Stage-discharge prediction for rivers in flood applying a depth-averaged model

The prediction of the stage-discharge relationship for rivers in flood is described by a finite element model of depth-averaged turbulent flow, calibrated using three hydraulic coefficients governing local bed friction, lateral eddy viscosity and depth-averaged secondary flow. The resulting lateral distributions of depth-averaged velocity are subsequently integrated to yield the stage-discharge relationship. The calibration of the model involves the establishment of simplifying hypotheses for certain coefficients in order to give the correct depth-mean velocity and boundary shear, both across the channel and with stage. Comparisons against some experimental data from the UK Flood Channel Facility, for channels with trapezoidal and compound cross-sections, help develop the calibration philosophy for both inbank and overbank flows. Numerical experiments with the coherence method for a hypothetical river are used to extend the model calibration to rivers with homogeneous and heterogeneous roughness. Applications of the model to simulating the flow in a number of natural valley and mountain rivers serve to test hypotheses and results obtained at a real scale.