EFDC - Explorer Users Manual (040416-Draft)
EFDC - Explorer Users Manual (040416-Draft)
EFDC - Explorer Users Manual (040416-Draft)
EFDC_Explorer:
A Pre/Post Processor for the
Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code
EFDC_Explorer
Version 040415
© Copyright 1999-2004
Acknowledgements
The author would like to acknowledge the contributions of several key people that have helped
in a number of ways:
Earl Hayter, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – For his vision and commitment to help
develop EFDC/EFDC_Explorer into a tool that can really assist the scientific, engineering and
regulatory community to better understand, assess and manage our water resources.
John Hamrick, Tetra Tech, Inc. – For his commitment to the EFDC code and continuous
development and support.
Dudley Benton, Dynamic Solutions, LLC – For his ongoing support, suggestions, comments,
and code segments.
Christopher Wallen – For his commitment to the author and unfailing support.
Acknowledgements...................................................................................................................... iii
Table of Contents......................................................................................................................... iv
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................1-1
1.1 Capabilities.................................................................................................................1-1
1.2 Conventions ...............................................................................................................1-3
1.2.1. Windows Interface..............................................................................................1-3
1.2.2. Message Boxes and the Clipboard ....................................................................1-4
1.2.3. Operators ...........................................................................................................1-4
3 Pre-Processor Operations..................................................................................................3-1
3.1 Timing, Labels and Output Options............................................................................3-1
3.2 Grid & General ...........................................................................................................3-2
3.3 Hydrodynamics...........................................................................................................3-3
3.3.1. Eddy Viscosity & Diffusivities .............................................................................3-4
3.3.2. Wave Generated Turbulence .............................................................................3-4
3.4 Groundwater & Vegetation .........................................................................................3-5
3.4.1. Vegetation ..........................................................................................................3-5
3.4.2. Groundwater.......................................................................................................3-6
3.5 Sediment & Toxics .....................................................................................................3-6
3.5.1. Toxics .................................................................................................................3-7
3.5.2. Sediments ..........................................................................................................3-7
3.6 Initial Conditions .........................................................................................................3-9
3.6.1. Restart Options ..................................................................................................3-9
3.6.2. Set Initial Conditions – Water Column................................................................3-9
3.6.3. General Horizontal Spatial Assignment Form ..................................................3-10
3.7 Boundary Conditions ................................................................................................3-11
3.7.1. “Edit” Boundary Conditions ..............................................................................3-12
3.7.2. Import HSPF Data ............................................................................................3-13
3.7.3. Check Boundary Conditions .............................................................................3-14
7 ViewPlan ............................................................................................................................7-1
7.1 Simulation Results Loading........................................................................................7-2
7.2 Introduction ................................................................................................................7-3
7.2.1. Mouse Functions ................................................................................................7-4
7.2.1.1 Repositioning Legend & Other Objects ..........................................................7-4
7.2.1.2 Cell Information ..............................................................................................7-4
7.2.1.3 Right Mouse Click...........................................................................................7-4
7.2.2. Keystoke Functions ............................................................................................7-5
7.3 Toolbar Summary.......................................................................................................7-5
7.4 Navigating the View....................................................................................................7-5
7.5 Polyline/Polygon Creation Tool ..................................................................................7-7
7.6 Pre-Processing Functions ..........................................................................................7-7
7.6.1. Single Cell Edits .................................................................................................7-7
7.6.2. Multiple Cell Edits ...............................................................................................7-7
7.6.3. Cell to Cell Copy/Assign .....................................................................................7-8
7.6.4. Data Field Smoothing .........................................................................................7-8
7.6.5. Bathymetry Comparison to Another Model.........................................................7-8
7.6.6. Create/Assign/Edit Boundary Conditions ...........................................................7-9
7.6.7. Courant Calculator .............................................................................................7-9
7.7 Post-Processing Functions ......................................................................................7-10
7.7.1. Export EMF Files ..............................................................................................7-10
7.7.2. Export Tecplot Files..........................................................................................7-10
8 ViewProfile .........................................................................................................................8-1
8.1 General.......................................................................................................................8-1
8.2 Slice/Profile Selection ................................................................................................8-1
8.3 Toolbar Summary.......................................................................................................8-2
8.4 Primary Display Options.............................................................................................8-3
9 References.........................................................................................................................9-1
Figure 8.1 ViewProfile example showing salinity at one snapshot in time during
a tidal cycle........................................................................................................8-1
Figure 8.2 Profile display options ........................................................................................8-3
This user’s manual provides guidance in the use EFDC_Explorer. This manual is NOT the
user’s manual for EFDC. It is assumed that the user is familiar with the types of data and
information required by EFDC. EFDC_Explorer is a tool to assist qualified engineers and
scientists in the development, testing, calibration and interpretation/analysis of the model.
It is recognized that many more options and features could be added to EFDC_Explorer. It is
anticipated that many new features will be added as resources are available.
1.1 Capabilities
The following lists provide a summary of the major feature of EFDC_Explorer. The lists are
grouped into three primary categories based on the general use of each feature. The first group
contains general purpose features while the other two groups summarize the major pre- and
post-processing features.
General
♦ Graphical interface to most of the commonly used EFDC features.
♦ Extensive visualization and point and click inquiries of input and output data.
♦ Extensive use of popup tips to help the user select the proper inputs.
♦ Extensive error and range checking for user inputs.
♦ Continuing support and development of the utility.
Pre-Processor
♦ Pre-Processor for the EFDC 3D Version.
♦ Easy and fast plan views of the model domain with model option specific viewing
options.
Post-Processor- Miscellaneous
♦ View water surface time series plots with
♦ View vertical slice of grid showing
♦ View time-step history for dynamic time-stepping runs
♦ View water surface profile plots
♦ View detailed single column sediment/water column processes.
♦ Sediment & toxics “Mass Balance Tool”.
♦ Compute and view boundary mass loadings.
♦ View profiles of sediment bed and water column properties with time.
♦ Store and quickly display time series calibration comparisons.
1.2 Conventions
While the general use of EFDC_Explorer is fairly standard with respect to a user interface for
the Windows® operating system, some basic conventions will be explained here that should
help the user.
A while box with black text is the primary data/text input interface.
A radial button indicates a range of options. Only one can be selected for each
operation requested.
A check box is true (i.e. the option is selected) if it contains a black “X” in the
box.
The “Browse” button is used extensively in the program to allow the user the
ability to navigate to the requested/desired file(s) rather than typing in the
adjacent text box.
The user will notice several “grayed out” or disabled features in EFDC_Explorer. This indicates
that a particular feature is not available for the currently applied version of EFDC or unavailable
based on the user selected options. The “grayed out” options are not available to the user.
During the use of EFDC_Explorer various informational message boxes will be displayed,
presenting the results of some calculation or other message. Most of these messages are also
placed into the Windows clipboard for ease of transferring the information to some other
application. The data are generally tab delimited.
1.2.3. Operators
Several places in EFDC_Explorer the user has the option of entering a value to replace the
current value of some input parameter (e.g., bottom elevation) or to use an “operator”. The
latter is a simple mathematical function that will be applied to the current value of the parameter.
A field that allows “operators” recognizes the inputs described in Table 1.2. Operators must be
followed by a space then the value, unless it is a simple replacement value.
1) If you received EFDC_Explorer in a zip file (EFDC_Explorer.ZIP), unzip the zip file into
a temporary directory on your hard drive. To simplify the cleanup of files later it is
recommended that the temporary directory be empty before unzipping.
