Rigorous back analysis of shear strength parameters of landslide slip

A rigorous back analysis of shear strength parameters of landslide slip was presented. Kinematical element method was adopted to determine factor of safety and critical failure surface, which overcomes the disadvantage of limit equilibrium method. The theoretical relationship between the combination of shear strength parameters and stability state was studied. The results show that the location of critical slip surface, F/tan f and F/c depend only on the value of c/tan f. The failure surface moves towards the inside of slope as c/tan f increases. According to the information involving factor of safety and critical failure surface in a specific cross-section, strength parameters can be back calculated based on the above findings. Three examples were given for demonstrating the validity of the present method. The shear strength parameters obtained by back analysis are almost consistent with their correct solutions or test results.

Determination Method for Shear Strength Parameters of Rock-Soil Mixtures Using Close-Range Photogrammetry and 3-D Limit Equilibrium Theory

Using a combination of close-range photogrammetry and three-dimensional(3-D) limit equilibrium theory, a determination method for the shear strength parameters of rock-soil mixture is presented. A close-range photogrammetry method is used for measurement of the 3-D terrain of the experimental target. Auto CAD Lisp and EXCEL VBA are used to perform 3-D limit equilibrium analysis of the stability of sliding mass and perform backanalysis of shear strength parameters. The presented method was used to determine the shear strength parameters of rock-soil mixtures at the Liyuan Hydropower Station. The 3-D terrain of sliding surface could be measured notably well using of closerange photogrammetry. The computed results reveal that the cohesion and friction angle of rock-soil mixtures were 3.15 k Pa and 29.88o for test A, respectively, and 4.43 k Pa and 28.30o for test B, respectively, within the range of shear strength parameters, as determined by field and laboratory tests. The computation of shear strength parameters is influenced by the mesh grid number, especially the cohesion of the rock-soil mixture. The application of close-range photogrammetry can reduce the siteworks and improve the computational efficiency and accuracy.

Effect of loading rate on shear strength parameters of mechanically and biologically treated waste

Mechanical biological treatment(MBT)technology has attracted increasing attention because it can reduce the volume of waste produced.To deal with the current trend of increasing waste,MBT practices are being adopted to address waste generated in developing urban societies.In this study,a total of 20 specimens of consolidated undrained triaxial tests were conducted on waste obtained from the Hangzhou Tianziling landfill,China,to evaluate the effect of loading rate on the shear strength parameters of MBT waste.The MBT waste samples exhibited an evident strain-hardening behavior,and no peak was observed even when the axial strain exceeded 25%.Further,the shear strength increased with an increase in the loading rate;the effect of loading rate on shear strength under a low confining pressure was greater than that under a high confining pressure.Furthermore,the shear strength parameters of MBT waste were related to the loading rate.The relationship between the cohesion,internal friction angle,and logarithm of the loading rate could be fitted to a linear relationship,which was established in this study.Finally,the ranges of shear strength parameters cohesion c and effective cohesion c′were determined as 1.0–8.2 kPa and 2.1–14.9 kPa,respectively;the ranges of the internal friction angleφand effective internal friction angleφ’were determined as 16.2°–29°and 19.8°–43.9°,respectively.These results could be used as a valuable reference for conducting stability analyses of MBT landfills.

Study on Shear Strength Characteristics of Basalt-Concrete Bonding Interface Based on in-situ Direct Shear Test

In rock engineering,the shear strength of the basalt-concrete bonding interface is a key factor affecting the shear performance of hydroelectric dam foundations,embedded rock piles and rock bolts.In this study,30 sets of in-situ direct shear tests were conducted on the basalt-concrete bond interface in the Baihetan dam area to investigate the shear strength characteristics of the basalt-concrete bonding interface.The bonding interface contains two states,i.e.,the bonding interface is not sheared,termed as se(symbolic meaning see Table 1);the bonding interface is sheared with rupture surface,termed as si.The effects of lithology,Joints structure,rock type grade and concrete compressive strength on the shear strength of the concrete-basalt contact surface were investigated.The test results show that the shear strength of the bonding interface(s_(e)&s_(i))of columnar jointed basalt with concrete is greater than that of the bonding interface(s_(e)&s_(i))of non-columnar jointed one with the same rock type grade.When the rock type grade isⅢ_(2),fcol is 1.22 times higher than fncol and ccol is 1.13 times greater than cncol.The shear strength parameters of the basalt-concrete bonding interface differ significantly for different lithologies.The cohesion of the bonding interface(s_(i))of cryptocrystalline basalt with concrete is 2.05 times higher than that of the bonding interface(s_(i))of breccia lava with concrete under the same rock type grade condition.Rock type grade has a large influence on the shear strength of the non-columnar jointed basalt-concrete bonding interface(s_(e)&s_(i)).cnol increases by 33%when the grade of rock type rises fromⅢ_(1)toⅡ_(1).the rock type grade has a greater effect on bonding interface(s_(i))cohesion than the coefficient of friction.When the rock type grade is reduced fromⅢ_(2)toⅢ_(1),f_(ncol)′increases by 2%and c_(ncol)′improves by 44%.The shear strength of the non-columnar jointed basalt-concrete bonding interface(s_(e)&s_(i))increases with the increase of the compressive strength of concrete.When concrete compressive strength rises from 22.2 to 27.6 MPa,the cohesion increases by 94%.

