Lateral Structure Coefficients

Lateral structures can be used in HEC-RAS to transfer flow from a river/reach to a storage area, or to another river/reach.  With the coming release of HEC-RAS with 2D capabilities (estimated beta release January/February 2014), you’ll be able to hook a river/reach to a 2-D area using a lateral structure. Although its primary function in […]

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Extending your Cross Sections to High Ground?

What are the implications of having a cross section that is too short and doesn’t extend all the way out to the highest computed water surface elevation?  Does it affect the results?  Take this cross section for example. It is missing much of the left overbank (presumably). Image courtesy of Adam Bohnoff First of all, […]

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Q & A: Flow Attenuation

Question: When running an unsteady flow model with a single inflow hydrograph, why does my discharge decrease in the downstream direction for a given output profile? Answer: This is called flow attenuation.  You see this to varying degrees in all unsteady flow models and it is a real phenomenon.  The shallower the reach, or the […]

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Steady versus Unsteady Flow

Written by Chris Goodell, P.E., D. WRE | WEST ConsultantsCopyright © RASModel.com. 2010. All rights reserved.I was recently emailed this question regarding steady flow versus unsteady flow results: “My question is fairly basic. I have heard from a couple of other engineers that when flood levels are generated with usteady flows that it is typical […]

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