ABSTRACT
Impulse waves are generated by various causes, including rockfalls, landslides, ice falls, glacier calvings, or snow avalanches. These waves may endanger a dam and the reservoir due to wave run-up, or due to dam overtopping and the resulting floods in the tailwater. Impulse waves can also lead to significant shore erosion resulting in secondary events. The main parameters by which impulse waves are governed include the Froude number based on the slide impact velocity onto the water surface, the slide volume, the impact angle with respect to the reservoir axis and the distance from the impact location. The two-dimensional generation and propagation of subaerial landslide-generated impulse waves were studied based on Froude similitude and granular slide material. Among the various wave types, the solitary wave is the most extreme of impulse waves. Granular dams overtopped by a solitary wave were investigated with a hydraulic scale model.