2) You may either a) Select File|Run from the Program Manager or File Manager and run
the EFDC_Explorer Install program (SETUP.EXE), or b) use Explorer to display the
directory files in the directory you unzipped the files to and then double click the file
SETUP.EXE
4) If you used a temporary directory you should delete the files that were unzipped. Keep a
copy of the zip file in case you need to install the program again.
Upon starting EFDC_Explorer the user will be presented with the form shown in Figure 2.1.
This form is basically divided into two parts. The upper section represents the pre-processor
functions and the lower section provides access to some of the post-processor functions.
Another major section of EFDC_Explorer is the toolbar located at the top of the form (Fig 2.2).
This provides access to the program configuration options and the main model viewing
functions.
Run EFDC using the current project. Does not save the project first.
Get runtime and other timing information for a completed model run.
ViewPlan. Display the model in plan view. This is used for some pre-
processing tasks (e.g. setting boundary conditions and modifying cell properties)
and post-processing results.
ViewProfile. Display the model profile view along an I or J or a user defined
section. This is used for post-processing results.
.
EFDC currently uses fixed file names for its input files; therefore each run/project needs to be
stored in separate directories. EFDC_Explorer operates in the same manner. EFDC_Explorer
reads and writes the files with the standard fixed file names to/from the specified subdirectory
(called a “project” by EFDC_Explorer) Figure 2.3 shows the main file management toolbar and
Browse buttons to access the opening and/or saving of a project.
An option to open a previously EFDC_Explorer saved archive file is given. These files all have
an extension of “efdc”, for example “CedarRiver.efdc”. When you select the “Open Archive”
check box, the right panel only shows the available archive files in the selected directory.
The “Scale” input box allows the user to apply a conversion factor to the centroid units used in
the LXLY file. EFDC_Explorer defaults these units to meters. Many applications use
kilometers, UTM’s or miles as the unit base. Simply enter the conversion factor from whatever
units were used to meters in this box when loading the model for the first time and the model will
be correctly displayed. Note: When a model is loaded and then viewed and it looks like a
bunch of large cells stacked on top of one another, it is likely to be a LXLY units conversion
issue.
Also, the user may use one of several ASCII editors that have
this capability as well..
The check boxes concerning resetting boundary condition groups apply to existing projects that
have been managed by EFDC_Explorer. During the initial loading of a project or if the “Reset”
check box is selected, EFDC_Explorer tries to logically group boundary condition cells into
groups by type and location. EFDC_Explorer then manages the boundary conditions using this
group approach. If the user has modified the boundary conditions somehow and wants a
different logical grouping, they should select one of these options
If the user only has the “.efdc” archive file and wants to create a set of files that EFDC needs to
run that project, the user must select the “Full Write” option to create all the input files required.
To create a new project using the existing project, use the “Create New” button to create a new
subdirectory under the currently displayed directory. All the .INP files will be copied to the new
directory after the user selects OK on the “Write Operation” form..
Use the radial option button “DS, LLC” or “Tetra Tech” to select the desired model and
corresponding file structures. This method allows quick reformatting of the EFDC.INP file for
the different models. Care must be exercised to ensure that all the parameters have the desired
values when switching models.
The current default printer is automatically used by EFDC_Explorer. Figure 2.6 shows an
example printer setup form that appears when the highlighted toolbar button is pushed. If no
printers are available during the startup of EFDC_Explorer, it will display a warning but will
continue. Besides being used for printing, the settings from this form also impact certain
exported graphics. The primary setting used is the portrait versus landscape option to set page
orientation.
This toolbar button allows the user to specify some installation specific parameters, like the
location of the EFDC executable to use, as well as project specific settings like default
precisions. Figure 2.7 shows the settings form.
The precision settings are for setting the output/display precisions for the indicated data types.
The default settings shown are fine for most applications. However, for special cases (e.g.
flume studies or other types of research applications) the user will likely have to make
adjustments to the defaults. This information is stored in the project specific EFDC.DS file. The
default settings for EFDC_Explorer are saved in the EFDCVIEW.INI file that is located in the
same directory as the EFDC_Explorer executable.
The project specific settings for information/data that the EFDC model does not use (i.e. labels,
plot formatting, etc) are saved in the EFDC.DS file that is located in the project directory. If the
user wants to maintain a complete data set (either with all the ASCII .INP files or the binary
archive file) the user must also save the EFDC.DS file. This also applies when the user is
sending the model to another person. The EFDC.DS file is also an ASCII file that can be edited
with any ASCII editor.
The main control file for every EFDC application is the EFDC.INP file. EFDC.INP is an ASCII
file structured into card groups that generally have the same basic objective, e.g. card group 8
(C8) contains the settings for the run time but it also contains miscellaneous other parameters.
This file contains almost all of the computational options and data settings.
The EFDC model uses fixed file names (e.g. DXDY.INP) based on the type of information each
file contains. The files that are required for a model application vary based on the
computational and grid options selected. For example, if the ISVEG flag (C5) is >0 then the
VEGE.INP file, which contains vegetation information to compute vegetation based flow
resistance must be supplied. EFDC_Explorer reads and writes these same files and reduces
the need for the user to remember exactly which file and/or which card group has what flag or
setting.
In order for EFDC_Explorer to post-process the data the following files must be generated by
EFDC:
Upon starting EFDC_Explorer the user will be presented with the form shown in Figure 2.1.
This form is basically divided into thee parts. At the top of the form, the main Toolbar is shown
providing quick access to many of the primary EFDC_Explorer features and actions. The main
form is then divided into two primary sections. The upper section represents the pre-processor
functions and the lower section provides access to some of the post processor functions. The
operation and further instructions for each of these groupings will be described in the following
sections.
Many of the input boxes have tips/values that pop up as the user pauses the mousepointer over
the input box. In addition, many of the input boxes have internal range checks, though they are
so broad to cover a large range of applications that they should not be relied upon in any way to
validate user inputs.
The PlanView function also provides some pre-processing features and functions that will be
described later in Section 7
“Run Time Status” frame (Fig 3.1) contains the settings for EFDC’s feedback to EFDC’s runtime
screen during the model run. The user can simply type in the desired I and J or the user can
set them using the mouse. To set using the mouse, select “ViewPlan/Cell Map” view, then right
mouse click on the desired cell and select “Set as Show I J”.
Figure 3.2 shows the model timing and output options available to EFDC_Explorer. EFDC has
many more output options but the majority of them have become obsolete due to the
capabilities of EFDC_Explorer. The timing units have been set by EFDC_Explorer and are
displayed in the “Time Options” frame. To active autostepping set the “Safety Factor” to a
positive number >0 and <1. The users should be aware that EFDC_TT and EFDC_DS use
different autostepping routines so a safety factor set for one model may not work with the other
model. Generally, the safety factor ought to be less than 0.8 but some runs work with the safety
factor>1 and some require a value <0.3.
“Model Simulation Start Time” frame is used to set a real solar calendar date to link the model
Julian dates to. This is required when the user is using real date/time stamped files for
calibration graphical and statistical comparisons.
The “Mass Balance” frame enables mass balance checking and reporting for EFDC. The
number of steps relates to the number of time steps accumulated between reporting. The “V”
button provides quick access to the mass balance file. Consistent with the fixed naming
convention, the mass balance file written by EFDC is BAL.OUT for the 3 time level solution and
BAL2T.OUT for the 2 time level solution.
Note
If any of the “factor” settings for water depth, bottom
elevation or roughness are 0 (or blank), EFDC will
compute a zero for that parameter for the initial
condition.
