GIS Mesher
Overview
GIS Mesher by Rising Water Software allows users to develop and build meshes in their preferred GIS software and review it prior to running TUFLOW FV. Numerous GIS input file formats are supported including OGC GeoPackage, ESRI Shapefiles, and MapInfo GIS files (tab or mif/mid).
The GIS Mesher is designed to create meshes with less effort. The shape, alignment and size of mesh elements can all be controlled using GIS layers.
GIS Mesher features of interest include:
- Sizes from GIS points or polylines (size parallel and perpendicular to elongate cells).
- Raster files (several formats are supported) to provide elevation data.
- Material assignment to mesh elements via GIS polygon layers.
- Nodestring assignment to mesh faces via GIS polyline layers.
- Automatic coordinate conversion from input files into the designated meshing coordinate system (must be a projected system in feet or meters).
- Specified output coordinate system that may be different than the meshing coordinate system.
- Force cell edges (breaklines) along polylines to enforce topographic features.
- Run TUFLOW FV simulations in a queue (runner capability does not require a license or registration).
Solution Guided Meshing
The Solution Guided Meshing (SGM) functionality iteratively refines meshes based upon a TUFLOW FV solution (Please see the insights article on Solution Guided Meshing). SGM varies the cell sizes based upon the change in relative depths to provide adequate resolution where needed. Cells are elongated in the direction of flow based upon user defined parameters. The figure below shows the initial mesh (left) and the resulting mesh after four iterations using SGM (right). Notice the increased resolution around large changes in relative depth (shelf or islands), with coarse cells in the deeper ocean. This is an automatic result of the SGM process.
Examples And Tutorials
For a demonstration of the GIS Mesher’s functionality, please refer to the series of short videos on The GIS Mesher Youtube Channel, and check out the GIS Mesher Website and GIS Mesher Example Models.
See also Meshing M01 GIS Mesher to build a mesh for TUFLOW FV Tutorial Module M01.
Conclusion
This page has provided a summary of GIS Mesher capabilities and links to further information. Please return to the TUFLOW FV Wiki Homepage.