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Barodesy is a constitutive model based on proportional paths and the asymptotic behaviour of soil. It was originally developed for sand in 2009 by Kolymbas, and a version for clay was introduced in 2012. A shortcoming of former barodetic models was that tensile stresses can occur for certain dilative deformations. In this article, an improved version of barodesy for clay and a simplified calibration procedure are proposed. Basic features are shown, and simulations of element tests are compared with experimental data of several clay types.

Snow avalanche simulation software is a commonly used tool for hazard estimation and mitigation planning. In this study a depth-averaged flow model, combining a simple entrainment and friction relation, is implemented in the software SamosAT. Computational results strongly depend on the simulation input, in particular on the employed model parameters. A long-standing problem is to quantify the influence of these parameters on the simulation results. We present a new multivariate optimization approach for avalanche simulation in three-dimensional terrain. The method takes into account the entire physically relevant range of the two friction parameters (Coulomb friction, turbulent drag) and one entrainment parameter. These three flow model parameters are scrutinized with respect to six optimization variables (runout, matched and exceeded affected area, maximum velocity, average deposition depth and mass growth). The approach is applied to a documented extreme avalanche event, recorded in St Anton, Austria. The final results provide adjusted parameter distributions optimizing the simulation-observation correspondence. At the same time, the degree of parameter-variable correspondence is determined. We show that the specification of optimal values for certain model parameters is near-impossible, if corresponding optimization variables are neglected or unavailable.

Abstract. Computer models, in combination with Geographic Information Sciences (GIS), play an important role in up-to-date studies of travel distance, impact area, velocity or energy of granular flows (e.g. snow or rock avalanches, flows of debris or mud). Simple empirical-statistical relationships or mass point models are frequently applied in GISbased modelling environments. However, they are only appropriate for rough overviews at the regional scale. In detail, granular flows are highly complex processes and physicallybased, distributed models are required for detailed studies of travel distance, velocity, and energy of such phenomena. One of the most advanced theories for understanding and modelling granular flows is the Savage-Hutter type model, a system of differential equations based on the conservation of mass and momentum. The equations have been solved for a number of idealized topographies, but only few attempts to find a solution for arbitrary topography or to integrate the model with GIS are known up to now. The work presented is understood as an initiative to integrate a fully physicallybased model for the motion of granular flows, based on the extended Savage-Hutter theory, with GRASS, an Open Source GIS software package. The potentials of the model are highlighted, employing the Val Pola Rock Avalanche (Northern Italy, 1987) as the test event, and the limitations as well as the most urging needs for further research are discussed.

SUMMARYA general approach for obtaining the consistent tangent operator for constitutive rate equations is presented. The rate equations can be solved numerically by the user's favourite time integrator. In order to obtain reliable results, the substepping in integration should be based on a control of the local error. The main ingredient of the consistent tangent operator, namely the derivative of the stress with respect to the strain increment must be computed simultaneously with the same integrator, applied to a numerical approximation of the variational equations. This information enables finite-element packages to assemble a consistent tangent operator and thus guarantees quadratic convergence of the equilibrium iterations. Several numerical examples with a hypoplastic constitutive law are given. As numerical integrator we used a second-order extrapolated Euler method. Quadratic convergence of the equilibrium iteration is shown.