Abstract: In this paper, the level set method, suitable for free boundary problems, is applied to snow avalanches. To this aim, the system constituted by air and avalanche is considered as a domain composed by two fluids having different densities and viscosities. In particular a shear thinning fluid-like constitutive behavior is assumed for snow as well as a Newtonian one. Simulations show, for instance, the transport of avalanche mass towards the head and that the head of the avalanche is faster than its tail, as confirmed by experimental observations. An important aspect is that this model allows to describe the shape variation, the velocity and the pressure, outputs of fundamental importance to describe correctly the interaction between the avalanches and the structures located along the avalanche path. In conclusion, although these results are still qualitative, they confirm that the proposed method can be adequately refined to describe the real behaviour of avalanches. Keywords:
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