Slope structures and formation of rock–soil aggregate landslides in deeply incised valleys

Rock–soil aggregate landslides(RSALs) are a common geological hazard in deeply incised valleys in southwestern China. Large-scale RSALs are widely distributed in the upper reaches of the Dadu River, Danba County, Sichuan Province, and are influenced by slope structure, which can be divided into open, lock, strip, and dumbbell types, as well as soil type and meso-structure, which can be classified as layered rock–soil aggregate, block-soil, and grainsoil. In this study, the evolution of four types of structures, such as layered-dumbbell, block-soil lock, banded block-soil, and block-soil open types, were analyzed by field surveys, surface and deep displacement monitoring, and Flac3 D. It was found that the Danba reach of the Dadu River showed incised valley through the evolution from wide to slow valley affected by internal and external geological processes since the Quaternary Glaciation. In the layered-dumbbell rock–soil aggregate, the main sliding pattern is multi-stage sliding at different depths. Circular sliding in the trailing edge and plane sliding along the bedrock in the front edge body occurin the block-soil-lock type aggregate. Large-scale multi-level and circular sliding over long distances occur in the banded block-soil aggregate. The blocksoil open type is stable, with only circular sliding occurring in local and shallow surfaces of the body. The monitoring and numerical simulation results further show that slope structure and regularity have diversified with RSALs. The results provide a basis for analyzing the stability mechanism of RSALs and preventing RSALs in deeply incised valleys.

Numerical simulation for influences of pressure solution on T-H-M coupling in aggregate rock

The pressure solution model of granular aggregates was introduced into a FEM code which was developed for the analysis of thermo-hydro-mechanical(T-H-M) coupling in porous medium. Aimed at creating a hypothetical model of nuclear waste disposal in unsaturated quartz aggregate rock mass with laboratory scale, two 4-year computation cases were designed: 1) The porosity and permeability of rock mass are functions of the pressure solution; 2) The porosity and the permeability are constants. Calculation results show that the magnitude and distribution of stresses in the rock mass of these two calculation cases are roughly the same. And, the porosity and the permeability decrease to 43%-54% and 4.4%-9.1% of their original values after case 1 being accomplished; but the negative pore water pressures in cases 1 and 2 are respectively 1.0-1.25 and 1.0-1.1 times of their initial values under the action of nuclear waste. Case 1 exhibits the obvious effect of pressure solution.

A study of some Egyptian carbonate rocks for the building construction industry

A number of geotechnical analyses were carried out on selected carbonate rock samples from eight sites located in Egypt. This analysis was to assess the suitability of these rocks for building construction aggregate. The analyses included properties of uniaxial compressive strength, tensile strength, porosity, water absorption, and dynamic fragmentation. The success of building construction depends to a large extent on the availability of raw materials at affordable prices. Raw materials commonly used in the building industry include sands, gravels, clays and clay-derived products. Despite the widespread occurrence of carbonate rocks throughout Egypt, the low premium placed on their direct application in the building sector may be explained in two ways: firstly, the lack of awareness of the potential uses of carbonate rocks in the building construction industry(beyond the production of asbestos, ceiling boards, roof sheets and Portland cement); and secondly, the aesthetic application of carbonate rocks in the building construction depends mainly on their physical attributes, a knowledge of which is generally restricted to within the confines of research laboratories and industries. Thus this paper addresses the physical and mechanical characteristics of some Egyptian carbonate rocks, evaluating them for their suitability as building construction aggregates.

Meso-damage cracking characteristics analysis for rock and soil aggregate with CT test

The aim of this paper is to investigate the damage cracking characteristics of rock and soil aggregate(RSA)by X-ray computed tomography(CT)under uniaxial compressive loading.The mean CT value for the region of interest(ROI)is used to analyze the cracking characteristics.Also,the mathematical morphology method based on the image threshold segmentation is used to obtain characteristic parameters of cracks to describe the cracking evolution of RSA.Results show that the elastic mismatch between rock blocks and soil matrix is the primary reason for RSA cracking.The mean CT value for the RSA specimen,rock block inclusions,and their adjacent soil regions decreases with the increasing stress level.However,it is more sensitive for block inclusions than soil regions.Using the image segmentation method,length,area and mean width of cracks obey to power function distribution.Crack statistical characteristics are closely related to the rock block’s distribution and morphology.These results may be useful to reveal the mesoscopic cracking mechanism,establish meso-damage evolution equation,and constitutive relation for RSA.