HEC-RAS Computer Workshop

Instructors

Martin J. Teal, P.E., D.WRE, P.H.
Mr. Teal has worked with hydraulic models for more than 15 years and currently serves as project manager and senior hydraulic engineer with WEST Consultants. His experience includes working as a hydraulic engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and as a civil engineer for a large multinational firm in Chile. In his nine years as a private consultant with WEST, he has dealt with these problems for clients in both the public and private sectors throughout the United States and internationally.

Mr. Teal earned his BS in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and his MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Hydraulics) from the University of Iowa. He has taught HEC-RAS courses since 1997 throughout the U.S. and Latin America.

Raymond Walton, P.E., Ph.D., D.WRE.
Dr. Walton has nearly 30 years of experience directing water resources projects for a variety of federal, state, local government and private clients. He is a nationally recognized expert in water resources and computer modeling, including surface water, groundwater and water quality systems. He is currently a Vice-president with WEST Consultants.

Dr. Walton started with the Rivers division of Hydraulic Research Station in the U.K., developing and applying hydraulic flood routing models. He taught hydraulics, hydrology, water resources, and mechanics at N.C. State University. He then worked for more than 15 years for two large firms on the east coast and in Washington State, where he managed numerous water resources engineering and modeling studies. He has applied models to numerous rivers, estuaries and coastal areas to simulate flooding, circulation, and water quality, and he has applied HEC-RAS to more than 100 river systems throughout the United States. He received his B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University College, London, his M.Sc. in Engineering Hydrology from the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and his Ph.D. in Hydraulics from the University of Florida.

Christopher R. Goodell, P.E.
Mr. Goodell is a senior hydraulic engineer with WEST Consultants with 10 years of experience in computational hydraulics, river hydraulics and hydraulic design. He spent two years at the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) actively working on the development of HEC-RAS. In addition, Mr. Goodell is a contributing author to the HEC-RAS manuals and has applied HEC-RAS to a wide range of complex problems, including dam breaks, bridge and culvert hydraulics, spillway and outlet works design, stable channel design, and floodplain mapping. He also has experience in moveable bed hydraulics and has contributed to the incorporation of sediment transport and sediment impact modeling into HEC-RAS.

Mr. Goodell earned his B.S. degree in civil engineering at Oregon State University and his M.Eng. in Hydraulic Engineering from the International Institute for Hydraulic Engineering (IHE) in Delft, The Netherlands. Mr. Goodell has taught HEC-RAS courses and provided technical support for HEC-RAS since 2000.

Course Description

This intensive, hands-on, three-day seminar and computer workshop will prepare the engineer and water resource professional to use the HEC-RAS computer program in real world situations. Led by experts with experience in hydraulic modeling, participants learn how to conduct water surface profiles, bridge hydraulics, and flood plain information studies using the steady flow capabilities of HEC-RAS. Unsteady flow capabilities are taught in a separate companion class “HEC-RAS Computer Workshop for Unsteady Flow Applications.”

The HEC-RAS modeling system was developed as part of the Hydrologic Engineering Centers Next Generation software and replaces several existing Corps of Engineers programs, including the HEC-2 water surface profile program. HEC-RAS incorporates various aspects of hydraulic modeling, including water surface profile computations and bridge hydraulics.

HEC-RAS advances in open channel hydraulic analysis include:

• Automatic analysis of sub-critical and supercritical flow regimes in a single analysis.
• Availability of all widely used methods for bridge and culvert hydraulic analysis.
• Ability to perform bridge scour analysis including pier contraction and abutment scour.
• Many other capabilities developed from years of experience with HEC-2 and other major hydraulic analysis computer programs.

While offering these advanced capabilities, HEC-RAS remains compatible with HEC-2 and will import almost any correctly assembled HEC-2 input data file, perform hydraulic analysis, and will yield essentially the same results as HEC-2 for the same input data. All major HEC-2 program features and options have been incorporated in HEC-RAS, including bridge and culvert analysis, and floodway computations.

HEC-RAS is user friendly, computationally efficient, and runs within, and fully supports, the Microsoft Windows environment. It uses the latest graphical user interface (GUI) technology for data entry, graphics, and display of program results. Complete context-sensitive help screens are available for every program feature and option. Software includes the following functions: file management, data entry and editing, hydraulic analyses, tabulation and graphical displays of input and output data, reporting facilities, and on-line help.

HEC-RAS is one of the most extensively tested civil engineering computer programs ever developed. In addition to extensive in-house testing at the Hydrologic Engineering Center and at other Corps of Engineers offices, the program has been through two full beta releases, during which the program was tested by thousands of engineers in the private and public sectors.

Seminar Benefits

• Learn how to use the US Army Corps of Engineers HEC-RAS (River Analysis System) computer program.
• Gain hands-on HEC-RAS experience by participating in practical computer workshops.
• Get an overview of hydraulic principles for rivers, waterway bridges, and culverts.
• Optimize the effectiveness of your next flood control or drainage projects.
• Obtain valuable insights in model development and flood way optimization for FEMA flood insurance studies.

Special Features

Workshop participants receive the following publications and software:

• HEC-RAS Software (latest version)
• HEC-RAS Course Notes and Workshop Problems
• HEC-RAS User Manual
• HEC-RAS Hydraulic Reference Manual
• HEC-RAS Application Manual
• HEC-RAS Example Problems

Who Should Attend

Consulting engineers, water resource planners, engineers employed by local, state, or federal government agencies. Participants should have some experience in floodplain hydrology and/or hydraulics. They should also be able to follow simple computer instructions.

Summary Outline

Day One

• Overview of HEC-RAS Capabilities
• Basic Hydraulic Model Development
• Computer Workshop on Basic Model Development
• Modeling Tributary Junctions
• Computer Workshop on Modeling Tributaries and Junctions
  

Day Two

• Modeling Ineffective Flow Areas and Levees
• Basic Hydraulic Theory
• Modeling Bridges
• Computer Workshop on Modeling Bridges
• Modeling Culverts
  

Day Three

• Modeling Multiple Openings
• Computer Workshop on Multiple Openings
• FEMA Floodway Determination
• Computer Workshop on Floodway Determination
• Computer Workshop on Output Analysis