Investigating the behaviour of two-dimensional finite element models of compound channel flow

This paper describes results from a recent study concerning the numerical modelling of compound channel flow using two generalized two-dimensional finite element codes specifically adapted to floodplain studies: RMA-2 and TELEMAC-2D. By application to an 11km reach of the River Culum, Devon, UK, simulations are developed to investigate the impact of numerical technique, mesh resolution and topographic parameterization on model results. The research is shown to raise a number of issues concerning the construction, calibration and validation of two-dimensional finite element models for this flow problem. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.