Landslide-generated impulse waves in dammed reservoirs run up the reservoir banks as well as the upstream dam slope. If large enough, the waves may overtop and even breach the dam and cause flooding of the downstream area with hazardous consequences. Hence, for reservoirs in landslide-prone areas, it is important to provide a means to estimate the potential size of an event triggered by landslides along the reservoir banks. This research deals with landslide-generated waves and the overtopping process over the dam crest in a three-dimensional (3D) physical model test, presenting a case study. The model set-up describes the landslide impacting the reservoir in a perpendicular manner, which is often the case in natural settings. Based on the experimental results, dimensionless empirical relations are derived between the overtopping volume and the governing parameters, namely the slide volume, slide release height, slide impact velocity, still-water depth, and upstream dam face slope. Predictive relations for the overtopping volume are presented as applicable for cases relating to the specific model set-up. Measured overtopping volumes are further compared to a two-dimensional (2D) case reported in the literature. An important feature regarding the overtopping process for the 3D case is the variation in time and space, resulting in an uneven distribution of the volume of water overtopping the dam crest. This observation is made possible by the 3D model set-up, and is of value for dam safety considerations as well as for foundation-related issues, including erosion and scouring.
Impulse waves generated by landslides falling into reservoirs may lead to overtopping of a dam and, in turn, to flooding of the downstream area. In the case of an embankment dam, the overtopping may lead to erosion of the downstream slope, ultimately resulting in breaching and complete failure with consequent further hazardous release of water to the downstream area. This research deals with the overtopping process of a dam due to landslide generated waves in a three-dimensional (3D) physical scale model setup. Experiments have been conducted with varying the slide, reservoir, and dam parameters. The primary focus is on investigating the feasibility of employing the steady state weir equation in order to predict the overtopping discharge over a dam crest due to landslide generated waves. Calibration and validation of the coefficient of discharge values for the different dam section are conducted for the specified model setup. Accordingly, a two-step calculation procedure is presented for predicting the overtopping discharge based on the maximum overtopping depth values. Hence, for the fixed setup, which includes a constant slope angle of the landslide surface, a predictive equation for maximum overtopping depth is proposed, based on slide volume, slide release height, still water depth, upstream dam slope angle, and dam height. The relative slide volume and relative still water depth both seem to have a significant effect on the relative overtopping depth.
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