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Stability analysis of an ancient landslide considering shear strength reduction behavior of slip zone soil

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Abstract

In this paper, the stability of an ancient landslide during the first impounding of a nearby reservoir is investigated through the analyses of the shear strength reduction behavior of slip zone soil. In view of the experimental observations, an empirical strain-dependent soil model is established and is then incorporated in finite element analyses. The numerical analysis results show that the failing sections progressively develop due to the soil strength declines from peak toward residual, and the shear zone propagates within the front slope. It is demonstrated in the numerical results that the toe weighting measure has a significant effect on restraining the shear displacements of the soils and preventing the progressive failure of the landslide. The field observations further confirmed the stability condition of the reinforced landslide.

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Acknowledgments

This research was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11072088 and 41472279), Guangdong Provincial Water Resources Science & Technology Project (Grant No. ysk2009-01).

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Correspondence to Xiao-ping Chen or Hong-hu Zhu.

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Chen, Xp., Zhu, Hh., Huang, Jw. et al. Stability analysis of an ancient landslide considering shear strength reduction behavior of slip zone soil. Landslides 13, 173–181 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-015-0629-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-015-0629-7

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