Rock borehole shear tests in dam foundation of Xiangjiaba hydropower station

Xiangjiaba hydropowcr station is one of the complicated geological conditions of its dam foundation, parameters of rock masses are very important issues. To cascade power stations on the Jinsha River, China. Due to the evaluating the rock mass quality and determining the mechanical address these issues, several groups of rock borehole shear tests （RBSTs） were conducted on the black mudstone in the dam foundation of Xiangjiaba hydropower station in the second construction phase. Forty three groups of shear strengths of black mudstone samples were obtained from RBSTs, and the shear strength parameters （c and f） were calculated using the least squares method. In addition, the limitations and merits of RBST employed in the Xiangjiaba hydropower station were discussed. Test results indicate that the shear strength parameters obtained from RBST have a good correlation with the results from sotmd wave test in borehole. It is believed that RBST has a good adaptability and applicability in geotechnical engineering.

New criterion for rock joints based on three-dimensional roughness parameters

The shear behavior of rock joints is important in solving practical problems of rock mechanics. Three group rock joints with different morphologies are made by cement mortar material and a series of CNL(constant normal loading) shear tests are performed. The influences of the applied normal stress and joint morphology to its shear strength are analyzed. According to the experimental results, the peak dilatancy angle of rock joint decreases with increasing normal stress, but increases with increasing roughness. The shear strength increases with the increasing normal stress and the roughness of rock joint. It is observed that the modes of failure of asperities are tensile, pure shear, or a combination of both. It is suggested that the three-dimensional roughness parameters and the tensile strength are the appropriate parameter for describing the shear strength criterion. A new peak shear criterion is proposed which can be used to predict peak shear strength of rock joints. All the used parameters can be easily obtained by performing tests.

Study on Shear Strength Characteristics of Columnar Jointed Basalt Based on in-situ Direct Shear Test at Baihetan Hydropower Station

Columnar jointed basalt(CJB) widely distributes in the dam site of the Baihetan Hydropower Station.The columnar joint structure and fracture development of CJB have significant influence on the mechanical properties of rock mass,and the mechanical properties of CJB are of great significance to the Baihetan Hydropower Project.Therefore,in-situ direct shear tests were carried out on ten test adit at different locations in the dam site area to study the shear behavior of CJB.In this study,21 sets of in-situ direct shear tests were conducted for rock types of type Ⅱ_(2),type Ⅲ_(1)and type Ⅲ_(2),with horizontal and vertical shear planes and two different specimen sizes of CJB.Shear strength parameters of CJB were obtained by linear fitting of in-situ direct shear test results based on the Mohr-Coulomb strength criterion.The results indicate that the shear strength parameters of CJB with horizontal shear plane increase as the increase of rock type grade.The shear strength parameters of CJB show obvious anisotropy and the friction coefficient of the horizontal shear plane is greater than the vertical shear plane.The friction coefficient in the horizontal direction of the shear plane is 1.27 times that in the vertical direction of the shear plane.With the increase of rock type grade,the difference of friction coefficient becomes larger.However,the cohesion changes little whether the shear plane is horizontal or vertical.In addition,the size effect of CJB in this area is significant.The shear strength parameters of large size(100 cm × 100 cm) specimens are lower than those of regular size(50 cm × 50 cm) specimens.The reduction of cohesion is greater than that of the friction coefficient.For rock type Ⅲ_(2),the cohesion of large-size specimens is 0.637 of the regular-size specimens.The reduction percentage of the friction coefficient for type Ⅲ_(2)is 1.66 times that of type Ⅲ_(1).The reduction percentage of the cohesion for type Ⅲ_(2)is 1.27 times that of type Ⅲ_(1).The size effect decreases with the increase of rock type grade.The research results of this study can provide an important basis for the selection of rock mechanics parameters in the dam site area of Baihetan Hydropower Station and the stability analysis of the dam foundation and rocky slopes.

Effects of Material Composition and Water Content on the Mechanical Properties of Landslide Deposits Triggered by the Wenchuan Earthquake

Abundant landslide deposits were triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake, providing a rich source of material for subsequent debris flows or slope failures under rainfall conditions. A good understanding of the physical and mechanical properties of the landslide deposits is very important to the research on slope failure mechanisms and the initiation of debris flow. Laboratory biaxial compression tests are used to study the material compositions and water content impacts on the mechanical properties of landslide deposits, and a discrete element method （a bond-contact model） is used to study the particle stiffness, bond force, friction coefficient and confining stress impact on the mechanical behaviors and the relationships between the numerical and experimental parameters. The experimental results show that the failure stress of landslide deposits is decreased with increasing content of fine particles and also with increased water content, especially at the initial increasing stage. Cohesion of the saturated landslide deposits is increased, but the friction angle is decreased with the increase in the fine particle content. Shear strength parameters （the cohesion and friction angle） are decreased with the increasing water content at the initial increasing stage, and then, they slowly decrease. There is a critical value of the water content at 5%-7% （in weight） for the failure stress and shear strength parameters of the landslide deposits. Quadratic equations are presented to describe the relation between the bond force and cohesion, and the numerical friction coefficient and the experimental friction angle.