RiverFlow2D

Two-Dimensional Flood and

River Dynamics Model

Reference Manual
July – 2024

Hydronia
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on part of Hydronia,
LLC. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement.
RiverFlow2DTM and OilFlow2DTM are registered trademarks of Hydronia, LLC.
OilFlow2DTM model and documentation produced by Hydronia, LLC, Pembroke Pines, FL. USA.
SMS TM is a registered trademark of Aquaveo, LLC.
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form
or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of
Hydronia, LLC.
Last document modification date: July, 2024.
Technical Support: support@hydronia.com
Contents

List of Figures x

List of Tables xiv

1 References 1

2 Introduction 22
2.1 Summary of RiverFlow2D Features and Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.1.1 Mesh Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.1.2 Numerical Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.1.3 Hydraulic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.1.4 Input Data Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.1.5 Initial Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.1.6 Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.1.7 Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.1.8 Output of Results for Maximum Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.1.9 Output for Hazard Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.1.10 Urban Drainage Module (UD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.1.11 Sediment Transport Module (ST) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.1.12 Mud and Tailings Flow Module (MT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.1.13 Pollutant Transport Module (PL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.1.14 Water Quality Module (WQ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.1.15 OilFlow2D: Oil Spills on Land and Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

3 Installing and Activating RiverFlow2D 31

3.1 Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.2 Software Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.3 Software Activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.3.1 Standalone Activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.3.2 Network Server Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.3.3 Network Client Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.4 Enabling Hydronia Plugins in QGIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.4.1 Enabling RiverFlow2D Plugin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

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 3.4.2 Enabling OilFlow2D Plugin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.4.3 Enabling Macros in QGIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.5 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.5.1 Finding your License Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.5.2 Find Who is Using the Software in a Network Installation . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.5.3 ERROR 641: "You have reached the limit on the maximum number of
simultaneous users of this program." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.5.4 ERROR 659: "This program is configured for network installation only. It
cannot be installed as a standalone system." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.5.5 ERROR 660: "This program is configured for standalone installation only.
It cannot be installed as a network system" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.5.6 ERROR 739: "This program has been installed or copied too many times." 42
3.6 RiverFlow2D Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.7 RiverFlow2D Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.8 RiverFlow2D Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

4 Overview of RiverFlow2D 44

5 Mesh Generation in RiverFlow2D 48

5.1 Cell-size control using the Domain outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5.2 Cell-size control using Polylines in the MeshDensityLine Layer . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.3 Cell-size control using Polygons in the MeshDensityPolygon Layer . . . . . . . . . 51
5.4 Cell-size control using Polylines in the MeshBreakLine Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5.5 Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5.6 Mesh Spatial Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.6.1 Mannings’ n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.7 RiverFlow2D Toolbar Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.7.1 New RiverFlow2D Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.7.2 Generate TriMesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.7.3 Export Files for RiverFlow2D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.7.4 Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.7.5 Animations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.7.6 Cross Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.7.7 Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

6 Hydrodynamic Model 60
6.1 Assumptions of the Hydrodynamic Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
6.2 Flow equations considering prescribed temperature variations . . . . . . . . . . . 61
6.3 Finite-Volume Numerical Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
6.3.1 Numerical Optimizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.3.2 Stability Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.4 Open Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

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 6.4.1 Single Variable Boundary Condition Types (BCTYPE 1 and 6) . . . . . . . 68
6.4.2 Discharge Rating Table (BCTYPE 9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6.4.3 “Free" Open Boundaries (BCTYPE 10, 11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.4.4 Uniform Flow Boundary Condition (BCTYPE 12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.4.5 Numerical Implementation of Open Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.4.6 Closed Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
6.5 Dry/Wet Cell Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
6.5.1 Cell definitions Based on Dry and Wet Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
6.6 Volume Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
6.7 Manning’s n roughness Coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

7 Sediment Transport Module: ST 78

7.1 Model Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
7.2 Sediment transport laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
7.2.1 Bedload transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
7.2.2 Suspended load transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
7.2.3 Capacity suspended load formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.2.4 Active layer composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
7.3 Boundary conditions for the suspended sediment model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
7.4 Boundary conditions for the bedload model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
7.4.1 Water and sediment discharge inflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
7.4.2 Provide only water discharge inflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
7.5 Boundary conditions for combined the bedload and suspended load model . . . . 87
7.6 Sediment Transport Finite-Volume Numerical Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
7.7 Entering Data for the Sediment Transport Model in the Hydronia Data Input Program 88
7.8 Assumptions and considerations of the Sediment Transport Model . . . . . . . . . 89

8 Mud and Tailings Flow Model: MT 91

8.1 Constant-Properties Fixed-Bed (CP-FB) Mud Flow Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
8.2 Variable-Properties Movable-Bed (VP-MB) Flow Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
8.2.1 Bed-material conservative model for multi-grain deposits . . . . . . . . . . 95
8.2.2 Finite-volume Numerical Solution for Compressible Flows . . . . . . . . . 96
8.3 Rheological Formulation and non-Newtonian Basal Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . 97
8.3.1 Variable viscosity and yield stress in the VD-MB model . . . . . . . . . . . 103
8.4 Boundary Conditions for the Variable-Properties Movable-Bed (VP-MB) Flow Model 103
8.5 Entering Data for the Mud and Tailings Flow Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

9 Pollutant Transport Model: PL 107

9.1 Model Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
9.2 Pollutant Transport Finite-Volume Numerical Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
9.3 Entering Data for the Pollutant Transport Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
9.4 Assumptions of the Pollutant Transport Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

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10 Water Quality Model: WQ Module 112
10.1 Hydrodynamic equations and convection-diffusion-reaction equation . . . . . . . . 112

11 Bridge Scour 119

11.1 HEC-18 Method for Pier Scour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
11.2 Pier scour in Coarse Bed material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
11.3 Pier scour in Cohesive Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
11.4 Top and bottom width of pier scour holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
11.5 Abutment Scour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
11.5.1 Scour amplification factor for spill-through abutments and live-bed conditions121
11.5.2 Scour amplification factor for wingwall abutments and live-bed conditions 122
11.5.3 Scour amplification factor for spill-through abutments and clear-water con-
ditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
11.5.4 Scour amplification factor for wingwall abutments and clear-water conditions122

12 Code Parallelization 123

12.1 RiverFlow2D CPU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
12.2 RiverFlow2D GPU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

13 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components 125

13.1 Bridges Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
13.1.1 Bridge Geometry Data File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
13.1.2 Bridge Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
13.2 Bridge Piers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
13.2.1 Bridge Pier Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
13.3 Culverts Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
13.3.1 Culvert Calculation using a Rating Table (CulvertType = 0) . . . . . . . . . 136
13.3.2 Culvert Calculation using Culvert Characteristics (CulvertType = 1,2) . . . 137
13.3.3 Assumptions of Culvert Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
13.4 Gates Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
13.4.1 Gate Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
13.5 Rainfall and Evaporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
13.6 Infiltration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
13.6.1 Horton Infiltration Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
13.6.2 Green-Ampt Infiltration Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
13.6.3 SCS-CN Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
13.7 Wind Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
13.8 Internal Rating Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
13.8.1 Internal Rating Table Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
13.8.2 Assumptions of Internal Rating Table Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
13.9 Sources and Sinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
13.10Weirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

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 13.10.1 Weir Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
13.10.2 Assumptions of Weir Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
13.11Dam Breach Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
13.11.1 Prescribed dam breach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
13.11.2 Dam breach failure by piping erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
13.12Flow discharge through the piping cross section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
13.13Pipe erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
13.14Overtopping erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
13.15Dambreach flow as internal boundary condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

14 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP) 165

14.1 Control Data Panel (.DAT file) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
14.2 Sediment Transport Panel (.SEDS and .SEDB Files) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
14.3 Urban Drainage EPA-SWMM Panel (.LSWMM File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
14.4 Mud and Tailings Flow Data Panel (.MUD File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
14.4.1 Optional Viscosity or Yield Stress Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
14.5 Pollutant Transport panel (.SOLUTES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
14.6 Graphic Output Options Tab (.PLT File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
14.7 Profile Output Panel (.PROFILES File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
14.8 Cross Section Output Panel (.XSECS File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
14.9 Culverts Panel (.CULVERTS File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
14.10Internal Rating Tables Panel (.IRT File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
14.11Weirs Panel (.WEIRS File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
14.12Sources/Sinks Panel (.SOURCES File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
14.13Bridge Scour Panel (.SCOUR File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
14.14Bridge Piers Panel (.PIERS File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
14.15Observation Points Panel (.OBS File) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
14.16Tools Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
14.16.1 Process Rainfall and Evaporation Data from ASCII Grid Files Tool . . . . . 194
14.16.2 HEC-RAS Data Extraction Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

15 Input Data File Reference 198

15.1 Run Control Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
15.1.1 Run Control Data File: .DAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
15.2 Mesh Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
15.2.1 Mesh Data File: .FED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
15.2.2 Open Boundary Conditions Data Files: .IFL and .OBCP . . . . . . . . . . 215
15.2.3 Mesh Boundary Data File: .TBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
15.3 Bridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
15.3.1 Bridges Data File: .BRIDGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
15.3.2 Bridge Cross Section Geometry Data File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

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15.4 Culverts Data File: .CULVERTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
15.4.1 Example of a .CULVERTS file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
15.4.2 Culvert Depth-Discharge Rating table Data Files for CulvertType=0 . . . . 228
15.4.3 Culvert Characteristic Data Files for CulvertType = 1, 2 . . . . . . . . . . . 230
15.4.4 Example of the culvert characteristic data file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
15.4.5 Comments for the .CULVERTS and culvert characteristics files . . . . . . 235
15.5 Dam Breach Data File: .DAMBREACH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
15.5.1 Example of a .DAMBREACH file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
15.5.2 Breach time evolution data file for prescribed failure mode . . . . . . . . . 240
15.5.3 Comments for the .DAMBREACH file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
15.6 GATES Data Files: .GATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
15.6.1 Example of a .GATES File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
15.6.2 Gate Aperture Time Series File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
15.6.3 Example of a Gates Aperture Data File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
15.7 Internal Rating Table Data File: .IRT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
15.7.1 Example of a .IRT file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
15.7.2 Comments for the .IRT file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
15.8 Rainfall And Evaporation Data File: .LRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
15.8.1 Comments for the .LRAIN file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
15.8.2 Example of a Hyetograph and Evaporation data file . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
15.8.3 Comments for the Hyetograph and Evaporation data file . . . . . . . . . . 248
15.9 Infiltration Data File: .LINF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
15.9.1 Example of a .LINF file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
15.9.2 Comments for the .LINF file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
15.9.3 Example of a Infiltration parameter data file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
15.10Manning’s n Variable with Depth Data File: .MANNN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
15.10.1 Comments for the .MANNN file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
15.10.2 Example of a Manning’s variable with depth data file . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
15.10.3 Comments for the Mannign’s n variable with depth data file . . . . . . . . . 254
15.10.4 Bridge Piers Drag Forces File: .PIERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
15.11Bridge Pier and Scour Data File: .SCOUR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
15.11.1 Example of a .SCOUR file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
15.11.2 Comments for the .SCOUR File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
15.12Sources and Sinks Data File: .SOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
15.12.1 Example of a .SOURCES file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
15.12.2 Comments for the .SOURCES File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
15.13Multiple Sources file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
15.13.1 Example of a multiple source file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
15.14Weirs Data File: .WEIRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
15.14.1 Example of a .WEIRS file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
15.14.2 Comments for the .WEIRS File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

vi
15.15Wind Data File: .WIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
15.15.1 Example of a .WIND file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
15.15.2 Comments for the .WIND File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
15.15.3 Wind Velocity Data File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
15.15.4 Example of a Wind Velocity and Data File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
15.16Oil Containment Booms Data File: .BOOMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
15.16.1 Example of a .BOOMS file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
15.17Mud and Tailings Flow Data File: .MUD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
15.17.1 Example of a .MUD file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
15.17.2 Optional Viscosity or Yield Stress Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
15.17.3 Mud and Tailings Module Initial Concentration Data File: .CINITIAL . . . . 277
15.17.4 Initial Bed Fractions Data File: .FBINITIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
15.17.5 Mud and Tailings Module Initial Hydraulic Conditions Data File: .INITIAL-
STATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
15.18Oil on Land Model File: .OILP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
15.18.1 Example of a .OILP file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
15.18.2 Temperature-Viscosity-Density Table file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
15.18.3 Temperature vs Density Time Series file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
15.18.4 Temperature vs Viscosity Time Series file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
15.18.5 Temperature vs Yield Stress Time Series file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
15.18.6 Environmental Parameters Time Series file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
15.19Oil on Water File: .OILW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
15.19.1 Example of a .OILW file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
15.19.2 Accumulated Volume Input File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
15.19.3 Example of a Accumulated Volume File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
15.19.4 Spill Release File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
15.19.5 Spill Release File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
15.20Pollutant Transport Module Data File: .SOLUTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
15.20.1 Example of a .SOLUTES file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
15.20.2 Pollutant Transport Module Initial Concentration Data File: .CINITIAL . . . 302
15.21Sediment Transport Data Files: .SEDS and .SEDB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
15.21.1 .SEDS file for suspended sediment data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
15.21.2 .SEDB file for bed load transport data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
15.21.3 Sediment Transport Module Initial Bed Fractions Data File: .FBINITIAL . . 309
15.22Urban Drainage Module Data File: .LSWMM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
15.22.1 Example of a .LSWMM file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
15.23Output control data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
15.23.1 Observation Points Data File: .OBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
15.23.2 Graphical Output Control Data File: .PLT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
15.23.3 Data for Profile Result Output: .PROFILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
15.23.4 Cross Section Data for Result Output File: .XSECS . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

vii
 15.24Elevation data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
15.24.1 X Y Z data with header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
15.25Boundary conditions data files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
15.25.1 One Variable Boundary Condition Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
15.25.2 Two Variables Boundary Condition Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
15.25.3 Multiple-Variable Boundary Condition Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
15.25.4 Stage-Discharge Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
15.25.5 Culvert Depth-Discharge Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

16 Output File Reference 328

16.1 Output File Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
16.1.1 Essential files required to generate maps, graphics and animations . . . . 332
16.2 General Output Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
16.2.1 Output times .outfiles file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
16.2.2 Output times for the Oil Spill on Water model .outfilesoilw file . . . . . . . . 334
16.2.3 Run Options Summary .outi and .oute files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
16.2.4 Mesh Data and Mesh Metrics .meshouti and .meshoute files . . . . . . . . 337
16.2.5 Run Summary .rout file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
16.2.6 General Model Result Files state*.out, stateN.out, and stateOL.out Files . 340
16.2.7 Maximum Value Tabular .maxi and .maxe Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
16.2.8 Observation Point Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
16.2.9 Hot Start 2binitialized.hotstart File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
16.2.10 Establishing More Complex Initial Conditions using the .INITIALSTATE File
[Only Available for the MT Module] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
16.2.11 Mass Balance Output File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
16.3 Component Output Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
16.3.1 Booms .OUTBOOMS Output File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
16.3.2 Culvert CULVERT_culvertID.out Output Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
16.3.3 Internal Rating Table IRT_irtID.out Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
16.3.4 Weir Output .weiri and .weire Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
16.4 Cross Section and Profile Output Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
16.4.1 General Cross Section .xseci and .xsece Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
16.4.2 Cross Section Hydrograph .xsech and .xsecsed Files . . . . . . . . . . . 356
16.4.3 Profile .prfi and .prfe Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
16.5 Output Files for QGIS Post-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
16.5.1 General Results at Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
16.5.2 Oil Spill on Land Considering Heat Transfer Concentration Files (OilFlow2D
Overland Spills Module) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
16.5.3 Pollutant Concentration Files (PL Module) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
16.5.4 Suspended Sediment Concentration Files (ST Module) . . . . . . . . . . . 361
16.5.5 Mud and Tailings Concentration and Property Files (MT Module) . . . . . 361

viii
 16.5.6 Oil and Plastics Output Files (OilFlow2D Spills On Water and Plastics Mod-
ules) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
16.5.7 Maximum Value Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
16.5.8 Time-to-Depth at Cells Output File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
16.5.9 Hazard Intensity Values at Cells Output File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
16.6 VTK Output Files for Paraview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

17 RiverFlow2D Tools 370

17.1 Batch processing of model runs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
17.1.1 Using a MS-DOS script to perform multiple batch runs . . . . . . . . . . . 370
17.1.2 Using a Python script within QGIS to perform multiple batch runs . . . . . 371
17.1.3 Using a Python script through a batch file to perform multiple runs . . . . . 372

18 References 373

ix
List of Figures

2.1 RiverFlow2D triangular-cell mesh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

2.2 Plot showing water surface elevations computed with RiverFlow2D. . . . . . . . . 30

3.1 Location of RiverFlow2D Documentation folder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

4.1 Standard layers created when using the New RiverFlow2D Project command. . . 44

5.1 Typical RiverFlow2D flexible mesh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

5.2 CellSize dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5.3 Mesh generated based on an external polygon with CellSize = 50ft , and an inter-
nal polygon with CellSize = 10ft, both entered on the Domain Outline layer. . . . 50
5.4 Mesh generated based on the polygons of Figure 5.3 adding the two polylines on
the MeshDensityLine layer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.5 Mesh generated based on the polygon on the MeshDensityPolygon layer. . . . . 51
5.6 Mesh generated based on the polygons and polylines of Figure 5.4 adding the
one polylines on the MeshBreakLine layer. Note how unlike in the MeshDenstity-
Line layer, the polylines entered in the MeshBreakLine layer force the mesh to
have nodes along the polylines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5.7 QGIS Layer Panel showing the Boundary Conditions layer selected. . . . . . . . 52
5.8 Select Toggle Editing (pencil) and Add Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.9 Inflow Boundary Condition Polygon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.10 Boundary Condition Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.11 Boundary Condition BC Data panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.12 QGIS Layer Panel showing the Manning N layer selected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.13 Select Toggle Editing (pencil) and Add Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.14 Manning’s n polygon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.15 New Project Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.16 Mesh Generation Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.17 Schematic view of the landslide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.18 Add LandSlides layer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.19 Depth or volume landslide attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.20 Concentration for all classes forming the landslide material. . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

x
6.1 Piecewise uniform representation of the flow variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
6.2 Cell parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6.3 Cell parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6.4 Open and closed boundary conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
6.5 Required gap between adjacent open boundary conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
6.6 Inflow water discharge imposed as velocities (BCTYPE 6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6.7 Rectangular inlet cross section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
6.8 Irregular inlet cross section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
6.9 Evaluation of dmin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
6.10 New water level for the inlet section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
6.11 Solid wall condition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

7.1 Cell parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

7.2 Hydronia Data Input Program Sediment Transport panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

8.1 Velocity and stress distribution for the cohesive viscoplastic model. . . . . . . . . 98
8.2 Velocity and stress distribution for the frictional no-linear viscoplastic model. . . . 100
8.3 Basal resistance behavior for the frictional no-linear viscoplastic model (8.35). . . 101
8.4 Hydronia Data Input Program Mud/Tailings Flow panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
8.5 Yield stress formulas as a function of volume concentration Cv . . . . . . . . . . 105
8.6 Viscosity formulas as a function of volume concentration Cv . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

↓ ↓
9.1 Physical representation of solute mass exchange between cells with qi−1/2 , qi+1/2 >
0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
9.2 Extraction of mass solute in an outlet boundary cell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
9.3 Hydronia Data Input Program Pollutant Transport panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

12.1 Speed up using RiverFlow2D parallelized code as a function of number of pro-

cessor cores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
12.2 Speed up using RiverFlow2D parallelized code as a function of number of pro-
cessor cores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

13.1 Hydronia Data Input Program Control Data panel with the Bridges component se-
lected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
13.2 Front view of a bridge cross section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
13.3 Top view of a bridge showing the cross sections of interest. Only two piers are
depicted for simplicity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
13.4 Simple example of A1 ,A2 , A3 and A4 used to calculate head loss in free surface
bridges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
13.5 Simple example of A1 ,A2 , A3 and A4 used to calculate head loss in a partially
submerged bridges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

xi
13.6 Simple example of A1 ,A2 , A3 and A4 used to calculate head loss in fully sub-
merged bridges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
13.7 Application of the scheme in triangular structured meshes. Normal bridge (left)
and oblique bridge (right). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
13.8 Bridge pier proportions used to asses the influence of the structure width. . . . . 133
13.9 Influence of the structure width on the total head change (∆H) across the bridge
as a function of the Froud number downstream. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
13.10 Hydronia Data Input Program Control Panel dialog with the Bridge Piers compo-
nent selected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
13.11 Piers inside cells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
13.12 Schematic view of a rectangular pier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
13.13 Hydronia Data Input Program Global Parameters dialog with the Culverts Com-
ponent selected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
13.14 Schematic cut view perpendicular to a gate structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
13.15 Flow modes across gates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
13.16 Hydronia Data Input Program Control Data panel with the Gates Component se-
lected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
13.17 Water levels for discharge under a gate in submerged conditions formulated as in
(G1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
13.18 Water levels for discharge under a gate in submerged conditions formulated as in
(G2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
13.19 Hydronia Data Input Program Control Data panel with the IRT component selected.153
13.20 Hydronia Data Input Program Control Data panel with the Sources and Sinks
component selected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
13.21 Hydronia Data Input ProgramControl Data panel with the Weirs component se-
lected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
13.22 Schematic dimensions for prescribed dam breach failure mode. . . . . . . . . . . 158
13.23 Cross-section of the expansion due to piping process before the dam collapse
(left) and trapezoidal breach evolution after the dam collapse (right). . . . . . . . 159
13.24 Schematic diagram of the piping situation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
13.25 Trapezoidal breach evolution for the overtopping erosion case. . . . . . . . . . . 162
13.26 Internal boundary cells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

14.1 Hydronia Data Input ProgramOpen Project Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

14.2 Main Hydronia Data Input Program window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
14.3 Control Data Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
14.4 Sediment Transport Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
14.5 Urban Drainage EPA-SWMM Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
14.6 Mud/Tailings Flow Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
14.7 Pollutant Transport panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
14.8 Graphic Output Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

xii
14.9 Profile Output File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
14.10 Cross Section Output Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
14.11 Culverts Panel showing data in rating curve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
14.12 Internal Rating Tables Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
14.13 Weirs Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
14.14 Sources/Sinks Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
14.15 Bridge Scour Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
14.16 Bridge Piers Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
14.17 Observation Points Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
14.18 Tools Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

15.1 Example of a RiverFlow2D Mesh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

15.2 Front view of a bridge cross section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
15.3 Multi-sources file read. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
15.4 Multi-sources dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
15.5 Color palettes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

xiii
List of Tables

4.1 RiverFlow2D layers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

6.1 Required boundary conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

6.2 Open Boundary condition types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

7.1 Summary of bedload transport formulas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

7.2 Formulas to calculate sediment settling velocity ωs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

8.1 Rheological basal resistance formulations used in RiverFlow2D MT. . . . . . . . 102

10.1 State variables used to simulate each option in the quality module . . . . . . . . 113
10.2 Peter matrix of processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
10.3 Additional equations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
10.4 Empirical formulas for computing surface heat exchange coefficient. . . . . . . . 117
10.5 Description of all parameters used in the RiverFlow2D WQ module. . . . . . . . . 118

13.1 Variable Descriptions for the bridge cross section geometry file. . . . . . . . . . . 129
13.2 Manning’s n roughness coefficients for various culvert materials. Adapted from
Froehlich (2003). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
13.3 Entrance loss coefficients Ke . Adapted from Froehlich (2003). . . . . . . . . . . . 138
13.4 Culvert inlet control formula coefficients. Adapted from Froehlich (2003). . . . . . 139
13.5 Culvert inlet configurations. Adapted from www.xmswiki.com/xms/. . . . . . . . . 141
13.6 Horton initial infiltration for different soils. Source: Akan(1993). . . . . . . . . . . 146
13.7 Horton final infiltration for different soils. Source: Akan(1993). . . . . . . . . . . . 147
13.8 Mean values and standard deviation for Green-Ampt model parameters. Source:
Rawls & Brakensiek 1983. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
13.9 Antecedent Moisture Content groups (adapted from Mishra et al. (2003)). . . . . 151

14.1 Buttons in the Control Data Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

14.2 Language options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
14.3 Time Control Data Frame on the Control Data Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
14.4 Units Frame on the Control Data Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
14.5 Computation Control Data Frame on the Control Data Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . 168
14.6 Output Options Data Frame on the Control Data Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

xiv
14.7 Modules Data Frame on the Control Data Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
14.8 Components Data Frame on the Control Data Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
14.9 Initial Conditions Data Frame on the Control Data Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
14.10 Parameters on the Sediment transport Mode frame and buttons of the Sediment
Transport Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
14.11 Parameters on the Suspended Sediment transport frame of the Sediment Trans-
port Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
14.12 Parameters on the Bed Load Sediment transport frame of the Sediment Transport
Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
14.13 Parameters on the Urban Drainage EPA-SWMM Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
14.14 Parameters on the Mud/Tailings Flow Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
14.15 Parameters on the Pollutant Transport Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
14.16 Parameters on the Graphic Output Option Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
14.17 Parameters on the Profile Output Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
14.18 Parameters on the Inflow Boundary Data Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
14.19 Parameters on the Culverts Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
14.20 Parameters on the Internal Rating Tables Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
14.21 Parameters on the Weirs Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
14.22 Parameters on the Sources/Sinks Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
14.23 Parameters for piers and abutments on the Bridge Scour Panel. . . . . . . . . . . 190
14.24 Parameters on the Bridge Piers Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
14.25 Parameters on the Observation Points Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
14.26 Files generated by the HEC-RAS Data Extraction Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

15.1 List of Input Data Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

15.2 Variable Descriptions for the .DAT File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
15.3 Variable Descriptions for the .FED File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
15.4 Variable Descriptions for the .IFL and .OBCP Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
15.5 Boundary Condition Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
15.6 Supercritical Flow Regime Boundary Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
15.7 Variable Descriptions for the .TBA File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
15.8 Variable Descriptions for the .BRIDGES File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
15.9 Variable Descriptions for the bridge cross section geometry file. . . . . . . . . . . 226
15.10 Variable Descriptions for the .CULVERTS File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
15.11 Variable Descriptions of Culvert Depth-Discharge Data files. . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
15.12 Variable Descriptions for the Culvert Characteristic file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
15.13 Manning’s n roughness coefficients for various culvert materials. Adapted from
Froehlich (2003). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
15.14 Entrance loss coefficients Ke . Adapted from Froehlich (2003). . . . . . . . . . . . 232
15.15 Culvert inlet control formula coefficients. Adapted from Froehlich (2003). . . . . . 233
15.16 Culvert inlet configurations. (Adapted from www.xmswiki.com/xms/). . . . . . . . 234

xv
15.17 Variable Descriptions for the .DAMBREACH File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
15.18 Variable Descriptions for the .GATES File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
15.19 Variable Descriptions for the .GATES File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
15.20 Variable Descriptions for the .IRT File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
15.21 Variable Descriptions for the .LRAIN File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
15.22 Variable Descriptions for the Hyetograph and Evaporation Data File. . . . . . . . 248
15.23 Variable Descriptions for the .LINF File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
15.24 Variable Descriptions for the Infiltration Parameter File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
15.25 Antecedent Moisture Content groups (adapted from Mishra et al. (2003) . . . . . 251
15.26 Variable Descriptions for the .MANNN File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
15.27 Variable Descriptions for the Manning’s n variable with Depth Data File. . . . . . 253
15.28 Variable Descriptions for the .PIERS File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
15.29 Drag Coefficients for Bridge Piers. Adapted from Froehlich (2003). . . . . . . . . 255
15.30 Variable Descriptions for the .SCOUR File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
15.31 Variable Descriptions for the .SOURCES File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
15.32 Variable Descriptions for the Multiple Sources File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
15.33 Variable Descriptions for the .WEIRS File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
15.34 Variable Descriptions for the .WIND File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
15.35 Variable Descriptions for the Wind Velocity File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
15.36 Variable Descriptions for the .BOOMS File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
15.37 Variable Descriptions for the .MUD File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
15.38 Flow resistance relation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
15.39 Variable Descriptions for the .OILP File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
15.40 Flow resistance relations for the OilFlow2D model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
15.41 Variable Descriptions for the .OILW File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
15.42 Variable Descriptions for the Accumulated Spill Volume File. . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
15.43 Variable Descriptions for the Spill Path File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
15.44 Explanation of the example .SOLUTES file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
15.45 Variable Descriptions for the .SOLUTES File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
15.46 Variable Descriptions for the .SEDS File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
15.47 Variable Descriptions for the .SEDB File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
15.48 Variable Descriptions for the .LSWMM File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
15.49 Variable Descriptions for the .OBS File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
15.50 Variable Descriptions for the .PLT File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
15.51 Supported image formats and their corresponding world file extensions. . . . . . 317
15.52 Variable Descriptions for the .PROFILES File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
15.53 Variable Descriptions for the .XSECS File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
15.54 Variable Descriptions for the .EXP File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
15.55 Variable Descriptions of Boundary Condition Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
15.57 Variable Descriptions of Two-Variable Boundary Condition Files. . . . . . . . . . 324
15.59 Variable Descriptions of Multiple-Variable Boundary Condition Files. . . . . . . . 325

xvi
xvii

15.60 Variable Descriptions of Two-Variable Boundary Condition Files. . . . . . . . . . 326

15.61 Variable Descriptions of Culvert Depth-Discharge Data Files. . . . . . . . . . . . 327

16.1 List of Output Data Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

16.2 List of Output Data Files for RiverFlow2D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
16.3 Essential output files to create graphs with RiverFlow2D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
16.4 Variables reported in .meshouti and .meshoute Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
16.5 Variable definitions for state*.out files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
16.6 Variables Reported on the Maximum Value Tabular Files when not using the Sed-
iment Transport Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
16.7 Variables Reported on the Maximum Value Tabular Files when using the Sedi-
ment Transport Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
16.8 Variables Reported on the Observation Point Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
16.9 Variables Reported on the Weir Point Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
16.10 Variables Reported on cell_time_*.textout Output Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
16.11 Variables Reported on cell_ol*.textout Output Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
16.12 Variables Reported on cell_conc*.textout Output Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
16.13 Variables Reported on cell_st*.textout Output Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
16.14 Variables Reported on cell_mt*.textout Output Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
16.15 Variables Reported on par_time*.textout Output Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
16.16 Variables Reported on Cell_oil_time*.textout Output Files. . . . . . . . . . . 364
16.17 Variables Reported on the <ProjectName>_..._oilw_max.textout . . . . . . . . . 365
16.18 Variables Reported on the <ProjectName>_..._cells_max.textout . . . . . . . . . 367
16.19 Variables Reported on the <ProjectName>_time2depths_cells.textout File. . . . 368
16.20 Variables Reported on the <ProjectName>_cells_hazard.textout File. . . . . . . 368
16.21 USBR Hazard Classification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
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 2
Introduction

RiverFlow2D is a combined hydrologic and hydraulic, mobile bed and pollutant transport finite-
volume model for rivers, estuaries and floodplains based on the RiverFlow2D model . It is part of
the Hydronia suite of models that includes OilFlow2D. RiverFlow2Dcan route floods in rivers and
simulate inundation over floodplains and complex terrain at high resolution and with remarkable
speed, stability, and accuracy. The use of adaptive triangular-cell meshes enables to resolve the
flow field around key features in riverine, estuarine, and coastal environments.
This version of RiverFlow2D model includes a Graphical User Interface (GUI) based upon a plugin
developed by Hydronia for the Open Source Geographical Information System QGIS (www.qgis.org).
The plugin was partially funded by the InterAmerican Development Bank. The integration of the
RiverFlow2D model and the QGIS software system provides interactive functions to generate
and refine the flexible mesh used by RiverFlow2D, familiar GIS layers and tools to construct a
high-level representation of the model, facilitating assigning boundary conditions and Manning’s
n values, and all the other data layers required by RiverFlow2D components, allowing the user to
efficiently manage the entire modeling process.
RiverFlow2D offers a comprehensive set of visualization tools including map rendering, anima-
tions, and exporting graphs in shapefile format and Google Earth.
RiverFlow2D computation engine implements an accurate, fast, and stable finite-volume solu-
tion method that eliminates the boundary and hot start difficulties of some old generation two-
dimensional flexible mesh models. RiverFlow2D can integrate hydraulic structures such as cul-
verts, weirs, bridges, gates, internal rating tables, and internal dam and levee breaches. The
model also accounts for distributed wind stress on the water surface. The hydrologic capabili-

22
23 Introduction

ties include spatially distributed rainfall, evaporation and infiltration. The model also accounts for
distributed wind stress on the water surface.
This reference manual provides instructions to install RiverFlow2D, and explains the fundamentals
of the model and its components, as well as the numerical methods used to solve the governing
equations. It also presents a detailed description of the input data files and output files. A separate
tutorial document provides detailed guidelines to use many of the RiverFlow2D capabilities, that
will help you get started using the model and learning to apply model components such as bridges,
culverts, rainfall and infiltration, weirs, sediment transport, etc.

Figure 2.1 – RiverFlow2D triangular-cell mesh.

2.1 Summary of RiverFlow2D Features and Capabilities 24

2.1 Summary of RiverFlow2D Features and

Capabilities

2.1.1 Mesh Generator

• Automatic generation of flexible triangular-cell mesh.

• Mesh refinement along density polylines or inside polygons.

• Use of breaklines to adjust mesh along terrain features.

• Use of multiple Digital Elevation Models in the same mesh according to user selected areas.

• Spatially interpolation of DEM elevations to cells.

• Mesh cell and node numbering optimization.

2.1.2 Numerical Engine

• Spatial discretization using triangular cells.

• High performance Finite-Volume engine.

• Automatic and dynamic selection of the computational time step.

• Dry cell integration.

• Exact volume conservation.

• Double-precision computations for higher accuracy.

• Fully parallelized with OpenMP for faster execution in Multiple-Core computers.

• GPU version for up to >700X faster simulations using NVIDIA GPU Graphic Cards.

2.1.3 Hydraulic Components

• Internal dam and levee breaches.

• Culverts using the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) formulation.

• Bridge hydraulics in 2D including pressure flow and overtopping.

• Bridge pier drag forces.

• Weirs with variable crest elevations.

• Gates.
25 Introduction

• Dam Breach (prescribed failure, piping and overtopping erosion)

• Internal hydraulic structures.

• Sources and sinks.

• Spatially distributed rainfall and evaporation.

• Spatially distributed infiltration.

• Spatially distributed wind stress.

• Depth dependent Manning’s n.

• Bridge pier and abutment scour.

• Sequential automated batch runs for each input source/spill.

2.1.4 Input Data Formats

• Metric or English units.

• ASCII X, Y, Z.

• ESRI ASCII grid files.

• USGS DEM.

• ESRI shapefiles.

• Autodesk DXF.

• TIFF, GIF, JPG, etc. raster’s.

• Any raster or vector data format accepted by QGIS.

2.1.5 Initial Conditions

• Dry-bed.

• User-defined constant water elevations over polygons.

• User-defined variable water elevations given by raster data.

2.1 Summary of RiverFlow2D Features and Capabilities 26

2.1.6 Boundary Conditions

• Water discharge hydrograph.

• Water discharge and water elevation vs time.

• Water elevation vs time.

• Uniform flow.

• Rating tables.

• Free outflow.

• Inflow suspended sediment concentrations (ST Module).

• Inflow solid discharge for bed load option (ST Module).

• Inflow pollutant concentrations (PL Module).

2.1.7 Output Options

• Results at cross sections and profiles.

• Observation points: time series at user selected locations.

• Dynamic plots while the model runs.

• Velocity field, depth and water surface elevations.

• Bed shear stress.

• Froude Number.

• Accumulated rainfall.

• Accumulated infiltration.

• Erosion and deposition depths.

• Bed elevation changes.

• Sediment fluxes.

• Time to 0.3 m (1 ft), time to 0.5 m (2 ft) , time to 1 m (3 ft), time to peak depth, and frontal
wave arrival time.

• Inundation time during which depth is greater than 0.1 m or 4 in.

• Frontal wave arrival time.

• ESRI shapefiles.

• GIS post processing plots including shapefiles and raster images.

• Paraview VTK.
27 Introduction

2.1.8 Output of Results for Maximum Values

• Maximum velocity magnitude.

• Maximum depths.

• Maximum water surface elevations.

• Maximum depth times velocity.

• Maximum Shear Stress.

• Maximum Impact force per unit width.

2.1.9 Output for Hazard Assessments

• United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) Hazard for Homes.

• United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) Hazard for Vehicles.

• United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) Hazard for Adults.

• United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) Hazard for Children.

• Swiss method for flooding.

• Swiss method for debris flow.

• Austrian method for river flooding.

• Austrian method for torrents Tr = 10 yrs.

• Austrian method for torrents Tr = 100 yrs.

• UK method

• Australia flood hazard

2.1.10 Urban Drainage Module (UD)

• Surface flooding integrated with storm drainage network.

• Dynamic integration with EPA-SWMM.

• User defined catchment polygons that define surface-storm drain exchange areas.
2.1 Summary of RiverFlow2D Features and Capabilities 28

2.1.11 Sediment Transport Module (ST)

• Separate calculation of suspended and bed load sediment transport.

• Multiple size fractions.

• Bed-changes (erosion-deposition).

• Spatial and temporal bed class dynamics.

• 10 sediment-transport formulas.

• Sediment transport over rigid bed.

• Limited maximum bed elevation gradient.

• Maximum erosion depth areas.

• Coupled or decoupled computation.

2.1.12 Mud and Tailings Flow Module (MT)

The MT module was previously known as Mud and Debris Flow Module (MD).

• Non-Newtonian fluids.

• Eight rheological formulations.

• Granular flow.

• Variable density, viscosity, and yield stress.

• Multiple size fractions in Inflow and bed material.

• Erosion and deposition.

• Multiple inflows and initial deposits with variable properties.

• Tailings prescribed dam breach.

• Dynamic calculation of tailings deposit volume mobilization.

2.1.13 Pollutant Transport Module (PL)

• Advection-Dispersion-Reaction.

• Reaction rates between pollutants/solutes.

• Simultaneous computation of multiple solutes.

29 Introduction

2.1.14 Water Quality Module (WQ)

• Advection-Dispersion-Reaction based on the US Environmental Protection Agency EPA-
WASP model formulation.

• Considers the following constituents:

– Ammonium nitrogen (NH+

4 − N).

– Nitrate Nitrogen (NO−

3 − N).

– Inorganic phosphorus (IP).

– Phytoplankton carbon (PHYT).
– Carbonaceous biological oxygen demand (CBOD).
– Dissolved oxygen (DO).
– Organic nitrogen (ON).
– Organic phosphorus (OP).
– Temperature (T).
– Total coliform bacteria (TC).

2.1.15 OilFlow2D: Oil Spills on Land and Water

• Overland oil spills model

– Model to simulate spills of crude oils and viscous fluids over complex terrain.
– Heat transfer from oil to environment including oil viscosity, density and yield stress
variation with temperature.

• Oil-spills on water model

– Model to simulate spills of crude oils and viscous fluids in rivers, lakes and coastal
areas.
– Particle-tracking model that represent the oil trayectory in 3D
– Oil fate processes including evaporation, emulsification, and shore interaction.
30 Introduction

Figure 2.2 – Plot showing water surface elevations computed with RiverFlow2D.
 Installing and Activating RiverFlow2D
3
RiverFlow2D installation includes the most current version of QGIS that has been tested to work
with the model. This section will assist you in setting RiverFlow2D and enabling it in QGIS.

3.1 Hardware Requirements

RiverFlow2D is supported on 64-bit computers running MS-Windows Operating System versions
7 through 11. It is recommended to use a computer with a minimum of 4 GB of RAM and at least
10 GB of free hard disk space. RiverFlow2D is capable of running in modern Intel single processor
computers. If multiple-core processors (Duo, Quad, etc.) are available, the model can execute
in parallel processor mode, thereby running much faster than in single processor computers. In
addition, using the RiverFlow2D GPU option, the model can take advantage of NVIDIA Graphic
Processing Unit (GPU) cards to run up to 700 times faster than in single-processor computers.

3.2 Software Installation

1. If you are installing on a PC running Windows 7 or later, you must be logged on the PC as
an administrator before you begin the installation.

2. Download your software from the link provided when purchased.

3. Run the installation.

31
3.3 Software Activation 32

Reboot will be required. Please reboot before proceeding to the next section.

3.3 Software Activation

• Standalone – A single license for one computer.

• Network – A centralized license that allows multiple concurrent users depending on license
count purchased. This requires additional license manager software to be installed on an
accessible computer on your network.

3.3.1 Standalone Activation

Use the this activation mode if you have received a single-user stand-alone software license key.
If you received a network license key, please proceed to the the next section.

1. To activate your software, you must open Hydronia Data Input Program (Hydronia DIP)
shortcut on your desktop.

2. In the Control Data section on the left side, go to Options and select License.

3. You will be prompted to select one of three options:

(a) Reactivate License

(b) Install Network License Server
(c) Check for Updates

4. Select Reactivate License.

5. The following dialog will appear:

6. Select Configure as a standalone program.

7. Enter the license key provided to you (e.g. RF2DA-XXXX-XXXX-XX):

33 Installing and Activating RiverFlow2D

8. Click OK.

9. CopyMinder protection will connect to the CopyMinder web site to check the settings defined
for this product code and license. Click OK in the dialog.

10. The next dialog asks for the Product Registration data. Please fill out the required fields:

11. Once registration is complete, please proceed to the section 3.4 Enabling Plugins for River-
Flow2D and OilFlow2D in QGIS on page 37.
3.3 Software Activation 34

3.3.2 Network Server Installation

Use the this activation mode if you have received a network license key. If you received a stand
alone license key, please use the activation procedure described in the previous section 3.3.1 on
page 32.
A network installation allows the use of your software on any number of machines on the same
network, but limits the number of simultaneous users of your software.
The client machines will communicate with this server to carry out protection checks.
The Network Administrator will need a license key (configured to allow network installation) to
activate the installation on the server. It is recommended that the Network Administrator does not
reveal this license key to end-users, to avoid the potential confusion of the user trying to activate
their copy of your software as a single user installation using that license key (this will not work).
The Network Administrator runs CMserver.exe with its associated files (defined and distributed
by Hydronia) in the network server.

1. To activate your software, you must open Hydronia Data Input Program shortcut on your
desktop.

2. In the Control Data section on the left side, go to Options and select License.

3. You will be prompted to select one of three options:

(a) Reactivate License

(b) Install Network License Server
(c) Check for Updates

4. Select Install Network License Server.

5. CMServer will display a configuration window.

35 Installing and Activating RiverFlow2D

6. Choose Startup Modes as Windows Service.

7. In Network Configuration, select Automatic.

8. Click Start.

9. After clicking Start, enter the License Key provided by Hydronia.

10. You will be prompted to add an exception to the firewall rules.

11. Select Automatically Configure Windows Firewall.

12. Next, input your details in the Product Registration window:

3.3 Software Activation 36

13. If successful, the following message will appear:

14. You may now install network clients on other machines.

3.3.3 Network Client Installation

Once CMServer is running on the server, the RiverFlow2D or OilFlow2D programs and dependen-
cies must be installed on each client workstation computer. Please refer to installation steps in
section 3.2: Software Installation on page 31. The steps below assume you have already run the
installation program in the client computer, and are ready to activate.

1. To activate your software, open Hydronia Data Input Program shortcut on your desktop.

2. In the Control Data section on the left side, go to Options and select License.

3. You will be prompted to select one of three options:

(a) Reactivate License

(b) Install Network License Server
(c) Check for Updates

4. Select Reactivate License

37 Installing and Activating RiverFlow2D

5. Select Configure as a Network Client.

Note: In most cases the software will automatically detect the presence of the CopyMinder
Network Server and the details will be filled in. If it does not fill this information in, input the
IP address or computer name followed by :10589.

6. The window shows the name of the network server (LenovoJJ:10589 in this example):

7. Click OK.

8. Repeat this process for each RiverFlow2D or OilFlow2D network client.

Note: The software can installed and configured as a network client on as many computers as
desired in the network. In that case, the model will only run concurrently on as many computers
as the number of RiverFlow2D or OilFlow2D licenses that you have purchased.

3.4 Enabling Hydronia Plugins in QGIS

By default, the first time you run QGIS, the plugins developed for RiverFlow2D or OilFlow2D will
not be enabled.

3.4.1 Enabling RiverFlow2D Plugin

For RiverFlow2D plugin, please enable it by selecting the RiverFlow check box using the Plugins
| Manage and Install Plugins... menu as shown.
3.4 Enabling Hydronia Plugins in QGIS 38

Then verify that the RiverFlow2D plugin icons appear in the QGIS toolbar area:

3.4.2 Enabling OilFlow2D Plugin

For OilFlow2D plugin, please enable it by selecting the OilFlow2D check box using the Plugins |
Manage and Install Plugins... menu as shown.
39 Installing and Activating RiverFlow2D

Then verify that the OilFlow2D plugin icons appear in the QGIS toolbar area:

3.4.3 Enabling Macros in QGIS

Successfully using the RiverFlow2D plugin requires enabling the use of macros in QGIS. To do
that, access the Options dialog by using the Settings | Options... menu, and in the General panel
scroll down and select the Always option on the Enable Macros drop down list as indicated in the
figure below.

Please, do not pay attention to the (Not Recommended) warning on the option, since that is
shown to warn about plugins of unknown origin, and that is not applicable to Hydronia Plugins.
3.5 Troubleshooting 40

3.5 Troubleshooting
In this section we include solutions to some issues that may occur during the software installation.
Bear in mind that you may always contact Hydronia support team at support@hydronia.com to
report any error message or problem that you may encounter during installation.

3.5.1 Finding your License Key

If you ever have an issue related to your installation, you can find the license key in the following
files depending on the type of installation that you are using:

• Standalone License – C:\ProgramData\AVU\RF2DA.ini

• Network License – C:\Program Files\Hydronia\LicenseManager\RF2DA.ini

Open the RF2DA.ini file with Windows Notepad or any other text editor, and your license key will
be indicated following “ProductKey=". In the following example the license key is: RF2DA-ECEC-ECEC-EC
41 Installing and Activating RiverFlow2D

3.5.2 Find Who is Using the Software in a Network Installation

You can check how many users are occupying each license and know their computer ID using the
CMServer viewer program that is installed on the folder C:\Program Files\Hydronia\LicenseManager.
In the CMServer Viewer, all the licenses in use are displayed, with the machine name or IP
address and username.
If CMserver is running as a service, you can start the GUI for the viewer from the command line
as follows:

1. In the Windows search box write CMD and then press Enter

2. Enter cd C:\Program Files\Hydronia\LicenseManager and press Enter

3. Enter CMServer /viewer and press Enter

The information displayed in the CMServer Viewer window will be similar as indicated in the fol-
lowing figure

3.5.3 ERROR 641: "You have reached the limit on the maximum
number of simultaneous users of this program."
This error can appear when there are more models trying to run than the number of available
licenses. However, sometimes the run was interrupted at a critical stage and the model executable
remains in memory. This is interpreted by the CopyMinder protection as if there was more licenses
running. To fix this issue, open the Windows task Manager and in the Process tab look for the
RiverFlow2Dm5.exe model executable, select it by clicking on the file and click End task. That will
remove the model from memory and terminate the idle run.
3.6 RiverFlow2D Documentation 42

3.5.4 ERROR 659: "This program is configured for network

installation only. It cannot be installed as a standalone
system."
This error is frequently a result of specifying a Product Key on a network client machine instead
of the License Manager Host Name. For a network installation, when the model is first run on a
client machine, you should select Configure as a network client and enter the Host Name of the
computer with the Network License manager installed. To solve the issue follow the instructions
provide in section 3.3.3 on page 36.

3.5.5 ERROR 660: "This program is configured for standalone

installation only. It cannot be installed as a network system"
This error is the result of having used a license key that is for network installations only with
a license that has been configured for standalone use. To solve the issue, please install the
Network License Server as instructed in section 3.3.2 on page 34 and use the key provided by
Hydronia.

3.5.6 ERROR 739: "This program has been installed or copied too
many times."
This error is generated when the RiverFlow2D program has been installed or re-activated more
times than allowed by the protection program. It does not necessarily indicates improper use of
the model. If you get this error please send an email to our support team at support@hydronia.com
indicating the error and your license key. With that information we will reset the license server to
release the license.
If you do not know your license key, please refer to section 3.5.1 on page 40.

3.6 RiverFlow2D Documentation

Find RiverFlow2D documentation including this manual in the following folder:

\RiverFlow2D_QGIS\Documentation usually installed under ...\Documents or \My Documents

(see Figure 3.1).

Also under \RiverFlow2D_QGIS, you will find example projects, videos, and other useful re-
sources.
43 Installing and Activating RiverFlow2D

Figure 3.1 – Location of RiverFlow2D Documentation folder.

3.7 RiverFlow2D Technical Support

If you have any questions or require assistance using RiverFlow2D, please send an email to our
support team at: support@hydronia.com. Please make sure you visit our web site www.hydronia.com
regularly to find out about new products and news about the software. Visit www.hydronia.com/software-updates
to download the latest software update and the Release Notes document containing a list of the
recent fixes, changes, and updates.

3.8 RiverFlow2D Tutorials

The best way to get acquainted and using RiverFlow2D capabilities is following the tutorials. In
the accompanying RiverFlow2D there are tutorials to get started with the model, and several of
the model components. Each tutorial includes a set of files that you can use to do each exercise.
 Overview of RiverFlow2D
4
When you create a new RiverFlow2D project in QGIS, the plug-in creates a number of empty
layers, each one with an specific purpose, and associated with particular components or modules.
The standard set includes the layers depicted in Figure 4.1. Description of each layer is included
in Table 4.1.

Figure 4.1 – Standard layers created when using the New RiverFlow2D Project command.

44
45 Overview of RiverFlow2D

Table 4.1 – RiverFlow2D layers.

Layers Panel Layer Type Content
TriMesh Polygon Contains the mesh triangular cells. It is auto-
matically created by the mesh generation pro-
gram.
Domain Outline Polygon Container for the required external polygon that
defines the extent of the modeling area. It can
also include internal polygons that represent
impermeable islands or other obstacles that will
not contain cells. Each polygon has a CellSize
attribute that controls the approximate triangle
size desired for the generated mesh.
MultipleDemBoundaries Polygon It is used to enter polygons that define areas
with different terrain elevation data sets. You
can associate each polygon to a different raster
layer containing a terrain elevation model.
MeshDensityLine Line It is used to enter polylines along which the
mesh generation program will refine the mesh
according to each polyline CellSize attribute.
The lines do not force the mesh generator to
create nodes along the lines. In this sense, they
act as soft breaklines.
MeshBreakLine Line It is used to enter polylines along which the
mesh generation program will refine the mesh
according to each polyline CellSize attribute.
The lines do force the mesh generator to cre-
ate nodes along the lines. Therefore, they act
as hard breaklines.
Boundary Conditions Polygon Container for polygons that define the model
open boundaries, either inflow or outflow. All
the boundary cells laying inside these polygons
will be open boundary cells.
MESH_SPATIAL_DATA
Multiple DEM
Polygon Container for polygons over which different ele-
Boundaries
vation rasters (e.g. DEMs) will be used to inter-
polate elevations to the cells.
Manning N Polygon Defines areas of different Manning’s n.
Manning Nz Polygon Accepts polygons associated to files that con-
tain tables of Manning’s n as a function of
depth.
InitialWSE Polygon Container for areas of initial Water Surface Ele-
vations (WSE).
MaximumErosionDepth Polygon Container for polygons with Maximum Erosion
Depth (MED) attribute. When using the Sedi-
ment Transport ST module, the model will not
allow erosion to reduce the bed elevation below
the initial bed elevation minus MED.
COMPONENTS
Continued on next page
 46

Table 4.1 – continued from previous page

Layers Panel Layer Type Content
Infiltration Polygon Defines areas of different Infiltration parame-
ters.
RainEvap Polygon Container for areas associated with a rainfall in-
tensity and evaporation.
Wind Polygon Defines areas associated with a wind velocity
time series that will be used in the model to cal-
culate the wind stress on the water surface.
Bridges Line Includes polylines defining bridges. Each en-
tity will have specific data that characterize the
bridge cross section. Also the lines will act as
hard breaklines.
Gates Line Includes polylines defining gates. Each entity
will have specific data that characterizes the
gate including gate aperture table. Also each
line will act as a hard breakline.
Culverts Line Contains lines that connect two points in the
modeling area with culverts. The model will cal-
culate the culvert discharge depending on the
given data, and transfers discharge from culvert
the inlet cell to the culvert outlet cell.
Weirs Line Container for polylines defining weirs. Each en-
tity will have specific data that characterizes the
weir. The line will act as a hard breakline.
DamBreach Line Contains polylines that represent dam or levees
in plan. They allow the model to calculate the
discharge through levee or dam breaches.
Sources Point Container for point sources or sinks. Source
data includes a time series of discharge vs.
time. When using the Pollutant Transport PL
Module, the data must include concentrations
for each pollutant in addition to the discharge.
Sinks are defined by negative discharges.
OilSpills Point Container for spill locations within the mesh.
Each spill point needs data to define the spill
volume, and other parameters required to sim-
ulate the oil trajectory and behavior based on
existing results from a hydrodynamic run.
Piers Point Container for bridge pier locations. Piers are
used to enter data that will allow the model to
compute scour around bridge piers.
Abutments Line Container for bridge abutment locations. Abut-
ments are used to enter data that will allow the
model to compute scour around bridge abut-
ments.
StormDrain Point Container to indicate flow exchange points be-
tween the surface water with the storm drain
network of a EPA-SWMM model.
OUTPUT_CONTROL
Continued on next page
47 Overview of RiverFlow2D

Table 4.1 – continued from previous page

Layers Panel Layer Type Content
CrossSections Line Container for lines that define cross sections
where the model will write results including dis-
charge for each report interval.
Profiles Line Defines profiles where the model will write in
text files results for each report interval.
Observation Points Point Container for locations where the model will
write results each report interval.
OUTPUT_RESULTS Group that include layers with model results
that will be incorporated by the program when
creating specific graphics with model results.
 Mesh Generation in RiverFlow2D
5
The basis of RiverFlow2D computational engine, RiverFlow2D is the flexible mesh, also called
unstructured mesh or Triangular Irregular Network (TIN). The mesh is formed by triangles most
often of different size, and is called flexible because it can be adapted to irregular topography,
boundaries, structures, or any obstacle that may exist on the modeling area (see Figure 5.1).

Figure 5.1 – Typical RiverFlow2D flexible mesh.

The fundamental computational unit in the RiverFlow2Dmodel is the triangular cell, where veloci-

48
49 Mesh Generation in RiverFlow2D

ties, depth, and other variables are computed.

There are several tools in RiverFlow2D that can be used to control the mesh generation. These
tools make use of spatial objects such as polylines and polygons, and parameters that you can
enter in the Domain Outline, MeshDensityLine, MeshDensityPolygon and MeshBreakLine layers.

5.1 Cell-size control using the Domain outline

The Domain Outline is a key layer that defines the mesh limits and the extent of the modeling
area. It accepts polygons, and needs to contain at least one polygon. It can also include internal
polygons that represent impermeable islands or other obstacles. The internal polygons will not
contain any cells.
For each polygon in the Domain Outline layer you need to enter a CellSize attribute that controls
the approximate triangle size desired for the generated mesh (see Figure 5.2).

Figure 5.2 – CellSize dialog.

Figure 5.3 shows a mesh with one hole. The mesh is defined by an external polygon with CellSize
equal to 50 ft, and the internal polygon has a CellSize of 10 ft. Note that the resulting mesh has
smaller triangles around the internal polygon and larger triangles close to the boundary.
5.2 Cell-size control using Polylines in the MeshDensityLine Layer 50

Figure 5.3 – Mesh generated based on an external polygon with CellSize = 50ft , and an internal
polygon with CellSize = 10ft, both entered on the Domain Outline layer.

5.2 Cell-size control using Polylines in the

MeshDensityLine Layer
The MeshDensityLine layer is used to enter polylines over which the mesh generation program
will refine the mesh according to each polyline CellSize attribute. The polylines will not force the
mesh generator to create nodes along the lines. In this sense, they act as soft breaklines (see
Figure 5.4).

Figure 5.4 – Mesh generated based on the polygons of Figure 5.3 adding the two polylines on the
MeshDensityLine layer.
51 Mesh Generation in RiverFlow2D

5.3 Cell-size control using Polygons in the

MeshDensityPolygon Layer
The MeshDensityPolygon layer is used to enter polygons within which the mesh generation pro-
gram will refine the mesh according to each polygon CellSize attribute. The polygon outlines will
not force the mesh generator to create nodes along the polygon limits (see Figure 5.5).

Figure 5.5 – Mesh generated based on the polygon on the MeshDensityPolygon layer.

5.4 Cell-size control using Polylines in the

MeshBreakLine Layer
The MeshBreakLine layer is used to enter polylines along which the mesh generation program will
refine the mesh according to each polyline CellSize attribute, similarly as in the MeshDensityLine
layer, but in this case, the lines will force the mesh generator to create nodes along the lines.
Therefore, they act as hard breaklines (see Figure 5.6).
5.5 Boundary Conditions 52

Figure 5.6 – Mesh generated based on the polygons and polylines of Figure 5.4 adding the one polylines
on the MeshBreakLine layer. Note how unlike in the MeshDenstityLine layer, the polylines entered in
the MeshBreakLine layer force the mesh to have nodes along the polylines.

In addition to the control offered by the spatial objects entered in the Domain Outline, MeshDen-
sityLine, MeshDensityPolygon, and MeshBreakLine layers, other layers can be used to adjust the
mesh alignment and resolution. For instance, the Bridges, Gates, and Weirs components are
entered as polylines on the respective layers and all of them have a CellSize attribute that have
the same effect as as the mesh breaklines.

5.5 Boundary Conditions

Data to impose open boundary conditions in RiverFlow2D should be entered in the Boundary
Conditions layer. This layer accepts only polygons. Lines or points are not allowed. To enter a
polygon, first select the layer by clicking Boundary Conditions on the QGIS layers panel

Figure 5.7 – QGIS Layer Panel showing the Boundary Conditions layer selected.

Then click on Toggle Editing (pencil), and on the Add Feature (polygon) as shown
53 Mesh Generation in RiverFlow2D

Figure 5.8 – Select Toggle Editing (pencil) and Add Feature.

Using the mouse, click vertices until you create a polygon the covers the area where you want to
define as an Open Boundary

Figure 5.9 – Inflow Boundary Condition Polygon.

To complete entering the polygon, right click and the following dialog will appear where as an
example we have selected the open boundary as Inflow, Discharge vs. time, and the data will be
written to the QIN.dat.

Figure 5.10 – Boundary Condition Dialog.

To complete the data, select the BC Data panel and enter the hydrograph as shown.
5.6 Mesh Spatial Data 54

Figure 5.11 – Boundary Condition BC Data panel.

All nodes on the mesh boundary that lie inside the polygon will be considered open boundary
nodes.
You can define as many inflow and outflow boundaries as needed. All the boundary not contained
within the BC polygons will be considered as closed boundaries and no flow will be allowed to
cross it.

5.6 Mesh Spatial Data

5.6.1 Mannings’ n
To assign spatially varied Manning’s n coefficients in RiverFlow2D you enter polygons in the Man-
ning N layer. This layer accepts only polygons. Lines or points are not allowed. To enter a
polygon, first select the layer by clicking Manning N on the QGIS layers panel

Figure 5.12 – QGIS Layer Panel showing the Manning N layer selected.

Then click on Toggle Editing (pencil), and on the Add Feature (polygon) as shown
55 Mesh Generation in RiverFlow2D

Figure 5.13 – Select Toggle Editing (pencil) and Add Feature.

Using the mouse, click vertices until you create a polygon the covers the area where you want to
set an specific Mannings n value
To complete entering the polygon, right click and the following dialog will appear where as an
example we have selected the open boundary as Inflow, Discharge vs. time, and the data will be
written to the QInflow.dat.

Figure 5.14 – Manning’s n polygon.

To complete the data, select the BC Data panel and enter the hydrograph as shown. All cells on
the Manning’s n polygon will be assigned the n value corresponding to that polygon on the mesh
boundary that lie inside the polygon will be considered open boundary nodes.

