Spring-block friction model for landslides: Application to Vaiont and Maoxian landslides

It is necessary to study the kinematics of landslide prior to its failure for accurately estimating the time of landslide instability. Based on a spring block model, considering the Dieterich Ruina's friction, the kinematic displacement and velocity of landslide along the slip surface are analyzed under quasistatic approximation. A algebraic relationship including three parameters between the displacement (or velocity) and time is obtained, and then applied to two typical landslides: Vaiont in Italy, and Maoxian in China. The results show that the proposed spring block friction model can well describe the kinematic data of landslides before their failure. If the effective data of displacement can be obtained to determine the three parameters above, this simple physical model could be used to estimate the time of landslide instability. This spring block friction model also provides clear physical basis for the usual inverse velocity method of the landslide warning, the stick slip of some landslides, and the scaling relationship between the numbers of the landslides and their volume.