Pressure characteristics of landslide-generated impulse waves

Abstract

The destructiveness of impulse waves generated by landslides (IWL) originates from the wave’s movement and load, wherein the impulse wave’s load is the major cause of sub-aerial building damage and casualties. In this study, an experiment involving 16 groups of physical tests for the wave pressure generated by a landslide was designed, consisting of 4 sets of IWL and 4 opposite bank slope angles. A high-frequency strain system was used to measure the total pressure of the impulse wave in a water tank. The tests showed that the dynamic pressure caused by the IWL can be divided into two types: impact pressure generated by the jetflow and the pulsating pressure caused by the wave. Under the same impulse wave conditions, the maximum run-up becomes smaller as the opposite bank’s slope angle increases, and the jetflow maximum impact pressure experienced by the opposite bank increases, while the maximum pulsating pressure caused by the impulse wave is slightly decreased. Different from previous studies, the spatial maximum pressure distributions of the wave generated by landslide were concluded that the position of the maximum pulsating pressure appears adjacent to the still water surface, and the overall spatial distribution pattern of maximum wave pressure is presented as an inclined “M” shape. Meanwhile, this study is the first to quantitatively analyzed that impact pressure has a very short action time, is even 7 times of the pulse pressure value, and there is a simple mathematical linear relationship between the two. Currently, some wave-load formulas for wind waves and tides are not applicable to calculating the loads of IWL. Research on the load of IWL will explain the hazard of impulse wave very clearly, and will greatly contribute to hazard prevention, mitigation and risk assessment work associated with IWL.