Dam-break induced debris flow

The present report focuses on the hydrodynamic and geomorphic behaviour of dam-break induced debris flows. Based on a review of the literature, we first examine various instances in which abrupt floods released by the breaking of natural or constructed dams have been observed to develop into debris waves, picking up solid material both from the dam body and from the valley floor. We then assess the extent to which modelling and experimental approaches can account for the field observations gathered from these events. The modelling approach considered consists of a shallow-water, single-fluid physical description, while the experiments involve idealized laboratory analogues. Results of these two approaches are compared and discussed for the case of a dam-break induced debris wave propagating past a sudden channel enlargement.