Articles | Volume 20, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2669-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2669-2016
Research article
 | 
08 Jul 2016
Research article |  | 08 Jul 2016

A comparison of the modern Lie scaling method to classical scaling techniques

James Polsinelli and M. Levent Kavvas

Abstract. In the past 2 decades a new modern scaling technique has emerged from the highly developed theory on the Lie group of transformations. This new method has been applied by engineers to several problems in hydrology and hydraulics, including but not limited to overland flow, groundwater dynamics, sediment transport, and open channel hydraulics. This study attempts to clarify the relationship this new technology has with the classical scaling method based on dimensional analysis, non-dimensionalization, and the Vaschy–Buckingham-Π theorem. Key points of the Lie group theory, and the application of the Lie scaling transformation, are outlined and a comparison is made with two classical scaling models through two examples: unconfined groundwater flow and contaminant transport. The Lie scaling method produces an invariant scaling transformation of the prototype variables, which ensures the dynamics between the model and prototype systems will be preserved. Lie scaling can also be used to determine the conditions under which a complete model is dynamically, kinematically, and geometrically similar to the prototype phenomenon. Similarities between the Lie and classical scaling methods are explained, and the relative strengths and weaknesses of the techniques are discussed.

Download
Short summary
This article summarizes the theory and demonstrates the technique of a new scaling method known as the Lie scaling. In the course of applying the method to two example problems, classical notions of dynamical and kinematic scaling are incorporated. The two example problems are a 2-D unconfined groundwater problem in a heterogeneous soil and a 1-D contaminant transport problem. The article concludes with comments on the relative strengths and weaknesses of Lie scaling and classical scaling.