A three-dimensional two-level gradient smoothing meshfree method for rainfall induced landslide simulations

A three-dimensional two-level gradient smoothing meshfree method is presented for rainfall induced landslide simulations. The two-level gradient smoothing for meshfree shape function is elaborated in the three-dimensional Lagrangian setting with detailed implementation procedure. It is shown that due to the successive gradient smoothing operation without the requirement of derivative computation in the present formulation, the two-level smoothed gradient of meshfree shape function is capable of achieving a given influence domain more efficiently than the standard gradient of meshfree shape function. Subsequently, the two-level smoothed gradient of meshfree shape function is employed to discretize the weak form of coupled rainfall seepage and soil motion equations in a nodal integration format, as provides an efficient three-dimensional regularized meshfree formulation for large deformation rainfall induced landslide simulations. The exponential damage and pressure dependent plasticity relationships are utilized to describe the failure evolution in landslides. The plastic response of soil is characterized by the true effective stress measure, which is updated according to the rotationally neutralized objective integration algorithm. The effectiveness of the present three-dimensional two-level gradient smoothing meshfree method is demonstrated through numerical examples.