Hybrid numerical methods to solve shallow water equations for hurricane induced storm surge modeling

Abstract

In this paper an efficient numerical method based on hybrid finite element and finite volume techniques to solve hurricane induced storm surge flow problem is presented. A segregated implicit projection method is used to solve the 2D shallow water equations on staggered unstructured meshes. The governing equations are written in non-conservation form. An intermediate velocity field is first obtained by solving the momentum equations with the matrix-free implicit cell-centered finite volume method. The nonlinear wave equation is solved by the node-based Galerkin finite element method. This staggered-mesh scheme is distinct from other conventional approaches in that the velocity components and auxiliary variables are stored at cell centers and vertices, respectively. The present model uses an implicit method, which is very efficient and can use a large time step without losing accuracy and stability.The hurricane induced wind stress and pressure, bottom friction, Coriolis effect, and tidal forcing conditions are implemented in this model. The levee overtopping option is implemented in the model as well. Hurricane Katrina (2005) storm surge has been simulated to demonstrate the robustness and applicability of the model.