Estimates of Discharge Coefficient in Levee Breach Under Two Different Approach Flow Types

Seung Oh Lee, Kwang Seok Yoon, Jun Seon Lee and Seung Ho Hong
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Seung Oh Lee: School of Urban and Civil Engineering, Hongik University, 94 Wausan-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul 04066, Korea
Kwang Seok Yoon: Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang 10223, Korea
Jun Seon Lee: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, 1306 Evansdale Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Seung Ho Hong: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, 1306 Evansdale Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: The amount of released water (discharge) in a levee breach is a primary input variable to establish an emergency action plan for the area next to the levee. However, although several studies have been conducted, there is still no widely applicable discharge coefficient formula; this needs to be known to estimate discharge amount through an opening caused by a levee breach. Sometimes, the discharge coefficient developed for a sharp crested side weir is used to rate the discharge, but, in case of a levee breach, the resulting geometry and flow types are similar to that over a broad crested weir. Thus, in this study, two different openings—rectangular and trapezoidal shape—are constructed in the center of a levee at a height of 0.6m to replicate levee breach scenarios, and the effect of two different approach flow types—the river type approach and reservoir type approach—are explored to suggest a discharge coefficient formula applicable for discharge rating for a levee breach. The results show that the ratio of head above the bottom of an opening and the opening width is a key variable for calculating the discharge coefficient of a reservoir type, but the approach Froude number should also be considered for a river type approach. The measured data are used to improve rating equations and will be useful in the future to validate computational fluid dynamics simulations of wave propagation during levee failure into the inundation area.

Keywords: levee break; flood management; discharge coefficient; large scale hydraulic experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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