Modeling of debris avalanche and generated water waves: Application to real and potential events in Montserrat

Tsunamis generated by a sudden entry of debris avalanches into the sea have caused some of the worst natural disasters in historic times. The evolution of the Soufrière Hill volcano's activity in Montserrat, Lesser Antilles, could lead to a dome collapse generating a tsunami. Two scenarios have been simulated here. In the first case, the potential entry into the sea of a debris mass of 40 millions of m³ at the mouth of the Tar River Valley, towards the East has been considered. In this case, the debris avalanche is approximated as a fluid entering the sea with a given front height and a given velocity. Sensitivity tests have shown that the simulated water wave is very sensitive to the imposed initial conditions. In order to have a more accurate source term in the tsunami model, we have developed here a numerical debris avalanche model. This model takes into account a Coulomb-type friction law and solves the vertically integrated long wave equations. A first application of this model has been made to simulate the 26^th December 1997 debris avalanche with an estimated volume of 60 millions of m³ that occurred in the White River valley, South of Montserrat. Preliminary results show that the debris avalanche path is very sensitive to the considered value of the friction angle 5. An empirical value of 5 lower than 15∘ i. e. less than the value expected for debris avalanches, is required to reproduce the great mobility of this avalanche.     

Lessons from Ontake-san: A comparative analysis of debris avalanche dynamics

Dynamic aspects of the long runout Ontake-san debris avalanche are evaluated by a comparison of several models. An unsteady numerical model assumes two-dimensional flow of an incompressible biviscous or Newtonian fluid, represented as a continuum with a free surface. Internal deformation of the flowing mass is considered, as well as boundary resistances. Thus flow thinning and deposit shape as well as flow kinematics may be modeled. Parameters are adjusted to match observed runout, with additional constraints on velocity and emplacement time. With abundant constraints for Ontake-san, from careful field investigations by Japanese research teams, our analysis indicates that a substantial decrease in flow resistance occurred as a function of displacement. Constant-property models that match runout tend to overestimate the peak velocities and to underestimate the emplacement times. A staged increase in mobility in both constant volume and variable volume models leads to results consistent with field data. Runout in a channel overflow area was also modeled. Qualitatively similar results have been obtained by other researchers using simple sliding block models with empirical parameters, a slide block model with rational parameter selection, a modified flood simulation, and a multi-element frictional slide model. The relative merits of these models are compared.

The field mechanisms associated with this mobility increase with displacement are poorly understood, but the question is now identified as a target for future research at debris avalanche sites, and some plausible mechanisms are considered. The main reason probably involves the entrainment of river water and saturated sediment, leading to enhanced efficiency of fluid pressure mechanisms with undrained shear; in addition, progressive shearing reduced the mean particle size and angularity, and the cohesion and friction (and apparent viscosity) of avalanche debris near the wetted perimeter. Hydroplaning — the shearing of water films and slurries — may have occurred locally.     

高速远程滑坡超前冲击气浪三维动力学分析

为研究沟谷多级折射高速远程滑坡超前冲击气浪的特征,以牛圈沟滑坡三维地形形态为原型,采用CFD软件,引入Voellmy准则定义运动阻力,在反演碎屑流运动全过程的同时,对其冲击气浪的流场特征进行了数值模拟,分析其形成的动力学机制。结果表明：(1) 牛圈沟滑坡从启动到停止历时为119 s,最大速度出现在滑体内部靠近前缘处,峰值分别为14 s的52 m/s、27 s的55 m/s和50 s的49 m/s。(2) 气浪速度的最大值50 s时为38 m/s,其压强的最大值达657 Pa,相当于11级暴风。(3) 当碎屑流前方出现高大的障壁时,来不及扩散的高压气流产生极为明显的压强梯度;当其前方遇跌坎或翻越山脊冲向山坡下方在其速度瞬间增大的同时,强烈压缩前方空气并导致其压强值局部出现陡增。     

A generic approach to modelling flexible confined boundary conditions in SPH and its application