5.7 RiverFlow2D Toolbar Functions

5.7.1 New RiverFlow2D Project

This icon is used to create a new project template from scratch. There are three things you need
to do in the dialog to complete creating a new project:

1. Select the component or mesh layers you want to create.

2. Select the Coordinate Reference System or Projection.

3. Enter the working Project Directory.

5.7 RiverFlow2D Toolbar Functions 56

Figure 5.15 shows the Create New RiverFlow2D Project Dialog. Note that do not need to select
all the available layers, but just the ones that you will be using initially in your project. You can
always add more layers later using the New Template Layer command in the RiverFlow2D Tools
icon described below.

Figure 5.15 – New Project Dialog.

5.7.2 Generate TriMesh

57 Mesh Generation in RiverFlow2D

Figure 5.16 – Mesh Generation Options.

5.7.3 Export Files for RiverFlow2D

5.7.4 Maps

5.7.5 Animations

5.7.6 Cross Sections

5.7.7 Tools

5.7.7.1 Landslide Tool

The Landslide tool allow representing the initial volume of material that could be mobilized during
a landslide. The tool requires creating one or more polygons in the Landslide layer and indicating
the depth or volume of the material (see Figure 5.17 ) and the concentration of the sediment
classes that form this material. With this information, the model will assume that under the given
polygon the material down to the given depth, could flow depending on the other model conditions.
5.7 RiverFlow2D Toolbar Functions 58

Figure 5.17 – Schematic view of the landslide.

To enter the data, first create the LandSide layer.

Figure 5.18 – Add LandSlides layer.

Then draw a polygon and enter the depth or volume and sediment class concentrations as indi-
cated in the dialogs :
59 Mesh Generation in RiverFlow2D

Figure 5.19 – Depth or volume landslide attributes.

Figure 5.20 – Concentration for all classes forming the landslide material.

When the user provides the depth, all the cells contained in the landslide polygons will changes
as follows:

• The cell elevation will be equal to the original terrain elevation minus the given depth (see
Figure 5.17 )

• The initial water or material elevation will be equal to the original terrain elevation.

When the user provides the volume, the model computes an average area of the landslide as
depth = Volume/Polygon area, and all the cells contained in the landslide polygons will change as
indicated above. All of the terrain changes are transferred to the .FED file that contains the mesh
data and cell elevations.
Note that the Read initial water elevs. from FED file needs to be selected in the Hydronia Data Input Program
Control Data panel.
 Hydrodynamic Model
6
One-dimensional hydraulic models are not adequate to simulate flooding when flows are uncon-
fined or velocities change direction during the course of the hydrograph. The cost of non-simplified
three-dimensional numerical models can be avoided using depth averaged two-dimensional (2D)
shallow water equations (?).
When dealing with the shallow water equations, realistic applications always include source terms
describing bed level variation and bed friction that, if not properly discretized, can lead to numer-
ical instabilities. In the last decade, the main effort has been put on keeping a discrete balance
between flux and source terms in cases of quiescent water, leading to the notion of well-balanced
schemes or C property [(?), (?), (?), (?)]. Recently, in order to include properly the effect of
source terms in the weak solution, augmented approximate Riemann solvers have been pre-
sented [Rosatti et al. (2003), (?)]. In this way, accurate solutions can be computed avoiding the
need of imposing case dependent tuning parameters which are used frequently to avoid negative
values of water depth and other numerical instabilities that appear when including source terms.
This section presents the system of equations, the formulation of the boundary conditions, and the
finite-volume scheme used in RiverFlow2D and the information can be expanded in the references
(?, ?, ?, ?).

6.1 Assumptions of the Hydrodynamic Model

1. RiverFlow2D uses the Shallow Water Equations resulting from the vertical integration of

60
61 Hydrodynamic Model

the Navier-Stokes equation. Therefore, the model does not calculate vertical accelerations,
vertical velocities and consequently cannot resolve secondary flows.

2. The bed shear stress is assumed to follow the depth-average velocity directions.

3. The model does not include dispersion nor turbulence terms. Turbulence dissipation and
energy loses are accounted for only through the Manning’s n term in the momentum equa-
tions.

4. The model can consider heat transfer to calculate the oil temperature as it flows overland,
and considers the density, viscosity and yield stress variation in time and space.

6.2 Flow equations considering prescribed temperature

variations
Shallow water flows can be described mathematically by depth averaged mass and momentum
conservation equations with all the associated assumptions (?). That system of partial differential
equations will be formulated here in a conservative form as follows:

∂U ∂F(U) ∂G(U)
+ + = S(U, x, y) (6.1)
∂t ∂x ∂y

T
where U = (h, qx , qy ) is the vector of conserved variables with h representing the water depth,
qx = uh and qy = vh the unit discharges, with (u, v) the depth averaged components of the
velocity vector u along the (x, y) coordinates respectively. The flux vectors are given by:
!T !T
qy2 1 qx qy qx qy qy2 1
F= qx , + gh2 , , G= qy , , + gh2 (6.2)
h 2 h h h 2

1 2
where g is the acceleration of the gravity. The terms 2 gh in the fluxes have been obtained
after assuming a hydrostatic pressure distribution in every water column, as usually accepted in
shallow water models. The source term vector incorporates the effect of pressure force over the
bed and the tangential forces generated by the bed stress

T
S = (0, gh(S0x − Sf x ), gh(S0y − Sf y )) (6.3)

where the bed slopes of the bottom level zb are

∂zb ∂zb
S0x = − , S0y = − (6.4)
∂x ∂y

and the bed stress contribution is modeled using the Manning friction law so that:
√ √
n2 u u2 + v 2 n2 v u2 + v 2
Sf x = , Sf y = (6.5)
h4/3 h4/3
6.3 Finite-Volume Numerical Solution 62

with n the roughness coefficient.

Using this option, the model can consider the variation of temperature and its effect on density
and viscosity, but the oil temperature is assumed to be prescribed by the user and it does not
depend on environmental chances during the simulation.
//

6.3 Finite-Volume Numerical Solution

To introduce the finite-volume scheme, (6.1) is integrated in a volume or grid cell Ω using Gauss
theorem:
Z I Z
∂
UdΩ + Endl = SdΩ (6.6)
∂t Ω ∂Ω Ω

where E = (F, G) and n = (nx , ny ) is the outward unit normal vector to the volume Ω. In order
to obtain a numerical solution of system (6.6) the domain is divided into computational cells, Ωi ,
using a fixed mesh. Assuming a piecewise representation of the conserved variables (Figure 6.1)
and an upwind and unified formulation of fluxes and source terms (?)
Z NE
∂ X
UdΩ + (En − S̄)k lk = 0 (6.7)
∂t Ωi k=1

Figure 6.1 – Piecewise uniform representation of the flow variables.

63 Hydrodynamic Model

Figure 6.2 – Cell parameters.

Figure 6.3 – Cell parameters.

The approximate solution can be defined using an approximate Jacobian matrix J en,k (?) of the
1 2 3 −1
non-linear normal flux En and two approximate matrices P = (e
e e ,e e ), and P , built using the
e ,e e
eigenvectors of the Jacobian, that make J
en,k diagonal

e −1 J
P ek = Λ
en,k P ek (6.8)
k

with Λ em
e k is a diagonal matrix with eigenvalues λ in the main diagonal
k
 1 
λ
e 0 0
Λk =  0
e  e2 0 
λ  (6.9)
3
0 0 λ e
k

Both the difference in vector U across the grid edge and the the source term are projected onto
the matrix eigenvectors basis

δUk = P
e k Ak (S̄)k = P
e kB (6.10)
6.3 Finite-Volume Numerical Solution 64

where Ak = (α1 , α2 , α3 )Tk contains the set of wave strengths and B = (β 1 , β 2 , β 3 )Tk contains the
source strengths. Details are given in (?). The complete linearization of all terms in combination
with the upwind technique allows to define the numerical flux function (En − S̄)k as
3 
X m
(En − S̄)k = Ei nk + e− θαe
λ e (6.11)
k
m=1

 m
e− = 1 (λ e and θm = 1 −
e − |λ|) β
with λ 2 k that when inserted in (7.38) gives an explicit first order
λα
e k
Godunov method (?)
NE
" 3 
#
X X m lk
Un+1 = Uni − Ei nk + e−
λ θαe
e ∆t (6.12)
i
m=1
k Ai
k=1

As the quantity Ei is uniform per cell i and the following geometrical property is given at any cell
NE
X
nk lk = 0 (6.13)
k=1

(6.12) can be rewritten as

" 3
NE X
#
 m l ∆t
k
X
−
Un+1
i = Uni − λ θαe
e e (6.14)
m=1
k Ai
k=1

The finite-volume method can be written using a compact wave splitting formulation as follows:
NE  n l
k
X
Un+1
i = Uni − δM−
i,k ∆t (6.15)
Ai
k=1

with
3 
X m
δM−
i,k = λe− θαe
e (6.16)
k
m=1

The use of (6.15) is efficient when dealing with boundary conditions. At the same time it ensures
conservation. In (?) it was demonstrated how for a numerical scheme written in splitting form,
the total amount of contributions computed inside the domain at each cell edge, is equal to the
balance of fluxes that cross the boundary of the domain, proving exact conservation.

6.3.1 Numerical Optimizations

Once wave propagations in δM−
i in (6.16) are computed, the first order method can be applied
averaging the contributions of the local Riemann Problems (RPs) shaping the contour cell.
The approximate solution is always constructed as a sum of jumps or shocks, even in cases
involving rarefactions. One widely reported problem of linearized solvers is the entropy violation
in sonic rarefactions (?, ?), that produces negative values of depth in the shallow water equations,
65 Hydrodynamic Model

even in absence of source term. The solution is restored by means of a suitable redefinition of
the approximate solution by means of entropy fixes.
The time and space linearization of the source terms in (6.16) can also have negative conse-
quences, as numerical instabilities may arise when approximating their value. Their influence
over the approximate RP solutions is the key to construct appropriate fixes that avoid unphysical
results. In (?) it was shown how errors in the integral approaches done over the source terms
can be avoided if imposing physically based restrictions over the approximate solution. By simply
modifying the source strength coefficients β correct solutions are restored when necessary.

6.3.2 Stability Region

Once numerical fixes are applied the stability region for the homogeneous case can be used to
compute the size of the time step. In the 2D framework, considering unstructured meshes, the
relevant distance, that will be referred to as χi in each cell i must consider the volume of the cell
and the length of the shared k edges.

Ai
χi = (6.17)
maxk=1,N E lk

Considering that each k RP is used to deliver information to a pair of neighboring cells of different
size, the distance min(Ai , Aj )/lk is relevant. The time step is limited by

λ λ min(χi , χj )
∆t ≤ CF L ∆te ∆te = (6.18)
em |
max |λ

with CF L=1/2, as the construction of finite-volume schemes from direct application of one-dimensional
fluxes leads to reduced stability ranges (?).
RiverFlow2D solution method uses variable time steps. The maximum allowed time-step is con-
trolled by the user-set Courant-Friederich-Lewy (CFL) number that is proportional to the local cell
size, but also inversely proportional to velocity and depth. Smaller cells lead to smaller time-steps.
The maximum theoretical CFL value is 1, but in some runs it may be necessary to reduce this
number to lower values.

6.4 Open Boundary Conditions

There are two main boundary condition types that can be used in RiverFlow2D: Open boundaries
where flow can enter of leave the modeling area and closed boundaries that are solid no-flow
walls (see Figure 6.4). There is no restriction on the number of inlet or outlet boundaries. This
section describes the open boundary conditions.
6.4 Open Boundary Conditions 66

Figure 6.4 – Open and closed boundary conditions.

RiverFlow2D allows having any number of inflow and outflow boundaries with various combina-
tions of imposed conditions. Proper use of these conditions is a critical component of a successful
RiverFlow2D simulation. Shallow water equation theory indicates that for two-dimensional sub-
critical flow it is required to provide at least one condition at inflow boundaries and one for outflow
boundaries. For supercritical flow all conditions must be imposed on the inflow boundaries and no
boundary condition should be imposed at outflow boundaries. The table below helps determining
which conditions to use for most applications.

Table 6.1 – Required boundary conditions.

FLOW REGIME AT INFLOW BOUNDARY CONDI- OUTFLOW BOUNDARY
BOUNDARY TION CONDITION
Subcritical Q or Velocity Water Surface Elevation
Supercritical Q and Water Surface Elevation None

It is recommended to have at least one boundary where water surface or stage-discharge (e.g.
Uniform Flow) is prescribed. Having only discharge and no water surface elevation condition may
result in instabilities due to violation of the theoretical boundary condition requirements of the
shallow water equations.

The open boundary condition options are described in the table below.
67 Hydrodynamic Model

Table 6.2 – Open Boundary condition types.

BC TYPE DESCRIPTION
Imposes Water Surface Elevation. An associated boundary condition file
1
must be provided.
5 Imposes water discharge and water surface elevation.
6 Imposes water discharge inflow.
9 Imposes single-valued stage-discharge rating table.
“Free" inflow or outflow condition. Velocities and water surface elevations are
10
calculated by the model.
“Free" outflow condition. Velocities and water surface elevations are calcu-
11
lated by the model, but only outward flow is allowed.
12 Uniform flow outflow condition.
Imposes Water Surface Elevation and forces perpendicular velocity direc-
17
tions. An associated boundary condition file must be provided.
Imposes Water Surface Elevation and sediment or pollutant concentrations.
18 It also forces perpendicular velocity directions. An associated boundary con-
dition file must be provided.
Imposes water and sediment discharge inflow. An associated boundary con-
26
dition file must be provided.

If you need to impose open conditions on boundary segments that are adjacent, do it in such
a way that each segment is separated by a gap more than one cell (see Figure 6.5). Setting
two or more open conditions without this separation will lead to incorrect detection of the open
boundaries.

Figure 6.5 – Required gap between adjacent open boundary conditions.

6.4 Open Boundary Conditions 68

6.4.1 Single Variable Boundary Condition Types (BCTYPE 1 and

6)
When imposing a single variable (water surface elevation, or Q), the user must provide a time se-
ries for the corresponding variable. To model steady state the time series should contain constant
values for all times. There is no restriction on the time interval used for the time series. When
imposing water surface elevation it is important to check that the imposed value is higher than the
bed elevation.

6.4.1.1 Water Discharge Converted in Velocities (BCTYPE 6)

In this inflow condition the program calculates the flow area and the average water velocity cor-
responding to the imposed discharge that can be variable in time. Then, velocity is assigned to
each cell assuming perpendicular direction to the boundary line as shown:

Figure 6.6 – Inflow water discharge imposed as velocities (BCTYPE 6).

6.4.2 Discharge Rating Table (BCTYPE 9)

When using a single valued stage-discharge condition the model first computes the discharge on
the boundary then interpolates the corresponding water surface elevation from the rating table
and imposes that value for the next time step. If the boundary is dry, it functions as a “free"
condition boundary. Water surface elevations are imposed only on wet nodes. This condition
requires providing an ASCII file with the table values entries. See section 15.25.1 for details on
the file format.
Since these condition may generate wave reflection that can propagate upstream, it is important
to locate the downstream boundary on a reach sufficiently far from the area of interest, therefore
69 Hydrodynamic Model

minimizing artificial backwater effects. Unfortunately, there is no general way to select such place,
but numerical experimenting with the actual model will be necessary to achieve a reasonable
location.

In most small slope rivers, the stage-discharge relationship is affected by hysteresis. In other
words, the stage-discharge curve is looped with higher discharges occurring on the rising limb
than on the rescission limb of the hydrograph. This is mainly caused by the depth gradient in the
flow direction that changes in sign throughout the hydrograph. In practice, this implies that there
can be two possible stages for the same discharge. Loop stage-discharge relationships are not
considered in this RiverFlow2D version.

6.4.3 “Free" Open Boundaries (BCTYPE 10, 11)

On free condition boundaries, the model calculates velocities and water surface elevations ap-
plying the full equations from the internal cells. In practice this is be equivalent to assuming that
derivatives of water surface elevations and velocities are 0. In subcritical flow situations, it is ad-
visable to use these conditions only when there is at least another open boundary where water
surface elevation or stage-discharge is imposed. BCTYPE 10 allows water outflow and inflow,
while BCTYPE 11 will only allow flow out of the mesh.

6.4.4 Uniform Flow Boundary Condition (BCTYPE 12)

To apply this boundary condition the user provides only the bed slope S0 . The model will use
S0 , Manning’s n, and discharge to create a rating table. Then for each time-interval, the program
will impose the water surface elevation corresponding to the boundary discharge interpolating on
the rating table. The rating table is calculated every 0.05 m (0.16 ft.) starting from the lowest
bed elevation in the outflow cross section up to 50 m (164 ft.) above the highest bed elevation
in the section. If S0 = −999, the model will calculate the average bed slope perpendicular to the
boundary line.

6.4.5 Numerical Implementation of Open Boundaries

Many simulation models are based on reliable and conservative numerical schemes. When trying
to extend their application to realistic problems involving irregular geometries at boundaries a
special care has to be put in preserving the properties of the original scheme. Conservation, in
particular, is damaged if boundaries are careless discretized.
In the cells forming the inlet discharge region the flow is characterized by the negative sign of the
following scalar product in the kΓ boundary edges

qi · ni,kΓ = (hu)i · ni,kΓ < 0 (6.19)

6.4 Open Boundary Conditions 70

and by the state of the flow, defined commonly through the Froude number
ui · ni,kΓ
F ri = (6.20)
ci
√
with ci = ghi . When the Froude number defined as in (6.20) is greater than one, the flow is
supercritical and all the following eigenvalues are negative:

λ1 = ui · ni,kΓ + ci < 0 λ2 = ui · ni,kΓ < 0 λ3 = ui · ni,kΓ − ci < 0 (6.21)

therefore the values of h, u, v, and ϕ must be imposed. The water solute concentration ϕ is inde-
pendent of the eigenvalues, and therefore has to be provided at the inlet region for all flow regimes.

The cells in the outlet discharge region are defined by

qi · ni,kΓ = (hu)i · ni,kΓ > 0 (6.22)

for supercritical flow, all the following eigenvalues are positive:

λ1 = ui · ni,kΓ + ci < 0 λ2 = ui · ni,kΓ < 0 λ3 = ui · ni,kΓ − ci < 0 (6.23)

in consequence, no extra information is required.

When in both inlet and outlet discharge region, the flow state is subcritical, the updating infor-
mation is not complete. The same happens at the cell edges acting like solid walls, that cannot
be crossed by the flow. Commonly the extra information provided upstream and downstream are
discharge functions. And, on solid boundaries, a zero normal discharge function is defined.
To decide whether we are dealing with a supercritical or a subcritical inlet or outlet is not easy in
a 2D mesh. A cell based characterization of the boundary flow regime at the boundaries leads to
complicated situations both from the physical and from the numerical point of view. On the other
hand, physical or external boundary conditions usually refer to average quantities such as water
surface level or total discharge that have to be translated into water depth or velocity at each cell,
depending on the practitioner criterion. To handle these situations, a suitable connection between
the two-dimensional and the one-dimensional models is required at the open boundaries. The
section Froude number is defined once the boundary section has a uniform water level as:
w
F rs = p (6.24)
g(ST /bT )

being the cross sectional velocity w = Q/ST and defining the total wet cross section ST and total
breath as:
NB
X NB
X NB
X
ST = Sj = hj lj , bT = lj (6.25)
j=1 j=1 j=1

where N B is the number of wet boundary cells, lj is the length of each edge conforming the wet
boundary and hj is the water depth at each boundary cell.
71 Hydrodynamic Model

6.4.5.1 Inlet discharge boundary

This is one of the boundary conditions that poses most difficulties because a correct and con-
servative representation of the steady or unsteady incoming flow must be defined and there is
not one obvious form to implement it. The total inflow discharge hydrograph Q = Q(t) is the
usual function given in flooding simulation, and it is important to analyze the best way to impose
it since it involves the full inlet cross section and we are dealing with a 2D discrete representation
in computational cells. Different cases may be found.

6.4.5.2 Simple cases

When the inlet cross section is of rectangular shape (Figure 6.7), that is, of flat bottom and limited
by vertical walls, the inlet wet cross section is just rectangular.

Figure 6.7 – Rectangular inlet cross section.

The total inlet discharge at time t, QI (t), can be distributed along the inlet cross section using a
constant discharge per unit width, qI (m2 s−1 ), that can be calculated as

QI (t)
qj = qI = (6.26)
bT

In this simple case, qI is uniform along the inlet boundary and so is the resulting modulus of the
velocity, w = qI /h, with w = (u2 + v 2 )1/2 . It should be noted, that the direction of the entering
discharge is not necessarily the same as the direction normal to the inlet boundary. However, this
direction is usually chosen as the default information.

6.4.5.3 Complex cases

In real problems of general geometry the inlet cross section may change shape as water level
changes (drying/wetting boundary), and so does the number of boundary cells involved (Figure
6.8).
6.4 Open Boundary Conditions 72

Figure 6.8 – Irregular inlet cross section.

When dealing with inlet sections like that in Figure 6.8, a uniform value of qI as in (6.26) leads to
a completely unrealistic state of faster water at the section borders and slower water at the middle
of the cross section. Since the resulting velocities depend on the value of water depth h, higher
values will appear in those cells where water depth is smaller.
In order to seek a more appropriate distribution, a uniform modulus of the water velocity w is
enforced in the whole inlet boundary cross section. In this case, the unit discharge at each
boundary cell j is variable and defined depending both on the total cross section area, ST , and
on the individual cell transverse area, Sj as follows:
Sj
qj = QI (6.27)
ST lj

On the other hand, the updating of the water depth values at the inlet cells provided by the
numerical scheme leads in the general case to a set of new water depths hn+1
j (Figure 6.9)
associated, in general, to different water surface levels dj dj = hj + zj .

Figure 6.9 – Evaluation of dmin .

For our purposes a horizontal water surface level is required in that region, in order to help in
the translation between the 2D and the 1D points of view at the open boundary. The value of
that uniform cross sectional water level is fixed taking into account mass conservation, that is,
conservative redistribution of water volume. The minimum value of the water levels among all the
wet cells in the inlet boundary, dmin , is found and the water volume VS stored in the inlet section
above dmin is evaluated as
73 Hydrodynamic Model

NB
X
VS = (dj − dmin )Aj |dj >dmin (6.28)
j=1

and the wet surface above that level, Aw , is defined:

NB
X
Aw = Aj |dj >dmin (6.29)
j=1

They are used to redistribute the volume over the inlet section, keeping constant the wet section
breadth bT . As Figure 3 shows a new uniform water level at the section, dS , is given by:
VS
ds = dmin + (6.30)
Aw

Apart from helping to decide the flow regime at the boundary, the modifications described above
make easier the treatment of supercritical inflow conditions. When modeling unsteady river flow,
high peaks in the hydrograph can be encountered. If those peaks are not correctly handled from
the numerical point of view, they can lead to local and unrealistic supercritical states in the inlet
boundary.
In that case of supercritical inlet flow, the specification of all the variables at the inlet boundary
cells is required. However, in many practical problems only the discharge hydrograph is available
as a function of time, with no data, in general, on the water level distribution or discharge direction
at the inlet boundary.
The alternative proposed is, when the inlet Froude number is bigger than 1
w
F rs = p >1 (6.31)
g(ST /bT )

to enforce a maximum Froude number, F rs,max , to the inlet flow. For that purpose, keeping the
section breadth bT , a new inlet wet cross section area, ST∗ , is computed from the F rs,max imposed:
Q2I
ST∗ = ( 2
)1/3 (6.32)
gF rs,max /bT )

If ST∗ is greater than ST , it provides a new water surface level for the inlet section, d∗ , also greater
than ds (Figure 6.10). The associated increment in water volume is balanced by means of a
reduction in the imposed discharge QI (t) in that time step.
Occasionally, both conditions, QI (t) and d(t) are known at supercritical inlets. For those cases,
imposing both data at the inlet boundary is enough. However, due to the discrete time integration
method used, this procedure does not follow the mass conservation criterion. To guarantee that
the mass balance is preserved, one of the conditions is imposed, the other must be modified, so
that the fluxes calculated in the following step lead to mass conservation. The best solution is to
impose directly the global surface water level at the inlet boundary section,d(t), and to adapt the
discrete inlet discharge to ensure that the final volume is conserved. The imposed value of d sets
an input volume that can be transformed into discharge by means of dividing it by the time step.
This value is added to the discharge leading to a correct mass balance.
6.4 Open Boundary Conditions 74

Figure 6.10 – New water level for the inlet section.

When the boundary cell belongs to an open boundary where the inlet flow discharge is the con-
dition imposed and the flow is subcritical, the discharge is computed using (6.27) and imposed in
the boundary cell. Moreover, the water level is computed as a results of the contributions from
that other cell edges in (6.15) when updating the conserved values in the boundary cell at time
level n + 1 and is carefully redistributed as explained before.

6.4.5.4 Outlet boundaries

The analysis of the flow at the outlet boundary is simpler. For supercritical outflow no external
conditions have to be imposed. In RiverFlow2D, a preliminary sweep is performed over the wet
outlet boundary cells in order to evaluate the cell Froude number. If a supercritical cell is found, the
whole flow at the outflow boundary section is considered supercritical and no external condition
has to be enforced. Otherwise, all the cells are in a subcritical state, and receive an analogous
treatment to that of the inlet boundary described above. As before, a uniform cross sectional water
level is generated and a velocity distribution is set in cases in which a discharge rating curve is
the boundary condition to impose.

6.4.6 Closed Boundaries

Closed boundaries are rigid or solid walls that completely block the flow such as river banks
or islands. They constitute vertical walls that the flow can never overtop. A very thin viscous
sublayer occurs near these boundaries that would require extremely small cells to be appropriately
resolved. RiverFlow2D uses slip condition on closed boundaries and the model will set zero
normal flow across the boundary, but tangential velocities are allowed. RiverFlow2D detects
closed boundaries automatically.
This kind of boundary condition does not require any special treatment. As no flow must cross
the boundary, the physical condition u · n = 0 is imposed on the cell velocity u after adding all the
wave contributions from the rest of the cell edges, where n is the solid wall normal (Figure 6.11).
In other words, if the boundary is closed, the associated boundary edge kΓ is a solid wall, with a
zero normal velocity component. As there are no contributions from that edge, δM−
i,kΓ = 0 is set
75 Hydrodynamic Model

in (6.15) when updating the conserved values in the boundary cell at time level n + 1.

Figure 6.11 – Solid wall condition.

6.5 Dry/Wet Cell Modeling

RiverFlow2D is able to simulate the drying and wetting of the bed. This model capability is impor-
tant when simulating flood wave progression down an initially dry channel. In this case both the
channel bed and floodplain will get inundated. The channel bed can also dry again as the flood
wave recedes.
In RiverFlow2D the triangular-cell mesh can cover both dry and wet areas and the model will
handle these conditions using two distinct algorithms and depending on the following cell classifi-
cation.

6.5.1 Cell definitions Based on Dry and Wet Conditions

A cell is considered dry if its water depth is less than a fraction of a millimeter. There is not a
partially dry cell situation. A cell edge is considered inactive if it separates two dry cells and is
excluded from the computation. Otherwise, the cell edge always contributes to the updating of
the variables on both sides. The so called wet/dry situation takes place at a cell edge when all the
following conditions hold:

• One of the neighbor cells is wet and the other is dry.

• The water level a the wet cell is below the bed level at the dry cell.

• Flow is subcritical.

In that case, the procedure to follow is well described in (?).

RiverFlow2D drying and wetting algorithm is an adaptation of the the one originally proposed by
(?) and later improved by (?) and (?) in the finite-volume context and works as follows:
6.6 Volume Conservation 76

1. At the beginning of each time-step all cells are classified as wet or dry according to the
definition.

2. If a cell is dry and completely surrounded by dry cells, it is removed from the computations
and velocity components are set to zero for the ongoing time step.

3. All the internal cell edges are classified as active or inactive according to the definition.

4. Wet/dry cell edge contributions are computed assuming the edge is a solid boundary and
the velocities on both sides are set to zero.

5. The rest of the cell edge contributions are computed according to the numerical scheme as
described above.

6. Wet cells and dry cells surrounded by at least one wet cell are retained in the computation
and solved with the updating scheme using the contributions from the cell edges.

This method generates stable numerical solutions without spurious velocities over dry areas and
offers machine accuracy mass conservation errors allowing the use of the classical CFL condition.

6.6 Volume Conservation

The volume conservation or volume balance in the simulation domain can be defined through a
discharge contour integral:
Z t+δt
∆M (∆t) = (QI · nI − QO · nO )dt (6.33)
t

where QI and QO are the total discharge functions at the inlet and at the outlet boundaries
respectively, and nI and nO are the normal vectors to the boundaries. The normal discharge at
solid walls is zero. This balance is actually evaluated integrating at the contour cell by cell as
follows
N
X BI N
X BO
∆M (∆t) = qI,j lj (nI · nj )∆t − qO,m lm (nO · nm )∆t (6.34)
j=1 m=1

where nj and nm are the directions of the flow in the inlet and in the outlet cells respectively.
The volume variation in the domain of calculation can be only due to

∆M (∆t) ̸= 0 (6.35)

Therefore, the mass error of the numerical solution is measured by comparing the total amount
of water calculated at time t + ∆t
N CELLS
X
V ol(t + ∆t) = hn+1
i Si (6.36)
i=1
77 Hydrodynamic Model

with the total amount of water existing at time t

N CELLS
X
V ol(t) = hni Si (6.37)
i=1

as follows

Error = [V ol(t + ∆t) − V ol(t)] − ∆M (∆t) (6.38)

This is usually expressed in relative terms as follows:

[V ol(t + ∆t) − V ol(t)] − ∆M (∆t)

Relerror = (6.39)
V ol(t) + ∆M (∆t)

6.7 Manning’s n roughness Coefficients

The Manning’s n usually estimated to determine head losses in channel and river flow is a global
measure that accounts not only for the effects of bed roughness, but also for internal friction and
variations in shape and size of the channel cross section, obstructions, river meandering (Ven Te
Chow, 1959). Therefore, estimations of Manning’s n applicable for 1D models should be adjusted,
because 2D model equations consider two-dimensional momentum exchange within the cross
section that is only lumped in the 1D simplification. Several researchers have found in practical
applications of 2D models that the n values required can be 30% lower than those normally used
for 1D models on the same river reach (Belleudy, 2000). However, 2D models do not account for
lateral friction, therefore the final selection of Manning’s n coefficients should be the outcome of a
calibration process where the model results are adjusted to measured data.
 Sediment Transport Module: ST
7
The science of sediment transport deals with the interrelationship between flowing water and sed-
iment particles. Despite of having been studied since the 1950s and being widely employed in
engineering practice (?, ?), the sediment transport modeling remains at present one of the most
active topic in the field of hydraulic research. Although numerical modeling of free surface flows
with suspended and bedload transport over erodible bed in realistic situations involves transient
flow and movable flow boundaries, the conventional and pioneer methods for performing mor-
phodynamic simulations in coastal areas and rivers decouple the hydrodynamic and the erosion
and deposition components (?, ?, ?). Ignoring unsteady hydrodynamic effects means that the
time scales of the morphodynamics changes are smaller in comparison with the hydrodynamic
ones. Assuming this hypothesis, only a quasi-steady process of slowly varying bed-load can be
reasonably modeled, so that rapidly varying flows containing shocks or discontinuities remain
excluded. For this reason RiverFlow2D allows accurate simulation ranging from slow-evolving
events to abrupt river bed changes.

7.1 Model Equations

The relevant formulation of the model derives from the depth averaged equations expressing wa-
ter+sediment mixture volume conservation, sediment volume conservation and water+sediment
mixture momentum conservation. Sediments can be transported as bedload or suspended load.
That system of partial differential equations is formulated here in coupled form as follows

78
79 Sediment Transport Module: ST

∂U ∂F(U) ∂G(U)
+ + = S(U) + R(U) (7.1)
∂t ∂x ∂y

where
!T
Np
P
U= h, qx , qy , hϕ1 , ..., hϕNp , zp (7.2)
p=1

are the conserved variables with h representing the mixture flow depth, qx = hu and qy = hv
the mixture unit discharges, with (u, v) the depth averaged components of the velocity vector u
along the x and y coordinates respectively and ϕp , with p = 1, ..., Np representing the scalar
depth-averaged volumetric concentration of the Np different sediments size-classes transported
in suspension. The term zp is the contribution of p-th sediment class to the bed layer. Hence, the
PNp
total bed elevation z can be computed as z = p=1 zp . The formulation allows the possibility of
considering a heterogeneous soil, where different sediment fractions of material may coexist.
On the other hand the fluxes are given by
!T
2 Np
qx qx qy
+ 12 gh2 ,
P
F= qx , h h , qx ϕ1 , ... qx ϕNp , (ξp qbp,x )
p=1
!T (7.3)
Np
qx qy qy2
+ 21 gh2 ,
P
G= qy , h , h q y ϕ1 , ..., qy ϕNp , (ξp qbp,y )
p=1

where g is the acceleration of the gravity, ξp = 1/(1 − pp ) accounts for the volumetric loosening
effect for the solid particles in the erodible bed, pp is the specific porosity of the p-th bed layer
sediment fraction and qbp,x and qbp,y are the capacity bedload transport rates along the x and y
coordinates respectively, computed by means of empirical laws. The source terms of the system
are split in three kind of terms. The term S is defined as
 T
pb,x τb,x pb,y τb,y
S= 0, − , − , 0, . . . , 0, 0 (7.4)
ρw ρw ρw ρw

with pb,x , pb,y and τb,x , τb,y are the pressure force along the bottom and the bed shear stress in
the x and y direction respectively, with ρw the density of water. The former can be formulated in
terms of the bed slopes of the bottom level z

pb,x ∂z
= −gh = ghS0x ,
ρw ∂x
(7.5)
pb,y ∂z
= −gh = ghS0y
ρw ∂y

and the friction losses are written in terms of the Manning’s roughness coefficient n
√
τb,x n2 u u2 + v 2
= ghSf x with: Sf x =
ρw h4/3
√ (7.6)
τb,y n2 v u2 + v 2
= ghSf y with: Sf y =
ρw h4/3
7.2 Sediment transport laws 80

The net exchange terms between the flow and the erodible bed R, having a volumetric character,
is defined as
 T
Np Np
X X
R =  (ξp Rp ), 0, 0, R1 , . . . , RNp , − (ξp Rp ) (7.7)
p=1 p=1

where Rp is the net exchange solid flux between the mixture flow and the erodible bed layer for
the p-th sediment fraction.

7.2 Sediment transport laws

Two different ways of sediment transport govern the dynamics of the mobile bed considered in
RiverFlow2D: the suspended load and the bedload. Both of them may coexist or one may be
dominant.
As each sediment transport law is derived from different laboratory and field data sets a calibration
parameter in the form of a correction factor is considered in order to adjust the numerical results.

7.2.1 Bedload transport

When bedload is the dominant sediment transport mechanism and the influence of the suspended
load is negligible system in (7.1) turns into the following reduced form

Water mass conservation

∂(h) ∂(hu) ∂(hv)
+ + =0 (7.8)
∂t ∂x ∂y
Water momentum conservation in x direction


∂(hu) ∂ hu2 + (1/2)gh2 ∂(huv) pbx τbx
+ + = − (7.9)
∂t ∂x ∂y ρw ρw

Water momentum conservation in y direction

∂(hu) ∂(huv) ∂ hv 2 + (1/2)gh2 pby τby
+ + = − (7.10)
∂t ∂x ∂y ρw ρw

Bed elevation changes

     
Np Np Np
∂ X  ∂ X ∂ X
zp + ξp qbp,x  +  ξp qbp,y  = 0 (7.11)
∂t p=1 ∂x p=1 ∂y p=1

The modulus of the bedload transport rate, qbp , for the p-th sediment size-class is defined as
p
qbp = qbp,x + qbp,y (7.12)
81 Sediment Transport Module: ST

and is computed as
q
qbp = fbp Φp g(sp − 1)d350p (7.13)

where fbp is the fraction in the transport layer, sp = ρsp /ρw is the density ratio, ρsp is the density
of the sediment and d50p is the median diameter for the p-th sediment size-class.
The dimensionless parameter Φp for the p-th sediment size-class is computed by an empirical
law. Table 7.1 collects the formulas that are implemented in the present release of RiverFlow2D.
For the shake of clarity, the subscript p has been omitted in the empirical bedload transport formu-
lation, where d90 , d50 and d30 are the grain diameter for which 90%, 50% and 30% of the weight of
a non-uniform sample is finer respectively, θ is the dimensionless Shields stress, θc is the critical
value Shields stress for the incipient motion and θcS is the critical Shield stress as expressed by
Smart (1984).
The Shields stress is computed as
|τb |
θ= (7.14)
(ρs − ρw ) g d50

being |τb | the modulus of the shear stress generated at the bottom by the bed roughness, which
is taken into account through the Manning’s coefficient n and computed as
n2 (u2 + v 2 )
|τb | = ρw h (7.15)
h4/3

Table 7.1 – Summary of bedload transport formulas.

FORMULA Φ INPUT PARAMETERS
Meyer-Peter & Mueller 8 (θ − θc )3/2 d50 ,θc ,ρs
(1948)
√ √

Ashida Michiue (1972) 17 (θ − θc ) θ− θc d50 ,θc ,ρs
√ √

Engelund and Fredsøe 18.74 (θ − θc ) θ − 0.7 θc d50 ,θc ,ρs
(1976)
Fernandez-Luque and 5.7 (θ − θc )3/2 d50 ,θc ,ρs
van Beek (1976)
Parker fit to Einstein 11.2 (1 − θ/θc )9/2 d50 ,θc ,ρs
(1979)


Smart (1984) 4 (d90 /d30 )0.2 S00.6 Cθ1/2 θ − θc5 d30 ,d50 ,d90 ,θc ,θcS ,ρs
Nielsen (1992) 12θ1/2 (θ − θc ) d50 ,θc ,ρs
Wong 4.93 (θ − θc )1.6 d50 ,θc ,ρs
Wong 3.97 (θ − θc )3/2 d50 ,θc ,ρs
Camenen-Larson 12θ3/2 exp (−4.5θc /θ) d50 ,θc ,ρs

PNp
The sum p=1 zp in (7.11) can consider heterogeneous soil, where different fractions of material
may coexist. In order to take into account this heterogeneity, every sediment transport discharge
(qbp,x ,qbp,y ) associated to the p-th sediment size-class is multiplied by its corresponding soil frac-
tion fbp . Therefore, it is necessary to defined the fraction of each sediment size-class in the bed
layer.
7.2 Sediment transport laws 82

7.2.2 Suspended load transport

When the suspension load plays the key role in the mobilization of the bed, the term of bedload
can be omitted and system in (7.1) turns into the following form

Mixture mass conservation

Np
∂(h) ∂(hu) ∂(hv) X
+ + = ξp Rp (7.16)
∂t ∂x ∂y p=1

Mixture momentum conservation in x direction

∂(hu) ∂ hu2 + (1/2)gh2 ∂(huv) pbx τbx
+ + = − (7.17)
∂t ∂x ∂y ρw ρw

Mixture momentum conservation in y direction

∂(hu) ∂(huv) ∂ hv 2 + (1/2)gh2 pby τby
+ + = − (7.18)
∂t ∂x ∂y ρw ρw

Suspended sediment mass conservation for the p-th size-class

∂(hϕp ) ∂(huϕp ) ∂(hvϕp )

+ + = Rp (7.19)
∂t ∂x ∂x

Bed elevation changes  

Np Np
∂ X  X
zp = − ξp Rp (7.20)
∂t p=1 p=1

where the net exchange flux between the mixture flow and the bed layer for the p-th sediment
size-class, Rp , is calculated as

Rp = Abp (Ep − Dp ) = Abp ωmp (ϕ∗p − ϕp ) (7.21)

where Ep and Dp are the specific entrainment and deposition rates for the p-th sediment class
respectively, and the factor Abp denotes the exposure area for the p−th sediment class on the
PNp
top layer of erodible bed, satisfying p=1 Abp = 1. The entrainment and deposition rates are
computed as Ep = ωmp ϕ∗p and Dp = ωmp ϕp respectively, being ϕ∗p the equilibrium or capacity
solid concentration and ωmp the actual settling velocity of the p-th sediment class in the sediment-
laden flow mixture, both obtained through empirical laws. The term ϕp contains the information
about the suspended sediment mass of the p-th sediment size-class which is actually transported.
In all of them, the input parameters are the sediment density and the grain diameter of the p-th
sediment size-class.
It is worth noticing that sediment exchange laws have been derived for one single particle falling
in clear water and under steady situations. Hence, in case of considering a transient situation with
a sediment concentration in the flow column, the influence of the nearby particles must be taken
83 Sediment Transport Module: ST

into consideration since it can strongly reduce the fall velocity in comparison with clear water.
This effect, known as hindered settling (?, ?), is included in the equations by computing the actual
settling velocity ωmp (?) for each sediment size-class in the mixture flow as:
  3
αωp 1 − √ϕ0
 p
ωsp if: ϕ0 > 2 d50p

ωmp = 2 d50p (7.22)
 α (1 − ϕ )4 ω

oherwise
ωp 0 sp

Np
P
where αωp is a tuning parameter defined by the modeler, phi0 = ϕp accounts for the bulk
p=1
concentration in the mixture flow and ωsp is the theoretical settling velocity of a single sediment
particle in clear water and d50p is the median diameter of each sediment class. Table 7.2 collects
the formulas considered in this RiverFlow2D release for the computation of the settling velocity of
each sediment class in clear water ωsp . In all of them, the input parameters which are necessary
are the sediment density and median diameter for each size-class. For the shake of clarity, the
subscript p has been omitted in the empirical formulation in 7.2.

Table 7.2 – Formulas to calculate sediment settling velocity ωs .

FORMULA ωs OBSERVATIONS
q

ρs
Rubey (1933) ωs = F ρw − 1 gd50 If d50 > 1 mm, F =
0.79, otherwise F =
 0.5
2 36ν 2
+ −
3 gd3 (ρs /ρw −1)
50
  0.5
36ν 2
gd3 (ρs /ρw −1)
q 50

2 ρs


Zhang (1961) ωs = 13.95 dν + 1.09 ρw − 1 gd50 − 13.95 dν Valid for a wide range of d50
50

gd350 0.5  50
ρs
Zanke (1977) ωs = 10 dν 1 + 0.01 ρw −1 2 −1
50
 ν
1 ρs −ρw d2
Van Rijn ωs = 18 ρw g νs d50 < 0.1 mm
(1984)  
(2/3)(ρs /ρw −1)gd2 ν
Raudkivi ωs = 50 − 32 d50 > 1 mm
ν 1.2d50
(1990)  
(2/3)(ρs /ρw −1)gd2 ν
Julien (1995) ωs = 50 − 24
ν 1.5d50
p 1.5
ν
Cheng(1997) 25 + 1.2D∗2 − 5
ωs = d50 D∗

=1/3
d50 (ρs /ρw − 1) g/ν 2
p
Jiménez- ωs = (C1 + C2 S∗ ) (s − 1)gd50 C1 , C2 and S∗ as in
Madsen Jiménez-Madsen
(2003) q n
Mν 1 4N

1/n
Wu- ωs = N ds 4 3M 2
D∗3 − 0.5 M, N and n as
Wang(2006) in Wu and D∗

=
2 1/3
d50 (ρs /ρw − 1) g/ν

7.2.3 Capacity suspended load formulas

As it has been mentioned before, the equilibrium concentration ϕ∗p which appears in (7.21) is
obtained for each p sediment size-class as
7.2 Sediment transport laws 84

∗
qsp
ϕ∗p = (7.23)
hU
√
where U = u2 + v 2 is the modulus of the flow velocity and q∗sp is the capacity suspended solid
transport rate, which are estimating using one of the following empirical relationships. For the
shake of clarity, the subscript p has been omitted in the empirical laws.

• Bagnold (1966, (?)) considered that the shear stress is proportional to the flow velocity and
it was established the following formula,

ρs τb U 2
qs∗ = 0.01 (7.24)
ρs − ρw ωs

being τb the shear stress generated at the bottom by the bed roughness which is computed
using (7.15).

• Van Rijn (1984, (?)) proposed calculate the equilibrium suspended load integrating the
sediment flux within the layer where the suspension plays a key role, i.e. between the term
hs and h,
Z h
qs∗ = ϕm U dh′ (7.25)
hs

where, qs∗ is expressed by volume per unit time, and the terms of ϕm and hs were defined
as follows
h
!ωs /(kU∗ )
h′
−1
ϕm = ϕs h
(7.26)
hs −1

with
1/3 
ν2
 
0.117 θ
ϕs = −1 (7.27)
d50 (s − 1)g θc

 1/3 !0.7 r
(s − 1)g θ
hs = 0.3 d50 d50 −1 (7.28)
ν2 θc

where θ is the dimensionless Shields stress calculated using (7.14), θc is the critical Shields
parameter, d50 is the sediment median diameter, s is the density ratio and ν is the kinematic
viscosity of water.

7.2.4 Active layer composition

The exposure each sediment class in the top layer of the erodible bed, known as active layer,
governs the exchange of solid material between the the bedload and the suspended transport.
This RiverFlow2D release includes to models for the active layer composition:
85 Sediment Transport Module: ST

• Fixed fraction model: The composition in the top layer of the erodible bed does not vary
respect to the substrate defined by the user. Therefore, given the fraction of each sediment
PNp
class in the substrate Fsp , satisfying p=1 Fsp = 1, the composition of the beload rate (7.13)
and the suspended exchange term (7.21) are estimated as

Bedload fraction: fbp = Fsp (7.29)

(
Fsp if: Ep − Dp > 0
Exchange exposure: Abp = (7.30)
1 oherwise

• Active layer model: A more complicated approach is provided by the active layer model
(?). Sediments in the top layer of the erodible bed can be freely exchanged with the bedload
transport layer, the suspended load in the flow and the underlying substrate (?, ?). Hence
the composition of this active layer evolves following the equation

 
∂ ∂ qbp,x ∂ qbp,y
∂ze
(fap ηa ) = −ξp + − ξp Rp − fep (7.31)
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂t

being ηa is the thickness of the active layer and fap the fraction of the p-th sediment class
PNp
in the active layer, which satisfies p=1 fap = 1, and ze denotes the interface between
the active layer and the underlying substrate. The active layer thickness is estimated here
as a function of the maximum sediment diameter and the bed form height (?, ?), whereas
the temporal variation of the interface ∂ze /∂t is approximated by the bulk bed level change
∂z/∂t. The term fep denotes fraction of the p-th sediment class which is exchange through-
PNp
out the interface ze , satisfying p=1 fep = 1, and it is estimated here as

(
Fsp if: ∂ze /∂t < 0
fep = (7.32)
βa fap + (1 − βa )ϕp /ϕ0 otherwise

where βa is tuning weighting parameter set to 0.6 in RiverFlow2D and ϕp /ϕ0 represents the
relative concentration of the p-th sediment class in the suspended load.

The composition of the beload rate (7.13) and the suspended exchange term (7.21) are
estimated as

Bedload fraction: fbp = fap (7.33)


 PNfpap /d50p if: Ep − Dp > 0
fap /d50p
Exchange exposure: Abp = p=1 (7.34)
 1 oherwise
7.3 Boundary conditions for the suspended sediment model 86

7.3 Boundary conditions for the suspended sediment

model
When using the suspended sediment model, the user must impose volume concentration for each
sediment fraction at all inflow boundaries. This data should be included in the same file that sets
the time series at each inlet. For instance, if you select two sediment fractions and BCType=6
where the inflow is set as discharge a typical file would be like this one:

3
0 1000. 0.1 0.2
2 67000. 0.1 0.2
100 67000. 0.1 0.2

There are 3 times 0, 2 and 100 hours. The first column is time in hours. The second column is the
water discharge. Then there are two columns that should have the sediment volume concentration
for each given fraction.

7.4 Boundary conditions for the bedload model

7.4.1 Water and sediment discharge inflow

When using the bedload model, the user can impose the water discharge and bedload solid inflow.
In this case, the sediment inflow must be provided for each sediment fraction at all inlets. This
data should be included in the same file that sets the time series at each inlet. For instance, if you
select two sediment fractions and BCType=26, a typical file would be like this one:

3
0 1000. 0.005 0.002
2 67000. 0.005 0.002
100 67000. 0.005 0.002

There are 3 times 0, 2 and 100 hours. The first column is time in hours. The second column is the
water discharge. Then there are two columns that should have the bedload solid inflow for each
given fraction.

7.4.2 Provide only water discharge inflow

When using the bedload model, the user can impose the water discharge only and let the model
compute the solid inflow. This is an useful feature when you do not have solid discharge data. In
that case the model will determine the solid discharge for each sediment class based on the local
flow conditions and the bedload formula selected, which may be a good approximation in many
applications.
87 Sediment Transport Module: ST

In this option, you simple select the Discharge vs. Time boundary condition (BCType=6) and give
only a water discharge vs time table. A typical file would be like this one:

3
0 1000.
2 67000.
100 67000.

This file indicates that there are 3 times 0, 2 and 100 hours. The first column is time in hours. The
second column is the water discharge. No other columns will be necessary.

7.5 Boundary conditions for combined the bedload and

suspended load model
When using the bedload and suspended models together, the user must impose the suspended
sediment concentration and the bedload solid inflow for each sediment fraction at all inlets. This
data should be included in the same file that sets the time series at each inlet. For instance, if
you select two sediment classes and BCType=26, a typical inflow boundary condition file would
be like this one:

3
0 1000. 0.1 0.2 0.005 0.002
2 67000. 0.1 0.2 0.005 0.002
100 67000 0.1 0.2. 0.005 0.002

There are 3 times 0, 2 and 100 hours. The first column is time in hours. The second column is
the water discharge. The third and fourth columns are the bedload solid discharge inflow for each
given class. Finally, the fifth and sixth columns represent the sediment volume concentration for
each class.

7.6 Sediment Transport Finite-Volume Numerical

Solution
The system of equations (7.1) is integrated in a volume or grid cell Ω using Gauss theorem:
Z I Z Z
∂
UdΩ + Endl = SdΩ + RdΩ (7.35)
∂t Ω ∂Ω Ω Ω

where n = (nx , ny ) is the outward unit normal vector to the volume Ω.

In order to obtain a numerical solution of system (7.1) we divide the domain in computational cells,
Ωi , using a mesh fixed in time, and (7.35) is applied to each cell
7.7 Entering Data for the Sediment Transport Model in the Hydronia Data Input Program 88

Z NE Z ek+1 Z Z
∂
(En)↓k dlk =
X
UdΩ + SdΩ + RdΩ (7.36)
∂t Ωi ek Ωi Ωi
k=1

with (En)↓k the value of the interface flux function through the edge k to be defined, nk = (nx , ny )
is the outward unit normal vector to the cell edge k, and N E is the number of edges in cell i. A
sketch of the fluxes is showed in Figure 7.1.

Figure 7.1 – Cell parameters.

Assuming a piecewise representation of the conserved variables

Z
1
Uni = U(x, y, tn )dΩ (7.37)
Ai Ωi

Equation (7.36) is written as

Z NE Z Z
∂
(En)↓k lk =
X
UdΩ + SdΩ + RdΩ (7.38)
∂t Ωi Ωi Ωi
k=1

where lk is the corresponding edge length. System (7.38) is solved following the theory of Roe’s
Riemann solver and using the upwind discretization [(?, ?)].

7.7 Entering Data for the Sediment Transport Model in

the Hydronia Data Input Program
To enter data for a sediment transport simulation use the Sediment Transport panel.
89 Sediment Transport Module: ST

Figure 7.2 – Hydronia Data Input Program Sediment Transport panel.

7.8 Assumptions and considerations of the Sediment

Transport Model
The main assumptions involved in the present version of RiverFlow2D model are:

• When using the bedload option, the sediment transport rate is equal to the transport capacity
under equilibrium conditions.

• Each sediment particle size is considered using a single characteristic diameter (D50 ) for all
formulas except for that of Smart (1984) that considers three sizes (D30 , D50 and D90 ).

• The fixed fraction model ensures bed conservation of all the fractions separately.

• The active layer model is able to account for bed armoring effects but does not ensure
conservation for all the bed fractions separately.

• The model does not consider local scour such as pier scour, where three-dimensional flow
determines the sediment transport and bed change rates.

• When assigning maximum erosion bed elevation, the model blocks further erosion when the
bed elevation reaches the given limit.

Since the formulations for the bed load discharge, the suspended load discharge and the settling
velocity are based on deterministic laws supported by experimentation, tuning parameter factors
7.8 Assumptions and considerations of the Sediment Transport Model 90

have been considered for each one. Hence, the model makes possible the calibration of the
computed sediment transport for each particular situation.
 Mud and Tailings Flow Model: MT
8
Mud, debris or tailing floods are highly unsteady surface flow phenomena in which the fluid shows
compressible non-Newtonian behavior, including stop and go mechanisms. The bulk properties
of the fluids are those of a hyperconcentrated mixture of water and sediments, with important
gradients of the solid phase concentration. The global resistance of the mud/tailings flow depends
on the relative importance of the shear stresses arising from different sources that, apart from
turbulent shear stress at the channel boundary, include viscous stress, yield stress, dispersive
stress and inelastic collisions of solid particles within the fluid mixture (?).
RiverFlow2D MT module includes two options. The first is the Constant-Properties Fixed-Bed
Model (CP-FB) that considers an homogeneous fluid with constant density, viscosity, yield stress,
and friction angle, where the sediment volumetric concentration does not change in time nor
space. The second option is the Variable-Properties Movable-Bed Model (VP-MB) in which the
solid phase is composed of multiple sediment size classes. This model includes transient bulk
density, variable viscosity and yield stress in space and time, dynamic pore-fluid pressure affecting
the stop mechanism, and entrainment/deposition of material from/to the underlying movable bed.

8.1 Constant-Properties Fixed-Bed (CP-FB) Mud Flow

Model
The mathematical model adopted in the CP-FB model is based on that of (?), considering fixed-
bed conditions and the basal resistance for free-surface flow ranging from clear water to hyper-

91
8.2 Variable-Properties Movable-Bed (VP-MB) Flow Model 92

concentrated mixtures of sediments.

The CP-FB model involves the following assumptions:

• The flow is confined to a layer which is thin compared to the horizontal scale of interest.

• The flow is governed by equation (6.1) with the resistance terms evaluated as explained
below.

• The mixture of water and sediments is described by using the continuum approach, without
distinguishing the liquid from the solid phase.

• The river bed does not erode, hence entrainment/deposition of material is not possible.

• The fluid is assumed to be an homogeneous single-phase mix of water and sediment and
has constant properties: e.g. density, viscosity, yield stress, basal frictional angle, etc. The
pore-fluid pressure is also considered hydrostatic.

• The reference coordinate system is horizontal-vertical and the pressure and stress forces
act along the horizontal direction.

8.2 Variable-Properties Movable-Bed (VP-MB) Flow

Model
The VP-MB model for mud/tailings flow is based on that of (?) and involves the following assump-
tions:

• Shallow-flow approach: the flow is confined to a layer which is thin compared to the hori-
zontal scales of interest, leading to the hydrostatic bulk pressure assumption.

• Multicomponent flow: the mixture of water and sediment particles is described by using the
continuum approach and assuming the same velocity for the liquid and the solid phase.

• The different sediment size-classes present in the flow are distributed uniformly in the flow
column.

• The reference coordinate system is horizontal-vertical, but the pressure and stress forces
act along the direction tangential to the bed surface.

• Dynamic pore-fluid pressures can be developed in the liquid phase, affecting the frictional
shear stress between solid grains.

The two-dimensional mud/tailings flow model over erodible bed consists of 3 + N + 1 partial dif-
ferential equations, including the depth-averaged equations for the water-sediment mixture mass
and momentum conservation:
93 Mud and Tailings Flow Model: MT

N
∂ ∂ ∂ X Dp − Ep
(ρh) + (ρhu) + (ρhv) = − ρb,p (8.1)
∂t ∂x ∂y p=1
1 − ξp
∂ ∂ 1 ∂ ∂zb
(ρhu) + (ρhu2 + gψ ρh2 ) + (ρhuv) = − gψ ρh − τbx (8.2)
∂t ∂x 2 ∂y ∂x
∂ ∂ ∂ 1 ∂zb
(ρhv) + (ρhuv) + (ρhv 2 + gψ ρh2 ) = − gψ ρh − τby (8.3)
∂t ∂x ∂y 2 ∂y

the continuity equation for each sediment size-class p = 1, ..., N , expressed as:

∂ ∂ ∂
(h ϕp ) + (hu ϕp ) + (hv ϕp ) = −(Dp − Ep ) (8.4)
∂t ∂x ∂y

as well as the mass conservation equation for the bed layer considering N sediment size-classes:

N
X Dp − Ep
∂zb
= (8.5)
∂t p=1
1 − ξp

where ρ is the bulk mixture density, h is the flow depth, (u, v) are the components of the depth-
averaged flow velocity vector u along the x and y coordinates respectively, ϕp represents the
depth-averaged volumetric concentration of the pth sediment size-class, being N the number of
sediment size-classes transported, and (τbx , τby ) are the components of the basal resistance
vector τb along the x and y coordinates respectively. Moreover, zb is the bed elevation, ξp is
the deposition porosity for the pth sediment class and ρb,p the associated bulk density in the bed
layer, Dp and Ep are the size specific deposition and entrainment exchange rates respectively,
and gψ = g cos2 ψ is the bed-normal projection of the gravity, being g the gravitational acceleration
and cos ψ the direction cosine of the bed normal with respect to the vertical axis (?).
Accordingly, the normalized bulk density r is given by:

N
ρ X ρs,p − ρw
r= = 1 + ϕχ with: ϕχ = ϕp (8.6)
ρw p=1
ρw

where ϕχ is the buoyant solid concentration, ρw is pore-water density and ρs,p is the density of the
sediment particles for each sediment size-class.
The complete 2D system can be expressed in vector form as:

∂U ∂F(U) ∂G(U)
+ + = Sb (U) + Sτ (U) + Eb (U) (8.7)
∂t ∂x ∂y

where U is the vector of conserved variables, F(U) and G(U) are the convective fluxes along
the x and y global coordinates respectively, Sb (U) is the momentum source term associated to
the variation of the pressure force on the bottom, Sτ (U) is the momentum dissipation due to the
boundary shear stress between the mixture flow and the bed layer and Eb (U) accounts for the
mass net exchange flux between the mixture flow and the bed layer:
 T
U= rh, rhu, rhv, hϕχ , zb (8.8)
8.2 Variable-Properties Movable-Bed (VP-MB) Flow Model 94

   
rhu rhv
 rhu2 + 12 gψ rh2 rhuv
   
  
   
F(U) =  G(U) =  2 1 2 (8.9)
 rhuv 
  rhv + 2 gψ rh


hu ϕχ hv ϕ χ
   
   
0 0

 
0  
0
 − gψ rh ∂zb
 
 −τbx /ρw
  
 ∂x  
 ∂zb   
(8.10)
Sb (U) = 
 − gψ rh  −τby /ρw
Sτ (U) = 
 
∂y
 
0
   
 
0
 
 
0
0

 
Nbr
 0 
 
 
Eb (U) = 
 0 
 (8.11)
 χ 
 Nb 
Nbξ

In resistance vector Sτ (U) (8.10) and regardless the rheological model selected for modeling the
behavior of the complex compressible fluid, the basal resistance τb between the flow and the bed
can be expressed as:

τb = (τbx , τby ) = τb nu (8.12)

being τb the modulus of the basal shear stress and nu = (nux , nuy ) the velocity unit vector.
In the net exchange source term Eb (U) (8.11), the global net exchange fluxes for the mixture,
solid phase and bed layer mass conservation equations (Nbr , Nbχ and Nbξ respectively) can be
calculated as:
N
X ρb,p Dp − Ep
Nbr =−
ρ
p=1 w
1 − ξp
N
X ρs,p − ρw
Nbχ = − (Dp − Ep ) (8.13)
p=1
ρw
N
X Dp − Ep
Nbξ =
p=1
1 − ξp

where ρb,p = ρw ξp + ρs,p (1 − ξp ) is the bulk density of the bed layer for the deposition pth sediment
size-class (?).
The terms Dp and Ep are the deposition and entrainment vertical rates, respectively, for the pth
sediment size-class. The size-specific net exchange flux (Dp −Ep ) can be expressed as a function
of the actual mixture depth-averaged volumetric concentration ϕp and the capacity volumetric
95 Mud and Tailings Flow Model: MT

concentration ϕ∗p for each sediment size-class:

Dp = αD,p ωs,p (1 − ϕ0 )m0 ϕp

(8.14)
Ep = αE,p Fb,p ωs,p ϕ∗p

being αD,p and αE,p two tuning parameters for the deposition and entrainment rates of the pth
sediment class respectively, ωs,p the size-specific settling velocity of the sediment particles in
N
P
clear water, ϕ0 = ϕp the total sediment concentration in the flow column, m0 ≈ 4 a semi-
p=1
empirical parameter accounting for the hindering effect on the settling velocity due to high sedi-
ment concentrations and Fb,p the fraction of the pth sediment size-class in the bed layer, satisfying
N
P
Fb,p = 1. Note that the entrainment rate is graded as a function of the fraction in the bed layer
p=1
for each sediment class.
The equilibrium suspended concentration ϕ∗p is estimated by the different semi-empirical relations.
Bagnold (?), Van Rijn (?) and Zhang-Xie (?) formulations have been implemented. Furthermore,
the Wu formulation (?) accounting for the total transport capacity of the flow (bedload and sus-
pended load) is also available:
" 1.5 #2.2 1.74
q∗
 
n τb τt |u|
q s,p = 0.0053 −1 + 0.0000262 −1 (8.15)
βp χp gd3s,p np τc,p τc,p ωs,p

∗
where qs,p = ϕ∗p h|u| is the equilibrium solid transport rate by volume per unit time and width for
the pth sediment size-class, ds,p is the corresponding medium diameter, βp is a calibration factor
1/6
(Equilibrium Formula Factor) , n and np = ds,p /21.1 are the global and size-specific Manning
roughness parameters respectively, τb is the modulus of the basal shear stress, |u| is the flow
velocity, τt = ρw ghSf is the turbulent shear stress of the flow with Sf being the friction slope, and
τc,p is the size-specific critical shear stress for incipient motion of the solid material.

