Stability of loess high-fill slope based on monitored soil moisture changes

This paper aims to assess the influence of moisture content changes during rainfall on the stability of loess high-fill slopes by taking a loess high-fill slope in Lanzhou City as an example.First,according to the moisture content monitoring data collected from a slope online monitoring system,direct shear tests were performed on soil samples of different moisture content to determine the relationship between the shear strength parameters and moisture content.Next,a coupled hydro-mechanical model with soil shear strength related to moisture content was established and used to analyze 16 working conditions with various rainfall intensities and durations for two cases:shear strength parameters from the site exploration report and those from this study.Finally,the results from the two cases were compared regarding the changes in stresses and displacements after rainfall infiltration to analyze the influence of moisture content on the stability of loess high-fill slopes.The conclusions are as follows:(1)Segmental relationship equations of cohesion and angle of internal friction were established for loess with various moisture content.(2)Under the conditions of different rainfall intensities,significant differences were observed in the trends of slope stress and displacement changes.(3)The slope displacement occurred in the shallow soil layer within about 12.5 m from the slope top,and the plastic strain concentrated in the soil layer within about 6 m from the slope top.(4)The results of slope stability analyses based on moisture content monitoring data are more in line with the observed.

GIS-based 3D limit equilibrium analysis for design optimization of a 600 m high slope in an open pit mine

Combining the GIS （geographic information systems） grid-based data with four proposed column-based 3D slope stability analysis models, a comprehensive solution of a high-steep open-pit slope has been obtained. For six searching ranges, 19 critical slip surfaces of different sizes have been studied, in which the minimum 3D safety factor is 1.33. Comparison of 3D safety factors of designed and proposed slope plans shows for all the critical slip surfaces for the proposed plan, the smallest 3D safety factor is 1.33 under the most unfavorable condition. This means that the proposed plan of the high slopes, about 600 m, of an open pit （2-5° steeper than designed plan） is feasible.

Study on high and steep slope stability of surface mine based on RFPA-SRM

The instability and failure mechanism of high and steep slopes in surface mines, and the basis for some reasonable landslide prevention measures were provided using the RFPA-SRM. Based on the actual progress of the Pingzhuang Western Surface Mine and based on strength reduction method, the dynamic instability processes of the top high and steep slope was simulated. Also, the landslide mode was determined, the characteristics of the displacement distribution, the deformation, failure, and the stress distribution in the slope were demonstrated, and the stability was calculated. Conclusions can be drawn as follows： the landslide or failure of high and steep slopes on a surface mine is a gradual process, in which the slope undergoes the generation, expansion, and connection of the fractures and the displacement increases until landslide occurs; a small portion of the upper rocks fail due to the tension and the lower rocks fail due to the shear; the potential sliding surface is combined and the essential cause of the landslide is the shear stress concentration.

Application of Three-Dimensional Laser Scanning and Surveying in Geological Investigation of High Rock Slope

The appearance of 3D laser scanning technology is one of the most important technology revolutions in surveying and mapping field. It can be widely used in many interrelated fields, such as engineering constructions and 3D measurements, owing to its prominent characteristics of the high efficiency and high precision. At present its application is still in the initial state, and it is quite rarely used in China, especially in geotechnical engineering and geological engineering fields. Starting with a general introduction of 3D laser scanning technology, this article studies how to apply the technology to high rock slope investigations. By way of a case study, principles and methods of quick slope documentation and occurrence measurement of discontinuities are discussed and analyzed. Analysis results show that the application of 3D laser scanning technology to geotechnical and geological engineering has a great prospect and value.

