A Mesh-Free Non-Newtonian Approach for Modelling of Embankment Failure

A volume conservative divergence-free incompressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) framework is developed for modelling fluid flow through movable granular media. The framework considers fluid flow through porous media and movement of porous media separately. The granular media is modelled as an incompressible non-Newtonian fluid with variable viscosity based on Mohr–Coulomb criterion. Most of the currently available models adopt a unified approach with different rheology for modelling fluid and granular materials. However, simultaneous identification of dry and wet granular media becomes difficult for an integrated model. The current framework can simulate those cases because of coupled fluid and granular models. A force pair maintains the balance between two different flow phases. The viscosity of the granular media is calculated based on pressure and strain rates along with material parameters. The proposed framework is applied to two different cases of fluid flow through movable granular media. The first case considers a dam-break flow through a trapezoidal embankment and seepage failure at the downstream portion. In the second case, the initial water level height is increased to show the complete failure of the embankment. The water flow over the porous structure and its failure pattern are reported at different time instances. The coupled framework can efficiently track fluid flow through the porous and non-porous region as well as the failure of granular media along slopes.