Experimental investigation on shear strength deterioration at the interface between different rock types under cyclic loading

The shear strength deterioration of bedding planes between different rock types induced by cyclic loading is vital to reasonably evaluate the stability of soft and hard interbedded bedding rock slopes under earthquake;however,rare work has been devoted to this subject due to lack of attention.In this study,experimental investigations on shear strength weakening of discontinuities with different joint wall material(DDJM)under cyclic loading were conducted by taking the interface between siltstone and mudstone in the Shaba slope of Yunnan Province,China as research objects.A total of 99 pairs of similar material samples of DDJM(81 pairs)and discontinuities with identical joint wall material(DIJM)(18 pairs)were fabricated by inserting plates,engraved with typical surface morphology obtained by performing three-dimensional laser scanning on natural DDJMs sampled from field,into mold boxes.Cyclic shear tests were conducted on these samples to study their shear strength changes with the cyclic number considering the effects of normal stress,joint surface morphology,shear displacement amplitude and shear rate.The results indicate that the shear stress vs.shear displacement curves under each shear cycle and the peak shear strength vs.cyclic number curves of the studied DDJMs are between those of DIJMs with siltstone and mudstone,while closer to those of DIJMs with mudstone.The peak shear strengths of DDJMs exhibit an initial rapid decline followed by a gradual decrease with the cyclic number and the decrease rate varies from 6%to 55.9%for samples with varied surface morphology under different testing conditions.The normal stress,joint surface morphology,shear displacement amplitude and shear rate collectively influence the shear strength deterioration of DDJM under cyclic shear loading,with the degree of influence being greater for larger normal stress,rougher surface morphology,larger shear displacement amplitude and faster shear rate.

A stability evaluation method for deep-seated toppling in the upper Lancang river,Southwestern China

Deep-seated toppling in the upper reaches of the Lancang River,southwest China involves deformations exceeding 100 m in depth.The slope deformation is initiated by river downcutting and evolves distinctive characteristics with a depth of river incision.In this study,we propose a system for evaluating the stability of deep-seated toppled slopes in different evolutionary stages.This system contains identification criteria for each evolutionary stage and provides the corresponding stability evaluation methods.Based on the mechanical and kinematic analysis of slope blocks,the specific stage of slope movement can be identified in the field through outcrop mapping,in situ tests,surface displacement monitoring,and adit and borehole explorations.The stability evaluation methods are established based on the limiting equilibrium theory and the strain compatibility between the undisturbed zone and the toppled zone.Finally,several sample slopes in different evolution stages have been investigated to verify the applicability and accuracy of the proposed stability evaluation system.The results indicate that intense tectonic activity and rapid river incision lead to a maximum principal stress ratio exceeding 10 near the slope surface,thus triggering widespread toppling deformations along the river valley.When considering the losses of joint cohesion during the further rotation process,the safety factor of the slope drops by 7%e28%.The self-stabilization of toppling deformation can be recognized by the layer symmetry configuration after the free rotation of the deflected layers.Intensely toppled rock blocks mainly suffer sliding failures beyond the layer symmetry condition.The factor of safety of the K73 rockslide decreased from 1.17 to 0.87 by considering the development of the potential sliding surface and the toesaturated zone.

Scientific challenges of research on natural hazards and disaster risk

As a discipline,the science of natural hazards and disaster risk aims to explain the spatial-temporal pattern,process and mechanism,emergency response and risk mitigation of natural hazards,which requires a multidisci-plinary and interdisciplinary approach.With the support of Natural Science Finance of China(NSFC)and Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS),in-depth research and systematic analysis on natural hazards and disaster risk were conducted.In this paper,the state of the art in research on natural hazards is summarized from seven aspects:formation process,mechanism and dynamic of natural hazards,disaster risk assessment,forecast,monitoring and early warning,disaster mitigation,emergency treatment and rescue,risk management and post-disaster re-construction.The trends within the natural hazards and disaster risk as a discipline were identified,along with existing shortcomings and significant gaps that need to be addressed.This paper highlighted:1)the scientific challenges including the frontier scientific issues and technological gaps on natural hazards and disaster risk dis-cipline from 2025 to 2035 in China,and 2)the proposal to develop a systemic and holistic natural hazards and disaster risk discipline.

