Abstract

TOAPAXI ALVAREZ, Jorge  and  ACERO QUILUMBAQUIN, Andrés. Analysis of Flooding by Dam Breaking Using the 2D HEC-RAS Model: Case Study of the Mulacorral Dam, Tungurahua Province, Ecuador. Rev Politéc. (Quito) [online]. 2021, vol.48, n.1, pp.51-64. ISSN 2477-8990.  https://doi.org/10.33333/rp.vol48n1.05.

This study aims to analyze the flood caused by the hypothetical failure of the Mulacorral Dam, whose reservoir is located in the upper basin of the Ambato River at 3831 meters above sea level. The dam is located 42 kilometers northwest of Ambato city, capital of the Tungurahua Province, Ecuador. For the analysis, a length of approximately 50 kilometers was considered, from the dam foot to the limits of the Ambato city, in the wastewater treatment plant sector. Ten simulation plans were executed considering: the dam failure mode (piping and overflow), computation options and program tolerances. The results were verified with regression equations, developed based on historical background. In all cases, the failure scenarios present water levels that reach the Flores Avenue structure and infrastructure located on the banks of the Ambato River, in an average margin of 100 meters. Of the breakage scenarios proposed, the model used by the Froehlich Equation (2008) for overflow failure stands out, since it presents conservative results, a maximum peak flow of 1271 m3/s and a time of arrival of 2 hours and 20 minutes to the Ambato city.

Keywords : HEC-RAS; Mulacorral; simulation; two-dimensional; dam; breakage.

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