Evaluation of Selected Dam-Break Flood-Wave Models by Using Field Data

摘要

Four dam-break flood-wave models have been evaluated by using three field data sets and selected criteria of desirable features. The models include (1) modified Puls (MF), (2) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' unsteady flow profiles (USTFLO), (3) National Weather Services' dam-break flood forecast (DBFF), and (4) U.S. Geological Survey's coupled method of characteristics and a general purpose streamflow simulation (MOC-J879DB). The field data sets documented the disasters at Teton Dam, Idaho; Laurel Run, PA., and Toccoa Falls, GA. The computed discharges were often within 20 percent of the observed values with the exception of the simulations at Teton Dam and for a short distance below the dams by the MOC-J879DB. With the same exceptions noted above, the computed flood crests were usually within 2 feet of the observed high-water marks. A modified version of the DBFF model is identified as the most accurate, economical, flexible, numerically stable, easiest to apply, and descriptive of the boundary and flow conditions.