Mechanism, behaviour and application of iron nitrate modified carbon nanotube composites for the adsorption of arsenic in aqueous solutions

In this study,ferric nitrate modified carbon nanotube composites (FCNT) were prepared by isovolumetric impregnation using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the carrier and ferric nitrates the active agent.The batch experiments showed that FCNT could effectively oxidize As(III) to As(V) and react with it to form stable iron arsenate precipitates.When the dosage of FCNT was 0.1 g·L^(–1),pH value was 5–6,reaction temperature was 35℃ and reaction time was 2 h,the best arsenic removal effect could be achieved,and the removal rate of As(V) could reach 99.1%,which was always higher than 90%under acidic conditions.The adsorption results of FCNT were found to be consistent with Langmuir adsorption by static adsorption isotherm fitting,and the maximum adsorption capacity reached 118.3 mg·g^(-1).The material phase and property analysis by scanning electron microscopy,Brunauer–Emmett–Teller,Fourier transform infrared spectoscopy,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and other characterization methods,as well as adsorption isotherm modeling,were used to explore the adsorption mechanism of FCNT on arsenic.It was found that FCNT has microporous structure and nanostructure,and iron nanoparticles are loosely distributed on CNTs,which makes the material have good oxidation,adsorption and magnetic separation properties.Arsenic migrates on the surface of FCNT composites is mainly removed by forming insoluble compounds and co-precipitation.All the results show that FCNT treats arsenic at low cost with high adsorption efficiency,and the results also provide the experimental data basis and theoretical basis for arsenic contamination in groundwater.

Geological and Geoengineering Properties of the 1997 Yangjia Shan Landslide, Enshi, China

Yangjia Shan instability has been evidenced by the occurrence of the July 16, 1997 landslide. The instability factor which leads to activating the landslide is the intense rainfall;lithology of Luoreiping Formation and the highly weathered slopes’ rocks have played a great role in starting and aggravation. Weathering at the landslide site consists largely of attack on the cement and removal of support of the sandy mudstone and sandstone and decompose of shale. The weathering degree of the rocks decreases vertically with increasing depth from high, medium to slightly weathered corresponding to grade IV, III and II, respectively. The slip surface consists of moderate to highly weathered intercalated layers of sandy mudstone (mudstone) and shale, while, the layer below the slip surface is characterized by dark gray, moderately weathered and thick layered mudstone. The moderate to highly weathered subsurface lithology is probably attributed to the accumulation of the infiltrated rainfall water through fractures and porosity, raising the ground water level and wetting of the sandy mudstone and shale rocks of Luoreping Formation. The wetting contributed more or less to the disintegration of the sandy mudstone and shale, lowered the shear strength and created cracks on the upper part of the slope leading thus to increase the landslide susceptibility. Therefore, the frequency and magnitude of landslide at the study area and its vicinity are expected to increase through the activation of old landslides and triggering of new ones under circumstances similar to those of the past.

Quantitative Evaluation of Rock Brittle Property Based on Energy Evolution and Its Application in Three Gorges Reservoir Area

Brittleness is of great significance for evaluating the mechanical properties of the slope rock in reservoir area and revealing the brittle failure mechanism of the rocks.Although a series of definitions of the brittleness and evaluation methods of brittleness index have been proposed,there is still lack of a widely recognized and remarkable standards in these aspects due to the differences in diagenetic process,depositional environment and mineral composition.The previous methods to quantitively estimate the rock brittleness based on energy balance analysis are summarized,which neglect multiple influencing factors of the rock brittleness,such as the weight of pre-peak or post-peak mechanical behaviors on the prediction performance of the brittleness index.Based on the typical curves about stress and strain,the relationships between the brittle failure behaviors and the energy evolutions are comprehensively analyzed,then a new method for assessing the brittleness is proposed.Based on prepeak brittleness index to represent brittle property at pre-peak stage and post-peak brittleness index to determine brittle characteristic at post-peak stage,a new brittleness index is established by additive synthesis method in consideration of the weight of brittleness indexes before and after peak strength,and either of the two brittleness indexes can be punished or compensated by setting different parameter values.The results indicate that the proposed brittleness index can represent the brittle change laws for different rock types whenα≤0.5,β≥0.5.When evaluating the brittleness of the slope rock in Three Gorges Reservoir(TGR)area,the results show that the rock brittleness in the slope affects the stability of the slope.Therefore,the novel evaluation method can provide reliable results,and the proposed brittleness index considering the energy evolution can be applied to assess the brittle property in the reservoir bank project.

