TY - GEN
T1 - Modelling the onset of rainfall-induced landslides
AU - Buscarnera, G.
AU - Di Prisco, C.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - The paper presents a simplified modelling approach for unsaturated infinite slopes. As it is well known, during severe rainstorms the progressive saturation of natural deposits is the main triggering cause of slope instability. The goal of the approach suggested here is to evaluate the magnitude of the triggering perturbations, distinguishing among different forms of hydro-mechanical instability. For this purpose, the mechanical effects of partial saturation are reproduced by means of a coupled hydro-mechanical constitutive model and stability conditions are evaluated through the theory of test controllability. This enables to study the outcome of both mechanical and hydraulic perturbations by means of simple shear test simulations. The numerical results clearly suggest that both initial conditions (e.g., the initial suction) and behavioural properties (e.g., the soil compressibility) are dominant factors in determining the magnitude of the triggering perturbations and the type of expected instability mode.
AB - The paper presents a simplified modelling approach for unsaturated infinite slopes. As it is well known, during severe rainstorms the progressive saturation of natural deposits is the main triggering cause of slope instability. The goal of the approach suggested here is to evaluate the magnitude of the triggering perturbations, distinguishing among different forms of hydro-mechanical instability. For this purpose, the mechanical effects of partial saturation are reproduced by means of a coupled hydro-mechanical constitutive model and stability conditions are evaluated through the theory of test controllability. This enables to study the outcome of both mechanical and hydraulic perturbations by means of simple shear test simulations. The numerical results clearly suggest that both initial conditions (e.g., the initial suction) and behavioural properties (e.g., the soil compressibility) are dominant factors in determining the magnitude of the triggering perturbations and the type of expected instability mode.
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M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:80052126753
SN - 9789609875011
T3 - Computational Geomechanics, COMGEO II - Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Computational Geomechanics
SP - 173
EP - 182
BT - Computational Geomechanics, COMGEO II - Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Computational Geomechanics
T2 - 2nd International Symposium on Computational Geomechanics, COMGEO II
Y2 - 27 April 2011 through 29 April 2011
ER -