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The dynamics of sediment gravity flows following fluidization
Amiruddin
Geotechnical Special Publication
Abstract
The flow-out potential of a body of fluidized sediment following abrupt collapse is discussed through numerical and physical modelling. The emphasis of the analysis procedure is placed on considering the multi-phased nature of sediment gravity flows. Specifically, it combines Navier-Stokes/continuity equations for a fluidized soil domain with a consolidation equation for a solidifying soil domain. Evolutions of the flow and solidification surfaces are traced as part of the solution using a volume-of-fluid (VOF) technique. The physical modelling is concerned with two-dimensional flume tests, in which a body of fluidized sandy sediment was subjected to abrupt collapse and allowed to flow out into ambient water. The observed and calculated results show that the sediment flow manifests itself as a decelerating gravity flow due to interactions between the flowing fluidized soil and the underlying soil with grain-supported framework being reestablished. Furthermore, a three-dimensional analysis is worked out for a class of levee breaching problems, with the aim of clarifying spread characteristics of flood water through the breached section.