Embankment Dam Breach Parameters and Their Uncertainties

Froehlich, David C.

doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-9429(2008)134:12(1708)

Cited by 267 publications

(284 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC 1987) also proposed a range for the breach width as a function of h d . Froehlich (1987) used nondimensional analysis and developed an equation that estimates the average breach width as a function of the non-dimensional reservoir storage (S Ã ). Froehlich realized that overtopping causes the most breach extension, which erodes at a higher rate than by any other mode of failure.…”

Section: Review Of Available Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Froehlich 2004;Hanson et al 2005). In practice, the most widely applied methods to predict B av are based on regression analysis of recoded data from embankment dam failures, for example, the Bureau of Reclamation (1988), Von Thun and Gillette (1990), and Froehlich (1995). RE provide simple and convenient algorithms, especially in cases of strong linear relationships between the input and output variables and when detailed simulations are not required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The available case studies of embankment dam failures presented by Froehlich (2008) constitute the basis for the development of this FL rule-based model. The FL system becomes more complex when many inputs and outputs are chosen for a single implementation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fuzzy algorithm for estimating average breach widths of embankment dams

Elmazoghi

2013

Nat Hazards

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Dam breach width significantly influences peak breach outflow, inundation levels, and flood arrival time, but uncertainties inherent in the prediction of its value for embankment dams make its accurate estimation a challenging task in dam risk assessments. The key focus of this paper is to provide a fuzzy logic (FL) model for estimating the average breach width of embankment dams as an alternative to regression equations (RE). The FL approach is capable of handling nonlinear behavior, imprecision in discrete measurements, and parameter uncertainty. Historical data from 69 embankment dam failures are used in the development and testing of the FL model. Application of the FL model is also presented for estimating average breach widths of two case studies that have adequately documented data. The accuracy of the FL rule-based model is investigated using uncertainty analysis: the mean prediction error between the FL estimates and the observed average breach widths is very small (=0.03) and comparable to that achieved using the best available RE. Moreover, the FL uncertainty band is found to be approximately ±0.51 order of magnitude smaller than the ±0.56 order of magnitude achieved with the best available RE. The simulation results indicate the potential of the FL model to be used as a predictive tool for estimating the average breach width of embankment dams.

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Section: Review Of Available Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fuzzy algorithm for estimating average breach widths of embankment dams

Elmazoghi

2013

Nat Hazards

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“…There have been also numerical modeling studies of flood wave propagation in floodplain mostly in one dimension (Li et al 1991;Bellos and Hrissanthou 1998;Yanmaz et al 2001;Bozkus 2003;Macchione 2008;Petaccia et al 2008;Froehlich 2008;Bozkus 2009;Tsakiris and Spilliotis 2013;Bosa and Petti 2013) and few in two dimensions (Brufau et al 2002;Ying et al 2009;Singh et al 2011;Qi and Altinakar 2012;Mahdizadeh et al 2012). Alcrudo and Mulet (2007), Pilotti et al (2011), andMoramarco et al (2014) simulated historical dam-break flows, predicting inundated areas using data on geometric properties of dam, land use and topography.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The geometry of the dam body and the elevation-storage curve of the reservoir were obtained from the feasibility report for the Ü rkmez Dam (DSI 1979). Parameters used in the simulation of dam-break process by this module are calculated based on Froehlich equations (Froehlich 2008). Ü rkmez Dam is an earthen embankment dam.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two-dimensional numerical modeling of flood wave propagation in an urban area due to Ürkmez dam-break, İzmir, Turkey

2016

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This study investigated flood inundation in an urban area due to a possible failure of Ü rkmez Dam in İzmir, Turkey. The estimation of flood hydrograph upon partial failure of the dam and routing of the flood hydrograph along the narrow valley downstream were first performed by the one-dimensional hydraulic routing model HEC-RAS. The twodimensional hydraulic routing model FLO-2D is then used to simulate the spreading of the dam-break flood after the flood wave exits the valley. Land use and land cover digital maps were utilized to find the spatially varying roughness coefficient for the floodplain. The influence of the buildings on the flood propagation was represented in the numerical model by the area reduction factor as well as the width reduction factor. The peak flow depth, peak flow velocity and time moment of the peak flow depth maps were shown in the GIS environment. The results reveal that flow depths can reach about 3 m in the residential area. In about 40 min after the dam-break, houses in the large section of the town would be under the maximum flow depths. The two-dimensional hydrodynamic model results were tested against experimental dam-break flow data of the distorted physical model of Ü rkmez Dam, which is consisted of the reservoir, dam body and downstream area including Ü rkmez Town. The model successfully simulated experimental flow depth data measured at different measurement locations.

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Controls on the breach geometry and flood hydrograph during overtopping of noncohesive earthen dams

Walder

Iverson

Godt

et al. 2015

Water Resources Research

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Overtopping failure of noncohesive earthen dams was investigated in 13 large-scale experiments with dams built of compacted, damp, fine-grained sand. Breaching was initiated by cutting a notch across the dam crest and allowing water escaping from a finite upstream reservoir to form its own channel. The channel developed a stepped profile, and upstream migration of the steps, which coalesced into a headcut, led to the establishment of hydraulic control (critical flow) at the channel head, or breach crest, an arcuate erosional feature that functions hydraulically as a weir. Novel photogrammetric methods, along with underwater videography, revealed that the retreating headcut maintained a slope near the angle of friction of the sand, while the cross section at the breach crest maintained a geometrically similar shape through time. That cross-sectional shape was nearly unaffected by slope failures, contrary to the assumption in many models of dam breaching. Flood hydrographs were quite reproducible-for sets of dams ranging in height from 0.55 m to 0.98 mwhen the time datum was chosen as the time that the migrating headcut intersected the breach crest. Peak discharge increased almost linearly as a function of initial dam height. Early-time variability between flood hydrographs for nominally identical dams is probably a reflection of subtle experiment-to-experiment differences in groundwater hydrology and the interaction between surface water and groundwater.

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Embankment Dam Breach Parameters and Their Uncertainties

Cited by 267 publications

References 22 publications

Fuzzy algorithm for estimating average breach widths of embankment dams

Fuzzy algorithm for estimating average breach widths of embankment dams

Two-dimensional numerical modeling of flood wave propagation in an urban area due to Ürkmez dam-break, İzmir, Turkey

Controls on the breach geometry and flood hydrograph during overtopping of noncohesive earthen dams

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