Geophysical Flow Simulation by using Riemann Solvers

Abstract

Geophysical flow simulation for the prediction of emergency situations such as inundation, dam break, oil spills and tsunami is an active field of research. Depthaveraged form of conservation equations, known as shallow water equations (SWE), are the main inputs for such simulations. Recent research has proved that SWEs are powerful enough to capture up the most crucial parameters that define those emergency situations. In this research the non-linear system of SWEs are solved by using different approximate Riemann solvers and listed out their weaknesses. An advanced approach of treating source terms in a form of wave which satisfies the well-balancing condition is discussed and all the Riemann solvers used are compared with the benchmark test cases proposed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to prove their workability.