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The shallow-water approximation requires a small depth-to-horizontal-scale ratio, slow streamwise variation of the channel and interface, small vertical acceleration, and rapid enough cross-sectional mixing for $u$ and $\varphi$ to be representative averages. Near the channel apex, or during the initial collapse at a sharp front, these conditions need not hold. The high Reynolds number permits neglect of leading viscous resistance; weak stirring mixes the particles without appreciable ambient fluid entrainment.

Put $\lambda =\beta /H$. At elevation $z$, the channel width is $2\lambda xz$, so the occupied area and interface width areVolume conservation and suspended-particle conservation giveThe excess hydrostatic pressure is ${\rho }_{0}d\varphi (h-z)$. Its streamwise gradient averaged over the triangular section gives acceleration $-d\varphi h_x-(dh/3){\varphi }_x$: the weighted mean of $h-z$ is $h/3$. Thus the triangular-channel shallow water equations areThe quasilinear coefficient matrix in $(h,u,\varphi )$ isIts three distinct real eigenvalues, for $h,d\varphi >0$, establish strict hyperbolicity:On the material characteristic curve, $d\varphi /dt=-2W_s\varphi /h$. On each of the other two characteristic curves, multiplying by the left eigenvector $(\pm 2c/h,1,\pm dh/(3c))$ gives the compatibility ordinary differential equationThe derivatives are along the indicated characteristic, with $g^{\prime }=d\varphi$. At vanishing concentration, the gravity-wave speeds coalesce and strict hyperbolicity is lost.