Dam Breach Modeling and the Assessment of the Self Rescue Zone

An interesting and informative paper by Mr. Bruno Neves of Brazil on HEC-RAS dam breach modeling and determining the self rescue zone, as well as the timing for alerting residents of the self-rescue zone.  The concept is tested using HEC-RAS with hypothetical 2D breach scenarios of the Santa Branca Dam in the Paraíba do Sul […]

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“Using HEC-RAS for Dam Break Studies”

HEC recently published a new training document called “Using HEC-RAS for Dam Break Studies”.  Written by Gary Brunner, P.E., D.WRE, it is an easy to follow guide for performing Dam Break simulations in HEC-RAS. It covers topics like: Which routing technique to use to route flows through your reservoir (Dynamic or Level Pool-although I wish […]

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Dam Failure of a Coal Slurry Impoundment

I was recently asked my opinion on a good way to model the following dam breach event: “I …recently completed three consulting projects where I simulated the breach of three proposed coal slurry impoundments.  The permitting agency required a RAS model of an “instantaneous” hypothetical breach (over full depth, almost 80 ft for one of […]

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