Hydraulic Study of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 1
Abstract
We document the development and application of a one-dimensional flow model of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal based on the dynamic form of the St. Venant equations. Model geometry is based on hydrographic surveys obtained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in 2006. The model is forced with time-varying tidal boundary conditions at the east and west ends of the Canal, and predicts velocity and discharge at selected locations within the canal. The model was calibrated using current meter data obtained between October 1992 and October 1993, when USACE operated recording current meters in and adjacent to the canal. Following selection of these parameters, the model was run to simulate other periods between October 1992 and October 1993. Comparison of model and prototype current speeds for these simulations demonstrates the ability of the model to reproduce observed flows accurately under a range of tidal forcing conditions. The model was used to describe the average net flow in the canal which is normally from the Chesapeake to the Delaware but which reversed during the Northeaster of December 1992, a period of unusually high meteorologically driven tides of the Delaware Estuary.
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References
Fagerburg, T. (1995). “Delaware Bay field report.” Technical Rep. No. HL-95-1, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
Johnson, B. H., Heath, R. E., Hsieh, B. B., and Kim, K. W. (1999). “Assessment of channel deepening in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and approach channels in Upper Chesapeake Bay—A three-dimensional numerical model study.” U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
Kim, K. W., and Johnson, B. H. (1998). “Assessment of channel deepening in the Delaware River and bay.” TR CHL-98-29, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
Stoker, J. J. (1958). Water waves, Chap. 11, Wiley, New York.
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© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 2, 2007
Accepted: Apr 16, 2008
Published online: Jan 1, 2009
Published in print: Jan 2009
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