TECHNICAL PAPERS
Jan 22, 2010

Groundwater Modeling for the Analysis of Active Slow-Moving Landslides

Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 9

Abstract

Active slow-moving landslides in clayey soils exhibit continuous movements generally controlled both in the accelerating and decelerating phases by the pore-water pressure regime that, in turn, is strictly correlated to the net rainfall regime. The paper stresses the importance of a reliable groundwater model to predict these types of movements. To this aim a procedure is proposed to define the transient groundwater regime in the slope on the basis of recorded rainfall and monitoring data; the model is then used to derive the time-dependent shear strength along the main slip surfaces. The displacements at selected points along the slip surface are computed using a phenomenological (i.e., empirical) relationship between the local factor of safety and the displacement rate at those points. The procedure is employed for the analysis of a well-documented case history: the Porta Cassia landslide (central Italy).

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Go to Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136Issue 9September 2010
Pages: 1220 - 1230

History

Received: Mar 5, 2009
Accepted: Jan 19, 2010
Published online: Jan 22, 2010
Published in print: Sep 2010

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Authors

Affiliations

Leonardo Cascini [email protected]
Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Via Ponte Don Melillo, 84084 Fisciano—SA, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]
Michele Calvello [email protected]
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Via Ponte Don Melillo, 84084 Fisciano—SA, Italy (corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]
Giuseppe M. Grimaldi [email protected]
Eng. Dr., Dept. of Civil Engineering, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Via Ponte Don Melillo, 84084 Fisciano—SA, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]

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