Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of a flow model with different numbers of spatial dimensions in a hydraulic features solution, with parameters such a free surface profile, water depth variations, and averaged velocity evolution in a dam-break under dry and wet bed conditions with different tailwater depths. Two similar three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic models (Flow-3D and MIKE 3 FM) were studied in a dam-break simulation by performing a comparison with published experimental data and the one-dimensional (1D) analytical solution. The results indicate that the Flow-3D model better captures the free surface profile of wavefronts for dry and wet beds than other methods. The MIKE 3 FM model also replicated the free surface profiles well, but it underestimated them during the initial stage under wet-bed conditions. However, it provided a better approach to the measurements over time. Measured and simulated water depth variations and velocity variations demonstrate that both of the 3D models predict the dam-break flow with a reasonable estimation and a root mean square error (RMSE) lower than 0.04, while the MIKE 3 FM had a small memory footprint and the computational time of this model was 24 times faster than that of the Flow-3D. Therefore, the MIKE 3 FM model is recommended for computations involving real-life dam-break problems in large domains, leaving the Flow-3D model for fine calculations in which knowledge of the 3D flow structure is required. The 1D analytical solution was only effective for the dam-break wave propagations along the initially dry bed, and its applicability was fairly limited.
Highlights
A large natural hazard is posed by dam failure and ensuing potentially catastrophic floods downstream, because of the uncontrolled release of the water [1] stored in the reservoir
The results show different magnitudes of the velocities simulated by the MIKE 3 flexible mesh (FM) and Flow-3D models at both locations in the initial stage; in the later stage, their difference decreased, meaning that the longwave approximation became more reasonable
The results clearly indicate that 3D effects are important in dam-break flows, and the comparisons demonstrate that the Flow-3D and MIKE 3 FM models could provide more detailed such as vertical velocity variations, than the 1D and 2D shallow-water 20 models
Summary
A large natural hazard is posed by dam failure and ensuing potentially catastrophic floods downstream, because of the uncontrolled release of the water [1] stored in the reservoir To mitigate this impact to the greatest possible degree, it is important to predict the dam-break wave motion by capturing both the temporal and spatial evolutions of floods to manage and reduce the risks caused by flooding [2] and to predict the propagation process effects of the dam-break waves downstream [3].
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