EFFECTIVENESS OF AVALANCHE PROTECTION STRUCTURES IN RUN-OUT ZONES: THE TACONNAZ AVALANCHE PAST CASE IN FRANCE
2018
Naaim, Mohamed | Faug, Thierry | Naaim-Bouvet, Florence | ECKERT, Nicolas,
The present study uses a numerical avalanche propagation model based on depth-averaged equations supplemented with the Voellmy snow rheology. The effectiveness of the complex avalanche protection system currently built in the run-out zone of Taconnaz avalanche path, in the French Alps in Chamonix Mont-Blanc valley, is evaluated. This work was motivated by the fact that the protection structure initially planned to mitigate a centennial reference avalanche event could not be fully achieved primarily due to some budgetary constraints. A number of numerical simulations were conducted, considering different avalanche scenarios in terms of both the volume and the Froude number of the incoming flows at the entrance of the current avalanche protection system. Particular attention was paid to the residual volumes that were able to overtop the 25-m-high catching dam settled at the downstream end of the avalanche protection system, thus quantifying the overall effectiveness of the current protection system for the different scenarios considered.
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