A simple finite volume method for the shallow water equations

Abstract

We present a new finite volume method for the numerical solution of shallow water equations for either flat or non-flat topography. The method is simple, accurate and avoids the solution of Riemann problems during the time integration process. The proposed approach consists of a predictor stage and a corrector stage. The predictor stage uses the method of characteristics to reconstruct the numerical fluxes, whereas the corrector stage recovers the conservation equations. The proposed finite volume method is well balanced, conservative, non-oscillatory and suitable for shallow water equations for which Riemann problems are difficult to solve. The proposed finite volume method is verified against several benchmark tests and shows good agreement with analytical solutions.