A prediction model for the rockslide-generated wave amplitude under the condition of bedrock mass breakup

Abstract

Landslides along coastlines and rivers can cause landslide-generated waves and pose a threat to the offshore banks, navigation vessels and coastal buildings. The maximum amplitude of the landslide-generated wave, which is strongly related to the size and geometry of the landslide and gradually decreases with the increase of the propagation distance, is one of the important indexes to evaluate the secondary hazard caused by landslides. The fragmentation of rockslide has an influence on the effect of rockslide on water body. This study proposes a relationship between the maximum rockslide-generated wave amplitude and the number of fragmentation blocks which is defined to present different degrees of landslide bedrock mass breakup. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical method is used to simulate the whole process of landslide and wave propagation. The orthogonal array experiment algorithm is used to design the numerical simulation schemes. The Gauss-Newton algorithm is adopted to analyze the results and elect the optimal model with the strongest correlation. A series of conducted physical model experiments prove the applicability and accuracy of the optimal model. This optimal numerical model can offer a reference for rockslide-generated wave analysis when considering bedrock mass breakup.