RAPID: Field Data on Levee Breaches

这是一个由土木、机械和制造创新部门以及国际科学和工程办公室共同资助的RAPID奖。 堤坝是沿沿着修建的，用来防洪。 设计良好和建造适当的堤坝通常能有效地抵御周期较短的洪水。 然而，近年来，世界范围内发生了历史性洪水，这可能与全球变暖现象有关。 大多数堤坝的设计不能抵御大规模的洪水，在这种情况下可能会决堤。 防洪堤溃堤往往会造成财产、基础设施的严重破坏和人员伤亡。 因此，了解和制定突破过程是必要的，紧急修复和突破关闭及时。 基于违约的研究有助于对违约过程的一些基本理解，并导致了一些违约预测模型的发展。 然而，小规模的实验室实验受到实验规模的影响，基于这些数据的模型可能不可靠。 为了建立可靠的溃口模型，必须了解物理模型试验的尺度效应。 在NSF PIRE赠款的资助下，我们目前正在进行更大规模的实验，以了解对观察到的破坏过程的规模效应。 然而，也必须在有机会时在实地收集数据。 巴基斯坦持续不断的洪水导致了许多堤坝决口，既有自然的，也有工程的。 这个RAPID项目将使我们能够快速着手收集现场规模的有价值的决口和洪水数据。 这些数据将有助于开发突破预测模型，获得清晰的洞察突破演变过程，并了解防洪工程突破的有效性。 这项研究将有助于更好地设计和维护堤坝，从而减少在洪水事件中的生命和财产损失。 通过与水资源卓越中心（CEWRE）和巴基斯坦旁遮普灌溉部合作，我们将能够在洪水消退和堤坝修复开始之间的短时间内收集有价值的数据。

This is a RAPID award which is co-funded by the Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation Division, and the Office of International Science and Engineering. Levees are constructed along rivers and canals as a means to protection against flood. Well-designed and properly-constructed levees are generally effective against floods of shorter recurrence intervals. In recent years, though, there has been a spike of historic floods worldwide which may be linked to the phenomenon of global warming. Most levees are not designed to withstand floods of large magnitude and may breach during such events. Levee-failure often leads to extensive damage to properties, infrastructures, and casualties. Understanding and formulating the breach process is, therefore, necessary for emergency repair and breach closure in a timely manner. Laboratory-based research has contributed to some basic understandings of the breach process, and led to the development of a number of breach prediction models. However, small-scale laboratory experiments are influenced by the scale of the experiment, and models based on these data may not be reliable. In order to develop reliable breach models, it is necessary to understand the scale effects on physical model experiments. With funding from an NSF PIRE grant, we are currently conducting experiments at larger scales to understand the scale effect on observed breach processes. However, it is also essential to collect data at the field scale, when the opportunity arises. The ongoing flood in Pakistan has led to numerous levee breaches, both natural, and engineered. This RAPID project will allow us to quickly embark on collecting valuable breach and flood data at the field scale. These data will be useful for developing breach prediction models, for gaining clear insight into the breach evolution process, and understanding the effectiveness of engineered breaches for flood mitigation. This research will contribute to the better design and maintenance of levees, resulting in reduction in the loss of life and property during flood events. By partnering with the Center for Excellence in Water Resources (CEWRE), and the Punjab Irrigation Department, Pakistan that are experienced in field-based research, we will be able to collect valuable data during a short window between flood recession and the inception of levee repair.