Abstract
The paper presents a rational criterion to design the slit check dams to control mudflows and debris flows. The method here presented is based on the scheme proposed by Armanini & Larcher (2001) for the case of ordinary sediment transport and it is based on the balances of the solid and liquid phases of debris flow and mudflow and on momentum conservation. The theory is compared with the results of some laboratory tests on scale reduced models of debris flows and of mudflows. The experimental results agree quite well with the predictions of the theory