Powder Technology 359 (2020) 36–46

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Powder Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/powtec

Experimental investigation on granular flow past baffle piles

and numerical simulation using a μ(I)-rheology-based approach
Fei Jianbo a, Jie Yuxin b, Sun Xiaohui a,⁎, Chen Xi c
a
Underground Polis Academy, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
b
State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
c
School of Civil Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: We set up a laboratory-scale installation and conducted seven sets of tests with varying baffle pile layouts and
Received 9 May 2019 grain sizes. To reproduce the experiments, a depth-averaged avalanche dynamic model is developed adopting
Received in revised form 14 August 2019 μ(I) rheology. The experiments and simulations identified the impedance effects of the distance between baffle
Accepted 18 September 2019
piles and the bottom of the slope and the number of baffle piles rows. Both experimental and computation results
Available online 7 October 2019
reveal that shorter spacing between the baffle piles and the foot of the slope increases the energy dissipation ca-
Keywords:
pacity, and the first row of piles has a greater effect in terms of impeding the spread and runout of an avalanche.
μ(I) rheology The experimental and theoretical investigations also consistently found a negative correlation between the par-
Baffle piles ticle size and size of the deposition zone and the runout distance.
Laboratory tests © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Granular flow
Avalanche

1. Introduction
Geophysical mass flows such as landslides, snow avalanches, and
debris flows have destructive power and a wide zone of influence in
mountainous areas worldwide. It is thus important to design effective
defense structures to protect human lives and civil habitats against
such geophysical flows. The main aim of the defense structure is to
obstruct (or even block) geophysical flows and thus reduce their
runout distance and deposition zone, thereby reducing the risk
posed by geophysical mass flows. Defense structures can be classified
into several types: supporting structures in the start-up zone,
deflecting dams in the runout zone, catching dams (or walls) or
retarding structures in the runout or deposition zone, etc. The catch-
ing dam (or wall) is an effective method to stop the motion of ava-
lanche, but high-speed and large-scale avalanches may overtop the
catching dam (or wall). In contrast, retarding (or braking) structures
can effectively dissipate the kinetic energy and retard the movement
of the avalanche, thus the runout distance can be considerably re-
duced. Defense structures may be composed of single and multiplex
components such as mounds, barriers, shed galleries, deflecting/
catching dams, and baffle piles [1–4], and some retarding compo-
nents can be placed upstream of rigid barriers to reduce the action
of avalanche on the barriers. The braking mounds are perhaps the
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: feijianbo@szu.edu.cn (F. Jianbo), jieyx@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
(J. Yuxin), sunxiaohui@szu.edu.cn (S. Xiaohui), chenxi@bjtu.edu.cn (C. Xi).
most widely adopted type of retarding structure, but there are
other types. The baffle pile is array of tall columns which are usually
fixed at the runout or deposition zones to retard the movement of
avalanche and disperse the dynamic energy. The baffle pile has a
low cost and high adaptability, and has been widely applied to miti-
gate mass flows, e.g., debris breakers in Southern Italy [5], the baffle-
wall mixed system [6]. Even though the baffle pile is not the most
commonly used defense structure, its braking effect on avalanche
has already been proven in laboratory experiments.
In the early design of defense structures, empirical theory deemed
that the speed of an avalanche reduces approximately 20% as an av-
alanche passes through a row of barriers. This theory was based on
the results of pioneering studies, like those of Voellmy [7] and Salm
[8] and design guidelines for hydraulic energy dissipators; Voellmy
[7] developed a mathematic formula for the decrease in speed
when an avalanche passes through rows of trees. Salm [8] gave a
similar expression for avalanches passing through different types of
obstacles, like buildings. Though the two theories sufficiently present
the effects of obstacles on avalanches, they are not derived conceptu-
ally and need more experimental and theoretical verification.
Conducting small-scale laboratory experiments on granular flow
is an effective way of studying the layout of braking piles and
obtaining corresponding energy dissipation effects. It is easier to con-
duct small-scale experiments than field-scale experiments, and the
results of small-scale experiments can be used to validate numerical
simulations. Laboratory experiments have been conducted to explore
avalanches striking catching dams [9], deflecting dams [10], and

