ESTIMATION OF LAHAR AND LAHAR-RUNOUT FLOW HYDROGRAPH ON NATURAL BEDS

A numerical model is used to simulate channelized lahars, flowing with a near-constant sediment concentration and volume. Water and debris are usually mobilized in short times and the peak discharge of lahars may reach many thousands of cubic meters per second in a few minutes. A relation for the energy dissipation term must be provided in the model, which in turn depends on debris flow rheology and shape and status of channel bed. A discussion of the form of this term is performed through the simulation of some historical (among the well-documented) lahars and lahar-runout flows with concentrations ranging in a wide spectrum up to 70 percent by volume and irregularly shaped sand and coarser particles dispersed in a fluid matrix of water and fine material. As concentration increases and turbulence decreases, the dissipative term, which, in the first case, is proportional to the square average flow velocity (Manning or Chezy formulation) is well described by a linear dependence on flow velocity, as expected in the laminar case. The numerical reproduction of the examined historical cases suggests that the model can be used for hazard assessment, if some hypotheses are made about lahar hydrograph at the source, its volume, and the shape of the dissipative term.