Application of 1D model for overland flow simulations on 2D complex domains

Abstract

High computational demand limits the applications of two-dimensional (2D) shallow water equation models for high resolution overland flow simulations, while one-dimensional (1D) models can achieve higher computing efficiency. This study applied a 1D hydrodynamic model to surrogate 2D models for overland flow simulations on complex 2D domains. With one dimension reduced, the surrogate model simulation would have acceptable accuracy with much higher computing efficiency. The surrogating is fulfilled through mimicking 2D models in mesh generations, so that the 1D channel network is generated in such a way that it geometrically covers the whole domain without overlapping and intersection, and hydrologically follows the steepest slopes. Several benchmark cases on 2D domains in both laboratory and field scales with complex geometry, where no 1D models have been ever applied, are used to compare the 1D and 2D model simulations. The comparisons demonstrate that the 1D model does have potentials to efficiently simulate overland flow on 2D complex domains with accuracy comparable to 2D models.