2015/04/07 by F. Louchet, Francois Louchet, Louchet, Francois
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Engineering · Environmental Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Cryospheric studies and observations #FOS: Physical sciences #Geophysics (physics.geo-ph) #Granular flow and fluidized beds #Landslides and related hazards #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) #cond-mat.soft #physics.geo-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1504.01530
arxiv created 2015/04/07 · openalex publication_date 2015/04/07 · arxiv updated 2015/04/08 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Snow slab avalanche release usually results from failure of weak layers made of loose ice crystals. In previous field experiments, we evidenced for the first time an interesting stress-driven transition in the weak layer between a granular fluid and a solid phase. We propose here an original model involving the kinetics of ice grains bonds failure and reconstruction. The model evidences a sudden transition between two drastically different types of weak layer behaviors. It accounts for the characteristics of both the studied fluid-solid transition and for slab avalanche release observations. It may possibly apply to a number of other granular materials.