3.3 Hydrodynamics
Figure 3.4 shows the “Hydrodynamics” tab with the primary water layer settings (KC = number
of water layers) and the distribution of the relative layer thicknesses. The relative thicknesses
must add to 1 (or very close). EFDC_Explorer checks this for the user.
The “Channel Modifier Flag” option box is used to enable the use of the channel modifiers
capability of EFDC. The normal “on” option is when this flag is set to 2. If set, EFDC requires
the MODCHAN.INP file to be input. EFDC_Explorer has the ability to create and edit channel
modifiers. The most robust and user friendly way is to turn on this option, then enter the
ViewPlan, select “Modchannel”, enable edit and use the right mouse click to add, delete or
modify channel modifiers (i.e. “pipes”). Edits to existing channel modifiers can also be made
from the “Toolbox” button on the main toolbar. Care should be exercised in using channel
modifiers as model instability is sometimes increased and mass balance errors can occur.
The “Use MASK File” check box enables the user to enable masks (zero thickness flow barriers)
in EFDC. The MASK.INP file will then be required by EFDC. EFDC_Explorer can generate
masks using the “Create Masks” utility under the “Toolbox” button on the main toolbar. The
“Create Masks” utility does not automatically turn on the mask computation button, it just
generates the masks and writes the MASK.INP file. The user must manually click the mouse
curser inside the “Use MASK File” check box to use the masks generated.
Under “Roughness Options”, other than the standard additive and multiplicative factors that
EFDC will apply to whatever z0’s are input in the DXDY.INP file, EFDC_Explorer has several
methods to set and/or modify the z0’s that will be written in the DXDY file.
“Floodplain Z0’s” and “Channel z0’s”: If the model was constructed with channel and floodplain
cell ID’s (i.e. 5 for channels and 7 for the floodplain in the cell map file, i.e., cell.inp) then the
user can set each one quickly using these buttons.
“Polygon Set”: The user can use a user defined polygon to modify/set the z0’s. This tool may
be applied as many times as needed anytime during the model construction and calibration
process.
EFDC has the ability to import wave generated turbulence from wave models, such as
REF/DIF1 Ver 2.5 (1994). These imported stresses can then be used to either impact only the
boundary stresses (for sediment transport, ISWAVE=1) or can be used to impact the flow field
and boundary layer (ISWAVE=2). DSLLC has tested and verified this option for both EE and
EFDC using the RefDif/ShoreCirc modeling of rip tide currents (Svendsen, et. al., 2000).
Figure 3.6 shows the main input form for the wave parameters. After selecting the primary
wave option the user can import the data into EE. The data importing process uses the form
shown in Figure 3.7. Here the user must match the input data file (which should be in XYZ
format tab, space or comma delimited) to the parameter drop down list “Wave Field Parameter”.
3.4.1. Vegetation
The “Modify Classes” button provides a user interface to the data that are needed for the
VEGE.INP file (Fig. 3.9). First the user should specify the number of vegetation classes they
need. Enter the number of the “Number of Vegetation Classes” input box and press return. The
grid will be expanded to accommodate the desired number of classes. All of the inputs required
by EFDC are shown with a couple of exceptions. The Beta1 & Beta2 variables are actually not
used but are included in the list. The VEGE.INP file must have data in those columns but they
are not actually used by EFDC.
The other exceptions are the ID
and Description fields. They are
only used by EFDC_Explorer.
The ID field is used to match
vegetation classes to polygon
ID’s (see the following description
of “Apply Overlays”) to
automatically set the vegetation
map that is needed for input via
the LXLY.INP file. The
Description field is only used for
labeling.
Figure 3.9 Vegetation class parameters.
The “Apply Overlays” button uses
the vegetation class ID field and matches it to input polygon ID’s. The file containing one or
more polygons in the same file (see Appendix B for polygon formats) needs to be opened (via
the “Browse” button). The polygon file will be read and the polygon ID’s will be matched to the
vegetation class ID’s. If any vegetation classes do not have any defining polygons the user will
be notified. Once the initial matching process is complete the user then must choose to perform
the actual vegetation assignment. If there are unmatched vegetation classes, the user can
choose to process anyways but they need to be aware that no EFDC cells will be matched to
3.4.2. Groundwater
The “Apply Polygon” button is similar in function to the “Apply Overlays” button but does not
require a matching ID in the polygon file. Simply open the polygon file and then specify the
groundwater class, and then click the “Apply” button to assign all the cells that are “inside” the
polygon to that groundwater class.
Figure 3.10 shows an example of the sediment, toxics and the heat/temperature settings tab.
Each of the major sections are discussed in the following subsections.
The toxic transport parameters and options are set using the form shown in Figure 3.11. The
number of toxics included in the simulation are displayed in the top frame titled “Major Settings”.
This can be changed by the user, but since boundary and initial conditions are predicated on
the number of toxics, changing this value resets many of the toxics inputs. Therefore, this
should only be changed when the user is prepared to reset all the initial and boundary
conditions. A special case here is if the user sets the number to 0; then the toxics inputs are
skipped for that project from that time forward.
To enable the simulation of Toxics you need to select “Compute Toxics” checkbox or set the
simulate toxics (ISTRAN(5)) flag to 1 under the “Grid & General” tab, “Computational Options”
button.
Each toxic has many of its own settings so the user must first select the toxic to be
edited/entered by using the drop down list in the upper left corner of the “Toxic Transport
Parameters” frame. Once a toxic has been selected all the appropriate information is displayed
on the form. The “Toxic Name” field is only used by EFDC_Explorer for labeling and
information. The contents of the grid (i.e., field) under the “Partition Coefficients” changes
based on the partitioning model selected.
3.5.2. Sediments
The sediment transport parameters and options are set using the form shown in Figures 3.2 to
3.15. The principal settings for the number of sediment classes and bed layers are specified in
the top frame under “Major Settings”. As with the toxics, these “Major Settings” parameters
should only be changed with care and usually early in the model calibration process so as not to
lose your initial and boundary conditions.
Figure 3.12 shows the form with the “Cohesives” tab shown. On this tab the user can tell EFDC
whether or not to simulate cohesives. Unchecking the “Simulate Cohesives” box does not
delete previously entered data on this
tab.
Figure 3.14 shows the form with the “Consolidation & Misc” tab shown. On this tab the user
must specify various bed consolidation
and bed morphology settings.
The user can turn on the use of the RESTART.INP file for hot-starting the model.
EFDC_Explorer checks to see if the file exists and if not, asks the user to point to the
appropriate RESTART file. EFDC_Explorer then copies it to the current project directory and
renames the file, if required (i.e. RESTART.OUT -> RESTART.INP)
This section contains methods to assist the user to assign the initial conditions for the water
column. The check boxes next to each parameter sets the correct flags for EFDC to read and
use these initial condition fields. When the option buttons (e.g. “Salinity”) are pressed, a spatial
The “Special Cases” button brings up a form (Figure 3.17) with some miscellaneous options to
set the bottom elevations and water surface elevations. This form has three separate function
areas. The top frame contains the ability to set and/or modify the entire model bottom. This
feature is somewhat redundant with an even more robust bottom editing functionality located
elsewhere in EFDC_Explorer. You can use this feature with operators to set/modify the bottom
elevations.
EFDC_Explorer often needs to assign constant or varying values across the entire model
domain or within subsets. To meet this need a general horizontal spatial assignment utility has
been constructed to meet this need. The utility is context/parameter sensitive and displays
different options and features, based on what the user requested and/or specified for data.
