Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/11681/4503
Title: A Review of Numerical Reservoir Hydrodynamic Modeling
Authors: Johnson, Billy H.
Hydraulics Laboratory (U.S.)
Environmental Laboratory (U.S.)
Keywords: Hydrodynamics
Water temperature
Water quality models
Mathematical models
Numerical models
Reservoir stratification
Reservoirs
Stratified flow
Publisher: U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station
Series/Report no.: Technical report (U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station) ; no. E-81-2
Abstract: Stratification, i.e., density variations in a reservoir, occurs due to temperature variations as a result of surface heat exchange and plays an important role in determining the water quality of a reservoir. This role is determined through the influence of density variations on the movement of water in the reservoir. Therefore, the primary objective of a prediction of stratified flow hydrodynamics in reservoirs is to enable scientists to comput e temperature distributions and water transports insofar as they affect various water quality parameters. One objective of the Environmental & Water Quality Operational Study (EWQOS) program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is to provide District and Division offices with a tool for predicting reservoir hydrodynamics over periods of time extending from the initial setup of thermal stratification in the spring through its breakup in the fall. Such a predictive technique will subsequently be used in the prediction of water quality parameters. An important tool that provides a relatively low cost highly flexible model of the hydrodynamics of a water body is a numerical model. Under an EWQOS work unit, both two- and three-dimensional, unsteady, variable density, heat-conducting models have been investigated during the past year. This investigation has centered around an analysis of both the mathematical and numerical bases of individual models as well as their ability to simulate a density underflow in the Generalized Reservoir Hydrodynamics (GRH) flume located at the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES). A discussion of the limitations and relative advantages of the various models is presented along with results of the GRH flume applications. The general conclusion is that a two- dimensional laterally averaged model developed by Edinger and Buchak offers the most promise of providing the Corps with a computationally efficient and accurate multidimensional reservoir hydrodynamic model. It does not appear that any three-dimensional models that allow for economical long-term simulations have been developed.
Description: Technical Report
Gov't Doc #: Technical Report E-81-2
Rights: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11681/4503
Appears in Collections:Technical Report

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