Dual integral porosity shallow water model for urban flood modelling

Abstract

With CPU times 2 to 3 orders of magnitude smaller than classical shallow water-based models, the shallow water equations with porosity are a promising tool for large-scale modelling of urban floods. In this paper, a new model formulation called the Dual Integral Porosity (DIP) model is presented and examined analytically and computationally with a series of benchmark tests. The DIP model is established from an integral mass and momentum balance whereby both porosity and flow variables are defined separately for control volumes and boundaries, and a closure scheme is introduced to link control volume- and boundary-based flow variables. Previously developed Integral Porosity (IP) models were limited to a single set of flow variables. A new transient momentum dissipation model is also introduced to account for the effects of sub-grid scale wave action on porosity model solutions, effects which are validated by fine-grid solutions of the classical shallow-water equations and shown to be important for achieving similarity in dam-break solutions. One-dimensional numerical test cases show that the proposed DIP model outperforms the IP model, with significantly improved wave propagation speeds, water depths and discharge calculations. A two-dimensional field scale test case shows that the DIP model performs better than the IP model in mapping the floods extent and is slightly better in reproducing the anisotropy of the flow field when momentum dissipation parameters are calibrated.