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Surficial stability analysis of unsaturated loess slopes subjected to rainfall infiltration effects

  • Mountain Hazards
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Wuhan University Journal of Natural Sciences

Abstract

According to theory of unsaturated soil strength and Green-Ampt model, an analysis method based on limit equilibrium theory is introduced to consider rainfall infiltration effects in loess slope stability analysis. The relationships between wetting band depth and surficial stability of slopes are analyzed. It is found that the infiltration adds to the weight of the soil and at the same time reduces the shear strength provided by matric suction of the soil. The wetting band depth plays a key role in the stability of slopes. The minimum rainfall intensity and the minimum rainfall duration needed to infiltrate to the wetting front depth are calculated based on the Green-Ampt model. The method in this paper will contribute to the predication of slope stability considering rainfall characteristics.

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Correspondence to Wang Chenghua.

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Foundation item: Supported by the Knowledge Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-306)

Biography: LI Xinpo(1978-), male, Ph. D. candidate, he works in the China University of Petroleum, research direction: slope stability and landslide analysis

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Xinpo, L., Chenghua, W. & Jun, X. Surficial stability analysis of unsaturated loess slopes subjected to rainfall infiltration effects. Wuhan Univ. J. Nat. Sci. 11, 825–828 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02830171

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02830171

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