A mass transfer-based LES modelling methodology for analyzing the movement of submarine sediment flows with extensive shear behavior

This study employs the large-eddy simulation (LES) method to investigate the interaction of submarine sediment flows with extensive shear behavior and ambient water. This method is validated with good accuracy by simulating the head velocity and evolution geometries of a submarine mud flow with non-Newtonian fluid characteristics and a submarine turbidity current with Newtonian fluid characteristics in inclined and regular lock-exchange flume experiments. This study finds that the violent mass transfer at the interface of the submarine sediment flow and seawater is caused by numerous eddies, which significantly alter the submarine sediment flow’s geometry, resulting in varying degrees of undulation, including the deposition pattern of the submarine sediment flow tail. The acceleration zone, where the velocity of the submarine sediment flow increases significantly at this undulation, propels the sediment flow forward, supporting its long-distance transport. Furthermore, the turbulence and mass transport characteristics of submarine turbidity currents with low dynamic viscosity Newtonian fluid characteristics are stronger than those of submarine mud flows with high dynamic viscosity non-Newtonian fluid characteristics. Therefore, when submarine landslides develop into later stages, such as submarine turbidity currents with high velocity, large volume, and long run-out distance characteristics, more attention must be given to the mass transport process.