Experimental dataset on water levels in scrutinizing the influences of downstream semi-circular obstacles on floods arising from the failure of dams with different levels of reservoir silting

In this file, all water level data associated with 24 different dam break scenarios were extracted from high-quality experimental video images. The dataset is collected, classified and presented in a total of 24 distinct tables in 3 categories based on downstream initial conditions; 1- Downstream bed with a semi-circular obstacle with radius of 4.5 cm, 2- Downstream bed with a semi-circular obstacle with radius of 7.5 cm, and 3- Smooth downstream bed without any obstacle. Tables 1-8, present the free surface water level data at 20 different locations along the flume and 15 snap times after the dam break, while a semi-circular obstacle with radius of 4.5 cm was initially mounted on the downstream bed. A clear water reservoir (without sediment) as well as 7 different initial sediment depths (0.03, 0.075, 0.15, 0.175, 0.2, 0.22 or 0.24 m) are detailed in Table 1-8, respectively. These 8 initial upstream sediment depths make the upstream reservoir 0% to 80% silted-up with respect to the total 30 cm height of the reservoir. Table 9-16 provide the free surface water level data at all abovementioned sections and snap times while a semi-circular obstacle with radius of 7.5 cm was initially mounted on the downstream bed. A clear water reservoir (without sediment) as well as 7 different initial sediment depths (0.03, 0.075, 0.15, 0.175, 0.2, 0.22 or 0.24 m) are detailed in Table 9-16, respectively. Table 17-24 show the free surface water level data at all sections and snap times while the downstream bed considered smooth and No obstacle was mounted on the downstream bed. A clear water reservoir (without sediment) as well as 7 different initial sediment depths (0.03, 0.075, 0.15, 0.175, 0.2, 0.22 or 0.24 m) are detailed in Table 17-24, respectively. The unit that has been used to measure data is centimeter and the abbreviations including and are the radiuses of downstream semi-circular obstacles and upstream initial sediment depth, respectively. Time refers to the snap times after sudden removal of the gate using second as a unit of measurement. It should be noted that the vertical column to the left of the tables indicates the distances of different locations in centimeters from the beginning point of the laboratory flume. So, the <i>L </i>column indicates all 20 distinct locations along the flume and their distances from the reservoir beginning, in centimeter as a unit of measurement.<br>Foad Vosoughi, Research Associate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. foad.vosooghi@gmail.com<br>