Experimental and numerical model studies on flood inundation and drainage processes in a generalized urban street

Feng, Jiheng, Xia, Junqiang, Dong, Boliang, Wang, Xiaojie and Falconer, Roger A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5960-2864 2025. Experimental and numerical model studies on flood inundation and drainage processes in a generalized urban street. Advances in Water Resources 206 , 105159. 10.1016/j.advwatres.2025.105159

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Abstract

Accurate modelling of urban flood processes remains challenging due to the dual interaction between surface runoff and underground drainage, as well as the complexity in the layout of urban configurations. In this study, a series of experiments were conducted using a laboratory urban street model covering urban roads, buildings, street inlets, and an underground drainage network, in order to examine the hydrodynamic effects of the existence of buildings on flood inundation and drainage processes. A coupled 1D/2D hydrodynamic model was employed to replicate the flood inundation and drainage processes in the laboratory experiments, incorporating two different discharge capacity formulas of street inlet to evaluate their accuracy and applicability. The effect of building density on the flood inundation characteristics was also investigated through numerical tests. The following conclusions are drawn from this study: (i) the existence of buildings significantly altered the distribution of surface water depth, with the largest increase in water depth observed in the upstream and midstream domains under a high inflow, and the most notable water depth reduction occurring in the downstream domain under a low inflow; (ii) the existence of buildings could also increase the drainage discharge of street inlets by concentrating runoff and increasing the water depth around street inlets; (iii) among two inlet discharge capacity formulas used in this study, the unified formula presenting a simpler structure was capable of replicating the drainage processes in a flood event, especially at the steady stage; and (iv) under a fixed building number, different building densities reflected the spatial coverage of the building array, which critically influenced the flood inundation characteristics. Denser building layout led to lower water depths, while sparser layout caused deeper and more widespread inundation area.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Engineering
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0309-1708
Date of Acceptance:	24 October 2025
Last Modified:	17 Nov 2025 12:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182439

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