TECHNICAL PAPERS
Mar 27, 2010

Simplified Method for the Characterization of the Hydrograph following a Sudden Partial Dam Break

Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 10

Abstract

This paper presents a simplified approach to the characterization of the hydrograph following the partial collapse of concrete gravity dams. The proposed approach uses a simplified representation of the reservoir geometry and is based on the numerical solution of shallow water equations to study the two-dimensional evolution of the water surface within the reservoir. The numerical results are made dimensionless and reorganized so as to compute the peak discharge, the duration and the recession limb of the dam break hydrograph. The proposed practical approach provides a quite satisfactory reproduction of the computed hydrograph for a wide set of realistic situations that have been simulated in detail.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the reviewers and the editor, whose comments contributed to improve the quality of this paper.

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Go to Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 136Issue 10October 2010
Pages: 693 - 704

History

Received: Dec 25, 2008
Accepted: Mar 23, 2010
Published online: Mar 27, 2010
Published in print: Oct 2010

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Authors

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Marco Pilotti [email protected]
Associate Professor, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Architettura, Territorio e Ambiente—DICATA, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy (corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]
Massimo Tomirotti [email protected]
Associate Professor, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Architettura, Territorio e Ambiente—DICATA, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]
Giulia Valerio [email protected]
Ph.D. Student, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Architettura, Territorio e Ambiente—DICATA, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]
Baldassare Bacchi [email protected]
Full Professor, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Architettura, Territorio e Ambiente—DICATA, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]

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