Direct Simple Shear Tests on Snow and their Relation to Slab Avalanche Formation
Many slab avalanches can be attributed to shear failure in a weak, thin basal layer at the slab base. A reasonable starting point for evaluation of the conditions prior to fracture is, therefore, an investigation of shear failure in thin samples of snow. This paper gives the experimental procedure a...
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Cambridge University Press
1977
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3098799 https://doi.org/10.3189/S0022143000215578 |
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ftngi:oai:ngi.brage.unit.no:11250/3098799 2023-11-12T04:19:53+01:00 Direct Simple Shear Tests on Snow and their Relation to Slab Avalanche Formation McClung, David 1977 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3098799 https://doi.org/10.3189/S0022143000215578 eng eng Cambridge University Press urn:issn:0022-1430 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3098799 https://doi.org/10.3189/S0022143000215578 International Glaciological Society 101-109 19 Journal of Glaciology 81 Avalanche-RnD Snøskred-FoU Journal article 1977 ftngi https://doi.org/10.3189/S0022143000215578 2023-11-01T23:48:58Z Many slab avalanches can be attributed to shear failure in a weak, thin basal layer at the slab base. A reasonable starting point for evaluation of the conditions prior to fracture is, therefore, an investigation of shear failure in thin samples of snow. This paper gives the experimental procedure and data on measurements of shear stress versus displacement for thin samples of snow under plane strain and approximately simple shear conditions. The data are given under varying conditions of strain-rate, normal stress, density and snow type. The results show that the samples exhibited strain-softening provided they were sheared faster than they gained strength by settlement under the chosen conditions. If snow fails at the base of a slab in the way in which it fails in the laboratory, then a mechanism is provided whereby tensile stresses would be produced in the slab and whereby the corresponding maximum principal stresses would be rotated toward a direction parallel to the slope, thereby promoting avalanche release. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) Digital Archive Journal of Glaciology 19 81 101 109 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) Digital Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftngi |
language |
English |
topic |
Avalanche-RnD Snøskred-FoU |
spellingShingle |
Avalanche-RnD Snøskred-FoU McClung, David Direct Simple Shear Tests on Snow and their Relation to Slab Avalanche Formation |
topic_facet |
Avalanche-RnD Snøskred-FoU |
description |
Many slab avalanches can be attributed to shear failure in a weak, thin basal layer at the slab base. A reasonable starting point for evaluation of the conditions prior to fracture is, therefore, an investigation of shear failure in thin samples of snow. This paper gives the experimental procedure and data on measurements of shear stress versus displacement for thin samples of snow under plane strain and approximately simple shear conditions. The data are given under varying conditions of strain-rate, normal stress, density and snow type. The results show that the samples exhibited strain-softening provided they were sheared faster than they gained strength by settlement under the chosen conditions. If snow fails at the base of a slab in the way in which it fails in the laboratory, then a mechanism is provided whereby tensile stresses would be produced in the slab and whereby the corresponding maximum principal stresses would be rotated toward a direction parallel to the slope, thereby promoting avalanche release. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
McClung, David |
author_facet |
McClung, David |
author_sort |
McClung, David |
title |
Direct Simple Shear Tests on Snow and their Relation to Slab Avalanche Formation |
title_short |
Direct Simple Shear Tests on Snow and their Relation to Slab Avalanche Formation |
title_full |
Direct Simple Shear Tests on Snow and their Relation to Slab Avalanche Formation |
title_fullStr |
Direct Simple Shear Tests on Snow and their Relation to Slab Avalanche Formation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Direct Simple Shear Tests on Snow and their Relation to Slab Avalanche Formation |
title_sort |
direct simple shear tests on snow and their relation to slab avalanche formation |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
1977 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3098799 https://doi.org/10.3189/S0022143000215578 |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
101-109 19 Journal of Glaciology 81 |
op_relation |
urn:issn:0022-1430 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3098799 https://doi.org/10.3189/S0022143000215578 |
op_rights |
International Glaciological Society |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3189/S0022143000215578 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
81 |
container_start_page |
101 |
op_container_end_page |
109 |
_version_ |
1782336129996947456 |