Introduction to

2D Hydraulics Equations
Alex Sánchez, Ph.D.
Senior Hydraulic Engineer
USACE, Institute for Water Resources, Hydrologic Engineering Center

1
 Hydraulic Modeling
Formal Framework: Computational Concepts:
• Mass Conservation • Computational Mesh
• Momentum Conservation • Numerical Methods
• Empirical Equations • Subgrid Bathymetry

HEC-RAS
Data: Engineering Problems:
• Topography, Maps, LIDAR • Project Planning & Design
• Historical Information • Dam and Levee Breaks
• Modeler Experience • Overland Flows, Floods

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 Outline
• Mass Conservation (Continuity)
• Momentum Conservation (Depth-Averaged)
• Acceleration
• Coriolis term
• Hydrostatic pressure
• Turbulent mixing
• Friction
• Diffusion Wave Equation
• Numerical Methods

3
 Mass Conservation
• Assuming a constant water density H : Water surface elevation
∂H h : Water depth
+ ∇ ⋅ (hV ) = q
∂t q : Water souce/sink
• Integrating over a computational cell Ωi : Cell water volume
∂ Ak : Face area
∂t ∫∫∫ d Ω + ∫∫ (V ⋅ n)dS =Q
Ω S
Vk : Face velocity
• Finite-Volume Discretization nik : Outward face-normal unit vector

Ωin +1 − Ωin ∆t : Time step

∆t
+ ∑ (V
k ∈i
k ⋅ nik )Ak =
Q

Change in volume in a
system balances with
Ω=volume flow through
boundaries 4
 Momentum Conservation
• Momentum Equation (non-conservative form)
∂V 1 τs
+ (V ⋅ ∇ )V + fk × V = − g ∇H + ∇ ⋅ ( νt h∇V ) − c f V +
∂t h ρh
• From Newton’s 2nd Law of motion
• Assumes constant water density, small vertical velocities,
hydrostatic pressure, etc.
• Non-linear and a function of both velocity and water levels
• Continuity and Momentum Equations are the Shallow Water
Equations or sometimes referred to as the “Full Momentum”
equations in HEC-RAS

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 Acceleration and Total Derivative
• Eulerian: Frame of reference is fixed in space and time
∂V
+ (V ⋅ ∇ )V
∂t
• Easier to compute
• Time-step restricted by Courant condition
• Lagrangian: Frame of reference moves with total derivative along flow path
∂V DV V n +1 − VXn
+ (V ⋅ ∇=
)V = flow
∂t Dt ∆t path Velocity (u Nn +1)
Velocity (u )
n
X
at time t+Δt
• More expensive to compute at time t
• Allows larger time-steps

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 Coriolis Acceleration
• Effect of rotating frame of reference (earth’s rotation)
• Constant for the each 2D domain (f-plane approx.)
𝑓𝑓 = 2 ωsin 𝜑𝜑
• ω: sidereal angular velocity of the Earth
• 𝜑𝜑: latitude. Positive for northern hemisphere.
Negative for southern hemisphere
• Coriolis acceleration disabled by default
to save computational time
• Negligible for most river and flood simulations
• When to enable Coriolis term?
• Large domains
• Higher latitudes
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 Hydrostatic Pressure
• Assumes vertical water accelerations are small compared to gravity
• Total pressure is

𝑃𝑃 = 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 + 𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌(𝐻𝐻 − 𝑧𝑧)

• 𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎: atmospheric pressure (assumed to be constant)

• 𝜌𝜌 : constant water density
• 𝑔𝑔: gravity acceleration constant
• 𝐻𝐻: water surface elevation
• z: vertical coordinate
• Pressure gradient
𝜕𝜕𝑃𝑃 𝜕𝜕𝐻𝐻
= 𝜌𝜌𝑔𝑔
𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕𝑥𝑥
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 Diffusion of Momentum
• Non-conservative Formulation ∆ = ∇ 2 : Laplacian
• Only option in Version 5.0.7 and earlier,
u N : Face-normal velocity
• Optional in Version 6.0
ν t : Turbulent eddy viscosity
DV
=− g ∇H + ν t ∆V − c f V h : Water depth
Dt
c f : Non-linear friction coefficient
• Conservative Formulation
• Default in Version 6.0
• Only option for Eulerian SWE solver

DV 1
= − g ∇H + ∇ ⋅ ( νt h∇V ) − c f V
Dt h
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 Mixing Term Formulation Comparison
Bathymetry and
water level

