In-stream features such as fish passages and large woods are widely used by Reclamation for improving river management through enhanced fish passage and habitat restoration. Design methods and guidelines are rare for predicting their effectiveness. It is also difficult to predict the physical response of channels to their placement. The risk and liability of these in-stream features are rarely evaluated quantitatively prior to project implementation. Computer models have the potential to address the above issues. However, a key bottleneck of applying existing 3D models such as U2ARNS is the need for 3D mesh generation. Mesh generation for complex geometries, such as in-stream structures, can easily fail. Even when meshing can be completed, the resulted low quality of the mesh often renders 3D solver unstable. This proposed research aims to develop a novel alternative method which may be implemented into the latest high-accuracy 3D model U2RANS. The end-product is a robust eco-hydraulic 3D modeling tool for rivers with complex in-stream features.
