Troubleshooting an SRH-2D Model

Do you have an SRH-2D model that is failing to converge or has other errors? It is important to understand that errors in SRH-2D model runs are not uncommon and not necessarily an indication of a major problem. This post will give you some guidance so you can quickly identify and fix errors. This will allow you to produce accurate and useful results.

Common errors often appear around items that were missed during the model development. To avoid errors, it is important to review all data that’s been important into SMS. Also, care should be taken in designing and generating the mesh or grid being used in the simulation. While SRH-2D is rather forgiving, sometimes small issues in the mesh or grid can cause errors. Finally, double-check all boundary conditions that they are in the correct location and that all model parameters have been set.

It's important to note that while the SMS model checker can identify some errors, it does not validate the data and cannot catch all errors. Therefore, it is important to be familiar with the SRH-2D error codes and how to troubleshoot them.

When encountering an error, it is important to remain calm and follow the steps outlined in the blog post, recording the error number and referring to the SRH-2D error page for guidance. Often, solutions involve minor adjustments to data inputs or boundary conditions.

If you were unable to record the error from the model wrapper, don't worry. You can still see this information by reviewing two of the files generated by SRH-2D during every model run. These files will be named [projectname].OUT.dat and [projectname].DIA.dat files.

To use these files:

1. Locate the files in the model run directory with your project file.
2. Open the *.OUT.dat or *.DIA.dat files using a text editor such as Notepad.
3. Look through the text file to locate the error code.
4. Go to the SRH-2D error page to find the solution.
5. Make the needed change(s) to your project and run SRH-2D again.

By mastering the process of troubleshooting SRH-2D errors, you can produce accurate and useful results that can inform important decisions related to water resources and hydraulic engineering. The Community Edition of SMS is a great resource for exploring the capabilities of SRH-2D in SMS. Use SRH-2D with SMS today!

A previous version of this article was publish in 2018