Figure 3.18 shows one example of this utility for salinity
The “Poly File” field is an optional field to specify a polygon file that contain one or more
polygons. Cells that are inside the polygon(s), using the “Inside Cell Test” options, will be
adjusted according to the options specified in the “Modify Options” frame.
The XYZ file is an optional file that identifies the measured or otherwise determined data that
the use wants to assign to the EFDC cells. Generally, this file is required unless the user is
simply applying a constant to the cells or is applying an operator.
For bathymetry and wave data the user has two choices for cell assignment, spatial
interpolation via nearest neighbor or averaging data into each cell. If the XYZ data is very
dense, relative to the model cell size, then the best approach will be to use cell averaging.
However, if the XYZ data is not dense enough to completely assign at least one value for every
applicable model cell, then the nearest neighbor interpolation option is better.
Figure 3.19 shows an example of the “Boundary” tab that contains access to the available
boundary condition editing features. The user can also create and edit boundary conditions
from the ViewPlan “Boundary Conditions” feature.
EFDC applies the boundary conditions in a cell by cell manner. However, EFDC_Explorer takes
a more physically based approach to handle boundary conditions. It groups boundary cells into
logical groupings, e.g., a river inflow, a tributary or an open boundary along one face. Ideally,
the user will create the group, name it with something meaningful to the project, assign all the-
cells included in that group to the group (this can be done manually or via polylines/polygons),
and then set the boundary condition. The boundary group information is stored in the EFDC.DS
project file located in the project directory. However, if there are no current groupings when
The types of boundary conditions available in EFDC are displayed in the “Number of Input
Tables and Series” frame (see Fig 3.19). The number of currently defined tables and series are
displayed along side of a button labeled “E”. A time series boundary condition editor is
displayed if the user clicks the “E” button (Figure 3.20). This form has several useful features
like applying “operators” to the date column or any/all of the data columns, import and export the
series, automatic determination of data points in each series, adding, duplicating and deleting
whole series and viewing any/all series. The tool can be used to create new time series for any
of the boundary condition stresses.
The “Edit” button provides access to the general boundary group edit form. In this form (Fig.
3.21) the user can add, modify and/or delete boundary groups and cells in the groups. The cell
group selected defines the option context for the form. The number of cells in each group and
the ability to edit the cell list is displayed in the frame to the right of the group list. This frame
varies in style depending on whether the group is using the “Cell by Cell” or the “Polygon”
definition method. Typically, if the user wanted to use the “Polygon” method, they would only do
so the first time and then switch to the “Cell by Cell” method for subsequent use.
Groups are added and deleted by setting the focus to the group list and then pressing “INS” or
“DEL” as is appropriate. If
deleting a group, make sure
the correct group is
selected.
It is anticipated that a time series create/modify utility will be added as resources allow. This will
apply to both data series for flow, head and concentrations as well as tidal harmonics.
The “HSPF” button provides access to the import function for the Hydrologic Simulation
Program in Fortran (HSPF) (Bicknell et al., 2001). This is a hydrologic watershed modeling tool
that is commonly used to predict flows and some water quality parameters. If this tool is used to
predict the flows in a basin/watershed in which the EFDC model is being applied, then these
results can be imported as boundary conditions for EFDC.
The import tool, shown in Figure 3.22, works by linking HSPF files to specific boundary groups.
The only groups that can have HSPF data assigned to them are flow boundaries. Each group
can have its own HSPF file and import options. Flow, temperature, and solids are optionally
selected (“Import” check box for each parameter) along with the column which contains the data
and a conversion factor to convert whatever units are in the file to m3/s for flow, °C for
temperature and mg/l for solids.
The solids are a special case. Along the rows the solids classes for HSPF are displayed. In the
1st grid column (“Col”) the user specifies the data column number that contains the clay, silt and
sand. Then the user assigns weights or factors to each grain size class modeled in EFDC to
the data columns. In this manner the user may combine HSPF sizes into whatever EFDC class
they desire. If the class weights totaled for each row add up to 1, then the same mass that is
predicted by HSPF will be input to EFDC. It is possible to assign more of any HSPF size class
The HSPF file does not need to be imported in its entirety. The period of extraction from the
HSPF is controlled by the “Begin” and “End” dates specified in the input boxes located at the
bottom of the HSPF preview pane. The column count for all the data is based on the first actual
data column, not including the time date stamp. For example the HSPF file preview pane
shown in Figure 3.22 shows that for the date 1/1/1994 at 01:00, the flow is 541 cfs. The flow in
this example is data column 1 and there would be a total of 5 data columns.
The “Check Boundary Conditions” button runs through all the currently defined boundary
conditions and checks to see if they are valid with respect to cell pointers, table series, matching
head/concentration cells for open boundaries, etc.
4.1 Hydrodynamics
The “Water Surface Time Series” button outputs brings up a form where the user selects the I
and J (or from an X & Y) for up to 10 cells that the user wants to get a plot of either water
surface elevation or water depths. Figure 4.2 shows an example water surface elevation plot for
a river/floodplain application with floodplain and river cells shown.
The “View Vertical Slice of Grid” button simply extracts a profile using the settings in the
“Slice/Extraction Options” frame and displays the water column and sediment bed layering (if
KB>0). Figure 4.3 shows an example slice. If the drape line or the I/J extraction falls across
inactive cells a gap will be displayed.
The “Time Step History” button provides a time series plot of the internal time step that EFDC
used for the simulation being reviewed. This is of any particular interest only when dynamic
time stepping was used for the simulation.
Storm Hydrograph with Wetting & Drying 'Cedar-Ortega-St Johns River Curvilinear Grid Model'
Grid Profile: I=75
Cell by Cell Time Series 1
291.50
291.00 -1
-2
Water Surface (m)
290.50
Elevation (m)
-3
-4
290.00
-5
Legend
i=20,j=4
289.50 i=32,j=37 -6
i=45,j=44
i=39,j=57
-7
289.00
-8
4.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00 6.50 7.00 7.50 8.00 -1000 1500 4000 6500 9000 11500 14000
Time (days) Distance (m)
Figure 4.2 Example water surface elevation Figure 4.3 Example grid profile plot.
time series.
0.00
Elevation (m)
-2.50
-5.00
Legend
-7.50
Bottom
Water Surface
-10.00
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 18000
Distance (m)
The Mass Balance Tool allows the user to evaluate the total model’s sediment and/or toxic
balance as well as determining the mass fluxes through each boundary type (Figure 4.6 and
Figure 4.7). Time series plots of the mass loading through the flow type boundaries can also be
obtained (Figure 4.8). The mass loading plots can be obtained It can be used without
computing the mass balance. The mass balance calculations work for flow, head control and
open type boundaries.
1500
Housatonic River, Sediment stabilization run
1250
1000
Legend
TSS Loading (MT/Day)
500
250
0
18.25 18.50 18.75 19.00 19.25 19.50 19.75 20.00 20.25 20.50 20.75 21.00 21.25 21.50 21.75 22.00
Time (days)
Figure 4.8 Plot of total sediment (TSS) loading from flow type boundaries.
The “Sediment Profile” button extracts a profile using the settings in the “Slice/Extraction
Options” frame and then displays the results. What is plotted is the sediment mass fractions for
the top most active sediment layer and, if desired, the water column concentrations for any
active constituent. This is very similar to the ViewProfile post-processing function but each
defined sediment class is separately shown for only the top layer. Figure 4.9 provides an
example plot. Again you can use the PgUp and PgDn keys to move in time. Use the Ctrl-O key
combination or right mouse click on the key to obtain access to the profile settings. The solid
line through the color ramp separates the key into the water column (upper section) and the
sediment bed (lower section).
