Estimation of open channels hydraulic parameters with the stochastic particle collision algorithm

In the present work, the 1D flow and transport equations for open channels are numerically solved and coupled to a recently developed global search optimization, the particle collision algorithm (PCA), to estimate two essential parameters present in flow and transport equations, respectively, the bed roughness and the dispersion coefficient. The PCA is inspired in the scattering and absorption phenomena of a given incident nuclear particle by a target nucleus. In this method, if the particle in a given location of the design space reaches a low value of the objective function, it is absorbed, otherwise, it is scattered. This allows the search space to be widely explored, in such a way that the most promising regions are searched through successive scattering and absorption events. Based on real data measured in the Albear channel, Cuba, the bed roughness and longitudinal dispersion coefficient were successfully estimated from two numerical experiments dealing, respectively, with flow and transport equations. The results obtained were supported by the high correlations achieved between simulations and observations, demonstrating the feasibility of the approach here considered.