1D/2D Modeling with HEC-RAS

Workshop
River Restoration

In this project we will be restoring a park area (McCulloch Park) adjacent to the White River in
Muncie, Indiana to a more natural riverine function with the objective of improving habitat for
native fish and bird species. It is currently a multi-use park with a baseball field, playgrounds,
picnic areas, and open space (Figure 1).

Figure 1. McCulloch Park and the White River of Muncie, Indiana.

This park experiences nuisance flooding every year and the city has determined that it will be better
served as a natural overflow wildlife habitat area, with direct hydraulic connectivity to the White
River. This new restoration site will provide 18 new hectares (44 acres) of habitat directly
benefitting native fish species, turtles, and several migratory birds. It will also significantly
improve the water quality of the river and provide some flood risk reduction.

Historical studies have found that the park area was developed by filling in an old remnant oxbow
of the White River. For this restoration project we will re-establish the oxbow and provide a more
natural connectivity with the river. We will also include bank stabilization in erosion prone areas of
the site using bank barbs and will strategically place engineered log jams to provide additional
habitat, erosion control, and hydraulic complexity in the restoration site. We will be evaluating the

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restoration design at the 95% exceedance flow rate of 188 cms (6,640 cfs). Figure 2 shows a
concept of the restoration site. We will start with an existing 1D model of the White River and then
add an inline 2D area to simulate the restoration site. Note that this HEC-RAS model uses SI Units.

Figure 2. Restoration Site Concept

Disclaimer. This restoration project is 100% fictional.

Step 1: Review Existing Conditions

1.1. Open HEC-RAS and the project “Restoration.prj” in the C:\Workshops2D folder.

1.2. Open the geometric data editor and have a look at the model construction. Notice that
the White River is modeled with a stream centerline and cross sections (i.e. it is a 1D
model). Locate the proposed restoration site.

Question 1. What are some problems with trying to model the restoration site with
cross sections? Name at least two.

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 1.3. Open up the unsteady flow editor and look at the upstream boundary condition flow
hydrograph. Since we are interested in a single design flow rate of 188 cms, we can run a
steady flow simulation. However, when using 2D areas, the model must be run in unsteady
mode. To run a steady flow model in unsteady mode, you simply run a constant flow
hydrograph for a long enough period so that an equilibrium condition is achieved. You can
either fill in the flow hydrograph table with the desired discharge or put in zeros and enter
the desired discharge once in the “Min Flow” input box. Double check that the table is
filled out with zeros and the Min Flow is 188 cms.

1.4. Open up the unsteady flow analysis window. Notice the simulation is set for 24 hours.
When running a steady flow model in unsteady mode, it is important to make sure that the
designated simulation time is long enough for the model to reach equilibrium conditions.
Also notice the computation interval is set to 10 seconds.

Question 2. What are the largest Hydrograph, Mapping, and Detailed Output
Intervals that could be used for this model?
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1.5. Open up RAS Mapper.

i. Notice that a projection file has already been input for you (Tools…Set Projection
for Project). Adding the projection file is typically the first thing you do in RAS
Mapper.
ii. Look at some of the different output available in the Results Group of the Layer
Manager. Make sure that you pull the animation bar to the last mapping output
interval (this is what we’re going to be interested in for a “steady flow” simulation)
when viewing spatial results in RAS Mapper.
iii. Turn off the Results and Map Layers groups so that you can see the Existing Terrain.
Zoom in to the proposed restoration site.

Question 3. How could you incorporate the new restoration site grading into this
current terrain by only using the HEC-RAS software?
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1.6. Close the Geometric Editor and the Unsteady Flow Editor.

Step 2: Merge in the new restoration terrain and create a new Manning’s n layer.

2.1. Merge in the new restoration terrain.

i. In RAS Mapper, right click on the Terrains group and select “Create a New RAS
Terrain”.
ii. In the New Terrain Layer editor, add in RestorationGrading.tif, ChannelOnly.tif, and
OverbankTerrain.tif in that order. It is important to order the three elevation data

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 sets as shown in Figure 3 so that the RestorationGrading.tif has top priority and the
ChannelOnly.tif has secondary priority.

