Flux-corrected transport technique for open channel flow

In modeling flow in open channels, the traditional finite difference/finite volume schemes become inefficient and warrant special numerical treatment in the presence of shocks and discontinuities. The numerical oscillations that arise by making use of a second- and higher-order schemes require some additional smoothing mechanism. A characteristic feature of high-resolution schemes lies in smooth capturing of the shock fronts. This paper provides a general formulation for a flux-corrected transport algorithm to the one-dimensional open channel flow equations. The preliminary results presented show that the present algorithm is an efficient, conservative and robust tool that can be easily coded. To demonstrate the robustness of the present formulation, results are compared with other published numerical results, experimental data and analytical solutions when available. In particular, a comprehensive study on the effect of the source term, dry bed, variable width channel, steep sloping channel and flow with mixed flow conditions (as in a hydraulic jump) has been carried out to test the efficacy of the present algorithm.