Experimental and numerical assessment of the shallow water model for two-dimensional dam-break type problems

Experimental and numerical results concerning the flow induced by the break of a dam on a dry bed are presented. The numerical technique consists of a shock-capturing method of the Godunov type. A physical laboratory model has been employed to infer properties and validity of the numerical solution. Attention is also given to the applicability of the mathematical model, based on the shallow water equations, to this class of problems.