One-Dimensional Shallow Water Equations Ill-Posedness

Tew-Fik Mahdi ()
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Tew-Fik Mahdi: Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, 2900, Boulevard Édouard-Montpetit, Campus of the University of Montreal, 2500, Chemin de Polytechnique, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada

Mathematics, 2025, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-23

Abstract: In 2071, the Hydraulic community will commemorate the second centenary of the Baré de Saint-Venant equations, also known as the Shallow Water Equations (SWE). These equations are fundamental to the study of open-channel flow. As non-linear partial differential equations, their solutions were largely unattainable until the development of computers and numerical methods. Following 1960, various numerical schemes emerged, with Preissmann’s scheme becoming the most widely employed in many software applications. In the 1990s, some researchers identified a significant limitation in existing software and codes: the inability to simulate transcritical flow. At that time, Preissmann’s scheme was the dominant method employed in hydraulics tools, leading the research community to conclude that this scheme could not handle transcritical flow due to suspected instability. In response to this concern, several researchers suggested modifications to Preissmann’s scheme to enable the simulation of transcritical flow. This paper will demonstrate that these accusations against the Preissmann scheme are unfounded and that the proposed improvements are unnecessary. The observed instability is not due to the numerical method itself, but rather a mathematical instability inherent to the SWE, which can lead to ill-posed conditions if a specific derived condition is not met. In the context of a friction slope formula based on Manning or Chézy types, the condition for ill-posedness of the 1D shallow water equations simplifies to the Vedernikov number condition, which is necessary for roll waves to develop in uniform flow. This derived condition is also relevant for the formation of roll waves in unsteady flow when the 1D shallow water equations become ill-posed.

Keywords: one-dimensional shallow water equations; ill-posedness; Vedernikov number; Preissmann scheme; transcritical flow; roll waves; mathematical instability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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