Cities use MIKE 21 to model 100-year flood events. By combining river inflows (MIKE 11) with rainfall runoff (MIKE URBAN) and MIKE 21 for 2D overland flow, modellers produce high-resolution flood depth and velocity maps. These maps are used for:
MIKE 21 is modular. You typically start with the module, then add others:
While DHI Mike 21 is a powerful software package, it has some limitations, including: dhi mike 21
: Utilizes an unstructured mesh (typically triangles or quadrilaterals), allowing for higher resolution in critical areas like coastlines or around structures while maintaining coarser resolution in the deep ocean.
Mike 21 has a wide range of applications in coastal engineering, research, and management. Some examples include: Cities use MIKE 21 to model 100-year flood events
This is the heart of the software. It solves the depth-integrated Navier-Stokes equations.
Modern versions of MIKE 21 leverage the processing power of modern graphics cards (GPUs). This acceleration drastically cuts down simulation times for complex, high-resolution models from days to hours. You typically start with the module, then add
: The legacy version uses a structured, orthogonal (rectangular) grid to describe the topography.
MIKE 21 is a professional engineering software package developed by DHI (Danish Hydraulic Institute). It is a comprehensive, 2-dimensional modelling system designed to simulate physical, chemical, and biological processes in rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal waters, and oceans. While DHI offers a full spectrum of 1D, 2D, and 3D tools (including MIKE 11, MIKE 3, and MIKE SHE), MIKE 21 occupies the "sweet spot"—providing more spatial detail than 1D models while remaining computationally faster than full 3D simulations.
Prior to constructing offshore wind farms, desalination plants, or wastewater outfalls, developers must assess their environmental footprint. MIKE 21 simulates thermal plumes from power plants, brine dispersion from desalination facilities, and the dispersion of treated wastewater to ensure compliance with strict environmental regulations. The Power of the Flexible Mesh (FM) Engine
The FM engine allows for a seamless transition between large-scale regional models and localized high-resolution areas. For example, an engineer can model an entire sea with large 1-kilometer grid cells, but automatically taper the mesh down to 5-meter cells inside a specific harbor entrance. This provides unparalleled accuracy where it matters most without overloading computational resources. Why Choose MIKE 21?