Forming condition of transient saturated zone and its distribution in residual slope under rainfall conditions

Rainfall, as one of the most significant factors triggering the residual soil slope failure, leads to not only the reduction of soil shear strength, but also the increase of soil weight and the decrease of matric suction as well. All these modifications in soil properties have important influence on the slope stability. The water infiltration and redistribution inside the slope are the preconditions of the slope stability under rainfall conditions. Based on the numerical simulation via finite element method, the water infiltration process under rainfall conditions was studied in the present work. The emphases are the formation, distribution and dissipation of transient saturated zone. As for the calculation parameters, the SWCC and the saturated permeability have been determined by pressure plate test and variable head test respectively. The entire process(formation, development, dissipation) of the transient saturated zone was studied in detail. The variations of volumetric water content, matric suction and hydraulic gradient inside the slope, and the eventually raise of groundwater table were characterized and discussed, too. The results show that the major cause of the formation of transient saturated zone is ascribed to the fact that the exudation velocity of rainwater on the wetting front is less than the infiltration velocity of rainfall; as a result, the water content of the soil increases. On the other hand, the formation and extension of transient saturated zone have a close relationship with rainfall intensity and duration. The results can help the geotechnical engineers for the deeper understanding of the failure of residual slope under rainfall condition. It is also suggested that the proper drainage system in the slope may be the cost-effective slope failure mitigation method.

Effects of Shrub on Runoff and Soil Loss at Loess Slopes Under Simulated Rainfall

Improved understanding of the effect of shrub cover on soil erosion process will provide valuable information for soil and water conservation programs.Laboratory rainfall simulations were conducted to determine the effects of shrubs on runoff and soil erosion and to ascertain the relationship between the rate of soil loss and the runoff hydrodynamic characteristics.In these simulations a 20° slope was subjected to rainfall intensities of 45,87,and 127 mm/h.The average runoff rates ranged from 0.51 to 1.26 mm/min for bare soil plots and 0.15 to 0.96 mm/min for shrub plots.Average soil loss rates varied from 44.19 to 114.61 g/(min·m^2) for bare soil plots and from 5.61 to 84.58 g/(min·m^2) for shrub plots.There was a positive correlation between runoff and soil loss for the bare soil plots,and soil loss increased with increased runoff for shrub plots only when rainfall intensity is 127 mm/h.Runoff and soil erosion processes were strongly influenced by soil surface conditions because of the formation of erosion pits and rills.The unit stream power was the optimal hydrodynamic parameter to characterize the soil erosion mechanisms.The soil loss rate increased linearly with the unit stream power on both shrub and bare soil plots.Critical unit stream power values were 0.004 m/s for bare soil plots and 0.017 m/s for shrub plots.

Effects of intense rainfall on stability of infinite terraced slope

For fully understanding the hydrological dynamics of an infinite terraced slope, the infiltration process was studied by employing the Green and Ampt infiltration model. The limit equilibrium method and the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion were adopted to derive a stability model for the infinite terraced slope subjected to an intense rainfall. Numerical simulation was performed for verifying its applicability. The results of numerical simulation indicate that a set of stepped wetting fronts are found during infiltration, and the infiltration of terraced slope covered by coarse-textured soils can be approximated as one-dimensional infiltration. The potential sliding surfaces from the numerical method are all parallel to the slope line, and the proposed model and framework can provide an approximate method of estimating how the infiltration affects the stability of an infinite terraced slope.

The characteristics of rill development and their effects on runoff and sediment yield under different slope gradients

Rill formation is the predominant erosion process in slope land in the Loess Plateau, China. This study was conducted to investigate rill erosion characteristics and their effects on runoff and sediment yielding processes under different slope gradients at a rate of 10°, 15°, 20° and 25° with rainfall intensity of 1.5 mm min-1 in a laboratory setting. Results revealed that mean rill depth and rill density has a positive interrelation to the slope gradient. To the contrary, width-depth ratio and distance of the longest rill to the top of the slope negatively related to slope gradient. All these suggested that increasing slope steepness could enhance rill headward erosion, vertical erosion and the fragmentation of the slope surface. Furthermore,total erosion tended to approach a stable maximum value with increasing slope, which implied that there is probably a threshold slope gradient where soil erosion begins to weaken. At the same time, the correlation analysis showed that there was a close connection between slope gradient and the variousindices of soil erosion: the correlation coefficients of slope gradient with maximal rill depth, number of rills and the distance of the longest rill from the top of the slope were 0.98, 0.97 and-0.98, respectively,indicating that slope gradient is the major factor of affecting the development of rills. Furthermore,runoff was not sensitive to slope gradient and rill formation in this study. Sediment concentration,however, is positively related to slope gradient and rill formation, the sediment concentrations increased rapidly after rill initiation, especially. These results may be essential for soil loss prediction.

Reasonable selection of yield criteria for quantitative analysis of unsaturated soil slope stability

The yield criterion parameters of the soil material change with different values of the cohesion and the angle of friction because of sustained rainfall infiltration. Based on the Mohr-Coulomb(M-C) and Drucker-Prager(D-P) yield criteria, some reasonable yield criteria selections were discussed for quantitative analysis of unsaturated soil slope stability. Moreover, a critical point was found at the effective angle of friction equaling to 16.5° by transformation of parameters related to unsaturated soil under sustained rainfall. When the effective angle of friction more than 16.5° through parameter transformation of different yield criteria under natural condition, the calculation result of the safety factor was such that: f(DP1) > f(M-C) > f(equivalent M-C) > f(DP2) > f(DP3). While the effective angle of friction less than 16.5°, through parameter transformation, the safety factors were in the following order: f(DP1) > f(M-C) > f(DP2) > f(equivalent M-C) > f(DP3). The calculated results from a case study showed that the equivalent M-C yield criterion should be the best at evaluating soil slope stability before rainfall; the DP2 yield criterion should be selected to calculate the soil slope stability at the effective angle of friction less than 16.5° under sustained rainfall. The yield criterion should be selected or adjusted reasonably to calculate the safety factor of unsaturated soil slopes before and during sustained rainfall.