Physical modeling of the dam-break flow of sedimenting suspensions

Abstract

This paper develops a physical model able to describe the dam-break flow of particulate suspensions that sediment progressively during propagation at a constant velocity that solely depends on the mixture properties. The model considers the suspension as an equivalent fluid of constant density and negligible viscosity and leads to a good prediction of the flow duration and deposits shape. These findings allow the formulation of consistent shallow-water equations that can be used to compute the dense basal layer of small-volume pyroclastic flows.