PTM Overview

PTM

Overview

The Particle Tracking Model (PTM) is a Lagrangian particle tracker designed to allow the user to simulate particle transport processes. PTM is funded through two US Army Corps of Engineers Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC) research programs, the Coastal Inlets Research Program (CIRP) and the Dredging Operations and Environmental Research (DOER) Program. PTM has been developed for application to dredging and coastal projects including dredged material dispersion and fate, sediment pathway and fate, and constituent transport. The model contains algorithms that appropriately represent transport, settling, deposition, mixing, and resuspension processes in nearshore wave/current conditions. It uses waves and currents developed through other models and input directly to PTM as forcing functions.

Graphical Interface

SMS provides a graphical interface that is designed to allow users to visualize the projects they are creating, easily modify project parameters, and view the solutions produced by the PTM model. See PTM Graphical Interface for more information.

The PTM Graphical Interface contains tools to create and edit an PTM simulation. The simulation consists of a geometric definition of the sources, traps, and a set of numerical parameters. The parameters define the hydrodynamic input and options pertinent to the model.

PTM Menu

The following menu commands are available in the PTM Menu:

Command	Functionality
New Simulation	Creates a new PTM simulation and adds it to the Project Explorer.
Model Check	Checks the active PTM simulation for common input errors.
Model Control	Opens the Model Control dialog (used to organize input files, specify model parameters, choose output options, etc.).
Run Model	Launches the PTM model using the active PTM simulation input files.

How do I use PTM?

The SMS tutorials are a good place to start learning to use SMS and associated models. The following tutorials will help get you started using TUFLOW.

Tools

PTM sources and traps are created in the Map Module as feature objects using the Map Module Tools.

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Please refer to the model developer provided documentation listed in the external links section.

Related Topics

• PTM Arc Attributes Dialog
• PTM Control File
• PTM Feature Point Attributes Dialog
• PTM Gage Coverage
• PTM Graphical Interface
• PTM Menu
• PTM Model Check
• PTM Model Control
• PTM Particle Filters
• PTM Polygon Attributes Dialog
• PTM Sediment File
• PTM Source File
• PTM Sources
• PTM Trap File
• PTM Traps
• PTM Wave File
• Particle Module
• Mesh Module