Development of a 3D virtual environment for improving public participation: Case study – The Yuansantze Flood Diversion Works Project

The hydraulic design of the Yuansantze Flood Diversion Works (YFDW) project was considerably important for flood mitigation in Taiwan, and positive outcomes of the public hearings played a major role in the success of the project. In the beginning of the project, communication between decision makers, engineers and the public was tenuous due to excess engineering details and a lack of integrated presentations during the public hearings. An ideal solution was then proposed and developed whereby a 3D virtual environment was used to present. In this paper, experimental data obtained from the physical model of the YFDW under design flood conditions was used to validate a 3D flow numerical model. The verified 3D flow numerical model was applied to simulate water surface variation and flow velocity field. The simulated outcomes were used as input data to build an interactive 3D virtual environment, which required the integration of 3D modelling, virtual reality, and human computer interaction techniques. The 3D virtual environment possessed engineering accuracy and overcame challenges in flood flow visualization. An implementation in some public hearings resulted in increased interactivity between stakeholders and improved communication efficiency from public participation. Finally, the YFDW project was concluded smoothly, largely thanks to strong public support.