8.2.1 Bed-material conservative model for multi-grain deposits

In this conservative model, the total mass of the pth sediment class available in the bed layer is
expressed as:
 
ρs,p fs,p (1 − ξp )ζ + fb,p (1 − ξp )η (8.16)

where ζ is the height of the original bed stratum over the bedrock and eta the thickness of the bed-
material deposit, fs,p and fb,p are the fraction of the pth sediment class in the underlying stratum
and the deposit respectively. Note that fs,p is always constant in time, whereas fb,p might vary
N
P
in time and space, satisfying fb,p = 1. The relative composition of the bed-material deposit
p=1
changes as the solid material is deposited or entrained from/into the flow layer.
When the material is deposited/entrained to/from erodible bed-material deposits eta, the mass
conservation for each sediment mass is ensured by solving the equation:
8.2 Variable-Properties Movable-Bed (VP-MB) Flow Model 96

∂(fb,p η) Dp − Ep
= (8.17)
∂t 1 − ξp

being η the deposit height and fb,p the fraction of the pth sediment class in the deposit.
In this conservative model, the net solid flux for the pth sediment class is alternatively computed
as:

Dp − Ep = Ab,p Nb,p (8.18)

where Nb,p and Ab,j are the single-class net exchange flux and the exposure area for the pth
sediment class in the bed-material deposit, computed as:

Nb,p = αD,p ωs,p (1 − ϕ0 )m0 ϕp − αE,p ωs,p ϕ∗p

   
(8.19)

 fb,p /ds,p

if Nb,p < 0 (Entrainment)
N

 P
Ab,j = fb,p /ds,p (8.20)

 p=1

 1 if Nb,p > 0 (Deposition)

8.2.2 Finite-volume Numerical Solution for Compressible Flows

The numerical method for the VP-MB model is detailed in (?) and (?). Here only the most
important points are summarized.
For the numerical solution for the compressible mud/tailings flow model, the spatial domain is
divided in computational cells using a mesh fixed in time and system (8.7) is integrated in each
cell Ωi . Assuming a constant piecewise representation of the conserved variables at the cell Ωi
for the time tn , Uni , the explicit formula for updating the conserved variables to the next time tn+1 ,
Un+1
i , is written as:

NE
∆t X −1 ↓ ∆t ⊡
Un+1 = Uni − R k F k lk + E (8.21)
i
Ai Ai b
k=1

being ∆t = tn+1 − tn the time step, Ai the cell area, lk the length of the kth cell edge, F ↓k the nu-
n
merical flux normal to the kth cell edge and E⊡
b = Ai Eb (Ui ) the explicitly integrated cell-centered
exchange between the hyperconcentrated flow and the bed. Therefore, the set of projected con-
servative variables for the kth edge cell is defined asÛ = Rk U, where Rk and Rk−1 are the
rotation matrix and its inverse respectively.
The numerical flux F ↓k normal to each cell edge is defined as:
 
F ↓k = F(Û) − Ŝ∨
b − Ŝ∨
τ (8.22)
k

incorporating the integrated bed-pressure and basal resistance momentum source edge-contributions,
Ŝ∨ ∨
b and Ŝτ respectively, into the homogeneous convective numerical fluxes F(Û)k and ensuring
the well-balance property for steady states (?).
97 Mud and Tailings Flow Model: MT

The numerical flux at the cell edges is upwind computed using a x-split fully-coupled augmented
Roe scheme (xA-Roe), which considers a linearized Riemann problem with a Jacobian matrix J ek
for water-sediment mixture flow defined as:
 
0 1 0 0
 1 e
e2 − 12 gψ e

ek =  2 gψ h(1 + re) − u u
2e 0 her 

J  (8.23)

 −e u ve ve u
e 0 

 
u ϕeχ re
−e χ
ϕe re 0 u
e

with four approximate real eigenvalues:

λ u−e
e1,k = (e c)k λ
e2,k = u
ek λ u+e
e3,k = (e c)k λ
e4,k = u
ek (8.24)

where the averaged celerity e

ck is defined as:
r !
1 e χ

ck =
e gψ h 1 + re − ϕe (8.25)
2
k

The time step at each k edge is determined using the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) condition
and assuming that the fastest wave celerity corresponds to the absolute maximum of the eigen-
values of the mixture flux Jacobian matrix Jek (8.23). The limiting time steps at kth edge are
computed using:
min(Ai , Aj )
∆t{k} = (8.26)
e1,k |, |λ
lk max(|λ e |)
3,k

and the global time step ∆t is limited using the CFL condition as:

∆t = CFL min(∆t{k} ) (8.27)

k

8.3 Rheological Formulation and non-Newtonian Basal

Resistance
A detailed explanation of the depth-averaged non-Newtonian basal resistance models used for
the VP-MB model can be found in (?) and here only the most important points are summarized.
There is not an universal closure relation for representing the depth-averaged basal resistance
τb (8.12) in tailings and mud/debris flows. The formulation selected to model the stress state
along the flow column incorporates into the momentum equations the rheological behavior of the
complex compressible fluid in motion. Different kinds of shear stresses determine this complex
rheology: turbulent/dispersive stress τt and viscous stress τµ in the liquid phase, cohesive yield
stress τy , or Coulomb-type frictional stress τf between solid grains. All these different types of
shear stress act simultaneously along the mixture column and hence participate in the modulus
of the flow resistance at the bed surface τb , which must be expressed as a function of the flow
√
depth h and the depth-averaged density ρ and velocity modulus |u| = u2 + v 2 .
8.3 Rheological Formulation and non-Newtonian Basal Resistance 98

The rheological formulation in RiverFlow2D MT accounts for the following complex fluid behavior:

Turbulent Newtonian flows: Surface flows involving water or granular mixtures with low solid
concentrations usually show a Newtonian behavior and most of the times occur in turbulent
regime. Depth-averaged turbulent formulations are expressed as a quadratic relation on the
depth-averaged velocity as

τb = ρgψ hCf |u|2 (8.28)

where Cf [m−2 s2 ] is a friction coefficient which takes the form

n2
Cf = (8.29)
h4/3

for the Manning relationship, being n [m−1/3 s] the Manning roughness parameter.

Cohesive viscoplastic flows: The linear viscoplastic relation, also called Bingham model, can be
used to modeling laminar flows of cohesive materials where the modulus of the shear stress along
the flow column τ (z) follows the linear relation:

∂U
τ (z) = τy + µB (8.30)
∂z

being τy [P a] the cohesive yield strength, µB [P a · s] the bulk Bingham viscosity of the com-
plex fluid and U the modulus of the instantaneous velocity along the flow column. Rheological
measurements of muddy fluids indicate the existence of a cohesive yield strength which opposes
deformation. Typical values for the yield stress τy range from about 10–400 P a (?).
Assuming simple shear stress, the flow structure consists of the two separate regions depicted in
Figure 8.1. For z0 < z ≤ zs , τ (z) is lower than the yield strength τy , hence the velocity is constant
throughout the plug region. In the lower region (zb < z ≤ z0 ), the induced shear stress is larger
than τy and the material is sheared.

Figure 8.1 – Velocity and stress distribution for the cohesive viscoplastic model.

Integrating this velocity profile along the entire flow column zb < z ≤ zs leads to the cubic equation
which relates the basal shear stress modulus τb , the yield strength τy and the linear viscous stress:
99 Mud and Tailings Flow Model: MT

 
|u|
2τb3 − 3 τy + 2µB τb2 + τy3 = 0 (8.31)
h

The full Bingham model solves analytically (8.31) to obtain the modulus of the basal resistance
τb . In cases of the stress ratio τy /τb is smaller than 1/2, the Bingham relation can be simplified to

3 |u|
τb = τy + 3µB (8.32)
2 h

Frictional shear-thinning/shear-thickening flows: The non-linear viscoplastic model with a Coulomb-

type yield stress can be used to modeling liquid-solid mixture flows where the intergranular fric-
tional stresses are important and the shear stress modulus along the flow column τ (z) follows the
non-linear relation:
 m
∂U
τ (z) = σe (z) tan δf + µP (8.33)
∂z

where σe (z) denotes the effective normal stress along the flow column, m is the fluid behavior
index, µP [P a · sm ] denotes a plastic viscosity-type parameter U the modulus of the instantaneous
velocity along the flow column.
δf is the basal stability angle and accounts for the effective friction angle between solid particles.
It can be approximated by the angle of the material free surface once it has stopped. Typically
values range between 1 and 15 degree. As general guide, the smaller its value the larger the
fluidity of the material.
The effective normal stress σe (z) accounts for the total normal stress and the pore-fluid pressure
P(z) as

σe (z) = ρgψ (zs − z) − P(z) (8.34)

where pore-fluid pressure can be decomposed as P(z) = ph (z) + pe (z), considering a hydrostatic
component ph (z) = ρw gψ (zs −z) plus a dynamic pore pressure pe (z), also known as pore pressure
excess.
Assuming simple shear stress along the fluid column leads to the flow structure as that depicted
in Figure 8.2, where the motion is hindered until the frictional shear stress σe (z) tan δf is reached
along the entire flow column.
8.3 Rheological Formulation and non-Newtonian Basal Resistance 100

Figure 8.2 – Velocity and stress distribution for the frictional no-linear viscoplastic model.

Integrating this velocity profile along the entire flow column zb < z ≤ zs allows obtaining the
following depth-integrated expression for the basal shear stress modulus τb :
 m  m
2m + 1 |u|
τb = τf + µP (8.35)
m h

being τf is the frictional yield stress at the basal surface, estimated as:


τf = ρgψ h − Pb tan δf (8.36)

where Pb is the pore-fluid pressure at the basal surface.

The basal pore pressure Pb is computed as:

Pb = γpp ρw gψ h (8.37)

being γpp is a coefficient accounting for the hydrostatic+dynamic pressure in the pore-fluid, de-
fined as follows:
 ρ
 ref γref if ρ < ρref
γpp = ρ (8.38)
 γ
ref if ρ ≥ ρref

where γref ≥ 1 is a user-defined pore pressure factor and ρref ≥ ρw is the user-defined reference
density. It is worth noting that γpp increases as the depth-averaged ρ decreases, i.e. the lower
the solid concentration in the flow, the higher the basal pore pressure and hence the lower the
frictional yield strength τf (8.36). The flow is considered fully liquefied (τf = 0) for values γpp ≥
ρ/ρw .
Furthermore, as the solid material disappears in the fluid column, the non-Newtonian flow features
are hindered until the clear-water behavior is recovered. For bulk solid concentrations lower than
0.15, VP-MB model assumes the turbulent/dispersive Newtonian model for the basal resistance
regardless the rheological formulation selected. Contrarily, the CP-FB model considers always
only the hydrostatic component of the pore-fluid pressure, leading to Pb = ρw gψ h regardless the
user-defined bulk density.
101 Mud and Tailings Flow Model: MT

Figure 8.3 – Basal resistance behavior for the frictional no-linear viscoplastic model (8.35).

It is worth mentioning that (8.35) represents a generalized depth-integrated formulation for vis-
coplastic flows (Figure 8.3) which encompasses:

• Shear-thinning (pseudoplastic) behavior for m < 1, reducing the apparent viscosity as the
induced shear rate increases. Taking m = 0.5 leads to
√ 
τb = τf + 2µP γ̇ −1/2 γ̇ (8.39)

being γ̇ = 2|u|/h the macroscopic shear rate.

• Linear viscoplastic behavior for m = 1, with a linear relation between shear stress and shear
rate following
 
3
τb = τf + µP γ̇ (8.40)
2

• Shear-thickening (dilatant) behavior for m > 1, increasing the apparent viscosity as the
induced shear rate grows. Taking m = 2 leads to
 
25
τb = τf + µP γ̇ γ̇ (8.41)
16

Frictional turbulent flows: Based on (8.41), where the basal resistance increases proportionally
to |u|2 , the Turbulent & Coulomb relationship uses the Manning approach (8.29) to include the
turbulent stresses into the basal resistance estimation as
n2 |u|2
τb = τf + ρgψ (8.42)
h1/3
8.3 Rheological Formulation and non-Newtonian Basal Resistance 102

In the particular case of dry pure-granular material, this model simplifies to the Coulomb relation
commonly used in soil mechanics:

τb = ρgψ h tan δf (8.43)

Cohesive turbulent flows: Combining a cohesive yield strength, viscous stress and the turbu-
lent/dispersive contribution leads to the quadratic formulation (?) for turbulent hyperconcentrated
flows with dominant cohesive stress at low shear rates. For this additive model, the basal resis-
tance modules τb can be expressed as

k0 |u| n2 |u|2
τb = τy + µB + ρgψ 1/3 (8.44)
8 h h

where µB [P a · s] is the plastic viscosity of the material and k0 is a resistance parameter. In the
particular case of laminar flow in smooth, rectangular, wide channels, k0 = 24 is usually suitable
but it increases with roughness and irregular channel geometry (?).
Table 8.1 summarizes the different models used by RiverFlow2D MT for the estimation of the
basal resistance τb .

Table 8.1 – Rheological basal resistance formulations used in RiverFlow2D MT.

ID MODEL BASAL RESISTANCE FLOW TYPE
n2 |u|2
1 Turbulent Manning τb = τf + ρgψ Turbulent Newtonian
h1/3
|u|


2 Full Bingham 2τb3 − 3 τy + 2µB h τb2 + τy3 =0 Cohesive viscoplastic
|u|
3 Simplified Bingham τb = 32 τy + 3µB h Cohesive viscoplastic
n |u|2
2
4 Turbulent Coulomb τb = τf + ρgψ 1/3 Frictional turbulent with τf =
h

ρgψ h − Pb tan δf
n2 |u|2
5 Turbulent Yield τb = τy + ρgψ Cohesive turbulent
h1/3
n2 |u|2
6 Turbulent Frictional/cohesive
τb = min(τy , τf ) + ρgψ 1/3
h
turbulent
Coulomb/Yield with τf = ρgψ h − Pb tan δf
k0 |u| n2 |u|2
7 Quadratic τb = τy + µ
8 B h
+ ρgψ Cohesive viscous/turbulent with
h1/3
k0 = 24
8 Granular τb = ρgψ h tan δf Dry pure-frictional
2m+1 m |u| m



9 Viscoplastic Coulomb τb = τf + m
µP h
Frictional shear-thinning m < 1
or shear-thickening m > 1, with


τf = ρgψ h − Pb tan δf
|u|2
10 Voellmy τb = A ρgψ h + ρgψ B
Frictional with negligible pore-
pressure; Coefficients A ≈
tan δf and B ≈ h1/3 /n2

• To simulate mud flows of coarse materials, it is recommended to use the Turbulent-Coulomb

or Turbulent-Coulomb-Yield.
103 Mud and Tailings Flow Model: MT

• To simulate mud flows of fine plastic materials are often better represented by the Bingham
formulation.

• The Granular formulation is intended to simulate dry granular materials, not mudflows.

• In the Granular formulation, the friction angle is the stability basal angle of the material
which is equivalent to the free surface angle once the material stops flowing. This stability
basal angle varies for different materials, but to obtain runouts similar to those of mudflows
they should be in the range of 1◦ to 8◦ , and never greater than 15◦ for materials with a low
tendency to flow. Using friction angles around 30◦ makes mobilization almost impossible
with the granular formulation.

8.3.1 Variable viscosity and yield stress in the VD-MB model

When using the Variable-Property Movable-Bed (VP-MB) model, the user can select 1) Bingham
viscosity µB and yield stress τy are constant in time and space, or contrarily 2) Bingham viscosity
µB and yield stress τy vary as a function of the bulk solid concentration at each cell.
The following formula is used to calculate the local viscosity:

 X N 
µB = α1 exp β1 ϕp (8.45)
p=1

and this one is used to determine the local yield stress:

 X N 
τy = α2 exp β2 ϕp (8.46)
p=1

where α1 , β1 , α2 , and β2 , are user-defined empirical coefficients that can be estimated based
on measurements for the fluid being simulated or from experiences and observations reported in
the literature (?, ?). The Hydronia Data Input Program provides a series of these coefficients that
have proven useful to replicate flood of tailings and muddy fluids in different environments.

8.4 Boundary Conditions for the Variable-Properties

Movable-Bed (VP-MB) Flow Model
When using this option, the user must impose volume concentration for each sediment fraction at
all inflow boundaries. This data should be included in the same file that sets the discharge time
series at each inlet. For instance, if you select two sediment fractions and BCType = 6 where the
inflow is set as discharge, a typical file should be like this:
8.5 Entering Data for the Mud and Tailings Flow Model 104

3
0 1000. 0.2 0.3
2 67000. 0.2 0.3
100 67000. 0.2 0.3

where the first line indicates that there are 3 times. The first column corresponds to the time in
hours: 0, 2, and 100 hours in this example. The second column is the water discharge in m3 /s or
ft3 /s. The third and fourth columns indicate the sediment volume concentrations for each of the
two given fractions respectively.

8.5 Entering Data for the Mud and Tailings Flow Model
To enter data for a mud and tailings flow simulation use the Mud/Tailings Flow panel. Also make
sure that the Mud/Tailings Flow check box is active in the Control Data panel.

Figure 8.4 – Hydronia Data Input Program Mud/Tailings Flow panel.

Depending on the selected flow resistance relation, the user will need to enter different parame-
ters. For example:

• The Turbulent Manning relation (1) only needs the roughness parameter n;

• The Full Bingham formulation (2) requires yield stress τy and Bingham viscosity µB ;

• The Viscoplastic Coulomb formulation (9) needs the plastic viscosity parameter µP and
the behavior index m and the basal frictional angle δf required for the computation of the
frictional yield strength τf , as well as the parameters γref and ρref for the estimation of the
basal pore pressure Pb .
105 Mud and Tailings Flow Model: MT

When the Constant-Properties Fixed-Bed (CP-FB) model is selected, the Mud/Tailings Flow panel
provides functions to determine yield stress and viscosity based on formulas recommended in a
number of publications. Figure 8.5 presents the formulas available to set the uniform yield stress
as a function of volume concentration:

Solid volume
Cv = (8.47)
Total volume

Figure 8.5 – Yield stress formulas as a function of volume concentration Cv

Also Figure 8.6 lists the formulas provided to determine the uniform bulk viscosity from the volume
concentration Cv .

Figure 8.6 – Viscosity formulas as a function of volume concentration Cv

8.5 Entering Data for the Mud and Tailings Flow Model 106

The Mud/Tailings Flow panel also calculates the uniform bulk density ρ as a function of volume
concentration Cv and the water density ρw using the following formula:

ρ = ρw (1 + 1.65Cv ) (8.48)
 Pollutant Transport Model: PL
9
The study of solute transport phenomena and river mixing has become a great concern in hy-
draulic and environmental problems. RiverFlow2D Pollutant Transport Model provides a tool to
calculate concentrations of multiple pollutants in a variety of riverine and estuarine situations.
A solute or pollutant is defined as any substance that is advected by water and well mixed in the
vertical direction. The interest of simulating pollutant transport is usually focused around deter-
mining the time evolution of a solute concentration within a complex hydrodynamic system, that
is, given the solution concentration at a specific time and space, the model determines the spatial
distribution of the solute concentrations at for future times. This physical process is accounted for
the advection-dispersion equation and can incorporate the effect of reaction with the water and
with other solutes (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)

9.1 Model Equations

Although RiverFlow2D PL can handle multiple pollutants simultaneously, for the sake of clarity in
this section the transport of only one solute is presented coupled to the 2D model. The pollutant
transport equations will be expressed in a conservative form, assuming that the velocities and the
water depth may not vary smoothly in space and time.
Correspondingly, the 2D shallow water model with solute transport can be written in unique cou-
pled system:
∂U ∂F(U) ∂G(U)
+ + = H(U) + R(U) + D(U) (9.1)
∂t ∂x ∂y

107
9.2 Pollutant Transport Finite-Volume Numerical Solution 108

where
T
U = (h, qx , qy , hϕ)

T  T
qx qy qx qy qy 2
F = qx , qxh2 + 21 gh2, h , hϕu , G = qy , h , h + 12 gh2, hϕv (9.2)

T
H = (0, gh(S0x − Sf x ), gh(S0y − Sf y ), 0)

and ϕ is the depth-averaged solute concentration. The sources terms associated to the solute
transport equation are expressed as follows:

T
 →
− →
− T
R = (0, 0, 0, −Khϕ) D = 0, 0, 0, ∇(Dh ∇ϕ) (9.3)

where K is the uptake constant and D is an empirical diffusion matrix.

9.2 Pollutant Transport Finite-Volume Numerical

Solution
In RiverFlow2D, the solute transport has been considered letting aside the consideration con-
cerning diffusion terms. However many strategies such as splitting and computing separately the
advection and the diffusion terms or solving the diffusion implicitly (?, ?), have been developed to
avoid small values in the time step size due to the combination of the CFL and Peclet number.
The numerical resolution of the solute transport equation under an explicit finite-volume method
is frequently performed by solving the depth-averaged concentration apart from the shallow wa-
ter equations, that is, using a simpler decoupled algorithm. Once the hydrodynamic equations
have been solved, the corresponding substances or solutes are advected with these flow field
previously computed.
In order to get a fully conservative method, RiverFlow2D considers the complete system including
the hydrodynamic and the transport equations. Mathematically, the complete system conserves
the hiperbolicity property, implying the existence of a 4 × 4 Jacobian matrix for the 2D model.
On this basis we can apply the straightforward procedure described above, allowing a Roe’s
local linearization and expressing the contributions that arrive to the cell as a sum of waves. To
ensure conservation and bounded values in the final solute concentration even in extreme cases,
a conservative redistribution of the solute maximum fluxes as proposed in (?) was implemented
in RiverFlow2D.
According to (?), once the hydrodynamic part is properly formulated, a simple numerical flux q ↓ ,
directly related to the Roe’s linearization, which is able to completely decouple the solute transport
from the hydrodynamic system in a conservative way is used. Therefore,
3  m
qk↓
X
= qi + λe− γ
eee1 (9.4)
k
m=1
109 Pollutant Transport Model: PL

where qi = (hun)i and the decoupled numerical scheme for the solute transport equation is
written as:
N
E
∆t X
(hϕ)n+1
i = (hϕ)ni − (qϕ)↓k lk (9.5)
Ai
k=1

where
(
ϕi if qk↓ > 0
ϕ↓k = (9.6)
ϕj if qk↓ < 0

in cell i. A sketch of the fluxes is showed in Figure 9.1.

From a physical point of view, the new solute mass at a fixed cell can be seen as exchanging water
volumes with certain concentration through the neighboring walls and mixing them (finite-volume
Godunov’s type method) with the former mass existing in the previous time (Figure 9.1). According
to this philosophy, the outlet boundary cells will require a special treatment when applying this
technique in order to extract the corresponding solute mass through the boundary walls. For this
reason, it is necessary to define q ↓ = (hu · n)BC and ϕ↓ = ϕBC at the boundary wall and to
include this contribution for the updating of the boundary cell BC (see Figure 9.2).

↓ ↓
Figure 9.1 – Physical representation of solute mass exchange between cells with qi−1/2 , qi+1/2 > 0.
9.3 Entering Data for the Pollutant Transport Model 110

Figure 9.2 – Extraction of mass solute in an outlet boundary cell.

As shown, the formulation reduces to compute a class of numerical flux q ↓ using the already com-
puted averaged values at each edge. Apart from ensuring a perfect conservation and bounded
free-oscillatory solutions (Murillo et al, 2012), this simple discretization decreases substantially
the number of computations that would be necessary for the complete coupled system.

9.3 Entering Data for the Pollutant Transport Model

To enter data for a pollutant transport simulation use the Pollutant Transport panel. Also make
sure that the Pollutant Transport check box is active in thee Control Data tab.

Figure 9.3 – Hydronia Data Input Program Pollutant Transport panel.

111 Pollutant Transport Model: PL

9.4 Assumptions of the Pollutant Transport Model

The main assumptions involved in the present version of RiverFlow2D model are:

1. There is no predetermined limit to the number of pollutants.

2. The pollutant concentration units are arbitrary. The user can use volume concentration,
mg/l, ppt, ppm, or any other suitable units, provided that the inflow boundary conditions are
consistent.

3. Interaction between solutes and between each solute and water are assumed to be first
order reactions.

4. All inflow boundaries where either discharge or water elevation is imposed must provide a
concentration time series for each pollutant.
 Water Quality Model: WQ Module
10
In this chapter, a 2D shallow water flow solver integrated with a water quality model is presented.
The interaction between the main water quality constituents included is based on the Water Qual-
ity Analysis Simulation Program. The proposed numerical model is evaluated in cases that include
the transport and reaction of water quality components over irregular bed topography and dry-wet
fronts, verifying that the numerical solution in these situations conserves the required properties
(C-property and positivity). The model can operate in any steady or unsteady form allowing an
efficient assessment of the environmental impact of water flows (?).
The configurations of this module follow the structure given in the table 10.1:

10.1 Hydrodynamic equations and

convection-diffusion-reaction equation
The flow of water with a free surface can be described by using equations that conserve mass
and momentum:

∂U ∂F(U) ∂G(U)
+ + = H(U) (10.1)
∂t ∂x ∂y

with:

112
113 Water Quality Model: WQ Module

Table 10.1 – State variables used to simulate each option in the quality module

Option:
1 2 3 4
State variable
Ammonium nitrogen (NH+ 4 − N) ✔ ✔
Nitrate Nitrogen (NO− 3 − N) ✔ ✔
Inorganic phosphorus (IP) ✔
Phytoplankton carbon (PHYT) ✔
Carbonaceous biological oxygen demand (CBOD) ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Dissolved oxygen (DO) ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Organic nitrogen (ON) ✔ ✔
Organic phosphorus (OP) ✔
Temperature (T) ✔ ✔
Total coliform bacteria (TC) ✔

U = (h, qx , qy )T

T
q 2 x 1 2 qx qy

F = qx , + gh ,
h 2 h

T (10.2)
qx qy q 2 y 1 2

G= qy , , + gh
h h 2

T
H = (0, gh(S0x − Sf x ), gh(S0y − Sf y ))

qx = uh
qy = vh
(u, v) = Average components of velocity vector u along the x and y
h = depth

The transport equation is written as:

   
∂(hϕi ) ∂(huϕi ) ∂(hvϕi ) ∂ ∂ϕi ∂ ∂ϕi
+ + =E h +E h ± hRi ± fi (10.3)
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y

where ϕi is the average concentration of each state variable, E is the dispersion coefficient, fi
point and non-point sources, y Ri represents the formation or consumption of each constituent.
The term Ri is established according to the Petersen matrix. The matrix is composed of processes
(rows) and state variables (columns), with elements within the matrix that include stoichiometric
coefficients that establish the relationships between the components in the individual processes.
10.1 Hydrodynamic equations and convection-diffusion-reaction equation 114

The general matrix to simulate the options in the table 10.1, it will be defined according to the
tables 10.2, 10.3, and 10.4
 10.1

Variable i → ϕ1 ϕ2 ϕ3 ϕ4 ϕ5 ϕ6 ϕ7 ϕ8 ϕ9 ϕ10 Process rate

Process j ↓ NH+4 NO−3 IP PHYTCBOD DO ON OP T TC
1. CBOD and oxygen Re- 1 ka θ2T −20 (ϕsat − ϕ6 )
aeration  
T −20 ϕ6
2. C-oxidation -1 -1 kD θD kBOD +ϕ6 ϕ5
vs3 (1−fd5 )
3. C-settling -1 h ϕ5
SOD T −20
4. Sediment O2 demand -1 h θS
 
T −20 ϕ4
5. OP- mineralization 1 -1 k83 θ83 kP HY +ϕ4 ϕ8
vs3 (1−fd8 )
6. OP-settling -1 h ϕ8
 
T −20 ϕ4
7. ON- mineralization 1 -1 k71 θ71 kP HY +ϕ4 ϕ7
vs3 (1−fd7 )
8. ON-settling -1 h ϕ7
 
T −20 ϕ6
9. Nitrification (low O2 limitation) -1 1 - 64
12 k12 θ12 kN IT +ϕ6ϕ1
 
T −20 kN O3
10. De-nitrification (high O2 limi- -1 - 54 32
14 k2D θ2D kN O +ϕ6 ϕ2
3
tation)
11. Phyt. grow (Phosphorus lim- −aP C 1 ba GP 1 ϕ4
itation)
T −20
12. Phyt. resp. (Phosphorus -1 − 32
12 aP C k1R θ1R ϕ4
limitation)
T −20
13. Phyt. death (Phosphorus aP C (1−fOP ) -1 aOC aP C fOP k1D θ1R ϕ4

Table 10.2 – Peter matrix of processes.

limitation)
vS4
14. Phyt. settling (Phosphorus -1 h ϕ4
limitation)
15. Phyt. grow (Nitrogen limita- −aN C PN H4 −aN C (1 − PN H4 ) 1 aOC ba GP 1 ϕ4
Hydrodynamic equations and convection-diffusion-reaction equation

tion)
T −20
16. Phyt. resp. (Nitrogen limita- -1 − 32
12 aN C k1R θ1R ϕ4
tion)
T −20
17. Phyt. death (Nitrogen limita- aN C (1 − fON ) -1 aN C fON k1D θ1R ϕ4
tion)
vs4
18. Phyt. settling (Nitrogen limi- -1 h ϕ4
tation)
Kch (Te −ϕ9 )
19. Heat budgets 1 ρcp h

20. Total coliform bacteria 1 kT C ϕ10

115
116 Water Quality Model: WQ Module

Ammonium  preference factor (PN H4 ):

ϕ2
PN H 4 = ϕ1
(kmN + ϕ1 )(kmN + ϕ2 )

Phytoplankton growth rate (Gp1 ):

Gp1 = k1c XRT XRI XRN

Phytoplankton temperature adjustment:

T −20
XRT = θ1C

Phytoplanktonlight limitation
 (XRI ):   
e I0 I0
XRI = f exp − exp (−ke h) − exp
ke h IS IS

Phytoplanktonnutrient limitation (XRN ): 

DIN DIP
XRN = min ,
kmN + DIN kmP + DIP

Total coliform:
αI0 /24 vs
kT C = − (0.8 + 0.02S) 1.07ϕ9 −20 + 1 − e−ke h − Fp 10


ke h h

Re-aeration:
∗ u0.5
ka = 3.93 1.5
h

Saturation oxygen:
∗∗
ϕsat = 0.0035ϕ29 − 0.3369ϕ9 + 14.407

Five day BOD:

DBO5 = ϕ5 (1 − e−5kdbot )

Dissolved inorganic phosphorus:

DIN = ϕ1 + ϕ2

Dissolved inorganic nitrogen:

DIP= ϕ3

Equilibrium river temperature:

I0
Te = Td +
Kch

Constant:
32 48 14
ba = + (1 − PN H4 )
12 14 12

Table 10.3 – Additional equations.

10.1 Hydrodynamic equations and convection-diffusion-reaction equation 117

Parameters Expression
Heat exchange coefficient Kch Kch = 4.5 + 0.05ϕ9 + βf (Uw ) + 0.47f (Uw )
Wind function f (Uw ) f (Uw ) = 9.2 + 0.46Uw2
Coefficient β β = 0.35 + 0.015Tv + 0.0012Tv2
Average temperature Tv Tv = (ϕ9 + Td )/2
Dew point temperature Td Td = 237.3[Ta∗ + ln(rh )]/[17.27 − ln(rh ) − Ta∗ ]
Ta∗ = 17.27Ta /(237.3 + Ta )

Table 10.4 – Empirical formulas for computing surface heat exchange coefficient.
118 Water Quality Model: WQ Module

Description Parameter Recommend

Oxygen to carbon ratio aOC 2.76
Nitrogen to carbon ratio aN C 0.25
Phosphorus to carbon ratio aP C 0.025
Half-saturation for O2 limitation on de-oxygenation kBOD 0.5
Carbonaceous de-oxygenation rate at 20 ◦ C kD 0.16-0.21
Half-saturation for N-limitation on phyto. uptake kmN 0.025
Half-saturation for P-limitation on phyto. uptake kmP 0.001
Half-saturation for O2 limitation on nitrification kN IT 2.0
Nitrification rate at 20 ◦ C k12 0.09-0.13
Phytoplankton growth rate k1C 2
Phytoplankton death rate k1D 0.02
Phytoplankton respiration rate k1R 0.125
De-nitrification rate at 20◦ C k2D 0.09
ON-mineralization rate at 20◦ C k71 0.075
OP-mineralization rate at 20◦ C k83 0.22
Half-saturation for O2 limitation on de-nitrification kN O3 0.1
Half-saturation for phyto. limit. on mineralization kP HY 0-1
Light extinction coefficient in water column ke 0.1-5
The laboratory "bottle" de-oxygenation rate constant kdbot 0.2-0.5
Settling velocity of organic matter vS3 -
Settling velocity of phytoplankton vS4 0.1
Settling velocity of TC v10 0.4
Saturated light intensity IS 200-500
Surface light energy I0 -
BOD temperature coefficient θD 1.047
Re-aeration temperature coefficient θ2 1.024-1.028
Nitrification temperature coefficient θ12 1.08
De-nitrification temperature coefficient θ2D 1.08
Phytoplankton grow temperature coefficient θ1C 1.066
Phytoplankton respiration temperature coefficient θ1R 1.045
ON-mineralization temperature coefficient θ71 1.08
OP-mineralization temperature coefficient θ83 1.08
SOD temperature coefficient θS 1.08
Sediment oxygen demand SOD 0.2-4
Photo-period (fraction of day) f 0.5
Fraction of the bacteria Fp 0.871
Fraction of dead phytoplankton recycled to ON fON 0.5
Fraction of dead phytoplankton recycled to OP fOP 0.5
Fraction dissolved CBOD fd5 0.5
Fraction dissolved ON fd7 0.5
Fraction dissolved OP fd8 0.5
Saturation oxygen ϕsat **
Salinity S -
A proportionality α -
Wind velocity Uw -
Air temperature Ta -
Relative humidity rh -

Table 10.5 – Description of all parameters used in the RiverFlow2D WQ module.

 11
Bridge Scour

The bridge scour calculations implemented in RiverFlow2D are based on the methods developed
by the U.S. Department of Transportation and described in depth in the Hydraulic Engineering
Circular No. 18 (?). RiverFlow2D includes tools to calculate pier and abutment scour using
Hydronia Data Input Program.

11.1 HEC-18 Method for Pier Scour

The equation used to compute pier scour in this method is:
a 0.65 0.43
ys = y1 2.0K1 K2 K3 ( ) Fr (11.1)
y1

where:
ys =Scour depth, ft or m,
y1 =Flow depth directly upstream of the pier, ft or m,
K1 =Correction factor for pier nose shape.
0.65
K2 = (cos α + max(L/a, 12.) sin α) (11.2)

α is the angle of attack in radians,

K3 =Correction factor for bed condition,
a=Pier width,ft or m,
L =Length of pier, ft or m,

119
11.2 Pier scour in Coarse Bed material 120

√
F r=Froude Number directly upstream of the pier F r = V1 / gy1 ,
V1 =Mean velocity of flow directly upstream of the pier, ft/s or m/s,
g=Acceleration of gravity, 32.2 ft/s2 in English units and 9.81 m/s2 in SI.

11.2 Pier scour in Coarse Bed material

The equation is only applicable to clear-water flow conditions and to coarse bed materials with
D50 = 20 mm and σ ≥ 1.5.

F rD2
ys = 1.1K1 K2 a0.62 y10.38 tanh (11.3)
1.97σ 1.5

where:
ys , K1, K2, a, y1 , andV1 are defined as beforehand:
p
F rD= Densimetric particle Froude Number = V1 / g(Sg − 1)D50,
Sg = Sediment specific gravity,
D50 = Median bed material size, ft or m,
D84 = D84 sediment size, ft or m,
σ = Sediment gradation coefficient = D84/D50.

11.3 Pier scour in Cohesive Materials

√ 0.7
ys = 2.2K1 K2 a0.65 (2.6V1 ˘Vc )/ g (11.4)

where ys , K1 , K2 , a, andV1 are defined before and:

Vc = Critical velocity for initiation of erosion of the material, ft/s or m/s.

11.4 Top and bottom width of pier scour holes

To calculate the top width of pier scour holes we use the following equation:

W = ys (K + cot θ) (11.5)

Wbottom = Kys (11.6)

where:
W is the scour hole topwidth,
Wbottom = scour hole bottom width,
K = bottom width of the scour hole related to the depth of scour,
θ = angle of repose of the bed material.
121 Bridge Scour

11.5 Abutment Scour

These are the equations used to calculate abutment scour.

Ymax LB = αa Y cLB (11.7)

Ymax CW = αb Y cCW (11.8)

Y sA = M ax(Ymax LB, Ymax CW )˘Y1 (11.9)

Y cLB = Y1 (q2c/q1 )6/7 (11.10)

Y cCW 1 = (q2c/(K4 D501/3 )6/7 (11.11)

Y cCW 2 = (γw /τc )(n q2c/K5 )6/7 (11.12)

where:
K4 = 11.17 for English units and 6.19 for SI units,
γw = 62.4 Sw for English units,
γw = 9800 Sw for SI units,
Sw is the water specific weight,
V = q1 /y1 ,
Vc = Critical velocity for initiation of erosion of the material, ft/s or m/s,
1/6
Vc = Ku y1 D501/3 ,
Where Ku is 11.17 for English units and 6.19 for SI units,
If V ≥ Vc then use live-bed conditions,
If V < Vc then use clear-water conditions.

11.5.1 Scour amplification factor for spill-through abutments and

live-bed conditions
To determine the amplification factor for spill-through abutments and live-bed conditions the fol-
lowing regressions are used.
x = q2c/q1
y = αa = Ymax /Y c
For x ∈ [1., 1.23]
y(x) = −20172x6 + 139961x5 ˘404430x4 + 622994x3 − 539598x2 + 249172x˘47926
For x ∈ (1.23, 1.60]
y(x) = −1968.9x6 + 16589x5 − 58072x4 + 108127x3 − 112948x2 + 62766x˘14497
For x ∈ (1.60, 3]
y(x) = 0.076x6 − 1.136x5 + 7.1218x4 − 24.031x3 + 46.166x2 − 48.086x + 22.476
For x > 3, y = y(3). x < 1 is not allowed.
11.5 Abutment Scour 122

11.5.2 Scour amplification factor for wingwall abutments and

live-bed conditions
To determine the amplification factor for wingwall abutments and live-bed conditions the following
regressions are used.
x = q2c/q1
y = αa = Ymax /Y c
For x ∈ [1., 1.24],
y = 1085.1x5 − 6379.4x4 + 15009x3 − 17670x2 + 10414x − 2457.2
For x ∈ (1.24, 1.60]
y = −449.86x6 + 3796.2x5 − 13319x4 + 24872x3 − 26082x2 + 14567x − 3384.9
For x ∈ (1.60, 3]
y = 0.1371x4 − 1.469x3 + 6.0171x2 − 11.221x + 9.1721
For x > 3, y = y(3). x < 1 is not allowed.

11.5.3 Scour amplification factor for spill-through abutments and

clear-water conditions
To determine the amplification factor for spill-through abutments and clear-water conditions the
following regressions are used.
x = q2c/q1
y = αb = Ymax /Y c
For x ∈ [1., 1.45]
y = 443.57x5 − 2769.4x4 + 6913.2x3 − 8630.8x2 + 5393.6x − 1349.2
For x ∈ (1.45, 5]
y = 0.0061x5 − 0.1193x4 + 0.9027x3 − 3.1887x2 + 4.7646x − 0.2761
For x > 5, y = y(5). x < 1 is not allowed.

11.5.4 Scour amplification factor for wingwall abutments and

clear-water conditions
To determine the amplification factor for wingwall abutments and clear-water conditions the fol-
lowing regressions are used.
x = q2c/q1
y = αb = Ymax /Y c
For x ∈ [1., 1.18]
y = −331011x6 + 2106 x5 − 6106 x4 + 9106 x3 − 8106 x2 + 1000000x˘632819
For x ∈ (1.18, 5]
y = −0.0033x6 + 0.0639x5 − 0.5041x4 + 2.0151x3 − 4.1113x2 + 3.2197x + 2.0841
For x > 5, y = y(5). x < 1 is not allowed.
 12
Code Parallelization

12.1 RiverFlow2D CPU

RiverFlow2D code has been parallelized using OpenMP directives available in the Intel C++ com-
piler. OpenMP Application Program Interface (API) supports multi-platform shared-memory par-
allel programming in C/C++ and Fortran on architectures, including MAC OS, Unix and Windows
platforms (OpenMP, 2009). OpenMP provides instructions to parallelize existing serial codes
to run in shared-memory platforms ranging from affordable and widely available multiple-core
computers to supercomputers. Using this parallelization approach RiverFlow2D dynamically dis-
tributes the computational workload between as many processors or cores as are available. In
this way the model optimizes its computations to the particular architecture of each computer.
Figure 12.1 shows the speedup of the model with respect to the number of processors/cores on a
DELL Precision 7400 computer with 2 Intel Xeon CPU X5472 @3.00GHz and 16GB of RAM. With
8 cores, the model runs more than 4 times faster than with the non-parallelized model. One hour
simulation takes approximately 6 minutes using the parallelized model in this particular computer
platform.

12.2 RiverFlow2D GPU

The GPU version of the RiverFlow2D model offers amazing speedups that considerably reduce
run times. RiverFlow2D GPU implements two strategies: OpenMP parallelization and GPU tech-

123
12.2 RiverFlow2D GPU 124

Figure 12.1 – Speed up using RiverFlow2D parallelized code as a function of number of processor
cores.

Figure 12.2 – Speed up using RiverFlow2D parallelized code as a function of number of processor
cores.

niques. Since dealing with transient inundation flows the number of wet calls changes during
the simulation, a dynamic task assignment to the processors that ensures a balanced work load
has been included in the Open MP implementation. RiverFlow2D strict method to control volume
conservation (errors of Order 10−14 %) in the numerical modeling of the wetting/drying fronts in-
volves a correction step that is not fully local which requires special handling to avoid degrading
the model performance. The GPU version reduces the computational time by factors of up to
700X when compared with non-parallelized CPU (1-core) runs. Figure 12.2 shows performance
tests using recent GPU hardware technology, that demonstrate that the parallelization techniques
implemented in RiverFlow2D GPU can significantly reduce the computational cost.
 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components
13
RiverFlow2D components are internal boundary conditions that can be used to complement cal-
culations that may not be directly handled using the 2D flow equations. Components can be
specified on polygons, polylines or points, depending on the required data.

The following components are set over polygons:

• Rainfall and Evaporation: accounts for spatially distributed rainfall and evaporation.

• Infiltration: accounts for infiltration losses.

• Wind: allows incorporating the effect of spatially distributed wind stress on the water sur-
face.

The following hydraulic components are set over polylines (feature arcs):

• Bridges: account for general geometry bridges including pressure flow and overtopping.

• Dam Breach: accounts for internal dams or levees that can break.

• Internal Rating Tables: provide an internal relationship of water elevation and discharge.

• Gates: used to represent sluice gate structures.

• Weirs: represent crested structures such as weirs, levees, sound walls, etc., where there is
a unique relationship between discharge and depth.

125
13.1 Bridges Component 126

Hydraulic components that are entered on points are:

• Bridge Piers: account for pier drag forces in a simplified formulation.

• Culverts: one dimensional conveyance conduits where discharge can be calculated using
equations for circular or box structures, and rating tables.

• Sources and Sinks: provide a mean to enter point inflows or outflows that may vary in time.

13.1 Bridges Component

RiverFlow2D provides several options to integrate bridge hydraulics into the 2D mesh calculations.
The most common option is to create the pier plan geometry generating a 2D triangular-cell mesh
that represents each pier as a solid obstacle. In that case, the model will compute the flow around
the pier and account for the pier drag. This would be the preferred approach when the user needs
to know the detailed flow around the piers, but it does not account for pressure flow or overtopping
conditions. In this option, the resulting mesh around piers has commonly very small cells which
can lead to increased computer times.
The Bridges component is a comprehensive bridge hydraulics computation tool that does not
require capturing bridge pier plan geometry in detail, therefore allowing longer time steps, while
allowing calculating the bridge hydraulics accounting for arbitrary plan alignment, complex bridge
geometry, free surface flow, pressure flow, overtopping, combined pressure flow and overtopping,
and submergence all in 2D.
This component requires defining the bridge alignment in plan and the bridge geometry cross sec-
tion. The bridge alignment is given in the .BRIDGES data file which is generated by RiverFlow2D
model based on the user defined data in Hydronia Data Input Program. To run a simulation with
the bridges component, you need to select the option in the Control Data panel as shown in Figure
13.1.
127 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

Figure 13.1 – Hydronia Data Input Program Control Data panel with the Bridges component selected.

The bridge plan data is entered in RiverFlow2D Bridges layer. To create a bridge, please consult
the Simulating bridges tutorial in the Tutorials document.

There is no limit to the number of bridges that can be used.

13.1.1 Bridge Geometry Data File

The bridge geometry cross section file is necessary to define the bridge cross section. It is de-
fined by four polylines and the fined in five columns as follows:

Line 1: Number of points defining polylines.

NP

NP lines with these entries:

STATION(1) BEDELEV(1) ZLOWER(1) LOWCHORD(1) DECKELEV(1)

...

STATION(NP) BEDELEV(NP) ZLOWER(NP) LOWCHORD(NP) DECKELEV(NP) .

The relationship between the four polylines must be as follows:

• For all stations, STATION(I) ≤ STATION(I+1)

13.1 Bridges Component 128

• BEDELEV ≤ ZLOWER ≤ LOWCHORD ≤ DECKELEV

• In a given line all elevations correspond to the same station.

• The space between BEDELEV and ZLOWER is blocked to the flow.

• The space between ZLOWER and LOWCHORD is open to the flow.

• The space between LOWCHORD and DECKELEV is blocked to the flow.

13.1.1.1 Example of the Bridge Cross Section File

The following table is an example one of the geometry file that schematically represents the bridge
in 13.2.
129 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

Figure 13.2 – Front view of a bridge cross section.

Table 13.1 – Variable Descriptions for the bridge cross section geometry file.
VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
Bed elevation. Must be the lowest elevation for all polylines at
BEDELEV R - m or ft
a given point.
Elevation of the bridge deck. Must be the highest elevation for
DECKELEV R - m or ft
all polylines at a given point.
Elevation of the lower bridge deck. LOWCHORD must be
larger or equal to ZLOWER and smaller or equal to DECK-
LOWCHORD R - m or ft
ELEV for a particular point. The space between LOWCHORD
and DECELEV is an area blocked to the flow.
NP I - >1 Number of points defining cross section polylines.
Distance from leftmost point defining cross section polyline.
STATION R - m or ft
All polylines points must have a common station.
Elevation of lower polyline. ZLOWER must be larger or equal
to BEDELEV and smaller or equal to LOWCHORD for a given
point. The space between BEDELEV and ZLOWER is an
ZLOWER R - m or ft
area blocked to the flow. The space between ZLOWER and
LOWCHORD is open to the flow. If the bridge has no holes,
ZLOWER must be identical to BEDELEV.
Note: R = Real variable. I = Integer variable. S = Text variable.
13.1 Bridges Component 130

13.1.2 Bridge Calculations

To model bridges, the source term in the dynamic equation is split in three terms S = Sz +Sf +Sb .
The term Sz defined as
 T
∂z ∂z
Sz = 0, −gh , −gh (13.1)
∂x ∂y

expresses the variation of the pressure force along the bottom in the x and y direction respectively,
formulated in terms of the bed slopes of the bottom level z. The term Sf
 T
τf,x τf,y
Sf = 0, − ,− (13.2)
ρ ρ

involves the the bed shear stresses τf,x , τf,y in the x and y direction respectively, with ρ the density
of the fluid. The last term, Sb stands for local energy losses due to other processes
T
Sb = (0, −ghSb,x , −ghSb,y ) (13.3)

and is used to represent bridges.

The description of energy losses for the friction term associated to the bed stress in equation
(13.2) is commonly formulated as an extension of a 1D formulation. The same approach is applied
in RiverFlow2D deriving 1D closure relations for the definition of the bridge source term. Note
that although the terms Sb,x and Sb,y represent energy losses in the presence of bridges, they are
actually acting as a momentum sink. Empirical models for the energy loss caused by the bridge
are described next.

Figure 13.3 – Top view of a bridge showing the cross sections of interest. Only two piers are depicted
for simplicity.

13.1.2.1 Energy dissipation in bridges

The formulation of Borda-Carnot for energy loss in sudden contractions or expansions in pipes
can also be used for channels (?). This in turn can model bridges with free water surface. The
energy loss will be expressed in terms of the total available head ∆HBC , and represents the total
mechanical energy of the flow. In a 1D framework the head loss ∆HBC is expressed as follows

∆HBC = (∆Hc + ∆He ) (13.4)

where ∆Hc and ∆He are the contraction and expansion losses respectively
131 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

i  2
v̄12
h
2
1 A1
∆Hc = 2g m− 1 + 19 A
 2  2 (13.5)
v̄42 A4
∆He = 2g A3 − 1 + 19

where m is a typical value for the contraction coefficient, m = 0.62 (?) and the areas A1 to A4
refer to effective cross sectional flow area. The numbering of areas is shown in Figures 13.3.
Area 1 is a section upstream of the bridge while area 4 is a downstream section. Areas 2 and 3
are sections inside the bridge, near the entrance and exit respectively.

Figure 13.4 – Simple example of A1 ,A2 , A3 and A4 used to calculate head loss in free surface bridges.

Figure 13.5 – Simple example of A1 ,A2 , A3 and A4 used to calculate head loss in a partially submerged
bridges.

Figure 13.6 – Simple example of A1 ,A2 , A3 and A4 used to calculate head loss in fully submerged
bridges.

The values v̄1 and v̄4 are the cross sectional averaged velocities

Q1 Q4
v̄1 = , v̄4 = (13.6)
A1 (d1 ) A4 (d4 )

with Q1 and Q4 the total discharges in areas A1 and A4 , expressed as a function of the water
surface elevation, d = h + z. Different regimes can be described. Figure 13.4 shows a sketch of
the areas considered in the free surface case, Figure 13.5 shows the equivalent areas for partially
submerged bridges and Figure 13.6 for fully submerged bridges.

13.1.2.2 Integration of the energy losses generated by bridges

The unified formulation of the source terms accounting for energy losses generated by bridges
also ensures the well balanced property in steady cases with velocity. In order to do that it is
13.1 Bridges Component 132

necessary to define Snb at the edge of the RP where the bridge exists. The source term Snb is
formulated as
 
0
(Snb )k =  −ge
h δHnx  (13.7)
 

−ge
h δHny k

with
u
en
δH = ∆H (13.8)
|e
u · n|

where ∆H is the singular loss term used to represent bridges.

Computation of ∆H in a real mesh is done as follows. The bridge is defined on cell edges (bold
line in Figure 13.7), and the cells on both sides of these edges are considered to form two cross
sections ΓL and ΓR (hatched cells in Figure 13.7). Note that it is possible to define bridges in
arbitrary orientations and in structured/unstructured meshes.

Figure 13.7 – Application of the scheme in triangular structured meshes. Normal bridge (left) and
oblique bridge (right).

In each time step, the necessary variables for the calculation of the global bridge head loss are
averaged from the cells in both upstream and downstream sections as illustrated in Figure 13.7.
The discharge is computed as
X X
QΓL = (qn)k lk QΓR = (qn)k lk (13.9)
k∈ΓL k∈ΓR

and the cross sectional average water level surface is estimated as

P P
k∈ΓL dk lk k∈ΓR dk lk
dΓL = P dΓR = P (13.10)
l
k∈ΓL k k∈ΓR lk

involving cells with values of h > 0. The signs of QΓL and QΓR are used to determine which
section is upstream and which downstream. If QΓL ≥ 0, the discharge across the bridge is
computed as Q = QΓL and the areas are computed using d1 = dΓL and d4 = dΓR . In case that
QΓL < 0, the discharge across the bridge is computed as Q = QΓR and the sections are reversed
setting d1 = dΓR and d4 = dΓL . Next, the different areas and the cross-sectional top width are
133 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

calculated as a function of the average water level surface. From these values the total head loss
∆H can be evaluated.

13.1.2.3 Influence of the Bridge Width

The computation algorithm used in the Bridges component neglects the effect of the structure
width (distance perpendicular to the bridge alignment) on the head loss. According to (?) and (?),
the bridge width has a small influence on the flow variables such as water surface elevation and
energy loss. Yarnell performed experiments in a laboratory flume with bridges having rectangular
piers with width-to-length ratios (w:l) of 1:4, 1:7 and 1:13, where w is the pier dimension perpen-
dicular to the flow direction and l the pier length parallel to the flow. Yarnell noted that the energy
loss increased less than 10% for the configuration with longest piers. (?) performed numerical
simulations to confirm Yarnell’s experiments using piers with the same with-to-length ratios and a
wide range of approach discharges (see Figure 13.8).

Figure 13.8 – Bridge pier proportions used to asses the influence of the structure width.

Numerical results indicate that the changes in total head loss across the structure are very similar
for the three configurations (see Figure 13.9).

Figure 13.9 – Influence of the structure width on the total head change (∆H) across the bridge as a
function of the Froud number downstream.

13.2 Bridge Piers

The Bridge Piers component allows accounting for the losses caused by piers in the flow field in
a simplified way, without requiring a refined mesh around the actual pier plan geometry.
13.2 Bridge Piers 134

To run a simulation with the Bridge Piers Component, you need to select the option in the Control
Data panel of Hydronia Data Input Program as shown in Figure 13.10.

Figure 13.10 – Hydronia Data Input Program Control Panel dialog with the Bridge Piers component
selected.

There is no limit to the number of Bridge Piers that can be used.

13.2.1 Bridge Pier Calculation

The Bridge Pier component can be used when the pier plan area is small compared to the cell
area and there is no need to determine the details of the flow field around the structure. In this
component the model computes the drag force on each pier as a function of the drag coefficient,
water density, flow velocity and wetted pier projected area as shown in Eq. 13.11:
1
FD = CD ρU 2 AP (13.11)
2

Where CD is the pier drag coefficient, ρ is the water density, U is the water velocity, and AP is the
pier wet area projected normal to the flow direction. Piers are assumed to be located on cells that
not necessarily conform to the pier geometry as shown on the following figure.
135 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

Figure 13.11 – Piers inside cells.

Piers can be circular or rectangular in plan. Rectangular piers are located on cells based on
the pier center coordinates and the angle between the axis along the largest dimension and the
X-axis as shown in the following figure.

Figure 13.12 – Schematic view of a rectangular pier.

To represent circular piers enter the with and length equal to the pier diameter and the corre-
sponding drag coefficient.
Velocity vector magnitude and approach angle usually varies in time during unsteady flow com-
putations and is used to calculate the projected area. To account for the resistance force that the
pier exerts on the flow, RiverFlow2D converts it to the distributed shear stress on the cell where
the pier centroid coordinate is located. The resulting pier shear stress expressions in x and y
directions are as follows:

1 p AP
τpx = CD ρU U 2 + V 2 (13.12)
2 Ae

1 p AP
τpy = CD ρV U 2 + V 2 (13.13)
2 Ae
where Ae is the cell area.
13.3 Culverts Component 136

13.3 Culverts Component

The culvert component in RiverFlow2D allows incorporating 1D hydraulic structures that convey
water between two locations on the mesh, or between a point on the mesh an another outside.
To run a simulation with the Culverts Component, you need to select the option in the Control
Data panel of Hydronia Data Input Program dialog as shown in Figure 13.13.

Figure 13.13 – Hydronia Data Input Program Global Parameters dialog with the Culverts Component
selected.

There are two options to compute culvert discharge in RiverFlow2D. When the user selects Rat-
ing Table calculation and provides a rating table on the associated file, the model determines the
discharge by interpolation as a function of the depth upstream. If the user enters Culvert calcu-
lation using culvert characteristics, the model will calculate the discharge based on the culvert
geometric characteristics given in the file. Both procedures are described in more detail below.

There is no limit to the number of culverts that can be used.

13.3.1 Culvert Calculation using a Rating Table (CulvertType = 0)

When the user provides a rating table, the culvert calculation algorithm is as follows:

1. If at least one of the culvert ends is wet, determine the flow direction based on the water
surface elevations at each culvert end,

2. Interpolate flow discharge from the rating table using the depth at the culvert inlet,
137 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

3. If depth at the culvert inlet is lower than minimum value in the rating table, then the discharge
is assumed to be zero.

4. If depth at entrance is higher than maximum value in the rating table, then the discharge is
assumed to be equal to that of the maximum depth.

5. The computed discharge is subtracted from the inlet cell and added to the outlet cell assum-
ing instantaneous water volume transmission.

