Abstract
Landslide dam failure and induced morphological changes are dependent on the material composition. A bimodal material composition is observed in landslide dams and riverbeds, but its influence on dam failure and morphological changes is poorly understood. In this study, we experimentally investigate landslide dam failure and its effect on local morphology by varying both dam and bed material composition. The results show that the peak discharge and final breach size increase, while the upstream residual water level decreases with increasing fine material (sand) content in the dam material. The effect of the bed material is limited and the whole dam failure process is rather controlled by the dam material. However, erosion surface slope and final erosion depth vary with changes in both dam and bed material. Sediments are deposited unevenly on the erodible bed, resulting in the formation of sandbars after dam failure. Similar topographies are observed with different erodible beds, while the deposition area and the anisotropy of deposition depth increase with increasing sand content in the dam material. The influence of bimodal material on dam failure and morphological changes is related to the incipient motion and transport of sediments, leading to the formation of armour layer and non-uniform bedform after dam failure. A dam failure pattern is proposed by considering the variation of the erosion surface slope caused by the change in erosion rate and the occurrence of deposition during dam failure. This study improves the understanding of landslide dam failure and induced morphological changes, and further aids the hazard management.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Almedeij J, Diplas P (2003) Bedload transport in gravel-bed streams with unimodal sediment. J Hydraul Eng 129(11):896–904. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2003)129:11(896)
Cao ZX, Yue ZY, Pender G (2011) Landslide dam failure and flood hydraulics Part I: experimental investigation. Nat Hazards 59:1003–1019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-011-9814-8
Carrivick JL (2010) Dam break - outburst flood propagation and transient hydraulics: a geosciences perspective. J Hydrol 380(3–4):338–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.11.009
Casagli N, Ermini L, Rosati G (2003) Determining grain size distribution of the material composing landslide dams in the Northern Apennine: sampling and processing methods. Eng Geol 69(1):83–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0013-7952(02)00249-1
Chang DS, Zhang LM (2010) Simulation of the erosion process of landslide dams due to overtopping considering variations in soil erodibility along depth. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 10(4):933–946. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-10-933-2010
Chen SC, Lin TW, Chen CY (2015) Modeling of natural dam failure modes and downstream riverbed morphological changes with different dam materials in a flume test. Eng Geol 188:148–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2015.01.016
Coleman SE, Andrews DP, Webby MG (2002) Overtopping breaching of noncohesive homogeneous embankments. J Hydraul Eng 128(9):829–838. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2002)128:9(829)
Costa JE, Schuster RL (1988) The formation and failure of natural dams. Geol Soc Am Bull 100(7):1054–1068. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1988)100%3c1054:TFAFON%3e2.3.CO;2
Eguiazarov I (1965) Calculation of non-uniform sediment concentrations. J Hydraul Eng 91(4):225–248. https://doi.org/10.1061/JYCEAJ.0001277
Ehteshami-Moinabadi M, Nasiri S (2019) Geometrical and structural setting of landslide dams of the Central Alborz: a link between earthquakes and landslide damming. Bull Eng Geol Environ 78:69–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-017-1021-8
Ermini L, Casagli N (2003) Prediction of the behaviour of landslide dams using a geomorphological dimensionless index. Earth Surf Process Landf 28(1):31–47. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.424
Fan XM, Tang CX, Westen JV, Alkema D (2012) Simulating dam-breach flood scenarios of the Tangjiashan landslide dam induced by the Wenchuan Earthquake. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 12(10):3031–3044. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-12-3031-2012
Fraccarollo L, Capart H (2002) Riemann wave description of erosional dam-break flows. J Fluid Mech 461:183–228. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112002008455
Graf WH (1984) Hydraulics of sediment transport. Water Resources Publications, Colorado, p 513
Gregoretti C, Maltauro A, Lanzoni S (2010) Laboratory experiments on the failure of coarse homogeneous sediment natural dams on a sloping bed. J Hydraul Eng 136(11):868–879. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0000259
Iverson RM, Ouyang C (2015) Entrainment of bed material by Earth-surface mass flows: Review and reformulation of depth-integrated theory. Rev Geophys 53(1):27–58. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013RG000447
Jiang XG, Wei YW (2019) Natural dam breaching due to overtopping: effects of initial soil moisture. Bull Eng Geol Environ 78(7):4821–4831. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-018-01441-7
Jiang XG, Cheng HG, Gao L, Liu WM (2021) The formation and geometry characteristics of boulder bars due to outburst floods triggered by overtopped landslide dam failure. Earth Surf Dynam 9:1263–1277. https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1263-2021
Kang C, Chan D (2017) Modeling of entrainment in debris flow analysis for dry granular material. Int J Geomech 17(10):04017087. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000981
Kang C, Chen SC, Chan D, Tfwala S (2020) Numerical modeling of large-scale dam breach experiment. Landslides 17(12):2737–2754. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01465-9
Korup O (2004) Geomorphometric characteristics of New Zealand landslide dams. Eng Geol 73(1–2):13–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2003.11.003
Li MH, Sung RT, Dong JJ, Lee CT, Chen CC (2011) The formation and breaching of a short-lived landslide dam at Hsiaolin Village, Taiwan — Part II: Simulation of debris flow with landslide dam breach. Eng Geol 123(1–2):60–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2011.05.002
