Abstract
This study presents the detailed reconstruction of the entire structure of the oldest Vajont rockslide (270–300 million of m3) for the first time, describing the complex geometry and the characteristic superimposition of distinct rigid blocks on a very thick shear zone (40–50 m thick) made up of a chaotic assemblage of rock blocks, limestone angular gravel and high plasticity clays. Typical back-calculated values of the friction angle Φm, obtained for the 1963 Vajont slide, ranged essentially from 17° to 27° but these are mean values referring to the entire slip surface and can differ considerably from the true shear strength properties of the materials effectively involved in the failure. This explains the difference between the friction angles measured by means of different shear tests on various Vajont clay samples (Φc = 6–15°, prevailingly) and the typical back-calculated mean values. The recognition of the bottom shear zone is decisive both for the geotechnical and the hydrogeological modelling of the huge Vajont landslide (Oct. 9, 1963).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
ASTM (1993) Standard classification of soils for engineering purposes. Test Designation D 2487: v. 04.08
Casagrande A (1948) Classification and identification of soils. Trans ASCE 113:901–991
Chowdhury R (1978) Analysis of the Vajont slide – new approach. Rock Mech 11:29–38
Genevois R, Ghirotti M (2005) The 1963 Vaiont landslides. Giornale di Geologia Applicata 1:41–53
Giudici F, Semenza E (1960) Studio geologico sul serbatoio del Vajont. Unpublished report for SADE. Venezia, 21 p
Hendron AJ, Patton FD (1985) The Vaiont slide, a geotechnical analysis based on new geologic observation of the failure surface. Technical report GL-85-5. Department of the Army US Army Corps of Engineers. Washington, DC
Kenney TC (1967a) Stability of the Vajont valley slope, discussion of a paper by L. Müller (1964) on the rock slide in the Vajont valley. Rock Mech Eng Geol 5:10–16
Kenney TC (1967b) The influence of mineral composition on the residual strength of natural soils. In: Proceedings of the geotechnical conference, vol 1, Oslo, pp 123–129
Masè G, Semenza M, Semenza P, Semenza P, Turrini MC (2004) Le foto della frana del Vajont. k-flash (eds). Ferrara
Müller L (1964) The rock slide in the Vajont valley. Rock Mech Eng Geol 2:148–212
Müller L (1968) New consideration on the Vaiont slide. Rock Mech Eng Geol 6:1–91
Müller L (1987) The Vajont catastrophe – a personal review. Eng Geol 24(1–4):423–444
Nonveiller E (1967) Shear strength of bedded and jointed rock as determined from Zalesina and Vajont slides. In: Proceedings of the geotechnical conference, vol 1, Oslo, pp 289–294
Paronuzzi P (2009) Un nuovo modello geologico-tecnico per l’interpretazione della catastrofica frana del Vajont. In: Proceedings of AIGA National conference, Erto, 29–30 June 2009, pp 358–359
Poschinger AV, Wassmer P, Maisch M (2006) The flims rock slide; history of interpretation and new insights. In: Evans SG, Scarascia Mugnozza G, Strom A, Hermanns RL (eds) Landslides from massive rock slope failure. Springer, Berlin, pp 347–375
Rossi D, Semenza E (1965) Carte geologiche del versante settentrionale del M Toc e zone limitrofe, prima e dopo il fenomeno di scivolamento del 9 Ottobre 1963 – Scala 1:5000. Ist. Geol. Univ, Ferrara
Selli R, Trevisan L (1964) Caratteri e interpretazione della frana del Vaiont. Giornale di Geologia 32:7–104
Semenza E (1965) Sintesi degli studi geologici sulla frana del Vajont dal 1959 al 1964. Memorie del Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali 16:1–52
Semenza E (2001) La storia del Vaiont raccontata dal geologo che ha scoperto la frana. Tecomproject Editore Multimediale, Italy, 138p
Semenza E, Ghirotti M (2000) History of the 1963 Vaiont slide: the importance of geological factors. Bull Eng Geol Environ 59:87–97
Skempton AW (1966) Bedding-plane slip, residual strength and the Vaiont landslide. Correspondence Gèotechnique 16(2):82–84
Superchi L, Floris M, Ghirotti M, Genevois R, Jaboyedoff M, Stead D (2010) Technical note: implementation of geodatabase of published and unpublished data on the catastrophic Vaiont landslides. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 10:865–873
Tika TE, Hutchinson JN (1999) Ring shear tests on soil from the Vaiont slide slip surface. Gèotechnique 49(1):59–74
Acknowledgments
The Authors wish to thank Mr. M. Soccal for his fundamental contribution in field surveying, clay sampling and for carrying out the tests on the Vajont soil samples. The tests were performed in the “Laboratorio di Geotecnica” (Laboratory of Soil Mechanics, directed by Prof. R. Meriggi) of the Udine University, under the useful assistance of Dr. of Eng. M. Del Fabbro.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Paronuzzi, P., Bolla, A. (2013). A New Interpretation of the Geotechnical Context of the Vajont Rockslide. In: Margottini, C., Canuti, P., Sassa, K. (eds) Landslide Science and Practice. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31319-6_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31319-6_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-31318-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-31319-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)