13.3.2 Culvert Calculation using Culvert Characteristics

(CulvertType = 1,2)
For CulvertType’s 1 and 2, the model will calculate culvert discharge for inlet and outlet control
using the FHWA procedure (Norman et al. 1985). Later Froehlich (2003) restated the algorithm
in dimensionless form. The resulting formula is expressed as follows:
p
Q = Nb C c Ac 2gHc (13.14)

where Nb is the number of identical barrels, Cc is a discharge coefficient that depends on the
flow control and culvert geometric characteristics, Ac is the culvert area at full section, g is the
gravitational acceleration, Hc = W SELh − Zbi for inlet control and Hc = W SELh − W SEtw for
outlet control, W SELh is the water surface elevation at the culvert inlet, Zbi is the inlet invert
elevation, W SEtw is the water elevation downstream (tailwater). For inlet control calculation,
 r
Dc

 1− H (Y +mS0 )
 h
2c′
Cc = M in  ( M1 −0.5) (13.15)
 √ ′(1 Hh


2K 1/M ) Dc

where Hh = W SELh − Zbi is the headwater depth. Dc is the culvert diameter for circular culverts
and the hight dimension for box culverts, m = 0.7 for mitered inlets and m = −0.5 for all other
inlets. For outlet control, the following formula is used to determine Cc :
−0.5
2gn2c Lc

Cc = 1 + Ke + 4/3
(13.16)
Rc

where Rc is the culvert hydraulic radius, Ke is the entrance loss coefficient that can be obtained
from Table 13.3, nc is the Manning’s n obtained from Table 13.2, Lc is the culvert length, and Y ,
K ′ , M , c′ are inlet control coefficients (see Table 13.4).
13.3 Culverts Component 138

Table 13.2 – Manning’s n roughness coefficients for various culvert materials. Adapted from Froehlich
(2003).
CULVERT BARREL ENTRANCE DESCRIPTION MANNING’S N Nc
MATERIAL
Concrete Good joints, smooth walls 0.012
Projecting from fill, square-cut end 0.015
Poor joints, rough walls 0.017
Corrugated metal 2-2/3 inch × 1/2 inch corrugations 0.025
6 inch × 1 inch corrugations 0.024
5 inch × 1 inch corrugations 0.026
3 inch × 1 inch corrugations 0.028
6 inch × 2 inch corrugations 0.034
9 inch × 2-1/2 inch corrugations 0.035

Table 13.3 – Entrance loss coefficients Ke . Adapted from Froehlich (2003).

TYPE OF CULVERT ENTRANCE DESCRIPTION* ENTRANCE LOSS
COEFFICIENT Ke
Concrete pipe Projecting from fill, grooved end 0.2
Projecting from fill, square-cut end 0.5
Headwall or headwall with wingwalls (con-
crete or cement sandbags)
Grooved pipe end 0.2
Square-cut pipe end 0.5
Rounded pipe end 0.1
Mitered end that conforms to embankment 0.7
slope
Manufactured end section of metal or con-
crete that conforms to embankment slope
Without grate 0.5
With grate 0.7
Corrugated metal pipe Projecting from embankment (no headwall) 0.9
or pipe-arch
Headwall with or without wingwalls (concrete 0.5
or cement sandbags)
Mitered end that conforms to embankment 0.7
slope
Manufactured end section of metal or con-
crete that conforms to embankment slope
Without grate 0.5
With grate 0.7
Reinforced concrete box Headwall parallel to embankment (no wing-
walls)
Square-edged on three sides 0.5
Rounded on three sides to radius of 1/12 0.2
of barrel dimension
Wingwalls at 30◦ to 75◦ to barrel
Continued on next page
139 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

Table 13.3 – continued from previous page

TYPE OF CULVERT ENTRANCE DESCRIPTION* ENTRANCE LOSS
COEFFICIENT Ke
Square-edged at crown 0.4
Crown edge rounded to radius of 1/12 of 0.2
barrel dimension
Wingwalls at 10◦ to 30◦ to barrel
Square-edged at crown 0.5
Wingwalls parallel to embankment
Square-edged at crown 0.7
*See Table 13.5 for inlet configurations.

Table 13.4 – Culvert inlet control formula coefficients. Adapted from Froehlich (2003).
BARREL BARREL INLET DESCRIPTION* K’ M C’ Y
MATE- SHAPE
RIAL
Concrete Circular Headwall; square edge 0.3153 2.0000 1.2804 0.6700
Concrete Circular Headwall; grooved edge 0.2509 2.0000 0.9394 0.7400
Concrete Circular Projecting; grooved 0.1448 2.0000 1.0198 0.6900
edge
Cor. metal Circular Headwall 0.2509 2.0000 1.2192 0.6900
Cor. metal Circular Mitered to slope 0.2112 1.3300 1.4895 0.7500
Cor. metal Circular Projecting 0.4593 1.5000 1.7790 0.5400
Concrete Circular Beveled ring; 45◦ bevels 0.1379 2.5000 0.9651 0.7400
Concrete Circular Beveled ring; 0.1379 2.5000 0.7817 0.8300
33.7◦ bevels
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 30◦ to 0.1475 1.0000 1.2385 0.8100
75◦ flares; square edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 90◦ and 0.2242 0.7500 1.2868 0.8000
15◦ flares; square edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 0◦ flares; 0.2242 0.7500 1.3608 0.8200
square edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 45◦ flare; 1.6230 0.6670 0.9941 0.8000
beveled edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 18◦ to 1.5466 0.6670 0.8010 0.8300
◦
33.7 flare; beveled
edge
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 3/4 inch 1.6389 0.6670 1.2064 0.7900
chamfers
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 45◦ bevels 1.5752 0.6670 1.0101 0.8200
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 33.7◦ bevels 1.5466 0.6670 0.8107 0.8650
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 45◦ skew; 3/4 1.6611 0.6670 1.2932 0.7300
in chamfers
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 30◦ skew; 3/4 1.6961 0.6670 1.3672 0.7050
in chamfers
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 15◦ skew; 3/4 .7343 0.6670 1.4493 0.6800
in chamfers
Continued on next page
13.3 Culverts Component 140

Table 13.4 – continued from previous page

BARREL BARREL INLET DESCRIPTION* K’ M C’ Y
MATERIAL SHAPE
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 10-45◦ skew; 1.5848 0.6670 1.0520 0.7500
45◦ bevels
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; non-offset 1.5816 0.6670 1.0906 0.8030
45◦ /flares;
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; non-offset 1.5689 0.6670 1.1613 0.8060
18.4◦ /flares; 3/4 in
chamfers
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; non- 1.5752 0.6670 1.2418 0.7100
offset 18.4◦ /flares;
30◦ /skewed barrel
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; offset 1.5816 0.6670 0.9715 0.8350
45◦ /flares; beveled top
edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; offset 1.5752 0.6670 0.8107 0.8810
33.7◦ /flares; beveled
top edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; offset 1.5689 0.6670 0.7303 0.8870
18.4◦ /flares; top edge
bevel
Cor. metal Rectangular Headwall 0.2670 2.0000 1.2192 0.6900
Cor. metal Rectangular Projecting; thick wall 0.3023 1.7500 1.3479 0.6400
Cor. metal Rectangular Projecting; thin wall 0.4593 1.5000 1.5956 0.5700
Concrete Circular Tapered throat 1.3991 0.5550 0.6305 0.8900
Cor. metal Circular Tapered throat 1.5760 0.6400 0.9297 0.9000
Concrete Rectangular Tapered throat 1.5116 0.6670 0.5758 0.9700
Concrete Circular Headwall; square edge 0.3153 2.0000 1.2804 0.6700
Concrete Circular Headwall; grooved edge 0.2509 2.0000 0.9394 0.7400
Concrete Circular Projecting; grooved 0.1448 2.0000 1.0198 0.6900
edge
Cor. metal Circular Headwall 0.2509 2.0000 1.2192 0.6900
Cor. metal Circular Mitered to slope 0.2112 1.3300 1.4895 0.7500
Cor. metal Circular Projecting 0.4593 1.5000 1.7790 0.5400
Concrete Circular Beveled ring; 45◦ bevels 0.1379 2.5000 0.9651 0.7400
Concrete Circular Beveled ring; 0.1379 2.5000 0.7817 0.8300
33.7◦ bevels
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 0.1475 1.0000 1.2385 0.8100
30◦ to75◦ flares; square
edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 90◦ and 0.2242 0.7500 1.2868 0.8000
◦
15 flares; square edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 0◦ flares; 0.2242 0.7500 1.3608 0.8200
square edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 45◦ flare; 1.6230 0.6670 0.9941 0.8000
beveled edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 18◦ to 0.6670 0.8010 0.8300
◦
33.7 flare; beveled
edge 1.5466
Continued on next page
141 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

Table 13.4 – continued from previous page

BARREL BARREL INLET DESCRIPTION* K’ M C’ Y
MATERIAL SHAPE
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 3/4 inch 1.6389 0.6670 1.2064 0.7900
chamfers
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 45◦ bevels 1.5752 0.6670 1.0101 0.8200
*See Table 13.5 for inlet configurations.

Table 13.5 – Culvert inlet configurations. Adapted from www.xmswiki.com/xms/.

INLET CONFIGURATION DESCRIPTION

End of the culvert barrel projects out of the embankment.

Grooved pipe for concrete culverts decreases energy

losses through the culvert entrance.

This option is for concrete pipe culverts.

Square edge with headwall is an entrance condition

where the culvert entrance is flush with the headwall.

’Beveled edges’ is a tapered inlet edge that decreases

head loss as flow enters the culvert barrel.

Mitered entrance is when the culvert barrel is cut so it is

flush with the embankment slope.
Continued on next page
13.3 Culverts Component 142

Table 13.5 – continued from previous page

INLET CONFIGURATION DESCRIPTION

Wingwalls are used when the culvert is shorter than the

embankment and prevents embankment material from
falling into the culvert

The culvert computation algorithm works as follows:

1. If at least one of the culvert ends is wet, Determine the flow direction based on the water
surface elevations at each culvert end.

2. Compute the culvert discharge using inlet control formulas.

3. Compute the culvert discharge using outlet control formulas.

4. Select the minimum discharge from the inlet and outlet control discharges.

5. If depth at the culvert inlet is lower than minimum value in the rating table, then the discharge
is assumed to be zero.

6. The computed discharge is subtracted from the inlet cell and added to the outlet cell assum-
ing instantaneous water volume transmission.

When using CulvertType 1 or 2, both ends of the culvert must be inside the mesh.

13.3.3 Assumptions of Culvert Calculations

1. The same rating table will be used to interpolate discharge regardless of the flow direction.
In other words, if the flow is from cell A to cell B at some point during the simulation, depth
at A will be used to interpolate discharge from A to B, but if at some other time flow changes
from B to A, discharge will be interpolated using depth at B.

2. There is no outlet control on the rating table discharge calculation.

3. When using CulvertTypes 1 and 2, both ends of the culvert must be inside the mesh. It is
not allowed to extract flow from the modeling domain when using these options.

4. Discharge calculation with CulverTypes 1 and 2 is only available for circular or box (rectan-
gular) cross section culverts.

5. The entrance to a culvert is regarded as submerged when the head water depth, H, 1.2D,
where D is the diameter of the circular culvert or the height of box culverts.
143 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

13.4 Gates Component

The GATES components allows integrating gates inside the modeling region. Each gate needs
to be defined in terms of its plan alignment, crest elevation (Zc), gate height (Hgate) and the
time history of apertures (Ha) given as a table in a file associated to each structure (see Figure
13.14). Figure 13.15 shows the flow modes that can be calculated through gates that include
submergence and overtopping.

Figure 13.14 – Schematic cut view perpendicular to a gate structure.

Figure 13.15 – Flow modes across gates.

To run a simulation with the gates component, you need to select the option in the Control Data
panel of Hydronia Data Input Program as shown in Figure 13.16.
13.4 Gates Component 144

Figure 13.16 – Hydronia Data Input Program Control Data panel with the Gates Component selected.

The gate plan data is entered in the QGIS Gates layer.

Since the gate polyline must pass through nodes, it is essential that the mesh generation engine
creates nodes along the polyline. This is easily done recreating the mesh.

There is no limit to the number of gates that can be used.

13.4.1 Gate Calculations

The gate is simulated by assuming that the discharge per unit breadth q crossing the gate is
governed by the difference between the water surface level (d = h + z) on both sides of the gate,
referred to as dl upstream of the gate and dr downstream of the gate, and by the allowable gate
opening, Go . Several situations are envisaged. In the case that Go = 0 the gate behaves as a
solid wall and no flow crosses the gate. When the gate opening is larger than the surface water
level on both sides, it no longer influences the flow. In any other case, assuming that dl < dr ,
without loss of generality, two different flow situations can occur depending on the relative values
of Go , zl , zr , dl and dr . When Go + max(zl , zr ) < min(dl , dr ), Figure 13.17, the discharge is given
by

q = Go K1 (dr − dl )1/2 (13.17)

with K1 an energy loss coefficient. In RiverFlow2D K1 =3.33 (?).

When Go + max(zl , zr ) > min(dl , dr ), Figure 13.18, the discharge is given by

1/2
p
q = Cd (2/3) 2g [dr − max(zl , zr )] (13.18)
145 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

with Cd being the non-dimensional discharge coefficient that takes values around 0.6.

Figure 13.17 – Water levels for discharge under a gate in submerged conditions formulated as in (G1).

Figure 13.18 – Water levels for discharge under a gate in submerged conditions formulated as in (G2).

13.5 Rainfall and Evaporation

This section and the following about infiltration describe the hydrologic computations implemented
in RiverFlow2D. The component includes capabilities to integrate rainfall, evaporation and infiltra-
tion in the model simulations. You may use these components to perform hydrologic simulations
with the following options:

• Rainfall and evaporation and impermeable soil (no infiltration)

• Infiltration (no rainfall)

• Rainfall, evaporation and infiltration.

Please follow the Rainfall, Evaporation and Infiltration Tutorial that explains how to setup a hydro-
logic simulation from start to finish.
Rainfall is treated as a simple source term. It represents an additional input to the cell water
depth in the previous step of flow calculation. You can set up local rainfall events for several
regions of the watershed. This allows to simulate more realistic cases, in which data from several
rain gauges are available.
13.6 Infiltration 146

In RiverFlow2D the rainfall imposed before calculating infiltration. This is an important because
the infiltration capacity strongly depends on the rainfall intensity, as we will see in the next section.

13.6 Infiltration
Infiltration represents another component of the hydrological budget and it can be defined as the
process by which surface water enters the soil. In RiverFlow2D, infiltration is treated as a loss.
This process is mainly governed by two forces: gravity and capillarity action. The model provides
three methods to compute the infiltration losses: Horton, Green & Ampt and SCS-Curve Number
(SCS-CN).

When using the infiltration component without rainfall, only the Horton or the Green and Amp
methods can be used since they take into account the existing surface water to determine the
infiltration rates regardless if there is no precipitation. The SCS-CN method calculates infiltration
as a function of the given rainfall and does not consider the ponded water.

13.6.1 Horton Infiltration Model

Horton’s infiltration model (?) suggests an exponential equation (13.19) for modeling the soil
infiltration capacity fp :

fp (t) = fc + (f0 − fc ) e−kt (13.19)

where f0 and fc are the initial and final infiltration capacities, both measured in m/s or in/s and k
represents the rate of decrease in the capacity (1/s).
The parameters f0 and k have no physical basis, so they must be determinated from experimental
data. A good source for experimental values of these parameters for different types of soils can
be found in (?) and summarized in (?). Table 13.6 and Table 13.7 show the parameters for
some general types of soil, as presented in (?). Note that no k values are shown. A value of
k = 4.14 hr−1 is recommended in the absence of any field data (?).

Table 13.6 – Horton initial infiltration for different soils. Source: Akan(1993).
SOIL TYPE f0 (mm/h)
Dry sandy soils with few to no vegetation 127
Dry loam soils with few to no vegetation 76.2
Dry clay soils with few to no vegetation 25.4
Dry sandy soils with dense vegetation 254
Dry loam soils with dense vegetation 152.4
Dry clay soils with dense vegetation 50.8
Continued on next page
147 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

Table 13.6 – continued from previous page

SOIL TYPE f0 (mm/h)
Moist sandy soils with few to no vegetation 43.18
Moist loam soils with few to no vegetation 25.4
Moist clay soils with few to no vegetation 7.62
Moist sandy soils with dense vegetation 83.82
Moist loam soils with dense vegetation 50.8
Moist clay soils with dense vegetation 17.78

Table 13.7 – Horton final infiltration for different soils. Source: Akan(1993).
SOIL TYPE fc (mm/h)
Clay loam, silty clay loams 1.27
Sandy clay loam 1.3 - 3.8
Silt loam, loam 3.8 - 7.6
Sand, loamy sand, sandy loams 7.6 - 11.4

The equation (13.19) has to be applied after the surface ponding. In other words, we are assuming
conditions of unlimited water supply at the surface. Under this consideration, the cumulative
infiltration up to time t can be calculated by integrating the infiltration capacity:
t
f0 − fc
Z
1 − e−kt


F = fp (t)dt = fc t + (13.20)
0 k

It is important to highlight the difference between the infiltration capacity fp and the infiltration rate
f. If we consider a rain event starting with a weak rainfall intensity (R ≤ fp ), then all the rain will
be infiltrated into the soil. On the other hand, if the rain exceeds the soil infiltration capacity or if
the surface becomes ponded, this magnitude will determine the infiltration rate:

R ≤ fp ⇒ f = R R > fp , t > tp ⇒ f = fp (13.21)

where tp represents the ponding time.

Following (?), for the two first rain intervals, the rainfall intensity is less than the infiltration capac-
ity, so the real infiltration rate is equal to the rainfall rate. Because of this fact, the actual infiltration
capacity does not decay as given by Horton’s equation. The reason, as indicated above, is the
Horton’s model assumption of water supply always exceeding the infiltration capacity from the be-
ginning. Hence, the soil has more infiltration capacity and we have to compute the real infiltration
at t=20 min, so we need to determine the ponding time tp by solving (13.22):
tp
f0 − f c
Z
1 − e−ktp


F = R(t)dt = fc tp + (13.22)
0 k
13.6 Infiltration 148

where F stands for the cumulative infiltration (that is equal to the rainfall volume) until this ponding
time.
The above equation needs to be solved by an iterative procedure, for instance the Newton-
Raphson method. Thus, the infiltration capacity is now a function of the actual infiltrated water, not
just a function of time. Finally, the real infiltration capacity at t=20 min is calculated by evaluating
(13.19) at tp :

fp = fc + (f0 − fc ) e−ktp (13.23)

When rainfall intensity exceeds the soil infiltration capacity, the real infiltration rate is equal to this
capacity and decays following Horton’s equation by replacing f c = f p and t = t − t′ , being t′ at
which the rainfall intensity exceeds the soil infiltration capacity:
′
f = fc + (fp − fc ) e−k(t−t ) (13.24)

An additional consideration must be taken into account. It is possible that the recalculated infil-
tration capacity will be greater than the rainfall intensity. This implies a non-physical situation with
negative storage or run-off. The reason for this behavior is that the soil cannot infiltrate more than
the rainfall rate, so a limit in the recalculated infiltration capacity must be imposed:

fp ≤ R (13.25)

13.6.2 Green-Ampt Infiltration Model

The infiltration Green-Ampt model is a simple model with a theoretical base on Darcy’s law, so it is
not strictly empirical. Moreover, its parameters have physical meaning and they can be computed
from soil properties. The most common soil parameters are shown in Table 13.8, as presented in
(?).

Table 13.8 – Mean values and standard deviation for Green-Ampt model parameters. Source: Rawls &
Brakensiek 1983.
SOIL TYPE θs Sf (mm/h) Ks (mm/h)
Sand 0.437(0.374-0.500) 4.95(0.97-25.36) the78
Loamy sand 0.437(0.363-0.506) 6.13(1.35-27.94) 2.99
Sandy loam 0.453(0.351-0.565) 11.01(2.67-45.47) 1.09
Loam 0.463(0.375-0.551) 8.89(1.33-59.38) 0.66
Silt loam 0.501(0.420-0.582) 16.68(2.92-95.39) 0.34
Sandy clay loam 0.398(0.332-0.464) 21.85(4.42-108.0) 0.15
Clay loam 0.464(0.409-0.519) 20.88(4.79-91.10) 0.10
Silty clay loam 0.471(0.418-0.524) 27.30(5.67-131.50) 0.10
Sandy clay 0.430(0.370-0.490) 23.90(4.08-140.2) 0.06
Silty clay 0.479(0.425-0.533) 29.22(6.13-139.4) 0.05
149 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

The original Green-Ampt model starts from the assumption that a ponding depth h is maintained
over the surface. The Green-Ampt method approximates the soil infiltration capacity as follows:

Ks (θs − θi ) Sf
fp = Ks + (13.26)
F

being Ks the effective hydraulic conductivity, Sf the suction head at the wetting front, θi the initial
uniform water content and θs the porosity. The integration of (13.26) provides the cumulative
infiltration:
 
dF F
fp = =⇒ Ks t = F − (θs − θi ) Sf ln 1 + (13.27)
dt (θs − θi ) Sf

Solving for the cumulative infiltration F in equation (13.27) requires an iteration procedure (e.g.
Picard iterations or Newton-Rhapson method). The effective suction head can be replaced by the
average value Ψ (?).
Equations (13.26) and (13.27) assume that the soil is ponded from the beginning. Additional
considerations should be taken into account in order to model an unsteady storm pattern (?).
Three possibilities can occur in every time step: 1) ponding occurs at the beginning of the interval;
2) there is no ponding within the interval; 3) ponding occurs within the interval. The first step
consists of computing the actual infiltration capacity fp from the known value of the cumulative
infiltration F at time t. From (13.26):
 
Ψ∆θ
fp = K s +1 (13.28)
F

The result from eq. (13.28) is compared with the rainfall intensity i. If fp ≤ i, case 1 occurs and the
cumulative infiltration at the end of the interval is given by (13.29). Moreover, the real infiltration f
rate will be equal to the potential one fp ≤ i:
 
Ft+∆t + Ψ∆
Ft+∆t − F − Ψ∆θln = K∆θ (13.29)
F + Ψ∆

If fp > i, there is no ponding at the beginning of the interval. We assume that there is no ponding
during the entire interval, so the real infiltration rate is equal to the rain rate and a tentative value
for the cumulative infiltration at the end of the period can be computed as:

′
Ft+∆t = F + i∆t. (13.30)

′
From equations (13.28) and (13.30) a tentative infiltration capacity fp,t+∆t can be calculated. If
′
fp,t+∆t > i, there is no ponding during the interval, the assumption is correct and the problem
′ ′
corresponds to situation number 2, so Ft+∆t = Ft+∆t . If fp,t+∆t ≤ i, there are ponding condition
within the interval (case 3). The cumulative infiltration at ponding time Fp is found by taking fp = i
and F = Fp at (13.28):

Ks Ψ∆θ
Fp = (13.31)
i − Ks
13.6 Infiltration 150

Then, the ponding time is computed as t + ∆t′ , where:

Fp − F
∆t′ = (13.32)
i

Finally, the cumulative infiltration can be found by replacing F = Fp and ∆t = ∆t − ∆t′ in equation
(13.29).

13.6.3 SCS-CN Model

The Soil Conservation Service-Curve Number (SCS-CN) runoff model was originally developed
by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service for estimating runoff from rainfall events
on agricultural watersheds. Nowadays it is also used for urban hydrology. The main parameter
of the method is the Curve Number (CN) which is essentially a coefficient for reducing the total
precipitation to runoff or surface water potential, by taking into account the losses (evaporation,
absorption, transpiration and surface storage). In general terms, the higher the CN value the
higher the runoff potential.
Let us define the concepts of runoff or effective precipitation RO, rainfall volume RV , initial
water abstraction which infiltrates before runoff begins Ia and the potential maximum retention
S. Hence, the potential runoff can be calculated as RV − Ia . The main hypothesis of SCS-CN
method is assuming equal relations between the real quantities and the potential quantities, as
follows:
F RO
= (13.33)
S RV − Ia

On the other hand, the water mass balance on the catchment lead us to:

RV = RO + F + Ia (13.34)

By combining (13.33) and (13.34) and taking into consideration that the runoff cannot begin until
the initial abstraction has been met:
(RV −Ia )2
(
RV −Ia +S (RV > Ia )
RO = (13.35)
0 (RV ≤ Ia )

The potential maximum retention S is estimated (in mm) by means of the Curve Number:

25400
S= − 254 (13.36)
CN

The initial abstraction is assumed proportional to S:

Ia = αS (13.37)

where traditionally α = 0.2 for every watersheds (USDA, 1986) but recent studies suggest that
there is a wide range of values that work better than this value, depending on the soil properties.
151 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

This parameter can be changed in RiverFlow2D, and its influence in water runoff was studied in
Caviedes et al. (?).
To determine appropriate Curve Numbers we recommend following the guidelines provided in (?).
It is important to remark that SCS-CN method was not designed to consider time. Following (?),
when the method is implemented in a complex simulator, a time-advancing methodology is used.
The method is not applied to the entire catchment. Runoff is calculated for every cell in every time
step, using the cumulative rainfall since the beginning of the storm.
The SCS-CN method can be extended in order to estimate the temporal distribution of the water
losses. By combining again (13.33) and (13.34) but solving for F :
S (RV − Ia )
F = , RV ≥ Ia (13.38)
RV − Ia + S

By differentiating (13.38), taking into account that Ia and S are constant magnitudes, the following
expression for the infiltration rate is obtained ((?)):
dF S2R
f= = (13.39)
dt RV − Ia + S

being R the rainfall rate, defined as follows:

dRV
R= (13.40)
dt

13.6.3.1 Antecedent Moisture Conditions

In the SCS-CN method you can consider the Antecedent Moisture Content (AMC), that represents
the preceding relative moisture of the soil prior to the storm event (?) and its influence in the
water runoff. This parameter allows accounting for the CN variation for different storm events,
and the initial soil moisture for a given event. Three possible assumptions can be considered:
dry conditions (AMC I), average conditions (AMC II) or wet conditions (AMC III) as summarized
in Table 13.9.

Table 13.9 – Antecedent Moisture Content groups (adapted from Mishra et al. (2003)).
SOIL AMC Total 5-day rainfall Total 5-day rainfall
(dormant season) (growing season)
I Less than 13 mm Less than 36 mm
II 13 mm to 28 mm 36 mm to 53 mm
III More than 28 mm More than 53 mm

Traditionally (?), the Curve Number for dry or wet conditions has been recalculated in terms of the
standard conditions according to Eqs. 13.41 and 13.42:
4.2CN (II)
CN (I) = (13.41)
10 − 0.058CN (II)
13.7 Wind Component 152

23CN (II)
CN (III) = (13.42)
10 + 0.13CN (II)
On the other hand, some newer references (?, ?) recommend to use an empirical data table to
compute both values.

13.7 Wind Component

The wind stress is added to the momentum equations source term vector (13.2) as follows:

T
S = [0, gh(S0x − Sf x ) + Swx , gh(S0y − Sf y ) + Swy ] (13.43)

where
ρa ρa
Swx = Cd u|U | Swy = Cd v|U | (13.44)
ρw ρw

being U = (u, v) the wind velocity vector, ρa and ρw the air and water densities respectively, and
Cd is the coefficient of aerodynamic resistance at a height of 10 m above the water level.
The model considers Cd constant but typically it increases with the wind velocity. Garrat (1977)
suggested the following formula to determine Cd

Cd = (0.75 + 0.067U ) 10−3 (13.45)

where U is given in m/s.

For wind velocities varying from 1 to 25 m/s Cd would be between 0.0008 and 0.0024 approxi-
mately. Powell, 2008, suggested that the Cd range in shallow water is 0.00095 to 0.00157, with
values that could reach 0.0045 for severe storm events.
Note that typically the wind velocity is obtained in angle/magnitude (ϕ, U ) format, and the meteo-
rological convention is to provide the wind direction from which wind is blowing from in clockwise
sense. In this convention a north wild would have an angle of 0° while an east wind is 90° and so
forth.
To compute the (u, v) wind velocity vector components based on (ϕ, U ) you can apply these
formulas:
p
u = −U sin(ϕ)v = −U cos(ϕ)withU = (u2 + v 2 ) (13.46)
153 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

13.8 Internal Rating Tables

Internal Rating Tables is an internal condition along a polyline where the model imposes the
interpolated water elevation from the calculated discharge from a user provided rating table.

If the rating table is not fully compatible with the computed 2D flow, results can be erroneous. It is
suggested to use this condition with care to avoid inconsistencies.

To run a simulation with Internal Rating Tables, you need to select the option in the Control Data
panel of Hydronia Data Input Program shown in Figure 13.19.

Figure 13.19 – Hydronia Data Input Program Control Data panel with the IRT component selected.

Internal Rating Table (IRT) plan data is entered in the QGIS Internal Rating Table Layer.

There is no limit to the number of Internal Rating Tables that can be used.

13.8.1 Internal Rating Table Calculations

An internal rating table is implemented as a set of values of total discharge in terms of the water
surface level Q = Q(h+z). This table is defined along a polyline in the mesh. First, a common av-
erage water surface level is computed considering all the upstream cells along the polyline. Then,
the discharge is imposed at the cells sharing the edges on both sides in the polyline according to
the common upstream water surface level and following the internal rating table.
The IRT calculation algorithm works as follows:
13.9 Sources and Sinks 154

1. For each calculation time interval, estimate an average water surface level at each side of
the IRT polyline.

2. Compute the discharge passing through the IRT polyline from the average water levels in 1
using the rating table.

3. Define an average velocity from the discharge and the cross sectional wetted area.

4. Assign a common unit discharge to every pair of cells sharing a polyline segment.

Some inappropriate IRT polyline configurations or very long polylines can over-constrain the
model and should be avoided.

13.8.2 Assumptions of Internal Rating Table Calculations

The rating table does not account for outlet control.

13.9 Sources and Sinks

Sources and Sinks component allows accounting point inflows (source) or outflows (sink) of water
on the mesh. This allows simulating for example water intakes at any location on the mesh.
To run a simulation with Sources or Sinks, you need to select the option in the Control Data panel
of Hydronia Data Input Program as shown in Figure 13.20.

Figure 13.20 – Hydronia Data Input Program Control Data panel with the Sources and Sinks component
selected.
155 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

Sources and Sinks data is entered in RiverFlow2D Sources layer.

There is no limit to the number of sources and sinks that can be used.

13.10 Weirs
RiverFlow2D Weirs component may be convenient when trying to simulate levee or road overtop-
ping. The tool allows defining a polyline representing the structure alignment and assigning crest
elevations that can vary along the polyline.
To run a simulation with weirs, you need to select the option in the Control Data panel of Hydronia Data Input Program
as shown in Figure 13.21.

Figure 13.21 – Hydronia Data Input ProgramControl Data panel with the Weirs component selected.

Weir plan data is entered in the QGIS Weirs layer.

Since RiverFlow2D requires that the weir passes through nodes, it is essential that mesh gener-
ation engine creates nodes along the weir polyline. To achieve this always remember to re-mesh
after changing any weir aliment in the Weirs layer.

There is no limit to the number of weirs that can be used.

13.10.1 Weir Calculations

The weir calculation algorithm works as follows:
13.11 Dam Breach Modeling 156

1. For each calculation time interval, the model checks for each segment defined by two pair
of opposing cells (L, R) along the weir that at least one of the opposite cells is wet and that
its water surface elevation is above the crest elevation.

2. Then the model calculates the water elevation at each weir segment as:

dw = hcrest + M AX (zL , zR ) (13.47)

where hcrest is the crest elevation and dw the segment water elevation.

3. When the water surface levels on both sides is below the weir level, M AX (dL , dR ) ≤ dw ,
the velocity component normal to the weir segment direction is set to zero.

4. Otherwise the model calculates the normal discharge for the segment according to the water
levels on both sides.

5. The discharge is imposed on both the and cells.

The weir is simulated by assuming that the discharge per unit breadth q crossing the weir is
governed by the difference between the water surface level (d = h + z) on both sides of the weir,
referred to as dl upstream and dr downstream of the weir, and by the weir crest elevation, Hw .
Several situations are accounted for. In the case that both water elevations are below the weir
crest elevation the weir behaves as a solid wall and no flow crosses it. When dl < dr , without loss
of generality, two different flow situations can occur depending on the relative values of Hw , zl , zr ,
dl and dr . When Hw + max (zl , zr ) < min (dl , dr ), the discharge is given by
2p 3/2
q = Cd 2g (dr − dl ) (13.48)
3

with Cd the non-dimensional weir discharge coefficient that takes values between 0.611 and 1.1.

When Hw + max (zl , zr ) > min (dl , dr ), the discharge is given by

2p 3/2
q = Cd 2g (dr − Hw ) (13.49)
3

13.10.2 Assumptions of Weir Calculations

The weir crest elevation may vary along the weir but must be higher than both cells opposing each
weir segment.

13.11 Dam Breach Modeling

RiverFlow2D Dam Breach component provides a way to simulate a gradual breach of internal
linear obstructions such as dams, levees, etc. Three methods are provided: Prescribed breach,
breach formation by erosion overtopping and breach formation by piping.
157 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

The dam is entered as an arbitrary polyline and is considered a barrier to the flowing water that
restricts, directs or slows down the flow, often creating water ponding upstream.

13.11.1 Prescribed dam breach

In RiverFlow2D, the dam is defined as an internal boundary condition and modeled as a progres-
sive trapezoid. For a complete parametrization of the breach, the next parameters and variables
are used (see Figure 13.22):

• Coordinates (x,y) of the center of the breach, assuming z = zcrest , where zcrest is the initial
dam z-coordinate.

• Value of material angle α (assumed constant).

• Table (t, b(t), Hb (t)), being t =time, b =lower breach width, Hb =breach height.

Particular cases include b(t) = 0 that reduces the breach to a triangular weir, and α = 0 represents
a rectangular breach.

In general, the total discharge through the breach will be calculated with a law of the type:
p
Qb = Cd (2/3) 2gH 3/2 (13.50)

where H = h + z − Hv , Hv = zcrest − Hb , B(H) = b(t) + 2 H(t)

tgα , and Cd is the non-dimensional
discharge coefficient that takes values between 0.611 and 1.1.

The discharge computed in (13.50) will be distributed among the cells included in the breach top
length B(Hb ):

Hb (t)
B(Hb ) = b(t) + 2 (13.51)
tgα
13.11 Dam Breach Modeling 158

Figure 13.22 – Schematic dimensions for prescribed dam breach failure mode.

13.11.2 Dam breach failure by piping erosion

The dam breach evolution due to piping erosion assumes that the initial pipe channel cross-
section is considered as an arch with a rectangular base at the bottom and a semicircle on top
(See Figure 13.23). Orifice and open channel flow equations are used to compute the discharge
for pressure and free surface flows, respectively. A shear stress-based formula is adopted to
calculate the erosion rate. The arched pipe tunnel is assumed to enlarge along its width until the
overlying soil can not maintain stability.
The pipe roof collapse is determined by comparing the overlying soil weight and the soil cohesion
of the two sidewalls of the pipe. The failure planes are assumed to be vertical and, for the sake of
simplicity, the collapse is assumed to move downstream instantaneously.
159 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

Figure 13.23 – Cross-section of the expansion due to piping process before the dam collapse (left) and
trapezoidal breach evolution after the dam collapse (right).

13.12 Flow discharge through the piping cross section

If the pipe is fully filled with water, the discharge through can be estimated using the following
orifice equation:
s
2g (zs − zb )
Qb = A (13.52)
1 + f L/(4R)

where:

A = b2 + 81 πb2 is the cross-sectional area of the pipe,

b is the width of the base of the pipe,
zpb = zb + 12 b is the elevation of the pipe center line,
zb is the elevation of the pipe bottom,
zs = h + zbed is the elevation of the water surface level,
L is the pipe length,
R = A/P is the pipe hydraulic radius
P = (3 + 0.5π)b is the pipe wet perimeter,
f = 8gn2 R−1/3 is the Darcy-Weisbach friction factor of the pipe surface,
1 1/6
n= An d50 is the Manning’s roughness coefficient of the pipe surface, and
An = 12 is a constant ((?)).

On the other hand, in case of partially filled pipe, roof collapse or overtopping, the discharge is
computed by means of a free surface flow equation:
13.13 Pipe erosion 160

ct (zs − zb )2.5
 
Qb = ksm cr b (zs − zb )1.5 + (13.53)
tan β

being:

ksm is a dimensionless submergence correction for tail water effects ((?)),

β is the breach side slope angle with respect to the horizontal,
√
cr = 1.7 m/s is a discharge coefficient for the rectangular part of the breach section ((?)),
and
√
ct = 1.2 m/s is a discharge coefficient for the triangular part of the breach section ((?)).

13.13 Pipe erosion

Regarding the erosion process, a shear stress-based formula is adopted to calculate the erosion
rate. As erosion takes place, the full pipe cross section is enlarged along its height and width
due to the removal of materials until the collapse of the pipe roof occurs (see Figure 13.23). The
vertical erosion of the pipe is computed using an excess detachment rate relation:

dzb
= kd (τe − τc ) (13.54)
dt

where:

kd is the measured erosion coefficient at the breach,

τc is the critical stress required to initiate detachment for the material,
ρw gn2 Q2b
τe = A2 R1/3
is the bed shear stress in the pipe surface, and
ρw is the water density.

The horizontal erosion rate is assumed to be equal to the vertical erosion rate and hence the
evolution can be expressed as:

db
= 2kd (τe − τc ) (13.55)
dt

The collapse of the pipe roof is estimated by comparing the weight of the overlying soil and the
cohesion of the soil on the two sidewalls of the pipe. The failure planes are assumed to be vertical
and, for the sake of simplicity, the collapse is assumed to move downstream instantaneously. The
arch finally becomes unstable due to the erosion of the pipe and the collapse of the soil mass
above the arch occurs. The failure of the roof occurs if the top of the eroding pipe (zb + 1.5b)
reaches the top of the dam (zcrest ). On the other hand, the failure also occurs if the driving force
Fd exceeds the soil resistant force Fr (Figure 13.24). Hence, the model compares these two
forces along the vertical direction. Once the driving force (equal to the weight of the failure part)
is larger than the resistant force, the roof above the pipe will collapse:
161 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

 
  L2 + L3
Fd = ρw g p + Gs (1 − p) Aa b − Ac + ρw gGs (1 − p)Ab b
2 (13.56)
Fr = 2C (Aa + Ab )

being p is the porosity of the soil material, Gs = ρd /ρw specific gravity of the soil, ρd soil material
density and C cohesion of the dam fillings. The areas Aa , Ab and Ac are computed as follows:
L2 + L3
Aa = (zs − (zb + b))
2
L1 + L2
Ab = (zcrest − zs ) (13.57)
2
1
Ac = πb2
8

being:

L1 the dam crest width,

zcrest −zs zcrest −zs
L2 = L1 + tan αuw + tan αdw ,
zs −(zb +b) zs −(zb +b)
L3 = L2 + tan αuw + tan αdw ,

αuw the upward dam slope angle, and

αdw the downward dam slope angle.

Figure 13.24 – Schematic diagram of the piping situation.

The collapsed pipe roof is assumed to move downstream instantaneously. After the collapse,
overtopping failure dominates and the breach flow discharge and the vertical erosion can be
estimated using Eqs. (13.53) and (13.54), respectively. The relationship between horizontal
expansion and vertical undercutting is given by the change in the breach top width ∆B:
2∆zb
∆B = (13.58)
sin β

and the change in the breach bottom width ∆b is given by:

 
1 1
∆b = 2∆zb − (13.59)
sin β tan β
13.14 Overtopping erosion 162

13.14 Overtopping erosion

The other type of erosion considered is the overtopping erosion, in which the breach already exists
at the top of the dam and widens as the flow of water circulates through it (see Figure 13.25). The
erosion process causes the width and height of the trapezoidal breach to evolve according to the
same mathematical expressions as in the previous section, when the dam roof collapses:

• Breach depth evolution:

dzb
= kd (τe − τc ) (13.60)
dt

• Breach width evolution:

db
= 2kd (τe − τc ) (13.61)
dt

• Change in the breach top width:

2∆zb
∆B = (13.62)
sin β

• Change in the breach bottom width:

 
1 1
∆b = 2∆zb − (13.63)
sin β tan β

Figure 13.25 – Trapezoidal breach evolution for the overtopping erosion case.
163 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Components

13.15 Dambreach flow as internal boundary condition

When using triangular meshes, there are three contributions to update the three conserved vari-
ables. At boundary cells at least one of the edges does not have a neighbor cell and boundary
conditions are necessary to complete the information supplied by the numerical scheme. The
presence of an internal hydraulic structure can be modeled by means of a mathematical condition
defined along an interior line in the computational domain (?, ?). This is called internal boundary
condition (IBC), i.e. each pair of cells sharing an edge on that internal line are considered internal
boundary cells. These cells are updated using both information from the numerical scheme and
from the IBC. Figure 13.26 shows an example of IBC defined along an internal boundary line
where several pairs of cells (filled with blue) on both sides of the line share an edge. An external
law is used to define the module of the discharge through them while the water depth is provided
by the numerical scheme.

Figure 13.26 – Internal boundary cells.

Assuming the pipe roof collapse has not occurred and the flow direction from left to right, the
upstream element is cell L and the downstream is cell R. Water surface elevation levels at the left
n+1
side zs,L = (h + z)n+1
L , provided by the numerical scheme are used to evaluate the discharge by
means of the external discharge expression. First, the change of the pipe bottom elevation and
width due to erosion are computed using (13.54) and (13.61) as:

zbn+1 = zbn + ∆t kd (τe − τc )nb

(13.64)
bn+1 = bn + ∆t 2 kd (τe − τc )nb

where (τe − τc )nb accounts for the erosive shear stress at the breach evaluated at the time level
tn . Then, the driving and the soil resistant forces, Fd and Fr respectively, are computed using
(13.56) and the pipe roof collapse condition is checked. Therefore, two cases must be taken into
consideration:

1. If the roof collapse does not occurred, the pipe is considered filled with water and pressur-
13.15 Dambreach flow as internal boundary condition 164

ized so that the enforced cell discharge in pipe during the next time level is computed using
(13.52) as:
s
n+1
2g(zs,L − zbn+1 )
Qbn+1 = A (13.65)
1 + f L/(4R)

where the integrated breach features A, f , L, R are evaluated at time tn+1 .

2. If the roof collapse condition is satisfied, the dam breach is assumed open and the enforced
cell discharge in pipe during the next time level is computed using (13.53) as:

n+1
!
ct (zs,L − zbn+1 )2.5
Qn+1
b = ksm n+1
cr b n+1
(zs,L − zbn+1 )1.5 + (13.66)
tan β

Note that once the roof collapse occurs, the pipe stability condition has not to be checked anymore
and the dam breach is assumed open. Regardless the pipe is maintained or collapsed, the unit
discharge at each cell pair composing the dam breach is assumed normal to the direction of the
shared edge n̂b and its module is updated as:

n+1 n+1 l n+1

qL = qR = Q (13.67)
Wb b

being Wb the total breach width and l the length of the shared edge for each internal boundary
cell pair.
 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)
14
Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP) user interface provides the tools to enter non-spatial data,
and run RiverFlow2D. All changes introduced on the DIP will be saved to the native RiverFlow2D
data files.
The DIP appears when you export the files to RiverFlow2D from QGIS. You can also access the
DIP double-clicking on the Hydronia Data Input Program icon on the desktop. In that case, the
program will give you a list of previous projects and let you open any one of them:

Figure 14.1 – Hydronia Data Input ProgramOpen Project Dialog.

Hydronia Data Input Program provides a data input environment with panels that include all the
non-spatial options to run RiverFlow2D. The left column on the main window allows you select

165
14.1 Control Data Panel (.DAT file) 166

modules, components, output options, etc. When you click on one of the cells, the appropriate
right side panel is activated. Each panel contains the data corresponding to each of RiverFlow2D
data files. For example, the Control Data Panel has all the data of the .DAT file.

Figure 14.2 – Main Hydronia Data Input Program window.

Hydronia Data Input Program lets you select different model engines. Using the options the Model
Selection frame you can select between RiverFlow2D CPU or RiverFlow2D GPU. Note that to run
the GPU version you need the appropriate GPU hardware. Please contact Hydronia at support@
hydronia.com to inquire about the currently supported NVIDIA GPU cards.
The following sections describe the panel dialogs of the Hydronia Data Input Program.

14.1 Control Data Panel (.DAT file)

This panel determines the general run options like time step control parameters, metric or English
units, physical process (components), graphical outputs, and initial conditions. It also provides
buttons to open and saving files, and running the RiverFlow2D model. The program will launch
with the Control Data panel visible.
167 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

Figure 14.3 – Control Data Panel.

Table 14.1 – Buttons in the Control Data Panel.

BUTTON NAME DESCRIPTION
Open .DAT Opens an existing .DAT file.
Save .DAT Saves a .DAT file with the data shown on the Panel.
Buttons on Bottom Row Duplicated on Every Panel.
Open All Files Saves data from all enabled Tabs. Note: This operation
does not alter the node coordinates and elevations, triangular
mesh topology, Manning roughness coefficients, and other
mesh related parameters in the .FED file.
Run RiverFlow2D Runs RiverFlow2D .
Exit Closes Hydronia Data Input Program.
About Shows a concise description of RiverFlow2D.
Hydronia Data Input Program
www.hydronia.com Opens Hydronia home page.

Table 14.2 – Language options.

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
DIP Language Drop down list that allows selecting the language of the Data
Input Program user interface. Presently the options available
are English and Spanish. Other language will be added in
future releases.
14.1 Control Data Panel (.DAT file) 168

Table 14.3 – Time Control Data Frame on the Control Data Panel.
CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Simulation time (h.) Total simulation time in hours.
Output Interval (h.) Time interval for output reporting.
Output Interval for components Time interval for components output reporting. It applies to
(h.) cross sections, profiles, observation points, culverts, weirs,
dam breach, bridges, and gates.
CFL Courant-Friederich-Lewy condition (CFL). Set this number to
a value in the (0,1] interval. By default CFL is set to 1.0 which
is the recommended value for maximum performance. A few
rare applications may require reducing CFL to 0.5 or to avoid
model oscillations in the model results.
Hot start Use this option to restart the model from a previously simula-
tion.

Table 14.4 – Units Frame on the Control Data Panel.

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Metric Select this option to work in metric units. Coordinates are
given in meters, velocities in m/s, discharge in m3 /s, etc. Text
output is provided in metric units.
English Select this option to work in English units. Coordinates are
given in feet, velocities in ft/s, discharge in ft3 /s, etc. Text
output is provided in English units.
Note: Changing the units on this panel does not change the contents of the data files.

When exporting RiverFlow2D files from QGIS, units are automatically set according to the se-
lected Projection. Changing to units different to those of the projection should not be attempted
since it will certainly lead to incorrect model results.

Table 14.5 – Computation Control Data Frame on the Control Data Panel.
CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Manning’s n factor Use the XNMAN factor to test the sensitivity of results to Man-
ning’s n and reduce the number of calibration runs. Using this
option, will each cell Manning’s n-value will be multiplied by
XNMAN. Default is XNMAN = 1.
Manning’s n variable with Select this option to set Manning’s n as a function of depth.
depth The user must enter polygons over the mesh and each poly-
gon should have an associated file containing the depth vs
Manning’s n table.
Continued on next page
169 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

Table 14.5 – continued from previous page

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Minimum depth for dry bed This parameter indicates the depth below which cell velocity
will be assumed 0. By default it is set to -1 which will allow
the model to dynamically set the dry cell conditions for depths
smaller than 10−6 m.

Table 14.6 – Output Options Data Frame on the Control Data Panel.
CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Automatic close of model win- The model windows are automatically closed as soon as the
dows program finalizes the execution.
Output maximum files Switch to allow reporting maximum values throughout the
simulation to .maxi, .maxe, and maximum values output
files.
Output hazard file The model will generate flood hazard levels based on the
criteria used in different countries .
Output results for cross sec- Use this option to generate results for user defined cross sec-
tions tions. The cross section can be edited in the Cross Section
Output Panel. This data goes in a .XSECS file.
Output results for profiles Use this option to generate results along a user defined poly-
line. The polyline data can be edited in the Profile Cut Output
Panel. This data goes in a .PROFILES file.
Output results at observation Switch to allow reporting time series of results at specified
points locations defined by coordinates in the Observation Points
Panel.
Compute mass balance every Switch to calculate detailed mass or volume balance. The
output interval report is written in the massBalance.out file. Keep this
option selected to check general model mass balance, but it
is recommended to turn it off for production runs, since it will
speed up the model operation.

Table 14.7 – Modules Data Frame on the Control Data Panel.

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Mud/Tailings Flow Option to activate the Mud and Tailings Flow modeling. The
data can be edited in the Mud/Tailings Flow Panel. The data
is written to the .MUD file.
Oil Spill on Land Option to activate the Overland Oil Spill modeling. The data
can be edited in the Oil Spill on Land Panel. The data is
written to the .OILP file.
Oil Spill on Water Option to activate the Oil Spill on Water modeling. The data
can be edited in the Oil Spill on Water Panel. The data is
written to the .OILW file.
Continued on next page
14.1 Control Data Panel (.DAT file) 170

Table 14.7 – continued from previous page

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Pollutant Transport Option to activate pollutant transport modeling. The pollutant
transport data can be edited in the Pollutant Transport Panel.
The data is written to the .SOLUTES file.
Sediment transport Option to activate sediment transport modeling with erosion
and deposition for a mobile bed. The sediment transport data
can be edited in the Sediment Transport Panel. This data is
written to the .SEDS and .SEDB files.
Urban Drainage EPA-SWMM Switch to integrate surface water with storm drain EPA-
SWMM model. The data is written to .LSWMM file.
Water Quality Option to activate water quality model. The water quality data
can be edited in the Water Quality Panel. The data is written
to the .WQM file.

Table 14.8 – Components Data Frame on the Control Data Panel.

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Rainfall/Evaporation Option to activate rainfall and/or evaporation. The required
data has to be entered in the Rainfall /Evaporation Panel.
This data is written to .LRAIN file.
Bridge piers Switch to allow accounting for pier drag force. The Bridge
piers data can be edited in the Bridge Piers Panel. The data
is written to .PIERS file.
Bridges Switch to model Bridges using the bridge cross section ge-
ometry and accounting for energy losses. The data can
be edited in the Bridges Panel. The data is written to
.BRIDGES file.
Bridge Scour Switch to calculate bridge scour at piers and abutments. The
data can be edited in the Bridge Scour Panel. The data is
written to .SCOUR file.
Culverts Switch indicating if one dimensional culverts will be used.
The Culverts data can be edited in the Culverts Panel. The
data is written to .CULVERTS file.
Dam Breach Switch to activate the Dam Breach component. The data is
written to .DAMBREACH file.
Gates Switch to model gates. The data can be edited in the Gates
Panel. The data is written to .GATES file.
Infiltration Option to activate Infiltration loss calculations. The required
data has to be entered in the Infiltration Panel. This data is
written to .LINF file.
Internal rating tables Switch to allow using internal rating tables. The data can be
edited in the Internal Rating Tables Panel. The data is written
to .IRT file.
Multiple sources batch run Switch to activate batch runs when more than one source is
defined. The model will perform sequentially runs for each
individual source in separate directories, that will have the
name given to each source.
Continued on next page
171 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

Table 14.8 – continued from previous page

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Sources/Sinks Switch to indicate existence of sources or sinks. The
sources/sinks data can be edited in the Sources/Sinks Panel.
The data is written to .SOURCES file.
Wind This option activates the calculation of wind stress on the
watersurface. The data can be edited in the Wind Panel. The
data is written to .WIND file.

Table 14.9 – Initial Conditions Data Frame on the Control Data Panel.
CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Dry bed The simulation will start with a fully dry bed. For discharge
boundary conditions, an arbitrary depth (>0.0) is assigned to
calculate the inflow for the first time-step. Subsequently the
flow depth at the boundary will be determined by the model.
Read initial water elevations Initial water surface elevations will be read from the .FED
from .FED file file. It is possible to assign a spatially variable initial water
surface elevation in the Initial Conditions Layer.
Horizontal water surface eleva- Use this option to start a simulation with a user provided initial
tion horizontal water surface elevation.
Initial water elevation Initial water surface elevation on the whole mesh. If initial
water elevation is set to -9999, the program will assign a con-
stant water elevation equal to the highest bed elevation on
the mesh.

14.2 Sediment Transport Panel (.SEDS and .SEDB

Files)
This panel allows entering sediment transport data. To activate this panel, first select Sediment
Transport on the Components Frame of the Control Data Panel.
14.2 Sediment Transport Panel (.SEDS and .SEDB Files) 172

Figure 14.4 – Sediment Transport Panel.

Table 14.10 – Parameters on the Sediment transport Mode frame and buttons of the Sediment Transport
Panel.
CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Suspended sediment When this check box is selected, the model will compute sed-
iment concentrations using the suspended sediment trans-
port component. See comment 1.
Bed load Sediment Selecting this check box will activate the bed load sediment
transport component. See comment 1.
Buttons
Open .SED* Opens an existing .SEDS or .SEDB files.
Save .SED* Saves the sediment data to .SEDS and .SEDB files.
173 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

Table 14.11 – Parameters on the Suspended Sediment transport frame of the Sediment Transport
Panel.
CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Equilibrium Concentration for- When this check box is selected, the model will compute sed-
mula iment concentrations using one of the following suspended
sediment transport formulas:
1. Bagnold (1966)lb
2. Van Rijn (1984a)
3. Zhang and Xie (1993)

Settling Velocity Formula It is a unique formula that applies for all fractions. This drop-
down list includes the following formulas:
1. Rubey (1933)
2. Zhang (1961)
3. Zanke (1977)
4. Van Rijn (1984a)
5. Raudkivi (1990)
6. Julien (1998)
7. Cheng (1997)
8. Jimenez-Madsen (2003)
9. Wu-Wong (2006)

Factor This factor multiplies the settling velocity calculated by the

selected formula.
Dispersion coefficients Longitudinal and transversal dispersion coefficients for the
Suspended Sediment module (m2 /s or ft2 /s).
Table
Density Suspended sediment density (kg/m3 or lb/ft3 ).
Initial Concentration Initial volumetric sediment concentration. See comment 2.
Diameter Characteristic sediment size for this fraction (m or ft).
Porosity Bed porosity.
Shields Stress Critical Shield stress.
Friction Angle Sediment friction angle (degrees).
Factor Equilibrium concentration formula factor for each fraction.
This factor multiplies the equilibrium concentration calculated
by the selected formula.
Buttons
Add Suspended Sediment Used to add a new fraction. Up to 10 fractions may be used.
Fraction
Remove Selected Fraction Deletes the selected fraction.
14.2 Sediment Transport Panel (.SEDS and .SEDB Files) 174

Table 14.12 – Parameters on the Bed Load Sediment transport frame of the Sediment Transport Panel.
CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Sediment load formula Allows selection of one of the following sediment transport
formulas:
1. Meyer-Peter & Muller (1948)
2. Ashida (1972)
3. Engelund (1976)
4. Fernandez (1976)
5. Parker fit to Einstein (1979)
6. Smart (1984)
7. Nielsen (1992)
8. Wong 1 (2003)
9. Wong 2 (2003)
10. Camenen-Larson (1966)

Table
Density Sediment density (lb/ft3 or kg/m3 ).
Diameter D30 Sediment D30 size (m). 30% of the sediment is finer than
D30. Only used for Smart Formula.
Diameter Characteristic sediment size for this fraction (m).
Diameter D90 Sediment D90 size (m). 90% of the sediment is finer than
D90. Only used for Smart Formula.
Porosity Sediment porosity.
Shields Stress Critical Shield stress.
Friction Angle Sediment friction angle (degrees).
Fraction Fraction of material in bed. All fractions must add up to 1.
Factor Transport formula factor for each fraction. This factor multi-
plies the result of the transport formula selected.
Buttons
Add Bed Load Fraction Used to add a new fraction. Up to 10 fractions may be used.
Remove Selected Fraction Deletes the selected fraction.

14.2.0.1 Comments for the .SEDS and .SEDB Files

1. You can select either one or both options. When using the suspended sediment transport
option, all inflow data files should contain time series of volumetric concentrations for each
fraction entered.

2. Volumetric concentration should be provided as a fraction of 1. Note that the typically total
maximum suspended load concentration do not exceed 0.08. Concentrations greater than
0.08 is generally considered hyperconcentrated flow which falls beyond the validity of the
sediment transport algorithms. Therefore, the sum of all initial concentrations should also
not exceed 0.08.
175 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

14.3 Urban Drainage EPA-SWMM Panel (.LSWMM

File)
This panel is used to display the content of the .LSWMM file and enter data for the Urban Drainage
module. it is expected that you create the .LSWMM using the manhole (exchange nodes) in the
EPA-SWMM project file .INP. In this panel can edit the diameter and discharge coefficient for each
manhole. To activate this panel, first select the Urban Drainage EPA-SWMM from the Modules
group on the left panel of Hydronia Data Input Program.

Figure 14.5 – Urban Drainage EPA-SWMM Panel.

Table 14.13 – Parameters on the Urban Drainage EPA-SWMM Panel.

COLUMN NAME DESCRIPTION
CD Discharge coefficient for exchange node.

Diameter Diameter of exchange node.

Name Name of manhole or exchange node. Should have less than

26 characters and must not contain blank spaces.

XY Coordinates of exchange node.

14.4 Mud and Tailings Flow Data Panel (.MUD File) 176

14.4 Mud and Tailings Flow Data Panel (.MUD File)

This panel allows entering the data required to perform mud and tailings flow simulations. It
includes options for constant properties and variable-properties model. To activate this panel,
first select Mud/Tailings Flow on the Components Frame of the Control Data Panel. There are
two separate frames for the Constant Properties and Variable Properties / Erosion / Deposition
models.
The panel also provides a tool to calculate the Yield Stress, Viscosity and Density of the ma-
terial based on the Volumetric Concentration Cv according to different procedures available in
publications selected from the drop down lists.
When using the Variable Properties model, the user can enter multiple classes to represent the
different types of materials characterized by their diameter and density. In that case it is important
to keep in mind that each of the inflow boundary condition files will need to contain, in addition to
the flowrate or water elevation, the volumetric concentrations Cv for each given material class.
Further details about the data on this panel can be seen in table 15.37 on section 15.17, page
273.

Figure 14.6 – Mud/Tailings Flow Panel.

Table 14.14 – Parameters on the Mud/Tailings Flow Panel.

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Constant properties Select the constant property model where viscosity, density
and yield stress remain invariant in space and time during the
computation.
Continued on next page
177 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

Table 14.14 – continued from previous page

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Variable properties Select the variable property model where viscosity, density
and yield stress can change during the computation. The
model also can consider the material grain distribution with
different size fractions, with erosion and deposition.
Flow resistance relation
1. Turbulent flow
2. Full Bingham
3. Simplified Bingham
4. Turbulent and Coulomb
5. Turbulent and Yield
6. Turbulent, Coulomb and Yield
7. Quadratic
8. Granular flow
9. Herschel-Bulkley

Viscosity calculation
1. Constant: Viscosity will be assumed constant in
space and time and equal to the value entered in the
Viscosity box for Constant properties.
2. Formula: Viscosity will depend on Cv according to the
Formula selected as a function of Cv.
3. Table: Viscosity will be interpolated from the user pro-
vided Cv vs Viscosity Table at the bottom end of the
panel. See the file format in section 14.4.1 below.

Yield stress calculation

1. Constant: Yield stress will be assumed constant in
space and equal to the value entered in the Yield
stress box for Constant properties.
2. Formula: Yield stress will depend on Cv according to
the Formula selected as a function of Cv.
3. Table: Yield stress will be interpolated from the user
provided Cv vs Yield stress Table at the bottom end of
the panel. See the file format in section 14.4.1 below.

Cv Volumetric fluid concentration

Yield stress Yield stress (Pa or lb/in2 ).
Viscosity Fluid viscosity (Poise or lb/in2 ).
Equilibrium concentration for- Selection list from different authors.
mula
Basal stability angle Friction angle of the material (degrees).
Continued on next page
14.4 Mud and Tailings Flow Data Panel (.MUD File) 178

Table 14.14 – continued from previous page

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Settling Velocity Formula It is a unique formula that applies for all fractions. This drop-
down list includes the following formulas:
1. Rubey (1933)
2. Zhang (1961)
3. Zanke (1977)
4. Van Rijn (1984a)
5. Raudkivi (1990)
6. Julien (1998)
7. Cheng (1997)
8. Jimenez-Madsen (2003)
9. Wu-Wong (2006)

Factor This factor multiplies the settling velocity calculated by the

selected formula.
Pore pressure factor γref ≥ 1 is a user-defined pore pressure factor. See equa-
tion 8.38.
Material density Fluid density (kg/m3 or lb/ft3 ).
Reference density ρref ≥ ρw is the user-defined reference density used in the
pore pressure term. Must be greater or equal to the water
density (kg/m3 or lb/ft3 ). See equation 8.38.
Classes Data Table
Density of solid class Solid density for each class (kg/m3 or lb/ft3 ).
Initial Volume Concentration Initial volumetric material concentration. Is overridden if Initial
Concentration polygons are provided.
Fraction Diameter Characteristic material size for each class (m or ft).
Bed Material Porosity Bed porosity used when computing deposition.
Shields Critical Stress Critical Shield stress for each class.
Equilibrium Formula Factor Equilibrium concentration formula factor for each class. This
factor multiplies the equilibrium concentration calculated by
the selected formula, and is commonly used for model cali-
bration..
Bed material fraction Initial fraction of each class on the bed material. The sum of
bed material fractions for all the classes must add 1.
Settling velocity Factor Settling velocity formula factor for each class. This factor mul-
tiplies the settling velocity calculated by the selected formula,
and is commonly used for model calibration.
Buttons
Add Sediment Used to add a new material class. Up to 10 classes may be
used.
Remove Selected Class Deletes the selected class.

