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Comparison between InfoWorks hydraulic results and a physical model of an urban drainage system
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2013
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Urban drainage systems are routinely analyzed with hydraulic modelling software such as InfoWorks CS or MIKE‑Urban to assess sewer capacity, flood risk, and guide investment decisions, yet their predictions are rarely validated against physical data because of the cost and effort required to collect reliable empirical datasets. This study introduces a laboratory facility designed to verify urban flood models and develop generic verification approaches. The facility reproduces real rainfall events recorded over 15 months in the Yorkshire catchment, both hydraulically modeled and physically replicated, allowing direct comparison of the 1D InfoWorks model with a scaled physical sewer network. The comparison of flow hydrographs shows that the physical model’s velocities closely match those predicted by the calibrated InfoWorks model, demonstrating good agreement and validating the hydraulic simulation.
Urban drainage systems are frequently analysed using hydraulic modelling software packages such as InfoWorks CS or MIKE-Urban. The use of such modelling tools allows the evaluation of sewer capacity and the likelihood and impact of pluvial flood events. Models can also be used to plan major investments such as increasing storage capacity or the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems. In spite of their widespread use, when applied to flooding the results of hydraulic models are rarely compared with field or laboratory (i.e. physical modelling) data. This is largely due to the time and expense required to collect reliable empirical data sets. This paper describes a laboratory facility which will enable an urban flood model to be verified and generic approaches to be built. Results are presented from the first phase of testing, which compares the sub-surface hydraulic performance of a physical scale model of a sewer network in Yorkshire, UK, with downscaled results from a calibrated 1D InfoWorks hydraulic model of the site. A variety of real rainfall events measured in the catchment over a period of 15 months (April 2008–June 2009) have been both hydraulically modelled and reproduced in the physical model. In most cases a comparison of flow hydrographs generated in both hydraulic and physical models shows good agreement in terms of velocities which pass through the system.