The influence of tailwater depth on 3D dam-break wave propagation in an enclosed domain

This paper presents the experimental investigation of dam-break wave propagation during initial stages in an enclosed domain over dry and wet beds. Dam break flood waves were generated by the quasiinstantaneous removal of a plate between two bodies of water at rest with different levels. In order to understand the influence of tailwater level on 3D dam-break wave propagation, total of four tests were conducted for a dry bed and for wet bed with three different tailwater depth conditions. Digital image processing was used for flow measurements in the experiments. The present study investigates positive and negative wave propagation after dam break, as well as the reflection against the channel downstream boundary, which is a closed boundary. The wave fronts position evolution with time were determined for the four test cases during the initial dam-break stages. The experimental data can be useful to the scientific community for the validation of numerical models.