Experimental investigation of the mobility and deposit characteristics of laterally confined rock avalanches

摘要

Laterally confined rock avalanches are the most typical rock avalanches with extreme destructive potential in mountainousregions. The tremendous hazards and complicated kinematics mechanism highlight the necessity to understand their mobility anddeposit characteristics. In this study, a series of small-scale physical experiments are carried out to reproduce the migration anddeposit processes of rock avalanches using an inclined chute setup, and this study focuses on the effects of several independentvariables including material types (M), landslide volume (V), and slope angle (α) on mobility and deposit of rock avalanches. Thesensitivity analysis results highlight the significant influence of material types (M) and slope angle (α) on peak velocity (υ_(max))and travel distance (L). The dimensionless equations for quantitative describing the relationship between significant influentialfactors and motion parameters were established by the regression analysis method. On this basis, the empirical formulae with fullconsideration of the effects of various factors were proposed for the estimation of peak velocity and travel distance. Furthermore,the travel angle and deposit angle were identified as significant parameters that represent the mobility and deposit features ofgranular flows, respectively. The relationship between these parameters is accurately described by a fitted empirical linear model.This model may provide valuable insights into our understanding of the mobility and deposit characteristics of granular flows.