Dam-break analysis: Proposal of a simplified approach

Abstract

Simplified methods are useful alternatives for prior analysis of the effects of dam rupture and can guide the decision-making process for carrying out more complete studies. In this context, a new simplified approach is presented, which enables the analysis of aspects from dam rupture of earthen dams that failed due to overtopping, considering dam height and reservoir volume as input data. Hypothetical cases were analyzed applying dam-break hydrodynamic simulations, which results allowed the development of equations capable of estimating peak flow attenuation and peak discharge arrival time along the downstream valley. The proposed approach was applied in a hypothetical case study (15 m high dam and 17 hm3 reservoir volume), obtaining results close to those achieved through other methods, especially in case of estimating the maximum discharges throughout the downstream valley, where the average differences between the results of the methods were of the order of 15%.