Laboratory experiments

In collaboration with the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL we have constructed a flume for conducting small-scale debris flow experiments aimed at investigating some of the fundamental mechanisms contributing to the high mobility of debris flows and other rapid flow-like landslides. Specifically, we intend to study the development of excess pore pressures as experimental flows advance down the channel, as well as how pore pressures behave when a flow encounters topography that produces centripetal forces. The flume has a 2-m long channel and a smooth, curved transition from the sloping channel to a horizontal deposition platform, and will shortly have five pore pressure transducers installed, allowing for the measurement of pore pressures during experiments. Whilst the small scale produces some challenges of its own, laboratory experiments allow us to control some of the initial and boundary conditions and make repeat observations, which can otherwise be highly challenging in a natural environment due to the destructive forces of debris flows.