Solitary wave overtopping at granular dams

ABSTRACT

The goal of this research is to investigate the effect of a solitary wave overtopping a granular dam. Impulse waves are modelled herein with solitary waves. If the wave impacts a dam, wave run-up and possibly overtopping occur, leading eventually to large damage or even a dam breach. This research attempts to explore these processes with a 2-D laboratory study. The effects of still-water depth, wave amplitude, sediment diameter and uniformity, dam face slope, and dam crest width are systematically studied. Questions of interest include: how much water overtops the dam; and how long does the overtopping process last? The data analysis led to fit equations for (1) the overtopping depth; (2) the overtopping volume; (3) the wave overtopping duration; (4) the eroded crest depth; (5) the eroded dam area; and (6) the deposited dam area. The results allow for the prediction of the above parameters based on the governing fundamental parameters.

Keywords:

• Dam erosion
• dam overtopping
• granular dam
• impulse wave
• solitary wave

ORCID

FREDERIC M. EVERS http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5181-8978