Figure 3. New Terrain Layer Editor

iii. Click the open file button on the lower right and name your new terrain
“RestorationTerrain”
iv. Click the “Create” button. When RAS is done creating the new terrain, close the
terrain creation window and check the new “RestorationTerrain” layer. Zoom into
the restoration site and view the new terrain grading. It should look like Figure 4.

Figure 4. New Restoration Terrain.

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2.2. Create a new Manning’s N layer.
Since we’ll be adding in a 2D mesh, we need to have a method for extracting n values onto
that 2D mesh. While we will ultimately not use the new Manning’s n layer for the 2D area,
the Manning’s n layer allows us to use n value Override Regions. Override Regions is how
we’ll assign specific n values to our 2D area in this workshop (in Step 8).

i. In RAS Mapper, right click on Map Layers. Select “Add New Manning’s n Layer”.
A shape file of Manning’s n polygons has already been prepared. Add the
Land_Classification.shp shapefile that is in the LandCover folder.
ii. Enter in the following Manning’s n values in the Output File table:

RAS Description ID Mann.N

NoData 0 Leave Blank
Building 1 10
Medium Density Residential 2 0.12
Open Space 3 0.045
Park 4 0.04
Trees 5 0.08
Urban 6 0.15

iv. Use a cell size of 1 meter and name the Manning’s n Filename
“Muncie_Land_Classification” and make sure it is stored in the Land Cover folder.
Your Manning’s n Value Layer editor should look like Figure 5.

Figure 5. Manning's n Value Layer Editor.

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 v. Click the “Create” button. When the Manning’s n value layer is completed, close the
compute window and view the new Muncie_Land_Classification layer. Notice the
Manning’s n definition is limited to the downtown Muncie area south of the river.
That is okay because we are only using this land classification layer to unlock the
Override Regions option for defining Manning’s n values.
vi. Save and close RAS Mapper.

Step 3: Create the Restoration Geometry.

3.1. Create a new geometry file.

i. Open the Geometric Data Editor. Select File…Save Geometry Data As. Name the
new geometry “Restoration”.
ii. Associate this new geometry file with the new restoration terrain. To do this, open
RAS Mapper. Right click on the Geometries group and select “Manage Geometry
Associations”. For the Restoration Geometry, select Restoration Terrain and
Muncie_Land_Classification. Close the Geometry Associations window, then save
and close RAS Mapper.
iii. In the geometry editor, click the Background Layers button at the top middle of the
window. Uncheck everything except “Plot Terrain”. This will allow us to define our
2D new 2D area.

3.2. Insert a new inline 2D area at the restoration site. To do this in the goemtric data editor
in the current version of HEC-RAS requires a little bit of trickery. The following procedure
walks through the steps of inserting a 2D area in the middle of an existing 1D reach. The
concept here is to create 2 junctions to bound the portion of the river you wish to remove.
Junctions can be created by drawing “dummy” reaches connected to the main river. The
junctions effectively split the reach into three parts, each with its own unique river and reach
names. Then all we have to do is remove the middle part to make room for the new 2D area.
If you are unsure about any of this, don’t hesitate to ask your instructor for help.
i. Activate the “Add New River Reach” button at the top of the window and draw a
new “dummy” reach connecting to the White River between R.S. 2397.7 and 2283.8.
to complete the new “dummy” reach, be sure to double click on top of the existing
White River, so RAS knows you want to connect them.
a. When prompted name the dummy river and reach “Temp1Riv” and
“Temp1Rch”, respectively.
b. When it asks if you would like to split the reach Muncie, click “Yes”.
c. The river and reach names for the new reach below the split should be
“Lower White” and “Lower Muncie”, respectively.
d. Name the new junction “Temp1Junc”.
e. When it asks if you want to increase the schematic extents, click “Yes”.
ii. Draw another dummy reach connecting to the White River between R.S. 2768.7 and
2670.
a. When prompted name the dummy river and reach “Temp2Riv” and
“Temp2Rch”, respectively.
b. When it asks if you would like to split the reach Muncie, click “Yes”.
c. The river and reach names for the new reach below the split should be
“Temp3Riv” and “Temp3Rch”, respectively.
d. Name the new junction “Temp2Junc”.

