Experimental and numerical studies on the morphological similarity of debris-flow fans

The morphological similarity of debris-flow fans is found in this study by using a series of laboratory experiments and numerical simulations. The length of the center line(L-c), maximum width(B-m) and thickness of the apex point(Z(o)) of debris-flow fans are adopted as the characteristic parameters to analyze the morphological similarity of the debris-flow fans in this study. The experimental and numerical results showed that the non-dimensional longitudinal and cross sectional profiles of debris-flow fans in the ''stable stage'' can be described by Gaussian functions, while the non-dimensional plan form of the debris-flow fans is well fitted by a circular curve. By combining the three non-dimensional curves mentioned above; the total volume and the 3-D morphological function of debris-flow fans can be easily derived.