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2019.09.069
0032-5910/© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 F. Jianbo et al. / Powder Technology 359 (2020) 36–46
braking mounds [11], but there has been insufficient study on the
effects of braking piles. At the same time, numerical simulation ap-
proaches have commonly been adopted to simulate obstacle-
blocked geophysical mass flows because of their low cost and wide
applicability. Johannesson et al. [12], Naaim et al. [2], and
Teufelsbauer et al. [4] investigated the effects of installing multiple
defense structure units in terms of dissipating granular flow energy
and holding up granular mass. Cui and Gray [13] and Cui [14] studied
granular particles rapidly propagating around circular cylinders nu-
merically and experimentally and observed expansion fans, shock
waves, granular vacua, and stationary zones in both experimental
and simulation tests. Choi et al. [15] performed numerical simula-
tions adopting the discrete element method to study the effect of
the baffle layout on the impedance of channelized mass flow.
Abdelrazek et al. [16] conducted laboratory experiments on granular
flow passing a row of square columns with different spacings and
two rows of square columns in a staggered arrangement, and per-
formed a corresponding numerical simulation adopting smoothed
particle hydrodynamics. Bi et al. [6] studied how the density of
square baffles affects the impedance of rock avalanches sliding on
natural terrain through simulation with a digital elevation model.
The present paper experimentally and theoretically investigates
the layout and installation positions of baffle piles and their effect
on the impedance of avalanches, focusing on multiple piles embed-
ded in the ground as defense obstacles. We firstly describe the labo-
ratory setup with rows of baffle piles and then briefly present the
Fig. 1. Schematic of the experimental installation for granules released at the top of the channel and deposit in the presence of baffle piles (a) top view (b) side view (Points A and B are two
measurement points in simulation).
37
experimental procedure. Baffle piles with different layouts are
installed, allowing the investigation of the effects of the grain size,
number of rows of baffle piles, and interval between adjacent rows
of baffle piles. In Section 3, we propose a modified depth-averaged
dynamic model for avalanches by introducing μ(I) rheology and nu-
merically solve the model. The last section compares computation re-
sults obtained using the μ(I) rheology-based model and experimental
results. Combined analysis of the experimental and simulation results
provides helpful information when designing baffle piles to protect
against avalanches.
2. Experimental setup and procedure
2.1. Experimental setup
Our experimental installation mainly comprised four parts (see
Fig. 1): a supply container with a barrier gate, an inclined plane whose
angle of inclination is adjustable, a horizontal run-out plane, and baffle
piles. The bottom of the flow channel is made of transparent plexiglass
while the side walls are made of a transparent high-density polyethyl-
ene with low friction coefficient (μ b 0.1), thus reducing the effect of
sidewalls.
In the experiment, the inclination of the flume was fixed at 30°, the
dimensions of the flow flume were 1200 mm ×300 mm × 200 mm
(length × width × depth), and the dimensions of the supply container
were 300 mm × 300 mm × 200 mm (length × width × depth). Wooden
38 F. Jianbo et al. / Powder Technology 359 (2020) 36–46

Fig. 2. Particle size distribution curve for the experimental sands (blue dots and the solid line: particle size d = 10 mm; orange dots and the dash line: d = 2 mm; orange dots and the
dotted line: d = 0.25 mm).

