ESR9: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), Switzerland

DEM simulation of interaction between debris flow and obstacle

Supervisor: Prof. Hans-Jürgen Herrmann

Objective: Numerical simulation of debris flow and interaction between flow and obstacle via DEM

Methodology: Numerical simulations based on DEM will be carried out considering the complex interaction between solid and fluid. The fluid motion is calculated with a CFD solver like FLUENT or Lattice Boltzmann methods (LBM). The coupling of the two phases is based on an additional no-slip boundary condition for the Navier-Stokes equations at the interface between solid and fluid. The results shall provide deep insight into numerous intricate phenomena in debris flow, e.g. segregation, transportation and sedimentation and shock wave propagation upon impact with obstacles. The results may help to validate and improve the PFEM model in Task 3.1 and CFD model in Task 3.3.

Deliverable: Discrete simulation of interaction between debris flow and obstacles, Comparison to PFEM and CFD simulations;

Secondments: ITAS: 10 (software coding), TUD: 1 p-ms (comparison with CFD), BOKU: 1 p-ms (centrifuge data mining), GEOB: 2 p-ms (protection systems)