Dike erosion - A preliminary outlook

摘要

Dike breaching along larger rivers result yearly in a great loss of lives and goods. Although this 'classic problem' of hydraulics has threatened people from the old times, few actions have so far been taken by the hydraulics community. The following presents the results of a preliminary study and the future research to be considered by a Swiss National Science Foundation project aiming to understand the essentials of both plane and spatial dike breachings. It is found that this problem may be attacked only as a combined numerical and experimental approach, of which this work relates exclusively to the latter aspect. Some experimental findings are described and the results of selected preliminary test observations are discussed to allow for an appreciation of the technical problems involved in such a research project.