ABSTRACT
In order to be able to discretise the domain of the problem (usually several meters or kilometres long in case of landslides) with elements large enough to keep the calculation within tractable limits taking into account the computational cost, a numerical procedure is presented in the chapter. The localisation of strains in landslide shearing surfaces can induce relevant weakening processes due to the thermal pressurisation of the pore water. The acceleration and the subsequent increase in velocity will induce additional increments of temperature and, therefore, the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) problem outline may become a self-feeding process that results in a catastrophic accelerated landslide. The idea is to include a set of embedded shear bands into the material domain whenever the plastic deviatoric strain exceeds a reference value. The calculation successfully reproduces the Vajont landslide and the calculated velocity and run-out match well the estimated values reported in previous publications.