Insight into the Permeability and Microstructure Evolution Mechanism of the Sliding Zone Soil: A Case Study from the Huangtupo Landslide, Three Gorges Reservoir, China

A large number of laboratory investigations related to the permeability have been conducted on the sliding zones.Yet little attention has been paid to the particular sliding zones of the slideprone Badong Formation.Here,we experimentally investigate the permeability nature and the mechanism of seepage in the viscous sliding zone of the Huangtupo Landslide.Saturated seepage tests have been performed first with consideration of six dry densities and thirteen hydraulic gradients,in conjunction with the mercury intrusion porosimetry test and scanning electron microscopy test for the microstructure analysis after seepage.The results show that seepage in the sliding zone soil does not follow Darcy’s Law,since there is a threshold hydraulic gradient(i0)below which no flow is observed and a critical hydraulic gradient(icr)over which the hydraulic conductivity(K)tends to be stable.The percentage of bound water could be responsible for the occurrence of i0 and icr.Furthermore,pore size distributions(PSD)less than 0.6µm and between 10 and 90µm exhibit positive and negative correlations with the i0,respectively,indicating that the i0 is related to the PSD.The mechanism accounting for this result is that pore water pressure forces fine clay particles into the surrounding large pores and converts arranged particles to discretely distributed ones,thereby weakening the connectivity of pores.The seepages in the sliding zones behave differently from that in the sliding mass and sliding bed in response to the permeability.

Weight Analysis of Impact Factors of Interbedded Anti-Inclined Slopes Block-Flexure Toppling Based on Support Vector Regression

Block-flexure toppling failure is frequently encountered in interbedded anti-inclined rock(IAR)slopes,and seriously threatens the construction of hydropower infrastructure.In this study,we first investigated the Lean Reservoir area’s geological setting and the Linda landslide’s characteristics.Then,uniform design and random design were used to design 110 training datasets and 31 testing datasets,respectively.Afterwards,the toppling response was obtained by using the discrete element code.Finally,support vector regression was used to obtain the influence weights of 21 impact factors.The results show that the influence weight of the slope angle and rock formation dip angle on the toppling deformation among tertiary impact factors is 25.96%and 17.28%,respectively,which are much greater than the other 19 impact factors within the research range.For the primary impact factors,the influence weight is sorted from large to small as slope geometry parameters,joints parameters,and rock mechanics parameters.Joints parameters,especially the geometric parameters,cannot be ignored when evaluating the stability of IAR slopes.Through numerical simulation,it was qualitatively determined that failure surfaces of slopes were controlled by cross joints and that the rocks in the slope toe play a role in preventing slope deformation.

Centrifuge modelling of landslides and landslide hazard mitigation:A review

Landslides are serious geohazards that occur under a variety of climatic conditions and can cause many casualties and significant economic losses.Centrifuge modelling,as a representative type of physical modelling,provides a realistic simulation of the stress level in a small-scale model and has been applied over the last 50 years to develop a better understanding of landslides.With recent developments in this technology,the application of centrifuge modelling in landslide science has significantly increased.Here,we present an overview of physical models that can capture landslide processes during centrifuge modelling.This review focuses on(i)the experimental principles and considerations,(ii)landslide models subjected to various triggering factors,including centrifugal acceleration,rainfall,earthquakes,water level changes,thawing permafrost,excavation,external loading and miscellaneous conditions,and(iii)different methods for mitigating landslides modelled in centrifuge,such as the application of nails,piles,geotextiles,vegetation,etc.The behaviors of all the centrifuge models are discussed,with emphasis on the deformation and failure mechanisms and experimental techniques.Based on this review,we provide a best-practice methodology for preparing a centrifuge landslide test and propose further efforts in terms of the seven aspects of model materials,testing design and equipment,measurement methods,scaling laws,full-scale test applications,landslide early warning,and 3D modelling to better understand the complex behaviour of landslides.

