Calculation of the debris flow concentration based on clay content

Abstract

The debris flow clay content has very tremendous influence on its concentration (gamma(c)). It is reported that the concentration can be calculated by applying the relative polynomial based on the clay content. Here one polynomial model and one logarithm model to calculate the concentration based on the clay content for both the ordinary debris flow and viscous debris flow are obtained. The result derives from the statistics and analysis of the relationship between the debris flow concentrations and clay content in 45 debris flow sites located in the southwest of China. The models can be applied for the concentration calculation to those debris flows that are impossible to observe. The models are available to calculate the debris flow concentration, the principles of which are in the clay content affecting on the debris flow formation, movement and suspending particle diameter. The mechanism of the relationship of the clay content and concentration is clear and reliable. The debris flow is usually of micro-viscous when the clay content is low (<3%), by analyzing the developing tendency on the basics of the relationship between the clay content and debris flow concentration. Indeed, the less the clay content, the less the concentration for most debris flows. The debris flow tends to become the water rock flow or the hyperconcentrated flow with the clay content decrease. Through statistics it is apt to transform the soil into the viscous debris flow when the clay content of ranges is in 3%-18%. Its concentration increases with the increasing of the clay content when the clay content is between 5% and 10%. But the value decreases with the increasing of the clay content when the clay content is between 10% and 18%. It is apt to transform the soil into the mudflow, when the clay content exceeds 18%. The concentration of the mudflow usually decreases with the increase of the clay content, and this developing tendency reverses to that of the micro-viscous debris flow. There is maximum mean concentration for the debris flow when the clay content ranges are between 7% and 11%. Especially, for the viscous debris flow, the logarithm formula here is suitable to the concentration calculation with the clay content between 3% and 18%. The maximum concentration calculated by this formula reaches 2.32 t/m(3), which matches that tested in practice.