piles having dimensions of 50 mm (height) × 10 mm (diameter) were
bolted to the run-out plane, acting as the baffle. In our experiment, up
to three rows of piles could be installed, separating the deposition
zone into four parts (Fig. 1 illustrates the array of piles). The first row
was 70 mm from the bottom of the flume, and the spacing between
other adjacent rows and that between neighboring piles in the same
row were also 70 mm. The piles were made high enough to prevent
the flow from overtopping and strong enough to resist the avalanche
such that they were not swept away.
The experimental sands were filtered and categorized into three
groups according to the particle size d: coarse (d ≈ 10 mm), me-
dium (d ≈ 2 mm), and fine (d ≈ 0.25 mm). Particle grading curves
and physical parameters are respectively presented in Fig. 2 and
Table 1.
2.2. Experimental procedure
In the experiments, the sand was held by a plate at the top of the
flume and then released to simulate an avalanche. Seven sets of trials
(A–G in Table 2) were performed with different layouts of baffle
piles and granular sizes, while the mass of the initial sand was
fixed at 7 kg. In each set of trials, sands with three different particle
sizes (marked by ticks in Table 2) were used. The layouts of baffle
Table 1
Physical properties of the three types of experimental sand.
−3
Particle size/mm Unit weight/(N·m
Coarse ≈10 12.61
Medium ≈2 13.54
Fine ≈0.25 12.85
piles in independent trials were designed as in Table 2, where differ-
ent rows of baffle piles were installed (marked by dark triangles).
After the sand deposited on the horizontal plane, the deposition
zone was measured by referencing grids on the plane, and the
runout distance was scaled. The effects of distinctive pile groups in
terms of impeding an avalanche and the energy dissipation capacity
of the baffle system were thus investigated. Fig. 3 presents vertical
views of the final deposition configurations for Groups A–G with dif-
ferent particle sizes.
3. Description by a depth-averaged continuum model integrated
with μ(I) rheology
Depth-averaged equations (as used in the St Venant approach)
were firstly introduced by Savage and Hutter [17] to depict a shallow
flowing mass sliding on a plane. The model was then extended to
predict the evolution of a granular mass on slopes in a three-
dimensional Cartesian coordinate system [18,19]. It is assumed that
granular flow is incompressible and has a constant density ρ and
that its lateral extension is much larger than its thickness. The z-co-
ordinate is set perpendicular to the inclined plane while the x- and
y-axes are respectively orthogonal and parallel to the plane. A mass
conservation equation and momentum conservation equation can
be derived in terms of the depth-averaged flow velocity u (x,y,t) =
uex + vey and local flow depth (i.e., h (x,y,t)):
∂ðhÞ ∂ðhuÞ ∂ðhvÞ
þ þ ¼ 0; ð1aÞ
∂t ∂x ∂x
)


∂ðhuÞ   u
þ α∇  ðhu ⊗ uÞ ¼ gh ex ; ey −μ b ez −Kez ∇h ; ð1bÞ
∂t ‖u‖

where g is the gravitational acceleration while α is determined by

Table 2
Test schemes of independent trials.
Layout NO. Particle size/mm
10
A ✓
B ✓
C ✓
D ✓
E ✓
F ✓
G ✓
the velocity profile assumption along the depth. We use a plug
flow profile in this paper, and thus α = 1. The first term in the
brackets on the right side of Eq. (1b) represents the gravity-driven
force acting parallel to the inclined plane. The second is the basal
Row NO. of baffle piles
friction term, which is assumed to be of Coulomb type (i.e., the
2 0.25 1 2 3 basal friction stress is proportional to the basal friction coefficient
✓ ✓ μb and normal stress). The last term stands for the stress linked to
✓ ✓ ▲ the thickness gradient, in which the vector of the earth pressure co-
✓ ✓ ▲ efficient K = (Kx, Ky) comprises the ratios of vertical normal stress
✓ ✓ ▲
to horizontal normal stress in x- and y-directions. In hydrodynamic
✓ ✓ ▲ ▲
✓ ✓ ▲ ▲ models [20–23], Kx = Ky = 1. In Savage and Hutter (S–H) theory,
✓ ✓ ▲ ▲ the Mohr–Coulomb yield criterion is used to calculate these coeffi-
cients. However, the coefficients in the hydrodynamic models and
 F. Jianbo et al. / Powder Technology 359 (2020) 36–46 39

Fig. 3. Deposition configuration with different particle size (left column: d = 10 mm; middle column: d = 2 mm; right column: d = 0.25 mm) in the presence of piles with Layouts A-G.

S–H theory, which are determined by the constitutive law assump- friction layer and high-order (second and higher) terms as
tion, do not precisely describe complex behaviors revealed by
Pouliquen [24], Pouliquen and Forterre [25], and Jop et al. [26].

