Numerical simulation for runout behavior of sensitive clay landslides using the material point method

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4. Numerical simulation for runout behavior of sensitive clay landslides using the material point method

Landslides in sensitive clays are usually triggered by natural causes (e.g. erosion in ravines, intensive rainfall) and/or human activity (e.g. construction work). The propagation of such landslides often exceeds several hundred meters. It is vital to model the complete process, including initiation and runout, of landslides in sensitive clays in order to improve the method for hazard zone mapping in use today. This study conducted material point method (MPM)-based simulations to investigate the runout behaviour of the recent sensitive clay landslide in Gjerdrum in Norway. A strain-softening Mohr-coulomb model is adopted to simulate the tendency toward progressive failure of the sensitive clay slope. The undrained shear strength of the soil block at the slope toe was significantly reduced in the simulations to imitate the slide initiation caused by erosion in the creek at the foot of the sensitive clay slope. The simulations results suggest that a throughgoing shear band is formed in the sensitive clay layer, triggering the landslide with a large extent of movement. The parametric analysis suggests that the strain-softening parameters and the spatial variability of undrained shear strength significantly affect the runout behaviour. Overall, the proposed simulation approach can capture the slide's initiation and progressive failures in one combined analysis.

10th European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (NUMGE2023)

2. Finite element, finite difference, discrete element, material point and other methods