Deformation and failure of a high-steep slope induced by multi-layer coal mining

During underground mining,accurate revelation on the deformation and failure mechanisms of a high-steep slope under multi-layer mining conditions facilitates the prevention and control of geological disasters in mines.Numerical simulation based on discrete element theory can be used to explore the characteristics and mechanism of action of deformation and failure of a slope under complex geological and multi-layer mining conditions.By utilising PFC2 D(particle flow code) software,the deformation and failure characteristics of a high-steep slope in Faer Coal Mine in Guizhou Province,China were investigated.Additionally,the mechanism of influence of different numbers of mining layers on the deformation and failure of the high and steep slope was elucidated.The result showed that after the goaf passed by the slope toe,multi-layer mining aggravated the subsidence and deformation of the slope toe:the slope toppled forward as it sank.The toppling of the slope changed the slope structures:the strata in the front of the slope were transformed from anti-dip to down-dip features.Extruded by collapsedtoppled rock mass,the slope toe and the rock mass located in the lower part of the slope toe generally exhibited a locking effect on the slope.Multi-layer mining degraded the overall stability of the slope,in that the total displacement of the slope was much greater than the total mining thickness of the coal seams.Based on the aforementioned research,ideas for preventing and controlling geological disasters during mining operations under a high-steep slope were proposed.

Simulation analysis of construction process of high rock slope's stabilization

A self-developed elasto-plastic finite element program was used to analyze the construction sequence of high rock slope's stabilization in a coal-coking plant, and the result was compared with that employing the ultimate equilibrium method. Based on the results of finite element analysis, the stress contour graphs and displacement vector graphs at different construction steps were obtained, and the behavior of the slope during stabilization construction process was analyzed quantitatively. Based on the analysis of safety factors of three different schemes of stabilization and two different construction schemes, the assessment of stability and bracing design of the construction process were performed. The results show that the original reinforcement design is improper; the stability of the rock slope is controlled by a developed structural plane, the stability factor after excavation is less than 1, and the free surface should be braced in time; for stability, the construction sequence should adopt that bracing follows excavation step by step up to down; the local slide occurred during the construction process agrees with the dangerous slide determined by the numerical analysis, which proves the validity and rationality of the adopted method.

Inversion analysis of the shear strength parameters for a high loess slope in the limit state

It is difficult to obtain reliable shear strength parameters for the stability analysis and evaluation of high loess slopes.Hence,this paper determines slope elements and physical parameter of 79 slopes with heights of[40,120]m based on the measured loess slopes in the Ganquan and Tonghuang subregions of northern Shaanxi Province,China.In the limit state of the loess slope(stability factor Fs is 1.0),a fitting equation for the slope height and width is established.Then,the model is developed by stability analysis software-SLOPE/W,and the comprehensive shear strength parameters corresponding to different slope heights of the high slope in the study area are obtained by inversion using the Morgenstern-Price method.The results show that when the height of the slope increases,the cohesion c increases in the soil,and the internal friction angle j decreases.This change is consistent with the characteristics reflected in the composition and physical properties of the slopes,and the comprehensive strength parametric curves are very similar between the Ganquan subregion and the Tonghuang subregion.A landslide that occurred in Miaodian-zaitou of Jingyang County,Shaanxi Province,is selected to verify this inversion method,and the results show that the calculated shear strength parameters of the inversion are consistent with the measured value of the actual slope.

Experimental Study on Performance of Multidirectional Geogrid and Its Application in Engineering of High Slope

By analyzing the grille mechanical property, tensile strength and creep tests, and the fi eld tests, we investigated the characteristics and the reinforcement principle of multidirectional geogrid, and obtained the effect factors of grid characteristics, load and time curve and the shear stress of grille and sand interface. The reinforcement effect of geogrid in combination of typical project cases was illustrated and the following conclusions were presented. Firstly, multidirectional geogrid has ability to resist structural deformation, node distortion or soil slippage under stress, and can effectively disperse load. Secondly, with the increase of tensile rate, grille intensity increases and the creep value also increases with the increase of load. Thirdly, the frictional resistance balance between horizontal thrust of damaged zone and reinforced soil in stable region can avoid slope failure due to excessive lateral deformation. Fourthly, the multidirectional geogrid is able to withstand the vertical, horizontal and diagonal forces by combing them well with three-dimensional orientation, realizing the purpose of preventing soil erosion and slope reinforcement, which has a wide range of application and development in engineering fi eld.

