Simulation of border irrigation system using explicit MacCormack finite difference method

The hydrodynamic, zero-inertia and kinematic wave models for simulating all phases of the border irrigation event are presented. The explicit second-order accurate MacCormack method is used for solving the governing equations. A technique for implementing the boundary conditions that are consistent with the numerical scheme is discussed. All the three models do not require a special treatment such as moving grid, deformable grid, subgrid technique, etc., to accurately simulate the advancing and receding fronts. The results of all the three models namely hydrodynamic finite difference model (HDFD), zero-inertia finite difference model (ZIFD) and kinematic wave finite difference model (KWFD) are compared with observed advance and recession times for four border irrigation events available in literature. A very good comparison of results is observed, The relative merits and demerits of the models are discussed. The HDFD model is found to be more suitable for simulation of all the four phases of border irrigation events. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.