0 1
Mass Fraction for each
175
350
30
291.00 Size Class
Profile: User Defined
290.50
290.00
Elevation (m)
289.50
289.00
288.50
288.00
287.50
287.00
286.50
1000 1025 1050 1075 1100 1125 1150 1175 1200 1225 1250
Distance (m)
Figure 4.9 Example sediment profile plot with the water column.
Access to a general purpose time series and profile utility is located in the “Misc. Series ” tab
(Figure 4.10). Currently, only a simple and limited utility is available. This will be substantially
improved as resources become available.
4.4 Calibration
Figure 4.11 displays the “Calibration” tab that provides access to some of the calibration tasks
available in EFDC_Explorer. As resources become available, additional statistical and
graphical comparisons will be developed.
The “Time Series Comparisons” frame contains the buttons that configure (“Define/Edit”) and
plot (“View”) a series of EFDC cells and measured time series data. Once configured, the
linkages between the EFDC cells and the data is automatically available and the user simply
needs to press the “View” button to compare model to data for each run. Figure 4.12 displays
the form used to link cells to data and other parameters. The ID field is only used for labeling by
EFDC_Explorer.
The “Get I & J” button allows the user to input X and Y values in the LXLY units to automatically
set the values of I & J. The I & J values will be inserted into the grid for the row where the text is
selected on the grid. Right mouse click on the cells to obtain additional input options or guides.
Currently, this feature is only functional for water surface time series (Param=1).
Figure 4.12 Time series calibration EFDC cell and data linkage definitions.
295
294
Legend
Site1-Model
Site1-Data
Water Surface (m)
Site2-Model
293 Site2-Data
Site3-Model
Site3-Data
292
291
290
289
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00
Time (days)
Figure 4.13 shows an example if the plotted results this option produces after the finished with
the definition process.
The “Load 2D Measured Data” button brings up the form displayed in Figure 4.14. Currently,
only velocities can be loaded here, but this feature will be expanded as resources become
available. The options area is context sensitive to the option selected for importing.
The data format used for the 2D data currently is the ASCII PLT format used by Tecplot®. An I,
J and K 3D regular grid or a series of discrete measured 3D vectors (X,Y,Z,Vx,Vy,Vz ) can be
input. Pre-processing of the data is expected to be completed so that the data are ready for
The “Load Comparison Model” button allows the user to load a comparison model into
EFDC_Explorer for plotting a range of comparisons between the two models. Figure 4.15
displays the load options form. Browse to the project directory and then select the project
desired. Next, you MUST press the “Load” button before the comparison model is actually
loaded into EFDC_Explorer. The “Time Tolerance” input box allows for some slight differences
in model output times when
comparing time snapshots during the
simulation.
EFDC_Explorer has the ability to generate a new model. However, many of the files required
will have come from other third party packages or custom applications. Figure 5.1 shows an
example model generation options form. The “Grid/Element Generation Options” frame
contents vary based on the type of desired grid to be constructed as selected in the “Grid Type”
frame. Currently the user can build Cartesian grids, curvilinear grids for riverine systems, and
import existing ECOMSED (Ref) grid files. It can also import third party grid files but this option
requires the user to contact DS to customize the input grid file routine. Each of the major input
options will be discussed in the following subsections.
The “Grid Type” frame contains the primary selection of grid generation function. The contents
of the center frame, “Grid/Element Generation Options”, will vary depending on the option
selected. Shown in Figure 5.1 is the frame contents for the Cartesian grid option.
There are two types of Cartesian grid options available. One for a simple uniform grid spacing
and one for variable grid spacing. The user selects the desired option and then fills in the
appropriate settings as outlined below.
The coordinate system used in the topographic file, if used, boundary polygons and specified in
the various required coordinate parameters must be the same.
The elevation options can actually be used for grid generation types other than Cartesian, but
only those applicable to Cartesian grids will be discussed here. EFDC_Explorer provides the
user with several methods of generating the cell bottom elevations from the input topographic
data. This functionality is primarily associated to dealing with matching the topographic grid
spacing to the model grid spacing. Ideally, the topographic data are much more refined than
the model grid but this may not always be the case. The “Average All Z’s in a Cell” is the most
The last three elevation options are mainly used for building test or evaluation models, or
preliminary models with actual grids.
Typically the user is not building a rectangular model domain. Therefore the user has the option
of entering a polygon file that specifies the model domain. Any cells that are inside the polygon
will be set as active for the model. The “Cell Test” frame allows the user to set the inside
polygon test options to determine if the cell is inside the model domain or not.
If the user is modeling a riverine system with overbank/floodplains, the user may provide a
“Channel Polygon” file. This file assigns all cells outside this polygon but inside the model
domain as floodplain cells (Cell type = 7). Those cells inside the polygon receive a standard
computational cell type (Cell type = 5). This allows some of the tools in EFDC_Explorer to be
quickly applied, e.g. Roughness Options.
Figure 5.3 shows an example of the expanding grid developed for the San Francisco Bay. The
focal point is just offshore from Hunters Point.
Bottom Elev
-50 Time: 0.000 -2
Figure 5.4 is the grid generation form with curvilinear grid option selected showing the required
input files Three grid definition files are required, along with the topographic data file and the
EFDC.INP file to generate a model. The three files are a section/transect file that contains a
series of transect locations. This defines the longitudinal sectioning. The centerline/thalweg file
defines the grid centerline curvature and flow path between sections. Lastly, the user specifies
a model domain boundary polygon file that limits the lateral growth of the cells out from the
centerline. The user then must specify some additional options for the grid generation process.
The radial option buttons near the bottom of the form specify how the curvilinear cells will be
inserted into the boundary file (e.g. shoreline). The options are:
Centerline Dominant - This option attempts to center either the middle of the center
lateral cell (odd number of cell across) or the edge between the middle two cells (even
number of cells across) with the cells on either side fitted into the remaining space on
each side.
Equi-Distance Widths – This option calculates the width across the section and then
divides it by the number of cells across specified. The cells are then fitted into the
channel.
Maximum Width – For this approach the user must specify the minimum number of cells
across the channel and then a maximum width allowed for any single cell. The
centerline dominant approach is then used until the computed widths exceed the
maximum width. At that time the width is set to the maximum and additional cells are
added on either side to fill the channel.
Uniform (Fixed) Width – This approach uses a fixed cell width and attempts to fill the
channel with as many cells as needed, yet to generally stay in the channel.
Once the files are specified and options selected, the user clicks the “Generate” button and a
new model is constructed. Figure 5.5 shows an example of a curvilinear model developed for
the Cedar River.
Bottom Elev
-2.316 Time: 1.00 -.9
Figure 5.4 Generate new model options form, showing the Figure 5.5 Curvilinear grid
curvilinear option. generation example for the
Cedar River
This feature allows the user to import an existing ESOMSED DX/DY file into EFDC. This
approach also requires a “Corners” file which is a specific data format that contains the output
cell corner coordinates from the grid generator for each cell. The topographic data file is not
required as the cell bottom data should already exist in the DX/DY file from ECOMSED.
Lastly, a general purpose model generation capability using third party grid files is functional,
but is not ready for general use. Please contact Dynamic Solutions if you have need of this
functionality.
6.1 Toolbag
The “Toolbag” function on the toolbar contains a range of different functions and utilities that
has been needed. Figure 6.1 shows a screen capture of the current functions available under
the toolbag.
