Section 16 Quality Control and Troubleshooting

Proficient and effective 1D and 2D hydrodynamic modelling is a skill that takes time to develop. During the development of these skills, most modellers may produce “unhealthy” models at some point (i.e. models that are problematic in that they regularly go unstable, produce strange flow patterns, etc.). Whilst, in most cases, the reasons for problems are due to the quality of input data, other reasons include poor model schematisation, and, of course, human error. With mentoring from experienced modellers, and/or following an iterative testing process, unhealthy models can be corrected to become healthy, and hydrodynamic modelling skill levels greatly enhanced. This section attempts to convey some ways to identify problematic areas within an unhealthy model, and solutions to resolving the problem.