Modified shallow water equations which admit the propagation of discontinuous waves over a dry bed

A method for modeling the propagation of discontinuous waves over a dry bed using the first approximation of shallow water theory is proposed. The method is based on a modified conservation law of total momentum that takes into account the concentrated momentum losses due to the formation of local turbulent vortex structures in the fluid surface layer at a discontinuous-wave front. A quantitative estimate of these losses is obtained by deriving the shallow water equations from the Navier-Stokes equations with allowance for viscosity, which has a rapidly increasing effect in the turbulent flow regions described by discontinuous waves. The stability of the discontinuous waves admitted by the modified system of conservation laws of shallow water theory is examined. As an example, a comparative analysis is performed of the solutions of the dam-break problem obtained for the classical and modified shallow water models. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 6, pp. 22–43, November–December, 2007