Influences of Spillway Section Morphologies on Landslide Dam Breaching

Spillway excavation is often adopted as a precautionary engineering measure for disaster mitigation before landslide dam breaching. Based on the landslide dam breach mechanisms, this paper focuses on developing a numerical model to comprehensively discuss the issue based on three documented landslide dam failures, such as Tangjiashan, Xiaogangjian, and Baige landslide dams. The spillway cross section morphologies were modeled with different sizes under common shape (i.e., an inverted trapezoid) and slope conditions. The influence of cross section on dam breach processes was analyzed under conditions of different depth, bottom width, slope ratio in the cross and longitudinal sections, with/without spillway. The following conclusions can be drawn: 1) excavation of a spillway can effectively reduce the peak breach flow, therefore delay the time to peak; 2) the peak breach flow dramatically decreases and the time to peak delays as the spillway depth increases; 3) the peak breach flow changes little and the time to peak occurs earlier with the increment in spillway bottom width; 4) the peak breach flow decreases and the time to peak delays with the decrease of slope ratio in cross section in the spillway; 5) the slope ratio in the longitudinal section has little influence on the breach process. Hence, if conditions permit, the spillway with large spillway depth, small bottom width, and gentle slope ratio in the cross section is the preferable section morphology for the emergency disposal of the landslide dam.

Effects of Grain Size Distribution on Landslide Dam Breaching—Insights From Recent Cases in China

Landslide dams are common geological features in mountainous areas, which may have serious consequences due to sudden breaching of the dam. An effective emergency response requires rapid and accurate forecasts regarding the landslide dam breach process. However, most existing models use physical, mechanical, and erosion properties of the mean or characteristic grain sizes to represent the landslide deposits. The grain size distribution and variations in soil erodibility with the depth in the landslide dam are not considered, resulting in an incorrect estimation of the breach flow hydrograph. In this paper, a simplified landslide dam classification is presented based on the formation mechanism and grain size distribution of landslide dams. Additionally, the influences of grain size distribution on the residual dam height and breach process of landslide dams are analyzed. This paper proposes a numerical method to rapidly obtain the breach hydrographs and breach morphology evolution of landslide dams. The new method can quickly classify landslide dams according to geological survey data and predict the landslide dam breach process. Three types of representative landslide dams in China are simulated to validate the proposed method. The breach flow discharge is significantly affected by spillway excavation. This contribution can provide rapid prediction of the landslide dam breach process and can be used for the emergency response planning before dam breaching.

Flume tests on the hydraulic/mechanical behavior of the Tangjiashan landslide dam considering the influences of the different debris materials in heterogeneous strata

Landslide dams (LDs) usually form from natural debris materials and exhibit heterogeneous strata along both the depth and run-out directions. In addition, an LD usually has a weaker structure than that of undisturbed ground and is more vulnerable to seepage loading. Considering that the surface layer of naturally packed LD materials is generally in an unsaturated state, it is undoubtedly important to investigate the stability of the unsaturated debris materials in the heterogeneous strata of LDs. In this paper, a systematic flume test program was first conducted, in which the Tangjiashan LD was carefully referenced for model design. Three water level rising rates and two stratal arrangements were considered in the flume tests. Then, soil-water-air coupled finite element analyses were conducted to simulate the flume tests, and all the material parameters of the LD materials were carefully determined based on the results of the element tests. A comparison of the test and calculated results shows the possibility of using the proposed numerical method to estimate the occurrence of dam breaching and the risk of LD failure. Moreover, the hydraulic/mechanical behaviors of the LD materials and the heterogeneous strata of the LD were very important to the stability of the Tangjiashan LD. Finally, from an engineering viewpoint, the possibility of utilizing a naturally formed LD and thus not destroying it when it forms is also discussed, e.g., dam breaching risk can be reduced by excavation of a drainage tunnel, and the dam stability can be carefully estimated based on accurate geological data.

Large scale filed experiment on the landslide dam breaching

<p>Landslide dam breaching is the one of focus topics in the geophysical flows. The frequency of occurrence of landslide dam increases due to earthquake, climate change and mans activities in recent years. Once the dam breaks, it would trigger extreme flood downstream. A field experiment on landslide dam breach has been carried out on a small mountain river in Mianzhu, Sichuan Province, China from 23 November to 29 December, which aims to reveal impact of different diversion channel types on the dam breaching process as well as the resulting flood. The dam is of 4m high, 10~15m wide. the length of the dam crest is 5m, upstream downstream slopes of the dam are 1:2 and 1:5. Results show division channel can reduce the peak flood discharge obviously. The pilot vertical fall can trigger earlier back erosion and thus peak discharge appears earlier with smaller magnitude.</p>