Finite-Element Analysis of Snow on Slopes

Abstract This study describes the application of an incremental rheological law for snow in a finite-element model. The computation simulates the variation of strains and stresses in a layer of snow covering an inclined plane of variable slope. At the same time, a physical simulation was carried out...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Glaciology
Main Authors: Navarre, J. P., Desrues, J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1980
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000011072
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000011072
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Summary:Abstract This study describes the application of an incremental rheological law for snow in a finite-element model. The computation simulates the variation of strains and stresses in a layer of snow covering an inclined plane of variable slope. At the same time, a physical simulation was carried out in a cold room to verify the results obtained with the model. This work illustrates the value of a finite-element model for snow, but also the complications attendant on its use. Indeed, the integration of the law may lead to oscillations due to the rate of variation of the stresses, and this means that the time increment must be modulated during the computation.