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Measurements of hillslope debris flow impact pressure on obstacles

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Swiss Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN) for their financial support of this project “Numerische und experimentelle Grundlagen für die Berechnung von Hangmuren” (numerical and experimental investigations of hillslope debris flows). The authors also thank the technical staff of the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF)—most notably Hans Herranhof—for the design and instrumentation of the Veltheim field site. We are grateful to R.M. Iverson for insightful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Louis Bugnion, Brian W. McArdell & Perry Bartelt

  2. Geobrugg AG, Romanshorn, Switzerland

    Corinna Wendeler

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  1. Louis Bugnion
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  2. Brian W. McArdell
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  3. Perry Bartelt
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  4. Corinna Wendeler
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Correspondence to Louis Bugnion.

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Bugnion, L., McArdell, B.W., Bartelt, P. et al. Measurements of hillslope debris flow impact pressure on obstacles. Landslides 9, 179–187 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-011-0294-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-011-0294-4

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