Modeling of washout of dams

The laboratory experimental work has been conducted to investigate the process of dam-breach erosion. The physical pattern of washout of dams is developed and on this basis a mathematical model and its analytical solution are derived for both simulating the process of dam-breach erosion and estimating important characteristics of the process which are necessary for evaluation of dam-break wave parameters. Carrying out theoretical calculations needs only a minimum set of input data for reservoir, dam geometry and embankment material characteristics, so the mathematical model is convenient in practice for predicting purposes. The mathematical model consists of a reservoir water-mass depletion and a rate of breach-width enlargement equations. The closed form of the mathematical model is achieved by using the experimental data. Breach erosion is described from the formation of an initial breach with its bottom reaching the base of the dam. Breach shape is assumed to be rectangular. Experimental and historical dam failure data are used to evaluate the performance of the model.