Application of an improved MPS method in simulation of dam break

For the engineering problem of dam break, in order to solve the pressure oscillation caused by the original kernel function and source term in Moving Particle Semi-implicit Method (MPS), the paper presents a new kernel function based on trigonometric functions and a hybrid source term based on Taylor expansion. Furthermore, an improved virtual light-source method (IVLS) is proposed to determine whether the particles are on the free surface. Through the test cases of static water, the improved MPS method can significantly suppress the oscillation of hydrostatic pressure. Moreover, compared with the data of dam-breaking experiments, the improved MPS method can also accurately simulate the change of free surface, and can effectively reduce the oscillation of impact pressure at monitoring points. In addition, the feasibility of the improved MPS method has been validated and meanwhile its limitation is also mainly discussed. •A new kernel function based on trigonometric functions was proposed to alleviate pressure oscillations.•A hybrid source term based on Taylor expansion was used to make pressure distribution more uniform.•An improved virtual light-source method makes free-surface identification more precise.