Produces a net
dissipation
Non-conservative

Decreases velocities in
middle of channel but
Conservative increases velocities
near banks
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 Eddy Viscosity: Turbulence Model
• Old: Parabolic ν t = Du* h u* : Shear velocity
• Versions 5.0.7 and earlier h : Water depth
• Isotropic (same in all directions) D : Mixing coefficient
• 1 parameter: mixing coefficient D DL : Longitudinal mixing coefficient
• New: Parabolic-Smagorisnky DT : Transverse mixing coefficient
νt= Du* h + ( Cs ∆ ) S
2
Cs : Smagorinsky coefficient

2
 ∂u 
2
 ∂v   ∂u ∂v 
2
 Dxx 0  = Dxx
DL
cos 2
θ + D,T
sin 2
θ
S
= 2  + 2  +  +  D=
 ∂x   ∂y   ∂y ∂x   0 Dyy  =Dyy DL sin 2 θ + DT cos 2 θ
• Default method in Version 6.0
• Non-Isotropic (not the same in all directions)
• 3 parameters: DL , DT , and Cs
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 Bottom Friction
• Resisting force due to relative motion of fluid against the bed
• Non-linear friction coefficient

𝑛𝑛2 𝑔𝑔 𝑽𝑽
𝑐𝑐𝑓𝑓 = 4/3
𝑅𝑅

• 𝑛𝑛 :Manning coefficient
• 𝑔𝑔: gravity acceleration constant
• 𝑽𝑽 : velocity magnitude
• 𝑅𝑅: hydraulic radius

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 Wind Stress -3 Drag Coefficient
10
5

• Surface Stress is given by

4

τ s = ρ a CD W10 W10 3

Drag Coefficient
2

• Wind Reference Frame Hsu (1988)

Garratt (1977)

1 Large and Pond (1981)

W − V for Lagrangian

E Andreas et al. (2012)
Charnock (1955) + smooth flow
10
W10 =  E 0

W10 for Eulerian

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Wind Speed (m/s)

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 Diffusion-Wave Approximation
• Ignoring the acceleration, Coriolis, mixing, and wind-forcing terms, the
momentum equation reduces to
n2
V V = −∇H
R 4/3

• Dividing both sides by the square of its norm

R 2/3 ∇H
V= −
n ∇H 1/ 2
• Inserting the above equation into the Continuity Equation leads to the
Diffusion-Wave Equation (DWE)
∂H R 2/3 h
= ∇ ⋅ ( β ∇H ) + q β= 1/ 2
∂t n ∇H
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 SWE vs. DWE
• Use SWE for:
• Flows with dynamic changes in acceleration
• Studies with important wave effects, tidal flows
• Detail solution of flows around obstacles, bridges
or bends
• Simulations influenced by Coriolis, mixing, or wind
• To obtain high-resolution and detailed flows
• Use DWE for:
• Flow is mainly driven by gravity and friction
• Fluid acceleration is monotonic and smooth, no
waves
• To compute approximate global estimates such as
flood extent
• To assess approximate effects of dam breaks
• To assess interior areas due to levee breeches
• For quick estimations or preliminary runs

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 Computational Mesh
• Mesh/grid can be unstructured
• Polygonal cells of up to 8 sides
• Cells must be concave
• Multiple 2D mesh can be run together
or independently.
• Grid Notation
• Cells, Faces, Face Points (i.e. nodes or
vertices), Computational Points, etc.

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 Numerical Methods
• Both DWE and SWE solvers are Semi-implicit
• Terms treated as:
• Explicit: acceleration and diffusion terms
• Semi-implicit: friction, flow divergence terms, and water level gradient
• Fully-Implicit: water level gradient term
• By treating the “fast” pressure gradient term implicitly, the time step
limitation based on the wave celerity can be removed
• Both DWE and SWE use Finite-Difference and Finite-Volume
Methods
• Time integration: Finite-Difference
• Continuity Equation: Finite-Volume
• Momentum Equation: Finite-Difference (no control volume)
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 Face Water Surface Gradient

• Face-Normal Gradient

∂H H j − H i
∇H ⋅ nik= ≈
∂N ∆xN

• Uses Cell Centroids and

NOT the Computation Points
• Future versions may include non-orthogonal
• Compact two-point stencil is computationally
efficient and robust

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 Momentum Conservation
• Momentum conservation is directionally invariant
• Only “face-normal” component is needed at faces so
∂u N ∂H 1 τ s,N
+ (V ⋅ ∇ ) u N − fuT = − g + ∇ ⋅ ( νt h∇u N ) − c f u N +
∂t ∂N h ρh
where u N is the velocity in the N direction

