Hybrid Sediment Transport Model for the Stability Analysis of the Linguado Channel, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil

This study involves an assessment of various artificial intelligence-related techniques which aim to produce a more robust system for sediment transport modeling. The intelligent systems developed in this research are directly applicable to academic knowledge and use data from a report on water circulation assessment in the Linguado Channel and Babitonga Bay - Santa Catarina, Brazil, developed by the Military Engineering Institute (Instituto Militar de Engenharia - IME). The solution employed for sediment transport was built using an intelligent system from the conception of two hybrid models. The first was a Neuro-Fuzzy (ANFIS) hybrid model for the study of hydrodynamic behavior, aiming to determine flow rate in the channel. The second was a fuzzy genetic model, able to assess sediment transport in the Linguado Channel. The study`s conclusion compares the different effects involved in the dredging equilibrium in the Linguado Channel according to this hybrid model with the results obtained using a model in the MIKE21® software. The main advantage of mathematical modeling is the capacity to make predictions by simulating future scenarios, such as the occurrence of extreme environmental conditions. Hydrodynamic modeling has been seeing wide application in diagnosis with scarce available monitoring data. Hydrodynamic modeling may be also considered as a prerequisite for sediment transport modeling and for water quality modeling. This study proposes a neuro-fuzzy hydrodynamic model to predict the flow rate in the Babitonga Bay, in the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina, combined with a fuzzy genetic model aiming to study sediment transport in the “Linguado” Channel. This analysis is necessary due to the sediment input coming from Babitonga Bay through the Channel. Scenarios were defined based on analyzing their relevance for the stability analysis of a tidal channel. The Linguado Channel in the landfill area is not strictly a tidal channel, although the aspects related to physical mechanisms determining its stability are similar. In this manner, the model used here allows the study of sediment-derived processes, including erosion, sediment transport in water bodies and sediment deposition.