One‐Dimensional Models for Partially Breached Dams

Abstract

A theory is presented for flow through a partial dam failure. The breach section is treated as an internal boundary condition which interrupts the continuous long wave occurring upstream and downstream of the dam. At the breach section, basic equations of mass, momentum, and energy conservation are formulated in terms of depths and velocities occurring immediately upstream and downstream of the dam. These equations are coupled with the long time solution of the unsteady flow equation via appropriate characteristic relations emanating from the breach. Three modes of solutions are identified in the present theory depending on whether the breach section is submerged or acts as a control. Numerical solutions are presented based on a characteristic model and a difference scheme of the predictor‐corrector type. Computational results for these models are presented and compared with experimental data.