UC

Verified User in Civil Engineering

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

4/11/2017

"HECRAS"

3.5/5

What do you like best about HEC-RAS?

I like the ability to run different flow situations Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HEC-RAS?

No autosave functions make it easy to lose work Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

MS

Maggie S.

Transportation Engineer

Civil Engineering

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

5/22/2016

"Useful"

4/5

What do you like best about HEC-RAS?

HEC-RAS is one of the standard programs for analyzing river hydraulics, including water depth, velocity, effects of hydraulic structures, and inundation boundaries. It is free and commonly used in the field. You can couple it with GeoRAS to convert between GIS shapefiles and RAS geometric input files. Lastly, it can handle very large data sets.

Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HEC-RAS?

The biggest limitation of HEC-RAS is that it is one dimension, that means variables are accounted for only in the direction of flow. It is not appropriate for complex pipe network systems. And the steady flow analysis is applicable only for ground slope of less than 1 : 10. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering HEC-RAS:

Users can create good models with good engineering judgement and proper level of care Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is HEC-RAS solving and how is that benefiting you?

It is useful for analyzing river hydraulics to compute water depth, velocity, and inundation boundaries with the effects of hydraulic structures such as bridges and culvert under roadways. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

LB

Lenore B.

Project Engineer

Civil Engineering

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

3/28/2016

"Hec-Ras"

4.5/5

What do you like best about HEC-RAS?

It's simple, free, runs smoothly, and recognized as a standard program. It can now do 1D, 2D, or a combination of both. In 2D, you have the option to select Full Saint Venant or Diffusion Wave Equations. And the Mapper function can do detailed flood mapping and flood animations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HEC-RAS?

2D is new and it's only available for unsteady analysis. The result is susceptible to DEM resolution. You can get different result when you use a 30m DEM vs. a 1m DEM. And there isn't enough features for automating the generation of detailed 2D computational mesh. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering HEC-RAS:

Try to use higher resolution DEM and watch the spacing of your cross sections. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is HEC-RAS solving and how is that benefiting you?

As part of the onsite water/wastewater treatment design, we have to analyze the water flow and potential flood risk for the site. This program is used for this purpose. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

UC

Verified User in Construction

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

8/25/2016

"Old School software used for flood calculaitons"

4/5

What do you like best about HEC-RAS?

- Ability to calculate flood heights and extents for a given topographical area

- Ability to input 2, 25, 100 year storm data

- Ability to check bridges and other interferences

- Detailed manual for self learning Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HEC-RAS?

- Steep learning curve

- GUI could use updating

- Software needs complete overhaul

- No 3D capabilities Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering HEC-RAS:

- Garbage in, garbage out. Make sure to double and triple check your input data and measurements

- Spend time with the manual to learn the ins and outs of the software Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is HEC-RAS solving and how is that benefiting you?

- Flood heights and extents for given topographical area

- Checking bridge interferences Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

UE

Verified User in Environmental Services

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/15/2016

"A Hydraulics Modeling Tool For Riverine Analysis"

5/5

What do you like best about HEC-RAS?

HEC-RAS is a free program developed by the USACE. It is widely recognized, and is used for most of the hydraulics analysis for developing FEMA's flood maps. Over the years, a lot of bugs and problems have been resolved with the newer versions. It is taught in college and easy to pick up. You can use GeoRAS to help build your model in ArcGIS. It is a good program for non-complex scenario. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HEC-RAS?

It is 1D analysis and is meant for open channel. This program is not suitable for complex scenarios or urban (drainage network) settings. Also, it does not have the function of varying manning's n with water depths. And channel sections are generalized into left of bank, channel, and right of bank. It is fine if you just need general results. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering HEC-RAS:

This is a program that every engineer in the H/H field should have at least a basic knowledge of. It is a program that you learn from using it. With experience, you will learn how to properly tweak and build a good model. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is HEC-RAS solving and how is that benefiting you?

HEC-RAS is the program I use most for the hydraulics part of my flood risk analysis. I use it with GeoRAS and ArcGIS to build my model and generate result in GIS format. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

UC

Verified User in Civil Engineering

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

8/26/2016

"Decent open channel water modelling siftwate"

3.5/5

What do you like best about HEC-RAS?

The cost, this software is free which you won't get from most other modeling software Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HEC-RAS?

The software only allows you to model in two dimensions. Upgrading to 3 dimensionao modelling would be a big upgrade. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.