ABSTRACT
A new unstructured grid two-dimensional, depth-integrated (2DDI), morphodynamic
model is presented for the prediction of morphological evolutions in shallow water.
This
modelling system consists of two coupled model components: i.) a well verified and validated
continuous Galerkin (CG) finite element hydrodynamic model; and ii.) a new sediment
transport/bed evolution model that uses a discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method for the solution of
the sediment continuity equation. The DG method is a robust finite element method that is
particularly well suited for this type of advection dominated transport equation. It incorporates
upwinded numerical fluxes and slope limiters to provide sharp resolution of steep bathymetric
gradients that may form in the solution, and it possesses a local conservation property that
conserves sediment mass on an elemental level. In this paper, we focus specifically on the
implementation and verification of the DG model. Details are given on the implementation of the
method, and numerical results are presented for three idealized test cases which demonstrate the
accuracy and robustness of the method and its applicability in predicting medium-term
morphological changes in channels and coastal inlets.
i
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