Integrated numerical study of rainfall-induced landslides from initiation to propagation using saturation-based rheological model

This paper presents an integrated two-dimensional numerical framework for simulating rainfall-induced landslides from instability initiation to post-failure ow. To describe the entire process, three steps are considered in this study: (1) a coupled hydrostability analysis which detects the failure plane using the Finite Element Method (FEM) (pre-failure stage); (2) computing the local rheology of the failed mass (wet sandy soil) based on the water saturation at the onset of failure using the saturation-based rheological model (transition stage); and (3) a continuum-based propagation analysis which solves the ow of the wet material employing the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method (post-failure stage). Finally, to investigate the in uence of rheological model on the postfailure behavior, the computed final deposition profile and ow kinetic energy are compared with those of a viscoplastic model.