Effects of a flexible net barrier on the dynamic behaviours and interception of debris flows in mountainous areas

Flexible net barriers are a new type of effective mitigation measure against debris flows in valleys and can affect the kinematic energy and mass of debris flows. Here, ten flume tests were performed to study the dynamic behaviours of debris flows with differences in volumes, concentrations (solid volume fraction), and travel distances after interception by a uniform flexible net barrier. A high-speed camera was used to monitor the whole test process, and their dynamic behaviours were recorded. A preliminary computational framework on energy conversion is proposed according to the deposition mechanisms and outflow of debris flow under the effects of the flexible net barrier. The experimental results show that the dynamic interaction process between a debris flow and the flexible net barrier can be divided into two stages: (a) the two-phase impact of the leading edge of the debris flow with the net and (b) collision and friction between the body of the debris flow and intercepted debris material. The approach velocity of a debris flow decreases sharply (a maximum of 63%) after the interception by the net barrier, and the mass ratio of the debris material being intercepted and the kinetic energy ratio of the debris material being absorbed by the net barrier are close due to the limited interception efficiency of the flexible net barrier, which is believed to be related to the flexibility. The energy ratio of outflow is relative small despite the large permeability of the flexible net barrier.