Create Uniform Bed Files: This routine does exactly what the title says it does. It does not
actually update the existing model data that are currently loaded into EFDC_Explorer. It
simply creates new files based on the settings chosen. This is similar to the EFDC
option of creating uniform beds, but the user has more control over the settings and
process per layer.
Export Bottom Elevations: This option outputs an ASCII file with each line containing the X, Y
(@ the cell centroid) and Z for each cell in the file.
Rotate Velocities: This option modifies, using an operator in degrees, the rotation matrix (in
LXLY) and re-computes the new cell corners based on the DX and DY’s. The cell
centroids are not effected by this tool.
Modify ModChan File: This option provides access to a channel modifier global editor
recalculates channel lengths, change orientation from U to V and vice-a-versa. It also
has a Q/A function to ensure all the upstream and downstream I & J’s point to valid cells.
Create Masks: This is a rudimentary mask generator. This utility generates masks along
specified I or J’s for a specified length. The user has the option of resetting the number
Create Tracer: This routine creates an injection tracer into specified cells. You can use existing
flow boundaries or the utility will create both a flow BC and a concentration time series.
You can specify the length of time and the number of pulses to be injected. No files are
written until the project is saved.
Categorize Bottom Shears: This utility scans the Bed_Top.Out file for the entire simulation
period and builds a list of categorized shears into predetermined bins. The results are
displayed in a message box and placed onto the clipboard for pasting into Excel® or
some other display/plotting package.
Subset Model: Not operational at this time. This feature will be enabled as resources become
available.
Calculate HSPF FTables: This utility computes the data necessary for creating an FTable for
the HSPF model. It assumes that the current project has been designed to be able to
generate the necessary information for the FTable. This type of project is simply the
base model, but instead of actual inflows into the domain all the flow boundaries have a
step flow to allow the system to achieve steady state at that flow and then all the flows
must be stepped up again to the appropriate level. Generally, this can be done with just
one upstream flow BC, but each case needs to be evaluated. After the run is complete
the EFDC results should be a series of steady state flow regimes throughout the model
domain. This utility then uses these results along with the reach polygons to build the
FTable.
6.2 Editor
This button on the toolbar starts the configured editor and loads the EFDC.INP file in the current
project. It uses the editor configured in the EFDC_Explorer Settings form (see Section 2.2.3).
Future versions will include an EFDC file list to select the file to edit.
This is the button that actually runs an EFDC project. It does not store the EFDC project loaded
in EFDC_Explorer prior to running, so if the user has made changes that they desire the run to
reflect, then the user must save the project first.
This function actually builds a batch file, saves it in the EFDC_Explorer application directory,
and then launches the batch file. The file name is RunEFDC.Bat.
The “clock” button provides a summary of the project’s run times. As EFDC runs it keeps track
of its run time, and when the run finishes it writes the information to the file TIME.LOG. When
this button is pressed, EFDC_Explorer reads the TIME.LOG file and provides a summary of the
information. Figure 6.2 shows an example.
The internal subroutine timing may be 0.0 if the user did not activate “Procedure Timing”
checkbox on the “Timing & Labels” tab of the main pre-processor form. Overall run times are
still available.
The ViewPlan button of the main toolbar provides access to the primary utility for all the pre-
processor visualization and map based interface functions as well as the primary post-
processing utility.
Table 7.1 contains a list of the parameters that can be visualized using ViewPlan. The Sub-
Options column only lists the major sub-options. Almost every function has a number of sub-
options and features to combine and split the data in a range of different ways.
The “JIT” check box is a relatively new feature that stands for “Just in Time”. When this box is
checked the only file that is actually loaded at any time is the water surface file. This file is very
compact and usually loads very quickly; plus it is needed for just about any post-processing.
After EFDC_Explorer loads the water surface file it “scans” the other files and builds a pointer
list to be able to quickly jump to the desired results and only load that time snapshot.
7.2 Introduction
The ViewPlan form viewing options is adjusted based on what parameters are being modeled,
what data has been loaded, and what option has been requested at a particular time by the
user. Figure 7.2 shows an example of the ViewPlan form showing bottom elevations for an
example application (Hayter et al. 2003). The “Viewing Opt’s” frame contains a dropdown list of
The toolbar located at the top of the form provides functions within the current “Viewing “Opt’s”
context. For example, clicking on the animate button animates the variable that is being
displayed, e.g., salinity - depth averaged as seen in Figure 7.2.
The “Timing” frame provides a scroll bar that provides direct access to the model output snap
shots. When the slider bar is scrolled completely to the left (Timer = 0) the data displayed are
the initial conditions specified in the model input. The current time is displayed in Julian date in
the legend. The resolution of the time display is controlled by the EFDC_Explorer settings for
time resolution.
The form may be resized (shrinking it too small will cause EFDC_Explorer to limit the size),
maximized and minimized. However, if minimized, it must be restored prior to doing anything
with EFDC_Explorer.
The toolbar changes the function of some of the mouse clicks, but in general the following
summarize the basic mouse click functions.
7.2.1.1 Repositioning Legend & Other Objects
To reposition EFDC_Explorer pop-up’s, the legend, labels, notes, dialog windows and frames
the user may left mouse click, hold it down and drag it to move the object to another location on
the plot. If the legend is moved off the display and the then form resized so that the legend is
no longer visible, it will be repositioned to the center of the current view.
7.2.1.2 Cell Information
Using the mouse, point to a specific cell and then left mouse click
(LMC) to display that cell’s general information along with the
data of the currently selected parameter, with any sub-options.
Holding the ALT key down when LMC on the cell also copies this
information to the Windows clipboard. Figure 7.4 shows an
example for salinity.
Model Comparison
Alt-V – Compute Cut/Fill volume differences
between two models.
Courant # View
T – Ask the user to enter another time step to
calculate and display an updated Courant
Number field.
Zooming: The user may zoom to any region of the view simply by RMC, holding down and
dragging the mouse. When the user releases the mouse button the screen will be zoomed,
centered on the area selected.
Display options for color ramp, vectors, grid lines, overlays, etc.
Navigation Functions
Zoom extents.
Pan Left.
Pan Right.
Pan Up.
Pan Down.
Post-Processing Utility Functions
Distance tool. Distances are displayed in the coordinate window.
Time series tool. Point and click on cells to build a group of cells.
The other zooming and panning functions provided on the toolbar are also available. At times
the zoom extents button is grayed out due to the view already being zoomed to full .
This tool is the primary utility to create and edit the various polylines and polygons that the user
may need to help define boundary cells, flux lines, model annotation, velocity profiles, etc.
When the toolbar button is pressed, EFDC_Explorer asks the user for a file to load in order to
edit existing data. The user can either select the file to edit or press cancel to start with no
existing lines.
To start a new line, hold the shift key and LMC the first point. Then, to add points LMC on each
point desired until finished. Hold the shift key and LMC to end the polyline/polygon. The last
LMC with the shift key pressed is not included in the defined line. At the end of the line
definition, the user will be asked for a title for the line. This title is used by some utilities for
labeling.
To edit the lines use the mouse to select, press and move points, use the INS or DEL to add or
delete points in the line, press n/N or p/P or 1 to move the currently selected points. Use the
Ctrl-D to delete and entire line.
When the toolbar button is pressed again to toggle off the polygon editing, the user is requested
for a file name to write the data to. The default format is DX. P2D files can also be written by
explicitly specifying the file extension as P2D.
ViewPlan provides access to the visual/point & click editing features of EFDC_Explorer.