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 Face-Tangential Velocity
Double-C Stencil
• Tangential velocities are computed on left and
right of face with a Least-squares Formulation
3 3

∑ (V ⋅ nk − (u N ) k ) ∑ (V ⋅ nk − (u N ) k )
2 2
S=
R R S=
L L
k ∈R k ∈L

• Of the left and right reconstructed velocities,

only the tangential component is used, because
the normal component is known
(uT )=
R VR ⋅ t f (uT )=
L VL ⋅ t f

• Average face-tangential velocity computed as

(uT ) R + (uT ) L
( uT ) f =
2
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 Discretization
• Cell Velocity Gradient (x-direction)
• Gauss’ Divergence Theorem
1 1 1
∇ui=
Ai A∫∇udA=
Ai ∫ undL=
Ai
∑u n
k ∈i
k ik Lk
L

• Needed tor turbulence modeling nik = sik nk

• Cell Velocity
• Perot’s Method
1
Vi
=
Ai
∑ ∆x
k ∈i
ik Lk nk (u N ) k

• Needed for the conservative form of the

mixing term and for Eulerian advection
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 Discretization: Laplacian
• Node Laplacian
j
(∇ V )
2
j
= ∇ ⋅ ( ∇V )  j ≈ ∑
i
d i ( ∇V )i

i : Cells
∑ ckVk
( ∇V )i = j : Nodes i
k
k : Faces
• Used only by non-conservative turbulence

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 Backtracking
1. Interpolate node velocities from faces ∂u N Du N u Nn +1 − u Xn
) uN
+ (V ⋅ ∇= ≈
2. Set starting location and time as A = f , TR = ∆t ∂t Dt ∆t
3. From starting location and velocity, find location B dx P
= V ( x, t )
4. Compute time to location B: T
=B ( x A − x B )V −1
A
dt
=
5. Interpolate velocity at location B: VB wn1Vn1 + wn 2Vn 2
if TB > TR
6. Set A = B, T= R TR − TB , and go to step 3
else
7. Find location X as x= X x f − TRVA
8. Interpolate velocity vector at X
VX TB−1 TRVB + (TB − TR )VA 
=
9. Compute advective velocity
u=
X n f ⋅V X
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 Fractional Step Method (ELM only)
• Coriolis Term approximated as
 f [ (1 − θ ) fv Xn + θ v n +1 ] 
fk ×V ≈  n +1 
 − f [ (1 − θ ) fu n
X
+ θ u ] 

where k : Unit vector in the vertical direction
f : Coriolis Parameter V = ( u , v ) : Velocity at face
T

θ : Implicit weighting factor VX = ( u X , vX ) : Velocity at face at location X

T

• First (Coriolis) Step

 1 θ∆tf   u *   u Xn + (1 − θ )∆tfv Xn   u *

  *  =  n n 
V = *
*

 θ∆tf 1   v   vX + (1 − θ )∆tfu X  v 
• Second Step includes all other terms
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 Eulerian-Lagrangian Momentum Equation
• Semi-discrete form (2nd Fractional Step)
τ s,N
n
u n +1
−u *
∂H 1
n +θ

N
= −g
N
+  ∇ ⋅ (ν t h ∇u N )  − c f u N + n
n n +1

∆t ∂N h X ρ hf
where
H n +θ =
(1 − θ ) H n + θ H n +1
u=
*
N
V *
⋅ nf
• Velocity V* includes Coriolis
• Mixing term is interpolated at backtracking location X and
based on previous time step velocity field
• Friction term is semi-implicit
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 Eulerian Momentum Equation
• Semi-discrete form
τ s,N
n
u n +1
−u n
∂H 1 n +θ

N
+ (V ⋅∇ ) u N − fuT = − g
N n n n
+  ∇ ⋅ (ν t h∇u N )  − c f u N + n
n +1

∆t ∂N h f ρ hf
where
n +θ
H (1 − θ ) H + θ H
= n n +1
h f α Lf hL + α Rf hR
=
• Coriolis term computed at face f and is explicit
• No fractional step method like ELM solver
• Mixing term is computed at face f and is explicit
• Friction and pressure gradient terms are semi-implicit

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 Discretization: Eulerian Advection
• Approach from Kramer and Stelling (2008)
α Lf
(V ⋅ ∇ ) u N ≈
h f AL
∑
k ∈L
sLk Qk Vku ⋅ n f − ( u N ) f 