 2   ∂u
The present paper introduces μ(I) rheology to express the transverse ∂h μ ∂ u h ∂u ∂h ∂h
K x ¼ g z h −g z h þ gz h ≈ 1−μ ðIÞ ∂x ; ð2aÞ
normal stresses in a moving mass and obtains a new form of earth ∂x _ ∂x 2 ∂x ∂x
jγj 2 ∂x _
jγj
pressure by neglecting the internal shear stress above the basal
40 F. Jianbo et al. / Powder Technology 359 (2020) 36–46

Fig. 4. Deposition configuration in the presence of baffle piles with Layouts A-G; Positions of the deposition edge in the laboratory experiments are drawn in figures on the left column, and
the computation deposition are drawn on the right column (dash-dotted lines represent the edges of depositions with d = 0.25 mm, dotted lines represent those with d = 10 mm,
countered graphs represent computed deposition configurations with d = 2 mm).
 F. Jianbo et al. / Powder Technology 359 (2020) 36–46 41

represents the effects of material properties, such as the grain diam-

∂v eter and grain density, on the evolution of the granular mass. The co-

 2  
∂h μ ∂ v h ∂v ∂h ∂h ∂y efficient can thus be used to simulate the laboratory experiments
K y ¼ g z h −g z h þ gz h ≈ 1−μ ðIÞ ; ð2bÞ
∂y _ ∂y2 2 ∂y ∂y
jγj ∂y _
jγj described in this paper. Moreover, it is worth noting that the
depth-averaged governing equations (Eqs. (1) and (2)) only include
μ 2 −μ s
μ ðIÞ ¼ μ s þ ; ð2cÞ first-order terms; therefore, longitudinal and lateral momentum dif-
I0 =I þ 1 fusion effects (see Forterre [27]) that are represented by terms of
higher order cannot be captured.
jγjd
I ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ; ð2dÞ
P=ρs
4. Numerical simulation
where I 0 , μ s , and μ 2 are experimental parameters that depend on
material properties, d is the grain mean diameter, ρs is the grain 4.1. Numerical scheme
density, P is the confining pressure, and γ_ is the strain rate.
Unlike the cases of the traditional hydrodynamic models and S–H Discrete Element Method (DEM) [28–30], Smoothed Particle Hy-
theory, the new form of the earth pressure coefficient proposed in drodynamics (SPH) [31,32], Material Point Method (MPM) [33,34]
this paper (i.e., Eq. (2) a–d) developed by introducing μ(I) rheology and Eulerian Finite Element Method [35] are effective approaches

Fig. 4 (continued).
42 F. Jianbo et al. / Powder Technology 359 (2020) 36–46

(a) Experimental results (b) Calculation results

Cumulative weight percentage/%

Cumulative weight percentage/%

100 100
90 90
80 80
70 70
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Zone number Zone number
Layout A Layout B Layout C Layout D Layout A Layout B Layout C Layout D

(c) Experimental results (d) Calculation results

100 100
Cumulative weight percentage/%

Cumulative weight percentage/%

90 90
80 80
70 70
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Zone number Zone number

Layout E Layout F Layout G Layout E Layout F Layout G

Fig. 5. Cumulative weight percentage of deposition for four deposition zones (a) experimental results from Layouts A-D (b)calculation results from Layouts A-D (c) experimental results
from Layouts E-G (d)calculation results from Layouts E-G.

