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Experimental study on impact and deposition behaviours of multiple surges of channelized debris flow on a flexible barrier

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Abstract

Debris flow normally occurs after heavy rains in mountainous regions with multiple surges. Flexible barriers are installed in torrents to intercept debris flows in an early stage. For the safer design of a flexible barrier installed in the upstream, the forces on the barrier invaded by debris flows should be taken into consideration. An outdoor physical modelling facility was utilized to study the interaction between debris flows and a flexible barrier. Three continuous debris flow impact tests were conducted to investigate the performance of a flexible barrier affected and overflowed by multiple surges of debris flow. A parameter named Initial Block Ratio (IBR) is introduced in this study to describe the initial condition of a flexible barrier filled by the earlier debris flow surges. By analysing the results of these tests, the dynamic response of a flexible barrier under the impact of multiple surges of debris flow is studied, and the influence of IBR on the interaction of debris flow with the flexible barrier is investigated. Based on the findings of the experimental study, a new simple method is proposed to calculate the loads on a filled flexible barrier overflowed by debris flow. By comparing with the measured impact force in the overflow test, this method has a good performance and can be utilized in design analysis with further calibration.

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Funding

The work in this paper is supported by grants (1-BBAG, 1-ZVEH, 3-RBCE, 4-BCAW, 5-ZDAF, G-YN97, B-Q43L, B-Q55N) from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China. The work also received supports by a CRF project (Grant No. PolyU12/CRF/13E) from Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government of China, and Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), Center for Urban Geohazard and Mitigation of Faculty of Construction and Environment of PolyU, and Geotechnical Engineering Office of the Civil Engineering and Development Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

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  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

    Dao-Yuan Tan, Jian-Hua Yin, Jie-Qiong Qin, Zhuo-Hui Zhu & Wei-Qiang Feng

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  1. Dao-Yuan Tan
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  2. Jian-Hua Yin
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  3. Jie-Qiong Qin
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Correspondence to Jian-Hua Yin.

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Tan, DY., Yin, JH., Qin, JQ. et al. Experimental study on impact and deposition behaviours of multiple surges of channelized debris flow on a flexible barrier. Landslides 17, 1577–1589 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01378-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01378-7

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