Dam failure mechanism produces the rapidly varied unsteady flow situation and the appropriate analysis to determine the flow condition is necessary. Over the world, more than 80,000 dams were constructed. There have been more than 200 distinguished dam failures occurred within the twentieth century. The history of dam construction exists together with the probability of dam failure causing casualties and catastrophic situations. As climate change effect has caused the change in flow situations, the safety concern in the dam is also necessary. Casualties and damages due to dam break events depend upon the depth, flow velocity, population distribution as per geography and warning time related to the time to reach the peak flow to the downstream areas. Prediction of actual breaching scenario is not certain and is related to the geographical and geological features of the site, embankment type, type of breach, reservoir storage and flow conditions. Estimating the accurate breaching scenarios and modeling of the dam break situation to characterize the hydrodynamic risk is necessary. Among the numerous techniques of modeling dam break situation, this study focused on the use of HEC-RAS for analyzing the dam break situation. Most of the simulation of a dam break situation used one-dimensional analysis to solve flow conditions after the break of the dam. The Latest development of HEC-RAS 2D capabilities is also used in conjunction with 1D HEC-RAS dam break analysis to compare and explore both analysis capabilities of HEC-RAS. The effect of HEC-RAS simulation altering the breaching conditions is analyzed for the dam failure case of Big Bay dam located in Lamar County, Mississippi. The study area is chosen to obtain the simulation of piping dam failure, which was the real cause of the dam failure event. In addition, the overtopping failure parameters established by the different breaching regression equations were analyzed. Results obtained with both one- dimensional and two- dimensional analysis is compared along with the modeling procedure and concept of analysis. From the analysis, it is found that the time of peak water surface elevation and its magnitude is responsible in determining the extent of vulnerable areas to the dam break scenarios. The present study showed the variation in peak flow condition between different breach parameters. Breach bottom width found to be more sensitive parameters in dam failure events. HEC-RAS analysis is found to be suitable to predict the uncertain hydraulic behavior of dam break situation.

Anthropogenic infrastructure such as roads, ditches and culverts have strong impacts on hydrological processes, particularly surface drainage patterns. Despite this, these structures are often not present in the digital elevation models (DEMs) used to provide surface drainage data to hydrological models, owing to the coarse spatial resolution of many available DEMs. Modelling drainage patterns in human-modified landscapes requires very accurate, high-resolution DEM data to capture these features. Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) is a remote sensing technique that is used for producing DEMs with fine resolutions that can represent anthropogenic landscapes features such as human modifications on the landscape such as roadside ditches. In these data, roads act as a barrier to flow and are treated as dams, where on the ground culverts and bridges exist. While possible to locate and manually enforce flow across these roads, there is currently no automated technique to identify these locations and perform flow enforcement. This research improves the modelling of surface drainage pathways in rural anthropogenic altered landscapes by utilizing a novel algorithm that identifies ditches and culverts in LiDAR DEMs and enforces flow through these features by way of breaching. This breaching algorithm was tested on LiDAR datasets for two rural test sites in Southern Ontario. These analyses showed that the technique is an effective tool for efficiently incorporating ditches and culverts into the hydrological analysis of a landscape that has both a gradient associated with it, as well as a lack of densely forested areas. The algorithm produced more accurate representations of both overland flow when compared to outputs that excluded these anthropogenic features all together.

The aim was to identify geographical areas of concern in the process of catchment delineation in urban areas in geographic information systems, GIS. The aim was also to develop a new method for the delineation in order to address identified problems. The calculations of the catchment areas are important for subsequent hydraulic modeling, which is performed in order to properly design storm water systems capable of handling the storm water. An object oriented method was developed that took into account the identified, problematic factors in the infrastructure and buildings of the urban area. An alternative algorithm for the preprocessing of the digital elevation model, DEM, was tested to see how the results would differ from a current method for catchment delineation with another algorithm for the preprocessing of the DEM. The two different algorithms for DEM preprocessing were used before the same procedure of catchment delineation was performed on the DEMs in ArcGIS. The delineated catchments from the two different preprocessing algorithms along with the object oriented method, were evaluated against reference catchment areas manually plotted by hydraulic modeling specialists. The object oriented method showed a higher correlation to the reference than the topographic methods for the most important target parameters when performing well. However the object oriented method has to improve in precision and efficiency if it is to be used for the calculations. The catchment delineation methods with different DEM preprocessing algorithms yields different results. For the DEM preprocessing, an algorithm from Whitebox GAT seemed to performed better in flat areas and in areas where the storm water lines have been lowered into the DEM, than the ArcGIS method did. However the combination of Whitebox GAT and ArcGIS resulted in some problems with the catchment delineation and hence the combined method has to be refined in order to be used.