to simulate the motion of geophysical flows. But these methods are Since Nessyahu and Tadmor [41] proposed the generally known
limited in several aspects. SPH is a mesh-free method in which the nonoscillatory central TVD scheme, there have been many studies
boundary condition is applied by predefinition of particle motion, on central TVD schemes and modifications have been made
this leads to some difficulties during simulation. For the original [41–44]. As an effective and commonly used approach, central TVD
MPM, the gradient of shape functions adopted is discontinuous at schemes have extensively been applied to simulate dense shallow
the boundary, causing spurious oscillation when material points granular flows. Gray et al. [45] adopted a TVD Lax–Friedrichs scheme
cross the boundaries of the mesh. In the Eulerian FEM, accurate to reproduce typical free-surface granular flow phenomena, such as
tracking of the free surface is difficult, which brings some problems normal shocks and dead zones. Similar to the work of Gray et al.
to simulate the shape and position of the free surface precisely. As [45], a nonoscillatory central difference scheme combined with a
a type of fully resolved simulation approach, DEM minimizes the as- weighted essentially nonoscillatory grid generation approach or TVD
sumptions made during computation, and allows detailed investiga- limiter to solve the conservation equations was proposed by Tai
tions of the micro-properties of granular flows [28–30,36,37]. But it et al. [10] to reproduce the shock wave and a smooth solution.
is difficult for DEM to capture the real shape of natural granules by Denlinger and Iverson [46] used the algorithm of the Riemann solver
spherical elements, and the linkage of microscopic parameters be- to model the flow of liquid–solid mixtures. Pitman et al. [47] applied
tween the elements to macroscopic parameters of geomaterials in a parallel and mesh Godunov solver to model geophysical mass flows
the discrete approaches needs more intensive study. In contrast, the on natural terrain. To solve the dynamic equations proposed in this
continuum approaches treat the granules from a macroscopic view- paper (i.e., Eqs. (1) and (2)), we used the TVD–MacCormack scheme
point, in which the behavior of the granules is described by the con- suggested by Liang et al. [48,49] and developed a fast and precise
stitutive model. Though the determination of the accurate FORTRAN-based program. The variation diminishing (TVD)–
constitutive relation is one of the biggest challenges for the contin- MacCormack scheme used in this paper has second order accuracy
uum approach, the phenomenological constitutive law mentioned in in both time and space. In the scheme, the MacCormack explicit
Section 3 (i.e., μ(I) rheology) has been proved to effectively improves predictor–corrector scheme is fundamental and the TVD step, which
the performance of the continuum approach in many studies includes a five-point symmetric TVD term, is added to eliminate os-
[25–27,56]. Together with other merits such as computational effi- cillations in high-gradient regions [48,49]. For more details of the
ciency, this paper chooses to use a continuum approach. TVD- MacCormack scheme used in this paper, please refer to Liang
Savage [38] first reported the phenomenon of stationary granular et al. [48,49].
jump when a flow hit the obstacle, and the concept of shock wave
for granular flow was proposed. Granular shock waves were also ob- 4.2. “With grain/without grain” algorithm
served in laboratory experiments such as shallow granular flow
deflected by a wedge [39], granular heaping process and rotating In some studies on the numerical solution of depth-averaged
drums [40]. For the simulation of particle-structure interaction within equations for shallow water flow, the computation covers the
a depth-averaged continuum framework, the adoption of a shock whole domain regardless of whether there is water. An extremely
capturing numerical technique such as the TVD scheme is essential. shallow static water layer is imposed across cells for areas without
 F. Jianbo et al. / Powder Technology 359 (2020) 36–46 43

Fig. 6. Avalanche depth (a) and discharge per unit width in the x direction (b) by tracking the simulation data at Points A during the flow process; Avalanche depth (c) and discharge per
unit width in the x direction (d) by tracking the simulation data at Points B during the flow process; the black triangles in Fig. 6 (a) and (c) are laboratory measurement data.

1200 25

1000
20
Pile diameter/mm

800
Chute height/mm

15
600
10
400

5
200

0 0
150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Runout distance/mm
Runout distance vs Chute height Runout distance vs Pile diameter

