Dam failure is a risky phenomenon beyond human subjective will. The damage and impact caused by dam failure is huge. However, calculating and predicting the characteristics of dam failure is very difficult and complicated. The problem of dam failure has been studied hundreds of years ago using many methods such as physical models, mathematical models, actual statistics...., However, the research method using physical models still proves to be effective, has advantages and is increasingly being improved. This article presents simulation methods of two types of dams: local material dams and concrete dams (roller compacted concrete and gravity concrete).