Numerical Simulation of Unsteady Flow at Po River Delta

This paper describes a numerical simulation of the flow at the delta of the Po River, the main Italian river. We take into account a portion of the river that is 20 km long, characterized by a complex geometry consisting of narrow bends and strong gradients in the profile of the riverbed. To account for the presence of tidal effects, a nonstationary solution is sought. The considered model consists in the classical two-dimensional (2D) Saint-Venant equations, written in conservation form. This system of partial differential equations is discretized by a finite-element scheme that has some particularly attractive features for river flow. The accuracy of the scheme is verified on a few test cases, then a numerical simulation of the flow of the Po over three days is implemented. The numerical results are then compared with the experimental measures and discussed in the light of the assumptions made in the construction of the model.