Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Analysis of a progressive slope failure in the Xiangjiaba reservoir area, Southwest China

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Landslides Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The rehabilitation construction in the reservoir area of Xiangjiaba hydropower station in Southwest China has caused many landslides. A shallow progressive failure that occurred on the resettlement site of Xin’an Town of Pingshan County in Sichuan Province was selected as a case study. This landslide occurred in a long and gently inclined area by slope excavation under rainfall conditions. It is about 3.0 m deep with a total length of 35 m and is composed of some subfailures. Undisturbed samples were retrieved, on which the basic properties, shear strength, expansive potential, mineral compositions, and microstructures were tested and analyzed. The results show (1) the landsliding materials belong to medium expansive soil, consisting of the clay minerals of illite–smectite (I/S) and chlorite–smectite (C/S); (2) shear strength of the soil is sensitive to water, which greatly decreases once saturated; and (3) many fractures and relatively large pores are developed in the soils. Back analysis of the landslide shows that the shear strength at failure is less than the residual shear strength obtained from lab tests, indicating that some processes contributing to the slope failure could not be reflected by the shear box test. Based on the above analysis, the progressive process of the slope failure was interpreted, and it is inferred that the rainfall entered into the slope mainly through fractures and relatively large pores in the soil. It caused not only the great decrease in soil strength but also the swelling trend. The latter one would lead to growth, interaction, and coalescence of the fractures. Soon after, these fractures formed the shear planes (zones), which further decreased the resistance of the landslide. Under these favorable conditions, the slope excavation directly triggered the failure.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andresen L, Jostad HP (2004) Analyses of progressive failure in long natural slopes. In: Proceedings of the 9th Symposium on Numerical Models in Geomechanics (NUMOG IX), Ottawa, 25–27 August, 2004

  • Ariane L, Serge L, Stig B, Denis D, Hans PJ, Lyes O (2011) Progressive failures in eastern Canadian and Scandinavian sensitive clays. Can Geotechnique J 48:1696–1712

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ASTM D4829 Standard test method for expansion index of soils. Annual Book of ASTM Standards, American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conshohocken

  • Bernander S, Olofsson I (1981) On formation of progressive failure in slopes. In: Proceeding of the 10th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (ICSMFE), Stockholm, Sweden, 15–19 June, 1981

  • Bjerrum L (1967) Progressive failure in slopes in over-consolidated plastic clay and clay shales. Terzaghi lecture. J Soil Mech Found Div ASCE 93:3–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Du YJ, Li SL, Hayashi S (1999) Swelling–shrinkage properties and soil improvement of compacted expansive soil, Ning-Liang Highway, China. Eng Geol 53:351–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eberhardt E, Stead D, Coggan JS (2004) Numerical analysis of initiation and progressive failure in natural rock slopes—the 1991 Randa rockslide. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 41:69–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GBJ112-87 National standard of the People’s Republic of China, Criterion for construction in expansive soils region

  • Hydro-China Zhongnan Engineering Corporation (HCZEC) (2010) Engineering geological investigation report of Lou-an Highway (K25 + 800), Pingshan County, Sichuan Province, the Xiangjiaba reservoir area

  • Hydro-China Zhongnan Engineering Corporation (HCZEC) (2011) Geotechnique investigation report (detail standard) of resettlement site of Xin’an Town, Pingshan County, Sichuan Province, in the Xiangjiaba Reservoir area

  • Jaboyedoff M, Couture R, Locat P (2009) Structural analysis of Turtle Mountain (Alberta) using digital elevation model: toward a progressive failure. Geomorphology 103:5–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miao LC, Liu SY, Lai YM (2002) Research of soil–water characteristics and shear strength features of Nanyang expansive soil. Eng Geol 65:261–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore DM, Reynolds RC (1997) X-ray diffraction and the identification and analysis of clay minerals, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford, p 378

    Google Scholar 

  • Ng CWW, Zhan LT, Bao CG, Fredlund DG, Gong BW (2003) Performance of an unsaturated expansive soil slope subjected to artificial rainfall infiltration. Geotechnique 52:143–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer AC, Rice JR (1973) The growth of slip surfaces in the progressive failure of over-consolidated clay. Proc R Soc Lond A Math Phys Sci 332:527–548

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petley DN, Higuchi T, Petley DJ, Bulmer MH, Carey J (2005) Development of progressive landslide failure in cohesive materials. Geology 33:201–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rahardjo H, Aung KK, Leong EC, Rezaur (2004) Characteristics of residual soils in Singapore as formed by weathering. Eng Geol 73:157–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rouaiguia A (2010) Residual shear strength of clay-structure interfaces. Int J Civ Environ Eng 10:6–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Shi B, Jiang HT, Liu ZH, Fang HY (2002) Engineering geological characteristics of expansive soils in China. Eng Geol 67:63–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sichuan Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (SBGMR) (2009) Geotechnique investigation report of Jinyu village landslide, Jinping Town, Pingshan County, Sichuan Province, in the Xiangjiaba Reservoir area

  • Stark TD, Eid HT (1994) Drained residual strength of cohesive of soils. J Geotech Eng 120:856–871

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stock GM, Martel SJ, Collins BD, Harp EL (2012) Progressive failure of sheeted rock slopes: the 2009–2010 Rhombus Wall rock falls in Yosemite Valley, California, USA. Earth Surf Process Landforms 37:546–561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoltz G, Cuisinier O, Masrouri F (2012) Multi-scale analysis of the swelling and shrinkage of a lime-treated expansive clayey soil. Appl Clay Sci 61:44–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terzaghi K (1950) Mechanism of landslides: in application of geology to engineering practice. Geological Society of America Special Publication. Geological Society of America, Boulder

    Google Scholar 

  • Uchida T, Kosugi K, Mizuyama T (2001) Effects of pipeflow on hydrological process and its relation to landslide: a review of pipeflow studies in forested headwater catchments. Hydrol Process 15:2151–2174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Asch TWJ, Buma J, Van Beek LPH (1999) A view on some hydrological triggering systems in landslides. Geomorphology 30:25–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wen BP, Aydin A, Duzgoren-Aydin NS, Li YR, Chen HY, Xiao SD (2007) Residual strength of slip zones of large landslides in the Three Gorges area, China. Eng Geol 93:82–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams ABB, Donaldson G (1980) Building on expansive soils in South Africa. Proceeding of 4th international conference expansive soils, Denver, 1980

  • Xu L, Dai FC, Tham LG, Tu XB, Min H, Zhou YF, Wu CX, Xu K (2011) Field testing of irrigation effects on the stability of a cliff edge in loess, North-west China. Eng Geol 120:10–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu L, Dai FC, Tham LG, Zhou YF, Wu CX (2012) Investigating landslide-related cracks along the edge of two loess platforms in northwest China. Earth Surf Process Landforms 37:1023–1033

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zienkiewicz OC, Humpeson C, Lewis RW (1975) Associated and nonassociated visco-plasticity in soil mechanics. Geotechnique 25:671–689

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The financial support by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (no. 51109199) is acknowledged. We also thank the Petroleum Geology Research and Laboratory Center, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration Development, China where XRD analyses were performed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Ling Xu, Fuchu Dai, Javed Iqbal & Yongxin Qu

  2. School of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China

    Jian Chen

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad, Pakistan

    Javed Iqbal

Authors
  1. Ling Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Fuchu Dai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jian Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Javed Iqbal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yongxin Qu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ling Xu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Xu, L., Dai, F., Chen, J. et al. Analysis of a progressive slope failure in the Xiangjiaba reservoir area, Southwest China. Landslides 11, 55–66 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-012-0373-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-012-0373-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation