Development of a rainfall simulator for the investigation of slope stability

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4. Development of a rainfall simulator for the investigation of slope stability

Rainfall is recognized as one of the primary triggers of landslides worldwide. To effectively assess the risk of such events, it is important to accurately model this phenomenon and its contributing factors. Physically based models provide the capability for precise simulation of slope stability. The rainfall simulator is a crucial component of physically based models, as it is a basic requirement to simulate the main triggering mechanism of landslide process. Therefore, a recently developed laboratory-scale rainfall simulator is introduced in this study. The rainfall simulator comprises several components, including a water tank, water purifier filter, water pump, flowmeter, and an array of nozzles. In this research, the intensity of rain in different parts of a slope surface inclined at angles ranging from 0 to 30 degrees was investigated using 28 tailor made rain gauges. The volume of water sprayed from the nozzles was measured for a duration of 30 minutes. The performance of the rainfall simulator was evaluated through a statistical analysis by examining the average value, standard deviation, and probability density distribution function of rainfall intensity at various sloping angles. Through adjustments to both the number of nozzles and the intensity of the input flow to the rainfall simulator, an average rainfall intensity of 100 mm per hour was attained across all slopes.

4th Asia-Pacific Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ACPMG2024)

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