RIM2D - Helmholtz validation project
Abstract:
RIM2D is a highly performant hydraulic 2D computer model for the simulation of pluvial and fluvial floods, which has been developed for several years by the Section Hydrology and is used in various projects. The model is programmed to run on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), which allows for high parallelization of computational operations and thus shorter model run times. The fast computation times enable probabilistic flood risk analyses with several hundred to thousands of simulations, as well as its use in operational flood forecasting. This allows flood forecasts to be made not only for water levels at selected gauges but for the entire area affected by floods, including populated areas. In the Helmholtz validation project RIM2D, in addition to further technical developments and validations of the model based on historical events, the commercialization and market introduction of RIM2D are being prepared.
Project description:
In the past decade heavy rain storm events caused several flash floods which led to loss in lives and assets, and caused significant damage. The Geman industry association responsible for public water management (Deutsche Vereinigung für Wasserwirtschaft, Abwasser und Abfall, DWA) recommends that all municipalities re-evaluate their food risk assessment by conducting hydraulic simulations, especially in urban areas. However, models with the necessary functions on the one hand, and the required performance on the other are rarely available on the market. RIM2D is a suitable solution to close that gap.
RIM2D is a highly performant 2D raster-based hydrodynamic model running on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for the simulation of pluvial and fluvial floods in both urban and rural areas. At the beginning of the project RIM2D has already been a highly mature and well documented scientific code which is and will be available to the scientific community and anyone interested under an open-source license. In the validation project the performance of the model is further enhanced. The development of a front end and a Git-Container or a SaaS-platform respectively will increase user friendliness and make the model available to commercial users. The project follows a dual licensing concept to ascertain for the scientific community the ongoing availability of the full model under an open-source license, while offering a commercial license with additional features and services for interested customers.
Objective of the project is the development and licensing of a software product ready for the market, with a user-friendly front end, which can be used on dedicated infrastructure or in the cloud. The model should be fit to tackle any given flooding scenario in any spatial scale and resolution. The additional value generated in the project should not only benefit target customers like engineering consultancies, but also society by offering an easily applicable solution for public authorities and municipalities.
The project is coordinated by the model developers at GFZ’s section hydrology. Several new features will also be implemented by GFZ. More sophisticated tasks, like the development of the front-end, will be carried out by the company PERFACCT GmbH. Furthermore, an industry partner, hydro & meteo GmbH from Lübeck, will consult on the project and ascertain the focus on the target clientele and aid in business development. New technological advancements in the project and the final product will be evaluated by the consulting partner and other partners from relevant public authorities.
The project seeks to interact with the community as much as possible. If you are interested to evaluate the model for your purposes or to participate in our upcoming end-user-workshop in the first quarter of 2025, please get in touch with below contacts.
Project partner :
