A numerical model of submarine debris flow with graphical user interface

A 1-D numerical model of the downslope spreading of a finite-source subaque ous debris Row is presented. The model incorporates the Bingham, Herschel-B ulkley, and bilinear theologies of viscoplastic fluids. Any of these theolo gies can be selected by the user. The layer-integrated conservation equatio ns of mass and momentum balance are solved in a Lagrangian framework using an explicit finite difference scheme. The flow is assumed to remain laminar throughout the computation. Starting from an initial parabolic shape, the debris mass is allowed to collapse and propagate on a given topography. The code is written in the visual basic programming language and has a graphic al user interface. The required input parameters can be specified interacti vely, and the propagation of the debris Bow can be viewed as the solution p roceeds. The user interface for the software is described in detail. Simula ted results from different theological models are compared. (C) 2001 Elsevi er Science Ltd. All rights reserved.