Distribution of sediment concentration in debris flow using Renyi entropy

Debris flow is a destructive natural phenomenon that normally occurs in mountainous regions or steeply sloping areas. Its destructive force is so high that whatever comes in its way is obliterated. It is therefore difficult to collect field observations of debris flow. This study developed a model of the vertical distribution of sediment concentration in debris flow by maximizing Renyi entropy. The model contains a parameter, called entropy parameter, which is a combination of Lagrange multipliers and has a physical justification. An expression for the equilibrium sediment concentration is also developed, and is found to be a function of the entropy parameter and an entropy index. The proposed model is validated with experimental data and is compared with other entropy-based models reported in the literature. It is observed that the prediction accuracy of the proposed models is superior to that of the other models. Errors, namely relative error and relative root-mean-squared error, are computed and are reported in the paper in support of the derived model. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.