Evaluation of the possible slip surface of a highly heterogeneous rock slope using dynamic reduction method

A new method, the dynamic reduction method(DRM) combined with the strain-softening method, was applied to evaluate the possible slip surface of a highly heterogeneous rock slope of the Dagangshan hydropower station in Southwest China.In DRM, only the strength of the failure elements is reduced and the softening reduction factor K is adopted to calculate the strength parameters. The simulation results calculated by DRM show that the further slip surface on the right slope of the Dagangshan hydropower station is limited in the middle part of the slope, while both SRM(strength reduction method) and LEM(limit equilibrium method) predict a failure surface which extends upper and longer. The observations and analysis from the three recorded sliding events indicate that the failure mode predicted by DRM is more likely the scenario.The results in this study illustrate that for highly heterogeneous slopes with geological discontinuities in different length scales, the proposed DRM can provide a reliable prediction of the location of the slip surface.

Dynamic Response of Shallow-Buried Tunnels Traversing High Loess Slopes

Considering the existence of numerous shallow-buried tunnels traversing high slopes in the loess area in western China and the fact of high seismic intensity there,we investigate the dynamic response rules of a shallow-buried loess tunnel and its slope under the action of seismic waves with different intensities.Through large-scale shaking table model tests,we successfully analyze the characteristics and process of the destabilization of tunnels and slopes,and propose valuable suggestions regarding the reinforcement parts of a tunnel for reducing seismic damage.The results show that the main seismic damage on a slope include the failure of the sliding surface between the top and foot and the stripping of the soil around the tunnel entrance,while the damage on a tunnel is mainly manifested as the seismic-induced subsidence at the portal section and the cracking deformation at the joint areas.Finally,we propose that the“staggered peak distribution”phenomenon of the maximum acceleration values at the vault and inverted arch area can be considered as a criterion indicating that the tunnel enters into the threshold of dynamic failure.

Research on Deformation and Force of Bridge Pile Foundation on High and Steep Slope in Mountainous Area

With the rapid development of my country’s economy, the demand for infrastructure construction is also increasing. However, in most areas of China, the terrains are mountainous and hilly. Some projects have to be built on steep slopes. Choosing viaducts or half-bridges on high-steep slopes is not only conducive to the protection of the surrounding environment, but also conducive to the stability of the slope. Bridges usually choose the form of pile foundation-high pier bridge. This paper uses numerical simulation to study and analyze the bridge pile foundation of the slope section. Relying on actual engineering, use the finite element software ABAQUS6.14 to establish a three-dimensional finite element model to study the bearing mechanism and mechanical characteristics of the pile foundation under vertical load, horizontal load and inclined load, discuss the influence of the nature of the soil around the pile and the stiffness of the pile body on the deformation and internal force of the bridge pile foundation in the slope section. The analysis results show that the horizontal load has a great influence on the horizontal displacement of the pile, but has a small influence on the vertical displacement, and the vertical load is just the opposite. Inclined load has obvious “p-Δ” effect. The increase in soil elastic modulus and pile stiffness will reduce the displacement of the pile foundation, but after reaching a certain range, the displacement of the pile foundation will tend to be stable. Therefore, in actual engineering, if the displacement of the pile foundation fails to meet the requirements, the hardness of the soil and the stiffness of the pile can be appropriately increased, but not blindly.

