dr. P. Pourteimouri (Paran)

Researcher
ET-CEM-WS
Horst - Ring
p.pourteimouri@utwente.nl
+31534896716
Business card

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Twente and a guest researcher at Deltares, working on the Living Dikes project. Living Dikes are nature-based coastal defense systems that integrate engineered dikes with vegetated foreshores, such as salt marshes. They offer a sustainable alternative to traditional flood defenses by enhancing wave damping while providing ecological and climate-resilience benefits. With climate change driving more frequent storms and sea-level rise, such solutions are becoming increasingly vital. In my current postdoc, I am developing a 3D CFD model of wave-vegetation-dike interactions to investigate the physical processes that govern wave attenuation across vegetated foreshores. Using OpenFOAM, I systematically study how vegetation characteristics and their configuration with the dike influence wave attenuation, overtopping, and sediment transport.

Previously, I completed a 2-year postdoc in the SALTISolutions project (University of Twente and Deltares). There, I developed an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) to evaluate salt intrusion mitigation strategies and their impacts on key indicators for water management. The IAM was combined with a serious gaming environment to form the Delta Management Game (DMG), a participatory decision-support tool that engages stakeholders and facilitates social learning. The DMG provides Rijkswaterstaat, waterboards, drinking water companies, and other stakeholders with insights into the trade-offs of their decisions regarding salt intrusion.

I hold a PhD in Coastal Engineering within the ShoreScape project, where my research focused on CFD modelling of airflow and aeolian sediment transport around buildings at the beach-dune interface. I developed a 3D OpenFOAM model to simulate near-bed airflow and its morphological impacts (erosion-deposition patterns), accounting for parameters such as building geometry, orientation relative to wind, distance from neighbouring buildings, and elevation on poles.

My expertise includes numerical modelling, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), 3D OpenFOAM modelling, wave-structure interactions, aeolian sediment transport, Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), and spatial data analysis. I am passionate about bridging science and practice to develop sustainable, nature-based, and collaborative solutions for climate-resilient water systems.

Organisations

Publications

Article

Numerical modelling of airflow and sediment transport patterns over Aeolian coastal sand dunes: Effects of dune slope and wind direction (2025)Geomorphology, 486. Article 109883. Pourteimouri, P., Jonkheer, A. J., Campmans, G. H. P. & Hulscher, S. J. M. H.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.109883Modelling the influence of beach building pole heights on aeolian morphology and downwind sediment transport (2023)Geomorphology, 436. Article 108791. Pourteimouri, P., Campmans, G. H. P., Wijnberg, K. M. & Hulscher, S. J. M. H.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2023.108791How wind direction and building spacing influences airflow patterns and sediment transport patterns around a row of beach buildings: A numerical study (2023)Aeolian research, 61, 100867. Article 100867. Pourteimouri, P., Campmans, G. H. P., Wijnberg, K. M. & Hulscher, S. J. M. H.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeolia.2023.100867A Numerical Study on the Impact of Building Dimensions on Airflow Patterns and Bed Morphology around Buildings at the Beach (2021)Journal of marine science and engineering, 10(1). Article 13. Pourteimouri, P., Campmans, G. H. P., Wijnberg, K. M. & Hulscher, S. J. M. H.https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10010013

Chapter

Beach-dune modelling in support of Building with Nature for an integrated spatial design of urbanized sandy shores (2021)In Building with Nature perspectives: Cross-disciplinary BwN approaches in coastal regions (pp. 241-259) (Research in Urbanism Series; Vol. 7). TU Delft open. Wijnberg, K., Poppema, D., Mulder, J., van Bergen, J., Campmans, G., Galiforni-Silva, F., Hulscher, S. & Pourteimouri, P.https://doi.org/10.47982/rius.7.136

Conference contribution

Developing an integrated assessment model for salt intrusion mitigation measures in delta systems (2024)In NCR Days 2024: Tomorrow's Rivers: Book of abstracts. Pourteimouri, P., den Haan, R.-J., Kwadijk, J. C. J. & van der Voort, M. C.Beach buildings on poles and their implications for duneward sediment transport: a numerical study (2022)In Proceedings of the 37th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, ICCE 2022. Coastal Engineering Research Council. Pourteimouri, P., Campmans, G., Wijnberg, K. & Hulscher, S.https://doi.org/10.9753/icce.v37.sediment.23The impact of spacing between beach buildings on aeolian eriosion and deposition patterns: A numerical study (2022)In Proceedings 39th IAHR World Congress, 19-24 June 2022, Granada, Spain. IAHR. Pourteimouri, P., Campmans, G. H. P., Wijnberg, K. M. & Hulscher, S. J. M. H.https://cmswebonline.com/iahr2022/epro/pdf/07-04-003-709.pdfCFD Evaluation of airflow patterns around beachhouses with different wind facing sides (2021)In ETMM13 Rhodes, Greece 15-17 September, 2021: Conference Proceedings (pp. 364-366). Easy Conferences Ltd. Pourteimouri, P., Campmans, G. H. P., Wijnberg, K. M. & Hulscher, S. J. M. H.https://easyconferences.eu/etmm13/proceedings/

PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT

Modelling the influence of characteristics, orientation and positioning of beach buildings on airflow and aeolian sediment transport patterns in the surrounding area (2023)[Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT]. University of Twente. Pourteimouri, P.https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036556354

Other contributions

Pourteimouri, P., den Haan, R. J., & van der Voort, M. (2025). Climate-resilient delta systems: Developing an Integrated Assessment Model to assess salt intrusion mitigation measures. 41st IAHR World Congress, Singapore. (Conference proceedings, forthcoming)

den Haan, R. J., & Pourteimouri, P. (2025). Defend the delta: Prototyping and testing a tower defense game on salt intrusion. ISAGA Conference 2025, Stuttgart, Germany. (Conference paper, forthcoming)

Research profiles

Scan the QR code or
Download vCard