Simulation of the Full‐Process Dynamics of Floating Vehicles Driven by Flash Floods

Abstract Flash flooding has become more prominent under climate change, threatening people's life and property. Post‐event investigations of recent events emphasize the role of floating debris, such as vehicles, in exacerbating damage. Few modeling methods and tools have been developed to simul...

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Main Authors: Yan Xiong, Qiuhua Liang, Jinhai Zheng, Gang Wang, Xue Tong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-10-01
Series:Water Resources Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036739
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author Yan Xiong
Qiuhua Liang
Jinhai Zheng
Gang Wang
Xue Tong
author_facet Yan Xiong
Qiuhua Liang
Jinhai Zheng
Gang Wang
Xue Tong
author_sort Yan Xiong
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Flash flooding has become more prominent under climate change, threatening people's life and property. Post‐event investigations of recent events emphasize the role of floating debris, such as vehicles, in exacerbating damage. Few modeling methods and tools have been developed to simulate the full‐process dynamics of floating debris driven by large‐scale flood waves in real world. In this work, a fully coupled model is developed for simulating the full‐process interactive movements of vehicles driven by flash flood hydrodynamics, from entrainment, transport to deposition. The proposed coupled modeling system consists of a finite volume shock‐capturing hydrodynamic model solving the 2D shallow water equations and a 3D discrete element method (DEM) model. The proposed two‐way coupling approach estimates the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic forces acting on solid objects using the water depth and velocity predicted by the hydrodynamic model; the resulting counter forces on the fluid flow are then considered by adding extra source terms in the hydrodynamic model. A multi‐sphere method is further embedded in the DEM model to better represent vehicle shapes. New calculation modules are further implemented to represent the vehicle entrainment, contact and stopping motions. The coupled model is applied to reproduce a flash flood event hit Boscastle in the UK in 2004. Over 100 vehicles were moved and carried downstream by the highly transient flood flow. The model well predicts the hydrodynamics, interactive transport process and the final locations of vehicles. The proposed coupled model provides a new tool for simulating large‐scale flash flooding processes, including debris dynamics.
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spelling doaj-art-2c5b33671be44c48bca4d8a4d2c405792025-08-20T03:22:14ZengWileyWater Resources Research0043-13971944-79732024-10-016010n/an/a10.1029/2023WR036739Simulation of the Full‐Process Dynamics of Floating Vehicles Driven by Flash FloodsYan Xiong0Qiuhua Liang1Jinhai Zheng2Gang Wang3Xue Tong4School of Civil Engineering and Architecture Jiangsu Open University Nanjing ChinaSchool of Architecture Building and Civil Engineering Loughborough University Loughborough UKKey Laboratory of Coastal Disaster and Protection (Ministry of Education) Hohai University Nanjing ChinaKey Laboratory of Coastal Disaster and Protection (Ministry of Education) Hohai University Nanjing ChinaKey Laboratory of Coastal Disaster and Protection (Ministry of Education) Hohai University Nanjing ChinaAbstract Flash flooding has become more prominent under climate change, threatening people's life and property. Post‐event investigations of recent events emphasize the role of floating debris, such as vehicles, in exacerbating damage. Few modeling methods and tools have been developed to simulate the full‐process dynamics of floating debris driven by large‐scale flood waves in real world. In this work, a fully coupled model is developed for simulating the full‐process interactive movements of vehicles driven by flash flood hydrodynamics, from entrainment, transport to deposition. The proposed coupled modeling system consists of a finite volume shock‐capturing hydrodynamic model solving the 2D shallow water equations and a 3D discrete element method (DEM) model. The proposed two‐way coupling approach estimates the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic forces acting on solid objects using the water depth and velocity predicted by the hydrodynamic model; the resulting counter forces on the fluid flow are then considered by adding extra source terms in the hydrodynamic model. A multi‐sphere method is further embedded in the DEM model to better represent vehicle shapes. New calculation modules are further implemented to represent the vehicle entrainment, contact and stopping motions. The coupled model is applied to reproduce a flash flood event hit Boscastle in the UK in 2004. Over 100 vehicles were moved and carried downstream by the highly transient flood flow. The model well predicts the hydrodynamics, interactive transport process and the final locations of vehicles. The proposed coupled model provides a new tool for simulating large‐scale flash flooding processes, including debris dynamics.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036739floating vehicleshydrodynamic‐DEM modelingfluid‐solid interactioncoupled modelflash flood
spellingShingle Yan Xiong
Qiuhua Liang
Jinhai Zheng
Gang Wang
Xue Tong
Simulation of the Full‐Process Dynamics of Floating Vehicles Driven by Flash Floods
Water Resources Research
floating vehicles
hydrodynamic‐DEM modeling
fluid‐solid interaction
coupled model
flash flood
title Simulation of the Full‐Process Dynamics of Floating Vehicles Driven by Flash Floods
title_full Simulation of the Full‐Process Dynamics of Floating Vehicles Driven by Flash Floods
title_fullStr Simulation of the Full‐Process Dynamics of Floating Vehicles Driven by Flash Floods
title_full_unstemmed Simulation of the Full‐Process Dynamics of Floating Vehicles Driven by Flash Floods
title_short Simulation of the Full‐Process Dynamics of Floating Vehicles Driven by Flash Floods
title_sort simulation of the full process dynamics of floating vehicles driven by flash floods
topic floating vehicles
hydrodynamic‐DEM modeling
fluid‐solid interaction
coupled model
flash flood
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036739
work_keys_str_mv AT yanxiong simulationofthefullprocessdynamicsoffloatingvehiclesdrivenbyflashfloods
AT qiuhualiang simulationofthefullprocessdynamicsoffloatingvehiclesdrivenbyflashfloods
AT jinhaizheng simulationofthefullprocessdynamicsoffloatingvehiclesdrivenbyflashfloods
AT gangwang simulationofthefullprocessdynamicsoffloatingvehiclesdrivenbyflashfloods
AT xuetong simulationofthefullprocessdynamicsoffloatingvehiclesdrivenbyflashfloods