The objective of this study is to quantify the accuracy of two engineering models for dune erosion (SBEACH and EDUNE), and to determine which of the two models is best suited for predicting barrier island vulnerability due to extreme storm events. The first model, SBEACH, computes sediment transport using empirically derived equations from two large wave tank experiments. The second model, EDUNE, theoretically relates excess wave energy dissipation in the surf zone to sediment transport. The first mechanism for model comparison is sensitivity testing, which describes the response of the model to empirical, physical, and hydrodynamic variables. Through sensitivity tests, it is possible to determine if responses to physical variables (e.g. grain size) and hydrodynamic variables (e.g. wave height) are consistent with theoretical expectations, and whether the function of each variable is properly specified within the governing equations. With respect to empirical parameters, model calibrations are performed on multiple study sites in order to determine whether or not the empirical parameters are properly constrained. Finally, error statistics are generated on four study sites in order to compare model accuracy. Cross-shore profiles of dune elevation are extracted from coastal lidar (light detecting and ranging) surveys flown before and after the impact of major storm events. Three study sites are taken from 1998 lidar surveys of Assateague Island, MD in response to two large northeasters that produced significant erosion along the Assateague shoreline. Two additional study sites are obtained from 2003 lidar surveys of Hatteras Island, NC in response to erosion caused by Hurricane Isabel. Error statistics generated on these study sites suggest that the models are statistically equivalent in their ability to hindcast dune erosion due to extreme storm events.

Submarine slope failure releases sediments; it is an important mechanism that changes the Earth surface morphology and builds sedimentary records. I study the mechanics of submarine slope failure in sediment that dilates under shear (dilative slope failure). Dilation drops pore pressure and increases the strength of the deposit during slope failure. Dilation should be common in the clean sand and silty sand deposits on the continental shelf, making it an important mechanism in transferring sand and silt into deep sea. Flume experiments show there are two types of dilative slope failure: pure breaching and dual-mode slope failure. Pure breaching is a style of retrogressive subaqueous slope failure characterized by a relatively slow (mm/s) and steady retreat of a near vertical failure front. The retreating rate, or the erosion rate, of breaching is proportional to the coefficient of consolidation of the deposit due to an equilibrium between pore pressure drop from erosion and pore pressure dissipation. The equilibrium creates a steady state pore pressure that is less than hydrostatic and is able to keep the deposit stable during pure breaching. Dual-mode slope failure is a combination of breaching and episodic sliding; during sliding a triangular wedge of sediment falls and causes the failure front to step back at a speed much faster than that from the breaching period. The pore pressure fluctuates periodically in dual-mode slope failure. Pore pressure rises during breaching period, weakens the deposit and leads to sliding when the deposit is unstable. Sliding drops the pore pressure, stabilizes the deposit and resumes breaching. The frequency of sliding is proportional to the coefficient of consolidation of the deposit because dissipation of pore pressure causes sliding. Numerical model results show that more dilation or higher friction angle in the deposit leads to pure breaching while less dilation or lower friction angle leads to dual-mode slope failure. As a consequence, pure breaching is limited to thinner deposits and deposits have higher relative density. / text

En cette ère de la 4g et des microprocesseurs, la téléphonie sans-fil offre un accès constant au net en plus de permettre moult échanges via appels/textos ou autres applications. En réalité, le téléphone intelligent, à l’heure d’aujourd’hui, est bien plus qu’un outil communicationnel. Véritable couteau suisse des temps modernes, il permet de payer ses comptes, de retrouver son chemin, de vérifier l’heure et même de reconnaître la chanson audible dans un café. Sa prépondérance dans notre paysage quotidien en est telle qu’un peu plus d’une personne sur deux avoue qu’il ou elle ne saurait vivre sans son appareil (Smith, 2015). Ainsi, la présente recherche tente d’explorer les questions suivantes à l’aide d’une expérience de déstabilisation. Premièrement, est-il possible de toujours vivre 'normalement' tout en restant déconnecté? Plus précisément, qu'arriverait- il sur le plan de la représentation de soi alors que les attentes quotidiennes fondées sur l'instantanéité, l’accessibilité et l'hyper-efficacité ne pourraient pas être respectées? En ce sens, peut-on encore agir, interagir et fonctionner dans un monde hyperconnecté, ou une déconnexion prolongée altèrerait-elle aussi la façon dont nous percevons et donnons un sens à notre environnement? / In a world of 4g and microprocessors, wireless telephony offers constant web access in addition to allowing a plethora of interactive means via calls / text messages or other applications. In fact, today's smartphone seems to be much more than a communicational tool. A true modern day Swiss army knife, we can use it to pay our bills, find our way in the city, or check the time and even recognize the song currently audible in a coffee shop. In fact, its preponderance in our daily lives is such that a little more than a person out of two admits that he or she cannot live without his or her device for more than a day (Smith, 2015). Thus, this research attempts to explore the following questions through a breaching experiment. First, is it possible to always live 'normally' while remaining disconnected? Moreover, what would happen to the presentation of self in the everyday life when expectations based on immediacy, accessibility, and hyper efficiency could not possibly be met? Once disconnected, can we still properly act, interact, and function in a hyperconnected world or does a prolonged disconnection also alter what the way we may perceive and make sense of our surroundings?

