Abstract
A novel extended cohesive damage element method is used to develop a numerical snowpack model to study the fundamental damage mechanisms of snowpack under external drivers and to investigate multiple mixed mode damage propagation within snowpack. A new mixed mode damage criterion is introduced to account for tensile and shear fractures as well as compressive crushing together with shear crack for approximating the mixed mode damage initiation and propagation in the weak layer in snowpack. A propagation saw test (PST) is considered to understand basic damage involution in snowpack under self-weight related bending. The nonlinear fracture modelling prediction agrees with the PST sample well. This paper provides an alternative approach as a predictive method using the extended cohesive damage element for potentially forecasting slab avalanches in snow terrain according to weather forecast and planned human activities in the future.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 103567 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-11 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics |
| Volume | 122 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 12 Sept 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Authors appreciate Alec van Herwijnen at WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Switzerland, for using their published data of the PST and discussion on fracture mechanisms in snowpack.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
Research Groups and Themes
- Water and Environmental Engineering