TUFLOW is a hydraulic modelling software package developed by BMT, widely regarded as the industry standard for two-dimensional flood modelling in the UK, Australia, and internationally. It solves the shallow water equations across a structured grid or flexible mesh to simulate flood behaviour with high accuracy.

TUFLOW is used for a wide range of flood risk applications:

River flood modelling: Simulating floodplain inundation from rivers using linked 1D channel and 2D floodplain models
Direct rainfall modelling: Applying rainfall directly to a 2D surface model to simulate surface water (pluvial) flood risk, widely used for urban flood studies
Coastal and estuarine modelling: Simulating tidal propagation and storm surge in coastal environments
Dam break and breach analysis: Modelling rapid inundation scenarios for reservoir safety studies

Key features that distinguish TUFLOW include:

GPU acceleration: TUFLOW’s HPC solver runs on graphics processing units (GPUs), reducing model run times from hours to minutes and making it feasible to run large ensembles of scenarios
Flexible mesh: The TUFLOW FV engine allows variable mesh resolution, concentrating computational effort where it matters most
Robust wetting and drying: Accurate handling of advancing and retreating flood fronts, critical for floodplain modelling
Direct rainfall capability: Purpose-built for applying rainfall to urban surfaces with building footprints and drainage interactions

The Environment Agency accepts TUFLOW outputs as the basis for Flood Risk Assessments and flood mapping updates. Aegaea’s flood modelling team uses TUFLOW as the primary tool for 2D and direct rainfall modelling projects.