The paper addresses the dynamic impact of channel flows of water and mixtures of water and sediments on a test wall. Two types of impact may occur: the first characterized by the formation of a complete reflected wave moving upstream; the second type consisting in the vertical deviation of the flow along the wall with a jet-like behaviour. The paper deepens this second type of impact. During the impact of the flow against the wall, the pressure distribution along the wall and the impact force were measured. In order to explain the phenomenon, a rational approach based on the conservation equations for mass, momentum and energy was adopted; from this approach some simplified solutions were derived. We discuss the possible effects of the impact of single gravel particles and the influence of the dimensionless groups that govern the phenomenon. A good agreement between the experimental data and the results of the theoretical approach was obtained.

We present a detailed analysis of a free surface-saturated liquid-granular mixture flowing over a static loose bed of grains, where the coexistence of layers dominated by collisional and frictional interactions among particles was observed. Kinetic theory was applied to the flow described above and it proved suitable for describing a realistic behavior of the collisional layers, although it failed to interpret the regions of the flow domain dominated by the frictional contacts. The paper provides a conceptual scheme with which to overcome this problem by focusing on the mechanisms governing the transition from the frictional to the collisional regime. In particular we observed that in highly concentrated flows the transition layer exhibits a typical intermittency of the dominating rheological regime, switching alternately from the frictional to the collisional one. By filtering the velocity signal, we introduced an intermittency function that made it possible to extend the validity of the equations derived from dense gas analogy, typical of the collisional regimes, also in the intermittent phase of the flow. Owing to the small values of the Stokes number, in the application of the kinetic theory we accounted for the possible variation of the elastic restitution coefficient along the flow depth.

Experimental analysis of the impact of dry avalanches on structure and implication for debris flows By BARBARA ZANUTTIGH and ALBERTO LAMBERTI, Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 2006, 44(4), 522–534.

Flows involving solid particulates have been widely studied in recent years, but their dynamics are still a complex issue to model because they strongly depend on the interaction with the boundary conditions. We report on laboratory investigations regarding homogeneous and steady flows of identical particles over a loose bed in a rectangular channel. Accurate measurements were carried out through imaging techniques to estimate profiles of the mean velocity, solid concentration, and granular temperature for a large set of flow rates and widths. Vertical and transversal structures observed in the flow change as interparticle interactions become more collisional, and they depend on the bottom over which the flow develops. The lateral confinement has a remarkable effect on the flow, especially for narrow channels compared with the grain size, and a hydraulic analogy is able to show how the walls influence the mechanisms of friction and energy dissipation.

An advection-diffusion model is proposed to simulate large wood transport during high flows. The mathematical model is derived from the wood mass balance, taking into consideration both the wood mass concentration and the log orientation, which affects log transport and, most importantly, wood accumulation. Focusing on wood mass transport, the advection-diffusion equation is implemented in a hydrodynamic model to provide a one-way coupled solution of the flow and of the floating wood mass. The model is tested on a large series of flume experiments, involving at least 30 logs and different control parameters (flow Froude number, log length, diameter, release point). The validation through the experimental data shows that the proposed model can predict the correct displacement of the most probable position of the logs and to simulate with a sufficient accuracy the planar diffusion of the wooden mass. Transversal wood distribution is more accurate than the streamwise one, indicating that a higher control on the longitudinal diffusion needs to be implemented.