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GIS-based three-dimensional slope stability analysis considering rainfall infiltration

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Abstract

Rainfall-induced landslides are a major cause of slope failure in mountainous areas. As rainfall begins to infiltrate a slope the wetting front advances into the soil and reduces its shear strength. Slope failures occur when the reduced shear strength becomes less than the resisting shear strength needed for equilibrium. These areas of instability are usually located near the ground surface where pore-water pressure changes rapidly during infiltration. The wetting front depth in a slope plays an important role in slope stability. In this study a well-known infiltration model, the Green and Ampt model, is integrated into three GIS-based three-dimensional limit equilibrium methods to assess the impact of rainfall on slope stability. This infiltration model can predict the depth of the wetting front during steady and unsteady rainfall. The applied three-dimensional methods are modified according to different positions of the wetting front to reflect the influence of rainfall on slope stability. This approach is capable of calculating safety factors corresponding to individual rainfall events and is also capable of predicting the corresponding failure time. The accuracy of the presented study has been verified by simulating the failure process of a real landslide triggered by a rainstorm.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Foundation Engineering, China Academy of Building Research, Beijing, China

    Ning Jia & Jianxing Tong

  2. China Institute for Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, China

    Zhaohui Yang

  3. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China

    Mowen Xie

  4. Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Yasuhiro Mitani

Authors
  1. Ning Jia
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  2. Zhaohui Yang
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  3. Mowen Xie
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  4. Yasuhiro Mitani
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  5. Jianxing Tong
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Correspondence to Ning Jia.

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Jia, N., Yang, Z., Xie, M. et al. GIS-based three-dimensional slope stability analysis considering rainfall infiltration. Bull Eng Geol Environ 74, 919–931 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-014-0661-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-014-0661-1

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