Author(s): Stefano Pagliara; Ilaria Lotti
Linked Author(s): Stefano Pagliara
Keywords: Block ramps; Rock chutes; Failure mechanisms; Morphological evolution
Abstract: This paper shows the local failure process of base block ramps. Block ramps are structures where the bed of the channel is armoured with rocks. It is important to know the failure process in order to evaluate the ramp functionality. Tests were performed in a laboratory flume where rock chutes of different slopes are modelled. The ramp instability occurs in different phases and it is characterized by a bed evolution and different critical flow rate values. The local failure is considered the first step in the design of this kind of structures. This work allowed to extend the results obtained in previous researches. It was important to give a precise definition of local failure in order to have homogeneous data and meaningful equations. A new relationship is given in order to find the local failure in a base rock chutes; it shows a very good agreements with the present and previous collected data.
Year: 2007