WaterLab
Delft Water Research Cluster
The Delft Water Research Cluster contains various facilities for fundamental research into understanding water systems from laboratory scale to field labs, to grasp the full complexity of real-world water systems. The facilities are used to examine designs and innovations for engineering works on safety against flooding, safe navigation, water buffering, wastewater treatment and drinking water purification and distribution amongst others. The combination of science and engineering, and the broad range of water applications involved make the TU Delft facilities unique and vital for the entire Dutch water sector.
Infrastructure and User Services
The cluster consists of both indoor laboratory and outdoor facilities for research into water resources, and environmental and sanitary engineering and hydraulic engineering. The indoor Water Management lab focuses on water resources and water treatment and contains experimental and bench-scaled testing facilities, in certified ML1 lab, a clean lab for drinking water research and open lab space for scientific experiments. For analysis, the laboratory consists of a range of high-end analytical equipment e.g. GC, ICP-OES, ICP-MS, IC, HPLC, isotope analyzer for stable water isotopes, TOC, Rheometer, and high-end microscope. Outdoor various fieldlabs are present e.g. WaterStreet and PolderRoof, NbS OpenAirLab, and Harnaschpolder wastewater treatment plant.
The facilities of Hydraulic Engineering cover a high variety of flumes for waves, currents and sediment. Sophisticated sensors (ADVs, PTV based on high speed cameras, etc.) make detailed flow analysis possible. Flood Proof Holland is a fieldlab for research and experiments on water safety. It has several water basins and dykes in which floods can be simulated and water levels can be regulated according to the research needs.
The cluster has a large set of field instruments (ADCPs, ADVs, Laserscanners, drones, etc) to measure flow, waves and sediment dynamics in the field. Part of the instruments and facilities are covered by the LRI project Delta-Enigma as part of Danubius-RI
Examples/description of the type of research
This Delft Water Research Cluster is an integration of laboratories for innovative studies on physical, chemical and biological processes which deliver new insights and solutions to water related problem. These can be directly evaluated and validated in the fieldlabs.
The research typically performed is on wastewater treatment and resources recovery, on drinking water purification and distribution, on water management solutions for flood and drought mitigation, on Managed Aquifer Recharge and environmental water quality and on urban heat reduction. Hydraulic Engineering focuses on the analysis and modelling of fluid dynamics and sediment transport in river, estuaries and coastal water systems including the design and impact assessment of human interventions and off-shore infrastructure. The studied flows are mainly characterized by the presence of a free surface. Shallow-water turbulence, sediment transport, and surface wave motion are some examples of research fields in which scientific research is conducted at the highest scientific level.
The Delft Water Research Cluster is extensive and amongst the best in the world but most importantly they span across theory and practice: every indoor small-scale experiment can have an outside larger scale equivalent to ensure valorisation of our knowledge.
How to access the infrastructure?
Access is open for all students, researchers and collaborators. Access requests should be send to head of lab and are evaluated in scientific and user committee. Access is granted based on scientific excellence, innovation and availability. Some prioritization for (MSc) education and PhD research is taken into account. For access to fieldlabs there is a dedicated team that liaises with both the users (e.g. waterboards, municipalities, companies etc.) and the researchers to ensure access and compatibility.