14.4.1 Optional Viscosity or Yield Stress Data Files

When selecting the Table option from the Viscosity Calculation or Yield Stress Calculation drop
down lists a data file must be provided that represent the variation of viscosity or yield stress with
179 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

volumetric concentration Cv.

The file format is as follows
Line 1: Number points in data series.
NDATA

NDATA lines containing

Cv(I) VARIABLE(I)

Where VARIABLE(I) is the Viscosity, or Yield Stress for the corresponding Cv(I).

14.4.1.1 Example of the Viscosity or Yield Stress Data Files

The following example shows an yield stress data as function of Cv, where NDATA is 5 and there
are 5 lines with pairs of Cv and Ys:

5
0.00 0.
0.20 0.1
0.30 150.
0.50 500.
0.65 1200.
14.5 Pollutant Transport panel (.SOLUTES) 180

14.5 Pollutant Transport panel (.SOLUTES)

Use the Pollutant Transport panel to enter the parameters required to characterize the reaction
rates between multiple solutes as summarized in Table 14.15.

Figure 14.7 – Pollutant Transport panel.

Table 14.15 – Parameters on the Pollutant Transport Panel.

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Dispersion coefficients Longitudinal and transversal dispersion coefficients for the
PL module (m2 /s or ft2 /s).
Name Solute name.
In Check box to include pollutant in the simulation.
Reaction coefficients Matrix to enter the linear reaction coefficients between the
solutes. The matrix is symmetrical. The diagonal may be
used to enter the linear decay coefficient for a given pollu-
tant. You can add more solutes by clicking on the last row
name. You can also eliminate a solute by selecting the name
and using the Delete keyboard key. The columns tittles (P1,
P2,...) correspond to each solute.

14.6 Graphic Output Options Tab (.PLT File)

This panel allows entering options to control RiverFlow2D output. To activate this panel, first select
Graphic Output Options from the Output group on the left panel Hydronia Data Input Program.
181 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

Figure 14.8 – Graphic Output Panel.

Table 14.16 – Parameters on the Graphic Output Option Panel.

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Buttons
Open .PLT Opens an existing .PLT output data file.
Save .PLT Saves only the graphic output data to a .PLT file.
Regenerate post-processing Use this button to create output files from existing simula-
files from existing results tions. The output state*.out files written during a
previous simulation must be available.
Plot Frame
Plot Chose the desired plot from the list:
• Velocity field using black arrows.
• Velocity field using colored arrows based on velocity
magnitude.
• Velocities in black over colored depths.
• Velocities in black over colored bed elevations.
• Flow depth.
• Bed elevation.
• Water elevations.
• Velocities in black over colored water elevations.
• Erosion and deposition.
• Concentration

Color palette For future use.

Plot axis For future use.
Continued on next page
14.6 Graphic Output Options Tab (.PLT File) 182

Table 14.16 – continued from previous page

CONTROL NAME DESCRIPTION
Create DXF vector field files Generate velocity vector DXF (CAD) files. This option
will also export the mesh in DXF format to the file:
<ProjectName>_MESH.DXF.
Create graphic output files For future use.
Create TIME*.EXP node Using this option RiverFlow2D when running will generate
result files using original TIME*.EXP files using an algorithm to compute
algorithm. nodal values from cell values that was available
in versions older than 2018.
Background Image Frame
Background image For future use.
Background file For future use.
Transparency For future use.
List of variables Frame
Min For future use.
Max For future use.
Max velocity vector For future use.
Velocity vector factor For future use.
Plot Window Frame For future use.
X1 For future use.
Y1 For future use.
X2 For future use.
Y2 For future use.
183 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

14.7 Profile Output Panel (.PROFILES File)

Use this panel to enter polyline coordinates where the model results are to be generated. The
model will generate output .PRFI and .PRFE files. To activate this panel, first select the Profile
Output in Output from the Output group on the left panel of Hydronia Data Input Program.

See output file section (15.23.3) for output file content description.

Figure 14.9 – Profile Output File.

Table 14.17 – Parameters on the Profile Output Panel.

COLUMN NAME DESCRIPTION
Profile data table
Profile name Profile name. Should not contain spaces and must have less
than 26 characters.
N Vertices Number of vertices in each profile.
N Intervals Intervals to divide each profile sub-segment between ver-
tices. Results will be reported at each interval.
X, Y Coordinates for each vertex in polyline.
Buttons
Open .PROFILES Opens an existing .PROFILES file.
Save .PROFILES Saves only the profile data to a .PROFILES file.
14.8 Cross Section Output Panel (.XSECS File) 184

14.8 Cross Section Output Panel (.XSECS File)

Use this panel to enter coordinates for cross sections that intersect the triangular-cell mesh where
you want to output model results. RiverFlow2D will generate output .XSECI and .XSECE files. To
activate this panel, first select the Cross Section Output from the Output group on the left panel
of p p.

Figure 14.10 – Cross Section Output Panel.

Table 14.18 – Parameters on the Inflow Boundary Data Panel.

COLUMN NAME DESCRIPTION
XS data table
XS Name Cross section name. Should not contain spaces and must
have less than 26 characters.
N Intervals Intervals to divide each section. Results will be extracted and
reported at each interval.
X1 Y1 X2 Y2 Each row corresponds to the coordinates of the initial (X1,Y1)
and ending (X2,Y2) of one cross section.
Buttons
Open .XSECS Opens an existing .XSECS file.
Save .XSECS Saves only the cross section data to a .XSECS file.
185 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

14.9 Culverts Panel (.CULVERTS File)

This panel is used to display the content of the .CULVERTS file and enter data for culverts. Figure
14.11 shows the Culvert panel with a three culverts. Selecting Culvert1 on the first row shows
the associated rating table. To activate this panel, first select the Culverts from the Components
group on the left panel of Hydronia Data Input Program.

Figure 14.11 – Culverts Panel showing data in rating curve.

Figure 14.11 shows the corresponding data entry controls that appear when selecting the first row
for Culvert1 that is a circular culvert.

Table 14.19 – Parameters on the Culverts Panel.

COLUMN NAME DESCRIPTION
Culvert data
Culvert Name Culvert name. Should not contain spaces and must have less
than 26 characters.
Type Type of culvert. For Type = 0, culvert discharge is computed
from a user given rating table on the Culvert File. For Types
= 1 and 2, discharge is computed using culvert equations
based on culvert characteristics provided in the Culvert File.
Culvert File Culvert rating table file name or culvert characteristic data.
Name Should not contain spaces and must have less than
26 characters.
X1, Y1, X2, Y2 Coordinates of vertices defining each culvert line.
Manning’s roughness coeffi- Culvert Manning’s n Coefficient given by Table 13.2.
cient
Entrance loss coefficient Culvert entrance loss coefficient given by Table 13.3.
Continued on next page
14.9 Culverts Panel (.CULVERTS File) 186

Table 14.19 – continued from previous page

COLUMN NAME DESCRIPTION
Culvert inlet control formula Culvert inlet control formula coefficients given by Table 13.4.
coefficients
m Inlet form coefficient. m=0.7 for mitered inlets, m=-0.5 for all
other inlets.
Barrel height (Hb) Barrel height for box culverts (ft or m). Only for box culverts:
CulvertType = 1.
Barrel width (Base) Barrel width for box culverts (m or ft). Only for box culverts:
CulvertType = 1.
Diameter (Dc) Barrel diameter for circular culverts (m or ft). Only for circular
culverts: CulvertType = 2.
Number of barrels Number of identical barrels.
Use cell elevations When this check box is selected the model will extract the
inlet and outlet invert elevations from the cell elevations of
the culvert ending points. If the check box is not selected, the
user can enter the inlet invert elevation (Z1) and outlet invert
elevations (Z2) that may be different from the cell elevations.
Buttons
Open .CULVERTS Opens an existing .CULVERTS file.
Save .CULVERTS Saves only the culvert data to a .CULVERTS file.
187 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

14.10 Internal Rating Tables Panel (.IRT File)

This panel is used to display the content of the .IRT file and enter data for Internal rating Tables.
In this Panel can also edit Internal Rating Table polylines, type, and data file name. To activate
this panel, first select the Internal Rating Table from the Components group on the left panel of
Hydronia Data Input Program.

Figure 14.12 – Internal Rating Tables Panel.

Table 14.20 – Parameters on the Internal Rating Tables Panel.

COLUMN NAME DESCRIPTION
Data table
IRT Name Name of internal rating table. Should not contain spaces and
must have less than 26 characters.
Type Boundary condition is always equal to 19 in this version, cor-
responding to discharge vs. water surface elevation tables.
File Name Name of file containing internal rating table data in the format
described as a stage-discharge data file.
X, Y Coordinates of vertices defining each IRT polyline.
Buttons
Open .IRT Opens an existing .IRT file.
Save .IRT Saves only the internal rating table data to a .IRT file.
14.11 Weirs Panel (.WEIRS File) 188

14.11 Weirs Panel (.WEIRS File)

This panel is used to display the content of the .WEIRS file. In this Panel can also create weir
polyline data. To activate this panel, first select the Weirs from the Components group on the left
panel of Hydronia Data Input Program.

Figure 14.13 – Weirs Panel.

Table 14.21 – Parameters on the Weirs Panel.

COLUMN NAME DESCRIPTION
Data table
Weir Name Name of weir. Should not contain spaces and must have less
than 26 characters.
N Vertices Number of points defining each weir polyline.
Cf Weir coefficient.
X, Y Coordinates of vertices defining each weir polyline (m or ft).
Buttons
Open .WEIRS Opens an existing .WEIRS file.
Save .WEIRS Saves only the weir data to a .WEIRS file.
189 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

14.12 Sources/Sinks Panel (.SOURCES File)

This panel is used to display the content of the .SOURCES file. Use this Panel to also create sources
and sinks location data, type, and sources/sink data file. To activate this panel, first select the
Sources and Sinks from the Components group on the left panel of Hydronia Data Input Program.

Figure 14.14 – Sources/Sinks Panel.

Table 14.22 – Parameters on the Sources/Sinks Panel.

COLUMN NAME DESCRIPTION
Data table
Source/Sink Name Name of point source or sink. Should not contain spaces and
must have less than 26 characters.
File Name Name of file containing the time series or rating table of each
point source or sink.
Type Source/sink type. If equal to 1, the file should contain a hy-
drograph. If equal to 2, it contains a rating table with depths
vs discharge values.
X, Y Coordinates of point.
Buttons
Open .SOURCES Opens an existing .SOURCES file.
Save .SOURCES Saves only the sources and sinks data to a .SOURCES file.
14.13 Bridge Scour Panel (.SCOUR File) 190

14.13 Bridge Scour Panel (.SCOUR File)

This panel is used to display the content of the .SCOUR file. Use this Panel to edit bridge pier or
abutment data and calculate scour on those structures. To activate this panel, first select Bridge
Scour from the Components group on the left panel of Hydronia Data Input Program.

Figure 14.15 – Bridge Scour Panel.

Table 14.23 – Parameters for piers and abutments on the Bridge Scour Panel.
NAME DESCRIPTION
Data table
Pier ID Pier name
Icomp: Computational method
XA, YA Pier coordinates
Y1 Flow depth directly upstream of the pier
V1 Velocity upstream of the pier
Alfa Angle of attack
alfaRAD Angle of attack
ishape Pier shape
L Pier length
a Pier width
iBedCondition Bed condition
D50 D50
D84 D84
Sediment Specific Density Ss
Water Specific Density Sw
K1 Correction factor for pier nose shape.
Continued on next page
191 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

Table 14.23 – continued from previous page

NAME DESCRIPTION
K2 Correction factor for angle of attack of flow
K3 Correction factor for bed condition
K bottom width relative to Ys.
theta angle of repose of the bed material
ys Scour depth
W scour hole top width
Wbottom scour hole bottom width
Fr1 Froude Number upstream of pier
FrD Densimetric particle Froude Number
SIGMA Sediment gradation coefficient
Vc Critical velocity for initiation of erosion of the material
iAbutmentType Abutment Type
AlfaA Amplification factor for live-bed conditions
AlfaB Amplification factor for clear-water conditions
YmaxLB Maximum flow depth after scour for live-bed conditions
YmaxCW Maximum flow depth after scour for clear-water conditions
YcLB Depth including live-bed contraction scour
YsA Abutment scour depth
YcCW1 Depth including clear-water contraction scour. Method 1
YcCW2 Depth including clear-water contraction scour. Method 2
q1 Upstream unit discharge
q2c Upstream unit discharge of the constricted opening
n Manning Mannings n
TauC Critical shear stress
GammaW Unit weight of water
BridgeXSEC_X1, Coordinates of extreme points of Bridge Cross Section
BridgeXSEC_Y1,
BridgeXSEC_X2,
BridgeXSEC_Y2
UpstreamXSEC_X1, Up- Coordinates of extreme points of Upstream Cross Section
streamXSEC_Y1, Up-
streamXSEC_X2, Up-
streamXSEC_Y2
Buttons
Open .SCOUR Opens an existing .SCOUR file.
Save .SCOUR Saves only the bridge pier and abutment data to a .SCOUR
file.

14.14 Bridge Piers Panel (.PIERS File)

This panel is used to display the content of the .PIERS file. In this Panel can also enter bridge
pier location and pier geometry data. To activate this panel, first select the Bridges Piers from the
Components group on the left panel of Hydronia Data Input Program.
14.14 Bridge Piers Panel (.PIERS File) 192

Figure 14.16 – Bridge Piers Panel.

Table 14.24 – Parameters on the Bridge Piers Panel.

COLUMN NAME DESCRIPTION
Data table
X,Y Coordinates of pier centroid.
Angle X Pier angle with respect to X axis.
Length Pier length (m or ft).
Width Pier width (m or ft).
Drag Coeff. Drag coefficient of the pier.
Pier Name Name of pier. Should not contain spaces and must have less
than 26 characters.
Buttons
Open .PIERS Opens an existing .PIERS file.
Save .PIERS Saves only the bridge piers data to a .PIERS file.

To simulate circular piers use the same width and length and set an adequate Drag Coefficient
for round piers.
193 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

14.15 Observation Points Panel (.OBS File)

Use this panel to create, edit and display the content of the .OBS file. To activate this panel, first se-
lect the Observation Points from the Output group on the left panel of Hydronia Data Input Program.

Figure 14.17 – Observation Points Panel.

Table 14.25 – Parameters on the Observation Points Panel.

COLUMN NAME DESCRIPTION
Data table
Observation Point Name Name of observation point. Should not contain spaces and
must have less than 26 characters.
X,Y Coordinates of point.
Buttons
Open .OBS Opens an existing .OBS file.
Save .OBS Saves only the observation point data to a .OBS file.
14.16 Tools Panel 194

14.16 Tools Panel

This section describes various utilities that are available through Hydronia Data Input Program.
To activate this panel, first select the Tools from the Output group on the left panel.

Figure 14.18 – Tools Panel.

14.16.1 Process Rainfall and Evaporation Data from ASCII Grid

Files Tool
You can use this tool to process rainfall (e.g. NEXRAD) and evaporation ASCII Grid Files to
prepare RiverFlow2D data files that can be used for hydrologic simulations. The program will let
you extract data from a set of point rainfall and evaporation ASCII grid files and to create a .LRAIN
file in the format readable by RiverFlow2D.
To use the tool, you need first to create .RFC file with a text editor (e.g Notepad) using the following
format:

Line 1: Number of ASCII Rain Files

NRF

NRF lines containing:

Ti RAINFILEi.ASC
195 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

Where Ti is the time in hours and RAINFILEi.ASC is the ASCII Grid file for the rainfall correspond-
ing to time Ti.
Optionally if you have a set of evaporation files you add the following lines:

Number of ASCII Evaporation Files (must be equal to NRF)

NEV

NEV lines containing:

Ti EVAPFILEi.ASC

Where Ti is the time in hours and EVAPFILEi.ASC is the ASCII Grid file for the evaporation corre-
sponding to time Ti.
It is assumed that in the rain and evaporation ASCII files values are given in mm or in. Since
RiverFlow2D uses intensities instead of mm or in, the values provided will be converted internally
to mm/hr or in/hr using the time interval determined from the times provided in the .RFC file
described above.
If the number of files (NRF) in the first line is positive, the rainfall/evaporation will be assumed to
be given in points, and will be interpolated to each cell. If the number is negative, the program
will consider the rain/evaporation given in squares centered at each grid point, and then the cell
precipitation will be that of the grid where the cell centroid is located. This last method does not
involve interpolation and is faster than the first method.
Once you have the .RFC file created and the .ASC files are located in the same folder, use the
Extract Rainfall from ASCII Grid Files Tool button, select the .RFC file and click Open.
Wait for a few moments and enter the name of the .LRAIN file. The conversion process will take a
few seconds or minutes depending on the number of files and their size.
To use the resulting .LRAIN file, you should copy it to the project folder making sure to setting
the same file name as that of your project. For instance, if your project files are Mesh1.dat,
Mesh1.fed, then name it as Mesh1.lrain.

14.16.1.1 Example of a .RFC File with rainfall only

-4
0 rain_spas1275_001_20040917_0100_utc.asc
1 rain_spas1275_002_20040917_0200_utc.asc
2 rain_spas1275_003_20040917_0300_utc.asc
3 rain_spas1275_004_20040917_0400_utc.asc

14.16.1.2 Example of a .RFC File with rainfall and evaporation

14.16 Tools Panel 196

-4
0 rain_spas1275_001_20040917_0100_utc.asc
1 rain_spas1275_002_20040917_0200_utc.asc
2 rain_spas1275_003_20040917_0300_utc.asc
3 rain_spas1275_004_20040917_0400_utc.asc
-4
0 evap_spas1275_001_20040917_0100_utc.asc
1 evap_spas1275_002_20040917_0200_utc.asc
2 evap_spas1275_003_20040917_0300_utc.asc
3 evap_spas1275_004_20040917_0400_utc.asc
197 Hydronia Data Input Program (DIP)

14.16.2 HEC-RAS Data Extraction Tool

The purpose of this tool is to facilitate migrating existing HEC-RAS projects to RiverFlow2D. The
program allows extraction of point elevation data from geo-referenced cross-section from the
HEC-RAS one-dimensional model developed by the USACE. The tool reads HEC-RAS geom-
etry files with extension .g01, .g02, etc., and creates X Y Z files that can be readily imported in
QGIS. The utility discriminates the elevations in the channel between the left and right bank on
each cross section and exports the files as detailed in the following table.

Table 14.26 – Files generated by the HEC-RAS Data Extraction Tool.

FILE NAME DESCRIPTION
<HEC-RAS file name>_ALL_STATIONS.EXP Contains all elevation points in all cross sections
in the for all reaches and cross sections in the
<HEC-RAS file name>.g0? file.
<HEC-RAS file name>_ALL_POLY.EXP Contains polygons that include all elevation
points in each reach.
<HEC-RAS file name>h0_CHANNEL_STATIONS.EXPContains only the elevation points between the
left and right banks in all cross sections in
the for all reaches in the <HEC-RAS file
name>.g0? file.
<HEC-RAS file name>_CHANNEL_POLY.EXP Contains polygons that include only the elevation
in the main channel for each reach.
 Input Data File Reference
15
Data files for non-spatial information required to run the RiverFlow2D. All RiverFlow2D input data
files are in ASCII free-form format, which can be opened using any text editor or spreadsheet
program. In some instances it may be convenient to directly edit the data. However, it is recom-
mended to edit files with extreme caution, and only after having gained a thorough understanding
of RiverFlow2D file formats. This section explains the input data files, and the parameters included
in each file.
The RiverFlow2D installation program creates a folder with several example projects that can be
consulted to review the model data files. Depending on your operating system and settings, this
folder can be found in:

...\Documents\RiverFlow2D_QGIS\ExampleProjects.
RiverFlow2D data files will share the same name and will use the file extensions listed in the table
15.1 below. For example a run named Run1 will have files as follows: Run1.DAT, Run1.FED, etc.
The following table summarizes the data files used by RiverFlow2D model.

Table 15.1 DEPENDENCIES column indicates all required and optional files depending on the
options selected. You may use this information to select the files that should be transferred to
another computer that will perform the simulations, or to a Virtual Machine on a Cloud Service.

198
199 Input Data File Reference

Figure 15.1 – Example of a RiverFlow2D Mesh.

Table 15.1 – List of Input Data Files.

NAME FILE EXTEN- DEPENDENCIES CONTENT
SION
QGIS Plugin
QGIS project file .QSG Required when using This is the project file where QGIS stores
the RiverFlow2D all the spatial data used in the project, in-
cluding the triangular cell mesh.
SPATIAL DATA FILES
Elevation data any Required Scattered elevation data points.
Triangle-cell mesh .FED Required Node coordinates and elevations, triangu-
data lar mesh topology, boundary condition type
and file names, initial water elevations, and
Manning’s n coefficients.
Mesh boundary .TBA Internal file List of external and island boundary
nodes nodes. This file is internally generated by
RiverFlow2D.
I/O boundary con- .IFL Internal file List of external boundary nodes, inflow and
ditions outflow conditions. This file is internally
generated by RiverFlow2D.
Boundary condi- .OBCP Required List of external boundary conditions. For
tion nodal file each boundary, it contains the list of nodes
and the associated data file. Note that all
files listed within .OBCP are required to run
the model, and should reside in the same
folder. This file is now internally generated
by RiverFlow2D, based on the information
in the .FED file.
CONTROL DATA FILES
Continued on next page
 200

Table 15.1 – continued from previous page

NAME FILE EXTEN- DEPENDENCIES CONTENT
SION
Run control data .DAT, .DATP Required General run control options, including time
step, simulation time, metric or English
units, graphical output options, initial con-
ditions, components, etc.
Plot results op- .PLT Optional Graphical output options.
tions
Observation .OBS Optional Location of observation points where the
points data model will report time series of results.
Cross section out- .XSECS Optional List of cross sections where the model
put will output results. Each cross section is
defined by coordinates of its two ending
points.
Profile output .PROFILES Optional Mesh profile cut where results are desired.
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS DATA FILES
Time series or user defined Required Hydrograph, water surface elevations vs.
rating table files time, etc. The model requires one file
for inflow or out- for each open boundary condition, except
flow boundary “free” boundary condition types.
conditions
Initial concen- .CINITIAL Required when using Defines the initial concentrations over the
tration of each the Pollutant Transport mesh.
pollutant module.
COMPONENT DATA FILES
Bridges .BRIDGES Required when using Bridge cross section geometry file is used
the Bridges component. to compute energy losses.
Culverts .CULVERTS Required when using Culvert location and associated culvert
the Culvert component. data files.
Dam Breach .DAMBREACH Required when using Location and data for the dam breach.
the Dam Breach compo-
nent.
Gates .GATES Required when using Gate location and associated gate aperture
the Gates component. data files.
Infiltration .LINF Required when using Infiltration parameters data file.
the Infiltration compo-
nent.
Internal rating ta- .IRT Required when using Data to impose discharge rating tables
bles the Internal Rating Table along internal boundaries.
component.
Manning’s n vari- .MANNN Required when using Provides the parameters necessary to ac-
able with depth variable Manning’s n count for Manning’s n roughness coeffi-
with depth. cient that vary with depth according to a
user provided table. Created from poly-
gons on the ManningsNz layer.
Bridge piers .PIERS The Piers component is Bridge pier data used to calculate pier drag
selected forces.
Rainfall/Evaporation .LRAIN Required when using Time series for rainfall and evaporation.
the Rainfall/Evaporation
component.
Continued on next page
201 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.1 – continued from previous page

NAME FILE EXTEN- DEPENDENCIES CONTENT
SION
Sources and sinks .SOURCES Required when using This file contains location of input dis-
the Sources compo- charge sources or output discharge sinks
nent. and associated time series of discharge
data files.
Weirs .WEIRS Required when using This file contains weirs polylines and asso-
the Weir component. ciated weir data.
Wind .WIND Required when using This file contains wind specific density and
the Wind component. velocity data.
Bridge Scour .SCOUR Required to calculate This file contains pier and abutment param-
bridge pier or abutment eters needed to compute scour.
scour.
MODULE DATA FILES
Mud/Tailings Flow .MUD Required when using Provides the parameters necessary to
the Mud/Tailings Flow model mud and tailings flow.
module.
Oil Spills on Land .OILP Required when using Provides the parameters necessary to
the OilFlow2D model to model overland oil spills.
simulate overland spills.
Oil Spills on water .OILW Required when using Provides the parameters necessary to
the OilFlow2D model to model oil spills on water.
simulate oil spills over
water.
Pollutant transport .SOLUTES Required when using Data for passive or reactive pollutants.
the Pollutant Transport
module.
Bed load sediment .SEDB Required when using Bed load sediment transport data.
transport the Sediment transport
module.
Suspended sedi- .SEDS Required when using Suspended sediment transport data.
ment transport the Sediment transport
module.
Water Quality .WQM Required when using Water quality parameters.
the Water Quality

15.1 Run Control Data

15.1.1 Run Control Data File: .DAT

This file contains parameters to control the model run including time step, simulation time, metric
or English units, physical processes or component switches, and graphical output and initial con-
ditions options.

Line 1: Internal program version number.

15.1 Run Control Data 202

RELEASE

Line 2: Model selector switch.

IMS

Line 3: Physical processes or component switches.

IRAIN ISED IPIERS IWEIRS ICULVERTS ISOURCES IINTRC IBRIDGES IGATES IDAMS ISWMM

Line 4: Wet-dry bed method switch.

IWETDRY

Line 5: Output control switches.

IEXTREMES IXSEC IPROFILE NOGRAPH IOBS

Line 6: Ti.sedsme control data.

DUMMY CFL DUMMY TOUT TLIMT

Line 7: Initial conditions and hot start control switches.

IINITIAL IHOTSTART

Line 8: Manning’s n variable with depth switch.

IMANN

Line 9: Manning’s n value global multiplication factor.

XNMAN

Line 10: Mass Balance Reporting Switch.

IMASSBAL

Line 11: Unit system definition switch.

NUNITS

Line 12: Surface detention or minimum value of flow depth for dry areas.
HMIN

Line 13: Initial water surface elevation.

INITIAL_WSE

Line 14: Pollutant transport / Water Quality models switch.

IPOLLUTANT
203 Input Data File Reference

Line 15: Wind stress switch.

IWIND

Line 16: Mud/Tailings flow and Oil Spill models switch.

IMDOIL

Line 17: Number of cores or GPU ID.

IDGPU

Line 18: Graphical User Interface that created the files.

IGUI

Line 19: Additional components.

ISCOUR IMULTSOURCES IHAZARD HARRIVAL FUTURE5 FUTURE6 FUTURE7 FUTURE8
FUTURE9 FUTURE10

15.1.1.1 Example of .DAT file

201905
1
0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
2
0 0 0 0 0
0 0.5 0.25 0.25 8
1 0
1
1
0.9
1
-1
0
0
0
0
4
2
1 0 0 0.05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15.1 Run Control Data 204

Table 15.2 – Variable Descriptions for the .DAT File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

CFL R (0, 1] - Applies to RiverFlow2D and RiverFlow2D GPU

models. Courant number. Default value is set to
1.0. CFL may need to be set to lower values if re-
sults show signs of unexpected oscillations.

DUMMY R - - Dummy parameter for future use. Ignored in

RiverFlow2D.

HMIN R −1 or > 0 m/ft In RiverFlow2D HMIN is the depth limit for dry-wet
calculation. If depth is less than HMIN, cell velocity
will be set to 0. If HMIN = -1, all cells with depth
less than 10−6 m will be considered dry.

HARRIVAL R ≥0 m/ft The model will report the inundation or frontal wave
arrival time to each cell when the depth at the cell
reaches HARRIVAL for the first time during the sim-
ulation.

IADDISP I 0,1 - Switch to activate the pollutant transport model.

0: Turn off pollutant transport computations.
1: Apply pollutant transport.

IBRIDGES I 0,1 - Switch to activate the Bridges component.

0: Turn off Bridges component.
1: Apply Bridges component.
Requires .BRIDGES file. See details on the
Bridges Section of this manual.

ICULVERTS I 0,1 - Switch indicating if one-dimensional culverts will be

used.
0: No culverts will be used.
1: Use culverts.
Requires .CULVERTS file. See details on the Cul-
verts Section of this manual.

IDAMS I 0,1 - Switch to activate the Dam Breach component.

0: Turn off Dam Breach component.
1: Apply Dam Breach component.
Requires .DAMBREACH file. See details on the
Dam Breach Section of this manual.

Continued on next page

205 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.2 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
IDGPU I ≥0 - RiverFlow2D: This parameter indicates how many
processors or cores will be used in the parallel com-
putation. The maximum number will depend on the
processor capabilities. RiverFlow2D GPU: If your
computer has multiple GPU cards, this parameter
allows selecting which card will be used for the run.
Since the model allows only one concurrent run per
cards, this option allows running simultaneous sim-
ulations in different cards.

IEXTREMES I 0,1 - Switch to reporting maximum values throughout the

simulation.
0: Do not report maximum values.
1: Report maximum values.

IGATES I 0,1 - Switch to activate the Gates component.

0: Turn off Gates component.
1: Apply Gates component.
Requires .GATES file. See details on the Gates
Section of this manual.

IGUI I 1, 2 - This parameter indicates what Graphical User In-

terface was used to create RiverFlow2D files.
1: Aquaveo SMS
2: QGIS

IHAZARD I 0,1 - Switch to create flood hazard files.

0: Does not create hazard files.
1: The model will create the hazard files.

IHOTSTART I 0,1 - Switch to start run from scratch or continue a pre-

vious simulation.
0: Start simulation from initial time.
1: Start simulation from previous run.

IINTRC I 0,1 - Switch for internal rating tables.

0: Do not use internal rating table component.
1: Use internal rating tables.
See details on Internal Rating Tables Section of this
manual.
Continued on next page
15.1 Run Control Data 206

Table 15.2 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

IINITIAL I 0,1,2,- - Initial condition switch for water surface elevations.

9999 0: Prescribed horizontal water surface eleva-
tion
1: Initial dry bed on whole mesh.
2: Initial water surface elevations read from
.FED file -9999: Assigns a horizontal water
elevation equal to the maximum bed eleva-
tion plus 0.5 m. (1.64 ft.). See comment 3.

INITIAL_WSE R - m/ft Initial water surface elevation on the whole meshes.

This will be the initial water surface if IINITIAL is 0.
See comment 3.

IMANN I 1,2 - Variable Manning’s n with depth switch.

0: Manning’s n is constant for all depths.
1: Manning’s n may vary with depths as de-
fined in the .MANNN file.

IMASSBAL I 0,1 - Mass balance report switch. Used to define

when to calculate mass balance and create the
massBalance.out file.
0: Mass balance is not calculated every time
step, and massBalance.out is not cre-
ated.
1: Mass balance is calculated every time step,
and massBalance.out is created
. See comment 9.

Continued on next page

207 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.2 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
IMDOIL I 0-3 - Switch to select mud/tailings/oil model.
0: Do not run mud/tailings/oil models.
1: Run mud/tailings flow model. Requires
.MUD file. See details on the Mud/Tailings
Flow Model section of this manual.
2: Run the oil spill on land flow model. Re-
quires .OILP file. See details on the Oil
Spills on Land section of this manual.
3: Run the oil spill on water model. Requires
.OILW file. See details on the Oil Spills on
Water section of this manual.
4: Run the mud/tailings flow model. Requires
.MUD file. See details on the Mud/Tailings
Flow Model section of this manual.

IMS I 1,2 - Model switch used to select the hydrodynamic

model engine.
1: RiverFlow2D.
2: RiverFlow2D GPU.

IMULTSOURCES I 0,1 - Switch used to select multiple-sources batch pro-

cessing. When set to 1, the model will create a
sub-directory (named as the source ID) for each
source, and perform independent runs in each sub-
directory.
0: All sources will be considered acting simul-
taneously.
1: The model will perform as many runs as
sources are defined.

IOBS I 0,1 - Switch to report time series of results at specified

locations defined by coordinates.
0: Do not report on observation points.
1: Report on observation points.
Requires .OBS file. See details on the Observation
Points section of this manual.

Continued on next page

15.1 Run Control Data 208

Table 15.2 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
IPIERS I 0,1 - Switch to allow accounting for pier drag force.
0: Do not use pier drag force option.
1: Use pier drag force option.
Requires .PIERS file. This option may be used if
the mesh does not account for the pier geometry.
See details on Bridge Piers Section of this manual.

IPOLLUTANT I 0,1, 2 - Switch to select pollutant model.

0: Do not run pollutant transport models.
1: Run pollutant transport advection-
dispersion-reaction model. Requires
.SOLUTES file.
2: Run water quality model. Requires .WQM
file.
See details on the Pollutant Transport and Water
Quality Models section of this manual.

IPROFILE I 0,1 - Switch to control profile output.

0: No profile results output.
1: Results will be output along a prescribed
profile.
Requires .PROFILES file. See comment 4.

IRAIN I 0-4 - Switch for rainfall and evaporation input.

0: No rainfall modeling.
1: Not used.
2: Rainfall/evaporation.
3: Infiltration.
4: Rainfall/evaporation and Infiltration.

ISED I 0,1 - Sediment transport switch.

0: No sediment transport modeling.
1: Sediment transport, mobile bed erosion,
and deposition will be simulated. Requires
.SEDS or .SEDB files.
See details on the Sediment Transport section of
this manual.

Continued on next page

209 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.2 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
ISCOUR I 0,1 - Switch for scour computations.
0: Deactivate scour computation around piers
and abutments.
1: Compute scour around bridge piers or abut-
ments. Requires .SCOUR file.

ISOURCES I 0,1 - Switch for sources and sinks.

0: No sources or sinks are present.
1: Sources or sinks are present. Requires
.SOURCES file.
2: Sources or sinks are present, but each
source will be solved as a separate sce-
narios in different sub-directories named
according to each source ID. Requires
.SOURCES file.
See details on the Sources section of this manual.

ISWMM I 0,1 - Switch for linking with EPA-SWMM model.

0: Deactivate link with EPA-SWMM model.
1: Compute surface water flow and interaction
with storm drains with EPA-SWMM model.
Requires .LSWMM file and a compatible
SWMM model file.

IWEIRS I 0,1 - Weir computation on internal boundary switch.

0: Do not use weir computation on internal
boundaries.
1: Use weir computation on internal bound-
aries.
See details on the Weirs section of this manual.

IWIND I 0,1 - Switch to account for wind stress on the water sur-
face.
0: Do not consider wind stress.
1: Consider wind stress. Requires .WIND file.
See details on the Wind Stress section of this man-
ual.

Continued on next page

15.1 Run Control Data 210

Table 15.2 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
IXSEC I 0,1 - Cross section output switch.
0: No cross section result output.
1: Cross section results will be output to file.
Requires .XSECS file. See comment 5.

NOGRAPH I 0,4 - Variable to control automatic closing of model run

monitoring window.
0: Window remain open until user clicks close
button.
4: The model windows will automatically close
as soon as the run finalizes.

NUNITS I 0,1 - Variable to indicate unit system:

0: Metric units.
1: English units.

RELEASE I - - Release number ID used internally for reference.

Should not be modified.

TLIMT R >0 h. Total simulation time.

TOUT R ≤ h. Output time interval for reporting results.

T LIM T

XNMAN R [0.1-2] - Manning’s n coefficient multiplier. See comment 6.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.1.1.2 Comments for the .DAT file

1. Setting the CFL (Courant Friederich-Lewy) or Courant number is critical for adequate sta-
bility and ensure mass conservation. RiverFlow2D explicit time scheme is conditionally
stable, meaning that there is a maximum time step above which the simulations will become
unstable. This threshold can be theoretically approximated by a Courant-Frederick-Lewy
condition defined as follows:
√
∆t gh
CF L = ≤1 (15.1)
∆x

where ∆t = DT is the time-step, ∆x is a measure of the minimum triangular cell size, g is

the acceleration of gravity, and h is the flow depth. It may occur that during the initial stages
of a hydrograph, velocities are small and the selected time step is adequate. During the
211 Input Data File Reference

simulation, however, velocities and flow depth may increase causing the stability condition
to be exceeded. In those cases it will be necessary to rerun the model with a smaller CFL.
Alternatively, the variable time step option may be used.

2. For variable time step simulations, RiverFlow2D estimates the maximum DT using the the-
oretical Courant-Frederick-Lewy (CFL) condition. Sometimes, the estimated DT may be too
high, leading to instabilities, and it may be necessary to reduce CFL to with a value less
than one to adjust it. Typical CFL values range from 0.3 to 1, but may vary project to project.

3. There are three initial conditions options. If IINITIAL = 0, the initial water elevation will be
a constant horizontal surface at the elevation given as INITIAL_WSE. If INITIAL_WSE is
= -9999 then the program will assign a constant water elevation equal to the highest bed
elevation on the mesh. If IINITIAL = 1, the whole computational mesh will be initially dry,
except at open boundaries where discharge is prescribed and depth > 0 is assumed for the
first time step. If IINITIAL = 2, initial water surface elevations are read from the .FED data
file for each node in the mesh.

4. Use the IPROFILE option to allow RiverFlow2D to generate results along a polyline. The
polyline and other required data should be given in the Profiles file (.PROFILES), which is
defined later in this document.

5. Use this option to allow RiverFlow2D to generate results along prescribed cross sections.
The cross sections and other required data should be given in Cross Section file (.XSECS)
which is defined later in this document.

6. Use the XNMAN option to test the Manning’s n value sensitivity on the results. The pre-
scribed Manning’s coefficient assigned to each cell will be multiplied by XNMAN. This option
is useful to test model sensitivity to Manning’s n during model calibration.

7. The model will create output files with maximum values of each output variable.

8. The user can specify an initial water surface elevation setting IINITIAL = 0 and entering
INITIAL_WSE.

9. The user can select whether the model will calculate bass balance or not. This has im-
plications particularly in the GPU model since mass balance calculations are done in the
CPU, with the resulting performance overhead and runtime increase. Yu may want to turn
it on to review how the model is conserving volume or mass. Once that is checked, it is
recommended to turn it off for maximum performance.

15.2 Mesh Data

15.2 Mesh Data 212

15.2.1 Mesh Data File: .FED

This file contains the data that defines the triangular-cell mesh, and includes node coordinates,
connectivity for each triangular cell, node elevations, Manning’s n coefficients and other param-
eters. This file is created RiverFlow2D. RiverFlow2D assures that the .FED file will be created
error free and consistent with the boundary conditions and other mesh parameters. Editing this
file outside RiverFlow2D may introduce unexpected errors.

Line 1: Number of cells and nodes.

NELEM NNODES DUMMY DUMMY

NNODES lines containing node coordinates and node parameters.

IN X(IN) Y(IN) ZB(IN) INITWSE(IN) MINERODELEV(IN) BCTYPE BCFILENAME

NELEM lines containing mesh connectivity and cell parameters.

IE NODE(IE,1) NODE(IE,2) NODE(IE,3) MANNINGN(IE) ELZB(IE) ELINITWSE(IE) ELMINERODELEV(IE)

15.2.1.1 Example of a .FED file

1965 1048 5 5
1 243401.515 94305.994 51.071 0.000 -9999.000 0 0
2 243424.157 94325.674 49.833 0.000 -9999.000 0 0
3 243446.800 94345.354 49.136 0.000 -9999.000 12 0.025
4 243469.443 94365.034 48.879 0.000 -9999.000 0 0
5 243503.168 94394.347 51.662 0.000 -9999.000 12 0.025

...

1044 243830.638 93310.994 48.603 0.000 -9999.000 6 QIN.DAT

1045 243492.493 93320.046 49.987 0.000 -9999.000 6 QIN.DAT
1046 243693.660 93297.785 47.390 0.000 -9999.000 0 0
1047 243964.332 93388.332 50.843 0.000 -9999.000 0 0
1048 243861.431 93893.192 50.863 0.000 -9999.000 0 0
1 456 987 188 0.035 51.395 0.000 -9999.000 0.000
2 478 183 809 0.035 49.778 0.000 -9999.000 0.000
3 336 37 869 0.035 53.992 0.000 -9999.000 0.000
4 601 393 97 0.035 53.486 0.000 -9999.000 0.000
5 456 509 987 0.035 51.690 0.000 -9999.000 0.000
...

1961 1024 972 23 0.035 47.480 0.000 -9999.000 0.000

1962 930 1028 377 0.035 48.126 0.000 -9999.000 0.000
213 Input Data File Reference

1963 1028 960 377 0.035 48.385 0.000 -9999.000 0.000

1964 1043 1017 426 0.035 51.994 0.000 -9999.000 0.000
1965 850 78 77 0.035 49.715 0.000 -9999.000 0.000

This mesh has 1965 cells, 1048 nodes.

15.2 Mesh Data 214

Table 15.3 – Variable Descriptions for the .FED File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

BCTYPE I - - Code to indicate type of open boundary. See

further details about boundary conditions on the
.IFL file description below.

BCFILENAME S < 26 - Boundary condition file name. Should not contain

spaces and must have less than 26 characters.
See further details on the .IFL file description be-
low.

DUMMY I - - Always equal to 2.

ELINITWSE(IE) R - m or ft Initial water surface elevation for cell EL. Used in

RiverFlow2D and RiverFlow2D GPU.

ELMINERODELEV (IE) R ≥0 - Minimum erosion elevation allowed at each cell.

Used in RiverFlow2D and RiverFlow2D GPU.

ELZB (IE) R - m or ft Initial bed elevation for cell EL. Used in

RiverFlow2D and RiverFlow2D GPU.

INITWSE(IN) R - m or ft Initial water surface elevation for node IN.

IE I >0 - Cell index. Consecutive from 1 to NELEM.

IN I >0 - Node number. Consecutive from 1 to NNODES.

MANNINGN(IE) R >0 - Manning’s n value for cell IE.

MINERODELEV (IN) R ≥0 m or ft Minimum erosion elevation allowed at each node.

NELEM I 1-5 - Number of triangular cells.

NNODES I >0 - Number of nodes.

NODE(IE,1), I >0 - Node numbers for cell IE given in counter clockwise

NODE(IE,2), direction.
NODE(IE,3)

X(IN) R - m or ft X coordinate for node IN.

Y(IN) R - m or ft Y coordinate for node IN.

ZB (IN) R - m or ft Initial bed elevation for node IN.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable..
All variables are separated by at least one blank space.
215 Input Data File Reference

15.2.2 Open Boundary Conditions Data Files: .IFL and .OBCP

These files contain boundary condition data used only internally by the model. Both files are in-
ternally generated by RiverFlow2D. The format of the .IFL file is as follows

Line 1: Number of nodes on external boundary.

NNODESBOUNDARY

NNODESBOUNDARY lines containing the external boundary conditions data.

NODE BCTYPE BCFILENAME

15.2.2.1 Example of .IFL file

1165
365 1 WSE97out.TXT
367 1 WSE97out.TXT
431 1 WSE97out.TXT

This .IFL file has 1165 nodes on the boundary. Node 365 has a BCTYPE=1 (Water Surface
Elevation) and the time series of water surface elevations vs. time is in file WSE97out.TXT.

The format of the .OBCP file is as follows

Line 1: Number of open inflow and outflow boundaries.

NOB
NOB groups of lines containing the following data.
BCTYPE
BCFILENAME
NNODESBOUNDARYI

NNODESBOUNDARYI lines containing the list of nodes on this boundary.

NODE(I)

15.2.2.2 Example of a .OBCP file

2
12
UNIF1.DATP
24
2916
...
3299
15.2 Mesh Data 216

6
INFLOW1.QVT
17
2
1
...
25
2
6

This .OBCP file has 2 open boundaries. The first open boundary is BCTYPE=12 corresponding to
Uniform Flow outflow. The uniform flow WSE vs Discharge table is included in file UNIF1.DATP,
and there are 24 nodes on the boundary. The second open boundary is BCTYPE = 6 correspond-
ing to inflow hydrograph where the Discharge vs time table is given in file INFLOW1.QVT, and there
are 17 nodes on the boundary.

Table 15.4 – Variable Descriptions for the .IFL and .OBCP Files.
VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

BCTYPE I - - Code to indicate type of open boundary. See Ta-

ble 15.5 and comment 1.

BCFILENAME S < 26 - Boundary condition file name. Should not con-

tain spaces and must have less than 26 charac-
ters. See comments 2 and 3.

NOB I - - Number of open inflow or outflow boundaries.

NODE I - - Node number.

NNODESBOUNDARYI I - - Number of nodes on open boundary I.

NNODESBOUNDARY I - - Total number of nodes on boundary.

Note: I = Integer variable. S = Text variable.
217 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.5 – Boundary Condition Types.

BCTYPE DESCRIPTION

0 Closed impermeable boundary. Slip boundary condition (no normal flow) is im-
posed. See comment 5.

1 Imposes Water Surface Elevation. An associated boundary condition file must

be provided. See comments 2 and 4.

6 Imposes water discharge. An associated boundary condition file must be pro-

vided. See comment 2.

9 Imposes single-valued stage-discharge rating table. An associated boundary

condition file must be provided. See comment 6.

10 “Free” inflow or outflow condition. Velocities and water surface elevations are
calculated by the model. See comment 7.

11 “Free” outflow condition. Velocities and water surface elevations are calculated
by the model. Only outward flow is allowed. See comment 7.

12 Uniform flow outflow condition. See comment 10.

13-16 For future use.

17 Imposes Water Surface Elevation. This condition is similar to BCTYPE 1, but it

forces perpendicular velocity to the input line. An associated boundary condition
file must be provided. See comments 2 and 4.

19 Imposes single-valued stage-discharge rating table along an internal polyline.

An associated boundary condition file must be provided. See comment 8.

26 Imposes water discharge and sediment discharge time series. An associated

boundary condition file must be provided. See comment 9.

15.2.2.3 Comments for the .IFL and .OBCP files

1. RiverFlow2D allows having any number of inflow and outflow boundaries with various com-
binations of imposed conditions. Proper use of these conditions is a critical component of a
successful RiverFlow2D simulation. Theoretically, for subcritical flow it is required to provide
at least one condition at inflow boundaries and one for outflow boundaries. For supercrit-
ical flow all conditions must be imposed on the inflow boundaries and ’none’ on outflow
boundaries. Table 15.6 helps determining which conditions to use for most applications.
15.2 Mesh Data 218

Table 15.6 – Supercritical Flow Regime Boundary Conditions.

FLOW REGIME AT INFLOW BOUNDARY CON- OUTFLOW BOUNDARY
BOUNDARY DITION CONDITION

Subcritical Q or Velocity Water Surface Elevation

Supercritical Q and WSE “Free”

It is recommended to have at least one boundary where WSE or stage-discharge is pre-

scribed. Having only discharge and no WSE may result in inaccuracies due to violation of
the theoretical boundary condition requirements of the shallow water equations.

2. When imposing a single variable ( water surface elevation, or discharge Q), the user must
provide an ASCII file with the time series for the corresponding variable. See section Bound-
ary Conditions Data Files for details on the format for one-variable boundary condition files.

3. When imposing two variables ( water surface elevation and discharge Q, etc.), it is required
to provide an ASCII file with the time series for the variables. See section Boundary Condi-
tions Data Files for details on the format for two-variable boundary condition files.

4. When imposing water surface elevation it is important to check that the imposed value is
higher than the bed elevation. Even though RiverFlow2D can run with that condition, it
could lead to volume conservation errors.

5. A closed boundary condition is imposed by default on all boundary nodes. In this case,
the model calculates velocities and water surface elevations for all nodes on the boundary
depending on the value of the ISPLIPBC parameter. For example ISLIPBC = 1 will impose
slip conditions setting zero-flow across the boundary. Tangential flow is free corresponding
to a slip condition.

6. When using a single valued stage-discharge condition the model first computes the dis-
charge on the boundary then interpolates the corresponding water surface elevation from
the rating table and imposes that value for the next time step. In case the boundary is dry,
it functions as a free condition boundary (see comment 7). Water surface elevations are
imposed only on wet nodes. This condition requires providing an ASCII file with the table
values entries. See section Boundary Conditions Data Files for details on the file format. In
general it is preferable to use stage hydrograph rather than stage-discharge condition. In
most small slope rivers, the stage-discharge relationship is affected by hysteresis. In other
words, the stage-discharge curve is looped with higher discharges occurring on the rising
limb than on the rescission limb of the hydrograph. This is mainly caused by the depth gra-
dient in the flow direction that changes in sign throughout the hydrograph. In practice, this
219 Input Data File Reference

implies that there can be two possible stages for the same discharge. If the stage-discharge
relationship is not well known or if it just computed assuming steady state uniform flow, it
may lead to considerable errors when used as downstream boundary condition. That it
is why it is often preferred to use the stage hydrograph for that purpose. However, such
hydrograph may not be available to study changes in the river and evaluating proposed
conditions. For those cases, it is useful to use a stage-discharge relationship, preferably
measured over an extensive range of discharges. When this relationship is not available,
one option would be to assume steady state flow to determine a single-value rating curve.
Since this condition may generate wave reflection that can propagate upstream, it is impor-
tant to locate the downstream boundary on a reach sufficiently far from the area of interest,
therefore minimizing artificial backwater effects. Unfortunately, there is no general way to
select such place, but numerical experimenting with the actual model will be necessary to
achieve a reasonable location.

Loop stage-discharge relationships are not implemented in this RiverFlow2D version.

7. On free outflow condition boundaries, the model calculates velocities and water surface
elevations applying the full equations from the internal cells. No specific values for velocities
or depths are imposed per se on these nodes. In practice this is equivalent to assuming that
derivatives of water surface elevations and velocities are 0. In subcritical flow situations, it
is advisable to use this condition when there is at least another open boundary where WSE
or stage-discharge is imposed.

8. When using a single valued stage-discharge condition on internal sections, the model first
computes the discharge across the boundary then interpolates the corresponding water
surface elevation from the rating table, imposing that value for the next time step for all
nodes on the internal boundary. This condition requires providing an ASCII file with the
table values entries. See section Boundary Conditions Data Files for details on the file
format.

9. When imposing a water and sediment discharge, it is required to provide an ASCII file
with the time series for water discharge and volumetric sediment discharge for each of
the fractions. Note that sediment discharge is always expected in volume per unit time.
See section Boundary Conditions Data Files for details on the format for multiple-variable
boundary condition files.

10. The user must provide a file with the energy slope S0 for the corresponding boundary. This
file will only contain a single value S0 . The model will use S0 , Manning’s n, and discharge
to create a rating table from which water surface elevations will be imposed as a function
of the computed outflow discharge. The rating table is calculated every 0.05 m (0.16 ft.)
starting from the lowest bed elevation in the outflow cross section up to 50 m (164 ft.) above
the highest bed elevation in the section. If S0 = −999, the model will calculate the average
15.2 Mesh Data 220

bed slope perpendicular to the boundary line. Please, note than when letting the model
calculate the average bed slope, it uses the elevations on the cells adjacent to the boundary
line, which may result in adverse slopes or slopes that do not capture the general trend the
reach.

11. This boundary condition is similar to the BCTYPE = 6 for inflow water discharge. However,
in this case, instead of converting the discharge into velocities that are imposed on all the
inflow nodes; the model creates sources on all the cells adjacent to the boundary line. The
condition then can be visualized as if the given discharge enters over the inflow cells. For
each time, the model evenly divides the discharge between all the inflow cells. For example if
there are Ne inflow cells and the imposed discharge is Qin, each cell will receive a discharge
equal to Qin/Ne. The water volume will naturally flow away from the inflow depending on
the bed slopes, etc. Care must be taken when the inflow boundary cells have lower bed
elevations than the surrounding cells. When imposing this condition the user must provide
an ASCII file with the discharge time series. See section Boundary Conditions Data Files
for details on the format for one-variable boundary condition files.

15.2.3 Mesh Boundary Data File: .TBA

.TBA file is for internal use by the model and contains the list of boundary nodes in counterclock-
wise order for the external boundary polygon and in clockwise order for the internal boundaries.
This file is internally generated by RiverFlow2D.

Line 1: Start of boundary indicator.

IBOUNDARYID

Line 2: Number of nodes in external boundary of mesh.

NNODESBOUNDARY

NNODESBOUNDARY lines containing the list of boundary nodes in counter clockwise direction.
BOUNDARYNODE (1:NNODESBOUNDARY)

The next lines are only used if there are islands in the mesh.

For each island:

Start of boundary parameter indicator for each island or internal closed contour.
IBOUNDARYID

Number of nodes in island boundary.

NNODESISLANDBOUNDARY
221 Input Data File Reference

NNODESISLANDBOUNDARY lines containing the list of boundary nodes in clockwise direction.

ISLANDBOUNDARYNODE (1:NNODESISLANDBOUNDARY)

15.2.3.1 Example of a .TBA file

-9999
132
1
2
3
173
...
224
175
1
-9999
34
5
...
5

In this example the external boundary has 132 nodes and there is one island with 34 nodes.

Table 15.7 – Variable Descriptions for the .TBA File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

IBOUNDARYID I -9999 - Always = -9999. This value is used to

indicate the start of a new boundary.

NNODESBOUNDARY I >0 - Number of nodes on the mesh exter-

nal boundary.

BOUNDARYNODE I >0 - Node number on external boundary.

See comments 1 and 2.

NNODESISLANDBOUNDARY I >0 - Number of nodes on island boundary.

ISLANDBOUNDARYNODE I >0 - Node number on island boundary.

Note: I = Integer variable.

15.2.3.2 Comments for the .TBA file

1. There should be a single external boundary polygon and any number of internal islands or
closed contours.
15.3 Bridges 222

2. The external boundary should also be the first on the file. The first boundary must always be
the external one. The internal boundaries as islands, piers, etc. should follow the external
domain polygon.

15.3 Bridges
RiverFlow2D provides four options to account for bridge piers. The most common option is to
create the pier plan geometry generating a 2D triangular-cell mesh that represents each pier as
a solid obstacle. In that case, the model will compute the flow around the pier and account for the
pier drag. This would be the preferred approach when the user needs to know the detailed flow
around the piers and the flow does not overtop the bridge deck. However, the resulting mesh may
have very small cells, leading to increasing computer times.
The second option (Bridge Piers) is a simplified formulation that does not require defining the
mesh around the piers, but will compute the pier drag force based on geometric data. This would
be the preferred approach when the flow does not overtop the bridge deck and the user does not
need to have detailed depiction of the flow around the piers but needs to account for the general
effect that the pier would have on the flow.
The third option represented in the Bridges component is a comprehensive bridge hydraulics
computation tool that does not require capturing bridge pier plan geometry in detail, therefore
allowing longer time steps, while allowing calculating the bridge hydraulics accounting for arbitrary
plan alignment, complex bridge geometry, free surface flow, pressure flow, overtopping, combined
pressure flow and overtopping, and submergence all in 2D. This is the recommended option for
most bridges.
There is a fourth option using the Internal Rating Table component, but for most applications it is
recommended to use one of the above since they better represent the bridge hydraulics.

15.3.1 Bridges Data File: .BRIDGES

This component requires the .BRIDGES data file that is internally generated by the model based on
the geometrical representation entered in the RiverFlow2D. The .BRIDGES file has the following
format:

Line 1: Number of bridges.

NUMBEROFBRIDGES

NUMBEROFBRIDGES lines containing the data for each bridge.

Bridge Id.
BRIDGE_ID
223 Input Data File Reference

Bridge Cross Section Geometry file name.

BRIDGE_GEOMETRY_FILE

Number of cells pairs along bridge alignment.

NC

NUMBEROFCELLS lines containing pairs of cell numbers along bridge alignment.

CELL_A(1) CELL_B(1)
...
CELL_A(NC) CELL_B(NC)

15.3.1.1 Example of a .BRIDGES file

1
BRIDGE1
1894878.176 586966.254 1895274.636 586613.844
BRIDGEGEOM.DAT
9
133 1294
131 1296
129 1298
127 1300
125 1302
123 1304
121 1306
119 1308
94 1310
15.3 Bridges 224

Table 15.8 – Variable Descriptions for the .BRIDGES File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

BRIDGE_GEOMETRY_FILE S < 26 - Contains the geometry of the bridge cross section as

explained below.

BRIDGE_ID S < 26 - Bridge ID.

CELL_A(i) CELL_B(i) I - - Cell pair along bridge alignment.

NC I >0 - Number of cell pairs along the bridge alignment.

NUMBEROFBRIDGES I >0 - Number of bridges.

Note: I = Integer variable. S = Text variable.

15.3.2 Bridge Cross Section Geometry Data File

The bridge geometry cross section file is necessary to define the bridge cross section and is de-
fined by four polylines and the fined in five columns as follows:

Line 1: Number of points defining polylines.

NP

NP lines with these entries:

STATION(1) BEDELEV(1) ZLOWER(1) LOWCHORD(1) DECKELEV(1)
...
STATION(NP) BEDELEV(NP) ZLOWER(NP) LOWCHORD(NP) DECKELEV(NP)

The relationship between the four polylines must be as follows:

• For all stations, STATION(I)≤STATION(I+1).

• BEDELEV≤ZLOWER≤LOWCHORD≤DECKELEV .

• In a given line all elevations correspond to the same station.

• The space between BEDELEV and ZLOWER is blocked to the flow.

• The space between ZLOWER and LOWCHORD is open to the flow.

• The space between LOWCHORD and DECKELEV is blocked to the flow.

15.3.2.1 Example of the Cross Section Geometry Data File

The following table is an example one of the geometry file that schematically represents the bridge
in Figure 15.2.
15.3 Bridges 225

Figure 15.2 – Front view of a bridge cross section.

15.3 Bridges 226

Table 15.9 – Variable Descriptions for the bridge cross section geometry file.
VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

BEDELEV R - m or ft Bed elevation. Must be the lowest elevation

for all polylines at a given point.

DECKELEV R - m or ft Elevation of the bridge deck. Must be the

highest elevation for all polylines at a given
point.

NP I - >1 Number of points defining cross section

polylines.

STATION R - m or ft Distance from leftmost point defining cross

section polyline. All polylines points must
have a common station.

ZLOWER R - m or ft Elevation of lower polyline. ZLOWER

must be larger or equal to BEDELEV and
smaller or equal to LOWCHORD for a given
point. The space between BEDELEV and
ZLOWER is a blocked area to the flow.
The space between ZLOWER and LOW-
CHORD is open space. If the bridge has no
holes, ZLOWER must be identical to BE-
DELEV.

LOWCHORD R - m or ft Elevation of the lower bridge deck. LOW-

CHORD must be larger or equal to
ZLOWER and smaller or equal to DECK-
ELEV for a particular point. The space
between LOWCHORD and DECELEV is a
blocked area to the flow.
Note: R = Real variable. I = Integer variable.
227 Input Data File Reference

15.4 Culverts Data File: .CULVERTS

The culvert component allows accounting for hydraulic structures that convey flow between two
locations. The discharge between the structure inflow and outflow ends will be computed based
on a user provided hydraulic structure rating table. The model will determine the flow direction
based on the hydraulic conditions on the structure ends.

Line 1: Culvert file version number.

CULFILEVER

Line 2: Number of culverts.

