New Geospatial editing tools coming in HEC-RAS Version 5.1

Written by Chris Goodell
Copyright © The RAS Solution 2017.  All rights reserved

New geospatial editing tools are currently in development for the next version of HEC-RAS-Version 5.1.  While no date has been set for the release of Version 5.1, it is expected sometime within the next year or two.  But no guarantees!  This will be an exciting new addition to HEC-RAS in that users will no longer be reliant on 3rd party software like ArcGIS or AutoCAD to develop geometric features like cross sections, river lines, flow lines, storage and 2D areas, etc.  All of this will be done within the HEC-RAS program environment.  And this will effectively eliminate the need for HEC-GeoRAS.

HEC recently published it's Spring 2017 Newsletter, which has a very nice article by Cameron Ackerman ,P.E., D.WRE on some of the new tools and capabilities that will be available within HEC-RAS Version 5.1 for extracting GIS information from digital terrain models.  The newsletter can be read here: 

http://www.hec.usace.army.mil/newsletters/HEC_Newsletter_Spring2017.pdf. 

Cameron's article on new geometric editing features in Version 5.1 starts on page 20.  

The new geospatial editing toolbar will serve as the base point for adding and editing geospatial features in HEC-RAS and will be docked to the RAS Mapper window.  It includes editing tools for adding new features, selecting/editing features, undo and redo, and  plotting terrain profiles.

With these tools, you'll be able to add geospatial features and interact with them directly within HEC-RAS.  Here you see the ability to move stream centerline points in RAS Mapper:

HEC also plans to have interactive help messaging while working in the geospatial environment to help the user identify errors in the geometry setup.  The following figure shows help messages for locations where bank lines do not intersect cross sections, which would result in missing bank stations.

These new features will make it much easier to identify problems with your model construction and fix those problems without having to leave HEC-RAS.  Here we see a poor definition of study limits not allowing for proper mapping of the flood inundation zone.  By quickly adjusting the study limit polygon, a more appropriate inundation map can be drawn.

This is just a brief preview of all of the exciting geospatial editing tools HEC-RAS will include in Version 5.1.  Please read the article by Cameron Ackerman in the HEC Spring 2017 Newsletter for more information.  

Transect for Extracting Flow in a 2D Area

Written by Christopher Goodell, P.E., D.WRE  |  WEST Consultants
Copyright © The RAS Solution 2015.  All rights reserved.

*Update:  Version 5.0.2 now does flow transects in RAS Mapper with profile lines.  No longer necessary to use a 2D Area Connection to do this.

A very common output request in 2D modeling is for flow over (through) a transect line.  HEC-RAS 5.0 does not have a specific tool for extracting flow data along a line in a 2D area, however it CAN be done.  Here’s how you do it.
Inside your 2D area, draw a 2D Area Connection where you would like to extract flow.  In the figure below, I’ve drawn my 2D Area Connection line from bottom to top, which represents left to right, looking in the downstream direction. 

Notice that with the completely orthogonal cell orientation, but with a skewed 2D Area Connection line, the black and red striped connection line is “jagged”, following cell faces between the connecting cells.   To fix this, we need to use a breakline.  You could draw a break line on top of the 2D Area Connection (click the 2D Area Break Lines button on the top of the Geometric Data window), however, HEC-RAS also has a short cut for putting breaklines on 2D Area Connections.  If you right click on the 2D Area Connection (I’ve named if “Flow Line”), you’ll see an option to “Create 2D Flow Area Breakline”.  Select this for quick cell re-orientation around the 2D Area Connection Line.


Now you’re ready to enter data to the 2D Area Connection that you’ll use for extracting flow.  Click the SA/2D Area Conn button on the left side of the Geometric Data window. 
Make sure you connect “From” and “To” to the same 2D flow area.  Then choose “Normal 2D Equation Domain”.  This will force RAS to use the same 2D St. Venant equations over the terrain under the 2D Connection line as if the connection line wasn’t there.  BUT…you still have to define the Structure Type as a Weir and provide station-elevation data to define the crest of the weir, even though RAS will not use it.  Maybe this gets fixed in a later version.  HEC makes this easy though as you can extract the terrain profile from the 2D Connection cutline by clicking the button “Terrain Profile” as shown below.  Just copy and paste the terrain profile into your station-elevation table and you will  have defined a “zero-height” weir.  I guess it’s possible to use any crest definition, since RAS shouldn’t use the weir equation-it will use the normal 2D equation domain, but I haven’t tried it. 

Now you are ready to compute.  After computing, go to the Stage and Flow Hydrographs output window.

Make sure you select Type…Storage Area Connections (yes, it is technically an SA/2D Area Connection, but HEC hasn’t gotten around to renaming this yet in this window).  Now you can see the flow hydrograph for the flow line you’ve drawn.  You can check, but you’ll see the results are exactly the same as before including the flow line.

How to draw cross sections.

Written by Chris Goodell, P.E., D. WRE
Copyright © RASModel.com. 2012. All rights reserved.

Cross sections must be perpendicular to the flow lines at all locations.  And they cannot intersect with each other.  That is why it is common to see cross sections snap at different angles outside the main channel (we call this doglegging).  The trick is to keep them from intersecting, while also staying perpendicular to flow lines.  In the figure below, the dark blue line represents the main channel.  The brown lines represent the edge of the flood plain.  The light blue lines are my impression of the flow lines through this terrain, if water were flowing appreciably in the floodplain.  The green lines are cross sections.  Notice that the cross sections are drawn so that they are not only perpendicular to the main channel, but also to my perception of the flow lines in the floodplain.  It can be very helpful to draw these flow lines before cutting cross sections. 

It takes a little bit of practice to do this correctly, and most of the time some trial and error, but as long as you remain perpendicular to the flow lines and don’t intersect, you’ll have a good set of cross sections. 
Where it can get tricky is at a junction.  The following RAS Bloggery article will help with junctions.  http://hecrasmodel.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-best-model-junction.html