A Finite Volume Method with Unstructured Triangular Grids for Numerical Modeling of Tidal Current

The finite volume method (FVM) has many advantages in 2-D shallow water numerical simulation. In this study, the finite volume method is used with unstructured triangular grids to simulate the tidal currents. The Roe scheme is applied in the calculation of the intercell numerical flux, and the MUSCL method is introduced to improve its accuracy. The time integral is a two-step scheme of forecast and revision. For the verification of the present method, the Stoker’s problem is calculated and the result is compared with the mathematically analytic solutions. The comparison indicates that the method is feasible. A sea area of a port is used as an example to test the method established here. The result shows that the present computational method is satisfactory, and it could be applied to the engineering fields.