Fundamental to this process is understanding that you can only edit the initial conditions data,
not the model results. When the user desires to edit the initial conditions data, make sure the
timing scroll bar is moved to the far left. The “Enable Edit” check box should then be displayed
and enabled. As a safeguard to prevent inadvertent data modification, you can only edit data if
the “Enable Edit” check box is checked. The following discussions assume that the above two
conditions have been met.
To edit the cell properties of a single cell, RMC on the desired cell. The “Modify/Edit Cell” form
is then displayed (see Fig. 7.6). You may enter a new value for any of the parameters displayed
or use an operator (see Sect. 1.2.3).
A group of cells may be edited at the same time using the same “Modify/Edit Cell” form. The
groups of cells may be selected in one of two ways. The simplest is to use the shift-LCM and
The Edit/Modify form will come up allowing the user to make group changes to the parameters.
The properties that do not have any values in the input box reflect properties that vary between
the cells. If a fixed value is shown, then that value is currently constant for all the cells selected.
To replace some property with a new value, simply enter the new value into the appropriate
input box. To use the "Operator" function to offset or otherwise adjust all the properties in the
selected region, simply put a "+", "-", "*", or a "/" as the first character followed by a space and
then the value to apply. For example, say the user wants to lower a region’s bottom elevations
by 0.5 meters. Select the region desired, then type in the "Bottom Elev": input box "- 0.5".
EFDC_Explorer will then lower all the bottom elevations of the cells in the group by the amount
specified. The method can be used for any of the cell properties.
This feature allows the user to select a "Source Cell" and then copy the current property into
subsequent cells ("Target Cell"). First the user must turn on the "Copy Cell Properties" button
on the toolbar. The "Source Cell" is then selected using Shft-LMC. An input box is then
displayed and filled with the Source Cell's property. The user can change the value or use the
operator method noted above. The user can then apply the "Source Cell" property (or whatever
is in the property input box) by Shft-RMC. The user can keep applying the value or operator by
continuing to Shft-RMC"ing on the desired cells.
The bathymetry, salinity and temperature data can be smoothed over the whole domain or using
a polygon file to subset the cells. Pressing Ctrl-S displays the smoothing control form. The
“Load” button in the “Polygon” frame can be used to input the polygon file, otherwise the entire
domain will be used. Enter a weight in the “Smoothing Factor” input box and then click “Apply”
as many times as desired. Each click performs a single pass through the data. After each pass
the data are redisplayed so that the user can view the results prior to applying another
smoothing pass.
Other input fields can be added as the need and resources allow. The process was made such
that any model field can be smoothed.
Load another EFDC model that you want to compare to the currently loaded model. This new
model must use the same cell map for correspondence. If during the loading process
EFDC_Explorer reports that there is a bad velocity file, ignore it. Next, view the model in
ViewPlan. You will notice that a new check box is displayed in the right option bar, "Show
Compare". Check the box and now EFDC_Explorer will display the bottom bathymetry
differences instead of actual elevations. You can then compute the volume differences by
EFDC boundary conditions call be assigned and edited from the ViewPlan display. This is
similar in function to the boundary condition editing form discussed in Section 3.1.7.1, but has
the advantage of being able to point and click exactly on the cell desired. However, only a singe
group can be created/edited for each RMC. The edit form is displayed in Figure 7.7.
If the user selects the “Courant #” from the “View Opt’s”. , the Courant numbers are displayed
for the model based on the time step settings of the model. If adaptive time stepping is
specified, the time step used for the initial display of the Courant numbers will be 0 seconds.
EFDC_Explorer provides the option of calculating a new Courant map using the current water
surface. Press the “T” key and a dialog box will come up asking the user for a new time step in
seconds. Type a new one in and press enter. A new Courant map will be displayed.
The desired time is scrolled to using the “Timing” scroll bar. The output settings are set using
the “Display Options” form accessible from either the toolbar or RMC on the legend.
Some of the special features of the post-processing will be discussed in the following
subsections.
As most of the modeling efforts end up in engineering and scientific reports, it is very important
for EFDC_Explorer to have the ability to produce high quality graphics that can go directly into
all of the most popular word processing packages. The ability to export enhanced metafiles
(EMF’s) meets this need. EMF’s are a native Windows based graphic that easily imports into
almost all word processing and presentation packages.
The size and shape of the metafile depends on two things in EFDC_Explorer. If you are
exporting the results using the “Show Border” check box, then the size and shape will reflect the
printer settings. If the check box is not displayed then the size and shape will reflect the current
ViewPlan window.
It is recognized that EFDC_Explorer does not and likely will never handle
all the post-processing desires/needs of very modeler. Therefore, the
capability to export the data to third party packages via an ASCII file is
provided by the inclusion of the TP function from the toolbar. This is the
Tecplot® export utility. When selected, ViewPlan displays the form
shown in Figure 7.8. Here the user can select the beginning and ending
times to export as well as the skip interval.
From the selected cell list a set of general statistics of the currently displayed snapshot in time
will be computed. The exact statistics vary with the parameter. It is anticipated that this section
will be enhanced in the future as resources become available.
The water flux tool calculates the discharge across a user defined section. The calculated flux
can be for either a single snapshot in time or a complete time series of the model run. Figure
7.9 show the flux options form. The water flux tool computes either total discharge across the
section or on a layer by layer basis, based on the options selected on the PlanView form. If a
single snapshot is selected then the results will be displayed in a dialog box and also placed
onto the clipboard. If “Show Timeseries” is selected then the user must specify which flow
component desired. The following is a description of each type:
Total Flow: The absolute value of the total flux across the section.
EW Flow: The sum of the flows in the EW (based on the cell map, i.e. EW=I component flow)
NS Flow: The sum of the flows in the NS (based on the cell map, i.e. NS=J component flow)
Dominant Flow: Computes the total flow across the section and assigns a sign based on
dominance.
The “Dominant Flow” option is the most useful for most applications.
The layer options must be selected before the toolbar button is pressed. Check the “Depth Avg”
check box to look at total flow. If layer specific flows are desired uncheck the box and scroll the
layer scroll up or down to the desired layer.
If the “Poly File” has more than one section/flux line defined, EFDC_Explorer will compute the
fluxes for all the defined lines (up to 10 max). Figure 7.10 shows an example of total discharge
using the dominant flow option for the San Francisco Bay application.
The results of any of the time dependent results can be output as an animation to either the
screen or an AVI file. If the animation is to be saved to an AVI file, the user is asked for the
number of frames per second to output to the file. This will be application specific, but a number
of 4 frames per second seems to provide a fairly smooth, but not too fast animation. Be careful
40000
30000
20000
10000
Discharge (cms)
-10000
-20000
-30000
-40000 Legend
Figure 7.10 Water Flux tool example results using Dominant Flow
8.1 General
The ViewProfile button of the main toolbar provides access to the profile/cross section post-
processing utility of EFDC_Explorer. An example of the type of plot available is shown in Figure
8.1.
The contents of the current cell can be displayed, as in ViewPlan, by LMC’ing on the cell.
Much of the operations of this feature is similar to ViewPlan.
The user can “scroll” up and down along all the snapshot times by pressing the PgUp and PgDn
keys using a snapshot increment of 1. Larger snapshot increments are available using the Shift
key for increments of 10 and the Ctrl key for increments of 100.
The “Slice/Extraction Options” frame needs to be set first before a profile can be extracted from
EFDC. There are three options. The user may either select a value of I to extract the active J
cells along that I, or select a value of J to extract the active I cells along that J. The third option
is to use a “Drape Line”, which is a polyline in the same coordinate system as the LXLY data.
The I & J’s from along the line will be assembled and the profile will be output along that slice.
