The mechanical origin of snow avalanche dynamics and flow regime transitions

Snow avalanches cause fatalities and economic damage. Key to their mitigation is the understanding of snow avalanche dynamics. This study investigates the dynamic behavior of snow avalanches, using the material point method (MPM) and an elastoplastic constitutive law for porous cohesive materials. B...

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Published in:The Cryosphere
Main Authors: X. Li, B. Sovilla, C. Jiang, J. Gaume
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2020
Subjects:
geo
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3381-2020
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/14/3381/2020/tc-14-3381-2020.pdf
https://doaj.org/article/bf449b6fd4a5412b931a50dc35ae5d7a
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spelling fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:bf449b6fd4a5412b931a50dc35ae5d7a 2023-05-15T18:32:18+02:00 The mechanical origin of snow avalanche dynamics and flow regime transitions X. Li B. Sovilla C. Jiang J. Gaume 2020-10-01 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3381-2020 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/14/3381/2020/tc-14-3381-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/article/bf449b6fd4a5412b931a50dc35ae5d7a en eng Copernicus Publications doi:10.5194/tc-14-3381-2020 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/14/3381/2020/tc-14-3381-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/article/bf449b6fd4a5412b931a50dc35ae5d7a undefined The Cryosphere, Vol 14, Pp 3381-3398 (2020) envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2020 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3381-2020 2023-01-22T18:27:29Z Snow avalanches cause fatalities and economic damage. Key to their mitigation is the understanding of snow avalanche dynamics. This study investigates the dynamic behavior of snow avalanches, using the material point method (MPM) and an elastoplastic constitutive law for porous cohesive materials. By virtue of the hybrid Eulerian–Lagrangian nature of the MPM, we can handle processes involving large deformations, collisions and fractures. Meanwhile, the elastoplastic model enables us to capture the mixed-mode failure of snow, including tensile, shear and compressive failure. Using the proposed numerical approach, distinct behaviors of snow avalanches, from fluid-like to solid-like, are examined with varied snow mechanical properties. In particular, four flow regimes reported from real observations are identified, namely, cold dense, warm shear, warm plug and sliding slab regimes. Moreover, notable surges and roll waves are observed peculiarly for flows in transition from cold dense to warm shear regimes. Each of the flow regimes shows unique flow characteristics in terms of the evolution of the avalanche front, the free-surface shape, and the vertical velocity profile. We further explore the influence of slope geometry on the behavior of snow avalanches, including the effect of slope angle and path length on the maximum flow velocity, the runout angle and the deposit height. Unified trends are obtained between the normalized maximum flow velocity and the scaled runout angle as well as the scaled deposit height, reflecting analogous rules with different geometry conditions of the slope. It is found that the maximum flow velocity is mainly controlled by the friction between the bed and the flow, the geometry of the slope, and the snow properties. We reveal the crucial effect of both flow and deposition behaviors on the runout angle. Furthermore, our MPM modeling is calibrated and tested with simulations of real snow avalanches. The evolution of the avalanche front position and velocity from the MPM modeling shows ... Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Unknown The Cryosphere 14 10 3381 3398
institution Open Polar
collection Unknown
op_collection_id fttriple
language English
topic envir
geo
spellingShingle envir
geo
X. Li
B. Sovilla
C. Jiang
J. Gaume
The mechanical origin of snow avalanche dynamics and flow regime transitions
topic_facet envir
geo
description Snow avalanches cause fatalities and economic damage. Key to their mitigation is the understanding of snow avalanche dynamics. This study investigates the dynamic behavior of snow avalanches, using the material point method (MPM) and an elastoplastic constitutive law for porous cohesive materials. By virtue of the hybrid Eulerian–Lagrangian nature of the MPM, we can handle processes involving large deformations, collisions and fractures. Meanwhile, the elastoplastic model enables us to capture the mixed-mode failure of snow, including tensile, shear and compressive failure. Using the proposed numerical approach, distinct behaviors of snow avalanches, from fluid-like to solid-like, are examined with varied snow mechanical properties. In particular, four flow regimes reported from real observations are identified, namely, cold dense, warm shear, warm plug and sliding slab regimes. Moreover, notable surges and roll waves are observed peculiarly for flows in transition from cold dense to warm shear regimes. Each of the flow regimes shows unique flow characteristics in terms of the evolution of the avalanche front, the free-surface shape, and the vertical velocity profile. We further explore the influence of slope geometry on the behavior of snow avalanches, including the effect of slope angle and path length on the maximum flow velocity, the runout angle and the deposit height. Unified trends are obtained between the normalized maximum flow velocity and the scaled runout angle as well as the scaled deposit height, reflecting analogous rules with different geometry conditions of the slope. It is found that the maximum flow velocity is mainly controlled by the friction between the bed and the flow, the geometry of the slope, and the snow properties. We reveal the crucial effect of both flow and deposition behaviors on the runout angle. Furthermore, our MPM modeling is calibrated and tested with simulations of real snow avalanches. The evolution of the avalanche front position and velocity from the MPM modeling shows ...
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author X. Li
B. Sovilla
C. Jiang
J. Gaume
author_facet X. Li
B. Sovilla
C. Jiang
J. Gaume
author_sort X. Li
title The mechanical origin of snow avalanche dynamics and flow regime transitions
title_short The mechanical origin of snow avalanche dynamics and flow regime transitions
title_full The mechanical origin of snow avalanche dynamics and flow regime transitions
title_fullStr The mechanical origin of snow avalanche dynamics and flow regime transitions
title_full_unstemmed The mechanical origin of snow avalanche dynamics and flow regime transitions
title_sort mechanical origin of snow avalanche dynamics and flow regime transitions
publisher Copernicus Publications
publishDate 2020
url https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3381-2020
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/14/3381/2020/tc-14-3381-2020.pdf
https://doaj.org/article/bf449b6fd4a5412b931a50dc35ae5d7a
genre The Cryosphere
genre_facet The Cryosphere
op_source The Cryosphere, Vol 14, Pp 3381-3398 (2020)
op_relation doi:10.5194/tc-14-3381-2020
1994-0416
1994-0424
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/14/3381/2020/tc-14-3381-2020.pdf
https://doaj.org/article/bf449b6fd4a5412b931a50dc35ae5d7a
op_rights undefined
op_doi https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3381-2020
container_title The Cryosphere
container_volume 14
container_issue 10
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