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A full-scale landslide experiment was conducted to clarify the failure process of a landslide triggered by rainfall, using a loose sandy soil. The experiment used a 23-m long and about 8-m high flume, consisting of three parts: an upper 30 slope section, a lower 10 slope section, and a horizontal section at the foot of the slope. The flume was sprinkled at a constant intensity of 100 mm/h. The landslide occurred first in the upper slope about 154 min after the sprinkling started, following a creep movement within 41 min. The sliding mass slid to a stop in about 5 s, compressing soils in the lower gentle slope and horizontal sections. The dynamic process related to slide movement and the fluctuation of subsurface water pressures during failure were measured and analyzed. Sequential visual observations provided a clear record of the slip surface during failure. The rapid increase of subsurface water pressure in the slope and horizontal soil layers was also recorded during failure. It was inferred that the increased water pressures in the upper slope resulted from collapse of loose soil structure during shearing in the translational slide, whereas those in the lower portion of the slope and horizontal sections resulted from a mix of soil compression and shearing by the sliding mass.

An experiment to induce a fluidized landslide by artificial rainfall was conducted on a natural slope at Mt. Kaba-san in the village of Yamato, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The experimental slope was 30 m long, 5 m wide, and the average slope gradient was 33. A landslide initiated 24,627.5 s (410 m/27.5 s) after the start of sprinkling at a rainfall intensity of 78 mm/h. The landslide mass was 14 m long and 1.2 m deep (at maximum). It first slid, then fluidized, and changed into a debris flow. The travel distance was up to 50 m in 17s. The apparent friction angle of the fluidized landslide was 16.7. Formation of the sliding surface was detected by soil-strain probes. Motion of the surface of the failed landslide mass was determined by stereo photogrammetry.

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