NCULVERTS

NCULVERTS groups containing

If (CULFILEVER = 202208)
CulvertID
CulvertType
IF (CulvertType is 0, 1, 2, -3, -4, -5)

CulvertFile

X1 Y1 X2 Y2

IF (CulvertType is 11, 12, -14, -15)

CulvertFile

NcellsL cellID_L_1 cellID_L_2 ... cellID_L_NcellsL

NcellsR cellID_R_1 cellID_R_2 ... cellID_R_NcellsR

ELSE

CulvertID
CulvertType
CulvertFile
X1 Y1 X2 Y2
15.4 Culverts Data File: .CULVERTS 228

15.4.1 Example of a .CULVERTS file

2
CulvertA
2
CulvertA.TXT
799550.846 309455.307 799363.544 309031.842
CulvertB
1
CulvertB.TXT
798858.644 309313.609 799153.441 309004.154

Table 15.10 – Variable Descriptions for the .CULVERTS File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

CULFILEVER I - - Culvert file version number. Current ver-

sion is 202208.

CulvertFile S < 26 - Culvert rating table or culvert characteris-

tic file name. See next section for details
about the culvert characteristic file. Should
not contain spaces and must have less
than 26 characters.

CulvertID S < 26 - Culvert name. Should not contain spaces

and must have less than 26 characters.

CulvertType I 0, 1, 2, 11, 12, −3,

- −4, −5, −14,
Type−15
of culvert. See comments 1 and 2.

NCULVERTS I >0 - Number of culverts.

X1 Y1 X2 Y2 R - m or ft Vertex coordinates defining each culvert

line.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.4.2 Culvert Depth-Discharge Rating table Data Files for

CulvertType=0
This format applies to the culvert depth vs. discharge rating table.

Line 1: Number points in data series

NDATA
229 Input Data File Reference

NDATA lines containing depth and discharge.

DEPTH(I) Q(I)

Where DEPTH(I) is depth corresponding to discharge Q(I).

INVERT_Z1
INVERT_Z2

Where INVERT_Z1 and INVERT_Z2 are the invert elevations for the inlet and outlet respectively.

15.4.2.1 Example of the Culvert Depth-Discharge Rating Table File

The following example shows a depth-discharge rating table for a culvert. NDATA is 7 and there
are 7 lines with pairs of depth and corresponding discharge:

7
0 0.20
0.1 1.00
1.00 36.09
2.00 60.00
3.00 84.78
4.00 110.01
100.00 110.02
5.0
1.0

Table 15.11 – Variable Descriptions of Culvert Depth-Discharge Data files.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NDATA I >0 - Number of lines in data file.

INVERT_Z1 R >0 m or ft Inlet invert elevation. If IN-

VERT_Z1 = -9999, the model
makes INVERT_Z1 equal to the
average bed elevation of the inlet
cekk.

INVERT_Z2 R >0 m or ft Outlet invert elevation. If IN-

VERT_Z2 = -9999, the model
makes INVERT_Z2 equal to the
average bed elevation of the inlet
cell.

DEPTH R >0 m or ft Water depth.

Continued on next page
15.4 Culverts Data File: .CULVERTS 230

Table 15.11 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

Q R >0 m3 /s or Water discharge.

ft3 /s
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.4.3 Culvert Characteristic Data Files for CulvertType = 1, 2

The culvert characteristic data has the following structure:

Nb
Ke
nc
Kp
M
Cp
Y
m
If CulvertType=1
Hb
Base
Else if CulvertType=2
Dc
INVERT_Z1
INVERT_Z2

15.4.4 Example of the culvert characteristic data file

202208
1
0.5
0.012
1
1
1.1
0.6
-0.5
0.10
5.0
1.0
231 Input Data File Reference

This example culvert characteristics data file indicates that the culvert one barrel (Nb =1), Ke=0.4,
nc=0.012, Kp=1, cp =1, M =1.1, Y=0.6, m=-0.5, and Dc=0.10, INVERT_Z1=5.0 and INVERT_Z2
= 1.0.

Table 15.12 – Variable Descriptions for the Culvert Characteristic file.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

Nb I - - Number of identical barrels. The computed dis-

charge for a culvert is multiplied by Nb to obtain
the total culvert discharge.

Ke R 0-1 - Entrance Loss Coefficient given in Table 15.14.

nc R 0.01-0.1 - Culvert Manning’s n Coefficient given in Table

15.13.

K’ R 0.1-2.0 - Inlet Control Coefficient given in Table 15.15.

M R 0.6-2.0 - Inlet Control Coefficient given in Table 15.15.

c’ R 0.6-2.0 - Inlet Control Coefficient given in Table 15.15.

Y R 0.5-1.0 - Inlet Control Coefficient given in Table 15.15.

m R 0.7,-0.5 - Inlet form coefficient. m=0.7 for mitered inlets,

m=-0.5 for all other inlets.

Hb R >0 m or ft Barrel Height for box culverts. Only for CulvertType

= 1.

Base R >0 m or ft Barrel Width for box culverts. Only for CulvertType
= 1.

Dc R >0 m or ft Diameter for circular culverts. Only for CulvertType

= 2.

INVERT_Z1 R >0 m or ft Inlet invert elevation. If INVERT_Z1 = -9999, the

model makes INVERT_Z1 equal to the average bed
elevation of the inlet.

INVERT_Z2 R >0 m or ft Outlet invert elevation. If INVERT_Z2 = -9999, the

model makes INVERT_Z1 equal to the average bed
elevation of the inlet cell.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.
15.4 Culverts Data File: .CULVERTS 232

Table 15.13 – Manning’s n roughness coefficients for various culvert materials. Adapted from Froehlich
(2003).
Culvert barrel material Entrance description Manning’s n (nc )
Good joints, smooth walls 0.012
Concrete Projecting from fill, square-cut end 0.015
Poor joints, rough walls 0.017
2-2/3 inch × 1/2 inch corrugations 0.025
6 inch × 1 inch corrugations 0.024
5 inch × 1 inch corrugations 0.026
Corrugated metal
3 inch × 1 inch corrugations 0.028
6 inch × 2 inch corrugations 0.034
9 inch × 2 1/2 inch corrugations 0.035

Table 15.14 – Entrance loss coefficients Ke . Adapted from Froehlich (2003).

Type of culvert Entrance description* Entrance loss
coefficient Ke
Projecting from fill, grooved end 0.2
Projecting from fill, square-cut end 0.5
Headwall or headwall with wingwalls (con-
crete or cement sandbags)
Grooved pipe end 0.2
Concrete pipe
Square-cut pipe end 0.1
Rounded pipe end 0.7
Mitered end that conforms to embankment
slope
Without grate 0.5
With grate 0.7
Corrugated metal pipe Projecting from embankment (no headwall) 0.9
Headwall with or without wingwalls (con- 0.5
crete or cement sandbags)
or pipe-arch Mitered end that conforms to embankment 0.7
slope
Manufactured end section of metal or con-
crete that conforms to embankment slope
Without grate 0.5
With grate 0.7
Headwall parallel to embankment (no wing-
walls)
Square-edged on three sides 0.5
Rounded on three sides to radius of 0.2
1/12 of barrel dimension
Reinforced concrete box
Wingwalls at 30◦ to 75◦ to barrel
Square-edged at crown 0.4
Crown edge rounded to radius of 1/12 0.2
of barrel dimension
Wingwalls at 10◦ to 30◦ to barrel
Continued on next page
233 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.14 – continued from previous page

Type of culvert Entrance description* Entrance loss
coefficient Ke
Square-edged at crown 0.5
Wingwalls parallel to embankment
Square-edged at crown 0.7
See Table 15.16 for inlet configurations.

Table 15.15 – Culvert inlet control formula coefficients. Adapted from Froehlich (2003).
Barrel Barrel Inlet description* K’ M c’ Y
material shape
Concrete Circular Headwall; square edge 0.3153 2.0000 1.2804 0.6700
Concrete Circular Headwall; grooved edge 0.2509 2.0000 0.9394 0.7400
Concrete Circular Projecting; grooved edge 0.1448 2.0000 1.0198 0.6900
Cor. metal Circular Headwall 0.2509 2.0000 1.2192 0.6900
Cor. metal Circular Mitered to slope 0.2112 1.3300 1.4895 0.7500
Cor. metal Circular Projecting 0.4593 1.5000 1.7790 0.5400
Concrete Circular Beveled ring; 45◦ bevels 0.1379 2.5000 0.9651 0.7400
Concrete Circular Beveled ring; 33.7◦ bevels 0.1379 2.5000 0.7817 0.8300
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 30◦ to 75◦ flares; 0.1475 1.0000 1.2385 0.8100
square edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 90◦ and 15◦ 0.2242 0.7500 1.2868 0.8000
flares; square edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 0◦ flares ;square 0.2242 0.7500 1.3608 0.8200
edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 45◦ flare; beveled 1.6230 0.6670 0.9941 0.8000
edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 18◦ to 33.7◦ 1.5466 0.6670 0.8010 0.8300
flare; beveled edge
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 3/4 inch chamfers 1.6389 0.6670 1.2064 0.7900
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 45◦ bevels 1.5752 0.6670 1.0101 0.8200
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 33.7◦ bevels 1.5466 0.6670 0.8107 0.8650
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 45◦ skew; 3/4 in 1.6611 0.6670 1.2932 0.7300
chamfers
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 30◦ skew; 3/4 in 1.6961 0.6670 1.3672 0.7050
chamfers
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 15◦ skew; 3/4 in 1.7343 0.6670 1.4493 0.6800
chamfers
Concrete Rectangular Headwall;10-45◦ skew; 45◦ 1.5848 0.6670 1.0520 0.7500
bevels
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; non-offset 1.5816 0.6670 1.0906 0.8030
45◦ /flares
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; non-offset 1.5689 0.6670 1.1613 0.8060
18.4◦ /flares; 3/4 in chamfers
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; non-offset 1.5752 1.2418 0.7100
18.4◦ /flares; 30◦ /skewed 0.6670
barrel
Continued on next page
15.4 Culverts Data File: .CULVERTS 234

Table 15.15 – continued from previous page

Barrel Barrel Inlet description* K’ M c’ Y
material shape
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; offset 45◦ /flares; 1.5816 0.6670 0.9715 0.8350
beveled top edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; offset 1.5752 0.6670 0.8107 0.8810
33.7◦ /flares; beveled top
edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; offset 1.5689 0.6670 0.7303 0.8870
18.4◦ /flares; top edge
bevel
Cor. metal Rectangular Headwall 0.2670 2.0000 1.2192 0.6900
Cor. metal Rectangular Projecting; thick wall 0.3023 1.7500 1.3479 0.6400
Cor. metal Rectangular Projecting; thin wall 0.4593 1.5000 1.5956 0.5700
Concrete Circular Tapered throat 1.3991 0.5550 0.6305 0.8900
Cor. metal Circular Tapered throat 1.5760 0.6400 0.9297 0.9000
Concrete Rectangular Tapered throat 1.5116 0.6670 0.5758 0.9700
Concrete Circular Headwall; square edge 0.3153 2.0000 1.2804 0.6700
Concrete Circular Headwall; grooved edge 0.2509 2.0000 0.9394 0.7400
Concrete Circular Projecting; grooved edge 0.1448 2.0000 1.0198 0.6900
Cor. metal Circular Headwall 0.2509 2.0000 1.2192 0.6900
Cor. metal Circular Mitered to slope 0.2112 1.3300 1.4895 0.7500
Cor. metal Circular Projecting 0.4593 1.5000 1.7790 0.5400
Concrete Circular Beveled ring; 45◦ bevels 0.1379 2.5000 0.9651 0.7400
Concrete Circular Beveled ring; 33.7◦ bevels 0.1379 2.5000 0.7817 0.8300
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 30◦ to75◦ flares; 0.1475 1.0000 1.2385 0.8100
square edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 90◦ and 15◦ 0.2242 0.7500 1.2868 0.8000
flares; square edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 0◦ flares; square 0.2242 0.7500 1.3608 0.8200
edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 45◦ flare; beveled 1.6230 0.6670 0.9941 0.8000
edge
Concrete Rectangular Wingwalls; 18◦ to 33.7◦ 1.5466 0.6670 0.8010 0.8300
flare; beveled edge
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 3/4 inch chamfers 1.6389 0.6670 1.2064 0.7900
Concrete Rectangular Headwall; 45◦ bevels 1.5752 0.6670 1.0101 0.8200
See Table 15.16 for inlet configurations.

Table 15.16 – Culvert inlet configurations. (Adapted from www.xmswiki.com/xms/).

Inlet configuration Description

End of the culvert barrel projects out of the embank-

ment.
Continued on next page
235 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.16 – continued from previous page

Inlet configuration Description

Grooved pipe for concrete culverts decreases energy

losses through the culvert entrance.

This option is for concrete pipe culverts.

Square edge with headwall is an entrance condition

where the culvert entrance is flush with the headwall.

’Beveled edges’ is a tapered inlet edge that decreases

head loss as flow enters the culvert barrel.

Mitered entrance is when the culvert barrel is cut so it

is flush with the embankment slope.

Wingwalls are used when the culvert is shorter than the

embankment and prevents embankment material from
falling into the culvert.

15.4.5 Comments for the .CULVERTS and culvert characteristics

files
1. The type of culvert and its flow condition is defined through the CulvertType parameter as
follows:
CulvertType = 0: [000] Discharge calculated by rating curve (Q vs inlet depth). Only inlet
and outlet cells are used for volume exchange.
15.4 Culverts Data File: .CULVERTS 236

CulvertType = 1: [001] Rectangular/box section culvert. Only inlet and outlet cells are used
for volume exchange.
CulvertType = 2: [002] Circular section culvert. Only inlet and outlet cells are used for
volume exchange.
CulvertType = 11: [011] Rectangular/box section culvert. Inlet and outlet cells plus neigh-
boring cells are used for volume exchange.
CulvertType = 12: [012] Circular section culvert. Inlet and outlet cells plus neighboring
cells are used for volume exchange.
CulvertType = -3: [100] Discharge calculated by rating curve (Q vs inlet depth). Only inlet
and outlet cells are used for volume exchange. Only flow from (X1,Y1) to (X2,Y2) is allowed.
CulvertType = -4: [101] Rectangular/box section culvert. Only inlet and outlet cells are
used for volume exchange. Only flow from (X1,Y1) to (X2,Y2) is allowed.
CulvertType = -5: [102] Circular section culvert. Only inlet and outlet cells are used for
volume exchange. Only flow from (X1,Y1) to (X2,Y2) is allowed.
CulvertType = -14: [111] Rectangular/box section culvert. Inlet and outlet cells plus neigh-
boring cells are used for volume exchange. Only flow from (X1,Y1) to (X2,Y2) is allowed.
CulvertType = -15: [112] Circular section culvert. Inlet and outlet cells plus neighboring
cells are used for volume exchange. Only flow from (X1,Y1) to (X2,Y2) is allowed.

2. For CulvertType 0, culvert discharge is computed using a given rating table on the Culvert-
File file.

3. For CulvertType 1, 2, 11, 12, -4, -5, -14, and -15 the model will calculate culvert discharge
for inlet and outlet control using the FHWA procedures (Norman et al.,1985) that were later
restated in dimensionless form by Froehlich (2003).
237 Input Data File Reference

15.5 Dam Breach Data File: .DAMBREACH

This component requires the .DAMBREACH data file that is generated by the QGIS plugin. The
.DAMBREACH file has the following format:

Line 1: Dam breach file version number.

DBFVERSION

Line 2: Number of dams.

NUMBEROFDAMS

Then for each dam it follows NUMBEROFDAMS group of lines with the following data:

Dam name.
DAM_ID

Failure mode.
DAM_FAILMODE

Dam breach center coordinates.

X0 Y0

Dam breach definition parameters

ZC Angle CD t_initial zb0 d50 tau_c k_sm k_d Gs Porosity C damCrestWidth
UpstreamSlope DownstreamSlope

Dam breach file

DAMBREACHFILE

Number of cells pairs along the dam alignment.

NC

NC lines containing pairs of cell numbers along dam alignment.

CELL_A(1) CELL_B(1)
...
CELL_A(NC) CELL_B(NC)
15.5 Dam Breach Data File: .DAMBREACH 238

15.5.1 Example of a .DAMBREACH file

202208
1
DAMBREACH1
1
5300.0 600.0
216.3 45.0 0.601 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
DambreachFile1.dat
7
332 334
69 335
67 349
65 358
50 360
41 363
4 378
239 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.17 – Variable Descriptions for the .DAMBREACH File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
DBFVERSION I >0 – File version number, e.g. 202208.
NUMBEROFDAMS I >0 – Number of dams.
DAM_ID S < 26 – Bridge ID.
DAM_FAILMODE I – 1, 2, 3 Failure mode:
1 Prescribed failure.
2 Overtopping Erosion.
3 Piping Erosion.

X0, Y0 R – [m or ft] Dam-breach center coordinates. These co-

ordinates are calculated by the model using
the distance from one of the dam polyline end
points given in the QGIS and DIP dialogs.
ZC R – [m or ft] Initial dam crest elevation.
Angle R [5, 90] – Breach side slope angle with respect to the
horizontal.
CD R – – Non-dimensional breach discharge coeffi-
cient.
T_initial R – h. Breach start time
Zb0 R – [m or ft] Initial elevation of breach bottom
D50 R – [m or ft] Mean dam material diameter.
Tau_c R – [Pa or lb/in2 ] Critical shear stress.
K_sm R – – Submergence correction for tailwater effects.
Kd R – [m3 /(N s) or Erosion coefficient.
ft2 s/lb]
Gs R – – Dam material specific gravity.
Porosity R (0,1) - Dam material porosity given in fractions of 1,
e.g. 0.4.
C R – [Pa or lb/in2 ] Dam material cohesion.
DamCrestWidth R – [m or ft] Dam crest width.
UpstreamSlope R [0-1] – Dam upstream slope.
DownstreamSlope R [0-1] – Dam downstream slope.
DAMBREACHFILE S < 26 – Used only for the prescribed failure mode (1)
but a dummy text should be given always for
failure modes 2 and 3. The file contains the
time series of the breach width and height
opening. File name should contain no black
spaces. See details in sections 15.5.2 and
15.5.2.1.
NC I >0 – Number of cell pairs along the dam alignment.
CELL_A(i) CELL_B(i) I – – Cell pair along dam alignment.
Note: I = Integer variable. S = Text variable.
15.5 Dam Breach Data File: .DAMBREACH 240

15.5.2 Breach time evolution data file for prescribed failure mode
For the prescribed failure model 1, the breach temporal evolution file is necessary to define the
width and height of the breach opening for each time. The format is described as follows:

Line 1: Number of times.

NT

NT lines with these entries:

TIME(1) WIDTH(1) HEIGHT(1)
...
TIME(NT) WIDTH(NT) HEIGHT(NT)

15.5.2.1 Example of the breach time evolution data file (Prescribed Failure
Mode only)
3
0 1 1
0.25 20 25
1 20 25

15.5.3 Comments for the .DAMBREACH file

These are the breach definition parameters required for each failure mode:

1. Prescribed: ZC, Angle, and CD.

2. Overtopping erosion: ZC, Angle, CD, t_initial, zb0, d50, tau_c, k_sm, k_d.

3. Piping erosion: ZC, Angle, CD, t_initial, zb0, d50, tau_c, k_sm, k_d, Gs, Porosity, C,
damCrestWidth, UpstreamSlope, DownstreamSlope.

Note that in the line containing the Dam breach definition parameters in the .DAMBREACH file always
have 15 values, even when not all of them are used for the Prescribed and Overtopping modes.
241 Input Data File Reference

15.6 GATES Data Files: .GATES

This component requires the .GATES data file that is internally generated by the model based on
the geometrical representation entered in the RiverFlow2D QGIS plugin. The .GATES file has the
following format:

Line 1: Number of gates.

NUMBEROFGATES

NUMBEROFGATES lines containing the data for each gate.

Gate Id
GATES_ID

Crest elevation height Cd

CRESTELEV GATEHEIGHT Cd

Time series of gate aperture

GATE_APERTURES_FILE

Number of cells pairs along gates alignment

NC

NUMBEROFCELLS lines containing pairs of cells numbers along gate alignment

CELL_A(1) CELL B(1)

...
CELL_A(NC) CELL B(NC)

15.6.1 Example of a .GATES File

2
Gate2
102.00 2.00 1.720
Gate2.DAT
5
3105 29
3103 79
3101 87
3099 137
3097 141
15.6 GATES Data Files: .GATES 242

Gate1
111.00 11.00 1.710
Gate1.DAT
8
4099 285
4097 283
4033 281
4031 279
4029 277
4027 156
4026 82
4024 16
243 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.18 – Variable Descriptions for the .GATES File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

Cd R >0 - Non-dimensional dis-

charge coefficient.

CRESTELEV R >0 - Gate crest elevation.

GATE_APERTURES_FILE S < 26 - Gate aperture time series.

GATEHEIGHT R >0 - Gate height.

GATE_ID S < 26 - Gate ID.

CELL_A(i) CELL B(i) I - - Cell numbers of cell pairs

along gate alignment.

NC I >0 - Name of pier. Should not

contain spaces and must
have less than 26 charac-
ters.

NUMBEROFGATES I >0 - Number of cells along the

gate alignment.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable, S = Text variable.

15.6.2 Gate Aperture Time Series File

Line 1: Number of points in time series of gate aperture data.
NPOINTS

NPOINTS lines containing:

Time and aperture.

TIME H(I)

15.6.3 Example of a Gates Aperture Data File

3
0 0.0
2 0.5
4 1.0
15.7 Internal Rating Table Data File: .IRT 244

Table 15.19 – Variable Descriptions for the .GATES File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NPOINTS I >1 - Number of data points in the gate

aperture time series.

TIME R >0 h. Time.

H(I) R - m or ft Gate aperture for the correspond-

ing time.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.7 Internal Rating Table Data File: .IRT

This data file allows modeling complex hydraulic structures inside the modeling domain. The user
would enter polylines coincident with mesh nodes and assign a rating table of discharge vs. water
surface elevation to the polyline. In other words, the IRT polylines must connect nodes of the
triangular-cell mesh. For each time step, the model will compute the discharge crossing the poly-
line and find by interpolation the corresponding water surface elevation from the provided rating
table. The model will then impose that water surface elevation to all nodes along the polyline.
Velocities will be calculated using the standard 2D equations. Therefore, in internal rating table
polylines, computed velocities may not necessarily be perpendicular to the IRT polyline.

The file structure is as follows:

Line 1: Number of internal rating table polylines.

IRT_NPL

IRT_NPL line groups containing the IRT polyline ID, the number of vertices defining each polyline,
the IRT boundary condition type (always equal to 19 in this version), the Rating Table file name,
followed by the list of polyline coordinate vertices as shown:

IRT_ID
IRT_NV IRT_BCTYPE IRT_FILENAME
X_IRT(1) Y_IRT(1)
X_IRT(2) Y_IRT(2)
...
X_IRT(IRT_NV) Y_IRT(IRT_NV)
245 Input Data File Reference

15.7.1 Example of a .IRT file

2
IRT_A
4 19 IRT_A.DAT
799429.362 308905.287
799833.895 308354.857
799986.424 307738.111
799847.158 307141.259
IRT_B
4 19 IRT_B.DAT
799482.440 309453.678
799135.525 309118.164
798914.020 309269.634
798787.701 309467.583

This file indicates that there are 2 internal rating table polylines, the ID of the first one is IRT_A,
which has 4 vertices, BCTYPE 19 and file name IRT_A.DAT.

Table 15.20 – Variable Descriptions for the .IRT File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
IRT_NPL I >0 - Number of IRT polylines.

IRT_NV I ≥2 - Number of points defining each IRT polyline.

IRT_ID S < 26 - Name of IRT. Should not contain spaces and must
have less than 26 characters.

IRT_BCTYPE I 19 - Boundary condition always equals to 19 in this ver-

sion corresponding to discharge vs. water surface
elevation tables. Future versions will include further
options.

X_IRT Y_IRT R - m or ft Vertex coordinates defining each IRT polyline. See

comment 1.

IRT_FILENAME S < 26 - File name containing internal rating table in the

format described as a stage-discharge data file.
Should not contain spaces and must have less than
26 characters.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable, S = Text variable.
15.8 Rainfall And Evaporation Data File: .LRAIN 246

15.7.2 Comments for the .IRT file

1. IRT polylines should be defined avoiding abrupt direction changes (e.g. 90 degree turns).
Polyline alignments as such may create errors in the model algorithm that identifies the
nodes that lie over the polyline. Therefore, it is recommended that the IRT follow a more or
less smooth path.

15.8 Rainfall And Evaporation Data File: .LRAIN

Use this file to enter spatially distributed and time varying rainfall and evaporation data. The model
assumes that the rainfall and evaporation can vary over the modeling area.

Line 1: Number of polygons where rainfall time series are defined.

NP
NP group of lines containing hyetograph and evaporation data file for each zone
RAINEVFILE(i)
Number of vertices of polygon i
NPZONE(i)

List of NPZONE(i) vertex coordinates

X(1) Y(1)
...
X(NPZONE(i)) Y(NPZONE(i))

15.8.0.1 Example of a .LRAIN file

2
hyeto1.TXT
4
25.0 25.0
25.0 75.0
75.0 75.0
75.0 25.0
hyeto2.TXT
4
25.0 125.0
25.0 175.0
75.0 175.0
75.0 125.0

In this example, there are two polygons. The rainfall and evaporation data file for the first polygon
is hyeto1.TXT and the polygon is defined by four vertices.
247 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.21 – Variable Descriptions for the .LRAIN File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NPZONE(i) I ≥1 - Number of vertices defining polygon i.

NP I - - Number of polygons.

RAINEVFILE S ≤ 26 - Rainfall intensity. See comment 1.

X(i) Y(i) R >0 m or ft Vertex coordinates of i polygon.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.8.1 Comments for the .LRAIN file

1. The spatial distribution of rainfall and evaporation is given as a number of non-overlapping
polygons that would cover or not the mesh area. Zones not covered by any polygons would
have no rainfall or evaporation imposed onto the mesh.

15.8.1.1 Hyetograph and Evaporation data file

Line 1: Number of points in time series of rainfall and evaporation.
NPRE

NPRE lines containing:

Time Rainfall intensity, Evaporation intensity.

TIME RAININT EVAPINT

15.8.2 Example of a Hyetograph and Evaporation data file

8
0.0 0.0 0.01
1.0 1.0 0.02
3.0 4.0 0.02
6.0 12.0 0.00
6.2 7.0 0.00
7.0 3.0 0.0
7.1 0.0 0.0
9.0 0.0 0.0
15.9 Infiltration Data File: .LINF 248

Table 15.22 – Variable Descriptions for the Hyetograph and Evaporation Data File.
VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

EVAPINT R ≥0 mm/h or Evaporation intensity. See comment 1.

in/h

NPRE I - - Number of times in rainfall and evapora-

tion time series.

RAININT R ≥0 mm/h or Rainfall intensity. See comment 1.

in/h

TIME R >0 hours Time interval

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.8.3 Comments for the Hyetograph and Evaporation data file

1. To calculate the rainfall/evaporation over the mesh, the model will use rainfall and evapora-
tion intensities given for each time interval. For instance in the example above, for all times
between 1 and 3 hours, the rainfall intensity will be equal to 1 mm/h and evaporation inten-
sity equal to 0.02 mm/h. For times between 3 and 6 hours the rainfall intensity will be equal
to 1 mm/h and evaporation intensity equal to 0.02 mm/h, and so on for other times.

2. If the user has a DefaultRainEvap.DAT file in the project folder, the program will apply the
data contained in that file to all cells whose centroid falls outside the polygons given in the
RainEvap layer, and not covered by any other polygon.

15.9 Infiltration Data File: .LINF

Use this file to enter spatially distributed infiltration parameters.

Line 1: Number of zones defined by polygons where infiltration parameters are defined.
NIZONES

NIZONES group of lines containing:

Infiltration data file for each zone

INFILFILE

Number of vertices of polygon i

NPZONE(i)
249 Input Data File Reference

List of NPZONE(i) vertex coordinates

X(1) Y(1)
...
X(NPZONE(i)) Y(NPZONE(i))

15.9.1 Example of a .LINF file

2
inf1.inf
4
0.0 0.0
0.0 200.0
200.0 200.0
200.0 0.0
Inf2.inf
4
200.0 200.0
400.0 200.0
400.0 0.0
200.0 0.0

In this example, there are two polygons. The infiltration data file for the first polygon is inf1.inf
and the polygon is defined by four vertices.

Table 15.23 – Variable Descriptions for the .LINF File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NPZONE(i) I ≥1 - Number of vertices defining zone i.

NIZONES I - - Number of zones. See Comments 1 and 2.

INFILFILE S ≤ 26 - Infiltration parameter file.

X(i) Y(i) R >0 m or ft Vertex coordinates of the polygon defining Zone i.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.9.2 Comments for the .LINF file

1. The spatial distribution of infiltration parameters is given as a number of non-overlapping
polygons that would cover or not the mesh area. Zones not covered by any polygons would
have no infiltration loss calculated.
15.9 Infiltration Data File: .LINF 250

2. Each polygon can have a different infiltration method assigned.

3. If the user has a DefaultInfiltration.DAT file in the project folder, the program will apply
the data contained in that file to the complementary area to the polygons provided.

15.9.2.1 Infiltration parameters data file

Line 1: Model to calculate infiltration.
INFILMODEL

Line 2: Number of infiltration parameters.

NIPARAM

If INFILMODEL = 1: Horton method then:

Line 3: K fc f0

If INFILMODEL = 2: Green and Ampt method then:

Line 3: KH PSI DELTATHETA

If INFILMODEL = 3: SCS-CN method then:

Line 3: CN POTRETCONST AMC

15.9.3 Example of a Infiltration parameter data file

1
3
8.3E-04 3.47E-06 2.22E-5

In this example the infiltration loss method is set to 1 corresponding to the Horton model. There
are 3 parameters as follows: K = 8.3E-04, fc = 3.47E-06 and f0 = 2.22E-5.
251 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.24 – Variable Descriptions for the Infiltration Parameter File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

AMC I >0 1, 2, 3 Antecedent Moisture Content (AMC). Represents the

preceding relative moisture of the soil prior to the storm
event (?) . Allows accounting for variation of CN for differ-
ent storm events, or initial soil moisture for a given event
using Eqs. 13.41 and 13.42. See possible AMC values
in Table 15.25.

CN R >0 - Curve Number. See USDA (1986) to determine ade-

quate values depending on land cover. Typical values
range from 10 for highly permeable soils to 99 for paved
impermeable covers.

DELTATHETA R >0 - Difference between saturated and initial volumetric mois-

ture content. Default value = 3E-5.

fc R [0,5E-4] m/s or ft/s Final infiltration rate. Default = 2E-5.

f0 R [0,5E-4] m/s or ft/s Initial infiltration rate. Default = 7E-5.

INFILMODEL I 1,2,3 - Infiltration method. 1: Horton, 2: Green and Ampt, 3:

SCS-CN.

K I [0,30] 1/s Decay coefficient used in Horton method. Default = 1.

Kh I ≥0 m/s or ft/s Hydraulic conductivity used in Green and Ampt method.

Default = 0.00001.

NIPARAM I 3 - Number of data parameters depending on the infiltration

model selected. Should be set as follows: 3 for Horton of
Green and Ampt, and for SCS-CN methods.

POTRETCONST R [0-1] - Potential maximum retention constant. Typically = 0.2.

PSI R [0-1] m or in Wetting front soil suction head. Default = 0.05.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

Table 15.25 – Antecedent Moisture Content groups (adapted from Mishra

). et al. (2003)

SOIL AMC Total 5-day rainfall Total 5-day rainfall

(dormant season) (growing season)
1 Less than 13 mm Less than 36 mm
2 13 mm to 28 mm 36 mm to 53 mm
3 More than 28 mm More than 53 mm
15.10 Manning’s n Variable with Depth Data File: .MANNN 252

15.10 Manning’s n Variable with Depth Data File:

.MANNN
This file is created by the RiverFlow2D QGIS plugin based on the data you enter in the Man-
ningsNz layer. It is used account for spatially distributed Manning’s n variable with depth data.

Line 1: Number of zones defined by polygons where Manning’s n variable with depths are defined.
NNZONES

NRZONES group of lines containing Manning’s n variable with depth data file for each zone
MANNNFILE

Number of vertices of polygon i

NPZONE(i)

List of NPZONE(i) vertex coordinates

X(1) Y(1)
...
X(NPZONE(i)) Y(NPZONE(i))

15.10.0.1 Example of a .MANNN file

2
Manning1.TXT
4
25.0 25.0
25.0 75.0
75.0 75.0
75.0 25.0
Manning2.TXT
4
25.0 125.0
25.0 175.0
75.0 175.0
75.0 125.0

In this example, there are two polygons. The Manning’s n data file for the first polygon is
Manning1.TXT and the polygon is defined by four vertices.
253 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.26 – Variable Descriptions for the .MANNN File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NNZONE(i) I ≥1 - Number of vertices defining zone i.

NNZONES I - - Number of zones.

MANNNFILE S ≤ 26 - Manning’s n file. See comment 1.

X(i) Y(i) R >0 m or ft Vertex coordinates of the polygon defin-

ing Zone i.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.10.1 Comments for the .MANNN file

1. The spatial distribution of Manning’s n variable with depth is given as a number of non-
overlapping polygons that would cover or not the mesh area. Zones not covered by any
polygon (complementary area) would be assigned the default Manning’s n file.

15.10.1.1 Manning’s n variable with depth data file

Line 1: Number of points in Manning’s n file.
NP

NP lines containing:

DEPTH(i) MANNINGS_N(i)

15.10.2 Example of a Manning’s variable with depth data file

3
0. 0.1
0.3 0.1
1.0 0.03

Table 15.27 – Variable Descriptions for the Manning’s n variable with Depth Data File.
VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

DEPTH(i) R ≥0 m or ft Flow depth. See comment 1.

Continued on next page

15.10 Manning’s n Variable with Depth Data File: .MANNN 254

Table 15.27 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
MANNINGS_N(i) R ≥0 - Manning’s n corresponding to
DEPTH(i). See comment 1.

NP I - - Number values in file.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.10.3 Comments for the Mannign’s n variable with depth data file
1. To calculate the Manning’s n over the mesh, the model will first identify the polygon over each
cell and then will use the interpolated n value for cell depth from the table corresponding to
the polygon. In the example above, for all depth between 0.3 and 1, Manning’s n will be
obtained by linear interpolation between 0.1 and 0.03.

2. The user should provide a DefaultManningsn.DAT file in the project folder and the program
will apply the data contained in that file to the complementary area to the polygons provided.
If the DefaultManningsn.DAT does not exist, the model will apply a default value of 0.035 to
the areas not covered by Manning’s n polygons.

15.10.4 Bridge Piers Drag Forces File: .PIERS

This option requires the .PIERS data file that is internally generated by the model based on the
geometrical representation entered in the RiverFlow2D QGIS plugin. The .PIERS data file has the
following format:

Line 1: Number of piers.

NUMBEROFPIERS

NUMBEROFPIERS lines containing the data for each pier.

X Y ANGLEX LENGTH WIDTH CD PIERID

15.10.4.1 Example of a .PIERS file

124
2042658.82 14214769.48 47.33 19.00 4.00 0.64 P1
2042690.52 14214739.87 46.66 19.00 4.00 0.64 P2
...
2040351.38 14214705.48 0.00 70.00 1.00 0.90 P11
2040375.99 14214622.12 0.00 70.00 1.00 0.90 P12
255 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.28 – Variable Descriptions for the .PIERS File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

ANGLEX R 0 − 180 Deg. Pier angle with respect to X axis.

See comment 1.

CD R 0.5 − 2.5 - Non-dimensional drag coefficient

of the pier. See comment 2.

LENGTH R - m or ft Pier length.

PIERID S < 26 - Name of pier. Should not contain

spaces and must have less than 26
characters.

WIDTH R - m or ft Pier width.

X R - m or ft X coordinate of pier centroid.

Y R - m or ft Y coordinate of pier centroid.

Note: R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

Table 15.29 – Drag Coefficients for Bridge Piers. Adapted from Froehlich (2003).
PIER PLAN SHAPE AND APPROACH VELOCITY DRAG COEFFICIENT CD

Round cylinder 1.0

Square cylinder 2.2

Square cylinder 1.6

Square cylinder R/B CD
with 0 2.2
rounded corners 0.02 2.0
0.17 1.2
0.33 1.0

Hexagonal cylinder 1.0

Hexagonal cylinder 0.7

L/B CD
1 1.0
Round-nosed section Continued on next page
15.11 Bridge Pier and Scour Data File: .SCOUR 256

Table 15.29 – continued from previous page

PIER PLAN SHAPE AND APPROACH VELOCITY DRAG COEFFICIENT CD
2 0.7
4 0.68
6 0.64
L/B CD
1 2.2
Square-nosed section 2 1.8
4 1.3
6 0.9

15.10.4.2 Comments for the .PIERS File

1. Angle ANGLEX applies only to piers that are rectangular in plan. For example ANGLEX =
90 corresponds to a pier whose longest axis is perpendicular to the X-axis.

2. The drag coefficient CD is related to the drag force though the following formula:

1
FD = CD ρU 2 AP (15.2)
2

where CD is the pier drag coefficient, ρ is the water density, U is the water velocity, and AP
is the pier wetted area projected normal to the flow direction.
To account for the drag force that the pier exerts on the flow, RiverFlow2D converts it to
the distributed shear stress on the cell where the pier centroid coordinate is located. The
resulting pier shear stress expressions in x and y directions are as follows:
 
1 p AP
τpx = CD ρU U 2 + V 2 (15.3)
2 Ae

 
1 p AP
τpy = CD ρV U 2 + V 2 (15.4)
2 Ae

where Ae is the cell area.

15.11 Bridge Pier and Scour Data File: .SCOUR

This file stores data required to compute scour around bridge piers and abutments.

Line 1: Number of piers and abutments.

NP
257 Input Data File Reference

NP groups of lines containing the following data:

Imode
PierID
Icomp
XA, YA
Y1
V1
Fr1
alfa
ishape
L
a
iBedCondition
D50
D84
Vcritical
SedimentSpecificDensity
WaterSpecificDensity
FrD
K1
K2
K3
K
theta
ys
W
Wbottom
iAbutmentType
AlfaA
AlfaB
YmaxLB
YmaxCW
YcLB
YcCW1
YcCW2
YsA
q1
q2c
n Manning
Tauc
15.11 Bridge Pier and Scour Data File: .SCOUR 258

BridgeXSEC_X1, BridgeXSEC_Y1, BridgeXSEC_X2, BridgeXSEC_Y2

UpstreamXSEC_X1, UpstreamXSEC_Y1, UpstreamXSEC_X2, UpstreamXSEC_Y2

15.11.1 Example of a .SCOUR file

2
DrainA
2
Drain.TXT
799019.633 309402.572
DischargeIn
1
Discharge.TXT
799222.740 309048.493

Table 15.30 – Variable Descriptions for the .SCOUR File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

Pier ID S - Pier name

Icomp I (1, 2, 3, Computational method
4)
XA, YA R - Pier coordinates
Y1 R >0 m, ft Flow depth directly upstream of the pier
V1 R >0 m/s, ft/s Velocity upstream of the pier
Alfa R [0, 180] Degrees Angle of attack
alfaRAD R [0, Pi] Radians Angle of attack
ishape I Pier shape
L R >0 m, ft Pier length
a R >0 m, ft Pier width
iBedCondition I Bed condition
D50 R >0 m, ft D50
D84 R >0 m, ft D84
Sediment R (0,3) Ss
Specific Den-
sity
Water Spe- R (0,1.2] Sw
cific Density
K1 R Correction factor for pier nose shape.
K2 R Correction factor for angle of attack of flow
K3 R Correction factor for bed condition
K R (0,3) (0,3) bottom width relative to Ys.
theta R 20-48◦ Degrees angle of repose of the bed material
ys R ≥0 m, ft Scour depth
W R ≥0 m, ft scour hole top width
Continued on next page
259 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.30 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
Wbottom R ≥0 m, ft scour hole bottom width
Fr1 R >0 Froude Number upstream of pier
FrD R >0 Densimetric particle Froude Number
SIGMA R >0 Sediment gradation coefficient
Vc R >0 m/s/, Critical velocity for initiation of erosion of the material
ft/s
iAbutmentType I [1-2] - Abutment Type
AlfaA R [1-2] - Amplification factor for live-bed conditions
AlfaB R [1-2] - Amplification factor for clear-water conditions
YmaxLB R ≥0 m or ft Maximum flow depth after scour for live-bed condi-
tions
YmaxCW R ≥0 m or ft Maximum flow depth after scour for clear-water con-
ditions
YcLB R ≥0 m or ft Depth including live-bed contraction scour
YsA R Abutment scour depth
YcCW1 R ≥0 m or ft Depth including clear-water contraction scour.
Method 1
YcCW2 R ≥0 m or ft Depth including clear-water contraction scour.
Method 2
q1 R ≥0 m2 /s or Upstream unit discharge
ft2 /s
q2c R ≥0 m2 /s or Upstream unit discharge of the constricted opening
ft2 /s
n Manning R ≥0.01 - Manning’s n
TauC R ≥0 Pa or Critical shear stress
ln/ft2
GammaW R ≥0 N/m3 or Unit weight of water
lb/ft3
BridgeXSEC_X1, R - m of ft Extreme point coordinates of Bridge Cross Section
BridgeXSEC_Y1,
BridgeXSEC_X2,
BridgeXSEC_Y2
UpstreamXSEC_X1,
R - m or ft Extreme point coordinates of Upstream Cross Sec-
Up- tion
streamXSEC_Y1,
Up-
streamXSEC_X2,
Up-
streamXSEC_Y2
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.11.2 Comments for the .SCOUR File

1. The file name is arbitrary but must not contain blank spaces. The file format is the same
as the one variable boundary condition file described in Section 15.25.1.

2. To model inflows use positive discharge values, and to model outflows use negative values.
15.12 Sources and Sinks Data File: .SOURCES 260

15.12 Sources and Sinks Data File: .SOURCES

Use this file to enter data to simulate point inflows or outflows at any location. This feature is typ-
ically used when modeling intakes (outflow) or point inflows. The user may provide time varying
hydrographs that will be applied to each point.

Line 1: Number of source and sink points.

NSOURCES

NSOURCES groups of lines containing source/sink point identification text, name of the file con-
taining the discharge time series or rating table, and the coordinates of the point as follows:

SOURCEID
SOURCETYPE
ISFILENAME
X_S(I) Y_S(I)
...

15.12.1 Example of a .SOURCES file

2
DrainA
2
Drain.TXT
799019.633 309402.572
DischargeIn
1
Discharge.TXT
799222.740 309048.493

This file indicates that there are 2 sources/sinks. The first one is named DrainA located at coordi-
nate: X = 799019.633 and Y = 309402.572 and is SOURCETYPE 2, indicating that the Drain.TXT
data file contains a rating table of depth vs discharge for the drain. The second source is Dis-
chargeIN and is type 1 where a hydrograph (time vs discharge) is given in Discharge.TXT.

Table 15.31 – Variable Descriptions for the .SOURCES File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NSOURCES I >0 - Number of source or sink points.

Continued on next page

261 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.31 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
ISFILENAME S - - Name of file containing the time series of each point
source or sink. Must not contain blank spaces. See
comments 1 and 2.

SOURCEID S < 26 - Name of point source or sink. Should have less than
26 characters and must not contain blank spaces.

SOURCETYPE I 1, 2 - Type of data for the source or sink. If equal to 1, the

file should contain a hydrograph. If equal to 2, it con-
tains a rating table with depths vs discharge values.

X_S Y_S R - m or ft Coordinates of source/sink.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.12.2 Comments for the .SOURCES File

1. The file name is arbitrary but must not contain blank spaces. The file format is the same as
the one variable boundary condition file described in Section 15.25.1.

2. To model inflows use positive discharge values, and to model outflows use negative values.

15.13 Multiple Sources file

This file helps facilitating the input of many inflow sources and is typically used when simulat-
ing multiple spills from a pipeline. The file can be read in QGIS using the Import Multi-sources
file on the Tools RiverFlow2D. You can prepare the file in any text editor using the following format.

Line 1: Number of sources.

NSOURCEP

NSOURCESP lines containing source/sink point identification text, point X, Y coordinates, and
name of the file containing the discharge time series or rating table for each point as follows:

SOURCEID X_S(I) Y_S(I) ISFILENAME

...

15.13.1 Example of a multiple source file

9
15.13 Multiple Sources file 262

Source1 6232789.844 1941100.871 SOURCE_1.txt

Source2 6231510.593 1939867.858 SOURCE_2.txt
Source3 6230662.896 1938943.098 SOURCE_3.txt
Source4 6230154.278 1936954.865 SOURCE_4.txt
Source5 6229214.106 1935136.170 SOURCE_5.txt
Source6 6227179.634 1933764.443 SOURCE_6.txt
Source7 6224158.752 1931853.273 SOURCE_7.txt
Source8 6221877.678 1930758.974 SOURCE_8.txt
Source9 6219519.540 1928847.803 SOURCE_9.txt

This file indicates that there are 9 sources/sinks. The first one is named Source1 located at
coordinate: X = 6232789.844 and Y = 1941100.871 and SOURCE_1.TXT is the corresponding data
file that contains the source discharge vs time series.

Table 15.32 – Variable Descriptions for the Multiple Sources File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NSOURCESP I >0 - Number of source or sink points.

ISFILENAME S - - Name of file containing the time series of each

source. Must not contain blank spaces.

SOURCEID S < 26 - Name of point source or sink. Must not contain blank
spaces.

X_S Y_S R - m or ft Coordinates of source/sink.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

Once you have generated the file, you can use the Import Multi-sources file tool to populate the
Sources layer:

Figure 15.3 – Multi-sources file read.

Then in the Multi-sources dialog, enter the file name, and select to create a new Sources layer, or
to add the sources to an existing Sources layer.
263 Input Data File Reference

Figure 15.4 – Multi-sources dialog.

15.14 Weirs Data File: .WEIRS

This data file allows using weir calculations along user defined polylines representing road or weir
overtopping. The user selects the weir coefficient associated with each weir and the model will
determine the nodes on each polyline and the discharge across each pair of nodes based on
the weir formulae and methods described on Hydraulics of Bridge Waterways FHWA, 1978 (see
comment 1). The present version allows defining a variable crest elevation along the weir polyline.

Line 1: Number of weir polylines.

NWEIRS

NWEIRS group of lines including weir ID, number of vertices defining each weir polyline, the weir
coefficient followed by the coordinates each vertex as shown:

WEIR_ID
NV CF WRCRESTELEV
X_W(1) Y_W(1) WRCREST(1)
X_W(2) Y_W(2) WRCREST(2)
...
X_W(NV) Y_W(NV) WRCREST(NV)

15.14.1 Example of a .WEIRS file

2
WEIR_A
4 0.611 -999
799429.362 308905.287 200.
799833.895 308354.857 201.
799986.424 307738.111 202.
799847.158 307141.259 203.
WEIR_B
4 0.66 -999
799482.440 309453.678 203.5
799135.525 309118.164 204.0
15.14 Weirs Data File: .WEIRS 264

798914.020 309269.634 204.9

798787.701 309467.583 205.0

This file indicates that there are 2 weirs. The first one is named WEIR_A and is defined by a
polyline with 4 vertices. Weir non-dimensional discharge coefficient is equal to 0.611.

Table 15.33 – Variable Descriptions for the .WEIRS File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

Cd R >0 - Weir coefficient. See comment 1.

NWEIRS I >0 - Number of weir polylines.

NV I ≥2 - Number of points defining each weir poly-

line.

WEIR_ID S < 26 - Name of weir. Should have less than

26 characters and must not contain blank
spaces.

WRCRESTELEV R - m of ft Weir crest elevation for all the weir. If WR-

CRESTELEV = -999 a weir elevation is
provided for each weir polyline vertex.

WRCREST(I) R - m of ft Weir crest elevation for vertex I.

X_W(I) Y_W(I) R - m of ft Vertex coordinates defining each weir

polyline. See comment 2.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.14.2 Comments for the .WEIRS File

1. Weir discharge is computed between pairs of nodes along the polyline based on the follow-
ing formula:
2p
Q = Cf 2gLH 3/2 (15.5)
3

where L is the distance between nodes, H is the total head upstream of the polyline seg-
ment and Cd is the non dimensional discharge coefficient that takes values between 0.611
and 1.1. The model checks for submergence and it occurs Cd will be corrected according to
the correction factor defined by (FHWA, 2001).

2. Weir polylines should be defined avoiding abrupt direction changes (e.g. ≥ 90 degree turns),
because such angles may create errors in the algorithm that identifies the nodes that lie over
the polyline.
265 Input Data File Reference

15.15 Wind Data File: .WIND

Use this file to enter spatially distributed and time varying wind velocity data. The model assumes
that the wind velocity can vary over the modeling area. The user should provide a set of polygons
and a time series of velocities for each polygon.

Line 1: Number of zones defined by polygons where wind velocity time series are defined.
NWZONES

Line 2: Wind stress coefficient.

CD

Line 3: Air density.

AIRDENSITY

NWZONES group of lines containing hyetograph and evaporation data file for each zone.
WINDFILE

Number of vertices of polygon i.

NPZONE(i)

List of NPZONE(i) vertex coordinates.

X(1) Y(1)
...
X(NPZONE(i)) Y(NPZONE(i))

15.15.1 Example of a .WIND file

2
0.009
1.225
Wind1.TXT
4
25.0 25.0
25.0 75.0
75.0 75.0
75.0 25.0
Wind2.TXT
4
25.0 125.0
15.15 Wind Data File: .WIND 266

25.0 175.0
75.0 175.0
75.0 125.0

In this example, there are two polygons. The Cd coefficient is set to 0.009 and the wind density to
1.225 kg/m3 . The wind velocity file for the first polygon is Wind1.TXT and the polygon is defined
by four vertices.

Table 15.34 – Variable Descriptions for the .WIND File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

AIRDENSITY R ≥0 - Air density. Always given in metric units. Default

= 1.225.

CD R ≥0 - Wind stress coefficient. Always given in metric

units. Default = 0.009.

NPZONE(i) I ≥1 - Number of vertices defining zone i.

NWZONES I - - Number of zones.

WINDFILE S ≤ 26 - Wind velocity vector time series file. See Com-

ment 1.

X(I) Y(I) R >0 m or ft Vertex coordinates of the polygon defining Zone i.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.15.2 Comments for the .WIND File

1. The spatial distribution of wind is given as a number of non-overlapping polygons that would
cover or not the mesh area. Zones not covered by any polygons will be considered as
having no wind stress.

2. If the user has a DefaultWind.DAT file in the project folder, the program will apply the data
contained in that file to the complementary area to the polygons provided.

15.15.3 Wind Velocity Data File

Line 1: Number of points in time series of wind velocity data.
NPOINTS

NPOINTS lines containing:

267 Input Data File Reference

Time Wind velocity component in X and Y directions.

TIME UX UY

15.15.4 Example of a Wind Velocity and Data File

3
0. 0.0 0.0
24 4.0 -3.0
48 4.0 -3.0

Table 15.35 – Variable Descriptions for the Wind Velocity File

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NPOINTS I >1 - Number of data points in the wind ve-

locity time series.

TIME R >0 h Time.

UX(I) UY(I) R - m/s or ft/s Wind velocity components in x and y

directions.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.
15.16 Oil Containment Booms Data File: .BOOMS 268

15.16 Oil Containment Booms Data File: .BOOMS

This data file contains the data to implement oil containment booms in the OilFlow2D model. They
are represented entering polylines in the SpillBooms layer. The user can select the boom type,
and skirt height.

Line 1: Number of boom polylines.

NBOOMS

NBOOMS group of lines including weir ID, number of vertices defining each boom polyline, the
boom type, skirt height, and fraction loss, followed by the coordinates each vertex as shown:

BOOM_ID
BOOM_TYPE
FUTURE_USE TRAPPING_FRACTION TUG_VEL_U TUG_VEL_V 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
NV
X_B(1) Y_B(1)
X_B(2) Y_B(2)
...
X_B(NV) Y_B(NV)

15.16.1 Example of a .BOOMS file

2
BOOM_1
1
1.0 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
5
4
799429.362 308905.287 200.
799833.895 308354.857 201.
799986.424 307738.111 202.
799847.158 307141.259 203.
BOOM_1
2
1.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
5
4
799482.440 309453.678 203.5
799135.525 309118.164 204.0
798914.020 309269.634 204.9
269 Input Data File Reference

798787.701 309467.583 205.0

This file indicates that there are 2 booms. The first one is named BOOM_1, it is Type 1 ) and is
defined by a polyline with 4 vertices.

Table 15.36 – Variable Descriptions for the .BOOMS File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

BOOM_TYPE I [1, 4] - Boom type defined as follows

DE- 1: Curtain
FAULT 2: Fence
1
3: Sorbent
4: Bubble barrier

TRAPPING_FRACTION R > 0 - Oil fraction retained by boom with respect

DE- of the oil captured.
FAULT
0.0

NBOOMS I >0 - Number of boom polylines.

NV I ≥2 - Number of points defining each boom

polyline.

BOOM_ID S < 26 - Boom’s name. Should have less than

26 characters and must not contain blank
spaces.

SKIRT_HEIGHT R - DE- m or f t Boom skirt height

FAULT
0

TUG_VEL_U R - DE- m/s or Tug velocity component in x direction.

FAULT f t/s
0

TUG_VEL_V R - DE- m/s or Tug velocity component in x direction.

FAULT f t/s
0

X_B(I) Y_B(I) R - m or f t Vertex coordinates defining each boom

polyline.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.
15.17 Mud and Tailings Flow Data File: .MUD 270

15.17 Mud and Tailings Flow Data File: .MUD

This file provides the parameters necessary to model mud and tailings flow using the RiverFlow2D
model.
Line 1: Flow resistance relation.
MF_FRR

Line 2: Yield stress.

MF_YS

Line 3: Bingham viscosity.

MF_BVIS

Line 4: Internal friction angle.

MF_THETA

Line 5: Material density.

MF_DENS

Line 6: Concentration by volume.

MF_CV

Line 7: Integer of internal use (DIP)

MF_I1

Line 8: Integer of internal use (DIP)

MF_I2

Line 9: Integer of internal use (DIP)

MF_I3

Line 10: Integer to determine Constant (0), Variable properties (1), Variable properties with bed
fraction evolution (2)
MF_COV

Line 11: Parameters for dynamic calculation of viscosity and yield stress
MF_ALFAV MF_BETAV MF_ALFAYS MS_BETAYS

Line 12: Constant or variable viscosity and Yield stress.

MF_VISCVAR MF_YSVAR
271 Input Data File Reference

Line 13: Number of sediment classes/fractions.

MF_NFRAC

Line 14: Equilibrium concentration formula.

ISSTF

Line 15: Sediment density for each sediment class/fraction.

SSDEN(1) ... SSDEN (MF_NFRAC)

Line 16: Initial sediment concentration for each sediment class/fraction in the bed.
INICON(1) ... INICON (MF_NFRAC)

Line 17: Sediment diameter size for each fraction.

DIAMETER(1) ... DIAMETER (MF_NFRAC)

Line 18: Porosity for each fraction.

SSPOR(1) ... SSPOR(NSSNFRAC)

Line 19: Critical Shield Stress for each sediment class/fraction.

THETAC (1) ... THETAC (MF_NFRAC)

Line 20: Friction angle for each fraction.

FRICANG (1) ... FRICANG (MF_NFRAC)

Line 21: Equilibrium concentration formula factor for each sediment class/fraction.
SSTFACT(1) ... SSTFRACT(MF_NFRAC)

Line 22: Settling velocity formula.

ISETFOR

Line 23: Settling velocity formula factors for each sediment class/fraction.
SETFORFACT(1) ... SETFORFACT(MF_NFRAC)

Line 24: Size fractions on the bed.

BEDFRACT(1) ... BEDFRACT(MF_NFRAC)

Line 25: Pore pressure factor and Reference density.

MF_POREFACT MF_REFDENS

Line 26: Parameters for the Herschel - Bulkley - Viscoplastic Coulomb friction formula.
15.17 Mud and Tailings Flow Data File: .MUD 272

MF_HBM MF_HBMUP

Line 27: Volumetric concentration vs Viscosity table file name.

MF_CVVSVISCFILE

Line 28: Volumetric concentration vs Yield Stress table file name.

MF_CVVSYSFILE

15.17.1 Example of a .MUD file

1
300.
0.00899
3.5
2200.
0.35
19
13
0
0
0.000126478743864984 33.1 0.11425789333746 29.5
1 1
2
0
2650 2650
0.2 0.2
0.01 0.001
0.4 0.4
0.047 0.047
35 35
1 1
9
1 1
0.7 0.3
1 1000
0.3 5.1
CV_VS_Viscosity_Table.TXT
CV_VS_YieldStress_Table.TXT
273 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.37 – Variable Descriptions for the .MUD File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

BEDFRACT(I) R (0, 1] - Sediment fraction in the bed layer. The sum of all
fractions should add to 1.

DIAMETER R >0 m or in Sediment size.

DUMMY1, R >0 - Not used in this release, but must be present.

DUMMY2

FRICANG R 5-45 - Friction angle. See comment 1.

MF_ALFAV R >0 - Alfa in exponential formula for viscosity.

MF_ALFAYS R >0 - Alfa in exponential formula for yield stress.

MF_BETAV R >0 - Beta in exponential formula for viscosity.

MS_BETAYS R >0 - Alfa in exponential formula for yield stress.

MF_BVIS I >0 Poise or lb/in2 Bingham viscosity.

MF_COV I 0, 1, 2 -
0: Constant properties model
1: Variable properties model
2: Variable properties model considering bed
fraction evolution

MF_CV I (0, 0.7] - Concentration by volume.

MF_DENS R >0 kg/m3 or lb/ft3 Material density.

MF_FRR I 1-9 - Flow resistance relation (see Table 15.38).

MF_HBM R [0.2,3] - Non-dimensional behavior index for Herschel-

Bulkley - Viscoplastic Coulomb friction formula "m"
(see Table 15.38). Typical values are between 0.2
and 3. Applies only when MF_FRR = 9.

MF_HBMUP R [0.001,10] Pa/sm or lb/(ft2 sm ) Consistency factor for Herschel - Bulkley - Vis-
Pa/sm coplastic Coulomb friction formula (see Table
15.38). Typical values are between 0.001 and 10
Pa/sm . Applies only when MF_FRR = 9.

MF_NFRAC I 1-10 - Number of sediment fractions.

Continued on next page

15.17 Mud and Tailings Flow Data File: .MUD 274

Table 15.37 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
MF_POREFACT R [1, 1.8] - Is the γpp coefficient for estimating the excess of
pore pressure over the hydrostatic pressure of the
fluid and defaults to 1. (See Equation 8.38).

MF_ REFDENS R >0 kg/m3 or lb/ft3 Reference density that by default is equal to the
water density. Must be always ≥ water density.
(See Equation 8.38).

MF_THETA R >0 Degrees Internal friction angle.

MF_VISCVAR I 1, 2, 3 - When Variable viscosity is selected in the DIP

panel this value is 2. When variable viscosity is
NOT selected in the DIP panel this value is 1.
When Viscosity Table is selected in the DIP panel,
the value is 3.
1: Constant viscosity,
2: Variable viscosity according to exponen-
tial formula. Viscosity = MF_ALFAV *
Exp(MF_BETAV * Cv).
3: The model will interpolate the viscosity
from a table of Volume Concentration vs
Viscosity. The table must be provided in a
file defined on line 27. See the file format
in section 15.17.2 below.

MF_YS R >0 Pa or lb/in2 Yield stress.

MF_YSVAR I 1,2, 3 - When variable yield stress is selected in the DIP

panel value is 2. When variable yield stress is NOT
selected in the DIP panel this value is 1. When
Yield Stress Table is selected in the DIP panel, the
value is 3.

1: Constant Yield Stress.

2: Variable Yield Stress according to ex-
ponential formula Ys = MF_ALFAYS *
Exp(MF_BETAYS * Cv).
3: The model will interpolate the yield stress
from table of Volume Concentration vs
Yield stress. The table must be provided
in a file defined on line 28. See the file for-
mat in section 15.17.2 below.

