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Small scale debris-flow experiments on run-up height
Rickenmann, Dieter Karrer, Tobias McArdell, Brian Scheidl, Christian
Rickenmann, Dieter
Karrer, Tobias
McArdell, Brian
Scheidl, Christian
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2019
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Abstract
We studied the run-up behavior of debris flows in a small-scale experimental flume using various material compositions, approach flow velocities, and geometries of the obstacle. The experiments were performed with a straight and 4 m to 6 m long flume channel with a circular cross-section of 15 cm top width. The debris flows were released from a head tank. We used three debris-flow mixtures, three channel slopes and either a vertical wall or an adverse slope of 30° as an obstacle. Additional tests were performed using water without sediment. The inclined channel was followed by a 30 cm long horizontal transition reach. Immediately upstream and along this reach we measured the shape of the approaching debris-flow surge with four laser sensors, and determined also the approach flow velocity and depth. The run-up conditions were recorded with a high-speed video camera. The measured run-up conditions were compared with four different theoretical models. The observed run-up conditions differed to some extent between debris-flow mixtures and clear water flows, and there were also some differenced among the debris flow mixtures depending on the relative proportion of coarse particles. The observed run-up heights were generally within the range predicted by the theoretical models, but none of them appears to be universally applicable to the entire range of investigated flow conditions. The commonly used energy principle is not always a conservative method to estimate run-up heights, as has been reported in previous studies.
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