Central schemes for open-channel flow

The resolution of the Saint-Venant equations for modelling shock phenomena in open-channel flow by using the second-order central schemes of Nessyahu and Tadmor (NT) and Kurganov and Tadmor (KT) is presented. The performances of the two schemes that we have extended to the non-homogeneous case and that of the classical first-order Lax-Friedrichs (LF) scheme in predicting dam-break and hydraulic jumps in rectangular open channels are investigated on the basis of different numerical and physical conditions. The efficiency and robustness of the schemes are tested by comparing model results with analytical or experimental solutions.