Numerical Simulation of Dam-Break Flooding of Cascade Reservoirs

Abstract

Previous studies at home and abroad have mainly focused on single dam-break, and little attention has been paid so far to the dam-break of cascade reservoirs. Multi-source flooding, which can lead to three-dimensional turbulent phenomena and superposition effects, is the main difference between the dam-break of cascade and single reservoirs. Detailed descriptions of the coupled numerical simulation of multi-source flooding have little been reported, and the initial wet riverbed is rarely considered in current models. Therefore, in this paper, a method based on the three-dimensional $k - \varepsilon$ turbulence model coupled with the volume-of-fluid method is proposed to simulate the dam-break flooding of cascade reservoirs. The upstream river, reservoir, and downstream river are connected by the internal boundary method, and the initial conditions, including river flow and reservoir water, are determined according to the results of the numerical simulation. Coupled numerical simulation of different dam-break flooding is then achieved. The present work solves the challenges presented by the enhancement and superposition of natural river flow, upstream flooding, and downstream flooding. This paper provides a theoretical basis for future studies on the dam-break flood routing of cascade reservoirs.

Keywords

Dam-break / Cascade reservoirs / Multi-source flood / Three-dimensional turbulence model

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