Validación del software Basegrain 2.2 de la Escuela Politécnica Federal de Zúrich para determinar la granulometría del lecho de los ríos en Ecuador

Abstract

The granulometry is a parameter widely used in various applications of Civil Engineering, having application in hydraulic studies, hydrological, geological, pavement design and concrete, among others. The method conventionally used for the granulometric characterization includes complications especially in regard to the representative sample taking of the material. As an alternative, a program has been created that calculates the granulometry based on a photographic sample in situ of the material to be characterized. The program is developed by the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering in conjunction with the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology of the Federal Polytechnic School of Zurich under the name of Basegrain2.2. In the present study, the characterization of seven rivers in Ecuador was developed using the conventional methodology and the use of the program with the objective of carrying out the validation of the program for different scenarios for which it was obtained. From the comparison of the methodologies used for the rivers it is established that there are considerable errors when the material of the riverbed has a high content of fine particles, smaller errors are recorded for thicker materials, establishing that the applicability of the program is restricted to the characterization of predominantly coarse materials such as gravels and stones. A modification of the program that allows to identify with greater precision the fine material, as for example the use of higher resolution photographs or filters that better capture the distribution of light, will allow to expand the application of the program