An experimental study on controlling post-earthquake debris flows using slit dams

Post-earthquake debris flows often break out in groups frequently, which are usually caused by the abundant loose solid materials that produced by earthquake. Slit dams represent a practical and effective kind of countermeasure for controlling the post-earthquake debris flow. Flume experiments were carried out to study the interaction mechanism and the effect of slit dams on the post-earthquake debris flows. The results showed that affected by the slit dams, some certain types of deposits formed on the upstream. The steeper the flume slope, as well as the greater the width and the density of slits, the easier the lateral deposit became “V” shaped. Otherwise, the lateral deposit was more likely to be “–‒” shaped. When the flume slopes were 12°, 16° and 20°, the profiles of the deposits would be long-shallow type, short-thick type and short-shallow type, respectively. The slope of the deposition first decreases and then increases with the flume slope increasing within a certain range. The slit dam can trap the coarse sand and discharge the fine sand. The maximum attenuation rate can reach 44.4%. The effect of this capacity gradually weakens as the flume slope is increased. When the width or the density of slits is smaller, the greater the rate of decrease in peak sand discharge and the greater the effect of peak cutting will be. The reduction in the sediment storage rate is likely due to the increase in the width and the density of the slits. With the increase in flume slope, the sediment storage rate first increases, then decreases, which reaches a maximum value when the flume slope is 16°.