scholarly journals The influence of clay content on submarine slope failure: insights from laboratory experiments and numerical models

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (1) ◽  
pp. 301-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. W. Silver ◽  
B. Dugan
Keyword(s):  
Pore Pressure ◽  
Slope Failure ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Slope Failures ◽  
Submarine Slope ◽  
Failure Evolution

AbstractSubmarine slope failures pose risks to coastlines because they can damage infrastructure and generate tsunamis. Passive margin slope failures represent the largest mass failures on Earth, yet we know little about their dynamics. While numerous studies characterize the lithology, structure, seismic attributes and geometry of failure deposits, we lack direct observations of failure evolution. Thus, we lack insight into the relationships between initial conditions, slope failure initiation and evolution, and final deposits. To investigate submarine slope failure dynamics in relation to initial conditions and to observe failure processes we performed physical experiments in a benchtop flume and produced numerical models. Submarine slope failures were induced under controlled pore pressure within sand–clay mixtures (0–5 wt% clay). Increased clay content corresponded to increased cohesion and pore pressure required for failure. Subsurface fractures and tensile cracks were only generated in experiments containing clay. Falling head tests showed a log-linear relation between hydraulic conductivity and clay content, which we used in our numerical models. Models of our experiments effectively simulate overpressure (pressure in excess of hydrostatic) and failure potential for (non)cohesive sediment mixtures. Overall our work shows the importance of clay in reducing permeability and increasing cohesion to create different failure modes due to overpressure.

Investigating the controls of submarine landslides and associated hazards in Pangnirtung Fiord, Eastern Baffin Island (Nunavut)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Sedore ◽  
Alexandre Normandeau ◽  
Vittorio Maselli
Keyword(s):  
High Latitude ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Slope Failure ◽  
Recurrence Time ◽  
High Recurrence Rate ◽  
Baffin Island ◽  
Submarine Landslides ◽  
Slope Failures ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Submarine Slope

<p>High-latitude fiords are susceptible to hazardous subaerial and submarine slope failures. Recent investigations have shown that past slope failures in fiords of Greenland and Alaska have generated devastating landslide induced tsunamis. Since coastal communities inhabit these high-latitude fiords, it is critical to understand the slope failure recurrence time, their distribution, potential triggers, and ability to generate tsunamis. In this study, we identified > 50 near-surface submarine landslides in Pangnirtung Fiord, eastern Baffin Island, Nunavut, using multibeam bathymetric and sub-bottom profiler data, along with sediment gravity-cores collected in 2019. Morphometric and morphological analyses, along with sedimentological analyses, were carried out on submarine landslide deposits to quantify their spatial and temporal distribution throughout the fiord and to evaluate the factors that may have triggered the slope failures.</p><p>Combining bathymetric with topographic data from unmanned aerial vehicle imagery, we found that most of these landslide deposits are relatively small (~ 0.08 km<sup>2</sup>) and are associated with outwash fans and steep fiord sidewalls. However, since most slope failure head scarps lie between the intertidal zone and ~30 m water depth, they could not be mapped, which makes it challenging to determine the triggers of the submarine slope failures. Radiocarbon dating reveals that most of these surficial landslide deposits are younger than 500 years old and that they were most likely triggered at different times. This finding highlights a high recurrence rate of slope failures within the fiord, suggesting that localised triggers are responsible for slope failures within the fiord, as opposed to widespread, seismically induced triggers which do not occur as frequently in the study area. In addition, the elongated morphology of the landslide deposits and the varying degrees of landslide deposit surface roughness supports localised point-source triggers. Since most landslides are associated with subaerial outwash fans and deltas, we suggest that triggers of these relatively frequent submarine landslides within Pangnirtung Fiord include rapid floodwater input, subaerial debris flows, and sea-ice loading during low tide.</p><p>This research shows that slope failures in a high-latitude fiord are affected by the interaction of numerous subaerial and submarine processes, leading us to speculate that a potential increase in the frequency of subaerial debris flows and river floods due to climate change may increase the recurrence of submarine landslides.<strong> </strong></p>

