A design method for a debris flow water-sediment separation structure

Abstract Debris flows, which contain many coarse particles, usually have significant destructive power and, therefore, controlling the coarse fraction is an important approach to reducing destruction. A new herringbone structure has been designed to separate coarse sediment from water in debris flows. The effectiveness of this structure is influenced by the design dimensions which include: the height of draining dyke, the size of overflow gate in the draining dyke, the length of herringbone water-sediment separation grid, the width of the grid, the gradient of the grid, the intersection angle between ribbed beams and ridge beam, and the height and longitudinal gradient of outflow channel. Using theoretical analysis and model experiments, a design method for the determination of these dimensional parameters is presented. Based on this method, the structural design procedure that may be used directly in engineering design has been developed.