Abstract
One of the most remarkable characteristics of debris flow is the competence for supporting boulders on the surface of flow, which strongly suggests that there should be some structure in the fluid body. This paper analyzed the grain compositions from various samples of debris flows and then revealed the fractal structure. Specifically, the fractality holds in three domains that can be respectively identified as the slurry, matrix, and the coarse content. Furthermore, the matrix fractal, which distinguishes debris flow from other kinds of flows, involves a hierarchical structure in the sense that it might contain ever increasing grains while the total range of grain size increases. It provides a possible mechanism for the boulder suspension.
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Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40671025) and the Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMHE 1100001061)
Biography: LI Young (1967–), male, Associate professor, research direction: the theory and dynamics of debris flow.
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Li, Y., Liu, J., Hu, K. et al. Fractal structure of debris flow. Wuhan Univ. J. of Nat. Sci. 12, 595–598 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11859-006-0308-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11859-006-0308-6