Fig. 7. Graph of computation correlations between the final runout distance of the avalanche and the vertical height of the chute channel/the diameter of the baffle piles (green: runout
distance vs the chute height; orange: runout distance vs the pile diameter).
44 F. Jianbo et al. / Powder Technology 359 (2020) 36–46
water; see, for example, Vincent et al. [50] and Lin et al. [51]. How-
ever, this simplified treatment may give rise to unreasonable large
velocities on steep terrain. In this paper, we introduce the wetting/
drying algorithm of Liang et al. [48,49], which was initially developed
to solve shallow-water equations for water flow by making a distinc-
tion between the wet (with water) or dry (without water) calcula-
tion domain. In this paper, we introduce this treatment method
and use the terminology of “with grain/without grain” algorithm.
The algorithm is effective in the determination of the moving bound-
ary, since the “with grain/without grain” interface is sometimes not
fixed. “With grain/without grain” checks are performed within each
time step in the time marching process: after numerical
discretization, the grid points where the flow depths are shallower
than a prescribed value (i.e., Hmin) are treated as “without grain”,
and their velocities are set to zero and depths are assigned to unified
insignificant values.
To handle obstacles in simulations, the terrain of the obstacle was
explicitly incorporated into the source terms of the governing equa-
tion by Gray et al. [45] and Tai et al. [52]. Levy and Sayed [53] im-
posed a no-slip boundary condition to the obstacle of a straight
wall. Cui and Gray et al. [54] applied a none-normal-flux (or wall
boundary) condition which allowed the granular flow to detach
from the cylindrical obstacle. In this paper, the grid points where ob-
stacle piles are positioned are excluded from the computational do-
main by treating these grids as “without grain” throughout the
calculation.
In our simulation, the whole computational domain is composed of
1920 × 650 square grids, and the grid size is 1 mm. As the baffle pile
in the laboratory experiment is cylindrical in shape, a cluster of “without
grain” grids form a vacuum in the simulation, which approximately rep-
resents the cylindrical configuration.
4.3. Computation parameters
The physical properties (i.e., particle size and unit weight) of the ex-
perimental sands were tested as shown in Table 2. Meanwhile, the basal
friction coefficients μb of sands with different grain sizes were measured
and found to be close to a single value of μb = 0.51. The friction coeffi-
cients in μ(I) rheology (i.e., μs and μ2), which hardly affect the evolution
of an avalanche, take typical values from Pouliquen and Forterre [25],
Jop et al. [26], Forterre and Pouliquen [55], and Forterre and Pouliquen
[56]; i.e., I0 = 0.3, μs = 0.38, and μ2 = 0.65.
5. Experimental and simulation results
5.1. Comparison of experimental and simulation results
Laboratory trials A–G were reproduced using a self-developed program by input-
ting three grain sizes and setting six layouts of baffle piles. Fig. 4 compares the exper-
imental results of the deposition zones (on the left), the computed contoured scheme
of deposition with d = 2 mm, and the simulated deposition outlines with d = 10 and
0.25 mm. Fig. 5 illustrates the experimental and calculated cumulative weight percent-
ages of deposition in four deposition zones, in which a high cumulative weight per-
centage of deposition in zones 1 and 2 implies effective impedance of the kinetic
energy of the avalanche.
A comparison of the computation results obtained using our proposed model with
the results of laboratory experiments reveals that our proposed model well reproduces
the deposition zones and runout distances of laboratory trials for different layouts of
baffle piles and granular sizes. Meanwhile, the effect of grain size on the deposition
zones and runout distance is revealed by referring to both the experimental and sim-
ulation results in Figs. 4 and 5. Top view comparison of computed deposition configu-
ration with different grain diameters is shown in Fig. 4, in which countered graphs
represent deposition configurations with d = 2 mm, dashed lines indicate deposition
edges with d = 0.25 mm and d = 10 mm. It is concluded from Fig. 4(b–d) and
Fig. 5(a–b) that, with the installation of a single row of baffle piles, the deposition
zone and runout distance increase with the distance between the baffle piles and
the bottom of the flume. With two rows of baffle piles installed, Fig. 4(e–g) and
Fig. 5(c–d) show that Layout E is the most effective in reducing the deposition zone
while Layout G is the least and Layout F is intermediate. The kinetic energy dissipation
capability of baffle piles at the deposition zone increases when the piles approach the
bottom of slopes, irrespective of whether there is one or two rows of baffle piles. Sim-
ulation results also show that the depth of deposition decreases rapidly when the
granular mass reaches the first row of piles (see the red zone in Fig. 4). Because re-
view of state-of-art studies on granular flow/obstacle interactions [57–59] indicate
that the interaction force acting on an obstacle by a granular flow is proportional to
the flow rate, thus more kinetic energy will be consumed when the avalanche hits
the obstacle at higher speed. This is why the baking and blockage effects of the piles
positioned closer to the bottom of slopes are more obvious.
It is noted that simulation results obtained using our proposed model capture the ef-
fect of the grain size on the deposition zone as observed in the laboratory experiments;
that is, the deposition zone and runout distance increase with the grain size. As the config-
uration evolution of the avalanche is affected by the terrain gradient term and the term
that includes the friction coefficient μ(I), and the friction coefficient μ(I) is positively cor-
related with the grain diameter, the dispersion effect negatively correlates with the
