Experimental and Numerical Analysis of a Dam-Break Flow through Different Contraction Geometries of the Channel

Dam-break wave propagation usually occurs over irregular topography, due for example to natural contraction-expansion of the river bed and to the presence of natural or artificial obstacles. Due to limited available dam-break real-case data, laboratory and numerical modeling studies are significant...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Water (Basel) 2020-04, Vol.12 (4), p.1124
Main Authors:	Kocaman, Selahattin, Güzel, Hasan, Evangelista, Stefania, Ozmen-Cagatay, Hatice, Viccione, Giacomo
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Agreements Calibration Cameras CFD Computational fluid dynamics Computer simulation Contraction Dam failure dam-break Dams Digital imaging Experiments Fluid flow Free surfaces Hydraulics Imaging techniques K-epsilon turbulence model Laboratories Laboratory tests Mathematical models Measurement techniques Numerical analysis Numerical models Profiles RANS Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes method River beds Riverbeds Rivers Shallow water Shallow water equations Simulation Software SWEs Topography Turbulence Turbulence models unsteady flow Water levels Wave propagation
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Summary:	Dam-break wave propagation usually occurs over irregular topography, due for example to natural contraction-expansion of the river bed and to the presence of natural or artificial obstacles. Due to limited available dam-break real-case data, laboratory and numerical modeling studies are significant for understanding this type of complex flow problems. To contribute to the related field, a dam-break flow over a channel with a contracting reach was investigated experimentally and numerically. Laboratory tests were carried out in a smooth rectangular channel with a horizontal dry bed for three different lateral contraction geometries. A non-intrusive digital imaging technique was utilized to analyze the dam-break wave propagation. Free surface profiles and time variation of water levels in selected sections were obtained directly from three synchronized CCD video camera records through a virtual wave probe. The experimental results were compared against the numerical solution of VOF (Volume of Fluid)-based Shallow Water Equations (SWEs) and Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with the k-ε turbulence model. Good agreements were obtained between computed and measured results. However, the RANS solution shows a better correspondence with the experimental results compared with the SWEs one. The presented new experimental data can be used to validate numerical models for the simulation of dam-break flows over irregular topography.
ISSN:	2073-4441 2073-4441