Abstract
To study the formation mechanism of trailing edge fracture surfaces of retrogressive landslides, model tests, theoretical analysis, and numerical simulations are used. Firstly, a test device that could realize segmented softening of sliding zone soils was developed, and the progressive failure process was realized by injecting water into different permeable boxes. Twelve groups of model tests were carried out to observe the characteristics of the trailing edge cracks and the inclination angles of the fracture surfaces. The results showed that the longer the unstable sliding zone, the larger the deformation range of the slope. Different unstable sliding sections corresponded to a single main crack. The trailing edge cracks were mainly folded line type, (inverted) arc type, and linear type, and the folded line type cracks accounted for more than 1/2 of the total number. The inclination angles of the trailing edge fracture surfaces were mostly less than 90°, accounting for about 83.72% of the total. The inclination angles of the trailing edge fracture surfaces obtained by the sliding tensile cracking mechanism were the closest to the experimental values, and the relative errors were less than 10%. The formation mechanism of the trailing edge fracture surfaces is that tensile failure plays a leading role in the formation of the trailing edge fracture surfaces. The surface layer of the landslide body mainly undergoes tensile failure, and the middle and lower parts of the landslide body form a tensile-shear mixed action zone. The bottom sliding surface is dominated by shear failure.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Prof. Yang Tao (Southwest Jiaotong University) for his guidance on the model test and theoretical analysis. This research was supported by the Science and Technology Projects of Education Department of Jilin Province (Grant No. JJKH20210261KJ).
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Sun, L., Shen, F. & Li, C. Water-induced weakening retrogressive landslides: a study on the progressive failure process and formation mechanism of trailing edge fracture surfaces. Bull Eng Geol Environ 82, 201 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-023-03210-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-023-03210-7