Abstract
The SRFR program is a modeling system for surface irrigation. It is a central component of WinSRFR, a software package for the hydraulic analysis of surface irrigation systems. SRFR solves simplified versions of the equations of unsteady open channel flow coupled to a user-selected infiltration model. SRFR was reprogrammed using a modern object-oriented architecture with the objective of facilitating its continued development and, thus, the addition of new modeling options and functionalities. The upgraded software is SRFR 5. An important component of the modeling system is the code that manages computational incidents. While the computational methods used by SRFR 5 have been widely tested and are generally robust, calculations are prone to failures due to problems with the solution of the nonlinear finite difference system of equations, discretization problems, and problems with the determination of the appropriate boundary condition at each computational time step. Code that manages computational incidents has been greatly enhanced in SRFR 5. SRFR 5 has undergone systematic testing, partly to fix programming errors, but also to improve computations leading to unacceptable volume balance errors. This article discusses the SRFR 5 modeling system and provides details about its computational methods, architecture, and new features.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Theodor (“Fedja”) Strelkoff, who retired as this manuscript was being developed. Dr. Strelkoff was a pioneer in the field of unsteady flow modeling of surface irrigation systems and led the development of the SRFR code and its predecessors over three decades. He also contributed some of the initial ideas for this article.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 1 • January 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 30, 2014
Accepted: Jun 23, 2015
Published online: Aug 18, 2015
Published in print: Jan 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Jan 18, 2016
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Architectural engineering
- Architecture
- Channel flow
- Computer models
- Computer programming
- Computer software
- Computing in civil engineering
- Construction engineering
- Construction management
- Engineering fundamentals
- Flow (fluid dynamics)
- Fluid dynamics
- Fluid mechanics
- Hydraulic models
- Hydrologic engineering
- Irrigation
- Irrigation engineering
- Irrigation systems
- Models (by type)
- Open channel flow
- Standards and codes
- Surface irrigation
- Water and water resources
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