The 1786 earthquake-triggered landslide dam and subsequent dam-break flood on the Dadu River, southwestern China — Reply

A short reply to discussion by Chanson.     

Free surface flow impacting on an elastic structure: Experiment versus numerical simulation

The purpose of this study is to investigate the phenomenon of free surface flow impacting on elastic structures, which is a research topic of great interest in ship and ocean engineering. A series of quasi two-dimensional experiments on dam-break with an elastic plate are conducted. The main features of free surface flow impacting on elastic structures including large impacting force, structural vibration, violent free surface flow, are investigated. The coupled FDM–FEM method developed by the authors is applied for numerical simulation of such dam-break problem. Extensive analysis and discussion based on the comparisons between experimental data and numerical results are made and presented in this paper.     

Numerical simulation of dam-break flow and bed change considering the vegetation effects

Existing numerical investigations of dam-break flows rarely consider the effects of vegetation.This paper presents a depth-averaged two-dimensional model for dam-break flows over mobile and vegetated beds.In the model,both the consequences of reducing space for storing mass and momentum by the existence of vegetation and dragging the flow are considered:the former is considered by introducing a factor (1-c) to the flow depth,where c is the vegetation density;the later is considered by including an additional sink term in the momentum equations.The new governing equations are discretized by the finite volume method;and an existing second-order central-upwind scheme embedded with the hydrostatic reconstruction method for water depth,is used to estimate the fluxes;the source terms are estimated by either explicit or semi-explicit methods fulfilling the stability requirement.Laboratory experiments of dam-break flows or quasi-steady flows with/without vegetation effects/sediment transport are simulated.The good agreements between the measurements and the numerical simulations demonstrate a satisfactory performance of the model in reproducing the flow depth,velocity and bed deformation depth.Numerical case studies of six scenarios of dam-break flows over a mobile and vegetated bed are conducted.It is shown that when the area of the vegetation zone,the vegetation density,and the pattern of the vegetation distribution are varied,the resulted bed morphological change differs greatly,suggesting a great influence of vegetation on the dam-break flow evolution.Specifically,the vegetation may divert the direction of the main flow,hindering the flow and thus result in increased deposition upstream of the vegetation.     

A numerical study of swash flows generated by bores

The dynamic processes of bore propagation over a uniform slope are studied numerically using a 2-D Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) solver, coupled to a non-linear k − ε turbulence closure and a volume of fluid (VOF) method. The dam-break mechanism is used to generate bores in a constant depth region. Present numerical results for the ensemble-averaged flow field are compared with existing experimental data as well as theoretical and numerical results based on non-linear shallow water (NSW) equations. Reasonable agreement between the present numerical solutions and experimental data is observed. Using the numerical results, small-scale bore behaviors and flow features, such as the bore collapse process near the still-water shoreline, the ‘mini-collapse’ during the runup phase and the ‘back-wash bore’ in the down-rush phase, are described. In the case of a strong bore, the evolution of the averaged turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) over the swash zone consists of two phases: in the region near the still-water shoreline, the production and the dissipation of TKE are roughly in balance; in the region farther landwards of the still-water shoreline, the TKE decay rate is very close to that of homogeneous grid turbulence. On the other hand, in the case of a weak bore, the bore collapse generated turbulence is confined near the bottom boundary layer and the TKE decays at a much slower rate.     

The LHLLC scheme for Two-Layer and Two-Phase transcritical flows over a mobile bed with avalanching,wetting and drying

A numerical method of the Godunov type is presented for solving either Two-Phase or Two-Layer forms of Debris Flow Models (DFMs) describing shallow-water flow and sediment dynamics. DFMs explicitly link sediment concentrations to the momentum balance, and thus can be applied to cases involving high sediment concentrations, as in debris flows, in addition to low concentration test cases typically found in surface waters. In this paper, Two-Phase and Two-Layer DFMs are presented in a common mathematical framework to illuminate key similarities and differences and lay a foundation for a general purpose DFM solver. The proposed solver termed LHLLC is shown to achieve good accuracy over a wide range of test cases. Importantly, numerical diffusion of sediment profiles is minimized, particularly on steep slopes, the scheme is shown to preserve stationary solutions involving wet/dry interfaces, and the scheme accounts for gravity-driven slumping (avalanching) which cannot be resolved by classical DFMs.     

Modelling estuarine and coastal flows using an unstructured triangular finite volume algorithm

Details are given of the development and application of a numerical model for predicting free-surface flows in estuarine and coastal basins using the finite volume method. Both second- and third-order accurate and oscillation free explicit numerical schemes have been used to solve the shallow water equations. The model deploys an unstructured triangular mesh and incorporates two types of mesh layouts, namely the ‘cell centred’ and ‘mesh vertex’ layouts, and provides a powerful mesh generator in which a user can adjust the mesh-size distribution interactively to create a desirable mesh. The quality of mesh has been shown to have a major impact on the overall performance of the numerical model.The model has been applied to simulate two-dimensional dam break flows for which transient water level distributions measured within a laboratory flume were available. In total 12 model runs were undertaken to test the model for various flow conditions. These conditions include: (1) different bed slopes (ranging from zero to 0.8%), (2) different upstream and downstream water level conditions, and (3) initially wet and dry bed conditions, downstream of the dam. Detailed comparisons have been made between model predicted and measured water levels and good agreement achieved between both sets of results. The model was then used to predict water level and velocity distributions in a real estuary, i.e. the Ribble Estuary, where the bed level varies rapidly at certain locations. In order to model the whole estuary, a 1-D numerical model has also been used to model the upper part of the estuary and this model was linked dynamically to the 2-D model. Findings from this application are given in detail.     

