Manning's roughness coefficient determination in laboratory experiments using 2D modeling and automatic calibration

Reliable experimental data are essential for choosing and validating numerical models. Although numerous data sets have been presented in the literature, few have been made widely available to the scientific community. Additionally, these experimental data sets have generally given little attention to the determination of Manning's roughness coefficients. This paper addresses these two issues. Three channel configurations are studied: a flatbed channel, a channel with a triangular sill and a channel with a triangular abutment. Three increasing permanent discharges are used for each configuration, leading to nine test cases. The Manning's coefficients are determined using three methods: the traditional step method, automatic calibration, via a 2D hydrodynamic model, considering theoretical value intervals and automatic calibration ignoring these intervals. The results show that automatic calibration with theoretical value intervals is advantageous compared to the step method. Automatic calibration ignoring theoretical intervals yields low errors but unphysical values; therefore, it is not recommended.