Li DY, Zheng DF, Wu H, Shen YQ, Nian TK (2021) Numerical simulation on the longitudinal breach process of landslide dams using an improved coupled DEM-CFD method. Front Earth Sci 9:673249. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.673249
Medina V, Bateman A, Hürlimann M (2008) A 2D finite volume model for bebris flow and its application to events occurred in the Eastern Pyrenees. Int J Sediment Res 23(4):348–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6279(09)60006-8
Morris M, Hanson G, Hassan M (2008) Improving the accuracy of breach modelling: why are we not progressing faster? J Flood Risk Manag 1(3):150–161. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-318X.2008.00017.x
Peng M, Zhang LM (2012) Breaching parameters of landslide dams. Landslides 9(1):13–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-011-0271-y
Peng M, Zhang LM, Chang DS, Shi ZM (2014) Engineering risk mitigation measures for the landslide dams induced by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Eng Geol 180:68–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2014.03.016
Qiu W, Li Y, Wen L, Wang L, Xu Z (2023) Experimental study on the longitudinal evolution of the overtopping breaching of concrete-face sand-gravel dams. Bull Eng Geol Environ 82(4):1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-023-03132-4
Ruan HC, Chen HY, Li Y, Chen JG, Li HB (2021) Study on the downcutting rate of a debris flow dam based on grain-size distribution. Geomorphology 391:107891. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.107891
Shan YB, Chen SS, Zhong QM, Mei SY, Yang M (2022) Development of an empirical model for predicting peak breach flow of landslide dams considering material composition. Landslides 19:1491–1518. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-022-01863-1
Shen DY, Shi ZM, Peng M, Zhang LM, Jiang MZ (2020) Longevity analysis of landslide dams. Landslides 17(8):1797–1821. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01386-7
Shen DY, Shi ZM, Zheng HC, Yang JT, Hanley KJ (2022) Effects of grain composition on the stability, breach process, and breach parameters of landslide dams. Geomorphology 413:108362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108362
Shi ZM, Guan SG, Peng M, Zhang LM, Zhu Y, Cai QP (2015) Cascading breaching of the Tangjiashan landslide dam and two smaller downstream landslide dams. Eng Geol 193:445–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2015.05.021
Soares-Frazão S, Canelas R, Cao ZX, Cea L, Chaudhry HM, Die Moran A, El Kadi K, Ferreira R, Fraga Cadórniga I, Gonzalez-Ramirez N, Greco M, Huang W, Imran J, Le Coz J, Marsooli R, Paquier A, Pender G, Pontillo M, Puertas J, Spinewine B, Swartenbroekx C, Tsubaki R, Villaret C, Wu W, Yue Z, Zech Y (2012) Dam-break flows over mobile beds: experiments and benchmark tests for numerical models. J Hydraul Res 50(4):364–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2012.689682
Strom A (2010) Landslide dams in central Asia region. J Jpn Landslide Soc 47(6):309–324. https://doi.org/10.3313/jls.47.309
Takahashi T (2007) Debris flows: Mechanics, prediction and countermeasures. Talor and Francis, London/Balkema, Leiden, The Netherlands
Turzewski MD, Huntington KW, LeVeque RJ (2019) The geomorphic impact of outburst floods: Integrating observations and numerical simulations of the 2000 Yigong flood, eastern Himalaya. J Geophys Res Earth Surf 124:1056–1079. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JF004778
Walder JS, O’Connor JE (1997) Methods for predicting peak discharge of floods caused by failure of natural and constructed earthen dams. Water Resour Res 33(10):2337–2348. https://doi.org/10.1029/97WR01616
Walder JS, Iverson RM, Godt JW, Logan M, Solovitz SA (2015) Controls on the breach geometry and flood hydrograph during overtopping of noncohesive earthen dams. Water Resour Res 51(8):6701–6724. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016620
Wilcock PR (2001) Toward a practical method for estimating sediment-transport rates in gravel-bed rivers. Earth Surf Process Landf 26:1395–1408. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.301
Xiong X, Matsumoto T, Shi Z, Zhang F (2022) Flume tests and corresponding numerical simulation of hydraulic/mechanical behavior of Tangjiashan landslide dam subjected to seepage loading. Soils Found 62(5):101200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2022.101200
Yan Y, Cui P, Chen SC, Chen XQ, Chen HY, Chien YL (2017) Characteristics and interpretation of the seismic signal of a field-scale landslide dam failure experiment. J Mt Sci 14:219–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-4103-3
Yang JT, Shi ZM, Peng M, Zheng HC, Soares-Frzao S, Zhou JW, Shen DY, Zhang LM (2022) Quantitative risk assessment of two successive landslide dams in 2018 in the Jinsha River, China. Eng Geol 304:106676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2022.106676
Yoshino K, Uchida T, Shimizu T, Tamura K (2011) Geomorphic changes of a landslide dam by overtopping erosion. Ital J Eng Geol Environ 797–804. https://doi.org/10.4408/IJEGE.2011-03.B-087
Zhong QM, Chen SS, Mei SA, Cao W (2018) Numerical simulation of landslide dam breaching due to overtopping. Landslides 15(6):1183–1192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-017-0935-3
Zhou GD, Zhou MJ, Shrestha MS, Song DR, Choi CE, Cui KFE (2019) Experimental investigation on the longitudinal evolution of landslide dam breaching and outburst floods. Geomorphology 334:29–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.02.035
Zhou GD, Li S, Lu XQ, Tang H (2022) Large-scale landslide dam breach experiments: Overtopping and “overtopping and seepage” failures. Eng Geol 304:106680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2022.106680
Zygouri V, Koukouvelas IK (2019) Landslides and natural dams in the Krathis River, north Peloponnese, Greece. Bull Eng Geol Environ 78:207–222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-017-1225-y
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge funding from the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41731283 No. 42307196 and No. 42007252) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2023M733029).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, J., Shi, Z., Soares-Frazão, S. et al. Influence of dam and erodible bed material composition on landslide dam failure and induced morphological changes: an experimental study. Bull Eng Geol Environ 83, 61 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-024-03556-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-024-03556-6