Capillary barriers during rainfall events in pyroclastic deposits of the Vesuvian area

Sepe, C., Calcaterra, D., Cecconi, M., Di Martire, D., Pappalardo, L., Scarfone, R. , Vitale, E. and Russo, G. (2021) Capillary barriers during rainfall events in pyroclastic deposits of the Vesuvian area. Geosciences, 11(7), 274. (doi: 10.3390/geosciences11070274)

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Abstract

In the present paper, the capillary barrier formation at the interface between soil layers, which is characterized by textural discontinuities, has been analyzed. This mechanism has been investigated by means of a finite element model of a two-layer soil stratification. The two considered formations, belonging to the pyroclastic succession of the “Pomici di Base” Plinian eruption (22 ka, Santacroce et al., 2008) of the Somma–Vesuvius volcano, are affected by shallow instability phenomena likely caused by progressive saturation during the rainfall events. This mechanism could be compatible with the formation of capillary barriers at the interface between layers of different grain size distributions during infiltration. One-dimensional infiltration into the stratified soil was parametrically simulated considering rainfall events of increasing intensity and duration. The variations in the suction and degree of saturation over time allowed for the evaluation of stability variations in the layers, which were assumed as part of stratified unsaturated infinite slopes.

Item Type:Articles
Keywords:Pyroclastic soils, infiltration, capillary barriers, stability analysis.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Scarfone, Riccardo
Creator Roles:
Scarfone, R.Data curation, Writing – review and editing
Authors: Sepe, C., Calcaterra, D., Cecconi, M., Di Martire, D., Pappalardo, L., Scarfone, R., Vitale, E., and Russo, G.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering
Journal Name:Geosciences
Publisher:MDPI
ISSN:2076-3263
ISSN (Online):2076-3263
Published Online:29 June 2021
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2021 The Authors
First Published:First published in Geosciences 11(7): 274
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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