Basic Features of the Landslides’ Viscous Flow

Abstract

This paper explores some regularities of landslide viscoplastic flow based on a model, in which the landslide body is consequently located on an inclined basal plane. The relaxation time has been introduced for the dynamic actions upon viscoplastic landslide flow. The transition from the landslide triggering to its steady flow has been determined. The boundary conditions at the contact of landslide body with plane have been analyzed and found that if the cohesion is exceeding the viscous friction, then the body’s boundary layer doesn’t move. In the opposite case the body is sliding through as a whole. The landslide layers velocity in steady flow regime is described in frames of conventional viscoplastic flow theories. Froude number, averaged dynamical pressure on the normally oriented plane to the landslide flow and mass transport flow rate have been calculated. This is important to design engineering protection dams and other landslide risk reduction constructions. Calculations have been done for the quantitative description and interpretation of the regularities found in this paper.