In this paper, a new approach to applying confining stress to flexible boundaries in the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is developed to facilitate its applications in geomechanics. Unlike the conventional SPH methods that impose confining boundary conditions by creating extra boundary particles, the proposed approach makes use of kernel truncation properties of SPH approximations that occur naturally at free-surface boundaries. Therefore, it does not require extra boundary particles and, as a consequence, can be utilised to apply confining stresses onto any boundary with arbitrary geometry without the need for tracking the curvature change during the computation. This enables more complicated problems that involve moving confining boundaries, such as confining triaxial tests, to be simulated in SPH without difficulties. To further enhance SPH applications in elasto-plastic computations of geomaterials, a robust numerical procedure to implement Mohr-Coulomb plasticity model in SPH is presented for the first time to avoid difficulties associated with corner singularities in Mohr-Coulomb model. The proposed approach was first validated against two-dimensional finite element (FE) solutions for confining biaxial compression tests to demonstrate its predictive capability at small deformation range when FE solutions are still valid. It is then further extended to three-dimensional conditions and utilised to simulate triaxial compression experiments. Simulation results predicted by SPH show good agreement with experiments, FE solutions, and other numerical results available in the literature. This suggests that the proposed approach of imposing confining stress boundaries is promising and can handle complex problems that involve moving confining boundary conditions.     

Numerical SPH analysis of debris flow run-out and related river damming scenarios for a local case study in SW China

A smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) numerical modeling method implemented for the forward simulation of propagation and deposition of flow-type landslides was combined with different empirical geomorphological index approaches for the assessment of the formation of landslide dams and their possible evolution for a local case study in southwestern China. The SPH model was calibrated with a previously occurred landslide that formed a stable dam impounding the main river, and it enabled the simulation of final landslide volumes, and the spatial distribution of the resulting landslide deposits. At four different sites on the endangered slope, landslides of three different volumes were simulated, respectively. All landslides deposited in the main river, bearing the potential for either stable impoundment of the river and upstream flooding scenarios, or sudden breach of incompletely formed or unstable landslide dams and possible outburst floods downstream. With the empirical indices, none of the cases could be identified as stable formed landslide dam when considering thresholds reported in the literature, showing up the limitations of these indices for particular case studies of small or intermediate landslide volumes and the necessity to adapt thresholds accordingly for particular regions or sites. Using the occurred benchmark landslide as a reference, two cases could be identified where a complete blockage occurs that is more stable than the reference case. The other cases where a complete blockage was simulated can be considered as potential dam-breach scenarios.     

Inception of debris avalanches: remarks on geomechanical modelling

Debris avalanches are complex phenomena due to the variety of mechanisms that control the failure stage and the avalanche formation. Regarding these issues, in the literature, either field evidence or qualitative interpretations can be found while few experimental laboratory tests and rare examples of geomechanical modelling are available for technical and/or scientific purposes. As a contribution to the topic, the paper firstly highlights as the problem can be analysed referring to a unique mathematical framework from which different modelling approaches can be derived based on limit equilibrium method (LEM), finite element method (FEM), or smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH). Potentialities and limitations of these approaches are then tested for a large study area where huge debris avalanches affected shallow deposits of pyroclastic soils (Sarno-Quindici, Southern Italy). The numerical results show that LEM as well as uncoupled and coupled stress–strain FEM analyses are able to individuate the major triggering mechanisms. On the other hand, coupled SPH analyses outline the relevance of erosion phenomena, which can modify the kinematic features of debris avalanches in their source areas, i.e. velocity, propagation patterns and later spreading of the unstable mass. As a whole, the obtained results encourage the application of the introduced approaches to further analyse real cases in order to enhance the current capability to forecast the inception of these dangerous phenomena.     

Measurements of hillslope debris flow impact pressure on obstacles

We present measurements of hillslope debris flow impact pressures on small obstacles. Two impact sensors have been installed in a real-scale experimental site where 50?m³ of water-saturated soil material are released from rest. Impact velocities vary between 2 and 13?m/s; flow heights between 0.3 and 1.0?m. The maximum impact pressures measured over 15 events represent between 2 and 50 times the equivalent static pressures. The measurements reveal that quadratic velocity-dependent formulas can be used to estimate impact pressures. Impact coefficients C are constant from front to tail and range between 0.4?<?C?<?0.8 according to the individual events. The pressure fluctuations to depend on the sensor size and are between 20% and 60% of the mean pressure values. Our results suggest that hazard guidelines for hillslope debris flows should be based on quadratic velocity-dependent formulas.     

