Computational Hydraulics: An Introduction

What is Computational Hydraulics? Computational hydraulics is one of the many fields of science in which the application of computers gives rise to a new way of working, which is intermediate between purely theoretical and experimental. It is concerned with simulation ofthe flow of water, together with its consequences, using numerical methods on com­ puters. There is not a great deal of difference with computational hydrodynamics or computational fluid dynamics, but these terms are too much restricted to the fluid as such. It seems to be typical of practical problems in hydraulics that they are rarely directed to the flow by itself, but rather to some consequence of it, such as forces on obstacles, transport of heat, sedimentation of a channel or decay of a pollutant. All these subjects require very similar numerical methods and this is why they are treated together in this book. Therefore, I have preferred to use the term computational hydraulics. Accordingly, I have attempted to show the wide field of application by giving examples of a great variety of such practical problems. Purpose of the Book It is getting a normal situation that an engineer is required to solve some engineering problem involving fluid flow, using standard and general-purpose computer programs available in many organizations. In many instances, the software has been designed with the claim that no numerical or computer-science expertise is needed in using them.