Dams are constructed for economic development, and their construction
involves large investments of money, and natural and human resources. Of
the various types of dams constructed around the globe, earth dams are
the most common type and constitute the vast majority of dams. When adam
fails, it culminates in the sudden release of artificially stored water
which, in turn, becomes a potential menace to virtually everything
downstream. The dam failure may result in loss of life and property. In
recent years, instances of dam failure in the world have been too many,
and the resulting loss too high. As a result, dam safety pro grams have
been developed in most countries of the world since the beginning of the
nineteenth eighties. - Earth dams are more susceptible to failure than
other types. The cause of failure is often either overtopping or piping.
The modeling of dam breaching due to either or both of these causes is
of fundamental importance to development of dam-safety programs. This
book is, therefore, an attempt to present some aspects of earth-dam
breach modeling technology. It is hoped that others will be stimulated
to write more comprehensive texts on this subject of growing interest
and importance. The book is divided into eight chapters. The first
chapter is introductory and discusses some aspects of dams and dam
failures in the world.