α Rf
+
h f AR
∑
k ∈R
sRk Qk Vku ⋅ n f − ( u N ) f 

∆x Lf
α Lf = h f α Lf hL + α Rf hR
=
∆x Lf + ∆x Rf
α Rf = 1 − α Lf
• Courant-Freidrichs-Lewy (CFL) Condition
U ∆t
C
= ≤1
∆x 27
 Discretization: Mixing Term
• Non-Conservative Form
(∇ V )
n
νt ∇ u N ≈ ν
2 n
t, f
2
X
⋅ nf

• Conservative Form
1 α L
n f ⋅ (V j − VL )+ α Rf n f ⋅ (V j − VR )
h
∇ ⋅ ( νt h∇u N ) ≈ f
h f AL
∑ Aν
k ∈L
k t ,k
∆xL , j h f AR
∑ Aν
k ∈R
k t ,k
∆xR , j
• Discretization same for both ELM and EM solvers
• Approximate Stability Criteria for EM solver ν ∆t 1
t
≤
∆x 2
2
• ELM interpolates term to location X
n
1 
 h ∇ ⋅ ( νt h∇u N ) 
X 28
 Eulerian-Lagrangian vs. Eulerian SWE Solvers
• ELM-SWE Strength/Feature/Capability ELM-SWE EM-SWE
• Only solver available in V5.0.7 and earlier Larger Time Step X
• Default in V6.0 Best Stability X
• Not limited by Courant condition Courant Stability Criteria X
• Excellent stability Diffusion Stability Criteria X
• Can have momentum conservation Computational Speed X
problems around shocks or Wet/dry > 1 cell per time step X
where the flow changes rapidly Best Momentum Conservation X

• EM-SWE Non-Conservative Mixing X

Conservative Mixing X X
• New to V6.0 as an option
Wind X X
• Limited to Courant less than 1.0
• Good Stability
• Improved momentum conservation
for all flow conditions 29
 Subgrid Modeling

• Problem
• Water levels usually vary much more
smoothly than the terrain
• Unfeasible to resolve every detail of the
terrain with the computational mesh
• Approach
• Utilize a grid resolution sufficient
to resolve the hydraulics
• Capture the details of the subgrid terrain
through hydraulic properties tables

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 Subgrid Bathymetry: Cells

Elevation
Elevation
Cell Ai ( H ) Ωi ( H )

Area Volume

31
 Subgrid Bathymetry: Faces
• Faces treated similar to cells
• Hydraulic property tables computed
• Wetted length
• Wetted Perimeter
• Area

32
Benefits of Subgrid Bathymetry

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 Solution Procedure
For both DWE and SWE:
• The face-normal momentum equation is inserted into the continuity
equation to obtain a non-linear and implicit equation for water levels
• For example, in the case of DWE
n +θ n +θ
n +1
Ωi − Ωi n  H j − Hi 
− ∑αk  Qi
 = Ωi =Ωi ( H i )
∆t  ∆xN
k∈i  
• Implicit weighting
H n +θ =(1 − θ ) H n + θ H n +1
• Once the water levels are computed, the new time step
face-normal velocities are computed
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 Solution Procedure
• System of equations
Ω + ΨH =
b H : Water level
Ω : Water volume
• Algorithm
1. Compute Right-Hand-Side b ψ : Coefficient matrix
• Contains explicit terms: b : Right-hand-side
advection, diffusion, wind, etc.
2. Outer Loop (Assembly and Updates) m : Iteration index
• Update linearized terms and variables A : Diagonal matrix of
including coefficient matrix Ψ
3. Inner Loop (Newton Iterations) cell wet surface areas

H m +1
= H − [Ψ + A
m
] (Ω
m −1 m
+ ΨH m − b )

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 Boundary Conditions
• Stage Hydrograph. Upstream or downstream
• Flow Hydrograph. Upstream or downstream. Local conveyance
and velocities computed automatically.
• Normal Depth BC. At downstream boundaries.
• Rating Curve BC.
• Wind. Only for shallow-water equations.
• Precipitation, evapotranspiration, and infiltration. Included as
sources and sinks in the continuity equation.
• 1D reaches and 2D areas can be connected
• Multiple 2D areas can be connected to each other
• 2D areas can be connected to 1D lateral structures
such as levees to simulate levee breaches
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 Computational Implementation
• Multiple 2D areas can be computed independently and
simultaneously
• All solvers are can be run on multiple cores
• 2D solvers and parameters can be selected independently for
each 2D area
• A partial grid solution keeps track of active portion of
mesh and only computes the solution for active portion
significantly reducing computational times.

37
 Thank You!
HEC-RAS Website:
https://www.hec.usace.army.mil/software/hec-ras/

Online Documentation:
https://www.hec.usace.army.mil/confluence/rasdocs

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