International Workshop on Scour around Hydraulic and Coastal Structures

Quick links

• Topics
• Registration fee
• Programme
• Venue and accomodation
• Letter of invitation
• Call for abstracts
• Organisation
• Contact

About the IAHR-SHCS

The International Workshop on Scour around Hydraulic and Coastal Structures (IWSHCS) was first held in Nanjing, China, in 2023. The second edition was organised in Chengdu, China, in 2024. The upcoming third edition of the workshop will be organised by Deltares and held in Delft at Deltares’ campus.

The goal of this workshop is to provide a platform to bring together researchers and practitioners to discuss the latest state-of-the-art on scour and scour protection research and its translation into practical guidance. The workshop aims to narrow the gap between science and engineering and to ensure that practice is supported by solid, high-quality scientific results.

Topics

The workshop is organised by the IAHR Scour Research Working Group (WG). The workshop topics are therefore centred around the WG ambitions:

• Physical modelling techniques and scale effects for scour research
• Numerical modelling and integration of AI/Scientific Machine Learning
• Eco-friendly scour protection techniques
• Advances in real-time monitoring techniques for scour development
• General topics related to scour, coastal and hydraulic structures

Registration fee

The (early-bird) registration fees have been set as follows:

• IAHR members: €450
• Non-IAHR members: €500
• Students: €225

Registrations submitted after 21 July will incur an additional fee of +50.

Additional fees apply for the conference dinner (85 euro) and the technical tours (75 euro)

Programme at a glance

Monday 28-09-2026 – Welcome to Delft

On Monday, a short course on scour modelling and scour mitigation around piles is offered. A brief description of the course contents is provided below. In the evening, welcome drinks for workshop participants are organised in Delft to informally kick-off the event.

Short course on scour modelling and scour mitigation around piles

In this course, you will be provided with an overview of different techniques for modelling scour development around piles, and on how to design mitigation strategies to prevent or reduce scour development. Scour modelling techniques that will be discussed involve physical models, semi-empirical numerical models like the Dynamic Scour Prediction Model and high-fidelity numerical modelling using CFD.

Various mitigation strategies will be discussed, and participants will learn on how to design their own loose-rock scour protection. The course will involve a live demonstrator in our experimental facilities.

Tuesday 29-09-2026 – Conference day 1: Technical sessions

At the first day of the conference, participants can register and receive their badge and a small gift. After formal opening of the conference, two keynote lectures are provided. After the keynote lectures, technical sessions are organised for presentations of the received contributions. In the evening, no formal programme is organised, although we are arranging an informal surprise activity.

Wednesday 30-09-2026 – Conference day 2: Interactive sessions

At the second day of the conference, we will kick-off with two keynote lectures. After the keynote lectures, we will proceed with moderated panel discussions where leading experts and audience can engage on a variety of topics.

Think of AI and Machine Learning in scour research, translation of research findings into practical guidance or the future of physical modelling for scour research. At the end of the day, there will be a formal closure of the workshop, after which a conference dinner is scheduled where we can unwind after two days of hard work.

Thursday 01-10-2026 –Technical tour

We are currently busy with finalising the programme for the technical tour, working on two different options. The organisation will decide upon the final option as soon as possible.

Option one involves a boat tour around the Rotterdam area, showcasing a variety of hydraulic infrastructure in this busy region. Experts will explain how scour and scour mitigation was accounted for in the design of these structures, and how these are maintained in practice.

Option two involves a site visit to the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier in Zeeland, one of the largest hydraulic structures in the Netherlands. This barrier has experienced significant scour hole development, which was successfully mitigated in recent years.

Venue and Accommodation

The conference will be held at Deltares, in Delft (Boussinesqweg 1, 2629 HV Delft, The Netherlands). Deltares’ campus in Delft contains all facilities required for the workshop and is located close to the TU Delft.

There is ample opportunity for accommodation in the city centre of Delft. Participants can easily find suitable hotels via platforms such as Tripadvisor.

Letter of Invitation

A formal Letter of Invitation for visa purposes can be issued upon request after registration is completed. This letter is intended to assist with visa applications and fundraising efforts and does not constitute financial support from the congress organisers.

Call for abstract

Authors who are still interested in submitting an abstract for this conference may still do so. Please send a message to shcs2026@deltares.nl to ask about the possibilities.

Host organisations

Deltares, Delft, The Netherlands, and Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

Chair of the organising committee

Yorick Broekema, Deltares

Special consultants

• Dawei Guan, Hohai University
• Tiago Ferradosa, FEUP

Local organising/scientific committee

TU Delft: Maria Pregnolato, Bas Hofland, Raj Kamal Arora, and Marcel van Gent (TU Delft and Deltares)

Rijkswaterstaat: Willem Frederik Louwersheimer,

Deltares: Pim van Steijn, Thijs Robijns, Bram Langeveld, Rick Veldhuizen, Natalia Silva-Munoz, Ioanna Saxoni, Antine Reddingius, Desiree Plenker, Joost Kranenborg, Lynyrd de Wit, Minghao Wu, and Radha Ramoutar.

International Scientific Committee

Members of the IAHR Scour Research Working Group (WG).

Contact us for more information

Please send an email if you have questions or need more information.

Send an email