Application of Open Source CFD in Urban Water Management

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is likely to play an increasing role in Urban Water Management modelling. It provides the opportunity to perform detailed modelling, both predictive and analytic, of increasingly complex elements of the urban water infrastructure. This can include modelling of flow control devices, separators and other flow processing elements, and also the interaction of the infrastructure with the environment, such as road runoff. As available computing power has increased, more complex and accurate simulations have become possible. In the past, most calculations have been performed using one of a number of commercial CFD codes. These are marketed as "grey-box" codes, and operate under a pay-per-use licensing model. Recently, alternative codes operating under the Open Source licensing model have become available, such as OpenFOAM. These provide a number of advantages, in particular the level of usage is not dictated by licensing costs, and the availability of the code promotes modification, verification, and code sharing. In this paper we look at the application of OpenFOAM to UWM modelling in both academic and industrial research, including the quality of the technical results and the value added to the process through adoption of Open Source software solutions.