Application of Depth-Averaged Bedload Finite-Volume Models to a Progressive Embankment Dam-Failure
(2022) 39th IAHR World Congress — Location: Granada, Spain (19.June.2022)
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- Authors
Meurice, Robin 
- Abstract
- Overflowing and overtopping are the leading causes of failure of earthen dams and embankments. Especially in the context of climate change, these defense structures are more prone to extreme hydraulic loadings. Inundation hazard and risk map inherently depend on the dominant form of failure progression. Breaching of earthen dams or embankments is a complex phenomenon that relies on various characteristics such as constituted soil, hydraulic load, regular maintenance, etc.In the frame of the 6th workshop on River and Sedimentation Hydrodynamics and Morphodynamics, a blind benchmark test concerning progressive dam failure due to overtopping was offered to modelers in order to evaluate and calibrate their models. The present paper only reports about the simulations done at UCLouvain, during the blind phase of the benchmark test. Two depth-averaged finite-volume models were applied to this benchmark test. While the first model (WCM) decoupled the shallow-water equations from Exner’s one, leaving only weak links between the different operators, the second one (CM) solved them altogether. The WCM was able to reproduce most of the reservoir’s water level evolution and is hence supposed to rather accurately predict the evolution of the breach width. Conversely, the CM led to faster erosion of the dam than expected, which led to a rapid decrease of the reservoir’s water level. Meanwhile, a bank-failure operator is necessary to reproduce properly the widening of the breach. Three sediment transport formulas are used to observe their influence on the erosion rate of the embankment.
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Citations
Ebrahimi, M., Meurice, R., & Ebrahimi, M. (2022). Application of Depth-Averaged Bedload Finite-Volume Models to a Progressive Embankment Dam-Failure. 39th IAHR World Congress, Granada, Spain. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/249086