Study of the influence of baffles on an artificial debris flow through back-analysis simulations

In this work, we explore the applicability of a novel approach to the full-scale simulation of debris flows, the Lattice-Boltzmann Method (LBM). The main novelty lies in eliminating the need for depthintegrating the conservation equations, which is still a dominant approach in the field. A full 3D model, both for the topography and for the flow itself is therefore developed and employed. The 3D nature of the model allows to accurately reproduce structural countermeasures. An artificial debris flow, generated in real-scale at an experimental site in Korea, provides the basis for a cross comparison of results. The effects of two arrays of baffles were also tested in the experiment. The flow scale is intermediate between the large natural flows that are usually reported in the literature and a typical experimental apparatus. It is therefore an ideal candidate for an explorative application of the numerical method