Investigation on rainwater infiltration into layered shallow covers in pyroclastic soils and its effect on slope stability

摘要

In recent years, a number of flowslides and debris flows triggered by rainfall affected a wide mountainous area surrounding the Piana Campana (Southern Italy). The involved slopes are covered with unsaturated air-fall layered pyroclastic deposits, which stability is guaranteed by the contribution of suction to shear strength. To understand the mechanisms of infiltration and to assess the soil suction distribution in such layered deposits, infiltration experiments have been carried out in small-scale slopes. The interpretation of the results has been made with the aid of a 2D mathematical model.