A computational toy model for shallow landslides: Molecular dynamics approach

The aim of this paper is to propose a 2D computational algorithm for modeling the trigger- ing and propagation of shallow landslides caused by rainfall. We used a molecular dynam- ics (MD) approach, similar to the discrete element method (DEM), that is suitable to model granular material and to observe the trajectory of a single particle, so to possibly identify its dynamical properties. We consider that the triggering of shallow landslides is caused by the decrease of the static friction along the sliding surface due to water infiltration by rain- fall. Thence the triggering is caused by the two following conditions: (a) a threshold speed of the particles and (b) a condition on the static friction, between the particles and the slope surface, based on the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion. The latter static condition is used in the geotechnical model to estimate the possibility of landslide triggering. The inter- action force between particles is modeled, in the absence of experimental data, by means of a potential similar to the Lennard-Jones one. The viscosity is also introduced in the model and for a large range of values of the model’s parameters, we observe a characteristic veloc- ity pattern, with acceleration increments, typical of real landslides. The results of simula- tions are quite promising: the energy and time triggering distribution of local avalanches show a power law distribution, analogous to the observed Gutenberg–Richter and Omori power law distributions for earthquakes. Finally, it is possible to apply the method of the inverse surface displacement velocity [4] for predicting the failure time.