Investigation of The Observed Time-lag Between the Simulated Peak Pore Pressures and Slope Failures in Rainfall Induced Landslides: A Numerical Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishnendu Paul ◽  
Pathikrit Bhattacharya ◽  
Santanu Misra
Keyword(s):  
Shear Strength ◽  
Pore Pressure ◽  
Failure Criterion ◽  
Slope Failure ◽  
Soil Column ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Landslide Hazard ◽  
Precipitation Event ◽  
Slope Failures ◽  
Pore Pressures

<p>Rainfall-induced landslides pose a substantial risk to people and infrastructure worldwide, but their mechanical behavior is not well understood. As a result, hazard predictions for these landslides, especially for rainfall and slope-failure correlations, remain an active area of research. Many operational rainfall-induced landslide hazard maps still assume a classical Coulomb type failure criterion where slope-failure must occur either before or at peak subsurface pore pressure reached during a precipitation event. Using satellite-derived surface precipitation data and soil infiltration simulations over a 15 day period preceding 121 rainfall-induced landslides across India, we find that these events occurred systematically 2-12 days after the simulated peak pore pressures on the inferred failure slope nucleating between 0.5 and 5 m depth. These observations cannot be explained with the Coulomb failure criterion, since failure on these slopes is significantly delayed behind the occurrence of the inferred strength minimum. Instead, in this study, we investigate whether a slope failure model with time- and slip-variable shear strength, governed by the rate-state friction (RSF) equations widely used in earthquake mechanics, can explain the observed ranges of time-delays between slope failure and inferred peak pore pressure.</p><p>To concentrate on the role of the constitutive behavior of the failure surface, we examine spring-slider dynamics under a classical RSF framework driven by variable on-slope and far-field pore pressure and flux time histories. We derive analytical expressions for the time-to-failure of such a spring-slider under simple pore pressure perturbation histories and find that the delay-times can vary significantly depending on the laboratory derivable RSF parameters, soil bulk properties, and particulars of the pressure history. We further examine the roles of dilatancy strengthening and pore compaction in determining the time-lag between peak pore pressure and slope failure. We find that dilatancy can have either a stabilizing or a destabilizing effect on slope failure depending on the hydrological and mechanical properties of the failure plane and the soil column. Finally, we show with numerical simulations that periodic pore pressure or flux oscillations can also drive asynchronous repeated slope failures in both the presence and absence of the coupling of pore pressure and shear deformation. Our results show that the observed rainfall-landslide correlations for these 121 landslides can be explained with inherently time- and slip-dependent shear strength prescriptions like the RSF equations. This, in turn, implies that realistic landslide hazard monitoring might require the examination of soil shear strength under the experimental protocols widely used in rock friction experiments to determine whether the constant friction assumption inherent in the Coulomb criterion needs to be revised in favor of RSF or similar constitutive equations for shallow landslides.</p>

scholarly journals On the potential of gassy marine soils triggering submarine slope instabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 205 ◽  
pp. 12006
Author(s):  
Pauline Kaminski ◽  
Jürgen Grabe
Keyword(s):  
Slope Failure ◽  
Turbidity Currents ◽  
Continental Margins ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Slope Failures ◽  
Free Gas ◽  
Submarine Slope ◽  
Failure Event ◽  
Liquefaction Failure ◽  
Excess Pore Pressures

The development of debris flows and turbidity currents in the course of a submarine slope failure event can cause major damage in offshore infrastructure. Additionally, the tsunamogenic potential of large slope failures at continental margins poses a direct threat to coastal communities. Therefore, the trigger mechanisms of submarine slope failures have been thoroughly investigated in the past. However, the influence of free gas in the sediment, which has been observed close to several slide events, remains unexplained. In order to evaluate the potential of gassy marine soils to precondition or trigger slope failure the mechanical behaviour of gassy soils is assessed based on an extensive literature review. It is found that gas-induced excess pore pressures can lead to liquefaction failure in sands, while cohesive, gassy soils show a less conclusive response. Hence, fine-grained soils and approaches to implement the gas impact into relevant existing constitutive soil models are assessed in greater detail. Concludingly, based on the predominant boundary conditions in failure prone regions at the continental margins, free gas occurrence can be defined as a preconditioning factor rather than as a definite trigger mechanism.

