Comprehensive Analysis of Siltation Behavior in the Navigation Channel of Deendayal Port (India): Field Observations, Numerical Modeling, and Engineering Solutions.

Ramakrishnan, B.; Gavali, M., and Jeyaraj, S., 2024. Comprehensive analysis of siltation behavior in the navigation channel of Deendayal Port (India): Field observations, numerical modeling, and engineering solutions. Journal of Coastal Research, 40(1), 138–149. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. Deendayal Port, formerly Kandla Port, is one of India's busiest ports, with a deep inland navigation channel that facilitates easy trade but has been plagued by siltation issues for decades because of the hydromorphodynamic characteristics of this region. This study aims to understand the siltation behavior in the port's navigation channel through field observations and numerical modeling and to suggest suitable engineering solutions. The in situ observations of tidal levels, currents, suspended sediment concentration, and multitemporal bathymetry datasets are used to calibrate a numerical model, developed using Delft3D, to estimate the hydromorphodynamics. As an engineering solution, porous barriers of different lengths and layouts are introduced in the numerical model to minimize siltation along the sides of the channel. It is observed that placing three porous barriers has reduced the siltation by 46 to 56% in the main navigation channel leading to the port. In practice, these porous barriers could be a silt curtain–type structure, which has successfully been adopted in several ports across the globe as an effective siltation stopper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]