Stability of High Slope Interbedded Strata with Low Dip Angle Constituted by Soft and Hard Rock Mass

Slopes consisting of interbedded strata of soft and hard rock mass, such as purplish red mudstone and grey brown arkosic sandstone of Jurassic age, are very common in Sichuan basin of China. The mudstone is soft while the sandstone is hard and contains many opening or closing joints with a high dip angle. Some are nearly parallel and the others are nearly decussated with the trend of the slopes. Many natural slopes are in deformation or sliding because of those reasons. The stability of cutting slopes and supporting method to be taken for their stability in civil engineering are important. In this paper, the stability and deformation of the slopes are studied. The methods of analysis and support design principle are analyzed also. Finally, the method put forward is applied to study Fengdian high cutting slope in Sichuan section of the express way from Chengdu to Shanghai. The results indicate that the method is effective.

Maintenance and Management of High Slope of the Mountain Expressway

In order to effectively reduce the incidence of expressway operation safety accidents,one should pay attention to expressway safety management,especially high slope maintenance and management.In conjunction,with the current situation of operation safety management of some expressways,many mountain expressways have high slope incidences from time to time,due to the extension of operating time,and inadequate maintenance management.Moreover,vehicle damage,and human death accidents caused by the high slope collapse,landslide,debris flow,and other disasters are often reported.Therefore,it is essential to strengthen the maintenance and management of high slope in the mountain expressways.This paper,will further elaborate the issues,which are related to the maintenance and management of high slopes in the in mountainous expressways.

Deformation Mechanism and Stability of a Rocky Slope

A high slope is located on the side of the spillway at a hydropower station in Southwest China, which has some weak inter-layers inclining outwards. Parts of the slope show heavy weathering and unloading. There appeared deformation and tensile crack either on the surface or on the afteredge of the slope during excavation, and under a platform （elev. 488 m）, two levels of slopes collapsed on the downriver side. Based on the investigation in situ and the analysis of the geological structure, the conceptual model of deformation and failure mechanism was erected for this slope. Furthermore, the deformation characteristics were studied with FLAC^3D numerical simulation. Comprehensive analysis shows that the whole deformation of the slope is unloading rebound in certain depth scope and the whole body does not slide along any weak interlayer. In addition, two parts with prominent local deformation in the shallow layer of the slope show the models of ＂creep sfiding-tensile cracking＂ and ＂slidlng-tensile cracking＂, respectively. Based on the above analysis, the corresponding project of support and reinforcement is proposed to make the slope more stable.

Slope stability FEM analysis and retaining wall design:a case study of clinker in Benxi of Liaoning

Stability is always the most important problem after high slope was excavated.The study analyzed the stress and strain inside the slope by Finite Element Method(FEM) and carried through stress distribution and failure zone,then analyzed the stability of the slope using three different methods and came to the conclusion that it is in unstable condition,so the designed retaining wall was put forward which makes the slope stable.

Numerical simulation on the stability of rock slope based on an improved SPH Method

The presence of random fissures has a great impact on rock slope stability.To investigate the failure modes and stability of rock slopes containing different types of pre-existing fissures,the fracture mark ξ was introduced to improve the kernel function in the traditional smoothed particle dynamics(SPH) method,and a novel numerical method,the improved kernel of smoothed particle hydrodynamics(IKSPH),was proposed to realise the microscopic damage characteristics of particles.The ‘random fissure generating method' has been proposed for random fissure generation,and the gravity increase method has been embedded into the IKSPH program,thereby realising the stability analysis of rock slopes considering crack propagation processes.A typical steep rock slope is taken as a numerical simulation example considering the random distributions of preexisting fissures,and its failure modes as well as the stability under different conditions were simulated.The results show that the failure processes of the rock slope contain propagations of microcracks and then macrocrack penetrations.When the fissure length is short,shallow collapse failure modes can be observed;when the fissure length is long,the deep layer slide occurs,and the slope stability decreases with an increase in fissure length.The micro and macrocrack surfaces are basically consistent with pre-existing fissure angles,and the safety factor is the least at a fissure angle of 30°.The greater the fissure density,the greater the number of macrocracks,and the stability decreases with an increase in the number of pre-existing fissures.The research results can provide some references for disaster protection and understanding the failure laws of rock slopes.Meanwhile,combining the geological survey results with the numerical simulations and developing a high-performance IKSPH program will be a future research direction.

