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Cascading dam breach process simulation using a coupled modeling platform

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Abstract

This study evaluates the possibility of a cascade failure by developing a coupled breach-modeling platform based on one-dimensional flow modeling of the river channel, flood propagation, regulation process of reservoir fluctuation, overtopping with breaching, and wave damping downstream. A hyperbolic model of the DB-IWHR was embedded into the platform to simulate the dam breaching process. Five breach models and software were used to calculate the Tangjiashan barrier lake breaching. The results of a sensitivity study were then compared with the measured data. The peak flow and the time of occurrence were confirmed to be predictable with a reasonable accuracy if the input values were within ranges appropriate for the model. The approach was applied to a case involving two layout planning schemes for a cascade of rock-filled dams under extreme operating conditions. The probability of the failure of a key control cascade downstream caused by a continuous cascade breach upstream was simulated. Moreover, measures to prevent the transmission of risk by advance warnings were investigated. The proposed methodology and the discharge capacity measures provide guidelines to assess the risk to a cascade of dams under extreme operating conditions and offer support for the design criteria of unusual discharge structures for very large dams.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, China

    ZhiPing Liu, XinLei Guo, Hui Fu & QingFu Xia

  2. China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, Beijing, 100120, China

    XingBo Zhou

  3. State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China

    ShaoJun Li

Authors
  1. ZhiPing Liu
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  2. XinLei Guo
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  3. XingBo Zhou
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  4. Hui Fu
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  5. QingFu Xia
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  6. ShaoJun Li
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Correspondence to XinLei Guo.

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Liu, Z., Guo, X., Zhou, X. et al. Cascading dam breach process simulation using a coupled modeling platform. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 62, 1455–1466 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-018-9271-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-018-9271-1

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