Creep is one of the most important phenomenons to determine the settlement of snow. Snow, in natural conditions, exists at temperature quite close to its melting point and deforms very fast. The settlement of snow is the result of creep phenomenon under the action of overburden pressure as well as due to metamorphic processes going on within the snowpack. In this communication, creep behaviour of snow is simulated with four-parameter viscoelastic fluid model. This viscoelastic character is basically controlled or monitored by various rheological constants. Estimation of all the rheological constants in the four-parameter viscoelastic fluid model appropriate for the creep properties of snow is done. Total 91 uniaxial unconfined constant stress experiments on sieved snow were conducted at controlled temperature conditions. The effect of density and varying temperature on these constants is found to be remarkable.
Tensile strength of snow was determined using indigenously developed automated centrifugal machine. Processed snow (sintered at −20 °C for 4 days) samples of dia: 65 mm and height:130 mm were tested using this machine.The experiments were conducted on sieved snow at four temperature levels of 0 °C, −3 °C, −6 °C and −9 °C at density ranging from 200-460 kg/m 3 . Results of these experiments have been compared with the earlier suggested models. Probability distribution of snow strength on the basis of current experimental data has also been presented.
Wet snow avalanches in India are common during the mid- and late winter in the Pir Panjal Range (2000–3000ma.s.l.) and during the late winter in the Great Himalayan Range (3000 ma.s.l. and above). Although it is well known that the presence of liquid water in snow makes the flow behaviour of wet snow avalanches different from that of dry snow avalanches, there exist few actual flow measurements with wet snow. The aim of this investigation is to understand the dynamics of wet snow avalanches by conducting medium-scale experiments (volumes of 3, 6 and 11 m3) on the Dhundi snow chute in Himachal Pradesh, India. We measured flow velocities using video data, as well as optical velocity sensors installed on the side walls and running surface. Measurement results relating to the slip velocity of the front and tail of the moving snow mass, as well as the average slip velocity, are presented. In addition, we use the results of the vertical velocity profile measurements to calculate the effective viscosity of snow at two locations within the flow. We identified a shear thinning type of behaviour, suggesting that a single avalanche rheology cannot describe wet snow avalanche behaviour.
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