Subaerial landslide generated waves in dam reservoirs create distinctive problems for hazards assessment and consequently dam and reservoir design considerations. They are different from landslide events in oceans or seas because the domain of interest is commonly the ‘near field’, beyond the zone of complex forced splashing but close enough to the source that the motion keeps its unsteady conditions. There are several empirical equations based on previous experimental or numerical researches for estimating generated wave amplitude in the near field. In this work, the accuracy of these empirical equations for estimating generated wave amplitude are examined in comparison to the observed field data from real case studies. Ranges of overestimation or underestimation of each empirical equation are determined for various situations, and the applicability of equations is examined. By means of observed data from real cases, effective parameters on generated wave amplitude are revealed. These effective parameters have been shown favourable correlation with previous experimental studies. In order to characterise near field wave amplitude based on introduced effective parameters and observed wave amplitude a new empirical equation is proposed. The present empirical equations based on real case studies have been shown an excellent correlation with the previous experimental studies too. By comparison between observed and estimated wave amplitude, dimensionless slide parameters, and effective parameters, which are introduced in present work, empirical equations from previous studies are classified in respect to different conditions of landslide geometry and dynamic impact. This approach can be considered as an applied and practical way to have a preliminary estimation of the induced wave without application of the complicated numerical models.

Keywords: Dam Reservoir, Subaerial landslides, Impulsive waves, Near field waves, Wave amplitude


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