chapter on hydrologic computations dealing with reservoir analysis.

In 2007 he was awarded the ASDSO Hampton Medal for outstanding contributions to research and practice in hydrologic and hydraulic engineering for dams.

Relevant Government Agencies

Army, Dept of Energy, Dept of Homeland Security, Dept of the Interior, Other Federal Agencies, State Government, County Government, City Government, Municipal Government, FEMA, Federal Government, State & Local Government