Three-dimensional stability of landslides based on local safety factor

Unlike the limit equilibrium method(LEM), with which only the global safety factor of the landslide can be calculated, a local safety factor(LSF) method is proposed to evaluate the stability of different sections of a landslide in this paper. Based on three-dimensional(3D) numerical simulation results, the local safety factor is defined as the ratio of the shear strength of the soil at an element on the slip zone to the shear stress parallel to the sliding direction at that element. The global safety factor of the landslide is defined as the weighted average of all local safety factors based on the area of the slip surface. Some example analyses show that the results computed by the LSF method agree well with those calculated by the General Limit Equilibrium(GLE) method in two-dimensional(2D) models and the distribution of the LSF in the 3D slip zone is consistent with that indicated by the observed deformation pattern of an actual landslide in China.

Stability and deformation of Xiaozhuang landslide: A large-scale creeping landslide in Gansu, China

Information about the long-term spatiotemporal evolution of landslides can improve our understanding of the landslide development process and can help prevent landslide disasters.This paper describes the Xiaozhuang landslide triggered by a historical earthquake and rainfall in Tianshui,Northwest China.The landslide is dominated by rotational-sliding movement.Several new failures and many fissures formed in the landslide area as a result of the 2013 Ms 6.6 Minxian earthquake and rainfall.Accordingly,field investigations,borehole drilling,geotechnical laboratory tests,and numerical calculations were conducted to study the mechanism of the landslide and to forecast its stability.A triaxial creep test of the slip soil indicates that the axial deformation of the mudstone increases with increasing water content.Numerical simulations suggest that failure is prone to occur within the deep part of the landslide under earthquake conditions.If the input seismic acceleration exceeds 0.2 g,the landslide will become unstable.Furthermore,the horizontal peak ground acceleration near the surface of the landslide is greater than that at depth.During a strong earthquake,the unstable regions are primarily located in the middle of the landslide and at its crest.When the rainfall intensity rate is 200 mm/d,the factor of safety is 1.319 and a dangerous zone appears in the lower and middle parts of the landslide.

Landslide stability for Shuitianba in the Three Gorges area

According to the data of preliminary survey, the authors established a landslide geological model,on the basis of analyses on the sensitivity of landslide, tried to simulate and calculate the landslide stability of Shuitianba with the method of transfer coefficient when it is under different strength parameters, and study the landslide mechanism. The results show that it is sensitive to the effects of shear strength parameters of sliding zone and groundwater level on landslide stability safety coefficient, which provides reliable basis for calculation of landslide stability.

Mechanism of formation of sliding ground fissure in loess hilly areas caused by underground mining

Based on a shallow-buried coal seam covered with thick loose layers in hilly loess areas of western China,we developed a mechanical model for a mining slope with slope stability analysis, and studied the mechanism of formation and development of a sliding ground fissure by the circular sliding slice method.Moreover, we established a prediction model of a sliding fissure based on a mechanical mechanism,and verified its reliability on face 52,304, an engineering example, situated at Daliuta coal mine of Shendong mining area in western China. The results show that the stress state of a mining slope is changed by its gravity and additional stress from the shallow-buried coal seam and gully terrain. The mining slope is found to be most unstable when the ratio of the down-sliding to anti-sliding force is the maximum, causing local fractures and sliding fissures. The predicted angles for the sliding fissure of face 52,304 on both sides of the slope are found to be 64.2° and 82.4°, which are in agreement with the experimental data.

XU Xiaohui,CHEN Hui'e and WANG Gangcheng College of Construction Engineering,Jilin University,Changchun 130026,China

On the basis of geological investigating work and experimental studies on slide zone soil of one landslide in Tibet,the authors analyzed granulometric composition,clay mineral composition and physical and mechanical properties for the soil in the slide zone.The soil samples are gravel containing fine particle.Particles larger than 2 mm occupy the main proportion with the content 51.5%--68.5%.The relative content of clay minerals is low.The clay minerals are illite smectite mixed layer and kaolinite,and their relative contents are 6%--13% and 4%-11%,respectively.The main mineral ingredient is quartz and the relative content is over 30%.Therefore,the soil’s hydrophily is poor.The cohesion and internal friction angle are high,causing preferable physical-mechanical features of slide zone soil.On the basis of the obtained data,the landslide stability is evaluated by means of limit equilibrium method.The safety factors are 3.191 and 1.92 respectively under both natural and normal water level conditions.The study results show that the landslide is stable.It can provide the appropriate basis and reference for landslide stability evaluation and landslide control in Tibet.

