Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation of Dam Discharge and Flood Routing in Wudu Reservoir

The main objectives of the present work are to investigate the hydraulic characteristics of the dam discharge flow and its impact downstream. Building information modeling technology is adopted to generate the terrain entity and hydraulic structures. The calculation of the dam discharge and flood routing simulation is achieved by employing Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the RNG k-ε eddy viscosity model for its turbulence closure, as well as the Volume of Fluid method. An urban flood experiment and the field measurement records are utilized and validated the model accuracy. The flow field is obtained to assess the dam working conditions under different water levels. The results show that the maximum downstream flow depth, the maximum discharge capacity and the hydraulic jump length under normal water level is 18.6 m, 13,800 m³/s, and 108 m, respectively. The dam satisfies the safety demand under different water levels but close attention should be paid to the dam foundation, especially around the incident points of the discharge flow. Complex turbulent flow patterns, including collision, reflection, and vortices, are captured by three-dimensional simulation. The numerical simulation can assist the reservoir management vividly, so as to guarantee the stability of the dam operation.