Large-scale assessment of avalanche and debris flow hazards in the Sakhalin region,Russian Federation

We explore the challenges of avalanche and debris flow hazard assessment for urban areas exposed in the Sakhalin region. Avalanches are a threat to more than 60 settlements in the region and debris flows to more than 30. Data are provided for avalanche and debris flow events that occurred in the Sakhalin region between 1928 and 2015. In this paper, the method for the design of hazard maps for snow avalanches and debris flows is described, providing the starting point for any planning constraints in general settlement planning schemes. These maps further allow conducting an assessment of avalanche and debris flow risk within a short time period for a larger territory and at minimum cost.

     

Application of a SPH depth-integrated model to landslide run-out analysis

Hazard and risk assessment of landslides with potentially long run-out is becoming more and more important. Numerical tools exploiting different constitutive models, initial data and numerical solution techniques are important for making the expert’s assessment more objective, even though they cannot substitute for the expert’s understanding of the site-specific conditions and the involved processes. This paper presents a depth-integrated model accounting for pore water pressure dissipation and applications both to real events and problems for which analytical solutions exist. The main ingredients are: (i) The mathematical model, which includes pore pressure dissipation as an additional equation. This makes possible to model flowslide problems with a high mobility at the beginning, the landslide mass coming to rest once pore water pressures dissipate. (ii) The rheological models describing basal friction: Bingham, frictional, Voellmy and cohesive-frictional viscous models. (iii) We have implemented simple erosion laws, providing a comparison between the approaches of Egashira, Hungr and Blanc. (iv) We propose a Lagrangian SPH model to discretize the equations, including pore water pressure information associated to the moving SPH nodes.     

速流结构防治泥石流的理论及应用

作为一种公路沿线发育的地质灾害，泥石流是路基、路面及相关建、构筑物最强烈的毁损动力。为了防治泥石流公路灾害，作者开发了速流结构。该结构由汇流槽和速流槽组成。其中汇流槽的侧墙长度、高度’、厚度等参数通过泥石流沟形态及其冲击力综合确定；而速流槽的宽度、侧墙及纵横断面则由泥石流排泄量、流速、锁固桩及流体性质综合确定。根据公路穿越速流结构的方式，将速流结构分为底越式和顶越式2种。速流结构对于解决具有大冲大淤特性的冲淤变动型沟谷泥石流灾害具有重要应用价值。据此可以确保穿越泥石流沟的公路构、建筑物的安全与稳定．确保公路交通有序进行。此外，文章对速流结构的一些子结构，如速流槽侧墙及锁固桩进行了力学分析。位于川西南西昌-木里干线公路的平川泥石流属于典型的冲淤变动型沟谷泥石流。该沟长度8．2km，沟床平均比降0．181，平均流速9．0m／s，沉积区宽度500m左右。为了确保该段公路交通的有序进行，作者干1999年实施了平川泥石流速流结构。通过2000年以来的研究及现场测试，显示了该防治结构的优越性。但是，作为一种特殊的水工结构，泥石流对速流结构的磨蚀作用是比较强烈的。因此，开展速流结构的抗冲、抗撞研究是进一步研究具有重要价值。     

泥石流拦砂坝底扬压力分布及影响因素试验

泥石流拦砂坝底的扬压力会抵消坝体的部分有效荷重,影响其抗倾覆稳定性。为了研究拦砂坝底扬压力的分布规律及其影响因素,设计制作了拦砂坝模型和扬压力采集系统,开展了不同沟床坡度和不同坝前堆积条件下的扬压力模拟试验。试验结果表明,扬压力自坝踵至坝趾不断减小,且与渗流距离呈线性关系,当坝前有堆积物时相关系数绝对值达到0.98以上;沟床坡度明显影响坝底扬压力的分布。随着沟床坡度的增加,扬压力不断减小,且对坝踵处扬压力的影响较坝趾处更大;坝底和坝前堆积物的渗透性对扬压力的影响也很显著,它们的渗透性越差,扬压力就越小;坝前堆积物的渗透性还显著影响扬压力的分布规律,渗透性越差,其分布规律性就越强。研究成果为深入研究泥石流拦砂坝底扬压力的作用过程和作用机制奠定了基础。     