Landslide Reliability Analysis Based on Transfer Coefficient Method: A Case Study from Three Gorges Reservoir

To evaluate the reliability of a landslide in a reservoir, the universal transfer coefficient method, which is popularized by the Chinese standard, is adopted as performance function in this study for： （1） common deterministic method stability evaluation; （2） reliability evaluation based on a Monte Carlo method; （3） comparison of landslide reliability under different water levels and under different correlation coefficients between soil shear strength parameters （c, Φ）, respectively with mean, standard deviation, reliability coefficient and failure probability. This article uses the Bazimen （八字门） landslide, which is located at the outlet of Xiangxi （香溪） River in the Three Gorges Reservoir, as an example to evaluate its stability and reliability under different water levels with two-dimensional deterministic and probabilistic methods. With the assumption that constant mean and normal distributed shear strength parameters （c, Φ）, correlation coefficient c, Φ=-1 based reliability analysis, compared with c, Φ=0 and 1, indicates obviously more increase of reliability index and lower standard deviation as water levels rise. To the case of a certain water level, c, Φ=-1 does not have constantly positive or negative effects on landslide reliability compared with c, Φ=0 or 1, but is associated with water level. Whereas the safety factor Fs by deterministic method, which is almost the same value as corresponding mean of safety factor from probabilistic analysis, will increase slightly as water level increases.

Poisson's ratios and S-wave velocities of the Xishancun landslide,Sichuan,China,inferred from high-frequency receiver functions of local earthquakes

Landslides are recurrent geological phenomena on Earth that cause heavy casualties and property losses annually.In this study,we use the V_(p)-k stacking and nonlinear waveform inversion methods of high-frequency receiver functions extracted from local earthquakes,to sequentially invert Poisson’s ratios and S-wave velocities of the Quaternary Xishancun landslide,which is composed of three segments,i.e.,h1,h2,and h3 from bottom to top.Our results show that Poisson’s ratio values are generally higher than 0.33 and that the S-wave velocities vary from 0.1 to 0.9 km s^(-1).High Poisson’s ratios(>0.44)are mainly distributed in the juncture regions between different segments,as well as the western edge of h2.These zones show significant variation in landslide thickness and are potentially hazardous areas.Low velocities of 0.05–0.2 km s^(-1)with thicknesses of 10–30m are widely observed in the lower layer of the landslide.The high Poisson’s ratios and low-velocity layer may be related to water-rich materials in these areas.Our study suggests that the high-frequency receiver functions from local earthquakes can be used to delineate geotechnical structures,which is valuable for landslide stability analysis and hazard mitigation.

Stability of Huangtupo Riverside Slumping Mass Ⅱ# under Water Level Fluctuation of Three Gorges Reservoir

After the normal operation of the Three Gorges Reservoir,the water level of the reser-voir will fluctuate periodically.Water level fluctuation will soften the rock and soil on the banks,induce underground water fluctuation and decrease the shear strength of rock soil on the banks,and in turn affect the landslide stability.The Huangtupo（黄土坡） landslide is a typical large and complex landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir region.In particular,the stability of its riverside slumping mass has a great stake.On the basis of the analysis of engineering geological condition and formation mechanism of the Huangtupo landslide,the authors established the 2D finite element model of riverside slumping mass II# and selected proper mechanical parameters of the rock.With the GeoStudio software,ac-cording to the reservoir running curve,the simulation on coupling effect of seepage field and stress field was conducted in 7 different modes in a year.The results showed that：① Huangtupo landslide is a large and complex landslide composed of multiple slumping masses,which occurred at different phases.Before reservoir impoundment,it was stable;② it is quite difficult for riverside slumping mass I# and II# to slide as a whole;③ the stability coefficient of riverside slumping mass II# changes with the res-ervoir water level fluctuations.The minimum stability coefficient occurs 48 days after the water level starts to fall and the moment when the water level falls by 11.9 m.Landslide monitoring result is con-sistent with the numerical simulation result,which shows that although the reservoir water level fluc-tuation will affect the foreside stability of the landslide and induce gradual damage,the riverside slumping mass II# is stable as a whole.