grain diameter considering the negative sign in Eq. (2) (a–d). This is why the simulated
deposition zone and runout distance increase when the particle size decreases in simula-
tion. In general, by combining the simulation and experimental results, we conclude that
the grain size obviously affects the deposition zone.
It is also found that the computational and experimental deposition profiles in
Fig. 4 are different, but the computational and experimental cumulative weight per-
centage data in Fig. 5 look similar. The most likely explanation is that the depth of
the deposit near the boundary is extremely shallow, these grains make up only a
small proportion of the whole deposition. The relatively small amount of deposit
near the boundary does not have significant influence on the whole cumulative weight
percentage.
5.2. Tracked discharge per unit width and the flow depth
We selected Points A and B in Fig. 1 as two measurement points in simulation
(one at the runout zone, i.e., x = 600 mm and the other between two piles at the de-
position zone, i.e., x = 1300 mm), where the discharge per unit width (depth × veloc-
ity) in the x direction and the flow depth are tracked during the whole flow process.
The tracked computational data are collected and shown in Fig. 6, in which the labo-
ratory measurement data of the avalanche depth are also marked with black triangles.
Due to limited measurement equipment, the experimental data of discharge per unit
width in the x direction for granular flow are difficult to be measured, thus these
data are not included in Fig. 6 (b) and (d). It can be seen from Fig. 6 (a–b) that
both the computational and experimental granular flows reach Point A at around t
= 0.20s. Then, the computational discharge per unit width in the x direction and
the flow depth at Point A increase rapidly until t = 0.60s, afterwards, they decrease
gradually to zero at t = 2.80s. As is shown in Fig. 6 (c–d), both the computational
and experimental avalanche passes through the pile (i.e., Point B) at about t =
0.60s, then the computational discharge per unit width in the x direction at Point B in-
creases rapidly until t = 1.00s, but soon decreases to a negligible value at t = 1.30s.
Both the computational and experimental depth of avalanche at Point B increases
quickly from t = 0.60s to around t = 1.50s with the deposition piles up, then it is in-
teresting to observe that the depth decreases slightly as some unstable particles roll
down from the top of deposition.
5.3. Role of chute height and pile diameter
The effect of chute height and pile diameter is studied in the paper by conducting
two sets of numerical tests: either the chute height or the pile diameter varies in each
set, but the type of baffle piles is fixed at Layout C with grain size d = 2 mm. Simu-
lation results indicate that the runout distance decreases when the chute height grows
(see the green line in Fig. 7). This is understandable as higher initial position implies
greater gravitational potential energy, thus longer runout distance is needed to con-
sume the kinetic energy converted from the potential energy. It can be also concluded
from simulation results that the runout distance has a negative relationship with the
pile diameter (see the orange line in Fig. 7), as larger pile diameter produces greater
blockage effect.
6. Conclusion
We conducted laboratory experiments for granular mass flow on ge-
neric terrain, impeded by installed baffle piles. Experiments were con-
ducted for sands of various grain size and obstacles in different
locations. To simulate the laboratory experiments, a simulation method
using a depth-averaged avalanche dynamic model was developed intro-
ducing μ(I) rheology. We numerically solved the proposed avalanche
dynamic model “with grain/without grain” algorithm and found that
the simulation results agree well with the results of laboratory experi-
ments. Both simulation and experimental results reveal that decreasing
 F. Jianbo et al. / Powder Technology 359 (2020) 36–46
the distance between the baffle piles and the foot of the inclined plane
strengthens the ability of the piles to dissipate the energy of sliding
granular material, so that the sand is less able to pass through the
piles. Moreover, with an increase in grain size, granular flow passes
the baffles piles more easily, leading to a wider deposition area and a
larger runout distance.
Simulation tests on the roles of chute height and pile diameter find
that the runout distance is positively correlated to chute height, has a
negative relationship with the pile diameter. The results of the study
are important in terms of providing guidelines for the design of baffle
piles in terms of protection against avalanches.
It is noted that the continuum methods also have their drawbacks,
e.g., the discrete character of the particles is lost in the continuum
method, the accuracy of the simulation results depends greatly on the
constitutive laws but no constitutive law is perfect and holds good in
all cases. Moreover, the results of this study can not only be applied to
granular flow past the retarding structure like baffle piles, but also be
used as a reference for avalanches retarded by strong and high buildings
(or trees) in the deposition zone.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Fei Jianbo: Conceptualization, Software, Writing - original draft,
Methodology. Jie Yuxin: Supervision, Funding acquisition. Sun Xiaohui:
Writing - review & editing, Visualization, Investigation. Chen Xi: Super-
vision, Project administration.
Acknowledgment
The research is funded by the National Key Research and Develop-
ment Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFC0404802,
2017YFC0804602), the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(NSFC) under grant No. 41790434, and the Guangzhou Innovation Plat-
form and Special Service for Science and Technology(Grant No.
201705030010).
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