Dispersive Pressure, Boundary Jerk and Configurational Changes in Debris Flows

Abstract

The granular rock material within a debris flow experiences jerk (change in acceleration) as it runs over a rough basal bed or collides with sidewalls. This creates a pressure – the so-called dispersive pressure – which acts to change the configuration of the granular mass and therefore the frictional relationship of the debris flow with the basal boundary. Normal pressures are no longer hydrostatic and pressure fluctuations are created in the fluid phase. In this paper we formulate relationships between internal shear work, free mechanical energy, dispersive pressure and configurational changes within a debris flow. We associate the potential energy of the debris flow configuration with dilatant kinematic motions and show why it is necessary to integrate the shear work over time to calculate boundary jerks which cannot be represented by closed-form, analytical pressure functions. The effect of the dispersive pressure is mediated by the presence of the viscous muddy fluid which consists of two types: a) the free fluid and b) the bonded fluid attached to the solid granular phase.