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Engineering Insights & Technical Briefs by Prof. Mohammad Saud Afzal

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Case Studies7 min readCase Study
By Prof. Mohammad Saud Afzal

CFD Analysis of Surge Shafts and Water Conductor System — Shongtong Karcham HEP (450 MW)

Shongtong Karcham is a 450 MW run-of-river hydropower project on the Satluj river in Kinnaur district, Himachal Pradesh. Three-dimensional CFD analysis was deployed to validate the hydraulic design of the water conductor system — including surge shafts and flow junctions — prior to construction.

Category:
Paper7 min read
Hydraulics

Discharge performance of plan view of multi-cycle W-form and circular arc labyrinth weir using machine learning

Labyrinth weirs increase spillway discharge capacity by folding the crest into a zigzag pattern, but predicting their performance is notoriously complex. This study demonstrates that machine learning models — particularly SVM regression — outperform traditional empirical formulae in predicting discharge coefficients for W-form and circular arc labyrinth weirs.

By Prof. Mohammad Saud AfzalRead Post
Paper8 min read
Coastal

Prediction of significant wave height using machine learning and its application to extreme wave analysis

Extreme waves pose severe risks to offshore infrastructure and coastal facilities. This study applies machine learning models — including support vector machines and artificial neural networks — to predict significant wave height, and couples the predictions with Generalized Extreme Value theory for return period estimation in offshore structural design.

By Prof. Mohammad Saud AfzalRead Post
Paper7 min read
Coastal

Estimating pier scour depth under combined waves and current using boosting machine-learning models

Bridge pier scour under combined wave-current loading is a highly nonlinear phenomenon that traditional empirical equations struggle to capture. This study deploys ensemble boosting algorithms — AdaBoost, XGBoost, CatBoost, and LightGBM — to predict equilibrium scour depth, offering consulting engineers a data-driven alternative to conservative rule-of-thumb design factors.

By Prof. Mohammad Saud AfzalRead Post