engleski

A use of similarity laws in landslide physical modelling: preliminary considerations

Physical modelling of landslides has started in the 1970s in Japan on natural slopes exposed to artificial rain. Subsequently, small-scale laboratory models’ development began in the 1980s with the aim of studying landslide behaviour such as triggering, movement, and accumulation. The research presented here is part of the Project funded by the Croatian Science Foundation entitled “Physical modelling of landslide remediation constructions’ behaviour under static and seismic actions”. When remediation constructions become part of a small-scale model, the determination of a scale ratio and the need to establish, at least partially, similarity laws with regard to a real slope is inevitable. Although many studies use a small-scale model to research landslide behaviour of a real slope, there are only few studies that consider the scale ratio and similarity laws. In this paper, a summary of some of these studies is provided, along with an overview of all similarity laws and the characteristics that make them up in relation to landslides. Since the most important problem with small-scale models at 1g are low values of the overburden stresses in a model, laboratory tests are performed in an attempt to determine the relationship between the constitutive behaviour of the material in a small- scale model and a real slope. An example of geometric similarity is given here using the grain-size distribution curve and its influence on other similarities and their characteristics like infiltration rate, weight, and strength of soil, etc. Some preliminary results of laboratory tests are presented together with a discussion about possibilities and limitations in achieving better similarity of small-scale models to real slopes.

physical modelling, landslide, scale ratio, similarity laws

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