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iii. Your geometric schematic should look similar to Figure 6 at this point.

Figure 6. Geometry Schematic with two dummy reaches.

iv. Now we have to remove the temporary features to make room for the new 2D area.
From the menu in the Geometric Editor, select Edit…Delete…Junctions. Select both
“Temp” junctions and click OK. When the warning message asks you if you are sure
you want to remove the junction, click “Yes” (both times). Next, remove the
Temporary reaches by selecting Edit…Delete…Reaches. Under the River
dropdown, select all three “Temp” rivers by clicking the arrow to move them to the
“selected” list box. Click OK to delete them. Your schematic should now look like
Figure 7.

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 Figure 7. White River split and ready for a 2D area.

v. Add in the new 2D area by clicking the 2D Flow Area button at the top of the
window and drawing a perimeter around the new restoration site as sown in Figure 8.
Be sure to draw your perimeter over the top of the two bounding cross sections.
When the perimeter of the 2D area is complete, double-click the last point to close
the polygon. Name the new 2D area “Restoration Site”. You should now see a blue
outline with the name “Restoration Site” inside of it. Left click inside the new 2D
area and select “Edit 2D Flow Area”. Change the Manning’s n value to 0.04. Leave
the rest of the numbers the same. Click the button “Generate Computation Points…”
and put in a DX and DY of 10 meters. Then click the button “Generate Points in 2D
Flow Area”. Your schematic should now show the new 2D area with it’s mesh,
similar to Figure 8.

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 Figure 8. New 2D Flow Area
vi. The next step is to connect the new 2D area to the upstream and downstream
reaches. Without this step, water would not transfer from the river to the 2D area or
2D area to the river. Zoom in to one of the connection spots. Select Edit…Move
Points/Objects from the menu. This highlights the vertex points of all of the
geometric features in your schematic. Find the river centerline end point and click
and drag it slightly, while still keeping the endpoint inside the 2D area. If you do this
correctly, RAS will ask you if you want to connect the reach to the “storage area” (it
really means 2D area). Say Yes and then repeat this for the other reach so that both
reaches are connected inline to the new 2D area. Finally, under the Edit menu item,
uncheck “Move Points/Objects. You should now see the red and black connection
line at each inline connection to the 2D area, as shown in Figure 9.
vii. Save and close the Geometric Data Editor.

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 Figure 9. New 2D area connected inline to the 1D reaches.

Step 4: Create a New Unsteady Flow File

4.1. Create a new unsteady flow file.

i. Open the unsteady flow editor. Click File…Save Unsteady Flow Data As and
name the new file “Restoration Boundary Conditions”.
ii. Notice there is a new boundary condition for our newly named lower reach
“Lower White Lower Muncie at RS 72.5. Apply Normal Depth as the boundary
condition here and use the same friction slope that was used when it was named
“White Muncie” (i.e. 0.00064).
iii. Delete the original Normal Depth boundary condition at White Muncie. You
should now have a normal depth boundary condition for Lower White/Lower
Muncie and a Flow Hydrograph for White/Muncie at RS 4785.5.
iv. Initial flow has to be provided at the upstream end of each reach. Since we
technically have two reaches now (upstream and downstream of the 2D area),
each one needs an initial flow. Under the Initial Conditions tab, put in the same
initial flow of 188 cms for Lower White/Lower Muncie.
v. Since the restoration site includes a section of the river and since it is connected
inline to 1D reaches, we cannot start the restoration site 2D area out dry. To
prevent the inline boundaries of the 2D area from going dry at the beginning of
the simulation, it is best to start an inline 2D area with a water surface elevation
equal to that of the upstream bounding cross section. Use 285.8 meters for the
initial elevation of the 2D Restoration Site.

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 vi. Save and close the unsteady flow editor.