The Ischia debris avalanche: first clear submarine evidence in the Mediterranean of a volcanic island prehistorical collapse

Sector or flank collapse with related debris avalanches is increasingly recognized as a relatively common volcanic behaviour, in particular, for large, hot‐spot related oceanic islands. Here, we report the case of a catastrophic collapse that occurred at Ischia volcanic island in prehistorical times and was driven by the volcano‐tectonic uplift of Mt Epomeo, the major relief of the island. The collapse left a subaerial to submarine horseshoe scar on the southern flank of the island and generated a debris avalanche incorporating thousands of giant blocks dispersed as far as 50 km from the island. During the emplacement, part of the debris avalanche evolved into a debris flow covering an area of 250–300 km². This constitutes the first, clear evidence of a submarine debris avalanche in the Mediterranean Sea. The major collapse was followed, and probably also preceded, by recurrent, less catastrophic terrestrial and underwater failures. Two other undersea hummocky deposits are found north and west of the island and might tentatively be correlated to the major southern collapse. Such volcanic behaviour, previously unknown for Ischia Volcano, has likely triggered tsunami waves over the entire Bay of Naples raising the question of their impact on prehistorical/historical communities.     

Impact of storage coefficient on numerical modelling of trench drainage

The present paper deals with the numerical modelling of trench drainage in variably saturated porous media. In particular, the effect of the unsaturated storage coefficient form on the rate of transient seepage into the trench is investigated. Several numerical analyses are performed for two different soil types. The numerical results derived using a pressure head-dependent storage coefficient, are compared to those derived using constant storage coefficients. It is shown that simplifying assumptions using constant storage coefficients may predict too fast drainage rates.     

泥石流冲击弧形拦挡坝动力响应研究

泥石流冲击过程中,坝基位置处承受了较大冲击力,易引起该位置出现应力集中而导致局部冲击破坏。为此,将竖向拦挡坝结构优化为弧形拦挡坝,并基于动量及能量守恒开展泥石流冲击弧形拦挡坝理论计算研究,推导泥石流对弧形拦挡坝的冲击力及爬升高度计算公式。为验证理论公式的正确性,进一步开展泥石流冲击弧形拦挡坝物理模型试验。研究结果表明:物理模型试验结果与所推导的理论公式计算结果具有较高的拟合度,该理论公式可适用于泥石流对弧形拦挡坝的冲击计算;泥石流流速、冲击力、爬升高度与泥石流沟道纵坡坡度呈正相关关系;冲击力及爬升高度主要受弗洛德数Fr、泥石流沟道纵坡坡度α、拦挡坝弧形半径R控制,并与Fr呈二次方正相关,与泥石流沟道纵坡坡度α的余弦值成反比;与竖向型拦挡坝结构相比,弧形拦挡坝结构在爬升高度上无显著影响,然而可较大程度降低泥石流对坝体的法向冲击力,局部结构增强也使得坝体结构强度得到提升。该研究可为泥石流拦挡坝工程的结构设计提供理论及技术支持。     

泥石流对桥墩冲击力的试验研究

泥石流冲毁桥墩是桥梁在遭受泥石流冲击时的常见破坏形式。为了研究泥石流对桥墩的冲击力大小,通过调整黏土、沙、石子、水的不同含量,配置不同流变特性、不同密度的泥石流,使用所配置的原料在泥石流槽内对两种形状（圆形、方形）的桥墩缩尺模型进行冲击,综合考察了流变特性、流速、桥墩形状以及冲击力的关系。试验表明：试验配置的泥石流原料流变特性差异明显,且可以用简单的选择流变仪测得,用牛顿流体或宾汉体描述。泥石流的流速可用曼宁公式求得,而公式中的糙率系数与泥石流黏度满足幂函数关系。相同工况下,不同形状桥墩所受的冲击力差异明显,方形桥墩阻力系数普遍大于圆形桥墩。使用非牛顿流体雷诺数（Re）可以综合反映流变特性和流速,因此,圆墩的阻力系数可表达为Re的函数,而方墩则没有明显关系。为方便工程应用,可根据黏性泥石流、稀性泥石流对圆墩的阻力系数分别为2.3、0.9,对方墩分别为2.6、1.9进行选用。     

