Geomechanical modeling of the Steinernase landslide (Switzerland)

A geomechanical model was developed to analyse the behaviour of a natural slope located on the bank of the Rhine River between the towns of Stein and Mumpf in Switzerland. The slope is affected by a landslide and three strategic infrastructure assets are located at its toe. An intense monitoring campaign made it possible to identify pore water pressure evolution as the main cause for movement accelerations and to detect the presence of a multiple slip surface system. Advanced coupled finite element hydrogeological and ge-omechanical models have been used to analyse the landslide behaviour. After being calibrated and validated, the model was applied to improve the understanding of the physical processes involved and to predict the slope behaviour under different scenarios.