HR Wallingford to host ‘Scour Olympics’

Owner of Howbery Business Park, HR Wallingford, has successfully bid to host the eighth International Conference on Scour and Erosion (ICSE 2016), which will see over 250 scientists and engineers visit the company’s world leading Fast Flow Facility located at the park.

The conference provides a critical platform for the exchange of ideas and research on the prevention of scour and erosion damage to structures such as bridges, offshore wind farms and communication cables laid on sea beds.

Chief Executive of HR Wallingford and Howbery Business Park, Dr. Bruce Tomlinson, said: “Winning the opportunity to host ICSE 2016 has been likened to the process of winning an Olympic bid in the world of scour and erosion! It also presents a major opportunity for HR Wallingford to showcase our new Fast Flow Facility to the world’s leading scientists and engineers in this field.”

HR Wallingford’s Fast Flow Facility was created to enhance the company’s scour, sediment and structure modelling in the maritime, coastal and energy sectors and has the capacity to generate waves up to a metre high with currents in excess of 1m/s.

Prof. Richard Whitehouse, HR Wallingford’s Technical Director, Coasts & Estuaries, said: “Understanding the complex way waves, currents and sediments interact is vital to the successful delivery of projects in the marine environment. HR Wallingford is extremely respected in this industry and our new facility has helped to secure our bid through increased wave-current-sediment modeling capabilities.”

ICSE 2016 will take place from 12-15 September 2016 at the Mathematical Institute in Oxford with a site visit to HR Wallingford at Howbery Business Park, Wallingford.

Broad topics covered at ICSE conferences include fundamental mechanisms of erosion and scour, modeling (both physical and numerical) of erosion and scour processes and engineering applications that involve scour and erosion process. Abstract submission is open from 1 June 2015.

For further information, contact HR Wallingford or visit www.icse2016.com