Formation of a contract is nowadays more sophisticated than it formerly used to be due to major progress in communication technologies and technical development, and therefore, looking on negotiation process only through the notions of offer and acceptance alone appears to be somewhat insufficient. It is not unusual and infrequent that long term and complicated dealings take place prior to the conclusion of a contract, especially in more or less complex business matters. During various negotiation stages, many parties may incur different kinds of significant expenses in order to prepare well for the next phase of the negotiations and, eventually, for the targeted contractual performance. For the conclusion of a contract it may also be necessary to inform the other party about the terms and conditions which are essential for the first party's final decision about the contract, while some of this information might be considered as strictly confidential. Although the fundamental principle of contractual freedom allows the parties to act freely in negotiations and the contractual process is generally regarded as a non-binding relationship, there are some restrictions set up with the aim to protect good faith of the parties and support their fair dealings. According to the abovementioned, a situation...

Doctoral thesis deals with reliability analysis of flood protection dikes by estimating the probability of dike failure. This study based on theoretical knowledge, experimental and statistical researches, mathematical models and field survey extends present knowledge concerning with reliability analysis of dikes vulnerable to the problem of breaching due to overtopping. This study contains the results of probabilistic solution of breaching of a left bank dike of the River Dyje at a location adjacent to the village of Ladná near the town of Břeclav in the Czech Republic. Within thin work, a mathematical model describing the overtopping and erosion processes was proposed. The dike overtopping is simulated using simple surface hydraulics equations. For modelling the dike erosion which commences with the exceedance of erosion resistance of the dike surface, simple transport equations were used with erosion parameters calibrated depending on data from past real embankment failures. In the context of analysis of the model, uncertainty in input parameters was determined and subsequently the sensitivity analysis was carried out using the screening method. In order to achieve the probabilistic solution, selected input parameters were considered random variables with different probability distributions. For generating the sets of random values for the selected input variables, the Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) method was used. Concerning with the process of dike breaching due to overtopping, four typical phases were distinguished. The final results of this study take the form of probabilities for those typical dike breach phases.

La thèse constitue une juxtaposition de plusieurs contributions originales à lélaboration et lanalyse de modèles numériques capables de décrire une vaste gamme découlements à surface libre ainsi que les phénomènes de transport associés. Deux axes principaux sous-tendent les recherches entreprises. Il sagit, dune part, dune contribution à létude de modèles visant à reproduire adéquatement les interactions du fluide avec divers constituants transportés, tels que de lair entraîné, un polluant ou des sédiments. Cette phase du travail inclut également la caractérisation et la prédiction du comportement de lécoulement en présence dune topographie mobile ou érodable, y compris dans le cas dun barrage en remblai subissant une surverse. Dautre part, partant du constat quune modélisation fidèle des processus de transport, notamment hydrosédimentaires, passe inévitablement par un raffinement du calcul hydrodynamique proprement dit, une partie des travaux effectués dans le cadre de cette thèse est spécifiquement orientée vers un enrichissement de la connaissance des champs hydrodynamiques au sein du modèle.

The slip behaviour of subduction faults and the viscoelastic rheology of Earth’s mantle govern crustal deformation throughout the subduction earthquake cycle. This Ph.D. dissertation presents research results on two topics: (1) coseismic and postseismic slip of the shallowest segment of subduction faults and (2) postseismic deformation following great subduction earthquakes controlled by mantle viscoelasticity. Topic 1: Slip behaviour of the shallowest subduction faults. By modelling high-resolution cross-trench bathymetry surveys before and after the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake, we determine the magnitude and distribution of coseismic slip over the most near-trench 40 km of the Japan Trench megathrust. The inferred > 60 m average slip and a gentle increase by 5 m towards the trench over this distance indicate moderate degree of net coseismic weakening of the shallow fault. Using near-trench seafloor and sub-seafloor fluid pressure variations as strain indicators in conjunction with land-based geodetic measurements, we determine coseismic-slip and afterslip distributions of the 2012 Mw 7.6 Costa Rica earthquake. Here, trench-breaching slip similar to the Tohoku-oki rupture did not occur during the earthquake, but afterslip extended to the trench axis and reached ~0.7 m over 1.3 years after the earthquake, exhibiting a velocity-strengthening behaviour. These two contrasting examples bracket a possibly wide range of slip behaviour of the shallow megathrust. They help us understand why large tsunamis are generated by some but not all subduction earthquakes. Topic 2: Postseismic deformation following great subduction earthquakes. Due to the asymmetry of megathrust rupture, with the upper plate undergoing greater coseismic tension than the incoming plate, viscoelastic stress relaxation causes the trench and land areas to move in opposite, opposing directions immediately after the earthquake. Seafloor geodetic measurements following the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake, modelled in this work, provided the first direct observational evidence for this effect. Systematic modelling studies in this work suggest that such viscoelastic opposing motion should be common to all Mw ≥ 8 subduction earthquakes. As the effect of viscoelastic relaxation decays with time and the effect of fault relocking becomes increasingly dominant, the dividing boundary of the opposing motion continues to migrate away from the rupture area. Comparative studies of ten 8 ≤ Mw ≤ 9.5 subduction earthquakes in this dissertation quantifies the primary role of earthquake size in controlling the “speed” of the evolution of this deformation. Larger earthquakes are followed by longer-lived opposing motion that affects a broader region of the upper plate. / Graduate