Author(s): Gianluca De Lorenzo; Francesco Macchione
Linked Author(s): Francesco Macchione
Keywords: Dam breach; Earthfill dams; Morphology; Numerical model; Overtopping
Abstract: Information about the breaching morphology of real dams are very few, and little is known about the breach shape during failure. Moreover, fluid-mechanics and soil-mechanics have not yet provided anexhaustive theory about breach morphology and breach enlargement process. Therefore, simplified models usually need some empirical assumptions about the breach shape and about its enlargement. The purpose of this paper is to quantify the influence of the shapes usually assumed for the breach on the outflow hydrographs. In order to highlight the role of the breach shapemore, a numerical analysis has been carried out using a simplified physically based model, which needs only one calibration parameter for the aspects concerning erosion. In particular, in this paper the non-dimensional version of the model has been used. It allowedto makesome noteworthy remarks about the most common scenarios of dam-reservoir systems.
Year: 2013