Analysis of physical mechanisms of human body instability for the definition of hazard zones present in emergency action plans of dams. Case study: Santa Helena Dam, Bahia

ABSTRACT The impacts caused by flood waves due to dam ruptures usually cause irreversible damages to the resident population, and, the loss of body equilibrium in floods contributes to aggravate this scenario. In this context, this work aimed to analyse the influence of consideration of physical mechanisms that cause instability in the human body on the definition of hazard zones. Therefore, it was developed simulation of the propagation of the flood wave due to the hypothetical rupture of Santa Helena Dam in Bahia, using the hydrodynamic model HEC-RAS. The results of flow velocities and heights were related and compared to different criteria of hazard zonings and mechanisms that cause body instability. It was verified that the consideration of instability mechanisms of the human body can contribute to hazard management, through the knowledge of areas in which different individuals may topple or slide. It was confirmed that in supercritical flow regimes is more likely for the individual to slide and that in subcritical regimes the individual will topple. Moreover, the consideration of parameters such as buoyancy force and the angle related to the human body's adaptive ability in a flooding influence on the definition of zones.