MF_CVVSVISCFILE S < 26 - Volumetric concentration vs Viscosity table file

name.
Continued on next page
275 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.37 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

MF_CVVSYSFILE S < 26 - Volumetric concentration vs Yield Stress table file

name.

INICON R ≥ - Initial volumetric sediment concentration Cv for

each fraction in the bed. The sum of all initial con-
centrations should be smaller than 0.8. These val-
ues are only used if there is no .CINITIAL file.
The initial sediment concentrations will be set ac-
cording the the .CINITIAL file if it is provided.

ISETFOR I 1-9 - Settling velocity formula. It is a unique formula for

all fractions. This code indicates the formula ac-
cording to this list:
1: Rubey (1983),
2: Zhang (1961),
3: Zanke (1977).
4: Van Rijn (1984a),
5: Raudkivi (1990),
6: Julien (1998),
7: Cheng (1997),
8: Jimenez-Madsen (2003),
9: Wu-Wong (2006).

ISSTF I 1-4 - Equilibrium concentration formula. It is a unique

formula for all fractions. This code indicates the
formula according to this list:
1: Bagnold (1966),
2: Van Rijn (1984a),
3: Zhang Xie (1993),
4: Wu (2008).
.

SETFORFACT R ≥ - Settling velocity formula factors for each sediment

class/fraction. These factors multiply the settling
velocities calculated by the formula selected in
ISETFOR.

SSDEN R >0 - Sediment density for each fraction. See comment

1.

SSPOR R [0.3- - Porosity. See comment 1.

0.6]
Continued on next page
15.17 Mud and Tailings Flow Data File: .MUD 276

Table 15.37 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

SSTFACT R [0,1] - Equilibrium concentration formula factor for each

fraction. This factor is the βp parameter in equa-
tion (8.15) that multiplies the equilibrium concen-
tration formula ISSTF. See comment 1.

THETAC R 0.03- - Critical Shield Stress. See comment 1.

0.06
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.17.2 Optional Viscosity or Yield Stress Data Files

When selecting the Table option from the Viscosity Calculation or Yield Stress Calculation drop
down lists a data file must be provided that represent the variation of viscosity or yield stress with
volumetric concentration Cv.
The file format is as follows
Line 1: Number points in data series.
NDATA

NDATA lines containing

Cv(I) VARIABLE(I)

Where VARIABLE(I) is the Viscosity, or Yield Stress for the corresponding Cv(I).

15.17.2.1 Example of the Viscosity or Yield Stress Data Files

The following example shows an yield stress data as function of Cv, where NDATA is 5 and there
are 5 lines with pairs of Cv and Ys:

5
0.00 0.
0.20 0.1
0.30 150.
0.50 500.
0.65 1200.

15.17.2.2 Comments for the .MUD file

1. The equations that describe the tangential forces generated by the stresses can be lumped
into the same mathematical formula despite of having a different nature. In this way several
shear stresses formulations can be considered: turbulent stress τt , dispersive stress τd ,
Coulomb-type frictional stress τf , yield stress τy and viscous stress τµ . Table 15.38 includes
277 Input Data File Reference

turbulent-collisional, yield stress and laminar flow resistance terms in a quadratic rheological
law, where a standard value of κ = 24 is assumed. In this table is also included the input
parameters which are required by its computation.

Table 15.38 – Flow resistance relation.

MF_FFR Flow Resistance Flow resistance term Input parameters
Relation
1 Turbulent (default) τ b = τt Manning’s n, density
2 Full Bingham τb = τ0 with f1 (τb , τ0 ) = 0 Bingham viscosity, yield stress,
density
3 Simplified Bingham τb = 1.5τy + 3τµ Bingham viscosity, yield stress,
density
4 Turbulent and τ b = τt + τ f Manning’s n, density, Friction angle
Coulomb
5 Turbulent and Yield τ b = τt + τ y Manning’s n, density, yield stress


6 Turbulent, Coulomb τb = τt + min τy , τf Manning’s n, density, yield stress,
and Yield friction angle
κ
7 Quadratic τ b = τt + τ y + τ
8 µ
Manning’s n, density, yield stress,
viscosity
8 Granular flow τ b = τf Friction angle, density. For this
formula, the model internally sets
Manning’s n = 0 for all cells.
9 Herschel - Buckley τb = τf + (2 + 1/m)m µP (|U |/h)m , τf = (ρ − Density, yield stress, viscosity. For
Γρw )gh this formula, the model internally
sets Manning’s n = 0 for all cells.

15.17.3 Mud and Tailings Module Initial Concentration Data File:

.CINITIAL
The RiverFlow2D model allows defining areas withing the mesh that initially have materials with
different concentrations. For instance, it is possible to consider a water reservoir with zero volu-
metric concentrations and tailings deposits with multiple classes as the initial state that exists at
the beginning of a simulation. The water or taillings are assumed to be over the existing terrain.
Therefore these conditions pertain to the flowing material and not to the characterization of the
initial terrain.
In the MT module the user can also enter a Supernatant Water Pond elevation.
The user can enter polygons in the Initial Concentrations layer, assign the initial volumetric con-
centration for each sediment class and also the Supernatant Water Pond elevation ZWPOND on
each polygons. When using Supernatant Water Pond elevation, the model will dilute all the given
volume concentrations for each class according to the water volume on each cell belonging to that
polygon. Note that for water reseroirs that are not over tailings deposits or initial tailings deposits
that do not have supernatant water, the ZWPOND should be set to -9999. Only water ponds over
tailings should provided a positive elevation in this file.
15.17 Mud and Tailings Flow Data File: .MUD 278

Each polygon should have an auxiliary user provided file that indicates the concentrations as fol-
lows:

Line 1: Number of classes

MF_NFRAC

Then MF_NFRAC class concentrations in separate lines

Cv(1)
Cv(2)
...
Cv(MF_NFRAC)

Where Cv(i), is the initial volumetric concentration for class/fraction i. Note that when the fluid is
clear water, the volumetric concentrations should be set to zero for all classes.
The following in an example of the initial concentrations auxiliary file:
3
0.10
0.35
0.50
The first line in this file indicates that there are 3 sediment classes, the volumetric concentration
for class 1 is 0.10, for class 2, 0.35 and the concentration for class 3 is equal to 0.50.
In a simulation with 3 classes and a water reservoir the file would be like the following for a polygon
over the water reservoir:
3
0.0
0.0
0.0
Indicating that the concentration for each sediment class is 0 which correspond to water.
With the information provided with the format described above, the model will create the .CINITIAL
file that indicates the initial volumetric concentrations and ZWPOND for each cell based on the
polygons entered. Therefore the resulting .CINITIAL file will have MF_NFRAC+1 columns and
NELEM lines as follows:

Line 1: File version number

For each cell: Space separated initial concentrations for each sediment fraction and pond eleva-
tion.

Cv(1) Cv(2) ... Cv(MF_NFRAC) ZWPOND

279 Input Data File Reference

15.17.4 Initial Bed Fractions Data File: .FBINITIAL

The RiverFlow2D model allows defining spatially variable sediment grain distributions on the bed
when using the Mud and Taillings (MT) or the Sediement Transport (ST) Modules.
The user can enter polygons in the InitialBedFractions layer and assign a bed fractions file name
to each polygon that contains the fraction for each sediment size.
Each polygon should have an auxiliary user provided file that indicates the fraction for each sedi-
ment class on the bed in a single line separated by spaces as follows:

Fb(1) Fb(2) ... Fb(MF_NFRAC)

Where Fb(i), is the initial fraction for class/fraction i and MF_NFRAC is the number of sediment
classes.
The following in an example of the initial fraction auxiliary file in a project that considers three
sediment classes on the bed:
0.10 0.20 0.70
Note that the sum of all fractions must always be exactly equal to 1.0.
With the information provided with the format described above, the model will create the .FBINITIAL
file that indicates the initial fractions on the bed for each cell based on the polygons entered.
The resulting initial bed fractions .FBINITIAL file written by the model will contail NELEM lines
(one for each cell) and each line will have the pace separated fraction for each size class as fol-
lows:

Fb(1) Fb(2) ... Fb(MF_NFRAC)

All the cells that are not contained within the polygons on the InitialBedFractions layer, will be
assigned the fractions given in the .MUD file.
Note that when using the Bed Fraction Evolution or Active Bed Layer option, the model will account
for changes the bed sediment grain sizes in space and time during the simulation.

15.17.5 Mud and Tailings Module Initial Hydraulic Conditions Data

File: .INITIALSTATE
The RiverFlow2D MT variable properties model allows defining spatially variable initial water
depth, and velocity conditions, such as rivers other streams.
The procedure is as follows:

1. Perform an intial run to determine the steady state inital conditions of the existing streams in
the study area. Do not use Hot start. This initial run should be as long as required to reach
the steady conditions. This run will generate stateN*.out result files.

2. Rename the last stateN*.out file to <project_name>.INITIALSTATE extension.

15.18 Oil on Land Model File: .OILP 280

3. Then do a second run with other initial conditions (e.g. initial reservoir elevations, etc.) using
the Read initial water elevs. from FED file as required.

Using this procedure he model will asign the density, depth, velocities and solid concentrations to
all wet cells from the .INITIALSTATE file. All non-wet cells as defined in the .INITIALSTATE file
will use the initial conditions defined in QGIS and writen in the .FED file.

Note that to use this option the Hot start option most not be activated.

15.18 Oil on Land Model File: .OILP

This section applies to the OilFlow2D model. The .OILP file provides the parameters necessary
to model flow of viscous fluids including oil over complex terrain using the OilFlow2D model and
considers the heat transfer between the flowing oil with the surroundings and the dependence of
oil properties with temperature.

Line 1: OILP dile version number.

OL_FILEVERSION

Line 2: Flow resistance relation.

OL_FRR

Line 3: Yield stress.

OL_YS

Line 4: Fluid viscosity.

OL_VIS

Line 5: Internal friction angle. Not used in this release.

OL_THETA

Line 6: Oil density.

OL_DENS

Line 7: Temperature time series file.

OL_TEMPTSERIES

Line 8: Temperature - Viscosity - Density table file.

OL_TEMPVISCDENS
281 Input Data File Reference

Line 9: Evaporation option.

OL_EVAPOPTION

Line 10: Evaporation calculation coefficients.

OL_C1 OL_C2

Line 11: Wind velocity.

OL_WINDVEL

Line 12: Heat transfer option switch.

OL_HTOPTION

Line 13: Density formulation.

OL_DENSFOR

Line 14: Density formulation parameters.

RHO0 T0 Lambda OL_DENSPAR4 ... OL_DENSPAR10

Line 15: Density formulation file.

OL_DENSFILENAME

Line 16: Viscosity formulation.

OL_VISCFOR

Line 17: Viscosity formulation parameters.

Av Bv OL_VISCPAR3 ... OL_VISCPAR10

Line 18:: Viscosity formulation file.

OL_VISCFILENAME

Line 19: Yield stress formulation.

OL_YSFOR

Line 20: Yield stress formulation parameters.

Ays Bys Cys OL_YS ... OL_YS

Line 21: Yield stress formulation file.

OL_YSFILENAME

Line 22: Heat transfer parameters.

INI_T_OPTION INI_T Hr T_AIR Q_RAD Cp OL_MAXTEMP OL_HT8 ... OL_HT10
15.18 Oil on Land Model File: .OILP 282

Line 23: Environmental Parameters file.

OL_ENVFILENAME

Line 24: Environmental Parameter Options.

OL_ENVOPTIONS

Line 25: Switch for wet boundary cells.

OL_WETBOUNDARY

Line 26: Switch for water lower layer.

OL_WATERLAYER

Line 27: Water density and friction coefficient.

OL_WATERRHO OL_CD
Line 28: Path to the water hydrodynamic .textout files.
OL_WATERPATH

Line 29: Total number of .textout files.

OL_NFTEXOUR

Line 30: Time interval of textout files.

OL_TEXTOUTDT

15.18.1 Example of a .OILP file

3
1.
0.00899
1
2200.
Temptseries.TXT
Tempviscdensetable.TXT
1
0.018 10
2.25
1
1
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.
densityfile.txt
1
283 Input Data File Reference

0.11 0.12 0.13 0.14 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

Viscosityfile.txt
1
-0.0196 1.3575 -20.454 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.
YSfile.txt
0 30.0 0.3 25.0 300. 1900. 180. 0. 0. 0.
EnvironmentalParameters.txt
2
0
0
1000. 10.
Path
10
2.0

Table 15.39 – Variable Descriptions for the .OILP File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

Av, Bv R − - Regression constants for the Andrade viscosity formula

µ = e[Av+(Bv/T )] applied when OL_VISCFOR = 1.

Ays, Bys, Cys R − - Regression constants in Yield Stress formula Y s =

2
10(AysT +BysT −Cys) when OL_YSFOR = 1.

Lambda (Λρ ) R >0 - Temperature gradient in the Arafin et al. formula ρ(T ) =
ρ0 + Λρ (T − T0 ) when OL_DENSFOR = 1.

Cp R >0 J/kg◦ C or Heat Capacity or Specific Heat. If Q_RAD is set to -1,

BTU/lb◦ F the model will use the Cp read from the Environmental
parameters file indicated in line 22.

Hr R [0, 1] - Relative humidity given as a fraction of 1.

INI_T R >0 ◦C or ◦ F Constant initial temperature (if INI_T_OPTION=1).

INI_T_OPTION I 0, 1 - Switch to choose between constant temperature distribu-

tion (0) or spatially distributed temperature (1) read from
.tinitial file.

OL_C1, OL_C2 R >0 - Evaporation calculation coefficients used to calculate vis-

cosity and density according to equations (??) and (??).
Use OL_C1 = 0.018 and OL_C2 = 10.

Continued on next page

15.18 Oil on Land Model File: .OILP 284

Table 15.39 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
OL_DENS R >0 kg/m3 or Fluid density that will be used in the basic model if
lb/ft3 the lines corresponding to the Temperature-viscosity-
density-table file and temperature data file are not pro-
vided.

OL_DENSFILENAME S - - Density formulation file. Will be used in future updates

for the interpolation option, and contains a table of tem-
perature vs density.

OL_DENSFOR I 1,2,3 - Density formulation used in the Heat Transfer model.

1: Arafin et al. 2006. formulation: ρ(T ) = ρ0 +
Λp (T − T0 ), with ρ0 in kg/m3 or lb/ft3 , T0 in ◦ C or
◦ F, and Λ in kg/m3◦ C or lb/ft3◦ F.
p

2: Arafin density formulation for density. The model

does not incorporate density variable in the equa-
tions.
3: Density is set by interpolation from the given table
in OL_DENSFILENAME. In this case the model
does not incorporate the variable density in the
equations, since it is given by the table values for
a given temperature.

OL_DENSPAR4..10 R - - Density formulation parameters that will be added in fu-

ture updates for alternative formulas.

OL_ENVFILENAME S - - Environmental parameters data file. See the detailed de-

scription below (15.18.6). The model will use the data in
this file, always that there OL_ENVFILENAME is present
in the project folder.

OL_EVAPOPTION R 0, 1, 2 - Evaporation calculation option:

0: No evaporation is calculated,
1: Evaporation rate is calculated and properties es-
timated according to given density viscosity table,
2: Evaporation rate is calculated and properties cal-
culated by the model using formula (??).

OL_FRR I 3 - Flow resistance relation. (see Table 15.40)

OL_HTOPTION I 0, 1 - Basic model vs Heat transfer model switch:

0: Basic model. No heat transfer is calculated,
1: Heat transfer model.

Continued on next page

285 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.39 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
OL_HT8..10 R - - Heat transfer parameters that will be added in future up-
dates.

OL_MAXTEMP R >0 ◦C or ◦ F Maximum oil temperature allowed.

OL_TEMPTSERIES S ≤ 26 - Temperature time series file used in the basic model.

OL_TEMPVISCDENS S ≤ 26 - Temperature-viscosity-density table file. The basic model

will use the temperature for a given time to interpolate in
the table the viscosity and density.

OL_THETA R >0 Degrees Not used in this release.

OL_VIS I >0 Pa-s or lb- Fluid viscosity that the basic model will use if the lines
s/in2 corresponding to the Temperature-viscosity-density-table
file and temperature data file are not provided.

OL_VISCFILENAME S - - Viscosity formulation file. Will be used in future updates

for the interpolation option, and contains a table of tem-
perature vs viscosity.

OL_VISCFOR I 1,2 - Viscosity formulation used in the Heat Transfer model.

1: Andrade (1934) formulation µ = e[Av+(Bv/T )] ,
with Av in Pa-s or lb-s/in2 , Bv in Pa-s/◦ C or lb-
s/in2◦ F, and T is the oil temperature in ◦ K
2: Determined by interpolation from table provided
in file OL_VISCFILENAME.

OL_VISCPAR3..10 R - - Viscosity formulation parameters that will be added in fu-

ture updates for alternative formulas.

OL_WINDVEL R ≥0 m/s or ft/s Used to compute evaporation rate in basic model that
does not considers heat transfer. Note that according to
formula (??), if the wind velocity is zero, the evaporation
rate is zero as well.

OL_YS R >0 Pa or lb/in2 Yield stress used in the basic model.

OL_YSFILENAME S - - Yield stress formulation file. Contains a table of temper-

ature vs Yield stress.

Continued on next page

15.18 Oil on Land Model File: .OILP 286

Table 15.39 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
OL_YSFOR I 1,2 - Yield stress in Pa or lb/in2 formulation.
2
1: Formulation 1: Y s = 10AysT +BysT −Cys , with
Ays in Pa/◦ C2 or lb/in2◦ F2 , Bys in Pa/◦ C or
lb/in2◦ F, and Cys in Pa or lb/in2 ,
2: Determined by interpolation from table provided
in file OL_YSFILENAME.

OL_ENVOPTIONS I 0,1,2 - Set the option for using Environmental Parameters.

0: The model will not compute heat transfer,
1: Use constant environmental parameters as en-
tered on line 21 of the .OILP file,
2: Use the parameters defined on the
OL_ENVFILENAME file.

OL_YSPAR4..10 R - - Yield stress formulation parameters that will be added in

future updates for alternative formulas.

Q_RAD R >0 W/m2 or Solar radiation. Constant Q_RAD value used if

BTU/ft2 s OL_ENVOPTIONS os set to 1 (Constant).

RHO0 (ρ0 ) R >0 kg/m3 or Reference density in the Arafin et al. formula ρ(T ) =
lb/ft3 ρ0 + Λρ (T − T0 ) when OL_DENSFOR = 1.

T0 (T0 ) R − ◦C or ◦ F Reference Temperature in the Arafin et al. formula

ρ(T ) = ρ0 + Λρ · (T − T0 ) when OL_DENSFOR = 1.

T_AIR R − ◦C or ◦ F Air temperature. If Q_RAD is set to -1, the model will use
the T_AIR read from the Environmental parameters file
indicated in line 22.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

Table 15.40 – Flow resistance relations for the OilFlow2D model.

OL_FFR RESISTANCE RELATION FLOW RESISTANCE TERM INPUT PARAMETERS
2 Full Bingham τb = τ0 with f1 (τb , τ0 ) = 0 Viscosity, yield stress, density.
3 Simplified Bingham τb = 1.5τy + 3τµ Viscosity, yield stress, density.
7 Quadratic τb = τt + τy + κ τ
8 µ
Manning’s n, viscosity, yield stress, density.

15.18.1.1 Temperature Time Series file

The temperature time series files is only used in the basic model and contains the ambient tem-
perature for each time along the simulation. The first line has the number of lines in the time
287 Input Data File Reference

series, then a list of time in hours vs temperature in degrees Celsius or ◦ F depending on the unit
system used.
The following is an example of a Temperature Time Series file:

7
0.0 60
2.0 65
4.0 70
6.0 75
8.0 77
10.0 79
12.0 65

In this example there are 7 entries in the Temperature Time series. For the initial time 0.0 hours
the temperature is 60◦ F, and so on.

15.18.2 Temperature-Viscosity-Density Table file

This file is only used in the basic model and includes the viscosity and density for different tem-
peratures. The basic model will interpolate from the table values to assign to the oil the viscosity
and density for the current temperature.
The following is an example of a Temperature-Viscosity-Density file:

2
50 1.38E-06 58.00
120 6.94E-07 56.00

In this example there are 2 lines in the Temperature-Viscosity-Density table file. For 50◦ F the
viscosity is 1.38×10−6 lb-s/in2 and the density 50 lb/ft3 .

15.18.3 Temperature vs Density Time Series file

The temperature time series file is only used in the heat transfer model and contains a table of
temperature and corresponding oil density for each time along the simulation. The first line has
the number of lines in the time series, then a list of temperature and density. This file is optional
and will only be necessary when selecting the interpolation for density option.
The following is an example of a temperature vs density time series file:

8
10 1010
15 1004
20 998
22 995
15.18 Oil on Land Model File: .OILP 288

25 980
30 975
35 970
40 960

15.18.4 Temperature vs Viscosity Time Series file

The temperature time series file is only used in the heat transfer model and contains a table of
temperature and corresponding oil dynamic viscosity for each time along the simulation. The first
line has the number of lines in the time series, then a list of temperature and dynamic viscosity.
This file is optional and will only be necessary when selecting the interpolation for viscosity option.
The following is an example of a temperature vs viscosity time series file:

8
10 0.10
15 0.09
20 0.07
22 0.04
25 0.02
30 0.009
35 0.0084
40 0.007

15.18.5 Temperature vs Yield Stress Time Series file

The temperature time series file is only used in the heat transfer model and contains a table of
temperature and corresponding oil yield stress for each time along the simulation. The first line
has the number of lines in the time series, then a list of temperature and yield stress. This file is
optional and will only be necessary when selecting the interpolation for yield stress option.
The following is an example of a environmental parameter file:

9
0.00 2000.0
35.00 2000.0
37.50 1000.0
40.00 200.0
42.50 80.0
45.00 20.0
47.50 1.0
50.00 0.020
100.00 0.020
289 Input Data File Reference

15.18.6 Environmental Parameters Time Series file

This file contains environmental parameters that affect the oil heat transfer. The first line con-
tains the number of lines with data. Then each subsequent line includes the time in hours, wind
speed (m/s or ft/s), relative humidity (0-1), air temperature (◦ C or◦ F), and solar radiation (W/m2 or
BTU/ft2 ). The model will use the data in this file if the solar radiation entered in line 21 is equal to
-1.
The following is an example of a environmental parameter file:

12
1 2.20 0.90 21.90 0.0
2 1.71 0.90 21.71 0.0
3 1.79 0.93 21.33 0.0
4 2.23 0.94 21.13 0.0
5 2.58 0.97 20.77 0.0
6 4.04 0.99 20.13 0.0
7 3.41 1.00 19.54 1.8
8 1.93 0.99 19.62 13.5
9 1.18 0.96 20.08 74.8
10 1.65 0.87 21.64 166.0
11 1.49 0.81 22.97 246.7
12 1.34 0.71 33.64 368.8
15.19 Oil on Water File: .OILW 290

15.19 Oil on Water File: .OILW

This file only applies to the OilFlow2D model. This file provides the parameters necessary to
model oil spill on water using the OilFlow2D model.

Line 1: OILW_VersionNumber
Line 2: NSpillSites
Line 3: [ControData]
Line 4: Evaporation Switch
Line 5: Emulsification Switch
Line 6: Shoreline Switch
Line 7: Dispersion Switch
Line 8: Dissolution Switch
Line 9: Sedimentation Switch
Line 10: Simulation Time
Line 11: Output Interval
Line 12: Time Step
Line 13: Wind Velocity File
Line 14: Ambient Temperature File
Line 15: Velocity Field Path
Line 16: Velocity Field .OUTFILES
Line 17: Grid Cell Factor (GCF)
Line 18: Boom Component Switch
Line 19: Wind Velocity Coefficient
For SpillSite 1 to NSpillSites
Spill Site ID
[Trajectory]
Water Density
XYZ
Number of Parcels
Oil Density
Oil Viscosity
Initial Spill Time
Disp_L Disp_T Disp_V
Spill Accumulated Volume File
SpillReleaseSwitch
SpillReleaseFile
0
0
0
291 Input Data File Reference

0
0
0
0
0
[Evaporation]
Evaporation Method // 1: Fingas; 2: Stiver-MacKay
Oil ID
PD Fraction by weight distilled at 180oC.
Kevp // Mass transfer coefficient //Stiver-MacKay
A //Stiver-MacKay constant A
B //Stiver-MacKay constant B
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
[Emulsification]
Kemul
Yf
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
[Dissolution]
Kdiss
S // Water solubility
So // Solubility of fresh oil
Alfa // Decay constant
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
[Dispersion]
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
15.19 Oil on Water File: .OILW 292

0 // For future use

0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
[Sedimentation]
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
[Shoreline]
BottomTrapping // Bottom Trapping option
ShoreTrapping // Shore Trapping option
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
End SpillSite

Table 15.41 – Variable Descriptions for the .OILW File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

Version Number I - - Integer number indicating the model version.

NSpillSites I ≥1 - Number of spill sites.

[CONTROLDATA] Control data group with common to all spill sites.
Boom switch I 0,1 - 0: Booms will not be considered. 1: Booms acti-
vated.

Evaporation switch I 0,1 - 0: No evaporation will be calculated. 1: Evapora-

tion will be calculated.

Continued on next page

293 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.41 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
Emulsification switch I 0,1 - 0: No emulsification will be calculated. 1: Emulsifi-
cation will be calculated.

Shoreline switch I 0,1 - 0: Oil interaction with shores will not be considered.
1: Oil interaction with shores will be considered.

Dispersion switch I 0,1 - 0: No oil dispersion will be calculated. 1: Oil dis-

persion will be calculated.

Dissolution switch I 0,1 - 0: No dissolution will be considered. 1: Dissolution

will be considered.

Sedimentation I 0,1 - 0: No oil sedimentation will be calculated. 1: Oil

switch sedimentation will be calculated.

Simulation time R >0 h. Total simulation time in hours.

Output interval R >0 h. Report output interval in hours.

Time step R >0 s. Time step that will be used in the numerical solution
of the particle-tracking algorithm.

Grid Cell Factor R >0 - This factor is used to construct a virtual grid over
(GCF) the mesh that is used to optimize the particle lo-
cation algorithm. The grid size is equal to GCF *
Minimum Cell Size. The program will determine all
the mesh cells that lie within each grid element. In
this way, the search algorithm will first locate the
particle within the grid element and then, to deter-
mine in which cell the particle is, it will search only
among the cells that are in that grid element, hence
reducing the search time. Larger the GCFs means
that mode cells will be in each grid element, there-
fore making the search more inefficient. The default
value is 20, which will construct a grid elements 20
times larger than the minimum cell size.

Wind velocity file S - - Wind velocity file name. See format in section
15.15.3 on page 266.

Temperature file S - - Ambient temperature file name. See format in sec-

tion 15.18.1.1 on page 286.

Velocity field path S - - Path where the results of the velocity field files
state*.out are located.

Spill site ID S ≤ 26 - Name of the spill site.

[TRAJECTORY] Trajectory data group for each spill site.
Continued on next page
15.19 Oil on Water File: .OILW 294

Table 15.41 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
Water density R ≥0

XYZ R - ft. - m. Spill site coordinates.

Nparcels I >0 - Number of parcels or particles representing the

spill.

Oil density R >0 API Initial oil density of the oil at the time of the spill.

Oil viscosity R >0 cP - lb- Initial oil viscosity at the time of the spill.
s/ft2

Initial Spill Time R >0 h. Initial oil viscosity at the time of the spill.

Disp_L R >0 ft2 /s - Longitudinal dispersion coefficient.

m2 /s

Disp_T R >0 ft2 /s - Transversal dispersion coefficient.

m2 /s

Disp_V R >0 ft2 /s - Vertical dispersion coefficient.

m2 /s

Spill Accumulated S - c- Spill volume file. See format in section 15.19.2.

Volume File

SpillReleaseSwitch I 0,1 - Spill path switch. 0 indicates fixed point spill, 1 in-
dicates that the spill path will be given by the Spill-
ReleaseFile volume file.

SpillReleaseFile S - c- Spill release path file. See format in section

15.19.4.
[EVAPORATION] Evaporation data group for each spill site.
Evaporation Method I 1,2 - 1: Fingas; 2: Stiver-MacKay.

OilID I - - Oil ID for Fingas method selected from drop-down

list.

PD R [0,1] - Fraction by weight distilled at 180o C.

Kevap R ≥0 - Mass transfer coefficient.

A R ≥0 - Stiver-MacKay constant A.

B R ≥0 - Stiver-MacKay constant B.
[EMULSIFICATION] Emulsification data group for each spill site.
Kemul R ≥0 -

Continued on next page

295 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.41 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
Yf R ≥0 -
[DISSOLUTION] Dissolution data group for each spill site.
Kdiss R ≥0

S R ≥0 Water solubility.

So R ≥0 Oil solubility.

Alpha R ≥0 Decay constant.

[SHORELINE] Shore and bottom interaction data group for each

spill site.
BottomTrapping I 0,1 - 0: Particles will not be trapped when they hit the
bottom (default). 1: The oil particles will be perma-
nently attached to the bottom as soon as they touch
it.

ShoreTrapping I 0,1 - 0: Particles will not be trapped when they enter or

hit a shore polygon. 1: The oil particles will be at-
tached to the shore polygon according to the shore
handling algorithm (default).

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.19.1 Example of a .OILW file

201910 // version
1 // NSpillSite
[ControlData]
0 // Evaporation Switch
0 // Emulsification Switch
0 // Shoreline Switch
0 // Dispersion Switch
0 // Dissolution Switch
0 // Sedimentation Switch
5 // Simulation Time
0.1 // Output Interval
10.0 // Time Step
Wind.DAT
Temperature.DAT
C:/Users/Hydronia Dell/Documents/Magdalena
100 // Grid Cell Factor
15.19 Oil on Water File: .OILW 296

0 // Boom component deactivated

0
0
OilSpill_1
[Trajectory]
1000.00 // Water Density
925018.358 1707701.919 0.000 // X Y Z
1000 // Nparcels
40.00 // Oil Density
15.000 // Oil Viscosity
1.00 // Initial SpillTime
1.000 1.000 0.001 // Disp_L Disp_T Disp_V
OilSpill_1.txt
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
[Evaporation]
1 EvaporationMethod // 1: Fingas; 2: Stiver-MacKay
1 // Oils
40.00 PD // percentage (by weight) distilled at 180oC.
0.0025 // Kevp (mass transfer coefficient) //Stiver-MacKay
6.30 // A Stiver-MacKay
10.0 // B Stiver-MacKay
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
[Emulsification]
0.000002 // Kemul
0.7 // Yf
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
297 Input Data File Reference

0 // For future use

0 // For future use
[Dissolution]
1.00 // Kdiss
0.00 // S Water solubility
0.0184 // So Solubility of fresh oil
0.423 // Alfa Decay constant
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
[Dispersion]
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
[Sedimentation]
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
[Shoreline]
0 // No bottom Trapping
1 // Do shore trapping
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use
15.19 Oil on Water File: .OILW 298

0 // For future use

0 // For future use
0 // For future use
0 // For future use

15.19.2 Accumulated Volume Input File

This file specifies the volumes released in the spill for each time. The format is as follows
Line 1: Number of points in the accumulated spill volume time series.
NPOINTS

NPOINTS lines containing:

Time and Accumulated Volume.

TIME ACCVOL

15.19.3 Example of a Accumulated Volume File

3
0. 0.
2. 3000
10. 20000

Table 15.42 – Variable Descriptions for the Accumulated Spill Volume File.
VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NPOINTS I ≥1 - Number of data points in time series.

TIME R ≥0 h Time.

ACCVOL R - bbl Accumulated spill volume until this time. Note that it
is required that the accumulated volume given for one
time needs to be always greater or equal to the accu-
mulated volume given for the previous time.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.19.4 Spill Release File

This file specifies the path of the spill release. The spill will be released along the path defined in
this file. The format is as follows
299 Input Data File Reference

Line 1: Number of points in the spill release time series.

NPOINTS

NPOINTS lines containing:

Time and point coordinate

TIME Xp Yp

15.19.5 Spill Release File

5
0.0 923730.325 1710175.128
0.5 923408.268 1710245.895
1.0 923192.219 1710246.443
1.5 923022.774 1710195.172
2.0 922888.358 1710131.769

Table 15.43 – Variable Descriptions for the Spill Path File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NPOINTS I ≥1 - Number of data points in time series.

TIME R ≥0 h Time.

Xp R - ft - m X coordinate of this spill point.

Yp R - ft - m Y coordinate of this spill point.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.20 Pollutant Transport Module Data File: .SOLUTES

The pollutant transport module calculates concentration of passive or reactive pollutants (solutes)
based on advection and dispersion. The required data is included in the .SOLUTES data file that
has the following format:

Line 1: Maximum number of pollutants (solutes)

NP_MAX
15.20 Pollutant Transport Module Data File: .SOLUTES 300

Line 2: Number of pollutants used in the run

NP_USED

Line 3: List of solutes used (all in one line)

I(1) I(2) ... I(NP_USED)

Line 4: Longitudinal and transversal dispersion coefficients

DISPL DISPT

Line 5...: List of names of pollutants (one in each line)

NAME_I1
NAME_I1
...
NAME_NP_MAX

Line 6 to NP_MAX+6: First order reaction rate coefficient matrix K(I,J)

K(1,1) K(1,2) ... K(1,NP_MAX)
K(2,1) K(2,2) ... K(2,NP_MAX)
...
K(NP_MAX,1) K(NP_MAX,2) ... K(NP_MAX,NP_MAX)
301 Input Data File Reference

15.20.1 Example of a .SOLUTES file

5
4
1 2 4 5
0.1 0.02
NITRATE
AMMONIUM
TEMPERATURE
CHLORINE
PHOSPHATE
0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0 0.0 1.1 0.0 0.0
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5

Table 15.44 – Explanation of the example .SOLUTES file.

DATA DESCRIPTION
5 There are five pollutants
4 Four pollutants will be used in this run
1 2 4 5 The active pollutants will be 1, 2, 4 and 5
0.1 0.02 Longitudinal dispersion coefficient is 0.1 and transversal = 0.02.
NITRATE Pollutant No. 1 name is: NITRATE
AMMONIUM Pollutant No. 2 name is: AMMONIUM
TEMPERATURE Pollutant No. 3 name is: TEMPERATURE
CHLORINE Pollutant No. 4 name is: CHLORINE
PHOSPHATE Pollutant No. 5 name is: PHOSPHATE
0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 First order reaction constant for pollutant No. 1 is 0.2
0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 First order reaction constant for pollutant No. 2 is 0.1
0.0 0.0 1.1 0.0 0.0 First order reaction constant for pollutant No. 3 is 1.1
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 First order reaction constant for pollutant No. 4 is 0.2
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 First order reaction constant for pollutant No. 5 is 0.2

Table 15.45 – Variable Descriptions for the .SOLUTES File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

DISPL R >0 m2 /s or Longitudinal dispersion coefficient.

ft2 /s

DISPT R >0 m2 /s or Transversal dispersion coefficient.

ft2 /s
Continued on next page
15.21 Sediment Transport Data Files: .SEDS and .SEDB 302

Table 15.45 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

K(I,J) R - s−1 First-order reaction constants, where

K(I,I) is the reaction constant for pollu-
tant I and K(I,J) the reaction constant of
pollutant I with pollutant J.

NP_MAX I >0 - Maximum number of pollutants.

NP_USED I >0 - Number of pollutants used in the present

run.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.20.2 Pollutant Transport Module Initial Concentration Data File:

.CINITIAL
The initial concentration data file is created when the dataset with the initial concentrations is ex-
ported from the RiverFlow2D QGIS plugin based on the data entered in the Initial Concentrations
layer. The user can enter polygons and assign a corresponding initial concentration file name to
each polygon. The format of these files is as follows:

Line 1: Space separated initial concentrations for each pollutant.

C(1) C(2)...C(NP_MAX)

Where C(i), is the initial concentration for pollutant i. With this information the model will determine
the initial concentrations for each cell based on the polygons entered. All the cells that are not
contained within the polygons on the InitialConcentrations layer, will be assigned the zero initial
concentrations. Therefore the .CINITIAL file will have NP_MAX columns and NELEM lines.

The pollutant concentration units are arbitrary. The user can use volume concentration Cv (frac-
tion of 1), mg/l, ppt, ppm, or any other suitable units, provided that the inflow boundary conditions
are consistent.

15.21 Sediment Transport Data Files: .SEDS and

.SEDB
These files provides the parameters necessary to model sediment transport using the RiverFlow2D
model.
303 Input Data File Reference

15.21.1 .SEDS file for suspended sediment data

The .SEDS file provides the data for the suspended sediment transport model.

Line 1: Suspended sediment option switch.

ISSACT

Line 2: Number of suspended sediment classes/fractions.

NSSNFRAC

Line 3: Equilibrium concentration formula.

ISSTF

Line 4: Sediment density for each fraction.

SSDEN(1) ... SSDEN(NSSNFRAC)

Line 5: Initial suspended sediment concentration for each sediment class/fraction.

INICON(1) ... INICON(NSSNFRAC)

Line 6: For future use.

DUMMY1(1) ... DUMMY1(NSSNFRAC)

Line 7: Suspended sediment D50 size for each sediment class/fraction.

D50(1) ... D50(NSSNFRAC)

Line 8: For future use.

DUMMY2(1) ... DUMMY2(NSSNFRAC)

Line 9: Porosity for each fraction.

SSPOR(1) ... SSPOR(NSSNFRAC)

Line 10: Critical Shield Stress for each sediment class/fraction.

THETAC(1) ... THETAC(NSSNFRAC)

Line 11: Friction angle for each fraction.

FRICANG(1) ... FRICANG(NSSNFRAC)

Line 12: Equilibrium concentration formula factor for each sediment class/fraction.
SSTFACT(1) ... SSTFACT(NSSNFRAC)

Line 13: Settling velocity formula.

15.21 Sediment Transport Data Files: .SEDS and .SEDB 304

ISETFOR

Line 14: Settling velocity formula factors for each sediment class/fraction.
SETFORFACT(1) ... SETFORFACT(NSSNFRAC)

Line 15: Longitudinal and transversal dispersion coefficients.

DISPL DISPT

15.21.1.1 Example of a .SEDS file

1
2
1
165.00 165.00
0.01 0.01
0.003937008 0.003937008
0.0039370 0.0039370
0.003937008 0.003937008
0.40 0.40
0.047 0.047
35.00 35.00
1.00 1.00
1
1 1
0.15 0.01

Table 15.46 – Variable Descriptions for the .SEDS File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

INICON R 0,0.3 - Initial volumetric sediment concentration. See com-

ment 1.

ISSACT I 0,1,2 - Suspended sediment option switch.

0: No suspended sediment transport.
1: Calculate suspended sediment transport with
constant in time bed fraction distribution.
2: Calculate suspended sediment transport con-
sidering bed fraction evolution (active layer).
This option will work only when IBLACT = 0 or
2. See Table 15.47.

Continued on next page

305 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.46 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
NSSNFRAC I 1-10 - Number of suspended sediment fractions.

ISSTF I 1, 2, 3 - Equilibrium concentration formula. This code indicates

the formula according to this list:
1: Bagnold (1966).
2: Van Rijn (1984a).
3: Zhang and Xie (1993).

DUMMY1 R >0 - Not used in this release, but must be present.

D50 R >0 mm or in Sediment median size. 50% of the sediment is finer

than D50. See comment 1.

DUMMY2 R >0 - Not used in this release, but must be present.

DISPL R >0 m2 /s or Longitudinal dispersion coefficient.

ft2 /s

DISPT R >0 m2 /s or Transversal dispersion coefficient.

ft2 /s

SSPOR R 0.3-0.6 - Porosity. See comment 1.

THETAC R 0.03- - Critical Shield Stress. See comment 1.

0.06

FRICANG R 5-45 - Friction angle. See comment 1.

ISETFOR I 1-9 - Settling velocity formula. It is a unique formula for all

fractions. This code indicates the formula according to
this list:
1: Rubey (1983)
2: Zhang (1961)
3: Zanke (1977)
4: Van Rijn (1984a)
5: Raudkivi (1990)
6: Julien (1998)
7: Cheng (1997)
8: Jimenez-Madsen (2003)
9: Wu-Wong (2006)

Continued on next page

15.21 Sediment Transport Data Files: .SEDS and .SEDB 306

Table 15.46 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
SETFORFACT R - - Settling velocity formula factor. This factor multiplies the
settling velocity calculated by the formula selected in
ISETFOR. It’s a factor that may be used for calibrating
the model.

SSDEN R - kg/m3 or Suspended sediment density. See comment 1.

lb/ft3

SSTFACT R - - Equilibrium concentration formula factor for each frac-

tion. This factor multiplies the equilibrium concentration
formula ISSTF. It’s a factor that may be used for calibrat-
ing the model. See comment 1.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.21.1.2 Comments for the .SEDS file

1. There should be one value for each sediment fraction up to NSSNFRAC.

15.21.2 .SEDB file for bed load transport data

The .SEDB file provides the data for the bed load transport model.

Line 1: Bed load sediment transport activation switch.

IBLACT

Line 2: Number of bed load sediment fractions.

NBLNFRAC

Line 3: Sediment transport formula.

IBLTF

Line 4: Sediment density for each fraction.

BLDEN(1) ... BLDEN (NBLNFRAC)

Line 5: Sediment D30 size for each fraction.

D30(1) ... D30(NBLNFRAC)

Line 6: Sediment D50 size for each fraction.

D50(1) ... D50(NBLNFRAC)
307 Input Data File Reference

Line 7: Sediment D90 size for each fraction.

D90(1) ... D90(NBLNFRAC)

Line 8: Porosity for each fraction.

BLPOR(1) ... BLPOR(NSSNFRAC)

Line 9: Critical Shield Stress for each fraction.

THETAC (1) ... THETAC (NBLNFRAC)

Line 10: Friction angle for each fraction.

FRICANG (1) ... FRICANG (NBLNFRAC)

Line 11: Fractions on the bed.

BEDFRACT (1) ... BEDFRACT (NBLNFRAC)

Line 12: Transport formula factor for each fraction.

BLFORFACT(1) ... BLFORFACT (NBLNFRAC)

Line 13: Coupled or uncoupled computation switch.

ICOUPLED

15.21.2.1 Example of a .SEDB file

1
2
2
165.0 165.0
0.0039370 0.0039370
0.0039000 0.0039370
0.0039370 0.0039370
0.40 0.40
0.047 0.047
35.00 35.00
0.50 0.50
1.00 1.00
0
15.21 Sediment Transport Data Files: .SEDS and .SEDB 308

Table 15.47 – Variable Descriptions for the .SEDB File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

IBLACT I 0,1,2 - Bed load transport activation switch.

0: Bed load transport will not be calcu-
lated.
1: Bed load sediment transport will be
calculated without evolution of bed
fractions.
3: Bed load sediment transport will be
calculated with evolution of bed frac-
tions (Active Layer).

ICOUPLED I 0,1 - Bed load transport activation switch. If

ICOUPLED = 0 the model will run in coupled
mode, where the bed load transport will be
computed together with the hydrodynamic
model for each time step. If ICOUPLED =
1 the model will run the bed load transport
uncoupled from the hydrodynamic model.

NBLNFRAC I 1–10 - Number of sediment fractions.

IBLTF I 1–10 - Coupled or uncoupled computation switch.

This code indicates the formula according to
this list:
1: Meyer-Peter & Muller (1948)
2: Ashida (1972)
3: Engelund (1976)
4: Fernandez (1976)
5: Parker fit to Einstein (1979)
6: Smart (1984)
7: Nielsen (1992)
8: Wong 1 (2003)
9: Wong 2 (2003)
10: Camenen-Larson (2005)

D30 R >0 m or in Sediment D30 size. 30% of the sediment

is finer than D30. Only used for Smart For-
mula. See comment 1.

D50 R >0 m or in Sediment median size. 50% of the sediment

is finer than D50. See comment 2.

Continued on next page

309 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.47 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
D90 R >0 m or in Sediment D90 size. 90% of the sediment
is finer than D90. Only used for Smart For-
mula. See comment 1.

BLPOR R 0.3–0.6 - Porosity. See comment 1.

THETAC R 0.03– - Non-dimensional critical Shields stress. See

0.06 comment 3.

FRICANG R 5–45 - Friction angle. See comment 1.

BEDFRACT R - - Sediment fraction. The sum of all fractions

should add to 1. See comment 1.

BLDEN R - kg/m3 Sediment density. See comment 1.

or lb/ft3

BLFORFACT R - - Transport formula factor for each fraction.

This factor multiplies the result of the trans-
port formula selected (IBLTF). It’s a factor
that may be used for calibrating the model.
See comment 1.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.21.2.2 Comments for the .SEDB file

1. There should be one value for each sediment fraction up to NBLNFRAC.

2. Characteristic diameter for all sediment transport formulas.

3. The default critical Shields stress is 0.047.

4. When selected both suspended and bed-load transport the bed fraction evolution is consid-
ered depending on the values selected for ISSACT and IBLACT according to the following
table

Bed Evolution Calculation ISSACT

IBLACT 0 1 2
0 Off Off On
1 Off Off Off
2 On On On

15.21.3 Sediment Transport Module Initial Bed Fractions Data File:

.FBINITIAL
The RiverFlow2D model allows defining spatially variable sediment grain distributions on the bed.
The user can enter polygons in the InitialBedFractions layer and assign a bed fractions file name
15.22 Urban Drainage Module Data File: .LSWMM 310

to each polygon that contains the fraction for each sediment size. The format of the bed fractions
.FBINITIAL file is as follows:

Line 1: Space separated fraction for each size class.

Fb(1) Fb(2) ... Fb(NSSNFRAC)

Where Fb(i), is the bed fraction for sediment size i. The file will have NBLNFRAC or NSSNFRAC
columns and NELEM lines. With this information the model will assign the grain size distribution
for each cell based on the polygons entered. All the cells that are not contained within the poly-
gons on the InitialBedFractions layer, will be assigned the fractions given in the .SEDB or .SEDS
file.
Note that when using the Bed Fraction Evolution or Active Bed Layer option the model will account
for changes the bed sediment grain sizes during the simulation.

15.22 Urban Drainage Module Data File: .LSWMM

This data file allows to dynamically run the RiverFlow2Dmodel with the EPA-SWMM model to sim-
ulate surface/storm-drain network interaction. The user can define multiple exchange locations
corresponding the manholes defined in the EPA-SWMM project file .INP, and assign different di-
ameters and discharge coefficients to each exchange node.

Line 1: Number of manholes or exchange nodes.

NMAN

NMAN group of lines including manhole ID, manhole coordinate, diameter and discharge coeffi-
cient as follows:

MANHOLE_ID(I)
X(I) Y(I)
Cd(I)
DIAMETER(I)
NCELLS Cell(1) Cell(2) ... Cell(NCELLS)
Future use
Future use
...

15.22.1 Example of a .LSWMM file

2
311 Input Data File Reference

N1
264930.824 664804.843
0.61
0.800
4 235 7665 7869 8798
0
0
N2
264896.000 664747.000
0.61
1.300
5 2236 3634 6832 3745 2561
0
0

This file indicates that there are 2 manholes. The first one is N1, has coordinates 264930.824
664804.843, Cd = 0.61 and diameter = 0.8. Three are 4 cells contributing to manhole N1 (235
7665 7869 8798), and 5 cells contributing to manhole N2 (2236 3634 6832 3745 2561).

Table 15.48 – Variable Descriptions for the .LSWMM File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

Cd(I) R >0 - Discharge coefficient for exchange node I.

CELL(I) R - - Cell numbers that contribute flow to this manhole.

DIAMETER(I) R - m of ft Diameter of exchange node I.

MANHOLE_ID(I) S < 26 - Name of exchange node I. Should have less than

26 characters and must not contain blank spaces.

NCELLS I ≥0 - Number of cells associated with this manhole. If

NCELLS = 0, the manhole cell is the only ex-
change cell with the SWMM model.

NMAN I >0 - Number of manholes or exchange nodes.

X(I) Y(I) R - m of ft Coordinates of exchange node I.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.23 Output control data

15.23 Output control data 312

15.23.1 Observation Points Data File: .OBS

This file contains data to allow the model reporting time series of results at user specified loca-
tions based on point coordinates. The name and format of the observation point files is described
on section 16.2.8 on page 345. Based on the number of points entered in the Observation points
layer, the file will indicate the number of observation points and then the list of point coordinates.

Line 1: Number of observation points.

NOBSPOINTS

NOBSPOINTS groups of lines containing the observation point ID, and coordinate of each point:
ObsID
X_OP(I) Y_OP(I)
...

15.23.1.1 Example of a .OBS file

3
PointA
798798.380 309627.950
PointB
799146.926 309430.876
PointC
799721.8608 309041.615

This .OBS file has three points. The first point is named PointA and has coordinates: X=798798.380
Y=309627.950.

Table 15.49 – Variable Descriptions for the .OBS File

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

ObsID S < 26 - Name of observation point. Should

have less than 26 characters and must
not contain blank spaces.

NOBSPOINTS I >0 - Number of observation points.

X_OP Y_OP R - m or ft Point coordinates.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.
313 Input Data File Reference

15.23.2 Graphical Output Control Data File: .PLT

This file provides parameters to control graphic output options for plots generated while the model
is running.

Line 1: Plot control variables.

IGRAPHCODE COLORSCHEME IAXES IDXF IGRAPHFILES IVSF

Line 2: Velocity vector scale multiplier.

SF_MULT

Line 3: Coordinates for plot window.

XMING XMAXG YMING YMAXG

Line 4: Limits of plotted variable.

MINVARG MAXVARG

Line 5: Maximum velocity to plot.

MAXVELOC

Line 6: Transparency.
USEBACKIMAGE

Line 7: Transparency.
TRANSP

Line 8: Background aerial image.

IMAGEFILE

Line 9: Background aerial image world file.

IMAGEWF

15.23.2.1 Example of the .PLT file

100 5 1 0 1 0
5
0 0 0 0
0 0
7
1
0.6
15.23 Output control data 314

C:\Projects\Example\Aerial.gif
C:\Projects\Example\Aerial.gwf

Table 15.50 – Variable Descriptions for the .PLT File

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

COLORSCHEME I 1-6 - Variable to select plot option. See comment 1.

IAXES I 0,1 - Switch to control weather to plot axes.

0: Do not plot X and Y axes.
1: Plot X and Y axes.

IDXF I 0,1 - Switch to control velocity field output in DXF CAD format.
0: Do not output DXF mesh and velocity field.
1: Create mesh and velocity field DXF files for each output
time.

IGRAPHCODE I 100, - Parameter to indicate the plot type to display while the program
101, is running.
102, 100: Plot velocity field using vectors in black.
103,
101: Plot velocity field using vectors in black over depths.
110,
201, 102: Plot velocity field over bed elevations.
202, 103: Plot water elevations.
203,
110: Plot velocity field using vectors in color.
204,
600- 201: Plot depths.
610 202: Plot bed elevations.
203: Plot velocity field over water elevations.
204: Plot bed elevation changes.
600-610: Plot suspended sediment or pollutant concentrations.

IGRAPHFILES I 0,1 - Variable to control whether to output graphic files.

0: Do not output graphic files.
1: Output graphic files.

IMAGEFILE S - - Name of aerial image file including path and extension. Sup-
ported formats include .BMP, and .GIF. Other graphic file for-
mats will be included in forthcoming releases.

Continued on next page

315 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.50 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
IMAGEWF S - - Name of aerial image world file including path and extension.
World file format should follow ESRI specifications. See com-
ment 2.

IVSF I 0,1 - Switch to control velocity field output in a file that allows creating
shapefiles.
0: Do not output SF velocity field.
1: Create velocity field SF files for each output time. See
comment 3.

MAXVELOC R - m/s or Use this variable to control the maximum velocity displayed in
ft/s vector plots.
If MAXVELOC = 0, the whole velocity range will be plot-
ted.
If MAXVELOC > 0, it will define the maximum velocity
to be displayed.

MINVARG, R - - These variables define the minimum and maximum values to be

MAXVARG displayed of the selected variable. If equal to 0, the maximum
range will be displayed.

SF_MULT R >1 - Variable to control velocity vector scale. Use this variable to
adjust velocity vectors. Velocities will be scaled according to
SF_MULT.

TRANSP R [0,1] - Variable to control plot transparency when using a background

image. TRANSP should be in the range from 0.0 to 1.0, where
0.0 means a fully transparent color and 1.0 means a fully
opaque color.

USEBACKIMAGE I [0,1] - Variable to controls whether to use a background image for dy-
namic plots during model run. If value is = 1, the plot will in-
clude as background the image provided in IMAGEFILE and
IMAGEWF.

XMING, R - m or ft These variables indicate the coordinates of a rectangle that de-

XMAXG, fine the plot window. If all values are 0, the full extent of the
YMING, modeling area will be displayed.
YMAXG
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.23.2.2 Comments for the .PLT file

1. COLORSCHEME defines the color palette that will be used for all plots. The available
palettes are shown in this figure:
15.23 Output control data 316

Figure 15.5 – Color palettes.

2. The generic meaning of world file parameters are:

Line 1: A: pixel size in the x-direction in map units/pixel

Line 2: D: rotation about y-axis (ignored in this version)
Line 3: B: rotation about x-axis (ignored in this version)
Line 4: E: pixel size in the y-direction in map units, almost always negative
Line 5: C: x-coordinate of the center of the upper left pixel
Line 6: F: y-coordinate of the center of the upper left pixel.

Example:

2.05
0.00
0.00
-2.05
795944.99
310049.73

In this example, 2.05 is the pixel size in x-direction, rotation in x and y axes is 0.00, pixel
size in y direction is 2.05 (shown in negative), x-coordinate of upper left pixel is 795944.99
and y-coordinate of upper left pixel is 310049.73.
The following table indicates the supported image formats and their corresponding world file
extensions.
317 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.51 – Supported image formats and their corresponding world file extensions.
IMAGE FILE FORMAT WORLD FILE EXTENSION
.BMP .BMPW, .BPW
.GIF .GFW, .GIFW, .WLD
.PNG .PGW, .PNGW, .WLD
.TIF, .TIFF .TFW, .WLD
15.23 Output control data 318

15.23.3 Data for Profile Result Output: .PROFILES

Use this file to provide profiles (polylines) along which results will be generated.

Line 1: Number of profiles.

NPROFILES

NPROFILES group of files including: Profile ID, number of vertices in profile I, the number of
intervals to divide each profile, and coordinates for each vertex in polyline.
PROFILEID
NVERTICES_PR(I) ND_PR
X_PRF(I), Y_PRF(I)
...

15.23.3.1 Example of a .PROFILES file

2
ProfileA
2 10
800500.45 }306895.63
799095.07 307457.34
ProfileB
3 10
800503.45 306896.63
799500.00 306900.00
799095.07 307457.34

This file indicates there are 2 profiles. First profile ID is: ProfileA which is defined with a 2-vertex
polyline and will be divided in 10 segments.

Table 15.52 – Variable Descriptions for the .PROFILES File

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

ND_PR I >2 - Intervals to divide each profile sub-

segment between vertices. Results will
be reported at each interval.

NPROFILES I >0 - Number of profiles.

NVERTICES_PR(I) I >1 - Number of vertices in each profile.

Continued on next page

319 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.52 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
PROFILEID S < 26 - Profile name. Should have less than 26
characters and must not contain blank
spaces.

X_PRF(I,J), R - m or ft Coordinates of each vertex J in profile I.

Y_PRF(I,J)
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.23.4 Cross Section Data for Result Output File: .XSECS

Cross sections are used to output numeric results at user defined lines on the mesh.

Line 1: Number of cross sections.

NCROSS_SECTIONS

NCROSS_SECTIONS groups of lines containing the cross section ID, the number of vertices
defining the cross section (always equal to 2), the number of intervals to divide the cross section
and the list of coordinates of initial and final point in cross section:

XSECID
NPXSEC ND_CS
X1_CS(I) Y1_CS(I)
X2_CS(I) Y2_CS(I)

15.23.4.1 Example of a .XSECS file

3
CrossSectionA
2 40
800500.45 306895.63
799095.07 307457.34
CrossSectionB
2 40
800492.17 307163.36
799171.99 307594.56
CrossSectionC
2 40
800449.99 307404.31
799223.97 307690.20
15.24 Elevation data 320

This .XSECS file indicates there are 3 cross sections. The first one has ID = CrossSectionA and
will be divided in 40 segments.

Table 15.53 – Variable Descriptions for the .XSECS File

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NCROSS_SECTIONS I >0 - Number of cross sections.

ND_CS I >2 - Cross section will be divided in ND_CS segments. Re-

sults will be reported at each segment. See comment 1.

NPXSEC I 2 - Number of points defining cross section. In the present

version only the two extreme points are allowed to define
the cross section, therefore this value should always be
2.

X1_CS, Y1_CS, R - m or ft Coordinates of initial and ending point of each cross sec-
X2_CS, Y2_CS tion.

XSECID S < 26 - Cross section name. Should have less than 26 charac-
ters and must not contain blank spaces.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable. S = Text variable.

15.23.4.2 Comments for the .XSECS File

1. The model will cut the mesh using the cross section line and extract results at the divi-
sion points. If ND_CS is too small, the program may not capture anything in between the
divisions, and the computed cross section discharges may have big errors.

15.24 Elevation data

15.24.1 X Y Z data with header

These files contain scattered data in the format suitable to import it in a text editor or spreadsheet
program. For example the BedElevations data layer. It usually has .EXP extension, but can have
any other file extension provided that the format is as described herein. Each point is identified
by its X and Y coordinates and the elevation value for that coordinate.

Line 1: Number of points and number of parameters per point (header)

NUMBER_OF_DATA_POINTS NUMBER_OF_PARAMETERS

NUMBER_OF_DATA_POINTS lines with X, Y and parameters data.

X(POINT) Y(POINT) P1(POINT) P2(POINT) ... PN(POINT)
321 Input Data File Reference

15.24.1.1 Example of an .EXP File

11086 1
798439.73 306063.87 160.00
798477.04 309506.95 201.10
798489.45 309522.30 200.93
798498.09 306222.29 162.00
798504.45 305915.63 160.00
798511.71 306075.55 161.00
798516.09 309412.73 201.74
798517.37 309592.42 163.14
...

In this example .EXP file, there are 11086 elevation data points, one parameter per point (the
elevation for each point).

Table 15.54 – Variable Descriptions for the .EXP File.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NUMBER_OF_DATA_POINTS I >0 - Number of data points in the file.

NUMBER_OF_PARAMETERS I >0 - Number of parameters for each point. In

the case of the elevation data file this
value is equal to 1.

X I - m or ft X Coordinate of each elevation point.

See comment 1.

Y R - m or ft Y Coordinate of each elevation point.

See comment 1.

P R - m or ft Parameter value. See comment 2.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.24.1.2 Comments for the .EXP Data File

1. X and Y coordinates may be given in either meters or feet, depending on the units be-
ing used in the project. Coordinate system should always correspond to plane projection.
RiverFlow2D does not support geographical coordinates in Latitude/Longitude format.

2. Elevation values should be given in the same units as the corresponding coordinates.
15.25 Boundary conditions data files 322

15.25 Boundary conditions data files

15.25.1 One Variable Boundary Condition Files

This format applies to the following data files:

• Time vs. Water Surface Elevation (BCTYPE = 1, 17)

• Time vs. Discharge (BCTYPE = 6)

Note: BCTYPE parameter is described in Table 7.

Line 1: Number points in data series.

NDATA

NDATA lines containing

TIME(I) VARIABLE(I)

Where VARIABLE(I) is WSE, or Q, depending on the boundary condition BCTYPE.

15.25.1.1 Example of the Boundary Condition File for One Variable Time Series
The following example shows an inflow hydrograph where NDATA is 7 and there are 7 lines with
pairs of time and discharge:

7
0. 20.
1. 30.
1.3 50.
2. 90.
4. 120.
5. 200.
7. 250.

Table 15.55 – Variable Descriptions of Boundary Condition Files.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NDATA I >0 - Number of points in data series.

