On the interaction between shear dusty currents and buildings in vertical collapse: Theoretical aspects, experimental observations, and 3D numerical simulation

We investigate the behavior of vertical building collapses that, at impact on the ground, can generate shear dusty currents. These currents macroscopically resemble natural currents like dust storms and pyroclastic density currents, which may heavily interact with the surroundings while propagating. In particular, shear dusty currents are generated because of building collapse after pulverization, whereas pyroclastic density currents can be generated because of eruptive column or volcano collapse after fragmentation. Pyroclastic density currents can move for kilometers, and then load the surroundings by flow dynamic pressure; a similar dynamical behavior occurs in shear dusty currents that load buildings. We employed 3D engineering fluid dynamics to simulate the generation (by vertical collapse), and the propagation and building interaction of shear dusty currents. We used an Eulerian-Lagrangian multiphase approach to model the gas-particle flow, and an immersed boundary technique to mesh the domain, in order to account for sedimentary processes and complex 3D urban geometry in the computation. Results show that the local dynamic pressure of the shear current is amplified up to a factor ~ 10 because of flow-building interaction. Also, the surroundings consisting of multiple buildings and empty spaces make walls and streets as surfaces of particle accumulation, which from the collapse zone on can get thinner by exponential law. These results can help better assessing the intricate interaction between pyroclastic density currents and urban surroundings, as well as better link fragmentation, collapse and density current to each other.