Step 5: Create a New Plan and Run the New Restoration Model

5.1. Create a new unsteady flow plan for the restoration site.
i. Open the unsteady flow analysis window. Make sure the “Restoration” Geometry
File and “Restoration Boundary Conditions” Unsteady Flow File are selected. Click
File…Save Plan As and name the new file “Restoration”. Give it the same for its
Short ID.
ii. Select “Restoration” and “Restoration Boundary Conditions” for the Geometry and
Unsteady Flow Files.
iii. Save the plan and click the Compute button.

Question 4. Does the simulation crash? How do you know that it crashed? What clues are
given in the Computation Window as to the reason the simulation crashed?

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5.2 Provide initial conditions warmup time and 1D/2D iterations.

i. We need to provide suitable initial conditions at the inline 2D boundaries by
providing some initial conditions time to allow the 2D area to set up a proper water
surface gradient, before connecting up with the bounding 1D reaches. From the
Unsteady Flow Analysis window, select Options…Calculation Options and
Tolerances.
ii. From the 2D Flow Options tab, enter in 2 hours for the initial conditions time for the
Restoration Site. Run the model again. Notice it crashes again, but this time further
into the simulation after a lot of errors. The listed errors seem to originate at the
downstream 1D/2D boundary before ultimately propagating around to other parts of
the reach. Errors around inline 1D/2D connections are among the most common
errors that occur in 1D/2D models. Allowing RAS to iterate the solutions at the
boundaries can better define the transfer of flow and stage across 1D/2D boundaries.
This helps to minimize errors at the boundaries that can lead to instabilities.
iii. In the 1D/2D Options tab of the Calculation Options and Tolerances window, enter 5
for the “Maximum iterations between 1D and 2D…”. While 20 is the most allowed
here, it’s best to keep this number low to keep the model from slowing down too
much. 1D/2D iterations can significantly slow down the pace of your simulation.
Run the model again. This time it should run to completion with very few errors.

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Question 5. How long did the simulation take to run? _________________________________

Step 6: Evaluate Results

6.1. Open up RAS Mapper and turn on the Velocity layer for the new Restoration Site.
i. With the Velocity layer highlighted, move the animation bar all the way to the right.
Then turn on particle tracing. Adjust the settings to get a good idea of flow patterns
in the new restoration site.
ii. Adjust the velocity scaling by right clicking on the velocity layer and selecting
“Layer Properties”. You can adjust the color ramp symbol distribution by double-
clicking on the color ramp legend in the layer properties window. Suggest using a
max velocity of 1 m/s for the legend.

Question 6. Do you have any concerns about erosion in the restoration site? If so, where and
why? How would you propose to address possible at-risk spots for erosion?
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Step 7: Add Stream Bank Barbs

7.1. To reduce the risk of erosion on the north bank of the restoration site, we will add two
stream bank barbs made of a combination of rock and root wads. We’ll simulate these in
HEC-RAS using the SA/2D Area Connection option.
i. Close RAS Mapper and then open the Geometric Data Editor window and “Save As”
as new geometry called “Stream Barbs”.
ii. Click on the SA/2D Area Conn Button at the top of the Geometric Data Editor and
draw two connections as shown in Figure 10. Name them “Barb 1” and “Barb 2”.

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 Figure 10. Stream Barbs.
iii. When you originally draw in the barbs, they’ll follow the alignment of the 2D area
cell faces. To have them take the alignment of the line you drew, left click on the
black dashed line and select “Enforce Internal Connection as Breakline”. See Figure
11.

Figure 11. SA/2D Area alignment. Before and after enforcing it as a breakline.

iv. In the SA/2D Area Connection editor, Weir/Embankment editor, enter station and
elevation data to define the crest of the barbs. Design these as you wish, but
generally target a crest elevation around 286.5 to 286.0 meters for most of their
length, and transition down to grade over the last 5 meters of length. It is best to

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 copy the terrain profile (see the button on the Connection Data Editor) into the
Station Elevation table, and then edit from there. It is important that you keep the
end stationing from the Terrain Profile the same as the end stationing in your Station
Elevation table and that none of the crest points are below the terrain.
v. Give each barb a Weir Width of 5 meters and leave the default discharge coefficient
of 1.66 and weir crest shape as broad crested. The stream barbs should look similar
to Figure 12.

