Integration of computational and experimental models for dam-break flood risk analysis

Abstract

The knowledge of the maximum water depths associated with dam-break floods is crucial for the population early warning and evacuation plan design, minimizing the losses due to dam failures. This paper presents an experimental dam-break flood propagation study performed in a physical model and a two-dimensional numerical model suitable to simulate flow propagation on complex topography. First, the numerical model and the physical model of the River Arade valley, located in the south of Portugal (Algarve), are described. A comparison between computed results and measured data is undertaken and uncertainty in the numerical model predictions is analysed. © 2014 WIT Press.