Seafloor geomorphology and submarine landslide hazards along the continental slope in the Carnarvon Basin, Exmouth Plateau, North West Shelf, Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 493 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Hengesh ◽  
James K. Dirstein ◽  
Alistair J. Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Continental Slope ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Slope Failure ◽  
Sediment Accumulation ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Slope Failures ◽  
North West ◽  
Exmouth Plateau ◽  
Submarine Slope ◽  
Carnarvon Basin

3D exploration seismic data were interpreted to investigate the locations and characteristics of submarine slope failures along the continental slope in the offshore Carnarvon Basin on Australia’s North West Shelf. Seisnetics™, a patented genetic algorithm was used to process the 3D seismic data to extract virtually all trough and peak surfaces in an unbiased and automated manner. The extracted surfaces were combined in the 3D visual database to develop a seafloor digital terrain model that extends from the continental slope to the Exmouth Plateau. The 3D data were used to map the subsurface extent and geometry of landslide failure planes, as well as to estimate the thickness and volumes of slide deposits. This paper describes the geomorphic characteristics of five of the survey areas. Geomorphic mapping shows the presence of slope failures ranging from small (20 km across) mass transport complexes (MTC). The features are associated with debris flow chutes, turbidity flow channels, and debris fields. Analysis of failure planes show prominent grooves or striations related to the mobilisation of slide material down both the continental slope and Exmouth Plateau and into the Kangaroo Syncline. Submarine slope failures can occur at the continental shelf break in about 200–300 m of water and run out to the Exmouth Plateau surface in about 1,100–1,400 m water depths. The largest individual slides in the survey areas have widths of 30 km and minimum run-out lengths of 75 km, though associated turbidity flow deposits likely extend much further. The subsurface expression of the large MTCs illustrates a history of sediment accumulation along the mid-slope followed by repeated slope failure and debris run-out. Sediment accumulation and slope failure processes are actively occurring along the continental slope and submarine landslides thus are a major driver of hazard to subsea infrastructure development. Smaller more frequent slides may pose a greater hazard than large infrequent MTCs.

Slope failures along the deformation front of the Cascadia margin: linking slide morphology to subduction zone parameters

2018 ◽  
Vol 477 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Riedel ◽  
Michelle M. Côté ◽  
Morelia Urlaub ◽  
Jacob Geersen ◽  
Nastasja A. Scholz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Debris Flows ◽  
Slope Failure ◽  
Accretionary Prism ◽  
Tsunami Generation ◽  
Slope Failures ◽  
Deformation Front ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
Submarine Slope ◽  
Cascadia Margin ◽  
Zone Parameters

AbstractMarine acoustic data are used to map and characterize submarine slope failure along the accretionary prism of Cascadia. Two main styles of slope failure are identified: (1) failures with curved head scarps, which are predominantly associated with incoherent debris-flow deposits; and (2) failures with rectangular head scarps, which are predominantly associated with intact sediment blocks. Rectangular head scarps mostly occur on thrust ridges with slope angles <16° and ridge heights <650 m, whereas curved head scarps occur predominantly on steeper and higher ridges. Off Vancouver Island, failure style and head-scarp geometry also change with ridge azimuth. We propose that the curved head scarps and debris flows may be a result of higher kinetic forcing of the downsliding sediments and a higher degree of mixing. At the more gently sloped, less elevated ridges, the kinetic forcing may be smaller, which leads to intact failure masses. Extensional faults at ridges with curved scarps may result from oversteepening and collapse of the sediments that cannot withstand their own weight due to limited internal shear strength. The slide geometries and potential controls on failure style may inform subsequent studies in assessing the risks for tsunami generation from submarine slope failures along the Cascadia margin.

scholarly journals Centrifuge modelling of rainfall-induced slope failure in variably saturated soil