Assessment of dynamic impact force of debris flow in mountain torrent based on characteristics of debris flow

Landslides and debris flows that occur around residential areas are considered, globally, as significant disasters that cause damage to human life and property. With terrain slope defining the flow characteristics of debris flows, flow depth, flow velocity, and impact force vary by time and distance. In particular, when a structure is located in the flow path of debris flows, the flow characteristics of debris flows vary by terrain slope and direction angle. To simulate the flow characteristics of these debris flows, the simulation results obtained by FLO-2D were analyzed with six-stage conditions for the research area. In the analysis, the flow depth, flow velocity, and impact force were estimated on the basis of the outlet of the research area in the presence and absence of structure(s) at certain distances. With this, the variation of the impact force in accordance with the variation of the flow depth of the debris flows was highly similar to the simulation results obtained by FLO-2D, when the correction index (α) of the suggested dynamic impact force equation was 0.3–0.4. There were sections where the estimated value of the impact force was overestimated near the outlet, and it was judged that the fixed values of the terrain factors (width, roughness coefficient, slope, etc.) caused the impact force to be overestimated. However, the correlation analysis showed that the correlation index was above the normal ranges in the suggested dynamic impact force equation for debris flows with the application of the terrain factors.     

V型排导槽内泥石流流速横向分布探讨

V型排导槽内泥石流流速的横向分布是一个与设计密切相连的非线性分布,直接关系到排导槽横断面各位置泥石流冲击力、磨蚀力等特征参数的定量计算。但目前流速公式多针对矩形槽,规范中没有关于该流速横向分布相应条款,因而导致部分已建V型排导槽因磨蚀或淤积而防治失效。鉴于此,本文试图通过合理假设,推导出泥石流流速横向分布计算公式,并以在建雅(安)泸(沽)高速公路沿线的某沟泥石流防治为工程背景,验证其具有一定的适用性,可供相关研究与设计参考。     

Experimental evidences and numerical modelling of debris flow initiated by channel runoff

Debris flow initiation by channel bed mobilization is a common process in high mountainous areas. Initiation is more likely to occur at the outlet of small, steeply sloping basins where concentrated overland flow feeds an ephemeral channel incised in slope deposits. Such geological conditions are typical of the Dolomite region (Italian Alps), which is characterized by widespread debris flow activity triggered by severe summer thunderstorms. Real-time data and field observations for one of these catchments (Acquabona catchment, Belluno, Italian Alps) were used to characterize the hydrological response of the initiation area to rainfalls of varying intensity and duration. The observed behaviour was then reproduced by means of a simple hydrological model, based on the kinematic wave assumption, to simulate the generation of channel runoff. The model is capable of predicting the observed hydrological response for a wide range of rainfall impulses, thus providing a physical basis for the understanding of the debris flow triggering threshold.     

Study of kinematic characteristics of a rock avalanche and subsequent erosion process due to a debris flow in Wenjia gully,Sichuan, China

Natural Hazards - This paper aims to systematically study kinematic characteristics of Wenjiagou rock avalanche triggered by the M8.0 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and one of subsequent debris flows...     

Environmental impact and remediation of acid mine drainage: a management problem

 Work carried out at the abandoned copper (Cu) and sulphur (S) mine at Avoca (south east Ireland) has shown acid mine drainage (AMD) to be a multi-factor pollutant. It affects aquatic ecosystems by a number of direct and indirect pathways. Major impact areas are rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters, although AMD affects different aquatic ecosystems in different ways. Due to its complexity, the impact of AMD is difficult to quantify and predict, especially in riverine systems. Pollutional effects of AMD are complex but can be categorized as (a) metal toxicity, (b) sedimentation processes, (c) acidity, and (d) salinization. Remediation of such impacts requires a systems management approach which is outlined. A number of working procedures which have been developed to characterise AMD sites, to produce surface water quality management plans, and to remediate mine sites and AMD are all discussed. Received: 16 January 1996 · Accepted: 5 March 1996