2D and 3D Modelling in German Inland Waterways

As waterways engineering consultant and expert, the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW) supports the German Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV) and the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) in the development, operation and maintenance of the waterways in Germany. To sustain and improve the quality of its consulting services, the BAW conducts research and development projects in the entire spectrum of waterways engineering. From the daily project work the R&D topics are derived, which in turn specify the development of the numerical methods. A brief introduction is given on the simulation techniques used for the meso-scale modelling of river reaches, in which the time-dependent shallow water equations are solved and morphological effects modelled in a specific way. Further, special features established for well-adapted resolutions of the flow field in hydraulic structures and around ships are emphasized. Application examples are given, ranging from flows and sediment transport in geometrically complex situations with dikes and groynes to hydraulically complex flows as e.g. in fish passages, where turbulent motion plays a dominant role. The use of a ship handling simulator to identify the circumstances and causes for the accident of an inland tank barge is presented.