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Debris flow density determined by grain composition

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Abstract

Density is one of the most important parameters of debris flows. Because observing an active debris flow is very difficult, finding a method to estimate debris flow density is urgently needed for disaster mitigation engineering. This paper proposes an effective empirical equation in terms of grain size distribution (GSD) parameters based on observations in Jiangjia Gully, Yunnan Province, China. We found that the GSD follows P(D) = KD -μexp(− D/Dc), with μ and Dc representing the fine and coarse grains, respectively. In particular, μ is associated with some characteristic porosity of soil in the natural state and increases with increased porosity. Dc characterizes the grain size range of the flow and increases with the grain concentration. Studies show that flow density is related to both parameters in power law. Here, we propose an empirical equation for estimating flow density: ρ = 1.26μ -0.132 + 0.049Dc0.443, which provides not only an estimation of the density for a flow, but also describes the variation in density with the GSD of material composition; this provides important information related to the design of debris flow engineering structures.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41471011), the West Light Foundation of The Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. Y5R2040040), the Open Research Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering (Grant No. SKHL1516), the Key Laboratory of Mountain Hazards and Surface Process, CAS (Grant No. Y3R1340340), and Scientific Project of Department of Land and Resources of Sichuan Province (Grant No. KJ-2015-18). The authors express sincere thanks to the Dongchuan Debris Flow Observation and Research Station, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences for supporting this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Baoliang Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Mountain Hazards and Surface Process, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Baoliang Wang & Yong Li

  3. Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Science, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Yong Li, Daochuan Liu & Jingjing Liu

  4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Daochuan Liu

  5. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Jingjing Liu

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  1. Baoliang Wang
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  2. Yong Li
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  3. Daochuan Liu
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  4. Jingjing Liu
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Correspondence to Yong Li.

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Wang, B., Li, Y., Liu, D. et al. Debris flow density determined by grain composition. Landslides 15, 1205–1213 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-017-0912-x

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