A Constitutive Model of Granite Shear Creep under Moisture

Previous constitutive models of granite shear creep have two limitations：（1） although moisture greatly affects granite shear creep behavior, currently there are no constitutive models that include this factor;（2） there are also no models that include an acceleration stage. This paper presents an improved Burgers constitutive model with the addition of a damage parameter to characterize the moisture effect and uses a nonlinear relation equation between stress and strain for inclusion as the acceleration stage. The damage parameter is determined from granite creep experiment under four different moisture contents（0%, 0.22%, 0.49%, and 0.79%）. The nonlinear relation equation is obtained by fitting a dataset of stain versus time under five different loading stages. To verify the presented model, a creep experiment was conducted on other granite samples and the results show that the model agrees well with the experimental observation data.

A Predictive,Two-Parameter Model for the Movement of Reservoir Landslides

Monitoring data show that many landslides in the Three Gorges region,China,undergo step-like displacements in response to the managed,quasi-sinusoidal annual variations in reservoir level.This behavior is consistent with motion initiating when the reservoir water level falls below a critical level that is intrinsic to each landslide,with the subsequent displacement rate of the landslide being proportional to the water depth below that critical level.Most motion terminates when the water level rises back above the critical level,so the annual step size is the time integral of the instantaneous displacement rate.These responses are incorporated into a differential equation that is easily calibrated with monitoring data,allowing prediction of landslide movement from actual or anticipated reservoir level changes.Model successes include(1)initiation and termination of the annual sliding steps at the critical reservoir level,producing a series of steps;(2)prediction of variable step size,year to year;and(3)approximate prediction of the shape and size of each annual step.Annual rainfall correlates poorly with step size,probably because its effect on groundwater levels is dwarfed by the 30 m annual variations in the level of the Three Gorges Reservoir.Viscous landslide behavior is suggested.

Dynamic Stability Analysis of Wedge in Rock Slope Based on Kinetic Vector Method

A new method （kinetic vector method, KVM） is presented for analyzing the dynamic stability of wedge in rock slope. The dynamic analysis is carried out based on three dimensional distinct element code （3DEC）, and the kinetic inertial force of the wedge under seismic loading can be obtained via calculating the net vectorial nodal force of the finite difference grid. Then, the factor of safety （FOS） of the wedge can be calculated based on limit equilibrium method （LEM） at each dynamic analysis step, therefore time series of the FOS for whole earthquake process can be obtained. For the purpose of evaluating the entire dynamic stability of the wedge, dynamic factor of safety （DFOS） is proposed and defined as a numerical value corresponding with a given rate of probability guarantee based on reliability theory. Consequently, the KVM inherits the merits of the LEM and also has fully nonlinear dynamic analysis capabilities, and the feasibility and correctness of the KVM are tested by an example given by Hoek and Bray （1981）. Finally, a rock slope case in Wenchuan Earthquake regions of China is presented to verify the engineering practicability of the KVM, and the results matched the actual situation well.

Study on Geomechanical and Physical Models of Necking-Type Slopes

A simplified geomechanical model was proposed by considering three typical neckingtype slopes;this model lays a foundation for the further investigation of the deformation behaviors of such slopes.Three physical models of necking-type slopes were built according to the geomechanical model with slope evolution stages.Finally,preliminary calculations related to the arching effect in the physical model were conducted.Three evolution stages of necking-type slopes,namely,the initial stage,compression stage,and failure stage,were presented based on the formation and disappearance of the arching effect within the slope.The specific parameters of the geomechanical model were given.In the setup of the tilting test,the failure angle of the necking-type slope model was calculated to be approximately 50°with a large lateral resistance coefficient.The proposed geomechanical model and physical models of necking-type slopes provide guidance for the establishment of geomechanical and physical models of landslides at specific sites.

Geometry and Maximum Width of a Stable Slope Considering the Arching Effect

The stability of an arching slope in deformable materials above strong rocks strongly depends on the shape and width of the span.Equations for a free surface problem that incorporate these two parameters were derived using a simplified two-dimensional arching slope model,and were validated using physical model tests under 1 g and centrifugal conditions.The results are used to estimate the maximum excavation width for a weak claystone slope in a lignite mine,for which we calculate a safety factor of 1.31.