Design of River Training Structures Using Morphological Modeling in the Magdalena River, Colombia

The Magdalena River is the second longest river in South America and is home to the Port of Barranquilla, one of the largest Colombian Ports. A numerical model including hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and morphological updating was constructed using Delft3D. This was implemented in order to design river training structures that would deepen the navigation channel to the port, allowing it to accommodate larger ships and become more competitive in the region. The existing model was enhanced and re-validated to conditions during the project construction. It was then employed to re-evaluate and modify the structural design during construction of the system. It was found that the response of the system to the construction was slightly different than was originally expected and the design was modified to incorporate this response. This adaptive modeling approach can be useful in determining the most effective design for projects with a phased construction.