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Cumulative damage effect on debris slopes under frequent microseisms

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Abstract

Debris slopes are widely distributed across the Three Gorges Reservoir area in China, and seasonal fluctuations of the water level in the area tend to cause high-frequency microseisms that subsequently induce landslides on such debris slopes. In this study, a cumulative damage model of debris slope with varying slope characteristics under the effects of frequent microseisms was established, based on the accurate definition of slope damage variables. The cumulative damage behaviour and the mechanisms of slope instability and sliding under frequent microseisms were thus systematically investigated through a series of shaking table tests and discrete element numerical simulations, and the influences of related parameters such as bedrock, dry density and stone content were discussed. The results showed that the instability mode of a debris slope can be divided into a vibration-compaction stage, a crack generation stage, a crack development stage, and an instability stage. Under the action of frequent microseisms, debris slope undergoes the last three stages cyclically, which causes the accumulation to slide out in layers under the synergistic action of tension and shear, causing the slope to become destabilised. There are two sliding surfaces as well as the parallel tensile surfaces in the final instability of the debris slope. In the process of instability, the development trend of the damage accumulation curve remains similar for debris slopes with different parameters. However, the initial vibration compaction effect in the bedrock-free model is stronger than that in the bedrock model, with the overall cumulative damage degree in the former being lower than that of the latter. The damage degree of the debris slope with high dry density also develops more slowly than that of the debris slope with low dry density. The damage development rate of the debris slope does not always decrease with the increase of stone content. The damage degree growth rate of the debris slope with the optimal stone content is the lowest, and the increase or decrease of the stone content makes the debris slope instability happen earlier. The numerical simulation study also further reveals that the damage in the debris slope mainly develops in the form of crack formation and penetration, in which, shear failure occurs more frequently in the debris slope.

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Abbreviations

cbs s :

Tangential bond strength of soil particles

cbn s :

Normal bond strength of soil particles

C c :

Coefficient of curvature

C u :

Uniformity coefficient

D :

Width of numerical model

d 50 :

Mean grain diameter

d max :

Maximum diameter

D 1 :

Damage degree of rock mass

D 2 :

Damage degree of slope model

D a :

Internal damage ratio of numerical model

E :

Elastic modulus

E s :

Elastic modulus of soil particles

E r :

Elastic modulus of rock particles

f :

Frequency

f o :

Initial natural frequency of the slope model

f 1 :

Natural frequency of the slope model after the seismic waves are applied

F :

Force

g :

Acceleration of gravity

H :

High of numerical model

k s :

Contact stiffness ratio of soil particles

k r :

Contact stiffness ratio of rock particles

k n-1 :

Normal stiffness of contact between soil particles

k n-2 :

Normal stiffness of contact between rock particles

k s-1 :

Shear stiffness of contact between soil particles

k s-2 :

Shear stiffness of contact between rock particles

L :

Geometry size

M :

Quality

P o :

Initial porosity

r min :

Minimum particle radius

r min :

Maximum particle radius

S :

Area

t :

Time

u :

Linear displacement

v :

Velocity

v o :

Acoustic velocity of rock mass before blasting

v 1 :

Acoustic velocity of rock mass after blasting μPoisson ratio

μ s :

Friction coefficient of contact between soil particles

μ r :

Friction coefficient of contact between rock particles

ρ :

Density

ρ s :

Soil particles density

ρ r :

Rock particles density

γ :

Volumetric weight

ψ :

Internal friction angle

ε :

Strain

σ :

Stress

ξ :

Damping ratio

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Acknowledgments

The research reported in this manuscript is funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing municipality (Grant No. CSTC2021JCYJMSXMX0558), the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No.2018YFC1504802) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Project No.2019CDCG0013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400045, China

    Zhong-ping Yang, Shi-qi Li & Xin Tian

  2. State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics and Control, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Zhong-ping Yang & Shi-qi Li

  3. National Joint Engineering Research Center for Prevention and Control of Environmental Geological Hazards in the TGR Area (Chongqing), Chongqing, 400045, China

    Zhong-ping Yang & Shi-qi Li

  4. Southwest Institute of Chemical Co., Ltd., Chengdu, 610200, China

    Xin Tian

  5. Extension Project Headquarters of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, Chongqing, 401120, China

    Yuan-xin Hu

  6. Chongqing Luneng Development (Group) Co., Ltd., Chongqing, 401120, China

    Wan-kun Li

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  1. Zhong-ping Yang
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  2. Shi-qi Li
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Correspondence to Zhong-ping Yang.

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Yang, Zp., Li, Sq., Tian, X. et al. Cumulative damage effect on debris slopes under frequent microseisms. J. Mt. Sci. 19, 781–797 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-020-6419-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-020-6419-2

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