Numerical analysis of the effect of topography on deposition from dilute pyroclastic density currents

Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) vary between two end members, concentrated and dilute. When a PDC interacts with an uneven topography, the flow field variables (velocity, pressure, bulk density, particle concentration) may drastically change near the flow-substrate boundary. These changes may significantly affect the sediment flux and the resulting deposits can record the effects in their facies architecture. Here we show, by means of numerical simulations, how a dilute pyroclastic density current interacts with four different types of simple topography, namely: flat, one hill, one valley and two hills. Our numerical scheme treats the very fine particles as being in full thermo-mechanical equilibrium with the volcanic gas, i.e. a dusty gas. A dusty gas-air mixture is defined as a mixture of dusty gas and atmospheric air. The trajectories of the coarser particles or discrete phase (three grain-size classes of 1 mm, 5 mm and 10 mm and density of 1500 kg/m(3)) are tracked as Lagrangian particles that interact with the dusty gas-air mixture through two-way momentum and energy coupling. Numerical results are used to analyze the local effects of topography on the deposition of the Lagrangian particles, by monitoring with time and space the local changes at the boundary between the current and the substrate. The results show that the sediment flux in the flow boundary zone increases near the stoss sides of hills and in the valleys, relative to the flat reference case, whereas it decreases along the lee flanks and on top of the hills. We use the sediment flux in the flow boundary zone and the grain-size distribution of the Lagrangian particles as proxies of the deposit features, and by these parameters we qualitatively compare simulations with deposits of known eruptions. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.