Journal of the Civil Engineering Forum
Vol. 9 No. 1 (January 2023)

Adaptive Mesh Refinement for Dam-Break Models using the Shallow Water Equations

Ekkehard Holzbecher (Department of Applied Geology, German University of Technology in Oman)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Nov 2022

Abstract

The 2D shallow water equations are a common tool for the simulation of free surface fluid dynamics in civil engineering. However, the nonlinear structures of the equations' straightforward implementations lead to numerical problems, such as spurious oscillations and unphysical diffusion. Therefore, this research compared several strategies to overcome these problems, using various finite element formulations and combinations of stabilization methods and mesh options. The accuracy and performance of numerous approaches are examined on models of dam-break in one and two space dimensions. The analytical solution checks the numerical, derived shock wave heights and velocities for the 1D classical benchmark. The result showed that streamlined diffusion and shock capturing stabilization deal with the classical problems of spurious oscillations and numerical diffusion but still indicate similar problems locally in the vicinity of steep fronts and shock waves when used on fixed meshes. As adaptive meshing is the most promising method to deal with such situations, several concerned options are examined in detail. It is important to fine-tune the method to the model's needs, i.e. to adapt the maximum number of mesh refinements, the indicator functions, and the starting mesh. The use of adaptive meshing techniques leads to accurate solutions for the usual parameter range in 1D and 2D, requiring less computational resources than simulations on fixed meshes. Meanwhile, meshing reduces the model size of the 2D dam break model adaptive by almost one order of magnitude and the execution time by a factor of 20.

Copyrights © 2023






Journal Info

Abbrev

JCEF

Publisher

Subject

Civil Engineering, Building, Construction & Architecture

Description

JCEF focuses on advancing the development of sustainable infrastructure and disseminating conceptual ideas and implementing countermeasures, particularly in the tropics, which are vulnerable to disasters. Specifically, we look to publish articles with the potential to make real-world contributions ...