A new 1D coupled hydrodynamic discrete element model for floating debris in violent shallow flows

摘要

The effect of floating objects has so far rarely been considered in flood modelling and risk assessment, despite having significant implications for structural design in flood-prone and coastal areas. In this work, a novel two-way method is proposed to fully couple a discrete element model to a hydrodynamic model to simulate complex debris-enriched flow hydrodynamics. The adopted hydrodynamic model solves the nonlinear shallow water equations (SWEs) using a finite volume shock-capturing numerical method. After being validated against an idealized analytical test, the new coupled model is used to reproduce flume experiments of floating debris driven by dam-break waves. The numerical results agree well with the experimental measurements, demonstrating the model's capability in simulating the complex fluid-debris interactions induced by violent shallow flows.