Water and ice are our passion at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW). We work in the domains of hydraulic engineering and structures, river engineering, Comp. Fluid- & Morphodynamics and glaciology. Our fields of activity are inland waters, hydropower, glaciers, natural hazards, river restoration, and river infrastructure. We contribute to the availability of clean and renewable electricity, to the protection against floods and cryospheric hazards, to sustainable watercourses and to the generation of new knowledge in the corresponding fields.
“Respect – Reflect – Respond”: Starting today, you’ll come across this slogan at various places at ETH Zurich. It’s part of the new Respect programme aimed at all members of the university community. These three words summarise how we should treat each other at ETH: on equal terms, willing to reflect on our own thoughts and actions, and responding appropriately in a variety of contexts.
As part of the expansion of Andermatt railway station, the discharge capacity in the Unteralpreuss is to be increased by means of a new pressure bridge. A hydraulic model on a scale of 1:30 was constructed to check the feasibility of the flood engineering and is explained in the following video.
This physical model experiment shows the failure of a zoned earthen embankment dam due to overtopping. Watch the explanation of researcher Matthew Halso on our newest youtube video.