An improved SWE model for simulation of dam-break flows

Abstract

A finite-difference method based on a shallow water equation (SWE) is developed in this study for simulation of dam-break flows. A second-order leap-frog scheme constructed in a staggered grid system is used to discretise the original SWE. To minimise the spurious fluctuations of the free surface near the moving front, an artificial diffusion term, which is simple, effective and easy to implement in the staggered-grid leap-frog system, is introduced on the right-hand side of the continuity equation. The model is verified against a wide range of classical analytical solutions, experimental data and other previous numerical results. The model is also validated against the real case of the Malpasset dam-break event. It is demonstrated that the improved model is well balanced and robust, and can accurately capture the movement of the dam-break flows.