A marching in space and time (MAST) solver of the shallow water equations. Part II: The 2D model

A novel methodology for the solution of the 2D shallow water equations is proposed. The algorithm is based on a fractional step decomposition of the original system in (1) a convective prediction, (2) a convective correction, and (3) a diffusive correction step. The convective components are solved using a Marching in Space and Time (MAST) procedure, that solves a sequence of small ODEs systems, one for each computational cell, ordered according to the cell value of a scalar approximated potential. The scalar potential is sought after computing first the minimum of a functional via the solution of a large linear system and then refining locally the optimum search. Model results are compared with the experimental data of two laboratory tests and with the results of other simulations carried out for the same tests by different authors. A comparison with the analytical solution of the oblique jump test has been also considered. Numerical results of the proposed scheme are in good agreement with measured data, as well as with analytical and higher order approximation methods results. The growth of the CPU time versus the cell number is investigated successively refining the elements of an initially coarse mesh. The CPU specific time, per element and per time step, is found out to be almost constant and no evidence of Courant–Friedrichs–Levi (CFL) number limitation has been detected in all the numerical experiments.     

Two-dimensional,high-resolution modeling of urban dam-break flooding: A case study of Baldwin Hills,California

Modeling of dam-break flooding in an urban residential area in southern California is presented. Modeling is performed using BreZo, an unstructured grid, Godunov-type, finite volume model that solves the shallow-water equations. The model uses terrain data from a 1.5 m Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and contour data depicting the reservoir and breach geometry. A spatially distributed Manning coefficient based on a landcover classification derived from digital orthophotos and vector data (e.g., parcel outlines) is also used, and the interception of flow by storm drains is modeled with sink terms in the 2D continuity equation. The model is validated with flood extent and stream flow measurements, and a sensitivity analysis is completed to identify the necessary level of data and model complexity for accuracy purposes. Results show street depressions in the land surface should be resolved by the computational mesh for flood extent and stream flow accuracy. A ca. 5 m resolution mesh that spans streets by approximately 3 cells achieves a good balance between accuracy and computational effort. Results also show that heterogeneous resistance is important for stream flow accuracy, and the interception of overland flow by storm sewers is important for flood extent accuracy. The sensitivity of predictions to several additional factors such as the reservoir level, breach geometry and DTM source (LiDAR, National Elevation Data, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Data) is also reported.     

Modelling flash flood propagation in urban areas using a two-dimensional numerical model

This paper reports on the numerical modelling of flash flood propagation in urban areas after an excessive rainfall event or dam/dyke break wave. A two-dimensional (2-D) depth-averaged shallow-water model is used, with a refined grid of quadrilaterals and triangles for representing the urban area topography. The 2-D shallow-water equations are solved using the explicit second-order scheme that is adapted from MUSCL approach. Four applications are described to demonstrate the potential benefits and limits of 2-D modelling: (i) laboratory experimental dam-break wave in the presence of an isolated building; (ii) flash flood over a physical model of the urbanized Toce river valley in Italy; (iii) flash flood in October 1988 at the city of Nîmes (France) and (iv) dam-break flood in October 1982 at the town of Sumacárcel (Spain). Computed flow depths and velocities compare well with recorded data, although for the experimental study on dam-break wave some discrepancies are observed around buildings, where the flow is strongly 3-D in character. The numerical simulations show that the flow depths and flood wave celerity are significantly affected by the presence of buildings in comparison with the original floodplain. Further, this study confirms the importance of topography and roughness coefficient for flood propagation simulation.     

长江中游地区洪泛沉积物与正常河流沉积物磁组构特征对比研究

在地层剖面中,洪泛沉积物与正常的河道沉积物的沉积学特征非常相似,仅靠沉积学特征很难将两者区分. 为了识别古洪灾事件,因而从环境磁学角度建立两种沉积物的识别标志是非常必要和有意义的. 本文通过对1998年长江黣洲湾溃口扇及其附近的长江现代河漫滩沉积物进行磁组构参数测量和对比分析,并结合长江下游河漫滩沉积物的磁组构参数特征,揭示出长江中游正常河流沉积物与河流溃口沉积物的磁组构参数特征具有明显的不同,并且它们与沉积时的沉积环境有着密切的关系. 因此,对长江中游地区沉积物磁组构参数的测试及磁化率各向异性量值椭球体形态的研究,是目前分辨洪泛沉积物和正常的河道沉积物的一个较有效的方法.