Figure 12. Stream bank barb.

vi. Save the new geometry. Open up the Unsteady Flow Analysis window and Save As
a new plan called “Stream Barbs” with a Short ID “Stream Barbs”. Run the Stream
Barb plan.
vii. When it’s done running, open up RAS Mapper and turn on the Velocity results layer
for the Stream Barbs plan. Zoom in to the barbs and turn on the particle tracing.

Question 7. Notice the flow patterns you see in between and around the stream barbs. This is
not a natural flow of water around structures like this. Draw a representation of what the
flow patterns SHOULD look like around the stream barbs in the box below. Flow is from
right to left. If you are not familiar with stream barbs or not sure, feel free to ask your
neighbor or the instructor for help.

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 viii. Open the Unsteady Flow Analysis window. Under Options…Calculation Options
and Tolerances, go to the 2D Flow Options tab and select “Full Momentum” for the
equation set for the Restoration 2D area. Save the plan and rerun the simulation.
Verify that the flow patterns around the barbs make more sense.

Step 8: Add Engineered Log Jams

8.1. For additional habitat, erosion control and hydraulic complexity, we’ll add in four
engineered log jams (ELJ) to the site. We’ll simulate these in HEC-RAS using Manning’s n
Refinement Regions and elevated n values. The structures themselves won’t be put in the
model, but their effect on conveyance (K) will be simulated by increasing Manning’s n.

Question 7. If we want to simulate a 97% reduction of conveyance through the ELJs, what
should we use for an n value? If the original n value (without ELJ) is 0.04? Hint use
Manning’s equation (K = AR2/3/n) and assume AR2/3 remains constant.
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i. Close RAS Mapper and then open the Geometric Data Editor window and “Save As”
as new geometry called “ELJs”. Also save the new plan as “ELJ” with a Short ID of
“ELJ”.
ii. Close the Geometric Data Editor and open up RAS Mapper.
iii. Turn off any results layers that are on and activate just the new ELJ Geometry 2D
Flow Area and Manning’s N layers.
iv. Expand the Manning’s N layer and check the box for Override Regions. Right-click
on Override Regions and enter edit mode.
v. With the “Add New Feature” tool active, click points to draw five different ELJ
polygons as shown in Figure 13. Use Manning’s n values of 1.33 (determined from
Question 7 above).

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 Figure 13. Locations of ELJs

vi. Discontinue Edit Mode and save RAS Mapper.

8.2. To better simulate velocity patterns around the ELJs, we’ll add in some refinement
regions around them so we can specify a smaller cell size.
i. Select the Refinement Regions layer in the 2D Flow Areas group layer. Right-click
on it and go into edit mode.
ii. Using the “Add New Feature” tool, draw refinement regions around the ELJs as
shown in Figure 14.
iii. Set the cell size in the new ELJ Regions to 3 meters by 3 meters in the Refinement
Region Properties editor (right click on the refinement region to get there). Then
enforce the new mesh size. If you get any cell violations (red dots) after enforcing
the refinement regions, manually add some cell center points to remove the
violation(s).

Figure 14. ELJs with Refinement Regions

iv. Exit Edit Mode, then save RAS Mapper and close it. Open the unsteady flow
analysis window and compute the ELJ plan. Occasionally HEC-RAS may
inadvertently disconnect 1D/2D connections (this is a bug in the current version of
HEC-RAS). If you get a message saying White River Muncie Reach needs a
downstream boundary condition, or something similar, go ahead and reconnect the
1D/2D boundaries to fix it.

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Step 9: Compare Results

Once computations are complete open RAS Mapper and compare results with and without
the ELJs. Focus on velocities and flow patterns. For the remainder of the allotted time,
consider where else you might place restoration features and try adding them in with
SA/2D Area connections or n value regions.

Congratulations! You finished the workshop.

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