Debris flow simulation 2D(DFS 2D):Numerical modelling of debris flows and calibration of friction parameters

Debris flows are rapid mass movements with a mixture of rock,soil and water.High-intensity rainfall events have triggered multiple debris flows around the globe,making it an important concern from the disaster management perspective.This study presents a numerical model called debris flow simulation 2D(DFS 2D)and applicability of the proposed model is investigated through the values of the model parameters used for the reproduction of an occurred debris flow at Yindongzi gully in China on 13 August 2010.The model can be used to simulate debris flows using three different rheologies and has a userfriendly interface for providing the inputs.Using DFS 2D,flow parameters can be estimated with respect to space and time.The values of the flow resistance parameters of model,dry-Coulomb and turbulent friction,were calibrated through the back analysis and the values obtained are 0.1 and 1000 m/s^(2),respectively.Two new methods of calibration are proposed in this study,considering the crosssectional area of flow and topographical changes induced by the debris flow.The proposed methods of calibration provide an effective solution to the cumulative errors induced by coarse-resolution digital elevation models(DEMs)in numerical modelling of debris flows.The statistical indices such as Willmott's index of agreement,mean-absolute-error,and normalized-root-mean-square-error of the calibrated model are 0.5,1.02 and 1.44,respectively.The comparison between simulated and observed values of topographic changes indicates that DFS 2D provides satisfactory results and can be used for dynamic modelling of debris flows.

Debris Flow Simulation-Oriented Three-Dimensional Scenery Modeling and Rendering

3D (three-dimensional) process simulation is currently one of the most challenging fields of research on debris flow.Large scale terrain rendering is the most basic task of 3D scenery construction in debris flow simulation.As the major trigger for debris flow,rainfall will substantially enhance the realistic sense.Terrain and rainfall rendering in 3D debris flow simulations poses great challenges for numerical computation and graphical processing capability.In this paper,we propose to integrate GPU technology,LoD algorithms,and particle systems to realize 3D scenery modeling and rendering.The real-time LoD-based terrain modeling and rendering algorithm is presented first,and then a particle system-based rainfall scenery rendering method is implemented.Experimental results demonstrate that the 3D scenery rendered with the proposed approach exhibits sound performance and fair visual effects,which lays a solid foundation for the whole process simulation of debris flow disasters.

Interaction between Topographic Conditions and Entrainment Rate in Numerical Simulations of Debris Flow

Debris flow simulations are useful for predicting the sediment supplied to watersheds from upstream areas. However, the topographic conditions upstream are more complicated than those downstream and the relationship between the topographic conditions and debris flow initiation is not well understood. This study compared the use of several entrainment rate equations in numerical simulations of debris flows to examine the effect of topographic conditions on the flow. One-dimensional numerical simulations were performed based on the shallow water equations and three entrainment rate equations were tested. These entrainment rate equations were based on the same idea that erosion and the deposition of debris flows occur via the difference between the equilibrium and current conditions of debris flows, while they differed in the expression of the concentration, channel angle, and sediment amount. The comparison was performed using a straight channel with various channel angles and a channel with a periodically undulating surface. The three entrainment rate equations gave different amounts of channel bed degradation and hydrographs for a straight channel with a channel angle greater than 21° when water was supplied from upstream at a steady rate. The difference was caused by the expression of the entrainment rate equations. For channels with little undulation, the numerical simulations gave results almost identical to those for straight channels with the same channel angle. However, for channels with large undulations, the hydrographs differed from those for straight channels with the same channel angle when the channel angle was less than 21°. Rapid erosion occurred and the hydrograph showed a significant peak, especially in cases using the entrainment equation expressed by channel angle. This was caused by the effects of the steep undulating sections, since the effect increased with the magnitude of the undulation, suggesting that a debris flow in an upstream area develops differently according to the topographic conditions. These results also inferred that numerical simulations of debris flow can differ depending on the spatial resolution of the simulation domain, as the resolution determines the reproducibility of the undulations.

A multi-source data fusion modeling method for debris flow prevention engineering

The Digital Elevation Model(DEM)data of debris flow prevention engineering are the boundary of a debris flow prevention simulation,which provides accurate and reliable DEM data and is a key consideration in debris flow prevention simulations.Thus,this paper proposes a multi-source data fusion method.First,we constructed 3D models of debris flow prevention using virtual reality technology according to the relevant specifications.The 3D spatial data generated by 3D modeling were converted into DEM data for debris flow prevention engineering.Then,the accuracy and applicability of the DEM data were verified by the error analysis testing and fusion testing of the debris flow prevention simulation.Finally,we propose the Levels of Detail algorithm based on the quadtree structure to realize the visualization of a large-scale disaster prevention scene.The test results reveal that the data fusion method controlled the error rate of the DEM data of the debris flow prevention engineering within an allowable range and generated 3D volume data(obj format)to compensate for the deficiency of the DEM data whereby the 3D internal entity space is not expressed.Additionally,the levels of detailed method can dispatch the data of a large-scale debris flow hazard scene in real time to ensure a realistic 3D visualization.In summary,the proposed methods can be applied to the planning of debris flow prevention engineering and to the simulation of the debris flow prevention process.