Evaluation of flow regime of turbidity currents entering Dez Reservoir using extended shallow water model

In this study, the performance of the extended shallow water model (ESWM) in evaluation of the flow regime of turbidity currents entering the Dez Reservoir was investigated. The continuity equations for fluid and particles and the Navier-Stokes equations govern the entire flow of turbidity currents. The shallow water equations governing the flow of the depositing phase of turbidity currents are derived from these equations. A case study was conducted on the flow regime of turbidity currents entering the Dez Reservoir in Iran from January 2002 to July 2003. Facing a serious sedimentation problem, the dead storage of the Dez Reservoir will be full in the coming 10 years, and the inflowing water in the hydropower conduit system is now becoming turbid. Based on the values of the dimensionless friction number (Nf≪1) and dimensionless entrainment number (NE≪1) of turbidity currents, and the coefficient of determination between the observed and predicted deposit depths (R2 = 0.86) for the flow regime of negligible friction and negligible entrainment (NFNE), the flow regime of turbidity currents coming into the Dez Reservoir is considered to be NFNE. The results suggest that the ESWM is an appropriate approach for evaluation of the flow regime of turbidity currents in dam reservoirs where the characteristics of turbidity currents, such as the deposit depth, must be evaluated. Copyright © 2014 Editorial Office of Water Science and Engineering.