element network. Nodes with negative or zero depths (dry land) are prohibited within the
computational domain. A minimum water depth may be judicially chosen and regions
under this minimum depth (higher in elevation) should be eliminated.
For the open
boundary, it is necessary to have properly distributed points created on a semicircle (or full
circle for offshore applications), and points outside the open boundary must be discarded.
These tasks are theoretically trivial, but very time consuming. The utility program "resol"
accomplishes these tasks quickly and with minimal effort on the part of the user.
7.2.1 Viewing XYZ Data and Selecting Open
Boundary End Points
Consider as an example the raw data-set called "swansr.xyz". This raw data may
be viewed in SMS. This can be done as follows. Run the SMS executable file. When
SMS is open, a tool palette, graphics window, and pull-down menus at the top of the
screen are visible. From the "File" menu choose "import". Select "XYZ data" from the
"Select Import Format" window. Select the drive, directory and file "swansr.xyz" using
the "Open" window. From the tool palette select the "Create Linear Triangle" tool Note
that the name of the tool that is currently under the mouse pointer is displayed at the
bottom of the SMS window. From the "Elements" menu select "Triangulate". This
results in a finite element triangular network. Select the "Display Options" tool from
either the tool palette or from the "Display" pull-down menu. The "Display Options"
window allows the user to view or hide various display features.
Toggle off "Nodes".
Toggle the "Contours" on. Click on the "Options" button to the right of the "Contours"
toggle. Select "Color fill between contours", click "OK". Click "OK" again to exit the
"Display Options" window. A color representation of the triangulated grid is now visible.
It is suggested that the user become familiar with the function of the tools and options
before attempting any serious modeling effort. Before exiting SMS, the user should write
down some information that is used to create the semicircular open boundary. Pick a
minimum water depth and roughly estimate the starting and end point
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