Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Liu, Dongzi
• Hu, Xinli
• Zhou, Chang
• Xu, Chu
• He, Chuncan
• Zhang, Han
• Wang, Qiang

Titel

Deformation mechanisms and evolution of a pile-reinforced landslide under long-term reservoir operation

Ist Teil von

• Engineering geology, 2020-09, Vol.275, p.105747, Article 105747

Ort / Verlag

Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Stabilizing piles are widely used for reinforcing landslides in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, China. Due to reservoir operations, long-term water-level fluctuations (WLFs) may cause instability or failure of the reservoir landslide and piles system (RLPS). This study experimentally investigated the deformation characteristics and mechanisms of the RLPS under long-term WLFs. The results showed that long-term WLFs led to loading and unloading cycles and consequently a weakening of the slope stability, where retrogressive failure and system instability were observed. Retrogressive failure at the slope toe was caused by topographical variation and physical and mechanical deterioration, which may be a result of the long-term WLFs. System instability was accompanied by a stress-release process above the new slip surface and was determined to be dependent on the geological structure of the RLPS. Based on this investigation, the evolution model of the pile-reinforced landslide under long-term WLFs was proposed. Even though the RLPS was adversely affected by the long-term WLFs, it maintained a relatively steady state due to the reinforcement of the piles. Effective pile installation changed the development of the reservoir landslides and prevented the entire slip surface from reaching a critical state. Thus, a catastrophic consequence was avoided, except for the local failure. Through physical modeling, this study experimentally provided a deeper understanding of the deformation mechanisms and evolution of the RLPS influenced by the long-term WLFs. •An experimental method was proposed to consider the influences of the long-term water-level fluctuations on the pile-reinforced reservoir landslide.•The deformation characteristics of the pile-reinforced landslide under long-term reservoir operation were analyzed.•The deformation mechanisms induced by the loading and unloading cycles of the stress under the long-term water-level fluctuations were revealed.•A model was introduced to provide insights into the evolution of the pile-reinforced landslides influenced by the long-term reservoir operation.