Principles and Simulation of Sustainable Landscapes

Hydrological Modeling

Effective green infrastructure relies on understanding water movement. Rainfall infiltration, runoff reduction, and groundwater recharge are key objectives. The simulation models incorporate principles of soil physics and hydrological processes to predict how water behaves within a designed landscape.

Key equations used include Darcy’s Law for flow through porous media and simplified versions of the Saint-Étienne equation for overland flow. These allow users to adjust parameters like soil permeability, vegetation cover, and slope to observe their effect on water retention and drainage.

Darcy's Law: Q = -k(A/L)dP/dL

Vegetation Modeling

Plant selection is crucial for green infrastructure success. The simulation incorporates models of plant growth, evapotranspiration rates, and carbon sequestration capabilities. Different species respond differently to environmental factors.

The underlying mechanism involves calculating leaf area index (LAI), which dictates the amount of solar radiation intercepted by plants. This drives calculations for transpiration, influencing local humidity and water availability.

Evapotranspiration Equation: ET = f(T, RH, Vp, Leaf Area)

Stormwater Management Design

Green infrastructure utilizes natural processes to manage stormwater. Simulations allow users to design and evaluate features like rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable pavements.

The simulation accounts for the volume of water detained within these systems, as well as the rate at which it is released back into the drainage network. This optimization process considers factors such as surface roughness and infiltration coefficients.

Detention Volume = Rainfall Intensity * Time of Concentration * Infiltration Coefficient

Landscape Performance Metrics

The simulation provides a suite of metrics to assess the performance of green infrastructure designs. These include runoff reduction percentage, groundwater recharge rate, carbon sequestration potential, and biodiversity indices.

These metrics are calculated based on the underlying physical models and allow users to compare different design options and identify optimal solutions for specific site conditions. The system can evaluate overall ecological value.

Frequently asked questions

Try it live

Everything above runs in your browser — open SPH Fluid and change the parameters while it is running. Nothing is installed, nothing is uploaded, the whole model lives in one tab.