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VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
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SUMMARY:Virtual MEchanics GAthering -MEGA- Seminar: A transition from sub-
 Rayleigh anticrack to supershear crack propagation in snow slab avalanche 
 release
DTSTART:20210506T161500
DTEND:20210506T173000
DTSTAMP:20260416T150204Z
UID:f6a88e27ab3a255bc3452a6e2f033c49ab48626ece0a742f3cd59202
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Bertil Trottet (SLAB\, EPFL)\nAbstract Snow slab avalanches 
 are released following anticrack propagation in highly porous weak snow la
 yers buried below cohesive slabs. The volumetric collapse of the weak laye
 r leads to the closure of crack faces followed by the onset of frictional 
 contact. On the basis of snow fracture experiments\, full-scale avalanche 
 measurements\, and numerical simulations\, we report the existence of a tr
 ansition from sub-Rayleigh anticrack to supershear crack propagation invol
 ving the Burridge--Andrews mechanism. Remarkably\, the loss of frictional 
 resistance during collapse enables this transition to occur for shear-to-n
 ormal stress ratio lower than the static friction coefficient. This switch
  of propagation drivers represents a new paradigm in our understanding of 
 snow slab avalanches presenting fundamental similarities with strike-slip 
 earthquakes.\n\nBio Bertil Trottet is a PhD student at the Snow and Avala
 nche Simulation Laboratory\, graduated with a BSc and MSc in Mechanical En
 gineering from EPFL.\nHis research focuses on the release mechanics of sla
 b avalanches.\n 
LOCATION:https://epfl.zoom.us/s/84678428267 Passcode: 174387 https://epfl.
 zoom.us/s/84678428267
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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