Abstract :
[en] In the global framework of safety, the study of the hydraulic consequences of a dam
breaking, sudden and instantaneous for concrete structures, gradual for earth ones, is of
major interest in the scope of prevention policies or protection plans for populations and
goods.
Suitable numerical models, coupled with contemporary computational possibilities,
allow engineers to forecast these complex situations with a great reliability. In this field,
WOLF 2D is an efficient analysis and optimisation tool, which has been completely
developed by the Applied Hydrodynamics and Hydraulic Constructions team (HACH –
http://www.ulg.ac.be/hach) of the University of Liege. It is part of WOLF free surface
flows computation package, which includes in the same development environment the
resolutions of the 1D Saint-Venant equations, the 2D shallow-water equations as well as
a physically based hydrological model and powerful optimisation capabilities based on
Genetic Algorithms. The interactive and unique user-interface, with high performance
pre- and post-processing, allows monitoring 3-D large-scale runs graphically while they
proceed, as well as generation of 3D videos. Each code handles general multiblock
meshes, dealing with natural topography and mobile bed simultaneously, for any
unsteady situation with mixed regimes and moving hydraulic jumps.
By this way, WOLF deals with all free surface hydraulic phenomena, from
hydrological runoff and river propagation to extreme erosive flows on realistic mobile
topography, such as gradual dam breaching processes. It has moreover proved its
efficiency and reliability for years by numerous real applications.
The first part of this paper covers a brief description of the 2D multiblock flow solver
WOLF 2D and the underlying mathematical model. The second part depicts the
application of WOLF computation capabilities to the well-known Malpasset dam break
(France, 1959), which induced a catastrophic almost instantaneous release of 48 millions
m³ of water in the Reyran river valley down to the town of Frejus and the Mediterranean
sea. Data available thanks to the CADAM EU-project are used to assess the results.
