Sensitivity of the breaching process in the case of overtopping induced fluvial dike failure

Fluvial dikes are common structures constructed for flow channelization, prevention of river bed lateral migration and for flood protection purposes. Their aging increases their vulnerability to extreme hydro-logical events, and subsequently may cause their failure. Many laboratory studies of overtopping induced dike failure were conducted, dealing mainly on normal configurations (i.e. dam break configuration) without ac-counting for the influence of a parallel flow. The fluvial dike breaching process remains, therefore, insuffi-ciently studied. A simplified model assuming a parameterized evolution of the breach geometry has been de-veloped to evaluate the fluvial breaching process. Results showed a sensitivity of the breaching process to the main channel configuration and to the flow conditions. Also, the evolution mode that was prescribed for the breach cross-section strongly influences the breaching duration and the sediment discharge