The documentation for HEC-RAS consists of a User's Manual which describes how to use the interface; a two-dimensional User's Manual which describes how to use the two-dimensional and combined one- and two-
dimensional modeling capabilities; a Hydraulic Reference Manual which describes the data required, equations used, solution techniques, and modeling advice; a BSTEM Technical Reference and User's Manual which
describes the BSTEM component in HEC-RAS and how to use BSTEM in HEC-RAS; and an Applications Guide which contains twenty-four example applications of using various aspects of HEC-RAS. All five documents are in
PDF format and can be viewed online or downloaded. To view online, go to the manual's individual webpage with the links below.
The HEC-RAS documentation is automatically installed (with the exception of the BSTEM manual) during the setup of the program and can be accessed through the Help menu. To view the documentation without installing
the program, the user may use the links below.
HEC-RAS 6.0, Release Notes
HEC-RAS 6.0, User's Manual
HEC-RAS Mapper User's Manual
HEC-RAS 6.0, Two-Dimensional Modeling User's Manual
HEC-RAS 6.0, Applications Guide
HEC-RAS 6.0, Hydraulic Reference Manual
HEC-RAS 6.0, Mud and Debris Flow Manual
HEC-RAS 6.0, One-Dimensional Sediment Transport User's Manual
HEC-RAS 6.0, Two-Dimensional Sediment Transport User's Manual
HEC-RAS 6.0, Two-Dimensional Sediment Transport Technical Reference Manual
HEC-RAS BSTEM Technical Reference & User's Manual
The HEC-RAS Documentation page on Confluence has a limit set of the above documents, but contains the most up to date information.
See the HEC-RAS 6.0.0 Release Notes for the current release notes listing the bug fixes for this and previous releases.
The What's New page also summarizes the current version's features.
The RAS Solution
Episode 12: HEC-RAS Version 6.0 Discussions with Gary Brunner (Part 1)
Episode 13: HEC-RAS Version 6.0 Discussions with Gary Brunner (Part 2)
HEC-RAS Verification and Validation Document
RD-52 is an all new verification and validation document for HEC-RAS. This document contains analytical and textbook datasets, laboratory
datasets, and real world data with observed measurements. HEC-RAS computational results are compared to all of the datasets to verify the solutions of the equations, and to validate HEC-RAS's use for a wide
range of computational problems.
Benchmarking of the HEC-RAS Two-Dimensional Hydraulic Modeling Capabilities
RD-51 summarizes how the HEC-RAS software performed in the two-dimensional modeling benchmark tests developed by the United Kingdom's (UK) Joint Defra
(Department for Environmental Food and Rural Affairs) Environment Agency.
In addition to the above manuals and guides the following documents may also be of interest:
RD-41, A Comparison of the One-Dimensional Bridge Hydraulic Routines from HEC-RAS, HEC-2, and WSPRO, Sep 1995
RD-42, Flow Transitions in Bridge Backwater Analysis, Sep 1995
TD-39, Using HEC-RAS for Dam Break Studies, Aug 2014
TD-41, Modeler Application Guidance for Steady vs Unsteady, and 1D vs 2D vs 3D Hydraulic Modeling, Aug 2020
Adobe Reader XI or later is required to view these documents. 