Comparison of unstructured finite-volume morphodynamic models in contracting channel flows

Unstructured finite volume methods are receiving increased attention mainly because of their ability to provide a flexible spatial discretization. Hence, some areas can be resolved in great detail while not over-resolving other areas. Development of these models is an ongoing process with significant longstanding issues with adaptive grids, efficiency, well-balanced flux-gradient and source-term approximations, and so forth. However, many of these problems have been solved with the current generation of models which have much promise for morphodynamic models in contracting channel flows. Our purpose is to compare a class of unstructured finite volume morphodynamic models in contracting channel flows. The proposed adaptive finite volume method has important advantages in the discretization of the gradient fluxes and source terms and can handle complex topography using unstructured grids and satisfies the conservation property. The adaptation criteria is based on monitoring the bedload in the computational domain during its transport process. The comparison is illustrated with a simple test case of contracting channel flow. (C) 2011 IMACS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.