Numerical modelling of dense snow avalanches with a well-balanced scheme based on the 2D shallow water equations

A common technique for simulating non–Newtonian fluid dynamics, such as snow avalanches, is to solve the Shallow Water Equations (SWE), together with a rheological model describing the momentum dissipation by shear stresses. Friction and cohesion terms are commonly modelled using the Voellmy frictio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Glaciology
Main Authors: Marcos Sanz-Ramos, Ernest Bladé, Pere Oller, Glòria Furdada
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.48
https://doaj.org/article/714943a014504c558ef61a3b2b4f6aa9
Description
Summary:A common technique for simulating non–Newtonian fluid dynamics, such as snow avalanches, is to solve the Shallow Water Equations (SWE), together with a rheological model describing the momentum dissipation by shear stresses. Friction and cohesion terms are commonly modelled using the Voellmy friction model and, recently, the Bartelt cohesion model. Here, an adaptation of the Roe scheme that ensures the balance between the flux and pressure gradients and the friction source term is presented. An upwind scheme was used for the discretisation of the SWE numerical fluxes and the non–velocity-dependent terms of the friction–cohesion model, whereas a centred scheme was used for the velocity-dependent source terms. The model was tested in analytically solvable settings, laboratory experiments and real cases. In all cases, the model performed well, avoiding numerical instabilities and achieving stable and consistent solution even for an avalanche stopping on a sloping terrain.