Development of Debris Flow Impact Force Models Based on Flume Experiments for Design Criteria of Soil Erosion Control Dam

Soil erosion control dams are widely used as part of measures to reduce damage caused by debris flow all over the world. Engineering considerations are needed for proper design of erosion control dams, but in the Republic of Korea, the impact force of debris flow is not fully reflected in the current design criteria of the dam. Against this backdrop, this study was conducted to estimate the impact force of debris flow for the practical purpose of designing erosion control dam. Simulated flume experiments were performed to develop the relationship to estimate the flow velocity as well as the impact force of debris flow. Experimental results showed that increases both in sediment mixture volume and flume slope gradient led to an increase in flow velocity. Especially, it was found that as clay content increased gradually, the flume slope gradient had greater impact on the increase of flow velocity. Also, it was proved that the impact force of debris flow was well fitted to the hydrodynamic model as it showed linear correlation with the flow velocity. Then, the debris-flow velocity model was established based on the factor related to the debris-flow velocity. Finally, the dynamic model to estimate the impact force of debris flow was introduced utilizing correlations between the established debris-flow velocity model and Froude number. Both models which were developed with using statistically significant watershed characteristics succeeded in explaining the experiment results in a more accurate way compared to existing models. Therefore, it is highly expected that these models can be fully utilized to estimate impact force of debris flow which will be required to design erosion control dams in practical use through overcoming their identified limitations.

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