Hydraulic and Geodetic Excursion

After the excursion in the summer semester 2020 had to be cancelled due to the Corona pandemic and could only take place in the region around Darmstadt last year, an excursion across the state borders could be offered again in 2022. 28 students from the TU Darmstadt thus had the chance to gain exciting insights into a wide range of topics over five days.

The first stop was in Freiburg at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques. There, Prof. Reiterer and his team gave the group exciting lectures on laser measurement under water and on determining snow depth and water content in snow. From Freiburg, the excursion continued to the destination Partenen. On the second day, Mr Wirth from the civil engineering office of the city of Dornbirn gave an in-depth insight into the Dornbirn flood protection concept. From Dornbirn, the tour continued on foot through the Rappenloch Gorge up to Mount Karren, including further interesting explanations by Mr Wirth. The day was rounded off with a visit to the Rhesi model test hall in Dornbirn, where hydraulic engineering model tests are currently being carried out for the realisation of flood protection in the Rhine Valley of St. Gallen and Vorarlberg.

The third day was dedicated to Illwerke vkw AG, the largest energy supply and service company in Voralberg. The tour of the Illwerke started in the morning with a comprehensive, theoretical insight into the company and the organisational unit of plant measurement technology and hydrography, as well as a visit to a basin monitoring system. In the afternoon, the impressive Kopswerk II pumped storage power plant and the Rifa equalisation basin were visited. Throughout the day, the group was guided by Mr Laufer – Head of the Hydrography Plant Measurement Department – and two of his colleagues. On the fourth day, the group travelled over the Silvretta High Alpine Road to the province of Tyrol, more precisely to Galtür. There, an intensive guided tour through the Tyrolean torrent and avalanche authority began, followed by interesting insights into how the region deals with natural hazards and what has changed in Galtür and the region since the avalanche disaster in 1999. On the fifth and last day of the excursion, on the way back to Darmstadt, a corporate land consolidation for the provision of land for the new ICE railway line Stuttgart-Ulm and the extension of the A8 motorway was inspected in Merklingen. The responsible colleagues from the land consolidation authority took over the tour. In addition to numerous exciting and highly interesting lectures, the networking among the students was also strengthened by the joint evening programme.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who contributed to a successful excursion with their exciting and extremely interesting lectures and guided tours on site.