TIME R >0 h Time in hours. The time interval is arbi-

trary.

Continued on next page

323 Input Data File Reference

Table 15.55 – continued from previous page

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION
VARIABLE R - - Represents Water Surface Elevation, or
Discharge, depending on the boundary
condition.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.25.2 Two Variables Boundary Condition Files

This format applies to the following data files:

• Time vs. Discharge Q and Water Surface Elevation (BCTYPE = 5)

• Time vs. Q water discharge and Qs sediment discharge (BCTYPE = 26)

Line 1: Number points in data series.

NDATA

NDATA lines containing time and two values.

TIME(I) VARIABLE1(I) VARIABLE2(I)

Where VARIABLE1(I) and VARIABLE2(I) depend on the boundary condition type as follows:

BCTYPE VARIABLE1 VARIABLE2

5 Q WSE

15.25.2.1 Example of the Two-Variable Boundary Condition File

The following example shows a file for BCTYPE=5 where discharge and WSE are given, NDATA
is 10 and there are 10 lines with pairs of time, discharge and WSE:

10
0. 20. 1420.
1. 30. 1421.5
1.3 50. 1423.
...
7. 250. 1420.
8.1 110. 1426.
10. 60. 1423.5
20. 20. 1421.
15.25 Boundary conditions data files 324

Table 15.57 – Variable Descriptions of Two-Variable Boundary Condition Files.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NDATA I >0 - Number of points in data series.

TIME R >0 h Time in hours. The time interval is arbi-

trary.

VARIABLE1 R - - Represents Water Surface Elevation,

Discharge, U or V velocity components
depending on the boundary condition.

VARIABLE2 R - - Represents Water Surface Elevation,

Discharge, U or V velocity components
depending on the boundary condition.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.25.3 Multiple-Variable Boundary Condition Files

This format applies to the following data file:

• Time vs. Q water discharge and Qs sediment discharge (BCTYPE = 26)

Line 1: Number points in data series.

NDATA

NDATA lines containing time and two values.

TIME(I) VARIABLE1(I) VARIABLE2(I) ... VARIABLEN(I)

Where VARIABLE1(I) ... VARIABLEN(I) depend on the boundary condition type as follows:

BCTYPE VARIABLE1 VARIABLE2

26 Q Qs

15.25.3.1 Example of the Multiple-Variable Boundary Condition File

The following example shows a file for BCTYPE=26 where water discharge and sediment dis-
charge for two fractions are given, NDATA is 10 and there are 10 lines with pairs of time, discharge
and WSE:
325 Input Data File Reference

10
0. 20. 0.001 0.002
1. 30. 0.002 0.005
1.3 50. 0.003 0.010
...
7. 250. 0.01 0.015
8.1 110. 0.005 0.009
10. 60. 0.004 0.007
20. 20. 0.003 0.005.

Table 15.59 – Variable Descriptions of Multiple-Variable Boundary Condition Files.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NDATA I >0 - Number of points in data series.

TIME R >0 h Time in hours. The time interval is arbi-

trary.

VARIABLE1 R - - Represents Water Discharge.

VARIABLE2..N R - - Represents Sediment Discharge for the

given fraction.
Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.25.4 Stage-Discharge Data Files

This format applies to the stage (water surface elevation) vs. discharge table used for BCTYPE =
9 and 19.

Line 1: Number points in data series.

NDATA

NDATA lines containing stage and discharge.

STAGE(I) Q(I)

Where STAGE(I) is water surface elevation and Q(I) is the corresponding discharge.

15.25.4.1 Example of the Stage-Discharge Boundary Condition File

The following example shows a stage-discharge rating table where NDATA is 21 and there are 21
lines with pairs of stage and corresponding discharge:
15.25 Boundary conditions data files 326

21
-1.00 0.00
-0.75 1.79
-0.50 5.20
-0.25 9.45
0.00 14.23
0.25 19.37
0.50 24.76
0.75 30.36
1.00 36.09
1.25 41.95
1.50 47.89
1.75 53.92
2.00 60.00
2.25 66.14
2.50 72.31
2.75 78.53
3.00 84.78
3.25 91.05
3.50 97.35
3.75 103.67
4.00 110.01

Table 15.60 – Variable Descriptions of Two-Variable Boundary Condition Files.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NDATA I >0 - Number of lines in data file.

STAGE R >0 m or ft Water surface elevation.

Q R >0 m3 /s or ft3 /s Water discharge.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.

15.25.5 Culvert Depth-Discharge Data Files

This format applies to the culvert depth vs. discharge table.

Line 1: Number points in data series.

NDATA
327 Input Data File Reference

NDATA lines containing depth and discharge.

DEPTH(I) Q(I)

Where DEPTH(I) is depth corresponding to discharge Q(I).

15.25.5.1 Example of the Culvert Depth-Discharge File

The following example shows a depth-discharge rating table for a culvert. NDATA is 7 and there
are 7 lines with pairs of depth and corresponding discharge:

7
0 0.20
0.1 1.00
1.00 36.09
2.00 60.00
3.00 84.78
4.00 110.01
100.00 110.02

Table 15.61 – Variable Descriptions of Culvert Depth-Discharge Data Files.

VARIABLE TYPE RANGE UNITS DESCRIPTION

NDATA I >0 - Number of lines in data file.

DEPTH R >0 m or ft Water depth.

Q R >0 m3 /s or ft3 /s Water discharge.

Note: I = Integer variable. R = Real variable.
 Output File Reference
16
RiverFlow2D generates results in many output ASCII text files. These files can be easily accessed
with any text editor and they can be imported into QGIS o other GIS software for visualization
and analysis. RiverFlow2D always creates output ASCII files in both English and metric units
depending on the units provided in the data files.

16.1 Output File Overview

The following tables summarizes the output files generated by RiverFlow2D:

Table 16.1 – List of Output Data Files.

RESULTS FILE EXTENSION DESCRIPTION
GENERAL OUTPUT
List of output times .outfiles Reports output times for result files.
Run control param- .outi, .oute Echoes input data read from files including modeling control
eters, components parameters, mesh data, boundary conditions, and for each re-
used, etc. port time interval inflow and outflow discharges and velocities
.outi file is in metric units and .oute file in English units.
Native model output state*.out Reports the model results at cells for each reporting interval.
files
Continued on next page

328
329 Output File Reference

Table 16.1 – continued from previous page

RESULTS FILE EXTENSION DESCRIPTION
Run control param- .outi, .oute Echoes input data read from files including modeling control
eters, components parameters, mesh data, boundary conditions, and for each re-
used, etc. port time interval inflow and outflow discharges and velocities
.outi file is in metric units and .oute file in English units.
Triangular-cell mesh .meshouti, .meshoute These files provide comprehensive information about the
information triangular-cell mesh. .meshouti is in metric units and
.meshoute file in English units.
Run progress results .rout This file report for each output interval the computer time, av-
erage time step, inflow and outflow water and sediment trans-
port discharge at open boundaries and volume and mass con-
servation errors.
Maximum values tabu- .maxi, .maxe For each output interval maximum nodal velocity modules,
lar output depths, and are written to file .maxi is in metric units and
.maxe in English units.
Time series at obser- .outi, .oute These files report time series of results for the cell where the
vation points point is located. The results include time series of veloci-
ties, depths, water surface and bed elevations, bed elevation
changes, wet-dry condition, and Froude number. File name
format is as follows: RESvsT_ObsID.outi for metric units
and RESvsT_ObsID.oute for English units, where ObsID
is the observation point name.
Mass balance massBalance.out Report total inflow and outflow discharges and volumes for
each output interval.
Hot start 2binitialized.hotstart Generated in the RiverFlow2D model to restart a simulation
from previously computed results. The file contains the time
in seconds and the corresponding stateN*.out file name
from which the model will restart when using the hot start op-
tion.
Native model output state*.out Report the model results at cells for each reporting interval.
files
Native model output stateN*.out Report the model results at cells for each reporting interval
files for MT module when using the MT module with variable properties option.
PROFILE AND CROSS SECTION OUTPUT
Cross section output .xseci, .xsece For all output intervals, these files provide bed elevation,
depth, water surface elevation, depth average velocity, and
Froude number, water and sediment discharge. .xseci is in
metric and .xsece in English units.
Cross section hydro- .xsech, .xsecsed Report a hydrograph table for each cross section. .xsech is
graphs the water hydrograph and .xsecsed the sediment flux hy-
drograph for each cross section. See Comment 1.
Profile output .prfi, .prfe For each output interval and for a number of points along user
defined polylines, these files provide bed elevation, depth,
water surface elevation, depth average velocity, and Froude
number are written to file .prfi is in metric and .prfe in
English units.
COMPONENT OUTPUT
Culverts .out Output discharge at every culvert for each report interval. File
name format is as follows: CULVERT_culvertID.out
where culvertID is the user provided name.
Continued on next page
16.1 Output File Overview 330

Table 16.1 – continued from previous page

RESULTS FILE EXTENSION DESCRIPTION
Internal Rating Tables .out Output discharge at every IRT for each report interval.File
name format is as follows: IRT_IrtID.out, where IrtID
is the text provided by the user to identify the Internal Rating
Table.
Weirs .weiri, .weire Report results for weirs. .weiri is in metric units and
WEIRE in English units.
GRAPHIC OUTPUT
Visualization Toolkit Files
General results .vtk When the Create Graphic Output Files check box is selected
in the Graphic Output Panel, RiverFlow2D model will out-
put .vtk files, that report velocities, depths, water surface
and bed elevations, bed elevation changes, wet-dry condition,
Froude number and sediment transport discharge for each
output time interval. These files can be used by third party
software including Paraview to generate high quality graphs
of RiverFlow2D results. ParaView (www.paraview.org) is an
open-source, multi-platform data analysis and visualization
application. ParaView users can quickly build visualizations
to analyze their data using qualitative and quantitative tech-
niques. The data exploration can be done interactively in 3D
o programming using ParaView’s batch processing capabili-
ties.
331 Output File Reference

Table 16.2 – List of Output Data Files for RiverFlow2D.

RESULTS FILE EXTENSION DESCRIPTION
CELL BASED RESULTS
Spatial distribution of .textout For each output interval cell velocities, depths, water surface and bed
results for each report elevations, bed elevation changes, wet-dry condition, Froude num-
interval ber, and sediment transport fluxes, etc., are written to file. These
files are used to prepare Results vs Time maps. The file names is
cell_time_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout.
Spatial distribution of .textout For each output interval cell concentrations are written to file. These
pollutant concentra- files are used to prepare Pollutant Concentration vs Time maps. The
tions for each report file name is cell_conc_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout.
interval
Spatial distribution of .textout For each output interval cell sediment concentrations are written to
sediment concentra- file. These files are used to prepare sediment concentration vs Time
tions for each report maps. The file name is cell_st_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout.
interval
Oil particle coordi- .textout For each output interval particle coordinates, volume, density, vis-
nates, and properties cosity, and oil state are written to file. These files are used
for each report interval by prepare oil property vs Time maps. The file name is
par_time_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout.
Maximum Values at .textout These ASCII files report maximum values of velocity module, depth
Cells Files and water surface elevations and allow seamless transfer to QGIS Ge-
ographic Information System software for generating maps. The files
named as follows: <ProjectName>_cells_max.textout.
See Comment 1.
Time-to-Depth at Cells .textout This file reports the time at which certain depths are reached
File during the simulation, inundation time, etc. and allow seam-
less transfer to QGIS. The files are named as follows:
<ProjectName>_time2depths_cells.textout. See
Comment 1.
Hazard Intensity Val- .textout These ASCII files report the Hazard Intensity values for various
ues at Cells File hazard classification used in different countries. These include
the United State Bureau of Reclamation, Swiss methods, Crite-
ria used in Austria and in the UK. and allow seamless transfer
to QGIS for map preparation. The files are named as follows:
<ProjectName>_cells_hazard.textout. See Comment 1.

16.1.0.1 Comments for Output Files

In the RiverFlow2D model these files are generated during the final step after the model completes
the run, and when post processing results using the Plot RiverFlow2D results on the Data Input
Program Graphic Output Options panel.
16.1 Output File Overview 332

16.1.1 Essential files required to generate maps, graphics and

animations
As it is clear from the list of files given above, RiverFlow2D creates a significant number files
containing model results, and some of them may be huge for large project. However, only a
subset of these files are required to create graphs in RiverFlow2D. Knowing which output files
are required is often of practical importance when there is a need to reduce the number of files to
transfer to a computer different from that used to perform the simulations. One example is when
using a cloud service to perform simulations and the user needs to download result files to a local
computer. Downloading only the essential files for postprocessing will help minimizing connection
costs.
This section summarizes the essential files to create maps, graphics and animation in a RiverFlow2D
project. This assumes the existing project has the layers created to generate the RiverFlow2D
files such as Trimesh, etc.
The following table presents the various graphics and animations that can be created with RiverFlow2D
and the output files necessary for each graph.

The state*.out are the native result output files of the model, that are always in SI units. Although
are not directly used for graphic output, they can be helpful to regenerate the post processing files
if you delete post processing files described in this section.

Table 16.3 – Essential output files to create graphs with RiverFlow2D.

GRAPHIC OUTPUT REQUIRED FILES
Results vs Time Maps
1 <ProjectName>.outfiles.
2 <ProjectName>.globalmaxs.
3 cell_time_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout.

Pollutant Concentration vs
Time Maps 1 <ProjectName>.outfiles.
2 cell_conc_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout.

Sediment Concentration vs
Time Maps 1 <ProjectName>.outfiles.
2 cell_st_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout.

Fluid concentration, density,

viscosity, and yield stress vs 1 <ProjectName>.outfiles.
Time Maps
2 cell_mt_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout.

Continued on next page

333 Output File Reference

Table 16.3 – continued from previous page

GRAPHIC OUTPUT REQUIRED FILES
Oil or Plastic location and
properties for the OilFlow2D 1 <ProjectName>.outfilesoilw.
model. Time maps and ani-
mations.
2 <ProjectName>.oilglobalmaxs.
3 par_time_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout.

Maximum Result Maps

1 <ProjectName>_cells_max.textout.

Time-to-Depth Maps
1 <ProjectName>_time2depths_cells.textout.

Hazard Intensity Maps

1 <ProjectName>_cells_hazard.textout.

Animations, Cross Sections

and Profiles 1 <ProjectName>.outfiles
2 <ProjectName>.globalmaxs.
3 cell_time_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout.
4 cell_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout for the PL and WQ modules.
5 cell_st_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout for the ST module.
6 cell_mt_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout for the MT module.
16.2 General Output Files 334

16.2 General Output Files

This section describes the content of each output file.

16.2.1 Output times .outfiles file

This file includes a list of times corresponding to each output interval. The following is an example
of the content of a typical .outfiles file:

time_0000_00_00_00.exp
time_0000_00_06_00.exp
time_0000_00_12_00.exp
time_0000_00_18_00.exp
time_0000_00_24_00.exp
time_0000_00_30_00.exp
time_0000_00_36_00.exp

16.2.2 Output times for the Oil Spill on Water model .outfilesoilw
file
This file includes a list of times corresponding to each output interval generated when running the
oil spill on water model. The following is an example of the content of a typical .outfilesoilw
file:

_0000_02_00_00
_0000_02_15_00
_0000_02_30_00
_0000_02_45_00
_0000_03_00_00
_0000_03_15_00
_0000_03_30_00
_0000_03_45_00

16.2.3 Run Options Summary .outi and .oute files

These files replicate the input data read from files including modeling control parameters, mesh
data, boundary conditions, and inflow and outflow discharges and velocities for each output in-
terval. The .outi file is in metric units and .oute in English units. Part of a typical output is as
follows:
16.2 General Output Files 335
336 Output File Reference
337 Output File Reference

16.2.4 Mesh Data and Mesh Metrics .meshouti and .meshoute

files
Mesh data is written to files with extensions: .meshouti (metric units) and .meshoute (English
units). These files provide comprehensive information about the triangular-cell mesh. The follow-
ing table summarizes the available output.

Table 16.4 – Variables reported in .meshouti and .meshoute Files.

VARIABLE DESCRIPTION
Number of cells Total number of cells in the mesh
Number of nodes Total number of nodes in the mesh
X x-coordinate of node
Y y-coordinate of node
BEDEL Initial bed elevation
INITIAL_WSE Initial fluid surface elevation
BC ID Boundary condition code
BC File Boundary condition file name
Node1, Node2, Node3 Nodes numbers of each cell in counterclockwise order
Manning’s n Manning’ n roughness coefficient
Area Cell area
Angle Minimum angle in cell
Total mesh area Sum of areas of all cells on the mesh
Average cell area Total mesh area divided by number of cells
Average cell size Average size of cells on mesh
Cell with minimum area Smallest cell
Minimum cell size Approximate linear size of smallest cell
Minimum cell area Area of smallest cell
Cell with maximum area Largest cell
Maximum cell size Approximate linear size of largest cell
Maximum cell area Area of largest cell
Minimum cell angle Smallest cell internal angle
Cell with minimum angle Cell that has the smallest internal angle

This file also reports the list of acute cells that have an internal angle of less than 5 degrees. If
there are acute cells, the model will give an error message and will not be able to execute.

An excerpt of a typical file format is shown below:

338 Output File Reference
339 Output File Reference

16.2.5 Run Summary .rout file

Run summary report is written to file with extension: .rout. These files report for each output
interval the computer time, average time step, and for each open boundary inflow (positive) o
outflow (negative) discharge (m2 /s o ft3 /s), volume conservation error (%), volumetric sediment
discharge (m2 /s o ft3 /s) and sediment mass conservation error (%)

16.2.5.1 Example of a .rout file

16.2 General Output Files 340

16.2.6 General Model Result Files state*.out, stateN.out, and

stateOL.out Files
These files include direct output of model results and are used by the post processor program to
generate secondary results. The units are always metric.

16.2.6.1 State*.out files

These ASCII files include the model results for each output interval for all modules except the MT
with variable properties. The file name is as follows:

state1.out for the first output interval,

state2.out

...

stateNT.out for the final output interval.

The output interval is defined by TOUT, that is the third parameter on line 6 of the .DAT file.

16.2.6.2 StateN*.out files

These ASCII files include the model results for each output interval for the MT module with variable
properties. The file name is as follows:

stateN1.out for the first output interval,

stateN2.out

...

stateNNT.out for the final output interval.

16.2.6.3 StateOL*.out files

These ASCII files include the model results for each output interval for OilFlow2D when using the
Heat Transfer model module. The file name is as follows:

stateOL1.out for the first output interval,

stateOL2.out

...

stateOLNT.out for the final output interval.

341 Output File Reference

The output interval is defined by TOUT, that is the third parameter on line 6 of the .DAT file.
The format specifications of the state*.out files is as follows:

RiverFlow2D–Hydrodynamics only
File name: state*.out

LEVEL 0.0000
VEL_X 0.0000
VEL_Y 0.0000
LEER number of columns
h u v [one line for each cell]

RiverFlow2D–PL
File name: state*.out

LEVEL 0.0000
VEL_X 0.0000
VEL_Y 0.0000
SOL_1 0.0000
..
.
SOL_N 0.0000
LEER number of columns
h u v c1 ··· cN [one line for each cell]

RiverFlow2D–WQ
File name: state*.out

LEVEL 0.0000
VEL_X 0.0000
VEL_Y 0.0000
SOL_1 0.0000
..
.
SOL_N 0.0000
LEER number of columns
h u v c1 ··· cN [one line for each cell]

RiverFlow2D–UD
File name: state*.out

LEVEL 0.0000
VEL_X 0.0000
VEL_Y 0.0000
16.2 General Output Files 342

SOL_1 0.0000
..
.
SOL_N 0.0000
LEER number of columns
h u v c1 ··· cN [one line for each cell]

RiverFlow2D–ST Bedload transport

File name: state*.out

LEVEL 0.0000
VEL_X 0.0000
VEL_Y 0.0000
LEER number of columns
h u v zb one line for each cell

RiverFlow2D–ST Suspended transport

File name: state*.out

LEVEL 0.0000
VEL_X 0.0000
VEL_Y 0.0000
SOL_1 0.0000
..
.
SOL_N 0.0000
LEER number of columns
h u v zb ϕ1 ··· ϕN [one line for each cell]

RiverFlow2D–MT
File name: stateN*.out

LEVEL 0.0000
VEL_X 0.0000
VEL_Y 0.0000
SOL_1 0.0000
..
.
SOL_N 0.0000
LEER number of columns
h u v zb ϕ1 ··· ϕN ρ µB τy [one line for each cell]

OilFlow2D
File name: state*.out
343 Output File Reference

LEVEL 0.0000
VEL_X 0.0000
VEL_Y 0.0000
LEER number of columns
h u v [one line for each cell]

OilFlow2D–HT
File name: stateOL*.out

LEVEL 0.0000
VEL_X 0.0000
VEL_Y 0.0000
SOL_1 0.0000
..
.
SOL_N 0.0000
LEER number of columns
h u v T ρ µB τy [one line for each cell]

Table 16.5 – Variable definitions for state*.out files.

SYMBOL UNITS DESCRIPTION
SOL_N - Number of sediment classes or pollutants
h (m) Flow depth
u (m/s) Flow velocity in x−direction
v (m/s) Flow velocity in y−direction
cj Given by user Concentration of the j solute in the flow
zb (m) Bed level
ϕj (−) Vol. conc. of the j sediment class in the flow
ρ (kg/m3 ) Density
T (◦ C) Fluid temperature
µB (P a · s) Viscosity
τy (P a) Yield stress

16.2.7 Maximum Value Tabular .maxi and .maxe Files

These files report maximum nodal values of velocity module, depth, water surface elevations, and
bed changes over the complete simulation. .maxi is in metric units and .maxe in English units.
The reported variables are described in the following tables:
16.2 General Output Files 344

Table 16.6 – Variables Reported on the Maximum Value Tabular Files when not using the Sediment
Transport Model.
COLUMN VARIABLE DESCRIPTION ENGLISH METRIC
UNITS UNITS
1 CELL Cell number - -
2 VELOCITY Maximum velocity magnitude ft/s m/s
√
U2 + V 2
3 DEPTH Maximum water depth ft m
4 WSEL Maximum water surface elevation ft m
6 DEPTHxVEL Maximum product of depth and ve- ft2 /s m2 /s
locity
7 SHEAR Maximum shear stress lb/ft2 Pa
STRESS
8 IMPACT Maximum unit impact force lb/ft N/m
FORCE

Table 16.7 – Variables Reported on the Maximum Value Tabular Files when using the Sediment Trans-
port Model.
COLUMN VARIABLE DESCRIPTION ENGLISH METRIC
UNITS UNITS
1 CELL Cell number - -
2 VELOCITY Maximum velocity magnitude ft/s m/s
√
U2 + V 2
3 DEPTH Maximum water depth ft m
4 WSEL Maximum water surface elevation ft m
5 DEPTHxVEL Maximum product of depth and ve- ft2 /s m2 /s
locity
6 BED ELEV. Maximum bed elevation ft m
7 MIN BED ELEV. Minimum bed elevation ft m
8 EROS. DEPTH Maximum erosion depth ft m
9 DEPOS. Maximum deposition depth ft m
DEPTH
10 SHEAR Maximum shear stress lb/ft2 Pa
STRESS
11 IMPACT Maximum unit impact force per unit lb/ft N/m
FORCE width

A typical output .maxi file follows:

345 Output File Reference

16.2.8 Observation Point Output

These files report time series of results at observation points. The program finds cell where the
observation point point is located and writes the result time series of the following variables:

Table 16.8 – Variables Reported on the Observation Point Files.

COLUMN VARIABLE DESCRIPTION ENGLISH METRIC
UNITS UNITS
1 Time Time in hours - -
2 U Velocity component in x direction ft m
3 V Velocity component in y direction ft m
4 VELOCITY Maximum velocity magnitude ft/s m/s
√
U2 + V 2
5 DEPTH Maximum water depth ft m
6 WSEL Maximum water elevation ft m
7 BEDEL_ORI Maximum bed elevation* ft m
8 BEDEL Maximum bed elevation* ft m
9 DELTA_BED Minimum erosion depth* ft m
10 Froude Maximum deposition depth* ft m
11 QSX Volumetric sediment discharge per ft2 /s m2 /s
unit width in x direction
12 QSY Volumetric sediment discharge per ft2 /s m2 /s
unit width in y direction
Continued on next page
16.2 General Output Files 346

Table 16.8 – continued from previous page

COLUMN VARIABLE DESCRIPTION ENGLISH METRIC
UNITS UNITS
13 QS Volumetric sediment discharge ft2 /s m2 /s
p
magnitude Qs = Q2sx + Q2sy

The file name for each cell is:

RESvsT_ObsID.outi for metric units and

RESvsT_ObsID.oute for English units.

Where ObsID is the name given to the observation point. For example: RESvsT_PointA.outi is
the file name for time series results of PointA. An example of this file is shown below.

16.2.9 Hot Start 2binitialized.hotstart File

The hot start 2binitialized.hotstart file is used to restart a simulation from previously com-
puted results and when hot start option is selected. By default the file contains the name of the
last report time in seconds and the corresponding state*.out file. Those results will be used
as initial conditions on all the mesh cells to restart the simulation when the hot start option is
activated. For example, if the user stops the simulation at 5 hours to review results or runs the
model up to that time the 2binitialized.hotstart file would have the following text:
347 Output File Reference

18000 state5.out

Note that the state*.out files are named sequentially. For instance, state4.out corresponds to
the 4th reporting interval.

RiverFlow2D can be restarted from the any existing report time by reading the initial conditions
from the state*.out file indicated in the 2binitialized.hotstart file. To restart from a time
different from the last one calculated, just edit the 2binitialized.hotstart file and enter the
desired time in seconds and corresponding state*.out file name that is to be used as initial
conditions. For example, to hot start from hour 3 (10800 seconds) and assuming that the report
interval is 0.5 hours, the 2binitialized.hotstart file should contain the following entry:

10800 state6.out

The hot start option is often useful to establishing initial conditions common to a series of simula-
tions for various return periods. For instance, to generate your initial state, you could run the model
with a constant discharge inflow until the model converges to a steady state. Assuming that the
final report time corresponds to the state20.out file, you can edit the 2binitialized.hotstart
file as shown:

0 state20.out

Then when you run the RiverFlow2D model using the hot start option, the model will start assum-
ing that the data in the state20.out file will define the initial conditions. You may want to keep
the 2binitialized.hotstart and state20.out files in a separate directory and copy them to the
project folder for each desired scenario.

Please, keep in mind that the state*.out files are tied to the mesh you use, so if you modify the
mesh in any way, you will need to use the state*.out corresponding to that mesh.
16.2 General Output Files 348

16.2.10 Establishing More Complex Initial Conditions using the

.INITIALSTATE File [Only Available for the MT Module]
When modeling tailings dam failures with the RiverFlow2D MT Module, it is often required to
stablishing the initial dam and deposit elevations and consider initial conditions for a river flowing
downstream from the dam. In this situation the dam will start failing after the initial river flow has
been stabilized. To accomplish this, you can follow these steps:

1. Run a first simulation considering the river or any initial conditions existing prior to the dam
failure for the amount of time needed to stabilize the flow. You should disable the initial
deposit conditions (e.g Read initial water elevs. from FED file), since you want to make sure
that only the river flow is initially stablished, while the dam is still in place.

2. Once the first simulation finishes, open the project folder and look for the last stateN*.out
file. Duplicate this file and rename the copy with the name of your exported case name and
with extension .INITIALSTATE. For instance, if your case name is Run2, the file name will
be Run2.INITIALSTATE.

3. The number of material classes as well as mesh characeteristics should be identical for the
two runs.

4. Run the dam failure simulation with the tailings deposit initial conditions defined as raster or
polygon, but do no select the hotstart option. The model will recognize the .INITIALSTATE
file present on the folder and will use the run state defined in that file for all wet cells on the
initial run. The initial deposit elevations will be based on a raster or initialWSE polygons.

Note that this procedure does not work when the Hotstart option is selected.
349 Output File Reference

16.2.11 Mass Balance Output File

The massBalance.out file reports on the global mass/volume balance throughout the simulation.
The file content varies depending on the module used according to the following format:

RiverFlow2D–Hydrodynamics

Column 1: Time
Column 2: Accumulated water volume inflow
Column 3: Accumulated water volume outflow
Column 4: Internal water volume
Column 5: Accumulated rain/evaporation water volume
Column 6: Accumulated infiltration water volume

RiverFlow2D–PL

Column 1: Time
Column 2: Accumulated water volume inflow
Column 3: Accumulated water volume outflow
Column 4: Internal water volume
Column 5: Accumulated rain/evaporation water volume
Column 6: Accumulated infiltration water volume
Column 7: Accumulated solute_1 volume inflow
Column 8: Accumulated solute_1 volume outflow
Column 9: Internal solute_1 volume
Column 10: Accumulated uptake solute_1 volume
..
.
Column 11+k: Accumulated solute_k volume inflow
Column 12+k: Accumulated solute_k volume outflow
Column 13+k: Internal solute_k volume
Column 14+k: Accumulated uptake solute_k volume
16.2 General Output Files 350

RiverFlow2D–WQ

Column 1: Time
Column 2: Accumulated water volume inflow
Column 3: Accumulated water volume outflow
Column 4: Internal water volume
Column 5: Accumulated rain/evaporation water volume
Column 6: Accumulated infiltration water volume
Column 7: Accumulated solute_1 volume inflow
Column 8: Accumulated solute_1 volume outflow
Column 9: Internal solute_1 volume
Column 10: Accumulated uptake solute_1 volume
..
.
Column 11+k: Accumulated solute_k volume inflow
Column 12+k: Accumulated solute_k volume outflow
Column 13+k: Internal solute_k volume
Column 14+k: Accumulated uptake solute_k volume

RiverFlow2D–UD

Column 1: Time
Column 2: Accumulated water volume inflow
Column 3: Accumulated water volume outflow
Column 4: Internal water volume
Column 5: Accumulated rain/evaporation water volume
Column 6: Accumulated infiltration water volume

RiverFlow2D–ST Bedload transport

Column 1: Time
Column 2: Accumulated water volume inflow
Column 3: Accumulated water volume outflow
Column 4: Internal water volume
Column 5: Accumulated rain/evaporation water volume
Column 6: Accumulated infiltration water volume
Column 7: Accumulated solid volume inflow
Column 8: Accumulated solid volume outflow
Column 9: Internal solid volume
Column 10: N U LL
351 Output File Reference

RiverFlow2D–ST Suspended transport

Column 1: Time
Column 2: Accumulated water+solid volume inflow
Column 3: Accumulated water+solid volume outflow
Column 4: Internal water+solid volume
Column 5: Accumulated rain/evaporation water volume
Column 6: Accumulated infiltration water volume
Column 7: Accumulated solid volume inflow
Column 8: Accumulated solid volume outflow
Column 9: Internal solid volume
Column 10: Accumulated bed exchange water+solid volume

RiverFlow2D–MT

Column 1: Time
Column 2: Accumulated mud/tailings volume inflow
Column 3: Accumulated mud/tailings mass inflow
Column 4: Accumulated mud/tailings volume outflow
Column 5: Accumulated mud/tailings mass outflow
Column 6: Internal mud/tailings volume
Column 7: Internal mud/tailings mass
Column 8: Accumulated rain water volume
Column 9: Accumulated rain water mass
Column 10: Accumulated bed exchange mud/tailings volume
Column 11: Accumulated bed exchange mud/tailings mass

OilFlow2D

Column 1: Time
Column 2: Accumulated oil volume inflow
Column 3: Accumulated oil volume outflow
Column 4: Internal oil volume
Column 5: Accumulated intake/evaporation oil volume
Column 6: Accumulated infiltration oil volume

OilFlow2D–HT

Column 1: Time
Column 2: Accumulated oil volume inflow
Column 3: Accumulated oil mass inflow
Column 4: Accumulated oil volume outflow
Column 5: Accumulated oil mass outflow
16.3 Component Output Files 352

Column 6: Internal oil volume

Column 7: Internal oil mass
Column 8: N U LL
Column 9: N U LL
Column 10: N U LL
Column 11: N U LL

16.3 Component Output Files

16.3.1 Booms .OUTBOOMS Output File

When considering Booms in the OilFlow2D for QGIS oil-on-water spill model creates an output
file with extension: .OUTBOOMS, that reports on the oil or plastic volumes in bbl and m3 retained by
each boom and for each output interval:

16.3.2 Culvert CULVERT_culvertID.out Output Files

For each culvert, RiverFlow2D creates an output file named: CULVERT_culvertID.out, where
culvertID is the text provided by the user to identify the culvert. Report includes discharge for
353 Output File Reference

each report interval and the water surface elevations (WSEL1, WSEL2) at each culvert end as
shown:

16.3.3 Internal Rating Table IRT_irtID.out Files

For each Internal Rating Table, RiverFlow2D creates an output file named: IRT_irtID.out, where
irtID is the text provided by the user to identify the Internal Rating Table. Report includes dis-
charge for each report interval as shown:

16.3.4 Weir Output .weiri and .weire Files

These files report results for each weir and for each output interval. File extension is .weiri for
metric units and .weire for English units. Output includes the following information:
16.3 Component Output Files 354

Table 16.9 – Variables Reported on the Weir Point Files.

VARIABLE DESCRIPTION
EDGE Edge number
N1 Cell at side 1 of the edge
N2 Cell at side 2 of the edge
WSE1 Water surface elevation at cell N1
WSE2 Water surface elevation at cell N2
D1 Depth at cell N1
D2 Depth at cell N2
Distance Edge length
Q Edge discharge

A typical weir output file format is shown below:

355 Output File Reference

16.4 Cross Section and Profile Output Files

16.4.1 General Cross Section .xseci and .xsece Files

When using the Output results for cross sections option, the model will generate files with exten-
sions .xseci and .xsece, that report results along user provided cross sections. For each output
interval and for each user defined cross sections the bed elevation, depth, water surface eleva-
tion, depth average velocity, Froude number and volumetric sediment discharge per unit width is
written to file .xseci is in metric and .xsece in English units. A typical .xseci file is as follows:

When running only hydrodynamics the .xseci and .xsece files will display the cross section water
discharge. When running sediment transport, in addition to the water discharge these files will
report the total sediment discharge in ft3 /s o m3 /s.
16.4 Cross Section and Profile Output Files 356

16.4.2 Cross Section Hydrograph .xsech and .xsecsed Files

These files will only be generated using the post processing Plot RiverFlow2D results button on
the Graphic Output Options panel. When using the Output results for cross sections option,
the model will generate files with extension .xsech and .xsecsed (if using sediment transport
component), that report a hydrograph table for each cross section. A typical path.xsech file is as
follows:
357 Output File Reference

16.4.3 Profile .prfi and .prfe Files

When using the Output results for profiles option, the model will generate files with extensions
.prfi and .prfe, that report results along user provided polylines. For each output interval and
for the number of points along user defined polylines these files list bed elevation, depth, water
surface elevation, depth average velocity, and Froude number. .prfi is in metric and .prfe in
English units. An example output is shown below:
16.5 Output Files for QGIS Post-processing 358

16.5 Output Files for QGIS Post-processing

16.5.1 General Results at Cells

These ASCII files allow seamless transfer to QGIS Geographic Information System software.
These files use the .textout extension and are named as follows:

cell_time_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout

Where dddd is days, hh is hours, mm is minutes and ss seconds. For example

cell_time_0001_12_01_34.textout

corresponds to a file for time: 1 day, 12 hours, 1 minute and 34 seconds.

The format for these files is as follows. The first line contains the number if cells (NELEM) and
the number of cell parameters which is 16. Then it follows NELEM lines with results for each cell
in the triangular-cell mesh as shown:

Table 16.10 – Variables Reported on cell_time_*.textout Output Files.

COLUMN VALUE ENGLISH UNITS METRIC UNITS
1 Velocity component in x direction U ft/s m/s
2 Velocity component in y direction V ft/s m/s
√
3 Velocity magnitude U⃗ = U2 + V 2 ft/s m/s
4 Water surface elevation ft m
5 Depth H ft m
6 Initial bed elevation ft m
7 Bed elevation ft m
8 Bed elevation change since time = 0 ft m
9 Froude number - -
10 Volumetric sediment discharge per unit ft2 /s m2 /s
width in x direction: Qsx
11 Volumetric sediment discharge per unit ft2 /s m2 /s
width in y direction: Qsy
12 Volumetric sediment discharge magni- ft2 /s m2 /s
p
tude: Qs Q2sx + Q2sy
13 Bed shear stress*: lb/ft2 Pa
τ = γHSf = γ (U n/k)2 /H 1/3
14 Accumulated rainfall volume ft3 m3
15 Accumulated infiltration volume ft3 m3
16 Manning’s n - -
*English units: = 62.4lb/f t3 , k = 1.49.
*Metric units: = 9810N/m3 ; k = 1, n = Manning’s coefficient.
359 Output File Reference

16.5.2 Oil Spill on Land Considering Heat Transfer Concentration

Files (OilFlow2D Overland Spills Module)
These ASCII files contains oil properties for each cell when the user selects the option to compute
heat transfer in the OilFlow2D model. These files use the .textout extension and are named as
follows:

cell_ol_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout

Where dddd is days, hh is hours, mm is minutes and ss seconds. For example

cell_ol_0001_12_01_34.textout

corresponds to a file for time: 1 day, 12 hours, 1 minute and 34 seconds.

The files contains NELEM lines with results for each cell in the triangular-cell mesh as shown:

Table 16.11 – Variables Reported on cell_ol*.textout Output Files.

COLUMN VALUE UNITS
1 Temperature ◦C or ◦ F
2 Density kg/m3 or lb/ft3
3 Viscosity Pa.s or lb.s/in2
4 Yield stress Pa or lb/in2

The following is an extract of a typical cell_ol*.textout file:

24.285166 896.773201 0.127555 388.067542

33.863397 890.767650 0.084793 11.684067
24.291867 896.768999 0.127518 387.241991
48.416306 881.642976 0.047768 0.000000
24.271945 896.781491 0.127630 389.696434
30.217557 893.053592 0.098751 45.954962
43.904228 884.472049 0.056749 0.000000
46.777124 882.670743 0.050825 0.000000
24.264588 896.786103 0.127671 390.602726
24.429900 896.682453 0.126746 370.236305
24.363673 896.723977 0.127116 378.395478
16.5 Output Files for QGIS Post-processing 360

16.5.3 Pollutant Concentration Files (PL Module)

These ASCII files contains pollutant transport module results. These files use the .textout ex-
tension and are named as follows:

cell_conc_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout

Where dddd is days, hh is hours, mm is minutes and ss seconds. For example

cell_conc_0001_12_01_34.textout

corresponds to a file for time: 1 day, 12 hours, 1 minute and 34 seconds.

The format for these files is as follows. The first line indicates the number of solutes used in the
PL run (NP_MAX). Then follows NELEM lines with results for each cell in the triangular-cell mesh
as shown:

Table 16.12 – Variables Reported on cell_conc*.textout Output Files.

COLUMN VALUE UNITS
1 Concentration for solute 1 Same as in BC’s
2 Concentration for solute 2 Same as in BC’s
... ... ...
NP_MAX Concentration for solute NP_MAX Same as in BC’s

The following file is an example of a typical cell_conc*.textout file:

3
0.000000 0.000000 0.000000
0.000000 0.000000 0.000000
0.000000 0.000000 0.000000
0.202378 0.000000 0.000000
0.326602 0.000000 0.000000
0.291721 0.000000 0.000000
0.000000 0.000000 0.000000
...

In this example, the cell_conc*.textout has 3 pollutants.

361 Output File Reference

16.5.4 Suspended Sediment Concentration Files (ST Module)

These ASCII files contain suspended sediment concentrations and bed material fractions. These
files use the .textout extension and are named as follows:

cell_st_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout

Where dddd is days, hh is hours, mm is minutes and ss seconds. For example

cell_st_0001_12_01_34.textout

corresponds to a file for time: 1 day, 12 hours, 1 minute and 34 seconds.

The format for these files is as follows. The first line indicates the number of suspended sediment
classes/fractions used in the ST run times 2 plus 1 (2*NSSNFRAC+1). Then follows NELEM lines
with results for each cell in the triangular-cell mesh as shown:

Table 16.13 – Variables Reported on cell_st*.textout Output Files.

COLUMN VALUE UNITS
Cv(1) Concentration by volume for fraction 1 Fraction of 1
Cv(2) Concentration by volume for fraction 2 Fraction of 1
... ... ...
Cv(NSSNFRAC) Concentration by volume for fraction NSSNFRAC Fraction of 1
Fr(1) Fraction of class 1 on the bed active layer Fraction of 1
Fr(2) Fraction of class 2 on the bed active layer Fraction of 1
... ... ...
Fr(NSSNFRAC) Fraction of class NSSNFRAC on the bed active layer Fraction of 1
D50 Average grain diameter on the bed active layer calculated as m-ft
P
j
(F rj D50j )

16.5.5 Mud and Tailings Concentration and Property Files (MT

Module)
These ASCII files contain flowing material concentrations and bed material fractions. These files
use the .textout extension and are named as follows:

cell_mt_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout

Where dddd is days, hh is hours, mm is minutes and ss seconds. For example

16.5 Output Files for QGIS Post-processing 362

cell_mt_0001_12_01_34.textout

corresponds to a file for time: 1 day, 12 hours, 1 minute and 34 seconds.

The format for these files is as follows. The first line indicates the number of sediment fractions
used in the MT run times 2 plus 5 (2*MF_NFRAC+5). Then follows NELEM lines with results for
each cell in the triangular cell mesh as shown:

Table 16.14 – Variables Reported on cell_mt*.textout Output Files.

COLUMN VALUE UNITS
Cv(1) Concentration by volume for fraction 1 Fraction of 1
Cv(2) Concentration by volume for fraction 2 Fraction of 1
... ... ...
Cv(MF_NFRAC) Concentration by volume for fraction MF_NFRAC Fraction of 1
CvTotal Concentration by volume for the mixture Fraction of 1
ρ Fluid density lb/ft3 or kg/m3
µ Fluid dynamic viscosity lb.s/in2 or Pa.s
Ys Yield stress lb/in2 or Pa
Hdep Deposited layer thickness ft or m
Fr(1) Fraction of class 1 on the bed active layer Fraction of 1
Fr(2) Fraction of class 2 on the bed active layer Fraction of 1
... ... ...
Fr(MF_NFRAC) Fraction of class MF_NFRAC on the bed active layer Fraction of 1
D50 Average grain diameter on the bed active layer calculated as m-ft
P
j
(F rj D50j )

Note that in no data cells, all values are equal to -9999 in scientific notation -0.9999E+04.

16.5.6 Oil and Plastics Output Files (OilFlow2D Spills On Water

and Plastics Modules)
16.5.6.1 Particles in Mesh Files
These ASCII files report the oil or plastic particle coordinates, and properties for each report
interval.
These files use the .textout extension and are named as follows:

Par_time_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout

Where dddd is days, hh is hours, mm is minutes and ss seconds. For example

Par_time_0001_12_01_34.textout
363 Output File Reference

corresponds to a file for time: 1 day, 12 hours, 1 minute and 34 seconds.

The format for these files is as follows. The first line indicates the total number of particles NP
representing the oil or plastic. Then follows NP lines with results for each particle as shown:

Table 16.15 – Variables Reported on par_time*.textout Output Files.

COLUMN DESCRIPTION UNITS
1 Time since released hours
2 Spill number 1, 2,..., NSpillSites
3 Cell in which the particle is located for this time -
4 X coordinate of the particle m or ft
5 Y coordinate of the particle m or ft
6 Z coordinate of the particle m or ft
7 Particle volume m3 or ft3
8 Particle density Specific gravity
9 Particle viscosity cPoise (0.001 Pa.s) or
(lb . s/ft2 )
10 Particle state. -
1: Active inside the mesh (flowing)
2: On shore
3: Went out of the mesh
4: On bottom
5: Evaporated.

The following file is an example of a typical Par_time*.textout file :

1000
0.000 1 108 583104.440 2859074.590 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
0.000 1 91 583048.358 2859239.876 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
0.000 1 124 583054.107 2859039.172 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
0.000 1 124 583025.906 2859012.304 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
0.000 1 154 582984.811 2858954.262 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
0.400 1 2089 583076.449 2859329.372 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
0.400 1 2171 583077.807 2859406.086 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
0.800 1 145 583011.099 2858829.013 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
0.800 1 66 582971.325 2858846.586 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
1.100 1 20438 582205.981 2857441.104 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
1.100 1 20453 582184.220 2857537.876 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
1.300 1 20353 582250.333 2857832.535 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
1.300 1 20733 582673.118 2858336.860 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
1.500 1 117 583186.693 2858579.932 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
1.500 1 73 583148.156 2858460.752 0.000 20.000 0.825 15.0 1
16.5 Output Files for QGIS Post-processing 364

Note that in no data cells, particle coordinates X and Y are equal to -9999.

16.5.6.2 Water Hydrodynamics and Oil-Plastic Volumes in Mesh Files

These ASCII files report the oil or plastic volumes for each spill point at all mesh cells for each
report interval. These files use the .textout extension and are named as follows:

Cell_oil_time_dddd_hh_mm_ss.textout

Where dddd is days, hh is hours, mm is minutes and ss seconds. For example

Cell_oil_time_0000_06_01_54.textout

corresponds to a file for time: day 0, 6 hours, 1 minute and 54 seconds.

The format for these files is as follows. The first line indicates the total number of cells NELEM
and the number of spill points NSPILLS. Then follows NELEM lines with results for each cells as
shown on table 16.16:

Table 16.16 – Variables Reported on Cell_oil_time*.textout Output Files.

COLUMN VALUE ENGLISH UNITS METRIC UNITS
1 Water velocity component in x direction ft/s m/s
U
2 Water velocity component in y direction ft/s m/s
V
3 Water velocity magnitude U ⃗ = ft/s m/s
√
U2 + V 2
4 Water surface elevation ft m
5 WaterDepth H ft m
6 Bed elevation ft m
7 Oil volume per unit area in cell for spill 1 ft m
8 Oil volume per unit area in cell for spill 2 ft m
NSPILLS + 6 Oil volume per unit area in cell for spill ft m
NSPILLS

The following file is an example of a typical Cell_oil_time*.textout file:

8260 2
-0.414E+00 0.343E+00 0.538E+00 0.353E+01 0.846E+01 -0.493E+01 0.375E-01 0.000E+00
-0.344E+00 0.303E+00 0.458E+00 0.353E+01 0.343E+01 0.984E-01 0.250E-01 0.000E+00
-0.344E+00 0.288E+00 0.449E+00 0.353E+01 0.364E+01 -0.115E+00 0.250E-01 0.000E+00
-0.392E+00 0.331E+00 0.513E+00 0.353E+01 0.813E+01 -0.460E+01 0.375E-01 0.000E+00
365 Output File Reference

-0.321E+00 0.288E+00 0.431E+00 0.353E+01 0.666E+01 -0.313E+01 0.250E-01 0.000E+00

-0.377E+00 0.351E+00 0.515E+00 0.353E+01 0.550E+01 -0.197E+01 0.625E-01 0.000E+00
-0.378E+00 0.276E+00 0.467E+00 0.353E+01 0.603E+01 -0.250E+01 0.375E-01 0.000E+00
-0.337E+00 0.302E+00 0.453E+00 0.353E+01 0.826E+01 -0.473E+01 0.625E-01 0.000E+00
-0.360E+00 0.298E+00 0.468E+00 0.353E+01 0.813E+01 -0.460E+01 0.250E-01 0.000E+00
-0.441E+00 0.328E+00 0.550E+00 0.353E+01 0.813E+01 -0.460E+01 0.000E+00 0.000E+00
-0.343E+00 0.330E+00 0.476E+00 0.353E+01 0.653E+01 -0.300E+01 0.375E-01 0.000E+00
-0.573E-01 0.788E-02 0.578E-01 0.353E+01 0.470E+00 -0.306E+01 0.000E+00 0.000E+00
-0.247E+00 0.199E+00 0.317E+00 0.353E+01 0.200E+01 0.153E+01 0.250E-01 0.000E+00
-0.267E+00 0.269E+00 0.379E+00 0.353E+01 0.438E+01 -0.850E+00 0.500E-01 0.000E+00
...

16.5.6.3 Maximum Oil-Plastic Volume per Unit Area File

This ASCII files report maximum oil or plastics volume per unit area allow seamless transfer to
QGIS Geographic Information System software. This file use the .textout extension and are
named as follows:

<ProjectName>_oilw_max.textout

The format for these file is as follows. The first line contains the number of cells (NELEM), and the
number of spills (NSPILLS). Then follows NELEM lines with each column indicating the maximum
oil volume per unit area for each spill as shown on table 16.17. Dry cells are indicated with the
number -9999.000.

Table 16.17 – Variables Reported on the <ProjectName>_oilw_max.textout Files.

COLUMN VALUE ENGLISH UNITS METRIC UNITS
1 Maximum oil volume per unit area for spill 1 ft m
2 Maximum oil volume per unit area for spill 2 ft m
... ... ... ...
NSPILLS Maximum oil volume per unit area for spill NSPILLS ft m

The following file is an example of a typical <ProjectName>_oilw_max.textout file:

7086 2
2.5281593E-05 4.2135565E-04
-9999.000 -9999.000
-9999.000 -9999.000
2.7736165E-05 -9999.000
8.1205413E-05 6.7670504E-04
2.3327330E-04 1.1663549E-03
16.5 Output Files for QGIS Post-processing 366

1.1482510E-04 4.7843312E-04
2.0842110E-04 2.9774143E-03
...

16.5.6.4 Oil Global Mass Balance .OUTOILVOL

This ASCII file reports the oil global mass balance throughout the simulation.
The file is named <ProjectName>.OUTOILVOL and includes for each time the following values:

• IN MESH: Oil volume that is moving.

• OUT MESH: Oil volume that has exit through the model open boundaries.

• ON SHORE: Oil volume on the mesh closed boundaries.

• ON BOTTOM: Oil volume on the bottom.

• TOTAL: Total oil volume that should equal the sum of IN MESH, OUT MESH, ON SHORE,
and ON BOTTOM.

The volumes are given in barrels (BBL) and m3 .

The following file is an example of a typical <ProjectName>.OUTOILVOL file:

=====================================================================================
=====================================================================================
OilFlow2D - Release CPU 8.04
Build SEP 12 2022
=====================================================================================
TWO-DIMENSIONAL FINITE-VOLUME OIL FLOW MODEL
(R) TRADEMARK 2009-2022 Hydronia, LLC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
RUN DATE: 22/SEP/2022
=====================================================================================

TIME IN MESH OUT MESH ON SHORE ON BOTTOM TOTAL

(h) (m3) (m3) (m3) (m3) (m3)
0.010 1020.044 0.000 0.000 0.000 1020.044
0.020 1040.040 0.000 0.000 0.000 1040.040
0.030 1060.035 0.000 0.000 0.000 1060.035
0.040 1080.030 0.000 0.000 0.000 1080.030
0.050 1011.443 0.000 0.000 88.600 1100.043
0.060 797.030 0.000 0.000 323.001 1120.031
0.070 598.218 0.000 0.000 541.815 1140.033
...
367 Output File Reference

16.5.7 Maximum Value Files

These ASCII files report maximum values of velocity module, depth and water surface elevations,
and other and allow seamless transfer to QGIS Geographic Information System software. These
files use the .textout extension and are named as follows:

<ProjectName>_cells_max.textout

The format for these files is as follows. The first line contains the number of cells (NELEM), and
the number of cell parameters which is 6 by default, or 11 if the run was made with the Sediment
Transport Module. There follows NELEM lines with velocity module, depth and water surface
elevation for each cell as shown:

Table 16.18 – Variables Reported on the <ProjectName>_cells_max.textout Files.

COLUMN VALUE ENGLISH METRIC UNITS
UNITS
√
1 Maximum velocity magnitude U 2 + V 2 ft/s m/s
2 Maximum depth ft m
3 Maximum water surface elevation ft m
4 Maximum depth x velocity ft2 /s m2 /s
5 Maximum bed elevation* ft m
6 Minimum bed elevation* ft m
7 Maximum erosion depth* ft m
8 Maximum deposition depth* ft m
9 Maximum bed shear stress lb/ft2 Pa
10 Maximum impact force per unit width lb/ft N/m
11 Limiting DT times - -
*Written only when using the sediment transport component.

16.5.8 Time-to-Depth at Cells Output File

The file reports the time at which certain depths are reached during the simulation and allow
seamless transfer to QGIS Geographic Information System software. The time-to-depth files have
the following name:

<ProjectName>_time2depths_cells.textout

The format for these files is as follows. The first line indicates the number of cells (NELEM) and
the number of cell parameters (5 by default).
For the file in Metric Units there follows NELEM lines with time to 0.30 m, time to 0.5 m, time to 1
m, time to maximum depth, and total inundated time for each cell as shown in Table 16.19. When
16.5 Output Files for QGIS Post-processing 368

the cell remains dry o depth is below 0.30 m the reported value is -1. Time is always given in
hours.
For the file in English Units there follows NELEM lines with time to 1 ft, time to 2 ft, time to 3 ft,
time to maximum depth, and total inundated time for each cell as shown in Table 16.19. When
the cell remains dry o depth is below 1ft the reported value is -1.
The inundation time is computed as the total time during the simulation that cell depth is greater
than 0. If the cell gets wet, then dries out and gets wet again, the intermediate dry period is not
considered.

Table 16.19 – Variables Reported on the <ProjectName>_time2depths_cells.textout File.

COLUMN VALUE UNITS
1 Time to 0.30 m (Metric) o 1 ft. (English)* h.
2 Time to 0.50 m (Metric) o 2 ft. (English)* h.
3 Time to 1 m (Metric) o 3 ft. (English)* h.
4 Time to maximum depth* h.
5 Inundation time h.
6 Arrival time h.
*Time = -1 when cell is dry o depth does not reach 0.3 m (1ft).

16.5.9 Hazard Intensity Values at Cells Output File

These ASCII files report the Hazard Intensity values for various hazard classification used in dif-
ferent countries. These include the United State Bureau of Reclamation, Swiss methods, Criteria
used in Austria, Australia and in the UK. The file can be used to create hazard maps in the QGIS
Geographic Information System software. These files use the .textout extension and are named
as follows:

<ProjectName>_cells_hazard.textout

The format for these files is as follows. The first line indicates the number of cells (NELEM), and
the number of cell parameters (11). There follows NELEM lines with the hazard intensities for
each cell as shown:

Table 16.20 – Variables Reported on the <ProjectName>_cells_hazard.textout File.

COLUMN VALUE HAZARD ZONES
1 USBR Homes 0, 1, 2, and 3
2 USBR Passenger Vehicles 0, 1, 2, and 3
3 USBR Mobile Homes 0, 1, 2, and 3
4 USBR Adults 0, 1, 2, and 3
5 USBR Children 0, 1, 2, and 3
Continued on next page
369 Output File Reference

Table 16.20 – continued from previous page

COLUMN VALUE HAZARD ZONES
6 Swiss Method for Water Flooding 0, 1, 2, and 3
7 Swiss Method for Debris Flow 0, 1, 2, and 3
8 Austrian Method for River Flooding 0, 1, and 2
9 Austrian Method for Torrents Tr=100 yrs. 0, 1, and 2
10 Austrian Method for Torrents Tr=10 yrs. 0, 1, and 2
11 UK Method 0, 1, 2, and 3
12 Custom Water Flood 0, 1, 2, and 3
13 Custom Debris Flow 0, 1, 2, and 3
14 Australia Flood Hazard 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4
15 ECWHM Equivalent Clear Water Hazard Map 0−8
.

16.5.9.1 USBR Hazard Levels

The USBR Hazard includes five attributes corresponding of hazard level for houses, mobile
homes, vehicles, adults and children based on the United States Bureau of Reclamation clas-
sification of flood hazards (USBR, 1988). The attributes can get the values of 1, 2 o 3 depending
on the hazard level summarized in the following table:

Table 16.21 – USBR Hazard Classification.

ATTRIBUTE VALUE HAZARD CLASSIFICATION
1 Low-danger zone
2 Judgment zone
3 High-danger zone

For further details about the USBR Hazard classification, consult USBR (1988).

16.6 VTK Output Files for Paraview

RiverFlow2D model will output .vtk files, that report velocities, depths, water surface and bed
elevations, bed elevation changes, wet-dry condition, Froude number and sediment transport
discharge for each output time interval. These files can be used by third party software including
Paraview to generate hh quality graphs of RiverFlow2D results. ParaView (www.paraview.org) is
an open-source, multi-platform data analysis and visualization application. ParaView users can
quickly build visualizations to analyze their data using qualitative and quantitative techniques. The
data exploration can be done interactively in 3D o using ParaView’s batch processing capabilities.
 17
RiverFlow2D Tools

17.1 Batch processing of model runs

Note: The script files described in this chapter can be downloaded using the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/nmy8pcai4w5a1g2v6zola/BarchRun-RF2D-OF2D.zip?
rlkey=luo9ezqtmndbn9f635ovynrea&dl=0

There are two options to perform multiple runs using batch scripts.

• Using a MS-DOS script in a .BAT file.

• Using a script written in the Python computer programming language.

17.1.1 Using a MS-DOS script to perform multiple batch runs

% DOS script file sample to run RiverFlow2D or OilFlow2D in batch mode

% for multiple scenarios.
% To use it modify the lines below to enter the path\file and log file
% where any error will be reported:
% RiverFlow2Dm5 "Here enter the path and file name" > "Here enter the path and log file name"

370
371 RiverFlow2D Tools

% In the examples below the path for the first scenario is

% D:\RiverFlow2D\Projects\ProjectA\Scenario1\ and
% the run file name is Run1. The log file name is Run1.log.
% The second scenario path is D:\RiverFlow2D\Projects\ProjectA\Scenario2\
% and the second scenario run file name is Run2
%
% The first two lines are to change the executable drive (c:) and executable directory to:
C:
C:\Program Files\Hydronia\RiverFlow2D
cd "C:\Program Files\Hydronia\RiverFlow2D"
RiverFlow2Dm5 "D:\RiverFlow2D\Projects\ProjectA\Scenario1\Run1" >
"D:\RiverFlow2D\Projects\ProjectA\Scenario1\Run1.log"
RiverFlow2Dm5 "D:\RiverFlow2D\Projects\ProjectA\Scenario2\Run2" >
"D:\RiverFlow2D\Projects\ProjectA\Scenario2\Run2.log"

17.1.2 Using a Python script within QGIS to perform multiple batch

runs
This script runs within the QGIS Python Console, but has the disadvantage that blocks QGIS
while running models.

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

from subprocess import call

rf2d_path = r"C:\Program Files\Hydronia\RiverFlow2D\RiverFlow2dm5 "

dat_paths = [
r"C:\Users\hydronia\Documents\RiverFlow2D_QGIS\ExampleProjects\MUDTutorial\MUD_Tutorial",
r"C:\Users\hydronia\Documents\RiverFlow2D_QGIS\ExampleProjects\MUDTutorial2\MUD_Tutorial"
]

for path in dat_paths:

prjPath = rf2d_path + path
call(prjPath)
17.1 Batch processing of model runs 372

17.1.3 Using a Python script through a batch file to perform

multiple runs
This Python script also runs from within QGIS, but creates a .BAT file that does not block QGIS
while the models are executing.

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

import tempfile
import subprocess
tmpdir = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix=’rf2qgis’)
temp = os.path.join(tmpdir, "temp.bat")

dat_paths = [
r"C:\Users\hydronia\Documents\RiverFlow2D_QGIS\ExampleProjects\MUDTutorial\MUD_Tutorial",
r"C:\Users\hydronia\Documents\RiverFlow2D_QGIS\ExampleProjects\MUDTutorial2\MUD_Tutorial"
]

with open(temp, "w") as f:

f.write("C:\n")
f.write(’cd "C:\Program Files\Hydronia\RiverFlow2D"\n’)
for path in dat_paths:
f.write(’RiverFlow2dm5 "’ + path + ’" > "’ + QFileInfo(path).absolutePath() +
’/Run.log" \n’)

subprocess.Popen(temp, shell=True)
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