Thermo-mechanical modelling of ground deformation in volcanic areas
Gilda Currenti, Danila Scandura, Ciro Del Negro, alessandro bonaccorso
Numerical models are practical tools for considering the topography and the medium heterogeneities and estimating the deformation of structures subjected to complicated loading conditions. A thermo-mechanical numerical model is performed for evaluating the temperature dependency of the rheological behaviour. The inclusion of viscoelastic and elasto-plastic material around the volcanic source considerably reduces the magmatic pressure necessary to produce the observed surface deformation with respect to elastic model. The assumption on the medium rheology strongly affects the ground deformation and, hence, the estimate of source pressure, which is an important issue for improving the knowledge of the physics of volcano deformation and eruption hazard.