Note on the generalized thermal theory for gravity currents in the deceleration phase

The generalized thermal theory for gravitational convection, produced from instantaneous buoyancy sources on sloping boundaries, developed in Dai and Garcia (2010) is examined in this note. An assumption implicitly made therein, that detrained fluid carries no momentum, was inappropriate and the solution was not physical in special cases. The generalized thermal theory is now improved by considering the momentum carried away by detrained mixed fluid. An asymptotic velocity–distance relation for gravity currents further downslope in the deceleration phase is provided and agreement with reported experimental data is found.