DEBRIS FLOW MODELLING USING RAMMS SOFTWARE: CHAMOLI, UTTARAKHAND

Abstract

In hilly and mountaineous areas on the slopes, numerous problems are created by rainfall and other natural or manmade factors. One such problem is Debris Flow. Debris flow is described as a landslide that moves with a very high speed and flows like a liquid under the effect of gravity. This phenomenon is common in India, like Uttarakhand, Pune, Kerala, Ladakh, etc. This results in loss of life, habitat loss, and other significant economic losses. Many studies on Landslide Zonation Mapping deal with the research part of this problem, but problems arise when there are no mitigation measures to back up those studies. Hence in these situations, the mitigation part is also crucial. In this dissertation, for the study of debris flow, RAMMS software is used. It works on numerical methods that are objective. Hence, they always give the same results under similar conditions, making it a reliable method. For the debris-flow simulation, various parameters are considered, such as friction factors, yield stress, erosion information, etc. The software gives results in the form of a simulation of Debris Flow. Information such as velocity, momentum, height, pressure, and stress is also obtained at each point, which helps with mitigation measures that need to be adopted. The software is calibrated using different datasets and validated by comparing the results obtained by other researches using different methods. This study aims to observe the critical areas to help provide a solution to existing problems and help reduce the losses that occur due to it.