Approximately 20 Civil Engineering students used the CIVS virtual flood simulator in a Hydrology course lab in the CIVS Immersive Theater on March 7th & 9th. The virtual lab helped students learn about flood mitigation strategies by exploring an Interactive 3D flood of Northwest Indiana. The flood simulation was recreated using data collected from the 100-year flood event that occurred around the Little Calumet River in Northwest Indiana in 2008. This experiential learning takes place every year as a part of Hydrology Course CE342 taught by Prof. Subbarao Majety.
Some students also experienced a newly developed module that let them see what the flood was like on location at one of the affected areas. The new flood module combined 360-degree video recorded at various locations and simulates water levels rising based on the 2008 data, rising up around the viewers and eventually submerging them beneath the flood waters. The module was developed by recent CIVS graduate, James “Anthony” Dunlap in collaboration with Prof. Viswanathan and CIVS researcher John Moreland.
The Interactive 3D Flood Simulation was created by CIVS and Prof. Chandramouli Viswanathan as part of an NSF Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science Grant funded project in collaboration with several other universities. The simulation included both real data collected during the flood as well as simulated data to show how the flood would’ve been different using various remediation strategies. In this research, 6 undergraduate senior design groups and 3 graduate students participated in field data collections such as channel cross section surveys and modeling development. For flood modeling, Hydrologic modeling and Hydraulic modeling were developed initially.
Students measured data at different times during the flood and were able to see the impact of levees and sluice gate operation. The U.S. Corps of Army Engineers installed a series of levees at various points around Little Calumet River in response to the event to help deal with future flooding. Calibrated modeling results were taken to unity 3D game engine platform to develop immersive virtual 3D flood model for a real world system located in Northwest Indiana known as Little Calumet – Hart Ditch River system. Developed resources were used as lab modules in training students and a field resource for flood planning. He also developed education and outreach tools for northwest Indiana.
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