The sudden release of a mass of fluid in a channel generates a highly unsteady flow motion, called dam break wave. While industrial fluids exhibit sometimes non-Newtonian behaviours, the viscous fluid flow assumption remains a useful approximation for simplified analyses. In this study, new solutions of laminar dam break wave are proposed for a semi-infinite reservoir based upon the method of characteristics. The solutions yield simple explicit expressions of the wave front location, wave front celerity and instantaneous free-surface profiles that compare favourably with experimental observations. Both horizontal and sloping channel configurations are treated. The simplicity of the equations may allow future extension to more complicated fluid flows.
Chanson, H. (2012). A Simple Solution of the Laminar Dam Break Wave. Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics, 1(1), 1-10. doi: 10.36884/jafm.1.01.11831
MLA
H. Chanson. "A Simple Solution of the Laminar Dam Break Wave". Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics, 1, 1, 2012, 1-10. doi: 10.36884/jafm.1.01.11831
HARVARD
Chanson, H. (2012). 'A Simple Solution of the Laminar Dam Break Wave', Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics, 1(1), pp. 1-10. doi: 10.36884/jafm.1.01.11831
VANCOUVER
Chanson, H. A Simple Solution of the Laminar Dam Break Wave. Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics, 2012; 1(1): 1-10. doi: 10.36884/jafm.1.01.11831
)