A width-averaged 2-D numerical model for simulating vertical distributions of flow and water temperature in reservoirs with an ice cover is developed. In this model, the 2-D flow and water temperature distributions are solved by the finite volume method with the k-? turbulent model. The heat conduction in the ice cover is modeled by the vertical heat transfer and the heat exchanges through the air-ice and ice-water interfaces. The model is applied to a 153 km long reservoir in Songhua River and the simulated results are in a good agreement with the field data of both the vertical water temperature and the ice thickness. The simulated results show that the ice cover thickness in the reservoir is not uniform, the maximum thickness appears in the middle reach, the outflow temperature has an obvious variation as compared with the natural temperature, and a buoyant flow occurs in the reservoir surface at the freeze-up and break-up periods. The model can effectively simulate the water temperature and the ice conditions of large reservoirs in cold regions.