Once the profile for an I or a J is displayed, the user can use the + /- keys to scroll up and down
the respective coordinate. This feature does not apply to the “Drape Line” option.
-1
-2
-3
Elevation (m)
-4
-5
-6
Legend
Specified IJ, Time: 117.25
-7 0 Salinity (ppt) 15
-9
0 2500 5000 7500 10000 12500 15000 17500
Distance (m)
Figure 8.1 ViewProfile example showing salinity at one snapshot in time during a tidal cycle.
The ViewProfile toolbar provides access to a range of different functions and utilities. Some of
these functions are dependent on the current context while some are not. Table 8.1 contains a
summary of each function
Table 8.1 Summary of ViewProfile toolbar.
General Functions
Exit ViewProfile.
Printer setup options.
Show/Hide Markers
Pan Left.
Pan Right.
Pan Up.
Pan Down.
Utility Functions
Toggle the display of the coordinates.
Hayter, E.J., V. Paramygin, and C.V. John. 2003. “Three-Dimensional Modeling of Cohesive
Sediment Transport in a Partially Stratified Micro-tidal Estuary to Assess Effectiveness of
Sediment Traps," 7th International Conference on Nearshore and Estuarine Cohesive
Sediment Transport Processes, Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
Hamrick, J.M. 1996. “Users manual for the environmental fluid dynamic computer code”, The
College of William and Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Special Report, 328,
224 pp.
IF(.TRUE..AND.JSEXPLORER.EQ.0)THEN
IF(.FALSE..AND.JSEXPLORER.EQ.0)THEN
There are basic two types of output, one for time static arrays and one for those that vary as the
model progresses (the standard case). Depending on the temporal nature of the array, the user
must code the loops inside the IF/THEN block for time static arrays and outside/below the
IF/THEN block for time variable arrays. The basic code for outputting the arrays is very simple
and examples for both are shown in the text box. The user must make sure the flags are set
right in order for EFDC_Explorer to correctly handle the arrays. The EFDC_INT.OUT file is a
binary file for efficient reads and disk storage. The following is the basic structure:
INTEGER*4 VER
CHARACTER*8 ARRAYNAME
C**********************************************************C
C
! *** INTERNAL ARRAYS
IF(.TRUE..AND.JSEXPLORER.EQ.0)THEN
WRITE(97)0,0
ARRAYNAME='WVKHV'
WRITE(97)ARRAYNAME
DO L=2,LA
WRITE(97)WVKHV(L)
ENDDO
ENDIF
ENDIF
C
C*********************************************************C
C
RETURN
Data Formats
Any number of polylines/polygons can reside in the same file. Each one
begins with a single line header that is used as the “ID” of the
polyline/polygon. Next comes the data in either 2D or 3D format, the
importing automatically handles either. Finally the polyline/polygon is
finished (not necessarily “closed”) by an “*” in column 1. There is no
difference between polyline and polygon in a P2D file, only how the data
are treated by the application reading the file.
Example
------------------------
Polyline Test
609115.69390674 3643612.72035394 0
608828.057738002 3642922.39387814 0
608569.186338242 3642232.06904821 0
608396.604307826 3640908.94563456 0
...
...
...
601493.350247946 3628713.19503985 0
601464.586301899 3627763.99747289 0
601522.11337106 3627016.14485373 0
601522.11337106 3626642.21854415 0
*
TB2 Format
Example
------------------------
195 Nx
-97516.6484
-96511.4938
-95506.3391
-94501.1845
...
...
...
113 Ny
656865
657873.929
658882.857
659891.786
...
...
...
22035 Nz
-28.337
-28.346999
-28.1969829
...
...
...
The DX format is described by the following outline. The vertical bar "|" indicates the
actual left side of the file.
Example
---------------------------------------------
HR Test Sections
2
1,10,0,1,0,0
XS022
Geomorph XS022
55907.8741026827,910678.007703451,956.594
55907.2507413484,910678.789637365,956.594
55906.6273800142,910679.57157128,956.604
55906.0040186799,910680.353505195,956.574
55905.3806573456,910681.135439109,956.404
55904.7572960113,910681.917373024,956.884
55904.1339346771,910682.699306939,957.434
55903.5105733428,910683.481240853,956.954
55902.8872120085,910684.263174768,956.764
55902.2638506742,910685.045108683,957.564
2,22,0,1,0,0
XS023
Geomorph Transect XS023
55867.0383902119,910642.619457468,964.856
55866.7836519141,910643.049699725,961.236
55866.6308089354,910643.307845079,959.236
55866.2741753184,910643.910184238,957.346
55865.7646987227,910644.770668752,957.116
55865.255222127,910645.631153266,957.146
55864.7457455313,910646.49163778,957.146
55864.2362689356,910647.352122294,957.106
55863.7267923399,910648.212606807,956.976
55863.2173157442,910649.073091321,957.126
55862.7078391485,910649.933575835,956.716
55862.1983625528,910650.794060349,956.606
55861.688885957,910651.654544862,956.646
55861.1794093613,910652.515029376,956.696
55860.6699327656,910653.37551389,957.206
55860.1604561699,910654.235998404,957.606
55859.6509795742,910655.096482917,957.836
55859.1415029785,910655.956967431,957.716
55858.6320263828,910656.817451945,958.326
55858.1225497871,910657.677936459,958.756
55857.8678114893,910658.108178716,959.236
55857.8168638297,910658.194227167,959.246
The Digital Sediment Model (DSM) format is file that contains any number of polygons that define an area
followed by a data block that contains the sediment data. The polygon ID and the data block ID’s must
match. The data block consists of a line for each depth (beginning at the surface or 0.0 depth) for which
data exists. On each line the user must include the depth (m), thickness (m), porosity, and then the
grain size. The number of grain size classes and the associated size breaks are determined by the space
delimited data of the label line (see example). The number of grain size classes and their sizes must be
the same for every sediment data block in the file. However, the size classes can vary from file to file
or project to project to meet the project needs.
POLY ID1
X,Y
X,Y
X,Y
...
...
...
END
DATA ID1
depth thick density porosity Size1mm Size2mm Size3mm ... SizeNmm
Depth 1 data
Depth 2 data
...
...
...
END
Example
--------------------------------------------------------------------
POLY L125.01
56694.6 901917.7
56697.3 901937.2
56678.3 901944.2
56674.4 901924.5
END
DATA L125.01
depth thick density porosity 50mm 19mm 9.5mm 0.85mm 0.25mm 0.075mm 0.065mm 0.023mm 0.013mm 0.004mm 0.003mm
0.000 0.152 1749.3 0.500 1.00000 0.99998 0.99988 0.98257 0.90709 0.70847 0.67613 0.41642 0.28167 0.09082 0.06417
0.152 0.152 1787.6 0.490 1.00000 0.99996 0.99976 0.97702 0.89186 0.68776 0.65569 0.40369 0.27499 0.09192 0.06584
0.305 0.152 1826.7 0.479 0.99999 0.99991 0.99956 0.97004 0.87468 0.66569 0.63396 0.38991 0.26726 0.09230 0.06695
0.457 0.152 1866.7 0.469 0.99998 0.99982 0.99921 0.96138 0.85544 0.64229 0.61100 0.37518 0.25857 0.09199 0.06749
0.610 0.152 1907.6 0.459 0.99996 0.99964 0.99864 0.95077 0.83405 0.61762 0.58686 0.35958 0.24902 0.09101 0.06747
0.762 0.152 1949.4 0.449 0.99990 0.99933 0.99772 0.93794 0.81045 0.59174 0.56162 0.34323 0.23869 0.08941 0.06692
END