Author(s)

C. Tzimopoulos, A. Spyrides, H. Chalkides & G. Arabatzis

Abstract

The propagation of a flood resulting from a dam failure has been investigated by several engineers over the last decades. Many algorithms have been developed for the solution of the Saint-Venant equations, governing the flow propagating downstairs in natural channels, after a dam failure. The algorithms are based on characteristic equations, finite difference equations, and finite element equations and describe the flood propagation through the channels. As the breach formation's mechanics are not well understood in previous attempts to predict flood waves downstream, it was assumed that the dam failure was complete and instantaneous Only over the last years has the breach formation of a dam been the subject of engineers' research and the breach was assumed to develop over a finite interval of tim

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