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun Wang ◽  
Gregor Idinger ◽  
Wei Wu
Keyword(s):  
Slope Failure ◽  
Rainfall Intensity ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Slope Angle ◽  
Soil Mass ◽  
Degree Of Saturation ◽  
Surface Erosion ◽  
Failure Patterns ◽  
Centrifuge Tests

AbstractThis paper presents the results of centrifuge tests on rainfall-induced instabilities in variably saturated slopes. The roles of rainfall intensity and initial conditions, such as slope angle, porosity and degree of saturation of the soil, in the failure initiation and postfailure kinematics are considered. The failure patterns, infiltration profile and deformation at prefailure and postfailure stages are characterized. The results indicate that rainfall-induced slope failures usually follow one of the following two failure modes, i.e. slide-to-flow and flowslide failure modes. The former pattern is characterized by soil mass flow after initial failure along a continuous shear surface, while the latter is more relevant to the rapid increase in the saturation at the slope surface, resulting in surface erosion channels followed by the acceleration of the soil mass. The flowslide failure pattern usually gives rise to several superficial shear surfaces and longer run-out distances. The rainfall intensity and profiles of the degree of saturation play the key roles in initiating the slope failure at the prefailure stage and subsequently in mobilizing the soil mass at the postfailure stage. Our test data, together with the data from the literature, are presented in two threshold curves to define the critical condition of slope failure under rainfall infiltration.

scholarly journals A Rational Numerical Method for Simulation of Drop-Impact Dynamics of Oleo-Pneumatic Landing Gear

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4136
Author(s):  
Rosario Pecora
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Method ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Impact Load ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Landing Gear ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Impact Dynamics ◽  
State Variables ◽  
Adopted Model ◽  
The Impact

Oleo-pneumatic landing gear is a complex mechanical system conceived to efficiently absorb and dissipate an aircraft’s kinetic energy at touchdown, thus reducing the impact load and acceleration transmitted to the airframe. Due to its significant influence on ground loads, this system is generally designed in parallel with the main structural components of the aircraft, such as the fuselage and wings. Robust numerical models for simulating landing gear impact dynamics are essential from the preliminary design stage in order to properly assess aircraft configuration and structural arrangements. Finite element (FE) analysis is a viable solution for supporting the design. However, regarding the oleo-pneumatic struts, FE-based simulation may become unpractical, since detailed models are required to obtain reliable results. Moreover, FE models could not be very versatile for accommodating the many design updates that usually occur at the beginning of the landing gear project or during the layout optimization process. In this work, a numerical method for simulating oleo-pneumatic landing gear drop dynamics is presented. To effectively support both the preliminary and advanced design of landing gear units, the proposed simulation approach rationally balances the level of sophistication of the adopted model with the need for accurate results. Although based on a formulation assuming only four state variables for the description of landing gear dynamics, the approach successfully accounts for all the relevant forces that arise during the drop and their influence on landing gear motion. A set of intercommunicating routines was implemented in MATLAB® environment to integrate the dynamic impact equations, starting from user-defined initial conditions and general parameters related to the geometric and structural configuration of the landing gear. The tool was then used to simulate a drop test of a reference landing gear, and the obtained results were successfully validated against available experimental data.

scholarly journals The Hydromechanical Interplay in the Simplified Three-Dimensional Limit Equilibrium Analyses of Unsaturated Slope Stability

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Sitarenios ◽  
Francesca Casini
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Solution ◽  
Slope Stability ◽  
Slope Failure ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Limit Equilibrium ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Stability Limit ◽  
Smooth Transition

This paper presents a three-dimensional slope stability limit equilibrium solution for translational planar failure modes. The proposed solution uses Bishop’s average skeleton stress combined with the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion to describe soil strength evolution under unsaturated conditions while its formulation ensures a natural and smooth transition from the unsaturated to the saturated regime and vice versa. The proposed analytical solution is evaluated by comparing its predictions with the results of the Ruedlingen slope failure experiment. The comparison suggests that, despite its relative simplicity, the analytical solution can capture the experimentally observed behaviour well and highlights the importance of considering lateral resistance together with a realistic interplay between mechanical parameters (cohesion) and hydraulic (pore water pressure) conditions.

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