The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Debris flow initiation: an investigation of mechanisms

Johnson, Kenneth A.; Sitar, Nicholas

UCB/GT-87-02, University of California, Berkeley, Geotechnical Engineering, 1987-, PDF (50.3 MB)

Investigates the mechanics of debris flow initiation with particular emphasis on the hydrologic conditions leading to failure and the mechanism by which a soil is transformed from solid mass to flowing mass. Research included instrumentation of a hillside slope to monitor hydrologic response to rainfall that cause debris flows, a laboratory testing program to determine the hydraulic and strength characteristics of the soil at the site, slope stability analysis to identify conditions leading to failure initiation, and evaluation of potential for subsequent transformation to flow failure.

Available online: http://library.eerc.berkeley.edu/documents/GEOTECH/UCB-GT-87-02.pdf