A theoretical framework for dynamic anticrack and supershear propagation in snow slab avalanches

TL;DR

This paper develops a new theoretical framework for understanding the propagation of anticracks and supershear transitions in snow slab avalanches, improving upon previous models by incorporating weak layer properties and complex mechanics.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive model accounting for anticrack and supershear speeds, considering weak layer compaction and elasticity, and models the slab and weak layer as Timoshenko beams for deeper insight.

Findings

The model aligns with most available data on avalanche propagation.

Weak layer compaction reduces anticrack speed, while elasticity can increase it.

The Timoshenko beam model offers detailed mechanical insights.

Abstract

(Shortened abstract) Snow slab avalanches release after the failure and collapse of a weak layer buried below a cohesive snow slab. This results in the propagation of a subsidence, known as a collapse wave or anticrack. The slab may eventually break and detach from the rest of the snowpack, provided that the slope is steep enough to enable gravity to overcome the friction. The only theoretical framework to date (Heierli 2005) proposed an explicit solution for the propagation speed in steady state which could not account for weak layer properties, was not mathematically bounded for certain values of the physical constants involved, and could not explain the newly uncovered supershear transition for steep slopes. Here, a new model for the stationary propagation of anticracks is set up, so as to account for the anticrack speed regime on the one hand, and the supershear regime on the other hand, the existence of which has been recently revealed and ascertained by numerical simulations. The results presented here seem consistent with most of the available data, and highlight the role that the compaction of the weak layer can play in reducing the anticrack speed. On the contrary, by storing energy upon failure and suddenly releasing it at the crack tip, the weak layer elasticity could help justify the higher speeds sometimes observed in both regimes. Finally, a more accurate model is proposed, based on the modelling of both the slab and the weak layer as Timoshenko beams; although its complexity prevents us from solving it analytically, it provides enlightening insights into the mechanical processes at work at the interface between both layers, from a strength-of-materials perspective. This analysis is a first step towards a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of propagation of cracks in slab avalanches, and towards more accurate avalanche size and occurrence predictions.