Matthew Halso

PhD researcher at @VAW_hydraulics. Computational and physical modeling of embankment dam breaching. Formerly hydraulic engineer at @USACENOLA. Views my own.

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

My first breach experiment with a zoned embankment dam! This dam contains a central vertical core and a sand/gravel shell. The shell on the downstream side is eroded by the overtopping flow, leaving the core unsupported and vulnerable to collapse 🌊
#FlumeFriday

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Today I presented on #scaleeffects in #embankment #damfailure at the International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures! @IAHR

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

So excited and honored to be the new VP of the #YoungProfessionals of the Swiss Committee on Dams! I can't wait to work with President @carolin_friz to organize exchanges of knowledge and experience, meet more dam #engineers, and visit more beautiful and impressive #SwissDams!

[VAW Hydraulics @VAW_hydraulics]

🎉 Also thrilled to share that our PhD students @carolin_friz & @MatthewHalso have been elected as President and Vice President of the #Young #Professionals of the #Swiss Committee on #Dams! 🌟 Congratulations and looking forward to seeing your #leadership skills shine brightly!

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Honored to have my research showcased alongside so many fascinating projects!
#EnergyWeekETH

[VAW Hydraulics @VAW_hydraulics]

Thrilled to announce that our PhD student @MattewHalso’s research on #DamBreaching has been selected as one of the highlighted themes “#DamIntegrity at #EnergyWeekETH! 🌐Ensuring the safety of critical infrastructure is crucial, and that’s exactly what Matthew is investigating.

[The New York Times @nytimes]

A new energy plan is set to transform Michigan, a center of industrial America, into a leader in the fight against climate change. https://t.co/AHCGzoMxXd

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Last week I lectured on #DamBreaching and #DamFailureAnalysis in the #HydraulicEngineering special topics course!
The failure of dams occurs more often than we'd like. We need to understand why, how, and how quickly dams fail, so we can assess the risks and make emergency plans.

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

So exciting to see the construction of a new zoned embankment dam in Austria! As someone who builds a lot of (lab scale) zoned dams, it was great to see how the pros do it.
Nice to be there with some cool people too!

[VAW Hydraulics @VAW_hydraulics]

Amazing excursion last week with students from the #HydraulicEngineering II and III courses! We went to Kühtai 🇦🇹 to see construction of a new #EmbankmentDam for additional #PumpedStorage capacity, and a #Hydropeaking #RetentionBasin. Also a nice night out in Innsbruck!

[Daniel Valero @dValero_]

Quite sad to see this happening:
https://t.co/pLJ83pcyXv

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Excited for the start of the #ICOLD European Club Symposium in Interlaken!

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Today I presented on the development of the model #ZonedEmbankmentDam that I used in #Overtopping breach experiments. Cool to have an engaged audience and insightful questions! 🤓
#iahrWorldCongress

[VAW Hydraulics @VAW_hydraulics]

Great presentation by doctoral researcher @MatthewHalso on #MaterialScaling for Laboratory Experiments of Zoned #DamBreaching due to #Overtopping!
#iahrWorldCongress

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Quite the flume they've got here ⁦@BOKU_HyWa⁩ 😳. Could almost build a 1:1 model of a dike in here (though it would take me a year to compact and shape that much material...so probably better that I don't)

#iahrWorldCongress
#YPN

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Pretty cool venue for the #iahrWorldCongress Welcome Reception 🥂!
Pretty cool people as well 😃.
#ViennaCityHall

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Interesting workshop with @dValero_ on #sustainable #hydraulicstructures! How can we consider sustainability in existing and planned structures?...And what does sustainability mean in each situation? Glad I joined the session (even though I hadn't sign up 😬) #iahrWorldCongress

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Super excited to be at the #iahrWorldCongress in Vienna! The temperature may be hot 🔥 but the #hydraulics is cool 😎

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Pretty great times on the #VAW institute excursion! #Hydropower, #mountains, #BBQ, and #friends...What more could you want on a beautiful summer day in Switzerland 🇨🇭🌞🕶️⛰️🚠

[VAW Hydraulics @VAW_hydraulics]

Nice lab tour and exchange with students from Beijing's Tsinghua University, hosted by @davidevnz. Doctoral researchers @carolin_friz and @MatthewHalso showed off #spillway models, and research engineer Clara Streule showed a model of the #Altbach River! 🫧🌊🏞️

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

We applied a distributed #fiberoptic sensor during a large-scale #dikebreach experiment! #DFO can be used to measure water pressure within the dike, allowing for quick detection of seepage.

[VAW Hydraulics @VAW_hydraulics]

The sensor was tested in a large-scale dam breach experiment here at #VAW. The #seepage flow caused sliding of the downstream toe and face, eventually leading to #overtopping.

#FlumeFriday

[VAW Glaciology @VAW_glaciology]

Switzerland embraces #climate protection ‼️ The nation voted 59.1% in favor of a law to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 🌍. This commitment supports Swiss #glaciers and recognizes the collective scientific efforts of decades 📢. We're overjoyed with this incredible result! 🎉

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

@carolin_friz Thanks Caro!

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Excited to share my first (successful) large-scale dam breach experiment!

#overtopping flow ➡️ breach channel formation ➡️ progressive #surfaceerosion ➡️ #slopefailures ➡️ more #surfaceerosion ➡️ more #slopefailures ➡️ water level drops as reservoir empties.

Happy #FlumeFriday

[Matthew Halso @MatthewHalso]

Libraries are awesome. And civil engineering is old. @ASCEpublishing #centennial #1953