Study on high rock slop anchoring technique of large rock engineering

Monitoring data from the Three Gorges Project show that the resulted tensile stresses are mainly distributed within the front section of the internal anchoring section which is often measuring 2.5 m in length. The composition of two early strength cement grout mixes marked as R_3350 and R_7350 was successfully developed to accelerate anchoring facilities installation and to reduce its intervention with the shiplock construction. It was measured that the ground water pH value in the sidewall slopes of the permanent navigation shiplock during the construction period was close to 8. Based on those characteristics it is concluded that the groundwater is weakly corrosive to steel material and will appear as non-corrosive to the steel wire strands embedded in the cement grout set. The advanced model of 3 MN unbonded anchor cables with double anti-corrosion protection(including the corrugated pipe) is developed to meet the needs of stabilizing the high sidewall rock slopes of the permanent navigation shiplock on the Three Gorges Project.

Research on Effect of Heap Loading on Deformation and Mechanical Properties of Bridge Double Pile Foundation on Steep Slope

In order to analyze the deformation and stress characteristics of the pile foundation on the slope, this paper uses the finite element software Abaqus for numerical simulation. The displacement and stress data of pile under different working conditions (the combination of heap load and vertical load and horizontal load and inclined load) were collected;the distribution of pile displacement, axial force and bending moment were analyzed. Simulation results show that: slope top loading has little effect on vertical displacement; when the heap load exceeds 200 kPa, the horizontal displacement is greatly affected. Pile axial force decreases with pile burial depth;pile lateral resistance plays a more adequate role in the rock and soil layer. The bending moment of double pile foundation is positive at the top and negative at the bottom. Applied oblique load has obvious p-Δ effect.

Buckling failure analysis and numerical manifold method simulation for high and steep slope: A case study

Buckling failure of layered rock slopes due to self-weight is common in mountain areas, especially for high andsteep slope, and it frequently results in serious disasters. Previous research has focused on qualitatively evaluatingslope buckling stability and rarely studied the whole process from bending deformation to forming landslide. Inthis work, considering the tensile and compressive characteristics of rock, the simulation of high and steep slopebucking failure evolved in Bawang Mountain, was conducted by numerical manifold method. The bucklingdeformation mechanism and progressive failure process of Bawang Mountain high steep slope were studied. Thereliability of the numerical method was verified by the comparison of theoretical calculation and field measurement data. The results show that numerical manifold method can accurately simulate high and steep slopebuckling failure process by preforming interlayer and cross joints. The process of slope buckling deformation andinstability failure can be divided into minor sliding-creep deformation, interlayer dislocation-slight bending,traction by slope toe-sharp uplift, accelerated sliding-landslide formation. Under the long-term action of selfweight, the evolution of slope buckling from formation to landslide is a progressive failure process, whichmainly contains three stages: slight bending deformation, intense uplift deformation and landslide formation.

Key issues in rock mechanics of the Three Gorges Project in China

The Three Gorges Project is one of the essential key projects for flood controlling and water resources regulation in the Yangtze River. The project includes a river-crossing dam, underground powerhouses, and navigation structures. Because of the huge size and complicated construction technologies, the project faced a series of challenging engineering issues. In terms of rock mechanics, there are many key technical issues, including the sliding resistance and stability of the dam section along the foundations of powerhouses No.l-5, the ,,;lope stability of the double-line five-stage shiplock, excavation of large-scale underground powerhouses, and curtain grouting under the dam. With decades of scientific research and 16 years of practical construction experiences and reservoir operations, these key technical issues in construction of the Three Gorges Project are successfully resolved, which will attribute to the development of hydropower technology. On the basis of the monitoring data during construction and normal operation periods of the Three Gorges Project, this paper presents a systematic analysis of these key rock mechanical issues in terms of behaviors, solutions, dynamic controlling, monitoring arrangement and integrated assessment.