Modeling of interconnected flat open-channel flow: application to inland navigation canals

Abstract

Inland navigation networks are composed of several artificial canals, usually characterized by no slope. These canals are large-scale systems that can be accurately described by means of the nonlinear Saint-Venant partial differential equations. However, the lack of an analytical solution for these equations is one of the reasons why simplified models have been developed. In this work, the Integrator-Delay-Zero model is used as the input-output model to link the water depths to the discharges. A modeling extension for a canal with inflows and outflows along the water stream is proposed: an overlapping problem is discussed and a criterion choice is defined in order to obtain the general model. With regard to this criterion, a calibration step is needed, both to overcome the natural limitations of the simplified model and to ensure the correct computation of the general model. The application of this modeling approach to a part of the inland navigation network in the north of France serves as the case study for this work.