Influence of Flow Width on Mean Velocity of Debris Flows in Wide Open Channel
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 1
Abstract
Debris flow in a wide open downstream channel has a significant transverse velocity component that strongly influences its mean longitudinal velocity. Investigation of observation data of debris-flow surges at Jiangjia Ravine in China shows the dependency of Manning resistance of debris flows on the ratio of flow width to depth. Regression fit reveals a power function relationship between the Manning resistance coefficient and the width-to-depth ratio. This derives a new formula of mean velocity incorporating the influence of flow width. The result indicates that the width-to-depth ratio can be viewed as a kind of shape roughness analogous to grain roughness in the Darcy-Weisbach resistance coefficient expression.
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Acknowledgments
This research has been funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (Grant No. 2011CB409902), the Hundred Young Talents Program of the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, and the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-YW-JS305). The authors thank Prof. Kang and the Dongchuan Debris Flow Observation and Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for providing the field data. The authors are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and advice.
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Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 1 • January 2013
Pages: 65 - 69
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 30, 2011
Accepted: Jun 15, 2012
Published online: Jul 23, 2012
Published in print: Jan 1, 2013
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