Experimental study of the shear strength of a snow-mortar interface

Within the wide field of snow mechanics the shear strength of snow is paramount. In the scientific literature a wide number of experimental and theoretical works exist with reference to the progressive shear failure of snow snow interfaces under different conditions of internal and external actions. On the contrary, to our knowledge, few studies are devoted to the shear behaviour at the contact between a snow layer and a solid stiff material, although this topic could have various fields of application (e.g., glide avalanches, snow removal, snow-structure interaction, etc.). Here, we analyze results of experimental direct shear tests carried out in displacement control on a snow-mortar interface at given conditions of temperature and sintering times. We additionally use the Mohr Coulomb failure criterion to represent shear strength along the interface both in failure and post-failure conditions.