On dam-break wave propagation and its implication to sediment erosion

Abstract

This paper presents experimental and numerical studies of the evolution of dam-break driven wave on a horizontal smooth bed and its implication to sediment transport. Laboratory experiments are carried out using high-speed video images in order to obtain the spatio-temporal evolution of the free surface. Furthermore, a numerical model based on the two-dimensional-vertical Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations, with a k−ϵ turbulence closure and a volume of fluid method, is validated with the laboratory observations. The numerical model is shown to accurately predict the measured free-surface profiles, the wave-front velocities, as well as the impingement location of the first forward breaking jet. In order to bring more insight on dam-break wave induced erosion, the numerical model is extended for simulating suspended sediment transport. Model results suggest that the maximum bed-erosion occurs at the gate location and it moves farther downstream depending on the ratio between the downstream and the upstream water depth.