Correction to: Numerical investigation of small- and medium-diameter drain wells to stabilise deep landslides

Acta Geotechnica - In the original publication, the first name of the authors was exchanged with the last name inadvertently. The name of the authors should be as below.     

Flow-type landslides in pyroclastic soils on flysch bedrock in southern Italy: the Bosco de’ Preti case study

In the last 20 years, major efforts have been made to investigate shallow flow-type landslides. Such phenomena are usually rainfall-induced and in the geological context of Campania (Southern Italy) occur in pyroclastic soils resting on steep slopes mainly constituted by carbonate or volcanic bedrock and by flysch deposits. They are generally complex landslides with an early soil slide and a subsequent flow evolution. In this paper, a database of flowslides occurring in recent years within the flysch deposits of Avellino (Campanian Apennines) is first discussed and then the case study of Bosco de’ Preti landslide on March 4, 2005, is described. The geological and geotechnical characteristics of the soils involved are described and the monitoring of the groundwater heads collected over 1 year from June 2005 to June 2006 is also shown. The last part of the paper illustrates the results of numerical modelling of the landslide triggering to gain insights into such phenomena. Slope stability analyses are preceded by hydrological modelling of the slope based on the monitoring data. Numerical analysis demonstrated that the rainfall during the 2 months preceding the event was able to fully saturate the pyroclastic cover and to establish positive pore water pressure at the depth of the surface of rupture, a soil condition never witnessed in carbonatic contexts. Hence, a combination of antecedent (predisposing factors) and single rainfall events (triggering factors) led to slope failure, as usually happens in pyroclastic soils in carbonatic and volcanic contexts. Finally, analysis of the historical landslides together with detailed investigation of the Bosco de’ Preti case study permitted comparison between flow-type landslides in pyroclastic soils on carbonatic/volcanic bedrock and those on flysch.     

Numerical investigation of small- and medium-diameter drain wells to stabilise deep landslides

The stabilisation of deep landslides is still a challenge for geotechnical engineers, mainly due to the high cost of structural control works that generally lead engineers to opt for drain systems. Unfortunately there are operative difficulties affecting excavation of deep drain trenches in soils dislocated by landslides (especially as regards the provisional support of the excavation walls). Small- and medium-diameter wells are a valid alternative in deep landslides, being less expensive than large-diameter wells equipped with horizontal pipes and simpler to construct than deep trenches. However, no technical procedures for their proper design are reported in the literature: design criteria commonly used in practice are derived from pumping problems and are largely inadequate, being based on Dupuit’s hypothesis that presumes stream lines to be horizontal. This paper presents numerical solutions obtained from three-dimensional seepage and consolidation analyses of a slope drained by small- and medium-diameter wells, arranged according to various positions, showing that the efficiency of the well system decreases as the depth of the landslide slip surface increases. Comparison is also made between well systems and deep trenches occupying the same draining volume in the landslide body, showing that the former attains much greater efficiency than the latter. Non-dimensional abaci for the square grid of wells (which is the most effective arrangement) are reported herein to be used for practical purposes.